For some reason, this chapter was very hard to write. Sorry I took so long, but this was the best I could do. I keep changing the pace of what I'm doing really suddenly, and I couldn't stop it. Next chapters better, I promise.

The Fall of Audron

More time passed. The Sarafan Generals began preparing for their deaths. All of them refused Moebius' offered knowledge of when they were to die, fearing it would make them feel invulnerable. Moebius told them he could give them as much time as they wished, for all he had to do was set the Chronoplast slightly later in the future, so that the demon carrying their deaths would arrive when they were ready to face him. He knew their answer, naturally, but, in his words, "You have to tell me, otherwise I can't know." So they set their affairs in order, ensured their wives, children, and close friends were stationed elsewhere, and went to him. Three days later, he came to them, not in tears but they could see that this was only through rigid self control.

"It is time."

"Very well. Janos Audron, you fall today."

"Aye."

Even now, knowing they were to die today, they worried. Audron preferred to flee rather than stand, but like any rat, he could fight back viciously when cornered. And if they were killed by him and not the demon, it could be disastrous. Preparing to depart, they were considering this when the pillar guardians reappeared, along with the entire Sarafan order who were available, to bid them farewell. Malek was to remain in the fortress, to protect the Guardians, as ever,(and Dumah had given him instructions to skewer Moebius should he have lied today), but the others had to leave. If Moebius had for some reason betrayed them, this would be an ideal opportunity for the vampires to decapitate the order. It might seem that there would be little difference between vampires and this demon, but if vampires recovered their bodies and resurrected them, not even Moebius could prevent the order from shattering.

Tearful, Moebius gave them their final blessing.

"I have never, and will never, meet your like again. Such brave, loyal soldiers...You do not know how it pains me to see you die...especially in these circumstances. May the pillars guide your steps this day. In order to aid you, I bequeath to you this." He tossed his staff. Turel was quicker than Raziel. He caught the staff, and after individual blessings from each Guardian (including Malek), they left. Mortanius teleported them to the base of Audron's Aerie, and escorted them up through it to deal with any thralls present. However, the blue demon had made it easy for them to ascend, thoughtfully slaying everything in its path and blazing through all obstacles, so he was hardly needed. Odd, that. The way Moebius had spoken, this demon was seeking aid from Audron in some form. In most circles it was considered counterproductive to slay all the servants and destroy the furnishings of any entity when you wished them to aid you.

Just below the peak, Mortanius stopped.

"I shall wait here. If Janos sees me, he will certainly flee, and we need him dead. As an Ancient, Janos will not die easily. You need to keep him subdued with the staff and remove his heart or head in order to ensure he dies. Do not linger."

And then they were alone. They saw Janos, catching a bare glimpse of the blue demon as Janos teleported him elsewhere.

Janos seemed calm and unafraid, facing them without any emotion.

"So...you seek my end? Very well...I am here. Poor creatures, you know not what you do."

"No...we do not. So there is little purpose in attempting to strike fear into our hearts. Take him."

-

"Hold him!"

"Look at his black heart, how it still beats!"

"Raziel, we must get out of here!"

"Remember the sword!"

"The fiend means to bury us alive!"

-

They discovered, as they fled, the reason why Audron had refused to shelter others of his race. The building had a fatal structural flaw-it would collapse upon the death of its owner. An ingenious way of avoiding being assassinated. Fortunately, Mortanius was waiting, and teleported them instantly away. Not back to the Sarafan stronghold, but to his own manor.

"You have the heart?" When Raziel failed to answer, Turel replied "Yes, my Lord." Raziel appeared to be in shock, unresponsive to anything said to him.

"Give it to me."

"Why, my lord?" Turel enquired suspiciously. They had not spent years of their lives leading up to this and condemned themselves to death in order to have their sacrifices rendered fruitless now.

"You would not wish Janos to regain his heart, would you?"

"Of course not, but nonetheless-"

"Then give it to me. If I wished it, I could take it, but I choose not to. As yet! So give me that heart!"

Turel removed it from Raziel's numb grasp and gave it to Mortanius, who examined it closely. Suddenly laughing, he tossed it up into the air, clapped his hands once, and caught it, handing Turel what looked to be two Hearts of Darkness, identical in every respect.

"Tell me...can you tell which is the heart that was torn from Janos?"

"I cannot."

"Neither can Vorador. These hearts are identical in every respect to the original, which is actually currently in a small private plane of existence inaccessible to anyone except myself. These hearts will be sensed by Vorador as he could sense his sire. They will even sustain a vampire should one feed on one of them. But they can not resurrect Janos. If I spend the next few days creating several hundred of these..."

Turel smiled. "He'll never find it."

"Exactly. Now, to more important matters...I believe Moebius wishes for you to die?"

"This is correct, my Lord."

"Yes...I can sense your deaths approaching." The manner in which this continued to happen to them was beginning to irritate the generals. It was one thing to know you were to die, but quite another to be reminded of this fact every few minutes.

"Do you have any messages for me to deliver to your friends and family?"

"Not yet. Do we have time to write them?"

"Yes. You are not to die for hours yet. The library is the second door on the left down the corridor. The skeletons should not attack you, but if they do, you have my leave to defend yourselves as you see fit."

"How reassuring."

Mortanius laughed. "Indeed."

They took turns writing their last farewells while the others guarded against attack-their long established method relying heavily on trust, but justifiably so. Long years of commitment to a cause left them with a deep sense of mutual trust, in certain circumstances. With their farewells sealed and signed, they bestowed them to Mortanius and he teleported again to their Sarafan stronghold. Still numb, Raziel walked like a machine. Rahab, noting this, felt compelled to comment.

"What ails you, Raziel? You seem...frozen."

"It...is me..." Raziel whispered, "I...am to slay you all...my brethren."

"You?"

"Me...I am to be reborn as the demon..."

"Congratulations are in order, it seems. You are to rid the world of the vampiric pestilence."

"Although, as you will then be a vampire, this may be considered...foolish...by your fellow vampires. It seems we are not to be very efficient vampiric lords" Dumah, noted, not without some amusement. He was hurriedly quietened by the others.

"You do not understand...As we watched the demon cross nosgoth, he struck down many Sarafan soldiers...among them my niece. I am to kill her, it seems."

"Interesting to note that you value her life so far above ours."

"We cannot escape our fate...we knew, always, that we would die in battle. She's fifteen, she should not have been in battle."

"Express your rage, then, to the demon when it comes."

"It will mean nothing to him. He is a monster."

"Perhaps we are monsters to him. Come, let us make our ends memorable to this demon when he comes for us."

"An uncomfortable thought, when that is the best you can hope for."

They shed their armour, endeavoring to enjoy their last hours of existence. This effort was futile, but preferable to simply waiting for their end.