KIERNAN IS THE FIRST to react when a towering figure bends under the fabric-draped doorway ahead. The vampire flinches and takes in quicker breaths. Not having the senses you've relied on for decades would be unsettling, but there's a good chance this isn't real.

They don't know what spell they just awakened by waltzing in here like morons. Kane cannot access his magic, and he suspects Lucas is also cut off from his.

"You good?" Kane whispers to Kiernan. They're about to be in a fight and need their heads straight. There's another figure emerging from behind a shadowed partition to his right.

Kiernan begins pulling his jacket down his arms, cold gaze on the hulking bastard that's approaching them with a fanged smile, and Kane takes that as fucking good.

He looks to his right and nearly scoffs at the lithe woman who's come into the light, with shoulder-length white hair, a tight black shirt, leather pants, and stupid thick-wedged black boots that have no place in a brawl.

Then he looks at what she's holding in her hands, and his fingers flex where they hold the hilt of his sword strapped to his back. He's never actually seen a chain-sickle before, but he knows what they're for, and there's no doubt those links of metal are for his blade.

"Those runes," Lucas says. "The triangle on a star—" He looks to the left sharply, and Kane follows his gaze. If he didn't think they were fucked by magic, he does when a pair of vampire men with swords emerge from the shadows, twin phantoms, except for their hair, one black and the other bleached blonde.

This is too perfect.

The woman with the chain-sickle will give him hell. She licks her red lips and blows him a cheeky kiss. The big, hulking bastard in a lazily worn satin shirt is staring at Kiernan hungrily. He has a foot on Kiernan. The creepy fucking twins, with their slightly curved blades, have their dark eyes on Lucas. They'll counter Lucas's strength with quickness.

Lucas whispers, "It's a fear curse. I don't know what the other lines mean. Whatever it is, it's got us."

Kane takes his blade from its sheath. "I'm not fucking afraid." He glares at the woman swinging the chain. "Hey, bitch. I'll give you one chance to leave."

The woman laughs. Her voice holds a natural rasp, purring, "Kenneth Rainer. After you're turned, I'll make you my pet."

He scoffs.

"Can I fight her?" Lucas whispers, laughing through his nose. He's keeping his gaze locked on the twins.

"There are ways to break a curse," Kane says quickly. "We play until we know more." He's not afraid, which negates what Lucas claimed, but he can't see another way. "Fuck... Just kick their asses, and we'll figure it out afterward."

Curses aren't resolute. They're breakable if you keep your head straight. If not, you will succumb.

Kiernan glares at him sharply. "Rainer," he growls.

"Fuck," Kane breathes, because fuck. That vampire is a giant. He'd be hulking even to Kane, which is a feat. "Keep your distance. Shoot him. Trip him or something. Don't let him grab you."

"Easier said than done," Kiernan mutters, tossing his jacket onto a nearby table. He unclips his holster, but he doesn't take out the gun.

The giant crosses his massive arms and leans his hip casually against the edge of the glossy bar, which has been built in a U-shape with high reflective pillars. "I've never fought a child before." He grins, flashing his fangs.

Kiernan slowly turns his head to give Kane a look that screams, what the fuck?

Kane can't keep back from chuckling, and then Lucas follows with rumbling laughter.

The ghost of a smile rises on Kiernan's lips before he looks away and whispers, "I hate you both."

"Fuck off," Kane returns fondly.

Lucas chimes in, "Can't be worse than ants, right, mate?"

Kiernan snorts. "Kill them, and we're free from this magic?"

After Kane affirms with a grunt. In all honesty, he has no fucking idea. Kiernan unfastens the first few buttons of his shirt collar. There's no fear in Kiernan's gait when he starts a confident approach to the bastard watching him with a cocksure grin.

"Some video game shit," Lucas grumbles, starting forward towards the creepy pair, who don't have anything to say apparently, with a focused gaze and follows Kiernan in taking off his jacket to make movement less restricted. He drapes it over a passing chair.

Then Kane turns his attention to the bitch that's smirking at him. As he flexes his fingers on the hilt of his blade, he struggles to remember if Milton ever provided training on combating a chain during a sword fight.

He keeps his weapon at his side as he approaches with a menacing glare, and the vampire backs up, circling, her smile never faltering.

He knows the moment he raises his blade, the bitch will utilize the chain she's holding with expert confidence. So he sharpens his focus even when the sounds of the others fighting begin, and he waits patiently for an opening to hack her head off her shoulders.

As they circle, he's not able to see Lucas, who's in a fucking fight. The violent sounds coming from the other side of the club have him twitching with the urge to look over his shoulder, but he can't when there are grey eyes on his face waiting for him to slip up.

She spins the chain and gleaming sickle to wind around her arm, and back again. He can't keep up with the fluid motions. He's able to see Kiernan for a few moments over the woman's short head.

Kiernan lays a good punch to the giant's jaw that staggers the bastard, but the retaliating kick to his gut has him nearly on the floor. He halts his stumble by grasping the bar's edge. He's gasping for air and leaning heavily on an elbow. Not surprising; the fucker is big and probably hits like a truck.

Before Kane loses sight of Kiernan, continuing his slow circle, the vampire is dragging a crystal ashtray off the bar top to meet the bastard who's rushing him with heavy stomps.

Lucas comes into view, and there's a resounding bang as he fires a bullet into the bleached blonde's knee seconds before a swipe of his blade would have sliced into Lucas's side. It must be bad if he's resorting to his gun. Their contingency if brawling goes to shit. His flank is bleeding, and Kane's worry soars when he sees how badly.

"Pay attention to me, Rainer," the woman purrs. There's a clink, and he flinches to the side, physically feeling the vibration of the blade slicing the air a mere inch from the side of his head.

The sickle cuts toward him again before he can lift his sword to retaliate.

He sucks air through his teeth at the burn of pain across his cheek. He's dodging, but there's no way to foresee the attacks because the woman is dancing to steps that are too fast for him to counter.

His neck erupts in pain, then his side, his thigh, and he decides fuck tactics. He widens his stance and arcs his blade with the intent to sever her thin neck in one sweep, only for her to sidestep his attack with an anticipating smile.

The chain winds around his blade, pulling taut. He's tugged, staggering forward before he can stop the motion. The sickle's sharp tip pierces his upper back. He gasps at the burning, erupting pain.

She pouts. "How disappointing."

Yeah?

He grabs the metal links and yanks with all his strength. Her smile falls as she's forced to stagger towards him. She's resisting, but he's stronger. And the moment she's in range, his fingers slip from his sword's hilt, letting the chain take the steel to the floor in a loud clatter.

He grabs the wooden hilt of the sickle, pulling the blade from his back, and against such harsh resistance and the angle, the curved blade rips his skin further. He grits his teeth against the excruciating pain, his nostrils flaring.

She never gets a chance to make whatever noise or plea that was about to escape her parting lips.

He swings the bloody sickle. The chain coiled around his hand, clinking. 

The blood-dripping blade delves into the side of her neck.

She crumples, gurgling screams.

He brings the sickle down again and again.

Blood splatters against the tile as her head rolls to a stop, hitting a nearby chair's leg.

Her body twitches.

He tosses the blood-dripping sickle onto the ground with a disgusted grimace and snatches up his sword. Before he even looks up, he's starting forward, knowing that the big bastard is going to be giving Kiernan hell and a half. 

He stops when he's met with the sight of the vampire caving the fallen bastard's face with the crystal ashtray.

He must not notice the guy is deader than dead.

He has a moment to act when he looks at Lucas and sees that one of the creepy pair is down for the count, unmoving on the ground. The black-haired twin is ferocious, and Lucas is trying to keep up, but he's injured. His stomach is covered in blood. 

Kane takes out his gun deftly, and when Lucas dodges a swipe of the sword by staggering into the edge of a round table, Kane fires.

The vampire's cry of pain is gurgled, the bullet embedded into his neck, and blood sprays.

Shit, he was aiming for the head.

Lucas doesn't hesitate to slap his hand around the vampire's throat and uses his bleeding fist to cave the asshole's face. He doesn't stop until the vampire is on the ground with his brother, dead.

And it's over.

"Fuck," Kane strains, bending slightly. He touches his cheek. The wound has nearly closed up, but the one on his thigh is deep. The burning pain in his back is subsiding, but it's still nearly overwhelming.

Lucas lowers himself onto a sectional's cushioning, catching his breath.

Kane limps towards Kiernan. "You good?" Kane asks gruffly.

Stoically, Kiernan looks at the ashtray, dripping thick globs of blood, before tossing it to the tiled floor with a heavy clatter. "Yes," Kiernan replies coolly. He looks at Lucas. "You're injured."

Lucas gives their looks of concern a dismissive toss of his hand. "Nah." He leans back heavily, laying a palm over his stomach, and blood slips through his fingers. He looks up at the ceiling. "Think it's over?"

Kane slides his gun back into its holster. He looks up. The runes bathed in dim red lighting have kept their glow of awakened magic.

"I don't think so," Kane grits, and he looks back at Lucas. There's a lot of blood slipping through the man's fingers. "That's more than a scratch, asshole."

Lucas admits hoarsely, "The blonde one got me good."

Kiernan unbuttons his sleeve's cuff with bloody fingers. "I can heal you." He walks towards Lucas, and Kane could believe that Kiernan just threatened to take Lucas's balls by the expression of anguish Lucas makes. "It might not fully close the wound, but you'll be able to fight."

"Fuckin' hell," Lucas grumbles. He doesn't protest because they don't have time for that shit. He snatches Kiernan's wrist with unnecessary harshness.

The vampire narrows his eyes, but doesn't comment on the treatment.

If Kiernan wasn't creepy before, he is when Lucas forgoes a blade, taking in a ragged breath before biting his arm with blunt teeth. Kiernan looks away with a minuscule twitch to his expression to give away discomfort.

Kiernan holds Kane's gaze and says coldly, "He's further inside. Still unconscious. I don't think he's woken once since we've been here."

"How much further?" Kane asks tightly, trying to pretend that Lucas isn't sucking on Kiernan's wrist, because Kane has a jealous tightening in his stomach, recalling Reid's blood and how good it tastes.

Yeah, he's fucking disturbed by his reactions, but he doesn't have time to care about how twisted he's become.

Kiernan assures, "Not far." He frowns. "I still cannot hear anyone above normal senses. Not either of you. It's strange."

Lucas pulls away with a hoarse curse and drops Kiernan's ravaged wrist. "It's magic," he rasps, wiping blood from his mouth with his shirtsleeve. "There's a curse on the runes hanging above us. We don't know what, but there's a good chance that your shitty hearing has something to do with it. My magic is gone."

"Mine too," Kane says.

Kiernan looks up at the runes warily.

There's a sudden clinking that has them all stiffening. Lucas rises, and they face the new threat coming for them. The clinking is the heavy curtain of the focal stage. The metal rings scrape against the circular pole.

A woman sits on a lone armchair of red velvet. She's casually posed with a slender leg draped over a knee. Her curly black hair and dark, curve-hugging dress cause her eyes to look startlingly silver in the red-hued lighting.

She's smoking a cigarette. "Kenneth Rainer, come to reclaim what isn't yours." She smiles cuttingly at his snarl of rage. "Oh, and look who you've brought with you. Lucas Amala and Kiernan Moreno. How fun."

Kiernan asks calmly, "And you are?"

The woman looks at her cigarette. "Carla."

Carla. Rowan said that Azrael had a mage fiercely loyal to him. This is her. Of course, it is—her silvery eyes are disgustingly familiar. She's a mage who's dabbled in dark magic. She's the reason for the runes overhead.

"Enough with your tricks," Kane snarls. "If you're so powerful, come fight us."

Carla laughs. "No, thank you." She leans back, blowing thin wisps of smoke from her lips. "I haven't come here to stop you from retrieving the boy. But I must say, he's stunning." She poses the cigarette against her lips. "Alas, I grew tired of hearing his lovely screams hours ago."

Kane doesn't realize he's started forward until Kiernan takes hold of his arm and tugs him back. The vampire is holding tight enough to hurt, and that's what keeps Kane from clambering onto that stage.

He sees Lucas's expression, and his heart sinks. The man looks ready to pass out, and it's not from blood loss.

Glaring at the bitch, Kane forces out, "If you did anything to him, I swear—"

"Define anything," Carla retorts with a sultry smile. She raises a placating palm. "Before you come to slay me, know that I will let you through. You may have him. Azrael does not know his nephew is here." She leans back, blowing more smoke from her red lips. "You don't believe me. I see it in your eyes. Azrael's been indisposed, healing. He's coming close to his full strength, but you nearly killed him, Rainer."

That was two days ago. That means, in Shadow Peaks, Azrael has been healing for two months. He must have been heavily injured. Kane recalls letting his flame loose, and then the prick disappeared. He'd thought he'd fantasized Azrael's screams of agony.

"I have taken over his duties for the time being. I will let you through, and you may have Reid Kimberk." She raises a slender finger. "But only if you escape." Her smile rises at whatever expressions they're making. "You're already in my thrall. Did you truly think any of this was real?"

Kane looks up. The runes are shining.

He smells sulphur.

Then, all he sees is blackness.