CHAPTER XLIX

John opens the door and barely sees Rachael's frame behind Gabriel.

The sphinx turns his eyes to the vampire and pulls away from Rachael.

"Rachael, come on girl. Get dressed so we can leave," John says.

"Let's give her some space," he says.

The two immortals exit the room.

They walk side by side; "Let her be, Gabe", John says to Gabriel.

"I can't do that John.

I'm in love with her," Gabriel says.

"No, that's not you. Let her be, man.

She isn't built for our world,"

"Neither were you,".

Roosevelt Auto Wrecking, Queens, New York.

The Tremblays arrived thirty minutes earlier than agreed.

Being a hunter of the supernatural; it has never been wise to leave their fate in the hands of the monsters.

Kate and Lucas Tremblay stand outside the shop while they chat.

Marcus joins them.

"Do you trust them?" Lucas asks his older brother.

"Never trust a supernatural.

John likes to pose as a good man even though he is one of the undead.

We will use that to navigate the situation," Marcus says.

In his younger days; he, his father and John had done a job together.

They hunted down a werewolf in Texas.

It was one of the few times he got to work with the vampire.

He scoffs at the memory as he remembers missing a shot at John on that hunt.

He doesn't hate the man in particular but he hates the creature he is.

A being of blood and death.

"The moment we have this Dracula in our grasp, we will turn on John and his masters", he says.

Lucas smiles, "Now we are talking.

Those monsters deserve nothing short of the stake," he says.

He straightens his brown jacket.

"And what of Rachael? What are we going to do about her?" Kate asks.

"Ah yes, our niece.

We will take her from those monsters.

If she refuses, we will restrain her until we have killed them.

Then she can decide if she wants to be a part of the family business or not," Marcus says.

Kate is skeptical about Marcus's plan.

"Are you sure? She is family, you know" she says.

"She isn't a child, Kate.

We already lost our sister because we went soft on her.

We are not losing Rachael too,".

"I think they are here," Lucas says as he points to two cars coming towards the shop.

Two black Grand Cherokee park in front of the shop and they get surrounded.

Gabriel, John and Rachael come out from one of the cars.

"Hey, take it easy" John says.

Samuel, Elena and Elma come out of the other car.

"Why didn't we have this meeting at the club?" Elma asks, feeling uncomfortable with all the unwanted attention.

"The place is crawling with vampires.

There is no way the Tremblays would show up without bringing havoc with them," Samuel answers.

"Looks like you are beginning to understand the way my family thinks," Elena says.

She walks past the men and goes to greet her family.

"Is there a problem or are we having this meeting?" Gabriel says.

He can feel the mistrust strangling everyone like a python on its prey.

"Let's go inside," Marcus says and leads the way into the shop.

Gabriel observes the Tremblays and their goons as he walks.

Preparing himself for any ambush that may come.

They enter the shop but stop when John hits something and falls to the ground.

"What the hell, you warded the place?" he asks as he stands up.

"No, I didn't" Marcus replies.

His eyes hold neither guilt nor pleasure.

"I did," the owner of the husky voice comes from behind a car inside the shop.

His scruffy beards look more rugged than usual.

"This is my shop and no matter the circumstances, vampires are not welcome here," Steven Gerard says.

"Steven Gerard," John frowns at him.

"That's Steven Gerard?

He looks nothing like the English man," Samuel says.

Marcus looks at Gerard and nods.

"I respect that, he isn't needed here anyway" Marcus says and continues to move.

There are no other workers in the shop apart from Steven.

There is an Audi A3, a Ford fusion, a red impala and a Porsche Cayman.

"Porsche Cayman. Man, you have got something good here," Samuel says.

"Is that my mom's car?" Rachael asks as she spots the Impala.

"Yes. I took the liberty of fixing her up.

I hope you don't mind," Steven says.

"Thank you," Rachael's eyes glimmer with joy and she holds tears behind them.

She never liked the car but right now, all she sees is a piece of her mother.

Gabriel and Samuel share a glance as they both know what Rachael has been through.

There are a few chairs and a table in the deeper corners of the shop.

"Elena tells us that we are going to storm Manhattan in a few days," Marcus starts as he pulls a chair and sits at the table.

"Anything we should know about this so-called Count Dracula before our encounter," he says.

Gabriel scoffs, "Where is the lanky guy? Didn't he tell you?

I guess when you meet him, you can confirm if he is the real deal," he says.

Samuel laughs, "We are planning to work with them and they don't even believe that they are going to face the real Dracula,".

"A lot of your men are going to die if things go sideways," Samuel says.

"Our men are capable.

There isn't anyone here that isn't," Kate says.

"Her?" he refers to Elena.

"She can handle herself," Kate says.

"Come on, we are not here to chit-chat.

Tell us what we need to know," Lucas says.

He looks down on them as he folds his hands and relaxes his back against his seat.

"Okay, shithead. First, you have to believe we are facing the real Count Dracula," Gabriel says.

"Well said brother," Samuel backs him up.

"Our intel says Dracula is getting a dagger from Manhattan.

If he gets this dagger he can use it to complete his ritual to summon the devil.

I believe Elena filled you in on this information," Gabriel says.

"It sounds like a story from a Christian book for kids," Lucas says.

"We asked you guys to have your men there because we think it is a trap.

We want to infiltrate his camp and spoil the ritual.

We need you guys to tag along in case things get out of hand," Samuel says.

"Once we see him, my men and I will drive a stake through his heart," Marcus says.

"It won't work. He can only die at the hands of another supernatural," Samuel lies.

Rachael understands why he won't talk about Nightmare.

If Nightmare can kill Count Dracula, then it can kill the twins as well.

Exposing that will be detrimental to them.

Marcus scoffs; "Lies. A silver stake will end any vampire," he says.

"I'm not stopping you from getting yourself killed.

We are just sharing the information we have," Gabriel says.

"So, what do you have for us?" Samuel asks.

"We've checked Central park

There is nothing out of the ordinary there.

I think going to Manhattan is stupid but if it will lead us to that bastard, so be it" Lucas says.

The gel in his hair reflects the light from the bulb hanging from the ceiling.

The rest of the meeting goes smoothly as the group plan their strategies to catch the Count.

In an hour they finish their plans and prepare to leave.

Rachael goes to the Impala and checks for any property that must have been left by her mother.

She opens the pigeonhole and sees a picture.

A family picture they took when she was twelve.

Her parents smile with her as she stands in front of them with a cup of ice cream in her hand.

A little tear escapes her eye as she misses them.

"It's going to be okay Rachael," Samuel says as he appears beside her.

"We are here for you," he says and hugs her.

Marcus tightens his grip on his black rosary at the sight of Samuel and Rachael.

How can she hug that thing?

That monster.

"Don't worry brother. Time will come," Lucas says and pats his brother on the back.

He understands his frustration.

These monsters are the reason they lost their younger sister.

And now they pretend to care about their niece.

They only endure for the sake of their vendetta.

For Mary.

For vengeance.

"Your mother was a friend of mine.

Anytime you are ready, you can come for the car" Steven says to Rachael.

"Thank you," she nods her head.

Rachael and the group reunite outside the shop and wait a few minutes for Elena to join them before they head back to the club.

Of course, Elma and John aren't happy about being left outside the shop but they are glad to leave.

Warren Peace watches the cars leave the shop with a pair of binoculars.

He dials a number, "Send me everything you have on Roosevelt Auto Wrecking and the staff," he says before he cuts the call.

"What are you two planning?", he mumbles.

He knows the twins are up to something.

Evening falls upon the city of New York.

The club is surrounded by the usual energy of music and vices.

Public figures come in and go out under the dark of the night.

Rachael buries herself in some work to clear her thoughts.

Seeing her mother's car toppled a mountain of emotions in her heart.

She is just about done when one of the dancers barges into her office.

The dancer kisses and embraces a man with her as if Rachael isn't there.

She coughs out to draw their attention.

"Oh, Rachael. I didn't see you there," the man's voice is familiar.

His pale face lights up with excitement.

"Bryan? What is this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Wrong room," Bryan says and drags the dancer out of the office.

"I'm I the only one not getting laid at this club?" Rachael mumbles to herself.

The door opens and she looks up, expecting to see Bryan or another dancer but he appears.

"I see you've got yourself buried in this place," Samuel says.

His voice is smooth.

"It's what you pay me for," she says.

"You know, you don't have to do this.

I mean after everything, you deserve a break" he says.

Rachael puts on a smile, "Thank you,".

Samuel feels her sorrow.

He wears a warm smile, "You are stronger than you know Rachael, you will be alright" he says.

"Catch you in a minute," he leaves the office.

She runs her hands through her hair and takes a deep breath.

Rachael finishes her work and closes her laptop.

She wonders; what will her life be like when this is all over?

Gabriel, Elena, Elma and John chat in the living room.

"There is so much about your kind that isn't known, even amongst supernaturals," Elena says.

Her curiosity energizes her like caffeine.

"Well, we are special" Gabriel boasts.

"What's so special about sphinxes?

They are immortal; we are immortal too," Elma says and raises a glass with John.

Gabriel giggles, "Well, we have psychic abilities.

There are only a few immortals that can do that and vampires can't do that," Gabriel says.

"This has turned to a debate of immortals," Elena says.

"We may need a stronger drink," John walks to the counter.

"I've never understood how your psychic stuff works, y'know".

"It's not easy to explain. We just feel the minds of those around us.

Our psychic ability is so powerful even we don't know its full capabilities," Gabriel says.

"I bet you use them to pick up girls," Elma throws in as she helps John with glasses and they have a laugh.

Meanwhile.

A black Range Rover drives towards Dracula's compound.

Dracula smiles to himself as he processes thoughts of a wicked man.

"My sons must feel at ease since they haven't heard from me for a while now.

How wrong they are,".

The driver park's in front of the 3-storey building.

Dracula and Alex step out of the car

.

"Alex, do you know why the sphinxes have strong psychic reservoirs?" he asks the tall redhead.

"No, my lord" she answers.

"They inherited it from the Nephilim.

They think everything is okay and they can recuperate," Dracula giggles.

"They should know better,".

He stops at the doorway; he turns around and looks far into the air.

His eyes begin to shine blue before it goes completely black.

He stretches his hand out into the air.

He stretches his mind like a rubber band.

Flowing through the invincible space like a wireless network.

He looks down on New York like a giant looking down on a stone.

He finds Clouds, the club, and he senses the beings in it.

He searches for a strong mind, one with a powerful psychic prowess and he gets a grip on him.

Dracula smiles to himself, "Now, feel my power,".