ALRIGHT, Hopefully no one remembers how I said I was gunna update twice a month...two months ago...Work and life have been a little crazy, but please know how much every comment and like keep me going. Truthfully, I have been kinda editing this for a while and would've liked much more time with it, but I have no idea when I'll be able to make it the way I want it, and I really want to continue onwards with this story or I will NEVER finish it...Also, if I'm completely honest, I am posting for the sweet, sweet serotonin boost that has been lacking in my life.

Next chapter breaks my traditional swapping of POVs, as it's another Vera chapter, but it will go back to the Vera/Raz swap soon enough. Very excited to have introduced Janos and gotten all that crazy exposition out of the way AND OF COURSE bring in my FAVORITE sarcastic little jerk Rahab at the end there.

Vera III

JEEZ, my hand hurt. I squeezed it into a fist and could feel it throbbing through the wrap, which was starting to redden with more blood. Ew. I flipped my hand back over and poked at the knot Raz had tied. It was weird that the same claws that had cut me had made the perfect gift wrap bow on the top of the bandage.

"Are you ready to continue?" Raziel asked more patiently than usual. I guess my guilt trip about the blood had worked. I decided to really milk it.

"I don't know, I feel pretty weak…" I whispered dramatically, throwing the back of my hand to my forehead as if I was going to faint like some old-timey woman in the 1950's.

"You really don't get any less trying with time, do you?" Raz deadpanned, his eyes narrowed, as he turned and pushed the door open to the next room.

"Nope!" I beamed, taking one last look into the magical cereal bowl before following him. "I only get more awesome with time, like cheese or Keanu Reeves!"

In front of us stood a set of cool double doors made of gold with little designs on them. When I squinted at them, I saw that the designs were of actual people with giant, bird-like wings. Raziel DID say that Janos had them, but I guess I just pictured something like the little baby wings off my skeleton friend's back. Nope — these were LEGIT. Some of the bird people were reading, some were building, some were fighting these creepy looking deformed dudes on the ground and in the air.

"I've made it to boss battles in video games before and this looks like it's GOTTA be the last stop before that Janos guy, right?" I asked excitedly, tracing my fingers over some of the little gold dudes. "There are the Fanciest of Pants doors."

"I'm certain." Raz seemed like maybe he wasn't so certain, but I bet it was because he had to be at least a LITTLE nervous. He had talked about his destiny like a broken record, and we were either gonna get it out of Janos all casual-like OR by beating it out of him. I knew what MY destiny was after I saved Nosgoth and beat Moebius, and that was a four-course meal at Chili's and never looking at another fruit again in my life.

"It's best for me to go in first, Vera." Raziel stepped forward, puffing his chest out like he was the only one of us who had done anything heroic in the last 24 hours. "Be on the defensive. I don't want to have to worry about you if your powers decide not to work again. I refuse to be sent back to the Spectral Realm after coming all this way."

"Maybe I don't wanna have to worry about YOU! What if you did all this for Janos to tell you your destiny is just to play your ribcage like a xylophone in his jug band forever?!" I snapped back, offended.

I wasn't gunna show it, but I did feel kinda anxious and jumpy. Vampires were REAL and I was about to see one and maybe FIGHT one! The bum magic that came from my hands didn't make me feel powerful enough to take someone on half the time — it made me feel tired and was as unreliable as my parents had been when it came to remembering to pick me up from elementary school back in the day.

Still, I held my fists up, ready to punch a vampire square in the mouth if my powers decided not to work, as Raz pushed the doors open. I had done just fine without magic for almost 18 years, and even if I hadn't ever been in a fight with some supernatural creature before, I'd survived food poisoning THREE separate times from my favorite Chinese Buffet, so I knew I could handle this.

A figure with those gigantic, black bird wings was standing a good distance away from us, facing outward toward a wide-open (and cold) view of Nosgoth. Man, those little people on the doors did NOT do those huge wings justice! I just wanted to go over and touch them, but I held back, taking in everything.

I guess it made sense that the dude wouldn't have windows and instead just had a room that was straight up outside to fly in and out of, but it was wild to see. There were two marble-looking pillars on either side of the half-circular room, making it look fancy while it branched off into a ceiling and walls for the rest of the room. The half with a ceiling was actually decorated, but everything in it looked pretty dusty, especially with the dim sunlight coming through. There was a small library, a gold box, and a long, wood table that had some of the same gold candlesticks on it from the last room we were in.

"Janos Audron?" Raziel asked cautiously, moving forward a few steps.

I wasn't sure what distance he'd meant when he told me to hang back a bit, but I also thought it was dumb, so I stayed right on his tail. I was gunna be in on the fighting action from the beginning this time, since I hadn't been able to with the rock dudes. I even had my genius first move planned out already - I was gonna grab a handful of those black feathers and pluck them out like a chicken. Raz kept his arms out and backwards, protecting me, even though he totally didn't need to.

Janos turned around and smiled at us genuinely. There wasn't a single part of that face that looked evil. Whew. I lowered my fists, immediately relieved that it looked like I wouldn't have to fight anymore today.

Janos was blue, like Raziel, only lighter, and his yellow eyes (which would've looked creepy on anyone else) actually seemed warm and were almost as charming as his smile. He was like some kind of goth angel. Also like Raz, he had GREAT hair. It was styled back, but relaxed, and mostly black with silver streaks in it. I didn't think vampires could age, and his face definitely didn't have any wrinkles or anything, so I guess the silver was just a highlight from being outside so much? Either way, I was a big fan.

"Psst, what a silver fox hottie, am I right?" I hissed loudly to Raziel, whose stance of protection turned from me and moved quickly to Janos as he whipped around.

"I've no idea what any of that means, but based on your tone, I am only going to ask once that you behave yourself," he threatened quietly, pointing a finger-claw at me, but those things didn't scare me, especially after I saw the cute little bow they tied on my hand.

"Hey, I thought my antics were a…what was it? A welcome receptacle for your yellow thoughts…or whatever it was you said a couple rooms ago." I quit my whispering to shrug, then waved at the vampire who was still smiling politely, even though he looked confused, "Hiya, Janos!"

I was loving the embarrassed and annoyed vibes that Raziel was giving off with the little bit of his face he had showing. Those white, pupil-less eyes were expressive, and they were expressively mad at me.

"It's heartening to hear my name spoken without contempt after all these years." Janos's voice was soft and kind, with an accent that sounded kinda like Dracula's. I didn't expect the whole vampire thing to be so cliché, but I had heard the Monster Mash enough times to be comfortable with it.

"Raziel, what have they done to you?" Janos asked sadly as he crossed the room, taking in Raziel's skeleton self with horror and sadness.

"You hardly notice the whole zombie thing after a while, don't worry," I waved it off, excited to ask the vampire a buttload of questions. Raziel said this guy had answers, so I was gunna put that to the test. "Hey, how come in the shower, the conditioner ALWAYS runs out before the shampoo?! Also, when will I die? Will it be mid-wave at the camera on a roller coaster that came off the rails like I always imagined? Are you psychic? Well, I guess you wouldn't be, to not expect ol' Blue Bones here to look like he does but you have to AT LEAST know my name if you knew his, right?"

The hot vampire turned, drawing his head back a little in surprise at all of my questions after looking me up and down, and then paused, shaking his head, "No, I do not believe I know who you are. Are you a former Sarafan who has had a change of heart? I am Janos Audron, though it seems you already knew that." He bowed. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Former Sarafan? Ok, you are definitely NOT psychic. I'd NEVER work for that crusty geezer!" I wrinkled my nose, totally insulted. Why would he even THINK I'd associate with some gross old — oh. The ugly clothes. "I'm Vera, and I'm only dressed like this hideous outfit cuze that jerkface Moebius kidnapped me and put me in it! I escaped from his castle though 'cuz I'm a super powerful sorceress!" I flexed my lack of arm muscles as Janos clapped excitedly.

"Then how fortunate it was for you and Raziel to have met!" Janos turned back to Raziel, who very obviously didn't agree. He looked impatient that I had gotten Janos' attention before he did, and was glaring daggers at me. I knew he wanted to get down to business about his life story, but I couldn't help it that I was way more interesting than he was! "I am not psychic, nor does my knowledge stem from anything other than my living through Nosgoth's history. Your presence here and foreign speech pattern both are rather interesting mysteries to me."

"Believe me when I tell you they are mysteries you care less and less about as her non-stop prattling fills your every waking moment." Raziel said sulkily, continuing to be a Bitter Betty. It wasn't a good look for him.

"He's just upset because he doesn't get my amazing references." I explained with a shrug, "For example, Janos, you're looking as tight as Captain America post-super serum and I gotta say - I respect the gains."

Seeing the vampire so close to us, I couldn't believe how JACKED he was. I guess when you only have like twenty books and no friends, you're gonna have time to do some push-ups and crunches. He was wearing a white flowy robe with black shoulder pads and no undershirt, just showing off those abs casually in the freezing cold, and tight black pants with a gold belt.

"Thank you for what I believe was a compliment." I could tell by the confused smile on Janos's face that he probably didn't get my references either, but at least he was nice about it. "As a sorceress, Vera is an incredibly useful ally to have, Raziel."

"I do not know that I'd go quite that far," Raz scoffed, unamused. "I rescued her from a few Sarafan dogs and she hasn't left my side since. I do believe she'll be capable of quite a bit of impressive sorcery in time, but her powers are oddly erratic and drain her far more than what I've been led to believe is normal with magic users. She claims to not have even heard of Nosgoth prior to Moebius' kidnapping. My working theory is that he saw something in his future he did not like and brought her here in a desperate attempt to change the way things play out. I told her I was coming to you for answers, and she was hoping to get the same. Until then, she is more of a nuisance than an ally."

I rolled my eyes at his lame version of the story. "He's not telling you about the time I heroically swept in and saved him from a huge chunk of mountain that practically crushed him like a pancake!"

"Perhaps you don't agree just yet, Raziel, but it seems my statement still stands. It was fortunate you two met." Janos said, sincerely, putting a hand on each of our shoulders. Raz cringed a little at the contact, but a lot less than whenever I touched him.

Man, this Janos guy seemed so NICE and friendly. It almost made me forget all the terrible things he put us through to get here. ALMOST.

"Say, what gives? You can't really be this chill." I started suspiciously, pushing his arm off of me. "It doesn't make sense! Why would you make us face the busted scary stairs, the stone monsters complete with dumb riddle I was genius enough to solve, AND THE BLOOD BOWL?!" I had been counting off the trials with the fingers on my wounded hand, and then turned it around to show him what he'd caused. It was still bleeding and dripped a couple of drops down onto the floor.

Janos looked at the drops like they were a plate of hot wings, then swallowed, snapping himself out of his hunger. "My goodness, I'm so sorry to have put you through all of that." He inspected my hand, concern and guilt on his face before touching it lightly, "May I?" he asked softly.

"Uh, sure thing." I didn't really know what he was asking to do, but I held out my palm. He pulled off Raziel's bandage and tossed it to the floor, then put his hand against mine, slowly entwining our fingers, focusing intently.

Well THAT was not what I was expecting. I felt my cheeks blush at the intimate touch.

It wasn't so much that Janos was good looking (which was true), but that I had never even held hands with a dude, and here we were lookin' like that scene from Tarzan except with no Phil Collins playing, and Raziel off to the side, crankily staring from me to Janos.

"The least I can do is heal this for you," the vampire said apologetically, muttering a funny sounding language to himself, before our hands began to glow. His touch had started out freezing cold, but after he started reciting, I felt heat against my skin.

"I can't say I know exactly what you're referring to regarding your trek here, as my son Vorador enchanted this castle to protect me. When you're the most hated creature in Nosgoth, certain measures must be taken..." Janos paused, and sighed heavily. "The stairs however, have been there since the humans and my kind were on the same side…I'm sure he loved quite literally destroying that bridge. My son's hatred for humans consumes him."

"I saw the brutal way the humans hunt and kill the vampires outside the stronghold and all around Uschtenheim...Their bodies were beaten and skewered on pikes like animals. I'm sure their intention was for you to see the carnage from here." Raz's tone was fast and cold as he kept eyeing our hands. "I find it hard to believe you do not hate them as well."

Dead bodies all around Sneeze Town?! I mean, don't get me wrong, vampire kebobs weren't something I WANTED to see - the decor choice seemed tacky, and also, oh yeah, SUPER DISTURBING - but how had I missed all that?! Still, Raz was being ridiculous.

"Are you REALLY accusing this super nice dude who's fixing the hand that YOU busted open of hating humans, aka, ME?!" I asked incredulously, pointing to my face with my one free hand, "Who could EVER hate this adorable mug?"

"The humans fear what they do not understand, Raziel, and they despise what they fear. I cannot hate them." Janos looked to me with a shy, sad smile. "Moebius is a very persuasive leader."

"Psh, clearly you haven't listened to him talk for hours on end. He put me to sleep with all his dumb stories." I wanted to yawn just thinking about it. Sometimes after his visits, I'd pass out until the next day. Now THAT was true boredom.

"I'm sure her wound has healed by now. It was shallow. I made sure of it," Raziel said icily, and Janos let go hesitantly. I looked at my hand and yup, it was completely back to normal.

"Thanks for that! Look at this baby - good as new!" I beamed, curling my hand into a fist and then back out again with no pain at all. I was digging this guy more and more with every minute!

Janos wasn't looking at my hand anymore, but making pretty intense eye contact with me, his face scrunched up in thought. "You seem so familiar to me, young one. I wonder... You said your powers are sporadic?"

"Yeah, it's super annoying, it's like..." I was about to go off, but Janos's hand shot out and cupped my face like he was going to kiss me. As much as I thought he was a DILF, I was NOT ready to have my first kiss here with this angel dude. Between this, the eye contact, and the handholding, it was too much. I at LEAST wanted dinner first.

Janos started muttering that same language he had when he fixed my hand. I tried to draw back in shock, but his jacked arm muscles were refusing to give me control of my head back.

I brought my hands to his wrist and tried to use my magic to burn him to make him let go with no luck. Of course my powers wouldn't work when I needed them to. Again. I tried to kick him in the shins, but felt a weird tingling rush through my body that wasn't letting me do anything but shake stiffly, like the time I stuck a fork in an electrical socket as a kid.

"Let her GO, Janos!" Raziel exploded, pulling on Janos's arm to try and pry him off of me with no luck. It was those stupid, strong muscles. Raz didn't stand a chance.

Janos ignored Raziel completely, drawing his other hand up. He jammed a thumb against my forehead, continuing to mutter softly. I felt a burning, migraine-like pain and saw white.

Ok, at this point, I would've preferred the kiss.

Suddenly, the pain stopped and I realized I could move again. I was gunna try the trusty ol' shin kick a second time, but Raz's expression stopped me in my tracks. His hand slid off of Janos's arm in shock, eyes widening while he stared at me.

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?" I went to bring my hands up to wipe at my mouth, but saw there was a dark purple current running through each one of my fingers, just like when I'd felt all that power come through me in the room with the stone monsters. I yanked back my sleeve and saw it was flowing all through my arms too.

"A seal," Janos declared, pulling away from me abruptly. The purple, electric stream stopped, and I immediately felt super drained. "Someone has placed a sealing spell on you."

"Ok well, seal spell or walrus spell or whatever slippery zoo animal, I need to sit down or I'm gonna pass out." I said weakly, trying not to barf, trudging slowly to the long wooden table and pressing my fingers into my throbbing temples. It was weird that a vampire who only drank blood and had no one to come visit had a dining room table nicer than my family's, but I didn't have the energy to ask about it. Janos joined me at the table, sitting on the other side. It didn't feel like enough distance after all the crazy stuff he'd done to me.

"I'm sorry to have invaded your personal space like that. A seal is a very powerful spell that's not always easy to detect." His stupid, handsome blue face was grimacing apologetically as I glared at him, but I wasn't in the mood to forgive him yet with this massive headache and noodle-y feeling in my arms and legs. I put my head in my hands and groaned, only half-listening to the rest of his explanation.

"It's actually a spell that the Ancients originated. When the humans revolted, our stronghold was raided. The few remaining Ancient Vampires were murdered. Vorador and the others drove out the human forces, but they took so much from us. I know several of our books were stolen, and I'm betting a book of ours was what Moebius used to put a seal on you."

"Are you able to break it? It would be much less onerous a task traveling with a sorceress who is consistent and competent." Raziel sounded super hopeful, and when I raised my head up at his insult, I saw they were both squinting at me like I was the weirdo of the three of us, not the bird dude or walking dead guy.

"Unfortunately, I am not," Janos sighed, looking at me apologetically again. Nope. I still wasn't gonna budge on the forgiveness, no matter how pretty those yellow eyes were. "It can only be broken by whomever placed the seal, or generally, it is set to break after a specific amount of time. I believe that is what we are looking at here. I can sense that the seal is very weak as it is, which is why she is able to use her magic at all. My guess is that it won't last much longer."

"Moebius undoubtedly wanted to keep her weaker until he was positive she was under his complete control," Raziel thought out loud, talking about me like I wasn't even in the room. "He was not counting on her and I crossing paths just yet."

"Most likely not. And as I said, the seal is nearing the end of its life. Perhaps some important date is coming up in his planning?"

I stuck my finger up to say that YES, ACTUALLY, THE most important day of the year was coming up, but Raziel cut me off.

"On our first meeting, she did obnoxiously reiterate that she was going to be 18 within days." He mused, continuing to ignore me.

"That must be it, then! I'm almost positive her seal will break on the anniversary of her birth." Janos and Raz both looked super pleased with themselves that they had figured it out, but I was getting more and more aggravated.

I don't know which I preferred — being looked at like a freak or not being paid any attention at all. Oh wait, I knew the answer to that one from my time in high school. I cleared my throat, the weakness I felt starting to fade away as it was replaced by anger.

"Am I going to have to light up like a purple Christmas tree again for you guys to talk TO me instead of ABOUT me right in front of my face?" I asked loudly, flailing my hands around, which began to spark orange. "ESPECIALLY when, yeah, it IS almost my 18th birthday, thank you very much! I accept gifts, cake and checks payable to Vera Lynn Shard, Sorceress Esquire…"

Janos stared at my glowing hands curiously. "I apologize for not being able to assist you more, Vera. But I can tell you that with the amount of power I felt radiating beneath your seal, you won't need much help from anyone when it breaks." He turned back to my skeleton friend, but I noticed he pivoted a little so he was including me in the conversation this time. Good."I do have more pertinent information for you, however, Raziel."

I guess it was good to know my magic wouldn't be untrustworthy forever, but I felt disappointed it was all I had learned from the guy. I still had no clue why Moe visited me and brought me here, or how I got my powers. It WAS awesome to know I had an epic Birthday present coming my way when this seal broke though!

"I can tell you're impatient," Janos continued, addressing Raz, "But I think giving Vera a brief history lesson first will benefit you both. Perhaps it will fill in some gaps for you as well."

Raziel shifted anxiously, still thinking he was too cool to take a seat at the table with Janos and me. "Alright."

"Long ago, our race was a powerful one. We were magically inclined, and our wings helped us build architecture like this building and the Sarafan Stronghold, which housed the human soldiers that were not yet our enemies. We worked hand in hand with humans, who prayed to the same God as us. Another powerful race, the Hylden, refused to acknowledge our God. They considered themselves a more advanced society, beyond the need for a deity. Admittedly, some of my brethren did not react kindly to this. However, the Hylden decided to escalate the situation." The vampire looked sad, his eyes far away.

"Seriously?! Even OFF Earth people fight about useless stuff?!" I couldn't believe it. This place had magic and vampires and ghosts and people wanted to fight over different opinions?! I mean, I had almost gotten into a fist fight arguing over which season of Malcolm in the Middle was the best with Ayla once, but the keyword there was ALMOST.

Raziel glared daggers at me for my interruption, but I stuck my tongue out at him.

"A war was started." Janos continued, too distracted to react to my comment, "There was so much bloodshed. We got wind that they were developing a device to somehow destroy every creature that wasn't Hylden. That could not happen. We all contributed, but nine of our race used their power and banished the Hylden to the Demon Realm. They were the first Circle of Nine. The Pillars stand to keep the Hylden locked away forever and always. They are integral to the salvation of Nosgoth. From the beginning of time, Raziel was prophesied as the savior for the vampire race, returning the Pillars to the correct ownership and taking them back from the humans."

"Is it cuz he's blue too?" I asked, kinda jealous that I was traveling with some savior of a whole race and I was just...brought here by a creepy old dude with bad fashion sense. Raz had told me he didn't even care what happened to Nosgoth HOURS ago, and here I am ready to save it with no credit at all?!

"I did not think my resemblance to your race was purely coincidental when I saw the murals." Raz said quietly, seeming like he liked his prophecy as much as I did.

"So, lemme guess the next part of this story - you guys won the war, then humans turned on you 'cuz we're two-faced bitches?" Maybe that was why there wasn't a prophecy about me - cuz no one liked humans after the dumb war!

"Not exactly." Janos still looked super bummed, "The Hylden cursed the Ancient Vampires with their last breath on this realm. They gave us eternal life."

I snorted. Why was Janos being all doom and gloom about THIS part? "Uh, sounds like they don't know what a curse is. Living forever sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me! You could take advantage of Olive Garden's unlimited breadsticks and salads FOR. ALL. ETERNITY." My mouth watered just thinking about it.

"Eternal life comes at a price. Food no longer sustains us and tastes horrible. We were given a bloodlust, and soon found out we were sterile as well. The biggest blow was the inability to hear from our God any longer. We were no longer a part of his Wheel of Life, so he abandoned us. Some who had survived the battle committed suicide by self-decapitation or impaling themselves - as the Sarafan do to them now - for the idea of going through life without the guidance of our God was too much to take."

"Hardcore…" I muttered, touching my hands to my very-intact neck. I could barely handle when I gave myself papercuts - I couldn't imagine chopping my own head off! Especially over something dumb like hearing some dude talk about a wheel...Waaait a minute. The words he had said clicked suddenly, "Wheel of Life?! Are you serious?! Raz, isn't that what you said that old Maybe-God-But-Definite-Butt called it? That HACK was the reason you guys fought?!" I yelled in disbelief, slamming my fists on the table. Raziel didn't really react - I guess he wasn't surprised to hear that his enemy had been causing people problems for FOREVER.

That stupid squid and Moebius seemed to like drama and bullying people as much as my high school nemesis, Tori Fields.

"Whether or not you agree, it does not matter. It is not an argument I wish to have again." Janos shook his head, intent on finishing the story, "Because we could no longer conceive and were dwindling in number by the day, the Pillars began choosing humans as guardians. Those of us left made an agreement with the humans. Those who were born with powers would come of age, and then be turned to vampires in a ceremony. We felt humans were a weaker species, more susceptible to manipulation and outside influences… No offense." He turned to me quickly.

"It's fair," I shrugged, thinking about all the stunts from TV shows I had attempted that ended in broken bones.

"All complied except two young men — one being Moebius — who led the coup against us. And thus began the age of The Vampire Purge."

The more I heard about Moe, the more I wished I had decked him when I had the chance back in New York.

"I still can't picture that guy looking less than 104 years old and without leaning on his stupid walking stick." I grumbled, daydreaming about how many times I coulda tripped him or spilled hot tea on his crotch.

"That is no walking stick," Janos said warningly. "His staff is where his magic funnels through. It also allows him to incapacitate vampires completely."

Raziel was weirdly quiet, before saying in a monotone, "So Kain and Vorador were right then? I really am some kind of unholy vampire messiah meant to help the vampires reclaim the Pillars…"

Janos' expression softened as he shook his head, "Unholy? No. Messiah? Perhaps."

"I don't like that word. It reeks of martyrdom." Raziel stepped away from us to look out over the open view of Nosgoth. I could tell he was getting lost in his thoughts again. I didn't understand half the complicated stuff that was going on, but wanted to remind him that he wasn't facing it all alone anymore.

I pushed away from the table and joined him at the open part of the room, staring out into the sky that was starting to turn shades of pink as the sun set. I realized that meant that I survived almost a whole day in Nosgoth.

Whatta day! I had become friends with a vampire and a skeleton and found out I had magic powers! There was still so much to learn and so many more butts to kick! With these two by my side, I knew we'd be able to accomplish anything. I was even almost over the fact that I probably wouldn't see a birthday cake on my big day now that I knew my powers were going to be INSANE!

"I don't know what martyrdom is, but it sounds bad," I piped up, startling him out of his thoughts. "There's none of that here — just three superheroes out to save Nosgoth. You're coming with us to help take down Moe, right, Janos?"

The vampire was super nice, but also if he could fly us everywhere, that would be an awesome perk. Having to get down all those stairs and the mountain again was a big fat NO THANK YOU from me.

Janos smiled sadly, also pushing away from the table. "The Sarafan have been mustering their forces in the village for quite some time. I fear our time together will be bitterly short, but please know how much I've appreciated it. You have a long journey ahead, and the last thing I wish to do is put an even bigger target on both of your backs."

"Janos, please continue with your story, although I believe I know what comes next." Raziel, who didn't seem even a little bit comforted by my comments, spoke quietly, still facing the sunset.

Continue? Wasn't that it? I mean, it seemed like we had made it to where we were now. Raziel and I were gonna help the vampires out and save the Pillars and Nosgoth. Easy peasy.

"Of course." Janos started again. Ok, nope I guess there was more.

"At the time of the binding of The Pillars and the banishment of the Hylden, there was the Circle of Nine. I was summoned to be the tenth guardian — the keeper of the Reaver. I have only been able to sustain myself here due to my obligation to you and my guardianship of the blade. My hope has faltered on occasion, but seeing you both here makes it all worth it. The binding of the Pillars must be secured. The Hylden, already intent on wreaking havoc, have gone even more mad from their years in the Demon Realm. And every day, the Pillars and the binding securing the Hylden from the Material Realm grows weaker."

"Demon Realm?! How many dang realms are there?! Is Nosgoth like some multi-layered cake only instead of frosting there's just...more crazy layers of monster?!" Raz had told me about the ghost realm below this one, but now I was finding out there was one filled with demons?!

"The Reaver is the key to all of this, isn't it?" Raziel asked, continuing to rudely ignore me, an edge to his voice that made it sound like the Reaver wasn't anything good. But wasn't the Reaver what he'd called his sword-y arm earlier? Man, I was so confused.

"That's right. Here, come with me, both of you." Janos started leading the way over to the dulled gold chest against the wall I noticed when we came in. Raziel seemed EXTRA uncomfortable, walking so slow that I beat him to the dusty box. I didn't really get it - when we first got here, he was impatient as all heck, and then he found out he was some savior, and now he was taking his sweet time. I was super curious to know what was in the box that made Raz so bummed, and made sure I was as close as possible as Janos opened it up….aaaaand was immediately disappointed.

There was just an ugly silver sword that looked like it had been designed by Ed Hardy chilling on the velvet inside. It had a skull above the handle that had four prongs coming out of it and instead of being straight like a normal sword, it was wavy — like a snake or something, but solid. Janos picked it up and held it out for Raz, who barely looked at it. I did a double take to make sure there wasn't anything else in the box besides the ugly weapon.

"Please...keep it away from me." Raz turned away, which is what I wanted to do because the thing was dull and tacky, but even I wouldn't have been THAT rude to Janos trying to give me a present. I woulda taken it and then tossed it off the cliff when he wasn't looking if I found out there was no gift receipt.

The vampire looked hurt as he put it back in the chest. I felt bad, and tried my best to cover for Raz, "Yeah, this thing IS neat and everything, but Raz actually already has a fire sword that he can bring out of his arm! It's really cool, so you can keep this one and be sword buddies! It'll be like friendship bracelets!"

We heard a loud slam outside the fancy doors and Janos bit his lip, "I fear you have been followed..."

Oh, crud. I realized with a sinking feeling that, YUP, we had totally cleared the way for anyone that wanted to try and make it to the vampire.

Janos turned to Raziel, putting a hand on each of his bony shoulders, "I'm sorry I can't guide you any more than this. Take care of each other."

"Janos, wait…" Raziel didn't get to finish before he just disappeared into thin air. WHAT. Janos put his hands on my shoulders next and I expected the same treatment, squeezing my eyes together, but instead, he wheeled me around and pushed me forward.

"Vera, hide behind this chest." He indicated to the gaudy gold box with the Reaver in it, and I didn't fight him because of how serious his tone was, ducking behind it obediently, "Whatever they do, do not move."

As soon as he finished his sentence, the door burst open. Six guys wearing armor and carrying giant swords had kicked the door in and were looking around, on the defensive.

It was funky armor - mostly covering their shoulders, wrists, chests, and feet. Each guy had a different color-coordinated undershirt and pants. I guess it was to tell them apart since they all looked the same when they had their dorky helmets on. They must not have liked the helmets either, because they all took them off, revealing super smug expressions on each of their faces.

These bullies really wanted to be cheap and make it six against one? Well, it was about to be six against two.

I tried to jump up from my hiding spot, but was frozen in place, then tried to yell but nothing came out of my mouth. Janos, what did you DO to me?!

"Turel," the guy leading them barked to one of the others, and they all snapped to attention.

The leader had shorter, dark hair that was parted in the middle and was dressed in red, with the most hittable, stupid smirk and the most blood-thirsty looking eyes. He wasn't the tallest or biggest of the gang, but for some reason, he was the one they all were looking to. He gestured at Janos, and the guy with the long black hair in the green undershirt that must've been Turel stepped forward with Moebius's ugly cane.

He pointed it at the vampire, and it lit up like it did the last time I saw Moebius. Janos fell to the floor in pain.

NO! I tried SO hard to fight against whatever Janos had done to keep me in place, but his magic was way stronger than mine.

"Dumah, Melchiah, grab his arms and put him on the table," their smug leader instructed the two biggest guys, one in purple and one in orange, who grabbed Janos by the arms and threw him down on the table knocking the candles to the floor.

"This is my favorite part," the redheaded guy with pointy features next to the leader said gleefully, lifting a sharp-looking weapon up. He and the leader took each side of it and stabbed it into Janos's chest, who let loose the most pained, shuddering mix between a gasp and a scream I'd ever heard.

Blood spurted from him, covering them all in it, as they used the device to stretch open Janos's ribcage, which I heard crack. I wanted to tear my eyes away from this bloodbath and throw up everywhere, but Janos's spell wouldn't let me even look away.

The leader grabbed out Janos's heart from his living body. "Look how the demon's black heart still beats!" he cackled maniacally, and they all joined in with laughter except the one in blue, who was busy wiping the blood off his grossed-out looking face.

"Great job, Raziel!" the redhead called out triumphantly.

Raziel?! I guess my Raz had said he and his brothers were human during this time but... HE was the one that murdered the sweet vampire?! I did a double take at the leader and saw that maybe he DID look like my blue friend, only his features were cruel. His huge smile spread from one ear to the other as he eyed Janos's still bleeding body. He was so much creepier than the skeleton I'd been traveling with who thought he looked like a monster. THIS was a monster.

"Yes, great job, truly a fair fight," the guy who was dressed in blue said in a sarcastic tone. "Now can we leave?"

I barely heard him, my ears were ringing so loud. I had never lost a friend before, much less seen one brutally murdered in front of my eyes, and didn't know how to process any of it. I felt Janos's spell break and I threw up all over the floor, feeling extra shaky because I knew what the spell failing meant. He was gone.

"What was that sound?" Human Raziel demanded, his features twisting into a scowl. "Rahab, since you want to comment on my leadership while contributing nothing to the mission as always, go check behind that chest."

I heard footsteps coming toward me and shot up, probably looking deranged between just having puked and having red eyes from the tears that threatened to pour out. I choked them back to seem intimidating. "You'll pay for what you did to him!" I screamed, and the guy who they called Rahab frowned and cringed out of annoyance at my volume rather than seeming threatened at all by me.

"Oh, a girl! Perfect! We know Rahab — she's more terrifying to him than Audron was!" Human Raziel snickered and all the other guys laughed again. Rahab, who was facing me, tensed and scowled.

"The Reaver is in this case," Rahab said, refusing to look at me. "Let's just leave the girl — I'll grab the sword. Between that and the Heart of Darkness, Moebius will be more than satisfied."

"No," Human Raziel said gleefully, clearly loving ordering his brother around, "Zephon will grab the sword. You grab the girl. Moebius would love to find out what she knows, I'm sure… After I'm through with her."

I didn't know what that meant, but the way he was looking at me made me want to throw up again. Rahab sighed heavily and came towards me like I was the last thing in the world he wanted to get closer to.

"Don't touch me!" I screamed, and the purple electric current from earlier shot out of my finger.

"What in the hell?!" Rahab ducked quickly, and the electricity missed him, hitting a chunk off of one of the stone pillars that was holding up the ceiling.

"Did you see that, Raziel? It was like lightning from her fingertips!" The hulking, bald dude who looked like a thumb pointed at me. Damn it. All I wanted to do was deep fry these monsters to avenge Janos! Was that too much to ask?!

I tried to send out another spark of electricity at Rahab as he got closer, but nothing came out.

Stupid, stupid powers. Oh well. I always had plan B, my two trusty fists - Rashida and Jones. I stuck them up and out, ready to fight.

The stupid Sarafan goon looked down at me with raised eyebrows. "Are you serious?" He asked, and when I nodded, he gestured to his weapon, "Let's say I didn't have a sword or wasn't highly trained in combat. Your lightning show seems to be over now, Little Sorceress, and you look like you'd blow over with a slight breeze. Let's just make this easy on the both of us. Surrender."

"NEVER!" I screamed, glowering at him as he rolled his eyes. "Fight me, you big wuss!"

He sighed like I was more of an inconvenience than threatening, but I knew deep down he was quaking in his armour. I watched him undo his sword from his belt, and thought he was gonna drop it to the ground so we could have a fair fight, but instead, he held onto it, even though he was leaving it in its case.

"What're you gonna do with that?!" I demanded, continuing to try and get my closed fists to do anything more than shake out of anger. If he was gonna be unfair and use his weapon, I was gonna keep trying to get my powers to do SOMETHING.

"Shut you up," he said simply, looking bored, and turned the sword around so the handle was facing me, raised up above both of our heads.

"Do you even know how to use a sword?! Even I know it's pointy end out, idiot!" I snickered, but he still didn't seem fazed.

"I did warn you," he said, before bringing the heavy handle down on my head. I felt a sting of pain before everything faded to black.