"Uhm, Drac. Are you sure about this?" Alexander asked, scratching his head as they arrived at the island of Madagascar where Horus had stowed the dark witches.

Horus had allowed them to teleport as close as they could get to the island then take a boat the rest of the way. Like most of the inventions of the Egyptians, it was powered by quwat al-aleeha and cruised over the rough waters faster than anything should have been able to.

"Getting scared, whelp?" Vlad smirked cruelly.

"Please." Alexander scoffed. "Speak for yourself."

The dark witches had gone far to cultivate the dark part of their epithet. The island was a voodoo priestess' wet dream. The roads were lined with skulls that were mounted on long poles. He could tell that the skulls were real but somehow they were giving off light that guided their path to the community the dark witches had set up.

The houses themselves were a bit shabby and tasteless. It seemed the only thought that had gone into designing them was make-it-as-scary as possible. They had strange things decorating them and Vlad thought it would be prudent to not look at anything too closely. One of the houses was shaped in the form of wolf heads with windows serving as the eyes and the door shaped like open jaws with massive fangs.

"Did that house just howl?" Alexander asked, stepping closer to Vlad.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Aridad grinned, feeling right at home. "Perhaps I will convince my family to set up our new home like this."

"Those were not the terms of your relocation. Take any inspiration from this and next time I will relocate you to the Pacific." Alexander gripped.

"You haven't begun building yet?" Vlad asked.

"No, not yet. Lord Marcus has been housing us whilst my family clears the land for the new village."

"Have him give them some helpers." Vlad said to Alexander.

"Yeah and I'll convince Horus to make me a god while I'm at it too. You know Marcus, he'll never agree to that."

Unfortunately that was true. Marcus had a penchant of obstinacy and expending his men in useless tasks like land clearing would not fall high on his agenda. He lived by a code of 'survival of the fittest' and if Vlad asked him to give the sorcerers people to help them, he would probably say something like, "if they can't build the houses themselves, then they don't deserve to live in them."

They finally arrived at the biggest of the houses. With the other houses, it had been easy to tell what shape they aspired to be, but with this pile of well....flesh, it was almost impossible to tell what kind of horrible nightmare the owner had had before he commissioned that monstrosity. Vlad could only hope that Aridad would not duplicate that horror of horrors anywhere where Vlad might see it.

The house was completely red in color and not the innocuous color of ripe tomatoes but rather that of meat. It looked to be made of various chunks of flesh that looked and smelt like meat. More disturbing were the showers of the blood that were cascading down the meaty walls of the houses. Every few seconds, walls would expand and contract as if they were actually breathing.

"What kind of sick pyscho lives in there?"

"That would be me. Do you have something to say to me, vampire?"

Vlad turned around, bemused by being caught off guard. He did not like it when people sneaked up on him and he liked it even less when they did it as a power game.

The warlock behind him was as ugly and grotesque as Vlad had come to expect from dark witches. Maybe even more so, this fellow looked like he had put special effort into looking like a twin of his house. Vlad made a mental note to teleport a bucket of chocolate to Horus for sparing Erinna this encounter. It would have been a memory that no amount of scrubbing would have cleansed.

The man had a disfigured face, if one could have called it that. His head was distended in three different directions, making it look like he had three different balls under his red boiling flesh. A putrid stench wafted from him, making Vlad curse his enhanced senses. Festering boils exuding pus and other undesirable fluids covered his skin. On his forehead was an extra eye, marking him as the oracle of his generation.

It was when Vlad's eyes travelled to the man's chest that he saw the familiar tattoo. Well, who would have known?

"Stop scaring my child, Toro."

There was no shock on the face Vlad could no longer even recognize. When he had crossed paths with Toro, the man had not reached his full potential as a dark warlock. He had been a neophyte and had certainly not grown his third eye. His soul had still been intact but given how the man's body had changed, that part of him was long gone. Dark witches aspired to be as monstrous as possible and it looked like Toro had achieved that dream.

His monstrous features were also physical evidence of his power. If there was a man who could help them, this was him.

"So you recognize me."

"With the flare for drama and the lady killer looks, it is hard not to." Vlad said drily.

"You would know about looks, you did use yours lucratively as a human."

Anger spiked inside Vlad. So the man had seen into Vlad's past and felt powerful enough to taunt him with it. As if Vlad needed the reminder.

"I did. And now I use my claws and fangs so if I were you, I'd think carefully about what I say next."

He would die before he went near that man with either fang or claw but Toro did not need to know that.

"I'm not scared of you, Dracula. Even you are not stupid enough to kill an oracle. The curse that you got from killing that elf will look paltry compared to the wraith my people will bring down on you if you lay a finger on me."

"Join the queue, warlock. I have been cursed three times and I'm still walking. Who knows, maybe if you even out the number, you people might actually achieve something this time around."

"Uhm, folks. Why don't we just get inside?" Alexander said with a grimace.

Vlad gave him a warning look as he felt the strands of Alexander's powers wrapping around him, soothing his temper. He hated the interference and the glare he shot his right hand man said as much.

'What? You think Ty will be happy to hear that you ate our only hope?'

Vlad was about to rip into Alexander for meddling with his emotions but the juju appeared to be working on the wizard too so he let it go.

"Fine." Toro said grudgingly. "But I still don't like you."

"Then why are you still talking to me?" Vlad asked, earning a look of disbelief from Alexander.

'Why don't you just undo all my work?'

"Believe me, the thought of feeding you to my goblins has occurred to me but I know why you are here. Get in."

Toro preceded him into the house and Alexander pinched his nose as the man's movements dispelled the fetid airs that hung around him.

'Who told him skunk equaled deodorant?' Alexander groaned in Vlad's mind.

'Stop whining and guard your mind. We don't know the full extent of his powers and you make yourself mentally vulnerable by using telepathy.'

If Toro could hear their thoughts or conversations, he made no mention of it.

They entered the house which was as meaty as the outside. It felt like being inside a womb. The ceiling was decorated- Vlad used the word loosely- in what looked to be intestines. Whoever had given the man his art skills ought to be cursed.

"Hell no!" Alexander leapt away when Toro conjured bloody stools for them to sit on.

"Bring us proper stools and put away those shriveled baby carrots. Did you lose your manners together with your looks?" Vlad said.

His people had no problem with nudity but there was something to be said about having a serious conversation while looking at a man with breasts bigger than most women and three thin little snakes peeking out from a bush of untamed pubic hair. The term snake was unfortunately not a figure of speech, Toro actually had three pairs of eyes that blinked at them every few seconds, where his member was supposed to be.

"You are awfully concerned with my looks, vampire. Is there something you want to let me know?"

"Last time I checked, I was not the one flashing my wares like a common whor-"

"My lord, Count Dracula. Perhaps it is best if we just began the talks now?" Aridad said with a pleading voice.

"Indeed, time is not on our side." Vlad said but Toro maintained his defiant stance, refusing to cover his nakedness.

"I have not worn a robe for a thousand years and I refuse to do it for you."

"Mate, just do it. He's not going to back down, trust me." Alexander advised the warlock.

"Neither will I."

"Perhaps I can assist?" Aridad offered. He snapped his fingers and instantaneously, a robe appeared on Toro and the bloody stools became brown.

"Wait a minute, how did you do that? Where did the blood go?" Alexander asked in amazement.

"It was an illusion, fool. There was never any blood. Now sit." Toro said in a tone that said he was none too happy with Aridad's interference.

'Don't command me, witch' was on the tip of Vlad's tongue but the glare from Alexander told him it would be best to keep the comment to himself. Honestly, he was not doing too good on convincing the warlock to work with him and if not for Alexander, he would have to contend with telling Erinna he had ruined all their work.

"Where are the other witches and is that robe an illusion too?" Alexander asked.

Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose.

"My children come out when I call them and you can touch if you are so curious about my robe." Toro said to Alexander.

"So, about the curse..." Aridad interrupted. "I know who and what your sister is. Here is what will happen: you will tell her to make her husband free my wife from his clutches and I will break your curse."

"The keeper will never fall for that."

The rulers of the underworld realms were fiercely possessive of the souls that were in their custody.

"Don't underestimate the effect of a nice pair of tits and pretty words." Toro smirked lasciviously.

Lightning flashed and thunder rambled as Vlad's temper surged up violently. He clenched his fist to contain the urge to slash his claws across the bastard's neck.

"I would be very careful about my next words right now if I were you."

The mere suggestion that Aurora should whore herself for him...

"You think you can break the curse?" Alexander asked, clearly trying to redirect the conversation. Vlad wanted to punch his face so he could shut up.

"I'm the oracle, vampire. I don't think, I know."

"The last time I talked to you, you said it cannot be done," Vlad reminded him.

"The last time I talked to you, the universe was not ready to set you free. The prophecy has changed."

"And suddenly you now know how to break my curse?" Vlad growled, hot anger licking his veins. The bastard had known all along.

"Don't take that tone with me. I have been shown that I will lead you to what you seek. If you think the universe gave me a handbook with a step by step description on how to counter your curse, then you're severely mistaken."

"Mistress Miya is gone, she was the only one with the means, power and connection to call upon Count Dracula's sister." Aridad told Toro.

The warlock waved him away. "There are many gateways to hell, as you well know son of Magonac."

"I will not have my sister disturbed." Vlad repeated.

What Miya had done had already been dangerous. Summoning someone from the underworld could result on them losing their way when they returned and they could get stuck between realms. The one thing his sister deserved after the painful life she had led was some peace.

"Then you must not want your freedom."

"You have laid your cards bare, Toro. I now know what you want so you don't get to pretend you don't want this transaction as much as I do."

Not that Vlad was sure he even wanted to release Yven from the underworld. The woman had the gift of commanding diseases, strife and general pestilence into existence and it was not a gift she used discerningly.

"Fine. If you don't want her summoned, then show me her grave. I will have one of our necromancers-"

"No." Vlad said coldly.

"Vampire-"

"What if we send a message to her, Count Dracula?" Aridad suggested. "Should we find a person about to die, they would be able to relate the message to your sister."

Vlad knew there was a reason that he had kept the man alive. He would get a token of Vlad's appreciation when they returned to Transylvania.

"How do you plan on doing that? The only supernatural creatures around are my children, so unless you plan on killing Horus, which person were you planning on killing to pass a message?"

There was silence in the room.

"Maybe I could go back home and find someone?" Alexander asked but his face said that he didn't like the idea any more than Vlad.

He had made enough mistakes in his life to know that sacrificing another person for his freedom could only end badly. No, he had one shot at this and he would do things right. If it also meant not making his wife carry his guilt by spilling innocent blood, then it would be a bonus.

"No, Aridad will locate a banshee for us." Vlad said, an idea forming in his mind.

"And about my wife? I want her freed first before we can even touch your curse."

Did the man take him for a fool?

"I've been screwed over by your kind too many times to count, Toro. Break my curse first and we will talk about my sister freeing your wife."

"I know you plan on going back on your word once your curse is broken. I want your sister's word. She is much more honorable than you are."

"You will not summon her until the curse is broken." Vlad made sure the man knew.

"That will be a little difficult then. The key to break the curse lies in the underworld. I cannot help you unless you find a way to contact her."

***********

To distract herself from the rather obvious and loud sounds that were coming from Horus' throne room, Erinna decided to go and see Lierian. Lierian was not very social, she had withdrawn to her room as soon as she had put protection barriers around Vlad and Erinna's bedroom.

Erinna knocked and peeked in the room.

"You didn't have to knock, I knew it was you." Lierian said.

She was sitting on the floor with a book in her hand.

"Alexander doesn't like it when I don't knock. May I please come in and bore you?"

Lierian looked at her book then to Erinna as if contemplating who was the better company. In the end, she nodded.

"Aren't you cold on the floor?" Erinna asked, closing the door.

"I'm always cold."

What an odd thing to say but then every time she had touched the girl, her skin had been icy cold. It was sad that Lierian had to live like that, never knowing what it was like to be warm.

Erinna telekinetically moved a rug that was before the hearth and sat next to Lierian. Wanting to do something to keep Lierian warm, at least for the time being, she used her powers to set the logs in the fireplace on fire. Unfortunately she used too much energy on that but luckily the uncontrolled flames just went up the chimney before the fire became more tamed.

On second thoughts, she stood up, went to the cupboard which she hoped would have an extra blanket. She found one and put it over her legs and Lierian's when she sat down next to her again. The only thing missing was some tea for both of them but she would rather go without than brave the corridors with Horus and Kissa running rampant and very much in the buff.

"What were you reading?" She asked Lierian.

"Leech history." Lierian said, holding up a thick volume. "Not as boring as I thought it would be."

Erinna took the book and flipped through the pages. From the drawings and chapter titles, the book wasn't on vampire history per se but rather the history of Vlad's human clan. Erinna guessed that could count as vampire history since their culture was very much founded on that.

"Someone is suddenly interested in vampire business," teased Erinna.

"I love him okay? I have to try to understand his people."

Erinna was impressed with the girl's open mindedness. It spoke a lot for Lierian's character that she had not questioned it when she had realized that a vampire was her mate. She had taken it in stride and put her effort into rewiring twenty years of being told that vampires were evil.

Most elves, her included would have rebelled against having a vampire for a mate. They were raised on a vampire-hate diet and few would ever have the strength of will and depth of heart to seek another path or find the truth for themselves. It was extraordinary that Lierian, the most cursed of elves, would be the most tolerant.

Erinna was going to do everything in her power to shelter that childlike innocence and generosity of spirit. If it was up to her, Lierian would continue to love abundantly, her vision untainted by the cruelty of the world.

"You'll be a good mate." She put her arm around Lierian and drew her closer, her hand petting the long white hair.

"Can you tell him that?" Lierian pouted.

"I don't have to. He'll see it for himself."

If he failed to, then the loss would be his.

"Really? Is that a prediction? You have seen our future? The king told me you can see the future."

"Not anymore." Sadness came over Erinna as she was reminded of her lost sight. The gift had been a burden truthfully, but it was one she had gotten used to.

"Why not?"

That was the question she had hoped would not follow but Lierian was nothing if not attached to the word 'why'.

"Because uhm..." How to say this? One could not come outright and she had lost her gift of sight in the throes of passion. "You cannot be with a man and retain the gift of sight."

"Be with a man? But your father was a man and you grew up with him. Why did you not lose your sight with him?"

No. Erinna was not going to be the one to explain it, not for any number of cookies or apples.

"Why don't you tell me about what you were reading?" She diverted the subject from paths that promised endless embarrassment for her.

Lierian's face lit up as she got the opportunity to talk about her book.

"King David. Well, not the biblical one but just as impressive. He was one of the earlier kings of your husband's tribe."

"Oh?"

"And he was very successful apparently. He was not born a magical person but they said he could see things and do things that normal humans cannot."

Lierian proceeded to tell her about the human king but honestly, Erinna stopped listening halfway through. Something had angered Vlad and she felt it because she was listening keenly to their bond. It frustrated her because she was helpless and could not even contact him whilst he was with the dark witches. She needed to know what was happening but would not risk the baby's life.

"They'll be back soon." Lierian said, touching her hand in a comforting way.

"I know. I just hope everything goes well. Witches don't like Vlad."

"But they can't kill him. The worst they can do is knock him around a little. Or a lot."

"That's not comforting, Lierian."

The girl's lips turned down as if failing to comfort Erinna made her sad.