I am the shadow that waits in the darkness, the eternal flame that will burn until time ceases to exist.

I am a vampire. Not a bloodthirsty demon that preys on innocent human lives, but a silent creature of the night, lost in my own power struggle between good and evil. Time means nothing to me.

My name is Magnus, and I the owner of Club Obsidian, Miami's darkest and most lucrative nightclub.

My story certainly didn't start or end here at Obsidian, but this tale is as good as any I have to tell, so I will begin it with a splash of drama. An upset girlfriend.

"I'm living my sister's life," Levannah cried, pacing around the room in agitated circles. "This is what she wanted. To live the life of a vampire, with you, here, at Obsidian. This isn't what I envisioned for myself. This was what Autumn longed for. And now she's gone and I feel like I've stolen her dream from her. It's not right."

"You didn't want the gift?"

"I didn't ask for it."

I felt like growling. But then again, she was cute when she was angry! "Are you saying I should have just let you die? If that's the way you feel, no one is keeping you here."

"Magnus..."

We had has this discussion several times in the past two weeks, since she had been shot saving my life from the obsessive vampire hunter, Ersa Cohen.I had had no choice other than to offer her immortal life or watch her die in my arms, which I was not willing to do. I decided to change the subject. "You did quite a number on my club, by the way," I said, raising an eyebrow. "Between you and Ersa, you left enough blood lying around to keep an entire army of Vampires fed for a month."

In the aftermath of the shooting during the Bella Costa show, I was still trying to get Obsidian cleaned up enough to re-open. The police had been called in and they had questioned me relentlessly about the amount of blood on the floor, and who exactly it had come from. Since Lavannah had been shot outside of the club before she had been shot a second time onstage, she had managed to drag a fair amount of blood inside with her, and then there was the dead guard to explain.

It is a good thing I possess a silver tongue and a fair amount of charisma. Those two things have gotten me out of so many sticky situations in the past. And I can like like a salesman when the need arises.

The fact that Ersa was still alive and lurking around somewhere bothered me, however, as I knew he would eventually return for another strike at me. Obsessive people are perdictable like that. Prysm, the bass play for my band, Bella Costa, had gone after Ersa, but so far he hadn't returned and that worried me greatly. But there was nothing I could about it for the time being. I sighed, running a hand through my shoulder length straight black hair. It was time to get back to work.

"Come on, love," I said, stepping to take Lavannah's arm. "Let us go upstairs, there is work to be done. Obsidian must be ready for its grand re-opening on the morrow"

Lavannah seemed to have forgotten about arguing, at least for the time being, and she accepted my arm as we ascended the stairs and entered the nightclub.

Suddenly I froze, and a feeling of such horror came over me that I was forced to my knees in revulsion.

Lavannah gasped and knelt down beside me. "Magnus!" she exclaimed, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing at all," I said, lying through my teeth as the feeling passed and I stood up, pretending nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

I could tell that Lavannah didn't believe me, but she seemed willing to let it go for now.

I walked over to the bar and sat down, shivering. Yes, dark times were upon us indeed.

Lavannah settled down at the bar as well, and struck up a conversation with a pretty dark haired girl known as Mauve. Mauve had come to Obsidian several months ago and taken up refuge in one of the rooms below the club. She had a gift that allowed her to see into the future, and at times, the past. The visions often frightened her and caused to her draw into herself and become somewhat introverted, but lately Lavannah had befriended the girl, and her influence seemed to be doing mauve a wealth of good.

The only other people in residence at Obsidian at the time were Freyja, the healer who had tended to Lavannah's gunshot wounds and helped her through the healing process, and Enki, Obsidian's bartender, who also happened to be an empath and emotional healer. It had been sheer luck that Freyja had been at the club to help Lavannah. At the moment, he and Enki were discussing something over in the lounge area. Seeing Lavannah and I emerge from our chamber below, Enki came around behind the bar to greet us.

"What would you like to drink?" He asked, laying napkins in front of us.

Levannah smiled warmly at him. "Water for me, please."

Enki nodded. I asked for a rum and coke. I had a feeling I might be in need of the alcohol before the day was out.

Mauve excused herself shortly thereafter to her rooms, and Freyja and Enki took their discussion downstairs, leaving Lavannah and I alone in the empty club.

Lavannah took small sips of her water; she was obviously concerned about my collapse upon entering the room, but she didn't question me any further about it. Instead, she brought up Ersa.

"I just can't believe that he killed Autumn in cold blood like he did. He had a way with words, it was like I wanted to trust him, I wanted to believe everything he said. That you were the ruthless killer and he was only trying to rid the world of your evil presence."

"Yes," I said, reflecting back to the days when Ersa used to manage Bella Costa, before I had learned of his true nature. "Ersa is very charming. But so are all of nature's most wondrous and beautiful creatures."

Lavannah leaned forward seductively. "And what does that make you then?"

"Mmm...," I murmmered. I rather liked the sudden sexiness in her attitude. "I, love, am the most deadly of them all."

"Ersa said you were dangerous."

I smiled. "He said I was dangerous. He did not say I was evil."

If it hadn't been for the door suddenly bursting open, I might have taken her right there on the bar, but as it happened, the door to Obsidian went flying open, startling both of us out of our trance and causing me to spring to my feet in alarm. Instantly, the gun that I had taken to carrying with me at all times was out, its barrel pointed at the figure framed in the doorway.

"We're not open," I growled menacingly. "Get out."

Lavannah was nervously looking over my shoulder.

"Magnus Thorne, you whelp, don't you know its not polite to go waving a gun around at people? Show an old man some hospitality."

Immediately, I shoved the gun back down into the pocket of my pants and went running up and threw my arms around the gray haired man who had just entered the club.

"The doors were locked, I'm afraid I had to use a bit of force to open them," he said with a grin.

"I don't suppose you considered knocking."

The look of feigned shock that the old man attempted made me laugh out loud. "Not once."

"You're welcome any time. Where have you been?" I hadn't seen the old man in years and I was ecstatic that he was here.

He waved one knarled hand in the air as he spoke. "Oh, you know, Spain, England, Germany. Bavaria is very nice this time of year, you know..."

His words trailed off as he looked up and saw Lavannah standing behind me. "Why she's... surely you didn't..."

"Um," I said nervously. "Levannah, this is Castor. He used to own Obsidian. Castor, this is Lavannah. Sit down, both of you. We have a lot of talking to do."

Castor's expression went from one of amusement to one of graveness. "Yes, we do I'm afraid. You are in great danger."

"Yeah, when am I not?"

"I'm serious, Magnus." Castor said, taking a seat on one of the red velvet couches in the lounge area. "You can't laugh off everything and rely on that rapier wit of yours to get yourself out of trouble all the time. Eventually you will have to actually face your problems and try and solve them."

Levannah sat down opposite Castor and I took a seat next to her. She seemed a little shook up by Castor's sudden appearance and his foreboding words, and I couldn't think of anything to say that would placate her, so I just sighed and tried to tell myself that Castor was probably over exaggerating things a bit. The problem was that I knew he was absolutely right. I was in danger. Serious danger.

"Okay," I said. "Let me try and fill you in on what's been going on here lately."

Castor simply nodded, indicating that he was listening, and that I should go on with my story. I took a deep breath, and began.

"A couple of months ago, I met a girl named Autumn. She came to a Bella Costa show and I fell for her. I didn't know that she had been sent by Ersa to seduce and kill me. But Autumn was pure of heart and when she realized that I am not the bloodthirsty demon Ersa made me out to be, she started to have feelings for me. But in the end, the lust for an immortal life overtook her. She begged me to turn her into a vampire, and when I refused her she ran back to Ersa. Of course, Ersa was enraged that she had betrayed him and failed in the task he had sent her to do. So he killed her. Which is where Lavannah comes into the picutre."

I smiled at Lavannah, but she just stared at me immpassively. Well, I had tried to brighten her spirits at least.

"So," I continued, "Lavannah was living her normal, boring life in Boston when her sister stopped sending letters. Worried, Lavannah came to miami to find her sister. All she had was Autumn's last letter with its enclosed photograph of me. Of course, for some, all paths lead to Obsidian, and so she ended up on my doorstep, where Ersa found her. Like he had with her sister before her, Ersa convinced Lavannah that I was an evil monster and sent her to destroy me. I, of course, won her over, but when I found that she had met with Ersa I told her to leave and that I didn't want to see her again. And she left, for a bit. But she returned the night of the Bella Costa show. Ersa's goons attacked and shot her, but she still managed to jump in front of the bullet Ersa shot at me, and shoot him in the process. Quite remarkable, actually. Prysm went after Ersa as all hell broke loose on the dance floor."

"The shapshifter?" Castor interrupted.

"Yes, Prysm, Bella Costa's shapeshifter. He hasn't returned yet. Anyway, Lavannah was fatally wounded, and the only option left to me was to offer her my blood to keep her alive. She grumbles about it now, but at the time she took it without hesitation."

Castor was silent for a moment, pondering what I had just related to him. "Yes," he said slowly. "I can understand that having lost someone who meant a great deal to you, you wouldn't want to go through the pain again. Still, it is a dark gift and not one that should be readliy handed out. No matter though, what has been done can not be undone. We have more serious problems at hand."

"What danger?" Lavannah asked.

Castor studied her. "Magnus," he said, "How much have you told her of your history, and the history of Obsidian?"

"Very little," I confessed.

"Well then, I guess we had better fill her in. She's bound up in this whole mess now, whether she likes it or not. There's no going back now."

I nodded.

Castor turned to Lavannah. "Obsidian is a very special place, as I'm sure you are well aware of by now. It attracts people who are, say, different than the general population. Witches, vampires, mages. I, myself, am a mage of the highest circle, meaning I can open gateways, summon demons, travel great distances through astral projection, and things of that nature. The club was built at a junction of magical laylines. Laylines are focal points of power that are spread out at various intervals across the world. Creatures of magic are attracted to laylines, in the same way that creatures in the wild can sense and find sources of water. In mideval times, magical beings and creatures of the night used to gather on this very spot to hold ceremonies and practice rituals. Eventually, a building was constructed here and it became a refuge for such people, as society became less and less tolerant of magic and its followers. I do not know exactly when Obsidian became the night club that it is today, but that does not matter. I came here as a young magician seeking guidance and I ended up making the club my permanent home, and taking over ownership when the previous owner decided to pursue other interests.

"About 25 years ago, magnus came to me, but I think he should fill you in on his background himself."

"Very well.," I said, happy to take over where Castor had left off. "I was a very nieve twenty seven year old, trying to make my way in the world, living in Los Angeles and dreaming of becoming a rockstar. I couldn't play any instrument but I could write lyrics and sing with the best of them, and I found myself in various bands, always dreaming of big things, but never getting anywhere with my life. I was, in essence, a bit of a loser. And then one day I found myself a little bit intoxicated, wandering around outside of a club after a gig. Nevala found me. He was an intimidating sight. He was one of the tallest human beings I had ever seen, with deathly pale skin and long auburn hair. His eyes were as black as the night sky and he dressed all in black, from the long velvet cloak to the black leather boots. He frightened me, and the fear excited him.

"He fed on me, but instead of leaving me to die he forced me to drink his blood in return. 'I see something in you,' he said to me that night. 'You will belong to me.' I fought him with everything I had. But Nevala was very old and very strong. It did me no good.

"He was as cruel a master as can be had. He taught me what I need to know to survive, but no more. He sent me out to hunt for victims for him; he taught me to seduce them and lead them to him. We traveled constantly, never staying in one city for too long. His kills were always bloody and sloppy, but Nevala didn't care. He didn't care about anyone or anything but his own pleasures. It was here, in Miami, that we happened upon Ersa and his father. Ersa's father owned a major record company and it was at a party that Nevala caught sight of him. It gave Nevala a thrill to take down people in positions of power, and so when he saw the big shot leave the party with his ten year old son, Ersa, Nevala of course descended. The kill was quick and relatively uneventful, but Ersa witnessed the whole thing. Nevala chose to let the little boy go, laughing at the thought of the stories the boy would tell the adults, about vampires attacking his father.

"But that kill was enough to make me loathe Nevala with a passion so intense that I couldn't bear to stay with him any longer. I ran away, knowing that when Nevala caught up to me he would kill me, and not caring. And so, I ran blindly, unsure of where I was going. I ended up at Obsidian, where I met Castor, who took me in and hid me from Nevala. I don't know what happened to Nevala after that. I assume he came after me at first, but soon lost interest in the chase and left Miami. I haven't heard from him since. Obsidian became my home. I met Prysm and the other members of Bella Costa here. Shortly after the band was formed, Ersa came to us after a show and offered to take us under his wing. I scoffed at him, saying that we didn't need his help. But the others were more easily charmed. After all, he had money and power and he made lots of promises. At first I wasn't aware of who he was. I did some research into his past. He made several attempts at my life, but they were sloppy ones. Hiring someone to attack me outside of the club, putting drugs into my drink. It got old after a while and when he failed to deliver on his promises, the band saw that he was a liar and a fraud and we fired him."

"I was getting old," Castor added, "and I decided I wanted to see some of the world before I died, so I eventually turned Obsidian over to magnus. He takes good care of the people who come here. I have to check up on him from time to time, though."

"So," Levannah said, "What does that have to do with the danger we're in?"

Before Castor or I could answer, there was a flash of movement, and we all jumped about ten feet as a black cat wearing a spiked collar suddenly jumped up onto the arm of one of the couches. "Well I certainly didn't mean to scare anyone," the cat said, as it looked around at our startled faces and twitched its tale in amusement, "but the door was wide open. Magnus, you might want to look into getting that fixed."

Lavannah looked like she was about to faint at the sight of a talking cat, and I had to laugh. "It's about time you came back," I said. "Where are your manners, Prysm? You're frightening the lady."

"Sorry," Prysm replied, turning to Lavannah and giving a slight bow. "Is this better?"

In a flash, the cat became a man of medium height, thin as a rail, with slanted yellow eyes, wearing all black. He was sinewy, with a graceful elegance that gave him a very feline-like quality.

Seeing Castor, he nodded in his direction. "And not to make it sound like I'm not glad to see you, but you never seem to show up during good times."

"And good times these are not, but first tell me of Ersa."

Prysm sat down and began chewing on one of his retractable claws. "I tried to follow him after the shooting, but it was a mess getting out the door. People were going nuts. I did manage to track the trail of blood for a ways. Lavannah's shot was a little off. The wound wasn't fatal."

"Well excuse me," Levannah huffed, "but I had never shot a gun before. And I was sort of DYING at the time."

"Ah, no worries, darling. We're all allowed to make a mistake once in a while. And I must say you are looking considerably better than the last time I saw you."

"So if you wear hot pink, do you turn into a cat with neon pink fur?"

I laughed. "We should try dressing him up in a tuxedo, see if he turns into a penguin."

"Ahem." Castor was displeased with our off topic remarks and jests.

"Right,' the cat man said, "So I followed Ersa's trail but it stopped suddenly. I believe he may have gotten into a car. His three buddies were with him at that point and then they all just suddenly vanished. So I went to his villa and staked the place out. He didn't return home and I haven't seen anyone come in or out of the place. I suspect he fled, knowing that someone would identify him to the police as the shooter at the Bella Costa show."

"Exactly what did happen after I went after Ersa? The fuzz arrived, I imagine."

"Yes. I had the other band members take Lavannah downstairs where Freyja, the healer, could tend to her. my vampire blood kept her sustained long enough for the healing to take place. When the police arrived, they questioned the dead guard and the trail of blood leading from the alleyway outside onto the stage."

"And what did you tell them?"

"I used a sort of magic to make them forget about the extra blood. I suppose it could be considered a base form of mind control. Similar to the mind trick I use on people when I don't want to be seen. It doesn't work on people who have very strong mental walls, but it worked on the cops. They believe that Ersa entered from the back, killed the guard, then made his way to the front of the stage and shot at me. Some wittness saw a girl jump in front of me and shoot into the crowd, but the cops conviently forgot about that as well."

"You have the potential to be a mind magician of great power," Castor remarked. "But, we need to discuss---"

Suddenly, I was overcome with a feeling of dread, much like the feeling I had had earlier coming up the stairs. I doubled over as the walls started spinning around me, trying my best not to collapse. I don't remember what happened after that, because the feeling intensified and I lost control of my consciousness, slipping out of the real world, and into darkness.

When I awoke, I was lying on my bed, and Freyja, the healer, was standing over me with a scowl on his face. Lavannah was seated on the opposite side of the bed, and she looked worried. Castor paced the floor, and mauve sat in a chair nearby.

"I can't find anything wrong with him at all!" Freyja exclaimed, exasperated.

"Well is he going to be okay then?" mauve asked.

"Well, I..." Freyja was clearly unsure how to answer.

"Sure, I'm fine," I interjected, forcing myself to sit up even though it caused my head to swim alarmingly.

"Ah, you've come to." Castor stopped pacing and made his way over to the bedside as Lavannah reached over and took my hand.

"You've been asleep for hours," she said. "We were worried."

I looked around. "Where's Prysm?"

"He went to take a cat nap," Castor said with a smle., shooing mauve out of her chair and taking it for himself.

"Everyone go to your rooms," he commanded. "magnus and I will talk in private."

"I'm not going anywhere." Lavannah folded her arms over her brests stubbornly and fixed Castor with a drop dead stare.

"me neither," mauve said, immatating Lavannah.

Castor was clearly not intimidated. "You will do as I say, or---"

"Lavannah stays," I said, "What I have to say concerns her too." I put on a fake smile. "The rest of you get back to your lives and don't worry about me."

Freyja and mauve didn't look please at being dismissed, but they left and closed the door behind them.

"magnus," Lavannah said when they were gone. "I need to know what's happening to you."

Castor just looked at me expectantly.

"I think," I said slowly, "that the reason I've been blacking out and the reason of Castor's visit go hand and hand."

At Castor's sloemn nod, I continued.

"Nevala is coming. He is very near."

Lavannah gasped. "Here, to Obsidian? But why? He's left you alone all these years, why is he suddenly deciding to make an appearance now?"

I could only shake my head. "I do not know, love. But he is searching for me. He is sending out mental probes, and whenever those probes touch me, I am sent into a state of horror so strong that it actually causes me to lose consciousness."

"He can do that?"

Castor chose to answer that. "Yes. Nevala is very old, and very powerful. He can do many things, only some of which are known to us. He is very dangerous. He stayed far away for many years, but a week ago I sensed him heading in this direction. I knew he had to be coming for magnus and I came as fast as I could. Although how much help I will be I can not say."

"Now what, then?" Lavannah asked. "Do we run, hide? What are we supposed to do?"

"We do nothing," I said, rising from the bed and heading for the door. "We open the club again, as scheduled, as if nothing were amiss. And we wait for him. There is no need to panic or worry ourselves over it just yet. We'll let him come to us."

"Surely you can't be serious?" Lavannah gasped. "He'll kill us on the spot."

"No," I said, grabbing my favorite deep red velvet cloak from the closet. "I know Nevala. He wants something. He wouldn't just leave me alone for so long then one day randomly decide to come and kill me. He must have a reason for coming to miami, and if so, we may be able to bargain with him and settle this without any blood shed. Look, with Ersa at large and all the bad press the club has gotten recently, do we really want to make things more chaotic than they already are?"

Lavannah looked up at me and I reached out and pulled her closer. "There's no such thing as bad press," she said, leaning forward to place a soft kiss on my lips.

Castor let out an agrivated growl, threw up his hands, and, defeated, and left the room.

And suddenly Lavannah and I were all alone. And we liked it that way.

Two nights later, Obsidian opened its doors again for the first time since the theasco with Ersa a few weeks prior.

It was a grand evening. The club was immaculate. The dance floor shone so bright it was almost like dancing on top of a mirror. Enki, our bartender, was giving out free champagne to everyone who walked through the door. And we were packed. News of the shooting incident seemed to have attracted people rather than scared them away.

Lavannah was radiant in a black silk dress trimmed in scarlet lace, and I was dressed entirely in velvet, except for my black leather boots. Together we greeted each patron who came to the club that night, new or old, and we danced and drank and lost ourselves in the wonder that was Obsidian. That is, until I found myself doubled over on the dance floor.

A huge crowd gathered around, but I forced myself to smile and wave them off.

"Nevala is coming, isn't he?" Lavannah asked, taking my arm to steady me.

"Yes," I confirmed. He is nearly here."

"magnus? Where are you? I have news!" I looked around, trying to figure out who was calling for my attention, but I saw no one. Puzzled, Lavannah and I looked at each other and shrugged.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed, as something scratched my leg underneath my pants.

"Down here, you oaf!"

I looked down to find a familiar black cat sporting a spiked collar sitting at my feet.

"Prysm! You're missing the party! Do have some champagne, I'll find you a bowl."

The cat spat in dusgust. "Nasty stuff. Anyway, Ersa is back."

"Ersa! Where?" Lavannah immeadietly went into panic mode, scanning the club wildly.

"Not here," the cat said, "he's back at his manor. I've been watching it. He just returned earlier this evening. He seems to have recovered from his wounds. He must have paid the cops off or something, because I didn't see any police cruisers waiting for him."

"Damn rich bastard." Now I was the one who wanted to spit. "What does this mean for us?"

Prysm shrugged, if cats can be said to shrug. "Perpahs he'll leave us alone?"

"And perhaps Nevala will walk out in front of a speeding bus and get run over. Wouldn't that be nice?"

The cat chuckled. "Probably wouldn't even harm him. That guy's tougher than petrified wood."

"Yeah," I agreed, and half as useful."

As Prysm and I enjoyed our humorous banter, Castor decided to put in an appearance. It looked to me from the way he was walking that the old guy had had just one glass of champagne too many. He stumbled up to our little group, nearly tripping over Prysm's tail, and managing to spill half of the liquid out of the glass in his hand.

Well haven't we had a good night?" Prysm chuckled.

"Eh, Castor, maybe you should ease up just a bit," I suggested.

"Nonsense. I've only just begun to have fun," the mage laughed, taking a huge gulp of champagne.

"Castor," I said, leaning in to whisper to him. "Nevala is very close. Don't you think you might want to be sober when and if he decides to grace us with his presence?"

"Right," Castor agreed, setting his glass down on the bar and having a seat in one of the high backed black chairs in front of it.

"Where is mauve?" Lavannah asked, concerned. "I haven't seen her all night."

I sighed. mauve had a vision. Of Nevala. It desturbed and frightened her and she decided to retire to her rooms for the night."

"Oh no," Lavannah gasped. "Was it anything useful that she saw? Did it give us any information?"

I shook my head. "Sometimes mauve doesn't see visions from the future. Sometimes she sees things from the past. She saw Nevala killing Ersa's father all those years ago. Shesaw the scared little boy that Ersa was run in terror. It disturbed her emensely."

"Should we send Enki to her? Perhaps he could help?"

"No," I said, emphatically. "Eventually she needs to learn to face her visions instead of hiding from them. There won't always be someone like Enki around to help her sort out her emotions and come to terms with them. She must learn to do that herself, or the visions will consume her."

Lavannah turned away from me then, and my heart plumetted at her obvious disagreement with my reasoning. I was about to say something to her when every inch of my body started to tingle with aprehension and fear. Looking at the faces of Castor and Prysm, I knew that they were feeling the same thing. Nevala was here.

His entrance turned heads. Standing darn close to seven feet tall, Nevala was by far the tallest man to walk into Obsidian that night. His long auburn hair and green eyes were enough alone to draw a crowd, but, being a vampire, Nevala naturally possessed that same animal magnitude that did. Every eye in the club was on him as he strode through the door, but his eyes were locked solid on me. I gulped and tried to erase the look or terror from my face.

"magnus, my son," Nevala purred, striding toward my group, "have you missed me? You look wonderful, I must say and this is quite the establishment you have here. Who would have thought you would do so well without my guidance?"

His smile brought a snarl of rage to my face. "What do you want?" I growled. It came out sounding far less menacing than I had hoped.

The fake look of warmth on Nevala's face vanished, to be preplaced my something far more sinister. He stepped forward in a threatening manner. "Let us talk, somewhere private."

I wouldn't back down to him. Standing my ground, I replied "Whatever you have to say to me can be said right here, in front of everyone."

The other Vampire was not impressed by my refusal to yield. His voice pictched low enough that only I could hear his words, he said "Surely you don't want a bloody scene right here in your newly re-opened club. Haven't you had enough blood shed here to suit your vampiric lusts for one lifetime? Spare the innocent lives and indulge me with a few minute's conversation."

By this point, everything that had been happening in the club prior to the arrival of my creator had ceased, and everyone was gazing in rapt attention at the exchange going on between Nevala and I. For the sake of my loyal patrons, who had stuck with Obsidian during its darkest hour, I put on my best fake smile and patted Nevala on the back jovially. "Welcome, old friend," I said, for thier sake, "I will talk with you alone in my private chambers beneath the club."

Nevala smiled, revealing his perfect ivory fangs, and the people in the club went on with their dancing and celebrating.

I turned to my friends. "Nevala and I must talk alone. I will be safe, do not fear for me."

Lavannah and Castor protested whole-heartedly, but I knew that having them present would only endanger their lives should Nevala decide to indulge in a bloodbath, and I ordered them not to follow us downstairs.

With my heart pounding and fear running rampant in my mind, I bade Nevala follow me as I led the way to my private chambers.

Upon entering the bedroom, I pulled the door shut behind us, being careful to lock it to avoid any intrusions.

Nevala looked around, taking in the stone walls, the sparse furnishings, and the bed in one corner. He scowled in distaste at the black cat with the spiked collar who had preceeded us into the room and was curled up comfortably on the blankets, then chose to disregard the animal's presence.

I stood with my back against the door and folded my arms across my chest. "To what do I owe the honor of your visit, father?" I asked, letting the sarcasim drip from my voice.

Nevala dropped all pretenses of friendliness. "Cut the sass, boy. After you ran away I was content to let you go. Though I must admit I never thought you would do so well in the world. I thought you would end up dead within five years. I forgot about you, really, after a time. Until a few weeks ago when I heard about a shooting during a concert at a club in miami. What interested me was the mystery surrounding this particular club and its elusive noctural owner. I did some reasearch and came to find out that this particular club was some sort of a focal point of supernatural power. Intrigued, I dug deeper into the identity of its owner and low and behold your name came up. Of course, I had to schedule a visit."

His smile sent shivers up my spine. "You didn't come here to congradulate me on my success, " I said. "Tell me what you want or get out."

In one quick motion Nevala shot across the room and enfolded his long fingers around my neck. "You are in no position to make demands of me, boy," he snarled. "It is I who will call the shots." The cat on the bed hissed. Nevala ignored it.

"Let me get straight to the point," he said, obviously losing his patience. "Obsidian is a source of great power. I want to harness that power. I want the club."

"You want Obsidian?" I was completely floored by Nevala's desire. "That's ludicrous. I would never give Obsidian to you!"

"Listen to me, boy." Nevala tightened his grip on my throat. The cat on the bed twitched its tail and unsheathed its claws. Sweat poured down my face and there was no use tryng to pretend I was in control of the situation. I could see the fury and the madness in Nevala's eyes as he spoke.

"You will give me the club or I will destroy you right now and take it. Keep your little band, house your freaks if you want. You can even act as manager, but the club will belong to me, and I will have its power."

"You fool," I spat, "you can not take Obsidian by force. Kill me if you want, but if you do everyone who is loyal to the club will rebel. And without their magic to draw on, all the power that the club has will be meaningless! You need them, but unless the club is freely given, they will never follow you!"

"Then give it to me, you insulant little worm!"

"Never." I tried to yank free of Nevela's grasp, but he was far too strong. After my outburst, I had no doubt that he would kill me.

But instead he let me go. And he laughed. It was the most vile, hideous thing I had ever heard in my life, and there was no humor in it.

"You will give me Obsidian," Nevala said, reaching into my pocket and taking the key that I had used to lock the door. "But until you do, I will slaughter your city. I will turn miami into a bloodbath and kill every one of its inhabitants until you decide to hand Obsidian over to me." With a flourish he unlocked the door, threw the key at me, and disappeared up the stairs.

"Oh my God," I gasped, falling against the wall, as Prysm adopted his human form and came to stand beside me. "What have I done?" I heard footsteps racing down the stairs, but all I could think about as I sank to my knees was the horror that I had just unleashed on the innocent city of miami.

"magnus," Lavannah was kneeling beside me, stroking my hair. "What happened? We saw Nevala run up the stairs. He ran outside in a rage."

"Forgive me Lavannah," I moaned. "I think something terrible is about to happen."

Castor appeared beside Lavannah with a glass in his hand. "Here child," he said, handing the glass to Lavannah. "Have him drink this."

Lavannah lifted the glass to my lips and I carefully sipped the liquid inside. It was blood, human, and I didn't know where the mage had gotten it, but I was grateful. It roared through my body, giving me a sudden rush of strength and energy.

"Nevala wants Obsidian," Prysm said, as mauve joined us in the bedroom.

"I heard a comotion." mauve said, "Is magnus all right? Nevala was here? Why does he want Obsidian?"

Everyone began talking at once and I groaned. Trying to make out anything that was being said was giving me a headache.

"Be quiet!" Castor shouted above the noise. "Everyone upstairs is going to hear us squaking like mad chickens down here!"

I must admit that the magician had a knack for gaining people's attention. Everyone was quiet after that, and I chose to speak.

"We don't have much time. We must stop Nevala. He's going to slaughter everyone in miami. He won't stop unless I agree to turn Obsidian over to him."

"What does Nevala want with a night club?" Lavannah asked, puzzled.

"He said Obsidian is a great source of power, and he wants to use that power for his own devices. He threatened to take it by force, but I told him that Obsidian draws its power from the people within it, and that without their support the power would bring him nothing. Was I correct?"

Castor sighed. "Yes and no. It's more complicated than that. It is obvious that whatever research Nevala did on the club, it wasn't very thorough. Obsidian itself is just a building. It has no magic, no power. But it is built upon a juncture of leylines underneath the earth. Think of them as underground rivers, yet instead of being made of water they are made of magic. Certain people, such as vampires, witches, magicians, people with psychic abilities, and shapechagers, like Prysm there, are drawn to these rivers of magic. The magic within the minds of the people here and the magic beneath the club feed off of each other. The people here can still use their abilities without being in the vacinity of the club, but without the special patrons, Obsidian is just a night club like any other in the city. I can't see how owning Obsidian would be any use to Nevala, but he is too blindsided by the promise of power that he fails to realize that. Unless he plans to brainwash the people here into serving his dark purposes." The magician gave a shrug.

"Well until we do something to get rid of him, he's going to throw his temper tantrum by terrorizing the city and killing anyone he comes across." I muttered. "How are we going to stop an ancient vampire? Can Nevala even be killed? I don't know of any weaknesses he has."

"Can't he bleed to death like you and Lavannah?" mauve asked, curuious.

"I don't know," I replied. "I don't know much about him at all." I looked to Castor for help, but the old magician only shook his head.

"Wait a minute," Prysm said. "We don't know anything about Nevala. But I know of someone who might. Someone who has made it his life's work to study Nevala and come up with ways to take him down."

"No," I said, "you can't mean to suggest we go to him for help!"

"Go to who?" Lavannah asked, annoyed at being left in the dark.

"I won't allow it."

"Prysm does have a point. And we don't have many options. Nevala is preying on the citizens of miami while we sit here arguing."

"What makes you think for a second he's going to help us?" I asked, finishing my blood and standing up.

"You can't be talking about..." Lavannah let the thought trail off, too horrorfied to mention his name.

"Of course," Prysm said, "Who do you think he would rather destroy, given the choice? magnus, or Nevala?"

"The first one he can get his hands on!"

"Ugh." I said. Let's not argue. maybe Ersa knows something we don't that can help us destroy Nevala. maybe he doesn't. But we have to do something. Nevela is out there having a feast."

"And what's to stop Ersa from killing you the moment you set foot on his property?" Lavannah was being particularly difficult.

"He can't kill all of us!" It was a lame comeback, but the only one I could think of at the time. Lavannah rolled her eyes at me, Prysm burst out laughing, and Castor and mauve just stood there looking at me like I had grown a pair of wings.

I could tell it was going to be a long night.

As expected, Nevala's masacre was brutal. He went wild through the city, killing anyone who got in his way. The murders were bloody and their only purpose was to get my attention. Every person's life he took drove a wedge through my heart, only this stake wasn't wooden, and it didn't kill me.

The police were in an uproar, trying to maintain peace within the city and keep panic at bay, but Nevala was merciless and unstoppable. It made me wonder, if an entire police force was unable to contain that monster, what could a handful of social outcasts do against him?

I hired a limo to take us to Ersa's sprawling mansion in Coral Gables. my entire fanclub insisted on joining me, and this time I didn't put up much of argument. Safety in numbers, or at least the illusion of safety. So, unsure of what to expect, mauve, Prysm, Castor, Lavannah, and set off on our journey into enemy territory.

I had alway's been impressed by Ersa's vast mansion located in miami's answer to Beverly Hills. But that night I had other things on my mind than the huge white house with its swimming pool in front and its long spiraling stair cases leading to the front door. As the limo pulled into the circular driveway, I began to have second thoughs about the decision to ask Ersa for help. Of course, by that time, it was too late.

We decided that Castor should take the lead, since Ersa didn't know him and thus probably wouldn't kill him on sight, followed by Prysm and mauve, with Lavannah and I close behind. Cautiously we made our way to the front door and Castorn knocked, while I tried to remail calm and convince the contents of my stomach to settle.

The door was opened almost immeadietly by Vince, Ersa's hulking bald butler, and I heard Lavannah gulp at seeing him again. He took in Castor, Prysm, and mauve with non-chalance, but when he saw me standing there he pulled a gun from his side pocket and aimed it at me.

"Being a little hasty there, fellow?" Castor asked, nervously. "We have a proposition for your master. Be a gent and show us to him, would you?"

"No need for that." Startled, we turned from staring at the barrel of Vince's gun to see Ersa appear behind him in the doorway. He too had a pistol aimed and cocked.

"I never imagined you would make it this easy for me magnus," Ersa said with a smile. "How stupid of you to come here."

"Now wait," Castor said, "We want to strike a deal---"

"The time for deal making is long past, old man," Ersa chuckled. "Now it is too late." And I was frozen, completely immobilized, as he went to pull the trigger.

And the next thing I knew, Castor was kneeling on the floor, panting, Prysm was in the middle of transforming, and the two guns were lying at Castor's feet. The bullet that had been intended for my skull was in Castor's hand.

The look on Ersa's face was pricess, as he looked around for his gun in bewilderment. It was, in fact, so comical that I almost burst out laughing.

"What did you do?" Ersa accused.

Lavannah helped Castor to his feet as he spoke. "I briefly and momentarily stopped time."

"Impossible."

"Not impossible. Just extremely difficult. It drained me of my energy just to stop it for the amount of time it took to unarm you and your bodygard. It also disrupts the leylines and throws off the balance of magic. It is not something I recommend doing."

Ersa scoffed. "Doesn't matter," Prysm remarked, picking the guns up off of the ground and handing one to me. He grinned, yellow eyes shinning. "We're in charge now."

"What do you want?" Ersa asked. "You don't seem to be suicidal, so you had to have some reason for showing up here."

"Right," I said. "I want to offer a truce."

"A truce? I killed your last girlfriend and took a fair shot at your current one. Oh, and I tried to kill you several times. What on earth would make you want to bargain with me?"

"Cut the crap, Ersa," I said, eyeing him with what I hoped was a menacing stare. "We're both after the greater evil here." Ersa's silence only proved to me what I had suspected. He knew nothing of Nevala's return to miami or his recent rampage. "There's a renegade vampire on the loose. We need to figure out how to destroy him."

"And why do you need my help for that?"

"Because you've dedicated your life's work to figuring out how to kill vampires. Surely you must have been collecting quite a bit of reasearcg over the years. On one vampire in particular." Ersa's eyes widened and a hungry look washed over his face. I finished my sentence. "Nevala."

"Nevala is here, in miami?"

"Yes. And he's killing innocent people. He won't stop his game of slaughter until I agree to give him Obsidian. In his madness he thinks that he can somehow harness its power to serve his own purposes. He's a raving lunitic and he needs to be destroyed. I don't know of anything that will kill him, but surely you must have come across something in your studies..." I let my sentence trail off. "If you help us, we can kill Nevala and avenge your father's death. Isn't that what you've wanted all along? Isn't Nevala the real treasure you've been after?"

"Yes," Ersa smiled, and rubbed his hands together slowly.

"Well let's get on with it then!" Castor snapped, "The longer we stand here engaging in idle chit chat the more time Nevala has to play his killing game. Surely you have a library or study of some sort. Take us there."

"How do I know you won't kill me the second I give you what you want?" Ersa asked.

Prysm twirled Ersa's gun around in his long fingers. "That's a chance we'll both have to take, now isn't it?" he replied, flashing Ersa a look that was more of a snarl than a smile.

"Fine," Ersa agreed. "truce. I will show you everything I've collected on Nevala. Vince, lead the way to the study."

The giant bodyguard turned and started down a long hallway, and the rest of us followed patiently behind.

Ersa's study was a small room on the downstars floor, housing a plethora of books from around the world. There was a sturdy desk at one of the room and several comfortable chairs and couches for reading scattered throughout the room.

Ersa of course took a seat behind the desk and Vince adopted a protective stance behind him.

"How'dja do it? Get the cops off your tail, I mean?" I asked, lounging against one of the bookshelves and trying to appear at ease. Ersa raised an eyebrow. "How did you?"

I spread my hands out as if to say "fair enough."

"Everything I've collected on Nevala is kept locked in a safe behind this desk," Ersa said, gesturing to a large iron box on the floor next to where he was seated. He bent over the lock, carefully twisting the combination knob until there was a soft clicking sound and the safe door popped open.

Reaching in, Ersa pulled out several old books, multiple newspaper clippings, and dozens of stacks of hand-written sheets of papers. "Have at it, gentlemen," he said, sliding the stack of materials across the desk.

Sighing, we each took a pile for ourselves and began pouring through the material.

Three hours later, Castor let out a grunt. "Nevala has super-human strength. He has mental telepathy powers. He can travel great distances in a short amount of time. He can re-generate flesh faster than any healer known to man, so shooting him is out of the question. I'm finding nothing but reports on what he can do. There's nothing in any of this about his weaknesses.

"Perhaps he doesn't have any," Ersa remarked, drumming his fingers on his desk and looking bored and impatient.

"Then how do we destroy him?" I asked. I was getting more and more irritated by the minute. There wasn't any information in any of Ersa's documents that could help us defeat Nevala.

"maybe you can't," Ersa said.

"We have to stop him," I yelled. "He's not going to leave miami unless I agree to give him Obsidian."

"So do it," Ersa replied.

"Never."

Ersa looked at me then. "Tell me, magnus, what is more important to you, your little night club or the innocent citizens of miami? How many more of them have to die because you are too stubborn to give in to him?"

Castor shook his head sadly. "As much as I hate to admit it, he may have a point."

"What? Why are siding with him?" I felt betrayed and outraged. "Obsidian is my home. It's all of our homes. I'll die before I let a monster like Nevala have it!" I made to stand up, but Lavannah put her hand in my lap reasuringly.

"magnus..."

"Wait!" Until that point, mauve had remained relatively silent, perusing her stack of books and papers. But now she spoke up. "Castor, you stopped time to keep Ersa from killing magnus."

Castor nodded. "Yes, child."

She went on. "Is it possible to manipulate time even further than that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Could you, say, open a portal to the future and send someone into it?"

Castor ran his fingers underneath his chin and looked up in thought. "A gateway, yes. It is possible."

Eyes lit up all around the room. "But," Castor continuted, "A warp of time that immense would cause a distubance in the flow of the ley lines. It could cause a huge backlash of magical power. I don't know that anyone has ever attempted something like that before. The repercussions could be disaterous."

"What other choice do we have?" I asked. "As far as we know, Nevala has no weaknesses. He is truly immortal. We need to get him out of miami, and I don't know of any other way to do that."

"Sending Nevala forward in time won't get rid of him. It will just put him somewhere else, for someone else to deal with."

"At least he won't be slaughtering everyone in my city!"

Castor sighed. Everyone else in the room had fallen silent. At last Castor spoke, quiet, resigned. "We'll need bait."

"Bait?," I asked, speculatively.