Bad Blood :: War of the Covens

The Calm Before The Storm?

May 23, 2013 08:11

Willie and Kylar had just finished discussing the information the two of them had pulled out of the two traitor guards, on their way to go feed. Suddenly, a feeling a danger and dread filled Kylar. On alert, he tapped Willie’s shoulder, indicating something was going to happen. But it definitely wasn’t what Kylar was expecting.

“Die bloodsucking pigs!” Running out from behind Willie and Kylar, some bratty human ran out into the road and threw something.

The small orb hit the ground at the vampires’ feet and exploded into true daylight. The kid’s joy quickly turned to dismay as Kylar immediately leapt from the light and landed right next to him. Glancing at the boy, Kylar activated Bio Manipulation and paralyzed the human.

Raven ran up as Willie jumped out of the light, and slashed at the human with a dagger.

“Ah, Willie, wait!!” Raven jumped forward, failing to stop Willie as he cut through the immobile human. Finally, he managed to get the other vampire to stop. “Willie! Wait! We must interrogate him first, then we can eat him, ok?”

At that moment, Kylar’s hand shot out and grabbed the boy, tossing him back behind himself. “No one is eating this one.” he said, watching both of the other vampires very carefully. “I want to personally deal with this one.”

“Why do you get all the fun?” Raven asked frowning.

“Just trust me, I will deal with him, you two go ahead and fine something better to eat.”

“But why should we go when we have something right here to eat?” argued the french vampire.

Kylar was about to respond when both Raven and Kylar realized, Willie was no longer there with them. Spinning around, Kylar arrived just in time to see Willie bite into the human’s wrist. As he stepped forward to try and pull Willie off the boy, Kylar tripped and fell on top of the human, causing Willie to stand up.

“Oi, come on Kylar! Get off the boy! I want some information from him before we feed. Now undo the paralysis!” Raven sighed, folding his arms.

“I will only release him if you leave him alone once you get what you get what you want.” Kylar stood firm with this until Raven finally decided it wasn’t worth it and walked off with Willie.

Turning towards the boy, Kylar searched him. This kid has a bag full of orbs, probably what he threw at them earlier. Continuing his search, he found a silver sword and some throwing daggers, a revolver with silver ammo. Kylar frowned. What ever this kid was attempting to do would have been dangerous if he had any experience.

Picking the human up, Kylar grinned. “Well, it seems we’re going to have a little bit of fun tonight. Don’t worry though, I won’t kill you. I just have some questions, and then, I’m going to show you what it’s like to be…. Well, one of the bloodthirsty killers you tried so hard to kill just now.” Tossing him over his shoulder, Kylar made off for the mansion.

At one point, the paralysis wore off and the boy made a grab for his weapons only for Kylar to knock the air out of him and paralyze him again. This lasted until Kylar got to his room, and tied the human up.

“Alright.” Kylar said, taking off his jacket. “I do have a couple of questions. And I’m in a forgiving mood. If you answer truthfully, I might even let you go, since you decided to bring me all those little gifts. So…” With one hand, Kylar picked him up and slammed the human against the wall. “Who sent you? How did you find this place?”

“I dont know! It was a drop off letter, just telling me where this place was!”

After a little more interrogating, screams could be heard from Kylar’s room until Kylar walked out of his room and locked the door, only to run into Willie and Raven, returning from feeding. And both wanted answers about Kylar’s relationship with Vlad. Taking a deep breath, Kylar explained everything including his plans about turning the human. It was then Willie mentioned a kid he’d been playing with. When questioned, Willie said the child was shy, so he may or may not come out to say hi.

Two more days passed. It was determined the group would head to Paris, one of Angelica’s old hang outs. But first, Kylar introduced them to Buddy, his newly turned 8 foot tall ghoul, who was always hungry. Immediately, Kylar realized he was going to have his hands full.

Everyone gathered at Willie’s car. That is to say, everyone who was still there. Niko had gone off onto some quest that Kylar was told happened from time to time, and Reggie seemed to have decided she no longer wanted to travel with the group. In the end, it was Kylar, Willie, Raven and Buddy.

The first half of the trip was seemingly peaceful. Buddy had his head out the car while everyone one else stayed inside, chatting. It seemed like an easy ride, until they hit their first road block.

Six hybrid jumped in front of the car. Cursing, Kylar reached for his newly bought rifle as Willie signaled to the driver to hit the gas. As they slammed into two of the hybrids, there was a loud bang from the car. As the driver struggled to maintain control, Buddy leapt from the car, screaming about playing and completely crushed a hybrid into a bloody pulp. Switching the safety of his rifle off, Kylar took aim and fired at the nearest hybrid, clipping him in the shoulder. Raven followed suit, reaching across Kylar to fire his pistol, hitting another.

The car started to swerve to the side as one of the Hybrids jumped forward and barely managed to claw Kylar before the car skidded away to a stop.

“Dammit…” Kylar muttered as both he and Raven jumped out opposite doors of the car, guns blazing. Willie had become his bat form, swooping around the neck of one of the vampires. Buddy was taking care of his own business, throwing one vampire at another, still ranting about how he didnt want kisses. Raising his rifle, Kylar unloaded on an ugly hulking thing that charged him. Riddling the thing with silver bullets, the thing was moving at a snails pace by the time it got there. At that point, Kylar simply punched the thing, putting it out of it’s misery.

All the hybrids were dead, except for one Willie was questioning.

“Who sent you?” he snarled, lifting the vampire off his feet.

“My boss, who rules these land. We’ve been told to deal with the people giving us trouble, a group in a purple caddie.” The vampire sneered, glaring at Willie.

“Well, go tell your boss to stop messin with us, or we’ll come after him next” Willie said, letting the vampire fall to the ground

Buddy perked up, realizing someone was still alive. “Can I eat him?” He asked, loudly, starting towards the vampire.

“Buddy, no!” Kylar snapped as he reloaded his rifle.

“But Buddy’s hungry!” he whined. “Buddy wants fooooood!”

“You have plenty of food here, just eat that.” he said, pointing at the mangled bodies of the other vampires.

Pouting, Buddy walked over to the corpses and just began eating what he could. Shaking his head, Kylar made his way to the car, Willie not far behind. The car itself had blown a tire that took 30 minutes to repair. The rest of the trip to Buenos Aires was fairly uneventful.

Upon reaching the city, the group returned to the suite they went to when they first arrived. As the group fed and waited, Willie talked to the hotel owner, apparently about Willie’s rival who moved into town. Unable to get much, the group decided to try and get a hold of Françios. After several hours, the group was able to get ahold of the vampire and made arrangements to travel to Paris, France.

While they waited, Willie decided to gather something to eat along the way for everyone. Until Buddy made it clear he wanted to eat them all.

“Buddy, I will go get you three people to feed fro during the trip, but you can only eat three, understand?” Kylar pointed at Willie’s group. “You’re not allowed to touch them. Do I make myself clear?”

After much whining and pouting, Buddy finally agreed and Kylar managed to ‘convince’ three unsuspecting people to join them on their flight. But there was a small issue. Françios arrived, but he couldnt take everyone, including their on flight snacks.

Sighing, Willie had everyone but Buddy pick three to join them. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled some cash out and paid the ladies for their time.

“No!!!! I want to eat!!” Buddy screamed as the women started to leave. Tensing, the ghoul started forward after them.

“Buddy, stay!” Kylar barked, exerting his control over the 8 foot monster. Buddy instantly froze before getting on the plane, pouting again.

Thankfully the trip got off without a hitch and after much discussing, the group decided to check the Catacombs below Paris. As it turned out, Françios had a map of the underground labyrinth. Though the map was old, forcing Raven to look up a modern day map, just in case. Unfortunately, the maps didnt match and they were forced to go with the one online.

While Raven did his research, Willie had gone out to do a little “Shopping”. He came back with a man who promised to lead them through the labyrinth, as well as head lamps, lanterns and a GPS for everyone. As a just in case. At this point Niko showed up, apparently having called Raven for their location.

As they were about to enter the Catacombs, Raven’s card from Alice started to warm up. She contacted him to simply remind them they could contact her for certain items they might want. Agreeing they didnt need anything right now, the group readied themselves.

In the darkness, Anjelika was potentially hiding. She might be alone, or she might have an army. She might not even be there, but if she was, Kylar wasn’t going to let her escape.

Somebody I used to know...

May 22, 2013 16:46

Ok, so trying to take on three vampires…not the brightest thing I’ve ever done. One would have been difficult, but luckily I’m being given the opportunity to learn from my mistake…

NOT

I’m trapped inside my own mind, allowed simply to look out through my eyes, hear with my ears, and feel, but never act. This dolt who calls himself ‘Buddy’ of all the assinine names…regardless. He make me look like a clotting genius, and that’s saying something.

Being trapped here in the mind of a true mental giant seems to have freed me in a way I never imagined possible. I finally have the clarity that my life denied me. Does that mean I’m dead?

I don’t know, but this I do know: If I’d had the capabilities that Buddy here takes for granted then the fight between me and the clotting blood suckers would have gone a lot differently.

They ignore Buddy most of the time, those fools, if only I could get free for a moment, since a moment would be all it would take to end one of them. Maybe the next time they are alone with me…

But I have no freedom. I can’t even wiggle my own fingers.

After that Clotted son of a Clot Kylar changed me, they decided to take the new Ghoul out for a spin. Well, from what I could tell they actually planned to head to the airport? Sometimes it is hard to interpret the sounds coming in as actual speech. This clotting rotting mind of a ghoul I am trapped it.

We were attacked by more vampires while we traveled with Buddy sticking our head out the window like a giant dog. Luck for us he did that as we were ready and leapt into action. I’ve never experienced a more perfect punch, and that was a perfect punch. It hit that vamp just right and he literally exploded in a fountain of gore. Sure, I have to work with some other vamps, and drink blood, but a guy could get used to the power.

We quickly dispatched the remaining clotting blood suckers and got back under way to the airport. Buddy was bored, and I have to admit to a little boredom myself. The plane finally arrived and Willie complained because he couldn’t take his herd with him.

The black guy is beginning to get on my nerves.

We arrived in Paris to find that our quarry are in the sewers more affectionately named the Catacombs.

Buddy hate water.

In our present form, I think I have to agree.

We Are Broken

May 18, 2013 23:48

Edgar,

You know of my secret to join the clans? Over a hundred years and I now have an inkling of an idea as to what is going on in the clans. This family has been broken for so long that they dont even recognize themselves; the Coven of the Dragon is proof of that.

After we dropped off the Lady of the Coven of the Lost we were attacked. It seems that there are still spies loose and that they have a plan other then that of my own. They have already made ruin of the Coven of the Beast. Lords of the Coven are falling and are running in hiding and this Dragon Coven had more plans and sub plans then ever. Angelika when I find you….

I am getting ahead of myself.

After we returned the Lady of the Coven of the Lost we found ourselves hunted by a vampire hunter (funny, I thought that they were extinct). The team all had their ideas as to how we were going to take care of this flesh bag. It was Kylar, that nephew of a piss ant that finally got his hands on the food. Willie and I wanted to eat him but this clever pure blood had a different idea; minion. The hunter would be our own ‘pet’.

We got in the purple caddie (Willie you are a real class act) and started driving when we came across vampires and ghouls. It seems that we were being followed and watched. How this is happening I blame the traitor Rin. Niko needs to leave it alone. The fact that he talks to traitors is quite disturbing.

The fight was quick and painless; no one on the team was hurt. Willie’s hired help really know what they are doing and their driving, fantastic.

I am just glad that we have a friend like Françios. He took us to his home in Paris for a week after the car fight. I was glad to be back in my home country and speaking occasionally my native language.

It seems that there is a vampire hideout under the city. I have done some extensive research (ok not really; four hours is not long enough) and have an idea where we could go into the underground city and do some looking (assuming that the research is good). Françios has been a great ally.

Blood in the Water

May 18, 2013 00:33

Have I ever seen a vampire before now? No, I haven’t, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know they exist. You see, from the time I was old enough to walk, I’ve been training. First my Grandfather trained me, and then, when he died, my parents started training me. Martial arts, Magic, anything that could help me in a real world fight with a vampety-vamp leech, well, that’s what I worked on.

And I’m ready. Ready to show those parasitic blood suckers what for, and all that. I’m going to make my mark on their numbers starting with this little group right here.

I got a good tip off that four of the blood suckers could be found right here. I’ve been stalking them for the last couple of days, and let me tell you that is something to be proud of. They’ve never seen me so far, thank you prowling lessons.

Well, not completely unseen. I’m half convinced that the helicopter saw me, so I had to crawl through the sewers for a little way, but that wasn’t anything to a real hunter of the undead. The purple cadilacs didn’t evade me, though, even as I evaded the helicopter.

They stopped at a mansion. After I kill all of them, I think I’ll take this as my new base of operations.

While I feel confident in my ability to take out all four blood suckers, it seems that they’d decided to split off into smaller groups now that they’re at this mansion. Two is an easier number than 4. Now’s my chance to prove myself worthy of the title of Hunter. After I kill the first half, the second half will fall to me quickly.

A Traitor Unmasked

May 10, 2013 21:51

A feeling of disorientation passed over Kylar for a brief moment as Alice’s store vanished and was replaced by the pub again. Taking a deep breath in, the vampire shook his head and looked around. Everyone else was still there at least.

Mark, the vampire who owned to pub, looked around in sheer amazement. We had all vanished before his eyes, only to reappear again. After a moment, he seemed to recover slightly.

“Well, um, I would like to invite you all to stay at my manor to stay while you recover.” he offered to the group.

“Mark, my man, I would love to man, but I need to chow down first.” Willie said, walking over to hug Mark. “I’m starving.”

“Oh, yeah. Just stay here while I find you something. You have anything specific you want? Red head, asian? We got them all man.” Mark replied.

“Just make ‘em fine, that’s all, man.”

Nodding, Mark asked Willie to stay there and turned towards Kylar. “You’re welcome to stay as well, Mister Kylar. We have places to feed and sleep.”

Kylar paused for a moment, obviously hesitant, before nodding. “Alright. Thank you for your kindness.”

Turning away, Mark led everyone but Willie through the back of the pub and to a van that took them to the manor, which actually wasn’t that far away.

At the manor, Mark showed us where we could feed and rest. Not feeling the best from all the night’s little ‘discussions’, Kylar went to the bar to feed off of who ever they had on tap. A couple moments later, Raven walked over and sat down next to Kylar, and the two started talking, getting to know one another better.

The entire time, Reggie stood near by and started throwing insults at Raven, throwing names around like thinblood, half breed, causing Kylar to frown. Either those two have some sort of bad history, or Reggie is like a lot of the other True Vampires Kylar knew from his coven. Thinking it was the latter, Kylat shrugged. True vampire, or a Hybrid, it didn’t matter much to him.

As Reggie threw her next insult at Raven, Willie came in and heard everything. The pimp vampire walked up to her went off on her, saying things about how Raven is apart of the group, and to give Raven a break. Reggie’s response was to flip Willie off, before vanishing.

That caught Kylar’s interest immediately. He had heard that when the Coven of the Lost vanished, they could only be seen using the power of the Coven of the Beast. That would be something he would have to test out at a later point in time.

After all of that, Willie glanced at Kylar and started a conversation with Niko. Their whispered tones didn’t reach Kylar, but it was obvious that what ever Niko said, clearly didn’t make Willie happy at all, and he left. Shortly after, Niko excused himself from both Kylar’s and Raven’s presence to go hunt, leaving the two alone to talk more. Finally, after talking for a long while, Kylar excused himself to find a place to rest as dawn started creeping in.

It wasn’t until the following night that plans were discussed about bringing the young Blood Lord home.

“I believe it is a very real possibility there is a mole among the clan. Someone who is after Mila’s life. We can’t just hand her back to them.” Niko argued.

Raven nodded in agreement. “We need to be able to, how do you say, bait them out, yes, no?”

“Well, what are we going to do about him?” Willie asked, pointing at Kylar. “What can he do to help?”

“Kylar’s done a lot to help. He helped rescue me, is willing to bring me home….” Mila trailed off, looking at Willie.

Before Kylar could say that he had nothing to do with her rescue, Willie beat him to it. “I’m sorry, Mila, but no, no he didn’t. In case you don’t remember, it was us who risked our lives to get you out alive. Not him.”

“He’s still coming with us, so we need his opinion.” Niko countered before turning to Kylar, “What is you opinion on what we should do, Kylar?”

Watching Willie as he stood up Kylar strode forward to join the group. “From what I hear, there really is someone in the coven who is after Mila’s life. We need to make sure she has someone around her all the time while we’re there until we can make sure, with absolute certainty, that she is safe.”

With that, everyone agreed and we all went our separate ways to start preparing. Raven, Niko and Kylar were still in the room, discussing how they were going to go about protecting Mila when there was a loud crash followed by Willie crying out, “DIE!!! DIE!!!”

In an instant, all three of them took off after Willie’s voice. Down the hall and around the corner, the three vampire came to a stop, all confused by what they saw.

Willie was standing over a suit of armor that had fallen on the floor with Willie’s sword through it’s chest. “It’s alright guys, I killed it. You dont need to worry anymore.” he said, beaming at them all.

“Uh, that’s great Willie. Why don’t you come with me and we can celebrate? We can get Mark to find some nice catches to party with.” Raven smiled reassuringly towards Willie, leading the vampire away.

The moment they were out of sight around the corner, Kylar walked towards the suit of armor and removed the helm to inspect it. Empty, completely empty… Frowning, he moved the armor off to the side, out of the hallway’s path. Something was definitely going on, but the question was, what?

Heading back towards the main room, Kylar made it just in time to hear Mark telling both Niko and Raven that the group needed to go. He’s been keeping back forces that they didn’t know about, but the longer they stayed, the more dangerous it was. It was decided right then that we would leave immediately.

Taking Mark’s offer to drive them to the airport, they were about to depart when Raven got a call from a Francois, who Kylar only assumed to be an old friend, asking to party and have fun. Raven agreed, but said they needed to get to Buenos Aires first and then we could party. Instead, he arranged a flight to take the entire group there.

Arriving, there was almost instantly an issue. Kyla listen as best as he could as Willie was told that someone had moved into Willie’s territory while he was gone, and that he shouldn’t be there. After much arguing, and talking, they were finally given a penthouse in the Four Seasons.

While they were in the elevator, Reggie’s phone went off. Answering it, she closed it after a moment. That was something to be dealt with later.

Everyone spent a decent amount of time, relaxing and feeding until Francois finally excuses himself, and promptly left them. Kylar would have to remember him. He knew how to have a good time.

As Kylar started to relax slightly, Reggie gathered everyone.

“I got a call from the Captain of the Guard, from the Coven of the Lost. He wants the Bloodlord back as soon as possible. I don’t know how he knew we were here.” Reggie said, looking around at everyone.

“Mila, did you contact them, at all?” Willie asked, concerned. No one should have known they were coming. They had kept it very quiet simply because of the danger Mila was still in.

The young Bloodlord shook her head. “No, I don’t even have a cell phone.”

Kylar frowned. “This isn’t good… We need to be careful now if they know we’re coming. I think all we can do right now is head there and do our best.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, still uneasy about the sudden turn of events. But the only thing that could be done, would be to go to the Coven and deal with it there.

Luckily, Willie had a couple of cars that could take them to where the Coven was located, but the ride there was something Kylar would never forget for a while.

The ride there wasn’t that bad at first. They were far from the city, on one of those long roads that never seemed to end. And out of no where a group of atleast 20 bandits jump out into the road, yelling for the cars to stop, pointing assault rifles at the two cars. While Kylar was expecting to stop and deal with these beasts, Willie had different ideas as he had both drivers, run the all down before driving on.

A short while later, four people jumped out into the road, each holding a military grade rocket launcher. Tires screeched as the cars tired to come to a dead stop as the people clamped silver braces around their necks. These people obviously knew what they were dealing with.

Everyone started jumping out of the car, trying to make it to the tree line before the rockets were fired. Staying in the car long enough to make sure everyone else made it out of the car, Kylar activated his Bio Manipulate powers and blinded one of the 4 before running out of the car.

After a couple of explosions and, alot of cursing and snarling, the 4 were all down, for good. Taking a moment before they took off again, Kylar scavenged one of the launchers and grabbed a handful of missiles. They might come in handy later on. Willie took Kylar’s lead and grabbed the rest, tossing them in the trunk of his car.

The rest of the drive up there was full of more explosions and confusion. A cop car showed up and ended up being run off the road, and then an attack helicopter showed up. After blinding the pilot, Kylar heard Reggie yelling at Willie, telling him he was a moron and that the copter was from the Coven. Much to the driver’s great displeasure, Kylar had the car turn back around to undo the blindness. Though, no matter how much he apologized, Kylar has a feeling that particular driver is going to hold a grudge for a long time.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the group finally made it to the Coven, with a warm welcome from the Captain of the Guard, Rogerio, as well as the rest of the Coven. Though everything seemed to go down hill very quickly.

“Mi’lady.” Rogerio addressed Mila. “We have proof that your father’s death was really planned by the very man who rescued you. This, Willie.” Making a motion, two guards came forward and presented a note ‘from’ Willie, to his Bloodlord, detailing the plot to kidnap and kill both Silas and Mila.

The writing matched Willie’s from what Kylar could tell, but he didn’t believe it. Even from the short time Kylar knew Willie, Willie didn’t seem like the kind of vampire who would plot to kill another Bloodlord and his daughter, only to bring the daughter back at the expense of his own fellow clan members. His pain about losing them was too real. So either this note was a lie, or Willie was a terrific actor.

Kylar felt something in him seem to awaken, almost like his abilities did recently. At that moment, Kylar remembered a specific ability that would prove everything about the note if they were lucky.

“Mila, if I may speak. There is a way to prove Willie’s innocence. There is an ability that certain vampires gain. It allows them to view into the objects past, so we can see who wrote this note. I believe that I can do it, but can you send for someone who has this ability to verify what I see?” Kylar asked, looking at the Bloodlord.

She nodded and asked Penny, Reggie’s twin sister, to send for someone as Kylar used Object Read.

Taking the letter, Kylar sat down and entered a trance. He was flooded with intense emotions. Anger, hate, feelings of deceit. Frowning, he tried focusing on the letter being written, but ultimately got nothing. Instead, he tried focusing on the own in the present time.

Opening his eyes, Kylar stood up. “The letter was written with deceit and hatred in mind. And the owner is that man right there.” Kylar pointed at the guard directly behind Rogerio.

The Captain scoffed at Kylar. “Well of course you would see that! This man has been the one who has been in possession of the letter since we intercepted it!”

Before Kylar could retort, Penny returned with their person. “While we do this, would you all mind waiting outside?”

Kylar immediately backed down and the group turned and left the room to wait outside. It was only then, that Kylar realized that Reggie was gone. At this point, it might be better that she wasn’t here.

After a while, Penny came back out so everyone could hear what the vampire had to say. He repeated everything Kylar said, but he was also able to see it being written. “It was written by that man.” The vampire pointed at the same guard Kylar pointed at earlier.

“Of course he would say that… He’s obviously in line with the assassins.” Rogerio hissed. “Paid to lie for them.”

Anger filled Kylar as he decided to read the vampire’s emotions.Striding up to Rogerio, he stopped a few feet away. “If he’s lying, and Willie did plot the Bloodlord’s death, than why are you the one feeling anger, deceit and fear?”

A moment later, a silver knife whipped past Kylar’s face and it took every ounce of control Kylar had to stay still. “If I was scared, could I have thrown that with such accuracy? I did not hit you, did I?” Rogerio snarled in response.

Kylar didn’t back down an inch this time. “Tell the truth, Mister Rogerio.” he hissed, staring the Captain of the Guard down.

Rogerio didn’t say a word for a moment before he threw up his hand. Kylar barely got out of the way before a net of pure energy flew from his hand and engulfed Raven and Niko. “Seize them! Bring Mila to me!” Rogerio commanded.

Two guards jumped forward, grabbing Kylar’s arms in an iron grip.

“Let go!” Kylar bared his fangs as his eyes lit up with and eerie light while a small aura of terror engulfed the two guard. One of them let go immediately and jumped back as if Kylar was a a poisonous snake. Balling his fist, Kylar turned to punch the second guard with all of his strength when Rogerio stepped forward.

“Fine, I will deal with this myself.” The Captain muttered as he stepped forward. He got within arms reach of Kylar when he came to a dead stop, his eyes widening in terror from Kylar’s power.

Finally, the crowd who had been watching in complete shock and awe, made their move. They surged forward, and grabbed the frozen Rogerio. Unfortunately, the ones who grabbed Rogerio, entered the same aura the Captain did. At that moment, two kinds of chaos broke out.

Half the vampires turned and fled in sheer terror as mob mentality took over. The swept over Kylar, who did his best to stay where he was. He wasn’t done with that Rogerio bastard, or the guards who took off with the mob.

The other half of the Coven grabbed Rogerio and pulled him into the horde and started tearing him apart.

Leaving him to be dealt with, Kylar turned and immediately began searching for one of the guards who attacked him. As he went, he tried calming the two mobs with his power, hoping to calm the chaos so no one could escape.

After a while, Kylar, with the help of the rest of the group, managed to hunt down six of the traitor guards after Mila had Rogerio thrown into a well. Together, with Willie, the two vampires interrogated the guards and found of all of their names, where they were suppose to meet in case of emergency and who was pulling the strings. Giving Mila everything they knew, she assembled a fighting force and hunted down every single traitor they could.

As it turned out, The Coven of the Dragon had convinced Rogerio that if he killed the Bloodlord and his family, that he could take over the Coven as his own.

Things were getting difficult. Who knows who else they have manipulated to think the same. The Coven of the Dragon was a danger lurking for the right time to strike.

Dangerous Road

May 08, 2013 21:40

Mark Osbo’n be de man! Right on! ah’ needed some pick-me-up, some lovin’, some dudette companionship, some honky chicks to make me feel mah’self again. He came drough completely wid some fine co-eds- and dey enjoyed demselves as much as ah’ dun did! Right on!

While ah’ wuz makin’ sweet love t’dose fine honky chicks, de rest uh de group went off t’Mark’s mano’crib. ah’ found out lata’ dat Raves & Kylar took blood fum some tap- ah’ still dink dat Kylar be one t’watch, but Niko be de one dat wo’ries me da damn most now, so cut me some slack, Jack.

Niko told me dat it wuz his fault, not Alice’s dat Slimmy and the fine Rin got wasted. Turns out da damn shi’plan wuz his- so’s we gots lost members uh our group drough his acshuns, as well as mah’ coven mates dat got wasted drough his sucka’al feud wid dat bastard Remmy. At least he be gone now, and we duzn’t gots’ta deal wid him again- ah’ plum wish he had lived, so’s I could make his life some livin’ hell. ah’ also wants’ed t’know why his blood wuz so’s toxic as well.

Rappin’ uh Niko, he gots some funky feedin’ habits. He fed off uh an old jogger, and when de old dude dun didn’t dank him, he goes and cuts his haid off and buries him in de bushes. He be funky.

So’s de rest uh dem gada’ round da damn bloodlo’d Mila, and pledge t’protect her, even dough ah’ ain’t dere. She says sump’n about it bein’ “easia’ to find some wuzp in some wuzp’s nest,” so’s dey decide, again widout me, t’go afta’ de Coven uh de Fust, Kylar’s coven. Now, ah’ am already not some big fan uh Vlad… dis ah’ am sho’ man be not goin’ t’make dat relashunship better. Ah be baaad… Whut do ah’ know anyway. Slap mah fro!

I gots back t’Mark’s happenin’ mano’ crib, and fed liberally- gots’ta feed afta’ all dat happy ‘esercise ah’ gots in de pub’s back room! Right on! Den ah’ saw dat little kid again- he always makes me smile. ah’ played airplanes wid him fo’ some bit, and den ah’ saw some Honky Knight sneakin’ by. Slap mah fro! ah’ prowled down behind him, and slayed him easily! Right on! De oders came and found me standin’ upside his lifeless body. Osborn said it wuz not safe here no mo’, and it wuz time t’go. ‘S coo’, bro.

Wid dis news Francois seemed t’have his ears burnin’, cuz’ he called mah’ main joker Raves at dat point. Man! He gave us an happenin’ plane ride (full uh fine, non-Frenchie, non-froy, ladies) t’Buenos Aires. Back t’one uh my cribs, ah’ gots us some pimpin’ fine purpa’ Caddy ride t’de Foe Seasons, where we gots checked in t’one uh de Pendouses. We gots some supa fine, laid back, party t’dank Francois- dun did it down baaaad t’dank de second waaay coo’est Frenchie ah’ have met, next t’my main joker Raves. Right On! He enjoyed himself, and den said baaaad-bye.

De next evenin’ ah’ called Lil’ Tony, t’check in. ‘S coo’, bro. ah’ told him all dat had happened, and some piece uh news dat da damn hotel managa’ had shared- his son Vinnie had snatchn upside my territo’y in mah’ absence. De last bit dun did not please papa Tony one bit, but he ax’ed me not t’go out uh my way t’confront him. Slap mah fro! So’s I called fo’ anoda’ caddy so’s dat da damn group uh us could arrive back at da damn Coven uh de Lost in style. Mila, Reggie and Raves in one, wid me, Kylar, and Niko in de oder. Ah be baaad… Down dat mountain road back t’de Lost’s stronghold- and whut some trip it wuz!

Fust let me tell ya’ about mah’ happenin’ rollrs, Lucia and Juanita. WORD! Dey be fine ‘esamples uh Brazilian booty, wid brains and brawn t’match. Lop some boogie. Dat’s right, ah’ said brawn, cuz’ bod uh dose fine ladies is trained fighters as well as combat rollrs- and ah’ owe bod uh dem raises- in mo’e ways dan one! Right on!

Not far down de twistin’ road we ran into some bunch uh banditos tryin’ t’sco’e. ah’ smiled at Juanita, who guns it, and we run upside a whole lot uh dem, wid Lucia hittin’ some mo’e. Dead Race gots nodin’ on us! Right on! Den we gots’ta dudes wid foe rocket launchers furda’ up! Right on! ah’ turned into some bat and when flyin’ out da damn window, but dey obviously had previous ’espuh’ience wid mah’ kind, fo’ dey screamed out “Beast” and clapped metal collars t’deir necks. No matter, fo’ ah’ nailed one uh deir launchers plum befo’e dey shot it off, and it blew down dem and da damn ground! Right on! Niko went into mist, Raves and Reggie protected Mila, and Kylar blinded one. ah’ shot anoder, and we peeled out uh dere! Right on!

As if dat had not been enough, den we had cops afta’ us! Right on! Clot! Preach it loud, bruddah! Juanita nails his car, but somehow he stayed on de road! Right on! It only set down Lucia, who clipped him baaaad, and da damn cop nailed da damn cliff! Right on! Den some big ass boulda’ comes waaay down, crushes de car, which ’esplodes! Right on!

Just as we wuz digtin’ t’de Coven area we spot an Apache helicopta’ leavin’! Right on! Mila tells us it be not hers, so’s I fly down t’go afta’ de gunner, and Kylar blinds de pilot! Right on! Dis dude be fine useful! Right on! ah’ nail de gunna’ so he kinnot do any damage, and dey lata’ go waaay down. Finally t’de Coven- wonda’ if de group gots’ta mind if ah’ plum fly waaay down when we leave?

Whut happened next be best told by Mila, o’ even Reggie, fo’ it be deir internal politics. Let me plum sum down mah’ part. Man! We dig dere, and rada’ dan de heroes welcome which we deserved fo’ savin’ de Bloodlo’d Mila, we dig some bunch uh accusashuns. ah’ lose it, and start pointin’ out da damn obvious- it wuz an inside job! Right on! De Captain uh de Guard, some prick dojiggerd Rogerio, refuses t’acknowledge dat dey, wid deir much higha’ levels uh ‘sperience, should gots been de ones t’do de rescue. In fact, it wuz deir fault dat da damn kidnappin’ eva’ occurred! Right on! Dis, uh course, dun did not go upside well, and even wo’se, dey started t’try and pin it on me! Slap mah Fro! Willie Dynamite! Right on! Accused uh tryin’ t’start some war! Slap mah Fro!

Dey brought out purple stuff dat dey said wuz mine, and brought out some fake dat said his psionics proved it! Right on! We gots Penny t’get some psionic dat wuz not in de scam- and sho’ man enough, it wuz dat dude Rogerio! Right on! Mob ripped him t’shreds, and Mila dropped his haid in de well, plum to make sho’ man he wuz done! Right on!

I still am hopin’ fo’ de ragin’ Heroes party we deserve! Right on!


Willie Dynamite.


Log from the upcoming book, “The Eloquent Stylings of Willie Dynamite” by Willie Dynamite.


Translation:
Mark Osborn is the man! I needed a pick-me-up, some lovin’, some female companionship, some women to make me feel myself again. He came through completely with some fine co-eds- and they enjoyed themselves as much as I did!

While I was making sweet love to those fine women, the rest of the group went off to Mark’s manor house. I found out later that Raves & Kylar took blood from a tap- I still think that Kylar is one to watch, but Niko is the one that worries me the most now.

Niko told me that it was his fault, not Alice’s, that Slimmy and Rin died. Turns out the poor plan was his- so we have lost members of our group through his actions, as well as my coven mates that died through his personal feud with that bastard Remmy. At least he is gone now, and we don’t have to deal with him again- I just wish he had lived, so I could make his life a living hell. I also wanted to know why his blood was so toxic as well….

Speaking of Niko, he has some strange feeding habits. He fed off of an old jogger, and when the old dude didn’t thank him, he goes and cuts his head off and buries him in the bushes. He be weird.

So the rest of them gather round the bloodlord Mila, and pledge to protect her, even though I am not there. She says something about it being “easier to find a wasp in a wasp’s nest,” so they decide, again without me, to go after the Coven of the First, Kylar’s coven. Now, I am already not a big fan of Vlad… this I am sure is not going to make that relationship better. What do I know anyway.

I got back to Mark’s awesome manor house, and fed liberally- got to feed after all that happy exercise I got in the pub’s back room! Then I saw that little kid again- he always makes me smile. I played airplanes with him for a bit, and then I saw a White Knight sneaking by. I prowled up behind him, and slayed him easily! The others came and found me standing over his lifeless body. Mark said it was not safe here anymore, and it was time to go.

With this news Francois seemed to have his ears burning, because he called my main man Raves at that point. He gave us an awesome plane ride (full of fine, non-Frenchie, non-hairy, ladies) to Buenos Aires. Back to one of my homes, I got us a pimping fine purple Cadillac ride to the Four Seasons, where we got checked in to one of the Penthouses. We got a nice, laid back, party to thank Francois- did it up good to thank the second coolest Frenchie I have met, next to my main man Raves. He enjoyed himself, and then said good-bye.

The next evening I called Lil’ Tony, to check in. I told him all that had happened, and a piece of news that the hotel manager had shared- his son Vinnie had taken over my territory in my absence. The last bit did not please papa Tony one bit, but he asked me not to go out of my way to confront him. So I called for another caddy so that the group of us could arrive back at the Coven of the Lost in style. Mila, Reggie and Raves in one, with me, Kylar, and Niko in the other. Up that mountain road back to the Lost’s stronghold- and what a trip it was!

First let me tell you about my awesome drivers, Lucia and Juanita. They be fine examples of Brazilian booty, with brains and brawn to match. That’s right, I said brawn, because both of those fine ladies are trained fighters as well as combat drivers- and I owe both of them raises- in more ways than one!

Not far up the twisting road we ran into a bunch of banditos trying to score. I smiled at Juanita, who guns it, and we run over a whole lot of them, with Lucia hitting some more. Death Race got nothing on us! Then we got to dudes with four rocket launchers further up! I turned into a bat and when flying out the window, but they obviously had previous experience with my kind, for they screamed out “Beast” and clapped metal collars to their necks. No matter, for I nailed one of their launchers just before they shot it off, and it blew up them and the ground! Niko went into mist, Raves and Reggie protected Mila, and Kylar blinded one. I shot another, and we peeled out of there!

As if that had not been enough, then we had cops after us! Clot!! Juanita nails his car, but somehow he stayed on the road! It only set up Lucia, who clipped him good, and the cop nailed the cliff! Then a big ass boulder comes down, crushes the car, which explodes!

Just as we were getting to the Coven area we spot an Apache helicopter leaving! Mila tells us it is not hers, so I fly up to go after the gunner, and Kylar blinds the pilot! This guy is pretty useful! I nail the gunner so he cannot do any damage, and they later go down. Finally to the Coven- wonder if the group will mind if I just fly down when we leave?

What happened next is best told by Mila, or even Reggie, for it is their internal politics. Let me just sum up my part. We get there, and rather than the heroes welcome which we deserved for saving the Bloodlord Mila, we get a bunch of accusations. I lose it, and start pointing out the obvious- it was an inside job! The Captain of the Guard, some prick named Rogerio, refuses to acknowledge that they, with their much higher levels of experience, should have been the ones to do the rescue. In fact, it was their fault that the kidnapping ever occurred! This, of course, did not go over well, and even worse, they started to try and pin it on me! Willie Dynamite! Accused of trying to start a war!

They brought out purple stuff that they said was mine, and brought out some fake that said his psionics proved it! We got Penny to get a psionic that was not in the scam- and sure enough, it was that dude Rogerio! Mob ripped him to shreds, and Mila dropped his head in the well, just to make sure he was done!

I still am hoping for the raging Heroes party we deserve!

Subject: Thank you, Lady Regina

May 05, 2013 23:14

To:Reggie@BloodFountains.org
Cc:The_Raven@Hotmail.com

My thanks to you, Lady Regina. I had thought you were different from the whisperings I heard described you. It pleases me to no end that you share my viewpoints on Vampire Superiority. However, I sensed there was a bit of animosity toward one Raven LeBeaux. Though he be a Mudfang, It does not mean he is completely useless. I honor him as I would a True Vampire, as were it not for him, I would still be blind to the imminent threat of my Daughter’s tirades. I would find it very non-fortuitous if he were to be hurt.

I take you up on your offer, though I am presently leading a search, and cannot be pulled away. I will send members of my Court to meet you and receive your gift. Thank you.

Vladomir.

Subject: Touché!

May 04, 2013 06:00

Mr. Kurushime

You very nearly won our little battle in the Palace. You would have won, had I not taken precautions. My sources tell me you left Edinburgh, though I had thought for certain when I washed the filth from the palace courtyards you had been there. That would have disappointed me, though, as I have chosen my enemy well. Well, to be honest you chose me. I retrieved the page from my double’s lifeless fingers, and I have restored my honour among those of the sect. Thank you for your help with the book. Regardless of how things ended, it is still due to you that I have the Journal. Funny thing, though. It seems that electronic records are much more difficult to deal with than physical copies. I found I still have the recording. If you prove your worth to me, I will release it to you.

Not to change the subject, but I think I have found something you have been searching for, something to do with your experiments on those poor wretches in the Temple.

You blasted vampires! All you do is destroy. Just thinking of those souls trapped in mindless bodies, driven on by the lust created by your tainted influence… It makes my blood boil. You do not know, but my father was turned to a ghoul while I was helpless to act, save to watch. I escaped MY FATHER’s ravenous fangs by luck or divine providence. You may find my dealings with you to be underhanded, or… But it is better than you deserve…

My apologies. I digress. There is hope for a cure, at least to cure the mindlessness, not your wretched plague. There are rumors of rumors that something of a fountain of youth for vampires exists, and there is one who has seen it still alive today. His name is Chen Lau Jiang, and he is said to be from Fuzhou, China, though where he is presently, anyone can say. That is as much as I know, and if I knew more, I wouldn’t tell you. Born with a gold ring and a silver spoon in the mouth you were not.

Walk in the Light, Brother.

Lorem Schilder von Fredericks
Remmark Steel and Rail
CEO

gw

A Choice To Be Made

May 03, 2013 02:01

Kylar sat behind his Bloodlord, Vlad, on the back of his great red dragon, sighing internally as the castle came into view. The entire place looked like a mess, and in the distance he could just make out what looked to be lights from police cars. ’That’s not my concern though. I just need Raven…’ he thought as the dragon landed in a clearing.

As he dragon landed, Kylar just managed to see an armored figure back flip off the wall he was standing on and turn into a bat. ‘Well, someone likes a flashy exit.’ Kylar thought as he glanced round the rest of the clearing.

“Raven! Raven, come out!” Vlad’s voice was booming, causing the other vampires to turn around. The moment they saw the dragon, all of them lowered the guns they were holding in disbelief, stunned by its sheer presence. Ignoring them, the dragon leapt back into the air with a few strokes of it’s powerful wings, buffeting the vampires with gusts of wind. Back in the sky, the dragon circled the castle as Vlad continued yelling.

Kylar looked around, trying to find someone who looked like The Raven, or rather, something more suspicious than normal. In the distance, the vampire just managed to see a pair, another armored person being carried by someone, leap over the far wall.

Leaning forward, Kylar tapped his Bloodlord’s shoulder to get his attention. “Sire, I just saw a pair flee over the wall.”

“Follow them, I’ll deal with the trash here.” Was all Vlad said as he turned back towards the other vampires who were still in slight we and fear.

Nodding, Kylar leapt off the dragon’s back, hitting the roof in a crouch. Taking a deep breath, he took off as fast as he could, clearing the wall in a matter of seconds. Pausing, Kylar looked around, no one in sight. Standing up, he took a deep breath in, closing his eyes as he focused in on the scent of blood. After a moment, Kylar opened his eyes and took off, hoping that who ever he was chasing was at least related to The Raven.

The scent led Kylar all the way to a near by city, to a closed pub. Taking another deep breath, he nodded. The entire place reeked of blood. As he reached for the door, Kylar was stopped by a flash of light behind him.

From the castle, a pillar of light reached towards the sky, flashing as if it was a strobe light. Shielding his eyes, Kylar turned back around. Vlad did say he was going to deal with the trash there…

Reaching for the door knob a second time, Kylar paused as his sixth sense went off. Danger, somewhere nearby, and soon… Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to relax. He would deal with it when it happened.

The moment Kylar opened the door, someone lunged at him, grabbing for his shirt. Spinning out of the way, Kylar pushed his attacker’s hand away from him, tensed for the next blow.

“Who the f*** are you?!” The vampire snarled, baring his fangs. He looked like a pimp from one of those older movies, cane, glasses, everything. It really seemed like something from one of those cheesy vampire movies, but the fact of the matter was, Kylar knew there were others dressed just like him.

“Calm down. I’m not here to start a fight.” Kylar’s eyes started glowing as he sent out a soothing aura towards to man. Now was not the time to fight, especially not somewhere where there were an unknown number of enemies.

The other vampire visibly relaxed, taking a step back. “I’m sorry man. I just lost my brothers today and I didn’t ask for that….” He looked on the verge of tears as he walked towards the corner to mope.

Letting out a sigh, Kylar walked up to the bar, glad he avoided a potential fight. Ringing the bell, he waited for a moment before someone came out.

“Hello. Sorry, but the pub’s closed.” he said, coming around to talk to Kylar.

“I’m looking for someone who goes by The Raven.”

“Sorry, never heard of him. What do you want with him?”

“My boss wants to talk to him.” Crossing his arms, Kylar was starting to grow annoyed by the constant questioning. It was just wasting time.

“Well who’s your boss?”

“Vlad.” he said simply, watching the man’s reaction with a feeling of satisfaction.

The man’s eyes went wide and the vampire from the corner quickly made his way into the back of the pub. The fear and awe of the name was obvious.

“Um, right this way then.” The man said, taking Kylar into the back.

The first thing Kylar saw at the end of the hall was The Raven sitting at a table. Next to the door way holding two purple pistol, pointed directly at Kylar’s head. Sitting at another table, flicking electricity from finger to finger, was an Asian vampire who was watching Kylar very closely, almost like a cat waiting to strike. Glancing around the room, Kylar frowned. He could have sworn there was suppose to be more people in this group. Pushing it from his mind, Kylar paid no mind to the obvious tension in the room and sat down across from Raven.

“I assume you’re Raven?” Kylar asked, even though he knew the answer.

“And who wants to know?” Raven asked. The french accent was annoyingly heavy, but Kylar ignored it and continued.

“My name is Kylar Thorne, and I was sent by Bloodlord Vlad to congratulate The Raven as a patriot of the Firstborn. So, again, are you Raven?”

“Well, if you ask that way. But of course, mon ami. I am zis Raven that you are searching for. You call me a partiot? Why eez zis? What eez it zat I have done?” Raven seemed to grow excited.

“Raven, if not for you the Bloodlord Vlad would not have known about the treachery of the Dragons. And he would not have been able to purge them from Edinburgh Rock.” Kylar explained.

“Purged them all?” he repeated back. There was a flash of emotion on Raven’s face that was quickly covered.

“Purged? All of them?” The vampire from earlier shouted, his voice a mixture of emotions, anger, despair. The man had so many emotions flash across his face and eyes, Kylar wasn’t entirely certain how he would react to what he was about to hear.

“Yes… There were pillars of flashing light from the castle.” Kylar watched him warily before the other vampire turned and rushed out of the pub with surprising speed.

“I’m sorry, but I must follow my friend.” Raven said, getting up at the same time as the Asian vampire. Both of them followed Willie out the door. Groaning, Kylar got up. He had just found them, and for the love of god, he wasn’t going to leave them until Vlad showed up.

Kylar eventually caught up to the group, a new blonde woman seemed to be arguing with the pimp vampire about something. As they were arguing, Vlad appeared, watching them all. Immediately Kylar walked up to him and knelt.

“I’ve found The Raven, mi’lord.” Kylar bowed his head. From what Kylar had learned during the short time with Vlad and from his uncle, was that the Bloodlord loved the old way. Mi’lord, bowing, all of it.

“Very good. Rise my child.” Vlad said in a deep voice.

As Kylar stood up, a young vampire girl stepped out from behind Vlad.

“Mila!” the blonde woman went running up to the girl, embracing her tightly. “Oh my god, I was so worried!”

From there, it devolved into Mila’s tears and her father’s death, Willie’s, the pimp, angers towards his friends death. Kylar thought everything was done there, until Vlad spoke.

“Now, why don’t we discus thing in a more private setting.” And with that, they arrived back at the pub. No one who worked there seemed to know how to react at being in the presence of two Bloodlords.

Tables in the back were set up. Vlad sat at one end of the table, placing Mila to his immediate right. Kylar took his spot directly behind Vlad.

What Kylar had hoped to be a short easy meeting, turned out to be anything but. Vlad deemed the death of Willie’s fellow vampires, as ‘necessary casualties’ which infuriated Willie so much, he stormed off. Then the blonde woman, Reggie, started picking a fight with Vlad, claiming Mila should be sitting where he was. Kylar tried using his Bio manipulation to shut her up, hoping Vlad would leave shortly after. Unfortunately it didn’t work and Reggie grew pissed that there was an attempt and stormed off. Finally after Vlad thanked Raven for his efforts, Vlad got up to leave.

‘Stay with them and watch them.’ Vlad’s voice echoed in Kylar’s head. Kylar nodded slightly, dreading the thought of staying here with the group. None of them were going to be too accepting…

“What the f*** are you still doing here!?” Willie yelled when he saw Kylar still in the room.

“I’m gonna be staying for a while.” Kylar responded.

Willie looked like he was going to kill when Raven grabbed him and pulled Willie aside. “Excuse us for a moment.” He said as the group gathered together to discuss what Kylar could only assume to be his fate.

They talked for a while until it looked like Willie was going to pounce an Kylar when everything changed in an instant. One moment they were in the pub, the next they were standing in some sort of weird shop with a woman.

The moment Willie saw her, he went ballistic and punched her. The woman flew back sightly and it looked like Willie was going to hit her again when a large hairy dragon landed on him, pinning the pimp vampire to the ground. Standing up, the woman, Alice, argued for a bit with Willie before Niko, the Asian vampire, walked up to her and handed her something. A moment later, Alice was next to Kylar offering him a dagger.

“I have deemed him worthy and his destiny is intertwined with yours. Now all i need so some of your blood.”Alice said out loud, seeming to decide Kylar was now a part of the group. Willie was screaming his head off but no sound was made.

Kylar looked at everyone for a moment, studying them all. He had been given an order by the Bloodlord to accompany all of them. An order that was more than likely a favor to his uncle, Sir Thorpe, to keep Kylar out of his hair. Maybe all of this would eventually lead him to discover who truly was responsible for the death of his family. Glancing at the dagger, Kylar took it and made a slash across his palm. Where ever this decision took him, it no longer mattered.

His fate was sealed…

Crossroads

May 02, 2013 18:49



“Niko, we’s gotta get out this hole and high tail our sorry hides back to the spot!” Willie had returned back to his vampire form. In his right massive hand he held a near-lifeless Remmy, which he had nearly drained the majority of blood from his veins. Willie was suffering what I could only assume was some nervous disorder. His neck had developed a henious kink and twitch. His face was contorted and fearful. His focus was somewhat impaired. Something was certainly troubling him. Unfortunately, I didn’t stick around long enough to find out. I knew two things: First, a horde of angry vampires from the cultic Coven of the Dragon were headed our way; second, Willie didn’t seem mentally fit to take them on with us. I knew we would be done for without Willie running on all cylinders. Therefore, the most logical thing to do was listen to the most illogical member of our group.

I thought for a moment that the helicopter would be the best escape. Yet, even if my electrokinetic powers could work to discover all the purposes of each and every switch, that would all take time. We didn’t have time. Later, I learned from Willie that if we had taken Remmy’s helicopter we’d have been gunned down by a second helicopter that must have been tracking Remmy’s helicopter. (Willie would see this second helicopter on returning back to the ‘spot’ at Mr. Osborn’s pubhouse. We would have been easy prey to the more skilled pilots of this second craft.

Instead, I turned to the far western wall of the inner-courtyard within the castle. I consentrated on my body, its weight and mass. With my mind I reached out to all the invisible matter around my body. I channeled power into each of those molecules. There was a sudden heat formed enveloping me. At that moment I jumped up into the air. With my mind I pushed all those surrounding molecules to carry me high into the air. I sored chaotically above the parapet and slammed down on the aged roof of the building above the cellar where I had disposed of Agatha’s body the night before.

I surveyed the potential battlefield. Behind me in the middle of the courtyard lawn, Remmy’s helicopter still had its main rotator spinning at half speed. Both of the pilots had been disabled: one by Raven’s pistol; the other pilot permanently ‘disabled’ by Reggie’ less than friendly kiss. Speaking of Reggie, as usual, she was nowhere to be found. I assumed that she probably had turned invisible and climbed over the castle wall as only an assassin or thief of her quality could. Mind you, these walls were nearly 25ft high. She probably ended her flight making way to the guard house near the portcullis and heading North of the Esplanade…most likely to assess one more time the chaos that she had performed on all of those innocent humans.

Willie, I could see clearly. He was also across the way of the courtyard dragging in tow the limp Remmy. Even from my distance away I could make out the gash Willie had made in Remmy’s neck. Yet, I knew my fellow Brother of Light was not dead. For clenched in his tight fist was the infamous paper.

North of my rooftop position I could make out a very nervous Raven. He was turning around and running away from the entrance to the courtyard. I could not make out what was giving him such haste, for the main Queen’s Tower stood between me and his portentous perspective.

I looked back at Willie and saw that he now lay dazed on the ground. Apparently, he had attempted to leap straight over the stone wall, and had missed. Remmy was crumpled in a heap next to our pusher. Remmy’s neck now appeared severely bent into a grotesque acute angle. The paper no longer clutched in his lively grasp lay meaninglessly on the ground several feet from where they both had fallen. Remmy was no more. I clenched my teeth together. Remmy was many things, but he did not deserve to die like this.

I leapt down from my perch using all those molecules around me to push me at an incredible distance and speed. I whipped through the air landing just behind Raven who was still clad in a suit of armor. I presumed it was from the ruckous he participated in at the Esplanade. Raven was a bit startled by my immediate entrance. Silently I aided him in removing th armor. The metal plates were all covered in blood and sweat. Raven’s hair still had some of that blood in it. In our flight I knew that this would be hard to mask from the various tracking skills I knew our pursuers would possess. Yet, there was no time to wash it out. Our only grace would be speed. As Raven is not the fastest within our company, I thought it was logical for me simply to carry him.

Raven hopped on my back. I gathered more molecules to compensate for his added mass. Then, with inhuman speed and near flight we bolted toward the Northern wall. Normally this would be a futile escape route. Sheer 100 ft cliffs ran along the northern face of the castle. Back in its day, this would have been a very formidable fortress, surrounded by cliffs. But I was being aided by tiny molecules that allowed me a safe descent at such a height.

As we reached the edge of the northern castle wall, we heard coming from about the middle area of the castle a deep basso voice. “Raven! Come to me! Raven!”

I felt Raven’s grip loosen. As Raven later reported, “I felt strangely aroused.”

Not wanting to miss our rendezvouz back at Mr. Osborn’s pub, I grabbed hold of Raven’s legs, and jumped. The chill night whipped around us as we were flung through the air on an unseen force. Just as we were about 8 ft from the ground my mind lost its hold on our invisible chariot of molecules. We crashed to the ground a bit harder than expected taking out a small shrub bush. Raven was thrown from my back.

Raven sat up looking a tad confused and disoriented. He appeared as though he had just woken up from a smashing through-the-night rave party that ended in a one night stand. His hallmark silken scarf had been pulled from his collar and hung off his shoulder. His shirt hung half open and in disarray. Leaves and tigs were in his ebony hair. He had four scratches across his face like he had been clawed by an angry mistress.

“I am sorry, Raven. I didn’t calculate your weight properly. Nevertheless, on your feet. They will be on our scent soon.” I hoisted my friend again on my back and contined our journey to the tavern.

Since we had to make our way around the whole castle via the road on the North side, by the time we arrived at the pub everyone else was there. Willie seemed to be fighting back tears as he explained to his Blood-brother the details of what had happened. Raven and I sat ourselves down in a back booth with a hearty oaken round table. For the middle of the night, the pub seemed quite busy, yet still quite. Many patrons appeared ‘passed out’ on various tables. One vampire patron I could see getting her fill of one the ‘passed out’ customers. Once a human customer had been tapped to just the right amount, a couple of bouncers carried him out to a cabby. This happened several times until all the human guests had been removed.

As the bouncers escorted the last human to the door I noticed that there was no cab waiting for them. The three of them disappeared into the night. I assumed that that was their ‘cut’ for the night. The young college student would probably end up in some ditch dead, completely drained of his blood with a swollen liver. It would most likely be rulled as alcohol poisoning and chronic anemia.

Just as they left, a young man walked in. He was dressed like a kid in one of those boy bands, popped collar, sunglasses (in the middle of the night), and a pair of skinny jeans. His emo apparel had vampire written all over it. It was hard to tell how old he was. If my hunch was correct that he was in fact a vampire (which my hunches usually are), then he theoretically could be centuries old. Yet, he looked like he could not be older than 18. His hands were fair and uncalloused, showing that he had lived a life of privilege. But, his eyes showed experience. They were full of pain and anger, the type that came from losing someone very close to you. They were my eyes.

The stranger scanned the room as if looking for someone. As he sanned around our eyes meet. I recognized that he saw the same thing I had seen in his eyes. I quickly looked away, putting the collar of my jacket up to hide my face. Due to the many tangled threads of my past, I am not well like by all. I have been the target of several hits. Fortunately, my wits and instincts have always served me well. Maybe the only good thing I learned from my estranged father, Kotaro was how an assassin thought. This inside knowledge allowed me to stay one step ahead. Yet, every new age brought along with it new strategies of subterfuge and murder. I was beginning to lose my edge. I rose from the booth to get a better positon to defend myself or flee if need be.

The stranger went up to Mr. Osborn. Without using any obvious covertness, he asked for ‘The Raven’. My hold on Amaterasu’s handle soften as I heard Raven’s name. I leaned back against the wall where I was standing trying to look relaxed. I noticed that Willie perked up as well when he heard Raven’s name. He took a position across the room from me. His purple guns were already in his hands. We saw Mr. Osborn say, “Well, in that case, the Raven that you are looking for is over in that booth in the far corner.” Raven was pretending he had not heard Mr. Osborn. It could not be see from my angle, but I deduced Raven had his loaded .38 Special concealed under the table.

The stranger approach the table. “Are you Raven?”

“Who wants to know?” Raven responded in his perfect french accent.

“My name is Kylar Thorne. Bloodlord Vlad has sent me to congratulate the Raven and name him a Patriot to the Firstborn. Are you the Raven?” Kylar asked once more.

“Well, if you ask that way. But of course, mon ami. I am zis Raven that you are searching for. You call me a partiot? Why eez zis? What eez it zat I have done?”

“Raven, if not for you the Bloodlord Vlad would not have known about the treachery of the Dragons. And he would not have been able to purge them from Edinburgh Rock.”

“Purged? All of them?!” The Raven looked hurt and disappointed. He quickly hid his tell.

Willie having heard the whole conversation burst into the conversation with his pistols cocked and ready to fire. “What the F••• to you mean they all be purged?! We had people…they were in the rock. How do you know your f•••ing Bloodlor’ got them ALL?!” Willie’s already taxed composure was only being held on to by a few strands of willpower. His hands holding his guns started to shake. And, the corners of his mouth were becoming unstable. Willie’s eyes largened, like they would pop out and devour the stranger’s face. “Tell me how’s you knows this b•tch took out the whole castle. Tell me or I pop your clock, poppycock!”

“Before I came in I saw a flash of light shoot up from the castle into the clouded sky. I assumed the Bloodlord left no one. If you had people still in there, I am sorry for your loss.”

“F••• YOU! I don’t need yo’ sym’thy. You don’t even know me, Poppycock.” With that Willie pushed Kylar harshly to the side and ran out the front door. As he passed me, I saw great fear in his eyes. Under his breath I heard him muttering, “Gorgeous Rin and lil Slimmy…if that F•••er took you out, I gonna rip his throat out and piss on his mother’s grave! Bloodlor’ or no!” Silence fell on the tavern as he left.

Raven and I glanced at each other. Kylar looked a little confused. Raven broke the silence, “You must excuse me. I must follow my friend. If you are here when we return, we must talk”. I got up from the booth and holstered his revolver back into the front of his belt looking at Kylar still distrustingly. We left after Willie. Unfortunately he was already gone. We waited. Soon Willie came back. His countenance sunk lower than when he left. We came back into the tavern. Kylar was still there. As we were discussing what to do next the tavern door flew open with great power.

A tall broad-shouldered vampire walked in. He walked with deliberance and astounding rapport. Instantly all the vampires left in the room cowered lowering their heads. I felt a great force come upon me, yet I pushed my way past it to retain control. I had only heard of the power of the Firstborn, yet this was the first time experiencing it. My head began to pound as I struggled to maintain control of my wits. Willie struggled for just a moment too. Then having realized who was standing in front of us charged him with his pistols in his hands.

Before he could strike the Bloodlord of the Firstborn, Mila step out from behind him. Willie instantly froze in his path of revenge. “Girl you alive, damn! But, but how? Everyone is dead in the castle. Did Slimmy and Rin make it, too?”

“Willie, I didn’t see Rin, but Tony Slims is dead.”

“Dead?!” Willie’s anger surged again. “Why you walkin’ ‘round with this foo’. He the one who killed Slimmy and Rin. His Poppycock saw him do it with a big ass flash of light.” Willie pointed his thumb over his shoulder at Kylar standing back in th corner in trance under the Bloodlord’s control.

“No es así, Wilito. ¡No séas tan bruto! Ésto es mi salvador. No es el asasino.”

“Savior?! Mila baby don’t be foo’ed by this ragtime con man…”

ENOUGH!” The Bloodlord’s basso voice shook the stone walls of the pubhouse. “I will not be defiled by one of such filth! Your next word of disrespect will be your last! I have come to discuss business, not trifle in the affairs of cretins and stoolies. Find me a room. I do not wish to remain here any longer. There are private matters to discuss between the Covens of the Firstborn and the Lost.” He added great emphasis of regalness to the word Firstborn, rolling each of the ’R’s. “Innkeeper do you have a meeting room for my business? Something private.”

Mark Osborn was a bit dazed. He pointed to the back of the pub where there was a hallway. He said nothing.

The Bloodlord and Mila headed toward the hall. Reggie finally shed her invisible guise, “Mila! Looks like the Coven of the Dragon made you look like hell. Now you are going to follow this creep whose the reason they came to power anyway. HE’S the reason why Uncle Silas ain’t here!”

“You’re right Reg…my father is NOT here. I am the Bloodlord now. I must do what is right for our Coven.” She turned and continued down the hall. Raven and I restrained Willie who was about to lose it one more time. Raven spoke.

“Look! Zings have not turned out zhe way we would have liked. Slims and Rin are gone, but we are here because of zhe Coven of the Lost. We knew zhe risks. Let us straighten our necks, go back in zhe room and discuss matters as gentlemen.” Turning to Reggie, “And lady.” Reggie blew a pink bubble with her gum and let it pop. She rolled her eyes at Raven maliciously.

“Anything you say La’blowme.” Reggie smurked in retort.

“I mean it, Reggie. World Wars have started wiz much less offenses zan zat which has transpired zis night. Trust me, I was in Sarajevo in zhe summer of 1914. Behave and be nice.”

Reggie pulled the gum off her face and twirled it around her finger defiantly. “I am always nice.”

Raven sighed in despair. And headed in the back room. I followed with Willie. Reggie took up the rear.

Tensions became high in the meeting. I had to use my Empathic powers to calm Willie on one occasion. Reggie also became a fireball nearly getting herself killed. In the end the Bloodlord told the story of what happened, then promised that the Coven of the Dragon would no longer be a problem. He would deal with them swiftly and thoroughly. He also insisted that his emassary remain in our group to continue relations between the two Covens. Mila agreed. The Bloodlord then left.

A huge argument broke out what to do with Kylar. Willie was about to blow two holes in his head when we were all whisked away to Madame Alice’s Island Castle. She restrained Willie forceably. She then demand that we trust Kylar. She stated that he was part of our destiny and that she has seen his great intentions and valor. As a vote, Reggie and Willie were still against Kylar joining. I had convinced Raven to trust Alice and he voted with me in letting Kylar in.

That is where we now are. Stuck in a crossroad, going neither to nor fro because we are divided. But what does young Kylar have to say? We shall hear….