Chapter 2

Shuvani was walking through a park near her house late at night. She was unable to sleep, and since Chave, her daughter, was being taken care of by her brother Kendric, she had time to spend alone and think. She wasn't worried about being attacked, as all vampires knew she wasn't someone to challenge, though she had no illusions about it being about her own strength. Although she was powerful, a well trained fighter, and a dancer, which gave her superb reflexes, she knew she was safe because if any vampire ever hurt her, they would deal with Uncle Siete. She also wasn't worried about her family being attacked for the same reason, though if they ever were they could defend themselves easily. Her mother, like she and Kendric, was a dancer, a very well trained one at that, and had amazing reflexes, which were only heightened when she went into her half-form. Kendric was half shape shifter and half witch, like Shuvani, but he had been born with more of the shape shifter traits, and was the only one of her two brothers that could hold the half form. Her other brother, Jerich, was fifteen, and was more witch than Kendric, who was sixteen. While he couldn't hold the half form for more than a minute, he was better at controlling his magic, and he was stronger, magically and physically. Shuvani on the other hand was equally witch and shifter, and stronger than her brothers. She had better control over her magic, and could hold the half form longer than anyone, except her mother since she was full blooded shape shifter. Her daughter had obviously been born with the ability to shape shift, which she did without any control at the moment, but the family wasn't sure just yet how strong her witches magic would be.

As Shuvani was walking, she heard someone approach her from behind. She spun quickly, but saw no one. Of course, living in the world she did, with the knowledge she had, she knew better than to assume no one was there. She walked forward a bit more, trying to draw the person out.

When she turned again, she caught a glimpse of a man before he disappeared, and she knew she was being followed by a vampire.

She wasn't really worried, as he was obviously young if she was able to hear him following her, and she was certain that if he was stupid enough to attack her, she would be able to fight him off.

She reached out with my magic, trying to sense where he had teleported himself to, and she felt him, hiding behind a tree to her left. She sent a small bolt of power at him, as a warning, saying she wasn't someone for a young vampire to mess with.

That was probably her mistake.

She turned to walk away, hoping he wouldn't continue to be stupid, flipping her long, platinum blond hair over her shoulder. As she walked, heading towards her car to go home, she kept her senses on high alert, in case he decided to attack, or pester her anymore.

Her car was in a parking garage next to the park, which was actually more of a plaza, built around the Civic Center in Scottsdale Arizona, and that's where she was heading. She was close enough to see the white Chevy Malibu when she felt him appear behind her.

She spun quickly, and slammed her fist into his face before he could react.

"You don't want to piss me off vampire. The people protecting me are beyond you." She said as he stood up from where he had fallen on the floor, obviously angry.

"Oh really? Well, I can take care of myself." He said as he moved towards her. She lashed out with her power again, making him stumble as she knew he felt a burning across his skin.

"I'm protected by Siete himself, so I doubt it. And you're obviously really young, or really stupid, if you don't know that." She said, falling into a battle ready stance. Along with the fighting training her father had given her, she had also been in martial arts classes since she was five, so she was more than capable of defending herself, and her witch blood gave her strength far beyond a normal human's. She could easily lift 300 pounds, though the vampire, young as he seemed, could probably lift eight or nine times that without breaking a sweat.

He swung at her, connecting with her jaw and sending her into a nearby tree, making her smack the back of her head against its un-giving bark. Her jaw was broken, and now her head was swimming, but she still refused to give in. She could take a lot more damage before she fell.

She switched into her half form, her White Viper fangs coming forward, ready with a venom that would be useless against this vampire, and her bones rearranged to allow for a more serpent like movement. Her emerald green eyes now had snake eye slits in them, though they were still gem toned, and she could sense everything around herself.

She tasted the air, and could taste him, as well as sense him, appear behind her again. She dropped down and swept his legs out from under him, he fell, but was up in a second. While still on the ground she kicked with all her strength and broke his right knee. He fell, groaning in pain, but she knew the wound would already be healing, so she quickly stood and back kicked him in the jaw, breaking his as he had broken hers.

He disappeared again, and she stood, waiting for him to show himself.

He reappeared behind her and grabbed her hands, holding them together behind her back with his right one while he used the other hand to pull her head back by her hair. She tried to break away, but he pressed down on her with the power of his mind, and she had to fight like hell not to give in.

When he sank his teeth into her neck, it felt like she was burning from the heart out. She knew she screamed, though he probably blocked it from any humans in the area, so no one would know to call anyone. He was also blocking her ability to call out to Siete. She felt her life draining away, and she fought, thinking of her daughter. She couldn't leave her without her mother to show her the joys of this world, and her powers.

She used her witch powers to push at his mind, but he was stronger than she thought, which told her he must be of Silver's line.

Finally, the pain mixed with the blood loss was too much even for her system, and she blacked out.

Devin sighed in pleasure as the first taste of the girl's blood hit his tongue. He had known he was going to drink from her as soon as she had hit him with that bolt of power. He had been told about the other creatures in the world, other than vampires, like Triste witches, whose blood was poisonous to vampires, and witches, and shape shifters. Judging by the fact that she had turned all serpent-ish, he assumed she was a shape shifter, and the use of power told him she was a witch, and her blood was the best he had ever tasted.

Then he started to get her memories.

She laughed as she finally got the complex dance moves her mother had been teaching her right. It had taken forever, but she finally did it!

She was screaming in pain as she had her child, the shape shifter doctor at SingleEarth telling her just one more push. She pushed hard, then suddenly her daughter was in her arms. She looked down at the bald head, and he baby opened her eyes, revealing eyes as sapphire as the sky, and she knew her daughter was White Viper, just like her mommy. She cried as she named her Chave.

She laughed as Uncle Siete looked astounded to be named Godfather to another child of this line. He held baby Chave, and smiled down at her. Shuvani was crying, watching her beloved "Uncle" look so happy and gentle.

At this last memory Devin reared back and pushed the girl away. She hadn't been lying! She really was protected by Siete, the creator of the vampires. Devin knew that now he was in serious trouble. He quickly disappeared, leaving the girl to die on the pavement, to panicked to think about what he should do next.

She cried out with her mind, she was sure, because the next thing she knew Uncle Siete was holding her in his arms, and looked like he was crying. She blacked out again.

When she woke again, she was at home, her family gathered around her crying, the last thing she saw was Chave's face.

"I love uuu mommy." She said, crying. She knew she was crying to, and she believed she told her she loved her as well. Then she blacked out again.

She woke again, it was dark. There was a very sweet liquid entering her mouth, and she could feel a sense of timelessness, and power as she swallowed it. As she drank, her heart raced and her breath quickened, until, suddenly, they both just stopped. She felt herself die.

Devin was cowering in his room behind the club Las Noches. He had made a huge mistake, and leaving that girl to die instead of taking her somewhere, like SingleEarth or some other place that could give her a blood transfusion, was a bigger mistake. When Siete found out, and found out who he was, he was history. He would go down as the vampire that challenged Siete, which was not some badge of honor, but sheer stupidity.

He had been in this room since he bit her, and the hunger was getting to be to much. Afraid to hunt, he decided to go out to the main part of the club and get something to drink.

While he was out in the blaring noise and disorienting colors and flashing lights of Las Noches, he found a willing blood donor, one of the humans that lived in New Mayhem. He bit into her neck and tasted the sweet blood, but was only drinking for a moment when he was pushed away by someone's mind. Someone whose power he couldn't even get close to matching. His back hit the mirror covered wall, broken in a fight between two vampires of his line a few years ago, then looked up to see his worst night mare.