Carl locked the doors to the offices behind him, anxious to get home to Joy. As he walks towards his car, he notices some shadows slowly brushing against the wall of the building. As he turned around, Jake jumped on him and pressed his fingers into his forehead knocking him out.
"Don't want to hurt him," Jake says in explanation as he carried Carl towards their car.
"How did you do that?" asked Aaron.
"Pressure points. It's very easy to do it if you're a vampire," Jake told him.
"Cool, but we have to get him back to Miranda now, so we can get this done," Aaron said.
"Yeah, I heard that there is going to be some master vampires attending the ritual. That has me a little unsettled," Jake admits.
"I wonder what Miranda has gotten herself involved with," Aaron mused.
"I know. I've heard from Sarah that such rituals are only invoked when great power is required. It's possible that it might be one of those very rare events that the council oversees. It supposedly boosts the master vampires strength as the human used in the ritual is bound to their maker," Jake says.
'Damn that bitch. I will stop her,' Aaron thought angrily. "Sounds pretty heavy," Aaron said out loud as they drove through the city.
"I know, and I've heard that Miranda is pretty obsessed at getting Carl back," said Jake.
"Yeah, it doesn't sound as though Carl will want to stay with her of his own free will," Aaron replies.
"I don't think Miranda has thought this out properly though. But I guess we will just have to see how she plans on doing this," said Jake, as they approached the mansion.
Once there, Jake and Aaron carried Carl through the mansion while two vampire bodyguards escorted them down towards the basement level of the mansion. As they climbed down the steps towards the basement, there was a blast of cold air as the door opened.
"Ahh, you brought him. Right this way," said an unknown female vampire. As they surveyed the room which was laid with candles with burning incense Aaron thought to himself 'The silver is going to cause a lot of damage in here,' as he looked around at the gathered vampires.
He felt some eyes burning into his back, and then he heard a voice in his head which sounded faintly like Laura. 'Don't turn around, Aaron. These master vampires can trap you with their gaze.'
"Put him in the ring, Jake," Miranda told him. After Jake put him down she pulled off Carls jacket and tied his arms behind his back and bound his ankles. She then removed his tie. Carl started to stir, one of the masters spoke up and said "I think it is time to start the ritual, don't you think?"
Carl opened his eyes to a blur and remembered something dropping onto his back, then blackness. He tried to move and realized that his hands and feet were tied together. Miranda approached him and Carl reacted in shock. "Hello, Carl. We're going to get everything that we had asked for," Miranda purred out.
Carl's face contorted in rage as he spat out at her, "Whatever you've got going on here, Miranda, it's not going to work you filthy bitch,"
"Looks like we are going to have to bind that dirty mouth of yours, Carl," said Miranda as she tied a gag around his mouth. Carl began struggling against his bonds as he was pulled upright by one of the master's bodyguards. Miranda left the candle circle as she went to prepare herself. Carl continued struggling as Miranda returned and approached Carl with the ritual athame. She placed a hand on his chest as he struggled against his bonds even more furiously.
She raised her hand and stroked his cheek as Carl's face contorted into a snarl. Miranda reached down and tore his shirt open. She then slashed the athame across his chest allowing the bright blood to seep down his chest. After hearing Carl yelp in pain from behind the gag, Aaron began reaching into his pocket and grasped the vial of silver poison. He extracted the vial of blood from his pocket and covertly injected it into his arm.
He felt the burning gaze of the master again, this time it felt more pressing. Aaron felt comforted when he felt Laura's warm presence again pushing out the masters influence. Carl yelped in pain again as Miranda slashed him again drawing another line of bright blood. She dragged her finger through his blood and lifted it to her mouth and tasted it. "My you have the sweetest blood, Carl," Miranda said as Carl's face twisted in horror and disgust.
She forced his head to the side and dug her fangs into him. Carl moaned behind the gag in shock as Miranda drained some of his blood. She then bit into the other side of his neck drawing more blood while some leaked out the wound she had made on the other side of his neck.
Miranda licked over the neck wounds she had made sealing them over. She said to the waiting vampires "Its time to start now," as she pushed Carl on his back and drew her fingernails down his chest sharply drawing more blood from him. Four master vampires approached the circle. They slashed their wrists with the smaller athames and drained some of the blood into the golden chalices setup around the ceremonial ring. Once they had emptied enough blood into the chalices they picked up the candles and set them on fire. They placed the burning chalices back into place around the ring.
Aaron felt as if he was in a dream as he stared blankly at Carl until he heard the insistent voice in his head. 'Fight it, Aaron, you need to save Carl before its too late.' Aaron snapped out of his dream like state as he saw Miranda standing over a weakened Carl preparing to seal the ritual. She closed her mouth over his neck and bit into him. Aaron pulled the vial of silver out and threw it against one of the chalices it smashed releasing a vile cloud of silver, in moments the vampires around the ring were writhing in pain as the flesh on their face began to peel off.
"Ahhhhh! What is this Aaron?" shouted Jake in agony. Aaron ignored him and ran into the middle of the ring and pulled a screaming Miranda off Carl and stabbed Carl's neck with both vials of blood. The reaction was instantaneous.
Carl ripped the bonds off his hands and was about to reach for Aaron's neck as he grabbed his hands and said "I'm here to rescue you Carl, follow me." He walked over to where Jake was writhing in agony. "I'm sorry that I had to do that mate," Aaron apologized as he opened the vial of bronze coloured substance. "Drink this and we can get out of here," he told Jake as he pressed it to Jake's lips. Jake accepted the vile tasting fluid and the effects were rapid as the peeling and bubbling skin on his face began to heal quickly.
"I can't see. You'll have to lead me out," Jake said, still in pain. Aaron moved behind Jake and Carl leading them out of the room the stone walls of the basement blocking out the wails of pain as they ascended. As they navigated through the maze of rooms, Carl's legs began to feel weak as he stumbled along with Aaron gently guiding him. As his breathing began to get heavier under the strain of keeping upright two bodyguards approached them.
"Where are you taking him? He's supposed to be downstairs," said one of the bodyguards.
"That's none of your concern," Jake said, who had regained his eyesight, and he slammed his fist into his face driving his nose into his head. The other bodyguard was surprised as Aaron slammed his elbow into his neck throwing him against the wall.
Carl collapsed to the floor as his chest gashes opened up again. "Damn that blood didn't work long," said Aaron. Jake picked up Carl as they headed for the gates. They ran outside and found Laura waiting for them. Jake tripped over and gasped in pain as his chest violently constricted. Jake tried to get up but with Carl's weight on top of him and another pain seizure just forced him back to the ground.
"Laura need some help over here!" yelled Aaron. Laura, Russel and Damien came towards them. A whole team of bodyguards rushed outside as Russel and Damien carried Carl and Jake towards their van.
"Come on, Aaron," said Laura as she pulled out a canister from her pocket and unclipped it. She then threw it at the guards, blinding them as the silver gas prevented them from proceeding.
Laura started the van and said to Jake. "Hold on, I have the medicine you need back at my mansion, just hold on there." Aaron tried to comfort Jake as he moaned in pain, the silver eating at his insides like acid.
"I'm so sorry, mate. I couldn't tell you what was going to happen. One of the masters was trying to get into my head," said Aaron.
"How is Carl doing?" asked Laura from the front.
"He's not good. He's lost too much blood and if we don't do this soon he's going to die," said Cindy, as she tried to stop the bleeding from his chest. "Carl, hang in there it won't be much longer,"
Laura got the van through the gates to the mansion as Russel and Damien carried Carl and Jake into the house. "Bring them to the infirmary" Cindy told them. When they got to the infirmary Carl was barely alive, only just being able to hold on. Cindy injected Jake with a vial filled with the same bronze substance that Aaron gave him. Jake passed out on the bench as the chemical began to reverse the damage done to his body by the silver.
