The Knights Nation

Knights Nation
By: Samantha Henley

Prologue
Where to start? I suppose we should begin with what is the Knights Nation. While we don’t personally know the entire story of the Knights, we will review that of which we are aware. We know our leaders and council members. This may be the best place to begin.
Overlord Draco oversees Knights Nation. He is our protector, leader, sire, and master. He is a determined vampire with an unwavering sense of loyalty and vengeance. He answers questions patiently and gladly aids his council in running the Nation. Our encounters with him directly have been filled with mutual respect. His class and demeanor are second to none when dealing with his subjects.
Draco’s second in command, Trenton Darkheart, is a persistent, faithful follower. He is very honorable. He is happy to answer questions and assist both new and established members of the Knights. He looks at his position in the Knights as one of numerous tools to help the Knights. He is neither power-hungry nor conspiring.
Next we have James. As one of the stronger clan members, he aids all smaller vampires with any bullies they may encounter.
Arguably, our next member may well be the most important member. She is Knight Scribe or, to a very slim few, Samantha. She keeps the story of the Knights alive. She brings the Knights story to even the smallest, newest vamp of the Nation. She weaves intricate stories, drawing pictures with her words.
After that is Scarlet Fever. This member is a mysterious sort. She slides through the night as if she is made of the fabric of the night itself. She obliterates any and all threats to the sanctity of the Nation. She takes her beatings standing and dishes out swift retribution. She is an inspiration to Knights everywhere.
Now we move on to our more unusual member. Tom is slightly crazy and very vengeful. He is akin to a snarling wolf with a juicy bone. Once he gets his teeth into something (or someone), he is not likely to let go until he is satisfied. You don’t want to be on this vampire’s bad side. He considers himself a real Casanova with the lady vampires, as most desire his bite.
Our next council member is Fang-ula. If you ever see him, it’s the last sight you will see. He is another vampire who is fiercely loyal to the Nation. He believes all allies are welcome, but will remain wary of them, as trust is earned, not given. Every time an enemy knocks him down, he gets right back up.
Overlord Draco created Knights Nation to unite many vampires, under a single house, who had no home or master to serve. In his long life, he determined vampires would destroy themselves if they had no goals. The current goal of Knights Nation is to do as much damage as possible to a rival house called Dark Hunters.

Chapter 1
Many Loyal Knights of the Nation wonder what happened to Overlord Draco. Our story begins on a frigid January night. Snow falls on the unsuspecting. It covers footsteps leading into the darkness. All good little boys and girls are tucked into their warm, cozy beds; sound asleep and dreaming of fun parks and sugary sweets. We gaze with minimal interest on the few people passing by. We know they can’t see us. Though we are not invisible, we are well cloaked in the shadows.

We finally see our mark. We wait for our quarry to pass, and then step out behind them. Fluidly, we slide in closer. They stop. They spin around. We let them see us. Recognition dawns in their eyes. Fear seeps in to replace it as they realize this is not a social call and we are not human. We whisper in their ear as we pull them into an alley. They panic and struggle, but we hold them against the wall and shush them. We tell them it’s less painful if they cooperate. Then we sink our fangs into their throat. Warmth and sweetness hit our tongue. We are careful not to let any slip away from us. This one is too good to waste. We take only a couple of pints and then settle them onto a bench, where they appear to have fallen asleep.

We continue on our way, strolling through the icy cold, completely uncaring of the temperature. We begin our trek back toward home. Another vampire passes by and we nod an acknowledgement to her. She pauses a moment, so we pause as well. She looks vaguely familiar. She looks as though she wants to say something, so we wait patiently. There aren’t many other things to do with eternity other than learn patience.

“Do I know you?” She asks.

“You seem familiar,” we reply. We glance around and ask quietly, “Fellow Knight?”

Her eyes light up. She is a fellow member. “Have you completed your hunt for the evening?” She asks.

“Only just. You?”

“Yes. Are you heading home already? The night is young! I have heard some of us are gathering for a party near Tom’s home. Care to join me?” As we are about to answer, we feel it. A shock to our system so strong it nearly knocks us from our feet. We look quickly at our companion. She has the same bewildered look that we know we must be wearing.

“What was that?” She asks.

“I believe that was a summons to return to Overlord Draco’s crypt, immediately,” we reply, gripping her elbow and hastening her along.

Minutes later we arrive at the graveyard. We grab the lantern hung at the entrance to the crypt. We enter Overlord Draco's domain. Sounds echo in what we can feel is an empty room. The lantern in our hands is the only light, glowing fickly in the inky blackness of the tomb.

We slowly approach the raised platform containing our Lords coffin. The mahogany coffin shines in the dull glow, despite its age. We set the lantern on the table next to the coffin and grasp the edge of the ornate lid. If we had a heart, it would be pounding in. What? Anticipation? Trepidation? We are merely followers of this great leader. Why are we here?

The answer is simple. We felt the call. Something happened that triggered our immediate need to return to our Masters side. Something we cannot explain with mere words.

We open the coffin.

We see nothing but ashes. Our eyes widen in shock and horror. Where is our great leader? This could not be his end! He was far too powerful and strong to be killed in the sanctity of his own home! We call out in despair, "DRACO!" But only the anguished sound of our own voice echoes back at us. My Lord, what shall we do now?

Chapter 2

We wonder back through the door in the rear of the tomb. Down a tight, iron staircase, we reach our destination. We are numb. (Not that we feel anyway, but now it is fitting.) We suddenly realize we are not alone.

Our entire clan has assembled in this great hall beneath our Lords tomb. They turn to face us expectantly. We slowly make our way forward to the front row. Overlord Draco's second in command, Trenton Darkheart, greets us sullenly.

He waits patiently for us to get settled and for all of the noise to cease. All eyes turn to him, imploring. What has transpired?

Trenton begins speaking.

"He was ASSASSINATED by a rival clan, the Dark Hunters. I don’t know the exact vampire who accomplished this horrendous act. They were cloaked in darkness. It happened the night of the 14th, while he was in his study, seeing to clan business. His pet bat, Eep Eep, was there and saw it all. With Lord Draco's dying breath, he told Eep all that he wished to be done in his absence. Lord Draco has passed his Knights over to me. I will rule over the Knights." He pauses for emphasis, before continuing. "As many of you know, Lord Draco was an elder from when time began and they are harder to slay then the new breeds, something his assassin didn't take into account. Lord Draco's soul is in the eternal plane of chaos until we can do the ancient ritual of the dark embrace. It's a long process, therefore I won't bore you with details, but it won't be finished until the blood orchids bloom. That happens every 1000 years. We have to wait 10 weeks until that happens again." He paused again, his eyes touching all loyal Knights in attendance. "I will be assigning new positions and as I come to terms with all of this, there will be a cleansing of the clan. Why, you ask? There is a traitor in our midst. YES. The one who killed Lord Draco was someone in this very room!"

Vampires stare at those around them in shock. Who could the traitor be? Which vampire would not only betray our great lord, but also orchestrate his death?

"There is a lot of work to be done. Spread the word, my fellow Knights. If your loyalties are split, we do not welcome you into our fold. We need the purest, noblest Knights with us to bring justice for this heinous act! Now go forth and gather those loyal to the Knights. Have our Moniker emblazoned by their names so we may know whom they are! I will have more instructions for you soon."

Most of the gathered vampires rise and disperse through various hidden exits. A few vampires remain in their seats. They look disturbed, lost. We recognize Tom, Fang-ula and Komodo Dragonlady among those who stay. Tom approaches us and takes a seat in front of us. He faces us and sizes us up for a moment.

“So who do you think did it?” He asks, bluntly. He doesn’t keep his voice low. He is making a point to those around. We have their full attention at the moment.

We glance into his grey eyes and shrug. “I have a few suspicions, but nothing but a gut feeling on who is the rat.”

He sizes us up for a few more moments. “Just say the word and I will hunt them. I will not stop and they will not die quickly,” he hisses.

“You are a good and loyal Knight, Tom. I am sure that Trenton will take notice.”
Tom glances down the row. “So who is your friend? I saw you two come in together.” He wiggles his eyebrows at us.

We laugh. It is a strange sound in light of the situation and several vamps shoot us dirty looks. We try our best to look abashed…and fail miserably.

“That is Larali. It took me a few minutes to recall who she is and where we met. It was Rome, 1862. She looked ravishing in the clothes of the time. I have not seen her since then, until tonight. I suppose we all wonder home at just the right time,” we say and motion for Larali to join us.

“Milady, I must confess it took me a bit of time to recognize you. I do hope you will forgive me,” we say, as she takes a seat next to us.

“Nothing to forgive,” she says. “My appearance has changed quite a bit since then, as I was still human when we met!”

“Well that certainly explains a lot!”

Tom cuts through the idle chitchat. “So who do you think killed Draco?”

“I have no idea. I just arrived last evening,” Larali says.

“You know, there has been something bothering me for a few minutes now, excuse me while I have a word with Trenton. Will I see you both at a later time?” We ask, rising. Tom and Larali nod and also rise to leave.

We approach Trenton.

"My Lord?" We inquire for his attention. He turns his fiery gaze on us. We don't flinch.

"Yes?" He responds when the room has cleared.

"There is something I don't understand. If Lord Draco was killed in his study, how did his ashes get in his coffin?"


Chapter 3

We wonder from the tomb. There is hunting to do, both for the warmth of blood and the clarity of truth. We are tired of confusion and we are tired of being unsure of where we stand. We need solid ground to stand on and a clear opponent to take out our rage against!

We stroll through the January night, oblivious to the biting cold. Slipping through the friendly shadows, we move unseen through the city. We hear fellow creatures of the night hunting and stalking their prey. Prey is slim on this frigid night. We fear we will have to feed on a common street bum. Not our favorite, but it would do if that were the only option.

Rounding the gray, stone corner of the newspaper building, we spy a highly welcome sight. One of our puppets sits waiting on the steps to his home.

He bows his head to us as he rises. "You are welcome here."

Some humans do not fear us. They choose service over force. We are careful not to abuse or take advantage of the gift they offer. We do not take more than we need and we protect them from more forceful vampires. We feed on the willing man and leave without disturbing the rest of the family.

We have work to do and the night is growing old. We decide that while we are so near, we will have a look in the newspaper offices.

As we let ourselves in, we hear a number of people talking from somewhere on the first floor. Hmmm. Strange time of night for people to be here with the lights out and the paper closed.

We follow the sounds closer and pause near an open door. We hear a group of five men discussing....the super bowl? Oh yeah, that was informative in our quest for the truth. We pause as the conversation takes a darker turn.

The men are discussing vampires, specifically new blood coming into town. Our eyebrow raises and we wait for more information. Apparently the new vampires are out on Belmont Road. A few names come up. Among them is Olivia. This gives us pause, as we have a servant with that name. Could they possibly be one and the same?

The men begin discussing a meeting they want to call with Draco. They obviously have not heard the bad news. Hopefully Trenton and the council will be able to allay their fears and handle these new vampires.

The men discuss the scribe. They are very knowledgeable about the Knights. They talk of how the scribe’s records are thorough and objective. Seems like they have first hand knowledge of the records. This seems odd, as most of the nations keep their past and present relatively secret.

We leave the newspaper building without any further information. We wonder toward the graveyard where we can search for more clues. We believe we can find the location of Draco’s last stand and find something of use in discovering who was involved in his untimely demise.

Our senses tingle and we are aware of a friend walking with us.

“Good evening, Fang-ula!” We say in welcome. “Good hunting this night?”

Ever a man of few words, Fang-ula nods in response.

“Find any of the traitors?” Another nod. “Put them out of commission for awhile?” We receive a grin this time. “I’ll take that as a very satisfied yes,” we say and laugh. “I am heading back to the site of Draco’s last encounter. Care to lend a hand and a fresh perspective?” He gives us a definitive nod.

We are nearly to the graveyard when we encounter Trenton.

We bow. "Do you require our services, Lord?"

"We have a problem."


Chapter 4

"Whatever you need, milord," we automatically reply.

"There is rumor of a mole approaching our members and testing their loyalty and faith in the Knights. I have not been approached, as they wouldn't dare test me. But I have heard rumors of a vamp offering barely veiled threats and uttering of the downfall of the Knights. This may be one of the spies we are looking for." He says, as we walk back toward Draco's crypt.

"Spies? You believe there is more than one spy? I admit it is fathomable, but why?" We ask, trading glances with Fang-ula. He raises an eyebrow. Apparently he believes there are many more spies! We nod slightly to him.

Our attention snaps back to Trenton as he continues. "Oh young one, there are so many things going on in the vampire world and in our societies it would take a lifetime to go through just the surface issues. Suffice to say, we wish to root out any troublemakers, spies, bullies and generally ill-mannered vampires. We have too many things to accomplish to be tripped up by vampires who take part in picking on those smaller and weaker than themselves or those who partake in silly drama. Each vampire who wears our moniker shall conduct themselves with the utmost class, dignity and self-reliance. We will step in to diplomatically handle issues stirred between clans; however, this will not be our primary concern."

"So what are your wishes, milord, so that I may pass the word along to any Knights I see?" We pause and look at him. He is dressed impeccably, as usual, however something is off. "Is there something wrong, milord?"

"What? No. I am merely distracted by the plotting of our next move. Now, if this vampire contacts you, I want to know it. This is the beginning of the end for the spies and those who are disloyal to the Knights."

"I will head out to my home and remain vigilant for any suspicious characters that I may meet." With a nod of dismissal from Trenton, we head east to the safety of our home.

Fang-ula falls into step with us as a thought dawns. “We didn’t get very far in our investigation, did we?” He shakes his head.

“I will backtrack and see what I can find,” Fang-ula says, in a rare moment of speech.

“Sounds great. I will meet up with you tomorrow night,” we say.

We near our street and slow to a stroll. There are a few hours left to enjoy. We wonder about Tom and Larali. Will he be holding that party? What is the rest of Larali’s story? Who turned the once brilliantly live girl into a coldly beautiful vampire? We realize we have nearly made it home during our ponderings.

Our home is beautiful. It is simple and understated, just as a mansion should be. The beautiful white pillars almost seem to glow in the pale moonlight that shines weakly from the west. The brick is aged perfectly. It has been in our family for over 300 years. Entering the foyer, we find Gertrude, our loyal housekeeper.

"How are you, Gertrude?" We ask, walking with her toward the sanctity of our secure basement room.

"Just fine. I have your room ready. You are cutting it close this evening!" She chirps at us like a mother hen. We adore her. She is human and has been with us for nearly half a century. We chuckle. "Ah, Gertrude. You are sometimes a breath of fresh air to this dead world. Let me know when you are ready to cross over and I will take care of it!"

"Oh, stop yanking an old woman's chain! Off to bed with you!" She shoos us off. We laugh and head down to the opulent room that awaits us.

Done in silks and jacquards, velvets and satins, our room and coffin are a masterpiece to behold. The basement room is cut to thirty feet below the house, well away from the suns devastating rays. Done all in gray stone, it would be a cold, unwelcoming place, if not for our taste in exquisitely rich fabrics.

Rich colors are draped throughout the room. Reds, blues and blacks surround us. The deep mahogany coffin shines on a dais against the far wall. The wall behind our coffin is draped in royal blue velvet. Black satin hangs across the ceiling in waves. In the corner, a grand piano is draped in blood red silk. A vase with a single red rose sits on top.
Glancing around the room, we note the black velvet reading chair with our favorite antique floor lamp along side. The footstool is done in mahogany and royal blue velvet. Floor to ceiling mahogany bookshelves line the reading corner. We smile as we see Bram Stoker’s Dracula lying on the table beside the chair.

We feel the coming of the dawn and set out to get comfortable, as we will soon be sleeping the lifeless sleep of the undead.

Our last thought as we close our eyes is that of our beloved Lord Draco and daring to hope for his return.


Chapter 5

When night falls again, we step out of our coffin and head back upstairs. We find Gertrude seeing to business.

"The painters are coming today to do the upstairs guest bedrooms. The new furniture has arrived. One of the servants has disappeared. Your Master called. And good evening!" Gertrude rattles off as we walk with her to our office.

"Called? Lord Trenton doesn't call. He CALLS. Are you sure it was he? And what’s this about a missing servant?" We ask, taking a seat behind an enormous 16th century oak desk in our study.

"Yes, Olivia was last seen last night after you returned. She has not reported to work today, nor has her mother seen or heard from her."

"I will look for her. Did Lord Trenton leave a...number to return his call?"

"Yes, here it is. I must go see to the house. Will there be anything else?" Gertrude asked.

"No, that's all for now. Thank you, Gertrude."

We ponder our missing servant as we dial the number left by Trenton. It rings twice and then we hear a click. A recording begins:

"By now you know of me. You may not know me by name, but you have heard. I am the one who sent Draco to his eternal slumber. You may not believe me, but I did it at his request! I need your help. I don't know how to clear this up. If I show myself, I am sure I will be killed on site. I need a way to tell my story and I need your help in clearing my name. Meet me at midnight at the old Winston house on Belmont Road. Come alone." Dial tone. The voice was female. There is a female vamp stronger than Draco? We haven't heard of such a vamp. Huh.

We rise from our desk and head to Lord Draco's crypt to find Trenton. If we are diving into this, someone needs to know what we are investigating, in case we don't return.

After a quick trip, we find ourselves in Draco's crypt. His coffin and furnishings have been removed. We find Trenton downstairs, sitting alone at a table. A goblet sits in front of him. As we draw closer we see the goblet is made of lapis lazuli and glitters with flecks of iron pyrite. Symbols are carved in the goblet. They are glyphs of some sort.

"Lord?" We say, strolling closer. We wait for his acknowledgement and then have a seat across from him.

"Things are complicated, my loyal servant," he begins. "So many things, events and people are interconnected, it is sometimes hard to find where one ends and another begins." He pauses, glancing at us, and then returning his gaze to the goblet. "Olivia sent a couple of rogue vampires that she knew he had problems with to attack Lord Draco nonstop. She didn't like that the Knights where growing faster then Dark Hunters. She and a couple of others decided to keep Lord Draco dead, so for the sake of the Knights, and not knowing how far they would take this, Lord Draco went into hibernation. They wouldn't let him breath all that day, they kept attacking him and they thought it was funny. There was nothing Lord Draco could do but to hibernate a century too early. This is the story told to me by Eep Eep, Lord Draco's pet bat. Later, when it was safe to do so, I went to the lair of a great alchemist, a close, loyal and dear friend of Lord Draco. He helped me contact Lord Draco's spirit in the chaos plane and hear this from Lord Draco himself. Lord Draco saw he needed to break his alliance with Dark Hunters and his disappearance was the only way to keep the Knights from being slaughtered by Dark Hunters. This is the truth from his souls mouth. I heard it myself and I'll defend it till death as being the truth. I have waited this long to tell everyone in the clan to make sure I had it right. This is why I walked away from the Dark Hunters. Who knows who might be next? This was a sad event that transpired, and caused our leader to take a break. Don't be sad. Mourn for him a short while for this will make us stronger, draw us closer together and help our great nation. We can look back on this for strength when we need to get through rough times. We are a great nation and from this we can rise even greater then we were." He dismisses us. We turn back and look at Trenton from the doorway.

We are conflicted. This story seems thorough. But could there be more? What of Olivia? Is our home servant some super power vampire? Have we been blind all along? Could another clan be the ones who instigated the clan war between the Knights and the Dark Hunters?

We leave Trenton staring at the blue stone goblet and hurry to our meeting in the Winston house.

"Don't meet her."

We are startled as we step out the door to the crypt. We glance around and find a beautiful vamp sitting on a gravestone. She has long, raven hair, ruby lips and piercing eyes. She is wearing a beautiful, old world gown of black and red velvet. The black cape around her shoulders moves with the howling wind.

"Excuse me?" We ask.

"Olivia. Don't meet her. She is so strong. She will toy with you and then kill you. I have a list of traitors to give you as well."

"How could I have been so blind? If she is this strong, how did she appear as a meek vampire in my employ?"

"You have a trusting soul. It is your downfall in this society. You have a human's sense of loyalty. What you need to do is bring out the animal and look out for your own well being."

"So then why should I trust you?" We study her pale features.

"You shouldn't. But neither should you throw yourself to Olivia like a steak to a starving lion. Find another way,” she says and turns to walk away.

"Wait!" We say, moving toward her.

She stops and turns to look at us. "Yes?"

"What is you name?"

"Scarlet Fever."

"Are you my friend or yet another who isn't what they appear to be?" We ask, walking with her.

"I can tell you I am true, but what would it matter? Even those who are false tell you they are your friend."

She raises a great point. This has become more dramatic than the humans' soap operas. "Well I suppose because I have to trust someone sometime."

She glances at us. "I know others who are loyal and true. They will come with us if you are still set on going to meet Olivia."

We nod. "Lead on, Sweet Lady Scarlet, and show us these allies."


Chapter 6

Scarlet leads us to a beautiful home. As we near the front door, it swings open. We enter to find a home similar to our own. A butler stands behind the door. Scarlet removes her cloak and drapes it in his waiting arms.

"This is Graydon. He is loyal and bound,” she explains, as we walk.

We end up in a warm living room. There is a roaring fire in the fireplace at the end of the room. Luxurious leather sofas face each other in front of the fireplace. The maple floors shine in the firelight. On our end of the room is a wet bar. We glance at the artwork on the walls and theorize she obtained them from the original artists a century ago or more, when they were first painted.

"You have a beautiful home, milady," we say, taking a seat near the fire.

"Thank you. It has become my pet project through the centuries. I complete one house and move on to the next."

"When you live forever, I suppose you must find something to live for!" We both enjoy a laugh over that.

“Yes, I have found truth in the saying that without purpose, beings destroy themselves. I have seen many vampires fall prey to this. I believe that is why there just aren’t many old ones around. Death claims most of them, even if they have to bring it on themselves.”

“Death by sunlight?” We contemplate vampire suicide cases. Many have littered the nations history.

“Have you spoken with the Scribe? She keeps us all informed. The Knights adore her,” Scarlet says, thoughtfully. “If anyone has answers, she does.”

“Not yet. I thought of calling on her for a meeting, if she can find some time,” we say.

“She will. She always does. She has gone through every vampire who wishes to join the nation. She knows the Knights history and keeps all records for us.”
“Who is she?” We ask.

“She goes by Knight Scribe to most, but those who are welcomed into her circle call her Samantha.”

“I would love to meet her, can you arrange it?”

“Of course. But for now” Scarlet beckons us to rise. “If you are ready to meet the crew," she chuckles to herself as she says this, "then follow me to the study."

“The crew?” We ask.

“Yes, as with all great nations, we have an elite squad. We are called Blood Strike. We wear many hats within the society. We deal with problem members, eliminate threats to the society, guide most of the vampires to ease the burden on our lord and deal with anything else that arises in regards to the Knights,” Scarlet says, as we walk down the hallway.

Scarlet guides us down a flight of stairs. We pass through two heavy, locked doors. Torches line the hallways and stairwells. We hear water flowing. We raise an eyebrow at Scarlet.

“This home was built on a leyline. This is an unseen line of power running grid-like around our world. Many manmade monuments are located along leylines. It is believed by some that ancient human societies could sense, locate and use the leylines. Modern humans have gotten away from their roots and are not as sensitive to them,” Scarlet says by way of explanation.

“What does that have to do with the water?” We ask.

“We have several underground rivers that run along or parallel to the leylines. Makes it easy and convenient for those who can’t sense them but still need to use them.”

“What are they used for?”

“For those that know how, they are for casting very powerful spells,” she replies.
“Such as?” We ask, with interest.

“It is rumored you can travel anywhere along a leyline instantly. You can also perform powerful destruction spells. Of course, others believe you can use the leylines to travel to other worlds as well.”

We try to understand this notion. “There are other worlds? What are they like?”

Scarlet laughs. “I have not seen any, but if you take to that theory, there could be an infinite number of worlds, each with unique characteristics and life.”

“I take it you don’t subscribe to this notion?”

“I believe a lot of things. Both things I can see and those things that I can’t. I merely say that I have not personally seen these worlds. I keep an open mind to everything until it is disproven.”

“How do you know all of this?” We ask, looking at her.

“I practice Wicca. I was born in the times of the powerful monks who created Stonehenge. I was able to retain my powers after I was turned,” she replies.

“What? That makes you hundreds of years old!” We exclaim.

“Never polite to point out a lady’s age, you know,” she says, laughing.

“My apologies, milady. I am just surprised at how many ancient ones we have in our nation.”

“Understandable. Most of the time, when old ones find each other, they are bent on destroying one another. Quite a number of us felt this was a waste, so we began to offer sanctuary to the powerful old ones. It is a welcome respite. Ah, here we are,” she says, finally stopping in front of a pair of enormous wooden doors. She swings one of the doors open effortlessly. “Come on in!”

We stand in the doorway, taking in the faces of the elite members within the Knights.


Chapter 7

The faces all look familiar. "Hello,” we say.

A chorus of "welcome" and "hello" and then the meeting begins. Scarlet sits on the bar at the far end of the room and addresses the gathering. We study those in attendance so we are familiar with Blood Strike. Among the gathered are Fang-ula, James, Tom, Scarlet, Joe, Midnight, Mykel and Sam (not the scribe).

"We have a list of so many traitors, it's ridiculous. Some vampires have nothing better to do with their eternal lives than make everyone else's life hell. Suggestions on what we would like to do about this?"

Tom pipes up. “We hunt every last one of them down. The other side gets no pity from me. Do you think they will have mercy on any of us if they catch us?” Everyone shakes his or her heads.

James throws a booted foot up on the antique coffee table. “We will eliminate them as they show up. They are bound to come poking around some time. That’s their job, right?” Everyone nods.

“Mykel and I can take teams on,” Sam volunteers.

Mykel says, “And the whole team can arrange traps, then we can knock out a few at a time.”

The entire time they are talking, we are quiet. One by one, they turn to look at us, as if we may have some new idea. We raise an eyebrow and look back at them. Then an idea occurs to us.

"Each of us picking on random vamps isn't working. It comes out even. We need to focus. Take down one vamp at a time and make sure they stay down."

Those around us consider our words and begin to nod. Midnight holds up a glass, studying it in the artificial light. “Where’s our drama? I mean shouldn’t we have that one, self-sacrificing hero? When our story is told, don’t we want to have that champion who represents all the things that were great about our species?”

Everyone is silent. We contemplate the people we have known in our long lives and realize she may be right, sad as that is. Vampires have never lost the flare, the drama, and the performance.

Fang-ula laughs. “Well, honey, if you want us to stage a coup for you, we’ll just get right on putting that together.” Everyone laughs.

Scarlet waves the paper at the group. "Traitors for breakfast anyone? Let’s choose our first target and get this party started!"

A cheer erupts from the vamps in the room as they make their way to their feet. "We have lain down for too long. Regardless of why or how this war started, we will finish it!" Scarlet shouted over the chaos. "We begin our attacks tonight. All of us will hit or hitlist the heart of the evil...” She pauses for effect. "OLIVIA! We turn her game back on her! WHO IS WITH ME?"

The roar from the handful of vamps in the room echoes out of the mansion, across the barren fields, all the way to Olivia's ears. For once, the Empress of the Arctic shivers.



Chapter 8

The next evening, we stand on the balcony of our fine mansion and survey the dark grounds. Our vision penetrates the darkness and we see them coming. We return to our room and gather the things we will need to meet them. We stroll leisurely down the grand staircase and out the front door.

As we step outside, a breeze carries the sounds of agony to our sensitive ears. We pause and ponder the meaning of our position in this battle. We have seen the tide turn in our favor, and we have lost many in the bloody aftermath. What do we have to show for our efforts?

Is respect the all-important thing that we seek? Or is there something more? Do we all have a taste for vampire blood? Have we moved past the cattle blood that humans have become? Our blood has no life force, so why would other vampires crave it? Is it circumstantial in that fight for respect? Is it merely a byproduct? Or have we stumbled upon something that could produce an all out vampire war?

Our thoughts are twisted. We wonder where these thoughts came from. A twig snaps behind us. We find that we have wondered deep into our heavily wooded lands. We roll our eyes and wait. We do not have to wait long.

"Why do you follow me on my own land? Did you not think of the consequences of such an act?" We ask, without turning around.

"Surely you don't believe I would be so foolish as to come alone?" Her voice hisses across space to settle over us. "You, however, have come alone. Curious. I can kill you easily, Pet, so why the insanity?"

"Lady, you do not know me well. I would never come unarmed or underestimating my opponent or her good sense. You have that, don't you? Good sense?" We ask, baiting her.

She remains silent for a moment. "I think you are bluffing, Pet. I think you are a lone vampire, grossly outnumbered and sadly under equipped."

"Very well, Lady. Do your worst." With that we turn to take her in. As we turn, we pull the blessed sword from our scabbard. The moonlight bounces from the blade, casting a cool blue glow around it. In our other hand, we hold a detonator.

She pauses, considering us. "What have we here, Pet? Did you bring a toy to share with us?"

We snicker. "Lady, this detonator is rigged to blow up enough explosives to quickly end a good part of this war. Do you want to find out if we are surrounded by them, or if they surround something or someone you hold very dear?"

"I hold nothing dear!" She snarls at us, but does not advance any further. "Too many things have been taken away...too many things have been wasted. It is foolish to become attached to anything."

"Well then, come my Lady, and find out the surprise that awaits you,” we say, bowing low, but keeping our eyes on her.

She looks at us now, not through us as she did before. We straighten up and raise an eyebrow at her. "Your move there, princess."

"Its Empress," she snarls again. "I earned it and you will respect it!"

We raise that eyebrow at her again. We begin to see her less as a superpower and more as a petulant child. "Whatever you say, princess," we say, grinning at her.

She steps towards us and we raise the blessed sword. She pauses when the point touches her skin. Blackness spreads from the tip of the sword and she pulls back. The blackness recedes and her skin returns to its formerly perfect paleness.

She glances at us and we shrug. "Some holy guy blessed it. Guess that worked out. Well I hate to hurry this along, princess, but I have some important people to see. So if you could make your decision, we can both be on our way."

She is gone. We don't know how, but one minute she is at our sword tip and the next, poof. "Sure would like to know how she does that!" We say to ourselves and then carry on toward our meeting with them.


Chapter 9

We glance around and then begin walking toward the guesthouse. We sense the living creatures of the night all around us. They stay still; they sense a predator in their midst.

We lean against the huge, old oak tree in front of the guesthouse. Across the field, they come to us. They are covered in blood.

We speak as they draw near. “Aw, you guys started without me?”

Scarlet wipes a smear of blood from her cheek. “Sorry about that. We had a welcoming party on the east side of the grounds. Finally pried it out of them that Olivia was here trying to find you.”

Tom growls. “Where’s she at? Don’t tell me you had all the fun without me.”

We laugh and glance down at our clothes. “If I can fight Olivia and come out clean, I would have to be a pretty bad vamp.”

Fang-ula nods and shifts his sawed off shotgun to the other shoulder. “We put a hurtin’ on her forces. They lost some of their best. We sent a couple back in pieces to let her know we are ready to deal with her ‘best’. Wonder what we should do next.”

James checks his weapons and says, “Enough chitchat. Let’s go get us some Dark Hunters for breakfast. I think for a hearty lunch we will have some moles.”

Mykel chimes in. “And an Olivia for a filling dinner?” We all laugh.

“Sounds like a plan,” Sam says. “Or at least an idea.” She sheaths two particularly mean blades.

Our group heads toward Belmont Road. Our first stop along the way is a known safe house for the Dark Hunters. Tom kicks the door in, levels his flamethrower and holds down the trigger. Screams erupt from the safe house.


“HEY!” Fang-ula yells. Tom backs off a minute and looks at him.

“What?”

“Leave some of that for us, buddy!” Fang-ula grins at him, slapping him on the shoulder.

Tom, James and Fang-ula switch to AK 47s and move deeper into the safe house. Scarlet, Sam and Mykel are right behind them. We fan out and begin methodically checking the room and eliminating any vamps we come across.

“Over here!” James yells. We see him near a trapdoor in the floor. When we drop down through the hole, we find a large room. It appears someone carved a perfectly square room in the rock under the safe house above.

A hallway leads off to the west. We leave Sam and Mykel to guard the trapdoor above. The rest of the crew drops into the hole and we begin to follow the hallway.

Scarlet pulls her M16 up and waits outside a door to the right. We stand alongside the door, count silently with her, turn the knob and throw the door open. She enters scanning right, James enters low behind her scanning left and Tom enters center on the room.

Vampires swarm from everywhere at once. Gunfire erupts. After the initial spray, guns are not an option. Hand to hand tactics jump to the forefront. We are slicing through vamps with our blessed sword left and right. We quickly take a moment to scan the scene.

Scarlet lands a right hook to a vamp. As he falls to his knees, she grabs his head and twists it nearly in a circle. The body falls and another vamp surges forward to attack her.

James smashes the butt of his assault rifle into the sternum of another vamp and we see the vamps entire ribcage collapse.

Tom is up to his elbows in vamps, literally. He has his claws inside a vampire. Well that’s effective, we think, slicing through another vamp.

Hang on. “Where’s Fang-ula?” We shout across the room. Scarlet, James and Tom glance around and shrug.

We wade further into the battle going on all around us. Finally, we see Fang-ula in the farthest corner. He is working his way toward the group. No vamps are left alive in his wake.

After another few minutes, the short-lived battle is over. Bodies and blood surround us. We glance down at our blood-soaked, ripped clothes and look at Tom. “See, THIS is what I would like if I had a battle with Olivia.”

The crew moves back out into the hallway. We treat the remaining rooms as we treated the first. Once we are done, we return to the trapdoor. Mykel tosses a rope down. We climb back out and notice more bodies.

Sam shrugs. “We had a little company. Nothing we couldn’t handle!”

We leave the safe house and continue on our way to the Winston estate.


Chapter 10

Blood Strike walks down the middle of the street. We look like the gang at the OK Corral, except we’re better armed. We make an interesting mix of the old ways and the new. Some of us armed with swords and others armed with guns. It would almost be comedic if it weren’t for the air of death that surrounds our steps.

The moon rises above our heads, shining the way to our next destination. A survivor of our attacks has spread the word quickly. On a night when vampires should be out hunting, abandoned streets echo our steps.

We sweep our gaze down one side of the street and up the other. Curtains quickly fall back into place in darkened windows. The humans are in their homes, relatively safe during this battle.

We glance at the rest of the crew. They each meet our gaze in turn. We wonder what thoughts run through their minds.

We think of the man that we fed off last evening. His wife and baby were in the house. Since he helped us willingly, we afforded his family our protection and our code of honor dictates that we do so at all costs.

The Dark Hunters have preyed on our people, the ones we vowed to protect. Our resolve hardens and we let the anger and rage trickle into us. It gives us strength and purpose.

We are nearing the home of one of the confirmed moles. Tom and Scarlet look particularly enraged. This mole has been making their lives horrendous for weeks.

When we arrive, James leans against the front porch. Fang-ula slides around the right side of the house. Mykel and Sam take the left. We circle around to the rear.

Courtesy of the earpieces Tom got for us, we coordinate the attack. When we bust in the back door, we find ourselves in a small kitchen. We check, find it empty and head toward the front of the house.

All hell has broken loose in the cramped living room. We stand in the doorway and observe the damage. Dead vamps litter the floor. Contrary to popular belief, they do not dust when killed. This phenomenon only happens in sunlight or when they are lit on fire, of course.

Tom is standing in front of a chair. Tied to the chair is a female vamp. Scarlet stands behind her. She finishes tying the knots and circles around to stand in front of the mole.

Scarlet stuffs her mouth full of garlic-laced holy water and duct tapes it closed. The vamps eyes bulge. Smoke streams from her nose.

Scarlet reaches with a gloved hand into her pocket. We see a large silver cross in her hand when she removes it from her pocket. She glances our way and smiles, though the hand holding the cross is beginning to smoke.
The moles eyes widen when she sees the cross.

James comes to stand beside us. He watches Scarlet press the cross against the moles mouth. Her screams blare through the tape. Scarlet leans in and whispers in her ear. Her eyes widen and Scarlet presses the cross to her forehead until it smokes. She removes it and holds it against the moles heart until it burns through her.

“Huh. Think this will be typical treatment for all moles?” We ask James.

“Nope. They will be killed. This one was particularly nasty. She talked big and bad, then she cried wolf to others when Tom and Scarlet came for her. Yep. This one’s personal,” James says, as we walk outside.

Fang-ula meets us on the porch with Sam and Mykel. “You guys get some action?” Fang-ula asks.

“Yep. They were like rats from a sinking ship!” Mykel and Sam laugh.

Tom and Scarlet step out onto the porch. “Feeling better now?” We ask.

They nod and the crew heads out to scour more houses for traitorous moles. This will be a busy night.


Chapter 11

After cleaning out a few more safe houses and eliminating a handful of moles, we are running out of darkness. We all decide to call it a night.

After bidding our crew farewell, we head home. Bats sound piercing shrieks above our heads. They are heading home as well.

We hear a rustle coming from up ahead of us and we pause. A huge tan wolf bounds out of the bushes, heading right for us. The wolf slides to a stop at our feet. Well, thighs may be a more appropriate description, considering it’s size.

The wolf begins to change. After a few moments, one of our allies stands before us. He is a tall, muscular man, with shaggy blonde hair and aqua blue eyes.

“Jacob? What are you doing here? You and the pack are usually sleeping right now,” we say, as confusion furrows our brow. Jacob is the second in command of the local wolfpack living on our vast lands.

“Normally. See there is something going on and we grabbed your people and got out of there!” Jacob huffs, visibly upset.

“What do you mean something is going on?”

“Well, see there was this whole mess of vamps that came at the house from the west. We didn’t think we could hold all of them off, so we woke up all the humans and we all left,” Jacob said, looking ashamed.

“It was a good call, Jacob. I do not prefer to hold my home if it means I lose you all.” We consider our circumstances. “Where do you have everyone now?”

“They are with Caleb in the packs main den on the other side of town.” Jacob refers to the Alpha of the wolfpack, Caleb.

“Okay great work. Let me get in contact with a friend and see what I can do. I’m sure the humans are safe, but they have to be petrified right now,” we say, flipping a cell phone out of our pocket. We dial a familiar number.

“Hey, Joe? I have a little problem. A rather large group of vampires has taken over my home,” we say. We pause and listen to him.

“Large group? Who? Are your humans okay?” He asks.

“Yeah, but they are with the local wolfpack. I was wondering if there was a safe place you could keep them? Perhaps among your humans until tonight when we can go do some exterminating?” We ask, glancing at Jacob. He nods. He knows Joe; Caleb will approve.

“Sure, no problem. I will alert my staff. We are running out of night pretty quick. Where are you staying?”

“Caleb keeps a coffin for me in the pack den. Thank you, Joe. This means a lot to me.”

We hang up and keep walking with Jacob. Within a few minutes, we are on pack land. We approach the den and a growl erupts.

Jacob yells, “HEY! BACK OFF!” The growl subsides and the guards roll on the ground, showing Jacob their stomachs. “You’re okay. Get up. Go patrol. I want a full team out tonight. The vamps are on the move.”

We raise an eyebrow. “Been busy?”

“Yeah even before they took your place, the were sniffing around here. I am sorry that we weren’t able to run them off for you, but I only had three from the pack with me.” He glances at us, as we move deep into the packs den.

Caleb is sitting at the head of an enormous, sturdy, scarred table in the cavernous meeting room. He is an amazing man and an enormous werewolf. He is 6’4, with dark brown hair and eyes. His large form emanates power, magic and danger.

He stands as we approach. We clasp each other’s arm in greeting. “Well, I am glad to see you alive!” He says, slapping us on the back. Werewolves are very close and touching is second nature to them.

“Brother!” We smile. “Thank you for protecting my humans.”
He waves a hand, dismissingly. “It’s nothing. I’m glad Jacob could get all of them out in time.”

Jacob nods. “Sir, there were about fifty of them.”

Caleb nods. “I thought this might happen. Blood Strike is effective and word of your activities has spread fast as the wind across the plains. There’s nothing quite like the smell of fear from an immortal.” He says with a predatory grin. No love lost there, we think to ourselves. Caleb only has a handful of vampire friends. The rest of the vampires on earth are fair game for the wolves.

We glance around. “Though I would love to chat, I need to get to my coffin.”

Caleb grins. “Of course, my friend. Jacob tells me you have made arrangements for your humans to stay with Joe if they choose?”

We raise our eyebrows. “I would love to know how you guys do that. Yeah Joe says send them to his home. What do you mean, ‘if they choose’? Are they okay here?”

“I have known some of them all their lives. They are quite content staying here,” Caleb answers.

“Okay leave it up to them. They will be well protected wherever they decide to stay.”

We bid Caleb and Jacob good morning, glance in on our people and head to our coffin. We wonder what tomorrow night will bring.


Chapter 12

We rise the next evening ready to take on those crazy enough to steal from us. We get ourselves together and head out to the cavernous meeting room.

Caleb is sitting on the table. We grin and approach him. “You know, modern times have given us these great things. We call them chairs,” we say, laughing.

He grins at us. “I just like sitting on the table. I don’t know why.”

“So where do we stand right now?” We ask, sitting on the table next to him.

“Your humans who are comfortable with us are here. The others are at Joe’s place. The vampires are having quite a party in your home at the moment,” Caleb says, looking at us.

We study our friend. He looks strained. You feel the power coiled in him. He seems as if he is barely containing something, barely controlling his wolf.

“What is it, Caleb?” We ask.

“Come on. Let’s go outside.” Caleb says.

We wonder outside and hike to the top of a hill. The other side of the hill, facing town, is a straight, sheer cliff face. We sit beside Caleb with our legs hanging over the edge. The waning moon rises slowly in the sky.

“The Dark Hunters captured some of your vampires. Their servants brought your vamps out in the dawn.”

We sit silently, the information slowly registering, as cars pull up in front of the wolves’ den. The members of Blood Strike pour out and Caleb waves to them, motioning them up. Moments later, the crew squats or sits near us in a loose circle.

“Hey,” we say, greeting them. Muttered hellos come to our ears and by the tone, we are sure they already know what happened.

“Do we know who fell to the sun this morning?” We ask, grimly.
“I have several vamps missing. They seem to have taken a lot of our baby vamps unaware,” Scarlet says, putting her time to good use by cleaning her weapons. We glance around and notice almost everyone is doing the same.

Our sword lies on the ground beside us. We pull it from its sheath, but we already know what we will find. There is no blood on the entire sword. The sorceress who spelled our sword was very powerful and extremely thorough. She wove every possible enchantment dealing with a weapon onto the sword.

Joe wonders over to us. “That’s a fine piece of weaponry you have there.”

“Thanks.” We hand it to him.

“How on earth did you come across something like this?” He asks, after inspecting it. “Its light as a feather, sharp as a laser, perfectly balanced.” He whistles. “Someone loved this sword. There is so much power in it, it hums!”

“My Great Grandmother made it,” we say. “It was her life’s work. When she completed it, she passed on. Her entire well of power is in that sword.”

“So what does it do? I figure something that hums and glows like that has to do something special.”

We take the sword gently from his hands and place it in its sheath. “It kills.”

James stands in the middle of the circle. “All right, listen up. We have to clean out a house,” he glances at us. “And we need to retrieve a couple of hostages.”

“What?” We hadn’t heard Dark Hunters were holding hostages.

“They did us just as good as we did them last night. They ripped up safe houses, blew up assets, kidnapped key vampires. Then they made a series of deadly mistakes,” James says. “Our impatient friends did dust a number of vamps this morning, but they kept several alive. This will be their downfall.”

“How? And who do they still have?” We ask.

James glances around. “They have Mykel and Sam, for starters.”

“And they didn’t dust them? What are they, stupid?” Scarlet asks, snorting.

“Huh? Why?” We ask.

“We have an intricate plan in place in case any member of the crew is captured.”

“Oh good. So what do we need to do?”

“We wait.”

“Why? Shouldn’t we go get them?”

“No. We have a special part of the team you haven’t met yet. They do all of our covert ops. We should be meeting up with them in a few hours. When we do, Sam and Mykel will be with them,” Scarlet says.

“How can you be so sure?” We ask.

“Because,” she says, looking at us. “They are lead by my husband.”


Chapter 13

Caleb glances at a silver wolf approaching the group. “Change,” he says. The wolf obeys and shifts. The woman standing before us is quite possibly the most breathtaking we have seen in all of our days on earth.

Scarlet nudges us. She whispers, “How did she shift with clothes?”

Caleb tells her, “The most powerful among us can shift with our clothing.” To the rest of the group, “This is my wife, Corinne.”

“Greetings! I have heard of the trouble you are experiencing and I want to help!” She exclaims as she continues towards Caleb.

“My wife often speaks for the pack,” Caleb explains.

“Yeah it takes a strong woman to put up with this guy,” she says, sliding her arms around his waist. She fits perfectly under his arm, but she is far from delicate.

“We definitely welcome your help and thank you deeply for your hospitality,” we say.

“Do you have something for me?” Caleb asks, looking down at Corinne.

“Oh, yeah. Your troops are on the move,” she replies, turning to the crew and speaking to no one in particular.

“Uh, isn’t it a bad thing that the wolves know our people are on the move? Wouldn’t that also kind of give them away to the Dark Hunters?” Tom asks.

We reply before Caleb has a chance. “No, the wolf pack has been here longer than we have. They know how to move across this land so well, the Dark Hunters will not know what hit them.”

“Wouldn’t it be a reasonable assumption that if we have allies from different species, the Dark Hunters would as well?” Joe asks.

“Normally it would be a reasonable assumption, but in this case,” we begin.

Caleb cuts us off. “That is exactly why we are on guard. If they bring another pack in, we will be the first to know.”

“Is there any way they could turn any of your wolves?” James asks.

We answer, “Caleb and Corinne are the strongest mated pair in eastern hemisphere. No exaggeration and no joke. Their power keeps all wolves in check and under control. But it isn’t slavery. It is control over the wolves inside, for lack of a better term.”

“How do you know so much about them?” Scarlet asks us.

“I have been with the pack for centuries. I know every member. I know those who have died and those they have turned,” we answer.

Caleb nods when the rest of the crew looks at him. Corinne bids farewell to the group and heads out to track our team. She promises to communicate to Caleb when Mykel and Sam are safe.

The crew follows Caleb back down to the den. On the huge table sits a layout of our grounds and home. It is a perfect replica, down to the last tree and bush.

“This is amazing!” Fang-ula exclaims. He recognizes our house.

“Yeah, just a little project we took up about a century ago. We have a model of every inch of our territory. We keep it separated into the plots as they are on current deeds. Then we know where the safe hunting is, where the people live who tolerate us or don’t, and where the safe havens are for the wolves,” Caleb says.

“This is unbelievable. How do you get the detail this perfect?” Tom asks. “This would be useful in wartime if you can do it on a worldwide scale.”

“What makes you think we haven’t?” Caleb says, raising an eyebrow. “We spend every day and night mapping. We have our territory gridded and we have every member of our pack on a shift.”

“So is there a set up for every season? I want to see the one for fall!” Tom says. “Do you guys have the leaves on the ground?”

Everyone laughs. The tension eases now that we all know Caleb’s wolves are there to back up our crew. They are the strongest allies we have in this war. We are almost looking forward to facing Olivia at the Winston house.

Chapter 14

We wonder outside. The sound of laughter behind us reassures us. We scan the landscape aimlessly. Glancing at the sky, we notice a storm coming into the area. We feel the hair stand up on the back of our neck. We hit the ground without a thought. An arc of lightning blasts over us, where our head was a moment before.

Throwing a glance in the direction the arc originated, we see a scrap of a woman. She looks like an outcast from a gypsy camp.

“CALEB! SCARLET!” We yell, ducking for cover. “WITCH!” We scream in warning.

They come sliding out of the cave, the witch swings an arc of lightning at them and it bounces off of a blood red shield.

Scarlet has extended her hand and is chanting. A stream of fire flies from her hand at the witch. The witch waves her hand and the fire flicks to the side.

Caleb shifts and howls in the now pouring rain. A chorus of howls answer. This witch invades the wolves’ territory. This is their battle. We glance at him. “She may be from Dark Hunters.”

Wolves charge the witch from all sides. Her magic holds them where they stand. Some she freezes in mid-jump. The wolves have given Blood Strike a chance to fan out and assume attack positions. They open fire on the witch. We are behind a fallen oak tree with Caleb. He shifts back to talk to us.

“Scarlet may be the only one who can fight her,” we say.

“She is holding seven of my strongest wolves at bay, while deflecting attacks from Scarlet and stopping bullets. How exactly are we going to stop her?” Caleb asks, growling.

“I need to get to Scarlet.”

He glances over the log. “There’s twenty feet of open space between us and them. I can sneak out the opposite way and try to draw her attention.”
“Don’t get yourself hurt. The wolves need you.”

He grins. “One little witch isn’t going to take me out. You forget what we have gone through so far!”

He takes off for the witch and we head for Scarlet.

She glances at us, careful to keep the shield in place. “What’s up?” She asks.

“I need you to get me close to the witch. I can take her out with my sword.”

She snorts. “Yeah, no problem. Let me get right on that for you,” she says, sarcastically, deflecting another lightning bolt. “In case you didn’t notice, the wolves tried that charge up to her approach. She is holding seven of them.”

“Do you have a spell or something that can help me get close? I only need one swing.”

“Yeah. I can get you close. But it will leave us all vulnerable, so you better get her in one shot.”

Scarlet hands us a chunk of raw quartz crystal. “Get your sword ready, concentrate on that, visualize the spot you want to be, say, ‘Agito’ and you will have one swing.”

“Why is that dangerous to you?” We ask.

“I will transfer most of my power to that crystal for your jump.”

We look at her for a moment. The sheer amount of trust in our friendship is mind-boggling. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

We draw our sword, Scarlet lets loose a volley of fireballs, then the shield drops and Scarlet drops to the ground and rolls behind a boulder.

“AGITO!” We say, envisioning a spot behind the witch and slightly to her left.

When we blink, we are in the spot behind the witch. We stumble forward a moment and then swing with all of our might.


Chapter 15

It’s true that time slows in intense situations. We see the sword slice clean through a bullet. It sears a path through the witch’s shield. Then, just as it should have been cutting the witch’s head off, she disappears.

The swing of the blade takes us around in a circle. Dizzy from the teleporting and the spin, we drop to our knees in the soggy grass. The sword continues to glow. We bury the tip in the ground and use it to help us to our feet.

“Well, I didn’t see that coming,” Tom says.

“I did!” Scarlet exclaims, looking particularly pleased with herself.

Caleb looks around at the gathered vamps and wolves. “Well at least you ran her off for now. Any idea what other tricks Dark Hunters has up their collective sleeves?”

“I am positive they have more nasty surprises. We need to talk to the others. Hopefully they have retrieved Mykel and Sam.” James kneels in and reloads his guns.

“See there? Blades never run out of ammo,” we say, laughing.

“Better range with a gun,” he replies, and then pulls out a particularly nasty looking combat knife. “Don’t worry, I got the blades, too.”

“All right. Let’s go look at the layout of my home and form a plan to take it back,” we say, heading into the den with Caleb. The team follows behind, already in discussion over who is teaming up with whom.

“You know, the layout of your grounds is similar to the Winston house. Maybe we can plan both assaults at the same time,” Scarlet says, staring back and forth between the two models.

“Yeah, use your house as a practice run and still get to eliminate some Dark Hunters while we are at it!” Tom says, excitedly.

“Okay. Here is the house. It’s on a raised hill in the center of the grounds. There are no trees, brushes, rocks or anything else around to hide behind to get closer to the house.”

“Nothing like the impossible, huh?” Joe asks. “You like to make things challenging, don’t you?”

“Hey, it’s a great set-up if you want to be safe inside!” We exclaim.

“We love a challenge!” Fang-ula says.

“Come on. I know you have a secret entrance somewhere, cliché as it may be,” Scarlet prods us.

“Actually, there are two. One connects the orchard in the south field to the kitchen and the other connects the woods in the east field with the basement,” we say pointing to the locations on the model.

“Well then that makes our job a little easier,” Tom says. “Simple!”

“Yeah there is one slight flaw in the easy plan,” we say.

Scarlet glances from us to the model. “The doors only open from the inside.”

“Dynamite can solve that problem!” Tom exclaims.

“Uh no. This is my home. We need a team to infiltrate the house and open the doors from the inside.”

“Which brings us back to square one. How to get to the house without being picked off.”

“The cover of night means nothing to vampires. It’s like we’re wearing bright orange in the noon time sun.” Joe points out.

“Hey, Scarlet, maybe you can do a little hocus pocus for us!” Tom says, bumping her.

“Yeah, just how powerful are you, Scarlet?” Caleb asks.


Chapter 16

Scarlet raises her hand, palm up. In it, we see a small world. It is as if we are looking at the world from a satellite. The picture zooms in and we see the country, then the city, then the den, and then the group.

“Wow.” Everyone looks stunned.

“Well that’s a nifty trick,” Tom says. “What else can you do?”

“Shoot fireballs three thousand feet,” replies Scarlet, smirking. “Make shields, teleport people. Lots more. So far, it is the limit of your imagination.”

“Let us pool all of our resources. We have Blood Strike and the Covert Squad. We have the wolves. We have a witch. Anything else?” James asks.

“I think that about sums it up,” Fang-ula says. He pushes one of the trees over near the front of the property.

Caleb raises an eyebrow. “New change?”

Fang-ula smiles and nods. “Think we can get a few more down to use in the attack.”

“Logs? How are we going to get logs to roll uphill?” Joe asks, eyes scanning the model.

“With a little magic,” Scarlet says, waving her hand. The little trees roll up the hill and into the front of the house.

“We need a back up plan just in case the other witch shows up and Scarlet is too busy to give us that little boost,” James says.

Caleb glances around. “Why not just let the wolves and I go in during daylight hours and wipe them out?”

“Because then the war would not be ours. We appreciate your help, but we will fight our own battles.” Tom sticks out a hand to Caleb. He grasps it.
“I understand, my friend. It is about honor. At least let my men guard you while you sleep, just in case the other side is not as honorable,” Caleb says, glancing at all in the circle.

“We would appreciate the help.”

“Hey, there is one more run of allies we are discounting,” we say.

“Really? Who?” Joe asks.

“The humans.”

Laughter ricochets around the room. “What?” We ask. “They have strength and heart. They definitely have the will to live. These vampires do not value them as we do. The do not appreciate the life, only the food supply.”

The group contemplates this thought. “Well, I suppose it is worth a try,” Scarlet says.

James says, “I will get in touch with the military to see what role they would like to take in the coming war.”

“Or maybe just contact your old buddies in the unit?” Tom asks. “I know I will.”

A chirp sounds from the radio on Scarlet’s side. She picks it up and speaks into it for a moment. She gives directions to the wolves’ den to the party on the other end.

When she is done, she looks around the group. “They have retrieved Mykel and Sam. They are on their way now!”

A cheer erupts from the crew. The strike team is growing in number. Our chances of getting our home back and performing successfully at the Winston house are increasing dramatically.

Caleb returns to his chair. “Things are shaping up, boys and girls. If you look in the back room, you will find a number of nasty weapons to use on your kind. I apologize in advance for having them, but our species have not always agreed or gotten along.”

“Think nothing of it, Caleb. We appreciate your help and we are glad to have you as allies. It goes a long way in healing the wounds done to both groups,” Scarlet says.

“Let’s go see what kind of toys the boys have!” Tom says, but Fang-ula is already on his way. “Hey, that’s cheating!”

They push and shove each other on the way to the armory. Scarlet’s laughter washes over them like a summer rain.


Chapter 17

We fall into small groups, loading and cleaning the weapons we chose. The sound of quiet conversation flows through the room. We wonder over to Caleb and Corinne, who came in from the field.

“Your team should be here in a few minutes,” Corinne says, smiling at us. “They did a precision job at the recovery and wiped out a pretty good number of vamps.”

“Were they in a safe house or some other compound?” We ask glancing toward the models still on the enormous table.

“They were below the hanger bay at the airport. Wouldn’t seem like a very safe place to keep them, but I think they were going to be transferred somewhere else,” Corinne replies.

“Huh. What could the Dark Hunters gain from that?” We scratch our head.

“I could see moving Trenton or the Scribe. That would knock out leadership and communication.” Caleb theorizes.

We groan. “Okay, obviously if you thought of this, the Dark Hunters would have also.”

“Not necessarily. Maybe you are giving them too much credit?” Caleb asks, gaze roaming over the room. “You have an awesome team. They are smarter and faster than a lot of vamps.”

“They aren’t my team. I just joined up. They are Scarlet’s team. I am looking forward to meeting her husband and Elite Strike. Should make for some interesting conversation. Speaking of which, I better bring it to everyone’s attention right now, rather than later, that we need to get some guards on Trenton and Scribe.”

“Hey everybody,” we pause, waiting for everyone’s attention. When we are sure we have it, we continue. “We have another issue at hand. If our two best teams are out here dealing with the Dark Hunters at my house and the Winston house, who is guarding Trenton and Scribe?” We ask, letting them know about the Dark Hunters knocking out the leader and the communicator.

They all look at each other and then there is a flurry of movement and fast discussion. They form a tactical team to go in search of Trenton and Scribe. They will return to the wolves’ den when they have retrieved the two key players. Tom, Fang-ula and Joe head out to get Trenton and Scribe.

Scarlet radios her husband, Storm, to let him know the new problem. Storm’s team will rendezvous with Tom, Fang-ula and Joe to assist with the retrieval.

We make a run with the rest of the team out to the hill to observe our house. Caleb was right, they are having quite a party. We hope our home is still standing by the end of their occupation and our assault on it.

“Well, would you look at that!” Midnight exclaims. We jump and look at her. “All my friends lined up in a row!”

“Where have you been?” Scarlet asks.

Midnight drops down and grabs a pair of binoculars. “Fending off a tiny invasion of my own. Sorry I’m late to the party!” Scarlet gets her up to speed.

“Hey, I could do a reading. See if I get any visions,” Midnight says. She is our personal oracle, rivaling the oracle at Delphi.

“If it can keep us out of a jam or give us a leg up, then I say go for it,” Scarlet says.

James says, “Yeah, by the time the troops get back, we will already know who won the battle!”

“What do you need Midnight? A quiet, dark room? Circle here in the moonlight? Just let us know.”

“Oh I can do it anywhere. I just need you guys to look out for me. When I am in the trance, I can’t defend myself,” Midnight says, pulling a Celestite ball from one of her pockets. It looks to be about 5 inches in circumference and fits easily in the palm of her hand.

“Goody, this should be fun to watch,” we say, as Midnight begins to chant.


Chapter 18

We weren’t quite sure what to expect, but we certainly weren’t expecting to see this!

A purple flame rises from the ball in Midnights hand. We watch the flame form a vivid picture, perfectly clear and sharp. The picture spins slowly three hundred and sixty degrees.

A beautiful woman with dark brown hair and eyes comes into view. Beautiful tattoos flow across various parts of her body. We see a butterfly and a phoenix, a tiger and a dragon. The butterfly sparkles as if it is covered with hundreds of tiny blue and purple gems. The phoenix is shades of purples, reds, oranges and yellows. The tiger is white, with dark brown stripes and blue eyes that we could swear are staring at us. The dragon is black with a red sheen to each of his hundred scales. The flame from his mouth looks real enough to burn.

“Whoa,” we breathe. “Unreal.”

“Who is she?” James whispers.

“Shhh,” we say.

The picture begins to waver and shift. We recognize our house. We see a bloody battlefield laid out before us. Parts and pieces of bodies lay scattered across the plain between the woods and our front porch.

“What happened here,” we hear ourselves whisper. “What could cause such devastation and chaos?” We glance at the others and see the shock and horror on their faces as well.

Fires burn everywhere. Huge chunks of ground are missing. We can smell the smoke and the burnt bodies. The wind carries the groans and shrieks of the dying. We see an arm hanging from the statue in our front garden. There is a body smashed against one of the front pillars. It looks as if it was swatted as easily as a bug, but by whom or what, we don’t know.

The scene shifts to the inside of the house. More bodies lay in pieces across the front hall and up the grand staircase. We see not only nameless vampires, but also some dear to us. Piles of ashes are everywhere. Some of our human allies lay around in bloody puddles. The destruction is horrifying.

Suddenly, the picture dissolves. Silence lays heavily on all gathered. “How did this happen? That house is not worth all of that!” We gasp out.

Scarlet lifts a shaking hand to grasp Midnight’s. “Do you know? Was it a single person who created that destruction?”

Midnight lifts her eyes to Scarlet’s. “No. It was a chain of events that lead to that future. Change even one thing and the events will follow a different path.”

“Okay, what do we know? Did we see any of our people?” Scarlet asks.

“I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t around. We only saw the front entryway,” James says.

“Yes. It’s as if we arrived after all of the action happened,” we say.

“What does that woman have to do with it?” Scarlet mutters.

“Midnight, is there a way to bring anymore of the vision around? Can you look back a ways and let us see what happens just before that?” We ask her.

“It has been done, by a lucky few. I haven’t been one of them so far,” Midnight replies. “But I am willing to try.”

We are all silent, once again, as Midnight prepares herself. She takes a few extra minutes to consult her crystals and read her cards. She chooses a simple layout for her well-worn tarot cards. She lays a card for the past. It is the Knight of Swords reversed. For the present, the Queen of Coins. For the future, the Page of Cups reversed.

“What does it mean, Midnight?” Scarlet asks.

“It means we know what aspect to change to gain a new future,” Midnight says, staring at us. “Now aren’t you the interesting little vampire?”


Chapter 19

“Why? What does this mean?” Scarlet asks, confused.

“The Knight of Swords represents a clever liar, secrets, or a sly and deceitful confidence trickster. It is in the past position; therefore, this may have changed. Is there something you are not telling us, my clever little vamp?” Midnight asks, raising an eyebrow at us. Her eyes fall to our right wrist.

Lightning fast, she reaches over and raises the sleeve of our shirt. There, on our wrist, glitters the mark of our office. A silver cuff bracelet with a set of garnets sparkles in the light of the meeting room. The round, center garnet is the largest. Around it lay the smaller, round garnets in the north, east, south and west positions.

“What is that?” Scarlet asks.

“That is the Scribe’s Cuff,” James says, matter-of-factly. “Pleased you could join us, Scribe.” James bows slightly.

We let the illusion fall. The façade we had been wearing dissolves and we stand before them as ourselves. “When did you figure it out, Midnight?”

“I caught a glimpse of the Cuff when you were speaking to Joe about the sword,” Midnight says, smiling.

“Why deceive us, Scribe? We welcome you willingly to our group!” Scarlet exclaims.

“The Scribe is supposed to be objective and be everywhere that history must be recorded. This is a standard thing done by the Scribe to have a front row seat,” James answers for us.

The power we have been containing floods our aura, then the room. The others gasp. “So much power,” Scarlet whispers, entranced.

James shakes himself. “The Scribe has to be powerful. There are those who always wish to destroy her. And yes, it is always a ‘her’. You girls have something us guys can’t even begin to dream of,” James says, sitting on the edge of the table and studying us. “So who is the team saving?” He asks us.

“My assistant, Elizabeth. She stands in on most things for me; though I do attend all of the Knights’ gatherings,” we reply. We grin. “You would be surprised how many times she has been kidnapped!”

The others look at each other and then start laughing. “Well I guess this isn’t totally unexpected. Though you do look good taller!” Scarlet says, hugging us.

We glance down at her. From our real height of 5’6, she is still short at 5’0 tall. “Well, now that the cat is out of the proverbial bag, let’s get on with this, shall we?”

“But that isn’t your home, right?” Scarlet asks.

“It is Elizabeth’s home, though the staff is mine. We do need to take it back from the Dark Hunters and the more of them we can eliminate before the battle at Winston house, the better.”

“Well alright. It can only be a good thing that we have one as powerful as the Scribe on our side, right?” Scarlet asks James and Midnight.

“I will take part in the onslaught, however it will be in the guise I have been wearing. I need you all to keep this secret, otherwise I will have no choice but to wipe your memories.” We sit down and study the other three closely.

Midnight waves a hand at us again. “Well that would be pointless for me. My visions would just keep returning. I guess that means you have to trust me or dust me.”

“I will always opt to trust you, Midnight. I have been observing you for a century now,” we reply. We turn to Scarlet and James.

“We opt for silence. We will keep your secret,” James says, glancing at Scarlet. She nods.

“Hey, we still have the rest of the reading to study,” we say to the others.

“Okay, the next card is the Queen of Coins or Pentacles, depending on your card set. This is in the present position. I believe this also represents you, Scribe. This card refers to a woman of great knowledge and wisdom.”

Midnight glances at the spread. “The final card, representing the future, is the Page of Cups reversed. This card represents a young person, new at something and he or she has immense power. This needs to be shaped and the person needs to be taught to control their power, or there will be great destruction. This person will be emotionally fragile, crying easily, because they don’t understand what is happening to them. You have to walk on eggshells around him or her.”

“So they may cause the destruction we saw in your vision?” Scarlet asks.

“It is very probable. I believe this means we need to save this person before the Dark Hunters can use him or her to wreak the havoc I have foreseen,” Midnight says.

We stare at the cards and turn to Midnight. “Is this person the next Scribe?”

“Yes.”



To Be Cont.

I try to post several chapters a week on my private blog and group on myspace. If you wish to add me to continue reading the chapters, add my myspace page: www.myspace.com/onewh1tet1ger and say that you saw it on Samville.
Thanks to all my loyal fans!
Samantha
AKA
Knight Scribe