Immediately following breakfast, Lana, Dobin, Shalt and Caser used the underground passage to get to the other side. They then stealthily made their way toward the entrance to the vampire settlement. Lana asked the trees and they had not seen Arthur emerge yet. Wait, is he in the shelter anyway? She asked the trees.
Lana halted her progress while she waited for the response. "Caser, go ahead a bit and see if you smell a vampire scent near the entrance, a trail that gets stronger as it approaches the shelter."
"Vampire?" Dobin hissed. "You didn't tell me we were looking for another vampire. How many are there?"
"Shhh"
He has not been seen in the shelter but he does have that strange power.
Shit.
Max, can you go in there and look? Stay out of sight.
A black mist formed and Max was off toward the gaping hole that was partially overgrown by foliage. This side had thicker foliage than her side though the rain levels seemed about the same. The first time they were here, the rain was brief. While building the shelter, they experienced only one multi-day downpour. Since moving here permanently, they understood why the planet was so humid.
Max was now entering the mountain and Lana wanted a nice safe place to sit so she could see through his eyes. Shalt looked around while Dobin guided her so she could get started. He found a spot nearby and came back to get them. Nestled quietly and gently behind a big rock, Lana watched as Max found his way to a settlement that looked so much like the one she had visited over the summer. She involuntarily shivered as she remembered the wendigos.
Caser returned to her side and said the air was too humid to tell if the scent was old or not. Lana now only had Max to rely on before deciding if they all should go down. As Max got to the settlement, he decided to head toward the tower. It was in the center against the far wall and would be a great place to be able to see the whole settlement from. Halfway there, Max began to hear voices. He passed that on to Lana. She could see through him but not hear.
Voice 1: "Do you think he'll agree?"
Voice 2: "Those in charge of the vampire settlement are the ones who killed his family. He'll agree."
Voice 1: "Against the humans?"
Voice 2: "That will be a hard sell but the vampires betrayed him. He has no loyalty toward them, or shouldn't anyway. He'll join us. The humans will fall into extinction"
Voice 1: "What's taking Arthur so long to decide?"
Voice 2: "He's weighing his options. His chances are better with us."
Max relayed all this back to Lana and she was struck with fear. She ordered Max to return to her. Just as Max returned to Lana's stomach, it started to downpour. There was no warning this time of a bit of drizzle. The rock the trio and feline were hiding behind suddenly came to life. Lana filled her fist with Qi and punched it. The rain muffled the sound of the explosive impact that caused it to die. They quickly made for their passage to return home safely. Lana was unnerved. Dobin and Shalt wanted her to get to safety.
As soon as they got to the shelter, Lana ran to get the babies from the girls. She fought herself on this one but decided if she did run into Arthur, him knowing she had babies may not be a good thing. Reluctantly, she left them but now she wanted them back. Her clothing was matted and gross from getting so wet in the rain but she didn't care. She needed to hold her babies.
Lana carried the babies from the second floor of the lab. Dobin grabbed the bag faster than Caser could react which was unusual. Caser was usually on the ball when it came to the babies but he couldn't keep his eyes off Lana. The three males followed her back to her home. She sat in her rocking chair and just rocked the babies. She usually used this chair only when having trouble getting them back to sleep at night.
Shalt prepared her a cup of tea while Dobin got her favorite blanket. Or tried. He went to her room and there were so many. Which is her current favorite? Did not having blankets for all those years really turn my sister into a blanket hoarder? He just grabbed the top one and wrapped it around her. Shalt handed her the teacup and she didn't respond. It was like she wasn't even seeing him or the cup. Shalt and Dobin exchanged concerned glances.
Shalt decided to gently lift the cup to her lips and pour a small amount in. She swallowed. That made him happy.
------------------------------
Max, did you recognize the voices from the vampire world?
No. One didn't sound human. He was slurring some of his sounds like his mouth wasn't formed to speak the human language.
I need to talk to Quinn…
-------------------------------
Lana started crying. Shalt thought maybe the tea was too hot but she was finally becoming responsive. She saw the cup through her tears and set the twins in her lap. She took the cup and gulped the whole thing down, not even noticing the temperature.
Dobin, fully alarmed now, "Lana, what did Max see?"
"Darkness."
She closed her eyes and continued to rock in the chair holding onto those most precious to her. Only one member of her family was absent from the room. She only hoped he was safe after hearing what she just heard. She breathed slowly and deeply, trying hard to get control of her thoughts.
"They left for the demon-tier hunt 5 days ago, right?"
Lana's voice shocked the silence they had adjusted to. Dobin stumbled over his words, 'yes.. I think so.. right after the duel ended."
"I need to shower, change and go to the Cursed Ship."
Both men nodded hoping that meant they'd learn what happened soon.
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