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"H-How can you be so cheerful at a time like this?! Hell is already stepping into the mortal world and you're smiling? We have to track down these summoners before they give us more trouble to deal with. We have to be very careful in the grengel compound they are much too tricky and- WHY ARE STILL SMILING?"

Navashen was beginning to become unnerved by Paul's calmness.

As they darted past streets, Fanya checked down allways and backroads. She could see the fluttering of some of her clan members, trying to keep track of as many as she could.

"They know not to stop other than to feed, then continue forward..." She glanced backward. She knew they'd been told, but she needed a reminder and confirmation from another.

"Yes," Aldo nodded. "They know."

She paused, then nodded as she continued. The angels had passed by them and she wasn't sure she knew exactly where they'd gone. Then, several more with firey wings exploded downward from the skies. They were apparently still on target, and not far away.

Soon, they'd made it to the grengal clan's home. Fanya stopped dead in her tracks. They were several blocks from where she could see Paul and Navashen speaking to one another. She turned, taking the colors of her aura that remained from the previous day that Paul had freed her from the Hell King and shot them upwards as a column. She held it there, waiting to count the clan as they each arrived.

Slowly they began to appear, some from backstreets, some down the main road. A group of younger Fitholos scaled down a building.

Several humans had come out to their doors, glancing up and down the streets at the commotion. Fanya narrowed her eyes. She stretched out her hand toward the nearest appartment building, pulling at the curiosity she felt and knew to be there. The dark blue aura slipped from the building, held in her careful touch and added to the column she created, calling her clan together.

Richard and Aldo did the same, adding to the column their leader created. Aldo had reached his appointed time. Richard had already fed. Melissa remained neutral. She did not hear the call to feed strong enough to be unable to ignore it. She calculated one more night before she would be forced to gather the influential means to survive.

"We are not all gathered," Fanya responded. She turned to Aldo. "Count them. Melissa, see if you can find the paths of those that are still missing," She nodded to the Gatherer.

Aldo and Melissa turned to do as they were asked without question. An onlooker would certainly have wondered at this. Two adults taking orders from a fourteen year old girl. Still, the clan itself knew better. Looks could be all too decieving, and Fanya was older than many gathered, though she did not look it.

"We are missing eight," Aldo returned to Fanya's side.

"Shall I go and bring them?" Melissa looked up to Fanya.

"No," Fanya shook her head. "Take those that are here within the sanctuary. I will wait with Aldo and Richard for others to arrive. No one is to wander. Remember, we are guests here."

Melissa nodded and the Fitholos that had gathered moved forward, almost as one body. Most of their movements were lazy but deliberate. Some were quite chaotic indeed. Many of them, however, held small bundles and boxes, or full pockets along their coats and pants.

Fanya adjusted a small satchel hidden beneath her jacket, growing tired of holding the column in place. She wanted the clan to be entirely gathered.

"Aldo, how many?" Fanya looked to him again. He was scanning the street, counting as a few more arrived.

"Four are still missing," He turned to watch her, the curiosity he'd taken from the humans that had been trying to watch them apparent in his features. "One of them is Kuros."

"Kuros is still missing?" Fanya's eyes narrowed. She looked up and down the street again. "He must be with the group that turned him, Jack, Marcus and Raea..." Her eyes narrowed. "I hope they didn't go back for the Monopoly game..." She sighed. She'd certainly been given a miriad of emotions from whatever had transpired between her, Paul and God the previous day.

Jocelyn's patience had been wearing thin, but she had finally assembled all her clan and with reasonable sized belongings in tow. Quickly she counted heads, while gradually the full weight of their losses made themselves clear to her.

Sixty-three.

Her eyes glistened a moment with unshed tears before she stubbornly blinked them away. Tears will do no good here, only action. Maintaining control of her voice, she called to her clan, "We leave now to the Grengel clan house, where we are offered sanctuary. Stay together. If you must feed, do so quickly and return to the rest of the clan," she instructed before nodding to them all.

At last she turned to the exit and led her people through the night towards the fellow brethren of the dark.

Paul paused a moment after catching the site of Jocelyn. He went to her side, "Madam Drakulus, I am helping the Fitholos with the few of their clan that has been left behind. When I return I will help you as well if you are missing any. The man at the front of the gates will gaurd everyone withing the Grengel sanctum. Do not let his appearance fool you - he is a great warrior of God."

He left her side and then continued to follow Fanya and Aldo. Just above him were three angels - flying in a vortex like manner unsheathing their swords.

((Edit: I don't know why it slipped my mind that there was already a Jocylen here... Kaz pointed that out to me today. I knew it, but I didn't, if that makes any sense... Anyway, he helped me fix it!! Yea! sweatdrop PS. just so ya'll are aware, yes I am blond... Sorry Taliah!! Name is fixed now though! sweatdrop ))

Fanya's eyes narrowed. Her movements haulted for a moment, her form shifting as she lunged forward, seeming to disappear and reappear at the corner of the street they were on and the one leading to the Fitholos clan hall. She peered around the corner, hearing shuffling noises though no voices yet.

The first figure she saw was Marcus. He was lying on the ground in the street not far from her. Well, part of him anyway... He had stopped moving, though he stared with cold eyes to the sidewalk. Fanya stepped out, moving toward him.

"Marcus..." She clenched her fists as she neared, angry that someone had dared to attack one of their clan and take the life. She'd come with in two yards of him when suddenly his head jerked around to look straight at her, his eyes seeming to bleed some blackish fluid. It was then she noticed the mark on his face. Something had been cut into his lips and down his chin. She stopped dead in her tracks watching the body of her fallen clansman. She stepped back out of reach. Marcus was growling and sputtering black fluid all around him. She looked farther down the street as Aldo and Melissa rounded the corner. Kuros was crouched down, his aura extended around him in large tendril-like swirls. Jack was beside him, both trying to back down the street toward where Fanya, Melissa, and Aldo now stood.

Raea was no where to be found.

(( << .. *turns the volume up on the excitment levels* ))

A horse could be heard coming down the street that was infront of the grengel sanctum. every now and again small flares of fire would flare and the shadows seemed to shift around the figure tht rode on the back of this steed. Moments later it was plain to see that it was the demon that approached Jocelyn just before her clan was almost completely wiped out. He trotted up and looked down at the christian and the Drakulus standing there. His presance was obvious - especially to vampires. A sickening stomach turnned within them.

He took off his helmet and held it at his hip, his green eyes looking at Jocelyn.

"Greetings again Drakulus." His voice was as sweet as honey to the vampires but deep, empty and echoing to Navashen, "Christian." He glared over to the boy who was the only thing standing in this mighty demon's way from ripping assunder the vampires that were beyond the gates.

He turned back to Jocelyn, "How is your clan coming along? Did you heed my warning that I gave?"

Though paul didn't feel it, he looked quite worried. He came to the three Fitholos Vampires and stopped them.

"Before we continue. I must do something that I have been holding in reserve for a very dangerous moment to present itself" He nodded to what just happened and put his index finger just below Fanya's neck.

"This will most likely hurt. But you will get used to it." Without wasting anymore time he started to scribe a cross, at each point there was a circle drawn. Afterwards he made a triangle around the cross, pointing upwards.

As soon as the triangle was complete, a pain shot through Fanya like no other. This was a secret Holy Symbol sewn on the insides of the pope's and other high up figures' clothes. The gaze of God was directly on Fanya after a first few excrusiating moments. As soon as the clouds above parted and a bright star shined on her, the pain receded. There was actually a moment where Fanya could feel her own emotions try to come back - but that was only for a few seconds.

"Now the riders will not be able to touch you. The gaze of God is upon you. You will not have to feed so long as you have this symbol upon your body."

He turned to the others and did the same to them. They too could almost feel their old self-made emotions try to crawl back as soon as God looked upon them from the stary night above. The emotions were stopped though by the blood pact they had made to become a vampire.

"Alright now let us procede to the Grengel sanctum." He turned and lead the way down the road.