At the edge of a small village, in the early hours of morning, a strange sight took place.

A young girl stood in a courtyard white with frost. She was swaddled in thick layers of fabric, her face half-hidden behind a lumpy scarf. Only her eyes were visible, and they glared most fearsomely at the two men standing at attention in front of her.

Gabriel Todd shifted in place. The contrite expression he wore was skin-deep and in increasing danger of slipping entirely with every moment that passed.

"We really are very sorry," he tried. The words were worn from repeating, and didn't hold much meaning.

There was no noticeable change in the girl's expression or posture. The wind whistled in the silence, as if hissing in mocking laughter.

"The walls can surely be fixed. Only the table is beyond repair, and it will hardly take long to fashion a new one," Gabriel coaxed.

Sofia's eyes narrowed further. She raised her hand and pointed at something behind the two men. Gabriel followed her line of sight to a large, old barn at the edge of the property.

"You are not serious," he said.

The girl strode away without another glance at the bewildered demon. The door to the Korral household slammed shut behind her, the lock turning with finality.

Iavor laughed quietly. Gabriel spared a glare for his companion, then glanced at a sky rapidly turning dark with rain. "I hope you find the situation as amusing when we are forced to share quarters with wet rats," he said.

Iavor only smiled. Gabriel did not bother with the man, hurrying to the relative shelter of the barn as the first splash of rain hit his cheek. The vampire followed at a more sedate pace.

They made it inside just before the skies truly opened. Sheets of frozen rain fell like broken glass to the sound of distant thunder, the flashes of pale light painting strange visions in the clouds.

"An unpleasant morning," Iavor said.

Gabriel hummed in agreement. There were no windows, but the barn's doors were open. The world beyond was smudged beyond recognition.

"How is your body?" Iavor asked.

The question was awkward, as most of Iavor's attempts at care tended to be. Gabriel smiled faintly.

"Well enough," he replied.

Iavor watched him with a slight frown. It was unusual for Gabriel to speak so plainly, or abstain from making light of Iavor when given half the chance. Gabriel pretended not to notice his friend's concern. He was wound so tight his very skin sat wrong.

It had been days since Gabriel last felt Dimitri's pain.

Iavor turned his eyes to the storm raging outside. "Something is wrong with this place," he said idly.

"There was a Guardian in residence not too long ago," Gabriel told him.

The Kingdom of Samodevia was a strange land. Its birth was unknown, appearing above Hel like a summer cloud. Hel's Royal Records only spoke of a time before Samodevia, and a time after. There was nothing in between.

Whatever the Kingdom's origin, there was no question that its lands held power and gave life to powerful things. However, Samodevia's magic did not exist in natural balance. It flowed through the land like thread through a loom, and would at times grow tangled. Disasters would inevitably follow.

Guardians settled roots in places prone to such misfortune. That Elsendorf ranked among them would surprise anyone who had visited the quiet village prior to Mrs. Hendricks' death, and no one who happened upon it at present.

"We were briefly acquainted. A lovely woman by the name of Mrs. Hendricks," Iavor agreed.

Gabriel snorted. Lovely would not be his adjective of choice in describing Elsendorf's late Guardian, but the old woman had certainly been of a memorable character.

"Was her death truly the work of the Amith Capil?" Iavor asked.

The man knew of Elsendorf's happenings, in as much detail as Gabriel could provide. This point, however, remained unclear.

"I cannot be certain, but it appears likely," Gabriel said.

Iavor did not press further. Gabriel hugged his arms, the chill in the air biting through his clothes. He stared into the rain without truly seeing.

There was indeed something not quite right with Elsendorf. The village's residents meandered through their days like cows at pasture, slow and docile and utterly unconcerned with their surroundings. Every shadow on the ground seemed to watch the world with scheming eyes.

A coat fell over Gabriel's shoulders.

The demon looked up, startled. Iavor raised his brows.

"I am perfectly well," Gabriel insisted.

"You are shivering," Iavor noted.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. He shamelessly shrugged on the coat, daring the man to say anything else.

"We may see battle soon," Iavor told him. "I need to know your limits."

It was a fair question. Gabriel did not much care for fairness, tempted to be difficult just to irk Iavor into losing that seemingly inexhaustible patience of his.

"I am conserving my strength," the demon answered begrudgingly.

Breaking through the seal that kept Hel and Samodevia apart was no small matter. The journey had consumed a great deal of Gabriel's power. The demon guarded what remained, unwilling to waste even a spark of energy.

Iavor watched him with a strange look in his eyes.

"What?" Gabriel snapped at last.

"You make a surprisingly dutiful husband," Iavor replied.

Something struck the barn hard enough to make the walls shake. Gabriel glanced upward, distracted from a sharp-tongued reply. The roof above his head split apart and a dark mass plummeted toward the ground.

An arm wrapped around Gabriel's waist. The demon found himself bodily transported a safe distance away, his back pressed close to Iavor's chest.

"I would have moved on my own," he hissed, struggling free of the man's hold.

"Before, or after you cushioned Horus' fall with your skull?" Iavor asked.

Gabriel ignored the man. Horus had risen, the hawk's body swaying unevenly as he took his bearings. His wings spread to help him balance.

"You found them," Iavor said.

Horus shook his head. "Valeri," he said. Human speech was always slower to return to the man than all else.

"Did he send word back?" Iavor asked, but Horus was still speaking, his account not at an end.

"The Amith Capil. They found him."

The uneven words fell amid the clatter of rain, just as harsh. Gabriel darted a glance at Iavor, but could read nothing from the man's expression.

"Valeri is alone?" he asked.

"No. There is a man with him. Small stature, curly hair. Sword in his chest," Horus said.

Gabriel crossed the distance between them. Horus' warning glare was lost on the demon, but he did manage to keep from physically shaking the overgrown bird for answers and therefore spared himself a severed finger or two.

"Where are they?" Gabriel demanded.

"Sinith," Horus said. "Gondin manor."

Gabriel turned to Iavor, gaze expectant.

"What of Ira?" Iavor asked.

"I do not know," Horus said.

Iavor's expression darkened.

"There is no time for that now," Gabriel hissed at the man. "We have to go. We should already be gone, if they are to have a chance against the Queen's dogs at all."

Iavor did not respond. Gabriel called the man a fool and prepared to make his own way to Sinith, blood surging with magic under his skin.

"Wait!"

A small figure dashed into the barn. Horus drew back, wings rising over his head in instinctual alarm. Malik may be a half-grown wolf, but he was a wolf nonetheless. It was in Horus' nature to be wary against his kind.

Gabriel would have found the sight greatly amusing at any other time. At present, all he could manage was a growl of impatience.

"Here," the cub said, and thrust something bundled in cloth Gabriel's way.

Gabriel accepted the object. He unwrapped it with impatient fingers, only to pause at the first flash of bone.

"Where did you get this?" the demon demanded.

The cub shook wet hair from his face. "That man left it behind."

The demon blade Dimitri had once wielded burned in Gabriel's hands. It had drunk his blood once, Gabriel recalled. His fingers curled over the hilt, white with tension.

"Why give it to me?" Gabriel asked.

The boy watched him without responding. Gabriel was too familiar with the cub's reticence on matters related to visions of the future to mind too much.

Iavor came to stand at Gabriel's side. He studied what he could see of the demon blade closely.

"It is carved from bone," the vampire noted.

Gabriel hummed in agreement, distracted by his own thoughts. He did not like the implications of this particular blade being a necessary part of their journey to Sinith.

"Not yours, I hope," Iavor prodded.

Gabriel glared at the man. He wrapped the blade anew and tucked it away beneath his shirt, close to his skin.

"You go first. We will meet later," Malik said.

Gabriel lifted his eyes. Victor Fair stood at the entrance of the barn, Sofia at his side. The rain was still falling outside yet not a drop touched the pair.

So it had begun.

"You mean to join us in Sinith?" Gabriel asked.

Malik shook his head.

Gabriel did not press. It was good enough to know that they were to meet at a future point in time – this implied at least part of their party would survive the oncoming confrontation.

"Can you carry us both?" Iavor asked.

Gabriel cut the man a glare.

"To Sinith," Iavor explained.

The demon extended his hand in answer. Iavor took it readily.

"Horus, find Zenith," the vampire instructed. To Sofia, he said, "Thank you for your hospitality."

The last thing Gabriel saw before Elsendorf disappeared was the girl's small face, scrunched in displeasure.

The distance between Elsendorf and Sinith was not small. Gabriel could not make the journey in one leap; even with short breaks, the burden of transporting both himself and Iavor to the doorsteps of Gondin Manor left him nearly hollow.

"This is it," Iavor said in his ear.

Gabriel blinked black spots from his vision. His intestines were trying their best to crawl out of his throat. He swallowed back bile, and tried to focus on their surroundings.

They had indeed reached their destination. Gondin Manor loomed in the distance, its pointed roof gleaming under thin morning light.

"I will go," Gabriel said once he could draw a breath. They were huddled in an alley not too far from the manor.

Iavor frowned. "You are in no state," the man began.

Gabriel promptly sprinted forward – on four legs, rather than two. His discarded clothes fluttered at Iavor's feet, too large for the red cat bounding down the street.

If Iavor had any opinion on the matter, Gabriel was too far away to hear it.

The manor was quiet. Gabriel crossed into the property cautiously; there was no tell-tale sting of wards activating, so he advanced more boldly, circling around the first floor once as he considered his best route of attack. The scent of blood hung heavy over the gardens in the back, but there was no sign of Dimitri or Valeri. Perhaps they had already been taken, Gabriel thought. Perhaps they were already –

A window opened. Gabriel turned toward the sound.

Dimitri stared back at him, eyes round in his gaunt face.

"Fuck me," the soldier breathed, aghast.

Gabriel jumped up on the windowsill. He misjudged the distance in his excitement and almost bowled the man right over, paws scratching for purchase.

"Ow, shit, wait – really? Again?" Dimitri cursed, trying to grab hold of the cat doing its best to climb up his chest.

Gabriel was undeterred. He curled around the soldier's neck triumphantly, body rumbling with content purrs quite against his will.

Dimitri stood still for a long moment. Gabriel prepared to be flung from the man's body by force but when the soldier moved at last, it was only to close the window.

They made their way deeper into the manor. Voices soon became audible, Valeri's among them. The last of Gabriel's tension bled from his body, leaving him as limp as a scarf around the soldier's shoulders.

The voices fell silent when Dimitri walked into the room. Gabriel took note of the men and women in attendance – eight in total, all seasoned soldiers. Valeri sat in a corner apart from the crowd. He looked tired and a little shell-shocked, but still much better than Gabriel had expected given his company.

"Lightning, are you aware that you are wearing a cat?" one of the soldiers asked.

"That's not a cat," another man said. His face was smiling, but his eyes were cold and shrewd.

Gabriel turned his round face away, expressing his disdain as cats did best.

Dimitri came to a stop in front of Valeri. "Take him," he said.

Valeri looked at Gabriel.

Gabriel raised a paw tipped with sharp claws.

"I would rather not," Valeri said.

Gabriel lowered the paw. Smart boy.

"My friend is still outside," Gabriel said.

Dimitri frowned, casting Gabriel a displeased look. It was obvious that he had heard him. The bond between them was not deep, not when compared to that shared by Rae and Carmen. Still, its effects were undoubtedly disconcerting for a human.

"He requires permission to enter," Gabriel pressed.

"Another vampire?" Dimitri said, disgruntled. His next question was to Valeri. "Got a friend coming for a playdate?"

Valeri's glare lacked a lot of heat. "I am not expecting anyone. You do not need to let them in."

"In broad daylight? There shouldn't be too much left of him to entertain," a female soldier scoffed.

"That is not necessarily the case," the smiling man said. "Alert Sergei and Dania, less they run into our guest and act rudely."

"Thank you for your concern."

Gabriel raised his head. The soldiers were on their feet, most with a weapon in hand. Only Valeri and the smiling man remained seated.

"Lord Beaufort. It has been a long time," the dark-eyed soldier greeted.

"Good to see you well, Sahil," Iavor answered.

The room was not large, likely used for storage or as servant quarters. Tucked away at the innermost part of the house, it provided shelter from the sun and an unobstructed view of the entire floor. Iavor stood just before its threshold. The Vampire Lord was draped in shadows, face calm and manner relaxed, as if he were truly an expected guest in an old friend's home.

Valeri let out a broken sound. His eyes were red at the edges, mouth trembling.

Iavor glanced at him. His expression softened briefly, but he did not falter, instead addressing the man he had greeted by name.

"Your patrols are missing."

The soldier called Sahil lost his smile at last. He motioned to two of his subordinates, conversing in low tones.

"There is a lot of blood in the gardens," Gabriel noted.

"Yes," Dimitri agreed shortly, not meaning to explain further.

"A lot of blood, but no bodies," Gabriel added.

Dimitri stilled. "Captain Arya, where did you store the corpses of the Zero soldiers?" he asked.

Sahil Arya looked at Dimitri, then at Gabriel. Gabriel swished his tail.

"They are still in the garden," the soldier said.

"Guess again," Gabriel drawled.

Dimitri swallowed.

"I think we may have a problem."