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SACRIFICE

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At the Temple of Eternal Night the Nightstalkers used chains to hold the ten purebloods in place. They couldn't stay down at ground level to keep them subdued, otherwise the Daywalkers would have to fight a bunch of new vampires as well as La Magra when he appeared. King, Frost and Blade were on their way back with the final two purebloods, after going hunting at another known pureblood club. They'd also gone to pick up Nick, who had betrayed Frost. They were almost ready to start the ritual without Caitlyn, because they'd had no time to go looking for her.

"Okay, so who's going in the box?" King asked, as the Daywalkers arrived and joined everyone else.

Deacon quickly saw that he was outnumbered as the others looked at him. "I guess it's my turn then isn't it?" he said dryly. He raised an accusing finger at Blade. "But I wanna get fed when this is over, right?"

Jack looked down at the still-visible needle marks in his arms and glared at Frost, but no one really took any notice as Deacon raised his arms in mock surrender and started making his way up toward the Draining Device. Jack and Blade followed him up as the rest of the humans got to work subduing Nick and the other two vampires.

"We're using Frost's second in command as the vessel?" Gary asked King as they both used padlocks and heavy chains to hold a pureblood to a stone column. They both ignored the vampire as it hissed and spat as much as it was able to through the gag. King nodded as he glanced back at Nick, who was similarly gagged and tied down in the centre of the room.

"Yep. I think Frost was looking forward to kicking his ass, but I guess he just gets to settle for leaking blood all over him until Blade cuts him to pieces."

"The Blood God can't be dismembered, can it?" Gary asked.

King stopped for a moment and thought. "No, I don't think so, but Blade's gonna want to have some fun anyway, right?" He looked at his watch. "We have to get started soon." He gave the chains one last pull to test them and started making his way upstairs.

On the top floor, Blade and Jack were securing Deacon in the device. "Don't start this going until I start moving downstairs." Blade instructed. "Then make sure you and the others aren't in the building anymore."

"What about me?" Frost demanded.

Blade glared at him for a moment, but a deal was a deal. If nothing else, once they were finished here then Frost could lead them to Caitlyn. He could always cut Frost up later. "If we get through this, that familiar's gonna come back to get you out. I just don't want any humans around to get turned and get in my way." He touched the earpiece that Caulder had given him. "Benson? Is everyone out yet?" After hearing the answer he glanced at Jack. "One minute," he instructed, and walked away.

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The purebloods and Nick were left alone for a minute while the humans left the building. Gary ran out to the middle of the floor and pressed something into Nick's hand. "I didn't know they were coming for you," he whispered. "But if I let you go now then they'll kill us both." He said. "Let them do the ritual and then you'll be able to kill them all." Nick glared out of his blackened eye before nodding reluctantly and tightening his fist on the key. Gary ran out again before Blade could see or smell him.

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Frost growled as the device's blades pressed into his wrists. The front of it had clicked shut so that he was fully encased in the blackened marble, and could only see out of the slit in front of his eyes. Jack listened to Frost swearing under his breath for about half a minute before he spoke up. "How much of the blood do you think you have to lose?" he asked.

"What do you care?" Frost snapped at him, sounding very bad-tempered. "Shouldn't you be running off now anyway?"

"Probably. I'm just wondering how long I have to leave you alone for before I can finish you. As long as you've served your purpose, I don't think anyone's going to care if I dust you or not." He looked at Frost through the gap in front of his face. "With this neat little window here, I don't even have to open this up to shoot you."

"What about the f&-king deal?" Frost asked.

"You're just an ambitious bastard who's always going to try to take what isn't his. I'm going to make sure you never bleed anyone again." Jack knelt down on the floor and craned his neck to look at the flow of blood sliding out of the Draining Device. "Won't be long now."

"You're pissed off with me for making you a donor? Don't you think this makes us even already? At least you were unconscious at the time. I have to feel every f&-king jab. Besides, I volunteered for this, so if you think about it I'm saving your ass."

Frost was still trying to talk his way out of it as Caitlyn walked into the construction site above them, dragging along another beaten vampire by the hair. She walked through the glare of the van's headlights toward the entrance, ignoring the others as they got up to intercept her.

King drew his gun on her and stood between her and the entrance. "Whatever you think you're doing Caitlyn, stop right there." Abby and Kevin lined up beside him while Caulder watched from the van. The blood on Caitlyn's chin was damning evidence that she'd already turned on them.

"You're not going to stop me," Caitlyn said confidently, still high from vampire energy. "You kids better move, cos I've got a job to do."

"We can still help you if you stop now," Abby said.

"I don't have time for explanations," Caitlyn said impatiently. "We're wasting the darkness." She pulled the vampire's head up and caressed her face with her free hand, pulling in a little bit of energy. "You guys might want to go protect Caulder, cos he's about to get munched on."

The humans heard growling and started shooting at the newly arrived beast as it attacked Caulder's door and then started coming for them. Caitlyn slipped off with inhuman speed during the confusion, taking the vampire with her. She could smell fresh blood and followed it to the Draining room as Jack took aim.

His gun glowed red hot and he dropped it. "Why can't you kids play nice tonight?" Caitlyn asked as she stalked toward him, while taking more energy from the vampire at the same time. She threw the nearly unconscious vampire at Jack as he ducked and rolled to one side.

He drew a knife and stabbed at her as she came in close. She grabbed his wrist and twisted it so that she threw him over her shoulder. Jack rolled over and got to a crouching position. "Don't fight me over this bloodsucking parasite," he told her.

"We're all parasites," Caitlyn said as he swung a punch at her. She blocked it and hit him in the face. "But at least I keep my promises." She kicked him away into the wall, where he slumped to the floor and fought to breathe.

Caitlyn quickly freed Frost and pulled him over to the vampire that was lying prone on the ground. "Who's that?" he slurred, as the thirst made him feel weak.

"Just a snack that I picked up on the way here." Caitlyn said as she cut her own wrist. She used her cut arm to hold Frost around the shoulders and kept her wrist in front of his face while her other hand reached out to finish draining the vampire. "Drink up, because we've still got work to do."

"Blade handled it fine last time. I died, remember?" Frost said cynically, before starting to bite down on her wrist.

"Yeah," Caitlyn said calmly, despite the pain. "But once La Magra's gone and the gates are closed, we've still got to take care of everything that has already risen. There could still be dozens of them left. They'll probably be drawn back to their master when he rises so we've got to be ready for them here." The anonymous vampire slipped into a coma as Caitlyn urged Frost to keep drinking. Soon enough he was sated and feeling strong again.

He got up and pulled Caitlyn to her feet, planting a kiss on the back of her wounded wrist. "You keep surprising me, kitten," he told her.

"Good," Caitlyn said, "because I'd hate to be predictable. Are you going to play nice, and help me save the humans?"

"Why not?" Deacon replied. "It'll probably be more entertaining, you know, more of a challenge than just killing them off."

Caitlyn smiled at him. "Good enough answer."

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The blood fell onto the faces of the purebloods as they struggled uselessly. Blade was standing back, well out of the way as the rest of the blood slowly slid to the centre of the dome in the ceiling. As the drop fell toward Nick, he covertly unlocked the chains on his wrists. Blood slid down Nick's face and the glyphs on the walls glowed brightly. Then thunderous crashing was heard all through the Temple as lightning raced down the walls to burst through the purebloods' bodies and around the raised floor where Nick was held in place.

The souls were released and they whirled around through the air like an unholy tornado before stabbing through Nick's body one after the other. Nick gasped in pain as he let the chains fall from his body. As the last of the vampire souls slammed into him he was thrown to the floor. He raised his head to look at Blade as the Daywalker approached with vials of EDTA.

La Magra chuckled deeply, and with one glance he shattered the vials to send the chemicals splashing all over Blade's front and on the ground. The Blood God was too clever to be destroyed the same way twice. Shots rang out, hitting Blade in the leg and side as Gary fired at him from the third level of the Temple. Some of the bullets were caught by Blade's body armour as he scrambled under cover, but not all of them.

La Magra moved in with blurring speed to kick Blade off of his feet and throw him into a wall. "Not this time, half-breed," he rasped, punching Blade in the head and torso, before throwing him back into the wall. Blade fought back, landing a few useless hits as Gary tried to take aim again. Blade drew his sword and in one fluid motion was able to cut off the Blood God's arm. La Magra just smirked and flung his stump backward, sending globules of blood flying toward Gary as the limb started re-forming.

The familiar trembled as the blood hit him and burrowed underneath his skin, washing through him as the Blood Tide changed him into a vampire. He laughed as his strength increased dramatically, until he was kicked forward to land on the lower platform. Gary sprang back to his feet as Caitlyn and Frost jumped down to face him and the God. Gary took off his glasses and crushed them into pieces, laughing as the glass cut into his hand. "It's Dagon's descendant," he called out to La Magra as Caitlyn leapt forward to deliver a spinning jump kick that sent him slamming back to the ground again.

Blade was still cutting pieces off of La Magra as fast as they could be regenerated, but the god just laughed at his efforts before backhanding him in the face and swiping his feet out from under him. He grabbed Blade's injured leg, clenching his hands over the wounds, and used it to launch Blade into the air at Caitlyn and Deacon before they could stake Gary.

Quick as a blink he grabbed Caitlyn's ankle and pulled her out from under the pile to hold her upside down as he stepped back again. "So your bloodline isn't finished after all," he said to her, grabbing her injured wrist with his other hand as she tried to hit him. He drew blood violently from her wound, burying into it with his fangs.

"I'm the last," Caitlyn gasped through her pain, "and the world will never be ready for your return." She kicked him in the face with her free leg.

Blade threw his double-ended throwing knife at La Magra's hand so that he dropped Caitlyn, while Deacon broke Gary's arm, hit him and staked him. They heard growling up above them as the Nightstalkers retreated into the Temple to escape the approaching pack. One way or the other, this had to finish fast.

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Up in the Draining room, Jack screamed as he was set upon by two of the Hellbeasts. Everyone else was already too busy to save him.

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"Help them," Blade growled at Deacon as he staggered to his feet. "Now."

Caitlyn jumped on La Magra, wrapping her legs around his waist and her hands around his face and through his hair, holding back his head so that he couldn't bite her again as she stared him down. "There's more than one way to feed," she growled, digging her fingernails into his skin. Through her newly reforged link with Deacon she sent a huge power burst into him to send him climbing up the walls like a clawed serpent to get to the others.

The Blood God's neck muscles strained as he tried to force his way towards Caitlyn's throat, and Blade quickly limped up behind him to lock La Magra's arms behind his back. Caitlyn's head swam as she continued to feed energy to Deacon in order to prevent herself from being overrun by the god's power. She knew that his incredible regenerative abilities wouldn't leave him weakened for long, so when he sank to his knees she quickly said to Blade; "Give me a UV grenade and back off now."

He did as she said while she fed power into the ground, calling up vines and roots and branches. They twined around La Magra's arms and lower body, and she let go with one hand to take the grenade. She burnt a hole in his chest, pulled the pin with her teeth and forced the grenade inside as his body reformed over it. Blade grabbed her arm and helped her to scramble backward out of her still growing creation as it swirled over La Magra's head and pressed in tight around him, encasing him completely.

They both silently counted down the seconds as they stepped back and Caitlyn let her tree grow thicker and larger. They didn't even hear it as it went off, but Caitlyn was aware that any traces of the god were probably reforming into him again. She put her hands on the tree and felt grow inside as it filled in the hollow space where Nick's body had been. All of the blood particles were kept as separated as possible until they soaked into the wood itself.

Fire had been used as a method of cleansing for centuries, and Caitlyn let the wood ignite and burnt it through as quickly as she could. When the ashes cleared, she and Blade scented for and couldn't find any trace of the Blood God's vessel. It seemed that La Magra had been vanquished once more, and their heightened abilities allowed them to feel the minute trembling in the Temple's foundations as the Gates closed; wherever they were.

Caitlyn held onto Blade's hand so that she could heal the bullet wounds. "I guess you didn't get in my way after all," he said to her. She nodded and let go of his hand when he looked upward and said to her, "Let's finish this."

"Absolutely," she replied with a smile as she also looked up. The two half-breeds raced up through the levels to join Deacon and the Nightstalkers, fighting to save mankind one more time.

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AN: I figured that writing in the final fight with the remaining beasts would have been a bit of an anti-climax after the La Magra fight, and the ending would have been obvious anyway. I thought leaving it on a dramatic note would work better, and that readers would probably figure out that Blade will once again save the day like always. I guess I'm trying to say that there is always another battle to fight. Anyway, I hope that the way I've done it turned out okay (I can always do one last chapter if it didn't), and that the Deacon-fans aren't going to kill me for leaving his future a mystery.

This is the only time I'll ask for reviews on this story because I want to know what you think and how I can improve it.