A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

I'm sorry if my writing wasn't up to scratch yesterday, I went to the zoo for the day and rushed to type the chapters.

This fic will probably be a shorter than my other ones I've written for YD.

Chapter 7: Observation

Vlad instinctively pushed Erin behind him, shielding her between himself and the podium.

Erin stood on her toes trying see over Vlad's left shoulder. Her back hit the pedestal jostling her slightly and causing pain to flow through her. She dropped back down automatically.

Ryan stood staring at them, a feral look on his face. His fangs were down and dripping. He let out a long hiss at Vlad, his eyes pure red.

Vlad's fangs automatically dropped and he let out a harsh warning rumble from his chest.

"Get away from her." Ryan told him. Glancing directly behind Vlad, his eyes lingering with an unreadable expression on his face before looking at the future leader of their kind.

"No." Vlad's eyes narrowed.

"Erin move away from the vampire." That was rich, coming from a half fang. Vlad stared at Ryan, why was he suddenly exercising his sibling rights? He hadn't cared before.

Erin didn't move, Vlad instead felt her clutch the back of his red shirt. The buttoned front raised slightly as the back was pulled down slightly in her grip.

"Erin, now!" Erin jumped at her brother's fierce tone, but she still didn't move.

"I will protect her, which is more than you did when you left her for Bertrand." Vlad told him, he twisted his hand around his back to grasp hers firmly.

"I was coming back for her."

"After you did Ingrid's bidding." Vlad told him, a smirk on his lips as Ryan's face became more outraged at the slur on his character. Of course Ingrid came first, she was his mistress, Erin was family so she came second.

Ryan chose that moment to act.

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Erin felt Vlad's hand slip from hers a fraction of a second before he blurred away.

There was a boom in the middle of the room as he met Ryan fully grasping his upper arms. Ryan thrashed and bit the air trying to attack Vlad.

Ryan broke free of Vlad's hold, throwing him backwards. It surprised Vlad, he wasn't expecting Ryan to escape his hold, then again if he had been trained as a slayer he would be familiar with various techniques.

Vlad stumbled backwards knocking into Erin. Erin let out a little cry at the contact, it didn't hurt but she was surprised. Her elbow knocked the bone off the pedestal, making it dart across the floor.

Ryan's ears picked up at the sound and his eyes tried to find the source of the sound. Vlad tackled him and knocking him out of the way, distracting him somewhat. Ryan tried to fight back but was thrown against punch bag.

"Get to the wall." He told her quickly, Erin nodded and ran as fast as she could to the brick wall pressing herself flat against it.

Erin searched with her eyes around the room, trying to find the finger bone. It wasn't anywhere obvious. The only place it could have gone was underneath the cupboard that concealed the garlic pit.

She made to move forward and scramble across the floor towards it but Ryan was thrown into the pedestal, it broke under the force. Bits of stone flew in all directions making Erin shield her face.

When she lowered her hand she looked where the pedestal had once rested, as the dust began to settle she saw Ryan being held there by an unseen force. Vlad's hand was still extended, he was holding Ryan to the ground. Ryan gave up struggling against the pressure of Vlad's powers.

Vlad stood tall, he looked down at Ryan. Ryan seemed to be exhausted, his hair clinging to his forehead as he'd fought against Vlad's strength. Vlad didn't look the slightest bit phased or drained.

"Leave her alone." Vlad told him firmly, his fangs still on show for the world to see. Ryan glared up at him with undisguised hatred on his face. "You don't control her."

"He's right Ryan." Erin spoke softly, "When you've stopped being loyal to Ingrid…"

"He can't." Vlad told her softly, as Ryan shook his head. "He'll remain loyal to her forever."

Erin's eyes widened, she just thought it was an imprint thing and after a while it'd wear off, like chicks imprinting on their mother.

"Isn't there anything we can do?"

"It'll lessen over time but it'll still be there." Vlad told her softly.

Ryan didn't seem to like the idea it would lesson as he murmured something under his breath, or so Erin assumed. She realised she'd assumed wrong when Vlad's face darkened, clearly he understood exactly what Ryan had said.

"Go. Now." Vlad told him firmly, his gaze sharp. Vlad flicked his hand and Ryan vanished from the room, he let out a sigh of relief before turning back to Erin.

He winced as he forced his fangs to retract; forcing them back always caused him discomfort. It was worse since he'd absorbed his reflection. Now Erin no longer used her stasis spray he could hear her heart beating and the scent of her blood, which made it harder to fight his nature.

Erin gave him a look of concern but he shook her off, it would pass.

He closed his eyes waiting; it was the evil that always surfaced that was the worse. He mentally pushed it into a corner of his mind, slamming a door shut on it. He could feel it pounding to get out.

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When he opened his eyes Erin had moved across the room, staring at the cupboard with her arms folded over her chest. Erin flattened her palms against the side and pushed against it with all her wait. The cupboard didn't even wobble.

"It doesn't move." Erin shot him a dirty look at his obvious comment.

Vlad grinned as he watched Erin flatten herself against the floor, trying to force her hand underneath the small gap. She grimaced as her hand came into contact with the dirt underneath. Vlad bit his lip at the look of horror on her face as she froze; he raised an eyebrow folding his arms over his chest.

Vlad extended his hand and concentrated, immediately the bone flew from under the cupboard and into his hand. He closed his fingers around it holding it tightly.

Erin narrowed her eyes, "You did that on purpose." She pulled her hand back looking at the dirt that caked it. She stood slowly brushing the dust from her shirt.

"You didn't ask." He grinned at her. He looked down at the bone, his room had been completely ransacked because of it, and he knew they'd probably try again. He needed to keep it safe from vampiric hands, especially Ingrid and Bertrand's hands.

Considering it hadn't been found in his room he knew whoever it was would soon start to looking at him to try and find it.

Vlad slowly lifted her clenched fist and opened her hand. He delicately placed the bone in her hand. Erin did her best not to grimace, at least this time the bone wouldn't be after her blood. "Look after it for me." He told her softly.

Erin shook her head trying to give it him back.

"Until I can find a way to destroy it." He promised.

Erin nodded; Vlad would keep to his word.

She placed the bone into her pocket, she struggled to fit it in completely so it couldn't be seen by keen vampiric eyes.

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Bertrand looked across at Ingrid who seemed to be playing with her pendant, swinging it from side to side. The chain clicked from side to side as it swung back and forth. She stared at it almost as of wishing it would hypnotise her.

Ingrid noticed him staring and turned to face him, "What?" She didn't like being stared at and the expression on Bertrand's face made her worry.

"I think Vlad has the bone." Bertrand told Ingrid softly, Ingrid dropped the pendant; it hit her belt with a clunk.

There must have been more of a reason about how Vlad had reacted when he found his room had been searched and the fact it had been searched in the first place than just protecting his possessions. It was as if he had something he didn't want the others to find out about.

"*Think* is no good where my brother is concerned. It has to be either yes or no."

Vlad wasn't as predictable as he once was, transforming and absorbing his reflection had changed him. The only thing she knew for certain was his reactions about and towards Erin – they were almost identical to hers towards Will. The only thing they seemed to actually have in common.

Ryan knocked on the door to the throne room, wanting to see his mistress. He shot a disapproving look towards Bertrand as he entered. Bertrand had been his mistress' enemy when they wanted to open the book.

"What do you want?"

Ryan didn't notice her harsh tone, his face softened as a small smile crossed it. "The bone of Sethius, Vlad's got it."

Ingrid was careful not to change her expression at all, "And how would you know?" Ingrid asked him, she didn't want to hear speculation she wanted facts.

"Because I've just seen it."

Ingrid twisted so she looked around Ryan to Bertrand, "I guess now we know for certain."

Now they had to find a way to get hold of it.

TBC

A/N: Thanks for reading.