A Mad Man Is Back

　　Irena's POV

　　"I want everyone primed and ready to move in on Pete's location in the next fifteen minutes," I ordered as I walked towards my room to change into something more suiting.

　　"Uhmmm, Irena?" Magnus called to me, causing me to stop.

　　"Do we have a plan for when he sees us and tries to use the spell that makes them old and die?" He inquired monotonously.

　　"Don't worry your pretty little head darling, I have just the thing for that," I reassured before continuing to my room to change.

　　We left the villa in three different cars taking three routes to converge on Pete's location from different points to minimize his chances of escape.

　　We arrived at Pete's safe house primed and ready, and we burst in immediately.

　　Pete was surrounded. He knew this, but still, he tried to fight his way out of the situation.

　　It was futile, he knew it was futile but it was soon too clear to deny as two of the vampires managed to wrestle him down to his knees and hold him there.

　　With no other alternative, he started on the spell that would kill him, and admittedly, it would've been a much better fate to die there.

　　"Death to the queen, hail the emp-," he could barely complete his chant before I lunged at him and put a muzzle over his mouth. Yeah, that was the plan I had, it was effective enough if you asked me; who's going to talk with a stuffed mouth?

　　"That's enough out of you Pete," I spat, smirking wickedly.

　　"You know me, I don't need you to speak to extract information from you," I said to him in a menacing tone while holding up his face by the jaw to make sure that he looked into my eyes. He needed to look into my eyes when I told him;

　　"You will suffer for your treachery, I promise you that," my voice was heavy with grief and anger.

　　"Get him out of my sight," I ordered as the others wrangled him up and took him away.

　　A few of us stayed back to search the safe house and round up any clues that might give us an idea of exactly who we were up against.

　　"That was a brilliant idea, I'll admit it," Magnus said from above my shoulder as I turned to face him. "Simple but most effective.

　　"One question though," he said, peering his face closer to mine.

　　"What is it, Magnus?" I asked in a faux impatient tone.

　　"Uhmmm, where'd you get a muzzle?" He inquired very curiously.

　　"Where'd you think I got it?" I responded with a sly smirk on the side of my lips.

　　"I got it from my room, in a giant chest in the corner labeled 'toys'," I answered this time with a full grin across my face as Magnus began to laugh.

　　"You are a treasure Irena Ursula, an absolute treasure!" He declared as he led the way out to the car.

　　We arrived back at the Villa to see that Pete had been stripped and strapped to a table where he had been beaten with whips among other things. This gave me a slight joy to see but it was only the beginning for him.

　　As I slowly made my way closer to him he began to struggle with his restraints, but he wasn't going anywhere, he knew that as much as anyone else.

　　"What's the matter, Pete?" I asked in a mocking tone.

　　"Got something to say?" I continued maintaining my tone of mockery.

　　"Well, Pete, why don't you say it?" I carried on trying to ignore him as he struggled with his restraints.

　　"Damn, if only there was some way I could get you to talk," I continued as his struggles got louder and louder.

　　"Oh please keep it down Pete I'm trying to think!" I yelled.

　　"Think, that's it, I can just enter your mind and find out what you think," I stated in my mocking tone, but this time adding a hint of malicious intent and he could feel it because his struggling stopped as his eyes widened at the sight of me standing right above him looking into his eyes, peering into his soul.

　　I smiled as I attempted to invade his mind, but just then a high-pitched sound filled my head as though something was keeping me out of his, and whatever it was it caused Pete discomfort as well and the more I tried to push past it the more discomfort we were both in.

　　This lasted for some time until I noticed a rune appear on his forehead as though it burnt its way up through his skin like a brand on a cow.

　　And once I stopped the rune disappeared back into his skin.

　　"A protective spell to keep your mind secure, from me," I said out loud in realization.

　　"Your dark hooded friend must have some juice, and he's certainly going through a lot of trouble to keep me out of your thoughts and memories, sadly it's going to take much more than a rune to stop me," I stated.

　　"Well, sadly for you," I finished.

　　"You see I could break through that rune with a little more effort, it'll take time and it'll hurt but I can do it, of course, it'll break your mind in the process, which is no skin off my teeth other than having to maneuver through the broken shell that was once your mind, that's always gonna be crap, but it's worth it to watch you suffer," I explained taking note of the pure terror and dread in his eyes as I situated myself ready to dive back in.

　　I placed my hand where the rune would burn its way through and started again, enduring and even enjoying the horrible but pleasurable pain that came with trying to break through the rune and into Pete's mind.

　　It took hours, hours at a time of hearing Pete scream in his thoughts and cry out in agony, this fuelled my conviction and gave me the strength to ignore my pain and push on further, harder and deeper.

　　The rune reappeared burning its way through his forehead and onto the palm of my hand searing into my flesh causing even more pain for me, but whatever I was feeling Pete felt double and I loved it.

　　Finally, I felt a crack in the rune and through that crack, I could hear Pete's surface thoughts, his feeling in the moment.

　　"Please stop, please no more, I beg you, please, I can't take it anymore," he cried and begged and wailed bringing me even more joy as I pressed on.

　　It felt like days and it would be several more hours before I felt another crack in the rune, then another and another and another before finally breaking through the rune. By then Pete's mind had been long shattered beyond any possible chance of repair.

　　And for the first time after hours of beating at the gate, I finally gained access to his mind.

　　But it was broken, there was no bearing, no left or right, and no up or down.

　　Nothing made sense, it was definitely going to be challenging to get what I was looking for.

　　And so I wandered through the twisted and broken shell that was once Pete's mind coming across fractured memories shifting from era to era. None of it made any sense, but if I could piece enough of it together maybe I could learn something.

　　I saw his childhood transition smoothly into the first-ever war he fought in like it happened in one day.

　　I saw him ride a horse that was half motorcycle like it was trying to mesh two different points in time together.

　　This was his date and he deserved no better.

　　Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw a hooded figure run through Pete's first day working at the club, he seemed so timid and nervous, I chased the hooded figure through to Pete's younger days when he met his first love, she died of the plague, I guess everyone has a backstory.

　　I chased the hooded figure through all the moments in time before finally catching it to reveal that it was a memory of the first time they met, the first time Pete was recruited by my enemy.

　　I saw his face with that hideous smile as he slithered his way into Pete's mind convincing him of his evil intentions and getting Pete to sign off on his plans, it was Maximus the mad.

　　"Of course it's you!" I exclaimed, suddenly bouncing out of Pete's mind and back into my own body.

　　"Magnus!" I cried out as I rushed out.

　　"I know who we're up against, I know who's behind it all!" I cried out as I ran through the hall looking for Magnus to share what I had just learned.

　　"Magnus!" I exclaimed as I busted out into the main hall only to find him standing face to face with an unexpected guest who was surrounded by all the other vampires baring their fangs and claws

　　The one-handed man looked up at me and revealed himself to be;

　　"Maximus The Mad!" I called out with rage in my voice.

　　"Please, Irena, it's just Max," he responded with a sick crooked smile running across his face.

　　"Maximus you snake, what do you want?" Magnus demanded as he turned back to face him.

　　"Why I only just moved into Los Angeles, and I thought I'd come by to see an old friend, we do go way back, you and I," he said with his voice filled with malicious intent as he raised the stump where his hand once was to eye level for everyone in the room.

　　Maximus the Mad, in my house this is obviously some sort of ploy to provoke a response from me.

　　I would kill him.

　　I want to kill him, but I'm sure he has something up his sleeves and there're too many young vampires here, I couldn't possibly risk their lives.

　　I must involve the council in this before making any moves.

　　But once that is done Maximus the Mad will rue the day he decided to step his ugly feet back into my life.

　　"Leave now, while you still have feet to walk on Mad man!" I ordered authoritatively.

　　"So hostile, you always were a mannerless woman," he insulted me. In my own home, the bastard insulted me. He is definitely trying to provoke a response, I should rip his head from his body.

　　But not here, nor now, I need to choose my moves carefully, if not for me then for the sake of the others enough blood has been she'd already trying to take Pete alive.

　　And it drained nearly all my strength breaking through the protective rune spell and extracting the information from his broken mind.

　　I don't want to risk the fight.

　　"You're the mannerless one here Maximus, entering my home without an invitation," I responded, deciding to play his game.

　　"You're right, how silly of me, it was the excitement, the desire to see such an old friend it got to me, I do apologize, the years have done you justice fair queen," he continued in with his boring ramble.

　　"Than you Maximus, the years screwed you over completely," while it was an insult it was the absolute truth the once tall and beautiful man that I met that night in Rome and that I should've killed that night in Rome was long gone, Maximus the Mad was a sad wrinkly one-handed mess of a man.

　　"Oh how right you are," he said in a tone that struck me as crossed. I must've struck a nerve.

　　"Well, I must be on my way, I won't take up any more of your time," he said as he turned and headed for the door.

　　Good riddance, the next time I see you will be the last Maximus I'll have your head on a plate but first I'll enjoy the sound of your screams as you suffer at my hands.

　　"Such a lovely empire you've built Irena," he said as he left the room.

　　'I can't wait to tear it all down to the ground' he thought to himself just as he got out of sight, I rushed after him fully intent on ending his life, I couldn't let him get away with that, but when I got to where he had just been, he vanished without a trace.

　　Fuck, my foe is Maximus the Mad returned for his revenge.

　　I will see to it that he is disappointed.

　　It makes so much sense now, only a snake like Maximus would sneak around, kidnapping young people and burning down building to get attention and further his agenda.

　　We have to move fast and stop him before he gets any bolder than he already seems to be.

　　In a way, I found myself feeling a slight hint of excitement and relief, that bastard escaped me once before, I finally get to kill him after so many years, centuries.

　　This is my second chance, I will put it to good use.

　　"Magnus, assemble the council,"

　　"Carlos, get some vampires to clean up the back room, Pete's in there drooling like a baby and I'm pretty sure he pissed himself, I'm way too disgusted to kill him plus he's no longer worth my time, not that he ever was,"

　　"And can someone please get me a fucking drink?"