A group of six people crept silently through the darkness towards the Icewater Jetty. Here they would board the flimsy little boat that would take them to Castle Volkihar. Their plan was not to transform until the last moment, as to give the element of surprise. The wind grew colder the closer they got to the coastline. They walked in silence with their collars raised to cover their necks.

Lucinda opened her eyes and awoke slowly. The light of a half-moon illuminated her tower bedroom. She rolled onto her back and stared at the blank canvas above her. She lay in silence for a moment before climbing out of bed and pulling on her robes. She then opened her bedroom door and walked the short distance to the room next door. She knocked on the door and entered the room.

"Lucinda," said her sister. "I was waiting for you."

Valeria sat at her vanity cabinet with a hairbrush in her hand. The mirror in front of her was devoid of any reflection of either herself or her sister. Lucinda took the hairbrush and began to brush her sister's hair. After several minutes of care, they switched and Valeria took her turn with her sister. This activity didn't take too long as it was daily activity. Valeria was almost finished when something caught her eye. She snapped to look at it, her long curtain of hair swishing as she moved her head.

"What's the matter?" asked Lucinda looking up at her sister.

"I thought I saw..." she began. "Never mind."

She resumed the brushing of her sisters hair. She finished and lay down the hairbrush on her vanity cabinet.

"Thank you," said Lucinda. She stood up and made her way to the door.

Her hand was on the doorknob. She was about to turn it.

"Lucinda," said Valeria.

Her sister turned to look at her.

"Yes sister," she replied.

"Do you think mother and father will return soon?" asked Valeria. "They've never been gone this long."

Lucinda made her way to her sister and sat on the end of her bed next to her. She put her arm around and rubbed her shoulder gently.

"I wouldn't worry about it," she said. "I'm sure they will return any day now."

"That werewolf that came yesterday," said Valeria. "The way it came after you."

"I wanted that werewolf to come after me," said Lucinda. "How else were you going to use your archery skills while it's in your face like that?"

Valeria chuckled slightly.

"I remember you mocked the Vampire archer," said Valeria.

"After last night I will never mock you again," said Lucinda. "At least not for your archery skills."

Valeria chuckled again. Her sister might have inherited her mothers good looks, but her sense of humour, that was from her father.

"You are my little sister," said Lucinda. "It's my duty to protect you. No werewolf or mortal is going to hurt you while I'm around."

Valeria smiled. She then turned and hugged her sister.

"Thank you," she said. "I know I can always count you."

They embraced silently for a moment. Valeria then released her sister.

"We should probably go to the Great Hall," she said. "Grandmother will be worrying about us."

She stood up, made her way across the room and opened the door. Her sister looked out of the window before following her out. She was about to descend the stairs when she returned to her room and picked up her silver sword. She then returned to her sister and they descended the stairs down to the Great Hall.

Stefan and Serana continued their journey. The moonlight illuminated the stone path as they raced through Dragon Bridge. They hurtled past the guards and up the hill. Serana held onto Stefan's waist as he willed the horse to run as fast as it could. Serana looked at her surroundings. They weren't far, but still not close enough. The empty roads gave her an ominous feeling.

The lights of The Temple of Meridia could be seen up ahead. Serana smiled, there were getting close. Stefan could obviously sense her relief because he turned around to look at her.

"Not far now," he said.

He turned left at the fork and lead them up the hill. He slowed down slightly as the horse stumbled on the piles of snow.

The six people reached the Jetty.

"Is that boat going to fit all of us?" asked one.

"Yes," said Vilkas. "Get in."

The six of them squeezed into the tiny boat. The hull just scraped the waterline as they pushed off from the jetty and sailed silently across the black water. It rocked on a small wave and water trickled into the boat.

The boat bumped up against the rocks on Volkihar Island. The group scrambled out of the boat, stumbling over the wet rocks. One of them fell, his comrade helped him up and stopped at the tower looming over them.

"Stop," said Vilkas. "Go check that watch tower. You."

He pointed to the one closest to him. He nodded and crept into the watch tower. There was silence. Suddenly there was a colossal roar followed by a blood curdling scream. There was another roar followed by silence. The mangled body of the man was thrown down the stairs and landed at the feet of the five remaining humans.

There was a collective gasp.

"What did that?" asked one of them.

In front of them the stone gargoyles came to life. There were six in total. They burst free from their stone skin and roared loudly, glaring at the intruders.

"Gargoyles," said Vilkas.

The gargoyles formed up and marched their way towards them.