A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've just been kinda sick lately and haven't made it to the computer. Plus, I had to go shopping for my mom's birthday and I still do, actually. But I'm still here!

Chapter XXI

The man smiled at me and I stared. I thought he was just a dream, but there he was before me exactly as I remembered him. Thick white hair barely brushing his chin, pale bluish-white skin, glowing red eyes, and a fearfully irresistible smile. Dressed all in black, he looked deadly but handsome, like a black widow is beautiful but dangerous. I shivered. No, no it couldn't be…

"Jonathon?" I asked, my voice a hoarse whisper. The man smiled again, revealing the gleaming fangs I remembered so well. In my dream, he had smiled at me thus while revealing the secrets of my life in a language I couldn't understand or remember when I woke. I only remembered those fangs suddenly rushing at me and darkness covering all. I couldn't get him out of my head, so I confined him to my stories. I always thought that's all that they were. I saw that I was wrong.

"Jonathon," he repeated softly. "Yes. That's what you called me there. But that's not my name here."

"…Findecáno," I said.

"That's right." Findecáno came closer and sat on the bed next to me. "Hello, my daughter."

"Hello," I said uncertainly. I didn't know what to do, or how to act. I knew this man was my father, and I remembered all that we had shared together, but I couldn't just jump into his arms with a jubilant cry of "Daddy!" I still remembered the Hylden man I thought was my father and my life with him. But the more I thought about it, the more my Hylden memories seemed to be…fake, somehow, and the man sitting next to me, waiting for permission to touch me, seemed real. Slowly I smiled and reached out to him with both arms. Delighted, Findecáno put his arms around me and held me close. I hugged him tightly. Fenrir sat next to us, patiently waiting for the opportunity to pounce on me again. I looked at him.

"I brought him here for you," said Findecáno, anticipating my question. "I know how much you love and must have missed that wolf, so I thought it would make you happy to have him back."

"It does," I replied, scratching Fen behind the ears. I looked up at Findecáno again. "I need your help to bring my friends here, to this world, from the Hylden dimension." Findecáno nodded.

"That's why I'm here," he said. "That, and I heard the news that you had returned. I had to see you again, after so long."

"I thought it's only been a year," I said, confused.

"A year, an eternity…what's the difference when you've sent your only child into the darkest depths of the most dangerous dimension known to the world?" Findecáno replied somewhat sadly. I was touched.

"I'm all right," I said quietly, not knowing what else to say. Raziel stirred slightly next to me and I turned and smiled at him. "Father, have you met Raziel?" I asked. Findecáno smiled.

"I don't believe I have," he answered, "but that can wait until the lad has awakened. He looks like he's been through a lot lately."

"Dragged through Hell and back," I asserted, nodding. "This is the first time in a very long time that he's been able to rest. We mustn't disturb him." I reached out and delicately brushed a few strands of Raziel's thick, soft hair out of his face. "His soul was never the Elder's to claim," I said softly. "Because it belongs to me. He gave it to me a long time ago. And I gave him mine in return."

"Soul…" whispered Raziel, turning over in sleep.

"I'm right here beside you, my love," I whispered back. "Where I've always been. Where I'll always be." I bent down and kissed his forehead and he opened his eyes. Smiling, he sat up and turned to face me fully – which meant he now faced my father for the first time. Findecáno smiled.

"Raziel," he said. "I've heard a lot of nice things about you. Most important of all is how happy you've made my daughter. I am Findecáno. It's a pleasure to meet you." He extended his cloven hand, which Raziel shook.

"Likewise," he replied politely. "You must be proud to have such a daughter as Soul. She saved me from terrible fate." Findecáno was stunned and stared at me.

"You rewrote another's destiny?" he asked.

"A couple times, actually," I said. When I saw the look on my father's face, I said, "I had to! Were you here? Do you know? Raziel was condemned to be imprisoned forever within the blade of the Soul Reaver – the weapon that I designed. I couldn't let that happen! I love him!"

"Dearest, you misunderstand," he said gently. "I'm not angry; I'm elated! I never dreamed you'd be powerful enough to change Fate!"

"Oh, it's more than that," came a voice from the doorway. Kain now stood there, watching us. Fenrir barked once and went over to him. Kain smiled and held out his hand to the great wolf. Fenrir sniffed him and then licked his hand, playful as a puppy as usual.

"Ah, Kain," said Findecáno with a smile. "I heard someone say you were dead."

"Someone lied," replied Kain. Findecáno laughed.

"So what do you mean 'it's more than that'?" he asked.

"I mean, your daughter killed the Elder God," answered Kain. "The God that you and the other Ancients so devotedly worshipped. Soul destroyed him. And now she has taken his place. She is now the hub of the Wheel." Findecáno – Father – stared at me.

"Is this true?" he asked me quietly, red eyes wide. I nodded, unsure of what this meant to him. Father smiled at me joyfully and kissed me on both cheeks. I smiled back.

"There is no one I can think of who is better suited to this task," said Raziel. I kissed him in thanks.

"Father," I said. "There is more I have to do as the Elder. And I need your help to do it. The Pillars need new Guardians, and I know who they are. They are my friends back in the other world, the one you sent me to to protect me from the old Elder. We need to bring them here so the Pillars – and with them, Nosgoth – can be restored."

"But the Pillars require vampire Guardians," Father objected.

"I can only think of one of my friends who might balk," I said, "and he more than the others will understand why it needs to be done." No one was certain now except me. "I understand that this is difficult for all of us, but it has to be done if we ever want Nosgoth restored. You told me once that you'd do anything for me, Father. I need you to do this. I think that if you send me back through the portal and I talk to my friends, I'll be able to convince them to come back with me. I'll just need you to keep the portal open for us." Father was silent for a moment, then he nodded.

"I understand, and you're right," he said. "All right. But we have to do this by the Pillars. The only way to keep the portal open for an extended period of time is to open it at the source. Kain, Raziel, and I will hold off the Hylden while you find your friends. But if something goes wrong, I'll bring you back here with or without them. Don't look at me like that. They'll be fine; even more so if we can keep them alive. Agreed?"

I nodded. "Agreed."

About ten minutes later we were all at the Pillars of Nosgoth. I was still dressed in my gorgeous gown, and Raziel had donned his shoulder armor and shoulder drape. It wasn't the one he had worn throughout his adventures; that one was a wreck. I had made him a new one which I intended to present him after he showed Kain his wings. I never expected what happened. His new shoulder drape I had made out of soft wool dyed the deepest red, except for his clan symbol. The symbol was outlined with sparkling gold thread, and there was gold braid all around the perimeter of the entire drape. I was quite proud of it, and Raziel was proud to wear it. He told me so.

Father set up the spell while I waited, thinking. My friends knew I would never lie about something of this magnitude, but for all we had talked about traveling to other worlds I didn't think they would actually believe me. I guessed I would have to prove to them that what I said was true. That wouldn't be too difficult; I just had to make sure that my magick didn't get out of hand. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Kain examining Raziel's wings behind his back. Smiling grimly, I went over to him, rested my hand on his shoulder, and whispered, "Touch his wings, and I will rip your spine out through your mouth," into his ear. Kain only laughed.

"Everything's ready," said Father at last. He wasn't entirely accurate: I wasn't sure if I was ready. Still, I was going through with this. Father opened the portal for me and I entered. I felt a strange, yet oddly familiar, sense of displacement as the arcane sorcery transported me away. Just before everything disappeared, I heard my father say, "Now all we can do is wait."