The front door slammed shut behind them with a crash. The two Heroes and two Familiars spun round to face the closed door.

"Damn it," Valentine cursed under his breath. "So not funny! I hate it when they do that."

"Grrrrrr," Tania agreed.

"Shhhhh, stay alert."

They were in a large high ceiling foyer. It was dimly lit with artificial light. Now that they knew what to expect, the sombre atmosphere was only fitting.

"Horror movie vibes here ..." Valentine whispered.

"C'mon."

The small party made their way deeper into the castle. Their footsteps echoed eerily on the polished marble floors. The wolves padded silently next to their Chosen. The hallway opened up to a large hall with a raised dais at the far end.

A lone figure stood there. It raised a hand to point at the Familiars.

"You are not welcomed here especially when accompanied by those," he said in an insulting tone. His red tinged eyes were fixed on the two wolves.

"Uh-umm, I guess the vampire werewolf war holds true even in here," Valentine whispered.

Lazarus caught the vampire's eyes. "They are not werewolves," Lazarus stated firmly, loud enough for the vampire to hear.

"I did not ask if they were. Their despicable forms indicates they are somewhat related. Get those vile creatures out of here this instant!"

"Wolves and werewolves are two totally different species," Valentine rolled his eyes. "Sheeshh! Get your facts straight."

"I don't care," he flicked his wrist and the Familiars were lifted and flung to the stone wall. They crashed and fell motionless to the floor.

"Anya!!"

"Tania!!"

"We are alright. Get him first!"

The two Heroes were instantly armed.

"Wooden arrows!! Use only wooden arrows!" yelled Lazarus. "The others won't work against them!"

They ran as the fired at the menacing figure. The vampire waved frantically at the incoming missiles. Arrows were flung left and right by his power but in the end he was struck down. It was over in a few seconds.

He cursed as his body stated brightening. The vampire sounded the alarm as he exploded into pixels.

"Get ready. Here they come."

The two Familiars had recovered enough to re-join their Chosen.

"Anya, Tania, rip their heads off. It won't kill them but it will slow them down. We will destroy the heads."

"Keep them busy. Claws and fangs hurt too," Valentine was all business.

Only low growls answered him.

Shadows moved and fluttered around them as more beings entered the great hall. Without waiting, Lazarus and Valentine went to work. Lazarus' hands blurred as he nocked and shot arrow after arrow from his silver bow at the moving shapes. They were fast. He was faster.

Valentine worked his crossbow. Thick wooden arrows flew from his direction, adding to the chaos. He laughed like a maniac as he killed the NPCs. His XP points were increasing with every Kill. This was the best way to Play; fighting with a trusted comrade in an exciting life and death combat. Next to him, Lazarus was serious as hell, focused on his killing spree.

The Assassin and Thief fought back to back, killing anything that came within range. They moved in sync, perfectly complementing each other. Arrows shot out from all angles killing the attacking vampires.

Anya and Tania, bit and leapt aiming at white bloodless throats. Strong claws severed limbs, fangs tore at throats. They managed to slow some down, helping their Chosen as much as they can.

Within minutes, the hall was cleared. Both Heroes stood panting in the middle as the last sparks faded.

"Is everyone o'kay?" Lazarus looked around to gauge the damage.

Lazarus, Assassin, Level 84, Health 53 per cent.

Valentine, Thief, Level 81, Health 87 per cent.

Both Familiars were coated in blood. Anya was limping whilst Tania had a deep gash on her rump. They eyed their respective humans with bright eyes.

"Let's go. Those were just appetizers. Probably new baby vampires who are easy to kill. We haven't met the main course yet."

Lazarus smiled crookedly at Valentine's metaphor. "You are so weird sometimes."

"Who? Me?" The Thief grinned.

"Chosen? How can they die from ordinary arrows? The night ones, I mean," Tania asked as she padded after the humans. "Each was hit with only one, at most two of your arrows. Even we need more than one arrow to be killed."

"They should not have died so easily."

Lazarus tilted his head at the question but let Valentine explain. He was looking for the way to the next level, the Boss should be somewhere in this enormous castle.

"You are right, Tania. Ordinary arrows won't kill them. Ours did, only because we used fully wooden ones, even the sharpened tips," he told her. "A stake through the heart, it's one of the ways to kill a vampire."

"... depending on which book you've read or which movie you've seen," Lazarus added as he continued searching.

The familiar stopped at the explanation. "Oh." The tawny wolf sneaked a peek at Anya's Chosen. He had told her chosen to use wooden arrows. Suddenly, the human seemed scarier than usual. Not only did he know the night creatures' weaknesses, he knew how to kill them. She finally saw Lazarus as the powerful and knowledgably Ghost Lord he was.

She blinked in realisation the next second. Her Chosen also knew the ways of the Night Ones. Valentine had explained it to her without having to consult Anya's Chosen on his actions. He had understood Lazarus' instructions and reasons implicitly.

She wondered if Anya realised what she just did. Forget the books and 'movies', whatever that was, she thought. For all their playfulness and boyish charms, their Chosen really were Ghost Lords. They knew things. Suddenly, she was glad they were on the same side. She was certain they would know the secrets to kill Familiars too.

"Here."

Lazarus indicated a narrow opening. He was about to move forward when Valentine stumbled, holding onto the wall for support.

"Val?" he called out worriedly.

"Hang on a second. I feel dizzy."

"Are you hurt? Did they get you?" Lazarus turned to look closely at his friend, "was it the first one? The one that bit you? Are you turning now?"

"I don't know. Ugh, I feel nauseous. What's that horrid smell?"

"What smell?" Lazarus narrowed his silver eyes. He did not smell anything. Meanwhile Valentine had wrinkled his nose and covered his mouth with one hand. He swallowed repeatedly trying hard not to gag.

"Back! Back! Both of you!" Lazarus shouted urgently at the two wolves. "Get away from him!!"

"What's wrong? What's happening?" Tania whined afraid.

When a person bitten by a vampire 'turned' becoming one, their five basic senses sharpened. Sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste, everything became more defined. The 'smell' Valentine was complaining about must be ... the wolves. He had read somewhere that werewolves smelled especially offensive to vampires, maybe the Familiars were the same. He supposed it had something to do with psychology warfare between the two species.

Valentine was having it bad. He had slumped miserably to the floor and had started moaning.

"Gah! I can't breathe. Why is the air so bad here?"

"I think I'm becoming a vampire. Ahhh! I'm hurting all over," the Thief groaned. "I thought it was supposed to be a nice easy transition. "

"Chosen?" Tania could barely restrain herself from going to Valentine.

"Stay back Tania. I don't know what I'll do in this state ..." he managed before arching his back in pain.

A sudden gust of wind rushed out from the passageway, followed by black shadows. All covered their watering eyes as the chilled air blasted at them. They disappeared as fast as they appeared.

"Ahhhh!!"

"Val! VAL!!" cried Lazarus. Valentine's body was nowhere to be found.

"He is ours now," came a cold voice.

"NO!"

"Come get him if you dare," the voice taunted and broke into malicious laughter. "We are hungry and this one makes a fine meal. So young and fresh, just how we like them."

"NO! Val!!"

"Don't worry, I promise we will keep him alive for now. He will feed us for some time. Bon Appetit!!"

The Assassin's silver eyes narrowed dangerously at the challenge. He gripped his bow and started forward. Anya and Tania followed silently.

It was time to save the Nut ... or kill him.