And finally, another chapter posted! I wish I could say that it means this story will start updating at least semi-regularly, but the simple truth is I have no freaking idea if that will happen. Especially with me going out of town on a long weekend in a couple weeks. Fingers crossed I can get at least one more chapter posted before next year. XD


Book II:Lýkos

Nicolas knew there was only one who could rival this glade for perfection. Jade and emerald green with leaf and fern, festooned with blooms every shade of the world, the fiery amber sun casting its warmth down through a sapphire sky, unblemished by clouds. He pulled in a long breath, feeling peace pool in his chest, thinking there was still a treasure missing before this heaven were complete.

He turned at footsteps, dainty and sure, unable and unwilling to hold back the smile that touched his face, his heart soaring to the stars when his gaze fell upon her. She had never been more radiant, grown into confidence, holding herself as a queen, her slender form garbed in pure moonlight.

"Judith," he hurried to her, swept her into his arms. "At last I can see you again!"

"Nicolas," she gazed at him with amethyst eyes, and he soon found himself lost in them, before moving to capture her pink petal lips, only for an icy chill to shoot mercilessly through his veins. Her eyes grew dark, as did the world around them, and he looked to see the hilt of a blade against his chest, the same she had gifted him when they had parted ways as children. The scarlet stain stood bright against his pale clothes, stealing his strength as it spread. He gazed back to her, as the winds began to scream, thunder roiling in clouds as black as oil, the rain fire against his flesh.

"J-Judith…" he fell to his knees, choking on the breath he could scarcely draw when he saw the horrid expression, twisting and warping the beauty of her face, the fury he had thought her incapable of.

"Did you really think," she began, her voice empty and cold. "That I could ever love the mammal who killed my mother?!"

She shoved him back, watching as he fell, his last sight the cruel curl of her lips.

"Nicolas?" another voice, gentle and warm, pulled him from the abyss. "It's all right, son, there's nothing to fear…"

Nicolas peered out from beneath his pillow, refuge from the terrible storm that had overtaken the city in the night. His father sat on a simple stool beside his bed, a hand on his shoulder, concern in his eyes.

"Bonnibel's death was not your fault," the elder tod assured him, firming his grip before pulling back. "There was nothing any of us could have done."

Nicolas knew he had been speaking in his sleep; it was not the first time he had had such a dream, and he knew it would not be the last.

"I still worry," he said. His foot had healed quickly, and he was eager to begin his trip to the southern forests, though he also feared what Judith would think of him, after so long apart. He looked at his father. "How else can she possibly see me?"

His father chuckled.

"She will see you as the mammal you are," he assured. "That you always have been."

He stood, strode to the window and threw aside the heavy curtains. Nicolas briefly ducked beneath his covers against the flare of sunlight as it spilled through the window, and his father laughed.

"Still the same as always," he smiled fondly, brushing off his hands. Nicolas folded back his covers and knelt by his bed, reaching beneath to drag out the empty pack he kept there. His father helped to gather his things, the last of his shirts tumbling to the floor at an explosion from below, the pair hurrying to the window that looked out on the church square. A plume of pale smoke rose from the cobblestones, the brown of Aaron's habit standing out amongst the azures, scarlets and grays that clothed the rest of the order.

"What's he experimenting with now?" Nicolas asked. Their father shrugged.

"You remember that water pistol of his," he began. "Well, it seems as though he is attempting to do the same with sunlight or fire, as there are beings immune to such things as white water and blessed metals."

It was seen as a myth by many, those who held unyielding conviction in their faith, and while it was indeed uncommon, there was proof that such creatures lived. All one had to do was look within the history of their order, the tales of horror and triumph against those who threatened the day-lit world. Of course, there was sorrow writ there as well, as many of their own had succumbed to the wounds inflicted by such beasts, both to their bodies, and to their spirits.

"We should finish here quickly," Nicolas spoke, going back to his packing. "Before Aaron manages to destroy the place."

He dressed quickly, ready to leave when his father gripped his shoulder.

"There's one other thing you should know," he began. "It's likely that this trip will evolve into danger, as rumors have been circulating about a darkness we haven't seen for centuries."

"What sort of darkness?" Nicolas wondered, suspicion in his voice. Rumors had been circulating long enough to reach the order, and he had heard nothing of them until now? Had Governor Bogo and the council decided to leave Judith and the others to their fates? Before he could question it, his father continued.

"A grave one, his name is Lýkos, a Macedonian general who should have perished millennia ago, yet sightings of him have continued into this century," he sighed heavily. "Your mother and I thought we had finally defeated him, and it was that battle which took her life."

Nicolas went cold, then a rage he had never known flooded his veins, his eyes becoming molten steel.

"I will find this demon," he snarled. "I swear I will end him!"


"What do you mean, you won't come with me?" Nicolas stared his brother down, the younger male hardly paying him any mind. He had gone to the square to find the tod hard at work on one of his various experiments, though for the life of him, Nicolas could not determine what it might be.

"I've explained it to you before," Aaron replied, fiddling with a chunk of sun crystal. He had been working endlessly with it in the past weeks, as though trying to uncover some secret it hid or other power it contained. "I can't leave, as I have my own nuptials to prepare for now."

Nicolas thought how he should have seen such things coming. Skyla had come to adore Aaron since he had puzzled out how to cure her ailment: a mixture of white water, herbs and other ingredients the fox kept as a closely guarded secret. She had gone so far as to write to her father, begging him to allow her to stay, to wed the male who had saved her. The king had agreed, on the condition that the pair allow their children to be named heirs to the kingdom, and to send them to live at the palace once they came of age. Nicolas was thankful his own marriage would come no such conditions, as Judith had pledged her life to serving the order, just as he had, and he awaited the day when their own children would begin training, whether in combat, smithing or healing.

"Is it really so difficult a journey that you need assistance?"

Nicolas gazed blankly at him, then shook his head.

"It's not the journey that worries me," he said. "But the rumors regarding the devil who slaughtered our mother."

Aaron fumbled with the crystal, the shard dropping into a small bowl of clouded blue liquid. They both shielded their eyes from the resulting flash, brighter than the summer sun after a spell of pitch darkness.

"Saints above," Nicolas blinked and swiped at his tearing eyes. "What the hell is that?"

Aaron quickly covered the bowl with a rough black handkerchief.

"Its one of my latest tools," he exclaimed proudly. "One drop of this potion on a shard of sun crystal, and you'll be able to burn out the eyes of any vampiric being!"

He ducked briefly beneath his work table, snatching a bulbous glass vile from a rough sack, then with a careful hand, poured in the potion from the bowl. He corked it securely, then passed it to his brother. "I'm sure it will be of use!"

Nicolas stared at it, rolling the container in his palms.

"I suppose you wouldn't be willing to share the secret of this with me?" he asked with a small smile. "The rest of the order may have need of it."

Aaron shook his head.

"I haven't quite perfected it yet," he revealed. "This will be the first real field test, if need be, though I'm hoping you'll be able to return with Judith and her family without such trouble."

Nicolas huffed, if only he were so blessed. He took off his pack and knelt, undoing to clasp and tucking the potion securely inside. The southern branch of the order was responsible for the mining of sun crystals, and so he knew there would be plenty on hand, should he have need of it.

"I hope to return quickly," he fastened his pack and stood, reaching in his collar for his medallion. The ring was there as always, his heart racing in both anticipation and fear as he thought of the upcoming meeting. It had been so long since he and Judith had seen each other, and he was no longer the innocent, carefree child he had been, though of course, neither was she.

"I must go," he said quickly, swiping up his bag and setting it on his shoulders. "I have to reach the Gray Mountains by sunset tomorrow, if I'm to bring her and her family here in time."

Aaron nodded, then reached under his table again, this time pulling a cream envelope, sealed in azure with the royal crest.

"Skyla asked that I give this to you," he said. "For Judith, though she never said what it contains."

Nicolas chuckled, Aaron's curiosity was nearly legendary. He nodded, tucking the letter in his jacket.

"I will make sure she gets it, but I wonder at bringing them together…"

Aaron went slightly pale beneath his fur. They had discovered that Skyla held a great love for playing tricks on others, and would often collude with their father on such things. Judith had shown a similar penchant in their youth, and Nicolas suddenly prayed she had grown beyond it, or nobody in the order would be safe.

"Right, then!" he forced such thoughts from his mind, there would be plenty of time to worry on them later. "I'm off!"