Prince of House Vladd

The prince of house Vladd

Chapter 6

Book 2

By Arthur

Peter was sitting in the security room watching for any more progress that the two boys might have made in their endeavour to locate the cartel leader, El Morte, while they had heard many rumours and stories about the feared leader, tying him to one location was very difficult, everyone on the street knew his reputation but very few had ever seen him.

The two boys had worked their way into a gang of boys that ran drugs and were also involved in male prostitution for the cartels, it was a symbol of the times that the criminal element would take any way to make money, the two boys had stayed clear of the prostitution side only by refusing to take it on.

While their decision not to turn into young male whores was admirable, their refusal also held them back from advancing rapidly through the ranks of young crims, although they were only given work as lowly dealers, their mental abilities reaped a horde of information from those around them, slowly the information began to come together, they now had what they hoped was a large file on El Morte but still his location was a secret.

Peter and Swiftwing now knew that the days were growing less and less as the invasion date seemed to come upon them more rapidly than they hoped, The council had been alerted and the ancient stone city of Uxmal was now the scene of more arrivals, the natives watched in awe as they saw more and more of the legendary folk arrive, folk they had only heard fearful stories of.

The first to arrive just as the sun was sinking into the dark blue of night were the large winged creatures, human in form but with large wings spread to their fullest, what had once looked like eagles, owls, even vultures, landed lightly and became human, they were all welcomed by the Fathers of the two god boys and therefore accepted by those still working to reclaim their ancient cities.

As the sun disappeared from the sky, from the surrounding jungle came small groups of the wildest animals the natives had ever seen, in small groups or pairs and singles, came the largest wolfs ever seen by the locals, as the large animals reached the steps of the pyramid, they would change into human form and be greeted warmly by the God Boy's Fathers.

Even as one group was welcomed, another was emerging from the darkness of the greenery, large prowling cats of species that the locals had never seen nor heard of, dark black, striped, spotted and tawny brown, all seemed to appear as the night progressed, also arriving were more of the humans that lived on blood, the scene in front of the steps was like an old school reunion, the locals had fallen quiet as the new arrivals grew in number.

Swiftwing was the first to see the growing concern on the faces of the locals, quickly he looked around for the four elders, spying them at the edge of the jungle, Swiftwing quickly approached them and began to explain why the arrival of so many of the folk, also to reassure them that all of their people were safe and would be protected at all times.

At Swiftwing's disclosure, the four elders turned and went to their own people, their were loud calls and slowly the numbers grew at the outer edges of the clearing as the word spread that the new comers were here to protect them from a coming danger, it was the first they had heard of any danger in their lives but, if the elders said there was danger then that was the word of the Gods, quickly the tension eased once they heard the explanation for all the new arrivals.

The two boys had opened the underground temple room for the gathering of the folk, slowly the numbers increased until the huge room was starting to look almost full, the council members were arrayed in a small group in the centre of the temple as the other folk settled down to hear the news, all of Peter's human guards were present as was all of his security people, it was apparent from the first few seconds that what was to come was going to be one of the most dangerous moments the folk had ever been involved with.

As Peter looked out at the large crowd, he saw that many of the South American folk had joined with his own people, their numbers had now grown to a proportion that would give them a fighting chance against the coming invasion, the numbers from up North were staggering and had it been known by the governments members, they would have declared war on the North but, all had been kept quiet and none but the folk knew of what was to come.

Just as Peter was about to begin the meeting and issue the orders of defence, he saw the appearance of the four elders on the outskirts of the folk, lifting his hand in a welcoming gesture, Peter asked the old men to come to him, slowly the folk parted to let the Elders walk up to Peter as he looked at them with a welcoming smile.

The four Elders stopped close to Peter and gave him a small bow of respect then, the leader addressed Peter in a firm voice but with a sense of respect.

"Father of Quetzalli and Tezcatlipoca, we the followers of the Gods, would ask to be a part of your mighty army of the shape shifters, while we are thankful for the help of your mighty warriors, this is also our home and our heritage, all our people would wish to lay down their lives for the Gods and so ask humbly to be put to use."

Peter looked at the determined visage on the elders faces, had he been able to, he would have shed a tear at the sincerity on the old faces.

"Elders of Uxmal, we are here only to help and to preserve our own way of life but, I am sure that our two sons would never forgive us if we were to reject such an offer from their people, we would welcome the help of the warriors of the Gods to stand by our side, tonight we make plans and would ask that you remain here with us while we make ready."

The four elders gave another low bow and settled in to listen to the strangers and their plans, a large whiteboard had been set up near the alter, on it was a large map of the area, small red dots noted the supposed landing places of those coming from the North and then there were thin red lines that denoted the probable route they would take to get to the city of stone.

Each and every river or stream was marked for attention, every road and pathway was marked in blue and any probable clearings that could be used to land airborne troops was set out, Peter was now thankful for the offer of help from the locals as it meant that every avenue of attack could be amply covered, suddenly his rough plan was now feasible with the extra numbers.

The discussion went on late into the night as each part was settled, the distinct advantages of the folk would be put to use in the attack, the greater knowledge of the locals in their understanding of the ways of the jungle would make them the ideal scouts, they would also take advantage of any chance to attack from cover but, Peter stressed to the Elders, the warriors were not to confront the attackers directly as they would be outgunned, they could use guerrilla tactics and snipe the attackers from the dense jungle then pull back quietly but the main attacks would come from the folk using their many abilities, the Elders agreed and said they would pass on the orders to the many warriors that awaited the word.

As the sun rose the next morning, the night folk went to prepared rooms to await the night again, the Elders went outside to form up their warriors, Peter and Swiftwing began to try and make contact with their sons, the time of the attack was now too close and they had little time for the boys to make plans.

Four times Peter tried to contact the boys on his sat-phone, there was no answer, Peter quickly grew concerned, the two boys had never failed to answer their phone, Peter called Swiftwing over and told him what had happened, a small wrinkle of concern showed on his forehead as he took in what he was being told, with a quick hug with Peter, Swiftwing ran out of the temple and took the long tier of steps up to the top of the pyramid.

Reaching the top of the pyramid, Swiftwing went to the top of the steps and sat cross legged on the cold hard stone, within seconds, Swiftwing was in a deep trance as he sent out his thoughts to Mother and Creator, in his head he saw the swirl of green and brown as the earth moved around him in a kaleidoscope of swirling colours, he saw the land below him and felt the sky above, to any onlooker they saw the slender form of the Indian boy begin to glow as a green mist enveloped his young form.

A wind in the very tops of the trees could be heard to whisper through the branches and leaves of the surrounding jungle, to the locals who were gathering in the square for the formation of the warriors, it was as though the very Gods were moving in the air around them, the soft wind whisper grew to a strong wind as the green mist swirled in a mini tornado at the top of the steps.

Swiftwing felt light and in his mind he was moving at a speed far beyond anyone's capability, the jungle below him sped by in a green blur as his conscience flew towards the far off city, as he neared the population centre he seemed to slow in his flight, from a large compound at the outskirts of the city he saw in his minds eye a glimmer of blue light, it was like a miniature beacon to his eyes but to those on the ground there was nothing, it was as much like an aura as a light, Swiftwing sent his mind in that direction.

Below him, Swiftwing could see the large compound filled with men and boys from the surrounding barrios, each was armed and all were looking towards the rear wall where the two boys were, they were naked and bound with their hands above their heads and fixed to two posts buried in the ground, around them the men and barrio boys were yelling insults at the two teens.

Swiftwing's inner self grew angry at what he saw, there was little he could do in his present form but watch, even his powers as a Shaman and a Vampire could do little to help the bound boys, his very presence was ethereal and he could not interfere in any form that would help the boys.

As he watched, a man of middle age came from the depths of the hacienda and walked towards the two boys, the compound became silent as the man himself, El Morte, came to take part in the end of two nosey boys, the secrecy of the cartel was not going to be put at risk by these two, to much of importance was taking place and they could not afford to have newcomers interrupt them, the many questions the boys had been asking were too invasive to be ignored, it was time to make them disappear.

Don Elvira Castillo, also known as El Morte, looked at the two troublesome boys, this had to be an example to all the others of what would happen to nosey people, he had a very important job to do for his masters in the CIA and these two had been too invasive to be left to escape their fate.

El Morte had not had much chance to enjoy himself for a long time; his reputation had made sure that no one put a foot wrong in the cartel so this opportunity to enjoy himself and, hopefully, stir up his men before the upcoming job, was a good chance to fulfil his basest desires, the two naked teens were ripe for the fun he had in mind.

At the centre of the compound sat a large heavily ornate wooden chair, it sat facing the two bound boys, on the right stood Miguel, he had been El Morte's right hand man for eighteen years and was the only other man that the Patron fully trusted. Miguel was no picture painting, he was a little short and built wide and strong, his long Mexican style moustache hung down from a pugnacious face only a mother could love.

His Patron had found him in the mean streets of the barrios in Tijuana, it had been a sudden understanding between both of them, El Morte, or at that time, a young Elvira Castillo, barely twenty two years old, had been an enforcer for the local Cartel, he had also been enlisted by the American CIA to keep an eye on things south of the border, this work alone had filled his pockets with many dollars and, as his personal hidden wealth grew, so did his local power base, Miguel became a part of that growth.

Over the next few years, the unusual bond grew, Miguel had no ambitions to rise to the lofty heights of Patron, he had found his own Patron and was totally devoted to him, no one got to see Don Elvira without first going through the exacting task of passing Miguel, the devotion was so strong that, had Don Elvira said, "Miguel, go kill the President of the US." Miguel would have only asked what time does he go.

At Miguel's hip rode and old fashioned Colt .45 Automatic, on the shorter man it looked huge and ungainly but no one had ever seen him without it, and no one had ever asked him to make a show of it, no one alive that is, Miguel took his oversized automatic out only when he was going to kill for his Patron otherwise, it never left his hip holster.

To the left of the chair stood a younger man, he looked no more than a teen but was standing at the Patron's left hand, his face was smooth and hairless, the eyes were almost dead but ever alert, his hair was cut short, almost like a buzz cut, the nose was in proportion to the slim face and soft rounded chin, the man was slender and lithe with narrow hips and slender legs hidden by clean baggy jeans, over his shoulder was a light riding quirt and at his hip was a long hunting knife, he stood like a young statue with his hand ever close to the knife.

He was known as Juan, he had been found by El Morte in Mexico City only five years before, he had been in a back street with a young girl and was in the process of carving his initials into the face of the hapless girl as Don Elvira had turned the corner, as the girl had tried to call for help, Juan and coolly slit her throat from ear to ear and then turned to face the new threat without a single expression passing over his young face, Don Elvira had smiled at the efficiency of the young man and had offered him a place at his hacienda.

To enhance his youth, even Juan's voice was that of a young teen but his efficiency with his large knife told of an older head on the young looking shoulders, even the most hardened member with the exception of Miguel and Don Elvira, was in fear of the young man, to lay a single hand on the young man could result in a sliced cheek or, at worst, being gutted from pubis to sternum without a flinch from the man, Juan was the epitome of the loner, no one ever saw him bath or even being partly dressed, he was always fully clothed from neck to heel before he was seen by anyone, he was also totally devoted to his Patron and therefore held his lofty place at the left hand of Don Elvira.

Don Elvira took his seat in the large ornate chair, he looked at the two troublesome teens tied to the two posts, he was quick to note the contrast between the two boys, one was very Latin looking and Don Elvira barely looked at him, the other, however, interested him a lot more, he was pale and blonde, his sparkling blue eyes almost seemed to be smiling at Don Elvira, this attitude and that of the darker boy brought a faint frown onto Don Elvira's face, how could two young boys be in such a position and think they were going to walk away unharmed, neither boy looked overly concerned with their dangerous position.

As Don Elvira watched the lack of fear in the two boys, he also noticed that the once clear blue sky above the Hacienda had become cloudy and a breeze had started up as though it was going to rain, there had been no rain in the district for over seven months and none was expected for at least three months more but, above their heads the clouds were building.

Looking close at the cloud cover, Don Elvira noted that they seemed to be broiling and twisting in the same fashion as a thunder storm, there was, however a strange twist to the forming clouds, it almost appeared as though they were emitting strange greenish wisps at the edges, Don Elvira shook his head and turned back to the two nosy boys.

He had the full report from Miguel; the boys had been found wandering around his streets trying to ask questions that were not meant to be asked, their interest in the whereabouts of Don Elvira were not welcome and so he had had them caught and brought to his hacienda, it was time his men once again saw what could happen to men who wanted to play games with El Morte.

Don Elvira had nearly seven hours before he would have to move his men into position for his real bosses in the CIA, in the mean time he had two young naked boys to play with and to put a little more fear into the assembled men, it would be good for their souls to see some blood before they all went into the jungle in search of the old fashioned natives who wanted to bring back old ways that were to archaic to be of use in the modern world.

Don Elvira had no sexual interest in young boys unlike some of his own men, his interest was only in young girls and, only if they were virgins, his one fault, not that he saw it as a fault, was the breaking of a young virginal girl, once broken, they were discarded like so much dross, if any had been made pregnant, he didn't care, they were there for his use and that was that but, Don Elvira did feel a faint stirring as he looked over the nakedness of the young blonde boy as he was suspended by his slim wrists high on the post.

Don Elvira noticed, with somewhat of a grim smile, that both boyhoods were hard and erect, silly young things, didn't they know what was in store for them, Don Elvira watched and waited as his men threw insults and snide remarks at the two bound boys, telling them what they were going to do with their young bodies when their Patron had finished with them.

Tezca looked over at Quetz with a faint smile on his face; both boys had been busy reading the minds of the three main men and were not only surprised at what they saw but highly amused as well, at a faint nod from Quetz, Tezca began his soft assault on the mind of Don Elvira, with the consummate ease of a young god he projected his thoughts into those of El Morte, both boys wanted only one of the men to approach them, the result would not be what the surrounding men expected, it was even more to the liking of the two boys when they had discovered, hidden deep in the head of Juan, what his greatest fear was, the revelation was going to be very interesting to those watching from the large compound.

Don Elvira sat and watched the two boys with his dark eyes, slowly a picture formed in his mind of what he would subject the boys too, as the picture filled and formed in his mind he began to feel the hardness form in his tight pants at the thought of the screams from the offending boys, taking a large gasp of fresh air, Don Elvira, El Morte, the Patron of Cartel Castillo, turned to Juan, this was a job right up the young mans alley.

With soft words, Don Elvira described to his young killer, exactly how the two boys were to be treated, Juan was to work on one boy at a time so the other could watch what was to come for himself, the first boy was to be attacked with the quirt, his boy hood was to be assaulted until it was blue and the boy was crying out in total pain, he was then to attack the rest of the boy until it was covered with the stripes of pain and the boy could take no more, he was then to have his boyhood cut off and forced into his mouth while the other looked on, the boy was not to die until he had seen the same happen to his friend, once they were both done, Juan could slowly gut them, no quick slashes, just a slow pulling upward of the ever sharp knife so the boys felt every inch of movement.

Juan's usually dead eyes began to glow with lust, not the lust of sexual desire but the lust of pain and blood, this was the type of work he enjoyed most, it was only his Patron that fully understood his deepest desires and allowed him to fulfil them, Juan nodded his understanding of what was wanted and began to move towards the boys, his lips were almost wet with the saliva that was forming in his mouth as the moment of the first lash came close as he neared the darker boy.

Just feet from the defenceless boy, Juan paused as he took the thin quirt from his slim shoulder, as he did so, deep from within him came an old long buried memory, for years he had suppressed these long dead memories but for some reason they began to come to the front of his mind, the true reason for his long held hate came rushing back for the first time in years.

Once again, Juan was nine years old, he was laying on his back in the dark dusty room of the village Priest, the Priest was standing half naked between his legs as he buried his manhood deeply into the body below him, the pain had been more than Juan though he could take but the Priest had told him, it was Gods way of telling Juan that his pain was also Gods pain and that only the thick blessed water of the Priest could heal him, from that first day, and for once every week there after, Juan was laid on the table and given the blessed water of the Priest until, on his twelfth birthday, the Priest had kissed him on his forehead and told him God had worked his miracle and Juan would never have to worry about Satan entering him for the rest of his life, Juan also remembered that he was once christened Juanita Gomez, from that day on, Juan/Juanita had played the part of a boy, even his devotion to the Patron could not pull the secret from the girl that was Juan/Juanita.

Looking again at the young mind of Juanita, she saw once again the deadly serpent of the Priest, in her mind it was real and ugly, it had a large square head, its deadly eyes were green and deadly venom dripped from the open mouth, it had always been there, far back in the memories of a young girl, only the black cassock of the Priest clothed the serpent.

To the amazement of all the hard men in the compound, Juan suddenly let out an ear piercing scream of terror, the quirt dropped from the young mans hand and his knife appeared miraculously in his right hand, suddenly, Juan flung himself down on the ground, his legs spread in an unusual way, with another scream he began to stab viciously between his legs as though trying to kill something on the ground in front of him, with a last final scream of fear, Juan turned the knife in his hand and without thought, plunged it deeply into his own groin, forcing the blade as deep as it would go and then tried to cut out the devil within.

In Juan's mind all he could see was the green serpent of the devil as it crawled and writhed towards him, its dripping fangs were going to enter his/her groin and impregnate him/her with its devils spawn, Juan/Juanita stabbed and slashed at the serpent but to no avail, it began to eat its way inside him/her, Juan/Juanita turned the knife and plunged it deeply into the serpent, ending forever his/her only fear.

The compound went into an uproar as they watched the man they knew as Juan, kill himself in the most horrible way they had ever witnessed, even to the hardened men it was a gruesome sight, unnoticed above them the clouds had continued to roil and swirl until now, now they took the form of a large serpent, its eyes were a deep green and its mouth was agape and its fangs were long and dripping misty venom, but the men below had not seen the transformation of the clouds, they were still transfixed by the strange happenings in front of them.

For the first time in years there was an expression on the face of Miguel, his mouth was open in awe and fear, his forehead was dripping beads of sweat and his hands felt clammy, his Patron was on his feet staring at the gruesome sight on the ground before the two boys, he could not move, it was as though something had turned him into a statue, it was only the cry from his right that made Don Elvira move.

With the shout from Miguel, Don Elvira turned to his right hand man just in time to see two large scorpions bury their barbs into the jugular of the man for the third time, where they had come from and how they had got onto the mans shoulders, no one could work out, they seemed to just appear and begin their assault, with so much deadly venom injected directly into the jugular, Miguel had only seconds before he was writhing on the ground in pain and his final death throws, forgetting the two boys, Don Elvira made a dash for the protection of his house, the rest of the guards trying to follow him, the two boys were forgotten for the moment in the wild dash for safety.

Tezca looked over at Quetz and smiled.

"Well, that was fun, who would have though he was a girl, nasty little piece of work she was." Tezca said.

"True, well are we going to get out of here?" Quetz replied.

"Yep, time to go."

Tezca looked above his head at the swirling serpent cloud, closing his eyes for a second he then waited, from the swirling cloud came two thin bolts of lightening, each one struck the boys bonds perfectly and sliced through the rope bonds, the boys lowered their arms after a quick stretch, looking around they surveyed the now empty compound, it had been an interesting morning but they were now ready to return home.

There was only one job left to do, Quetz closed his eyes and sent out his command, from hidden depths of the compound an army of snakes and scorpions emerged and surrounded the two young teens, after a short time, and as though on a single string, the snakes and scorpions moved off towards the living accommodations of the gang, only the main house was not approached by any of the denizens of the two god boys.

After a quick hug, the two naked boys walked slowly to the gates and then a short distance down the dusty road, already they could hear the screams and cries of men in fear for their lives, they walked on a little further, once again they held hands it was then as if a mist had enveloped them, that they just seemed to disappeared into the very ether.

On the steps of the Pyramid, the greenish mist cleared from around Swiftwing, a small shudder went through his slim body as he opened his eyes and looked down the steps below him, even though he felt tired and hungry, he couldn't help a smile as he saw his two boys, naked as the day they were born, walking up the steps towards him, both boys gave their Dad a wave and a cheery smile as they climbed closer, the effects of their morning were far away and in the past, both of them were glad to be home again with their two Dads.

Fifteen minutes after arriving back at their pyramid, the two boys were again clothed and relating to their two dads, what they had found out while in the compound, after hearing all the boys had to say, Peter opened his sat-phone and contacted Senor Delgardo, if the old Vampire hurried with his men they would be able to capture El Morte as he would alone in his Hacienda, all his guards should by now be well and truly taken care of.

As he dialled the number, Peter was suddenly reminded that, while he was a day walker, Senor Delgardo and his men were not, he closed his phone in frustration, there was only one thing for it. Peter called his own security guards along with Caleb, Levi and Swiftwing, they would have to go in and finish off the boys handiwork.

Peter gave it more thought as his guards and friends got their equipment ready, time was going to be a factor and they had already lost over an hour, the one saving grace for Peter was that the boys had seen buried deep in the mind of El Morte was his wealth, it had all been hidden deep underground beneath the house, there was a large amount of gold and bank notes, too much to be moved quickly without men, El Morte would have to take time to recruit new men and then find transport for his wealth, which was substantial.

At the hacienda, Don Elvira could hear the yells and cries of his men as they were attacked by the venomous horde, there was no escape for them and Elvira didn't know when his turn would come, with fear driving him he began to seal up the house as the far off cries began to diminish, his one chance was the safe room he had had built no more than five years ago, in this room he could survive for weeks.

Slowly the cries and screams died as the last of his personal guards died as he convulsed on the floor of the barracks, the mass of scorpions and snakes began to disappear into nooks and crannies until the buildings looked as though nothing had happened and all the men were just sleeping on the floor, silence reigned over the compound except for the muffled slamming of a steel door deep in the main house.

It took three hours for the small convoy of SUV's to arrive at the open gates of Don Elvira's hacienda, the silence was almost overwhelming as they pulled to a halt one behind the other, at a spoken command from their com units, the men rushed out and took up positions around the open gateway, Peter and Swiftwing stepped from their lead SUV closely followed by Caleb and Levi, all their senses were at maximum as they scanned the now open and empty compound.

Finally, Peter detected the faintest of human traces coming from the main house, the four daywalkers spread out and began to make their way towards the faint signature while the human guards spread throughout the compound and began to take stock of the dead, nothing else moved as they took in the sight of twisted and contorted faces of the once feared gang members, the core of Cartel Castillo was now gone, only the head remained somewhere inside the main house.

Peter began to send out feelers as he approached the area where the faint trace was coming from, there seemed to be something blocking a full scan of the human, slowly the four worked towards a corner of the main hallway, it took no time at all for Peter and the others to realise why the trace was so faint, Don Elvira Castillo had locked himself in a safe room.

Peter laid his head against the wall near the hidden door, while the steel shielding made it difficult, for a Prince of the blood, it was not impossible, slowly he extracted the information he wanted on the whereabouts of the underground vault, it also had a hidden doorway at the rear of the house in a room the Don, used for an office.

Peter called for two of the security guards the stay by the concealed door while he and the others went in search of the vault, with the details gathered from the man himself, it took no time for Peter to find the access point, using his superior strength, Peter tore the first door from its hinges and looked at the flight of steps going underground, his Vampire sight made it easy to see far into the long passage as he led the others downward into the darkness.

At the end of the passage, Peter saw the large steel door, it had a key pad fixed at the center but it took only seconds for him to find the combination from the memories he had picked from Don Elvira's mind, less than 30 seconds later the heavy door swung open on silent hinges, as it did so, a small click came from above them and the huge vault was suddenly lit from above, what they saw took their breath away, even with Peter's wealth, what he now saw made it look like pocket change.

The vault was at least 10 metres wide and fourty metres long, down the centre was a cleared space, obviously for easy loading or depositing on the shelves that lined both sides of the room, the walls were lined with stainless steel and had large heavy metal shelves fixed in place, while the vault itself was impressive, it was its contents that real took pride of place.

Along the full length of the right hand wall and staked three high and four deep, were wooden pallets carrying gold ingots, with a quick count, Peter found each pallet held 100 bars, at the present rate of exchange that would put each pallet load at one million dollars in value, Peter didn't even try to count how many pallets were sitting there.

At the left of the vault were more wooden pallets, again they were stacked three high but this time they were five deep, each pallet was neatly packed in heavy plastic sheeting and underneath the plastic cover could be seen the green and white of bank notes, the printed label on the front of each pallet said it contained two million dollars US.

It looked as though drug dealing on this scale was extremely profitable as well as the payments made by the CIA over the last 20 odd years, moving to the far rear of the vault, Peter saw how they managed to get all these pallets into the room, against the back wall was a heavy lift, it looked as though it went upward and through the ceiling, Peter stepped onto the platform and pressed the up button, silently the lift began to rise, a loud click above him and the ceiling opened up into another large room which turned out to be the garage, it was now easy to see how the man had been able to store his ill gotten gains.

In the garage was a large metal container, Peter looked in and saw it was still partially filled with pallets of bank notes, there seemed to be about eight pallets still sitting inside, Peter began to try and work out the logistics of moving all the wealth he had seen, it was going to take more transport than he had, he would have to call in Senor Delgardo when the old Vampire woke from his day sleep, in the mean time he would have to set his guards to cover the Hacienda until that could be done.

Peter sent out his instructions over the com channel, in no time at all the garage was open and four of his men were standing around on alert, the two at the door of the safe room were soon joined by two more, at the door of the vault, Peter positioned another six guards, he guaranteed them that their bonus this year was going to be a good one as long as they didn't let anything happen while they waited for nightfall, to a man the guards just smiled and nodded that all would be ok, Peter left them to rejoin his three friends on the steps of the house, it was now early afternoon and the sun would be down in a few hours, it would then be time to call Senor Delgardo.

While they all waited, Peter set about planning his defence of the newly restored city of Uxmal, now he had been able to delve into the most hidden thoughts of Don Elvira, he had the full plan of the coming attack as far as the Don was concerned, according to the time table, the actual attack/invasion was going to start the following night, the Dons men were meant to be in position along the various routes to guide the attackers to the city of stone.

Peter smiled at the simplicity of the plan but with his men and the help of the folk now living at the city he would be able to come up with a few surprises, Peter smiled as he thought to himself that, if the CIA backed invasion went ahead as it definitely seemed it would, then the CIA's disaster at the bay of pigs was going to be a picnic compared to what they were going to face this time, from deep in his being, Peter could feel a sense of anger at what was being tried by those up North, these people had never done anything to warrant this invasion, a soft hand laid on Peter's shoulder brought him back to the present, he turned and lightly kissed his boyfriend, they both knew what had to be done.

As evening fell over the jungle, the stirring night creatures began to make themselves known, Peter immediately made contact with Senor Delgardo, after outlining his plan to clear all the wealth from Don Elvira Castillo's vault he then explained what he had learnt about the coming attacks, Senor Delgardo was quick to offer his own support and the support of all and any other folk in the area should they be needed.

Peter again outlined his counter plan, Senor Delgardo would use his own people to protect the smaller towns around the edge of the jungle, they were to let through all attackers and then Peter's people would take over. Next Peter asked the two boys to contact the four elders, once they had arrived, Peter laid out what he would like the native peoples to do, they were not to take direct part in any attack but to lead the enemy into various planed traps along the way.

Peter was almost taken aback when he saw the look in the eyes of the elders, the leader stepped forward and, with due deference to Peter's position as Father of the God boys, began to object to the minor role the natives had been asked to play, after a short explanation, the elder requested that his people be given a more active part in the defence of their home city, After a short consideration, Peter could see no reason not to agree, he then set about reforming his defence plan to include the natural jungle abilities of the people.

Peter had asked his two boys for the use of the lower temple for the gathering of the folk that had come to help, as they all assembled in the huge room, he saw that they would have a number of very good strike forces, along with the newly accepted natives, they would take a good toll on their enemies.

Peter waited for everyone to settle down and then went into the outline of the plan, his own hired snipers would take position on and around the pyramid, their duty was to protect the pyramid and everyone living in the city if the attackers broke through the lines, his personal security guards were to stay inside the pyramid and protect everyone there along with his own staff, the two Vaga boys from the communications room would also use their abilities to help in the internal protection.

Peter turned to the local native leaders, on the large whiteboard he explained where and when the attackers were going to arrive the following night, they would have as many of their local people in position to lead the invaders through the jungle towards the city, during the trip from the pickup points, the attackers would be themselves attacked and harassed along the way, once the first attack on the invaders started, the guides were to disappear into the jungle and leave the enemy to wander around by themselves.

Peter then went to explain that, while most of the enemy would easily get lost in the dark and thick jungle, there would be those among the forces that had a lot of experience in that type of warfare, these men would be left to the folk, they were the only ones with the abilities to attack any specialists.

The discussion went on long into the night as the various parts of the plan were split up into their respective parts, each group given their part to play, the Avians were set to overhead recon, the Felines were to use every opportunity to harass the enemy once the guides had left them, the Canines were to be the last line of defence around the city itself, they would stay out on the edge of the jungle and stop any attackers from entering, lastly the Vampires would all move to the entry points where the enemy had entered, they would take out all and any means of retreat from the sights and then move in at the rear of the enemy to assist in the cleanup.

Peter was suddenly tapped on the shoulder, turning he saw the two boys looking at him with expectation on their youthful faces.

"Dad P, what about us, where do we go?"

"What do you mean Quetz?'

"Well it's our city and our people too, why can't we help to defend it?"

Peter paused, for some unusual reason he felt a pull at his heart strings, how could he put his two sons in such danger, the conflict was obvious on his face as he tried to justify letting his sons take part in what was still going to be a dangerous undertaking.

"I don't think that would be a good idea Quetz, Swiftwing and I don't want you to be in danger, this is going to be real bloodbath and some people are going to die or be seriously injured."

Quetz looked at Peter almost with a look that said `Are you serious'.

"Dad, we've both just taken out over thirty gang members, one with her own knife, we have all the animals and others to watch over us, besides, who in their right mind would look at two young teens and feel as though they were a threat, looking over your plan, we both think that the guides should all be younger teens and kids, the enemy will feel more relaxed if they see only unarmed kids to guide them, it may make them relax a bit more and not feel as threatened so they won't be as much on alert as if they had only armed adults around."

Peter suddenly saw what the boy was getting at but he could see one problem with his sons reasoning.

"Ok Quetz, I can see your point but for one thing, your brother can go but there's no way you can be see, what do you think they will think if they see a blonde white boy in their midst, you could become a target right away, if your brother wants to go then ok, but you have to stay here as you'll stand out too much, besides someone of authority has to be here to co-ordinate everything."

Tezca spoke up then.

"Dad if he can't go then I won't, we stay together whatever we're doing, we're stronger together than apart."

Peter nodded in agreement then said.

"Ok boys, look, the protection of the city is just as important as taking care of the enemy, you two know this place inside out, you're probably the only ones who do, I think it's best you stay here, if any of them get through, you will be needed to help protect the place, their plan is to blow everything up and destroy it and the native people, that can't happen."

"We know Dad; ok we both stay here and help with the defence."

It all seemed settled as everyone else went over their part in the coming attack, Peter told everyone to find and wear a white armband as a means of identification, he explained that in the heat of battle he didn't want anyone making a mistake and hurting one of the natives or even worse, one of the defenders, especially the snipers who more than likely would look and be dressed much as the enemy, finally, just as the sun was about to make itself known, the meeting ended and everyone went to make their arrangements, the Elders bowed to the two boys and went their way.

Within minutes only Peter, Swiftwing and the two boys were left in the cavernous temple, just as they were about to leave, Tezca closed his eyes and, within a minute, there came a slight hissing sound from the darkness, Peter and Swiftwing stepped back just as a large, seven foot Fer De Lance glided into the torch-light, slowly it coiled itself close to Quetz legs and then rose up half it's length and began to sway back and forth in what looked like a complicated dance pattern, immediately, Tezca stepped closer to the snake and also began to sway from the hips, using his hands and body in another complicated pattern, a minute later and the snake turned and disappeared into the dark.

Peter looked at his two sons.

"What was that all about?"

"Our friends can feel the sense of danger, they want to help where they can so Tezca told them what was needed and what we are going to do, they're going to be close-by in case we need extra help." Quetz told Peter.

"I hope they know the difference between attackers and defenders."

"They will, they know to watch for a white mark on the arm of friends, they will stay in the trees and if needed they will just drop from above, it's their natural form of attack."

"Ok, well you boys get some rest; it's going to be a rough and long night tonight."

The two boys smiled and took off towards their own room, hand in hand, Peter turned to Swiftwing and offered his own hand, they also had some making up to do before the forthcoming events took place.

By mid afternoon, Peter had woken and was reading the report from Senor Delgardo; Don Elvira was still ensconced in his safe room with the two guards still at their post, the movement of the wealth in the vaults was still taking place and the gold and cash was being taken to a warehouse that he owned, it would be secure there until they decided what to do with it, neither of them had the slightest interest in the money as they had their own wealth, but after the upcoming attack was settled, they would decide what to do with it.

Delgardo had estimated that the total would run into billions, when the vault was cleared, they would set explosive charges around the door of the safe room and let Castillo try to get out, it would be the last anyone would see of him.

Two hours before sunset, Peter and the others all went to the main square, there, in the square were a large number of local natives, all were armed except for about thirty young teens, they were dressed in worn jeans and loose shirts, around their arm was a white band of cloth and only the thin headband beaded with two green feathers showed they were not town boys, these were the guides for the attackers, they would be taken close to the various pick up points that Peter had seen in the mind of Don Castillo.

The boys would wait for their groups to arrive and then begin to lead them in a round about way towards the city, they had been told that once deep enough into the jungle, they were to slip away and leave the enemy without guides, the rest of the force would take over once the boys were well clear.

The native adults were armed with a variety of ancient weapons, heavy clubs, blow pipes and wicked looking knives that were honed to a razor edge, they had refused firearms as they said the guns were to noisy and in the darkness of the jungle, their traditional weapons would be more effective.

All of the folk were there and ready, each band of natives were assisted by a number of the folk, the plan was to attack in hit and run tactics, there would be no front on battles, hopefully, by the time the enemy got within sight of the outskirts of the city, their numbers would be well depleted, from the thoughts in Castillo's head, Peter knew there were going to be at least four hundred in the various enemy groups, they would be split up into five separate groups, the best of the troops would come in by river and a small number would be airlifted in, these were the most dangerous as they would be dropped close to the outskirts of the city, of the remainder, they would come in by road and then attack through the jungle.

Peter had gathered that the enemy would be made up of elite special forces units as well as a large number of mercenaries to bulk out the numbers, the CIA had deemed it better to use mercenaries as cannon fodder just in case they met any real resistance, the special forces would carry out the more important task of destroying the city and its inhabitants, they were to blow everything until it was just a pile of rubble then get out of there before the local authorities could do anything about it.

After making sure that the boys knew what they had to do, Peter had them all put into SUV's and transported towards their pick up points, the local warriors quickly disappeared into the darkening green of the jungle followed closely by the Felines, the Avians transformed and took the darkening sky, the larger birds began to circle high over any open clearing while the owls went into hinting mode in the branches and tree tops, nothing would be able to move without them seeing it.

The wolves that had arrived in numbers at Peter's call, fanned out and took up positions just inside the green border of trees, except for those up in the highest roof tops to guard the snipers, while Peter called all his Vampires, except for Jason and Mbeda as well as the two boys from communications, and they left in their own SUV's towards the river pick up points, they would stay concealed until the main force had moved off into the jungle and then take care of any guards left to protect the enemy rear and retreat.

Peter ordered the SUV's to be hidden inside the jungle edge once they were about five miles from the rivers edge, they could move quicker and much quieter on foot to approach the landing places, on arrival, they saw the local boys standing around waiting for the enemy to make an appearance, the boys seemed calm and were in a small group talking quietly.

The first indication of the imminent arrival was picked up by Peter and his Vampires with their sensitive hearing; the enemy was approaching in large black inflatables powered by twin electric motors to keep the noise level down, each boat had close to fifteen men crouching in them.

The local teens immediately spread out to watch the boats run up onto the river bank, there were soft spoken orders as the men jumped from the boats and checked their equipment, all were dressed in black and wore night vision glasses pushed up on their foreheads, it was obvious that these men knew exactly what they were about, they were all business.

The leader looked around and saw the boys waiting patiently for them, in a guttural voice he called softly for the boys in broken Spanish.

"You boys the guides?'

A boy nodded his head and indicated the way they would go, as each section formed up in a skirmish line, a boy would step to the head of the group and then indicate which way they were going, the men lowered their glasses so they could see and, as the boys led off, they followed as quietly as they could, to the far sharper hearing of the hidden Vampires, they sounded like a heard of elephants.

As the last of the sections left, Peter surveyed the remaining men, there were fifteen boats with two men to each as a guard, Peter made hand signals to his waiting Vampires, once the sections had moved far enough away, they would strike swiftly and then destroy the boats so there was no way any enemy that managed to escape the coming battle, could get away.

Peter and his Vampires waited for twenty minutes, by now the others should be well into the jungle, he began to feel the latent blood lust rise in his system as his eyes turned red and his fangs dropped into place, beside him Swiftwing took out his Kama and also began to take on his very distinctive green misty form, his own fangs dropping as his body began to hum with power, when everyone was ready, Peter sent out his mental order, as one blur, the Vampires emerged from their jungle hiding places.

The attack was so swift that and silent that the thirty guards never saw them coming, flashes of silver in the moonlight were the only indication of the swift moving Swords and Kama, the guards never knew what hit them and only one lucky guard managed to get off a single shot at the fast moving blurs in the darkness, Peter was the unlucky target and felt the light sting as the bullet fired in panic grazed his forearm, before it was really noticed it was already healing itself, Peter swore under his breath as he took the mans head from his shoulders in one smooth cross strike of his Katana.

It was over in seconds, Peter looked at the corpses lying in the mud of the river bank and then checked to make sure none of his Vampires had been hurt, next they set about slashing the boats to ribbons, the electric motors were dumped out in the river, an easy task for someone who could lift the rear end of a SUV with ease.

Peter called the men together and they began to track the men being led into the jungle, an easy feat as they could still hear the large number of men moving ahead of them, the sounds of movement were suddenly interspersed with a shout or scream as someone fell foul of a trap or hidden defender.

With the locals using old fashioned weapons, the army of men couldn't locate where the attacks were coming from, the scream or growl of a cat and the fear laden scream of another man told of the Felines intent, as he listened to the noises ahead of them, Peter's hearing picked up the softer throb, throb, throb of helicopter blades high up in the dark sky, only the light of the moon lifted the darkness below.

Peter knew where the helicopter was headed for and hoped the Canines were ready and waiting, there was only one clearing large enough for them to land in that was close enough to the city; ahead he could smell the fresh blood of those on the ground as they were led by the boys deeper into the thick jungle cover.

Swiftly Peters Vampires covered the ground and were soon close to the advancing enemy, with their superior sight, Peters men could easily make out the large troop of men, they were spread out and trying to move as quietly as they could, Peter could also see in the thick trees around the enemy, numbers of the local men hidden in small clumps of liana and bushes, every now and then a soft hiss would be heard and one of the enemy would clasp his neck or shoulder, seconds later and they were falling to the knees, the curare poison used by the natives was quick acting and very effective.

Peters men followed close behind as they watched one after another of the rear guard fall to the silent darts of the local warriors, when they reached a point about one mile from the beginning of the city, the young boys leading as scouts, suddenly disappeared into thick undergrowth, they were almost unnoticed by the troops until suddenly a shower of silent darts came from the surrounding darkness, cries and screams began to fill the dark jungle.

The troops soon knew what was happening and took up positions of defence, their night vision glasses now coming into their own, shots began to ring out as they tried to hit the fast moving shadows, the local warriors quickly disappeared into the dark depths, four were left behind on the ground bleeding badly, Peter sent four of his men to pick up the wounded and spirit them away to the city, with their speed and strength this was easily done and soon only the enemy troops, now in a defensive circle, were left.

Peter sent the next group of his men into harass the attackers, with his hearing in full alert he could hear the padding of Feline feet, there would suddenly be a cry of pain and fear from the darkness and the deep long drawn out roar would echo through the night sending more shivers down the spines of the attackers.

Peter estimated there were now only about sixty enemy attackers left in the main group, they themselves had not yet realised that they no longer had a guide to take them through the narrow faint tracks to the city, with his hearing at full stretch, Peter heard one of the men, obviously the leader, call on his throat mike, quickly, six others came from the darkness and circled the man, it looked like a conference to work out how to get to their objective.

As he watched and listened, Peter saw them take out GPS units and small maps, as they looked down at the under the red lights of torches, Peter saw a faint wisp of green mist begin to filter in around the feet of the small group, his Swiftwing had decided to go in for a closer look, Peter went on full alert as he saw his boyfriend infiltrate the enemy leaders unnoticed in the dark.

Minutes later and the planners had finished with their decisions, just as they were about to disperse and take charge of the men around them, the green mist at their feet suddenly began to coalesce into a solid form, as the men watched dumbfounded, the mist became a young teen figure dressed in breach-clout and moccasins, he held in his hands, two Kama which suddenly became very active, the attack had been so sudden and unexpected that the six men were dead before they even comprehended they were under attack, the teen boy suddenly folded back on himself and became a green mist once more as the other troops around the six came out of their daze, by the time they were ready to take action there was nothing left to see, the mist had flowed back into the darkness.

Now the troops were leaderless, Peter sent out his last command, as one, the Vampires descended on the frightened men, as the swords flashed and carved their way through the mass of leaderless troops, the occasional shot would ring out in the darkness but the targets were too fast and almost impossible to get a sight of, men began to run for their lives into the darkness but were quickly cut down, they were no match for the speed and strength of the Vampires.

Here and there, Peter could see some of his Vampires feeding as they had been hit by stray bullets or were running low on energy, Peter ignored what they were doing, it was a necessary part of their lives, soon the clearing was silent apart from the dying gurgles of a few men that had not yet expired.

Peter sent word through his com unit, that the local warriors should return and take all weapons and anything else they wanted, he had to get his men to the roadway some five miles on the other side of the city where the land troops were dismounting from the many trucks and SUV's, these men were also more cannon fodder from the ranks of the mercenaries around the Americas.

Peter lead his men at a fast pace as they covered the ground in what to a normal human, would look like a blur, only the thick dense trees and bushes made them occasionally pause or slow down, in less than ten minutes they were approaching the access road, as it was overgrown and had been left that way for just such a reason, the troops had to dismount a good mile from the edges of the city, there were only narrow game trails for them to follow, again a group of young teens waited for the men at the roadside.

Peter spread his Vampires out through the surrounding jungle and watched as the young teens smiled and nodded at the instructions from the leader, the men along the edges of the road were checking their equipment, with a hand signal, the leader sent the young teens ahead and sent his men after them, fifty men in unusual circumstances could not stay quiet in the thickly wooded jungle, to Peters over sensitive ears it was alike walking down a city street during rush hour.

Five hundred metres from the road and the teens again disappeared into the darkness, the enemy had kept going for another fifty metres before they realised they had no guides, the spread out column came to a halt as the leaders began to check their GPS and maps, they knew that they were close but bringing all of the mercenaries into the attack at the same time was going to be difficult, they settled down to work on a new plan.

TBC

artcart65@vodafone.co.nz