The climate had calmed itself considerably for now, but I felt like that it would stay over the mountains, and the entire town for a while longer. The gloomy and grayish atmosphere had grown darker since the night was upon us.

For minutes, we stood side by side glancing into the direction the nameless vampire had disappeared to. It was a strange encounter. It was strange due to the fact that vampires usually didn't meddle into the affairs of others. Everyone minded their own business and remained silent and distant from these sorts of showdowns when two covens collided over territorial disputes; everyone except her that was,
and the ones from the Warhammer Empire.

'For the time being, keep away from the mountain range.'

That strange and deluded thought hung over everyone's thoughts. Why was there need to stay away from them? Why would she even warn us? There was nothing that could match the deadly strength and speed of a vampire except for another vampire. Unless it was a warning regarding to her, and that she made the mountains her temporary hunting grounds. That thought didn't satisfy my curiosity however.

'I was not referring to those imbeciles.'

She claimed that it was not the nomads that she had saved us form, although we would not have needed saving from them anyway. If not from them then what? Her appearance and cryptic comments left much aggravation behind in its path.
I would be thinking about this for the entirety of the coming week.

"We should go." It seemed that Clem had enough distress for one day and wanted to reschedule our baseball game before any other visitors would show up.

"Ah come on. Can't we play a little while longer?" Garnet was happy with this assessment. It had been a while since we had a good enough storm as this one that would allow us to play.

"No. We'll wait till next time, Garnet. I want us to leave before anything else crosses through here." Clem's words were final, and Garnet wouldn't dare and try to budge him on it. Clem reason for wanting to leave was only half true though. He actually took her warning seriously.

We collected all our bats, gloves, and other equipment and made our way back down the mountain. On the run, I noticed Scar's frustration for the very first time. Out of all the predicted outcomes she had seen, none of them had come to pass in the way she intended. The only thing that stayed true was that the confrontation fortunately did turn out peaceful. However, still not in the manner that she had foreseen. What plagued her the most were the abnormal fluctuations in her visions that limited her sight. We had never encountered anything that could stir such violent distortions, least of all a vampire.

We reached the mansion only after a few minutes run and secured ourselves in the interior. Scar was the first to immediately speak.

"I didn't even see her coming." Everyone turned around to face her. The element of surprise in the statement itself affected everyone besides me. I was already aware of the failure in her visions.

"At all?" It shocked Gnash the most. Scar's occasionally missed few and minor events, but she always remained in the light and shed the shadows of mystery if there ever were any. He wasn't used to her being the one in the dark.

"I saw them coming as you all know, but I didn't see the events that followed, not like that anyway. I only saw glimpses of her, but then only because she was so close, I think. She wasn't entirely out of my sight, but still remained anonymous for the most part. It's infuriating, really. I always thought that vampires are the ones I saw the best since I am one, but apparently I was wrong." Clem approached Scar with a sympathetic look and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"The future confounds us all, and nothing can ever be certain. Your talent is not an exact science, Scarlet. It's difficult enough to believe that a vampire with your extraordinary gifts even exists. We are safe and that is all that matters so don't take the blame for anything." Clem's words comforted Scar and she hesitantly nodded agreeing with him.

"What was Ms. High and mighty thinking about anyways, Raven?" I sighed. Luna would have to be the one to ask. It was time I admitted to my own failure.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Garnet sounded skeptical.

"I mean, I don't know because there was nothing to hear." The surprise that had dwindled after Scar's confession returned with my own acknowledgement.

"You couldn't hear her thoughts at all? Nothing?" Chalice was just as surprised as the others. We had never come across a vampire that was immune to my talents, especially one that knew that I was trying to do something. It was almost like she could detect or even feel my telepathic ability trying to pierce her thoughts.

'You're unsuccessful attempts will not go rewarded sweetling'

Chalice was the one to first remember her earlier words.

"She knew you were trying to do something, didn't she? The question is whether or not she knew exactly what you were doing or simply guessing." It was a disappointing disaster to have been left with so many unanswered questions.

"I remember now too. I thought it was a little awkward the way she looked at you." I ignored Garnet and looked directly at Clem. Perhaps he had answers although his mind was elsewhere.

"It's over and done with now. We all should get back to our regular routines. Although, all of you do me a favor and stay away from the mountains." Clem's expression was one of worry.

"But why? You don't take her warning seriously, do you?" Gnash seemed to be completely against her in any way possible. He held a grudge for her comical stance on his account, but it wasn't just that. He didn't trust vampires outside of our circle except a selected few.

Clem didn't answer Gnash. There was something about her that had stuck to him. He was unsure of what it was just yet, but her warning seemed real to him. As if there was truly something threatening out there that could put us in harm's way. Clem smiled at us and left to go up the stairs leaving us behind dumbfounded.

Of course, since Clem was worried so was Chalice, though she deemed that it would be best to leave Clem to his thoughts, and proceeded towards the kitchen. There was a banquet at the hospital coming up and she planned on baking cinnamon rolls for the festivities.

"I really don't see why we have to go along with what some arrogant and insolent nomad said. She probably just told us to stay away from the mountains so she can kill as many humans as she can in the time given. Its ridiculous." Luna was beginning to try my patience.

"For once Luna, why not keep your self-centered and callous statements to yourself and look in the mirror if you want to see some real insolence. I'm so sick of your unnecessary remarks and insults." As my sentences progressed, Luna's eyes grew wider and wider in size. I felt like a huge rock had been taken of my shoulders that had grown over the past centuries with tremendous velocity after hearing one unjustified comment after the other from her. I didn't give her the chance to respond and proceeded up the stairs to my room.

As I ran up the stairs, I heard Luna's mental curses and Garnet's growing mental distress. He would have to listen to it all tonight, but I didn't feel sorry for him. After all the times he joked on my expense, I guess now was the time to give him something to grief over. I got to my room and shut the door behind me. I hung my barely used jersey back in my closet and put on a light blue shirt and switched my jeans with dark dress pants.

When I completed dressing myself, I found that I was frozen where I was and thinking about the events prior to this evening yet again. I simply couldn't get it out of my head. My mind composed more and more questions while at the same time it thirsted for the answers that were well hidden in the darkness.

Who was she? What was her name? Where had she come from? Why did she interfere in our affairs? What did she warn us from? Why couldn't I hear her thoughts?

These were only few leaves that hung on a tree of questions with hundreds more. The most prominent question however was, why did I even care? I never used to care about who we'd meet. I would simply stand there like a statue, observe their thoughts and ensure our safety and patrol for any hidden back thoughts that might put as at risk.

She said to stay away from the mountains, but why? She left so much chaos and uncertainty in her path. I wish I'd know her name then perhaps we...

My lips curved into a victorious smile. There actually might be a way for me to discover her identity without even having her giving me the information I inquire. Why didn't I think of it before? I hastily stepped out of my room and made my way down to the mid level of our house, and to Clem's study. I heard his thoughts and wasn't surprised to find out that he was already way ahead of me. I stopped in front of the door and waited, but a second for him to invite me in.

"Please come in, Raven." At the sound of his voice, I opened the door to find Clem positioned behind his large wooden desk and looking over a well sized leather bound book. He looked at me pleasantly like he always did.

"What can I do for you, son?" I tried to hide my smile when I realized the irony of his question; he was already doing it.

I cocked my head forward and pointed it at the book in front of him. Clem laughed without any surprise in the edges of his clear voice.

"Great minds think alike, my son."

In front of Clem sat a book that held immense and quite possibly, dangerous power if it were to ever fall in the wrong hands. It was large and was bound in smooth brown leather bindings. The title of the book was simple: Vampiro.

The book is an index that was created by Acheron himself. According to Clem, Acheron, Duncan, Draven and Vega began the construction of the index in the early 1300th. Acheron had the idea to basically catalog all known vampires alive and deceased. He included their whereabouts, their names, talents, and any other additional information that he could make himself aware about. It also contained ancient vampire history like the vampire wars of Kemet, or ancient Greece, and Midgard as Europe was known back then.

I had never really acknowledged the book since I could care less about our species. It might sound somewhat traitorous, but I loathed what I was, and where my parasitic ancestors came from although that part of our history was completely forgotten.

"I thought that perhaps our special guest made an entry in Acheron's catalog." Clem shook his head at the sound of his last word. As far as we knew there were only two copies. One of them resides in the Empire, the original, and one was with Clem. It was a gift from Acheron and therefore it was cherished and well taken care of by Clem.

"Did you find anything?" I didn't know how long Clem had been looking, but it seemed that he had just flipped it open. I had always wondered how Acheron could have gathered information on the plethora of vampires that wander our world, but his talent was beneficial in gathering the knowledge that he sought.

"I actually just began looking through it. I have studied it before and know most of the faces painted in the pages, but I had hoped to have missed something that described our visitor since I couldn't recognize her. I did however find a small notice about Adam. Listen...

Adam - Born in the late 16th century in New Orleans. No noteworthy history regards this vampire. No talent to speak of. Last known location: The new world.

So, apparently, she knew what she was talking about when she mentioned that Adam was Creole. Blake, Zaphara and Caleb are mentioned as well. They, like Adam didn't get the privilege of a picture however.

Blake - Born in the mid 17th century in Mississippi. A tracker by nature and talent with lethal properties. Mated with a female known as Zaphara. Last known location:
The new world.

Zaphara - Born in the early 19th century in Wisconsin. Talent consists of the unique ability to identify escape routes. Mates with a male known as Blake. Last known location: The new world.

Caleb - born in the early 18th century in Italy. Like Adam, No noteworthy history regards this vampire. Possesed a speed faster than a normal vampire. Last known location: The new world.

According to Acheron's letter, he updated this index last seventy years ago."

A messenger arrived at our doorstep about fifteen years ago after searching the United States for us. Acheron knew that Clem eventually journeyed to America, but was unaware of his precise location. The messenger's name was Dakota who searched for only a month. He was able to locate Clem through the American database of known doctors and got lucky when he found someone by the name of
Clemente wolff. He didn't say much at all, but that the book was a kind gift from Acheron which he wanted Clem to have.

I observed the light brown pages as Clem turned them and marveled at the detailed, and hand drawn pictures of all the vampires. Clem estimated that according to the book, there were little over four hundred vampires in the world. Our numbers kept low in order to preserve our need for secrecy.

I walked around the table to view the pages better from behind Clem's shoulder. He continued to flip them until I noticed that the current page was dedicated to him. There was a beautiful representation of Clem drawn with what seemed to be simple water colors, and there was text also.

Clemente - A vampire born in the early 1200th century and a previous member of the Warhammer Empire. Prides himself with the exceptional skill to distain from drinking human blood and only consume that of mere animals. Such a diet creates a golden hue in his eyes and that of his coven. There are currently six other member in his covenant which reside in the new world.

"Prides himself?" I chuckled and shook my head realizing that it must have been Acheron and not his brothers and sister that wrote this passage. Clem just laughed.

"It's true that I am proud of what I am and what my family has become, but I wouldn't have used the terminology in such a way."

I disregarded Acheron's description of Clem and molded all my focus back into identifying our recent guest. There were many pages with some vampires that I knew were Clem's friends like Greyfriar's coven in Finland or Aaron's coven in Egypt. Most vampires in the book were nomads though and traveled mostly alone or in pairs as many of our kind do.

"Do you even think she made an entry? It's possible that she might be a younger vampire and Acheron hasn't discovered her yet." I tried to examine every single possibility. I fervently hoped that she had an entry in the index and that we could lift some heavy mists surrounding her secrets. Clem face I noticed was hard and expressionless.

I doubt it, Raven.

This came as a surprise to me. Did Clem know something I didn't? His mind replayed the events of earlier today over and over in his head.

The atmosphere before she arrived in the clearing was tense. They threatened us with exposure and taking human blood while we warned them that we wouldn't see too kindly to this. Then she arrived and brought with her a very ludicrous and somewhat comical aura. This distracted us for a while and lead away from the subject that was at hand, and calmed the tension between our two covens. Then she insulted our visitors to bring their attention to her. Although I'm sure she only did this to test them and to see how they would handle their new problem. It was then when her demeanor completely changed. She reevaluated the situation and took control. Then she used rather profound knowledge of the political system of our kind and ruled the situation; much like a judge. That wasn't the work of newborn.

Clem was amazing. I would have never looked at it from such a perspective, but now, thinking back on it, he was completely right. The poise and the strength of her tone which she used demanded respect and she looked as if she knew what she was doing or had done so before. Perhaps she was as old as we were or even as old as Clem.

Clem and I spent the next two hours flipping frustratingly through the ancient pages of the book that held all the secrets of our kind. In these two hours, I must have seen the fair countenance of almost every vampire in existence including those that had been destroyed in the past. Clem and I were obsessed with finding a picture or even a small reference to her, but as we neared the final pages of the book, our hopes that were small candles of determined flaring fire within us began to grow extinguished. The final picture and paragraph in the book referred to the Amazonian vampire Zafrina.

Clem sat back in his chair sighing defeated and gripped the bridge between his nose and forehead with his thumb and index finger. I turned around to sit on his desk and shook my head disappointed.

"Unbelievable. Not even a picture or even a small reference or description that comes even remotely close to what we're looking for. Acheron has collected so much data over the past centuries. He assembled the memories of countless vampires and in turn gained the memories of others that they had met and not one has seen our guest even once? This is maddening."

"Clemente..." I watched Clem as he spoke and saw that there were a few remaining pages after the last entry that he hadn't paid any mind to.

"What about those last few pages? There could be chance she is listed there." Clem smiled but shook his head even more defeated that before.

"I doubt that very much, Raven, unfortunately." Clem turned the page to reveal about four more pages that seemed to have nothing but text. I didn't understand his surrender however, couldn't there be a possibility that she is mentioned here?

"Well, why couldn't she be mentioned here?" I pointed at the pages, but regretted asking when I began to read the texts.

"These last few pages dealt with vampire Myths that have never been proven to exist. Their names have been heard perhaps once throughout the many eons, but no hard evidence existed that could prove their status. Acheron must have thought that it was worth mentioning since much like humanity, vampires have Myths of their own."

He was right. There were no neatly drawn images that could hint any form of recognition to our guest. There were just lines of some of the most ancient Myths of our world. It even dealt with werewolves and told about the ancient werewolf elder, Fenrir.

I flipped to the very last page of the book and found only a small paragraph and nine listed names with no further information.

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

Celeste

Apotampkin

Astrid

Mythos

Thanatos

Apollyon

Persephone

Requiem

Lilith

"Why even mention them if they're pure myth?" I snorted when I read the paragraph and the need to list names of mythological vampires. Clem held a sympathetic look as he always did.

"I'm sure that Acheron wished to include all of our history. Even whispers of vampires whose existence was not yet justified by discovery. In the past, however, some of these whispers have been proven to be very true. For example, the werewolf elder, Fenrir, was a legend until Duncan and Draven encountered him over a thousand years ago in Europe. They almost lost the fight too. Fortunately for them, the guards arrived and was able to chase Fenrir away before he could conflict any damage."

I recognized the importance of the mention, but unfortunately for it, it was tainted by my annoyance that our contingence plan for discovering the identity of her ended in failure. I got off Clem's desk and made way to the exit. I glanced at all of Clem's shelves filled with countless books and many even dealing with the various human based vampire legends of the world. They didn't know that some of those came closer to the truth than they knew.

"Do you really think we should heed her warning?" I was still conflicting with whether or not to give her warning any serious distress at all. Clem nodded once.

"Yes. I don't think her statement was meant to be intimidating or false. I think she was serious and I believed that for the time being, we should take it seriously."

I nodded to myself and left Clem in his office and closed the door behind me disappointed. I knew that all of this would bother and would lay heavy on my thoughts for the next couple of days. This was exactly why I didn't read mystery novels unless they were complete. I didn't appreciate being kept in the dark.

I closed my door behind me and walked over to my walk in glass door that overlooked the grandiose forest. I leaned on the side of the wall and crossed my arms over my chest. The storm had returned with monumental winds and raindrops. The entire town was being bombarded with heavy rain and wild winds. Lighting struck in the distance and for short times illuminated even the blackest parts of the forest.

Stay away from the mountains...

What could possibly be out there that could threaten us?