The Silent Soldiers Read online

running down the center. The tables were made of a dark stained wood, and were absolutely beautiful. I could see my reflection in the shine of the tables. Huge crystal chandeliers hung in perfectly spaced intervals down the length of each table. High backed chairs with blue velvet covered cushions surrounded all three tables. I couldn’t help but wonder how many people lived with grandpa in the mansion with seating for this many.

  I noticed Grandpa sitting at a fourth table positioned at the head of the other tables. This table was about half the size of the others. Chairs ran down one side of it facing the other three tables. The place where grandpa sat could hardly be called a “chair.” This seat that held my grandfather could only be described as a throne. It looked like something you see a king sitting in, in a castle with knights and dragons and all that stuff. Wow! I thought. Grandpa must me pretty important to be sitting in something like that.

  Grandpa motioned for me to join him at the head table. He pointed to the chair next to him indicating I should sit down.

  “Did you sleep well, Luke?” Grandpa asked.

  “Better than ever, Grandpa. That bed is so comfortable. It’s like sleeping on air.

  “Only the best for my amazing grandson,” he said with a grin. I hadn’t really noticed last night, but now I realized how much joy and happiness Grandpa showed in his eyes when he spoke to me. I never saw Grandpa this happy when he visited us on the very few occasions in Dallas. I couldn’t help but feel completely welcome in his home.

  “We have much to do today, Luke. Think you’re ready for your life to be changed forever?” He asked.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said with a little hesitation. I had no clue what exactly this could mean, but I completely trusted Grandpa not to let anything bad happen to me.

  “Today you will meet Rachel. She is the witch that made it possible to bring you into this world. We are going to tour the training facility after breakfast. Then it will be time to discover what abilities you possess.” Grandpa wasn’t going to waste any time finding out what my half-breed status was in the supernatural world. I suddenly became quite nauseous as I thought about this.

  Rachel, the witch, was going to remove the spell she had cast nearly fourteen years ago. Removing the spell would unleash whatever vampire abilities, or weaknesses, that I possessed. I guess Grandpa noticed the worried expression on my face because he told me not to worry.

  “We are going to take this very slow. I promise we will not put on you any more than you can handle. All you have to do is say the word and we will try a different route to accomplish the tasks we face,” he said with warmth and reassurance in his voice.

  About that time I caught a glimpse of two men out of the corner of my eye. They were coming thru the door to our right. Each one carried a tray with a silver dome covering it. The two men were dressed in black pants and white long sleeve shirts with black vests and ties. I guessed they worked for Grandpa here at the mansion. They brought the trays over and sat one down in front of each of us before removing the covers. I could not believe the amount of food that was piled onto each tray. Every type of breakfast food you could imagine was there. There had to be enough food for at least five people on each tray. There was no way I could eat all of this in one sitting. Grandpa looked at me and smiled when he noticed the shock that registered on my face.

  I wasn’t the least bit shy as I began to dig right into the mass of food in front of me. I ate, and ate, and ate, and when I didn’t think I could eat another bite I ate a little more. Grandpa didn’t waste any time putting away his food. He cleaned his entire tray in no time at all. I couldn’t imagine where he was putting all of it; he really isn’t that big of a man if you ask me.

  “Did you get enough, Luke?” He asked as he wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin, and laid it across his plate.

  “Oh, man did I ever. I don’t believe I could eat another bite if I wanted to,” I said with a big sigh. Right on cue, as if Grandpa had called them, the same two guys came out to carry away the trays. Man, these people were really on top of it. Grandpa never had to say a word before somebody showed up to take care of his every want and need.

  “How about a little tour of the mansion?” Grandpa asked.

  “That sounds great.”

  “Ok. You have seen the great room, the dinning hall, and the bedroom suites upstairs. The kitchen is straight through those doors. The ones those two men just came in and out of. You are welcome to go to the kitchen any time you please if you are hungry. There will always be someone on duty should you feel the need. You are a growing boy, and you must keep up your strength. If you will follow me, I’ll show you my office.

  We left the dinning room and headed back down the long hall with the windows. We passed thru the foyer in front of the Great Room. We came to a single metal door in the wall opposite the dinning hall entrance. This door seemed out of place being metal instead of the beautiful wood I noticed in every other part of the house. There was no doorknob on the door. I wondered how we were going to get in. Next to the door, hanging on the wall, was a small screen that looked much like a small computer screen. Grandpa put his hand, with his palm facing forward, onto the screen. The screen immediately came to life. The screen lit up. A single blue line started at the top and quickly went all the way to the bottom. When the line got to the bottom Grandpa removed his hand. I saw IDENTITY CONFIRMED flash on the screen. Next the screen went blank again. I could hear what sounded like gears turning, and the metal door slowly opened.

  “Luke, I must tell you, very few people in this world have ever crossed through this door. One day you will be able to enter this office all on your own,” Grandpa told me.

  “What is this, Grandpa? And why is it locked down like this?” I asked very confused.

  “Let me show you.” We walked through the door. The room we walked into looked like an office a CEO or a president of a big company might occupy. There was the usual, very expensive looking, filing cabinets and other office furniture. The only difference, I thought, was the numerous computer screens sitting on the desk. I wondered why Grandpa needed so many screens. We walked through the office and entered a long, very elaborate, hallway. The hallway had decorative carpet, and beautiful stained wood trim. Huge statues of knights with polished silver armor ran down the length of the hallway on the left. Down the right side were life sized portraits of men. I had no idea who the men could be, but they all seemed to resemble Grandpa. He began to explain as though he knew what I was thinking.

  “These portraits are of previous ancestors who served here at this mansion, Luke. The armor opposite each portrait belonged to the leader depicted in the paintings. We call this “The Great Alpha Hall.” I didn’t know what all of this meant. I was too fascinated by the suits of armor to ask any questions. I looked at the portraits as we slowly made our way down the hall. I felt as though Grandpa had taken me to a museum.

  About half way down, on the right side of the hall, was a set of wooden doors. Grandpa explained as we passed that this was his suite. Nobody in the mansion was allowed in unless they had his permission. I didn’t press this issue any further as we continued down the hall and through another door. When we entered this door I immediately could tell where we were in the mansion. The room was circular with no windows. I knew this was one of the towers I had seen from the outside.

  This room was bare except for an elevator in the middle of the floor. Beside the door to the elevator was another scan pad like the one Grandpa used earlier. Grandpa’s hand was scanned by the blue line. After his identity was confirmed the doors to the elevator opened.

  “Where does this go, Grandpa?” I asked curiously. I hadn’t the slightest idea what my grandfather meant by what he said next.

  “Luke, this is the entrance to the Silent Soldiers’ headquarters.

  5

  “The Silent Soldiers? What exactly does that mean?” We walked into the elevator as Grandpa began to explain to me what the Silent Soldie
rs were about.

  “The Silent Soldiers are an organization of very gifted supernatural beings that we are putting together to fight evil. They will protect the secret of the supernatural community, and hide it from the human world.”

  “So you’re like the leader of an army, Grandpa?”

  “I am only the leader of the Little Rock pack. We keep guard over these headquarters. I am not the leader of the Silent Soldiers. That has yet to be decided Luke.”

  We were on the elevator for several seconds when it finally came to a stop. The doors began to open slowly. I wasn’t sure what to expect when they opened. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. We entered into a room that had to have been at least the size of the mansion. There was an area containing dozens of television screens on one wall.

  A huge man in a black suit watched them from a desk with lots of other equipment on it. I noticed the guard shack at the front gate on one of the screens. I came to the conclusion that these screens were for the surveillance cameras around the property. The man stood and bowed toward Grandpa when he noticed us coming off the elevator. Grandpa nodded to him and the man resumed his task.

  I also noticed a number of different vehicles lining one wall of the room. There were motorcycles, cars, and many