The Silent Soldiers Book 1

8/13/2019 The Silent Soldiers Book 1

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TRAVIS STINNETT

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Text copyright 2013 by Travis Stinnett

All rights reserve! Except as per"itte #ner $!S! %opyright Act o& 1'()* no part o& thisp#blication "ay be repro#ce* istrib#te* or trans"itte in any &or" or by any "eans*

or store in a atabase or retrieve syste"* +itho#t the prior +ritten per"ission o& the

p#blisher!

Travis Stinnett

Visit "y +ebsite ,http-..eeriealliance!blogspot!co"

/irst aperbac Eition /ebr#ary 2013 by Travis Stinnett!

The characters an events portraye in this boo are &ictitio#s! Any si"ilarity to real

persons* living or ea* is coinciental an not intene by the a#thor!

Stinnett* Travis* 1'(

The Silent Soliers . by Travis Stinnett!442ne!

S#""ary- 5#e is an orinary yo#ng boy* or so he thins* living +ith his #ncle an

co#sin a&ter the eath o& his parents shortly a&ter his birth! 5ittle oes 5#e no+* he is

abo#t to e"bar on a li&e changing 6o#rney to his gran&athers7 ho#se &or the s#""er!

/ille +ith e"ons* &aeries* va"pires* +ere+olves an "ore* this novel +ill p#t 5#e

thro#gh a ga#ntlet o& tro#ble an t#r"oil* leaing #p to a &inal cli"atic battle!

IS8N'(1923'3(1

:1! Va"pires;/iction! 2! b! 1!

ASIN- 8008?R?RV2

ISBN-10: 1482389371

ISBN-13: 978-1482389371

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For my family. Thank you to my !autiful "if!

an# thr!! ama$in% ki#& for &ti'kin% y m! throu%h

thi& #auntin% (ro'!&&. I lo)! you %uy&**

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+'kno"l!#%m!nt&

I would like to thank my writing coach Timothy Stavetieg.

Also, my wife Crystal for encouraging me through this

entire writing and u!lishing rocess. Cliff "ennington

with "ennington #rahics Solutions for all the ama$ing

grahics work esecially the sectacular !ook covers for

the entire novel series.

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,ont mi&& Book T"o in

T@E SI5ENT S5BIERS SERIES-

8A%C T S%@5

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INTRODUCTION

'It is almost time (aster. The child will come of age in less

than two weeks. )ow soon will you !e a!le to return to the earth

realm*+ asked a womans voice.

'It has !een nearly fourteen years since the child was !orn,

and I was !anished. I am waiting for the recise moment in

which I can make my return,+ said a man wearing a long !lack

cloak.

A hood comletely covered the figures head. The only art

of the mans !ody, that was visi!le !eneath the dark colored

garment he was wearing, was his glowing red eyes. The man was

standing in the middle of a cave !arely lit !y the fire of a single

torch hanging on one wall. Suddenly the mans image started to

fade and I reali$ed he wasnt in the cave at all. The man had

ro-ected his image from some unknown location.

'I have comleted the final arrangements for your arrival.

e are ready to assist you in caturing the child, (aster. The

womans voice came from the shadows of the cave -ust out ofreach of the light from the torch. The outline of her !ody was

visi!le, !ut it was imossi!le to see any of her features.

')ave you located the child* (y lans can !e carried out

much more smoothly if we can take him !efore he learns a!out

our world.

'/o, (aster, I have not. e have done everything in our

ower to locate and cature him. )is arents went to great

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lengths to ensure that no one would find him. e have a lead

that he could ossi!ly !e hiding in the allas area. e are

searching the area day and night I assure you.

'ou have done well my child. According to the rohetess

the child will !e returning to the mansion soon,+ the man said

looking toward the old lady crouched against one wall of the

cave.

The old lady against the wall was !ound with small silverchains wraed around her !ody. She whimered softly.

Suddenly a long silver whi flashed out from the woman in the

shadows. It struck the old lady in the !ack causing her to scream

out in ain.

'ou will kee uiet in the resence of our (aster,+ says the

woman fiercely. The chained old lady !ecame instantly silent

!efore the man !egan to seak again.

'e must o!tain the child. )e is a key element in my lans

to rule this horrid lanet the humans call earth. If he unites with

good he will forever !e my enemy.+

'That will not haen, (aster. our lans will not fail. I

have worked very hard in your a!sence to guarantee your

success.+ the woman says roudly.

'e shall see, my child.+ The woman !owed to the cloaked

figure. )e nodded slightly !efore he comletely faded from the

dark cave. The woman walked out into the light of the torch and

it !ecame aarent that she too was comletely concealed !y a

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dark colored cloak. She walked gracefully over to the chained

woman. She kneeled down on one knee ne5t to the old lady.

'(aster will !e returning soon. I know you have !een

withholding information a!out the visions you are having you

old hag. hen /hados is in our realm once again you will have

no choice !ut to tell him what you know. )e has ways you could

never even imagine to force you into telling him what he needs

to know,+ she sat the words out at the chained lady.The old lady !egan to cry softly again. She knew the cloaked

woman was telling the truth. She had indeed !een under /hados

ower in the ast. hen /hados catured her many years ago

she suffered his wrath for a short time. She !egan to so! loudly

dreading the coming torture from the terrifying dark wi$ard. An

evil laugh came softly from the cloaked woman. )er laugh

!ecame louder and more evil as she stood to her feet. The

woman kicked the old lady in the ri!s swiftly causing her to

scream out in ain once again.

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1

7ach morning for the ast week, I awake from the same

dream. Im walking in a !eautiful valley somewhere, not sure

where e5actly. The !ree$e is !lowing the !ack of my neck

making the hair stand u a little. Suddenly, it turns to night with

the moon full over my head, and unusually large. I look around

the valley at the wood line and see airs of glowing yellow eyes

surrounding me. I free$e with fear as I try to search through the

darkness to find out what is surrounding me. Slowly the airs of

eyes start moving closer to me and my fear grows more intense

araly$ing me. I deserately search every direction trying to finda way to escae, !ut I am comletely surrounded. I am sweating,

yet my flesh is chilled and my muscles clenched as I !egin to

hear a very low rum!ling growl coming from every direction.

The growls slowly get louder and more threatening, and I can

feel fear growing stronger. All of a sudden I hear a single wolf

howl. I wake u screaming, and drenched in sweat.

I have thought day and night a!out what this dream

might mean !ut Im too em!arrassed to ask my uncle what he

thinks. It is em!arrassing having to tell your uncle youre

dreaming of the !ig !ad wolf.

8uke had grown u living with his 9ncle Charles and his

cousin (att since !irth. They were a!out the same age, (att

having !een !orn only five days !efore 8uke. In many ways,

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!eing so close in age made them like twins. They had always

!een very close. They were ractically inseara!le.

I have asked a!out my arents many times !ut I can

never get any information from my 9ncle. hen I ask him what

haened to them all he can tell me is there was an accident, and

I had to come live with them. I feel like there is more to it than

-ust an accident. I only want to know what haened to them,

and what they were like. I guess its too hard for him to talka!out losing his only sister. (ay!e someday I will meet other

family mem!ers that might !e a!le to tell me a!out my arents.

I do know my grandfather, my moms dad, is still

around. Samuel Carrington, my grandfather, is aarently a very

wealthy man and does some kind of real estate !usiness in every

art of the world. This is what 9ncle Charles has told me a!out

him. I have only seen him a coule times in my life, usually

around holidays. )e never stays more than an hour or two at the

most so I never have time to get him alone to talk a!out my

arents.

I have never met any of my dads family. I feel like there

are lots of secrets regarding me and my family. 9ncle Charles

seems to !e hiding things from me !ut I cant find any roof.

(ay!e when I get older I can do some searching and see what I

can come u with.

'8uke, were going to !e late;+ yelled (att from the

hallway outside 8ukes !edroom.'hat time is it*+ 8uke mum!led.

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'Its seven oclock, man. #et your !utt out of the !ed or we

are going to miss our last day of school.+

'hy are you so e5cited a!out getting to school* ou

havent cared whether you went to school or not all year, and

now youre ready to go all of a sudden*+

'eah man, the uicker we get there, the uicker we will !e

out for summer and the uicker we can go on vacation.+

8uke was kind of e5cited a!out going on vacation. Theywere lanning to send a coule weeks at his grandfathers

house in Arkansas. )e wasnt sure if his #randa would actually

!e there very much since he is away on !usiness a lot. )e hoed

his grandfather would find time to talk to him a little a!out his

arents. Samuel lived in 7erie, a few miles outside of 8ittle

=ock, the state caitol. )is 9ncle told him 7erie was a very

small town, !ut that 8ittle =ock was much !igger. Charles also

said there were lots of things to kee him and (att entertained

while they were there. They had no idea -ust how entertained and

!usy their life would !ecome once they arrived at their

grandfathers house.

8uke, Charles, and (att lived in allas, Te5as. There

were always things to do there. )is uncle said 8ittle =ock was

not nearly as !ig as allas, so he hoed they had a good time and

were not comletely !ored for the ne5t few weeks.

'The !us will !e here in five minutes,+ said (att as he

knocked on 8ukes !edroom door and ushed his way in.'Im ready (att, lets get going.+

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8uke and his cousin were in the seventh grade. (att was

a!out a foot shorter and weighed several ounds less than 8uke,

!ut so did everyone else in his grade. (att had dark skin, short

!rown hair and !rown eyes. All of the girls were cra$y a!out

him, and he knew it. 8uke, on the other hand, had very ale skin.

/o matter how much time he tried to send in the sun he

couldnt seem to get any darker. It definitely was not fun

growing u as the ale giant of your class. 8uke was !ig, ale,had shoulder length !londe hair, and !lue eyes. )is uncle told

him he had his fathers comle5ion and his mothers hair and

eyes. 8uke didnt know e5actly where his si$e came from

though.

So, here they were on their last day of the seventh grade. It

seemed like any other day, !ut (att was suer stoked a!out it for

some reason. 8uke was trying his !est to !e in high sirits for

(atts sake. )e couldnt hel !ut feel as though something

weird was a!out to haen. The memories of his dreams

continued to haunt his su!conscious mind. 7very time 8uke let

his mind wander, the thought of the dreams would surface again.

The first half of the day went !y really fast for him. )e made

it through 7nglish, (ath, >iology, and Sanish class with flying

colors. /e5t came lunch. )e and (att didnt have any classes

together, unfortunately, !ut they had always sat together at

lunch. 8uke had never !een a real eole erson like (att, so he

never made many friends in school. (att was always surrounded

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!y lots of friends. )is friends retty much acceted 8uke

!ecause he was art of (atts family.

8uke had sent most all of his free time learning and

erfecting his interest in martial arts. )e had !een in ?arate and

Tae ?won o classes for as long as he could remem!er. )e

currently held a !lack !elt in Tae ?won o. 7veryone was

e5cited a!out the things they were lanning to do on vacation.

8uke retty much stayed to himself, as usual, thinking.The time he sent now, thinking, led his thoughts !ack to the

recurring dream a!out the glowing yellow eyes and the howling

wolf. )e continued to wonder what the meaning !ehind the

animals in his dream was. )e had never in his life even seen a

real wolf. 8uke couldnt hel !ut think that the wolves felt

almost as though they were familiar to him for some reason. )e

grew more u$$led the more he thought a!out them.

The end of the day finally rolled around, and (at met him at

his locker. )e gra!!ed the rest of his stuff and left it emty for

whoever was to have it the ne5t year. )e slammed the locker

shut !efore they headed for the !us to take them home. hen

they got home his 9ncles truck was already in the driveway.

8uke reali$ed instantly that something was going on. It was very

unusual for Charles to !e home so early. )e normally worked

until five or later every evening.

'I wonder why dad is home so early,+ (att said.

'I dont know. 8ets find out.+ They walked in the front doorand found that their luggage had already !een acked and now

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waited for them in the living room. 8uke thought this was kind

of odd since his uncle told them they needed to ack as soon as

they got home from school. )e told them they were leaving first

thing the following morning for #randas.

'ad*+ yelled (att as they walked through the living room

to look for Charles. They found him on the hone in the kitchen.

'Thats right. I need two flights to 8ittle =ock as soon as

ossi!le,+ said Charles into the hone.'hats going on, (att*+ 8uke asked curiously.

'I dont know man. I thought we were driving u to

#randas in the morning.+ A!out that time Charles hung u the

hone.

'#et everything loaded in the truck,+ said Charles.

'hats going on, ad*+ asked (att.

'e have to go to #randas tonight. e cant wait until

morning to leave.+

'hats going on*+ 8uke asked curiously. 'hy only two

flights*+

'Im sending you and (att on tonight. I have some

imortant !usiness to take care of in the morning and Ill drive

u tomorrow evening.+ 8uke found it kind of eculiar that his

uncle would fly them to 8ittle =ock tonight instead of waiting

for all of them to leave tomorrow. 8uke decided to kee this

thought to himself. Charles seemed to do things lately that made

8uke wonder if he was hiding something, !ut he never asked

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uestions. )e knew it was not olite to uestion grown@us

a!out their !usiness.

(att didnt seem to think anything was out of the ordinary.

At least he didnt let on that he did. (att was -ust e5cited a!out

the thought of getting to fly. /either of the two !oys had ever

!een on a lane. 8uke finally admitted to himself he was a little

!it e5cited too.

Charles failed to tell his son and nehew the true reason hewas sending them early. )e didnt have time to e5lain all of the

things they would soon find out. )e needed to get them out of

the state. hen 8uke was !orn he was laced in the care of his

uncle. Charles, after the recent death of his wife, had to move

from his home in 7erie. )e moved to allas to hide his new!orn

nehew from the dark and evil forces that were hunting him.

Charles feared that after all these years their location had !een

comromised. That was the real reason he was sending them to

their grandfather immediately.

They uickly loaded their things into the !ack of Charles

truck. It definitely seemed like a lot of !ags for a coule weeks,

!ut 8uke again decided not to ask any uestions. 8uke ran u to

check his room one last time to make sure everything he wanted

to take had !een acked. They were out the door in uite a hurry.

')ow are we getting to #randas once we get to 8ittle

=ock*+ (att asked his dad.

'#randa is going to send a car. It will !e waiting on you assoon as you land.+ Charles e5lained.

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'And you are coming tomorrow, right*+ I asked.

'That is the lan. As soon as I finish what I have to do, I will

head that way.+ Charles looked funny to 8uke. )e almost looked

as though he was terrified of something. 8uke couldnt imagine

what had his uncle so scared. )e hoed everything worked out

the way Charles wanted.

'The shifter has !een sotted leaving the house,+ said one ofthe two men standing in the dark cave. The men knelt !efore the

cloaked woman as if she was their ueen. They dared not look

the woman in the eyes. It was aarent the men feared this

woman.

'Then what are you waiting for*+ screamed the woman,

'hy are you here with me when this could !e the erfect

oortunity to cature the !oy*+ she added hissing the words at

the men. The two men !egan to slowly cree !ackwards away

from the woman. It was imossi!le for a human to move their

!ody arts the way these men did.

'es, (adame,+ said one of the creeing men.

'They are !eing trailed as we seak. e will go to them

immediately,+ said the second man.

'If you value the air you !reathe, you will not let the !oy get

away. The master is due to arrive at any time. )e will not !e

leased if the !oy is allowed to escae,+ sat the woman. The

two men !owed their heads to the woman and instantly !urst intoflames. hen the flames went out the two men no longer knelt

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!efore her. They had magically teleorted !ack to wherever they

came from.

8uke, (att, and Charles arrived at the airort in allas.

9ncle Charles said his good@!yes !efore unloading their luggage

onto a rolling cart. The airort was huge. 8uke couldnt imagine

how they would ever find where they were going on their own.

'I have to go, !ut (r. Coleman here is a friend of your#randas. )e will hel you check in and get to your assigned

terminal.+ Charles told them. (r. Coleman, to their surrise, was

a giant man with dark tanned skin and a !u$$ed haircut. )e wore

a !lack suit with dark sunglasses. Charles took the man aside and

soke to him for a second. 8uke watched as the giant man

nodded his head in agreement.

8uke had !een watching his uncle closely since they left the

house. )e watched as Charles drove unusually fast as he weaved

through the heavy afternoon traffic. 8uke knew they were in a

hurry to get to the airort. )e couldnt understand why his uncle

had watched his rearview mirror so closely. 8uke had started to

get nervous as he watched his uncle drive. As Charles talked to

(r. Coleman he scanned the cars that were coming and going at

the front entrance of the airort. The nervousness 8uke felt on

the drive suddenly turned to fear as his uncle, and then (r.

Coleman !egan to look frantically around at the other eole

walking in and out of the airort.')es kind of scary looking, huh*+ (att asked.

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'eah man he is freaking me out a little !it,+ 8uke agreed.

8uke wondered if (att had even noticed the strange way his

father had !een acting since they got home from school.

'ou are in good hands with (r. Coleman. )e will make

sure you guys get on your lane safely.+ Charles e5lained. 'I

love you !oys. I will see you !oth soon at #randas. The !oys

waved !ye to Charles as he ractically ran !ack to his truck and

took off in uite a hurry. They followed (r. Coleman into theairort. 8uke wondered why Charles was in such a hurry now

that they were safely to the airort. They checked their !aggage

uickly !efore they rushed off to the terminal. 8uke thought

they would never get where they were going. The airort

aeared to go on for miles. )e thought they walked at least a

hundred of those miles !efore they finally arrived at the right

terminal.

8uke and (att were ractically running through the airort

as they tried deserately to kee u with (r. Coleman. 8uke

watched (r. Coleman as they ran. )e couldnt see the mans

face as his head turned !ack and forth scanning the crowds as

they rushed toward their destination. The flight attendant was

-ust a!out to close the door to the gate.

'AIT;+ yelled (r. Coleman. The attendant was more than

a little shocked at the out!urst, !ut she smiled gently at them.

'ou almost missed your dearture,+ she said as she made

her way over to greet us at the check in counter.

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8uke was out of !reath when they made it to the check in

counter at the terminal. )e looked around at all the eole in the

airort as he tried to catch his !reath. Suddenly 8uke sotted a

figure standing across the airort through the crowd. )e knew

instantly something was different a!out this erson he was

looking at. )e wondered why no!ody else seemed to notice

someone wearing a heavy cloak that comletely concealed every

art of their !ody. )e couldnt tell if it was a man or a woman.ust as he was a!out to reach out and touch (att to get his

attention a large grou of eole walked !etween him and the

cloaked figure. 8uke craned his head trying to get a !etter look at

the erson. hen the grou assed the cloaked erson was gone.

They !oarded the lane uickly after the attendant got them

checked in. (r. Coleman went his own way since his -o! with

the !oys was comlete. 8uke really wanted the chance to talk to

(att on the lane, !ut getting tickets at the last minute caused

their seats to !e too far aart. )e wanted to talk to him a!out

what he saw at the terminal. 8uke !egan to think may!e he

hadnt even seen the erson at all. )e ushed it out of his mind

as he settled into his seat for the tri.

The flight was !oring to 8uke after the thrill of the initial

take off. )e decided to take a na. )e was not really tired, !ut he

wanted to !e well rested to talk to #randa. )e had hoed his

#randa would !e home that night, and he would get the chance

to talk to him alone. 8uke fell aslee uickly after he closed hiseyes.

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The familiar dream started all over again. >eautiful valley,

turning to night, glowing yellow eyes, and the howling wolf.

This time was different though. 8uke hadnt woke u when the

wolf howled. )e had never dreamed ast the howling !efore. )e

didnt know what to e5ect after that. )e looked around at the

glowing eyes surrounding him. )e tried to anticiate what would

haen ne5t. 8uke caught a glimse of something out of the

corner of his eye. hen he turned to look, there was a huge catrunning toward him at full seed. The cat was solid !lack with

glowing red eyes and the sharest teeth he had ever seen. 8uke

guessed it was some sort of anther or something of that nature.

ust as 8uke turned to run, he felt something ri through the

flesh of his !ack.

8uke woke u -uming from his seat on the lane screaming

at the to of his lungs. )e looked around and reali$ed everyone

on the lane was starring at him. )e immediately remem!ered

where he was and turned red with em!arrassment as he sank

!ack into his seat.

'Are you ok*+ The flight attendant asked as she made her

way over to check on him.

'I -ust had a !ad dream,+ 8uke relied. The dream had

aeared as though it was getting weirder. 8uke was more

confused as to what it meant. )e tried to shake the lingering

feeling of fear as the catain instructed the flight attendants to

reare for the arrival into 8ittle =ock.

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2

'e failed you, (aster,+ said the womans voice as she

kneeled !efore him. The men she sent to the airort to retrieve

the !oy had failed her. She unished them severely for their

failure. /ow, even though she knew her master wasnt actually

standing !efore her, she must answer to him. She would take

whatever unishment he felt she needed.+

'I was at the airort myself. There was no way for the

child to !e taken without causing a scene in front of all those

athetic humans,+ said the already fading cloaked figure. The

woman suddenly reali$ed she had dealt unishment to innocent

!eings. She wasnt the least !it sorry a!out it. She wanted to

imress her master !y caturing the !oy !efore he returned to the

7arth realm. She now knew she missed her last chance for that to

haen.

'I am sorry, (aster. I should have gone and finished the

-o! myself,+ said the woman sarcastically.

'And ruin your lace within the ack* That would !e

even more stuid than causing a scene in front of the humans;+

The man yelled down at her. The woman flinched at the tone of

the mans angry voice as though he could cause her harm. The

man had again ro-ected himself into the cave from whatever far

away dimension he had !een !anished to. 'ou must !e smart.

e need you to hide within the ack to inform me of their

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little giggle at the sight of him and (att caught on to what I was

looking at.

'I guess that would !e us,+ I told (att.

'#uess so,+ he relied. e slowly made our way thru

the crowd toward the tiny little man. hen he finally reali$ed we

were headed his way you could see the e5citement light u his

tiny little features. The little man hurried over to us.

'ou must !e 8uke;+ the little man e5claimed as if hehad known me my entire life. ou could feel the e5citement

ouring from the little man as he shook my hand

enthusiastically.

'It is such an honor to finally meet you,+ said the little

man.

'/ice to meet you too sir,+ I said in a very confused sort

of way.

'"lease forgive me. (y name is ackson =ath!urn. I

work for your grandfather, (r. Carrington,+ he e5lained.

'Its very nice to meet you (r. =ath!urn,+ I said.

'Bh no, no, no, you must call me ack,+ he said with a

huge smile.

'Bk, ack. This is my cousin (att,+ I said.

'Bh, lease forgive me (att. It is definitely a leasure

meeting you as well,+ he said as he !lushed with em!arrassment.

'Same here,+ said (att with a very annoyed look on his

face.

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'I will !e escorting you to the mansion to meet with

your grandfather.+ I couldnt hel !ut feel nervous and e5cited at

the thought of my grandfather !eing home, and a!out the

ossi!ility of getting some alone time with him. I had so many

uestions oing into my head as we followed the little man

named ack thru the airort in 8ittle =ock. The airort wasnt

nearly as !ig as the one in allas, !ut it still took us some time to

get outside to the car. e followed ack out the front doors ofthe airort and I sotted a huge limousine with another of the

!lack suited men waiting to load our luggage into the trunk.

'8ooks like were riding in style (att,+ I said.

'ow; #randa must !e loaded sending a limo to ick

us u,+ said (att. (att and I had never known e5actly what our

grandfather did for a living. e knew he was in real estate. e

were !eginning to reali$e he must have loads of money. /either

(att nor I had ever !een to #randas house. e really didnt

know what to e5ect with 'the mansion,+ as ack ut it, !ut we

were !oth overflowing with e5citement a!out our first lane ride

and our first ride in a limousine. This was almost more

e5citement than either of us could handle in one day. The man

that loaded our luggage now oened the door at the !ack of the

limo. The three of us clim!ed into the !ack seat. e heard the

front door oen and close, the engine started, and the car !egan

to move. e couldnt see the driver with the window to the front

seat !eing comletely !lacked out. ack didnt seem to !e!othered !y it. e watched out the windows in anticiation as

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the car made its way onto the freeway headed to 7erie, the town

where our grandfathers mansion was located.

'ould you care for something to drink*+ ack asked

(att and me.

'Sure, what do you have*+ (att asked.

'See for yourself,+ ack said as he oened the limos mini

fridge. It was acked with every sort of soft drink you could

imagine. e !oth settled for our choice of canned drink, andack closed the fridge. e sied our sodas as we e5ited the

interstate.

'So, how long have you worked for #randa*+ I asked

ack.

'I have !een with your grandfather for many years, he e5lained,

'8ong !efore either of you were even !orn.+

'Thats cool.+

e rode in silence as we continued down the narrow

two lane road leading into 7erie. I noticed that we were driving

through nothing !ut woods on !oth sides of the road. I couldnt

remem!er if we had assed a house at all in the ast coule

miles. Soon after that we assed a coule of small houses. e

assed a sign that said 7erie, oulation 31%, and that let me

know -ust how small this town really was. /e5t we assed a little

convenience store and were running arallel to railroad tracks on

the oosite side. e slowed down to make a right hand turn

that took us over the tracks. e assed a coule larger housesand were again surrounded !y woods. e drove a few more

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miles when the car !egan to slow down to make another turn.

The driveway oened u to a little guard shack with a huge !lack

metal gate hung !etween a massive !lock wall. The wall must

have !een at least 12 feet tall.

I noticed cameras ointed in different directions down

the to of the wall. I wondered why #randa needed so much

security. The limo stoed at the gate. I noticed the two guards

looked and dressed much the same as the driver and (r.Coleman. The guards aroached the driver. After a !rief

conversation one of the guards went !ack to the guard shack.

The other made a circle around the car. After the guard

comleted his search of the car he went !ack to the guard shack.

e watched as the huge !lack gate started to slowly oen. The

guard motioned for us to go in. The car ulled slowly forward

through the gate.

(att and I !oth stared out our windows as we made our

way down the drive and through more woods that surrounded us.

At one oint we crossed a small covered !ridge that crossed a

creek connecting two very large onds on either side of the road.

e continued down the driveway as the woods !egan to thin out

and oen u to fields all around us. ust as we started over the

to of a hill we caught our first glimse of our grandfathers

mansion. Bur mouths droed oen in awe as we took in the

view. e could see the house across a valley from where we

were coming down the drive. I could hardly ut into words how!ig this lace was. It could !arely !e called a house at all. It was

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more along the lines of a castle than anything. )uge gray stones

made u the ma-ority of the e5terior surfaces. (assive columns

held u the roof that covered the entryway to what I assumed

would !e the front door. At either end of the massive central art

of the house, which was at least three stories tall, were two

towers. These towers were like something you would see in a

fairy tale story. They were round and e5tended a!ove the main

level of the house. I had never seen a house as !ig as this one inall my life, even in the allas area. I couldnt wait to get inside

and start e5loring the lace with (att.

I glanced over at (att as the car veered to the right

around the circle driveway in front of the mansion. I hadnt

noticed !efore, !ut (att was looking rather ale and was

sweating uite a !it even with the rather cool temerature in the

limo.

'Are you feeling ok (att*+ I asked. '/ot really. I think

Im -ust tired from all of the e5citement weve had today,+ he

said. 'oure ro!a!ly right. Im a little tired and worn out

myself.+

It was !eginning to get dark !y the time we arrived at the

house. I looked at the huge sotlights that illuminated the area

around the mansion. The !ack door of the car oened and

another !lack suited giant motioned for us to get out. Two

younger guys, dressed also in !lack suits, aroached the rear of

the car and oened the trunk. I was !eginning to get the idea thatthese !lack suits were uniforms for my grandfathers emloyees.

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The younger guys unloaded our luggage and !egan hauling it

into the house.

As we walked u the stes and aroached the huge

front doors, ack said, '(att, why dont you come with me and

Ill show you to your room so you can lie down. ou arent

looking very well and ro!a!ly need a little rest from all the

e5citement.+

'That sounds like a great idea, (att said, Im really not feelingwell at all.+

'8uke, why dont you go into the great room straight

through those doors,+ ack said ointing to a set of dou!le doors

as we entered into what would !e the foyer of the mansion.

'our grandfather will meet you there shortly.+

'Bk, sounds good to me.+

'ill you !e ok, (att*+ I asked.

'Sure man I -ust need to lie down for a minute,+ he

relied. A massive staircase on either side of the dou!le doors

leading to the great room led to the second story. I watched as

ack led (att u the stairs. I watched until they were out of sight

!efore I entered into the ne5t room as ack had instructed.

The room I entered was indeed a '#reat+ room. It was

!igger than our entire house in allas, which made it a !it

overwhelming. The walls were covered in a dark colored stone

from floor to ceiling with dark hardwood floors. There was

nothing down the center of the room e5cet for a thick rug. Bnthe left side of the room was a very large firelace surrounded !y

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an over si$ed !rown leather couch and matching chairs. The

other side of the room had a huge ta!le that could seat at least

two do$en eole comforta!ly, with chairs all around. The

rooms ceiling was at the level of what had to !e the same height

as the second floor ceiling. Statues, lants, and trees of different

si$es decorated the room. A huge chandelier lowered down from

the ceiling to what should !e the first floors ceiling in the center

of the room.I walked around the room looking at all of the aintings

hanging on the walls. I made my way !ack around to the sitting

area in front of the firelace. A!out the time I sat down on one of

the large chairs, I heard the door at the other end of the room

close. I looked u to see #randa, with a !ig smile on his face,

walking toward me. I stood and he came u to give me a !ig hug.

'I am so very hay you are here, 8uke. I have waited so

long for the day that you would -oin me here at the mansion.+

'Im so glad to see you #randa. Is (att ok*+

')e will !e -ust fine, son, dont you worry a!out him.

ou are !oth in very good hands now that you have arrived at

the mansion.+

'I have so many uestions for you #randa. I have !een

waiting for years to ask them.+

'ell, lets sit down and talk for a while. I know you

have lots of uestions for me. I have lots of things to reveal to

you as well.+ e !oth sat down with #randa in one of the !igchairs, and me on the end of the couch closest to him.

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'Im -ust going to come out and ask you this, #randa. I

hoe that I dont uset or anger you for asking.+

'I want you to know you can ask me anything and I will

never get uset or angry with you, 8uke.+

'Bk. I want to know what haened to my arents. I

have asked 9ncle Charles several times over the years and all he

ever tells me is that there was some sort of accident. I want to

know what haened to them e5actly.+'8uke, Charles was correct a!out the accident. After

your arents laced you in his care they took my rivate -et to

flee from /hados. They decided to return to 7ngland, to your

fathers home country. our father !elieved that with you in

hiding, and them in the rotection of his eole you all would !e

safe from /hados. Somewhere in the middle of the ocean the

lane went down. The lane crashed into a small island and

e5loded on imact. I sent a team to look for any survivors, !ut

none were found,+ e5lained #randa.

'I have something else to tell you that you ro!a!ly are

not going to understand. The world and the things in it are not

what they aear to !e. There are many things that you have

never seen or e5erienced. Some of the creatures that you have

e5erienced only in movies live right along side us in everyday

life. The suernatural world e5ists in great secrecy from the

human race. Ill e5lain what Im talking a!out later. Some of it

is -ust too much for you to comrehend all at one time. our

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mother and father were very owerful, very imortant,

suernatural !eings.+

'hat e5actly do you mean !y !eings #randa*+

'8uke, I need for you to -ust listen to everything I tell

you and !elieve that I am telling you the truth.+

'Bk, #randa, I trust you.+

'ifteen years ago your mother and father met and fell in

love instantly. This love was strictly for!idden in theSuernatural community !ecause they are of different races. I

dont mean the color of their skin. our mother was a shifter and

your father was a vamire.+

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3

'oure kidding, right* Damires are -ust characters

someone made u for the movies, #randa. And, what e5actly is

a shifter*+ I asked.

'Damires very much do e5ist, 8uke. "lease allow me to

finish. A shifter is someone that transforms into an animal during

the full moon. ull !looded shifters can change anytime they

choose. our mother was a shifter. She was of the race that

changes into wolf form, !etter known as werewolves.

'So, my dad was a vamire, and my mom was a

werewolf*+ I laughed at #randa as I thought a!out my arents

laying the art of these make !elieve characters in the movies

(att and I watched growing u. I let my laughter fade awaywhen I noticed the very serious look he was giving me. I was

finding it very hard to !elieve what he was telling me.

'es. That is correct. (any years ago your arents met

and fell in love. 8ove !etween different races of suernatural

creatures was strictly for!idden. our arents ket their

relationshi a secret for uite some time. After a while they

decided they wanted to have a child together. This normally

would !e imossi!le since vamires cant reroduce. They aid

a very owerful witch to create and cast a sell on your father to

allow your mother the oortunity to conceive his child.+

'And they had me*+

'That is correct 8uke. /ine months later they had you.

Bnce word got out a!out a child !orn from two different races,

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!oth families !egan fighting over which race should raise you,

and who would have control over you. This uset your arents

very much. They didnt want anyone having control over their

child. They wanted you to grow u like all other suernatural

children. They decided to tell !oth of their families that you died

at !irth. They decided to leave the country and return to your

fathers homeland in 7ngland. I only found out you were still

alive after your arents accident.+'They had the witch to cast a sell !inding all of your

owers. They felt this was the only way you could grow u as a

normal human until which time your owers could !e revealed.

They told only your 9ncle Charles a!out their lans. The asked

him to raise you with his own son, (att. >efore you turned

fourteen he was asked to !ring you here to the mansion.+

'So what e5actly does that make me*+

'8uke, you are the rarest of suernatural !eings. As far

as we know, you are the only successful attemt at mi5ing the

races. e dont know e5actly what to e5ect when the sell is

removed, and you come of age.+

'So why didnt my arents take me with them when they

left* Couldnt I have grown u normal with them*+

'our mom and dad knew the suernatural community

would !e watching them. If they were ever seen with a child, evil

would not sto until you were catured. They would know who

you were even without your owers. They had no choice !ut tohide you until you were owerful enough to defend yourself. e

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have many rearations to make, and much training to comlete,

!efore you can !e introduced into the suernatural community.+

I sat there and stared at #randa. I didnt know e5actly

how to resond to what he was telling me. I felt waves of

different emotions that were nearly too much to !ear. I was

angry at my arents for leaving me. I was angry with 9ncle

Charles for hiding this from me all these years. I also felt a great

sadness for what he must have went through raising two !oys onhis own after losing his only sister. I felt anger toward my

grandfather for not !eing around, and also for not telling me all

of this sooner. All of these emotions were flooding me at once.

All I could manage to do was sit there and stare at #randa as

tears !egan to roll down my face.

'I know you are uset 8uke. I understand what you must

!e going through.+ I didnt know how it was ossi!le for him to

understand what I was going through. (y whole life had !een

changed in a matter of minutes. I no longer knew who or what I

was. I also didnt know what my future held. )e had -ust told me

of a whole other world that I never could have dreamed even

e5isted. I was somehow caught u right in the middle of it.

'/ow that you know a!out your arents, you need to

know more a!out what is in store for you in the days and weeks

to come. I told you your father was a vamire. Damires have a

wide array of owers and weaknesses that you must learn and

understand.+

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'I have seen vamire movies #randa. I know all a!out

garlic, holy water, crosses, and wooden stakes. I also know they

cant go out in the daytime.+

'Damires also have a reaction to silver, and they must

feed on human !lood to survive,+

'So let me get this straight. I can never go out in the sun

again, and I have to drink !lood*+ I asked comletely disgusted

!y the thought of this.'ell we dont uite know a!out you yet. ou are a

comletely different !eing all together. ou are only art

Damire. e dont know if you will react and !ehave the same

way as a normal vamire would.+

'I also told you a!out your mother !eing a shifter. our

mother was a descendent of a ure race of shifters that take the

form of a wolf. As much as we do not know a!out your vamire

side, we know even less a!out your shifter side.

'So if mom is from a ure race does that mean that you

are a shifter as well*+

'es. I am a shifter, and so is your 9ncle Charles,+

#randa e5lained.

'hat a!out (att*+ I asked in a shaky tone. I couldnt

imagine (att turning into anything, let alone a wolf.

'es. e are all of the wolf clan of shifters. Shifters are

like any other normal child until they reach the age of fourteen.

After a shifter reaches this age they will shift on the first full

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moon. After the initial change to their animal form, they have the

a!ility to shift at will.

'(att turned fourteen two days ago #randa.+

'es he did, and you turn fourteen in a few days

yourself.+

'Is (att going to shift at the ne5t full moon* hen is

that e5actly*+

'The ne5t full moon is on your !irthday. Two days fromtoday. Charles has !een informing us of (atts rogress over the

ast few days. I felt it was imerative that (att !e here tonight

instead of waiting until tomorrow. It looks as though he made it

here -ust in time.+

'hat do you mean* I thought you said the first change

was on the full moon. And how could 9ncle Charles tell (att

was getting close to the change*+

'Bn rare occasions shifters of the urest of !lood lines

will change early. It doesnt haen often, !ut when it does it

usually means the shifter will have great ower of some kind.

And as for Charles knowing (att was getting close to changing*

athers have a si5th sense a!out when their child is getting close

to the first change. Charles nearly missed the signs. e are very

glad that (att arrived here when he did. It looks as though (att

is close to his first shift.+

'Can I see him* I !et he is terrified !eing alone. )e

doesnt know what the heck is going on,+ I yelled.

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'Im afraid you will have to wait until morning to see

(att. I wanted to seak to you first, to let you know what was

haening. I lan to go to (att and e5lain his situation as well.

e will of course !e running together tonight once he has

comleted the first change.+

'=unning together*+ I asked with a very confused look

on my face.

'olves run in acks as you may or may not know. Anychild that !elongs to our ack comes to the mansion for their

safety as well as the safety of any humans they may otherwise

cross aths with during their first change. The stone wall and

gate runs around the entire erimeter of my roerty. /othing

can get in or out without our knowing a!out it. 9sually when a

child changes for the first time their father has the honor of

running with them. Charles had to stay !ehind to take care of

some imortant !usiness in allas. I have the honor of taking his

lace with (att. There are many wonderful and sectacular

things for you to learn a!out our family and the suernatural

world, my son.+

'hat is going to haen to me, #randa*+

'/othing is going to haen to you, 8uke. I !elieve you

have learned uite enough for one night. There will !e lenty of

oortunities for us to talk, and for you to ask your uestions. I

know you have thousands of them. I want you to know you are

safe here, and nothing can harm you as long as you are inside themansion. hat I need you to do is get settled into your room and

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get some rest. our luggage has already !een taken to your room

and one of my eole will show you the way. I must go and !e

with (att on his most -oyful occasion. I love you very much,

8uke, and I am so very hay that you are finally here at the

mansion.+

#randa gave me a !ig hug and said good !ye for the

evening. A!out that time the door he entered from oened, and a

!eautiful young woman entered. She was several years olderthan me. She smiled as she aroached us and I wondered if she

too was some sort of suernatural creature that I -ust learned

even e5isted. I also wondered how she knew -ust the right

moment to enter the room. I didnt think it was imortant enough

to mention. That and my mind was stuck on the fact that

#randa had -ust changed my life forever.

I no longer felt certain what the future held for me. I was

utterly terrified at the thought of what creatures might e5ist

outside the mansion, or inside for that matter. I couldnt hel !ut

wonder how the whole e5istence of suernatural creatures was

hidden so well for thousands of years from the human race. (ost

imortantly I could not yet understand why my arents left me

even though #randa tried to e5lain their reasoning.

'If you will follow me, 8uke, I will show you to your

room,+ the !eautiful lady said as she motioned for the door

leading !ack to the foyer.

I was uite ama$ed at the mansion thus far, and couldntwait to have time in the future for (att and me to do some ma-or

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e5lorations on the rest. e e5ited the great room and headed u

the stairs to the second floor. e headed down a long hallway,

which was the same way that I saw (att !eing led when we

arrived. e assed several doors on either side of the hall and I

wondered which of the rooms (att was in. hen we got nearly

to the end of the hall the lady stoed and turned to face me.

'This would !e you, my dear,+ she said with a smile,

'There is a refrigerator with sodas and snacks. ou also haveyour own !athroom for your convenience. ou should !e retty

well set until morning. Someone will let you know when

!reakfast is ready, and show you where the dinning hall is. #et a

good nights slee. ou have a !ig day ahead of you tomorrow,+

she e5lained.

I thanked her for showing me the way and entered the

room that would !e mine during my stay at the mansion. It was

the !iggest !edroom I had ever seen in my entire life. There was

a gigantic king si$ed canoy !ed in the center of one wall. The

wall oosite the !ed contained a firelace and a little sitting

area with a coule leather chairs, a couch, and some end ta!les

with lams. The area farthest from me across the room housed a

small kitchen area with a refrigerator, sink, stove, and

microwave. It was surrounded with ca!inets and a little !ar that

searated it from the rest of the room. To the left of the kitchen

was a door that I assumed led to the !athroom the lady

mentioned. I crossed the room and went through the door into aneually e5travagant !athroom area. This room had retty much

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the same dark !urgundy color scheme as the !edroom. There

was a huge shower, and a !athtu! !ig enough for several eole.

There was also, of course, a toilet and sink as well as a closet the

si$e of my !edroom !ack home. I wondered why anyone would

need a closet that !ig.

The only thing I didnt notice was windows. There was

not a single window in either of the two rooms. It was uite

deressing considering how I loved to look outside, eseciallywhen the sun was u. #uess I would have to get used to the no

sun thing if I was to !e a vamire like #randa told me.

I found my luggage iled in the corner of the !edroom,

and !egan to !usy myself !y utting them away in the chest@of@

drawers that was in the room. I ut what I could in the drawers.

The rest I hung in the closet. I decided to take a uick shower to

hel me rela5, and hoefully fall aslee. I found the food in the

kitchen and had a snack !efore I clim!ed into !ed for the

evening. ust as I got settled into !ed, I heard a !one chilling

howl, much like the one from my dream, coming from outside

the mansion.

'The old lady was correct, (aster. The child has arrived

at the mansion. The ack leader has informed him a!out our

world.+ The woman said inside the dark cave.

'I need you to watch them closely. The !oy will !e mine

in two days time,+ relied the man. Suddenly the glowing redeyes under the mans hood grew !righter. The woman !acked u

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uickly against the wall of the cave as he !urst into flames. The

flames instantly died down and went out comletely. The woman

fell to her knees !efore the man. )er master had finally returned

to the 7arth realm after so many long years.

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4

I woke u the ne5t morning feeling rested and ready for

whatever the day had in store for me. I hoed it was a little less

eventful than the revious day, !ut some how I dou!ted it.

#randa had dumed a load of very distur!ing information on

me the day !efore. I was having a hard time rocessing it all. I

almost felt as though I had dreamed most of it.

Bn to of everything #randa had told me, I was really

worried a!out (att. I wondered if he took the news #randa had

for him any !etter than I had. I also wanted every detail a!out

how his first change went. I was ossi!ly going to e5erience the

change myself in a day or two. I wanted to reare myself for it.

I checked my cell hone for the time. It was seven a.m. I wasntsurrised a!out how early it was since I went to !ed so early the

night !efore.

I had no idea where anything or any!ody was in the

mansion. I decided to do a little e5loring !efore anyone came to

whisk me away for !reakfast. I threw on some sweat ants and

my favorite allas Cow!oys sweat shirt !efore sliing on my

shoes. I oened the door slowly and stuck my head out the door

to see who might !e wandering around in the hall. I didnt see or

hear anyone so I started walking !ack down the way I came. (y

room was at the end of the hall, so it was the only way I could

go.

I walked slowly from door to door listening trying to

hear if anyone else was stirring. I reached the third set of doors,

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and -ust as I ut my ear to the door, it oened suddenly. I

-umed in fear at the sudden movement of the door.

hen my nerves settled a slit second later I reali$ed

there was a young girl a!out my age standing there starring at

me.

')ello, Im Ava. ou must !e 8uke.+

'yyyes.+ I relied !arely a!le to seak, artly from

!eing rattled from the sudden aearance of her, and artly!ecause she was a!solutely !eautiful. Ava was nearly as tall as

me with the most ama$ing, curly, flaming red hair. 8arge red

curls framed her face erfectly. I stared at her in awe of her

!eauty.

'ere you looking for some!ody*+ She asked with a

smile.

'9h, uh yeah I was looking forrr, I was looking for (att.

)es my cousin.+

'ell, last I heard he was going to !e in the room right

across the hall from you,+

'Th@thank you,+ I stuttered from comlete

em!arrassment. I couldnt remem!er a time in my life when I

wasnt a!le to seak, or think, clearly. I !acked u a little as Ava

came out the door and ulled it closed !ehind her.

'Ill see you around, 8uke. It was nice to finally meet

you. I have heard so much a!out you,+ she said as she headed

down the hall toward the stairs.

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'It was nice meeting you too, Ava,+ I said, wondering

what she had heard a!out me, and if she had any idea what my

grandfather claimed I was. I also wondered if she might !e some

kind of suernatural !eing herself.

I turned around and headed !ack toward the room Ava

told me was (atts. I knocked on the door and waited for him to

answer. /o one came to the door so I slowly ushed it oen

calling (atts name uietly. It was comletely dark in the room.The curtains were made of very thick fa!ric, and !locked out the

sun entirely. The only light entering the room was from the

hallway now that the door was oen. I could -ust make out

(atts face in the !ed. I called his name again with no rely. I

looked for a light switch on the wall, !ut couldnt find one in the

dark. I oened the door a little farther to shed more light as I ti

toed toward (att.

I reached his !ed and turned on the lam on the !edside

ta!le. (att stirred a little when the light came on. )e sat u and

looked around a little confused.

'hat time is it*+

'Its a little after seven. Are you feeling alright*+ I asked

him in a whisered voice.

'I have only !een aslee for a coule hours dude. hy

are you waking me u so early*+

'I was worried a!out you. ou looked like you were

going to throw u the last time I saw you. ack had to hel you

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ustairs rather uickly. #randa told me what was haening to

you last night. I didnt hear anything else after that.+

'8uke, I had a really long night. I would love to tell you

all a!out it, !ut I am e5hausted and need to get some more

slee.+

'I understand. hen you wake u I want all the details

for sure.+ As I was talking to (att I took the time to glance

around his room. I noticed it was almost identical to mine.(atts luggage was iled in the corner of the room untouched. I

didnt figure he had time to mess with it with everything that

went on last night. I sat down on the edge of his !ed. I could see

that he had !ags under his eyes. )is hair was a comlete mess.

'Are you sure youre alright (att*+

'es; I am erfectly fine. I romise to tell you all a!out

last night as soon as I wake u. "lease let me go !ack to slee

now,+ (att said in an irritated tone.

'Bk, (att, I will leave you alone so you can rest. Come

find me when you wake u so we can talk,+ I said as I stood u

and walked over to turn off the lam.

'9m hum,+ he mum!led as he rolled over facing the

other side of the !ed. I walked !ack to the door and turned to

look !ack at (att. I was dying to know what haened to him

the night !efore, !ut I knew he needed some slee. I steed out

of the room and closed the door silently !ehind me. ust as I

ulled the door closed I heard someone walking down the hall. Iturned to see who it was.

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'#ood morning 8uke,+ the lady from the revious night

said as she came u the hall toward me.

'#ood morning, uhE I didnt catch your name last

night,+ I said.

'(y name is Adriana. I am your grandfathers secretary.

I see you found your cousins room,+ she said gesturing toward

(atts door.

'es maam. Ava told me where to find him. I -ust wentin to check on him,+ I e5lained.

'our grandfather is waiting in the dinning hall. )e

reuests you -oin him for !reakfast. "lease follow me,+ she said

as she turned to walk !ack down the hall toward the stairs. I

nodded my head in agreement, !ut she didnt see it !ecause she

was already walking away from me.

I followed Adriana down the hall and down the stairs.

hen we got to the !ottom she turned and went thru a set of

dou!le doors like the ones that entered into the #reat =oom.

These doors had !een closed when we arrived at the mansion.

/ow I could see that this was a hallway lined with windows

looking out over the front lawn of the mansion. e continued

down the hall and entered the dinning room through an archway

made of stone. The stones were the same as the ones that

covered the e5terior of the mansion.

As I entered the dinning hall I stoed immediately to

take in the gigantic room. The room had three massive dinningta!les running down the center. The ta!les were made of a dark

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stained wood, and were a!solutely !eautiful. I could see my

reflection in the shine of the ta!les. )uge crystal chandeliers

hung in erfectly saced intervals down the length of each ta!le.

)igh !acked chairs with !lue velvet covered cushions

surrounded all three ta!les. I couldnt hel !ut wonder how

many eole lived with granda in the mansion with seating for

this many.

I noticed #randa sitting at a fourth ta!le ositioned atthe head of the other ta!les. This ta!le was a!out half the si$e of

the others. Chairs ran down one side of it facing the other three

ta!les. The lace where granda sat could hardly !e called a

'chair.+ This seat that held my grandfather could only !e

descri!ed as a throne. It looked like something you see a king

sitting in, in a castle with knights and dragons and all that stuff.

ow; I thought. #randa must me retty imortant to !e sitting

in something like that.

#randa motioned for me to -oin him at the head ta!le.

)e ointed to the chair ne5t to him indicating I should sit down.

'id you slee well, 8uke*+ #randa asked.

'>etter than ever, #randa. That !ed is so comforta!le.

Its like sleeing on air.

'Bnly the !est for my ama$ing grandson,+ he said with a

grin. I hadnt really noticed last night, !ut now I reali$ed how

much -oy and hainess #randa showed in his eyes when he

soke to me. I never saw #randa this hay when he visited us

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on the very few occasions in allas. I couldnt hel !ut feel

comletely welcome in his home.

'e have much to do today, 8uke. Think youre ready

for your life to !e changed forever*+ )e asked.

'As ready as Ill ever !e,+ I said with a little hesitation. I

had no clue what e5actly this could mean, !ut I comletely

trusted #randa not to let anything !ad haen to me.

'Today you will meet =achel. She is the witch that madeit ossi!le to !ring you into this world. e are going to tour the

training facility after !reakfast. Then it will !e time to discover

what a!ilities you ossess.+ #randa wasnt going to waste any

time finding out what my half@!reed status was in the

suernatural world. I suddenly !ecame uite nauseous as I

thought a!out this.

=achel, the witch, was going to remove the sell she had

cast nearly fourteen years ago. =emoving the sell would

unleash whatever vamire a!ilities, or weaknesses, that I

ossessed. I guess #randa noticed the worried e5ression on

my face !ecause he told me not to worry.

'e are going to take this very slow. I romise we will

not ut on you any more than you can handle. All you have to do

is say the word and we will try a different route to accomlish

the tasks we face,+ he said with warmth and reassurance in his

voice.

A!out that time I caught a glimse of two men out of thecorner of my eye. They were coming thru the door to our right.

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7ach one carried a tray with a silver dome covering it. The two

men were dressed in !lack ants and white long sleeve shirts

with !lack vests and ties. I guessed they worked for #randa

here at the mansion. They !rought the trays over and sat one

down in front of each of us !efore removing the covers. I could

not !elieve the amount of food that was iled onto each tray.

7very tye of !reakfast food you could imagine was there. There

had to !e enough food for at least five eole on each tray. Therewas no way I could eat all of this in one sitting. #randa looked

at me and smiled when he noticed the shock that registered on

my face.

I wasnt the least !it shy as I !egan to dig right into the

mass of food in front of me. I ate, and ate, and ate, and when I

didnt think I could eat another !ite I ate a little more. #randa

didnt waste any time utting away his food. )e cleaned his

entire tray in no time at all. I couldnt imagine where he was

utting all of itF he really isnt that !ig of a man if you ask me.

'id you get enough, 8uke*+ )e asked as he wied his

mouth with a cloth nakin, and laid it across his late.

'Bh, man did I ever. I dont !elieve I could eat another

!ite if I wanted to,+ I said with a !ig sigh. =ight on cue, as if

#randa had called them, the same two guys came out to carry

away the trays. (an, these eole were really on to of it.

#randa never had to say a word !efore some!ody showed u to

take care of his every want and need.

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')ow a!out a little tour of the mansion*+ #randa

asked.

'That sounds great.+

'Bk. ou have seen the great room, the dinning hall, and

the !edroom suites ustairs. The kitchen is straight through those

doors. The ones those two men -ust came in and out of. ou are

welcome to go to the kitchen any time you lease if you are

hungry. There will always !e someone on duty should you feelthe need. ou are a growing !oy, and you must kee u your

strength. If you will follow me, Ill show you my office.

e left the dinning room and headed !ack down the

long hall with the windows. e assed thru the foyer in front of

the #reat =oom. e came to a single metal door in the wall

oosite the dinning hall entrance. This door seemed out of lace

!eing metal instead of the !eautiful wood I noticed in every

other art of the house. There was no doorkno! on the door. I

wondered how we were going to get in. /e5t to the door,

hanging on the wall, was a small screen that looked much like a

small comuter screen. #randa ut his hand, with his alm

facing forward, onto the screen. The screen immediately came to

life. The screen lit u. A single !lue line started at the to and

uickly went all the way to the !ottom. hen the line got to the

!ottom #randa removed his hand. I saw I7/TIT

CB/I=(7 flash on the screen. /e5t the screen went !lank

again. I could hear what sounded like gears turning, and themetal door slowly oened.

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'8uke, I must tell you, very few eole in this world

have ever crossed through this door. Bne day you will !e a!le to

enter this office all on your own,+ #randa told me.

'hat is this, #randa* And why is it locked down like

this*+ I asked very confused.

'8et me show you.+ e walked through the door. The

room we walked into looked like an office a C7B or a resident

of a !ig comany might occuy. There was the usual, verye5ensive looking, filing ca!inets and other office furniture. The

only difference, I thought, was the numerous comuter screens

sitting on the desk. I wondered why #randa needed so many

screens. e walked through the office and entered a long, very

ela!orate, hallway. The hallway had decorative caret, and

!eautiful stained wood trim. )uge statues of knights with

olished silver armor ran down the length of the hallway on the

left. own the right side were life si$ed ortraits of men. I had

no idea who the men could !e, !ut they all seemed to resem!le

#randa. )e !egan to e5lain as though he knew what I was

thinking.

'These ortraits are of revious ancestors who served

here at this mansion, 8uke. The armor oosite each ortrait

!elonged to the leader deicted in the aintings. e call this

'The #reat Alha )all.+ I didnt know what all of this meant. I

was too fascinated !y the suits of armor to ask any uestions. I

looked at the ortraits as we slowly made our way down the hall.I felt as though #randa had taken me to a museum.

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A!out half way down, on the right side of the hall, was a

set of wooden doors. #randa e5lained as we assed that this

was his suite. /o!ody in the mansion was allowed in unless they

had his ermission. I didnt ress this issue any further as we

continued down the hall and through another door. hen we

entered this door I immediately could tell where we were in the

mansion. The room was circular with no windows. I knew this

was one of the towers I had seen from the outside.This room was !are e5cet for an elevator in the middle

of the floor. >eside the door to the elevator was another scan ad

like the one #randa used earlier. #randas hand was scanned

!y the !lue line. After his identity was confirmed the doors to the

elevator oened.

'here does this go, #randa*+ I asked curiously. I

hadnt the slightest idea what my grandfather meant !y what he

said ne5t.

'8uke, this is the entrance to the Silent Soldiers

headuarters.

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5

'The Silent Soldiers* hat e5actly does that mean*+ e

walked into the elevator as #randa !egan to e5lain to me what

the Silent Soldiers were a!out.

'The Silent Soldiers are an organi$ation of very gifted

suernatural !eings that we are utting together to fight evil.

They will rotect the secret of the suernatural community, and

hide it from the human world.+

'So youre like the leader of an army, #randa*+

'I am only the leader of the 8ittle =ock ack. e kee

guard over these headuarters. I am not the leader of the Silent

Soldiers. That has yet to !e decided 8uke.+

e were on the elevator for several seconds when it finally cameto a sto. The doors !egan to oen slowly. I wasnt sure what to

e5ect when they oened. /othing could have reared me for

what I saw. e entered into a room that had to have !een at least

the si$e of the mansion. There was an area containing do$ens of

television screens on one wall.

A huge man in a !lack suit watched them from a desk

with lots of other euiment on it. I noticed the guard shack at

the front gate on one of the screens. I came to the conclusion that

these screens were for the surveillance cameras around the

roerty. The man stood and !owed toward #randa when he

noticed us coming off the elevator. #randa nodded to him and

the man resumed his task.

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I also noticed a num!er of different vehicles lining one

wall of the room. There were motorcycles, cars, and many other

tyes of vehicles. They were all solid !lack with the letters SS

ainted on them. I assumed this was the Silent Soldiers logo. All

of the vehicles looked as though they were comletely !rand

new. The !lack aint shined !rightly under the fluorescent lights

in the room. As we continued down the length of the room I

noticed doors on either side. e made our way to the end of theroom and entered the last door. As we walked through the

doorway I noticed lots of euiment. I couldnt imagine what it

was or what urose it served. There was also a !ed in the

middle of the floor that looked like a doctors office e5am ta!le.

Sitting in the far corner of the room I saw Ava, the girl I

had met earlier that morning. She was still as !eautiful as ever. I

also noticed an older lady in the room. She was nearly as

!eautiful as Ava. This lady had the same curly red hair as Ava,

!ut hers was much longer. >oth of the girls were dressed retty

much the same in !lack skirts and knee high !lack !oots. The

only difference was the style and color of the shirts they were

wearing. I immediately noticed their similarity. I came to my

own conclusion that this must !e Avas mother.

'This is =achel )adison, and her daughter Ava. =achel

is the witch I was telling you a!out last night. She is the one that

created the sell for you to !e !orn.+ #randa e5lained.

'es, sir, and the one that suressed my owers,+ I saidwith a little resentment. I ro!a!ly shouldnt have said it the way

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I did. After all, it wasnt her fault. =achel was only doing what

my arents asked of her.

'It is a leasure to finally meet you, 8uke,+ said =achel

with a sort of shy little smile, 'I am so very hay you have

finally come to -oin us. ou are a sitting image of your father.+

This was the first time anyone had referred to either of my

arents as living. I really didnt know how to resond to what

she said.'So, !oth of you are witches*+ I asked not !eing a!le to

think of anything else to say.

'es. I am a witch. Ava is a witch in training. She is

turning out to ossi!ly !e even more owerful than me,+ =achel

said very roudly. The room fell silent for a few seconds. e all

turned to #randa to see what would come ne5t.

'8uke, =achel is going to remove the sell !inding your

owers today. e lan to run some tests to see what you are

caa!le of, and what vamire weaknesses you may have. I dont

want you to worry. e are only going to test the !are essentials.

Damires have so many owers that it would !e uite imossi!le

for us to test them all. e lan to do a little at a time, as much as

you can handle, and relace the sell once were done. e have

to !e sure you can control your owers !efore you get to kee

them ermanently,+ #randa e5lained, 'o you think youre u

for that*+

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'9h, I guess,+ I relied. I was definitely more than a

little nervous with all of this haening so fast. I was also

nervous a!out Ava !eing here watching me if I screwed u.

'Bk, 8uke, are you familiar with any of the owers that

vamires ossess*+ =achel asked.

'A little !it. #randa e5lained some of it to me last

night.+

'irst, lets get you to lie down on the ta!le. e aregoing to aly these restraints, mainly for our rotection, -ust in

case you cant control yourself,+ =achel said. I clim!ed u on

the ta!le. =achel and Ava !egan straing me in lace. As Ava

finished the last stra around one of my wrists she leaned close

to my ear and whisered.

'7verything will !e fine, 8uke. ust rela5 and let us take

care of you. There is no reason to !e nervous. (y mother is very

owerful. She will not let anything haen.+ )er soothing words

heled me rela5 a little.

'Im ready.+ or the first time I noticed a huge

entagram drawn around the !ed in the middle of the floor. The

!ed I was lying on was located directly in the middle of it. I

watched as Ava went to one of the little closets and !egan taking

out a variety of different candles. She !egan lacing them around

the entagram. I had only ever read stories a!out witches. hat

was haening in the room seemed to go along with some of

those stories. /e5t Ava ulled out a very old leather !ound !ook

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and laid it on a odium that =achel !rought to the edge of the

entagram.

Ava turned the old !rittle ages very carefully looking

for something that I assumed was the sell they would use.

=achel !egan to chant softly. All of a sudden the lights in the

room went out. The candles !egan to light one !y one all !y

them selves. This was a little weird for me witnessing magic

right !efore my very eyes. I never knew it even e5isted u untilthe night !efore.

/ow that all the candles were lit I saw =achel walk over

to the !ook on the odium as #randa and Ava moved into the

corner of the room. It seemed to me as if they were ready to run

out the door at the first sign of trou!le.

=achel !egan reading from the !ook. )er chanting

slowly increased in volume and intensity as she read. The flames

of the candles grew much larger. I started to feel my !ody

rela5ing. A feeling of warmth started in my feet and moved

slowly u the length of my !ody. I had never e5erienced

anything close to the feeling I now encountered. I closed my

eyes and en-oyed the e5hilarating feeling of warmth throughout

every inch of my !ody.

I suddenly heard everyone gas. This immediately

!rought me !ack to reality. I oened my eyes to notice that the

candles had gone out, and the lights were !ack on. I looked

around at everyone starring at me.'id it work*+ I asked.

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'ell, see for yourself, 8uke,+ #randa said as he

slowly walked over to my side with a small mirror. I looked in

the mirror and could !arely !elieve what I was seeing. (y face

seemed to !e aler than normal. (y skin was silky smooth, and

comletely free of any !lemishes what so ever. I also noticed

that my canine teeth had somewhat elongated coming to a shar

oint. It was nothing like the movies, with the long fangs that

were shar as needles. >ut, it was definitely very noticea!le thatI had fangs. I a!solutely could not !elieve it. I had fangs;

')ow do you feel*+ #randa asked.

'I feel fine. I really dont feel any different than !efore.+

'So, you dont feel the urge to -um u and !ite one of

us do you*+ Ava asked as a nervous giggle escaed from her

throat.

'Bf course not. hy would I want to !ite any!ody*+

'ell, we were afraid when the sell was removed, and

your vamire instincts kicked in, you would have the

uncontrolla!le urge to feed,+ =achel e5lained.

'(an, I ate so much for !reakfast I dont think I could

eat again for weeks,+ I said laughing.

'That is a very good sign,+ #randa said with a smile.

'e are going to remove the restraints now, 8uke,+

=achel said with some hesitation.

'oure sure you feel alright*+ Ava asked.

'I feel fine, guys. I told you I dont feel any differentthan !efore.+ =achel and Ava !egan to remove the stras while

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they watched for some sort of reaction out of me. I started to yell

!oo !ut I thought !etter of it with a owerful witch that could do

who knows what to me in a slit second if she thought there was

to !e danger. After they removed the stras they heled me u

off of the ta!le.

'ell, that went well,+ I said, 'hats ne5t, #randa*+

'e need to test your strength and seed, 8uke.+

'8ets do it;+ I e5claimed. I had to admit. I did feel!etter than ever. I wasnt nervous or scared anymore, and I was a

little e5cited a!out what I could do. I didnt feel any stronger or

faster than I had when I woke u that morning, !ut we would

see. I followed them out of the little room !ack into the main

area of 'headuarters,+ as #randa called it. e walked out to

the middle of the floor and looked to the far end of the room.

'I want you to run down as fast as you can. Sto when

you get to that wall at the end,+ #randa e5lained.

'Sure,+ I said. I got down into osition, as though I was

a track star a!out to run the hundred meter dash, and reared to

take off.

'#o;+ #randa yelled. >efore I knew what haened I

was standing face first against a wall. I turned around slowly

reali$ing that in the !link of an eye I was on the oosite end of

the room from where I started. I was seechless and e5hilarated

all at the same time. I took off again and an instant later I was

standing in front of #randa !ack at the other end of the room.

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'B;+ #randa said with great e5citement, 'I have

never in all my years seen anyone or anything move as fast as

you, 8uke.+

'=eally* Is that good or !ad*+

'Thats ama$ing, son. =eady to move on*+ #randa

asked.

'A!solutely; I cant wait to see what else I can do after

that,+ I followed them again into another door across the roomfrom the little sell room. This room was uite a !it !igger with

a much taller ceiling. It was stocked full of every different iece

of e5ercise euiment you could think of.

e walked into the center of the room ne5t to a set of

weights that were lying on the floor. I noticed immediately that it

was full of hundred ound weightsF five of them were arranged

on each end of the !ar.

'ou do reali$e thats a thousand ounds right* There is

no way humanly ossi!le for me to lift that,+ I said.

'oure ro!a!ly right, 8uke. >ut you have to

remem!er we arent really dealing with the human ossi!ility,+

=achel said with a little laugh.

'Bh, right,+ I said kind of em!arrassed. I walked over to

stand in front of the !ar and motioned for everyone to !ack u in

case something went wrong. And something definitely was a!out

to go wrong. I !ent over and laced my hands around the !ar. I

ositioned myself to lift the weights like the rofessional lifters Iwatched in weightlifting cometitions. I !raced myself and lifted

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with all my strength. That was when the trou!le started. I lifted

the weights so fast that when it reached the end of my arms

length it slied out of my hands and went flying u in the air. It

crashed through the ceiling a!ove me. I immediately ducked for

cover. ou know what goes u must come down. Thats -ust

what the thousand ounds of weight did. It crashed into the floor

with such force that it cracked the concrete floor on imact.

'A!solutely incredi!le,+ #randa said in shockeddis!elief.

'ou are stronger and faster than we ever could have

imagined,+ said =achel.

'Sorry a!out the floorEand the ceiling,+ I told #randa.

'ont worry a!out it, 8uke, it can !e reaired,+ he said

with a smile.

'Shall we move on*+ Ava asked. 'Bnly if 8uke is u to

it,+ said =achel.

'>ring it on;+ I said. /e5t we headed !ack to the sell

room. =achel asked me to clim! !ack u on the !ed. I watched

as she went to the closet and took out several small !o5es and

!rought them over. She sat them down on a small work ta!le

close to the !ed.

'e need to test your weaknesses now, 8uke. I have to

tell you that some of this might not !e very comforta!le. Some

of it might in fact !e ainful,+ =achel e5lained.

'e dont know if your !ody will react to these thingsthe same way as a normal vamire,+ #randa said.

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'Im ready. This has to !e done so we might as well get

it over with,+ =achel oened the first !o5 and ulled out a little

vial that contained an off white, milky looking su!stance.

'This is garlic, 8uke. As you may or may not know

vamires are allergic to garlic. It will in fact !urn their skin,+ she

e5lained. She roceeded to oen the vial and di a long swa!

into the fluid. She !rought the swa! close to the !ack of my hand

very slowly. Seeing that I wasnt having any strange reaction sheru!!ed a small a!out of it on my hand. To everyones

ama$ement, nothing haened.

'9n!elieva!le,+ she said. /e5t she tried holy water and

silver. (uch to our a!solute astonishment and dis!elief, I had

a!solutely no reaction to any of it.

'This is outstanding;+ #randa e5claimed.

'I cant !elieve he doesnt have any allergies to any of

the things normal vamires react to,+ said Ava.

')e is definitely, !y far, not a normal vamire !y any

means. 7ven testing all of these things want tell us what his

weaknesses could !e. And, when he comes into his shifting

owers, those weaknesses could change all together,+ said

#randa.

'That is very true. e are only testing the things we

know vamires have reactions to. ith 8ukes genetic make u

he could very well react to something that doesnt effect other

vamires. )is strengths are much the same way. Damires havemany other owers than the ones we are testing for. 8uke could

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also have owers that normal vamires dont. or now, that

leaves one test to !e erformed,+ e5lained =achel.

'And what e5actly would that !e*+ I asked nervously.

'Sunlight,+ they all said in unison. The day had !een

very roductive so far. The sell !inding my owers had !een

removed. I had suer seed and strength, even comared to other

vamires, and I had no reaction to any of the things that

normally effect other vamires. The only other thing I had toworry a!out was whether or not I would !e a!le to go out into

the sun.

'Are you ready for the final test, 8uke*+ #randa asked.

'A!solutely. 8ets get this show on the road.+ I got u

from the e5am ta!le and followed them yet again out into the

main room. This time instead of going into one of the other

doors, we went !ack to the elevator. #randa scanned us in, and

we all got in together. #randa took a chain from around his

neck containing a key. )e ut the key into the slot on the

elevators control anel and turned it. The elevator !egan going

down again. A second later the doors oened and we steed out

into another smaller room. This room

The Silent Soldiers Book 1

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Transcript of The Silent Soldiers Book 1