Chapter 3: Interlude

The watchers watched. The street was quiet. Toby's light had just gone out and Dorly's had been out for a while. A tall man with grey hair was walking past, arm-in-arm with a small slim and very beautiful woman with long black hair and very pale skin.

"Any sign of the dark ones?" The man asked.

"I sense nothing and all was clear last time we checked in. They must know something now, since they have always watched Penglepentia, but I do not think they are aware of what is happening. They hope to deal with this only if they have to. They have more reason than we to want to preserve the status quo. Their plan is as it always is; they will kill what they fear, but only when they feel they have to; they still play the long game they were forced into when we escaped before the fall. Still they try to capture or breed what they need, but even when they succeed they fail. Dark they may be, but whilst they still fear the night, I hope and pray the initiative will stay with us."

"Can it be that our future is governed by these two? Will it be that all that we have planned will finally happen?"

"The dark ones would stop it if they knew, but they only see that the boy is not of the night, so see no danger in him, but a danger to us if he is stolen. They know how long we have laboured on this program and they rejoice that we will lose our main subject. If we were to trully lose this one, they must realise that we would lose four or five generations, if we had to start on one of our back-up blood-lines."

"Yes we must protect our investment; he shall not be stolen easily, when it happens.

"Come," the lady said, "we have much to do and I needs be far from here before the sun."