Just a Little Misunderstanding Between Friends!

By the time that Roland and Vlad had burst into the kitchen, having first been delayed by a brief scuffle as to who was going to get through the door first which Roland's superior height helped him win, the Count was leaning back against the sink with a supercilious sneer on his face and Eunice was rubbing her sore wrist with a decidedly stormy look on her face.

Roland flung himself over to Eunice, grabbed her to him and asked in a hoarse voice

'Are you OK, what has that brute done to you? Where has he hurt you?'

Eunice, who didn't appreciate being mauled by Roland any more than she did being man-handled by the Count, dug the stiletto heel of her dainty black pump into his sock-clad right foot, and dug her elbow sharply into his middle.

'Ow, that hurt' squealed Roland, jumping back with an indignant look on his face. 'What the hell have I done, I'm only trying to help you'.

The Count just rolled his eyes and said dryly 'I don't think that the young lady is in a very appreciative mood this morning, De Cazalrenoux, and she is definitely not in a co-operative one!'

Roland looked for a moment as though he was going to go at the Count and throttle him, but then thought better of it and pulled himself back with a visible effort. His ears had sprouted tufts of tawny fur, his canines had dropped down in his jaw and his eyes had widened and narrowed into glassily cold green stare.

'What were you doing to Eunice?' he snarled 'You must have really hurt her for her to have cried out like that.'

'I did nothing, De Cazalrenoux' replied the Count contemptuously 'I was merely trying to elicit some information from her; these young people nowadays have no mettle and no staying power'.

Roland growled low in his throat and Vlad grabbed his arm to restrain him.

'Why are you pumping her for information, Antonescu?' spat Roland 'What can she possibly know that would be of interest to you vampires!'

'Well, she obviously came her to impart some information to you, so I just thought that I would speed up the process' said the Count reasonably.

'Anything that she has to say was for my ears only, Antonescu' was Roland's hot reply 'Why on earth do you think that she would tell you confidential client information?'

'Unfortunately for her, that was her response as well. So I had to grease the wheels a little to get her to talk. Regrettable but necessary!' replied the Count silkily.

Vlad, who by now was holding onto Roland's arm with both hands to restrain him, glared angrily at the Count.

'How dare you take advantage of a guest in this house! And how dare you assault a lady under my roof!' spluttered Vlad.

'You don't honestly believe that the werewolf would share any of that information with us do you?' asked Antonescu tauntingly 'And that's no lady, she's a witch and you know what they are like!'

'No I don't know what 'they' are like' answered Vlad repressively 'And I will reiterate that I do not like guests in this house being harassed and assaulted in any way!'

Eunice looked up from rubbing her wrist and said in a matter of fact tone 'His sire ran away with a renegade witch, that's why he doesn't like us. They tried to hush it all up, but his family have never gotten over it. The Count now thinks that all witches are cheap tarts on the make.'

Vlad's jaw dropped and the Count looked furious.

'But I never knew this? Why wasn't I told? I thought that old Igor was staked in the Resistance? His name is on the 'Wall of Distinction'. Is he still alive? Where did he run away to?' wailed Vlad.

'Oh yes he is still very much alive. He ran away to the Bahamas. He's a property developer now, I believe'.

'Shut your mouth witch!' growled the Count 'You don't know what you are talking about!'

'Oh I thought you wanted to get information out of me, Count?' sniped back Euncie sweetly 'Do you want me to tell them how he stripped the rings off the fingers of your aunts in their coffins before he left as well?'

Antonescu had stiffened against the sink and a dangerous rictus had overtaken his face.

'Or how he sold your younger sister onto the slave markets in Tangiers to get enough money for the plane fares?' she continued 'Or that the name of this dangerous siren is Doris, and that she is 40 pounds overweight and used to run a whelk stall in Southend?'

The Count snarled and leapt at Eunice, going for her throat this time....

Roland the Red

Eunice laughed so loud that she doubled over and clutched her middle, but still she couldn't stop.

Roland, who was thoroughly unaccustomed to women bursting out laughing at the sight of his nearly naked body, flushed a dark brick red. This annoyed him further as he knew that a red face did not suit his tawny, red hair, and that usually he could control his blushing. But something about Eunice brought his defences down and made him feel like a naughty little cub of ten again.

Eunice finally ran out of steam and managed to pull herself up straight again, still puffing from her exertions.

'Oh I wish I had a camera' she started, blithely unaware of the stony reception she was receiving from the three male old kingdomers 'You three look so funny just standing here in the kitchen with a bag of blood!'

She almost started to laugh again, but managed to collect herself when she looked into Roland's face and saw that he was not at all amused. She didn't know him well enough to know that, while he was usually an affable and fairly laid back character for a werewolf, his Achilles heel was his vanity and his feeling of invincibility where the opposite sex was concerned. He was not one to laugh at himself and his wounded pride.

The Count glowering and Vlad looking fussily appalled did not concern her; they were vampires and vampires always were a bit weird as far as she was concerned.

'For god's sake, Vladimirescu, do you not have some clothes that I could borrow from you, or are you happy for me to go on standing here feeling humiliated!' barked Roland suddenly.

Vlad, who was never too good in the morning until after he had had his first warm bag of blood, jumped. His nerves were already on edge this morning, what with Antonescu dragging him out of his coffin at an unreasonably early hour of the morning after a poor night spent worrying about poor Mike Costello, Roland strolling casually into the kitchen barely clothed demanding coffee and then this beautiful woman turning up out of nowhere. Were they really safe in this house if all and sundry seemed to be able to turn up out of the blue, knowing exactly who was in the house?

'Yes of course, Roland, just follow me. Do you think that we are actually enjoying the vision of your half-naked body draped over the kitchen dresser?' he asked pointedly as he took Roland out of the kitchen door into the hall.

As the sound of their footsteps faded as they climbed the stairs, the Count turned to Eunice, who was by now regaining some of her composure, took her hand, bowed deeply over it and said suavely 'Enchanted to meet you; it is always such a pleasure to meet such a charming young lady. My name is Count Antonescu, lately arrived from Romania'

The smile that accompanied this gesture was no more pleasant thought Eunice than the glower that he had initially greeted her with.

She snatched back her hand a bit to hastily and drew herself up to her full height.

'Thank you kindly, Sir' she replied 'I am Miss Batchworth - Eunice Batchworth - and I am chief witch's assistant to Sue Fisher'.

'Sue Fisher' said the Count knowledgeably 'you fly high in witch's circles for one so young, my child'.

'Sue Fisher is my aunt, sir. Witching is in my blood, I come from a long line of high fliers'.

'Hmm, I believe that your aunt is assisting the werewolf in the matter of his missing clan member, how is this coming along? Do you have any information for us?

Eunice was appalled at the Counts blunt enquiry. 'As you should know, Sir, I am not at liberty to discuss our clients with you. Any information that I have is for Mr De Cazalrenoux's ears alone; if he wishes to discuss it with you that is his decision and his concern'.

The Count smiled at her answer, but did not seem pleased with it. He looked intently into Eunice's eyes and said 'But I am not interested in De Cazalrenoux's concerns, I need you tell me exactly what it is that Sue Fisher has entrusted to you and I need you to tell me now!'

Eunice, who was not in the least intimidated by this display, broke the Counts stare.

'Count Antonescu, I don't appreciate you asking me for information, when I have already informed you that it is confidential and for the ears of our client only! It is not the act of a gentleman. And please don't try and entrance me with your stare again! I am not a human and could stare down a vampire from the age of five!'

'You make a great mistake, young lady, crossing me. There are things afoot that you could not possibly know the significance of, things that are bigger than your stupid confidentiality clauses! You will tell me now what you know, or you will regret it!'

With this speech the Count leaned over, grabbed one of Eunice's wrists and started twisting it.

'Let me go' she screamed at him and kicked him heftily on the leg 'I will tell you nothing. I do not know you. I do not trust you. And our client's confidentiality will not be broken'.

The Count just smiled some more. Eunice was a tall girl, but she was willowy and slight. The Count was a very tall, very stocky, preternaturally strong vampire from an old blood line, and her kicking him had little or no effect.

'You will tell me' he said sweetly 'And you you will tell me now, before the werewolf and my so called leader return'.

'No!' said Eunice promptly, sinking her teeth into his arm in an attempt to make him let her go.

'I like your spirit, but unless you really want me to hurt you, you will tell me what I wish to know!'

At this the Count increased the pressure on Eunice's slender wrist, causing her to scream out loud. The Count grabbed her to him and roughly put his hand over her mouth to stop her cries.

It was too late however, as the sound of pounding footsteps were heard on the stairs, and both Roland and Vlad burst into the kitchen.

The Three Stooges

'Well, we look inconspicuous don't we!' thought Roland wryly, as they strolled up Clarence Crescent trying to look nonchalant in the bright morning sunshine.

Roland had woken up on Vladimirescu's hearth rug in the cold morning light. Back in his human form, he had been stiff, cold and naked. His clothes were in a heap on the sofa where Antonescu had dumped them, but they were too ripped up by his turning to be able to put them on. He rooted through the pockets and retrieved his wallet, keys and phone and looked for something to cover himself. The only thing to hand was a very grubby tablecloth that had been covering a scratched, walnut side table. He draped it round his thighs and wandered into the kitchen.

'Any chance of a coffee' he asked the two vampires who had already arisen from their coffins and were bickering as usual over a glutinous bag of pig's blood.

Vlad jumped in surprise and the Count glared at him.

'With milk and two sugars, if you have them' continued Roland affably.

'Do you not dress in the morning's anymore, De Cazalrenoux?' asked the Count stuffily.

'Not when my clothes are in shreds from last night, I don't! Do you have anything I can borrow?' asked Roland cheerily.

Vlad looked at him with a worried frown.

'You seem mighty cheerful this morning for someone who woke up naked on the rug?' he asked warily 'Has something happened?'

'Nothing' replied Roland 'We werewolves always feel great after turning; it makes us feel good to be alive!'

'I suppose you want us to provide you with a woman as well as the coffee' interjected the Count tartly.

'You do know our species well, don't you Count! I'm not holding out for the milk and sugar, so fully realise that a woman is not likely to materialise!'

'Hm' snorted Antonescu and was about to say more, when the door bell suddenly jangled loudly through the house.

Vlad scooted fussily off to open it, totally unaware that he still had the bag of pig's blood in his hand. After a few brief moments, after they heard the opening of the creaking old front door and the low murmuring of voices, Vlad returned to the kitchen trailed by the almost impossibly glamorous figure of Eunice Batchworth.

'Er, you have a visitor Roland' stuttered Vlad nervously 'How on earth did she know you were here?'

'I wouldn't know' said Roland grinning from ear to ear 'It was you guys who mentioned providing the woman!'

'Sue Fisher sent me' said Eunice simply then looked around at Roland's half naked, grinning figure, Vlad still nervously clutching his bag of pig's blood, the Count standing glowering in a sinister manner and fell into the biggest fit of giggles ever.

Battle Plans

Roland, Vlad and the Count reached Vlad's house without any major incidents. Roland had been scented by a police dog as he loped over Sloane Square, but managed to overpower the dog's mind before he could cause too much of a commotion.

He had been the first to arrive at the house, even though the vampires were flying and should have been there well before him, so he reconnoitered the area to see if anything interesting had been going on while they had been away. There were no new signs of Kingsteignton or Mike Costello, and in fact no signs that anyone at all had been near the place.

'Popular guys' thought Roland sourly 'not even the London vampires want to come around and hang out'.

He was sitting patiently on his haunches when they arrived, bumping into each other and squabbling as usual.

'Pack it in and get us in the door' he growled into Vlad's mind.

Vlad fumbled over the keys in the locks, with the Count tutting in the background, and then stumbled into the hallway, flicking on the specially muted lights as he went. Roland followed the two vampires in, screwing up his nose as he went. The stench of the place had been bad enough in human form, but was much worse now he had his wolf nose!!!

'Have you ever thought of getting a cleaner, Vladimirescu' he projected into the vampire's minds.

Vlad flushed and the Count looked annoyed.

'Look here, de Cazalrenoux' squeaked Vlad 'I live here on my own and do the best I can with this crumbling heap! Do you think that I would spend funds on cleaners, when my brothers and sisters in Romania are starving to death! We will talk in the drawing room - I hope that it will meet with your olfactory approval!'

He stalked off into the dining room, followed by the wolf Roland and the Count, who was glaring at Roland.

Vlad began after they had all made themselves comfortable.

'We need to make a plan to rescue Mike; Kingsteignton has already had him for several hours. I'm worried what might happen to him.'

'Why?' asked Roland in their heads. 'Why are you concerned about rescuing a human; haven't we got more important things to worry about?'

'Because he's my friend' retorted Vlad hotly, genuinely shocked at what Roland had said.

'He's a human. Since when have vampires had humans as friends? Aren't they usually just lunch?' enquired Roland 'Or are you some kind of new vampire?'

'I don't know why you are being do disagreeable, Roland! You know I don't feed the old way, and that I believe that the way forward for the Old Kingdom is to integrate more with humans'.

Roland just looked at him, as disbelievingly as a wolf could manage.

'I think de Cazalrenoux only looks at things from the point of view of what is going to benefit him' interjected the Count dryly 'Costello may be your best bet on getting you missing Clan member back, de Cazalrenoux. He may have information that he hasn't passed on, or he might have picked up something new from being around Kingsteignton. Don't forget he is a true psychic. Probably worth the minor inconvenience of helping us to get him back'.

Roland growled low in his throat.

'Fair point, Antonescu; but I'm just not keen on the idea of Old Kingdomers risking their necks for humans, we have enough on our plates as it is!'

'Look we have to start somewhere, and rescuing Mike seems like a good place to start' said Vlad firmly. 'There is no point going to his place while it is still dark, as Kingsteignton and whatever accomplices helped rescue him are still likely to be up and about. I propose that we go round there first thing tomorrow and see if we can pick up any clues. Anyway, we will need to wait until Roland has turned back. A wolf might just look a little conspicuous in Belgravia in broad daylight. How many more nights will you be turning, Roland?'

'The moon will be full enough on three more nights. I suppose we do have to start somewhere' replied Roland.

'Unless you can think of a better idea?' asked the Count sarcastically.

'Not really' said Roland 'I'm a bit stumped until Sue Fisher comes up with something'.

'Well we might as well rest until morning then. At least Kingsteignton left his car here, so we can use that. Are you OK down there down on the rug, Roland?' asked Vlad.

'Fine' replied Roland stretching out his limbs 'Do you happen to have a nice, meaty lamb bone lying around by any chance!'

Revelations in the Night

Eunice and Malvolio lay back in the bed, lazily replete and satisfied. The clouds had cleared and now the full moon shone brightly through the curtainless window.

'Makes it something special doesn't it, making love when I should be turning!' said Malvolio grinning and turning to kiss Eunice's soft white shoulder.

A cloud crossed Eunice's face. 'I think that we should stop doing this Malvolio, however good it feels. Roland will go nuts if he finds out that you are not turning as you should, and I could get thrown off the Witch's Council if they found out that I was helping you. Also, we are not sure if it's going to hurt you if you keep doing it!'

'You worry too much sweetheart' smiled Malvolio as he slipped his arm around her and pulled her to him 'No one is going to find out and I will be fine!'

But Eunice would not be placated.

'I really think that I should leave now, and that you should turn. Prosperpine is fine, I can feel her sleeping. It would be better for you!'

Malvolio just laughed. 'But I feel wonderful, my love. I have never felt better. Just relax and stay with me.'

'You know I told you that I met Roland today and then bumped into him as I was leaving earlier' started Eunice hesitantly 'Well, I'm not sure that I should mention this, but I think that he thought that I had come here to see him'.

'You think so' Malvolio asked shortly 'What makes you think that'.

Eunice could tell that Malvolio's body had stiffened under her.

'Well he was very flirty at Sue's and seemed disappointed that I had been visiting you guys. Why had you never told him about me, Malvolio?'

'Because there are some things that I like to keep private. This Clan business is all very well, but you don't get a life of your own. Everyone knows everything about you; what you do, what you say, who you know!'

'There is more to it than that though, isn't there?' prompted Eunice gently.

'Well I'm also not sure how cool Roland would be about you being a witch. I mean the usual Clan way is that you are put together with a selected Clan bitch at the turning time and nature takes over. By the time you are back in human form you are stuck with each other for life.'

'Another valid point, Malvolio, but it's still not the real reason is it?'

Eunice looked directly into Malvolio's face with cool, searching green eyes. He groaned and looked away.

'Oh you know! Roland is like this big stud. The big alpha male! I'm a mere beta and should know my place. If you must know, I'm scared stiff that he is going to sweep in here and take you from me. And you telling me that he is already sniffing around you just makes it worse. If he fancies you and finds out that we are an item, he'll lose it totally. He's not used to coming second!'

'Maybe you are underestimating him, and you are certainly underestimating me. I love you Malvolio, you know that. Do you think that means that I will let the big bad wolf carry me off to his lair and ravage me whenever the fancy takes him!'

Malvolio looked stricken. 'This is the first time I have crossed him, Eunice. And the only reason I can do it is because I love you so much. It would crucify me if he took you from me.'

She smiled gently down at him. 'He will never have me and I will never leave you. Especially not now.'

'Why not now especially' he asked cautiously.

'Because I am pregnant' she said simply 'We are going to have a child, Malvolio.'