“How the hell do you think she’s going to pull this off?” David asked angrily. “Something like fifteen vampires that she’s gonna smuggle into England? Really think she can manage to get us all over there without getting caught?”

“Why don’t we just listen to what she’s trying to say,” Juliet whispered as she rubbed his arm.

Brushing her away, he turned on her and said, “Why? Why should we even consider staying with these freaks?”

“Because if we’re freaks, so are you, luv,” Lyra answered tiredly from where she rested against Sav’s shoulder. She leaned forward with some effort and continued. “You need time to learn just who and what you are now…”

“And what the fuck are we?” he interrupted angrily. “Are you sure you even know?”

“Well, considering I’ve lived for a thousand years, I’m pretty sure I know what I am,” Lyra sighed. “Question is, do you? Do you know just what you can do now? Have you got any idea just what your new weaknesses are? Your strengths?”

“If what you say is true…if we really are vampires…then we’re nothing but killers,” David said with resentment dripping in his voice. “We don’t have families or friends, just victims!”

“If that were true, I’d have been dead hundreds of years ago,” Lyra said after a small pause. She struggled to her feet with Sav’s help and crossed the room, standing over David and trying to be sympathetic. “But I do have a family. My coven in England. People who care about me and who I care about. And I don’t kill, unless I have to. None of my coven does…”

“Then how do you fucking eat?”

“Leesha, you want to go get things?” Lyra said softly, then she stumbled. Darting across the room, Sav lowered her into a chair and hovered over her worriedly.

“Are you okay, baby?” he whispered as she tried to pull herself back up again.

“I’m starving like I haven’t eaten in weeks,” she answered in a voice he could barely hear. “What the hell is going on with me?”

“I don’t know, but I think we really need to get you back to Cyra.” He ran his hand over her hair, brushing a long lock back from her face. Kneeling beside her, he looked her full in the face and said, “You look so pale, Lyra!”

“I’m so hungry!” she answered weakly.

“Here,” he pulled back the collar of his shirt, revealing his throbbing jugular. “Take what you need for now.”

“I can wait.”

“I don’t care, luv,” he answered with a humorless chuckle. “This once, you’re going to do what I say. You need to feed and I can wait til Leesha gets back.” His fingers wrapped gently into her hair, pulling her face to his throat. “Do it, honey.”

“Alright,” she sighed, leaning into his body. A second later, her fangs were deep in his flesh and she was lost in his blood. Meanwhile, Steve, Michael and Duff were trying to talk to the former captives of Erzebet’s coven, trying to make them see reason.

Rick Springfield jumped to his feet, saying, “This is ridiculous. None of you know any of what we’ve been through in the past few months. Even you!” he rounded on Duff. “You got out of there the same night they made you one of them. And none of you know what it’s like to go from a retired ‘celebrity’ to a vampire!”

“Um, that’s where you’re wrong, mate,” Steve said with a smile. “Try finishing an eighteen month tour, going back into the studio, getting in over your head with alcohol and drugs, then becoming a vampire at the height of all that. Cause that’s what happened to me.”

Every one of the vampires who didn’t know Steve turned to look at him. He nodded and said, “My band was one of the biggest things out there when I had to leave it all behind.”

“What band?” Keifer asked quietly.

“Def Leppard,” Steve answered, bringing hisses of disbelief from several of the vampires.

“Bullshit!” Keifer said with a laugh. “The guy you look like died of a drug overdose back at the beginning of the nineties!”

“And I would have if Lyra hadn’t found me that night,” Steve said with a grin. Then he got serious. “She saved me that night. And we just let it be put out that I had died. I mean, what? I’m supposed to tell the world I just became a vampire?” A couple of them nodded, but Rick and Keifer still looked at him suspiciously.

Finally, Duff stepped up and said, “I know he’s exactly who he says he is. I used to party with him, just before he supposedly died. Trust me, it’s Steve Clark.”

“Okay, so he can understand it, but what about the rest of them?” Rick said in exasperation. “I mean…”

“Okay, before you finish that, meet Rick Savage, Def Leppard’s bass player,” Steve said, motioning to where Sav and Lyra sat. “And that guy that went upstairs with Leesha? That’s Phil Collin, the band’s other guitarist.”

“Fuck!” Keifer said, only half jokingly. “What, did they pick and choose which members of the band they wanted?”

“No, actually, the rest of them are back at the coven house in England,” Steve answered. “Joe and Rick…fuck, another Rick…they should be there when we get back.”

“What about that guy that took your place?” Keifer asked quietly and Steve sighed.

“Vivian got killed by some very bad people not too long ago,” he answered finally.

“Was he…?”

“Yeah, he was a vampire for a few years before it happened,” he said. “He was defending his daughter…”

“BREAKFAST!” Leesha called from the doorway with forced cheer. She and Phil each carried a box full of bags of blood. Each vampire was given two bags, though Lyra said, “Give mine to Sav. He’s probably a little low right now.”

Silence fell over the room as they ate greedily. Extra bags were quickly consumed as well, which Lyra thought was probably best. After all, most of these people had been practically starved for months. As they ate, Lyra was still trying to figure out just how she was going to convince them that going to England was the best thing for them. After all, she couldn’t force them. And in that, she found her answer.

“I can’t MAKE you come with us,” Lyra said as she looked around. “I don’t want to force this on you. You’ve all had enough forced on you as it is. I’m sorry if it seemed like we were going to make you go. What I’m saying is this. If you decide to come with us, we can make sure you’ve got a chance to find out just what your lives can be like now. Here, you’ll be left to fend for yourselves, pretty much. You’ll also risk a higher chance of exposure and the possibility of the Hunters finding you. They know we don’t kill, so they leave us alone. But a single vampire, they’ll take out without thinking twice.” Staring at each of them in turn, she finished by saying, “All I’m asking is for you to give us a bit of time. Not like you don’t have forever, right?”

“We can leave whenever we want to?” David asked, his brow furrowed as he thought over Lyra’s newest offer.

“Absolutely,” Lyra answered. “All I ask is that you don’t expose the rest of us in the process.”

“No cages or bars,” Keifer asked, rubbing his arm unconsciously.

“None.”

“When do we leave?” Stuart asked from his quiet corner.

“In the morning if everything goes according to plan,” Lyra said, mentally sighing in relief. “Who’s in?”

Slowly most of the hands in the room went up. Only David, Rick and Keifer didn’t raise their hands. Letting out a sigh, Lyra said, “Well, I’m not sure what to tell you. You three are welcome to walk out of here right now, with no hard feelings. I’ll give you a number to contact me if you run into any problems here…”

“Just like that?” Rick asked in surprise. “We can just walk away and you’re not going to fight us about it?”

“I meant what I said,” Lyra answered sadly. “You aren’t bound to us in any way. I’ll give each of you my number at the castle and I’ll help you if I can. Though, I’m sorry, you won’t be able to stay here. This is Phil’s home, and his family still comes to visit him, so I can’t offer it to you…”

“His family?” David asked, clearly shocked at the thought. He turned to face Phil, saying, “Your family knows what you are?”

“My son does,” Phil said calmly. “His wife just thinks I’m a long lost cousin. Same for his kids. But Rory found out about this a while ago.”

“And he just let you walk back into his life the way you are?”

“Actually, he nearly killed me.” Phil took a deep breath. “I ‘died’ when he was ten or so. And for twenty years, he believed I was dead. So he was a little angry when he found out the truth…”

“Bloody right!” Steve chuckled. “I’m just glad I don’t have a scar from that shit!”

David’s head whipped around and now he gaped at Steve. “Why the hell would you have a scar?”

“Rory tried to stake me,” Phil explained. “Only Steve took it in the back to save me. Sorry wanker, always the hero.”

“How did he survive a stake?” Rick asked, now curious about the conversation.

“It didn’t hit his heart,” Lyra said quietly, making all of them jump. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, but we really do need to get things moving if we’re going to get out here by dawn.”

“Hold up!” Rick said, raising his hand in a plea for patience. “I never said I wasn’t going. I’m just trying to think this out.”

“I’m sorry, Rick, but we just don’t have time to think this out too much,” Lyra answered as she sat down next to Sav again. “The Hunters aren’t going to stand us being here much longer. At the castle, we’ve got some safety in numbers, plus the London office knows us. People here in L.A. don’t. We need every bit of protection we can get until you’re all up and able to be on your own.”

“I could make it alone,” David said angrily.

“You know what I mean,” Lyra sighed.

But Michael had had enough of it. “Leave him to take care of himself then,” he said hotly. “If he thinks he knows everything, let him go. And don’t even think about the fact that the Hunters will kill him in a week if he stays here.” He motioned towards the others. “Let’s get the fuck out of here!”

“I’ll come with you.” But David’s eyes were still filled with anger and hatred. If any of these new vampires was going to be a problem, somehow Lyra just knew it was going to be him. Her thoughts were interrupted by a small knock on the living room window.

“What the fuck!” Michael jumped to his feet first, darting across the room before Lyra even bothered to move. At first, he thought a child had walked up and tapped on the window. At least, that’s what it looked like. But there was nothing childlike about her features when the girl looked up and he saw nothing but fear in her eyes.

“Help me, please!” she begged through the pane of glass.

Cracking the window open, Michael asked, “What’s wrong?”

“You’ve got to let me see Alyria!” she pleaded. When Michael hesitated, she said, “Ah fucking hell man, I’m one of you! See!” A second later, she opened her mouth and Michael saw her fangs.

“Come to the front door.” Turning to face Lyra, Michael looked at her worriedly and said, “Lyra, you’ve got a visitor.”

“HUH?”

“There’s a vampire here to see you,” Michael answered. “Tiny little thing, too. I thought it was a fucking kid, til I saw her face.”

“You’re sure she’s a vampire?” Sav asked cautiously, worried the Hunters might being trying a new trick to take out the group’s strongest member.

“I saw her fangs come down in her mouth,” Michael assured him. “But I still don’t want Lyra answering the door alone. She’s the best protection any of us have right now.” He motioned for Lyra to follow him and Sav got to his feet.

“She’s not going out there without me.”

“Or me.” Steve rose to follow them.

“The more the better as far as I’m concerned,” Michael said under his breath, watching as Duff got up as well. With Lyra in the center of their group, they walked quickly to the front door. Michael looked out and saw the young girl standing nervously on the steps. He opened the door quickly and nearly pulled the girl inside before slamming the door shut again.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Michael crossed his arms over his chest and waited for her to answer.

“Wait a minute,” Lyra said, pulling Michael’s arms down and stepping in front of him. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name. But I do remember you from the coven last night.”

“My name’s NeeCee,” the girl said quietly. “And I’m in trouble…”

“What kind of trouble?” Lyra asked, her brow furrowed as she wondered just how the girl had escaped the Hunters.

“Jack’s dead.” Tears started to trail down her face. “We were trying to get out of there last night, after you started the fire. He took off just before me and the next thing I knew, he was falling back down. There were men up on the roof…they had bows…I was the only one who didn’t start flying right away. I’m still new at the whole flying thing, so it takes me a couple of minutes to get airborne. I think it saved my life last night.” She wiped her tears on the back of her hand. “When I saw you guys get into that van, I managed to wedge myself up in the undercarriage. Jack taught me to do that. Sometimes you get burnt or stuck, but you don’t usually get any kind of serious damage. Anyway, it was the only way I could keep track of where you were going. I mean, you’ve got to be super powerful, right?”

“I guess you could say that.” Lyra spoke more to herself than to the others.

“Jack was all I had, man,” NeeCee pleaded, looking around the group. “I’m all alone now. Please let me stay with you!”

“We’re not staying here,” Lyra said finally. “I’m taking anyone who wants to go back to our coven in England.”

“Then let me come with you, please!” she begged.

Letting out a long sigh, Lyra pinched her nose between her fingers and tried to think. After what seemed like forever to NeeCee, she said quietly, “Fine, get in the other room with everyone else so I can tell you how this is going to work.”

NeeCee went quickly where she’d been told, afraid she might be turned away if she didn’t listen. Lyra started to follow her, but Sav grabbed her gently by the arm and asked, “Is it a good idea to be taking in every stray vampire we find, honey?”

“Don’t ask me why, but I’m getting a feeling we’re going to need all the vampires we can find,” Lyra answered softly as she turned to follow the girl. “Very soon…”

As soon as Lyra crossed into the room, she was met by a dozen expectant stares. Sav, Steve, Duff and Michael took up seats around her as she looked at the assembled vampires and said, “Okay, this is what has got to happen here. Since none of you are able to fly just yet, we’re going to have to travel like humans.” She turned and looked up at the clock. “We’ve got a private plane set to leave the airport in ninety minutes. That will get us on the East Coast about an hour before sunrise. By calling in a huge favor with a friend of Siona’s, we’ll have a boat waiting for us at a pier in New York harbor…”

“That’s going to take for fucking ever!” David said quickly.

“But I can get us around the need for customs this way,” Lyra explained patiently. “The boat is a yacht, so there’s plenty of room for all of us. Plus, the four of us,” she motioned around to Steve, Sav and Duff. “Can keep the Coast Guard from getting too close to us. Once we’re in England, we’ll meet Siona along the coast…”

“Would it be easier if we could fly?” Kirsten asked in a small voice.

“Yes, and if you can all learn while we on board the ship, we’ll fly out from there,” Lyra finished up. She looked at every person in the room before adding, “Does everyone understand?”

Nods went all around the room, including those men who Lyra was most worried about. “Phil, Leesh? You guys are coming along, right?”

“Do you need us?”

“Yeah,” Lyra let out a long breath. “If some people learn how to fly while others don’t, at least we can get them to the castle faster. There’s no point in keeping everyone out on the ocean any longer than we must. If at least three of them learn to fly, you and Phil can lead them to the castle while we try to teach the rest of them.”

“We need to get to the airport,” Steve said as he got up. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we’re in the air.” Everyone stood up except Lyra, who tried and fell back down. Five men rushed to her side as Sav pulled her up.

“Are you okay, honey?” he asked in a whisper.

“Just dizzy,” she answered, steadying herself between him and Steve. A second later, James and Michael backed away as Duff bent down and picked her up in his arms.

“Well, it’s not like we’ve got time for dizzy spells at the moment, right?” he said defensively to Sav.

Staring at Duff for a long, angry moment, Sav shook his head and said so quickly Duff almost didn’t hear him, “You’re right, but I could have done it…”

“Come on, mate,” Steve said, hoping to keep Sav from blowing up at that moment.

“I know, I know,” Sav said, shaking Steve’s hand off his arm. “I just hadn’t thought of it yet, so I’m pissed at myself, I guess.”

“I can walk,” Lyra said adamantly.

“No, you don’t need to right now, so you’re not,” Sav said as he brushed her hair back from her face. “Let him get you into the van without a fuss, okay?”

“Yes, Daddy,” Lyra said sarcastically as she wrapped her arms around Duff’s neck. Nodding at the other four men, he walked quickly out of the room and headed for the garage.

“Damn him!” Sav hissed. “Does he have to be so confident about everything? Just sweep her off her feet before I even thought about it?” James slipped out of the room behind the rest of their group, leaving only Steve and Michael with the miserable Sav.

“It was the right thing to do, Sav,” Michael said cautiously. “I mean, we don’t have time for her to gain her footing every step of the way…”

“I KNOW!”

“Sav, listen to me,” Steve said softly, turning him away from Michael as he motioned Michael to follow the others. “You’ve got to get this jealousy thing under control, okay? You’re ready to blow at any second. If you do, especially over something like this, you’re going to end up pushing her away. And there’s something you should know. I’ve talked to Michael about her. He’s confused, says he feels like he’s always known her. And when they first met, he was attracted to her. But he said that not long after he became a vampire, that sort of died.”

“But what about her? How does she feel?” Sav looked away, knowing he’d seen her thoughts but still unsure of himself for the first time about a woman.

“She’s told me the same thing, mate,” Steve explained. “Confused, but the attraction is gone.”

“Really?”

“You’re the fucking mind reader, Sav!” Chuckling, Steve shook his head and said, “You should be able to see all of this!”

“I can,” he admitted. “I don’t know why I just can’t shake this feeling about it all.”

“Maybe you’re just getting paranoid in your old age! Hell, if she‘d really wanted to be with Michael, don‘t you think she‘d have kept him in the room with her when she…surged?” Steve laughed and went on, “She loves you, more than anyone. Even more than she really loved Joe. Or me.”

“She loves you too, Steve!“ Sav said emphatically.

Steve looked sad for a moment before he said, “But I’ll never mean as much to her as you do. There’s always just a little bit more of you than me in her heart.” Sav started to speak, but Steve stopped him. “It’s alright, man. I’m fine with it. The great thing about being a vampire is that all that depression I used to have to deal with is gone now. But you’ve got to realized that there’s room in that very big vampire heart of hers for others to have a little piece without taking away from you. Once you realize that, you’ll realize you’re the luckiest vampire in the world to have found her again.” He squeezed Sav’s shoulder once before saying, “Think about it.” Then he turned and made his way out of the room.

Looking around, Sav realized that Steve was probably right. He felt foolish for having wasted so much time lately on something he knew wasn’t true. After all, he HAD looked into her thoughts. He knew how she felt. Shaking his head, he smiled broadly at nothing in particular and headed out to the van. Duff was just moving away from settling Lyra in the van over her protests.

“Sit there and behave or I’ll turn you over my knee!” Sav grinned and Lyra did a double take. That was the most genuine smile she’d seen from him in a long time. He leaned over and kissed her, whispering, “I love you, Alyria.” Then he was moving away from her.

Duff backed away, afraid Sav was still pissed at him. So he was surprised when Sav walked up to him and held out his hand, saying, “Thanks for helping her out in there.”

Shaking hands, Duff answered uneasily, “I just figured, if she was dizzy, carrying her was the right thing to do…”

“It was,” Sav replied with a smile. “And if I ever don’t see something quick enough, be sure to jump in there for me, okay?”

“Yeah, man,” Duff assured him with a confused smile.

“Then let’s get out of here,” Sav answered, climbing into the van and sitting behind Lyra’s seat. Duff got in and slammed the door shut, then sat down next to him. Looking around him, he realized there were a lot of confusing things going on he was going to have to learn about. Ugh, and he’d thought Axl Rose was complicated!