Prophecy

by TerraZeal

Nightworld AU based on a forum roleplay between a friend and I. Features NW characters and semi-crosses over with Supernatural and another CW show later on. Twists the Prophecy from Night World around quite a bit, focuses a lot on shapeshifter lore. Rated T for some harsh language and violence. CH6 is the end of the pre-written story. The rest will be mine alone.

3. Chapter 3

AN: Time skip here. It takes place three weeks after the last chapter ended. Introduces a new character. No Sam and Dean yet, but they're probably going to show up in the next chapter. All of this was pre-written, so I'm posting rather quickly. I like reading stories that are longer and more complete than short with no resolution. I usually write complete short stories with a tidy ending because of that.

Prophecy – Chapter 3

+ Zach liked his new landlord; the man was open and friendly and appeared to be honest, which was rare in Vegas. He hummed happily as he unpacked his essential belongings. He had a new job at a casino to get to this afternoon but for now he could start getting settled in. He set up his radio on the kitchen bench and plugged it in, tuning it into his favourite station and singing along with all the songs he knew as he pottered about, completely unaware he was horribly off-key. No one had yet had the heart to inform him that he was tone-deaf, so he sang on, oblivious. He met his first neighbour as he locked up to head for work.

She came out of an apartment only two doors down and across the hall, wearing, to his astonishment, a uniform for the same casino he was! And…she was kinda hot. She was tall, though not as tall as he was, and slender, with silky black hair and brown eyes. He gave her his best 'Hi! I'm a friendly guy!' grin, but wasn't sure it'd gone over very well. All he got in return was a small smile that disappeared pretty quickly as she went down the hall towards the lifts. Zach fell into step beside her, wondering how he was going to get her to open up. He knew girls found him intimidating because of his size, even though he'd barely harm a fly, so he turned to her as they waited for the lift and stuck out his hand.

"Hi, my name's Zach!"

He was starting to feel like a bit of an idiot, when she suddenly, briefly, returned his handshake. "I'm Kerowyn." Zach couldn't help giving her another happy grin. He decided not to press her for anymore today, she looked kind of down, and Zach wondered if she'd been dumped by her boyfriend or something. He hoped not, she looked like a really nice person.

The lift slowed, then stopped again on the third floor, and the doors opened to reveal…Zach grinned again, this time at the little kid who was waiting to get on the lift. She had black hair too, pulled back from her face into a ponytail. He wondered if she was Indian, or part Indian too, her skin tone suggested she might be, but what features he'd seen of her face seemed wrong for that.

She ignored Zach and Kerowyn, pressed the button for the ground floor, and stood near the panel with her back to the wall, crossing her arms. Zach wondered if she realised just how defensive she was being, without even saying anything. Of course, being human he didn't catch the body language passing between Lena and Kero, with Kero freezing in fear as soon as she'd spied the smaller, darker girl. Zach kept observing her as the lift started its way down again, then suddenly the smaller girl's head whipped around. As she glared into his eyes his thoughts scattered in a dozen different directions at once.

She's tiny!
Green eye…yellow eye.
Evil eye, eye of the devil.
Tattoo…awesome.
Where did she get that jacket?

Zach felt his palms suddenly get sweaty and nearly collapsed in relief as the girl's eyes flickered away again, staring once more at the wall opposite her. Wow. That was…weird. How could someone so little be so…intense? Zach suddenly realised he'd been staring at the girl and readied himself for another round of I-stare-you-die with the small being before him so he could apologise when the lift suddenly stopped and she left, zipping out of the door before they'd even opened properly. Zach just blinked as the doors slowly closed again and the lift continued down into the car garage of the building.

"Wow…that was…" Actually, Zach didn't have words to describe that encounter. He actually jumped as Kero said softly,

"She's scary."

Woah, I totally forgot she was in here! He gave Kero his best 'cheer up sport' grin, "Aw, I don't think she's that bad, but I wasn't expecting her to be so…so…" He decided not to bother with a description. If there was a word to describe it, it wasn't in his vocabulary.

Lena wondered what the hell was with the giant that had been in the lift. He'd practically been…radiating happiness. She wondered why Kero had been in the lift with him. Boyfriend? Lena was pretty sure that was unlikely, as he'd been human but one never really knew. More likely he just lived in their building as well. Lena put them to the back of her mind as she jogged through the traffic, on her way east. It'd only been a few days since she'd been shot, so going back to work now would be impossible for a human, and therefore suicide for her.

Even as isolated as she'd kept herself she'd still heard the stories of what the Night Council did to people who revealed the existence of the Night World, deliberately or inadvertently, and she had no wish for them to turn their sights on her, especially after the amount of interest she'd garnered from a leech who wasn't even a part of that Council. So that left her with at least a couple of weeks of…basically nothing. In the end she'd gotten out her map, thinking of going after a bounty or two but her eye had been caught by a large swatch of green just east of Las Vegas called Lake Mead National Recreation Area and she'd felt the undeniable desire to run free, as she had years ago. She didn't have to change like the werewolves in the human story books, but if she went too long on two legs she got restless, and even more tetchy than usual, so she decided to give herself a holiday in the recreation park.

Zach sipped his morning coffee as he read the local newspaper. Apparently there had been more Cat Sightings in the Lake Mead Park. He sat back and stared out of the window at the city outside. The sightings had started filtering into the city about three weeks ago, and were dismissed as crank sightings at first. Of course it didn't help that the first people to report the 5-foot tall coal-black Jaguar had been a bunch of twenty-something stoners but more recently there had been sightings from more reputable sources; park rangers, elderly fishermen seeing the monster cat drinking at the edge of a lake as they fished in the middle. A few pictures were taken, but like Loch Ness they were all indistinct and fuzzy and didn't amount to anything. The few pictures that were clear were only of giant paw-prints, which were easily fabricated, and of the carcasses of animals which had apparently become the dinner of some predator. The latter were a little harder to dismiss, but people generally accepted that there were packs of wild dogs or something living in the park.

Actually…I haven't seen that girl for about three weeks either. Zach was unsure of why he'd thought of that intense young woman he'd first met in the lift. Kerowyn had told him a few days later that her name was Lena and she apparently worked at the casino too. He glanced at his watch. Speaking of the casino, he'd better get moving if he didn't want to be late. He grinned; he liked working at the card tables, especially since he'd been given the table next to Kero. She still didn't say much of anything, but he was determined to at least be friends with her.

Lena let herself into the Employees Only section of the casino and went to her locker. She still wasn't sure that she'd taken enough time away, but she'd wrapped a bandage around her shoulder as a precaution. Actually she was slightly surprised that she still had a job here to begin with, but apparently she was allowed to pick up her 'trial week' right where she'd left off. She slipped off her everyday clothes and folded them neatly, placing them on the shelf in her locker before putting on her uniform, ignoring the stares from the other women currently in the room. What, surely they'd known someone who'd been shot before?

She slipped her sunglasses on and went out to meet Al. He looked nervous, but then, so did everyone she'd come near since she'd come back from the Park. Lena wasn't really sure why, but they all seemed to want to keep their distance…well more than usual anyway. Al gave her a voice-activated throat microphone and an ear-piece. She hadn't been given one on her first day, he told her, because they hadn't had one. She shrugged and slipped the items on as she made her way out to the casino.

It was about 10pm when it happened. Two of Zach's customers got rowdy, and decided they didn't like him, or his dealing. He did his best to talk them down, but then one of the ones from Kero's table joined in, stirring them up more. Crap, what the hell am I supposed to do?!

Lena saw what was happening from across the room. A quick glance around showed her no one else had noticed it yet, and she was the closest anyway. She sighed; couldn't these people just behave themselves? She started slipping through the crowd and was halfway there when it started to get really rowdy and the security team watching the cameras finally noticed what was going on.
"Lena, do you copy?" It sounded like Al, but she couldn't be sure. These ear-pieces made everyone sound like Daffy Duck or the Chipmunks. She didn't bother to answer, already knowing what was going to be asked.

"Lena? Damnit Lena, where are you? There's trouble near the card tables, looks like three guys, if you can hear me head there, whoever else is closest should go in and back her up."

A glance told her two of the trouble-makers were human. The last looked like a reptilian shifter, but he was only sitting on the sidelines egging the other two on so she decided he was secondary. For now anyway. The first thing she did was dodge in between the two combatants, spinning one around and forcing the second into a somersault over her hip which ended with him sprawling face-first onto the floor. She kept him down there by stepping on the back of his neck with one booted foot in time to sway back from the haymaker thrown her way by the second human. She grabbed his wrist and twisted, locking up his wrist, then his elbow and using her leverage on his arm to turn him slowly and get him into a full arm-lock.

He froze as everyone around them stared at her in astonishment. Well everyone except those who were a part of the Night World and knew what she was. The whole thing had taken roughly ten seconds or so and she'd used only her 'uninjured' arm. She glanced up to see another security guard making his way towards her through the crowd of gamblers and caught sight of a pinched, pointed face with long red hair. It looked like that leech the old hag kept, what was his name…bah, what does it matter what his name is? Not like I care. She spoke so the rest of the security detail knew what was happening.

"Three people at the card tables wish to be escorted to the exit. Two fighters subdued, one shit stirrer too stupid to make his exit." The reptilian shifter twitched, then gave a weak grin. She was right after all, he should have moved the minute he saw her but…

Zach just stared at the tiny woman in front of him. Who would've thought that that tiny girl could have done something like this? And it looked like she lived in his building too, she seemed to be…wilder than the last time he'd seen her too. His brain replayed Lena's part in the fight. Actually, thinking back it's not so much of a surprise that she managed that. Nothing she did required true strength, just the right amount of leverage.

What made it truly amazing, in his book, was that she'd done it all with just her left arm. He watched as Lena let the other security people take the three troublemakers outside as she moved over to Kero, who looked absolutely terrified, then glance around suspiciously. He figured Lena had told her something, but had no idea what.

Lena moved alongside Kero, ignoring the avian's obvious discomfort, and pulled the microphone away from her throat before speaking quietly so only the other shifter could hear. "Why is that leech here?" Kero just blinked at her with wide eyes, everything about her body language saying 'I'm terrified of you, and have no idea what you're talking about'. Lena frowned slightly and murmured "the leech the old hag keeps around is here." Then Al chose that moment to call her over the ear-piece so she left the –clean-up to someone else and began to make her way to the room where all the security camera footage was viewed.

* Kero's life had returned to relatively normal after Lena had left Gran Harman's shop. She went back to her apartment, shifter attacks hadn't ceased, but they had subsided enough that Thea didn't throw a hissy fit and screech when Kero insisted on going back to her apartment and going alone. Honestly, Kero was still mad at Thea for getting her into trouble with the old lady. Thea seemed to realize this and had apologized several times, but Kero had ignored her.

She wasn't ready to forgive the irritating little witch yet. The avian shifter went back to her life in the simple apartment and the casino. Thea's cousin had finally called Kero, but she said she didn't know much of anything. Sarantia would be able to tell Kero more when she made her own trip to Vegas, which, according to her, would be in a couple weeks. Circle business had caught her up and she couldn't make it soon.

Kero sighed, returning to the present. She glanced at her watch, fiddled with it. Thinking about the young man she'd met in the elevator, the casino, and pretty much anywhere he could manage to ambush her. He'd insisted on telling her his name and thought she wanted to be friends. She did want friends, but not with a human. If only because she would spend more time worrying about him being killed by being friends with a shifter than actually being his friend. Still, his cheerful persistence started to get on her nerves. Kero wondered if he'd chosen the card table next to hers on purpose.

Kero jerked as one of her customers started to get nasty. He wasn't mad at her, seemingly, but at her wanna-be friend Zach. Kero nervously licked her lips. She was stronger than the people at the tables, maybe. One smelled vaguely like a shifter of some type. Not wanting to get involved, but not wanting Zach to be hurt, Kero hoped a member of security would intervene soon. Her silent wishes were answered, but not in the form she had hoped. Her heart pounded, as if trying to escape her chest. Lena was a security guard here?

Kero groaned. She wasn't as skittish as people thought avian shifters were, but she still had a fight-or-flight instinct, and as a bird, it was usually flight. Lena especially put the flyawaynoworyou'llbeeaten image into her head. The fight was over quickly, and thankfully Zach wasn't hurt. He did have a shocked look on his face though. Watching Lena fight would do that to a person. Humans didn't normally see someone so small kick the asses of three much larger men.

Kero gasped as Lena came toward her. What? What could she want? I was just doing my job. "Why is the leech here?" Kero blinked, too terrified to answer her, and not even knowing what she was talking about.

There were likely many leeches in this place, but they kept to themselves. "The leech the old hag keeps around is here." Kero was puzzled. Why would that vampire be here? He was old, and wealthy, and didn't need a job. And yet...Kero looked up, and saw him threading his way through the crowd, an intense look on his face, while wearing a security uniform. Kero glanced back to Lena, but she was gone. Great. A leech and a predator and a FIGHT, all in one day. Her normal life was slowly being shattered again. She wondered if she should make up with Thea and Gran.

Ty growled his frustration. Lena had disappeared before he'd managed to get to her. He had spent several weeks and quite a good deal of money and resources on an attempt to locate the wild girl. One of his sources had turned up the information that she'd worked at this casino on security duty for a short time before an injury had put her out of commission. Injury, my ass. Elspeth had healed that injury. He noticed the bird girl also worked here.

She was staring at him with a terrified expression on her face. Why was this place such a Night World magnet? Well, it was Vegas. Most Night people could blend in without being discovered. The bird girl leaned over and said something to the large man working the table next to hers. Ty didn't bother trying to listen. He didn't care about the bird or her human buddy. He only cared about finding Lena. Alania's Seeing had interested him even more.

Lena remained mysterious, but now at least Ty knew something of her past. It was painful. Someone, or something, had hurt her deeply. Made her as hateful as she is. Ty intended to find out. Getting that out of Lena would be hard, but as Elspeth had told him, perhaps kind words would go a long way. Ty wasn't familiar with making kind words with anyone, let alone a hateful shifter. He sat down at a nearby table and sighed in frustration. He had taken this stupid job only because of Lena. She seemed to be avoiding all contact with him, and everyone else.

A little squeak caused him to lift his head. The bird girl was looking at him. He'd sat at her table. He almost felt bad. She was already terrified out of her wits due to Lena's presence.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. Ah...do you know which direction Lena went?" Kero shook her head.

"I-I'm sorry, T-Ty? Thats your name, isn't it? I didn't see. I looked up and she was gone. I-I'm really sorry." Kero hung her head. She didn't want to anger the vampire. Elspeth said he wouldn't hurt her, but that was in the old witch's home. There was nothing preventing him from draining her blood here and now.

"Its alright. I just...wanted to see her again, is all. Who's your friend?" Ty nodded his head toward the large young man at the next table over. Kero lowered her voice so that only Ty could here her. Fear for her wanna-be friend making her braver than usual. "Thats none of your business. He's human, but please don't feed from him. He's a nice guy. He's not your next meal."

Kero ended the sentence almost a threat. Ty almost laughed. The little bird was...threatening him? Well, she was getting bold. Ty was tempted to feed from him just to spite the little birdie and show her that her threat meant nothing. However, he had more important things to do. Like find Lena. A crackle in the earpiece that was standard for security around here told him that the manager wanted all security workers to the back. He hoped Lena was back there. Perhaps then he could confront her.

+ Alania listened as the quiet limousine rolled back down the gravel driveway as she huddled into herself. Truly, she had seen blood soaked visions of the end of the world but this…this was far more personal than that. Her divination of the girl, Lena, had been…Quietly she let the tears flow down her cheeks as she remembered. Her vision had been patchy, as they sometimes were, but she knew a few salient facts.

Lena was a twin, and the two had been extraordinarily close, communicating not long after they became aware of their surroundings, before they had even been born.
Both had an extraordinary amount of love for one another, and their mother, who had had a habit of talking to them in a soft voice and stroking her pregnant belly.

It wasn't until after their birth that things had started to go downhill for Lena and her brother. In her mind's eye Alania constructed what she believed Lena to look like, based on the blood that the Crone had brought, once it was complete (minus the tattoo) she used her Seer's gift again, this time to create what her twin would have looked like. Unsurprisingly he looked exactly the same, but for a few anatomical differences. Then Alania examined her constructions more closely and realised they were actually mirror images of each other. With a shudder she remembered the ruckus that had occurred after the two were born. Separated from their mother, their fate discussed by the elders of their tribe while they, cold and hungry, were left to one side, comprehending their fate as their first feelings of hatred began to form.

Then, their ultimate fate of being left out in the wilderness for the animals to devour, with their now-dead mother who had been ritually killed by her own tribe, their stone talismans taken back to the village and used as memorials to the dead.

Alania's mind shuddered away from the memory of what had happened to them next, but nothing in the world could possibly make her forget the pain, both mental physical, Lena had suffered as the great beasts had eaten her mother's corpse and her living brother. The only thing Alania didn't understand was why the beasts hadn't eaten Lena too, as the next part of her vision had been of Lena actually living within this pack of beasts as one of them. What these beasts were was still unclear, but they were ferocious, nocturnal, and predators. All adjectives which would be perfect for describing Lena today.
Shunned by her own people, the pack of beasts that had raised her in the beginning, humans, and even bandits all Lena had ever learned in life was that people could only be trusted to turn on her, sooner or later.

"The strong live and the weak die." Alania was surprised by her own voice, not realising she was speaking out loud. Perhaps that was the closest thing Lena had to a mantra. Alania sighed, wondering now if she truly wanted to meet Lena anymore and ran her mind over the second half of her prophecy.
One from the land of kings long forgotten, fitted Lena, though she was unable to pinpoint exactly why she felt that way, perhaps it would help if she could have worked out where Lena's mother's people had come from. She was not really very sure exactly what Shifter history was like, maybe she should try to get a shifter to explain their history and bloodlines.

The second line, 'One from the hearth which still holds the spark', she was certain indicated a full-blood witch, not half like Lena was, and she appeared to have inherited far more of her mother than her father anyway. 'One from the Day World where two eyes are watching', 'two eyes'…Lena had two different coloured eyes, she'd had a twin, and parents from two very different peoples. If it wasn't for her hunch about the first line Alania would be certain Lena was the one who was described here. Alania sighed, beginning to doubt her own divination that this line indicated a half-breed. Perhaps she was wrong? Or perhaps Lena had nothing to do with the prophecy…maybe she was just a catalyst? 'One from the daylight to be one with the dark.' No, the final line referred to a full-blood shifter, of that she was certain.

Alania turned her blind eyes back to the coffee table and the dish which still held Lena's blood. No, she was not willing to find out more about her that way, it was too much. She could only hope that the vampire the Crone tolerated could find out more.

Lena got to what was affectionately known as the 'video shack' just as Al's second called the rest of the security detail into the briefing office for some reason. She shrugged and let herself into the security room, confident that she was exempt from the other call, but to be sure she questioned Al.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Mac just threw a fit that you were the one who took care of those trouble-makers. I think he wants to berate the others for not being there to take care of it for you."
Lena just snorted. "I don't need his help."

"Yeah, I know. Looking at the footage, you barely moved your right shoulder, so I figure you'd've been okay even if you'd come back last week. Oh, and congratulations on taking care of that in record time."
"Are you done yet?" Lena never was one for praise or soft words. They always turned out to be hollow words, sooner or later.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. I'm done. The next shift has already gone out to the floor so you can go home if you want."

Lena took a circuitous route to go home, just in case, and was not disappointed. The damn leeches were after her, again, but this one seemed weaker, or just stupider, than the last one. Though…she thought she caught a hint of a second follower, one who was far better at what he did than the first. Lena ducked into an alley and waited. It was only a moment or two before her follower appeared. When he saw her waiting he grinned, and brought up a silenced pistol.

"Just give up, little beast. I'm packing silver bullets, if I shoot you, you'll die." Lena just flicked her wrist, sending one of her daggers flying through the space between them to lodge into the vampire's forehead. What's with the mobster threat? Does he honestly expect me to listen to that bullshit? Before he could recover Lena covered the distance between them and thrust her hand into his ribcage, wrapping her hand around his cold heart.

She gave him just enough time to realise what was going on before ripping out his heart and crushing it in her hand. Oh, this is just disgusting! Apparently this vampire wasn't very old, as he didn't turn into dust or mould, but a decaying corpse. Lena wrinkled her nose and stepped back from the dead creature to clean off her dagger and arm on the corpse's jacket, about the only thing that was still clean.

A slow clapping sounded from before her as a familiar vampire stepped out of the darkness. It was the Crone's Leech, as Lena had begun to think of him. As he got closer Lena noticed he had a strange look on his face. It took her a few seconds to realise he was actually trying to smile. It looked more like a grimace.

He stopped clapping and widened his smile, which made him look like his teeth were hurting or something. "You really do make killing vampires look easy."

At first Lena said nothing, sending heat into the concrete beneath their feet towards the vampire. He jumped away with a surprised noise. "If you don't stop trying to stalk me I'll show you what it's like, up close and personal."

* Ty smiled once again. Lena threatening him. Poor girl didn't seem to know how to be anything but threatening and hateful. Hopefully she would get over that. Besides, he didn't think she would find killing him nearly as easy as these young ones that were sent after her. She may have bested him earlier, in Elspeth's house, where he was relaxed and off guard, but now he knew to expect a possible attack from Lena and was quite sure he could hold his own against her.

Perhaps not defeat her, but she wouldn't kill him with ease. Ty kicked the mouldering corpse of the dead vampire lying near them. This one was quite young. He can't have been over 30 years old. Vampires didn't turn to bone or dust until they were at least 100 years old. Ty himself would likely explode into a pile of dust instantly.

That was something he wasn't keen on experiencing any time soon, no matter how much Elspeth glorified death and moving on to the next life. The vampire wasn't sure he would like the place he would move on to. Even if it were like Elspeth said, and people just moved on to new bodies. He would likely be reincarnated as a roach or something equally useless and stupid. Or perhaps a real leech.

Ty almost laughed at the prospect. He shook his head, shaking himself out of his inner monologue. "I'm not stalking you, Lena. I know how you hate vampires. Is it so wrong to have someone to talk to, though? No, I'm not volunteering to be your psychologist, if thats what you're thinking. I just want to talk to you without having my life threatened at every turn. Surely, there is a lot more to you than threats and violence. Miss Harman spoke to a Seer about you. She had some interesting things to say."

Ty put up his hand, hoping Lena wouldn't growl at him for this, since it wasn't his doing. "She insisted I come with her, I didn't ask to. I don't want to hurt you. I just want to know more about your past. Where do you come from? What made you the way you are? The Seer was in no condition to speak after her vision of you."

Ty glanced at his watch. It would be daylight soon. The sun didn't cause him to burst into flames as it did many younger vampires, but it was still uncomfortable to be caught out in. He didn't really want a bad sunburn. "Come with me. To my house. I won't try to feed from you, and if you're not comfortable there, then we can go to Miss Harman's. Perhaps, with your help, we can figure out why the vampires are so keen on attempting to murder you violently." The vampire didn't expect her to agree with him, but he had to try.

+ Go with him? What was he crazy?! As if she would! She didn't want anything to do with him, the old hag or anyone else for that matter. She just wanted to live her life. The only reason she didn't go back to the jungle was that she wanted to see more of the world than just the permanent twilight of the jungle floor. The Crone's Leech wanted to know about her still? Hadn't he found something else to catch his passing interest yet? She saw him look at his watch and couldn't help but sneer.

"What's the matter old man, don't want to work on your tan?" She briefly considered attacking him, then put that thought aside. He was stronger than that other idiot and could probably hold his own, at least in the dark. She wasn't sure what would happen to him in the sunlight, though it would probably prove to be amusing.

"As for the vampires you seem to have provided the old bag with the answer last time I was in her den, so there'd be no point in me going there even if I wanted to." She turned to walk away, taking a risk that he'd try to force her but she didn't think he would. Even if he did she was aware of his presence and concentrating on him so if he tried anything she'd know about it and be able to fight back. "Besides, I answered your questions weeks ago. If you were too stupid to ask any relevant questions then it's not my fault, or my problem."

Lena walked to the other end of the alleyway and casually merged with the human traffic there, keeping pace with them. I'll wait until after sunrise to go back to my apartment. That should keep the bloodsucker away from her door, for at least a bit longer anyway. No doubt he was greasing palms to discover where she worked, so it was probably just a matter of time before he found her living space…but there were ways and ways to discourage his presence in the building. Some of them were even potentially painful for him.

Zach stared. What…just what in hell just happened? The intense kid from the elevator, three weeks ago, was a security guard in his casino? Man, she kicks arse! And against three grown men who were at least twice her size! Zach realised his mind was going around in circles as Kero leaned over to make sure he was alright. He gave her a big grin and a nod as a sharp-featured and sinister-looking man in a security uniform sat at Kero's table in a huff.

She jumped and spoke to him quietly as Zach realised she was scared of him. Come to think of it…Kero had reacted in a similar way to Lena. He'd've thought she was skittish but for the fact that he'd seen her interact with other customers, some of them even meaner-looking than the red-haired man (What is this guy, a hippie? Dude, get a haircut!) and she hadn't batted an eyelid. He went back to dealing as the customers settled down and went back to their gambling. Only in Vegas could people see others threatened with their lives then go back to gambling in minutes. Hopefully he could catch Kero before she drove home after their shift.

Zach ran towards his car. Kero was parked a little closer and hopefully she hadn't left yet. He'd gotten caught up with security after his shift to make a report on what had happened before the fight broke out and now…He felt a surge of relief as he saw Kero just getting in her car.

"Kerowyn!" She jerked and looked around in surprise as he shouted to her. Something indecipherable passed across her face before she settled on the pleasantly polite face she always wore when he spoke to her. He briefly wondered why, he only wanted someone to hang out with, not like he wanted to date her. He put that aside for the moment as he finally got to her car, not even out of breath.

"Kerowyn, remember those guards that came to the fight? The girl from our building and the long-haired hippy? They haven't hurt you or anything have they? If they threaten you, just tell me and I'll set them straight for you okay?"

* Ty sighed. He knew she'd disagree. Sunrise was close. The vampire decided it was futile to pursue her any further tonight. He was likely only to get a "sun tan" as Lena had put it. Old man...Ty flinched. How dare she! He was old, yes, but he didn't look old. Ty sighed again, tiredly this time. It was time to feed quickly and get back to his home before sunrise before he fell into the coma-like sleep most vampires couldn't stave off during the day.

Ty could hold off the daylight "death" longer than most, but it would come eventually. He'd never had a full day in daylight. Perhaps when he was two thousand he'd get to watch daytime television. Ty shuddered at the though. Or perhaps that wasn't something to hope for. The infomercials he was forced to watch at 2am on the non-satellite channels numbed his mind enough, he didn't need soap operas too. Turning away from the traffic, and Lena's fading backside, he made his way out the other end of the alleyway. He glanced back at the not-quite-dust vampire corpse Lena had left in her wake.

It was decaying and smelled badly. It would likely attract the cops. While a decaying corpse wasn't out of the ordinary, he still didn't want a vampire body in the hands of mortal authorities. Steeling himself against the smell, Ty tore into the corpse, using his preternatural strength and speed to make mincemeat of it. He picked up the pieces and dropped them into a nearby dumpster. Anyone coming by would merely think it was the smell of rotting food or a dead animal in the garbage.

Now Ty really needed to get home. He wanted to take a shower before going to sleep. Still, there was the matter of feeding. His fangs were almost aching. He needed to feed every day, otherwise the end result was a very painful bloodlust. Painful for both Ty and his victim. He picked a homeless man that smelled strongly of alcohol. The man was passed out, so it was very easy to drag him into the shadows and sink his fangs into the pulse at his neck. The blood had a slight taste of mortal whiskey, but it did much to ease his hunger. He was tempted to kill the man, but the approaching sunrise rushed him to finish as soon as he was full and satisfied, and the relief of the bloodlust put him in a good mood.

Dropping the unconscious drunk, Ty stuffed a few hundred dollar bills in the old drunk's front pocket. He would likely use it to buy more whiskey, but what did Ty care. He was feeling good enough right now to at least pay the man for his unintentional blood donation. He pulled out his cell and dialed one of his chauffeurs. The servants and others he employed were either younger vampires looking for a way to make money or bored witches and shifters.

This one was a witch, since his vampire chauffeurs were asleep by now. His witch driver arrived quickly, since Ty only lived about 5 miles away. Despite his recent feeding, he was beginning to feel groggy and weak. He stumbled into the vehicle and lay back against the seat with his eyes closed. A burning sensation made him open his eyes. Dawn. The sun was rising over the horizon. Ty stared at it for a while, even though it made his eyes water. Sunrise was always beautiful, no matter how painful.

The driver came around and opened his door, peering concernedly at the vampire. "Sir? Are you okay? Do you need help making it inside?" Ty waved the witch away. "No, Tobias, I'm fine. You can take the car, park it, and go home. I'll be sleeping until dusk, or well past." With some effort, he made it inside to his windowless bedroom and collapsed onto his bed, instantly falling into a corpselike state.

**The bird was shocked. Was this young man offering to...protect her? What the hell? No one had offered to protect her in her entire life, except her parents, who were dead, and Gran Harman, who was Thea's grandmother, not hers. Especially not a human. A human protecting a shifter, even an avian shifter, was ludicrous. He was nice, though, and handsome. She couldn't just blow him off.

"Uhm, thanks, sir, but I'll be fine. They didn't hurt me or anything. And the long-haired guy is kind of a friend." Kero inwardly winced at calling the vampire friend. "He was just asking if I was okay after that tussle. I'm fine, really, and I'll be fine. Goodbye. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow."

She smiled at him, hoping desperately she didn't offend him, and got in her car. She'd had the crappy overnight shift tonight. The sun was rising over the buildings steadily. Kero left out a sigh of relief. No vampires would be out. It was too early...or was it late...for them. The avian shifter drove home feeling almost at peace and not at all tired. Perhaps she would go for a flight when she got back to her apartment.

Pulling into the parking lot of the building, she almost felt cheerful. It was odd, having someone offer to protect you. Odd, and...nice. She jerked as she almost bumped into a familiar figure. It was the blonde witch from earlier. Kero's peaceful feeling faded. This man left her with a sinister feeling. There was something not-quite-nice about him. He grinned at her, in a wicked kind of way, and pushed past her. Kero jerked as the male witch laid a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"Be careful, little bird. There are things in this apartment building that you don't want to draw the attention of."

Kero lipped her lips nervously. "L-like what, s-sir? I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." The male witch simply gave her another wicked grin, waved sardonically, and walked away, sliding into a nearby dark limo.

Kero shuddered, her heart pounding. Was that a threat or a warning? The witch had never harmed her, and she'd never felt any danger at all from the people in her apartment building. Except Lena, but Kero didn't think Lena would hurt her anymore. That didn't stop her being afraid of her, though. Kero shook herself from the trance she'd been in, and walked into her building.

She took the elevator up to her floor and entered her apartment. She checked her answering machine and almost smashed it. Fifteen messages. She could guess who they were from. Kero had no desire to talk to Thea or to hear her shrill voice right now. She flopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. The phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. Thea again. She picked up the phone and immediately hung up.

+ Zach stared at Kero's car as she drove away. He couldn't shake the niggling feeling that she was hiding something from him, and not just about the long-haired guy, but at least she seemed okay. Still a little shaken up, but okay. "Some friend," he muttered, as he made his way over to his own car. It wasn't until he was sitting in the driver's seat that it hit him.

"Wait! She's still calling me 'sir'!" Making a comical face as he ran his hands through his hair he wondered if Kero would ever just call him by his name. Zach wasn't exactly one to stand on formality after all.

Elspeth brewed tea as she waited for her other guests to arrive. From what Ty had told her he'd managed to get a job at the same casino Lena was a security guard in. It also happened to be the same casino Kero worked in. Elspeth wondered if it was a coincidence or not. From what she could gather Lena also lived in the same building as Kero too, but Elspeth thought that the other girl had been as unhappy about that as Kero was so it was unlikely that Lena had done this deliberately. She glanced out to the living area to see Thea trying to get Kero to talk…without much luck. Apparently Kero was still fuming over Thea getting them both into trouble with Elspeth…goodness, that was almost a month ago now, wasn't it? How time moves quickly. Elspeth had forgiven the avian, mainly because she felt that she should have taken Kero into confidence far sooner.

"Thea! Come over here and finish getting out the cakes and biscuits. I don't want our guests to feel as though we are neglecting them!" Her granddaughter jumped as she barked orders at the young witch. If only she would apply her brain a little more by thinking before she acts on every little impulse or whim that flutters through her mind. Elspeth watched as Thea did as she was told, "Thea, the person coming here tonight is revered as a shifter Elder. You will not say anything to them unless you are first spoken to, understand me?"

"Yes, Gran." Satisfied her wayward apprentice was thoroughly cowed into submission (for now) Elspeth turned back to Kero.

"I hope you don't mind, dear, but I invited Ty again too. I realise you don't like him, in honesty I don't either, but he may have knowledge that can help us." A knock sounded from the stairs. "That will be him now." Elspeth went to greet the vampire and let him in. As she guided him back to the living area he brought her up to date on his progress in getting Lena to talk to him…or not.

"She doesn't seem to know how to be anything other than threatening and hateful." Elspeth heard another knock. "Please make yourselves comfortable. I'll go let our guest in."

"There's no need, Lady Harman." The person who said this spoke in a deep bass rumble, that sounded as if it came from somewhere around the speaker's navel. Elspeth turned, shocked to see a surprisingly young shifter standing in the doorway to the living room. "I hope you don't mind us letting ourselves in, your door was unlocked." From Kero's expression, this young thing was a predatory shifter. He was tall, taller than Ty, with mahogany-coloured skin, dark brown hair and coffee-coloured eyes.

"Our kind are not generally in the habit of associating with vampires, especially of late. However this is your home, Lady Harman, and I understand that this particular vampire actually saved the life of one of my clansmen." Elspeth was beginning to wonder if this young man was the Elder when a cracked and aged voice carried across the room from behind him.

"Indeed." The first shifter stepped aside from the doorway to reveal two others, a female of medium height with short red hair and pretty grey eyes whose arm was in the grip of what could only be called an ancient man. At least, Elspeth thought it was a man. Whoever it was, he…she…they looked as old as the Pharaohs. The first shifter to have entered the room introduced the newcomer.

"Lady Harman, may I present to you Elder Samuel." At least now she knew what sex the elder was. His leathery, age-spotted skin was so wrinkled it looked like he had wrinkles on his wrinkles. Once upon a time she thought he probably would have been quite tall, but age had hunched him over. He smiled in her direction and she realised his eyes were almost as white as his hair. She'd never seen a blind shifter before.

She waited while the female guided Elder Samuel over to an armchair and helped him to sit. From Kero's expression the girl was unlikely to be a predator. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the male take up a position by the door. Assistant and bodyguard. Interesting…although when she thought about it, it made sense, what with all the vampire attacks on shifters recently.

"Now, then young lady, what is it you, a powerful witch, wishes to hear from a humble T'sa'hy Elder like me?"

Elspeth wondered how she should word her request, she felt she needed to be discreet, but at the same time she really had no idea of what would or would not offend the shifter elder. She really didn't have much to do with them after all. She briefly wondered why he had called her a 'young lady'.

"Recently a young shifter woman was injured in a vampire attack," she decided to begin with setting the scene for Lena. "She killed her attacker but was wounded and brought to me for healing." She paused as the Elder waited patiently. "I have not had much to do with your people over my lifetime and generally that has been limited to healings but Lena…Lena seems to be entirely different to any other shifters I have ever come across."

"'Lena'…I do not recognise this name." Both of Samuel's companions shook their heads as well. Elspeth guessed this meant that they didn't know her either.

"I didn't expect you would, she only came to Vegas recently, and from what Ty has told me, barely associates with anyone, far less her own kind. Indeed, she seems to hold a special hatred for shifters." Samuel's bushy white eyebrows rose at this.

"Does she now? I have never heard of one T'sa'hy hating all others. Please, continue."

"I…have an interest in the girl. It saddens me to see one so young already so embittered to the world. I was hoping that you could explain to me some of your people's history, where the different families come from, so that perhaps we could figure out what has happened to Lena, and perhaps show her that she can love the world as well as hate it."

Samuel bowed his head as he thought about Elspeth's explanation. "So it would seem, so it would seem. It also occurs to me that perhaps a meeting such as this should have occurred some time ago. Perhaps the information we have would enable you to find those whom you seek, faster." He turned his head towards Thea. "Young one, you have a question. Your desire to know the answer to this question makes you quiver. Ask."

"Well, Elder Samuel, I just wanted to know what 'saw-hah' meant. I've never heard that word before."

He smiled at her. "That is one of our own tongue, child. 'T'sa'hy are what your people name 'shapeshifter'. My people." He gave her another gentle smile before turning to Kero. "And you, child, need not fear my companions. Neither of them would ever harm you. Not here, nor in the street should you meet. It has been a long time since T'sa'hy clans fought each other…but I digress. Lady Elspeth, the history of each of the different clans is highly variable and probably not helpful to you. The only ones you could tell you about Lena's clan are they. However I can give you…how would you say it, an 'overview' of our bloodlines and how we came to where we are today."

Elspeth nodded, forgetting he couldn't see the action, "I believe that would be most helpful, if you would."

The old man sat back in his chair "So much that could be told…where and how to begin is perhaps the hardest part. Very well. Did you know that T'sa'hy have a potential lifespan of almost 300 years?"

He simply nodded as his listeners inhaled in surprise. "I did not think that you would realise this. I myself have recently celebrated living 250 years, but the average life expectancy of my people is less than a fifth of what I have attained. Many of the premature deaths are due to vampire attacks." None of the three visiting shifters so much as glanced at Ty. "A few are due to witches, from the Dark Coven."

The silence was beginning to drag out when the old man shook himself out of his reverie again. "In this day, there are two common types of T'sa'hy. Those of the Royal Houses and those who are not, and many of the Royal Houses appear to be dwindling. Our own researches have determined that both of these are all descended from what is known as the 'Old Royal Bloodlines'." If he noticed Elspeth, Thea, Kero and Ty sit up at this he paid no attention to it.

"There is not much known about these bloodlines but we believe that they too were all originally from one family which eventually spread out across the globe and over time diversified to better adapt to their environments. There were seven of these Old Royals in the beginning."

Samuel looked over at Kero, and smiled, "Ask, my child."

"Um…why seven?"

It was the male shifter, still over by the doorway who answered her, in a voice almost as soft as her own had been. "Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America."

Samuel nodded. "Nicholas is correct. There was one family on each of the continents. Now, however…" he sighed. "How and why those bloodlines ceased to exist, for the most part, is not clear. Some of our scholars believe that the families interbred with other races, humans and witches, and the bloodlines were watered down somewhat, others say the witches had a far more active role in their downfall through magical means; another theory is that they were hunted by vampires." He nodded in Ty's direction again.

"Whatever the case of those seven, we believe that only two remain; in the depths of Africa and Asia, far from modern society, living the same way they did thousands of years ago." He paused again and sniffed the air.

"I can smell the scent of excitement in the air. You think this child is from one of the old bloodlines?"
"Isn't it possible?" Elspeth could barely contain herself, "if, that is, you think the South American bloodline survived?"

Samuel frowned as he thought. "I suppose it is possible that they did, however the Spanish were rather thorough in their extermination of families held as royal in South America…we sent word to the South American kings that should they need to evacuate we would help them resettle in what is now the US…but no one ever came. As I recall that bloodline was perhaps the most stubborn of them all…"

The pretty red-headed shifter spoke for the first time in a light, musical voice "Great-father, the Brazilian Government has a policy of sending out search parties to make contact with stone-age tribes in the Amazon. It wasn't all that long ago that there was another one discovered. If they made their way deep into the jungle perhaps the Spanish didn't find them, maybe they survived?"

* The old shifter's words rang in Kero's ears over and over again. Ancient bloodlines, surviving to the current day. That might explain why Lena could transform into a mythical beast. Or a real beast, as she claimed it was. Kero was still pissed at Thea for getting her in trouble, though Elspeth seemed to be not nearly as angry at her as before. Perhaps she should make up with Thea. The old shifters had left, and Kero's shyness caused her to lose out on another opportunity.

She had wanted to ask if it was possible to transform into prehistoric versions of her avian form. She was mentally kicking herself. The vampire had caused part of her inability to speak much, if at all. She couldn't remember much of what she had done. Only the conversation between Elspeth and the other shifters. She lay back in the bed of Elspeth's guestroom. The witch had told her to stay the night again. This was becoming as much her home lately as her own apartment.

She heard Elspeth and the vampire talking downstairs. She turned over and smashed a pillow in her ears, attempting to go to sleep and ignore them. Her sensitive shifter ears, however, let her down. They were discussing Lena again, and what had transpired earlier. Kero shoved the pillow against her ears even harder. The poor pillow nearly busted. She closed her eyes, thinking of Zach, and how he had seemed to want to be her friend.

Ty rubbed his eyes wearily. Sunrise was still a few hours away, but tonight's business had been tiring. Being in a room full of ancient, powerful shifters had really tested his control. So Lena was possible from an old royal bloodline. That raised as many questions as it had answered.

"Elspeth, if she is indeed one of the ancient bloodlines, can she shift into anything, not just cats? And does this make her more or less likely to be one of the wild powers?" Elspeth shrugged. "It does not make her more or less likely. But yes, I believe it does mean she is capable of becoming any animal. I wonder if she knows...probably not. If she did, why didn't she say anything? Most of the royal house knows of their abilities, but if she was raised without knowing her heritage...perhaps that explains it."

The vampire nodded. "That makes sense. I tried getting her to come back here, to answer more questions, but she declined. Of course, I didn't expect her to agree with a vampire. Perhaps you would have better luck, Miss Harman."

The witch sighed. "I don't think so. I did her a favor, but she paid me, and then some. I don't think we can expect much more out of her."

The vampire sighed. As he expected. Even Elspeth would have a hard time getting any more information out of her. "Thank you Miss Harman. Sorry for intruding on your home for so long. I know you only barely tolerate my presence." He flashed a little fang in a small smile. "I'll go home, grease a few palms, find out what I can dig up about her past. She has to have some kind of record, even if she wasn't born in the US."

The vampire turned, and walked out and to his car. Elspeth sighed. She put up with the leech far more than she should. But he was very good at what he did. He was very wealthy, and could usually bribe just about anyone for information. If not with money, then with threats to drain their blood and leave them for dead. The witch didn't like vampires at all, and Ty was very amoral at times, but he was probably the best vampire she'd met. By best, she meant nicest, which was saying something, because Ty wasn't exactly nice. Elspeth wished Lena had left her a phone number. She wished to call the girl and let her know what she had found out about her possible bloodline.

+ Lena plotted ways to make her building vampire proof, but had to eventually settle for making it vampire deterrent instead. Most of her best ways to discourage vampires would likely kill the human inhabitants, and while she didn't really care for them one way or another, it would cause her trouble. Her apartment was thoroughly rigged, naturally, especially around the windows and balcony doors.

The rooms she used were not as well done, but she'd rather expect them to come in through entrances other than the main door so that wasn't so much of a problem. To cause them the most discomfort, however, she spent most of the rest of her cash on UV lights, working on the theory that it was the UV component of sunlight that really caused vampires to spontaneously combust. She didn't install any of these lights in the lobby, but she did put them in the lifts, emergency stairs, her own apartment, and the halls of several floors, including her own. At the very least these lights should make a vampire extremely uncomfortable and even take the edge of his or her abilities.

She put in the last light and pondered her next move. Being "injured" as she was the casino wouldn't let her work more than two shifts a week, and the other one wasn't for a couple of days yet. I wonder if this city has any bounties around? It's certainly big enough for at least a couple, even if they're small fry. If there were no human ones she could always search out preternatural ones, they were always more fun too. More of a challenge. Decision made she grabbed her pack and went down to the lobby, passing a tall blond witch at the elevator.

As she flipped through the phone book by the pay phone she watched him from the corner of her eye. There was something about him…something dark that told her to watch him carefully. She memorised his scent, just in case, as she finally found the entry she was looking for. Most big cities had bars, nightclubs or simple coffee shops that catered almost exclusively to bounty hunters and Vegas was no different, having at least one of each. You couldn't get in unless you were a licensed hunter, or with one, and they contained up-to-date information on all the latest bounties for the area, and you could get info on bounties from other areas too. Lena decided today would be a good day as she stepped out into the sunshine. She was fit, healthy; there was money to be made and not a bloodsucker in sight.

The hired private detective slid a dismally thin folder across the table of the coffee shop to his client…or rather, his client's representative. Not that it mattered. He was being paid, and paid damn well for his time on this case. Too well really for the anorexic manila folder that sat between them. The other man looked at it in disdain. "Is this it?"

The detective just sighed, knowing that that comment had been coming. "Honestly, bub, I was hoping for more too. Everything I could find is in there, and most of it's from the last three, almost four, years, and even that's a little scarce. The rest is rumour, hearsay, and raving lunatics."

Ty's witch employee raised an eyebrow at this. This detective was well-known to be one of the best in the business who had resources all over the world. Of course he wasn't the only one who had been hired, but… "Please give me an overview of what you found."

The detective sat back, "well, it's all in there, but you're paying so why not? I started with the information I could get from Customs and Immigration from three years back when she first appeared on the US grid. Just wandered out of the bush with only what she stood up in and demanded to take the tests for US citizenship, a bike license and bounty hunter's certification all in one breath. From what I could gather they let her do it because they thought it would be amusing. Been a slow week and all that. Much to their chagrin she passed all three with flying colours, despite having apparently no formal education at all."

He took the folder back and flipped through a few pages before finding what he wanted and sliding the open document back so his companion could see it. It was a map of the US with about a dozen or so marks on it, most in the lower South-Eastern corner. "As you can see, Vegas is about as far north as she's ever been recorded. Lives off-grid. Paid a power bill here, her licenses here, turned in bounties here, here and here, was witness to an assault there, and so on." As he listed off where Lena had popped up over the years he pointed out the relevant areas before turning the page. Now they could see a map of South America.

There were four marks.

"As you can see, before she came to the US she lived even further off the grid. I got a contact down that way to trawl through records of births. Apparently 'Lena' isn't a very common name, and none of the babies listed in the years that would fit the age range of this girl match. Most are accounted for and the rest have brown eyes." He leaned back to take a sip of coffee before continuing.

"Now, this is where it gets interesting. There are absolutely no official records of any kids matching her description, that I could find, anywhere in South America. The first unofficial sighting was 17 years ago in the municipality of Fonte Boa, Brazil." Again, he tapped the relevant mark on the map.

"This place is out in the middle of nowhere but there's this local legend, kind of a local Jungle Book if you will, a story of a little wild girl who was raised by wild animals, in this case some sort of local Bigfoot or Loch Ness monster called a Rapa. Apparently this critter is a giant black cat, bigger than a horse and is unparalleled in its ferocity. What makes it all really interesting though is that the age of the kid matches Lena, or what she would have been at the time, and this kid had one eye green and one eye yellow." He noticed his audience stiffen as a smirk crossed his face.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies. I never reveal a source. Reveal one source, and you blow the lot." Not that the witch was going to ask that…this was something that none of the other hired detectives had found, this was new information.

"Anyway, I have to admit I got pretty excited at finding anything, even if it was hearsay. Next sighting was in Mitu, in Colombia, about five years after the Fonte Boa sighting. Apparently she stalked some traders travelling into the town for several days through their journey…After they'd finished in town and were heading back the way they came they disappeared and were never seen or heard of again. About another eight years passed before she was seen again after that, this time in Peru in the 'Zona Revervada Pucacuro' by some park rangers. They tried to find her again but she wasn't seen again until 18 months later when she crossed the Panama Canal, heading north apparently because the next thing we knew, she was on our doorstep, taking our citizenship test."

The detective sat back and drummed his fingers on the table. Clearly he was having some form of internal debate. Eventually he decided to tell the story anyway.

"There's also a story in there from a guy who swears she's dead and that he and his gang killed her seven years ago."

The witch just raised his eyebrows. "Yeah I know. This guy swears that she was a part of their gang of bandits from when she wandered into their camp as a four year old until she was thirteen and they riddled her with bullets to…" he searched his memory for the right quote, "…'rid them of a potential problem'. Basically this gang of bloodthirsty bandits was so scared of a pre-pubescent girl that they riddled her with bullets as their way of ending their relationship with them, before she could turn on them. Then they left her in the jungle to rot…"

The detective paused, eventually the witch prompted him, "however…?"

"Yeah, 'however', less than a week later he claims that she turned up in their new camp, back from the dead and pissed as hell. Apparently she took the old 'hell hath no fury' thing to a whole new level and slaughtered the entire lot of them with her bare hands. Our man got out reasonably lightly and played dead until she'd left, well she was chasing a few of the smarter ones who'd run away at first sight of her, but whatever, he lived, staggered into the nearest village rambling about demon children…he's now in a funny farm in Cuzco. I got a contact of mine, one of the orderlies there, to show him a picture of her and he apparently went absolutely loco…I put that in my report too, but I can't verify how true it is or not."

The witch glanced at his watch. It was getting quite late in the afternoon, so he thanked the detective, wrote out a check, adding a couple of zeroes as a bonus for actually getting some information from outside the US, and left to go report to his master.

* Ty woke with the sun dipping below the horizon. He caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye once he pulled back the thick curtains on his bed. Vampires, for the most part, had internal clocks and could tell when daylight came and went. Sometimes they lost track of time, though, and got caught out in it. Resulting in becoming a pile of flames for younger vampires and a painful sunburn for elder vampires.

Ty was able to awaken earlier than the younger ones were; they usually slept until well past dusk. The remaining bit of sun he could feel through the small slit in between the curtains of the window caused him to flinch slightly. It seared his eyes, almost bringing them to tears. He closed the curtain completely, but still felt the remaining sunlight in the form of a sluggish feeling. His witch employee was hopefully back by now.

The private detective Ty hired was supposedly very good and dug deep. Of course, he should, as Ty was paying very well for any information about Lena before she came to the US. After dressing and making sure he looked presentable (his long, lovely hair wasn't easy to tame), he went downstairs to where his witch employee was sitting on the couch, patiently waiting for his master. The witch stood up, bowed to Ty, and sat back down.

"Master, the detective managed to dig up a lot more than the other ones had. This one actually-" Ty cut him off with a handwave. "Just give me the report, if you please." The witch handed Ty the report wordlessly.

His master could be a bit nasty at times, but the witch was getting paid well for it. Ty perused the information within, a little disappointed. He'd hoped for more. Still, this was a lot more than anyone but Lena herself knew. Except perhaps the Seer, who refused to speak of her vision. Ty wondered if a little quality time with her might convince her that sharing is good. He ran his tongue over his fangs, which had extended at the though of feeding from a witch.

Nah. He couldn't drink from Alania. Elspeth would likely kill him. And knowing her, she could manage it. She was the most powerful witch currently in the States. Except perhaps Melania, who had been keeping quiet lately. Ty dismissed the witch, promising him a bonus on his next paycheck, and went back to reading the file. He sat down on the vacated sofa. Poor girl, if this older stuff really is about her. She's so young. Must have had to grow up quickly, out there in the jungle. Ty sighed. The report even mentioned the Rapa, beasts Lena claimed were real, just undiscovered by humans and most of the Night World. He would have to take this to Elspeth. He wasn't sure she would like him digging into Lena's past like this, but she would likely welcome the information.

** Kerowyn moaned slightly as she got out of bed. Her alarm hadn't gone off, but her body was so accustomed to the strange hours by now that it didn't matter. She had forgiven Thea, and they were on talking terms again, though Kero almost regretted it at once. She was back in her own apartment, but Thea kept calling her and asking her to just stay with them until the threat to shifters was eliminated. The avian thought the threat was gone, or at least held back by Elspeth's protective spells.

Thea had insisted on her granny coming and placing even more powerful wards on Kero's doors and windows, especially the windows, given Kero's habit of leaving them open at all times, even in the heat. While she appreciated the protection, she felt it unnecessary. She hadn't seen the dark witch in awhile, nor had she seen Lena or the vampire. She'd seen the large man, Zach, around, but she'd managed to escape him with mumbled "hi"s and go about her business. He was only trying to be her friend, but Night People didn't befriend humans.

She was pretty sure there was a law against that. Either way, she knew she had to get to work. Kero glanced at the clock while dressing for work. Once dressed, she grabbed a bran muffin and headed out the door eating it. The elevator ride and the walk to her car turned out to be uneventful, thankfully. A short drive later, she was back at the casino.

Working the night shift again. Kero groaned and banged her head on the short, overhead lamp above her card table. She flinched, glad she was a shifter for the moment. If she hadn't been, that'd have left a nasty knot. She glanced around for Zach, but didn't see him yet. Either he'd worked the day shift, was off, or hadn't arrived yet. Kero heaved a sigh of relief. At least she had a bit of time to herself. One of her regulars plopped down at her table. Things were indeed looking better. She expected no trouble from this man, as he came to her table every time she worked the night shift and was nothing but polite. She dealt his cards, and started working.

+ Lena walked along the dark street, as close to happy as she ever got, 12 vampire fangs quietly clinking away in her pocket. Someone high up in the shifter community had put a bounty on vampires which were attacking other shifters, so she'd taken it upon herself to act as her own bait to collect the bounty. For some reason no one was all to sure of, if you could cut out the vamp's fangs before you finished him off, they didn't decompose like the rest of the body. Weird, but who cared?

They were currently worth $500 each (or rather, $1000 per vamp) to the right people. A discreet symbol carved into the window pane of a nearby coffee bar caught her eye. Just what she'd been searching for. To those who didn't know, it was merely decoration, especially as it was a repeated motif, to those who did know, and it was one of the better-kept shifter secrets, it symbolised a place where shifters could turn in bounties on other preternaturals…specifically, vampires.

She crossed the street and stepped inside. It was relatively well-lit and filled with shifters, with a smattering of human thugs. Lena dismissed them all with a glance. No one here could kill her. Some would be able to wound her, and she them, but most couldn't kill her. Then again, she likely couldn't kill those few either so it didn't matter much. She sat on an isolated stool near the end of the bar and caught the bartender's eye. Thankfully not a human she murmured her purpose to him as he gave her a cup of bitter black coffee. He nodded and put a note in the dumbwaiter and sent it upstairs as she made a show of drinking the disgusting drink before her.

How could anyone drink this crap anyway? How anyone could like it even was completely beyond Lena. Twenty minutes and a much better drink (scotch) later Lena noted the tall shifter enter the shop and get directed to her with a nod from the bartender. She figured the other shifter was only about her age.

"How many do you have?" Lena was astonished at how deep his voice was. Where the hell did it come from, his boots? Not that it mattered.

"Six pairs." Nicholas twitched in astonishment.

"There were six out tonight?"

"Six that could find me anyway." He nodded, realising Lena used herself as bait, a practically fool-proof, though risky, tactic. He stood and moved back to one of the booths in the far corner, the one that didn't have a working light so the humans couldn't see what was going on. Lena followed and dumped her handful of fangs onto the table. "They were all young and stupid. I doubt they were much over 30 or 40." Nicholas checked the number of canines and placed several bundles of cash on the table. As Lena weighed them in her hands he spoke again.

"Since Mikael of the Redfern was destroyed they haven't been sending out the older ones. I assume the younger ones are going off half-cocked on their own initiative."

Lena just shrugged, "makes it easy money for me then. Damn bloodsuckers owe me for the hole they put in my shoulder." If the other shifter was surprised by this he didn't show it as Lena turned to walk away. Her quiet voice drifted back to him, "pleasure doing business with you, as always."

Zach watched from the bench as his new baseball team practised. He'd played years ago, but had given it up since there wasn't one where he'd lived last. Only trouble was they needed one more player before they'd be let into the city amateur baseball tournament. Sighing he wondered who he could ask. He'd thought about asking Kerowyn, but his mum had told him to back off and give the poor girl a bit of room. Trouble was, he simply didn't know anyone else…except her.

He'd happened to glance up as Lena was walking by. He hadn't seen her for a few days; apparently she still wasn't allowed to work at the casino full-time yet. He got up and raced out of the field, chasing after her. It was worth a shot. He caught up to her and grabbed her hand, spinning her around…and nearly jumped back. Damn, that's one hella pissed off face! but he stood his ground.

"Lena, there's something I need you for, come with me." Not giving her time to reply he began to tug her back the way they'd come, towards his teammates.

Lena nearly tore his arm out of his socket. This jerk again?! Seemed like he'd been trying to ambush her recently. Whatever happened to him stalking the damn bird instead?! The only thing that stopped her from seriously damaging him was that it was physically impossible…if she was human anyway. Plus, she was a little unnerved by the fact she hadn't managed to scare him off yet, though she hated to admit it. What was he, an idiot?

Or just plain stupid? If he was either of those he'd taken it to a whole new level, because even imbeciles knew better than to cross her. He led her back to the field she'd passed earlier, and the other humans gathered around them…or rather gathered around Zach. At least these humans knew better than to get close to her. Zach did a round of introductions, but Lena didn't bother to remember any names. Was anyone going to tell her what the hell was going on? Apparently not, because they all just started talking tactics within their game and wondering who they were going to play first. Lena had enough.

"Is someone here going to tell me just what the hell is going on?" Everyone except Zach took two steps back at her tone. He just gave her another one of his stupid grins.

"We needed another player." One of Lena's eyebrows rose and Zach hurried to explain, suddenly remembering the brawl Lena had broken up at the casino. "Every team needs a certain amount of active players and three reserves. One of our reserves moved away and I was just wondering who to ask when you walked by." That damned irritating grin again. Bloody idiot.

However…this did give her an opportunity of sorts. I can't believe I'm going to agree to this idiocy, even if it will be an advantage in the long run. "Fine." The thousand-watt grin on Zach's face broadened, though she was certain that hadn't been possible. "With one condition." The grin didn't waver. "When this is done, you will never again touch me, speak to me or even look at me, do I make myself clear?" This time his grin did fade a little.

Damn, Zach thought. If I agree to her condition I'll never be able to make myself her friend, but if I don't we'll never get to play a real game! While Zach agonised over his decision the team captain apparently decided that was a pretty good deal, and agreed, beginning to tell Lena what she would have to do. Didn't amount to much, just sit on the bench and fill in the gap. If they had too many injuries she'd have to fill in a spot in the batting order or on the field. He watched as Lena shrugged. "You'll just have to make sure you don't have any injuries then, wont you? I have never played this game before in my life." Zach read between the lines, hearing her unspoken words. 'I have never played this or any other game before in my life.'

* After having investigated Lena's apartment building and found that she had been painfully prepared for such a course of action, Ty decided to go to Elspeth. He had wanted to confront Lena first about the information, mostly just to see if it were true, but the UV lights had burned and weakened him so much that he really didn't want to see what other traps she had in store for vampires, so he left before finding her apartment. Elspeth may have some way of contacting Lena. If not, she could most certainly contact the bird girl, whom Lena worked with occasionally.

It would take a lot of persuasion from Elspeth, but Ty was sure Kero would agree to talk to Lena. Both of them seemed rather lonely, even if Lena didn't show it. "Sir? Where to now? You've been sitting there staring into space for about 10 minutes now." His witch driver was giving him a concerned look.

"Ah, to Miss Harman's. You know the way. Could you also call her and let her know I'm coming? In case she has any guests that don't approve of the presence of such as I. I don't want to walk in and immediately be attacked or shot at or whatever." The witch nodded, and made the phone call.

"Mistress Harman is currently in a meeting with the Seer and two other members of her Circle. She said that none of them are opposed to you visiting, as long as you don't mind their presence. Whatever that means, sir."

Ty sighed. He knew what it meant. He'd not liked his last visit with the young Seer girl. He didn't like going away from a place angry, but she had made him quite angry. The old witch would still want this information, no matter how uncomfortable the vampire would be. And perhaps Alania would be more persuasive now that she'd had time to adjust to her obviously painful vision.

"Take me to her, and make it quick. Just thinking about that snotty little Seer brat pisses me off." The driver gulped, slightly frightened at his master's anger, and puzzled. He knew Alania, and while she was certainly spooky at times, she'd never make someone mad on purpose. She was far too gentle for that.

The driver did as he was told and made his way to Elspeth's shop, breaking about 12 traffic laws at the same time. Ty was surprised by Toby's speed. He'd actually listened. As soon as the car stopped, he opened the door and got out, not waiting for the driver to open it for him. Toby got out too. "Master? May I come inside with you? Alania is a childhood friend. I...kinda wanted to say hi."

Ty almost laughed. His subservient little driver Toby had known that strange, frightening girl as a child? "Fine, but don't interfere."

Ty went in the backdoor of the shop and slowly went up the steps. Yes, Elspeth and other witches were having some sort of meeting. Likely, they didn't hear him approach but could feel his presence.

"Master Ty? Do come in. Lurking at the top of the steps like that will not endear you to anyone." The Crone's voice, as suspected. The old witch was VERY perceptive.

"Miss Harman, I have some information concerning Lena that you might be interested in." He held up his hand to stave off protests. "Yes, I did obtain this information by greasing the right palms here and there, some of it most certainly not legal, but I did not harm anyone or anything. As for the people I employed..." Ty shrugged. "I honestly have no idea HOW they got the information nor do I care. I only care that they got it."

Alania tightened her lips and gave him a stern look, but said nothing. Elspeth sighed resignedly. The other two witches in the room were still glaring at him with suspicion. They obviously disliked vampires, but not enough to disagree to his presence.

The man spoke. "Well, bloodsucker, does this have anything to do with the prophecy?" Elspeth turned and glared at the man. "Now, now, Creon. The vampire comes to us with information on an oddity, not a prophecy. Lena is a girl I had here for a short time. She healed swiftly, was able to transform into unusual beasts, and had low-ranked firemagic."

Alania moaned slightly and shook her head. "Vampire, the information, if it is about her past, please leave it be! Let the past be in the past! It really is none of your business. While it may answer your questions, it may frighten you, what you find. All of you. I warn you." The Seer pulled her knees up to her chest and shook, trying not to remember the painful vision that had burned into her consciousness.

Ty's driver, Toby, stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. While not actually being able to physically see, she reached up and grasped Toby's hand. Ty relaxed. His driver seemed to bring the Seer comfort, at least that was one point in his favor. The old witch held out her hand to the envelope Ty was holding.

"Let me see it, Master Ty. As painful or frightening as it may be, it is pertinent. I myself am interested in her magic, and her ability to transform into beasts out of mythology, even though she claims they are quite real." Ty handed it over to the Crone. She opened it and paged through it quickly. "There isn't much here. It won't take me long to read it. Give me a few moments, please." Ty sat down on a nearby loveseat, one not occupied by any witch, and waited for her to read through it.

+ It didn't take Elspeth very long to scan the documents Ty had brought with him. I never truly realised what she meant when she said she'd never truly been a child. Perhaps now I know some fraction of her meaning. She stared at the page which showed the map of South America and thought of the mysterious you woman who had triggered this search. An oddity, for sure, even if for only piquing the interest of an ancient being like the vampire Ty. Elspeth had never known him to show such interest in anything before, far less a shifter, outside of a meal, of course. Elspeth frowned at the approximate dates and ages Lena would have been at those times. She was about 20…something stirred in the depths of her memory and she turned to Creon.

"How long ago was it, Creon…that the witch Michael Newkirk disappeared?" Her companion frowned in thought.

"I'd say…a little over twenty years ago now. Why?" Elspeth glanced at him "Why are you asking about him after all these years?" Wordlessly Elspeth handed the file over and wondered if Creon would make the same connection she had. Over on the loveseat Ty fidgeted. Creon finished reading the file even faster than Elspeth had and looked up, a little pale.

"Elspeth, you don't think that maybe…" In the corner, Ty coughed quietly as the fourth witch in the room, silent until that moment, spoke up.

"Lady Elspeth…who or what is Michael Newkirk?" Elspeth inclined her head towards the younger witch for a moment.

"Yes, you probably are too young to remember him…" She heaved a sigh, wondering how she should tell the story. "Mike was at first thought to be nothing more than a low-ranked magician. His skills in all the most basic of witchcraft were of a beginner's level at best. When he came to America from England no one here could understand how he'd gained certification as a witch…in reality though, he was actually a prodigy. He was the strongest fire-witch anyone had ever seen, before, or since. The man could do things with fire and heat that should have been simply impossible, and is impossible, even for myself, or my Dark Coven counterpart."

Silence filled the room, until Ty's current driver spoke up. Elspeth thought his name was Toby. "Excuse me, but…'was'?"

This time it was Creon who took up the story. "He disappeared without a trace, just over twenty years ago."

Elspeth looked across the room, meeting Ty's eyes and her suspicions became clear with her next words, "disappeared without a trace…in South America."

++ Lena watched the game from her seat on the bench. This was their first night-game and third that they'd played since she'd been…"recruited". For some reason she'd been delegated to day shift at the casino, and they were finally letting her work two shifts a week. Between that and her hunting she'd managed to more than recoup the losses she'd suffered from medical bills and refitting UV lights in her building. As a bonus she actually received a small amount of pocket money for just sitting here on this bench for these idiotic humans.

A cry of pain interrupted her half-doze and she glanced up. Another player had been injured. Her side was batting, and they were dropping like flies. Something about the opposing team was irritating her. They were sly, and while she wasn't a particularly honest person she hated sly people. One by one they were injuring the opposing team, and making it look like a series of accidents. Of course, being far better able to see and hear Lena knew better. It was all deliberate.

Zach plopped down on the bench next to her and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He'd been surprised when she'd turned up for their first game; truthfully he hadn't even recognised her. She'd covered part of her tattoo with concealing make-up and had a contact-lens that turned her abnormally yellow eye into a similar shade of green to the other one, she'd also cut her hair shorter. He'd asked her why, but she'd merely replied that she'd figured it'd be better if she didn't stand out. Whatever that meant.

"Lena…I…" he stopped, wondering how in hell he would convince her to play for them, even if she just stood there and let them strike her out…he was thoroughly shocked when she responded.

"Don't worry. I won't let scum like this win." This time he looked at her properly. Was…was she angry? Why? Was it because they were loosing or was…she answered his silent questions and again Zach wondered if she could read his mind.

"They are skilled enough to fight you on equal terms, but are so scared of loosing that they turn to tactics which are sly and underhanded." One of their runners was injured in a collision that looked disturbingly like a head-butt. "They are obsessed with winning." The tiny girl stood and put on a batter's helmet "I will teach them what it means to loose." Zach stared after her, what the hell? Who is that girl, and what did she do to Lena? He was actually finding Lena's brusque and dark ways a little endearing so to hear words like that come out of her mouth…was kind of disturbing.

"Steeeeeerrrrrike!" He looked up at the umpire's call. Didn't she just say that she wasn't going to let them win? What the hell was she doing mouthing off like that?!

Lena ignored the umpire. This was the last innings, and so far the other team had scored only one run. There was one of her own teammates on second. She'd let the first pitch go by without twitching, sizing up the pitcher. Apparently he didn't fear her because he sent the exact same pitch coming at her the second time. Lena sighed, bored. This was too easy. The crowd and players watched as she gracefully, almost carelessly swung the bat down and…connected. The ball soared away across the field in a splendid arc as Lena began a leisurely jog around the diamond, following her teammate. The ball, meanwhile, went over the back fence and landed in the crowd of onlookers. Lena paused at the home plate and glanced up as she caught the scent of old blood and spied Ty watching her. Damn bloodsucker was stalking her again?

She went to step on the plate and looked over at the irate pitcher. She smirked at him and touched her foot down, securing her team's victory. She knew that ticked off look. The poor little man had thrown his best, fastest pitch and she'd made it look easy to hit. Of course, it was for her, but she was the only preternatural on either team. Unsurprisingly not many Night Worlders played sports, unless they were witches. There'd been a witch in her first match who had practically wet himself when he'd realised what she was, that had been amusing. She turned her back on Ty and went back towards her team, who were going through a round of relieved back-slapping. They were so happy they very nearly included her, but quickly stopped when she growled at them.

Only Zach was unsurprised when she announced she was going home. He did follow her to the change room though and waited outside. When she emerged she looked just like she always had, tattooed and with unnerving eye colours. Maybe this was what she'd meant by not standing out. She walked past, ignoring him, but stopped when he spoke. "Where you lying to us?"

She answered despite herself. "About what?"

"About playing baseball. We could barely hit that guy's pitches, but you made it look easy!" Lena didn't turn around to speak to him…but he was starting to get used to that.

"It was the truth." Silent words filled the pause after she spoke. I have never played games before. My life has no room for frivolity and never has. Zach remembered something else as she took a step. "Hey, that long-haired guy that worked at the casino recently was watching the last part of the game. Do you know him?"

"Unfortunately. Just ignore it, he'll loose interest and leave eventually." Zach blinked, what the hell kind of answer was that?! Then he smiled. He had night-shift again this week. Maybe he'd be able to see Kero again. Perhaps convince her to be his friend…

* Ty had left the witch's shop shortly after hearing what she had to say about the information he'd gleaned. She had told him that she wanted to talk to the other elder witches privately. Ty had shrugged and left. Elspeth, and Ty himself, believed this missing fire-witch was Lena's father. He had left Toby there, at Elspeth's request, and decided to walk home. It would give him a chance to feed, as well. Toby was slightly unnerved by vampires' feeding habits, even though he worked for one, so Ty tried to do it without the young witch around. It was also a nice night outside. As he was passing a sports field, he smelled something familiar. Could it really be Lena? He smiled. Playing baseball? Seriously?

That was very out of character for her. Ty decided to watch. He slipped into the stands, unnoticed by the other spectators. The vampire frowned. Even while playing a game she didn't smile or allow human contact. Ty watched the game until the end. Lena was impressive at playing a game she'd likely never played before. She hadn't seemed like a sports fan or any type of team player. After her game was over, Ty decided to just feed on one of the spectators. For a night game, it was rather crowded. Ty's sharp eyes picked up someone else he hadn't seen in awhile.

That large man that had been near the bird in the casino. The vampire almost laughed. Could he have talked her into playing the game? Lena was leaving and the man was following her. Ty thought about following for a few minutes, then decided against it. She wouldn't talk to him anyway, and he'd rather not confront her with so many humans around. He slipped into the dispersing crowd, selecting a robust young woman for his meal. He lightly tapped her on the shoulder, used a bit of vampire mind control to coerce her out of sight with him. She was very ditzy, so it was a simple task to get her into some trees nearby.

The vampire stroked her smooth neck, mumbling soft words and exerting a bit more power. She was starting to get nervous. Ty sighed. He wasn't going to kill her. Just take a little blood. He gripped her shoulders tightly, she tensed, but didn't have the will to fight. Ty bit into her soft neck, expertly hitting the vein. Her warm, delightful blood flowed down his throat. After a few minutes, he had drank his fill and he lay her down softly on the grass.

He licked his lips, feeling much better. He almost wanted to find Lena after all. After feeding, vampires were at the height of their power and usually had energy to burn. Even after a millennium, Ty still felt that jolt of energy. He walked back to the baseball field, empty now save a few stragglers. Lena was no where in sight. He sighed and decided to just run home. It was indeed a very uncommonly nice night. Not too hot, not too chill. Not that his race really were bothered by heat and cold, but he still felt better in good weather.

Ty wasn't the only one enjoying the beautiful night.

** After finishing her shift at the casino, Kero had took to the air again, seeking the peace of the desert. One of Thea's fifteen most recent messages on her phone had been letting Kero know that Sarantia had arrived in town finally. She was staying at a local hotel. Kero hadn't spoken to her yet. Sarantia had to check in with her Circle's people first. She was Thea's cousin, but she still couldn't associate with another Circle without approval. Most of the time, Thea had said, they gave her permission and she ended up staying at Elspeth's shop.

Despite their differing types of magic, Thea and Sarantia got along quite well and were good friends. A few days, at most, and perhaps Kero would finally have the answers she sought. Elspeth couldn't help her, but the other Circle might be able to. Soft thermals propelled her hawk form back home, through the desert toward the glimmering city lights. She closed her bird-eyes, letting the wind and her senses carry her. The acrid scent of blacktop and car fumes made her open hey eyes again. Navigating back to her apartment was easy, she had done this many times.

The open window welcomed her back to her darkened bedroom. She took human form, dropped into the bed, exhausted. Not from her flight, but from the day at work. As usual, customers had got rough. Lena hadn't been around to put a stop to them, and neither had the leech. She disliked leeches and the predatory Lena, but at least they were strong enough to break up the fights between the tougher customers fairly easy.

Kero had been forced to break up the fight herself. She had no clue what the other security guards were doing, but she was planning on having a talk with their boss next time she was there. Even as an avian shifter, she was stronger than most humans. It had exhausted her, as it most likely would not have done to Ty or Lena, but she had managed.

Worse, she had gotten a few odd looks from other men in the room. They were likely wondering why a fragile looking girl like her could so easily separate large, drunken, men. She hadn't thoroughly kicked their asses like Lena had, but she'd made them stop fighting. Kero groaned and smashed her face into the pillow. She really hoped people forgot about it. If no one said anything to her, she wouldn't even say anything to the security manager. She didn't want to risk getting exposed, or alienated. She didn't have loads of friends, but some of the other casino workers were friendly toward her.