"Come in," Diane called from inside.

Alyssa opened the door to see her little half sister, sitting on the bed. There were half a doze cats on the best with her, and one of them was playing with a piece of string that Diane was using to dangle above it. If Alyssa didn't know what those little things really were, she would have thought it was very cute.

"Hey," Alyssa said, looking around. "They actually like playing?"

"Some of them are playful," she answered, "Some just like to hide in the shadows and do nothing."

"How many of them are in here?" Alyssa asked, as that wasn't the first time that she had heard the term hiding in the shadows.

"More than a few." Diane said, smiling innocently. "You're not mad?"

"I guess not since they're your bodyguards." Alyssa replied, "The next time a herd of undead attacks, this will be the safest room in the town."

"Mrs. Goldman says if we get the cauldron running again, we can keep them all away from us." Diane said, "That would make things a lot easier around here, right?"

"I actually like that part," Alyssa said, as that last herd had really scared her.

"Is it going to be weird now?" Diane asked, "Now that I'm a witch?"

"Honestly," Alyssa said, "I think we pa.s.sed weird a long time ago when vampires and werewolves came into the picture to join the undead. Now I'm ready to believe just about anything. What I find interesting about all these monsters is that they're just like us. There are a lot of good people who just want to live their lives in peace and it's just a small handful of jerks that are making things difficult for everyone else."

"We all have a Max to deal with I guess," Diane added.

"Yes, we do." Alyssa said with a smile, as she agreed. "That reminds me, Gabriel and I are taking off for New Lycan, are you going to be alright here with Pablo and Mrs. Goldman?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Diane said, "These guys won't let anything happen either."

"Can we grab anything for you in the city?" Alyssa asked.

"Some snacks would be nice," Diane said.

The grey cat lying on her bed picked up his head and meowed loudly.

"What does Smokey want?" Alyssa asked.

"He wants to know if you could find some tuna or fish," Diane answered, "The guys here like that kind of stuff."

"Tuna, huh?" Alyssa said, looking at the cat. "Alright, I'll grab a few. Just take good care of her while I'm gone."

The cat made a small sound before lying down.

Alyssa didn't need a translation as sh left the room and went to the roof where Gabriel was waiting for her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"I'll be alright," Alyssa said, "You were right, she's well guarded."

"If Mrs. Goldman a.s.sessment is accurate," Gabriel said, "Then those guardians will be loyal only to Diane, and she's got too many for any witch to overcome. In other words, she's not going anywhere. We can focus on just heading to the city and hanging out in New Lycan for a while. Maybe get something nice to eat at the pub?"

"Trying to make me feel better with food?" Alyssa asked, smiling as she walked closer, "That's a good idea, because it would make me feel better."

"It's a nice pub," Gabriel said, "I'm a very old creature and that place is hard for even me to forget."

"Speaking of the guardians," Alyssa added, "Apparently they like tuna and want us to grab some for them."

"Really?" Gabriel said, looking rather surprised. "Well... since they're doing something for us while we're gone that seems like a small price to pay, right?"

It took them less time to fly out to New Lycan as Alyssa was getting used to flying with Gabriel and they didn't have to make as many stops to adjust or break. After they registered with the wolves in the Vampire tower, Gabriel thought it would be best to get the shopping for the town done first so they could have more time to relax when they had dinner at the pub. Alyssa was enjoying the trips to the city and even the wolves in the town were starting to get used to seeing them there so there were no more incidents like there had been the first time. Gabriel returned to the cart with several decent sized cans and dropped them in.

"For the cats," he reminded her.

"You sure that's enough?" Alyssa joked, as she knew there were a lot of guardians in their town to protect Diane.

"Probably not," Gabriel agreed, "I'll be right back."

It didn't take them long to get most of what the town needed and Alyssa even picked up a few goodies for Diane and Pablo. Once the supplies were stored at their room in the Vampire tower, Gabriel then escorted Alyssa to the pub so they could sit down and relax to a good meal without feeling rushed.

"Thank goodness," Alyssa said, looking at her menu. "I am starving!"

Alyssa had ordered a gla.s.s of wine to go with her meal while Gabriel only needed the house blood to get by. The pub was lively as it always was, and even Gabriel's presence wasn't bothering the wolves as much as it used to. Seeing him interact with the human girl was interesting to the locals, and the staff loved it because Gabriel was a very good tipper and their blood supply wasn't selling very fast anyway. Gabriel also benefited from the fact that none of the locals had any idea of Gabriel's place or status within the Vampire circles, and he had preferred to keep it that way. That option was tossed out the window the moment the big man strolled in through the doors. The pub went silent as every wolf in there stopped what they were doing and all turned to face the man who had just walked in. The man was the size of a mountain, was finely dressed and had a grin on his face that his presence had brought everything to a grinding halt. He was used to getting a response from other creatures, especially his fellow vampires, but this wasn't infatuation. The room was filled with fear. The rooms was still eerily quiet as he walked into the room and over to the table where Gabriel and Alyssa were sitting. He turned to face Alyssa and greeted her with a very polite bow and a warm smile.

"Excuse me, my dear." He said to her, with a voice that was as smooth a silk. He even had a tinge of a British accent in there. "But is this seat taken?"

"Oh," Alyssa said as she looked at Gabriel and then back at the man who was still looking at her. "It's not, I suppose. Do we know you?"

"We've never had the pleasure," the man said, still towering over everyone in the room. "My brother doesn't like to talk about me very much."

"Your brother?" Alyssa repeated, and then she figured it out. "Cornelius?"

"A pleasure to meet you Alyssa," Cornelius said, bowing again.

"Please, sit down." Alyssa said, gesturing to the chair. She could tell that everyone in the room was quite nervous, and she hoped it might ease the tension if she was friendly with the big man. It was a move that seemed to work, because as Cornelius sat down, everyone else in the pub seemed to exhale all at once and resume what they were all doing.

"The house blend I a.s.sume?" Cornelius inquired, gesturing to what Gabriel had in his mug. "It is any good?"

"Not really, but it's better than nothing." Gabriel answered.

"Fair enough," Cornelius said, giving out a light chuckle.

One of the waitresses walked over. "Can I get you anything, your grace?"

"I'll have what he's having." The big vampire replied, "And bring my brother a refill too. As a matter of fact, I'll be covering the bill for this entire table."

"Yes, your grace." The waitress said before cowering away.

"Your grace?" Alyssa said, "What's that all about?"

"Just political hogwash," Cornelius answered, "I don't care for it myself but the wolves are all about traditions and go out of their way to observe it all. Despite the council running things right now, I am still the dark prince."

"What does it that mean?" Alyssa asked.

"A dark prince outranks regular princes," Gabriel said, "It means he's the eldest brother and the first in line for the throne. I think he likes that one a bit more than the others because he gets to hold it over my head."

"Quite right, brother." Cornelius said, "Take your pleasures wherever you can find them. Speaking of pleasures, is the food here any good?"

"It is," Alyssa said, kind of surprised. "You eat food?"

"Of course we can," Cornelius replied, "We don't have to, but I enjoy it. Some of us can't stand it, but others have a cast iron stomach for it."

As the waitress arrived with Alyssa's food, Cornelius pointed to it and gestured to the waitress.

"Bring out two more plates of that, love." He said to her.

"Yes, your grace."

"Thank you," Cornelius said, "You see... I can be civil."

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"I can see that," Gabriel said.

"It feels like it's been a few hundred years since we broke bread like this." The big vampire said.

"That's because it has been a few hundred years," Gabriel confirmed.

"I know, I just like to say that." Cornelius said, as he laughed before taking a sip of his mug of blood. His face twisted a bit and then he forced down his gulp. "I've had worse, but it's pretty close. Almost tastes like rodent blood."

"You get used to it," Gabriel noted.

"I hope not," Cornelius said, taking down another slug. "This makes the work we're doing very important."

"The council must be desperate," Gabriel said. He was aware that his brother's overly polite behavior had more to do with his job for the council to learn more about the undead rather than being polite to his brother and the human he hung out with. "What caused this air of desperation. Did one of the elders wake up?"

"No," Cornelius said, "And I wouldn't care if they did. There's only one elder that I fear and he's not waking up any time soon."

"Fair enough," Gabriel said, "I've been doing interviews in the eastern cities, and have gathered some very good information for the council."

"Very good," Cornelius said, finis.h.i.+ng off his mug. "I had a feeling you would excel at this task. You have a gift of communicating. You would have made a good diplomat for the council if we ever needed one."

"I don't work for the council, and I never will." Gabriel reminded him. "I only answer to one person, and you know who that is."

"That I do, and admire your loyalty." Cornelius said, "More blood!"

His bellow caused half of the patrons to jump in their seats. Cornelius laughed at that and seemed to be enjoying himself.

"What about that small town where you found this lovely flower?" Cornelius said, gesturing to Alyssa. "Talked to anyone over there?"

"I have," Gabriel said, "A few people but I have one more to interview."

"Alright," Cornelius said, taking his new mug from the waitress as she arrived rather quickly. "Thank you, my dear."

Alyssa sat there and listened to the two brothers talk about their business but finally after a while the dark prince turned back to look at her.

"And what about you, dear." He asked her, "How did you and my brother come to know one another?"

"He saved me from the undead," she answered, "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him."

"That's Gabriel for you," Cornelius said, "Vamp with a heart of gold."

"At least I have a heart," Gabriel chided back.

"I have a heart," Cornelius contested with a laugh, "It's black as night, but it still works. Not bad for a ticker that's over ten thousand years old."

"That's amazing," Alyssa said, after hearing his age. "You're actually older than the pyramids!"

"I never liked those things," Cornelius admitted, "I thought triangles was the wrong shape to go with, as putting them together was a d.a.m.n pain in the a.s.s. Dad can be very stubborn when he sets his mind to something, isn't that right brother?"

"That's an understatement." Gabriel concurred.

The conversation was interrupted when the waitress arrived with more food, and Cornelius was no longer interested in talking shop. Despite being a vampire, the big man dug into his food and ate it as if he really needed it to live even though he didn't. Despite wanting to ask him questions, Alyssa kept quiet and ate her food and watched Gabriel as he seemed rather quiet as well.

"This has been fun," Cornelius said as he stood up. He looked over to the waitress as she walked over. "Charge this to my room at the Vampire tower and give yourself a very good tip for services well rendered."

"Yes, your grace." The waitress replied.

"I must be off," Cornelius said, as he took Alyssa's hand and kissed the top as if he was from France. "A pleasure to meet you, my dear. I hope that we can break bread again in the near future."

"Maybe we shall," Alyssa said, "It was nice to meet you too."

"Brother," Cornelius said, "I'll speak to you again later when you have more to report."

"I look forward to it," Gabriel said, with an air of sarcasm.

The room became silent again as the big vampire walked out of the pub and out the door without any hesitation. Once he had left the building, the patrons were even louder than before, and talked about what had just happened. Alyssa looked back at Gabriel and could sense that he was still uneasy about their uninvited guest.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

"I'll be fine," Gabriel said, "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm great," Alyssa said, "He seemed rather nice to me, but I get the feeling he was going above and beyond here."

"Just a tad," Gabriel said, "I'm unsure what that was all about. Usually he's very unfriendly to those he feels are beneath him. Yet he was nice to everyone here, even the staff of the pub."

"Bad tipper?" Alyssa asked.

"Usually," Gabriel said, "I'm as surprised as you are."

"Is it just me," Alyssa started, "Or does this mission seem a lot more important than he's making it out to be?"

"Seems that way," Gabriel said, "It has to be huge to get a big man like that going out of his way to be nice to get what he wants."

"Excuse me," Alyssa said to the waitress, "Can I get another two orders to go and the desert menu?"

The waitress smiled, "Of course you can."

"What are you doing?" Gabriel asked.

"What do you care," Alyssa replied, smiling back at him. "This is being billed to the dark prince, remember?"

Gabriel laughed, "I guess I'll have another mug then."