If I were not a Vampire, I would consider myself as sleeping. At the other end of this call, I have a very pissed off lady asking me why I locked her in a catacomb. I am for certain that when I left her there, she was very much dead indeed.

So with the phone still held firmly to my ear, I run out of the house and very speedily bring my car to a roaring start. I need to get to her; I need to see that she is real.

And as I come to a screeching halt, there right in front of me, she stands in all her glory. There is no doubt that at the entrance of the catacomb, my Anastasia is standing and patiently waiting for me.

I rush toward her; there is no doubt, I am not dreaming. She looks at me rather frustrated, "Can you please get me out of here, its smells like a bunch of dead Vampires.

I unlock the gate, and in an instant, she leaps into my arms. "Sebastian, you have no idea how much I have missed you." I hold her as tight as I can, squeezing her so hard that she shrieks.

"Sebastian, you are going to break me."

She lays little butterfly kisses on my lips, holding on tightly as if she is never going to let go of me. "I never want to be apart from you ever again."

But then I pull away and take her whole body in; my eyes cannot believe what I am seeing. She is her same old youthful self. There is not one trace of a wrinkle on her soft porcelain skin. And do I even dare to aks, "My beloved, do you have your fangs?"

I am much delighted as she snaps her mouth at me; there in its beauty is the very thing that makes her a Vampire. Without any warning, my eyes built into tears of you. I do not know what happened, but all I know is that I am very grateful to have her back.

It is with a joyfulness that we make the slow drive back home. I do not let go of her hand; I need to hold on; I need to make sure that she is never going to leave again. I have my beloved back; there shall never be anything that comes between us again.

Then as we stop at home, there is a very eager Edward and Lilith waiting outside for us. My beloved skips the formalities and pulls both of them closer. I can see the awkwardness in Edward's eyes, but most of all, I see the relief, the very same relief that Lilith expresses.

Once all the excitement dies, I take her to our room and lay her gently down on the bed. I look at her; I study her carefully. "My beloved, did it hurt? Did it hurt to die like that?"

"Sebastian, it is the worst pain that I have ever felt. I felt as the bones in my body started to bend and ache in such a way as I was aging. I felt how every part of me died slowly; it was agonizing, it was slow, but most of all, it was terrifying. And no, there was no light at the end of a tunnel waiting for me. It was complete darkness, a darkness that was suffocating me. It had a hold on my heart and was squeezing."

"I am sorry that you had to endure that. Please know that I never deserted you; my very failed attempt at killing myself speaks of it."

"Kill? What on earth did you do?"

"That is not important; the only thing that matters is that you are back."

"Me too, I am back, and I will never leave again."

…Zachariah POV…

It felt as if something died in me; there was a part lost of me. There was an indescribable pain that I felt. It struck me and knocked the air from my lungs. It was a suffocating grip that held my heart tightly. I have never felt anything like it in my life.

But just as fast as it came, the faster it had left. So with very much aching bones, I try to lift myself off from my bed, but then there is a force that pulls me back.

There is a new feeling that is consuming me; there is something wrong with me. There is something that is happening to my body. So very reluctantly, I decided to remain in bed. Maybe if I rest some more, the feeling will disappear. But after an hour of tossing and turning, I finally give up and make my way to the bathroom for a shower. For a brief moment, I stop in front of the mirror.

"What the fuck!"

Are my eyes deceiving me? In the mirror, staring back at me, is a man that is slightly older than he was only but an hour ago. I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the horrible dream that I am experiencing. But as I walk closer and stare at my reflection, I feel my skin; I am very much awake. How on earth is this possible? Maybe it is this Vampire thing that is having an effect on me.

As I step into the shower, I watch as the droplets from the showerhead beat against my skin. If I was not sure before, I am now definitely convinced. I have grown into a far more mature man, if there is such a thing.

Once I have drenched my skin in the cold water, I dry myself and make my way to the lounge. I lay down on the couch, thinking of the strangeness that has taken my body. Then much to my relief, I manage to fall asleep, only to be awakened by a rather strange but very much terrifying thing.

"God, my bones feel like they are breaking."

I find myself back in the bathroom seeking painkillers, but I am pulled back to the mirror again.

"No! Seriously?"

I am now very much convinced that this has to do with this Vampire thing, so I rush into my room to give Anastasia a call.

"Zachariah, it is good to hear from you."

"Anastasia, I need help."

…Anastasia POV…

Something sounds wrong with Zachariah; I have known him for a long and that tone on his voice says that he is scared. He did not want to tell me what the problem is. So Sebastian and I are on the way to go see him. I can see that he is clearly annoyed that we have to make this trip. But I need to remind him that Zachariah is my friend.

"Sebastian, I beg of you, please play nice."

"My beloved, I always play nice when it comes to our Vampire Hunter."

"Yes, that sounds very convincing."

"Fine, I shall not challenge his manhood."

"Sebastian!"

We soon find ourselves at his home; he is waiting to greet us. But I am immediately blown away.

"Zachariah?"

"Yes, yes, please start to joke."

"Zachariah, when did this happen?"

"It started a few hours ago."

I look over at Sebastian and pull him aside, "Sebastian, am my eyes deceiving me? Zachariah seems to have aged?"

"My beloved indeed. I can for certain say that he has not come in contact with the Book of Spells."

With so many questions, we follow Zachariah into his home. He looks at me with eyes that are pleading, "Anastasia, what is happening to me? Is it because I am an Ancient Vampire?"

"Oh, Zachariah, I wish I could tell you. Please tell me how else you are feeling.?"

"Anastasia, it is the worst pain that I have ever felt. It feels as if the bones in my body are starting to bend and ache in such a way as I appear to be aging. I feel as if every part of me is slowly dying; it is agonizing; it is terrifying. There is a darkness that welcomes me. It is suffocating me. It feels as if it has a hold on my heart, and it is squeezing."

The fear of seven horrors rolls over my body; I look at Sebastian, trying not to give away that I know what exactly is happening to Zachariah.

"Sebastian, that book?"

"Destroyed my beloved."

"But how did I?"

"That I do not know, but I shall get in contact with Elloise; perhaps she has a better understanding of what is happening."

While Sebastian goes to make the call outside, I pull Zachariah into my embrace. I can feel his body trembling. He is beyond terrified. I wish there were something I can do for him. It breaks my heart that I know that he is dying. I cannot bear to make this known to him.

It is in silence that we wait for Sebastian, that does not seem to bear any good news by the look on his worried face. He tries to say it as calmly as he possibly can.

"My beloved, it is the same that happened to you."

"But how? How is that even possible?"

…Zachariah POV…

I hear as Sebastian and Anastasia talk about something, something that seems to have happened recently. I do believe that they are not telling me everything. What can possibly be that bad that has them shocked to silence? I can see that it is a fear of something that is to come.

So I take Anastasia's hand, much to the annoyance of Sebastian, that the man would challenge my manhood at such a time. But I know that it is innocent; he does hold a place for me somewhere in that dead heart of him.

"Anastasia, please tell me what is wrong with me?"

"We, Sebastian and me, we are trying to figure that out."

"Please, I beg of you, do not lie to me."

"Zachariah, we will get through this."

But she is not truthful; she is hiding something. She seems to forget that we have a bond; I can sense that she holds a great fear in her. But there is something wrong with her. She feels differently.

"Anastasia, what has happened to you?"

…Anastasia POV…

It pains me to have to tell Zachariah what was wrong with me, but I need to be honest with him. He knows; he has sensed that there has been a change in my body. How do you tell someone that you died but a few hours ago, and now you have returned to the land of the living? How do I say to him that he, too, is now dying?

So as Sebastian whispers into my ear, I know that the time has come for honesty.

"Zachariah, a few hours ago, I met the same fate as what you are now experiencing. I…I…I died. I got so old that my body gave in."

"But you are here then? How is that possible?"

The tears start to grow in the corners of my eyes. They threaten to burst, and the more I think, the more they are ready to explode. I need to be strong for Zachariah; I need to give him hope.

With short stuttering breaths, I shift even closer to him. "Zachariah, you are busy dying." The tears come flooding down my cheeks.

"But if you are here, then I will come back as well?"

"I am afraid it is not going to work like that."

"What do you mean?"

"It is our bond, our legacy. I have seized to be an Ancient, there is no purpose for you."

He swallows deep and hard and tries not to show his shaking hands. "Why?"

"It is a life for a life."