PRINCE OF HOUSE VLADD
PART 15
BY ARTHUR
Thank you all for your many nice emails, sorry for the delay this week but I have had few things to sort out that couldn't be delayed any longer, I know you will all understand.
The shutters lifted to the sight of a dismal wet evening, the wind blew through the trees on the estate with an ominous sound as though to warn those inside that things were about to turn from bad to worse, it was an unwelcome omen that Swiftwing took very seriously as he looked over to his lover while they stood in the shower before dressing for their upcoming meeting with the cities simbiots.
Swiftwing had spent two hours out in the forrest close to the estate, his training as a Shaman and his newly acquired Vampiric abilties had brought visions to his inner sight, the visions were too strong to be ignored and he had discussed it with his lover, they were both in agreement that the time for being considerate and using a velvet glove were now long past, they and their followers were now required to use their base instincts just for the sake of their own survival and the survival of all those they were responsible for.
The first order that Peter had sent out was for all members of the folk to increase their security, all memebers were to be at least in pairs when going out onto the street, in case of confontation, they were to report immediately to their leaders and if outnumbered, they were to retreat to the nearest protection, all leaders of the folk had agreed to shelter any of the folk in danger, reguardless of species, all five states had opened a new channel of communication just for this purpose, it was to be used only in emergency situations and all those close enough would respond to assist.
Peter had ordered a full security alert for the meeting, three security guards remained in the observation room, the rest were at the gates to check those coming inside, the Avians were all airborn and patrolling over the larger outlying areas, the Canines were on constant patrol around the grounds and the Felines were out in the trees that bordered the outer walls, the six guardians, Peter, Swiftwing and the two young vampires were inside waiting to reinforce any area should it be needed while Leon and Carter over-saw the communications and computers systems.
The first of the guests arrived at the gates and were immediately checked off by the security guards, each car load was inspected and checked until all thirty guests were inside the large hall, it had been set out with tables and chairs in a circle with Peter and swiftwing seated at the top table which was set up with a computer console connected to the Vampire net which was open to the Council headquarters in Washington where a full membership sat waiting for Peters meeting to begin, he had asked them to oversee his meeting and make any recommendations they thought fitting.
Peter had already discussed most of his worries with his Father earlier and he had told Peter to make his own decision and that the council would only intervene if they thought he was being to radical, he had also passed on swiftwings thoughts to the Council and they had agreed that things were far from ideal as the political system of the humans were encroahing more and more into their sphere of influence.
There was an underlying feeling of disaster approaching all of the folk and the council was not going to take it lying down, they had all survived for centuries by staying in the dark and only working from the shadows, it now seemed that all this was at stake and that at any moment they could be revealed to everyone which would bring a war down upon them all from the superior numbers of the humans.
While they had good numbers they could not compete with the billions of humans in a stand up fight, there were only 1.5 million of the folk spread out over the face of the earth and even with their superior speed and strength, they could not hope to beat the humans before they were all anihilated, everything they did from now on would need careful planning and making use of their specially placed simbiots, for the Vampires, their biggest enemy was the sun, only the four young Vampires could greet the sun and survive, it was very long odds.
At the introduction of Peters plans for House Vaga, the council had taken all the indications into consideration and had agreed, it was a good move although in some states there was still resistance to letting vagrants have their own house, especially one that brought all species of the folk together in one place, they said it would only cause un-asked for conflicts, Peters example was said to be just luck.
Peter and Swiftwing sat and watched as the simbiots took their places around the table, present were some of the most powerfull people in the areas of finance, security and government, while they individually did not have a lot of power, when put together they could be a very infuential party, Peter called the meeting to order. After explaining what had been happening and the steps he had had to take to remedy the problem, he asked for suggestions on how they should proceed without causing a total war with the humans.
At the mention of Gilliard Thomes name, David Shaw stood and introduced himself to the others as the Director of homeland security, he reported to Peter that he had no idea and no reports from Thomes about the operation, it had been a totally unauthorised attack, David was ashamed that he had not kept a closer eye on Thomes activities and assured Peter that he would be immediately stood down from all duties pending an internal investigation.
Peter thanked David and then unleashed his bomb shell.
"We have infomation that Thomes is only a pawn, I'm sorry David, but we have to take him out of the picture, there's also another man we're tracking down now, he's not associated with your department and as yet we don't have a full line on him but we suspect he is involved in the criminal world, from what we have at the moment, we're sure there's someone bigger behind this and he's not a human, we haven't been able to get a line on him yet but we will."
"Thank you My Lord, I'll stand down Thomes as soon as I get back into the city, what happens after that should be kept from me." replied David.
Peter then reported on the attack on his bank accounts and the results from that, he then told all simbiots to make sure their families were protected and that they should for now refrain from contacting him, or any of the folk until further notice, it was not that he did not trust them, just that he wanted them and their families to be safe from any attacks that may come their way.
Peter called a halt to the meeting an hour later and watched as his guests left, his own house remained on full alert and would remain so until this was all over, all of his human staff had been issued with weapons and were to wear them at all times except for Millie who refused to have anything to do with guns but accepted that the others should be armed to protect their house and the life of their Prince.
Peter had sent a message to Torson that he and his house may also come under attack and that he was to keep on the alert at all times, Torson had not argued and had immediately sent for his committeee to set out their defense plans, their house was not going to close down now that they had the backing of the Prince and the Council, Torson set all his security systems on full alert, every system was checked daily to make sure everything worked properly when it was needed, all they could do now was wait.
Gilliard Thomes sat in his office and tried to pull together all the infomation he had on the estate, the Vampire had given him as much as he knew about the defenses of the house and the people inside, the ease in which his initial attack had been repulsed and his men humiliated had caught Gilliard by surprise, he now had to reassess his plans.
As he sat contemplating what to do next and how to disguise his moves from the department, it was a surprise when his superior David Shaw appeared in his office accompanied by two senior agents, the look on the face of the Director did not go unnoticed by Gilliard, he looked up into the older face of the Director.
"Good morning Director, what can I do for you this morning?" Gilliard's voice was calm and assured, although it was unusual to see the Director in the operatioons room, it was not unknown, Gilliard felt in control, he was quickly disabused of that idea.
"Thomes, it has come to my attention that you have been using the facilities of this department for your own ends, as of this minute you are suspended from all duties, you will remove only personal items from this office and be escorted off the premises by these two agents, you will leave your briefcase and all files belonging to the department, we will return to you anything else that belongs to you after we have done a full search, now get your car keys and personal phone and leave your ID and security card, and go with these agents."
Gilliard looked at the Director with shock, how the hell did the old fool learn about his program, everything he had done had been under a full security blanket for his eyes only, there was no way anyone outside his office could have known what he was doing, Gilliard whatched as the two agents moved up beside him and urged him to stand and leave.
How had all his plans come undone, he had been extra careful about everything, with a shaking hand he reached for his car keys and cell phone, slipping them in his pocket he numbly shrugged his jacket onto his shoulders, a deep feeling of disaster ran through his body as he slightly staggered towards the lift at the end of the passage, the two guarding agents close behind.
The walk down the passage seemed to take forever, the looks he recieved from those in the other offices varied from smiles of satisfaction to glares and sneers of distain as they all watched his downfall from grace, to most of the occupants it was just deserts for an arrogant man who thought he ruled the department.
Gilliards head fell further as he saw the looks and sneers, thankfully the lift door opened almost immediately for him, he stepped inside accompanied by his two guards and began the descent down to the car park, it was a long and lonely ride, all his plans and desires had now come to nothing, at least he had his hidden overseas account to live on, he couldn't see any way he would ever be able to work in this city ever again, he would just have to pack up and go somewhere he could start a new life without all the tension he had been living under.
He could still not see how they had found out so quickly, the men he had used were not the type to talk about their actions and he had kept everything close to his chest, it just didn't make sense, a small shudder ran through his body as he steeped out into the car park, walking slowly to his car, he activated his security key and the car alarm blipped as the doors unlocked, the two guards watched him slip into his car and stood to watch as he drove out with a screeching of rubber and reving of the engine to show his anger at his treatment.
As Gilliard drove throught the early morning traffic his thoughts kept ranging over all his actions, there was just no way they could have known, the problem circled his mind in a never ending ring of questions without answers, 'Damn them' he thought to himself, he would pack up today and disappear, he wasn't going to wait for the investigation to begin, he knew that if they really found out what he had been up to then there was a good chance he would serve time and that was just not going to happen, he would arrange a flight as soon as he got home and be out of the country by morning.
Like all agents, he had privately set up a number of alternative identities for just such occassions or when he went overseas as he did about twice a year, it was safer than using his own passport, everything he needed was in his apartment, unfortunately, Gilliard did not take notice of the traffic around him, his mind was on more important things than being tailed by a black BMW with a pair of twins in the front.
The car was a good ten lengths behind him and in all the heavy morning traffic it would have been hard to spot anyway, in Gilliards present mood it was as though the car was invisible, he drove steadily to his apartment, parked in his chosen spot and left the car, taking the lobby lift to the tenth floor he never once looked around him, as it was it would have been useless as the twins had taken the emergency stairs and, with their superior hearing had followed the lift by sound until it stopped at the tenth floor.
Gilliard stepped into the apartment, deactivated the alarm system and threw his keys on a side table, he looked around the apartment, it was not his registered address, it was a bolt hole he had set up with cash from some of his more nefarious projects, it was under one of his alias's and was not known to any of his workmates, he used it often as a place to take his girls for some R&R away from the office, he had set it up with everything he could need if he had to get out of town in a hurry, just like now, had he been his usual well balanced self, he would have stopped to think before acting when the door bell rang.
With his mind elswhere, Gilliard walked to the door and looked through the peep hole, he saw a young man in his late teens with red hair, standing in the passage, reaching for the intercom, Gilliard pressed the button and asked.
"Yes, what do you want?"
The young man held up a Fedex envelope.
"I have a registered mail for Mr. Gilliard Thomes, he has to sign for it."
Without thinking further, Gilliard unlocked the door and opened it, then, with a sudden flash of understanding, he tried to slam the door but it was to late, he didn't see the boy move, instead all he saw was the young man with another identical boy standing over him as he lay on his back on the floor, a sudden shudder went through Gilliard as he realised who, or more certainly, what, he was facing, no human could have moved that fast, these two were from that house, they had to be, what confused Gilliard the most was, if they were really Vampires, how the hell could they be out in the daylight. His contact had said only the young boy Vallison could go out in the sun, were all the stories of vampires being killed by sunlight a lie then?
Gilliard tried to get to his feet but was roughly pushed back to the floor by one of the teens feet.
"Stay there Thomes, don't move until I tell you."
Gilliard blanched as he saw the teen grin at him and two sharp fangs dropped from his upper gums and the teens eyes turned red as he looked down at him, Gilliard shuddered again, it was true, the horror of horrors could go out in the daylight, with a gasp of breath Gilliard stared at his worst nightmare. With no more than a slight movement of his foot, one of the twins rolled Gilliard over onto his stomach, the other twin quickly grabbed both his arms and pulled then effortlessly behind his back and attached some plastic ties to his wrists.
With astounding ease Caleb lifted Gilliard to his feet as Levi opened the door for them to leave, pushing Gilliard in front of him, Caleb put him in the lift and the twins joined him for the ride back to the car park, once there they pushed him into the back seat of the BMW and got in the front, slowly the shock began to wear off Gilliards numbed mind.
"Who are you? what do you want? where are you taking me?"
"Quiet, don't speak or you will regret it." the boy that had bound him said.
Gilliard collapsed back into the rear seat as the car drove out of the garage and turned westward, it was obvious now that they were heading out of the city, understanding dawned on Gilliard as to where they could be headed, another shiver went through his body as he realised he was now completely cut off from any form of help. The realisation of his situation hit Gilliard as the car drove through the gates of the estate he had ordered attacked earlier. He was in the hands of the deviates and he knew there was very little hope of ever leaving it alive, his whole world began to collapse around him.
When the car pulled to a stop at the steps of the house, Gilliard was pulled uncermoniously out of the rear of the BMW and marched up the steps to be met by the young boy he had seen in pictures, he was accompanied by another teen who looked like a native American, only the sun glasses hid his eyes but the light seemed to have no effect on the boy, Gilliard had a short burst of hope that this boy could help him and keep him safe from the abomintions that surrounded him at the moment, his hopes were quickly dashed when the native American boy removed his glasses and stared at him with strange green tinted eyes, all of Gilliards hopes turned to dust as he was pushed inside the house.
Caleb roughly pushed the bound man into a chair in the great hall, the four teens stood around him and watched his reactions, Peter was the first to speak, although unknown to Gilliard, Peter had seen all he wanted to see in Gilliards mind, he did not want the man to know that.
"So Gilliard Thomes, we finally meet, I'm Peter Vallison, I believe you wanted to meet me or, should I say, you wanted to arrest me." reaching behind Gilliard, Peter quickly and easily broke the restraints so Gilliard had his hands free, Gilliard quickly tried to rub some feeling back into his hands as he looked at the four boys.
"I'm not telling you abominations anything, you can all go to hell where you belong."
Vallison smiled at him with a hint of a sneer.
"Oh, I don't think they would want us down there Gilliard, too much competition for them, now tell me more about your friend Gregor Antovich and the Vampire you seem to be friendly with?"
Gilliard looked up at the young boy with shock on his face, how did the boy know about his friends, could they be that well informed, Gilliard shook his head in denial.
"I'm not telling you anything, like I said before, you can all go to hell."
"You'll be there waiting for us a long time before that happens Thomes, now be reasonable and there might be a chance you can walk away from here."
"Fuck you, queer."
Peter looked into Gilliards mind once more to make sure he had all he wanted, the image of the Vampire gave him a moments start as he recognised the face but he kept his own immobile as he looked down at Thomes, turning to levi he said.
"Ask one of the Canines if they're hungry?"
Gilliard heard the comment and his face turned suddenly grey, they wouldn't, they couldn't, it must be some sort of joke to make him talk, he began to shake as one of the twins left the room only to return quickly with a boy that looked no more than fifteen, the young boy looked at Gilliard with obvious delight.
"My Lord, is this the meal? may I have him now?"
"Take him out to the woods, I don't want a mess in the house."
"Yes My Lord, come on meat, lets have some fun."
The boy grabbed the catatonic Gilliard by the arm and dragged him forcefully to the door, a wet rail on the floor showed that Gilliard had wet himself as he vainly tried to struggle in the powerful grip of the young teen, small whimpers escaped his lips as he was forced outside and then through the gates to the woods where the boy stopped. They were deep in the woods and Gilliard couldn't see the road.
"Tell you what old man, I'll give you two minutes head start, if you escape me then you go free, if not...well...lets not think about it, well off you go, the cities over that way, you've got two minutes."
Gilliard breathed a sigh of relief, it had all been a ruse to make him talk, he knew he could escape this kid, after all he ran marathons and was always as fit as any man in the department, as a parting guesture Gilliard swung around fast and punched the boy in the face before taking off in a ground covering lope, shedding his jacket and tie as he ran, he didn't look back, he knew that the punch he gave the boy would in all probability, lay the kid out for a few more minutes than just the two he had been given, Gilliard should have looked back.
The boy leant back against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest, the punch had been little more than a tap to his wolf strength, he had an amused smile on his young face as he watched Gilliard start off with a ground consuming lope, 'Hmm, good running style, must be fit, lets give him a few more minutes, see how far he can get.' the boy settled down on his haunches to wait, he had all day to play and it would only take moments to transform into his wolf, it would be an interesting morning.
Gilliard took a quick glance over his shoulder, the boy was no where in sight, he steadied his breathing and set himself to a steady, even pace, he had the advantage of height and fitness to outrun the boy, his longer legs would eat up the distance faster than the boy could do with his shorter legs, Gilliard ran on, there was still no sign of the boy, he must have a good lead by now as he glanced at his watch, it had been five minutes since he had started.
The woods around him were silent apart from the occassional bird call or cricket chirp, it was almost peaceful, off to his right, Gilliard thought he could hear the sound of a car, he began to veer towards the sound, if he could get to the road then the boy would never catch him, he could flag down a car and be in the city in no time, there he would return to his real address and continue with his interupted plans to escape.
A flash of movement to his right caught Gilliards eye, it was only a flash but his eyes registered it and his old training went into defense mode, he looked again and saw that it was a dog, no, it was a wolf, it seemed to be pacing him, it's tongue hanging out and its strange eyes never leaving his own, the pace of the wolf was effortless. Gilliard was a little surprised at the appearance of a lone wolf during daylight, he knew they were a pack animal, were there more of them around? he tried to see deeper into the woods but there was no sign of any others, he was sure he could scare off a lone wolf, they were renowned for being afraid of humans, especially when alone.
The wolf never left his steady pacing along the same track as Gilliard, should he take the chance and sprint for the now nearing roadway of keep up his steady advance, he estimated that he had covered about three miles, his breathing was still calm and even, his legs did not feel any tiredness, he decided to keep up his steady pace, if he needed to sprint he had plenty in reserve.
Gilliard watched as the wolf began to slowly veer towards him, forcing him away from the road, he had to go back deeper into the woods again to keep the distance between them, the wolf didn't seem to be wanting to attack him, maybe it was just curious why a human would be running in it's territory, Gilliard tried again to head back towards the road, the wolf quickened its pace and snarled savagely at Gilliard, it's eyes glinting in the dimness of the woods, was it threatening him? Gilliard returned to the woods and kept up his pace, again the wolf veered towards him, Gilliard went deeper, the damn thing was almost herding him, he decided to make a sprint for the road and the wolf be damned.
Gilliard quickened his pace until he was nearly at a full sprint, he couldn't keep it up for long but it would be long enough to reach the road, pumping his arms he made the dash, it was now or never, a sharp searing pain shot up his right leg, Gilliard stumbled and glanced down, all he could see was the glinting eyes of the wolf and the sharp teeth dug into his right calf and then the tree litter was coming up to meet his face as he crashed screaming to the floor of the woods.
The wolf released his leg and took a step back as Gilliard looked down at his bleeding calf, the wolf watched him intently, slowly gilliard tried to reach into his trouser pocket for his handkerchief, pulling it out he quickly wrapped it around his calf and pulled it tight, the wolf never moved, nor did it take it's eyes off every move Giliard made, with the temporary bandage in place, Gilliard slowly made it back onto his feet, the wolf never moved.
Taking in a deep breath, Gilliard tried out his injured leg, he was in pain but he could use the leg, not in a full out run but in a kind of hobbling skip, again he started towards the nearby road and again the wolf cut him off and pushed him back into the woods, Gilliard hobbled on until suddenly the wolf seemed to disappear, he was alone, he slowed his hobbling run and tried to get his breath back, the pain in his leg was subsiding, there hadn't been to much damage done to his calf muscles although it was painful he would soon have it fixed when he got back to the city.
Gilliard began his hobbling run again, this time there was no wolf to herd him away from the road, at last he could see the bright sunlight through the trees, he was close, another minute and he would be on the road and home free, it had all been a trick to get him to talk, he could see the edge of the road now, he was almost there, just a few more yards and he was home free.
An almost apologetic cough sounded to his left, he turned to see what had made the sound, what he saw brought only confusion to his mind, there, leaning against a tree was the young teen, what was more confusing to Gilliard was, why would a boy be wearing red lipstick, the boys tongue slowly protruded from his small lips and, with a grin at Gilliard, he licked at the lipstick, sudden awareness dawned on Gilliard, it was not lipstick, it was blood, Gilliard began to shake with renewed fear as the boy spoke.
"Ohh, nice, AB negative."
A voice behind Gilliard made him turn around with a start, there, behind him stood three more teens, all were older than the first boy and better built, the oldest one spoke to the young teen.
"Ian, don't play with your food."
A sense of defeat and horror took hold of Gilliard as he turned back to the young teen, he was just in time to see the boy begin to take a step towards him and then he seemed to shimmer and all Gilliard could see was the wide open jaws of a full grown wolf bearing down on him, his high pitched scream of terror echoed through the woods as sharp teeth clamped around his throat, cutting off the scream into a gurgling sound as his throat was torn open, Gilliard didn't see or feel the other three sets of teeth begin to rip his body to pieces, his life was long gone before that happened.
Night had fallen, it was the same miserable weather that had been around for two days, the Vampire tried to dial Gilliards number again for the fourth time, there was still no answer, there was only one conclusion, Gilliard was done for, he had no time left to play around, immediately he dialed Gregors number, it was picked up on the second ring.
"Yes?"
"Time to put your men to work, how many have you got available?"
"Close to sixty."
"Can you arm them all immediately?"
"Of course."
"Good, in the morning I want you to go down to 747 Ellis Street, there's an old factory that's just been renovated, you can't miss it, there'll probably be a lot of kids hanging around it, don't let your men be fooled, those kids are dangerous, kill every one of them and every one inside the building then burn the lot down, you'll need explosives to get inside, the main door is reinforced steel, you better go yourself as well to oversee it all, don't leave anything standing."
"What about the police, that sort of attack is going to bring a lot of shit down on us very quickly."
"Don't worry about the cops, they're going to have their hands full elsewhere, besides, if all goes well, you and your men could come out as heros of humanity, now don't forget, don't start anything until after sunup."
"Ok it'll be done right, do you want a report when we've finished?"
"No need, I'll know whats gone on, you just keep your men on the job and don't fuck it up, with these kids you won't get a second chance."
He hung up and then began to dial more numbers, the message was the same in each case.
"It starts at midnight, cause as much havoc and bloodshed as your people can but, make sure none of your people get caught and leave plenty of evidence to what has happened."
In each case he was reassured that his orders would be obeyed to the letter, after all they had been waiting for this day for more than thirty years, the terror that was about to be unleashed on the human population tonight would bring all their fears and nightmares to the surface, it was going to be remembered as the night of unholy terror by the pitiful humans that thought they ran the world.
Seaton took stock of his efforts so far, apart from the minor inconvenience of losing some unwanted bodies his long thought out plan was slowly coming to fruition, if Gregor failed, which could be a possability if he went into the building without care, then he would still have tonights kaos to start the war, his own men would then keep their heads down while the Princes house was brought down around his ears, Seaton could then take over and run things like they should be by those at the top of the food chain.
He had spent endless hours going over the plans for tonight, even if the Prince escaped, after tonight he would not be able to show his face anywhere in the country, it would then only be a matter of puting preasure on the Council and he would be made the overall leader in the five states, it would not be long before all of it would be his and, if it went as he had planned, and it surely will, it would only be a matter of time before he took over the whole of the Council.
Seaton leaned back into his chair as he reached out for the buzzer on his desk, within seconds, his young toy boy walked nakedly into the room, his small hard penis already twitching with anticipation at the fun that was about to begin. Seaton watched the young boy strut calmly towards him and knew the boy would not be strutting so well in an hour, he kept the boy under his mental influence to keep him calm, when he had had enough he would give him the bight and put him out on the street like he had done to so many boys in the past but, for the moment he would enjoy this young human to the fullest, his rigidly hard rod twitched as the boy came closer.
The falling of night had not brought any lessening of the tension and alert status of Peter's house, Swiftwing had told him there was something in the air that foretold of extreme danger, even the trees and the wind held a sense of terrible disaster about them. The two boys, Leon and Carter had been keeping constant watch on all forms of communication that they had access to but nothing was different, on the surface it just seemed another ordinary night, that is until at midnight, they caught a call on the police wavelength, it was to be only the first of many such calls.
When Leon reported to Peter, he turned to Swiftwing and sighed audibly, it was evident that what had been foretold was coming to fruition, the report read like a horror movie script.
A car containing a family of five had stopped at a red traffic light, in front of dozens of human witnesses, the car had been attacked by two young men, the doors had been literally ripped of the vehicle and the two adults and three children had been killed in a most brutal and calous way, while one of the young men had easily held the two parents, the three children had been put to death with a sword, the parents were then also killed as they howled out their fear and grief, all the bystanders had been paralised with fear and shock for the few seconds the brutal attack had taken place, by the time some of them had come to their senses, the two young men had apparently disappeared into the darkness.
Peter looked over to Swiftwing, the other guardians stood around, not in shock or horror but with more of an appearance of stern and resolute determination, Peter was the first to speak.
"We have to take action, it's got to be Seaton, those men had to be Vampires to be able to work so quickly, it looks as though the time has come to clean our house and the city or else we'll have a major war on our hands with the humans, and that's one war we can't win, everyone to the conference room, we have to make some plans, Leon, can you and Carter try to find out where the architect Seaton could be right now, let me know as soon as you have something on him."
Leon took off to his office to consult with Carter while the others went to the conference room to begin their strategy meeting, little did they know that their time was going to be shorter than they hoped for.
TBC
artcart65@vodafone.co.nz