Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:05:41 +1200
From: Arthur <artcart65@vodafone.co.nz>
Subject: chapter 7 book 2 The princeof house vladd

			   PRINCE OF HOUSE VLADD

				 CHAPTER 7

				  BOOK 2

				 BY ARTHUR



The moon was still bright in the night sky when Peter and his folk arrived
at the edge of the jungle by the side of the road, to their left they could
hear the nearby rumble of vehicle motors and the chatter of careless
troops, Peter whispered into his throat mic and the folk melted back into
the cover of the trees then, they all moved soundlessly towards the noise
of the invaders.

As they moved in the cover of the dense trees, Peter took an estimate of
the troops on the road, it was obvious by the actions of the invaders that
the guide boy had done his disappearing act, at the moment the lead troops
were stalled in the middle of the dirt road, a small group were in
conference with maps open on the road in front of them, Peter whispered
more instructions into his mic.

The column looked to be made up of over three hundred men, some were
naturally on alert while others were lounging close to the vehicles, glad
of the short break in their pursuit of the city limits, none suspected they
were under observation from the thick tree line.

Peter judged that they were now only a few miles from the city in a
straight line, the troops however had another two miles of road and then
the long trudge through the jungle on small side tracks, Peter was going to
make sure they would never have to make that long walk.

Peter and Swiftwing came up level with the command group, once again
checking their weapons they then both stepped boldly out onto the road
right beside the group of officers, making no sound it was moments before
the small group noticed they were no longer alone, with a start they all
looked up when Peter gave a small artificial cough.

As the leader spoke up, Peter realised he was from the North and not one of
the Latin gangs that had made up most of the last group, these were well
trained men that had a purpose, Peter stepped quietly forward and looked
the leader in the eye, he also quickly read the mans mind and saw the
picture of the rest of the invasion plan.

"Major Sutton, this is your only warning, take your men back North and
you'll be allowed to leave unharmed, if you continue on your way, there
will be no survivors, this is your only warning."

Peter and Swiftwing used their superior speed and backed into the dark
trees once again, all the invaders saw was a blur and the two teens
disappeared before a word could be directed at them, everything had
happened so fast the group of officers were still not sure they had seen it
but the words seemed to hang in the air, even after the figures had somehow
disappeared into the very darkness of the night.

"What the fuck was that?" Major Sutton asked his circle of officers.

"Not sure, Major, looked like a couple of kids." A Captain replied.

"Out here, what the fuck are they doing out here, this is a war zone, no
place for kids, send a couple of men to find them and bring them back, one
of them looked like a local Indian but the other was definitely a white
boy, go find them."

"Yes Sir." The Captain replied as he turned and called for three men to go
and search for the boys.

Major Sutton turned back to the map and GPS he had been studying as the
three men disappeared into the dark trees where the boys had gone, he had
more important things to do than worry about a couple of kids, five minutes
later only a single shot in the darkness told of the men's position in the
thick trees, another five minutes went by and there was still no sign of
the men, from the depths of the trees and young voice echoed through the
dark night.

"Times up; Major."

Suddenly, from both sides of the road appeared a horde of young teens and
boys, most were armed with long Samurai swords, a few had pistols and one
of the Indians had two strange looking knife blades on short sticks. Major
Sutton had time to think of an old joke about bringing a knife to a gun
fight but, in the blink of an eye, Major Sutton's men were in a fight for
their lives.

Shots began to ring out in the night air, screams and curses filled the
long line of trucks on the road as young teens appeared among them with
swords and began to take a terrible toll of those to slow to re-act, which
was all of them, the deep growl of the Canines could be heard above the
sound of automatic fire along with the higher pitched screams of the
Felines as they attacked with the speed that their abilities gave them.

Major Sutton had pulled as many men into a semi circle around the command
vehicle as he could gather, the sounds of mayhem along the length of the
road grew as another form of teens seemed to fade in and out of sight,
their speed and movements were hard to follow with the human eye, they were
all armed with the Japanese swords which became whirling, flashing silver
lengths of death.

Major Sutton and his men gathered around the lead vehicles tried in
desperation to fire into the attacking teens, many times he was sure they
had hit their target but there seemed to be no effect as the target just
continued on with his attack, seemingly ignoring the hole in his young
body.

As his men dropped from the slashing and twisting swords and knives of the
attacking youths, Major Sutton began to realise they were up against
something or someone that was not human, unfortunately for him, this
realisation came to late to save his men.

Sutton watched and saw that occasionally there was a small victory, one
trooper had used his sidearm just as the life force was ripped from his
body by a huge wolf, the trooper managed, with his last dying breath, to
pull the trigger of his automatic as it was placed under the wolfs jaw, the
wolfs head exploded and both went down together, neither of them moved
again as the fight went on around them.

The dark night was filled with the sounds of battle, the scent of blood
hung heavy in the air as the troops were slowly decimated by the unearthly
teens, the loud chatter of automatic weapons filled the night along with
the screams of dying men, Major Sutton didn't have time to watch all of the
slaughter, he had his own hands full with the attackers that were
descending on his small group of officers.

When it came to hand to hand combat, his superbly trained men were no
contest to the speed and strength of the youths, his men looked slow like
old men when they came into contact with the strange youths, it wasn't
until four of the youths came closer to his small command post that Major
Sutton got a really good look at the youths, he then became really afraid,
all his long forgotten nightmares came back to him, the four youths coming
towards his post were directly from his own nightmares.

The two teens that had warned him earlier were in the lead, they moved like
molten lava but a lot faster, just behind them were what looked like twin
teens, each held one of the long swords except for the Indian boy, he still
held the strange twin knives on sticks.

Major Sutton watched in awe as he saw a bullet slice across the shoulders
of the young dark haired teen in the lead, the effect of the wound did
nothing to slow the boy down, if anything, it only stirred him into action
all the faster, after a long cross slice of his sword which carved a
trooper from shoulder to hip, the boy then leapt high into the air and
performed a perfect back somersault and, as he landed, his sword sliced
neatly through the neck of the man who had shot him, it was done so fast
that the Major was not sure he had seen it at all.

The Captain beside Sutton let off a long burst of automatic fire, the Major
watched as a small line of red holes appeared on the chest of the Indian
boy, forcing the boy back a few steps, to his utter amazement, the slim boy
looked down at the holes that were seeping red blood, and then lifted his
shapely head and smiled in the direction of the Captain.

To the total amazement of the Major, a thick green mist lifted from the
very ground around the Indian boy, seconds later, the mist disappeared
leaving the boy with not a mark on him, Major Sutton suddenly smelt the
strong odour of urine beside him as the Captain released his bladder, it
was the last action the Captain ever made.

As the teens closed in on his small group, Major Sutton saw, for the first
time, the blood red eyes and the long exposed fangs, it was just as
president Carabine had told them, they were face to face with the very
devils spawn, blood suckers of the worst kind, as the thought left his
mind, Major Sutton realised that the sound of fighting had tapered off into
silence as the last of his troopers fell to the devils spawn, he now had
only the eight men left around him, the Captain was now on the ground, his
head nearly severed from his shoulders, the Indian boy had come in and then
stepped back so quickly that the Major hardly saw him do it.

Major Sutton looked around him, five feet in front of him stood the four
young teens, his own men were in a state of fear and shock at the carnage
they had just witnessed, along the roadway there was not a single trooper
standing or breathing, there were now only the eight of them left, the
battle had taken no more than ten minutes, the jungle around them was
silent and only the sound of the eight men's breathing could be heard in
the stillness.

The young dark haired boy, who seemed to be their leader, spoke up.

"You can surrender or die Major, the decision is yours."

Major Sutton could not make up his mind, he had been overwhelmed by the
brutality of the attack and the decimation of his force of over three
hundred men by no less than a small force of teens, although he now knew
part of the answer for that, as he tried to talk he saw the ultimate horror
occur right before his eyes.

>From the edge of the trees he saw two large cats appear, one was a Tiger
of more than nine feet long from nose to tail, beside it was a Black
Panther, its sinuous body moving as though on coiled springs of steel, both
cats surveyed the bodies along the length of the road and, without looking
around, both settled on an individual body and began to tear it to pieces
as they fed, the horror of the scene made up his mind, as he was about to
tell his men to lower their weapons, he heard a soft click of a safety
catch being released from behind him.

Before the Major could call a stop, a loud long burst of firing came from
one of his sergeants positioned just behind him, the bullets ripped towards
the group of four monsters in front of him, much to his surprise, the four
teens seemed to disappear just as the long burst reached them, all Major
Sutton knew from then on was blackness as something heavy thudded into his
skull.

Peter looked down at the seven unconscious men, the sergeant who had fired
at them was lying on the road cut nearly in two by Levi's Katana, the seven
others would go to the cells for food at a later date, from the Major's
mind, Peter had pulled all of the rest of the attack plans, as he called
for the folk to regroup and head towards the city, Peter sent out his
orders for the final defence.

Only those folk who needed to feed stayed behind while the others set off
in a gliding run towards the city four miles away through the jungle, Peter
knew that the helicopters were nearly at their landing zones just a mile
outside the city, they carried sixty highly trained special forces
personnel, they would be set down in three groups of twenty to the North,
East and West of the stone city then make their way forward until they
could get inside and start to lay explosive charges to demolish the city,
Peter picked up the pace, he wanted everything ready well in advance of the
last attack.

Once back at the city, Peter estimated they still had little over half an
hour before the special forces men could make the outskirts of the city, he
set to work readying his defences, there was no worry about losing the
city, they were to strong for that, but Peter wanted information and a few
more men in the cells wouldn't go astray.

Major Sutton awoke to find himself and the few remaining men with him, in a
small stone walled cell, the bars at the front looked very old and hand
made but, they were thick and solid, after looking around in the dimly lit
cell, he realised that they had all been stripped apart from their
skivvies, the only glimmer of light came from wall mounted torches set on
gold sconces along the length of a dim passage.

Hearing a soft giggling sound, he looked out into the dim passage, standing
in front of his cell were two young teen boys, they could not have been
more than fourteen years old, one was very blonde, the other more Latin,
much to the Major's horror, they were holding hands like little homo's did,
his instant revulsion showed plainly on his face as he looked at the two
boys.

Behind the boys were four very young boys, they stood with their heads
bowed and waited in total silence, the disgust on the Major's face grew as
he tried to imagine what the two homo teens did to the young boys to make
them stand totally subservient to the hand holders, his disgust grew as he
saw the blonde boy lean over and kiss the darker boy right on the lips, the
boy then turned back to the Major and, of all insults, he smiled at the
soldier.

The Major spat violently on the floor of his cell at the open display of
all that was horrific to his God's eyes, these boys were not normal, they
were the lowest of the low in his God's eyes, somehow he would destroy
them, even if he had to tear the bars from the stone with his own hands,
the Major's blood pressure increased as he watched the disgusting display
as the two boys turned to leave without saying a word but the final insult
was too much for the Major and he let out a loud roar of anger as the
darker boy turned and blew him a kiss before disappearing into the dimness.

The receding sound of the teens giggles could be heard along the length of
the dim passage as the roar of the Major faded into silence, none of the
captives locked in the depths of the pyramid could hear or feel the effects
of the fighting going on way up above them, if they had any hope of rescue
from the special forces they were going to have a long and disappointing
wait.

After Peter and the rest of his folk had returned to the pyramid with their
captives, Peter had stripped the minds of the men of all they knew about
the final attack, he then sent them down into the cells, they would be used
later when needed, he now spent his time with the folk and began to
organise their defences, while the incoming troops stood little chance,
Peter still did not want any more of his folk lost, the last battle had
cost him three Canines and four Felines, more by accident than any true
ability to kill folk by the Major's men.

On their return, Peter and several others had had to feed to replace lost
blood from gun shot wounds, they had healed quickly and were once again
unmarked by the conflict, Peter along with Swiftwing, began to set their
defences, the human snipers were to be placed high up in positions to
overlook the central square and protect the pyramid at all costs, they them
selves would be protected by a Wolf or Cat, the rest of the folk would melt
back into the surrounding jungle and amongst the buildings of the city.

Peter's priority would be to take out any communication systems that the
men might be carrying, they didn't want to much information being sent up
North, they would also capture as many of the men as possible, the cells
always needed filling but with the reputation of the special forces men, he
doubted they would get too many of them.

A mile away from the city and approaching on three sides, the special
forces men were making slow headway in the darkness of the thick jungle,
they were well trained and moved like black ghosts, the lead men
leapfrogged each other as they made their slow way forward, as they made
ground, their three snipers would move up into the vacated space, behind
them were the two demolition specialists, these men carried a heavy pack
each, when joined together, the sixty pound packs would make a bomb big
enough to destroy the city.

All three groups were made up of the same men, this way they had a good
chance of getting at least one pair of demolition men into the city but the
moved forward in the knowledge that they were the best of the best, when
they got all three pairs into the city and laid the demolition packs, all
that would be left of the city would be a large barren hole, President
Carabine had insisted on a final solution.

Unknown to the attackers, there were small dark eyes watching their every
move, to the attackers there was no hint except for the occassional small
scuttling sound in the thick undergrowth as the moved forward, all orders
were relayed by hand signals and only very rarely was a soft voiced order
given through their com units, every man knew his job and was well trained
for all occasions, except one.

The first hint that they were getting close to their objective was the
thinning of the undergrowth and then the first small stone house, as they
moved forward, the men became more uncomfortable, the area seemed to have
been kept in remarkably clean condition, what they could see of the street
pattern was cleared of all weeds and plants and looked as though it had
just been built in recent years, they men all sank to their knees as they
surveyed the open ground in front of them.

Nothing stirred in the darkness, the total silence of the surrounding
jungle would have unnerved a lesser man but these men were special, they
were trained for all types of conditions and the silence that greeted them
held nothing that they could not handle, this was their way of life or
death.

Even when a large owl swooped above the hiding men none of them worried,
the city was empty, their objective would be easy to accomplish and then
they would be on their way, their only concern was the total absence of the
supporting forces, they should have made contact with them long ago but
then again, the others were only low grade mercenaries and others that did
not have the training of these men, they had not really expected much more
from them.

With quiet whispers the final orders were given and acknowledged, the men
got ready to move into the city, they had worked out that it would take no
more than ten minutes to set the three devices, they would then have two
hours to clear the area before they were detonated, plenty of time to get
back to their pick up point with the helicopters.

The first sign not all was right came from the sound of two gull thuds from
the rear, by the time the men turned to see what was going on there was
just darkness to greet them, the men rose to move into the city, no one saw
that they were two men short.

The moon was now low in the sky, the dark shadows were lengthening and
there was plenty of cover for the scouts to advance in, slowly they went
forward, flitting from one dark shadow to the next as they moved towards
the centre, close behind the three snipers in each unit followed just as
silently, with quick hand signals, the snipers were ordered to find a point
where they could cover the rest of the advance.

Most of the snipers were boosted up onto the roof of a house, a couple got
help to climb a nearby tree where they would be well concealed but still be
able to see everything under them, the only thing wrong with their plan was
that they were begin watched very closely by hidden eyes that were hidden
way up on top of the main buildings surrounding the square.

As each sniper settled into his place, another pair of eyes set there
sights on the dark form, when the order came there would be nine single
shots that would sound like one, the other men still on the ground kept up
their slow progress into the huge stone city in the same manner as before,
each unit leapfrogging the other as they closed in from the three sides.

Their main target was the majestic pyramid in the centre of the city; they
knew they would have to cross a wide square with more than a hundred metres
of open ground all around it but it would be the best place to lay the
charges, none of the attackers had looked behind them, they felt they had
no need to.

Had they looked back they would have seen that their six demolition men
were not there, instead, they were being followed by silent, stalking,
large black cats and very large wolves that padded along silently in their
wake, they were no more than silent shadows among darker shadows, above
them in the darkening sky, had they been able to see them, were a number of
large eagles slowly circling on the night wind and watching the men move
with their sharp eye sight.

Soft orders went out as the scouts closed on the empty square, it was
almost an eerie feeling in the stillness and quiet of the stone city, the
men got ready to move into the empty space around the huge pyramid, with
the utmost care, the men began to move forward, as they came out into the
open only a few of them saw the bright spot of red from high up on the main
buildings, the sound was no more than a soft plop but these men knew a
silenced shot when they saw it but none of them fell.

High in the branches of some surrounding trees and atop a few house roofs,
nine men never knew what hit them, they were dead before they could fire a
shot, the sniper cover of the attackers had just become zero, the next
signal that told them they were in trouble was the deep sound of growls and
soft padding of quickly moving paws on cold stone.

The screams of dying men echoed through the city as the cats and wolves
attacked with a ferocity only were folk could have, the unexpected attack
gave the special forces men little time to re-act, before most of them even
had a rifle to their shoulder, they were dragged down by claws and fangs,
their deaths were not quick nor were they clean, the were folk were taking
out all their pent up anger at the men who would come South to attack them,
only a few lucky ones that were dispatched by the snipers high up on the
pyramid did not suffer under the onslaught of the were folk, Peter and
Swiftwing looked in dispassionately as the folk took their full revenge,
behind them, in the dark of the top temple, lay six men, their packs
stripped from their backs and laid carefully aside, Peter was not happy
that their antagonist from the North would try to use nuclear weapons on an
old and ancient race, let alone on anyone that disagreed with him.

In the square below, Peter saw that it now looked as it once did long ago,
when the square ran red with the blood of innocent sacrifices, the blood of
the remaining fifty four men was already soaking into the ancient stones of
the old city, those of the folk that needed to feed did so where they were,
it was not a new sight to the Vampires standing far above the carnage.

Peter felt it was time to return to the temple, he had no trouble in
finding the codes for the devices in the heads of the demolition men, some
time in the future he would return them to their owner, that was if he
needed to use them, first he had other plans for the North, if he could not
get the President unseated one way then he would have no hesitation in
using the mans own tools against him, his folk were in a fight for their
very existence.

As the two Vampires moved into the darkness of the temple doorway, a loud
clap of thunder rolled through the sky as the first glimmer of the new day
showed above the mountains far off to the east, it was the first indication
of the coming wet season and the start of the storms that ran through the
equatorial area each year.

Below, in the lightening square, the folk finished their feeding as the
first large drops of rain began to fall, it would wash the streets clean of
the invaders blood and the ancient people themselves would see to the
cleaning up of any residues when they emerged from the safety of the
pyramid.

Down in the depths of the pyramid, Peter and Swiftwing went to the cell
holding the Major and his remaining men, there was one last item of
information he wanted before sending out a few messages to the remaining
Vaga still in the North, it was rapidly approaching the time when they
would need to start their own retaliation on the rulers of the North, a
blatant attack like the one just attempted, could not go unanswered and the
reply had to be enough to make the President think again about wanting to
follow through with his bigotry.

Major Sutton looked up when he heard the whisper of sound at his cell door,
there stood the two teen Vampires, the images of their fangs and red eyes
as they advanced on him and his men in the darkness would never leave his
mind, that two homely looking teens could be such abominations, still
created conflict in his mind, for now they looked quite innocent and like
any other two teens except for their black combat suits and the hilts of
their weapons.

The Major lifted his head to stare a little sullenly at the two teens,
somewhere deep in his mind he knew he was never going to return to the
North, there had been nothing said by any of his jailers but the feeling
refused to leave him, even his time in the middle east, when under
continual threat of danger from roadside bombs or suicide bombers was
nothing like the present situation.

In those days there had always been the assurance of their technological
advantage and superior communications, now nothing they had would be able
to resist against such monsters, one that could be shot repeatedly and
still move faster and fight harder than any living thing or mechanical
device, he felt in a position of hopelessness, his only hope was the
perfectly trained special forces, they were the best of the best and would
soon be here to rescue all of them.

The Major looked with interest as the darker teen smiled as these thoughts
went through his head, he got an awful feeling that something was not quite
right, in his head he got a feeling of floating and then it was gone, he
shook his head and tried to concentrate as the darker teen began speaking.

"Well Major, let me introduce ourselves, I'm Prince Poitr Vladd, my life
partner is Armand Swiftwing, I see you're comfortable, I don't want to
gloat but, your saviours won't be coming, your President sent them to their
deaths, except for six of them but they will be joining you in a few
minutes, and my thanks for the rest of the information, I hope you enjoy
your stay with us, it shouldn't be for too long."

At those last few words, the Major's hopes rose, it would appear as though
he was going to get out of here after all, perhaps this Prince Vladd was
going to ransom him and his men, if so will the President agree to deal
with these abominations, suddenly his hopes began to die at the thought, no
the President would not bargain, surely this young Prince, if he really was
a Prince, would know that the President did not bargain with his type,
again his mind went into overdrive as he tried to make sense of the boys
words.

Peter and Swiftwing left the Major to his own thoughts, he would not be
needed for a few days as everyone had fed well during the attacks, the deep
sound of thunder could be felt as well as heard by the exceptional hearing
of the folk as it rolled on above their heads, by afternoon the stone
streets would be washed clean once again, only the remnants of the feasting
would have to be cleared away when the rain stopped, which it usually did
later in the day.

As they went to take a rest, they dropped in to see their two new sons,
both looked at the two boys as they slept, Quetz was spooned back into
Tezca's arms and, as he slept he looked more like the small six year old
than the early teen his body showed, the two looked at each other and
smiled, their son's were both still small boys at heart as the slept like
innocents.

Peter and Swiftwing settled into their own bed as they heard the thousands
of native villagers begin to move through the huge complex towards the
upper levels, in this sacred place they moved in silence, the knowledge
that their gods had protected them from the invasion of the Northerners
only proved that they were safe at last from all the ravages of modernity,
their ancient ways were again alive and well in this modern world, the
appearance of the folk was seen as only another extension of their two
young gods ability to control all that there was in the world.

The last to leave the depths of the pyramid were the four elders, as they
passed the passage that lead to the rooms of their two gods, they paused
and then bowed low in their direction, afterwards they made their slow way
above ground and watched as the last drops of rain fell, the heavy smell of
blood was now diluted and only the small mounds of bones and a little flesh
were left in the streets to tell of what had happened.

Without any orders or words begin spoken, the many native villagers quickly
began to clean the streets, what was left of the bodies was carried to a
nearby well that,, when looked into, appeared bottomless, in ancient times,
this deep well had been used for the same purpose, somewhere deep down in
the darkness, were the old broken bones of long past sacrifices, over the
centuries, most had turned to dust but a few still lay where they had been
tossed although now they were decayed and in most parts, them selves in the
process of turning to dust.

Within an hour, the city was clear of any signs of the quick short battle
that had taken place in the early hours of the morning, the Elders looked
around again before moving off towards the thick jungle glistening with the
residue of the morning rains, slowly the people began to chatter and talk
about their escape from certain death at the hands of the invaders, each
and everyone of them, from old man to young child, made the secret sign of
blessing to their two gods as they began to disappear into the depths of
the city.

The next evening, Peter called together his small group of human specialist
snipers; once they were assembled he told them.

"Gentlemen, we wish to thank you for your assistance, they were carrying
three nuclear devices which they planned to destroy this city with, as a
small sign of our appreciation for your part in defending the city and all
its inhabitants, there has been a special bonus deposited into your banks
in the Bahamas, as we can't give you the medals you deserve we hope this
small gesture will show you how much your help was appreciated, thank you."

A small murmur of thanks went around the men as they all smiled and were
grateful to be recognised by their new employer, this task had been made a
lot easier by the exceptional training they had received from Peter's men,
they themselves were now faster and stronger and their skills were far
better than ever before, they were developing their own esprit de corps so
the praise was well received.

As the men filed out of the room, Peter saw his two sons, still hand in
hand, come into the room, immediately the room seemed to get brighter as
they entered, there was a faint buzz of power around the two boys as they
walked forward until they were standing by Peters side.

"And what are you two up to?"

"Dad, we have to leave the city for a while, there's a place we have to go,
it's a secret place and we have to go alone."

"Ok, how long will you be there?"

"Not long." Quetz replied."Maybe two or three days, we'll be safe, don't
worry, all our friends will be watching us."

"Ok, we won't worry, well not much, when are you going?"

"We have to go now, will you tell Dad S?"

"Yes, well you better get a move on, do you have everything you need?"

"Yes Dad, we're all ready."

The two boys hugged Peter closely and, with a big smile on their faces and
still holding hands, ran for the doorway, as they reached it, Peter saw the
same shimmer in the air as he had seen once before and the boys were gone,
Peter sighed heavily as the room became hollow and empty like never before
at the disappearance of his new sons.

Peter sensed the arrival of Swiftwing not long after the two boys had done
their disappearing act, the warm arms encircled his neck and alight kiss
was placed on his cheek, Peter smiled and leant his head back to rub the
cheek on that of Swiftwing's, after the last two days excitement, they
needed some time along but that wasn't going to happen, they still had the
problem of the North, when their men failed to report in and they saw no
big explosion from the jungle, there would be inquiries made, Peter would
call a full council meeting to discuss their next move.

Peter had the feeling it was growing close to the time when they would have
to once again go back to the North, at this stage he had no real idea how
or what to do, but the time was coming when he and the folk would have to
go on the offensive and this could bring the wrath of the religious down on
them.

The orders had been sent for the two boys in the communications room to
keep open all means of surveillance on the ether for any hint of the
North's intentions, they had to have advanced warning of attempt at
retaliation, the loss of over four hundred men would not go unnoticed nor
would it go without some attempt to save face, had they advertised the
attack in the public arena, or even the thought of the failed attack come
to the light of day, then the North would be put under untenable pressure
by the rest of the world, if for no other reason than the attempted use of
a nuclear device on an innocent country, there was much to think on.

When the council convened, Peter went over the possibilities that had
arisen after the attack, for the folk to go back North in any form of
invasion would also bring down the wrath of the innocent, especially if
what they were was made public, then, what the North had tried to do would
be justified as far as other countries and religions would think.

All those on the council sat for hours as they went over and over the
implications of moving North again, their best advantage at the moment was
the wide spread number of House Vaga still in operation in the North, while
they were under pressure to keep hidden, they still had the night to work
in and that was when most humans were at their lowest.

After six hours of discussions and planning, it was decided that they would
start to use the Vaga for intelligence purposes, to avoid any electronic
monitoring, they also turned to the Avian, they had a number of people that
could shape shift into Falcons, these were speedy and had the ability to
travel vast distances without the need to stop, they would carry all the
intelligence reports to and from the Vaga, there would be nothing sent
electronically, security was now going to be their most valuable asset.

As the final rays of the sun sank into the West, the council broke up,
there was still a lot to do and plan but for the moment they all needed a
good rest after the last two days of excitement, again Peter, and now
Swiftwing, felt the emptiness of the pyramid without their two sons, what
the boys were up to or where they had gone was still a mystery but, both
new Dads knew it had to be important for the boys to have just up and gone.

The only thing still undecided by the council was the recovered wealth of
El Morte, some would be used to finance the effort up North but it was put
forward that most of it be put to use for the Natives of the city as well
as setting up a hospital to help young addicts with their addictions, the
final estimate of the wealth was now estimated to be well in excess of nine
billion dollars, there was much good that it could be used for.

Peter and Swiftwing left the council table and moved towards their bedroom,
they were both tired and had had so little time together, for now they just
wanted the company of each other, in the back of their minds was always the
missing boys, it was a new feeling for a people that were notoriously
solitary folk, it was rare that Vampires found a mate for their long life,
it was even rarer, for them to have been given the honour of two sons,
especially two that just happened to be reincarnated gods.

Peter nestled back into the warm arms wrapped around him, using a technique
taught to him by Sin Yu, he slowed his breathing and dropped his heart rate
to one beat per minute, as his body cooled, he felt Swiftwing doing the
same, and then, there was nothing but the blackness of sleep.

Far to the South of the city of Uxmal, deep in the highland jungle of
Columbia, a mirror like shimmering began to form near the centre of a small
clearing, from the trees came the heady calls of parrots and other birds,
it slowly built into a cacophony of sound the likes of which had never been
heard before.

The shimmering began to solidify and the forms of two young teens appeared
holding hands, the features were pulled into smiles as they looked around
the clearing as the heard the sound of the birds greet them, this was the
other hidden home of the ancient gods, around them was only the thick
jungle that climbed up and around the large cleared knoll, this was one of
the very few sites left in the world that had never been found by
archaeologists, below their feet, deep under the top soil, sat their true
centre of power, this was the one place on the planet that all twenty five
lay lines connected, the boys could feel the power flowing under their
feet, they were home.

Quetz walked up to the top of the knoll and raised his arms upward towards
the bright sun, Tezca turned and went to the base of the knoll, once there
he spread his arms out sideways as he looked at his brother standing on the
top, around the boys the air stirred and they both began to shimmer once
again, above their heads the bright clear sky began to darken and a great
vortex of dark cloud started to twist and turn with only a small central
hole allowing the bright sun to beam down on the two boys.

Around the knoll, the jungle became quiet as the turmoil above formed into
a darker and darker mass, a wind rose and whipped wildly at the nearby
trees and the very ground shook as if an earthquake was taking place, the
powers being drawn to the two boys and the knoll were now far beyond
anything the earth had seen for more than two millennium.

Slowly at first, the earth began to loosen and the trees swayed to the side
until the loud snapping of huge trunks echoed through the air, grass and
soil flew high into the air and were swallowed up in the dark vortex, as
the very ground gave up its existence, the two boys seemed to float above
the very quickly clearing ground and, under their raised bodies began a
golden shimmering as the very earth receded.

With ever quickening speed, the ground cleared and slowly, under the feet
of the boys was revealed the tip of a golden pyramid, as the ground receded
more and more, so more of the pyramid was revealed, lightening began to
crash and lash the surrounding country side, mighty tress succumbed to the
violence of the forces of Creation and tilted until they snapped like
twigs, even the very grasses and vines of the ancient jungle, wilted under
the huge onslaught and the boys stood firm under the ravaging forces.

It took an hour of feeling the full wrath of the gods for the knoll to
fully reveal its hidden secret, high above stood Quetz, totally untouched
by the storm, below was Tezca, also untouched, before them now stood what
could only be called the ninth wonder of the world, a huge golden pyramid
that reached into the sky which had now cleared of the sudden storm.

The gold sides reflected the sunlight like strong search lights, it was
nearly two hundred metres to a side and stood more than fifty metres high
from ground level, what was not seen was how far it buried itself into the
ground for only the two boys knew that it was many more metres below the
ground than above, the only problem now was the fact it was fully revealed
for all the earths peoples to see, they were both sure that the satellites
far above them would have already reported the happenings and that already
there would be those who would be making plans to investigate more closely,
the boys smiled at each other as they came together and held hands once
more, it was time to go inside and begin the preparations.

The boys stopped at the top of the pyramid, at their feet were the imprints
of two pairs of hands embossed into the gold surface, one pair slightly
larger than the other, they were the only items that blemished the gold
surface of the entire area at the apex of the pyramid, the boys knelt in
unison, and, with the confidence of youth, placed their hands in the
appropriate places.

To the left were the larger of the two sets, Tezca's hands fit perfectly
into place, the set on the right were slimmer but with linger fingers,
Quetz slid his hands into them, they also fit perfectly, of the large apex
area, the two boys were in the exact centre, as their hands filled the
recesses a deep rumble came from underneath them and the large slab of gold
began to tilt downward, the boys waited, their hands holding them to their
position.

When the panel stopped it left the boys at an angle of 45 degrees, as they
rose to their feet they could easily make out the long row of golden steps
leading deeper into the pyramid, without hesitation they released their
hands and stood after which they then started to walk down the steps into
the darkness, as they stepped on each step, a faint light lit up the next,
above them the rumbling started again and slowly the top slab covered over
the opening as they descended.

The steps seemed to go on forever, first one way then another as the boys
went deeper into the heart of the golden edifice, finally, as they felt the
power rising in their chests, they saw a faint blue light from the very
base of the structure, they were nearly at the seat of the power source,
the conjunction of the lay lines.

Both boys entered the large room of the source, every facet of the walls
and floor shone with the reflected blue light that came from the middle of
the room, as they neared the centre they took in the full glory of their
surroundings, the floor looked to be made of one solid piece of gold, not a
single seam could seen anywhere, the walls and ceiling above them were the
same.

At the very centre of the room sat two large thrones, each inlaid with
precious gem stones and, on the high backs at each side were mounted four
skulls of the purest crystal, the thrones sat one each side of the central
plinth on which sat another large crystal globe, in its centre, suspended
by nothing more than the power it projected, was a large blue stone which
resembled a pure blue sapphire but it was the size of a large eagles egg.

>From below the egg came thin tendrils of pure light which, when it hit the
blue stone, diffused into iridescent blue much like an aura, the light
spilled into the room and reflected off the gold surfaces, the resulting
light gave the room an atmosphere of softness only felt in a sacred place,
the boys went to their respective thrones and, with a smile at each other,
sat down.

The tone of the room changed immediately the boys sat, from the four skulls
came an eerie red light, the pulsing of the blue stone lifted until it felt
like a palpable entity in the silent throne room, the boys began to feel
the full power of the artifacts take effect on their young bodies.

Around the two seated youths, the room began to disappear, in its place
came the darkness of deepest space, the very stars whirled about around
them as the were held in one place, the very cosmos was on display to the
young eyes as their still bodies floated and twirled in among the millions
of stars until, finally, they were suspended at the very edge of the
darkness of infinity, spread out before them was the majesty of the
universe and at its very centre stood a figure that they both knew well,
Creator.

Creator looked at his sons with pride, they again looked just the same as
in previous reincarnations, the light and the dark of his own hands, it was
now time to open their minds to their duty and instil in them the power of
his own very being, Creator reached out his hands and took each boy into
his chest, there he infused them with his own wisdom and the plan he had
for the mortals of his favourite planet, Quetzalli, son of Creator and
Tezcatlipoca, son of Creator felt the power and wisdom enter them and cried
with love for the Creator, their father.

Suddenly the boys were again sitting back in their thrones, but, they were
not the same boys, now, instead of two young fourteen year olds, there sat
two young men, possibly in their eighteenth year, their features were a
more mature visage of the original boys but now they exuded a power and
strength unseen on earth for over a thousand years.

Another change had taken place, their eyes now held the depth of wisdom
from the very stars, Quetz eyes now swirled with pin points of light from a
thousand suns and Tezca's eye showed flecks of red from the very pits of
darkness, their smiles however still held the brightness of young boys,
around them the room vibrated with their combined strength as the four
skulls of crystal shone with the reflected light of each boys eyes, two red
and two white, the brightness of which now lit up the room of gold.

Now the boys were armed with all the knowledge and power of the Creator, it
was time to return to their earth Fathers and began to bring back to this
world the truth of its existence and that of the mortals that inhabited it,
unknown to the human mortals was the fact that the folk were also the spawn
of the Creator, his one means of control over the affairs of mere mortals
as a counter balance to the greed and avarice that they were known for.

It had been a part of Creators plan that, for every good, there must be an
equivalent evil, or else the balance would not be maintained and now, the
mortals had gone way beyond their balance, it was time once again for
Creator to send his only sons to correct the balance, they would assist his
folk in bringing that balance back again.

The two young men rose from their thrones and went to clasp each other in a
loving hug, as they did so, the air around them shifted and they were once
again standing on the very top of the golden pyramid, with w small thought
from both young men, a wind rose and suddenly the golden pyramid was
covered in a green shell of energy, from the outside it had disappeared,
only the eyes of light and dark could still see it, they clasped hands and
projected themselves into the ether, at once they were standing again at
the foot of the steps of the stone pyramid, it was time to greet their
earth Fathers, their task was completed.


TBC

Artcart65@vodafone.co.nz