The first thing that struck me was the excruciating pain. My head throbbed. I opened my eyes and dark grey walls greeted me. I sat up and realized I was in a cage. Bloody humans. I was puzzled at how easily they defeated me. Besides the pain, I could think relatively clearly and I had a feeling it had something to do with that mirror…I had not seen myself for nearly three thousand years, I found it fascinating…and frightening. I had changed. But, that fascination would not have drawn me from the battle, it must have had some hypnotic effect. Bloody, bloody humans. I stood up, my hair just brushing the top bars. I lightly tapped one of the bars, a small dent formed. I frowned. They obviously haven’t come across an ancient before or else they would have done better than this pitiful cage. Unless they had another surprise waiting for me. Ah, well. I parted the bars without straining a muscle and walked confidently to the dungeon doors. It burst open with one kick.

A thin, young human stood in the hallway, his jaw wide open. I tilted my head, I was curious as to how the humans had planned to keep me here. He turned around and ran yelling shrilly “The vampire has escaped! The vampire has escaped!”

I walked calmly after him. They had not faced an ancient. The worst they had come across must have been Tanu, and although he was old compared to a human, he was not a millennium child yet. The door burst open and the human with the dirty blonde hair stood before me again. He had the mirror and was smiling.

“I will not fall for the same trick twice, fool!” I growled, lunging forward I grabbed the mirror and it shattered, cutting my hand. Blood spattered onto the floor. I threw the shards at him. He was momentarily stunned by my actions and as he ducked, I jumped over him and ran for the door. The humans in the following room were simply too surprised to react. I was out before they moved and down the next hall. I did not feel like a confrontation with these humans, and I was getting slightly worried about my companions…only slightly. I carried on running, they obviously could not keep up. Soon, I could no longer hear them…which was saying something considering my pointed ears could hear for several miles around. However, I suspected that this castle weakened my abilities.

A trap signaled the human border. Blue flames filled the room but they did not harm me. I stopped in the next room. It was filled with rich red and gold tapestries. It felt warmer and the air glowed vibrantly. Although I was safe from the humans, whose territory was I in now?
I could not sense anyone. I had wasted enough time, I must rejoin my friends and finish this mission. I sat down and closed my eyes. I began to focus, trying to sense where they were. It was very difficult just to get a reading of my surroundings. The very walls of the castle seemed to reverberate. I sighed. This was getting increasingly annoying. After a few deep breathes I tried again. Concentration was difficult, a small bead of sweat formed when I finally sensed outside the walls of the room. I noticed a rhythm in the castle walls. It seemed to be breathing. Whenever it ‘exhaled’, it became virtually impossible to sense anything, but when it ‘inhaled’ I could sense much further than usual. The first thing I sensed was the Dehekon. That was a good start. The trail of the wizard was fading. The wall exhaled and I lost the connection. I swore. I timed the walls ‘breathing’. As soon as it inhaled again I relocated the path the wizard took. He had come across a pack of Zulnaret. It was odd that I could not sense Shendron. I did detect a werewolf hot on the wizards trail. Bloody werewolves. There was no time to lose. The hallway leading away from the human territory, lead to a short cut. Well, whatever creatures lay ahead, they could not be worse than a werewolf.

Rowen had not had many dealings with vampires before, but those encounters he had experienced were not ones he cared to remember. The most haunting experience had occurred when he was still very young. Five to be exact.

“Why aren't you going to work today, Mommy?”

“Mommy has... uh... a little time off, Rowen” said his Mom. She smiled an awkward smile, trying to appear normal to her son, and at the same time catching her breath.

She ran around the kitchen stuffing food into a large bag.

“So what are we going to do today Mommy?”

“Well... I thought we'd go for a... a... picnic, yes, that's it, a picnic!”

Even as she said it, her eyes were beginning to well up with tears. She knew what was coming.

“Ok Mommy. Should I go fetch Brother?”

“NO! NO! ... um, no Rowen, that's ok. Let's just leave him here for now.”

A scene flooded her mind. The quiet, peaceful looking image of her youngest son lying in bed, a small smile on his face... his blankets soaked in red...

They half walked half ran out the front gate and up the winding dirt road leading from their house on the edge of town into the countryside, the small village behind growing ever smaller. Rowen hadn't yet noticed the look on his mothers face. Six small figures on the horizon descended on what had been their home. Fangs bared.

“Um, Rowen. Mommy needs to go see something quickly over that hill. Be a good boy and go sit over there behind that tree while I...”

“Can't I come with Mommy?”

“Tell you what. Let's play a game of hide-and-seek. I'm on. Now you have to run and hide until I find you.”

“Ok, here I go!”

Rowen turned round and started running towards a large clump of bushes at the foot of a nearby hill.

“Rowen, wait!!”

Rowen's mother ran up to him and lifted him off the ground, hugging him to herself while tears spilled down her face. She could barely contain the sobs wrenching themselves from her throat.

“What's wrong, Mommy?”

“Nothing dear. You just go hide. Mommy's coming to get you now.”

As Rowen ran back to his hiding place, he dared a peek around to look at his mother walking in the opposite direction. A few hundred meters to her right were a group of people seemingly headed in the same direction. He faced forwards again and jumped behind a bush, ready to play.

After a minute or so he heard it. An ear splitting scream filled the air. He looked up to see his mother lying on the ground with the six figures surrounding and suppressing her flailing limbs as the male figure bent down at her neck. The screams quickly turned to giant sobs, fading slowly to silence. As soon as the noise stopped, the figures all stood up and looked straight at Rowen.

Immediately he ran towards the hill, and up the hill, and over the hill, not stopping until he was completely exhausted.

Later that day he returned to witness the massacre of his home, his village, his mother, his brother... his life.

He had no love for vampires.