Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:26:47 +1200
From: Arthur <artcart65@vodafone.co.nz>
Subject: prince of house vladd - book 2 - chapter 4

			   PRINCE OF HOUSE VLADD

				  BOOK 2

				 CHAPTER 4

				 BY ARTHUR


Peter and Swiftwing looked up at their two, now teenage sons, the boys
stood immobile as the masses below them chanted and cried out in
recognition, the time of the Toltec had returned in the form of two young
teenage boys, the power of the ancients had been seen and now the young
gods of good and evil could reign once again.

The two teens descended from the alter and came to stand in front of their
two Fathers, with the innocents of youth backed by the knowledge of the
ancients, Quetz and Tezca spoke in unison to their earthly Fathers.

"Will you still be our Dads?"

Peter looked at Swiftwing and saw that his lover had the same single tear
in his eye as Peter felt in his own, they looked at the two teens and Peter
answered for both of them.

"Of course we will, if you want us too."

Again the boys spoke in unison, one like the echo of the other.

"Yes Daddy P, we both want to be your sons, we always will be, it was you
who saved us both, but we have to ask you a special favour?"

"Any thing; as long as you're both happy and safe."

"There's going to be times when we will have to do things that may hurt
people, lots of people, will you still love us as your sons, even when we
have to do these things?"

"Oh, Quetz, Tezca, we drink blood from men, how can we set limits on you,
we both feel that you have wisdom far above your years, we know you will do
whatever you have to for a good reason."

Both teens then let the hand of the other go and ran into the waiting arms
of their adopted Fathers, Peter and Swiftwing felt the love come from the
two teens as well as the feeling of power radiating from their new bodies,
suddenly all four were conscious of the silence around them, looking up,
they saw that the huge temple was empty, only the piles of food and flowers
remained where not long ago, were a thousand people.

While Peter and Swiftwing were a little startled by the sudden
disappearance of so many, all they could think of was the warm loving hug
of the two teens, it had been sealed, they were now the accepted Fathers of
the two most powerful gods of the Toltec nation and, unknown to them, there
was far more to come in the very near future.

As they released their sons, Peter and Swiftwing felt the presence of a
human, looking behind them they saw the old man standing alone facing the
alter and behind him in the far darkness stood the other three. The elder
moved forward and, with a very low bow to Quetz and Tezca, he laid his long
carved staff at the teens feet, with a few ancient words, he stepped back
and made room for the other three elders to follow his example until all
four staffs were at the feet of the teens, with that accomplished, the four
elders turned after one more bow, and left the temple.

Quetz and Tezca bent down and picked up the staffs, two each, one in the
right hand, the other in the left, both Peter and Swiftwing felt the air
around them move and again, the impenetrable darkness surrounded them for a
few seconds, when the light returned they saw their two sons now held
shorter staffs, the long ones had become no more than fifteen inches long
but the detail on the top of the staffs were now more easy to see.

For Quetz the symbols were now of the Sun and the Serpent, for Tezca he
held the symbols of the Moon and the Cat, all four staffs were of the usual
stylised carving of the Toltec but the symbols were easily translatable,
Quetz was the bearer of good and light, Tezca was the carrier of darkness
and power, the two young gods were now complete.

An hour later and deep in the pyramid, Peter and Swiftwing watched through
the open door of the boys bedroom, they had been on their way to rest up
when they felt they wanted to check on their sons one last time, they stood
with an arm around each others waist as they looked at the suddenly older
sons.

Quetz was tightly spooned into Tezca's stomach, Tezca had one arm under
Quetz head and around his chest, the other arm was holding Quetz tightly
around the waist, from head to toe there was not and inch of open space
between the two boys and the two new Fathers could easily see that Tezca's
only other appendage was also well seated where it would best fit, both
boys were asleep and seemed just like any other teenage boy at that moment,
Swiftwing gave Peter a slight hug around the waist and began to lead his
lover away from their boys room.

For the next two months people arrived at the pyramid, some in small family
groups, others in larger numbers, each and everyone carried some form of
gift, some were very valuable gem encrusted gold and silver jewellery and
artifacts, others had simple food stuffs, even flowers of a very exotic
nature, all were laid at the foot of the pyramid, the two boys would each
time go down to receive the gifts and say a few words in the ancient
dialect, Peter soon learned that it was an expected blessing by the boys.

Once, when Peter asked Quetz who all the arriving people were, he was told
they were all followers, they came from all over South America, all were
descendants of the Inca, Aztec, Mayan, or Toltec, all of the ancient
peoples of South America, all had the same history in one form or another
but the one underlying fact was the return of their twin gods when the time
was right for them to again take their true place in history.

While the two boys had been hard at their old duties, Peter and Swiftwing
had been keeping a close eye on the happenings further up North, President
Carabine was quickly settling old scores, his outrageous policies were
becoming more restrictive and destructive, his pogroms were now taking on
the look of genocide as first one then another of the established religions
was outlawed.

All Muslims were deemed to be either terrorists, supporters of terrorists
or suspected of being in league with terrorists, the jails began to fill as
the National Guard set about rounding up all known or suspected Muslims,
there were also many good god fearing Americans who were only too happy to
help in this clean up.

Next were the fringe religions, it was easy for Peter and Swiftwing to see
where it was all going, each day or two revealed a new edict, there was no
longer a Congress or Senate to temper Carabine's desires, the whole country
was under the newly enacted Martial Law, only President Carabine could end
it and it was obvious he had no intentions of giving up such total power.

All troops overseas were withdrawn without consultation; his explanation
was they were needed more at home than in some distant place that could not
look after its own affairs, President Carabine had more important things to
do than be the policeman of others problems, oil or no oil, the President
was going to have his way, and his way was the way of gods word, he had
seen it all in the good book and anyone disagreeing with him was quickly
cast as one of the devils spawn.

Slowly, at first, the countries of the world began to remove their
diplomats, first, the South American countries, they were quickly followed
by the smaller nations, the next blow to President Carabine's pride came
from the countries he had had his troops in, the Middle East, all were oil
producing countries but, even this did not deter President Carabine in his
quest to make sure America was truly God's country.

Across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, huge oil tankers suddenly received
orders from their owners, they were too immediately turn around and make
for other designated ports, their valuable oil was not to be unloaded on
American soil.

Two of the last embassies to close were Canada and Mexico, as the diplomats
left, the borders of both countries were sealed and extra troops were put
at the barriers to make sure none but the people of their own country
crossed into their respective lands, the U.S.A, was now isolated from the
rest of the world, except for their biggest creditor, China.

President Carabine sat in the oval office, the departure of the embassies
had been a little shock but not unexpected, at least now he could go his
own way without the perpetual interference of outside policies and
diplomats, as he sat and planned for the next part of his offence against
the evils of man, the red phone by his elbow rang in a soft muted tone, it
could only be one person as it was a direct line to the Premier of the
Peoples Republic of China, President Carabine lifted the handset, he had
little to fear from the man, the country owed China close to seven trillion
dollars and the Chinese were nothing if not mercenary, the dollars would
come before any action against the U.S. would be taken.

"Mr. Premier." President Carabine replied as he heard the voice of Premier
Sheng Chang Yu on the other end of the phone connection.

"Mr. President, I must apologise for the reason for this call, it is beyond
my own personal power to resist, I have the unfortunate duty to inform you,
that the Committee of the Peoples Republic of China have voted that the
United States of America must forthwith, fulfil all its monetary
obligations to the Peoples Republic, should your country fail to meet these
obligations, the Peoples Republic will be forced to take the necessary
actions."

"Mr. Premier." President Carabine's voice was distinctly frigid as he
spoke, "Just what do you mean by having to fulfil our obligations, we have
at all times met the required loan payments and there has been no default
on our part."

"Mr. President, included in the conditions of the loan contracts is a
rider, that states, if the U.S. comes under political or rebellious attack
then the full value of the loan is to be remitted to the lender,
Mr. President, that time has come, we are calling for the full repayment of
the loan and, until your country is once again stable, we will be unable to
assist in any way."

Carabine was on the verge of going ballistic, his face became redder and
his breathing shorter as he took in the full implications of the Chinese
demand, if the U.S. repaid the loan in full, it would be virtually
bankrupt, it was at this stage that Carabine realised he had been right all
along, the world only wanted what the U.S. had, it was always the way,
these foreigners and dictators were only after the freedoms that the
U.S. was so proud of, President Carabine huffed noisily as he made up his
mind, now was the time to stand up to these chink upstarts.

"Mr. Premier, the U.S. has always stood for freedom and enterprise, we will
not be blackmailed by the likes of you, from this moment your Embassy is no
longer valid on these shores, you will remove your diplomats within the
next five hours or they will be arrested as illegal aliens, as for your
extortionate loan, consider the fact I am allowing your subversive
diplomats to leave as full payment, good bye, Mr. Premier."

President Carabine slammed the phone down and then. In a fit of anger,
reached down and pulled the wire from the wall socket, the U.S. had been
pandering to the Chinese for far to long, it was time they were put in
their place and kept there, a new form of edict snapped into Carabine's
mind.

He had over the last four months, managed to institute the one church, all
other religions were now banned, all assets and monies had been seized and
redirected to the accounts of the Destiny Church, any land had been
confiscated and redistributed to the many new bishops of his Church, as
each Embassy had been vacated, he had set his troops to rounding up and
deporting all peoples of that country regardless of their legal standing in
the U.S.

All citizenship papers of foreign nationals were revoked and every
available ship was put to carrying the now displaced people off shore, due
to the loans with China, he had refrained from deporting any of their
people but now that the loan had been called in, he had his final excuse to
get rid of them from his shores, only true patriotic white Americans would
be allowed to live in this country of God and all would live by his rules.

To make space in his prisons for the many defaulters, President Carabine
had ordered all white Americans released from the prisons and hired as
special security personnel under the orders of the President and his
military advisors, these ex prisoners were then trained and armed, they
were used to find and evict foreigners no matter their legal status,
America could not be free until all aliens had been sent from its shores
and only the white god fearing Americans were left.

There were only three states that withstood his edicts but, he would soon
bring them to heel when all the others were more settled, any resistance to
his orders was met with force, only the three defaulters were a problem,
one, Hawaii could be left to its own devices, he had pulled all military
personnel from its heathen shores except for a small force to keep watch in
the last Naval Intelligence office on Maui, all other personnel were on
their way home.

The military had been ordered to go through all its records and mark all
and any servicemen who were not white Americans, when the ships finally
docked, all those not of pure American stock would be discharged and
deported, only true Americans would be allowed to bare arms.

His other problem states were Alaska and California, California had always
been a problem, they seemed to live in a dream world made by the movie
moguls, he would have to break them of those habits, already he had banned
the making of any further movies without his personal clearance of their
content.

Alaska was a real problem, after the closing of the Canadian border, the
pipelines from Alaska had come under threat, the valuable oil they carried
was now the only supplement to the oil held by the U.S., although this was
a worry, President Carabine had no illusions about protecting his interests
if the Canadians decided to close off the pipelines, in two weeks all
overseas troops would be back home, if he had to invade the west coast to
protect his pipeline then he would do it.

President Carabine had no doubt he was the answer to all the problems of
the U.S., he had been assured that all devil worshipers and those who would
not follow the Destiny Church were now under control, even the hints of
devil beings had been for nothing, there had been a raid on an unusual
building in one of the southern states, it had been reported that street
kids were telling stories that werewolves and vampires lived there, it was,
of course, all fanciful dreams of young minds that had no valid Christian
ethic, he would soon change that when he had rid America from the influence
of foreigners.

The suspected house had been no more than a warehouse used by street
vermin, although it had been renovated recently, there had been no sign of
life anywhere in the building, it appeared the owners had never used it
once it had been finished and, as to the fable of weird creatures, it was
of course, false, God would never allow such things to exist in his world,
they were just scary stories if idle minds, that also he would change.

But what to do about California, they were already talking about
annexation, that he would never allow, Texas had been a tough state to
bring under his control and he had had to have a number of its
representatives arrested and imprisoned as well as a large military
presence in the state capitol before they came to their senses and joined
his Church and followed his rules.

President Carabine lifted up the red file folder, it was marked for his
eyes only and was headed <EMIGRATION> it was a daily list of the numbers of
aliens begin deported from all coastal ports, the rules for this were very
strict, they were allowed one small suit case of clothes, all cash,
valuables, credit cards and any other form of cash or credit were to be
turned over to the authorities, those who tried to smuggle anything out of
the U.S. met very severe penalties, some even disappeared and were never
seen or heard from again, the unit responsible for making sure all
valuables were turned over to the State were the same men who were once
guests of the U.S prison system, who better to know how to hide things than
the very men who made a living of it, was President Carabine's opinion.

His first order to bring California into line was the ending of any Federal
monetary assistance, they were now very deeply in debt and their
infrastructure would not last long before the citizens began to rebel, with
no movies being allowed to be made and all finance for them halted, many of
their once rich citizens were now finding it harder to meet their
extravagant expenses, their life styles were beginning to drop, it would
not be long before President Carabine had his way.

Now he had the Chinese problem, his first call was to the U.S. Treasury
Department, all payments to overseas loans was halted, there would be no
pay back to the Chinese, they could go and whistle for it, he had a whole
country behind him and with all his troops home soon he would be able to
withstand any advances the Chinese might try to make.

The President sent out his next edict, All Asians were now to be considered
`persona non gratis' anyone of Asian descent was to be deported to the
nearest non American country, all financial restrictions were to apply,
President Carabine called in one of his secretaries and issued the order,
it was to be sent to all Emigration specialists for immediate action, the
President sat back and sighed with satisfaction, at last he could now make
America great again as long as it was under the rule of the Destiny Church
and the direction of President Carabine.

Peter and Swiftwing read the latest reports that their computer experts had
hacked from the government mainframes, all military traffic had been
watched as well as all and any government orders, Peter's people were
probably better informed on what was happening than Carabine's own people
were.

Quetz and Tezca had deactivated all of the safety features of the three
floors below the temple so that Peter's people had more space to live in,
only the next two floors which were the treasure floors, and the ground
floor where the exit/entrance were to the base of the pyramid, were kept
active, anyone wishing to wander around them had to have one or other of
the boys with them as there was no other way to deactivate the deadly traps
of the ancients.

Still the native people arrived at the pyramid to see for themselves that
the two young gods had returned, each new arrival brought some form of
offering and, once blessed by the two boys, would melt back into the dark
green of the surrounding jungle, Peter estimated that there had to be
somewhere around ten thousand people now spread throughout the area
although very few were ever seen but each morning there would be mounds of
food and flowers laying at the base of the pyramid as offerings, the new
residents of the pyramid wanted for nothing.

Each evening, Peter would read through and correspond via web messenger
with his Council and any other of the folk that wanted his attention, a
picture began to form of how his people were spread through the Southern
continent, in most cases they had had an easy transition and were welcomed
by many of the folk who resided down there although there were the
occassional small disputes, most times they were settled in the usual way
of the folk and did not need any rulings from the Council.

Peter made sure he kept in contact with Torson in House Vaga, they had been
investigated but he had got all his boys safely down in the hidden cellars
and waited out the investigation up above, only those who had to feed went
out, and then only during darkness, their supermarket had been taken over
by some members of the Destiny Church and the club had been closed and then
stripped of everything valuable but the secret exits of the Vaga had gone
undetected and they still had access to the streets but had to keep a very
low profile.

Peter went over some of the plans forming in his mind about helping Torson
and his boys but it would be a while yet before they could be put into
operation, in the meantime, Torson would have to play it as he had been,
during the time of the deportations they would be relatively safe but they
would have to be very careful once it had all settled down, Carabine would
then be looking for something else to rule over.

It was now only two days until the rising of the full moon, Swiftwing began
to feel an unusual sense of being pulled in the direction of the nearby
jungle, this strange feeling had been building for a few days but now close
to the full moon it had become almost irresistible, Swiftwing went to find
Peter and discuss it, after an hour of thought and suggestions, Peter
finally talked Swiftwing into following his feelings and Swiftwing set
about preparing as best he could.

The last piece of the puzzle was put in place by Tezca and this convinced
Swiftwing to start his unknown journey.

"Dad, you have to go, it's time to find yourself for the last time." Tezca
told him when he saw the indecision on Swiftwing's face.

Swiftwing smiled at his second son and sighed in acknowledgement of the
teens wisdom, it was obviously a message from the spirits and there was no
way he would defy them, Swiftwing shrugged his small medicine bag a little
higher on his naked shoulder and gave Tezca a tight hug with his free arm,
with a quick kiss on the teen's forehead, Swiftwing set his steps for the
nearby jungle.

As he moved forward, Swiftwing for the first time noticed the low hum of
voices and the clink and clank of tools around him, taking more notice of
his surroundings, Swiftwing now saw that the influx of people had another
purpose, it seemed every man, woman and child was quietly working away in
the jungle surrounding the main temple pyramid, Swiftwing began to get
glimpses of recently revealed old ruins, now though, the old stones were
being cleaned and repaired by the many new people of the ancients, the old
city was being brought back to life one stone at a time.

Swiftwing moved on, his eyes seemed to see a path that was not their to the
normal eye, his extra sharp senses picked up the myriad sounds of the
surrounding jungle, his eyes saw the subtle movements of small insects and
reptiles, his eyes saw the quick movements of hidden denizens as they went
about their lives, his nose picked out the subtle scents of tropical
flowers and even the less noticeable smell of pheromones from mating
insects, all around him the jungle was alive and vibrant but to a human eye
all was silent and still, Swiftwing moved with grace through the life
around him with wonderment at his Creator for all the good things he had
given man.

Swiftwing moved on with no idea where his steps were taking him, a calmness
overtook him as he moved with smooth strides through the unfamiliar jungle
but all around him was peace and a strangely comforting
feeling. Occasionally he caught small glimpses of old stone works covered
in jungle vines and small plants, he realised he was still moving in what
had been a vast city of the ancients.

It was just on dusk when he got the feeling that he had arrived where he
was meant to be, as if told by some unseen force, Swiftwing stopped and
opened his medicine bag, from it he took the two necklaces and placed them
around his neck, next he took the two eagle feathers that he had now bound
together for a two quill fan, his hair was now loose and flowing as it lay
almost to the middle of his back, only the red headband kept it out of his
eyes, Swiftwing moved forward again and then saw, appearing out of the
surrounding trees, another small pyramid.

Swiftwing looked up at the small version of the home pyramid, this one was
very plain and only about 30 metres high, at the very top was a small
square stone building, its front face open to show nothing but blackness
inside, slowly, Swiftwing followed his innate instincts and began to climb
the stone steps to the small square cairn on top.

Once at the top he saw a small cleared area in front of the opening, carved
into the stone were a myriad of ancient symbols that he could not read but
at the same time seemed familiar, Swiftwing, as though commanded by unseen
forces, lowered himself into a cross legged position in front of the dark
doorway, he took from his bag the small stone pipe and held it in his right
hand, in his left he held the feather fan, Swiftwing closed his eyes and
let the spirits come to him.

Time stood still for the semi naked Shaman as he sat and waited for what
might come, darkness had fallen as he sat and patiently waited for the
reason of his being here, it started as no more than a light breeze against
his skin, then, a light touch like a Childs fingers running over his
shoulders, slowly the feeling grew, it was now like a swirling wind around
him, his long silken black hair was being lifted from his skin as though
pulled by an unseen vortex and still he sat and waited with his eyes closed
and his mind open and bare for the spirits to look into.

Had anyone been up and watching in his direction as the moon rose higher in
the evening sky, they would have hidden in fear at what they saw, above the
old stone ruin was now a dense black vortex of small vampire bats, they
formed a solid funnel starting just above the head of a semi naked Indian
teen and growing ever larger as it rose higher into the night sky, the
vortex was made up of thousands of the small vampire bats and , if they had
been watching, the numbers grew as the moon rose higher, the solitary
figure below them remained immobile as the black funnel swirled around and
above him, the boys long black hair was now being pulled upward by the
strength of the updraft and still he sat and waited.

As the moon reached its highest point in the sky, the vortex suddenly
became a thick black cloud that hung above the small figure as it pulsed
with the life of many thousands of the small black bats, only one single
bat remained near the young Shaman, slowly it descended and settled onto
the Shamans bare knee, close to where the boy held the old stone pipe.

Swiftwing opened his eyes and looked down at the small black animal, its
eyes were watching him with an unwavering intensity, its miniature fangs
could easily be seen in its rodent shaped mouth, the large ears were
twitching as it listened for any sounds of danger while above the black
cloud continued to move in pulsating shapes that swirled and changed as
those above circled the two solitary figures in the darkness below.

Pictures began to form in Swiftwing's mind as he looked with interest and
understanding at the small animal as it clasped tightly onto his bare skin,
here was another messenger from the spirits, and so Swiftwing opened his
mind further, he was suddenly flooded with another form of knowledge, one
he had never thought of, not only did his understanding of the Creator grow
but a plan of how they were going to be able to not only return home, but
how President Carabine could be defeated.

As the last of the information was placed in his mind, Swiftwing became
aware of the heavy orange scent of the rare Death Orchid, this was so rare
that it was only the local natives that knew of its existence, Swiftwing
himself would not have recognised it but for his new knowledge.

The Death Orchid was found only on the Yucatan, it was no bigger than a
thumb nail and bloomed only over the five days of the full moon, two days
prior to the full moon through until two days after, at this time, the sap
of the flower stem was a virulent poison, it was used in ancient times in
minute doses, to dull the senses of the sacrifices before the living hearts
were ripped from their bodies as a gift to the two gods, now Swiftwing was
given the knowledge of how to harvest and prepare the sap as well as the
ability to find the small sparse flowers when he need to.

Swiftwing barely felt the bat leave his knee but saw it take flight and
head towards the dark opening of the stone cairn, as if it was a signal,
the huge mass of cloud above him descended and was soon swallowed up in the
blackness of the cairn, slowly, just as the first rays of dawn snuck over
the top of the trees, Swiftwing again closed his eyes, inside his head it
was like a vast blackness and swirling in the blackness were thousands upon
thousands of small bright lights like the stars in the sky but, these
swirled and turned as though controlled by an unseen hand.

As the first calls of the awakening birds of the jungle began their dawn
chorus, Swiftwing began to understand their various languages, he heard the
calls of the birds as they made ready for another day and the chirps of the
night insects, as they went to their havens until the next night,
everything around him became alive and, Swiftwing understood it all.

As the first rays of the rising sun hit the small temple, it lighted upon
the many vines that covered the stones; they too became alive and. With
infinite slowness, sent out their tendrils towards the still figure as
though searching him out, from their slick green skins, small polyps began
to form in the warming sunlight, an hour later and the polyps were swollen
and ready to emit their contents, by now, even Swiftwing could feel the
gentle caress of the thin vines on his naked skin, but, still he sat in his
trance and watched the swirling mass of light in his own head.

As he waited, Swiftwing now saw that as each bird called, one of the
swirling lights would flare and Swiftwing would hear the interpretations of
the bird call, in his head he now held the universe of the jungle, soon the
pervasive smell of the young vines began to invade his senses as the
swollen polyps softly popped and the minute green spoors became a cloud
surrounding the young Shaman, it began to settle on his bare skin, then it
was on and in his long flowing hair, a short time later and all that could
be seen was the vague outline of a seated figure under a green blanket of
living green, but still he sat, time was no longer a factor in the miracles
that were taking place with the young Shaman.

The pin points of light in Swiftwing's head were now flashing in a larger
and larger cascade of light as he felt the life of the plants and trees
talk to him in new ways, he felt the sap running, he felt the stretch of
new bark and he felt the glory of new leafs unfurling to taste the sun for
the first time, Swiftwing was for the first time, truly alive and in his
element as the lifeblood of the Creator was poured into him, now he was a
part of the natural life of the planet, with this new understanding.

Swiftwing opened his eyes once again and, through the mists of green that
covered him from head to foot, he saw emerging from the black hole of the
doorway, the large figure of a semi winged serpent and in his mind was the
one word repeated endlessly, "QUEZTLCOATL" over and over again it ran
through his mind and, just as it was about to overwhelm his sanity, from
the dark depths walked the twin images of his two sons.

Above the head of Quetz was the bright glare of the sun, above Tezca was
the more subdued blue light of the moon and, from the misshapen mouth of
the winged serpent came a hissing voice that echoed in Swiftwing's head as
the swirling lights that had been there before, dimmed and made way for the
thoughts and words of the serpent, the words seemed to form in colours but
were easily understood by the newly awakened Shaman.

"Entrusted to your care are my two selves, he who is known as Quetzalli and
he who is known as Tezcatlipoca, our time has come and you will lead them
to a new freedom, take all the Creator has given you and use it wisely,
for, as you are the last of yours, they are the last of mine, when the time
comes, they will lead the way of rebirth and man will return to the true
Creator."

A sudden stillness and quiet descended over the small temple and Swiftwing
slumped into unconsciousness as the last of the sunlight disappeared over
the far off horizon, the surrounding jungle darkened and the night sounds
began to intensify as darkness took over, Swiftwing remained sitting
although he was in the deep sleep of exhaustion, his body seemed to be held
up by the hundreds of small vines entwined around his body.

That was how he was found the next morning by the four elders, slowly they
began to carefully unwind the clasping vines from his young body, small
puffs of green spoors began to fill the air around them as they worked,
finally he was free, only the green covering his skin remained, carefully
they helped the now awake young Shaman to his feet and, with careful hands,
they helped him to walk down the steep steps of the old temple, the small
puffs of spoors falling as he walked, wherever the spoors fell, a new
miniature vine began until, behind Swiftwing and the four elders, there was
a new carpet of green that outshone all the other greenery around the
pyramid.

Swiftwing was lead by the elders back to the main pyramid, inside himself
he could feel the need to feed, it was then that he knew he had been away
for far longer than the single day and night he had thought it was, he
could feel his own weakness as he was helped up the long steep steps to the
temple and placed in the care of his beloved Peter who, somehow, had known
that he would be hungry and had two men held by Levi and Caleb, ready for
him, without thought, Swiftwing attacked and filled himself with new life
giving blood, as soon as he was finished, all strength left him and he
collapsed into Peter's arms and was carried to their room to rest, it was
two days before he could again open his eyes and look around him.

As Swiftwing's eyes opened he became aware of two warm bodies lying close
to his own, looking to either side he saw his two sons curled up asleep,
one on each side, using all his ability to move without disturbing the
sleeping teens, Swiftwing slipped from the comfort of his bed and looked
around the large stone walled room, as though he had an inbuilt radar,
Peter appeared in the doorway and smiled at his partner.

"Hi love, you look better, what happened, you were away for six days and
nights, I was starting to get worried."

Swiftwing smiled at his lover and went to him, clasping Peter in a tight
hug, Swiftwing set about relating all that had gone on while he was away.

When he had finished, Peter then told him about the two boys and how they
had refused to leave Swiftwing's room while he was asleep, they seemed to
have a closer bond to the young Shaman now that he had returned, Peter then
told Swiftwing all that had been going on while he was away, it was no
surprise to Swiftwing that things up north were worsening rapidly as
Carabine grew in power, the new edicts were now becoming repressive to all
but his own circle.

Peter had been spending most of his time with the other members of the
council on video conferencing as they tried to work out a plan to
re-establish their homes once President Carabine's power waned, which they
were sure would happen some time in the future. Outside the pyramid, the
crowds continued to grow as the word spread of the return of the twin gods,
it was also evident that those coming in from all over South America, fully
had the intentions of rebuilding the city of stone and taking it back to
its days of glory under the Toltec.

Each and every morning, the two teens would go out and bless all those that
had just arrived and, each and every morning, there would be food and
offerings left for the new occupants of the sacred pyramid, the jungle
around the ancient stone city began to come alive and, slowly the area
around the center of the city was cleared, old stone paths same into being
after the ground cover was neatly cleared, the great square blocks of stone
were also coming back into their old state, centuries of greenery and grime
fell away under the careful assault of the devotees as they prepared for
the advance into the promised land of the twin gods.

It was fully a week later when the people began to notice the changes
around the temple pyramid, Swiftwing would often be called by the four
elders to go into the jungle with them, when asked by Peter, Swiftwing
would explain he was asked to request permission from the Creator to remove
certain trees and plants from the clearing operations.

The next noticeable thing was the abundance of snakes, scorpions, birds and
the occassional stealthy approach by Jaguars around the city, even with the
increase in these many dangerous creatures, not a single person was ever
attacked, even the deadly Fer De Lance just moved out of anyone's way as
the people went about the business of cleaning the old city, it was also
noticed that whenever the two teen gods appeared, there would suddenly be
two or three very large boa constrictors appear from nowhere and settle
close to the boys, it was the last defining moment for the people working
below, only the gods themselves could have controlled so many wild
creatures and not have a single fatality among the cleaners.

The site of the city became more and more joyful as the gathering thousands
worked to reclaim the ancient city, wherever possible, the mighty trees of
the jungle hardwoods were left where they grew, even if it meant they had
to leave a place in the centre of the ever enlarging square in front of the
pyramid temple, it was under Swiftwing's tutelage and advice that these
mighty trees were left as they were, from their many strong branches came
an ever increasing chorus of birdsong as more and more exotic birds settled
into the welcoming branches.

Every day there was a plethora of colour as the birds took to the air in
search of food, below the birds, the stone city was becoming more apparent
as the clearing accelerated with the influx of more followers of the twin
gods, for Peter there was little to do, here, the two boys were rulers and
his love, Swiftwing was always in demand for his special talents.

Peters main concern had been the need to feed his people, the humans were
well catered for but his vampire folk and those of the Canine and Feline
folk needed much more than fish and vegetables, the problem was solved by
Ramon Delgardo, the streets of the towns and cities were awash with
criminals as they were pushed across the borders of the U.S.

Each week there would be an arrival of a 20 seater mini bus, cuffed and
tied inside were those picked up by Delgardo's agents, as each one was
brought to Peter, he would scan them then decide what their fate would be,
very few were released and made to work for Peter's people except for those
who were very young and had been used as pawns by stronger criminals, these
few odd boys were given the chance to become servants to Peter and his
people or, become a meal, the five or six boys took the only chance they
had and were now employed in the rooms or kitchen as cleaners, they had
been told from the beginning that there would be no escape as the natives
rebuilding the city would soon take care of them if they tried to run.

The city of the Toltec was revealed more and more as the days passed, there
were now so many people around the city that it at times appeared like an
ants nest as they all scurried about clearing and cleaning, the outside of
the temple pyramid was now clear and clean, its dark blue stone shone in
the sun light and the stone walkways and frontal square was now clear of
all greenery but those designated by Swiftwing as special trees that were
to be left in honour of the Creator.

Slowly the city appeared out of the surrounding jungle, walkways and
avenues appeared where before there was only the encroaching jungle, all of
this clearing did not go unnoticed by outsiders, satellites flying high
overhead began to notice the difference in a once green canopy, rum ours
began to do the rounds as word got out to the towns and cities further
afield, it was no accident that the city began to become a target for those
who had no understanding of what it represented.

It began as a few opportunists trying to make a quick peso or dollar and,
for a short time it looked as though the city would come under siege of
another kind, but the natives soon found a way to make outsiders stay away,
at first it was the capture of small groups of treasure seekers but when
they returned from the jungle depths, most looked as though they had seen
ghosts or such horrible events that they refused to talk about it, others
were made of hardier stuff and, arming themselves to the hilt, they tried
to invade the newly discovered city if stone, none returned to their home
cities, their disappearance raised little reaction and others tried to
follow their examples only to disappear in mysterious ways.

Among the criminal element of the modern cities, the stories of wealth were
soon over taken by the stories of dangerous lands and mysterious animals
and even more dangerous beings hidden in the jungle around the supposed
city of gold, the return of the legends of the conquistadors had been
reawakened, everyone at the ancient city knew this would not be the last of
the mini invasions but were confident that they could hold their own
against any who would try.


TBC


Artcart65@vodafone.co.nz