They had been so quick to decide. There was no room for reason or perhaps indecision. The incoherent thoughts that rattled around in their empty heads were screaming statements that were undeniably false from my point of view. It was unbelievable that not even Clem, placed as leader and stern words of compassion could tame my brothers and sister. The rage that was ignited within them was born from the flames of protection and worry concerning their kin. Scar's vision had leaded them down a path that should never be traveled unless you know the way through the dark abyss.

Everything around me became like a still shot out of a movie. It was like the molecules around us moved at a much slower ratio and transformed the transpiring scene into a clip of slow motion. Clem and I tried to stop them, but there was not even an ounce of leniency nor hesitation in their paces. Their eyes drew shadowy curtains beneath their pupils that had turned pitch black. They all had, but one target and that was the ancient one that stood behind me.

This was not good. The memories of Clem's tale concerning the age old wars and vampires flashed before my eyes. These vampires were royalties. They had seen things that we could not even imagine, and things that we knew nothing about. The things that were known were shrouded by uncertainty and darkness. As the memories flashed before me, I could remember one better than any other. Clem could not stress enough that if we were dealing with a being that was not supposed to exist anymore, then we would be confronted with an instinct that was millennia old. These instincts would be so foreign and unpredictable that vampires in the past most literally tip toed around these ancient ones.

In the millisecond it took me to remember Clem's words, Luna, Garnet, and Gnash dashed between us as nothing, but a strong breeze. As I turned to follow their heading, I could almost see tears of fear leaking from Clem's eyes. His face was horror striking as his children flew to what could be their doom. They weren't worried. One against three, and that was all they thought about.

How naive they were. How could they put numbers above strength. Especially Gnash? It was true. Numbers did help in battle, but many times they never won. I felt a shiver run through my entire being that shook my insides furiously like it was trying to warn me. I had no hope for them. I was certain that she was indeed an age old wise one that came from a world that we could never comprehend, and now my brothers and sister were about to stumble into it. While they'd stumble, they would fall into a pool of molten lava that would melt their bodies and incinerate them.

The two seconds it took for them to pass between us and my thoughts to become a spiraling mess of fear and panic, the slow motion like scene did not affect her.

There were, but a few meters between my siblings and the titan that came from a myth. I had caught a glimpse of her face just before Luna, Garnet, and Gnash blocked my view. Her eyes were closed and there was a dark smirk pulling up on her face. It was like she was waiting, like they weren't moving fast enough for her. Oh my God! What had I done? I led my family into this lionesses' hunting ground! The seconds passed us so slowly that every fraction of them seemed like hours to me. I had never felt my thoughts washing through me so fast.

This was it! Gnash, Luna, and Garnet were in reach. Garnet opened both of his big arms and went for the obvious newborn strategy. He was going to try to encircle her and literally squeeze the venom right out of her. Gnash jumped slightly and straightened his arm and was ready to elbow her. Luna pulled back her hand and prepared her claws to dig into her skin. They all spat ferocious growls at her.

When she opened her eyes, the dark smirk disappeared and evolved into a straight line of menace. While my brethren seemed to be moving in slow motion, her pace was perfectly normal. She lifted her arm and pulled it behind her until she slapped it back forward and...

It sounded like a loud thunder or a malevolent lightning bolt that had just struck the ground before us when she waved her hand from one side to the other. I even maneuvered my hands over my ears because the strike sounded so humongous. Suddenly, I saw my siblings flying right towards me. I quickly hopped out of the way and felt the pressure in the air when Luna flew by me and almost collided into me. It was the same for Garnet and Gnash. Clem had fallen to the ground purposely as he watched Garnet glide over and above him.

Then there was another cracking sound, but this one was no where near as loud as when she with, but one wave of her arm neutralized my siblings. Garnet with his back had crashed into a tree. On contact, Garnet released a howl of pain as I watched in horror as cracks appeared all over his face and what looked like a lighting bolt travel up the tree. The large crack reached the branches and leaves that shook violently and broke off the large branches causing them to fall to the ground. The leaves were rustling as their spines broke and began flying and sliding towards Garnet. He sank in the soft soil spot he now sat in and whimpered as his features turned into a mask of sheer pain.

Suddenly, I heard the noises of what sounded like a glass shattering explosion behind me. I turned around blindingly and just caught the glimpses of Luna smashing into a large boulder. Upon impact, the boulder cracked badly and released clouds of dust and small pebbles. Luna cried agonized as her facial features cracked. Her face almost resembled the partial face of Adam and the deep claw marks that ran across it. Luna fell over and hit the ground while low whimpers rolled over her lips as well.

"Gnash!" I heard Scar's pained scream and turned around quick enough to see Gnash crashing through a thick wooden branch.

The branch broke off and then spun like a propeller as it released mists of sawdust. However, it seemed that Gnash was waved off the hardest since his fall wasn't complete. After the branch snapped in half, he flew a bit further and dug into the ground when his back made contact. It looked like the dirt and bits of grass were trying to flee his sight as the force of the blow pushed him deeper. Much like Luna and Garnet's faces, Gnash cracked as well. But not only that, I could also hear other spots of his body break that seemed to have been damaged.

With, but one wave of her hand. They were defeated! They all laid motionless on the ground and exhaled whispers of pain as they whimpered. Even though they launched a frontal attack, she was able to fend them all off with one single blow. I couldn't believe that a vampire could have such a destructive force.

I turned away from my siblings and looked back at her. My face was shaking unbelievably. She had not moved one inch since they catapulted themselves towards her. The only thing different was one of her arms that was raised in the air. It was the source of unimaginable power she had used to dispose of three mature vampires with one single wave. Her eyes were closed again as the rest of her features showed a blank expression.

Suddenly, I felt my fingers trembling like never before. I brought them up to my face to see them shaking violently as if electricity had just strucked them. I balled my pale hands into fists, but couldn't get the shaking under control. My entire being had been literally scared asunder with the event I had just witnessed. I looked back up and returned my golden glance to her. From beneath the long and thin lashes that covered her eyes, she slowly showed her iris's again, and it was like they were glowing. The opening was nothing, but a slit yet I could see the glimmering and radiance that her eyes expelled. It was like some other force had taken over and had given her strength that should not be reckoned with. I could literally feel the power and indescribable might that now flowed from her and penetrated every part of me.

I couldn't get it into my head. Were the ancients truly this strong, or was there something else behind this eluding energy? I couldn't believe it! I wouldn't believe it even though I had just witnessed it myself! One. One single wave, but with a simple gesture, she had taken down three vampires. Not only that, but these vampires were mature and had fighting skills, especially Gnash. Garnet's strength was absolutely useless to him. It was something he had always prided himself in. He had always been stronger than regular vampires, but now, his strength completely failed him and he was whisked off like a small child.

"Raven. Raven? RAVEN!"

Clem's panicked voice brought me back to the realm of the living. It was like he had to fish me out of the sea of thought I was drowning in. I finally managed to turn my head to look at him, but only to see the face of a man who looked like he had just seen a ghost or even worse.

"You go check on Luna, now!"

Clem didn't wait for my response and rushed down to meet Garnet who was still lying on the ground, twitching.

Scar was just a bit further into the forest hovering over Gnash. It seemed that he had been the first to be incapacitated. Through Scar's eyes, I could see the largest and most dominant of his wounds. There was a deep and blue like bruise covering his right cheek where her hand must have hit him. He shared this trait with Luna and Garnet.

I quickly trailed to the destroyed rock to find Luna resting in the rubble. She was motionless and whimpering. I breathed heavily and nervously. I stretched out my arms and slowly and gently wrapped them around her to sit her up. She screeched when I moved her and immediately halted my action. Luna's body began to shake uncontrollably when louder cries began slipping over her tongue.

"I'm sorry, Luna. Just hang on." I tried to comfort her as best as I could.

Luna's injuries were severe as well. It seemed that it wasn't just her face, but also other parts of her body appeared to be broken or cracked. The strange thing though, is that her wounds had not yet begun to heal. The occasional wound a vampire would endure mostly through another vampire was usually gone within seconds. The healing attributes of the venom were remarkable and caused swift recoveries, but the wounds that she had inflicted on Luna didn't even seemed to be healing at all. Now being closer to her, I could distinguish more of the damage that was done. Much like Gnash, Luna had a rather sever crater of a crack on her right cheek that caused more cracks to spread like roots across the rest of her features.

"Luna?" Her eyes slowly opened at the sound of her name.

It looked like she even had difficulty with something as simple as opening her golden orbs which were black as the night. The deep purple bruises beneath them were even deeper than I had ever seen them. Basic knowledge of our kind told me that in order for her body to heal, she would need the assistance of her venom, of course, but she hadn't fed in days, and according to my ancient friend, the healing capacities of the venom depend on the amount of blood in our system. Could this be why her body showed no signs of regeneration? Would she have to feed first or would the venom heal her regardless, but at a much slower pace?

"I'm good, Clem."

Clem had run over to assist Garnet who tried to make it appear as if he was okay, but I doubted so very much, and my suspicion was proven correct rather quickly. Garnet got up from the ground while I could hear his teeth grinding together to keep the screams from echoing out of his mouth.

Clem's hands rested on Garnet's back and his stomach. He was trying to give him as much support as he could. As soon as Garnet stood on his own feet, his knees started to buckle and his face turned into a mask of sheer pain. His teeth unlocked and an excruciating cough erupted from his throat while small bits of venom flowed from his mouth. He couldn't hold his stand and crumbled back onto the ground and into the arms of a horribly worried Clem.

Gnash was even worse. His head rested in Scar's lap who was worried senseless. He didn't even dare to move, but just laid there and breathed in, and out very heavily. It sounded like he had difficulty breathing. Also, he coughed much like Garnet and small amounts of blood and venom flew out of his mouth which caused Scar even more distress. She patted his head and tried to whisper soothing words into his ear, but they couldn't link with Gnash. He didn't even heard Scar in this instant.

Po-ower.... such.... pow-er!

Gnash could tell his enemies strength with, but one dance, and in this case, he didn't even get a chance to touch them even once. It was disturbing to think that an experienced and skilled vampire like Gnash could have been taken care off so easily.

Raven. She isn't like the rest... of us... I have never heard nor experien-ced a vampire with a magnitude of strength... like hers.

Even Gnash's thoughts were completely distorted. It seemed like her blow hadn't just injured his physical being. Not like the rest of us? How many millennia does a vampire have to live in order to gain such tremendous strength? I don't even think that Acheron or any of his brothers and sister could be capable of this! I wondered what dark place in time she had come from. She had said that the Moriatus or the gargoyle had arrived from planes that were once covered in shadow so who's to say that she didn't come from there either? How old was she? Who was she?

"Tsk tsk tsk tsk."

I looked up to see where the strange noises were coming from and saw her slowly taking one step after another towards us. Her head was low and directed at the ground while she shook it and grasped her hips.

"Clemente... Clemente... Clemente."

She slowly raised her eyes and I had expected them to be still glowing with that mysterious crimson aura, but they had gone back to normal, and were those dark red rubies again. She shook her head with a taunting and disgusted smirk covering her lips and stared at Clem.

"Clemente. To have bred such disrespectful and ungrateful children."

I looked at Clem. He held Garnet close in his arms and stared right back at her.

I could see the anger glistening in his amber iris's like it wanted to flow from his eyes like tears. There was rage within Clem. I had never seen him truly angry before, but there was something about her that caused fountains of supreme rage to spring from him. Clem shook his head and copied her disgusted smirk and returned to observe Garnet and draw circles over his wounds as if wanting to urge his body to start the healing process.

"Monster," a low whisper escaped over his lips as he continued to caress Garnet's wounds.

"You belligerent fool. How dare you make such a naive sentiment?"

She immediately countered Clem's imposition.

"You would not call this monstrous? What you have done to them?"

"I merely took precaution in order to shield myself from the attack of your weak and impudent offsprings."

"If you had not graced our lands and taken steps to assure an attack, then perhaps all of this could have been avoided." Clem's words became more and more angry.

"And what steps might have taken that would lead to such an atrocity?"

"There were many things you have done to ensure our mistrust in you. You have been wandering on our hunting grounds and more to that, you attacked my son. You must be intelligent enough to see that such acts would ignite the fires of doubt within us."

"I only took what I needed. Your pathetic and absolutely meaningless assessments deserved no justice. You knew nothing of the evil that now inhabited the grounds on which you hunt your rodents."

Her entire face drew a shadow of disgust as she said her last word: rodents. When she spoke of the evil, she meant the Moriatus. Clem didn't know about that just yet. He noticed her reaction as well.

"I am sorry that you seemed to be repulsed at our way of life, but we chose to live peacefully with humans and not make them our dinner. I understand that you must come from a place where such a life was practically nonexistent, but here, in the western hemisphere, it was unheard off. We aren't the only ones that chose such a lifestyle." Clem was referring to our cousins who also distained from drinking the blood of humans and took the alternate route to absorbing the essence of other animals instead.

Suddenly, a dark chuckle began sounding from the ancient one as she clasped her hands together and laughed towards the sky. It seemed as if it was with me it is with Clem as well. All we ever said either upset or amused her.

"Such youth. Such modernism. Such gullibility."

Clem and I exchanged a nervous and disturbed glance between one another. Unlike my brothers and sister, Clem planned on taking this conversation as slow as he possibly could while watching and thinking over every single word he spoke before he'd even say it. Like I, he was convinced that she was in fact a very, very, very old soul.

"Whatever made you believe I was disgusted by your diet?"

Not our diet? She was still looking at Clem and laughed even more. Apparently, there was something more going on here than just the primary discussion over blood. There was something else that caused antipathy for her. Her laughs slowed and nearly died away while a weak smile remained on her face. She shook her head as I saw her eyes traveling over Clem's form.

"You are by far one of the most arrogant and unsophisticated vampire I have ever met, Clemente."

Clem's eyes grew wide and appalled at her dark words. Just as her dark words slipped over her tongue, her eyes grew darker as well. She began to move again and advanced towards Clem very slowly. The way she walked couldn't even be described as walking, but rather as levitating.

"You dared call me a monster when it was you that protected the true monsters of this world. The ones that fed of greed, lust, and power. You would dare protect those that are warmongering."

"Excuse me?" Clem's confusion was as good as mine.

"Of course I spoke of those that carry the true darkness in the depths of their hearts. Humanity!"

Was she wrong? No. There was a liable truth in the words she spoke, but it would never change Clem's view of the world. Clem kept a firm face and could not show weakness, not now.

"See what your dogmatic and insolent ways have already done?" She lifted her hands and waved them into my and Luna's direction as well as Scar and Gnash.

"You have created children that were weak and decadent. They still cowered beneath the belief of their own existence and consumed the philosophy that you have taught them."

What? Clem remained motionless and continued to stare at her sternly.

"You failed to see the fact that you are not human and the moronic philosophy of humanity will not do well in our realm. By teaching them the new ways, you jeopardized their very existence. Others of our kind will not see your ways lightly."

"Was is so wrong to want to maintain and preserve life?" Clem had finally had enough and could no longer hold his tongue.

"You are a vampire. You do not preserve life, unless of course, lesser animals to you are not life forms."

Clem exhaled sharply.

"I could not bear the thought of taking a human life. The guilt and sorrow that could follow would tear me up inside."

This had been Clem's true philosophy for centuries.

"So, instead of taking the life of evil creatures that threatened the destruction of our beloved Gaia, you would murder those that only take what they need?"

"I agreed that humans have much to prove and much to learn..." Clem was interrupted.

"It was you that has much to learn, young one! You dare strut about your life, ignoring the very fabric that shaped and formed your existence while entertaining the fools hope that you may gain access to the light. You are a vampire! As I have already divulged to your son, one day, you will have no choice, but to become what you became. There comes a time in all of our lives when the need and the urge for blood was more powerful than your impudent mind could ever imagine! You must face the very fact that you are a killer! It matters not if you take the lives of elk, deer, lions, or any other earthbound creatures. By taking their life force, you are draining this earth of the creatures it has created and proving the very foundation of our existence. Your arrogance lies not in the diet you chose, nor does it truly glorify your way of life, but your subconscious beliefs that the animals on which you fed are of lesser quality than humans is what really thrives my desire to shred you asunder!"

Clem was quite as was his mind. Scar, while being at first very watchful over Gnash had focused all of her attention to this very scene, as had I. Her anger came from somewhere deep inside of her. It was Clem's way of living side by side with humans and coexisting peacefully with the tyrants that would one day undoubtedly destroy our home that caused this rage. But Clem never thought that other animals are less important than humans.

"Your way of life had existed for countless eons, Clemente. You are not the first to walk this path. Once, a very long time ago, I walked the road that you now inhabit. But I saw the errors of my way."

What? So she wasn't that different from us. If I heard right and I'm presuming that I did, then she once fed on animals much like we do now. But why did she stop? Why would she choose to witness the horror and the screams that followed from taking the sustenance she needed from humans?

"By drinking the blood of cattle, I gave humanity free reign. I took the blood of the most innocent creatures upon this earth. The creatures that care not for inanimate possession or money are not the ones that deserved this fate. Pure beings that cared for nothing but love, family, and the joy of everyday life should not be our targets. It was humanity that is our food source. It is true that some are very compassionate and cared for the forests, oceans, animals, and the nature of our world, but in the grand design of things, I would much rather devour an evil human than a lioness that does nothing, but cared for her cubs."

The atmosphere in the clearing became silent and not even the whimpers of Luna, Gnash and Garnet could be heard anymore. Was she right? All the years Clem spent devoting his life to preserve mankind. Was it all in vain? Were humans really that evil? It seemed like a dumb question. There are many that were nice and graceful, but in the end? Would they care for their home? Would they give their energy to preserve these lands and the woods, the rivers, everything? Her words were so extreme that it had even Clem questioning his over eight hundred year old life. I knew that no matter what anybody would say, Clem would never take the life of a human, but his mind was chaotic and filled with endless doubt. There were so many images flashing before his eyes of all the darkness he had observed over the past centuries that were spread by mankind. He had to remember the shivers he had experienced with the wickedness that was released by humans over the years.

I heard a rustling noise that woke me from my thoughts and found its origin in her pocket. She had reached one hand down in her pants pocket and pulled out a small brown squared piece of paper. The paper was trapped between her index and middle finger. I wondered what this would be about. She flicked her hand and the paper exploded into its full length. It was a whole page. She held it up and showed it to us. It's content was strangely familiar.

Some of the oldest mentioned names. These were legends that are as absurd as some human myths regarding to fairies and other such nonsense.

Celest.

Apotamkin.

Mythos.

Astrid.

Thanatos.

Apollyon.

Persephone.

Requiem.

Lilith.

It's a page out of my book! How did she obtained it? Through Raven's memories she might have found out about its existence, though. She was in our house? When? How?

Clem's thoughts were accurate. It was the missing page out of the book that he did yet not know about. Why did I even think it was Clem who had taken it out? Suddenly, the memory of that strange and obscured smell of burned fire entered my thoughts. Once more, it was as if my subconscious mind was trying to relay a message to me. She had snipped her fingers and fire appeared out of nowhere. Fire! It was the only element that could dispose of our scents instantaneously. She had taken it, but why? The only reasonable explanation was that, there might be some truth to those names. Could those vampires have once existed or better yet, still exist?

She took another step towards Clem and was not within reach. She looked down upon him with an infuriated expression. She held the parchment tightly between her fingers and began to speak again.

"If you ever recreate this page in any form or any way, I will become your merciful liberator. Some things are not meant to be known!" And with that, the page from the vampire index caught fire. Clem sighed noticeably as he watched a priceless piece of knowledge fade away to dust. The fire burned between her fingers, but she didn't even flinch. It was like the fire was her consort. Her arm dropped back down to her side as the ashes from the page snowed down unto the ground. She gave Clem one last crooked grin before turning away and walking to the opposite side of clearing, and towards the shadows of the forest.

Once more, there were more questions than answers. A name, a kingdom for a name. The phrase played itself over and over in my thoughts as I held my broken sister in my arms. Surprisingly though, I noticed that her wounds looked much better than before. It looked like her injuries were on the mend. Thank goodness I couldn't bear...

Raven!

My head shot up at the sound of a new voice entering my thoughts. This was not a voice familiar to my mind yet still familiar. The direction the voice had come from was the one in which she was walking in. It couldn't be. I could never hear her thoughts before. So Why?

Raven! Do not tell them of the events that you witnessed and information that you gained tonight. It might put them in further risk. If you care for them, you will honor my wish and divulge nothing. Leave it to me!

It was her. She was speaking to me or she had opened her mind although I saw no images. How did she do that? She was almost at the edge of the forest when she came to a stop and turned her head over her shoulder to look at me, again. There was a small smile nuzzling its way into her cheeks now.

By the way. Call me Belle. She smiled and turned away again to enter the forest.

"Beyond the stars horizons wait...

Reached out their hands, all nine did...

The weeps of willows are our tears...

Forever shall we live...
never will we...

...fade."