Autumn's Beginning, Autumn's Breeze

"Bella was he bleeding when you left?"

"Um...I'm not sure."

Alise sniffed the air, "yes he was...and I know it sounds awful but I think I can track him..." she started walking following the smell. "It ends physically here, but its continued through the magic travel network thing."

"The what?" Bella asked.

"When someone teleports they travel through an invisible portal thing, that doesn't dissappear," Gerard explained, "you think you could track him through that?"

Alise nodded, "I think so, if I'm wrong I don't know where we'll end up at. Should we risk it?"

Gerard nodded.

"Somebody run back and get everyone else."

Ara wasn't happy with the results, the demons taking Nat had teleported and none of the animals knew where he was.

"Its no use," She muttered, Silvin looked up from teh door,

"What did you find out?" He asked,

"They teleported, I have no other way of finding him." She replied,

Gerard

Gerard bit his lip and reluctantly agreed to tell the others. He ran back to his and his brother's house as quickly as possible. Silvin and Ara and Lethero were there waiting, all looking extremely irritated. Gerard hesitantly entered, then he remembered his brother who, for all he knew, could be dead. He told the others what they were going to do and they all immediately insisted on coming. He sighed and agreed.

Gerard led them all back to where Alise and Bella were standing, talking in hushed voices. They noticed the others and turned to greet them.

"So are we all ready?" Alise asked.

"Ready as we'll ever be. Come on." Gerard said, anxious to find his brother.

"Well then, lets go."

Alise took Gerard's arm, "Silvin, follow our trail, you can still do that right?"

Silvin nodded, "can do."

It took only another moment of Alise's consentration to follow the sent through the trail.

When their feet once again landed beneath them they were greated by jumps of surprise and outrage.

"Who are you?!!" A demon demanded.

"Alise," she said calmly. "We've come for Nathaniel."

The demon let out a laugh, loud and throughly amused. "Very funny my little vampire, but, you're not getting out of here alive."

Silvin let out his own laugh, "How do you figure that."

The Demon rushed him, but Silvin simply moved to the side. It wirled it's tail at him, but he ducked. Jumping at him Silvin dew his sword and cut the demon in half, "There's a difference in brute force and grace.

Gerard

Gerard watched as Silvin cut the demon nearly in half. He turned to Alise.

"Can you find Nat?"

"I think so..."

"I can." piped up Ara. Gerard looked at her and nodded.

It took Ara a few minutes, all the while they were hiding in a dark alley. They had appeared in seemingly a city, but after further investigation they were no more than crude, quickly made mud huts. No more than five days old.

The demons must have camped out here while planning the attack. We can't be that far from Verlmil. Gerard thought.

"According to the sparrow," Ara said, startling Gerard out of his thoughts, "Nathaniel is in either that building over there..." she pointed to a large mud building, off to the side. "Or that one." she pointed to a small, very crude building almost directly in the center of the makeshift village.

"We'll have to split up then." Silvin said.

"I agree. They both look likely to be prison holds." Alise said. Gerard flinched but said nothing.

Alise went into the left, not worrying about who followed her. Part of her hoped that she wouldn't be followed, the blood lust was seriously getting to her and she needed to drink soon, and demon blood wasn't the tastiest thing in the world, but it was filling.

"Nat!" she whispered when she realized that it was void of guards.

There was a rumbling and a groan.

"Nat!" she whispered again.

"Alise?" his voice sounded weak, and tired.

"Yeah, its me Nat." She turned to the door, "Gerard! Silvin! I found him!"

Gerard

"Gerard! Silvin! I found him!" Alise's voice floated to him from the other building.

"Nat!" Gerard breathed in relief, running over to the larger building on the outskirts of the village. He met up with Alise and Ara, who were already inside.

"Nat!" Gerard said, grabbing the bars of his brother's cell. Nat weakly lifted his head, his eyes glimmering with a tiny hint of recognition. Then his head fell to his chest limply and he didn't look up again.

Silvin came running up and examined the lock. Taking a step back he laid his hand on the lock and a few moments later the cell door swung open. Gerard rushed inside, drawing his sword. He swung it at the chains holding his brother against the wall, shattering them into hundreds of tiny shards. He caught his unconscious, bloody brother before he fell and turned to the others.

"Lets get the hell out of here."

"I second that vote," Alise said, and grabbed Gerard's arm, "hold to your brother tight. You're following behind right Silvin?"

He nodded.

"Good."

Alise concentrated for a moment, and the world swirled around them. It took only two minutes for the ground to come back beneath them. Alise released Gerard and fled to the other side of the room as soon as they arrived.

Her face was pained as she forced herself into the corner and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Alise, whats wrong?" Gerard asked as he came closer.

"Stay away!" she shouted, her voice mixed with anger and pleading, "you...you're drenched in your brothers blood."

Gerard backed off and tended to his brother as Silvin and the rest appeared.

"Silvin..." Alise said, inhaling the air deeply, then snapped herself back into her senses, "I can't take it anymore."

Gerard

Gerard carried his brother into the small room they shared, laying him down gently on his bed. When he removed his hands from his brother's back they were covered in blood. Nathaniel's skin was hot to the touch and a feverish sweat covered his body. Gerard could hear the others talking in the other room, but he didn't care what they were saying. His first and only concern for right now was his brother.

Nathaniel groaned, arching his back in pain but did not wake. Gerard cleaned his wounds and wrapped white clothe around his twin's wrists and the wounds on his arms. It turned out that Nathaniel's back had numerous whip streaks and a long, diagonal gash going from under one shoulder to the opposite hip. Another deep gash stretched along his side vertically. Gerard winced in sympathy.

"Gerard?"

"What Bella?"

Gerard heard her sigh. "How is he?"

"He'll live." he paused. "How is Alise? Wasn't she close to losing control?"

"She's out hunting right now. Silvin and Ara went with her to see if they could find food for us...seeing as you have no food since you just got back." she said, moving to sit on the edge of Gerard's bed, her eyes never moving from Nathaniel. He groaned again and stirred, crying out in pain but never waking up.

Gerard finally finished administering to his brother. Groaning as he stood up and pulling himself into a chair, he glanced back at Bella who was, amazingly, still awake. He laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Get some sleep. I'll watch him." he said, just as he heard the front door open. Moments later a knock sounded and Alise let herself in.

Silvin brought in the food he had brought with Ara. Setting it down on the table he looked over into the room they were keeping Nathaniel. Ara motioned to go in there, but Silvin grabbed her wrist, "Best to let him be. The less the people the better."

She looked down and away from Silvin. he could tell she felt remorse for Nathaniel and wanted to help, "You're right, there isn't much I could do for him now."

Silvin sighed and walked toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk," He turned, "Would you like to join me, I find it to be relaxing. Maybe it will help you to feel better." He smiled.

"Sure," She walked with him out the door and her eyes quickly adjusted to the different light. She watched a few chip munks scurry past them and smiled, such peaceful little creatures.

"What made you want to help them?" Silvin asked keeping a steady pace.

"I had nothing else to do, this town is pretty quiet and not much happens in the woods." She replied, she took a deep breath, "Keep your eyes open for a panther, if you know where he is he wont try harmin us but if he thinks he has the jump on us we're in trouble."

"How do you know this?"

"Trip, the panther, has been tryin to kill humens around here for a while. But if you see him he'll leave you be, it is a promise he made with me." She replied.

*sorry couldn't think of anything else*

"How's he doing?" Alise asked quietly.

"He'll live," Gerard sighed, "I hope."

Alise came and sat next to him on the foot of Nat's bed. She looked at him, her eyes glazing over for a half second.

"Give me the gauze," she instructed.

"Why?" Gerard asked, but handing it over all the same.

"The wound on his chest is bleeding again."

"Strange, but thanks for the warning."

"Well, why did you help them then?"

"It seemed like the right thing to do at the time." At that moment he heard something behind him.

(I don't have much either)

Ara spun around quickly half expecting to see Trip. But it wasn't Trip, it was the ugliest looking panther like thing.

"THat isn't an animal," She wispered hoarsly to Slivin.

"Then what the heck is it?" He demaned,

"I have no clue, and I don't think I ever want to see another one again." She said, Slivin had his sword out. "So much for a calming walk." He grunted, then Ara saw the last thing she wanted to. A demon stepped out from behind the creature.

*If you want me to change it I will.*