~DISCLAIMER! I own nothing from the novels. That includes (but not limited to) lines, words, settings, plots, themes, characters, dialogue and anything else that comes straight from the book. Since my story follows the main story line by line with my incorporation of characters and themes, more than half of it goes to Darren Shan and the publishers of the novels. Again, I own nothing from the stories! I only own my characters and dialogue.

I know some of you have noticed that I switched around the dialogue from the book. Even if it is my character speaking dialogue from the book, I do not own it. Darren Shan does. I did it to focus on the point that I am trying to make in my story, as he created it to make a point as well. Again, even if my OC speaks dialogue from the book from time to time I DO NOT OWN IT! That and any other prose referencing and/or derived straight from the book belongs to Darren Shan.~

Chapter Ten

While the men buried the dead vampaneze at the copse, Ava approached her mother, who stood as though waiting for her.

"I shouldn't have gone off on you like that." Ava said to her, "I'm sorry."

Evanna smiled up at her daughter and shrugged, "Who can blame you? All of this in one day; the man you love hiding such a secret, your sister destined to join ranks with your enemy…and you're still struggling with what will happen when these visions overcome you. These things will only make you stronger, Ava."

"I may be strong," Ava whispered, "But I'm not immune, mother. I can't just brush off these things by saying that its destiny or fate. It may be, but there is just so much more to it; so much raw, unshaken emotion that we have to deal with. And Vancha…this happened to him after I told him that I couldn't succumb to loving him. After I gave up on the simple possibility of us. I spoke without thinking and I may be a huge contributor to him going mad."

"Women are frequently the main puppet masters." Evanna reminded her, "pulling on the heartstrings of men and letting them dance as they see fit. It's the natural order of things, Ava. Men are strong and brute, but women toy with forces far greater than that."

"I understand." Ava sighed, looking at Vancha, who was now headed back to the Cirque, looking like he was falling apart with every step, "I guess we should get back."

"It would be a wise idea." Evanna held out a hand and, when Ava shot it an apprehensive look, she tutted, "I am still your mother, Ava, and you're still my little girl. My foolish, foolish, little girl. Before you step too far into your destiny, at least allow me to walk you back to the Cirque."

Ava sighed and took her mother's hand, allowing her to lead the way. She felt foolish—she wasn't a little girl anymore—but she felt slightly good holding her mother's hand like that. For a moment, everything they suffered was gone, and they were just mother and daughter again. It wouldn't last, but Ava relished it for however long it did.

Vancha was inconsolable. Upon returning to the Cirque Du Freak, he demanded a bottle of brandy, then locked himself away in a small trailer and refused to answer anyone's calls. Ava considered calling on him alone just to see if he would see her at all, but her mother told her that now wasn't the right time for him to see her and be reminded of what was going on. He blamed himself for the escape of the Vampaneze Lord. If he'd tackled her brother, the Vampaneze Lord would have been at their mercy. It was the first out of the four chances they had to kill him, and it was hard to imagine a simpler opportunity coming to pass.

Mr. Tall already knew what had taken place. He'd been expecting the confrontation and told them that the vampaneze had been trailing the Cirque for more than a month. For various reasons, Ava was not surprised, and her mother made it clear that those actions were intended.

"They knew we were coming?" Darren still asked.

"No," Mr. Tall said, "they were following us for other reasons."

"But you knew they were coming…didn't you?" Harkat challenged.

Mr. Tall nodded solemnly, "I'd have warned you, but the consequences would have been dire. Those with insight into the future are forbidden to influence it," he looked at Ava, who blushed and looked away, "Only Desmond Tiny can meddle directly in the affairs of time. Isn't that right, Ava?"

She looked up at him and nodded sadly, "I wouldn't have changed anything, Mr. Tall. I knew I couldn't."

"Wait…what?" Darren shot Ava an incredulous look, "Ava…you knew this would happen?"

"It is the powers cultivated within you because your mother, isn't it?" Larten shot Evanna a glare, "A cruel curse to place upon the shoulders of your own child."

Ava stepped into her mother's defense, "It was a fluke. I wasn't supposed to come out…right." She sighed, "And I didn't; I have this power. But my foresight isn't nearly as strong as Mr. Tall's and my mother's…and especially Mr. Tiny's. I can see and feel what can happen and who it can happen to…but it's very muddled and mushed together, I can't make out some things…important things."

"Did you see that it…was Gannen?" Harkat asked her.

She shook her head, "I knew something was going to happen to Vancha, but I didn't know what. And when I had the vision, it was very quick; for a split second…but it felt longer. I saw someone standing in front of him and others around him, but I didn't know if he was hurt or just paused. I thought he was going to be killed. I didn't know that it was…his brother." She sighed, "And I couldn't have done anything if I did know; that's the scariest part."

"You cannot control when your visions come?" Larten asked.

She shook her head, "And I won't be able to for a long time."

"Is that why you had her come with us?" Larten asked Evanna, "Because of her powers? What is the point if she cannot use them to assist us?"

"Do you think her powers are the only thing she had going for her?" Evanna snarled, "My daughter is a skilled warrior, Larten. I won't have you judging her over a power she cannot control. It is a weak rendition of foresight; not her entire character."

Ava quickly jumped in, "Look, the fact is that I am here to help in any way I can. But I must ask you—beg, rather—that you do not tell Vancha that I have this power. He cannot know; he will never trust me. He hardly trusts Mr. Tall, my mother and Mr. Tiny. I cannot have him see me as the enemy as well. Please," She implored to Larten, "keep my secret."

Larten nodded quickly, "But do not think I will do it willingly." He added in, "I am because we cannot allow for this set back to damper our mission. I will keep your secret, Ava, but it is the only one I shall keep."

"It's the only one I need kept." She looked at Darren and Harkat, "Guys?"

Darren nodded, "Of course, Ava."

Harkat nodded silently.

"Thank you." She smiled.

Larten turned back to Mr. Tall, "Do you know where the vampaneze have gone or when we are due to clash with them again?"

"No." Mr. Tall replied, "I could find out, but I read the future as little as possible. What I can tell you is that Gannen Harst is prime protector of the Vampaneze Lord. The six you killed were normal guards who can be replaced. Harst is the key guardian. Where the Lord goes, he goes too. Had he been killed, the odds of future success would have been weighed heavily on your side."

"If only I had gone after Harst instead of Vancha…" Larten sighed.

Evanna shook her head, "Don't waste time regretting lost chances," she said, "You weren't destined to face Gannen Harst at this stage of the hunt. Vancha was. It was fate."

"I should have gone after him." Ava whispered, "Before I went to my post, I saw him." She explained to them, "Vancha, I mean. I made to say something to him, but he was already gone. Had I chased after him…at least told him to be careful…perhaps he wouldn't have fought with a closed mind."

Mr. Tall's eyes bore down on her, "You would have said more than that, Ava. You know that. It's for the best that he went his own way."

"Let's be positive," Darren said, placing a hand on Ava's shoulder, "We now know who the Vampaneze Lord is traveling with. We can spread Gannen Harst's description and tell our people to be on the lookout for him. And they won't be able to pull that servant disguise again—next time, we'll be ready and we will know who to look for."

"This is true." Larten agreed, "Plus we have suffered no losses. We are as strong as we were at the start of our quest—stronger even now that we have Ava with us—we are wiser, and we still have three chances to kill him."

"Then why do we feel…so terrible." Harkat asked glumly.

"Failure is always a bitter pill to swallow." Larten said.

"You both are right." Ava said, perking up, "who knows what the future will bring? All that matters is that were all alive, we are ok, and we are strong. And I couldn't see myself anywhere else except fighting alongside all of you." She looked Larten in the eye, "Truly."

They went to tend to their wounds after that. Ava suffered none because she had spent the entirety of the fight speaking to her mother, but she helped the others. Harkat's arm was badly cut, but no bones were broken. She set it in a sling, and Larten said it would be fine in a couple nights. Darren's right thumb was turning an ugly color, but Mr. Tall told him that it would be fine; that it wasn't infected and all he needed to do was rest it.

They began to prepare to sleep when a series of angry bellows roared through the camp. They hurried through the camp—Larten with his heavy cloak covering him from the worst of the morning sun and Ava with her hood—and they found Vancha on the outskirts, tearing off his clothes, an empty bottle of brandy on the ground beside him.

"Roast me!" He was roaring, "I don't care! Do your worst! See if I give a—"

"Vancha!" Larten snapped, "What are you doing?!"

Vancha whirled, snatched up the bottle, and pointed it at Larten as though it was a knife, "Stay away! I'll kill you if you try to stop me!"

Ava wanted to say something, but words dried up in her throat, and she felt as though she would never talk again. What on earth was going on?

Larten came to a halt. He knew better than to mess with a drunken vampire, especially one with Vancha's powers.

"This is stupid, sire." He said slowly, "Come inside. We will finish another bottle of brandy and help you drink—"

"—to the health of the Vampaneze Lord!" Vancha shrieked crazily.

"Sire, this is madness." Larten said.

"Aye," Vancha agreed in a sadder, somber tone, "But this is a mad world, Larten. Because I spared the life of my brother—who once saved mine—our greatest enemy has escaped and our people face defeat. What sort of a world is it where evil is born of an act of goodness?"

Larten couldn't speak.

"Dying won't help, Vancha," Harkat said, "I should know."

Ava still said nothing, but her mother shot her various looks from her peripheral, which was hint enough that she should. But what could she say? She was seeing the strongest soul in her life fall apart before her very eyes. And he was right; this was a cruel, mad world. What more of it did they have to suffer?

"It won't help." Vancha agreed with the little person, "but it will punish, and I deserve to be punished. How can I face my fellow Princes, Generals…" he looked at Ava, who felt her blood run cold, "how can I face them after this? My chance to kill the Lord of the Vampaneze has passed. Better I pass with it than linger and shame us all."

Ava couldn't take it anymore, "So you plan on staying out here and letting the sun kill you?"

He chuckled, "Aye. You can finally have a show."

She drew in a shaky breath, "Coward."

He expression hardened, "Take heed, Ava—I'm in the mood to crack a few skulls before I die!"

"And a fool." She pressed on, pushing past Larten, who hissed in protest, "Who gave you the right to quit, Vancha March? What makes you think you can just abound the quest and damn us all? What sort of madness are you plagued with that you think you can just burn to a crisp and…" She stepped forward and took the bottle out of his hand, "and just leave us all here without you? How can you even think that you can just leave your friends to fend for themselves…leave me here? Is that your definition of justice, Vancha? After everything we have been through—after everything you have taught me about honor and duty…you're just giving up? You can't. I won't let you."

"You said…" his voice low and his breath reeked of alcohol, "you told me…"

"Forget that." She whispered, knowing the others couldn't hear, "what matters is that you cannot leave us here. You cannot leave me just yet, Vancha. You're not allowed to quit." She took a step back and held the bottle aloft, "And this won't solve anything either."

"But I am no longer part of the quest." He stammered, confused, "It's up to Darren and Larten now."

"Is it?" Ava nodded to her mother, "Either answer if you can—does Vancha still have a part to play in the hunt for the Vampaneze Lord?"

Mr. Tall shared an uneasy glance with Evanna, who hesitated before saying, "He has the power to influence the quest."

"But I failed." Vancha said, bewildered.

"Once." Darren said, stepping in, "But who's to say you won't have another chance? Nobody said we'd have one chance each. For all we know, all four opportunities are destined to fall to you!"

Vancha blinked, his mouth slowly open, "Even if the chances are to be shared evenly."

Larten chipped in, "There are a further three to go, and Darren and I share only two—therefore, one of us might be destined to face the Vampaneze Lord twice if it goes down to the final encounter."

"But that won't pan out well if you're dead." Ava tossed the bottle aside, "So let's stop this nonsense. You, Darren and Larten are the only hope for our race and right now, I'm very worried."

Harkat nodded, "And I'm not even…vampire!"

Vancha wavered on his feet, considering our words, then stumbled towards Ava. She gasped and caught and steadied him. He was much bigger, but she managed.

"I've been an idiot, haven't I?" He groaned.

She nodded, catching her mother's eyes, "Yes, you have." She pulled away to look him in the eyes, brushing his messy green hair out of his face, "And now we're both even."

He blinked, "Did you mean it?" He asked, his voice barely audible, "What you said before we…did you mean it?"

She didn't know if he meant her refusal or her refusing to love him, but she knew in her heart that she hadn't meant it. Both times, she was influenced by raw emotion, and she hadn't thought rationally. She had broken him twice, she couldn't do it again.

"No." She shook her head, "I didn't, Vancha."

With that, with the help of Darren, they helped him back to the shade, where he joined them in sleep until the darkening of night.

XXXX

They rose again that night and gathered in Mr. Tall's van. As dusk deepened, and Vancha drank mug after mug of steaming hot coffee to cure his hangover, they mulled their next move and decided it would be for the best if they left the Cirque.

Evanna denied traveling with them and, despite her better judgment, Ava felt relieved. But her mother's following words left a cold haze about the room.

"I'll return to my cave and await the tragedies to come." She looked at them all, a sparkle in her mismatched eyes, "And there will be tragedies. Whether from the vampires or vampaneze, I don't yet know…but it must end in tears for one side, that much is certain."

Ava wanted to ask after what would happen to her sister, but she couldn't find the words. Once she had mustered up the stomach to do so, though, her mother was long gone. Her absence lifted a weight for everyone, but it still left them with a foreboding aura of terrible times to come.

Vancha would also be departing. They had all agreed that he should return to Vampire Mountain and tell the others of our encounter with the Lord of the Vampaneze. They needed to know about Gannen Harst. Vancha would catch up with them later, by tracking Larten's mental waves.

Vancha asked Ava if she wanted to go with him and, after a few moments to think on it, she agreed.

"It's about time that I paid a visit to my sisters." She said when Darren and Harkat asked why, "You met them when you were last there; Aria and Avery. I haven't seen them in over twenty years. Now is a good a time as any to see them…tell them about Anna. It might be my last chance to do so."

Mr. Tall met them at the edge of the camp as they were about to depart, "Sorry I couldn't come earlier," he said, "Business to deal with; the show must go on."

"Take care, Hibernius." Larten said, shaking his hand. For once, Mr. Tall allowed it.

"You too, Larten," he replied, a grave expression on his face. Looking around at them, he said, "Dark times lie ahead, regardless of the outcome of your quest. I want to you know that there will always be a home for you—all of you—here at the Cirque du Freak. I can't play as active a part in the deciding of the future as I wish, but I can offer sanctuary."

Ava smiled and hugged him as the others thanked him for his offer. They watched as he walked away and was swallowed by the shadows.

Facing each other, they hesitated. Ava smiled at Larten, Darren and Harkat, reluctant to part with them. It was as if Darren and Harkat were never strangers to her now, and Larten was always a dear, dear friend. Leaving them behind, even temporarily, was very hard.

"Well!" Vancha boomed eventually, "Time we were off," He nudged Ava, who nodded in silent agreement, "It's a long trek to Vampire Mountain, even when flitting."

Normally it wasn't allowed to flit to Vampire Mountain, but these nights, it was necessary.

"I'll be back," Ava said, hugging Darren, Harkat and Larten one-by-one , "I only need to show my face; its Vancha who needs to stick around longer. Expect me back very soon."

"Cheer up," Vancha laughed at Darren's gloomy expression with having to part with him, "I'll be back in time to lead the second charge against the Vampaneze Lord. You have my word, and Vancha March never broke…" he paused, "'March' or 'Harst'?" he mused, then spat at the ground, snorting audibly, "Charna's guts! I've gone this long as Vancha March—I'll stick with it!"

"Goodbye." Ava said, "For now."

Vancha saluted and they both turned and started jogging. Soon they were running and, in a flash, they hit flitting speed and were both lost from sight…swallowed by the night.

XXXX

It was later in the night when they took a pause to trek up the mountain without flitting. Ava couldn't remember the last time she had been alone with Vancha this long, and she didn't know what it meant for them. Did he remember what they had said to each other when he was crazed and drunk, screaming at the sun to kill him?

"Ava."

She hissed and turned to him, he was watching her closely, as though expecting her to slip at any given moment.

"Yes?" She asked, taking her eyes off of him to focus on the path ahead.

"I do remember." He said, "And I wanted to thank you."

She sighed, "There is no need. You needed help, and I offered it."

"More than once."

"It's nothing no one else would have done for you." She whispered.

He stopped, taking her hand and causing her to halt as well, "That's not what I meant." He said, letting go of her hand, "I meant thank you for making me realize something."

She raised an eyebrow, her heart beating faster than it needed to. Oh, how nice it would have been to have her mother here to consult to. A girl needed her mother.

"What?" She asked, her voice hollow.

"I realized that I shouldn't have been so bitter towards you." He said, "That at any moment, our past can teach us a valuable lesson. I don't know what the future holds for us, Ava, but I do know that I want you to be a part of mine. I know that now more than ever."

With that, he continued, walking past her at a pace she had to struggle to keep up with. She felt as though she was soaring on a cloud for a brief moment. He wanted her in his future…did that mean he would take her again? After everything they had been through…would he take her as his mate?

Just wait until your own secrets catch up with you while you think on that…

She drew in a deep breath and kept up with her Prince, smiling at him whenever he turned to look at her, reminding him that she was still there, and she wasn't going anywhere.

She was never running again. Not from him, not from anyone.

Phew! That was a lot!

Ok, so that's the end of the seventh book from the parent series, but the rest of the book will focus on Vancha and Ava in Vampire Mountain and I'll halt it around mid eighth-book, so she has a chance to join up on the quest, like she promised.

I hope you guys enjoyed! PLEASE read, review and tell me how I did!

Have a great rest of your night and be safe! :)

~marie