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Chapter 25

For Mark and Garrick, the time they spent at Saith Manor was uneventful. Their daily routine had changed to accommodate the inactivity. All day long they slept and they remained awake all night. Mark thought he was working the graveyard shift again.

Relations during the evening had improved with their hosts. Garrick didn't trust them still and tested them continuously. He still had the insane idea that they were vampires. Mark really didn't care. He just wanted to go home. A vacation to Brussels had become a nightmare.

It appeared that Vintessa had grown very fond of Mark. Garrick feared that some evening Mark would return to the bedroom with a fateful hickey. His roommate had an egotistical attitude about the situation. "Of course she's after my body," he explained. Garrick pointed out that it is what the body contained.

While Mark was sleeping one afternoon a woman entered his dreams. He found himself standing on a cliff high above a valley with her. "This is the only way I can safely explain to you, your dangerous situation," she said.

"My name is Marsta Odad," she introduced. "I am Vintessa's 'gypsy woman'. I do her biding for my own protection only. She's not as wise as she thinks, which is fortunate. The unfortunate part is that you and Garrick are in terrible danger!

What Vintessa told you about Zehrig Saith is partly true, only the facts have been slightly changed. What really happened, happened a very long time ago.

Here in Lancer, nobody knew for a fact that Zehrig was a vampire and a member of a very advanced species he was. He had built Saith Manor and lived a solitary life. Not many people even knew what he looked like. And because of superstition, he had privacy.

Several of his own species wanted what he possessed. His race is, afterall, very territorial, jealous, vengeful and competitive. Zehrig's enemies controlled townspeople who held high positions in the town. Their minds were being used without them knowing it.

Old laws said that a person who possessed an object, which equaled an ownership certificate, owned the property it pertained to. So, by law, Zehrig owned Saith Manor because he had a certain ring in his possession.

One evening, Vintessa Arano went to Saith Manor and declared herself legal owner. Zehrig refused to leave and was attacked by she and her thugs. He was overpowered by the vampires and was rendered unconscious.

He was sealed into a casket and placed aboard a sailing ship. Its destination was the North American coast. Even if he broke out of the coffin aboard the vessel, he couldn't return home immediately. His race can't cross running water. There are exceptions such as bridges and other aids, but not over the Atlantic Ocean. The reason is because there are two elements that work against a vampire. One is fire, and the other is

water.

Bodies of water will cause a vampire to decompose if he is submerged for too long. The air element is their friend and so is earth. The earth has a magnetic hold on the vampire. Beneath the water, the earth holds the vampire and which unfortunately disables him from swimming. Laws of nature work in mysterious ways for and against supernaturals.

The crew had instructions for the coffin when they reached land, which they followed. It was buried in a holy place a few miles inland. Vintessa was positive that the sacred ground would render Zehrig powerless. Even their own powers and limitations were unknown to their species. Every individual was slightly different somehow.

Now that Vintessa had changed Lancers property laws, through her servants, she had nothing to worry about. Little did she know that the world would change dramatically in future years.