Lyra’s head hurt as she looked around the room. She knew she was still in her castle, but what the hell was she doing in this particular place? She got up, despite her dizziness, and headed for the door. But it was sealed shut! How had anyone done this, she didn’t sleep like the dead anymore during the day? She started to pace, then happened to look at her arm. There was dried blood on it and an obvious needle mark. She been drugged! Now panicking, she reached out through her link and found Steve and Leesha. Both of them were still groggy, not quite coherent. Then she felt the same panic hit first Leesha, then Steve. They must both be trapped as well.

The room was windowless, but there was still electricity so she turned on the light overhead. And that’s when she found the note.

Alyria,

Welcome to my private version of hell. A payback for my love, Crystala. Since this castle won’t burn and I’m sure there is no way for me to beat you and your little band of fledglings alone, I hope you enjoy an eternity of hunger instead. And no, your little group won’t be able to help you, as they are locked away in their own prison on these grounds. Your one comfort is that unlike Crystala, I have no interest in your mortal pets. So, you can thank me for leaving them out of my revenge. May you live long in pain and starvation.

Michael.

“Fuck!” Lyra yelled. How could she get the others out of this? Within two or three days, the hunger would drive Steve mad because he was so young. He still needed the blood every night. Leesha would last a bit longer and after her, Lisel would be starving as well. It would take a month or more before the pain actually got to Lyra. She sat down and tried to think of some way out of her predicament.

Phil couldn’t concentrate. He could feel Steve and knew there was something seriously wrong with him, but didn’t have any idea what. He finally pulled Sav and Joe aside and whispered, “Steve’s in trouble, guys. It feels like he’s half out of his mind! And Leesha‘s not doing to well either!”

“You know, Lyra’s felt a bit upset, too,” Joe replied.

“And it seems to be getting worse all the time!” Sav added. “Joe, you’ve managed to find her before, think you can again? All I can tell is what direction she’s in!”

“And she’s fairly far away as well,” Joe said quietly. “We’ve got to try to find them.” The band was in rehearsal for their Slang tour, but the three of them knew they had to help out their friends if they could. Within an hour, Joe had them booked on a flight London to , which was the general direction of Lyra and Steve’s location. They decided to try there first, knowing that the coven house was somewhere nearby.

They could feel themselves getting closer as they flew in. As soon as they landed, they rented a car and headed off in the direction their links led them. Joe decided to drive in a straight line towards Lyra and try to find her the way as he’d done before.

They made it out into the English countryside and still drove on, wondering if somehow they’d missed where the vampires were hiding. But it still felt like Lyra and Steve were right in front of them.

Lyra couldn’t sleep. They’d been trapped for what she thought had to be a week and Steve and Leesha were going crazy. She wondered how Lisel was faring in there with them. Steve had the definite feel of someone returning to first hunger, desperate for blood. She could only hope the sleep would take him like it did so many others when they were ready to return to the earth for a time. His madness was completely breaking her concentration and she could hear the screams as he and Leesha tried with all their might to get out of their sealed tomb.

Lyra had tried everything she could think of to get out, to no avail. The door was bricked up tightly, expertly. And the castle walls were far too thick for even a vampire of her strength to tear through. She tried to shut Steve and Leesha out of her mind and sat down to read one of the many books that were stored in the room. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind of their influence, then realized she could feel Sav and Joe coming very close to her. She closed her eyes, focusing on Sav and whispered, “Help me, Sav.”

Sav slammed his hands on the dashboard, Lyra’s unexpected voice ringing in his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to think of her, to let her know they were coming. Then he turned to Joe and whispered, “I just heard her! She needs our help, Joe.”

“We’ll get there as fast as we can, mate,” Joe said anxiously. Phil was nearly tearing up the backseat, Steve and Leesha’s madness infecting his mind as well. Joe gripped the steering wheel hard as Lyra’s plea rang out in his mind as well.

Sav turned to Joe and said, “It feels like she’s changing directions on us. She’s not straight ahead any more, she’s off to the right a bit.”

Joe turned his head and realized Sav was right, the further they drove the more she seemed to be heading to the right. He kept driving until it felt like she was directly to the right, then turned towards her. Sav checked on Phil, who was practically climbing the roof as they got closer. Sav was suddenly wondering what they were going to find when they found Lyra.

Joe could see the battlements of a castle in the dusky evening as they drove, but was still trying to focus on Lyra. Just as they were about to pass the fortress, Sav grabbed Joe’s arm and whispered, “That’s the place!”

Joe nodded and pulled onto the castle grounds. As soon as he parked the car, Phil took off running for it. Sav and Joe tried to yell at him to stop, because they didn’t know what they were walking into, but Phil acted like he didn’t even hear them. So they made their way into the castle cautiously, looking around every corner to make sure it wasn’t a trap. They could hear Phil’s enraged screams as he reached the old dungeon keep, as well as Steve and Leesha yelled insanely from the lower reaches of the building. They followed Phil down the stairs and found him pounding away at a brick wall. They found another small wall just across the corridor and laid their hands on it, knowing without a doubt that Lyra was behind it.

“LYRA! CAN YOU HEAR ME?” Sav called to her.

“Yes, luv, thank God!” they heard Lyra answer. “Can you get me out of here?”

“You’ll have to give us a few minutes, baby. It’s bricked up pretty tight,” Joe said loudly. Sav went back upstairs and found several iron bars that must have once been over the windows. He brought a few with him and they all three started prying at the bricks. Phil moved with a strength born of the madness he felt from his friend and his lover, quickly pulling away several of the bricks. The door behind it was sitting open and as soon as the vampires inside smelled the fresh blood in the mortal veins, they started pushing against the bricks as well.

Lyra felt it when they sensed the blood and screamed, “NO, DON’T LET THEM OUT TIL I’M FREE! THEY’LL KILL ALL OF YOU!”

Joe grabbed Phil and pulled him away, saying, “Lyra says to leave them until we get her out. I don’t know how long they’ve been here, but they’re probably hungry!”

“They’re not hungry, Joe, they’re starved! You’ve got to leave them alone until I can get them blood!” Lyra yelled. Joe managed to get Phil to help at getting Lyra out, but the other vampires were still tearing at wall holding them in.

Lyra looked at Joe through the hole they’d cleared and said, “Get upstairs, there are bottles in the refrigerator that we’re going to need for them!” Joe took off running and returned moments later with the containers in question. He set them down and went back to work on the bricks holding Lyra in. She could see Steve trying to get out of the room and panicked. If he got out, at least one of the men in front of her was going to die. She yelled for them to get back and threw herself at the weakened wall with all her vampire strength. But just as the wall was breaking down, Phil stepped into Steve’s reach and Steve’s fangs sank into his neck.

Lyra looked around, dazed by a newly broken shoulder. Then she caught sight of Phil in Steve’s grip and ran at them, pulling Steve’s fangs from his throat with a vise-like touch.

“Joe, open one of those and give it to me,” she hollered as Phil slumped to the floor, dazed by Steve’s bite. Joe handed her the bottle and Lyra pried Steve’s jaws open, pouring the liquid into his mouth quickly. He was still in a rage as the last drops crossed his lips and Lyra called for another one. She feed it to him quickly and saw reason coming back into his eyes. But now Leesha was pulling at him, trying to take the blood from him that he’d so recently gotten.

“Let her feed, Steve,” Lyra said loudly. “You’ll be okay, we’ll get you out and it might save a life or two!”

Steve stopped struggling and let Leesha bite him viciously. Meanwhile, Lyra managed to get a bottle in for Lisel, who was still barely hanging on to her sanity. Joe ran up and grabbed another arm load of the precious fluids and brought them to Lyra, who started passing them in to the still imprisoned vampires. Once they were satisfied by the blood Joe had retrieved for them, they helped get the wall torn down and made their way into the hallway.

Steve and Leesha made their way to Phil, both of them cradling him in their arms as he regained consciousness. He looked up at Steve, his own mind finally coming back to normal as he said, “Clark, I swear, on of these days I’m gonna stake you out!”

Steve smiled down at him, laughing at his jest as he picked him up and carried him up to one of the darkened bedrooms. He and Leesha crawled into bed with him and Lisel made her way in behind Steve. The four of them curled up together and feel to sleep, exhausted by their recent trials.

Lyra’s arm hung limply at her side as she grimaced in pain. She walked into the living room and slumped onto the couch, trying not to cry out in pain. Joe and Sav went to her side and Joe whispered, “Are you okay, luv?”

“I’m just pretty weak, otherwise my body would already be healed,” she explained. “By the way, thanks for getting us out of there.”

“How’d it happen, anyway,” Sav asked, his hand coming to rest on Lyra’s thigh as he looked at her.

“Do you remember Crystala?” Lyra asked and saw the look of fear come over both their faces.

“How could we forget her,” Joe answered. “She damn near killed us!”

“Well, the vampire who did this was her lover,” Lyra explained. “He drugged me and shut us all into those chambers. He was hoping we’d be stuck there forever.”

“Damn,” Sav whispered.

“Guess he wasn’t counting on you guys showing up,” Lyra sighed. Joe slipped an arm around her, only to see her flinch in pain. His hand slid back to her neck and he whispered, “Can we do anything to help you, luv?”

“I guess I could use a bottle. I haven’t fed in a week or so,” she said wearily. Sav and Joe looked at each other then back down a her. Joe pulled her chin around to face him gently and said quietly, “You don’t need to get a bottle, luv. Will the two of us do?”

She leaned her head back carefully, wincing in pain and whispered, “Of course you will. I just didn’t want to push my luck. You‘ve already saved me once tonight.”

Joe leaned over and whispered into her ear, “We’d do it again in a heartbeat. Now, are you hungry, Lyra?”

She turned into his body and said breathlessly, “Yes!”

He moved in front of her, his throat placed just in front of her mouth as his eyes locked with Sav’s. Sav watched in fascination as Lyra’s fangs sunk into Joe’s throat. Joe’s eyes closed, the pleasure far outweighing the pain as he shared his life with her. Sav couldn’t believe the expressions that crossed his face. Pain. Satisfaction. Ecstasy. Sav’s own emotions were churning inside. He wanted to be Joe at that moment.

Lyra pulled away from Joe, who sat back against the couch as well. Then Lyra let out a scream of agony as her body mended itself. They watched her with concerned eyes as they saw the bones moving into place on their own. She slumped back onto the couch, breathless from the torrent of pain. Sav pulled her into his arms, letting her catch her breath there. Then suddenly, Lyra throw up her head and hissed, “There’s someone else here!”

She jumped up off the couch and ran for the door, only to be met by a tall man with short blond curls. She stopped cold and looked at him, the fury visible on his face as he glared at her. Then she heard him growl, “So, your little pets set you free, huh? How many died when they freed the others, Lyra dear?”

“None,” she said in a flat voice. Lyra was in trouble here. She was still weak from her injuries and she had to protect Joe and Sav.

“Well, I’m going to have to make sure they can’t interfere with my plans this time!” he said, leaping at the two men on the couch. Lyra threw herself in front of him, but he grabbed Joe’s arm and pulled Joe towards him. With strength born of her rage, she wretched Michael’s hand from Joe and broke the arm it was attached to. Michael screamed in pain, backhanding Lyra across the room. As she stumbled across the room, Michael reached for Joe again. A tug of war began, Michael on one side and Sav on the other, trying vainly to save his friend.

Lyra flew across the room, turning and kicking Michael on his ass as she landed. He shot back up and tried to get past her again, but she kept herself in front of him. Michael stopped and laughed, saying, “You’re going to die to protect them?”

“No, I’m going to kill you to protect them!” Lyra said calmly.

“Your love for these mortals is going to be your undoing, Lyra,” Michael said with an evil smile. He lunged at Sav, but Lyra tripped him just as he’d nearly grabbed him. Sav pulled Joe to his feet, trying to get him out of the way of the wrestling vampires as Michael stretched out a hand to take him. Michael cried out as he felt Lyra’s fangs sink home in his shoulder, draining away a bit of his strength before he managed to get away from her.

“Where’s your little coven now, Lyra,” Michael taunted. “To weak to come to your aid?”

“I won’t need anyone’s help to take care of you, you bastard,” Lyra hissed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lyra saw Sav reach for an antique sword hanging on the wall display beside her. Just as Michael reached for Joe once more, Sav swung the sword down and the sharp blade bit into Michael’s arm. Michael roared in pain and lunged at Sav, catching Lyra instead as she moved between them. While Lyra fought with Michael, a rolling mass of swinging arms and deadly fangs, Sav threw another of the swords to Joe, so he could help defend himself. The next time Michael went after Joe, he was met by a sword point. He paused for a second, giving Lyra enough time to get to her feet and tackle him again.

Joe wasn’t sure what he saw next. One second, there were two vampires grappling for control. Then Joe saw a blur shoot across the room. He turned back to Lyra and found Steve standing right behind her, ready to jump into the fight if Lyra needed his help. Michael didn’t see Steve as he pulled away from Lyra and jumped at Sav. But suddenly, there Steve was between them. Michael stopped and stared at the young vampire for a moment, surprised by his appearance there.

“Well, young one, she’s got you all tied up in her morality, doesn’t she? What could these mortals possibly mean to you?” Michael said mockingly.

“They’re my friends and always have been,” Steve said softly. “And you’ll die before I let you harm them.”

“I don’t think so. You’re nothing but a child, a little boy. You can’t stop me from taking them,” Michael growled. Before Steve could react, Michael flew at him and pinned him against the wall. Michael reached up into the weapons display and pulled down a dagger, then looked at Steve calmly. Then he asked, “Are these men really worth your life?”

“Yes! But it’ll be yours that ends!” Steve growled.

“I think not, young one,” Michael said quietly, then plunged the razor sharp dagger into Steve’s chest. Steve slid down the wall, unconscious and bleeding profusely from Michael’s blow. Just as Michael went to turn back to Joe, Sav swung his sword at him, leaving a deep gash across Michael’s back. Michael screamed in rage and pain and turned towards Sav, only to feel the bite of Joe’s sword burying in his back. Joe pulled the sword out and held it up at Michael, who dodged around it with vampire quickness and took hold of Joe.

Just then, Leesha and Lisel burst into the room. They watched in shock as Michael bit into Joe’s throat, pulling hard on his vein. Lyra tore across the room, fighting desperately to get him off Joe before it was too late.

Michael pulled back, letting Joe fall to the ground and hitting Lyra hard across the face. He turned back to Joe, to finish what he started. But his back was to Sav. Sav swung the sword with all his might, the metal tearing through the vampire’s neck and severing his head from his shoulder with one blow. The body fell to the ground, landing over Joe’s limp form. Lyra and Sav rushed to Joe’s side, pulling Michael’s remains off him. Lyra cradled Joe in her arms, listening carefully to his heartbeat before nodding her head slowly and looking at Sav.

“He’s so strong! He’ll be okay,” she whispered. Sav moved over behind Lyra, pulling her into her arms while she held on to Joe. Joe’s eyes fluttered open and Lyra brushed his hair back from his face, smiling down at him. He looked up at her with a wry smile and said, “Hmm, guess I missed all the action, huh?”

“I think you saw enough action, luv,” she said softly. Looking over to Steve, she could see Lisel and Leesha trying to help him. Phil had just stumbled into the room and Lyra looked at him, saying, “Phil, can you go get Steve a couple of those bottles from the kitchen. He’s been hurt pretty badly.”

“Okay,” Phil said, turning and running into the kitchen area. He returned a moment later and handed the bottles to Lisel, who starting pouring the liquid into Steve’s mouth carefully. As soon as the blood hit his tongue, his eyes opened and he drank deeply from the bottle. He leaned back against the wall and sighed, looking up to Phil with a smile. The girls helped him to stand up and led him back to the bedroom with Phil coming in right behind them.

Lyra lifted Joe carefully and carried him into her bedroom, setting him down on the bed gently. She pulled the blanket up over him and whispered, “Rest now, Joe. You’re a bit weak from Michael’s attack, as well as the blood you gave me earlier. You sleep now and we’ll be in the other room. We’ll return in a little while.”

Joe mumbled a “thank you” to Lyra, then turned over and was sleeping in seconds. She pulled Sav back into the living room where they could talk. As Sav crossed the threshold of the room, his nose wrinkled in distaste for the corpse and blood the room still contained. He walked over to Michael’s headless body, kicked it with his toe and said, “Now, what do we do about this mess?”

“Don’t worry, that’s easily taken care of. By the way, you did a marvelous job with that sword, luv!” Lyra said quietly.

Sav slumped down on the couch, realizing for the first time what he’d done. He’d actually killed a living, or at least breathing, person! He was suddenly in shock, until Lyra sat down next to him and said calmly, “Sav, he would have killed all of us if you hadn’t killed him. He’d already been trying to take you and Joe. If he would have gotten by me, then after the two of you were gone, he’d have killed Leesha and Lisel. Not to mention Steve and Phil. You just did what had to be done.” She kissed him gently and smiled up at him, reassuring him with everything she had. Slowly, Sav started to believe she was right. He took her hand and said, “Let’s get this cleaned up, okay, Lyra?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back,” she said, going into another room and bringing back a mop, a spray bottle and a plastic tarp. She bundled Michael’s remains into the tarp far too efficiently for Sav’s comfort and moved it to the rear entrance of the castle. Then she walked about the room, spraying every bloodstain with the solution from the bottle. She waited a few minutes, checking to make sure she’d gotten every bloody mark. Sav watched, amazed, as the blood turned pink, then clear.

“What the hell is that stuff?” he asked.

“One of the only good things the Third Reich ever came up with!” Lyra laughed. “They found an acid that actually dissolves blood, leaving it unrecognizable.”

“You were with the Nazis?” Sav asked, shocked at the thought.

“No, I was with the resistance in France, but we did pick up a few of the Nazis’ tricks,” she said with a sad smile.

“You must know more about the past nine hundred years than any school book,” Sav said appreciatively.

“Yeah, well, some day I’ll tell you my version of history, luv,” she sighed. “But for the moment, let’s finish with him.” She mopped up the liquid from the floor carefully, then headed out the back door with Michael’s body over her shoulder. Sav followed along behind her. They walked into the night and came upon a small, long building. She unlocked the door and hauled the corpse inside, then tossed the body down in front of what looked like an oven.

“Okay, what’s that?” he asked.

“Another of the Nazis’ creations. It’s a crematorium, from one of their death camps. There was no other way to get one of those without a license for a funeral home,” Lyra answered. “I bought it when they tore down the camp. At least the money from the auction went to a charity for the survivors.” With that, Lyra picked up the body and slid it into the chamber. She closed the door and suddenly Sav felt the heat coming from the compartment. Soon it was so hot in there that Sav had to step outside. Lyra followed him and took a step towards him, then looked down at herself. Her body and clothing were covered in Michael’s blood, so she turned and walked over to a waterfall in the stream running across the lawn. She stripped off her clothes and stepped into the water before Sav could say a word to her. He watched as she let the water flow over her as he stepped to the edge of the stream.

“Sorry, needed a bath,” Lyra said with a laugh.

“Um, what about a bath tub?” he asked.

“Nah, this is how we did it for years,” she said quickly. “Tubs were too inconvenient back then. Imagine hauling water from the stream clear to your house just for a quick wash.”

“Guess a stream does have it’s good points then,” Sav said quietly.

“My hus... Ronan and I used to come out here together a lot,” Lyra said softly. She laid down on the stones under the water, letting it flow over her as she stretched out. Sav sat down, watching her as the moonlight struck the water droplets on her body.

She felt like the water was flowing through her, washing away the horror of that night’s events. Closing her eyes, she thought about her husband, dead so many years ago and now reborn in the man standing so close to her. He wasn’t really the same person, only the same soul, which was a vital difference. And yet, she loved Sav as much as she’d ever loved Ronan. She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear the soft splash as Sav stripped off his clothes and entered the water. She just felt Sav’s gentle hands as they ran slowly up her back. She nearly purred as his hands massaged away the tension of her stress.

She rolled over, looking up at him in the moonlight. Leaning down over her, he kissed her gently, his tongue probing easily between her lips. She tangled her fingers through his damp curls, holding him close to her as his hand went to her breast and teased her nipple. The cool water was no match for the sudden heat generated by their bodies. Sav only felt Lyra in his arms at that moment.

As Lyra’s legs wrapped around Sav’s waist, he entered her smoothly. Her back arched up as her breath caught in her throat. She moaned, whispering his name softly, though he heard it over the sounds of the waterfall. He rolled over, moving Lyra on top of him and letting her take control. She ground against him, her hips moving in slow circles as he writhed beneath her. He could feel her body tensing, her orgasm building inside. As her body contracted on his, Sav pulled her down onto his chest, giving her access to his throat.

She bit him gently, lovingly. He felt the pull on his vein and rolled back over, taking over as his body demanded release. He thrust into her hard as she tasted his blood, their bodies sharing a bliss not often know to mortals. Within moments, Sav’s body gave in to the sensations and poured his seed out into her. As they held each other, the water washed over them, cleansing their bodies as their love for each other cleansed their souls.

Eventually, Sav pulled Lyra out off the stones and headed back into the house. They climbed into bed with Joe and Sav took Lyra in his arms, saying, “Why do I feel so much better now, Lyra?”

She snuggled into him, getting ready to sleep as she whispered, “Because, luv, the best way to rid your mind of the morbid thought of death is to celebrate life. Like we just did.” She ran a hand through his hair as she said quietly, “It’s time to sleep now, Sav. The sun is coming up! I love you.”

“I love you, too, Lyra,” Sav said softly.

“So do I,” they heard Joe mumble as he rolled over and threw his arm around her. “Now, I’m tired, so can we all be quiet so I can get some sleep?”