Prologue II : A Gift for Urith

2002 A.D.

The examination room had become a morgue. Cold fluorescent light casting a dull sheen across the steel walls and metal doors. Medical x-rays of vampiric bones and lycanthrope teeth pinned upon illuminated frames. Shadows darting across the still faces of men entering the room...

Even as a dull pain began to rise in his chest, Corvinus stared calmly at the three bodies laid out before him... Two of them were encased in black…and the third, Amelia, draped like a queen, her skin spotless, save for the cruel gash where her throat had once been. And yet, he knew there was no time for mourning.

Instead, he turned to the two men accompanying him…

"Give me a moment."

Obediently, they withdrew, closing the door behind them.

I must do this alone, he thought, surveying the damage wrought over the passing night. Resolutely, he stepped between the tables, unzipping the bag to his left and casting aside the synthetic material to reveal…locks of hair…and blood.

He blinked, abruptly recalling the face of Lucian in his mind…and the presence of the key around his neck.

Their paths had never crossed, but due to his position as leader of the lycan hoard and the unwitting warden to William's tomb, Lucian had been under constant surveillance for the last eight centuries. Hard to keep track of, to say the least. He moved swiftly and frequently, a commander-in-chief bound by his own death and thus, unable to walk above the underworld.

Perhaps you have found peace at last.

With this final consideration into the breadth and depth of Lucian-that-was, Corvinus parted the lycan's shirt to remove the key.

Only to be greeted with more hair, more blood and a medley of silver-encrusted bullet-holes. Indeed...

...the key was missing.

He frowned pensively in his confusion. Lucian would never have removed it... Even in his exile, the lycan master had continued to bear the one piece of history that could identify him…a pendant worn by his beloved wife, though she had been dead for almost a millennium.

Selene and Michael…I pray they had the presence of mind.

Immediately, Corvinus strode purposefully towards the final form at the end of the room, leaving the lycan to his slumber. It would be a long night and the second key still lay in a more treasured resting place.

...o...

It was only after slicing Viktor's chest open and retrieving it that he called the brigadier and his subordinate back to the room. With them came the two special force units he had requested…men he had used before and trusted with his life. Corvinus nodded to the two senior officers, notifying them that they were free to continue with the main course of action…finding the whereabouts of Markus. They saluted and left the room.

The two remaining men stood ready and waiting before their admiral.

"Your orders, sir?"

Corvinus turned towards them.

"Inform Vinutius. Amelia is to be returned, in state, to her coven. The remains of Viktor shall be incinerated. Send the ashes to Miklos."

He paused abruptly, staring at the disk in his palm…turning it slowly, allowing the shadows to dart about the metallic surface. He remained silent for a full minute…so much so that the first lieutenant finally probed a second question.

"And the third, sir? The lycans have been scattered, but there are rumours of several elders escaping the sewers. We can still track them…"

Corvinus shut his hand abruptly over the disk, enclosing it in darkness.

"No. Send the third to Aeduin. Tell him…" he paused…

"…tell him it is a gift for Urith."

"We will burn the third then?"

"No."

Unconsciously, the lieutenant blanched. However, maintaining some of his composure, he swallowed, hesitating only a moment before speaking his mind...

"Sir, might I suggest…the last we heard, the two were in a severe state of hiding. It would be easier to remain unseen with a less cumbersome package."

At this, Corvinus began to turn the disk slowly in his palm once more…beguiled by its auspicious designs. Eventually he looked up, staring the man in the eye...

"Why burn a body that still breathes, lieutenant?"

The lieutenant licked his lips, unsure of where this was going. But, finally, he answered the Admiral as best as he could... "With all due respect, sir, the lycan is dead. We checked his vitals…his organs…there's more silver in his veins than blood…his heart has stopped."

"In that case, you will still send the body unburned to Aeduin and Urith. Believe what you will, lieutenant, but that lycan is not dead."

Dropping the disk in his pocket, Corvinus left the room. This was no time to be worrying over these trivial matters which paled in comparison to the approaching tide that would be Markus. The men should be glad they had the option of journeying to the lower reaches of the underworld for a night. Still…at the end of the hall, he stopped, turning on his heel to face the men once more.

"One more thing…"

The men stood to attention, hiding their anxiety over having to sneak a full-grown body of a lycan down to the world below the underworld. Corvinus, aware of their displeasure at the task, merely cocked an eyebrow.

"…while you're there, be sure to notify Urith…if she continues trading in unlicensed goods for the underworld, I will have her neck. Ultraviolet ammunition is one thing, but this particular feat of science wasn't supposed to go on the market for another decade."

And with that, he turned the corner and was gone.

The lieutenants looked at each other, confused, but unfaltering in their loyalty to Corvinus. Without another word, they each grabbed an end of the body bag and began to hoist the undead lycan warlord, their thoughts and faces plainly showing the fear they could no longer hide.

I wonder…the second lieutenant squinted fretfully with his eyes darting over their cargo…

…do they still keep that three-headed dog?

The other lieutenant…noticing his comrade's apprehension and unwilling to journey with such a jumpy companion, decided to silence the man's obvious question.

"Yes." He said directly, causing the other man to flinch before losing his grip and dropping one end of the bag unceremoniously on the ground. The man needed to be calmed down.

He nodded slowly to his companion. "They still keep Deirdre." He motioned him to pick up his end of the bag again.

"Now let's move."

Best be firm about it, he thought, watching the other man firmly grab the end of Lucian once more… God knows there'll be no beating around the bush once we're down there.

The two men tottered on deck to find Vinutius before boarding a vacant helicopter with their burden. One of the pilots would take them as far as the western reach…a mere ten minute journey. From there, they would have to go on foot towards the wood. The helicopter would be required back at base within the hour.

When they returned…if they returned…it would be on foot.

A hard mission indeed.

Still…he prayed for a long night. Any mortals found traipsing among the tombs during daylight hours were as good as dead…especially if they were moving slowly. Hindered with a deadweight lycan covered in blood, their party would more than likely just attract the scent of far worse creatures than good old Deirdre.

However…he'd keep that bit of information to himself for now.

No sense in unnerving his companion any further.