Disclaimer: I own Daenerys Aerilyn Ramsey, Jared Russel, Derrik Kingsley, Margret Grosse and Mimzy. I do NOT own characters or content belonging to Chronicle, Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of the Underworld films. If I did own the rights to anything other than what I've specifically mentioned, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

Chapter 12

When I went back into the warehouse a couple hours later, Michael had abandoned the truck we'd used previously. It was toast. Instead, he was working on an old SUV. Lucian and I had finished cleaning up outside and I noticed that Selene was poking her head out of the trailer to see what the noises she'd been hearing were. Her eyes were soft on Michael and when they found me, turned suspicious and narrow. I knew the questions that had been avoided all day were coming and with the fading sunlight, I'd have to answer them. I looked at Michael. He probably thought that my telekinetic abilities and flight were something that was normal amongst Lycans. Selene knew better. I was an unknown, a dangerous element that she needed to investigate or squash quickly. When she came out of the trailer, after it was dark, she bee lined for me.

"What the hell are you?" she demanded, a gun cocked and ready to blow my head off. I'd kept my abilities secret until Marcus attacked and now she needed reassurances that I wasn't going to go Carrie on them.

"I'm a Hybrid. But I'm more than that, obviously," I replied calmly. Looking down the barrel of a gun wasn't new to me. Just having it so close was the difference. Michael was alarmed at this turn of events and Lucian was frozen in place but still poised to attack if he thought it necessary.

"What's going on?" the vampire's lover asked in confusion.

"Lycans can't fly or move objects with their minds, Michael. Selene is a Death Dealer. She's seen all sorts of things Lycans can do and telekinesis isn't one of them. Hybrids shouldn't be able to do it either. I'm unique. I'm truly one of a kind," I explained evenly. The vampire's eyes flashed from brown to the icy blue of her species. "I was this way before I was first turned and Lucian didn't even know about it for the first thirty years. No one did. I only decided to show Lucian when I felt I could truly trust him and the others."

"I should kill you where you stand," Selene sneered. She cocked the gun and Lucian took a step forward. I raised my hand to him, preventing him from taking another step.

"Go ahead."

"No!" Lucian cried from behind me. I kept my hand up and kept him from stepping forward. I was his mate and he was bound to try and protect me. I knew he was fighting me and to him, it must look like I was about to suffer a similar fate to Sonja.

"Go ahead, Selene. Kill me. Blow my head off. But you must remember what you said before, right? My powers might be limitless. Blowing my brains out might be the equivalent of getting a splinter in my finger or stubbing my toe. A minor inconvenience if I have fed properly. So, go ahead. Shoot me. My being a Hybrid might not even factor into it. I might be able to stop a bullet at this range. Hell, I could probably prevent it from leaving the gun and it could blow up in your face instead. So, go on. Give it your best shot," I challenged, even going so far as to press my forehead against the muzzle. Her eyes narrowed at me. I watched her finger twitching with indecision on the trigger. I could feel my lover's struggle against the field I had placed in front of him. I didn't blink. I hoped the bravado I was displaying looked more real than it felt. I worked hard to make sure that I didn't even quiver.

A frustrated look crossed her face and she put the gun down. She didn't want to test limits unless she had to. I stepped back and walked over to Lucian. His chest was heaving and he'd transformed. His eyes were glued to Selene. I stepped in front of him and drew his face down to mine for a gentle kiss. The tension in his body barely relaxed until I put a hand on his chest. When I pulled back, his eyes were still trained on the vampire but the black had receded from his eyes and his body was returning to human. He really didn't like her. At all.

"We don't have time to deal with this. You said something to Michael in the trailer earlier. Care to share with the class?" I turned around. She narrowed her eyes and then held up the pendant. Her thumb pressed the green jewel in the middle and it opened a set of blades on the outside. I turned my head sideways, glancing at Lucian out of the corner of my eye. He seemed unsurprised by this.

"I remember holding this when I was a child, when it was open like this. I don't know how this is possible but I know someone who might be able to tell us."

"Who is that?" I asked.

"His name is Tanis."


On the way to the monastery, Lucian and I were silent; when we got closer to our destination, Michael broke his own silence.

"It looks like a monastery."

"It used to be. More like a prison now. Tanis has been hiding there since Viktor's order. We'll be the first people he's seen in centuries."

I bit my tongue at that last comment so that I wouldn't smile or laugh. The vampires must have been pretty thick to think that weasel hadn't found a way to circumvent their 'punishment.' When we came up to the gate, the vampire commented that she'd never seen it before and how odd it was. She was handing Michael a gun and getting ready to leave the vehicle when I beat her to the punch. She sent me a glare.

"What are you doing?"

"Think about this, vampire: you said that it was you who exiled him. I imagine that he isn't going to be too fond of seeing you after so long. Why not have another face be the first one in his sight? Things might go a little more smoothly."

"He won't open his doors to the likes of you," she retorted. I permitted a slight quark of my lips and motioned for Lucian to join me from where he'd stepped out as well.

"I think he might do just that," I replied as I turned to the gate and pushed it open. Lucian and I walked side-by-side towards the doors. I glanced up at the camera sitting in the middle of the cross and gave a grin. Inside the car, I could hear Selene speaking with the other Hybrid in hushed tones. She wasn't happy that I was interfering with how she wanted to do things. Spoiled little Death Dealer bitch, I thought harshly. After a few moments, the door to the monastery opened to reveal Tanis himself. He had on a fur coat and leather pants. His eyes were the most unusual of the vampires I'd seen but I'd never really noticed until now that they were a greenish blue. He had no shirt on and there were fresh bite marks and blood on his neck and shoulders.

"Tanis. We have business to discuss," Lucian said in a conversational voice. The vampire was about to respond when he saw who was in the car behind us. He tried to slam the door shut but I was too fast for him and pushed him back. His Lycans wouldn't be attacking us today. They were loyal to Lucian. Inside, the blond vampire I'd seen before hissed at me and I transformed in response. She had a distinct look of terror on her face, having never seen the likes of me before and stayed rooted to the spot. She kept baring her fangs at me. Tanis took one look at me and lowered the gun he'd had tucked in the back of his pants. He wasn't taking chances.

"I see you've succeeded in creating a Hybrid," he gave a nervous laugh. I turned and looked at him, my words coming out in a harsher voice in my transformed state.

"More than one," I responded. By now, Selene and Michael were behind us. His eyes narrowed on the female vampire that he hated.

"Selene. I could smell the stench of Viktor's blood."

"We need to talk."

Although he was obviously shaken by our appearance, he put on a false bravado that I could applaud. I regressed back into my human form and the four of us followed him into the main area of his residence. He had a computer or two, a large bed covered in blankets and pillows that had been recently tussled and candles lit everywhere. Selene, disgusted by the luxury she was seeing, walked over to where a lacy bra was hanging and picked it up.

"Your exile seems a bit more comfortable than I remember."

"He has Lycan bodyguards, too," I chimed in. I received a sharp look from my lover and I just smiled in return. I was getting some kicks out of seeing our vampire companion squirm and this was going to be interesting.

"How does a vampire have Lycan bodyguards?" Michael asked as he raided the closet for a shirt that wasn't covered in bullet holes. Lucian did the same. I started rifling through the female vampires' clothes. A brunette and her blond counterpart were in the corner, seething as I picked through lacy bits that I found enticing and not so enticing ensembles. Tanis certainly enjoyed his women in lingerie. I snagged a bra that was about my size, two fitted tank tops and discarded my damaged coat for a supple leather jacket. I didn't bother with covering myself as I stripped off my damaged clothes. I was facing the group as I did this and I noticed that Tanis was staring at my breasts with rapt attention. I just raised an eyebrow while Michael, who followed the gaze, looked away. I continued, dressing in the cleaner clothes and feeling some satisfaction at knowing that it didn't matter whether it was vampire or Lycan, I was considered very attractive.

"A gift," He finally responded. "From a persuasive client."

"Lucian," Selene said as she turned and glared at him. He nodded. He didn't bother to hide it.

"Why would Lucian want to protect you?" Michael asked. Selene was by a tapestry that had a slight blue glow coming through the little holes that had been created by moths and insects over the centuries. She pulled it back to reveal hidden weapons that contained UV rounds, guns, shotguns, a crossbow and little disks I'd come to recognize as some rather effective grenades.

"Because he was trading with us," Lucian spoke up as Selene began to examine the stock.

"How long have you been in the business of killing your own kind?" She asked with vehemence.

"I've done what's necessary to survive. My decision was made easy the day your precious Viktor betrayed me."

"Betrayal was something he did very well. Viktor's dead. I killed him."

Tanis scoffed at that. "You? Kill Viktor? I think not." When she turned and gave him a hard look, there was a look of understanding that dawned on his face. "Oh, unless you've learned the truth. Your eyes are finally open. Isn't it interesting how the truth is even harder to absorb than light? You know, I tried to stop him, of course. A travesty, committing such a horrible crime. And then turning you. That was too much to take. My protests are exactly why he put me in here."

Selene was picking up a circular grenade when he addressed her, "Careful with that. Makes a terrible bang. Open the blades and they're active."

"Good to know. Viktor put you here for a reason but I doubt it was because you had moral qualms. What do you know?" she asked while she was arming herself. I walked over to the stockpile and was pleased to find several blades. I grabbed four of them and a belt to wear them crossing my chest, blades crossing and handles down for easy access. I put it on under the coat I'd snagged.

"Very little of anything, I'm afraid," the weasel of a vampire responded as he poured a glass of wine that was infused with blood. Selene pointed a crossbow and fired, causing the glass and its contents to explode upon him.

"Oh. Well, then perhaps I'm mistaken and there's no use for you at all."

"Marcus was after this. Why?" Michael asked as he tossed the pendant to him. Tanis caught it and when he opened his hand, it shook slightly. I glanced at Lucian and his eyes met mine briefly. Tanis looked back to Michael and began to head for some of his books. So, he knew about this pendant before and never said a word. Interesting.

"Some history is based on truth and others on deception. Viktor was not the first of our kind, as you were led to believe. He was once human, the ruler of these lands. Marcus. He's the one. The source. The first true vampire."

"So the legend is true."

"Toward the end of his ruthless life, when the next breath meant more to Viktor than silver or gold, Marcus came with an offer. A reprieve from sickness and death. Immortality. In return, Viktor was to use his army-turned-immortal to help him." He was looking through his massive volumes in his collection of writings as he spoke to us. He would glance our way as he did so, watching us for any moves that might endanger him.

"To do what?"

"To defeat the very first Werewolves. A dangerous and infectious breed, created by Marcus' own flesh and blood. His twin brother, William. But these weren't the Lycans we know. Disgusting though your brethren may be, they are at least evolved," his comments were directed to us Hybrids. "No, these were raging monsters. Never able to take human form again. It was only later generations that learned to channel their rage. And William's appetite for destruction and rampage was insatiable. He had to be stopped. And so, once Viktor's army was turned, the legions of vampires under his control tracked down and destroyed the animals, and then captured William, locking him away. Viktor's prisoner for all time."

"Why let him live?"

"For the same reason that Viktor never conspired against Marcus: fear. He was warned that should Marcus ever be killed, all those in his bloodline would follow him to the grave." He seemed to find the volume he was looking for and began to turn the pages.

"So, in Viktor's mind, William's death would be the end for all Lycans. His slaves," Selene deduced.

"A clever deception, isn't it?" I chimed in. "Lycanthropy and Vampirism are viral in nature, not supernatural. Back then, though, I doubt they had any idea of what it was, am I right?"

Tanis nodded. "Yes, a clever deception indeed. But one Viktor was hardly willing to put to the test. So, Marcus was protected at all costs. Ah, yes. Here we are." He opened the book to a page where a scene was drawn, a large contingent of warriors were riding past men burying the dead. There was an ornate crest on the banners and carts being drawn by the men in armor. It was a 'C' and 'V' superimposed upon one another.

"Vampires?" Michael questioned as he gazed at the picture.

"Mortals. Men loyal to Alexander Corvinus. The Father of us all." He began turning pages again and Selene put the muzzle of the gun down on a page he was trying to flip past, a question in her eyes.

"What's this?"

Tanis' mouth twisted into a small smile as he turned the page back to the one she indicated.

"You should know. It's William's prison. The prison your father was commissioned to build." The drawing looked like the cell was meant to keep the victim immobile and there were two keys drawn on the side. One was the pendant and the other looked like a piece that the pendant would fit into, the blades that popped out of the pendant would hold it in place. Selene looked lost in thought.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"She now understands why her family was killed."

"But that was many years later," Selene replied with a frown.

"The winter of Lucian's escape. Your father knew too much. Or, too much for Viktor to risk, especially when Lucian had the key to William's cell."

"And I'm the map."

"Yes. The only one living who has seen its location. Oh, Viktor realized that you would have been too young to remember explicitly, but Marcus knows that the memory, and, therefore, the exact location, is hidden away in your blood."

"Why is Marcus looking for him now, after all this time?" Michael stepped forward to ask.

"That I cannot answer." Selene cocked the gun. "But I do know someone who could stop him. Perhaps I could arrange a meeting. In exchange for your discretion, of course."

"Of course."

"I'm glad you were able to help us, old friend," Lucian smiled. Tanis gave a thin smile in return as he wrote down an address and handed it to him.

"There is a man at the docks. His name is Lorenz Macaro. Pier 17."

"Much obliged," I joked with a fake southern accent, tipping an imaginary hat. We left, the two female vampires rushing to him and rubbing themselves all over him. I felt disgust at the sight. Nasty little weasel. The four of us piled into the SUV and I found myself wondering about the four Lycans that still guarded our ally. They hadn't raised the alarm, so they were still patrolling. I wondered if Marcus would have the same thought to come here and if they would even be a match for the hideous Hybrid.


We arrived at the pier in silence and were stopped by armed men. They spoke in French. They demanded that we leave the car so they could see our hands. Selene held up the necklace and they guided us in. We boarded a ship and were brought before an older man. He had a regal look to him and his clothes, though seemingly out of time, were impeccable. He had pale skin, white hair, a white beard that was carefully trimmed and piercing blue eyes. I imagined that's where the shocking blue eye trait for both of our species had come from. Just a byproduct of his genetics. One of the armed guards handed him the necklace and as he examined it, he dismissed his men with a wave.

"So you are familiar with this?" Selene asked with arms crossed.

"Intimately." He responded as he pressed the green jewel and the blades popped out. She must have noticed something because she straightened slightly.

"You're Alexander Corvinus." It was a statement, not a question. I stood up straighter and Lucian's eyes widened slightly. I held an instant respect for the First Immortal. He was someone I'd heard of over the centuries and I had given an instant respect to him for being a creator to us all.

"There was a time that I was known by that name. By any name, I am still your forefather," he responded as he stood and took a gentler tone with Michael, handing him the pendant. He obviously kept track of his family line and I felt another surge of respect for him. I stepped forward and held out a hand for a handshake. He regarded me with narrowed eyes but did not take my hand. I remained undeterred.

"I'm Daenerys, Lord Corvinus," I addressed him formally. "I wish to give you my deepest thanks for the gift that your blood bestowed upon me so long ago."

"Gift?" he scoffed. "I do not consider this to be a gift. I am an oddity. A freak of nature."

"I consider it a gift. I would never have lived to see such wonders of the world, to see life in a way that no Mortal can. I hold a dear respect for that life and would seek to preserve it. If what I hear of William's insanity is true, I would not have it. I love this world, for all its faults, and would see it protected rather than destroyed." I was confident, impassioned as I spoke and Lucian had stepped up beside me, his hand grasping my shoulder in support. Alexander gave me a curious look before turning away.

"How have you stayed hidden all these years?" Selene asked before the Immortal could speak.

"Centuries I have stood by and watched the havoc my sons have wrought upon each other and upon humanity. Not the legacy I prayed for the morning I watched them enter this world. And tiresome duty. Keeping the war contained, cleaning up the mess. Hiding my family's unfortunate history."

"Couldn't you have stopped it?" Michael asked and Selene answered without hesitation for him.

"Yes."

"Could you kill your own sons?" He challenged with outrage in his voice.

"You know what Marcus will do. If he finds me, he finds William's prison. You need to help us stop him."

His eyes had widened slightly at hearing Selene's declaration. I would have bet that he didn't know that part of the equation when he did his factoring of the situation.

"You are asking me to help you kill my son? You? A Death Dealer? How many innocents did you kill in the six-century quest to avenge your family? Spare me your self-righteous declarations. You are no different from Marcus and even less noble than William. At least he cannot control his savagery!"

"Anything I have done can be laid at your feet. Hundreds of thousands have died because of your inability to accept that your sons are monsters, that they create monsters. You could've stopped all of this."

"Do not come groveling to me simply because you are weaker than your adversary," He replied in a low, angry voice.

"You know the devastation that William caused before he was captured. He cannot be set free."

Gunshots and a body crashing through the glass above us disrupted our talks and immediately, Lucian and I transformed. My claws were out and my teeth were bared. A spiked wing broke through the glass and impaled Michael through the chest, pulling him out of the room. Selene grabbed at the gun on the fallen man in front of us. Concern marred Alexander's face as he grabbed at her arm.

"No, wait! You're no match for him." She didn't comment and continued towards the broken window, jumping through. Lucian raced to the door and went outside to keep guard there while I got myself into a vantage point where I could see the two broken windows easily. I looked to the Immortal and drew the two new blades I'd taken from Tanis. Marcus must have made quick work of the Lycans and the vampire girls Tanis had if he'd gotten here so quickly after us. I'd hoped that they would buy us more time.

"I'll try to hold him off if he gets to this room," I assured him. He stared at me with a measure of incredulity.

"You truly wish to protect the world from my sons?" he asked and while I heard the sound of machine gunfire distract me briefly, I turned and nodded. He regarded me for a moment. There were screams coming from outside the door now and I realized that he would come in through there. I turned and readied myself. I could hear Lucian roar as he fought against Marcus and the door was torn open with a shriek of metal. He came in, his flesh changing back to a more human pink, Lucian being held by the throat. He was kicking and struggling, his claws gouging the Elder's arm in its leather jacket. He looked me square in the eye as he snapped Lucian's neck. I howled in rage and let the two daggers hidden at my hips fly across the room and bury themselves in his chest as he threw down my lover's body. The other two daggers I twirled in my hands and raced across the room to slash at him. Marcus's speed was impressive. He dodged my blows and hissed as he slashed back with the daggers he'd pulled from his chest.

We fought like that for several minutes, our prowess with the weapons matched, though he was physically stronger than I was by leaps and bounds. He'd been alive for more than a thousand years and had that strength, plus the Hybrid blood, to his advantage. I had only been around a few hundred years and though my being a Hybrid was an advantage, I still wasn't strong enough. He disarmed me with a powerful swipe of one of his wings and pinned me to a wall with the other. I could see his human countenance was quite handsome. I imagine that if I'd met him first instead of Lucian, I might have become a vampire instead.

He had a bloodied, trimmed beard and long hair he held back with braids. He had strawberry hair, flaming red I'd been hopelessly attracted to in my youth. Now, he stood as the monster that might have killed my lover. His pointed nose flared at the blood from the wound he'd inflicted and his hands grasped the daggers he'd claimed from me. He raised one of my arms above my head and pierced a dagger through my wrist. I changed back to my human form as I cried out in pain. I was unable to concentrate enough to make anything fly to my rescue. He took my other arm and did the same with it. Marcus drew in close, his shocking blue eyes narrowed in hunger, though I suspected it was for the blood now pulsing from my wounds. He ran his nose along my neck, taking in the scent.

"You're mated to Lucian," he muttered with interest. "Sonja was his one and only. Or so we thought. I wonder how you managed to capture his interest, little wolf. It is something that I will have to investigate at a later date."

He stepped back and pulled his wing from my shoulder and I was left hanging by the blades. He grabbed another from the ground and buried it in my side. I screamed in shock. He grinned in pleasure at my pain and then turned to look at his father. Under my watch, Alexander had taken the second part of the key, which he'd had in a cabinet behind him, and pocketed it in the expanse of his coat.

"Hello, father."

"You are unwelcome in my presence." The exchange was cold and harsh. Marcus turned his bloodstained mouth into a smile and looked to the ground for a moment.

"Ah. The predictable heart that never thaws. Pity it beats within such a fool. The Eldest of the Immortals, yet you have made no attempt to seize your destiny."

"We are oddities of nature, you and I. Nothing more! This is a world is for humanity."

"And that petty sentiment explains why you rejected your sons? Why you stood by for over half a millennium as William suffered alone, in darkness? No, Father. I have no respect for your petty sentiment. Viktor's key. Where is it?"

"Whatever plan you have for William is futile. You cannot control your brother!"

"Oh, I am stronger now. And our bond is greater than you have ever wanted to acknowledge."

"You're wrong. Soon you'll be drowning in Lycans, just like before."

"Your bond will only go so far as him not killing you, Marcus," I groaned from my spot on the wall. My toes are what kept my feet from dangling completely and what little purchase they had were painfully bought. I was pulling one wrist through the blade to the hilt, using the dwindling strength I had to press against the hilt and pull the blade from the wall behind me. I had just succeeded when Marcus came over to me and wrapped a hand around my throat. The other pulled my remaining wrist down with a painful flourish, ripping the blade from my flesh in the process. I still had a dagger in my side and my right wrist. He approached his father angrily and held me up to him.

"I won't be drowning in Lycans, Father. Or vampires. I will have these and creatures like myself," He declared, shaking me about. I cried out in pain, my slowly healing arm coming to grasp his wrist about my throat. "I will make them in the image of their new god. Me. And gods don't have fathers."

He threw me down to the ground next to Alexander and picked up a sword on display. He used a wing to Alexander's shoulder to pin him against the wall. Before I could even attempt to stand, he impaled the Immortal. Blood immediately flowed from the wound and some of it splashed into my mouth. He paid me no heed and searched Alexander's coat, finding the second part of the key quickly. He disengaged the wing and sword, dropping the weapon to the ground. I was weak and the smell of the blood pooling on the ground called to me. I needed strength and though I had no idea what would become of me, I looked to the fallen Immortal, a man who stared at me as the blood from his wounds pooled closer to my face and mouthed, "I'm sorry," to him. He gave a nearly imperceptible nod and I began to suck the blood from the ground as quickly as I could. I was able to suck in several mouthfuls before Marcus noticed and with an odd look in his eye, tore the blade from my right wrist. I cried out in pain.

"I was going to leave you here but perhaps I can amuse myself with you." He grabbed me by the throat and dug the dagger he'd just taken from my wrist into my other side. I moaned in pain as he changed to his hybrid form and wrapped me under his arm before taking flight. I barely noticed the sound of the incoming helicopter as massive leathery wings took us to William's prison.