Blueblood 5.1: Red Alert!! - 11. Russian Vampire Republic

After shaking hands with Yuri, Colin looked at the “last, true” Tzar of Russia. “I have to ask this.”

Yuri’s eyebrows rose a little but nodded. “Okay.”

“How many vampires are here?” Colin asked. “I see you and Zoya, but how many are here? Now?”

“There are ten additional vampires that are here,” Yuri replied. “Zoya and I make up the twelve.”

“The other ten are here now?” Colin asked.

Yuri grudged a reluctant nodding shrug, “Well, no…two are in Moscow. Two are in St. Petersburg. There are six living here…”

“One is in Yekaterinburg,” Zoya offered, reminding her husband.

Yuri nodded, “Right.” He chuckled. “I forgot, but she should be back during the night.”

What was remarkable to me was that Zoya was almost behind Yuri. He saw and read her lips! What can I say? I was fascinated! “Damn, Yuri!” I walked to go behind him. He turned as I did that. “No, look at Colin.”

“Why?” Yuri asked.

“Your peripheral vision has got to be incredible!!” I said with no worry that he couldn’t see what I said.

Yuri chuckled, “It would have been better if I could hear.”

“Your body has done something amazing!” I countered. “The venom just made it even better!!” I raised a finger and moved toward his rear. “You can see my finger?”

“Of course,” Yuri said simply.

“When does my finger disappear?” I asked moving my hand further behind him.

My hand was practically behind his head when he finally said, “It’s gone now.”

George had been listening and walked over, “I’d love to scan your brain!”

Yuri’s eyes widened and his eyebrows nearly disappeared under his hairline. “Scan my brain!?”

“Yeh’,” Ellis said coming over to us. “’e scanned my loaf o’ bread.”

Yuri was good, but I don’t believe he ever read anyone who spoke Cockney. His brows came together as he looked closer at Ellis’ face. “I understood some of what you said as English, but…”

“George did it to me,” Ellis repeated sounding clearer. “He put this net-thingy on my head to see how my connections in my head were made.” He tapped his nose. “I have the ability to sense smells most people miss.”

George chuckled, “Our Cockney friend is referring to the neuro-scan I did of his brain. I created a mesh cap that can show what’s happening in there…” George pointed at Yuri’s head, “and let’s me see in vivid color and in three dimensional images…live as it’s happening!” Then he looked at Yuri a little crossly. “Which I could do quickly…” he glared at Yuri and said loud, “in Manhattan!!”

I bumped George lightly making him catch himself to keep from stumbling. “George, you know more than most how the venom affects people. This was what the venom did to Yuri.” I looked at Yuri. “And you speak English very well!”

Yuri shrugged. “I’ve communicated with many English-speaking people over the centuries.”

I looked again at George. “You can’t get that equipment from Manhattan?” I waved that thought off and said, “Or better yet, since you created the first scanner, create another one?”

George nodded as he looked away and tugged on his right earlobe. “Yeah, I can. It will take time.”

“We have that!” I claimed triumphantly.

George sighed at looked at Yuri. “With the need for blood every day, are you killing anyone?”

Yuri frowned, “For the blood? No. I have killed in the past, but not for a few centuries.”

I nodded, “In our numbers, we have fed off sheep, cows, and even rats.” I grinned as Willie rolled his eyes, “Which I commend you for, Dad!”

Yuri’s lip curled as he repeated in disgust, “Rats.”

Willie shrugged, “There wasn’t much of an alternative in the New York Subways…other than people, which I couldn’t do. It worked!”

“What do you have? We had a First Vampire in the United States that had family willingly give her their own blood. Bled out, of course.”

Yuri chuckled, “We have reindeer.”

My eyes widened a moment, “You feed off of Santa’s reindeer!? Donner, Blitzen, and the others!?”

“They are hearty animals here and are better able to resist the cold,” Yuri said logically. “Santa Claus? As in the Western Santa Claus with the ho, ho, ho, the red suit, and long white beard?”

“You know of him,” I grinned. “I thought up here you had Father Frost.”

Yuri chuckled, “Yes, but we know about your Santa Claus.”

“Let’s be clear,” I said, narrowing my left eye at him. I jabbed my finger at him as I said the next few words. “No more of this tough guy in charge stuff.” I went on. “Total transparency is preferred. Honesty and forthcoming truth.” I looked over at Vlad and Gaius, “The last town, we meet a man that said he was Dracula, but he wasn’t really Dracula. Then we meet another we thought was Dracula, but he wasn’t either. Were you, Gaius? At last, we meet Dracula who denied he was Dracula.” I saw Vlad was about to say something, but I stopped him. “I know, you aren’t that character in the book, but really?”

“Yes,” Yuri bobbed his head and turned away in frustration and then looked at me, “Why am I trusting you?”

Colin chuckled, “It’s part of his gift.” He explained. “Which means you don’t have to hear him for it to work.” Colin’s eyebrows waggled. “Also meaning, Vlad’s gift doesn’t necessarily have to be heard either.”

“Which we won’t use on you,” I added quickly giving Colin a stern look. “There is no need. We’re trying to build trust here.”

“You mentioned Old Ones,” Yuri began. “What are they?”

Willie snickered, “Devon should have named them the Odd Ones.”

Yuri’s left eyebrow rose higher than the other as he asked, “Why is that?”

“They are just bizarre looking,” Mom said shrugging.

“Pale,” Ellis began. “Pale skin…almost completely white…”

“They are the original vampires,” I said carefully. “They are Human, but very old…”

“They started all this,” Burke added. “They made us what we are.”

“Naked and bald?” Yuri asked as he nodded. He has seen them.

“They are what they were created to be,” I defended. “I love three of them and loved one that was killed.” I looked at Yuri. “Did Iilya tell you about them?” I asked.

“Iilya?” Yuri repeated. “No. I killed three of the Blood Demons over the centuries.”

“How long ago?” George asked.

“The last one was about forty years ago.” He absently covered the front of his pants. “They have no…” It was a word he didn’t translate because he didn’t have to. His hand went behind him, but he didn’t touch anywhere, “or ahyc.”

I didn’t need the translator to know Yuri meant asshole in Russian. It wasn’t a name you called a person, but the part of the anatomy. I nodded and grinned, “That’s right.” I pointed at Yuri. “That’s them! You got it!”

“You had them up here?” Mom asked amazed. “They go around naked in the cold?”

George nodded and gave a shrugging nod, “Temperature may not be important to them.”

Even I was surprised at this, “Really?” I realized they never acted like they were cold or huddle together for warmth. They never shivered once. “What’s their body temperature?”

George shrugged again, “Pretty much whatever the surrounding temperature is.” He sighed. “After they feed on blood, they register a body temperature, but it doesn’t last. I tried to store the venom by refrigerating it and even freezing it, but it won’t keep. Their blood doesn’t keep either. I don’t think they could be harmed by hypothermia.”

“I understand what that is,” Yuri said. “No, they would walk around in freezing weather a Human would die in minutes if they were naked. These Blood Demons…” he nodded at George and me, “or Old Ones would attack homes where people tried to stay warm in the harshest weather, never once seeming to be cold. There almost never were survivors after the attacks.”

I know my head went back in shock, “How the Hell did they create these creatures!?”

“Someone created those Blood Demons!?” Yuri balked. “On purpose!?”

George nodded, “Creating advanced scouts who would also weaken the populace of cities and towns.”

“That’s what the scrolls we found in Egypt told us.” I waved at Amasis. “He had them secured in a Historical Achieve in that city he ruled for a couple of thousands of years.” I waved Yuri down and said, “I swear to tell you what we’ve found out.” One other thing about Vampires is the lack of urgency people feel. There was time to learn and find things out.

Yuri did a turn as he thought carefully, “When these Old Ones attack a man or woman, if they survive…they become this…thing.” He shook his head. “They can’t speak and all they want is to hunt other people for blood.”

“That’s right,” George nodded. “They become what we call a wild vampire.” He looked at Wayne. “You were bitten by one, but we got you back.” He turned to Gaius. “I believe you were bitten by a wild vampire but came back on your own.” He grinned. “I am determined to find out how you did that.”

In all this time, I had also forgotten one other thing. I saw Colin begin to collapse. “Colin!” I rushed over and held him up. “Oh, God! How long ago did you eat anything?”

Colin used what little he had and struggled to straighten up. “When did we eat last?”

Yuri looked puzzled, “What’s wrong with him?”

“We no longer feed on blood,” I explained. “We do eat food and we can’t store food and fat like we did. Colin needs to eat something, and he has a big appetite.”

Yuri nodded and smiled a little, “Really? We have quite a few Humans here and we have a cafe here.” He held his finger up. “It is Russian dishes. I’ve never eaten there, but I am told it’s good.”

I grinned, “It’s just chemistry. We’ll let you know if it’s good if we can have some.”

“Follow me!” Yuri waved us to come with him.

 

What we feared would be potential trouble, was turning out to be a potential ally. He led us to an area where the Humans that worked here ate. It was almost against Colin’s rule. No sneezeguards? There were some here. It was like a cafeteria where dishes were on display and served by a person whose job was to put it on a plate for you. The comedy was some of these people really didn’t speak English. We had the translators, back in that room we had been led to at first but left them there. It seemed no Russian could do without Borscht. A stew-like dish that was reddish-purple. There was Russian Strudel, Kotleli (Russian Meatballs), Piroshki (meat hand pies in a thick breaded dough that looked like a roll until you broke it open), Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Katleti…say what you will. The people that worked here ate well.

Yuri’s eyes widened as Colin kept waving to the server to keep up serving portions on his plate and had to get another plate to put more.

“He has a very big appetite,” I said to Yuri.

“I see that,” Yuri simply replied. “And he no longer needs blood?”

“No,” I shook my head. “None of us do.” I explained how he had been bitten right after a big meal and his stomach was sort of frozen enlarged. “If you go on the serum, you’ll be surprised at how good food tastes.”

“Our best chefs are former vampires,” Colin said between munches. “They can smell things more and taste things more. Subtle things that can’t normally be tasted.”

“Really?” Yuri said amazed.

“You have a better sense of smell,” I said. “I bet you can locate a vampire easily. We have hunters in our group that can do that very well.”

“I can and have,” Yuri nodded.

George and John sat at our table. George looked at Yuri. “Other than your twelve vampires…we know there are others in the area.”

Yuri nodded again, “In some of the surrounding towns and cities, yes.” He sighed. “I’ve encountered a few when hunting at night. My hunt was for those wild vampires you mentioned.” He pointed at me. “They are the dangerous ones.” He thought about how to explain what he wanted to do. “I have people in key places in Moscow in several government offices…as support staff. They are better for getting and telling information best from those positions.” He shrugged. “A vampire on the serum would be better. They could serve in positions to become better informants and influencers.”

A throat was cleared behind me. Once again, it wasn’t to clear away phlegm, but to get our attention. Colin and I turned around to see Mark and Ellis behind us. Colin looked puzzled at them. “Yes?”

“Now that we’ve kissed and china plates now…” Ellis began happily.

“What!?” Mark’s eyes rolled and then he sighed and inserted, “Never mind…we should bring Stan and Kevin here.” He looked at George. “We need to bring the extension of Buddy here, too.”

“Buddy?” Yuri asked.

“Yes,” I grinned. “I’ll explain it all.” I assured. “Can we contact our friends out there? You confiscated our communication equipment.”

“Weeell,” Yuri smiled offhandedly.

I nodded, “I know, lack of trust, paranoia, and the need to hide is part of the package.”

“It’s the venom.” Colin agreed and then stared at me. “Which never happened with you! I had to overcome mine, but not you…why is that?”

“I can offer a theory in a moment,” George began. “The PDTUs told Stan we were fine.”

“Can we get our earbuds and transmitters?” I asked.

“Sure,” Yuri said and waved at Zoya. “Can we have a couple men take them to get our equipment?”

“Konieczno.” She said and stopped. “I apologize. I should say of course.”

“Show off,” I muttered and watched Yuri’s eyebrows rise again. I explained, “You learned these languages we didn’t have to. I’m just jealous.”

“Oh.” Yuri chuckled. “In a century you might see things differently.”

“I just passed the quarter of a century mark,” I shrugged. “We’ll see what happens at the half century mark.”

“Really?” Yuri said again.

Colin chuckled, “I’ve passed the second century mark, but haven’t learned much more than English.”

“And Geechee and Gullah.” I reminded him.

“Yes, well,” Colin nodded.

Zoya rose, “Come with me.” She said to Ellis and Mark. “I will take you.”

Mark looked at Ellis, “What did you say?”

“China plates,” Ellis said. “Mates!” He shrugged easily. “Friends, like you and me!”

“Why do you talk like this!?” Mark balked.

Ellis grinned, “To make your dull life a little brighter! Add a little color!”

“Dull life!?” Mark asked incredibly. “I’m surrounded by vampires!! Since I’ve been on this wild ride, my life has not on your nelly been dull!”

Ellis’ eyes grew as he pointed at Mark and said, “Aahh…”

In the middle of which Mark pointed at Ellis and said, “Aahh…” with Eliis.

Ellis grabbed Mark around the shoulders and neck bringing Mark closer kissing him on the temple, “This proves you do love me! I know it! You read the webpage I sent you!”

Even Zoya was laughing, but raised her hand in a direction, “If you will come with me?”

Ellis and Mark turned to follow Zoya.

Mark shoved Ellis away, “Get Frank Bough me, yer creep!”

“What?” Colin asked me.

“Get away from me,” I translated.

Ellis was undeterred and grabbed Mark again in the man-hug, “Oh, no, you love me!” He stated as they walked away to follow Zoya.

Yuri thumbed in their direction with a questioning look that said, are they always like this?

We nodded, but it was Colin that said, “Yes, most of the time they act like this.”

I chuckled, “They love each other and are very good at what they do.”

George nodded, “They have stressful jobs. They do it for coping.” He pointed at me. “As far as the distrust and paranoia is concerned, Devon hasn’t been a vampire for more than a couple of weeks.”

“A couple of weeks!?” Yuri questioned. “He’s been living as a vampire for years!”

George nodded again, “Yes, but as a fang wielding, blood drinking vampire…it hasn’t been quite a week.”

The few days during the week first bite by Brett Marshall and the quick serum shot, the few days after bite after Colin’s and my wedding, the time I had the serum disk removed to show Amasis what he was. I really hadn’t been the blood drinking monster for very long, yet I had been a vampire for years now.

“Devon didn’t have the venom at full strength very long,” George began. “The distrust is learned and enforced. After decades of hiding, have a very hard time trusting anything new…or people. If we are discovered, we know we will be killed. We know we will die if we stay out mere minutes in the sun. Devon didn’t have that. Colin had it for a century, but his desire to undo the damage was greater.” He smiled at Colin. “He is winning. We also have to consume blood once a day. We also know Humans are prey, but some of us retain the Human portions that tells us that hunting other Humans is wrong.”

“Wild vampires don’t worry about that,” Yuri stated.

I pointed at Wayne. “He was a wild vampire but didn’t prey on Humans.”

“And some vampires that can speak and think don’t care,” George shrugged. “They are often criminals before they were bitten.”

“You said you feed off reindeer,” Colin stated and waved casually over to Edwin and Matt. “In England, they feed off steer.” He looked at John Burke beside George. “He raised choice sheep to feed off of.”

“It’s more humane than feeding of a Human Being,” John offered. “You don’t kill the reindeer, do you?”

“No,” Yuri shook his head. “We rotate the deer. We will need them later.” He pointed at where Mark and Ellis had left. “He is with your FBI?”

“Yes,” I answered. “We needed their expertise.”

“Mark is one of four FBI agents that have come with us,” Colin provided. “We have two from MI5 from England.”

“And you have support from your governments?” Yuri asked and again his tone said it was hard to believe.

“They couldn’t deny what is right in front of their eyes,” I smiled.

“Our President and England’s Prime Minister know about us,” Colin added. “To go into other countries, we needed their knowledge of our actions. Having the FBI and MI5 directors’ knowledge was important. We earned the cooperation of the police enforcers in Romania.”

“Our FBI Agents can function in foreign countries, if they notify and have the cooperation of local law enforcers.” I corrected.

“Can we do that in Russia?” Colin asked.

Yuri’s eyes widened, “Which part!?” He held his hands out opening them on the tabletop in frustration. It seemed he wanted someone to physically give him something he could use. “To get the cooperation from any government branch would be tricky. To get the support of our President…” His head waggled as he couldn’t even imagine how it could be done. “I don’t know if he could be reasoned with!”

“We will need to update our new President,” I grumbled. “We just got this one up to speed. Soon, we’ll have to do it again.”

“Among your numbers, Yuri. We were told you have a former KGB agent.” I said curious. “Just like Iilya.”

Yuri shook his head, “No, not like Iilya.” He chuckled, but there was no humor in the laugh. “This former agent was not driven nearly as insane. Sergey Bortnikov was a young agent with the KGB and father to one child in the late 1960s. He was bitten, but never began hunting.” He raised a finger, a universal gesture all cultures shared to show he had a further point. “His wife kept him alive feeding him blood.”

“Forgive us,” Colin nodded. “But those years were filled with propaganda and how did she find blood? Weren’t there shortages?”

Yuri nodded again, “Yes, during the Soviet years there were many shortages for breads and meats. Helena didn’t want the meat, but the blood.” He shrugged. “She managed to get the blood needed. I know she gave some of her own when she couldn’t get it. She managed to hide Sergey and because Sergey was now…” Yuri used the finger quotes and said, “missing or dead, she moved having looked for a better home in Moscow. Where she moved had been a criminal’s home, but what he had were these hidden, underground rooms. Perfect for Sergey. Viktor Bortnikov. Sergey’s son joined the military, married, and has a daughter Alexandria. Alexandria now works for the Russian Intelligence Agency.”

“And they know what their father and grandfather is?” I asked.

“Yes,” Yuri nodded.

“Is she an agent?” George asked.

“No,” Yuri smiled. “She’s a high-level administrator with the FSB.” He leaned towards me. “Her office is sort of a…” he thought of a word, “center wheel for the Foreign Intelligence, Federal Protection Service, and the Main Intelligence Directorate.”

“Is he one of your two in Moscow?” Colin asked. “Can we speak with him?”

Yuri gave grudging, hesitant nod, “Yeees, I can contact him by phone, but it would be better if you do it in person.”

“Why?” I asked.

Colin nodded understanding, “Because we’re Americans.”

My eyes widened, “Because we’re Americans!?” Iilya had said the same thing. I couldn’t believe it. “The Cold War is over!!”

“It’s supposed to be,” Colin nodded quickly. “Yes, but old habits die hard.” He looked at me and tried to get me to understand. “In the fifties, sixties, and seventies…in the fifties and sixties in particular…everyone in the United States was paranoid and not trusting.” He bobbed his head a bit and thought how to explain it. “Humans back then were as bad as any vampire not trusting. Once it was feared in the States they feared it could happen any second. School children had drills on ducking and covering their heads on command…” he threw his hands out in frustration. “As if that would help anything. If you were close enough to worry about falling debris, you might as well kiss your own ass goodbye!” He went on. “Our missiles were pointing at them and then they had missiles pointing at us! Sputnik. Everyone knew the Russians were looking at us in our backyards, front yards, and even in our bedrooms.”

“Not with Sputnik,” I argued. “It was a big radio!”

“The satellites can now!” Colin shot back. “There was fear of the Soviet threat, sleeper agents planted among us…so deeply undercover even the agents themselves didn’t know they were agents. They were plumbers, milkmen, common housewives and mothers…our next-door neighbors. People we would least expect could be spies. Television and movies made things worse by spreading propaganda. There was the movie The Day After about the aftermath of a nuclear strike on the United States and Russia. There was that short run series in the seventies Ivan the Terrible…” Colin looked at Yuri’s surprised expression. “Oh, not about your brother, Yuri. This Ivan was a waiter at Moscow hotel who lived with his wife, three children, his mother-in-law, and a Cuban exchange student in a one-bedroom apartment. It was meant to be funny…and it was!” He looked at me in triumph. “Now, I know a show you don’t!”

I waved him off, “I’m sure it’s in memory somewhere.”

“Anyway,” Colin continued, “Sergey was a KGB Agent?”

Yuri nodded, “An idealistic young man full of dreams and ideas about Mother Russia and her superiority in the world when he was bitten.”

I chuckled, “It’s a similar condition shared by many people, not just Russians.”

“Well,” Yuri scratched the back of his ear and grinned. “My fellow Russians, who were with the Soviet Union, excelled at being this way.”

“I’m all for being proud of who you are,” Colin chuckled.

“Sure,” I agreed. “That’s an important part of being Human.”

Colin grimaced. “I don’t like the word for us.” He said to me.

“Vampire?” I said not understanding what he meant.

“Not that,” Colin frowned and looked at Yuri. “What do you think about the fact that Devon and I are married?”

Yuri’s eyes widened a little, but he had no other adverse reaction. “It’s your marriage. Why should it matter what I think?”

“We fought hard to gain acceptance in the United States and other countries,” Colin explained. “It only became recent Devon and I could legally marry. We couldn’t in Russia. One of movements was Gay Pride.”

“Oh,” Yuri shrugged. “It wasn’t unknown in Russia. There were accounts where two kingdoms in the past that had a child each, so to secure any alliance two sons or two daughters were married. On the battlefield, where there were no women, it was not uncommon…”

“In our case,” Colin interrupted. “There were women available, but we fell in love. It was our choice. What do you think?”

“Do I approve?” Yuri smiled with a knowing nod. “I have seen enough of your television to know what you’re asking.” He looked away and then back. “The idea of a choice about marriage was unknown when I was a young man. My marriage to Ulyana was arranged.” He chuckled. “She was a princess.” He got a fond, far off look on his face. “She was beautiful.” His smile got a little bigger. “She gave me Vasili. A equally beautiful son.” He sighed. “He wasn’t even a year old…” The dry eyes of a vampire was no longer shocking, but he had such emotion in his eyes. I knew he really loved his first wife and child. It was five hundred years ago, but the pain was still there. “He died.” He had managed his pain for a long time, but it was still there. “I was bitten a few years after that.” Then his face became angry. “Ulyana was forced into a convent by my brother Ivan when I was declared dead. I wandered for several years…disoriented.”

“You were a vampire,” I said carefully.

Yuri nodded. “I didn’t really know what I was…” he looked angry still. “My brother had Ulyana drowned. He dictated how I was reported to have died and inherited my land…”

“He was tsar!” Colin pointed out. “He had plenty of land.”

“He killed your wife?” I believed him, but it was so horrible.

“He was truly terrible.” Yuri qualified and then looked at us again. “The person in my tomb was just a man that looked a bid like me and was poisoned to have a body to bury.” He got the look of resolve on his face. “That you chose each other is not seen by some as normal, but I can see you love each other. Who am I to approve or disapprove?”

“It’s more normal than you may think,” I said quietly. “I can explain more, but Colin was married to a woman, and they had Gabriella. I’ve never desired a woman in my life.” I pointed at a table with Vlad, Gaius, Wayne, and Amasis. “They did make a choice. Was it because of the venom?” I shrugged.

“Did you take Latin?” Colin asked seemingly out of the blue. “I did.”

Yuri nodded, “It’s been a few centuries.” He grinned.

“For me as well,” Colin admitted. “Latin has so many words for the same thing, like the word for love. The word for Pride also has a few. Superbia is one word, but there are others that is more fitting. Tadio cognovistis, for example.”

Yuri nodded understanding what was being said.

“I’m sorry,” I grumbled. “My school didn’t require Latin. Spanish and French was it. Occasionally, they offered German. What did you say? Do I need the translator?”

Colin bumped his head lightly to mine, “You are very smart, Devon. I went to school in Charleston during the year, but my mother was fluent in Latin. Dad learned it, but she insisted I learn. I did nothing to become a homosexual. Unlike those at the others at the table, it wasn’t a choice I am aware of. Pride should be about achievement. Tadio cognovistis is about being unashamed. I’m no more ashamed of being married to you than I am about being an American.” He looked at Yuri. “It’s been a while, is that right?”

Yuri now laughed fully now, pressing his hand to his chest, “You’re asking me!? It’s been even longer for me!”

Colin shrugged putting his arm around my neck bringing me closer, “Our Human encyclopedia was never taught it, so we can’t use him.”

“I told you we were cheated.” I waved at Yuri. “He speaks Russian, English, and I bet a few others. You, Colin speak English, Geechee, and Gullah. I speak English.” I shook my head and held up my hands. “As fascinating as these subjects are, we’re chasing rabbits again.”

Yuri’s eyebrows came together in confusion. “Chasing rabbits?”

“Topics that spring up which we chase instead of talking about the main subject,” Colin explained. “Devon gets irritated when we do that.”

“Oh,” Yuri understood and then looked confused again. “What were we talking about?”

I waved at Yuri while looking at Colin, “See?” I turned to Yuri. “Sergey! In Moscow!”

Yuri suddenly nodded, “Right! Sergey and his granddaughter Alexandria.” The situation was humorous for Yuri who was about to laugh again.

“Yes!” I said louder, but still in humor. “Do you fear Russian Troupes soon?”

“Soon,” Yuri admitted. “Not by tomorrow, but soon. I would have been told. Why?”

“He knows you,” I said, and George was smiling knowing what I was going to say.

“By car, how long would it take?” Colin asked.

“It’s over two thousand kilometers,” Yuri answered. “A day? He will not trust you.” He looked at me. “If you go, he might.”

“If we take you?” George asked. “He knows you.”

“Yes.” Yuri said suspiciously.

“If you arrive like we are?” Colin offered. “A daylight moving, food eating vampire…will he believe you?”

George hurried to say, “But be warned! It will hurt. A lot.”

I nodded, “My mother said it was like labor pain all over that doesn’t end for hours.”

Yuri moved back about an inch as he considered what we said. “Yet,” he started slowly. “I will again see the sun and not burn.”

“The serum will hurt for hours!” Colin added.

“You certainly are not a salesman,” Yuri griped. “Are you?”

“I’m just being honest,” Colin replied.

“At first, it will go on and on,” I agreed. “It will last less and less time as the serum levels in your blood stream gets to the correct levels. Then you can enjoy this delicious borscht.”

After looking at what we were eating, his nose almost turned up in revulsion. “I’ve forgotten how anything tastes.”

Colin chuckled, “After five centuries your diet has been blood. It will surprise you how good things taste in a matter of two or three days.”

“It beats rats!” Willie said happily.

“Or as in Amasis’ case,” I grinned. “Camel!”

“He hadn’t consumed anything but blood for over two thousand years!” Colin said brightly and turned to Amasis and Wayne at a nearby table. “Amasis! Do you remember your first meal after taking the serum?”

Amasis’ smile grew, “Oh, yes! It was the best thing I have ever eaten!” He shrugged a nod. “I’ve eaten wonderful things since, but that first meal after so long…I will never forget.” He got serious. “What I really remember, is that first sunrise in over two thousand seasons.” He pointed at Yuri, “It will be the most breathtaking thing you will ever have seen.”

Yuri nodded, “I can’t imagine.”

“No,” Wayne agreed. “You can’t. I guarantee…it will be worth it.”

George smiled. “There are parts of you that will still be a vampire. Even with the serum.” He pointed at the roof of the chamber. “Such as, knowing the time of day. I know the sun will rise in an hour.” He sat back and looked annoyed at John. “Why didn’t you wait until after sunrise to come here? Yuri and the others would have been asleep!”

“I was desperate!” John argued helplessly. “My soul mate was taken by an unknown at the time and I needed him back! I didn’t think about anything but getting you back safe and sound. Would you have done any less?”

George grinned, “No.”

“And there you go,” John waved a hand at him. He looked at Yuri. “Besides, I don’t think it would have made a big difference. There are only about a dozen vampires down here.”

“Hopefully,” I said. “There will be a couple of more on the serum, beginning tomorrow.”

“Why wait?” Yuri asked. “I’m willing to do it now.”

George nodded. “For the serum to work, the venom in your blood must be active and you must be awake.”

“I see.” Yuri nodded and then shrugged, “You’re the doctor. Who am I to argue?” Then looked at George. “It really hurts?”

“Yes,” George nodded sadly. “As much as I hate to do it, but it will.”

“I’ve never been a full-on vampire,” I confessed. “Just a few days when I was. I can say, now…I don’t feel any difference from when I was Human and now.”

“The first difference you will notice after the first night on the serum is waking up and the hunger for blood will be gone.” Colin said with a smile.

Mark and Ellis came back to us.

“We’ll be going to pick up Stan and Kevin in a couple of hours,” Mark said with a smile. He held up a translator that said in Russian, “My zaberem Stena yi Kevin cherez parou chasov.” He continued in English. “With this!” The translator said in Russian. “S ethym!”

No matter what country, language, or culture…guys love gadgets. Yuri’s interest was intrigued as he was fascinated, but he couldn’t hear what it did. “I don’t understand. What is that?”

I nodded and reached for Mark’s translator, “May I borrow that, please?”

“Sure,” Mark handed the device over to me.

I took it and began making adjustments on Mark’s translator. “You, Yuri…” I began as I worked, “will be our test subject for this.” I finished the adjustments and held it out for Yuri. “Now, whatever is said in English will be displayed on the little screen in Russian. As you can’t hear Russian, it will be displayed in Russian so you can read it.” I shrugged. “We haven’t had anyone use the translators like this, but the first language used with the translating program was Russian, it does pretty well.” I pointed at the translator. “Please let us know if the Crylic and Russian grammar is correct.” I jutted my finger at Yuri. “Look. Is it right?”

Yuri looked at the translator screen and we watched his eyes widen. “It is!” He smirked at us. “Even after they took out some of the letters from the alphabet.”

“They had to!” I said, “There’s only so much room on a keyboard for a computer!”

“They couldn’t design a new keyboard?” Colin asked.

“And who would learn to use it?” I asked. “You only have so many fingers.”

“Well, who has letters with no phonetic sound!?” Colin asked further. “Oh, wait…” he pointed at Yuri. “They do! Letters that are part of words, but have no sound!”

Mark looked at Ellis, “Maybe we should have Stan program that gobbledygook you spew into English.”

“It is English!” Ellis declared.

“In what reality!?” Mark said loud.

“Is everyone in your group…” he thought of the word, “wacky like this?”

I nodded, “That’s a good word for it.”

Yuri looked down at the screen, “No, it’s not working right. It didn’t translate gobbledygook or wacky.”

“Like I said,” I grinned. “You’re our test subject. You give us the Russian word and we’ll include it in the program.”

Yuri smiled and rose. “I’ll show you where you will be staying.” He stopped and turned to us. “You are staying, right?”

“If you have enough room.” Colin said cautiously.

Yuri laughed, “In these huge caverns and tunnels? Yes, we have room.”

 

Yuri led us through the tunnels and corridors and showed us to various quarters that looked like college dorm rooms, but the one Colin and I were in had a double bed. It wasn’t fancy but looked comfortable.

Yuri had to go to his quarters to sleep the day. It was his last night as a vampire.

“Now I’m jealous,” Yuri said as he was about to leave. “I’ve stayed awake sometimes, because I needed to, but I felt it.” He smiled. “You guys don’t have to do it anymore.”

“Soon,” Colin smiled touching Yuri. “Neither will you.”

Yuri nodded. “See you soon.”

 

Colin turned to me as Yuri left. “What do you think?”

“About what?” I asked.

“About Yuri and this whole situation.”

“You’re asking me.” I said in amazement. “You feel things and situations better than I do. You’re the one with that near sixth sense about people.”

“You do it…” Colin shrugged, “better.” He touched his chest. “I can feel when people are trying to lie, but you know people’s hearts. You were right about Amasis, Vlad, Gaius…and Wayne! Back when we first acquired Wayne, I just saw him as a wild vampire, aggressive, and dangerous. I would have helped George get what he needed, but you saw…what? You named him Jerry. Why?”

“He was scared, and I saw the pain in his eyes.” I said simply. “He couldn’t make us any more a vampire. I thought I would try to make friends with him. Mister Lie Detector, what do you sense?”

Colin gave a grudging nod, “I think he’s being honest. What did you feel about him?”

“I think…” I began, “he felt he was in a difficult place…” I thought what I felt. “He was working against the venom, who told him not to trust anyone, but knew we offered him something he felt he needed.” I shrugged. “What did you get from Zoya?”

Colin’s eyebrows came together in confusion, “Who?”

I raised my hand as said triumphantly, “Exactly!”

“Huh?”

“Yuri’s wife?” I suggested a reminder. “Yuri’s mouthpiece and ears?”

Colin stood straighter, “Oh.” He frowned. “I remember her now.”

“Really?” I grinned and then challenged him, “tell me, was she blonde, brunette, red-haired? How tall was she? Hell, was she pretty?”

He got lost in thought as he tried to recall and finally shook his head, “I don’t know.”

I walked up to Colin. “Don’t worry about it.” I sighed putting my arms around him. “I have to concentrate to remember anything about her. I get the feeling that is her talent.” I grinned at Colin. “We know whatever talent we had before we are bitten, the venom enhances. Such as Vlad’s talent as a leader. Or Amasis and even you. You stand out!”

“And hers is to be invisible?”

“It’s just a theory,” I urged. “It sort of makes sense. Some have a presence to remember. It makes sense to have someone to have the opposite. She would be the perfect spy!”

“They wouldn’t notice or even remember her.” Colin nodded.

“And that sign language she and Yuri have developed over the past two hundred years is amazing!” I marveled. “Subtle finger movements have meaning I couldn’t even guess. I doubt we could program it in Buddy. If we could, it would be a struggle and take a long time.”

“She isn’t invisible,” Colin said logically. “She married a Russian Prince!”

“Did she?” I asked.

“Yuri is a prince!”

I nodded, “Who died five centuries ago! Legally and technically the only ones married are Stan and Mark! Which up until about a decade ago wouldn’t have been legal either.”

Colin narrowed his left eye at me, “Are you saying we aren’t married?”

My eyes rolled. “Of course, not.”

“Meaning we aren’t married.” He growled.

“Meaning we are married!” I tapped on his chest. “We had the wedding and everything. You are mine!” I waved that problem away physically. “Everybody else is married to people they shouldn’t have even met…or if they did, the ages would have at least made it difficult. A marriage is more than a piece of paper and a ceremony. We just need to get to know Zoya.”

 

We were now trusted by Yuri, but that didn’t mean we were trusted by everyone else. While we weren’t met with resistance from the others that worked here, we were watched. Not followed, but the other workers here followed us with their eyes as we went through the corridors. The lack of trust wasn’t exclusively a vampire’s problem.

Mark and Ellis met us with three others. The others were locals that wore uniforms like the others down here. Like almost everyone, the uniforms were black.

“Devon, Colin,” Mark waved at the three men, “this is Rusian, Marat, and Nikita.” He leaned closer to me, and stage whispered, “Marat speaks fluent English, the others…” he waggled his hands back and forth, “not so much.”

“Hey!” Nikita objected, but he was smiling. Apparently, Mark’s and Ellis’ humor translated the language barrier. “I speak good English!”

Mark shook his head and pointed at the translator Nikita was wearing. “Say the same thing in Russian and hear the difference in English from what you just said.” Mark’s translator said what Mark had said in Russian. Nikita just rolled his eyes. That was also universal.

“Ethy perevodchiki potryasayushchie! Khotelos by, chtoby u nas bylo bolsze.” Rusian marveled. His translator said, “These translators are amazing! I wish we had more.” Guys and gadgets again.

“They’re going to help us move,” Ellis explained.

They were all dark haired and not bad looking men. The eldest was Rusian who was in his late thirties. The other two were in their twenties. We were in a corridor and another man approached. He was in his early forties and held himself with military bearing. His arms behind him in a sort of parade rest as he strode toward us. Somehow, he had that looking stiff. Rusian, Marat, and Nikita snapped to a stance of attention I had seen military men do when a superior officer entered the area.

“Polkóvnik Gregor!” Rusian said quickly.

“Ya ozhidayu, chto vy poluchite to, chto im nuzno, yi vernetes!” He said with a crisp tone to Rusian and looked at the others.

Mark and Ellis had their translators on, but it was Ellis that responded. “You expect them to go and come right back!? And I hoped they could show us the sights!”

“Most of the sights we saw,” Mark stated and looked at this new man. “Of course, this part of the world isn’t our part of the world. There maybe parts we would like to see.” He shrugged to Ellis.

“You speak Russian,” Alexie stated.

“Not a bloody word!” Ellis said back. He touched his translator, “but this does!”

Rusian smiled at us in this awkward situation. “This is Polkóvnik Alexei Gregor. He is in charge while Tsar Yuri is…not available.”

“I see,” Colin said nodding and looked at his translator screen. “Polkóvnik.” He said to it and his eyebrows rose slightly. “My translator tells me that means colonel. Should Devon and I salute?” He looked at Alexei. “I was never in any military, but Devon was. He could probably do it better.”

This new man smiled, but still a little stiff. “Salutes aren’t necessary.”

The feeling I got from this man was clearly distrust. Apparently, Colin did, too.

“What’s the problem, Colonel?” Colin asked Alexei.

I stepped forward, “You’re very loyal to Yuri.” I looked closer to Alexei’s face. “Why?”

“Yuri trusts us.” Colin said.

Alexie’s mouth opened, but nothing came out at first. “I don’t want harm to come to Tsar Yuri.”

“You think that’s what we’ll do,” Colin offered.

“You claim to be vampires,” Alexie replied. “Yet, it’s after sunrise and you’re still up. You ate a lot of food…”

“Because of the serum,” I added. “In a week, Yuri will be like us.”

“Russian Troops will come,” Alexie said. “I don’t want him to be…” he thought of a word, “deceived. If they come down here, they will kill him.”

“We’re trying to stop that.” Colin nodded.

“What is it that you really want?” Alexie asked.

I grinned, “Matt!!” I pointed at Alexie whose brows rose.

Colin nodded and snickered, “You’re right!! Matt was the same way!”

‘But Matt is a vampire!” I brought up. I waved at Alexie. “He’s not.” I turned to Alexie. “You are very protective of Yuri.” I saw Alexie’s expression became defensive, so I raised my hand up and said quickly. “That’s not a bad thing! It’s a good thing. That kind of loyalty and affection is rare. I’ll ask again. Why?”

“I owe him.” Alexie answered and saw that wasn’t the answer I was asking for. “He saved my family.” He sighed. “My wife came here to visit her sister. She was accompanied by our three children. While here, her sister and their children were attacked by two vampires that couldn’t be bargained with or pleaded with. They weren’t Human, so I was told.” He shook his head. “Why am I telling you this?”

Ellis chuckled, “Coh’,” his cockney coming out, “many blokes ask that same ruddy question!”

Mark nodded, “Devon has this…” he thought how to say it, “he’s like Typhoid Mary. He carries this infection that anyone who spends a few minutes with him and catch it.”

I was shocked. “You compared me with someone who can spread a disease!?”

“Okay,” Mark grinned at me. “That wasn’t the best example, but you do spread this…whatever, that makes people trust you!”

Ellis agreed. “You’ll tell him your deepest, darkest secrets!”

“You will trust him with your life’s savings!” Mark added. “It’s working on you now, Alexie!”

Colin chuckled, “We want what Yuri wants. This curse ripped our lives away and forces us into a cycle we want to be free from. Waking, seeking blood, and staying safe and secluded.”

“George is getting very close to being able to do that.” I said a little proud.

“You don’t die!” Alexie said incredibly.

“But we can die.” I pointed out. “Everything dies. There will come a time when we die, in a wreck, a gunshot, or even worse…dismembered and not able to die.”

“Unable to hunt and unable to feed,” Colin said sadly. “I’ve never known a vampire to starve to death.” He shrugged. “The hunger causes such pain…”

“Yuri saved my family,” Alexie continued. “He saved my children and killed those vampires attacking them. I won’t let him be harmed.”

“That’s commendable.” I smiled. “How long have you done this here?”

“Sixteen years.” Alexie answered.

“In those sixteen years,” Colin began. “Have you ever known Yuri to misjudge a situation?”

“No,” Alexie said simply.

“Even if you can’t trust us,” I said logically to Alexie. “Perhaps you can trust Yuri.”

“We don’t lie,” Colin urgently said. “The serum we take for that first week hurts.”

“A lot!” I added. “Life as a vampire is so unpleasant, we’ve only known one that wasn’t willing to endure this pain to be free of the curse.”

Colin nodded, “Nabia was Amasis’ previous wife, but I think there were other psychological issues with her.”

“Undoubtably,” I nodded. “She chose to die in stead.”

“We’ll go,” Mark began, “pack up our things, bring Stan and Kev here, and Buddy.” He waved at the caverns around us. “I’m sure Stan can merge Buddy’s system with theirs.”

“I know he can,” I agreed.

 

We took Mom and Gabriella with us. They wanted to be sure we didn’t skip anything. Women. They always do that. Why? Simple. Often, they are right.

We really hadn’t had time to unpack before John had gone to get George. When we got to the houses we rented, Stan was naturally relieved Mark was unharmed. Kev was relieved too, but that British reserve was in play. He hugged Ellis, but Ellis refused to let Kev go. Our new Russian friends were not bothered but having homosexuality out in the open like this was simply novel.

Nikita used the translator and said as we prepared to move Stan’s extension of Buddy to the truck, “I can’t imagine being married to a man.” It wasn’t a condemnation, but more of wonder.

“Why not?” Mark asked casually. “Two people that fall in love and vow to be together for life.” He shrugged.

I grinned at Nikita, “Is it the mechanics of the marriage? Or is it marriage that has you puzzled?”

Nikita grinned back, “Both really.” He gave a soft laugh. “I can’t imagine finding anyone I will love enough to want to spend my life with.” Then he pointed at me. “Never would I imagine loving another man enough to want to have sex with, much less fall in love with to want to live with them the rest my life.”

“Sexual attraction is hardwired into your brain by now,” I said. “Everyone is attracted to something. Even things some people find odd. You’re how old?”

“Twenty-four,” Nikita answered.

I grudged a nod and smile, “Any time now…it will happen. You’ll meet someone and your whole life can change.”

“If you’re open to it.” Colin added. “I fell in love with Devon that first day.”

“So, you say!” I countered. “Love at first sight?”

“Or it could be right in front of you,” Stan said looking at Mark.

“Like I said,” I continued. “If you’re open to it. Some people need a little encouragement to act on what is right there.”

“I didn’t see it!” Stan argued.

I nodded again, “There is no magic formula, but open yourself up to what’s possible.”

Mark propped against the CPU top. “Can’t you make these Buddy extensions lighter, Stan?”

Stan looked crossly at Mark, “It’s pretty light now, but inside this is a monitor, printer, scanner, satellite-server capabilities, and other things we might need. One man can lift it.” He fussed at Mark. “I can lift it alone.”

“It’s awkward!” Mark complained. “Why do you insist on four of us to carry this to the truck?”

“Because if anything is shaken loose,” Stan explained louder. “Whose job is it to fix it? Hum?” He didn’t wait for then answer. “Me! That’s who! You can’t fix this with a hammer and screwdriver!”

Mark wasn’t bothered or angry. “I’ve seen you use a screwdriver on it!” His grin told us he was having a good time.

Stan nodded, “A very skinny and long screwdriver, yes. It’s a specialized tool for the job.” His thumb and forefinger came so close together they looked like they were practically touching. “With the smallest head to fit the head of those minuscule screwheads…”

Mark pulled Stan in for a kiss, “No one could do it better.”

Rusian watched, but his eyebrows came together confused. “They are married.” He made the statement, but his tone had doubt.

“Yep,” I agreed. “About three weeks ago. I was there.” I chuckled. “Those two are endlessly in love and devoted.”

“It’s legal there,” Rusian said with the same doubt.

“Yes,” I smiled. “Perfectly legal and becoming more and more accepted around the globe!”

“One day,” Colin said quietly. “Even in Russia.”

Marat looked at me in disbelief and a single eye narrowed. “I’ll believe that when it happens.”

“You don’t think it will happen,” I said what I saw on his face plainly.

“That and some other things will have a hard time going forward.” Nikita stated.

“One on one, people are more receptive,” Rusian said. “Put them together…” He left the statement unsaid further.

“Yuri seems to be okay,” Colin reasoned.

“Yes,” Marat said. “I was raised in a small village near here called Artemovskiy.” He smiled. “It’s northeast of here about fifteen or twenty kilometers from Asbest. My grandfather still lives there.”

“You have pleasant memories of life there,” I observed.

Marat nodded, “I do.”

We got Stan’s computer into the back of the van. There weren’t many bumps in the road back to Asbest, but Stan wasn’t taking any chances. He and Mark were securing the CPU and even cushioning the CPU from the bumps that might be there.

“How did you come to work with Yuri?” I asked.

“About five years ago,” Marat began. “Tsar Yuri came patrolling in our area, looking for a vampire.” He chuckled as we moved to get in the other vehicles. “A vampire that wasn’t like him, but couldn’t talk, and only sought blood.”

“Were you surprised about Yuri?” Colin asked.

Marat shook his head. “No, I’ve known about vampires all my life.” He shrugged. “Grandpa was always telling me about the blood seekers at night.”

“They are that common here?” Colin asked surprised.

“Yes,” Marat replied.

“They were,” Rusian corrected. “I was raised in Asbest. Up until about a hundred years ago, vampires were out there and that was known. Tsar Yuri came to Asbest, and he and some others began clearing the area of those wilder vampires. We still patrol Asbest and the other towns.”

“Is that what you and the others in the underground beneath Asbest does?” Colin asked.

“Every night,” Rusian nodded. “Tsar Yuri can smell them.”

“I’m sure he can,” I commented simply. I waved at Ellis. “He can, too.”

Ellis nodded, “Yeh, me bugle is in demand.” His tapping his nose told us what he said.

“You called it your fireman’s hose.” Colin objected.

“Fireman’s hose, red rose, Duke of Montrose,” Ellis nodded. “There are many names for various body parts. It depends on the situation and who we’re talking to.”

I laughed as I could see our new Russian friends were listening to the English and what the translator was telling them what was being said in Russian. I could tell it wasn’t making sense and it didn’t make sense even in English. I went back to what we were talking about. “You guys make it safe for the locals in the area.”

Rusian nodded, “Yes!”

“We do that everywhere we go!” Colin declared in triumph. “We did it in New York, England, and Romania. The only place we didn’t do that was Egypt.”

“We didn’t have to,” I agreed. “The only vampires there were Amasis and Nabia.”

Colin moved the vehicle we were in onto the road. “How is working with Yuri?”

“He’s a good leader,” Marat assured.

“And Zoya?” I asked to understand more.

“Zoya!?” Rusian asked surprised.

“I forget about Zoya,” Marat shrugged. “She’s always there, but I forget most times about her. She’s the mouth and ears for Tsar Yuri.”

“They’ve always been together,” Rusian said explaining. “They’ve never changed. I think of them now as one person.”

“They’ve been together for hundreds of years,” Nikita explained. “They don’t age or change…ever.”

“How did the existence of vampires become common!?” Colin asked in disbelief. “You all know and didn’t say anything? They knew in Romania and didn’t talk about it. How does that happen?”

Nikita shrugged, “That’s just how it is.”

“How many vampires are out here that aren’t hunting and hidden by family?” I asked.

“Nine,” Nikita answered. “There are more as you travel to Moscow, but we don’t really know them. That’s what Tsar Yuri is trying to do. Contact them and bring them together.”

“These people are in a very isolated area,” I reasoned. “It’s perfect for vampires! Just like Thornwood! Mines scattered around, so perfect for vampires to hide and be safe. There are mines all over this area.”

“It’s cold here most of the year!” Colin pointed out.

“Ralph, Iustina, and Repetate are never cold,” I simply said. “Their entire circulatory system is pretty much all venom. Germany was cold. Romania was cold, but we never saw them shiver or even think about covering up to stay warm. When you were a vampire,” I held my hand up, “I mean a full vampire…were you ever cold?”

Colin’s head went back an inch in surprise as he thought. “I…” Colin thought, “I never thought about it.”

I nodded, “When you were still in South Carolina after Brett bit you…what season was it? It can get cool. It may not have been snowy and icy, but did you put on more clothes to stay warm?”

“It never occurred to me,” Colin answered. “We do now.”

“Because of the serum.” I pointed out. “We eat now, and we sleep…not the passing out death sleep while the sun is up. I mean sleep. We dream.” I shrugged. “Well, I do.” I waggled my eyebrows at Colin. “Many very pleasant dreams.”

Colin chuckled, “I do, too.”

“We wear clothes because we are supposed to.” I pointed out. “But we aren’t as prone to the cold as we were when we were fully Human. It was the end of October in Transylvania. I was not really cold. Our body temperature is lower than normal, and I think the venom keeps us moving at lower temperatures.” I was pondering what we found out. I physically shooed that rabbit away promising to chase after it later. “I’ll talk to George later.”

“We need to get Yuri and Zoya on the serum,” Colin nodded.

“I agree, but I’m dying to find out about Zoya.” I said simply. “She is the perfect undercover infiltrator for Moscow.”

Colin smiled, but then had to cover a large yawn. It was then I realized we had been up a day and a half! Suddenly, I was very tired. The adrenaline we had used was wearing off. “We’ll help Stan get his computer in place, then you and I will go to bed.”

“I won’t argue with you.”

 

It took an hour to get back to the large cavern some of us entered where the vehicles were. We put the CPU on a train cart to take it quicker into Yuri’s underground complex.

This was a Russian version of the VUN! It was a single nation’s attempt to unite vampires.

All of it was done by one in the afternoon. We’d done it a few times. We got to our quarters and collapsed on the bed, didn’t remove anything but our shoes and were out like lights.