Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Underworld or it's characters, so don't sue. The other characters and subsequent storylines are mine, so don't infringe. Many Thanks.

Author's Note: Sorry it's taken so long for an update. I'll have more as soon as I can, I promise. I know everyone wants to know what happens to Olivia, but there's someone else that needs rescuing first…

Chapter Seventeen - Tangled Webs

They rose up from the mist an hour before sunrise. The tumultuous sea crashed below them, spraying the jagged cliffs and slowly eating away at the sandy shore. The waves threatened to pull them down into the cold embrace of the water, but the Lycan's never faltered. They were on a mission of mercy and if any of them thought it strange that their leader should order them to save the life of a Vampyre, none spoke the words.

Drake had been surprised by how easily it was to find this hiding spot of Kraven's, but who was he to question a Vampyre's intelligence…or lack thereof.

When all the Lycan's had reached the cliff's summit, he double checked with the team leader's to make sure they all understood the objective of the mission: rescue Kahn, capture Kraven and kill every other Vampyre they could get their hands on. Drake's full lips transformed into a heartbreakingly sly grin. It had been too long since he'd felt the adrenaline rush of a good fight. All the sneaking and spying of the past months had bored him nearly to death. He was a Lycan. Bred to stalk and fight, maim and kill. Finally, he was being given the chance to unleash his wrath in the way he was meant to.

He signaled to Caz and Emma. It was time.

The security here was laughable at the best of times, Drake had discovered. Now, this close to sunrise, it was almost non-existent. The Vampyres were preparing to sleep off the excesses of the night just past. Those left to guard the mansion were placed haphazardly within its walls, placid and ill prepared for an attack. Kraven had thought only of protecting himself against Markus' followers and therein lay his mistake. The Lycans could attack at anytime; day or night. They didn't need a sleeping-sun in order to move against their enemies.

Caz reached the back door at the same instant Drake reached his objective in front and the sounds of the centuries old, wooden barriers crashing down reverberated throughout the mansion, echoing against the cold stone walls. Emma was right behind Drake and as they entered, she took her team upstairs. Some were in their true form, but that was more for show than anything. Transformation wasn't really necessary for this type of job. The Bloods were half-asleep already and, taken by surprise, they were in no shape to put up much of a struggle.

Drake grabbed one of the lax guards and flung him against the wall, his arm pressed tight against the Vamps trachea.

"Where's Kahn?"

The Vamp could barely shake his head, let alone speak and Drake relaxed his grip.

"I don't know what you're…"

Drake didn't waste time. He flung the Vamp out of the now destroyed entrance, directly into the first hazy rays of sunlight. The screams of the dying Blood caused a ripple of pleasure to run up Drake's spine as he turned his luminescent eyes onto his next target.

"He's down below! In the dungeon…" The man replied frantically, eyes whipping between the outside world of death and Drake's malicious grin. "I can take you to him."

"Show me."

Around and above them, chaos reigned. Vampyres were emitting ear-splitting shrieks of horror and anguish as the Lycan's tore into them, but as Drake descended the mossy, broken steps into the bowels of the earth, the silence pressed in. Three members of Drake's team followed closely at his heels, while another two stayed up top to guard the entrance. Water drizzled down the stone walls, seeping in through the cracked mortar. The dungeon reminded Drake of the many different hovels his kind had spent the past centuries dwelling in. A chill, loamy breeze washed over him, bringing with it the coppery reek of stale blood and salty sweat.

When he laid eyes on the raving, half-mad Vampyre pacing an impossibly small cell, Drake's anger flared. He had known Kahn as an ally, growing to trust and like the Death Dealer during their months of secretive meetings. Now, the once proud Vampyre had been reduced to a snarling animal. When Kahn caught sight of them, he began to fling his battered, naked body repeatedly against the bars of his cell, foaming spittle trailing from his mouth.

Drake gave his Blood escort a pointed look. "Open it."

"But…" Though it didn't seem possible, the Blood paled. "He's starved! Please…he'll kill me…"

Drake pulled out a pistol and leveled it at the Blood. "And you think I won't?"

Coming to the realization that he was going to die one way or another, the Blood's shoulders sagged. The ring of heavy iron keys clinked like a broken wind chime as he grabbed it from the wall and made his way towards Kahn's cell. Ignoring the clutching grasp and foaming shrieks of the starved Vampyre, the Blood turned his resigned, ice-blue stare onto Drake.

"I'd rather give up my life to one of my own than to a filthy dog like you anyway."

The Blood had just enough time to give the protesting key a hard turn before Kahn grabbed him through the bars, pulling him in close and ripping his throat open. Scarlet sprayed across the stone floor, mingling with the dried rivers of Kahn's own blood and as Drake watched the pitiful husk that was Kahn feed with such a frenzy, he almost felt sorry for the sacrificed Blood…almost.

Drake hadn't planned on letting Kahn feed, but after seeing what kind of state the Death Dealer was in, he thought Kahn deserved a small treat. It was obvious that he'd been starving for quite some time, the maddening thirst eating away at his sanity, and the small amount of nourishment that he'd gained from the other Vampyre seemed to have only added fuel to the fire. As the cell door smashed with an echoing bang against the stone wall, Drake stepped nimbly to the side and signaled to one of his men. The Lycan stepped forward, a pistol held steady in a two handed grip, and as the Vampyre lunged unsteadily at Drake, he fired off a round.

The tranq dropped Kahn immediately and Drake caught the emaciated Vampyre before he could hit the floor, laying him on a nearby table.

Emma found them just as they were starting the IV line that would replenish Kahn's body with the blood he so desperately needed. Drake sensed her anger and confusion long before she spoke, therefore he wasn't surprised by the news she had brought him.

But that didn't stop him from ripping the cell door from its squealing, protesting hinges and, with a savage roar of pure, blind rage, Drake flung it across the room.


Erika made sure to stay well behind Kraven as she followed him through the dark and twisting cave. She didn't know where he was going. She hadn't even known this secret passageway existed, but when she'd searched for her lover a few hours before dawn, his scent had ended at the massive stone fireplace in his office. With panic induced confusion, Erika had feared the worst, thinking that someone among their newly formed coven had traitorously murdered him in the blazing fire, but then she'd spotted the marks scoring the otherwise spotless stone floor. It had seemed peculiar to her, so out of place in Kraven's pristine office. With a bit of investigating, she'd discovered a secret latch and had been amazed when the fireplace had pivoted towards her, revealing a cramped staircase of crumbling stone. Kraven's scent had wafted from the hidden space and Erika hadn't thought twice about following him. Her curiosity had always been the bane of her existence, leading her straight towards trouble time and again, but she'd shrugged off her misgivings and entered the secret space anyway. She knew well how to placate Kraven.

However, hours later she was rapidly tiring and wanted to do nothing more than sleep. If Kraven's scent hadn't been so strong, she would have turned around and gone back to the mansion. The stairs had taken her deep underground, the path deeper still, and more than once she'd tripped over a broken stone and cursed her foolishness. Whatever reason Kraven had for being here was none of her business. If it was important, he would have told her. After all, she was going to be his Queen this time around, now that Selene was finally out of the picture. Erika smiled for a moment, imagining how good she was going to look on Kraven's arm, but the smile soon melted away into nothingness as misgivings began to plague her thoughts.

She tried to convince herself that Kraven had spoken the truth about wanting her at his side, but there was a part of her that didn't quite believe him. He'd been different lately. Ever since the American Vampyre's had brought word of Lucian's survival and the newest Corvinus descendant.

Then news had arrived that the Corvinus woman had disappeared. That's when Kraven had really changed. Erika remembered how hard she'd tried to convince Kraven that it wasn't important. The woman had probably just run off or perhaps Lucian had killed her. He was a Lycan after all. Nothing more than a beast. Everyone knew Lycan's couldn't control themselves the way civilized Vampyre's could. That's why her kind ruled.

Kraven hadn't listened to her though. Instead, he'd ranted and raved about how they needed to find the woman. Erika had been listening to Kraven go on for weeks now about how Markus had to be planning something. Markus had to be behind the woman's disappearance. Markus, Markus, Markus. Erika was tired of hearing about the batty Elder. Besides, what would Markus possibly want with a Corvinus descendant? He was already a hybrid and, really, that's all the Corvinus' were good for these days, wasn't it?

She caught her toe on a jagged rock and pitched painfully forward onto her knees, skinning her hand against the rough wall.

"Does this bloody trail ever end?" She exclaimed, sucking at her scraped palm. It was all that stupid human's fault. If she hadn't been thinking of the Corvinus woman, Erika would have been paying closer attention to where she was going. She just didn't understand why Kraven was so obsessed with finding the woman. What could he possibly want with a human? Erika froze, her eyes widening as a thought occurred to her.

"Kraven wouldn't…he couldn't possibly…" Erika whispered to the darkness. "He promised me!"

As anger, fueled by her old friend worry, coursed through her body, Erika picked up her pace. If Kraven dared to place another woman besides her at his side, she'd kill the son of a bitch herself.