Blood and Roses1

Prologue:

Come and listen while I tell you a story that is ancient, of a truth that is forbidden and kept secret from mere mortals.

In the beginning, the Gods of the ancient world created Heaven and Earth. The two plains of existence were as precious as rare jewels to them but as time went by, the worlds began to seem barren. One dayIsis, the mother and creator of all Egyptian Gods, made a decision to change what was lacking in the new place her children had made. She commanded Amun, the God of Life, to create a race superior to any they had ever created to inhabit the lush and fertile planet and someday the Heaven created for them in the afterlife. The humans became the favored race of Isis and Amun. They were declared a species worthy enough to worship the Gods.

But as Isis’s fascination and pride in Amun’s creation grew she became careless and stopped paying attention to what affects it was having on some of her own children. She did not see the danger when it should have been obvious; where she should have known it would be. Her Great Destroyer, God of Evil and Chaos, Seth and, the Dark God of the Underworld, Anubis were angered over her neglect and jealous because of her obsession with beings so far beneath them.

Centuries passed until Seth’s hatred and jealousy of the human race became all consuming. Loyal Anubis followed suit. Seth retaliated against his queen by murdering his brother Osiris, husband of Isis, and placing himself as king.

Incensed by Seth’s betrayal Isis appealed to the fates in secret to resurrect her beloved consort long enough to produce an heir; thus creating Horus.

She raised her son in seclusion, so no one would know of his existence lest the information find its way to Seth, until he was of age to take the throne from his uncle.

A horrendous battle ensued for a thousand years.

Showing that he was willing to incur the wrath of Seth Horus gained the admiration and loyalty of such powerful Gods as Ra, Neith, Hathor, and Khnum. It was come to be believed that the spirit of Osiris lived within Horus and guided him to his glory. He was worshipped as Ruler by both Gods and mortal man.

Humiliated by his defeat and lack of loyalty from every God but Anubis, who hated Horus as fervently as he did, Seth decided to create a breed of beings all his own. With the help of his loyal lackey Anubis, he set about putting his evil plan into action. He intended to kill off the human race without giving them restitution.

Seth had thought that once the Gods had seen how pathetic and weak Horus’s precious humans were then they would see the error they had made. When it was apparent how powerless Horus was to stop his children from destroying the world, the Gods had so carefully and lovingly constructed that they would flock to his side. And after the mortals were gone Seth’s spawn would walk the Earth acknowledging the Great Destroyer as their only lord and master.

But that was not what happened.

They were demons that were long since dead but resurrected in the form of mortal women. The most significant differences between them and their human counterparts other than unnatural beauty were their thirst for human blood and their hunger for the human soul.

They were like machines. These demons would feed off the souls of the humans ensnaring the spirits inside their bodies until they could be disposed of by Anubis. Once they devoured and reached their quota, the captured souls would be denied entrance to the afterlife. The souls would be sent to a plane of existence created for those who could not pass to the other side. It was nothing like the Heavens and worse than any Hell where they would be trapped; where they were kept from entering the paradise that had been prepared for them.

The extraction of the human spirits from their bodies would leave the demons starved and increasing their craving human blood and a new collection of souls.

Some only killed when they needed to feed. The majority of the demons murdered for the shear pleasure of the adrenaline rush that heightened the blood flow of the intended victims, which earned them the much-feared name of the Soul Collectors.

Ra, furious with Seth and Anubis for their evil scheming against Horus and the animalistic conduct of their demons, he took his blessing away from the Soul Collectors. He then proclaimed that if they were going to behave as animals then they should look like animals as well. He cursed them to forever appear different from humans because of their abnormally long incisors. When they fed their faces turned from beautiful to that of the hideous creatures, they really were.

Then he and Horus convinced a God of Fertility, Khnum, to take from them the ability to produce male children so they could no longer breed among their own kind.

With the double curse of Ra and Khnum, they were sentenced to a life of darkness with the knowledge that if they were to step into the light of day they would meet an instant death. They would have to spend eternity knowing that they could no longer give birth to male children.

It was said that the males already birthed by the demons, half-human and fully Soul Collector alike, were executed after the curse had been bestowed upon them. It was rumored that only two were able to escape the fate of the males of their race, twin sons born to the queen of the Collectors, but to this day no one knows if they ever existed.

Furious over their ill fate those vampires who fed simply for survival stopped; they began killing for sport and the thrill of the pain and fear they could inflict on their prey before they died. This special breed of Soul Collectors became known as Master Collectors. The Collectors no longer showed mercy to any human unlucky enough to cross paths with them in the dark of night in an attempt to offend the Gods.

They took pleasure in the slaughter and bloodbath that was the chaos they had caused because Seth had taught them well about the laws of the Gods. Their cardinal rule was that they would not take a direct hand in the affairs of mortals unless the human died or they were summoned to human form. The Gods under Horus’s control would not violate the free will humans valued so much.

The Collectors’ raids spanned all over the ancient world to countries that were said to have the most powerful of men. During their murderous trek, they would search for the strongest and worst of the world’s criminals and assassins to impregnate them. The women selected twenty of the strongest mortal males for the job. The men were tortured and beaten in the vilest of ways when they were not forced to help Seth’s children procreate, kept alive only by a steady supply of Soul Collector blood.

But on a night when death was a promise that whispered on the wind and hung in the air the prisoners knew that it was more than their lives that were at stake. They combined what was left of their will to call forth the Gods to human form with a plea to save their immortal souls. Their cries did not go unheard. Humbled by their prayers for salvation the Gods acted.

Before the men took their dying breaths they were visited by Horus and his supporters to pass final judgment, or so they thought. Instead of eternal damnation at the hands of the vampires, that were holding them prisoner, these scarred and abused men found themselves being offered redemption for their crimes and the chance for revenge.

“For those among you who have lost your families there is no way to properly convey our sorrow at the fact that we cannot rejoin you with the ones you love. I regret that their souls are beyond even our reach”, Horus said. “For those of you who had nothing before I cannot allow you to return to your former occupations. I can, however, promise that if you serve us in our war against these demons and their master you shall all be given the opportunity to have the vengeance you so richly deserve. The rest shall be given the chance to claim redemption for those crimes which you have committed.”

Horus stepped aside to reveal Neith, Goddess of the Warrior, a woman of such beauty that all mortal men were powerless against her. With hair so blond it was almost blinding she was known as a temptress. Not far behind her was a young man with such a dangerous aura about him that the power of the Gods surrounding him seemed pale in comparison to his presence. Each of the soldiers took a cautious step back.

“We shall allow you to reclaim a semblance of the lives that were stolen from you,” she said, “on the condition that those of you bent on revenge give your souls into my keeping. In return, you will be given immortality. Those of you who were captured by design during your evil deeds and not betrayal will still have to serve us but you will be given every advantage that your brethren shall have including immortality. You shall be able to keep your soul in order to find redemption but you must give into my keeping your life essence.”

The men looked at her in suspicion. “Now do not confuse what I am asking of you as servitude. You will be given a life of some normality. All you have to do is give a small piece of yourself to me and you will have everything you want. You will be trained by Runihura”, she motioned to the young man who had come to stand not quite behind her but not beside her either, “on how to kill the monsters that have so brutalized you.

“However, you must promise to serve us, the Gods, until such time as you are able, if at all, to reclaim your soul. The consequences of accepting our offer is that if you die while in our service you shall cease to exist, quite literally. For there is no afterlife for those without souls.

“Those of you with souls shall share the fate of your comrades. A soulless death if you are killed while performing your duty. There will also be no mercy shown to those among you soulless or not if you turn rogue. Do you agree to these terms?”

They nodded agreement; it was impossible to say “no” to the Golden Goddess.

Ra came to stand by her side. “To fight these creatures you must become like them. You already crave blood because of your diet but you shall have fangs to give you more of their appearance. To hunt them you must be as merciless as they are.” He said with an elegant wave of his hand. In an instant, the soldiers found that their incisors had grown in their mouths.

The men returned to their homes for the sole purpose of carrying out the revenge promised to them.

It was then that the world’s greatest assassins and criminals were given strength, power, and immortality from the Goddess Neith to aid Horus in ridding the world of the spawn of Seth. The ultimate plan was to stop his evil scheming. They were gifted with all of the strengths that the Soul Collectors possessed and none of their weaknesses save for one.

The hunger and need they possessed for human blood that rose from the tainted essence of the Soul Collector running through their veins.

And it is blood that becomes the curse for any that join their ranks.

As Ra had said, in order to defeat their enemy they must become like those they wish to defeat. These warriors of Neith were known as the Day Stalkers and the Night Stalkers; they were feared and revered for centuries before fading completely out of history as well as memory.

But it is said that whenever anyone has been betrayed or has committed great sins the Gods are there to make their proposition. To serve them in the fight against Seth and Anubis with the chance to take revenge on those who have wronged them or to cleanse their tarnished souls. The Day Stalkers paid with their life essence while the Night Stalkers gave up their souls.

The only redemption for either is to find the one pure soul that would never betray them…

Born to great wealth in ancient Egypt and the favored general of Seti I, Minnon, was envied or hated by most men and desired by all women.

He was said to be able to please a woman so well that she would never again want the touch of another man but him. Men were said to have hidden their wives away when he was present for fear that they would stray.

Minnon was rumored to be the silent lover of every woman’s heart. They say that one kiss from his lips and the woman would be beyond sense and reason and were his for the taking. Countless women tried to capture his attention and win his favors but not many of them ever succeeded in that task because his heart belonged to another.

It was said that the Pharaoh chose him to personally guard his daughter because of his skill in killing and his merciless attitude. The men never called it murder though they knew that was what he specialized in.

He was a great man known for his many victories both on and off the battlefield. The people called him the silent commander. But Minnon held winning the heart of the woman he loved as his highest achievement.

She and the Pharaoh's only daughter were the only people to ever melt his heart of ice but in two completely different ways. He thought on his ruler’s child as dear to him as a sister. His passion though, was saved only for the woman that haunted his every waking thought.

But the woman of his dreams, the lover he thought he knew so well, was the one person destined to betray him.

And he was served up as a gift for the Soul Collectors. Now he is destined to walk the world soulless and immortal; to search out and kill the monsters that stole his very existence.

Through the passage of three thousand years, he kept his silence following the orders given to him to the letter. Finally, after hundreds of lifetimes he gave up all hope of ever finding his salvation, the one woman in all the world meant to set him free…

Year 2000

New Orleans

A girl no older than fifteen walked the French Quarter on her way home.

If only her mother hadn’t been craving the house coffee something-or-other, she couldn’t remember its name, from Café Du Monde she would have been home before the sun had set. Had her mother not been pregnant she wouldn’t have wanted this nasty coffee that smelled good but was so strong it tasted like tar. She and her mother were new to the state of Louisiana and New Orleans. They’d moved here two months ago just after her dad’s funeral.

Jacquie had no friends here but being alone was something she was long used to. She had heard stories, though, about this town. And from what she had heard it was not safe to travel the streets of this place alone at night.

She had no idea why her mother would want to come to a town like this. They might as well have moved to Santa Carla, murder capital of the world.

There were tales of vampires that roamed the streets and alleys. Jacquie had been told that there were demons and mad men who walked among them day and night. There was no telling if the native superstitions were true but she had no intention of finding out.

She still had to complete her science project which was due at the end of the week. Her parents had loved that their only child was an A-plus student. Now that her dad had passed away, she and the new baby were going to be all her mom had. So here she was a half hour after sunset having bought for her the nastiest coffee in the world.

Hopefully things were going to get better after the baby arrived. Things were tough and money was tight since they moved here. There was nothing she could do to help her mother with finances until she turned sixteen. Her mother had told her not to worry about it because she was making enough so that they could get by. She wished that she could believe her mother on this subject but her mom had a habit of hiding her troubles when she didn’t want Jacquie to worry. It was a nice thought but her mother keeping secrets only caused Jacquie to become even more upset.

As she turned the corner and crossed the road in the direction of the small house that they were renting just outside the French Quarter Jacquie got the feeling that something was wrong. Her feelings were usually right and she felt a fierce wave of panic overcome her. Dropping the coffee in the middle of the street, she broke into a run. Something seriously wasn’t right but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to find out what it was. But the feeling of dread that was washing over her was so intense that nothing could have stopped her feet from moving.

The lights in her house were off and the front door was wide open. Her mom never went to bed this early and she was never so careless as to leave the door open at night.

Oh God!

Jacquie walked up the steps and into the house but it was so dark she couldn’t see anything. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Jacquie could make out the damage done in the living room. She tripped over a lamp. The coffee table was overturned. The couch and chairs had all the stuffing torn out of it. The room itself was torn apart and as she made her way through the rest of the house she found that there was equal destruction in every part of the first floor.

Jacquie entered the nursery and flipped the light switch. The lights flickered briefly before sputtering out completely but it was enough for her to see the interior for a moment.

Her blood instantly ran cold.

Mom!

Her heart stopped in her chest at what she was seeing. A woman or at least she thought that it was a woman with blonde hair, was bending over her mother’s still body, which had a gaping wound in her throat. The woman’s mouth was covered in blood; blood she knew had come from her mother.

Vampires!

There was no time for Jacquie’s scientist brain to digest what she was seeing; that she was staring into the eerily glowing eyes of the undead. She was backing out of the door as shear panic gripped her when she hit something solid in the doorway. The next thing she knew she was lying on the floor staring up at two more women with ink-black hair, their faces contorted like the vampires from a bad episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

This had to be a dream; it had to be. Any moment now she’d wake up from this nightmare and everything would be okay. She’d be back in her room across the hall safe in her bed laughing at herself and her stupidity for staying up late and watching reruns of old vampire soap operas. Jacquie closed her eyes tightly and willed these horrible looking women away as she had so many other ghosts and demons when she’d had terrifying visions.

When she was smaller, her parents had discovered that she had inherited her grandmother’s psychic ability. It was a gift she prized but at times, it could be a curse. It was the very reason she didn’t make friends.

She slowly opened her eyes. Nope, still there. This wasn’t good. This time as she looked at them she saw their ugliness melt away. They appeared to be the most beautiful creatures she’d ever seen. That was more disturbing than when they had looked animalistic just moments earlier. They taunted her but she was so frightened that she didn’t hear a word that was said. She had to get away from them and find help for her mother if it was not already too late.

They hauled her up by her arms and pushed her into a chair in the corner, the only piece of furniture in the room left in tact. Jacquie discovered there was something wet on the arm of the chair when she accidentally put her hand in it. Although she couldn’t see very well in the dark room she could tell when she brought her hand to her face that the dark sticky liquid was blood.

Her mother’s blood.

Jacquie’s logical mind revolted at the thought though her practical way of thinking told her it was fact. Her psychic’s intuition rather than her mind confirmed that this seat had been where her mother had first been attacked. Images of the scuffle between these creatures and her mom ran rampant through her mind. When the room stopped spinning she knew without looking at her mother’s still form that, both she and the baby were dead. Not just dead but empty as well. Neither one of them would have been able to survive the grisly assault she had seen. Her mom had been fighting a losing battle.

And it looked as if she was going to suffer the same fate as her parent and unborn sibling. It was then that she recognized the women. They had come to the house last night to sell her mother baby stuff for the upcoming child, they’d said. What they’d really been trying to do was get an invitation into the house. It seemed as if they’d succeeded in their task. Jacquie had known in the pit of her stomach there was something wrong with them, like how they had known to look to their house for a pregnant woman but now she understood. She’d pushed her misgivings aside unable as she was to deny her mom anything.

Now was definitely a time when she wished that she could count hindsight among her many gifts.

Inside her mind she screamed her pain and rage to the heavens, though common sense told her that it wouldn’t do her any good.

From the looks they were giving her, they weren’t ignorant to the fact that she wasn’t an ordinary girl. They eyed her as if she were some delicious candy they were going to have for dessert and in a way that didn’t bear thinking of she guessed that she was. She realized that it was a stupid question even before it popped out but she had the suspicion that there was more at work here so she croaked, “What do you want?”

They laughed at her. But it was the vampire who had last had her mother that answered. “We took the blood and soul of your mother along with that of your psychic sister. Now we want your sorceress soul to keep us alive. We’ll share her won’t we sisters?”

The other two made noises that sounded very much like agreement.

“I’m not a sorceress.” It wasn’t a lie that she knew of. Having psychic powers didn’t make her any kind of a wizard or anything like it. Sometimes she really hated her powers. They were the reason she and her mom had to pack up and move because she had predicted the accident that had killed her father. They had tried to convince him to stay home that day but he hadn’t listened. Her powers were also the reason that no matter where she went no one wanted to be around her. She rather felt like there was a neon sign above her head that read “psychic chick, stay away”.

Everyone was so superstitiously afraid of her.

She’d never stopped using her powers but she had denied having them for so long that it was second nature to plead ignorance to what these monsters were talking about.

Her grandmother had been a sorceress not her. She was still too young and unskilled for that title.

The vampires only laughed at her.

Jacquie began to panic even more. She tried not to show any fear but she felt the icy grip of death reaching out to choke her. She wasn’t ready to die. As the women approached her, their faces had once more taken on an animalistic quality. With her mind, she used her telekinesis to push out and the demon’s hit the wall on the far side of the room.

Snarling and growling they came toward her again. This is it they’re going to kill me and take my soul. There is nothing I can do to stop them.

Even as the thought came to her there was a large crash downstairs and the vampires were stopped dead in their tracks. Obviously what was going on below them was causing them great distress. “Come on let’s finish her before they get up here and spoil our fun.” The tallest of the dark haired women said.

They made a grab for her and at the last possible second, she dodged out of the way. Jacquie pushed again with her mind with no real target in the darkness with everything moving. A lamp that had been lying on the floor suddenly hit the blonde on the back of the head. The others turned to see what had happened. Distracted by their fallen sister she took the advantage and ran for the open door and once again hit something solid.

Rebounding off of whatever or whomever she’d ran into Jacquie staggered back and took off in the opposite direction realizing too little too late that there was nowhere to go except out the blocked door or the second story window.

Neither option was favorable but she decided to take the lesser of the two evils.

Then to her surprise she was being shoved out the door. And even more surprising was that she’d been shoved into the arms of a beautiful young woman who was the most gorgeous creature she’d ever seen. If those vampires were beautiful in human form then this woman was a Goddess.

“Damn, Runner!” She called to the burly man still blocking the doorway. “Could you have thrown her any higher?”

Runner turned around and gave her a charming smile and Jacquie noticed that he wore a pair of goggles. “Could you blame me? She wouldn’t move out the way. Meagan heads up!” He tossed a small object in their direction.

As soon as she was steadied on her feet, a butterfly knife was shoved into her hand.

She stared at it in bewilderment. “I don’t know how to use this.” That was true. She never touched a weapon in her life. Come to think of it she’d never even cussed before. She had always obeyed and tried to stay small. Her goal in life was to be invisible and up until fifteen minutes ago, she’d been really good at it.

Meagan took the knife from her hand and demonstrated. Then she gave it back. “Can you handle it?” Jacquie nodded. “Use it.”

It was nothing less than an order.

Both strangers moved into the room. She didn’t think that she could handle anymore surprises. All she could think of was her loss and grief at her mother’s passing and the baby she was never going to be able to help raise. Most of all she mourned the loss of their immortal souls because it was the same in every religion. There was no world after for those who have no soul.

Jacquie stood there holding the knife that Meagan had shoved into her hand for a second time as if it were a poisonous snake. The woman actually expected her to use it. Jacquie couldn't use it she knew because she had never harmed anything in her life.

There came sounds from inside the darkened nursery of flesh pounding against flesh and steel on steel. It sounded as if a war was being waged inside the tiny room. She was afraid to go inside and find out so she stood there on the outside of the doorway clutching the butterfly knife for dear life. She prayed she wouldn't have to try and use it.

The sounds of battle raged on inside while she was cowering outside. Then there was a nearly blinding flash of light, as if she were looking directly into the sun, and the blonde was thrown from the room. There was blood running from her eyes. She not only appeared like a crazed animal but also gave the most inhuman screech when she noticed Jacquie standing across from her. Jacquie closed her eyes tightly in her fear and willed the woman away from her.

The vampire was flung back into the room, she could see, when she opened her eyes. Jacquie went to the door to find five sets of eyes on her. A sudden ear piercing shriek ripped through the stunned silence. “I’ll have your sorceress soul!” the blonde screamed before charging her.

“Use it!”

Jacquie heard the woman shout as the fighting broke out again. She now was cornered across the hall from the nursery with the hideous vampire growing closer to her at an alarming speed. What had Meagan said? Oh, God she was so paniced that she couldn’t remember. Something about a knife, what knife?

She looked down at her hand and sure enough, there was a closed knife in her hand. How had she been showed to open it? Oh, yeah, that was right. Jacquie flipped it open just as she felt the breath of the demon on her neck and plunged it deep into its chest.

The woman doubled over and took a few steps back. She heard a shout come from the door way where the fighting had stopped again. “Stick her! To the left of her chest!” When the demon came at her again she did just that and watched as she exploded into a pile of burning ash.

Jacquie stood there looking at the fine pile of ash lying on the floor where the vampire had been then it disappeared. She glanced up to see that she was once more the only person in the hallway. Quickly she ran to the nursery to find that Runner was bent over and gasping for air while Meagan knelt beside him on the floor. She stood up when she realized that Jacquie had come in. “Don’t come any closer.” She said.

Runner turned around and Jacquie drew back toward the door again, ready to run. He was breathing through clenched teeth and she saw that he had fangs. Jacquie couldn’t breathe. This was the worst case scenario of “out of the frying pan and into the fire” that she could think of. They had killed the others just to get to her.

“You…you’re both one of them,” she said backing her way to the door. Then she found herself pinned in place.

Runner circled her where she stood. “No we’re not one of them. You have nothing to fear from us or our kind, little one.”

A throat cleared delicately. “Excuse me but I sure as hell hope you’re not counting me in that one Runner.” Meagan said. “Demi-god remember or did that part just slip you’re mind.”

“So sorry princess. My kind. We are a breed of warriors assembled by the Egyptian Gods to kill the Soul Collectors or, for those who lack true imagination, vampires. These creatures though require both human blood and mortal souls to survive. The only thing my kind…” he paused to glance at his partner.

She smiled sweetly at him, “Thank you”.

He in turn rolled his eyes. “You’re welcome. Now as I was saying, the only things my kind have in common with those monsters are the fangs and the thirst for blood which both come part and parcel with what we are.”

Jacquie found that even though she was unable to move she could still speak. “So if you’re not one of those…Soul Collecters as you called them then what are you? And how am I supposed to believe a word you say?”

The man made her very uneasy. It seemed as if he were peering dirrectly into her soul. Runner whistled. “Meagan, you’re gonna have to work with this kid. She’s a little too innocent for her own good. At least she’s not all too trusting.” He glanced at where he mother lay dead on the floor. “Of course under the circumstances who would be.”

He sighed and it seemed to Jacquie that it was an infinately weary gesture. “Okay, kid, we’re gonna cut you some slack since I’ve already told you as much as I have. Just remember that I don’t usually make mistakes. Everything I do is for a reason. First we take care of your mother’s funeral then you’re going to live with Meagan. She’ll protect you now that we’ve taken care of that Lorriell model wannabe and her cromies it’ll be a while before the next ones come.”

Jacquie gawked. “My mother just died and you want me to just pack up and move in with someone I don’t even know. I don’t know who’s more crazy the two of you or me. You still didn’t answer my question. What are you and how did you know to come here?”

Exasperation and patience warred for expression over what she could see of his face behind the goggles. “We of us are called the Day Stalkers. The others are known as the Night Stalkers.”

“There goes that we again.” Meagan complained.

Runner turned to glare at her or at least she thought it was a glare from what she could discern but it soon became brothery and playful. “Alright, so I’m not interupted any more. My kind are men and women who were once mortal but died of either brutal betrayal or in the act of committing horrible crimes. Those who become Night Stalkers are given the chance to seek revenge on those who have betrayed them and Night Stalkers have the chance to find redemption for those crimes in which they have committed. In return we must serve the Egyption Goddess Neith,” Jacquie could have sworn that he visibly cringed at the mention of the Goddess, “by destroying the Soul Collectors. The biggest differences between Day and Night Stalkers as one walks in the day and posesses a soul while the others roam the Night and have no soul. Are you following?”

She nodded once not wanting to interupt.

“However, in esence we are similar to the vampire of Bram Stoker in the scence that we crave blood and we possess fangs. Okay, enough with the horseshit of legend let’s get down to bussiness. We heard your cry for help and we followed the trale that your thoughts had left behind.”

“But I didn’t cry out loud…” Jacquie stopped short.

Runner smiled. “Exactly, we followed the psychic waves that you produced with your mind. Now are you with us on this…”

“Jaquie”.

His smile grew at her name. “Jacquie, will you come with us?”

Even in her greif she knew that leaving her old life behind for good was the best thing, she could do if the Soul Collectors were going to be back. It was what her mother would have wanted. “Yes, I’ll come but there is something I want to do.”

“What’s that?”

She gave them both a weary smile, as she was set free from whatever was holding her. “I want to help. I want to be a part of this. I don’t want to die but I want my revenge for what I’ve lost.” Runner and Meagan both nodded their heads. She knew she was grinning stupidly as she said, “I’m a chemist. I am able to try to make an elixer that might help lessen your hunger. I have been expeimenting with certqin chemicls lately and I think I can do it. The formula wouldn’t stave it off completely because according to all vampire legend blood is the coin of your realm; what you need to survive but it may help to some degree.”

Good Gods, she couldn’t believe her mind was still able to function as a scientist through the terrible ache in her heart. They both looked at eachother and then looked back at her with admiration in their eyes. “You’re in,” they said in unison.

“I have just one more question though,” she said as all three of them headed for the door. “Why do the Soul Collectors want me so badly?”

Meagan was the one to answer this time. “Beacause, Jacquie, you’re a sorceress.”

There was no doubt that Jacquie had lost her mind but there was also the fact that she didn’t have anywhere else to go. It was either go with these two be betterleft for dead without her mother. In this case, she thought that it would be better to take the lesser of two evils. On the heels of that thought she heard Runner laugh.

“You have no idea.”