"Now, there is a confession I want to make." He thought for a moment about what he was going to say. "My nephew has been captured by the Regime because he is the Falsifier, a man and a vampire, believed by the Anisaei to be the one to bring about their destruction." For a moment, it seemed like what he had just said hadn't registered in their minds.

"Wait a minute," said Senator Keegan, a woman sitting at the far end of the hall, "Are you saying that your nephew, the boy we know as Alexander Howe, who graduated from Regnum University as the valedictorian of his cla.s.s, is a vampire?"

To this, some of the other senators remarked: "Unbelievable!"

"This is completely wrong!"

"If we had only known!"

Senator Gars ran towards John and whispered to him, "What you're saying is shocking, John. How do you expect us to believe this and to accept you now as our leader?"

"I just do." He faced Gars with complete resolve.

Gars returned the look and gestured for silence. As the noise died down, he said to John with a smile. "I'm glad you were honest about it. I'm with you." The Senators erupted once again and started cursing John. Some of them even left. "Senators, listen to me!" Gars pleaded. "What John Howe has said is quite unexpected. Nevertheless, we mustn't react in such a way. After all, Alexander has been a citizen of the Regnum as long as any of us has been. He has proved himself to be a man of great caliber, in his thoughts, in his words, and in his actions. Never has he shown contempt for any of us and he has done so much, in terms of helping this society in whatever way he could. Granted, he is a vampire. Yet you would allow other vampires on board the Regnum; those who we call the Rebels. Besides, Alex is more human than vampire. According to Leader Howe, he is our only hope.

"His behavior only shows that vampires, if they are on our side, can be trusted. I say that Alex should be rescued and that the Rebels can come on board the Regnum, under one condition. That is: if any harm is done to any human of the Regnum by any one of the vampires, they are to be deported back to the Earth. We will not send them back to the Government, but to Antarctica, for we know no vampire is allowed to set foot on that land without prior permission from the higher order, from Anaxagoras himself. Under these terms, he shall be accepted. Is that understood?" Gars turned to John. The latter nodded. "All those in favor?"

Total silence. Then, one by one, they spoke the word, "Aye!"

Alex had the same dream as the previous night. He saw the emerald cross with the serpent entwined around it. Once again there was the same comforting, white light between him and the emblem.

He heard a voice, Anaxagoras's perhaps, calm, yet icy. "Alexander, your time is soon approaching."

Alex turned around looking for the owner of this voice, but there was none. He saw a stairway, carved into the walls and leading to a cave. There was a dim light coming from it. He walked up towards the cave and entered. The flickering light came from above him. It was not white, but rather like a yellow flame. "Alexander," the voice said again, "You must follow me. Listen to what I have to say."

"Why?" Alex said. "Why should anyone listen to you?"

Anaxagoras laughed, "No one listens because they are forced to. Do you really think that? No." he paused. "They listen because they know what I say is right."

"I know what is right. So why should I listen to you?"

"You don't know what the truth is. Do not listen to anyone. That is what I am telling you. Listen to what I have to say and you will see the truth."

Alex kept his eyes upwards at the flame-like light. "Why are you telling me all this? What do you want me to see?"

The light grew larger, more radiant. "What do you have to lose?" The light, ten feet away from Alex, grew as bright as the sun. A figure stepped out of it: Anaxagoras, cloaked and completely dark. Only the pale outline of his face could be seen. "Come with me," he said, hovering in the air like the angel of death. "Come and see for yourself what will happen."

Suddenly, Alex too hovered in the air. He knew Anaxagoras was controlling him. They sped higher and higher. Alex could see they neared to the top when he saw clouds. The edifice resembled the opening of a volcano. When they reached the threshold, Alex saw that the structure was in the ground and did not rise up like a mound.

"Where are we?" He asked. "What is this?" He saw a large amalgamation of structures, a complex of pyramids, marble obelisks, and statues. They had come out of an eight hundred foot pyramid through a small ventilation shaft. The pyramid resembled the ones in South America. "This is amazing!" Alex gasped.

"This, my boy, is called the Mausoleum of the Anu-Sa-Rimh!" Anaxagoras raised his hands and gestured to convey the majesty of the area.

"You mean the Blood G.o.ds?"

"Ah, so you know about them?"

"Is this Migra?" Alex asked.

"Yes."

"But the place we were at before "That was Antarctica," Anaxagoras said.

Migra, the real Migra, was so lush. The complex stretched as far as Alex could see. The gigantic monuments were surrounded by lush gardens and sparkling fountains of gushing water.

"This is the city of the G.o.ds," said Anaxagoras. "This is what people on Earth called Heaven, the Kingdom of G.o.d, Devanagari, Nirvana, and all the other names they have for paradise."

"So, they've seen it," Alex said, confused. "But how?"

"In their visions, they have seen it."

"Why are you showing me this?"

"This is your destination. This is where you must be, Alexander. You must join me!"

Alex turned hostile, "You will never persuade me! Tell me what you must and let me go!"

"You have no idea what you are talking about. I have the power to kill you here in the realm of consciousness."

"You killed your son! What's stopping you now?"

"I'm giving you a choice, like I gave my son."

"What?"

"If you don't join me, then it will mean destruction for everything."

"I don't believe that! That's not true!"

"You have no other choice."

"That's not what the Prophecies say!"

"If you do not join me you will see what happens." In an instant, everything Alex saw burst into flames.

He felt the heat of the fire burning him and heard the violent screams of women and children, begging for mercy. He saw flying ships and objects of fire blazing down from the sky. The ships were ma.s.sive, as big as the Regnum. As they landed soldiers flew out and attacked everything in sight. They created energy beams that caused ma.s.s destruction in every corner. Horrible painful lights flickered here and there as a result of the blasts, leaving behind dust, decay, and debris. The heavily armed soldiers attacked the Mausoleum, the pyramid in which Alex had been. They looked like oversized robots with rigid and bulky armor. They had no features, only two large lights for eyes. He realized these were just helmets. He saw other ships, smaller ships, attacking the larger ones.

They landed and the enemy soldiers rushed out. Alex saw that all these soldiers were humans! He saw John, Nikolas, Richard and so many other familiar faces.

"This is impossible!" Alex yelled.

"It will be so. You shall see," Anaxagoras said, his voice penetrating through Alex's veins and beating in his heart.

"But, the war. It's...who are these people?"

"That's of no importance. Now, tell me." Everything disappeared in a flash of light and they were back to the time of an untainted Migra. "Will you join me?" Anaxagoras held out a white hand. His long gla.s.sy fingernails reflected the light.

Alex hesitated, pretending to consider. Then he smirked, "These are just your tricks, nothing more. You think I would believe you so easily?"

Anaxagoras said nothing and raised his right arm. Suddenly beams of light formed on the end of each finger. They increased in size, gradually gathering momentum and pulsating. They merged together into one and expanded to the size of his palm. Anaxagoras flung the energy ball at Alex and said, "You fool! You will die!"

Before he was. .h.i.t by the blast of energy, Alex envisioned the Regnum destroyed. Huge vampire fighter ships were attacking it from all angles. The Regnum split open, spewing people into the cold dark vacuum of s.p.a.ce. He felt their utter horror and sense of hopelessness. He saw Angel crying out for him. A large dark figure grabbed her by the hair and pulled her into his ship.

The energy ama.s.sed and destroyed his body.

Nikolas awoke in his new suite. From the open window, he perceived the sun just above the horizon. The reflection of its golden hue sparkled and danced on the ocean waves. Magnificent Magnificent. Nick breathed in the fresh air. He walked to the balcony, yawned and stretched. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the time. 6:40.

Someone knocked on the door, but Nikolas didn't hear it, engrossed with the sound of the waves and smelling the fresh ocean breeze as it flowed through his thick dark hair. The doorbell rang. He heard it but it didn't matter. He was happy, peaceful and content where he was. Again the doorbell rang.

"What in the blazes!" he scurried to the door and opened it.

A short man stood in the doorway holding a letter. "Sir, the President wishes you to read this. It's of the utmost urgency." He handed him an envelope.

"Thank you."

The man walked away and Nick closed the door, looking at the envelope with deep interest. He sat down and opened it. There was a letter inside; he started reading: Dear Father, I wished to give you my support. But I could not afford to have anyone listen to us; it would be too dangerous.

I want you to know I am ready to join hands with you in our struggle for our own dynasty. Your father was the brother-in-law of the king, and yet he was never given the respect he deserved. He remained in the shadows and was never spoken about. After his death, you swore that you would take vengeance upon the king, and you joined forces with the Rebel, Aidan. But, now the time really has come for our vengeance. Let us forget the past and look to the future, a better future for the Gareng Family.

I will speak to the Council once they have finished with the Falsifier, and you will get your audience with him, privately. Also, I have given permission for the Rebels to roam more freely and have their own rooms as you have. When we speak to the Council, we will let them know that the Rebels are back to their old ways. Once you get the information out of the boy, give it to the Council and show them you are with them. Then, when the right time comes, we will strike them out. I remain forever your loving son.

Daniel.

Nikolas smiled. It worked! What he told Daniel last night had given the boy things to think about. Now he would have the advantage of speaking to Alex alone. He would be able to tell Alex everything he needed to.

Once again, the doorbell rang. It was the same man. He looked different now, his face panicky.

"Now what?"

"Sir, you must come quickly. There is something wrong with the captive!"

"What happened?"

"He's dead!"

The next day's conflicting headlines announced victory, tragedy, and shock, all at the same time. People in the Regnum felt somewhat betrayed by John Howe. They respected him but the news of his nephew shocked them, just as it had shocked the Senate. John was to hold a press conference at 9:00 and that gave him two hours to decide what he would say to the public. Though people were shocked by Gars's statement, they had no problem with the Rebels or Alex coming back to the Regnum. All John had to do was wait for the ultimatum, which would give him a reason to hasten the attack. He contacted the s.p.a.ce Force Commander Kurt J. Lord and told him to meet him at his office at 0830 hrs.

John freshened up and had breakfast with his mother. "So," she asked him, "are you ready?"

He raised his eyebrows, gave a quick smile and sighed. "I guess so. I just hope all goes according to plan."

"It has so far."

"Yeah," he said chewing on his toast. "I hope Alex is fine."

"Don't worry, Nikolas is there with him."

"Yeah, but I just get the feeling...I don't know," he shook his head.

"What? What is it?"

"I just don't want him to get hurt, that's all."

"He won't. They know that he's the Falsifier and they aren't to harm him."

"Yes, I know." John sipped his coffee and looked at the clock. It was 7:45. His mother noticed this and said, "You've never been late for anything in your life. Relax."

"Yeah," he said, "Thanks to dad." He laughed. "I remember the time I was late for school. Just that one day. I'll never forget the way he nearly brought the house down."

John's mother smiled, "And Miriam was so scared of him," she said.

John laughed.

"She would have been so happy to see this day," said John's mother.

"Don't forget, she is," he said. His eyes glazed over and he paused his chewing. "I miss her."

"Me too." Helen took her son's hand and squeezed it. "She's so proud of you and her son, just the way I'm proud of mine."

John looked deep into his mother's eyes. He saw sadness and hurt there. But there was also hope. Hope in Alex. He thought of the pain she must have felt losing both her daughter and her husband. It must have been like the pain he felt when Caryn and his unborn child died. No one knew about the child, not even John's mother. It was a pain that he held inside and used against his enemies on the battlefield.

The doorbell rang and a butler answered it.

Richard walked in. "Have you seen the crowd outside?"

"No, but I've heard it."

"Coffee, Richard?" Helen got up to get the mug and pour some for him.

"Sure, Mrs. Howe." He sat down.

"Now, what have you decided to do?" John asked surveying his clothes, "You look good, Richard. Looks like you're ready to take on the world."

Richard laughed, "I guess I am." He was wearing a suit, finely made by the best tailors of Regnum. "You don't look too bad yourself, mate."

John fixed his tie in playfulness, "I look better than people would expect from a General, I know that much."

They finished their cups and went off to meet the crowd. John and Richard gave Mrs. Howe a kiss on the cheek and she gave them both her blessings.

The moment they left the house, they were met with a cheering crowd. "This is amazing," John said in the limo, "Just yesterday, they were threatening to kill me, and now, now they love me."

"Yeah," Richard said, "These people will love you as long as you show them that you have their best interests at heart."

"And we are very different to Jarad. How is he, by the way?"