The funeral was terrible. Kuri was greeted by Darren's mother- who was sobbing terribly, and his father, who wasn't crying but seemed equally upset. Kuri had met his parents and seen them a few times before. Kuri had also met Annie, who adored her like an older sister.

Speaking of which, where is Annie? Kuri thought.

Kuri then looked over toward the coffin, where Annie stood, crying. It broke her heart seeing the child, begging for her brother back. The little girl turned her head to see her, and immediately came running, clinging to her.

"Kuri! Tell Darren to stop it! Tell him to stop acting and come back!" Annie cried. Kuri bent down and hugged her, trying to hush and calm her- But Kuri couldn't take her eyes of that damn coffin. Before, at the House of Night, Kuri had slowly accepted the fact that Darren was gone. Now, Kuri had this feeling that he was still alive. His spirit seemed still around.

The usual sort of funeral ceremony went on, where the preacher recited some things, a few of Darren's relatives went up and said some things, the constant sobs and such, you know. Then, finally, everyone was given a rose to throw on the coffin, and it was lowered into the ground.

Annie had been clinging to her crying mother who was holding onto Mr. Shan. Shovels began to throw dirt upon the coffin, sealing it away forever. Kuri couldn't bear to watch. Kuri had to turn away and bite her fist, and even though Kuri tried not to, Kuri began to cry again. The funeral finally came to an end, and most of the people began to leave. The Shans stayed- Until one of the security guards escorted them out to the gates. "Sorry, but we're closing up right now, you're going to have to come back tomorrow."

"C'mon kid, I don't have all day," One of the guards grabbed her arm.

"Don't touch me." Kuri snapped, defiantly pulling her arm back. The security guard, obviously losing his patience, forcefully guided her outside of the graveyard. Once the gates were closed, Kuri grabbed onto them tight, and stuck her head against the wires.

"Darren.." His name slipped from her emotion chocked throat. Tears of blood ran down her cheeks.

xxx

Larten Crepsley and Reiko Hikawa entered the graveyard. There was a girl there, obviously having snuck in. She was a fledgling, he could smell that on her, and newly Marked, close to death.

He started to speak to her when a strange mist formed on the graveyard, and a woman stepped out of it.

She was tall, had dark wavy hair, vampyre tattoos, and vampire scars.

Larten gasped.

The woman made the death's touch sign at the fledgling. "Merry meet, my young and future priestess of Vampires. And Larten Crepsley, I am Nyx, Goddess of the Night; Vampyres, Vampires and Vampaneze are all my children."

"I know who you are," Larten said reverently, remembering the proper way to greet her and crossing his fist over his chest and bowing. Reiko quickly did the same, hushed into silence.

Nyx knelt and kissed Kuri's forehead. When she drew back, the tears of blood were gone and the crescent tattoo tingled, as did her shoulders and her neck, and her back tingled and hummed. In fact, her whole body was still humming with the aftereffects of elemental power, so she hadn't even noticed it.

As she stood the crowd gasped. Her Mark had been added to. A delicate swirl of Celtic knot tattooing framed her eyes. Not as intricate and large as a normal adult High Priestess, but unheard of in a fledgling.

Her shoulder was tattooed, too. Stretching from her neck, down her shoulder and back, were sapphire tattoos in a Celtic knot pattern much like that on my face, only the blue marks on my body looked even more ancient, even more mysterious, because they were interspersed with letter-like symbols.

"Kuri is Chosen for a higher purpose, to bring peace to our clans and join them as one," Nyx continued.

"I d-don't understand…how can I live without him…" the miserable fledgling said.

"You are not alone, my daughter," Nyx said, and pulled Kuri to her feet. "You have an entire clan to look after you. I have gifted you as a Seer and with a powerful Spirit affinity."

"You will be my Emissary to the Vampires. My very first Vampire Priestess."

Nyx turned to Larten just as Kuri did. Kuri had a questioning look on her face.

"Larten," she said gently. "You will take this fledgling as your third apprentice. As long as she is with you or any of my children"—she looked at Darren's grave—"she will not die, just as at the House of Night. Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again, my children."

Xxx

Kurda carried the dying fledgling to the House of Night. He rang the bell, hands soaked in the blood that poured from her eyes, mouth, and nose.

She was dying, dying, and he couldn't save her, couldn—

A woman, statuesque and beautiful, took his breath away. She took the dying fledgling from him, her fiery auburn hair speaking nurturing motherly comforts of hearth and home.

"I am Neferet," the woman said. "High Priestess of the House of Night. I had heard word that this young fledgling was entertaining a vampire and teaching him the way of the Goddess. I am delighted to find that it is true. It is tragic, that you had to witness her demise. Perhaps if she had stayed in more…"

Kurda's mouth fell open. Is she truly suggesting that I am to blame?

Neferet's eyes flashed in slight malice, but in a moment she was the picture of a simpering kind Priestess of Nyx. "Of course I am not suggesting that you had anything to do with this, Kurda. She spoke of you often. Laughable really, how children speak. If you would like, you could stay here, learn our ways from a real vampyre…"

"No, thank you," Kurda stopped her, noticing she read his thoughts and angry at the violation, keeping his mind blank, though he was angry, so angry, at her seductions over the body of the dead Kiana! "I would like to attend her ceremony of death, whatever it is in your culture."

The priestess laughed, cold and loud, holding the now dead Kiana. "There is none, for those who could not make the Change."

Kurda could not stop his stray thought from pounding through his head. Her spirit is doomed.