I felt guilty. How could I not? I'd befriended the hapless vampire, given him security and given him everything he needed to survive. Then, without mercy I had cruelly ended his life.

I swam through the mote of Melchia's Bastion and wondered if I could bring Gathonel's soul back from the underworld. But even though I was a Rahabim General, I did not have the strength or power. If I asked Rahab he'd only question my logic and I in turn would do the same to myself. Beside that, questioning my logic was beginning to become lethal. My guilt was agony. He'd done nothing to me other than try my patience. But then, I'd never had any it seemed…

Without meaning to, I'd lead Vorador right to the Serafan Sorcerer Priests. I realized this as the four of us squared off against him. In my hatred for vampires I'd sought to destroy him and thus I'd orchestrated death for us all.

Vorador stared at me his eyes glowed a hateful red. "Tonight, Serafan, you die." I stood next to Malek and held out my sword; the sliver gleamed in the firelight.

"Not likely," Malek told him gruffly. "It is you who shall return to hell."

"Hell?" Vorador roared. "You know nothing of hell." Who was I to tell him he was wrong? I supposed being a vampire he'd already been there. With my brother and the remaining Serafan at my side, I swore that he would return there shortly. Yet in all my days as a Serafan Warrior, I had never seen a vampire so resilient or so thirsty for blood and revenge.

"Leave them, Vorador." I said after a long moment of nervous tension. "It's me you want to kill."

His cold laughter cut through me like a knife. "Not so human. I will kill you all." He pointed his twisted sword at each of us in turn.

Rage consumed me. Before thinking I jumped at him, our swords once again meeting in a shower of sparks. "You will not get the chance demon!" I ground out. He laughed harshly.

"Ovelin don't!" My brother shouted out. I'd begun to recognize his voice but nothing else was coming clear. This time his words made me furious. Suddenly, Rahab dived at me and we both tumbled to the ground Vorador's blade imbedding itself into Rahab's side.

"Run!" Rahab coughed. "Ovelin, run." Blood dripped from the edge of his lips and he laid back all at once still. Not knowing why, I stood up and ran Malek and my brother right behind me. Vorador laughed a third time.

"Run, sheep. I shall find you."

I lifted myself from the moat and walked on heading for Nupraptor's Retreat. Here I would find the missing piece of the puzzle and remember my brother. Perhaps once I did remember I could convince Rahab to retrieve his soul from the underworld. Once he was reborn I would use him to remind the vampire Lieutenants of who they once were and in turn use them to all to over throw Kain.

I would be the Lord of Nosgoth soon and only then would my quest for the best of both lives be complete…

Our breath came in white puffs, the air outside the caves of Nupraptor's Keep freezing us to the bone. "This is your fault." Malek whispered lethally. "You and your stupid, 'Let's rid the world of vampires'. You and your, 'Don't listen to the foolish old man'. Don't you see Ovelin? The Oracle was right." Malek threw a fist at me, but my brother caught it easily.

"Yelling about it now will do nothing." He barked.

"Fool. Our Serafan brothers are dead and we are hiding." I growled. "We should be murdering Vorador. Not hiding."

"Then you fight him, Ovelin. I will not waste my time on one vampire." Malek threw up an agitated hand.

"After he murdered your comrades, you have the gall to sit there and say that?" I shouted. Angrily I shoved him not realizing how close he was to the edge. He stumbled backward and fell tumbling into the water below.

My brother stared at me incredulously. "What have you done?" I could see his face clearly for the first time. The memory faded and I found myself screaming... Pure anger flooded through me. I could not remember his name.

The fallen skull of Nupraptor's Retreat lay before me. Kain had fought his first battle as a vampire here. Perhaps this would be where I fought my last. It had been in one life anyway…