Black doggie says: Man, David Wenham is cute but the monk's hairstyle doesn't fit him. Cheers to him and to the immortal Count Dracula!

Overhead the moon shone brightly even though it was only a crescent. Gabriel stepped outside and shivered. It was on a night like this when Anna had died. He pushed the memory of her to the back of his mind. Right now, he needed his wits and not memories of someone he would miss.

"Damn it all."

Carl walked up and stood beside him, "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"I am sure."

"Are you sure we have enough arsenal to destroy them if need be?"

"No."

"Then what are assurance can you give that we will get out alive?"

"We will get out alive." He turned to Carl, "Trust me."

"Well, that's something I've always done and where has that led to?"

From a far, the sound of hooves echoed through the night. Soon a carriage appeared, pulled by a team of four magnificent black horses. Morgan, the driver, turned to them and smiled, his fangs appearing just above his lower lip. He pulled the team to a stop just in front of them.

Tipping his hat, he said, "May this be a night you will never forget!"

"I do think it will be!" Carl murmured under his breath as he followed Gabriel into the carriage.

Plush velvet seats in deep purple greeted them inside. The floor was also covered with a Persian rug. On one side sat Cerys and Lia. They had changed into simpler traveling clothes in somber colors. Both wore cloaks with hoods. In the dark, their pale faces and glinting eyes stood out.

Cerys was looking out of the window. When she turned her gaze to them, Gabriel noticed the change in her expression. A while ago, her face was soft with melancholy and thoughtfulness but now, her face was hard and her eyes flashed with some strong emotion.

Lia spoke up, "I hope you are feeling all right."

"We are." Carl answered, "Thank you for your concern. Where are the others?"

"Oh, they couldn't come. They had some business to finish elsewhere."

"What exactly are we going to do tonight?" Gabriel asked.

"We're going to the Count's castle to finish off all the other remaining vampires."

"What?" Gabriel was taken aback, "I finished them all!"

"Not quite." Cerys said, fingering her hood. "You see, on the night you were there, several vampires were gone on an errand. Dracula also made his coven to be the exact image of any other coven."

"So there are other covens?"

"Hundreds all over the world, each housing about a hundred vampires at any given time." Lia replied with a smile.

Cerys nodded, "In a coven house, there are three underground levels that can be reached through a special doorway that can only be opened with a special key. Those underground levels are where the vampires, usually the younger ones, are housed."

"So you're saying that we'll find more undead there?"

Lia snorted, "Undead indeed! What a word!" She leaned forward, "Yes, there are more vampires there. The lowest level houses the youngest vampires, the newly born children. The next level lodges the elder vampires, those who have controlled the blood lust. The highest level houses those who are more or less, a millennium old."

Carl frowned, "Wait a moment. Then who lives in the castle?"

"The ten seneschals, the elder and those who are over a millennium old. They are the ones who control when the others will feed."

"Why do they do that?" Gabriel asked.

Cerys gave a knowing glance at his direction, "So that we won't attract any attention."

They were now moving up a mountain slope. Outside, he could see the valley dappled with moonlight. The shadowy fingers of nearby mountains stood against the sky like menacing fingers. Somewhere, a wolf howled and was answered by other howls.

Morgan's voice rang from outside, "They give greetings and warnings. They know we are coming but what our purpose maybe is hidden from them."

"Shyla would have told them about this. Expect that she will be at the gates." Cerys responded in a commanding voice.

"I wonder if I can play with her…" Lia said dreamily.

"You will do no such thing!"

(Gabriel and Carl wondered who Shyla was and what was her relation to the three vampires).

Lia shrugged and turned to them, "A little background about us will do you good." She glanced at Cerys, "There are seven Ancients, the oldest of all vampires and from whom all vampires come from. The sun no longer has any power over them. They are the true immortals."

"Where these Ancients? Does anybody know them?" Carl asked as he leaned forward.

"No. Nobody except the Elders know whom the Ancients are. They're somewhere in this world. They travel from coven to coven, checking that the covens follow laws laid down by them."

Cerys continued, "We follow a strict hierarchy. The older you are, the higher your rank. This applies to a coven. The oldest in the coven becomes the Elder, the Ancients' eyes, ears and mouth. It is the Elder who carries out the sentence given by the Ancients to any erring member. Second in command are the ten seneschals. It is they who act as the police force, bringing to the Elder, those who do not follow the laws."

"And what are these laws?" Gabriel questioned.

Lia waved her hand, "There are only a few. Do not kill unscrupulously; kill only that which is enough to quench your thirst. Do not kill mercilessly as if you were a rabid dog." She tapped her cheek, "Ah, yes! Show respect to your elders. Do not kill inside the coven. Hide all evidence of a kill. Bury your prey."

"Do not use your powers to dazzle a human with your powers and then leave him. That will drive him mad." Cerys added, "Bewitch him only if you intend to give him the Blood or if you intend to feed upon him." At this Carl grimaced. "Do not make a vampire who cannot support himself outside the coven. In other words, do not make a child into a vampire."

"But what about Alya—"

Cerys interrupted Carl, "Follow pacts made with society. Do not show any mortal to your coven unless you mean to turn them into one like us. Do not blurt anything that has to do with the coven. All that happens in the coven stays in the coven. Do not kill one of your kind even if he were a rogue vampire ("A vampire who belongs to no coven because he was kicked out as a punishment or else his maker didn't belong to a coven." Lia added), unless the death sentence is given."

The howling grew louder as they drew nearer to the Count's castle. Gabriel peered outside and he could see wolves running behind the carriage. Thick hedges grew along the roadside but Gabriel could see glittering eyes gazing up at them. He fancied he even saw fangs ready to devour them. Suddenly, a wolf leapt from the hedge and attached itself to the carriage door. Then before their eyes the wolf transformed into a man. Quickly, Gabriel pulled out a short sword and swiped it at him.

He snarled and tried to snatch Gabriel from his seat. Cerys hissed and before the man could turn to her, she had his neck in her hand. In an instant, her nails had cut through the flesh, killing him. Then she flung him outside.

"Morgan, faster!" She cried.

Morgan cracked his whip and stood up. The team screamed and pushed on. A little way ahead, a group of wolves had blocked the road. The horses saw this and reared and stamped. The wolves were crouching, snarling and ready to pounce at them. Morgan laughed, a high cold laugh that rang in the air and chilled Carl and Gabriel's blood.

"Scum bugs!" He shouted. He flourished his hand and then all the wolves burst into flames. They yelped and rolled out of the way but the flames were not extinguished.

Gabriel stuck his head out of the window but Cerys pulled him back in. "Last of all but not the least, do not make vampire or kill either a vampire or a human out of spite or jealousy. You may be immortal but inside is a human heart and it is by this heart that all laws are made and all actions must be based upon."

He could see another change in her face. They softened and her eyes looked away as if she were recalling some memory. Then abruptly, they became hard, "Come. I have a death sentence to carry out."

They turned a bend and then they were going up a grand driveway. The castle loomed before them, a sinister figure. They stopped a few meters from the huge doors that opened into the courtyard. Stepping outside, they looked up at the vine-covered walls.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Carl cried out, kissing the crucifix that hung around his neck.

Wolves had gathered around them. They sat on the ground with a snarl on their face. Obviously, they were waiting for someone higher up in ranking to give an order. Then before them, dust swirled and shifted. Lia narrowed her eyes and hissed. The dust gathered until it resembled the shape of a woman. Then it did become a woman.

She had long red hair that fell in curls. Her lips were bright and wet with blood. She smiled and greeted them, "Hello, Morgan…Cerys…" She turned to Lia and her eyes danced with hellfire, "Hello, Lia."

Lia threw her hood back, "Hello, Shyla. What a pleasant greeting you gave us."

"Oh, yes! Dracula and I expected this visit to happen sooner or later." She giggled, "Well, it's sooner than I thought!"

"Will you let us in or must we fly over the walls, heaving our guests along with us?" Morgan asked curtly.

She turned to Gabriel and Carl, "Oh, no! Come in! Come in!"

Shyla ushered them inside. The wolves surrounding them had changed into their human shape and they too followed. As they walked under a tall arch and into the courtyard, Carl couldn't help wondering if he had already signed his death certificate by trusting Gabriel and following him into the lions' den…

Black doggie apologizes: Sorry about the abrupt change in the previous chapter from the Count's castle to the inn. I don't know what happened (or how for that matter) but the three asterisks I put there to signal a break are gone. I'm too lazy to upload a corrected version so please, pardon that mistake.

Thanks. Smile