Leinad roared in pain, magic collar be damned, his cries were heard.  He watched in agonizing pain, his ribs cracking loudly, horrified as his skin was stretched to its breaking point. Then suddenly it was gone. His heart was removed from his body, leaving only a black hole in his chest behind.  His organ was now in the Queen's bloodied hands, soaking up some of the blood as it still beat, but not enough to keep him from falling.  His chains gave way and he collapsed to the floor, still watching the Queen as she turned and walked away with the most important part of him.  He knew he was dead, how he could still comprehend what was going on was a mystery beyond comprehension.

    The Queen walked to the head of the circle once more, looked at the heart in her hand and smiled, dropping it by her feet.  Her hand began spinning another spell, she chanted under her breath, but none could hear.  When the spell took affect, it left all in the circle confused; the magic that once bound the vampire now bound them.  Eyes moved back and forth in a panic, but no one could move, they were now the Queen's prisoners.

    The Queen walked up to the first duke standing to her right.

    "Let the blood bind the blood."  The Alabastar sword then flashed in a whirl of white, slicing the dukes throat, more blood spraying into the Dragon scale altar.

    Panic now became horror as the nobles watched the acts of their Queen.  What was supposed to be a day of joy was now destroyed with each stroke of the Alabastar sword. Duke after duke fell, leaving only their wives and the unborn children they carried remaining in the circle.

    "Take heart, sweet ladies, for yours are the houses that mankind will be built upon."  She walked up to one of the women, rubbing her fingernails across her swollen belly, leaving a bloody trail behind.

    "Leinad?"

    The Queen now went around the circle, making a mark on each woman's belly in the blood that still caressed each woman. Each woman watched in horror as the woman they thought was going to change the fate of man now turned on them.  She looked into each woman's eyes as she made the mark on their bellies, but the pleas and sorrowed looks she got from each one swayed her not.

      "Leinad?"

    The Queen was silent, once again standing at the head of the circle.  She then drew a mark on her  own belly as well, then began chanting once again.

    "LEINAD!"

    The sound and push of his name, inside of his own mind brought him back to the pain once again.  He was still laying on the ornate floor of the throne room, heart ripped out and... Dying?

    "Help me Leinad! Please help me!"

    Impossible... Inconceivable... It was the woman, the one he had linked with to compel, it was she who was now in his mind.

    '"Please help me and my unborn son, please.'"

    "'My heart... My heart must go with you if I help.'"  He sent back to her.

    '"Yes... Yes. Just help."

    He didn't like having the woman in his mind one bit. He instinctively started walling up his mind and corralling his thoughts, trying not to expose his whole being to her.  He knew this was his only chance, he wasn't sure how but his heart was still keeping him alive.  The Dragon's blood?  Whatever it was keeping him "alive" was just barely doing it, he still felt all the pain, but had no strength to move. Not yet anyway.  He could only watch and gather strength.  Suddenly a dark shadow began darting about the room, it shot in and out amongst the Human women.

    '"Hurry Leinad! Hurry!"

    He could feel her panic, terror, and the unconditional love she had for the child within her womb in her thoughts.  For a brief instant he bathed in the essence of the purest love he had ever felt, that between a mother and her child.

    Thousands of firefly size lights began to appear throughout the room, dancing around.  The lights seemed to agitate the shadow. How did he knew this ?  One predator reading another.  The shadow then attacked; darting all over the room, swallowing up the lights.

    "Rebirth!"  Yelled the Queen.

    Suddenly one of the women standing in the circle was nothing more than a swirling mist of blood, one of the fireflies had hit her.

    "Rebirth!"  Another woman turned to swirling red mist

"Reckoning!"

    "Rebirth!"  Another.

"Reckoning!"

    "Rebirth!"  And another.

    "'LEINAD!'"

    The scream in his head momentarily cleared it as the woman pushed at him with all her might. He felt his body responding, he was standing now, although he couldn't remembered pulling himself to his feet.

    "Rebirth!"

"Reckoning!"

    "Rebirth!"

"Reckoning!"

    "Rebirth!"  Three more women gone, the bloody mist was swirling around something?

    "Rebirth!"

    An egg. The bloody mists were swirling around eggs that were a little larger than an infant.

    "Rebirth!"

    '"LeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeNaaaad!"'

    With a strength he knew was not his own he leaped towards the Queen.

    "Rebirth!"

    Only two women left.

    "Rebirth!"

    One.

    "Rec......"

    "'Not a chance, you bitch!'" He sent the thought with all the rage he could at the Queen, sinking his teeth deep in her throat, fangs be damned.  He felt the skin break and tasted the blood, he bit harder crushing the larynx, the popping sounds only fueled his hunger.  He pulled his bite back, spitting out the mouthful of her throat he had ripped out. Through the red haze he could see the last woman running away while holding her belly.  Then she was out of his view, down the nearest hallway.

    '"My heart?  Cres do you have my heart?"' He asked frantically.

    "...I'm sorry Leinad....it was too close to her!"'

    Leinad looked down at the Queen's body.  Too close?  Where? Where?  Then he spotted it, down by her feet.  His heart, not the black thing he imagined it to be, but a dark blood red organ soaking up the dragon's blood.  He knelt down to pick it up, reaching for it with both hands to cup it gently, to hopefully put it back.  As soon as he touched it he felt the power of the Dragon's blood coursing through his body. Such a pure power he had never felt in his lifetimes. Then suddenly it was gone, along with both of his hands?  He turned to see the Queens stabbing blow coming, the point of the Alabastar sword just starting to penetrate his throat.

    "'Run Cres, run for your life!"' He shouted and pushed his will out one last time, compelling an already fear filled mother even more.  She would run, and run... and run. As long as there was breath in her body, she would never stop.

    The Queen stood up as the Vampire King toppled to the Dragon scale, she pulled the sword from his throat.  She flared her nose and curled her lip in disgust, her throat hurt, it was mending but still hurt.  Leinad had almost done it; he had almost killed her.  She took no solace stepping over his now withered body.  Dead? Yes, but he had hurt her even in his death. She had lost one of the children by his hand. She looked at the bodies of the twelve men she had slain; twelve men that had been her friends.  She had slain eleven women, also her friends.  And it was all worth it, she looked around the circle at the eleven eggs that still were floating in their swirling mist.

    "'Lott?"'

    "'...Yes... My Queen?"'

    "'Protect the nest."'

    "'Yes, my... Queen."'

    She turned and walked back up the dais, sheathing the sword in the arm of the throne.  She looked up at the now still Alabastar form of Grimore. The Dragon King was now posed standing behind the throne, his head and front claws leaning over it.  His fierce teeth were exposed in a menacing grin to any one entering the room and walking down the middle aisle. That grin would grab the attentions of anyone entering the room, the Albastar encasing the dragon's king's body, morphing into a life size statue, forever glowering over the Queens throne.  The simple Alabastar throne was seeded deep within the life size dragon's stomach, the Queen knew her blood magic were stronger with the dragon's petrified body bound to her throne, her blood magics the strongest Nazra had seen.  Grimore's books contained the knowledges of countless worlds, and she had them all!

    The Queen sat upon the throne and looked around at all that she had done and said, "This is good."

---

Grimore opened his eyes and wept.