Part 2: Heart of stone, tears of blood

"What are you talking about, I have been using energy to keep it from not glowing at night." Jack said as he looked to Kagirinai, "So I don't need a torch."

kagirinai ignored jakc and started to walk holding the two torches lighting up the darkness, 'Then don't stand at the back."

"I rather not stand next to you." Jack mumbled quietly to himself as he and Alex and Scarlet followed Kagirinai.

Kagirinai stopped and stared into a dark room. he looked at the ground. he tossed a torch onto the ground. The torch fell straight through into the darkness. He stared in annoyance. he raised a hand. Five large beams of woode shot forward morphing into a bridge. The stared at them, 'Hurry."

The 3 made it across the bridge Kagirinai made, "I hope it is still here. I don't get how Brianne found it though, if it always comes here." Jack said.

Kagirinai made his way across the bridge. The bridge vanished, 'Don't think just keep moving." He walked on ahead of them.

Jack glared at him *Dam jerk.* as he followed still. "Just to warn you guys." Scarlet said, "During the 5 years for charging, it sucks the energy out of you and if you touch it, you will die." Alex looked to Scarlet, "And you say this just now why?"

Kagirinai turned to them' Quiet." He had closed his eyes and was listening to his surroundings. Something sounded off.

Alex had a bad feeling, something didn't feel right. *Alex, I think we are getting closer.* Scarlet thought to him. *Yeah, I think so too.* Alex said to Scarlet.

Kagirinai quickly held out a hand./ A large wall of ice shot up. Thousands of giant razor disks slammed into the wall. His eyes narrowed. His crimson orbs staring through the ice. A amssive pair of red eyes staring straight back. Stepping out was a humanoid like creature with a long bone like tail. Large razor disks on its back they flew through the air. its skin pitch black taking something along the lines of a dinosaur crossed with a human. It looked up and roared.

"Dam it, not another creature." Jack said as he glared at it.

Kagirinai broke the ice. He drew his tonfa. The beast roared and charged them. Kagirinai braced himself and skidded just inches form hitting scarlet. He slammed the beast into a roar, 'I'll handle it go on ahead! I'll catch up. Find the key stone! It's more important!" THe beast struggled to break free. its tail lashed out towards Alex. A vine shot up stopping it before it could hit him, 'NOW!" He raised a tonfa and slammed it into the beasts skull.,

Alex, Scarlet and Jack run to find the key stone, "Good luck." Scarlet shouted as the left. After they were ways away from the thing that Kagirinai was fighting, Scarlet lit a fireball in her hand, "Remember, it sucks out your power if your near it so be very careful."

Kagirinai wrestled with the beast. He tossed it into the ground. A razor disk tore into his elft shoulder. Blood sprayed onto the ground. he ddoged its tail. Vines shot forward binding it. The beast roared and broke the vines. Kagirinai ducked under it. His tonfa crashed into its skull. Ice coated his tonfa making blades. the ice blade tore straight through the beasts head. As it did though the beasts tail pierced through his back and out his chest. Kagirinai held the pain back. The beasts heart beat stopped as it fell. Kagirinai tore its tail from his body. He slowly made his way to the others bleeding heavily.

"Dam it, which way do we go?" Alex said as he looked at both of the tunnels, they had come to a 2 way hallway, "Scarlet do you know?" Scarlet held her fireball to both tunnels, "No, they both react the same way." Jack looked behind him when he heard something. "Wow man, you look like shit." He said to Kagirinai as he came. Scarlet saw then smacked Jack on the back of the head, "Ass." she said to him as she glared. Alex turned around then walked to Kagirinai, "Can you heal by yourself or would you like me to heal you?"

kagirinai laid against a wall and slumped down it. a trail of blood on it. A gaping hole in his chest. he reached into his cloak and retrieved a vial of blood, 'Getting hurt so early what a pain and i only brought ten." Poping the lid he down the blood inside. He closed his as his wounds slowly yet surely began to heal. His arm first. The hole would take time. he turned to them, "I advie you keep moving. Those things always live in packs of three or more. There an anicent breed of humanoids crossed with raptors and dragons. Very deadly. One by itself can easily take on a lower vampire. Two a middle class and three me. That if i wasn't already weakened when it attacked."

"Well there is a problem, there are two tunnels with the same reaction." Alex said, "This is the 1st trick, choice. Basically you either choose to live or you choose to die." Jack saw to marks above each entrance of the tunnels, one was the same mark as Brianne had on her forehead but the other one was 3 lines going across, the middle line was longer with a dot on top and a dot at the bottom. "Lets go right, See them marks at the top?" Jack said as he pointed up to them, "The left says death and the right says life." Scarlet looked at them, "How do you know that?" Jack looked to Scarlet then back to the tunnel, "My father taught me." Then started to go in the right as with Alex and Scarlet.

Kgirinai merely laid there. He was waiting for his body to finish healing. He coughed up a ball of blood. His eyes scanning the darkness. He couldt hear fppt steps approaching and a low growl.

Alex saw Kagirinai was with them, "Where is Kagirinai?" Jack and Scarlet looked back and saw he wasn't there, "Maybe he is dead?" Scarlet glared at Jack when he said that, "What?" Alex walked passed Scarlet and Jack, "You hear that?" They heard growling, "Kagirinai is still back there, do you think we should help him?" Alex bit his lower lip, "I'll go, Jack and Scarlet, you guys get the key stone." If they ran into more puzzles, Jack could read the writing and Scarlet can open any doorway that uses earth. Alex heard down the tunnel till he reached the beginning of it and saw Kagirinai.

Kagirinai was slowly standing on his feet. Another one of the strange creatures stood in front of him. Kagirinai was eyeing it carefully. A relatively large hole still inh is chest. He was clutching it with his left hand. In the other his tonfa. He was growling in annoyance his vision was blurred, "Cursed i need more blood." The vampire settled into a sloppy stance. he was struggling to stay conscious.

Alex saw a creature and the way Kagirinai looked like, he wasn't going to make it. Alex took out his sword, "I don't care if you tell me to run, I am not going to." He said to Kagirinai.

The ebast roard. its bone tail shot forward. it flew towards Alex. Kagirinai reached grabbing the bone tail. Spikes digging into his side. He grunted and threw the beast into a wall by its tail. he fell to one knee. Blood dripping onto the ground. He was breathing heavily, "What a pain."

"You do know I could have blocked that." Alex said, "You can't fight right now, you need to rest." The beast got back up and roared, Alex shot a hand out, "Frozen soul." Alex froze the beasts heart and shattered it to bits, "Capture: Element release." The ice he used flowed back to him, "I can help you get some energy if you want." He said as he looked to him, "I am the only one who can control energy which means I can place some in you."

Kagirinai stared at him, 'It's not energy i need fool. It's blood." Kagirinai stumbled to his feet. he pulled out nine vials of blood from his cloak. he tsked in annoyance, "Should've brought more." He grabbed two vials and downed the blood." He put the other seven away. He closed his eyes as his wounds began to close. His body rejuvenating.

"Energy can be used to replace blood, many vampires used the 1st energy user to get more energy then they would if they just drank blood." Alex said as he put away his sword, "He even knew how to make blood out of his element energy as do I."