Yuri held Jade tightly in his arms. His tigress had put him through hell tonight trying to protect him from herself. He wanted to be angry, but he couldn't. Deep down, he knew that she had wanted to have her memories beaten out of her in such a way that it wouldn't affect their future play. He didn't know if it would work, but she had made a decision and followed through. He admired her bravery and her courage to face her past.

Holding her, he thought about the last years of his human life. About the time he spent with Nikolai, his vampire sire and human lord. Yuri had been born on Nikolai's land, was raised to be a hunter and a farmer, to be a man of honor. It wasn't always easy. His father's punishments varied, but were never pleasant.

The tension of the day finally caught up with him. Closing his eyes, Yuri dreamed.

---

The day was sunny and windy. Yuri returned from the hunt with a few rabbits. He planned on leaving them with his mother before hunting at dusk. What he really wanted was a large stag to bring down, something that would make his father proud.

He no longer lived with his parents or younger siblings. Years before, he'd moved into Nikolai's castle and was being trained in the finer arts of warfare as a squire. The nobleman was a great benefactor to his people and each family sent their sons and daughters to the castle to serve him when they reached the age of 16. Some served for a few years, other for many. Yuri was now twenty and two years of age. Nikolai assessed their strengths and weaknesses, before assigning them to specific roles. Yet no one complained about their service. They were educated by tutors, fed well and believed they were the better for their time spent with the mysterious lord whom they were proud to call domn. The servants were given one day a week to do as they pleased and Yuri enjoyed hunting for his mother.

When Yuri entered the kitchen of their modest cottage, he knew his father was in a foul mood. The older man motioned to him and they headed for the stables.

"Take the women to the castle. Act as if your delivering food. The wagon is loaded."

"Father, what are you not telling me?"

His father shook his head and lowered his voice. There is talk of of robbers and marauders, of paid soldiers who want to claim this land for themselves. No one knows who will attack, but I believe there will be an attack before the week is out. Surely you have heard talk of this at the castle."

Yuri nodded. Yes, he had. The servants had been put on alert, yet they were always on alert.

"You've seen something," Yuri stated.

"Yes, I have. Cows have been slaughtered in the neighboring village in the night. It is said some of the women are missing. I don't care if its a rumor or not, I'll not risk your mother or sisters falling prey when the domn will protect them."

"Father, you must come with us."

"No, son, I will stand guard as will many of the others. If trouble comes we'll send word to the castle. Take care of our women. Now go."

The two men hugged, the affection between them clear and heartfelt. As Yuri led his mother and sisters to the castle, he feared he would never see his father again.

Yuri trembled, agitated as the dream took a turn for the worse. A week had passed, the great hall was filled with most of the residents of the village. The castle easily able to house and provide shelter, while the men and those in Nikolai's small army guarded their charges.

They expected the enemy to be a large based on the descriptions of those who had reached the castle from other villages and the surrounding areas. What they didn't expect were demons.

Like the rest of the men, Yuri was always armed. Always poised and ready to do battle, to die defending those he loved. One moment, he was eating, laughing with friends, and then as the nature of dreams often rush forward between past and present, he was reliving his oncoming death.

He'd fought bravely, killing the demon intruders with no thought to himself. The stormed the front gates, he and others rushed to meet them. There were less than twenty, but they were like nothing he'd ever seen.

The beasts were large, twice the size of a human, covered in dark scales, with their scales covered in armor. They appeared to be human, even spoke the local language, threatening to slaughter those within if they didn't surrender.

The domn had hidden most of the women and children deep with the castle, placing strategic groups of guards to block their enemy at various points. For those within, it was a struggle not to break position, yet they knew if the enemy reached them, the enemy would be weaker and easier to defeat. The people had served their domn and his family for centuries, this was not the first or last time a battle would be fought.

Yuri was fighting well, using his speed and lack of fear to surprise the demon attackers. He'd found a vulnerable spot below the breast plate of their armor and by thrusting under and up, he'd brought down 3 of the beasts.

Men around him were screaming, fighting, dying. The domn was engaged in a battle with the leader of the large creatures. There were women in the battle, those that had chosen to aid as healers, those armed and dressed as men who would rather die fighting than cowering below. It was one of those women caught Yuri's attention.

A favored servant of Nikolai, who was so quiet, she had been given the nickname Smirenka, had crept out of her hiding place to drag a man to safety. Stronger than most men, she easily dragged the wounded male back towards the waiting healers.

A demon raised his head, sniffing the wind. He roared, sweeping his large hand outward and knocking down the attackers in front of him.

"You, girl," the demon yelled. "Give yourself to me."

The beast began to stalk her, a slow dance that quickly turned into a game of cat and mouse. From his position, Yuri saw the demon pull her into his arms. He threw the screaming girl over his shoulder and turned his back on the battle.

They want the women, not the castle, Yuri thought. That's why they've come. It's what they want. When they each have one, they'll leave.

It didn't matter than 10 of the twenty demons were down. Another 9 were still fighting. He had to stop the one with Smirenka, was driven by a force he couldn't explain.

A voice entered his mind, it was the domn, Nikolai. The voice communicated the weakness that Yuri had found, told the men to change positions, to regroup and where to attack. It seemed as if Nikolai were yelling, giving orders to each and everyone from afar, yet also as if the message were only for him.

Yuri ran as he'd never ran before and positioned himself between the castle gates and the demon holding Smirenka. Her long brown hair had fallen free, the helmet she worn discarded by the giant as he stripped her as he walked. Yuri was close enough to see the tears on her cheeks, to smell her fear. The demon was licking her neck, taunting her that she would serve him until he had no use for her. Smirenka struggled in his grasp, striking the scales that covered his face until her hands were bloody.

Still Yuri waited, waited for the moment when he could strike. The demon was so fascinated by Smirenka, that he didn't see Yuri roll in front of him. Striking fast, Yuri found the vulnerable spot and drove in his sword, deep. Howling, the demon dropped the girl and swipped at Yuri. He had no time to move, no time to dodge the blow.

His body soared into the air, smashing into the castle wall, cracking his bones like so many pieces of shattered glass. The pain...the sense of loss...his inability to finish the kill would put Smirenka and every other woman at risk.

---

Holding Jade, Yuri yelled in his sleep. He yelled the words his battered dream body could not have spoken. Though they were the words he thought repeatedly until he passed out, no hope of surviving now that his body had been broken beyond repair.

"Please, God, forgive me!"

* Tag - Jade, you're up *