Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 The Changing Of The Guard By CSquared



   Chapter 3: "Why have you brought a human here, Lucien?" asked Adam, the
head of the local vampyr council.  We stood half-facing each other on the
other side of the one-way mirror from the sleeping body of Dana.  I had my
arms folded, and a slight frown on my face.  "I...  I'm not sure, sir." I
replied.  Adam was one of the few people that could pull rank on me.  "I
just...  I don't know.  I have a feeling about her." "What kind of
feeling?" "I think she may be important to us in the future." "How so?" "I
don't know." "What's her name, anyway?" "Rivers.  Dana Rivers."

   Adam choked on the water he was drinking, and gasped for air.  "Did..."
he gasped, "did you say Rivers?" I raised an eyebrow, and nodded.  "Yes. 
Why?" "It could be nothing...  but..." He dropped his glass, which thumped
heavily against the plush carpeting.  Striding across the room, he pulled
an ancient leather-bound tome from the bookshelf, throwing it down on the
posh writing desk in the room.  I followed him, and looked over his
shoulder as he flipped through the yellowed pages.  "What is it, sir?" I
asked.  "Probably nothing..." he murmured, lost in thought.  "but there's
always the chance..." He found the page he wanted, and said, "There. 
Look." He pointed at a section of the page, and I leaned closer. 
"Riversus?" I asked, disbelief in my voice.  "That's a bit of a stupid
name, isn't it?" It was Adam's turn to raise an eyebrow.  "I would advise
you never to say that again, Lucien." he said.  I groaned.  I could feel a
long explanation coming on.  "The Riversus clan is the lost branch of the
bloodline.  Over a thousand years ago, the family split.  The breakaways
became the Riversuses.  The legend goes that they are the purest bloodline
that exists, breeding only within themselves.  No human or vampire were
brought in.  Your feeling could be something serious.  Unfortunately, if
she was unable to protect herself from these people, it would appear that
the bloodline has been corrupted.  If she was a direct descendant, she
would not have needed your help." I frowned.  "It's quite a long shot,
though, isn't it?  That she would be the latest result of this lost
branch?" "Yes.  It is.  But there's always the possibility.  And if she
is...  well, united they stand..." "Divided they fall.  Yeah, I get it.  If
the family was re-united, it would be `invincible'." "Well, not quite, but
close.  That's the basic idea." "So if she is, I've just saved our kind
from ever having to worry again?" "Essentially, yes." "Alright!" "Not too
familiar, Lucien." "Sorry, sir." "I know we're friends, but this is not a
time to be breaking rank." "What do you mean, sir?  Are we in some kind of
danger?" "I...  no.  No, of course not." "Sir, if there's something wrong,
I deserve to know." "No, I've said too much already." "Adam."

   That got him.  I hadn't spoken his name for ten years.  It was enough of
a shock to get his guard down.  "Ok.  I suppose you're right.  Yes.  There
is a problem.  Not so serious yet that we thought everyone needed to worry
about it, but...  the lychen have returned." My eyes opened wide.  "What?"
I gaped.  "Did I hear you right?" Adam nodded.  "They're back, Luke.  Be on
your guard.  And keep this girl under surveillance." "You really think
that's neccessary?" "If she is of the bloodline, then they will certainly
be after her." "I see your point." "Anyway, that's all I need you for
tonight.  You're free - but I'd advise staying close to...  Dana, was it?"
I nodded.  "She doesn't know anyone else," he continued, "and so it will be
a calming effect if you are present when she awakes." I nodded slowly. 
"Ok. See you in the morning." I said, and turned to walk toward the door.
"Goodnight, Lucien."

   I shut the door behind me.  The transition between Luke and Lucien had
almost been imperceptable, and probably would have been to anyone but me.
Adam, you see, was the one who `sired' me.  This gave me a certain...  bond
with him.  Back then, he hadn't been anyone in particular, so we became
good friends.  However, with power came responsibility.  This
responsibility overtook him, and we gradually drifted apart.  There's a
hole in my heart that nothing yet has managed to fill.  As for the way he
speaks...  he's been a vampyr since 1204.  That 800 years had a big effect
on him.  He used to talk quite normally, but he gradually slipped back into
the rules and syntax of his own time period.  Sometimes, it's quite hard to
understand him.

   Turning the handle of the door next to me, I stepped into the room
containing Dana.  I raised an eyebrow at the large mirror.  I could feel
that Adam was still on the other side, hoping I'd do something to her. 
There was a scuffle of activity, and the presence I could feel moved away
from the mirror.  I took hold of an upholstered wooden chair, and placed it
next to the long couch that Dana had been put on as a makeshift bed.  I ran
my fingers through my short black hair, and yawned.  Vampyrs don't need to
sleep much, but I'd been up for about a week by that point.  I rested my
head on my balled fist, jammed my elbow against the wide flat arm of the
chair, and before long, I was asleep.

   I woke to Dana stirring in her sleep, about to wake up.  I sat bolt
upright, then realised that nothing was happening.  My reflexes have been
tuned up these past three centuries, and the slightest untoward movement
puts me on my full guard.  I relaxed, and clamped my eyes on hers as they
opened.  She looked disoriented for a moment, then almost jumped off the
couch.  "Ohmygod!" she squeaked, slightly faster and higher than I was
expecting.  "You're him...  you...  oh god...  I didn't imagine it,
then..." I shook my head slowly, genuinely upset for her.  "No.  You
didn't." I replied.  "I'm truly sorry." "Don't be." she said, then a
thought struck her.  "Holy shit, you killed them, didn't you." I nodded,
and replied, "But if I hadn't, they probably would have killed you.  And I
got a meal out of it." "What?!  Are you a cannibal, or something?!" "Not
quite." I grinned.  "I'd never eat my own species." "Then how...?" "I'm not
sure you want to know the answer to that." "Tell me, or I'll get the police
down on you so fast..." "Ok.  But you have to promise not to panic.  I'm
not going to hurt you." "I...  promise."

   I bared my teeth, and extended my fangs.  Almost unconsciously, I ran my
tongue across them.  It was like a routine.  Dana's eyes had grown to the
size of dinner plates.  She screamed, and leapt backwards over the back of
the couch, catching her foot on it as she went over.  Before she hit the
ground, I was there, and I had caught her gently.  "What the fuck are you?"
she whimpered, scared out of her mind.  I stood her back up carefully, and
stepped away from her, to reassure her.  "You were going to find out
eventually, I suppose." I said.  "But I don't want to tell you directly. 
Take everything you know about me." Dana's mind had gone blank in her
terror.  I sighed, and frowned at her.  "How about my name?" "Uh..."
"Lucien?  Lucien Tschostacovich?" "Yeah...?" "Anything about it strike you
as strange?" "Well...  it's kind of old..." "Good.  Keep going.  What else
do you know?" "You have those teeth..." "Yeah.  And when did you meet me?"
"In the street..." "No, when.  Not where." "At night..." "Exactly.  Now
what's very old, hangs out in the dark, is very strong, and has pointy
teeth?" "I..." "Ignore everything you've been taught.  What comes to mind?"
"A...  vampire..."

   I smiled, and nodded.  She laughed nervously.  "Uh...  yeah...  you're
kidding, right?" I shook my head, keeping the smile fixed.  "Please don't
joke around...  you're taking the piss, right?" I shook my head again, the
smile growing wider.  "So...  you're...  a vampire?" I nodded.  "Yeah." I
replied.  "Well, actually, I'm a vampyr, but you don't need to know the
difference right now." She looked around her desperately, and her hands
scraped across two metal bars lying on a table behind her.  She grabbed
them, and held them in front of her.  Each was maybe a foot and a half
long, and ended in a sharp point at one end.  My smile widened.  "Sorry,
honey.  It's gotta be wood." Her eyes flitted from side to side, then a
thought struck her.  She slammed one bar over the other, forming a cross.
My smile disappeared as I flinched.  Crosses are not my favourite objects
to be around, but I can handle them.  I reached forward with my left hand
(the one I used least - this was going to hurt) and took hold of the cross
at the centre.  There was a quiet sizzle, and a small amount of smoke
started leaking from my palm.  My eyebrow twitched, but no other sign of
the pain I was enduring showed.  Eventually, she let go, and I pulled the
bars away from her.  I flung my hand down and back, and the bars parted
from my singed flesh with a sickening slurping sound.  I grunted my
displeasure, and raised my hand to my mouth to blow on the smouldering
skin.

   Dana's expression changed from one of fear to one of pure sorrow.  She
seemed genuinely upset that she had hurt me.  "I..." she stuttered.  "I...
I'm sorry..." I waved her away with my free hand.  "Don't be, it'll heal.
Now, I should explain to you where you are." I put my arm around her
shoulders, and led her towards the doors.  "You are currently inside
Provost Manor, the big one outside town.  I will warn you, some...  well,
most of the things you see in here will be very disturbing.  A house full
of vampyrs and vampires isn't a place that a human wants to be very often."
As if to illustrate my point, a long, drawn out wail of despair and agony
drifted towards us from the centre of the building.  Dana shivered, and
pressed herself close to me.  I smiled; the sensation was not one I
objected to.  "I'm guessing that you don't want to meet my friends..." I
said, with a grin on my face.  She shook her head violently.  "Come on,
then." I continued.  "I'll get you out of here.  Follow me."

   I tried to keep her away from the more sickening (to a human, anyway)
areas of the house, but there were some that were unavoidable on the way to
the garages.  She retched while we walked through the room containing the
vampire members of our covenant - the ones that weren't hiding elsewhere.
They couldn't go outside, since it was the middle of the day, and there
were always some that didn't make it back before dawn.  The room was lit
with a single, naked red bulb, giving the impression that it was coated in
blood.  Actually, a good deal of it was.  I decided that she might actually
be interested to see the training rooms, and so led her through.  The
martial arts didn't seem to interest her, but she insisted we stop in the
target range.  I took her to the kiosk that we kept our guns behind.  I
nodded to the woman behind the counter, since she was...  an aquaintance of
mine.  I leaned against the countertop, and said, "Hey, Sarah.  How are
you?" She smiled sweetly at me, and replied, "Not bad, Luke.  What about
you?" "Yeah, I'm good." I said.  "Listen, my friend here is interested in
some of our weaponry.  What can we show her without letting too many
secrets out?" "We have secrets?" "Ha.  You know what I mean.  She's a
human." "Ah...  oh, you're the human, are you?" Sarah said, turning to
Dana. She looked a little scared, but nodded.  Sarah smiled.  "Don't worry,
hon.  I'm not gonna hurt you." She said.  "Any friend of Luke's is a friend
of mine.  Here, have a look at this." She handed Dana a pistol from the
wall.  It was based on the .45 magnum automatic, but was modified
intensely. On top, it sported a large, high-powered UV light.  There were
times when a torch is more effective than a bullet.  I've had to take out a
few vampires in my time, and trust me, a constant beam is a lot simpler
than trying to hit something that's moving faster than most humans can see.
The clip had been modified, and now carried three times as many bullets, in
only a doubling of the width.  Of course, every bullet was silver, in case
of lychen.  Since I was the only one informed of the situation (other than
the elders, of course), I realised that no-one else would know the bullets
were silver.  I shrugged mentally, and said to Dana, "Why don't you try
it?" She held it gingerly, and turned it over in her hands.  "You think I
should?" she asked, her voice cracking a little.  I grinned, and held my
hand out to Sarah, who filled it with another pistol.  "Thanks, babe." I
said.  "Look, it's easy.  Like this."

   Instantly, I spun on my heel and fired off twenty rounds into a stuffed
human corpse on the far side of the room.  He'd been dead for over a
century, so there wasn't any problem with using him for target practise.  I
don't think anyone even knew what his name was.  We called him "father", or
"the priest".  Because he's so holy.  Get it?  Ge...  oh, forget it.  Dana
looked at the body in horror.  I whispered to her just how old it was, and
she relaxed a little.  "Come on." I said, leading her across to the firing
range proper.  "Squeeze off a few shots." She slipped her arms through the
sleeves of my coat (which she was still wearing) and I put my hands on her
shoulders, to steady her.  The gun had quite a kick to it, and I knew she
was going to have a problem.  "Ok, that's it." I said, goading her along.
"Both hands on the butt...  yeah, like that.  Safety off.  Level the gun.
Look in the lens on the back of the light." Since the light blocked use of
the standard sights, a special lens had been set up that showed exactly
what the light was pointing at - which was what the gun was pointing at. 
If you had the time, it was incredibly effective.  "Ok.  Now squeeze the
trigger, don't pull it." There was an almost audible creak as she gingerly
put more and more strength into moving the trigger.  Suddenly, the gun
fired.  She squealed in fright, and was thrown back against me by the
recoil.  I looked up from her, after checking she was alright, to find out
what her shot had done.  My eyebrows raised.  It was obviously a fluke, but
the side of father's skull had been torn off.  One of his eyes lay on the
floor, leaking its fluid.  I looked at it with disbelief, and then grinned.
"Nice!" I said.  Dana smiled.  "Really?  You think it was good?" she asked,
sounding like she was a 5 year old trying to impress the big cool man.  I
smiled back at her, and nodded.  "Come on." I said.  "Let's get you out of
here."

   "Yo, Will!" I bellowed across the large underground garage.  "The
Harley! Is it in?" Across the room, over the multitude of vehicles, a set
of keys sailed through the air towards me.  I grabbed them ot of the air,
and shouted, "Thanks, man!  See ya!" Will was a strange guy.  He was
solitary, even for a vampyr.  He spent his entire life down in this
basement, and hasn't spoken since 1987.  In fact, all he did was hand out
keys to various cars, vans and motorbikes.  Not that anyone complained, of
course.  If that was how he wanted to spend his life, that was his choice.
Saved anyone else the bother of doing it.  I strode across to the bike
section, wanting to get out of there quickly.  Dana trotted after me,
finding it difficult to keep up.  As well as being a vampyr, and thereby
faster than a human, I was also quite a bit taller than her.  I had the
extra few inches per step that she lacked.  I grabbed a helmet off the wall
as I passed them, and handed it to Dana.  I didn't bother, I never did -
but I wasn't going to risk killing her.  I grinned.  There were three
`superbikes' between me and the Harley, and I decided to try and impress
Dana.  Why, I have no idea.  It just occurred to me to do it.  I flung
myself into the air, scraping the ceiling, and landing squarely across the
hog.  The suspension creaked its protest, but held nicely.  Dana did that
kind of loping run that people do to get somewhere slightly faster than
walking, and stood next to me.  Her eyes were wide open, and an expression
somewhere between awed and bemused contorted her face.  I laughed.  "Come
on, get on the back." I said.  "I think your parents are more than enough
worried by now, don't you?" She pulled the helmet on, straddled the bike,
wrapped her arms tightly around my waist, and waited.  I don't know what
she was expecting, maybe a wheelie as I left.  Actually, I would have done,
but the Harley was just the wrong shape.  There was only one way to get on
one wheel, and that was impossible with someone on the back.  I pulled away
with a screech, and burst from the garage into bright sunlight.  I
grimaced. It was really quite dark in the garage, and everything looked
white because my eyes were used to the murky depths of most of the house. I
closed them momentarily, and when I re-opened them I could see perfectly.
Dana looked behind us as we left the grounds, trying to accept the fact
that the huge stately home was a haven of bloodsuckers.  I accelerated, and
reached town within twenty minutes.

   I pulled up outside her house, a terraced house in the crossover point
between town centre and suburbia, and Dana got off.  I flicked the
kickstand down, and accompanied her to the door.  She ran the bell, and I
turned to her while we waited.  "Keep the helmet." I said.  She smiled, and
replied, "What about the coat?" It was my turn to smile, and I said, "It'd
wouldn't look good if you turned up wearing a ripped t-shirt, would it? 
No, keep that for the moment.  I will be back to get it, though.  I love
that coat." "You just want an excuse to see me again, don't you." "Am I
that transparent?  Well, yeah.  I would like to see you again.  I've grown
quite attached to you." "I...  I suppose that won't be a problem.  I've...
`grown attached' to you too."

   At that point her mother opened the door.  She raised a hand to her
mouth when she saw Dana, and snatched her into her arms.  "Ohmygod." she
breathed.  "Baby, where were you?  I was so worried..." Dana's voice was a
little muffled, her face pressed against her mother as it was, but was
easily audible.  "Nnff." she said.  "Mum, get off me.  I am 15, you know."
Her mother let go, seemingly reluctantly.  "I'm fine, mum." Dana continued,
straightening her hair.  "Luke here took care of me." Her mother was
skeptical.  "I'll just bet he did." she said, looking me up and down.  Now
I think about it, arriving here dressed head to toe in black probably
wasn't the best move.  Dana groaned.  "Mum, no.  You have to stop treating
me like a little girl.  I can take care of myself now.  He didn't do
anything to me.  He just gave me a place to stay for the night." Her mother
raised an eyebrow.  "Oh really?" she said.  "And why weren't you staying at
Alice's like you said?" Dana's face fell.  "This isn't the best place to
discuss that." she said.  She turned to me.  "Luke, I...  you know where to
find me.  I think you should go now." I nodded, and leaned forward.  I gave
her a quick kiss on the cheek, much to the consternation of her mother, and
then span on my heel and hopped onto the Harley.  Dana waved to me, a
surprised but happy expression on her face, and ushered her mother indoors.
I turned away from the house, and took a deep breath.  I held it for a
moment or two, closing my eyes, then let it go slowly.  _`Where the hell
did that come from?'_ I thought.  I was as surprised as Dana had been at
the kiss.  I shook my head to clear it, gunned the throttle, and drove away
down the street.

   Dana had finally managed to tear herself away from her mother, who was
feeling very, very bad about the way she had treated me (after hearing
Dana's description of events), and was lying on her bed.  Thoughts ran
through her head like Formula 1 cars through the straightaway.  _`Why am I
thinking like this about someone I met last night?'_ she thought.  _`I
can't believe I'm attracted to him...  I know.  It must be the *way* I met
him.  Yeah, that must be it...  oh, who am I kidding?'_ She rolled over,
pressed a button on a small remote control beside her bed, and went to
sleep to Leadbelly's `Where Did You Sleep Last Night'.  Very appropriate.

   I felt I needed to blow off some steam, and as soon as I got back to the
house I high-tailed it to the dojo.  There were always one or two people
down there willing to spar, and I wasn't disappointed.  As I walked through
the doors, bowing to show my respect, I noticed Adam leaning against the
wall, watching three newly turned vampires learning some of the basics of
handling a sword.  I caught his eye across the scene, and tilted my head in
a questioning fashion.  He smiled, and jerked himself upright.  As he
walked towards me, I removed the black leather wristguard I wore.  It was
very helpful, in that it had gotten me out of a few scrapes - quite
literally.  I ran my fingers across its scarred surface, before throwing it
to the floor in the corner.  Adam was grinning.  "You like her, don't you."
he goaded, and I glared at him.  "What makes you think that?" I growled. 
He chuckled, and replied, "Oh, come on, Lucien.  I can read you like a
book. Always have been able to.  And by now I've had 300 years of
practise." I stretched my neck, my spine clicking.  Adam took this as it
was intended, and stepped aside as I took my place.  We stood facing each
other, about 2 metres apart.  We bowed, and struck defensive poses.  "So,
if you don't like her, you won't be seeing her again, then?" Adam said,
leaping forward, thrusting his fist at my head.  I parried it aside
tan-sau, and launched two punches in quick succession at him.  "Of course I
will - you ordered me to!" I said, as he blocked them both and kicked at my
knee.  I lifted it up and span on my other foot to deliver a hook kick to
Adam's head.  He ducked, and said, "Maybe, but that's not the only reason
you're going to see her again!" He stepped forward and punched, and I
executed a perfect movement.  I'd trained for this slowly, but I'd never
managed to use it in combat.  I stepped aside, neatly avoiding the punch,
grabbed his arm above the elbow, punched him in the side of the head,
hooked my leg behind his, leaned forward, pushing him backwards, then
jerked my leg straight, taking his foot off the ground.  He fell heavily,
and grunted with the impact.  I stood back, and helped him up.  He smiled,
and wiped his hand across his forehead.  "First blood to you, Lucien. 
Trust me, you won't get second." he said, and leapt at me, coming fully off
the ground.  I ducked a little, grabbed him as he went over, and flung him
behind me.  He span in the air, landed neatly on one foot, and sprung back
at me.  I wasn't expecting it, and hadn't even turned around yet.  He
caught me in the small of the back with his shoulder, and I shouted in
pain. He took me down, and landed with his knee in my spine.  I lay flat on
the floor underneath him, and growled.  "Don't think...  it'll be this
easy...  Adam!" I said, as I got my palms firmly against the tatami matting
of the dojo floor.  I steadily lifted myself off the ground, taking Adam
with me.  His eyes widened - I don't think he knew I was capable of this.
When I reached a certain point, I flicked my back straight, catapulting
Adam into the air.  I leapt up onto my feet as he came back down, and
slammed my fist into his chest.  He flew backwards, and impacted against
the wall like a bullet.  The wood panelling splintered, and Adam found
himself lying on the floor in the next room along, groaning.  I dashed
across, and stepped through the hole, being careful to avoid any large
spikes of wood.  I helped him up, and apologised.  "I'm sorry, Adam." I
said.  "You're right.  I do like her.  I like her too damn much.  I have a
horrible feeling that I may have fallen in love with her." Adam raised his
eyebrow.  "Why is that a problem?" he asked.  "Because if she isn't part of
the lost branch...  well...  then she's just a human.  And that means that
she's going to die.  Even if I turn her, she still won't live as long as
me. It's just...  hard to accept." "I know exactly what you mean.  I still
miss my wife...  and she died 750 years ago." "I'm...  sorry."

   Adam's wife was a sore point for him.  She had died in a Lychen attack.
The vampyr that saved him had sired him - at a time when Adam no longer
wanted to live.  He single-handedly spearheaded the battles that beat the
Lychen into obscurity.  Now that they had returned...  well, let's put it
this way.  When Adam loses it, I don't want to be anywhere nearby.  I told
one of the newly turned vampires to get someone to fix up the damage, and
walked off with Adam to get a drink.