The day finally arrived. Gavner and Darren prepared to leave vampire mountain. Larten stayed with Darren while he prepared, reminding him of things he needed and helping him pack the few things he was bringing with him.

Darren packed his post cards and a few vials of blood into a small bag.

"Be sure to keep refilling those vials," Larten reminded him. "They can save your life if you are in a dry spell."

Darren nodded. "I will."

"Remember," Larten continued, "We cannot drink from cats or dogs. And you should stay away from-"

"Snakes, monkeys, and frogs," Darren finished, smirking slightly at his father's nagging.

"There are other animals you should not drink from as well. If you are ever unsure, ask Gavner."

Darren nodded again, tied his bag, and left to say his goodbyes. He went to Kaleb's room first.

"So you're really doing this!" Kaleb said excitedly.

"I really am!" Darren replied happily. "Gavner is going to mentor me until he has to report back here, and after that, I'm on my own!" Darren was grinning ear-to-ear.

"Are you scared?" Kaleb asked.

"Not at all," Darren answered. "I am definitely ready for this!"

Darren went to the gaming hall to say goodbye to Vanez, who only reminded him to keep his senses sharp.

"Don't think you are getting out of a test when you return," he said with a wink of his good eye.

Petra, the vampire Darren worked under in the kitchens said goodbye and told him that he would always have a place in the kitchens if he ever needed it.

A few of the guards he knew came to wish him luck on his journey. One joked that this must have just been to get out of Vanez's training and Darren laughed.

Even the Princes at the mountain said their goodbyes as well.

Kurda told Darren to wait as he and Gavner prepared to leave and ran off. He came back with a rolled-up piece of paper and handed it to Darren.

"Take this with you," he said. "It is a map I made for you. It has your favorite cities from your postcards marked."

Darren opened the map and gasped. It wasn't an elaborate map. It covered most of Europe – this was where most of Darren's favorite cities were – with red stars next to the selected cities. Nothing else was marked, but it was intricately decorated with added details. He had drawn waves on the bodies of water and etchings of mountain ranges and forests. Even the compass rose was drawn with detailed ornaments that made it clear the Kurda spent a lot of time on it. "Sire, this is beautiful. Thank you so much."

Paris hugged Darren goodbye and gave him advice,

"Be careful with who you trust," he urged. "Humans have different values from vampires."

"That is true," Kurda added. "You never know what even the nicest person could have hidden beneath the surface."

Darren nodded. "Thank you, Sire." He packed the map away in his bag and him and Gavner began to leave the mountain.

Larten walked them to the edge of the mountain. As they reached the tunnel opening, they stopped. Larten and Darren hugged goodbye. They stayed that way for a while. When they finally pulled apart, Larten reminded him,

"Do not forget about using your breath when feeding. You will need it."

"I know," Darren told him.

"Stay away from cameras," he added.

"Yes, I know," Darren said again.

"And-"

"Dad!" Darren interrupted.

Larten took a step back. "Sorry." He cleared his throat, then spoke in his usual stern manner, "I am sure you will do just fine. Good luck to you both."

Darren smiled. "I'll be back for next council," Darren said. He joked, "You only get 10 years away from me."

Gavner patted Darren on the back. "We should be off then!"

Then, they left.

Darren was slow at the start. He had never made a trip to or from vampire mountain so he wasn't acclimated to the harsh demands. However, he adjusted quickly and never complained. As they traveled, Gavner taught Darren about hunting. He was surprised how quickly Darren picked up on it. He also started telling Darren about how humans live in the modern world.

There were several things Darren could not wrap his mind around.

"Wait," he said once when Gavner tried explaining some of their holidays. "humans worship a rabbit?"

Gavner replied, "Not worship… it is just their custom to believe that a rabbit delivers painted eggs to their homes."

"You said Easter was a religious holiday," Darren said. "What religion involves rabbits?"

Gavner laughed, "The rabbit has nothing to do with the religion. I don't know how that tradition started. You will find that a lot of traditions are like that."

Darren didn't understand why humans had so many holidays and celebrations and he had very little interest in them. He did, however, seem fascinated by Christmas. He found the idea of silver decorations in the streets and celebratory songs intriguing and looked forward to the December months where he could witness the festivals in person.

Gavner had three missions he needed to complete in the following months. He needed to check on three different generals that had gone missing 4 months ago.

"Normally," Gavner explained, "when we stop receiving responses from generals telepathically, we assume they've died and let it be."

"So why are we investigating this time?" Darren asked.

"Because these generals are still alive," Gavner said. "We can still find them telepathically. They just haven't been responding to any telepathic messages."

"Why not?" Darren asked.

"That's what we need to find out."

The first general they were checking on was named Johan. He was located a few miles outside of London. Gavner was telepathically communicating with one of the princes back in vampire mountain. The prince was using the Stone of Blood to locate the vampire in question, then communicating directions to Gavner. When Darren and Gavner found Johan, he was hiding out in the sewers beneath the streets.

He seemed overjoyed to see them. He had a leg nearly severed in a battle. It looked like it was healing nicely, but that was why he had not returned to vampire mountain.

"Why didn't you send out a message to the Princes or another general?" Gavner asked.

"I did," Johan responded. "I tried. I did for weeks, but I received no answer. Then, I got messages from the Princes asking where I was and I realized that, for whatever reason, they weren't getting any of my telepathic messages. Nobody was. I was planning on heading to vampire mountain as soon as I was healed."

Gavner looked concerned. "That's strange. Are you sure you sent out the messages? You didn't just think you did?"

"I sent them," Johan urged. "Please, when you go back to vampire mountain, tell them what happened. I should be alright enough to make the journey in a month."

Gavner agreed to pass on the message and he and Darren left.

The next vampire was named Aero. Gavner found him hiding out in the countryside of Germany. When Gavner and Darren reached him, he also was in bad shape.

"I was on my way back to vampire mountain when I came across a group of vampire hunters," he said while rebandaging a deep gash in his shoulder. "They ambushed me around midday and I had to flit through the sun for an hour to get away from them."

"An hour?" Gavner asked. "Humans shouldn't be able to follow a vampire for longer than a few minutes if they're flitting. How did they follow you?"

"I'm not sure," Areo answered. "But every time I stopped flitting, within an hour they would be there. When I did flit though, it was like they were expecting it and they obviously knew how to track a vampire when they flitted. I've come across other vampires who had a similar problem with hunters."

Gavner thought a moment, then responded, "Vampires hunters were never more than a minor annoyance. We never pay that much attention o them, but if they are learning more about vampires and getting smarter, we may need to be more careful."

Aero nodded. "It seems that way. I tried sending a message to the princes and some other vampires in the area to warn them, but I received no reply.

"We haven't been getting any messages from you," Gavner said. "That's why we've come. Have you not gotten any messages from the Princes?"

Aero shook his head. "None."

Gavner looked over to Darren who shared the same concerned look on his face as the one on Gavner's.

Turning back to Aero, Gavner said, "It may be a good idea to lay low for a while until you're healed, then head back to the mountain. I don't like this at all."

"What could be stopping the messages from coming through?" Darren asked, unable to stop himself.

Gavner shook his head. "I don't know, but I have a feeling Yanish has been having a similar problem." Yanish was the name of the third General Gavner was assigned to check on.

"Who are you?" Aero asked, looking at Darren.

"My name is Darren Crepsley."

Aero's eyes widened. "The boy in the snow!"

Darren shrugged and smiled. "That's me."

Aero nodded approvingly. "If I were in better condition, I would challenge you to a fight. I know many vampires who are eager to test how the famous vampire child would fare."

Darren shrugged again. "I'm really just a normal vampire."

Aero nodded and turned back to Gavner. "Did I hear you say something about another vampire have telepathy problems as well?"

"There are three vampire generals who the princes have lost contact with," Gavner said, "you are the second vampire we saw."

Aero looked worried. "I will head back to the mountain within the next few months if the luck of the vampires is with me."

Gavner and Aero wished each other luck and left to find the final vampire. According to the Stone of Blood, the final vampire, Yanish, was in Finland.

"He's almost all the way back to the mountain," Darren commented, as they flit across the country.

Gavner explained, "He's moved a lot over the months, following no clear path. Right now he is-"

Suddenly, he stopped and slowed down quickly until he was stopped. Darren had to double back to him.

"What happened?" Darren asked.

Gavner looked straight ahead. "Yanish is dead."

Darren stared at the General.

"The Princes just told me they lost all connection to Yanish. It's clear what that means."

"He might not be dead," Darren said, getting Gavner's attention. The General looked at Darren, perplexed. Darren continued, "If something is happening to vampire's telepathy, then maybe that has something to do with this."

Gavner nodded. "That is a good point. He was last detected in Oulu, Finland. We will look for him there."

It didn't take long to get to Yanish's location. They looked miles around where Kurda had directed them, and they each split up to look for Yanish – or Yanish's body! However, after hours of searching, Gavner had no luck finding Yanish.

Gavner returned to the spot where he and Darren agreed to meet. He sent out a message to Darren,

Come back to the clearing. I don't think we'll find Yanish here.

For a moment, there was no response. Then, Darren sent back,

Gavner come here! Right now!

Gavner quickly searched for Darren's signal and followed it back into the forest. When he caught up with Darren, he was staring at a tree in front of him. Gavner had to move next to Darren to see what he was looking at, then he saw.

The tree had a rope tied to one of it's lower branches and swinging from it was who Gavner and Darren assumed was Yanish.

Darren looked horrified and pale and it occurred to Gavner that this was probably the first time Darren ever witnessed a corpse. What Gavner didn't realize was that Darren, upon closer inspection, recognized the deceased General. It was a faint memory. Darren remembered being barely old enough to reach his father's waist height when this General named Yanish earned the title "of the Howl" at his first ever Council. Gavner stepped forward to examine the body. Yanish was hanging by his neck and there was a pool of blood beneath him.

"Well," he said, still examining the former General, "he didn't hang himself."

Darren snapped out of his shock and took a few steps closer. "Then what happened?"

"Vampire hunters," Gavner said certainly. "A vampire or vampaneze wouldn't leave their dead opponent hanging from a tree."

"Unless it was an enemy," Darren pointed out. "A vampire or vampaneze who wanted revenge for something."

Gavner shook his head. He reached out toward the swaying figure and pulled open his jacket. "Look at those."

Darren leaned in and saw several small holes in the body's chest where the blood must have all leaked out. "Bullet holes?" he asked.

Gavner nodded. "That must be why he was traveling so quickly and so sporadically. He was being trailed by vampire hunters."

"So," Darren hesitated, "what do we do now?"

"We will give him a burial. These forests are so dense, it is unlikely his grave will be disturbed."

Gavner and Darren each made the death's touch sign and began to get Yanish out of the tree. As they pulled him down, something fell out of his hand and onto the ground. Darren bent down to grab it. It was a folded, slightly bloody, sheet of paper.

"Gavner," Darren said, unfolding it, "look at this."

"Read what it says," Gavner said as he started digging.

Darren finished unfolding the bloody paper and saw scrawled handwriting across it showing only three words. "'Leave us alone.'" Darren read.

They exchanged a perplexed look and Darren shoved the note in his pocket before helping Gavner dig a grave for their deceased comrade.

After that was done, Gavner took the note from Darren to show the Princes. Darren still looked shaken, but was trying to hide it.

Gavner said, "I need to report this to the Princes. Would you like to come back to Vampire Mountain with me?"

Darren almost considered saying yes. Although it had only been three months, he was feeling homesick. He missed his father especially. However, he knew going back would make him look like a coward. He fought so long for the opportunity to get out of the mountain so he was determined not to turn back so soon.

"No," Darren replied. "I'm ready to go off on my own."

Gavner nodded. "Well, then be careful. Avoid vampire hunters and hide yourself well."

Gavner turned to leave. "Good luck Darren!" He started jogging, then running and eventually flitted out of sight.

Darren was alone.