Isolde went back to her shop and felt relief when she slid the dead bolt into place. She put the sales receipt into the drawer and turned out the lights. In the back hall was a set of stairs that led to an upstairs apartment.<br/><br/>She turned the dimmer switch to barely illuminate the room and located some candles. One by one she lit the white candles that filled every possible table space and then turned off the electric light. The moon lent her light and the room was bathed in a soft glow. She sat in meditation and soon held out her hand. An orb filled with pictures came from out of the air. In it she could see someone at a forge, with every clang of a hammer, a new vampire sprang, full grown, hungry and unrestrained.<br/><br/>Isolde rose and pinched out trhe candles one by one. When the last whisp of smoke had spiraled up and disappeared, she shed her clothes and stepped into the shower. While the warm water streamed over her, Isolde pondered on the man, Malachai. Something about him nagged at the edges of her consciousness.<br/><br/>Patting dry with the body sized towel, Isolde wrapped herself in a silk caftan and sat to braid her hair.One word drifted in on the wind.<br/><br/>"Destiny."<br/><br/>Isolde went to close the window and was struck by the nearly invisible dash of dark and light. Something had followed her home.