Baptista awoke finding herself humming the lulling tune Abivin had hummed to her the other night. She quieted up when she realized she wasn't alone. There sitting on the dresser of the guest room was the huge presence of Shakriella. She winked and smiled as she waved her fingertips at her in a friendly way.

"What are you doing here?" Baptista said in the middle of a yawn.

"I've come to warn you." Shakriella said. "You must leave this place before nightfall."

"Michael's coming?" Baptista said in a shock.

Shakriella didn't answer that. "Poloma and Noemi aren't safe he either, they need to go somewhere where you don't know about. You must part ways with your friends."

Baptista packed up all her things rapidly and put them back into her car, as the invisible to all others, angel followed her around. When she was finally done she gently knocked on Poloma's door. There was no answer, paranoia got to her and she opened the door quickly, as if to think Michael had already gotten them. But there laid her friend in a nice warm sleep, her hair all over the white pillow.

She sat on the corner of the bed, sweetly gazing at her friend. She didn't know how long it would be that she would ever see her friend like this again. She sighed and didn't realize how loud she was, because it made Poloma stir. She leaned over and gently nudged her friend. She opened her exotic eyes and the hazel was open to the day.

"Baptista." Poloma said friendly.

"I've got to go." She said. "You have to go somewhere where I don't know about. It's important."

"What? Why?" Poloma said getting up quickly, worry struck all over her face.

"I can't explain, not now, but for your lives, you must get out of here before nightfall." She said running out of the room.

Tears ran down her eyes as she watched her friend frantically put stuff in her car as she had done a few moments before. She wiped them away, she had to be strong right now or she wasn't going to get through this. She looked behind her, and to her sides to see if Shakriella was there, but she wasn't, but she didn't feel alone, which made her feel a little better than she was.

Poloma soon woke up Noemi and they had a last breakfast together. Poloma didn't mention anything to Noemi, just that they were going to go on a little trip, but she wouldn't say were, it was a surprise.

They were now outside, the two both withheld their emotions in front of Noemi, so not to worry the little girl, but it seemed that somehow she knew somewhat what was going on. They hugged and they got into each other's cars. Baptista watched Poloma's car go off into the distance until she couldn't see it anymore. Then she turned the key and just started driving.

At first she didn't know where she was going to go, but she knew she had to go one place before she got herself lost. She pulled into a gated square of hollowed ground. A wonderful large cemetery and she went as far as she could with her car on the nice cobblestone road. Then she shut down the barely running car, and walked across the freshly cut grass until she reached a large rose stone grave. Isabella Carterson it read in lovely bold letters.

"Mom, I miss you so much, and you don't know how much I need you right now." She whispered.

A cold hand touched her shoulder; Baptista jumped and turned around. Thinking maybe it would be Shakriella, but she was totally wrong. It was her painting come to life; it was the woman who had been haunting her dreams for so long. Heléna! She was wearing a long flowing white dress that seemed to be so fragile it was made from a spider's silk. She looked barely over thirty, but by what Abivin told her, she knew she was much older.

"Oh my God, Heléna..." Was all Baptista could say.

Heléna just simply smiled, her vampire fangs seemed so gentle and smoothed down, though they were still pointed. "We are all here for you Baptista."

"Why have you come to me instead of my mother?" Baptista said, trying to be polite but she was annoyed that she had come.

"Don't be mad, she wants to come, but she can't. Not now, but she will come to you when you really need her." Heléna said as some of her ghostly blonde hair flowed onto Baptista's shoulders.

"But I do really need her." Baptista cried and she threw herself to the ground leaning her head against the gravestone of her mother. "Mommy, come back to me!" She screamed, she didn't care who of the mortal world would see or hear her.

"You've got to leave here. He's after you, and Abivin won't get to you in time." She said.

"Abivin..." Baptista sobbed in response. "He was really trying to help me... wasn't he?"

Heléna nodded, and whispered yes.

"He was so nice to me and I ran away. But what do you aspect?! I hate vampires, I wish they never haunted me! They'd never come after me if it wasn't for my damn paintings." She pounded her fist into the ground.

"Yes they would have." Heléna said. "I was only trying to warn you, but you weren't able to understand my message yet."

"Well, won't they find me anyway?" Baptista said. "Isn't it for the best that they do? That they suck my dry and get it over with? Then no one would get hurt in the process."

Heléna shook her head quickly to what she was saying. "No! You can't let them get you like that. You're too important."

"Then you tell me right now why the hell I am so goddamn important?!" Baptista yelled, a woman went by looking at her strangely.

"I can't." She said hanging her head low.

"Then screw it. I don't care no more, I am giving up. Let Michael get me." She said as she leaned up against her mother's gravestone.

Heléna's apparition disappeared as she stared into the ground as if the earth below would suck her up if she didn't go away.

Baptista leaned against her mother's grave and closed her eyes, she really didn't know what she was going to do. Though one thing was clear to her, she couldn't run forever, she would have to face Michael one day. Maybe she'd run into Abivin and Aloysia first and they could help her, to figure out why in the world she was being chased. The only thing she could think of was, that somehow she would bring people to his place and destroy him and his vampire friends. She truly wished she could do that, though she'd make sure Aloysia and Abivin weren't harmed.

The sweat poured down her face as she lay in the sun, sleeping, totally away from the dark problems that haunted her real life. Her red hair stuck to her face in the gooey mess of the skin and sweat. Though it didn't effect her any, nor did she care if the sun burned her skin.

She was waken up by an old man, long deep wrinkles ran in and out his face. She looked beyond him groggily, seeing that it was almost sunset, then she returned her stare to the old man who told her she would have to leave, that he was just about to close up the cemetery. She got up, feeling the heat deep within her skin; she definitely had a sunburn. How was she going to escape vampires with a terrible sunburn?

"Bye mommy." She said as she went towards her car.

She got in and started driving, back towards New York. She didn't know how of a good idea it was, but she had to go back there. Michael was looking for her at Poloma's house; maybe he wouldn't think that she'd return back to the city.

The sun had set and soon as it went away it seemed that Abivin was on his feet. But he wasn't the only one waiting for this nightfall. Michael jumped into his car and went off into the night towards Poloma's house.

On the road he was traveling he could smell Baptista's scent all over it. As he went on it was getting stronger and stronger. Such a sweet scent it was too, he wondered if her blood tasted as sweet.

"Abivin, please don't go. If Michael gets her, he'll bring her back." Aloysia said pleading with him not to leave, holding tight to his jacket arm. "I know he will. Lance wants to speak with her about her visits with Heléna."

Abivin looked at his dear friend crossly. "And how do you know that? You know more than anyone that Michael doesn't always follow the rules."

"But I know he'll hurt you." She said in a whisper. "You are like my brother Abivin, I can't see you die. Not like Heléna, not like the others we've lost."

Abivin pulled his jacket arm swiftly and got it away from Aloysia's hard grasp without tearing it. He didn't look, he couldn't, as if some how her expression would persuade him from his decision. But he had to save this girl; he had to get her away from Michael and Lance, who knows what they had planned for this girl with this gift.

Michael couldn't believe what had just passed his sight. He swiftly did a U turn in the middle of the busy highway, sending cars all over, hitting each other in a big metallic clash. Baptista just passed him on the highway, that little snot was going back to the city. What guts she must have, he thought.

He sped up to her and caught up to her car, she looked in her rearview mirror and saw the sight behind her. Those lightning blue eyes and that striking blonde hair streaming with the wind blowing in and out his car. She pulled over to the side of the road, which surprised him utterly. He did as she did, prepared for any kind of trap this girl might have. She walked over to his car and looked at him through the rolled down window.

"You are going to answer my questions vampire." She said, her voice firmly in control.

His eyebrow raised, a little peeved by this mortal ordering him around, but also a little impressed and turned on by it. He opened the car door faster than Baptista could comprehend and he scooped her up and pulled her in the car. He pulled off into the road and sped off into the night.

"What makes you think I'd tell you anything? What makes you think there is anything?" He said, his accent had a sudden harshness with the tone of his voice.

"Heléna warned me about you." She said simply, replacing her sudden horror with a fake courage, to try and control him somehow.

He chuckled a little bit. "Why would Heléna warn you about me? She's on the same side as I am. Well, was."

"What do you plan to do with me?" She said trying to get some sort of answer out of him. She looked down at her sunburned hands.

"I plan to keep you my pet." He said as he rubbed his fingertips on her soft cherub like cheeks. Then he really noticed the severe sunburn. "Stay out in the sun too long, luv?"

She didn't answer him, nor did it answer any of her questions really. All he wanted to do is keep her? What did he mean by that? Was he going to try and turn her into a vampire? She'd rather die than become a monster like him. Then again, Aloysia and Abivin were still good. She turned her face towards him as she began to see the horizon of the city lights miles away.

"Why would you want to keep me? I'm not special. I'm not even worthy of being a vampire's dinner." She said in utter honesty.

"Your paintings." He said as he got onto a major highway. "And your dreams."

"So? That doesn't make me really special. So what, I can talk to dead people, so can a lot of psychics out there. Go get them to be your pet. Leave me alone, I won't bother you or anything, I just want to be left alone."

The cool air flying on her face felt great, and it filled her with some kind of power. Even though sunburned she looked lovely in the moonlight. A young maiden moon Goddess, Michael thought, as he would occasionally look at her.  She looked over at him, her dark blue eyes beaming with anticipation and irritation waiting for his answer to what she had just said.

"We haven't run into any psychics who can talk to deceased vampires." He finally said. "If you can talk to our dead, that means that our souls do in fact go somewhere."

"Well, duh, anything with a soul goes somewhere." She said.  "But I thought vampires didn't have souls."

He chuckled. "Stupid movies. Same thing with the crucifix and the stake thing."

"Then how does a vampire die?" She asked, for future information just in case she'd have to do it one day.

"Like I'd really tell you that." He said smirking. "That'd be like telling the cow to how to kill the farmer."

A disgusted look came across her face. "Is that all I am? Your psychic cow?"

He began to laugh hard, as the city became closer and closer. "Psychic cow, now that's funny. Don't be insulted about being our cattle. You eat the meat of animals without a thought, but oh, something's higher than you on the food chain, and we're evil."

He was right about that though, it was nature. She hung her head down as a tear went down her cheek. Michael caught the light to it as it shimmered off the glow of the moon. She was definitely different than most humans. She was actually having a conversation with him, being in the hands of death. He could rip her apart any time and now she sheds a tear.

"What's the matter?" He said.

"You're right, it's nature. Nature gives life, and nature takes it away. Do you kill children?" She looked at him, only after she wiped away the glossy from her eyes.

"I don't, but some of the other vampires do. The blood tastes much better, it's pure." He said. "But what they do doesn't involve me."

"Are you going to kill me? Eventually?" She said looking over to horizon towards the city. Soon they'd pass her home.

He shrugged. "I don't think anytime soon."

Abivin just passed Baptista's car on the side of the road. He pulled over, not knowing it was her car, but her scent radiated from the vehicle. But hers wasn't the only scent he smelled. He looked through the car and found all her things were in there. He had gotten her on the road, but she was going back to the city? Why?

"Oh no..." He whispered. She was coming back for my help. This is all my fault. He got into his car and raced back towards the city. He wasn't going to let Michael win. In a way he wished he had listened to Aloysia, she was somewhat right. He wouldn't have gotten to her anyway.

Aloysia was also relying on her hunch as she headed over to Lance's mansion. She knew he wouldn't let any harm come to her, knowing a lot of the vampires there didn't quite like her. Especially since she abandoned most of them and almost got them killed.

She pulled into the driveway and got snide faces, but they knew of Lance's love for her and they would be killed if they touched a hair on her head, so they let her pass. Though their expressions never changed as they watched her enter the mansion.

She walked into the den where Lance usually was sipping off a body, or maybe a wineglass full of the body's blood before him. When he looked up he was surprised to see the raven beauty before him. Her hair bouncing as she walked before him, tiptoeing over a body in disgust.

"Michael's after Baptista right now isn't he?" She said crossing her arms over her chest, her hips shifted to add onto the attitude in her voice.

"Of course he is." He said putting his glass down, staring at her beauty.

She noticed that Baptista's artwork was hung all around in the room, especially the ones of herself. She felt awed and sickened at the same time, they were totally obsessed. Lance for her, and Michael for Baptista. She looked over at him crossly, still remaining in her powerful stance.

"You love me, so tell me why do you want this girl?" She said, her voice booming through the room.

"It should be obvious." Lance said. "She can see the dead, our dead in her dreams. Do you know how powerful that girl's dreams are?"

"Of course, selfishness. Well, I knew it was that, but I didn't know how selfish it was." Aloysia said. "You know this girl can't control her dreams."

"I can chance that to see Michael happy." Lance said leering at her.

He loved Aloysia but he hated the way she talked to him since Abivin corrupted her mind with the love for mortals. But he kind of liked it at the same time, it made it interesting.

"You love me more than Michael, your little protege, give the girl to me. I promise I'll tell you her dreams. You know I keep my word." She said, not trying to sound as pleading as her words would seem.

"You've got to be kidding me Aloysia." He said with a sly expression on his face. "The girl is mine, well, Michael's, it's too late... unless... you'd come back to me."

"You know I can't do that." She said. She turned around and began to leave the room. "You know I will do all that I can to get this girl from you, because if you can somehow get her to control her gift, I don't want you to have that power."

"Then I guess this means war, my love, because I'd never give up such a power like that. Even when it comes to you." He said returning his glass to his lips.

She growled and a certain red glint passed over her emerald green eyes. She stormed out of the mansion and headed back to her place to wait for Abivin, so they could call upon their friends, because Lance was right, this would be war, and she, and her vampire friends, and the human race couldn't afford to lose to him.

"Where are we going?" Baptista asked as they were starting to go through the city.

"To my home, it'll be our home." He said rubbing her shoulder slightly.

She quickly moved her shoulder away. She glared at him; she couldn't stand the fact that he actually considered her his pet.  Her perspective of life was totally topsy-turvy at this moment. If she got free from this monster she would immediately become a vegetarian and move so many miles away from this place. Of course after she burned all the vampires down to the ground.

"What if your dead stays far away from me now, and never comes to my dreams ever again?" She finally said as the car swerved and went into a wooded area away from the big city.

"I'll make one thing straight luv, you'll always be my pet." He said, not taking his hypnotic blue eyes off the road.

She hung her head down and stared upon the car floor. She'd never escape now, but its not like she could have put up any kind of fight. He'd get to her before she could have ever gotten to Aloysia or Abivin. So it was really over, she was never getting away. She was Michael's pet forever. She just prayed that he'd let her die, and not turn her into a vampire.

Abivin's cell phone rang; he picked it up staring intently at the road. "What?!"

"Don't yell at me Abivin." Aloysia said calmly, but sadly.

"Sorry. Michael's gotten Baptista." He said taking the rage out of his voice, but it still completely covered his face.

"I know why they want her." She said. "It's because she can talk to our dead, and Michael wants her as his."

An inhuman growl came from Abivin's throat; he didn't say a word.

"We've got to stop them, Abivin. Imagine if they got Baptista to somehow control her dreams and talk to the darker dead vampires. They want information, and -"

"Don't you think I know that." He said rudely. "Ahem. Sorry, I'll be at your house soon."

Michael pulled his car into the mansion's driveway; vampires could smell the fresh and curious blood coming in. Baptista was a bit scared, as anyone would be, but she held it deep inside, as if to swallow it so the vampires couldn't sense it.

"Lance is going to so happy to meet you." He said.

The engine went to a halt as they went into the garage. Baptista didn't want to leave the safety of the car. Now the fear was getting too big for her to swallow, and all she wanted to do was stay in the car or run away.

Michael went to the passenger side of the car and opened the door so fast Baptista didn't even see a thing. There was door, then Michael pulling her out against her will. Though she didn't put up much of a fight because she knew she would end up getting more hurt with his strength.

He carried her in before Lance in his beloved den. The bodies that were in the room were gone, any blood that had been on the floor had been cleaned up. There the sunburned terrified girl stood before the magnificent vampire. His green eyes gleamed in her presence, the scent of the old ones beamed off her aura somehow, but he didn't get this scent through his nose. More like through the mind.

"So this is the wonderful girl I've heard so much about." He said, pulling her close to him.

His lips were to her neck. Michael was full of jealousy for a split second, but he knew Lance wouldn't dare to feed on his pet.  Baptista didn't move, as before she didn't feel the need to struggle. She didn't know why, normally she would, but she knew her will was altered. They had been playing vampire mind games with her.

Lance pushed her away and Michael caught her in his arms, glaring at him for tossing her around like a doll like that. He caressed her hair and stared deeply into her eyes. Sleep fell into them and her world began to think of Abivin's sweet lullaby. Michael would probably have a fit if he knew that melody was passing through her brain.

"Isn't she absolutely angelic?" Michael said holding the sleeping Baptista in his arms, still caressing her hair.

"Do you really think our hypnosis will be powerful enough to get through to her? To find out if she has encountered our dead as she sleeps right now?" Lance said staring at the sleeping girl.

"I know we'll have to work on it. I don't think that we'll have much success the first time. She has a very strong will. I admire it so much." He said lying her down on a couch, then sat down next to Lance. "But once we get through that very thick wall, the treasure in there will be priceless."

Everything was swirly around Baptista in lovely colours of blues, purples, and silvers. Exploding and then coming back together as one and going again in the same process. Where was she? It was too confusing to be heaven, well, at least she thought so.

A familiar face materialized before hers, Shakriella. If there were a floor for her to stand on she would have jumped back, but in surprise all she could do was make a shocked expression. She felt relieved having her guide here with her, maybe she was lucky, and maybe she was dead. Baptista really didn't mind if this was hell itself. Anything to get away from the vampires.

"You're not dead, but you might as well be." Shakriella said angrily. "You should have listened when you were told to leave."

"I know." She said hanging her head down staring down at the colourful nothingness.

"Then why are you in the vampires' den?" She said, her voice still beaming.

"I was stupid, fed up, and I thought I could control this all. But I was totally wrong, so totally wrong." She held her head up and looked all around. "If I'm in the vampires' den, what's this place?"

"You're dreaming." Shakriella said.

"Do I really need to wake up?" She said. "Can't I sleep forever?"

Shakriella shook her head. "Killing yourself won't help anything. Your soul will go in limbo."

"It's kind of a better choice than becoming a vampire, or whatever they have planned for me." She said. "Who knows what they have planned for me."

"Remember your protector." Shakriella said as she faded off into the nothingness.

"Damnit." Baptista mumbled. "Great, I'm alone in my damned psyche."

Abivin raced in his car as fast as he could back to Aloysia's house. She was already getting contact with their vampire friends and telling them of the situation. They couldn't arrive tonight but on the next night they would begin traveling to them.

He burst inside the door, making a lot of noise as he stomped through her living room. She gave him a cross look and he just turned around and stared out the window as she continued talking to whoever she was talking with on the phone. What was he turning into? He was never this angry, why was this effecting him so harshly?
"Abivin, they're coming tomorrow." She said.

"Good." He said still staring out the window.

"Honey," She said coming over to him.

She wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder as she stared out the window with him. She could feel the angry vibes seeping through him, though the expression on his face could tell all. This was really getting to him, as she realized. They both knew this was very important, but it was effecting him in such a way.

Baptista woke up and she could see daylight out the window. She ran to the window and tried opening it; of course it was locked. She looked around for something to break the window with, but there was no furniture besides the bed she had been laid upon. It was too heavy for her to lift and there was nothing she could break off. There was no way she was getting out of this tiny room.

There on the ground was a glass and a plate. The glass was filled with water, and the plate full of delicious food, but she wasn't hungry or thirsty. She instantly was tempted to break the glass and use the shards to slit her wrists and die. But her soul would go to limbo as Shakriella said, and would it be any better than this? But her protector came to mind and the thoughts of suicide dulled.

She walked over to the window and looked out, there were woods all around, and there was no trace of any people. All the vampires must be sleeping, if that was even true about them. it would really help her if she knew the facts about vampires, but maybe that's why she was here, to kill these vampires. Besides, Shakriella wouldn't lie to her, and she obviously had her protector to help her, whoever he or she was. And this time she was going to listen to anything Shakriella, Heléna, or any other dead person, angel, faerie, or whatever told her.

Baptista had this gift for a reason, and she took in what Lance and Michael were going to do to her, and she was going to use it to her advantage. She knew they were going to somehow use her gift as a weapon, and so was she.

"Finally!" Shakriella said sitting by the bed. "You're thinking right."

Baptista turned around and glared playfully at her guide. "So, I'm doing the right thing huh? Well, it's good to know I'm on the right path."

Shakriella nodded.

"Shakriella, I need to some things, important things. I think you already know what they are. I know, you probably can't tell me them, 'cause everything in my life is so damn cryptic and I have to learn lessons, and blah, blah. But I need to know the absolute truth about vampires. The fact from the fiction."

The titan woman smiled, her whole body seemed to gleam with a golden glow in the warm sunlight. Unlike her usual silver moon Goddess look. "That depends on what you want to know."

"What do you mean by that?" Baptista said shivering a bit. The sunlight may have been shining in the room like mad, but those vampires had the a/c cranked up high.

"I don't know that much about vampires." She said shrugging. "But I'm sure some dead vampires could help you."

"But Heléna isn't here, and neither are any other dead vampires." Baptista said, starting to get upset.

"You're going to have to figure that out. I can't help you with everything, I wish I could." Shakriella looked away because she saw the anger in Baptista's face growing.

"Of course." She simply said. "Get the hell out of here." She turned away and stared out the window, not even turning back to see if her guide was still there or not.