A/N I've hit a snag with the last chapter of Tangled up, but will hopefully have that up sometime next weekend. The Last Chapter of Their Love is Out of This World is coming along nicely, though, so I will try to have that up by Wednesday night. I should also have another chapter of Somewhere, Ohio up by next Sunday night.

I'm happy that people are responding to this story well! I hope you all enjoy this journey! Oh, and for those who were wondering, yes, it was Tina that Blaine staked in the first chapter!

Reviews are Always Welcome!

Chapter Two

In Which a Gardella Gets Penetrated

Blaine was still fuming the next day as he sparred with Kritanu in Aunt Eustacia's home. "Arrogant, condescending prick!" He muttered under his breath as he successfully blocked every punch and kick thrown at him by the older man, and managed to land several of his own.

"Blaine, dear, you must understand," Eustacia said calmly from the comfortable chair in the corner. "We needed to have another slayer there as a precaution, just in case you were unsuccessful in your task. Granted, Kurt did choose an unfortunate way of making himself known, but that is just the way he is."

Blaine mumbled something about the taller male's lineage and livestock that his elderly aunt chose to pretend not to hear. "And despite the confusion, you did manage to stake the vampire, sealing your destiny to become the next Gardella slayer!"

Blaine was distracted briefly as he grinned at this statement, and Kritanu took advantage of it to knock him on his arse again. Laughing, he regained his footing. "Does this mean I've earned my Vis?"

"Indeed. I've sent for the others. We shall have the ceremony this afternoon."

"Others?"

"Receiving the Vis Bulla entails much more than just handing over the item. There is a ceremony that requires the presence of many Venators. It is a very solemn occasion."

Later that afternoon, Blaine was given a tea to drink, and told to lay stretched out on the lounging couch in his aunt's parlor. The room was dark except a small circle of light around the couch. Blaine sensed more than saw the dozen or so Venators in the room.

He wasn't certain what had been in the tea he had been given, but his senses seemed to dull slightly as chanting began from the shadows. He recognized the language as Latin, though he did not understand the words. Aunt Eustacia smiled reassuringly down at him before reaching out to unfasten his breaches and pull his shirt up until his abdomen was revealed.

Perhaps it was the effects of the tea, but Blaine could feel the intensity of a pair of eyes on him, though he knew not from where it came. The chanting grew louder, and though the voices blended, he swore he could distinguish one voice more clearly than the others. It was light and high, and clear as bell.

Kritanu stepped forward and set a small table beside the couch. Upon the table was a tiny clear jar with something floating in it. The elderly man picked it up and plucked the item from within, as well as a long thin metal instrument that curved at the tip. As Blaine watched the older man move closer, he saw that the tiny item was a delicate silver cross, elegantly forged, and dangling from a ring of silver.

Kritanu's surprisingly deft fingers pinched the fold of skin at the top of his bellybutton, and before Blaine could fully comprehend what was to happen, the thin wand of metal was piercing his flesh, and the ring of the Vis Bulla was passed through, penetrating his body. With a quick twisting of his fingers, Kritanu sealed the ring, so that the holy emblem became a part of him.

After a moment, he could feel the healing power of the strength amulet wiping away all the minor aches and pains he hadn't even really been aware of until they were gone. He knew that as long as the amulet was connected to his flesh, he would be stronger than the average human, and heal faster from even the worst injuries. It would not protect him from death, nor would it prevent a vampire from enthralling him completely, but it would make him harder to kill, and grant him some protections from vampires.

Aunt Eustacia smiled as he sat up, and hugged him. "The legacy has chosen well."

As he hugged her in return, the others filed out of the room. Though they remained in shadows, Blaine thought he recognized a familiar coif of auburn hair. He frowned at the retreating figure.

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Chapter Three

In Which A Gardella Miscalculates

"No, Blaine, darling, I will not allow it!" His mother said sternly, a week later. "I do not care how urgent your aunt claims the matter to be, your duty is to find a wife and secure the Rockley line! Aunt Eustacia will just have to wait until morning for your attendance!"

"But mother, I..." Blaine tried to argue, but he was cut off.

"No buts! You have already missed the opportunity to dance with Lady Berry three times this week! You will attend the Harrington's Ball tonight, and I shall not let you leave until you have danced with the lady twice!"

Both Lady Emma and Duchess Sue, who were seated in his mother's parlor for tea as usual, nodded in agreement.

"She danced two dances with Lord St. James the night before last at the Whittle's Fete. Both Quadrilles, of course," Duchess Sue said with an air of one who knows all the juiciest gossip. "And yet, when your name came up on her card for the Country dance, you were no where to be found!"

"As I told mother, I had spilled punch all over my shirtfront, and had been attempting to dry it out, not realizing I had missed my dance." In truth, Blaine had been busy staking a vampire on the veranda. It had been more difficult than the first time, as he had nearly tripped himself trying to get the stake out from it's concealment in his pant leg, and he had to avoid the eyes of several couples that had sought a breath of air on the open terrace. It was only pure luck that when he had stumbled, he had knocked the vampire over the low railing, into the concealment of several potted shrubs, allowing him to stake the creature without being seen.

"We shall make certain Blaine dances at least one Waltz with her tonight, if not two!" Lady Pamela declared.

Blaine groaned silently to himself. How was he supposed to fulfill his destiny as a Gardella Slayer if his mother and her cronies were playing matchmaker? Granted, it could be worse. At least Lady Berry was a woman he could feel comfortable with as a wife, if he could not make a love match for himself.

It was as he was preparing for the ball later that evening that he discovered an unexpected ally. He was trying to figure out how to conceal his stake in a way that it would be easily accessible, yet remain unnoticed. It had been a bit inconvenient having it up his trouser leg the other night.

"My lord! You're a Venator!" His valet, Jeff had exclaimed, spying the tiny amulet that pierced Blaine's bellybutton as he'd stepped into the pants the other man had laid out for him. Blaine was shocked by the exclamation.

"How do you know of them?" Blaine asked.

Jeff shrugged and helped Blaine with the jacket and cravat. "My Cousin Sam is a hackney driver down near the docks. He's seen a lot of things that can't be explained. Had more than one run in with a vampire, he has. Carries a right big cross with him where ever he goes after dark now."

"Your cousin has run into vampires and survived?"

"Well, he's only run into the ones who hang around the Chalice, them that sip from the bottle, you see."

Blaine would have asked more, but Lady Pamela's voice cut through the door. "Blaine, do hurry up, dear. We want to be just the little bit late for the ball, not miss it completely!"

"Nearly Ready, Mother." He called back. He reached out and picked up the stake from his dressing table, still unsure where to conceal it, when Jeff took it from him and lifted up the back of his coat.

"For now you can wear this concealed in the back of your breaches, the strap of your suspenders will hold it in place. I shall come up with some way to conceal it on your person in the future." The valet straightened his coat, and giving the cravat one last adjustment, deemed his lordship ready for the ball.

The Harrington's ballroom was packed to bursting, and Blaine found it hard to breathe with the mixture of colognes, perfumes, and body odor assailing him. The humid night did little to help. His mother and her two oldest friends were practically glued to his side, preventing him from even escaping to the terrace for a breath of fresh air, determined not to let him miss his opportunity to dance with Lady Berry.

As it happened, he did not have long to wait before he found the woman standing in front of him, his mother having dragged him through the crowd the moment she had spotted the petite debutante.

"Lady Berry!" Lady Pamela exclaimed. "I do believe my son, Lord Rockley, is next on your dance card, but I am have been informed that it is a Waltz. Are you permitted to dance to it?"

Blaine saw the smaller woman smile politely at his mother. "I have been given permission to Waltz at my discretion. It would be an honor to do so with Lord Rockley, as I was sorely disappointed that we missed out dance the other night."

Blaine could hear the edge of humor in the girl's voice, and smiled at her. "I do beg your forgiveness for disappointing you. I was afraid I would have stepped on your delicate toes during the Country Dance, so allowed my arm to be jostled by another guest, spilling punch down my front."

Lady Berry laughed softly. "I'm certain my toes would have survived, my Lord, for I have seen you dance with other ladies, with nary a missed step to be seen. Perhaps it was more that you just did not wish to dance with me?"

"Perish the thought! Would I had not been in a state of dishevel as the punch ruined my shirt, I would have eagerly been in attendance at your side. Please forgive me, and join me on the dance floor?"

She smiled and placed her hand in his, allowing him to lead her into the dance as the music began. "I truly am sorry I missed our dance the other night, my Lady. And I do hope my mother did not seem to forward in her quite obvious attempt at matchmaking."

The petite woman laughed again. "She is no more obvious than the other mothers who have presented their sons to me as if they were showing a prime piece of horse flesh at market."

Blaine laughed as well. "I must admit, I do feel like a stallion being paraded around a rink."

"And I a filly being sold as nothing more than a broodmare," Lady Berry replied, still smiling at him. "I have a confession to make, my Lord."

"Well, if you are going to confess your innermost secret to me, perhaps you would do me the honor of calling me by my Christian name, unless you think that is too forward of me."

"It is a bit forward," she said, smiling brighter, "but I feel comfortable with you in a way I haven't felt with any of the other young gentlemen. Perhaps it is because we knew each other, if only briefly, in our youths. I would like to call you Blaine, if you would also call me Rachel."

Blaine smiled wider. "Then, Rachel, please, tell me what it is you wish to confess?"

"I do not wish to marry, at least not for the reasons society has set forward for me. I want to experience life before I am forced to become nothing more than a possession, a pretty bauble to be placed on display by my husband, whose only purpose is to bare young!"

Blaine was shocked by the woman's words. "I had no idea young women felt that way. The way my mother speaks, you would think that it is every young woman's ambition to land a titled husband and be kept in a lifestyle that allows them to do nothing all day but be idle and eat bonbons."

Rachel smiled up at him. "Perhaps many of the young ladies here tonight do feel that way, but I am not one of them. I want to sing on a stage, and know what it feels like to be free to be myself."

"I can understand that," he said, as he expertly maneuvered them through the other dancing couples. "I have a confession of my own to make. I really have no desire to take a wife, although not for the same reasons. I...I find my passions lay elsewhere. Were it not for the necessity to produce an heir, I think I would never marry."

The young woman looked up at him, studying his face. "I understand. Perhaps one day you should speak to my father. I believe the two of you may have much in common."

Blaine would have questioned her about that, but the music came to an end, and Blaine suddenly felt an ice cold chill on the back of his neck.

"Ah, it seems the adage is true, all good things must come to an end. It has been a great pleasure dancing with you, Lady Berry. I do hope your toes are still intact, and that perhaps you will save another dance on your card for me later?"

She laughed. "All toes present and accounted for, and I would be honored to attend you later, Lord Rockley."

He smiled and kissed her hand, before handing her off to her next partner. Not wanting his mother or her cronies to latch on to him again, Blaine managed to wend his way through the crowd, allowing his instincts to guide him as he searched out the vampire.

It wasn't hard to do. He spotted the creature almost instantly. As a matter of fact, the vampire seemed to want Blaine to spot him, flashing a bit of fang at him as he glared at the slayer. The creature gave him a slight nod before, turning to head out a side door, a young woman at his side. Blaine felt a moment of deja vu, but shook it away. There would be no mistaking the real vampire this time.

Kurt grumbled as he forced his way into the Harrington's ballroom, searching for the last person he really wanted to see. As if it wasn't enough that he'd learned that there were not one, but two guardian vampires on the lose somewhere in London, Eustacia had decided that Kurt had to locate her nephew rather than hunt down the guardians.

The bloody boy had decided that it was more important to fawn over the young ladies of the ton than answer his aunt's summons, and now it was apparent the guardians were searching for the young Gardella slayer. Why Eustacia insisted that Kurt had to be the one to track him down was beyond him.

As he forced his way through the crush, he scowled at several young women who batted their eyelashes at him, smiling seductively, but his brooding only seemed to encourage them. He had no time for this nonsense! And to make matters more urgent, he suddenly felt the chill on the back of his neck.

Damn it, the guardians had beaten him to the damn boy. Not caring what anyone thought, he pushed his way through to a door that lead off to another wing of the house, where his instincts told him the vampires were. He only hoped he found them in time to save the boy!

Blaine followed the vampire and his victim to what appeared to be a library. He knew it was possible this was a trap, and that another vampire could be concealed behind the door. He pushed it open hard enough to force it all the way to the wall. Good, nothing hiding behind the door. He moved into the room quickly, pulling the stake from it's hiding place as he closed the door behind him, not wanting anyone to stumble upon the scene.

"Let her go," he demanded. The vampire just laughed at him.

"I think not. So you are the new Gardella. I've never tasted a slayer's blood before. I look forward to the treat."

Blaine rushed forward, knocking the woman aside, but the vampire just laughed again, moving much more quickly than Blaine would have thought possible. The creatures eyes began to glow a pinkish ruby red, and suddenly Blaine could hear the blood rushing through his veins. His heart began to pound hard as the vampire called to his blood. He felt his heart trying to tune itself to the vampire's sluggish heart beat.

He slipped his hand over his stomach, feeling the Vis Bulla under his clothes, and it seemed to clear his head some, and he could breathe on his own once more. Growling in frustration, he rushed forward once more, startling the vampire enough that Blaine had a clear shot at his chest. But just as he was about to drive the stake home, someone grabbed his wrist. It was the female.

Damn it, he'd miscalculated again! He could feel the female creature pressing against his back, even as the male's eyes captured his once more, and his blood rushed through his veins, eager to feel the vampire's fangs. His fingers started to loosen on the stake as the woman pressed her nose to his neck. The male hissed at her and shoved her away, breaking her grip on Blaine's wrist, but his fingers felt numb, the stake slipping further from his grasp.

The vampire leaned in, a triumphant grin on his face as Blaine felt the sharp tips of fangs press into his flesh. The release of blood was almost a relief as the vampire began to feed.

Kurt didn't even pause as his instincts lead him to a closed door, simply shoving it open. Almost immediately, a female vampire launched itself at him. Raising his stake, he allowed her own momentum to impale her on the the ebony wood, disappearing with a loud POP as she turned to dust. In the next heartbeat he had spotted Blaine in the clutches of the second guardian, and was about to attack, when the creature exploded into a puff of dust.

He saw the darker man stumble as the creature's hold on him vanished and he was no longer being supported by its arms. Kurt moved quickly, examining the younger man's neck.

"Damn it, we need to get you to your aunt's home quickly, before the poison spreads!" He drew a small vial from within the folds of his cloak. "For now this will have to do. I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt!"

He pulled the stopper from the vial and began pouring the contents over the bite wound. The moment the clear liquid touched the bite, Blaine screamed as if the vial contained acid. "What the hell is that?"

"Holy salt water," Kurt replied, unphased, pouring the rest of the liquid on the wound. Blaine nearly passed out from the pain, panting heavily. Kurt frowned at the younger man, but helped him to sit down on one of the settees in the room, giving him a moment to recover. "We have to get out of here, quickly. The holy water is only a palliative, it won't stop the poison, only slow it down. Your aunt had a salve that will..."

"Yes, the salve, I know!" Blaine hissed, but manged to stand, if somewhat unsteadily. They managed to find a side exit, and Kurt all but dragged the younger man to his waiting carriage.

Blaine wanted to scream in frustration. Once again the pale man was witness to his folly.

"You must really be enjoying this," said, not looking at the other man. "Seeing me fail must make you feel so smug and superior."

Kurt just looked at him, a frown on his face. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"This!" Blaine said, indicating the bite wound. "You must be thrilled at seeing me taken down by a vampire, proving that you are the superior slayer!"

The other man bit his lip, looking down at the floor of the carriage as they raced through the streets of London. And then with a look of determination, the glasz eyed man reached up and untied his perfectly tied ascot, dropping it into his lap, then unbuttoning the high collar of his shirt, and more, to expose his collarbone. He turned his head to the right, letting Blaine see the scars from the older bites, and then to the left, baring the one that still seemed as fresh as the wound on Blaine's own neck.

"I do not think any less of you for falling into the guardian's thrall," The pale man said, voice softer than Blaine had ever heard it.

"But, how? When?" Blaine said, confused.

Kurt didn't answer, instead refastening the buttons and tying the ascot back in place.