Baptista awoke a few hours later, the sun was still in the sky, but the curtains in her art room shut the beaming light. She looked at the face in front of her, the young vampire man. He seemed so innocent there sleeping before her, but then reality had sunken in as she stared upon her face.

What was she doing? Being in the arms of a vampire, a killer? How could she trust anything this man said? How could she have been so naïve?

She got up quickly, moving swiftly and softly, so not to wake the pale monster before her. She looked upon the paintings of the spirits and beings that had come to her in visions and in dreams. Was she really cursed? She couldn't believe she indulged into this dark world as if it was some kind of wonderfully dark romantic fantasy. She felt so stupid.

Baptista dashed out of the room and went into her own and got out a large duffel bag and filled it with clothes and beloved jewelry from her dead mother. She rushed through the house frantically, her straight red hair fly about as she went from room to room. Once she had everything that she needed, she hefted it out to her car. She had to escape from this nightmare; she had to get away before dark.

Frankie was dead, and reality hadn't hit her last night that these murderers killed her. She was under their spell from the moment she met Aloysia. Curse that Bitch. She thought as she went into the house one last time to get the last of her things. She was going to leave behind all her art, but she took her tools. She could always create more art one time or another, but she had to escape the vampires.

"I can't believe I'm so freaking stupid..." She said as she went behind the wheel and tore off down the road. She knew she could never ever come back.

She drove and drove down the monotonous highways, and down some meadow-hugged streets. She kept reminding herself how stupid she was, of letting those spirits get to her. She was probably just mad, every good artist was. At least that's what she was told.  But she didn't want to be mad! She just wanted to live a normal life, she always did, but ever since her mother was murdered, nothing would be normal ever.

"You should really stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault, you were infatuated." A female voice said from behind the driver's seat.

Baptista stared into the rearview mirror. Her eyes widened seeing the large woman in her back seat. She pulled over to the side of the road and put her head on the steering wheel. She really was going mad! Now these spirits were talking to her, and she could see them in mirrors.

"You're not mad." She said. "You're gifted."

"Some gift..." Baptista scoffed.

She pulled back onto the road ignoring the woman in the backseat. The woman was mammoth. She was muscular and trim, but she was huge! She had to of least been 6 ½ feet tall! The titan woman looked to be in her younger years, but she could see age in those roan eyes of hers. Baptista had never seen eyes like that before. This woman had a certain white glow around her, though it wasn't easy to see, and she looked like what Baptista would envision the great Goddess Artemis to look like. But this woman had long flowing dark brown hair, that looked so soft and so shiny, so healthy.

But she couldn't ignore this spirit who was patiently waiting for Baptista to pay attention to her again. This titan woman was right from the moon's womb, or so it seemed. Who was she? And why was she wasting her time with her? She was nothing special; then again she knew she wasn't like anyone else.

"Is Abivin telling me the truth?" Baptista finally broke into words.

The titan woman didn't respond as Baptista took another turn around a very curved road. Then she looked up at Baptista, her roan eyes flaring with sympathy. It was as if she wanted to tell her the whole story why she was here, and what was her mission. But she couldn't let Baptista have so much knowledge, not at one time anyway. She would give her what she was allowed to give.

"I cannot answer that." She finally said calmly. "You know you look just like your mother."

Baptista didn't respond this time. Of all the spirits that visited her, the creatures, her mother didn't come to her, and it made her feel totally abandoned. Why couldn't her mother come to her dreams? Just to show her face? She didn't even have to say anything to satisfy her. Did her love for the dark, the grim, disappoint her mother? Was she shamed?

"Your mother loves you so much you know." The titan woman said. "She wanted me to tell you that."

"You know my mother?" Baptista said raising her eyes, but keeping them on the road at the same time.

"Of course I know her. I know a lot of the people who come to you. You're a messenger, sometimes you don't know the message you're sending, but you send it." She said playing with a bit of her long dark hair.

"What about the vampires? Heléna is she there too? How does she deserve to be where my mother is?" She asked pulling into a park because she was getting emotional.

Tears ran down Baptista's face, she wiped them away quickly, so that the titan woman wouldn't see them, but of course, she knew she did anyway. She looked up at the woman in the mirror, then turned around and was struck by awe ten times than from what she saw in the mirror.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Shakriella, I'm here to guide you." She said with a simple cheery smile on her face. She seemed so angelic, so wonderfully pure and youthful.

"Are you my guardian angel?" Baptista asked.

Shakriella giggled, much like a little tiny girl would do, seeing a butterfly fly through the air on a warm spring day. "So many questions. Your mother told me you'd ask so many."

"I'm scared." Baptista's chest went up and down heavily. She tried to hold back tears. "I'm really, really scared. Frankie's dead, and I know that at least one vampire is after me."

Shakriella went to put her heavenly hand on Baptista's shoulder, but she stopped herself, but looked so sympathetic at the young redhead girl. She knew she was deathly scared, and of course, she had a reason to be.

"Don't worry, you have a guardian who will protect you."  She said trying to raise the scared and scattered energy Baptista was seeping out of her soul.

"You?" Baptista said choking down tears and wiping away the ones that had escaped while she bore herself to this angelic being.

Shakriella shook her head. "No, not me. I'm only here to guide you, to show you to the right path. I can't force anything upon you. I just merely suggest what I think is the right thing to do."

"Who--?" But before Baptista could finish her sentence the image of the grand titan woman, Shakriella was gone. All was left but her bare empty backseat.

Sunset was coming at she had at least an hour of travel ahead of her before she got to her final destination. She didn't want to endanger anymore of her friends, but she had no where else to turn to. She just hoped the vampires would forget about her. So what if she could talk to spirits, creatures from other worlds, and even angels now. That didn't make her that special that a vampire would stalk her.

Abivin awoke, it was just about sunset, only seconds until the sun was swallowed by the earth leaving it in darkness for the eternal hunters to come out. He looked around, Baptista wasn't there. He ran out the door, calmly calling out her name, but no response.

"No!" He said angrily, but he was more worried than anything.

He completely searched the house, and he knew she wasn't there, noticing all her art tools gone, and empty dresser drawers. She had ran away, he knew that her immediate trust was too good to be true.  Though he was surprised all of her drawings were still there; she didn't even take one.

"Baptista... you don't know how much danger you're in." He said as he flew to his car.

Michael stormed up the hallway and into the den where he knew Lance would be. He glared at him.

"Don't tell me you're still upset? I told you I was going to kill him." Lance said. "But I wanted him to lead Aloysia here."

"Of course..." Michael said annoyed. "Aloysia. Don't you get it? She doesn't want anything to do with you! Not since Abivin filled her mind with those stupid thoughts."

"I could change her back. I know I could." Lance said glaring at the floor. His green eyes flickered among the fire in the fireplace.

Michael shook his head. "I have some interesting news."

Lance looked up; the glare went off his face. "Yes?"

"The woman, I was trying to kill last night is the friend of that artist you wanted me to get for you." He said. "Baptista Carterson's the girl's name. She had drawn some vampires that we knew from centuries ago... and she is mortal."

"How could this girl be able to do such things?" Lance said raising his glass as a servant came in and filled it with blood. He sipped on as he listened to Michael as he spoke.

"I don't know, but I'm sure Abivin has ran to her. There is something very intriguing about this young lady. She is so angelic, innocent, yet hard and strong. Much like Aloysia when you found her."

"Hmm..." Lance hummed as he sipped on the sweet red nectar.

"Don't even think about it. Baptista's mine, you have your beloved Aloysia."  Michael said with a flare flowing through his brilliant blue eyes.

"How are we going to get this girl away from Abivin if he has gotten to her first?" Lance said placing the empty glass down, thinking of his intentions of getting Aloysia back.

Michael looked down, and held the bloody agenda in his hand. It was Frankie's address book and he opened to C, and looked at Baptista's address. "I'll go check out home first."

It took only moments it seemed for Abivin to race across town to his only vampire friend in this town. He peeled into her driveway making a terrible screeching noise with his tires. He leaped from his car door and to Aloysia's door, he pounded on it rapidly.

She opened the door, surprised to see him, but she could tell something was wrong by the expression and colour in his face. "What's the matter?"

He took in deep breaths as if he was out of breath, but that was impossible for a vampire. "It's this girl, she knows you, Baptista Carterson, she's in trouble. Michael's after her."

Aloysia glared towards Abivin, but not at him. Just the thought of Michael going after such a person, or any person for that matter. "Are you sure it's Michael who's after her? And not Lance?"

He shook his head and shoulders. "I don't know, but I know she's in trouble. I tried talking to her last night, and when I fell asleep, she ran away."

Baptista pulled into the driveway of a friend she hadn't seen in years, but she knew she could help, and maybe protect her. Though she felt bad for just showing up, after so many years since she left town to be near the city. But Poloma Anthony, wasn't the type of a person to just shove someone away. She'd probably even take in a stranger off the road.

When Baptista got an answer from the door she was surprised to see who she saw. A little girl, the exact copy of Poloma. Those large hazel eyes stared upon Baptista, her dark Native American skin beamed off her little body like soft sunlight on the clay of the tiles that led to the door. Baptista held her hand to her mouth, she knew this was Poloma's daughter.

"Is your mom Poloma?" She asked taking her hand away so she could be understood.

The little girl nodded, looking at Baptista nervously. Not because she was a stranger, but the flushed and uneasy look on her face.

"Can you go get her? I'm her friend, Baptista." She said trying to wipe the expression that was frightening the little girl off.

The little girl closed the door and Baptista could hear her little footsteps leave with the small sound they made upon the floor. She waited now, nervous again, afraid that Poloma would turn her away before she could tell her what was going on. But she knew deep down inside that that was just paranoia.

The door open so fast and before Baptista could react, a figure with dyed blonde hair and long arms flew out at her and embraced her warmly and hard. She left out a gasp and let herself fall into her friend's embrace. Then she began to cry, she couldn't control herself anymore, then again, she never could around Poloma, it was this weird power she had over her.

"What's the matter?" Poloma said pulling away from the hug. Her large hazel eyes full of worry.

"Frankie's dead." Baptista said choking on some tears, trying to stop crying.

"Oh my dear lord..." Poloma said pulling her friend in.

Noemi, Poloma's daughter looked even more worried at Baptista as her mother pulled her into the living room. But this wasn't the same kind of worry this time; she wanted to make her mother's friend feel better.

"How did Frankie die?" Poloma said sitting down on the couch with Baptista.

"By this guy named Michael we met in this club... And now he's after me Poloma!" She said, crying again.

What was left of Baptista's makeup fell down her face with her tears. Poloma hugged her friend tight. She looked up from her friend's shoulders seeing her horrified daughter in the doorway, staring at the two.

"Don't worry, you'll be safe here." Poloma said. "I have someone I'd like you to meet."

She signaled for her Noemi to come in the room. She came up running and plopped down next to Baptista, she didn't know her, but her mother did, so the little girl wrapped her arms around Baptista to try and make her feel better.

Baptista wiped the sticky tears from her face with her shirtsleeve. She looked down at the little girl, now more closely than before. She looked exactly like her mother. The only difference was that her mother had dyed her hair from the deep, deep dark brown it usually was.

"Baptista, this is Noemi. Noemi, this is a very good friend of mine, Baptista Carterson." Poloma said now stroking Baptista's sticky tear stained hair off her face. "Baptista, why don't you get yourself cleaned up, and I'll set up a bed for you, and you can tell me the whole story, because I know there is much more to it."

Baptista nodded, wishing that what was true wasn't. "You don't know how much there is."

Poloma was cleaning out the small guestroom she had for her friend that she hadn't seen in about six years. She couldn't believe Frankie was dead, though she didn't know the half of it, she didn't know her young friend was murdered by a vampire. So much had changed since the two girls, her beloved friends, Baptista was thirteen, and Frankie was fifteen, ran away right after Baptista's mother had died. She honestly thought that she'd see their shining faces ever again. Now for sure, she'd never see Frankie.

Baptista took a long shower, as if she was trying to wash away everything that happened. But no matter how much water would pour down on her, it wouldn't change a thing. But here she felt safe, at least for this moment. Those vampires didn't know where she was, and they couldn't find her. Though paranoid thoughts filtered in her mind that they were still going to find her. But Shakriella told her she had a guardian... who was it?

"Um Poloma?" Baptista said sticking her head out of the shower.

Poloma peeked her head into the bathroom to meet Baptista's head poking out the shower curtain. She smiled seeing her soaked friend. "Yes?"

"I kinda left all my stuff in my car... I don't have anything clean to change into in the house." She grimaced.

Poloma giggled and went out the bathroom and outside. The streetlights filled the area with a soft glow. She went into her friend's car and grabbed her things. Making two trips along the way. She put Baptista's things in the guestroom and made her way back into the bathroom. She poked her head into the bathroom telling Baptista where her things were then was off into the kitchen to make dinner.

Baptista crawled out of the shower and wrapped her body up with a fluffy blue towel. She looked at her clean drenched self in the mirror. This had to be a nightmare, and soon she'd wake up. This was way too weird to ever be reality.

"But this is reality dear." Said the feminine voice from behind her.

Baptista quickly turned around, as if it was going to be someone else, but she knew who it was. There before her stood the mighty Shakriella, her being so strong, yet so soft at the same time. Shakriella smiled seeing her charge wrapped up and clean. She walked slowly up to her and hugged her dearly. Shakriella's flesh and silken clothing felt all the same, like silk, and Baptista enjoyed this embrace of bliss. For a moment she did in fact forget every ugly thing that was happening right now.

"Don't worry Baptista." Shakriella whispered. "You've got to be strong."

She listened to Shakriella's words echo in and out her head as she nuzzled into her guide's warm chest. She didn't want to let go, she didn't want to go back. The darkness seemed to surround the entire world except this little space they were in. But Shakriella pushed her lightly away from this dream world.

"I hate this." Baptista said. "I don't want to feel alone and scared like this anymore."

"You're not alone." Shakriella wiped the tear that flowed down Baptista's cheek.

"Yes I am!" She yelled, then realized how loud she was.

The door flew open as Poloma went through the doorway. "Are you okay? I heard you scream." A worried looked washed over her soft tan cheeks.

"Sorry... I was thinking out loud." Baptista's face became red, as she knew Shakriella had disappeared into the air. "A little too much out loud."

Michael pulled into the driveway of the young artist's home. All the lights were out, and he growled when he stepped towards the door. He could smell Abivin all over the house. He knew that that empathetic vampire was here. He had beaten him to getting to Baptista.

He walked into the house anyway, to see what he could find. He noticed that everything just about, but her clothes and art tools were there. All her art was there; he couldn't understand why she didn't take the lovely things before him with her. Well, that was her loss then. He picked up as many as he could, especially the ones of Aloysia for Lance. He would absolutely adore them. He took the art to his car and sped off into the middle of the night, as he was heading back to the mansion.

"We've got to look for anything that could give us any clues to where she might have gone. We've got to get to her before Lance or Michael do." Aloysia said as she turned the street in her car.

"I know this." Abivin said a little annoyed.

Aloysia was in a bit of a shock; she had never seen Abivin in a negative attitude before. This was really bothering him. As she knew there was something definitely special about this girl, she had dreamt of her vampiric mother. She looked over at Abivin, the annoyed look still on his face.

"Did you see any of her art?" Aloysia said trying to keep on the subject, but changing it from the bad side.

He nodded. "She had done some of you and Heléna. She says Heléna comes to her in her dreams."

"She did drawings of me?" Aloysia said raising her eyebrow. "I know she told me about Heléna before she knew I was a vampire."

"She knew that from the moment she saw you." He said putting his hands underneath his chin. "I know it."

They pulled into the driveway, right away they could smell the scent of the vampire they hoped to avoid, Michael. Abivin jumped with supernatural speed out of the car and made his way into the house. But it was empty, and he didn't sense that Baptista was there.

He searched the rooms instantly, Aloysia came in behind. She began searching the bottom of the house since she knew Abivin had rushed upstairs. He couldn't believe his brown eyes when he saw that Baptista's lovely paintings and drawings were gone. At least the ones that were vampires. He growled and continued his search.

He knew he would have a better chance finding something when he went into Baptista's room. He went from one corner to another, and found nothing. He sat on the bed, trying to think of something, that might lead him to find something to find where she had gone. He jumped from the bed and looked underneath it. There he had found a black address book, he grasped it quickly in his hands, as if it would disappear if he didn't grab it as fast as he did.

He scraped through the pages trying to find the nearest address, but it was basically empty, except for a couple of addresses of close friends. He frowned when he came upon Frankie's address. It would have been too obvious of a hiding place, but he was not going to leave any rock unturned.

He came down the stairs to see a disappointed Aloysia; she hadn't found anything, which he wasn't surprised. Abivin showed his pale friend the address book, and her green eyes lit up like fireflies. They then went off to Frankie's house as their first stop in search of Baptista.

"Look Lance," Michael said as he came into the den. "I've come with gifts."

Lance's eyes widened when he saw Baptista's art in his fellow vampire's hands. He saw the ones of Aloysia and practically ripped them from his hands. As he gawked at them his yearning to get Aloysia back grew deeper than it had in a long time.

"You know they're probably all at Aloysia's place." Michael said setting the rest of the art down. "I mean where else would Abivin take Baptista so quickly?"

"Then let us go then." Lance said springing to his feet.

Baptista enjoyed dinner with her long lost friend Poloma and her wonderful daughter Noemi. She was so darling, so much innocence screamed from her tiny body. After dinner Poloma put Noemi to bed and Baptista waited nervously in the living room for her friend to come out.

Poloma made her way into the living room after hugging, kissing, and tucking her sweet little daughter into bed. She sat down next to Baptista, looking at the ground at first. She pushed the long blonde hair behind her, and her large hazel eyes then gazed upon Baptista, waiting for her to begin.

"This is going to be so hard..." Baptista began. "Frankie was murdered as I said, and now this guy is after me."

Poloma gasped remembering what her friend had said earlier. She was in a shock that almost drained her body of her rich dark skin into a palely white. Her hazel eyes lost all colour as Baptista continued, telling the whole story, even about the fact they were vampires.

"You remember my dreams I'd always have... about the vampire lady Heléna." Baptista said, trying to hold her emotions in her stomach.

Poloma nodded. "I can't believe vampires are real. Then again, you know we've all had our share of unnatural experiences."

"Believe me." Baptista said smiling, but it quickly faded away. "I still can't believe that vampires truly exist. I still swear that I'm insane and this is all some weird dream."

Lance and Michael arrived at Aloysia's house in one of Lance's many vehicles, a dark blue van. Aloysia stared out her window to see what she thought she'd never see, but wasn't really all that surprised. She looked over at Abivin who was examining Baptista's address book.

"Lance and Michael are here." She said calling his face to attention.

He hid the book in a deep pocket of his long black duster jacket. He got to his feet, as if prepared to fight. This was surprising to Aloysia, because he was gentle and so against fighting.

A loud bang came from Aloysia's front door. She was really shocked they would even knock, then again Lance always had this polite arrogance about him. She told Abivin to stay in the room they were in, and she'd call for help if she needed it. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if something happened to her gentle friend.

She went to the door and opened it slowly, seeing Lance's handsome face behind it. How she could remember the days where he had corrupted her so badly. How they enjoyed bathing in the blood of their victims. Those eyes, those green eyes, if anything, would bring back all those memories faster than anything.

"What do you want?" She said rudely. "You know I don't want either of you here."

Lance nodded as Michael shuffled a stone with his foot in the driveway. As if he was a bored little child. He poked his head only once when Aloysia spoke, but then it went right back to the driveway.

"Where's the girl?" Lance said in a calm voice.

"I don't know. We don't know." She said looking at him harshly.

Though she was happy because she knew that they both didn't know where she was. She didn't show it on her face but Lance read it in her mind. But he also had this same glee, knowing that Baptista was out there and he would be able to get her. It would be so much harder to get her away from Aloysia and Abivin than it would wherever she was hiding.

"What do you want with her? She's an innocent girl, leave her alone." Aloysia said trying to find any compassion in him.

"Why do you? What makes her so special that you must keep her from me?" Lance said.

"You know why. She is a life, she is also innocent." She said. "And I know Michael told you about the art. About the paintings of Heléna and I."

He nodded. "Heléna came to this girl, a mortal girl, instead of you, or me, or even Abivin. There is something special about her."

"I know." Aloysia admitted. "But please, let her be. She is frightened, and who knows what she will do. I know your temper Lance."

"You and I are over. Remember, those were your words if I remember right." Lance said, sneering at her behind his pale face. "What gives you any right to tell me what to do?"

"It was only over because we are too different. We are on opposite sides of life. You know that, and you know I never did stop loving you." She looked down not to look at his eyes. She couldn't believe what she just admitted to him.

"I know, and you know I love you." Lance said lifting her face up with his fingertips. "But as you said, we're on opposite sides and nothing will change that."

He looked over at Michael still occupied by the stone he was kicking around, then he looked up at the moon. It seemed to be like the one when they had first met. Then back to the beautiful face of his love.

"If we find the girl first, I promise I will tell you, but I won't promise she won't die. Michael's got his own intentions for her."

Aloysia's eyes widened as she heard a noise behind her, she turned around as she gazed into her house to see Abivin hiding among the shadows. She turned back to see Lance but he was gone, as well as Michael, and the van.

"I-" She began to say.

"I heard every word Aloysia." He said angrily, his cold face began to grow hot. "How could you still love such a monster?"

She looked down, strands of her black ebony hair flopping down slowly on her face. She didn't answer Abivin.

"He's not getting Baptista. He will not get her." He said calmly, but you could tell there was a huge amount of fierceness behind it.

He ran off into the night, Aloysia didn't get a chance to stop him, but she had to at least go after him. Michael would kill him without a thought if he found him. He was off to the first place he saw in Baptista's address book, but it was the last place he thought she would be.

As he thought he was right and the house was totally abandoned. He looked into the other addresses, and they were out of the state, but not too far away but too much time had passed for him to go tonight.

He returned to Aloysia's house but she wasn't there, apart of him was so worried, but apart of him didn't care right now. He was afraid he was losing Aloysia to the dark side again, and with her on their side he'd have no hope of finding Baptista. But he had too much faith in her to just give up on her like that.