Chapter Eight: The Plan

“Why do you have his blood?” Astra asked as she looked at the little vile.

“It's for protection,” Adric answered, taking off the necklace.

“We can free Aleister now,” Astra said with a grin. “But first, we need a plan.”

“Damn right, we need a plan; we can just run in there half-cocked.” Devon said as he and Angelica entered the room.

“Were you listening?” Astra asked, a little irritated.

“We had our first werewolf lesson,” Angelica said with a sheepish smile.

“You can't have a private conversation with werewolves.” Devon said with an arched eyebrow.

“Well, shall we come up with a plan?” Astra said as they gathered around.

“Adric, do you know if Aleister is guarded?” Astra asked as she played with the map.

“Not that I am away. Aleister hasn’t been a concern for nearly two decades.” Adric said as he ran a hand through his dirty blond hair.

“Just in case we need to be on guard. With Shayla being taken, they may have assigned some guards.” Devon said as he looked at the map.

“We need to be ready for anything. Angie needs to be safe when we do this.” Astra said as she opened a trunk in the corner.

“What are you doing, Astra?”Angelica asked as she walked up behind her.

“You are going to need protection.” Astra stated as she pulled out an object wrapped in cloth.

“What is that?” Angelica looked confused as Astra revealed a sword engraved with Latin.

“This a special sword passed down for generations in my family. It can slay anything you must face as long as your heart is true.”

“Astra, I am notoriously clumsy. You can just imagine me with a sword?” Angelica pointed out, looking at her sister like she was crazy. “Plus, I have never held a sword; mom would lose her mind.”

“Your mother is one of the finest swordsmen I have ever met.” Devon said to help Astras case. “I think she would be okay with you learning the blade.”

“And we don’t have time to teach you properly, so come here.” Astra said as she placed her hands on Angelica's head. Angelica's eyes rolled back in her head as Astra’s hands lit up with power.

“What just happened?” Angelica asked, completely confused as to what the hell just happened to her.

“For the next twenty-four hours, you have full knowledge of swordplay.” Astra stated matter of factly.

“Hey, why didn’t you do this when it came to our classes?” Angelica asked as she took the sword and sheath from Astra.

“Because that is cheating, and your mother would have killed me.” Atra said with an eye roll.

“Okay, what is the plan? Do we just go to the location and sniff around?” Devon asked as he looked at the map.

“I think we should play it by ear,” Astra said as she joined him. “We have no way of knowing what we are walking into. We should enter the forest from the north side of the forest. We can get a clear view of the mausoleum from the hill.”

“When we get there, we should each check the surrounding area.” Adric started giving his opinion.

“Okay, we leave in five minutes.” Astra stated as she looked around.

“We don’t really have a plan, do we?” Angelica asked Astra with an unsure look.

“No, we don’t have a plan.” Astra said with a sigh. “We just have to be careful and keep an eye out.”

“You sure about this?” Angelica asked her sister, holding her shoulders.

“He has been in that prison long enough.” A look of realization came over her face. “Adric, I need you to go catch a deer and drain it into a few blood bags. I have everything you’ll need in the med closet.”

“What, why would I do that?” Adric asked, confused as to why she would make such a crazy request.

“Think for a moment, if you were sealed away in a tomb for nearly twenty years, wouldn’t you be thirsty?” Astra explained her logic.

“Yeah, but why a dear?” Adric was still confused.

“Blood is blood, and we don’t have access to a blood den at the moment.” Astra argued back, starting to get annoyed with the vampire in front of her.

“Fine, don’t blow a fuse.” Adric laughed at Astra's annoyed face. “I’ll Be about five minutes.”

“Don’t make a mess, please.” Astra called after him as he left the room.

“You think that will be enough?” Angelica asked Astra as she rocked on her heels.

“It will have to do for now. Aleister will look different than the dream. He will most likely be dried up and look like a corpse. Be prepared for that.”

“Will he stay like that forever or just till he is feed.” Angelica had so many questions to ask but felt overwhelmed with the amount.

“No, not forever. After he has enough blood, he will revert to his normal form.” Astra answered her questions but could see all the others bubbling below the surface. “He will be able to answer all your questions.”

“I am a little nervous,” Angelica said as she looked to her feet. “This whole time, I thought I would never meet my dad, and I am about to.”

“He will be happy to see you, Angie.” Astra reassured her sister with a hug.

“I got the blood. Are we ready to go?” Adric said, handing a bag to Astra.

“As ready as we ever will be.” Astra said as they made their way outside.

"Now the portal will only last so long so no lagging behind." Astra instructed the boys before throwing the glowing orb.

"What makes you think we will lag behind?" Devon asked almost insulted by the accusation.

"Knowing you two and how you find any reason to fight, I would not be surprised." Astra said as the portal appeared. "Now let do this and please try to stay together."