The Sentinels The First and the Second (second edition) Smashwords edition.doc

by The Sentinels- The First

  Gray smiled and nodded, looking happy with this decision, where he had looked unhappy about it before. So he had also thought taking Yoshihiro back to Alexi was unwise, but then why had he not voiced his opinion? All he had to do was say what he thought and what they were going to do, he was the leader after all, but for some reason he had remained silent. Harry wondered why, he was going to have to ask him once they got home.

  "Very well, but then what do we do about Alexi, Mom?" Gray asked turning to Isabel.

  Harry always found it amazing that even though Gray probably already had a game plan in his head, he still relied on other's thoughts and opinions not just his own. He didn't think himself above others, but he had always been this way. Even before they had gone through the change, Gray had not thrown his knowledge or weight around, even knowing he had an advantage. He had always listened to Jo and his Mother and truly taken their advice; he was truly a great man to follow.

  "I'd say we go to Alexi and explain the situation, if he insists on keeping Yoshihiro then we will have to make him understand that is just not plausible," Isabel suggested; Gray nodded his head pensively then spoke to the room again.

  "The only problem is that Alexi has made a deal with the Kumasegawa family, to protect them in exchange for Yoshihiro. Though I do not agree with this type of trade, I find it entirely despicable. I would really like to express my displeasure and utter disgust with this arrangement to both parties. Unfortunately, I have no say in the matter when everyone involved has agreed to this exchange. Even Yoshihiro seems happy with this arrangement, although in his case it is probably due to programming," Gray said pensively then he turned to Yoshihiro.

  Harry watched as Gray turned toward Yoshihiro and looked into his eyes searchingly; he knew what Gray was doing, he was reading him. From his still returning memories, he knew Gray had never liked to invade a person's private thoughts and delve into their minds, but sometimes it was a necessity. Especially being what they were and what their true purpose was.

  Instead of asking Yoshihiro how and what Alexi had done to him, he preferred to get the information straight from the source. Harry saw as Gray's face became slowly more hard, cold, and angry. What was he seeing that was making him look murderous?

  After a minute, Gray released Yoshihiro with a look that spoke volumes to his true state of emotions. Grayson Phillips looked like he was preparing himself for passing a judgment on someone. He'd never liked that particular part of their job, but what had to be done, had to be done.

  Harry promptly delved into Yoshihiro's mind, they had neither the need to touch nor look into a person's eyes to do so but Gray liked the connection it produced, and the fact that doing it that way put people more at ease with it. Harry knew this, but at the current moment, he didn't much care about Yoshihiro's peace of mind.

  What he saw made him gasp, Alexi was the lowest of the low, he had not just Yoshihiro as a sex toy, but 168 different boys and girls varying in ages from 7 to Yoshihiro's 21. Worse was the fact that he did not refrain from sexual activities with them, Yoshihiro's first sexual experience had indeed been when he was merely 7 years old.

  He had been deathly afraid and had screamed in pain the whole time which had only made Alexi smile. What made matters worse was that the despicable piece of shit had loaned the boys out to his guests for favors. He did not care for their well-being or if they wanted to or not. He forced them to do what he wanted and then discarded them when he had no more desire or need for them.

  Harry turned and ran for the toilet, vomiting into the toilet as his breakfast made its way back up. That fucking son of bitch! How could he do that to a child, to anyone? It was not only unacceptable, it was something that had to be dealt with immediately.

  As Harry came out of the stall, he saw Gray looking even more angry than he had a minute ago. If there was one thing Gray hated it was bullies, he always had and Harry believed he always would, no matter the incarnation they were in at the time.

  Gray turned to his Mother and closed his eyes as he grabbed her hand and Isabel gasped as Harry realized he was sharing the information he had gathered from Yoshihiro's mind with her. Isabel's reaction was the same as Harry's, she dashed for the stall and they could all hear her retching.

  "Kumasegawa-sama, I apologize in advance for the lack of protection your family will suffer. Although they have made the bed they lie in, still I cannot let Alexi continue comporting himself the way he has been. What he is doing is unacceptable and I will not forgive it. Please inform your brother he will have to find his protection elsewhere from this moment forward." Gray said with finality.

  He turned to Harry and Isabel and spoke in barely disguised rage, Gray was more angry than when John had shot at him in Isabel and Kenneth's bedroom.

  "Mom, Harry, if you are ready we will be paying a visit to Alexi now; Kumasegawa-sama, please go back to your staff and let them know this situation has been dealt with. Contact your brother and let him know we will be taking Yoshihiro from this moment forward." Gray said, leaving no room for argument.

  Then he turned to face Mr. Kumasegawa and looked him in the eyes with a fierce look. Mr. Kumasegawa appeared to cower slightly, but it appeared pride made him straighten his spine and face Gray with courage.

  "And I will say this only once Kumasegawa-sama, if I find out he has done what he did to Yoshihiro to any of his other children, I will be the one he will be answering to. Believe me when I tell you, there will not be any protection from me if I decide he must be judged," Gray said in a dark and dangerous voice.

  Mr. Kumasegawa nodded his head and swallowed loudly, he would follow Gray's orders to the letter Harry had no doubt about that. Whether it was the mental push Gray gave him to follow his orders or the fact that Gray was exuding a furious and intimidating aura, Harry didn't know. However, Mr. Kumasegawa was not a stupid man, and it seemed he understood Gray was not someone to ignore or disobey when he gave a direct order.

  "Very well, I will do as you ask Grayson-san, but I know my brother will not be happy; I told him from the beginning that it was not wise to get involved with Alexi. If you plan on fighting against Alexi, I would like to offer whatever help I can. I feel sick each time I am in his presence, he disgusts me to no end, but I am not powerful enough or strong enough to win against him. But I would like nothing more than to see him fall and be dealt with properly and permanently," Mr. Kumasegawa said with anger in his own voice, to which Gray nodded his head in understanding.

  "Good, then we will be going now, thank you for the opportunity you have given Harry and myself. We will be in contact, and if you wish to communicate with Yoshihiro, you are welcome to at any time," Gray said and turned Harry, Isabel, and Yoshihiro.

  "Let's go," Gray said without any question to his tone.

  Harry could tell he was not in a mood to be argued with or questioned; his mood had shifted as soon as he had seen the horrible and unforgivable things Alexi had done to all those children. Yoshihiro made a small scared sound at the back of his throat and everyone turned to look at him, even Mr. Kumasegawa, who had his hand on the door to leave.

  Yoshihiro no longer looked pompous or snobbish, he looked afraid, deathly afraid. What was he so scared of, Alexi? Didn't he realize by now there was no way Alexi would be able to beat them?

  "Yoshihiro, none of us will let Alexi harm you, or are you not afraid for that reason?" Gray asked him quietly.

  Yoshihiro looked at Grayson with fear in his eyes and began to tremble.

  "Alexi will be very angry with me when he sees I am the one that let you in, he will not be pleased at all. Isn't there another way? Can't I just go with you and hope he doesn't come after us?" Yoshihiro asked, turning first to Isabel then to Harry with pleading eyes.

  The fear in his eyes spoke volumes to his character, his act from earlier had been just that, an act. He seemed to fear Alexi above all else, and that fact angered Harry to no end. Though he had wanted to beat the young Vampire hybrid to a pulp before for dari
ng to come on to Gray, he no longer felt that desire. The way Alexi had treated Yoshihiro and the things Alexi had done to him, explained Yoshihiro's attitude now. He had been beaten and tortured as a child until he submitted to the much more powerful Alexi.

  Yoshihiro had been a child of age 7 with a happy and outgoing personality, but that had all changed when he met Alexi. Alexi had brutally raped him and then sent home as if it never happened. When he'd arrived home his Father had informed him that his life was no longer his own and that at the age of 12 he would go live with Alexi and belong to him. He had cried every night for almost six months straight. Every night until the age of 12 he had dreaded the following day because that brought him closer to the age of 12 when he would no longer have a say in anything he did.

  Yoshihiro had still been defiant when his Father had given him to Alexi as if he were nothing more than property to be gifted. However, Alexi had not let his defiance last, he'd tortured him in every way imaginable, except he never let any marks that anyone could see. He'd told Yoshihiro that he no longer had a choice in anything he did, he had only one obligation, to follow Alexi every command.

  Yet Yoshihiro had not given in for over a year, suffering the torture Alexi inflicted on him without breaking. From what Harry had seen Yoshihiro had not so much broken as made the decision to comply with Alexi’s orders and commands. He'd reached his limit with regard to the torture, knowing his body couldn't take much more, and had given in to Alexi’s demands.

  However, a deep seeded fear had formed of the powerful Vampire, knowing that if he disobeyed Alexi, he would not be tortured next time. Alexi would simply dispose of him as he did all the boys that he no longer had any use for, and Alexi didn't simply send them home, oh no, he drank them dry and discarded their bodies like yesterday's trash.

  Though he had seen some truly horrible things in all his lives, at least that he could remember, this had to be one of the most disturbing that he could recall. How any of their Sentinels could let this shit fly he didn’t know. Why hadn't anyone done something about this bastard?! Alexi should not have been allowed to get this far in his disturbing perverted fetish.

  Harry looked into the pleading eyes of Yoshihiro and sighed then gently hugged him, rubbing his back in circles and trying to sooth the distraught hybrid.

  "Yoshihiro, I promise you this, Alexi will never hurt you again, but there is no other way around it, Alexi must be dealt with, now. Any other time, I might be convinced to agree with you, but this is not one of those times. Alexi will be dealt with, and I will not let anything but the full extent of our judgment be passed on him. Grayson, he isn't getting off, either you do it or I will," Harry said with finality, looking Gray in the eyes.

  There was no part of Gray that gave any of his thoughts away, but Harry knew him well and he knew there was no way Gray was letting Alexi get away with anything, he planned on dispelling him permanently. Gray simply slid his hands into his pockets and let out a heavy sigh then he turned to Mr. Kumasegawa.

  "Kumasegawa-sama, have you ever heard of a Sentinel?" Gray asked.

  Harry frowned, why was he telling him about Sentinels? Hadn't he already decided it was too dangerous for the man to know? Yet, he knew if Gray was telling him, he had a reason, he was definitely Isabel's child, always thinking ahead. Harry trusted his judgment, especially since he knew Gray was a damn good strategist himself.

  "Of course, who doesn't know what a sentinel is, it's a guard or soldier. Why do you ask?" Mr. Kumasegawa asked curiously.

  "I am not referring to a regular sentinel; I am referring to the mythical creature called a Sentinel. Have you ever heard of a supernatural being that is called a Sentinel?" Gray asked again. Mr. Kumasegawa frowned as he shook his head, looking confused.

  "Sentinels are beings that the Goddess Gaia and all the Gods created to do what the name implies, guard. They guard and protect all beings of this earth, passing judgment when judgment is due. They are the ultimate police of the universe and as such keep the order in all the worlds under the Sentinel council, which is to say all worlds in our universe are protected by Sentinels," Gray said, pausing as he gazed at Mr. Kumasegawa, gauging his response, he still looked confused by Gray's words, so Gray continued.

  "Sentinels are judge, jury, and executioner; these beings are nearly indestructible although there are some ways to dispatch them. That said, if you face off a Vampire against a Sentinel, the Sentinel would always win. The exception would be a Vampire-Sentinel hybrid, stronger than any Vampire and almost as strong as one of the stronger Sentinels, the reason being that they feed off of the Sentinel that changed them. A Sentinel's blood is a very powerful and dangerous thing Kumasegawa-sama. It cannot only change the person into a Sentinel, but if given too much it can kill the person taking the blood," Gray said.

  Mr. Kumasegawa still looked slightly confused, though he seemed to be putting two and two together. Had he figured out that they were Sentinels yet?

  "Very well, but what is the reason behind this explanation?" Mr. Kumasegawa asked.

  On the other hand, maybe not, Harry had thought the look on his face gave away the fact that he had caught on, but that did not seemed to be the case. Gray looked at Mr. Kumasegawa and studied him for a moment then grinned.

  "Kumasegawa-sama, you are quite an intelligent man, so I doubt you have missed a few key points; the most notable one being that neither Harry, nor I are trying to rip your throat out from the thirst that rages inside of a newborn Vampire. Seeing as Yoshihiro has told us you were the first one he drank from, you must have a small understanding of what happens when they first turn. Kumasegawa-sama, do you understand where I am going with this conversation?" Gray asked him with a small smile on his lips.

  Mr. Kumasegawa looked from Isabel to Harry, to Yoshihiro, and finally up at Gray studiously, a hard expression on his face.

  "You are all Sentinels; this is what you are saying, but why tell me about this now, did you not refuse to tell me a few minutes ago about what you are?" Mr. Kumasegawa asked, still looking confused. Gray once again smiled and nodded his head slightly.

  "Though it may not seem apparent just yet Mr. Kumasegawa-sama, there is a reason for my disclosure to you. Harry and I are not your average Sentinels Kumasegawa-sama; you could say we are of a higher rank. Neither Harry nor I are easily beaten, and unless Alexi is a very incompetent Vampire, I highly doubt he has not heard of a Sentinel," Gray said.

  Harry looked from one to the other and he thought he could see where Gray was going with this.

  "Now, part of the reason I am telling you this is that I need your help; I need you to tell me everything you remember of Alexi, especially from when you first visited him. To have the favor of the Vampire King is no easy feat, and the fact that you say even the King is afraid of Alexi leads me to believe he has something on the King, for the King is not a pushover. The King is the King because he is the strongest, so there is something else going on here. I have a plan, and it does involve the Vampire King as well as you."

  Gray grinned widely at Mr. Kumasegawa, who had gone slightly pale; Harry thought he was getting the picture. Gray couldn't really ask Yoshihiro for the information; one; because he had been so small, his perception of things would not be the same as an adult's; and two; because of Yoshihiro's state of mind at the time, things would have appeared different to him.

  Not to mention the fact that most Vampire masters tended to have a barrier around their servants minds, so that they could not divulge vital information to someone else; Harry had no doubt that Alexi had done this with all his slaves, including Yoshihiro, since some of his memories had looked like they were altered.

  "So what is this plan you have?" Mr. Kumasegawa asked.

  Harry watched Gray as he smiled widely and turned to look at him and Isabel then he began to explain his plan to them.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Grayson looked intently at the four faces that looked back at him and grinned to himself after he explained his plan.
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  "So will you help me Mr. Kumasegawa-sama?" Grayson asked him. Mr. Kumasegawa nodded and stood still as Grayson delved into his mind, retrieving the information he needed.

  He would not be asking Mr. Kumasegawa for more help, he felt it was only right to let the only person that seemed to care for Yoshihiro know what Yoshihiro had become.

  Grayson's plan wasn't really that big of a plan, it consisted of them going to speak with the King. It had been a while since he'd seen him, Grayson wondered if he would be receptive to their visit. Harry, he, and the King had been close over 7,000 years ago, and they'd all remained close for over 2,000 years, but things changed.

  The last time he had spent time with the Vampire King, he had gone by the name Amarantos, Grayson wondered if he still went by the same name. Since it had been 5,000 years ago, he highly doubted it would remain the same, but that wasn't what mattered at the moment. Curiosity won out, and he searched for their old friend; he now went by Eilif and he made his home in Greenland.

  Grayson planned on being upfront about his request, and just come out and ask him what Alexi had on him that he would allow him to act in such a manner. Even to vampires, Alexi’s habits were despicable and unforgivable. Vampires considered themselves above many others; in general, Vampires considered themselves part of high society.

  To allow Alexi to do something like this was unheard of because they held themselves to a higher standard than the rest of the beings of Earth. The whole species would consider Alexi’s actions an embarrassment and a dishonor to all Vampires. If there was something vampires hated it was dishonor, their honor was of the utmost importance to them.

  Of course, though Grayson considered his honor to be of vital importance, he didn't think anyone was above anyone else, at least not in his book, not even he or Harry were better than others.