Both males pull away from each other and continue the walk, passing the crowds and busy city centre and head for the Torii gate leading us back to the wilderness.

“So do they look flying squirrels or is that just to fuck with me?” I ask the trio. They are a few metres ahead along the grassy field. Unlike the one we weaved through yesterday this grass is normal. Shade gives a side glance over his shoulder, rolling his eyes and trudging ahead. I give the vampire the finger as he gets smaller in the distance.

“Nastier than the wolf we dealt with yesterday,” Adrian answers, slowing his pace to match mine.

“Think grey rubbery skin, a split maw, talons to climb the trees and skin flaps that allow them to glide.” Bastion gives a smile. I felt my skin crawl.

“And you fight these things because?”

“To get stronger. Just because we’re immortal and have impressive strength already doesn’t mean we can add to it. The more we fight, the better our skills, the strongest foes we overcome, the more resolute our strength becomes.” Adrain flexes his muscles with a wide grin. Shade stops at the top of the hill; I can see him roll his eyes.

“How strong is a vampire without training?”

“Kinda hard to say.” Adrian rubs the back of his neck, looking up at the bright blue sky. “A newly turn can easily overpower a human who's been jacked on steroids and hitting the gym.” He laughs as my expression changes to horror.

“Right, and after all the training you three have been doing?” my question remains unanswered as we all stop in our tracks as large fallen tree blocks our path. It’s leaves still green and intact, and its as if someone had snapped the trunk in two. Shades shoulders slump head towards the sky and lets out a loud groan.

“Time to start climbing.” He sighs but Bastion places his hand on his shoulder and steps forward giving Shade half a smile.  He straightens himself, taking a deep breath, he clenches his fist and swings at the timber. A loud crack like lightning echoes the empty space, at first it seem like nothing happened but then the wood begins to splinter, cracks begin to take shape and then break apart. Pieces of timber and chunks of wood fly apart and a large hole opens up, allowing us to continue our journey.

“A newly turned couldn’t do that.” Adrian smiles at his brother and continues walking the trial.

“Can you all do that?” I ask picking my jaw up from the ground.

“Bastion is better at it, we can only get cracks through the timber.” Adrain smiles. Shade moves ahead, still distant from the rest of us as we continue through the forest. This is one is different compared to the one near the city, its more normal, less mutated by magic.

“Oi Adrian, we got a problem!” Shades voice echoes within the forest. I could barely see him considering how far away he was in the distance. He looked like a small ant and then in seconds he was in front of us. I jump away not expecting him to be here in seconds and he lets out a haughty laugh.

“Fuck! You trying to give me a heart attack!”

“One can dream!” Shade sneers and zips back where he was originally standing. I lift my fingers and pretend I could squish him like the pathetic mosquito he is.

“Shade is faster than the both of us.” Bastion shrugs, seeming rather unimpressed by the middle eldest.

We reach a riverbank, noticing the current gushing through. It would be dangerous to cross if we attempted to swim. I look over to other side, judging the distance.

“We could jump over it.”

“Nah, too much energy wasted.” Adrian walks over to the large base of the tree, his katana in hand. He crouches forward as his hand holds the hilt of the katana and takes a deep breath. A rush of air pushes into me, I hold firm in the dirt and watch the vampire use all his strength. With a flurry of his blade, the tree is cut from the base. Shade and Bastion gracefully side step out of the way, loud snapping cracks from the base and watch the tree fall over and hit the base of the river. The earth shook under my feet, rattling through my chest and bones. “Look a bridge, better than jumping.” He nudges me with his elbow and smiles.

My mouth opens again as I watch the three of them continue their march. All treating this as normal and that there is nothing to think twice on.

“How?” I whisper myself. Wondering if its possible to be that strong. Able to defend myself from the brutish vampires I face every day, could I actually put them in their place? For once I would be predator and not the hapless prey. I could actually be stronger than those pathetic vampires back home. Power over those dick heads would be really nice.

“So, do you train get stronger so you can be more powerful?” I enquire, clasping my hands behind my back.

“We don’t get stronger because we want power, we get stronger because we want to protect him, and our family as well.” Adrian replies and yanks me away from the rock I didn’t see.

“Thanks.” Adrian nods.

“I thought vampires were cut throat and power hungry? Ya know survival of the fittest?”

“A few eons ago, it was like that. According to Syrus we nearly went extinct.” Bastion appears from behind and scaring the shit out of me.

“Stop that!” I hear Shades laugh in the distance.

“Its only in the last fifteen hundred years we changed our ways. Banding together, forming covens and families. Sure, we have territories, but it’s not that deep.” Adrian leads the way and cuts through the thick of the forest.

“If anything, the other two leaders of Stirling and Roderick have a ‘whose dick is bigger.’ Competition but it goes nowhere.” Shade finally speaks, his arms crossed and refusing to make eye contact with me.

“And possibly dominating the human race?” All three of them stop in their places and erupt into laughter.

“That’s funny. Even when we’re trying to kill each other not once has our species done that.” Adrian braces himself by his knees as he doubles over with laughter.

“Yeah, that’s way too much work!” Shade emphasis’ his words between laughs.

“So you weren’t killing each other not because of power?” Bastion calms down first before taking a deep breath.

“A tale as old as time. You hurt someone and that person you hurt has someone dear to them and they seek revenge on you and then you get hurt and the people who care about you seek revenge on the other, and the cycle of violence continues.”

“Hence why there's a rule to not kill each other, or we’ll just begin the cycle again.” Adrian straightens himself and takes a calming breath.

“Besides, we’re not power hungry for dominance. We only to protect who we love. If you want power hungry domination, go talk to the werewolves. They want to control and dominate everything.” Shade waves his hand the trio continue their walk.

Strength to protect one another huh? Is that the only reason? Not for power, isn’t that what strength is? The power to protect the ones you love or is there a difference?

I trail a few feet behind, watching them banter amongst themselves. How they tease the youngest, riling him up, only for a quick jab at Shad’s mental capacity to count. Adrian just laughs at them both before Shade retaliates at the eldest, calling him an immature child which results in physical violence.

Family huh. It must be nice. To have someone in your corner, ready to back you up when the chips are down. I wonder back to the Zack, thinking about the times he was there for me, how he was the only one who had my back, but ever since we’ve been apart. Living his new life, the one he is meant to have, I feel like he is forgetting about me. Will I end up alone? An anomaly served as a warning to those who come across me. The halfbreed.

“Hey!” Adrian calls out. I snap from my thoughts not noticing how far I lagged behind. “Did you see a butterfly or something!” I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment, looking away I march towards them.

“Just keep walking.”

“Jeez, you’re lucky we stopped or we could have left you behind,” Shade moans, eyes burning a hole into my head.

“What you want a medal cause you stopped for ‘o’ so dangerous anomaly!” I snap.

“That’s it!” In seconds his clawed hand grips me by the throat, the points of his nails digging into my flesh. Fangs are dangerously close to my face. “I’ve been patient with you and your snippy little attitude all morning.”

“Says the guy who keep leaving out the bait.” I rasp gripping onto his arm for support.

“Shade let her go!” Adrian steps in pulls rips his hand from my throat. I fall to the ground, gasping for air, whilst coughing my lungs up. Bastion goes to give me his hand but I slap it away.

“I don’t need your help!” I cough.

“Hey!” Adrian steps in to defend his brother.

“What?!” I glare at him. “You want me to play nice? Be grateful that took me under your wing and kiss your ass for it.” Shades pupils become unnaturally thin. Jaw clenched the tips of his fangs reaching the bottom of his lip. His clawed hands tighten to fists and blood drips from the palms of his hand.

“You ungrateful bitch.” The words spit from his mouth like venom. “We saved your ass, took you to our home, gave you food and this is how you chose to treat us.” I rise from the ground, our eyes meet, both sides not daring to back down. Shade throws the first punch, I side step his swing, grabbing his arm and pulling him close for my fist to connect to his nose. The vampire stumbles back, eyes widen as a hand gently touches nose. “Not bad. You can fight.”

“When you’re forced to take martial classes, you pick up a thing or two.” Shade let out a snarl and crouches and then is gone in a second.

“Damn it!” Adrian shouts, looking for his brother.

I didn’t have a chance to react, Shade kicks me in the abdomen and sends me flying. My back hits the base of tree with a resounding crack. The air is knocked from my lungs. Pain blooms up my spine and across my ribs as I collapse into the underbrush. My vision swims, and my body is begging for air as I take in deep breathes.

“You done?” Shade snarls, stalking forward.

“I haven’t even started,” I growl back, dragging myself upright, blood pooling into my mouth.

“Both of you—enough!” Adrian’s voice cracks through the tension, but neither of us are listening.

Shade crouches again ready to launch himself at me but stops as we all hear an ear shattering shriek echo through the forest. It crashes through the trees, branches snapping, leaves flurrying in its wake and lands in the clearing behind us with a sickening thud.

The thing stands taller than a man, its grey rubbery skin stretched tightly over a grotesque frame. Its arms are too long, ending in razor-like talons, perfect for tree climbing. Along its sides, are sickly flaps of flesh hang loose, veined thing gliding membranes, like some demonic sugar glider.

Its face, or what’s left of it, splits horizontally along its cheeks, revealing rows of uneven, jagged fangs and saliva mixed with blood dripping onto the ground. Its eyes are white and wide, unblinking. No thoughts. No recognition. Just hunger.

“Fuck” Bastion spits the word like a curse.

Shade doesn't hesitate, his attention solely on the creature, claws extended, a savage snarl and propels himself towards it.

The feral swipes with its talon, Shade ducks, pivots, and rakes his claws across its midsection, tearing a gash in the membrane. Black blood oozes from the feral and lets out an earsplitting screech.

Bastion shoulder crashes into it from the side, knocking it off balance. Adrian’s katana is already drawn, eyes locked on its centre mass.

“Shade, drop it!” he shouts.

Shade darts past again, slashing its thigh deep enough that one leg buckles. The creature stumbles forward.

“Bastion, hold it down.” Bastion grabs a tree branch thicker than my thigh and snaps it like a twig. He slams the jagged end into the feral’s back, impaling one of the gliding flaps.

Without another word, Adrians’s blade whistles through the air, in one clean cut, the feral’s neck splits, its head rolling off and its body collapses.

Steam rises from the corpse, mixing with the sickening stench of rotting meat and iron.

I’m on one knee, breath still ragged, eyes fixed on the twitching corpse of the mutated feral. The thing’s maw is still half-open, jagged teeth slick with blood. Its skin flaps hang limply, shredded from the fight. I look to the trio in stunned silence, my mouth opening slightly as I replay the events back in my mind.

They worked together efficiently to take down the beast within in seconds, all three were in sync with little direction they took it down. It this what they have been training for?

Shade brushes past Adrian, fists still clenched, jaw ticking. I see the glint in his eye, the fight between us isn’t over. He opens his mouth, fangs still on full display, claws out and coated in the ferals blood.

I stand up straight, ready to face him head on but behind him, something catches my eye.

A narrow, crooked doorway slowly splits open in the center of a moss-covered boulder behind Shade. A rip in space that wasn’t there a second ago. It yawns wide, revealing swirling light and shifting shadows beyond. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, Shades shoulders tense, sense the shift in the airs pressure and turns to where I am looking.

“What the fuck…” Bastion breathes, stepping back.

“Doors don’t open on their own,” Adrian mutters, his grip tightening on the katana.

Shade stays frozen, mouth slightly agape.

I step forward, shouldering into the vampire knocking him down and sprint for the door. My boots crunch through the underbrush, jumping over the corpse and I barely register Adrian’s voice calling behind me.

“Ceres, wait!”

I don’t. I throw myself through the threshold the last thing I see is the door closing after I leap through.