I don't know why but writing this chapter was harder than the others. Oh well. Here it is. Hope you enjoy it.

Azec Sistra

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"Marcus." Lia quietly said as she was slowing backing up and motioning for Tanis to do the same.

She recognized him now that his gaze met hers. She remembered the man that she had caught a glimpse of three centuries ago. Something about him had changed though. His once depressed and stoic expression was replaced with fierce anger and determination.

Marcus eyed Lia, knowing that her calm and cold expression and young beauty betrayed her age. He didn't know exactly who she was or what she was, but he did know that she had very impressive skills and was very dangerous. After all, no immortal he knew of would have been able to get that close to him undetected with the exception of his twin brother and his father.

"I do not know who you are Maiden, but I require Tanis' assistance. I am kindly asking you to leave him to me and to withdraw as I have never laid hands on a woman or child whenever possible." Marcus calmly said with particular emphasis on his last two words.

"How gentlemanly of you Marcus, but do you think I will?" she replied, never showing any signs of emotions which he could use to interpret what she was really thinking or what she planned on doing.

Marcus couldn't help but look at her in awe and amazement for an instant.

"Old Hungarian. I must say I am surprised that anyone still speaks it. Even Viktor and Amelia had forgotten it." he said after recovering from the slight shock of this discovery.

Lia began to laugh mockingly at Marcus and said "There are many things that you do not know about me Marcus. I, on the other hand, have some idea of what I am up against. Tell me, what will you do?"

Marcus was losing his patience with the Maiden that stood before him. He hissed at her and forced his canines to elongate, a sign that he was getting ready for battle. To his surprise, though, Lia had done the exact same thing. The two lunged at each other.

Marcus had released his wings and used them to distract her while he focused on throwing a series of punches and kicks at her. After a few minutes, however, he began to worry because she blocked everything he threw at her and forced him to back up two steps for every step that he took towards her. He had no idea she was this strong and agile.

Lia still showed no signs of any emotions, but inside she was thrilled with the thought of battle and was confident. She knew that she wouldn't have a problem making it out alive even if she couldn't kill Marcus. She had one clear advantage over him…even if it was only temporary…even if he was an Elder. Unlike Marcus who had just become a Hybrid, Lia was born one. She had had centuries to master her powers and to come up with ways of adapting to different situations.

She had gotten lost in her train of thoughts just for an instant. But that was all that Marcus needed to get himself out of his situation. He was going to use the tip of his left wing to impale her face. Lia quickly reacted by grabbing onto his shoulders and flipping over him like a pummel horse.

The flesh under her right eye had been torn off but was beginning to heal. "How persistent." Lia said, this time allowing her irritation to show. She had enough of this. This time she was going for the kill. It was all or nothing.

The next thing that Marcus knew, he was slammed into a wall with Lia slowly chocking the life out of him with both her arms. He tried to grab onto her arms and to release himself from her, but every movement that he made only gave her more reasons to tighten her grip on his throat.

He had to do something. At this moment, he released the muscles on his wings and lifted himself and Lia high into the air and slammed her into the opposite wall as hard as he could. Then he impaled her right shoulder.

Lia let out a silent scream as she let go of her hold on Marcus.

"I think you will find it quite amusing to know that I pierced you at the very exact spot where you pierced me." Marcus whispered to her as he leaned in on her and sniffed her scent.

She was thinking of transforming but decided it would be better to save this option as her trump card if she ever needed it. Instead, Lia leaned slightly forward and whispered in Marcus' ear "You know…men always did have one serious flaw whether mortal or immortal." With these words she kneed Marcus in the crutch and followed that up with a kick that put some distance between the two of them.

Marcus could still feel pain in his lower part as he got up and stabilized himself. When he turned around to continue his assault, he was met with a kick squarely to his chest and was sent flying through a wall. The impact had caused the adjacent walls to collapse and bury him.

Lia quickly turned around and saw Tanis with his mouth wide open and trembling out of fear of the fight he had just witnessed. She grabbed him by the arm and broke into a run for the nearest exit. The rumble wouldn't hold Marcus for long.

There were two problems. First, the only exit in the whole entire monastery was blocked by the rumble holding down Marcus. Second, Tanis was running at a speed that would surely get the both of them killed.

With a sigh of exasperation, she heaved Tanis onto her back and held him tightly with both her arms. She motioned him to brace himself because her only option now was to make an exit.

She made a sharp turn and started running as fast as she could, hoping that she could gain the strength and momentum she needed. She ran through the wall in front of her and never stopped running.

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Jon stood on the roof corner of the building where he lived.

He was wearing simple clothing, a black shirt and pants and boots, compared to the combat gear he normally wore. He wasn't carrying anything with him except a shoulder bag that contained a couple of vials of clear liquid, several silver throwing stars, and three guns loaded with UV, silver nitrate, and generic ammunition.

Normally, Jon preferred to wear combat gear that allowed more carrying capacity and use heavy artillery. But he needed to be particularly light for this mission.

His arms were crossed and his eyes were closed in concentration. He was trying to bring all of his senses to their peak levels, which he found somewhat difficult because it was exhilarating simply to stand under the light of the full moon.

He finally began sniffing the brisk night breeze to distinguish the scent of Lucian. It was difficult and he knew it would be because Lucian's scent had been diluted by the day's breeze and the scent of hundreds of passerbys.

Jon sharply opened his eyes after a couple of minutes, revealing his cold, green eyes. The scent was faint but definitely was his.

Jon took a deep breath and jumped off the edge of the roof, making over a fifty feet dive toward the empty street below. He landed on his feet as if he had merely taken a step forward and began running into the darkness.

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Lia roughly dropped Tanis on the passenger side of her car and slid across the hood to the driver side. She hurriedly unlocked the doors and got in.

"Get in now or you'll die." she coldly said to Tanis when she noticed the hesitation on his face. She had no plan of saying this again but had no choice but to wait for Tanis to react. She needed him to react. She needed him to want to live because he was the only one with the answers to her questions.

Tanis finally realized that he would be better off with her than with Marcus back at the monastery. He jumped in the passenger seat and barely had the time to shut the door when Lia slammed her foot on the gas pedal and sped away.

Lia handed him the two vials of clear liquid that were strapped to her waist and ordered him "Open the window and drop the liquid on the road while covering your nose."

Tanis took the two vials and looked at them questioningly before he turned his attention back to Lia and stared at her.

It took Lia a few moments before she realized that there was no sound and no change in air pressure inside the car. She turned her head and only saw Tanis staring at her like an idiot rather than doing what she had told him to do.

"What?" she calmly asked him. But she understood everything when he looked down at the vials again and then back at her.

She explained "That's super concentrated hydrogen peroxide. The smell from that should be enough to knock Marcus off of our trail for a while."

Tanis opened his window and did as he was told. Immediately, he understood what she had meant. The smell of the liquid was so strong that he was nearly knocked out cold. Thankfully, Lia had warned him to cover his nose.

Once he was back inside, Tanis broke the uncomfortable silence and asked her "Does he know you?"

"No."

"Why refer to you as 'Maiden' then?"

"Because of this." Lia said as she unhooked something from her outfit and handed it to Tanis. He examined it closely. She had handed to him a brooch or pin of sorts that was shaped and colored like an iris flower. It was very fragile and very old but still retained its vibrancy and distinct shape.

"What is th…" he began to say when Lia grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer.

"Enough games Tanis. I overheard your conversation with Marcus. Tell me about the key he keeps asking about. What is it and what does it unlock?"

After few minutes of silence, Lia let go of Tanis and allowed him to straighten himself.

The nature of all the actions that she had taken towards him so far had caused Tanis to misinterpret them as actions done out of kindness. Perhaps Lia was not as cold hearted as Jon had previously said.

His image of her was soon shattered when Lia spoke up "Do not try my patience Tanis. I have powers and skills that rival, if not surpass, even those of an Elder, and there would be nothing more pleasing than to sink my canines into your neck."

"There are times when she won't distinguish between friend and foe, especially when it comes to your kind. Her hatred of Vampires runs deeper than even mine so you had best be careful when being questioned by her."

This was the only but most helpful advice that Jon had ever given to Tanis. And he could see it now in Lia's eyes, the coldness and hatred that she felt towards him even though he had done nothing but help her throughout her lifetime.

Tanis swallowed hard and began to say "You must know the legend of Alexander Corvinus."

Lia let him go and gave him a glance and told him to continue.

"It was never a legend. Everything is true. Marcus…he is the one…the first true Vampire."

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Answer me, it can't be so hard
Cry to relieve what's in your heart
Desolation, grief and agony

Trying to move
down in this grave
Trying to believe in every faith
As another bridge to clarity

Daylight Dancer / Lacuna Coil

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The lyrics really set the mood for Jon and Lia, don't you think?

Oh and the issues about the languages that Lia and Jon speak and the whole entire "Maiden" thing are going to be clarified in the next two chapters.