After searching for him for almost a century, Alexander McGill has finally destroyed the Graf, the most dangerous vampire in the world, preventing him from uniting the vampire families in a battle against the mortals. Any thought of being able to live peacefully among mortals is interrupted by the knowledge of the Graf's apprentice, Princess Irina Poltoratzky escaped along with supporters from three vampire families. Alexander and loyal companion Johan embark on a quest around the globe to discover their plans.
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The Princess is a different adversary than the Graf, one who has learned from the Graf’s mistakes and is willing to take decades to put her plan in place, after all what is a few years to an immortal. Working separately, Johan and Alexander discover proof that the Princess is working with the Families in France and Japan to build an army of vampires like the world has never seen, an army that will conquer the mortal world not in the battle field, but from within.
Unless she is stopped soon, the world of mortals is in imminent danger. As Alexander and Johan work to uncover clues, their young friend, John Jones, wins a trip of a lifetime to Paris. The pair are close to being able to take action against the Princess when their paths again cross with John, this time with devastating consequences.
Excerpt:
The Princess had not known what to expect when she slipped out of her hiding place after the Enemy had searched the lab. Only curiosity had driven her to see if any of the visiting vampires had survived. Much to her surprise, all six dignitaries were still in one of the cells on the lowest basement level. Instinct honed from years on the run after the disaster in Moscow kept her from immediately opening the cell door but rather to insist that they pledge loyalty to the cause. When three of them hesitated, she ordered the others to kill them before she would open the door. The quiet delegate from Japan, Mr. Yoshi, had pulled a razor-sharp blade from somewhere and dispatched the three doubters almost before she finished her request.
Together the four new companions had crept through the same tunnel the Boss had used. Instead of trying to use the front gate, they fled through the deep woods, hiding in the undeveloped wilderness for three days until the police had finished searching every nook and corner of the estate before stealing a car and escaping. Unsure if the authorities would be looking for them and not willing to take any chances, they drove to the port of Newark where a few well-placed bribes had secured them berths on the small Greek-owned freighter now churning its way across the Atlantic.
Irina's contemplation was interrupted by a quiet knock on her door. She scowled, thinking it was another of the five crew members yet again inviting her to join the ship's captain for dinner, an invitation she had declined on each of the previous three evenings. She was relieved to see the elegantly dressed Frenchman, Henri Bourdain, the enigmatic Muhammed bin Azur of Egypt, and the reserved Japanese vampire, Ito Yoshi, quickly slide into the cabin. Irina waved them in but remained reclined on her berth. Yoshi took the single guest chair in the room. Bourdain leaned against the closed door with bin Azur squeezed against the far wall.
"Gentlemen, to what do I owe this honor?" Irina asked.
"Yoshi-san and I have had the opportunity to discuss our situation, and we need to ask some questions. You did get us out of that disaster, for which we are grateful, but our gratitude only goes so far. We have accepted your decisions, including traveling on this disgusting vessel." Here Henri paused to brush a non-existent speck of dust from the sleeve of his Yves St. Laurent jacket as if he were brushing off the grime that covered the ship. "But now, we are interested to know what you plan to do once we reach port."
Irina smiled her most pleasant smile. Now was the time to use charm and not threats. "Henri, I completely agree. Now is the time to discuss our plans. And my plan is exactly the same as our late departed friend, the Graf, to build an army of vampires that we will use to control the mortals. But unlike the Graf, we won't make the mistake of rushing. He was too concerned with his position in the new order. All I want is to bring about the new order. When vampires rule the day and not just the night, I assure you we will all have ample opportunities to indulge our desires."
The quiet Asian raised an eyebrow in question of this plan. "An admirable desire, I'm sure we would all agree. We would not have supported the Graf otherwise, but given his failure, why should we have confidence that you can succeed where he failed so miserably?"
"His foolish mistakes might have destroyed the Graf, but he did not necessarily fail. He rushed his small army together to demonstrate what he thought could be accomplished, but they were only part of the work, and in my opinion, a much less important part. Our sleeper assets are still in place, ready to be activated at my command. The Lt. Governor of New York, the head to two major departments within the New York City Police Department, and several high-ranking members of the US Army have all been transformed. And these are just the most prominent ones. There are many others. They all are being fed regularly by my remaining team under the guise of on-going medical treatment. Putting these assets in place took less than a year. I can train multiple teams in your countries to start transforming assets. I developed the blood tests that identify victims that can be transformed. I developed the drug cocktail and the psychological conditioning to control their minds. I even have access to the Graf's millions to fund the labs and equipment we will need. All I need from you is the support of your Families to get started."