arthur and the brotherhood

Arthur and the Brotherhood

"Hello?"

"Arthur?"

"Who is this?"

"Ryan, is this Arthur?"

"Ryan? I thought you were dead."

"Yeah, everybody does."

"How did you escape Seattle?"

"I left early. Had a date."

I pulled the car over; I couldn’t believe Ryan was still alive, "Have you talked to anyone in the Brotherhood?"

"Yes. They told me that you’re an enemy of the Order. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"Why, do they blame you for what happened in Seattle?"

"Yes."

"Sir, you really need to get back here to Washington."

"Why?" I wasn’t sure where Ryan’s loyalties were.

"A lot has happened since you went back to Paris, by the way how’s the hand?"

"Better."

"What’s been going on?"

"Well in truth, I was hoping you could tell me. I checked my E-mail, and there was this alert about you. But nothing else has come out of Europe."

"Does anyone know that you’re alive?"

"Outside of you, no one. After I got the general alert about you I thought it was best to stay dead until I talked to you."

"You wanted to make sure you weren’t in trouble too." I said.

"Something like that. But listen; do you know what’s going on with the Brotherhood? I haven’t heard anything since you."

"Their fighting amongst themselves right now. Lord Herrick also has been assassinated by a vampire clan. Now there’s a power struggle going on within the Brotherhood. But I’ve been told by a good source that the Board is still united and

is going to win."

"Well that makes sense."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Sir, you need to get back here. Our friend is back."

"She left?"

"Yes, after Seattle she and her lover took off. While they were gone, Pip changed the lover into a vampire."

"Pip?"

"Sorry, that’s what she goes by. Penelope goes by Pip, she changed her lover whose name is Anne into a vampire. Anne is capable of flight, and Pip is teaching her how to fight. Sir, she isn’t very good yet, but I’ve been watching them. Pip is incredibly good. And Anne is learning fast.

"This is what I was afraid of." I said.

"Well that’s not everything."

"Of course it’s not."

"Sir, the Brotherhood has made a truce with them. As long as they cease hostilities towards the Brotherhood, they’re prepared to overlook what she did in Seattle."

"They’re blaming me for it."

"Yes, they told the creatures as much. That’s not all; the Brotherhood gave them everything about you. Your history, all your case files. Everything they know about you they gave to them."

I leaned my head back in my seat, "So they know who I am."

"I’m afraid so."

"Ryan, how do you know all of this?"

"In a nut shell I bugged their house and some other things. Also, I recorded a phone conversation between Pip and someone else. But I have no idea what was said. I think it was in Latin, do you know anyone that can speak it?"

"Yes, I can. Ryan, I need you to come to France as soon as you can."

"What about your vampire?"

"Do you have to be there to keep tabs on them?" I asked.

"No."

"Then leave them be and get here as soon as you can."

"Okay, can I ask what you have in mind?"

"If the Brotherhood is fighting amongst themselves, there’s bound to be some renegade Brothers who may join us. But I need you here. Bring weapons if you can, you’ll need them."

"I’ll see what I can do to get on the next flight over there. Where would you like me to fly into?"

"Paris will be fine. They won’t be expecting you, nor will they care if you come. Let me know when you’ll be here."

"Yes Sir."

As I hung up, I pulled back on the road. Looks like I need to head back to Paris. I need to find someone in the Brotherhood who can tell me where they’ve been fighting.

It was late by the time I got back. I parked my car a few blocks from one if the Paris chapters of the Brotherhood. I doubted I had any friends here, but that didn’t matter to me much. I wasn’t in a friendly mood.

When I got to the Hall, I found myself a dark shadow across the street to watch the entrance. There was little traffic out this late which would be good; I didn’t need someone seeing me grab someone.

"

If one finds himself in the darkness…" I spun to my left and drew my sword when I heard the Latin. There, on the street were several men standing. I must be getting old I thought to myself, they walked right up on me and I didn’t even notice.

"

The friend offers him a brother with a lamp." I responded.

"Hello Brother." I couldn’t quite see the man that spoke.

"Show yourself." I whispered taking a defensive stance.

The men walked forward so I could get a better look at them.

"My name is Christopher."

"I don’t care. State you business, or prepare to defend yourselves." I said harshly.

"You know Brother; you are outnumbered eight to one."

"Eight to one, thirty to one. I don’t tired easily."

"Peace Brother. Brothers I would like you to meet Arthur the One Eye."

The others nodded and told me it was a pleasure to meet me, though I was a little confused what was going on exactly.

"Well now, are we going to fight? Or are you going to embrace us in friendship?" Christopher asked.

"I am an enemy of the Order; I do not embrace my enemy in friendship."

"Neither do we. We’re ronin, all wanted men of the Order. We were getting ready to attack here when we saw you, would you care to join us?"

"What do you mean you’re ronin?" I asked.

"Simply that our different chapters failed in our attempts to rise above our current station."

"You mean you’re left over’s from the coup?" I asked.

"Yes."

"I have no need of fighting with the Brotherhood at the moment. I have other troubles that I must deal with."

"Greater than being a wanted man?" Christopher asked.

"Yes. There’s a new power growing in America. Have you heard the story of the vampire Lord Nelix?"

"Of course." he responded.

"His offspring survives. A female and her lover who she has changed."

"What do we care? Let the Brotherhood get massacred."

"The Brotherhood has made a pack with them. They’ll do nothing; they have traded their safety for my head."

"You have proof of this?" Christopher asked.

"Yes, a friend and brother from America is coming here to bring everything to me."

"Interesting." Christopher scratched his chin, "Maybe we should meet this friend of yours. Can he be trusted?"

"The Brotherhood thinks he’s dead. He’s the only surviving member of the Seattle chapter."

Christopher laughed, "Well it appears he will have no choice to join our little band. Once the Order finds out that he has hidden his survival from them, he will

never be trusted."

"Yes, I haven’t told him that."

"Ha! I shall enjoy working with you Arthur the One Eye. Come; let us return to our safe house. We have food and wine and fresh bread."

It took two days for Ryan to get to Paris. I spent the time with Christopher being updated on what had happened with the Brotherhood. Vampires across Europe seemed to have lost their minds for a time, killing without fear. But their carelessness did nothing but motivate most of the chapters to fall back in line with the legitimate Brotherhood leadership. But there were some who chose to fight for power. Even they were surprised by the Brotherhood’s response.

Of course, seeing the quick response of the Brotherhood towards the rogue chapters, the vampire world seemed to regain their senses.

Christopher was the somewhat leader of a mixed band of renegades. The seven that I had met were just a small part of his group. They had big dreams of gathering all the renegades that were left and building a new Brotherhood. He didn’t really think he would overthrow the Board, but had hoped that he could become powerful enough that they would leave him in peace.

I could care less what they would achieve; I wanted nothing more than to kill vampires. I believed large organizations like the Brotherhood complicated things. The politics and bureaucracies always turned into pissing contests, everyone’s ego needed to be protected. I believe the best way to protect one’s honor was with the edge of a sword.

I was grateful when Ryan arrived; his presence and news of the creature back in Washington State saved me from the ridiculous unjust woes of the disgraced brothers.

"Ryan, it’s good to see you Brother." I said embracing him; he seemed surprised at my open show of affection towards him.

"Thank you Sir." he said looking uncomfortable.

"Come in, come in." I said welcoming him into Christopher’s home, "This is Christopher." I said introducing them to each other.

"I take it you have some interesting news for us?" Christopher said.

"Yes." he said looking for a place to set up his laptop.

"Here let’s go into the kitchen." Christopher said.

As Ryan set up his computer, I looked at the young man with fondness. I started to realize how much I liked the young man and was grateful that he had survived Seattle. Ryan was a good soldier, and I started to see him like son. With the proper training, he could be a real soldier.

I had yet to see him in combat, but his thoroughness in intelligence gathering was impressive. This was the sort of thing that made me join the Brotherhood in the first place. Who would have ever guessed I would fine what I wanted in Seattle. He truly was a diamond in the rough.

Ryan showed us the pictures of Ben meeting with the female vampires. He showed us pictures of them fighting in the back yard; these were of great interest to Christopher. Because he was familiar with the story of Nelix, he recognized the potential disaster that Penelope Alexander could unleash.

We listened to the recordings between the Brotherhood emissary and the vampires. Christopher became irritated at the Brotherhood’s continual dealings with vampires; it unleashed a whole new round of profanities towards the Brotherhood.

"Ryan, you said you had a recording of a phone call that I needed to hear?" I asked interrupting Christopher’s rant.

"Yes. Like I said it’s in Latin, let me find it." Ryan clicked through some files and started it.

"Alec please."

"

One moment."

"

Alec."

"

Alec, this is Penelope."

"

Penelope, how are you? Nice work in Seattle by the way."

"

I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"I’m sure you don’t."

"Alec, an emissary visited me from the Brotherhood. They offered me terms."

"Not surprised."

"Why?"

"Because of what’s going on here in Europe."

"Well, that’s kind of why I called. Anne and I need some insight into the Brotherhood. Like why they offered me terms, will they honor them and what could I expect from them now?"

"Well a lot has happened here since what happened in Seattle. First and most important, the leader of their Order was killed by the Romanian clan. Are you familiar with them?"

"By reputation only. When did that happen?"

"A few days after the Seattle massacre. Apparently, rebellion was in the air before that. Your timing in Seattle couldn’t have been more perfect. The leadership of the Brotherhood was about to take power from their lord when that happened.

"Their leader called a meeting, and the Board was nowhere to be found. The transition of power didn’t take place; it started a civil war within the Brotherhood. Well our friends in Romania felt betrayed after the Seattle incident."

"Why would they feel that?"

"Because they paid the Brotherhood tribute to leave our kind alone. After what happened in Greece, they figured that the Brotherhood was not living up to their end of the deal."

"That doesn’t explain Seattle though."

"Well, they knew that Seattle was retaliation for something. Unfortunately they kind of united the Brotherhood again. But they’re still fighting amongst themselves, but now it’s on a smaller scale. So now our kind is doing their best to encourage the hostilities between them.

"Yeah."

"I take it you know that Arthur the One Eye is on the lose again?"

"Yes. The emissary said that if I killed him they would leave me in peace. Well, as long as I didn’t make an army out here."

"Are you planning to?"

"No of course not."

"One can hope right?"

"You’re impossible Alec. Do you think they’ll honor their agreement?"

"For now probably. That’s one of the things the Brotherhood is known for, honoring its treaties. But remember the leadership is changing. So I wouldn’t count on it completely. Right now I would say your greatest threat is Arthur."

"The Brotherhood isn’t looking for him?"

"I doubt it. If he falls into their lap, I’m sure they’ll kill him. But as long as he keeps a low profile, they’re not going to bother looking for him."

"Why?"

"Because they know what he’ll do."

"What’s that?"

"Kill vampires. Just because he’s left the Brotherhood, doesn’t mean he’ll stop doing what he does best. That’s also probably why they made their pact with you."

"They believe he’ll kill me."

"Or you kill him. Problem solved, and if you become a problem later, they’ll deal with it. But I really doubt they’ll just sit around and leave you in peace. They’ll keep an eye on you. Remember if you find that they are and you kill their spies, they’ll use that as a reason to come after you.

"Great. Maybe I’ll just move."

"They’ll come after you for sure. I’m surprised they didn’t tell you to stay put."

"They did. They said that if I needed to move, they would be willing to renegotiate."

"They definitely want to keep an eye on you."

"Thanks Alec. You’ve been a big help."

"You’re welcome, do you have any more wild plans I might want to know about?"

"No, I might go out of town with Anne. But no massacres planned."

"That’s too bad."

"Bye Alec."

"Good bye my young friend."

"That’s all of it." Ryan said, "Anything good?"

"It was a conversation between Penelope and a vampire named Alec." I explained.

"Who’s Alec? Do you know him?"

"Yes." Christopher said.

"How much of the conversation did you understand?" I asked Christopher.

"I caught most of it."

"Well I didn’t catch any of it. And who‘s Alec?" Ryan said.

"Alec is a vampire that is kept at the Vatican." I explained.

"The Vatican?" Ryan asked.

"Yes. He’s some kind of vampire priest. He preserves some of their archives." Christopher explained.

"And the Vatican knows he’s a vampire?" Ryan asked

"Yes. And to answer your next question, the Vatican also protects him." I explained

"That’s crazy." Ryan said.

"That’s the world of the Brotherhood." Christopher said irritably.

"I think we need to gather the troops and head back to Washington State." I said.

"Why, the Brotherhood is keeping its eyes on that female. We need to get organized and start a new offensive against the Brotherhood." Christopher said.

"What in the world for?" I asked.

"That female by her own words is no threat anyone. But the Brotherhood is a threat to everything!" Christopher countered.

"The only thing the Brotherhood is a threat to is your ambitions. Which I could care less about by the way. I’m a vampire hunter; the complete annihilation of that vermin is all I care about. The Brotherhood, as unwilling to do anything as they are, are in the business of killing them. So I can care less at what they do as long as they don’t get in my way.

"I’m going to Washington State. Ryan, are you coming with me? Or do you plan to wage war against the Brotherhood?"

"I’m with you Sir." he responded.

"Then we’re going back to America. But first I need a little more info on what the Brotherhood’s up too. Since all you seem to care about is fighting our own kind, would you like to help me take a prisoner?" I asked Christopher.

He kind of shrugged, "Sure, I guess. Who do you have in mind?"

"Their emissary." I said.

I figured if anyone would have an up-to-date on what they were planning, he would.

*

"What are you doing?"

"Buying plane tickets." I said.

"Where we going?" Anne asked.

"Hawaii."

"We’re going to Hawaii? For how long" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, eleven days. You up for it?"

"Oh yeah. When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow." I said glad that Anne was willing to go.

"Wow, what brought this on?" she asked sitting on my desk.

"Oh, I was wanting to go for some time. I figured it was as good as any."

"You don’t think the Brotherhood is going to get pissed that we’re leaving Whidbey will they?"

"Who cares? I would only worry about them if we left for good."

"I’ve never been to Hawaii before." Anne said.

"I have, it’s nice. I could use the sun. Plus, there are no vampires there, nor Brotherhood."

"There are no vampires there?"

"No, most vampires don’t go outside in the day time."

"Really? How come we do?" Anne asked.

"Cause no one in their right mind would mess with us. Daytime is the providence of the strong. Dave goes outside because the only two vampires on Whidbey Island he’s friends with. If we weren’t friends with him, he wouldn’t. Nor would he even settle here." I explained.

"That’s funny. I don’t think anything about going outside."

"That’s because you’re strong, and never met anyone stronger than me. But if you came across someone that thought they were half as strong as you, it would mean a fight."

"Man." Anne said.

"Don’t worry about it. Even if they could fight, they wouldn’t stand a chance against you."

"Because I’m strong?"

"Yes. Even an experienced fighter that’s only as strong as Dave would stand no chance against you."

"How do you think I would do against Arthur?"

I thought a little bit about that before I answered, "I think it would depend for the most part."

"Really? On what?"

"If he caught you unarmed. I promise you this, you’ll never find Arthur unarmed."

"In a fair fight, both of us armed?"

"Inside or out?" I asked.

"Out."

"Then I think it would be best if you ran."

"Really?"

"Listen, Arthur is a really good fighter. I would hate the idea of you two fighting one on one."

"You think he would win." she said as a statement.

"Probably." I said sadly.

"What about you?"

"Me, outside in a fair fight he wouldn’t stand a chance. But he knows that. He would never let himself get into that situation."

"But you think he’ll come for us."

"Absolutely."

"But why, if he has no chance?"

"It’s not in his nature to walk away. He’ll find a way to get to us. That’s why I’m

pushing you so hard baby."

"How long do you think it will take for me to get good enough to beat him?" Anne asked.

"Not long I suppose. But I’ll always worry about you. That will never change love."

Anne smiled, "I’m going to take off for a bit."

"Do you want me to come? I won’t be much longer."

"Nah, I want to do a little shopping without you teasing me." Anne said smiling.

"That new credit card’s burning a hole in your pocket?"

"No," Anne said smiling, "It’s just I haven’t done anything by myself since, well you know."

"Getting tired of me already are you?" I asked playfully.

"No!" Anne joked, "Just wanting to get out."

"And you don’t want me laughing at you for whatever you’re buying."

"Right."

"If it’s that bad, you know I’ll laugh at you when you get back?"

"That’s fine; I just don’t need you laughing at me before that." Anne came around and gave me a kiss, "I’ll see you soon."

"Be careful."

"I will." Anne smiled at me, on her way out she hesitated at the fist tank giving it a look and left.

I hated the idea of Anne going out by herself, but she wasn’t my prisoner. I knew that Anne could take care of herself, but as long as Arthur was out there somewhere I would worry.

I was starting to get edgy by the time Anne finally came home. She had been gone for hours and it was starting to get dark. I didn’t want to call her; I didn’t want to seem like the nagging girlfriend that wouldn’t let the other breathe without being weird. I was getting ready to call when she pulled up; I was hoping that the relief wouldn’t be seen on my face. There was no way I could lose her now.

I met Anne at the door; she was carrying a large box and a bag full of stuff. As she came up to the door I took the bag from her.

"Don’t look in there." Anne said.

"Did you get something for me?" I asked

"No, but I want to show you what I got first before you look in the bag."

"Okay." I said following her into the house.

Anne walked over and sat on the couch. She set the large cardboard box in front of her on the coffee table.

"What is that?" I asked.

"You’ll see she." said smiling.

I couldn’t imagine what she had gotten. When it came to Anne, it could be anything. As she opened it, I was surprised. This thing was even out there for her.

"You bought a pink crossbow."

"Yep." she said excitedly.

"It’s pink."

"Well it was camouflage, but I didn’t like that."

"So you had it painted."

"Yeah, that’s why it took so long for me to get home. They had a sprayer there, so I had them painted.

"You had it painted pink."

"Yep."

"Anne what in the hell are you going to do with that thing, fight in the zombie apocalypse?"

"No you silly goose, I’ll shoot Arthur with it I guess. A girl can’t have too many accessories."

I just shook my head, "Let me guess that bag is full of arrows."

"That and something to carry them in. The crossbow only holds like four. But the quiver, it will hold like fifty."

"So you bought fifty to fill it?" I asked playfully.

"Actually I bought fifty four. Plus, some nasty looking arrowheads. Look at these things." she said pulling them out.

The arrowheads looked ugly, I knew they would do a great deal of damage if they hit a body, they had four serrated blades that were very sleek, the heads reminded me of the wings from some stealth fighter jet.

Anne pulled out a scope out of the bag, "This is a red dot sight, and they zeroed it for me. The guys at the store couldn’t believe I could pull the string back.

"When I told them I wanted to look that this one, he had asked if it was a gift for someone. I told him no, that it was for me. You should have seen the look on his face when I was able to pull that thing back."

"You know, it’s not a good idea to let people see how strong you really are." I said playing with her, I could tell she was excited about the pink crossbow and I didn’t want to ruin it for her.

"Yeah I know. Check this out; it has a sling that I can put on it. I’m willing to bet it won’t even give me problems while I’m flying."

I laughed at the thought, "Hun, you better hope it can survive crashing."

"Shut up. I’m getting better at landing."

"Yeah I know."

"Did you get the tickets?"

"Sure did, we’ll have to leave here at about six in the morning. Are you excited?"

"I am. Hey I have some targets in the back of the Escalade. Could you help me get them out please?"

"Sure. But after that we’re going to need to pack."

"Yeah I know. Since there are no vampires or Brotherhood in Hawaii, are you going to wear something other than that ugly one piece?"

I laughed and got up off the couch pulling Anne with me, "I guess you’ll have to wait and see."

*

"Is he in there?" I asked.

"Yes." the young man said.

"How long has he been in there?"

"About a hour." he answered.

"What’s your name again?" I asked.

"Nigel."

"Christopher, how many people do you have here?"

"There are twenty of us."

Christopher was not happy about what was going on. He believed that his role as leader of this rag-tag group was without question. But once they’d heard that Christopher had met with me, they all abandoned his leadership for mine. I could care less who leads them, as long they didn’t get in my way.

If they wanted to follow me, great. But if they did, they would do what they were told or I would remove their head. Christopher found himself not really leading anything anymore, Ryan answered to me, and they all listened to him. And with us as leaders, they saw Christopher as nothing more than another soldier. And Christopher had my leave to go his own way whenever he liked.

"How many people are in there do you think?" I asked not really caring.

"Not sure, in the few hours I’ve been watching, I’ve seen upwards of fifty people go in. And probably ten or so leave." Nigel said.

"So at least forty, I’m willing to guess sixty." I said.

"So were outnumbered three to one." Christopher said gloomily.

"What has that to do with anything?" I asked curtly, "Just means you’ll have to kill them faster." I said looking back at the Paris Hall of the Brotherhood.

"What time is it?" Ryan asked.

"A little after midnight." I said without looking at my watch, "Gather everyone in the alley."

After a few minutes everyone gathered around. We were all armed and ready for a good brawl. I looked at each one of them, they were all good fighters. Their battle harden faces showed the scars of experience. For some of them, it would be a nice break from fighting vampires. They all were ready to redeem their honor from past defeats.

"Ryan, I want you and someone else to go around back and make sure the emissary doesn’t escape that way."

"Yes sir, with respect, can I ask why?" Ryan asked.

"Because you’re the most inexperienced. Normally I wouldn’t care, but you’ve become too important to me with your technical know-how to die needlessly

trying to proof yourself. Plus, you know what he looks like. And chances are he’s going to split as soon as the fighting starts. Ben isn’t a fighter. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Don’t worry my young friend; there will be plenty of time for valor. Take someone and go."

"Yes sir." Ryan grabbed someone at random and took off.

"I want the emissary alive. Kill everyone else. I don’t care about what’s happened to you in the past, our mission is the emissary. If any of you kill him, you’ll be dead before sunrise. Do you understand?"

Once I was satisfied that they all understood, we moved from the alley to the hall. I could hear the cheerful atmosphere from inside. I drew my sword as I stepped up onto the sidewalk.

As I walked up to the door, someone opened it. He was looking over his shoulder saying his goodbyes and didn’t see me approach. I reached out and grabbed him by the back of his head and stabbed him hard. I pulled my sword out and came through the door like a wild bull.

No one in sight appeared to be armed, but I knew that would last. Every Brotherhood hall had an abundance of weapons in it. I killed three people before I met someone with a sword.

My little band of ronin brothers rushed around me, they needed no goading. It was a good thing, the hall was packed, and we were easily outnumbered three to one.

The man that I faced seemed surprised that I wasn’t a vampire. Though he was skilled with the sword, he fell easily. He hacked at me like I was firewood, I checked his swing several times, had two of mine checked, and then I opened his throat with a back cut. Not losing my momentum, I chopped down someone from behind that was fighting one of my new brothers.

Someone tried to stab me, I let his sword go by me and I grabbed his sword arm with my left hand and stabbed him through the ribs. As I pulled my sword free, someone swung at me. I leaned back out of the way and came at him; I threw an easily defendable blow hoping he would take my bait. He checked it and like a

snake strike, I came over his sword and chopped both his hands off above the wrist.

I had struck down seven men, if everyone else was doing as well as I was the fight would take much longer. I loved this part of battle, everything slowed down. I could see everything in complete clarity. I could see if someone was wearing a wedding ring, the grey whiskers of someone’s two day old beard. I was starting to see the faces of my brothers more and more in the battle.

The Brotherhood soldiers were starting to thin. They all had become weak; they spent too much time hunting vampires in large packs. They became too focused on the prestige of holding the Brotherhood title, they had become complacent. This wasn’t a battle, it was a slaughter.

I could hear them starting to ask for mercy, the weak would get none. I looked around at the mass of dead, we came in with eighteen, seven had fallen. We dispatched the Brotherhood wounded and nursed the injuries of the few that were wounded; the worse one of us had a deep cut across the ribs. It would heal and he would fight another day.

"Wow." Ryan said coming through the back alone with the emissary.

"Good, you got him. Where’s your friend?"

"Dead. The emissary had a few guys with him." Ryan said shoving the Ben towards me.

"You’ll pay for this Arthur." Ben said.

"Yeah I know." I said with a smile, "You do realize that the Brotherhood brought this on itself."

"If you would have followed orders you would have never been arrested in the first place!"

"I don’t take orders. I do what I want, and if what I want is what the Brotherhood wants, then I guess you could call that following orders. But I kill vampires, unlike you."

"We kill vampires too, but we look at the bigger picture."

"And that bigger picture is in conflict with what I do. You care nothing of killing vampires, only having this scum grovel to you." I said pointing at the dead, "If you cared more for killing that vermin then being worshipped, you wouldn’t be in

the situation that you’re in now!" I snapped.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." Christopher said pulling someone up from the floor.

"What?" I asked.

"If I’m not mistaken, this is a Board member." he said.

I smirked, "He is. See if there’s any more of them. Ryan, Christopher, after your finished looking through the dead, take the emissary and our wounded back to the safe house. Leave the dead. They’re of no used to us now. Make sure we don’t leave any identification of our people."

"We’re just going to leave them?" Christopher asked.

"What are we going to do with them? Let them be of use one last time. With their bodies left here, it adds to the death count. Give the Brotherhood something to be afraid of."

On my way out I saw one of our dead, it was Nigel. He laid there on his back looking up into space. He had a nasty wound to his throat. Someone had cut it almost to his spine, he must have been killed almost immediately because of how close he laid by the door. Seemed like such a waist. Vampires running free and unchecked, and here we were killing each other. But if he couldn’t stay alive fighting humans, what good would he be fighting vampires?