• Modern Russia: Blood Rose Headquarters…

    “Why are you always sharpening your little knives over there Alexander?” Grisha asked laughing on the floor, having had too much vodka.

    Alexander smiled to himself paying close attention to the knife he was polishing in order to conceal the smirk that was evident on his face. “You would know if your thoughts weren’t fuzzy.”

    Grisha frowned up at his comrade. “And what is that?”

    Alexander sheathed his blade replacing it in its holster at his ankle. Rolling his eyes he stood up and watched as Grisha attempted to stand also. He swayed on his feet and fell back down a slur of curses flowing expertly from his lips. Alexander rose a fair eyebrow and went to help him up. He knelt by his friend, hooking an arm under his armpit and helped him stand. Midway, just before he was standing straight enough to walk, Nikolai stepped out of the shadows into the dusk lit room.

    “Leave the govno where he lay. If he can’t remember his own duty as a Krov' Povysilsya Voin then he isn’t worth mentioning. Come.”

    Alexander felt like arguing, but arguing with a general about a command could prove fatal. He swallowed guiltily and let go of Grisha’s arm letting him fall and try and catch himself, but like all drunks, his reaction was slow and he fell on his face. Alexander looked away and followed his superior out of the room.

    Not to his surprise, his whole crash unit was there waiting for him – excluding Grisha. Vera and Viktoria smiled venomously at him as he walked past them to the empty chair on the other side of the room. Oleg was indifferent, staring off into space.

    Nikolai waited until Alexander was seated before he called for the groups’ attention. “As we all know the raid tonight will be a little more difficult to accomplish. The vampires are very organized and may very well know that we are coming. We have to be on our best guard if we want to end this feud and to be able to live normal lives.”

    Alexander saw Vika fidget nervously beside him from the corner of his eye. She was gearing up to ask a question that her sister wasn’t approving judging from the look in Vera’s eyes.

    “Nikolai sir, why are we attacking at night?”

    Vera and I both winced and waited for our superior to answer the dirac.

    Nikolai straightened his relaxed pose pushing himself off his place against the side beam and walked into the center of the room. He smiled a mischievous smile that both girls just swooned over, making Alexander feel sick to his stomach.

    Nikolai leaned in closer and said in a mellow tone of voice –forcing us to lean forward and strain to hear- “It’s simple really, it’s for sport.”

    Oleg smirked from his seat on the other side of me, fingering his two handed machine gun absentmindedly. Alexander sat straighter in his chair watching Nikolai closely. Was this true, he thought. Or is he just messing with the girls? He had thought of that question many times over, but never dared to ask it fearing a major scolding. Now that the question was answered, he wasn’t sure that he liked it.

    The room had gone quiet and Alexander hadn’t noticed until he felt all four pairs of eyes on me. They seemed expectant, as if he held all the answers to an unknown prophecy. He felt Vika’s presence most of all and looked up. She seemed peeved. She noticed him staring and looked away, her scowl vanishing when she glanced up at Nikolai, her expression changing to awe as she speculated what he would say next.

    “Alexander? Did you hear me?” Nikolai’s voice was impatient.

    Alexander snapped back to attention, frowning. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

    Oleg, Viktoria, and Vera snickered.

    “I asked you what you were wanting us to do for this attack.”

    Alexander stammered for a moment then a broad smile stretched across his face. “Oh it’s simple really.”

    Oleg leaned forward showing interest for the first time since the meeting began. “What do you have in mind?”

    Alexander took out the knife at his ankle and twirled it I his hands. “This masterpiece is they key.” He held it up for everyone to see. “This dagger was welded in pure daylight. While it cooled it was in contact with the sun. It is cool to the touch, but in its interior -” He flicked at the engraved silver blade, “is hot with solar energy. Pierce a vamnir with this baby and there’s no regenerating. This blade is our answer.”

    Viktoria frowned. “We can just use sun bullets. They’re faster and more affective. After all theses bloodsuckers are fast sons of bitches.”

    Alexander rolled his eyes. “Well yeah, but they also have super hearing and they would hear if we loaded our gun. It would be over before it even started.”

    Oleg’s brown eyes widened impressed and he reached out to touch the weapon in Alexander’s hand. Alexander pulled the blade out of his comrade’s reach and replaced it in its sheath. “This one is mine.”

    Oleg frowned disappointed and shrugged. “I will take the risk for them overhearing me. I prefer my gun.” Oleg smiled to himself and felt for his gun, slapping its butt.

    Before he knew what was happening Vera had yanked the dagger from Alexander’s sheath and was admiring the designs engraved in the blade before he had even blinked.

    She smiled past the blade at him. “You’re not only a great sword smith Alex, you are also an artist.” She went silent, admiring the deadly rose with its tangled thorny brambles welded into the medal, a smile on her lips. Then just as suddenly she lunged for him. Alexander stiffened making her laugh.

    “Relax,” she said, putting the dagger back at its place at his ankle and stepping back to smile at him. “Well now that we know our weapon options how are we going to attack?”

    Alexander took a deep breath and readied himself to speak his outlook on their situation as the last remaining light winked out leaving them nearly blind.

    ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

    The squad was quiet as they neared the house where there had been rumors that vamnirs lived there. The small cottage seemed completely still of life and not a single light was on. Were they aware of our ambush, he thought. But no, there was no one stirring as far as they could tell.

    Alexander laughed inwardly. How ironic that he went against his newest creation and settled for a two handed machine gun instead. He sighed and laded the gun with shells. One shot to each of the vamnirs’ chests and their tasks would be over. Rumors were that the small coven inhabiting the cottage that lay ahead was the last of their kind, but then again it was a rumor.

    He heard Oleg swear under his breath. Alexander looked up just as the female bloodsucker across the yard noticed them walking up the paved path. Her brown eyes darted in the direction of the house once before she turned to run. She had chosen survival even if it meant her family was left behind.

    “There’s one. There’s a vamnir!” Oleg shouted, pointing after the girl.

    “Go after her! Quickly!” I ordered, watching them go.

    Doubt gnawed at the pit of his stomach as he turned toward the house. Were these organisms that they were hunting really guilty of anything? He pulled out his dagger and eased the front door open. The vamnirs’ house was completely cast in shadow. There wasn’t a light in sight. The house was eerie quiet all except for three separate snoring patterns. He was grateful that there were no squeaky stairs to climb otherwise he would definitely be dead. He crossed the living room and past the kitchen until he reached a hallway with three rooms.

    He tightened his grip on the hilt of his knife and took a deep breath. Here I go, he thought. Their breathing became louder and louder as he carefully stepped into the hall. The first door was to his right and he heard the breathing of two of his suspects. He turned the knob slowly and the door swung outward smoothly.

    A female vamnir was sprawled across her male mate, her long nails tearing at the white fabric of the man’s shirt. Alexander felt he was witnessing something that should be private, but he pushed the feeling aside as he leaned over the redheaded female’s head. She stirred in her sleep, making him tense. He positioned the knife so that the blade was resting against the hollow of the woman’s throat. Her eyelids snapped open and she stared wide-eyed up at him.

    Before he knew what was happening he was flying across the room, the woman fully alert was on the bed crouched and ready. Alexander’s body crashing against the wall on the opposite side of the room woke up her partner. When he caught sight of Alexander a hiss escaped his lips and he was beside Alexander in a second. He grabbed at Alexander’s shirt lifting him into the air.

    Alexander heard footsteps outside the door and then another man burst into the room.

    “Nicholas, Ana is gone again.” The man said, a worried expression on his face.

    The ginger haired chick’s mate, Nicholas turned a decimeter to look at the vamnir in the doorway. “Her nightmares again?”

    “Probably,” he cocked his chin at Alexander. “Who’s this sorry excuse for a robber?”

    Nicholas bared his teeth at Alexander. “I don’t think the ‘burglar’ is really interested in theft, Serge. Look there.” Nicholas gestured to the knife that Alexander had forgotten in his hand. “It has a rose engraved into the metal. Definitely a Blood Rose goon trying to earn his way to the top by trying to kill off the last and more cunning groups of ‘vamnirs’ all by himself. What did you think you were trying to pull?”

    Alexander dropped his knife hoping they would notice the gesture as his way of giving in, then talked through the raspiness of his throat that was near its choking point. “”I’m not here to kill you.”

    “Oh really?” The carrot top female scoffed. “Then why bring the knife?”

    She slowly crossed the room to where Alexander hung helpless in his vice. Her blue eyes stared into his, her breath heating his numb cheeks. She raised her hand, claws sharp and ready to tear him to bits if she preferred it.

    “Sasha,” Nicholas warned.

    She looked at her mate and back at their enemy and sighed, lowering her hand. “Explain,” she ordered.

    “My comrades are on their way right now to kill your friend. Ana was it?”

    Sasha hissed, her eyes narrowing to slits. “That is none of your concern.”

    Alexander raised his hands in surrender. “I came to warn you. I don’t think I can take this ‘sport’ anymore. I thought we were diminishing your race for the better good, not for fun.”

    “You kill us for sport?!” The man in the doorway, Serge roared in disbelief.

    He crossed the short distance from the door to Nicholas in a second and stood in front of the Blood Rose soldier. He looked furious. Serge grabbed Alexander by the hair forcing him to look at him.

    “Okay, you mudak, I’m just about through with you.”

    Alexander frowned. “I hadn’t known it was for fun until just tonight. You guys know that we are here so get out of here now!”

    Sasha laughed, “And how do we know this isn’t an ambush?”

    Alexander smiled, “Well Sasha as I said before, all my comrades are after your little friend. Now I want to go find her before they get to her first. Who’s with me?”

    “I’m not going to believe you until you explain why you have your little switchblade.” Sasha sneered.

    Alexander looked at her as if she was crazy. “You didn’t think that I would come into the bat cave without a weapon handy did you?”

    “Let him go.” Serge ordered.

    The two vamnirs looked at Serge with disbelief.

    “But Serge!”

    “No buts,” he snarled. “I think he’s telling the truth, and if he’s not,” He smiled devilishly “we will have some killing to do.”

    Alexander thought he had a point. He smiled sheepishly up at Nicholas as the vamnir lowered him to the ground. He slowly picked up his knife and sheathed it before bounding out of the house into the woods, hoping that the small vamnir coven would heed his advice and break for it.