Master of the City: The Gift 36-40
Mar. 12th, 2005 11:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jessara40k_ljHere's the next 5 parts.
Part XXXVI - Recovery
I woke up wrapped in Damian’s arms, he was warm and comfortable around me.
“Master!” There was so much relief in his voice. I must have been out for a while.
“I’m starving, get me as much to eat as possible. How long have I been out for?”
He called for Nathaniel, who arrived carrying a bowl of stew. Damian insisted on helping me sit up and supporting me once I was up. I suppose I must have needed it, I felt no urge to protest. He refused to say anything more until I started eating.
“There’s another bowl of stew ready when you finish that one, Anita. To answer your question, you collapsed last night. It’s almost four in the morning now. We brought you back here after you collapsed, and put you to bed. I stayed with you until just before dawn and Nathaniel took over then. We’ve been preparing stew for you for when you woke up, when I called Nathaniel it was a signal you were awake.
“I thought you were going to fuck me in the tomb if you needed extra power?”
“I didn’t need extra power, I had power to spare after raising Taita. I used the extra power to try something new, and that’s what exhausted me. It makes me seem less of a threat I suppose if I collapsed.”
“You didn’t deliberately do more than you should have to make sure you’d collapse, did you master?” He only really called me master when he was upset with me, most of my men had fallen into the same pattern, calling me master when they were pissed at me.
“No, but I had all this spare power, aching to be used, and there was something I’d wanted to try for a while now and it was too good an opportunity to miss. And what happened to a second bowl of stew?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you’d finished.” Nathaniel took the empty bowl from my hands and almost ran from the room to get some more.
“Has Belle Morte left yet? There’s something I need to talk to her about.”
“No, she hasn’t left yet, but you aren’t leaving this bed for another day at least. Belle Morte said she’d stay until she could talk to you herself. She wants to give you a bonus, but she isn’t certain what to give. You’ve made it clear that you wouldn’t be interested in any of her entourage, at least not sexually.”
“Why would I want anyone else? I’ve got you and Nathaniel here with me.”
“And Jean-Claude, Asher and Micah waiting for you in St. Louis.”
“Yes.” At this point Nathaniel came in with a second bowl of stew for me. “Once I’ve finished this I’d like some privacy Nathaniel. Damian - sex might actually work better than food at restoring my strength. Besides, it’s been a bit too long since I’ve been with you.”
“As you wish, I am always glad to serve you, in any way. And this particular form of service is far from unpleasant.” I laughed at that, quietly and he joined me in my laughter. I ate the stew fairly quickly and once I’d finished I handed the bowl to Nathaniel and turned to Damian. I was already kissing and fondling him when Nathaniel left the room. I was still weak so he did most of the work, and it was very slow and gentle, he always liked it that way, it made him feel safe.
Afterwards I could sit up on my own just fine, and I even managed to stand without too much trouble.
“Master, you need to rest.” Damian pulled me back down on the bed, he was overprotective, but it was kind of enjoyable.
“I also need to eat. Is there any more of that stew left?”
“I’ll go and check for you.”
He returned in less than five minutes with a third bowl, and he’d brought some bread as well for me to eat with it. It didn’t take me long to finish that bowl off as well and the next food that was brought in was some plain scrambled eggs. I’m not sure just how much food I went through, but afterwards I curled up and went back to sleep, some sort of reaction to how full I was.
xxXxx
I didn’t sleep as long that time, I woke up surrounded by my pard, they were wonderfully warm, and their closeness offered comfort. But I was hungry, I couldn’t just stay in bed with them. I didn’t really want to disturb them either, but I had no choice, I was hungry, and there were other calls on my body. I tried to climb out from among them without disturbing my pard, but I failed, as I crawled over Nathaniel he woke.
“Master, you do not need to leave your bed. We can bring you anything you need.”
“You can’t bring the bathroom to me. But you could go and start running a bath, and if anyone else is awake send them to start frying some bacon for me, and making some coffee.”
Our conversation had woken Zane and Cherry, Merle was still deep in sleep. They went to prepare my meal while I emptied my bladder and bathed with Nathaniel. He was most insistent that I allow him to wash me, and while it wasn’t by my choice it was most pleasant. It led to some light foreplay, which let me feed the ardeur somewhat, although it wasn’t a strong need, a hunger, more a sudden craving. Nathaniel dried me off as well when I got out of the bath and wrapped a robe around me, he must have brought it, because I certainly didn’t think to do so.
Again I stuffed myself with the bacon and scrambled eggs my leopards had prepared for me, they cooked well, a lot better than I did. This time I didn’t feel the need to go back to sleep instantly, but I wasn’t ready to venture out either. I settled for doing some gentle exercises in one of the empty rooms, warming up before I practised Kenpo moves as best I could without anyone else trained in the discipline with me. I only actually performed them at half speed, concentrating on technique, but it was exercise, and would help me recover my strength better than anything else could.
“I’m fine, now.” I finally managed to convince my leopards of that around the time Damian woke up, then I spent half an hour trying to get him to understand the same thing. “When Mahmoud wakes up send him to Belle Morte to tell her that I can see her any time from now she wants. I don’t know the exact protocol, you can sort that out yourself Elaith.
“Damian, I could do with a chance to feed the ardeur again. Care to join me?”
That was what finally convinced Damian I was alright now, I was most aggressive, although not excessively so, and not more than I had been before. I’d never drained myself like that before, so I didn’t know if my quick recovery was normal, or a result of the marks with Jean-Claude and Richard. I’d been careful not to call on their power for what I did, and I didn’t need to anyway.
xxXxx
“Lady Anita. Please would you ring Jean-Claude when he is due to awaken from his daylight slumber. He’s been ringing every hour, on the hour since you collapsed, that or having someone do it for him.
“I’d prefer it if he doesn’t declare war on me. He seems obsessed by your safety, he must be very much in love with you. Either that or you’re the only reason he can hold St. Louis, and I don’t believe that, not when I can hold a city. He was slightly more powerful than I when we were together, just I was better at the politics at the time.”
I’d forgotten to contact Jean-Claude when I’d woken up the first time! And I hadn’t even thought about it today! What was wrong with me. I must have shown something of what I was feeling, because Ibrahim asked me what was wrong.
“Nothing, I’m just still a little unsteady on my feet. I could do with lying down for a while, but I do not want to abandon you.”
“I have delivered my message to you, I am content to leave. You will be well enough to meet with Belle Morte tomorrow night?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine, as long as I don’t have to stand for too long, no more than two hours.”
“I will see to it.” With that he left, and I was free to contact Jean-Claude.
“Elaith, guide me through how to send a dream to Jean-Claude.” It was hard, but I managed it, and we spent an hour or so lying together. I made sure it was all as he would wish it - I even dressed myself in one of those period costumes he always used to dream me into, an apology of sorts for leaving it so long to contact him.
xxXxx
Part XXXVII - Bonus
Danilo had been sent near dawn with details about where and when Belle Morte wished us to meet. I was free to bring as many of my escort as I wished, but it wouldn’t be a formal occasion, there was no need to dress up as we had for her reception, or as I, Jamil, Merle and Damian had for raising her husband. Danilo had watched me with hunger in his eyes while he delivered the message. He obviously hadn’t heard much about Musette’s visit to our territory, or he might not want me so much.
We were meeting on the surface, one of the walled gardens in Ibrahim’s compound, so the meeting couldn’t take place until nightfall. It wouldn’t actually occur until ten at night, so I had plenty of time to get ready from when I awoke at six in the evening. I’d decided to just bring Damian, Elaith, Jamil and Merle. They had all agreed to act according to the roles they’d established at the reception, and hadn’t objected to dressing up accordingly. Merle and Jamil were wearing the burgundy versions of their initial outfits, the black ones had been worn at the raising of Belle Morte’s husband. Elaith was back in his armour, and Damian’s pants this time were burgundy rather than black. I was the only one wearing black, a thin silk robe, but underneath I was wearing a burgundy silk night-gown and nothing else, it barely reached my knees and left most of my breasts exposed, but the robe would cover most of those faults. I wanted to give Belle Morte the impression that I was an invalid after my effort of raising her husband from the dead.
I think she bought it when Damian carried me into the garden for my meeting with her. She told him to rise after he knelt with me in his arms, she ignored Elaith, I suddenly realised that she always had, uncomfortable around her first master I suppose.
“Bring your mistress to sit by me, Damian.” She was sitting on a small bench, just wide enough for the two of us and she patted the seat to her right so Damian would know where to place me. I offered my neck to her as best I could as he put me down, she smiled and kissed the big pulse gently.
“Anita. I appreciate what you have done for me, my husband will be very useful to me in the future. His magic was always very strong, although he never could raise the dead, and he was most skilled in bed. More importantly, he was a genius - particularly in politics and strategy.
“I am sorry that doing as I wished exhausted you so.”
“No apology is needed. You made it clear that you only expected me to try, not necessarily to succeed. I wanted to find out the full extent of my power. I chose to exhaust myself in that way, you did not force it on me. I could have left him in his grave and told you I couldn’t manage what you wanted, or I could have left him for you to control instead of controlling him myself. Either of those options would have left me standing.
“But you implied that you wish to use your husband in the future. You are of course aware that zombies rot?”
“Yes, is this the matter you wished to discuss with me? Your messenger did imply that you felt there was something you needed to speak to me about. I had planned to have one of my animators restore him to human appearance at intervals. When I consulted with them before sending Musette to you they thought it would work, as you have already supplied most of the power needed.”
“I don’t know whether it would work or not, but it isn’t necessary. I did wish to discuss this matter with you. There is an easier way to ensure that he doesn’t rot in the first place. Some zombies eat raw meat, usually ones that had some magic in life, the only one I encountered was a voodoo priest, but I think it will apply with Taita as well. When they eat raw meat they don’t rot and they remember who and what they were. My will says I want to be cremated for that reason. I don’t want someone raising me from the grave for kicks and bringing me forth with a craving for human flesh.”
“Only human flesh?”
“The zombies that have retained their memory by eating meat usually ate animal meat, one zombie was featured in an article and preferred lamb. But I suspect that left to their own devices they would all eat humans, the one I encountered did, at least until I emptied my gun into it and it was napalmed by the exterminators.
“I’m not suggesting that you kill people for him to eat, but if there are bodies anyway you can always feed them to him.”
“I see, that is something my pet animators seem to have been unaware of. Again, my thanks, it will be a lot less trouble than letting them try to restore my husband whenever he starts to rot.
“I wish to offer you a bonus of some sort. But I am not certain what sort of gift would be appropriate. Anyone else I would tell to take their pick of my entourage, and give whoever they chose to them permanently, but you told me that you dislike taking lovers unless you have an emotional connection to them, and you choose to consult Jean-Claude before taking a new lover. And I am not certain that you could control some of my entourage. I know you have a vampire servant, and I know that you can control the lesser vampires, but I would not expect you to be able to control Danilo for instance.”
“Might that not be true for some of the younger master vampires as well?”
“Of course, but I would know that they would not choose someone they could not control. I did not intend to insult you, I realise that you have the same sense.”
“I was not insulted, my powers are similar to yours, but not close enough for easy comparison, the only true way to compare my powers with a vampire’s would be to fight that vampire, not a good idea. But if you wish to gift me with one of your entourage there is a possible solution. It is my choice what I do with anyone you give to me is it not?”
“Of course, I would not expect you to do as I would with any gift I gave to you, but normally when I give one of my followers away they are used sexually, at least at first.”
“I have no interest in acquiring another lover, I feel that five is more than enough - but I don’t want to give any of my current lovers up. I do however need some more alphas for my pard. Do you have any alpha wereleopards in your entourage?”
“One, he’s barely an alpha, but he is alpha. He isn’t very good at thinking, but he is loyal. He’s a natural bodyguard. If you want him, you can have him. I’ll send him to your quarters before I leave. His name is Hiram.
“Are you well Anita?”
“Well enough, but it is tiring, I am not yet totally recovered from the effects of raising your husband.” It wasn’t a lie, I didn’t think I’d be able to raise a zombie yet and I found it harder to sense vampires than usual.
“Then you must return to your quarters to rest. I plainly brought you from your bed. Damian, take your mistress away so she can rest.” I nodded permission and we all left Belle Morte’s presence.
When Hiram arrived he turned out to be six feet tall, heavily muscled with close cropped black hair, black eyes and a swarthy complexion. He accepted Merle as dominant to him without any problem, and accepted me as dominant just as easily. When told I was the Nimir-Ra he asked if he was to be my bodyguard, I told him that he was, I didn’t have any other leopard bodyguards, just vampires, and borrowed wolves. I also asked if he knew how to use a gun, when he told me that he did I decided to arrange for him to get a carry permit once we got back to America.
xxXxx
Part XXXVIII - Homecoming
My plane home arrived at midnight so I knew that Jean-Claude would be waiting for me at the airport himself. With his celebrity status we’d get special treatment, the downside of that was that there might well be news at the airport as well.
There were, and cameras too, only local news cameras, but still cameras. We were all led off the plane first and our luggage was unloaded and transferred to the truck that was waiting before anyone else’s was. Jean-Claude played to the cameras, sweeping me up in his arms for a kiss, and I did likewise, wrapping my legs around his waist. He kissed me like he was trying to climb inside me, I let him take the dominant role this time, it was just for show, and we both knew that.
“Ms. Blake, is it true that you went abroad to raise a corpse more than one thousand years old?” A reporter shoved a microphone in my face and I had no option but to answer.
“Yes, for a master vampire there.” From the wave of approval I felt through the marks with Jean-Claude I knew that was the right thing to say.
“Isn’t America the only country where vampires are legal?”
“Yes, but then again we’re the only country where animating is a licensed business. She wanted to speak to her husband again, he died, defending her, before she became a vampire and until now she never had contact with a powerful enough necromancer to call him from the grave. I only agreed to try, I wasn’t certain I could succeed, but I did.”
“Who made sure the press knew about what I was doing in Omduman?”
“I think it was Bert, I certainly said nothing about it - I did not plan for a siege of the press. I would not bring you into this kind of media cover, I know you dislike it.”
“I never believed you would. I think I know a way to cut this short, I’ll ask them to let us alone so I can fuck you, do you mind?”
“Not at all. It should prove amusing.”
I couldn’t make out the next question in the noise of the reporters and so I waved them to silence.
“I’d rather not answer any more questions, I’ve been away from Jean-Claude for a week and I’m sure you’ll all agree, that’s entirely too long to go without the touch of his gorgeous body. My boss at Animators Inc., Bert, can tell you anything you want to know about what I did.”
“Ma petite, perhaps you should take out of town jobs more often if they make you this eager.” Jean-Claude’s voice sounded as wonderful as ever and so did that touchable laugh of his. Still my comment had had the desired effect, the sea of press parted, letting us make our way to the waiting limo. Nathaniel joined me, sitting in the seat well at my feet.
As soon as we got inside the limo Jean-Claude let go of me, and leaned back, watching, waiting for me to decide whether we’d do anything. I laid my hand on his left cheek and leaned in to kiss him.
“Do you want to make a liar of me? And I do want to be with you again.” I was in a dressy pants suit, black silk and it was easy enough for me to take it off in the back seat. He undressed equally quickly and then I guided him into me. It surprised him, but it shouldn’t have, after all we didn’t have much time. At my urging it was fast and hard, but he seemed most disturbed that I didn’t come even though I insisted that he do so.
“Did I not please you, Anita?” He didn’t look at me as he spoke. Our driver couldn’t hear us through the partition, and Nathaniel would never do anything to displease me so we could speak freely.
Oh yes, you pleased me, but sometimes it is enough for me to give you pleasure. I do not always need to take my own pleasure, I can share yours.”
“Of course.” I could see in his eyes that he was thinking of how foolish he was not to have realised that, but we’d almost reached the Circus of the Damned and there wasn’t time to continue the conversation. We chatted about inconsequential things while we walked down to his bedroom where we wouldn’t be disturbed, Damian had been awake for most of the flight, he’d been held prisoner by daylight when we left. Once we got in the room he looked to me for instructions. I kicked off my shoes and lay down on his bed.
“Come, lie beside me. Do not undress yet, at the moment all I want is to hold you, and if you undress I might forget that.” He obeyed, he plainly considered this invitation more valuable than an invitation to have sex, and I understood that, for it was intimate, more so than having sex in a way, and placed no demands on him. I think it was an hour I held him in my arms, smelling his scent in his hair.
“Jean-Claude, would you care to answer a question for me?”
“Anything you wish, ma petite.”
“Did Richard wish to lie with you while I was in Omduman? I will not be angered by your answer, whichever one you give, or if you refuse to answer.” I added the last sentence because of the stiffness in his body when I mentioned Richard.
“Yes, yes he did. I don’t think I pleased him. And he made no effort to be gentle with me.”
“Did he hurt you?” I made to rise from the bed, but Jean-Claude caught my arm, then released it, eyes widening.
“No Anita, he didn’t hurt me. It is just, he made no show of affection such as I receive from you and Asher. I have grown used to that, the kisses, the gentler touches that are less about sex than comfort, and he came to me almost in anger, and I could not calm his anger in pleasing him. That scared me somewhat.”
“And Richard didn’t realise that you were scared?” I held him tight to me that the tension still in his body should be lost in the comfort of my touch.
“I am good at hiding my emotions, and Richard has never pried using the marks. It was not so much him and his emotions that scared me, more that he threw me back into an old pattern. I have belonged to masters who took me in anger and I always sought to calm them through sex. When I failed to please Richard, I half expected him to punish me for it. I know it is foolish, I belong to you, not to him, but it is an ingrained reaction that I don’t know how to rid myself of.”
“You do not belong to me, not truly. I would never want to own you. I’ll keep you as safe as I can because I love you and don’t want you hurt, but you are not a possession.
”If a response has been conditioned it is always hard to overcome that conditioning. I do not know of any way, but I love you no matter what. It doesn’t matter what emotional problems you have, I will never refuse or reject you.”
“Thank you Anita.” He turned his head to expose his neck, an invitation that I accepted as I began to undress him. I kissed down his neck then moved up to kiss him full on the lips, we spent about two hours in bed together after that. Finally I left for my house.
xxXxx
Part XXXIX - Pin-up
It was about four in the morning when I got back to my house and all I wanted to do was fall asleep, I hadn’t been able to sleep on the plane and I was exhausted. But that wasn’t going to happen, Micah was pissed off about my acceptance of Hiram into our pard and he chose to start a shouting match as soon as I walked through the door.
“I’m supposed to be your Nimir-Raj, didn’t it occur to you that I should have been consulted about who joins our pard? Instead of letting me know and discussing the matter with me you just spring him on me!”
“There was no way I was going to piss Belle Morte off by refusing her offered gift. You should be pleased, you’ve been saying I need some bodyguards from our pard rather than from the pack or my vampires. So I chose a bodyguard, it’s only important that he gets on with me, not with you or anyone else.”
“You should at least have called to tell me that you’d recruited a new alpha into our pard.” I suddenly realised what was really upsetting him, Hiram had come from Belle Morte and he knew the reputation of her people. Micah thought I’d been sleeping with Hiram, and that was why I hadn’t called him.
“You’re jealous of him. Just because he was a gift from Belle Morte you think I’ve fucked him. I didn’t want to get into dominance issues with you, but you could never match me let alone best me. You have no right to any say in who or what I take to my bed. You came to me to protect you and yours from Chimera, I did that when you couldn’t so do not presume to tell me what to do with what is mine.
“Find somewhere else to sleep today. I need my rest and I do not want you anywhere near me. I certainly won’t share a bed with you if that is your attitude.”
I pushed past him and called for Nathaniel and the others who’d accompanied me on the journey to join me in my bed. I made a point of including Merle and Hiram but excluding him. Merle obeyed me, he wasn’t happy about it, but he recognised me as the stronger alpha and hence his leader. I fell to sleep quickly, after almost twenty hours awake it wasn’t surprising.
xxXxx
I woke up about one in the afternoon, I’d had about six and a half hours sleep but I felt fine for some reason. I stretched and crawled out of the bed, trying not to awaken any of the others. Hiram woke up, but the others were too tired to waken yet. I went through to bathe, almost tripping over Micah where he was lying across my door.
“What are you doing here?”
“Anita, I’m sorry, it’s just, I’m scared you’ll replace me. You are dominant, please - forgive my stupidity.” He shut his eyes and offered his throat to me. He hadn’t made any effort to get up off the floor and was plainly submitting to me.
“Very well, I forgive you. But never think to question me on my choice of lovers again, or on those I choose to bring into our pard.”
“As it pleases you Anita.”
“Go and run a bath for me.” I wandered through to the kitchen and got the coffee out of the freezer ready for when I got out of the bath. Then I went into my bathroom and sent Micah out before I let myself sink into the heat of the water. I stayed there for about half an hour, relaxing, I didn’t have to work tonight so I didn’t really need to wake up, and I had grown accustomed to the relaxation a bath offers.
Micah had prepared breakfast for me when I came into the kitchen again. I’d finally got a dining table to go in the window bay instead of my old kitchen table, I needed the new table as so many of my pard had ended up moving in with me effectively. Hiram plainly didn’t understand why my Nimir-Raj should have been sleeping across the threshold of my bedroom door like a dog and should be cooking for me, but he accepted it without question. I had to do the coffee myself, black and strong, nothing compares to my first cup of coffee of the day, but he’d laid out a lot of bacon and eggs for me, I could tell that he didn’t intend to eat himself until I was satisfied. I took my first sip of the coffee before I spoke.
“Thank you Micah. Now why don’t you go and get changed into something a little fresher.”
“Can we talk later then Anita?”
“Of course.” He nodded to me and left. Just as he walked out of the kitchen James Omar Ross walked in. He hadn’t been expecting to see me, his eyes widened and he stumbled slightly before catching himself and bowing deeply.
“Lady Anita. I am glad to see that you have returned from your visit to my master.” He spoke from a bowed position, at first I didn’t understand, then I realised that he was waiting for me to tell him he could rise.
“Stand up James. And please, just use my name, I don’t really like all this formality. Come, sit with me. Did you enjoy your stay here?”
“Greatly, there is but one matter I wished to speak of with you. If I might there is something I must show you.”
“Can you bring it here?”
“Of course.” He left the kitchen to go upstairs to the guestroom I’d given him, when he returned he was clutching a poster which he spread over a clear area of the table. I’d guessed what it was when I saw it, but it was nice to have my guess confirmed. I was pictured wearing black leather and silver knives, drinking out of a copper bowl of blood.
“Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Yes, I...thought perhaps you were unaware that your image was being used in this way. And I was not certain you had given your approval of it. Why would you choose to permit such a thing to be marketed?”
“I’d done a photo shoot to advertise Animators Inc., where I work. Bert complained about my choice of attire and some of the poses I was photographed in, one of my colleagues suggested that the photos he objected to would make good pin-ups. I told Bert that he could market them that way. I actually get a quarter of the profits and the colleague who suggested it gets the same amount. I didn’t think he’d do it, but that was foolish of me. Bert’s idea of sex is money, and I shouldn’t have expected him to give up the sort of money these are making. They’ve only been on the market for a month, I’ve already got half a million as my share of the profits. But I’m not going to do any more shoots like that, not under any circumstances.”
“I see. My apologies if I brought up an issue you did not wish to discuss.”
“Apologies are not needed. I’ll take you to the airport for your flight. When does it leave?”
“At six this evening.”
“Then I’ll see you then.” I stood and went to dress.
xxXxx
Part XL - Missing
After a week or so Hiram fitted pretty well into the pard, we didn’t have any problems with him once I’d convinced him that I wasn’t normally in danger while I was doing my normal job. He got some sort of job, but I’m not sure what. All I know is that it was casual and he could take time off any time he wanted to, and any time I needed him to act as a bodyguard. I got the impression it helped that he was a shapeshifter.
When Jean-Claude went missing two months after I’d returned from Omduman no one ever thought that he might have something to do with it. All we did was try to find out where he was, and who had taken him. I also tried to hide his absence, or at least make sure there were no attempts to usurp his authority in his absence.
“Malcolm, you cannot match me. And I am human. You will not seek to cause trouble, do you understand me?”
“Perfectly, we have all heard of what you did to Chimera, and how you terrorised Belle Morte’s emissary so that she offered her neck to you. Jean-Claude’s attack dog. But why do you come to warn me now? Just because Jean-Claude has gone to visit another Master of the City somewhere in France, you’re still here, and you are by far the most dangerous of the triumvirate.”
“As long as you understand that.”
I repeated this confrontation with the more powerful of the vampires who didn’t serve Jean-Claude personally. Every last one of them was terrified of me, I could taste it. I should have expected that sort of reaction. In the last three months there had been five occasions when a visiting master had contacted me to ask permission to enter the city, not Jean-Claude. It was wrong, but I couldn’t think of anything to change matters and neither could he.
The shapeshifters were easier, the only groups that had any connection to Jean-Claude are my leopards and Richard’s wolves so we were secure in that area of our power-base at least. All I had to do so that the rest of the shapeshifters behaved themselves while we searched for Jean-Claude was mention it at the next meeting of the coalition - three days after he disappeared.
I couldn’t sense him through the marks, and neither could Richard. We were so desperate to contact him that Richard even agreed to have sex with me, with a monster, to try to raise enough power to contact him. It didn’t work, and neither did the orgy I ended up holding with Asher, Nathaniel and Micah. I tried everything Elaith could suggest in techniques, but nothing worked.
By the time a week had passed it was common knowledge among the monsters in the city that I was effectively Master of the City at the moment. There were all sorts of rumours about why I was doing this. One that I wanted to encourage was that Jean-Claude had been called away by the council and had left me in charge because I was the most powerful member of the triumvirate. There was also one that I wanted to quash as much as possible - that I’d imprisoned him because I wanted the city for myself. Still none of the rumours would encourage anyone to make a move against us. My reputation scares a lot more people than Jean-Claude’s does now. Just about everyone in the city seems to consider me a lot more dangerous than Jean-Claude. I finally brought myself to ask Asher about it.
“Yes Anita, almost all the monsters in the city fear you. The rumours about you are that you are ‘Jean-Claude’s attack dog’, that or his hunting cat. Didn’t you notice the way most monsters defer to you, or back down when you get involved?”
“I thought it was just because they all know that I’m part of the triumvirate and they feared the alliance of the three of us. I’m not that scary, or at least I didn’t think I was.”
“It has become common knowledge what you can do, and according to rumour you will use it on anyone who challenges you. I know that it isn’t true, but you have become Bolverk for Richard’s pack and you have been forced to develop skill at torture. Some stories say you have developed a taste for it as well. No one thinks that you will hesitate to drain anyone who causes trouble, they think you will use that power easily and often, even though you haven’t so far.”
“I see.” I’d asked during lovemaking, not a good time, but it was the only time I knew would be private. Asher wasn’t hard by the end of the conversation and I decided to change that situation, using my mouth on him making it clear that I had heard all I wished to.
I couldn’t have hoped to hold the city without Elaith’s aid, he told me what the appropriate response to any sort of challenge was and he guided me in the duties of the Master of the City. Even so it was very difficult to keep the city for when Jean-Claude returned. Bert didn’t help, I’d negotiated him down to giving me one job a night or sometimes two, but no corpses less than 200 years old. Those raisings were less common, but they were also a lot harder to manage, I was the only one who could do it without human sacrifice. I had time to deal with the duties of the Master of the City thanks to that, but it was a question of the energy needed.
I’d actually hired Edward to search for Jean-Claude, it only cost half a million dollars, I could more than cover it from my share of those bloody pin-up posters. He didn’t succeed either and I made sure he was motivated. I pointed out that if someone killed Jean-Claude I’d probably die with him and Edward would never get a chance to see who was better.
I refused permission for any vampires to enter our territory while I was in charge, funny but by the end of the second week I’d almost started to enjoy acting as Master of the City. I’d have been only too happy to give it up if it meant I got Jean-Claude back, but it was almost fun seeing the way people deferred to me. And it was certainly enjoyable living in the Circus of the Damned, I’d moved there two days after Jean-Claude disappeared to make it easier to control things.
xxXxx
I woke up wrapped in Damian’s arms, he was warm and comfortable around me.
“Master!” There was so much relief in his voice. I must have been out for a while.
“I’m starving, get me as much to eat as possible. How long have I been out for?”
He called for Nathaniel, who arrived carrying a bowl of stew. Damian insisted on helping me sit up and supporting me once I was up. I suppose I must have needed it, I felt no urge to protest. He refused to say anything more until I started eating.
“There’s another bowl of stew ready when you finish that one, Anita. To answer your question, you collapsed last night. It’s almost four in the morning now. We brought you back here after you collapsed, and put you to bed. I stayed with you until just before dawn and Nathaniel took over then. We’ve been preparing stew for you for when you woke up, when I called Nathaniel it was a signal you were awake.
“I thought you were going to fuck me in the tomb if you needed extra power?”
“I didn’t need extra power, I had power to spare after raising Taita. I used the extra power to try something new, and that’s what exhausted me. It makes me seem less of a threat I suppose if I collapsed.”
“You didn’t deliberately do more than you should have to make sure you’d collapse, did you master?” He only really called me master when he was upset with me, most of my men had fallen into the same pattern, calling me master when they were pissed at me.
“No, but I had all this spare power, aching to be used, and there was something I’d wanted to try for a while now and it was too good an opportunity to miss. And what happened to a second bowl of stew?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you’d finished.” Nathaniel took the empty bowl from my hands and almost ran from the room to get some more.
“Has Belle Morte left yet? There’s something I need to talk to her about.”
“No, she hasn’t left yet, but you aren’t leaving this bed for another day at least. Belle Morte said she’d stay until she could talk to you herself. She wants to give you a bonus, but she isn’t certain what to give. You’ve made it clear that you wouldn’t be interested in any of her entourage, at least not sexually.”
“Why would I want anyone else? I’ve got you and Nathaniel here with me.”
“And Jean-Claude, Asher and Micah waiting for you in St. Louis.”
“Yes.” At this point Nathaniel came in with a second bowl of stew for me. “Once I’ve finished this I’d like some privacy Nathaniel. Damian - sex might actually work better than food at restoring my strength. Besides, it’s been a bit too long since I’ve been with you.”
“As you wish, I am always glad to serve you, in any way. And this particular form of service is far from unpleasant.” I laughed at that, quietly and he joined me in my laughter. I ate the stew fairly quickly and once I’d finished I handed the bowl to Nathaniel and turned to Damian. I was already kissing and fondling him when Nathaniel left the room. I was still weak so he did most of the work, and it was very slow and gentle, he always liked it that way, it made him feel safe.
Afterwards I could sit up on my own just fine, and I even managed to stand without too much trouble.
“Master, you need to rest.” Damian pulled me back down on the bed, he was overprotective, but it was kind of enjoyable.
“I also need to eat. Is there any more of that stew left?”
“I’ll go and check for you.”
He returned in less than five minutes with a third bowl, and he’d brought some bread as well for me to eat with it. It didn’t take me long to finish that bowl off as well and the next food that was brought in was some plain scrambled eggs. I’m not sure just how much food I went through, but afterwards I curled up and went back to sleep, some sort of reaction to how full I was.
I didn’t sleep as long that time, I woke up surrounded by my pard, they were wonderfully warm, and their closeness offered comfort. But I was hungry, I couldn’t just stay in bed with them. I didn’t really want to disturb them either, but I had no choice, I was hungry, and there were other calls on my body. I tried to climb out from among them without disturbing my pard, but I failed, as I crawled over Nathaniel he woke.
“Master, you do not need to leave your bed. We can bring you anything you need.”
“You can’t bring the bathroom to me. But you could go and start running a bath, and if anyone else is awake send them to start frying some bacon for me, and making some coffee.”
Our conversation had woken Zane and Cherry, Merle was still deep in sleep. They went to prepare my meal while I emptied my bladder and bathed with Nathaniel. He was most insistent that I allow him to wash me, and while it wasn’t by my choice it was most pleasant. It led to some light foreplay, which let me feed the ardeur somewhat, although it wasn’t a strong need, a hunger, more a sudden craving. Nathaniel dried me off as well when I got out of the bath and wrapped a robe around me, he must have brought it, because I certainly didn’t think to do so.
Again I stuffed myself with the bacon and scrambled eggs my leopards had prepared for me, they cooked well, a lot better than I did. This time I didn’t feel the need to go back to sleep instantly, but I wasn’t ready to venture out either. I settled for doing some gentle exercises in one of the empty rooms, warming up before I practised Kenpo moves as best I could without anyone else trained in the discipline with me. I only actually performed them at half speed, concentrating on technique, but it was exercise, and would help me recover my strength better than anything else could.
“I’m fine, now.” I finally managed to convince my leopards of that around the time Damian woke up, then I spent half an hour trying to get him to understand the same thing. “When Mahmoud wakes up send him to Belle Morte to tell her that I can see her any time from now she wants. I don’t know the exact protocol, you can sort that out yourself Elaith.
“Damian, I could do with a chance to feed the ardeur again. Care to join me?”
That was what finally convinced Damian I was alright now, I was most aggressive, although not excessively so, and not more than I had been before. I’d never drained myself like that before, so I didn’t know if my quick recovery was normal, or a result of the marks with Jean-Claude and Richard. I’d been careful not to call on their power for what I did, and I didn’t need to anyway.
“Lady Anita. Please would you ring Jean-Claude when he is due to awaken from his daylight slumber. He’s been ringing every hour, on the hour since you collapsed, that or having someone do it for him.
“I’d prefer it if he doesn’t declare war on me. He seems obsessed by your safety, he must be very much in love with you. Either that or you’re the only reason he can hold St. Louis, and I don’t believe that, not when I can hold a city. He was slightly more powerful than I when we were together, just I was better at the politics at the time.”
I’d forgotten to contact Jean-Claude when I’d woken up the first time! And I hadn’t even thought about it today! What was wrong with me. I must have shown something of what I was feeling, because Ibrahim asked me what was wrong.
“Nothing, I’m just still a little unsteady on my feet. I could do with lying down for a while, but I do not want to abandon you.”
“I have delivered my message to you, I am content to leave. You will be well enough to meet with Belle Morte tomorrow night?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine, as long as I don’t have to stand for too long, no more than two hours.”
“I will see to it.” With that he left, and I was free to contact Jean-Claude.
“Elaith, guide me through how to send a dream to Jean-Claude.” It was hard, but I managed it, and we spent an hour or so lying together. I made sure it was all as he would wish it - I even dressed myself in one of those period costumes he always used to dream me into, an apology of sorts for leaving it so long to contact him.
Danilo had been sent near dawn with details about where and when Belle Morte wished us to meet. I was free to bring as many of my escort as I wished, but it wouldn’t be a formal occasion, there was no need to dress up as we had for her reception, or as I, Jamil, Merle and Damian had for raising her husband. Danilo had watched me with hunger in his eyes while he delivered the message. He obviously hadn’t heard much about Musette’s visit to our territory, or he might not want me so much.
We were meeting on the surface, one of the walled gardens in Ibrahim’s compound, so the meeting couldn’t take place until nightfall. It wouldn’t actually occur until ten at night, so I had plenty of time to get ready from when I awoke at six in the evening. I’d decided to just bring Damian, Elaith, Jamil and Merle. They had all agreed to act according to the roles they’d established at the reception, and hadn’t objected to dressing up accordingly. Merle and Jamil were wearing the burgundy versions of their initial outfits, the black ones had been worn at the raising of Belle Morte’s husband. Elaith was back in his armour, and Damian’s pants this time were burgundy rather than black. I was the only one wearing black, a thin silk robe, but underneath I was wearing a burgundy silk night-gown and nothing else, it barely reached my knees and left most of my breasts exposed, but the robe would cover most of those faults. I wanted to give Belle Morte the impression that I was an invalid after my effort of raising her husband from the dead.
I think she bought it when Damian carried me into the garden for my meeting with her. She told him to rise after he knelt with me in his arms, she ignored Elaith, I suddenly realised that she always had, uncomfortable around her first master I suppose.
“Bring your mistress to sit by me, Damian.” She was sitting on a small bench, just wide enough for the two of us and she patted the seat to her right so Damian would know where to place me. I offered my neck to her as best I could as he put me down, she smiled and kissed the big pulse gently.
“Anita. I appreciate what you have done for me, my husband will be very useful to me in the future. His magic was always very strong, although he never could raise the dead, and he was most skilled in bed. More importantly, he was a genius - particularly in politics and strategy.
“I am sorry that doing as I wished exhausted you so.”
“No apology is needed. You made it clear that you only expected me to try, not necessarily to succeed. I wanted to find out the full extent of my power. I chose to exhaust myself in that way, you did not force it on me. I could have left him in his grave and told you I couldn’t manage what you wanted, or I could have left him for you to control instead of controlling him myself. Either of those options would have left me standing.
“But you implied that you wish to use your husband in the future. You are of course aware that zombies rot?”
“Yes, is this the matter you wished to discuss with me? Your messenger did imply that you felt there was something you needed to speak to me about. I had planned to have one of my animators restore him to human appearance at intervals. When I consulted with them before sending Musette to you they thought it would work, as you have already supplied most of the power needed.”
“I don’t know whether it would work or not, but it isn’t necessary. I did wish to discuss this matter with you. There is an easier way to ensure that he doesn’t rot in the first place. Some zombies eat raw meat, usually ones that had some magic in life, the only one I encountered was a voodoo priest, but I think it will apply with Taita as well. When they eat raw meat they don’t rot and they remember who and what they were. My will says I want to be cremated for that reason. I don’t want someone raising me from the grave for kicks and bringing me forth with a craving for human flesh.”
“Only human flesh?”
“The zombies that have retained their memory by eating meat usually ate animal meat, one zombie was featured in an article and preferred lamb. But I suspect that left to their own devices they would all eat humans, the one I encountered did, at least until I emptied my gun into it and it was napalmed by the exterminators.
“I’m not suggesting that you kill people for him to eat, but if there are bodies anyway you can always feed them to him.”
“I see, that is something my pet animators seem to have been unaware of. Again, my thanks, it will be a lot less trouble than letting them try to restore my husband whenever he starts to rot.
“I wish to offer you a bonus of some sort. But I am not certain what sort of gift would be appropriate. Anyone else I would tell to take their pick of my entourage, and give whoever they chose to them permanently, but you told me that you dislike taking lovers unless you have an emotional connection to them, and you choose to consult Jean-Claude before taking a new lover. And I am not certain that you could control some of my entourage. I know you have a vampire servant, and I know that you can control the lesser vampires, but I would not expect you to be able to control Danilo for instance.”
“Might that not be true for some of the younger master vampires as well?”
“Of course, but I would know that they would not choose someone they could not control. I did not intend to insult you, I realise that you have the same sense.”
“I was not insulted, my powers are similar to yours, but not close enough for easy comparison, the only true way to compare my powers with a vampire’s would be to fight that vampire, not a good idea. But if you wish to gift me with one of your entourage there is a possible solution. It is my choice what I do with anyone you give to me is it not?”
“Of course, I would not expect you to do as I would with any gift I gave to you, but normally when I give one of my followers away they are used sexually, at least at first.”
“I have no interest in acquiring another lover, I feel that five is more than enough - but I don’t want to give any of my current lovers up. I do however need some more alphas for my pard. Do you have any alpha wereleopards in your entourage?”
“One, he’s barely an alpha, but he is alpha. He isn’t very good at thinking, but he is loyal. He’s a natural bodyguard. If you want him, you can have him. I’ll send him to your quarters before I leave. His name is Hiram.
“Are you well Anita?”
“Well enough, but it is tiring, I am not yet totally recovered from the effects of raising your husband.” It wasn’t a lie, I didn’t think I’d be able to raise a zombie yet and I found it harder to sense vampires than usual.
“Then you must return to your quarters to rest. I plainly brought you from your bed. Damian, take your mistress away so she can rest.” I nodded permission and we all left Belle Morte’s presence.
When Hiram arrived he turned out to be six feet tall, heavily muscled with close cropped black hair, black eyes and a swarthy complexion. He accepted Merle as dominant to him without any problem, and accepted me as dominant just as easily. When told I was the Nimir-Ra he asked if he was to be my bodyguard, I told him that he was, I didn’t have any other leopard bodyguards, just vampires, and borrowed wolves. I also asked if he knew how to use a gun, when he told me that he did I decided to arrange for him to get a carry permit once we got back to America.
My plane home arrived at midnight so I knew that Jean-Claude would be waiting for me at the airport himself. With his celebrity status we’d get special treatment, the downside of that was that there might well be news at the airport as well.
There were, and cameras too, only local news cameras, but still cameras. We were all led off the plane first and our luggage was unloaded and transferred to the truck that was waiting before anyone else’s was. Jean-Claude played to the cameras, sweeping me up in his arms for a kiss, and I did likewise, wrapping my legs around his waist. He kissed me like he was trying to climb inside me, I let him take the dominant role this time, it was just for show, and we both knew that.
“Ms. Blake, is it true that you went abroad to raise a corpse more than one thousand years old?” A reporter shoved a microphone in my face and I had no option but to answer.
“Yes, for a master vampire there.” From the wave of approval I felt through the marks with Jean-Claude I knew that was the right thing to say.
“Isn’t America the only country where vampires are legal?”
“Yes, but then again we’re the only country where animating is a licensed business. She wanted to speak to her husband again, he died, defending her, before she became a vampire and until now she never had contact with a powerful enough necromancer to call him from the grave. I only agreed to try, I wasn’t certain I could succeed, but I did.”
“Who made sure the press knew about what I was doing in Omduman?”
“I think it was Bert, I certainly said nothing about it - I did not plan for a siege of the press. I would not bring you into this kind of media cover, I know you dislike it.”
“I never believed you would. I think I know a way to cut this short, I’ll ask them to let us alone so I can fuck you, do you mind?”
“Not at all. It should prove amusing.”
I couldn’t make out the next question in the noise of the reporters and so I waved them to silence.
“I’d rather not answer any more questions, I’ve been away from Jean-Claude for a week and I’m sure you’ll all agree, that’s entirely too long to go without the touch of his gorgeous body. My boss at Animators Inc., Bert, can tell you anything you want to know about what I did.”
“Ma petite, perhaps you should take out of town jobs more often if they make you this eager.” Jean-Claude’s voice sounded as wonderful as ever and so did that touchable laugh of his. Still my comment had had the desired effect, the sea of press parted, letting us make our way to the waiting limo. Nathaniel joined me, sitting in the seat well at my feet.
As soon as we got inside the limo Jean-Claude let go of me, and leaned back, watching, waiting for me to decide whether we’d do anything. I laid my hand on his left cheek and leaned in to kiss him.
“Do you want to make a liar of me? And I do want to be with you again.” I was in a dressy pants suit, black silk and it was easy enough for me to take it off in the back seat. He undressed equally quickly and then I guided him into me. It surprised him, but it shouldn’t have, after all we didn’t have much time. At my urging it was fast and hard, but he seemed most disturbed that I didn’t come even though I insisted that he do so.
“Did I not please you, Anita?” He didn’t look at me as he spoke. Our driver couldn’t hear us through the partition, and Nathaniel would never do anything to displease me so we could speak freely.
Oh yes, you pleased me, but sometimes it is enough for me to give you pleasure. I do not always need to take my own pleasure, I can share yours.”
“Of course.” I could see in his eyes that he was thinking of how foolish he was not to have realised that, but we’d almost reached the Circus of the Damned and there wasn’t time to continue the conversation. We chatted about inconsequential things while we walked down to his bedroom where we wouldn’t be disturbed, Damian had been awake for most of the flight, he’d been held prisoner by daylight when we left. Once we got in the room he looked to me for instructions. I kicked off my shoes and lay down on his bed.
“Come, lie beside me. Do not undress yet, at the moment all I want is to hold you, and if you undress I might forget that.” He obeyed, he plainly considered this invitation more valuable than an invitation to have sex, and I understood that, for it was intimate, more so than having sex in a way, and placed no demands on him. I think it was an hour I held him in my arms, smelling his scent in his hair.
“Jean-Claude, would you care to answer a question for me?”
“Anything you wish, ma petite.”
“Did Richard wish to lie with you while I was in Omduman? I will not be angered by your answer, whichever one you give, or if you refuse to answer.” I added the last sentence because of the stiffness in his body when I mentioned Richard.
“Yes, yes he did. I don’t think I pleased him. And he made no effort to be gentle with me.”
“Did he hurt you?” I made to rise from the bed, but Jean-Claude caught my arm, then released it, eyes widening.
“No Anita, he didn’t hurt me. It is just, he made no show of affection such as I receive from you and Asher. I have grown used to that, the kisses, the gentler touches that are less about sex than comfort, and he came to me almost in anger, and I could not calm his anger in pleasing him. That scared me somewhat.”
“And Richard didn’t realise that you were scared?” I held him tight to me that the tension still in his body should be lost in the comfort of my touch.
“I am good at hiding my emotions, and Richard has never pried using the marks. It was not so much him and his emotions that scared me, more that he threw me back into an old pattern. I have belonged to masters who took me in anger and I always sought to calm them through sex. When I failed to please Richard, I half expected him to punish me for it. I know it is foolish, I belong to you, not to him, but it is an ingrained reaction that I don’t know how to rid myself of.”
“You do not belong to me, not truly. I would never want to own you. I’ll keep you as safe as I can because I love you and don’t want you hurt, but you are not a possession.
”If a response has been conditioned it is always hard to overcome that conditioning. I do not know of any way, but I love you no matter what. It doesn’t matter what emotional problems you have, I will never refuse or reject you.”
“Thank you Anita.” He turned his head to expose his neck, an invitation that I accepted as I began to undress him. I kissed down his neck then moved up to kiss him full on the lips, we spent about two hours in bed together after that. Finally I left for my house.
It was about four in the morning when I got back to my house and all I wanted to do was fall asleep, I hadn’t been able to sleep on the plane and I was exhausted. But that wasn’t going to happen, Micah was pissed off about my acceptance of Hiram into our pard and he chose to start a shouting match as soon as I walked through the door.
“I’m supposed to be your Nimir-Raj, didn’t it occur to you that I should have been consulted about who joins our pard? Instead of letting me know and discussing the matter with me you just spring him on me!”
“There was no way I was going to piss Belle Morte off by refusing her offered gift. You should be pleased, you’ve been saying I need some bodyguards from our pard rather than from the pack or my vampires. So I chose a bodyguard, it’s only important that he gets on with me, not with you or anyone else.”
“You should at least have called to tell me that you’d recruited a new alpha into our pard.” I suddenly realised what was really upsetting him, Hiram had come from Belle Morte and he knew the reputation of her people. Micah thought I’d been sleeping with Hiram, and that was why I hadn’t called him.
“You’re jealous of him. Just because he was a gift from Belle Morte you think I’ve fucked him. I didn’t want to get into dominance issues with you, but you could never match me let alone best me. You have no right to any say in who or what I take to my bed. You came to me to protect you and yours from Chimera, I did that when you couldn’t so do not presume to tell me what to do with what is mine.
“Find somewhere else to sleep today. I need my rest and I do not want you anywhere near me. I certainly won’t share a bed with you if that is your attitude.”
I pushed past him and called for Nathaniel and the others who’d accompanied me on the journey to join me in my bed. I made a point of including Merle and Hiram but excluding him. Merle obeyed me, he wasn’t happy about it, but he recognised me as the stronger alpha and hence his leader. I fell to sleep quickly, after almost twenty hours awake it wasn’t surprising.
I woke up about one in the afternoon, I’d had about six and a half hours sleep but I felt fine for some reason. I stretched and crawled out of the bed, trying not to awaken any of the others. Hiram woke up, but the others were too tired to waken yet. I went through to bathe, almost tripping over Micah where he was lying across my door.
“What are you doing here?”
“Anita, I’m sorry, it’s just, I’m scared you’ll replace me. You are dominant, please - forgive my stupidity.” He shut his eyes and offered his throat to me. He hadn’t made any effort to get up off the floor and was plainly submitting to me.
“Very well, I forgive you. But never think to question me on my choice of lovers again, or on those I choose to bring into our pard.”
“As it pleases you Anita.”
“Go and run a bath for me.” I wandered through to the kitchen and got the coffee out of the freezer ready for when I got out of the bath. Then I went into my bathroom and sent Micah out before I let myself sink into the heat of the water. I stayed there for about half an hour, relaxing, I didn’t have to work tonight so I didn’t really need to wake up, and I had grown accustomed to the relaxation a bath offers.
Micah had prepared breakfast for me when I came into the kitchen again. I’d finally got a dining table to go in the window bay instead of my old kitchen table, I needed the new table as so many of my pard had ended up moving in with me effectively. Hiram plainly didn’t understand why my Nimir-Raj should have been sleeping across the threshold of my bedroom door like a dog and should be cooking for me, but he accepted it without question. I had to do the coffee myself, black and strong, nothing compares to my first cup of coffee of the day, but he’d laid out a lot of bacon and eggs for me, I could tell that he didn’t intend to eat himself until I was satisfied. I took my first sip of the coffee before I spoke.
“Thank you Micah. Now why don’t you go and get changed into something a little fresher.”
“Can we talk later then Anita?”
“Of course.” He nodded to me and left. Just as he walked out of the kitchen James Omar Ross walked in. He hadn’t been expecting to see me, his eyes widened and he stumbled slightly before catching himself and bowing deeply.
“Lady Anita. I am glad to see that you have returned from your visit to my master.” He spoke from a bowed position, at first I didn’t understand, then I realised that he was waiting for me to tell him he could rise.
“Stand up James. And please, just use my name, I don’t really like all this formality. Come, sit with me. Did you enjoy your stay here?”
“Greatly, there is but one matter I wished to speak of with you. If I might there is something I must show you.”
“Can you bring it here?”
“Of course.” He left the kitchen to go upstairs to the guestroom I’d given him, when he returned he was clutching a poster which he spread over a clear area of the table. I’d guessed what it was when I saw it, but it was nice to have my guess confirmed. I was pictured wearing black leather and silver knives, drinking out of a copper bowl of blood.
“Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Yes, I...thought perhaps you were unaware that your image was being used in this way. And I was not certain you had given your approval of it. Why would you choose to permit such a thing to be marketed?”
“I’d done a photo shoot to advertise Animators Inc., where I work. Bert complained about my choice of attire and some of the poses I was photographed in, one of my colleagues suggested that the photos he objected to would make good pin-ups. I told Bert that he could market them that way. I actually get a quarter of the profits and the colleague who suggested it gets the same amount. I didn’t think he’d do it, but that was foolish of me. Bert’s idea of sex is money, and I shouldn’t have expected him to give up the sort of money these are making. They’ve only been on the market for a month, I’ve already got half a million as my share of the profits. But I’m not going to do any more shoots like that, not under any circumstances.”
“I see. My apologies if I brought up an issue you did not wish to discuss.”
“Apologies are not needed. I’ll take you to the airport for your flight. When does it leave?”
“At six this evening.”
“Then I’ll see you then.” I stood and went to dress.
After a week or so Hiram fitted pretty well into the pard, we didn’t have any problems with him once I’d convinced him that I wasn’t normally in danger while I was doing my normal job. He got some sort of job, but I’m not sure what. All I know is that it was casual and he could take time off any time he wanted to, and any time I needed him to act as a bodyguard. I got the impression it helped that he was a shapeshifter.
When Jean-Claude went missing two months after I’d returned from Omduman no one ever thought that he might have something to do with it. All we did was try to find out where he was, and who had taken him. I also tried to hide his absence, or at least make sure there were no attempts to usurp his authority in his absence.
“Malcolm, you cannot match me. And I am human. You will not seek to cause trouble, do you understand me?”
“Perfectly, we have all heard of what you did to Chimera, and how you terrorised Belle Morte’s emissary so that she offered her neck to you. Jean-Claude’s attack dog. But why do you come to warn me now? Just because Jean-Claude has gone to visit another Master of the City somewhere in France, you’re still here, and you are by far the most dangerous of the triumvirate.”
“As long as you understand that.”
I repeated this confrontation with the more powerful of the vampires who didn’t serve Jean-Claude personally. Every last one of them was terrified of me, I could taste it. I should have expected that sort of reaction. In the last three months there had been five occasions when a visiting master had contacted me to ask permission to enter the city, not Jean-Claude. It was wrong, but I couldn’t think of anything to change matters and neither could he.
The shapeshifters were easier, the only groups that had any connection to Jean-Claude are my leopards and Richard’s wolves so we were secure in that area of our power-base at least. All I had to do so that the rest of the shapeshifters behaved themselves while we searched for Jean-Claude was mention it at the next meeting of the coalition - three days after he disappeared.
I couldn’t sense him through the marks, and neither could Richard. We were so desperate to contact him that Richard even agreed to have sex with me, with a monster, to try to raise enough power to contact him. It didn’t work, and neither did the orgy I ended up holding with Asher, Nathaniel and Micah. I tried everything Elaith could suggest in techniques, but nothing worked.
By the time a week had passed it was common knowledge among the monsters in the city that I was effectively Master of the City at the moment. There were all sorts of rumours about why I was doing this. One that I wanted to encourage was that Jean-Claude had been called away by the council and had left me in charge because I was the most powerful member of the triumvirate. There was also one that I wanted to quash as much as possible - that I’d imprisoned him because I wanted the city for myself. Still none of the rumours would encourage anyone to make a move against us. My reputation scares a lot more people than Jean-Claude’s does now. Just about everyone in the city seems to consider me a lot more dangerous than Jean-Claude. I finally brought myself to ask Asher about it.
“Yes Anita, almost all the monsters in the city fear you. The rumours about you are that you are ‘Jean-Claude’s attack dog’, that or his hunting cat. Didn’t you notice the way most monsters defer to you, or back down when you get involved?”
“I thought it was just because they all know that I’m part of the triumvirate and they feared the alliance of the three of us. I’m not that scary, or at least I didn’t think I was.”
“It has become common knowledge what you can do, and according to rumour you will use it on anyone who challenges you. I know that it isn’t true, but you have become Bolverk for Richard’s pack and you have been forced to develop skill at torture. Some stories say you have developed a taste for it as well. No one thinks that you will hesitate to drain anyone who causes trouble, they think you will use that power easily and often, even though you haven’t so far.”
“I see.” I’d asked during lovemaking, not a good time, but it was the only time I knew would be private. Asher wasn’t hard by the end of the conversation and I decided to change that situation, using my mouth on him making it clear that I had heard all I wished to.
I couldn’t have hoped to hold the city without Elaith’s aid, he told me what the appropriate response to any sort of challenge was and he guided me in the duties of the Master of the City. Even so it was very difficult to keep the city for when Jean-Claude returned. Bert didn’t help, I’d negotiated him down to giving me one job a night or sometimes two, but no corpses less than 200 years old. Those raisings were less common, but they were also a lot harder to manage, I was the only one who could do it without human sacrifice. I had time to deal with the duties of the Master of the City thanks to that, but it was a question of the energy needed.
I’d actually hired Edward to search for Jean-Claude, it only cost half a million dollars, I could more than cover it from my share of those bloody pin-up posters. He didn’t succeed either and I made sure he was motivated. I pointed out that if someone killed Jean-Claude I’d probably die with him and Edward would never get a chance to see who was better.
I refused permission for any vampires to enter our territory while I was in charge, funny but by the end of the second week I’d almost started to enjoy acting as Master of the City. I’d have been only too happy to give it up if it meant I got Jean-Claude back, but it was almost fun seeing the way people deferred to me. And it was certainly enjoyable living in the Circus of the Damned, I’d moved there two days after Jean-Claude disappeared to make it easier to control things.
