paige stood in the lobby watching the bustling activity as vampires filled the area either to chat or to make their way towards the large conference room where the primary meeting was scheduled to take place. it was still early morning, and very few humans were around, mostly hotel staff.

her thoughts drifted to the previous evening's reception and the interesting and attractive dr. ethan reynolds. he had surprised her with his disarming charm and good looks, which was exactly why she needed to keep her guard up.

could be a mole trying to glean information concerning alton's plans, she suspiciously pondered. but then, what if he's simply a nice guy trying to get to know me at a purely social level?

great, she surmised with a wry expression. i'm turning into katrina.

her eyes continued to sweep the expansive lobby and fell upon a briefcase-carrying vampire of medium height and build who had stopped to talk with major pietari. she recognized the brown-haired croatian vampire as baldar dubravko, one of the primary investors who had funded the hotel's expansion specifically for the purposes of hosting the conference. she watched as the major conversed with dubravko in a casual manner.

are they previously acquainted?

as pietari invited the croatian into the security office, a familiar voice sounded to distract her attention.

"good morning, paige. coffee?" dr. reynolds brightly asked as he extended the small styrofoam cup of steaming liquid to her.

she accepted the cup with a peculiar expression, but pleasantly regarded the handsome physician. "thanks," she replied.

observing her reaction, reynolds inquired, "you don't like coffee, do you?"

she took a quick sip. though it seemed a nice blend, coffee wasn't something that she regularly drank.

"sure, i like it well enough," she replied with a shrug. "i'm just a little surprised to see a vampire who drinks it first thing in the morning instead of a steaming cup of the red stuff.

his eyebrows momentarily furrowed. "i usually don't like drinking blood in front of other people," he explained.

she wrestled with the oddity of his statement, given that he was a vampire.

you've got a lot of layers to you, don't you? she determined.

"don't like blood, do you?" she mimicked with a mischievous look.

he knowingly grinned in response, mimicking her with an exaggerated shrug. "well, sure. i like it well enough."

she brightly smiled over his ploy, appreciating his gentle eyes.

you do get more interesting by the minute, ethan.

as soon as katrina walked through the double oak doors leading into the large, conservatively-decorated conference room, she knew from the host of vampires gathered there that it was going to be an interesting conference.

she momentarily appreciated the oversized, rectangular walnut conference table that seemed to go on forever down the length of the center of the room. its polished surface was like some sort of launching platform for a small aircraft, and she wondered how many sections it had needed to be cut into in order to install it in the room.

over fifty chairs were assembled around the table, with the far end vacant of seating. the end closest to the main doors sported a leather chair with a placard labeled "chairperson - alton rutherford" before it.

she shook her head, never doubting that alton had prepared for nearly everything.

including a soon-to-be-nominated co-chair.

vampires filed into the room and sought seats around the large table. alton purposefully walked into the room and placed a stack of handouts and folders at the head of the table.

"good morning, katrina," he offered and gestured with one hand to an empty seat at the end of the table immediately to his left.

"good morning, alton," she politely replied, selecting instead to go to the far side of the room to a seat at the extreme end.

you'll have me there soon enough, she sulked.

much to her satisfaction, he sourly acknowledged her before readopting his former professional visage.

talise took the seat alton had previously pointed out to katrina with a friendly nod in her direction. the remaining seats were quickly filled, save for the one next to katrina. the dark-haired vampire who had harassed caleb entered the room and instantly located an available seat. his face quickly fell upon realizing that the only remaining place was next to katrina.

his face turned stony as he sat down and politely murmured, "good morning, ms. rawlings."

"why, good morning. ambrogio, isn't it?" she replied with a sardonic glare before focusing on the others around the table.

big bully, she added as an afterthought.

two vampires wearing black business suits reached in to close the oak doors behind them, leaving the room to those gathered around the table. on cue, silence fell across the room, and everyone looked to alton with a mix of curious or expectant expressions.

"welcome, everyone, to what i hope will be a beneficial dialogue for each of us," he began in a practiced tone. "this is the first of its kind to my knowledge: a vampire summit of sorts. an opportunity for us to work collectively towards mutually beneficial solutions to the host of challenges facing our kind.

"but first, let's go around the table to introduce ourselves. i'm alton rutherford, your chairperson," he said before gesturing to talise to continue the introductions.

a number of the names were familiar to katrina, many from the reception the prior evening. still, she was surprised by how many in the room were unknown to her. even more mysteriously, a quarter of the participants were acting as proxies for other vampires, though they merely indicated that they represented "other interested vampire parties" rather than revealing specific names. for some reason, that troubled her more than the bullies like the vampire seated next to her.

following the introductions, alton continued, "now, as a matter of formality, i recommend we select a co-chair to serve in the event that i'm unable to preside over activities for any reason. do i have any nominations or volunteers?"

everyone curiously surveyed the faces around them for a few silent moments. then talise spoke up in a clear voice, "i nominate katrina rawlings."

"i second," announced the auburn-haired dutch vampire named rianne. she was a long-time acquaintance of katrina's.

"i nominate baldar dubravko," announced a male vampire of asian descent.

"second for baldar dubravko," said a female vampire of middle eastern decent.

the room quickly fell silent, and alton directed, "very well. i have two nominations on the floor. i'll pass out blank cards and ask each of you to write either baldar's or katrina's name as your preference. the cards can be placed in this manila envelope, and we'll immediately tally the results here at the table."

minutes later, the envelope returned to alton, who placed the cards face-up with katrina to his right and baldar to his left. the process was expedient, and by the end, katrina had received two-thirds of the vote.

"as you can see, with a definitive majority, i name katrina rawlings as our new co-chair," alton announced, followed by a small round of clapping from the group.

katrina returned polite nods in response, though inside she dreaded her new promotion.

i really just wanted to be a fly on the wall through this, she lamented.

small murmurings of conversation began, which prompted alton to continue, "with that concluded, let's discuss some of the key objectives of our gathering. given the recent events involving the rogue vampire, chimalma, it's clear that we could benefit from a formalized format for settling disputes between rival vampires and their interests."

"it's called battle," one vampire mumbled. "kill the other guy first."

a few chuckles erupted, but silence followed a stern gaze from alton.

"a mutual acknowledgement of declared vampire territories is a start. in addition, common rights and privileges to be observed by participating vampires may help," he soberly offered. "furthermore, continued technological advancements by the humans suggests that we would benefit from a common approach to handling potential breaches of discovery by them or their governments," alton continued.

"a time will come when we won't be able to hide ourselves," a female vampire interrupted. "it's going to come to war eventually."

katrina's eyes bored into alton from across the room with a look of concern.

a war must be avoided, she silently insisted.

"perhaps not," alton countered, having noted her expression. "suffice to say, a planned and unified approach to the topic would be best."

murmurs of agreement spread throughout the room.

"as the ranks of vampires internationally grow, addressing the problem of providing a reasonable means of financial sustainment would stabilize the vampire community. we can explore an organized mentorship for new vampires with opportunities for building financial stability through service," alton suggested. "it's a reasonable way to shape the future of our culture, while also easing the transition of conversion."

"too many vampires already, in my view," one vampire grumbled.

a few noises of agreement followed.

"it's my hope that we can leave this summit with an agreeable framework related to these and other issues in hopes of refining details later in subsequent conferences such as this. with some hope, we may even find absent stakeholders who choose to take part in person," alton pointedly suggested, all the while monitoring a number of participants who were serving as proxies.

"you're expecting instant solutions to these and other problems by chatting in a room over glasses of blood?" dominic ambrogio sarcastically inquired.

"though well-intentioned, the agenda does seem somewhat unrealistic at first consideration," baldar agreed in support.

katrina closely watched the exchange. her suspicious mind raced as she observed the subtle reinforcement taking place. a blonde female vampire across from katrina nodded in seeming agreement with dubravko.

alton raised a hand in a peaceable gesture, conceding, "admittedly, this venture isn't without its challenges. but at the risk of validating a prescient suggestion by mr. ambrogio, perhaps this would be a good time for a glass of blood during which time we can properly transfer ms. rawlings to the head of the table where the co-chair sits."

katrina subtly rolled her eyes and kept from groaning out loud.

i'm already regretting this.

when caleb woke, it was well past ten o'clock in the morning. he stretched in bed with a yawn, glancing at the empty spot next to him where katrina had been the night before. a note lay on her pillow, and he reached over to pick it up. he took a moment to focus his still-weary eyes on the text.

caleb,

thank you for last night. i'll probably be in the conference all day, so find something enjoyable to do until evening. we'll go to dinner together and do some sightseeing. please try to stay out of trouble, my love.

love,

kat

he shook his head while lying the note on the nightstand.

"i'll certainly try," he murmured.

then he rolled out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom to shave and start the day.

paige sat at her small desk in the security office with a bored expression, staring listlessly at the multiple computer screens before her that displayed the various video surveillance camera images from all across the conference facility. with a series of mouse clicks, the images changed to cameras watching the outdoor areas.

some cameras were placed outside the various buildings, while others observed from perches atop light poles. it seemed that virtually every area could be spied upon by the network of digital cameras. however, she knew that was an exaggeration, having inspected each camera location herself to familiarize herself with their placement

it's not as if every camera sees in all directions at once, either.

though significant funds had been spent to install a reasonable network of viewing possibilities, the system failed to provide complete coverage at all times. it would have seemed like overkill for such a brief conference. the major had explained to her that the system had to be realistic to maintain after the conference ended and regular vacationing humans returned to using the facility as a scenic vacation retreat.

the door gently opened, and her eyes darted to spy caleb as he entered. she brightly grinned at him and motioned with her hand for him to enter.

"hey, look who's finally up and around," she teased.

"you mean you didn't see me coming?" he shot back while moving to sit in a chair set before her desk. "what kind of security captain are you, anyway?"

she cast a withering expression and pointed to the screens before her.

"hey, i'm only one set of eyes for all these miniaturized windows, all right, mr. sarcasm? hell, i can't even get all the viewing screens up at one time. gotta cycle through three sets just to look at them all."

"you could always add another monitor to the two you already have," he suggested. "i'm sure they could add another video card and install the drivers for the -"

"yeah, yeah, thanks for the advice, bill gates."

"i can tell you're having fun with this."

she snorted and shook her head. the phone rang, and she glared at it while picking up the receiver.

"security office. captain turner speaking," she answered in a flat voice.

he was amused by her bored tone.

"what? yes, ma'am, i'm sure it's a crime that the kitchen brought cold food to your room, but it's honestly not a security matter," she explained with an incredulous expression.

he had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

"well, you could always withhold a tip," she suggested.

she patiently listened as the animated woman's voice complained back at her. finally, she rubbed at her eyes with the fingertips of her free hand and said, "um, ma'am, let me transfer you to the desk manager. please hold."

her fingers quickly played across the telephone's keypad, and she stated, "yeah, this is turner. i've got an angry eater on the line for you. something about cold food. good luck. here she is."

with that, she hung up the phone and cursed under her breath.

"geez, i hate this job already," she muttered.

he couldn't help but grin back at her in response.

at the sound of the main office door, her eyes darted to the visitor. caleb swiveled in his seat to view a young man holding a brown leather briefcase in one hand.

the mediterranean-looking fellow uneasily looked towards the major's office and asked, "is major pietari here, please?"

paige frowned at the man's awkward behavior, but smoothly answered, "nope. the major stepped out, but i expect him any moment. can i help you?"

"no," he said. "i'll just come back later."

then he abruptly turned and departed the office in what seemed a hurried fashion.

"strange," she observed.

her attention quickly returned to caleb.

"just what are you doing down here, anyway?" she asked. "katrina brings you all the way to europe, and you want to just sit around a hotel security office?"

"yeah, well, i was just on my way to get something to eat. afterwards, i guess i'll look around the place. kat's note said i needed to occupy my time until evening."

"fine, but if you don't like the food, just keep it to yourself, okay, kiddo?"

he chuckled and shook his head at her. despite kat's absence, he was happy that paige was around. his surrogate vampire was such an important part of his life.

as if sensing his emotions, she smiled back at him for a moment. she loved his kind nature and easy disposition and was quite attached to the young man.

under different circumstances, he might even be mine, she thought on a whim.

however, her smile quickly faded, and she silently chastised herself for letting her thoughts stray in such a direction.

dangerous territory, she estimated before refocusing on the monitors before her.

"okay, okay, go get something to eat, or i'll have to ticket you for loitering," she teased with a dismissive wave of her hand.

as he rose, major pietari walked in and scanned the office before settling his gaze upon the sandy-haired human. caleb immediately extended his hand. the major suspiciously peered at him before gripping his hand.

"caleb taylor," the young man offered with a shake.

"major kivo pietari," the tall vampire replied. he shifted his attention to paige, critically observing, "no visitors while on duty, captain."

"um, i was just leaving," caleb interjected. "in fact, paige just admonished me about loitering."

the major's sharp eyes fell upon him as if studying him for a moment. then he merely grunted in reply.

caleb proceeded to the door. before closing the door behind him completely, he heard paige inform the major, "you missed an odd little visitor a few minutes ago."

following his visit with paige, caleb went to the hotel's central restaurant for an early lunch. there were only a few patrons dispersed throughout the dining room, none of whom he knew, so he quietly sat and observed his surroundings while he ate. he noticed that the staff all seemed polite, though pensive, for some reason. perhaps they weren't used to being around vampire guests.

then the thought struck him that he was surrounded by seemingly ordinary human staff, and he wondered how the vampires had managed to maintain any sense of privacy concerning their gathering with so many potential "loose lips" around. all it would take is one discreet phone call or email to the media, and the place might be crawling with press.

well, maybe not the mainstream press at first, he mulled. more likely the tabloids expecting an outlandish gathering of vampire-wannabes trying to host a goth conference.

he shook his head and made a mental note to ask katrina about it later.

after lunch, he decided to familiarize himself with his surroundings and walked through the main lobby past the various support offices and conference rooms. he came upon two suit-clad vampire guards standing outside the large reception room he had been in the prior evening with katrina. he recognized both guards from the night before and politely nodded, and each acknowledged him in recognition.

on the back side of the hotel, he came upon a small cluster of boutiques and shops presented in a manner reminiscent of a shopping mall. light filtered down from above, and he looked up to see large glass panes laid out as an elaborate skylight that ran the length of the small corridor of shops. the light seemed terribly subtle for the clear skies, upon which he noticed that the panes were treated with what must be uv-dampening material. as he proceeded on his tour, he realized that all of the windows in and around the hotel and conference center were likewise treated.

after nearly an hour of wandering, he retrieved a digital camera from his room and journeyed outdoors. the surrounding mountains were breathtaking, and the grass and trees were lush and green. flower gardens decorated the hotel landscape, as well as a number of small fountains and park benches. he snapped photos as he walked and idly greeted a number of humans whom he recognized as other vampire companions.

once again, he noted the starkly different demeanors of the hotel guests from the hotel staff. the sole exception seemed to be the security guards who randomly patrolled by. the guards maintained a confident air as they casually strolled about the grounds. caleb noted a seemingly large quantity of guards on patrol as he walked throughout the acres of land constituting the hotel property.

paige and the major must have their hands full coordinating such a large staff, he absently determined.

he sat on a park bench facing a large expanse of forest leading away from the main hotel grounds. he made a mental note to explore the forest another time and instead merely appreciated the warm sunshine as it beamed down upon him.

"this is excellent," he muttered, closing his eyes and tilting his face skywards. "finally, some peaceful relaxation."

minutes passed as he basked in the sunlight, leaning back against the bench while stretching his legs out before him.

"there you are," came a familiar woman's voice.

the slight french accent was unmistakable, though caleb started with surprise and opened his eyes to pan in the direction of the brunette-haired visitor. only as the sunlight caressed dorianne rousseau's pale skin was his mind finally convinced that she was human and not a vampire.

"hi, dorianne."

"dori," she pleasantly corrected him. "is this seat taken?"

he made a welcoming gesture as he sat up from his reclined position.

"isn't it beautiful?" she quietly observed as she sat down beside him.

"it's everything europe should be," he acknowledged with awe.

he never thought that he would ever have the opportunity, or funds, to visit the places he had been since meeting katrina.

i'm one lucky guy.

"i confess, i take it for granted sometimes," dori admitted. "my home is in paris, but my career regularly takes me across europe. it's a nice perk of the job."

he offered a curious expression, hoping that she would say more, but she seemed oddly content to leave it at that.

"i've been to london recently, and it was both unexpected and amazing," he offered.

he thought it best to leave out the part about mysterious vampires haunting the tube.

"i would imagine. alton told me about your little subterranean adventure," she said with a smirk.

he frowned at how the normally secretive vampire had shared such sensitive information with her.

"so, have you and alton known each other long?"

she warmly smiled. "we met nearly a year ago at a business meeting in the hague, and he immediately caught my attention. my employer assigned me the responsibility of arranging a presentation for alton and his associates, which, as a research analyst, i specialize in. despite my practiced expertise, his eyes kept distracting me, and i practically had to fight to remain focused."

she paused to giggle while covering her mouth with her hand in a manner that caleb found enchanting.

"following the presentation, i felt so embarrassed that i left the building as soon as i gathered my materials. but he took the initiative to find me before i returned to paris and literally swept me off my feet. to say that i was pleased would be an understatement. we've been seeing each other regularly since then, actually. he's, well, wonderful in so many ways."

caleb enjoyed her recollection, but he was surprised that alton had never mentioned dori to him until the previous evening.

how odd, he thought. i wonder if kat knows.

however, he conceded that alton was a very private person and a hard nut to crack. he chuckled at how often kat found it equally infuriating.

"have i said something amusing?" she queried.

a single fleeting view of her beautiful, violet-colored eyes was all it took for him to understand how alton might be intrigued by her.

"sorry," he replied. "i kind of hate to admit this, but alton's never actually mentioned you to me."

an endearing expression played across her face, and she laughed in a beguiling manner.

"why am i not surprised?" she said. "i suppose he does keep his cards close to the vest. likely, he was waiting to see if things worked out between us."

"i guess they must have then," he surmised. "because here you are."

"yes," she noted with a satisfied tone. "i'd like to think you're correct."

they considered each other in silence, though something unsaid seemed to be settled between them. it was as if a mutual comfort zone, a chemistry, had been mysteriously established.

caleb felt strangely at ease around dori, and he shared how he met katrina when she had enrolled in his history class the previous fall. however, chemistry aside, he wasn't quite ready to discuss how katrina came upon him initially when he was eight years old. that was something altogether private, though whether alton had already shared that with dori or not he didn't know.

she attentively listened to him until he was finished, and the conversation moved to a variety of other casual topics. they seemed like old friends catching up on the events in their lives. caleb enjoyed getting to know her, and before he realized it, the sun was advancing towards the western horizon.

"we'd better head back," dori observed. "alton mentioned our having dinner with you and katrina when the conference adjourned for the day."

caleb recalled the note from kat, and they rose in unison from the bench. it had been a beautiful afternoon and an enjoyable time getting to know dori better, though he felt as if there were so much more to know about her. he thoughtfully contemplated all that he had learned and savored the waning daylight on their walk back to the hotel.

katrina patiently waited as the remaining vampires departed the conference room. it felt like such a long day for their first meeting, and she wondered if successive days would feel the same. part of her wished that she had declined to attend the summit at all.

caleb and i could've toured europe alone, she brooded.

yet, she held a fond, sometimes annoying, dedication to her former mentor. she realized that she would have felt intense guilt for ignoring his plea for her assistance.

so, here i am.

alton shuffled some papers and waited for a lingering attendee to depart before closing the door behind them.

"the first day's always the hardest, breaking the ice and whatnot," he absently said in his crisp english accent.

"you've got a lot more to break than ice," she supplemented as she recognized the prevailing mindsets that had formed among the group. one third was receptive to forming a formalized interest group. one third wanted no part in any of it, and those remaining were undecided.

"we have to sway the uncommitted to tip the scales," alton ventured.

"why does it matter? those who want to join into a consortium are free to, and the others can do as they please," katrina declared.

"but you're mistaken, my dear," alton gently disagreed. "if this conference ends without a clear consensus among the participants, everyone outside, those remaining to be recruited, will see only division. then we're left to forming little cliques around the world, like little fiefdoms all vying for vassals. no, i lived through that failed approach nearly a millennium ago, and i won't endure it again."

she considered her eight-hundred-year-old friend and the life experiences that he drew upon to form his logic. feudal england was something less than savory on a global level, particularly for her kind. wars would be the likely result and the end of anonymity from the human race.

"what's next then?" she pressed.

the edges of his mouth upturned slightly.

"you and i need to frame a detailed agenda before moving forward, one based upon addressing the concerns voiced today."

"much of today's discussions were over semantics, actually," she countered.

"indeed. but semantics conceal larger concerns, and the better prepared we are to shape the discussion around those, the more successful we'll be," he explained.

"you're almost relishing this, aren't you? this is like some big parlor game for you, isn't it?"

"oh, please," he retorted with a flash of his hazel eyes. "don't assume that just because i was a feudal lord i'm playing at kingdom-building. i've seen the writing on the wall for longer than you've been on this earth, and i knew it would come to this someday. i take it, then, you'd like to see the world cast into flames while we battle amongst both humans and ourselves?"

"of course not," she snapped. "i just didn't want to be at the center of the matter, that's all."

he lightly patted his hand on her shoulder while standing behind her chair.

his stare grew distant as he offered, "i know that, my dear. you always were the shy one, weren't you? never wanting to be the center of attention, yet always commanding it by your mere presence. i knew that you were an alpha the moment i laid eyes upon you."

she affectionately touched his hand in silent response. in truth, he had been the kindest of mentors to her and the dearest of friends.

"come, my dear, let's go find our mates. we promised to join them for dinner, remember?" he offered with a final pat on her shoulder.

katrina rose from her chair with a curious expression at his revelation. "so, you've taken dorianne-->>

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