CHAPTER XVII

"Mom?", Rachael calls out to the figure in the dark and a familiar face appears.

"Hey, baby girl" Mrs McQueen says to a 12year old Rachael.

"Are you trying out a costume for Halloween?" Rachael asks as she moves her flowing long hair from her face and Mrs McQueen smiles.

She wears a tight jacket with metal shoulder guard and a pair of black boots. Her jeans carry a sheathed dagger around her waist and there is something on her shoulder.

It's black and a bit dry. Rachael spots the same substance on her mother's hand.

"Are you and dad doing something weird because you look weird?", "What do you mean by your dad and I doing something weird?", Mrs McQueen asks.

"You know, sex stuff" "Whoa, little miss" Mrs McQueen exclaims, "You should stop hanging with the wrong crowd," she says.

"That would be you and dad," Rachael says and Mrs McQueen laughs.

"Let me go and clean myself up", Mrs McQueen starts to walk towards her and her husband's bedroom but Rachael follows behind like a pesky insect.

"You still didn't answer the question, mom" Rachael nags, "Where's your dad?" Mrs McQueen diverts, "He went to get some milk at the convenience store.

Mrs McQueen gets to the bathroom and takes off her boots, she turns on the sink's tap and washes her hand. She hears her daughter's footsteps enter the room.

This little brat.

"What do you want, Rachael?", "Mom", Mrs McQueen feels a despondent emotion behind her daughter's voice.

She pops her head outside the bathroom as she tries to take off the shoulder guard, "What's wrong baby girl?" she asks.

"There is this girl at school that calls me names. She always bullies me and sometimes she even hits me", "What? Did you report to your teachers?" "Yes" "And?".

"They scold her but nothing changes".

Dracula's Lair.

Samuel whistles in the darkness of the dungeon as he eyes his brother who seems to be in thought.

Must be something he said, not like he cares much about how he feels after all he is an immortal.

He has all the time in the world to get over any emotional stress as long as they don't get killed tonight.

He leans his head back and against the wall and stares at the ceiling buried in the dark.

I hope Rachael is safe.

Even if he left Rachael with Cassandra, the Trackers are still out there.

He and Gabriel may be their primary target but there is no guarantee that they won't go after Rachael since she seems to be a weakness.

Samuel pauses in thought and smirks to himself.

Weakness?

That would imply that he has feelings for her, that he cares about her and deep down he knows the only person he usually cares about is the immortal sitting across him.

This is an unexpected change, now he ponders; maybe Gabriel and I are in the same situation after all.

The two immortals who have been known for their savagery for decades find themselves in a state of emotional turmoil.

"What is that?", Gabriel suddenly asks, "What?" Samuel doesn't notice anything, "Listen".

They hear a groan and they turn their head towards the dark dungeon opposite theirs.

"No heartbeat," Gabriel says, "But the stench is unwavering," Samuel says, "Soon, you will smell like me", a husky voice says from the dark.

It moves closer to the bars and a wrinkled old face with little strands of white hair on its head appears.

"God, Smeagle is here" Samuel says.

Gabriel frowns; "Who the hell are you?", "I am a very old vampire" he replies and Samuel scoffs, "Arrogant cunts. Don't worry, in a few nights you would be dead so that another can live", he says.

They can pick an accent behind his tone but his husky voice makes it difficult to place it.

The twins look at him intensely as they feel the secrets in his words like a cold breeze blown against their skin.

"Keep talking old man," Gabriel commands and the old vampire chuckles, "And what do I stand to gain?" "When we get out of here, we will free you" "Free me? I wonder how you will pull that off".

"I oppose. We will kill you if you don't tell us anything" Samuel says as he feels agitated.

"This sorry excuse for a vampire thinks he should be bargaining with us", "You hear my brother, so talk" Gabriel says.

"I am Marcel and I am very old.

I do not fear any of you", he snarls.

"But I will help you if you come through on your promise to set me free. Deal?", "No de…" "Deal", Gabriel cuts Samuel short and Samuel shoots a glance at him.

Samuel glances back at Marcel, the old vampire, his face sending a message of indignation.

Gabriel understands his brother's irritation, he knows that Samuel looks down on creatures he considers beneath him.

He tries to hide it but it is a trait he shares with their father and Gabriel knows this.

Gabriel looks up as he feels the hairs on his body pick up on the minuscule vibration that reverberates through the atmosphere.

They are here.

"Samuel," Gabriel calls out before they both hear an explosion and they look at each other.

"If John has a bazooka, I am going to be fucking impressed," Samuel says, "Our guys are here Marcel, you should better start talking" Gabriel says.

"They have to be successful first, dear sphinx" Marcel says.

"I can't wait to kill this fucker" Samuel mumbles, "Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair.

Either from this deal or your father's hand", Marcel responds.

Samuel scoffs and looks away as the sight of Marcel infuriates him further.

"Let me try and sync with John," Gabriel says, "Gabe?" "Don't worry, I just want to sense his consciousness to be sure he knows where he is going.

The explosion is west of here, so I'm a bit doubtful" Gabriel says.

Samuel's eyes begin to glow, "Just don't kill him before we get out of here," he says.

Marcel sees the sphinx eyes and can almost feel his rage drop on him like a hail storm.

He creeps backward deeper into the darkness of his confinement, lest the angry beast bites off his head.

Gabriel closes his eyes.

Every sound feels like an array of broken glasses trying to pierce his ears but he blocks them out and fills his mind with nothingness.

He stays still as he feels the cold air of the night blow against his face while he floats through the darkness of the night's sky.

He hears a thousand heartbeats and immediately knows it isn't what he is searching for.

He is searching for a being with no heart, not because of a vacancy inside of his chest but because a dead heart does not beat.

He senses body movements but these bodies have no heartbeat; Dracula's men.

Gabriel searches for a being who shares a connection with his soul as all vampires and their makers do.

He smells the history between them, he hears his footsteps against the grass and he knows.

He hears the grunts of men in combat and he knows.

He hears a thud from the dead being that has been dropped to the ground and he knows.

He feels a strange pulse hit hard against the frequency of the human plain which confuses him and yet he is certain that John is here.

"Anybody miss me?", John says as he enters the dungeon and locates the twins.

Samuel calms down and for once John can feel that his presence brought about this ease.

"You took your time but you are here," Samuel says, "Seriously?" Gabriel looks at his brother.

"Alright, burst us out" Samuel says, "I thought you guys would just do that yourself," John says.

"Serious voltage is raging through these bars", "Well, I suspected your father had some high-level security of some kind so we got an EMP" John says.

"Are you saying we can touch the bars now?" Gabriel asks, "Yes".

Without hesitation, Samuel holds the prison bar and begins to bend it, he groans as he exerts strength.

He smiles as he steps out of the dungeon, "Johnny boy, you have outdone yourself" he pats John on the shoulder and moves one side as Gabriel comes out as well.

"Sphinx, do not forget me" Marcel suddenly says from his cell.

John shrieks in surprise as he did not notice the vampire, "What the fuck is that?", "An old ass vampire that wants to die" Samuel answers.

"If you want out of here, you better start singing" Gabriel says without a hint of trifle.

"Okay, your father wants to use two of you for a sacrifice", Samuel hisses, "Nothing new, let's kill him" he snaps, "You don't know why, but I do".

"You may be immortal but you don't have the whole time in the world, Marcel" Gabriel begins to get impatient, "One for the father and one for the wife.

One for the dragon's father and one for the dragon's bride".

"What the fuck does that mean?" John asks but no one answers, he immediately notices how stiff the twins go after Marcel's statement.

"Why us?" Gabriel asks, "Why not? Who else would be worthy for such a task?", Samuel begins to walk towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" Gabriel asks, "I'm going to leave this place so that I can come up with an elaborate plan to kill Count Dracula", hate energizes his voice.

Gabriel goes towards Marcel's cell and grabs the bars and he bends them until there is enough space for the scrawny-looking vampire to walk out.

"You are on your own" Gabriel says before walking towards the exit.

The three men step out of the dungeon.

The dungeon is below the normal ground level of the land, they jump up and land on the rough grass.

That is when they see that they are not alone; they are surrounded by vampires but they are not bothered because before their rage, no mere vampire is a threat.

Their eyes begin to glow and the sides of their mouth begin to increase in a crooked line as black veins appear underneath their eyes.

"Finally, a little workout" Gabriel says, "I just want to fucking kill something," his mentally stressed brother says.