Xairin took off down the hallway. Damien caught up to him. "Well, I wasn't expecting all of that, but I have to say, you did well."
"Whatever," Xairin said.
"Where do you think you are going?" Damien asked.
"I guess outside and to my dome tent."
Damien put his hand on Xairin's right shoulder, stopping him. "You have different quarters now, Xairin."
Xairin stopped and chuckled out of frustration. "This day is full of surprises. When are you taking me back to Ethan's mansion?"
Damien looked at him carefully. "Tomorrow. Until then, you have living quarters on the council level. Room R-7," he pointed to the elevator. "You can use the retinal scan and press the eighth floor. Look for R-7 on the door; it will prompt another eye scan to enter."
"Okay, well, great," Xairin said.
Damien smiled, "Trust me, you will like your new accommodations far better than that Dome-Tent. I will see you tomorrow when we depart."
"K… Have fun," Xairin said as he turned around. When he did, he noticed Argosh a few feet away. He realized this might be the best chance to ask about Alex's gravesite, and rushed up. The werewolf felt him coming and turned around right before Xairin could tap his shoulder.
"Can I help you, Prince Thunder?"
Xairin smiled, "O.H., please, call me Xairin. I'm still getting used to this whole prince thing."
Argosh smiled. "Xairin, it is. Was there something you needed?"
Xairin looked at him with a troubled brow. The man could tell something was undoubtedly on his mind. "Actually, yes. Um... There was a werewolf named Alex Fifer that was on my sentinel team, team Two hundred and three."
"I am fully aware of Mr. Fifer and his passing. Was there something you wished to add? A detail, perhaps?"
"No, nothing like that. Alex and I were friends, and I was hoping to see if I could visit where he was laid to rest?"
Argosh looked at Xairin, took a moment to reply, and seemed a little hesitant. "Our tribe originated as a break off from the Navajo tribe. The called us Skinwalkers once. Anyhow, despite the number of Sasquatch werewolves being non-Native American or Navajo for that matter, we still cling to the old ways. Usually, no one outside of being a Sasquatch werewolf is permitted on our lands, but, since you are a prince, I can alert my tribe of your arrival. Go to the archive room, you should have access, and look up a town called Flow."
Xairin cocked his head, "Wolf spelled backward?"
Argosh nodded. "You will find what you need. I will make sure they know that you will be passing through and what your intentions are. But we do not have a typical grave to visit. We plant a tree over the remains of our loved ones. I am sure one of the Fifer's will be willing to take you, as that ground is sacred to us. You must be accompanied by one of his kin, that is a law when an outsider is permitted to visit such places."
"How will I find the Fifer's? Alex never said much about his family."
Argosh placed his hand on Xairin's shoulder. "Jason Fifer runs a mechanic shop, it is not hard to find, since the Town of Flow, has all of our businesses located along the center of town. Just look for Fifer's Autobody, you can't miss it. I think I will contact Jason now, he would be the better suited to take you."
"Thank you. I don't know when I will be going, but it will be soon." Xairin said.
"As long as they know you are coming, that is the important part. Though I would advise wearing something that makes it easy for them to see your birthmark. That way, there is no question of who you are." Argosh added.
"Tank top got it," Xairin said.
"Bring no flowers that will wilt, or flowers made of fibers or plastics; we do not place a flower plucked upon our burial lands and especially nothing that would poison the earth. If you do bring anything, bring something that can be planted, something that brings life and beauty to the land."
Xairin nodded. "Sure, I can do that. I wouldn't want to bring any dishonor."
Xairin was curious. "Can I ask you something else without being offensive?"
The blond man smiled. "Let me guess why I don't look a Navajo?"
"Well, yeah…"
Argosh smiled. "I never knew my birth parents Xairin. I was left in a forest as a newborn baby, hidden under a log. A Navajo woman out gathering berries found me and raised me, and when I hit puberty, my werewolf side emerged."
"Oh, wow," Xairin said.
"I was seen back then, as having the wolf inside me, a Skinwalker. My bite bestowed the power to others, and we used our gift to keep the tribe safe from outsiders, until one day, we realized that we were a danger and split off, to create our own. Eventually, after hearing other tribes call the wolfmen, Sasquatch, we decided to take on the name for our own tribe."
"That's pretty interesting."
"If you will excuse me Xairin, I have another meeting requiring my attendance."
"Sure, no problem," Xairin said.
Xairin made his way down the long stone-carved tunnel. At the end of the corridor, there was a metal door, a thick door, three feet thick at least. Xairin's biosonar couldn't penetrate it. He walked up to it, pressed the handprint scanner as he willed his prints to emerge, and then leaned forward as the eye scanner, prompted a green laser beam, that directed gently into his eyes.
The door slid upward, allowing him entry. Inside he repeated the same steps and pressed the number eight. A few seconds later, he was on the floor, Damien had directed him to.
The hallway was vast, having doors every fifty feet on both sides. The doors were like the elevator, they slid upward, and each had a designation, a letter, followed by a dash, then a number.
The hallway was like other areas inside the complex. It was hand-carved, covered in runic symbols, aged, yet beautiful in their own way. Xairin gently traced his fingers upon the shapes of the etchings while he walked. The lighting was designed to look like torches, but they weren't; they were LED lights that flickered with an artificial flame inside, giving them an old-world feel.
Xairin finally reached R-7. He repeated the procedure and went inside.
Xairin was delighted. The room was perfect. It had artful antiquities all around him. He had a long black leather sofa, matching love seats and recliners. He had a large refrigerator and a complete kitchenette. The room had a large king-sized bed, with fluffy black pillows and matching sheets and comforter. To the right and left side of the bed, there were nightstands. To the left of the bed, there was a large walk-in shower, made of stone, and a sliding glass door to keep the water inside. Xairin loved the polished stone hot tub right beside the shower large enough to fit two people comfortably. The black pedestal sink, which matched the toilet and the vanity mirror that ran the length of the seven feet long marble counter underneath it, was a lavish touch. Xairin loved the artwork that had unmistakably went into it. He could tell it was all handcrafted.
That was when he noticed he had a balcony. He walked over to the furthest side of the room, past the sizeable flat-screen T.V., and pressed a handprint module to open a retracting metal wall, that folded like a window blind. Xairin walked out onto the stone balcony and looked at the island from above. It was night, and with his vampire's eyes, he beheld a breathtaking scene as he looked at the island from his perch.
He looked over his shoulder and noticed a full-sized, six-seater, jacuzzi. "Huh..." He said.
_____
The archive room
Sara and a few others had accompanied Kat into the archive room. The room was almost half the size of a football field. It was filled with advanced computers, several upright computer servers, and numerous black towers, lighting up with circuit board lights filled the large room. There were workstations all around the exterior and large cooling units constantly running to keep the room at a steady forty degrees.
Kat made her way over to a workstation in the center of the left wall. She pulled out a white chair and sat at the table, facing a flat-screen monitor. Beside it, there was a 36.8 USB hookup. She found a cord matchin
g it and inserted it into the cube. Sara put her hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure about this?"
"I promise my Queen, this is going to be fine."
"Fine, proceed."
Kat inserted the other end, into the USB outlet. The cube lit up with flickering blue lights. On the screen, twelve download bars were going crazy. Each one pulsing across the screen as the download proceeded. It took almost twenty minutes to download the entire Arcaidus program. When the last bar at the bottom finished. The screen went black, and the lights in the room dimmed for a second.
"What's going on?" Sara asked.
"I... Don't know," Kat said.
The lights came back to full strength, and every computer screen in the room turned on. The box, the cube itself, began to open up. Hundreds of chrome colored nano-ants began to emerge and go up the wall, and around the computer that Kat had uploaded Arcaidus to. Suddenly, there was a warm, soft male voice coming from the speakers from both sides of the flat screen. "Hello… I am Arcaidus."
Sara, her children, and her husband, followed by Kat, Afreeti, Demeskinos, and Durga, all looked at one another.
"I have fully updated myself to all of your computers, as well as your archives. I am running system checks now."
"What kind of system checks?" Sara asked as she looked around.
"I am scanning for weaknesses and integrating myself into all of the Society programs. So far, I have found 2,467,912 programs that have the potential for external exploitation. I am upgrading them now so that I can make sure that these programs cannot be interfered with by outside sources."
Sara and the others looked at one another.
"I have also detected your holographic programs and have begun making upgrades to both power usage and improving the quality of these programs. I also would like to begin sending the nano-ants across the facility to create new hologram emitters as well as retinal scanners that have increased accuracy."
"Why?" Sara asked.
Arcaidus replied warmly. "With additional upgrades, I can create holographic sentinels, or guards, that can solidify like your armor and training simulations throughout all Society structures. The retinal scanners, I can improve to being able to detect scans at up to a hundred yards. By using holographic technology, I can create solidified guards that can help defend and minimize Society's casualties. Do I have your permission to proceed?"
He paused. "I am scanning the database. Queen Jordan, I will need your permission to proceed with these upgrades."
"I'm not sure we have the materials for you to do that, let alone the power supply. It takes…"
He interrupted her. "I can increase both ambient light and solar magnification of the solatex outlining our structures by 500%. As for minerals, my nano-ants have micro-fusion capabilities and can use several types of matter, such as soil and rock, to convert into what I need to carry out these modifications."
Sara shrugged. "Okay, uh, carry out your modifications then."
"Thank you. Modifications will commence now."
The watched the ants scurry around the room, picking up dust, and dirt that had been tracked in. They watched as the nano-ants' abdomens lit up with blue lights.
The next thing everyone noticed, was black metallic veins being created by the Nano-ants growing up the walls like roots, spreading.
Chapter 3
Xairin woke up seven hours later, yawning. He had fully undressed and slept without any clothing. The silken sheets were comfortable, he couldn't resist just wholly relaxing. He lifted his head up from the pillow, letting out a second yawn, a yawn that revealed the fangs that formed from his canines, lateral incisors, and his bottom canines. He sat up, stretching, yawning again. He cracked his neck, stretched again, and stood up.
He felt the stubble on his chest and around his belly button, coming up to his sternum. He needed to trim. Had he known this was going to be an overnight stay, he would have packed. Xairin went over to the vanity mirror and looked at his face from side to side and started washing his hands. After turning the water off, Xairin decided to walk over to the hot tub in the room and begin filling it. It had a long stem faucet that flowed quickly and powerfully. He waited for about five minutes as it filled. While waiting, he went over to the black metallic refrigerator and opened it. Inside, it was fully stocked. Dozens of cans of pigs' blood, several bottles of cloned human blood, and even a few small bottles of the new synthetic samples of Hemonoxin B-. Xairin decided to pick up one of the glass bottles and read the label. It listed a few synthetic proteins, one of which was called aminooxin, which was the base for the formula. After reading that, he noticed dozens of vitamins that were added, including epinephrine.
Xairin took a swig of it. It had a sweet taste. It wasn't bitter, nor unpleasant. It was filling. He took another sip and then proceeded with a full drink. "That's not bad."
Xairin finished the small bottle and grabbed another, this time chugging it. "Wow, that really hits the spot." He was already feeling full after only two small six-ounce bottles. "I guess they cracked the code on this, finally." Xairin shrugged as he turned around and walked over to the hot tub and slowly sat down in it. Once his naked body was submerged up to his neck, he pressed a button with his left hand, turning on the jets. The jets were strong. Xairin felt like he was in heaven. "Oh my god." He said. "Damn, being a prince actually has some perks."
He fully submerged and came up. His vibrant auburn hair, he pulled back with both hands and rested his head on a built-in cushion behind him. Xairin fell asleep again.
Xairin slept for almost an hour as the massaging jets kept him comfortable. As he slept, he began dreaming.
Xairin opened his eyes to look out a balcony. Everything he saw below him was covered in snow and ice. He looked to his side and saw four pyramids, each one made of green glowing crystals. Xairin felt panicked for a moment but felt as if he wasn't the one seeing this, he was along for the ride.
Out in the snow, his host's eyes zoomed much like any Immortal's eyes could. While Xairin was internally gasping, the host wasn't. The host saw an army of humanoids. They had thick blue skin in which the harsh environmental conditions didn't bother in the least. They were unclothed.
The creatures stood at seven feet easily. They had rounded heads, larger than a human, but not completely, and not. Disproportionate to their lean seven feet tall bodies. Xairin noticed their blue skin and solid dark blue eyes. They had claws, thick claws, upon four fingers, and four toes. They had pointed ears, though smaller than humans were. Many of them were holding what could only be described as metallic green staves with bulbous ends. The ends looked as if they opened up.
They were preparing for an attack.
Xairin looked through the host's eyes as it scanned outward. He could tell that the species were different, neither male, nor female, but a perfect blend of both. A race that had overcome gender divisions, evolving into a functional species of hermaphrodites, being both male and female. Xairin could feel that this evolution took place thousands of years prior. He could feel the host's designation, it was called Yamug.
He could feel Yamug being anxious and for a good reason. U shaped ships began to descend in the snowy distance. Seconds later, Xairin saw the enemy they were waiting for, leaving the vastly large U-shaped ships. They were monstrous.
The attackers' upper bodies were humanoid, but their legs were made of tentacles, seven of them. They had brown scaly skin, with four arms that reminded Xairin of a T-Rex, only instead of each pair of arms having two fingers; these had four. They had large leathery wings, not bat-like, but more like a pterodactyl. Their faces had two glowing yellow eyes with black cat-like pupils. Their mouths were even more hideous. They had four tentacles, smaller ones, that hid a circular shaped mouth with dozens of needle-like teeth that seemed to move independently as they adjusted themselves. To Xairin's horror, as well as his host, the tentacles on their faces had mouths of their own, mimicking the center. Even the seven legs had a mouth at the end. When standing up
, the beasts towered at twelve feet in height. They roared, sounding to Xairin like a demonic elephant. They began charging.
Xairin could feel his host, as well as several other Alpha's controlling the lesser caste and commanding them to attack in patterns they felt, would be sufficient.
Yamug called the species, the Cthulhu. They had destroyed the Nos' allies in a neighboring solar system. Yamug knew the Nos would be next. No matter how many times he had warned their Supreme, the Supreme seemed unconcerned, thinking that their technology would always prevail…
Yamug watched as the laser staves opened up at their tips and started firing purple blasts. The Cthulhu fell, but Yamug felt horror when he noticed that each piece that was blasted apart from one of the Cthulhu soldiers, it began to rapidly regenerate into a new soldier. Yamug knew then, why their allies, the Septors, were destroyed.
Yamug watched in horror as the first wave of Nos fell to the Cthulhu. Their tentacles reached out like leeches, attaching themselves to a Nos. Moments later, the Nos would go into convulsions.
Dark Temptations Page 11