This new man for instance. This man who was supposed to be a point of weakness in these days of transition, yet turned out to be even more canny and powerful than Danton had been. Marcus had made Draz’s agents in an instant. They hadn’t had a chance. No chance at all. It was infuriating.
He blamed the useless vampire male and his female counterpart. What was worse, she had been taken alive. They would question her and learn of all the plans he had made that she was aware of. He had isolated how much each person in his organization really knew, only his right hand woman, Verbena, knowing the whole of his plans. Still, the captive vampire knew enough. She would reveal that it was Draz who was behind everything…although if she were as canny as he thought she was the queen would already suspect him. The captive vampire would remove all doubt.
He didn’t doubt that they would get her to talk either. If this Marcus was as much trouble as he was turning out to be, he was no doubt capable enough to question a prisoner thoroughly and with purpose.
One thing working in Draz’s favor was that no one knew where he was. He kept relocating on a regular basis so he could be assured that no one would find him and he kept those around himself to an absolute minimum. There was Verbena of course, and the sycophants who served his needs…a maid, a butler/chef, a few women to sate his sexual desires. These were all he needed. There were a few hangers on as well. People who stayed near him just because of their adulation for him. These were not many sycophants, but they were enough to appease his need for love from his people.
His people. They weren't enough. He only controlled the sycophants along the Eastern Seaboard. From Maine to Florida and in as deep as Kentucky and Ohio, these state were all his and in his control. Every sycophant within them answered to him. Every day he gained more territory, but he was butting up against someone who had control over the western states. She was queen over her sycophants as he was king over his. Every day he jockeyed to take more power away from Marinda. She was a thorn in his side just as much if not more as the vampire queen was. But his plans to take over the lawful vampires…this would give him the edge he needed. He would gain control of every vampire in the world and then would use them to snuff out Marinda’s constant encroachment into his territories once and for all. He would be king of all vampires and all sycophants.
Draz was walking circles around the kneeling failure of a vampire in silence as his thoughts occupied him. Then, as he came behind him, he suddenly reached out and grabbed him by his hair. In the same movement he reached down and withdrew a long dagger from his boot. He kept one there always. A holdover from his days as a lawful vampire authoritarian.
He pressed the tip of the dagger to the sweet spot right where the vampire's head met his neck. He leaned his weight into it, puncturing the skin until a heavy rivulet of blood began to run down the gully of his spine. He did not sever the brain stem from the spine however. Not yet. He wanted the vampire to anticipate it, wanted to feel his heart racing and smell his terror. He wanted to lick the sweat from his panicked brow.
He did this, slowly, his tongue licking through the salty streaks from temple to temple across his forehead. He heard the vampire whimper and took a small amount of satisfaction in the pathetic sound. The vampire couldn’t even die right. He couldn’t even show the wherewithal to show some backbone, to stand up to Draz and defend himself. Of course, it wouldn’t matter, he was still going to die, but it would have been nice to see a little spine for a change. He would bet Simone was surrounded by vampires with spine. Vampires with strength. It was why taking the power position over them meant so much to him. His sycophant army was vast now, stronger than any the unsuspecting queen could amass to go against him. However, he had to act quickly. If he was going to catch her off guard before she could build an army against him he could perform his coup with as few casualties as possible. Not that he was above a little bloodshed. The upper echelon of vampires would have to be executed. That included the most powerful vampire princes. Not all, but the most influential and most likely to step into the vacancy left by a dead queen. Leopold of England was first on his list. The queen’s other cousin, the prince of Brazil named Sensha, would also have to go. She was not as powerful as Leopold was, but being blood related to one of the originals landing on this planet made her powerful.
That led him to the other founders. All that had survived thus far would be executed. It would be too easy for them to step up as leaders. Most were like Leo, princes of powerful principalities…like Paris, Tokyo and Los Angeles. There were twenty surviving founders in all. The rest had fallen by the wayside over time. The circumstances of life had caught up to them in one way or another over time. Admittedly, those circumstances had recently been more due to sycophant’s executing them in skirmishes all around the world. However, getting the drop on such old and battle-wizened creatures was not easy. Draz had respect for those sycophants that had caught those founders unawares.
It was all the more reason why he wanted worldwide dominance over sycophants and vampires alike. He wanted them all working for him, inclusively together. Unified. Even Simone could not unify the sycophants and the vampires. Vampires were too busy looking down their noses at the sycophants. They called them poisoned and warped. They treated them like dirt, killing them on sight, trying to eradicate them like they were vermin in need of extermination. Draz had a wider more peaceful view. A less prejudiced view. They would see. They would all see. When he brought about a unification of sycophants and vampires, they would all see he was ten times the leader Simone was.
Draz felt the vampire had waited long enough. He was feeling merciful as a benevolent leader should. He shoved the dagger into the vampire’s brainstem with a powerful thrust. The vampire jerked and danced on his dagger as the remnants of life impulses shot through his nervous system, them he slumped forward, sliding off of Draz’s dagger. Draz snapped his fingers, calling over one of her servants. They brought him a towel and he wiped the blood off his dagger before returning it to its place in his boot. He handed the bloodied towel back to his servant.
“Will there be anything else?” his man asked.
Draz liked his manservant. He anticipated his needs so well. He was a cut above other sycophants. He was almost a friend. Draz couldn’t afford real friends. He didn’t trust anyone other than his two servants and Verbena. He would confide in the occasional lover, but pillow talk often ended up with him having to kill that lover in order to protect his plans of the moment. There were spies everywhere. If not among the vampires then among the sycophants. The ruler of the western states’ sycophants was constantly trying to encroach on his territory. Marinda thought she was something special. She no doubt thought that she deserved to be leader over all the sycophants. Well, not while he was alive. It wouldn’t happen. So, the idea was to stay alive and that meant trusting no one. Still, he had to confide in someone and that someone was Verbena. He depended on her to take the risks he was unwilling to take on himself. She was his version of Marcus. She organized his protection and carried out his commands. She killed where killing was needed and she rewarded those who deserved it, bringing them to Draz’s attention so that they might be used for more difficult assignments. Verbena told him who he could trust to carry out his orders. She was key to his being able to function at so high a level. He sometimes wondered at himself for depending so wholly on another person. His trust for her was almost legendary. They were the perfect team. He could trust no one, yet he trusted her. It was an exercise in duality. It was dangerous, but he was willing to take the chance.
He turned his attention to Verbena who was standing at ease a short distance away, watching him work with avaricious eyes. She loved death. Especially as a result of punishment. They were kin in that way. They both had a love of torture and torment. They loved to bring their victims to the brink of insanity before finishing them off. Draz had been in a benevolent mood with this vampire however. He had killed him with very little toying.
“We need to
get to the queen,” he said.
“We can’t. Not without removing this Marcus as well. Any plans to assassinate her must start with his assassination first.”
“Assassination is too immediate for them,” Draz hissed. “They are a thorn in my side. I want them captured alive so I might enjoy them face-to-face before ordering their deaths. Make it happen.”
“Sir…you realize that will be virtually impossible now. They have tripled the guard around her and it is very unlikely they will let her out of that protected building until the threat against her is neutralized…in this case…you.”
Draz hissed with impatience, his temper spiking.
“I will not hear excuses! Find a way or it will be you on your knees before me!”
Verbena looked unconcerned. It was one of the reasons he liked her so much. Unlike all of the others, she wasn't afraid of him. She wasn't afraid of standing up to him. It might mean her death one day, and she was prepared for that, but in the meantime she served him and pleased him just the way she was.
“I didn’t say I couldn’t find a way. It will simply take time. Patience. We have to wait until they begin to relax once more. She will grow tired and frustrated with this curtailing of her freedom. She is too strong and too powerful and too independent to allow herself to live in fear. She will want to hunt for herself. She will want to breathe and walk the streets herself, no matter the risk. She thinks she can take care of herself. She is unafraid. It will be her downfall. This time we will go after her with an army. She will not escape. She will be in your power within a month. I swear it.”
“Within a month, Verbena. Or it will be you on the end of my dagger.”
“Oh, do put me out of my misery. I grow so weary of your constant barbarism,” she responded dryly.
This made him chuckle in spite of the fact his temper still boiled. “You are far too unafraid of me,” he accused her. “Perhaps I should to teach you a lesson in fearing those above you.”
“I know a thousand ways to die,” she promised him silkily, “over a hundred of which would be by my own hand. You’ll never have the chance to torture me.”
“Thank you for the warning. I will have to be on the lookout for any self-sacrificing.”
Draz moved over to his chair and sat down. The chair was set up like a throne, facing outward over a vast room. Verbena went to stand beside him. She casually draped and arm over the high back of it and leaned in to whisper close to his ear.
“Would you like to continue with the day’s business? Perhaps there is something there to entertain you.” She straightened when he turned his head and looked up at her. He narrowed his eyes on her.
“Is there something you aren’t telling me?”
“Only that we have caught Anjou.”
That perked him up. Anjou was a sycophant who was supposed to be in charge of Draz’s territories in Maryland. The phant had gotten a little too big for his own good. He had begun skimming off the top of Draz’s business interests and had set himself up as some sort of kingpin. It was entirely unacceptable. He was infinitely satisfied that at least something was going his way. Now this one…this one he was going to take his time with. This one would be made an example of. He would handle Anjou his way and then he would put him on display for all to see and learn from his lesson. Then, maybe, he would kill the little fucker and put him out of his miserable existence.
There was only one thing missing from the pleasure that was about to come his way.
“Bring me a woman,” he commanded of Verbena.
“What kind of woman?” she asked, her lips curving into half a smile.
“You know my tastes,” he said impatiently. “Do you really need my help?”
“I was merely asking for details’ sake,” she said. “You tend toward blondes, but you like the occasional redhead. You sometimes prefer they are of a fawning temperament. Other times you enjoy someone who would challenge you. Or someone who utterly despises you.”
“Yes,” he said with sudden interest and attention. “The latter. I am in the mood to subjugate an enemy.”
“You mean like Anjou?”
“I mean like the queen of the vampires. No one can compare to her, of course, but you know what they say,” he said with a sadistic grin.
“Practice makes perfect?”
“Exactly,” he said with a long, self-satisfied chuckle. He would practice. He would use a surrogate to calm himself as he waited with impatience for the real thing.
“I have just the thing,” Verbena told him.
Chapter Twenty Two
Marcus awoke with a start. He drew in a sharp breath. The light in the room told him it was just about dawn. He wasn't much of a late sleeper, so it was his natural waking time, but he felt as though he had been awakened unnaturally all the same. He tried to capture the ghost of the nightmare that had caused his disturbed emotions, but it was already gone.
He looked down at the head resting on his pectoral muscle, her body curled up in innocent sleep along his side, her leg draped over his intimately. He could feel her heat against his thigh. He could feel the ease with which she slept. It had not been so throughout the night. She had lain awake for some time after they had made love. They had not exchanged energy. It had been nearly four days since he had hunted last and sharing energy spent energy, so they had been frugal. Tonight would be different. Tonight he would hunt for them and feed her.
It had been this way for the better part of a month. He knew Simone was growing frustrated with her captivity. Her temper was short. She had begun to snipe at him…and then apologize for it immediately afterward. He understood. He didn’t know if he could have borne this house arrest. They were very alike in that they liked to face their problems head on. They faced their fears. They didn’t wait for them to creep up on them.
However, there was no denying that vampire central was the safest place for them to be. A protection detail had even been assigned to Marcus when he was hunting, since she was her sole source of food. Not that he was irreplaceable. Anyone could hunt for her. It was clear, however, that she wouldn’t accept just anyone. Had it not been for Marcus and their relationship, she would never have borne captivity for as long as she had thus far.
Her safety, comfort and peace of mind were all one entity as far as those who protected her were concerned. And since he was the one in charge of protecting her, he knew what had to be done and did it…even if it meant having him watched and taking on the feeling that he wasn't fully able to provide for her without help. He was not of such arrogance and ego that he couldn’t see he needed to be protected. He left the bruised ego to Simone. She was chaffing at the idea that she couldn’t take care of herself. She was used to having a protection detail, was used to having Danton at her elbow as she hunted and went about her life outside of vampire central, but this was different. This was a severe reduction of her freedom, and Marcus didn’t know how much longer she was going to take it.
Marcus eased away from her, tried not to wake her, but he barely made it to the edge of the bed before she said sleepily, “What time is it?”
She looked at the clock even as she asked. The red numbers indicated it was close to seven a.m. She sighed and rolled onto her back. The covers had slid down to her hips, so her bare breasts and belly were exposed to the chilly room air. It was February now and had been unseasonably warm for days, but it had grown extremely cold overnight. They had not anticipated this and so had not turned the heat up. The blankets and their body warmth had kept them more than comfortable, but now her nipples contracted against the coldness. He was tempted by the thrust of them and the sinuousness with which she stretched. However, he continued on into the bathroom and left her alone. For some time now he had left the initiation of their lovemaking up to her. He didn’t want to press her and he didn’t want to test her mood. Since he couldn’t always read her exact state of mind, it was simply safer to leave things up to her. However, at the first sign she gave of interest, he was all
over her like white on rice. He was overwhelmed by the depth of his appetite for her. His feelings for her had only deepened his lust for her. The freedom he had to express those feelings helped him to feel even closer to her. The only thing that put distance between them was her captivity. He was responsible for it and so he was her target when she grew frustrated with it. Oh, she intellectually understood the necessity of it all…but still, she couldn’t help but blame him a little for the lack of her freedom.
For the moment things were calm, but he already knew they wouldn’t remain calm. By the end of the day they will have locked horns like two male rams fighting for territory. He simply knew it. As he prepared to go out into the world to hunt for their sustenance, she would begin to balk and fret and rail against her situation. He was already tense in anticipation of it. It had been thus for the past week, when he had hunted for her the last two times. She had spat temper about how she was not an infant and he had to let her out some time. She couldn’t live like this forever.
She had a point. She couldn’t live like this forever.
They had questioned the captive vampire that had attacked Simone thoroughly. They had extracted all of the information they needed from her. Their fears had been confirmed. Draz was behind these attempts on Simone’s safety. What they hadn’t been expecting was the fact that they had been trying to take Simone alive. It made sense once she said it. The would-be assassins had had ample opportunity to kill her when she had been drawn into the apartment the first time she had been attacked. They had had numbers on their side. But replaying the incident in his head he was left with the inescapable conclusion that the female vampire was telling the truth.