A Few Sips Ch. 15

"Let's go give Jo a visit." She looked at Spencer with a fresh light in her eyes, they had work to do.

Thankfully, Jo was not absent from her Green Bay home. When Domino had texted her, she'd been having dinner and was going to be heading to the lab to work. Instead, the scientist had texted Fionna and Connor, and they had arrived just as Samir, Domino, Faith, and Spencer had shown up at her doorstep. They first explained what Samir had told them, and then Domino had outlined the rudimentary plan that they had thought of so far. Connor and Fionna had a lot of input as to how certain parts would best be executed and it wasn't long before that rudimentary plan developed into an actual, plausible, rescue mission. Now, Domino was talking with Jo about what would happen once they were inside.

"I wish it was possible. It's not. I've tried before. It works for a while, but the stupid protein chain will turn back on. That's why it's better to turn a vampire my way in the first place, then the sire bond is never placed. I'll find the string of DNA that does it eventually, but it's being a pesky little sucker. I've thought about attaching the enzyme that negates it to a virus of some sort, but vampires are really good at healing, so it gets rid of the virus before it can do any good to the sire bond. One day, maybe, but no, I could never have it done, not by the day after tomorrow for sure. Our best bet is that you stab that jerkass in the heart." Jo spoke in a rushed tone, they'd been talking for hours, and had planned quite a bit of the attack that would be taking place in just a few days.

They'd already heard back from Faeron who had been cautiously optimistic about their chances, attacking when Klaus was asleep was their best chance, but that meant that Alexandru would be asleep, too, but once Klaus was dead, then they wouldn't have to rush to be free. As soon as Spencer stopped singing, the wood elves that would accompany four of Faeron's sisters to Belarus would be able to come close enough to be of use. It would have to happen quickly, Domino and the other vampires who used the elixir would only be awake for about six hours before they, too, would have to go to bed. They'd be at the mercy of their non-human allies at that point.

Samir had already spoken to Zheng Lotus, who was going to confer with his brothers about the slaying of a non-human. He hadn't been able to let Domino and her friends know what way the dragon was swaying because Zheng was unreadable. Domino had to just hope that the dragons would understand that the only way to get Alexandru free of Klaus' hateful grip was to end the old vampire's life. The world would be a better place without him, she was sure of it. Samir was also going to come and stay with the wood elf males far enough away from Klaus' land so that after Spencer was done with her part, he could come in and help get Alexandru out of the mansion and make sure they were all taken to safety.

"Have you considered the fact that Alexandru may die before you get there?" Samir said quietly, he'd been standing slightly back from the table they were all sitting around.

"But you just said that the elves found him." Spencer frowned at him.

"Yes, they know that he's there, but he is very sick, Domino. It could happen any time. I just want you to prepare for that." He shrugged, he didn't want to see her get hurt again.

"We'll just have to hope we get there in time." Connor smiled reassuringly at Domino and she nodded in return.

"I have to do what I can, and we can't wait to find out if he's still alive. We just have to go." Domino knew Samir was trying to be cautious, but she was done with that. She was going to get on a plane, which was already on its way from Vorhees thanks to Mr. Hughes, and she was going to get Alexandru back.

~*~*~*~

They had arrived in Belarus just after dusk had set. Domino was thankful that Mr. Hughes had made some alterations to his private plane that allowed for the interior to be completely dark as they made their journey across the Atlantic. It was a full flight, and everyone on board was a little nervous, talking constantly about random things to pass the time as they waited to land. For a while, Samir, Spencer, and Faeron, who had insisted on coming and being a part of the rescue, were the only two besides the flight crew to be awake. The vampires on board; Domino, Fionna, Jo, Connor and Faith, had slept while the sun was shining. Though, they, too, had napped to ensure that they wouldn't be too tired upon arrival. When the vampires had awoken, it had almost been simultaneous, and then Faith had started screaming to be fed.

The door of the plane was opened and the stairs put down. Domino was the first one out the door, anxious to get to where they would spend the night, an inn on the opposite side of Hrodna. It wasn't likely that they would be spotted, but there was always a chance. Klaus was very secretive and none of them would put it past him to have spies. On the black tarmac, Domino saw a woman standing quietly, a jacket wrapped around her body as she watched them all get off of the plane. This was Samir's contact, the one who would be driving in the morning.

She had beautiful long, straight, blond hair and her blue eyes were exactly the same color as Samir's, which made Domino arch a brow and look at the blond man that had come up to stand beside her, his face had stretched into a smile, and he quickly stepped forward to hug the woman.

"Hello, Dad." The woman's soft, friendly, voice made Domino gasp a little. This was Samir's daughter? Wow. They looked close to the same age. Giants were lucky.

"Siobhan, this is Domino, the woman I told you about." Samir kissed his daughter's cheek and turned a bit so that he could introduce the two of them.

"It's nice to meet you, Siobhan. Thank you so much for helping us." Domino grinned, holding out her hand and gasping again when the woman stepped forward, instead, and hugged her tightly.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, too, Domino. Samir has told me a great deal about you, and this little sweetheart of yours." Siobhan looked at Faith, who had been carried off of the plane by Spencer.

"Faith. She's a little hungry right now." Domino chuckled, her daughter was looking everywhere around her with inquisitive eyes as she sucked down a bottle of blood.

"She's adorable. Reminds me of my youngest, starving, all the time." Siobhan looked at the child for a few moments with a smile.

Domino grinned, looking over at Samir and mouthing the word 'grandpa,' which made him chuckle good-naturedly. Once Siobhan had been introduced to the others, they piled into a van and made their way to the inn. They were met there by thirteen wood elves that had taken up residence earlier in the evening. Seven women, including four of Faeron's sisters, and three of their friends who had agreed to help. The six men in attendance would be the ones waiting with Samir to go in later.

Faeron's four sisters echoed their brothers in looks. All had dark hair, chestnut, overly large eyes, and had a somewhat mystical look about them. They each wore long dresses that were simple in design but the fabric didn't seen to be anything that Domino'd ever seen in a store before, it shimmered and moved in very delicate and fluttery ways as the girls moved about the room as they were each introduced. The older three were very proper, nodding in introduction, asking easy questions, accepting answers graciously, but the youngest, Ennostiel, who had corrected the name to 'Natasha' after Faeron had introduced her, had been much quieter, and had stood back a bit from the others.

Domino had probably paid that sister the most attention, as she seemed somewhat nervous around everyone in the room, and her big eyes never seemed to stay in one place for very long. She seemed to taking each of them in, and Domino had the feeling that she was the most nervous about being involved. For the first time, she wished that Faeron could still hear her mind, it would be nice to know if his sister was up for this particular mission of theirs. She didn't want someone who was scared to be forced to participate. But the girl never said anything, and eventually, she left the room with her sisters, having not uttered a single word to any of them.

"Your sisters seem nice, Faeron. So what is wrong with all you male wood elves that made you such horrible people for so long?" Domino cracked a smile at the elf a little later when the rest of the male wood elves had gone to their rooms to rest. He'd looked at her with an arched brow.

"My sisters were nice to you because I told them to be, Dom. They can be quite ferocious." He chuckled, Naerwen, especially, that particular sister was a bit spiteful.

"And Natasha? Is she ferocious?" Domino pressed gently, watching as he looked at her with a frown.

"Ennostiel is young. Very young in the eyes of a wood elf. Practically an infant. She grew up in a very different world than the rest of us. Plus-she's-. Well, she's just a little different than your average wood elf, I should say. You can trust her, if that is what has you curious. She will help you. In fact, she was the one who convinced the others that they had to come." His words surprised and confused her, but Faeron's words often surprised and confused her, which she was sure that he did on purpose.

"Is there anything that we are missing, Faeron?" She asked right before he walked out of her room, only he and Spencer and Faith were in it at this point.

"Yes, we are definitely missing things, but there is nothing we can do about it. We can't plan for everything, but we can be hopeful, Domino. There is always hope." He nodded before leaving the room.

Domino looked over at Spencer and frowned softly, "I just don't want anyone else to get hurt, and there are a lot of people here."

Spencer nodded, patting Faith on the back after the little girl was finished with her latest bottle. "You've done everything you can, and you can't do this all on your own. No matter how much you want to. Besides, I've never been outside of Wisconsin, this is pretty neat to me."

"Nice first vacation." Domino rolled her eyes.

Spencer just laughed and sat down on the couch in the room with Faith babbling in her arms. They spent the next few hours just talking, Spencer about her life with her mother, and Domino about her own life, and about the life she had started to build with Alexandru. It had been a hard conversation, especially when they were closer to her lover than they'd been in months and so many things could go wrong before she could get him free. Were the memories that she spoke of the last ones that she would have with her big, grumpy vampire, or would they eventually be able to make new ones?

It was a half hour before dawn when two vehicles pulled up on the western edge of the large lake that bordered Klaus' land. The passenger van held seven female wood elves, and the box truck that had been reinforced to keep out light from within held one female giant, a mermaid, and three female vampires. They had woken a few hours before and everyone had gathered and gone over the final plans before they'd quietly made their way out of town and around the land that Klaus owned. They knew there were werewolves on the grounds, and they would know instantly if someone entered their territory that they didn't know.

So the group had tread carefully, turning off the lights to their vehicles early, driving slow, and then walking when they were still almost a half mile from the edge of the lake. Domino had wanted to be there when Spencer went in, just in case there was a problem. They had coordinated an exact time when the woman would start singing, which was right at dawn, and after the vampires had drank their elixir. But she had to be sure the plan was going to work first. Standing about ten feet from the edge of the lake, though, Domino felt nervous, very nervous for the very first time that they would fail. Her red eyes were wide and scared as she looked out over the fog-covered lake before them, able to see the dark stone mansion in the background through the mist. Spencer was standing just in front of her and to the side, and she eventually looked over at Domino with a frown of her own.

"There's a problem." Spencer said quietly, and Domino stiffened, not already.

"What is it?" Domino whispered back while the elves moved closer to them to hear.

"There's a mermaid in the water." Spencer nodded out towards the lake.

Domino looked out over the still body of water before them and frowned, Jesus, really? A fucking mermaid was going to ruin her whole plan?

"A male or female?" She asked, worried either way, would one really be worse than the other? Would they be working for Klaus?

"A male."

"Is he light or dark?" That was Alastegiel, the sister closest to Faeron in age, that spoke quietly.

"Does it matter?" Domino asked.

Spencer nodded, "One like me could call all the women to the water. If he is working for Klaus, we'd be fucked."

"And if he's light?"

"Then he's just a 'normal' mermaid-merman, I suppose. Which makes him just more of a nuisance." Spencer shrugged, maybe they'd get lucky, maybe his being here was a coincidence.

"Well, how the fuck do we find out?" Domino growled, this could just NOT be happening.

Spencer put down her backpack against a tree, and began undressing. She didn't stop until she was completely nude and then the girl gave Domino one last, hopeful look before licking her lower lip. "Here goes nothing." The girl said quietly as she quickly moved to the water's edge and dived in, disappearing below the surface for several moments before she jumped above the waterline, her long, shimmering orange and yellow tale visible for a moment before she disappeared again beneath.

"How long should we wait here?" Domino asked the elves, but no one in particular.

"You don't. You must get to the edge of their territory now, you don't have a lot of time. You'll know if she fails, or if the merman is of the dark." Naerwen nodded at her.

"How?"

"We'll all drown." The elf looked at her with wide, solemn eyes.