A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

Would anyone like me to write a final part to this trilogy to turn it into a four-part story?

Chapter 8: Hiding or Murder

Vlad looked defiant; there was only one answer he was going to give. He knew everyone was waiting for his answer and he wasn't going to disappoint his subjects.

"No."

Mikhail looked at him, "You're sworn to uphold our laws, bow."

"I swore to uphold them as Grand High Vampire, you took that title from me." He shrugged.

"Bow or your wife…" Jorgen went to grab Erin but Vlad threw him back with a bolt of blue energy. Vlad knew Erin could defend herself but he wanted to make sure that they understood that he wasn't going to stand by and watch Erin be hurt. Jorgen crashed straight through the wall, bringing down wooden panelling, dust, bricks and mortar with him. Jorgen looked at the Council stunned, he was still as powerful as before. He'd never been a law abiding vampire until he was in power, clearly he didn't intend to be one now.

"No one touches Erin." Vlad's four sharp fangs glistened in the light. Olga trembled before glaring at the Council, she couldn't understand it. They had said Vlad wouldn't be able to do that.

Vlad marched up to Olga and grabbed her arm in a vice like grip. She couldn't read his emotions as his eyes changed colour completely. Olga cried out as his fingers bit into her skin. She arched trying to get away from him but she couldn't move. She'd never met anyone this strong before. Vlad knew all he had to do was squeeze a fraction tighter and her bones would snap like a twig in his grasp.

Olga looked behind him at the amazed crowd, they didn't think the young vampire had it in him to display such anger. Only those close to him had ever seen it. Tears dripped down her face from his actions. "GO! GET OUT!" She screamed at the hall, she didn't want witnesses to this. She needed to be strong, she needed support she couldn't afford to look weak in front of them and she couldn't afford for Vlad to get any stronger.

They all cried out for them to stop, but it was too late. They'd vanished. Vlad had wanted witnesses to prove what Olga was really going to be like. Weakness still wasn't tolerated in their culture.

Vlad looked at her arm, remembering the last time he'd used this much force. He'd broken Erin's collarbone but he pushed that vivid memory to the back of his mind. He wasn't going to dwell on it – not now. "I still have the power to destroy you Olga. Don't ever forget that. You won't wear the crown because you're not the true Grand High Vampire I am." He paused looking directly at the traitors amongst the Council. "I will fix this, I promise you that." His lip was curled up and his nose twitching throughout his speech.

Olga was yanked from his grip, it took two of them to do it but he hadn't been using his full power.

Her eyes were wide; they never left Vlad's snarled expression. Then she saw nothing but flashing images as they sped her away to safety.

She was, after all, their only bargaining chip.

YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL

The usurpers landed just outside the manor house, under the cover of the trees so no vampire could watch them from above. Olga grabbed Mikhail by his lapels hoisting him up slightly. It would have been amusing under other circumstances to see the small vampire threatening a much larger vampire. Olga was the same height as Erin.

"I thought as soon as he gave the title to me I'd get his power!" Olga snarled at them angrily. She wanted ever shred of power Vlad had. He was a thousand times more powerful than any other vampire in existence and would be until an heir was born to him.

Mikhail shook his head, they'd never said it out loud but they might have implied it when they involved her in this plan. "Vladimir Dracula was born with his power."

The realisation dawned on Olga. "The crown has nothing to do with it?" Olga screamed. Mikhail and Baylor winced stepping back.

"The crown gave you the power of the Grand High Vampire not his powers."

"So my cousin is still more powerful than me?" She asked angrily. She hadn't expected this, he could handle the crown her brother couldn't. Then she remembered something about Boris. "I can match his power, the Blood Mirror…"

"Your brother took the power from Vladimir's reflections. He now holds all one thousand of them in his body. He's merged with them, its permanent now."

That was one suggestion out of the way.

"I'm holding onto this power and I'm not giving it up. I'm the one in charge now not Vladimir Dracula." She looked at Mikhail.

"What are you going to do about him?"

Olga looked at Mikhail as if it were obvious. "Get the hunters after him, they'll enjoy a bit of sport. Tell them I want him back alive, I want to slay him myself. His wife too. Everyone else is fair game."

"Yes your highness."

Olga beamed at that title, she'd always sworn to be all-powerful and she'd beaten her pathetic cousin Ingrid to the title. However Ingrid had something she clearly wanted and she was determined to get it.

In the case of Vlad, all she needed to do was get her weapon ready. A stake would be too quick. She wanted him to suffer. She wasn't going to leave anyone whole who was going to be a threat to her.

YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL

The hall was completely empty by now, Erin collapsed in Vlad's throne. He didn't care about her sitting in it, with what had just happened she was perfectly entitled to sit in it even in public. The Count stared at the spot where Olga had just stood.

Jonno watched as Vlad gripped Erin's circlet, a circlet that was rightfully hers regardless of what Olga had said. If he held it for much longer he'd damage it. Jonno nodded to Ingrid but Ingrid shook her head, Vlad wouldn't let her touch him after what she'd done.

Jonno sighed and gently pried the circlet from Vlad's clenched first. He didn't put up much of a fight and it surprised Jonno. He'd expected Vlad to hold onto it with all his being. He held the circlet out once Vlad's fingers had been completely removed from it. There wasn't a single dent or mark from Vlad's bruising grip. He handed it out to Renfield who took it without any fuss, putting it away securely into the velvet box.

Bertrand paced around the room, "Erin need to be crowned within the next ninety eight days or her title will be forfeit." This needed to be dealt with quickly. If she wasn't crowned and Vlad managed to get back into power he would be stuck with a corrupt Council until someone took it upon himself or herself to slay them.

The Count shook his head, he knew that not all of the Council were against his son. Besides Vlad was good at getting himself out of tight spots. "Vladdy can sort it all out…"

"Vlad doesn't have the authority any more." Ingrid whispered, not daring to even look at her brother. Her own chances of power had vanished with Vlad's crown being ripped from him.

Vlad didn't twitch or even move as she spoke. He'd been trained for this since he was fourteen, seven years of his life were now gone in an underhand gesture. It was all pointless.

"Vlad?" Erin asked seeing that her husband had grown quiet. His outburst hadn't surprised her but he was too calm at the moment. She found him hard to predict like this but it wasn't impossible.

Vlad turned to look directly at Erin and only Erin. "I can't let Olga have my title," He muttered quietly, the Count looked at his son with a prideful expression with a hint of smugness. Vlad shuddered at the possibility that the Count thought he was finally becoming power hungry. "There's no telling the damage she'll do to all out kinds." Jonno and Robin nodded in agreement, it was only a matter of time before she abolished everything Vlad had put in place.

Erin felt pride surge within her, four years ago she couldn't have imagined Vlad taking his responsibilities like this but now he was the leader he was always supposed to be. It had been a natural change and she wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Even now he was putting his people first, just like a true leader always should.

"Maybe the Council could help?" It was more of a suggestion from Jonno, he knew what the answer would be before he tried.

"Half of them did this. I haven't got the power to summon them."

"You're the most powerful vampire in existence, take it back."

Vlad threw his arms out, gesturing to the empty and still hall. There were no traces of the vampires who had occupied it before. "You saw them Ingrid, they just wanted to run and hide from what had happened."

"Olga will want you dead Vlad. You have to turn her to dust before she kills you."

"I'm not going to take my crown back committing vampicide."

Jonno wanted to point something out, "You've killed before Vlad."

Vlad flinched, his eyes closing automatically. He walked across the room making sure no one could see his face. He pushed his palms up into his eyes, he hated the fact he'd slain vampires.

"They were executions Jonno, Vlad never had a choice in performing them. Killing Olga would be murder." Erin had stood the moment Jonno said those words, slaying a vampire in cold blood and slaying them because it was your duty were two different things. Erin could sympathise because she'd had nightmares about the half fang she'd accidentally killed. She'd been responsible for that death.

Erin pulled his hands from his eyes, she'd been up with him when the nightmares had become unbearable, when he couldn't deal with what he'd done. Over three years she'd woken too often to an empty space next to her in their coffin. She refused to sleep without him in there.

Vlad had to deliver the punishments himself, drive the stake into the vampire involved. He had to struggle past their tough flesh before feeling them turn to weightlessness as they crumbled to ash. There had only been a handful of executions since he'd become Grand High Vampire but each one would haunt him for the rest of his unlife.

The worst part was that there was some loathing in the fact that it was the same type of weapon that had nearly killed Erin when she was mortal that he had to wield. He hated touching something that had nearly taken her from him.

Ingrid knew her brother could never slay anyone in cold blood, there was only one other choice for him. "Then you need to get out of here."

Vlad shook his head. "You can run Ingrid." Vlad told his sister quietly. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not running from this. Our kind, slayers and mortals need to be protected. I can't do that if I'm running away."

Bertrand nodded in agreement; hiding had never done any good before. Too many lives had been lost back when the Count had taken Vlad into hiding.

The Count looked at his son sceptically, "If we're not running and you're not going to kill her what are we going to do?"

Vlad didn't have a clue and that terrified him.

TBC

A/N: Please let me know what you think.

Would anyone like me to write a final part to this trilogy to turn it into a four part story?

Thanks for reading.