Serna thought for a minute, "As for why I am here, I am here because my friends wanted to visit Prince Birch as we headed south. But I have a question, Maxim, why are the vampires so focused upon me? East Port is a big city and I bet it has a lot of kids my age just like me. Why am I so important?"

He coughed and rubbed his temples slightly. This would be a lot easier if he was a woman. In a deep breath he replied, "It's because you're a virgin. Your blood is pure and so is your soul. You haven't come of age yet and therefore are a magnet to those who desire and savor young blood."

Serna's blood turned cold and her face visibly lost all color. Now that she realized why the vampires were after her, the knowledge chilled her to the bone.

"And that's the reason Captain Lion brought you onto the airship. I see he gave you his amulet to wear too." Maxim's attention turned to the cabin door opening.

Sir Gonagle stepped inside, "Well. That's done. Eh, what's wrong, lass?"

*******

"Okay!" The Swordsman looked at The Airship Captain, "What do you recommend we do, Captain Lion? Stay here and guard the exit should the Blood Mage slip past you guys?"

"I too am curious as to what you wish us to do, Captain Lion." Prince Birch added evenly.

Captain Lion pondered a moment when Quake looked at him giving that 'don't you dare' look. He held up his hand to her and pulled out two vials of red liquid in them, "Drink this. Sir Gonagle was able to modify some of my blood to give to my crew if something of this nature were to arise. You won't turn but it will enhance some of your senses such as hearing, smell, touch and blocking out any chances of become a puppet."

"Any side effects?" Irzen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No. No side effects, Lord Irzen." The Englishman said bluntly.

Madeous and Quake took point scouting ahead another twenty feet double checking the interior of the cave.

"Fine!" Irzen took the vial without hesitation and downed the liquid. Once he was done, his face screwed itself into a knot and he smacked his mouth in disgust, "EEEWWWW! It tastes like peppermint schnapps laced with battery acid and Diet Coke! YUCK!"

A chuckle slipped from Captain Lion, "And with a mind like yours, Irzen. We shall win the day."

Prince Birch kindly accepted the vial and drank the liquid. Shrugging his shoulders, the Prince commented nonchalantly, "Tastes fine to me. Like rain water mixed with a drop of honey and a cup of lemon juice."

"If you say so," Irzen shook his head, "Let's get going, your Highness! And Captain Lion, thanks!"

Captain Lion gave him a nod and turned in towards the cavern interior. It had been centuries since he'd ran into a blood mage back on his Earth. They were uncommon at best but the vampire houses left them alone to meddle with the mortals who caused problems. A secret police but their dark magic stemmed from hell itself often pulling demons into the world. The dark ages were far, far worse than on the Earth where Madeous hailed from.

Quake moved forward another thirty feet when she noticed the stream of blood trickling from before had turned into a river. It sent shivers down her spine when she noticed something moving in the liquid as if it had a mind of its own. "Uh, guys. You better come and take a look at this."

The light from Madeous's aura lit up the inner cavern in a thirty foot radius. The place made his skin crawl and in the back of his mind, he could feel what Alyson felt being in the presence of this fiend. Looking at the river of blood, he pointed at with his weapon, "Stay clear of that! It's acting like an ooze, black pudding, or gelatinous cube."

"That's going to be tough to do," The Swordsman confessed, "Its kind of all over the place. And the last time I checked, I can never fly nor hover."

Captain Lion eyed the movement in the river of blood rising and then falling like a heartbeat. A gate guard, watch dog of sorts.

The mass in the river of blood stopped flowing and instead began to pool in around itself forming into what look liked a dire wolf only bigger. The creature growled at them the closer the party came to the blood rock and then let out an ear splitting howl.

Both Irzen and Birch covered their ears with their hands as the foul creature cut loose with its deathly howl.

"Can someone please shut that thing up?!" Irzen yelled above the din.

Seeing the both Irzen and Birch covering their ears, Madeous drove his sword into the ground. The thunderous smite echoed throughout the cavern interior and reverberated into a single focused blast effectively shutting off the creature's howl. It also sent it slamming back against the wall behind it. "Ask and you shall receive. Now if you don't mind we have a fiend to slay."