-Chapter 2-

Black cloaked figures entwined in an unbreakable circle, isolating Avelyn and Mykhail in the middle. She had a second to adjust to the flow of magic that overwhelmed her and then the fight was on. The figures around them started chanting words in latin, words meant to keep the Silence though they were in a quite remote place. It had happened a few times that some drunk goths had stumbled upon one of their rituals but they had seen nothing. Ever since them the Silence was kept and magic was used to scare away unwanted visitors. Of course the unfortunate kids who had come here thinking they had a quiet place to spend the night had walked away with their memories erased. Humans were not allowed to know of the Strigoi's existence and under no circumstances were they to know that the Vrykols lived among them.

As the two continued to attack each other with a predatory grace that couldn't be mistaken for anything but finely honed killing skills, shadows crept around the forgotten cathedral. A gust of wind brought dark clouds from the north, covering the sky in a black velvet that permitted no light from the moon or stars to touch down on the quiet earth. As a second veil of darkness covered the world, dark shadows with eyes that blazed crystal blue surrounded the walls of the former holly ground, making no sounds whatever.

With a sudden pang of realization, Avelyn straightened from the crouch she was in and looked around herself, not understanding why her senses were telling her that strigoi were nearby. It seemed that she was not the only one who had felt them because all the other cloaked figures stopped chanting and Mykhail lost his grip on Avelyn's hand, looking around himself in a calculated manner that showed just how many battles against the undead he had been part of.

"Well little bird, it looks like your test is over...for now. I think it would be better for you to return to the others as soon as you see an opportunity. Raise the alert and bring them back here."

"No way! You think I can actually leave you guys to fight alone when I KNOW that you are greatly outnumbered? What would that say about me?" Avelyn protested with no traces of fear in her voice.

"You will do as you are told! Alec! Lucas! Secure all the doors and windows! Ash, Cailyna and JT check the perimeter and make sure there are none of those bloodsucking vermin in here!" Mykhail ordered in a booming voice.

"I am just as brave as you are and I'm not going to leave. You and I both know that I have the ability to communicate telepathically from a distance with those who remained at home. I already send out warnings to them but I don't think that they got past the strigoi defenses, meaning that there are too many of them out there for you guys to take on by yourselves! You need all the help you can get here, Mykhail!"

"Your bravery is not in question here! You have no idea what it's like to be in a real fight. All you ever did was lure Strigoi in with your body and then kill them while they were still unsuspecting but the things out there are trained assassins and there is no way a young inexperienced girl like you could last one minute against one of those killing machines! As for you helping, I doubt that. You may get to kill a few of them before they get to you but it won't do much good," replied Mykhail in a bleak tone that left no room for arguments.

"The hell I won't! I lasted 10 minutes against you, you son of a b***h didn't I? Not to mention that I was supposed to take my test today!"

"Consider it passed. I don't have time to argue with you right now so either stay or leave but either way you better get that sword of yours ready because the door isn't going to hold for much longer."

That's when she noticed the loud booming noises coming from the far end of the cathedral followed by creaking noises. She had been so busy yelling at Mykhail that she hadn't heard anything but her furiously beating heart. That meant that they were using something pretty big on that door because it was giving, and fast. In a matter of seconds they were going to get in and then it would be too late to leave. Avelyn had but a split of a second to make the decision and then the door burst open and they flowed in like black, deadly water.

At first everything was a blur and it was hard to make out who to kill since both the Vrykols and the Strigoi were dressed in black. The only difference between the two was the eyes. The greatly outnumbered Vrykols had eyes of a drowning dark turquoise whereas the Stigoi had eyes of and icy blue that sent chills down your spine. Without a second thought she pulled out the sword that she had unconsciously put back in its rightful place and abandoning herself to the battle she could only hope that they would all live to see the sun raising in the horizon. The battle was deadly and everywhere she turned her gaze people were engaged in combat, blood was spraying on the walls and dead, empty eyes were staring up into the sky from the bloodstained floor. Eyes that belonged on corpses that hand been her friends, fallen in battle.

It seemed like the Strigoi were entering the cathedral in endless waves because as soon as Avelyn killed one, five others sprung up around her to replace their fallen warrior.

'Mykhail was so wrong.' she thought smugly as she killed Strigoi after Strigoi.

It seemed like this battle would never end and Avelyn noted with silent desperation that the enemies were getting stronger by the minute, her deep wounds being proof of that. Soon, her strength started seeping out of her at such a rapid pace that she was soon forced to fall back. Avelyn turned on her heel and, casting a last glance at the carnage behind her she ran as fast as her shaking legs could take her.

'Damn! I'm losing too much blood to continue at this pace with those suckers chasing me! Something's wrong...' and just as she finished her thought, Avelyn realized that unconsciously, she had taken the wrong route and she now had only one way to run.

That same path was now blocked by five cloaked figures with eyes lit from within by icy blue fires. With her last ounce of strength she palmed the two knives she had left, hidden in her boots and let them find a home in the hearts of two of her pursuers. Those were no ordinary silver knives, their blades being coated in Dead Man's blood, the only poison that could kill Strigoi. It only took a few seconds for the venom to reach their hearts and soon there was nothing but two piles of ashes at the end of the corridor. As the three demons that were left advanced, Avelyn dropped her sword since it seemed to weigh a ton and took out of their holsters the two guns she kept with her at all times. Just as she was aiming at the remaining Strigoi, her vision blackened and no matter how hard she tried to keep her eyes open she felt life leaving her and with a last breath she dropped to the floor. Dimly she could feel a sharp pain blossoming in her right side but that didn't matter anymore because now it seemed far...so far away.

Pulling herself together she fought back one last time, sending her powers out to those who were still up and fighting. With a small smile, she felt the five elements leaving her: fire, water, earth, air and the very spirit of life. Just because she was to weak to use them didn't mean that the others couldn't.

Just as she was about to abandon herself the the sweet numbness overwhelming her, she saw blue eyes surrounding her and just for a second, Avelyn thought she heard Alec call her name. Then, everything faded as she lost herself.