Stella crouched behind a tree as the rider stopped in front of the gates. He looked around slowly in the dark, his eyes lingering a little longer on Mel's horse, which was still on the ground, wounded but alive. A second later, he jumped down and closely examined the horse. Then suddenly, he turned and ran off into the woods.

Stella kept down, sitting where she was, unsure what to do. The rider had left the horse behind, so it was evident that he would return and she didn't want to be caught off guard. She badly wanted to help Mel, whatever she was, but there didn't seem to be any rational and possible way to do it. Slowly, she raised her stance slightly. With a flash of metal, the sword was at her neck. She stumbled and fell down again.

'Stella!' Edward exclaimed, helping her to her feet. 'Where's Mel? What are you doing here?'

Stella looked at him, unbelieving her eyes. She wanted to ask how he had reached there, but held the question.

'She and Galahad went to the Darkthrop Keep. Galahad talked something about Tei'jal needing their help' she stammered.

'Who's Galahad? What keep is this?' There was a slight tone of urgency in his voice.

'Galahad is a friend of hers. I don't know how they know each other, but Tei'jal and him are in the same league. The keep is there' She pointed in the general direction they had gone.

'One more thing' Edward said, albeit slowly. 'Stella, are these really vampires?'

'Yes' she said firmly. 'I don't understand why you didn't believe Mel, Edward! Why would we lie to you?'

He looked at her for a second, biting his tongue.

'Do you have a bottle or a small vial?' he asked suddenly.

'Yeah. Why?' She handed him a small bottle of water she had just half finished.

'Perfect!' he said, running to the horse. He slowly ran his hand over its back and whispered something in the horse's ear. A strange expression on his face, he drew out a small knife.

'What are you doing?' Stella asked, her eyes wide. 'Edward?'

'You'll know soon' he said. 'Just bear with me for some time'

Much to the astonishment and disapproval of her, Edward made a small slice on the side skin of the horse. It's blood ran over the knife.

'Edward!' Stella said again, looking horrified.

'I'm sorry' he said, taking a few drops of blood in the glass bottle. The horse stood still without complaint, which intrigued both of them. Quickly, Edward closed his palm on the slice, waiting for the blood to stop flowing.

'What was that for?' she asked, a bit loudly than usual.

'You'll know' he said shortly, checking if the cut had reduced.

'Wait!' Stella said, running forward. She removed his hand and kept her palm on the wound. Slowly, she closed her eyes and chanted softly. When she removed her palm, there was no wound.

'That was awesome!' Edward said, all the same hurriedly getting on the horse.

'I've been practicing a bit' Stella smiled as he helped her behind him.

'Hold on!' he shouted, as the horse broke off into a gallop, making way for the old tower.


The two vampires were skilled in battle beyond measure. The consoling fact was that Galahad seemed even better. Mel hardly did anything at all except dodge and throw some blows at them as Galahad unendingly stopped them from reaching her. The sword clash was spectacular, to say the least, but Mel didn't feel too excited at all. She was exhausted and wished it would all end.

'This is getting nowhere!' she shouted, dodging another swipe from the vampire. The vampires, as well as Galahad, were fast but not as fast while they were fighting.

Galahad didn't respond, mostly because he was too busy defending himself. He had barely been scratched till now, though the two vampires had numerous gashes through which no blood flowed. Mel was sporting a bloody lip and a cut in her forearm, but neither were worth bothering. She dodged another blow and sent her dagger cutting through the vampire's finger, inflicting a small wound.

'This is impossible!' she shouted. 'These things are too strong'

As if in answer to her question a knife flew out of thin air, hitting one of the vampires. Most unexpectedly, he screamed loudly and fell to the ground, withering badly. The others stopped the fight as the vampire became still, looking around for the source. From completely another direction, a glass vial flew through the air, smashing onto the other's head. He screamed as loudly and soon was lying beside the other. Mel looked at the corpses, bewildered beyond thought. In answer, Edward and Stella came into view, riding in from behind the forest.

'Edward!' she exclaimed. He got down and hugged her, letting go quickly.

'How is this possible?' she asked.

'We can discuss everything later!' Galahad said in a commanding voice. 'Dawn approaches fast!'

Mel gasped, noticing the already blue sky. Without waiting for them, Galahad quickly opened the huge door of the keep, the others close at his heels. Mel cursed as they ascended the fifth stairwell as the sun seemed close to horizon. The keep had few windows and most were barred, but she hoped the sun would hold itself for some more time.

They burst onto the terrace, which commanded a beautiful view of the surroundings of Harburg though that was the last thing Mel wanted to see. The first rays of sunlight were almost visible. Galahad swiftly drew out his sword, cutting free Tei'jal, whose eyes were closed as they arrived. Tei'jal looked at them, confused for a second.

'Run!' Mel yelled as the sun hit her face. With the vampiric speed, Tei'jal and Galahad crossed the length of the terrace, running back into the safety of the darkness. Mel sighed in relief. The night hadn't been a complete waste after all.