Order of the Golden Dawn (Neophyte Series 2)

CHAPTER 27 : THE CHAIN OF COMMAND

        Hours went by as Edward went about my orders. I stayed behind as he insisted that he take care of our business on his own. In the mean time I found myself overly anxious, although I was assured that it was only the first of many cases to which I would be practicing until I was ready to go about the task on my own.

    Finally Edward returned, and with a smile on his face he placed a small electronic device before me.

    'What is this?'

    'I paid a visit to an old friend of mine who has been developing the technology for a remote tracking device. It turned out that he was successful. Wherever our little friend travels, we'll know straight away, wherever he goes.'

    'Wait, so this device somehow knows where he is at all times?'

    'As you well know, there have been wondrous advances in the field of technology; however, I haven't the time nor the patience to explain how it works. Needless to say, there are other matters that require your attention. If you would allow me to worry about the smaller details I must ask you to follow me.'

    I was led into his study, where upon the wall, behind his messy desk was a massive chart, like a spider web of drawings and pictures of many people and demonic figures which were interwoven with one another. Some had a red 'X' marked over them, which I assumed meant that they were either deceased or no longer relevant in one way or another. Among the images were many question marks, and as my eyes roamed from one picture to another, Edward enlightened me.

    'What you are looking at is the collective chain of command of the Living-Demonic. Some have perished, others have simply vanished, leaving a mystery spot where there has been no replacement, as far as I am aware.'

    'That's a lot of people.'

    'This is what happens when secret organizations merge together with the same agenda in mind.'

    'What is the agenda?' I asked.

    'Nothing short of world domination. Some were members of the original Order, others formed their own secret societies. But in this day and age, they have become much more organized, stealthy, and complex. The higher-ranking members rely on lackeys to do their dirty work, and will only surface if the cause is of dire circumstance. The fight at Amityville was probably the first time in decades that they were willing to get their own hands dirty.'

    'So, what do they do behind closed doors while their lackeys run about?'

    'Mostly study and feed, I assume.' He replied.

    'Feed?'

    'Yes, feed. You see, Meric, you're not the only one who prefers his meat on the raw side. Unfortunately, it comes with the bloodline, and some have mutated over the years in different ways — as far as power and need for consumption is concerned, anyways.'

    We came to a familiar face, and I pointed at the Unnatural, or Vlad the Impaler, as we had discovered. Edward then continued.

    'Take your pal Vlad for example. Here's a being who tried desperately in his youth to fight the thirst for blood, but being a victim of war, the battlefield brought about his current condition. Many of them share the same qualities: the allergic reaction to sunlight, water, pretty much anything natural or pure—'

    'Explains why he loathed Jordan so much.'

    'Yes, exactly. More important is what they require to survive. Vlad doesn't necessarily need to devour meat, but if he does not drink blood he will pretty much shrivel up and die, which is not something we want.'