I may lose some readers on this one..

||| eight |||

SELF SACRIFICE.

"What about the deal you made with Kaiya, Mike? She said she would help!"
"We haven't heard from her at all in three days. She was just lying to save her own dead skin. She's not the same anymore." Michael sighed heavily. "We can't wait around forever."
"It's only been three days!"
"For all we know they killed her for getting too nosey about the head vampire."
"Don't say that."
"We have to take care of this now. It's getting too hard for me to resist so it must be devastating for Star. I don't want to lose her or myself to the bloodlust."
Sam looked at his older brother and nodded his head. He didn't know what else to do. "All right, Mike. I'll go call the Frog Brothers."
"Who?"

Michael, Sam, Edgar and Alan had just climbed out of Grandpa's car. They parked at the bottom of the stairs that led up over the hill and down the cliffs to the cave. The Frog brothers had convinced Michael and Sam that it was best to move in as soon as possible. Michael tried to get Sam to stay at the car but he refused. He just couldn't stand around and watch. He wanted to be there for Michael and Kaiya. Within minutes, Edgar and Alan were leading the Emerson's into the mouth of the cave.

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Kaiya had wanted to sleep in the same cave with the boys after that first night after talking to Michael. After talking to Dwayne, he carved out a ladder of sorts into the cave wall that led up to a prexisting opening with a small ledge. It was at the same level as their feet and Kaiya could look down upon them. Even though she would be sleeping too, she wanted to keep a sort of watch over them. Aside from that first day, she hadn't been sleeping well at all. She would wake at even the slightest disturbance. At night, she was not as outgoing as usual and the boys were beginning to worry. Paul, Dwayne and Marko thought that she needed to feed but David was the only one who knew the truth. He knew that she was petrified that Michael would come for them. She never believed that he would really let her live out her life as a vampire. She knew it was only a matter of time.

She wasn't sure if she was having any dreams, but something woke her earlier than usual. She heard voices that didn't belong to the bloodsuckers she had grown to love in such a short time. Why were there others in the cave? Was that Sam that just screamed? After a few moments the dream fog began to lift she began to understand what they were saying.
"We don't know which one the leader is. I guess we'll just have to kill them all."
"We'll start with the little one. First come, first staked."
Kill? She leaned over the edge just in time to see one of the Frog brothers raise a large wooden stake. Her heart sank as she realized that what she thought she heard was true- they wanted to kill Marko. She refused to let that happen. Just as Edgar growled "Goodnight, bloodsucker," she shrieked "MARKO!"
All at the same time- Marko's eyes shot open, Edgar lunged forward, Sam yelled "no!" and Kaiya lept off the ledge. Just as the stake touched Marko's jacket, Kaiya hit it with her body and both she and the wooden weapon plummeted to the ground. Upon impact, the stake hit first and the rock drove it into her chest. She landed on her side, the stake not driven all the way through. She couldn't hear or feel much, but she thought she heard both Sam and Marko yell her name. Then she heard loud thuds next to her head as Edgar and Alan jumped down from the rock ladder that Dwayne had carved for her. She felt small hands on her shoulders and heard crying. She tried her hardest and managed to whisper as she opened her eyes just enough to see his face. "Sam..."
He didn't get to respond before the Frog brothers were pulling him away from her and out of the depths of the cave. "Leave her, we have to go or we're all going to die! They are awake!"
"No, Kaiya!" He yelled and fought but he was no match for the two boys. She knew she was dying, but at least Marko would see another night. So it was true. She must have really loved him. She sacrificed herself for him. And she didn't regret it.
Marko lept down and lifted her head into his hands. She could see that his cheeks were shining. Don't worry about me, Marko, she thought.
Marko looked at the wound and mumbled.
"Did they get her heart? We can't save her if they got her heart." It's ok, Dwayne. She didn't have the strength to say it aloud.
"Those kids are dead!" No, Paul. Please don't kill Sam. He'll rip them to shreds! Sam never would have meant to hurt her.
"I think they barely got it." And before he even finished his sentence, Marko ripped the wood from her chest. She arched forward with the movement and ushered up enough energy at the blast of pain to scream at the top of her lungs. Marko pulled her close to him again. He was fairly certain that there was little damage and that she could very well heal from this. But she was too weak now. Even the deep sleep won't be enough. "She needs blood." He turned and screamed for David, but Dwayne turned him back around.
"David went after them. You have to do it. If you guys are fated, you would have to do it anyway. So just do it now. Feed her before she dies."
Marko nodded his head and bit into his own wrist. As the blood started to pour, Dwayne took his place and tilted her head back as Marko placed the wound against her slightly parted lips. The blood was going in her mouth, but she wasn't swallowing. "Come on, Kai. Drink it. You need the strength."
David yelled out in the distance and she hoped no one else- human or vampire- was hurt. But she couldn't think of that now. She tried to force her mouth open more and she gathered up the last of her strength to swallow. Once she did and she felt Marko's blood slipping down her throat and bursting through her body, she immediately started getting stronger. She was still only semi-conscious, but able to drink easier now and she swallowed a few more gulps. She could no longer hear anything that was happening but it was almost as if she was aware of the insides of her body fixing itself. She suddenly knew just how much damage was done and she felt her heart begin to heal the small hole where just the tip of the stake pierced her. Once that was healed, she knew she would be ok. She pulled herself out of her body and forced herself to stop drinking Marko's blood. She took a deep gasping breath, coughed and opened her eyes. Paul handed Marko some sort of cloth to stop the bleeding from his wrist while Dwayne held a large sheet to Kaiya's chest.
"Marko..."
He pulled the cloth into a knot with his teeth and scooped her back from Dwayne. "Kaiya. You need to sleep. You need to finish healing."
"Don't," she breathed in sharply. They tried to quiet her, but she had to say this. "No. Please. Don't kill... them."
"All right."
"But-" Paul cut him off but Marko shot him a sharp look and he stopped talking.
"Just sleep."
Kaiya nodded silently and Marko brushed her hair from her eyes. It was only seconds before she was deeply asleep.
"She's all right?" David was standing behind him, charred hand at his side. He practically growled as he spoke. He never thought he'd care for someone this much that wasn't one of his brothers. None of them did. But that's what she was- well, his sister. Their sister.
"Yeah. It only went into her heart, maybe an inch or two. She drank from me so she could begin healing."
"When the sun goes down, she has to feed or she'll never fully heal. Once she drinks, you need to drink from her as soon as possible. But you can not do it until she is fully turned. If you drink from her before, you won't be able to stop and you'll kill her. You might think you can, but you can't. The taste is much more appealing than the smell. The blood of your fated is the sweetest you will ever have and there is no turning back if you taste it while she is even still half human. And if too much time passes between blood sharing, it won't cement your fating. It will just mean she belongs to you. You will be her leader like I am yours. And you will have to leave us. You can't have two leaders in one circle."
Marko nodded his head in understanding and looked back down at Kaiya's sleeping form.
"Everybody, lets go back to sleep. We will discuss what to do next when the sun goes down."
Dwayne and Paul stood but David stopped them before they flew up to the cave ceiling. "One of you should stay with her. With all the blood, once the shock wears thin and the hunger kicks in, Marko may not be able to control himself. You two are unaffected because she is no longer fully human."
They both nodded, but Marko protested. "I'm not leaving her."
Paul stepped forward and put his hand on Marko's shoulder. "You need to rest too. I'll watch her. Don't worry, Marko. She'll be fine."
Anyone could see Marko's inner battle playing across his face, but he did as David said and let Paul take Kai. Now that he knew she was not going to die, he started becoming more aware of the things around him- including the smell of her blood. It was tempting and he didn't want to risk hurting her even more. He and Dwayne flew up to sleep as Paul carried her back up to her ledge. He rested his head on the sheet to make sure that the pressure remained while they both slept.

Marko was the first to open his eyes and even he slept an extra hour past sunset. The second he was awake, he flew over to the ledge to check on Kaiya. He shook Paul awake and pretty much pushed him up so that he could look to see if she had healed. Once he lifted the sheet, Marko saw that there was only a faint pink circle where there was once a bloody, gaping hole in her chest. Kaiya was healing wonderfully and she could go feed. He sighed happily and Paul placed a hand on Marko's shoulder before jumping from the platform and running out to the main part of the cave where the other two were now gathering. Marko gently brushed his fingers across Kaiya's forehead before cupping her cheek in his palm. "Kai. Come on, you have to wake up." When she didn't respond, he spoke louder. Still nothing. He gently shook her shoulders and when that still didn't work, he shook her with more force and practically yelled her name. She didn't even twitch. He began to worry again. He quickly lifted her and flew out to where David was sitting in his wheelchair. Marko practically collapsed at his feet, almost in tears again. "David. Something's wrong."
Their fearless leader leaned over and looked at Kaiya. "She's still healing. Her skin is stitching itself back together to stop the bleeding, but the inside is still torn. Once the scar-like tissue is gone, she'll be completely healed. That's why she needs to feed."
"But how is she going to feed if she won't wake up?"
"She can't hunt, but we can bring someone back to her. Once she smells the blood, her mind will wake her body just enough to feed then she will sleep again."
Satisfied that she was not in any danger, Marko stood and carried her over to the large bed that once belonged to Star.
"The real question, boys, is what are we going to do about those that are meaning to kill us?"
"We can't harm Michael or his brother. It would destroy Kaiya." Dwayne spoke up first, for once.
"But the others... those brothers." Paul got excited thinking about killing them slowly. He would enjoy eating them.
"But what about Star and Michael? Or even Laddie?"
David was already thinking of a way to take care of them. "I imagine why they came after us is to kill the head vampire so that Star, Laddie and Michael can go back to their normal lives. But none of us are the head. But I know who is. I am willing to give him up in order to get them out of our lives."
"Why not just kill them?"
David didn't have an answer to Paul's question. He still hoped that they would come around. Despite everything that's happened, he didn't want to kill them. Maybe someday they'll want to rejoin them.
After a half minute of no response, Dwayne asked another question. "What will happen to us?"
"When the head vampire dies, full vampires below him are not affected, except for the highest leader beneath him. That vampire then becomes the head. Head vampires can create many circles below them, but they can only belong to one. So they pick their favorite and that leader becomes their... second in command. Luckily, we are the only circle our head began. If we kill him, Michael, Star and Laddie return to being human and I become the head vampire. Each of you could then become your own leaders and go off and create your own circles, or we could stay the same and I'd be head vampire in name only."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Yes, Dwayne, but someone needs to go talk to them. If I agree to tell them who the head vampire is, they have to agree to not disrupt our life. They can't come back and they can't reveal us to hunters or anyone. Once they are human again, if they threaten our way of life in any way, we will kill them. This deal was supposed to have been in effect already. We need to send Kaiya to rebuild it, so we need her to heal properly." He paused to smile at his brothers. "Let's go find some food, boys."

haha, tricky tricky.
when I said I may lose some readers,
did you think I was going to kill off Marko?
haha, I'm a bitch.

but I hope you are all happy with the choice I made.

Love, peace and chicken grease.