Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:37:19 +1300
From: Arthur <artcart65@vodafone.co.nz>
Subject: prince of house vladd bk2 chap 8

			 THE PRINCE OF HOUSE VLADD

				 CHAPTER 8

				  BOOK 2

				 BY ARTHUR


CONTACT: artcart65@vodafone.co.nz


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peter stared at the man and then asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"You just get on with it."

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

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

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

The senior scientist replied tersely.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Did that hurt?"

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

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

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

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

The older man looked at Peter in surprise.

"How did you know his name?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Thank you Sin Yu, see you soon."

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

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

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

"Who are you, really?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"OK, so what can kill you?"

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


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

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

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

"Fourteen or fifteen."

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

Jeffery looked shocked at the admission.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why? You'll have to ask your superiors.

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

"What happened to our clothes and equipment?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Are the others here already then?"

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

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

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

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

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

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



TBC


Artcart65@vodafone.co.nz