Nick squeezed his eyelids shut, the mental link with Natalie resonating so much that his whole head was pounding in pain. Slowly, the vibrating link calmed down which allowed him to become more aware of himself and the surroundings. Nick could feel a hard stone underneath him and, realizing he was lying on his back, levied himself into a sitting position and looked around. He blinked a few times, but nothing changed - he was surrounded by a thick light-gray fog that prevented him from seeing much beyond a couple feet ahead. There was illumination, though he couldn't tell where it was coming from. Placing a hand on the stone floor, Nick carefully pushed himself up and, though he felt slightly off-balance, was finally able to stand upright. The gray haze swirled around him, covering and obscuring the ground, but nothing else changed. Nick decided to stay where he was rather than venture around since he had no idea where to even go. Finally, the faint residual thumping in his head ceased.

He found the place eerily quiet. As Nick turned around, the only sound was what he created as his shoes scraped along the stone. Then he heard a rustling noise. Standing perfectly still, Nick tried to determine where the sound had come from, but the silence had returned. He took a few slow breaths then heard Natalie call his name, the faint disembodied sound echoing strangely before stopping. He didn't have too much time to think about that before he again heard the rustling, scraping sound from before, but much closer and coming from all around him, as if circling him. Nick saw the mist in front of him swirl, the substance agitated enough that some of it rose up, like the smoke trail from an extinguished candle. Suddenly, the haze cleared and something very tall and dark yellow materialized in front of him. Nick leapt back as a large yellow serpent head with a green mouth quickly emerged above him.

Nick twisted around and as the fog moved he could catch glimpses of the thick serpent body completely surrounding him. Returning to once again face the head, he was surprised the serpent was devoid of color. He was sure the head had been yellow before.

"Are you the one who summoned me?"

Nick remained quiet while shocked that the serpent could talk. Then more of the serpent's head came out from the thick mist, and he could now observe a cowl of dark gray feathers that encircled the head.

"Are you the one who opened the connection between the realms?"

Nick figured this must have been the creature Natalie has seen in her dream, though he didn't recall her mentioning that it had spoken to her. Before he could answer the question, he got the distinct impression the Vision Serpent was irritated. It shook its body, the feathers and scales making a rasping sound and for a moment, colors skipped over its surface, and Nick saw again the yellow scales but also specks of red and the iridescent reds and greens of the feathers. Just as quickly as they appeared the colors disappeared and the head came even closer. Nick stood perfectly still as the serpent's forked tongue flicked out and then retracted.

"You are difficult to see, but your blood smells the same as the offering. Whom do you desire to speak to?"

This time Nick was faster with his answer. "The sun god, Kinich Ahau." He watched as the serpent tilted back, then opened its mouth. Once fully opened, the mandibles spread outward, allowing the large mouth to widen even more. He stepped back as the head dropped down, almost touching the ground. From the darkness inside the creature's mouth a man began to emerge and Nick backed away even more. Once completely out, he heard the serpent slither away. Nick focused on the individual before him. The man had the traditional outfit of the Maya nobles Nick had seen in various images, a feathered headdress, along with jade necklaces and earlobe plugs. As with the serpent, Nick saw the man in shades of gray, but periodically color would ripple across the surface and then he would see the intense greens and reds of the material.

"I am Kinich Ahau. Who are you?"

"I am-" Nick began, but halted when he felt a pressure in his mind. Instinctively he tried to fight the intrusion but then forced himself to stop. There was, after all, no danger and this was the ritual he wanted to perform. The mental touch continued, reminding him of the sensation he experienced when LaCroix entered to search for something. Abruptly the connection ended.

"Nicholas. 'Who you are' might not have been the best question. 'What you are' would have been more appropriate. I do not have many vampires summoning me."

"But you have before?"

"You evoked my ritual."

"Yes," Nick slowly replied. "But you didn't answer my question." He saw Kinich Ahau stiffen and colors skittered across the feathers.

"My prerogative. You evoked the ritual, so it will be done. Come along."

Nick watched as the god quickly pivoted and strode into the gray mist. He sighed; centuries of interactions with LaCroix had left him very familiar with being given abrupt orders and his questions not being answered. He knew standing there would not help, so Nick followed and the smoke-like material parted before of him, but only enough to see a couple of paces ahead. "Where are we going?"

"Watch your step."

The mist parted and Nick had just enough time to see steps leading downward and adjusted his stride so he wouldn't trip. After four steps, he was once again on the flat ground. "So where are we going?"

"To the end of Xibalba. That is why you are here: to arrive at the end. I know the way, so you will follow me."

Nick stared ahead. He still couldn't see much through the ever-present platinum fog, but there were other changes to the environment. Instead of silence, he heard echoes of dripping water landing into a liquid, as opposed to splattering onto the stone ground. The air also smelled of dampness and wet earth. "Is this Xibalba?"

"No. You will know when we actually enter."

Nick doubted that assertion. If the fog continued to surround them, he wouldn't be able to see the difference. He followed the god and eventually came to a small barrier wall. Peering down, he saw his reflection in the contained water. "What is this?"

"We need to wait for another. He will come from the water."

Nick glanced at Kinich Ahau, but the god was focused on the water. Nick heard a faint plopping sound and looked back into the dark pool, which had small circular ripples bobbing along the surface. He leaned in closer and caught a quick flash of white, but it dove down. After a few moments, the water surface was disturbed again and Nick discovered what had caused the agitation: a little pale salamander. He watched as the amphibian hovered just below the water's surface and could clearly see the small legs, large tail, and the multiple red feathered gills on each side of the neck. Nick recognized the species: the axolotl. Slowly, he dipped his hand into the water to help the creature out, but was stopped.

"I would not do that. He bites."

A tug on his arm was all it took for Nick to allow himself to be pulled from the pool. As soon as he was further away, a large creature surfaced and breached the water, surging out and landing onto the ground. It looked like a massive salamander, but then it shook itself, showering water everywhere and Nick watched as the creature's shape changed into a huge stone beast, then shrank down into a dog. The dog finished drying its fur and once still, looked directly at him. He recognized the short dark fur, light brown muzzle, and the brown eyes that showed no fear of him. "Raleigh?" Nick quickly covered the distance and dropped down on one knee in front of the dog. He reached up tentatively to stroke the black fur, but before he made contact the dog pushed its head into his chest. Nick tipped his head into the fur and wrapped his arms around the dog. Automatically, the centuries-old memories of his last moments with Raleigh came to his mind, along with the emotions. "I'm so sorry, boy; I didn't want to hurt you." The memory of what he had done was painful, but touching the dog was calming. Nick leaned back and was rewarded with being licked all over his face. He stood up, and Raleigh sat down and leaned against his leg. Nick found that the pressure and warmth of the dog against him was a very comforting sensation.

"Interesting form you took."

"What?" Nick quizzically asked as Raleigh leaned more into his leg while issuing a contented huff.

"That is Xolotl, my guard dog. He is a shapeshifter and apparently chose his final form based on you. Well, we have him now, so let us continue the journey."

Nick felt Raleigh get up and push against his leg. Prodded on, he followed Kinich Ahau while the dog ran ahead, Nick losing sight of the animal in the ever-present fog. He could hear the sound of Raleigh's paws and nails striking the ground, and soon enough the dog was back with them, before running off again. Nick heard Raleigh scamper down steps, so was not surprised when the mist parted reveling seven steps for him to walk down. This lower level was still enshrouded with fog, but it was now a darker color than in the previous areas. Even Kinich Ahau seemed to be a darker gray than before, and Nick was startled when the god continued to become darker still. Nick sensed a change in the air, a distinct sensation akin to danger, so he stopped, his body preparing for a fight. He was startled when Raleigh came bounding through the fog and rubbed against his leg, and once again the presence of the dog relaxed him. He looked down to pet Raleigh, so didn't notice until too late that someone he didn't recognize was standing before him. Nick leapt back, fangs descended and let out a warning growl.

"I told you that you would know when we had entered Xibalba."

Recognizing the voice, Nick relaxed and retracted his fangs while he studied the man before him. Instead of the garb from before, there was now a dark jaguar design across his body, a golden color flashing periodically. In place of the feathered headdress there was now a fanged feline mask, though the mask seemed more organic, more a living part of him than just something he wore: the mask moved with him. A thick belt held a long thin dark patterned cloth that hung down the front and back and gave the impression of a cat's tail. "Kinich Ahau? No," Nick corrected himself, "the Night Sun."

"Jaguar God of the Underworld. You seem puzzled by all of this. What did you think would happen? You would drink from my cups and that would be all?"

Nick let out a short exhale of breath. "Well, I thought something different might happen. I didn't think I would actually be here. Am I here?"

"Yes and no. You are here; your physical body is wherever you left it."

"So how, exactly, physically, is this a cure? So far all we are doing is walking and-" Nick watched the Jaguar turn and head into the mist, then jogged to catch up. "Why won't you tell me?"

"We have a long trek, and that will give you something to think about along the way."

Nick shook his head in resignation but continued to walk through the haze with the god in his new form. Raleigh, he noted, had no trouble with the soot-colored mist, often running off alone. Sometimes he would hear a scuffle and the snap of jaws and he worried for the dog, but Raleigh would always come bounding back unscathed. After a long period of silence, Nick decided to ask a different type of question. "I thought you were supposed to be carrying the Sun through the Underworld."

"We shall discuss that later."

With another question left unanswered, Nick slid back into their silence. They all walked for a time, Nick finding it impossible to calculate its passage or even how far they had traversed. He now knew exactly how Natalie had felt in her dream of just waiting for something to happen.

"You know, Natalie would have been an excellent shaman for my people; helping them and administering the rituals to readjust the balance of life."

"I know Nat has greatly helped me." Nick watched Raleigh scamper off again. "So she did the ritual correctly?"

"You are here."

Nick was about to respond when he heard Raleigh let out a series of excited barks, then the sound of bats flying away. He looked to where the sounds originated from, but still only saw the dark swirling mist.

"What is it you seek?"

Nick returned his gaze to the god. "To be mortal; to be human again."

"Why bother? An altered form will not change or rectify what you did when you embraced your vampire."

Nick felt his guilt, and fear, surface. Jaguar's words were the ones he often heard LaCroix utter, and in some of his darkest moments, what he also thought. And it was in those times Nick kept from wavering by holding on to one idea. "It's the only way to undo my mistake and free myself so I can have a chance to be reclaimed to God's grace." He saw the golden colors flash along the Jaguar's skin.

"How should I react to that? You appeal to a god outside your religion so that you may join with that other one?"

A spike of irritation ran through Nick. "You knew I was not Maya. Why did you continue with me then?"

"You summoned me. For over one hundred years you have sought my cups. Why did you continue with my ritual since it was outside your religion, the religion of the god that says to follow and receive blessings from no other deity?"

"What I am already places me outside and away from God. I made the choice long ago that I would seek a cure from anywhere and do whatever it takes to become mortal again," Nick snapped back.

"'Do whatever it takes'? Will you give your burden to Natalie like you did with Marian?"

"I took that back," Nick quickly interjected.

"Will you take everything from Natalie that she has to give? Would you hurt her? Would you have her killed if that meant you could be mortal?"

"No," Nick emphatically declared, repulsed by the accusation. "What sort of monster do you take me for?"

"But I ask again, why pursue my ritual? You know how to become mortal, as Janette was able to."

"Nat almost died helping me do that," Nick rumbled. "I won't do that to her again."

"Good. Remember your priorities: you found something more important than your mortality, and you are not willing to sacrifice Natalie for that."

Jaguar's kind tone indicated their spat was over, though Nick still felt his emotions in turmoil. He continued walking on in silence, thinking. He wondered if their argument had been some sort of test, and if not, when was the real test. He had thought he might have to confront or fight his vampire, but they had done nothing that seemed like it would dislodge that darkness from him. "So this ritual," Nick eventually said, "it's supposed to be a cure for vampirism."

"No, not a cure from vampirism."

"I don't understand."

"Yes, you do. It is the thought you never really wanted to consider, the one voiced by your maker and Natalie and so many others."

Nick halted and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep his emotions contained as to not be swept away or crushed by them. The one explanation he had always refused to accept as truth was now painfully forcing itself to be recognized. Nick felt something fuzzy push into his hand. He ignored it, but heard whining and opened his eyes to see Raleigh insistently push into his hand again. Nick relented and scratched the dog's head; the action distracted him from the roiling emotions, and eventually he felt more in control as his mind calmed. "So it wasn't a cure? This ritual won't cure me?"

"No. Mortals tend to seek methods for immortality, not usually how to return from it. And of monsters, well, most just want to know how to kill them, not reform them. You know what your kind has done and why most humans want them dead. I am sorry this was not what you thought it would be."

Nick kept the disappointment from overwhelming him. He had hundreds of disappointments, and this would just be one more to add to the pile. Next to him, Raleigh shifted and growled at something in the dark fog but did not leave his side. The fact that Raleigh stayed with him helped; he didn't feel dismissed and abandoned. But what Jaguar had said still left him confused; he had always been so sure it was a cure and not some treatment for a sick mortal. "If this ritual doesn't cure a vampire," Nick forced himself to ask, "then what is it for?"

"It is a cure to vampirism."

"What do you mean?"

"My ritual prevents someone from becoming a vampire after being bitten by destroying the infection with the holy. From the sickened person I would take their sacred ember of life through this realm and put it back into their mortal body once the infection has been cleared out. This ritual cannot suppress or remove the vampire from an already fully converted individual."

"Then why hide all of this if the ritual would help mortals?"

"To protect all of this from them, the ones you call Enforcers. This ritual prevented a victim from dying because of the attack. The person would be spared the pain and madness caused by the infected bite, and would allow them to stay alive and sane. However, as you know, there are some changes in those survivors. What you worried about for Natalie, the creation of a Hunter, they worry about as well. Your Enforcers do not like Hunters. Hunters are individuals with the knowledge of vampires, intimate knowledge of your weaknesses, and an unstoppable compulsion to expose and kill your kind. So the Enforcers seek to destroy the methods to make them. Convert or die, Enforcers do not tolerate any other state."

Nick was familiar with their preference and knew, once converted, you never revealed the existence of vampires to outsiders, or the Enforcers would come for you. He also knew they saw most of the cures he sought as a threat, which is why he rarely disclosed what he was attempting. Nick then felt a stab of guilt slam into him. Not only was this ritual not a cure for him, but was, in fact, a method to help victims like Natalie from the bite of a vampire like him. The irony of Natalie helping him with a cure actually meant for her was not lost on him.

"And then the conquerors came and the hidden knowledge, and how to find it, was finally lost and became a myth, as your kind are."

Nick let the silence that had developed continue. He was sure Jaguar expected him to say something, but instead he forced his mind to be blank as he stared into the dark fog.

"What are you thinking?"

"I think I need to stop since there is no point in continuing."

"You cannot stop, and I cannot leave you here. You have to come to the end with me."

Nick shrugged as he returned his gaze to Jaguar. "Why?"

"To finish what was begun. It is what I do: I bring light into the darkness and help it pass through this realm to return it back to life. Your light is enveloped by so much darkness, but I will still help it complete this journey and return you to the living realm. So come along, we are almost at the end."

Nudged by Raleigh, Nick reluctantly trailed after the Jaguar god. No one spoke, and Raleigh didn't rush off but continued to stay by his side. The dog might have been protecting him from unknown dangers in the surrounding area, but Nick found more comfort in having Raleigh remain next to him instead. Eventually, they reached a short set of stairs rising up and they stopped at the base. Nick had a feeling this was the end, but looking up, he still saw the dark fog and no indication of a door or other type of exit.

"You are a good man, Nicholas; your answer to my question showed that. I am sorry I cannot give you the life you seek by taking the darkness from you. I cannot take darkness, only go into it."

"I understand." Nick knelt down to rub and hug Raleigh one last time. The dog licked him in return, then trotted back into the mist, growing in size as it shifted forms. Nick stood, pivoted and, with only the Jaguar god next to him, climbed up the stairs. Once at the top, the fog, still as thick as before, had turned back to the light platinum gray color as when this journey had begun. Glancing over, Nick saw that his travel companion had resumed his Kinich Ahau form.

"Be carefully when you wake. You understand the vampire, you know how it will react after drinking a cupful of Natalie's blood and her still being near you. You will try to take more."

Nick was fully aware of what could happen, had dreaded that happening. He began to mentally prepare himself for the struggle to re-control and re-constrain his beast.

"Resist the vampire's fight. You are stronger than you realize. Natalie gave you that, so use it."

"I will," Nick vowed. "I won't let her be hurt like that again." He turned and began to walk towards the mist, pulled by a growing impulse to leave. A hand clasped onto his arm after he had only traversed a couple of steps. Nick stopped and turned to face Kinich Ahau.

"I could not give you what you wanted, but I can give you something else instead. I can bring light into your darkness."

Nick stood still as Kinich Ahau reached out a finger and touched his forehead. From that point of connection, he felt warmth. As the sensation spread, the tissue continued to become hotter and he dropped his fangs and hissed in response. Nick squeezed his eyelids shut and roared in pain as he endured a blinding flash of light and his whole body seared as if exposed to the sun itself.