As we pass the line and head towards the entrance. I notice several of the people wondering who we are. The young women in the line direct their eye sights on to Jack and Ajax, while their male companions direct their gaze towards me. For some of them, you can tell what they are thinking from the looks on their face. “Here is a woman with two guys. She’s either good in bed or a very important person.”

I smirk to myself and look at some of the men still staring at me and smile at them as we approach the entrance to the club. Once we get there, we’re stopped by a big burly African American gentleman. You can tell he is some sort of weightlifter because his muscles are straining against the security t-shirt that is covering his chest. He is well developed and his muscular legs are cover in black slack and covering his feet are black dress shoes. The light above the doorway shines off his polished bald head as he looks me up and down as I stand there before him. You can smell that he is a vampire familiar. He doesn’t have the same smell as a normal human would.

“Move aside, I have an appointment with Mistress Selena.” as I stare right into his eyes.

“Make me little wolf.” as he glares back at me.

“If that’s what you want.” I snap my fingers and both Jack and Ajax pull their guns out and point them at him.

“Now if you will be a good little fang banger and step aside. I’ll forget about this incident and not tell your Mistress, that you were being a jerk and not allowing her guest in.” I give him a low growl.

He moves aside. I start towards the door. I swing my fist as fast and hard as I can into his stomach. As he doubles over from my blow, I pull his head up towards me.

“Next time, you think about challenging me. Remember who you are challenging and what I am. Because next time, I won’t be so nice.” as my eyes flash to their wolf state. I let him fall to his knees and walk past him.

All three of us walk past him and into a dimly lit large cavernous room. As I look around the place, I notice that Mistress Selena has all three of her bars up and running tonight. Gothic/Darkwave music fills the air at an annoying level as people of various ages dance to the music. There are groups of people, along with vampires gather around the room away from the huge dance floor.

Jack leans in close to me “So where is Mistress Selena holding court tonight?”

I turn to talk with him “upstairs.” there’s a private elevator and stairs over on the other side of the dance floor near the right-hand corner.

“Oh!” as Jack follows my lead.

I start walking over towards the other side of the building avoiding people as much as possible. I know a few of these people are psychic and energy vampires and would love to have some of our energy to feed them. Every once in a while we run into a group of college girls that try hitting on Jack and Ajax.

Just before we get to the other side of the dance floor, were intercepted by one of Mistress Selena’s children. He steps in front of us blocking our path. He looks down at me and then towards Jack and Ajax.

“Ah, it’s so nice to see you again Victoria.” as he takes my hand and places a kiss on it.

“Where is your charming husband at night?” he looks past my shoulders and to the two men that are with me.

“He had something else to take care of tonight.” I look at him. Yes, I know. You should never look a vampire in the eyes, but in my case it’s safe. One, I’m a were so his gaze doesn’t affect me, and two, my family line has a natural immunity to their gaze.

“That’s too bad. I so will miss his company tonight.” he gives me a condescending smile.

“Well, if I remember right. I’m not here to see or speak to you. Now if you would be so kind and get out of my way.” as I give him a very unpleasant smile of my own and let my eyes flash to their wolf state.

“Oooooooo!!, I love it when you wolves think you're more important than everyone else.” He extends his fangs out.

“I wouldn’t do that if I was you, Henry.” A gentleman’s voice with an Irish accent comes from behind the one standing in front of me.

“And why is that Alpin.” as the one named Henry turns his head to look over his shoulder towards Alpin.

“Because Victoria is here to see Mistress Selena and is under our Mistress protection. I for one do not wish for our Mistress to take her anger out on me, because you refuse to be a good host.”

I remember Alpin from the last meeting my husband had here with Mistress Selena. He always stayed near his Mistress and did everything she said and didn’t say to him. He steps closer to Henry.

“In the name of our Mistress, Henry you will step aside and let her guest past. As well our Mistress has said that the next time you show ill-manners that is below your station. She will personally show you the proper way you are to address her guest. Does she make herself clear on this matter?” as Alpin's voice projects a little anger in his last words.

“Yes.” Henry hisses those words out of his mouth. He steps aside to allow us to walk by him.

I walk by Henry with a smirk on my face. “Thank you, Alpin. It seems, that some of your Mistress children have forgotten their manners.”

“It would appear that you bring out the worst in our Mistress children Victoria.” as he gives me an evil grin.

“Who little ole’ me?” as I act all innocents. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” I stop in front of Alpin.

Alpin just gives me a skeptical look and then turns around and leads me and my escorts to the hidden door that leads up to the third floor. As we approach it, he takes an old fashion gold skeleton key out of his coat pocket and places it in a hidden keyhole. The door of the elevator opens and he steps aside to let me and my escorts step inside. I look at him as Ajax walks in.

“Aren’t you coming up with us?” I tilt my head to the right.

“No, my Mistress wishes for me to stay down here and run the bar for her.” as he turns the key one last time, and the doors close in front of me.

The elevator starts moving up as I stand there.

“You know Vicky, how come this little meeting is becoming more and more like a suicide mission?” Jack looks at me.

“I have no idea, Jack. I wasn’t expecting the problems with Henry or the jerk at the front door either.” We all feel the elevator stop on the third floor.

The oak elevator doors open revealing a long oak panel hallway lit by old Victorian chandlers hanging in the middle of the hallway space at least four feet apart on the ceiling. The deep red carpet runs the whole length of the hallway towards a set of country French doors.

“Well, here we go into the lion’s den.” I stop in front of the doors and knock on them with the back of my hands.

The doors open on their own. As we enter into the chamber where Mistress Selena is holding her court. I see her sitting in a huge old oak gothic high back throne chair that surrounds her slim body. Her skin is milky white and the blue Victorian dress she is wearing makes her look like a porcelain doll with long black hair. Sitting down on the floor on a large floor pillow is her human hybrid pet named Angelica. Her nickname is Kitten, she answered the phone when I called yesterday to make this appointment. Angelica uses to be a very powerful witch until a shape-shifting spell backfired on her. The spell erased most of her memory and trapped her in a human cat form. She has cat ears instead of human ears and a cat tail as well. Her long black hair comes all the way down to her waist and the rest of her body is that of a human with well-proportion curves. She has a black leather collar around her neck with a golf ball size silver bell hanging from it. The form-fitting skintight leather shorts and halter makes her body very appealing.

Standing on either side of Angelica and her Mistress are two Native American males still wearing their deerskin leather pants and moccasins. Their bronze tanned muscular chest and skin make them seem like that they are alive instead of dead. They each have long swords and knives on their body ready to be drawn to defend their Mistress. Their long black hair is drawn back into a warrior’s braid tied off with a leather string.

All along the room were at least fifty vampires or more with their blood dolls or children they have made. We walk up the carpet towards Mistress Selena’s throne and stop a few feet from it.

Angelica looks at me with a smile on her face and then over towards Ajax, which she makes a pouting face at and then turns towards Jack and starts batting her eyelids at him.

Mistress Selena looks at me and examines the way I am dress. My blue blouse and black slacks. My matching black flats and purse. She also notices the way my gun is displayed out in the open like it is on my shoulder harness.

Mistress Selena doesn’t approve of women wearing pants. It’s either skirt with her or a dress. She never allows any of her female children to wear pants suits or dress pants at all. The gentlemen are just as restricted as well. They have to wear either a fine three-piece suit or dress like the gentlemen from the era they came from or like the southern men from her age.

Mistress Selena has always been a strong supporter of the south. Ever since the civil war. Most of her servants are slaves from the south she caught trying to make their way to the northern states to be free and turned into vampires to serve her for the rest of their undead existence. A lot of her maids from the years have been women that have been down on their luck or orphanages, she helped raise that owe her their life.

“Victoria, it’s been so long. What brings you before my court tonight?” as she looks at my face.

“Greeting Mistress Selena. I have asked for this meeting because of a case I have been hired to investigate.”

Mistress Selena gives me a confusing look “and how does this involve me?”

“Because Mistress, the cemetery right across the street from where I am investigating had a mausoleum that had been broken into recently. When I went inside to investigate it, I found that the coffin inside had been forced open from the outside and these broken pieces of several Celtic crosses were laying on the floor near it.” I reach into my purse and bring a few pieces of the cross I had brought with me.

Mistress Selena motions to her pet Kitten to come and get them from me. I watch as Kitten just stands up very smoothly from a sitting position as if someone had poured her body. She walks over towards me with her eyes just a little lower than mine with the grace of a cat. She holds out her slender small hand for the pieces of the cross.

I place them into her hand, as her fingers curl around them. She pivots on the heel of her right foot to turn and face her Mistress and walks back towards Mistress Selena with a little wiggle in her walk directed towards Jack. Once Kitten is in front of Mistress Selena she stands there and extends her arm out with her palm up and open so that Mistress Selena can examine the broken pieces of the Celtic cross I had placed there.

Mistress Selena looks down at the pieces in front of her and picks one up out of kitten’s hand and looks towards me “Do you know what the name of the tomb was that you got these from Victoria? “

“Yes, Ma. The name on the outside of the mausoleum was Grayson. The chain and lock that had been securing it had been thrown off like they were nothing.” I watch her facial expression, which is nearly impossible considering how much control she has over herself...

I glance around the room as much as I can without letting it be known I am doing it. Most of the vampires there are as stone face as Mistress Selena is, except for one. I nod my head a little for Jack to look for me.

Mistress Selena puts the pieces she had picked up back into Kitten’s hand and motions for her to hold them.

Kitten sits back down so fluidly, that even I’m amazed at how agile she appears to be.

Mistress Selena looks back up at me “what else did you find?”

“Well, the doors of the place were ripped off their hinges. The cover of the casket was removed and set aside. The casket itself had been pried open after these cross pieces had been broken off. The other tomb inside with this one hadn’t been touched and didn’t have the crosses on it.” I think a little more about what I saw. Nothing else comes to mind.

“And where did you say this took place at Victoria?”

“Over in the graveyard on Princess Anne road Mistress Selena. I would say about a thousand feet or more away from the back wall that faces church street.” I watch her expression. I can tell she is thinking about something, and she isn’t sure if she should tell me.

“Why do you think our beloved Mistress is involved in this matter?” A gentleman with raven black hair and light tan skin, wearing a dark gangster-style suit that looks to have come from the '50s. Steps away from a group of female vampires that look to have come from the same period as him.

I can feel the power he has over him, as he tries to get the attention of my wolf deep inside of me. A smile comes to my face when I feel the protection of my badge kick in surrounding me and my two bodyguards.

“If I were you, sir. I would reel in that power of yours and stop trying to bring my wolf to the surface. I’m here as an official law enforcement personnel and my badge protects me, along with the protection Mistress Selena has bestow on me already.” I look at him with a smile on my face.

Mistress Selena looks over towards him as well. I could almost tell she isn’t too happy about the way he is acting. I see him flinch some as he locks eyes with her. He then turns his attention towards me again.

“My apology Victoria, it won’t happen again.” He straightens up some “still why do you think our Mistress is involved?”

“Because...” as I look at him closely before answering “These broken cross pieces link her to the tomb. As we all know these crosses are her trademark or symbol.”

He examines me very closely with his eyes before speaking “are you suggesting that our Mistress release something from that tomb?”

“No, what I am saying is that she may have put someone or something there. That someone has gone behind her back to release them from their tomb. If the vampire that was put there is dangerous, then I need to know who it is and what they look like before any more bodies turn up dead.”

“Victoria, you didn’t say anything about any dead bodies before.” as I hear Mistress Selena’s voice.

“My pardon Mistress. Several bodies were found dead off the streets directly behind the graveyard.” I watch her.

Kitten lays down on her pillow covering her Mistress's feet with her body. Mistress Selena extends her hand down and begins to stroke kitten on her head.

Mistress Selena looks at me for a second before speaking “Victoria, I have nothing to hide from you, but in this case, I can’t give you the information you need. You do however have my permission to take whatever action you need to. Even if it is one of my own that is involved. All I ask of you in return, that you let me see your final report of this case and what children were harmed.”

I just shake my head to her statement “Your willing to let me kill one of your own, but you won’t give me the name of the vampire that you were holding in that tomb?”

“Yes!” as she looks directly towards me.

I can see that she means it. As much as she protects her family, I don’t think I’ve ever heard her give her official permission to kill one of her members. Even Jack standing near me watching Kitten at Mistress Selena’s feet is stunned by this as well. Ajax standing on the right of me isn’t even fazed by this or has better control of his emotions than me or Jack.

I look back at Mistress Selena “does this mean that any of your children that get in my way I have permission to kill them as well?”

“Yes!” as her dark brown eyes look directly into mine as well.

I can feel her moving around inside my head. I don’t know how she is doing it. I’m normally immune to vampire mind tricks. They aren’t supposed to work on me at all. A little growl escapes my throat.
~” quiet Victoria. The reason I am speaking to you like this is the fact that the council has made it very clear that the person’s name must never be spoken allowed. If he should ever escape his imprisonment, then he is to be tracked down and killed. You must do whatever you can to find this guy and kill him, Victoria. I can’t help you with any other information.”~ as she pulls out of my head and nods her head at me.

“You may go now Victoria.” as she waves her hand to dismiss me from the chamber.

I walk out of the room and back down the hallway towards the elevator.

“What happens to you in there Vicky?” as Jack looks at me.

“Mistress Selena had something private to say to me, Jack.” I turn to look at him.

“Well, what was it?”

“Not here.” as the elevator opens up and we all head inside of it.