THE PRINCE OF HOUSE VLADD
CHAPTER 6
BOOK 3
BY ARTHUR
AUTHORS NOTE:
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Sin Yu knew he had now been in the dark dungeon for three days, it was easy to tell the time as he had been in his death sleep three times, while he could not see the sun or moon, his natural affinity for the dark soon let him know when the sun was about to rise, as yet he still felt no ill effects of his capture and his time was well spent going over the possibilities for escape.
The three vampire thugs his Father had used to put him in the dark cell, had only done a rough search, believing he would not come fully armed to see his Father, mistake number 1 and that was all he needed, Sin Yu had been well schooled in his art, even going to the shower was considered by him to be an opportunity for some enemy to take him out and so, Sin Yu was always armed for most occasions, again he went over his weapons and tools just to make sure all of them were ready when he was.
In the soles of his small thin shoes were hidden four Suriken made from composite ceramics, they were very flexible but deadly, around the upper sole of the same shoes was a thin silver wire, to the casual eye it looked to be no more than a fancy trim, for Sin Yu it was a very special tool being that it was diamond-dust coated platinum wire used for cutting most heavy metals, including thick iron bars like the ones on his door.
Inside his narrow black leather belt were four ceramic knives, each one only four inches long but enough to kill, they were also extremely sharp and could cut through most organic materials, the thin leather strap around his neck with the large circle of green jade was also a garrotte and the jade circle was an extra Suriken that was devastating when used correctly.
Added to all of his hidden weapons, Sin Yu had his years of training as well as his fangs and talons, his nails were treated with a very ancient form of poison that he could use when needed, the thin filament of protective acetate that covered them when retracted was easily removed when he used them by plunging his fingers into any form of fresh earth, even a flower pot filled with earth was enough to do the job for him.
After checking everything for the third time, Sin Yu then sat and tried to work out why his Father had turned his back on the Council, he could see no rhyme or reason for such an action, his Father already had all the power he could want or need, he was third highest on the Council and wanted for nothing, he controlled the largest of all the areas of the Vampire Council, there was little Sin Yu could see that the man he called Father, could need.
The more he thought about this turn of events, the more he was confused, the only option he could see was that his Father coveted the number one position on the Council, there was nothing else he would need or want, how, if this was what was going on, did it affect the current situation back home, Sin Yu had no idea.
It was about then that an idea hit him, could his Father really aspire to such lofty heights as to want to rule the world, both of the Vampire and the humans, for a single man to want that he would have to be a megalomaniac of the largest degree, it did not seem to fit with the vampire he knew as his Father, the man had always projected the tender and soft exterior, but then again, could that have been a front to hide what he was after?
Sin Yu sighed as the thoughts ran around in his mind, he was delaying any attempt at escape until he could get more information from the man, he well knew that if he waited too long they would begin to worry about him back home and he did not want anyone following him here as it would only give his Father more hostages and only Sin Yu was really trained to handle this type of condition, the last thing he wanted was others to be here with him.
Sin Yu guessed that it was in the early hours of the morning when he heard the approaching footsteps of the three guards, to the human ear there was little or no sound, but to the sharp well trained ears of Sin Yu, they sounded like heavy hob nail boots on a bare wooden floor, he also could hear the softer tread of someone else, Sin Yu smiled as he picked up the faint scent.
Sin Yu had placed himself at the back wall of the small cell and was sitting cross legged on the bare stone floor facing the door, when it opened he was not surprised to see the three large vampires take one step inside and watch him with baleful eyes, from behind them stepped his Father, in the mans arms was the small figure of a boy obviously unconscious, with his vampire eyes, Sin Yu could easily see the two fang marks on the boys neck but the boy still had the smell of a human.
Sin Yu watched as his father dropped the boy on the floor and then looked at Sin Yu and smiled as though he had just done something very enjoyable, being careful to stay between two of the guards, Sin Yu's Father spoke.
"Well my boy, how long since you have fed, two weeks, three weeks, you must be getting hungry soon so I've brought you a gift of sorts, this boy is the youngest of your true mother so he is your youngest brother, now as you can see he has been closely drained so you have a decision to make, he has enough blood for you to survive for a couple of extra days or you can use some of your own blood to turn him into one of us, of course if you do turn him then you have to use some of your reserves and shorten your own time, it's up too you, have fun my boy, there's plenty of time to make up your mind, the boy should liver for another day or so without your help."
Before his father could turn to leave, Sin Yu asked him.
"Why, what do you hope to gain from this treachery, you have everything what more is there?"
"What more, why my boy, there is still everything, do you think I am happy to be only third in line, those others have held power for far too long, just because I am four hundred years younger than them they think they can continue to rule over all of us, no my boy, it's time for some changes and I am going to be the one to make them, oh, and if you think that young Prince of yours can do anything about it, well you can guess again."
"Why did you take my little brother and bring him here then, it serves no purpose to turn another just for me?"
"Why, it's for the fun, it's a game my boy, your human mother had three more boys after I took you away, the other two were older and would have been too much trouble, the younger one here should be far more fun, now you can either feed on your brother or turn him and therefore you will have to wait for five more days for his transformation so you will be five days more weaker, it's up too you my boy, now I must go, there are things to do in the real world, have fun with your brother."
The man he once called father, turned and left the cell followed closely by the three guards, the loud clang of the door slamming shut and heavy click of the lock told Sin Yu he was again alone, for Sin Yu there was little to decide on the new boy, he was his own blood and any thought of his own dire straights went by the board as soon as his one time Father had told him who the boy was, for Sin Yu there was little option but to turn the boy and give up a few extra days, it was going to be when his brother awoke from the transformation that he would have to do something.
Sin Yu started to make plans for when his little brother would awake, there was no doubt in his mind he would have to turn the boy, it was just a matter of setting up the right time for their escape, Sin Yu rose and walked over to the still almost lifeless body on the floor, leaning down he took a small amount of blood from the boys neck, which then brought the small boy to the very brink of death, he then sliced his own wrist and let his own blood dribble slowly into the boys mouth as he held the soft young lips open with his right hand, once he had given enough to his brother, he sat back after moving the boy to a corner and out of the way of the door.
Sin Yu went to the door and began to sniff the air, his senses were far better than even the ordinary vampire since his association with the two God boys, concentrating on his olfactory senses he slowly began to detect the faintest of smells of fresh blood in the air, it was further away than he thought it would be but it was there, he knew it would be the holding cells for his Fathers supply and that of his Fathers followers.
Sin Yu worked in his own mind as he set out his priorities, the door was little problem, his diamond saw would make short work of the bars and he would be able to reach the lock outside, next would be to track down the holding cells and feed his little brother as well as himself, the only problem he could see at this stage was if there were guards around, over the last three days he had not heard any but that did not mean they were not around, he had no doubt that his Father would pay close attention to his incarceration.
It was two more days before Sin Yu heard the heavy foot steps again, this time it was only one Vampire, his door rattled and then the foot steps receded down the dark passage, he now knew that they checked on him every two or three days, that would give him plenty of time, with luck they would check him once more before his little brother awakened from his death sleep, the heavy rotten smell of the change was now filling the cell but Sin Yu shrugged it off, it was all in a good cause.
In the middle of the fifth night, Sin Yu watched as the young Korean boy that was his brother, made the first movements of coming awake, it would have to be tonight or tomorrow night or never, just as that thought hit him he heard the tread of foot steps once again, this time he easily identified his Fathers odour, even with the rank smell of his brothers change now filling every nook and cranny in the close room.
The light of a torch showed through the thick bars and his Fathers face appeared with a broad smile showing on his thin lips.
"So my boy, you decided to try saving your brother, well that means there are now two of you to watch starve away, how long before he turns feral and attacks you I wonder, one day, two days, well my boy, you will have to kill him either way, once he's feral you will never control him, are you hungry yet, do you want a little food or are you going to waste away slowly, well my boy, I will see you soon, hope you can do what has to be done when the boy awakes."
The light dropped and Sin Yu heard them walking away, with a tight smile on his lips, Sin Yu checked his moaning brother and moved to the door to make sure they had completely left the passage, it was time to start work, taking the wire from his shoe, Sin Yu grasped the two small loops of wire at each end after wrapping it around one of the bars, using his speed and strength, Sin Yu soon had the first bar severed at the base, he continued on with the other four bars, next he went to check on his brother, the boy was now coming around faster as the effects gave him his full vampire recovery powers.
Sin Yu pushed the sweaty hair from the boys brow and returned to the door, he now had only to cut through the top of the four bars and place them silently on the floor, taking another look at the bars he smiled and decided they would make effective weapons as well, Sin Yu began his cuts, he didn't want to take the bars out tonight and so he left only the faintest of metal on each bar so they would not be detected in the dark, it would be only a matter of seconds to finish the job tomorrow night after he had had a chance to talk to his little brother, there were things the boy would need to know before they made their escape.
Sin Yu was watching the boy as consciousness hit him, the boys eyes were red and his hair by this time was unkempt and dirty, his few clothes were a mess of discard from the change and he held one small hand to his mouth, the look of pain on the young face told Sin Yu that the boy had felt his fangs come through for the first time.
His brother looked around the dark cell and, in a small worried voice, he asked Sin Yu in the Korean language, where he was, it was time for Sin Yu to tell all, stepping closer to the boy but not so close he would feel threatened, Sin Yu began to explain what had happened.
As he talked, Sin Yu saw the disbelief on the young boys face, another sharp pain in the boy's gums told him it had to all be true, after being asked by the stranger who had said he was his long lost brother Sin Yu, the boy told him his name and what had happened.
"My name is Lim Soo, I'm fifteen, you were long lost when I was born but I was told all about you and we held a ceremony for you every year, my mother said you were a good boy and did not know where you went only that you disappeared one night on the way home from your school, why am I here, what are you doing here, if you are really my lost brother, why are you not older, it was a long time ago?"
Sin Yu almost smiled at the thought that he was still remembered by his family, the use of the Korean language was almost foreign to his lips as he answered the boy, it had been a long time since he had had to use the language but he tried to explain everything to his little brother.
"As far as I can tell, the one who sired me and I called Father, has taken you to torment me, he is not a nice man, you are now like me, a Vampire, a drinker of blood, soon you will feel the need to feed on blood, for now don't worry, I have a plan to get us out of here soon, now how did you get caught?"
"I was at home, I had just finished my Soh Bah Do training and was having my shower when there was a knock on the door, I heard my mother answer the door and then scream, I put on my shorts and vest and ran to see what was happening, by the time I got there, Mother, Father and my two older brothers were lying on the floor covered in blood, I yelled and tried to attack the men but they did something to me and then I woke up here."
"Well little brother, it looks like it will be only you and I, you said you have martial arts training, how good are you, what rank do you hold, we may need it?"
"I have just got my black belt and I was going to start weapons training next year, I have been training since I was six years old."
"Good, now we have a little time left before the sun rises, I'm sorry there's nothing here to get you cleaned up so for now we both will have to put up with the smell, you can wash as soon as we are out of here, now I want to teach you some things tonight so at least you will have some idea of what you can now do, your training will be a big help, let's begin, when we are free I will tell you everything you need to know but for now we have to work on our escape, ok?"
Sin Yu's little brother nodded his head although he still looked confused by everything around him, Sin Yu would have to do the best he could under the circumstances. Sin Yu first started to teach Lim Soo about his abilities as a vampire new blood, the boys years of martial arts training helped him immensely as they sparred and he learnt to use the walls to move around on, slowly Sin Yu taught him what to look for and how to stay close to his side in a fight, by the end of the night they were moving together like Lim Soo was his shadow, he would make a good soldier Sin Yu thought as he settled them both down on the floor to sleep the day away.
It was Sin Yu's innate abilities that awoke him, the feeling of danger instantly made him fully alert, as he opened his eyes, he saw standing over him, his young brother, the boy's eyes were bright red with blood lust, his fangs fully extended, from his forehead ran small drops of blood sweat, the blood lust had hit him and Sin Yu was the only source in the small cell.
Sin Yu never hesitated, using all his skill he moved with his full speed, in less than the blink of an eye he was behind his brother and had him in a bear hug as he softly whispered into his ear.
"It's ok Lim, just breath deeply and relax, it's the lust, you can control it if you try hard enough, it won't be long and we will be out of here and you can feed, ok?"
Sin Yu felt the boy trying to struggle out of his tight grasp but all to no avail, Sin Yu had years more experience in dealing with this sort of thing, slowly Lim began to relax although it was taking a mighty effort on his behalf, the soft whispering voice of his long lost brother was slowly making him relax, the heart pumping need for blood still rage inside but he recognised that he could not take any more from Sin Yu and was soon relaxed enough that Sin Yu could release him.
"I know its hard Lim but you have to try, just a short while now and you can feed, all you have to do is hold yourself together for a little while longer, ok?"
Lim tried to smile through the rage in his head, it was only the thought of finding his long lost brother that gave him the strength to resist the powerful need that was inside him, taking a deep breath he stepped back from Sin Yu and nodded that he was ok now, his heavy sigh almost brought a tear to Sin Yu's eye, it was time to get to work.
Sin Yu took up his wire saw and finished off the four bars, as each one was cut through, he handed it to Lim, as soon as the bars were gone, Sin Yu reached through but could not find the key for the door and the window was too small for him to get through, suddenly he smiled, yes too small for him but not for his much slimmer brother, after a fast explanation, Sin Yu lifted Lim to the small window and helped him through, one minute later he heard the sound of the key in the lock and the door sprang open, a smiling brother on the other side, Sin Yu ruffled the tangled hair of his brother as he lead the way towards where he hoped the holding cells were.
Even without his own nose to tell him, Sin Yu would have known they were getting close to the cells where his Fathers blood stock was kept as Lim was now growling audibly, his heavy panting easily heard in the dark passage, finally, as they turned a corner, Sin Yu saw the long row of holding cells, holding Lim back only by sheer strength, Sin Yu led them to the first cell, inside were three prisoners, neither of them looked like the type of person you could trust, Sin Yu set about opening the door.
Even before the door was fully open, Sin Yu was surprised by the speed of his brother as he leapt into the cell and was on the first man in there, his small fangs already buried deeply into the mans neck, the other two prisoners were too startled by the little boys actions to react, knocking one out, Sin Yu took the other and feed deeply until the man was dead on the floor, Sin Yu had to pull his brother off the first man before he drank dead blood, with a gesture, he sent Lim to the third man and watched as he was drained as well.
Slowly Lim looked up at his brother, he now felt so powerful that the thought of drinking blood for the first time never entered his head, all he knew was that he was full and felt way stronger than he had ever felt before, he looked up at his older brother and gave him a small slightly embarrassed smile, Sin Yu smiled back.
"Feel better little brother?"
Lim nodded and blushed.
"Come on we have to get out of here, my people will be already wondering what has happened to me and we also have to get out of the country, we should have the better part of the night to get away, now stay close, we still have a fight on our hands and I'm not sure where we are."
Lim took up a place close to Sin Yu's side; he now knew he had to be attached like a shadow if he wanted to escape with his newly found big brother.
Sin Yu handed two of the steel bars to Lim, for himself he took out two of his hidden knives, they would have to do until he could reclaim his swords and other weapons that had been taken from him when he arrived in this place, checking to make sure little Lim was by his side, Sin Yu set his steps towards the far off door at the end of the passageway of cells, he was a little surprised that there were no guards down here.
With Lim close on his heals, Sin Yu reached the heavy wooden door to the outside world, his sharp hearing picked up the slow rhythmic breathing of someone on the other side, putting one finger to his lips to tell Lim to stay silent, Sin Yu concentrated further until he could hear a second breather, he now knew there were indeed two guards on the other side, with his full abilities restored from the recent feeding, Sin Yu felt he was more than adequate in handling both of them but he wanted Lim to feel for himself the advantages he now had.
Sin Yu turned to Lim and in a voice that was almost sub vocal, explained what he wanted his little brother to do, a silent nod and a look of seriousness on his young face, Lim gripped the two iron bars a little tighter, he knew instinctively that his big brother would look after him if he made a mistake but, at the same time he wanted to prove to him that he was a good little brother.
Gripping one of his small knives in each hand, Sin Yu readied himself for what was ahead, while he felt confident that they would easily take down the two vampire guards outside, he wanted Lim to be a part of it, he felt the boy would want that as well, with a last nod Sin Yu lifted one foot and with blinding speed, sent the door off its hinges and flying into the lighted room beyond.
The two large guards had little hope of stopping the two fast moving figures, the shock of the door suddenly leaving its hinges and flying into the room with the force of a tornado had made them pause just long enough for the small flying figure of Lim to tumble roll into the room and, with great accuracy, rap each guard across the shin bone with one each of the iron bars, the guards had not even thought to call for help as Sin Yu followed with his deadly knives, in less than ten seconds there were two headless vampires on the floor, their black blood coagulating as Sin Yu and Lim watched.
Sin Yu made a gesture for Lim to follow him, with the practiced knowledge of years of training behind him, Sin Yu set his steps for what he hoped was the room with his other weapons, it was also in the direction of the front door for their escape, although he did not have every detail of this house his instincts told Sin Yu's mind where to go, it was something he did automatically when going into a new place.
With his small shadow close on his heels he soon found the side room where his weapons were stored, within seconds he was once again fully armed, for his brother he handed an extra pair of Tanto that were also on a shelf, at least now his brother had something a bit better to defend himself with, Sin Yu turned towards the door leading to their freedom, the fact he had not heard or seen his one time Father and Sire only crossed his mind in passing, it was something he could worry about later when they were both free of this place.
No one saw the two slim figures slip quietly into the dark of the night, fortunately for Sin Yu and Lim, it would be almost day break before any of the house vampires realised what had happened and, by that time it would already be too late, they could not chase the boys in the day time, for Sin Yu it gave him all the time he needed to make for a safe house that had been set up for just this purpose, for the two fully fed vampires, once Sin Yu had established they were in the old North Korean city of Pyongyang the fifty mile run to the old border would be a stroll in the park.
An hour before sun rise found Sin Yu and his little brother over the border and safely tucked away from the coming day time, it had been ten days since he had reported in and, before he closed his eyes for his death sleep, he sent a short message via vampnet to Peter to inform him he was free and safe and would be home as soon as he organised a night flight out of Korea.
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Peter sat at his desk in a daze, it had been ten days since he last heard from Sin Yu and he was now very worried something bad had happened to his best body guard, in the last ten days there had been more attacks but, now they were well aware of what was going on, the defences in all of the Vaga houses were stiffened.
The fights had still been vicious and there had been losses but, due to the quick reactions of Peter's people and of the other folk, those losses had been far less but the fight for their very existence was till going on. It had taken three days to work out where and how all of the imported troops had made it into the country but now they had a reasonable line on most of them, the fights were evened up a little.
Swiftwing had once again gone for a meeting with the Elders, it seemed every one of the First Nations people were out looking for information and it was coming back from some most unusual places, as he sat and worried, part of Peter hoped that Sin Yu was ok, he had checked with their contacts in South Korea but none had seen Sin Yu for more than ten days, even the safe house set up for his use had not been opened or used.
Peter sat alone, the silence of the house preparing for the sun to go down was one of the few times of the day or night that Peter had some peace and it gave him a chance to prepare for the night to come when all of the attacks took place, it was something at the edge of his consciousness that alerted Peter to the sharp static beeping on his computer, it was the emergency beep of urgent mail, Peter opened his eyes and turned to the vampnet page, the mail was from Sin Yu, short and to the point as usual.
"Both ok, will get first flight out tonight." Sin Yu.
Now there was something he didn't expect, who was `Both' did Sin Yu have his Father with him, was there something going on that the Council would need to know about, while Sin Yu was not known for his over indulgence with messages, this one seemed a little too short, something did not feel right and this only made Peter worry all the more, he would really like to have Swiftwing with him at this point, his boy friend always saw things that Peter could not.
Peter reconnected with the vampnet and sent of a message for Swiftwing, it was simple and concise and would bring his boyfriend back in haste.
"Emergency, Sin Yu" It was all Swiftwing would need to know that something was happening and Peter needed him there, Peter hit the send button and sat back, there was little he could do now but wait for Sin Yu and whomever was with him, he only hoped they did not have a full blown war on their hands with the Asian area, if so it could spell the end of their secret way of life, it was hard enough now after the big Destruction to keep the humans out of their business and let them live their own lives in peace.
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Sin Yu's eyes snapped open as his hearing picked up the tapping on the steel security door in the basement of the safe house, looking over he saw his little brother sleepily rubbing his eyes as he too awoke from their death sleep, Sin Yu listened again, the code came immediately, three, two, three, one, it was the right code, Sin Yu rose from the narrow bed and walked to the door, taking a deep sniff of the air he could tell the person on the other side was human, he eased his grip on the Katana in his right hand and opened the door.
Standing at the door was an old Korean human; he looked to be well into his sixties, after a low bow, the elderly man said.
"Good evening My Lord, I have a car waiting and the private jet will take off in one hour, I will drive you there when you are ready."
"Thank you father, there will be two of us; we will be ready in a few minutes."
The elderly man bowed again and left for the upstairs to wait for Sin Yu and his brother, there was no need for any other words, everything had been set out long before now should the occasion arise that Sin Yu would need to get out in a hurry, this was just the time for that quick evacuation.
Sin Yu tousled his brothers rich dark hair, they had both had just enough time to shower and get everything clean before sleeping, with a soft brotherly smile, Sin Yu told his little brother.
"I'm very proud of you Lim Soo, you did well yesterday in our escape, I could not ask for a better brother, now we must get away from here and report back home, there is a lot I have to tell them."
Lim glowed with pride in the words of his brother, in the back of his mind he was still sad and angry about the loss of his other family but, here and now he had his big brother back, suddenly a thought hit him and his smile faded, with a halting voice he asked Sin Yu.
"What about me, will they let me stay with you?"
Sin Yu smiled at the concerned look on Lim's face.
"Don't you worry little brother, from this day on I will never let anyone hurt you again, my boss is a good man he will love you as soon as he sees you, you don't have to worry about anything ever again, and no one is going to take you away from me, ever."
Lim tentively stepped forward and hugged his brother, he had lost a lot but he had also now gained a lot, he was happy and for now at least he was safe, with a small tear he stepped back from the informal hug and picked up the two Tanto that his brother had given him, it was time for him to be grown up now, Sin Yu smiled once more then turned for the door, they had a jet too catch.
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Michael Strong read through the many reports, none of them gave him much joy, every Vaga house they had attacked had been better defended than at first thought, his losses were mounting and he had little to show for it apart from a big increase in the number of his own new bloods, the raids on outlying farms and towns was paying off but he still had no real fighters on his side.
It was with a heavy sigh that Michael set about sending his latest report to Chen Sin Yu and Senti Matsumoto, once again it could only show losses and no gains, he began to wonder if there were spies in his camp that worked for the Prince, however, once he sat and thought about it further, he realised it would be impossible for the Prince to have spies in a camp that he did not know even existed, Michael was in a quandary, too much was not working out right.
Michael felt the first pangs of lethargy overcome him, it was nearing sunrise and he would have to go to his bed, just as he rose from his desk, he heard the soft ping of incoming mail, looking at the screen he saw two emails for him, both were addresses that he did not know but, the fact they were encoded gave him pause, Michael decided he had time to open and read them.
The first was short and too the point, the signature was a simple wolf paw print and said only.
"We need too meet, tomorrow night at midnight, return email with meeting place."
Michael sat down again and quickly sent off a short reply with the address of a meeting place, why a wolf would be trying to make contact was beyond him, how the damn animal had got his email address was another thing to worry about, Michael set about reading the second email, the signature on this one made him pause for a minute but there was little he could do about it, it simple said.
"Meeting arranged for three days hence, Hotel Rialto, Mexico City, urgent."
It was signed by Chen Sin Yu, Michael for the first time in centuries, got a distinct bad feeling about that meeting, still there was little he could do but go there and try to make peace with his backers and satisfy them about the large losses for such little gain, for a number of days he had worried about just such a meeting arising, now it was here, he was in a small way relieved, but it still did not fix the problem of the Vaga houses.
Michael was finally able to head for his bed, the pull of the sun was now becoming urgent as his body slowly shut down, had it not been for his two young Japanese boys, he would have ended up sleeping on the floor of his bedroom but they just managed to get him under the plain white covers before he became a dead weight, they left the room and reported to the four guards as they too went into their sleep.
TBC.
Artcart65@vodafone.co.nz