Prince of House Vladd

THE PRINCE OF HOUSE VLADD

CHAPTER 8

BOOK 2

BY ARTHUR

CONTACT: artcart65@vodafone.co.nz

As the two boys appeared at the foot of the steps, the surrounding jungle and stone city seemed to take on a new vibration, there was a feeling of new power in the ancient streets, those natives, still working diligently on the stone work could also feel deep inside themselves the new feeling, as one they lifted their heads and looked towards the great pyramid, the vision they saw further confirmed the trust and belief in the old ways as they saw for the first time the new vision of their two gods.

In the midst of the pyramid, everyone felt the arrival of the boys, the stirring of old power affected everyone and everything, Peter and Swiftwing were instantly drawn to the outside of the pyramid as something deep inside them pulled them to the top of the stone steps.

Once at the top of the steps, both Vampires first saw the look on the faces of the many natives as they stared at the two young men that were now ascending the steps, holding each other by the hand, it took Peter and Swiftwing a moment to realise the two newcomers were now older versions of their two new sons.

The boys now looked to be about eighteen, not only had their age grown but the power surrounding the two was now almost palpable in the morning air, even the morning clouds separated and let the strong morning sun shine through and light up the very steps the boys stood on, there was an ethereal glow to the two forms as the quickened their steps upward.

Once at the top of the steps, both boys quickly went to hug their adopted Fathers, Quetz was the first to speak.

"Well Dad P, what do you think, doesn't Tezca look handsome and sexy?"

The smile on the boy said it all and, he had a new surprise for his Fathers, they had now been given the wisdom of all the ancients and had been given permission to fully consummate their joining, there would be no more boy games when they rested, now they could partake of each other as true soul mates and lovers.

Peter and Swiftwing could only stand and stare at the change in their sons, they were now two very handsome and sexy young men and, for the first time they both noticed the change in the boy's eyes, the very power of the universe rotated in their bright orbs, their skin glowed with a power so far above any other human, that the boys appeared to be standing a few inches above the ground and could move with no effort.

Below the small group, the square suddenly began to fill with the followers of the two gods, the voices rose and the deep thrumming of ancient drums began to fill the air, the four Elders were at the forefront of the gathering crowd and, as they inched forward, they went to their knees and the chants grew louder.

It seemed only minutes and the square was filled with very native in the sprawling city which now uncovered, rambled over two square kilometres, every square of stone had been cleaned and cleared, the city again looked like it did hundreds of years ago, it was a splendid sight of inch perfect cut stone and towering towers and, at the centre stood the pyramid in alls its former glory.

The two young men turned at the top of the long row of steps and looked down at their followers, for a split second, as they looked out, the very air around the entire city became charged with a new power, every living thing felt the change and bowed its head in awe of the power now wielded by the two young men, the time for change had arrived and the old ways would hold sway once again.

The two young men turned and, with their Fathers, disappeared from the top of the pyramid, the crowds in the square stayed as they were on their knees until the four figures had returned to the depths of their home before they began to disperse back to their self assigned work.

Once all four of them were back below the pyramid, they went about their own business, the boys to their private quarters, it was time for them to fully consummate their joining, Peter and Swiftwing went to the large room they had set aside for conferences, as they entered, the assembled humans and folk gave them a questioning look, Peter waved his hand to indicate that he would talk about it later, for now they had far more important things to discuss.

Over the few weeks since the attempted attack, the air waves had been alive with the rhetoric of President Carabine and his cronies, the attempt at a cover story for the loss of troops in a foreign land fooled nobody except those who had made it up, even the most ardent supporter of Carabine could see that all was not ok.

Peter had set his two young computer boys the task of intercepting many of the North's Blog sites, here the two boys began their own assault on the thoughts of the Northern masses, even when the North's security forces tried to intercept the boys blogs, they just found a new server and hacked into it, the torrent of blogs continued to invade the North and a lot of it was beginning to have an effect, mostly in small communities that were far away from the base of power.

Peter now told the assembly of his men and folk that he wanted to upscale the problems for the North, it was time for the House Vaga to start its campaign, they would stay low and only work at night, the idea was to create a sense of fear and at all times leave some small indication that the Christian ethics that Carabine tried to control the masses with, was not working but was being turned against them.

Peter made sure that any victims that the Vaga used, had to be only those from the criminal classes, at this stage he did not want a single innocent harmed, and at all times the Vaga had to watch their backs and they must try to never leave a trace of themselves behind, Peter would also, once the Vaga campaign got underway, start to send a few of his people North until they had a sizeable force hidden away up there until needed.

Peter had planned for the build up to take about three months, it was decided that at some stage he and Swiftwing would have to go North to try to make one last attempt at getting Carabine to see sense, even Peter could see that being a vampire and one of the folk, could not take away his sense of right and wrong, he had to give the man one last chance.

Peter looked down the table at Swiftwing, his partner looked to be in deep thought, although at the same time he was taking in all that was said at the table, the many reports from his security and human staff were filed away in his head but, Peter could see that his lover had other things on his mind as well.

Swiftwing's ability to divide his thoughts and work on many plains, had often impressed Peter, the young Shaman was in one of those modes now, his blue tinted green aura seemed to grow as his thoughts went deeper, Peter gave his lover a smile down the length of the table, the answering smile and the glint in Swiftwing's eye confirmed his suspicions, Swiftwing was looking ahead.

Two more months passed and the Vaga were leaving a trail of hints and problems for the administration of the North, mysterious disappearances, sudden bloody attacks on the criminal element of society, faint rumours of devil animals and other scary things of the night, began to surface in all major cities, the more reports of devil happenings brought only more fanatical and rabid speeches from the Whitehouse.

The isolation of the United States was now worldwide, their exports had dwindled to almost zero and their international finances were collapsing so fast that the dollar, on the international market was lower than the Japanese Yen, chaos was now beginning to rise as the people found it harder to fill their stomachs.

With the collapse of the stack markets, Wall Street began to see a repeat of the 1920's as once rich and powerful movers and shakers of finance saw their very lives ruined almost overnight and it was almost normal to see the crushed body of a suicide on the walkways on any morning.

Rich looking towers of power were now practically empty, once thriving offices were now hollow and empty floor space, the price of basic essentials sky rocketed and the urban crime went up out of all proportion to the norm, even the troops brought in to enforce the act of Martial Law, were now subject to bribes and corruption as their pay packets got slimmer and slimmer, only in the Capital did nothing seem unchanged.

Those ensconced with Carabine and his small group of power were lucky enough to not have to worry about the mundane daily search for food or shelter, their very position gave them protection from the masses, it was out in the more sparsely populated areas of the states that the rumblings of discontent started, farming communities began to close their towns to outsiders, self sufficiency became the byword in these areas and the once mighty dollar became no more than useless paper, only genuine silver or gold coins were used when people had nothing else to barter with.

The cities were becoming places of crime and destruction as those who had nothing tried to invade the places of those who still had a little, it was almost as though Carabine had created a criminal country all by himself, those who were still wealthy could afford the protection or were making final plans for their eventual escape, society as they once knew it was now past, self preservation was taking over and, behind it all, President For Life Carabine continued to spout his line of Christianity and enforce his hard line on all evil doers.

While, from the outside, all looked lost, there was still a large core of Carabine's followers that still believed the might is right and might belonged only to the white, God had said so in his book, they could all prove it by Quote, to the average, once law abiding citizen, all the words brought were suffering and hunger, many had watched as their homes were foreclosed without them even being able to make arrangements for full payment, the greed of the few surviving banks and lending institutions had now grown out of control.

The country was now in a far worse state than the horror of the 1920's depression, as supplies dried up, the factories closed followed quickly by the closure of the support offices, rural communities barricaded their towns and farms against the coming hordes of people from the cities looking for a way to live.

The Vaga, under the orders of their Prince, now made their presence known by attacking small groups of troops, leaving no one but the bloody bodies of the dead, they also allowed themselves to be seen in fleeting glimpses to re-enforce the tales of devil beings which caused more consternation in the halls of power and the very streets.

Now, after two months of allowing the North to deteriorate into chaos, Peter decided the time was right to make an approach to President Carabine and give him a chance to rejoin the world and so he made plans for a return to the North, there were many of his own people that tried to dissuade him from this course but, he was adamant, he had to try, surely the President could not deny he was in trouble.

Peter looked again at the many reports from the Vaga and his own security people, Carabine's pogroms had now spread to prostitutes, gays, street kids and anyone that did not fit into his own personal box of Christianity, unfortunately he was still supported by the right wing radicals who had now been armed by the President and were seen daily out on the streets looking for those that were different.

The brutality and beatings that happened on a daily basis began to encompass every mans life, normal law abiding people now only went onto the streets when in dire need, to even walk across the road to a friends house could end up being a dangerous mission as the righteous mobs roamed about looking for any excuse to main and injure.

The streets of the cities became fetid with the overpowering smell of uncollected garbage, sewerage system broke down and water mains became polluted with the over flow, power cuts and black outs grew as one after another of the plants ran out of fuel, only those who could afford to have private generators could still function, the once grid locked highways and streets now looked deserted as fuel dried up and only the wealthy and the military still had the open use of vehicles, the land of the free had now come to an end.

As a final resort, President Carabine introduced rationing, food and fuel could now only be got by the long and drawn out process of applying for coupons, cash was worthless unless it was made of valuable metals such as gold or silver, although gem stones were used as well, even a street kid begging for food would not bother picking up a twenty dollar bill that was lying in the street, it was so worthless.

Peter had Senor Delgardo send off a request for a meeting with President Carabine on his behalf, he had Delgardo stress that this was a diplomatic meeting and would expect the President to respect it as such and that the members of the mission would be accorded the rights of any diplomat, the President agreed but wanted the meeting to take place in the Whitehouse grounds.

Peter agreed to the conditions and set about making up his group, he would travel with a small force of human guards as well as his own personal people, they would fly up to Washington in a private jet supplied by Senor Delgardo, their mission would be under the flag of the new Toltec nation which had been created by the two boys after they had returned from their little jaunt to the golden pyramid, the flag was a plain blue background with a yellow sun in the center, on the sun was a small representation of the Serpent, the flag now flew proudly over the city of stone.

A week later and the plane was flying over the country side of the North, little could be seen of the conditions on the ground but Peter knew what it was like, he had received daily updates from the Vaga, they all sat back and waited for their journey to end, the plane was Senor Delgardo's private jet, it was well set up for the Vampires, during the day light hours, the windows would darken and the rear of the jet had space for the four night boys to hide from the sun and sleep.

Peter had set out the rules for the group, during the day there would be at least three human guards at the plane to protect the three sleeping Vampires while he, Swiftwing, the twins and the remaining six humans were at the meeting with President Carabine, the jet crew would have the plane ready for instant takeoff just in case all did not go well with the meeting and they had to make a quick escape, Peter was not taking any chances with the radical President.

As the sun rose towards noon, the plane began its descent towards the airport just outside Washington, a hanger had been made ready for them and the usual formalities were pushed aside, as the jet came to a halt outside the private hanger, Peter could see a row of black limousines lined up near the gateway, no bumper flags were flying on the cars and the uniformed drivers were standing patiently by the rear doors.

Peter led the way down the steps and over to the waiting cars, the four Vampires took a seat in the first limo and the six human guards sat three to each of the others, quickly they were under way, the cavalcade was led by motorcycle escorts along with five police cars, as soon as they were on the freeway, Peter noticed the absence of private vehicles, it was evident that the isolation of the country had taken its effect, only military vehicles could be seen along with a few government cars.

After thirty minutes they were entering the main gates of the Whitehouse, the perimeter was patrolled by uniformed members of the Special Forces units and the close in security was overseen by a large number of special agents, all armed and alert.

As the limo's pulled to a halt outside the main entrance, Peter and Swiftwing noticed a sense of tension in the air, above them and unseen by the boys, a heavy set man watched as the limo's came to a halt, Director Simmons had done as much research as he could find on the arriving diplomats although, it was not much, for some unknown reason, the files of his predecessor had mysteriously been deleted or were not available, those that were readable were very limited, all he knew for certain was that the emissaries were both born in the US and had gone to the south at the start of the pogroms, the reason for this was not clear to Director Simmons but he planned to find out, there was something not right about all this and, his first glimpse of the emissaries confirmed his worst fears.

As he watched from above, Director Simmons was astonished to see four young teens step from the first limo, from behind in the next two cars stepped six adult men in full combat dress and fully armed, obviously the security for the younger ones, Simmons fears grew as the possibility of who and what the boys were became apparent in his own mind, there was no other explanation for the youth of the teens, Simmons reached for his mobile and dialled a three digit number.

"Taylor? Right, prepare reception room four immediately, it has to be ready in 30 minutes."

Director Simmons knew that the leader of the mission was named Peter Vallison and that his partner was an Indian named Armand Swiftwing, even at first glance, Simmons knew they were very close and that made them an abomination in his eyes, if they were also what he suspected then they were twice damned.

Director Simmons closed his phone and left for the ground floor, it was his job to escort the new arrivals into the office of the President and to check for any threats they might pose, as a small precaution, Simmons followed his training and closed his mind off with the technique he had been taught at Langley just in case these boys were who he thought they might be, he could not afford to take chances.

The boys stopped in front of the large building and took time to look it over, in reality, they had no interest in the building, they used the pause to scan each and every guard for information just in case they had to make an escape quickly, Swiftwing was dressed in a plaid long sleeved shirt and had his jeans tucked into the top of his moccasins, hidden in his moccasins were two very sharp knives, his hair was done in a single braid that hung down his back, Peter was dressed in a dark suit and tie, attached to his left forearm under his sleeve was a Tanto, both Levi and Caleb were also dressed in suits but they made no attempt to hide the long Katana's they carried in their hands.

Their six security immediately surrounded the boys as they pretended to look at the Whitehouse, the four Vampires noticed the immediate shift in focus of the Special Agents around the front lawn, the sight of six heavily armed men did not go down well with them although this was meant to be a diplomatic mission, they did not like armed men in the presence of the President or so close to his office.

The front doors opened and Peter saw a heavy set man approach them, quickly he tried to read the man, he was evidently of importance as his determined look gave away his sense of power but, when he tried to access the mans thoughts, Peter came up against a dark wall, the man was blocking him, Peter knew he could break through if he wanted to but that would alert the man and he was not ready for that yet, he allowed it might just be a habit with the man.

Director Simmons put on his best friendly face, his size and bulk made him feel invulnerable in this type of situation, he was in his own place and had the power of the state behind him as well as over fifty agents and Special Forces personnel, these boys, regardless of who they were, did not worry him in the least, Simmons put a tight smile on his face as he approached the small group.

"Mr. Vallison, welcome to the Whitehouse, if you would follow me I will take you to see the President, your security can be placed in a reception room close by, you will not need them in here, I assure you."

Peter looked at the man and smiled in a friendly manner but all the while taking note of the mans demeanour, his stance told Peter something else and he was not ready to lay his trust in anyone from the North, he was here to issue a warning not make peace with a bunch of bigots and religious fanatics.

As instructed, Peter, along with Swiftwing, Levi and Caleb, followed the man deeper into the building until they came to an imposing door at the end of a long passage, Simmons pointed to a door on the left and told Peter his guards could wait in there for the meeting to finish, Peter only hesitated for a moment and then agreed and nodded his head at the six men to wait in the room for him.

Once they were alone, Simmons went to the door and knocked quietly on the solid wood panel, the two Marines in formal dress were standing at attention as the Door was opened from the inside by a special agent who ushered the four Vampires inside Simmons followed a few steps behind.

President Carabine heard the soft knock on his door, it looked like the delegation had arrived, Carabine had not been watching them come from the cars and was not ready for what he saw as they entered, he had been expecting the usual plump overfed politicians to come and beg for his help, what he saw did not bode well for his preconceived plans.

Striding towards him were four young teen boys, two of which were obviously armed with ancient weapons and one was a savage, the youth of the delegation was almost an insult and he was about ready to tell every one to get out, he was in no mood for jokes, he had serious business to oversee, Carabine did not rise from his chair to offer his hand in welcome, they were only boys and he would soon be rid of them, they should never have been allowed in the grounds of the sacred office, President Carabine was quickly coming to the boil at the insult to his position of power.

As they entered, Peter looked over the man behind the desk, quickly he scanned the mans mind and was not happy at the picture he got but he hid his dismay behind a small smile of greeting, the man before him looked almost as though he came straight out of a story line for an old time preacher, tall, about 6'2" his body was angular and gaunt, a long narrow beaked nose below heavy dark eyebrows, his eyes glowed with an old fashioned missionary fanaticism,

Peter could almost hear his sermons of hell fire and damnation, he also noticed the man had not offered any greetings.

With a quick check, Peter noticed the position of each agent in the room, two stood alertly behind the President, their thoughts showed that they were considering which boy they would have to shoot first, either Levi or Caleb, Peter and Swiftwing were ignored as they were apparently unarmed, two more stood at the door watching from behind the boys, Simmons moved to the right of the desk and stood beside the President, Peter also offered no greetings just yet, they had not been offered either of the two chairs in front of the desk, Peter waited for the outburst from the President which he knew was coming, he didn't have long to wait.

"What the devil is the meaning of this? I was told that a delegation from some tin pot state wanted a meeting and they send four boys, this is an insult, just what is going on here, boy?"

Peter refrained from telling the man where to get off; instead he took a deep breath and smiled at the angry man.

"Mr. President, we are the official delegation of the newly formed state of Uxmal of the Toltec Nation, we've come to discuss the unwarranted attack by forces from your country."

"What attack? I don't know anything about an attack on any outside state or country."

Peter saw in the mans mind that he did indeed know an attack was sent but not the details, it was a classic case of butt watching and deniability, Peter let the smile slip from his face, he was hear to give a warning and nothing more, he took a deep breath and gave his message.

"Mr. President, I'm here to offer you a warning, this is not a negotiation of any sort, we have captured three devices carried by your men; that is enough proof for us that you or your administration had fully intended to destroy our capital, because of the unwarranted nature of the attack we give you this one time only warning."

Peter paused to let his words sink in, the look of anger grew on the Presidents face as well as that of the Director, no one came into this office and started giving threats to the President, Simmons was about to open his mouth to tell the boys to leave, but Peter continued before he could utter a word.

"If at any time in the future you or your administration attempt to attack us again, we will send back your three devices, but this time they will be armed and ready to use, they will be sent to three cities and detonated, we will then inform the rest of the world of your attacks and ask them to assist in defeating your nation, there is no debate over this, the decision is yours and the outcome will be on your head."

When he finished speaking, Peter along with Swiftwing, rose from the chairs and made to leave the room before the President could even catch his breath, when he did, the ensuing explosion of words made even the stoic agents start.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, BOY, GET OUT, GET OUT, if you or your people are still on our soil in one hour, you will be shot on sight, now get the devil out of my office."

Peter smiled to himself and nodded to his friends, as they turned to leave, Director Simmons spoke for the first time.

"Mr. Vallison, if you would follow me I have a room for you to wait in while your cars are brought around, it will only take a few minutes."

Peter and the others followed the man out of the door and down the passage to a waiting room, inside was a small coffee table and four chairs, Peter and the others sat down to wait.

"I'll be right back; they should be here any minute for you."

Peter sat back and looked at the sparse room, there was a heavy scent of pine trees in the room, it was then his extra sharp hearing heard the soft click of a lock closing, at the same time the heavy scent became mixed with something else, to a normal human it would have been undetectable but, to a Vampire it was easily detected, that was the last though Peter had as blackness surrounded him and his four friends.

In an adjacent room the six guards also slumped in their chairs as the gas swiftly took effect, the three guards out at the airport were a little more alert and the leader noticed one of the Special Forces troops suddenly talking into his com unit then look at the jet, an old instinct made the leader take special note and, with a softly spoken word into his own com unit, dashed up the steps and into the jet, closing the door as he did so, almost immediately the jet's engines wound up and the plane began to taxi away from the hanger as the Special Forces tried to run for the airplane and stop it.

It was a matter of split seconds but the power of the small jet left the troops behind in its jet stream as it took to the air and turned to make a direct line for the Canadian border as it was the closest, once over the border they could call for the protection of the country to avoid being shot down, but first they had to get there before the USAF could get to them.

The three Vampires in the rear of the jet knew nothing of the turmoil that was going on as they slept the sleep of the dead, when the sun went down they would rise and then the leader would hand over authority to his immediate boss Sin Yu, to rescue their Prince, hopefully, they would be in time.

Some unknown time later, Peter's eyes opened to a bright white room, he also noticed that he was naked and strapped to a metal table with metal bands around his wrists and ankles, turning his head he saw that both Levi and Caleb were in the same position and beginning to also stir, turning his head to the other side he saw that Swiftwing was not only strapped to the table but was also covered in a thick plastic cover that sealed tightly around the edges of the table, Peter opened his mouth to speak to his friends and heard from behind him a thick and excited voice.

"So, the mighty Vampire Prince Vladd has awakened, how does it feel, blood sucker, to be trapped, oh yes, I know all about you now, I managed to break the encryption on your file from my predecessor, very interesting links to previous administrations, oh and I know all about your bum boys talents from one of our men you killed, he had just enough time to tell us what that savage could do so we built this just for him, are you impressed?"

Peter stared at the man and then asked.

"So what do you want? You know this is going to start a war with my people, don't you, a war, I might add, that you won't survive."

Director Simmons walked to the end of the table so Peter could see him, he had a smirk on his face as he motioned behind him and three men in white coats and hands full of instruments appeared from a hidden door.

"Well, blood sucker, we're going to see what makes your kind of abomination tick, of course it's a pity you won't survive it, but then, you can't make an omelette without breaking the eggs, now can you?"

The confidence in Simmons voice told of his certainty that he was now top dog, four captured blood suckers and no way for them to escape, the savage under the cover was going to be the best of them all, Peter now noticed that Swiftwing was still passed out, he then saw the small thin tube leading into the container, he was being kept sedated so he could not transform into his green mist, the bastards had thought of everything, their only hope now was that the men would be thinking along the lines of the story books about vampires, it was the only hope he had at the moment, that and the hope that the others had escaped, Sin Yu would soon see to their release.

Director Simmons saw the faint look of hope in Peter's eyes; he decided to try a bluff.

"Oh, are you thinking about your friends at the airport, what a shame, their jet seemed to explode as it took off, no survivors I'm afraid so any thoughts of your escape can be put to rest, even if there had been, they would never find you here, you see, we moved you from the Whitehouse and you're now miles away and underground, they can't trace you here, blood sucker."

Simmons watched but saw no re-action from the boy, still he had planted the seed in the boys mind and that would help to weaken their resolve, Simmons stepped back from the table and signalled the three men forward, the dead pan faces of the three scientists showed Peter nothing, but he didn't need that, he went straight into their minds and saw what they had planned, it was not nice, all he had for now was his innate and hidden abilities.

From the corner of his eye, Peter watched as Levi and Caleb tested the strength of their bonds, there was no doubt they were strong, the two boys could make no headway with the thick metal, it was time to look for other ways, Peter closed his eyes and set about exploring the minds of the three scientists, there was a lot he could do in there but he needed for the man Simmons to leave the room.

From the corner of his eye, Peter kept a vigilance on his lover, Swiftwing was still under the effects of the continuous dose of sedative that was pumped into his plastic cacoon, Peter sent out as fine tendril of thought towards the unconscious figure in the hope it would at least let his boy friend know he was there.

The scientists began their inspection of the Vampires, to them it was a chance of a life time, even the thought of having these fictional creatures in the same room for them to run their tests on was beyond any dream they had ever had, they began their tests with the usual CAT scans and blood tests as well, one of them callously cut from the arm of each of the twins, a thin strip of skin for a DNA test, the fact that they used no anaesthetic, or took no notice of the grunt of pain from each boy, showed they did not care about them just their results and the fact that they were able to watch in awe as the freshly cut flesh began to heal right in front of their eyes. The scientists had taken the warning of Director Simmons seriously and had not attempted to open the cover over Swiftwing, they were told that the savage was too dangerous to release, for the moment that was good enough for them.

Each event that they watched or took was recorded both on computers and video, after the initial samples were taken the scientists began their investigation of the samples and left the boys alone in the sealed room until they were ready for the next batch of tests, Peter knew from his mind scan what was yet to come for them, he had to find a way out for all of them.

It was a half hour later that Peter sent another tendril of thought to the sleeping figure on the covered table, this time he felt the light touch of Swiftwing's mind, it was no more than the faintest spark but it was there, slowly the spark grew and then he caught the faint shimmer of Swiftwing's mind as it strengthened and Peter began to get the faint message being sent to him.

"Hello my love, sorry for making you wait, I've been fighting the sedation, if you can give me another hour I'll be able to overcome it fully and get us out of here."

"Ok love, they're busy for now so you have time, how are you going to get out of the tank, it looks to be well sealed?"

"I'll find a way, nothing is totally air tight, there has to be somewhere it's vulnerable, just give me some time."

"Ok love, looks like they want us around for a while yet, how did you overcome the sedative?"

"Easily, it has an organic base, I just converted it into its separate parts and started to break it down, there are a few parts that aren't organic but I can get past them with time, must get back to it, keep an eye out for me."

"I will, just hurry as much as you can; those guys have some nasty shit lined up for us later on."

"Ok, let me get on with it then, stay safe love."

"You just get on with it."

Peter returned to the room and tried to send small messages to Levi and Caleb, the twins were able to answer and smile at what was planned for them as Peter projected the thoughts of the scientists he had picked up, not much of it was nice or easy.

Some little time later the three men returned and looked at a ream of printouts, the conversation almost made Peter, and the other two, laugh at the confusion on the men's faces, the two younger men were trying to argue with the obvious senior scientist.

"But it's impossible, no one can have three or more blood types, look at this one, the boy over there has not only B negative but also A positive and AB negative, all in the same sample, this is ridiculous, and look at the twins, they have identical DNA but totally different blood groups and again more than one grouping, there's got to be something wrong with the tests, they got contaminated somehow."

The senior scientist replied tersely.

"There's no mistake, I took those samples myself, each and everyone was kept separate, there's no way they could have been contaminated, also look at the composition of the blood, the red cells far out number any white cells, not by the normal range but far above it, and what the hell is that tint of blue in all the samples, it's like nothing I've ever seen before."

Peter watched and listened from his prone position, he noticed that the youngest of the scientists, a man in his late twenties, had little to say, he decided to have a little fun and sent out his thoughts to the younger man, at the same time he felt Swiftwing getting stronger although his body stayed motionless and looked as though he was still under sedation.

Peter began to guide the younger mans thoughts in the direction he wanted the conversation to go, it would be amusing to watch how they two older men replied to the new information.

The youngest of the three suddenly spoke up, much to the surprise of the two older ones.

"It's not their blood, only the blue tint is theirs."

"What do you mean, how could you know that?" Asked the oldest scientist.

"I don't know, it just came into my head, look, they feed on the blood of others so, the blood is not theirs but some they took from their victims, it stands to reason, the blue tint I don't know about but, what if it was the catalyst for their quick rejuvenation, something in them that changes their blood and replaces the work of the white cells, their count is very low compared to a normal human, so it must be whatever the blue part is."

The two older scientists looked at the young man with scepticism in their eyes, but they had no argument against it, this was a totally new area for them all, even the thought of having real live vampires at their disposal was already far beyond what they thought they would ever do, the whole experiment was new so anything was possible, the conversation continued.

"Ok," said the leader. "Say you're right, where do we go from here, what do we look for next?"

The three stood in silence looking at each other for ideas, finally the younger man said.

"Let's try out all the theories about vampires, what they are allergic too, what can harm them and how long it takes for them to heal or regenerate."

"yes, that's a good place to start, so what do we know so far, from all the books they're meant to be allergic to sun light, yet these four were out in the sun with no effect, so we know that parts not true, what's next, lets try a strong solution of garlic, that's meant to be bad for them."

The others agreed and the youngest left the room while the two older men talked over what needed to be done, while the men were discussing things, Peter sent a thought to Levi and Caleb, it was time for them to have a little fun at the expense of the scientists.

A short time later and the young man reappeared holding a spray bottle in one hand, at a direction from the leader, he went over to Levi and Caleb, with anticipation showing on his young face, he quickly sprayed the twins with the concentrated garlic, the smell pervaded every nook and cranny in the room, it was a strong solution, as per Peter's orders, the twins let out a loud yelp and then fell silent.

The three scientists looked on in awe as the twins appeared to be unconscious, the boys breathing slowed to a stop and the three men watched with bated breath, ever so slowly, Levi and Caleb opened their eyes and looked at the three men that stood watching them, Caleb was the first to speak.

"For fucks sake, wash this shit off us, we hate garlic, it stinks to high heaven and tastes like shit, give me a good solid onion any day, this shit is disgusting."

The three men stared in disbelief at the twins as Caleb continued to berate them for their lack of manners, their lack of a mother and any other insult he could come up with, which for Caleb, covered a long and endless variety from the birth of camels to their distinct heritage from snakes and worms, Peter found himself trying to hold back a loud burst of laughter as Caleb ranted on for a good five minutes while the three men just stood and stared at the boys reaction.

With a quick glance to where Swiftwing was lying, Peter saw that his lover was now fully awake although he still gave the impression of being under the influence of the sedative; Peter saw that, from the forefinger of Swiftwing's right hand a very thin tendril of green mist was working its way around inside the sealed casket, it was so fine that it was almost unnoticeable unless you knew what to look for, he watched fascinated as the tendril worked its way around the total length of the edge of the bed.

Peter turned back to concentrate on the three scientists, they had now overcome their surprise at Caleb's reaction and were discussing the non result of the garlic, going to a shelf, the leader picked up a wooden cross and walked over to Peter, with little ceremony, he slapped it down hard on Peter's chest, obligingly, Peter let out a loud yell, the look on the mans face was almost comical as he quickly raised the cross from Peter's skin.

Much to his surprise, there was no sign or smell of burning flesh, in fact there was no indication of any kind that the cross had even touch the boy, he asked Peter.

"Did that hurt?"

"No shit head, but it was fucking cold, why don't you just ask us and we'll tell you what you want to know?"

The older man looked down at Peter with a sceptical look on his face.

"Why should we ask, an abomination like you would only lie and we'd be no closer to the truth."

"Listen, shit head, you wouldn't know the truth if it jumped up and bit you on the ass, look, you two old farts get out and let Jeffery over there stay behind and ask the questions, I'll promise to tell him only the truth about us, but not while you two close minded fools are here."

The older man looked at Peter in surprise.

"How did you know his name?"

"You whispered it early on when you thought we were still out of it." Peter lied, why tell them he had read all their minds as soon as he was conscious.

"Well, it seems a bit unprofessional, but, do you swear on whatever demon birthed you, that you will answer all his questions honestly?"

Peter smiled to himself at the naivety of the man; he so desperately wanted the experiments to succeed that he would take the word of the one thing that was not a normal human, although Peter had no intention of misleading the younger man, only of staving off what the three had previously planned to do to them, by the time they had all the answers, it would be to late to stop Swiftwing from escaping.

It was at that precise moment he felt the touch in his mind of Sin Yu, quickly he settled on the tendril of thought and strengthened the connection while at the same time watching the three scientists discuss his bold plan.

"Are you ok, My Lord?" Sin Yu's mind sent.

"Yes, where are you, I was told you were all destroyed at the airport?"

"We're all safe, one of the security noticed what was going to happen and got us out of there in quick order, we're on the Canadian border waiting for Torson to report back to us, we lost you at the White house but he said two of his Canine's still hold your scent and are tracking you now, he's had to cross one state already but thinks you're not to far from him."

"Good, how long to get down here once he has us located?"

"From here it looks as though you're about two states away, we can't use the jet and cars will be too slow so, as soon as he has your location we're going to come in on foot, at most, no more than an hour if we move at top speed, can you hold out until then?"

"Yes easily, but be careful, we don't know what security there is around the place."

"Yes My Lord, we'll be careful, expect us in about one and a half hours."

"Ok, we'll be free by then and will help from the inside, Swiftwing is almost ready."

"Are you in any immediate danger, My Lord?"

"No, thanks Sin Yu, we have it under control for now, we're just amusing ourselves with them for now."

"Ok, My Lord, we're on our way."

"Thank you Sin Yu, see you soon."

Peter switched back to the room and saw the two older scientists leaving the room, the younger one, Jeffery, pulled up a metal chair and sat close to Peter, after a few minutes thought, Jeffery began to ask questions that Peter had already seen in the young mans mind, he had his answers ready long before the question was even asked, but he let the man Jeffery do it in his own time if, for no other reason than to waste as much time as possible while Swiftwing worked his old magic.

Peter scanned the rest of Jeffery's mind as he waited for the first question, he now had the full layout of the complex and the guard rotations, the facility was an old bunker under a mountain, they had been put in a secure laboratory, at the main door were four secret service men fully armed and alert, at the outer edge of the facility was a company of Marines to keep the perimeter safe, they would be no trouble for Sin Yu and his people, he would send the information to his men when they arrived.

Peter also saw in Jeffery's mind his most hidden secret, the young man was undeniably very bright, he was almost tempted to take him with them when they left, he might be very handy in the future, he would see how the escape went and decide then what to do, Peter turned his attention back to Jeffery as he asked the first question.

"Who are you, really?"

"My name's Poitr Vladd, I'm the Prince of the House of Vladd the Impaler, you can call me, My Lord." Peter smirked to himself as he pushed a little compulsion into the man's mind.

"Thank you, My Lord, tell me please, My Lord, why didn't the sun hurt you, I heard all Vampires die in the sun?"

"And you're right, most do, but we're a new breed, we are called, Day Walkers, it doesn't happen very often so not all Vampires are like us."

"You said, Vladd the Impaler, he was just a blood thirsty tyrant in history, wasn't he?"

"Not at all, the reason he had people impaled on stakes outside his castle was to disguise the fact he had fed on them, it was a way of keeping the country in terror and hiding who he really was, our family has been around for millennium."

"So what about all the things that are meant to kill vampires? Are they all false?"

"Yes, most of them are, they are made up for the readers of horror books, you cant have the human race vulnerable to the likes of us, now can you, we are pretty much unkillable, there are one of two things that hurt like hell but won't kill us."

"OK, so what can kill you?"

"Now that is one question I can't answer for you, Jeffery, it would be pretty stupid of me to tell you while I was trapped here, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose so, ok, how long do you really live for?"

"Well, let me ask you this, how old do you think I am?"

Jeffery looked at the young teen on the table; it was a pretty easy question.

"Fourteen or fifteen."

"I'm closer to twenty four, so the story about us staying young for all our life is true, in a couple of hundred years I'll still look the same."

Jeffery looked shocked at the admission.

"You can really live for a couple of hundred years?"

"Oh yes, and a lot longer than that, my own Father is over seven hundred years old and still going strong."

The stunned look on Jeffery's face said it all, these were truly vampires and they were real and alive, in an instance, Jeffery forgot why he was here in the facility, he was more interested now in the long history of these fable people, he had to learn more, not for the other scientists, but for his own innate curiosity, the plans for experiments went out the door as he saw for the first time in his life what he wanted to do.

For another twenty minutes the questions continued, are there women vampires? No: the microbe in us kills women except under a special condition.

Do you get married and have kids? No: except for the ruling families and only when the male is at least five hundred years old, because he then becomes fertile, until then we are all sterile.

Can you fly? No: not as such but we can move fast and it might look like flying.

Why is your friend in the tank? Is he different from you? Yes: he is not only a vampire he is also a very old Shaman, he can do things we can't, I suppose the tank is needed to keep him captured.

Why? You'll have to ask your superiors.

And so it went on, eventually Peter could see that Swiftwing was ready to move and so he asked Jeffery, although he already knew the answer.

"What happened to our clothes and equipment?"

"They have it in storage to look at later."

Peter could clearly see from Jeffery's mind where their gear was, just outside the door in a locker, he next tried to see how far Jeffery would go.

"How about releasing me so I can move about, no one will know and you can tie me down again before they come back?"

Jeffery unconsciously glanced at the two hidden camera's before he told Peter he could not do that as much as would like to free the young man, Peter smiled, he had found out all he wanted to know, with another thought he sent the information to Swiftwing, where he lay still looking as though asleep but Peter's extra sharp eyes saw the faint trail of green mist, no thicker than a human hair, work its way under and out of the container, the seal had not been totally perfect in one corner, it was enough for Swiftwing and his abilities to take advantage of.

As Peter kept a watch on the thin tendril as it worked its way towards the first of the cameras, the two older scientists returned, one held a small bottle of water and the other had a wooden box about the same size as a medium satchel, the two men looked all business as they watched Jeffery switch off the camera he had been recording the conversation on, he now had something to do while the other two went about their new tasks.

The first man with the bottle approached Peter and took the cap off the bottle, as he was about to pour it over him, Peter said, with a smile.

"Here let me drink that, I'm thirsty and I'm sure holy water tastes just as good as any water."

The surprised man just did as asked and poured the contents of the small bottle down Peter's throat.

"Just as I thought, plain old tap water filtered through a charcoal filter, Jesus you guys believe in anything."

The man stepped back, the look on his face was one of distain and a little ire, the other scientists took the wooden box over the a metal trolley set up beside Levi, opening the box, he turned to Jeffery to make sure the camera was switched on, then he took a stainless steel tool from the case, it was much like a heavy pair of cutters, with speed, he grasped the left hand of Levi, placed the tool over the first knuckle of his ring finger and closed the jaws, Levi let out a loud shout of pain as the tip of his finger was severed, there was a sudden long spurt of blood as the tip dropped onto the table, the scientist stood back and watched as the camera recorded the horror.

Levi went into a detailed account of the spawning of the scientist's family tree, adding a few extra epithets for good measure as his finger began to heal immediately, while the loss would not be permanent, it still hurt like hell and Levi was not a happy vampire.

"You son of a camel bitch, you'll pay for that you skunk headed pile of dog shit."

The scientist let the words flow past him as he watched closely as the finger healed, but it would be more than two days before it fully regenerated itself again, in the mean time Levi was still telling the man about his family's heritage and relationship with jungle apes.

Peter kept an eye on the thin tendril Swiftwing had sent out, it had slowed near the first hidden camera, Peter saw the small red light die, the tendril then began to move onto the next one, as the two older scientists left the room and Jeffery was setting up for another round of Questions, he saw the tendril attach to the second camera and watched as the red light died in that one.

The tendril of green mist then retracted back to Swiftwing's table but stayed on the floor as more and more of the mist gathered unnoticed by Jeffery, it took only seconds for Swiftwing to begin to form outside the container, Jeffery still had his back to the event and had not yet caught the movement on the camera as he was still inserting the new battery pack.

Fully reformed, and as silent as the grave, Swiftwing glided over to the young man and, under instructions from Peter to not hurt him, Swiftwing used one of Sin Yu's pressure points and knocked the man out, just as he was releasing Levi, Peter felt the connection from Sin Yu, he could tell immediately that the group was very close by, Peter sent out his map of the complex as Swiftwing released him from the clamps.

"Well my love, what do we do now?" asked Swiftwing.

"Search Jeffery, he has to have a door key card somewhere, our gear is just outside the door on the left, Levi, you and Caleb are to be the first outside, keep a look out for anyone coming after us, there are two guards just outside the door so take care of them first."

The twins nodded and got ready to go through the door as soon as Swiftwing used the key card he had found around Jeffery's neck, the fight at the door was short and brief, Levi and Caleb were in no mood to be nice, Levi drank from the first guard to replace the small amount of blood he had lost with the finger tip.

Quickly everyone got dressed and armed; there was no sign of the two older scientists.

"What are we going to do with that one?" Levi asked, pointing back inside the room.

"We'll take him with us when the others get down here; I think he may come in useful in the future."

"Are the others here already then?"

"Yes, they should be just about to start their attack on the main doors, lets lock this door so our young friend can't get away while we go and take them from the rear, I want this whole facility cleared, leave no one, let them see what we can be like when you back stab us, when we meet up with the others, I want the whole place searched and ransacked, leave nothing that can be used by them."

Levi and Caleb just nodded as they began to lead the way forward, each door was flung open and the room searched quickly, it took them only five minutes to find the two scientists huddled over a lap top watching the recording of their latest experiment on the finger of Levi, neither of them had time to hear or even suspect anything until Levi grasped the hand of the scientists who had cut off his finger and applied so much force to his grip that the snapping of bones was only drowned out by the scream of pain.

"Now you know what it's like you pigs whore." Levi yelled at the man.

Caleb was a little more compassionate, he simple snapped the other mans neck and stood back to watch his brother extract his revenge, finally, with a single broad swipe of his Katana, Levi decapitated the man and watched as he slumped lifeless onto the floor, it was at this point they could just barely hear a faint disturbance from far above them, had they been human it would not have registered but their accelerated hearing made it a little easier, Peter pointed forward again and they went about checking each and every room as the sounds of fighting slowly moved towards them.

It was ten minutes later when they finally met up with Sin Yu and the others, Steven had two bullet holes in his chest, Mbeda had a long nasty gash down his cheek and another along his forearm, Sin Yu as usual was untouched but Torson had three bullet holes in his back and one more in his right leg, all wounds were rapidly healing as they met up with each other.

After a quick hug with each of their rescuers, Peter set out his plans, Torson went back with Caleb to retrieve Jeffery as the others spread out to destroy all and any equipment they could find, especially any recordings of the interrogations, Peter did not want anything left behind for his enemies, it had been proven that they would stop at nothing, it was time to set out plans to bring the North back to its senses.

TBC

Artcart65@vodafone.co.nz