Blueblood 5.1: Red Alert!! - 12. Night One for Yuri and Zoya

It wasn’t the worse sleep, but as the sun was lowering in the so sky we got up. It was Summer now and the days were longer. This part of the world was tilting more in the direction of the sun. I’m not going to bore you with what you already know from science class while in school, but you know how it works. If you don’t, look it up! Seasons and why we have them.

We had our luggage here now, so we got some clean clothes after our shower. Of course, Colin and I shared the shower. To save water. You believe that, right? Sure, you do. Anyway, we headed to their cafeteria. In this upside-down world below ground, the café was serving dinner. Not breakfast. They had a poultry processing plant up in Asbest. Naturally, they had plenty of chicken dishes. Colin zeroed in on what looked like some great steaks! Sort of. Colin got two of these steaks. I looked at the woman serving in this area. She was a little heavy, but not obese.

“What meat is that?” I pointed at what she gave Colin.

The translator was something to get used to. My question was repeated in Russian. No single ethnic group of people is better than any other. This woman had not been exposed to many from outside of the area around Asbest. She was surprised at the question she understood from the thing attached to my shirt.

She said something, which thanks to my earbud said, “It’s venison.”

“How many deer do you have!?” I asked surprised.

“Spring is a time for birth,” the woman smiled. “We had twenty, but now thirty-six.”

My lip curled as Colin took his plate and placed it on his tray.

“You have a problem with this,” Colin said to me as we walked to sit at a table.

“Yes,” I admitted. “I’m a hypocrite. I know. I love a good steak. We are carnivores.” I nodded as we sat. “We are natural meat eaters with teeth designed to the cutting and chewing meat. I know, but I see what’s on your plate and think about Santa’s reindeer. You’re eating Donner or someone like him.”

Colin stopped and looked at his plate, “Should I not eat this?”

“Nooo!” I insisted sitting. “You love them. I just said I did, too. I ain’t a vegetarian and I’m certainly not a vegan.” I waved at my plate of chicken. “I feel guilty.” I shrugged. “Not as much about eating chicken or fish, but we only created few cartoon characters about them. It’s my hang-up. Intelligence isn’t the reason I feel guilty, but chicken and fish aren’t the brightest animals out there. They are basically self-sustaining food stuffs.”

“Nemo?” Colin grinned. “Foghorn Leghorn?”

I frowned at Colin and held a finger up to make my point, “First, Nemo was the sole surviving offspring of Marlin’s thousands of eggs laid by his wife. The size of that single clown fish or him, Nemo, and Dory wouldn’t fill me up. Second, I love all the Loony Toons, but Foghorn was an insult to all of us who are real Southerners! We should eat him just to get rid of him!”

“He was supposed to be what he is!” Colin argued.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Well, Warner Brothers, Robert McKimson, and Mel Blanc did too good a job in creating him.” I pushed away from him a little. “And what kind of argument is this? I’m on your side!”

Colin was laughing and pulled me toward him and kissed me. “No argument. I never doubted you were on my side.”

“Is this a private moment for the two of you?” We heard George ask us from behind us.

We turned to see John and George carrying trays with food.

“That depends,” I said smiling. “What was your impression of Loony Toons?”

George’s face held confusion, but John’s expression was happy fondness.

“Those cartoons?” George asked.

“Very adult cartoons!” John told him. “I loved them! Yosemite Sam, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck…”

“Yes!” I pointed at John. “My favorite was Marvin Martian!” I touched my right arm. “So much so, I considered having him tattooed on my arm!” I waved at an empty chair. “He can sit.” I waved at Colin. “You and George might want to sit at another table.”

“Be fair,” Colin cautioned me. He looked at George and John. He waved at some chairs. “Sit.” He turned to me. “We were alive when those shorts came out, but we didn’t see a lot of movies back then. George was busy working on a way to undo what was done to us. I saw many of those cartoon shorts later.”

George and John sat with us. John was chuckling. “When did you have time to see these cartoon shorts? I saw them while living in the Ozarks and when not hunting vampires. I had time to watch some I had gotten as gifts on my blu-ray disc player.”

Colin looked at me, “I’ve asked that before!” He looked at George and John. “Devon is a savant about movies and television.” He returned his gaze at me. “When did you find the time? This was before you were bitten. There wasn’t enough time to watch all that and study.”

I shrugged, “It interested me! Loony Toons are a history lesson. They dealt a lot with World War II. Rationing, Victory Gardens, Hitler…”

“You’ve seen the ones where they had Hitler in them?” John asked.

I nodded, “I have! There were several. In the early forties he was portrayed several times, ten of them where he was even Human.” I grinned. “Clark Gable was the first actor to cuss in a film. Did Loony Toons have that?”

“They didn’t!” John stated. “Yosemite Sam muttered in language no one could understand…”

“Porky did,” I grinned. “In the one titled Breakdowns of 1939. Technically, it wasn’t released until the 1970’s, but it was released as a Warner Club Production in 1939 when he stutters like always and finally says Son of a Gun, then looks at the audience and stutters again You thought I was going to say bitch. It was hilarious!” I waved at them. “I’ve got a copy of it in my files. I’ll show it to you.”

Colin nodded but shook his head laughing lightly, “Of course, you do.”

John bounced with excitement, “Do you know the names of those two extremely polite gophers?”

I nodded, “I do! It was ten years after they were shown they even got their names!”

“No,” John said in amazement.

I looked at Colin’s and George’s stunned face and stage whispered to John, “I’ll tell you later. There are some here who won’t appreciate the knowledge.”

Colin touched my arm quickly, “Oh, no! You can’t do that to me. I know the overly polite gophers, and no one remembers their names!”

“I do.” I grinned. “A true fan knows. They are Mac and Tosh. The name is simply a pun on the surname Macintosh.”

Colin’s head began to shake again slowly. George was simply staring, and John was about to say something, but Colin raised his hand quickly to stop that conversation. “No! I don’t doubt what he’s saying, and I know it will prove right. We’ll be here all day if we let it go. This is a rabbit.” He looked at George. “Yuri and Zoya will be up soon. Devon has some questions for you, George.”

I smiled at Colin’s evasion, “I do.” I looked at George. “Before you perfected any serum, did you get cold?”

The topic sudden switch George wasn’t ready for. His mouth opened and he wasn’t coming out with a reply. He closed his mouth again as he thought, “I…” he thought out loud, “never thought about it.” He thought again harder. “After I was bitten, I went underground.” He looked more focused at me. “I am from Connecticut originally. I made my way to Manhattan as I knew the subways would be perfect for me.” He shrugged, “It had to be cold, it was early Autumn then. I wore clothes I had on and a few other items because I was taught to. It was night when I traveled.” He chuckled, “Naturally, it was night. I kind of had to. I traveled by train, so I didn’t need to hunt much except upon waking. I would search for possible blood hosts before the sun came up, so I didn’t have to search when I woke up.” He took a short breath. “Essentially, the subways are caves. There wasn’t much variation in the temperature in the caverns between. The only cold came from the entrances to the subway tunnels. Once I found the passages between those platforms, the temperatures remained the same. Why are you asking?”

“The Old Ones,” I began. “They aren’t warm blooded.” It wasn’t a question.

“They aren’t cold blooded either,” George countered. “They are Human.”

“Even animals in the coldest environments can freeze to death,” I offered. “Baby penguins can freeze to death if left unattended after birth. Polar bears can freeze…”

“They have protection.” George inserted quickly.

“What protection do the Old Ones have?” I asked. “I’ve never seen them huddle for warmth or even shiver. They are naked all the time.” I held my hand up to stop further speculation. “It may not be important at all. I know our body temperature is about ninety-four to ninety-six degrees. Not the ninety-eight point six which is normal.” I gave a grudging nod. “You tell me they are human. Why?”

“The genetic structure and number are consistent with Human Beings.”

“Containing the mutated pairing into one genome pair?” I asked.

“Yes,” George nodded.

“Their age is not Human.” I said to George. “It isn’t even like living thing on Earth!”

George shook his head, “No, that’s not normal.”

“They could have been alive at the time of Atlantis!” I said happily and saw George’s face look highly doubtful and dismissive, so I hurried on. “You can’t argue with me!”

“There’s no proof Atlantis even existed!” George said back.

“Which also means there is nothing to prove they didn’t!” I was on a roll. “And don’t you think Lemuria existed?”

“Lemuria? What is that?” Colin asked looking at both of us.

“It was another continent that sunk just like Atlantis but is said to have been in the Indian Ocean,” I said to Colin. “They were said to have been just as advanced as the civilization of Atlantis.”

“You’re talking about myths!” George said back, but he was smiling. He was enjoying this.

I nodded, “Only because it isn’t there anymore.” I held that finger up again. “But there’s more proof about Lemuria. They were revered by the Polynesians as far away as Hawai’i! It was even said that they and the people of Atlantis were in conflict. There were advanced science and procedures from both. Maybe the elixir was theirs!”

George chuckled and was again shaking his head. “I won’t even consider something so farfetched.”

“Why not?” I challenged. “They were so long ago, but the elixir had to come from someone!” I pointed out. “Around the globe there are pyramids, carvings, and legends that are similar. Civilizations that shouldn’t have even known about each other…including Egypt!”

“We’re talking about a million to a half a million years ago!” George argued.

“Yes, we are!” I slapped George on the arm lightly. “Keep an open mind!”

“Lemuria sunk like Atlantis,” Colin said wanting to know.

“You have to remember, there was an Ice Age that ended about ten thousand years ago,” I lectured and looked at John. “I loved science class.” John chuckled. I went on. “That was about the time when the Old Ones were made!” I looked at George again. “You even questioned how anyone could create such a perfect predator. They don’t get sick, won’t die except if someone kills them, they bite to increase their numbers, and if the attacker is killed, they leave no body behind to be studied or tracked down.”

“You’re saying the elixir used is from Atlantis!?” George balked.

I shook my head and then grudged a shrug, “I didn’t say the elixir was given by people from Atlantis or Lemuria…” I raised that finger again, “not directly.”

“Devon!” George chastised. “You are smarter than this.”

“And you are smarter that this!” I countered. “You can’t dismiss a plausible theory! Even if you don’t believe it possible, the timeline is right!”

“How!?” George blurted.

“Wait!” Colin demanded. “Two continents sink? In two oceans? That suddenly?”

“Sudden continental shifts is a possible explanation.” I explained. “Polar shifts. Lemuria’s myth goes back to before the end of the last ice age. The water levels were a lot lower. There were land masses that shrunk and islands that simply disappeared. There are about two hundred villages and cities found under water now. Land bridges disappeared. Many believe that’s how the Native Americans migrated over to the American Continents. Not all of them. Easter Island, Aztecs, Mayan, Incan, Egyptian, Mesopotamian…all really came about ten thousand years ago! The Old Ones first reared their heads at that very same time.”

“Next, you’ll be saying you believe in flying saucers!” George stated.

“I’m not saying I do or don’t,” I shot back. “Are you saying that in the vast, endless reaches of space we’re the only ones in it!? You have to admit, the Old Ones look an awful lot like those grey aliens with the big eyes, bald heads, and naked!” I held my hand out. “These people from those lost civilizations were in contact with all these fledgling civilizations of Humans and probably left things with each of them. I’m not saying the pre-Egyptians used it correctly, but those in North Africa may have found this elixir used and tried it on the villagers.”

“To make advanced scouts,” Colin nodded.

“That’s what those people in North Africa thought,” I said. “And it worked! The ancient Atlanteans and Lemurians weren’t there anymore to give them the caution and whatever to make their own people immune to being attacked!” I threw my hands out. “It makes sense!”

“In a fantasy!” George argued.

“Yes! A good one!” I said firmly. “Stan had trouble with a language that should not have existed from the archives in Amasis’ City. Can you give me another logical explanation?”

Those at the table stared at George’s face as he tried to come up with another explanation.

I touched George’s hand. “It’s okay. You are what you are.” I shrugged. “You only believe in what you can see. It’s not your fault. You’re a man of science.”

George smirked, “Thank you for understanding.” He grumbled.

“None of us would be here if you weren’t that man of science!” I stated. “I love you, George! We all owe you our very lives. I wouldn’t have Colin and John wouldn’t have you! However, you have to at least admit it might be possible.”

He was struggling with it but was losing his resolve. “I…” he stuttered, “I…”

“Come on,” I grinned. “Open up that brilliant mind and just admit it is possible!”

Colin grinned at George, “How many times has Devon been wrong? England, Egypt, Romania…has he been wrong about the Old Ones? Wayne?”

Finally, George nodded. It was hard for this man of reason to do, but said, “Yes. It is possible.” Then he hurried on, “But I’d still like some proof!”

“Of course, you would! Before you had been bitten, would you have thought vampires really existed?”

George shook his head, “No.”

“Yet here you are!” I waved at him.

“Here we are!” John corrected taking George’s hand.

Our discussion was halted as Yuri and Zoya came in the café. Yuri’s great sense of smell told me he didn’t like the smell now. That soon would change. They were not in their usual black uniforms. Both were in casual trousers and soft shirts.

“When do we start?” Yuri asked.

He was very nervous about it. No one willingly wanted to be hurt. The unknown pain was even more worrisome. Yet the idea of being free of a nightmare you couldn’t wake up from was motive enough.

George stood up, “Right now.” He waved at them. “We’ll do it in the lab you have set up for me.” He looked back at Colin and me and said to Yuri. “Devon has the medical knowledge and can help.”

Yuri nodded, “Certainly.” He looked at George’s uneaten plate. “I’ll feel better if you’re at full strength. Finish your meal, please.”

I smiled as Yuri held a chair for Zoya and then sat with us at the table. “I think our attempt to be completely honest is a double-edged sword.”

“We never want to be accused of not being truthful about what is coming,” George confessed.

“True,” Colin nodded swallowing another bite of his deer-steak. “Devon’s right. Sometimes pain we think will hurt versus the actual pain is often worse.” He waved at me, George, and John. “We all know the pain. As bad as you imagine, it will be worth it.”

I looked at Zoya taking in all I could see. She had been in her late twenties or early thirties when she had been bitten. Petite. Perhaps about five feet and four inches tall and thin. She was pretty even with her dry eyes which were a light green and had dirty blonde hair she had pulled back into a bun behind her head. Women of the era she was from did wear makeup, but she didn’t have to. She was still young enough it wasn’t needed. “You have a unique talent.”

Her eyes came to me, and her eyebrows rose. “My talent?”

“Yes,” I smiled. “Every one of us bring into this world something we use as vampires.” I motioned to Colin. “He can get pretty accurate impressions on people he meets. We have people with us that can smell a vampire and find them like Bloodhounds. They can’t hide from Yuri, I know.”

Zoya laughed lightly, “No, he can feel and smell them out very easily.”

“But you,” I smiled at her. “I think you could be in a room full of people and when questioned they wouldn’t even recall you were there.”

If she had normal blood flow, she would have blushed. “I don’t like calling attention to myself.”

I got the feeling it was a way of protecting herself. She was an adult now and a vampire, but the skills she learned had been honed at an early age. “There is nothing wrong with that. It’s a skill you learned very well.” I lowered my voice and asked delicately. “Did you learn it to survive?”

Her expression was alarm, and her voice took on a defensive tone. “I am the granddaughter of Catherine Alekseyevna. The Grand Duchess of Russia!”

I let out a soft whistle to show I was impressed, “You are Catherine the Great’s granddaughter!?” I shook my head and thought out loud. “Who knew my World History lessons would pay off like this.” I was not only a fan of modern media, but I loved history. Catherine was promised to be the wife of Karl Ulrich, Peter the Great’s grandson who was to be the next for the throne of Russia. She was fourteen when the promise was made. I also knew there were questions about the legitimacy of her children. It seemed her husband was rumored to be impotent, yet Catherine had three children. “Which child of hers was your parent?”

Her eyes held surprise again. “Alexie Grigorievitch Bobrinskoy. You know our history.”

“It was a course I took in college,” I said dismissively. His birth was just surrounded by controversy. His mother hid her pregnancy and even wore tight corsets to hide her baby bump. Danced, curtsied, and drank which caused some problems after Alexie was born. She even disguised his birth by setting a house on fire! Was she a legitimate heir of Catherine’s? Probably, as far as the birth lineage goes. Were any of them legitimate? Who knew? Better yet, who cared? “If you were a princess, it seems you should have been quite the showstopper. Attracting attention would be part of that.”

“No,” Zoya said sadly. “I was a commodity. A bargaining chip.” She looked a little bitter. “I was taught as a child that children were to be seen and not heard. And if possible, not even seen.”

I was suspecting abuse early. Even in the best homes it happened. “Taught by whom?”

Zoya grimaced, “Miss Novikov!” She spat out. “She was also of noble birth, but it was a while back. She was to teach me how to behave, eat, dress, among other things. One of those things was how to please my future husband.” She became angry. “I was eight!”

Yuri looked over concerned but I raised my hand to him to wait. Abuse didn’t have to be by men. “You were a child. None of this is your fault.”

She couldn’t look at me at first, but she finally did, asking me, “Why am I talking to you about this? I knew Yuri years before I told him.”

I smiled, “I have a gift, too. Causing people to trust me and getting them to talk to me.” I waved at Colin and Yuri. “We have a gift like hypnotism. Colin, Yuri, Vlad, Amasis…all do it as leaders to make people want to follow them.” I shrugged. “They will trust me. I would hope you trust me. Tell me about how you met Yuri.”

She gave a sincere smile and fondly remembered the moment, “Yuri saw me.”

I smiled, too. “You mean that in spite of your talent, he saw you.”

“That’s right,” Zoya smiled even more. “I had been a vampire a few years in Saint Petersburg. He was there to find other vampires and well…” she shrugged, “he saw me!”

“Sure, he did!” I said happily. “Yuri’s deaf, but he most certainly is not blind!” I watched Yuri’s eyes widen when I said that. “I’m sorry, Yuri. No one ever told you that before?” I reached over and touched his arm. “I hate to break it to you, but you’re deaf.” The way I said it and my delivery only had him smile and chuckle. “That’s why you can’t hear.”

Colin leaned into Yuri closer, “Devon knows no strangers and he never is embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed by what? The truth?” I shot back. “There are no eggshells for me to worry about. Tact and pussyfooting is overrated here! We all know the truth!” I looked as Zoya was also smiling more. “I want to get to know you better. The real you. Not just Yuri’s ears and mouthpiece. I know we’re going to be great friends.”

George put his fork down and pushed back from the table. “I’m full and ready to go.”

Yuri sighed again with sad anticipation. “Let’s do this.”

 

In the lab area, George explained again what the serum was supposed to do. It would sort of glue itself to the venom in their blood and start their hearts again. Because it was to restart their heats, the first injection was to be straight into the heart. George and I prepared both Yuri and Zoya for that first injection. I was impressed by Yuri’s musculature. He was a warrior and an athlete when he was bitten. Vampires sought out victims that were healthy, remember? Zoya was, too. Gay. Remember? We didn’t need much of her chest revealed to insert the needle. Even if she was topless, I wouldn’t have been aroused. Yuri was another story. Then again, I had Colin’s hairy chest to enjoy, so it just registered as a nice chest. Sorry, Yuri.

“Here we go.” George warned as both of us were about to insert the serum. I had Zoya. George had Yuri. “Let’s begin.”

We both inserted the needles and within seconds they both started grunting as the pain hit. This was familiar territory for me, but I prayed I would never get to the point it never bothered me. It did. They were both potential friends and I didn’t want them hurt, but we had to. We had them in comfortable clothes that they would be comfortable in when the pain ended, and sleep came.

It was again about four hours in when their necks gave the first pulse. Victory! I think I even gave a little shout of victory. George gave me a curious look and then a small smile and gave one of his own. Much quieter than mine, but just as heartfelt.

Colin and John were going to be here when they woke but stayed away from the others that first night.

George was always there when he gave the serum to watch for adverse effects.

“Has there ever been a bad reaction to the serum?” I asked him.

“There’s always the first time,” George shrugged.

I chuckled, “You are the perfect doctor.”

“There’s no such thing,” George muttered.

“Did I bother you with what we talked about during the meal?” I asked. “About the Atlanteans and Lemurians?”

George looked at me, “Please. I never wasted time on such foolish thoughts.” He saw I was about to say something, and he stopped me. “I admitted I had no other explanation and that it was possible you were on to something. Isn’t that enough?”

“It’s a start,” I grinned. “What do you think about the cold and venom laced blood?”

He shrugged again, “The body temperature of a vampire is lower because of the venom. The Old Ones’ blood is almost all venom. Their blood doesn’t keep outside the body any more than venom does. Again, the venom is moving the blood, their hearts may beat weakly once in a while.”

“The venom makes changes in the host to make them vampires,” I said what he told us. “Colin was afraid to be intimate with me at first, fearing the venom would harm me at first. In spite of the fact that you told him that wouldn’t work to make me a vampire.” George was nodding as I was relaying the information correctly. “So, what is different from a male vampire’s tadpoles and normal male’s tadpoles?”

“Tadpoles!?” George repeated with wide eyes.

I smiled nodding, “I was in elementary school when I found out what sperm looked like. I thought they looked like tadpoles.” I shrugged. “I still think they look like tadpoles. When I found out that I came from one of those tadpoles, I couldn’t believe it!” I chuckled. “The hundreds of thousands to millions of chances that,” I said in disbelief, “to make me!? Even at eight or nine, I couldn’t believe it! Then I found out what my parents did to make that happen!” I shuddered. “Ew! I knew I would never do that.”

George grinned, “Well, you still aren’t, are you?”

“No,” I smiled back. “Not technically but answer the question. What’s different about a Human male’s sperm and a vampire’s sperm? What cum I have seen looks the same to me. We do have sperm…” I said to confirm.

“Yes.” George nodded and grinned.

“Have you found a difference?”

“No.” George answered.

“Have you found out how and why Gaius could get a woman pregnant?” I asked.

“No.” George answered sounding a little annoyed.

“A vampire’s sperm contains the gene to make any offspring make a new little vampire,” I said. “Gaius’ son Nicolae was born when one of Gaius’ tadpoles made a normal Human woman pregnant. Do you know how that happened?”

“No.” George said, now very annoyed.

I was teasing George. “And that bugs you, doesn’t it?” I grinned.

“Yes!”

I hugged George. “And that’s what makes you so special! You can’t stand a puzzle you can’t solve!” I hugged him harder. “I love you, George! We’re family! You are the smartest Human I have ever even heard of! Your talent is that brain!” I tapped his forehead. “I know you’ll find out. You are one of Colin’s oldest and dearest friends. Now, mine, too.”

George was blushing now. “Thank you for that vote of confidence. I hope it’s deserved.”

 

Yuri and Zoya finally got through night one. The serum’s pain finally ended, and both fell asleep. When you spend most of the time you should be awake in pain, when it ended, sleep just made sense. You were exhausted. I remembered that. Then the sun rose, and a vampire’s natural cycle returned. Sort of. I often didn’t remember dreams…not entirely and what little I did remember faded as the day wore on. That was normal. Only the most intense dreams or nightmares lingered in my mind and even those faded some during the day. I wasn’t sure about a vampire’s rest. Colin told me never dreamed when he was a vampire. With the serum, the person’s body begins to wake up and function again. His mind did, too. I knew if they did dream, they would probably remember it when they woke up.

“As they will be out for the day,” I said to George. “I don’t need to remind you of the man that would fight Satan himself to get you back safely, do I?”

George laughed lightly and nodded, “No. I won’t ever forget that again. You have a man that would do that, too.”

“Who I’m going to look for right now.”

We should have known John and Colin would have been right there when we came out of the lab. John was working on one of his serum/sun guns. Colin was studying something when George and I came into the small room where they worked quietly. Colin looked up and instantly smiled at me. John saw George and came over kissing George passionately.

“The first night is done,” I told them as I bent and kissed Colin in his sitting position. “Nothing new.”

“Great!” Colin said happily.

I looked at what he was studying. It looked like a map. “What’s this?”

“This is a map of the many tunnels they have down here!” Colin said happily. “There are literally miles upon miles of tunnels down here! Frankly, I don’t know if they know all of them.”

I looked at the map and the various lines that represented tunnels. “It sort of reminds me of the city Amasis lived in. Given a few more centuries, who knows what will be down here.”

“With the modern equipment,” Colin nodded. “They should have it done even quicker!”

Alexie came in where we were. “How is Yuri?”

“Zoya was in there, too.” George reminded him.

“George,” I smirked. “Her talent? She’s practically invisible?”

“Right,” George nodded.

“Are they doing alright?” Alexie asked concerned.

“They’re fine,” George assured. “Have you ever checked on them when they were full vampires?”

Alexie shrugged, “I didn’t need to.”

“Devon and I will be there when they wake up,” George said. “Just to be sure everything’s fine and if they approve, guests will be allowed.”

Alexie looked surprised, “I’m sure neither of them will mind…”

“George is a doctor, Alexie.” I grinned at George and looked at Alexie. “It’s a precaution with most all doctors.” I patted Alexie on the arm. “Don’t take it personally.”

“How are things with Stan?” Colin asked pointedly knowing the previous hours and day had been busy…for Stan.

Alexie chuckled, “That is a very…” he thought for a word for Stan knowing he was a friend of ours and didn’t want to offend us, “different man.”

John chuckled, too. “That’s kind of you to say it so delicately, but we have known Stan many years now and know his brain is wired very differently than most people.” John even did the circular motion toward his own temple to indicate someone is a little crazy.

“And his husband Mark is very jealous of Stan’s very intimate relationship with Buddy.” I added. “Yet, Stan works wonders with Buddy.”

Alexie nodded, “Stan does treat that computer like a real person.” He chuckled. “He set up the CPU you brought and began interlinking Buddy with our computer he is naming Priyatel.” Alexie saw the blank looks on our faces and leaned toward us to tell a secret. “The Russian word for pal?”

We all nodded at that. I said, “That makes sense.” At the same time there was a sure and a naturally.

Colin looked at me, “How does it make sense?”

“Priyatel is a separate computer system,” I said logically. “What we brought is an extension of Buddy, but Priyatel is already there. Stan wants our system and the Russian system to work together as friends and pals.”

Colin shrugged, “Does that mean Buddy will have access to Russia’s Communication Satellites?”

Alexie smiled, “Does that mean we have access to the Communications Satellites of the United States?”

I held my hands up, one toward each of them, “Okay, down boys.” I smiled. “I’ve said it before. The Cold War is over.” I looked at Colin. “You were born long before it even started!” I looked at Alexie. “You were born at the end of the Soviet Union. We’re all friends now. We share.” I looked at Colin. “You know share.” I then looked at Alexie. “You know share, right?”

“I do,” Alexie grinned. “We are happy to share.”

“So are we,” Colin said happily. “We have access to the ISO satellites that Buddy uses.”

“We have access to the RSCC. The Russian satellites,” Alexie nodded in agreement smiling.

I gave a little shiver, “You can just feel the love in this moment!” I said sarcastically but was happy no one was mad or angry. “Just because you both have dicks; doesn’t mean you have to act like dicks.” I looked at Alexie. “You understand the meaning in English to Russian?”

Alexie laughed, “I do.”

“Man! I am so jealous of you.” I said again about their understanding of other languages. “You speak English so easily.”

Alexie grinned, “My father was an American.” He shrugged, “He didn’t marry mother until I was five, but my mother is Russian.”

“I don’t think that was what Mikhail Gorbachev meant by glasnost.” Colin said, “There’s open and then…”

“Colin!” I stopped him. “They fell in love! He had to be in love. He married her. She agreed.”

“I was raised speaking both Russian and English,” Alexie explained. “Until Dad was diagnosed with cancer when I was eight. I was educated in England while he was treated at the Royal Marsden Hospital. He fought for three years, but…” he left the statement unvoiced. “We then moved back to Moscow, and I went to school there and finished.”

I smiled compassionately at Alexie, “I empathize with your pain. Losing a father is so hard.”

Alexie nodded, “You understand.”

“I really do.” I said sincerely.

“Too bad we didn’t know Yuri then. He wouldn’t have died.” Alexie mourned.

I stopped Colin before he could start his usual comments by putting a hand on Colin’s chest. “Unless you have everyone you care about bitten, it isn’t necessarily a good thing living as we do.” I said to Alexie. “I mean you, your mother, your wife and children…death is a part of living. Then friends and other loved ones…the circle just keeps growing, but you will lose people. I am lucky. My mother is lucky. I nearly lost Colin twice. Mom and I lost Dad, grandparents, and others. We will lose people we care about with us now. It’s Hell to watch people you care about die. Until we achieve immortality, we will. We watched as Lucian lost Iilya who were both vampires. There’s no guarantee we won’t die. In our cases, death maybe harder as we won’t necessarily die. Dismembered but not able to die because of this venom could be Hell.”

“Willie isn’t your father?” Alexie asked.

I smiled at that. “He is a dear, sweet man that came into Colin’s life while in the subways of Manhattan and became a father to Colin. I met him and he became important to me.” I laughed. “Then he met my mother and became very important to her!” I shook my head. “Biology is only a small part of being a father. I can tell you, Willie is my father. He is my Dad. I had another dad, but so is Willie. I love that man. Mourn. I do. That’s natural, but instead of ever worrying about what we could have done, said, or wishing we had more time with those who are gone. We need to appreciate what we have now. I cherish my time with Colin. I cherish my time with all of them and our special relationships. Now, that includes Yuri, Zoya, and you.”

Alexie nodded. “I see.”

“Well,” Colin smiled. “You day-people do what you need to. Devon and I need some sleep.”

“And a meal!” I added looking at Colin curiously. “Don’t even try to tell me you’re not hungry.”

Colin shrugged, “I can always eat. I ate about two hours ago but will do it again.”

“That’s so kind of you,” I said sarcastically. I looked at George and John. “Join us before you turn in?”

“Absolutely,” John agreed.

 

It was breakfast for most people in this part of the world. The cafe wasn’t Vamps…yet. It was good, but there was something about those vampire chefs at Vamps and at Thornwood. They knew how to flavor foods better. I knew there would be a few here soon.

“We had a very rocky beginning, but I like these people!” I announced to my three companions at the table.

“Devon,” John grumbled with a smile. “Is there anyone you don’t like?”

I thought a moment. “I didn’t like Iilya but might have as I got to know him and dealt with some of his issues. There was the biker vampire that bit Mark. I didn’t like him…” I shrugged. “They both tried to kill people I care about!” I grinned at John. “I liked you in a single day! I love you now!”

“And Gizmo, Iustina, Repetate, Ralph, and Wayne…” George added.

“People are interesting,” I stated. “Everyone has a story. Alexie is a man who learned English from his American father, Russian from his Russian mother, and partially educated in England! And Zoya!”

“Who?” John asked.

“Exactly!” I said happily. “Yuri’s wife!

“Huh?” John asked.

“She has a story!” I shook my head in amazement, “But she needs to tell you. It will blow you away!”

“You know it!” Colin pointed out and then nodded, “Oh, I forgot. Patient/therapist confidentiality.” Which I was going to comment that I wasn’t a therapist and Colin raised his finger at me. “No! You are a therapist. You just don’t have the education to hang a shingle for. You’ve helped so many people, your mother, Willie, Wayne, Alex, Gabriella, Stan, Mark, Amasis…I lose count. Even that couple in Barbados!”

I nodded a reluctant agreement. “Most therapists try to get to the truth a patient doesn’t want to admit. They do with me when I’m not prepared for.”

“Even Vlad and Gaius talk to you,” George said. “I know they have bloody pasts, but they are healing.”

“I’ll be there for anyone that needs an ear,” I admitted. “Even Lucian. He’s not bad. I shouldn’t have told you that Zoya has an interesting story.” I thought a few seconds and shrugged. “She tries not to attract any attention. My telling you there is one will make you seek her out and get to know her. I will say, she’s very interesting.” I pointed at them. “It is therapy for Zoya. Get to know her, but let her tell you her story.”

“How do we do that?” Colin asked sitting back a little in his chair.

“By telling her yours!” I said simply. “Colin, your story is fascinating!” I looked at George and John and frowned. “You know? I don’t know either of yours. I know you, John, were bitten about four hundred years ago. You are a brilliant man who designed the sun gun and serum gun. You merged those two into a single weapon. That is genius! You created that place in the Ozarks to try to gather known vampires and keep them together.” I looked at George. “And you…” I grinned as his already somewhat red complexion got even redder, but I didn’t stop. “You fled to the subway tunnels, but somehow managed to begin to research and found out about the venom and how it worked and figured out how to stop it, or at least slow it down.” I waved at the two of them. “I know nothing about how either of you got bitten or what you went through.” I shrugged. “You know about me. How I was bitten.” I raised a quick finger at John, “and not a word about self-blame and no apologizes. We buried that huge stake in the ground to show it was a covered and forgiven territory, remember?” I grinned. “In fact, I think you owe me. I know you were born in England in the seventeenth century…what part of England? How old were you when you left? You came to America in the very beginning of the United States when they were just colonies. Who bit you? What happened after that?” I reached over and took his hand. “When you are ready. It might be very personal or a horror story, but I’d like to know because it’s you.” I watched John’s eyes look away and he did flush a little. “I told George. I love him as a dear friend who is family now. I love you, John. You are family, too and family as well.” I looked at George. “Who bit you?” I waved my hands out helplessly. “I want to know!”

Colin chuckled, “No secrets with Devon.”

I nodded, “There shouldn’t be.” I dug into my sausage pie and ate some. It was good! And pancakes are pancakes, even in Russia. They called it Kefir, but it was still a pancake. They had cheesecake for breakfast! Zapekanka in Russian, but it wasn’t the sweet desert. It did have a lot of cheese but just a little sugar, there were eggs and some grain in it. Later I would find out it was wheat. I expected one taste and got another. “Oh, this is good!” I pointed at the zapekanka with my fork.

“Devon’s right,” Colin grinned bumping his forehead gently against mine. “He usually is.” He looked at George and John. “I think there needs to be a chronology that tells new vampires our stories. Each of us.” He pointed at us. “To inspire new vampires in the VUN.” He turned to me. “We have chapters in England and Romania. Is this a chapter in Russia?”

“They have their own voice.” George shrugged. “We have the one in England, but Edwin is the leader there. He has help from Matt, Sarah, and that new guy Russell Chadwick. They have their own governing body.”

I nodded, “And Alin, Christian, with Sorin, Fane, Dr. Petran in Romania…this will be independent, but part of the VUN.”

“The Russian Vampire Republic?” George asked but grinned at me.

“Sure!” I said happily to George. “Nice going with the name thing. Very nice. The RVR!”

“We still need a chronology,” Colin insisted, but smiled at the conversations at the table. “I know just who should do it. Gabby.” He shrugged. “She knows how to use words to make you think you’re there, but I don’t think she’s very quick with the keyboard.”

“How soon you forget,” I shook my head. “Betty Kalin?” I reminded.

Colin grinned, “Mom?”

“The fastest typist in the United States!” I said proudly. “At her peek, one hundred and twenty correct words per minute!”

“Oh, yes,” Colin nodded. “We need to ask them.”

“I’ll make notes,” I offered. “Gabriella can add her flourish and Mom can type it up! We’ll have the chronology in no time!” I jabbed Colin lightly in the chest. “Starting with you, me, Willie, Alex…” I looked at John, “and you and George!” I saw Shelly and Amir enter the café. “They need to be included. Chuck, Stan, and Mark, too. They are part of all this.”

“You will be busy.” John said. “I will…tell you.” He said reluctantly. “It isn’t all pleasant.”

“It wouldn’t be,” I nodded. “However, a vampire new to our group needs to know that however horrible things were for them, there are others that had it just as bad if not worse.”

“But there’s a light at the end of this tunnel,” Colin pointed out. “There’s hope.”

“First, we need to ask them.” George said.

“Gabriella is that good?” John asked.

Colin nodded, “She was always writing poems and short stories…” he laughed. “She even won a scholarship to the College of Charleston to pursue a degree in Journalism.”

I was impressed, “She did?”

“She did,” Colin said emphatically. “She was always controversial. She entered an essay as Gabriel Wentworth. Along with many other would-be journalists and writers…” he waggled his eyebrows at me. “This was in 1839. The winner was announced and when she went forward to accept the award, they were shocked. She was a female! A woman in college!?” He shook his head but was smiling with pride. “Of course, they claimed that because she lied, she wouldn’t get the award. She tells them if she had told them the writer was a woman her essay wouldn’t have been read, much less won. She also told them based on their lack of fact checking the fact that the writer was a female should have been found out.”

“A Women’s Libber in the early nineteenth century!” I said with almost as much pride as Colin had. He was her father, so naturally he had more pride. “A plantation owner who frees the slaves or his father, offers them jobs with a wage, and has an outspoken daughter who began speaking out for other women and their rights that early! The Wentworths were truly a very progressive family.”

Colin nodded and then shrugged, “It just made sense.” He explained. “I often think she’s smarter than most men…including me!”

I shook my head, “Let’s just say she is as smart as you are. She had to get that brain from somewhere. Debra was as smart as you. She educated not only Gabriella, but all of the children on the plantation, which she knew was against the law!” Mentioning Colin’s only wife from so long ago didn’t bother me. This time I only saw a fond smile on Colin’s face as he remembered his late wife. When voiced regret about deceiving Debra, I asked him about Debra’s deception. Their marriage was arranged! To keep their aristocratic, blueblood status, they married within the family. She was a cousin. Not his father’s sibling’s child or his mother’s sibling’s child but a more distant cousin’s child. Did she love Colin? He said they were good friends and that was great, but neither of them were in love with each other. They had Gabriella. Debra willingly broke laws knowing it was right to do so, just as Colin did. Worse! What Colin did simply wasn’t done, but not against the law. Debra broke laws.

We heard others come in as the day for others began, but one…couple? We were not ready for. A young woman was coming to get something, but her very young companion saw us, yapped and with a fast-wagging tail rushed in our direction yanking the leash out of her Human’s hand. “Nyet, Misha, nyet!”

The dog was a beagle! I knew there were breeds preferred in Russia, but I was surprised. The dog was young. A puppy only a few months old and a small breed of beagle. Not a large hunting beagle. She would never be more than a foot tall. They didn’t have the undercoat of huskies or other dogs for the winter up here, but here was a beagle who was rushing over to happily greet us. She got to Colin, greeted him, then greeted me, George, and John. She didn’t know who to stay with sniffing our legs and jumping up a bit to rest her front paws on a leg.

“Misha! Vniz!” The dark-haired woman commanded Misha and looked at us apologizing. “Izvinite, pojaluista. Misha nakhoditsya na trenirovke.”

John and Colin wore their translators. We all heard “I’m sorry. Misha’s in training.”

“Can I pet her?” Colin asked before he reached down. If she was in training, touching the dog would not be recommended.

“She loves that,” the girl nodded. “Sure, you can pet her.” The conversation was being done through the translators. It took a sentence or two for the young woman to get used to it.

“If her training was to say hello in a friendly manner,” Colin began picking Misha up and was given several licks to say that “hello.” “I think she’s doing just fine.” Misha diverted attention to me licked me a few times, then back to Colin. Colin stuck his hand out to her. “Colin Wentworth, my husband Devon, and family-friends George, and John.”

“Valentina,” the young woman introduced. “Misha was bred from two of our best hunters. She sniffs out…” she hesitated looking at us, “well…you. Vampires.”

“See, George?” John smiled at his husband. “You don’t need a vampire detector.” He waved at Misha. “Here it is, cute as it can be, covered in fur, and loves us to death!”

George nodded, “True, but I didn’t know how to get a dog.” He shrugged. “I never had a pet growing up.”

My eyes widened, “No. Not even a turtle or goldfish!?”

George shook his head, “Mother thought dogs and cats were dirty. Turtles and fish weren’t even considered.”

I looked around the café and saw other people here, but we were the only vampires here at the moment. “I think she’s doing well. It makes sense. We have bomb sniffing dogs, drug sniffing dogs…to have vampire sniffing dogs just follows.” I rubbed Misha’s head. “She zeroed in on us.”

“As long as she can tell the difference between a wild vampire and a friendly vampire,” Colin said still getting licks which he didn’t stop.

Valentina chuckled with a nod, “Oh, yes. She loves Tsar Yuri and Zoya. And now, you!” She looked at her watch. “She knows the scent of a vampire. We’re teaching her the difference now. I just came for coffee. She has class in half an hour.”

“She can stay here while you get your coffee,” Colin offered. “I would not stop anyone from getting coffee.”

I laughed when he said that, “Fellow addicts united.”

“Thank you,” Valentina nodded.

“We’ll want to see her again,” I said as Misha walked over to my lap.

Valentina smiled. “She’ll be around every day.” She said and walked over to get her coffee.

“Who’s a good dog?” I asked Misha who spoke neither English or Russian but knew Human kindness and responded happily at the praise. “You are!”

“I wouldn’t mind having a dog,” Colin began. “We’re gone so much. Would it be fair?”

“The dogs are already here,” I said logically. “Is it unfair to give one of those dogs a nice, loving home?” I weaved a grudging nod. “We usually fly on our own plane. There are the quarantine laws for domestic animals…while Ralph, Iustina, and Repetate aren’t pets, they are kept while we are away. We could do that, too. It should be a decision we all agree on.”

John nodded, “Having a few vampire sniffing dogs with us would be good. I’ve had many dogs in the past.”

“Then why did I waste my time with the vampire detector?” George grumbled.

“That was not a waste of time!” I argued. “In area’s we can’t bring an animal, the detector can. A team of Humans hunting for vampires can use the detectors or dogs…or even both. Those are both needed tools.”

“Until you can program your detectors to give love,” Colin grinned. “I’ll enjoy these sort of additions.”

“Don’t be jealous, George.” John cautioned with a grin.

“One,” Colin started, “Are there are other dogs that can sniff out vampires? Two, can we get one or two? Three, the Humans hunting with the dogs will have to be trained as well. Four, what breeds are available? An attacking vampire that will be needed to be subdued. Do you think Misha can do that?”

“It’s her nose that’s important now,” I said, “Not her teeth.”

Colin held his hands out helplessly, “We might need those teeth!”

I put a hand on his arm, “We have time to think about it.”

Valentina walked back with her coffee in her hand. “We need to go. Sorry, but…Misha, come!” Valentina patted the side of her leg. Misha’s love of us was second to some commands. She knew she was on duty and jumped down to stand by Valentina. “We’ll be around.”

Colin looked around the café and now was marveling at what he saw. Now, for really for the first time he saw where he was. “How is he paying for all of this!?”

I looked at Colin. “I hope that was a rhetorical question because I don’t have any answer.”

“This place needs electricity, computers, personnel who needs wages, office supplies…” Colin clarified and waved at the serving line, “groceries!”

“We’re friends now,” George shrugged. “I’m sure Yuri would tell you.”

Colin looked at me, “If not, I know he’ll tell you!”

I rolled my eyes, “I’m sure he might, but would I understand his answer? You’re business! Two businessmen will understand each other better. I’m sure there are no national secrets and even if there were, you’d know if he’s dodging the answers.”

 

We finally got to bed, reconnected with each other as a married couple, and went to sleep. After resting we got up, showered, and went to the café again. There were others from our team there for the meal for the afternoon. We had three hours until sunset. We saw Shelly, Amir, Mark, and Stan. Mark and Stan waved us both over after we got our plates of food.

“You missed George and John,” Shelly informed us as we sat. “George went to check on Yuri and Zoya.”

“George is a little obsessed.” I nodded.

Gabriella came over, “George mentioned something about wanting a chronical of vampire stories you thought should be written?”

“How long was he up before we got here?” Colin asked.

“An hour or so,” Amir answered. “They just left.”

“And Devon,” Stan looked at me with a parental look telling me I should know better, “You forget about Buddy!”

“How am I forgetting about Buddy?” I asked not understanding.

“You don’t need to take notes!” Stan stated plainly. “When you talk to people, they can talk back to you in whatever language they want. Buddy will put it down in text in whatever language you want. Russian will be easy! Buddy will put it to text in Russian and English!”

I nodded with a chuckle, “Maybe I was thinking about my notes to me?”

Colin smiled, “We’ve all seen where the shrink sits making notes on a pad while the patient lies on a couch.”

“I’ll never use a couch!” I pointed at Colin. “Just a relaxed, comfortable position to make someone at ease to talk about tough subject. Ask Dad, Vlad, Gaius…they’ve never laid on a couch to talk with me.”

We heard the yip again making Colin and I to look up. Misha had returned to the café! She was struggling against the leash which Valentina released letting Misha scurry over to us.

“Misha!” Colin greeted happily picking the little dog up who greeted Colin with happy licks again. Having to divide her attention between Colin and me. “Did you have a good day at school?”

“She did! She had to see you.” Valentina explained. “You must have just come down the corridor. One sniff and she was going crazy to come in here.”

“Who’s this?” Shelly smiled at the display of affection. Almost everyone loved dogs. She looked at Valentina, “Human and dog.”

We introduced Valentina and Misha to the others.

“Canine vampire hunters!” Mark marveled happily. “Why not?”

“Colin is going to ask for a bigger dog,” I told them. “A dog that can be aggressive with a wild vampire.”

“You wouldn’t want Misha hurt, would you?” Colin asked me. “They can’t be made into vampire dogs, but they can be hurt.”

“Have you ever been attacked by the ankle by a little dog?” I asked.

Colin was not ready for this and thought, “No, thank god.”

“You’d never forget it you did,” I said simply.

 

I got to the lab right before sunset. I should have known the vampire cycle was breaking. George was helping Yuri and Zoya wake up and the sun had not quite set. No sunlight would get down here anyway.

No one wakes up coherent, and vampires didn’t either. Yuri sat up rubbing his chest. Zoya sat up and said, “Yept!”

I didn’t need a translator to understand what that meant “damn,” “Yep!” I laughed sadly. “That’s what almost everyone says in whatever language they use.”

“You survived the first night,” George said brightly.

“Of how many nights?” Yuri asked.

“Five or six,” George answered. “Tonight may seem like a repeat, but it will get shorter. Tomorrow, you’ll will eat for the first time in centuries. After the next night, you may see the sunrise. If your blood levels are at the right levels.”

Zoya looked up startled, “Hey, I’m not hungry!” She smiled at Yuri and us, “I always wake up hungry for blood. It’s gone!”

George nodded smiling at the known results, “That’s right. It will never come again.” Then he reluctantly added, “I hope.”