Chapter 4

Mackenzie lets go of Jenos and lets him hit the floor. “No, no, no! Humans aren’t supposed to fall in love with vampires. We are supposed to hunt each other. Even if it happened in the past, it shouldn’t be done.” She walks to her bed and sits down, remembering her past. “It’s been so long, centuries ago, that I loved anything. Sure it was a cat, but it was still the only thing that I’ve ever loved. The human slaves and servants I’ve had never meant anything to me, so it’s not like I’ve ever had to deal with that problem before. They adored me, but I never felt love towards them. I can’t say I’ve ever felt loved outside of my family.”

“Then perhaps that should be fixed.” Mackenzie looks at Jenos, slowly getting up. “Maybe, you should actually break down that wall and let someone come in.” Mackenzie growls at him. “This doesn’t concern you, human.” He gets to one knee and pulls the darts out of him. “If I was human, I’d still be on the floor unconscious. I’m not completely human, I’m a Dark Mage, I’m above any human.” Mackenzie jumps off the bed and tackles the downed Jenos. “You may be above a human, but you’re still lower than a Vampire.” She jumps on top of him and throws a punch into his face. He takes it, then he pins her with his legs and looks into her light green eyes. “Listen, I don’t want to fight you. I want to help heal your loneliness.” She glares at him. “I like being alone.” Jenos replies, “Then why were you talking to yourself about the possibility of being with another?”

She struggles to escape his grip, but to no avail. “I don’t want to talk about it, now let me go!” Jenos bends up and kisses her. “No. I’m not going to let you go.” He kisses her again and slightly pushes her backwards. “Mmmph!” Mackenzie’s eyes widen with the feel of the kiss. She breaks it off and gasps. “There is a need for something called air you know.” She continues gasping as he lightly laughs. She looks at him and sneers. “Was there any particular reason for that kiss?” He smiles at her. “Simple, I wanted to.”

He kisses her again, but instead of resisting, she enjoys it while she can. She wraps her arms around his neck and pushes back against him. They break for air and Mackenzie rubs against his chest. “So, Jenos, since I know your name, you can know mine. I am Mackenzie Tathal.” He smiles. “Mackenzie… mind if I call you Mac?” She shakes her head. “Go ahead.” She leans backwards, and he lets go of her.

She then grabs him and tosses him towards the wall. “Never let your guard down.” She then fires a fireball at Jenos. He hits the wall, sees the ball coming at him, and dodges it. She smiles at him. “Now that that lesson is over, leave me be.” She summons a gust of wind that blows him out of the room and through the complex. It dumps him outside, and he hears a lock engaging, preventing him from getting back in. “Great, this has been one lovely night…” Jen gets up and walks back home.

From her spot in her room, Mackenzie broods over what happened between them. “I can’t fall in love with a human. I won’t follow in my father’s footsteps.” She sits down on her bed and pulls her legs to her chest. She breathes deeply, trying to forget the feelings she felt when they kissed.

Chapter 5

Jenos gets out of his bed and scratches the back of his head. He groans at the light coming out of the window. “Goddammit, does it have to be so fucking bright in the morning?” He closes the blinds and goes into the bathroom. He takes a quick shower and exits with a towel on.

He notices that the window is now open, so he closes it, grabs a knife, then looks for the source of the window opening. He hears the front door close, and he runs outside to see who it was. By the time he got to the door, the person had already left.

Jenos sighs and gets dressed. He puts the knives on his ankles, but leaves the Berettas in their hidden case. In the kitchen, he eats a light breakfast of a pastry and a glass of milk. Then, he goes off to another uneventful day at the bank.

A man around the corner sees Jenos walking off, and he heads back home, having fulfilled his mission.

Jenos finishes work and heads home. He has the feeling that he’s being followed, so he increases his speed just a little. He senses the other person, no, people, increasing their speed also. Jen forgets being cautious and rushes forward in a sprint, dodging everyone. He can hear people complaining as his stalkers try to keep up. Jenos turns a corner and runs into the graveyard.

The four men follow him in, not all nervous about going into a graveyard on a late autumn evening. They see Jenos in the middle of the graveyard, crouching on a tombstone. On it, it said, “James Korstan. 1985-2003” The four men watch him and draw their weapons. One has a pistol, another has a long sword, the third has a knife, and the last pulls out his brass knuckles. They slowly advance to him, ready for an attack of some sort. Jenos smiles at them and laughs. “So, you four think you can take me out?” They look at each other then rush towards him. The pistol fires, and Jenos nimbly dodges them. He ducks below a slash from the sword, and kicks the guy in the stomach. Jenos twists, and dodges the knife. The guy course corrects and tries to stab him again. Jenos kicks the knife away and roundhouses him in the face.

The fourth guy throws a high right, and follows it with a jab with his left. Jenos takes the right and grabs the man’s left hand. Then, he throws him at the gunman. They impact, and the gun hits another tombstone. The swordsman tries again, but this time, Jenos grabs the sword and throws him into a tree close by. The sound of a sword hitting into a tree is heard, and then the sound of a gurgle.

The sword is stuck in the swordsman, and pinned him to the tree. The gunman dives for his gun, but is surprised when he sees it sinking into the ground. A skeleton comes out of the ground, holding the pistol in its hand. It pulls the trigger twice, killing the gunman and the brawler. The knife user looks at Jenos, who smiles back at him. Underneath him, a hand reaches out and grabs his ankle. James Korstan gets out of his grave and rips the man apart.

Jenos looks at the two zombies, and thanks them. He then chants, “Death and life are these two in-between. Let them finally rest forever more. Earth, call back their bodies, and hell and heaven call back their souls. Rest now, rest forever, a job well done.” The ground beneath the two zombies absorb their bodies back into their resting place. Jenos walks out of the graveyard, and heads back home.

From atop a building close by, Mackenzie watched the events in the graveyard. “So, he’s also a necromancer. My, he sure is full of surprises.” The man that saw Jenos leave his house shows up behind her. “I’ve done as you requested, now, can you please fulfill your end of the bargain?” Mackenzie nods. “Souls below, hear my call. The lover of this man, came back to us all. Lovely Laura come back to live, so that I prove that I do not lie.” In the graveyard, a recently dug grave begins to shake. A body is pushed out. Laura comes out of her grave, and goes to Mackenzie.

When she arrives, Mackenzie looks at her. She has shoulder length blonde hair. She is only about 5 foot 4 inches. The man looks at her, starting to tear up. Mackenzie becomes a little jealous, so she order Laura to kill him. Laura grabs him and hurls him off the twelve story building. His body impacts with the ground, making a loud thud and a stain on the concrete below. “I said I’d bring her back, I never said she would come back for you.” She turns her attention back to Laura. “Return to your grave, o blonde one, return to your sleep. Your lover is now waiting for you again, return to him, linger not.” Laura jumps off the building and walks back to her grave. She is absorbed back into it, and her soul rests again. Mackenzie smiles to herself. “We have quite a bit in common Jenos. And now, you’ll come home to a very unexpected surprise. Hahahaha.”

Chapter 6

Jenos enters his house, a little tired from the summonings. He looks around and feels that something isn’t right. He enters his father’s room, and sees a message on the wall. “Hi, I left something for you in your weapons room. Mac” Jenos rushes to his closet and draws his knives. He pushes the button and instead of his Berettas, there are two red roses. He looks for his pistols, but they are nowhere to be found.

He hears groaning coming from outside his window. He opens it to see twenty dead samurais outside. One speaks up, “Jenos, we have been sent here to kill you. Your pistols have been taken away, and you may not use your powers. A fair fight. Now, prepare for battle.”

Jenos thinks about the weapons he has available. “Okay, I’ve my two knives, and I’ve also got a long sword in another container. Okay, three weapons against twenty samurai zombies….not good.” Jenos gets his sword from another hidden weapons cache in the closet. He then goes out the window and assumes a fighting position with the long sword. Four zombies rush towards him, each holding their blades in a different position. Jenos slashes at the one on his far left, and dodges the riposte. He stabs it in the back, beneath the traditional Japanese Samurai armor. He swings the blade from side to side to destroy the spine. The zombie falls to the ground, still trying to kill him. The other three slash at him, and he ducks and dodges the slashes. He senses something coming towards him, so he jumps up in the air away from it. Another zombie entered the fray.

Jenos wonders as gravity takes him back to the ground. “Why did only one enter the fight? In fact, why am I only facing four instead of all twenty?” He lands and blocks one zombie’s attack, while kicking another in the breastplate of its armor. It hits the incoming zombie, knocking both to the ground. Jenos kicks out the samurai’s knee out and lets it hit the floor. One zombie rushes into the fray as the two that were knocked down get up. Jenos slashes the head off of the lone zombie that had not been attacked yet.

The fighting continues for about ten more minutes. All twenty zombies have been downed and stopped. Jenos breathes hard and wipes the sweat from his forehead. He feels someone watching, and Mackenzie jumps off his house and lands beside him. Jenos takes a step back and brings his sword up. Mackenzie puts her hand on the blade, lightly pushing it down. “I didn’t come here to fight you. I wanted to test your strength and endurance. We have a common enemy, and I was wondering if you’d help me deal with them.”

Jenos looks at her skeptically. “And just who is this common enemy?” “It is something that plagues the humans, and has for sometime been a pain in all our sides, the werewolves. I could use your help, but if you don’t want to, I understand.” Jenos shakes his head. “I’m not going to let you go there without any back-up, I’m in.” She smiles and thinks, “Good, he’ll be of use…and it sounds like he’s going to try to protect me. That’ll allow me to do what I want.” She says, “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow night, we leave for Germany then.” She starts to walk away, then jumps at him and kisses him. She places her finger on his lips to prevent him from speaking. “Tomorrow.”

She runs away and leaves Jenos shocked and alone with the bodies on the ground. He sighs and goes back in the window. He sets his sword back, notices the Berettas back in their case, and the roses in a vase with water on his dresser. Another message is written for him on his wall. It says, “Thank you for accepting the offer. Remember, tomorrow night. Mac”. He shakes his head and gets packed for the trip. After he’s finished packing, he undresses and goes to sleep. Mackenzie looks through his window at his sleeping form, slightly smiling at him resting peacefully. “Sleep well Jenos, you’ll need it later on.” She places her hand on the window then leaves to go hunting for food.

Chapter 7

Jenos gets up at 6 am and gets ready for work. He goes through his daily routine, and starts his work in the usual manner. However, at work, around midday, something unusual happened.

The bank president goes and sees him. His blue eyes have a funny glow to them, almost like he’s not really in there. “Jenos, I need to speak with you, privately.” Jenos shrugs and follows the president into his office. The president takes a seat behind his desk and rests his hands on his corpulent belly. “I have heard that you have been bringing in unauthorized weapons into the bank, I demand to know why.”

Jenos sets his jaw. “I brought them for my own personal protection. And it was a good thing to, I was attacked last night on my way home after work.” The president looks at him. “Really, so you don’t have them in the event that the bank would be held up?” “I highly doubt that it’d be robbed, but I’d use them if it came to that.”

The president leans back in his chair. “You have too much fire in you my boy. You need to relax. So, I’m going to authorize you to a paid vacation. Have you ever been to Germany?” Jenos shakes his head, understanding completely what is going on here.

In her study, Mackenzie is speaking and acting for the president. “That’s all right, you’ll enjoy it there, I’m sure.” She commands him to write the note down, that Jenos is on leave for two weeks in Germany, paid for by the Bank. “Well Jenos, I hope that you’ll come back refreshed and feeling more relaxed. Oh, and you are to meet me at 8 pm at your place. Don’t bring your weapons, we’ll acquire more efficient ones when we get there. You may have the rest of the day off.”

The president stands up and shakes Jenos’ hand. “Until you return my boy.” Jenos leaves the office and walks out of the bank and heads home. He makes himself a ham and cheese sandwich and eats it as he tries to relax.

At a quarter till 8, there is a knock on Jenos’ door. He opens it to find two detectives at his doorstep. “Hi, we came here because we have received multiple calls from your neighbors, saying you have a large weapons cache. We have to come in and inspect your house.” They start to walk into his house, but Jenos puts his arm in front of them. “You aren’t entering my house unless I see a warrant. I do have weapons, but not a cache of them.” The detectives look at each other. “Sir, we believe that you are a risk to the safety of America, you will step aside now.”

Jenos stands completely in the way. “No. I work as a guard in a bank, they would know whether or not I’m a threat. Now show me your warrant, or walk away, or I’m going to throw you off my property.” The detective on the right looks at the one on the left, and he hits Jenos in the face. They rush in and Jenos grabs them and throws them out of his house and into the street. “And stay the fuck away!” He slams his door and locks it.

Jenos goes to his room and chants a spell to conceal the location of the weapons cache and their activation buttons. He then makes one last check on his stuff. When he opens his suitcase, there is a letter in it. It read,

Jenos, there has been a slight change of plans, meet me at my place. The detectives were controlled by me, so they won’t remember what occurred. I just had to make sure that you hid your weapons well and that you’ll read this letter. For a two week trip, you sure are a light packer.

Mac.

P.S. You’d better hurry, you have till 8 before I leave, with or without you.

Jenos quickly made sure everything was in there, and that nothing was added. He zipped the suitcase up and tore out of the room. He stopped at the roses he moved to the kitchen and smelled them. Then, he ran out of his house, making sure he had locked the door.

At one minute till 8, Jenos shows up at Mackenzie’s complex. She is standing outside waiting for him with her own things packed. Somewhat out of breath, he bends down and rests with his hands on his knees. “Well, I’m here on time.” Mackenzie sneers at him. “When someone says they leave at 8, that usually means that you get there at least five minutes beforehand.”

Jenos glares at her. “Well, it would help if you told me some other way than to send some cops over fifteen minutes ago.” She smiles, “Whatever. We depart immediately.” She closes her eyes and bows her head. “Time and space, merge as one. Let us cross thy barriers. Away, to Germany, away. Where the wolves lay, shall they soon die. Let us cross, deny us not.” The area around the two begins to fade into black, then it fades into a forest. They have arrived in Germany at 3 am local time.

Mackenzie starts walking down to the road, with Jenos right behind her. “Do you know where you’re going?” She nods. “Yes, there is a Tavern and Inn not too far from here. We will wait there for my cousin to arrive and bring us to his place.” “Ah, so is your cousin…” “A Vampire? Yes he is. Come, we have quite a bit to walk still, and I want to be at my cousin’s by sunrise.” Jenos shakes his head and follows her. Neither is aware of the two yellow eyes that watch them from the shadows.

Chapter 8

Mackenzie leads them to the Tavern and Inn. “This place is supported almost one hundred percent by travelers just passing by. Finvarra von Drakhim is well-known here, he’s quite the businessman. He has a good sized mansion in every town except one, and that’ll happen pretty soon.” Jenos nods and they enter the Tavern. It is dimly lit, with only a few patrons at the bar or at a table. They walk to the bar and sit on the stools.

“We’re not drinking, we’re just waiting for my cousin Finvarra.” The bartender nods his head and returns to cleaning the bar. Jenos leans in close and whispers, “So, how long will it take before he’ll show up?” Mackenzie shrugs her shoulders. “I’m not sure, it all depends on which house he is currently at. It could take a few seconds to a few minutes. We shouldn’t be here longer than twenty minutes.”

The door opens and Finvarra enters the Tavern. He sees Mackenzie at the bar and walks to her. “Guten Tag cousin.” “Guten Tag Fin. This is Jenos, he’s going to be helping us. So, shall we leave?” Fin nods and they exit the Tavern with their belongings.

When they are further down the road, Finvarra asks Mackenzie, “So, how is he going to help us?” “He’s a Dark Mage, we’ve tangled a bit, and he knows how to fight. It took him about ten minutes to complete the test.” Fin looks at her, “Ten minutes to dispatch twenty samurai zombies? He’s rather slow isn’t he?” Jenos glares at him from behind. “Well excuse me, I was in a fight only a few minutes before it.” Fin smiles. “Of course, blame it on something else, you are a typical human.” Mackenzie interrupts, “Actually, he’s right about that. He summoned two zombies just a little bit before the fight, he’s a necromancer.”

Finvarra looks at her and whispers, “A necromancer? Why didn’t you kill him? You know that we are supposed to destroy all humans that are able to raise the dead.” She replies, “A necromancer is always a good thing to have when you’re dealing with werewolves. The zombies distract them long enough to kill them.” Fin shakes his head. “You still should have killed him.” “Don’t worry about it, I will soon enough…”

They stop and look back behind Jenos, who has also stopped and turned, feeling it too. Mackenzie speaks up, “Do you think it’s one of them?” Finvarra nods, “Yes, it certainly feels like it. A scout probably.”

Jenos looks back, and yells, “Come on you sorry sack of crap, show yourself already!” Fin shakes his head. “He’s rather stupid isn’t he?” Mackenzie glares at him.

A werewolf jumps out of the forest and attacks Jenos. It uses its superior physical strength to force Jen to the ground. Before it can try to bite Jenos’ head off, Jenos yells, “Thunder Strike!” A ball of electricity hits the wolf in the stomach, sending over one hundred thousand volts of electricity into the beast.

It howls as it is knocked off Jenos. It lands on its side five feet away, twitching uncontrollably. Jenos gets up and dusts himself off. Mackenzie jumps at the wolf and tears out its throat. The beast tries to injure her, but she dodges its slashes and kicks the wind out of it. There in the road, it was left by the three to die. A little while later, another werewolf sees it in the road and runs to it.

The newcomer asks, “Who did this?” The wounded wolf can only point in the direction that they left. The other werewolf growls at the general direction and looks down to see the other dead. The second one howls, alerting the others of the treachery, and to be ready to avenge themselves.

Chapter 9

Fin leads the two to his house outside Heidelberg. The estate is expansive, stretching for over fifty acres. The mansion has four stories, with many windows, and a few glass-stained windows. Finvarra waves to the workers in the garden as they finish reaping the cabbage. On the top, many men armed with guns watch over them, prepared for an attack by werewolves if it occurs.

They enter the mansion and Mackenzie smiles. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here. It’s just like I remember Finvarra.” Fin smiles, “Of course, I’m set in my old age you know.” They lightly laugh as servants take their belongings to their rooms, and Jenos just looks around at everything.

All of the furniture is of Fifteenth Century origin. There are various paintings on the wall, mostly of a much younger looking Finvarra. There are a few paintings of Mackenzie as a child. Mac sees him looking at one painting of her, “Yes, I was a young child back then. Many things have changed in the world since then. There are fewer vampires, and more werewolves.”

Jenos looks at her, “Is that all you talk about Mac? You keep talking about werewolves, what is it with you and them?” Mackenzie growls at him. “Many things Mage, including the death of many fellow vampires, particularly my father.” Finvarra tries to calm her down, but she glares at him, so he stops trying.

“You may have lost your father, but so have I…to you. Even so, you don’t see me talking about killing you now do you?” Mackenzie glares at him. “You don’t understand Jenos, you don’t know what they did to him. They butchered him. There were twenty of them against my father. They had rushed him repeatedly. They slowly killed him, his wounds taking him away from me. He died, and I was unable to stop them from killing him.”

She shakes her fist at Jenos. “So don’t talk to me about not hating them” Jenos steps forward and takes her hand. “Alright, I won’t.” She looks at him confused “You’re not?” Jenos shakes his head. “No, why make you even angrier at me than you already are.”

Mackenzie looks at him, surprised by his statement. Finvarra clears his throat. “As interesting as this is getting, we need to get you ready in case an attack occurs soon. Come, the armory is this way.”

They walk down the hall and take the stairs down to the basement level. They hang a left into the armory. Finvarra and Mackenzie wait by the door, allowing Jenos to pick his weapons by himself.

Jenos walks out with little changes to what he used before. Two pistols in sheaths hanging low, two knifes in their sheaths around his ankles, a long sword in a sheath on his back, and the addition of a double barrel shotgun. “I didn’t notice any hacked down ones, so I’m going to need a saw.”

Finvarra glares at him. “Why are you going to ruin a perfectly good shotgun by hacking it apart?” Jenos smiles, “Because, a hacked down one is better suited for closer combat than a full length one, and that’s the range I need weapons at.” Finvarra shakes his head. “Fine, I’ll tell one of the servants to get you a handsaw.” He leads them back up to the first floor and then up to the second floor.

“Your room is exactly as you left it Mackenzie. I‘ll see you tonight.” She smiles and walks into her room. “Jenos, you will be staying down the hall.” He points down the hall, way, down the hall. “It’ll be the last door on the left. It’s only about twenty rooms down.” Jenos raises his right eyebrow, but walks down the hall to his room.

Outside, multiple pairs of yellow eyes watch the house, waiting for their prey to come out.

Chapter 10

Mackenzie wakes up at 6:47 pm, just after the sun has set. She stretches and her foot hits something. She looks down and sees a package at her feet. Curious, she pokes at it. She jumps off the bed and looks, and notices nothing wrong about the package. So, she then proceeds on opening it.

Inside, is a milky white pendant on a chain, which seems to emit a soft glow. She gasps, recognizing it immediately. “Gods, it’s my father’s moonstone pendant. There is only one person that could have taken it….that fucking werewolf.” She growls lowly and hits the bed. “They know it’s useless without my father’s bloodstone ring. They want me to come looking for them, well, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

She stalks out of her room and heads for the exit. She walks past Finvarra, who tries to stop her. “Mackenzie, where are you going?” She smacks his hand that tried to grab her. “I’m going hunting. Hunting…for werewolves.” “Mackenzie, they probably are waiting for you as soon as you enter the forest, think about it.”

She spins to face him. “Good, cause I want them to come. It’ll make it easier to kill them that way.” She runs out, only to run into Jenos. He grabs her and forces her to look into his eyes. “Mac, think clearly. How many would be out there waiting for you? Hundreds probably. You’d be killed.” She growls, but doesn’t try to break his grip.

“I don’t care. They have my father’s bloodstone ring, and I will take it back, one way, or another.” She butts her head against his, and his grip loosens. She takes that opportunity to run out the gate towards the forest. Jenos shakes his head and follows Fin, who has started running after her.

The eyes watch as Mackenzie makes it through the gate, heading straight for them. The werewolves get ready for their charge, all 285 of them.

As the two guys chase after her, Jenos looks at the tower and yells, “Don’t just stand up there, open fire on the forest!” The guards take aim and pour gunfire into the forest ahead of Mackenzie. Their first volley hits only a few werewolves, but as the leaves started to tear up, the shots became more accurate, killing many in the front ranks.

Seeing that they are being fired upon, the werewolves leave the cover of the forest and rush straight for Mackenzie. They run, a good number of them taking hits from the guards on the tower.

Mackenzie and the werewolves meet, and they begin to kill each other. All around her are werewolves slashing, biting, and stabbing at her. Mackenzie skillfully dodges their attacks, and throws her own at those around her. The guards on the tower begin to pick off the wolves in the back, so as not to accidentally hit Mackenzie.

Jenos and Finvarra enter the fray. Jenos fires his hacked down shotgun, hitting many on the right flank, as Mackenzie was occupied with the left. Finvarra growls and slashes at those close by him. The werewolves begin to divide their numbers, so as to take on the threats better. Seeing the three of them completely in the mix, the guards are forced to cease fire.

Mackenzie takes a slash to the back, her rage making her blind to those behind her. She slashes ruthlessly at it, leaving large marks on its chest. She then jumps up and slashes its throat out, letting it hit the ground and gasp for breath. Mackenzie continues this pattern quite a bit more, growing tired with each attack, as her wounds slowly get to her.

Jenos’ group has been hit very hard by the shotgun. In less than a minute, they had been reduced to only 23. Having run out of ammunition, Jenos switches to his sword, keeping them from attacking him at close range. He sees Mackenzie in trouble, so he rushes towards her.

Finvarra notices it also, but as he can’t see Jenos, he calls to Mackenzie, “Mackenzie, behind you.” Jenos jumps up and hacks down the one that was just about to slice her open. Mackenzie turns and stabs Jenos, thinking it was the werewolf. He grunts as her nails stab him in the chest. She looks and sees Jenos instead of the beast.

“Jenos!” He smiles at her, despite the blood coming out of the stab wound. “Hey, you doing alright?” He grins, and slashes at a werewolf that came too close on his right side. She pulls her nails out of him, and he almost falls over, instead, falling into a werewolf. The wolf grabs him and runs with Jenos. Jenos tries to attack, but the blood loss keeps getting in the way, causing him to lose his grip on the sword. The guards try to shoot it, but the wolf has Jenos raised to its back as a shield. Jenos begins to lose consciousness, the last thing he sees is the world upside-down running past him.

The werewolves start to disengage, staying as much in the way as possible. Both Finvarra and Mackenzie try to get to him, but in the end, they couldn’t.

Mackenzie falls to the ground on her knees. “I can’t believe it. Just like that, he’s gone. I caused it, he’s going to die because of me.” She throws a power bolt into a tree, turning it into splinters. Finvarra drops to his knees beside her and pats her shoulder. “It’s not your fault Mackenzie.” She wipes a tear out of her eye. “It is, but I’m not going to stand here and let them get away with it.” She stands up, and starts following the wolves’ path. Finvarra stands also and follows her, as the moon slowly starts to rise.

Chapter 11

The werewolf that captured Jenos drops Jen to the ground. “You asked us to kill the female vampire, but she had help. Many men were in a tower above shooting at us, and this lad and her cousin joined the fray. I brought him here so you may do as you wish to him.” The werewolf leader stands up and paces around the cave.

“So, you failed in killing the vampire, but you did manage to get this human. You may continue living. Now, prepare the others for defense, it’s likely the vampires will come here, looking for their friend.” The smaller wolf bows to the leader. “Your will be done.” It exits to the entrance of the cave.

The werewolf leader looks at Jenos, and senses that he is not a normal human. He strips Jenos of his weapons, and then Jen’s shirt, so as to examine the wound better. “Well, she sure did a number on you didn’t she my boy?” He smirks and licks up Jenos’ blood. “Hmm… this blood isn’t the blood of a human. It has been tainted in some way…” He gets up and paces around. “I’ve tasted this blood before, but where? Oh, of course, now I remember. A Mage, this boy is a Mage. The tainted taste means he’s a Dark Mage. My, it’s been a long time since I’ve last been in the presence of a Dark One.”

Jenos stirs, growing feverish from the wound. “Mackenzie…” The werewolf looks at Jenos. “Mackenzie, so that’s her name.” He leans over Jenos, and then sticks his hand inside of Jenos’ wound. He moves his hand around, looking for that little pressure point.

He pushes it, causing Jenos’ wings to come out. The six feet long black feather wings spring out of his back and start to encircle Jenos. The leader takes his hand out and allows the wings to do their job. The wings encircle Jenos’ chest, letting their feathers release a flesh-like substance over the wound, stopping the blood loss.

Having protected Jenos, the wings fall back to the ground, awaiting his next command. The werewolf smiles. “I’ve heard of legends where the wings of a Dark One will heal wounds. I’ve just never been able to see it actually happen. It’s good to know that they work regardless of whether the Mage is conscious or not. An unconscious hostage is better than a dead one. Now, I wonder how long it’ll take…”

He is interrupted by the sound of a warning howl. “Well, I guess that answers my question.” He throws Jenos over his shoulder, puts the bloodstone ring on his pinky finger, and heads deeper into the cave. “Now, it’s time to have some fun…hahahahaha.”

Chapter 12

Mackenzie and Finvarra continue tracking after the werewolves. “So why is it that you wish to find him so bad? You’ve never shown any concern for anyone outside of family.” Mackenzie replies, “Because…I…I feel responsible. I asked him to come along, and I was the one that almost killed him.”

Finvarra places his hand on her shoulder. “To feel that is natural. But feelings for a human is not. Love for a human can cause your downfall Mackenzie.” Mackenzie looks at him. “And you’re one to speak. Have you forgotten that it was YOU who married a human, and even had human children with her?”

Fin glares at her. “Yes, I remember, and that’s why I’m saying it. Her death crushed me, and I don’t want you to feel that pain. Dark Mages may be able to outlive humans in years, but their reckless behavior means that they are more likely to be killed than humans.”

Mackenzie stops walking and glares back. “What does it matter? He actually likes me, the first person to like me, fully knowing what I am. I don’t know if I love him, but…I do feel concern for his well-being right now.” Fin nods, “I do too, the thought of someone in a werewolves grasp can do that.”

They continue walking, not saying anything. They then hear a howl, a warning signal. “Well, it seems like the werewolves know we’re here.” Mackenzie nods in agreement. “Yes, which means that they are going to be using Jenos as a hostage for something.” “If they had not killed him already.” Mackenzie growls at Fin. “Don’t even start saying that. I don’t want Jenos dead, he’s useful still.”

They start heading towards the sound of the howl. They are lead to a brook, with clear cool water flowing from it. Next to it, is a cave, with many werewolves standing outside of it waiting for them.

Having seen their targets, the werewolves rush into action. Finvarra pushes Mackenzie back, knowing that she is still badly injured from the last battle. He rushes towards them, slashing at everyone of them that came within reach. Mackenzie takes a deep breath, calming herself, and then screams. “Gale Winds!”

The wind around the werewolves blow at them at gale force speeds. The werewolves try to fight against it, not wanting to get blown away by the wind. Finvarra takes their lack of action to kill more. The wolves don’t realize that they are being attacked because all of their focus is on staying in place.

The winds die down as the last of the werewolves is killed by Fin. Mackenzie sways, tiring from the spell after having taken so much damage. She shakes her head and slowly walks to Fin. He lets her lean on him for support, and the two head into the cave, where the werewolves’ leader is waiting for them with a surprise.

Chapter 13

The two vampires walk around in the cave. The place has none of the usual evidence that shows that werewolves have been in here. There were no bones, no scraps of flesh, there was nothing different in this cave than any other cave. They cautiously walk deeper into the cave, alert for any signs of an attack.

Up ahead, they see a light. They head towards it, and stand at the entrance, shocked by what they saw.

Hanging upside down, tied by his wrist and ankles is Jenos. He’s been completely stripped and his black wings are by his side. His eyes are closed, still unconscious, though alive. His body has picked up quite a few injuries. His face has been mauled badly, two huge claw marks running diagonally from the upper right of his face to the lower left. His chest has also been scratched by those claws, having eight different sets of them running in random patterns.

Mackenzie growls and stalks to Jenos. Finvarra places his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t, it’s a trap.” Mackenzie violently throws his hand off her shoulder. “I don’t care, he’s like that because of me. I’ll handle whatever happens because of it.”

When she is almost at the middle of the small room, the werewolf leader jumps down and grabs Jenos’ throat. “Not another step Vampire. If you do, he’s dead.” Mackenzie stops moving forward and growls at him. “Let him go.”

The leader barks out a laugh. “You’re in no position to make demands Vampire. Now, you will do as I tell you, or I’ll crush his throat.” Mackenzie does another deep growl, but doesn’t say anything.

“Good, now then, you will kill your cousin or I’ll kill Jenos.” Mackenzie looks at him surprised. “You think I’ll exchange the life of my cousin for a man I don’t even care for? You’ve completely lost it werewolf.” The leader looks at her, then starts to squeeze Jenos’ throat.

Mackenzie keeps a calm face, though her insides are distressed. She thinks, “Gods, no, this can’t be happening. I can’t accept the offer, I don’t want to kill Fin. But, I also don’t want Jenos dead. I don’t know if I really care for him…dammit, this isn’t fair!”

Seeing that squeezing Jenos’ throat wasn’t affecting her, he believes that he really doesn’t mean anything to her, so he decides to kill him. His fist easily crushes Jenos’ windpipe. He then punches Jen’s chest, expelling what air was in it. Jenos’ eyes open up, and he can feel the air leaving his body, as he slowly dies.

His eyes meet Mackenzie’s. He sees the surprise in her eyes. He thinks, “So, I guess I’ll never find out if she even cared…” His head then lets gravity take over. His body slackens on the ropes, his wings droop down. Jenos is dead.

Chapter 14

Mackenzie stands shock still from seeing Jenos killed. She clenches her fists and violently shakes them. “You’ve made a grave mistake this time. You will die for that.” She whispers. The werewolf leader heard her and laughed. “So, you did have feelings for him, then what I did was worth it.” He grins at her. Finvarra grabs Mackenzie, trying to prevent her from doing something rash. She struggles in his grasp, and then all hell broke lose.

The walls of the cave collapse in as over a hundred werewolves break through the fake walls. They snarl and stand by their leader’s side. He, in turn, grabs Jenos’ head. “You know, he was such a valiant fighter, he would have been hard to take down if you didn’t do it for us. In many ways, he was better than both of you ever could be.” Finvarra lets go of Mackenzie, and she
madly rushes towards the werewolf leader.

The werewolves jump at her, clawing and gnashing at her. Finvarra rushes into the fray behind Mackenzie. He protects her back as she continues her mad dash towards her goal. The werewolf leader laughs as she confronts him. “You’ve been a pain in my side for a long time Vampire, now is the time you die.” He orders his subjects to battle Fin, leaving Mackenzie and him to duel alone.

The two circle, neither taking their eyes off of each other. “Mackenzie, you’ve proven before that you can fight well, but you are nowhere near as powerful as I am.” Mackenzie smiles, “Nice try Wolf, I’m not going to fall for that. You know I’m not as physically strong as you are, and I know that I’m your superior in magical strength.”

He smiles at her. “Ah, so you do have SOME intelligence after all. I must say I’m rather surprised.” Mackenzie lightly laughs, “And I plan on surprising you again very soon.” He jumps at her, planning on using his bulk and muscle to crush her. Mackenzie was expecting that approach. She sidestepped and sent a power bolt into him. He growls at the pain coming from the impact of the attack.

Mackenzie then takes a deep breath and screams, “Hurricanious!” The werewolf leader and his subjects are buffeted by Hurricane force winds, with the water from the ground being pelted against them. The werewolves lose their balance, and fly into the back wall. With her winds blowing, Fin takes the opportunity to launch his own attack. He yells, “Artic Frost!” He summons tiny icicles into the winds, blowing them into the werewolves. Being projected at speeds of over 200 mph, the icicles easily kill the lesser werewolves.

Mackenzie stops her attack and allows the bodies of the werewolves to hit the ground. She breaths hard, having used a lot of energy to use that spell. The werewolf leader gets up. “Damn you Vampire, damn you to hell. You may think you’ve won, but I’m still alive.” Mackenzie smirks, “So, I guess we’ll have to fix that.” Finvarra fires a power bolt into the wolf. It takes it in the chest, sending him flying back into the wall.

Mackenzie grins evilly. She gathers most of her strength for one last summon. “Spirits that are from beyond, hear my call. Come to me and finish my foe. Hear my cry, and answer my wish. Come now, come, Odin.” Having completed the chant, she screams, “Abandon’s Kiss!” She sends a power bolt into the ground, sending energy to guide the Keeper of Death.

Odin comes out from the ground, riding his six-legged horse. He looks at the werewolf, and points his sword to him. In a low voice, Odin speaks. “You are marked for death, you will come with me now.” Odin then grabs the horse’s reins, spurs it, and launches at the werewolf. It tries to flee, but nothing can escape Death when it has come for you. Odin’s sword slashes across the werewolf’s back, causing it to scream as the sword takes his soul with it.

The lifeless body falls to the ground. Odin sheathes his sword and him and his horse return to the Underworld. Mackenzie looks at what she had done. She smiles, and then sways from the loss of so much energy. She falls to the ground, completely exhausted. Finvarra goes to her and rubs her back. “It’s over now cousin, there will be no more problems with the werewolves here. Come, let’s go and let you rest a bit.”

Chapter 15

She protests, “No, not without Jenos, and not without my father’s bloodstone ring.” “Mackenzie, Jenos is dead, there’s nothing we could do with the body. It’s better to leave him here.” She shakes her head. “No, he deserves better than to be tied up left for dead with the werewolves.” Fin sighs, grabs the ring, and cuts the restraints on Jenos’ wrists and ankles. Mackenzie gets up and leans on Finvarra for support. Fin carries Jenos on his other shoulder and hands Mackenzie the ring as they walk back to his house.

Mackenzie begins to think about what had occurred tonight. While yes they had managed to destroy the threat from the werewolves, she had lost Jenos in the process. She was left alone again. She shakes her head as she continues to think. “No, Fin doesn’t count, he’s family. I’m alone because I have no one outside family yet again. I helped kill the man that wanted to be close.” Finvarra looks at her. “Are you alright Kenzie?” She shakes her head. “I’m alright, just lost in thought.”

He nods as she continues thinking. “Lost, yes, I’m lost. Everything seemed to be completely under my control with Jenos, now, it seems like nothing is under it. I had to summon Odin to kill off my opponent, and Fin had to attack him to allow me to summon Odin.” She sighs, “Life seems boring now that he’s gone. I can’t play off of his emotions, I can’t confuse him by my flirting.”

She starts to finger the ring, and as she looks at it, she realizes what she can do. “Yes, I’ll resurrect him. Then, I can have him with me. I must wait until I regain strength though. Soon, soon I’ll have him back.”

Chapter 16

Finvarra and Mackenzie enter the mansion. Fin hands Jenos to one of his servants to put into the basement until they are ready to dispose of the body. Mackenzie heads straight for her room. She enters it and plops down face first on the bed. She muffles, “This has been a very long and tiring day.”

“Yes it has cousin.” Finvarra enters her room and sits down beside her. “It has been a long and eventful day. Many things have been accomplished.” Mackenzie raises her head. “Many things? Only one thing happened that we had been fighting for.” Finvarra shakes his head. “No Mackenzie, two things. The werewolves have been defeated, and that is a major victory. The second is the death of Jenos. He’s a necromancer, he had to die.”

Mackenzie sits up. “Did he really? I mean, even so, he wouldn’t let anything happen to me. His wings reminded me of a guardian angel, even though they were black instead of white.” Fin shakes his head. “Kenzie, he had to die. We can not allow any humans that can raise the dead to be left alive. They would raise one of our victims, and then we’d be found out. That can not happen, so it’s just as well he was killed.”

Mackenzie reaches her hand out and slaps him. “Finvarra von Drakhim, you should not talk like that. No one deserves to die at the hands of a werewolf, and certainly not the way he did.” Fin places his hand over the spot she slapped. “Mackenzie, we vampires do not care about anyone else but our own. Jenos was not one of us, so he should not be mourned.” Mackenzie becomes enraged at this. “Not even mourned? Finvarra, he saved my life. I was indirectly responsible for his death, and I certainly did not want him to die.”

Finvarra sighs. “Mackenzie, listen, he was a human. Humans and Vampires just simply do not mix. It always crushes the vampire when the human dies, it always happens. You never even admitted to him that you loved him, how can you talk like you did?”

Mackenzie clenches her fists, “Cousin, do not talk of this any more, I do not want to have to kill you because of it.” Fin glares at her threat. “You need to sleep, maybe you’ll be more reasonable tonight.” With that, he gets up and leaves the room. Mackenzie throws her boot at him as he closes the door. The boot just hits the door and falls to the floor, missing its intended target.
Mac lies down on the bed, being somewhat comforted by its familiar ness. She sighs deeply and runs her fingers across the sheets. Her mind goes back to the first time she met him. She remembers the warmth that came from his body when her fingers ran across his chest. Her lips still can feel the kiss he returned, the gentleness that also strength behind it. The feel of his body against her own, the excitement that flowed through her in that embrace. She pulls her legs to her chest and rests her chin on her knees.

“I miss him. I miss the companionship he gave me. I think he genuinely loved me, but I’ll never know for sure. I may be able to bring him life again, but he won’t be Jenos. It’ll be an empty shell, a cold body with no soul, no…will.” She wipes away a tear forming in her eyes. “No, it wouldn’t be right to bring him back. It would not be Jenos, and that’s who I want. If there was only a way to bring his soul back with his body…” She lies down on the bed and decides to get some sleep first, to worry about it tomorrow.

Chapter 17

Finvarra wakes up and looks at the turning of dusk. He stretches and gets out of his bed. He then heads to Mackenzie’s room to check up on her. He raps on the door, but receives no answer. He knocks again, more forcefully, but still no answer. He then turns the knob and opens the door. Inside the room, Mackenzie is nowhere to be found. He looks, and finds that her belongings are still there, just the pendant and ring are not present.

“She must have taken them with her.” He then exits the room and looks for a servant. A maid dusting is a little ways down the hallway. Fin asks her if she had seen Mackenzie. She nods and says that she had been heading to the library. He then understood everything. She had gone to the library to figure out how to bring Jenos back to life. Not just the body, but his soul, the thing that made him what he was.

He goes to his library, and there indeed is Mackenzie studying materials about resurrection. She mumbles as she reads, not even noticing him entering. “'Souls of those that had been sent to hell are very easy to bring back, as their souls cry for release from its torment. Those in heaven, however, are very difficult to bring back. They had found paradise, and do not wish to leave. To bring back a soul of one in heaven requires much more energy, and a sacrifice. The sacrifice must be a necromancer, and they must be of pure blood.' Of pure blood, so I have to find someone that is fully human, or fully vampire.”

Finvarra clears his throat. Mackenzie jumps, thinking that she was completely alone in the library. “I think that I could be of assistance there, cousin. I am of pure vampire blood, and I do not wish to see you so sad and depressed. Let me be that sacrifice. I’d gladly exchange my life for his. You never know, I might even be able to see my beloved Wenith again.” Mackenzie looks at him surprised. “Fin, but why?”

He sighs. “I realize that you do have feelings for him, and I really don’t have anything to live for. Ever since her death, I really had no life, no longing. It’s just as well Mackenzie.” She smiles and hugs him. “Thank you Finvarra, you are indeed a gentleman.” He smiles and hugs her back. “Now then, you need to gather more energy. Then, we can bring him back.”

Mackenzie nods and the two go off hunting. After draining the blood from three peasants, they retrieve Jenos’ body, then return to the library so Mackenzie can begin the chant. “Souls from beyond the realm of life, listen to me and do as I command. Jenos, you are commanded to come forth. Come to me, come to my love. Cross the line, and return to me. Finvarra has declared himself a living sacrifice so that you may live. Now, come back to yourself, and back into my arms. Jenos, be reborn!”

Mackenzie then fires at power bolt at Jenos’ body. It impacts and resonates the lifeless body. Finvarra places his hand over the area that had been hit by the bolt. He then wills his own power into the body. As the power is being drained from him, he has a flashback of his life with Wenith. All the happy moments, their marriage, the birth of each of their sons, the nights that they spent making love together.

As his strength is being drawn away from Fin, Jenos’ body begins to slowly return to its normal color. The nerve endings begin working again, as his hands begin to clench and unclench. His heart starts beating again, and his wings begin to spread out. Finvarra falls backwards, having given up all of his strength and energy. He looks at Mackenzie and smiles as death takes him.

Mackenzie smiles back, allowing a tear to roll down her cheek. She feels a warm hand touching her face, wiping away the tear. “You know, it still makes my heart ache just watching you cry Mac.” She turns and sees that Jenos is alive again. She squeals for joy and envelops him in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re alive Jenos. I’ve missed you so much.” Jenos returns the hug and holds her close to him, relishing the embrace. “So, did I miss anything?”

She smiles and kisses him. “Yes, you’ve missed a lot.” She kisses him again and then rests her head on his shoulder. Her hand touches his black wings and feels them. “They are pretty, I like them.” Jenos smiles. “So do I, it’s just that it isn’t reasonable to keep them out in public.” She replies, “That’s too bad.” Jenos holds her and kisses the top of her head. She smiles and nuzzles his neck. They then kiss and Jenos’ wings wrap themselves around them, healing all of their external wounds. The kiss healing all of their internal aches.