"Come, child of the Blood, share your sweet prize with us..."

"The Great One will reward you..."

"'Great One'?" Illya repeated the word and cast a look to Napoleon who frowned in response as the disembodied voices continued their entreaties, voices echoing and overlapping, almost seeming to penetrate their brains as certainly as they did the walls...and yet, *they* did not enter. Not yet.

Napoleon resisted the comfort of Illya's touch, reminding himself that it was *his* charge to protect the small golden creature at his side, not the other way around...and Illya did not force him to remain as the crystalline eyes regarded the silver switchblade-like daggers that suddenly ejected from armlets hidden beneath the silk of Napoleon's shirtsleeves -the weapon of choice for a member of the knighthood called UNCLE when dealing with creatures of the netherworld.

Despite the fledgling bond they both shared, the Russian vampire shuddered as the weapons brought back memories -many of his kind had lost their heads to
implements of war such as those...a long time ago. Still...it showed that, differences aside, he and the human were of one mind in this one thing at least. They were warriors -whatever was out there, they would fight rather than be taken. Illya smiled grimly, his eyes taking on the color of rubies, his canines extending in full, as human and vampire waited for the first intruder to break in...

...and waited...

...and waited.

Napoleon cocked his head to one side. "Shall we invite them in?"

"No!" Illya shook off the sudden sense of horror at the human's innocent, although sarcastic, comment -dread, not for himself, but for his amazingly naive companion. The mask of ice was back in place as he spoke: "Dark ones,  why do you not enter?"

Silence...and then: "Come to us. Open to *us*!"

A feathery eyebrow raised in grim satisfaction. "Can you not enter of your own accord?"

"Open! Share the knight's delicious blood! The Great One orders it!"

"No."

Silence again and then: "You will pay -you with your miserable kindred *and* the humans." After that, there was nothing...no sounds but the faint early morning birds heralding the dawn as the first streaks of the sun's light began to brighten the dark sky. Illya exhaled heavily. "They're gone."

Napoleon studied the darkly-garbed vampire suspiciously as he resheathed his blades. "How do you know?"

"It is morning...or will be soon. They fear the day."

"Illya..." The larger man grasped the smaller man by the shoulder. "There's something you're not telling me. Why didn't -no- why *couldn't* they enter?"

"You did not invite them."

"Explain that."

The vampire grimaced with dismay -he had already said too much. "I am not sure I can tell you."

"Why! We're *partners*! We're *both* trying to avoid a *war* between our people! If you're holding out on me-" Napoleon released his grip, fully aware that Illya could have removed his hands any time he wished. Solo held out his hands in supplication instead. "Whatever was out there *acted* like vampires from legends -no invitation, no entry. Please...Illya...tell me I'm on the wrong track here. Tell me there's no such thing as what I'm thinking was out there."

 Kuryakin turned and stared at the glow of the rising sun, feeling none of its warmth. "I wish I could. There are things that only my kind and those of the Section One of your knighthood would know. If I tell you, I could be cast out from my own clan for breaking the old silence."

"Illya...you said it could be our worst nightmare."

"It could be."

"The message you received -it told you what we're dealing with, didn't it?"

"It spoke of suspicions."

"Illya...please...I have to know."

The centuries' old vampire suddenly looked so small and afraid as he sat on a nearby couch. "It is the hidden sin of the Kindred. When the Covenant was
proposed, there was a vampire race of exceptional power and age who opposed the pact. They were of an evil you cannot fathom...but they were related to
us. Despite the laws that forbid us to betray our own, the Kindred and your ancestral knighthood combined their strengths and destroyed them...for the sake of our fledgling peace."

Napoleon sat down beside his partner, noting with concern that he had begun to tremble. "I don't understand. Who...*what* other species?"

Illya rubbed his hands against his arms. "Long before the Kindred, long before the father of my kind -there was another. The father of us all was not
born a vampire, but she...*she* was always a vampire of demon blood. You know her as 'Lilith', first wife of Adam...mother of a demonic race of vampires possessing  their mother's unique hatred of all but themselves, called the 'Lilim'."

Illya shuddered. "Over time, the Lilim went by many shapes and even more names: Penanggalan, Vrykolakas, Lamiai, Sukuyan, Kappa, Strigoi, Ekimmu,
Uppyr ...among others. They were creatures of great magicks and yet, could be bound by magicks. But...just as the Titans were slain by the Gods, the Lilim
were destroyed by the Kindred...or so, we believed." Illya grasped Napoleon with shaking hands. "I fear that something of their kind survived the purge...hid themselves...a variety of Lilim that want your kind and mine to destroy each other...that mutilated those victims those specific ways because...they knew...it was the only way...to be sure to...keep the...victims...dead."

Just then, the small vampire collapsed into a startled Napoleon's arms, unconscious. "Illya!" Solo anxiously lifted the cuff of Illya's shirtsleeve, frantically searching for a pulse, but was horrified to find that though Illya's pulse was there, it was slow and getting slower...and the usually cool skin was now almost ice-cold and turning grey. Suddenly, the knight of UNCLE realized what was wrong....

...he had yet to see his (his?) vampire feed.

Illya needed blood.

"THE VAMPIRE BOOK: The Encyclopedia of the Undead" by J. Gordon Melton