Part XXII

Kitana started gasping in both pain and excitement as she started down at her daughter, who lay in her arms. She wasn't dead, now she could see it. She cried out as the pain hit her again.

"VLAD! ANNA! TINA! I'M DYING! HELP ME! SAVE MY CHILDREN! SAVE ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. The child in her arms suddenly came to life and cried with her mother. Tears of joy escaped from Kitana's weary eyes.

Dracula, Tina, and Selindra all engaged themselves in fighting the brides while Anna tried to sneak around to get too Kitana. She was almost there when she was stopped by Verona.

"I don't think so, Anna," sneered the black haired vampiress. "You will not take away my last chance to be a mother!" She slashed at Anna's face. Isis glared.

"Leave Mommy alone!" she said sharply as she eased herself from Anna's arms.

Anna had been knocked to the floor. Verona merely laughed as the little baby crawled towards her with a scowl on her chubby little face.

"I don't see how a child who is only a few days old could be a threat to me!" she said. Only a second later she saw just HOW threatening Isis really was.

The little vampire made a sound like crow call. All of a sudden crows with silver beaks started appearing out of nowhere and began attacking Verona. The vampiress screamed as they pecked at her and ate away at her skin. A few moments later Verona was gone. All that was left of her was her carcass, picked clean with not even the slightest hint of flesh on it.

Within seconds the same treatment was given to Aleera and Marishka. The children they all held prisoner where at once rescued by Dracula and Tina. Anna picked up her daughter and hugged her.

"I'm so proud of you, Isis," she whispered. Isis started crying.

"Aunt Kitty!" she cried.

Everyone ran over to Kitana. She still held her daughter; the one who she thought had died. But everyone could tell at once that something was wrong. She was getting weaker by the second.

"Where are my other children?" she whispered. Tina and Dracula showed them to her.

"They're both boys," Dracula said proudly. "My first sons, as well as my third daughter." Kitana reached up and stroked the boy that her husband held.

"His name is Sebastian," she said hoarsely. She turned to her child in Tina's arms. "And his name is Arthur." Kitana held her daughter a little closer. "And her name is Guinevere." Tina didn't like the way her friend was talking.

"Kitana, what's the matter?" she asked. "You're talking like you're about to die." Kitana looked up at Tina with tears in her eyes.

"Help me," she whispered. "Unless one of you does something very soon I am going to die!"

Part XXIII

"But what shall we do?", Tina asked, "Is it correct that neither of the brides helped you with the birth?"

Kitana nodded and pointed a shaking finger at the lower part of her dress, which was blood-stained. "Guinevere was the hardest to give birth to... she´s the smallest but came upside down."

"Mommy! If it´s the brides´ fault, why can´t they help?", Selindra asked.

"But Seli, the brides are dead and there´s nearly nothing left over of them!"

Selindra ran over to Verona´s bones and returned with something golden in her hand. It was a small ring with a green stone in it. She handed it over to Kitana.

"That´s kind of you, Seli, but..."

"The ring helps", Isis said, her look empty once again. Kitana weakly slipped it over her finger. Slowly the blood on her dress diappeared. "You´re a true genius, Isis", Anna said and held her child close. After Kitana was healed she put the ring into her daughters tiny hand.

Within a few seconds the baby turned from a rosy color to almost white. Guinevere stayed so small but looked much stronger.

"Is it possible that vampire´s can be born as albinos?", Anna asked.

Kitana carefully got off the table, her daughter in her embrace. "I don´t care", she replied, "As long as she´s healthy. Come on, guys, let´s go home!"

Together with this chapter you get the last one but please review them both.