By : Beizun

Chapter One

Hunter Redfern had been sitting at his desk all night, calling everyone he

knew to find out something about the trio of witches that had been

plagueing him with promises of something valuable. They had come to him a

month ago, and had been making regular visits. He was getting worried. Only

people who were hiding, and running from someone, hid their past like this.

They spoke in riddles, and always gave cryptic answers. He was about to

call down for his dinner when, he felt a sudden rush of air from somewhere

in the room. He looked up.

"We have come to speak with you again.", said one of the witches

He had no idea what they looked like, they wore long dark robes, with

hoods that covered their heads entirely. Only a few times had he glanced a

profile. He only identified them by height. There was the tallest one, the

medium one, and the short one. How convienent, he thought, too convient.

Wanting to get whatever he could out of them, he said politely,

"What can I do for you.....ladies?"

"We have some information that may be of use to you, vampire.", say the

tall one. She was the "leader" of the trio, and he hadn't really heard the

other two speak at all.

"And what would that be?", he asked, his patience growing thinner by the

second.

"Ah, ah, ah, vampire, you know the rules! First you tell us what you are

willing to give in exchange for this information we offer."

Hunter cringed, so that's what this is about, they want compensation.

"I cannot speak of any kind of compensation until I know what I will be

getting, ladies, I am sure you understand that?", he could play at this

game too.

"Very well, vampire. We know the location of.....someone that might be

useful to you in your endeavors."

"My...."endeavors"?", Hunter was not sure how much these witches knew, but

if they were to close, they had to be gotten rid of, regardless of what

they offered him.

"You know very well what I mean, vampire! Don't play coy, we have watched

you for some time, we know you as well as you know yourself. You see, we

are very selective when it comes to our clients."

"Oh, I see, you mean my plans for the future of the Night World, and the

Human World? What do you know of them?", Hunter was worried, there were

somethings everyone knew...and then...there were things that only he knew,

things that could ruin him.

"We know enough."

Another cryptic aswer.

"Speak plainly, witch, I have much to do!", Hunter was growing tired of

all this talk.

Then something hit him, it felt like a punch but no one was near enough to

touch him. It was painful. He reeled back in his chair. Recoveringly

quickly he sat up, and clasped his face.

"What did you do to me!?!", he yelled in a rage

"In the future vampire, you will learn NOT to speak in such a manner

towards us!", the tall one said, her voice like a blade

"All right, you have my attention, now, you will tell....I mean, will you

tell me what you want, and perhaps we can strike some deal?", trying to

keep the loathing out of his eyes. These were very powerful witches. He

could feel it, they were quiet, but there was something about them that

sent bells off in his head.

The tall one smiled, and nodded, "Yes, but not here."

"Why not?", now something WAS up, why couldn't they speak here?

"What we have to say, is of the uttmost confidence, and we can not speak

where we may be heard.", she looked determined

Somehow, Hunter knew that they weren't going to harm him

"All right, where?"

"We will take you."

They walked towards him, and the tall one touched his arm. At first,

nothing happened, and he wondered what they were doing. Then the room

swirled, it changed, it was as if it actually melted. He felt queezy, and

dizzy. The witches faded, and he shut his eyes.

When Hunter Redfern opened his eyes again, he had no idea where he was.

Which immediatly set him on guard.

He look around, and took in his surroundings

He was in the middle of a field, there was nothing but miles of grass in

every direction. He looked up, expecting to see the sun, and the sky. But,

it wasn't there. It just.......wasn't.

In place of the sky was a swirling mass of grey, not clouds, just grey.

Suddenly, he felt very, very worried.

The voice next to him spoke, and he remembered about the witches.

The tall one let go of his arm, and the three stepped back and looked

around.

"Where....where have you taken me?", Hunter asked, hated the way his voice

cracked.

"A place where we can talk without worry of interference, of course.",

said the small one.

Hunter almost gasped at the sound of her voice, it was the first time she

had spoken.

The small one continued, "Yes, vampire, I do indeed have a voice. We have

brought you here to make sure you understand what we offer you, and that

you understand what we expect in return."

He looked at the trio, and nodded, "All right, what do you offer?"

This time the medium-sized witch spoke, "Among our travels, we have

encountered many of your kind, and have found that dealing with you

is...not to be rude...but distasteful. But, the world IS changing. And when

the change ends, everything you know will no longer be. We want to be on

top after the change. If what you say is true, then the humans will fall,

and we want to be a part of that. Plainly put, when the humans fall to the

Night World, we want to be in power.", she stopped and looked at him.

Hunter wouldn't have been surprised if someone had told him his jaw had

dropped. They want WHAT!?!?!

"You....you.....what....that is impossible! You are asking me to give up

all I have done and let you take over!?!? Are you out of your mind?",

Hunter was breathing hard now, but he scolded himself for loosing control.

"No, vampire, again you read me wrong! When the humans fall, we wish to

co-rule with you and your council."

Suddenly a thought came to Hunter, "Wait, why, why do you want to join us,

when you are so powerful?"

"Simply because we must have a place to be when this all happens, and we

must stay in some form of power.", said that Tall one

Hunter thought this over, this is not such a bad thing, they want to be in

the council, if they can give me something that I need, than this can work

out.

"All right, if you ladies can give me something that I deem worthy to

myself and my cause, I will give you what you ask. Under two conditions,

one, that you give what you say you will give and don't back out of the

agreement, and, two, that you do not abuse your power or try to overthrow

the council. Do you accept?", Hunter had laid it down, there it was, and he

waited for an answer.

The trio walks a few steps away, and spoke in hushed voices, even Hunter's

vampire hearing couldn't pick it up. Strange, in this place, his powers

seemed weakened. He brushed off the idea, the matter at hand was more

important.

The trio walked back to Hunter.

"We have agreed. We will bind to your conditions, but we have some of our

own. One, that you give your oath as a vampire that you will give us the

seat on the coucil, and, two, that you never take away our power, unless we

do harm. Do YOU accept, vampire?, the Tall one said

Hunter didn't have to think, something told him that this was going to be

the right step to take.

"Yes, yes, I accept."

"Your oath?"

"Oh, I, Hunter Refern, swear that I will not decieve these witches, on

Maya herself.", I hope I don't have to break that one, he thought.

"Very well, we have a deal."

"Now, what do you have for me?", Hunter asked, he was getting impatient.

"We have the location of a dragon."

Hunter's eyes widened and then narrowed, he took a deep breath.

Ok, a dragon, but a dragon can be killed, then everything would crumle

down, and he would have to kill the witches......somehow.

"That is not a very stable proposal. You know, as well as I do, that with

the right knowledge, a dragon can be killed."

"Ah, yes, we do, vampire, we do! But, we have not told you the best part.

We have uncovered the dragon Tiamat."

Hunter felt all the breath leave his body, this time he couldn't hide his

reaction. His mind reeled, everything seemed to stop, and he was floating

above it.

He finally found his voice, "Tiamat? You mean THE Tiamat?"

"Yes, it is her.", answered the small one

Tiamat was the most legendary of all dragons, even at a young age she was

more powerful than some adult dragons. She was enticing beautiful, and

ruthless. She loved to toy with people, and she did it well. She had no

visible horns. And that was the most remarkable thing about her. No,

visible horns. The power was inside her. Which meant that she couldn't be

killed. Not by any means. She was put to sleep first, and was still young.

She could kill with a mere glance, and nothing could stop her. Hunter was

so overcome with joy, he wanted to kiss those witches. Of course, he

didn't. But merely sputtered on.

"How can you be....I mean how did you.....I mean.....", they cut him off

"Do not question how, just know that we have, and we are going to take you

to her, now."

"Now?", Hunter couldn't believe this, Oh, if what they say is true.....it

would be the greatest thing that had ever happened.

"Yes, come, she is here.", the small one said touching Hunter's arm. The

world once again faded, and Hunter shut his eyes.

Chapter Two

Once again, Hunter came to. He opened his eyes. He was in a cave, a very

small cave. The walls had been worn down by water, and there was a stringe

smell of........well....age. As though age itself had a scent. The witches,

once again, let go of his arm and stood back.

"Where are we now?", he asked, begining to dis-like this type of travel.

"We are in the place of the dragon. There is no way to get to this place

on foot, or by ANY mortal means, it is hundreds of miles below the Earth's

surface.", the small one stated

Hunter didn't know much about the Earth's crust and asked, "But shouldn't

we be, umm, in lava, or have no oxygen?"

"This is a place protected from all outside influence, it is the only way

that the dragon can be kept alive.", the medium-witch said

Hunter had other questions, but he knew better to stay quiet, the sooner

the talking stopped, the sooner he got his hands on that dragon.

"This way.", the tall witch guided Hunter through a narrow damp

passage-way, until he felt the air change, and the path opened up into a

large room. The witches had been here before, the room had been prepared

from his arrival.

It was large, very large. The walls seemed to glow with moisture, there

was a scent of herbs, and plants. Then he, saw her.

He was surpirised at his reaction, she was beautiful. But, something as

frivilous as beauty had never seemed to trouble Hunter.

She was lieing on a bed of rock. Her hair was a deep brown, and even after

all this time here, it was shiny and soft-looking. It was arranged over her

shoulders, in tiny waves. Her skin was glowing, it was just a shade above

what you would call pale, and it was clear and clean. She was wearing a

pure white shift, that covered her from neck to ankle. It looked like it

had been made out of a singe piece of material. Her lips were full and

pink, just the shade of lips without make-up. She had high cheekbones, and

a strong chin. Her shoulders were bare, and her arms were long and

graceful. Her nails were perfect length, untouched by nail polish. He

couldn't see much else of her because the shift she wore was large and

concealing.

Then, one of the witches spoke.

"Well, what do you think?", she asked, as if saying 'I told ya so!'

He opened his mouth and found his voice.

"She is......beautiful."

"Yes, I know, don't worry, the feelings you are having now are because

that even in sleep she emits a certain wave of power that draws people to

her. Don't worry, you won't fall in love anytime soon, vampire.", said the

Tall one

He could swear he almost blushed as the witch noticed his feelings.

He then felt hard resolve come over him.

Of course she was right! This dragon was powerful and he had almost given

in!

"What now?", Hunter asked

"Well, we have come here many times, we have put her through all the

rituals of awaking her and her power. It is just a matter of how quickly

she resonds to it. And it may take a while, because she was one of the

first to be put to sleep.", answered the medium-witch

They walked over to Tiamat, and leaned over her. They placed their hands

on her and began to chant, Hunter couldn't tell what. And then, Tiamat's

body began to glow.

Tiamat felt strange. It was dark, she couldn't tell if it was night, or if

her eyes were shut. But, when she tried to open her eyes, they felt to

heavy to lift. She felt a small tingling in her toes, or, rather, where her

toes should be. It spread slowly. At first she wanted the feeling, and

didn't no why. She only knew she wanted to feel something. But, when the

tingling reach her chest, she realized she didn't want it, it was hurting

her. First, a small sqeezing, then it felt as if someone or something was

sitting on her chest. As quickly as the tingling feeling came, it left. She

felt very tired all the sudden. Before her mind was consumed by peaceful

blackness, she heard someone speak.

"She is not ready yet, we must wait."

Hunter Redfern, walked slowly out of the dark room with the three witches.

Back in the narrow passageway, Hunter turned to the trio.

"What do you mean, 'not ready'?", he asked

"We mean, that she is not ready, vampire! Plain as that. Her body is weak

and this process must be slow. Her powers will take even longer to awaken.

If we were to rush her, she could die, her powers along with her.",

explained the small witch.

Well, that was understandable, Hunter thought

"Ok, how much longer do you think it will be?"

"Not much, we have been doing this for a month, since the day we arrived,

she should be ready by the end of the week.", said that Tall one

Ok, Hunter thought, the end of the week, today is Wednesday, that leaves

three days to prepare. To make plans. Plenty of time.

The three witches and Hunter walked along the narrow path, until the

reached the opening to the cave. Hunter looked around, and finally realized

that he never asked where exactly here was.

Turning to the trio, he asked, "Where exactly are we anyway?"

The three witches exchanges an amused glance, and the small one said,

"I am sorry vampire, but that is not for you to know. Suffice it to say,

this is no where you can get to alone."

"Oh, all right, then. Um, how do I get home?", Hunter wanted immediatley

to make plans on where the dragon was going to be placed. The basic plan

was, he was going to send her into a place with a lot of daybreaker's, then

she would get information on the way they run things and maybe even

"befriend" them. She would, along with the other vampires, then slowly hack

away at Circle Daybreak's members, until the system had been so crippled

that it could no longer function. Hunter was sick and tired of taking

chances with these damn daybreaker's. He was, before the witches came to

him, trying to find a way to do it, and when they had arived it had

provided the perfect chance for him to finally punish all of them. And,

especially Thierry. That little ungrateful traitorus bastard had ruined his

image. Well, Thierry was going to learn what it is like to trifle with

Hunter Redfern, isn't he?, Hunter thought

The tall witch turned to the rest of them and said, "I have to close the

tomb and I must be alone to do it."

Hunter jumped, "What? Alone? Why do you have to be alone?"

Hunter didn't want anything to happen to his little "investment". Goddess

knows what that powerful witch could do to Tiamat in her sleep.

"I have to be alone, vampire, because I was the one who opened the tomb,

alone. And so, I must close the tomb alone. Or else there would be a loss

of balence between the.......but you don't need to know all that. I have to

seal the opening."

There wasn't anything Hunter could say to that, he had to, for the time

being, trust these witches.

"Ok, so what do I do?

The Tall one turned to the other two witches and said, "Take him back to

his home. After that, go to our residence and wait for me. Don't go

anywhere for any reason."

They both nodded, and walked towards Hunter. Once again, they put their

hands on his arm and the world faded. When he opend his eyes again he was

in his office, and he was alone.

They sure know how to make an exit, he thought with a grin.

The Tall witch moved back into the narrow passage-way. The reason for

going back into the cave that she had given Hunter and her two sisters was

only part of the reason why she had to go in alone. Yes, she alone did have

to close the tomb, but she had to check something that could either make,

or break all of their plans.

She walked into the opening of the cavern again, inhaling the sweet scent

of herbs and flowers. The walls still shined with moisture, and Tiamat

still layed upon her bed of stone, looking beautiul and very much alive.

The Tall witch removed her hood. By all acounts, the Tall witch was very

pretty, too. Unlike the human image of witches, she was young and her skin

untouched by warts or wrinkles. Her eyes were sparkling blue, and her face

was tilted upward as if daring anyone to do wrong by her.

She walked over to the stone bed where Tiamat lay. She gazed down at the

dragon and sighed. She was beautiful. Her grin widened, if Hunter had seen

the look on his face when he saw Tiamat he would have been so embarassed,

she thought.

She knelt down and pulled out a block of stone from the side of the stone

bed. Setting it aside carefully, she pulled out a pile of papers. They were

old, very old. From the time when the humans were kept in pens like

chattel, and when being a shapeshifter was as common as having the last

name, 'Smith'. The pages were covered in small print, in the old languages.

One copy in the witch writing, and one in the ancient language of the

shapeshifters. The Tall one opened to the one written by the witches. What

most people didn't know was, at the time when a witch was putting a dragon

to sleep, a complete journal of everything the witch had done, every spell,

every chant, was put in this report. This was Tiamat's report. The Tall one

shifted through the papers, finding the one she was looking for, she read

the page, running her fingers along with the words. This was an account of

all spells done to put the dragon and its power asleep. And any herbs it

was given before that.

The Tall one found the words that she had been fearing would be there.

This had only before been a myth about Tiamat, but now, it was reality.

Before putting the dragon Tiamat to sleep, the witches who were responsible

for her had done an experimental spell. The hope was, that this spell would

strip Tiamat of her coldness, and her ruthlessness, so that she would be

able to serve the witches, and be kept awake. The spell was carried out and

there seemed to be no affect what-so-ever on the beautiful dragon. But, the

Tall one knew, just as every other witch did, that certain beings, can

react differently to certain spells. It might have been years before Tiamat

reacted to this new spell. If Tiamat was going to have any reaction at all

to this spell, then she would be useless to Hunter, and therefore, useless

to the Tall one and her sisters. But, Tiamat was the only dragon to have

this done to her. After the apparent failure of the spell, the witches

deemed it useless. And because Tiamat was the first to be put to sleep, no

other dragon in the world received this spell.

Shrugging of a shudder, the Tall one quickly rearranged the papers,

returned them to the small hole, and hoisted the rock back into place. She

then place her hands of Tiamat's forhead, whispering incantations and

chants. When Tiamat's body began to glow, the witch stepped back to make

sure that all was well. With one more sweeping glance, the Tall one turned

and closed the opening to the cave. She stepping through the passageway and

into the light of the world outside. She closed her eyes, as the world

began to fade, and had one last thought,

Goddess help us.

Chapter Three

Hunter Refern had never been more excited in his life. Of course he knew

that was an exaggeration. He could remember a lot of times like this. His

first human kill. He smiled at that memory. The first time he drank blood,

mostly a lot of blood-related memories. But, what else was there for him?

The millennium, he thought, that's what is left for me. Ok, enough gazing

into the past, Hunter, gather your thoughts, and plan your next move. One

hour ago, he had called one of his best, and most discreet agents. He

didn't tell him anything of importance of course. Hunter trusted no one. He

only briefly told his agent that he had a V.I.P. that was going to do some

"field work", a glorified term for someone who was going to, once again,

try to break down Circle Daybreak. He informed that agent, that this

V.I.P., was one of the most important and non-expendable people that have

ever come to Hunter. He told that agent, that they needed to place the

V.I.P in a place where she could "make friends" with the daybreaker's. Used

to this sort of thing, the agent knew what to do. All he needed was the

sex, the age, and the look of the V.I.P. and he went to work. Hunter left

off on a very threatening note, saying that if anything happened to this

person, he would personally exacute this agent, in front of the entire

Night World Vampire Council. The agent was very quick to say that no harm

would come to her.

Satisfied, Hunter dissconnected the call, and wondered when he would get

another visit from his trio of witches.

Back at their residence, the two witches sat and waited for the return of

their sister.

"Our older sister was up to something back there. She was a little

worried. And, she is never worried. What do you think is going on?", asks

the small one

The medium-witch replied, "There is nothing 'going on', sister! She was

merely nervous because that vampire was there, that's all. You have grown

too paranoid over the years."

The small one snorted, "I have not! I only want to make sure that all is

well. You know that our future is riding on that vampire. I hate to be

under his thumb, but that is survival I guess. Anyway, let us get out of

these robes, they are so hot and itchy!" She began to remove her robe.

Dispite the fact that the trio were sisters, they looked as different as

night and day. The small one, removed her hood, she had gorgeous blonde

hair falling in waves over her shoulders, her eyes were deep purple, and

have little flecks of all different colors in them. She had curves that any

human girl would kill for, but they meant little to her.

Then following her sister's lead, the medium-witch began to disrobe. She

had deep red hair, with very haunting, almost yellow eyes with grey flecks

in them. She also had a lovely body. The put on their white shifts that

they relaxed in, and settle down to talk about spells they performed or

places they'd been. Then the felt the rush of air in the room, and knew

their sister had arrived.

"Merry Meet sister, did all at the cave go well?", asked the small one.

The Tall one didn't want to tell her sister's about the spell used on

Tiamat. But, she had to. Sooner or later her sisters would figure it out.

They may be younger, but they were as wise as she. She cringed at the

thought of their reaction. Her sisters saw this cringe, and knew something

was wrong.

The medium one asked, "There is something wrong. Is Tiamat all right? Was

there a problem closing the entrance? What, sister?"

"We may have a problem", the Tall one began

"What!?!", both sister said in unision, jumping to their feet.

"Sit down, and I'll explain."

Hunter Redfern had just gotten the call back from his Agent, the packet of

information on where the dragon was to stay would be sent to Hunter's

office in a day or so. They did this because, they didn't want to discuss

such things on a phone line. Open or "secure", the damn daybreaker's had

bugged them all. He leaned back in his chair and streched. This was turned

out all right, he thought. Then a small shorteness of breath and pain in

his joints made him realize that he hadn't fed in some time. He pressed a

small button on his phone, and spoke into it.

"Erika, dear, could you bring me my....um....dinner?"

A very hesitant voice answered, "Uh, yes, sir, it will be up in a few

minutes."

Three minutes later a young werewolf led a dazed looking young woman into

his office.

"Your dinner, sir?"

"Yes, Jeremey, leave her over there", Hunter said pointing towards his

couch.

"Will that be all?", Jeremey asked

"Yes, for now.", Hunter said, giving a little wave of his hand that meant,

'you may leave now'.

The werewolf nodded and stepped out closing the door behind him.

Hunter smiled and turned towards the young woman. He loved toying with his

food.

"And what is your name my dear?", he said in a low husky voice.

The young woman looked confused, and looked at him through clouded eyes,

as if to say, 'where am I?'.

She stuttered, "I....I don't....I don't know!" She began to cry, "Why

don't I know?!?"

"No need for that, my dear, don't cry."

He walked over to the young woman, his eyes never leaving her white neck.

"All will be well.", he assured her

The woman nodded, and visibly relaxed.

He sat down next to her, and took her in his arms, she wrapped her arms

around him, needing something to hold on to. Besides that, the witches

downstairs did a good job drugging her. He gently kissed her lips, and felt

the blood running under her skin. His eyes changed, and his fangs grew,

touching his bottom lip.

The woman was so drugged, she made no moves to stop Hunter as his bit into

her neck and drained her blood. He pushed her away when he had his fill,

and called for the werewolf to take the woman back to wherever she came

from.

Fed, and happy, Hunter Redfern settled down to sleep.

The two younger sisters absorbed all the information that their sister had

told them.

The small one asked, "So, you are saying, that if this spell has a delayed

reaction then Tiamat could be.....kind and loving. And therefore unable to

do what we are waking her up for?"

The Tall one answered, "Yes, if the spell was done right, and if the

dragon was in the right state. And, believe me, those ancient witches

didn't take any chances with their spells."

The medium then asked what was the most imporant thing of all,

"Are we telling the vampire this?"

The three sisters exchanged glances, and nodded.

"Of course, not! That would completely kill all of our plans. Look, the

chances of this spell working are very slim, if any at all. We just make

sure she is ok when she wakes up and then send her on her way, with

whatever plan the vampire has come up with.", explained the Tall one.

Then the small one had a thought, "What are his plans? How do we know that

they will suit us?"

The Tall one answered, "He has to come up with mutally benificial plans,

because, if he doesn't then the dragon will stay asleep. And we are the

only witches in the world that can wake Tiamat."

Realizing that they needed to eat and sleep, the witches, without another

word, separated and went to prepare their dinner. After eating, they fell

into a restless sleep, praying to Goddess that things worked out.

Hunter opened his eyes, and swung his legs over the side of his bed, and

felt wonderful. That feed had been wonderful last night. And the thought of

having the most powerful dragon ever known was definitely bringing up his

moral. Then, his sense of duty came over him, and he realized that tommorow

was the day that the witches were going to wake up Tiamat. As if on cue, he

felt the now-familiar rush of air, and turned to see the three witches

standing in a row, wearing their black robes.

"Good morning vampire", said that Tall one

Now convinced that they were not going to do him harm, he asked,

"What are your names? I mean, who are you?"

"Well, I suppose it is time you know, I am called Rhiannon.", said the

tall one.

"I am called Circe." , said the medium-witch

"And I, am called Nia.", said the small one

"Well, now that we know eachother, this may be easier."

And, he thought, now I can give their names to my agents, and dig up the

past on these three.

The Tall one seemed to read his mind, and said, "Don't even think about

it, vampire! You will find nothing about us, even if you search. We wish to

focus on Tiamat not ourselves."

Hunter flinched, "Don't say her name here! You do not know how dangerous

it is to speak openly!"

"Vampire, again you do not do us justice! We have put up a force field of

silence around this room, before even entering.", said Circe

Hunter almost felt pride at how thorough his little friends were.

"Very well, shall we check on Tiamat?"

"Yes, we have to do special spells today, to prepare her for her awakening

tomorrow.", said Rhiannon.

Once in the place of the gray sky (as Hunter called it), the trio walked

once more through the passageway and into the cavern. Again, the scents

came over him, and Tiamat's beauty had an effect on him. But, not so near

as much yesterday. He stayed at the entrance, while the wiches did the

normal spells, checking on Tiamat's health and powers. They told Hunter

that for the next portion of spells, he had to leave. He didn't ask why,

because he knew he would be forced to leave anyway.

Tiamat again felt the tingling in her toes, this time the pressure was ok,

it even felt pleasant. From the last time this happened to now, she had

been in a semi-consicous state. She had been remebering all what the

witches had done to her. Her mother and father had been put to sleep after

her, or at least that was what she found out through eavesdropping on the

witches. All her brothers and sisters found a similar fate. She would cry

if she could but open her eyes and shed the tears. She may have been

thought of as ruthless. But, she loved her family, and her only loyalty was

to them. By now, the tingling have consumed her body, and she felt as

though her body was humming. How long have I been asleep? Oh, Goddess, what

if it was hundreds of years! I don't want to wake up, I don't want to face

all the change, I'll be alone! Then the tingling receded, but didn't

dissapear, she could feel it inside of her, waiting to come out again. She

reached for that anger, the cold-bloodesness that had protected her all

this time.......it wasn't there. There was a part of her gone. She wasn't

herself. Strangley, she felt very relieved. Then she heard a voice.

"She is ready, very ready, in fact she may stir in the night. Nia, I am

asking you to stay with her, and guard her. I have to gather supplies for

the awakening, and Circe has to get everything ready to teach the dragon

what has happened in the last three thousand years. Can you do it?"

Nia was overcome with joy at having been bestowed with this honor by her

old sister.

"Yes, on Goddess herself, yes, I will guard her with my life Rhiannon!"

Pleased by her sister's reaction, Rhiannon signaled to Circe that it was

time to leave. They walked out sealing the door behind them. Once out the

door, a very agitated Hunter Redfern nearly jumped the pair.

"Well?", he asked, as though talking to an employee.

"She is very ready, she may awaken during the night, Nia is going to stay

with her. I must gather the materials and Circe must prepare to teach the

dragon.", Rhiannon explained.

"And what is my job?", Hunter asked.

Circe answered, "You will go home, feed, sleep, and we will come for you

early in the morning."

Hunter nodded, and they went out, into the gray world, and transported him

home.

Nia looked around the cavern. With the door shut, the candle light gave

this place an eerie look. She let her gaze fall upon the dragon. The stone

bed cast a large shadow on the wall that made the dragon look huge. She

looked back at the table at which she sat. On it, were a plethera of herbs

and gems, and oils. All of them meant to wake up the dragon's power. No one

had used this special set for a long time. The jars were still sealed and

the herb pouches not opened. She wanted to touch them, to smell them, to

learn what they could do. But, she knew not to touch them. Rhiannon would

have a fit and blame her if the awakening went awry. A small sound

attraction her attention. It sounded like.....Tiamat! Tiamat was moving

ever-so-slightly on her bed of stone. He small fragile head turning back

and forth. Her hands clenching and un-clenching. Nia nearly panicked. She

had no idea what to do, in all of her years as a witch, no one had told her

how to calm a sleeping dragon. She looked around desperatly. Then a small

peice of paper on the table caught her eye. It looked out of place among

the ancient bottles and scrolls. The flap read:

For Nia, In case of emergency

Nia looked around, Tiamat was squirming more and making louder noises. If

this wasn't an emergency, she didn't know what was. Throwing caution into

the wind she torn open the note.

Dear Sister,

If you are reading this, you have encountered some trouble with our

guest. And I know that you wouldn't open this out of curiosity. Beside

this note are 3 bottles of oil. Take one drop from each and rub it in your

hands. Go over to our guest and rub your hands on her forehead. Keep

rubbing until she quiets down. I hope it goes well.

Merry Part, Rhiannon

Nia, was grateful that her sister had left this. She opened the first

bottle, and poured a drop from it into her hand, she did that with the

other two. She looked over to the dragon. Before, when she was asleep, the

dragon didn't seem to pose any threat, but now, that she was half awake,

Nia wasn't sure about doing this. Stop being a human, she thought, do it!

She walked over to the dragon. Quickly placing her hands on the dragon she

rubbed her forehead.

Tiamat felt strange. It wasn't the tingling this time, it was a pressure

on her head. All this time she had been drifting in and out of awareness.

Now she felt the pressure spread and it felt good. She felt her face smile,

and her body got warm all over. She felt very relaxed, and sleepy. Maybe I

can go back to sleep for a little while, she thought. And drifted off

peacefully.

Chapter Four

Nia relaxed the second Tiamat stopped moving, and drifted off. Goddess I

hope that lasts all night!, Nia thought, and decided she should get some

sleep too.

Rhiannon was with Circe in the basement of an old witch store. They were

looking for the two more things they needed to awaken the dragon. An elixir

that the dragon must drink after waking, and the chant that needed to be

said while the dragon was waking. Since you had to say it in old witch

langauge, and they only knew it in English, they had had to translate the

spell word for word. It has taken hours. Finally at 3 am it was done.

Circe was so happy that the translating was over, "Thank Goddess that it

over! My fingers and brain are aching! Rhiannon, don't you think we should

fetch the vampire now? It will be dawn in a few hours, and we must begin

when the sun comes up."

Rhiannon nodded, "Of course, let us go. I too am glad that this is over,

it is the most tedious part of the awakening. Wait, before we go, I must

explain what will happen. I will do the chanting of the spell, you will

administer the oils and herbs when and where I tell you. Nia will be

putting her hands on our guest, pumping energy into her and helping her to

get strong. From what I have read about awakenings, the dragon rises up in

a cloud of light, into the air, then floats down and goes limp then, opens

her eyes. But we have no real idea of what this dragon will do, so be

prepared for anything. The moment she opens her eyes you must coax the

elixer down her throat. Do you understand, sister?

Circe nodded, "Yes, this will work! I have faith in you sister! We will

keep this going and we will finish it."

Rhiannon smiled, and the pair walked out of the dank basement, tools on

hand.

Hunter felt the air rush into his room. At first he thought he was

dreaming, and then he realized what it was. The witches. He opened his eyes

and gasped. They wore plain white shifts, the type of shift a witch would

were at a Circle meeting. And no hoods. Rhiannon with her beautiful blue

eyes and shiny brown hair, and Circe with her deep red hair and yellow

eyes. He couldn't help but stare. Here he was lying in bed, when two of the

the most gorgeous witches he had ever seen were staring at him.

Rhiannon spoke first with a laugh in her throat, "Stare all you want

vampire, but we have a dragon to awaken." She laughed softly and so did

Circe.

Trying to maintain some kind of dignity Hunter spoke, "The dragon, yes, of

course. I just have to change, and I'll be on my way."

Circe stepped forward, "We don't have time for that!"

She looked at him intently. Before he could resond, a swirl of air

surrounded him and he felt the cloth on his skin change. When the air

cleared, he saw he was wearing the exact outfit that he had planned to put

on himself. He merely stared at Circe. In response, she winked at him. He

stood tall and set his chin.

"Well, let us go, then!"

Circe and Rhiannon shared a small laugh, and touched Hunter's arm, the

world faded, and once again they returned to the land of the gray-sky.

Nia was worried. It was only 3 hours until sunrise and they weren't here

yet. There was so much to be done. And it had to be done carefully.

Luckily, Tiamat had stayed asleep all night, quite peacefully actually. Nia

was relieved. She expanded her senses and reached out for any touch of

them. Ah! There they are! Just ready to cross the barrier!, Nia thought.

She waited.

Again, in the gray-place, Hunter thought. I don't like it here. They were

once again standing at what he guessed was the entrance point of

this...place.

Rhiannon spoke, "We must hurry, there is much to be done and we only have

a few hours left of darkness to do it in."

Hunter asked, "How can you tell it is night, when there is no sun or moon

here?"

Circe answered her usual cryptic answer, "We just do, don't question it."

"Ok, let's go!", Hunter demanded

Something that felt like an elbow jammed into his stomach, not enough to

cause damage, but enough to make him sore. He clasped his stomach and

looked at the two.

Rhiannon said, "I told you never to speak to me like that, didn't I? We

pull the shots here, vampire!"

Hunter knew well enough to bite his tongue. Here, his powers were reduced

to half strength and he could be wounded. He just wanted to get to the

dragon. He nodded apologetically and they walked towards the opening to the

cave.

Nia was happy to here the sound coming from the now-opening doorway to the

cavern.

"Rhiannon!", she called.

"Merry meet my sister! How goes our guest?", Rhiannon asked

"Well, very well, oh, and I wanted to thank you for the note and the oils.

She became quiet restless about 2 hours after you left. I almost panicked."

Rhiannon glanced at the three open jars and the half-torn open note. She

smiled.

"Circe! Have you all we need to continue?", Nia asked.

"Yes, dear sister, all here!", answered Circe happily.

Hunter felt very out of place among the three.

Rhiannon turned to him, "Vampire, you must wait outside while we do this."

Hunter was beyond mad, "WHAT!?! After coming here, seeing her, going

through all this, and you expect me to just stand outside!?!"

Rhiannon gave him a sharp look, Hunter's legs collapsed under him and he

fell to the ground in a kneeling postition.

"I will NOT explain my self to you, vampire! Either you leave, or WE

leave!"

Hunter legs felt like they were being held down by a thousand pins, he had

no choice.

"All right! Let me up! I'll go!", he gasped.

The pins that he was sure had been holding him there, fell away. His legs

regained their strength and he stood. Without a word he turned and whirling

out of the entrance to the cavern. Witches!, he thought.

"It is time.", Rhiannon anounced.

Circe and Nia gathered around Tiamat.

"Circe rub this onto her chest.", Rhiannon commanded handing Circe a vial

of pink colored oil.

"Nia, begin with the energy, start at the feet."

"Yes, Rhiannon.", Nia replied.

Rhiannon began to chant low at first and then louder and louder until her

voice filled the whole cavern.

She didn't speak with words now to her sister, she was telling them what

to do with her mind.

Circe, that brown small herb on the feet!

Nia, move your hands to her thighs, both of them!

Circe pour the clear oil into her hands and rub it in deeply!

Nia, move upward, yes, a little higher, good.

Circe, now the black powder on her stomach, just a pinch.

The commands continued until the energy in the room reached a cresendo.

All the herbs and oil had been administered. Circe stepped away. Nia had

just finished rubbing Tiamat's scalp and her body was glowing with light.

Rhiannon read the last sentence in the spell, the only line that Nia

understood.

"AS A DAUGHTER OF HECATE, BY HER HAND, SO MOTE IT BE!", Rhiannon shouted

over the now deafening noise of the energy coming from Tiamat.

Tiamat felt everything collapsing, the silence was gone. Replaced by a

loud sound. Her body was shivering but warm all at once. She felt herself

get very light and rise up. Silence........

Rhiannon, Nia, and Circe all stepped back. In one moment, the noise

stopped. The whole cavern was silent. No one even breathed. The light was

radiating from Tiamat and her body was rising, up off her bed of stone up

into the cavern air. When she reached up to a certain height, she floated

back down to the bed of stone and went limp.

Tiamat felt her body touch the stone again. She realized what had

happened. They were waking her up. After Goddess knows how long, she was

going to live again. Her whole body began to come alive. She felt her blood

moving quickly, and her heart pounding. She felt the air on her skin and

the pressure of it too. But, she was not ready to open her eyes yet. She

would wait.

Rhiannon, Circe, and Nia, stepped back. Nothing could have prepared them

for this. It was....emotional, spiritual, and beautiful, all at once.

Rhiannon was the first one to realize that all of them were crying.

Circe was the first to speak, "It.....I....Oh Goddess! I have never in all

my year's....felt that power.....oooohhhhh....", she dissolved into tears.

Nia was too busy sobbing to speak.

Rhiannon's face was wet with tears. But, she had to be the one to continue

this and she had to get a hold of them.

"Circe! Nia! Come now! I felt it just as you did, but we must finish!

Remember what you said in the basement Circe? We will finish this!"

Realizing that their sister was, of course, right., they wiped off the

tears and straightened ther clothing.

Circe said, "Yes, of course, you are right as always sister! Nia, come

along now."

Nia just nodded.

Rhiannone said, "Nia, go and tell the vampire what has happened. He may

not come in, still, but we have to tell him at least. Circe, go mix the

elixir for when she opens her eyes. And I will check her vital signs."

They went to work.

Hunter was standing in the hall ready to punch in the stone door. he had

heard talking, and then shouting, and then a wave of power rocked the whole

cave. Then he heard, after a while of silence, crying. What is going on in

there!?!?!, he thought.

The stone door slowly came open. He saw Nia's red hair pop out of the

door.

"Vampire?"

"Here, I am here, what happened?!?", Hunter asked.

Nia took a deep breath and told him all that had happened.

Hunter took a deep breath, "Can I come in now?"

"No! You may not, her body and power is awake but she isn't, you must

wait.", Nia commanded.

Hunter nodded, "How much longer?"

"We aren't sure. I must return."

Without waiting for an answer Nia spun on her heel back into the cavern.

Leaving Hunter there with a million unanswered questions.

Rhiannon was tired. They had been in here for forever....or at least it

seemed like that. Circe's hand were shrivled and cramped from all the

rubbing and handling of herbs. Rhiannon was drained from chanting and

called on the powers of Hecate. Nia's hands were beet red from all the

energy that had flowed through her.

"Now what, Rhiannnon?", Circe asked.

"Now, we wait. Her signs are normal. Her body is awake and there is brain

activity. Her powers are flowing through her veins, as we'd hoped.

Everything is normal. She just needs time.", Rhiannon answered.

She noticed as Nia walk through the door and shut it behind her, "Well,

what did he say?", Rhiannon asked

Nia said, "He was mad as we expected him to be. But he will stay put."

Circe and Rhiannon smiled. Everything was going according to plan.

And then, it hit Rhiannon, like a flash of lightning.

She cried out, "OH! WE FORGOT!"

Nia and Circe said in unison, "What?!?"

Rhiannon looked at them impatiently and lowered her voice to a whisper,

"The spell on Tiamat!

All three witches groaned.

Then Circe spoke, "Rhiannon, can you check her for that, I mean, now,

after she is awake, can't you probe her?"

Rhiannon answered, shaking her head, "No, and she can hide it too. Not

even the strongest witch or vampire can probe a dragon. We will never know,

unless she lets her feelings known. Regardless, we are not telling the

vampire! We can't risk it, not now, not after awakening her!"

Both Nia and Circe agreed that it was the right thing to do.

Chapter Five

Tiamat knew it was only a matter of hours before she would open her eyes.

She knew that people would just think, "Well just open your eyes!", but it

wasn't that simple. She couldn't every time she would try, it was as if her

mind wasn't controling her body. After awhile she gave up. She took this

time to think. She should be mad, mad at what the witches did to her and

her family. And she tried again to reach for that anger that had always

supported her. It had felt good to be angry, she wanted to be angry. It

made her strong. But, it wasn't there. In fact, when she thought about what

she had done when she was awake, she experienced and emotion that she never

thought she would: guilt. She even felt sorry for all those people she

killed. And she can't believe she ever did all those cruel things. Ok,

think Tiamat, why are they waking you up? That seemed simple enough, they

want to use me. Or more specifically my power. They probably want me to

kill some people or take over an area of land. That much I know. But, what

are they going to do when they find out that I don't think I can kill

anyone? Well, that was simple enough! I am not telling them! I can pretend

to be my old self, until I get away from them. But, something deep inside

Tiamat told her that it was not going to be that simple. Giving up the

mental battle, she drifted off again.

Rhiannon was worried. Tiamat showed only small signs of waking up. An

occasional flutter of the eyelid or a small twich in her cheek. But, it was

taking a while.

Circe asked, "Rhiannon, what do you think is wrong?"

Rhiannon took a deep breath an answered, "She is the most powerful of all

the dragons. Her powers many take days to awaken."

Nia pointed towards the door and said, "Well, I don't think we're going to

be able to keep that vampire here for days! He was ready to kick in the

door the last time I saw him."

Rhiannon realized that there was only one thing to do, "Circe, take him

home. I don't care if you have to knock him out, take him home. Make sure

he gets fed, he will be weak. This is taking longer than we thought. Come

back immediately. If she starts to awaken you have to be here."

Circe nodded and went towards the door.

Hunter was awakened by the sound of the door opening. He had fell asleep a

while ago, after pacing for hours.

"Vampire? I am taking you home.", Circe said

Hunter focused his eyes, "What?!?"

"Oh, vampire, we are sick of your rantings! It is taking very long, and

you need to feed! We do not want a hostile, blood-sucking maniac in the

hallway while we are awakening a dragon!"

Hunter would put his foot down here,"No. Absolutely not. I refuse to

leave. I am using this dragon and I must assure that she is still going to

be handed over to me."

Circe was loosing patience, "I don't care about that vampire! If you want

to live to see the millennium then you must feed!", with that Circe walked

towards Hunter to place her hand on him.

He sidestepped her, "No! I am staying!"

Circe nearly laughed, "You are kidding, you actually think you can

overpower me?"

Circe send Hunter a look that would kill, a pain exploded on the side of

his head and he saw white, and then fell to the ground unconscious.

Circe merely shook her head, and said, "Vampires, ha."

She put her hand on him and the world faded.

Back in the cavern, Nia and Rhiannon had begun to discuss all the things

they needed to hone the dragon's power to full strength.

Nia said, "Well, Circe is going to have to be thorough about her

teachings, we want this dragon to be sure of who her enemies are and who

her allies are."

Rhiannon agreed, "Yes, of course, now we must focus on her body, though. I

didn't want to have to do this but we are going to have to start

adminsitering energy. Nia, would you?"

Nia looked hesitant, "Are you sure? I mean, I will, of course, but, are

you sure it won't harm her?"

Rhiannon said, "I am sure it won't do any long term damage, but there is a

very slim chance it might actually put her more asleep. Regardless, we have

to take that chance."

Nia nodded, and walked towards Tiamat.

She walked around to the head of the stone bed and place her hands on

either sides of Tiamat's head. She began whispering incantations and

focusing hard. Then she felt the power burst through her, like water though

a hose.

Tiamat was jolted awake. There was power flowing through her, and she

didn't know where it was coming from. Then she thought, the witches, of

course, they must be worrying why it is taking long. Tiamat felt it was

time. With the witch-energy souring through her body, she pushed her body

to awaken.

Just at that moment Circe ran into the room. She had felt Tiamat's energy

the second she had returned through the barrier.

Rhiannon yelled, "Circe! The elixor!!!"

Circe ran to the table and grabbed the ancient looking bottle. She ripped

off the cloth top and then the clay cork.

Rhiannon was shouting orders again, "Nia! Keep it going, it is working!

Circe get ready with that elixor!"

Tiamat was ready, her body felt more alive then it had ever felt, she was

sure she could move now. Get ready, she told herself. And, as if nothing

had ever happened, her eyes opened. The first thing she saw was stone high

above her. She must be in a cave. She took a deep breath, herbs, oils, and

damp. She felt the cold stone pressing against her shoulder-blades. And

then a pain gripped her and wouldn't let go.

Completely taken surprise by seeing Tiamat's beautiful green eyes, the

trio almost forgot about the elixor.

Seeing that Tiamat was in pain, Rhiannon yelled, "Circe! The elixor!"

Circe nodded and poured the bottle's contents into the parted lips of

Tiamat. She swallowed with a bit of difficulty.

Tiamat felt the thick liquid go down her throat. It made the pain go away

and she kept drinking until all the pain was gone. And, she sat up, for the

first time in thousands of years.

The witches' eyes widened and they stepped back as Tiamat sat up. She

quickly looked around. She was in a cavern, and there was a trio of

witches, very beautiful witches, staring at her. For the first time in a

long time, Tiamat felt her body. She felt good, alive and whole again. And,

the fact that her hatred had left her was only helping. But, realizing that

the witches expected her to be cold-hearted, she stopped the smile that had

been making its way to her face.

Rhiannon spoke, "Timat, the greatest of all dragons, we welcome you to our

world."

Nia looked at Tiamat, "Merry Meet, Tiamat."

Circe followed, "Unity, great-one."

Tiamat looked at them and spoke, "Merry Meet all of you."

She tried to put cold into her voice, and succeeded to a point.

Her voice was enticing to say the least. It rang clear as a bell through

the walls of the cavern. If she were to sing, she would have surely brought

people from miles around.

Rhiannon spoke, "We know this may be a shock to you, we have awakened you,

fair dragon, and we ask you to help us complete our task."

Tiamat swung her legs over the side of her stone bed. And tested her legs.

Strong, good, steady.

She asked, "What do you wish me to do?"

Circe spoke, "Well, we are but servents in this plan. The one who will be

telling you all of what he wishes is a vampire. He will explain what is

needed."

Tiamat jumped ahead, wanting to know everything, "How long have I been

asleep? What year is this? Who is in power?"

Rhiannon said, "You have been asleep for thirty thousand years. It is

1998. And...the humans are in power."

Tiamat was sure she heard wrong, "The HUMANS?!? Are in power!?!", she

shouted.

Nia cringed and nodded, "Yes, the reason for that is, they outnumber us,

great-one. They have millions and millions of people, And they breed so

quickly! We have the Night World, which is our society, except in secret.

But, the vampire will tell you more when he comes. Circe is going to teach

you all about our world."

Circe nodded, "Yes, Tiamat, I will tell you everything you need to know."

Timamat had another question, "Where are we?"

Rhiannon answered her, "We are in the land of the gray sky, the place

where you were put to sleep. We will be taking you to the real world when

you are stong enough and have learned what you need to know."

Timat nodded, "We will start now, I want to know everything."

Circe, Nia, and Rhiannon all nodded and walked towards Tiamat. Now comes

the fun part, thought Rhiannon wryly.

Hunter Redfern has just woken up. The wound that the witch had given him

was gone. She had obviously healed him before she left. He had already

called downstairs and fed on another young dazed woman. This one had put up

more of a fight than the last, but it was fun. Hunter's eyes fell upon the

folder that hadn't been here before. Of course, he thought, the placement

of our V.I.P., I should read it. Hunter walked over to his desk and picked

up the manilla folder. He sat in his chair and flipped open the folder. He

skimmed through it. With the basic information he had given his agent, the

man had set up placement for the girl. She was to be placed in a small

suburban town named Freehold, in the state of New Jersey. Apparantly, the

daybreaker's had set up a temporary headquarters in this small town, in the

hopes that no one would think to look there. Well, they were wrong.

Hunter's agents had found the town without difficulty. By all accounts, the

town was perfect for Tiamat. It had miles of hunting land teeming with deer

and smaller prey. The High School was full of vampires, witches, and

shapeshifters. Even a few teachers were from the Night World. They were

enrolling her in the school under the name Tiamat. This may sound foolish.

But, Hunter wanted them to know who she was. The hard part, was going to be

explaining to Tiamat why she couldn't be cold, for now anyway. Tiamat had

to be kind. Everyone knows about her. If she can convince them, that she

was stripped of her cold-heartedness before being put to sleep, they

wouldn't worry. Her beauty will entice them, and keep them off guard. From

this small town, she could find out all about Circle Daybreak, and help

them to dissmantle all the other locations, slowly, but surely. Hunter was

not stupid, he had known about the spell that was done on Tiamat before she

was put to sleep. It didn't work, of course, but who has to know that it

didn't? Hunter smiled, things were working out just fine. He only hoped

that the witches came and got him so that he could explain to Tiamat his

plans as soon as possible. Hunter leaned back in his chair, Yes, he

thought, everything is going right.

Nia, Rhiannon, and Circe, had spent the last 8 hours explaning the world

to Tiamat. Tiamat sat completely spellbound. She had no idea humans were

intelegent. This electicity, and cars, and computers. Tiamat had no idea

what they did exactly, but she knew that they were very advanced. The

witches had started right after the point when Tiamat had been put to

sleep, right up until today. They told her a brief history of humans. And

an even more detailed one of 'Night World' history, as they called it. She

fully understood the whole Night World thing, and why her people were in

secret. But, she couldn't help but admire the pluck of humans for their

accomplishments.

Rhiannon finished explaining and asked, "Tiamat do you have any

questions?"

Tiamat thought on this, "Where will I go?"

Nia answered, "The vampire will be setting up a place for you to go.

Remember how we told you about places called schools, where humans and

Night World people go to learn about history, mathematics, and the like?

Well, will we be placing you in one of those. You will be living with a

group of witches from Circle Moonlight. Ok, now, Circe tell her about

Circle Daybreak."

Two hours later, Tiamat had asked about a million questions. She fully

understood this Circle Daybreak thing. It was ok, but she would never join,

of course. Humans were below her, she would not tolerate being on the same

level as them. But, she could meet a lot of other shapeshifters. She didn't

know how she could convince them of her being a dragon though. Due to the

fact that she has no visible horns. But, she would...somehow.

Circe remembered, "Nia, Rhiannon, I have to go get the vampire! He is

probably dying to talk to our guest.''

Rhiannon nodded, "Yes, Circe, go, but hurry. There is still so much to

tell Tiamat."

Circe smiled and the world faded.

Hunter felt the rush of air and was relieved that they had finally come

for him.

"Circe! Finally, is she awake?"

Circe nodded, "Yes, we have been bringing her up to date for the past 12

hours, and it is your turn to tell her what you want."

Hunter smiled, "Is she.....herself?"

Circe gulped, did he know about the spell?

Circe nodded, "Yes, why wouldn't she be?"

Hunter said, "No, no reason just making sure."

Circe put her hand on Hunter and the world faded.

Chapter Six

Tiamat was in a good mood. She still wasn't sure what this vampire wanted

of her, but it felt good to be alive again. Putting the cold back into her

eyes and voice she asked impatiently,

"Where is he?

Rhiannon turned to her, "He is on his way, don't worry, dear!" Rhiannon

smiled. Even though Tiamat wanted to smile back, she stopped herself. They

all felt the rush of air, and turned to the door.

Circe walked in and trailing her was Hunter Redfern.

His eyes found Tiamat and he stopped walking. Her eyes....those green

eyes, she's even more beautiful now. Hunter straightened his backbone and

walked to Tiamat.

Rhiannon filled the silence, "Tiamat, meet Hunter Redfern, the leader of

the Night World, and vampire lamia. Vampire, meet Tiamat the dragon."

Hunter did what no one would have expected him to do. He kneeled on one

knee and took her hand and pressed it to his forhead, and said, "I am in

your debt, and yours to command, fair-one."

Tiamat felt silly, why was he doing this? She was no one special. And then

she remembered, oh, I am special. I am Tiamat. He stood up and smiled at

her. And she realized what he was doing. He is trying to win me over to his

side. And, he is failing miserably, she thought.

Hunter spoke, "Tiamat I will explain to you the laws of the Night World,

and why the memebers of Circle Daybreak must be punished for what they have

done. And, I hope that you will help me in bringing them to justice."

Tiamat nodded.

Hunter continued, "Tiamat, I know about the spell that was put on you

before you were put to sleep."

Tiamat, Circe, Nia, and Rhiannon all gasped at once.

Hunter smiled, "I also know, that it didn't work."

They all let out a breath.

"We can use this to my...I mean to our advantage. This is my plan."

Two hours later Tiamat was the happiest dragon alive. He wanted her to act

kind and nice and befriend the daybreakers! Then her smile weakened, so

that I can betray and ruin them. She would find a way around it, somehow.

She had read the file on where she was to be placed, and all Hunter wanted

her to do. She could speak and read English well, she had learned this so

that she could tell her human victims what she was going to do to them

before she killed them. It was cruel, but now, it saved her from having to

learn it. They had told her about the witches, and the vampires, and how

the shapeshifters had taken on human names. She frowned at this, but

realized that if they walked around with names like, Owl, and Fox, that

people would get suspicious. She would be kept in the Redfern mansion in

New Jersey until she knew everything she had to know. Then she would be

placed in the home of a group (or coven) of witches in this place called,

Freehold. Now, everyone was resting. They had brought Tiamat some meat from

a deer and she had eaten it quickly. The witches had ate a while ago, and

Hunter had fed before he came. Everyone was in good spirits, and Rhianon

said,

"Tiamat, you are healthy and fit. But, the vampire wants you to be kind

and friendly to the daybreakers, so we are afraid you are going to have to

become quiet an actress over-night."

Tiamat was happy she could let herself go, she smiled and said, "Do not

worry, dear witch, I will be happy to help you."

Rhiannon's eyes widened, "Well, you are quick at this Tiamat."

Tiamat smiled, Goddess that felt good, she thought.

The next day was the begining of one month of training for Tiamat. She had

to hone her shapeshifting skills. And she couldn't leave the gray place

until she was at full power. They all awoke early in the day.

Rhiannon turned to Tiamat, "Tiamat, we must begin your training today.

First we will work on your shifting skills. Come, there is good hunting

land here for you. Circe, Nia, take the vampire home. When you go back to

our residence bring back a couple of humans for Tiamat to play with."

Circe and Nia turned to go. Hunter followed, now safe in the fact that he

had secured Tiamat, he could go home. He had to feed, anyway. And, call

ahead to the school and make sure all was ready for Tiamat.

Once outside, he turned to Circe and Nia, "How can I contact you?"

Circe answered, "We will pay you a visit at the end of every week until

the month is up. At that time, Tiamat will be transfered to your mansion,

and then after another month, to the safe-house with the coven of Circle

Moonlight witches."

Hunter's eyes narrowed, "Can those witches be trusted?"

Nia nodded, "We have already told them that a dragon has been awakened by

us, and that she wants to work herself into the Night World community. She

has no idea of our true plan. We have know these witches for some time and

they are kind and very discreet."

Hunter nodded, "All right, this is working well. What are the names of the

witches? And how many of them are there?"

Circe said, "There are four, they are sisters. In order of age from oldest

to youngest they are, Nolwynn, Tanith, Juniper, and Rose. They are not very

old really, Nolwynn is 35 and Rose is 18. I assume that you will be

checking up on them."

Hunter nodded, "Of course! I would have to be a fool not to."

Nia and Circe said nothing and the world faded.

Rhiannon was preparing things for Tiamat. The plan was to go to an

isolated area and have Tiamat shift. Rhiannon was going to call out names

of animals, and Tiamat would change. They would hunt and exercise in each

form. Then, later on when her sisters returned with the humans, Tiamat

could practice her human shifting, and her mind control.

Tiamat had never been so excited in her life. She loved shifting, it was

so wonderful. She had always been proud about being a shifter.

Rhiannon was ready, "Tiamat? Come it is time to go out."

They walked out the door, into the passageway, and into the light.

Tiamat gasped; the world, she could see the grass, the trees,

and....where was the sun?

She turned to Rhiannon, "Witch, where is the sun?"

Rhiannon explained, "Well, this is another dimension. A place where people

were exiled to, or, in your case, a dragon put to sleep. It looks like the

real world, but there is no world here, so there is no sun or moon or

stars."

Tiamat nodded, It makes perfect sense, she thought.

They walked in silence. Tiamat took a deep breath, the air had no smell.

"Can I call you by your name?", Tiamat asked

Rhiannon stared at Tiamat.

"Well, yes, you can. But, why?"

Tiamat answered, "Well, it does seem a little cold to call you 'witch'

after you have been so nice to me."

Rhiannon simply nodded.

"Rhiannon, why is there no smell?"

Rhiannon was puzzled, she took a deep breath. The air smelled of grass and

trees and wilderness.

"Tiamat, I think that your sense of smell is off."

Rhiannon reached inside a small pouch she was carrying. She began to fish

around in it, mumbling. Finally she pulled out her hand, "Ah! Here we are!

This will help to clear up and enhance you sense of smell."

She handed the vial to Tiamat.

"Just take off the cap, and put it under your nostril and breath through

your nose, once in each nostril."

Tiamat opened the vial, the liquid smelled terrible, but she did as

instructed. In a minute or two she began to smell the grass, and then all

the scents came to her. By the time the pair had reached the clearing,

Tiamat's smell was at 100 percent.

Rhiannon began to explain what they were going to do, "Now, dear, I am

going to call out an animal. When I call it out, I want you to try as hard

as you can to shift into that animal. The first may be hard but we will get

over it."

Tiamat nodded and looked around her. The clearing was beautiful, the trees

around all tall, and ancient. The floor was a bed of soft dead pine needles

and the air was alive with the scent of the forest.

Rhiannon asked, "Are you ready?"

Tiamat nodded and took a deep breath.

Rhiannon called, "Panther!"

Tiamat pushed, she reached for the panther inside her.

Her body began to change and it felt so good.

Her body became like liquid, free and flowing, she felt everywhere and

nowhere at once. Then she began to pull, inward. She felt her face grow

whiskers, and her spine changed, her legs pulled in and became hard with

muscles. He tall lashed out behind her, its slightly clubbed tail hitting

the ground. Her hands grew and sharpened, her eyes changed and her ears

pricked with sensitivity. When she was done, she was once of the most

beaustiful creatures Rhiannon had ever seen. A panther, perfect in every

way with glowing yellow eyes. A sleek black coat with the slightest hint of

rosettes. She looked at Rhiannon and growled.

Tiamat couldn't help the growl that escaped her. Her chest was full of it

and she had to relieve the pressure. She saw Rhiannon jump in fear. As if

to reassure her, Tiamat walked over to her and rubbed her head against

Rhiannon's knees. Stepping back into position Tiamat waited for Rhiannon to

call the next animal.

Rhiannon called the next animal, "Horse!"

And so it continued on and on into the day. With Rhiannon calling, and

Tiamat reaching pushing and pulling into form.

When they were both tired and hungry, Rhiannon told Tiamat to shift back

into human form. Tiamat reached and pulled....and nothing happened. She was

in the form of a small kitten. Rhiannon had thrown it in as a challenge

because the smaller the animal, the harder it is to shift into. Tiamat had

done it without difficulty. And now she was stuck. Tiamat was a small,

furry, black kitten, with sleak, shiny fur.

Rhiannon looked at Tiamat and said, "Oh, no! You are stuck aren't you? I

will have to bring you back and get you out of your form at the cavern."

Rhiannon bent down and picked up Tiamat in her arms. She couldn't help but

run her hand over the kitten's fur once.

Tiamat was having happy little kitty feelings. She wanted Rhiannon to

stroke her fur more. She licked Rhiannon's hand with her little raspy

tongue.

Rhiannon took the hint and rubbed the little kitten's fur. She was purring

in no time. They got back to the cavern and Rhiannon began to prepare the

herbs used to get a shifter back to human form. Tiamat was running around

the cave jumping on specks of dirt and rolling around. She was having so

much fun! She felt like a whole new person without her anger and hatred.

She felt free and warm. Rhiannon turned around and saw Tiamat rolling

around. She looks so happy, Rhiannon thought.

"Tiamat! Come here, come!"

Tiamat meowed a little meow and ran to Rhiannon. She jumped on the wooden

table that Rhiannon had been working on.

"Here drink this", Rhiannon commanded.

Tiamat licked up the liquid out of Rhiannon's cupped hands.

She knew that she had to reach and push and pull now. After a bit of

struggling, Tiamat felt herself grow all the senses and being a cat

slipped away, she felt her body free and liquid, and then she pulled. She

opened her eyes and she looked down. A white shift and two bare little

feet. She was in human form again. She looked at Rhiannon and blushed at

the memory of closeness between her and the witch. But, it was ok, I mean

after all I was a kitten! Rhiannon seemed to think the same thing.

After a bit of talk about how well she had shifted and what forms had

shown which challenges and which she should work on, the door opened to the

cavern. Circe and Nia walked in followed by a human boy and girl. Both

teenagers, both very dazed. My play-things, Tiamat realized with a smile.