Alice looked around the room. Once, a family would have lived in this place, a decent sized family too, judging by the size of the house. Now she stood in a bedroom, a little girl's if the pink walls and princess wallpaper were anything to go by.The bed was bare, but small, the springs of the mattress poking through at odd intervals. The flowered curtains were grubby and torn. A vampire was hanging from the light, a gentle momentum swinging her back and forth. Alice reached into her pocket and fished out a box of matches. Flinching slightly as the flame struck, she held the match up to the vampire, the body instantly catching fire as if she had doused it in gasoline. Over the gentle roar of the flame, she heard a floorboard creak. Instantly her guard was up. Sure, old houses creaked and settled, but Alice had long since discovered that in her line of work, being overly cautious was a much better option. She backed up against the wall, gripping the hilt of her kopis tighter. The hilt was slick under her hand, making grip more difficult than it had been when she first arrived.

The vampire, a Moloch if the sheer size of the nest was anything to go by, stepped slowly into the room. A newborn, Alice figured if it's lack of sense was anything to go by. Instinctively, he stepped away from the burning body. Alice raised her kopis, determined to slice his head from his shoulders. At the last moment he sensed her and spun, blocking her slice. His face shifted into a grotesque beast. Two great horns curled from his head, as his eyes turned a deep red and his teeth grew into fangs. His fist sunk into Alice's abdomen, the force lifting Alice from her feet. Again his fist sunk in and again Alice was lifted. Discarding her blade to the floor, Alice grabbed his wrist in both hands and turned them quickly. She heard the bone snap and moved in quickly as he howled in pain, knowing that he would be healed in seconds. She grabbed her blade from the floor and rushed at the young vampire. The collision sent them both sprawling to the ground. The flames had gone out above them. All that remained of the vampire now was dust.

Alice scrambled to her knees, pinning the vampire's arms beneath them. His face changed back to a more human appearance. She took a hollow joy from the fear she saw in his eyes. But she felt pity too. This boy beneath her, for that was what he truly was, couldn't have been any older than 17 in his mortal life. A mere child. "Please," He whimpered, "Don't kill me."

Alice lowered the blade slightly, "Hundreds of vampires have begged me for mercy, I have not granted them any, why should I grant you mercy?"

He remained silent for a moment, scrambling for a reason to be sparred, "I-I have information!" Alice looked at him silently waiting for him to continue, "Moloch. He's back, he has a plan."

Moloch? The source of all this was back? If she could get to Moloch before anyone else, she could end him.Alice knelt forward, digging her knees into his biceps. She gripped his face in her spare hand, "Where? Where is he?" She demanded.

"I...I don't actually know," Alice raised her blade again, "B-but I can find out. Just give me a little time, please."

"Every single one of you scumbags has said they have information on Moloch and not one of you has been able to deliver on that. You are no different from the others. Time is not a luxury I can afford to the likes of you." Before he could protest, Alice drew the blade across his neck. She rose effortlessly and grabbed his ankle, hoisting him up and tying him where his companion had once been. She watched uninterested as the blood stained the floorboards beneath him. It wasn't elegant or ideal, but it would do. Not every nest had a noose just lying around. Improvisation was necessary.

"POLICE!"

Alice turned slowly, unsure if she had heard the yell come from downstairs. The blue flicker of light outside told her everything she needed to know. She could turn into a cat, but that would mean leaving her clothes and her blade behind, with little to no chance of retrieving them. She hastily cleaned the blade of her fingerprints and dropped it to the floor and began trying to untie the body as they made their way upstairs. "Help me please," She cried to the officers.

"Ma'am, step away from the body," One of the officers, a tall pale man, asked. Alice lowered her hands and stepped back, acting dazed. The officer walked forward, checking for a pulse. Even if the blood hadn't been draining from him, looking for a pulse was pointless, Alice thought, but then again, this man knew nothing of vampires. One question rolled through her mind. How had they known? He tilted his head towards her, his companion proceeding towards her. Alice slowly backed away, looking between the two officers disbelievingly.

"Ma'am," He began as he clicked the handcuffs around her wrist, "I am arresting you on suspicion of multiple accounts of murder," Alice mentally kicked herself. She should have burned the bodies as she went. When had she gotten so sloppy? "You have the right to remain silent," He continued, lifelessly reciting information he had given people at least a hundred times before, "However, it may harm your defense if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to a lawyer. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?"

Alice nodded as he lead her down the stairs to a waiting police car. She looked around, her keen eyes catching sight of a large black dog, watching with glee from across the road. Alice's eyes widened and she cursed under her breath as she slid into the police car.

---

Watching Alice being taken away in chains pleased Moloch greatly. True, it would have been satisfying to burst into the house and watch her blood slowly drain from her body. He would be lying if he said he hadn't thought of the numerous ways he could hurt the interfering bitch. But, he knew in the long run, this would hurt her more. Being locked away like the freak of nature she was, forced to watch while the world tore itself apart, as the poor humans she had fought all her life to save were destroyed. All things have their time, and everything must end. He had long since believed the humans would spell the destruction of Heaven. While the Lord might not see their danger, he did. They were not the beautiful creatures God had convinced the Angels they were. They were pitiful at best. The end of man would come and he would be its architect.

---

Alice rattled the chains that tied her to the table. Swabs had been taken from the blood on her hands and her picture had been taken. She knew full well they would be blurry, but they would put it down to bad lighting or focus. She looked at the clock. She was certain she had already been here a day. She looked at the mirror to the side of her, knowing full well that there were people watching on the other side. The thousand year old vampire in her ached to give a sardonic wave. The reasonable part of her refrained. Her reflection was fainter than she would like, but not faint enough to entirely give her away. She licked her lips. The door handle turned and one of the officers responsible for her arrest, an auburn haired woman, and Cameron Clark, a pleasant looking man in a cheap suit entered the room, "Miss Fletcher," the dark haired man she had come to know as Chief Inspector Bate started, "This is DCI Waters. If you are ready, we'll begin your questioning."

---

Alice did not like DCI Waters. Not one bit. Never had she met a human she hated more. She sat on the small bench of her cell, waiting for someone to come along and give her some information. Despite the fact they couldn't actually prove it was her, they were determined to hold her for as long as they were allowed to without pressing charges. Another two days of this monotony. Oh joy, Alice thought, swinging her legs up onto the bench and lying back. She tuned out the buzz of noise outside and began slipping into a meditative state. They were good states to be in. They passed the time quicker at least.

The police station was a fairly busy place, hardly surprising considering the recent case of multiple murders and only a single suspect, naturally the entire building was buzzing with energy as officers ran hither and tither trying to find colleagues or running up leads on the case.

It was small wonder then that when a small figure pushed his way through the door and hobbled over to the reception desk that it took a few minutes for the officer on duty to notice him. He was a little bit surprised to see the hunched and bearded old man, leaning on his walking stick so, and suspected that he was likely here to file some complaint or another and wondered to himself why he couldn't just phone it like a normal person would.

"Hello sir, how can I assist you?" He managed in his most 'polite but cleared tired and loosing his patience' voice, to which the old man pushed himself closer up against the reception desk and lent his gnarled stick up against the edge before replying in a cracked and strained voice.

"Hello there, I am Dacha Lien, I'm here to collect my grandniece, her name is Alice Fletcher you see she was taken into custody yesterday and I've been running around trying to get her bail cleared, thankfully it was other wise I wouldn't be here." He paused as if to give the officer time to laugh before continuing. "Now if you would be so kind I'd like to be taken along to her so I can see her home myself."

The officer was more than a little thrown off his stride by this news- he hadn't been told that Fletcher was even eligible for bale, as far as he was aware she wasn't even going to be granted a trail. Quickly clicking through the files however showed that one mister Dacha Lien had indeed provided bail for Alice Fletcher, there was even a notice at the bottom that had a number of attachments from a number of different high end lawyers all supposedly giving different and totally valid reasons why Fletcher was unable to be held a moment longer and had to leave with her granduncle, he hardly registered that the bail release had only arrived a mere twenty minutes ago.

"Certainly sir, I'll take you to her right now." Reaching for his keys he quickly made his way to the cell wing and made his way over Fletchers cell, moving quickly in a hope to make the elder man move quicker or feel uncomfortable in the police station. Once again he was surprised as the old man had managed to keep pace, despite his ancient appearance and was standing in front of him, awaiting the doors the be opened. With a shake of his head the officer unlocked the door and opened it just enough for Dacha to slip in before muttering. "I'll give you two a few minutes alone." and moving back to his desk, glad to be rid of the old man.

The old man in question lent against the walking stick with both hands and looked Alice up and down for a moment, assessing her and judging whether it was the right moment to appear, judging that the moment of choice was gone long long ago he coughed gently and smiled at the girl. "Hello, my name is Dacha Lien, and I, it seems, am getting you out of here earlier than you expected. I'm sure you have a few question."

Ba'al had been hidden in the trees as an owl as he watched the events unfold. He enjoyed watching the pest get dragged away by the cops and was pleased with Moloch for deciding to toy with her. The slayer had been a problem of their's for quite some time and they'd never be able to proceed with their plans as long as she was around. There had been rumors of the circle possibly forming together again and Ba'al was determined to keep that from happening.

He shifted back into his humanoid appearance and stood next to Moloch. "I have to say, I'm impressed with this plan of yours. Breaking the slayer's spirits before breaking her. A far greater plan than simply just killing her." He leaned against the bark of a tree. "Then again, I've always been one to play with my food before eating it..." Ba'al smirked and placed his hand on Moloch's back. "Alvis is at the station to observe the events and inform us if anything 'out of the ordinary' is to happen. I gave him specific orders not to engage. Wouldn't want him giving himself away to her so early on."

Ba'al stood straight this time and fixed his suit. "It's a shame those vampire's of yours had to die but every great war has its casualties." Ba'al wasn't all too concerned with their death. They obvious were the strongest of vampires but they didn't seem as strong to Ba'al as his kind. They used their turns too quickly and acted only on violence. His vampires thought everything through. They were picky on their three turns and knew how to analyze a situation. They could have others do their work for them and have fewer of their kind die. Ba'al saw this as a superiority but of course others would disagree with him.

"I have to say, I'm impressed with this plan of yours. Breaking the slayer's spirits before breaking her. A far greater plan than simply just killing her." Moloch smiled sardonically at Ba'al's compliment."Then again, I've always been one to play with my food before eating it..." Moloch looked down at the hand on his back, well, more the arm, "Alvis is at the station to observe the events and inform us if anything 'out of the ordinary' is to happen. I gave him specific orders not to engage. Wouldn't want him giving himself away to her so early on."

"They've never met?" Moloch asked, the idea taking him by surprise. Besides himself, Ba'al and Belial, Alice and Alvis were among the oldest vampires still walking the Earth.

"It's a shame those vampire's of yours had to die but every great war has its casualties," Ba'al continued.

Moloch laughed, "What makes you so sure they're dead? Look around my friend. When did she have time to throw them to a river? She didn't even set the pup on fire when the police came. They took him to the police station. Give it time, the dust will pull itself back together and my children will walk again and the pup will wreak havoc on the lost souls at the police station and our dear friend will have her hand forced. You're not the only one to engage in a little mischief Ba'al."

---

Alice looked up when her cell door opened. She rose quickly from the bench as an officer left her alone with an old man in her cell with the door open. When the officer had left, the old man spoke, "Hello, my name is Dacha Lien, and I, it seems, am getting you out of here earlier than you expected. I'm sure you have a few question."

Alice's mouth opened and closed again, searching for words. Weren't they trying to build a case for murder against her? Why was she being let out now? These questions left her mind when she realised she had no idea who this man was, "Dacha Lien? Who are you? Beyond that I mean," She reached out to touch him, pulling her hand back when she felt heat radiating from him, "I'm guessing that's not just a fever," She said, noticing her hand was distinctly redder than it had been a second earlier, understanding what, if not who, Dacha Lien was, "You know about the vampires, don't you? We need to go back, they might still be alive, I couldn't get rid of them," Alice stopped her babbling, "You do know about the vampires don't you?" She asked cautiously.

"Who are you? Beyond that I mean" Was by all accounts a perfectly valid question, and understandably one that would have been asked by anyone when meeting someone new. Still, the old man was disappointed that the girl was more worried over who he was, rather than the obvious dangers she was in, he however decided to humour her- It would play out usefully in the end no doubt.

"I am simply one with a vaulted interest in you not being tied down. Especially not here nor right now. It would be wise to walk and talk I believe." With that he turned, his stick clicking gently against the floor as he moved, so he sensed rather than saw the girls hand reach out to him. If she could guess as to who he really was, then well, she was truly the one he had waited for.

"You know about the vampires, don't you?"

The question was almost enough to give him pause, the girl was risking much by throwing what should be common knowledge to the wind, had she not heard of the false images of Ba'al? Did she not realise the danger that was swiftly pressing down upon her? He kept his judgements to himself and kept moving down the hall way, trying to at least appear inconspicuous. "Indeed I do know about the Vampires, in fact I know a great deal about them, more than you do clearly. But this is not the time for a lecture or a berating." He paused at the door to turn and look at the girl, then around at the reception of the police station. He had lingered for too long. Reaching into his robes he pulled out a small stone circle, attached to a leather string, around the edge of the stone was inscribed 'Semper vigilant ad lamia'. "This, however will be your guide for now." He pushed open the door and vanished out into the daylight, turning the corner he moved down the alleyway the separated the police station from the next building along and disappeared into the dark, unseen.

James chopped off the last head with his ax and blood spattered onto his face and clothes. He used a rag to wipe it off and put the heads into a cloth sack and buried them into the ground. He then took the two bodies and stuffed them into the cave and found them hiding in. It had been a royal pain killing those two Ba'al vampires but James managed to eventually do it. Now, he needed some rest and went back to his parked pickup truck. It was parked near the outskirts of the forest but concealed well enough to keep cops from interfering with his job.

He changed his bloody clothes to clean ones and stepped into the truck. James locked the doors and placed a crossbow in his hands before resting for a few hours. Fortunately for him, James is a light sleeper which allowed him to sleep in areas such as these where vampires may attack. It also helped him find more faster.

After a few hours, James awoke and started his car. He'd been in this area for long enough and it was time to move onto the next. He was on a mission to find the slayer and hunter so he could reunite the circle. Of course, he was still going to hunt vampires along the way but reuniting the circle was most important. If the rumors about Moloch and Ba'al sightings roved to be true, they were going to need Michael's sword more than ever.

Belial had been slumbering in a cave as a Puma when he awoke to the sound of a vehicle engine turning over. He yawned and stretched as a cat will do, and headed out into the night. He could sense the death of young Vampires nearby, but this did not concern him so he moved on. He was more interested in finding Ba'al and Moloch.

As he approached more populated areas he shifted to a smaller feline to attract less attention, finally coming to the city he was sure he would find them. There were other Vampires here, as well as less desirable creatures, and Belial kept to the shadows, avoiding anything and everything as possible. It was from the other Vampires that Belial learned of the location of his Brothers, and he approached them slowly. "How are you?" He asked them with little real interest.

Out of the corner of his eye, James noticed a young woman walking towards his pickup and he slowly came to a stop. He was cautious as he rolled down the window. He knew not many humans came out here so he was curious if if she were human or not.

"Hey! What brings you out here? It's supposed to be a haunted forest. Thrillseeker?" The young woman spoke with a Boston accent. The eastern accents always seemed strange to him but then again, people also thought that southern accents sounded weird.

"Well ma'am, I'm just out here doing some hunting." James said with his Texan accent. "It's the place for some good hunting since not humans come out here to ruin the hunt." JAmes was careful with what he said and how he said it since he still wasn't to sure what she was. Well, that was until he noticed a small blood stain on her collar and another on her pants.

"Now the better question is..." He pulled out the revolver in his glove compartment and pointed it at her. He was grateful he remembered to cast silver bullets the other day for his guns. "What's a pretty lady like you doing out in these woods?"

Alice felt her ego wince when Dacha claimed to know more of the vampires than she did. She had been fighting vampires for a millenia. There wasn't a lot about them that she didn't know. Still slightly confused by the sudden turn of events, she followed Dacha to the reception, vaguely listening to his self-righteousness. Her attention returned when she felt a cold stone being dropped into her hand. She looked down at the stone. It was perfectly circular, a veiny network of colours and cracks ran just beneath the surface. 'Semper vigilant ad lamia' was enscribed on the edge. She felt the room grow a little colder. Looking up, she saw Dacha leaving. Clutching the stone, she raced outside, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight, "Wait!" She called. A few passers by gave her odd looks as she looked up and down the street for Dacha. He was gone.

Alice tied the stone around her neck as her thoughts tried to order themselves. Dacha was, presumably, an angel. Why had an angel wanted to free her? She was a product of the Fallen Ones, Heaven's enemies. Which angel was Dacha? If she could figure that part out, it might help figure out why he had freed her. The bigger question was why were angels walking the earth again? Was Dacha an isolated rebellion or were things a lot more serious than she had realised? Alice stopped dead in the middle of the street, quickly apologising to the man who walked straight into her. "Oh hell," she whispered. It couldn't have been...could it? Alice wanted to scream and rip her hair out. The vampire who was watching, he might not have been any Moloch Vampire, he could have been the Moloch. He was so close. She could have ended him if she had just been paying enough attention. Alice headed back down the street, instinctively heading for her hideout. The newborn was most likely recovering in the morgue but she had to deal with the nest properly. He would have to wait.

---

"How are you?"

Moloch looked at Belial with no real interest. Compared to himself and Ba'al, Belial looked positively ancient. Guilt was not an emotion he was familiar with. It seemed that over the centuries, Belial had become all too familiar with it. "Nice to see you've finally emerged from your well of self pity, brother. The mortals are yet to create a suitable expression for my current state, but that is their problem, not mine," he answered, barely containing the venom in his voice. Despite his current plan going rather well, there was a considerable part of Moloch that despised Belial. Humanity could have been conquered before it had ever really had a chance to start if Belial hadn't been so cowardly. All it would have taken was one swipe of his blade and Michael would have been destroyed. But no, Heaven had won and they were forced to live among the creatures he loathed for eternity.

A young police officer came towards the trio. She was pretty, for a human at least. She exuded confidence. Her pulse was steady as she approached them. There was no sign that she was intimidated by the three men before her, although given Belial's current state, not even a mouse would be intimidated by him. Moloch decided he would turn her when the time was right. She would make a good vampire. "Sirs, I have to ask you to move along. This is a crime scene."

Moloch smiled, enjoying the small amount of fear that came from the woman. Smart girl. "Of course," he answered, "We'll be on our way." He began walking away from the house, not bothering to check if his brothers were following. Despite his low tolerance for his brothers, there was something rather grand about the three of them being together once more. Third time lucky, perhaps? a small voice echoed in his mind. No, he dismissed the thought, 'luck' was something you made happen, it didn't happen to you. Nothing was to be left to chance, not this time.

---

Back at her den, Alice lay herself out on the floor, letting her eyes flicker closed. Staying still wasn't much of a problem as she went over what she had to do. Go back to the house, clean up, slay any vampires who have already returned. Get her kopis back. Ditch the dust somewhere. Then deal with the pup. First things first though, she needed to feed. Flicking up onto her feet, Alice inhaled deeply, searching for a scent. There was a farm nearby. She could more smell the hay and then came the blood. She shed her clothes and took the form of an eagle as she dived from the window.

Soaring through the air, she could feel the wind in her feathers. Looking beneath her, she could see each individual leaf on the trees. Cats were a lot of fun to be, but there was something about taking to the skies that just couldn't compare. She glided over the farm, waiting for the farmer to leave the sheep before she could feed. After what felt like an age, he left. Alice bombed down, snatching up a lamb before flying off somewhere more secluded. Landing next to an old tractor shed, Alice turned back and slipped inside, the lamb cradled in her arms. She could feel the pulse race beneath it's skin, almost as if it knew she was it's predator. There was no point in trying to calm it, she thought as she sunk her fangs into it's neck. The lamb gave a feeble bleet as blood gushed into Alice's mouth. It's pulse slowed to a stop and the creature went limp in her arms. Draining the last of the blood from the lamb, Alice shifted back into an eagle, the transformation somewhat easier now that she wasn't hungry. She rolled back into her den, feeling happily full and waited until night came down.

Belial flinched a little at the venom in Moloch's tone. He knew he wasn't well favoured among his Brothers and had not expected the years to dull that emotion. He nodded at Moloch's words, however, and even managed a small smile. "Perhaps I will have the opportunity to redeem myself in your eyes." He responded. The idea of starting another war did not sit well with him, but he knew he owed Moloch and Ba'al a great deal for his failure. He was determined to help them succeed this time.

He barely gave the police officer a glance as she approached, though he was intrigued that she held very little fear of them. Perhaps that was his fault. Compared to Ba'al and Moloch he wasn't much. Years of blood deprivation and self-loathing will do that to a Vampire. He was still mildly curious as to why she did not feel much fear toward them.

Nevertheless, she approached, and instructed they go about their way, as a crime had occurred. Belial nodded and moved away, following Moloch. As they walked he felt his step lighten and an hint of confidence filled him. It felt right to once again be by his Brothers' sides, and while he could not help but feel nervous for their plot, he was determined not to fail.

"Flattered. You must be a hunter, too. Vampires, I'm guessing either Belial or Ba'al, considering that you don't seem to be very heavily armed. Now please, put that gun away. I'm not a huge fan of silver." James sighed in relief and put his revolver down. She's only a werewolf... He thought.

"If I were going to hunt Molochs I would bring other hunters with me. Only a rookie would make the mistake of going into one of those nests alone."

"Guess I'd better bring a change of clothes next time. Most people do get a bit suspicious of a bloody outfit."

"I can give you a lift if you're heading back to town like I am. I've also got some clothes in the trunk you can borrow. They'll just be a bit big on you." He stepped out of his truck with the keys in his hand and unlocked the back. The back was filled with guns, crossbows, clothes, and ammo. "I'm James by the way."