Jack skidded to a halt behind Aria as she sat back from her brother. William's blood stained her clothes; it was streaked across her face and matted in her hair. The blood continued to seep from his mutilated body, it had discolored the ground beneath him a rust color but Jack was acutely aware of the lack of William's heartbeat. A sharp pang stabbed through his heart, he took a step closer to the still body of his friend as sorrow built within his chest, but he didn't have the time to mourn him right now. There would be plenty of time to mourn after he found Hannah.

"Aria..." Braith started as he knelt and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I gave him my blood," she murmured miserably. Jack felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. Braith recoiled, his lips pulled back in a snarl to reveal the fangs that instinctively sprang forth at the knowledge that his bloodlink had shared her blood with another. "Braith..."

Braith's eyes faded back to their natural gray blue color as he regained control of himself. "We have to get him out of here."

He nudged her gently out of the way and slid his arms under William. William's head fell back; his eyes were still open as he stared unseeingly at the sky. "He can hear you," Aria said.

Braith glanced at her as she hovered nervously at her brother's side with Daniel. "He'll get through this," Jack assured her. "I know he will. I have to find Hannah."

"Calvin has her," Aria whispered and pointed through the crowd. Jack's hands clenched as a ferocious growl tore from him. Braith nudged her back with his shoulder as he eyed Jack. He regained enough control of himself to take a step away from Aria before Braith went after him. The last thing he needed was to start fighting with his brother when there was someone else he was much more eager to destroy. "He took her that way."

Jack focused on Hannah's blood, allowing it to lead him to her as he pushed his way through the battle waging around him. He dodged an arrow as he mercilessly shoved a vampire out of his way. She was close, he could feel it, his body thrummed with the need to see her, to feel her. He was going to rip Calvin limb from limb when he got his hands on him and he was never going to let Hannah go again.

Grabbing hold of one of Calvin's men, he jerked the vampire toward him and ripped the stake from his hand before driving it into the man's heart. Bloodlust ripped through him; he could feel the press of his fangs against the inside of his mouth as he tossed aside the dead body. Daniel appeared at his side, blood and soot stained his strained face as he lifted a spear and drove it into another vampire's chest. He'd never seen the calm, artistic boy look so enraged as his blue eyes shone with wrath.

Daniel shoved a human out of his way before stepping alongside Jack. "Where are they?" he demanded in a hoarse voice.

Jack jerked his head to the side. He seized hold of another vampire's neck as the man ran at him. Without any hesitation, he ripped forcefully back and tore the vampire's throat out. Through the fighting, he spotted Calvin's large frame ahead of him as he tried to force Hannah onto a horse. Amazement and wariness flickered through him at the sunlight filtering over her exposed skin. She wasn't burning though, and she wasn't crying out in distress as she fought against the hold Calvin had on her. Aria had given Braith his vision back and his blood seemed to have given Hannah the ability to move about in the sunlight without it singing and scorching her body. If he had anything to say about it, he was going to make sure she got many more hours and days within its warm rays.

Like a raging bull, he lowered his shoulder and plunged through the mob gathered around him with a loud roar. He shoved the last of the stragglers out of his way and raced across the ground toward them. Calvin must have heard him coming as he released the horse and spun to face him. Though fury drove him, Jack was still coherent enough to realize that he couldn't launch himself at them and destroy the bastard when he saw what Calvin was holding in his hand.

He slid to a stop as Calvin pressed the stake even more firmly into Hannah's chest. A small gasp escaped her, she tried to wiggle away from the stake but Calvin held her firmly against him as he kept his hand entangled in her hair. "Don't!" Jack spat as Calvin pressed the stake forcefully enough against her flesh to draw blood.

"Don't what? Do this?" Calvin taunted as he turned her head toward him. Hannah's struggles only pressed the stake deeper into her flesh as Calvin forced his mouth against hers. Red exploded across Jack's vision, the sound that ripped from him was one that would have made even the largest lion cower. A strangled cry escaped her, the scent of her blood caused Jack to lurch two more steps forward as Calvin bit into her bottom lip. He jerked to a halt as Calvin pressed the stake in hard enough to draw more blood from her.

"Stop!" Jack shouted as terror clawed at his chest.

Calvin smiled at him as he moved his mouth away from hers. Calvin was still too close to her; he would destroy her before Jack could make it to them. Pain twisted Hannah's features, she tried to fight against Calvin but her exertion only succeeded in drawing more blood from where the stake pressed against her chest. Her eyes shimmered like rubies as her fingers tore into Calvin's hand. Calvin didn't seem to notice it though, he was grinning as he pulled her back a few more feet. Jack stalked them but he didn't dare get too close as Calvin angled her toward the massive black stallion that had danced a few feet away from them.

"I can catch a horse," he said in a quiet, lethal tone.

Calvin's fingers rubbed against the underneath of her chin as he tilted her head further up. "Not if you want her to stay alive. You don't wish to catch a corpse, do you?"

The smirk that curved Calvin's lips caused Jack's hands to fist as he tried to calculate some way to get a hold of Calvin before he could drive that stake through her heart and effectively end both of their lives. He'd vowed he was never going to let anything bad happen to her and though he'd been too late to keep her completely protected, he was going to make sure she walked away from this if it was the last thing he did.

Calvin dragged her with him as he retreated a few more steps. Panic drove Jack forward another step, but when Calvin pressed the stake more firmly against her, he froze again. "I'd stay back lover boy, if you intend for her to live anyway," Calvin said with a cruel sneer.

Jack's eyes raced over the town surrounding them, but though smoke still filtered through the air it wasn't thick enough this far away from the tavern to cover any of his movements. Exasperation filled him as Calvin pulled her even further away. Jack spotted Daniel and Braith on the right side of Calvin seconds before Daniel fired an arrow. Jack lunged forward as Calvin turned toward the whistling arrow; it pierced through his shoulder and knocked his hand back from Hannah. The stake clattered to the ground as it fell from his limp hand.

Hannah spun and drove her fist into his face. Blood spattered from Calvin's battered nose, he staggered back a step but quickly recovered. He was already grabbing for her arms as she stumbled to the side in an attempt to avoid his frantic grasping. Calvin's left hand had caught in the sleeve of her dress when Braith grasped hold of her and ripped her away. A triumphant cry escaped Jack as he leapt over his brother and grabbed Calvin by the throat.

Dust kicked up around them as they tumbled onto the ground together. Something volatile and ferocious tore from him, something he'd never even known could reside inside of himself, but he knew that the driving urge to see this man dead was intricately interwoven with Hannah's safety. That if she was ever threatened this thing inside of him would destroy anyone that ever dared to touch her. Calvin tried to deflect Jack's hand as he repeatedly drove his fist into Calvin's face, but he couldn't hold him back.

A bone broke beneath Jack's hand, Calvin's right cheek caved in as his lower jaw cracked. Red continued to fill Jack's vision but he wasn't sure if it was because of his frenzy or from the blood that was spraying off of Calvin's face. Calvin managed to get his hands up, Jack felt his fingers digging into his face, tearing back the skin from his cheekbone, but he didn't stop pummeling the man.

A blow to the side of his head almost knocked him completely off of the man. Calvin managed to get his legs in between them and lever Jack the rest of the way off. "Jack!" Hannah screamed. Jack spotted her as he fell back to the ground. She strained to get free of Braith's hold but his brother kept her pressed against his chest as he moved her rapidly out of the way.

Blood trickled from Jack's temple and into his left eye as he rolled to the side. Calvin was still clenching the board he'd used to hit him with as he scrambled back and rose to his feet. Jack wiped the blood out of his eye to focus on the man across from him again. The right side of Calvin's face looked more like mush than anything truly resembling a vampire. His nose had been flattened, both cheekbones were broken, and his bloody and broken lips pulled back to reveal his lethal fangs.

Pushing himself up, Jack remained half bent over as he lunged forward. Calvin danced to the side but Jack still managed to snake his hand into the collar of his shirt. Calvin turned and swung the board up again but Jack grabbed hold of it before Calvin could hit him with it. Wrenching the board from Calvin's hands, he spun the burnt piece around in his hand and drove it forcefully upward.

It caught Calvin under the chin, lifted him up, and flung him ten feet back in the air. Jack twisted the board in his hands as he stalked toward Calvin. The larger vampire was attempting to get back to his feet when Jack placed his booted foot against Calvin's chest and shoved him back to the ground.

A twisted smile curved his lips as he leaned closer to him. "I told you not to touch her again."

Jack lifted the board over his head and drove downward with the full force of his weight. A low howl escaped Calvin, his hands curled around the board as it pierced through his chest. Jack turned the board in his hand, twisting it until it burst out of Calvin's back.

Though he doubted it was possible Calvin could return like his father had, he still held his hand out to Daniel as he approached. "Knife." Daniel didn't question the action, he simply tugged the foot long knife free from the holder on his side and tossed it to him. "Don't let her see this," he said to Braith.

"Stop!" Hannah cried. Jack forced down his unreasonable anger at his brother's hold on Hannah as Braith turned her away from what he was about to do.

The dying vampire watched him from terrified eyes as he squirmed to get away. Jack placed his hand against Calvin's forehead and pulled his head back. Calvin made a sick gurgling sound, even though he knew he was dying, he still tried to squirm away as Jack placed the blade against his throat and drove it deep. He hated Calvin, he'd kill him a thousand times over if he could, but he took no pleasure in severing his head from his body.

He dropped the knife at his side as it cut through the last of the sinew keeping it connected to Calvin's neck. He rose slowly, wary and beaten, and worried about what Hannah would think of what he'd done. Bracing himself, he turned to search the crowd for her. Braith still had a hold of her but he released her as Jack took a step toward them. He expected to see revulsion and condemnation in her eyes when she turned toward him, instead she let out a relieved cry as she raced across the ground and flung herself into his arms.

"Are you ok?" she demanded as her hands ran over his face and she wiped the blood from his eye and the scratches that marred his cheeks. He could already feel the wounds on his cheeks slowly closing back together. "Jack?"

"I'm fine. It's nothing, really," he assured her as he tried to hold her back in order to get a good look at her. The wound on her chest was already beginning to heal, the ends of her hair were singed and her face was still pink from the fire but he didn't see any burns on her. Even so, fresh anger spurted through him as he pulled her against his chest. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she whispered in his ear. "Why did you cut off his head?"

Jack shuddered as he pressed her closer against him and turned her away from Calvin's remains. "My father survived a stake to the heart." He felt the shock that coursed through her body and caused her hands to tighten on his shoulders. "And though I doubt Calvin could do the same, I wasn't taking any chances with him."

She nodded as she pressed her face into her neck; he felt the hot wave of her tears against his skin. "Oh Jack, William..."

He held her closer as she released a moan. His eyes drifted to Braith as his brother pushed into the crowd. People and vampires scrambled to get out of the way as Calvin's remaining fighters attempted to flee the town. Braith's soldiers regrouped around him as Braith pointed in different directions and issued commands to them.

Jack reluctantly released Hannah as Braith snatched one of Calvin's vampires by the back of his neck and lifted him off the ground. He kept Hannah behind him as he hurried to help Braith. "The survivors are to be hunted down and locked up," Braith said sharply as he thrust the smaller vampire at one of his soldier's. "I'll be in the house at the end of the road. Find me when you've located them all."

"Yes Your Majesty," the man said and carried the kicking and swinging vampire away.

"William..." Daniel started.

"Aria's with him," Braith interrupted briskly.

"He's alive?" Hannah breathed.

"No," Braith told her. "He is most certainly not alive."

***

Hannah stepped into the shadowed foyer of Uncle Abe's house. The house was as silent as a tomb and was enshrouded in the same air of melancholy as a cemetery. Uncle Abe was sitting on the couch with his hands folded between his legs as he leaned forward. Heath hovered nervously by his side. Lucas and Ellen were sitting beside him; tears streamed down Ellen's cheeks as she shook her head at Hannah's questioning look.

"They're in the back bedroom," Uncle Abe told her softly.

Hannah led the way through the narrow halls to the room at the back. Though it was a large room, it seemed much smaller with Xavier and Timber standing guard. It became even smaller when Braith and Jack filtered in to stand on either side of the full size bed.

Aria's eyes were a fiery red color as she rose from the chair that had been set up by William's bedside. "Calvin?" she demanded.

"Dead," Braith told her. Aria nodded before turning her attention back to her brother. "Any change?"

"No, there won't be for a little while now. He can still hear us though." She brushed the hair back from William's forehead as she slid into the seat again. Daniel walked to the other side of the bed and pulled another chair forward. "It's going to be grueling but he'll get through it, otherwise he'll just prove I am the stronger twin."

Braith ran his hand over her hair as he knelt at her side and pressed a kiss against her temple. "You're right, he will get through it."

Hannah kept hold of Jack's hand as he moved to stand beside his brother. Though blood still marred Jack's cheeks, the scratches on his face had already healed. She couldn't tear her gaze away from him, she'd almost lost him and she couldn't get enough of looking at him. She shuddered as she recalled what she'd just seen him do. Braith had tried to hide most of it from her, but even still she'd witnessed just how deep Jack's brutality and desire to protect her was. She thought she should be repulsed by the ruthlessness she'd just witnessed, instead she found herself loving him even more for it.

"Was Calvin the one that did this to him?" Aria demanded.

"No, it was Kane," Hannah answered. "I didn't see him out there with the others, but I didn't see everyone that has been killed or captured. He may be among them."

Aria nodded as she took hold of her brother's hand. It remained stiff and unmoving within her grasp, but she held it firmly. "If he's not out there, we'll find him," Jack promised her. Hannah wrapped her hand around Jack's arm as a shudder racked through him. "William will be ok."

"He will," Hannah said.

Aria's red eyes were forceful as she lifted her head. "I survived, we came from the same womb; he'll survive too."

"I'll get some chairs," Hannah volunteered.

She was reluctant to release Jack but she had a feeling no one was going to be leaving this room for awhile. She glanced out the window as Lucas helped her to gather some chairs. Tubs of water were being rushed up from the lake by vampires in order to put what remained of the fire out. The water would be enough to save the blacksmith shop but the tavern was a crumbled heap of burnt cinders.

Though tears burned her eyes, she knew it could have been much worse. They were all still alive, or at least she was hoping that they would all still be alive when this was over. Turning away from the window, Lucas helped her carry the chairs into the bedroom. Jack gestured his chair away with a flick of his wrist as he remained standing by the foot of the bed.