“Do you think you can beat me you pathetic creature?” Gustavas snarled “I have destroyed clan after clan, I have walked through cities and left nothing but ashes in my wake. You won’t even live to see the sun destroy your broken body.”

Olia tried her best to ignore the pain and concentrate on her clan, they had been everything to her, they had protected her, stood by her, they had even nurtured her in their own strange way. She thought back to the way Cash had offered her his hand, he had reached out to her to save her from her sire’s fate. She had been in his debt since that day, he had spared her life and now she was going to repay him for his kindness to her. She knew there was no possible way for her to escape with her immortal life, but her soul was another matter entirely. She watched, the way the Tremere mocked her as she raised her hands, he must have thought she was going to attack him, . . .he was a fool. “I know how to defeat you” Olia croaked as she wrapped her hands around Gustavas’s wrist and once more used the physical contact to enter his mind. She had been so close last time, she knew it wouldn’t be long until she found the key to his undoing.

Gustavas growled as he tried to shake Olia off of him, he had let go of her throat, but she was still holding fast to his wrist, still invading his mind. He shook her like a rag doll, trying to get her out of his mind and off of his arm, he walked towards the trees that held Gaz and began to slam the injured Gangrel into the trunk of the tree in an attempt to free himself of her torment. . .

Olia grimaced as she felt the back of her skull fracture from the force of the blow, she had to hang on just a little bit longer, she was so close. Using the pain to motivate her mind, she pushed herself further and further into the blackness and horror that was the mind of Gustavas. She sped past the memories of the horrors he had inflicted, the ecstasy he found in the pain of others, the sheer delight he took in slaughtering his own family. She ignored her own pain as she looked for his weaknesses, for the flaw in his plan.

After what felt like hours, she found it, she found the key to his defeat. . . .

She opened her eyes and smiled at the Tremere, delirious with pain, Olia mocked Gustavas, hoping to distract him long enough to do what needed to be done. “Too late Tremere, you’ve lost, I’ve used you to contact the Angel, she’s on her way here as we speak” Olia lied, “You will never defeat us, she will kill you for what you’ve done here today.”

Gustavas paused for a moment “Liar, there is no way you could have broken through my spell, you don’t have the power or the knowledge.” he replied, seething in anger and uncertainty.

“But you do” Olia whispered as she smiled tauntingly “I used your mind to do it. Imagine Angel’s surprise when she hears your voice, sees your memories and thoughts.” Olia cringed as Gustavas pinned her to the trunk of the tree, several feet off the ground as he ranted and raved. Ignoring Gustavas, Olia looked up at a barely living Gaz, she stared almost blankly at the woman who had tried to kill her lover, and endangered Angel’s son and friend. “You deserve no better” Olia whispered as she reached up towards Gaz, claws extended and tore into the Garou’s abdomen. She heard Gaz heave a single painful grunt and then go completely limp as her life’s blood dripped from her now empty shell.

“No!!!!” Gustavas roared as he tossed Olia aside, staring angrily at all of his hard work, she had destroyed days worth of spell casting and months of studying in a single moment. He turned on Olia, a cold and evil glint in his eyes. “Very clever, too bad you won’t live to enjoy your small and totally insignificant victory”

Olia gave a gurgling chuckle as she tried to clear the blood from her throat, she had planned on dying the moment she saw him, she had no fear of death. In fact, in a strange way, she welcomed it, she welcomed the end to her own torment and pain, an end to the madness the voices of humanity drove her to with their constant, never-ending chatter. Every stray thought, every hurt feeling, every betrayal, every unkind image. . .she wanted to be rid of them, she wanted to know peace. “Your plan is fatally flawed Tremere, I am proof of that. I, a childer, have already taken the first step to your defeat. Cash and Angel will see to the rest.” Olia struggled to stand she didn’t want to die at anyone’s feet, she would look him in his cold, blue eyes and make him remember her, she intended to haunt him every time he closed his eyes. Her only regret was she would never be able to say goodbye to Fang, the one person she could truly say she had loved with all her heart, but she knew he would understand, he would do the same for her.

Olia barely felt the pain as Gustavas bared his talon-like claws and tore into her chest, ripping her heart out before she could even exhale. She felt a strange sense of lightness, almost as if she were drunk, but it turned out to be something much more wondrous and amazing. The lightness was her body dropping away from her, the shell that had held her soul for so long lay beneath her, cold and unmoving as she stared at it. The momentary uncertainty that accompanied her souls departure soon pasted as she felt herself floating gently upward. She didn’t even care that the Tremere was tearing apart what had been her body, she was free now. . . .well, almost free, she still had a duty to perform for the sake of her clan. She knew it was only a matter of time until the spell faded, a day, maybe less, she had that long to warn her clan and do what she could before her soul would be able to break through the barrier that Gustavas had placed and find its final peace amongst the stars, right after she found Angel….

Gustavas stared coldly at what remained of the Gangrel, he had viciously torn her into shreds, until she was nearly unrecognisable, nearly. . .

Gustavas smiled wickedly as a new plan formed in his mind. It was true that the childe had botched his plans, but they were hardly ruined. Now that the Garou he had been using as a power source for the spell was dead, his time was limited. . . He now had twenty-four hours in which to capture and kill Angel’s son and the Gangrel Methuselah, Cash. Certainly not outside the ream of possibility. But first things first, grabbing the Gangrel by the hair, he used his talons to make one clean cut on her otherwise mangled body. . . .he would need this souvenir later, as a gift for his old nemesis, Cash. . .

“But Maharet” Tristessa sighed “that doesn’t make any sense. How can twins have two different fathers? And how can you be certain she will have daughters?”

“It won’t be easy, it will take planning and several potions to make it happen. But from what you tell me, two of these three men will be involved.” Maharet said calmly, as if this were nothing strange at all to be discussing.

“Well why not breed her like a brood mare and make it triplets” Orpha fumed “she’s your own flesh and blood, you should both be ashamed of yourselves. You’re talking like she …..”

“Don’t start Aunt Orpha” Tristessa warned “you know the prophecies as well as anyone. You know she’s the one.” she said as she set down the thick leather book with the fragile papyrus pages. “She’s the only one that fits. And the men involved seem to fit as well. Although I’m afraid it won’t be easy, it has to be done within the span of one day.” Tris shook her head “Unless you get her blind drunk, and experience tells me that will take an awful lot of liquor, she would NEVER share herself with two men that closely together.”

Maharet sat back in her chair and brought her pale, slender hands to her lips. She had been watching over her family since the very beginning, since they left the fertile crescent of the Nile and traveled north to mingle with the Sidhe and become the Celtic race. She tried to count how many times she had had to intervene, to make sure the prophecy fulfilled itself. How many of her children had she had to sacrifice to save the whole, how many bitter tears had she shed over those loses. “It can, and will be done” she proclaimed quietly “I know the potions and spells, I can arrange everything”

“And if she doesn’t agree” Orpha questioned “If she fights you on this? I don’t want her to suffer like she did last time. She went to help her clan, on your orders Maharet, and it nearly killed her, . . As it was she lost the one thing we needed most.”

Maharet winced as she recalled that fateful day, the day they brought home Catrianna’s nearly lifeless body. She herself had asked Catrianna to help her brothers defend their clan, never once did it occur to her that this was more than another attempt by the Ministry of Magic to intimidate them. But when she heard the term deatheater, she knew something had changed, something horrible. The memory of Duncan bursting through the doors, carrying his youngest sister’s limp body in his arms as the tears streamed down his face was etched in her eternal mind. They had almost lost her that day, she had been so badly injured, so many knife wounds, so much blood.

That had been the most frightening part, someone had learned her weakness, someone knew the only way to kill her blood line was to cut into her heart with a silver blade, and they had certainly done their best to do just that. The poor girl had been in a coma for weeks, trapped inside of her own body, seemingly dead to the world. Maharet shook the image from her head, it was all the more reason to insist that she start a family as quickly as possible. The madness had to end, and it would take Catrianna and all her children to stop it.

“Orpha, I don’t want you to fight me on this” Maharet insisted “she must have these children, and soon.” She looked into Orpha’s flashing eyes, it was obvious she wasn’t convinced in the slightest. “Fine, what is your biggest concern over this? You know as well as I do she wants to start a family, she has said so herself.” Maharet reminded her.

“True, she has and she does. I’m simply concerned you will force her to marry for prophecy and not love. Its bad enough she’ll be forced to do this, I want her to at least be able to say she married the man she loved.” Orpha said forcefully, “I refuse to allow her to turn out like Wanda, I will fight you tooth and nail on this Maharet.”

Maharet held up her hands to prevent further words. “Fine Orpha, then we’ll do it this way. *I* will chose the fathers of her twins, according to their roles in the prophecy. *You* may chose her husband from anyone the clan accepts. Will *that* soothe your soul?”

Orpha paused for a moment “So the husband does not have to be one of the father’s if I do not feel he is the right one for her?” She paused as Maharet nodded. “Agreed.” Orpha said quickly as she looked from the ancient Maharet to the younger Tristessa “So, who are these men and how do they fit into the prophecy?” she asked.

Tris opened the old leather book once more “In the twilight of the third age of man, the last woman of the Sidhe, the holder of the ancient magic, will inherit a son, her son, yet born of another. In her stead, she will add through the pain of labour, two daughters who will share the womb, but not fathers. Both the sons of the sea and the earth will combine with the daughter of the divine flame to gift their daughters with powers and knowledge to aid the son of the air to defeat the enemies of the ages, the deathless Naga. Tris closed the book and stared at the elder woman.

“Are we sure this is Angel we’re talking about?” she questioned, “I know she’s Deirdre’s daughter, and they were both dedicated to Brighde and her divine flame. But what the heck are the sons of the sea and the earth supposed to be? The men I told you about are all wizards. As far as I know there is nothing special about any of them, well, except maybe the werewolf.”

“Could he be the son of the Earth?” Orpha suggested “Werewolves are traditionally tied to the spirit of Gia.”

“Possibly” Maharet replied, noncommittally, “tell me about the other two Tristessa. I need to know everything you do about them.” . . .

Cash felt a sickening churning in his stomach, something was wrong, not just iffy wrong, but horribly wrong. If only he could contact his clan, he wasn’t used to being so cut off from them, it made him feel nervous, it made him feel like he was a sole survivor of something horrible. As he scoured the forest, hoping to find anyone, Kindred or Garou to reassure him he was not the only living creature in Hogwarts, a shadowy figure stepped out from a small grouping of trees. Cash immediately growled at the presence, it reeked of evil and cruelty “Show yourself” Cash snarled as he felt his hands ache, looking down quickly, he realized his fingers were twisting to become talon-like appendages.