Death Series 4 - Price Of Death

by SongOfStars

The deeds of the past will always come back to bite you.

6. Chapter 6

(AN: Two songs inspired this chapter. The first half is by Dan Vasc (which I kind of based Sherrinford on) & Violet Orlandi: a cover of Seal's 'Kiss From A Rose' & the second half is 'One Million Voices' by Thomas Bergersen. Both can be found on youtube.)

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(6) The Ancient Ritual

John put his mobile away & glanced down the hall. "I'm going after him."

"No, John!" Lestrade put a hand on the war doctor's shoulder to hold him back. "We don't know who he is. I'll check the security cameras of this place tomorrow & work from there." John's glare turned gold as he focused on the hallway where his target had disappeared. In a rare moment, he let go of his humanity & growled, baring the longer teeth.

"Easy, John," Anderson stepped slowly away. "You are human, right now." John sighed long & low. The amber left his eyes. He shrugged Lestrade's hand off.

"First thing in the morning," John muttered.

"We'll find him," said Lestrade.

"We should get going," Anderson said as he started following Donovan out the door.

"Don't mention this imprint to Sherlock or Enola," said John. "Not until we know who that man is."

Lestrade waited for John to leave first to make sure he would. He left instructions to send copies of the security cameras to his office for later before heading out the door at last. For now, it was time to head up to the Cheviots as soon as possible.

Donovan barely had time to get out of the car before Enola put her hands on her arm. "Come with me. You don't want to hang out with boring guys, right now, do you?" She grinned at Anderson before pulling her prize away. The two of them were soon racing down long halls & up the stairs to the higher levels.

Donovan followed Enola as best possible, not knowing the passage ways as well as her. She ended up in a large bedroom & felt as if she had stepped back in time. The chamber was nearly as large as one of the parlours below. The stone walls had been covered with a dark wood veneer. A large canopy bed filled one corner, covered with dark red curtains that matched similar curtains of velvet at each window (there were four). Several silk shawls were draped over the top left corner over the foot of the bed & more lay on it. Jewellery was every where. A pile of bangles on the desk. Necklaces hung from the top of a corner post of the bed. All from her days with Roma company. A desk with a mirror that had its side panels folded in to close it off was at one window. Across from that, a door opened to a large private washroom. The ceiling of both areas had a deep blue tinge to it. Two chandeliers hung in the bedroom, one at each end & one more was in the center of the washroom. All three looked like they were full of candles but upon closer inspection, the candles now had small light bulbs that one would see on a string of Christmas lights.

"They used to be real candles," said Enola. "The whole castle has been modernized."

"How long have you had this place?"

"Our parents built the start of it," said Enola. "Just a small cottage back then. Named Musgrave, after the cove out there. We added to it over time."

"Cottage?" Donovan stared at several glass cases along the far wall where bows stood. "Greg said that Sherlock mentioned something about that in his delirium during his Flying Burn. Your parents were never vampires?"

"They were never turned," Enola came to stand beside her. "But got blamed for it & burned for it." Donovan kept her eyes on the old bows as Enola pointed to a very old long black one. "My father gave me that one. My first one. I followed in his footsteps of archery."

"I thought women weren't allowed to do stuff like that, back then?"

"Depends on the era," Enola shrugged. "Some eras were fine for being female, others damned you for your gender. Sometimes, the very way we dressed could get us executed. Oh & hoop skirts? Petticoats? Corsets? Ugh! I'd rather be naked!" Both laughed at that as Enola added, "Other times, I had to act like nothing more than a pretty girl at the piano & only my brothers knew what I could actually do."

"You play the piano?"

"Sometimes," said Enola. "We all can play several different instruments that we learned over the ages. I've even done violin duets with Sherlock. I prefer singing, though. But all vampires sing. In fact, the three of us will be doing something I set up for Mycroft this afternoon before the fete tonight. That's why some of you got invited earlier. It's been just over a year since he was destroyed."

"All three of you. So you mean Sherlock as well?" Donovan scoffed. "Really?"

"He has an awesome deep voice," Enola replied, unperturbed. "It is one way of seduction. We are in a sense, sirens of the night. All three of my brothers are able attract anyone when they are in the mood for blood, or sex, usually both. I did it, too."

"I've often thought of Sherlock going on bloody rampages," Donovan said. "When I first met him, I knew something was different about him. I even warned John about him. Turns out, I was right but not in a way I expected."

"All four of us have killed more than you can ever imagine, not just for their blood, but we have also lived through so many wars." Enola moved down the row & opened a tall wooden panel. She pulled out a modern bow. "This is my current one."

"Whoa!" Donovan stepped back a little. "That thing still works?"

"Yeah, it's only about five years old," Enola said. "Back at Mycroft's modern estate I now live in, I often ride horses through a target field. It's about all we can do with bows in this age, right now." She put the bow away. "I used to kill man & beast with my arrows. One shot. Sometimes with poison."

Donovan shuddered a little. "I have to remember you are three thousand years old."

"Different days back then," said Enola, sweeping back her long black bangs. "And long ago." She pushed Donovan forward to the desk to sit down. "Now let's get started on you." Enola opened a drawer & set to work.

"Shouldn't we open the mirror?" Donovan looked at the closed panels.

"Hold still!" Enola turned Donovan's face back to her. "We will soon. Now, close your eyes & raise your brow. Perfect. Now, freeze!"

Donovan did for one second before laughing. "I'm sorry. Try again."

"This is another reason why I said to come as early as possible," Enola was also trying not to laugh so she could focus.

Soon, Donovan felt soft taps on her eyelids. She tried not to move as Enola painted her skin. "So what is it about vampire men?" She spoke in almost a whisper.

"You can talk normally," Enola said. "We'll do your lips last. Well, they suck!" She stopped applying make up as Donovan fought hard to keep her face straight.

"You said that on purpose!" She half-opened one eye to glare at Enola.

"That I did!" Enola shamelessly admitted. It took several minutes for either of them to compose themselves. "It needed to be said," Enola picked up the eyeliner.

"Are they all as annoying as Sherlock?"

"I don't think anyone is as annoying as Sherlock," Enola said. "He's a special case."

"So it isn't just me then," Donovan said.

"Oh trust me, he drives everyone up the wall," Enola switched to the other eye. "Try growing up with him & then being stuck with him for three thousand years."

"Oh God! Nightmare!"

"Totally," Enola said. "Mind if I ask you a rather personal question?"

"Sure," Donovan shrugged. "I just won't answer it if it's too personal."

"True," Enola dug around in her drawers for something else. "I used to be able to smell the blood but not anymore. So now I have to ask. Are you dealing with something we human girls have to deal with every month?"

"Oh that," Donovan replied. "No, not right now."

"Good," said Enola. "You would have had every single vampire man lining up & hitting on you if you were. Maybe even some of the girls. Irene likes girls."

"They can smell that?" Donovan gasped. "I suppose so. I mean, it is blood."

"Many a fair maiden in high castle windows have been seduced by all three of my brothers," Enola said. "The vampire gets a feast. The girl gets off. No harm done. Just thought I'd warn you."

"Really? They do that?"

"Every vampire man I've ever met has done that," Enola said. "Actually, it didn't matter if they were maids or married. If they were bleeding, a vampire would miraculously show up to seduce her. Why do you think chastity belts became a thing for a while? That was a headache for vampric folks everywhere!"

"Oh my God!" Donovan was once more trying not to laugh.

"Just watch," Enola went on as she slipped around Donovan & leaned over from behind to reach for something. "You'll see them doing stuff like this to human girls. They're sniffing for blood. Discreetly." She picked up a bottle of nail polish & stood straight. All in one fluid movement. "You won't know unless you are actively looking for their moves. Alright, we just have your nails to do," Enola shook up the bottle a little before opening it, thoroughly enjoying Donovan's speechless look of horror.

"What happens if the human girls ARE bleeding?" Donovan glanced at the mirror, but it was still closed.

"Well, then you're basically dealing with ageless beings who are now reduced to the mindset of teenagers," Enola smirked, painting on some nail color. "They'll get a little flirty & try to probe to see if they can seduce her without getting in trouble. Is she legal age? Is she available? Is it possible to get with her without a spouse knowing? Hopefully, she's the type that likes to lie around & doesn't mind a one night stand. That's easy to find in this day & age."

Donovan gasped at the very idea. She changed the topic. "What about the werewolves? Are they as crazy as vampires?"

"Yes, but only once a month, funnily enough," Enola snickered before going on. "It depends on their age. Jacob is over two hundred years, but that's basically a puppy in Lycan years. On the other hand, wolves like John were either human first before being turned or were unaware until activated."

"That's what happened to John, right? He was activated?"

"His pack used to be very large & strong a long time ago," Enola said. "But so much human blood mixed in, by now. Don't touch your fingers for a few minutes. It will dry soon."

"Alright," Donovan spread her hands on the top of the desk to wait. "Mary was more wolfish than him."

"She had more Lycan blood in her," Enola nodded. "But she was raised alone which was why she was so shy. Mary was just starting to come out of her shell. She was actually quite smart & even had a knack for keeping Sherlock in line."

"Isn't there anything we can do about that driver that ran her down?"

"Not yet," Enola said. "I highly doubt it was done on purpose. She probably wasn't even seen by the driver. But now that everyone knows vampires & werewolves exist, the Undead Law is working on something to protect future werewolves during the full moon." She sat back in an extra chair. "I think you're about done, now." She reached over to open the mirror.

Donovan stared at herself. Her eyes were highlighted by a sparkling gold sheen above them, outlined in black. Dark red lipstick brought out her lips. Her curly hair was loosely pulled back to allow random curls to fall around her face. Looking at her nails, she saw that they were painted nearly clear, but a few gold flecks could be seen. "That is amazing work!" She exclaimed. "I've never had anything like this. Thank you for the help!"

"You have a really pretty face, Sally," Enola said. "It just needed to be found."

"You need to show me how you do this."

"Just wait until we get dressed, later," said Enola. "Complete the whole look. Let's go outside for a bit, I can show you around."

Enola led her through the castle, showing Donovan the murals. Unlike with Sherlock, Donovan seemed to get along instantly with Enola. They paused in the Titanic hallway for a moment before slipping through the large dinner hall, down the stairs & across the bar room where Sherlock had revealed the fact vampires existed to John. Enola went through the double doors into the other half of the basement where a large indoor pool was.

"Whoa!" Donovan stopped & stared at it for a moment. "That thing's the size of an Olympic pool."

"One & a half," Enola said. "It's natural sea water as well & is heated."

"I guess three thousand years gives you plenty of time to build things up a bit," Donovan remarked as she scanned over the area. Following the right side was a long narrow pool with steam over it. A rather large hot tub. On the left side, she noticed a quadrangle room that was about half the length of the pool. It was open on the pool side & had one large tinted window running the length of its outer edge while the two ends were closed off with walls. Two long shower heads were attached, one each to either end. Glancing down, she could see the floor made of white tiling seemed to be stained with a dark color. "What is that for?"

"That's our preening room," Enola said.

"Preening room?"

"We have ... well, my brothers have wings," Enola began. "All different lengths & sometimes, we like to stretch them out completely. We are always taking care of whatever we can reach on our own but it's kind of hard to deal with the bit close behind us. So we usually have a preening buddy for longer, more thorough wing care. Usually it was Shane & Adrian & Will & I."

"You actually lick your own wings?"

"Or our partner's. Our venom is a good dissolving agent to clean up the liquid steel," Enola explained. "Grating the fangs along the ridges keeps both sharp as well. A full preen with a partner can take several hours."

"So that's what Sherlock was talking about," Donovan said. "When he flipped under the bus, first thing he complained about was spending all night with Sherrinford, cleaning his wings."

"They were probably in there," Enola cast a wistful gaze over the place. "I really miss that interaction."

Donovan looked down at the floor again. "Is that blood?"

"From the wing wounds," Enola nodded. "Most washes away with the water, but over time, some will stain the floor." She headed for the outer door as she added. "They don't call it a curse for nothing."

The two of them headed outside & through the courtyard. They gave the beehives a wide berth & went past the barn & down into the property a bit. After a brief walk through the small museum, Enola & Donovan cut across one large pasture to head back to the castle. They regretted that within a moment. Bach appeared & began charging.

"That's Will's stallion. RUN!" Enola shoved Donovan forward & both turned & headed for the nearest fence. They flipped over it just as the silver stallion closed in & sat down on the other side.

"He rides that thing?" Donovan panted.

Enola just nodded, getting up to brush herself off. "Sorry. I didn't realize which pasture they put the horses in." They made it back without further incident; although, the moment they entered the castle, Enola bellowed loudly, "WILLIAM?! YOU BETTER MOVE THAT SODDING HORSE OF YOURS FOR TODAY!"

"Or what?" Sherlock taunted.

"I'll shoot the damn thing!" Enola threatened.

"Quit calling me William!" Sherlock complained as he shoved his hands into his long black Belstaff coat & disappeared outside.

"Man, I wish I had that much control over him," Donovan exclaimed in quiet awe.

"It's three thousand years worth of practice," Enola laughed.

"How did you manage to not strangle him in all that time?"

"Like I said, practice!" Enola was still giggling & took a few moments to regain some composure. "Well, I need to get ready now. Those who were invited earlier are all here. Some closer friends of Mycroft as well. Then the other event will be in the evening."

Donovan found herself alone in the large entrance way. She went down the main hall & turned into one of the parlours. She crossed that room to the sliding glass door that opened into a covered veranda & stepped outside. Looking across the grounds, she could see Sherlock bare-backing his silver stallion down to another gate, moving the creature farther away from the castle. How he managed to keep the animal in line without so much as a lead line to control it, she would never know. One thing was for sure, she could no longer see him as the Consulting Detective most people had come to love or perhaps love to hate. Even though he was wearing his traditional coat everyone associated with him, she knew there was so much more now. At the same time, it was hard to picture him as the ancient being with wings that the whole world now knew he had. Just a man sitting on a stallion as wild as him, curls being lifted with the wind from the moving horse as the mane & tail flowed freely.

She gazed around at the views. This place was as old as the Holmes. Unchanging. Updated perhaps, with the modern technologies, but still holding on to ancient history. She looked back at the pastures to see Sherlock dropping off Bach's back & removing the rope. He walked back towards the castle, looking as how she had first seen him when he had started coming on to the crime scenes with Lestrade. Oh how little she knew then!

Donovan jumped slightly as she felt arms wrap around from behind. "Philip!" She groaned. "You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry," Anderson snickered, clearly not so sorry. "What's Detective Holmes doing out there?"

"Moving his horse," Donovan turned to face Anderson.

He surveyed the artwork. "I see the Lady Holmes has some fine taste! How'd that go?"

"Enola & I get along great," Donovan said. "She's nothing like Sherlock."

Anderson stared at her a moment longer. "You know, he's not so bad once you get used to him."

"You seem to like him better after he killed himself," Donovan pointed out.

"Well, we didn't have the whole story until later," Anderson said. "Then we find out that we still didn't have the whole story until now. Vampires, werewolves & the Titanic."

Donovan watched Sherlock disappear around the corner as he headed up to the front entrance. "To think three people who were on that ship still walk this Earth!" She took hold of Anderson's hand as they turned to go inside. "I think I'll go get the dress on, now. Enola is about ready to start their memorial for Mycroft." She tried to drop his hand to hurry on ahead but he held her back.

"How are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been different ever since you fell out of that helicopter."

"Well, yeah, I kind of fell out of a helicopter," Donovan said with a short laugh. "I'll be fine. See you soon." She finally left.

Anderson stood by the large bay window, alone. He could see the ocean from this room. Waves rolling in to lap at the wide sandy beach. On the far side, he could see the back end of the blue & white yacht, Leda, softly bouncing up & down with the waves inside a shed built over the water to cover the boat. But he wasn't paying much attention to the view. His thoughts were of her instead. She had been more quiet lately & for the last couple of cases they had all worked on, she had forgotten to be her usual snarky self towards Detective Holmes. Yes he had saved her, but Anderson felt there was something going on in that head of hers. He wasn't worried about her leaving him & falling for Sherlock Holmes. He knew that was not possible. It was something else.

But there was no time to figure out Sally Donovan at the moment. Anderson made his way to the largest reception room in the castle. She stood by their seats, waiting for him. Looking at her in that vintage golden gown that hugged her figure, Anderson suddenly had another thought of her that he had not considered before.

As he headed for her, he caught sight of the three remaining Holmes standing together in the far corner. Enola was also in her dress she had picked out for the day, a nude tone & sky blue shade with silver embroidery, her black hair falling down her back in a loose French braid. Her two brothers were uniformly dressed in black & both had a red glint in their eyes. But instead of the long coat Sherlock usually had, he was now wearing a black mantle jacket, with one shoulder partly covered by a short cape, like his brother. Instead of the fluffy curls girls screamed to caress, his hair was now straight. Gone was the Detective look. He was more vampric at the moment. Both Holmes men were, even though neither of them had their wings or fangs out. The only thing the same was Sherrinford's usual pony tail that touched just below the shoulder blades. The three of them left through a side door as Anderson reached the seats Donovan was standing by. She was watching the Holmes as well & almost didn't notice Anderson sitting down. She looked lost in thought for a moment. He patted her hand to get her to snap out of it. Donovan finally sat down beside him.

"We have one day off together next week," Anderson began in a quiet voice as Enola appeared at the front with her two brothers. (Everyone, except Enola & Sherlock, stared at Sherrinford for a moment, for his long dark hair was loose!) "We should go out for dinner."

"Sure," Donovan agreed the moments the lights dimmed to about half their brightness, as if casting a romantic glow over them.

"I uh, I did not plan that!" Anderson pressed a hand over his mouth to stop from laughing.

"I didn't say you did," Donovan stared at him for a moment. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Anderson said, unable to get that recent thought of her out of his head.

"You're blushing!" Donovan whispered out the corner of her mouth, turning her eyes back to the front.

"Let's just listen to Enola," Anderson defended, ignoring the slight hiss of air as Donovan fought to remain quiet.

"I know some of you have asked why we didn't do this sooner," Enola was saying. "The day our brother was destroyed, we were still living in secret. We had to wait for our own government to decide if we should remain secret or not, but in these modern times, the coverage of that day is impossible to hide. It took time for the Undead Law to deal with the repercussions of that. So we waited until we could have all of Mycroft's closest friends with us. Now, we can release certain pictures that we were not allowed to before. We have put together a montage of Mycroft's photos & videos from his life, set to his most recent favourite modern song, Kiss From A Rose On The Gray."

"None of us understood his obsession with that song," Sherlock added. "All I know is when it first came out, he had it on a loop for over an hour. I eventually went to his room, grabbed the radio & threw it out the window."

"Yes & he was so furious with you that he didn't speak to you for three months!" Enola shot at him.

"That was rather what I was aiming for," Sherlock defended.

Enola waited for the laughter to die down before moaning, "I really wish I had my fangs back, right now. Shane, can you bite him for me, please?"

"Don't drag me into this," Sherrinford ordered, ignoring more fits of laughter. "Anyway, I had once asked Mycroft why he liked it but all he said was that it was personal. I guess now we will never know. He had several different favourite pieces of music over the ages, but since this one is the most recent & also his last, we have set it to this video which can not even capture a fraction of his life since film is a more recent invention."

"I don't think I've ever seen his hair loose before," John remarked under breath to Mrs. Hudson, who was sitting beside him. She nodded silently as the montage began along with the song.

The beginning of it started with the last picture of Mycroft, taken by Enola just two days before he had been destroyed. He was on one of his horses, a brown one with a white streak on its face. In one hand, he held the reins & in the other, his mobile he was about to answer. It was also the exact same moment he was about to be alerted to the fact that Sherlock had gone missing. It was quite possibly one of the more profound pictures used.

The video worked backwards like time travel. Several pictures were included from his own circle of friends from the Service. A video clip was included of when he had gotten his first helicopter. There were also many pictures & clips of the times he had been with everyone in the flat on Baker Street, a few of which were from various Christmas visits.

As it continued to go backwards, images of his more personal life with his siblings began to appear, mostly at the castle in the grounds. His onyx wings began to appear, often along side one of the others. In one short video, he was battling Enola, banging his black wings against her silver ones. But the flat sides were used instead of the points, merely playing around & eventually, they had settled onto the grass & began to preen each other.

The next few shots were at night on full moons & it was soon apparent that the black wolf, Jacob, had been to Mycroft as the golden wolf, John, is to Sherlock.

The montage suddenly changed from color to black & white. Mycroft & Sherrinford stood next to the first car they had ever been around. Then a few old pictures of horse drawn carriages appeared, depicting a by-gone era. From black & white, it changed to an even older look, with sepia tones & everyone went still as unblinking statues, expecting three things to show up next.

Sure enough, the two children were now on screen with Mycroft. From learning to ride horses with him, to swimming in the ocean at the very same beach outside the castle.

Lastly, the Titanic showed up, but not her usual pictures. This was of the six Holmes on board her during the trip from Southampton to Cherbourg, including a slightly scratched video of the two girls in the pool with Sherlock.

The entire presentation, both the montage & song sung by the three remaining Holmes, ended on the sunk bow of Titanic, still lying where she had fallen to the seabed over a century before.

When it was over, everything went dark for a moment & then the lights returned to full power. Sherrinford, Sherlock & Enola had disappeared from view in that brief darkness.

"That was amazing," Anderson finally spoke.

"I don't think I've ever even seen pictures of Mycroft's daughters until now," said Molly, sitting on the other side of Mrs. Hudson.

"I saw a couple of them," John said as he looked around but Lestrade had already beaten him to it as he found Sherlock now standing among them.

"I didn't know you guys could sing," Lestrade started.

"All vampires do," Sherlock shrugged "We can seduce people that way."

"Are you vampires or merfolk?" Lestrade laughed.

"Yes," Sherlock replied.

"Ok," Lestrade gave up. "Those images of the Titanic ... those are all new."

"They're over a hundred years old."

"You know what I mean, Sherlock!" Lestrade rolled his eyes. "Are those going to go out to the public?"

Sherlock finally smiled for a moment. "We have a bit more than what was shown. The Undead Law is making copies to preserve what we have & yes, to give out to the public as well."

"More?" Lestrade gasped. "I'll watch for them." He step sideways a little to give John some room. "So that bit with Mycroft & Enola on the grass," Lestrade went on. "Was that preening?"

"The basics of it," Sherlock said. "We need some help to take care of the back of our wings. A thorough preen with someone can take hours."

"I believe it," said John. "A whole group of us just getting those tyre streaks off took a while." Sherlock & Lestrade shared a short silent look as Sherrinford joined them. His hair was once more tied up. "I'll say like you, Greg," John went on. "They were an improvement!" Sherlock could only glare as the three of them ganged up on him.

Enola rolled her eyes at them as she turned away & headed to the sliding doors leading outside onto the balcony. She sat down on a bench across from a loveseat swing where Anthea was sitting & leaned forward, rubbing her temples.

"Something wrong?" Anthea asked.

Enola looked at her. "My brothers drive me nuts."

"They are rather immature for being three thousand years old," Anthea agreed.

"Just a little," Enola sighed. "By the way, thank you for those extra pictures for the video. Where'd you find them? It's been ages since I've seen a lot of them. I thought maybe he no longer had them."

"Mycroft had left that album at my home a long time ago," Anthea began. "It was around the time Micah showed up again. Mycroft said to hang on to it in case something happened."

Enola sat back. "I know he had plenty of lovers, men & women, all his life, but you always seemed to be a favourite of his. The daughter of his most preferred body guard from the Service. Your father was the only one from the Service that knew what we are. Mycroft never explained why he told your family."

"He didn't have much choice in the matter," Anthea said. "My father walked in on him & saw the wings. So to shut him up, Mycroft kept him close as one of his personal guards. Basically paid him to keep quiet."

"Oh is that what happened?" Enola laughed. "That must have been awkward."

"It was just before I was born," said Anthea. "Dad said he nearly died of fright. It took him a while to get used to what he was seeing. Mycroft offered him the job of bodyguard & when I grew up, I followed in Dad's footsteps & ended up taking over his job when Dad got killed in the line of duty. It just ... ended up being a bit more between Mycroft & I."

"Now you work for Sherrinford."

"Only professionally."

"Really? He doesn't try to flirt with you once a month?"

"Oh I avoid him like a plague once a month," Anthea said & both burst out laughing.

"Wise woman!" Enola finally managed to say.

Anthea fell silent as Anderson & Donovan came into view from the side for a moment before going around the corner. "Mycroft told me about this event, tonight. I was supposed to be here with him."

"I'm glad you still came," said Enola. "Very few humans see this. Well, I think that will change with time now. But it used to be exclusive." She stood up but swayed a little on the spot.

"Are you alright?" Anthea asked.

"I'll be better once today is over," Enola said, rubbing her forehead for a moment. "I think this is a headache. It's just a long day."

"You've never had a headache before, have you?" Anthea opened her purse & began looking for something.

"I might have," said Enola. "I was in my early twenties when Mycroft bit me."

"Take these with some water," Anthea put two small red pills in Enola's hands. "Tylenol. It should clear that up."

"Thanks. I hope so. The day is only half over!" Enola managed a short smile before leaving Anthea alone.

By late afternoon, a lot more had arrived. John had managed to get away from Lestrade & Sherrinford, who were still torturing Sherlock, & was now searching high & low for the only person who could help him decipher his latest imprint. He finally found him sitting by himself in a smaller side room.

"I was waiting for you," said Merlin as John approached. "I could feel you looking for me before I even got inside."

John stared at him for a moment. Merlin was known to be a great wizard even before he had become a vampire, something he himself had created, on accident perhaps, but vampirism was his creation. He was the source of magic for all vampires & he was quite possibly also the oldest creature on the planet, being around seven thousand years, but appeared to be in his late forties or early fifties. His magical knowledge far surpassed the elemental manipulation that Sherlock & others did. "You're the one who discovered my imprinting ability," John began.

Merlin titled his head a little, his eyes focusing at a point somewhere on John's left breastbone. John wondered how much Merlin could actually see through his powers. "You've had another vision."

"A very bad one," said John. "I want to know if it can be changed & if so, how?"

"Imprintation is something that allows you to read the history of objects," Merlin began. "But it can also connect things from the past to the future relevant to that object. Following a thread of time. What would have happened if you did not have such power?"

"Uh well," John was surprised at the question. "The last one I had was of the Titanic. If I didn't see it, Sherlock might still be down there."

"Your Titanic imprint told you where Sherlock was," Merlin said. "No more, no less. Your actions saved him from that fate. You could have just as easily left him there & let history take its course without your help."

"So I changed it," John said. "I prevented him from being stuck down there for a long time, which would have happened without that imprint."

"What did you see now?"

John flexed his hand, letting the tiny pen show up. "I got it from a pen that was used to sign legal documents." He held it up before remembering Merlin was technically blind. "Sorry ... I ... "

"I see enough through magic to not bump into things," Merlin said with a slight smile. "But not for details such as an imprint & also, don't let me drive anything. By the way, you can replay any vision along with whatever imprint you recall. Has that happened yet?"

"What? No," John shook his head. "Just the pictures."

"You should be able to get the visions back as well," said Merlin. "When you recall the imprint, focus on it & let it pull you back into the vision associated with it."

"I'm not sure I'd want to see this one again," John lowered his hand. "It made me see a double execution done by the Undead Law."

"The Holmes men," Merlin said. "Sherrinford told me & said I should probably talk to you about that."

"Oh," John sighed. "I just want to know ... I mean, well I need to stop that! What could they possibly do to piss off your government?"

"OUR government," Merlin corrected. "You're a Lycan & the Undead Law applies to you as well since Lycans are under our care."

"Right," John gulped. "Uh, have I done anything wrong?"

"No, not yet & I doubt you will," said Merlin. "The same applies to Sherrinford & Sherlock. It is highly unlikely they are capable of doing anything that would warrant a death sentence. They are not like Dracula or Jack. Which means what you saw is not what it appears to be. Who gave you that pen?"

"We don't know yet," said John. "Greg borrowed it from someone in the hotel lobby. He'll look at the security cameras tomorrow. So, you think they're safe then? They won't be executed?"

"On the contrary," Merlin began. "They are in a lot more danger than a simple legal mix up with the Undead Law. Out of curiosity, was Enola included in this vision?"

"No, just Sherlock & Sherrinford."

"Hmm," Merlin fell silent a moment. "She is no longer one of us, thanks to you. Our laws do not apply to her. Perhaps that is why or maybe it is something else. But as for her brothers, it sounds like someone wants them dead & will try to mask it under the pretense of an execution."

"I know Sherlock is enough to drive one to drink, but who would want to destroy either of them?" John asked.

"Who indeed?" Merlin stated as he stood up. "Can you think of no one? An ancient war between families?"

John thought for a moment. "No. NO! I destroyed Micah. With YOUR sword! There's no one left of that family. Mycroft got rid of the others a long time ago. There's no one left, is there?"

"Not that I know of," Merlin said. "But the Holmes have three thousand years worth of history & like anyone, some is good & some is bad." He put a hand on John's shoulder for a moment. "Wait until Lestrade looks at those cameras. For now, we should get outside. It is nearly time for the festival to start."

John wondered how he could enjoy anything right now & not think about someone once again trying to murder Sherlock as well as his last surviving brother. But there was no sense worrying about it at the moment. Until the security cameras of the hotel had been looked through, there was nothing anyone could do.

John made his way down through the pastures (avoiding the one with Bach), following Merlin. The trees lining the far edges opened up to the full sandy beach & John could see many colours of various wings shimmering in an almost set sun that sparkled on the water. The group of vampires moved as a flock of birds, showing off their colours while vocalizing something in Greek, sounding like many voices in one chorus. Wings moved in unison, rising & falling in time, then swirled around themselves before starting the process again.

Sherlock & Sherrinford stood together on the sand, apart from the main group, but anything they did was copied by the others. Several were playing instruments as well & Sherlock had his violin with him.

Nearly every colour imaginable would flash by as vampires danced around each other, shaking out their wings. Ice, Phoenix-fire, violet, green, white, lavender, brown, pink. All swirling together in a rainbow. Though silver no longer appeared, Enola wasn't left out & was often with Sherrinford or Sherlock most of the time. Black however, would never be seen again.

When together moving as one in the group, vampires kept to one area near the beach at the front. The incoming tide would wash away any blood dripping from the wings. Wings were only closed when one would leave the others to come onto the higher grounds were several tables for the food & drinks were. John was currently by one of the tables with several others, watching the scene by the water.

"Hey, John."

John glanced across the table to see Irene & Kate. "Hi. Uh, I thought you were out there?" He nodded to the beach.

"I was earlier & probably will be again later," Irene began. "There are many of us so we take turns since space in the area designated for open wings is limited." She watched Sherrinford & Sherlock for a moment.

John's brow twitched. Irene was gazing rather wistfully at Sherlock. The entire dance was extremely sensual & John wondered if Sherlock had noticed Irene again. Of course, he would deny it if he did. John rolled his eyes. "It is quite the gathering. I think vampires & werewolves from all over have joined in."

"Things can heat up rather quickly if certain pairs are together," Irene said. "How are you doing?"

John knew she was asking about Mary. "Better," he sighed. "Get-getting better."

Jacob suddenly appeared next to the table John & Irene were at. He grabbed John's hands & pulled him into the Grant pack. Many werewolves were present & had joined in from their place on the grassy banks. "What are you doing?" John yelped as Jacob spun them both around, hands clasped between them. "No, Jacob. NO! Oh my God, I'm getting dizzy!" Jacob laughed & let John go. Someone caught him from behind & stood him straight. "Vivianna," John gasped. They shared a look & suddenly, John felt himself pulled along once more. He had planned to do this with Mary, but the Grant pack had once more taken him in, this time in genuine friendliness.

Donovan had started out with Anderson, but as the music & dance continued, both found themselves with several different partners as others wanted to have a turn. Even Mrs. Hudson had found herself an older werewolf to dance with. Donovan was currently with Charles Menzel, Mycroft's limo driver back in the day & now he worked for Enola. She spun around & ended up in Molly's arms. Molly was laughing herself silly.

"Alexander keeps coming back for another round," Molly managed to say. She seemed a little tipsy. "I think he's with Greg at the moment."

"Really?" Donovan gasped as her & Molly spun around.

"If I hear 'm'lady' one more time, I'll turn him to ash!" Molly exclaimed through breaths of air.

"I think someone's in love, Molly!" Donovan laughed. "Look out!"

"I'm the first woman he's seen in four hundred years," Molly grumbled. "It isn't love!"

"Hey ladies," Anderson appeared between them a few moments later. He put an arm around Molly's shoulders & another around Donovan's. "Look at the ocean! Do you see them?" The three of them looked into the water, lit up by the lights on shore. Four or five killer whales were spy-hopping in the cove. "I think they like the music," Anderson exclaimed. "They've been there for a while!"

"Wow!" Molly & Donovan watched the whales playing.

Harry showed up next to the three of them, pulling Clara along by one hand. She glanced at the whales for a moment. "I figured out why Abraham is so grumpy. Guess which vampire has those hot pink wings?"

"Really?" Donovan burst out laughing.

"Now it's out in the open for everyone to see," Clara added.

"Where are John's pups?" Anderson asked as they moved down towards the sand.

"With a friend of mine," Harry said. "I called earlier. They're both sleeping."

Sherlock met them by the edge of the shore. He set his violin aside on top of a nearby table & took Donovan's hand to pull her forward. "Would you like to join me at the front for a bit?"

Donovan watched one of the orcas surface close to the beach where Sherrinford & Enola were. She noticed they were barefoot on the sand. She took off her gold flats & handed them to Anderson. "I'll be right back," she said as Sherlock led her away.

Anderson placed the flats on the ground under the table. He ended up left behind with Clara while Harriet snagged Molly & pulled her out of sight as both caught a glimpse of emerald green wings. Anderson checked something on his mobile before watching Donovan & Sherlock dance together in the shallows. He looked around at the others who had come for this ancient ritual.

Donovan eventually finished with Sherlock & returned to Anderson's side. "Did you see it? That whale just staring at us while we were next to the water?"

"It was probably wondering what silly creatures with legs we are," Anderson laughed.

Donovan punched his shoulder. "Or maybe it was looking at all the colours of the wings."

"Ok, Pocahontas!" Anderson teased. His shoulder was punched again.

"Come on," Donovan pulled him away from the tables of food & drink. "Let's finish this night, together."

Anderson let her lead him to the side to dance together. As the night wore on, bonfires on either side that had been blazing high in the beginning, were now burning lower, casting an orange glow over the ground. All sense slowly slipped away as more & more pairs were finding each other again, letting themselves go in each others' embraces.

The next time anyone became aware of time was when the sun was rising & the morning mists were clinging to the ocean & fields. Anderson slowly sat up on the grass, having no memory of lying down. Looking over to his left, he found Donovan curled up close behind him. Neither had stripped down. In fact, no one had despite how everyone had let themselves go in the night. It wasn't that sort of dance, even if it was at the same time.

Resting his chin in one hand, Anderson watched Donovan still asleep near him. Something had happened to all of them during the midnight hours. No one was turned. No one had become entirely indecent. But whatever it was, Anderson now knew that she had been caught in this spell long before even coming here. He suddenly understood what had been going on in her head.