The Twisted Links

Chapter 38

CHAPTER 38

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Really hate this chapter. I had packed a whole lot of info in this chapter and now I can't remember half of it. Ugh!

Conference Room...

Asya finished the recounted of the tale. Everyone was silent for a moment before Phil spoke.

"Despite the help that this vampire provided, she is still wanted by the Hunter's Council and is to be executed."

"Ha! Good luck with that." Luke said crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "'That vampire' is our new Rogue Queen with the blessings of the High King himself. Hunters maybe the police of our world but the High Council has the final say."

"Watch yourself Shifter!" a young Hunter, Giles, snapped with open hostility.

The venom in the young Were Hunter's voice caused the shifters in the room to unconsciously growl at the perceived threat. The door burst open and Skylar skipped into the room followed by a more subtle Remi.

"Oh good! No one's died." She said merrily as she hopped up on one of the empty chairs. Remi took the seat next to her.

"What are you two doing here?" Tracy wondered.

"Saving the carpet. It's not easy getting the blood out." Skylar said before clearing her throat and adopting a more serious expression. "Now Asya," she said getting the fox shifter's attention. "Eesha gave you a message to pass onto the Protector. Please tell us what it was."

Asya flashed a guilty look in Roger's direction before complying, "She said that the Cradle of Life has been compromised and not to trust the Hunters. Not even your grandfather."

"What?!" a young vampire Hunter, Quinn burst out. "But we're the good guys. The vampire is obviously a liar."

Skylar used her vampire speed to stand between Giles and Quinn. The young Hunters in the room brandished their weapons.

"What on earth are you doing?!" Tanya burst out.

"Her eyes are red!" Quinn pointed out.

"She's going to attack!" Giles added gripping the trigger on his gun harder.

"PUT THOSE DAMN THINGS AWAY!" Phil shouted.

Tracy, using her Sprite speed, snatched the weapons away and threw them out of the open window.

"Sorry." She called to the Omega who was pruning a bush nearby. "Could you lock those away in the armory? Thanks."

Turning around she saw all the younger Hunters and women that were apart of their group standing together on one side of the room. The tension was thick.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Phil burst out.

^Phil and Tanya^

"If she attacks us then she'll drain our blood." Giles explained.

Remi's quiet voice casually asked. "How much blood do vampires drink?"

"A lot." Quinn stated with a puffed chest refusing to admit that he didn't actually know.

Roger was stunned. Even as a Sprite Hunter, he was required to take several educational courses on the biology, theology, politics, and culture of all major supernatural beings. He was also required to join various training sessions to know how fight different creatures. Even the most basic courses covered the small piece of information on how blood a vampire required.

Skylar stepped towards the huddled group. Lucy subtly placed a protective ward around the small girl. "My name is Skylar Angelica Blood. I am almost five years old. I am both a seer and a vampire. My favorite color is light blue."

The young Hunters shifted uncomfortably. They had threatened to kill a child that was the same age as a sibling or relative they knew. But their training pushed to the front of their wary minds. Kill the monster or be killed. That philosophy warred with the sight of the vulnerable little girl in front of them.

"Mr. Evans." Remi called everyone turned their attention to him. "How much blood can a vampire drink?"

"Baby vampires drink between 2-3 cups of blood per day and only 1 cup at a time up until they stop aging, usually in their 20s or 30s. Turned vampires drink up to a pint and a half per day until the reach the 50th anniversary of their change. Adult vampires can survive off of human food with only the occasional shot of blood unless there's an injury and then they need more to assist with healing." Roger said. "Even hungry, if she were to attack you then she wouldn't be able to 'drain' you. It's like any of us trying to eat a whole cow in human form in one sitting. It's just not possible."

"But we were told..." Quinn looked helplessly at his fellow hunters.

Phil sighed. "I was afraid of this."

"What do you know?" Roger asked.

"My nephew had finished training and some of the things that he said didn't make sense. They got rid of a lot of the educational courses and are more focused of training. Many of the instructors are new and they are teaching conflict rather than diplomacy. I had to basically retrained him. Remember the old adage that sat above almost every doorway and gate?"

Roger nodded. "A Born Hunter fights with honor, never with violence. Peace is our duty and Order is our law."

"That's not what it says." Giles commented.

Quinn shook his head. "It says, 'We are the Creator's chosen. We are His law, His Order. He upholds the righteous.'"

"Powerful propaganda." Remi says. "So many wars and deaths in the name of a God. We are all His creations. Life is about balance. That is why the Creator granted powers to the first Hunters. That is why the Protector exist."

"That balance is about to be obliterated." Skylar said. "Wow, there's an impressive word for a 5-year-old."

"What do you mean?" Asya asked curiously. Night smiled. There was the curious little fox he remembered. He wanted to gather her up and hide her away so that there wasn't a chance that she would leave him again. He hoped that she would forgive. He hoped that she would love his son. He hoped they could eventually have a cute button nose, coppery haired little baby in their arms. He hoped for so much but all that hope rested in the hands of the fiery fox that held his heart.

"Hunters are being trained to kill and destroy supernaturals rather than maintain the peace. They are training an army and the world is about to become a lot more dangerous." Turning to the pair of Dark Fairies, Skylar said, "Now would be a good time to tell everyone about 'the Plan.'"

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What? What is going on? This is nothing like I originally wrote. Sigh. Now I have to come up with a nonexistent plan that doesn't suck. It's like the whole why did Midway Pack want the land that belonged to Jackson. Had no idea for like two books. It's just one of these random half-baked things that get thrown and plays a major role later.

Just for reference... When Haggai met with Athens to obtain his blood to release the lock to the obelisk holding Lady Melanie and Dellucy, he had mentioned a "Plan" that Athens had helped compose. You have to remember that very few people knew that Athens was still alive. Most believed that he had died shortly after or during the last battle that had imprisoned Ivory White. He was given quite a bit of power because no one knew he or Shula existed. He was the one in charge of this plan that I have a vague idea of what to do with it. Also Shadow had mentioned the plan in her letter that she left with Tracy. There was sooooooo much other crap to put in here and I can't remember what. Why? Just why?