7

The wolves go to flush out the bats and Ivan and a group go to visit Seattle.

I find myself in a dark, damp hall that reeks of mold and rot. Somewhere in the distance I hear the faint drip drip drip of a leaky pipe.

"Funny, this isn't quite what I expected. Kinda thought your sister would live somewhere nicer." I say to Daimian

"What makes you think that?"  Daimian says raising an eyebrow

"Well  for starters she's related to you, then there's the whole she's a 'fancy sophisticated blood sucker' thing."

"Hehehe, well you can't always believe the movies you know. But you're right, this is probably the cellar." Daimian says taking a step forward.

Suddenly a light flashes on causing painful grunts from the group behind us.

"Motion sensor lights. Sorry guys." Daimian calls back

We walk along a long corridor for at least five minutes before opening up into the main cellar. Daimian steps forward and turns on the main lighting of the room. Racks fill the room, holding what I thought was wine, but a closer inspection tells me it's bottled blood. Real human blood, not the synthetic stuff we use.

"When everything is dealt with here I want a crew sent back here to collect this blood." Silvermain announces in a voice just above a whisper, "We can use it for celebrations. Besides no point in leaving it here and letting it go to waste." He finishes with a grin

"We finally find a set of stairs in the midst of the labyrinth of bottled blood.

Bloodlust brings himself to the third step then turns to face the crowd and begins to speak. "Through these doors is the fight. Vampirics galore, so I suggest that you ready yourself because they've probably already sniffed out our blood. If you can change do so now and head in, if not go straight for a window and into the moonlight. Alright ladies and gents lets move!"

There is a mix of growls, howls, and battle cries as bones snapped and popped into place and hell broke loose. Bloodlust bashes through the door with ease, taking down the first vampiric as a hoard of wolves flood the room with rending claws and gnashing teeth. Following them was everyone else. I draw both by tanfa-blades, take a deep breath and charge toward the sound of pain filled shrieks and bellowing roars. As soon as I step through the door I'm forced to start hacking and slashing. At least two hundred vampirics fill the room, versus sixty something lycanthropes. The only way I'm going to stay alive is if I get to a window and change. Summoning what reserves of lycanthropic energy I had I let out a ferocious roar, causing and vampirics near me to back off long enough that I can look and find a window near me. After realizing I wasn't changing yet the vampirics  start to attack me again. I spin my blades again, to the point that they seem to vanish then make my way to the window, cutting down any vamps in my way. Once there I make short work of the curtains and quickly unbuckle and remove my belts and sheaths so they won't be ruined. Then the pain. A red film of pain takes my vision and my senses as my body mutilates itself into a killing machine. My bones shift, muscles grow, and I gain a nice coat of fur. I'm identifiable by the green patches on my head . I wonder momentarily why none of the vampirics were trying to pick me off while I was so vulnerable, then see the large coat of silver-grey fur by me. It was Daimian guarding me.

"Didn't think I'd let my assistant get killed did you?" Daimian said somewhere between words and growls, "You still have work to do."

There was a commotion that cause us to look. A normal looking lycanthrope was surging through the crowd, biting and tearing at any vampirics in his way. There was only was person alive that bullheaded, and that was Taylor. When we met up he simply pointed to a line of people in shackles, blinded, and gagged, being lead into another room by some unmistakable vampirics, Daimian's sister and her apprentice. Without even a glance Taylor, Daimian, and I make for the line. One of the prisoners catches my eye, they had Saundra! Without any warning I leap over the crowd of people and land on a vampiric, crushing it's body. When they see me coming and send a small party of three vampirics to intercept me. They all wear basic silver plate armor, but only one is wearing a helmet. I quickly rid myself of one of the helmet-less ones by ripping his head from his shoulders, sending a spray of blood from his neck. I bring my arms back just in time to avoid the swords of the other two. The remaining helmet-less vampiric swings at me again. I catch his arm, having to struggle not to throw it away because of the silver in his armor. Bring my other land to his head and send him crashing into his still living comrade. I step over the unconscious and continue towards where the prisoners were taken, dragging my claws along the wall on the way leaving deep gashes in the intricately patterned paper.

When I enter the room I see prison buses loaded up with humans. They were no longer blindfolded and try to escape to the other side of the bus. The chains restraining them keep them in their seat and cause them to panic. I suddenly realize I'm still wolven and covered in blood, I must look like something from a nightmare to them. The commotion draws the attention of Rain and Lotus down at the third bus, finishing loading it.

Lotus swears and instructs Rain to come take care of me.

"Lotus says you're the punk from the alley that broke my sword. If that's true then I'm going to enjoy chopping you into tiny pieces."

I give him a toothy grin and beckon him forward. He charges forward with something that resembles Luna's sickle sword.

"Like it? It's made of a titan-steel silver alloy, so you can't cut through it but it can cut through you."

"How nice. Shut up and fight!" I manage to gurgle in a series of throaty growls.

I lunge at Rain, but he steps aside and send me sprawling into a bus. Screams from humans were heard inside even though they were gagged.

"So you can talk, huh?" the apprentice podded "How very disturbing."

I snarl and swipe at him. Damn it, I missed again. I need to calm down and focus. I can't let him provoke me, but it's so hard in this form. I've only been like this in my quarters and in two other battles.

"Well you said you wanted to fight, come-" Rain taunts

I leap at him before he can finish. I rake his face before he has a chance to get out of the way.

The buss' engines roar to life and Rain runs back to Lotus clutching his face. I chase him on all fours but get separated by a bus. I go to throw a shuriken but only grab a tuft of fur. I roar in frustration as I watch Rain and Lotus drive away with Saundra on board.

 After realizing there's nothing I could do I return to the main room where the bloodshed was. The room was calmer with only a few fights finishing up, with the vampiric getting quickly overwhelmed by the increasing number of opponents.

Daimian was human again, now helping those changed by the moon calm down and revert to their human form.

"Where's my sister and that flea of hers?" Daimian asks with a sideways glance

 I shrug and point out a window.

 "I figured as much. Come on, let's get you back to normal." Daimian led me to the window where I'd changed and picks up the shredded curtain and draped it over me. "Get out of the light, take some deep breaths, and put your clothes back on."

I nod and do as instructed. I close my eyes and focus on my breathing and pretty soon the pain and popping return. I'm my good old self again. "Tell them to keep a few of those vampirics alive, I've got questions to ask." I tell Daimian as I buckle my last shuriken belt

"I'm sure dad and Bloodlust do too. Let them ask their questions first and yours might be answered."

"Fine, but if they aren't then you have to be on my side and convince them to let me have an interrogation of my own. I want to find out where your sister and those prisoners went."

"I'm still opposed to this girlfriend of yours but a deal's a deal. I trust you know not to do anything rash."

"No guarantees." I joke half heartedly

 Back at the Den, we put the three vampirics in three different interrogation rooms. These rooms were sound proof, all white, and the lights, if necessary, could change into UV lights. The UV lights were only used if the vampiric became violent or was too stubborn to break. After the lights did their job it was up to the janitors to vacuum up the mess.

I waited outside for Silvermain, Bloodlust, and Daimian to come out so I can ask my questions. Bloodlust was first to exit his room, wiping his hand free of blood. After him was Silvermain. Neither of them had any answers to my question. Daimian came out of his interrogation room, hands and chest covered in blood.

"Ivan, flip the switches on all three rooms and meet us in the Elders' Chamber."

"Kay, I'll be there as soon as I can." I say then take off down the hall for the UV switches

Luckily the rooms are soundproof, the pain must be an agonizing or maybe to them a blissful release. I never really cared to find out what happened inside. All I know is that they go in whole and are told if they were helpful that's how they'd leave. That was a lie though, any vamps that go in whole come out ash.

I can hear shouting from the Elders' Chamber as usual.

"... simply because he's infatuated with one of the humans. Absolutely not!" Essence was raving about, I assume, me

"Ahh Ivan, I'm glad you arrived. We were just discussing our next course of action. It is an unanimous agreement that someone should go after me daughter and her apprentice but can't seem to agree on whom. My son and I wish for you to go, Bloodlust and Luna wish for a team of scouts to go, and Essence wants me to go after them since Lotus is my offspring." Silvermain informs me

"Okay well I want to go after Lotus myself. Three to two to one, case closed. I'll go pack."

"Normally that would be the case but there are a few minor complications. For starters you are only an apprentice so your vote doesn't count. And another is that the only reason you wish to go is because of your human friend." Silvermain says most sympathetically

"Yes, I admit that is the core reason why I intend on chasing them, but no offense my lord but that's none of your business."

"I understand that Ivan, and I want to help you retrieve your friend. And it is my daughter you are going after, and both she and her apprentice are vampirics so it is indeed my business. More so than anybody's." Silvermain says matter-of-factly

Daimian decides to be the universal peacemaker and pipe up. "Father what if I were to lead a small party after them? That way there is someone of her blood, a few hand selected scouts, and Ivan must come along."

"That sounds suitable to me. But what does the rest of council think?" Silvermain looks at each Elder in turn, who show their approval, "It is settled then. You will assemble your party and leave at dawn

Daimian and I both kneel then leave the room.

"So where do you think your sister went?" I ask shutting the door behind us

"She's going to Seattle."

"Why the hell would she be headed there?"

"Besides the fact it's teaming with homeless, cloudy a good bit of the time, and houses the largest Vampiric Covens in the world?" Daimian points out as if it were completely obvious, which it was.

"Okay... I think it's safe to say I didn't think that one out."

"Yeah. You should go get ready and sleep while you can."

Once I reach my room I just stand there for a second and look around. I stare at my desk with a few scattered papers and weapon designs, then glance over  at my still unmade bed and the wall at the foot of it was the wall that shelved my books. Most of my books were manga and comics and books on various styles of combat, but I had a few novels scattered about in my collections. I shake my head and throw together a mental list of what I'd need to do.

1. Sharpen weapons

2. Pack

3. Go eat

4. Get enough sleep to operate when we arrive.

 "Let's see here. Sharpen, pack, eat, sleep. Am I missing anything?" I ask myself, listing the things to do on my fingers. "Hopefully if there is it'll hit me as I do the others. Otherwise I'm screwed."  I walk over to my desk and pull open a drawer on the bottom and pull out a brick of whetstone and toss it onto my desk chair and push it over to the footlocker by my television. "Where is that damn clicker at?" I scratch my head as I look around then shrug when I can't find it. "Oh well, that's why we have fingers." I say as I turn the TV on and flip to a channel that plays hard rock, metal, and thrash music. That down I set to work sharpening my blades while listening to The Backbreaker by "Showdown".

When I was finally content with my weapons I pulled out a small duffel bag from under my bed and fill it with various articles of clothing. A few shirts, some pants, socks, undergarments, then threw in some other stuff like my toothbrush, hairbrush, hair gel, and a random book and some manga from my shelves. I zip up the bag and set it down on top of my desk. I hit the lights as I leave for the Café.

In the Café I eat a burger with fries and a water figuring it's best to stay away from caffeine. I take an energy drink back to my room for when I have to wake up at an ungodly time in the morning. I flop onto my bed and am asleep before I hit the mattress.

I wake to Daimian pounding on my door. "Ivan wake up and get your stuff. It's almost time to go. I'm going to get the others. Meet them up front." Then he walks away.

I groan and sit up rubbing the crud from my eyes. I stretch my arms then get out of bed. Once changed  I grab my bag and pop the top on my drink and head for the front of the Den.

I was the first one to show up, shortly followed by Taylor.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, though I guessed the answer

"I'm going to Seattle with you guys. Daim said something about experience with large covens and you'll need a friend to keep an eye on you. Plus I'm technically his apprentice too." He says plainly

"How nice. He expects me to go off and do something rash?"

"Why not? If my girlfriend got abducted by vampirics I'd  be reckless, not to mention pissed beyond belief."

There was a cough from the hall where two lycanthropic scouts stood. "Sorry to interrupt boys, but I didn't want to hear anything we're not supposed to."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Are you two the others going to Seattle?"

"Aye. I'm Richard, and this is Kara." He said gesturing to the scout on his left

The scout named Kara sticks out a hand that Taylor and I shake.

Richard looks to be in his late twenties with brown hair that was combed and slicked back. He wore black jeans and a forest green jacket with a plain brown shirt underneath. No weapons from what I can see.

Kara was dressed similarly, while she had black hair with purple highlights. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail.

"My name is Ivan and this is Taylor."

"Ivan, you're Daimain's lad right?" Richard asked

"Yes sir, I am." I reply smiling

"Taylor," Kara says curiously "where do I know that name?" She pauses, thinking hard for a second then snaps. "That's right you were with that group that helped bring down the Moscow Coven."

"Yep. How do you know that though? All the credit went to the big guys." Taylor says puzzled

"My brother is Cal. He was over there with you."

"Oh yea! You're lucky to related to him. Cal is a fantastic warrior, especially with those twin hooks of his."

"Well Kara here is no exception. Where Cal has his twin hooks, Kara has a pretty nasty little toy herself called a katar." Richard says "Why don't you demonstrate for them?"

"Sure. The katar comes from my homeland of India," Kara begins, pulling out a pair of large blades with an empty looking box grip "You hold it like you would brass knuckles or something like that." she demonstrates as she says it "These ones are special though. If you pull this trigger like so." As she does the katar blade's edges split off so that there are now three instead of one. Kara smiles, "Pretty cool huh?"

An exceptionally large RV pulls up to the doors on the Den. Kara quickly collapses and re-sheaths her katar. Daimian opens the door of the RV and uses a step ladder that appears to get to the ground.

"Welcome," he greets "to our home for the next few days."

"Son of a... I didn't know these things came in such a monster size." I say in awe

"Me neither. Found this beastie by chance. Lucky us." Daimian sounds like a child with a new toy

We all pile into the monster home on wheels and set off on out two and a half hour trip.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay on Ch. 8. I just realized, after reviewing my chapters, that a considerably important chapter has been cut. So i'm doing my best to rewrite that from memory and get it up for you to read.