A/N: I apologize for taking so long to continue this story. I reached a point where I didn't know which way I wanted to take it. I have finally decided and am working on the next chapter. I won't make any promises as to how long I will take, but I hope you all will enjoy it. There are a couple of references to Dark Slayer.

The usual disclaimers apply.

Chapter 11, Attack

The sun had settled behind the mountains and the sky was streaked with color as the Carpathians rose. They were soon busy evacuating the women and children to the Healing Cave. After a great deal of consideration, Mikhail and the ancients determined that they could ask the help of Mother Earth. With the help of the couple who were in the soil healing from another close encounter with a master vampire, the community had gained a new ally.

It was unlikely a vampire could enter this particular cave with the powerful magic and spells of protection surrounding it. The earth itself would protect those within from any threat traveling through the ground. The women who were fighters would be on alert inside the cavern to defend those who were not should it be necessary. The men would defend the outer perimeter.

"Belle, I will back to get you as soon as Deborah and the girls are safe." Blaine was adamant.

"I want to wait here for Ramius. You should stay there."

"You are under my protection. Ramius will know where to find you."

Belle waited at her home, all senses alert. The vampire was on his way and would arrive before Blaine. She had not told anyone that she still expected the attack to take place there and she hoped to stall him until Ramius arrived. If the vampire followed the others to the Healing Cave, he might be stopped, but many people would possibly die. Belle had seen this, yet the visions were very confusing. To protect everyone, Tiberius had to come to the place she had seen in her visions, her home.

The house was protected by extensive and layered safeguards. The vampire might unravel them eventually but Belle hoped to be out of his reach by then. She had worked with the hunters and female fighters, including Deborah and the ancient women, to improve her skills. Women's magic was powerful.

The Carpathian community was just now realizing how powerful this magic could be. There had been so few females and those were very young, they had forgotten what could be accomplished by practice and maturity as was evident in the female ancients

. Belle's work of cleansing and enriching the soil was in her favor too. The Earth Mother, Goddess, God, Creator of All, or any number of other names, knew Belle and would defend her.

"Ramius, are you close?"

"We are still some distance away, little one. I sense that you are alone at your home. Why have you not gone to the cavern with the others?"

"Tiberius is coming here, Ramius. There will be an attack, but the visions are muddy. I have to be here. Our most vulnerable people are there in the cave. The potential for death and destruction is too great, even with the protections. Carpathians will die trying to keep the vampires out. As long as he believes he can find me here, this is where he will come."

"You are using yourself as bait."

"Yes."

"You have determined that he is after you?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Foolish woman. Go to the cave immediately!" Ramius' command reverberated through her mind and body.

She sent him the images from her latest vision, knowing he would share them with the other men.

"I am not helpless, my love. I will do my best to keep away from him until you can get here. If the others come, they need to wait until he is here and surround him."

"If they can defeat him at your home, they can defeat him at the cavern."

"They can't surround him there. He is more powerful even than you me beloved, the ground here is saturated with my power and influence. I have healed the earth and kept it healthy. It will aid me."

It was well after full dark when a psychic cry of pain and fear flashed through the Carpathian community. Gabriel and his family, on their way to the cavern, were being attacked. His brothers and Dimitri went instantly to his aid but by the time they arrived, the vampire was gone and Gabriel was severely wounded.

Dimitri took Skyler and little Tamara to the cavern while Francesca and the other men aided Gabriel. It was a shock to the community that a warrior of Gabriel's caliber could be surprised in such a way. By the time Skyler recognized the taint of vampire, he was on them in a hit and run maneuver. All this was shared among the community as it happened.

Ramius' thought came to her.

"This is the way Tiberius fights. He is very good at hiding himself, even from the Dragonseekers. He is also a master of illusion and does not like direct conflict. He prefers to wear his enemies down before finishing them. He plays with them."

"I think that is a common tactic of master vampires, Ramius."

The wind picked up, sending leaves and twigs swirling in small whirlwinds across the front yard.

"He's here, Ramius."

"We are almost there, beloved."

"We are coming as well." Mikhail's voice echoed in her mind."

"You must not, Mikhail." Gregori's mental voice was loud.

"He is right my Prince, your power would best be used to protect the women and children in the Healing Cave." Ramius' voice was accompanied by the same opinion from the other males.

"Mikhail, I think you will be needed at the cave. The visions are confusing but I think there will be an attack on two fronts." Belle hoped he believed her. "If many of our fighters are here, there will be fewer to defend those in the cave. I believe you need to be prepared to defend them."

"Very well, but we cannot afford to lose a mated pair, Ramius. You must retrieve Belle and come to the safety of the cave."

A tall man materialized in the yard and hovered above the ground. Belle knew he could not see her, yet she felt as if his eyes were on her. She sent her awareness into the earth and was answered.

She pulled power around her and very gently began spinning a shield. The vampire would sense an overt use of energy, but if she was gentle enough, she could surround him with a reflective shield before he was aware of it, she hoped.

Tendrils of energy touched her; the vampire was seeking a way into her mind. She held her self still and quiet, maintaining the shielding on her mind. Ramius was in the back of her mind giving her strength.

The ground suddenly shook. Belle was nearly startled into dropping her mind shield. Ramius held her steady and she continued building the invisible bubble she would use to trap the vampire. Her awareness told he had settled on the ground. The insects in the area were fleeing for their lives and vegetation withered.

The vampire aimed a bolt of energy at the house shielding, causing the structure to shudder. An apparent crack in the shield spurred him into another attack. The shields were layered in such a way that when the outer one was breached, another took its place. These shields were not limitless and would run out under a prolonged attack. While the vampire was focused on the shields, Belle continued building hers.

Ramius, along with Nicolae and Destiny, and Lucian and Jaxon, materialized at the edge of the yard. As they did, five more vampires appeared. Ramius flew at Tiberius in an attempt to knock him off his feet. His personal shield flared, throwing Ramius back.

"Go out the back door and get to the cave while we distract him," Ramius told her firmly.

"I'm almost finished weaving my holding shield. When it's closed, it will absorb the energy from his shield and create a surface to mirror his spells back to him."

She heard him grumbling about disobedience and sent amusement to him.

Finally, her weave was complete. Slowly she wrapped the loosely woven spell around the vampire and, with a surge of power, pulled it tight.

Tiberius had a look of shock on his face when his next bolt of energy flashed back and over him. He roared with rage, causing the ground to shake.

Ramius and the other hunters engaged the other vampires. The number of adversaries increased as the vampires cloned themselves in an attempt to confuse the hunters. Blaine, Gregori, Darius, Vikirnof and Natalya joined the fray. Natalya held back, using her mage spells to fight the vampires.

Nicolae and Destiny moved like dancers in a choreographed ballet of death. Jaxon fired bullets coated with holy water, trying to hit a real vampire and destroy it and its clones. The other males moved as a team, their actions complimenting each other. One by one, the vampires and their clones died.

Belle went to the door to see with her eyes the ancient vampire who had Ramius so worried. The vampire saw her and knew it was she who had entrapped him. He looked back at her with cold eyes. He had once been a handsome man, but had become the epitome of the undead with his scraggly hair and yellowish skin pulled taut across his bones. His fangs were long and yellow and his fingernails were like talons. His eyes blazed red.

There was something odd about his appearance. At first glance, Belle saw a hideous creature with the illusion of beauty around him. When she looked closer with her senses it seemed that there was something under the vampire's ugliness, as if that was an illusion also.

His mouth moved, forming words. She cried out, collapsing to her knees, as pain shot through her head. Frantically, she worked to maintain the shield around Tiberius, but she was losing the battle. She sensed something like regret coming from the creature as her shielding collapsed.

Belle called on the earth's energy for aid. Vines leaped up to wind around Tiberius. He quickly incinerated them. Each barrier she wove, each attempt to attack him with the earth's help was in vain.

She watched in horror as more vampires and clones joined the battle. Ramius was surrounded and fighting valiantly. Suddenly, she was unable to move or speak. In shock she saw Tiberius move toward her even as he appeared to fight her vines and roots. Strong arms wrapped around her and she was taken into the sky, unable even to call Ramius in her mind.

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I don't think I'm very good a writing battles, so I hope this all made sense.