~O~

Zoran stood at a distance from a large, ornate castle, one that was even more elaborate than the castle that he had grown up in. Carved statues of gargoyles and angels lined the stone walls, creating beautiful, yet menacing works of art. Zoran's one good eye scanned the statues and stopped on a creature that was depicted with bat-like wings and razor-sharp teeth; a Vampire.

He found it rather ironic that the lair of the most revered Vampires in the world would have such a stereotypical image carved into the stone. Then again, the Society took this structure from the humans hundreds of years ago, he silently added to himself. As Zoran continued to stare, Alexander and Jessie stood by his side, taking in the massive site before them. Jessie let out a high-pitched whistle and said, "So, this is the Society's Stronghold, huh? It's a lot bigger than I imagined."

Alexander nodded in agreement with her. Zoran broke his gaze from the statues and took a couple steps forward. "It's a fitting place for the monsters inside, don't you think?" he asked, more to himself than to his faithful followers. Neither Alexander, nor Jessie answered his rhetorical question. Up ahead, at the gate of the castle, Zoran could make out the faint shapes of several guards patrolling the perimeter; he wasn't surprised.

Of course the Society's Stronghold would be more heavily guarded than his parents' home, but it made little difference to Zoran. He knew that he was more than capable of getting inside the Stronghold with the help of his two companions, and also with the assistance of the blood he had stolen from his mother and father. With their powers coursing through his veins, he had obtained strength that normally only the Pureblooded Nobles possessed through birthright, and that would be more than plenty for what he planned on doing that night.

Zoran's skin prickled with anticipation when he thought about the night's task. "Alright, it won't be easy to get inside, but let's try this without using force, if at all possible. We don't want to gather too much unneeded attention," he said back to his companions. Alexander and Jessie nodded their heads. Collecting his thoughts and focusing on the task at hand, Zoran started down the hill towards the Stronghold. When they got within twenty yards of the perimeter, a guard spotted them.

"Halt! State your business!" the guard shouted. Zoran grinned and took a step closer to the guards. This, in turn, caused them to react and draw their weapons; one held a short sword, while the other possessed a revolver. "Don't come any closer!" the guard with the gun snapped. Zoran held up his hands to show that he had no weapons on him, and said, "Is that anyway to treat somebody who has come to seek refuge within the Society's Stronghold?"

Both guards' faces showed expressions of surprise, but also skepticism; they didn't believe him. "And from what are you seeking refuge from?" the sword-wielding guard asked. Zoran, still keeping his hands raised, took yet another step closer to the guards. "Does it really matter what I am seeking refuge from? Tell me, when has the Society become so strict about helping their fellow Vampire brethren?" he asked callously.

The guards tensed and kept their weapons at the ready. "We have to be cautious, seeing as a Lord and Lady were slaughtered a couple days ago. This is the only reason we are showing any hesitance about letting you enter the Stronghold," muttered the guard with the gun. Zoran's lips curved up into a wicked grin. So, news of my mother and father's murder has reached the Society, has it? I didn't expect them to hear about it so soon.

He inclined his head and said, "It was a real shame in what happened to Lord Larousse and Lady Zaria, wasn't it? Heaven forbid something like that were to happen again." The guard, the one with the revolver, lifted the gun and pointed the barrel directly at Zoran. "How did you know about their deaths?! The Society has released no information about it yet!" He drew the hammer back, arming the gun, and kept it aimed for Zoran's chest.

All Zoran did was chuckle darkly, earning confused looks from the guards. Within his blood, he could feel his dark powers churning, itching and begging to be released. All in due time, he thought to himself and met the gaze of the guards. "You could say I was there when my mother and father were killed. That's how I know about their deaths. Now, you can either allow me and my companions entry, or I can let you see just how they died," Zoran said and smiled devilishly at the guards.

They both took a step back, but never once let their hold on their weapons falter. "You're not getting into the Stronghold!" shouted the guard with the sword. His cohort nodded, but didn't seem as confident. Zoran's smile fell into a fine line; but of course the guards of the Stronghold would fight back, rather than back down. That was what they were trained to do.

The Vampires of the Society that were trained to fight never back down from a battle, even if it meant their impending doom. "Very well, then. I was hoping to not have to use force, but you've left me little choice," Zoran said disapprovingly. Before the guards could react, much less charge at them with their weapons, Zoran flexed the muscles in his hands, sending forth the beams of darkness that were at his command.

They lashed out, striking and cutting deep into the flesh of the guards, then encasing them in a dark mist that slowly drained the life from them. Screams rose from the black mist, then slowly died away, leaving the night in silence. Then, the darkness began to disperse, revealing the lifeless bodies of the two guards. Zoran shook his head and said, "Tsk, tsk. What a shame. Well, they were asked for it when they stood their ground to fight."

He then turned back around to look at his companions. Alexander had a rather thrilled expression on his face, which provided proof that the blonde-haired Vampire was morbid. Jessie, on the other hand, seemed a bit uneasy, but focused nonetheless. "Are we ready to go inside?" Zoran asked calmly. The two nodded their heads, and Zoran grinned. "Alright, then. Let's give the Society a wake-up call."

~O~

Papers were flung from Count Gillfrey's desk and scattered on the floor. He sighed in aggravation and ran a hand through his pixie-short white hair. "Damn it all!" he shouted and stood abruptly from his chair, causing it to slide back several feet.

Gillfrey then began to pace around the grand room that was his office. The room, with its high-ceiling, was dimly lit with the warm glow of torches spaced out on the stone walls. The light that these torches cast illuminated the paintings of previous Counts and Countesses throughout the Society's history; Gillfrey's being the most recent one. He lifted his purple eyes up and looked at the portrait of himself that was done several years ago.

Unlike the other leaders of the Society before him, he didn't hold a menacing aura, at least, not in his opinion. To Gillfrey, he seemed to radiate a more calm one, but still looked the part of a powerful Count. His gaze trailed down the other paintings to his previous predecessors, only stopping momentarily to take in the beauty of Countess Lucia, the one who had captured the greatest Vampire Hunter of the time.

He then sighed heavily and walked back towards his desk, picking up the papers he had thrown done in his bit of rage. When he sat back down, Gillfrey looked back over the papers, reading the report for what felt like the millionth time that night. The contents of the papers pertained to the murder of Lord Larousse and Lady Zaria, who had been found in their home, completely drained of blood.

It had been the first report of a Vampire draining the blood of another of its own kind in the past two hundred years, and had stirred up a lot of talk within the Society in the process. Gillfrey shook his head, remembering the headache he had gotten after finally convincing the other members of the Society to keep the information secret until said otherwise; there was no need to cause panic among the Vampire community.

Gillfrey leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. "What am I going to do? All of the reports keep saying that there are no leads as to who did this," he grumbled to himself. There had been no witnesses to the murder of Larousse and his wife, and hardly any evidence left behind to give a hint as to who may have committed the crime. And by the way the investigation was progressing, it appeared that whoever had killed the two Vampires would end up getting away with it.

Gillfrey turned his head to his right and said, "Any suggestions as to what I need to do next, Carson?" From the shadows of the corner of the room, stepped out a young Vampire. His hair appeared to be black, but when it was touched by any form of light, one could see that it was actually a deep violet. Despite his dark hair, the same could not be said for Carson's eyes, which were a brilliant blue with slitted pupils like that of a cat's eye.

Pointed tips that were his ears poked ever-so slightly out from underneath the dark purple hair. Carson, in response to Gillfrey's question, shook his head. "I'm sorry, my Lord," he said formally with a bow. Carson was the only Vampire in the world that was entrusted with protecting Count Gillfrey. Much like a bodyguard, it was Carson's job to make sure that no harm ever came to the Count, even if that meant putting his own life on the line.

At a glance, Carson didn't appear to be capable of keeping the most important Vampire in the world safe, but looks could be deceiving. What any attacker may or may not know, was that he was an extremely skilled fighter, as is the only kind that is allowed to be the one to protect a Count or Countess's life. Gillfrey closed his eyes and sighed. "Perhaps I should just take the rest of the night off and continue this tomorrow," he muttered.

Carson remained silent; he only spoke when directly addressed to. Other than that, the young Vampire stayed quiet at all times. Gillfrey, deciding to take up on his own advice, straightened the papers in front of him and stood up from behind his desk. "I think that's just what-" He was cut off mid-sentence by a loud explosion that reverberated throughout the castle walls. "What the?!" he shouted.

Carson was already by the Count's side, ready to fight and defend the leader of Vampires. Screams suddenly echoed throughout the stone walls of the Stronghold. Gillfrey's heartbeat quickened as adrenaline filled his veins; they were under attack. By the sounds of the wails of agony, his people were suffering as well. He would no allow it. Gillfrey ran around Carson, who quickly chased after him.

Even though Carson said noting, the Count knew that his guard wanted him to come back and steer clear of whatever was going on. But Gillfrey didn't stop. He was the most powerful Vampire in the world, and he was going to defend that title by defending the Society's Stronghold. He continued to run towards the sounds of agony until he reached the Grand Hall, a place where meetings and social gatherings of elite Vampires were normally held.

But rather than the grandness it was known for, blood and bodies covered the floor. Many of the corpses were mangled, torn to shreds by something that resembled claws. "Well, well, it's about time you joined the party, Count Gillfrey," a voice said. Gillfrey turned to find a black-haired Vampire sitting in the throne that the Count normally took during gatherings.

Not only this, but two other Vampires flanked the sides of the chair; all of them were covered in the blood of the slaughtered. Gillfrey tensed up and wrinkled his nose when the smell of Vampire blood finally hit his senses and made his stomach churn. He covered his face with his hand in an attempt to shield himself from the putrid stench. From behind, Carson finally caught up.

Gillfrey turned around and said, "Get out of here while you still have a chance! I can handle these creeps!" But Carson shook his head defiantly, which didn't surprise him, seeing as the young Vampire had sworn an oath to protect the Count years ago. Gillfrey sighed, knowing that Carson wasn't going to leave. So, the Count turned his attention back to the intruders.

He looked more closely at the one who was sitting in the throne, and instantly recognized him. "You're Zoran," he said in surprise, "one of Lord Larousse and Lady Zaria's sons. Zoran inclined his head a bit and grinned. "How very observant of you, Count Gillfrey." Gillfrey narrowed his eyes at Zoran, then began to look around at the carnage around him. He put two-and-two together and said, "You were the one who killed Larousse and Zaria, weren't you?" Zoran chuckled darkly and clapped his hands slow and sarcastically.

"Not only are you observant, but you also appear to be rather bright as well. But to answer your question, yes. I was the one who put an end to my parents' hideous lives in order to gain enough strength to do this." He motioned out to the blood and bodies on the floor. Gillfrey tensed up and scowled in disgust. Not only had Zoran killed his own family, but he had also taken blood from them as well, which was not only illegal, but also taboo in the eyes of modern-day Vampires.

"And why did you want to do this? You have to have a reason for killing so many, right? You couldn't have just woken up one day and decided to commit such heinous crimes." Gillfrey was trying to remain calm, despite the fact that his heart was racing and his blood pounding in his ears. Not to mention the sweat that coated his palms. Even though he was powerful, Gillfrey had never experienced something like this, so he didn't know exactly how to handle it.

Zoran stood up from the throne and said with a smile, "It's all a part of a greater plan, you see, one that I do not have the time, or the desire, to tell you." Gillfrey growled and felt his anger rising to the surface; not only had almost all of the members of the Society been slaughtered, he didn't know the reason for their blood to be spilt in the first place. "Very well," he said menacingly, "have it your way."

Gillfrey began to call forth his powers that had been passed down by birthright, but before he had a chance to strike, Zoran attacked first. Dark tendrils flew through the air towards Gillfrey, knocking him back onto the blood-soaked marble floor. He gasped as the whips of darkness came down on him, beating on his chest, arms, and legs until he could feel bones cracking.

They then withdrew back towards Zoran, almost like obedient dogs, and hovered around the homicidal Vampire. Carson hurried to the Count's side and helped him to his feet. Gillfrey could see the pleading-look in Carson's eyes, a look that was begging the Count to get out while there was still a chance. It was obvious that Zoran was strong, but was he as strong as the Count, was the real question.

Gillfrey shook his head and told Carson, "I have this under control." Zoran barked in laughter. "Is that what you call this? Under control? Ha! And who said that the Counts and Countesses had no sense of humor?" The smile on Zoran's face then vanished, settling into a fine line. "I've grown bored of this. Enough playing around. It's time to finish this," Zoran said and sent the whips of darkness back towards Gillfrey.

The Count was just about to dodge out of the way when he felt something wrap around his ankles. When he looked down, he saw that some of the dark tendrils had snaked their way around his feet, holding him firmly in place. He struggled against their hold, then looked up to see Zoran's attack heading towards him. Gillfrey had no time to counter, and he knew he was about to take the full-force of Zoran's power.

But right before the whips of darkness made contact, Carson put himself in front of Gillfrey, taking the attack in the Count's place. He screamed out and dropped to the ground, still and motionless. "Carson!" Panic rose up within Gillfrey. Zoran shook his head and said, "Darn, I didn't mean to hit him. Oh, well." Gillfrey could see the intruding Vampire readying himself for another attack.

He looked back at forth from Carson to Zoran as he quickly debated on his next move. It was clear that Carson was still alive, but for how much longer, Gillfrey didn't know. And if the Count didn't leave now, then they would both end up dead. Gillfrey closed his eyes and focused his powers on the tendrils of darkness that held him captive. Ice began to form on the snake-like rope of darkness and shattered them, freeing the Count.

Then, before Zoran's next attack could strike them, Gillfrey knelt down and took hold of Carson's wrist. And in his mind, he thought of the first place that could promise them safety and refuge, and used his powers to teleport them there in the blink of an eye, leaving behind an empty space that took Zoran's attack in their stead.

Thank heavens it is Friday; i thought I was about to lose my mind if the week didn't come to an end. So much band and senior stuff going on. Beh, I can't deal. Anywho, i'm going to cut this short and sweet; I hope you enjoyed the chapter and read and leave a review on the way out. ~Copperpelt~