The world returned in sharp bursts of light that blinded me. For a long moment, I couldn't remember where I was, or how I'd gotten there, but then as I pushed myself up, the memories returned.

I'd nearly been killed by the vampire Josep, and now I was the property of a god.

What a night.

"She wakes." Isaac was sitting back in the single wooden chair, his feet propped up on the table. "And how was your slumber, sleeping beauty?"

"You're in a good mood." I ran fingers through my hair, letting them drift down to my throat, where a ragged wound should have been. The vampire smiled, jumping from his seat and pulled out his phone.

While he dialed, I slowly pulled myself to my feet. To my right there was the sound of groaning metal and a crash heading toward me. I spun around to find Josep, bound in heavy chains and reaching out toward me. His eyes were still completely black, and when he opened his mouth to growl inhumanly loud, his fangs were frighteningly long.

"Will you stop that?" Isaac appeared beside him, and yanked on the chain to pull him back. "I told you we have something waiting for you." He sighed, moving to stand next to me. "He's been like this all day. There were a few times I thought he might nab you."

"Then why was I so close to him?"

Isaac shrugged, "I was bored. And I needed something to keep him focused. He refused the girl your boyfriend sent, something about poison. Tasted fine to me though."

"Boyfriend?" I asked with a scowl. The vampire smirked, lifting the phone back to his ear.

"You caught that, huh?"

"Cern isn't my-" But he held up a finger and nodded toward his phone, so I crossed my arms and moved to the smashed window.

"So did you get them?" Isaac was saying. "And they're waiting outside the tree line?" He grinned, "What'd you tell them?" He laughed, "Cute. We're on our way."

"Where are we going?" I asked as the vampire began to undo Josep's restraints.

"Back to the hotel."

"Thank god." I sighed in relief. Isaac glanced my way and shook his head.

"I wouldn't start praising him just yet. We still don't know if he'll make it to the car without charging you again."

Great. Apparently, this whole Cern thing was going to become a running tease with Isaac. Just what I needed.

Josep didn't hesitate once the chains fell away, and Isaac had to wrap his arms around him. He managed to drag the vampire a few feet across the floor before Isaac found purchase and slowed him down.

"Hey, Mira, why don't you wait outside?"

I nodded and moved quickly out the door. Outside it was dark, the sky dotted with thousands of tiny stars. I'd never seen the sky so clear. I might have been more impressed if I weren't wondering why I'd slept through the entire day. A flash of memory took me back to the light I'd seen in Cernnunos' palm. What had he done to me? What had he taken? And Josep's words, "How can she be so empty?"

I didn't like the sound of it.

I followed Isaac and Josep at a distance. The vampires struggle against each other the entire way, but now that I was downwind of the starving beast, he seemed easier to handle. As I walked I tried to keep my thoughts on anything but Cern and what had happened last night and though it was difficult, I managed.

Somewhere along the path a rock jumped out to snag my foot and I stumbled catching myself on a tree. Before I could curse myself however something glimmering on my right hand caught my eye. Had I been wearing a ring before tonight?

"Where did you come from?" I asked softly, lifting it to inspect in the dim light. I could only make out the basic design; three bands of woven gold, one pale and one seeming almost silver, and in the center, where they came together, they formed what looked like a sun.

"Cernunnos." I decided aloud.

"You would leave without saying goodbye?"

"Holy shit!" I cried, spinning to find him behind me as if he'd been there the whole time. The god frowned, watching me slow my breathing. "Don't do that."

"Even in this era I would think a young woman might watch her language." He replied, oblivious to that fact that he'd scared this shit out of me.

"It's also customary to announce your presence before your at someone's back, Cern."

"You are very jumpy." He said, the corner of his mouth turned up in a smile. I shot him a glare before straitening and holding up my hand to show him the ring. Now that he was standing so close to me, I could see it just fine, as if his body was emitting some sort of light.

"Is this yours?" I asked. His vivid green eyes flicked down to the bands of gold and back to me.

"It is yours now."

I nodded and reached to slip it from my finger, but it wouldn't budge. In fact, the more I tugged, the tighter it seemed.

"What the hell, Cern?"

The god titled his head, hands behind his back, and watched me struggle a few moment more before replying.

"It cannot be removed. Not by you" He said, cool as a fucking cucumber, "It was the only way I could be sure you would wear it."

"So you super glued it to my damn finger?"

"You have a problem with cursing." He frowned. I grit my teeth and tried not to rip out my hair.

After a deep, calming breath, I held up my hands. "Ok, I'll play along. Why do you want me to wear it."

"It is a gift, little one. What more reason should I have?"

"Are you allergic to strait answers?"

He chuckled and reached out to take my right hand, ignoring the fact that I went rigid at his touch. Still holding my hand, he slipped the ring from my finger and held it up for me to see. I scoffed, trying not to find this irritating, but didn't speak.

"It is a puzzle ring." He said, "The Celts would give them to their wives on their wedding days." He let the thing tumble into his palm and suddenly it wasn't just one ring, but 6 separate bands of gold all linked together. "The wives did not know the secret to putting them back together. It was the husband's way to deter infidelity."

I arched a brow letting him draw away to begin twisting the bands into a solid ring again. "Is this your subtle way of hinting at something, Cern?"

The god glanced back at me and took my hand again. As he slipped the ring onto my finger his expression was somewhat cold. "I have no need for subtlety."

I drew my hand back slowly, frowning and glanced in the direction that Isaac had taken Josep. Both were long gone now. "Sorry to ruin your plan here, but if I can't take it off then how-"

"I am not worried about who you choose as bedmate, Mira. You will accept me in time. The ring is for protection."

I tried not to dwell on what he'd just said, and nodded. "So what, is it going to zap anyone who tries to hurt me?"

"No, Mira." He sighed. I think I might have actually been irritating him.

"Then what-" But the god held up and finger, touching it lightly to my lips for silence. His eyes, so bright and impossible searched mine, his expression imploring.

"I do not have much time, little one." He moved in closer, "Know this. You need but to call my name and I will hear you, wherever you are."

I looked down, fighting a blush and caught sight of something handing from his belt. A pouch of black velvet and whatever was inside seemed to be glowing. Tiny shafts of white light escaped the draw string, and I thought back to the light he had stolen from me.

"Cern, what is that?" I asked motioning to the pouch. The god, lifted my chin, his free hand slipping down to cover the thing. Before I could ask again, he smiled, and the expression, so dazzling, caught me off guard.

"You leech grows restless." He said, stroking my cheek with his thumb. "You should return to him."

"But-"

"Close your eyes, Mira." He murmured, and for whatever reason, I obliged.

The scent of him filled my lungs, his heat enveloped me and then I felt the soft brush of his lips over mine and couldn't help a tiny sigh. He still tasted like apricots. Smelled like soil and rain and something else indescribable and masculine. When he pulled away, I gave in and let myself smile, opening my eyes.

And finding myself at the tree line.

"She probably got lost, or tripped over her feet." I could hear Isaac, just outside the forest, and saw the headlight of his car. "Maybe we got lucky and she crack open her head on a rock."

"Or maybe she's right here and doesn't appreciate you being such and asshole." I scowled, striding from the tree line with my arms crossed. Isaac turned with a scowl of his own. He was standing beside the car and to my surprise Sanura was with him.

The vampire smiled brightly at me and rested a hand on her hip. "I hear you've been making interesting friends." I shrugged.

"I figured my life wasn't complicated enough."

She chuckled and opened her mouth to say something else but there was a feminine cry from within the car and a loud bang. I leaned a little closer, not really sure if I wanted to see what was happening. Isaac however filled in the blanks.

"Josep's having himself a nice big meal. I wouldn't get to close."

I nodded swallowing the bile and moved to Isaac's side for what little comfort in awarded.

"So the disappearing act," he began, "That your boyfriend's work?"

"Enough with the boyfriend thing, Isaac. I might start to think you're jealous."

He laughed, rolling his eyes and leaned back against the car, oblivious to the soft female cries from inside. "So what did Daddy tell you? Anything we should know about?"

I shrugged, letting the vampire loop his arm around my shoulders. "For starters he really doesn't like you."

Sanura chuckled, "No surprise there."

"Other than that…" I sighed, "He's not so big with the strait answers. And he just kind popped me over here and disappeared."

"Aw," Isaac shook me gently, ruffling my hair, "Are you upset you didn't get a goodbye kiss."

I pulled away from him while Sanura gave a heavy sigh. "No." I replied, turning to look him dead in the eyes, "I'm upset it was such a quick one."

The vampire lost his smile, which of course made me grin and stepped away from the car just as the door opened. My eyes zeroed instantly on the pale, bloody arm that fell out to dangle off the seat. I didn't have the stomach to look at the rest of the body. Instead I forced myself to focus on the young man unfolding from the car.

No longer gaunt and sickly looking, Josep straitened the stained rags of his shirt, and cracked his neck to the side. When he opened his eyes, the black began to recede until his iris became a dark chocolaty brown, flecked with copper.

I'd been right, he was handsome when he wasn't skeleton-thin and trying to kill me. As I stared, he flicked the golden blonde hair from his eyes and winked at me before turning to Isaac. He looked too young to be a vampire, barely older than me, if that when he'd been turned, but undoubtedly gorgeous. I wondered if all vampires looked for beauty when they made others of their kind. Was it a requirement, or simply an effect of the change? I would have to ask Isaac about it sometime.

"Do you feel better?" Isaac asked, he seemed somewhat sullen now. Josep grinned with perfect human teeth and nodded.

"I'll feel more so when I'm in clean clothing again."

Sanura rounded the car with a tiny squeal and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in the side of his neck. For a moment, he looked startled, but recovered quickly and returned the hug.

"We will have time to catch up later, dearest. For now we have bodies to dispose of and a human to feed." I stiffened when his gaze snapped to me, "After all, she hasn't eaten in two days.

I didn't like the way he was looking at me, but he was right. I was starving and the idea of riding back to the hotel with a load of corpses didn't sit too well with me.

"By all means." Isaac said softly, his arms slipping around my waist. It struck me as protective, but I didn't have time to wonder about it, because Josep was already climbing back into the car followed by Sanura. The vampire squeezed me gently and nodded toward the front seats. "You're sitting next to me."

"No problem." I sighed.

This would be a long drive.

I'd like to start by saying thanks to everyone who has read this so far and that I've really enjoyed your reviews and critiques. However, I must admit that the character of Cernunnos has received mixed reviews.

Now, that is fine, I like hearing both sides, but I need to stress that to those of you who know who and what he is, try not to look at him as the deity. This character is simply that, a character. His personality, appearance, and actions are completely my own and have nothing to do with the deity as he is worshiped. I used this particular god because he represents so many things and has so many "jobs" that I could use to build my own character from.

I want you to know that there is not going to be a single part of his character that hasn't been tweaked by me. This character represents the Deity in name and "jobs" ALONE. He is not a representation of my religious views or anyone else's. He is a completely fabricated take on a deity that I have always found fascinating, and nothing more.

And now that we've covered that, what do you think so far? Thoughts? Dislikes? Leave me some feedback.

-Calamity-