Coming of Age Ch. 05

Crystal cleared her throat and lifted the phone. "Hi I'm Crystal, to cut a sort of long story short, Sky has been marked by a rogue vampire tribe." Silence was all Crystal heard.

"Crystal... you wouldn't happen to be Crystal St Claire Beta of Wolf Haven pack?" He asked his mind ticking.

"That would be me," Crystal answered wondering about what Nhor had heard about her.

"Are you protecting her, or some stupid FBI lackeys who have no idea how to fight Vampires?" He asked.

"I am taking responsibility for her and the other two tagged, there are seven of us protecting them, we have two enforcers, four Betas and one next Alpha. We have placed an intent ward around the house and will be having a night watch." Crystal answered knowing he would want to know.

"Aren't you and two other enforcers looking after the triplets, Amy and Wolfgang's cubs?" He asked.

"Yes and they are involved in Sky's protection. They are fully trained and capable," She answered trying to reassure him.

"Amy wouldn't let them move that far away if they weren't". He answered with a slight chuckle.

Crystal chuckled, "Yes, your fosterling will be safe here with us."

"Crystal... Sky is all I have left of... one of my closest friends, her life is in danger... I would feel more comfortable if I was there to help." He explained.

"You are free to do as you wish, if you choose to come we will make arrangements." She said already thinking of what would have to be done.

"I will be there in two days." He said firmly, "May I speak with Sky."

"Of course." Crystal said before she handed the phone back to Sky.

"You don't have to come," Sky explained.

"Your aunt gave me her greatest treasure to protect, I doubt she meant this way but I will protect you." He told her earnestly. "I will be there in two days, be safe." He told her before he hung up.

Sky turned to Crystal, "He's coming." She said as she placed the phone down.

"Knew he would when he leant you were in trouble." Crystal answered as she walked over to a set of book shelves. "Okay," she gestured Sky to come over. When Sky joined her Crystal started to tug out books. "Were and Other History 1, 2 and 3, A guide to Were Culture, A guide to Centaur Culture, A Guide to Fae Culture, A guide to the creatures of the Other World and Myths and legends." Crystal finished as she put the last book on the stack now resting in Sky's arms. "These will help with your... gaps. I'll get one of the triplets to copy them for you so I get my books back."

"Where do I start?" Sky asked as she shifted the stack.

"Start with A Guide to Were Culture, it'll help you understand what you see around here and definitely you need to read A Guide to Centaur Culture; that will help you understand your foster father. After you've read them I suggest you then read the history books because it will explain history in a way you've never read it before." Crystal started.

"What do you mean?" Sky asked.

"It is un-biased history written by Ancients who witnessed the events first hand," Crystal answered, "the good, the bad, the ugly, it's all there. Humans don't recognise these books as being true history because there are things in these books that they never knew happened or have evidence of happening. But when it comes to history Ancients are... meticulous and it corresponds with either a races written records or verbal ones."

"So all non-humans are aware of these books?" Sky asked.

"Yep... in fact it is a part of their learning, I know Were have to have these book memorised before they turn ten and pass a test on their knowledge. Most of the Others have the same kind of rules. Amy said to Gwynt when he started reading them, "how can we look to the future when we do not understand our past." Crystal replied as she went to the door and let Sky out. "Happy reading."

****

Crystal walked outside as she spotted Thais through the window early that evening; the others were busy getting dinner ready. She glanced up as the last of the sunlight faded into the darkness of night. "Thais," she said to gain his attention.

"Sky's Centaur foster father is coming in two days I know." He said as he finished stretching, "I think I need to sleep on the ground tonight, my back is just one knot." He added as he twisted his body backwards and forwards.

"Napped in an odd position?" She asked and he nodded, it was sometimes the hazard of sleeping with two cats, they instantly sought out those odd positions and it didn't harm them, he on the other hand was a wolf, odd positions did not suit him.

"We'll alter the internal proportions and doors after dinner." He said before he glanced off, "Rayven will be here in a few minutes." He added before he turned and walked inside. Crystal followed him into the house and sat as dinner started to be served, Thais went to get the door and a few minutes later he returned with Rayven.

Like all true vampires she was pale, although not sickly like people once thought, she just appeared to have alabaster skin with the occasional vein visible. She was long and lean and walked with the grace of a predator; her short black hair was streaked with blue and red giving her a very un-Vampire like look but it suited her. Dressed in what she considered standard Death Walker attire she was dressed in black to blend with the shadows and darkness, however unlike what people believed she and most death walkers abhorred wearing leather or latex, tight black jeans encased her legs with heavy black combat boots on her feet, a tight black shirt covered her chest and over that she wore a long black trench coat. On each thigh was a pistol and on her back rested a pair of Kukris knives. Her face was classically proportioned with a heart shaped bone structure, small slender nose with a slight cleft in her chin. Intelligent honey brown eyes scanned the room quickly taking in every detail, you simply didn't live long in the Vampire world if you weren't careful.

"Everyone this is Rayven." Thais introduced as he offered her a seat.

"Can I get you something?" Bastion asked as he started to get up. He had been dealing with Vampires for a long time, Death Walkers had a closer interaction with humans than normal Vampires and needed to blend in so had taught themselves to drink liquids other than blood and to even eat normal food, although to them it tasted rancid unless it was a blue steak. Since Rayven was a well-known Death Walker she had probably developed those habits.

Rayven took a deep breath as she considered his question, desire coursed through her as the scent of the three humans filled her nose, however her thirst was under control. "Coffee, black please." Bastion nodded and went to get her a mug of coffee.

Bastion returned with a mug of coffee and placed it down before Rayven had a chance to take her seat, "are you sure coffee is all you would like, we do have some blood if you would like a cup." He asked just to be sure.

Rayven again considered his question, weighing her need for blood against her will power.

Crystal considered the woman before her, "when did you last feed?" She asked in a conversational tone but it was far from an idle question, she needed to know if Rayven would pose a threat to her friends. If she did than Crystal would quietly take her outside and they would talk there. Vampires drank blood regularly, if not daily, to control their thirst, however sometimes they needed to go further than a simple drink to appease the beast that was within them. When they did need more than a simple drink it was called a feed, in the days of old a feed was draining an adult male of every pint in their body.

"Five weeks," Rayven answered and watched surprise flash in Crystal's eyes, most masters could go maybe three weeks without a feed, four weeks if they drank more than two cups a day but five weeks was a stretch. Rayven had managed to go for six weeks before succumbing to a feed and was slowly trying to stretch it further but she was always careful. To her it was a testament to self-restraint and it was that self-restraint which had slowly gained her back her humanity.

"Wow," Crystal said a little stunned, "is there a reason you are putting off your feed?" she asked.

Rayven shook her head, "no, I am just... testing myself. But I assure you I have it well in control and have gone longer than five weeks." Seeing Crystal's slightly calculating look she went to reassure her. "Your friends are safe, I am in control." Taking several deep breaths she kept her eyes locked on Crystal's, "see... nothing. Tempting they are, but I am not interested."

"So you have drunk today?" Crystal asked.

"Sadly no, my supply went off but again I assure you I am fine." Rayven answered honestly.

"Rayven I would feel a little more comfortable if you had something to drink, I trust that you have your thirst in control but I feel it unnecessary to test your control. I have plenty of blood here, more than enough to share if you don't mind horse blood." Crystal said knowing Rayven's true reluctance was not out of good manners but because most, if not all, Vampires closely guarded their blood supply as it was their lifeline and their sanity. They would not offer their own blood stock, so Rayven didn't really know how to react in this situation.

"If it will not deplete your supply then a glass would be nice." Rayven said with a smile.

Crystal blinked as Bastion went to get the blood, the smile seemed real, not a carefully constructed façade. "Who turned you?" She asked a little suspicious, the self-control Rayven was displaying was unheard of among Vampires... however, that kind of restraint was inherent in both Destiny and herself.

"Tamor," Rayven answered.

Crystal snorted, no wonder Rayven was such a good Death Walker, Tamor had a knack for picking those with the potential to become great fighters and surrounded himself with them. "Of course the paranoid old fool made you. I take it he wasn't pleased when he released you and you became an agent of the conclave." She stated.

"He accepted it because technically my allegiance isn't to the conclave but to Destiny." She answered. "Personally I believe Destiny talked him into it, he didn't have any intentions then he suddenly released me. See I had been the messenger Tamor used to communicate with Destiny and the conclave when he was in one of his paranoid, never leave the crypt phases, Destiny and I got a long really well. The moment I was free I went to work for her."

"Which explains your humanity," Crystal surmised, Rayven showed her emotions which other masters would not have allowed if she worked under them.

Rayven nodded, "Destiny encouraged it and none of the masters wanted to lose her influence at the time. Learning to control my more volatile emotions became easier when I started showing some of my other emotions and started to prolong the period between my feedings."

"And by the time they started to notice how emotional you were, you were a master yourself," Crystal stated as she had heard of a scuffle between Masters, and now that she was before the woman she assumed it had been Rayven against some of the others.

Rayven nodded, "Yes... but they learnt quickly that I was too strong, too good a fighter to take down. Tamor may be a paranoid freak but he really knows how to teach someone to fight and use all of their assets. Most Masters know little to nothing about what they are truly capable of."

Bastion returned with two glasses of warmed blood and placed them before Rayven who gave him a startled look. "I'm Bastion, I normally run the Alphas home in Wolf Haven Pack, I am used to dealing with Vampires who have no choice but to hold off their feeding. Two glasses is the normal amount when holding off a feeding, correct?"

"Yes I was just..."

"Bastion makes it his personal mission to make sure everyone's needs are catered for in the central den." Temperance explained. "Including the vampires when we have a few over although now days only Arianna braves our corruptive influence."

"Oh," Rayven drank the first glass of blood, pleased that Bastion knew just how to warm blood, the second one quickly followed as she didn't want to freak out the humans in the room. When she glanced around after finishing her blood she noticed that the women seemed to either not notice or think of it as something completely normal, with a glance at Crystal she assumed the latter. She picked up her coffee and took a sip as everyone settled down to eat.

Rayven frowned as she glanced into her mug, there was something else in her coffee, some kind of flavour that she wasn't used to. She was really partial to her coffee, almost addicted, she had taught herself to drink all manner of drinks but coffee was something she took to immediately. "Is there something in this coffee?" She asked.

Bastion swallowed what was in his mouth, "yes, nutmeg, I made the pot and I am partial to nutmeg. Why, is it not to your liking? I can make a fresh pot."

Rayven held her hand up, "no it's fine... I just never knew you could add things to coffee."

Everyone in the room chuckled, "there are many flavours you can add to coffee." Serenity said.

"Which you would probably never get in a road side diner," Thais added, as he knew Rayven had only bought coffee in diners and / or gas stations while she was tailing people.

"Yeah like, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, chocolate, caramel and much more." Temperance added.

"So why are you still working for the conclave if your allegiance is to Destiny?" Serenity asked curious.

"Well, because she asked. When Amy told her she wasn't a Vampire and all the stuff with Judas and Vlha and Crystal she knew she couldn't just quit the conclave. So she slowly handed leadership to Arianna as she was the most level headed and open minded of the Masters. Then Destiny finally handed over when you were like nine, and I agreed that the conclave would keep my services for a decade, after that I was never working for them again and since I am a master they can't order me around as long as I obey the rules and stay out of trouble."

"So this is literally your last case, once it's done your free?" Myth asked.

Rayven nodded.

"What will you do?" Crystal asked before she sipped some water.

Rayven shrugged, "I would like to catch up with Destiny, but my request to go to the central den hasn't been approved yet."

"If you like I can talk to my parents and I am sure Destiny will vouch for you." Serenity said as she reached for another slice of bread.

Rayven chuckled, "I had heard the Alphas were indulgent towards their children but that indulgent?"

Serenity shrugged, "they kind of have to at least listen to me." She said a little evasively, she didn't think she would ever get her mind around the whole Next Alpha thing she had going now. Ash as an adopted child, even though he has the Alpha influence, would never be the Alpha of Wolf Haven Pack because she was the legitimate heir. However it was all a moot point since her parents were immortal and as such couldn't die.

"She is the next Alpha, heir to Wolf Haven Pack," Crystal explained, "As a leader in training her parents have to listen, consider and explain if they agree or disagree to help with her training."

Rayven nodded. "Now that I have answered your questions I think it's time you answered mine."

Crystal nodded, "What would you like to know?"

"Your impressions?" Rayven asked as she sipped at her coffee.

"Young, none are older than a decade, they have a leader of sorts, he is the oldest, more than likely he turned the others." Crystal answered, "no respect for their elders, no regard for the rules, they are completely rogue."

"So who made the leader?" Rayven mused aloud.

"More than likely it was a rogue who fed too deeply and left them thinking they wouldn't turn then the conclave takes out the Maker leaving a Junior with no guidance." Crystal said simply.

Rayven closed her eyes, Crystal was right and she even knew the rogue in question who likely turned this rogue leader who then created a rogue tribe. An Elder only a decade shy of becoming a Master had gone Rogue, which was the vampire way of saying insane. Basically they were slowly losing their higher reasoning and devolving into their beast. If left unchecked the Rogue vampire could go Feral and a Feral vampire was something Rayven didn't ever want to deal with.

"Sounds about right, I even know who might be responsible." Rayven lifted her mug and took another sip of her coffee.

"Why not a living Maker?" Bastion asked as he pushed his plate away.

"If a Maker is alive the Junior would have been compelled to go to them, they wouldn't have been able to do anything but get to their Maker." Rayven explained.

"It's a bit like the Haven compulsion placed upon those who have been forcibly turned." Crystal added, because she knew they all understood the theory behind that compulsion.

"But Destiny wasn't compelled to find you, and you have a Maker bond." Temperance stated.

"And you can resist the Haven compulsion," Myth added as there had been a case of that happening.

"Well, we aren't technically Vampires, of course the maker bond is bound to be different." Crystal answered Temperance.

"And that incident is different," Bastion told Myth before he continued. "That person was scratched when they were angry so it overrode the compulsion, normally when someone is scratched they are frightened and when that happens running is the common reaction, the compulsion just gives them the direction to run in, it drives their fear, ups it and makes them go further."

Myth frowned as she considered Bastion's words, she hadn't understood the Haven Compulsion (as it was called) when she read of it in Amy's primer books. However the way Bastion explained it made absolute sense.

"So what is your plan of attack?" Crystal asked as she sat back, having eaten enough.

"I've been stationed here for five years, I know every Vampire that lives here and they know not to mess with me. When I heard about the rogue tribe last night I made several calls out to the two tribe leaders and several nomads. They weren't aware of any new groups but will inform me if they see anyone new. If this rogue tribe is smart like I think they are, they will know about me being the 'law' in this area and a probably enjoying the whole cat and mice game they think they have going." Rayven answered. "So tonight I am going to shake down the four people I couldn't get a hold of, wander around and generally make my presence felt. Before dawn however I will be back..."

"But if you are asking questions you'll lead them straight to us!" Jasmine said a little startled.

Rayven chuckled, "I am not an untrained Junior like they are, I am a Master, I have lived two and a half millennia in a hard knocks lifestyle where so much as a wrong move will mean my death. Once vampires get to a certain age they become stronger, more deadly and more importantly we gain powers and abilities that no young vampire has. They won't be able to track me because I can... I can make myself invisible, my scent, my body, if they are following I will sense them and duck behind a tree, become invisible and walk away."

"So you'll be back this morning to..." Han asked in a leading manner.

"Check, sniff around, generally make sure no vampires have come near this place." Rayven answered.

"Well Serenity and I are doing the dog watch so we'll keep an eye out for you." Crystal said, she had already organised the rosters and when Nhor came he would be included rounding the numbers, with careful planning one paired group would get to sleep the whole night at least once a week.

"And we'll have a new flavour of coffee waiting." Serenity added.

****

Crystal paced in the lounge room as Serenity did one of her random circuits of the ground floor. Serenity made sure to not use the same route twice or go at regular intervals, sometimes she crawled around so that no one observing the house could see her pass a window but she could still see out and hopefully spot an unaware observer. Crystal checked her watch again but her eyes could pick up the first rays of sun light.