Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry for the long in-between update. Life's been hectic; moved across country, mother's in hospital very ill, and crazy family drama besides the whole employment search and etc. Sorry if the update is shorter than usual, but I'll be trying to write more so I can finish both this story and Corruption! Enjoy~

Chapter Eleven

Headquarters

I was sulking like a child in a car next to Tobias Draele, the leader of the VaMoS. I was thinking about all the things I could have done if I hadn't been so stupid about the hunters. I should have killed them and escaped. Jove's life wouldn't be threatened, I wouldn't be capture by the people we were running from, and everything would have been fine. What's a couple of human lives compared to what would happen once more of my type of vampires was made? It was like every single thing I swore wouldn't happen, happens. It was obvious that I should just stop making promises to myself.

"So what exactly did you do to make Evanen give you the Key to Immortality?" Tobias interrupted my sulking to ask. I casted a disgruntled look at him, not really feeling like giving him my life story.

"Ask your wonderful nephew," I answered sarcastically.

"Drewdon was something of a prodigy," Tobias said wistfully, "He was very smart as a human boy. I liked to visit my human family occasionally over the generations to see if anyone of my blood was worth turning. Drewdon was more like my great great great so on nephew… I visited him a few times in his childhood and while I was away some barbaric humans decided to play with fire and blinded him. By the time I came back, he was fully grown, homeless, blind, and pitiful. But of course, I made him something more…"

"More insane," I scoffed, though it did somewhat interest me to hear more of Drewdon's story. He was so reserved when I had met him; scary and mysterious. And here was his maker…

"You'll come around to our way of thinking, child," Tobias merely stated easily.

"I won't ever be behind enslaving humans. I was one not long ago. I have human family," I thought of my father, his aging face smiling but getting weak. "I won't willingly subject them to this world."

"But of course any humans you care for personally would be treated well," Tobias said, making a gesture as though to wipe away my silly thoughts. "You act as if you're the only one who cares somewhat for humans. They won't just be killed off and beaten. They'll just learn their place as lower being; maybe worship us and be treated comfortably."

"Like pets." I was suddenly hit by the memories of living with Evanen, stuck in his room for months as his own personal pet. Even though he knew nothing about humans and being human, he had claimed me as his and treated me nice enough most of the time. The fact remained; I was his prisoner, no matter the feelings that had emerged. He had killed my human friend, Kyler, removed me from my human life, and ultimately turned me into what I was. That was what awaited those humans that would be treated "nicely".

"They treat each other much worse. I rather think they want to be put down and enslaved," Tobias stated.

I glanced at him skeptically. "Yes. I'm sure they'll be happy to bend over and die for us."

"If you were smart," He suddenly snapped very uncharacteristically, "You would stop trying to be a hero and be a leader instead. You'd be the Queen, you know. The first of your kind; the true maker. You could make all the rules yourself." I noted how different it was to have this vampire trying to convince me to be on his side rather than scaring me. In fact, my heart held no fear for my own life. I wondered if all vampires had this lack of sense of mortality when they were turned.

"Perhaps I shall," I responded, near wistfully, before meeting his slightly confused look, "Make the rules, I mean. I'd start with the extermination of original vampires. Your kind would be nothing but competition for food, to be honest. And you guys do taste rather delicious in your own way…" Almost without thought, my fangs revealed themselves threateningly.

"Well, maybe we should start with your little lover boy," Tobias said, purposely trying to sound unconcerned but I could smell the fear that had followed my somewhat hidden threat. It was a curious smell and for some reason appetizing, like the aroma of bacon in the morning. I didn't respond for a moment.

"If you kill him, there will be nothing stopping me from destroying every last one of you vampires," I finally growled, moving my eyes towards the view outside the window. The speed of the vehicle was slow, almost excruciatingly so. I was so used to running at top speed with Jove. I already missed it.

"Then I guess we're lucky Silverstone betrayed the Council to help you after all," Tobias said triumphantly. "I always knew he'd leave their grasp. He was more of a free-thinker; wanting to do his own thing. Vampire rules were below him." I already knew about Jove's subconscious opinion regarding the importance of the Council. Even though he had been recruited and worked for them for decades, he never felt like he fully belonged to them. I wondered who would replace him.

Tobias began to say something else, but I quickly interrupted him. "I'd rather not talk to you anymore until further notice. If you continue, I'll be forced to make you believe you're mute for the rest of your life. Jove taught me a thing or two," I lied about the mind control thing being that I hadn't been taught that yet, but Tobias didn't know about that.

"As you wish," He merely responded, going into a deep silence next to me.

I kept my eyes outside at the scenery, watching each turn we took and remembering each land structure that would help me know where I was once I reached wherever we would be going. We drove at the slow pace into the night in silence, blissful but tense with vigilance towards each other's actions. It finally looked like we arrived to our destination until I realized it was a high security private airport. I glanced at Tobias which seemed to him as an invitation to talk again.

"We'll be taking a jet to the headquarters. Nothing but the best for our VIP guest," He told me with a smirk. I rolled my eyes but exited the vehicle and followed the group of captors to the indicated jet. It wasn't until I was seated and locked into my seat that I realized the other vampires in the jet had weapons aimed at me. I nearly scoffed.

"Exactly what are you guys planning on doing with those?" I asked sarcastically.

"Merely a precaution. We know you can't be harmed, but there's no reason why my men can't try to feel safer themselves," Tobias stated simply, sitting across from me. I glared at one vampire as he strapped my arms to the seat armrest with silly nylon straps. Anything with a thread count wouldn't be holding something like me down anytime soon.

It wasn't long before the jet was taking off and we were in the air, which was something in itself. I so badly wanted to stare out the window and feel the height and power of the whole world underneath me. But I pushed aside my new-vampire curiosity and focused on appearing as a statue.

"So, Hailence," Tobias interrupted my attempt annoyingly, "Would you like to know more about VaMoS?"

"What else is there to know? You're a bunch of vampires equal to the religious fanatical humans who want to destroy the world to make it more comfortable for yourselves," I stated sharply. The man just couldn't take a hint.

"Well, for one, we're not all about taking over the human world. We weren't always, at least. For the longest time, we were the society that help build organization throughout the vampire world. We combined families or nests as some people like to call them. The Draele's, for example… though that family was combined for a more specific reason as you well know," Tobias explained haughtily. He really did seem to think he could talk me into understanding and joining his society willingly? I only hated that my curious side listened aptly at every piece of information and wanted to know more.

"We donated funds towards helping newborns find their place in this human world, constantly offered our allegiance to the Council, located and protected other supernatural creatures such as witches and clairvoyants who then provide us with prophecies, which we collect."

"What other types of supernatural creatures are out there?" I asked curiously.

"That would be unknown information. We know of witches and werewolves, but we only ever keep in contact with the witches. Other creatures of the abnormal could exist, but we all tend to keep separate of each other just as we do of humans," Tobias explained with a small smile of triumph towards my curiosity. I was just stuck on the idea that there were other supernatural creatures beyond vampires.

Of course, I should have guessed it before, when the whole Key to Immortality started as a prophecy. Then again I guess I assumed it had been vampires who prophesized it, being as there are vampires like Jove who have unique abilities. But of course his ability was only an extension of regular vampire's abilities; the mind abilities that ranged from nonexistent to mind control to mind contact that even Mikel could do. It just stunned me that there were creatures like werewolves as well…

"What makes you think these other creatures would be happy to have a vampire-ruled world?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in scrutiny. Tobias only peered at me with calculating eyes.

"With the Key to Immorality and an army of new indestructible vampires, honestly what would they be able to do about it?"

I left the question unanswered, continuing the traveling in silence once again. At some point, I considered trying to contact Jove with our bond, but I worried he would do something stupid with the sun rising soon. Instead, I blocked him unlike ever before, feeling the ache of his absence even in my thoughts. As long as I checked in on the bond to see he was alive and unharmed, I would know I hadn't caused his death through my own decisions.

The jet began lowering quickly as we approached the headquarters to VaMoS. All the vampires within the jet began to tense up once again now that I would be moving, but I didn't shift at all as the jet landed smoothly. They removed my pointless bindings and indicated the direction I was to walk as I followed behind Tobias. We exited the jet onto a landing area which appeared to be an underground dome. The walls were lined in black steel, and the dome itself was armed with a group of vampires all ready to attack. Unlike the vampires in the rabbit hole, these looked well trained and well fed. I felt I should be able to take them all on, but some human part of me still doubted myself.

"This way, Miss Truit-" Tobias turned to look at me in mock hesitation, "-I meant Draele of course." Something within told me I should severely dislike sharing the same last name as this vile man, but I also despised the reminder of what I used to be. Perhaps I should have made up my own last name.

I was led towards some form of entrance which opened as we approached it. A glance at the top of the doors revealed a set of security cameras watching us. As I entered, my eyes trailed quickly and yet slowly over every detail within the headquarters. It was all solid steel; the walls, the doors, the floor. The entrance hall was bare of all except black steel walls, ceiling, and floor. And then it opened up into a large circular room that held a large statue of Tobias within the center. On his sleeve there was a symbol of a V that represented something of a fang and gave a dark ominous feel to his near shrine. The walls to the circular room were constantly checkered by more solid doors with cameras and there were a slew of vampires just walking about entering and exiting the doors silently.

"Welcome to the VaMoS Headquarters," Tobias said next to me.

Honestly, I expected more.