Alex dashed to the limo. His only thought now was to contact Angel. He pressed a button on the side of his watch and the chain around his neck broke apart and morphed into a headset that attached itself to his ear. He pressed the earpiece that served as a nanophone. There was no clear reception.

John and Nikolas fought like never before. They felt invigorated even though they were fighting each other. Nikolas flew upwards. “Come down here, Nick, and face me!” John shouted.

“Listen to me old friend!” Nikolas said.

“Don’t call me that! You were supposed to keep your promise, Nick! And now you break it?”

“I need him!” Nikolas said.

“For what?”

“I can’t tell you yet but I want you to take this.” He threw a silver canister towards John.

John caught it but threw his sword at Nikolas. Suddenly a silvery substance engulfed Nikolas’s body like mercury, transforming him. The sword simply bounced off his hard metallic body. It fell to the ground, tip first, and stuck there.

Meanwhile the two armies continued to fight it out. Lasers and silver nitrate bullets flew everywhere, damaging stores, restaurants and cracking glass. One of the Imperial soldiers levitated a piece of concrete with his will and flung it at some civilians, crushing them. Nikolas threw a large red energy ball towards the debris, disintegrating it.

“What’s wrong with you?” he yelled at the soldier, “This was supposed to be a simple mission.”

The soldier smiled bitterly, activating the restraining choker and Nikolas fell to the ground with a thud. John hurried to the limo where Alex was sitting. He got in beside his nephew and opened the container. He took a scroll out of the canister, unrolled it and scanned it quickly.

“What’s happening?” Alex asked, ogling the scroll.

“Nikolas is here to kidnap you,” said John. Alex was about to speak, but John gestured to let him finish. “It says here that Nikolas’s plan was to take you. And my guess now is that after seeing us with weapons, the vampire government is going to take action. They will see it as an act of aggression and try to attack us. By the time they do, we will have prepared our ultimatums and hopefully be able to avoid war by diplomatic negotiation. But before that can even happen, we will come to rescue you. Nikolas will take good care of you and he will tell you more than I know about the vampire history. So don’t worry.”

Alex said, “I’m going to be a prisoner of war for the vampires?”

“For the time being, yes. Trust me, Alex. I would never let this happen if I didn’t think Nikolas had the situation under control. I am also very confident that we can rescue you later.”

John waited for a reaction, but Alex gave none. His eyes were closed as he tried to ready himself. Finally he sighed and said. “Alright. I’m ready.”

Outside, Nikolas returned from silver to flesh. He glared at the soldier who attacked him. He ran to the limo and yelled his orders to the soldiers. “Hold your fire!”

John got out with Alex, commanding his own troops to do likewise. Alex embraced John and turned to the Rebel. Nikolas gave him a comforting look. Then he took a pair of handcuffs and bound his wrists. “Come, Alex. Don’t worry about anything. You won’t be harmed.”

“I know,” He said and added, “Uncle Nick.”

Jarad chased after them and as Nick and Alex both went to the rocket, he yelled, “After them!”

“No! Wait!” John said, clutching Jarad’s left shoulder. “Hold your fire, boys!”

Jarad eyed John with suspicion. “What are you up to?”

“You’ll see.” He smiled.

The human soldiers stood still as they watched their enemies retreating to the ship. It flew out of the Regnum and set a course for Earth.

John opened a bottle of pills and shook out two into his hand. He popped them both into his mouth and swallowed them without sipping anything. In the ten years since he’d been diagnosed with stomach ulcers, he’d had a lot of practice swallowing pills like this.

He eyed the container Nikolas had given him. It was beautifully decorated. The silver was exquisitely carved with various designs. One image which caught his eyes was the Emblem of the Red Serpent, the imperial insignia of King Anaxagoras XXIX. The cross glittered in the light, engraved in onyx and the serpent in a bright ruby color.

Jarad interrupted John’s appreciation of the jeweled container, bombarding him with curses. “What the hell have you done? You just handed your nephew over to the vampires! You know what this will mean? It will mean war!”

John looked at him calmly. “You just answered your own question.”

Jarad turned a slight shade of red in anger and embarrassment. The soldiers regrouped and reported to the two generals.

John glanced at them, fifty in all. “Go back, boys,” he said, “This is but a taste of what the vampires are. Prepare yourselves for the real thing. We may be in a full-scale war soon enough.” The soldiers saluted the generals and dispersed.

Jarad opened his mouth to talk but John interrupted him, “I did say may be.”

John had ordered Angel to go somewhere safe, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to be with Alex, to comfort him and to support him. Her fear during the battle was nothing compared to the fear she felt for him now. Nevertheless, she did as Mr. Howe told her and went home to her parents.

“Angel!” her mother yelled from the kitchen window the moment she saw her daughter walking towards home. She put down the dishes she was cleaning and ran out to hug her daughter. “What’s happening over there?” she asked, her face drenched in tears. “Come inside.”

“Is Alex alright?” asked Mr. Stone as his daughter entered the house. He got up and embraced her. “We saw the news. Alex was taken by the vampires!” Ken turned on the holoTV. With a press of a button from the remote, a floating screen emerged seemingly out of nowhere. The TV switched to channel 610, RNN, the Regnum News Network.

“What!” Angel gasped. “I thought he would be fine.”

“I’m so sorry, dear.” Her mother said, wiping away her tears. They sat on the sofa, watching for any more news about Alex.

“What do you know about it?” Angel asked, tears swelling up in her eyes.

“He chose to go, Angel,” Ken said. “He went without a fight.”

“And Mr. Howe?” Angel asked, seeing him on the screen, moving into his limo, followed by a pack of reporters.

“John did nothing. In fact he ordered his troops to hold their fire.” Ken’s eyes darted to the screen, watching John’s face with irritation. Angel watched her father’s expressions, afraid to say anything more. She wondered whether her father’s anger was just about John or whether there was something else bothering him. “We don’t know what’s next,” Ken continued. “It’s all over the news. People are cross with John’s decision and for good reason.”

Angel remained silent and continued to look blankly at the screen. Martha went into the kitchen to prepare some tea.

A reporter at the scene of the battle started to speak as the camera panned to see civilians being treated and carried away on stretchers by medical personnel. The reporter said, “And Leader Howe has refused to comment on the fact that his nephew has taken off with the enemy.” The reporter scurried to get an interview with Jarad, who was walking towards his car. “Oh wait. It seems Mr. Hameed is available for some comments.” The reporter rushed to get a closer view of Hameed fighting his way through other reporters and floating robotic cameras. Finally, he managed to ask the Council Member a question, “Mr. Ha-meed. How are you presently dealing with the situation and what are your comments on Leader Howe’s actions?”