Zack not noticing rage of depression his attention on the people picking themselves up he picked up the wine gulping down the remainder of his drink...Zack plonked the bottle down as she mentioned looking for the monk. “Yeah we had better do so.” Standing up he noticed then her...depressive state... “I am sorry but I still have my friend on my mind It’s too soon.” Whispering the words.

Zack moved down the street his head began to pound tasting.....blood at the back of his mouth he looked around putting his hand to his temple give a grunt as he shook his head he almost looked as pale as the time he had walked out into the sunlight. Swallowing himself in he continued to walk seeming to work only on instincts. His footsteps were going in the right direction towards the tree he looked back to Kaelan laughing slightly. “There are no more Wraiths’ in town at this current moment due to some kind of ward, I think.”

Kaelan simply nodded her head at his whispered words. She felt as if she'd made an utter fool of herself by kissing Zack. Even though he'd said it was too soon, she was unsure. She followed Zack out of the bar, quiet and somewhat subdued. When she saw that he was a little pale, she worried then pushed it aside. If anyone could take care of themselves it was Zack....after all, he had Kade.

At the mention of there not being any wraiths about, again she simply nodded her head. She didn't know what to say or how to act now, so she chose to keep quiet for now.

Zack gave a slight cough nothing serious as they continued on towards the hill on instincts he moved his hand into his coat gritting his teeth as he his fingers moved across the tattoo till it stopped giving a burning sensation. He had shut Kade away for the time being the demon understood it would only cause more pain as they got closer to the real ward but at least he had reached the base of the hill which the tree sat on he could see the two individuals sat down...having tea?

Zack interested ignored the bile in his throat and the dizziness and began to walk up the hill wiping the sweat from his brow as he ascended he saw that the other individual had been that....r...reeve man yes.....reeve. Zack approached coughing more seriously before as he got close to the salt and ash.... “I am guessing that is from you pouch not some kitchen rubbish.” Zack smiling to the two he stopped short of the circle his toes close to the edge....he was not about to test some old magic especially if the ash was from something truly holy and the salt rich and pure from the sea it would probably cause him to collapse if he dared step over their fresh hold. “Nice hat I forgot to compliment it earlier.”

Yuéqiu had kept his back to the tall man the entire time and only when he made mention of the circle of protection did he reach his hand beside him and broke it. The circle was a demonic ward, made more powerful by the blood that had spilt upon Saghala Hill. Whether or not it would have had a profound effect upon the half-demon the mystic could not say but it was only polite to not unnecessarily impede the man or cause him undo pain.

"The circle is not flour." Yuéqiu replied to Zack's question with no humour in his thick accent while Reeve Ethrened tipped his garish hat to the man in a friendly greeting.

When the Reeve spied the woman coming up the hill behind the warrior he promptly stood and bowed. "Ah, 'tis good to have some more company on this darkest night when that which we fear the most enters our door." he said poetically with an empathetic gesture inviting the two to join them round the mystic's fire.

As Zack approached, Yuéqiu pulled his eyes from the fire momentarily and took note of the man's paler. "This is only the beginning." the mystic stated causing Ethrened to sigh as he sat back down.

"My father always told me this day would come, but I never believed him. They called him mad but I he's had the last laugh." said Ethrened, "He prepared me well, however. I do not fear these demons." he finished, gripping the beautifully engraved hilt of his katana. He then reached over and pushed the mystic's break in the ashen circle closed, "Of course one can never be to careful." he remarked with a hearty laugh.

With the circle closed they were protected from most demons that walked the night, unfortunately Zack was now trapped within it, less he need to test its power to escape. There was no danger at the moment and the relaxed mystic filled two more cups with tea and offered them to Zack and Kaelan.

"Please. Drink and relax." Requested Yuéqiu, "We have some time."

The mystic then stared out beyond the walls of the town and spied two pairs of headlights in the distance.

"What manner of demons are these?!" Exclaimed Ethrened looking over his shoulder.

"Not demons." Answered Yuéqiu, "They are called automobiles, mechanical transports of the Prime world. The borders that separate it from Midean are no more and you will see more them over time."

The Reeve sneered defiantly at the outlanders. "Well, they best not be coming here looking for trouble." he swore.

The vehicles were heading round the other side of town, far away from Saghala hill and the Reeve seemed to be no hurry to greet the visitors. They would find the gates locked and he cared little of catering to these outlanders.

Kaelan was quiet and then smiled when Etherened bowed to her. She walked over to the side where he sat and she drank the wine, enjoying it's fruitiness. She watched Zack out of the corner of her eye, worried about him and yet still feeling rather embarrassed and ashamed about earlier. She stared at the approaching lights, quiet. She thought about what Kade had done to her wolf and wondered if it would hold. She also worried about what was to come and what would become of her.

Zack gave a sigh of relief as the circle was broken the pounding in his head seeming to only simmer now. He gave a short bow straightening he turned as with the Reeve with his greeting to Kaelan. Zack laid himself down next to the fire looking to the circle as it was closed again he felt the writhing in his mind increase Kade was complaining that was for sure…..the words seeping into Zack’s mind. “Why am I blind!?!?” The demon was not happy he could not see any further than the ward circle. He stared at the point where it had been closed…but he weighed out the positives…one mans pain for three lives or the risk of all falling to death.

Zack accepted the offered cup finding no warmth from it but it was necessary to regain the liquid he had sweated just getting into this circle so with a shrug he began to drink it…politely though as if at a kings table…Zack turned to look in the direction of the automobiles…. “We left our one at the motel.” He rolled over onto his back the cup of tea empty already and resting on the ground carefully. He stared up at the sky… “If any fighting starts just yell my name.” With that Zack closed his eyes seeming to fall asleep right there and then…

The land had changed. The swords and magic of Midean had amalgamated with the bullets and technology of the Prime plane. Two worlds recovering from cataclysms had become entwined and so soon had the two fronts converged within the town of Obsidon.

Bright headlights shone upon the ancient gateway. The unsteady hand of the guard rose to shield his eyes as he cautiously approached the heavy iron bars that protected him from blazing lanterns of the approaching vehicles. Never before had he seen such carts that moved of their under their own power, or perhaps they were pulled by unseen creatures of the demon world. The simple man could not fathom such things. He only knew that he was the guard, and it was his duty to question all travelers.

"State ye business!" He shouted, trying to hide the tremble in his voice.

Only the engines of the large four by four truck and winnebago behind it rumbled in response until the door of the first vehicle swung open and out stepped a tall man. The shadowy form approached the gatekeeper, his heavy boots crunching the soft stones beneath them.



From his vantage point atop Saghala, the hangman's hill, Ethrened watched intently, as the dark figure moved toward the gate. The tall man, walked purposefully and eventually disappeared behind part of the wall that obscuring the lord's view. He strained his ears, trying to make out any words that might have been exchanged between the stranger and Larnin, the night watchman. The lord was startled then by a loud bang and after some time, the screech of the rusty gate hinges could be heard and the shadowed man returned to his vehicle and shut the door.

Ethrened watched was the two vehicles slowly rolled into his town. The tell tale glow of the bright lights allowed him to know their location at all times, until they went dark and only the rumble of the engines could be heard echoing through the the narrow streets. Then, silence.

The sound of the shot gun blast was enough to cause, Zack to stir from his slumber. He had fallen into a deep blissful sleep, the kind that most took for granted and one that he could only attribute to the power of the circle which contained him. The lord had closed it once more upon the half-demon, with no malicious intent. The lord had no knowledge of Zack's origins and had thought it best to keep the circle sealed for their own protection.

"What manner o' bandits are these?" Growled Ethrened.

Only then did the mystic open his eyes to respond in his usual vague manner.

"People of the Prime, but they are much more than they appear."

The two vehicles were parked in a dark alcove on the far side of town. The driver of the truck, eased back in his seat and smiled as he gripped the steering wheel. He ran his hands along the weathered material as if it were a new sensation or one he had not experienced in a long time. The latter was the truth. The man was no more. When the worlds combined, many such corrupt beings had become the vessels of demonic creatures and this gang of eight marauders were as honey to the bees.

The leader opened the door and stepped out of the truck. He surveyed his surroundings through dark sunglasses but despite them he seemed to see quite clearly into the blackness. He was a tall man, and wore a mish-mash of hardened leather armor and chain-mail that was characteristic of the more modern world. His skin was dark and his black hair pulled back into a long pony-tail that streamed down his back. Stepping away from the truck he raised his head and sniffed the air more like a beast rather than a man.

"Kulzhan, why are we here?" Asked the female passenger in the truck as she inspected her sidearm, "These people have nothing we need."

The tall man, took off his sunglasses revealing his white eyes as he turned around.

"I have my reasons." He told her and his eye slowly looked up toward Saghala hill. "Call it unfinished business."

Amber colored eyes watched the tall man with the white eyes from the shadows. She moved silently further back, the darkness closing in around her dark fur. She snarled slightly, showing her distaste for his scent. But then her nose twitched and she caught the barest hint of another's scent. One whom she'd been searching for for weeks. Zack and Kade.

The she-wolf moved silently as she maneuvered through the darkness until she was at the inn. She could smell the wolf-wraith and again snarled. It wasn't enough that the 'sand crabs had almost killed her, but ever since the changes had begun, she'd been dealing with these beasts on her search for Zack. The change had played havoc on her dna, the wolf all but going crazy. She'd had to hole up in a cave until she had control once again. She had no idea how long she'd been in there, only that she never wanted to go through that again. The pain had been excruciating as her wolf wanted to stay in the open and many a time she found herself trapped between the two forms of woman and wolf, not a pleasant experience for her.

She silently loped around to the back, shifting to her human form with ease and still pretty much clothed. She'd gotten better at that part of her shifting with the merge of the two realms. She walked in, watching the shadows, her nose and ears taking in every smell and sound. She smelled the wraith, Zack and.......another woman. Her lip curled, showing a long canine as her amber eyes glowed for a split second. She walked into the eating area and saw the mess as well as the dead wraith. And she saw the blood....the reddish/black blood that could only be Zack's. She rushed over and smelled it, a worried frown crossing her face. Zack had been injured, but she knew he was now close to her. She'd found him. Looking around, she knelt on all fours, taking in the battle scene around her. She rose to her full height of only 5'2", her long black, silver tipped hair flowing around her. Looking up the stairs, she headed up them, taking in the carnage the wraith had left before it had been killed. The inn was still empty, but she knew that would change and soon for these new people of this merging of the realms cleaned up the messes rather quickly.

She reached the upstairs and using her extraordinary sense of smell, she quickly found the Zack had been in. She entered it, the stopped her nose lifting to the air and sniffing. Again her eyes glowed amber for a second as she smelled the other female. She'd been here...in his room. She whirled around, then stopped again, berating herself. Zack more than likely thought her dead, so she couldn't blame him if he'd found another. Although, the wolf within her said to take him back...that he was her mate, even if they hadn't mated in the true sense of the word.

She had to find him first, get answers and then she would decide what her next plan of action would be. Once she'd been noticing since she entered the inn was that the smell of the female was familiar to her, but she couldn't place it.

She left the inn, and just in time as a clean-up crew was entering from the front of the building, so she slipped out the back and down a darkened alley. Spotting a concealed entryway to a shop that was clearly abandoned, she slipped into it, the shadows concealing her. She needed to rest, her body still healing from the original attack of the sand crabs and not being fully healed when she'd had to deal with the wraiths the past 36 hours. Her clothing was stained in her blood as well as the wraiths and she had long gouges across her chest and sides from their claws. They were only partially healed and still oozed some.

She made sure that she was alone in the entryway in the alley and then sat down in the shadows, pulling her knees up to her chest, resting her head upon them. Her mind drifted back to what had happened....at least to what little she remembered. She remembered leaving the cat-man and she remembered the pain of the sand crabs as they tore into her. She remembered the bright light, the raspy voice yelling and shots being fired from a semi-automatic weapon. Then, rough hands checking her over, then lifting her telling her she would live.....that she had to live. Then nothing.....just a black void that only revealed bits and pieces from time to time over the past few weeks. The main thing she'd thought of, that had never left her mind was to find Zack. She'd been following his scent, losing it only to pick it up again. Now he was close and she was tired.

Closing her eyes, she layed her head back against the cool, stone wall and dozed.

Zack slowly opened an eye the gunshot ringing out... he felt Kade still scratching at his mind screaming to know what was happening Zack opened his other eye as he sat up picking his claymore from the dirt he slipped it back onto its hooks on the back of his coat a small click coming from the hooks and clips. Zack brushed his hands off on his trousers as his eyes narrowed at the travellers down below he removed the glasses bridged on his nose as he wasn’t looking towards the fire...staring for a long time “I might go say hi.” He picked up the tea cup he had been given using it to scrape a small section of the ring off instantly Kade stopped scratching at his mind the circle wasn’t meant to be broken from the inside but touching it was still ill advised for Zack as he stood stepping out he turned to them raising his head away from the fire Kade had gone silent on him...a first for Zack that was for sure. “You had better close that behind me if you don’t want too much trouble and remember...Magic shields aren’t always designed for bullets.” He turned round not waiting to see if any of them would follow him he happily whistled a merry tune as he walked down the hill back into town...the song was not from an appropriate time that was for sure Beethoven’s 3rd symphony.

Kaelan watched Zack leave the circle and wanted to go with him, but he hadn't asked her to, and she was unsure as to what to do. She cared for him, that was plainly clear, but she had no idea where he stood and she knew that he still hurt over the loss of his 'woman'. She sighed, looking over at the older man with the strange hat and the monk, seeing that neither one of them rose to accompany him. She wasn't even sure if she could leave the circle the man had set.

"Zack!! Would you like some company?"

Zack stopped mid-tune and mid-down the hill turning on his heels smiling slightly. “I would be delighted to have someone to talk to...everything being so quiet.” Even Kade but that was probably his way of emphasising the still before the storm...yes things were going to go hectic they had guns down there...this caused him to smile broadly...a challenge maybe. “Let’s get going then we can’t keep our honoured guests wait too long after all they seemed in such a hurry to enter this humble city.” Forgetting he himself was a traveller in town as well, his self-excuse to himself...well I do own a room here.

Kaelan stood up, hiding her happiness at the fact that he wanted her to come along. She didn't want to seem too joyous and make him uncomfortable again. Stepping over the circle, she turned to smile at Ethrened and the monk, then caught up with Zack. She said nothing as she walked beside him, just enjoying his closeness. She didn't know what they were going to find, but she was better prepared now that Kade had taken care of her wolf.


*****************************
Sin only dozed for a few minutes before startling awake from a dream. They were more frequent now, but she never remembered much of them. Somehow though, she knew that they were of what she couldn't remember.

Rising from the stoop, she listened and smelled for anyone close by and not detecting anyone stepped out of the shadows, her amber eyes darting about. She didn't carry a weapon with her, that was the one thing that didn't stay with her when she shifted. She would shift and the weapon would always drop to the ground. So, she grabbed on when it was available and used it when she couldn't shift. Right now, that's what she was looking for, was a weapon before she continued on to get to Zack. She just happened to be heading in the direction that Zack and Kaelan were coming from.

Zack finding that no one else was following shrugged as he began to head down he could feel Kade moving in his mind sifting through…memories Zack gave it no mind if Kade was in the mood for past living let him be. Zack smiled down to Kaelan as he saw finally she had some confidence behind her as the two walked down the alley Zack lifted his head seeing a shadow in the distance moving up the street his eyes narrowed slightly as he didn’t get the sense that it was fully human and he went for his Claymore his hand resting on its hilt. “You see that Kaelan?” Wondering if her was delusional at the person walking up the street he could tell it was a women…but it was not fully human… after all none of the residents dare go outside at the moment.

Sin had already noticed Zack and Kaelan, having smelled them. A growl sounded low in her throat at the smell of the female walking with Zack....the same female she'd smelled up in the room at the inn along with Zack's scent. She quickly quieted, reminding herself that he probably thought her dead, so she had no reason to be angry...only she was. She slipped into the shadows of the buildings, unsure now that she'd found Zack. Her heart was racing and she leaned up against the wall, closing her eyes to still the tears that threatened to fall. Now that she'd found him, she wasn't sure that she could face him....especially with another woman at his side. Had he forgotten about her? Would he even accept her back? Who was this other female that walked with him and what was she to him? All of these ran through her chaotic mind. And Kade....what about him? She'd actually missed the demon, even though she'd never really spoken to him or anything like that, but he was a part of Zack and one that she accepted.

Taking a deep breath, she began to step out when she heard the sounds of footsteps with her acute hearing. From the sounds of it, it was one of the newcomers whom, she had a feeling, were up to no good. Again, she slipped back into the shadows.

Zack frowned slightly as he watched the women step in and out of the shadows he lifted his head in a mock smelling position but in fact he wasn’t smelling he was waiting for Kade to stop messing around finally the demon detached himself from his memories. “Zackie go collect the women don’t bother asking her just grab her wrist and move through the door which will be next to her one of those new bloods is heading this way.” Without a word he nodded to Kaelan a signal for her to follow his lead he moved quite quickly down the street at first not heading for Sin seeming to head towards what Sin knew as the sound of the footsteps. However when he came along side her his hand came out taking hers without looking he dragged the three through a door which like Kade had said been right next to the women….for some reason he could hear the demon snickering at the back of his mind…what was he finding amusing?