Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2021 10:05:07 -0500
From: Richard McQueen <mcqueen.richarderic@gmail.com>
Subject: Blueblood: Dracula, Chapter 3 Dragon

Story: Blueblood: Dracula

Chapter 3 Dragon

Author: Eric McQueen (mcqueen.richarderic@gmail.com)

Adult Readers, Sexual Situations, Sex

Freedom of expression is precious. To do that Nifty needs help. Your
donation is greatly desired.

The lies and misdirection the team figures out and they've had
enough. Gaius takes them to find what they seek.

Dragon

I threw my hands out in frustration and this man...claiming to be Dracula
raised a single eyebrow. "Mister Articulate strikes again." I moaned. I
noticed this...whoever he claimed he was, wasn't bothered by it. The corner
of his mouth turned us slightly as if it amused him.

The man that said he was Christian walked forward a little. "Now, why would
you say that what I said was...bullshit?"

Colin folded his arms over his chest. "You didn't even hesitate. You simply
said yes." He waved at him. "You're not Dracula any more than I am!" Colin
walked closer. "You are a vampire; I'll grant you that. You readily admit
that you are...the most infamous person that lived during that time, or any
other times?"

"That doesn't tell you anything." The man said. "Why do you think I'm not
Dracula?"

"I feel you're not telling the truth," Colin explained.

"Do you?" The man said smiling.

I felt a sudden chill. It was summer, we were underground so there was no
breeze nor was it cold down here. It wasn't just on my skin; this chill
went down to my very core...my bones...my very soul? This feeling grew
behind us. We turned around. Each of us, Colin, George, and Burke turned at
the same time. This chill had reached each of us at the same instant. How
do I say this? Behind us was a shadow. He was...at least by his
shadow...between Colin's size and mine, so about six feet.

"Enough." The shadow said softly. It wasn't loud, but it was powerful, deep
and seemed to resonate. "Thank you, Cragen."

You know me and my love of movies, all that was missing here was a
thunderclap and flash of lightning; and don't forget the creepy music. This
room was lit by several gas lamps, but when this shadow moved closer and
the light revealed what he looked like. This person was...he had the
vampires eyes or rather a vampire's eye. He wasn't ugly, but there was the
scar down the left part of his face he'd gotten long ago by a sword that
cut him from just above the left eyebrow and down parallel to his nose, the
left eye had also been cut, but only slightly and now was clouded over in
white, but still lacked the moisture. The most important part was his very
presence. He was a warrior, a soldier. His body had been through battles
and it showed. His hair was dark black, but while clean and cut, but in
long curls that made him look sort of windblown.

"If you had said you were Dracula, I'd believe you," I said.

This man gave the ghost of a smile as he moved closer. "But Cragen wasn't
lying when he said he was Dracula. He is." This new man said. "I am the one
they call Christian."

Colin looked at me and then back to the real Christian. "Dracula isn't just
him, is it?"

Christian shook his head. "No. The man that wrote Dracula made a composite
of several vampires. He combined several stories into one character, which
you know Count Dracula is just made up."

I nodded. "There are similarities with Dracula and Vlad Dracul. You have to
admit. The idea that Dracul, in Romanian means devil, Gaelic meaning bad
blood, that's pretty coincidental."

Christian gave his ghost of a smile again. "Why does it have to be
coincidental? It could be on purpose." He looked at George with his alert
eye. "I sense..." he walked closer to George. "...you are the healer."

"Alin told you?" George asked.

Christian gave again that ghost of a smile. "He told me about the red hair,
but I could tell from observation, intellect is not hard to see. You learn
through the centuries to read the subtle signs. For instance, a laborer has
calloused hands, which are often dirty, even when they scrub them. After a
while, there are indentions on the fingers and alertness or dullness in the
eyes. You have what I see is the alertness and very clean hands. No
callouses. A man is like a book, it's a talent learned with time to read
these signs." He looked at Colin. "Which I sense you have learned, or are
starting to learn. People don't deceive you, do they?"

"Not often," Colin replied.

Christian nodded. "You have a look also that says you've been alive a
while." He walked to John Burke. "You have been around longer than these
three." He came to me. "You, however, still have the look of someone that
life is still new for. You were made one of us recently...in the past few
years." He turned to Colin. "Why did you seek me out?"

"Our life has been changed because of this..." Colin waved at Christian,
"...condition we find ourselves in. I lived a difficult time for a
century. I was alone. I was different even before I became a vampire."

Christian nodded. "Because you are drawn by the desire to humans that are
male for companionship."

"Yes." Colin nodded. "That doesn't shock you?"

Christian laughed lightly. "Men in places of power, usually claiming they
speak for God, have problems with it. It is more prevalent than people
think. I too have enjoyed the company of male companionship in the past. It
is almost...common among men. They just don't talk about it." He looked
again at Colin. "Why did you seek me?"

"Wouldn't you like to be free of the bloodthirst? To go into the world when
the sun is up? To be able to travel where you want or need to? To see you
are not alone?" Colin asked.

"In order to find others that are vampires," I added. "Having your backing
on what we do, will add more validity to what we want to accomplish."

Christian looked at me. "Why?"

"If you are, who I think you are," I said. "You have more power to bring
those like us to a new place in the world. We wouldn't be restricted to
darkness and shadows. We could take a place in the world again."

"We should not be at all!" Christian said firmly. "Alin told me you have
some information about our origins."

Colin nodded. "We found in Egypt, some writings that we've pretty well
translated. It tells of men that created the first vampires. These first
vampires were sent into this world to weaken nations in preparation for
conquest. We called them The Others or the Old Ones." Colin pulled his
tablet out and pulled once again the drawing that Wayne had done. "This is
one. It bit a friend of mine and changed him into what we call a Wild
Vampire. The Old Ones are incapable of speech. They mature very quickly but
don't die. They do not have the scrotum or anus as men do, they are
incapable of reproducing except through venom they inject when they bite
and can only live on blood. We think...no, we're certain they are the
beginnings of our kind now."

"You wish to cleanse the world of these creatures," Christian said with a
nod. "You seek to get rid of this...evil." He looked at me as I thought
about Gizmo. "You've met one."

I looked suddenly back at Christian. "I did." I nodded. "I can no longer
assign the label of evil or good to them." I smiled as I thought of
Gizmo. "I befriended one. I named him Gizmo. Other than his need for blood,
which was really the only thing he wanted, I found...since he didn't desire
mine because I already was a vampire...trapped with me...I found he was
almost like a child. I'm not sure he even knew about right and wrong. He
was...innocent."

Colin walked to Christian. "George came up with this serum. It attaches to
this venom that changed our bodies. We became these creatures. We are
vampires."

"Yet through time, mankind has been diluting the venom and we changed it,
keeping our humanity," George added. "I've worked so hard to get us some
sort of life back from which we were all robbed. I'm close. I think it can
be stopped."

"And create a much more dangerous man," Christian said, but his tone was
more grave. "You can't reduce the life span, so we are still virtually
immortal. A twisted human with this ability is much, much more dangerous
than a mortal man." He sighed. "Even now, among ourselves, there are
conflicts. Here, in this part of the world, there are those that seek
control and will do anything they have to get what they want. Power." He
turned away in thought. "The new technology you bring here will allow these
men to push out more, they will seek this power and control. A man will die
eventually. A vampire will not! A dictator comes to power every so often,
but his lifetime is limited. A dictator or tyrant who will not die is much
more dangerous." He turned back to George. "I believe your true motives are
to help people, but what you're doing is giving these bad men the means to
do it and do it longer!" Christian was now angry. "You take the hunger away
from a vampire which restricts his movements and motivations. You give him
the freedom to do...the unspeakable." He shook his head. "No. Man struggles
in the attempt to make things better; conflicts arise and it causes them to
stress on the next generations how they should conduct themselves to be
better. The need to change is now moot with this...serum! You are as guilty
as those men that created the Old Ones."

"Whoa." I held my hands up. "That is a stretch!"

Christian shook his head. "He is continuing the work those men started by
creating us!"

"So, why are you still here?" I asked. "If things are so dire, why not go
outside when the sun rises and end it?"

Christian frowned. "Do you know what I'll face after I do?" He asked. "I
don't! Is there a God? I don't know. I know that if there is a God, I face
judgment! My past deeds will not get me into Heaven. I stay here as long as
I can to avoid that!"

"Wow," Colin said. "You think what you did makes you evil?"

"I did what I had to!" Christian said. "Families were being torn apart,
children used in ways to satisfy men's desires for both sadistic and sexual
gratification! My brother was used for that! They were slaves!"

I shook my head. "That sounds like you were doing it for the right
reasons."

Christian shook his head. "I found I was enjoying it!! I am evil!!"

"You're not giving any God a chance to forgive you," I said.

Christian turned to me. "I can't ask for forgiveness! I don't regret it!
Nothing I did, do I regret. How can I ask for forgiveness for something I
enjoyed?"

I frowned. "I get what the problems is; you can't forgive yourself. That
means you are..."

Christian spun on me which surprisingly, didn't scare me. "Don't say that
name!!" He shouted. "I chose to be known as Christian, maybe it will reduce
the punishment I deserve! But I can't let it go!" He held his fists to his
head. "I got pleasure hurting those people. That is evil."

George shook his head and came closer to Christian. "Then why didn't you
stop Alin? Why did you want to see him getting that which you feel you
don't deserve?"

Christian looked at Alin. "Look at him." He waved looking almost lovingly
at Alin. "He is not guilty of anything. He was made what he is." He looked
at Colin. "Just like you weren't guilty of anything to be what you are. I
am!" He looked at George. "You monitor those that you give this medicine
to. Do you give it to criminals?"

George shrugged. "I want to, if for no other reason than to stop them from
feeding on people."

"We have several vampires that are criminals," Colin said. "They are no
longer in control of anything. Their hunger is gone."

"You say you're evil," I said. "I see a man that had to do horrible things
and got used to it. Did you ever do it to an innocent?"

Christian looked at me. "Not all that I had killed or maimed were evil, I'm
sure there were innocents."

"I see a man that has a presence. I could feel you even before I saw
you. That's powerful." I took Colin's hand. "He is trying to get us
together so we're not isolated and alone anymore." I waved at George. "He's
trying to rid us of this condition. Do you think he should stop? Give in
and all of us go out in the sunlight and burn?"

Christian gave a nod. "It would end this condition."

I shook my head. "I don't think so. There are going to be those that won't
do that. The condition will still be there. There are still Old Ones out
there. I met one and I'm sure there are still a few. If you don't want the
serum, fine. You have a powerful personality that could persuade people. We
are trying to come up with regulations about giving the serum. You could
help!"

"Which I don't think there should be regulations," George said. "Every
vampire should be on it to prevent making others. We can lock them up. They
can no longer cause harm."

"It's fear," I said simply. "You're afraid to die," I said softly to
Christian.

Christian nodded. "I am! I admit it. Not knowing what I'll face, sure, I'm
afraid to die. If you can convince me beyond the shadow of any doubt there
is nothing. I would go in the sun, but I can't take that risk."

"No one can convince you of that," I said. "If you take the serum and have
freedom, you can concentrate on positive things you can do."

"A single piece of rotten fruit will ruin fresh fruit," Christian said. "I
can't undo the things of the past. Only with me, there is a lot of rotten
fruit."

I nodded. "You...have a big problem."

Colin nodded. "You do, but you don't see you have a talent and ability that
most men don't? You can size up a man easily. You have a..." Colin thought,
"...charisma that will draw people to you. If you agree to add your voice
to what we're trying to do...many people out there suffering as vampires
will get help."

"This can't all be about you," I said. "You did what you did for
others. You helped them deal with a bad group of people. You didn't do it
because you like making people suffer. You began to like to make them
suffer...after you were forced to do it. Your mind just...slipped into a
comfortable place to keep going. You had to, or go insane!"

"I am insane!" Christian said loud.

I shook my head. "I don't think so. The fact that you said that, tells me
you're not. An insane person doesn't know he's insane. You think you are."

Colin nodded. "We're not your judges. You're doing a fine job all by
yourself doing that. If you don't want the serum, that's fine. Don't say
George is doing something he shouldn't. He's trying to get a life back when
the one he had was ripped away by this venom."

"There are bad men." I nodded. "They don't wrestle with their conscience as
you do," I said. "I sense a good man in you. You regret. Those men
don't. You're not a bad man." I was now next to Christian and I carefully
reached out and touched him. "Please. I would love to help you, as well."

"How?" Christian asked.

"I'll listen," I said. "I have a man I gladly call Dad now. He has things
in his past he regrets. He thinks what happened in his past is also
unforgivable and he can't forgive himself. When he needs to, I listen. No
judgment, just listen. I can do that with you."

"How will that help?" Christian asked.

I smiled. "Sometimes, just getting it out helps; it will be difficult for
you. It will be difficult to hear I have no doubt, but I'm willing to
try. Maybe, with time, you can get to a point you can forgive yourself and
ask God to forgive you. I promise to try."

"There's so much," Christian said in a moan.

I nodded. "Then we need to get started."

Christian sighed and he wiped his face of tears he could not shed but
wanted to. "Where do I start?"

I smiled. "You just did. You have agreed to think about it. That was a
start." I looked him in his one good eye. "I've met and befriended some
others; one that no one thought I should. Gizmo was a killer...far more
than you were, it was what he was made for, but I loved him. I'm willing to
take that chance with you." For a moment, in that one eye...I swear I
saw...something: a flash of something more...human. I carefully put my arms
around Christian who was not sure if he should respond, but slowly, I felt
his arms come around me.

I heard what he'd said before about the other vampires being Count Dracula,
but my mind now was telling me, I was hugging and being hugged by the very
REAL Dracula??


It was just a moment of time before Christian let me go from the hug. I
noticed that Colin had stiffened looking very worried as we had hugged. I
broke away a little from Christian. "I can't absolve you any sins,
Christian. I can promise I'll be around."

Colin came over a little quicker than he would have, but hopefully to
stop...whatever...who was I kidding? Christian read signs people couldn't
imagine, so he probably knew what Colin was doing.

Christian chuckled. "You husband is concerned with us hugging." He looked
at Colin. "No, he's concerned with you hugging me." Christian looked
away. "I don't blame him." He suddenly gave a sound of frustration. "I'm
not worth it."

Colin relaxed but Burke said. "You said Even now, among ourselves, there
are conflicts. Here, in this part of the world, there are those that seek
control and will do anything they have to, to get what they want. Is there
a conflict here?"

Christian nodded. "Very much so. That man who said he was Iilya from Russia
is but a soldier they sent ahead. A kind of advanced scout."

"The Russian group of vampires wants what...a war?" I asked.

"The Russian Vampires want you," Christian said. "They want what magic you
have so they can take control. They always do."

Burke walked forward. "He said he was turned into a vampire here and he
wanted to kill the vampires here to get to that one."

"How would that work?" Christian turned, looking at Burke. "And did you
believe him?"

I nodded. "God forbid an enemy agent would lie to hide motives." I
sighed. "You're saying we're the targets? He's no longer the enemy."

"You think he knows that?" Colin tapped his own forehead. "Things get
frozen in here, too."

Christian nodded. "Not you, the serum." He shook his head. "You would be in
danger because you know how to make the serum. If it's hard to make, you
would be made to keep the serum manufacturing going." He looked at
George. "You are a target."

George frowned. "I see."

"With the dawn of this new technology, we have seen some things change for
us," Christian said. "Even the restrictions of traveling at night have been
dealt with. This new serum just makes it..." he looked up at Colin,
"easier."

"Vampires want war?" Colin asked. "With who? Us?"

Christian shrugged. "If you don't agree with them? Yes." He looked at
Colin. "I, like you, can read a person, you are what you seem. What you
want is to unite us. That's admirable. What do you sense from me?"

Colin looked at Christian. "Okay. I sense you seem to be what you are; a
man dealing with a pretty bloody past. You have doubts. I didn't like you
hugging my husband because of that past."

Christian nodded. "Understood."

Then I looked at Colin's translator. "We haven't used the translator. Not
once."

Christian chuckled. "I speak English. There's no need for a translator. I
have spoken English for several hundred years."

"Back to the Russians, who are they?" George asked. "The Russian group?"

Christian shook his head. "It would be easy to say to a particular national
ideology was responsible, but that wouldn't be true. Iilya is part of a
group that is no longer content to hide." He said pointedly and looked at
Colin. "That's because of you."

"Hiding is not something we want, but it's what we have to do to stay
safe," Colin said. "We are threatened because of the people that know
already." He waved at George. "He didn't want to do this, but I did."

George walked to Colin. "But I was wrong."

Christian turned to me. "You're different." He said looking at me. "You're
at peace. Why?"

I shook my head. "I don't know what you mean."

"Almost every vampire I've encountered has this..." Christian
began. "...this look. You don't have that." He looked at me as close as he
could without touching me. "There was no trauma. Your life wasn't taken."

He could see that? "No, it wasn't. I gave myself to Colin."

Christian smiled. "I've only known a few that are like you. They too gave
themselves to the one they loved." He looked at Colin. "You're a lucky
man."

"Back to this group," Christian said. "A man named Gaius is the leader. He
was but a rumor when I was human. No one knows how old he is. It is said he
was once besieged by madness and only over time learned to speak. He
claimed to have been brought over by a demon when he was turned." He waved
at Colin's tablet. "Perhaps he was referring to one of those."

I looked at Colin. "A wild vampire regains speech? Has anyone ever done
that?" I asked George.

George shook his head. "Why look at me? I don't have all the answers." He
thought. "It is theoretically possible given time. Usually, when there is
head trauma, the brain is said not to heal, but evidence has shown, with
time it can. It's just very slow. Changes pathways and adapts. But this
venom isn't a head trauma, the venom is in the blood." He shrugged. "I
suppose the brain could learn to deal with this venom."

"Christian," Colin said hesitantly. "Would you help us?"

"That's what I'm doing," Christian said.

"I mean, out there." Colin pointed to the outside. "You know this area and
its people. We don't. Between you and Amasis, you would be able to tell us
what we need to do. I think this Gaius is one of those wild vampires that
became more human. He's still a vampire. Do you know where he is?"

"I know where he was," Christian said. "He's a few days away."

I walked to Christian. "Did you become a vampire as a consequence for
helping your people?"

He shook his head. "I became a vampire during battle. The vampire was
feeding on the dying in that battle. I came upon him and he bit me. Why?"

I nodded. "There are stories...but they are just stories." I smiled. "To
help us, would you consent to go on the serum and help us find and stop
Gaius and Iilya?"

"We have a few people that can help us," Colin said. "We're not alone
here."

"So does Gaius," Christian said. "In many ways, I feel this is my
punishment for doing what I did."

I nodded. "Well, after you help us. You don't have to remain on the serum."
I said. "You could return to this...sentence you seem to have become used
to."

Christian nodded. "I will consider it." He turned away to leave. "Return in
two days, I will have my answer then." He turned back to us. "But remember,
you know who Iilya is, but he also knows you. Be cautious." He said and
went further into the tunnels.


On the way back to the house, Colin took my hand. "Devon. I will say this;
that man, if anyone could fool me, it would be him."

"Was he trying to fool you?" I asked.

"That's the problem," Colin said. "As well as he could read us, he would
know what signals to give off, but you have to admit, he gave off this...I
don't know...a presence that was pretty powerful. I don't believe in magic,
but he has this power."

I nodded. "Hypnosis," I said.

"Hypnosis?" Colin asked.

"It used a lot in therapy today and even to make a man cluck like a chicken
for entertainment. They used it in the past to make sleeper agents that
didn't even know they were agents until the code word was given." I said.

"I never heard of that," Colin said.

"There was movie Charles Bronson was in called Telefon. Agents placed in
places to do damage after a phrase was given to blow things up. These
agents were so deep, they didn't even know they were agents!"

Colin shook his head. "You had a lot of time in the past." He chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah...It was done at that time by Russians...so we thought." I
grinned. "These people that can do this can lower our guards and
inhibitions; make us do things we wouldn't normally do. I think he does
that naturally. Since he became a vampire, he's learned to use it more."

"I got one thing from him," Colin said. "Danger."

I nodded. "I got that, but he doesn't like what he did."

"I disagree," Colin said. "The problem is he did like what he did and
that's what he doesn't like. Just promise you won't meet with him alone."

I nodded. "I won't."


Chuck heard what we told the others what we found out. "Wait, no one could
do that now!" He said simply. "No one person could have that much
control. They wouldn't be allowed."

Colin nodded. "But Gaius thinks he can." He said simply.

"He thinks he deserves it," I added. "A madman feels entitled to what he
wants and can't understand why we don't see it that way. He didn't claim
this made sense."

"This...Christian." Shelly said. "Is he willing to help us do this?"

We didn't tell them who he may be...yet. "He's dealing with some demons of
his own making. He is charismatic and if we win him to us, I know he could
help." Colin smiled as George nodded in agreement.

"Does he have a lot of followers?" Chuck asked.

"Will his followers be willing to help?" Willie asked. "Vampires simply
will not trust."

I shook my head. "No, that's not true. Given the right motivations, they
come through. Look at England. They're still looking for the vampire or
vampires...like the one that changed Wayne."

"The Old Ones?" Mom said.

I nodded. "Gizmo they said was found near the Amasis' City," I said to
Amasis.

Amasis nodded. "But I didn't see him. He could have been the one I saw."

"But they are still there," I said. "The leader of these others I think was
a wild vampire."

Wayne now looked up. "But he functions? How?"

George nodded. "That's what we need to find out."

"He is also right about this man being more dangerous," Amasis said
softly. "Men come into power that shouldn't be. They are born to it, but
don't know why they're there."

"Explain," I said.

"Leaders are there to lead a group of people, be in a small tribe or a
bigger country. The danger is there are some that view the people he leads
as being there for just himself." Amasis sighed. "I did until I truly
understood it. My brother did not ever get it. He viewed everyone under him
as being there to get what he wanted." He smiled sadly. "Or worse...and I
hope I use the term right. A man that was bothered as a child, for being
too short, or not being strong enough or...something that bigger children
would...abuse?"

"Bullied." I nodded.

"Yes, bullied. They then see the world differently when placed in a
position of power and they return this abuse to people. Not even the ones
that bullied them." Amasis said.

"We saw that during the Second World War in Germany. Men that were nothing
given places that were to decide who lives and dies and they did some
horrible things." Mom said. "There is a history of kings and queens that
thought only of themselves."

Amasis nodded. "This vampire, this Gaius, could be thinking that if the
world had wronged him, could be very, very dangerous." He looked at us very
seriously. "He may not even want the power, but to cause the world to feel
the pain he went through. There are no innocents as far as he's concerned
and because he suffered, the world will suffer."

"This guy will be insane." Shelly nodded.

"If he suffered the way Wayne did..." Amasis said, "I know he will be. The
other problem is...he could have the sort of madness that my uncle had. He
could pass for some who isn't mad, but he was. He could charm someone and
lure them into killing."

"He would kill them?" Mom asked.

"He could lure them into killing others and then he would kill them in the
name of justice." Amasis nodded. "He was quite mad!"

Colin nodded. "Well, whoever this Gaius is, whatever he is...we get nowhere
speculating about it. We need to find him." He looked at everyone. "George,
Burke, Devon and I are going to give Christian the serum."

"If he agrees," I said.

"I think he will," Colin said. "We do it there. Then we find this...Gaius."
He sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "I'm not good at hiding
things. You should know who we think he is."

I nodded. "He's not good at hiding things." I smiled. "The man...I
believe...he won't say it, but he may be Vlad Tepes. Vlad Dracul."

"Are you kidding me!?" Chuck stood up now and threw his hands out in
frustration.

"Is a joke?" Mark asked frowning.

"Really? You've met Dracula?" Stan asked, but was smiling. "The real
Dracula?"

George sat forward and said loud. "Listen, guys..." he forced his voice
down. "He's not what he seems; or what is painted in history or what was
supposed to be him in that novel!"

"The man I met last night was tortured," I explained. "He knows what he did
was horrible, but he did it for his people. He sees this vampirism as
punishment for what he did. In fact, he's afraid to die in case there is a
God and he will face punishment!"

"Maybe he should face punishment." Mom said.

"Mom, you haven't met him," I said. "You know how it goes. The fish you
almost caught was so much bigger than it really was, the accident you saw
was so much worse than it was. Maybe he didn't do all those things...I
don't know." I looked at Mom. "You told me to never judge a book by its
cover. You're judging a man by a book that isn't about him. And history is
written by the victors. Judge him after you meet him." I was getting a
little angry and Colin put his hand on my arm.

"He has a reputation, Devon," Colin said. "He does have the ability to
influence a lot. Devon thinks it's a kind of hypnosis. That's why we're
doing it there, not here." Colin looked at me. "Admit it. Christian could
be a dangerous man."

I looked at him and saw he truly was worried. "You said he seemed genuine."

"He knew things about us by simple observation. Better than Sherlock
Holmes, I think. He could fool me, remember I said that?"

I nodded. "Fine. He could be a danger, but I sense he's more of a danger to
himself."  Colin nodded. "You promised not to talk to him alone." He
reminded.  "I keep my word," I said. "But everyone keeps their minds open!"


It was after Colin and I went to our bedroom I confronted him. "Are you
worried about Christian?"

"Yes!" Colin said and grabbed my arms. "Honey, I love you. I'm not worried
that he could steal you from me, I'm worried that he may not be as innocent
as you think."

I nodded. "Okay, I respect that, but you can't admit that he might be just
what he claims to be?"

"Can you admit that he could be really a bad idea? Maybe, he is
just...bad?" Colin asked simply.

I shook my head. "I don't feel that. You said you didn't feel anything."

Colin nodded. "And that's what's worrying me! I felt nothing." He turned
and began to pace in his circle. "He was too practiced and perfect!"

I looked at him. "Perfect?"

"That's my point! No one's perfect!" Colin said. "I can't sense a thing."
He shook his head. "The one I got anything from, was Alin."

"Alin?" I shook my head. "He's one of the good guys."

Colin raised an eyebrow. "Is he?" Colin was doing his pace and stopped to
look at me. "On a simple deception, he doesn't have to do much." He
shrugged. "I dismissed a lot because I thought he was scared."

"Of Iilya."

Colin nodded. "I thought so, but Alin didn't change with Christian." Colin
did the turn again away as he tried to work things in his head. "I am not
psychic either, but I know what I felt. That Cragen guy, he was a little
too polished." He shook his head. "Things are not what they want us to
think they are. There is a lie somewhere."

"Who would do that?"

"Not a who, but the whole situation is just...off," Colin said. "It's just
what we expected it to be, wasn't it?"

I was trying to follow him. "I wasn't looking for him."

"Weren't you?" Colin asked. "Say it. You were looking for Dracula."

"I was hoping I might meet him." I nodded. "Sure."

"You were caught up in this...tortured vampire. I was too. The brooding
vampire because of a past he had no choice in." Colin was saying. "He was
that! He wouldn't use his name. Why?"

"He was ashamed of it," I said. "I think."

"Or he wasn't the vampire we thought he was. I might have picked up on his
deception." Colin said. "Do we know what the man...what Vlad looks like?"

"Just a poor painting that really doesn't look human," I said.

"What is the one thing the Christian said they wanted?"

"The serum." I nodded. "They want that for sure. Were they deceiving us? It
could just be that vampire lack of trust again."

"I'm saying it's very likely," Colin said. "They were exactly what we
wanted." He saw my face and frowned. "You love everyone, Devon!" I started
to protest that statement, but he interrupted me. "I'm not complaining, but
face it, you do." He held his hand up to further stop my objection. "That's
not a bad thing, baby, but you take people at their word. You loved Wayne,
you loved Gizmo and you're falling in love with this...Christian and I know
it. Not romantically, but the...tortured vampire thing..." He squinted an
eye. "Every time he spoke of Gaius, I sensed something more...personal."

I sighed and a little irritated. "Can I say something now?" I said loudly.

Colin looked a little startled. "Sure."

"You're right," I said glumly. "I was hoping to win Dracula to our side." I
brought him close. "I trust your instincts, Colin." I nodded. "You're
probably right. You almost always are."

"Oh," Colin said and then smiled. "I thought..." he grinned. "Well, it
doesn't matter. I could be wrong."

"You think he's really Gaius?"

Colin shrugged a nod. "Kind of."

I shook my head. "When you're that sure...so adamant about something, I
can't say you're wrong." I shrugged. "If you feel that strongly, I have to
admit...I don't know."

"We supposed to give this Christian the serum," Colin said thinking out
loud. "George said it would be difficult to reproduce the serum, but not
impossible."

"They have Alin with the serum in his blood." I pointed out.

Colin nodded. "We give it to Christian and they have more. We gave Alin the
serum here." Colin said. "We're giving Christian the serum there. We have
to bring raw serum."

"What do you think we should do?" I asked.

"Having vampires on the serum would stop them from feeding on anyone,"
Colin said. "We bring just enough for a dose. That should stop Christian
from feeding off anyone. Then we question him."

I nodded. "Okay. I can give the doses." I said. "Even the first
dose. George should stay secure."

Colin nodded. "That would be a good idea."


We got up that afternoon and told George and the others what we thought.

"You think he's not Dracula?" Stan asked a little disappointed. "I wanted
to meet him."

"We're saying, he may not be who he claims to be," I said. "We think he's
after the serum."

George frowned. "I still think I should give the serum. There could be
complications."

"Has there ever been a complication?" I asked George.

George shrugged and shook his head. "With every medication, there is the
chance that the body will reject it, or they could have a paradoxical
reaction."

"Which has never happened," Colin said. "There is no prediction possible. I
think it's worth the risk until we find out more. Prepare one syringe and
we take it to Christian."

"We'll need three, in case one is ruined," I said. "We should give it to
Cragen, too."


It was two days later when Colin and I retraced our steps to the
underground fortress. A bunker really. We made our way through the winding
tunnels and came to the chamber where we had met Cragen and Christian. Once
I had been somewhere, I knew how to get there again. The room was like an
elegant study in a nice home as I described before.

Cragen was again in the chair he was in that first night, again reading. He
rose when we entered.

"You returned," Cragen said looking behind us. "Where is your friend?"

Colin didn't even react. "He was doing something else. Devon here is giving
the serum. He's more than qualified."

"That's good to hear." The deep voice said behind us again.

Colin and I turned as Christian came in.

Colin looked at Christian. "This serum does hurt. I'm sure Alin told you
that."

Christian nodded. "He did, but now he's gained freedom. The pain is worth
it."

"I brought enough for you, too, Cragen," I said to the other man.

Cragen looked surprised. "You do?"

I looked around. "Where should we do this? You will require rest after the
dose starts your hearts again."

"We have places that we rest during the day," Christian said. He motioned
for us to follow.

We followed a good ways. Like most places that had vampires a while,
tunnels had been carved over many years. There were tunnels that went off
in other directions. We came to a chamber. I didn't like this at all. There
were in the light of these candelabras...were basic slabs here. There were
five empty ones.

"Slabs?" I said. "You don't use mattresses?" I looked at Christian. "You
know you can be comfortable when you rest, but a man with a reaction to
venom does change his rest?"

Christian nodded. "I know it now." He crawled onto one. "They are pretty
comfortable. You use one?"

"Why would I? I'm not dead. Our mattress is very comfortable." I pulled out
the two syringes. "I only have serum for two...maybe three," I said. "There
are five slabs. One was Alin's?"

"I have associates out there. They can get their serum later." Christian
said.

I nodded and smiled. "The first injection goes directly into the heart to
get it to beat again. The next night we can do it in the arm."

Christian smiled. "That sounds..." he took a deep breath. "...just
delightful." He began to remove his shirt. "You have the dose I need."

I nodded. "I do."

Both men were muscular enough, though I saw that Christian was more
muscular and scarred from battles than Cragen's body. I didn't think Cragen
was ever a soldier at all. I started with Christian and cleaned the
area. Then inserted the syringe and inserted the serum. I did the same with
Cragen. Both men were soon wracked with pain.

Alin came in soon after we gave the serum to these two. He looked
uncomfortable as Christian reacted from the pain. He looked as if it hurt
him.

I walked over to Alin. "It's always hard to watch someone you love suffer,"
I said quietly.

Alin looked startled at my statement. "Love? Who, me? Who do I love?"

I pointed at Christian. "Him."

"I had a girlfriend, remember? Linda." Alin said defensively.

I nodded. "And, I think, him." I pointed to Christian. I smiled, "We are
vampires, but we're still Human and we crave the touch of other Humans to
survive. He doesn't age and won't leave you. That's why George is with
Burke." I said and shrugged. "Then again, he had David when I first met
him. Only he was human." I said. "Colin thinks that without the
restrictions of the moral right and wrong, we give in to things we wouldn't
normally given the amount of time we have. George did."

Colin walked up behind Alin. "Who is he?" He asked pointed to
Christian. "He's obviously a soldier at one time."

"He's Christian," Alin said sensing he was in trouble.

"But that's not true," Colin said. "Don't forget, I can do what Christian
does. I can read people. He doesn't give off anything. He hides
something. Care to tell me what that is?"

"Who's Iilya? I don't think he's what you say, either." I said as I walked
to a coffin. "As a matter of fact..." I said sniffing a slab. "I get the
feeling that this is his." I waved at the slab. "He gave off a particular
scent, and that's what I smell from here." I looked at Colin. "Gabriella or
Alex could confirm this."

Colin nodded. "They could." He looked at Alin. "Women really rule the
world, you know?" He grinned. "But men are capable of using love to rule
others just like they do.

I chuckled. "Yes, because behind great men, there is always someone that
loves them. Women have used what talents they have to influence men and
policy since the dawn of time. For those like Colin and me, it would be a
man, but...still the same thing."

"He is not Vlad," Colin said. "Who is he?"

Alin was looking very nervous. "I can't." He said weakly. "I've only known
him as Christian."

"This whole thing was orchestrated to get us to give you the serum," Colin
said. "The oppressed vampire wanting to do what's best for the
others...why?"

"You might have said no," Alin said. "He didn't trust you."

Colin nodded. "But by looking at the ones we did help didn't tell you we
would? We have denied no one. Why would we say no?"

Suddenly I understood it better. "He's Gaius, isn't he?"

Alin now looked panicked. "I only know him as Christian."

I nodded. "What does he plan to do with this serum?"

"He plans to take us forward." A voice from behind us again said. Why did
they do that always behind us?

Colin and I turned to see Iilya standing there.

"Gaius wanted to motivate you into helping," Iilya said. "Any reluctance
would be prompted by a need."

"Help him do what?" I asked.

"Take our place in world affairs." Iilya shrugged. "He thought we were
cursed." He waved at the slabs. "We were undead. Then you come over with a
medication that changed that. We can walk about and we can interact with
men again. We can lead." Iilya smiled.

"But we don't want to lead," Colin said. "The outside world would never let
us do that. We remain hidden because they wouldn't understand."

"You have humans that work for you," Iilya said. "They know what you are
and still, they work for you and even protect you."

"Because they got to know us and they know what we're about," I said. "They
don't work for us, but with us."

"Whatever. Christian is tired of life underground. Just like me. He wants
to be in the world again." Iilya said. "His goals and yours seem to be the
same."

"I don't understand why you were acting like a bad man," I said.

"Again, to make you want to do this." He waved at Christian. "He was not
inclined to trust you."

"This ploy wasn't the way to win our trust," Colin said. "I hate dishonesty
and deceit. In many ways, it's worse than theft to me."

I remembered something. "You speak English very well. No translators are
being used."

"I speak English, no problem," Iilya said with a laugh.

"We need him to be honest when he wakes up," Colin said.


We waited for Christian to wake up after the serum did its job. Christian
sat up and rubbed his chest. "That did hurt."

Colin nodded. "I said it would," Colin said a little tersely. "I don't lie,
Gaius."

The man looked at us and nodded. "You figured it out."

"You were too...perfect," Colin said. "Why?"

Gaius sat up more. "The fact was you could say no. I needed this serum. Not
just for me, but my son."

I was startled about another family member being turned. "Your son is a
vampire, too?"

Gaius shook his head. "He's an adult now. He has some effects of being a
vampire, but he was born to me and Kirsten about forty years ago."

"Kirsten is a vampire?" I asked. "We were told we couldn't have children."

"She's not a vampire." Gaius grinned. "I never got a woman pregnant before,
but he is my son. You just have to look at him and you can see it. He has
my face."

I looked at Colin. "George said we couldn't!"

Colin nodded. "Can we see this son of yours?"

"Nicolae lives with his wife." He said. "He works at night." He
chuckled. "He's sensitive to sunlight."

"He burns in daylight?" Colin asked.

"Not burns like I would, but he does...it's like a very bad sunburn." Gaius
said. "His children have it too, only not as bad as Nicolae."

"You were bitten by an Old One?" I asked. "The kind of vampire I showed you
the picture of?"

Gaius nodded. "I was in a fevered state for several centuries. And then,
one day it began to fade."

"How long ago?" Colin asked.

Gaius thought. "About three or four centuries ago."

My mind was going over what could have happened. Colin looked at me. "What
are you thinking?"

"Spontaneous Remission?" I speculated.

"What?" Colin asked.

I waved at Christian...or Gaius....whoever he was. "He was bitten by an Old
One. He should be a wild vampire!"

Colin nodded. "But he isn't."

"That's my point!" I said. "Yet, his venom and the results of that venom
reduced to where he regains his mental faculties and..." I waved at
him. "...he created a son!"

"Three or four hundred years is not spontaneous." Colin gripped.

"But it did reduce!" I took Gaius' hand. "You're not lying are you?"

Gaius looked puzzled. "What would that get me?"

"Wait, Amasis was a vampire for thousands of years," Colin said.

I nodded. "And thousands to millions get cancer. Only once in a while, a
person is spontaneously cured! For no real reason other than their body
cured themselves."

"But he's not cured." Colin objected.

"But he's not as sick as he was." I pointed out. "He was bitten by an Old
One and became a wild vampire. Left alone, Wayne may have too in several
hundred more years. Then Christian, or Gaius, got to the point where he
could think again. Why? I can't say, but since then and only recently, he
was able to father a child. That's something no vampire I know ever had
been able to do."

"What do you think we need to do? Take him to George?" Colin asked.

I nodded. "He would be the one to say what the why is if there is a why."

"Do you think with time, Gaius would become...not a vampire?" Colin
asked. "George talked about victims that would no longer be turned and the
venom getting weaker."

"We need to find out!" I looked at Gaius. "Would Nicolae come here and meet
with us, if asked?"

Gaius nodded. "He visits often. I'm sure he will. Would this serum work on
him?"

"We need George," Colin said and looked at Gaius. "No more with this
vampire paranoia, Gaius. You might be the answer we've looked for. We'll be
back tonight."


Colin and I rushed back to the others who were all there waiting anxiously
for our return. Everyone was asking their questions at once.

"Before you get excited," Colin said loud stopping them. "We're fine. The
man's name is Gaius. He's the one that he warned us about."

"Why the..." George asked.

"Wait!" Colin said. "What he told us...he was bitten by an Old One."

"How could..." George frowned.

Colin looked at him. "What part of wait don't you get?" Then he pressed
on. "Over the centuries, he said his mind came back and get this...he has a
son who is not a vampire!"

"Impossible!" George said immediately.

"Why? Isn't everything there like sperm or something for us?" I asked.

"Yes, but fertilization just doesn't happen!" George said. "Woman have a
limited supply of eggs, but plenty. Men make their sperm."

I nodded. "That's basic biology. Why is there no fertilization?" I asked
again.

"It just never did!" George said. "No vampire ever gave birth. The women
that were pregnant when bitten just miscarry or the child is stillborn."

"So, there's no physical reason they couldn't have a child," Colin
said. "The woman's egg was okay?"

George nodded. "Yes."

"Have you considered spontaneous remission?" I asked.

George was not ready for this. "I've not encountered it. It never
happened!"

"This venom created a disease. No vampire lived long enough to have a
remission. When remissions happen, it's just in a few cases." I
said. "Other vampires just didn't do this. He might have!"

"I'd have to see it," George said doubtfully.

"That's why we're back," Colin said. "Do you have enough equipment to do a
DNA scan?"

George nodded. "Sure."

"Gaius said his son's name is Nicolae. He'll be there tonight. We'll see if
he is Gaius' son and maybe do some tests on both their blood." Colin
said. He nodded with a grin. "This could be the end of our nightmare."

George nodded. "We'll see." He still doubted.


We went the next evening to the bunker to meet with Gaius. The writers
about Transylvania weren't wrong when they wrote about the dark
forests. Even though it was Summer, it was a little cold as we went through
the foliage of thick trees. There were times I felt we were being
followed. I'm the first to say I have a vivid imagination, but I could
swear someone...or something was following us. The fact was I knew there
were wolves here didn't help, but I kept myself in check. A man alone might
face problems, but we were together. George took a few specimen containers
and cooler with him. In the bunker now there was two of Gaius. The thing
was time had passed for Nicolae, but not for Gaius. They were almost
like...fraternal twins? Not exactly alike, but the resemblance was
strong. I didn't need the DNA scan to see that Nicolae was Gaius'
son. Gaius had battle scars, Nicolae did not, but it was the same face on
both of them.

George walked over to Nicolae and...it was more like George was looking
over a specimen, not a human being. "This is...impossible!"

Colin scratched the back of his head and waved at Nicolae. "Yet, here he
is." He walked over to this new man. "I'm Colin Wentworth."

"Nicolae Funar." The man said taking Colin's hand. Nicolae had a thicker
accent when he spoke English. "My father told me you had a treatment for
him."

George nodded remembering his manners. "I'm sorry. I'm Dr. George Holms. I
came up with the serum to treat those of us who have this venom." He said
shaking Nicolae's hand. "I've never even heard of a vampire siring or
having a child." He smiled at Nicolae. "Would you mind if I took some
samples?"

Nicolae looked a little uncomfortable at the idea but shrugged. "Sure, if
it helps."

George nodded and got his needle out. No matter what the age a man is,
seeing the needle by anyone makes us little boys...a little wary. "I just
need a little blood." He looked at Nicolae. "Did you ever have a hunger you
didn't understand?"

Nicolae shook his head as he looked away from the needle as it was inserted
in his arm. "No. The only thing was the light problem. I can go out during
the day, but only with a very high sun blocker on." He explained, as George
took the blood and put it into a container and labeled it. "Even with that
on, I can only be out a few hours."

George then took some of Gaius' blood and labeled it. His blood still had
venom in it and was blacker than blood usually is. George labeled that
container. He held up the cooler. "I'm going to see what's in Gaius' blood
that makes him able to do this." He said and hurried off to do just
that. Burke followed quickly behind.

"Wait for me!" Burke said as he hurried. "There are things in those woods!"
He cautioned as he tried to catch up with George.

I brought up the serum and got the needle ready and withdrew the needed
serum. "We have to do it again." I smiled.

Gaius nodded and began to take his shirt off again.

"Not there this time," I said. "You get it in the arm this time."

Gaius nodded. "Oh." He rolled up his sleeve.

Colin greeted Cragen and got him ready to his next dose. "There are five
slabs. I've only seen Iilya, Alin and Cragen. Is there another vampire?"

Gaius nodded. "Lucian. He's been away the past few weeks."

"Isn't that dangerous?" I asked as I prepped Gaius' arm.

Gaius nodded. "It can be, but Lucian is over two hundred. He has another
few places scattered through this part of Europe to have a refuge from the
sun. I'm sure he's fine. He's a big boy."

Iilya came in as Gaius went through the pain began again and cringed. "I
will suffer like he is if I take this serum?"

I nodded. "We all have to do it."


As with everyone who goes on the serum, he did at last stop with the pain
and he rested. We promised to return the next evening. When we got back;
again, everyone back at the house wanted to know what we learned. We told
them and asked where George was. Burke waved toward a room that George had
made his lab in.

"He's with the samples," Burke grumbled. "There are times I wish I was a
sample."

I smiled with sympathy. "You get the scientist with George. You know he
loves you."

Burke nodded. "Yes."

Gabriella, Alex, Mom, Willie, Chuck, Mark, and Shelly were doing
patrols. They contacted very few vampires, but not that many. Stan came out
of the room where the computer was housed. He did not look happy.

"What's wrong, Stan?" Colin asked.

"George is using Buddy now with those samples," Stan said. "There's not a
lot I can do. He's linked with the main computer in Manhattan."


It was afternoon before George came out of his lab.

"What did you find out?" Colin asked.

George shook his head. "I still don't know how, but Nicolae is Gaius' son."

"I could have told you that," I said. "He and Gaius look so much alike."

"That could just be a coincidence. I have the DNA and that doesn't lie." He
said like a true scientist. "And I found something in Gaius' blood I've
never seen before. It's almost like...a human-made antivenin."

"He made a serum himself?" I asked. "Naturally?"

"Very much like it." George nodded. "It has many of the same properties of
the serum." He was thinking more than talking to us as he paced and
spoke. "There is something in his blood I've never seen before that has
many of the same qualities of the serum. If I could just make that
stronger..."

"I thought the venom caused us to rewrite our DNA," Colin said. "We're
vampires because we make the venom now."

"But Gaius' DNA is going back to what it was supposed to be," George said
smiling. "In more time, I think Gaius would get rid of the DNA that this
venom is making his body write. He would become human again. The blueprint
for his DNA is still there, the venom just adds something. This antivenin
is making that breakdown. I even think if he did bite someone in the
future...a vampire...not a human; his natural antivenin would reverse the
venom there in the vampire!"

"A man, turned vampire, could bite a vampire and turn the vampire human?" I
asked.  George nodded. "Nature or God or whatever added something to
counteract what those men tried to do thousands of years ago."

"By adding this to our bodies...this antivenin, would we go back?" Colin
asked. "Hurry things along?"

George gave a shrug and nod. "With almost every disease, there is one that
can resist the disease. It's like...their body will have the carriers for
the disease, but they don't get it. A vampire Typhoid Mary? Gaius may be
the cure."

I grinned. "Like that little monkey in that movie Outbreak. He had the
immunity, but was spreading the disease."

Colin groaned. "You and those movies..." He shook his head.

"Movies are a reflection of life," I said. "Almost everything that happens
in life is reflected in a movie." I justified.

George nodded. "Yes, it's like that movie." He grinned. "Theoretically, if
we get this antivenin and the venom quits adding what it wants...we could
be free of the vampirism."

"What about Nicolae?" I asked.

"A milder form of the serum should work on him." George smiled. "He has his
father's DNA. There is venom in his blood, but it's not as strong. With the
setup in his father's DNA and his mother's DNA and her being venom free
blood, he's almost normal." George smiled. "I'll have to dilute the serum
for him." He shook both of us. "Don't get excited too much. This may take
more than a few days to make, but I think we're reaching the end of our
vampire days."  Colin grinned and looked at me. I guess I wasn't as excited
as he thought I should be. "What's wrong? This is good news!"

"Wrong? Nothing." I answered, but I could see that reply wasn't what Colin
could see. "Okay, you two have been vampires a lot longer than I have
been. In fact, I haven't really missed a thing from the other life, because
I never lost anything."

"You want to NOT be a vampire, don't you?" Colin asked.

I shrugged. "My life hasn't changed. I am what I am."

"Lucian likes being a vampire," Colin said. "Gaius said to me Lucian liked
the control. I think it's the power."

"What power?" I asked. "We don't really have any special power."

Amasis got up and cleared his throat. "Actually, we do."

Amasis almost never spoke up about anything to do with the science or
technical side of what we are or our lives.

"What power?" I asked.

"Fear," Amasis said quietly. "The ability to scare is very important. There
is power in that." He smiled and shrugged. "I did it, too. Only my way of
scaring the people that followed me was a little different. They thought I
was a god. They were willing to do whatever I needed doing to please me, or
risk facing my wrath."

George nodded. "He's right. Vampires are the predator of predators. We hear
better, see at night, our sense of smell is better." He chuckled. "Even the
teeth add an element of fear."

Willie, Mom, Gabriella, and Alex had listened. It was Willie that spoke up.

"So, Gaius bites a vampire...but he hasn't been overcome his venom." Willie
said.

Mom nodded. "It only takes about twenty-four hours to turn a human into a
vampire. How long would it take for Gaius'...whatever to work?"

George threw his hands up. "That's the problem." He sat down as he
continued to think out loud. "This venom is...a cheat." He said. "It was
something introduced into a man that cheated evolution or nature's
plans. Gaius is the first answer to that cheat. Nature or God is trying to
reverse that."

Alex nodded. "Will Gaius give this antivenin like we do the venom through a
bite?"

George looked at the many eyes looking at him. It was a few seconds before
he looked back at everyone and shook his head. "What are you looking at me
for? I don't have answers, just speculation. I don't know! The men that
created the Old Ones had a human kind of hypodermic needle that inserted
the venom. The venom needs blood to live. It was a way to transfer the
venom to a new body. How many fails they had with their creation of the Old
Ones I can't even begin to guess." He rose again. "I need to get back. I'm
running some of Nicolae's blood now. He has some of the venom, but it's
weak. It could be him that makes the cure. He has a lot more of
this...antivenin than his father does. He's a hybrid; a cross between a
vampire that was beginning to reverse the venom and a regular human." He
looked back at everyone. "I need to test his blood with the serum."


We went back to the bunker that evening. Only this time with some bland
chicken that Eva had made to feed both Cragen and Gaius. We gave them both
the serum again and they went through the pain again. When it was done
again and the pain eased. They both passed out again but woke a few hours
later. That was when we introduced the chicken dish to them both. We
cautioned them both about what could happen, but like every vampire we put
on the serum and fed the first time, they didn't understand until it hit
them.

Gaius came out of a bathroom that he had down here for the visiting human
now. "I hadn't..." he grinned. "...well, it's been a while since I had to
do that."

I chuckled. "Your first taste of the return of your humanity," I said. "But
believe me, things will be tasting phenomenal now."

Colin and I returned to the house as the sun was beginning to rise. We
promised Gaius and Cragen the sunrise the next morning. What we found sent
chills down my spine. We had been robbed. We entered the house as the
others were looking around having just gotten back from a night of
patrols. Furniture was in disarray and those decorative little glass
knickknacks were shattered on the floor. Mom was righting a chair that had
been overturned as Willie was putting a lamp back up. Eva came in for the
morning preparing of meals and held her hand to her face.  "mi
történt? Már kirabolták?" She asked and the
translator spoke. "What happened? We were robbed?"

Colin nodded and looked at the television and other more valuable things
that were still there. Some were broken, but they were there. "I don't
see..." he looked up suddenly. "George!" He called and hurried to the room
that George had been using as a lab. I followed quickly and when we entered
the room, that room was far worse than the house. Stan was lying on the
floor next to a shattered CPU of Buddy. The various pieces of equipment
were broken and glass containers shattered and fluids were dripping on the
floor. George was also on the floor not moving. I rushed to Stan and saw he
was breathing and then to George to see he was also breathing. I looked
around more. I didn't see Burke or Mark. "Did Mark go on patrol last
night?" I asked everyone and no one.

Alex shook his head. "He was going to keep Stan company."

Colin went through some of George's things as I went to Stan and tried to
revive him carefully. Then I did the same with George. "Someone get me a
couple of cold compresses!"

It wasn't long before my mother came back with a couple of towels she'd
soaked with cold water.

I checked them both out physically; they both had raised portions of the
heads where I deduced they had been struck with something. Stan groaned as
I sat him up carefully. His eyes opened as he looked around. Those eyes
widened at what he saw. "Mark!"

"He's not here," I said. "What happened?"

"There were four of them!" Stan said. "Two were clearly vampires, but there
was one that hissed when he smelled the Disflavor in Mark and me. They
attacked and began breaking things here." He looked at the CPU, but he
didn't look that concerned about the computer. "Mark tried to fight them
off, but one was a big man. I think it was the man we met at that
nightclub. Iilya?"

George had come to again and looked at what he had worked with. "They took
my samples." He said sadly and looked around. "John!" He said looking
around. "Where's John?"

Colin shook his head. "We don't know." He said to George who was now very
worried. "The vampires that came here...one was Iilya, was the other
Lucian?"

George nodded. "That's what Iilya called him." He looked at some other
things. "They smashed my supply of serum here, but I have more hidden."

Amasis looked at the wreckage. "Clearly, Lucian doesn't want the serum."

"Fine. He doesn't, but he takes from those that do?" I asked. "How is this
destruction going to help?"

George nodded. "Amasis is right. They didn't want it, and they don't want
any other vampire to have it. I was only spared by the clock. It was just a
few hours till sunrise when they came in. Lucian wanted to know what I
found out." He shrugged. "I told him what I told you. Gaius was making the
antivenin for what's making us vampires."

"Doesn't that mean Gaius is in danger?" Alex asked. "If he's the source of
this antivenin..."

"Did you tell them about Nicolae?" I asked.

George shook his head. "No."

"We need to protect him anyway," Colin said. "We need two teams. One to
stay with Nicolae and the other to get to Gaius."

"It's past sunrise. Do you think they'd attack now?" I asked.

"The other two weren't vampires?" Colin asked George.

George shook his head. "They weren't vampires."

"We need to get back to Gaius," I said. "We need to find out where Nicolae
lives and send a team there."

Gabriella came over to Alex. "We can track him." She said tapping her
nose. "I remember Iilya's scent, but I'm picking up another. That must be
Lucian."

Alex nodded. "The trail is only a few hours old." He said to Colin and
George. "We can find out where they went. It couldn't be far with the sun
coming up."

Colin nodded walking over to Alex. "Follow only." He said and tapped Alex's
earpiece. "Communicate the coordinates. Don't confront them yet." He turned
to Stan. "We can't locate them using the PDTUs, can we?"

Stan nodded. "Sure, we can. We don't need Gabriella and Alex to track
them." He went into another part of the house and came back with a
laptop. "That satellite link will work." He pulled up the screen. He
grinned. "I have Burke and Mark right here." He pointed to a couple of
blinking signals on his computer. "I can get you where on a map in a few
seconds."

I patted Stan on the back. "And their vital signs?"

Stan nodded. "They are fine right now." He looked as George came and looked
over his shoulder.

"Respiration and heart rates are good," George said nodding. "They are on
the other side of town." He looked. "There must be more caves near here. I
don't see any developments in that area."

Colin nodded. "We need to get to Gaius and Nicolae." He looked at the
others. "I don't need to tell you all that no one needs to go off alone
right now."

Everyone nodded their agreement and we all headed out together. We told Eva
we'd handle things and to take the day off. We didn't need local police
involvement getting in the way yet. We then went to the bunker where Gaius
and Cragen were.

Gaius was still up and looked startled when we came in. Not just Colin and
me, but everyone from the VUN here.

"It's not sunset," Gaius said. "Something has happened?"

"They took Burke and Mark Goddard," Colin explained. "Lucian and Iilya took
them."

Gaius' reaction was surprised a moment but nodded sadly. "They wanted to
stop the serum."

"You're in danger," George said and explained what he found out about
Gaius' body and Nicolae's body. "We think you are nature's answer to the
venom."

Gaius was shocked to hear that. "I am?"

George nodded. "Nicolae has it too. His body is making a lot of the
antivenin...almost like a vampire antibody. The venom is trying to get
Nicolae to change him into a vampire, but this antivenin and this antibody
is fighting back and has for decades."

Gaius sat up suddenly a bit panicked. "Nicolae is unprotected!"

Colin nodded. "I'm sending some people there when I know where to send
them." He waved at Shelly, Chuck, Mom, and Alex. "How many followers does
Lucian have?"

Gaius thought. "Just a few dozen," He said hesitantly, "with one very
powerful one...if he told the man the truth."

"Who?" I asked.

Gaius looked away. "He calls himself the Dragon."

Stan walked forward. "The Dragon? As in Vlad the Dragon? The real Dracula?"
He said in almost a whisper.

Gaius frowned. "Well, you know that Cragen and several others..."

Stan nodded. "I know, I know, Dracula is a fictional character, but he is
Vlad Dracul, isn't he?"

Gaius nodded. "Yes." He looked at us very carefully. "You thought I was
scary when you met me? You've not seen anyone more frightening that he is."
He said in a low voice but avoided looking at us. "He can convince a priest
to commit suicide, a young virgin to commit vulgar acts she would never
have thought of doing." Then he looked at us. "He's been trapped by this so
long...I fear he is a bit mad."

"Would he harm Mark or Burke?" Stan asked.

Gaius nodded. "To get what he wants." He looked at us. "Yes, without any
hesitation or remorse."


Dragon and The Old Ones