There was a short debate, in which Paris told my Mr. Crepsley and Darren that this was not official duty and that they didn't have to agree to represent the clan- no shame would befall them if they refused to cooperate with my father. I knew they were going to agree anyway, when a vampire is chosen they don't say "no"; it's in their blood. At the end of the debate, as I knew he would, Mr. Crepsley stepped forward, red cloak snapping behind him like wings.
"I relish the chance to hunt down the Vampaneze Lord." He said.
Darren stepped up after him.
"Me too," he said in a brave tone.
"The boy knows how to keep it short," father said, winking at Harkart then turned to me.
"Will you help them Silver or doom their clan?" he asked with a smile.
I stood up again and looked at all the vampires.
"I do not know any of you or about you except from the legends that were passed on by the wolves. But if I had to choose to help save your clan or doom it I would help in a heartbeat. I have heard of this Lord of the Vampaneze and decided that he must be taken down before too much damage is done," I turned to the Princes, "I will help you hunt for the Vampaneze Lord."
"Brave words Silver," my father said with a mischievous smile.
"What about the rest of us?" Mika asked. "I've spent five years hunting for that accursed Lord. I wish to accompany them."
"Aye! Me too!" a General in the crowd shouted, and soon everyone was seeking to join the hunt.
Father shook his head, "Four hunters must seek- no more no less. Non-vampires may assist them, but if any of their kinsmen tag along, they shall fail."
Angry mutters greeted my father's statement.
"Why should we believe you?" Mika asked. "Surely ten stand a better chance than four, and twenty more than ten, and thirty-"
Father snapped his fingers. There was a loud, sharp sound as dust fell from overhead. Looking up, I saw long jagged cracks appear in the ceiling of the Hall of Princes. The vampires saw them and cried out, alarmed.
"Would you, who has not seen three centuries, dare to tell me, who measures time in continental drifts, about the mechanisms of fate?" father asked menacingly.
With another snap of his fingers, the cracks spread. Chunks of the ceiling crumbled inward.
"A thousand vampaneze couldn't chip the walls of this Hall, yet I, by snapping my fingers, can bring it tumbling down," to make his point clear, he lifted his fingers to snap then again.
"No!" Mika shouted. "I apologize! I didn't mean to offend you!"
Father lowered his hand.
"Think of this before crossing my path again, Mika Ver Leth," he growled, then turned to the gray creatures he brought with him, who headed to the doors of the Hall. "They'll patch the roof up before we leave. But next time you anger me, I'll reduce this Hall to rubble, leavening you and your precious Stone Of Blood 5to the whim of the vampaneze."
Blowing dust off his heart shaped watch, my father smiled around the Hall again.
"I take it we're decided- four shall it be?"
"Four," Paris agreed.
"Four," Mika muttered bleakly.
"As I said, non-vampires may- indeed must- play a part, but for the next year no vampire should seek out any of the hunters, unless for reasons that have nothing to do with the search for the Vampaneze Lord. Alone they must stand and alone they must succeed or fail."
With that, he brought the meeting to a close. Dismissing Paris and Mika with an arrogant wave of his hand, father beckoned Mr. Crepsley, Darren, and me forward, and grinned as he lay back on the throne. He kicked off one of his boots while he talked. He wasn't wearing socks, and I was surprised to see he had no toes- his feet were webbed at the ends, with six tiny claws jutting out like a cat's claws.
"Frightened, Master Shan?" he asked, eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Yes," he said, "but I'm proud to be able to help."
"What if you aren't any help?" he jeered. ""What if you fail and damn the vampires to extinction?"
He shrugged, "What comes, we take."
My father's smile faded.
"I preferred you when you were less clever," he grumbled, then looked at Mr. Crepsley. "What about you? Scared by the wait of your responsibilities?"
"Yes," Mr. Crepsley answered.
"Think you might break beneath it?"
"I might," he said evenly.
Father pulled a face, " You two are no fun. It's impossible to get a rise out of you. Harkart!"" he bellowed.
The creature approached automatically.
"What do you think of this? Does the fate of the vampires bother you?"
"Yes," Harkart replied, "it does"
"You care for them?"
"Hmmm," Harkart nodded.
Father rubbed his watch, which glowed briefly, then touched the left side of Harkart's head. Harkart gasped, and fell to his knees.
"You've been having nightmares," father noted, fingers still at Harkart's temple.
"Yes!" Harkart groaned.
"You want them to stop?"
"Yes."
He let go of Harkart, who cried out, then gritted his sharp teeth and stood up strait. Small green tears of pain trickled from the corners of his eyes.
"It's time for you to learn the truth about yourself," father said. "If you come with me, I'll reveal it and the nightmares will stop. If you don't, they'll continue and worsen, and within a year you will be a screaming wreck."
Harkart trembled at that but didn't rush to my father's side.
"If I wait," he asked, "will I have….another chance to learn….the truth?"
"Yes," father said, "but you'll suffer much in the meantime, and I can't guarantee your safety. If you die before learning who you really are, your soul will be lost forever."
Harkart frowned uncertainly.
"I have a feeling," he mumbled, "something whispers to me-" he touched the left side of his chest "-here. I feel that I should go with Darren…. Larten and Silver."
"If you do, it will improve the chances of defeating the Vampaneze Lord," father said. "Your participation isn't instrumental, but it could be important."
"Harkart," Darren whispered softly, "you don't owe us. You've already saved my life twice. Go with Mr. Tiny and learn the truth about yourself."
Harkart frowned.
"I think that if I….leave you to learn the truth, the person I was….won't like what I've done."
The creature spent a few more difficult seconds brooding about it, then squared up to my father.
"I'll go with them. Right or wrong, I feel my place is….with the vampires. All else must wait," he said with confidence.
"So be it," my father sniffed, "if you survive, our paths will cross again. If not…." His smile was withering.
"What of our search?" Mr. Crepsley asked, "you mentioned Lady Evanna. Do we start with her?"
"If you wish," father said, "I can't and won't direct you, but that's where I would start. After that, follow your heart. Forget about the quest and go where you feel you belong. Fate will direct you as it pleases. Now Silver, are you sure you want to help these vampires on their quest?" he asked me.
"Yes father, I would like to help," I said.
"Very well," he said with an evil smile.
That was the end of our conversation. Father slipped away without a farewell, taking his creatures with him. After that, Vampire Mountain was in an uproar that night. I stayed in the Hall of Princes to be asked questions by the Princes and a few Generals.
"Why haven't you shown yourself until now?" Arrow asked, having returned from war early.
"I have been traveling the world in search of others like me. My father never told me anything about what I was, but I learned as I got older. When I found that there was only one being like me, I made up my mind to show myself," I replied.
"How old are you?" Darren asked.
"Three hundred and seventeen."
"From what Mr. Tiny has told us, you were born at the same time as Lady Evanna. How is it that you are only three hundred and seventeen?" Mika asked.
"When I was twelve, my father told me that I was born during a different period of time and that he brought me to this time for a certain purpose."
"And what purpose would that be?" Paris asked.
"He has not told me and when I asked he only smiled."
"Wait, you said he brought you to a different time period. Do you mean to say that he can go through time?" Arrow asked.
"Yes."
"I knew he was powerful, but I never thought that he could be powerful enough to do that," he said, looking shocked.
"So where have you been living before you went on your search?" Darren asked.
"With a wolf pack."
"Would the alpha happen to have a streak on its stomach?"
"Yes."
"I know that pack. That's the one that helped me when I was running from the vampaneze and Kurda." Darren said to the other Princes.
"You are very popular with the pack. The cub that found you in the snow misses you," I said, remembering how excited the cub was when he was telling me the story.
"How is he?"
"He's grow since the last time you saw him. He will become the next alpha."
"Back to business, why are you helping us? Why not see if you can help your brother get better?" Paris asked.
"I have seen the vampaneze and found that they are noble and honest, but are misguided. The Vampaneze Lord is misleading and evil. Even though I have not seen him in person, I gathered enough information about him to know it. And my brother, he is hopeless and has to be caged or he will kill," I said, looking at the floor.
"Your brother wouldn't happen to be with the Cirque Du Freak would he?" Darren asked.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry," Darren said softly.
"You can go now Silver," Paris said.
After my questioning, my father's prophecy and visit was debated at length. The vampires agreed that Mr. Crepsley, Darren and I had to leave on our own, to meet up with the third hunter but were divided as to what the rest of them should do. Some thought that since the clan's future rested with the four lone hunters, they should forget the war with the vampaneze: it no longer seemed to serve any purpose. Most disagreed and said it would be crazy to stop fighting.
Two hours into the debate, I decided to leave to get some sleep. I went in a spare room and went to sleep on the floor.
Three hours before sunset, a servant of the quartermaster, Seba Nile, came to get me. I went with them as they said their privet goodbyes to Seba and gamekeeper Vanez. At the gate leading out of the Halls, we met Paris. He told us Mika was staying to assist with the night-to-night running of the war. He looked sick as he shook our hands, and I knew that he was due to go on to the next world.
"I'll miss you Paris," Darren said, hugging him roughly.
"I'll miss you too, young Prince," he said then squeezed him tight. "Find and kill him Darren. There is a cold chill in my bones, and it is not the chill of old age. Mr. Tiny has spoken the truth- if the Vampaneze Lord comes into his full powers, I am sure we all shall perish," I heard him hiss in his ear.
"I'll find him," Darren vowed, locking gazes with the ancient Prince, "and if the chance to kill him falls to me, my aim will be true."
"May the luck of the vampires be with you," Paris said.
"Thank you for helping us," he said to me.
"My pleasure."
After some more goodbyes, we set off down the tunnels. We moved quickly and surely, and within two hours we had left the mountain. When we got out on open ground I phased and gave my fur clothes to Darren to put in his pack of belongings. We jogged on the open grounds beneath the clear night sky. Our hunt for the Vampaneze Lord had begun.
