It took the better part of three hours to walk to the warehouse district from the graveyard. I was glad that we were on the same side of town, otherwise it would have taken all night to get there, if not longer. I sifted through the zombies and picked out a couple of them that looked like they were runners in their day, to go ahead and scout for me. I had the others filter out into the surrounding area, just so they wouldn't be blocking the road while I concentrated on the scouts.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the two zombies. I saw through two pairs of eyes and in front of them was the building that I wanted to get into. I had the scouts move around the circumference of the building to find a way in. Surprisingly, there were no guards or even a perimeter fence around the building.

_______________

You have a choice to make. It could be crucial or it could mean nothing, depending on what you choose.

Well, that's a big help. Thanks. I thought sarcastically.

Hey, I can only give certain choices. It's not like I always want bad stuff to happen to you. I helped get you Jillian, didn't I?

I thought about responding that I chose the best option, then I realized what he meant. I get it.

You're welcome. Now, let's see what... oh, damn. I'm really sorry about this. If it was me, I'd choose D. Trust me, buddy. Choose D.

A) Rush everyone in. B) Go in alone. C) Stagger the assault and hope for the best. D) Burn it down.

What the hell? I thought in surprise. You want me to... I shook my head. No, I can't do that. I have to choose C.

_______________

I saw a large bay door through the eyes of the zombies and it was was slightly ajar. I could easily fit us all in through the opening. I figured that it would be a bit of a give away for all of us to go in at once, so I sent the two scouts in first. They moved very cautiously around the open door and ventured inside. It was pretty dark in there. Since it wasn't my eyes I was using, I couldn't see like I normally could. That thought made me chuckle. Me? Normal? That was pretty funny.

Once I had them look around and thought that the coast was clear, I sent in the first wave of twenty or so zombies. Nothing happened to them, so every few moments I sent another group until almost all of them were gathered inside. I put the wooden chest down and hid it, then I joined the other dead inside with the remnants of my army behind me and I moved to the front of the nearly two hundred dead.

Now that I could see the inside of the building with my own eyes, I noticed a door on the right hand side of the far wall. I walked calmly towards it, listened for anything on the other side for a moment, then opened it. A stairwell led down into what I assumed was a lower level and I had a decision to make. To my surprise, nothing appeared for me to make a choice.

I could feel all of the zombies as their eyes stared at me, and their emotions told me that I should let some of them go first. I had to agree and sent the two scouts down ahead, even though I had the distinct impression that I needed to be in front.

I started down the stairs after them and had only a dozen come down behind me. I had the rest wait for us at the top, just in case it was a trap I was going into. Plus, if I had to get back up there to the surface quickly, having the stairs packed with zombies wouldn't help me at all. I made my way down to the bottom and there was another door. I noticed a small slot next to the handle and realized that I should have kept the security pass key that Steve had for the other warehouse.

Oh, well. I thought and braced myself for the inevitable breaking down the door procedure, when I felt something. It wasn't a zombie, since those I could clearly feel above me and behind me. This kind of felt like a vampire. I nearly hit myself in the forehead for not using my ability to feel if anything was there, then thought it was better that I hadn't. I was pretty sure that if I did try to use my power to feel around, that when I did it to sense the dead and the vampires, they could probably sense me back.

I backed away from the door quickly and jammed myself into a small crawl space beside the stairway on the hinged side of the door. It seemed like the best place to not to be seen and I had the zombies with me move off to the sides and remain still. No sooner had I tucked myself safely out of the way when the door opened and no less than twenty vampires came out and tried to move past my hiding space.

I didn't have to imagine what they would do to the zombies I had waiting for them at the top of the stairs. I knew it was a good way to get rid of some of the vampires without the ones inside knowing about it. I closed my eyes and told my zombies to ease back through the door at the top to leave enough room for the vampires to pass through. They were to then close the door and rip the vampires apart.

I only had a slight twinge of guilt about that, since killing them all was better than leaving them alive to come after me later. Natalie's face popped into my head and the guilt disappeared. When they had taken her, it put them firmly into the 'they need to die' column of my life planner. I had one of my zombies almost close the door that the vampires had come through. They did it slowly, so that I had just enough time to get out of my hiding spot and I peered inside.

I couldn't see anything, which I thought was a bit strange, since I should have been able to see something. I shuddered slightly at the feeling of the improvised trap being sprung upstairs. I closed my eyes and briefly watched the looks of surprise on the faces of the ambushed vampires. They couldn't have realized that they weren't looking at actual people. Once the zombies had the door shut, the vampires didn't take long to realize their mistake.

They tried to fight desperately; but, with so many hands grabbing and tearing at them, there wasn't much hope that they could even do any damage against my dead army. Within moments, and after a few muffled screams, there was nothing left of the twenty vampires except for a few scraps of clothing on the floor. That was all there was to show that anyone had been there.

The vampires managed to get a few attacks, because some of my zombies were hurt. I had the injured ones move towards the back of the group and promised them that I would fix them when I had the chance later.

I opened my eyes and decided that I still needed a couple of scouts. No sooner had I thought this than the two I had used before came over to me. I eased the new door open and they went through the door and into the darkness. I held the door open and closed my eyes to see if they had triggered something by entering the room so blatantly, and nothing happened.

I had the zombies move to the farthest reaches of the room that they could get, to show me what was there. I opened my eyes and moved myself and the other dozen zombies with me into the room. The room was still covered in shadows, just like the other warehouse was, and I knew I was in trouble. I sent a trickle of power through the room and the shadows flickered and trembled. They stayed in place and concealed whatever they were hiding from my eyes.

The zombies I had sent in ahead of me were then restricted somehow, so I concentrated on them and they were covered in hands holding them still.

I sent power into the masses of the dead upstairs and told them to hurry down to me. I pushed a pulse of power into the room that was so strong that all of the shadows blew apart in an instant. Another group of vampires, nearly twice as large as the one in the other warehouse, stood around the room and held onto my two scouts. There, in the center of the room, was the male vampire that had killed one of the women that I loved.

“YOU!” I yelled in outrage at the top of my lungs.

I hadn't realized that when I blew away all the shadows, that I had gotten every vampire's attention at the same time. He tapped the shoulders of the vampires that stood nearby. They moved in front and blocked me from seeing him.

“It's not going to be that easy to get away from me!” I shouted and pumped my power out.

The vampires around the room took their cue from the other vampires to guard the male vampire, then they encompassed me and the zombies with me. I was about to charge into them when the door burst open and all of my zombies poured into the room. They pushed me back out of the way and started to tear apart the vampires before I could tell them to let me through.

The male vampire used the fight to try and retreat, then the ones guarding him pulled out different bladed weapons and started swinging into the tide of zombies coming after them. I laughed and urged the zombies to go quicker, because I could easily heal them, and I wanted the vampires to be overwhelmed before they could mount a defense.

As the tide of dead moved across the room with me protected behind it, I told my zombies to grab onto and hold the small group of vampires that were now trapped at the back of the room. I guessed that they didn't have a secret passage out of here like they did in the other warehouse. I could clearly see a door there and I was surprised that none of the remaining vampires moved towards it.

Only about a dozen vampires were left, which included the male vampire and the little old man that I had seen in my vision. My zombie horde parted for me as I moved toward the captives.

“Why are you holding us?” The male vampire asked.

I laughed in his face and pulled a knife from my boot. “Because you killed her!”

“We did not kill her.” He said.

I laughed again and the zombies moved around and held him at arms length in front of me. “I saw you do it! I felt her die!” I nearly yelled and my rage at the thought that he could deny killing Natalie was so great, that without further thought, I plunged the knife into his abdomen and cut an opening for my hand. I jammed my hand up behind his rib cage, gripped his heart, and pulled as hard as I could. A wet sloshing sound emanated from his chest as I tore the heart out.

He looked at me for a brief moment in surprise, probably because I had done it so quickly, then he collapsed as his blood poured out onto the floor. The zombies holding him let him go and the heart in my hand beat one final time and stopped.

Wait, what? I thought and looked at the heart in my hand. The heart shouldn't have been beating. I had finally killed Natalie's murderer and I thought it would have made me happy; but, as I looked down upon the vampire's dead body, I didn't feel happy at all. Something is wrong. Terribly wrong. I thought and looked at the little old man.

He smiled at me like I had passed a test. “Well done, Verlorener Sohn.”

I was only slightly horror struck to discover that the voice I just heard was the same one that I had been hearing all this time. I took a step back away from him and stopped. The zombies had formed a barrier around us. I could still feel them; but, they weren't really mine anymore. I didn't know how or why, they just weren't. That shocked me almost as much as finding 'the bad guy'.

The old man looked at me with an appraising gaze. “Do you now realize that it has been because of me that you have been doing all of these great and extraordinary things?”

WHAT? I yelled in my mind. No! It can't be true! I thought, then my mind paused as I thought about it. Was it true? It was only over the last couple of months that I had been doing these strange and more powerful things. That was about the same time that Steve said that the warehouse and the business came into existence. But, if it was true, then what does it mean?

“I see the cogs turning in your mind are trying to put all of the pieces together.” The old man said and waved at the remains of the male vampire. “He was right, you know. We didn't really kill her.” He smiled a wrinkle filled smile. “She's just been turned.”

I couldn't believe it. How could he be that stupid to think that a shapeshifer could become a vampire?

“Ah, you are stuck on that, aren't you?” The old man chuckled. “You see, every vampire bloodline has a special ability, usually specific to that line. I know you know this.”

I nodded, since I had experienced a few different vampires over the years and different families nurtured those abilities to make themselves more powerful. They would even occasionally try to mix bloodlines to make a more favorable and powerful vampire.

“I come from the line that allows me to combine abilities.”

I was a little slow on the uptake and didn't understand what he meant.

“I can combine vampire and shapeshifter blood strains to make them stronger.”

I just stared at him for several moments as I went over the visions where the male vampire was breathing and then just now where the heart was beating. It didn't make sense. Did it?

“But... but... why?” I asked and assumed that the old man knew that I was talking about Natalie, because he continued speaking.

“I wanted you to come to me. To join me.” The old man said. “You kept turning me down. So, I took your were-cat and turned her into one of my underlings to convince you.”

I stared at him and my anger bubbled to the surface. “This... all of this... was just so I would join you?”

“Yes. Your powers have intrigued the vampire community for years now, but I have a very special interest in you. You see, my name is Otto Drakkenstein.”

It took me several minutes to figure out why that name was important. I thought that my heart couldn't take any more surprises and I dropped to the floor on my knees. The old man that stood in front of me was my great-great-great-great-grandfather Otto, a fabled necromancer. He was also as healthy as the day he died and that was a surprise.

I knelt on the floor and started to laugh as he looked down at me with a frown on his face. I looked up at him and wondered if I should ask him how stupid he thought I was for bringing a small army of the dead to a necromancer that was even more powerful than I was.

I just shook my head and closed my eyes, because I didn't want an answer to that. I knew it was pretty stupid. I thought about everything that had led up to this moment and I realized that the kidnappings only fit because of Mina, but they weren't in the other warehouse where I had killed her. I had assumed that it was another vampire that was watching Steve and I the last time and had escaped. But, what if it was the kidnapped people that had been in there instead?

“Where are the hostages?” I asked.

The old man motioned and the zombies picked me up off the floor, placed me firmly on my feet, and then held me there. “They are being kept in the next room. Would you like to see them?”

I nodded, since there was no reason to refuse at this point.

The old man turned around and opened the door. I was carried inside and I saw through the glass into another room. The several people that had been kidnapped, except for the dead were-cat, were chained to the wall. Opposite them and in the same room, was a dirt covered lump that was in the corner.

Otto pushed a button next to the glass and I could hear harsh and laboured breathing coming from the speaker. “Natalie. There's someone here to see you.” He said and waited.

“Natalie?” I whispered and the lump on the floor stopped breathing and stayed still.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought that it was just an odd shaped protrusion of the wall. Tears leaked down my face as a growl pierced the silence. Without warning, the lump turned and leapt towards the glass. It was almost quicker than I could see.

Suddenly, fist after fist smashed into it. A relentless barrage of anger and ferocity pummelled the safety glass and the blood red eyes burned through me and went right into my soul. The glass didn't shatter like I thought it would. It started to crumble the more she beat on it and it looked to be on the verge of collapsing.

“My love.” I whispered and reached out to put my hand on the glass. “My little kitten. I'm so sorry.” I said and let my power out and touched her with it. She stopped in mid-strike and put her forehead to the glass. I almost saw recognition in her eyes before she turned away from the glass and crawled back into the corner where she had come from.

“The beau calms the beast?” Otto asked with a bit of reverence. “She hasn't calmed down after an outburst since yesterday.”

I tried to turn and grab the old man by the throat. The zombies around me pulled me out of reach and then restrained me.

“Now, now. I can't have you ending my life before its time.” Otto said. “I've worked for a long time to get to where I am now.”

“A kidnapper and a murder?” I asked. “That's some legacy you have there, grandpa.”

The old man nodded. “You have no idea what I've had to do over the centuries; but, you will.”

I don't think I like the sound of that. I thought.

The old man showed me a manic look in his eyes. “Family ties that bind.” He said as he left the room. The zombies carried me behind him and back over to where he wanted me. “It's too bad you disposed of my worker that could convince you he was someone else.”

“Yeah, too bad.” I spat.

“This isn't going to be as pleasant for you.” Otto said and waved a hand.

The zombies holding me pushed me to my knees and I thought I knew what was going to happen, then Nina came into the room.

“Nina! Get out of here!” I yelled and tried to stand. “Run, for God's sake!”

The zombies held me steady and I couldn't move.

“I'm so sorry, David.” Nina said and the old man reached out and ran his hands over Nina's shoulders.

“Did you know she used to be owned by a very sadistic vampire?” Otto asked. “I know that seems like an oxymoron.” He chuckled. “She was something, let me tell you. I had fun making her.”

“N-no.” I whispered and looked at Nina. “No.”

“I'm sorry, my love.” Nina said and walked forward. She knelt in front of me and she lightly touched my chest. “Jeanette threatened to send me back. Since you were crippled and couldn't fight for me...”

“You made a deal.” I said and did my best to not frown at her.

“Yes, and it saved Natalie.” Nina said and slid her arms around me in a very familiar gesture. “I love you with all my heart and I will do anything to protect you.” She buried her face into my neck. “Now I'll save you, too.” She whispered and then bit me.