4

Back to real time. The first actual battle of the story and Ivan makes a friend.

I finally come to. I find Daimian and I cornered by the vampirics that were chasing us.

 "Bout time sleeping beauty, I could use some help here." Daimian remarks when I get up

 "Well good to see you haven't started without me. So who starts this dance off, us or out blood cousins?' I jump up and  draw a couple daggers from sheaths hidden in my jacket sleeves.

 "Does that matter? I say steady yourself and hack anything that's not a wolf to oblivion." Daimian says changing into his wolven form

There are three vampirics, one on each side of the one in the middle. The two on the sides are complete are complete strangers but the one in the middle is all to familiar.... The woman from the park all those years ago!

 "Lotus, have you nothing better to do than hunt a couple of lowly lycanthropic scouts?"  Daimian says

 "Well brother, I make an exception for you." The woman, Lotus, smiles

 "Wait, What! You mean to tell me that she is you're sister? That would've been nice to know a couple years ago in the park!" I shout, jaw agape.

"Yes, isn't my big brother rude? And let me tell you brother, age isn't taking kindly to you."

Daimian chuckles, "Can we stop the small talk and get down to what matters?"

"Hey Daim, I realize you're my mentor and what not, but have you lost your freaking mind? A lycanthrope and his blade happy apprentice verses three vampirics? You're off your nut if you really think we can win this."

"The boy is smarter than he looks," Lotus coos," but there are only two vampirics. The one to your left is only half vampiric. My apprentice, Rain."

"How'd you manage to get an apprentice?" Daimian teases

"None of your damn business." Rain snaps

"I see you've taught him to hate us as well."

  Sensing the tension I slip off my leather jacket and reveal my arsenal of  shiny, pointy toys. A couple belts of shurikens strapped across my chest, daggers anywhere I could fit a sheath, and my treasured pair of tan fa-blades "Well I'm starting to get bored," I say in a composed manner "so if you don't mind. Lotus, Rain, other guy....DIE!" I lunge for the the apprentice,Rain, daggers waving wildly, while Daimian deals with his sister and the other guy. I swing down with my right dagger, but Rain blocks with a sword of his own. I try a couple more. Block, block, block. I realize this approach with daggers is useless and toss my daggers aside I draw a short sword with a bit of a curve to it from it's sheath along my back. I swing left, block. Right, block. Upwards, blocked again. Growing more irritated I spin, hoping to get a blow in through his defense and the attack is parried, with the sword slipping from my hand and clattering on the ground on the opposite side of the alleyway. I  hop back just in time to avoid an overhead chop then a downward arc that hits the ground creating a shower of sparks. I grab my sword from the ground and put it back, time for my ace in the hole. I grab the handles on each side of my waist and  swing out my tan fa-blades, causing rain to take a step back.

" Take a look at these beauties. They're made of an alloy made of 2% beryllium and 97% nickel, with a touch of titanium and forged by the best blacksmith in the world. I've trained with them non-stop since I got them. You think your wall of defense can still hold up?" I brag, swinging the blades around the handle slowly and gradually adding speed until they reach a dizzying speed. Then just for show I launch one up into the air and catch it on it's decent. With my blades moving at rapid speeds I swing at him with both, be manages to block but I take a large chip out of his sword. I do this repeatedly, hitting the sword in the same spot each time. By the time Rain realizes what I'm doing it's too late. I send my blades at him with all the strength I can muster and he blocks. My blades bite into his and I jerk my arms up when they do. Half of his sword is sent flying through the air and lands in the ground in between us, tip first. A mixed look of shock and disgust takes over Rain's face before he turns and makes a break for it.  Lotus see this and mutters something foul at Rain as she holds the wolven Damian up against a wall. Daimian kicks her in the stomach while she's distracted and sends her flying back. Now the only one fighting she reluctantly runs too.

I quickly re-sheath my blades and rip a shuriken from my belt and launch it, where it lodges itself in Rain's shoulder. He falls, the hit isn't lethal so he must have blacked out from pain and/or shock. Lotus throws his limp body over her shoulder as she passes him and disappears into the night.

"What now? Do we pursue them since we have them running?" I ask putting my jacket back on after replacing the daggers.

"No, we need to return to the Den to report this to Silvermain and the Elders." Daimian says in a growl like voice as he walks in the direction of the Den, not bothering reverting to human form. "Nice work there by the way Batman." He says referring to my shurikens

"Batman? That's just insulting, I fling like a wolf. I'm Wolfman!" Then sing the Batman theme-song  substituting "Batman" with "Wolfman" and a howl.

Back at the Den we march straight into the Elders' Chamber,  security close behind.

  "Father we've been attacked." Daimian says not bother by the guards coming up behind to drag us away.

"No vampiric is foolish enough to attack this close  to dawn. Who was it?" An older, silver haired lycanthrope called Silvermain boomed.

 "It was Dusk, sister, and her apprentice Rain. Dusk is dead, I broke his neck."

"Hmm. The other Elders and I will have to council on this most disturbing news." Silvermain says waving the guards away, "If they are attacking this close to daylight then there is something wrong, or even worse something is very right for them. Daimian you stay, Ivan you are free to leave."

"Please my lord, let me aid you. I was just as much a pair of that fight as Daim was, I can help you." I plead pathetically

 "If you want to be of assistance then GET OUT! Go find Raze and see if the two of you can’t come a little closer to pinpointing the Vampiric Coven." Silvermain barks making his authority known

 "Yes my lord." I say, eyes downcast, "Forgive my insolence." I kneel then turn and the the chamber.

 "Ivan," Silvermain calls after me "your friend, Taylor, has gotten back from his assignment in Moscow. See if he can't help out, I hear he's an exceptional spy."

 I smile broadly, "Yes my lord, thank you."

Taylor is back finally. We only had a couple months together as lycanthropes before he got assigned to his mission in Moscow, Russia with the infantry squad. I wonder what he did over there? I've always wanted to see Russia. I've heard they have Reindeer Races over there, I'd like to see what that's all about.

   I go in search of my longtime friend. I've heard he got a title. Not many lycanthropes get those. The only ones I know of are the Elders and Raze, the....well I'm not exactly sure what the professional term for him is, but he tracks and record the movements of certain vampirics of interest and keeps tabs on the area controlled by them and us. Although Raze  has been blooded as a  lycanthrope for about ten years since he was twenty he doesn't look any older than maybe Twenty two or twenty three. Apparently the the lycanthropic virus that has turned us all had an adverse reaction to his DNA and caused a side effect that causes his body to age slower than everyone else, some thing like one year for every four or five. While most of us would take advantage of being at our prime for five times longer he's got the muscle or a sapling, he figures since he doesn't leave the confines of the Den very often he doesn't have to be at the top of his game like the Hunting Pack. But even though he's skinny he packs one hell of a punch. I sparred against him once, and while he wasn't a very gifted fighter I will never under estimate anyone ever again, when he did manage to land a punch it HURT...bad.

 "Hey hey, look who it is! So how's my city been?" Taylor waves and we hug as friends do.

 "Increasing in vampiric population. But that's not your department, how was Moscow?"

 "Cold as f-"

 "Language." A skinny lycanthrope with shaggy brown hair and glasses warns

 "Ahh Raze you know me, my language is as clean as the Cafe's tables."

 "Your language is about as clean as your room, and that is nowhere near." Raze smiles

 "Eh, I tried. Anyways it was cold as frick." Taylor continues flashing a grin at Raze, "We eventually got some leads, listened and watched. Then we eventually found the Coven and I even went in and helped with the Purge. In the end there are now little to no vampirics in Moscow, Russia." Taylor beams

 "Hey ,Raze, that reminds me. You're one of the historians around here right?" I ask with growing interest

 "Aye. Why do you ask? Looking for something are you?"

 "I've actually been meaning to ask about the legend of our being, the lycanthrope and the vampiric."

 "Sure, but we can talk about that later, we have to focus at the current task at hand."

In Raze's quarters we gather around one of the many maps scattered and hung up on the walls. This one is laid out on his main desk. The other one is across the room cluttered with overflow. Bookcases  line one wall completely jammed full of books of every kind.

 "Been busy huh?" I nod back at the other desk.

 "Not really. That's just some paperwork and a project I've been assigned to help with our issue that is our infestational cousins. "

 "Okay. So Daimian and I were on this area over here," I circle and area on the map with my finger "we were chased her, through here, and cut through this club here. Unfortunately that's all I can tell you, from then on out I was out for the count. When I woke up we were cornered here, I think." I trace the route with my finger

 "That's an alarming distance from our recorded region of the dominance. They're either getting cockier or they're growing in number, and thus power, faster than expected." Raze explains

 "Sorry to break your train of thought but I just thought of something, well two things. One, I've known you for a while now Raze and just realized you have the same name as my favorite character on underworld." Taylor says only to receive a weird look from us, " And secondly how did you guys not noticed this expansion before? I mean wouldn't the bodies from feedings pile up sooner or later?"

 "Perhaps the vampirics have made the switch to cloned blood like us finally. They'd need real blood sooner or later but eventually their addiction to the real stuff would wither away."

 "It's a possibility but I doubt it. The vampirics are customary, and to feed off fake blood would to be against all that they believe in. They'd have to pick off people that society would turn a blind eye to, the homeless community." Raze points out

 Okay, but that doesn't explain how they're moving around undetected by our scouts and guardians. I mean we're out there night and day and have barely seen hide nor hair of them and the ones we do see face the death sentence." Taylor explains

  I think of something obscure but it explains everything. "Taylor, what's the one area of the city sunlight never reaches, where vampirics can move around at anytime without being spotted?" I raise my eyebrows

 Taylor stands thinking, mouth agape. Raze sits and thinks as well, frowning and concentrating exceptionally hard. I stand in silence, I thought the answer was pretty obvious and start humming the music from Jeopardy.

 "And what do the contestants say?" I ask once I stop

 After I pause Taylor's face lights up "What are the sewers?"

 "You are correct sir! Raze what has he won?"

 "Well Ivan he's won a hunting trip for him and his friends in the Oak Harbor sewer system! Don't forget your rain boots." Raze says in a girly voice

 We all break into a laughing fit.

Author's Note

My main issues are: Does it read well and keep the reader interested? and Does it make sense?