He stood watching the moon. His head tilted back. The silvery glow cast down over his face. His eyes shimmered. Silver and blue. It wouldn’t be long as the first strands of sun poked through the darkness on the far arch of the horizon. Another day of rest, although he’d a mate to accompany his bed with him, and soon he’d have two.

Sanders had felt his own arousal as he’d watched Megan's perfectly formed body arch willfully against the railing of the balcony. From where he’d stood, he’d marveled, as her breasts had pushed forward into the night.

Damn! I wish it’d been me tasting the nectar of her sweetness rather than that human, Gabriel.

The sun poked its head over the building tops and started to fill the apartment. Sanders felt his skin sear and begin to smolder. He couldn’t wait for the day he could stand in the morning sun, bathing in all its glory. He’d step from the night and drop his housecoat to the floor and spread his arms. His skin would warm, and he’d walk among his minions. Bowed figures who worshiped the very place he stepped.

Sanders stepped back into the apartment and closed the doors. The curtains closed, and now he pulled the thick blackout blanket which had been hung from the corner hooks. Darkness filled the living area, apart from the strip of light which sat under the bedroom door. He stepped closer as he saw the shadow move inside the room.

His knurled fingers wrapped around the door handle. He heard the creak of his wrist as he twisted, arthritis was a real problem. He pushed open the door. Tanya turned. Her long hair flowed over the blood-red, silk nightgown that she wore. It draped across the floor like a spilled pot of paint.

"Wow! You look delightful," Sanders said.

"I'm looking my best for you."

"That you are... that you are."

Sanders walked back to the couch and flicked on the table lamp. Tanya walked from the bedroom.

"What's wrong? Have I done something to upset you?"

Sanders tightened his cracked lips and forced a smile. "Not at all. It was the fact I had to watch Megan with your ex, Gabriel. It was heart-wrenching to see."

"Well, it won’t be long before everything changes, and then we can all be together as one," she replied.

Tanya often thought of Gabriel, but it wasn't a deep love that was missing. She did love him, but the lure of immortality was too strong. Tanya wanted to feel the way she did, for forever and a day. No worries of getting old, no wrinkles, and no loss of sex drive. She wanted to be in a neverending circle of gratification.

"What's the plan now?" she asked Sanders as he rested his head back on the couch. His blue eyes glared in the dark.

"We need to find a weak spot. We almost had them earlier, in Bourbon Street, but they vanished. Kelvin’s still a priority. We have to get his blood. Without that we can't increase our numbers as fast," he said as he turned to Tanya.

She lounged next to him on the couch and fawned over his chest. Her fingers began tracing lines in the embroidery. He sighed as he looked deeply into her eyes.

"It’d be so much easier if we knew where Noelle was. The problem is, they’re keeping so quiet about their location. Megan has heard nothing at all. It’s like they don't trust her."

"She’s smarter than that. They’ll trust her, but I know how they think. Gabriel, Dustin, and Maria would never ever divulge Declan's whereabouts if there were a threat. Even Kelvin will be as tight-lipped as they come. It’s like Declan has this power over them, and he does that without trying, it’s all natural."

Sanders huffed and pushed Tanya's hand away from his chest. He stood and glared at her from the shadow. Half his face embraced in a golden glow and half hiding in the darkness.

"It sounds as if you hold him in adoration, as well. If you want to go back, go on, fuck off! And I’ll pay to see how you explain yourself."

Tanya stood and draped herself over Sanders as they stood in the center of the living area. "It's not like that, and you know it. I was only saying how it is. I’ve more allegiance to Gabriel than I do for Declan. It’s just the fact that everyone worships him."

"That's it. That's what I want. I want everyone to bow to me.” Sanders started to spit as he snarled. His tight lips were pulled back, and his yellowish teeth clattered together as he ranted. “I’m the one who can lead the world to salvation. No more wars or illness. We’ll live in harmony as one, and forever."

"Master, you know that Megan and I will be forever by your side," Tanya murmured as she draped her hands over his shoulders.

"That day can't come soon enough."

"It isn’t far away. One they seek a shaman we can take Kelvin and continue with your plan at your leisure," Tanya said.

"I suppose you're right. This has gone on long enough. We have enough of us hiding in the shadows to make a difference, and we’re slowly spreading. As soon as we have the last two things, we can spread...” Sanders smiled again, and his head nodded as he pictured how it’d all end.

"Oh Master! It will spread. We’ll spread through borders and across oceans. There’s no corner of the earth we will not command," Tanya said as she was becoming aroused at the thought of running the world.

"Yeah! We’ll spread quickly." Sanders grabbed Tanya by the hand and dragged her in the direction of the bedroom. She swooned. Sanders pushed Tanya to the bed.

He dropped his robe.

"We'll spread like a god-damned epidemic!"

Kelvin and Maria walked back to Willy's motel in silence. He was in shock, but he understood why his mom had taken him away from New Orleans. His sister was the hybrid, and she was the one who’d be in real danger if the vlads ever found out about her existence. The streets were all deserted and were mainly filled with guys leaving the strip clubs. Some unsuspecting, but their zippers were down and maybe one or two who’d soon find their wallets weren’t where they left them.

The other people milling around were street cleaners. Large trucks slowly filling with the remains of the day. Rubbish being flung into the back as guys dressed in fluorescent yellow continually shoveled trash to the rear of the trucks. The streets were silent, apart from the jovial antics of the street workers and the chug...chug of the trucks as they ticked over until another pile of rubbish was removed from the street. Small road-sweepers followed behind to remove the last remnants of small items. There were broken beads, plastic cups, and dollar bills that’d been dropped and missed by the road cleaners with the shovels.

The one thing Maria and Kelvin were thankful for was that the streets were devoid of any vlads. They’d long since departed, and there was no sign of them. They wouldn't hang around, and they’d probably venture off to backstreets further away from Bourbon Street, to feed, and in the process, create a few more vlads.

The light was on in the bar when they reached the motel. Willy and Dustin stared in disbelief. Two empty bottles of the finest bourbon sat on the table surrounded by salted peanuts that had fallen (unnoticed) from drunken fingers as they were scooped up by Dustin and Willy.

"What are you two still doing up?" Maria asked.

Dustin snickered as he looked at Willy. "We've had a little drinkypoo."

"I think you've had more than a little drinkypoo," she replied as she took the empty bottles and placed them onto the bar.

"What brings you two home so late, anyway?"

"We’ve had a few revelations cast upon us, and it could affect things if we don't tread carefully," Maria stated as Kelvin walked behind the bar and poured two glasses of whiskey.

Willy held his glass up and requested a top up. Dustin, not to be left out, did the same. He held his glass and called across the bar.

"Bartender, another round here."

Maria scooped all the nuts off the table and dumped them into the pile of cigar ash. "Don't you think you've had enough?"

"One for the road," Dustin and Willy said together.

Kelvin grabbed a bottle of bourbon and walked to the table and poured a shot into Willy's glass. He looked up, bleary-eyed, and shook his glass.

"It's a long road. Don't be a meanie."

Kelvin topped the glasses up and placed the bottle on the table. Dustin tried to look at his watch to check the time. It was as if his arm was shaking. He closed one eye, and that still didn't help his cause.

"What time is it?" he asked. He picked up his glass and sipped.

He smacked his lips in complete satisfaction at the taste of the bourbon. It was like he’d never had a drink and it was the most satisfying drink he’d ever had.

"A little after three," Maria replied as she sat on the green leather couch. She kicked off her boots and crossed her legs while she watched the two drunkards chatter in some language that was only known to drunken people.

Dustin turned from Willy and faced Maria and Kelvin. "Where did you get to, anyway?"

Kelvin placed his glass on the table and replied. "We went to a strip club."

"Ah! And you had a good time? Plenty of bare boobies to look at?" Willy asked, giggling wildly.

"We didn't go for the women," Kelvin replied. “I did see a few, though."

Willy giggled like a kid who’d seen his first pair of naked breasts. His hands were held to his chest as if he was holding a large pair of them, cupping the imaginary pair in front of himself. He jiggled his hands up and down as they all stared at him.

"I have to admit, I love a good pair of fun bags," he said.

"Funbags?" Maria scoffed. "Is that what you call them?"

"Okay then, breasticles," he replied as he fell into a fit of laughter.

"Being serious. What did you find out?" Dustin asked. "You might have to repeat it later though, if I can't remember." His face looked happy and puzzled at the same time.

"I'm not a hybrid after all," Kelvin remarked. He waited for Dustin to respond, and from the look of him, it could take a few minutes before his next statement sank into his bourbon-fuddled mind. "My twin sister is the hybrid."

Dustin realized what Kelvin had said. “A sister, your twin sister?"

"Yup, you got it."

Dustin sobered up a little, or that was how it appeared. A bolt of recognition and adrenaline mixed and shot through him.

"Knock me down with a feather. You’ve got a twin sister? How old is she?"

"She's the same age, you dope. She's my twin."

"Oh yeah! How did you find this out?"

Kelvin ran through how they’d split up and were walking down Bourbon Street looking for the sign that was in the picture. He told them they were followed and had doubled back to the strip club. It was then that a voice was heard behind them, and the woman took them away from the street and explained everything to them. Dustin appeared to take it all in, as if he understood. Whether or not he remembered it though, that would be a different matter, altogether.

"So your mom took you away from here to protect your sister?"

"That's what we were told. The woman in that picture isn't my mom. It's my aunt, she's a twin as well. I’m the first male born into that family lineage, that's why she always told me I was special."

"I see. So how were you turned?" Dustin asked as he pulled the half a cigar from the ashtray and flicked the cap open on Willy’s Zippo.

"It was my sister who turned me when I was about three. That's why I could never remember who’d done it."

"Interesting." Dustin puffed on the cigar and then realized it was a huge mistake. A sickly feeling washed over him as he stubbed the cigar back into the ashtray. He coughed. "So you were turned by a hybrid who happened to be your sister. And your sister’s a stripper, just like your mom and your aunt?"

Willy giggled again. "You come from a family of strippers. That's why she took you away. No one would pay dollar bills for you wrapped around a pole."

"Well!" Kelvin answered. "They aren't strippers. Mom and my aunt owned the strip club."

"I thought your mom had two jobs at night?"

"I think she did. But this was only for cover. I assumed she was working her fingers to the bone, yet she was doing it all as a ruse in case anyone ever found out about who we were. And that’d lead back to my sister."

"What some mothers will do to protect their young, eh?" Willy commented.

"We all know a woman's work is never done," Maria remarked. "You know I've cleaned a few of your muddles up."

"Yes you have," Dustin said with a smile. It was a drunken smile, though still a smile.

"Come on, OM. It's time we got you to bed," Kelvin said. "We’ve got something important to do later."

"We need to go to the cemetery and find that grave, or whatever else lurks around there."

"We do, and you need your wits about you." Kelvin helped Dustin to stand. Kelvin walked a tottering Dustin to the doorway of the bar and led him to the stairs.

"Are you okay?" Maria asked Willy.

"Sure. I think I'm a little more used to drinking than Dustin is, I think."

"I've never seen him drunk like this, he must be relaxed here."

Willy sat up and poured another shot into his glass. Maria held hers to him, and he poured into hers.

"I know they’ve got to go to the cemetery to look for Marie Laveau and I'm not sure I want them to go alone. People around these parts can be protective of things like that. There's more at stake than just a name of a woman who was supposed to be the Voodoo Queen," Willy said.

Maria let the thick bourbon swill around in her mouth. "I agree. I was thinking of tagging along but hanging back, just in case," she added.

Willy sipped from his glass while nodding his head. He knew the areas a little more than Dustin and Kelvin and he thought he might be able to spot something if it was a little untoward.

"I'm coming with you," he said.

"It's okay. We can cope," Maria replied.

Willy shook his head in disagreement. "You never know when you’ll need the assistance of a bear in times like this."

"I've never seen a bear shifter before," Maria said.

Willy grinned. "If you want, I can show you?"

Maria smirked. "That sounds like a proposition."

Willy grinned with a glint in his eye. "If you don't knock, you don't get any answers."

“Just like the changes of seasons it might not be my turn, though I know there's reasons, the lessons are mine to learn.”