(second part) by Steve C.

           Almost as soon as the door shut, Max was down in the living room, watching the car pull away. "It just isn't fair," he said emphatically, shaking his head.
           The car disappeared from sight, and he walked over to Gustav's desk, looking through the papers that covered it for some word of this vampire that was so dangerous.
           His search was in vain, however. Gustav had been called about this particular mess, and he didn't need to be told anything more than the vampire's name to know the seriousness of the situation. That was why they had left only a day later, and short only one hunter, who wouldn't last a second if he were put into the battle.
           But how could Max know any of that? Gustav hadn't had time to explain it--not that he was big on carefully reasoning everything out for anyone anyway. Max had been forced to ignorance of the situation, the main result of which was this flaming-hot anger that left the young boy's mind in conflict with his loyalty to his fellow vampire hunters. If they could do something like this to him, who was to say they wouldn't do something worse. Chris had been sarcastic with him, but Max knew Gustav really did keep things from him, and they all probably shared a few words about his flaws. It was only human after all, and what are humans if not imperfect, opinionated, selfish, prejudiced, stubborn, and prone to dissecting each other's character. At least with vampires there was some honesty. The evil were evil and the few good were good, to a point. And as Max thought about it more, and as he concentrated on it more, the conflict in his brain provided just the right amount of doubt that a certain vampire was waiting for.

           Dracula was in his office when he heard about the departure of his arch-enemy. The car had been seen, headed out of the city, carrying Chris, Sophie, and Gustav. This information given, Lucard had an agent check out the house, and got the report of one human inside. A small boy, probably.
           It was five o'clock according to Dracula's internal chronometer, and the sun would be down in a very short time. He stood up from his desk and walked across the office to his cabinets, pulling open one of the drawers. Inside was a large black book, two words written on the cover, but otherwise blank. Dracula pushed the drawer closed and sat back down, laying the book on his desk. Despite the "reflection" that the vampire himself cast into it, the book did not show up on this special glass, and that only reminded him of the power contained within.
           "Gloria," he said, pushing the intercom button on the phone. "No one should be calling, but if they do, tell them I've ended my business day early. And, of course, let no one enter this office." He let go before she could say "Yes, sir, Mister Lucard."
           Dracula opened the book to where he had left off, "De Altiore Adducto Mentis," which meant, loosely, Higher Control of the Mind.
           This chapter was in the book of Cievarian law that had recently taken away Dracula's odd disease, and, having leafed through it to see if he could gain any more powers, the vampire decided to give a shot at studying the tome. However, he had to start with the simple abilities, and improving his mind control was one of the first.
           Reading carefully and repeatedly, Dracula discovered that the human mind is prone to hypnotic suggestion at least twice as much in time of inner conflict. If he could infiltrate the Helsing household's protective shield and reach the young boy, the teachings from this book might enable him to convince Max to just walk up to the castle.
           Dracula hadn't believed such a feat was possible at first, but had tried it just after killing a victim a few nights previous. With the blood fresh in his system, making him more powerful, Dracula went into the mind of some younger woman that was having the most graphic nightmares his telepathic mind had ever come across. He had entered into her sub-conscious, convinced her that she was awake, and caused her sleeping body to come to the window, open it, and throw him a scarf that had been carelessly tossed at the foot of her bed before she laid down to sleep. Lucard would have gotten her to come down and give her life to him, but he had just eaten and was not in the mood to taste type B+ anyway.
           But could this work on Max? Was his mind in conflict about something? Could Dracula pass by the Cross of the Magyars protection, even if it was only a psychic entrance? And what of Helsing? Would he return to find Max gone, know where the boy was, and force Lucard to yet another in a seemingly endless series of stalemates that left neither one the winner or loser?
           Dracula had no answers to these questions. All he had was the sense that had overwhelmed him when he had first discovered what his vampire powers were. The adventure of pushing his limits, the surge of energy that almost made him feel like he had a beating heart underneath his ribs. Dracula felt like a kid again, like he was three hundred and the world was his oyster.
           Oh, he would take care of Max that night, he would bring him up the castle and have a nice long talk with the boy. And maybe, just maybe, he would finally have a weapon with which to destroy Helsing once and for all, and then finally be able to complete his plans of world domination.
           But first, he would have to get some fresh blood into his system, then he could start his game. Almost leaping from his desk, a smile that belonged only to him on his face, Dracula left to his balcony, and headed off into the approaching night.

           To Gustav, the most unfortunate thing about the fight they were about to have was not the danger involved or the odds against them, it was the fact that it was only possible at night.
           When Jacob Shilling, a student of his that had--like many--devoted his life to vampire hunting, called the day before, Gustav had almost suffered a heart attack from the shock of the news he had received. Jacob had been one of the top rankers in the fifteenth class Gustav had ever taught, and his best friend, Morton, had been close at his heels. Jacob and Morton were roommates; they had known each other from diapers; two closer human beings could not be found on earth. When they had decided to go into vampire hunting, Gustav couldn't have been happier, because he was still searching for Lucard's new identity at the time and needed all the help he could get. Plus, Morton was an exceptional field worker, as far as vampire hunting went. He was the one that had the courage to face the walking dead, the stamina to hold out under the steel-handed grip, the strength to drive the stake into the still heart under the extra layers of bone. Jacob would do all the planning, all the reasoning and figuring of the deal. He would get all the information there was on the hunted vampire, find his weakest points, and concoct the fight like he was writing a play. And they had always been successful; they had always came out on top.
           But, they had always faced vampires of what Gustav liked to call Grade 'C' ability. They had never gone up against a Klaus or a Nosferatu or a Dracula. Their speed was more the thief Vincent or Lane Zorro or Lawrence Lei.
           Of course, a vampire was a vampire, and the more dead the better, but when Nosferatu had visited their region of Switzerland and transformed a young lunatic named Robert into a vampire, suddenly Mort and Jake had had more then they could handle.
           Nosferatu had always made a habit of transforming the mentally ill when he bit men, because they made for vampires with that natural air of superiority missing, and were a lot more likely to sow discord under his orders. Nosferatu's supposed death had been enough to release Robert from his control, and now he was killing without consideration. But what was worse, he was killing for the simple sport of it, and had a nasty habit of severely mutilating his victims, leaving them where they could corrupt the mind of anyone else that happened by before the morgue got hold of them.
           Jacob had not known when the last bits of the forty-third victim had been found, but his best friend was full of ideas. Morton decided that a vampire of this kind must be destroyed as soon as possible, and he didn't have the time nor the desire to wait on some outlandish plan.
           And his confrontation with Robert had been very brief.
           When Jacob had found Morton's note of leaving, he had searched the streets for his friend, not caring that his life was in severe danger because of it. The town residents that hadn't moved knew well enough to be locked away at night, so the alleys and roads were completely vacant, and he could run screaming for his friend without much hassle.
           He had found Morton soon enough, and hadn't been able to cease his stomach's convulsions. Morton had been torn into halves, then ripped even further, and scattered about the street with little pattern or form. The most appalling thing, however, was the fact that his blood was covering the street and organs around him, meaning Robert hadn't even taken him as a meal, just slaughtered him and moved on.
           So, Jacob had called Helsing, saying only that Morton was dead and Robert had to be stopped. Interestingly enough, Gustav had heard about Robert through Dracula, of all people. Shortly after Nosferatu's confrontation with Max and Lucard, Helsing had found himself again with a cross in one hand, a stake in the other, and Dracula holding his hands up and teeth out. They had spoken for a few minutes at this point, Lucard letting him on the whole story of what happened with Max and Nosferatu, which led to why it had been such a help to have Nosferatu killed. Once the vampire Robert had been named and city found, Gustav had contacted Jacob, to find if what Dracula told him was true. That was when Jacob and Morton were still cocky young hunters, and had assured him they had everything under control. Two months later, here Gustav was, driving to try and eliminate this vampire once and for all.
           And at night, for that matter. This was not going to be easy.

           Continued in Part Three.

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