Time. It’s the be all and end all. We all succumb to its charms at the end of the day. But for some, Ana, all time was, all it could ever be, was a permanent sadness that showed all those she had loved wither away. Now, a primal feud between the beasts of the blood, Vampire and Lycanthrope, would give her the opportunity to place roots in one land, and to have a mate, a king to her queen.

A place above the city, above the clouds. Between the cold thin air, and the heat of the planets outer shell. Christy and Ana looked down on Ireland, it’s green land. Christy in awe at seeing his country from a unique point of view, Ana in awe at her King. For now this pleasure would be tolerated. Days that were to come would bring Christy much more work, and hard times were in plain sight, and Ana would have to bring Christy down to earth. In her mind though, Ana knew that there were questions that Christy needed to ask, and answers that would be hard for him to comprehend.

“This is unbelievable. I don’t want to touch the ground again.” A smile from Ana, as she had felt this way herself, the first time that she lifted from the ground. But her first flight was not some magical experience. Ana was being hunted, by a distant ancestor of the Harmen’s. Still though, Ana felt good, some of her work was done. After years of pain, suffering, and planning, her King was found, the second step in the plan, the plan was not fully conceived. Somehow knowing that she had found Christy, Ana knew that the rest of the future would flow into her hands.

“There must be questions you have?” Ana’s soft, mediterrainian voice glowed into Christy’s ears. Stealing himself from the view, Christy looked to Ana, and she knew that he wanted her to speak the same again. “There must be questions you have?” Ana repeated with patience.

It took Christy a moment to think, and if this was school he would have a million questions a second. But inside he couldn’t think of anything, except for a statement.

“This night, you showed me life, no questions, I’m yours to mould.” The sincereity in Christy’s voice sent a shiver down Ana’s spine, and a single tear, the first in many decades, fell down her beautiful, silky skin. “Good, there are many things you must know, and many things that I must show you.”

Ana takes her mans hands and the air becomes thicker as the ground raises to their feet. Part of Christy lowers into sadness, a quick smile from Ana, and Christy knew that he would experience flight again. Now they were on earth, the ground solid underneath their feet, it wasn’t as pleasant as the flow of air, but you can’t have it good all the time.

On the ground Ana moves around and faces Christy, their eyes meet, and the whole world falls into shape, Christy knows that everything is how it should be.

“There are things that you need to know, you are no longer as you were.” He could listen to Ana’s voice forever, the sultry sounds of the words caught his mind, brought him to her. “What things?” Christy knew that he didn’t have to ask the question, but still, he wanted to show that he was paying attention. “A new presence in your mind, and in your heart, look around.”

The quarry, the stench of death more powerful now, it had been only a few hours since the battle, since he met her. But the smell, which had been a curse to his nose, was now giving him pleasure. The remains of those who fought and lost were still there, even the remains of those who hadn’t seen it coming were laying around, but Christy, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t tell his friends apart. They were all in too many parts. Alertness made his eyes move around, each time the wind managed to gust past any object, soon though, soon his eyes stayed still, and his mind gave him a projection. Every sense in his being had become heightened.

“You and I can communicate without the pointless words of mortal man.” No words broke the air, once again, Christy’s mind brought Ana’s voice to him. “Cool.” The young years of Christy’s life made him use his voice. Ana smiled. “What about flight?” Christy learned fast, and his lips remained closed, but still Ana heard him. “Flight is natural, you feel the air around you, and you rise. When you wish to land, you think of the ground beneath your feet.” Simple Christy thought. Then he also thought that he had to mind his thoughts. “No. Your minds wanderings are yours alone, as are mine, but what you wish to say to me, can be said, without the need of your tongue.” A sigh of relief came from Christy.

“We are more than the Vampire, stronger than the Wolf. We can move in light, we can drink blood alone for substance, and we can die.” This was a part that Christ didn’t like. “We can sense feelings in others, and don’t worry, we have agility, it’s hard to kill us.” Christy looked to where the fallen Wolves and Talon the Vampire lay. “What are we?” The air became still, a single tear fell from Ana’s eyes. A temptation came over Christy to move forward and put his arms around his queen, but the tear that had fallen was gone, dried in seconds.

Ana stepped closer to Christy, and took his right hand to her face. The sadness in her eyes communicating more now to Christy than a thousand pointless words. “For a long time, we were just I, alone, lost. But many years ago, I knew that I had to stop the war between Vampire and Lycanthrope. To answer your question we are the highest order, we are the Peace, a new race to rule all others.”

Christy smiled, if anyone had told him that morning that he would be a Ruler, he would have laughed so hard that he would have died. Then the question Ana was expecting. “Did I have to die to become this?”

The light around them sank into nothing. “You have died to the world that you knew, but you’ve been giving a greater gift.” A semi sad sigh from Christy and a shrug of his shoulders. “Well, I’ll miss everyone, but at least it wasn’t much of a life.”

Smile, to comfort Christy, and then Ana holds out her gentle hand for Christy to take. They move from the quarry, walking, leaving the stench of death and battle behind them for now. The night is fading into the harsh light.

By the time the sun has rising they are in Ana’s home. A room over the O’Shea’s Merchant bar, rooms well maintained and cheap for the overpriced city centre of Dublin. The sound of the Liffey outside the north facing room lulled the guests there to sleep, only for the noisy club goers to wake them again come three o’clock in the morning when the bar closed.

Ana chose this place, due only to the fact that it was cheap, and although thought of in her mind a Queen, the fortune was not yet established. From those she killed with her passion for her goal, would she take that which they held. Petty cash, wrist watches, anything that could be sold. Invading their minds first though, so that she could make sure that snapping their necks was worth it. Her beauty would snare the men in, her voice, and the clear choice of words that she used, that would lead them into a alley way, or a dark corner that would suffice for them to die.
The room itself looked as though it was untouched, the owner didn’t pay for a maid until the guest checked out. Ana never slept on the bed, the floor was better for her, the room felt more spacious, and the hardness of the wooden floorboards prepared her body for times when she wouldn’t have the comfort of walls around her as she slept. Christy sat down on the edge of the bed, thoughts of never seeing his family again gone by now. The only thing captured in his mind was that his life had began, in death.

Tiredness was an agony for Ana, she hated sleep, her dreams were not realms of human fantasy, they were reminders of her past. The bare thought of living those times again shuddered her to her bones. Loves long gone, missed chances, those times she hid who she really was, trying to deny herself the destiny laid before her. It was time that she slept now, to surrender to the dream, the nightmare, the past.

A curious look from Christy, as Ana lays down on the floor. The small vibrations coming through from the strained music in the bar. Standing, and moving, Christy lays down beside Ana, he takes her hand, the music fades, it’s part of the background noise to their thoughts, a sound that they would miss should it stop. With closed eyes Ana looked like a beautiful angel, who could see all in her mind, which she could.

“Will me killing people be part of this?” Christy believed before that all people had a right to life, even school teachers. But the time had come for Ana to share the darkness that lurked behind this new life of Christy’s.

“Death is the next step in their lives, we are here now. You will have to kill man, woman, and child.” This wasn’t going to be easy to hear for Christy, but Ana had to make sure that the king she had chosen was up to the darkest task that was his duty. “You will do this often, and then a time will come where you won’t bat an eyelid doing so.” Her eyes open and a slight turn of head she sees that Christ is now with closed eyes. “Can you do that?”

Inside all along this night, Christy knew that he was going to change. Though he never thought that he would have to kill children, men, and women. Killing the creatures of blood, the lycanthrope, and the Vampire, would be fine, he had studied Darwin’s survival of the fittest and agreed with the principles off this applying to the animal world. But now this would have to apply to every species on the planet. How could he justify it? Love? Power? Plain justice? He couldn’t tell, and didn’t know where the answer would come from. All that Christy knew is that he didn’t want to lose Ana, part of him understood that if he couldn’t find it in him to kill, then he would die. The strictness of his old Catholic beliefs came to that commandment, Thou shalt not kill.

“I will do as my Queen requests.” She didn’t need to look inside his mind, the shaking in his voice spoke more of the lie than the words. In a gentle movement, Ana lifted herself back to her feet. Christy raised himself up by using his limbs, forgetting that he now had those exact powers of levitation. Ana was looking out the window again.

“If you combine their numbers, lycanthrope, vampire, and human, there are nearly ten billion creatures on this planet.” The sadness was profound in her voice, Christy wanted to put his arms around her, but something spoke to him, told him it was a bad idea. “You must realise that when we take over, a few million will die by our hands, every year. The chain of existence in this world will change.” The sadness in her voice was being replaced by conviction. “All you see outside this window will change, your friends, family, pets, and your soul, it is all gone. They are shadows that don’t know that they are dead yet.”

“I don’t mind three of those four dying, but my soul is mine, and I will fight to keep it that way.” The strenth and force in Christy’s voice carries in the air, and causes Ana to smile. She turns to face Christy, he’s expecting hell from her, instead with one step forward and a kiss, he gets heaven.

“You are the King I’ve dreamed of, thank you.” The words float on air and fall into Christy. “So I don’t have to kill?” Hope in Christy is alive. “To keep your soul, you will kill, and you will enjoy.” Harsh words spoken sweetly make it easier to take. The air lightens around them and they lower to the floor, laying on their backs they both close their eyes.

Moments pass. Sirens fill the night time air outside the windows. As their minds rest into the space inside. The quarry in Palmerstown has new visitors.

Cholike and Grosls walk among the debris from the attacks. Vampire Council members, the twins. Dressed in expensive Italian designer suits, and shoes who’s cost would feed Dublin for a month, they walk surely through the blood and bile.

Born before the Norse ever set foot on Irish soil, the twins forget their births into the light and their fall into the dark. All that matters to them now is the integrity of the Vampire Nation in Ireland. They will now stake any Vampire that passes a thought of a Dawn Boat suicide.

“She is here. She has chosen.” Cholike choked the words from his throat, painfully but necessary. “It does not matter brother. The Hunter will find her, if not, the power of our enemies may overwhelm her.” Grosls voice purred out of his mouth, his answer did little to comfort his brother though. “And her King?” Cholike held the words to Grosls like a dagger to his throat.

“We need the King alive, through him we will become invincible.”