Shido ran through the halls of the castle, half dressed and his hair in complete disarray. He could hear snarls and screams coming from the forest below. He’d been woken by those sounds in an empty bed and a twinge of anger and fear coming down the bond he had with his mate. He reached the main hall and slid to a stop. The court had fractured into clumps of families and harems as fledglings and common vampires flocked together.

It took him a moment to realize his mate was not there.

Nor were there more than three master vampires present instead of the nine that currently resided in the court.

He immediately recognized Gaven’s dark skin among the crowd and pushed his way through the gathering to his fledge-mate’s side.

“What’s going on?” He demanded, kneeling down. His eyes made out a series of burns in a splash pattern and he winced.

Gaven, however, seemed oblivious to the pain for he whirled upon him. “Where’s Soryo?” He demanded.

Shido blinked. “He was with you.”

The master’s breath quickened. “We were separated. I told him to come straight back to the castle and find you!”

“What happened?” Shido demanded, “If Cain’s . . .”

Gaven gripped his arm painfully and Shido snapped his mouth shut, aware of the attention focused on him and realizing how foolish it would be to speak out against the stepanu in the middle of his own court.

“Hunters.” The master vampire hissed. “We came across them on our way back. I sent Soryo ahead to warn the court! He was to stay with you afterwards!”

Shido shook his head, fear creeping through his spine. “He never came to me.”

Gaven pushed himself up, his dark face pinching in pain as he did. “Then he never came back.”

“I’ll go with you.” Shido replied stepping towards his fledge-mate.

The master vampire stopped and turned, his hazel eyes stern. “No. Your place is here Shido.”

Shido growled. “I will not huddle here in fear waiting for death to come to me. I am not so weak as that!”

Gaven touched his arm and leaned towards him. “You know that is not what I mean!” He hissed softly into Shido’s ear, “Look around you! These are your people! They are tense and fearful. Once this initial shock wears off they’re going to start to turn on each other. Take charge! Relax them! As the stepanu’s mate this is your duty! Do it. Show those that are watching that you are worthy of this position and that Cain did not chose unwisely.”

Gaven released him and Shido watched as he walked from the great hall. He was aware of the eyes on him and he straightened. Whirling on his heel he moved towards the closest gathering of vampires. A painfully young fledgling watching him approach nervously and he smiled gently, reaching out to brush his fingers over her arm.

“Hayda’dyo sha.” He murmured, laughing softly as her brows furrowed as she tried to make out his words. “Do not fear.” He repeated in a modern language. Relief flowed over her face and she returned his smile slightly.

He turned to the others. “Is anyone you know of unaccounted for?” He asked.

They shook their heads slowly and he nodded. “Stay together. If you cannot find someone tell me immediately.”

Various affirmatives were murmured and he moved on to the next group. He spoke with each gathering, drawing those who were too young to have alliances into existing groupings until no one was alone. When he received approving looks from the remaining two masters he felt pride well up within him.

Gathering his courage he went to stand with them. “What should we do if they come here?” He asked.

One of the master’s gave his a surprised look and he met the look steadily.

The other master laughed softly. “It is a rare thing to see one so proud ask for advice.”

Shido shrugged. “Each of us has a talent. Yours is to lead and protect. There is no shame in asking you advice in a circumstance such as this. We need to know what to do so that we don’t all perish in chaos. There are many young ones here. They will fight but they will be all instinct. In the midst of confusion they will not be able to figure out what to do.”

The master nodded. “If they are strong or numerous enough to get through to the castle it would be best for us all to flee to the west. There is another court a few days travel there, do you know of it?”

Shido nodded.

“The young ones will have to be led.” The other master warned.

“Thank you, venrae.” Shido relied, bowing his head, surprised to receive the same motion from their protectors.

Shido went about gathering the older vampires and explaining where they were to go. He made sure all the others knew which vampires to fall in with should they be scattered. He was surprised to find himself with a small gathering when he found a moment to sit and think things over. Smiling he reached out and brushed the female whom he had helped first’s arm again, knowing the simple contact would soothe her. She settled at his feet and the other fledglings and single common vampires gathered a bit closer.

With a sigh he closed his eyes, reaching out to see if he could sense anything from his mate. Before he could complete the bond there was a shriek and the sound of something tearing through the doorway. Opening his eyes he stood, whirling towards the sounds of destruction.

Something bounded over one of the master vampires and Shido watched with wide eyes as a white hound-like breed slid to a stop before him. Its mouth gapped open, revealing sharp teeth and he matched its growl with one of his own. Desperate to lead it away from the vampires around him he bit into his thumb, forming his sword. With a broad swipe he rushed past it and into the hall, hearing the heavy paws striking the floor behind him.

He had to get the creature away from the court.

That was the only thought in his mind as he leapt from a balcony and down to the grass below. Before he could rise the hound slammed into his back. He rolled, crushing it against the ground, and gathered his legs underneath him. He pushed himself back to his feet, whirling upon the snarling creature and slashing at it.

The white hound howled as he cut deeply into its paw. Shido struck it again across the chest. His next blow, however, was halted by something slamming into his back and driving him to the ground. Before he could fight it off the hound was back, its jaws closing about his wrist and trapping him. The second hound’s teeth snapped inches from his face and he closed his eyes against the pain he knew was about to come.

And then a deep voice rang out and the hounds released him.

Prying open his eyes he leapt to his feet, receiving a warning growl. The growl was echoed by an entire pack of hounds and he stared about him in dread. Black forms snarled at him, an exact match for the two white creatures staring at him with bright blue eyes.

Shido turned slowly to face the riders that were approaching him.

“Herne.” He growled.

The lord of the Wild Hunt reigned his demon steed to a stop and stared down at him with fathomless eyes.

“Why?” Shido demanded, “Why have you betrayed my mate, thus? What have you done with my childe?”

The hunter shrugged. “Because my master willed it.”

Shido frowned. “You serve the council.”

There was a disdainful noise from the gathered hunt. “We serve a worthier master. Our loyalty lies with him first.”

“Who?” Shido pressed.

Herne came closer. “The God of Winter. He has had many names but his servants now call him Yukami.”

“Snow god.” Shido whispered, an image of a frozen garden and a man with blue eyes flickering through his mind. “What does he want?”

Herne shrugged. “It is not for me to ask. It is but for me to do.”

A sudden thought occurred to him and Shido peered past the hunter before him to the gathered shapes. There was a single bright object among their combined darkness, cradled in a hunter's arms and Shido stepped forward in fear.

“Soryo!” He cried out.

His flight to his fledge-mate’s side was halted by a heavy hand. Baring his teeth he snarled at the hunter. “Release me!”

Herne lifted a silver object from his side and Shido reared back, expecting a weapon. With a start he saw his own reflection as the mirror was held to his face. “What . . .”

The mirror flashed and Shido cried out as something tugged at his mind. He remembered seeing a pair of alluring blue eyes before he was plunged into a dream world not of his making.

That was Shido’s first rational thought as he struggled to escape the trap that had been placed within his mind. He was so terribly cold, though he knew it wouldn’t harm him. Something touched his cheek, something warm and he turned towards it instinctively. Words reached his ear but he couldn’t make them out. There was a deep sigh and then the equivalent of a mental slap, jarring him back to reality.

 He opened his eyes wide and stared up into Soryo’s violet gaze.

 His fledge-mate looked weary to the bone and he frowned, reaching up, only to discover a thin bracelet about his left wrist. He stared at it in confusion and blinked in surprise as his gaze traveled up his bare arm to his bare chest. A delicate silver necklace was about his neck, trailing clear crystal icicles across his skin until it reached his sternum where an intricate crystal snowflake sparkled against his pale skin.

 It was then he noticed the thin white skirt about his waist that barely reached his knees. There was a layer of iridescent material over the white skirt and a silver chain that matched his necklace hung low on his hips. He stared up at his fledge-mate in shock only to find Soryo in the exact same thing.

 Then his eyes traveled past his fledge-mate’s form to the colorless garden stretched out around them.

 “Oh my god,” he whispered, “it’s real.”

 Soryo sighed heavily and nodded.

 Shido’s gaze flickered back to his friend. “Are you alright?” He demanded, his voice carrying loudly over the garden.

 Soryo’s hand snapped about his mouth, as violet eyes peered around. “Quiet!” He hissed. “Don’t you remember the dreams?”

 Shido winced and nodded but it was too late, a form had emerged from the raised pavilion and was coming towards them.

 The violet haired vampire grit his teeth as he watched the tall form drift across the carefully crafted grass. Long silverish white hair had been caught up in an intricate design with butterfly clips, keeping the all too familiar blue eyes clear. The vampire looked like he had been carved out of a block of marble.

Or ice.

 “Yukami.” Shido growled.

 The vampire smiled and Shido shuddered as he was nearly drowned in a wash of age. Yukami, he realize, was old. Very old.

 “Welcome to my garden, fiora nevae.” Yukami murmured, his voice like the breeze.

 Shido shivered, tearing his eyes from the oneiroi’s. “Where is Riho?” He demanded.

 The vampire frowned and cocked his head.

 “My childe!” Shido snapped.

 Yukami’s beautiful face transformed into ugly anger as Shido’s voice echoed through the garden, making all the crystal and glass tremble. A wave of power washed over him and he arched, crying out wordlessly as it crashed into him. He felt as though his very soul was being forced out of his body and as he arched he felt dizziness overtake him.

When he came back to reality Soryo was kneeling over him, his fledge-mate’s blood flowing down his arm and into his mouth. Swallowing he tried to sit up but another bout of weakness drove him back to the ground.

 Soryo touched his  face in worry. “Relax,” his fledge-mate urged, “just lie still.”

 “Where is Yukami?” He demanded.

 Soryo glanced over his shoulder. “He went back to the pavilion. He . . . wants us to join him when you are able.”

 Shido shook his head. “We have to get out of here.” He hissed.

His fledge-mate nodded. “We have to bide our time, though,” he warned, “there are others here and just beyond this place. And we don’t even know what time it is! We could make our escape now only to be caught in the sun as soon as we are free.”

 Shido peered up at the ceiling and frowned. A large domed ceiling stretched out above them. Frosted glass was so thick he could not make out the night sky that he knew must be stretched out above them. Only a strange glow coming from beyond the walls gave the garden its soft light.

 “Well wherever we are has electricity.” Shido murmured. “We can’t be too far from civilization.”

 A form moved towards them and both vampires stared at the shivering human. The woman glanced back at the pavilion she had come from and back at them. “He calls you.” She murmured through half frozen blue lips.

 Glancing at Soryo Shido forced himself to his sandaled feet and, gripping his fledge-mate’s hand, stepped down onto the narrow pathway, suspecting that if he trod on the carefully crafted grass he’d incur another bout of anger from the ancient vampire. They had to walk around the pavilion before they caught sight of Yukami, lounging in a crystal throne and watching them with his strange reflective eyes.

 At his side lay the two white hounds.

 “Where is my childe?” Shido demanded again, careful to keep his voice low.

 The snow god smiled, reaching out to him. Shido growled and stepped back, avoiding the touch. Yukami, however, seemed to take no offence. “You are perfect as always. How very pleasing.” He murmured.

 Shido frowned. “What are you talking about?”

 If Yukami heard his words the ancient gave no indication. Instead his eyes focused on something behind them. Curious, Shido turned slightly. Two forms stood at the entrance to the garden and he immediately recognized the young woman who practically huddled behind the larger vampire.

 “Riho.” He whispered, grateful when his voice carried across the garden to her.

 The brunette blinked and peered at him from the entryway. He saw her face brighten and she smiled. Keeping Soryo’s hand firmly in his he practically ran through the garden to his childe’s side.

 “Shido-san!” She exclaimed, stepped away from the other’s shadow.

 He embraced her tightly before pushing her back slightly and peering at her smaller form in worry. “Are you alright?” He asked.

 She nodded. “Hai. Hiroshi-san has been protecting me.”

 Shido’s eyes slid to the vampire off to the side. Long black hair hung freely down his back and, as Shido had come to expect of vampires of the Japanese court, his appearance was perfect. Suddenly suspicious he reached out with his senses. Just beyond Yukami’s strange abode he could feel a gathering of vampires.

 “We’re back in Japan, aren’t we?” He asked.

 Riho blinked up at him in confusion. “We never left, Shido-san.”

 Shido frowned and stared across the garden at the silent ancient. His green eyes flickered over to the master vampire at his side. “I don’t understand,” he murmured, “this is part of the Japanese Court is it not?”

 The black haired vampire stared at him impassively. “It is nearby, yes.”

 “But Yukami isn’t Japanese.” Shido pointed out.

 Hiroshi shrugged. “His desires coincide with ours.”

 “The Japanese Regional court despises European vampires. It always has. Why are harboring him?”

 Dark eyes met his and a sly smile crossed the other’s face. “You will have to ask him.”

 Shido opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a hail from the ancient behind him. He was inclined to ignore it but at Yukami’s words Hiroshi caught Riho’s wrist and the brunette gave him an apologetic glance over her shoulder as she followed the master away from the garden.
 

Turning on his heel, Shido stormed back towards the waiting vampire, scattering a pair of shivering humans as he did. They stared up at him with clear, frightened eyes and he paused. He met their gaze as they huddled away from him and he could clearly see that they were not under any vampiric control.

 He knelt next to the woman, leaning in to touch her hair. She shied back but did not seek to break the contact. Brushing the hair away from her neck he frowned, for there were no marks there. These two were not grivida.

 “Why?” He whispered, “Why do you stay here when your body must be pained to be exposed in this place?”

 The woman glanced over at Yukami before nervously licking her lips and turning back to him. “Because this is  the new garden,” she murmured, her voice trembling along with her body, “because here we can be close to him.”

 “New garden?” Shido asked.

 “Yes,” came Yukami’s voice, “the new garden of life. The new garden of perfection. I will return to the world what the base humans stole from us at the dawn of time.”

 Shido released the human and stood, his green eyes narrowed. “How?”

 The white haired ancient smiled. “You are too young to remember but I  . . . I remember a time when the world was a glorious place. The humans were base but our kind . . . ah, they were glorious! Only the best were chosen to join us. Only those who had reached perfection.”

 Yukami’s face was full of wistful emotion that suddenly dissolved into dark rage. “But then the humans turned on us. They destroyed our dwellings and sought to drag us down to their level. In our fear we lost sight of the perfect world we were brought to this world to create. In our fear we became no better than the humans and the animals, dragging whatever carrion was dying our path into immortality so that there would be more of our kind to fight these humans!

 “And then, on the eve of our victory, the carrion formed their councils and courts, passing laws to try to save themselves from our attempts to return to our past goals. But I refuse to be stopped! I refuse to listen to these imperfect base creatures that think to lord over me!”

 Shido took a step back in the face of the ancient’s rage. “You’ve set yourself up as a god,” he whispered in surprise, “but . . . it was forbidden!”

 Yukami sat back, his face still dark with anger. “Yes. So I forced to leave my home and finds other more . . . sympathetic with my cause.”

 “The Japanese Regional Court.” Soryo whispered from behind him, making Shido glance back. “They’re obsessed with perfection and creating a perfect race of vampires. They’ve even begun to pull away from the European council.”

 Shido turned back to the ancient. “That’s why they’ve been trying to keep European vampires and breed out of the country. And Cain. You didn’t want them to find you.”

 Yukami shrugged. “It is part of the reason. The other reason lies in the fact that this place is the first extension of my garden. I will not tolerate imperfect vampires in it.”

 “And the humans?”

 Yukami’s blue eyes traveled to the humans shivering at Shido’s feet. “Only those that strive to reach the small amount of perfection their kind can achieve may exist.”

 Shido shook his head. “And us?”

 A snake’s smile crossed Yukami’s face and he held out his hand. “You both will be my acolytes.”

 Shido snarled. “We will do no such thing!”

 “Then your childe dies.”

 Shido reared back in surprise. “What?”

 “Your child is not as perfect as I prefer in my vampires. Losing her would be no great loss for me. It seems you did not pick up your creator’s tastes.” Yukami stood and Shido found himself frozen to the spot and unable to escape as the ancient reached out and touched his hair. “Perfect,” he murmured, “I have desired you ever since Herne first brought you to me and I laid you upon my bed.”

 Shido frowned. “What are you talking about? I’ve never met you before in my life.”

 Yukami’s smile returned. “I took away that memory. You were so fierce, fighting my touch, even as you fought your own mate. I knew that you would tell Cain when Herne returned you to him so I removed the memory. Ah but I didn’t remove the bond we forged that night. So many years, fiora nevae, so many years of whispering in your dreams and turning you away from the one man who could keep you from me. It has been very tiring, stirring up all those old hates and your guilt. This is not how I envisioned our meeting to be but . . . I tire of waiting and I tire of having to repeat the same dreams every time your mate manages to bring you back to contentment.”

 Shido blinked slowly. “You’ve been twisting my dreams?” He asked.

 The ancient smiled patiently. “Of course. I had to make you discontented with your mate’s court to drive you away. I needed to turn your desire and love for him to disgust and hate. It has been very difficult for your desire of him runs deep. I tire of the game.”

Green eyes turned downwards, a million thoughts running through his mind as Shido tried to come to terms with this new bit of reality.

 “What do you want with me? Why am I so important? And why take Soryo?” He whispered, turning to stare up at the other vampire.

 Yukami’s eyes focused on his fledge-mate. “A matched set,” he murmured, “a matched set of acolytes to live in luxury and comfort. And one of you with the potential to become almost as strong an oneiroi as myself. You would never want for anything. The only pain you need fear is the pain of disobeying me. You would spend the rest of eternity as pampered pets of a god. Is that so bad?”

 Shido opened his mouth to retort but his words, however, were cut off as a form moved from behind him and approached the pavilion. “Soryo?” He  called in confusion.

 His fledge-mate glanced back at him with unreadable violet eyes before he turned and knelt at Yukami’s feet. “I will be glad to serve you,” he whispered as Yukami’s hand came to rest on his head, “master.”

 Shido stared at his fledge-mate with a sudden sense of dread.