It was midnight when Asabel entered Valedale. She thought of how much of a coincidence it was that the sun wasn't out; since time was different in the Stone Ring, she could have just as easily gone out in the daytime. She hadn't considered nor cared about that when she left, as she didn't have many future goals now except to leave Jorvik.

Surely, her departure would only benefit everyone there. She had had enough time to think about her past actions, and none of them had been good. Destroying multiple worlds didn't matter to her still, but others cared about them, so it was better in the end to leave everyone alone and let them have their worlds.

The only person she truly hated was Mr. Sands. He had deceived her and used her as a weapon when it had actually been he who had taken away her friends. She had almost had her revenge, and she remembered the look on his face when she had had him in her shadowy grasp. His expression of terror was burned into her memory, and the satisfaction she had from knowing he had been cornered kept her anger mostly at bay. She wanted to leave before those feelings would have a chance to wane and she would want her revenge again. She knew killing Mr. Sands wouldn't change anything; it wouldn't bring her vampire friends or Elizabeth back. It wouldn't give her back the years she wasted working for Dark Core or erase her nearly ending two, possibly more worlds. However, he deserved to suffer, and she did, as well.

Leaving Jorvik, the island she had been born, died, and in a twisted way, resurrected on, was her only option.

It was 11 at night and far too late to say any more goodbyes, and she thought perhaps that was for the best. Linda and Lisa, two of the Soul Riders, had enough on their plates to deal with; Anne and Alex were still missing from when they went through a portal a Vala witch opened. The only other one who would care that she was gone was Hollowguardian, the Arabian Thoroughbred she had gotten attached to.

What was it that Rose always said? "Don't form attachments to anyone or anything." Asa shook her head as she realized how foolish she had been to not follow that advice. Immortality was a curse for some, mainly those who felt anything too deeply. Everyone she had ever cared about had either died or had been lost to her in some other way. From now on, she would never love anyone again.

Asa ran south through the Hollow Woods, towards Doyle's Abbey. Fort Pinta was just a short distance away. There, she would board a ship and leave Jorvik.

Suddenly, Asa heard a noise coming from another direction. She turned and saw a horse racing near her, approaching her. In the darkness, she saw the horse was Hollowguardian. The last she knew, he was at Valedale Stables. What was he doing here?

The horse stopped in front of her and reared, then ran off. Certainly, this was alarming behavior. Asa ran after him with the intention of bringing him back to Valedale. She caught up with him, but he would not slow down nor respond to her in any way. Nothing seemed to be chasing him, and if there was, the horse had already gone a good distance away from it by now. He showed no signs of slowing down as they passed Mooreland, Wolf Hall Inn, and all the way to Epona.

Hollowguardian slowed down as they entered the Mirror Marshes, trotting across the stone bridges. It was then that Asabel realized that Hollowguardian hadn't been running away from something but rather was looking for something.

Asa stood by the horse and patted his nose. "Come on. I need to get you home," she said, but Hollowguardian continued to walk across the bridges.

Suddenly, a voice asked, "Who's there?"

Asa stayed very still, waiting. An older man approached them from out of the fog. He had brown hair on the sides of his head but very little on top, and a mustache and beard. He wore rather disheveled formal clothes, a plaid jacket, and a tie hanging loosely around his neck. Seeing Asabel, he asked, "What are you doing out here at this time of night, young lady?"

If he only knew.

"I was heading to New Hillcrest and got lost," Asa lied. "My horse got a little scared when we came here."

"Hmpf," he said. "You're going the wrong way. New Hillcrest is that way." He pointed the opposite direction of where she was facing.

"Thank you," she told him.

"Youth these days," she heard the man mumble when she turned away, attempting to lead Hollowguardian away from the Mirror Marshes. However, the horse resisted.

The man, noticing they weren't leaving, asked, grumpily, "Well, can't you see I'm busy? What are you still doing here?"

Annoyed, Asa answered, sarcastically, "I'm sorry, sir. My horse seems to enjoy your company and loves dreary swamps. I'm having a hard time convincing him to leave."

He narrowed his eyes at her and huffed. "If you insist on staying here, then may I please ask that you don't get in my way? I have a lot of work to do."

"Certainly."

Asa could have lifted Hollowguardian and carried him back to Valedale, but she couldn't have this grouchy stranger see her do that, so she had to think of another way to coax the horse to leave the swamp. Meanwhile, the man set up a table and supplies on the grass to the side of them. He waited impatiently for Asa to leave, but, try as she might, she couldn't get Hollowguardian away from the spot. The horse kept looking into the water.

"He knows there's something in there," the man said.

"What?"

The man sighed. "I am researching a creature that is said to be in the swamp. Your horse's reaction just confirms my suspicions that something is indeed here." Then, he crossed his arms. "Hmph. As long as you're here, you can help me set up this underwater camera."

Asa wasn't sure how she got talked into it, but she ended up helping the man, whose name was Professor Hayden, set up equipment to see what was in the swamp. She figured the sooner she'd help him, the sooner he'd go away so she could get Hollowguardian away from there without arousing suspicion.

The Professor wanted absolute silence while he searched the water. Meanwhile, Asabel tried to lead Hollowguardian away, but he only stayed and became more agitated.

Suddenly, there was a splash and a cry as Professor Hayden fell into the swamp, though it more looked like he was pulled in. Hollowguardian reared, and Asa tried to calm him. Professor Hayden screamed for help, trying to get away from something in the water. Asa sighed and went in after him.

Something had a hold of Professor Hayden, and Asa, who could be underwater with no problems, tried to get him released from that grasp. The thing let go of the professor and grabbed Asa, instead. Asa punched it with her fist, sending it back a few feet. Professor Hayden tossed a rope into the water. She took a hold of it, and with his help, pulled herself to shore.

Professor Hayden laid on the ground, soaking wet and highly displeased. When he caught his breath, he only said, "Hmph."

That was all that could be said before something shot out of the water and grabbed Asa's foot and tried to use her to climb up onto shore. To both her and the professor's shock, the creature was human-shaped. Asa looked into its eyes, and hers widened.

"Zerxes!" she exclaimed, shocked, terrified, and relieved all at once. He acknowledged his name, but only for a split second before the Hunger took hold of him once more. He showed his fangs and shoved them deep into her neck and drank what blood was in her. She winced but didn't move, letting him get nourishment.

When he tried to pull away, Zerxes murmured, "Asabel?..."

Asabel hugged him, tightly. Tears filled her eyes. "Yes, my friend. It is I. It's so good to see you alive, so to speak. We need to get you cleaned up and rested."

He looked up at her, weakly. "Are you kidding me? I've been in that swamp for ages. I've stayed still long enough."

Asa finally pulled away. "We have to leave Jorvik. It's a long story," she told him, nervously, trying to help him to his feet. She saw Professor Hayden was still there, and he was watching them, carefully, writing in a notepad. She panicked, especially after Zerxes saw him, as well.

"You brought dinner," Zerxes said, grinning. "Let's drink, first."

"No," Asa immediately told him, which confused him.

"Why not? He doesn't look diseased or anything. Besides, we can't let him tell other people about us. I'm not strong enough to fight off an angry mob yet."

"I don't want to kill him. Please, let's just go. I'll explain everything later."

Zerxes looked at his old friend, raising an eyebrow. "Have you gone soft, Asa? He's just a human. We're out in the middle of nowhere. No one will miss him."

Professor Hayden glared.

"Zerxes, just leave him alone. A lot of things have happened in the time you were gone, and now is not a great time for us to stick around."

"Well, I can't leave without a proper meal."

"I can't let you kill him. It will cause more problems than it's worth."

"Great. Fine. We'll get some other human."

Thinking quickly, Asa said, "Wait!" She turned to the professor. "We can't leave him here. He'll tell other people."

Professor Hayden spoke, not seeming very bothered by the situation. "This is an incredible discovery, vampires on Jorvik. Fascinating."

"I'll take care of it," Zerxes said, but Asa interfered.

"There's another way. I know someone who can erase his memory."

Zerxes sighed. "Okay. If it's that important to you, we'll do that. But first..." He knocked Professor Hayden out, then said, "So who's this person?"

Asa looked down. She didn't want to ask for help, but doing so was the only way to save the three of them.