"Yeah, the machine was out,

" he told her as he set the ice bucket down, forgetting about the wine.

He was tired. He honestly just needed to go to bed. He crawled under the covers and laid close to Alyssa, letting her crawl into his arms and lay on his chest.

"You feel tense. Are you okay?

" Alyssa asked him as she rubbed his chest softly.

Elias nodded, forcing himself to relax. He just fell. It wasn't a big deal. It was certainly odd, but weird things happened all of the time.

He lived his life with one foot in the human world and one foot in the supernatural world. Nothing was normal about his life, no matter how much he tried to make it that way.

"Yeah. I'm just tired,

" he replied.

"Not ready to get back on the RV tomorrow.

"

Alyssa nodded her understanding.

"This will all be over before we know it,

" she told him before letting her eyes flutter shut.

Elias rubbed her back as he stared up at the ceiling. He hoped that she was right. It was hard to relax when he knew what was coming for them.

He liked lingering around in this town but staying in one place was dangerous. They had to practice on the move.

"Night,

" he whispered to her, holding her close and not letting go. He trained to get stronger so that he could protect her.

He also wanted to have Melina's back. If she fought for him, he would fight for her too. They were family after all, even if that fact was still something that he was getting used to.

"Night,

" Alyssa said, her body growing heavier as she gave herself up to sleep.

Elias closed his eyes, hoping that he could quiet his mind down and get to sleep himself.

He was tired of restless nights, of not knowing what tomorrow held. He wanted clarity and peace again, but that wouldn't happen for a long while. He was at war.

*********

Elias was back in the bloody field of bodies. He looked around with a confused look on his face, wondering why he was back here.

He knew that this was a dream, that this couldn't be real. He didn't know what was going on.

"At last, we meet,

" a deep voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Elias whipped around to face a tall man that stood about ten feet away from him. He wore a black jacket, black jeans, and a grey shirt underneath.

His facial hair was thin and light brown stubble, covering his sharp jaw. His hair was short and the same shade of brown, pushed back from his face. He looked like a normal guy, but Elias knew exactly who he was.

"Alaric.

"

Alaric smirked and took a step closer, stopping near Melina's body. He used his foot to nudge her head, turning her face to peer up at the sky.

"Your sister is pretty,

" he commented before looking up at Elias.

Elias tightened his jaw, knowing that Alaric was trying to get under his skin. It was already working.

"What's going on?

" he asked, not understanding his situation. He had to be in a dream, but Alaric was here with him. It was unlike anything that he had ever experienced before.

"I decided to pay you a visit. Open a line of communication,

" Alaric replied as he tilted his head at Elias.

"It was about time that we met.

"

"Melina and I don't want anything to do with you,

" Elias said, attempting to diffuse the entire situation right here and right now.

If he could avoid a deadly fight, he would. He didn't want to go out that way. He didn't want to lose anyone in his group.

"There are big things that I want to do in this world. It makes me wary when there are two other powerful players on the board that could decide to stop me,

"

Alaric replied as he narrowed his eyes.

"It'll give me peace of mind if I wipe both of you out.

"

Elias felt his heart pound heavily as he stared at Alaric, keeping himself tense and ready. He didn't think that anything could actually happen to him in a dream, but he wanted to be prepared just in case.

"You can't just wreak havoc on the world. Humans and the supernatural have maintained a balance with each other for years,

" he said. Things weren't perfect, but they were peaceful for the most part.

Alaric scoffed and shook his head.

"The supernatural have limited themselves when they could've taken over the world! We could have anything we want.

Vampires would have endless walking blood bags. Witches could practice any kind of magic they wanted!

"

"And a demon like you can rule us all. I don't think so,

" Elias snapped, feeling anger pulse through him.

He wished that this could've been resolved peacefully, but he could tell that Alaric was on a power trip, thinking that he could change the world for the worse just to satisfy himself.

Alaric laughed lowly.

"And you think you can stop me?

" he asked.

"I can with my friends,

" Elias replied evenly. Somehow, they had to stop Alaric before he began terrorizing the world.

Things would be thrown out of balance. Awful supernatural beings would harm, use, or kill humans.

Humans would try to fight back, and the world would erupt into war. Alaric would try to rule what was left of the carnage.

"I'd like to see you try,

" Alaric replied, his voice sounding cold.

Elias swallowed hard, pressure weighing down on him. The world relied on him and Melina to take this guy down before he put his plan into motion.

He didn't realize the magnitude of this issue until now. He couldn't fail. He just couldn't.

"We'll see each other soon. For real,

" Alaric promised before glancing around at all of the bodies, including Alyssa's that was at Elias' feet.

"Say hi to your girl for me.

"

Elias parted his lips to tell Alaric off and warn him not to even think about Alyssa, but he felt pressure on his ankle.

He looked down to see Alyssa's hand wrapped around his ankle as she stared up at him with her lifeless eyes.

Panic jolted through Elias as he tried to stumble away, but he ended up tripping.. He fell back, knocking his head against the ground and making everything go black.