Underworld: Conflict

by Splawheel

A continuation of the Underworld: Evolution story that treats the first three movies as cannon but ignores the Fourth movie. Incorporates a broader Underworld universe with a lot of OC settings, factions, and characters to create a fuller story. Plenty of intrigue, battles, and romance for Selene/Michael/OC female and perhaps Erica/OC male.

Underworld: Conflict

Blurb: I am writing this because after the successful back story provided by "Rise of the Lycans" I felt that "Awakening" took a few wrong turns from the potential story that was left in the wake of "Evolution." This will be an ongoing series that starts as AU picking up directly after the end of "Evolution". Since the body count was so high there will be a lot of OCs. The format of the story takes place in episodes like a TV series, with chapters denoting new settings, character points of view, or elapsing time between action.

Warnings: This is Underworld verse people. There will be action, gruesome battles, torture (when they can't be easily killed or permanently harmed the moral implications should decrease), and se...lemons.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any Underworld characters or settings and I am not seeking to profit off this series.

Episode I

Chapter One

2:00 AM November 15th 2007

Budapest, Hungary

Bright lightening flashes across wide multi-paned windows, followed by a boom that shakes the panes. Very soon after that fat drops begin to tinkle against the top story apartment's facade of nearly floor to ceiling windows. The intensity of the rain picks up, as does the wind which momentarily rattles the external shutters which have been opened so long the apartment owner is no longer sure if they will even shut. The bright lights of Budapest are quickly muted as a torrential downpour covers the city. It is a thunderstorm the likes of which reminds one that there are in fact forces out their more powerful than man. Natural forces so overwhelming that it makes it easy to understand how our ancestors come up with concepts like gods and monsters.

The aforementioned apartment owner has wavy brown hair and was clean-shaven eighteen hours ago. He sits on his double size bed with his head in his hands. Dressed in work slacks and a wife beater he looks rumpled like he only removed his dress shirt and shoes upon entering his home. There are stacks of boxes marked "Evidence" throughout his apartment, and a great many have been recently opened, despite the sealing evidence tape, and shifted closer to his bed. Spread around him are papers with witness statements and photos of crime scenes. In the corner of the room is what was once an orderly file that was hurled across the room. His eyes are blood-shot, and the bedside table is littered with a sandwich wrapper, multiple coffee mugs, and a dented alarm clock patched with duct tape that reads 2 AM. He is an athletic man and though he isn't moving a muscle, the coiled nervous energy radiates from him.

Nicholas Bathory was beginning to question his sanity. As a an elite member of the Terrorelharitasi Kozpont (Counter Terrorism Centre-TEK) , he had been recruited from the National Police Force for his stellar arrest rate after only five years on the job. In the two years he had spent with the TEK, he was already developing a reputation for his crack instincts and analytical skills. When the manhunt for Michael Corvin started racking up a surprising body count, he swelled with pride that his hard work was finally paying off. He, Agent Bathory, had been assigned the case of tracking down this vicious killer. But at every crime scene and after reviewing all the witness statements he was starting to uncover an extremely bizarre and troubling series of events.

Take, for instance, the interview with Michael's co-worker Dr. Adam Lockwood. The twenty-something medical intern was possibly the last person to speak with Michael Corvin before his cross country rampage. According to this witness, Michael declared he was not the instigator of the subway shootout. Odder still, he had shown his friend a bite mark that he claimed was from a man, despite Dr. Lockwood's assurances that the wound pattern was more consistent with an animal bite, possibly a large dog. According to the witness statement, the co-worker then alerted two men who he thought were police officers of Michael's whereabouts, only to have Michael jump through a plate glass window four stories up and somehow survive the fall and escape. After looking at photos of this scene, Nicholas had sought out the officers to corroborate the intern's story, but it turns out that the men were imposters. The names they gave to Dr. Lockwood were false and no one at the hospital had seen them prior to that day. These two phony policemen had in fact been looking for Michael Corvin before the subway shootout. Who were they, and why was this seemingly boring workaholic Intern so important?

Just reviewing the crime scene photos taken in the aftermath of the apartment shootout really made the hair on his arms stand up. Nicholas had walked the site. Automatic weapons had apparently been used throughout the building and blood stains littered the floor of his unit as well as the on floor below and in the lobby. Local police had responded to what they described as a war zone, with naked bodies scattered throughout the building. But the officers securing the scene had been knocked out by "Men in Black" who had, in the hour and a half window before police investigators arrived, managed to remove or destroy all of the evidence of the fight. Whole walls had been cut out and taken, individual bullets removed from less damaged walls, and even more peculiar bleach had been cast over every bloodstain, and the bodies removed from the building. Despite this baffling contamination of the scene Nicholas had still noticed many cringe worthy clues. The elevator doors were badly bent and by the impressions left behind, Nicholas must deduce that something with claws had forced the door open. There were also claw marks in the ceiling and walls throughout the building. With the bite, the claw marks, and the jump, was Nicholas really considering werewolves in Hungary?

Now, two days after the last sighting of Michael Corvin outside Miskolc (a city a couple hours east of Budapest), Nicholas must file a report to his superior, Jozef Hansalack, Brigadier General of the TEK. What was he going to do? If he reported his finding as is, there was no doubt in his mind he was asking for an immediate psych review. His trip to Mideastern Hungary was no better, with yet another string of impossible, half-whispered, eye witness accounts from local police, and more mentions of men in black combat uniforms cleaning scenes before investigators arrived. Some of the policemen had been badly wounded, and yet had no memory of how they received their injuries. Perhaps another trick of the black clad cleaners. This time they firebombed an abandoned mine outside Miskolc not two miles from the last sighting of Michael Corvin. After processing that scene, Nicholas knew he must cover his ass. Backtracking from Miskolc to Budapest he had sworn local witnesses and police to secrecy sighting issues of national security. He had also amassed what little physical evidence remained in his home. His rookie partner Mikhail had complained sorely about arranging all of this secrecy, severely departing from accepted protocols of evidence handling and interactions with local police. He had only to remind Mikhail of his junior status and the unconventional nature of much of their evidence to quiet his grumblings. He assumed that Mikhail was probably glad he did not have to provide an explanation for what was completely unexplainable. Nicholas was envious of his subordinate.

And there was the woman to consider. Caught as little more than a blur on the subway security cameras, the one Miskolc officer that remembered anything at all swore that a leather clad brunette single-handedly took his entire unit out, not the black camouflaged men who showed up later. He described her as extremely pale with glowing sky-blue eyes, "heartbreakingly beautiful", and ferocious. He even claimed that he shot her point blank in the abdomen with a combat shotgun before she took the gun from him and clubbed him into unconsciousness with one blow. If he even half-believed some of the witnesses, then he must conclude that both Michael and this mystery woman possessed superhuman abilities. But how and why eluded him. Who were they fighting at Corvin's apartment and in the subway? Was it the black clad commandoes or some other group of claw wielding canine-human hybrids...Werewolves? He chuckled at the thought but stopped when he detected oncoming hysteria. He must focus.

What could he report without destroying his career? Obviously he must say something about Corvin. There must be a plausible narrative that he can sell to his superiors while he continues to follow the bizarre evidence secretly. Nicholas also realized that he needed help from someone in the Nemzetbiztonsági Szakszolgálat (National Security Service - NSC). While he would not mention the woman or her clawed adversaries he must provide a culprit for the havoc and that leaves only the black clad commandoes. Corvin must have led a double life, an operative for some foreign intelligence service or agent of some powerful multinational corporation. His secret was discovered and the mystery soldiers hunted him across central and eastern Hungary where his trail went cold in the woods outside Miskolc. With this story he can expand the search for Michael Corvin nationally and regionally. More importantly this narrative allows him to request investigations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NSC, possibly even Europol or SitCen, to follow the trail of the organization behind the cleaners. Nicholas just didn't have clearance to find out who the commandoes were on his own. He reluctantly realized that following Corvin's female accomplice, and their supernatural adversaries will have to be his own cross to bear until he can find allies that might believe the truth. A small part of him hopes that Michael Corvin truly did disappear and that he can safely put this case on the back burner and return to dealing with more traditional criminals. Criminals that he might actually know what to do with if he ever caught them. He considers what it would be like to pull a gun on a man or woman that can survive automatic weapon fire or crash down four stories and land safely, and he shudders.

Chapter Two

5:35 AM November 15th 2007

William's Prison, Hortobagy National Park, Hungary

Selene took a moment to reflect on the chaos her life had fallen into over the last week as Michael wandered off searching for the last member of Alexander Corvinus' black ops team. The poor mortals that had tragically joined her in trying to stop Marcus' insane plan to release his brother William had all perished. Only the helicopter pilots died human, the rest were infected with William's uncontrollable strain of lycanthropy. It was too dangerous for mortals to dabble in the affairs of the immortal. A fact she understood all too well. It just now struck her that out of all vampire kind, Kraven had been the one to finally be honest with her. When he revealed that it was Viktor who had killed her entire family he shattered her reason for being, death dealing. Thinking about her own mass murder of lycans was too dangerous to linger on. Moving to somewhat safer thoughts, Selene shuddered remembering both Kraven's incessant advances and the fact that he had knowingly lied to the woman he supposedly loved for centuries. Viktor had been foolish to confirm the story. Even though he had murdered her family to protect the secret of William's prison it was no consolation to her. She still would have killed Viktor if she had known about the prison. For his lies, the way he'd used her, for the creepy way he'd tried turning her into his surrogate daughter. A daughter she now knew that he had murdered for his bigoted vampire purity agenda. Viktor most assuredly deserved death for all of the corpses his war had created. How many vampires and lycans alike were now dead, their potential immortality cut short, so that Viktor could punish his daughter's defiance and solidify his own power. The only immortals she felt like grieving for were long dead Sonja and Lucian, her long time enemy that had set her free and helped her save Michael.

The body count had increased dramatically this past week. Selene had no idea how many of her compatriot death dealers and night guards as well as their apparently innocent lycan counterparts had died in the 1800s era fort buried underneath Budapest. Lucian and his lieutenant Raze were surely dead as were Soren and her only real friend Kahn. The council and Amelia were dead too thanks to Kraven's power play. Not that it did him any good. From what Marcus had hinted at, much of the Budapest coven must now be dead or scattered. While it wouldn't surprise her if that snake had somehow survived, she firmly believed that since Marcus had awakened, Kraven must be either dead or fled from Budapest.

Now Marcus and William were dead, or soon would be, if they can die at all? Michael's resurrection had changed the rules of the game. Can vampire/lycan hybrids like Michael and Marcus ever really die? Alexander Corvinus appeared to wish for death, but Selene was starting to wonder if that was possible. Had the first immortal merely manipulated her with a stage death to force her to do what he was unwilling to: kill his immortal children. Selene knew that these questions, as well as the fate of her immortal kin in the power vacuum she had created, would require more contemplation, but she must return to the present and deal with her more immediate issues.

"Michael!...Michael!...Did you find the last werewolf?" she shouted across the eerily silent castle. Snow had started to drift through the caved in roof so they had piled the werewolf bodies and what they could collect of Marcus' dismembered corpse in a dry hallway off the main chamber. She resumed soaking uniform scraps in the crashed helicopter's fuel tank. They had already scavenged wooden boards from the bridge and collapsed beams to construct a pyre. But her thoughts about the nature of hybrid immortality now drove her to be sure. She wanted this fire to burn hot and quick with helicopter fuel so they could pile the ashes into William's now empty iron maiden.

Michael entered the hall with the last werewolf draped over his shoulders. Michael was once again in his handsome human skin. He was over six foot three with shoulder length light brown hair, a dimpled chin, and a slim athletic build. But despite obvious weariness he smiled broadly when he saw Selene. She paused and lost her train of thought, that smile of his was dangerous. "He had fallen into the water to die after I punched through his chest...That feels really weird to say. I can hardly believe that I did it... and so easily," Michael said. He lost the smile and donned what Selene had started to dub his concerned and bewildered face. "I found him, um, by smell. Is that normal for a lycan, to follow a scent underwater?"

"Lycans do have enhanced olfactory abilities even in human form, but I think you'll have to dispense with questions about "normal". You are entirely unique Michael, and what you can do, your limits, I have no way of knowing. I'm not even sure about myself anymore. The way I moved and fought after drinking from Alexander Corvinus, it was far beyond any abilities I had before. We will need to explore our new situations later though," she finished brusquely, realizing that they had been imperceptibly moving closer to each other as they spoke. Now that she noticed her senses, all of them, were far more sensitive and Michael's scent was almost overpowering her reason. She had liked his hybrid smell before when they'd made love in the abandoned storage unit in that warehouse, but now with her senses enhanced it was almost intoxicating. She must maintain control, there was work to do.

"Help me get this helicopter fuel on the pyre. We need this fire to totally disintegrate the bodies. I will not allow Marcus to revive like you did. He's too dangerous and obviously insane if he was going to release William."

"Not to mention he doesn't like us too much. Do you really think we need to wait around and put the ashes in William's prison? I mean, if the cells are all destroyed with fire I don't see how they could revive and regenerate into tissue. I was just damaged not destroyed. Besides, I'm really...hungry? It's not the same as I remember though. It's like thirst and lust and hunger all in one confusing sensation. I'm guessing that resurrection and werewolf fighting is pretty taxing even for a dashing Hybrid like myself," he said flippantly.

"Lycans must feed within half a day after transforming or they go into a blood coma just like a vampire that hasn't fed for weeks. I'm not sure why, but the Ziodex scientists did complete some research on it. You aren't a lycan anymore but you do still have some of their traits. I should be ravenous from all of the damage I've healed from, but my thirst isn't what I'd expect. We could try drinking from me again?" Selene smiled suggestively, recalling the last time Michael drank from her in the woods outside the death dealer hideout near Miskolc. She had never let another drink from her before, the mere idea of weakening herself for someone else being completely foreign to her. But saving Michael by giving of herself gave her a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling that she had day dreamed about trying again.

"No..." he said with some regret, that instantly turned to disgust. "We shouldn't exchange blood until I've had a chance to examine what's happened to us, what Alexander Corvinus' blood did to change you. For all we know your blood could be fatal to me or vice versa. Lycans and vampires can both live off human or animal blood right," Selene nods. "So we need to either hunt or head into Szolnok and rob a blood bank. I will not kill humans, and if what I've heard so far about my extended family members that failed hybridization attempts, no human can take my bite and live. Which do you think would be faster?" Michael started draping scraps of fuel soaked uniform over the bodies as he spoke.

"I think hunting would be faster, and less dangerous than showing our faces back in civilization but what you said about changes concerns me. Alexander didn't tell me what he consumes. Will animal blood work for me? We're pretty banged up, and human blood is definitely more revitalizing for both vampires and lycans. We also need information. I'm not sure Alexander is actually dead, and if he still lives we could use his help. I know we can't make it back to his ship in Budapest without feeding. This trip into the Hortobagy National Park by helicopter probably means we are off everyone's radar. I think we should go to Szolnok, feed, do some research on Lorenz Macaro, and then come back here to place the ashes in the Iron Maiden. I'm thinking that Marcus and William were the only beings that could hurt us besides Alexander, and I will not allow them to return to haunt us just because you're hungry." Her voice rose and took on a domineering cast. She immediately felt bad and touched Michael's shoulder and looked into his eyes to show that she hadn't meant to be so harsh.

"I suppose coming back won't be too bad. I was hoping that we could bury the pilot and gunner with some sort of ceremony. Really all of Alexander's commandoes were heroes and deserve much better than a group bonfire. Humans brave enough to face off against the first Werewolf and the first Vampire define courageous. I'm gonna steal a chisel in Szolnok and mark something to commemorate their sacrifice." Selene couldn't help herself, and she wrapped her arms around Michael's waist. Living with vampires for centuries, she found Michael's genuine emotion and natural honor remarkable. Compared to the ruthless maneuvering of most of her coven or the cold efficiency of her fellow death dealers, Michael's human warmth was like a balm to raw emotions she had thought forever lost to her cold vampire psyche. She pulled his head down into a passionate kiss, trying to will her feelings into a physical expression. She eventually pulled away and extricated herself from his embrace. Being with him like that, was almost too much. She was too raw and these feelings were too new for her to sustain contact for long. A weary Michael seemed dazed after her toe-curling kiss and took a second, shaking his head to try to wake up.

He finished adding the helicopter fuel to the pyre while she busied herself laying out the dead pilot and gunner and searching their bodies for a fire starter. She found a flare on the pilot and after waving Michael away from the bonfire she lit it up. They both stood for a while staring into the flames. Michael more from the exhaustion he was finally feeling in full force now that he'd stopped moving. Selene's thoughts raced from analyzing their tactical situation to lightly brushing against the novel feelings she had towards Michael to noticing differences in her senses to remembering how her body had performed against Marcus and the werewolves. After a while she recognized that she wasn't really coming to any conclusions and longed to just turn off her mind and focus on getting herself and Michael safely out of the castle and to the nearby town of Szolnok. She had to shake Michael to stir him, but he doggedly followed her to the underwater tunnel and they swam out into the river. As they waded onto the shore of the Tisza river Selene realized that she was witnessing her first sunrise in over six hundred years. She paused to take it in, but then noticed Michael had sunk to his knees, resting in the muddy reeds after their swim. She took one more moment to look at the oranges and yellows long denied her by Viktor's twisted gift. When she looked away and helped Michael to his feet she noticed his determined look and smiled at her wonderful companion. The new day seemed to provide her with a number of reasons to be grateful for her evolving life, if not the one who had given it to her.

Chapter Three

1:00 AM November 15th, 2007

Central Business District, Budapest, Hungary

Erika felt her cell phone vibrate from within her coat liner. The stunning blond vampire ducked into a doorway to read her new text message. This one was from Marco, commander of the Night Guard, calling for all "members" to heed Vincent's (the lead scientist of Ziodex) earlier text and meet at Ziodex headquarters for an emergency "board meeting" at 2 AM. Erika cursed in frustration. It was 1 AM and despite frantically calling Kraven's cell and searching the Mansion ruins, she still had no clue where Kraven was.

She had last seen him entering the Elders' Tomb to awake Elder Marcus with his surviving entourage. She had worried because every member of that group was armed to the teeth. Listening at the door she heard a struggle erupt, and decided that something horrible was happening. As Selene had instructed her, and true to her own well developed sense of self-preservation, Erika fled the mansion. It didn't surprise her that many of the coven, after seeing Kraven striding purposefully to the Elders' Tomb, armed, had already left the mansion.

It burned her to no end though that every coven vehicle had already been taken from the garage. She had to walk from the remote mansion on the outskirts of a Budapest suburb miles back into the city to find a suitable hotel. That was two days ago. After a day in the hotel with no word from Kraven and growing hungrier by the hour she ventured back out into the night. Erika berated herself for not learning where Tomas, the European Magnate, had setup the safe houses throughout the city. They would have blood, weapons, and possibly other vampires with information about the status of the coven. Luckily, while trying to flag down a cab she was accosted by a mugger. She loved delivery, as Kraven called these witless mortals that challenged their betters. Feeding on humans was forbidden, but faceless criminals were hard to track and Kraven had taken her on long late night walks seeking out such readily available prey a number of times over the last couple centuries.

She stepped towards the mugger unfazed by the pain of the knife stabbing into her gut. She grabbed him and a few powerful strides took them both into a nearby alley. He was so shocked he barely cried out. Though she wanted to just sink her teeth into his carotid, Kraven had taught her better. She grabbed his neck crushing his windpipe, then extracted the knife from her abdomen and used it to slit his throat. Only then could she lap up his warm blood. While it tasted essentially the same as the Ziodex cloned blood, the temperature and the smells surrounding the feeding made it so much sweeter.

After drinking her fill she paused to consider what to do with the body and her now soiled clothes. This was one of her favorite dresses and now it was covered in blood with a knife hole no less. The vampire hierarchy, what was left of it, was in total disarray, so she didn't fear any immortal repercussions for her forbidden meal. Her ruined dress did however preclude a comfortable cab ride, so she finally decided to rob the mugger and continue her crime spree. She broke into an 80's era sedan near the alley and hotwired the ugly economy model. She would have preferred to drive in style but she had never learned to circumvent the anti-theft security of the newer models of vehicle. 'Stealing a horse was so much less complicated.'

She set out in the stolen car to return to the mansion and change her clothes as well as look for Kraven. When she arrived to flashing blue lights and fire trucks surrounding the now smoking wreckage of the destroyed mansion she was at a loss for what to do. She tried calling Vanessa and Marlen, two useful gossips she liked to hang out with but got no answer. She frantically exhausted her rather limited phone book, even calling her sire Selene despite her earlier betrayal. She and Selene had been extremely close once, lovers for over a century, and Selene had probably seen her actions as helpful not conniving. But no one answered. 'Was everyone dead? Had Lucian's army stormed the mansion and destroyed it? Was she alerting Lycan beasts that she was alive by making all of these calls?' She decided to return to her hotel. On the way back through the coven's affluent suburb she stopped at a vacant looking villa and quickly broke in to rifle through the owners closets for a clean couture dress.

Now, after a fearful day of hiding in the hotel with her cell phone battery removed, she had ventured out to try and find other vampires in the hope of leading her to a safe house. Around 10 PM she had received Vincent's text calling for a "board meeting". 'But was it really him?' 30 minutes later she received a call from a death dealer named David but feared to answer. He had been at the battle. 'Was it really him on the other end or a Lycan with a gps tracker?' As she realized how impossible her task was in a city the size of Budapest, she gradually started making her way to the central business district where Ziodex had the top six floors in Duna Tower. She had made several more calls to Kraven, and even another to Selene but feared to contact anyone else.

The text message from Marco finally decided her. The council, the elders, they must all be dead or missing. Otherwise it would be Marcus calling the meeting. She had really only sought out Kraven's "patronage" because of his status as Viktor's right hand and the Caretaker of the Hungarian Coven for the two hundred years that the elder slept. For some reason neither Amelia or Marcus ever stayed in Budapest since the Canadian Coven had been established in the 1700s. With this much death amongst the vampire covens what need had she of Kraven's influence. The power was there for those who would take it. New elders must be chosen and a new council. Why not Erika as a council member, she was nearly 500 years old, and almost all of Viktor's original army had perished either in the long Lycan war or recently in the underground battle with Lucian or at the Mansion. Most of the younger vampires in the coven were sycophants chosen for their beauty and servility by older vampires who wanted companionship and executive assistance without challenges. Only those turned for a specific purpose like the scientists at Ziodex and Antigen (their North American blood provider) or the soldiers recruited specifically to replenish the ranks of the death dealers and night guard, had any mettle. And none had sharpened their political fangs like Erika or the few others who had gravitated to Kraven like the recently deceased Soren.

She also had information that no one else did. Like she knew why Selene had killed Viktor. Kraven had told her in an effort to convince her of the rightness of his coup. Even the fact that it was Selene who killed Viktor, and that she was sired by Selene might be useful. Some in the coven, especially amongst the soldiers, respected strength and she could perhaps cloak herself in Selene's success against Viktor, Covenant be damned. She also knew much of Kraven's alliance with Lucian, and if she alone survived of his inner circle this could prove to others her usefulness and importance. And the final piece, the one that Kraven had let slip accidentally, was that Selene had bitten Michael, her Lycan lover and that he had transformed into something new. A blue skinned monster that had fought Viktor toe to toe before Selene intervened. Kraven had been furious at Selene's "betrayal" but at the time Erika had been pleased because it further drove a wedge between Kraven and Selene. The way Kraven spoke of the battle, few combatants were still alive to witness it. Perhaps knowledge of Michael the Hybrid as well as her brief questioning of him in the mansion could score her further political points.

Only two blocks from the office building the feeling of unease that she had been ignoring to review her political prospects came screaming to the forefront. 'The smell...a lycan was somewhere nearby.' She frantically looked at her surroundings but it was already too late. From above and behind a large body fell onto her back, and though she tried slithering free with inhuman quickness steel arms encircled her waist and throat. "Be very quiet fanger," came the harsh whisper in her ear. "I am only here to talk but I am not the only fox in this henhouse and things could go very bad very quickly if you aren't smart. Don't think I couldn't snap your neck soon after you call out."

Erika went limp and the Lycan male took this as cooperation. He half dragged her back twenty feet to a storefront and with a powerful back kick opened the locked door, breaking the frame. Once inside the lycan removed the arm from her waist but quickly replaced it with something sharp he expertly position along her lumbar spine. "Now I'm going to remove this death grip from your neck so you can respond, but don't try anything foolish. I'm very good with knives and you look more like mansion arm candy than a death dealer. Now what's your name?" The lycan removed the headlock but dug the knife in a little more to remind her of her weak position.

"It's Erika. What is it you wish to discuss, wolfman?" Erika said with as much condescension as she could muster. "And how did you find me?" There was a pause, as if the immortal hadn't really planned further than this point and was at a loss for how to proceed. Finally, "I found you with this vamp phone I picked up four days ago that let me know about the "board meeting". I chose you out of the many other vampires heading to Duna Tower because you looked...delectable. This plan always involved some...manhandling, so why not make it worth my while." He chuckled at his terrible pun before continuing. "Why...we need a voice at this meeting. A number of my brothers and sisters would see Lucian's deal with Kraven made official. Did you know of this agreement she-vamp?"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," she responded cagily. "Why don't you tell me what Lucian promised? I hear he isn't around anymore so I'm not sure how valid anything he arranged is anyway. We did just fight a major battle. Maybe you should just say what it is you want." When the Lycan relaxed slightly to consider his next sentence Erika leaped forward over the store counter and spun on her captor. He was tall, with some Spanish heritage, visible in his finely curled black hair, and impressively muscled. He approached flourishing the knife, anger building in his eyes and a snarl on his lips. Erika immediately raised her hands in surrender and gave him her best leer. "I just wanted to see the brave lycan who has taken me prisoner and asked for my help. I'm not the kind of girl to shy away from strange men. I'm listening. What can I do for you?"

He paused in his advance, considering if he should grab her again or just answer her question. Something behind her made him smile and visibly calm. 'Great there must be another behind me.'

"Lucian promised us peace. He said that once Viktor and Amelia were gone and the old council was neutralized then he had no more reason for fighting vampires if they would stop fighting him. I could live forever if your damn soldiers would just leave me alone. Instead we are hunted constantly." He paused as his speech seemed to anger him, and he took a second to calm down. "And we want in on the cloned blood. We need it just as much as you and it's been reckless of you fangers to force us to feed in the wild. How long until the disappearances and the murders lead the mortals to OUR immortal doorstep? Sure, the hunt is thrilling but I've been around long enough to know that it's a miracle we haven't been found out. That miracle was Lucian, keeping us all disciplined and working on the war. It is gone, and without a new arrangement things could get very bad."

Erika considered this Lycan as he spoke. He was really quite handsome and tanned, much better looking than Kraven with a broad strong jaw and stubble that narrowly avoided being a beard. She wondered if Selene knew something about lycan males that she didn't. It was also apparent to her that this one had been chosen as spokesperson with good cause. He made logical points, and her brain began running through scenarios that might benefit her. Well, at the least she must feign an alliance, if only to survive this encounter now that she was outnumbered. "You speak well, lycan. What is your name? It is only fair that I know you if we are to be partners."

"Eduardo...now quit stalling and tell me what you can do for me at the meeting tonight. I have little trust for your kind, so you best be very convincing."

Erika walked back out to his side of the counter, and closer to the door in case he didn't believe her. "I did know about Kraven's deal with Lucian. It seemed smart to me, to finally end the war. I have no stake in fighting, lycans or anyone for that matter. I'm more of a lover," she closed the distance and punctuated the statement by placing her hand on the arm opposite the still outstretched knife hand. "Before we can discuss alliances though you are forgetting a very important person...Elder Marcus. Do you know where he is and what his position on this whole thing is? Do you know why our mansion was torched and by whom? I can think of a couple scenarios, and some of them would make speaking for lycans, however much I would like too," she smiled seductively, rubbing his muscular arm. "...very deadly at this meeting. You wouldn't want your hand picked partner to be harmed speaking on your behalf would you?"

"Do not think to seduce me vampire tramp. You're certainly beautiful enough to grace my bed, but I think my mate might get angry and bitey if you tried. We didn't attack your mansion if that's what your trying to figure out. I'm not sure who did, but it was no lycan from Lucian's army. We have too much riding on this, and after Viktor forced that battle we are in no hurry to face open conflict again. But if we must we will build our forces up quickly, and there are plans Lucian laid in place for us to use the humans against you if you will not end the war. We can do nothing about Marcus' will, but you will present our arguments or perish soon after."

With that he took advantage of her proximity and grabbed her shoulders roughly, nicking her shoulder with his knife incidentally. She heard and smelt a female lycan approach and the lycan grabbed her elaborately braided hair from behind. A bulky necklace was draped around her neck. Despite her struggles the female clasped the necklace and walked around to face her. 'At least she's a blonde. I might have had a chance. And he's certainly going to be in trouble with her tonight.' The presumed mate Eduardo had mentioned earlier was a tall nordic looking female with lycan slave brands on her bare shoulders. She must have been one of the few female slaves Viktor had turned. That she had escaped or been freed was mildly impressive, the brand was borne only by the eldest of lycans.

"I am Kala, and you are now in a very precarious position. This necklace is bugged and more importantly those hideous "jewels" are thinly covered plastic explosive. Not enough to turn you into a suicide bomber, but certainly enough to remove your pretty head from your body. Ugly as the necklace is, it was one of the last works of our scientist Singe, and very effective. Try and remove the clasp and you'll break the circuit and set off the charges. It has a frequency known only to me that will disable it, and another to set it off. Speak well on our behalf and we will call you," she grabbed Erika's cell and looked up her number then programmed one in, "when it is safe to remove. Turn on us and you...well I think you can figure it out. I would cover it with this scarf. Singe wasn't the best at choosing jewelry and I wouldn't want any of your distinguished friends to notice it."

Kala stepped away, indicating Eduardo to release her. Erika paused for a second, trying to think of some way to turn the situation around. But Eduardo gave her a push towards the door, indicating that the conversation portion of the night was over. As she stepped out into the street she heard Kala speak softly to Eduardo, though surely the female lycan knew she could still be heard with superior vampire senses, "I hope your choosing with your dick doesn't backfire, Eddie. She seemed cunning enough to be useful, but how far can you trust a vamp. Oh well, if she gets us a truce I would be so pleased that I'd even let us engage in your twisted menage-a-fanger fantasy."

"It's not a fantasy, it's an experiment Singe was too timid to explore. You've agreed to it before tonight, it's happening however she performs." Erika stumbled a bit at this last statement, not sure whether to fear or appreciate the compliment. She was firmly under their control until this necklace was off.

Even before this encounter, tonight might well have been the most important of her life. Now it certainly was. The two blocks to Ziodex tower seemed to last forever even though she was running with blurring speed. She had no time to waste. She must find out the current disposition of the remaining vampires before she was forced to make her life-saving petition. Her last thought as she entered the building was of Selene, her sire and protector. But it wasn't clear to her if she was hoping for Selene to bail her out of this mess or fearful that Selene's loose cannon behavior over the last week had already sealed her doom. Older vampires could be vicious when confronted with rebellious women.

Chapter Four

3:00 PM November 15th, 2007

Kempenski Hotel Corvinus, Budapest, Hungary

A swanky hotel bedroom is littered with champagne bottles and a room service cart sits by the door though it's 3 PM. A clean cut young man has grabbed his clothes and is currently trying to exit the room quietly. He is nearly successful until he reaches the suite's main room and a very serious bodyguard with a crew cut startles him into dropping his shoes with a clatter on the tile. A groan emerges from the bedroom as he hastily gathers up his belongings under the cutting stare of the light haired guardian. After the young man rapidly exits, while still donning his clothes, the twenty something blond in a grey suit quietly leaves his station and closes the bedroom door.

Within the bedroom the beautiful auburn haired teenager regretfully rubs her eyes before cursing and massaging her aching skull. Covered only by sheets, her hair a tangled mess, Alissa Macaro had the mother of all hangovers. She had a good reason for a three day bender. She was sure that she did. As soon as the room stood still again she would recall why she had invited the Budapest beautiful people to her hotel suite to party as they may for the last three days. "Heinrich! Oww!...damn," she moaned. "Could you bring me some advil? A couple bottles should work." The last statement came out as a raspy whisper as the volume of her own voice offended her. When no response came from the main suite she flopped her head back on the pillow and wondered if she could even get out of bed to look for a pain killer without vomiting.

About thirty minutes of grumbling later she found out with certainty that the answer was no. Throwing up successfully checked off her morning...no afternoon schedule...she decided to shock Heinrich into some guilt by restating her demands sans clothes. Her dramatic maneuver got her some attention but little response other than an appreciative once over. It probably didn't help matters that in the process of opening both double doors she lost what little balance she had and ended up in heap back in her own room. Heinrich felt this was the best time to point out that he was not her butler, and hadn't she put the advil on the night stand yesterday evening. Alissa was through dealing with that stoic automaton. It was time for the hotel staff to earn their keep.

She finally started to feel like a human being again after room service fed and caffeinated her and she had taken a cool refreshing shower. She now only felt one-quarter dead. But with being awake, the reason for drunken escapism came crashing back. She was now an orphan. Sure, she was nineteen, home taking a year off before attending university at Oxford. But losing your parents is never easy, and the way it had happened. Her mother kidnapped while shopping, then her father taken from the parking lot of the Macaro KFT (LLC in Hungary) home office a day and half later. And they had been warned it was coming. Reclusive Great Uncle Lorenz had stormed into the family's ancestral mansion a week before her mom's kidnapping warning that something was coming for them. The only reason Alissa saw him was that, furious at having his phone and video chats ignored, Lorenz decided to crash the weekly family dinner. He had been accompanied by a whole squadron of black clad military and offered her father the entire group to help protect them. Where eccentric Uncle Lorenz had gotten thirty plus mercenaries to play bodyguard wasn't very clear to Alissa. Their family had made most of their old money as land owners and more recently branching into the bio tech and engineering industries after the fall of communism. Switzerland and enterprising financial managers had been extremely useful to the Macaros during the bleak days of towing the line as local party officials.

Her father had puffed up and derided her great uncle, calling him paranoid and demented in his old age. His pride had gotten both her parents killed. They were both missing for exactly three days before police found their bodies at dumpsites near ground water overflow tunnels. No ransom was ever requested, and the cause of death looked like massive hemorrhage but turned out to be asphyxiation. She'd heard it was a possible toxin exposure, but could tell the medical examiners weren't really sure. When Uncle Lorenz had called her the day her mother's body was found she did exactly as he suggested. She got a hotel room under an assumed name and let a string of body guard pairs watch her twenty-four-seven. The bender started when her father's body was found on November 12th and continued when two days later the bodyguards told her that they had lost contact with their employer, Uncle Lorenz. Guessing that her death was imminent and overcome with grief Alissa retreated to what she knew. She was rapidly becoming an infamous club girl since high school, with too much money and no responsibilities until next fall.

She was regretting the partying now though. And not just because of the hang over. If assassins were looking for her they certainly knew where she was now. And hooking up with her ex, among others...she hoped her dead parents hadn't been watching over her the last few days because she was ashamed of how she had reacted. They deserved to be honored and buried; even Uncle Lorenz when his body turned up in another day near the sewers. She had funerals to plan and a company to run, if she wasn't summarily killed to finish off the Macaro line. The plurality of funerals immediately had her in tears again.

When she got back in control, Alissa had the sinking feeling that she was supposed to be doing something important today. She woodenly moved to the bedroom's full size desk and powered up her laptop. She was usually pretty good at updating her schedule, even when drunk. Before she could check the schedule application, she noticed a new email notification. She hadn't been online since the guards told her Lorenz was unreachable, and this message was from him, sent only a couple hours before the guards had brought her the latest bad news.

Her hands started to shake, terrified of what else could go wrong. But she must know what her great uncle's last words to her were. She opened the email and saw it only contained a video attachment. Opening up the file she saw her Great Uncle Lorenz in a headshot, upon what must be a boat based on the rocking of the camera. "Alissa," the weakness in his voice let her know that something was very wrong. "This is the last time that we will speak, I'm afraid. I wanted you to know what I learned about the... organization that killed your parents. It seems there is a myth about an ancient ancestor of yours named Alexander Corvinus. This... cult has tracked down every living descendant hoping to find a rare genetic anomaly that would be revealed by exposing the person to a number of viruses. Unfortunately both your parents are related to Corvinus, very distantly in the past. I had already looked into the genes of ...our family and know that none of you have... had the anomaly. The only descendant who does is one Michael Corvin..." he pauses to cough what Alissa fears is blood into a handkerchief before continuing. "If you have watched the news at all recently, which Oskar told me you have not, much death and destruction is being laid at Michael's feet but don't believe it. He merely put up a good fight when they came for him. I have found thirty eight from our extended family that have been taken in the last six months. Michael was the last, but he... wasn't the messiah these... cultists hoped he would be. When I... interfered, it resulted in the state you see me in now, dying." Alissa started to notice how carefully he chose his words and wondered what he was hiding even now, hours from death.

"I did manage to... recruit someone to...resolve the situation. Her name is Selene and she has a very special skill set that I believe will allow her to end this once and for all. If she turns up... looking for me then you can be sure that you are now safe from the... organization. If not, you must tell Oskar to initiate Protocol Phoenix to hide your identity and allow you to start over somewhere else, as someone else. It is very important that you (cough) wait to disappear until you either hear from Selene or from my attorney. If Selene does show up, please tell her about this message before allowing her to debrief you. I ask this because I carry many dangerous secrets. Some I will leave to you delivered by my attorney, William Szecskay, in the hope that they can protect you. Others must die with me, to keep you, the last of our line, safe. Please Alissa, trust me...curiosity in this matter will get you killed. I suggest keeping our affairs away from the police. They can't help you, and involving them will probably do more harm than good. (Cough)...I wish you well, and I'm taking care of my funeral arrangements as we speak. You must delete this video and have Oskar ensure it's obliteration lest it fall into the wrong hands. My secrets must go up with me in flames. The freighter Sancta Helena currently docked at Pier 17 along the Danube marks my final resting place. Goodbye Alissa." With that he slowly reaches out of screen and the video ends.

Alissa sat stunned for a full minute. 'A Cult! What ridiculous myth about a genetic mutation could be so important that lunatics would kill thirty nine people. How did Lorenz know about any of this? Could she really trust such an outlandish story, especially when he was clearly holding so much back? But he had known the attacks were coming and tried to help them. She may be alive right now only because she had listened to him.' Alissa quickly did a search on Michael Corvin, and now saw some of what Uncle Lorenz was talking about. The statement from a co-worker named Dr. Adam Lockwood was telling, in that Michael had been extremely ordinary until mysterious men dressed as police officers had come for him. The other stories about subway shootings and attacking police and bystanders in Miskolc seemed sensationalized. 'Maybe her great uncle knew what he was talking about.'

She then cursed and searched for the Sancta Helena. It was as she feared. The first hit was an article about the ship blowing up while docked. The time of the explosion was literally minutes after he had sent her the video. "Heinrich, get Oskar, you two need to see this." She yelled from her desk. She stepped over to the bedroom's couch and curled up into a ball, numb, too tired and hung-over to cry anymore. Heinrich and Oskar, a middle aged soldier of middle eastern decent with a hook nose and shaved head, had nearly identical reactions when they scanned the internet article. They had already known, and so they merely looked at her with some pity. Oskar tentatively addressed her," We are loyal still to...Lorenz, and not just because our contracts extend through the new year. Your great uncle was a... remarkable man, and he gave us a noble purpose. When he stopped sending replacements we knew he had chosen us to watch over you. From what we can gather this task may have saved our lives for our brothers in arms would have all fallen before letting harm come to...your great uncle. We will stay with you until our contracts are up if you will have us. I would also very much like to talk to this Selene...sorry, we heard the video. Should we return to our posts? You still have that interview with the TEK agent in forty five minutes."

Both Oskar and Heinrich hesitated, waiting for instructions. She could see that they were both shaken but trying hard to fight it. Alissa doubted they had ever considered the possibility that her great uncle would die despite his advanced age. 'Odd.' She imagined them as hardened veterans whose war had suddenly ended and were now staring at a peace where they had no role or purpose. "You have both been a great support for me during this terrible time. I know that I haven't been the best...um client? But I'm ready...nearly ready to start dealing with my new situation. I think even without all of these tragedies, it would be smart for me to have protection now that I'm inheriting such a large fortune. I would greatly appreciate you staying on while I try to sort out what happens next. If you heard the video then it seems I may need to disappear. I have no one left in my life that I can count on. ('Her spoiled clubbing friends would be about as useful as wet noodles right now.') Thank you for the loyalty you've shown my great uncle and I hope that I can inspire a fraction of that in you before we part ways." She felt like now was a good time to dismiss them, but thought of a new question. "Why am I meeting with the TEK?"

Chapter Five

8 PM November 15th, 2007

10 miles Northeast of Szolnok, Hungary

Their run petered out once they started to encounter farms outlying Szolnok. Michael was barely conscious of his surroundings and Selene realized that they weren't going to make it unseen to a hospital blood bank without a car or a change of clothes. Michael was still shirtless, wearing only a pair of badly torn and blood stained pants. While the evening coolness didn't seem to affect him, he was very conspicuous. Selene had been enjoying watching his bare muscles ripple while they ran, but practicality was rearing its annoying head. Her appearance wasn't that much less striking. The river had washed almost all the blood off her skin tight black leather suit, but the death dealer uniform had seen better days with a number of bullet holes and a couple sizable rents in the top where Marcus's wing appendages had skewered her. Without her usual trench coat the effect was rather scandalous. She had caught Michael randomly ogling her back at the castle, hearing his increasing heart rate even before catching him in the act.

"Michael, rest here for a second. I'm going to find an empty farm with a spare vehicle. I'll be right back." He waved her forward as he leaned against a tree with his eyes closed. His weariness was starting to concern her. She would also look for a farm with some spare livestock. It took her thirty minutes to find what she needed, and the search further illustrated her increased abilities. Where before she would have needed to be in eye sight of a structure to hear and see signs of occupancy she could now detect life signs by listening and scent from a over a hundred yards away. The first farm house was actually very confusing as she tried to understand all of the new stimuli she was perceiving. It seemed concentrating on her senses brought them to the forefront, as she hadn't noticed that much of a difference while running.

Even before she could see the barn, out in a field of wheat, she heard multiple heart beats of different types. While she could literally point to where each of these heartbeats came from she wouldn't have made sense of them without her enhanced sense of smell. Before, as a vampire, she could merely detect trace scents in her vicinity. Now, changed by Corvinus's blood, she was detecting scents and there strength or weakness. This ability allowed her to tell where they had been and more importantly for now, where they were right now. And she began to understand her heightened senses in a more integrated way with greater concentration. After a minute of standing still and focusing she could attach individual scents to their heartbeats. So she knew that there were five humans, who had been all over the area, over some time period, but were now together directly to the south. And this farm had a barn with numerous cattle and a few horses, all to the southwest. Perhaps a dairy farm, but definitely occupied currently.

She was also apparently ignoring quite a few scents and sounds without realizing it. This realization was striking as she began to ponder why weaker scents weren't overwhelmed by the smell of offal. As soon as she pondered this, overpowering animal crap smells pushed to the forefront of her mind. Gagging and cursing she quickly thought again about the human smells to push it into the background again. That was a mistake as well, as her hunger for blood gripped her, and she immediately sped towards the farmhouse. 'I'm a six hundred year old vampire not a freshly turned recruit' she thought harshly. The anger and disgust with her lack of control snapped her out of her momentary lapse, and she decided to start running to the east to head off any other unfamiliar reactions to her new senses.

She raced over a couple miles, pausing a minute or two to determine the denizens in a particular direction. She found a herd of cattle in a field, horses in a barn, dogs in a kennel, but no current human scent and raced back to where she had left Michael. He had since sat down with his back to the tree and appeared to be dozing. She had to shake him a little to rouse him. "Michael, I found what we need and you...we are feeding right now." She shushed his weak protest and carried him to the cattle herd at the empty farm. "Now you must change, and I know it's hard but this must look like an animal attack. We need your claws and fangs to simulate a...a mountain lion."

Michael nodded and his face grew serious as he strained to transform. "It's no use, Selene. I'm too exhausted. Every time I've changed before I was shot, or threatened, or really angry like when I saw you surrounded by those werewolves. I think you're just going to have to...get it started for me. I'm so hungry, but these cows, they don't smell like food. Is that normal?" He leaned on the fence they had to cross to get to the cows' grazing pasture. Selene took a second and realized that he was right, and that animals had never been very appetizing for her either. "Michael, of course animal blood doesn't seem...tasty but it's like...health food! We need their nutrients and red blood cells even though they aren't particularly suited to our biology."

"I'll start this one for you, although I'm not sure I'll make as convincing a wild animal as your blue alter ego." She said wryly, trying to defuse the awkwardness with humor. She remembered that Michael had never actually drank any blood but hers. This was going to be very strange for him. So she continued to ham it up, making cat claws and meowing at him. 'Why am I coddling him so much?' The sleeping cattle had finally started to react to the unfamiliar sounds and smells of two predators. Selene focused on her own hunger and her fangs descended further as her eyes glowed a luminescent sky blue. She picked her prey, and suddenly pounced on the frantically mooing cow. She remembered to channel her inner animal and so drove her fingernails into it's back to get a good grip before sinking her fangs into it's neck. She forced herself to rip out chunks of flesh from the cows neck as she rode it to the ground. After choking down only a little of its gamey gushing blood for herself she stood and motioned Michael over.

"Come on now, big strong hybrid. Do you need me to be the momma bird and feed you the blood?" she said tauntingly but with a bloody smile. "I thought you doctor types had iron stomachs, get over here and feed." Michael approached the quickly dying cow as the herd noisily stampeded away from them. He knelt down and put his mouth nearly to the pulsing arteries before pulling back in disgust. "Michael," Selene questioned, as she placed a hand on his back. "What's wrong, is it the smell?"

"No, well yes that doesn't help, but it's drinking blood at all. It's too weird. I'm still a man in my head and drinking blood is forbidden and gross. Maybe I can just sleep for a bit and we can move on."

Selene realized she didn't know him well enough to understand what he was going through. But she knew that sleeping would more likely bring on a coma than be something revitalizing. Her earlier joke gave her an idea. She knelt down beside him and drank fully, keeping as much as possible in her mouth. And then she pulled him into a kiss. He resisted at first, but despite the blood he reciprocated. She could tell his body was responding with a quickening heart rate, so she halted the kiss with her hands still intertwined in his long hair. The look of lust on his face was very flattering but she took advantage of his inattention and grabbed his hair and forced his stunned face into the mauled cow's neck. "Drink it Michael. Do it now or I won't be able to kiss you again." He struggled weakly but pretty quickly some internal switch flipped and his lust released what must have been a ravenous hunger. Selene was able to release her grip on his head, as Michael began to suck the blood from the cow as it's dwindling blood pressure was insufficient to his thirst.

She noticed that his fangs had descended and dark claws had grown over his fingernails, but he still appeared human. When he finally stopped and turned to look at her, the whites of his eyes had gone black, but his irises had turned a familiar neon ice blue. He must still be transforming into whatever a hybrid becomes. He was panting and stared at her with a bestial longing. She could already tell that some of his energy had returned. She was about to pull him into another kiss when he fully transformed right in front of her. Assiduously honed instincts had her leaping away from him to take a combat stance before she could think better of it. His monstrous expression changed to something she couldn't interpret. He hung his head then said gruffly," I'm not going to hurt you Selene. Are you afraid of me, after everything we've been through?" The hurt in his voice was unmistakable. "I changed so that I can destroy this carcass properly. Wasn't that the original plan?" Before she could respond he went to work, ripping hunks of meat and hide angrily from the drained cow.

Selene watched in silence as he easily lifted the stack of beef he had created and sprinted into the woods. She could hear him dig a hole in a matter of minutes, but stayed where she was. She had hurt his feelings, and took a beat to give him some space. It also let her think about the nature of their relationship. They barely knew each other. Sure, they had explosive chemistry that remained despite dramatic changes in their physiology over the last week and a half. He had been there for her as her world crumbled into ruins around her, and he had fought with her, fought for her. But Selene recognized that the closeness she felt to him was unnatural. 'How much merely had to do with their circumstances, the intense situations they'd been in together.' She was his sole guide into the world of immortals. The only other immortals, or persons for that matter, that he'd spoken to since his life change had either kidnapped him, shot him, or otherwise attacked him.

She was acting completely irrationally. The more she assessed the more doubts about her feelings she found. 'How could I have slept with him? I never do that, not unless I know and trust the person completely.' There were only two that had reached that rarified status, Erika and Richard. She had courted them as humans and then had sired them herself. Erika had initially been a ploy to push away Kraven's unwanted attention, but her beauty and intelligence had won Selene over and they had developed a true relationship. It had soured as the weight of immortality changed Erika, turning her first into a apathetic hedonist then a power hungry ... well vampire. Richard had been one of her Death Dealer recruits that she had grown to trust after years of service together. Theirs had been something like a human "friends with benefits" situation. It unfortunately ended quickly, with Richard inexplicably transferring to the Montreal coven with only a cryptic apology. Selene was sure that it was somehow Kraven's doing, although Viktor could have been the real culprit now that she knew his nature better.

For the last three centuries she had been purposefully alone. Focused, some may say obsessed, with destroying the "Lycan Threat." Selene had thought she had turned off weak human emotions. She had convinced herself that attachments were weaknesses, and that passion made you reckless like a lycan beast. 'Why would I even try to have another relationship while Kraven controlled so much of my life?' Better to only cultivate the camaraderie of her fellow soldiers and concentrate on the mission. 'How can I trust anything that I've been feeling with my life and goals changing so dramatically? I need to take a step back and think more critically about this. Michael has been great, but I don't know where I'm headed and I need to protect myself!'

So deep in her ruminations that she didn't consciously notice Michael's return, Selene startled when he spoke. "Selene..." Michael's voice was gentle and pleading. "I'm sorry I scared you. I thought you were used to me changing by now. Should we head into the farmhouse?" He attempted to place his hand on her back, but she neatly stepped away from him towards the yellow paneled two story house. "Selene, what's wrong? Ten minutes ago you were kissing me, then you shy away from me, and now...you're like a different person. Your body language is completely different and hell, you even smell different. What did I do wrong?"

"What makes you think you did something? Maybe I'm just getting sick of your constant attention. You're always around me, touching me, and it's... distracting. I need some space to myself." Selene's rant was icily cold, and she hoped Michael couldn't detect the fear and regret she was really feeling. "Let's just do what we need to, I'd like to be back at the castle before morning if these people have internet access. Now watch and learn how to pretend to be a human criminal." Selene felt like walking off in a huff but carefully schooled her remarkably responsive body to calmly stride towards the farm house. She didn't look back, not wanting to see the hurt on his face, and was glad to hear him following her.

She removed a brick paving stone from the pathway approaching the house and used it to smash a pane of glass in the door. Reaching in the new hole, she unlocked the door using her sleeve and strode into the house. "Check upstairs for some clothes for us." She paused to look him over and noticed him fully covered in cow gore. "And take a shower. Make sure you forensically ruin any cows blood in the bathroom when you're done. I'll be in that study trying to get some news about your fugitive status and Alexander's whereabouts." Michael made no indication that he'd heard her, but did head upstairs. Selene took a detour to the kitchen sink to wash off the cows blood on her face then clean the sink with bleach from the adjacent laundry room. She then turned on an outdated desktop in the farmers' study. She worried she'd be working with dail-up access but these were some technologically savvy farmers with Meshstar's VSAT service providing high speed access despite their rural location. 'What to look up first?' she wondered, happy to have a distraction from the touchy subject Michael had suddenly become. She first searched for news articles on Michael Corvin but didn't find any articles reporting anything after Miskolc. She did find a link to a National Police press release describing their recruitment of the TEK and suspicion of many more murders related to Corvin. "Great, better investigators and they're clued in that Michael wasn't the only person abducted. Thanks a lot Lucian! Sloppy amateur." she grumbled. Michael was still considered a key suspect but the media were speculating he was part of a larger group.

Selene switched gears as Michael quietly entered the room. He had showered and was wearing a flannel shirt and jeans, but still shoe less. She started with the last known location of Alexander Corvinus, the Sancta Helana. Michael gasped a little when the first hit was a Budpest tv news channel's coverage of the explosion of the freight vessel. "Yes Michael, but did he fake his death or commit suicide? By blowing up his ship he leaves us nothing to follow. He had a major operation running from that ship, with a large staff searching for immortal matters creeping into the human consciousness. Marcus killed all the staff, but we could have gone through his records. Found out what he knew about the war and his offspring. Now how am I going to figure out what his blood did to me?" her tone had started out confident but devolved into a frustrated whine. When Michael attempted to comfort her she stiffened at his touch and he took a step back.

"Selene, he might still be alive and we could maybe track him from the docks. Or we could look into his legitimate dealings. He must have some wealth as Lorenz Macaro to bankroll an operation like that." Michael hadn't reacted to her cold shoulder, and his attempt at reassuring her made her feel guilty for pushing him away. Then angry for feeling guilty.

"Why don't you look into the Macaro connection while I change." Selene got up from the desk chair and grabbed the pile of clothes Michael had found for her. As he sat down to begin a new search she wavered about leaving the room to change. 'We've already slept together, do I really need to hide my body from his view. Besides, he's my only ally now, I shouldn't be pushing him away just to make myself ...get back to normal.' She stripped off her leather death dealer garb and checked her body for any blood stains she had missed. The mere sound of her undressing quickened Michael's pulse, and she immediately regretted changing with him in the room. Now naked, she felt her lust for him building while also humorously noting how incredibly mixed her messages were getting. 'What is wrong with me?' She was all over the place emotionally. She noticed him steel himself and continue typing, so she abstained from tormenting him further with her indecision and put on the ill fitting undergarments, the floral print dress, and her calf length combat boots. She was much slimmer than the farmer's wife or daughter, with bigger breasts and so had briefly considered going commando, but thought better of it considering her earlier mixed message observation.

Michael derailed her scattered thoughts by pointing to an article he found. "It turns out Alexander isn't the only Macaro, and I'm probably not the only descendant the lycans took. Here is a metro story on the deaths of Linus and Helen Macaro, both kidnapped and found dead from a mysterious disease or poison. It says that Linus was CEO of Macaro KFT, a bio tech, agriculture, and engineering business based in Budapest. Aahhh...and down here, 'they are survived by their daughter Alissa, who disappeared for a couple of days but was later spotted throwing a wild party in the penthouse of the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus (he chuckles), owned by Macaro KFT.' It continues with some borderline libelous speculation on murder and inheritance, but we know what really went on." Michael finally turned to face her, smiling for his successful search, before meeting her eyes and looking awkwardly away.

"So either Alissa is a lycan now, or she escaped during the battle. Either way, the Macaro's must have been funding "Lorenz" to some degree, even if they were unaware of his true identity or purpose. I think we need to make a play for Alissa, before she gets arrested for murdering her parents for the inheritance. She'll need guidance if she's been infected, and if not, must have some clues to Alexander's whereabouts."

"But this makes it seem like she's pretty heavily in the spot light of the Budapest paparazzi and now the legitimate press. We'll need to get to her pretty covertly if I'm going to stay off the radar." They both took a second to process their options, and the awkwardness grew.

"Should we be avoiding your coven? Or should we try and take over your coven? I don't know much about vampire politics but it seems like an awful lot of really important immortals have died and now that I'm an immortal I kind of want to know what that means. You've been awesome at keeping me alive, but I've got to learn a lot more about our world now. I know that we really need to do some research into our changed... supernaturalness(?), but that could take some time. A lot can happen quickly." Selene noticed that the warmth Michael had always shown towards her was missing from his voice. She didn't like its absence.

Selene motioned for Michael to get up, and took a second to find a internet phone program that she used to call the Mansion. While it rang she responded to his questioning look, "You're right. We need to know what the coven knows and thinks about us. I'll try and get a hold of a younger coven member and pretend to be a night guard female I saw die in the Necropolis. If we can find out who's taken charge and how I'm to be punished for my actions we... I... decisions can be made. We could always just disappear. No one has any reason to suspect we're still alive. By all rights we should be dead." Selene stopped speaking as the phone finally stopped ringing. They both heard the familiar "this-number-is-no-longer-in-service" message.

"That's odd. Right Selene? Can you call any of your...children?...directly on a cell?"

Selene made a face at his misnomer. "They are called progeny, when a vampire, or lycan for that matter, purposefully infects a mortal to turn them. The fraction that survive the infection and transformation are called progeny. Immortals cannot have children, the men are effectively sterile and the women don't develop a fertile womb after egg fertilization. There were some unsuccessful attempts at Ziodex with mortal surrogate mothers before Viktor found out and decapitated the guilty scientist for trying to create "half vampire abominations". I would like to call individuals but I stopped memorizing phone numbers in the late 90's when cell phones took over. I think we must leave the coven to it's fate in favor of searching for Alexander. Neither of us are exactly vampires anymore anyway, and they likely want me executed for breaking the precious Covenant. Oh... and treason."

"So how about this plan: we finish here with your home invasion tutorial, then run back to the prison and put the ashes away, and let the record show that I'm only going along with that to humor you and to honor the fallen. Then we sleep...wait do we sleep?"

"I'm sorry to say that spending three to ten hours in an unproductive repose is no longer mandatory. Many of us choose to enter a contemplative trance during the daylight hours to stay Vitamin D deficient and help break up the endless nights, but it's a personal choice. Most only use beds for...intimate matters." She couldn't help herself and winked at him suggestively. It hurt a little when he didn't smile back.

"So no sleep. Then we'll high tail it back through here to Szolnok, hit up the hospital for some road blood and then steal a car. We'll travel incognito back to Budapest and make a surprise visit on my long lost relative Alissa and find out what we can. That sound about right?" When Selene nodded Michael got up and left the room. Selene heard him heading to the barn, probably to gets tools for his monument. 'I've really screwed this up. Even more reason to get back to being myself again. No one else should have this much control over me.' Selene rushed through the house aided again by her superior senses. She upended some drawers for effect then easily found a marijuana stash, a hidden roll of cash, and the final clue, three bottles of whiskey and bundled it all up in her death dealer suit. She wiped the history on the computer and their fingerprints from the keyboard before powering it down then wordlessly left the house, running back towards the castle, trailed silently by Michael.

Chapter Six

5 PM November 15th, 2007

Kempinski Hotel Corvinus, Budapest, Hungary

Nicholas Bathory and Mikhail Karede were going over the game plan in the elevator on their way up to the penthouse. "So the police are pretty sure this Alissa did in her folks, why are we getting involved?" Mikhail prompted. They were both in dark grey suits, looking sharp to help impress this trust fund princess with their authority. Mikhail was a brawny 6'5" with a puffy pale face and towered over his lithe superior.

"We are intervening because her great uncle's freighter blew up in the city port, and anyone with the resources to covertly kidnap her parents, kill them, and cool enough to throw a party while orchestrating the destruction of a heavily guarded boat is clearly beyond the expertise of your local investigator. Wouldn't you agree? Plus, aren't you happy to be working on something other than the Corvin case?" Mikhail smiled and nodded his ascent. "So, there will probably be lawyers present so we can't be too aggressive, but I want to show her the pictures of her parents bodies and see what kind of psychopath were dealing with here. We didn't find anything to link her to her contractors in the family mansion, so she may have the evidence here with her. When I produce the warrant and search the place, I want you to watch her and see if she gives away any hiding places with her eyes. If we don't find the evidence here, it's going to be a long slog of surveillance and grunt work to find it." Nicholas stopped talking as the elevator door opened directly into the penthouses antechamber. They were greeted by two efficient looking bodyguards dressed in bulky light grey suits with P90 automatic weapons pointed directly at them.

"TEK! Place your weapons on the ground and puts your hands in the air," shouted Mikhail, as he reached for his holstered FEG P9R pistol. The middle eastern guard fired a warning shot into a marble column and calmly responded," You gentlemen will keep your weapons holstered or you will be severely wounded." Nicholas had already raised his hands and Mikhail quickly did the same. "You, the shorter smarter one, carefully and slowly produce your badge and then you will wait for us to verify your identity." The light haired Caucasian body guard took the proffered badge then surprisingly photographed Nicholas with his phone. It looked like he quickly sent an email then called someone. After a pause and hitting a couple buttons the guard got who he was looking for. "Yes this is the Macaro household, can you confirm that an TEK agent named... Nicholas Bathory was sent by your office to question Alissa Macaro. Yes, he is here, and as well, can you verify that the picture I just emailed is Nicholas Bathory (long pause). Thank you for your assistance. Good day." With that he tossed Nicholas back his badge and both men let their weapons hang from shoulder straps behind their backs.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, but we had to be sure. We will escort you to Ms. Alissa Macaro now." The light haired bodyguard immediately walked from the room, opening the doors and calling an all clear, while the middle eastern guard gestured for the TEK agents to follow his comrade. Mikhail, taking umbrage at their treatment, was reaching for his pistol, but Nicholas put a hand on his arm and shook his head before following the guard. As he passed Mikhail, he whispered, "this is not what I expected, be wary and follow my lead." All four walked into a spacious sitting room, luxuriously furnished with modern looking couches, a large flat screen TV, and a glass and steel bar taking up most of one wall. Nicholas noted that the teenager who must be Alissa emerged not from either hallway but what must be a storage closet near the bar.

Nicholas took in her appearance. She was very beautiful, with long auburn hair parted slightly off center. She had a slender build with high cheek bones and a small slightly flared nose. He noticed though that her full lips were chapped and her green eyes very blood shot. She had cried recently and by the way she was carefully moving, and the dimness of the room, he guessed that she must be very hung over. "Ms. Macaro, why were we greeted with drawn weapons, and where are your lawyers?" Rather than answer she stepped behind the bar and poured a green smoothie from a blender she had apparently been concocting before they arrived.

"If all of your family had recently been murdered wouldn't you be cautious?" She took her drink and sat on a grey backless sofa and motioned for them to sit. Her guards took up strategic positions in the room, the crew cut Caucasian behind and to the left of her and the bald olive skinned guard manning the entrance to the sitting room. Nicholas motioned with his eyes for Mikhail to stand next to the Middle Eastern guard before sitting opposite Alissa.

"Lawyers?"

"Oh yes that, well, do I really need them? I thought you were here to help me find my parents' killers. Only criminals need lawyers, right?" She grimaced after sipping her drink and set it down on a metallic glass end table. "What can I do to help the TEK catch them? Would offering a reward help...I've seen that done in movies. You tell me." Nicholas just stared at her for a second, quashing his frustration.

"You do realize, Ms. Macaro, that you are the police's prime suspect in their murders. You had a multi-billion Euro motive, and the explosive death of your great uncle only strengthens their suspicions."

She looks across the room to the Middle Eastern guard, "You were right Oskar, they haven't figured it out yet. Are you sure Lorenz wouldn't want me to say anything?" Oskar nods once and she turn back to face Nicholas.

"Figured out what? How you managed to hire contract killers to off your whole family, or what designer toxin they used to kill your parents?" As he spoke, he opened his briefcase and removed the crime scene photos from her parents dumpsite. As soon as she realized what the pictures where she turned away covering her eyes with one hand and rubbing her temple with the other. "Please, put those away. I don't want to remember them like that and I'm...feeling... indelicate right now."

Nicholas did not put the photos away, but he did try to unravel her response. The hangover was really frustrating because it made it difficult to determine if she was acting guilty, remorseful, or bereaved. 'Perhaps getting wasted was a calculated attempt to hide poor acting skills.' He decided to press on. "Ms. Macaro, I have a warrant to search this apartment for evidence linking you to these murders. You will instruct your bodyguards not to interfere or they will be charged also. They will also present photo id and place of residence to my partner before we leave in case we must question them further." Nicholas then rose and handed her the warrant.

"You're wasting your time Agent Bathory. I'm the victim here. I've had to go into hiding so I don't end up like my family. You're not going to find anything because there's nothing to find. I agreed to see you so you could be out there, finding them." Then under her breath," I can't believe that I'm being punished for being the only one out of forty to survive." Nicholas had heard that comment but he schooled his features and continued looking around the room for any hidden materials. He looked behind each painting and the TV, under the couches and behind the bar. He then consulted a blue print provided by the hotel management. There were two safes, at least on these diagrams provided by staff that worked for the Macaro's. Perhaps something had been installed afterwards. He consulted with Mikhail to watch them while he searched.

But an hour later he had found nothing, no hidden compartments, and nothing in either safe. He returned to Alissa. "I'm going to need any electronic devices you have. Please provide your smart phone and any laptops or ipods, etc. They will be returned to you after our technology department can process them for evidence." Alissa very reluctantly handed over her phone. "Please don't loose that, all my pictures are on it...of my parents over the last year... Why won't you listen to me?! It was someone else who did this. I don't know who, but ... but my great uncle did and they killed him for it." Nicholas noted that both bodyguards reacted to this last statement, the younger light haired one openly frowning at Alissa. Clearly, they all knew something they weren't sharing and Nicholas was starting to suspect it had nothing to do with covering up an inheritance conspiracy.

"Please, Ms. Macaro. If you really are innocent, tell me what you're all hiding. I can help you if you're honest with me." Alissa looked at him, massaging her temples, and really appearing to consider his request. But then she just sighed and said, "I... I don't know anything else. But I do know I didn't kill my family, and you'll never find the truth until you realize that. Please leave now, and protect that phone with your life or I will get some lawyers involved." She got up and left the room. Mikhail then approached both guards and inspected their IDs and jotted down contact info.

As the elevator doors shut behind them Mikhail, nearly silent for the entire encounter, finally spoke up. "What the hell was that? That was one of the weirdest interviews I've ever seen, excepting anything to do with the Corvin case. And unless there's something damning on that phone, which I'm seriously doubting, we've got jack squat on Ms. Macaro."

"Mikhail, my friend, she screwed up somehow but I'm not sure yet in what way. More than once she hinted at things that her body guards didn't want her to. But my gut's telling me that she's innocent of the murders, but guilty of something else. We've got some work to do. Does one out of forty mean anything to you? And what was with that identity check at the beginning?"

Chapter Seven

1:30 AM November 15th, 2007

Ziodex, Duna Tower, Budapest, Hungary

After passing the unique blood scan sensor in the Duna Tower elevator, Erika pressed floor 16 and nervously paced the confined space trying to plan. How could she work a Lycan peace into vampire society? It helped that Amelia and Viktor had made so many changes to the makeup of vampiredom over the last two centuries. Gone were the thousands of soldiers holding far flung fiefdoms hidden from humans in plain sight as nobles and their armies. The industrial revolution and technology explosion over the last hundred and fifty years had allowed a contraction of the vampire army and therefore the vampire population. While the Death Dealers, vampire special ops, and the Night Guard, the vampire army, still remained, their losses were not replaced as the cost of maintaining each soldier with modern weaponry and tactical support rose exponentially. What vampires lost in anonymity, hence the ban on feeding on mortals, they gained in sophisticated surveillance and use of modern media to track lycans. The vampire army was now much smaller, with only 30 death dealers and 100 Night guard between the two covens, and much more effective in hunting lycans. At least that's what everyone had said before Lucian showed up with an army of over a hundred lycans.

The need for money, and diminishing role of the army led Amelia to retire the few bureaucrats she provided as a Hungarian noblewoman and the handful of soldiers still remaining from Viktor's original army. These junior elders were rotated through council duties and establishment of world wide business ventures, called magnates, that doubled as disparate feeding grounds and safe houses prior to the widespread usage of donated blood and then cloned blood. Turning mortals was now strictly regulated, with the ruling Elder and counterpart Caretaker having veto power on all progeny within their coven. These near elders took up the title of Magnate as they transitioned from the military. As Magnates, or publicly as CEOs they were given broad discretion over turning mortals into progeny for their personal use and staffing needs. Soldiers still had the right to have one progeny at a time, but for everyone else Amelia had instituted a ban on turning.

Erika pondered what an immortal world without the Lycan war and minus all the dead immortals would look like. The magnate system, the tech firms that provide cloned blood, and the two nocturnal investment houses were all still important infrastructure that should be repopulated. The lycans could even be integrated as staff if cordial relations could be established. Their daylight potential was apparent even to Viktor though he'd chosen to make them slaves. If things were still contentious then perhaps they could merely sell them blood and call it a day. Certainly a further shift in the military would be necessary. Perhaps the night guard could take on a purely security role while the death dealers track rebels and hunt mortals that stumbled upon the immortals in their midst. Hell, using lycan and vampire soldiers they could even startup an invincible mercenary company. No...that could lead to unwanted exposure.

Ten stories up she realized there were too many variables to anticipate. The elevators doors finally opened onto a modern looking work space, all windowed offices and sleek conference rooms with metal and smoked glass furniture. The solar shades were up at this time of the night, so she had a breathtaking view of Budapest stretching out before her that she barely acknowledged. In the center of the floor was a large room that was packed with over fifty vampires. There was probably a large conference table missing from the glass enclosed room, replaced by folding chairs and a lectern. A few offices had also been commandeered by smaller groups from the coven. Not a few of these groups were whispering furtively or scrutinizing the other groups.

Erika smiled when she spotted Marlen, a black Kenyan vampire with impeccable style. Sexuality was extremely flexible in the vampire world. Eternal life makes everyone curious at some point. Marlen was a self-described metro sexual and more important for Erika's survival, his ebullient personality, total lack of ambition, and humorous wit made him universally well liked throughout the coven. As she approached him in the main conference room, Erika noted that though he was jovially gossiping with a few of his sire Jurgen's staff progeny, blood filled wine glass in hand, his eyes were sad and more telling his suit was rumpled and his shoes scuffed. He saw her enter the room, and loudly interrupted the vampire telling him a story to greet her," Erika! Look what the cat dragged in. I was so worried about you and your little machinations with Kraven. But here you are alive and more importantly fabulously dressed. Except that scarf, what were you thinking girl."

Erika hurried towards him and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the corner of the room. "Forget about my accessorizing issues. I need information quickly. Your little golden goddess," Marlen smiles and flourishes as she uses his nick name for her," has the goods to make a play for council member if I can navigate this meeting right. Do you know what happened after Kraven woke Marcus? And who are the VIPs that came tonight?"

Always happy to engage in gossip, Marlen uncharacteristically sobered before speaking. "Erika...Kraven is dead and so is a lot of the coven that was at the mansion. Marcus went literally batshit crazy. I mean he grew wings and turned into some kind of blue bat monster. After he finished with Kraven in the elder's chamber some of the Magnates went to confront him, you know see what was going on. Marcus accused them of betraying him and "William" who ever that is. Then a full on battle started up. Marcus was so powerful. Jurgen ordered us to flee the mansion, so I did of course. But I heard what went down after I left second hand from Magnate Ivan. Marko unfortunately had many of the remaining soldiers with him at a death dealer interrogation suite working over prisoners from the battle. The Magnates and a lot of their staff tried to overwhelm Marcus with numbers, even tried to take him out with a flame thrower when bullets had no effect. But whatever they did, Marcus just shrugged it off. He killed so many, and was weirdly searching out the Magnates, drinking their blood, going on about "Where is his prison?!" The only reason Ivan made it out was because he sacrificed all his progeny to cover his escape, the lecherous coward. I guess Marcus found what he was looking for cause he flew off, but no one was left alive to put out the fires and so the mansion burned."

"So has Marcus turned up since? That was on the 13th right? And which shot callers made it here?" Marlen brightened up with anticipation of some really good intrigue. "Marcus is off the radar. I heard from David, you know the death dealer, that a "monster" that might be Marcus was spotted attacking a truck on the road near Miskolc just before dawn on the 14th. But no other sightings. Now the dirt on the Magnates is somewhat juicier. I already told you Magnate Ivan is here, but he's got little support since all his five wives (please!) and his Magnate staff died at the mansion. Marko the Night Guard commander is here, but you probably already knew that from the mass text. Most interesting is the European Magnate Tomas. He apparently knew some bad shit was about to go down, so he and all his staff progeny and concubines were at the district III safe house when Marcus blew up the mansion. He's setup court over there, probably to push for being a new Elder. Vincent is the only other Magnate to show up. Hmmm...I'd probably try to be a new council member if it didn't sound like so much work."

Erika thanked Marlen and scanned the room looking for Marko. Tomas surviving was bad news for a cease fire. He was a staunch supporter of Viktor's and he was as cunning as he was loyal to his general. She needed to quickly find some Magnates to back her if she wanted to keep her head attached to her wonderful immortal body. Ivan looked shell shocked, though he did have a number of younger vampires vying for his favor in one office. Vincent was extremely logical and Erika felt she could sway him with the truths Kraven had shared with her, or promises of Lycan and hybrid specimens. Marko was the linchpin then. 'How much did he know, how loyal was he to a dead leader who had shrunk his forces to near extinction?'

Erika spotted him chatting with three soldiers. "Marko. I need to speak with you urgently. I have some vital information that will greatly affect the course of this meeting and I would seek your wisdom." Marko was a powerfully built vampire, with slicked back dirty blond hair over graying side burns. He had been an officer in Viktor's army when he was turned in his late thirties. His most striking feature other than his physique was a puckered scar in his cheek that had oddly not been erased by his transformation. The scar was a frequent source for idle speculation among the younger coven members.

"You are Erika, correct? Selene's progeny? Have you heard from your sire? She has much to answer for if she still lives. Ivan tells me that Marcus left to search for Andreas Tanis, who Selene placed in exile if I recall correctly." Erika covered her heart, now worried that Selene hadn't answered her because she was dead...like Kraven. Brushing against the deadly necklace forced her push these thoughts out of her mind.

"I have not heard from Selene, not since she left the mansion before the battle. What I have to discuss was held in secret by Viktor, and I think you will wish to discuss it in private." Marko stared at her, as if he was attempting to read her mind, before nodding and motioning for Erika to follow him. Trying to have a private conversation while surrounded by sharp-eared vampires required them to adjourn to a supply closet, to avoid eavesdroppers and lip readers. Once alone Erika began what she hoped would not be her final conversation.

"Marko, did you know how the Lycan war was really started. The full reason, with Sonja's pregnancy by Lucian?" Marko's mouth opened wordlessly in shock.

"That is not what happened. You aren't bringing back up Tanis' lies again are you?"

"They were not lies. Viktor told Kraven everything, and he told me. The war started because Viktor did not want to lose face with the council so he executed his daughter for siding with a Lycan slave over him. That's why Lucian attacked his keep, and that is why the Lycans have been fighting ever since, not to kill all vampires but to get revenge on Viktor and the original council that held them as slaves."

"Viktor probably shouldn't have told Kraven the truth or trusted him so closely. Kraven made a secret deal with Lucian to setup Viktor, Amelia, and the council so he could be an Elder and end the war. Even Selene killing Viktor was part of Kraven's plan. He revealed to Selene during the battle that it was Viktor, not Lycans, that slaughtered her family, and Lucian confirmed that Kraven was telling the truth about her family and the war." Erika paused to let Marko digest these betrayals before moving on, "What is your response to the truth? Do you feel as Selene did, that Viktor was no longer fit to lead us?" Marko pondered what she had said, while shaking his head.

"What does it matter? Viktor is dead, and his lies or yours matter little. We need to elect a leadership council and then come up with what to tell Montreal. Their Caretaker Marshal has been calling Vincent and the remaining Magnates constantly to find out about our investigation into Amelia and the council murders. That idiot Gustavus (the Asian Magnate) told him that one of our death dealers killed Viktor. Montreal is threatening to come here and take over if we can't satisfy them that the crimes have been punished." Marko ran his hands through his hair as he started to pace.

"It matters, Marko because the lycans' demands have been met. Viktor is dead, Amelia is dead, the council is dead. They are satisfied. They have contacted me to orchestrate a peace treaty. If we don't take the offer they are threatening to finish us off. Is the Night Guard in a position to keep us safe? Did you kill enough of Lucian's army that we can call their bluff? Judging by the turnout there are less than 100 vampires left outside the Canadian coven's sphere of influence thanks to Viktor and Amelia dismantling your army over the last two hundred years. If we are smart here, we could even add the lycans to our strength. We don't have anyone important enough to cast the blame on to meet Caretaker Marshal's demands. They're all dead. We must make ourselves as strong as possible, especially if Montreal is going to work against us." Erika paused her impassioned pitch to let Marko respond. She was worried that she had revealed her lycan connection too soon.

Marko stroked his chin, staring through her as he calculated. "How real is this lycan offer? Who leads them?" Erika started to answer but Marko cut her off, "They must be as disorganized as we are right now. I know for a fact that every elder Lycan we have ever faced was killed in the battle at the buried fort. But you are right, we are weakened, and none of their females fought. There were reports of lycans leaving the battlefield when Victor killed Raze. Hmmm...We are in a terrible position to deal with Montreal's lust for punishment." Marko paused, and started pacing again. "Damn it! Marcus has ruined everything, especially if he killed Selene. She or Kraven were the only two we could have offered to assuage Marshal, other than turning a Magnate into a patsy, which I will not do. It should be an Elder faced with this decision."

"Marko, there aren't any Elders anymore. Marcus turning on us removes him from leadership. Perhaps we can blame everything on him for Montreal's sake. Back my play for a council seat and together we could rule this coven. If you back me, I will get Vincent and Ivan to support you for Caretaker. Caretaker is the position that matters now. Viktor and Kraven were leading us into stagnation and irrelevance. If we integrated the lycans into our coven, or even just turned them into trading partners or allies, we could focus on expanding our membership and gaining some real power in the mortal world. I need your answer quickly, or I'll have to turn to Tomas. I don't want to, but I will not pass up this opportunity to claim a leadership position. I worked too hard on Kraven to end up with nothing." she said smiling coyly. Erika had entered Marko's path as she spoke and ended her plea with her hands placed on Marko's chest and looking deeply up into his eyes.

Marko met her gaze and put his hands over hers. He started to speak then shook his head. He met her liquid brown eyes again, "I remember how you have been working on Kraven. And I can see why he would tolerate it. Tempting as you may be, I must proceed based on the needs of the coven." Marko stepped away from her and turned his back. Erika sighed and her shoulders slumped as she made to leave the closet, defeated.

"But I have to agree with your assessment. I am the only one who should be Caretaker; Tomas is too inflexible to adjust to our new circumstances and neither Ivan or Vincent has the temperament to lead. Bring me Ivan and Vincent and you have a deal. Do not bring up past history or lycans at the meeting. We will deal with that situation once we have the power necessary to handle it."

With that pronouncement, Marko exited the closet leaving Erika to follow. She checked the time on her cell phone, 1:45 AM. 'At least Kala hasn't detonated yet. They must think I'm doing a good job so far.'She first approached Ivan, who was sitting forlornly behind a researcher's desk. Ivan was one of the tallest vampires in the coven, standing nearly 6' 4" with broad shoulders. He had brown hair slicked back like most of the older vampires, but a plain face despite vain attempts with makeup to enhance his eyes and cheek bones. He proved easy to convince. Apparently Tomas had insulted him for fleeing Marcus, so he was all too eager to back Marko for Caretaker. She merely had to promise her and Marko's support for his bid for membership in a new ruling council, her personal favors on a night of his choosing, 'Lecherous bastard!' and her support for a proposal to limit the council to three representatives before he agreed to back her for the council as well. She could see that his proposal was a thinly veiled attempt to block Tomas from leadership, but she wasn't sure he'd done the math properly.

Erika found Vincent holding court in front of a white board with his mate Kathleen. He had laid out on a looping power point presentation how he would like to expand Ziodex to better assist the troops and to make more money for the coven. Vincent wore his characteristic white lab coat, and wore black bulky glasses that no vampire would ever need to wear. Kathleen was a short voluptuous red head, and Erika had always wondered if Vincent affected a scientist persona because his mate was a nerd hag or if years of passing among human researchers forced him to commit to the look. Clearly he was someone not seeking a larger leadership role. Erika managed to separate him from his progeny and well wishers by saying she had an important message from Marko to relate to him about the "Montreal Situation". Erika had thought about the best carrot to entice Vincent to support her and Marko. It turns out that an offer of lycan volunteers for research projects blocked by Viktor secured his support of Marko, and the revelation of a hybrid that she alone had access to earned her Vincent's backing for her own council seat. 'Hopefully Kala and Eduardo won't hold these promises against me.' With 5 minutes to spare she corralled Marlen and a well liked Chinese female vampire named Jinnan that she sometimes slept with to circulate and drum up support for her among their friends.

At 2 AM, a rush of vampires entered the main room from the offices. Vincent, as Magnate of Ziodex, stepped up to the podium and briefly conferred with Marko before beginning. "I have called this meeting of the Budapest Coven because of the tragedies and betrayals that have befallen us this past week. Our leaders have been murdered by lycans or betrayal from within the coven. We need to regroup and make important decisions going forward, and so I called everyone here to vote on new leadership for the coven."

Before Vincent could go further, Ivan stood and shouted out," I propose that we designate what positions are up for grabs, so we can all determine for ourselves what leadership roles we would volunteer for. Further, I believe that only a Caretaker and three new council members should be elected at this time and the other positions, like Magnates for things like Morgenstern Holdings Inc. or more council members, be appointed by the ruling council or voted for at a later date. Only three out of four council members, with the Caretaker having a vote obviously, should be needed to agree for any measure to be acted upon, as we must hurry to set things right. Can my proposal be voted upon Vincent?"

Tomas glared at Ivan for speaking first, but was confident of his imminent promotion and so merely looked at Vincent with the rest of the coven. Vincent in turn looked at Erika, who energetically nodded, before speaking. "Your proposal has merit. We are in crisis and cannot afford committee gridlock. All those in favor raise your hands." Vincent quickly counted and then conferred with Kathleen. "We both have 67 votes for. The motion passes. Would any who wish to be considered for Caretaker please queue up at the podium. I think a short speech, two minutes maximum should be sufficient for a vote. We do know each other quite well I should think." Vincent took a step back and waited for Marko, followed by Tomas, and an Asian Magnate staffer named Kai to make their way up to the podium.

Marko, being closest, began first. "I think that what the coven needs right now is a strong leader with the best military mind to ensure our survival during this most devastating of tragedies. The lycans are far stronger than Kraven, Amelia, or Viktor would ever have acknowledged and their delusions of safety ensured their downfall. I can protect our coven while we recover, and I have the centuries of experience necessary to rebuild our military. The Caretaker position should be someone the lycans fear, someone who can bring them to task and ensure our safety and prosperity for centuries to come. Thank you." Erika would have liked for Marko to be a little more persuasive. She supposed he had gotten the main point across.

Tomas, a younger looking Caucasian vampire with straight spiky blond hair and a rakish crooked smile that dominated his delicate narrow face had dressed himself in a death dealer trench coat as a reminder of his martial prowess. "Marko speaks of a strong military leader, but he isn't the only veteran of Viktor's original army. I also have centuries of military experience and had the distinction of being Viktor's first appointee to the nascent Death Dealers. But Marko lacks my long managerial experience which a good Caretaker also needs. He talks about regrouping and recruiting a new army. I say we are vampires! Our race was born in battle and we should all arm ourselves now and finish the lycan threat for good immediately. Their leaders are dead as well as ours. We should be attacking while they regroup, and before Marcus returns to finish us off. Marko seems to forget about the other threat lingering over our coven. If I am Caretaker we will be prepared for whatever enemies appear, just as I anticipated Kraven's coup and Marcus' bloody reprisal."

Many vampires nodded their heads at his impassioned speech, causing Erika to cringe and nervously stroke her deadly necklace through the scarf. She barely registered Kai's speech, calling for new blood to lead in the new millennium. She absently noticed the good points he made about the lies and treachery of elder vampires that led to our current predicament. But when he started into nuances of magnate stewardship and how technological improvements could be better utilized by vampires she started to tune him out. Kai was very Asian, with epicanthic folds and jet black hair closely buzzed to accentuate the flawless symmetry of his skull and face. He had been turned to help the Swedish born Gustavus get better deals with a native to his Magnate. He was smart, and Erika would definitely watch him and try to cultivate his loyalty.

It was now time to vote and Vincent smartly started with Marko. When Ivan, Vincent, Erika, Marlen and a few others immediately raised their hands, the rest of the coven took notice. Vampires, especially the younger progeny, had been forced into an extremely hierarchical culture for centuries. Vampire's strength and control over their enhanced nervous system increases with age. Seniority had been mercilessly enforced, which had developed a deep and abiding reverence and fear of the Magnates, not to mention the Elders. Marko having the support of three out of the four still alive was impossible for some to resist. A flood of undecideds raised their hands and Vincent and Kathleen quickly acknowledged that Marko had carried the vote. Tomas was livid, only partly assuaged when he gained the first council seat. Erika and Ivan also gained their seats, though a red headed night guard named Alister and the consistent candidate Kai made Erika's bid quite close. It was now 3 AM and Vincent called for the coven to adjourn the meeting and give the new ruling council an hour to meet and start sorting out the coven's priorities. He motioned for the Ziodex staff to provide "refreshments" while leading the new council to the elevator.

"You all can use our living quarters on the fifteenth floor to meet." Vincent held the elevator door assuming everyone would enter but Marko stepped aside beckoning to the soldiers he had spoken with before. Erika listened impatiently while he instructed Alister, and the other two night guards, named Dealan and Lucas to guard the elevator entrance while motioning for David the death dealer to join the council. David wore the traditional leather armor and trench coat, and looked rather dashing with close cut dark brown hair, a strong aquiline nose, and natural tan skin tone from some distant mortal African ancestor mingling with his otherwise Caucasian features. Ivan and Tomas protested at David's inclusion but Marko simply stated that, "He has information that we will need in our meeting." Erika, looking to back Marko, inquired about David's progeny Veronika. David brusquely confirmed that his mate was alive and safe, before returning to stoic attention, cutting off Erika's attempted chit chat. His brush off was odd, normally as a death dealer progeny Erika received a warm welcome amongst Selene's unit.

When they exited the elevator, things got even weirder. David rushed out first and indicated with a finger over the mouth for everyone to be quiet. He then removed a legal pad with the following message: "Our prisoner gave up a lycan plot underway. They were planning to coerce a vampire into becoming their agent within the coven. He wouldn't reveal why, but did know that listening devices had been placed. We must find their agent!" David led them towards a security monitoring room behind an unmarked door immediately to the left of the elevator lobby. But before he could sit down, Marko had grabbed Erika, surprising her and causing her to leap towards the ceiling in terror. Marko, with brutal strength, halted her jump and smashed her to the floor. He pointed at her, speaking volumes with his eyes. Erika frantically searched around the room, looking for a way out. But David, Tomas, and Ivan all responded to the commotion by surrounding her and helping Marko hold her down. Out of options she looked pleadingly at Marko and nodded.

"Marko, don't you think its time to discuss with the others the lycans' peace proposal? We really need to consider how working with them could benefit us." Erika attempted to pull away the scarf at her neck with her teeth to reveal the explosives and barely noticed Ivan and Tomas' startled reaction to her statement. Luckily David noticed her bizarre movements and ripped the scarf aside. The silence was going on too long. "Come now Ivan. You must be weary of this war that has cost so many of your comrades their lives. If the lycans have satisfied their need for revenge shouldn't we embrace a cease fire when we have the much greater threat of Marcus lurking out there?"

Things happened very quickly after that. Marko and David had started examining the necklace while flashing rapid fire hand signals. But Tomas was reacting to her statements emotionally. His blue eyes took on an even lighter glow and his fangs descended fully. He drew a Heckler and Koch MP5 submachine gun from somewhere in his trench coat and pointed it at Erika's head. Marko reacted to the sudden movement above him and leapt toward Tomas, grappling for the gun as Tomas began firing it. A couple bullets hit Erika's shoulder as Marko drove Tomas away from her. David, who was quickly becoming Erika's favorite person scooped her up and fled further into the floor, lamely shouting, "Oh no!... the Spanish rebels are attacking. Overwhelm them men!"

Tomas must have calmed down or Marko had disarmed him because the shooting stopped soon after. David set her down in what must be Vincent's study and hurriedly sent a text before continuing his charade. "Ah, Erika, you've been shot. And one of the bullets has damaged your necklace." He made an attempt to remove it but Erika fended him off and did her best pantomime of her head exploding from her body. She could hear Tomas, Ivan, and Marko all shouting and scuffling, but more importantly the elevator door opening and Vincent speeding into the room. He was about to speak, when David and Erika both grabbed him and covered his mouth. Erika grabbed a pen and paper and wrote nearly illegibly in her haste: "Necklace a bomb, bugged, cell phone can remotely activate, remove activates."

David looked questioningly at Vincent who took a second to think before his eyes lit up in triumph and he rushed from the room. Marko, Ivan, and Tomas now all bleeding from various wounds approached the study but David waved them back shouting, "No men, we can't let even one survive to rebuild their rebel coven. Fan out and find that Ortega son of bitch and kill him like the rest of his traitorous scum." They looked at David like he was crazy but Marko nodded and led the council to another room on the floor. After just a minute Vincent returned loaded down with unfamiliar equipment. Unfamiliar to Erika at least. David and Vincent quickly turned on one machine then Vincent passed another over the length of her necklace, stopping when the needle on the handheld device shifted distinctly to the left over a red gemstone setting. David was simultaneously clipping a number of wires onto the necklace before looking expectantly towards Vincent. Vincent finally pulled out what looked like a cross between a taser and fire starter, adjusted a nob, then pulled the trigger holding it over the red setting he had noted earlier. Vincent nodded to David and then rushed from the room, which did not greatly inspire Erika's confidence. David quickly and skillfully undid the necklace clasp and then placed it into a bulky container that Vincent had brought with all the other equipment.

"You are safe now Erika. I'm so sorry they rigged you up like that. Did you know the lycans who booby trapped you?" Erika shook her head, then noticed her cell vibrating. She pulled it out and saw the number Kala had programmed in. "Is that them?" David questioned. Erika nodded before recognizing Kala's voice.

"The Spanish rebels? Really," said Kala, "I knew Eduardo had chosen poorly. We still know what you look like, and we expect you to deliver our...requests, or it will be my mission in life to hunt you Erika." Erika paused, trying to make meaningful eye contact with David before responding.

"Kala, are threats really necessary. You should have come up with a better way to recruit vampire supporters. Necklace bombs are something out of a bad Bond film. I will consider your proposal on its merits. Without your interference. We have lycan prisoners so you better play nicer from now on. Keep your phone with you and I'll let you know how the council meeting goes." Erika then hung up with authority, barely containing the urge to hurl the phone into the wall.

"Are you really going to speak for lycan beasts after they hijacked you?"

"Of course. Distrust is to be expected. But before the whole bomb duress their representative Eduardo made some good points as well as some disturbing threats. A cease fire must at least be considered even if we choose to reject it. I am in your debt David, but I must leave you now to take my seat at the council." Erika took a moment to examine her bullet wounds which were already healing nicely. She sauntered out of the room, leaving a bemused death dealer in her wake.

Chapter Eight

9:30 PM November 16th, 2007

Somewhere outside the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus, Budapest Hungary

Michael was slumped down in the driver seat of a charcoal grey 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a black and red Szolnocki Olaj KK basketball skull cap pulled down to nearly cover his eyes. He was nervously tapping his knee in between obsessively looking at his new digital watch courtesy of a surgical resident at Szolnocki General Hospital. Another fashion conscious intern had provided a style upgrade from the farmer's denim and plaid ensemble he had stolen earlier, with a light blue button up shirt and dark grey slacks and most importantly black dress shoes. He looked into the backseat, checking again to make sure the cooler with their stolen blood wasn't leaking melted ice water. It had been a long awkwardly quiet day until they had reached the hospital in their newly stolen jeep.

Selene's desire for space had forced him out of the romantic idealism he had been floating in since their...joining a few days ago. While he was certain he had chipped away at her armor and gotten a glimpse of who she really was, he had to consider that maybe he had only seen who he wanted her to be. He couldn't ignore what else he'd observed about her anymore. She had been cold and efficient even as she killed scores of lycans. Other than a few conversations, she had ordered him about like he was a green soldier. She had been right to do so, but he had attributed her demeanor as necessary to the situation and assumed there were other sides to her. What if there weren't? She was a centuries old vampire, how had that changed her. How had constantly fighting and hunting lycans worn away at her humanity. Maybe that cold killer was the real Selene and the flirty sensual woman was a mirage drawn out by near death experiences and betrayals meted out by her so called family.

They had barely communicated running back and forth to the castle to honor the dead commandoes and imprison the ashes of the possibly unkillable Corvin twins. Once he had decided that he needed to be more careful with his emotions, it seemed like they simultaneously pushed each other away to where it was easy and safe. Only at the hospital where they'd made a mockery of day shift security to rifle through staff lockers did some signs of life for their future interactions reemerge. Remembering he smiled. They had traded barbs about the appearance and fit of rejected garments. And she had been near nude the entire time they searched. He was really enjoying her lack of nudity taboos. When a doctor had entered the locker area, Michael had grabbed a topless skirt wearing Selene and given her a scintillating kiss as he heard footsteps approach the door. Selene had given him a big smile before yelling at the doctor, "Can't you see we're in the middle of a very important procedure! Come back later you pervert." Michael had then picked her up, she wrapping her legs around his waist, and slammed them both into some lockers. After a minute of escalation, the stunned elderly doctor had given up and exited the locker room. Michael made an attempt to keep making out, but for Selene the moment had passed and she extricated herself to finish getting clothed.

They had stolen a couple of ID badges to try and con some blood from the blood bank, posing Selene as a doctor. The whole time she spoke to the lab tech, Michael had stood inconspicuously around the corner, whispering jeers only she could hear like, "Your fangs are showing" or "Dr. Hadek you know you're not allowed to check out blood anymore, not after your nasty bout with bloodaholism." More than once he'd gotten a withering stare in his direction. When the tech had seemed to take too long Selene had walked off in a huff and Michael had sped into the storage refrigerator to gather close to a gallon of blood into an ice chest. Selene had let him know she was playing their little game by making him wait in the freezer for ten minutes before returning to distract the tech again so he could sneak away. She stated that she waited so long to see if he was stealthy enough to get out on his own. They had crashed the security office on the way out to erase the day's footage just to be sure neither of them could be linked to the thefts by TEK or police investigators.

Now back in Budapest, he was waiting for Selene to return from scouting the hotel Alissa Macaro had fled to for grief fueled partying or perhaps to complete the transformation into a lycan. Why she'd taken up residence here instead of returning to her family home in a more secluded and exclusive district was one of the questions they needed to answer. He was just about to get out of the vehicle when Selene quietly entered the passenger side door. "You weren't about to go looking for me were you Michael? You must remember that I'm an uber-vampire assassin and you are the most wanted man in Hungary. There probably aren't situations anymore that I can't handle alone, so put away your white knight's armor and get your head in the game." Selene was definitely in what Michael had begun to think of as tactical mode.

"So how's it look Selene? Easy back entrance with convenient service elevator or should we just leap from a nearby building like Superman and force our way into an air conditioning vent?" It struck Michael that he wasn't really sure if that last option had been a joke or not.

"This is going to be tricky, so I don't think conventional entrances are a good bet. The police and press are crawling all over the lobby and subterranean parking garage, especially around any stair or elevator, hoping to catch Alissa if she leaves the building. I overheard a reporter asking an officer why they hadn't arrested her if they knew she was in the Penthouse, so we at least know our destination. Wipe away that cocky grin and try and keep up." With that Selene, now dressed in a purple dress blouse, black skirt, black sheer pantyhose, and heels exited the car. Michael could tell she was ill at ease because she kept absently checking for pistols holstered at her hip that weren't there. It was the only outward sign of tension to betray her. While they had gathered some weapons from the commandoes on their return trip, they had to leave them behind under a blanket in the trunk space to maintain their new appearance. Her face was as calm as she was beautiful, her shoulder length slightly curled dark brown hair framing high cheek bones, a delicate pointed nose, full pale red lips that just barely contained her larger vampiric canines, and her eyes. They were deep dark chocolate when she was calm, and constantly scanning their surroundings. Seeing far more in the late evening than a mortal could in daylight if her sight was at all similar to his.

Michael sighed. 'I've got to stop doing that. I could just watch her for hours, and I'd only fall deeper and faster than I already have. Focus!' He jogged a few steps to catch up to her purposeful and eerily silent stride. With a little focus Michael was able to alter his gait so his footfalls were just as quiet. 'These new powers are So Cool!' Selene led them a couple blocks to a narrow side street bordering a non descript brick wall of an outbuilding adjoining the hotel. Michael guessed it must hold the gym and pool or perhaps additional ballroom space. Selene paused to look for witnesses and cameras before taking a few sprinting steps and leaping almost straight up to the second story roof. "Woops," she gasped as she cleared the lip and continued rising another fifteen feet before falling gracefully into a crouch on the balls of her feet. She turned to find him still in the street and crooked one eyebrow while revealing one fang with a half smile.

He had paused, unsure if he could make this leap without changing. Except for landing a few times from extreme heights or ripping open paint cans, every time he'd performed super human feats he'd been hybridly hulked out. Well, if Selene overshot her leap because she was a souped-up vampire, he should be able to make the leap with only his vampiric traits in effect. Just as Selene began to frown and gesture for him to move, Michael took a few powerful strides and sunk down to gather himself for a powerful upward leap. He knew he'd over jumped as he sped past Selene's shaking head and continued to rise another two stories before falling to the roof. At the height of his jump he started to feel off balance and frantically wind milled his arms, but then it seemed like time slowed. He perceived himself as floating down and realigned his arms and legs to land with barely a whisper. Had he floated or was he actually thinking and experiencing the situation faster than normal. 'I would really like to get myself into a lab and start figuring this stuff out.'

Selene gestured for him to stay low as she sped across the roof hunched over. From this vantage Michael could see why Selene had chosen this approach. The rest of the hotels first six floors were all glass with only the front facade not immediately adjacent to equally tall buildings, all probably peppered with witnesses and surveillance cameras. The hotel wouldn't have wanted to force its guest to look down onto this blocky utilitarian building. He still wasn't sure how Selene was going to get them up to the ninth floor unseen. They reached the end of the roof and rather than turning aside, Selene leapt upwards and began half climbing half running up the grey stone facade of the hotel's main building. Two floors up she realized Michael had stopped again and turned effortless around, facing him upside down, apparently defying gravity. Michael recalled again the pale blonde vampire hanging from the Mansion's ceiling and lycans racing towards him along walls and ceilings. 'But how did they do it?'

"Michael, I figured you'd pick this up as fast as you've learned everything else." she whispered. "I know it's disorienting, but your muscles are much stronger now and you have much greater conscious control over them. A normal vampire can learn in a couple of months to orient their body such that their finger grips can support their entire body weight in nearly any position." Michael just gaped at her, scratching his skull through his cap. "Hmm...how to explain? It's like suddenly you are an expert rock climber and gymnast but those mortal hobbyists are like graceless drunkards compared to your body control. You can dig into handholds with ease that they wouldn't even feel and couldn't grasp. With a secure grip you can orient the rest of your body however you wish, and I recommend placing your feet in a position to push you forward up this wall. We need to move quickly. If you can't get the hang of this I'll have to move on without you."

Michael looked at his hands and focused on unsheathing his black claws. 'Just to be safe.'He then placed his hands along the nearly smooth surface as high as he could reach. Selene was right, focusing he felt miniscule fissures and the stone itself felt almost soft compared to the force he could apply with his fingers. He dug in his claws, still wondering how Selene did this without forcing her fingernails into the wall and pulled himself up. At first he struggled along slowly, hand over hand, but with the growing desire to use foot holds he found the control Selene had mentioned. After one misfire that sent him sliding down the wall a floor, Michael quickly hurled himself upwards. At the top he found Selene hanging from the edge scanning the rooftop. She pointed to a miniscule lens facing the rooftop access door. They could easily avoid its field of view.

Soon after stepping onto the roof Michael could hear a couple male voices. He immediately zeroed in on a dryer exhaust vent and motioned Selene to follow. He was encouraged to smell only humans and a nearly overpowering dryer sheet odor. It sounded like one of them was currently on the phone:

"So we can add Lemuel Harper and Alanis Calvero to our list. Any connections between victims or theories you are working on? No huh... Well thank you Agent Leopold for the continuing assistance of Europol, we'll keep you updated on our progress." Michael was awed that he could clearly hear the beep of the end button being pushed on the cell phone. "So that's 22 dead from a virus similar to what killed Helen and Linus Macaro. The bodies were found throughout Europe over the last six months. I'm willing to go out on a limb and say Alissa Macaro didn't kill her parents, Nick."

"Yeah, I'm with you, but she definitely knows something. She said forty, not twenty four, and if I had to guess I'd say the bodyguards knew even more than she did. We have got to figure out where they went and bring them in for questioning."

"Well we know they've left the penthouse now. One of them is pretty clever, with the costume makeup wrappers in the bathroom and the suitcases still here but all of the clothes missing. They could look like anyone now, and there's no way to find them unless we can see through their disguises on surveillance and follow them out into the streets. Not unless they messed up and left us a clue here. I thought that lead police detective Futak was going to have a coronary when he found us here with an empty suite."

"Nicholas...now that this case is getting so weird, do you think the TEK is trying to turn us into the X-files. This is dispatch- oh gremlins you say- I'll get Bathory and Karede on the case right away. First Michael Corvin, now a serial killer using a viral weapon. I mean, can't we get something regular like a drug ring or bank robbery?"

"Two cases isn't quite a pattern, but I get it. I'm starting to really long for a sex trafficker...that came out wrong, for a normal case... you know what I mean." Selene pulled Michael away from the vent to the chuckles of Karede, whoever he was.

"She's not here. Those two police officers are the only ones in the penthouse. I'd normally suggest we head down the elevator shaft so you...we could follow her scent but that'd eventually put you in front of a camera, and taking out the security feeds would set off a hornets nest as well. Besides, she could be anywhere by now. Ideas?" Michael ran his hand through his long hair curling out from under his skull cap, thinking.

"We have something to do before we continue searching for Alissa, don't we? Those guys are working my case and the case of my dead relatives." Selene sharp as ever, nodded.

"We don't want them connecting the two or looking too closely into the family Macaro or Lorenz specifically. Shall we throw them off the trail then?" she asked. Michael looked at her with a puzzled expression as Selene untucked her blouse and pulled out a fanny pack that she had concealed with her skirt's broad leather belt.

Michael saw what looked like some prescription patches, a prescription pad, a couple burner phones, some scalpels, and a thick roll of heavy duty surgical tape. Selene pulled out the phones and tape then shrugged, saying wryly, "I went...shopping while you were having fun in the blood bank freezer." Michael quietly followed her to a skylight some distance from the room the two men were searching. Selene expertly constructed criss-crossing tape handles adhered directly to the glass. "Let's see how sharp your claws are Mikey...erhm... Michael. Sorry, thought I'd try out a nick name. Use your nails to squeeze into the gap between the glass and the frame." Michael did as suggested and with Selene lifting by the handles they had the skylight quietly open. Selene motioned for Michael to wait, then grabbed one of the phones and swung down into the room and let her momentum carry her back up to hang from the ceiling. He heard her deposit the phone in a light fixture before she crawled back out of the skylight. After replacing the glass pane, sans tape handles, Selene dialed the burner phone she'd left in the penthouse lighting.

Walking back towards the ledge of the roof, Michael sped in front of her and requested the phone, "Trust me, I have an awesome idea." Michael focused on how his mouth and face always felt when transforming and succeeded in growing his full compliment of hybrid teeth as well as expanding his jaw and emerging snout. He winked at Selene while they waited for the investigators to find the cell phone plant. The phone only went to voicemail once before Agent Bathory answered the phone. "Who is this? Alissa Macaro? (whispered: quick Mikhail, hook up the recorder.)"

In a raspy, deep voice, that no human could ever hope to mimic Michael growled into the phone, "You should leave Alissa Macaro alone. She was measured and found innocent."

"Who am I speaking too then?"

"We are the Knights of the White Wolf. I am glad Ms. Macaro does not share in the crimes of her parents and decided to leave the bread crumbs we demanded of her. She will not lead you to us, she doesn't know enough, and even if she did, she fears us far more than your ineffectual organization Nicholas Bathory."

"Why should I believe anything you say? She could just be using you to throw us off her scent?"

"We are honorable men, agent, she did not kill her parents, we did, and she is meeting our terms for her release. No harm shall come to her unless you would like to join...Alanis Calvero in the grave."

"Why are you contacting us, you've been so covert until now?"

"We live by a code Nick. You have been warned." Michael hung up and Selene snatched the phone, twisting it into flinders.

"Where'd that come from? It was just bizarre enough to throw them off balance." she queried, giving a very subtle smile of approval.

Michael smiled broadly and mocked shining his nails on his shirt.. "You may not know this about me Selene, but I've... watched a lot of spy movies. I can be quite diabolical if I put my mind to it." Selene turned towards him and instead of the annoyed glare he had been expecting, he took in the warmth of her full smile. She turned back to the ledge, hooked the stems of her heels into her belt, and took a swan dive off the side. Michael jumped after her and just as they passed the fourth floor Selene calmly mentioned that he needed to slow his descent or the force of his landing would send him crashing through the roof. She then did a somersault with only a story left between her and the outbuilding roof that brought her now extended feet into contact with the hotel wall. She gracefully tucked into a vertical roll along the wall then after one revolution, launched herself back upwards and out. She somehow replaced her heels during her momentum shifting maneuver, landing with barely a click.

Michael however was too far out from the wall to do anything to slow his descent. Not entirely a failure at physics he was left with only one recourse other than landing on his feet and smashing through the roof. A weight distributing belly flop. The smack was quite loud, but not nearly as deadly as he'd anticipated. Though it did leave a bit of an impact crater in the tar paper roof. 'It's good to be a hybrid...but that was... underhanded. And very painful.' He had to stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood forced up from his internal wounds that were even now mending. He took a beat as he felt cracks in his ribs and pelvis mend. He got up ready to give Selene an earful for not warning him before they jumped but she was already racing back towards their car. Grinding his teeth, Michael took off after her. 'Is this her version of flirting? If I could die I might be worried.'

Chapter Nine

9:37 PM November 16th, 2007

Room 428, Kempinski Hotel Corvinus, Budapest Hungary

Alissa sat on the queen bed closest to the window facing a gray haired but still hale lawyer. Oskar had confirmed that this was indeed William Szecskay, and now stood vigil at the small room's floor size windows with one eye on his laptop. Heinrich stood silently with his eye to the peep hole and his gun periodically following guests through the door. Will, as he'd asked to be called, had taken off his tailored dark pinstripe suit coat and rolled up his sleeves to really dig into the small mountain of paper work he had lugged into the room. He had checked in as Ron Harper after dropping off makeup and costumes with a now well paid bellman. Oskar and Mr. Szecskay had both supplied a number of good ideas to secret her away in a different room in the hotel to keep her one step ahead of the police and any would be assassins.

"Don't worry about the company Ms. Macaro. It's not publicly traded so while the securities commission can freeze what your parents willed to you, nothing will disrupt its operations. Your father's other partners will soldier on while his shares and liability are tied up." He had just taught her about the organization of KFT companies and Macaro KFT specifically. He reminded her of her sharp but kindly maternal grandfather.

"But if my inheritance is frozen while I'm under investigation, how will I survive. I can't access my trust until I'm twenty five or married. I'm essentially on the run right now and I think we both agree I can't stay at this hotel much longer." Oskar had discreetly tapped into the hotel surveillance with an assist from the longtime general manager. They had watched as both the TEK investigators and the National Police had entered the penthouse to bring her into custody. "Besides, I'm Innocent!" Alissa was starting to look frantic. "Do you know any good trial lawyers?"

"Do not fret Alissa, your great uncle was a very thorough man, always calling me to prepare for endless contingencies. He was also very wealthy, much more so than your father; truth be told much more so than anyone realized, including me. As one of only two living heirs, you have almost limitless funds now to help you disappear or to mount a legal defense if you so choose. Money that... well let's just say that until I read his will, the finding of which was it's own little adventure, I didn't even know what he had set aside. The securities commission has no clue how to even find what he left you so they could freeze it. So stop worrying about that."

"Okay...well then he also mentioned some secrets you were going to tell me that would protect me. Is it finally time for the big reveal, because I'm pretty sure that after we finish up I'm going to be taking a long trip to an undisclosed location. Do you know anything about the cult that killed my parents? Did he leave me any evidence that could exonerate me?" Alissa had grabbed his wrinkled, calloused hands and was practically shaking them in her eagerness for him to save her.

"Secrets...? No...nothing about a cult was in his will. He did require that I would provide you legal counsel until such time as you released me. My commission is ongoing unless you intercede. I have helped your great uncle with a number of... requests involving criminal matters, so be assured that I am very much a trail-ready lawyer. The one non-standard bequest he made was for this key." He reaches into his briefcase to retrieve a velvet bag from which he draws an ancient looking polished brass key. Ornately worked beyond the teeth, the head contained a stylized V. "He said that when you were ready you would recall what lock this opens. Do you recognize the key?"

He looked a little too eager for her answer so Alissa took a second to consider. Almost immediately she recognized the crest in the head as matching some similarly ornate stonework in their mansion's basement. She had never noticed a keyhole or a door before, but she had never really looked at it closely. She liked Will, but... "I can't seem to remember where this should go. Maybe I'll recall it when I'm not dodging assassins and fleeing the law." Will's eyes betrayed the disappointment he really felt despite his well practiced shrug of indifference.

"So advise me Mr. Szecskay. How can I prove my innocence, or better still get them to look for another suspect, perhaps the cult itself?"

"They are looking to arrest you, if what you saw means what I think it does. That means they now have evidence of your guilt. What could they have that would be incriminating?"

"Nothing! I know that I didn't do it, and I know that uncle Lorenz found who did, but he's dead now. Tell him Oskar." Alissa rose and physically pulled Oskar from the window to sit next to her on the bed.

"Miss Alissa is right. A third party abducted and killed her parents. Lorenz may have found some proof but if the explosives aboard the Sancta Helena were used to sink it...then investigators will find nothing usable however much they salvage from the Danube. He sent you nothing to help Alissa's defense?"

"No. From what you've said I believe he felt revealing the culprits would place you in more danger from them, than anything the police could do." He paused to consider different scenarios. "Do you have any enemies?"

"Other than a mysterious cult that abducted and killed my family and may still be after me? Not that I can think of. I mean there are some boys and girls I may have... bothered by becoming intimate with their partners. But none of them would or could pull off framing me for murder."

"Someone must have provided some sort of false evidence if they have decided to take you into custody. Unfortunately, the police do not have to reveal their evidence until trial. What we can do is keep you under wraps and try to find a weak link amongst the investigators or the prosecuting attorneys. If we can find out what their evidence is we might be able to dispute it without any pre-trail detention. If you are willing to be detained I'm confident I could get you house arrest until trial, but you'd probably be held for twelve to seventy two hours before I could make that happen."

"NO!" Heinrich abandoned his post shouting. "She won't be safe in jail. Two cult members came for Michael Corvin dressed as cops. They are so powerful, you don't understand..." Oskar shot up and pushed Heinrich back towards the door whispering vehemently into his ear while hugging him close. Heinrich listened, reluctantly shook his head, then turned back to the peep hole. Oskar returned to Alissa's side.

"Heinrich is right. Unless we get the all clear from this Selene that Lorenz hired, we cannot allow her to be taken if at all possible. Mr. Szecskay, please begin looking for that leak and if you need any assistance with tailing subjects or computer...surveillance you have but to ask. I..." Oskar trailed off as Heinrich started flashing hand signals to him. "Take cover, there are a large number of armed men, possibly police moving down the hall."

"It's Detective Futak, I recognize him and that hard ass Paul Slichter. What do we do?"

William Szecskay rose and drew both soldiers eyes. "You cannot resist. I should be able to accompany Alissa to the station, and I will do my best to see that she is protected. We only have seconds. Hide anything illegal immediately if they might spot it." With that order Oskar lifted a mattress and pulled up the carpet over the hole in the floor he had created when they first entered the room. Heinrich left his post to start tossing Oskar the laptops and other spy gear they had been employing. Meanwhile Mr. Szecskay grasped Alissa's shaking hands and pulled her to her feet. He looked her in the eye and said, "It's going to be okay. Working for your uncle has left me with a number of tricks up my sleeve."

"It's the National Police, open up!" came the muffled shout from beyond the door. Now empty handed with the mattress replaced, Heinrich cautiously opened the door and stepped aside with his hands in the air. "Alissa Macaro, you are under arrest for conspiracy to murder Linus, Helen, and Lorenz Macaro and an undetermined number of unidentified victims. Place your hands behind your back." With that the lead detective Andras Futak, a pale dark haired man of medium height and build, remarkable only for the intensity of his eyes, placed her in handcuffs and led her from the hotel room trailed by a wary William Szecskay and eight other officers.

Oskar closed the door and patted Heinrich on the back, as they watched three officers fruitlessly search the room for more evidence. "We'll get her back. I will not fail Alexander in this final task. I will not!" Oskar's fiercely whispered pronouncement seemed to settle Heinrich, but only a little.

To Be Continued in Episode 2