Damage Control

by Eric Alan Williams

  "My son, a monster hunter?"

  "I guess it runs in the family."

  Cecilia sat down. "We have to get him out of there. People die…"

  Peggy scoffed. "First off, yes, I agree, and I also disagree."

  "Excuse me?" Cecilia asked.

  Peggy looked at her. "Enlisting in the service of any kind is an extraordinary thing, so that part I honor, but Immortium cannot be pardoned from a tour duty. It isn't like they can claim a medical or mental discharge based on Immortium biology. Only the throne has that power to release someone and well..." She pointed at Sara. "Sara, I didn't come here to just let you know about Xairin. You have grand alpha abilities, I know you're a grand alpha, you could contend with anyone who would challenge you if you came forward and if you don't your grandson may have to…"

  Peggy approached Sara. "I know you have some kill list. But most of the ones you want dead are already Conclave, so why not come out of hiding and claim your place at your mother's side? I can't force you, you're my maker, but if you don't there is far more at stake here than your little list of targets…"

  Cecilia looked at Peggy. "Does he know, Xairin? Does he know?"

  "He knows he is the great-grandson of Lilith and Dracula, yes."

  "No, I mean, does he know about me being alive?"

  She shrugged. "Xairin knows that Sara may still be alive."

  "Let me get this straight? My nephew, is really a full vampire?" Vaughn asked. "And all it takes is a bat bite, and I could be a pureblood? An eligible heir?"

  Vaughn took his shirt off and exposed his right shoulder, he too had the crescent moon birthmark.

  Sara scoffed. "Put your shirt back on, we are not…"

  Cecilia's eyes were watering more. She had to interrupt her mother. "Mom if you don't do something then my son…" She shuddered. "You know what will happen if he is challenged. He won't be strong enough to take on a Grand Alpha in combat. Would he?" She looked at Peggy.

  "Xairin's a delta and a unique one at that. Whatever that bat bite did to him, he could be more vampire than any of us given he was a dhampling before he was converted. He is a delta though… The vampire bat that bit him is still out there somewhere, plus he formed the greater blood pact with Ethan to keep from evolving and so Ethan could keep a better tab on him. Also allowing Justin and me the ability to find him if we had to."

  "Where is he now?" Cecilia asked with a quivering voice.

  "On his first tour. Being a house Alpha, I have the right to check up on housemates. Xairin whizzed past his training requirements to join one of the teams in half the time it takes most of the others."

  Sara sighed. "Do you know what team?"

  She nodded. "Your grandson is on one of the damage control teams. Team two hundred and three. Ethan managed to pull some strings to get him on a team with at least one of our housemates, a beta vampire named Griffin. He's keeping Xairin close to him."

  Vaughn could tell by the sound of the woman's voice that there was a, but, in there somewhere. "What else?"

  Peggy looked at Vaughn, then Sara, seemingly overlooking Cecilia this time. "Helena Dolenigan is the team Commander, a Dracul, so, if Xairin demonstrates any above par abilities, and given the fact that Dracula is your father, Sara, this commander could sense Xairin and pull from him easily in his delta stage. She would know everything there is about him, just as I pulled from him the day he left for training."

  Vaughn spoke loudly. "I've never met my nephew! He is family!" He looked at his mother. "You keep going on and on about us being safe, staying together, right? Does that just extend to us? Or do we just exclude the one you talked my sister into leaving behind because you thought it would be for the fucking best?!"

  Sara was drawing her lips inward puckering them while fighting an emotional response. She looked at her son and growled. "I thought it would keep him safe Vaughn. Why the hell do you think we have been killing off anyone that could even possibly identify Cecilia or me? It was the plan to find him once it was safe to come out of hiding."

  Vaughn hissed. "I guess the plan didn't go as you thought then huh mom?"

  Vaughn stormed off.

  Peggy felt awkward. Cecilia was looking at her mother. The two redheads locked eyes. Cecilia, if she could growl like a vampire, she would have. "Mom, do something! Please? Do something?"

  Cecilia began sobbing again. "You made me leave him behind mom. I could have taken him with us when we staged the funeral. He is the only child I have left mom. I've lost my husband, Rileigh and Scott... He is all I have left of them. He is all I have left of my husband, Draven. Please, do something?"

  Cecilia walked off, crying, holding her face with her palms.

  Sara stepped forward, trying to put her hand on her daughter's shoulder but wasn't fast enough. The vampire stood there, contemplating. After a few moments, she turned to her old friend Peggy. "How large is Ethan's House now?"

  Peggy looked at her. "We just expanded. Right after Xairin left, we had to take in more infected freshly infected and displaced. We are up to two hundred and twenty-seven belonging to our particular nest."

  "Are most of them of my blood?"

  Peggy shrugged. "Over a hundred yes, but the others, we have had to take in several infected by the bats. Ethan has been expanding the nest with underground chamber additions for weeks now. I hired two additional crews to help expand underground tunnels to add more living spaces that were just completed. They each have formed the blood pact though."

  Peggy looked at her. "Why do you ask?"

  Sara looked at her. "Make sure they're pulling from your fighters and training."

  Sara sighed. "If I am coming out of the bat-cave, then I want my own little army at the ready…"

  Peggy's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

  Sara nodded. "I have to speak to my husband, Peggy. He and I need to have some personal time together. I know where Ethan's Mansion is. I will be there after a few things are settled here."

  Chapter 17

  Evette Dolenigan was overlooking the vineyard as the warm night began to become breezy, blowing the woman's jet-black hair. Her cropped top twenties hairstyle couldn't hold against the warm air's gentle caress.

  Evette was the youngest of the three Dolenigan sisters. She was seventeen when she was turned by Vlad. Unlike her two older sisters, her dark hair contrasted against their white and blond hair, along with her skin being the palest of the three. Evette was like Helena, she was skilled in combat, mostly hand to hand techniques. She was also like her sister Lulia in that she too delighted in competing in the political arena, making her a prime choice to oversee House Dracul while Lulia tended to the Society. The appointment had Lucy Westenra in a tizzy.

  The entire House had gathered, including all of the alphas that had branched off over the years. More than five hundred alpha vampires had been summoned from across the globe that was descendants of House Dracul. Evette had put on a lavish party for the occasion. Every vampire within House Dracul was chosen to be what they were. Not a single newblood, those bitten by the bats, existed within the nest and the many branches that had come from it. Though that was about to change due to Society rulings. Each one present that was chosen was chosen for two factors, their ability to fight, and their affinities for politics. One of several reasons Lilith desired House Dracul in the first place...

  The meek looking vampire was shorter than her two older siblings. Evette stood at five six, which often caused previous challengers to mistake the vampiress's power. A mistake that the youthful-looking vamp delighted in. Tonight, she was dressed for the part, wearing a glittering black dress that barely covered her, she did like flaunting her beauty…

  "Attention?" She called out from a balcony overlooking a party below. Each of the vampires was well dressed, having glasses filled with a succulent delight of fresh blood that had been supplied by unwilling donors. Vampire hunters that had challenged Evette outright in the past often didn't get the chance to die but serve as enthralled
pets and blood cattle. The luckier ones, she would turn, making them become the thing they hated most. Having full control over her spawn, they had little choice but to obey. These specific vampires that were once hunters, now guarded the thing they despised. Dracula tolerated Evette's ideology, though he often would verbally protest it.

  Evette was watching the guards take point as the rest of those in attendance paid her homage.

  "As many of you know, our Lord, Lord Dracul, was taken. Tonight, I am pleased to inform everyone that our maker has been found and rescued from the clutches of our enemies."

  There was a cheer from the crowd. Evette stood there proudly waiting for the cheering to die down.

  "There is more!"

  Each of the well-dressed vampires looked upon the woman with a curious expression. Many had subtle discussions while they waited for her echoing voice to carry outward.

  "As many of you well know, Dracula took Lilith for a mate years ago…"

  There was a murmur of discontent among the many beneath her. Most felt that it should have been one of the ones referred to as the Brides.

  Waiting patiently, the woman stood there until that died down. "What none of us knew was that Dracula's daughter may still be alive!"

  That triggered some gasps.

  Evette put her hands on her hips as she overlooked the crowd. "MORE SO! Dracula's daughter, we have discovered, to have had children. A grandchild, a living grandchild, has been not only discovered but as we speak is right alongside Helena! AN HEIR TO OUR HOUSE, LILITH'S! AND THE THRONE!"

  Gasps and gulps of excitement flowed through the eager crowd of battle-ready aristocrats. Many already knew what this could mean. Evette continued. She spoke fluently with her hands in a dainty manner. "The heir that has been verified is a delta, which I assume that many of you realize what that could mean if he is challenged for the throne of the Society of Night? I have no doubt that our Lord will wish to keep his grandson safe at all costs. I have summoned each of you here tonight because knowing our Lord as I do, he will want every branch of his mighty House ready for any house that would challenge his grandson's rightful place in Lilith's throne… The Queen of the Night has yet to be found…"

  Evette looked down at everyone watching and listening to her. Her blue eyes transcended to black, her nosferatu fangs glistened. She growled out the words. "Make your houses ready and do not doddle around. I expect Lord Dracul to be summoning all of us here soon enough, once of course he has been released from being evaluated by the medical teams stationed outside of Prague."

  "I suspect he will be taken to Tenebris Island to be debriefed by the council. After that my lovelies, be ready…"

  She looked at her hand rather haughty like, looking at her jewels, then looked down below while rolling her eyes. "Also, Society mandates will be forcing each alpha registered with the Society to begin taking in newbloods, we knew this mandate would come, so I wish to hear no bellyaching about it. Go… You have your orders…"

  Evette turned from the balcony and walked back inside the mansion.

  Evette was always the type that wished to stay ahead of any curveball that could be thrown her way. She knew after speaking with her sister Lulia, and then Helena that she had to prepare House Dracul for more than just their founder's safe return, but what laid ahead of House Dracul and the Society that Dracula himself decided had merit and value. Despite her personal pet peeves with humans, she knew it was the right thing. They outnumbered Immortium vastly, even with all their powers, all it would take is their silver weapons to be the undoing of every species of immortal. Evette was just thankful she was allowed to keep her pets…

  _____

  Evette wasn't the only one gathering a house of vampires together. Kat Ross, aka, Cathubodua, had arrived at Trevor Graves private island. She had sent out an alert to her bite siblings to return home while Trevor had sent out a request to every vampire alpha that had been spawned over the years by Lilith's brood.

  Trevor's request had one thousand and four alphas on their way to his residence.

  Trevor and his bite sister Kat had just come out of the slip when they were receiving a holo-call from Ammuru. The old Cappadocian nosferatu appeared on the viewer displaying from a console in the cockpit. Trevor pressed the button to play the feed. "Amurru?"

  The Nosferatu's features began to wane into his more handsome attributes. The neatly groomed dark-haired man nodded. "I was wondering when you two would get this?"

  Kat shrugged. "We were in the slip; you know transmissions can't be received there?"

  Trevor smirked. "What is it?"

  "Several of your guests have arrived as you requested. I have to admit, I am having a difficult time dealing with your sister Camilla, she is rather bossy."

  Trevor laughed. "Just overlook her. I do."

  The middle eastern man rolled his eyes. "She is rather loud and obnoxious. I have had to refrain from clawing her throat out twice already. I do hope you can reign her in, yes?"

  Trevor sighed. "I will deal with her when I arrive. By the way, have you decided on a more modern name yet? Or are you keeping your old Arabian name?"

  The man smiled as his neatly kept beard accented his white smile. "I have chosen Andrew Smith."

  Trevor's facial expressions seemed to lack interest. "Andrew Smith? That's pretty, well, mundane?"

  Andrew nodded. "I want to fit in. I figured Andrew Smith works well for me."

  Trevor tossed him a snide glare. "I was expecting something more, I don't know, hinting to your pirate days maybe?"

  Andrew scoffed. "I am living in the now, so Andrew it shall be. Just get here and deal with Camilla…"

  Trevor scoffed. "Camilla used to be known as Eris, remember? Goddess of strife and discord? She has always been flighty, and hot-tempered… Andrew… Just deal with her until I can get there to put her in her place. Can you?"

  "She is causing strife alright. She already has half the House uneasy with her ranting and complaining about being summoned."

  Trevor eyed his bite brother. "She's just still pissed off that it was I that had the honor of waking our Queen and not her. We are about ten minutes from landing on the island."

  Trevor's freckled bite sister looked at him. "You two couldn't be any different?"

  Trevor nodded. "Same father, different mothers. Our father was a thrall that Ninlil kept around for about a hundred years before he met my mother and Eris's mother. If you recall that is?"

  Kat looked distant. "No, not really."

  "Eris and I were born right after Ninlil finally turned him for his years of service. Then, if you recall, he broke away from House Ninlil and formed his own?"

  She let out a drawn-out sigh. "I can't believe I forgot about that. I guess it has been, well, what? Three thousand years or so? I never thought Ninlil was going to forgive you for his actions. I was surprised she even turned Eris because of what your father did."

  "Being the son of Erebus, I had to prove myself to her over and over for half a millennia before she trusted me. Not to mention the entire time, I was keeping my sister in check and keeping my father's influences from making her more like him."

  Kat nodded. "Oh, that's right, Erebus was his name. I totally forgot about that."

  Trevor nodded. "Good ole dad. Unfortunately, I guess Eris is just like him in a lot of ways."

  "Well, she never tried to kill our maker." She said. "He was the one that tried that, right?"

  Trevor sighed. "Yep."

  His bite sister continued looking out the translucent craft's covering. "I totally forgot about all of that."

  She looked at him. "You're lucky she turned you…"

  Trevor nodded. "Oh, believe me, I know I am."

  "After what my father Erebus did to the Greek Aeonians, a lot of that was why Zeus had it in for Ninlil in the first place. I mean, damn..."

  Kat sighed. "Well Zeus was an asshole, so no matter what any of us did, it was a matter of time until he came picking on vampires anyways
. All your father did was finally give him the reason to begin his little crusade. It would have happened, with, or without your father being an all-around power-seeking tool."

  Trevor let out another sigh. "I just wish my sister didn't act like him so much sometimes."