Chapter 7.……………….

Smallville, Kansas………….. 1/5/03.…………Kent Farm………….

Robert is still sitting in his room when all of a sudden Clark, Stephanie, Chloe, and Pete stormed in. Robert looked up at them and asked, "Is there something the matter?"

Clark was the one that answered, "Earlier today, I tried calling Lana about something but I never received a answer at the Talon. So we went there to make sure she was okay. But when we got there, she was no where to be found. Plus there was no sign of what had happened."

Robert frowned upon hearing this, and then said, "We should go back and check for more clues."

With that he grabbed his coat and they all left to head back to the Talon.

Meanwhile……… The Talon…………

Lana walked into the bathroom of the Talon, and looked at herself in the mirror. She had just gotten back from, first, Limbo, where she had became one of the hands of Death, then she had a busy three hours sending numerous souls on to their final resting places.

She was extremely tired. She placed her hands under the faucet and then splashed the water onto her face. When she looked up into the mirror she noticed that her eyes were black. After staring at herself for a moment she shook her head and then her eyes returned to their normal color.

After drying her face she made her back into the front of the coffee shop and was startled, when she saw all of her most important friends standing there, with looks of worry and gladness on there faces. She looked at them confused and asked, "What are all of you guys doing here?"

Chloe quickly stepped forward and threw her arms around her lover. She then said, "We thought something had happened to you when you weren't here when we came earlier."

Lana gave a small nervous laugh and said, after extracting her self and stepping a short distance away from Chloe. "I just had some errands to run in Metropolis."

Lex's Mansion……… Later that evening………….

Lex sat behind his desk looking between the old book on his desk, to his newest minions, a pack of Vampires. After looking at the book one more time he looked up at the vamps and said, "Okay. You know what to do. Go to the Indian caves and find that artifact. And remember, if you run into that slayer, leave her be, her life belongs to V'lrock here." He indicated the large troll that was standing behind him. "Now go."

Luther Corp……….. Lionel's office….the next day………1/6/03.………….

Lionel looked up at the vampire that was currently standing in front of his desk. He then asked, "Are you sure?"

The vampire nodded and said, "Yes sir. He had the book in front of him sitting on his desk. He also had a troll as a body guard."

Lionel nodded and then said, "Good. Now listen closely. Go back to my son and take the book and bring it to me."

The vampire nodded and said, "Yes sir."

TBC………………..