The wo days were tense and exhausting. The impending fight with an unnaturally strong vampire lord was only the beginning of their worries. They had officially reached the mountains proper, and their progress was hindered by snow, ice, and dead ends they were forced to backtrack to get past.

  They entered ice trolls, which were uful kills with their neons. If the troll wasn't paying attention, Elnor could take them down in a single arrow, without Shiloh's buffs. There were other cold-weather creatures, but most of them avoided their party. They saw one more frost drake, but were able to sneak by without alerting it.

  When they finally mao get through the mountains to see the nds oher side, they stopped to admire the view. They were at the southern end of a wide valley, hemmed in by the forested foothills of mountains on all sides, except for the north. It looked shogly simir to the nds south of the mountains, but it had a rge, stark bck castle sitting upon a hill in the middle of the valley.

  They started desding the mountain, the weight of the task ahead of them weighing heavily upon their minds. Going down was a bit faster, but was far more perilous. If they tripped, their forward momentum would cause them to fall far enough to deal serious damage. So, they took it slow and steady, setting up camp when the sun got low enough to be in danger of leaving them in darkness.

  The ented tents were worth every single they spent on them. Between the snow, the ice, and the freezing winds, they were chilled to the bone by the time they set up camp eaight. Despite the number of trolls they killed, none of them had gained a level by the time they got close the base of the mountains at the end of the sed day desding.

  The m of the third day was quite shog to them. They rose in the m to find the valley in a flurry of activity. There were carriages, horses, and people running all over the pce, but they seemed to be generally flowing into the castle.

  "Have we been spotted?" Shiloh wondered as they watched.

  "They wouldn't be hiding in the castle if we were." Elnor replied. "They would be sending warriors to capture us."

  "Should we wait fhtfall to keep moving?" Ara asked, looking around.

  "I think they are preparing some sort of celebration in the castle, with so many people going to it." Twil stated. "The wise course of a would be to wait until the festivities are underway, then tinue our trek. If we are lucky, we should be able to make it down to the foothills, where we hide among the trees as roach."

  With their deade, they moved their camp to a more cealed location and observed the goings-on in the vilge. True to Twil's assessment, the number of people roaming the valley slowly dwindled until the st carriage ehe portcullis of the castle walls. They waited another few mio see if anyone would e out, then broke down their camp and started walking.

  They reached the foothills quickly, and began heading north through the forest. Night fell, and they were forced to stop and make camp for the night, sihey didn't want to walk into trees in the dark. They found a small area with four trees that were detly spaced for some stealth camping. Elnor and Katerirung up a bunch of bs betweerees until they had formed a barrier to help keep the light of their fire cealed.

  Now that they were officially ierritory, they set up their watch rotation so that there was never only one person on duty at a time. They also, unfortunately, weren't able to get up to much hanky panky. It was one blowjob a piece, with someone else holding their hands over the receiver's mouth, and off to bed.

  ***

  Viktora hit the ground running when she slid off the ramparts. She could feel the acid still eating away at her hand and wrist, but she ighe pain as she sprinted silently into the darkness.

  Run, run, run little Viktora. Lord Ronak's voice echoed in her mind. There's no way you'll survive i alone escape, this valley alive at level one, and you just signed your owh warrant for all the people to see. It's only a matter of time, now, until your head is brought before me.

  His voice faded the further she got away from him, but he still managed a few more threats before it was sileears streamed down her face as she ran. Not from the steady throbbing of her hand dissolving, but for the mother and the dy she'd not been able to protect. For the girls who would now have the same fate visited upon them. For her own, desperate situation as she pelted towards the mountains.

  She had no supplies, no dire, and no hope, but she ran. She'd never be able to go over the mountains; she would freeze to death in the arctic temperatures. Her only choice was to go uhem, in the caves her mother had told her about. They were supposedly full of dangerous creatures, but she could hide from those. She couldn't hide from the weather.

  She finally stopped when she reached the forests of the foothills, and colpsed behind a tree. She looked down at her hand and grimaced. The acid had reached the bone. She tore a piece of the bark from the tree, crushed it to dust in her hand, then spat into the dust until it formed a paste. She grit her teeth, then shoved the paste into the wound, barely stifling a scream as she did so.

  In a few mihe agony subsided as the natural pain inhibitors in the bark went to work. It wouldn't st for long, but hopefully long enough for her to find water and dragon's breath. With those two ingredients and a fire, she could make an incredibly potent pain reliever. It was an old recipe, possibly the oldest her mother had known, and it went out of fashion when healing potions were ied. Why treat the pain when you could cure the cause?

  So, she forced herself back to her feet and got ready to run again. She went three steps before notig a faint light in her peripheral vision. She froze, then threw herself behind aree. She peaked out from behind it and saw some kind of crude shelter.

  Who the hell is camping out here with the celebration going on?

  As she watched, an elf carrying a bow came into view, peering out into the darkness. The pointed ears gave her away immediately, and Viktora was forced to make a decision. Elves could see nearly perfectly in the dark, so she would have a hard time sneaking up on them. Even though she had the preternatural strength of her vampirieage, she was only level one. If this party was of a substantial level, they would be quite capable of taking her out. If they were of a low level, they wouldn't have survived the trip into the vampirids.

  She decided to back up and go around. She took two steps backwards, and ran into a wall. Well, a wall of a woman. She spun around just in time to see red fill her field of view before something hit her head, hard, and she passed out.

  ***

  "You didn't kill her, did you?" Shiloh asked Beck, worried.

  The bulwark had spotted the vampire sprinting into the woods and colpsing behind a tree. Elnor woke the others and gave the vampire something to look at while Beck went around her in a wide ard ended up right behind her as she spied on their encampment. When the vampire decided to leave, Beck had hit her with a shield stun, but the girl colpsed uhe attad Beded up carrying her back to the campsite.

  As soon as she got baside the bs, Twil had materialized a silver neckd ed it around the girl's neck while Elnor bound her hands. Only ohey had the vampire properly restrained did they allow Shiloh to heal her with the minor wand. She wasn't an ally, so it was the only means he had to fix the damage that had been doo her wrist. As he worked, he saw her chest rising and falling. At least she was breathing.

  She was a beautiful woman. Long, silky, bck hair that was slightly rumpled from her collision with Beck's shield yed out around her head. Her skin was marbled like stone, but incredibly soft. He couldn't see her eyes, but the rest of her body erhaps, a bit too on dispy. Her dress was torn to shreds, with shards of gss ging to it in various pces, and all of them could see her modest curves and her extra equipment. Ara nudged Shiloh and flicked her eyes down to it. He rolled his eyes at her and focused on the flesh regrowing on the vampire's hand and wrist.

  It was another couple of minutes before she looked back to normal, then her eyes flickered open.

  ***

  When Viktora came to, she thought she'd died. Her mother had told her stories of the geous immortal who carried their souls from the earth to Aczotz's courts. His beauty was meant to put the trauma of their death to rest so that they wouldn't bee restless spirits, trapped in the world of the living, ging to whatever they found at fault for the demise of their body. He was famed for his majesty, his kind words and g touch.

  "Are you okay?" The galnt man leaning over her asked. His warm, brown eyes bespoke a depth of passion she had seen only in her mother and her dy. His dark, sleek hair washed across his forehead like a wave, and his soft, tender hand caressed her face as none had ever done.

  "Anhelo?" She asked, unsure of what she wished the ao be.

  He looked fused for a moment. "I'm sorry? I don't know what that means. My name is Shiloh, Shiloh Sutton."

  These words shot adrenalihrough her veins, and she tried to scramble away. Her arms were bound and, looking down, she was wearing a silver neckce over her shredded dress. She looked around wildly and found herself ihe ridiculous b fort she'd seen the elf woman keeping watch over. She was leaning against one of the trees that they'd attached the bo. There was the elf. A halfling, as well. A foxgirl, a hirl, and oher human besides the one who'd been talking to her.

  "Who are you people?" She asked. Outsiders weren't supposed to know about their weako silver. Where was the garlic? The wooden stakes?

  "We are Aphrodite's Apostles." Shiloh said calmly. "We're not going to hurt you, but we had to tie you up to keep you from running back to the castle."

  She looked at him dumbfounded. "W-what?"

  "Just ask her." The other human said impatiently.

  Shiloh gnced back at her, then focused on Viktain. "What is your name?" He asked, smiling.

  His smile pletely entranced her, and she was answering before she could think about it. "Viktora. I am Viktora Markov."

  "A pleasure to meet you, Viktora." Shiloh replied. "I must ask, do you serve Lord Ronak?"

  This was b on impossible. Not only did these outsiders know about the vampires' weakness, but they knew who the lord of Emberhearth Castle was? Exactly how much did the Outside know about their secluded little fiefdom? What else had the vampires uimated about their knowledge?

  "N-no. Not anymore." She said softly, tugging at her bonds. They were tied expertly and, without her supernatural strength, she was uo break free.

  "Are you going to try and flee back to the castle if we untie you?"

  Viktora s this question. She didn't find anything funny about it, but the idea of fleeing baberhearth to seek refuge from a group of outsiders was absurd.

  "There is no pe there, now."

  "Did they banish you?" He asked, and she saw that same flow through his features.

  "I tried to kill Ronak." She stated. There was no point in pying games. They held all the cards here, and could execute her whehey pleased. As far as she was ed, she just o tell them everything they wao know. Hopefully her cooperation would earn her a quick death. "I poisoned him with Mortussi, and he died. Then he sort of... I don't know... He sat back up and exhaled a bunch of bck mist. I only just mao escape."

  "Through a window?" The elf asked softly.

  Now that was going too far. Did they have a sg spell on the castle? How long had the vampires been under observation?

  "How did you know that?" Viktora replied warily.

  "There are gss shards in your dress." The halfling said in a ft voice.

  Viktnced down and saw that, true to their word, the dress she'd jumped through the window in was torn to shreds. It barely covered her at all now.

  "Why are you asking about Ronak?" She said, turning back to Shiloh.

  "Because we are here to kill him, and any who follow his ands." Shiloh said with deathly seriousness in his voice.

  "Madness." Viktora responded softly, looking around at their group and trying to get her arms into a more fortable position. "Six people, none of them vampires, against nearly the entire court of Emberhearth? You wouldn't even make it into the castle courtyard."

  "Let's untie her." Shiloh said, rising to stand upright.

  "You just told her you were going to kill the lord of her people." The elf said dryly. "Do you really think untying her is a good idea? What if she just takes off the neckd-"

  "I won't." Viktora interrupted. "I won't remove the neckce if you don't hand me ba. I beg you, though, you ake an attempt on Emberhearth Castle. Ronak and the members of his court are strong enough t eies to their knees. You must flee these nds, back to where you came from. There is nothing but death in Ronak's domain."

  "You 't trust her." The halfling said, though Viktora didn't think the halfling posed to her. She spoke as if she were simply stating a truth like "the grass is green" or "the moons e out at night".

  "I trusted all of you." Shiloh responded. He went behind her and uhe rope binding her arms. He extended a hand, and helped her to her feet. Theerialized a long, brown cloak out of midair and held it out to her. Viktora hesitantly took it. He smiled encingly, then blushed and averted his gaze as she stripped naked in front of him and put the cloak on; the dress was thhly ruined and would only impair her movements.

  The elf, who was tht, gasped as the dress came off. At first, Viktora thought she was gasping at the extra equipmeween her legs, but the elf's eyes were focused on her back. The scars.

  "Shiloh." She whispered. "Look at her back."

  Shiloh turned his gaze back to Viktora, who was still naked, simply holding the cloak in one hand. His eyes did the briefest of flicks down and then up again, where they met hers. He blushed, but asked politely. "Would you mind showing me your back, Viktora?"

  She slowly turned on the spot, elig masps and a couple curses from the gathered people. She felt a hand trag one of the thicker, knotted marks from her left shoulder tht hip. She spun back around and hurried to put the cloak on. Shiloh was standing right o her, his hand still outstretched.

  "I am sorry, Viktora." He said solemnly, grief welling up in his eyes. "Ronak did that to you, didn't he?"

  She nodded.

  The grief hardened into resolve, which turned into anger. "He won't do it again." The human spoke these words with such determination that she was actually ready to believe him, but she had seen with her own eyes how foolhardy it was to try and kill the vampire lord.

  "You o flee this pce." Viktora repeated, early looking into his eyes. He stared bato hers, and his softened. It was the same expression she'd seen that bastard Ronak look at Cassandra with when she was o the castle.

  He blinked several times and wiped the er of his eye before looking around at his colleagues, who Viktora was only nnizing were all wome a mixture of responses from them, just through the expressions on their faces, and he sighed.

  "Well, I guess it's time to speak with Aphrodite."