When all nine Vampire Lords gathered for their video conference, it was Lord Constantine, Lord of Eastern Europe, who began with a laugh. Lord Christian hated Lord Constantine's laugh the most, considering what his appearance and voice was.
"My my, little Miss Rachel is giving you two a hard time isn't she?" Lord Constantine said with a smile.
"That's only because the information I've been going on is false. I was under the impression that she was just a low life thug. Lord Caleb, I would appreciate it if you gave us more accurate information in the future." Lord Christian said, eyeing Lord Caleb.
"She is a nothing! Just a little bitch running around pretending that she has a dick, nothing more!" Lord Caleb shouted.
Lady Helen, Lord of Western Europe, sighed. "Give it a rest will you? I know you arrogantly think that all women belong in the kitchen cooking for you, but that's simply not true. I, along with the other ladies present should have proven that to your narrow minded ass by now. Or would you like a repeat of the last war we had?"
Lord Caleb remained silent at this. Although he had remained in power, he had suffered devastating losses at the hands of the other female Lords when he had tried to move against them. In the end, he was forced to begrudgingly accept them as his equals, though he didn't like it.
Lord Constantine spoke again. "Come on guys, can't we all just get along?" He said with a laugh.
Lord Hector, Lord of Africa, sighed. "Lord Constantine, I understand that your mind has never fully matured in a normal manner, but please, can't you act like an actual Lord once in a while?"
"Hey, I'm just trying to make light of things. Life is no fun if you take everything so seriously all the time." Lord Constantine laughed.
"Enough!" Lord Richter, Lord of South America, declared. "The point of this gathering was to discuss the actions of Caleb Rachel the Third, along with both Lord Caleb and Lord Christian's incompetence in handling the situation. The humans are already in an uproar over what has happened, and I find it humiliating that I've received calls from their governments asking whether or not I had a hand in this."
The news had spread like wildfire. Ten brutal cop killings simply could not be covered up completely. It was true that details of what precisely had happen could be hidden, but the ten lives lost could not be kept secret, despite the best efforts of the clean-up crews. Each major human intelligent agency that operated in the shadows had them, whether it be the CIA, FBI, the former KGB, the list went on. Some of them were humans, while others were vampires, though the exact numbers of vampires were unknown even amongst the humans who operated or even led the agencies.
The funding for these elements came from the human government's black budgets, along with the money that was made by the vampires through their underground networks. These deals were made through a harsh series of agreements and deals that were altered time and again as technology continued to spread throughout the world.
This tied in with another reason why the existence of the vampires had been kept secret, blackmail. Since vampires were the masters of the shadows, their services were utilized several times by humans throughout history. If discovered, nearly all of history from the human's perspective could be rewritten.
Julius Caesar's assassination, the near impossible victory by the Greeks over the Persians, and the JFK assassination. These were just a few incidents that the vampires had a direct or indirect hand in, the specific details of these events 'lost' as time passed. The records kept by the vampires concerning these incidents would be a conspiracy theorist's wet dream, and the release of these documents would cause chaos across the known world as history would almost be completely redefined.
The blackmail, however, didn't go one way. Since vampires were very few in number when compared to the humans, they acknowledged that, despite their great powers and abilities, a full out war against all humans would cost them dearly. It might even be one that they would lose. In the end, if both sides turned against one another, both sides concluded that it would lead to nothing but destruction and chaos, adding yet another motive on why the truce and secret had held up for so long.
"I don't think there's anything to discuss at this point. Several of my Greaters have already been sent to America to catch the girl and the humans, and I intend to come to America myself." Lady Pandora, Lord of Southeast Asia, spoke.
"That is a direct violation of the agreement! Is it your wish to start another war, Lady Pandora!" Lord Christian boomed.
"And you are in violation of failing to act as a Lord. Both you and Lord Caleb have been unable to handle this situation on your own, so we must take action and clean this mess up before you two ruin everything." Lady Pandora calmly responded.
"Lord Christian is correct, to an extent. I can see why you would send your own, but I cannot see the reason for you to go to America personally." Lord Issac, Lord of the Middle East, responded.
"I agree with Lady Pandora. The fact that we Vampire Lords are even having a video conference over such a small situation proves that you and Lord Caleb are not capable of handling this affair on your own. It's only fair that we step in before things get out of hand, if they already aren't." Lady Francine, Lord of Asia, followed with.
"I agree with both Lady Pandora, and Lady Francine. As a matter of fact, I'm thinking of coming to America to meet the girl and human myself. I want to know what the fuss is really all about." Lord Constantine responded.
Lord Christian's fist tightened at this. He knew it was going to come to this, as Lord Hector and Lord Issac agreed to that course of action. All of the Lords were going to openly send their forces to America. Not only would this reduce his chances of finding the girl and killing her himself, but it also would put the other Lords in decent positions to undermine his own power.
Lord Caleb was also frustrated for the same reasons, along with the fact that he had been undermined by three women once again. Fucking women! They belonged in the fucking kitchen as slaves along with the rest of the useless races. He really wished Hitler had won World War 2 when he had the chance. A series of unfortunate mistakes, along with the intervention of several Lords and the previous Dracula had prevented this.
Luckily, no other Lord had ever figured out that he, Lord Caleb, had managed to kill the previous Dracula. Although he could not beat him in a direct fight, like all sentimental fools, he had a weakness that Lord Caleb had exploited.
And it was the same for these three. Lord Caleb now knew how he could hurt them. And he will. Oh yes he will, and once he did, they will come to him.
*****
Alan and Rachel barely spoke a word to each other, their argument still fresh in their minds, even though the sun had already risen. Katie hadn't said anything either as she drove, making it a very silent several hour drive. She had already said her piece, and she wanted to avoid starting another argument.
They had already stopped and switched cars, with Rachel killing yet another unfortunate individual. She had also taken the time to swap out her clothes with the individual, although her new clothes were a little big on her. What bothered Rachel about this one, however, was the fact that Alan had said nothing. Katie had shown the apprehension that Rachel expected, but not Alan. She wondered if it was happening, and that he was beginning to descend into darkness.
However, at the moment, she really couldn't care less on what he thought. His words earlier were a low blow. A very strong and low blow that had hurt.
Alan's mind swirled with all of the recent events. All along, the woman that he thought he had fallen in love with had turned out to be an almost completely different individual then he had imagined. Once again, he had jumped the gun, and assumed too much. Although he knew that he was wrong to doubt her feelings for him, a part of him felt that he wasn't.
She had told him that she would share everything with him. Yet clearly, she did not. Even still, Alan's feelings towards her had not changed. He was bitter and angry at her for hiding such important details, but, this was still Rachel. There was another problem though, Alan began to realize.
When she had killed the unfortunate bystander earlier to change cars, Alan noticed that he felt almost no concern or pity for the individual. He was getting used to it. He was getting used to be surrounded by death, and it make him think of something.
"...Rachel..." Alan finally spoke, breaking the long standing silence as he stared out the window
Rachel said nothing, staring out the opposite window herself.
"You said...you didn't want me to descend into your darkness, right?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"Is that the real reason you refused to turn me?"
