When Gabriel woke up from his daylight sleeping, he arouse to the sounds of laughter, and it was coming from the living room. He quickly got to his feet and dressed but slowly strolled into the living room to act calm. What was waiting for him in the living room however was a large number of bags from the shopping mall. There was almost triple the supplies that they had gathered the last time they were in New Lycan and he could barely fly them and Alyssa back into town. He looked around the room and then at Alyssa who was grinning at him.

     “What?” Gabriel asked.

     “Your face looks quite amusing.” She said, laughing again.

     “This is a lot of stuff,” Gabriel admitted. “I can’t carry this all back.”

     “You won’t have to.” A voice boomed out.

     Cornelius emerged from the kitchen and he was carrying a bag of blood from the fridge. Gabriel seemed less impressed that he was drinking Alyssa’s blood that they had stored the night before.

     “You shouldn’t drink that without asking.” Gabe informed his brother.

     “I did ask,” Cornelius said, gesturing to the person who produced it.

     “There’s still plenty left,” Alyssa told him. “Cornelius was teaching me how to access other veins that are easier to hide from others. I can only poke my arms so many times before people start thinking I have a problem.”

“Fair enough,” Gabriel said, knowing he was right. He had meant to teach her that, but hadn’t had the time to get around to it.

     “I will help you carry all this back,” his brother also added. “I want to see this little town that you’ve been residing in.”

     “You do?” Gabriel said, rather surprised to hear it.

     “Yes, I do.” Cornelius confirmed, “I also want to talk to the witch myself.”

     “You told him about the witch?” Gabriel asked Alyssa, surprised to hear it.

     “We talked about it over breakfast,” Alyssa said, “Turns out Cornelius has a rather interesting history with witches.”

     “You do?” Gabriel asked his brother.

     “I’ve mingled with some over the last several hundred years.” Cornelius admitted, “I haven’t been to Salem, but I heard it’s nice.”

     “I didn’t realize this,” Alyssa continued, “But the witches were slowly claiming Salem long before the whole undead thing started.”

     “Is that true?” Gabriel asked his brother.

     “It is,” His brother confirmed, “They had been buying up large amounts of land and real estate one piece at a time. They were already unofficially in charge of that place when the undead thing started.”

     “How do you know this?” Gabriel asked, curious about it.

     “One of the witches let me in on it,” Cornelius answered, “She knew with father asleep that I had unlimited access to the family treasury and therefore had the means to financially back her. I liked her very much, so it made sense to help her claim a significant stake in Salem. It also doesn’t hurt to have people that owe you favors, even if she’s a witch.”

     “Wow,” Gabriel said, “I had no idea.”

     “The sun is going down,” Cornelius reminded him, “Let me know how much you can carry and I’ll take the rest.”

     “Show off,” Gabriel chided back with a grin. He already decided to take less than he did last time just to make his brother do more work. He was ten times stronger so it was doubtful the big man was even going to break a sweat. Both vampires took to the roof and the departed New Lycan with relative ease. They had remained rather quiet until they were more than halfway back. The mood changed in both men and Alyssa could tell.

     “Do you feel it?” Cornelius asked.

     “I do.” Gabriel said, “It’s been a while for me.”

     “What is it?” Alyssa asked.

     “The cauldron is lit.” Cornelius replied, “Your sister and the old woman have been busy.”

     “It’s quite powerful,” Gabriel said, “For us feel it all the way out here.”

     “Yes,” Cornelius concurred, “Quite powerful.”

     “Amazing that you can feel it.” Alyssa said, surprised by it.

     “Everyone can feel it,” Gabriel reminded her, “I’m pretty sure some of the elder wolves in New Lycan, and the witches in Salem did too. Your town might become a little more popular now because of it.”

     “Wonderful,” Alyssa sarcastically replied.

     “We’re almost there,” his brother said, “Lead the way so I know where to land.”

     Gabriel didn’t respond and instead flew down to the town and landed first on the roof of the building. There as no one there, but the black cat sitting there and looking over the small town like he was a guard.

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     “Hello Oscar,” Gabriel called out as he left Alyssa down and put down the bags he was carrying.

     “Greetings,” The cat replied, “You didn’t pick up very much.”

     As the cat said that, the other vampire who was carrying many more bags landed on the roof as well. As Cornelius put down his bags, he looked over at the cat who was staring at him with an intense look on his face.

“I assume this is the guardian you spoke of,” Cornelius said, smiling. “Greetings guardian.”

“Greetings, your highness.” The cat replied.

“You know who I am,” Cornelius said, rather impressed. “That is helpful. Run off and tell your master that I’ve come to speak with her. Inform her that I come in peace and have even brought tribute to prove that.”

     “I will tell her,” the cat said, and with a quick flash it was gone.

     One the cat had darted off, the door behind then swung open and Pablo came scrambling to the roof to greet them. He saw the massive haul that was on the roof and looked at it with wide eyed shock.

     “Whoa,” Pablo started, “How the hell did you get all this here?”

     “We had help,” Alyssa answered.

     “So this is Pablo,” Cornelius said, as he strolled closer to him. “You’re right, brother. He does remind me very much of Horatio.”

     “Is that a good thing?” Pablo asked.

     “He was a good man,” Cornelius said, “It is a great compliment.”

     “Then I’ll take it as such.” Pablo said, “Who is this?”

     “This is my brother,” Gabriel answered, “Cornelius.”

     “Oh shit,” Pablo said, looking back at the big vampire.

     “I’ve had worse greetings,” Cornelius said, giving a short chuckle. “I guess my brother does talk of me a little bit, hopefully not all bad. It is for me to understand as I'm aware there is a bit of an age gap.”

     “Only a few millennia,” Gabriel said, picking up some of the bags.

     “More like a dozen,” Cornelius corrected.

     “Let’s get this downstairs and organized.” Alyssa ordered, “We need to hide this away so our mayor doesn’t get spoiled.”

     Pablo didn’t say much as they carried all the supplies down to Alyssa’s apartment. Alyssa was worried about waking up Diane but Pablo let her know she was still over at Mrs. Goldman’s place. Once all the supplies were in the apartment, Alyssa went through the tough task of organizing what was going the town and what they were going to keep for their own personal supply.

     “A wise strategy,” Cornelius said as he watched her split things up. “But I’m curious, where are you hiding your portion. Are you not afraid it will be discovered and taken away?”

     “Not possible,” Gabriel answered for her. “I’ve been flying her stash to my place in Nashville. If she needs anything I go there to get it for her. But if the town falls, then the apartment and the supplies hidden there is our backup if we need to move again.”

     “Very wise, brother.” Cornelius said, nodding his approval. “I didn’t realize Nashville was still around.”

     “It’s not,” Alyssa informed him. “The undead rule that city. He uses them like a moat which makes his building more secure.”

     “That sounds fascinating!” Cornelius said, again impressed. “You’ll have to show me this building of yours so I can see it for myself.”

     “You can come with me tomorrow when I fly the supplies there if you like.” Gabriel offered, “It will give us some privacy to talk council business.”

     “Yes,” Cornelius said, “A very good idea.”

     “We have a spare room for you to sleep in.” Pablo offered, trying to be polite to the tall, menacing vampire in the room.

     “That will not be necessary,” Cornelius said, “I do not sleep as often as my brother, but I thank you for offering. I am going to fly around and check on the undead. I am curious to see how effect this new cauldron is.”

     “The new cauldron?” Pablo asked.

     “We think Mrs. Goldstien and Diane lit the cauldron,” Gabriel replied, “We could both feel it many miles away.”

     “It will protect this town very well,” Cornelius added, “The undead steer clear of witches and their auras. If this cauldron is the element I think it is… then you will not be having any undead activity around here for a very, very long time.”

     “In other words,” Pablo added, “I should bring a book to guard duty.”

     “Might as well,” Cornelius said, letting out a bellowing laugh.

     “Can you help me deliver the good to the mayor before you start?” Alyssa asked.

     “Not necessary,” Cornelius said, “I will assist you. I am eager to meet this mayor of yours after everything Alyssa has told me of him.”

     “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Gabriel answered. “He will be suspicious of you and how you got here.”

     “I am aware of his ignorance,” Cornelius said, “And I will in turn exploit that for our gain, quite easily I might add.”

     “Well damn,” Alyssa said, smiling. “I can’t wait to see that!”

     After a bit more discussion about the mayor and what not, Pablo was the first to go to sleep as he had a shift to rest for, and Alyssa followed shortly after. This left the two Vampires in the room, sitting at the small table and looking at one another. They sat there in silence, like that had so many times before throughout the centuries, but finally Gabe broke their silence as he usually did at most of their encounters.

     “What are you doing here?” Gabriel finally asked.

     “I told you already,” Cornelius said, “Council business.”

     “Since when did you give a crap about that?” Gabriel asked. It was a fair question since the Dark Prince didn’t have to do shit for them. They didn’t even have the authority to tell him what to put into his coffee if he ever drank the shit. Cornelius replied with a grin and a quick huff that was almost a laugh.

     “Yes, they do not control me.” He confirmed to his brother, “But I wanted to come over here and check in on you, so they gave me the perfect excuse so I wouldn’t have to make something up that might make them suspicious and cause a panic.”

     “When did you give a shit about me?” Gabriel asked.

     “That isn’t very nice,” Cornelius chided back, “I’ll have you know I’ve always cared for my brothers and sisters… well, most of them.”

     “How many do we have now?” Gabriel asked.

     “I’ve honestly lost count,” Cornelius answered, “But thank goodness father has been in the ground for a while. At least that number hasn’t increased in a while and that has made it easier to keep up with the ones we have. That and this whole undead thing popping out of damn nowhere.”

     “Do you really think Dad will hate this when he wakes up?” Gabe asked.

     “I’m not sure,” Cornelius answered, “He might had the idea of our food being so scarce, but at the same time he might enjoy impaling something that will keep withering on the stick for years afterwards.”

     “Good point,” Gabriel said, “It’s a real toss up.”

     “Exactly,” Cornelius said, “So when the old man does wake up, we have to be prepared for both scenarios just in case. That is why I accepted the council’s mission to find you and search for Intel.”

     “Alright,” Gabe said, not sure if he could believe him. “But why do I keep getting this feeling you’re not telling me everything.”

     “That’s because I’m not telling you everything.” Cornelius confessed, “And that is all I can say about it. When the time is right, I will share with you what information is relevant to you and nothing more.”

     “Whatever,” Gabe replied as he wasn’t in the mood for riddles. “I’m going to check the undead and see how well the cauldron is working. You coming?”

     “Why not,” Cornelius said as he stood up, “We have time to kill.”