How long had we been traveling? A month perhaps. Every time I would ask if we were there yet Mr. Crepsley would smile and say we were some miles off yet. We hadn't hit snow, but civilization was dust in the wind. The landscape was rocky and treacherous. Most animals avoided it as much as possible, no that I could blame them! This place was a frozen hellscape, scattered with sharp rocks. My feet were cut up terribly and often times Crepsley would have to patch me up and carry me some of the way while I healed. Normally, I hated being carried. Unless of course the strong, orange haired vampire was the one to do it. Can you say swoon?

Traveling was slow and arduous since we couldn't flit even if we wanted, for two reasons. One, the Little People would not be able to keep up, and Mr. Tinys warning still rang in the air. And two it simply was not permitted when traveling up the mountain. Something about weeding out the weak and all that.

Vampires were all about 'pride' and integrity. They loved facing life head on, even if it meant dying in the heat of battle. Crepsley spoke a lot about pride and nobility and being true to oneself. Vampires were a stern lot, he said, who lived as close to nature as they could. Their lives were rarely easy, and that was the way they liked it. "Life is a challenge," he once told me, "and only those who rise to the challenge truly know what it means to live."

Most nights we slept in caves while the Little People hunted for their own food. I hardly noticed their presence most of the time. We couldn't light fires because we'd attract unwanted attention so the nights were very cold. Sometimes we would happen upon way stations (which were caves or underground caverns where bottles of human blood and coffins were stored. They were resting places_ where vampires could hole up for a day or two. There weren't many of them — it took about a week to make it from one to the next — and some of them had been taken over or destroyed by animals since Mr. Crepsley had last been here.

I would never tell her, but Evra was right. Each time we turned in I was settled right next to the vampire, and I would usually wake up to find I fell asleep on his chest. For warmth, right? Right… Although I'll admit that my heart would race a little when his and my faces would be near inches from each other. As soon as the vampire would fall asleep I would cuddle up next to him.

I thought a lot about my feelings for Mr. Crepsley during our trip. It was just the two of us, alone on our trip. Away from prying eyes and distractions. It would be ideal to confess to him now, maybe I would pull him aside under the moonlight, and pour my feelings out to him. He'd have no choice but to tell me how he felt. Great idea right? Too bad that wasn't going to happen. I may have been a half vampire, but I was 99 percent sure that other have of me was chicken.

"How come they allow way stations but no shoes or ropes?" I complained one day as we warmed our feet by a fire and dove into roast venison (we ate it raw most of the time).

"The way stations were introduced after our war with the vampaneze seven hundred years ago," he said. "We lost many of our clan in the fight with the vampaneze, and humans killed even more of us. Our numbers were dangerously low. The way stations were setup to make it easier to get to Vampire Mountain. Some vampires object to them and never use them, but most accept them."

"That's...thoughtful," I cringed at the macabre topic."How many vampires are there?"

"Between two and three thousand," he answered. "Maybe a few hundred more or less."

I whistled. "That's a lot!"

"Three thousand is nothing," he said. "Think about the billions of humans."

"It's more than I expected," I said. "Plus we live like, way longer than humans do."

"Once, we numbered more than a hundred thousand," Mr. Crepsley said. "And this was long ago, when that was a huge amount."

"What happened to them?" I pressed. I was enjoying how open my mentor was being, and relished in every little bit of our culture I could learn.

"They were killed." He sighed. "Humans with stakes; disease; fights — vampires love to fight. In the centuries before the vampaneze broke away and provided us with a real foe, we fought amongst ourselves, many dying in duels. We came close to extinction, but kept our heads above water, just about."

"How many Vampire Generals are there?"

"Between three and four hundred."

"And vampaneze?"

"Maybe two hundred and fifty, or three hundred — I cannot say for sure." I offered him some hot water from our kettle and he took it with a smile, I discreetly put a bit of the powder Evra gave me into my drink. Mr. Crepsley was in rare and wonderful form these days. The nights were getting longer the closer we got, and he seemed as eager to end our journey as I was.

"I thought it would snow," I mused as I repacked our bags.

"Not quite yet, we will be hitting the cold soon enough." He peered down at me, "Will you be alright?"

"I suppose, no matter what I'll push through it." We shared a smile; no matter what I'd push through this. As much as this sucked, I wasn't a quitter.

"There are some rare bushes along the way that produce a sap that can seal the pores of the skin. Let me know if your feet are bothering you, I will keep a look out for them." A warm feeling blossomed in my chest at his word. Perhaps he was just thinking logically, I liked to think he was being thoughtful.

We continued onward and the colder it got the tougher it was. My feet felt like blocks of ice. We slept outside most times which was awful, but was slightly less awful when I was settled up next to the orange haired vampire. We used the pelts of different animals we caught to fashion blankets and makeshift tents. It was another three weeks before we reached a way station.

"Stop." I caught his arm and pulled him back.. "I smell blood."

The cave was dark up ahead, "Stay behind me. Be prepared to run if I say so." I nodded in response, but I knew if it came down to it I wouldn't leave him. About fifty feet back was a shattered coffin next to a puddle of old blood. Mr. Crepsley quickly tested it and grimaced. "The blood of a vampire."

I started shaking, this time it wasn't from the cold. I clung tighter to my mentor's arm, "I'm scared. Does that mean-"

There was a rushing sound behind me, and a strong arm wrapped around my middle pulling me away. Mr. Crepsley gave a panicked look and shot forward as I let out a small scream and my attacker grunted triumphantly. In my mind, panic quickly took over, my mind was blank with fear and I leaned down and savagely bit down on the hand holding me down. I spun away and raised my leg to land a solid kick into my assailants stomach.

"Of!" The person grunted and nearly fell over. Mr. Crepsley drove his hand forward and just barely missed. It was only then the vampire recognized the person in front of us.

"Calm down! It's Gavner!" I nearly fell in the ground, and would have if Mr. Crepsley had not steadied me. "You idiot! I could have killed you if I connected." Crepsley shouted. "Why are you sneaking around like some fiend?"

Gavner smiled, although clearly in pain," Are you sure you're not the fiend? Preying on an innocent young girl. Even if she does pack a wallop. Tell me, Miss shan, is it your aim to brutalize me everytime I come to say hello?" I snorted, and offered my hand with a smile to help the vampire up.

"I did no such thing!" Mr. Crepsley's face burned, he had been caught red handed. I would have laughed if the situation had been different. The two of them began to bicker, and I growled in frustration.

I clapped my hands to get both their attention, "Gentlemen! Are we forgetting a possible murder has just taken place?"

Gavner scowled and looked ahead, "the blood of the vampaneze?"

"A vampire," Crepsley corrected. The three of us racked our brains and found no more clues that night. We ruled out wild animals and humans and that left us with one conclusion.

"Vampire hunters?"

"Perhaps."

The thought chilled me to the bone. We decided not to stick around and find out. We set up camp in the middle of a thick ring of trees and lit a rare fire. The trees would protect us from the sun so we stayed up well past dawn discussing the night before.

"I knew you were bringing Samantha to present her to the princes, so I located your mental pattern and was able to track you." Gavner said. "I get so lonely traveling by myself, you know that." The two men talked a lot about the past. I sat closely to Mr. Crepsley who unconsciously leaned closer to the point of hovering over me. Not that I minded, but I believed that Gavner noticed.

"Where are my manners!" He exclaimed. "How has the Little Miss been?"

"Fine," I said with a smile. I hated being called little! Maybe I could understand if I had a more childish looking body, but even before becoming a half vampire I didn't look like a little girl.

"Life with this sour buzzard hasn't gotten you down?" Gavner laughed at his own joke, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"He's not sour….that much…" I teased, the orange haired vampire made a sound of displeasure and ignored the two of us forthwith.

"Any intention of topping up?" Gavner drank deeply from a hot cup of water.

"Of what?" I tilted my head to the side in confusion.

Gavner raised his hands and wiggled his fingers to show off his tell tale scars, "Of becoming a full vampire."

"I don't think so?" I looked to Mr. Crepsley for clarification.

"There is no rush," he grumbled, "She's still a young girl."

I smiled, but inwardly hated the fact that he saw me as a child. I sighed, "Besides, what girl doesn't want to be 18 forever?"

Gavner sputtered, "18? I thought you were much younger than that given your height?"

I flushed bright crimson. "I most certainly am not!" I got up and shook my head.I grabbed my bag and headed toward the nearby stream.

"Where are you off too?" Mr. Crepsley asked as I headed toward the trees.

"I'm off to fill our canteens and have a quick wash."

"Maybe one of us should go with you. We haven't found out if there is killer roaming about yet, surely now Crepsley?" Gavner seemed slightly concerned.

I let out a dry laugh, "He's made the mistake once of seeing me in the bath and he's lucky he lived to tell the tale!" I snapped.

Mr. Crepsley rose to defend as I walked away, "My intentions were honorable-"

"Yeah, yeah. Well next time, keep your intentions to yourself." I grinned ear to ear at him sputtering at the implication of my words. Nice. As I walked away I could hear Gavner taking the piss out of Mr. Crepsley and grilling him to know just what he'd seen in that bath. Crepsley, to his merit, shut down all that nonsense at once.

I was surprised to find running water this far up the mountain. I gave a sigh of discontent and made quick work of laying out my hygiene products. Just because I was traveling with vampires that don't mean I wanted to smell like them. The water was frigid, but for washing off it would have to do. As long as I was quick I would be fine. I hurriedly bent over the ring out my hair out I noticed a new and strange smell in the air. When I brought my face up I stared into the glimmering eyes of a Wolf. I froze, thinking for sure that the animal would attack but still no movement came from either of us. And then something weird happened.

It licked me. Right on the nose.

The wolf then proceeded to drink from the stream as innocent as a family dog. When it had had its fill, it lifted it's head and howled. Three more wolves came out of the trees. Two females and a small, darker cub. The male settled next to me and demanded attention so I did the only thing I could: I started scratching behind his ear. The one female also followed suit and the male growled with jealousy. The cub crawled all over my legs while the last wolf timidly hung around.

The cub lifted his leg as if to mark me but the male snapped at him before he could do so and the cub didn't try again after that. I laughed and rubbed the flanks of the Little cub. The larger male had a streak down his back so I decided that I would call him Streak from then on.

My little pack ended up following me back to camp where Gavner and Crepsley has passed out next to the fire. Dejected that I wouldn't be able to sleep next to my mentor without waking him up I settled for making a little bed for myself out of the blankets. I expected to wolves to leave after that but to my immense pleasure they all climbed on top of the blanket and slept next to me, even the shy she wolf. I hadn't felt so warm in the longest time! I quickly fell asleep with a smile on my face.

I woke up to the sound of angry growls. The three adult wolves had formed a protective circle around me, while the cub had found its way under the blanket and was cowering in my arms. The Little People looked at me and rubbed their stomachs and pointed to the wolves.

"Absolutely not! No way!" I snapped. Their eyes pleaded, but they took the hint when I growled at them. The little people gimped away unhappily and yet the wolves still did not let down their guard. On the other side of the fire the two vampires had jolted awake. Mr. Crepsley seemed confused that I was not next to him and scrambled to locate me. He seemed more calm as he approached our little pack, putting two and two together himself.

"I see you have met some of our cousins." He held his palms up to show no sign of attack and once the wolves smelled him they began to wag their tails.

"Cousins?" My head tilted to the side in confusion and nearly lost my composure when the little cub mimicked my head movement.

"Yes, vampires and wolves are slightly related. Legend says that Wolves adapted to stand upright and eventually became humanoid figures. That was how the first vampire was said to be born."

"No way," I scoffed. Mr. Crepsley pet Streak and smiled.

"I always did have a way with wolves," He said with pride. My heart swelled seeing him pat the animal so tenderly. I couldn't help but smile as I committed the sight to memory.

"That one I'm calling Streak. and this one is Teddy," I said cuddling the cub close to me. The vampire chuckled.

"Wolves have no use from names, for they are not pets." Mr. Crepsley informed me, I pouted and tried to copy the pleading eyes of the little cub. Crepsley tried to appear unaffected.

"Don't be a spoilsport!" Gavner grumbled. " If the girl wishes to name them, so she shall. Were there only four of them?"

"Yep," Teddy licked my nose and I giggled as his mom dragged him away by his scruff.

"They must be headed up the same path to the council. It's a meeting for wolves as well as vampires." The sun was low behind the trees, signalling that dusk was approaching.

"We'd better get a move on." Gavner started reading packing our blankets. The wolves disappeared into the forest to hunt. I was sad, but Crepsley said they might return so I perked up. I made quick work of packing and then we were off once more up the mountain.

My mentor knew a surprising amount about wolves. They weren't fast but had an extremely high endurance. Running with them was exhilarating. We hunted together and at night I would sleep with the vampire next to me and the wolves surrounding us in a warm pile. Time slipped by much faster this way and made the hard journey much more bearable. We soon came upon an obstacle however. A large briar patch covered the mountain floor. Any other route would take too long so we decided to carefully push forward. I turned to see if the Little People had caught up with us. When I turned my head back I was met with a terrifying sight.

Both Gavner and Mr. Crepsley were stripping down right in front of me. I stared at the tough panes of Mr. Crepsley's chest and felt like my head was going to explode. My vision started tunnelling.

"I didn't know that shade of red existed." Gavner mused. "Come one now, we can't allow our clothing to get all torn up." Gavner took off his pants and Mr. Crepsley gave him an incredulous look. His boxers were yellow and covered with pink elephants.

"From a human girlfriend of yours?" Crepsley's lips bit his lip to keep from laughing. I was no so composed. I completely lost it at the sight.

"Beautiful woman. She had horrible taste in underwear." Gavner shook his head.

"And boyfriends," I added. Mr. Crepsley roared with laughter and doubled over, nearly crying with mirth.

I grinned as I moved behind a tree and pulled out a t-shirt from my bag. The only other piece of clothing I was allowed to pack. I slid my dress and pants into my bag and stepped forward. We pushed forward at a breakneck pace. The wolves were perfectly fine with that, they were build for this type of environment. They'd been acting strange the past few days, sticking close and laying low. The two females practically never left my side. The cub was always at my heels.

"Do you smell that?" I froze and took in a big whiff of the air. "That is….That's…"

"The blood of a vampaneze," Gavner finished. He seemed panicked. "Larten.."

pulled me behind him and commanded I stay close to him. We finally reached the way station and decided to wait there and scout ahead for the two men went off at night to look ahead, leaving me behind with the wolves, I thought it was funny how Gavner followed all of Crepsley's orders. I suppose my mentor was once his superior. Some things never change.

When I was sure both of the men were out of sight I changed back into my dress. It was a bit short but I didn't bother putting the pants back on. I liked having my legs bare and free. Teddy and I often explored a little outside the way station. I think he liked being away from the older wolves because if he played too rough or got too uppity they would snap at him. I just cuddled him and gave him kisses and a good belly rub.

We decided to go outside and play, and I was keen to tire him out so we could get some shut eye before the next trek upwards. Teddy danced around on the snowy ground around the trees. The little guy jumped up on a low hanging branch was way happily wagging his tail until he looked down then he started yapping, baring his teeth and growling.

"Whats wrong?" I laughed. "Don't worry, I won't let you fall-" I was silenced by an earth shaking roar. I whipped around and saw a huge bear lurching over the snow drift. It snarled and fixed it's heated gaze on me! The beast took a swipe and would have probably killed me if the cub hadn't leaps from the branch onto his head, momentarily blinding him.

The bear roared and swiped at the cub, who ducked and bit one of its ears. The bear roared again and shook its head viciously from side to side. Teddy held on for a couple of seconds, before he was sent flying into a thicket. The bear resumed its attack on me, but in the time the cub had bought, I'd ducked around the tree and was racing for the cave as fast as I could. The bear lurched after me, realized I was too far ahead, bellowed angrily, turned, and went looking for Teddy. I stopped when I heard frightened yapping. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that the cub had made it back up the tree, the bark of which the bear was now ripping to pieces with its claws. He wasn't in any immediate danger, but sooner or later he'd slip or the bear would shake him down, and that would be the end of him.

I paused no more than a second, then turned, picked up a rock and the thickest stick I could find, and sped back to try and save the cub. The bear let go of the tree when it saw me coming, dropped to its hind legs, and met my challenge. It was a huge beast, maybe a yard and a half high; it had black fur, a white quarter-moon mark across its chest, and a whitish face. Foam flecked its jaws and its eyes were wild, like it was touched by rabies. I stopped in front of the bear and whacked the ground with my stick.

"Come on ya big bastard!" I growled. It snarled and tossed its head. I looked up at Teddy, hoping he'd have enough sense to slink down the tree and retreat to the cave, but he stayed where he was, petrified, unable to let go. The bear swiped at me, but I ducked out of the way of its massive paw. Rearing up on its hind legs, it collapsed flat on me, trying to crush me with the weight of its body. I let out a piercing scream of rage and I avoided it again, but it was a closer call this time. I was prodding at the bear's face with the end of the stick, aiming for its eyes, when the she-wolves rushed onto the scene. The bear howled as one of the wolves leaped and bit deep into its shoulder, while the other attached herself to its legs, tearing at them with her teeth and claws. It shook off the uppermost wolf and bent to deal with the lower one, which was when I darted in with my stick and jabbed at its left ear. I must have hurt it, because it lost interest in the wolves and hurled itself at me.

I ducked out of the way of its body, but one of its burly forelegs connected with the side of my head and knocked me to the ground. The bear rolled to its feet and went for me, scattering the wolves with swipes of its claws. I scrambled backward, but not fast enough. Suddenly the bear was above me, standing erect, bellowing triumphantly, it had me exactly where it wanted! I slammed the stick against its stomach, then the rock, but it didn't take any notice of such feeble blows. Leering, it started to fall. .. . Which was when the Little People barreled into its back and knocked it off balance. Their timing couldn't have been any sweeter. The bear must have thought the entire world was conspiring against it. Every time it had me in its sights, something new got in the way. Roaring loudly at the Little People, it threw itself at them madly. The one with the limp stepped out of its way, but the other got trapped beneath it. The Little Person raised his short arms, jammed them against the bear's torso, and tried to shove it aside. The Little Person was strong, but he stood no chance against such a massive enemy, and the bear came crashing down and flattened him. There was a horrible crunching sound, and when the bear got to its feet, I saw the little person lying in pieces, broken bones jutting out of his body at crooked red angles.

The bear lifted its head and bellowed at the sky, then fixed its eyes on me and leered hungrily. Dropping to all fours, it advanced. The wolves leaped at it but it shook them loose as though they were fleas. I was still dazed from the blow, not able to get to my feet. I began crawling through the snow. As the bear closed in for the kill, the second Little Person — the one I called Lefty — stepped in front of it, caught it by its ears, and head-butted it! It was the craziest thing I'd ever seen, but it did an amazingly effective job. The bear grunted and blinked dumbly. Lefty head-butted it again and was rearing his head back for a third blow when the bear struck at him with its right paw, like a boxer. It hit Lefty in the chest and knocked him down. His hood had fallen off during the struggle and I could see his gray, stitched-together face and round, green eyes. There was a mask over his mouth, like the kind doctors wear during surgery. He stared up at the bear, unafraid, waiting for the killer blow.

"No!" I screamed. Stumbling to my knees, I threw a punch at the bear. It snarled at me. I punched it again, then grabbed a handful of snow and threw it into the beast's eyes. While the bear cleared its vision, I looked for a weapon. I was desperate — anything was better than my bare hands. At first I saw nothing I could use, but then my eyes fell on the bones sticking out of the dead Little Person's body. Acting on instinct, I rolled across to where the Little Person lay, took hold of one of the longer bones, and pulled. It was covered in blood and my fingers slipped off. Trying again, I got a firmer hold and worked it from side to side. After a few tugs it snapped near the base and suddenly I wasn't defenseless anymore. The bear had regained its sight and was pounding toward me. Lefty was still on the ground. The wolves were barking furiously, unable to do anything to stop the charging bear. The cub yapped from its perch in the tree. I was on my own. Me against the bear. No one could help me now. Spinning, using all my extra-sharp vampire abilities, I rolled underneath the clutching claws of the bear, jumped to my feet, picked my spot, and rammed the tip of the bone deep into the bear's unprotected neck. The bear came to a halt. Its eyes bulged. Its forelegs dropped by its sides. For a moment it stood, gasping painfully, the bone sticking out of its neck. Then it crashed to the ground, shook horribly for a few seconds — and died. I fell away from the dead bear and lay there. I was shaking and crying, more from fright than pain. I'd looked death in the eye before, but never had I been involved in a fight as savage as this. Eventually, one of the she-wolves — the normally shy one — cuddled up to me and licked around my face, making sure I was all right. I patted her to show I was okay, and buried my face in her neck, drying my tears on her hair. When I felt steady, I stood and gazed at the area around me. I was covered in snow and blood. I locked eyes with little person and nodded my head.

I struggled to catch my breath, "You...You saved my life. Thank you, Lefty." Reaching up, Lefty gently tugged down the mask that covered the lower half of his face. He had a wide mouth full of sharp, yellow teeth. He stuck out his tongue (which was a weird gray color, like his skin) and licked his lips. When they were wet, he flexed and stretched them a few times, then did the one thing I was sure the Little People could never do. In a creaky, slow, mechanical tone — he spoke.

"Name . . . not Lefty. Name . . . Harkat . . . Harkat Mulds." And his lips spread into a jagged gash, which was as close to a smile as he could come.

"Sam!" I heard a voice shout from between the trees. Gavner, Crepsley, and streak all came bounding over to us. pulled me up from the ground where I was still shaking and inspected me for wounds, "Are you hurt?" I buried my face in his chest and squeezed him tight.

"She is….not hurt." Harkat wheezed. I thought the vampires were going to jump out of their skin at the sound. "Mr. Tiny….would be…...furious...at me…"

"That bear was crazy!" I exclaimed. "I think it had rabies or something." There was only one way to find out the cause of such a wild creature. Gavner split open the stomach of the bear and grimaced. The remains that oozed out reeked of vampaneze. We decided to follow the bears trail to see if we could find anymore clues. Closer to the ledge, we found the half frozen purple corpse, buried and only slightly unearthed by the bears feasting.

"I guess that settles that." I mused. "Vampaneze blood is poisonous after all."

"Not quite." Gavner frowned.

"What do you mean?" My brow furrowed. "We found the body."

"Yes," Crepsley narrowed his eyes with suspicion, "But who buried it?"

Sitting around the fire, we urged Harkat to explain a little more about himself. He stated that he was once a wandering spirit, until he struck a deal with Mr. Tiny to be resurrected as a little person. His mask was basically life support for him. All little people had them because they couldn't breath the normal aid around them. Without it he would die after ten or twelve hours.

"Why haven't you spoken before now?" I urged in between sips of my tea. The robust, earthy flavor was strangely calming after such a hectic day.

"There must be a reason," Mr. Crepsley surmised."In all the hundreds of years that we have known them, no Little Person has ever spoken, even when dying or in great pain. Why have you broken that long silence? And why?"

Harkat hesitated. "I have a...message," he finally said. "Mr. Tiny...gave me it...to give to...Vampire Princes. So I'd... have had to speak...soon anyway."

"A message?" Crepsley leaned forward intently, but pulled back into the shadows of the shelter when the sun hit him. "What sort of message?"

"It is for... Princes," Harkat said. "I do not...think I should...tell you."

"Go on, Harkat," I urged him. "We won't tell them you told us. You can trust us."

"You will...not tell?" he asked Mr. Crepsley and Gavner.

"My lips are sealed," Gavner promised. Mr. Crepsley was slower to make his pledge, but finally nodded. Harkat took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Mr. Tiny told...me to tell...Princes that the...night of the...Vampaneze Lord...is at hand. And to remember the prophecy... That is... all."

"The night of the Vampaneze Lord is at hand?" I repeated. "And which prophecy? What kind of a message is that?"

"I do not...know what...it means," Harkat said. "I'm just . . . the messenger."

"Gavner, do you —" I started to ask, but stopped when I saw the expressions of the vampires. Although Harkat's message didn't mean anything to me, it obviously meant a whole lot to them. Their faces were even paler than usual, and they were trembling with fear. In fact, they couldn't have looked more terrified if they'd been staked to the ground out in the open and left for the sun to rise.

All I could gather from the men as the next week passed was the following: a few decades ago Mr. Tiny appeared in front of the vampire counsel, promising that in the future someone would step up and lead the disorganization ranks of the vampaneze to war against them, and that there was no way they could possibly win unless they fulfilled a certain prophecy, which was impossible for any vampire to complete: only a child of destiny could complete the task, whatever that means.

We could all wind up dead if these vampaneze lord rose to power.I felt chilled to the bone. I may not have wanted to be a vampire at first, yet...somehow I couldn't my life turning out any other way. If I hadn't gone to the Cirque that night so long ago, I would never have met Evra or Sam or Debbie. I wouldn't have met Mr. Crepsley.

I stared at his back as we moved up the mountain. His wide shoulders were perfect for blocking out the wind. His curly hair was whipping around in the cold air. Gavner had moved further ahead of us to scout the terrain up ahead. As if sensing me, he glanced backward. I was started and my heart took off like a jack rabbit in my chest. He seemed confused from the sound of my increased pulse, "Everything alright?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine-" I started but was cut short as I tripped myself and caught a face full of rock on the ground. The inside of my mouth had began bleeding as my teeth pierced the tender flesh.

"Sam!" Mr. Crepsley exclaimed and moved to help me up. He saw the blood leaking from my mouth and swallowed hard.

A deep gash ran across my entire bottom lip, "Oww." I whined and tried to stop the bleeding.

"Hold still, silly. Let me take a look." He grasped my face with his rough hands and peered inside my mouth. "I have an idea," He said.I winced as my mouth filled with blood. And then he kissed me. Mr. Crepsley ran his tongue over my bottom lip, selling it up with his healing spit. The pain began to fade as he moved to pull away. A warm feeling exploded in my chest, and I knew I must have been glowing red.

"There, all better," He cleared his throat. He too had turned slightly pink. "You are not offended I hope?"

I shook my head, "Let's just hope Gavner doesn't trip. I doubt he'll be as understanding as me." I brushed passed him and continued forward. Smirking to myself the whole time. We came upon the entrance soon enough. Inside was a complicated maze of tunnels and chambers. Excitement coursed through me. Sadly, our wolf friends had to depart to meet up with the rest of there pack. I cuddled Teddy one last time, but Mr. Crepsley assured me that when we left we would find them again.

I had one hell of a time keeping up with the two vampires in the tunnels. Sometimes the path would slope down and then up. One part was nearly vertical and a tight fit at that. I knew I wasn't the only one that was sweating at the time. The floor was covered with a type of luminous fungi that lit our path. After a while we stopped to sleep in a small cave. While the others were resting, I checked on Madam Octa, to see if she was hungry. She'd slept through most of the journey — she didn't like the cold — but woke every once in awhile to eat. As I was taking the cloth off her cage, I saw a spider creeping toward us. It wasn't as large as Madam Octa, but it looked dangerous. I nearly screamed, "Gavner!"

"What is it?" The groggy vampire mumbled, clearly sensing no threat.

I whimpered, "It's a big, ugly spider!"

Gavner huffed and turned his back to me,"Don't worry, the mountains full of them. They can do you no harm." If that was supposed to be comforting, it was an ultimate fail. I resisted the urge to cry and I settled down next to Mr. Crepsley, and willed myself to forget the creepy crawly insect scurrying around us. Needless to say I didn't much sleep.

Later we got up and proceeded farther up the mountain, taking the tunnels marked with arrows. After what seemed like ages we came to a large wooden door blocking the tunnel. Mr. Crepsley made himself presentable, then knocked loudly with his bare knuckles. There was no immediate answer, so he knocked again, then again. Finally there were sounds of life on the other side of the door and it opened. Torchlight flared from within. It was blinding to us after so long in the tunnels, and we shielded our eyes until they adjusted. A lean vampire in dark green clothes emerged and cast an eye over us. He frowned when he saw Harkat and me, and took a firmer grip on the long spear he was holding. I could see others behind him, dressed in green as well, none without a weapon.

"Address yourselves to the gate," the guard barked. The vampires had told me this was how newcomers were greeted. Personally, I thought it was just rude to start shouting at people in such manner.

"I am Larten Crepsley, come to seek Council," Mr. Crepsley said. It was the standard reply.

"I am Gavner Purl, come to seek Council," Gavner said.

"I am Samantha Shan, come to see council,"

"Harkat Mulds come to seek council."

"Larten Crepsley is recognized by the gate," the guard said. "And Gavner Purl is recognized. But these other two . . ." He pointed his spear at us and shook his head.

"The girl is my assistant," Mr. Crepsley answered. "Harkat is traveling with us as well."

"Samantha Shan is recognized by the gate. But this other one is no vampire," the guard sneered at Harket.

"This little person has a message for the Princes, given by Desmond Tiny."

There was a pause as the guard noticeably paled, "The gate recognizes Harkat Mulds."

Hello everyone! Thanks so much for our continued support! Updates might slow up a bit once I caught a cold. Not to mention college and work are both dragging me down quite a bit. My family might be getting two new puppies! So exciting:) I also want to go back and edit chaps 12-present and I'll make sure to let you guys know when I do, just in case there are any plot changes etc etc. Let's try to hit 60 reviews before the next chapter:)

Also I have another song for this fanfic's playlist: 18 and Life by Skid Row

-PMD