THE PRINCE OF HOUSE VLADD
BOOK 3
CHAPTER 10
BY ARTHUR
AUTHORS NOTE:
PLEASE HELP SUPPORT THE NIFTY ARCHIVES SO WE MAY KEEP THIS FREE SITE AVAILABLE TO ALL.
Michael returned to the large cell where the six boys were being held, as before they stood in a circle holding hands as they intoned the strange sad dirge,
he still did not know what or why they were doing it, all he knew was that he had had enough of the Tom Foolery, it was time to send the three chosen boys out into the world as his spies, he had little thought of the three betraying him as he would hold the others as hostage, it was the perfect plan.
The first signs of trouble came when he told the three selected boys to follow him outside, much to his surprise and growing anger, the three that were to be held as hostage also followed, even after he told them to stay behind they refused to listen, with growing anger he called for some of his men that had returned from the disaster of the last raids.
As the men arrived, the eldest of the boys stepped forward and, with his head held high and a look of blood in his eyes, he told Michael what they wanted to do.
"We will walk together to the outside, there we will say our good byes, this is not negotiable, if you will not allow us to do this then our journey ends here and your plans will come to nothing."
The boy stood solidly as he looked Michael directly in the eyes, even to the old Vampire the look was one of determination, Michael shrugged his shoulders, why not? He had enough men to make sure the boys would not be able to run off, he gave the boys one last long glare and turned his back and strode off to lead the way to the outside, he would deal with the three that stayed behind after his three spies were well on their way.
As ordered the six boys followed the man out to the doors, as they smoothly opened, the boys clasped hands once again and stepped out into the night, around them stood more than one hundred soldiers and wolves, Michael was not about to let his hostages run after his spies, from the darkness of the trees around them came the soft hooting of a number of owls, the six boys paused just outside the open doors.
As the six heard the owls they turned to one another and gave a last nod and clasping of hands, as though by some hidden signal, five of the older boys turned and, with little regard for their own lives, attacked the surrounding men even though they were outnumbered and had little hope of escaping.
At the sudden yells of anger from the boys and as all eyes went to them, the sixth boy, the youngest of them all, seemed to disappear into the darkness, as he ran into the waiting trees he could hear the shouts and yells of those left behind, he well knew that his brothers would not survive the rash attack they had made on their captors, it had been their plan all along, they would sacrifice themselves so the youngest could escape and carry all they knew to their elders.
As the five boys attacked, Michael tried to call for his troops not to kill any of them but he was already too late, the boys had no intentions of trying to escape of even survive this fight, they were making the sacrifice as had been done at the last battle of Wounded Knee at Pine Ridge so long ago, their young bodies now able to move with the speed given to them by their tainted blood, like a young wall of pure hate and anger, the five boys fell upon those surrounding them.
The boys had heard that their tainted blood was like acid to the large wolves and so went after them first, gouging and biting as they fell among the startled wolves, they knew their advantage of surprise would only last seconds and so had determined that they would wreck as much havoc as they could in that short time, screaming and cursing wolves told how successful the boys tactics were but sheer numbers soon had the boys in the last fight of and for their lives.
The loud shouts from Michael went unheard as the boys began to fall one by one under the mass of wolves, Tong troops and Yakuza, none of them wanted to be the object of the crazy young boys and their painted faces, it was not long before swords were drawn and within a few minutes all five boys lay dead on the dark ground, of the sixth one there was no sign, in fact no one, not even Michael himself, had seen the boy run for the trees in the melee that occurred.
Although Little Raven was born and raised in the barren rolling hills and plains of Dakota, he still had the innate ability of his race to feel at home in the wilds of the forest, with his newly acquired abilities from the tainted blood, he was able to easily see his way through the darkness that surrounded him while above and hidden in the same trees, the owls followed his progress.
At the speed he was moving, the sounds behind him were soon unheard, he felt as though he could sense the spirits of his five brothers pass over him as they fell to the long knives of the foreigners, Little Raven increased his speed so he could put as much distance between him and the death grounds of his brothers he had been given this one chance to make things right.
Far behind Little Raven, at the open doors of the bunker, Michael surveyed the remains of the young Indian boys, why had they suddenly attacked, they must have known they had no chance of escape, what was the reason for such a wild and rash decision, it seemed so pointless to Michael, all five of them had done little more than kill two wolves and three Tong troops before being cut down, it was as stupid as anything a young boy would do, from the back of his mind something stirred, suddenly Michael knew why the boys had sacrificed themselves in such a way, where the fuck was the sixth boy?
Michael called for five older wolves to come to him, they would be the best ones to track the boy with their far greater sense of smell, the boy would soon be tracked down and brought back, Michael gave his orders and watched as the five wolves circled around the area, it took only a minute to find the trail and they were soon disappearing into the darkness of the forest, Michael turned and waved the others back into the bunker, there was little use waiting out here.
Little Raven was now standing on top of a far off ridge, he had used all his great speed to get as far away from the bunker as he could before they saw he was missing, as he stopped to gather his wits, he sensed a number of beings all around him, it was then he realised he had been hearing the call of owls for quite some time as he moved through the dense trees and scrub but now there was something else in the forest with him that was not of the birds.
Little Raven turned his hearing towards where he had come from, way off in the distance he was sure he could hear others following his trail, as yet his other senses could not pick them up but he was not going to wait around, he had far more important things to do than wait for his own end or even worse, being returned to the mad white man, as Little Raven made to run again, he heard from just above his head the deep sound of another owl, looking up he was surprised to see not an owl, but a young girl perched on a thick branch above him.
Little Raven was so surprised he stepped backwards with his eyes still on the thin looking girl, as he did so he felt something soft and warm touch his bare leg, looking down he came face to face with the black fur of a wild cat, Little Raven jumped again as another striped cat appeared from the thick undergrowth, it was followed by another with stripes and then two more black ones, Little Raven wondered if he should start to sing his death song as he saw he was now surrounded by the large cats.
Little Raven soon became even more surprised at what happened next, he well knew the stories of skin walkers and other such things that had been a apart of traditional stories since time began but he had never seen anything to support such tales but now he was about to find out the realities of the old stories, for as he stood in the darkness surrounded by the fierce looking cats, they all seemed to shimmer for a second then transform into boys and girls right before his startled eyes.
From above him came a fluttering sound and the girl was also on the ground alongside him.
"We're friends, we are here to help you, there are five wolves coming after you so we have to get you out of here fast."
"But I don't know you, how do you know me?"
"We are friends, we were sent to help you, now this is not the time for talk, we have to move fast or they will catch up and we don't want them to know we are watching their home base."
Little Raven saw the sense in what the girl said but had no idea how he could use it, he did not need to worry as the girl smiled at him once again.
"Over the next ridge is a lot of caves, they go deep underground and there are many branches, you head for them and find a place deep inside, if you can, take to the underground river so you wash away your scent, the cats here will soil this ground so the wolves can not find your scent here and follow you, when you wake from your sleep, come to the cave entrance and we will be waiting for you and take you to safety, now go quickly, the wolvers are not far away now."
Little Raven felt happy for the first time, he now had new friends to watch his back as he took off for the far ridge line, behind him he heard the sound of cats disturbing the ground and leaving their scents around to cover his own, the girl had changed once again into an owl and was following him high above in the dark night sky.
Little Raven felt the pull of sleep as he neared the multitude of caves, selecting one whose opening was higher up the cliff than the rest, he jumped with all his might and landed in the open mouth, the cave ahead of him was dark but he could smell the fain scent of fresh water, with little pause, he ran inside and went as deep as he could go, all the time heading towards the smell of the water.
Little Raven found the fast flowing underground river, with no pause at all he dived into the frigidly cold water and swam with the strong current until he felt he was deep under ground, as the strong pull of sleep approached faster, he pulled himself from the water and onto a narrow ledge of stone, curling up he was soon asleep as outside the sun showed its first warm rays to the rolling hills.
Far above ground and a long way from his hiding place, the wolves searched in vain, somehow the young boys scent had disappeared and been overridden by a number of Felines, what they were doing in this part of the world, the wolves had no idea and were not about to hang around to find out, they had a boy too find.
The wolves set above casting for the boys scent but, everywhere they went they could only pick up the tangy smell of big cats, they cast wider but had the same result, it took more than an hour for them to wake up and realise they had been intentionally led astray, all they could do now was return to the bunker and tell the Vampire what had happened, if nothing else came of the short hunt there was the fact that the bunker had been found, there could be no other explanation for the number of big cats so close to their temporary home, above them sailing on the warming updrafts, two large Golden Eagles followed the wolves progress as they made their way back to home base.
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Peter stirred from his sleep to the familiar feeling of the silky skin and long flowing raven hair of Swiftwing, their latest success had left them both with a sense of accomplishment, at last they had been able to deflect the assaults and at the same time give the enemy a bloody nose in the process.
The information he had sent to the world council had been taken as a big shock by all concerned, the fact that one of their own was involved had caused an uproar in the council, Chen Sin Yu was now a wanted man and everything the council had was turned towards finding him and bringing and end to his nefarious scheme of wanting to take over the council for his own use.
It appeared that the major problem was that they could not break through the wall of silence around the Asian sector, Chen Sin Yu held a lot of power in Asia and to get too him was not going to be easy, to this end plans were set afoot to undermine his authority in the area but it would take time and a lot of money to accomplish, there was also the fact of the Japanese Yakuza involvement, they had kept themselves apart from the council when it had been formed and they had little or no hold over them.
As matters stood, it looked like a Vampire war may be on the horizon and that was not good for anybody, the last Vampire war had cost more lives than they cared to think about, they hoped that the four hundred years in between meant that all problems had been solved but now they knew it was only a pipe dream, there was always someone that wanted more than they were entitled too, if it came to war there would be a lot too lose for little gain.
Peter watched as Swiftwing opened his eyes and smiled, his arms reached for Peter and, for the next hour little was heard but the sounds of two boys enjoying their time together, as the final shudder of enjoyment went through Peter's body and he heard the deep satisfied sigh from Swiftwing, he heard the lift stopping at the rooms level, immediately he heard the sure steps of the twins coming towards the door.
Peter gave Swiftwing a final kiss and rose from the bed, they both badly needed a hot shower and some fresh clothes, using all his speed, Peter quickly washed and was still in a wet towel when the knock came on the door, running back just in time to see Swiftwing's magnificent slender, tawny body rise from the bed, Peter went to open the door for the Twins.
As usual, Caleb was the first to speak.
"Good morning My Lord, did you sleep well?"
The faint hint of a smirk on Caleb's face made Peter blush, he could still not get used to being found out even after all these years of knowing that the others in the house well knew when, how and what the boys were doing, Peter sighed and gave Caleb a look that meant it was too early for jokes.
"What is it, Caleb?"
"We just got a report from the area around the bunker, they think they have been rumbled, also they have one of the young Indian boys that were taken, they've sent him to some caves until dark tonight, they want to know what you want to do?"
"I'll ask Swiftwing to go out there and help the boy, he may have something to help us into the bunker, it looks as though we are not going to get much more time to sort all this out, thank you Caleb, we'll be down in a few minutes."
Caleb nodded and turned to his brother, both boys smiled at Peter and left to return to the lower levels leaving Peter alone with his thoughts, behind him, Peter could hear the sound of fast running water as Swiftwing showered, Peter began to get some fresh clothes from the wardrobe and began dressing while he waited for his boyfriend to join him.
Peter and Swiftwing sat in front of the computer as each leader of the folk came online, they had been given exclusive use of the vampnet, something that would have been unheard of before the joining of the folk, the leaders from each of the folk sat in front of their screens and listened to Peters report, it was some very satisfied faces that looked back at Peter when he reported the great success of the defence of the latest attempt at attacking the Vaga houses.
Peter then went on to tell them about the latest report from the area of the bunker and the escape of one of the Indian boys, his plan was to have Swiftwing go and meet the boy and get as much information as he could gather, with luck they may be able to make a strike back at the enemy, their main problem was how many they had to fight and under what conditions, he hoped the escapee would be able to give them that information.
It took little time for all the leaders to tell Peter they would immediately start to get their people ready for an attack on the home base, there were still a lot of their numbers returning from the last defence but most should be back before nightfall, suddenly Peter had a thought, he began to detail his hasty plan to the others, they all listened intently as he went over his thoughts.
When Peter had finished, he watched as the leaders all nodded in agreement to his plan, they way he had explained it gave them hope, all they had to do was get lucky enough to see through the next night without the alarm being raised at the bunker, Peter turned to Swiftwing and smiled, the sudden plan had almost jumped into his head as he realised the one single weakness of their protagonist.
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Michael's eyes popped open and he blinked as he stretched and pushed two of the Russian boys away from him, there was a lot to do, he had to get ready for the next attack and to listen to the report of the wolves he had sent after the boy, hopefully they would have the runaway and be waiting for him.
As he dressed, Michael looked at the two boys now stretching and preparing to rise from the bed, a subtle smile crossed his lips as he thought about his little private harem, the boys were good and well versed in their abilities but it was the Japanese boys that really struck a cord with him, they were well into a lot of kink and he liked that a lot, the Russian boys were just a good hard workout with nothing fancy.
When Michael arrived in the common room he saw one of the wolves waiting for him, even for the enormous amount of strength these beings had, this one looked worn and tired, the look on the wolf's face did not give any expectations to Michael and, when he received the wolf's report, things did not change, he began to cures at losing the boy.
After taking some time to think things through, Michael decided that his bunker may not be safe anymore, even if the wolves were only half right about the traces of the five cats in the forest, he could not take the chance on having his bunker discovered, what he needed now was a new home for all his troops and he needed it quickly.
Michael tried to guess how long it would take for the Prince to make use of the knowledge of his location, assuming the boy had escaped and found help, it would take at least two days for the Prince to get his men together and make their way here, then there was the problem of the Prince having too use his Vampires so the attack could not be before sundown, that gave Michael at least two full days to make his escape.
After considering everything, Michael settled on moving his headquarters to somewhere else, now all he had to do was find that somewhere and, with a little luck on his side he might have even more time than the two days and three nights, the Prince like himself was hampered by the need for his own Vampires to sleep during the day, the Prince alone was able to use the daylight but he would be almost unprotected, just like Michael, the Prince would have to wait for nightfall, if he pulled out all the stops, Michael just might be able to make a clean escape.
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Peter watched as Swiftwing left for the plane, he would be in the area of the cave in a matter of hours, in the mean time Peter began to form up his own forces, if all went well they would have their attack ready by tomorrow morning as the sun rose, not a good time for a Vampire but at least then, Peter and his crew would only have to contend with the wolves and he was sure he had enough numbers to account for them.
The small army amassing close to the hidden bunker was growing larger by the hour, the need for secrecy was known to all of them, they would have to see through the night without discovery if they wanted to pull off their attack, Peter had asked Swiftwing to meet the young boy and get as much information on the inside lay out of the bunker as he could gather, they would then meet during the coming night and get ready for the morning.
To Peter it almost seemed ironic that the one thing that gave the Vampires their advantage was also going to be their downfall, Peter felt blessed that he, Swiftwing and the Twins were immune to the suns rays, at home he had had a very hard task to convince Sin Yu that it would be better to attack during the day as his opponents would be in their death sleep and it left only the wolves to contend with, something he hoped his numbers would give him an advantage over.
The long day passed slowly as report after report came in, it seemed to Peter that every Canine, Feline and Avian wanted to get in on the act, his many Vampire followers were not happy at missing out on their chance for revenge but Peter would have none of it, it was better to face a few hundred wolves than to have to face a full forces of whom ever was behind the attacks.
It had been dark for over an hour when Peter's plane touched down on the long lonely stretch of vacant highway, as there had been no airstrip closer they had decided to use the old highway as their private strip, it was a little bumpy but the jet landed safely and that was all that mattered, on board were the rest of his house hold guards, the Vampires would make use of the caves for the next day while Peter led the attack with the rest of the daylight Folk.
Swiftwing was waiting for him as he stepped off the jet, the last high pitched whine of the engines fading into the night as the small group hugged, Peter saw the young boy beside Swiftwing, the faint remnants of his painted face could still be seen in small patches, the boy was trying to look stoic but Peter could feel the heaviness behind the boys words as he retold of what happened so he could escape, the faint glistening of a tear on his cheek said more than words could ever do.
Swiftwing had told the boy that he would be returned home to his tribal lands, the boy, however seemed afraid and backed away from Swiftwing, it was not until Swiftwing related his own position and why he thought the boy would need the help of his Lakota brothers that the boy settled a little although he refused to leave Swiftwing's side.
As the night drew on, the final plans were set in motion, they had a little over ten miles to cover before they could approach the bunker, already others were now watching every move in and out of the bunker, with Little Raven's description they now had a rough layout of the inside, there remained only one thing to work out, how do they get inside?
The answer came to Peter in the most unlikely manner, one of the owls had noticed over the last two nights, that the wolves often came out to go hunting during the early part of the day when most of the Vampires were in their death sleep, with luck they could be inside before the Wolves knew what had hit them if they attacked just after sunrise when most would still be sleepy and only half awake, the Vampires would be bedding down for their own sleep, Peter set the time of the attack for one hour after sunrise.
For the rest of the night, Peter's folk used all their skill to close in and surround the bunker, he now had at his disposal over three thousand Folk, it seemed everyone wanted a piece of the enemy for retaliation of the Vaga houses.
As dawn neared, Sin Yu sat with Peter and went over the overall plan one last time, he was still not happy about being left out but could also see the sense in Peter attacking when the Vampires could do nothing, Sin Yu and the other guards had little doubt about the outcome but it was a matter of Peter's safety during the attack that concerned them the most, Peter had brushed aside their worries, he had told them that it was his duty to stand with his people at a time like this, his guards agreed but were still not happy with him having only Swiftwing and the Twins as his back up.
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As the coming dawn pulled Michael towards his bed, deep inside he felt a strange tug of fear, not something he had felt for many centuries, he had had reports of the build up of species in the woods but he was not concerned at that point, he and his band would be long gone as soon as the sun died tonight, the new headquarters was ready in the depths of the Rogue Wolves lands, he had had to concede a little more than the land he had promised them to get his new hiding place, but , in the long run it would pay off.
As he settled the two Asian boys under his arms, a deep seated feeling of doom went through him but it was too late, his eyes were already closed in his death sleep, his bunker was almost impregnable when the doors were closed and no one would get through while the grown Wolves were on guard, Michaels face paled and his breathing stopped as the sleep took him away.
Alpha Braxton did not like the feeling that morning, for this reason he stopped anyone from going out hunting, there was something in the air that spelt danger and he was much to old and experienced to not take notice of his feelings, his men had told him about the increase in strangers numbers when they went through the forest, the many new scents had alerted many of the Wolves, there was no doubt about it, they were going to have to work to earn their money this time, they only hoped that the Prince would hold off his attack until nightfall which he would probably do as he would need all his own Vampires for such an attack against a fortified bunker, if nothing else, this small fact gave the Wolves a small measure of comfort.
Alpha Braxton sent four wolves outside to keep watch, two of them older and wiser along with two younger pups, he also felt something in the air and did not want to be taken by surprise, the increase in wildlife had him a little on edge, if an attack came they could defend from inside even if it meant leaving the four guards to their own devices.
The two older guards watched the calm and serene scene before them, the two young pups fidgeted at not being allowed to hunt at the best part of the day but orders were orders, on the swath of green grass fronting the large doors of the bunker, the early morning mist hugged the ground and gave the impression of being green as it slowly rolled over the fresh grass, in the trees at the edge of the forest, the sound of a wild turkey was heard as the four looked at the quietness of dawn.
As if a signal had been given in the quiet of the morning, a large fat wild turkey suddenly appeared from the thick trees, the four wolves took notice at once, it was a very large turkey and would have made a good meal for the four of them, glances were exchanged until finally, one of the older wolves gave one of the pups a nod and a smile.
"Go get him pup but don't go too far, keep your eyes and nose peeled for anything unusual, if you feel trouble coming, get back here quick."
The pup smiled and took off after the turkey, changing into his wolf as he took the first bound, the turkey felt the danger and took to the trees with wings flapping and moving in the ungainly flight of its kind, behind the fast moving wolf the ground mist moved closer to the four guards as they watched and laughed as the pup disappeared into the trees close on the heels of the retreating turkey.
At their backs the large steel doors of the bunker were tightly closed, they had used only the smaller access door in the side, the large doors were only opened when a large number of men left the complex, the four of them were well and truly enough to guard the smaller one, none of them took any notice of the rolling mist until it was too late.
The pup was now close on the heels of the turkey, he would have it in his slathering jaws in two more strides, the feeling of satisfaction and the heat of the chase had dulled all his other senses, the turkey was his prize and he had little thought of other things being out in the forest, the sudden appearance of a young teen dressed all in black with a large ornate sword in his small hands suddenly had the young wolf trying to back peddle, as his long sharp claws dug deeply into the soft ground he heard the faintest swish of air as the sword moved at blinding speed and the small black clad figure pirouetted and brought the flashing blade down and through the neck of the hapless youngster, throughout the forest silence reined once again as the turkey disappeared into the thick undergrowth.
The three remaining guards waited for the howl of victory from the pup, their anticipation of a quick snack had made them a little complacent and the gentle rolling mist was at their feet before any of them took notice, from the dark trees came the sound of something moving and in the air the three suddenly picked up the fresh scent of blood, the pup has caught his turkey they thought.
Suddenly, without warning, the three saw a pack of Felines walk out from the trees, this was not just a few cats, this was an army, the young pup stood rooted to the ground as the two older wolves turned to retreat back into the complex, as they turned towards the door, something in the mist moved and they were suddenly confronted with a young teen Indian boy, in his hands he held two odd looking blades, they were neither knives or tomahawks but a mixture of both, it was the last thing the two saw as the speeding hands flashed upwards and the throats of the older wolves were severed cleanly, their blood spurting out like a fountain as their legs began to get the message that they no longer had blood to work with.
The pup was still frozen to his spot, as his mind cleared and he began his change he already knew it was too late as he was surrounded by more Felines than he had ever seen in his lifetime, at the front of the cats stood a young teen Vampire dressed in a black combat suit a bloody sword held in his hands, the pup paused in his change as the teen held up a hand.
"There's no need for you to die for nothing, stand down and we will just bind you and hold you until this is all over, if you want to fight then you won't see the sunset tonight, your decision."
The pup looked at the sharp sword and the large number of folk still coming out of the trees, with a resigned look in his eyes he stopped his change and returned to his human form, placing his hands in front of himself with his wrists touching, he waited for the teen to have someone bind his hands with a thick chain, he was then taken quietly into the trees and left under the guard of two large Eagles.
When Peter got to the door he was surprised to see that it was just on the latch and had not been locked behind the four guards, asking Swiftwing to use his mist form, he let his boyfriend roll through the partially open door and look around inside, when he was given the all clear, Peter and ten Felines and ten wolves went though the door, inside they were met with an empty open area that looked like a staging area, at the back of the entrance way he saw a long, well lit passage leading deeper into the complex, Peter signalled the ten wolves to lead the way with the Felines close behind.
As the first wolf entered the long passage, Peter felt the rest of his army begin to enter behind him, slowly and as quietly as they could, the numbers built up until the staging area was packed with silent cats and wolves, close on Peter's shoulder stood Levi and Caleb, a short knife in one hand and a large automatic loaded with silver bullets coated in Vampire blood in the other, these special rounds would not kill a wolf but the animal would be very much slowed down enabling the boys too use their knives to finish the job.
Far from the attacking forces and two levels lower, Michael was well into his death sleep, of the turmoil about to erupt above him, he had no idea, in his present world there was only darkness, for his five boys it was another matter as they sat in the large room and watched their owner sleep.
Far above the boys the first fight started as the vanguard turned a corner and came face to face with three young pups wandering along the passage with little concern, the weapons on their shoulders showed a lack of concern for their surroundings and what was about to happen, all three young pups did not last past the first ten seconds as they were descended upon by larger and older wolves as well as three striped Felines, the end result was a foregone conclusion.
Peter's troops began to pour into the passages and the real fighting began, while Peter was quite capable of being in the middle of any fight, Levi and Caleb tried to keep him back from the front ranks as they worked from passageway to passageway and cleared room after room as they went.
The fighting had become bloody and almost terrifying, the heavy smell of blood in the air along with the screams and howls of battling foes filled the network of the bunker, the losses on both sides were mounting but the attackers were slowly making headway, with the narrowness of the passages it was difficult to just use his superior numbers but Peter had his front men change often so there were always fresh fighters at the vanguard.
The pressure of having to fight new men all the time soon began to tell on those defending the bunker, slowly and with much blood and gore, Peter's men made ground, below them on the last level, the five boys could now hear the attackers getting closer, the five boys looked at each other, with the language barrier they had worked amongst themselves to make a sort of sign language that, along with the instructions drummed into them by their owner they now began to get ready to leave this hell hole that had been their only home in this foreign country.
Michael Strong had taken the time to make plans for just this sort of occasion, he was not so stupid as to think he was safe in this place and had therefore set up his own personal escape route should it be needed, if, as it was now, the attack came when he was in his death sleep, he had taught the boys on what they must do, it was now time for the five boys to put into practice what had been drummed into them by Michael.
As the sounds and smells of fighting and blood came closer, the boys rolled the death like body of their master into the preprepared body bag, zipping it up they then rolled it onto the steel trolley that had been kept for just this occasion, wasting no more time the five boys rolled the trolley to the double doors at the end of the passage, opening the door they stepped into the remains of the now long unused missile silo.
In the centre of the silo stood a freight elevator that Michael had had installed before he took his long ten year sleep, the boys rolled the trolley onto the elevator and then one of the Russian teens pushed the single button and they all waited as the elevator rose swiftly to the old barn that had been built to take an RV.
Michael had trained one of the Asian teens to drive the large RV if it was needed, little did the boys know that had Michael been awake when the attack started, the boys would have easily been left behind if his escape was a close thing, however the attack had come while all Vampires were sleeping, it was now up to the boys to take care of their master.
As the elevator rose to the hidden barn, down below the fighting was beginning to taper off as the defenders lost more and more men, it was bloody work and very few attackers got through the day without some form of injury, Peter had made sure that all of his people knew to leave the New Bloods alone, they were no threat under these circumstances and there was a probability he could save most of them, even if it meant they would now have to join the ranks of the Vaga, very few Humans wanted to live with a Vampire under their roofs even if it was their own son, old fears died hard even in these more enlightened times.
As the sun sat high in the sky at midday, the last wolf succumbed to the invaders, those that escaped numbered no more than fifty and they would be to busy trying to get away to worry about, for Peter now the worst part of the invasion was about to start, it was little more than slaughter as his men went to work killing off any sleeping Vampires that were not New Bloods, for the Tong and Yakuza troops it was a quick end as they lay sleeping and never knew what happened, for Peters men it was a grisly job that had too be done.
In an hour the bunker was theirs but for Peter there was something missing, at no stage had he seen anyone that could have been the leader, one thing he did have though was the Vampires name, Michael Strong, this was a name he did not know, there had never been any mention of him before and his description was unknown.
Jake appeared beside Peter, he had taken twenty of his large older Wolves to chase down the last of the fleeing wolves from the bunker, most had finally made their escape, among them the Alpha, for now they would let him go, Jake had at last got more confirmation on their home lands so they could now keep watch too see that they did not surface again.
Peter found Swiftwing on the last level, he had just walked out of the last room holding his two bloody Kama, the expression on his boyfriends face was non committal but Peter knew that deep inside the young Shaman was not happy with the slaughter that had had to be done to those sleeping enemy, had Peter taken the time to look at himself and his blood covered sword he would have seen much the same expression on his own face.
The two teens then went to look through the room that they assumed was Michael Strong's resting place, of the Vampire there was no sign although it did not take a lot to work out that he had an escape route well planned out, he was now on the run and they had little doubt that they would catch him this night.
In the barracks rooms of the New Bloods, Peter had men waiting, none of the New Bloods had been touched but they were under close guard until Peter had a chance to talk to them when they awoke, he would have another two hours to wait, Peter spent the time going over all they had found out, the bunker was searched from top to bottom, every piece of intelligence they could find was put together in the hope they would be able to work out where Michael would go and what his next steps may have been.
As the New Bloods woke, they were all shaken to find themselves under guard by well armed men and teens, the auras of their captors showed the differing species, the New Bloods stayed silent and co-operative, they did not have the experience or the will to put up a fight, as each one awoke, he was pushed towards the central common room where they saw a pair of young but powerful Vampire teens waiting for them.
When all the New Bloods had been assembled, Peter stood and faced them; there were more than four hundred young men and teens in the milling crowd of young Vampires.
"I am Prince Vladd, your sire has run and we will find him eventually, you all now have a decision to make, those of you that wish to return to your homes may do so, if you are not accepted back into your families you can ask for help with the Vaga, what you have done so far while under the orders of Michael Strong will be put aside, I'm sure that most of you had little choice in the matter but, be warned, if you decide to continue on with what you have been doing for that man, you will meet the same end as those from overseas that thought they could come in here and take our country away from us, we will leave you alone now to think things over, don't try to escape, you won't make it to the doorway."
Peter signalled his men to leave the common room and followed along with Swiftwing at his side; they would give the New Bloods ten minutes to talk it all over then go back and see what their decision would be, with the loss of their sire and the way things now stood, Peter had little doubt how the New Bloods would decide.
Ten minutes later and Peter returned to the common room to hear what the New Bloods had decided, as he thought, they opted for returning to their homes but with the understanding that if they found that their families could not handle their new status, they could call on the Vaga for help, of the four hundred New Bloods only four boys wanted no part of the arrangements, they had found that their new life gave them power far better than the home life they had been taken from, with their new found strength and abilities they felt they were now above any law that normal humans might have, Peter was now stuck with what to do with the four, he could not leave them to go out and ravage human settlements, there was only one thing he could do before he made the final decision and left the four to the sun.
Peter had the four boys shackled and taken away from the others, the four would be taken back to his compound and he would try to make them see some sense, if that failed then it would have to be a quick death for them, he could not afford to have any rouges running free in the new country.
TBC.
Artcart65@vodafone.co.nz