Chapter Twenty-Two

"A lifetime is more than sufficiently long for people to get what there is of it wrong."

- Piet Hein

___

Before Izzy knocked on Serenity's door, she could sense that her sister had fallen asleep. She searched through Marach and found that Gregori hadn't put her under again; she was naturally asleep.

Sighing quietly, she let herself in. Serenity was curled up on her side, facing away from the door. She walked over to the bed, noting that she didn't even need to creep. She seemed to naturally move in silence now.

"That's our gift, dragă," Marach told her. "We Carpathians are natural predators."

"I don't quite like the sound of that, Marach." Izzy sat down on the bed beside her. It shifted under her weight, but otherwise didn't make a noise.

"I don't mean to sound so animalistic, but it is what we are." he made sure to emphasize Izzy into this sentiment as well. "We are not like humans, though we look similar to them."

"Hmm," Izzy said, more to herself than anything. She remembered Serenity's dissection of her new involuntary abilities. This was still hard for her...but she would persevere. She couldn't let this get to her when there were more pressing issues at hand.

Something in Serenity's hand caught Izzy's eyes. Being careful, she gently pried the object out. It was her cell phone. She didn't even realize she'd dropped it.

And Serenity picked it up for me. Izzy smiled at her sister for her thoughtfulness and she looked at her cell phone again. The battery was low; she would have to recharge it soon.

"You're a Carpathian now, Isabel," Marach told her. "You have no need for a cell phone to communicate."

But just thinking of communication reminded Izzy of her parents. Her stomach tightened and she closed her eyes. She still hadn't spoken to them, and she still didn't know how to break this news to them.

"They'll be relieved that you're alive, iubita mea."

"I'm not a human anymore. Furthermore, I need to drink blood to survive. My dad's not going to accept this easy, especially if your theory pans out."

"But as you said, there is strong evidence to support the idea he has no awareness of us. Just try talking to them, Isabel. You have a good relationship with your parents, and though they might be shocked by what you've both been through, they will accept you nonetheless."

But Izzy wasn't so sure. Not wanting to think about it anymore she shoved her cell phone under the pillow. Serenity remained asleep and Izzy managed another smile at her, even though her heart was breaking.

"Serenity truly wants to save Parn, Marach. And she won't listen to me when I try to tell her she can't save him."

"It will be all right, dragă," he reassured her. "Serenity may be not accepting of how things must be, but you will show her the way. She loves you and trusts you, and in time she will accept the truth. You in turn must be there to guide her."

"And I will be." she said it with absolute conviction. "I'll work hard to make sure she'll never suffer this way again."

Izzy reached out and ran a hand through Serenity's hair. She gasped suddenly as white flashes filled her vision. She groaned and clutched at her head, even as she heard Marach shout in alarm.

"Please don't..."

Izzy jerked violently. That was Serenity's voice, and she was clearly in distress. She opened her eyes, but her vision was incredibly fuzzy. Nothing was in focus, and it made her nauseas.

But...she could see Serenity. Her sister was in tears and sitting upright in bed. More so, she was talking into Izzy's cell phone.

"I-I just want to..." Serenity was crying so hard she could barely speak. She wiped the tears off her face, but more just spilled out. "Don't say that! I don't want to hear it!"

"Serenity." Izzy stiffened as she recognized the voice on the other line. "You must know. In time, only more death will come. You must listen to me, and listen closely. They're onto you, and that makes you both a danger and in danger. You must give up these silly illusions if you want to live."

"But I...who says I want to live?!" Serenity gnashed her teeth and her body trembled. "Everyone keeps forcing their will upon me, trying to make me live! But it hurts, Parn! Oh, it hurts so much! I wake up to it, and it breathes through me! I can't stand it, I CAN'T!"

"Serenity..." Izzy sucked in a breath. Parn sounded like he was in pain too, but she knew that had to be a ruse. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry..."

"Stop apologizing! Just let me do this, PLEASE!"

"Isabel!"

Izzy blinked. Abruptly, she was back in her body, and Serenity was laying beside her still asleep. "...What was that?" she asked aloud.

"You have no control over your mental powers," Marach said grimly. "You accidentally saw Serenity's last memory before she went to sleep! But now we're in trouble! Thanks to her, Neve must know where this lab is now!"

The implication was apparent from the memory she just saw. She suddenly felt panicked and angry. She leaned over Serenity and roughly shook her awake. "Serenity! Serenity, wake up!"

Serenity woke up slowly, and in a daze. She looked at Izzy in confusion. "I-Izzy? Did you get your cell phone back?"

"You seemed to use it pretty well!" Izzy snapped. "Why did you call Parn?!"

Serenity blushed, and adverted her eyes. "I-I didn't call him—"

"Don't lie to me! I just saw one of your memories, and you were clearly talking to him on my cell phone!"

Serenity looked shocked again, and then annoyed. "You looked at my memories, Izzy?! Y-You violated my privacy!"

"Why did you contact him?! What were you two talking about?! Did you tell him anything?!"

"No!" Serenity shoved herself away from Izzy and stood up. "It wasn't like that! Parn was just telling me to give up on him! That he deserved to die!"

"He doesn't believe that!" Izzy shouted, jumping up from the bed as well. "He's manipulating you, Serenity! Damn it all, why won't you listen to me?! He's EVIL, and he's using you! He doesn't love you or care about you! He knows he can make you do what he wants, and so he's playing upon your hurt feelings! Hurt feelings HE put inside you! All of this is HIS FAULT! Don't ever forget that!"

"Shut up!" Serenity screamed, clamping her hands over her own ears. "Shut up, just shut the hell up!"

There was a sudden 'whoosh', and suddenly Serenity was hoisted up off her feet by her shoulders. "What did you tell the vampire?" Gregori said coldly, staring straight into Serenity's eyes.

Serenity stared back at him, clearly horrified and scared. "Uh—"

"Gregori!" Mikhail swept into the vampire, quickly followed by Marach and a few other warriors. "Put her down this instant!"

"I will tolerate her foolishness no longer," Gregori growled, glaring at them over his shoulder. "I have offered her my protection, and she's thrown it back in my face. I have given her ample opportunity to see the light, and she lives in denial. I will renege on my promise of protection over her if this keeps up."

"Just put her down!" Mikhail commanded sharply. "She's in a vulnerable state! Never underestimate the pain she suffers!"

"I will not put my family at risk for her selfishness." But Gregori abruptly let her go. Serenity stood still for a moment before she ran over to embrace Serenity. "I have never seen such foolhardy behavior in my life. You aren't some stupid teenager with misguided judgment. You're an adult, more so, a doctor, and you are very intelligent. You're clearly acting out like this to fulfill your own needs rather than face reality."

Serenity shook her head into Izzy's shoulder, even as the tears came. "He's not bad...it wasn't his fault..."

"Do you see?" Gregori asked Mikhail.

Marach was at a loss for words. He would never withdraw protection from Serenity, but it was now very apparent the woman had gone too far this time. "Do not cast her out without protection," he said quietly, his pride flaring at having to plead like this. "This is my fault and I accept responsibility for it. But she shouldn't have to continue to suffer over this."

Gregori was silent for a long moment. Then he suddenly looked at Izzy. "Let me see your cell phone."

Izzy handed it over. Gregori calmly flipped the phone open and then, without prompt, he snapped it in half.

"Oh my God—HEY!" Izzy shrieked, running forward. She caught the two halved pieces of phone before they hit the floor. "Why did you do that?!"

"This way, he won't call her again," Gregori said plainly.

"I can change my damn number!" Tears welled up in Izzy's eyes as she held the broken pieces in her palm. "God…I had pictures and ringtones I really liked on here! And what about my numbers?! I had thirty-five numbers stored on here!"

"As as Carpathian, you have a photographic memory." His tone continued to be bland, and he almost sounded like an adult lecturing a child. "This is all for the best."

"You—"

"Gregori." Marach stepped forward, his look dark. "You hold the interests of our people first, but do not do it at the expense of my lifemate."

"Look—" Gregori began.

"Enough," Mikhail cut in harshly. "We need to have a warrior's council about this, especially if Serenity revealed secrets about this place."

___

"…This is becoming a problem," Tariq surmised. "Why don't you simply wipe away her memory of Parn?"

"Because the pain will remain," Gregori said. "He is her lifemate, and if we make her forget about him, he'll certainly force her to remember him through their bond."

"What a stupid question!" Natalya cut in harshly. "'Wipe away her memory'?! Is that suppose to be our solution every time we find a woman with a half-life?!"

"We have found women with half-lives," Nickolai said softly. "In Tariq's defense, not one of these previous women has given us the problems Serenity Crane has given us."

"You have given her an order of protection," Andre added. "But she abuses it with her recklessness. How many times has she lured vampires close to us?! And it's because of this connection that a mage breached our walls! She was dangerously close to discovering our labs, and she nearly killed one of our own!"

"Why hasn't this vampire been destroyed yet?!" another ancient asked harshly. "We wouldn't be having half of these problems if he wasn't around! This human woman sure as hell wouldn't be spilling our secrets to the mage or a random vampire!"

"Serenity has spilled nothing," Marach snapped. "I have looked through her memories and she told Parn nothing! They simply had a personal conversation, and he was manipulating her with faked hurt feelings!"

"He somehow called your lifemate's cell phone!" another shouted. "How did he get her number if Serenity Crane didn't give it to him?!"

"The cell phone mattered has been handled," Mikhail cut in. "However, I am willing to admit that these problems have gone too far. We must give this woman protection, because we all know the pain she will be suffering for the rest of her life. But, I cannot ignore both this latest attack by Neve, or the fact that she willfully contacted her lifemate."

"She—" Marach began.

"She may not have called him, but she still talked to him and tried to convince him not to die. These are very dangerous, Marach, and I'm afraid I cannot afford to house Serenity in such close proximity to our labs. There's too much at stake with everything we've worked on."

Marach was still for a long moment. "…Are you removing protection from her?" he asked softly.

"Of course not," Gregori said. "Our Prince has simply stated it's not safe to keep Serenity where she is now. She must be moved to another safe haven, and we have an idea where you can take both her and your lifemate."

"I believe the safest thing to do is wipe her memory of Parn," Tariq said. "If she wasn't aware of him, then she couldn't cause these problems."

"Nobody wants your input," Ivory told him coldly.

"We're going to wipe her memory of him anyway when you kill Parn! What difference does it make when it happens?!"

"Enough," Mikhail said. "We're not wiping Serenity Crane's memory unless absolutely necessary. But we are going to have to move them elsewhere."

"…Where would you like us to go?" Marach asked.

"I have an idea," Gregori told him.

___

"So you'll be leaving?" Shea asked.

"Yeah," Izzy said. "I don't like it, but you have important work to do. I'd rather someone like Neve not find out about it."

"It's a shame, though. I'm sorry that things are going so terribly for Serenity." Shea turned to her computer. "By the way, would you like to see your blood?"

"My Carpathian blood?"

"Sure." Shea opened a file and a collection of blood cells filled the screen.

Izzy took a look at them. "They look the same to me."

"Not so," Shea said, pointing. "Look very carefully."

Izzy leaned a little closer to the screen. She didn't exactly look at her own blood cells recreationally, but these cells seemed…yes, they were different. She gleaned a little from her memories of her body previously, and her cells had been different. The purple tinge in her blood had faded—somewhat—and now the cells were a very vibrant red. The shape too was different, but it was only a very minor difference.

"It appears," Shea said. "That your blood cells hold some of their regenerative capabilities, but by a slim margin. You're lucky though, as most lose their special abilities once they're converted."

"So I can heal, but it's weak?" Izzy asked.

"I ran a few tests, and it seems more like the process has slowed down. You can still heal on your own, but it's not an immediate effect. Fact is, you'd heal much faster with our healing saliva, or other capabilities."

"Carpathian blood stamping out the competition," Izzy muttered to herself. She looked at Shea out of the corner of her eye. "Could you still make a serum with this blood?"

"I haven't tested vampire blood on your Carpathian blood. But, I still have a sample of your human blood." Shea loaded another photo. "See, the cells are still thriving. It's hard to believe, considering they've been away from your body so long."

It was almost bittersweet to see her human blood. But, it also reminded Izzy of the humility that she still had. "So, you'll still be able to make something from this."

"Perhaps. I'll certainly try."

Izzy smiled at this. Before she could think about it, she gave Shea a quick hug. "Thank you, Shea, for all your help."

"I haven't really helped at all," Shea said, and she seemed awkward about the hug. "But I want to thank you for your help. With your blood, we have a little hope towards improving conditions for both our race, and the human race."

It was still weird to hear herself be referred to as a Carpathian, but Izzy hung onto her smile. "I hope you're successful."

"There's finality to your voice," Shea said, pulling away. "Don't talk like that. We'll meet again, that's for certain. Problems like Neve come along all the time. We'll get through this one like all the others. We're Carpathians. That makes us survivors."

___

The sun was ready to rise, but Marach wanted to get them to their new safe haven as soon as possible. They would have to fly high above the Carpathian trees to reach it, and that would mean Izzy would have to fly.

"I'll carry Serenity up with me," he explained to her. "But I'll need you to fly on your own."

Izzy shrugged. "I've only flown in airplanes."

"You can fly as any animal you want. But because we're short on time, we'll become wisps of fog and fly over the trees. If the sun comes out early, we should have temporary relief because our particles are scattered. Do you think you can handle it?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"…No, not really. In order to do this, Isabel, I'll need you to image yourself no longer in a physical shape. Keep your full concentration on being a simple particle of mist, of air. Hold that image in your head, and link your mind with me. I'll guide us to where we need to go."

Serenity was staring at her with full scrutiny, and that made Izzy a little uncomfortable. But she swallowed her unease and closed her eyes. While becoming a vampire hadn't exactly been a dream fantasy for her, shape shifting was a whole other story. Marach loved to fly, mostly as a hawk, and even Izzy could admit she'd wished she could fly like a bird when she was a child.

But this wasn't a bird. She was becoming fog, which in a sense wasn't a big deal. She remembered the hero from Blood Gorge 5: the Reckoning could transform into mist because of his dhampir abilities, though it'd been difficult to hold the form. She hoped it was a little easier for her.

Izzy concentrated on the form of fog. After several moments, her body began to get drastically lighter. She became alarmed and lost her concentration.

"Iubita mea, hold the form," Marach told her. "If you can't hold the form, you will change back. That would be a problem in the air."

Izzy tried to ignore her unease and focused again. No, she didn't want to lose form while flying through the air. She wouldn't die, sure, but having a bunch of broken bones didn't appeal to her, either.

Serenity said something, but she didn't hear her. She felt so light…and she could no longer feel the ground beneath her feet. She could no longer feel her feet. She felt herself rising slightly, almost like a feather, and she was afraid a harsh gust of wind would sweep her away.

"Wonderful," Marach said. "You can open your eyes, but continue to think of yourself as mist."

Izzy did. Serenity was staring at her, almost horrified, but she felt floaty. And now she was going to fly!

Marach transformed into mist as well, a lot quicker than Izzy did. Serenity seemed at a loss for words, but she screamed when Marach's misty body wrapped around her and he took off into the sky, high above the trees.

Izzy followed, though she was quite slow. She sensed the urgency at their pace though, because the sky was starting to turn pink. She concentrated on speed to keep up with Marach, but she also held focus on being mist, and on following Marach.

I'm flying! I'm flying! Oh, and she was so high too! She could feel the wind rushing right through her, but it didn't chill her. It felt good, as much as the exhilaration was of being so high above the trees.

Marach laughed softly in her head, and Izzy wondered if he was amused by her jubilation. Serenity seemed at a loss for how to take to the situation. She'd flown in the arms of Carpathians before, but she'd had little awareness when that happened. Now she was fully aware, and her sister was flying too.

They only traveled for about ten minutes. It was still a very fun ten minutes. Even if Izzy was slow on getting use to drinking blood as opposed to eating normal food, she was definitely getting use to flying. The trees suddenly broke into a massive circle right around a mountain lake. Izzy had never seen such clean water in her life; it was a beautiful sapphire color, and it smelled fresh. Trees framed the lake on all sides, almost like a massive fence, but she saw a break in the trees on one side of the lake. Much to her delight, Marach flew Serenity right down to that break.

Once they reached ground, Marach transformed back. Izzy followed his lead and focused on being in a solid form again. Once her body was restored to her she ran over to Marach, laughing with delight. "That was awesome, Marach! Let's do that again!"

Marach managed a small smile at her. "Later." He held onto Serenity's arm and began to guide her away from the lake and up a short dirt path. Izzy followed them, even as delirium set in. She groaned and held a hand to her head. She felt so dizzy…what was happening?

"We expended a lot of energy to get here," Marach answered her unspoken question. "We need to go to ground to regain our strength."

"Hmm…" Izzy blinked and shook her head. Serenity was adding nothing to these proceedings. She almost seemed to be retreating from them, and this situation.

"Here," Marach said suddenly. They came upon a small cabin a short distance from the lake. "This will be our safe haven for the time being."

"Is this safe?" Izzy asked warily, even as she basked in the reclusiveness of the area.

"This land is untainted by man. Natural energies from the earth emits here, and I will mingle my own power with the earth. Neve will never be able to suspect our whereabouts."

"If this land's untainted by man, what's this cabin doing here?"

Marach gently pulled Serenity through the front door. "This is the Prince's doing."

"Ah." Izzy followed them inside. The cabin itself was just one large room, with a single bed and some furniture. There was no kitchenette or bathroom. "What will Serenity do to use the bathroom?"

"I'll conjure up one for her." He led her over to the bed. "Say your goodnights, because we need to get to bed ourselves."

"All right." Izzy walked over to Serenity and took hold of her hands. "We have to sleep now, Serenity, but I'll be nearby. Nothing is going to happen to you."

Serenity shrugged her shoulders stiffly. "All right."

"Sleep, sisar," Marach said, sensing the woman wasn't going to say anything more. He lay Serenity on the bed and Izzy tucked covers around her. Marach waved his hand, and window shutters and the door slammed and bolted shut, not letting any light in.

"We aren't enclosing her in, are we?" Izzy asked. "What happens when the room runs out of air?"

"The room is ventilated, dragă. Serenity will not run out of air." He held his hand out to her. "Come. You are tired, and it's been a long night. I want to lie beside my lifemate."

Izzy took his hand warily. "We're not leaving, are we?"

"Of course not." Marach waved another hand and a trapdoor nearby sprung open. "We'll be beneath Serenity, so we will know if danger lurks by, and we'll be able to spring into action if it threatens her or us."

"…All right." Izzy could smell the soil, and it added to her exhaustion. This was still so uncomfortable for her, but she knew fighting against fate would only make her miserable. She couldn't deny she was a Carpathian, and not a human anymore. Sulking over what she'd lost would make her horribly depressed.

"Never." Marach guided her into the ground. "So long as I shall live, you will never be depressed. I won't stand for it, iubita mea."

"Hmm." Izzy knew deep down they would make it out of this. She was depressed that Gregori broke her phone, and she now had no contact with her parents. But she would contact them back. And she would explain everything to them.

And hopefully…they would accept her.

___

Dawn turned into day, and day turned into dusk. The little cabin secluded in the woods was undisturbed all day, and the three were able to sleep peacefully.

When Izzy arose, she felt very rested and rejuvenated, but hunger gnawed away at her. Her fangs extended inside her mouth, even before she opened her eyes.

"Relax, Isabel." Marach brushed his lips over her brow. "I will arise and get us the necessary food to replenish ourselves. Your hunger is not as pressing as you might think. Drive it from your mind and it will no longer bother you."

Izzy tried, but it seemed so dominant in her senses. Marach assisted her, pushing the craving into a far corner of her mind. With that gone, she felt a lot more rested and a lot less anxious.

"I will be back shortly." Marach opened the trap door and helped her out of the ground. "There's a pair of humans camping quite a distance from here, but they're the closest humans in proximity."

"…I see," Izzy said, looking at Serenity. Her sister was still curled up in bed.

"I will never feed off of her," Marach assured her. "She is your sister and under my protection."

"I didn't doubt you," Izzy said. "I was just wondering if we were going to leave her like that."

"…I'll wake her up, but I want to make sure she gets a full night's sleep. I'm going to shift her into a human sleep."

"That sounds fine."

Izzy could only guess Marach did it, even though Serenity didn't look any different. Marach turned back to Izzy and kissed her again. "I'll be back, I promise." He opened up the shutters and door again before he assumed the form of a hawk and took off into the sky.

Izzy stood on the porch for a long time, staring off into the direction he flew in. She looked back into the cabin and saw that Serenity was still asleep. But she was naturally asleep now.

She sighed quietly, and turned back around. Marach had gone off to feed on his own so he could give her his blood. Because she wasn't comfortable with such a concept yet, of preying upon other people.

"You only prey upon people when you take advantage of them, draga."

"Isn't taking someone's blood without their knowledge or consent taking advantage of them?"

"Not when you aren't hurting them or deliberately draining them to keep them weak. We never drink to kill."

Izzy shrugged and sat on the porch steps. "I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this aspect of it, Marach. Having mental powers and shape-shifting is one thing. But I…"

Something rustled in the nearby brush, and Izzy jumped up. Her heart leapt into her throat and she clenched her fists. "Marach!"

"It's fine, iubita mea."

"Someone's here! How is that fine?!"

But she got her answer before he could speak. A small red fox darted out from the brush and into their small clearing. He was sniffing at the ground and pacing, as though he were looking for food. Then, he saw Izzy and he stopped dead in his tracks.

Izzy stared back at the fox, unnerved by the intense scrutiny of those golden eyes. She slowly sat back down on the steps, not knowing what she should do. It was small, and its bites wouldn't hurt her. But would it attack her?

"No, it won't. It's not looking at you as an intruder or as a human. It sees you as a superior predator."

Izzy didn't like that analogy, but she saw the body language of the fox. It wasn't poised for attack. It held itself steady, as if it were going to run at the first instant she acted against it.

But she didn't want to seem like a threatening predator to such an innocent animal. Not knowing of her own intentions, Izzy held out her hand to the fox. "Hello there," she said softly. "Want to say hello?"

Much to her own surprise, the fox immediately walked over to her. She tensed, but held herself steady. The fox let out a soft noise that wasn't threatening, and rubbed its head across the back of her hand.

Izzy laughed at this and unexpectedly pulled the fox into her arms and onto her lap. It still didn't attack her, and lay very plainly in her arms. Izzy petted the fur on its back, enjoying its naturally clean and glistening coat. She couldn't believe a feral animal like this accepted her like it acted like a pet.

"It's because you've presented yourself in a position of trust," Marach told her. "It sees you are stronger, and yet not threatening."

Izzy saw his point. But as she looked down at this fox, she began to remember her hunger. Marach had said that taking blood from animals wasn't proper, and only done as necessary. But she didn't like the thought of taking blood from humans. Could she try, then? Could she learn to try and take blood…even if it was from this fox?

Her fangs began to extend again, the longer she stared at this animal and thought of her hunger. It continued to lie in her arms, trusting, and seeming to enjoy her company. Would it even be aware what she was doing?

…No. She clamped her mouth and teeth shut. This was an animal much weaker than her. And it was giving her trust. If she took its blood, she would be the predator taking advantage of prey, just as she accused Marach of doing.

I hate this. Abruptly, she set the fox back onto the ground. "Go on home now," she told it sharply, willing her hunger away. The fox looked at her for a long moment before it took off running back into the brush.

Izzy sighed, but it was a shaky sound, and ran a hand through her hair. She was going to take blood from that little fox…was she a monster, then? Was she like the vampires?

"Never think that," Marach said sharply. "Women don't become vampires. You were tempted, but you regained control. That proves the strength of your resolve and spirit, Isabel. Don't label yourself as a monster."

Izzy felt the hunger completely fade again, and she knew Marach was giving her aid in this. "Thank you."

"I'll be back shortly. Go, Serenity's awake. Spend some time with her."

Izzy looked back into the cabin. Serenity was awake and she was staring at Izzy. Izzy wondered if she sister witnessed what had nearly occurred, but she pushed away her worries and re-entered the house. "Hello, Serenity."

"Hello," Serenity said softly. A basket of fresh fruit abruptly appeared on a nearby table, but she didn't look at it.

Izzy picked up an apple from the basket and handed it to her. "Here. You must be hungry."

Serenity held up the apple, and to her credit she took a bite. But it was half-hearted and disinterested. After a few more bites she simply dropped the apple onto the bed. "Have you fed?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," Izzy lied. "And Marach will be back soon."

"You're in danger of feeding off her," Marach said.

"If she knows I haven't fed, she'll become alarmed."

"Everything will be fine, Isabel."

Serenity was looking at her expectedly. Izzy felt awkward at their lack of conversation. It wasn't something she was use to.

"Do you want to go outside?" Izzy asked her. "We can visit the lake."

"…Sure," Serenity said. She let Izzy pull her to her feet and they ventured outside into the warm night air. The lake was just a short walk away; Izzy found that she really enjoyed its presence. She had to pull Serenity slightly with her, but her sister didn't protest.

"Isn't this beautiful?" Izzy said when they reached the lake. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "The air's so clean here!"

"I guess so," Serenity said, sitting on a nearby rock.

Izzy slid off her shoes and sat down at the water's edge. She stuck her feet into the clean water and sat there for a moment in silence, enjoying the feet of the water around her feet and legs.

"Izzy?" Serenity said suddenly.

Izzy looked at her over her shoulder. "What is it?"

"I want to save him."

The familiar twinge of pain took Izzy and she sighed. "Serenity—"

"No, listen to me." Serenity stared at her very intently. "I know what Marach told you about vampires. I don't doubt him. I mean, Fride was proof enough vampires are bad. But Parn isn't like that."

"Serenity—"

"Isabel, just listen to me!" the desperation in Serenity's voice broke her heart. "You guys have this view of Parn that's completely wrong! He doesn't manipulate me or make me pity him! I feel his pain, all the time. I've looked into his heart, Izzy. And he…" the tears were coming once more, but Serenity kept herself in check. "He's done terrible things. He's tried to hide it from me, but I've seen it. But I know…" she shook her head. "I have to save him, Izzy. Please try to understand this."

"Serenity, he…" Izzy swallowed slowly. "Parn can't be saved. You have to know that. Even if you turn him towards good, his soul has left his body. The only thing that can save him is death."

"I don't believe that." She shook her head again. "And I won't stop trying to save him."

She wasn't going to budge, and Izzy didn't want to talk about it anymore. "Did you get something to eat out of the fridge?"

"A little," Serenity said, though she looked upset by the change of subject. "They have some chocolate ice cream in the freezer. Did you want some?"

Her stomach knotted and Izzy looked away. "I can't have ice cream anymore, remember Serenity?"

"Oh…I'm feeling cold," Serenity said suddenly. She rubbed at her bare arms. "Do you feel cold?"

"No." the change of subject was awkward and Izzy looked up at the sky. "Serenity?"

"Yeah?"

"I believe you when you say you didn't tell Parn anything. But if he tries to contact you again you can't answer him, okay?"

"…He's with Neve," she said quietly. "He…"

"You can't contact him, or they'll continue to find us."

"I'm feeling really cold," Serenity said again, shivering visibly. "Are you sure you aren't feeling anything?"

Izzy didn't like she was avoiding the subject, but there was little she could do about it. "Everything will be all right," she murmured, more to herself than anything. "I swear it will be…"

Serenity took a deep breath and let it out. Izzy started slightly at this. Her breath created fog on the air. But how?! It was the middle of summer!

"Isabel!" Marach said suddenly. "Take Serenity and run! I've been ambushed!"

"Are you all right?!" she asked fearfully.

"Yes, I'm fine! But get away quickly!"

Izzy moved to stand up. "I—ah!"

She couldn't move from where she was seated. She looked down at her legs, and saw ice. Her lower legs and her feet were encased in a thick sheet of ice. Horrified, she looked out over the lake. The entire lake was frozen as though it were the middle of winter! How could she not notice?!

"Your body temperature naturally adapted to the environment," Marach told her grimly.

"Serenity, run!" she cried.

"What do you—my GOD!" Serenity cried out, noticing the frozen lake. "What happened?!"

"Good evening, ladies."

Izzy's head snapped back around at this voice. Serenity cried out and quickly jumped to her feet.

Neve was on the ice. And she was walking towards them very purposefully.

"So you survived," she said to Izzy. But then her eyes turned towards Serenity. "I have a greater purpose with you, though."