A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken so long to update again, but the Real World is getting in my way again. I thank you for your patience.

Chapter XXIII

I stayed all night with my friends, watching them change. I could feel the differences in them now, as it became more and more obvious that they were no longer human. I felt inexplicably sad, and not even Raziel's kisses could drive the sadness away. I didn't understand. I should have been elated. My friends – the people dearest to me – were going to live forever! And so was I! Why should I be sad?

'Maybe because you tricked them into this?' suggested that wicked little voice everyone has at the back of their head. I brushed at my temple as though I were brushing away a fly. The voice was right, though. I felt guilty. I had trapped my friends here and forced this dark gift on them all. That's why I was so sad. I prayed that they could – and would – forgive me.

Brad, the first on 'made', woke soon. He looked around until his gaze settled on me, where I sat leaning against the base of the Pillar of Balance. I couldn't bring myself to look at him.

"Hey," was all I said.

"Hey yourself," he replied, not unkindly. He studied me for a moment. "Nice outfit."

"Oh, thanks." I had changed from my gorgeous gown into a shirt with wide sleeves and leggings, both made of a silvery-white material, under a sleeveless tunic and boots, both made of black dragon scales that glittered iridescently. My hair was pulled back in a braid as thick as Kain's wrist. I remembered receiving the outfit from my mother on my birthday. But that didn't matter now. "How are you feeling?"

"Different," said Brad, as though unable to better describe it. "I'm more aware of everything around me now. I smell blood everywhere. And I have this tight feeling in my stomach."

"The thirst is upon you," I told him. "Try to control it for now. We have to wait for the others. Caitlin is the last." I watched as Brad stroked Caitlin's hair, which had turned black except for the streaks of devil red. I sighed. "Brad, I'm so sorry."

"For what?" asked Brad in surprise.

"For tricking you all into this, bringing you here with no way back, forcing you all into this dark metamorphosis, all of it. Everything I've done."

Brad just looked at me. "You just did what had to be done. Don't feel bad; we understand. Can't you feel it?"

He was right. In all my friends' minds I sensed no animosity towards me, no resentment, no ill will of any kind. They didn't hate me for what I did. They didn't feel I had anything to answer for, anything to be sorry for. I smiled slowly, feeling much better. Brad smiled too.

"So what happens now?" he asked.

"We wait for the others to rise," I answered, "and then I teach you to hunt, then I call Raziel and Kain, and then I present the Guardians to the Pillars so their corruption will end." I had asked Kain and Raziel to leave me alone with my friends sometime during the night.

"Sounds good, especially the hunting part," said Brad. "I'm hungry." I nodded. I shifted my position so I was facing him more.

"So…what's it like?" I asked.

"What's what and who?" came a somewhat sleepy voice. I looked up and saw Greg just sitting up next to Hana's lifeless form. He looked around. "Whoa, what a rush." I laughed. I couldn't help it.

"What was it like?" I asked. Greg looked surprised.

"What, you don't know?" he asked.

"No," I said. "I was born this way. I wasn't turned. I'm the only vampire in the history of the Blood Curse to be born. Albeit stillborn, but born nonetheless. So what's it like?"

"Weird," said Brad.

"Cool," said Greg at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed. So did I.

"OK, how about one at a time?" I suggested. Brad went first, telling me that it had felt like being born, only backwards somehow. Greg said it was more like an adrenaline rush too high to control that left you exhausted afterward. They both said that the dying part had felt like going to sleep, only heavier. One by one all my friends awoke, all of them different in some way: Brad's skin was just a little lighter than before, Greg's, Hana's, and Courtney's was much paler, Hana and Courtney's hair was black as night while Joe's was white as a lily. And, of course, they all had fangs now. Upper and lower canines. I had the same, only mine were retractable whereas theirs were not. That probably came from my not being a full vampire. When they were all reoriented with themselves, I took them into Termogent Forest and we wandered until I spotted an encampment of vampire hunters. There were still a few floating around here and there. I would see an end to that. As it was at the moment, I only motioned for my friends to come close to me and be quiet.

"Humans?" asked Brad uncertainly.

"What did you expect, rats?" I replied. "They're nothing, only the ruthless slaughterers of Moebius, sent to destroy our kind. They are brutal and merciless, and just as bloodthirsty as vampires, though in a different way. There is nothing noble in their quest. Don't let morals interfere; it ruins the experience. Now, remember that you are silent as shadows if you will yourselves to be. Be swift and silent, or we'll have a bloody ambush on our hands. There are four of them here; the first four will feed now and then we'll move on. Are you ready?" They were. Brad went first, slipping silently behind a tree where a man was sitting, putting his hand over the man's mouth, and quickly feeding from him and leaving his body against the tree looking for all the world as though he were just sleeping. Brad crept back to the rest and I smiled approvingly.

"Excellent. Greg, you go."

And so it went on until all the hunters were dead and the first four of my friends were satiated. We moved on until we found another encampment and the same thing happened. I took the last one, as I was just renewing my memories of feeding and wanted to experience it again. The blood of my best friend, offered to me willingly, had been sweeter than anything I had ever tasted. The blood of my enemy, taken by force, was hot and pumped with adrenaline, as I had made a bit of a scene since all the others were dead and I didn't have to worry about my friends getting hurt. When we were all finished, I brought them back to the Pillars.

"Now what?" asked Caitlin.

"Now this," I replied. I closed my eyes for a moment, and opened them again when I felt my mind traveling outward. A purplish glow surrounded my body. Smiling at my friends' surprise, I Whispered, "Kain? Raziel? Where are you? Return to the Pillars; we are ready." The glow faded when I had finished.

"What was that?" asked Hana.

"It's called the Whisper," I explained. "Vampires can use it to speak to each other over great distance. It's not mind-reading, as we cannot hear each other's thoughts through it. We can simply speak into each other's minds and hear their responses. Raziel and Kain should be here soon." Almost as soon as I'd said it, Kain appeared in a flash of light and Raziel landed gracefully next to me, folding back his wings when he had. I smiled and embraced him tightly. "It's time."

"What do we do?" asked Joe.

"Just do what I tell you," I replied. "Raziel, you're first." Raziel nodded and we went to the Pillar of Death. Raziel placed his hand on the Pillar's cracked and blackened surface. I spread my arms out and said in a voice that echoed through all planes of life: "Raziel, Guardian of the Pillar of Death!" I didn't shout it; there was no need. But the words echoed on and on and are probably still echoing even back into the past. I hoped Moebius could hear it in a different timeline where he still lived. The Pillar accepted its Guardian and was restored. Pristine whiteness spread from Raziel's hand all around and up the Pillar until it was completely white.

"Oh, that's beautiful," said Hana softly. I smiled.

"Wait until you see the others," I said. The Pillar of Death offered it's token, the Death Orb, to Raziel, who accepted it. "Brad, you're up." Brad followed me to the other side of the platform to the Pillar of Mind. He placed his hand on the Pillar, following Raziel's lead from before. Again I announced the Pillar's new Guardian. Again the Pillar was restored to its original beauty. Brad was not presented with a token, because his greatest power already lay in his mind. He understood that as soon as he touched the Pillar. That's why I had chosen him as Mind Guardian. I went to the Pillar of States and gestured to Joe. The same thing happened, only this time the Pillar offered Joe a set of scales, which he accepted. I smiled and went back to the other side of the platform where the Pillar of Dimension waited for Hana. When it was purified, it offered her a third eye with which to see into other realms. She accepted hesitantly, but nonetheless. I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly as I continued. It was Nick's turn to become Guardian of Time. When he had, the Pillar offered him Moebius's Hourglass, which he accepted. I knew the arcane tool; it was off of this that the greater Time Streaming Chambers were modeled. Moebius had long ago taught me how to use them. Doddering old fool, he never realized that I was only cozying up to him to gain that exact knowledge. I smiled at the memory as I continued on to Conflict. It seemed a bit of a roundabout way to do things, going back and forth across the platform, but I felt it needed to be done that way. It wasn't a problem for me, at least. I beckoned Greg over to the Pillar of Conflict and initiated him as its Guardian. Its token was the helmet of Malek, the Paladin failure. In all fairness, Moebius was responsible for his failure but none of that mattered now. History had never meant much to me anyway. Caitlin, my best friend for nearly ten years, was next as Guardian of Energy. Her token was a cloak made from an alloy akin to lead – heavy and malleable, woven into fine links. The energy she'd control would be stored in this garment. The last of my friends, Courtney, my other best friend, was granted the ivory antler headdress of the Nature Guardian when the Pillar accepted her. All of my friends had done as I had asked. Now there was only one more. I turned slowly to face Kain. He nodded and approached the Pillar of Balance, the root of all the Pillars and the source of the corruption. He placed his cloven hand on the Pillar that would one day become his throne and I announced, "Lord Kain, Scion of Balance!" This time I shouted it for all the land to hear, and hear they did. As the last Pillar accepted its Guardian, a great pulse of energy went through the land. I could feel it. I watched as the land was purified of all corruption, feeling the changes in the aura of the earth. Never had I felt anything like it, and I must say I rather enjoyed it. And why shouldn't I? The land I loved, the land I called my home, was pure and whole again. Kain was right, though, in that Nosgoth would never again be innocent. But she was cleansed. The natural order had been restored.

"It's over," I said softly, almost disbelieving. "It's finally over." I felt drained, suddenly, as the Binding was secured fast. The Hylden in me was being pulled away, and I nearly screamed. I was being pulled apart, just as I had when I was first brought here. But now I understood why. I fought it, I held on to my Hylden side and somehow forced it to merge with my vampiric essence to form something entirely new. The Binding would not affect me now.

"Oh…" I whispered before I collapsed. Kain caught me, looking down at me in concern. I closed my eyes. Finally, finally, I could rest in peace.

A/N: No, it's not over yet! It's not over 'til the fat lady sings (or you see 'The End' at the bottom of the page, whichever makes more sense)! I'm not done with them yet!