Master of The City: The Gift 21-25

[jessara40k_lj]

I only just realised just how long it's going to take me to get this up, even if I put it up a bit every day.

Part XXI - Harem

Eventually we went through to the bathroom to clean ourselves up, naturally we got distracted and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Musette had insisted on another meeting tonight and this time I was visiting her, Jean-Claude wasn’t really happy about that, but it was only fair. Anyway as Musette pointed out I could probably kill her without too much difficulty if I could just touch her, my bodyguards could deal with her vampires and Alexandre was submissive to me. She did agree to my being armed this time, she’d specifically requested that I carry no weapons for our first two meetings.

As soon as Jean-Claude left promising to send someone to change the sheets I received a delegation. I hadn’t got dressed when Micah, Damian and Nathaniel walked in together, looking a bit nervous. Damian and Nathaniel held back a bit, letting Micah lead the way.

“Anita, we’ve heard that you marked Jean-Claude and Richard with your insignia, even though Richard refuses to sleep with you anymore.”

“That isn’t quite accurate. Each member of my triumvirate now wears both the insignia of the other two, see, I wear Richard’s and Jean-Claude’s insignias on my inner thighs.”

“Jean-Claude, don’t send anyone in to change the sheets just yet, I’ve got to deal with the rest of my harem. In fact you’d best wait until I leave to meet Musette.” What Micah said next confirmed my suspicion that this would take a while.

“Yes, but they still wear your insignia. We were wondering if you’d be willing to mark us all with your insignia. We all want to be marked as yours, part of your harem. None of us have any objection to being forbidden to lie with anyone else, as long as we’re yours and we know that we’re yours.

“Please, we all fear that we might not please you enough, that you might grow tired of us or decide you have no use for us. I’m scared you’ll decide to withdraw your protection from my pard. Please mark us as yours.”

“I’m afraid that you might give me to someone else, because I don’t appeal to you enough and you hate it when I call you master. Please mark us as yours.”

“I’m scared of not having someone to belong to, of being anyone’s meat that wants me again. Please mark us as yours.”

“If it makes you all feel better. I wondered why there were so many copies of my fucking insignia. I’ll start with you Micah.

“Where do you want me to mark you?”

“Anywhere it pleases you, my Nimir-Ra.”

“Lie face down on the bed and pull your pants down.”

He obeyed without question, I quickly flayed some skin away from the base of his spine and placed my insignia there.

“Get up, and get out of my sight. Who’s next? Unless you object I’ll just mark you all in the same place.”

Damian immediately took Micah’s place on the bed and let me mark him as my property, as part of my harem. Then I marked Nathaniel. I didn’t bother to chase Damian out before I marked Nathaniel. I could understand why he and Damian would want some tangible token of my ownership, but Micah was supposed to be our pack’s Nimir-Raj and he was powerful in his own right. Why did he want to be marked as my possession? Then again, Jean-Claude was the Master of the City, and he wanted to be marked as mine. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about Asher wanting extra scars.

I felt a bit guilty about Nathaniel, I’d never actually had sex with him, not really. I’d just dominated him and used him to feed the ardeur. And I’d only actually taken Damian to my bed once. I took hold of Damian by his wrist and pulled him to me, then I began to undress him. It was easy enough to unfasten his green shirt with one hand, although I had to change my grip to his other wrist before it fell to the floor, but it was a touch more difficult to undo the fly of his jeans with one hand and pull them down. I gave up when I’d got them down to his hips and pushed him back onto the bed.

“Don’t move.” I left him waiting there while I took a grip on Nathaniel’s shoulders and used it to force him to his knees in front of me where I sat beside Damian. It wasn’t necessary, and he was probably strong enough to resist, but I knew the display of dominance would excite him. I pulled his T-shirt off over his head and pulled his face into my groin.

“Use your tongue on me, I’m sure Raina made sure you know how to do that.” I leaned back at the feel of his talented tongue, my body connected with Damian’s in a nice solid line. I reached over and began to play with his nipples using the hand nearest him, my fingers tightened on his left nipple, tugging at it painfully as my body convulsed in orgasm.

“You can stop now, Nathaniel.” I knelt beside Damian on the bed and pulled his jeans off. He wasn’t wearing anything underneath and I straddled him before leaning forward over his chest. “Move beneath me, my pretty Viking.” He obeyed and I began to move into his thrusts. I also began to nibble along his right collarbone and up the side of his neck, licking and biting gently. When he’d almost brought me I began to squeeze with my inner muscles and he came only slightly after I did. I rolled off him and beckoned Nathaniel to me. I pulled his sweatpants and boxers down to his knees and wrapped my legs around him. I clung to him and rocked myself back and forth to achieve the necessary friction. After a few seconds he got the idea and moved his hips for me. I didn’t come this time, but I knew that they’d be happy to deal with that while they licked me clean and they certainly did.

Afterwards I tried to get another hour or two of sleep, Musette had chosen to meet in the early hours of the morning, so I’d need to get some sleep now.

xxXxx

Part XXII - Necromancy and the Marks

Musette had rented an old house in the middle of the city for while she was visiting, we arrived at two in the morning and Alexandre was waiting at the door for us. He bowed when he had opened the door and his hair fell forward around his face.

“Enter freely here, you and all who serve you, Nimir-Ra of the Blooddrinkers clan.” It had the sound of ritual, but Jean-Claude hadn’t told me of any rituals of greeting necessary.

“I accept your gracious invitation and give you thanks and to your mistress, Belle Morte’s lieutenant.”

He stepped back to allow us to enter the house, Elaith preceded me to check for traps and Damian trailed behind me guarding my back. I’d been surprised to learn that Elaith had a large number of guns, more than I had, perhaps even more than Edward did, but then a lot of them were for his harem to use if necessary. Still, I’d never seen a vampire past one hundred that was really comfortable with modern guns, except perhaps Alejandro, and I didn’t know if he’d been able to shoot, I knew that Elaith could, he’d showed me. Elaith was carrying an old Colt .45 in a shoulder holster, with an open shirt covering the holster, and a Beretta 9mm at the small of his back. Getting all of his guns federally licensed had been one of the things that delayed his arrival here. He hadn’t gotten his carry permit in this state yet, but he’d started making arrangements for it and for permits for all of his harem that could use guns, all the humans, and some of the lycanthropes. I was wearing my Browning in a shoulder holster and my Firestar in my inner pants holster in front of my body for a quicker draw. I’d also decided to carry two knives in wrist sheaths, thank God I don’t have a lycanthrope’s allergy to silver, I’d never be able to do my job if I did.

Alexandre led us through to a sitting room furnished in black with a scarlet carpet and burgundy walls. Musette stood from the couch to greet me, she stepped forward and took hold of both my hands, drawing them up between our bodies and stood on tiptoes to kiss my cheek and offer her own cheek for a kiss. Normally I’m not comfortable with casual physical contact, especially not so intimate with someone I didn’t know that well, but this was more a display of trust than anything else, and as such most impressive.

“Elaith, why do you insist on carrying guns? No vampire needs one.”

Elaith glanced at me and didn’t reply until I nodded my permission.

“That’s precisely the point Musette, a vampire doesn’t need a gun, so the human police don’t associate someone killed by a gun with vampires. If I have to leave a corpse behind me it’s not going to attract the same attention with a bullet in it as it would with fang marks. The police might look for the killer, but gun wounds don’t attract vampire hunters. Anyway, I wanted the humans in my harem to learn how to use guns so they’d have some extra protection and it was easier to learn how to use guns myself as well, that way I can help any of them who have problems.”

“I see, Anita I wanted to talk about how your necromancy affects the marks with Jean-Claude. I know that he can’t control you, but I need to know in more detail about the effects, at least as you see them.”

“What do you need to know in particular?”

“Did he know before he marked you that he wouldn’t be able to control you?”

“Not the first time, then he thought it would work like marking someone normal. I was harder to control than I should have been, but back then I hadn’t really explored my powers, I was trying to pretend I wasn’t more than an animator. He could still enter my dreams and I couldn’t shut him out and I found myself eating things I wouldn’t eat normally, like blackberry pie when I hate blackberries, without noticing it. The second time I’d developed my powers a lot more, I’d already raised one vampire like a zombie, he knew going into it that he wouldn’t be able to control me, and that there was a possibility I would be able to control him. He was reluctant to mark me for that reason, and of course, he didn’t want to mark me without my consent.”

“Yet he marked you anyway? And for that matter what happened the first time?”

“He didn’t have a choice in the matter. He’d already marked Richard in an attempt to avoid Richard having to kill the old Ulfric, Marcus. Richard wanted to force Marcus to step down and thought he could if he displayed enough power, we could combine our power even before the marks, but Jean-Claude couldn’t be at the lupanar and it took all three of us to raise anything like enough power. Sabin’s human servant, Dominic, had a spell that was supposed to heal him by draining Jean-Claude and either a necromancer or an alpha werewolf bound to him. They captured Richard and Jean-Claude for the spell, using me as bait. I couldn’t get there in time to prevent Dominic sticking a sword through Richard’s heart and the only way to prevent Jean-Claude dying with him was for Jean-Claude to mark me, it kept Richard alive as well.

“The first time Jean-Claude marked me Alejandro interfered before Jean-Claude could put all four marks on me. Alejandro managed to force all of the marks on me breaking my link with Jean-Claude and I killed Alejandro. It put me in a coma for a week but it was worth it.”

“If Sabin and his triumvirate used you as bait how did you escape in time to help Jean-Claude and Richard?”

“They’d given me to the old lupa, Raina and her playmate, Gabriel, the leopard’s previous alpha so they could make a porno of Gabriel raping and killing me. At first they had me tied up but I convinced Gabriel that he should arm me and let me try to kill him while he tried to rape me. Sabin’s wolf had given me the idea when she told me that that was his fantasy. I ended up taking his eyes out with my thumbs and sticking my long knife through his heart. They had my guns on a nearby table and when Raina tried to kill me afterwards I grabbed one of them and shot her. Also, I had two bodyguards, my friend Edward - vampires call him Death - and one of his backups, Harley, who was genuinely crazy, but very good with weapons. They helped me kill Sabin’s triumvirate, I wouldn’t have been able to cross Dominic’s circle but Edward could and broke it for me.”

“Could Alejandro control you, could you control him?”

“No, he couldn’t control me and I don’t know if I could have controlled him. I didn’t even try, I just killed him.”

“Are there any specific effects of the marks that you think could be attributed to your necromancy?”

“I seem to have gained powers like a master vampire of Belle Morte’s line, almost as if Jean-Claude had brought me over rather than made me his human servant. For instance I have an animal to call, the leopard, I don’t think that is typical of a human servant. My senses are much better than human senses and so is my ability to heal. I know that human servants normally have human hearing at least, from something Nikolaos said once. The Traveler and the Master of Beasts were both present when I cut Yvette’s face using a flexing of power which is definitely not a normal ability for a human servant.”

“I see, and is Jean-Claude under your control?”

“We are all equal in our triumvirate. Our triumvirate is an alliance of equals, not a link between one master and two slaves. This gives us a lot more power than could be achieved if one of us was master and the other two slaves, or even if one was the slave of another. Of course, it also means that we have a lot of difficulty predicting what sort of abilities we will manifest as a result of our joining and when we’ll have problems.”

“It is very unusual for a master vampire to consider his human servant his equal.”

“And yet you have a specific gesture to indicate such a situation, Jean-Claude showed me that during the time we had to justify killing the Earthmover.”

“Yes, we do, precisely because it is so rare. On the few occasions a master vampire considers his or her human servant an equal the human servant is very dangerous and should be treated with care. I think it was Elaith who actually started the use of that gesture. I think I know as much as I care to know about how your necromancy affected the bond between you and Jean-Claude, farewell.”

“Goodbye Musette.” We left immediately.

When I returned to the Circus I went straight to Jean-Claude’s bedroom. It was nearly dawn and the red sheets had been replaced with blue sheets that nearly matched Jean-Claude’s eyes. Every thing about the room was designed to showcase Jean-Claude, it always had been, but then we had similar enough colouring that I looked good in here as well.

“Jean-Claude, would you care to join me in your bedroom, I’d like to be with you.”

“Ma petite, how did your meeting go?”

While I talked I led Jean-Claude to the bed and began undressing him, I’d undressed while he was coming to me.

“She wanted to know about how my necromancy had affected my link to you. I kept on repeating that our bond was an alliance between equals, and I think she believed me. I was surprised by the way she greeted me, I wouldn’t have expected her to willingly touch me and she actually kissed me.”

“Kissed you where?”

“On the cheek, and she offered her cheek to me.”

“That was polite of her, and brave when she knew what you can do and it scared her so.”

I kissed him effectively ending our conversation. When we broke away from the kiss I spoke.

“I didn’t call you to me for sex, my love. I want you to lie beside me in your daytime slumber. I’ve been forcing you out of your own bed for the last two weeks and it isn’t fair on you. I love you and I want to know all of you.”

The gratitude and pleasure that flashed across his face were wonderful to see and to feel through the marks, I suddenly realised that my refusal to stay with him when he was dead to the world had contributed to his insecurity about me.

“What about Micah and Nathaniel, do they not usually sleep beside you?”

“They can join us if they want and if not they can find somewhere else to sleep. You must be getting tired, you were awake before me, or did you get a nap during the day?”

“Yes, but I am still tired.”

We went to sleep cuddling up to each other.

xxXxx

Part XXIII - Magician

I woke up with Nathaniel held in my arms facing me and Jean-Claude wrapped around me from behind, his cold body pressed against me, his face buried at the nape of my neck. One arm came over my rib cage to rest just below my breasts and the other was slipped beneath my waist with the hand resting on my left hip. One leg was wrapped over mine holding me close to him, Nathaniel seemed to have taken this as a cue to slide one of his legs between mine. We must have fallen asleep before dawn and moved before Jean-Claude died for the day. Micah was on the other side of Nathaniel protecting his back.

I didn’t want to disturb my men so I raised my head carefully, just enough to see the time, it was almost ten, I’d had a bit over five hours sleep. Jean-Claude would be waking up in half an hour, so I just relaxed in between my lovers and prepared to wait. My mind wandered and I began considering the events since Musette arrived, was it the fourth mark that triggered my new shapeshifting skills or had I just grown into that power? Musette had forced me to think more analytically about my powers than I ever had before, usually I’d just coasted, getting away with doing things wrong because I was just so powerful that it compensated for my errors. Shielding was a prime example, I didn’t really shield properly until Marianne taught me how after Red Woman’s Husband almost killed me. I’d always thought it was just a matter of how much power you could pump into your aura, when you were supposed to put shielding outside your aura - I’d gotten away with it because I was just that powerful. I’d never considered the extent of my sensitivity to vampires before, I didn’t even know if most animators could sense vampires from a distance, or during their daytime slumber, I didn’t even know at what range I could sense vampires, awake or otherwise.

I felt Jean-Claude stirring behind me, he tightened his hold on me for a second, then he released me and rolled away from me onto his back. I untangled myself from Nathaniel and turned myself so I was looking down onto Jean-Claude’s face from where I’d propped myself on my left elbow. I trailed my right hand down the side of his face and smiled, the slight look of fear left his face and joy blossomed in its place.

“You are not...displeased to awaken with me beside you?” There was a quiet wonder in his voice, I suppose he had a right to be nervous, I’d always left him when the heat left his body before.

“No, I would never have asked you to stay with me if I did not wish to awaken beside you. I didn’t expect to find you cuddled up around me as if I was a teddy bear, but it was sweet. I love you, my beautiful one. You need to feed, here.” I lifted my hair away from my neck and leant over him. Jean-Claude raised up just enough to bury his teeth in my neck and I moved so I was on top of him. Once he’d fed Jean-Claude laid his head back down on the pillow, turning it to one side and exposing his jugular. I kissed his offered throat lightly, and then climbed off the bed to stand above him. I held out my hand to him and pulled him to his feet.

“I’m going to take a bath, would you care to join me?”

“Oh, yes, ma petite, I would like that very much.” Jean-Claude went ahead to run the bath for us while I checked on Nathaniel and Micah, they would sleep for a while longer.

I walked into the bathroom to see Jean-Claude running the bath, playing with the flow of water from the faucet. I shut the door behind me to avoid letting the hot air out and surveyed the room. There were ample towels, the bathroom had been restocked, this time with midnight blue towels to match the sheets and Jean-Claude’s eyes. I picked one of the bath oils from the tray he quickly moved to offer me and poured it into the water, watching as the bubbles formed near the faucet. I set it on the edge of the bath along with a shampoo and conditioner that had the same scent.

Jean-Claude steadied me with a hand as I climbed into the bathtub and I returned the favour. He lay down in the bubbles under my guidance and I lay down beside him. “Do not feed the ardeur with me today, beloved.” I whispered into his ear, “We have fed on each other too often recently. I will go with you to Guilty Pleasures and you can help me refine my skill at feeding from a distance when it gets dark.”

“As you wish. But there is no reason you cannot take your pleasure of my body.”

“Nor reason you cannot take yours of mine.”

We just let the hot water relax us for a while, luxuriating in the sensation, running our hands over each others body. Jean-Claude sat up in the water when I did and reached for the shampoo, glancing at me for permission before massaging it into my scalp. Once I had rinsed my hair I took the bottle from his hand firmly and began to wash his lovely long hair. I don’t know what it is about long hair, but it always appeals to me, far more than short hair ever has. Even my fiancé in college had hair to his shoulders. We repeated this with the conditioner, then I let Jean-Claude spoon himself behind me and guided him into me. He moved gently behind me and I knew this would be slow and lazy, perfect for a show of affection. While he moved I ran my lips along each arm in turn, kissing up and down his arms then took one of his fingers into my mouth, sucking on it and nibbling at it, he busied himself with kissing at my neck, my shoulders and the top of my spine.

Afterwards Jean-Claude climbed out first, drying himself quickly so he could hold a towel out for me to step out into. As he wrapped it around me and began to dry me off gently he whispered into my ear.

“Please ma petite, might I dry and brush your hair as I did yesterday?”

“Very well, but I do not wish this to become a regular event. It is nice when you pamper me like this, but it is not necessary.”

“I am glad it pleases you.”

Jean-Claude dried his hair off afterwards refusing to let me return the favour.

xxXxx

We arrived at Guilty Pleasures about eleven at night, by this time most customers had lost at least some control. I’d actually let Jean-Claude choose my clothes for tonight after I’d woken from a nap in the afternoon following my run with Ronnie and my Kenpo lesson. He had been reasonable: black jeans, even if they were too tight to wear anything underneath, black leather boots that laced up the back to nearly my groin, a red silk shirt with darker red embroidery and a black leather trench-coat. He was wearing tight black jeans that showed his ass perfectly (he almost never wears underwear), black suede boots held up around the thighs by buckled straps, a screaming red shirt with frills at the neck and wrists and a black velvet jacket.

I went on through to Jean-Claude’s office while he stopped to speak to Buzz and to Anthony, one of the vampires he’d made who’d taken over as manager when Robert was killed. I glanced once at the stage, and regretted it, Stephen strips well, but I don’t think of him sexually, and it was all too obvious that the audience did.

Jean-Claude’s office was all black and white, it felt as if you were trapped inside an old movie, but it was lovely and very tasteful. I sat on the couch and waited for Jean-Claude to arrive, exploring the club with an extension of my power, eyes closed to avoid extraneous sensory data. I could feel the flames of desire in almost every woman in the club, there were a couple who’d obviously been dragged along by friends as the designated driver. I felt Jean-Claude join me and sensed his power as it touched against my shields, asking me to drop them, I complied and felt his power join with mine.

“Anita, open your eyes please. You need to be able to feed without almost reaching a trance state the way you have to at present.”

I obeyed, trying to hold onto my concentration and my sense of the people in the club. It was hard but I did succeed, on my third attempt. I needed to trance in order to establish the awareness but I managed to keep it when I left the trance. We repeated the exercise for an hour until I could do this reliably, Jean-Claude fed from some of the patrons while I was trying to master the trick of keeping my awareness after leaving a trance. Finally I was ready to feed, I reached out and found a woman who was too drunk to control her desire and lowered my shields preparatory to siphoning off some of her lust when suddenly I sensed the foetid power that had hung in a miasma over Midnight Wishes. It was near the back exit of the club and it was being used for some purpose that kept the magician from sensing my probe.

I opened my eyes and left Jean-Claude’s office at a run. Jean-Claude ran after me.

“Why are we in such a hurry, ma petite?”

“Two nights ago I went to a murder site, it was a jazz club and everyone there had been slaughtered by a homunculus. I sensed someone’s power overlying the club as a miasma and I just sensed the same power in the alley behind this club. Everyone here would be killed, even vampires can’t defeat a homunculus, not by physical methods, and I don’t know any spells to deal with that sort of thing. Perhaps the jazz club was a test run. We have to prevent the magician giving his creation its orders.”

We stopped at the exit, not because we wanted to, but because something stopped us. I realised it was the same spell that had been cast on the doors to Midnight Wishes, but it hadn’t been empowered by blood, it couldn’t have been or the vampires would have smelled it. I could hear chanting through the door. I took a deep breath and drew on power from the triumvirate.

“Jean-Claude, I’m going to release a burst of power at the spell holding the door closed, at the same time you need to force it open. The first priority is to silence the magician and get him or her away from the construct, but it would be best to take him or her alive. On the count of three?” I glanced at him and he nodded. “One...Two...Three!” I sent all the power I could muster into the spell keeping us in and Jean-Claude hit the door with his right shoulder leading.

We burst through into the alleyway to see a short, rather ugly man with bright red hair running his hands over a mass of dirt in a roughly humanoid form. He looked up at the sound of the door breaking and paused in his chant. That was all the opening we needed. Jean-Claude grabbed him and tossed him into the wall, knocking him out, but fortunately not killing him.

I knelt beside him to check his pulse, once I’d confirmed that it was steady I let Jean-Claude lift him and carry him to his office, where we bound and gagged him. I heard Jean-Claude issuing orders that no one was to disturb the half-formed homunculus in the alley behind the club while I phoned Dolph at the RPIT headquarters.

“Dolph, we’ve caught the magician responsible for what happened at Midnight Wishes. Come down to Guilty Pleasures, we’ve got him here for you, there’s another homunculus in the alley behind the club, but it hasn’t been finished.”

“How do you know he’s the same magician? And how did you catch him?”

“I was at the club with Jean-Claude and I sensed the magician’s power. It was exactly the same as at Midnight Wishes. When we investigated we couldn’t get out of the club until I broke the spell. He was busy spellcasting and froze when he heard us, that let Jean-Claude knock him out. He’s awake now, and there’s no permanent damage. You should enter by the back exit and bring Detective Reynolds, she can tell you about the spell on the other entrances - I think he’ll have done all the entrance spells earlier and activated them at the same time.”

“We’ll be right there, don’t touch anything in the alley.”

xxXxx

I’d checked the other doors while we were waiting and found that no one would be able to get out - or in for that matter. Once I’d confirmed my suspicion I returned to Jean-Claude’s office and sat on the carpet to feed. I got it over with as quickly as I could but I was just finishing when Dolph was shown into the office with two uniforms who took the magician out to a patrol car.

“This is our magician? Why’ve you tied him up and gagged him?”

“Anita tells me that he is. We found him chanting to and moulding the dirt figure behind the club. We bound and gagged him to prevent him casting any spell. There were other things to hold our attention and we could not stand guard over him.”

“The doors are all spelled, like they were at Midnight Wishes. The only difference is that he used something other than blood to empower the runes. The sense of power from him is identical to that in Midnight Wishes.”

One of the uniforms came in at this point waving a bronze circle about.

“I found this in the figure out back, it’s just like the one we found at the other club and the crime scene people have taken a sample of the dirt mix.”

“It smelled the same as the other pile of dirt did, back at Midnight Wishes.”

“The analysis will tell us how closely they are linked. I’ll need to question you each alone. Anita, could you leave with Officer Doherty please. I’d like to question you first, Jean-Claude.”

“Very well.”

I walked out and took a table towards the back of the club then I reached out to my marks with Jean-Claude and listened in on what he was experiencing.

“We were exploring our powers, and what common ground there is between them when Anita sensed something and took off for the back exit. I followed her and she explained that she’d sensed the same power that she sensed at your murder scene and she wanted to catch the person whose power she sensed.

“When we reached the exit it was blocked by a spell, I couldn’t break it open and I should have been able to. Anita did something to break the spell on the door and I forced it open.”

“Anita broke the spell?”

“She’s powerful enough to break spells with a raw burst of power. She doesn’t have the strength to force the door open, it’s steel reinforced, and Anita has more training in magic than I do. I never had the chance to study it.”

“What happened once you got to the alley?”

“We saw that man moulding the dirt figure outside the door and chanting to it. I’d told Anita about the chanting I heard before she broke the spell and she told me to stop him chanting and get him away from whatever he was doing. He paused when he heard us break the door down and I took the chance to knock him out. People with magical ability sometimes have immunity to a vampires gaze if they are powerful enough, and I did not want to risk the possibility that he was immune to my gaze.”

I left Jean-Claude’s mind, I had what I needed, the alleged reason I was in Guilty Pleasures with him tonight. I leant back in my seat and paid attention to the show, Nathaniel was onstage at the moment with one of Jean-Claude’s vampires. The vampire didn’t look bad, but without vampire tricks the best he looked was average, the set included a lot of simulated violence, at least it was only simulated in some clubs it would have been real - Obsidian Butterfly to name one. Jean-Claude came up behind me about two sets later and put his hand on my shoulder,

“Ma petite, Sergeant Storr would like to speak to you now. He awaits you in my office.”

I stood and kissed Jean-Claude as he held me to him with an arm around my waist before walking through to his office. Dolph was sitting on the edge of Jean-Claude’s desk when I came in.

“Anita, what were you doing here to start with?”

“I’ve been exploring the similarities between my powers and Jean-Claude’s, I’ve seen him during his ‘daylight slumber’ and he’s just a corpse then. Whatever it is that keeps him moving, it’s just another version of necromancy. I learned about legends that necromancers can control all types of undead, including vampires, and I decided that if I could develop my powers of necromancy enough I might have an advantage when I was hunting them. I’ve tried getting lessons from a witch, but her powers are different to mine, my powers are specifically focused on the dead. I thought that perhaps Jean-Claude could tutor me in the areas that were close to his powers.

“He had business here anyway and tonight’s lesson was how to...maintain an awareness of people when they are not physically present without needing to go into trance. I can sense most monsters if they aren’t shielding but I can’t sense humans. When I was down in Santa Fe I ended up in a firefight with humans and this ability would have been a great help to me then.

“I’d just dropped my shields when I sensed the magician’s power. I could tell where he was, a benefit of the lessons Jean-Claude’s been giving me, and I set off for the back alley. Jean-Claude came with me, actually he could see I was in a hurry so he carried me there, it was faster. And it let me tell him about my suspicions.

“When we reached the door it was locked and a spell stopped him breaking it down. Jean-Claude told me that he could hear a man chanting on the other side. I used a burst of power to break the spell while he broke the door down. That’s how I got into the house of those witches that were skinning lycanthropes so they could shapeshift, breaking the spell on the back door.

“I’d told Jean-Claude that we needed to stop him chanting and get him away from whatever he was casting the spell on. When we got through the door Jean-Claude moved in a blur and the next thing I saw, the magician was lying unconscious. We tied him up and brought him in here. Then I phoned you.”

“Right. Detective Reynolds confirmed that the spells on the doors here are identical to the ones at Midnight Wishes. Just sign your statement when we get it typed up, then you can go.”

“Thanks.”

It was about three in the morning by the time we were allowed to go. Micah and Nathaniel were waiting for me in bed and I just collapsed there.

xxXxx

Part XXIV - Departure

Musette’s visit had actually been relatively painless, at least compared to our last visitors from the council. It only took another two meetings with her before she decided that she’d learned as much as she needed to know about my powers and how they affected the marks with Jean-Claude. I think the truth was that she was scared to learn anything more! We’d managed to keep my new shapeshifting abilities from her and she still thought that our triumvirate consisted of three equals. Richard had refused to have anything to do with her, he didn’t need to anyway, she wasn’t interested in him - her animal was the puma.

She made a more formal visit to us just before leaving, it wasn’t in the same vein as her first visit, but we did have to get dressed up. Richard complained about having to attend, he couldn’t see any need for his presence. We persuaded him to attend on the grounds that failure to do so might be seen as a weakness or evidence of a split in the triumvirate.

Jean-Claude had convinced me that I didn’t need weapons for this occasion, after all Musette was already terrified of me and we had impressed her enough during her visit that a show of force was unnecessary. I found it hilarious that such a powerful vampire was so scared of me, but at the same time it was unnerving, fear can so often lead to the desire to kill what scares you. That’s one of the main reasons I became a vampire executioner, and I know at least one member of Humans Against Vampires joined as the result of an attack that killed her whole family. I know, because I was the one who killed the vampires attacking her, well most of them, she’d beat the head of one in with a silver candle-stick .

Jean-Claude had suggested a dress that wouldn’t have looked out of place at the court of Louis XIV. It had a low-cut square neckline, making me feel as if my breasts were in danger of falling out, but it was tight enough to avoid that. It was tight above the waist and on the arms down to the elbow, where the sleeves fell more loosely around my forearms. The waist was tiny; Jean-Claude had suggested a corset, I only agreed because there was no way I could wear a bra underneath and he promised not to lace it very tightly; and the skirt was full and heavy. I actually used my shapeshifting abilities to sculpt my body so it fitted around the waist. The dress was of black silk, with black on black embroidery, Celtic knot-work, around the neckline and edges of the skirt and sleeves. Normally I wouldn’t have been seen dead in something like that, but he looked so hopeful when he suggested it that I didn’t have the heart to refuse. It was startlingly intimate when Jean-Claude laced the dress up at the back. I had insisted on slipping a knife down between my breasts, it wasn’t more than a token weapon, but it made me feel better not to be completely unarmed .

Jean-Claude dressed to match me in black satin: billowing pants tucked into calf height boots that were held up by tied ribbons; a short half cloak over one shoulder edged with embroidery of the same design as that on my dress; a black coat with similar black on black embroidery; and a black shirt with frills at the collar, and wrists.

Richard had been furious with Jean-Claude’s suggested outfit for him. It was the same as Jean-Claude’s outfit, save for the fact that it was in a rich deep green and the embroidery, although matching ours in style was in a slightly darker shade of green, rather than matching the fabric. He finally gave in when I pointed out that if I was wearing a dress, and a corset with it the least he could do was dress up a bit, it wasn’t as if Jean-Claude was forcing him into something he wouldn’t wear.

Micah was wearing almost exactly the same outfit as Jean-Claude, but he balked at wearing boots that needed to be held up by tied ribbons, his boots didn’t need to be held up at all.

Asher on the other hand was perfectly content to dress like Jean-Claude in all particulars save that he wore white with embroidery and ribbons in a blue just a shade darker than his eyes. They both had their hair in banana curls, falling down to their hips. I’d balked at letting anyone put my hair up and it was falling loose to just past my shoulders in tight curls. Richard and Micah had each tied their hair back with a ribbon to match the colour of their outfits.

I’d determined what Damian and Elaith would wear, besides they were lesser so it didn’t matter so much what they looked like. Elaith was dressed in a thin silk tunic and pants in the same green as Richard’s outfit, it picked up on the secondary colour of his eyes; Damian was wearing something similar but in a darker shade of green, to match the embroidery on Richard’s outfit, his hair was a screaming red against the tunic.

This was effectively a farewell party and a number of the werewolves and wereleopards were attending as servants. They’d all been dressed in black leather pants and black silk shirts.

xxXxx

We were all waiting in Jean-Claude’s living room when Musette and her entourage arrived, the way they were dressed made me glad I’d given in to Jean-Claude. Musette was wearing a tiered and gathered bell shaped skirt made out of linen dyed a rich deep red with a fitted bodice of tooled leather dyed to match the shade of the skirt. Nefer was wearing an elaborately gathered and pleated skirt in white linen and a heavily decorated cape of sorts, it only covered his shoulders and was predominantly blue-green in colour. Liao and Ji were dressed almost identically in heavily embroidered silk trousers beneath layered, square-cut, open robes, also made of silk. The only difference was in the predominant colour of the outfits, Liao was in shades of red, while Ji was in shades of blue. Alexandre was wearing light leather armour in black and moved easily in it, it was obviously something he was comfortable in and with. It covered his torso and legs but it left his arms bare. His hair was braided back out of his face, falling halfway down his back. The rest of the pumas were barely dressed, thongs in red leather with bras in the same colour and material for Jasmine and Marie.

“Jean-Claude, Anita, Richard. My thanks for your hospitality during our visit, I greatly enjoyed it. I appreciate your willingness to discuss the nature of the bond between your triumvirate, and I found my conversations with Anita fascinating. I do not think there has been a necromancer to match you in the last three thousand years. As a token of appreciation for your hospitality Belle Morte wished me to give you Liao and Ji, they requested this before we left as a reward for...” Musette trailed off at this point. “I am not permitted to specify what the reward was for, let us just say exceptional service.

“Do you wish to accept them into your service, any of you?”

Jean-Claude smiled and responded, “Yes, I am willing to take them into my service, they can swear fealty to me later. You implied that Richard or Anita could also accept their service, did you mean that?”

“Yes, at least that Anita could, she already has two vampires in her personal service, and I understand that it is her power that makes Damian’s heart beat rather than yours. I do not know if Richard is capable of supplying the power link that Liao and Ji would need. Do you know whether he could?”

“I don’t know whether I could control vampires the way Anita can and I don’t want to.” Richard interrupted at this point. “I only became Ulfric because Marcus was unwilling or unable to control his lupa and she was destroying the pack. Of course I haven’t met another alpha female who could even match Raina as lupa, let alone match Anita!”

“Are you looking for another lupa then?” Musette pounced on the first indication of possible dissent in our triumvirate.

“Of course he is, the Ulfric and lupa of a pack have to sleep together after all. And I’ve got too many roles to play already. Roxanne was a match for me as lupa, but she’s mated to Verne, and is hence lupa for the Oak Tree pack.”

This completed the formalities, and we began to split into smaller groups to talk together. Damian and Elaith stayed close to me, Damian at least seemed to be nervous about being unable to reach out and touch me. Jean-Claude and Asher had taken Liao and Ji aside to speak quietly with them, I’m not sure what about, probably their decision to enter Jean-Claude’s service. Nefer had taken Richard aside to discuss science, he seemed to be genuinely interested in what Richard had to say about the trolls he’d studied for his Master’s. Micah seemed to be holding court among the pumas and that left Musette free to approach me. I was surprised when she brushed the narrow plaits of her hair away from her neck and tilted her head to one side to offer her neck to me.

“I’m not sure how I’m supposed to respond to this, would you mind telling me Musette?”

“It is the same as with shapeshifters, place a kiss on the jugular, or bite it lightly, I have not offered any challenge to you, so violence would not be socially acceptable. Refusal would be an insult.”

I wasn’t happy with it, anymore than I was happy about the Traveler’s gift to me of Elaith, or Jean-Claude’s acknowledgement of me as his master. But I didn’t want to insult Musette, so I placed a light kiss on her carotid, locating it by the scent of blood beneath her skin. When I raised my head from her neck I caught the look of surprise from Asher, that Musette had offered such a gesture to me. Damian shared Asher’s surprise as did I, but Elaith did not seem to see any problem with this display of submission to me from a council emissary.

“Musette, why make such a display with me, and not with Jean-Claude? He is the Master of the City, and I am not even a vampire.”

“You scare me and he does not, so I seek to gain your favour.”

“I already told you that it disturbs me when people call me master, did you not realise that displays of submission to me are equally disturbing. I’m only really comfortable with them from Damian, my leopards and Richard’s wolves.”

“My apologies then. I did not intend to discomfort you.”

“I accept your apology. Is that your original period?” I gestured at her outfit, it had a modern complexity, but at the same time it seemed almost antique. I intended the question as a peace overture, and she took it as such, smiling as she responded.

“Yes, I grew up on Crete, in Knossos, before the palace was destroyed. I was trained as a bull dancer and so remained virgin until I was brought over. The Master of Beasts claims that you were virgin before Jean-Claude, I find that hard to believe, it is hardly necessary for your power.”

“I didn’t deny it when Padma asked because I don’t feel that I owe the council a run down of my sex life, but I wasn’t a virgin before him, chaste, but not a virgin.” I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice, and she lowered her eyes before remembering my dislike of submissive behaviour from master vampires. I suddenly realised just how awkward it must be for her to meet my eyes when I noticed the angle she held her head at in an attempt to do so.

“I did not mean to be rude, it is simply that I find it hard to believe a master vampire of Belle Morte’s line would be attracted to a virgin. The vampire I was brought over by, Khayman, could not by any stretch of the imagination be considered a master. He brought me over and took my virginity on the commands of his master and he made it clear that ‘training’ a virgin was to him a distasteful task.” The sudden pain in her voice made me feel a bit guilty so I guided her to the couch and held her in my arms to give comfort. I glanced over her head to Elaith, and tried to whisper into his mind.

“Is it true, was she treated so cruelly by the one who brought her over and took her maidenhead?”

“Yes, what she didn’t tell you is what she did to him after she had gained the status of master, that is the reason she became Belle Morte’s personal torturer.”

After that the party went well until they finally departed.

xxXxx

Part XXV - Aftermath

As soon as Musette had left Asher came over to me and grabbed me by my upper arms.

“What were you playing at, letting Musette offer you her neck like that! And then taking it!”

“I had no idea she was going to do that. I certainly didn’t want her to. I tried to get out of it by pointing out that I didn’t know how to respond. She told me that it would be an insult to refuse her, was that a lie?”

“No, but it is unheard of for any vampire to offer their throat to a human in public. Or for a council representative to treat anyone she visits as a superior.”

“I was surprised by her action as well, afterwards I told her that displays of submission from master vampires discomfort me and she apologised.”

“She seemed desperate to avoid angering Anita and to leave Anita with a good opinion of her.” Damian interrupted at this point.

“Asher, you were not born during the earlier times I belonged to humans, so you could not know, but whenever they had any magical power in their own right my human owners were treated as if they were vampires. Musette knows that Anita could best her in a duel so she took steps to make sure it did not come to that.”

We all looked at Elaith in surprise, Jean-Claude had dismissed Liao and Ji then joined us once he realised what we were discussing. Micah and Richard weren’t particularly interested in vampire politics so they left, clearing the room of the servants.

“Then she knows that I am not Anita’s equal and our efforts to deceive her failed.” Jean-Claude put his arm around my waist, holding me to him like a child clutching a security blanket. I turned towards him lightly, slid one arm around his waist and lifted my other hand to trace the line of his jaw before I questioned Elaith.

“Did they fail Elaith? Musette said that she feared me but not Jean-Claude, that implies that she at least considers me his superior.”

“No, they did not fail. Yes, she considers you his superior, but she believes that you consider him your equal and are prepared to be guided by his wisdom in your dealings with other vampires except in your duties as the registered vampire executioner for this tri-state area. She does not intend to report to Belle Morte just how greatly you scare her and will phrase her report so it reflects well on you in case you learn of its composition.

“First impressions are always the strongest, and you made a point of deferring to Jean-Claude when she first met you. It wasn’t over the top and it seemed natural and so was the more convincing. Also on other occasions you deferred to his judgement or appeared to. When you delayed your answer to consult with Jean-Claude for instance, or when you asked Musette to discuss precautions for your safety with him. To me, I admit that sounded more like a queen telling a foreign dignitary to discuss the tiresome details of a state visit with an underling, but Musette interpreted it as one area where your relationship with Jean-Claude is normal. Whenever she implied that you were Jean-Claude’s superior you made it clear that as far as you are concerned he is your equal, and everyone else she asked told her that all members of the triumvirate are equals.”

“So you don’t think the council will come back here to kill us because Anita is too dangerous, because they fear her power as the only living necromancer who can command vampires?” Jean-Claude’s face was blank, slightly amused. He was scared and trying to hide it. He’d tightened his grip on me when Elaith confirmed that Musette considered me his superior, then relaxed a bit at the knowledge that Musette would slant her report to please me and our act had convinced her that I treated him as my equal.

“I forgot to tell Anita when I first entered her service but any human with significant magical abilities that I serve is considered to be a vampire for all intents and purposes. I know I just said that, but I didn’t explain it fully. Outside of the council a lot of vampires have forgotten that fact because I belonged to the Traveler for so long, but none of the council have ever forgotten that. The Traveler suspected Anita’s power, he sent me to her in part so the rest of the council would not be able to order her, and you, killed if they learned of it. It doesn’t matter whether she rules this triumvirate or you do, now. About fifteen hundred years ago I belonged to a sorcerer, he made himself Master of the City in Roskilde. The council didn’t make any protest or do a thing to stop him.”

“Why would the Traveler want to protect me? And why would I want to rule the triumvirate? I’m in command of enough things as it is. I don’t mind knowing that Jean-Claude can’t control me, but I don’t really want to control him.”

“You offered him friendship, no one had ever offered him that before, and he respects your courage and power. You’re the only person ever to act as if it doesn’t matter that he is council, as if the council are your equals. I can’t imagine anyone else calling the council parasites, or telling a council member that he wasn’t worthy to be council if he didn’t protect his followers. Sending me to you was in a sense an overture of friendship.” I noticed that Elaith didn’t reply to my second question, just as well, recently I have wanted to control Jean-Claude, enjoyed the submissiveness he shows when we’re alone together and the slight fear he seems to have of me.

“The council cannot understand such an attitude, ma petite. You will recall that when I refused to take a council seat after the Earthmover’s death the only interpretation they could think of was that I intended to set up a council in America to challenge them. To the council anyone who has the opportunity to gain power will do so.”

“Well I don’t think that way and neither do you or Richard. If Musette is going to tailor her report to please me I do not think we have much to fear. Jean-Claude, would you care to join me for the remnants of the night and the day?”

“Of course, but...”

“I can take care of Liao and Ji, if that is what you are worried about, go on, enjoy yourself with your human servant Jean-Claude.” Asher interrupted Jean-Claude before he could finish objecting. Jean-Claude smiled and nodded his acceptance of Asher’s offer. We left together for his bedroom.

I sat on the edge of the bed as Jean-Claude stripped for me, submissive as ever. He refused to look at me and when he was finished knelt naked before me with his head bowed.

“Come here and undress me.” It was annoying and at the same time intensely exciting to have to give him orders. I lifted my right foot as he approached, holding it out from beneath the skirts, to indicate that he was to start by removing my black ankle boots. They laced up on the outside of the ankle and had inch high kitten heels. He made even the act of unlacing my boots charged with erotic potential. He slid his hands up under my skirts and along my legs to unfasten my stockings and roll them down my legs. Once he had finished that act I stood and turned my back to him so he could unlace my dress. “Just let it fall to the ground.” I let him place the corset on a chair and pulled the straps of the chemise from my shoulders to let it fall to the ground. I stepped out of the puddle my dress and chemise made on the floor to climb onto the bed wearing only my briefs, which I pulled off quickly before spreading my legs. Jean-Claude moved to kneel between them and bend his head to my sex. He was very talented with his tongue, centuries of practice I suppose, and he soon had me writhing on the bed. After he brought me I got impatient with his hesitancy and pulled him up my body by his shoulders, dragging him down on top of me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him into me. He rolled us both so that he was lying beside me. I untangled my legs and continued the roll until he was beneath me, and I was lying on top. He turned his head to one side, offering his neck, almost automatically. It always disturbed me to see him so submissive, but recently that was being overridden more and more by arousal. I began to bite gently at his neck and collarbone while I moved above him and guided his hands to my body, where he traced delicate patterns that brought me higher.

This time I shifted on top of him as I achieved release, I could taste his shock at being suddenly beneath a black leopard - a panther, but he did achieve his own climax moments later.

“I haven’t allowed myself to shift during sex before, beloved. If it disturbed you tell me and I will not do so again.”

The surge of gratitude and adoration he let me feel through the marks at the news that I had not shifted during sex with anyone before left me in no doubt that my decision to do so for the first time with him was correct. He read it as a sign of trust and of love.

“If it pleases you, ma petite, I am only too happy for you to shift on top of me, or in any other position you wish, during sex. I am honoured that you trust me enough to shift during sex for the first time on top of me.”

I shifted again, this time to almost human, just a covering of fur, and leopard eyes, and a feline cast to the face, to show that I wasn’t. We made love again and again until dawn, always slow and gentle, I didn’t want to scare him and find myself so aroused. Towards dawn he made to leave, return to his coffin, I held him to me and when he died for the day I wrapped myself around him, falling asleep with him cradled in my arms.

xxXxx