In their thousands

　　Irena’s POV

　　What we had just heard on the news was shocking.

　　A world where humans were privy to the knowledge of the existence of vampires was never going to work.

　　They were already calling it ‘the vampire crisis’ on the news, well I believe the real crisis is the human crisis.

　　Reports on the news advise that people avoid each other and stay indoors until they find a way to identify and kill these vampires, rather than going around killing each other.

　　The humans still know very little to absolutely nothing about vampires, true vampires, but in their state of panic and unrest, they’ve gone about killing their neighbors and friends under the false suspicions that they might be vampires.

　　Humans killing innocents over the suspicion that those strangers might be more than they actually have always been the human way, and the so-called ‘modern man’ is no exception.

　　‘Death to all that is strange and unknown,’ that seems to be the human way.

　　This can only end badly, I tried to play out the scenarios in my head and everything led to a war that would destroy the planet.

　　And yet I knew one thing for sure, by some way shape, or form, this was my responsibility, I had to stop this, all of it, and prevent the future I saw in my dreams.

　　Somehow, someway, this was my responsibility now.

　　Go on Irena, time to save the fucking world again.

　　We drove all the way to my house, taking in the news reports as they came in, people had stayed in their homes waiting cowardly for long enough and had finally had enough.

　　These fucking maniacs took to the streets wielding, crosses, and wooden stakes, like a bunch of village idiots with torches and pitchforks in an angry mob from the eighteenth century.

　　And what’s worse?

　　They were actively committing murders, killing each other, the world was going mad and it was up to me to fix it all somehow.

　　But I can’t do anything from inside this car.

　　I can’t do anything until I get a proper read of the situation.

　　Until I’ve settled and analyzed the problem, traced it to its source, and found a solution.

　　That solution is usually killing some humdrum practitioners of the black arts.

　　I should probably call the council.

　　Although last time I called them, I had to handle everything myself as it was somehow my problem and had no repercussions on the rest of the vampire race.

　　Well, here your repercussions now Shiva you bitch.

　　My eyebrows furrowed as Magnus and Carlos watched me clutch the steering wheel tighter in anger.

　　We finally made it to my house after the long drive and that’s when I saw him for the first time again.

　　He was bruised all over but he was still as beautiful as ever Alexey.

　　I walked over to him to find that he had been compelled to just stand there, some idiot vampire had made the mistake of compelling my boyfriend, they would pay for this.

　　I made my way into the house and into the main hall where I found the entire vampire council waiting for me.

　　I was a mess, injuries from the fight were still healing slowly, messy hair and dress ripped and covered in blood, I certainly didn’t look the part of a queen, I’m big enough to admit that.

　　“Irena, we’ve been waiting for you,” Shiva said in her venomous tone, she knew she had been wrong at the last meeting and that if I had the help of the entire council, things wouldn’t have escalated to this extent, and now they’re back, all in my home, standing, staring, waiting for me to say something.

　　So I did.

　　“What the fuck are you people doing here, and which one of you bastards compelled my boyfriend?” I addressed the room, my voice heavy with rage as I spoke.

　　“There are more pressing matters to be addressed Irena, the worl-.” Countess Shiva started her sentence but didn’t finish as I cut her off.

　　“There is no matter, more pressing than the three-hour bath I’m going to have,” I said sauntering out of the room leaving the entire council of proud bastards speechless, I stopped just at the door and turned back at them to say, “And whoever compelled my boyfriend should’ve better freed him before I get back,” I concluded as I walked through the door and out of the room.

　　I took my sweet time getting out of my bloody clothes.

　　As I slid them off my bloodstained skin I winced at the feeling of pain on my arm that was yet to completely heal up from when I fought, what had become of Fabian Ruiz.

　　I could feel my bones ache, I hadn’t felt pain like that in thousands of years if ever.

　　But that ordeal is over, another one looms over us already, but at this moment, that doesn't matter.

　　All that matters to me right now is me.

　　“The vampire crisis,” I giggled lightly as I got into the warm bath I had drawn for myself, “that’s rich coming from humans, '' I added as I completely submerged my body in the water.

　　It felt amazing, the scent, the warmth, the softness of my skin I thought to myself as I caressed myself gently.

　　All that was missing now was Alexey, not that he’d be of much use with the injuries he had sustained from his time as a kidnap villain.

　　So I simply thought back to a time when he would’ve been very useful and let my fingers travel down my body as I reminisce at just how amazing in bed Alexey really is. But I decided against it and decided to take my bath and change into something proper instead. There are more important matters to be dealt with.

　　I made my way back out to the council room, looking like a goddess in a skin tight black leather dress and a pair of matching heels.

　　“Irena, what the fuck is going on, who are all those weirdly dressed people in your house, are you in some sort of cult?” He queried frantically, he was confused and I didn’t blame him, I was just glad to see that he was still himself. I'm glad they didn’t break him.

　　But I had more pressing matters to attend to and although I felt terrible about it, I compelled him and made him go wait in my room, no questions asked.

　　But this time is different, it’s fine because I’m his girlfriend.

　　I finally graced the council members with my presence, actually looking the part of a queen this time, I finally decided that the meeting could commence.

　　The council members immediately burst into frantic arguments, speculating and yelling at each other, shutting down and disrespecting one another as I sat in silence and observed the mess that the vampire council had become in my absence.

　　I was gone for one week and the vampire council descended into chaos.

　　I return to find them waiting in my home like lost puppies waiting for their master.

　　It was sad to see, they behaved like chattering monkeys, worse even than that.

　　“You sound like the humans, shame on all of you,” I rebuked them with a loud voice causing them all to fall deathly quiet as they realized how stupid they must’ve all sounded, even Shiva and Munster, I expected this kind of behavior from them least of all.

　　“Well Irena, what would you have us do?” Shiva inquired proving herself to be ever the dullard.

　　“The solution is quite simple, much like you Shiva,” I mocked as I explained “Something is out there killing humans in their millions and draining them of all their blood, we have to find that something, expose it to the humans and then stop it, giving them something to blame and us to exult, so that they welcome us into their hearts and minds, and we wipe those hearts and minds of any traces that we ever existed,” I explained, gauging the room to find all the heads nodding in approval as they whispered amongst themselves. "We've done it before, it shouldn't be hard. And by we I mean me." I placed my hand on my chest delicately.

　　“And how do you suppose we find these creatures, Irena?” Munster asked, he always had a stern voice that made me feel like just a girl, but today I wasn’t going to let it get to me, I would simply brush it off like I did every other time it has happened before.

　　“Well dear Munster, I have severely depleted my resources and manpower taking on the last threat to humanity and vampire kind on your behalf and saving all of your lives, you’re all welcome for that by the way, so now it’s your turn to track the evil that has festered this earth and point it out so we can destroy it, with all our combined resources and manpower, with all of the vampire kind united, we will find the cause of the problem and cut it out like cancer,” they seemed to understand what I had just explained, although I made sure to avoid using any complicated words.

　　And so with that, we had a plan, not much of one, but someone was doing this, murdering people in large numbers and quick succession.

　　That kind of sinister deed could only be achieved through the use of powerful black arts and those tend to leave a trace, some sort of stench, and that’s what we’ll be out looking for.

　　And when we find them and snuff them out, maybe we can start to rebuild and hopefully get things back to the way they once were.

　　Maybe.

　　The meeting ended and all the council members exchanged their final bits of formalities and niceties before leaving to get to work, tracking down the source of these malicious events.

　　I had a few things to take care of as well;

　　Monica needed a proper send-off, I had to explain things to Alexey, I hadn’t gotten the chance to have a proper conversation with Magnus since I got him back.

　　And now I had to track down a master of the black arts who was killing humans in their millions and causing panic and unrest across the whole world.

　　But of course first things first, Monica, she deserved a proper send-off and so we set it up.

　　We gathered around on the edge of a cliff overlooking a river and a few of her close friends gave speeches and so did her brother.

　　His speech was moving and I felt myself tear up. They were orphans who didn’t have anything but each other until I found them.

　　Carlos concluded by saying that he knew that if his sister ever had to die, it would’ve been fighting by my side or protecting him, and in the end, it was both.

　　She truly was one of the best people I’ve ever met.

　　Finally, we spread her ashes over the cliff and across to the river below and said our goodbyes.

　　No one knows what happens to vampires after they die, but Monica deserves to be somewhere better, and I hope that’s what she gets.

　　We left the location and I came back home to find Alexey still waiting in my room.

　　I had put him through so much, too much, I contemplated leaving him to live his life, but even that wouldn't do any good, I had too many enemies out there and for now, it wasn't safe for the man I love to be out and about.

　　I would have to keep Alexey safe at all times, I can't tell him the truth about the world we live in, the works I've drawn him into, so I would have to compel him to forget all his experiences and remember only that he was in a motorcycle accident which is why he was covered in injuries and was recuperating at my house.

　　It's the only way to protect him.

　　But will I ever be able to share the truth with him?