Vampire King (The Half-Breed Series Volume Two)

By C.J. Pike

**Author Revised 2023**

There is an ancient evil, hidden somewhere in the world. Most don’t even know of its existence and others believe it to be nothing more than a legend. Soon the world may find out just how real it actually is.

Thalnaar has escaped from Illiar Penitentiary and hasn’t been seen in months, until one day he and his followers resurface. Crey and his team stumble onto something they never expected: Thalnaar is working with vampires.

They follow him all the way to London, always a step behind, only to find if they don’t stop him in time he will unleash a monster so great, it will be the greatest threat the world has ever seen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.J. Pike
• Release date: Mar 26, 2014

C.J. Pike

Cory grew up in a small town in central Massachusetts. He showed an interest in telling stories from a young age, and began pursuing that interest in high school through writing and movie making. He went on to earn a degree in Broadcasting and Telecommunications, and discovered a passion for writing through his Creative Writing class. He also writes young-adult fantasy stories called the Half-Breed Series. He currently resides in Central Massachusetts with his wife, Jennifer and son, Oliver. Follow him on Twitter @cjpikebooks.

Book preview

The Half-Breed Series

Vampire King

Volume Two

A Novel

By C.J. Pike

Copyright © 2013 by C.J. Pike

Smashwords Edition

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely accidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any forms or means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

Contact Information

Email

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Special Thanks

To all of you who have supported

me and all of the input.

I also want to thank my wife for

all the help and love.

Prologue

Chapter 1

Not Yet Safe

Chapter 2

Glimpse to the Past

Chapter 3

Driver’s Ed

Chapter 4

Anniversary

Chapter 5

Retake

Chapter 6

New Friend

Chapter 7

Bird’s Eye View

Chapter 8

In the Air

Chapter 9

New Member

Chapter 10

Wrong Way

Chapter 11

Right Place, Right Time

Chapter 12

Night Club

Chapter 13

Oops

Chapter 14

Vampire’s Quarrel

Chapter 15

Interrogation

Chapter 16

Knock, Knock

Chapter 17

Rumor Has It

Chapter 18

A Werewolf in London

Chapter 19

Pointless Attempt

Chapter 20

Kidnapped

Chapter 21

Not Rumors

Chapter 22

The Vampire’s Diary

Chapter 23

The Tomb

Chapter 24

All Hail the King

Chapter 25

Explanation Required

Prologue

Not since Lumo started working the booth outside Illiar Penitentiary had he been so happy. Many prisoners had been brought past him, but today was different. Seeing Thalnaar dragged through almost comatose was a huge relief. It wasn’t a minute too soon either, because from what Lumo had heard he was beginning to get into the city, which was impossible.

After he had heard that Thalnaar was back, he thought that Arcadias would be the one to stop him. He spent almost every waking second since his return trying to find him, so it would only make sense. He was never the same after what had happened to his brother.

Lumo met Elluminous numerous times, and he was one of the kindest elves he had ever met. Everyone has their flaws, though, because he did marry a human, and together they had a baby, the half-breed. How could he do that? Marry a human and then have a baby with it? It was forbidden. Despite what he thought of Elluminous, it angered him. Aside from it being against the law, humans were so beneath them, and the idea of a half human, half elf disgusted him. Of course, he never would have thought that eighteen years later that the same half-breed in question would be the one to stop Thalnaar.

The alarm went off on the view screen, grabbing Lumo’s attention. He turned and saw a vehicle making its way to the checkpoint, slowing as it got closer. A quick scan let him know it was the first of the next shift making their way in. He stepped out of the booth to greet them.

The car rolled up as the driver put down the window.

Hey Lumo, the elf driver said.

Hey Orn, Lumo greeted right back.

Is it true?

Every word.

Wow, Orn said, amazed. I can’t believe it. Thalnaar actually caught.

Hard to believe.

I thought I’d never see the day.

Right, Lumo agreed. You know the drill.

Orn got out of the car, emptied all his pockets, and proceeded into the scanner. Everything checked out so he picked up all his gear and moved on.

Word had traveled fast about Thalnaar’s arrest. He had only been in there for a few hours and already Orn knew about it. With something of this magnitude, however, it was expected that the entire world—elves anyway—would know by now.

Lumo got back into his booth and waited for the rest of the night shift to come. One by one they drove in, got scanned, and headed to work. All but Lumo’s replacement had shown up. He was beginning to get anxious because he couldn’t wait to go home to be with his wife. They didn’t get to see each other that much during the week because he worked second shift, and she worked first. So, by the time he made it home she was almost ready to go to sleep.

His replacement, Kilaen, was five minutes late. He was never late. None of them have ever been late. Finally, the alarm sounded as the next car was en route, letting Lumo breathe a sigh of relief. When he looked closer, however, he saw that there was more than one elf in the car, and he didn’t recognize the vehicle. Something was wrong. He quickly pulled out the spare gun that clung underneath the desk and holstered it in the back of his pants.

The car pulled up, but Lumo was unable to make out any of their faces through the tinted windows.

Roll down your window please, Lumo ordered as he knocked on the window.

Nothing happened.

Roll down your window, he repeated.

Still nothing happened. Lumo pulled out his gun and pointed it at the car.

I’m not going to ask you again, he threatened.

There was a loud boom and the ground shook. The noise came from the prison on the other side of the wall.

The red glow that covered the area disappeared, and before Lumo could even blink the gun was ripped out of his hands and whipped into the booth. He was then lifted off the ground and it seemed as if all the air was sucked out of the room—he couldn’t breathe.

The tunnel stretched over a thousand yards, and Lumo was thrown over half that distance. When he hit the ground there was a thud, and he knew right away that something was broken. Disoriented, he got up as fast as he could, stumbling as he did, and headed back to the penitentiary. Off in the distance he saw one of the elves climb back into the car as the door in front of them opened. They drove in.

Lumo’s broken leg was causing him to hobble back at a snail’s pace, so the door closed before he could get back. When he made it to the booth he quickly opened the door again.

As he stood there waiting for the door to rise, the alarms began to go off. It didn’t take him long to figure out what they were coming after. When both doors finally opened dust poured out like a sandstorm, blurring his vision, and causing him to cough. The whole area was soon filled with a thick cloud and debris lay everywhere. He hobbled his way in to find that the building, like the tunnel, was no longer glowing red. He suddenly realized that the green glow that protected him from the red was also out. Everything happened so fast he didn’t notice that everything wasn’t green anymore.

This is unbelievable, he thought to himself.

There was smoke and fire coming out of one corner of the building. He guessed that it was the one that Thalnaar was being held in. When Lumo looked up even higher he noticed something that was even more impossible: there was a big hole in the ceiling. He could see something going up through it and then the red glow of the building reappeared.

One of the other guards came running out of the building with blood trickling down from his forehead. It was Orn.

It’s Thalnaar, he exclaimed. He’s escaped.

Lumo just stood there silently.

Dark Shield agents will be here soon, stated Orn. I’ll go wait for them.

Orn ran out to the front entrance. Lumo continued to stand there staring at the prison, stunned. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. No one had ever been able to escape from Illinar Penitentiary, ever.

Lumo slowly began to walk toward the building, not sure what he was doing. Thalnaar was finally captured, after years of causing hell—some of that time he was believed to be dead—and it only took him a couple of hours to get back out.

——— Chapter 1 ———

Not Yet Safe

It was a cold day in the beginning of September—under fifty degrees with a light breeze. To top it off, the sun was hiding behind the clouds, peeking out every now and then just to tease. Everyone was donning sweatshirts and jackets and were noticeably gloomy. It was still supposed to be hot, yet it felt like late fall already.

Crey walked down the street with his uncle at his side. His gray pea coat flapped against his dark-blue jeans. To any passerby it might appear that he was completely human, but underneath the cloaking device was a completely different person. He was half elf, which gave him a unique look with ears that almost went up to a point and gradient blue eyes.

Arcadias—his uncle—was taller than anyone else walking down the street, making it a little more complicated to blend in, and all elves were normally thinner than humans. His black zip-up sweatshirt hung a little loose against his body allowing the air to push it around.

Normally it wasn’t smart for them to be walking out in the open like they were, but Crey needed to be able to move around in the world he grew up in occasionally. Besides, they hadn’t heard anything involving Thalnaar ever since he escaped months ago. So, they took their chances.

Thalnaar was an evil elf that had killed both of Crey’s parents because of what he was. He was also trying to bring back Zoraek, an even more terrible elf from a very long time ago. Elves came from the world of Marktoth sometime in the Middle Ages, and Zoraek took the portal to Earth to try to take over this planet after taking over theirs. They say there is no way that Thalnaar can find and release him, but there was no telling what he was capable of, and letting Zoraek loose would be very, very bad.

Crey felt a little ridiculous cloaking himself because he spent almost his entire life with humans. He had to admit, though, that he wasn’t getting the usual sneers, so it was a good trade-off.

No one could believe it when they heard that Thalnaar had managed to get out of the penitentiary. That had never been accomplished before—an ongoing theme with him—and he did it within three hours of his arrest. His followers attacked during the shift changes so there was a lot of moving around and more elves were caught off guard. At the same time, they created a hole in the ground right above the building and got everyone involved out.

The whole idea of it was impossible because there was no way anyone could have done what they did. Crey had asked if someone had gone through with the same devices the guards were wearing, but they told him they have detectors, so if anyone came up wearing one, they would know and be prepared. They found a way to deactivate all of it and they still weren’t sure how they were able to lift everyone out through the hole. Though, that was probably the least complicated part.

It had been bothering Crey for months. He had gone through great trouble trying to capture him, and it was for nothing. Not to mention his girlfriend—or whatever elves called it—Parley hasn’t acted the same ever since she was captured.

Crey and Arcadias walked up to a coffee shop and strolled through the front door. As they walked up to the counter Crey noticed the girl working at the register was looking them up and down.

Can I help you? she asked with a smile.

Yes, said Crey. I’ll have a plain bagel with vegetable cream cheese.

And I’ll have the same with a small coffee, added Arcadias.

The girl punched in the order and gave them their total. As Crey handed her the money their hands touched briefly, and the girl's cheeks flushed. She flashed an embarrassed smile and rushed away to prepare their order.

Coffee? Crey questioned him.

What? Arcadias asked, defensively.

I’ve never seen you drink that.

I haven’t.

Crey stared at him confused.

Then why are you getting one now? he asked.

I want to see what all the fuss is about, Arcadias answered him.

The girl brought over their bagels and coffee, then the two of them found a table. Crey wasn’t used to any human girl showing any interest in him. Of course, the cloaking device he was wearing masked his true features, creating an illusion.

How’s things with Parley? Arcadias asked after a long moment of silence.

Good, Crey responded with a mouthful.

Yeah? That’s good.

Yep.

Arcadias stared at Crey with his green eyes. They appeared normal to those around them, but Crey was able to see what they really looked like. Instead of a dark ring on the outside of the iris, all elves had a light-colored ring that usually matched their eyes. Arcadias had a light green ring surrounding his.

Something on your mind? Arcadias inquired.

Well, began Crey, it’s just when I was first brought down below, I was told that the security system down there was flawless, but Thalnaar has proved that wrong numerous times. He’s found a way to get into the city, and into the academy, and he grabbed Parley. Then to top it off his people…err…elves broke him out of prison, which I thought was impossible.

I can’t say I don’t feel the same way. I thought the same thing, but it’s still safer than us being up here.

Yeah, but I need to come up here every now and then. I grew up here.

Hmmm. Arcadias couldn’t find the words to say. He took a sip of his coffee.

How is it? Crey asked.

Arcadias nodded. Awful.

Crey chuckled.

The two sat there for several minutes enjoying their bagels. Arcadias wasn’t used to eating human food. Everything the elves ate was much healthier, and it actually tasted good, which was odd to Crey. Elves ate a lot, though, so when they went up above Arcadias would eat without a complaint.

Why can’t you just eat down below in the city? asked Arcadias.

I spent eighteen years of my life living among humans, Crey responded. I think it should be pretty obvious why I would want to come up here all the time. Sometimes I feel trapped down below. Like Thalnaar is keeping me prisoner.

I guess I can understand that.

The two finished up their bagels and Arcadias gingerly drank the rest of his coffee, despite his open disliking for it.

So, I’ve wanted to ask, what’s the deal with Arahn? Crey asked him. Why so quiet?

Well, Arcadias began, I guess it’s because of his father. He rather enjoyed his silence—from everyone else anyway. Anytime anyone spoke without being spoken to, they were punished. Arahn learned not to speak unless he has something very important to say. I couldn’t imagine growing up that way. I lived in a very welcoming household, but Arahn is very strong, and he survived it.

Crey tried to imagine that kind of life. He had a slight idea of what it was like to be limited to certain ways of life, but it wasn’t like he wasn’t allowed to speak. His mom was in constant fear of danger, which meant having a permanent curfew and not being able to go to many places.

Sadness overcame him momentarily as he thought of his mom. She was killed by Thalnaar about a year ago, so the pain was still fresh. He knew that it would never go away though. Not completely.

How would you know all that? Crey wondered aloud. I mean the guy…err…elftor is like a monk with a vow of silence. Elftor was a way of saying man for an elf.

I’ve been to his home before, he answered. We’ve been friends since we were in school.

Oh.

Let’s get to work, Arcadias suggested. The chairs screeched across the floor as the two of them pushed back to stand. They then stood up and put the chairs back under the table before heading to the door.

BAM!

The front of the building exploded, sending everybody flying backwards followed by debris. Crey went into the air and bounced off the top of the counter, crashing harshly into a shelf of cups.

Crey lifted his head up slowly, extremely disoriented. The ringing in his ears was almost unbearable, and there was so much dust that he could barely see three feet in front of him.

His uncle came crawling toward him shouting something, but the explosion prevented Crey from understanding anything he was saying—just muffled mumbling. It was just like in the movies, except in the movies everything slows down. The only reason anyone was moving slow was because they were just caught in an explosion.

Arcadias took off to catch whoever attacked them, leaving Crey behind to check on the people in the shop. He stumbled around slowly, checking to see if anyone was injured enough to need help.

It was weird seeing how different things were when you couldn’t hear. He never realized the sound of his footsteps until he could no longer hear them. He could see the pain and sobbing on the people’s faces, but like everything else, the loud ringing in his ears drowned the crying and moaning. A woman was clutching her hand and yelling something he couldn’t understand. He just nodded his head and continued onward.

No one seemed to require immediate attention, so Crey went for the door. Right before he got outside a foot came around and slammed right into his chest, once again sending him flying backwards. When he finally looked up, he saw three figures in the familiar suits walking into the shop. They were wearing the dark-red, tactical outfits—a required uniform for Thalnaar’s followers—with a dark gray, pointed stripe on the front of the masks, running diagonally from head to cheek. The red was so dark that it was a couple shades away from black. They were all armed with swords strapped to their backs, with the strap crossing over their chest, and guns holstered on their waists.

Thalnaar, Crey thought to himself. One of them stepped forward with his hands resting on the utility belt and began to laugh—at least it looked like he was. His head tilted back slightly, and his body shook. He then began to say something inaudible—his mask moved right where his mouth was. None of them looked familiar, even in the suits.

The one who spoke ran at Crey. Crey dodged the elf and threw a broken table at the other two. The first one came back and entered into a fistfight with Crey. Back and forth the two fought. The elftor was much faster and stronger—as they always were—and Crey struggled to keep up. He was only half elf so he wasn’t as strong as the rest of them. It also didn’t help that he was still disoriented from the explosion.

Out of nowhere one of the other elves came over and double punched Crey through a side door, sending him into an empty alleyway. He got up and jumped out of the way of a flying kick. He stumbled, however, and almost fell over an empty box that lay carelessly in the middle of the alley. The other two elves came out of the building and began to attack Crey. He had no chance against all three of them, but he did his best to stay alive.

One by one they threw their fists and feet at him, and one by one they landed their blows, wearing him down with each hit. Every now and then he managed to block a kick or punch, but not nearly as many as he missed.

They knocked him down on the ground and Crey looked over at some cement rubble just in arms reach. He rolled over, grabbed it in his right hand, did a kip-up and threw it at the three elves. As they all reached up to block the oncoming attack, Crey took advantage of the situation. He ran forward and jump-kicked one of the elves. As that one fell, Crey sweep kicked one of the others causing them to land hard on their back. A spin kick was heading for the last one’s head, but the elf was already prepared and easily stopped it. Once again Crey found himself in the air heading for the back of the alley.

As Crey stood up he saw that all three of the elves were walking down towards him. He had barely made a dent in the fight as none of them were the least bit tired or hurt. He wouldn’t give up, though.

Well, half-breed, began one of them in a shrill voice. Crey was beginning to get his hearing back, so he could somewhat make out what he was saying. We knew…matter…time…out.

Crey suddenly felt stupid for wanting to go up there among the humans. His uncle was nowhere to be found and even if he was there Crey wasn’t sure that he’d be any help anyway.

One of the elves approached him with his sword held at his side. Without a word he brought it up and was ready to strike him down, but something hit the elf in the back and sent him over Crey. One of the other elves threw something against the wall next to Crey and it exploded, sending rubble all over him—he was completely covered.

For several minutes he was shut out from the outside world, before the large chunks of rubble were pulled off him one by one. His uncle pried pieces off Crey that would have taken several men to lift. Finally, all of it was cleared and Crey crawled out. He found Arcadias was not alone as the rest of the team was with him, donning the required Dark Shield attire.

It was very similar to the red ones, but they were completely black with shiny black eyes, and there were very thin gray lines running along the edges of the suit. And instead of one strap for the sword sheath there were two.

The cloaking devices made them all invisible, but Crey could see them since he was wearing Second Eyes. They were contacts that could see through any cloak with the added features of night vision and infrared. Elves had technology well beyond what humans could even dream of possessing.

That…smooth, Saar said as he pulled off his mask. His short brown hair was plastered to his head from the sweat. He looked at him with a wide grin that seemed to be permanent as he rarely took anything serious. The thing that always caught Crey’s immediate attention, though, was his yellow eyes. Crey had been working with Saar for a while, but he still had trouble getting used to it, even if there were plenty of elves with different colored eyes.

Huh? shouted Crey.

You…good… Ava muttered.

What?

Arahn walked over to Crey and placed a hand on his shoulder. Sudden warmth rushed through him, clearing his disorientation, and eliminating the ringing pounding in his ears. All the elves had unique powers and Arahn’s was the ability to heal living things.

Thank you, said Crey.

Arahn, who towered over everyone, just nodded. He was tall even for an elf. When he was in the human world he usually needed to duck to walk through doorways.

Let’s get these guys to the station, Arcadias ordered.

This is going to be one heck of a mess to clean up, Rowan added. She was not one of Crey’s favorites. It seemed like she was always trying to outdo him and could barely stand being around him.

"Crey and I will start wiping everyone’s