The night was cold, and I could smell snow on the wind. Ondre sniffed us out quite the little snack; A couple walking through a less than reputable part of town. The young man was Ondre's while I taught Artemis the pleasure of femoral feeding. The girl lay on the hood of an abandoned car, her legs spread wide, Artemis burried in her thigh.
"From here, the blood flows strong, and if you're not careful, your human can bleed out within seconds." Her eyes were on me, but her focus was on her meal, as it should have been. "That's enough. Away." I touched her head and cupped my hand over the wounds on the girl's leg. I split the flesh on my fingertip open and dabbed the holes in her skin which closed up before another drop of blood fell from them. Artemis wiped her face and looked at the girl's body.
"She'll be fine." Ondre said to my newborn. "Her man is a street over, he'll wake up on his own in before too long." Ondre touched my shoulder and kissed my forehead. "Artemis, come with me. Let your maker feed." I couldn't thank him enough; I needed to feed, desperately and this human's blood smelled of apples, and cinnamon. Ondre took my newborn and they turned down an alley while I took to the girl's neck and drank.
Her pulse was slow; Artemis having taken more from her than I expected my feeding was minimal. The girl was pale and her breathing slow but she would live, the next few days would prove difficult but survivable. I dabbed her wounds with a drop of blood and stashed her with her companion, meeting Ondre and Artemis on the street. He handed me a wet, alcohol-drenched swatch of paper and I cleaned my face of her blood.
There was an odd emotion in the air; Artemis wouldn't look me in the eyes, and couldn't stand to be near Ondre. He, however, seemed completely normal.
"Something wrong?" I asked, tucking the bloody scrap of paper into my coat pocket.
"No-" Artemis said, looking away.
"Not on my end." Ondre said.
"So it's your doing?" I looked at him, he shrugged and I knew something had transpired. "What happened?"
"It was nothing!" Artemis shouted and took off into the darkness. I was stunned, too shocked to act.
"What did you say!?" I shouted at Ondre.
"Don't you need to catch your runaway newborn?" His tone was instantly dismissive.
"Ondre, tell me what happened!"
"She believes she's in love with you."
"And?"
"I told her you are mine, and that what she feels is normal for a baby vampire." Ondre was correct here, most newborns develop a sexual relationship with their makers. The connection they share is incredibly strong, and something no human could ever understand. Even now, I could feel her heart broken, and the pain in her chest; what she felt she believed to be love, but I knew it to be blood magic.
I wasn't upset with him, not much, anyway. Although in truth I wished he hadn't.
"You caused this; you're helping me find her." I took off into the darkness, Ondre close behind me.
~Ondre
Perhaps I was in the wrong.
Perhaps.
Artemis was Leon's responsibility, and one I needn't shoulder. But Leon was mine, and although I know it broke the young girl's heart, it had to be done. Leon was certainly not pleased with me, but in time I know he would forgive me. It was a minor indiscretion, I hadn't laid hands on her, only broke shattered any ignorant ideas of his feelings for her.
He was her maker, but more importantly, he was mine.
We found her a short distance away crying her eyes out in to the side of a dumpster. Leon sent me away and went in to deal with her himself. It was only a few moments before the two of them appeared at my side. Artemis wouldn't look at me, and so I took it upon myself to smooth the situation over.
"I apologize for having hurt you, it was not my intention."
"I understand your intentions." She said. "And I also understand that what I feel isn't love, but that doesn't stop it from feeling like it..."
"You'll make a fine vampire, you're able to put the past behind you so easily. A trait those of us gifted with immortality seldom display."
"We'll see how apt to the future I am in a hundred years."
"You'd be surprised how fast your first hundred pass." Leon touched her shoulder. She cringed, and began to move away, but she stopped took the chance to look at my Love, then touch his hand.
"I'm sorry Leon. Don't be mad at Ondre, he let me down very easily..." She smiled and finally cast a look my direction. Artemis possessed the innate ability to adapt, something I'd seen in Leon so many years ago.
"Go home, Artemis. We'll be back soon." Leon said and took my arm. Artemis lingered, and Leon finally sent her on her way. "As your maker, I command you." She turned her head and took off down the street.
"You…" He touched my chest. "You're a nasty little devil when it comes to me, aren't you?"
"I suppose I am, but you're no better."
"Oh, really?"
"Then tell me how you felt when you saw Olivia." This was the heart of the issue; each of us petrified to lose the other.
"You're her maker-"
"And you are Artemis'."
"That doesn't mean I'm leaving you for her."
"Likewise, my Love." He was quiet for a time, and fell into my side, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.
"I guess we're both a little insecure."
"Strange, isn't it?" I tucked my hands in his pockets and pulled him closer to me.
"You have nothing to fear. I couldn't go on without you. Life would be empty." He touched my face and pulled us together. His soft, thin lips touching mine in a delicate kiss. "Please, no more breaking the heart of my newborn." He touched my ear and pulled us together again.
Leon was an amazing vampire,and an even better example that life doesn't stop at death; neither should humanity. He could teach Artemis how to straddle the divide and live as a vampire, not as a monster. He could teach the both of us.
"I love you." He kissed me once more.
"I love you." His eyes sparkled upon hearing my declaration, and I knew I would never be able to say it enough. "I love you." I touched his forehead to mine. "I love you, Leon."
"I love you, Ondre."
Ondre may have overstepped his boundaries, but in truth I wasn't angry with him. The scent of his skin and the touch of hand was more than enough to make me forget how self-serving he was. It was a trait I did not admire, but a trait of his nonetheless. He told her exactly what he said he had; that I was his, and what she felt was normal for a newborn.
I told her the same, something I'm sure that did nothing to ease the heartache she felt. She was strong though, and in time would be able to put it behind her. She was a beautiful young vampire; there was never a better time to be young, beautiful, and immortal than now.
Tomorrow I would introduce her to our Queen, but tonight I planned to do my best to instruct her on proper decorum. It would seem, however, Ondre had different plans. Olivia met the two of us at the gate with a stern look on her face.
"Wonderful." Ondre said, before ever hearing a word from Olivia.
"As you requested, your lawyer has arrived. All he needs is a few signatures to send you into bankruptcy."
"Oh hush. You're here for a while; you'd best start making friends." Ondre touched his finger to a panel on the gate and after analyzing the DNA in his blood, let us through. "I could command you to be nice to Leon. Or you could do it on your own. Either way, I'm expecting a change in your attitude."
Now it made sense, Olivia couldn't stand me. I'd never met the immortal until last night, but something about me put her off, and I had a feeling it was because of my relationship with Ondre. All I could hope was that Artemis didn't turn out like this; jealously coveting the affections given to her maker's lover.
"As your maker I command you-"
"Don't do that to her. If she doesn't want to be nice, that's on her." I touched Ondre's arm and stopped him. Olivia blatantly avoided my eyes but it made no difference to me. For all I cared, she could carry her ass back to Washington and never return. We walked through the gates and continued up the rolling driveway, reaching the house before another awkward moment could be birthed.
Instantly, I could smell the stink of humanity on my home, he was in the large room next to the entry-way. The man was older, between 40 and 50, at least, with a leather briefcase full of papers.
"Mr. Mortimer." Ondre said, stepping into the room where Mr. Mortimer sat with Artemis. She was a quiet entertainer, and once she saw us, saw her way out of the room.
"Excuse me." She said, and stepped out, walking right by me. He nodded and rose to see her out, presenting his hand to Ondre, who took it and gave it a very western handshake.
"Abraham, this is Leon, my companion, and progeny." The look on Olivia's face when he said this was too much to take and a less mature vampire would have reveled in it. I, however, stored it for a later date.
"Wonderful to meet you, Mr. Mortimer." I touched his hand. He was warm, like all mortals, and his skin touched with age; yellowed, and wrinkled.
"The pleasure is mine, Mr-?"
"Karstón, Mr. Mortimer."
"Karstón, eh?" The man shut his eyes and seemed to think for a moment. "French?" He opened his eyes. I nodded in response.
"I love France, beautiful country."
"Abraham-" Ondre interjected. "Would you mind if we continued this after our business has been settled?" I hadn't noticed it until just now but Ondre instantaneously glamoured the man, his blank face stared into the vacuum of Ondre's mind.
"Let's get on with business." He said vacantly, and turned for his briefcase.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." He touched my shoulder and together we walked into the den adjacent the entrance, sitting down the on the temporary and bland sofa across the equally dull armchair.
"These papers here will grant you right over Ondre's vast estate."
"Me?"
"Yes." He was no longer under Ondre's control, but he was much more serious than friendly. Ondre wanted to give me his money? Or control over it? I never wanted his money, it was nice, but life with him would be as equally perfect without it.
"Ondre, what does he mean?"
"I'm binding myself to you, the only way I know how."
"By giving me your money? I don't want your money." My voice had grown more emotional with each syllable. Olivia's eyes narrowed and she arched her back, seeming to take offence at my reaction.
"It's to take care of you. Should I die you'll have the resources you need to take care of yourself."
"You're planning on dying?"
"No, just planning should it happen."
"Is there even a remote possibility that you could die?"
"I could die any day, any of us could." He spoke truth, and it hurt as much as any truth before it. "It's only a precaution."
"I don't like this Ondre. I feel like a prostitute."
"I wish you wouldn't. It's the next step in our relationship. This makes us equal. It makes us partners." Regardless of what he said, I felt like a common whore, a feeling I experienced many nights under Jacqueline's employment. "Please, do it for me." He begged, touching my knee. His ghastly-green eyes sparkled and I felt my resolve melting away.
"How much money is in question?" I asked, loathing myself with every word. Olivia's face changed, although minimally, and revealed a disgusted satisfaction with my question. Ondre's lips turned up in a slight smile and he touched the side of my face.
"About 50 million dollars, American."
"50 million dollars?"
"It fluctuates, but stays around there."
Well, that was certainly more than enough money to take care of anything I could ever need, but to lay my name on his money, that was not right.
"Where did you get 50 million dollars?"
"I told you, no one writes checks as big as Nan." He touched my arm and nodded towards the human, my cue to sign the papers and shut up.
"I'll do it, but know that I don't want it."
"Noted." Nothing I said would get me out of this, as ungrateful as it was to rebuke his offer. I penned my name, several times, across the man's stack of papers. Aside from the filth I felt creeping on my skin, I felt an intense dislike of these papers; forms, with their clouded language, and indeterminable end.
"Well, that's it." Said the human.
"Thank you so much, Abraham. You may go now, Olivia, see him to his car." Ondre glamoured him again, and he tucked the papers into his briefcase and made for the door, Olivia following behind with obvious agitation.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"I suppose not." I touched his hand, and tucked my fingers in his palm.
"If anything, it gives you an excuse to get yourself a wallet."
"A wallet?" He knew how much I hated them. They were large, and bulky, and gave an unattractive blocky shape to a man's rear.
"To keep your credit card safe."
"I don't have a credit card."
"Not yet, give it a week or so. I had a copy of my card made in your name."
"So I can spend all your money?"
"If you want."
"That's not what I want."
"What is?" He and I had pawed our way closer as we spoke. Our faces now inches from each other, so close I could smell the robust, earthy scent of his skin.
"You." I tackled him to the sofa, and was met by his arms which wrapped around my waist. Our lips were together, my body wiggling against his, his pushing back on mine. I don't know how it happened, but I felt eyes on me, and saw Olivia staring from the front door with a vengeful fury in her eyes.
"Stop..." I pushed myself off of him and Olivia shot up the stairs.
"What is it?"
"Olivia-" Ondre was silent, and without saying a word, knew what I'd seen.
~Ondre
I hoped Olivia seeing this would lay her desires to rest. I hoped it, but it didn't seem to do so. In laying Leon's name on my wealth, he responded just how I knew he would. He didn't want it. I had to force him into it, and as the pen streaked the papers I could feel his anxiety.
Regardless of how he felt about the circumstances surrounding his sudden spike in value, he would appreciate it. He'd no longer be at the behest of another when it came to his desires. He'd have the resources to fulfill any wish an immortal could dream. And I would be there to celebrate his happiness alongside him.
Regardless, Leon, Artemis, and I were together in the long white-tiled room that held our indoor pool. Artemis was wearing a black one-piece swimsuit; for a woman, she looked nice but I couldn't take my eyes off of my Love.
His flesh was snugly tucked into his trunks, the skin of his back seamlessly contouring to the tight waistband. He floated in the water at the side before me with his hand on my knee.
"How much money, did you say again?" Artemis disturbed the subtle intensity between the two of us.
"50 million American Dollars."
"Holy fuck! That's a lot of money."
"It is indeed." I said to her, lifting my sunglasses over my eyes and staring down Leon's chest.
"How did you get all of it?"
"Murder, my Dear."
"Murder? Are you like, an assassin, or something?"
"He's one of the best." My Love spoke for me, and pulled himself further up my legs. "He's got a knack for regicide."
"Regicide?" What were humans teaching their offspring these days? They're all idiots.
"The killing of a King, or Queen." Leon was between my legs, his head resting on my lap.
"You killed a King? What King?"
"Jackson Smith, he was King of Virginia." Artemis sat silent while Leon began to draw tiny circles in the hair on the inside of my leg.
"How long was he King?"
"Four centuries or so." I touched the side of his head and Artemis' eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Do all the states have a King? Or Queen?"
"They do, but they're not called states, they're territories. They are independent governments with their own regent who employs sheriffs to see that the smaller areas that make up the territory are kept in order."
"So if you were King, you could pretty much do whatever you wanted?"
"I suppose so; most monarchs with that mindset don't last very long, though."
"Why wouldn't they?"
"They are killed." Leon said, turning away from me and sinking into the water.
"Who kills them? Who decides if a Queen or King is good enough to rule? Or should continue to rule, for that matter?" The girl was intelligent, and eager to learn of our culture. It was refreshing and reminded me of the days when I taught all of this to my Leon.
"Vampires such as myself remove a monarch from power."
"Who gives you the authority to dethrone a King?"
"The Authority."
"The Authority?"
Ignorant newborns.
"Have you ever seen that blond vampire on television? Nan Flanagan?"
"The spokesperson for the AVL?" The American Vampire League, a front from which the Authority fed the masses their own personal brand of mainstreaming propaganda.
"Exactly. She is a chancellor of a group of vampires known as the Authority. It is made up of a man named Roman Zimojic, who serves as Guardian-"
"Guardian? Of what?"
"The blood and book of Lilith."
"Who's Lilith?"
"Apparently she was the first vampire, and was made in God's image. I don't believe it. The Authority is nothing but smoke, mirrors, and blood. They claim to be thousands of years old, but it's common knowledge they came together only five centuries ago. A few like-minded immortals got together and have since been attempting to integrate immortals into mortal society. They're responsible for that synthetic shit your maker is so fond of."
"It's not half as bad as you think." He said, climbing from the pool. Once out he spun around and began shaking droplets of water from his hair. The water rushed over the divine ridges his ribs made in this flesh; he had the muscles of an ox with the shape of a willow. His muscles and bones giving his skin dips and curves well-fed bodies lack. He was thin, but far from a skeleton.
"So there are others in this Authority?"
"Yes. There's Nan, Roman, Salome, Kibwe, Dieter, Rosalyn, Nora, Alexander...Have I forgotten any?" He turned, holding up his hands, counting the names on his fingers.
"That's all of them."
"That's a lot of vampires...How old are they?"
"The chancellors?" She nodded.
"Well, Nan's over 800. Dieter and Salome are both over two-thousand years old."
"Two-thousand!?"
"Quite a thought isn't it? To see thousands of years pass, and never age a day." Leon pulled a stray collection of hair from the side of his face and tucked it behind his ear. "There's also a Magister, they control continents. They are above monarchs, but below the Authority."
"Have you ever met a member of the Authority?"
"I have. I've seen Nan several times."
"Are you close?" Leon laughed again, as did I.
"I don't think anyone is close to Nan." Leon spoke up. His voice was joking, but it did not hide the truth in what he said.
"It was business, nothing more."
"And now you're working for the new Queen of Virginia?"
"I suppose."
"You don't know?"
"She doesn't know what the fuck she's doing at any given moment. She's all dresses, and hair, and parties." Leon pranced around the room in her mannerisms; swaying his hips in the sophisticated way she did, walking on the balls of his feet with his chin towards the sky. It was absolutely hilarious. I giggled a brutish, snorting thing and watched as he mocked our monarch.
He smiled at me and turned his head to the water.
"You'll see soon, you'll be meeting her tomorrow."
"Ondre, there's someone here to see you." Olivia walked into the room. "It's the Queen."
"The Queen?"
"The Queen?" They both asked. Olivia nodded and I felt panic swelling in my stomach.
"Good evening, Gentlemen, Ladies." Queen Serana Trollona stood in our doorway, wearing a bathing suit.
Fuck me.
She saw me, there's no way she didn't see me. Olivia wore a sick smile from behind Serana and I knew she was pleased with her timing. However, the look our Queen's face revealed nothing; she was just as vacant as I'd ever seen her, perhaps with the hint of a smile.
"I hope I'm not intruding, your progeny here said it was no trouble." Queen Serana looked to Ondre who threw his eyes towards Olivia.
"No, it's no trouble at all. Welcome to our home, Your Majesty." I appeared before her, taking a bow before turning to the side and calling Artemis. "Artemis, this is your Queen." I stepped aside slightly and Artemis pulled herself from the water, and stood before Serana.
"Your Majesty." Her voice was awkward, as it had been when she first met me, but she crossed her legs and bowed, taking the Queen's hand.
"Please, I'm in your house, there's no need for such formality." Serana touched Artemis' chin and lifted her head. "You're a beautiful young vampire; it's my honor to welcome you into my Queendom."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"To what might I owe this visit?" Ondre said at my side.
"I heard you acquired a new home and had to see it for myself."
"You heard, did you?"
"An eleven million dollar purchase does not go unnoticed."
"11.8"
"Don't you think you overpaid?" She looked up to the porcelain ceiling and stared with great intent at the cast iron lotus-like lights that hung suspended by long, metallic cables.
"Perhaps, but I'm not one to wait. Money has a way of lubricating the legal process."
"It does indeed." I could have sworn to have seen a smile run up the corners of her mouth, but to be honest, she appeared no different.
"Have you done anything to the house? Or did you buy it this way?"
"Ondre had a chandelier installed in our bedroom, but as far as I know, that's the extent of it." Queen Serana was quiet, and I saw her looking to the golden sides of the pool. "Would you like to see it?"
"Perhaps, but the night is young; I'd like to test your waters. Do you mind?"
Did the Queen of Virginia really come to our home to swim in our pool?
No. That was impossible.
Maybe.
After her swim, Queen Serana insisted on seeing our bedroom, something I'd have been more keen on showing had my miserable failure of sexual adventure not been lying on the floor. I think Ondre was able to grab it before she saw it, but she certainly saw him burst into our room. We needed a bedside table, desperately; something that, through our eyes, we conveyed equally.
"That is lovely." The Queen said, stepping into our spacious boudoir.
"It is. I don't even know how he got it."
"Ah, what a lovely vase." She said it with elegance, emphasizing the first vowel. It was the man-sized speckled stone vase she gave to Ondre during my time in New York. It was a beautiful addition to our room, giving a glittering darkness to contrast the crystals hanging from the ceiling.
"You are too kind, to bring attention to the only part of the house to come of your charity." This was quite possibly the one of the rudest, yet most eloquently worded insults I ever head Ondre spit. The Queen could have had his fangs for it, but she obviously knew better. Regardless of her title, Ondre was older and stronger, and she was outnumbered.
"If you would, could I have a moment of your time?" She looked to Ondre.
"You may."
"In private?"
"You may not." Her eyes narrowed, and she titled her head my direction.
"Come now, I only wish to talk."
"Artemis, leave us, please." Ondre said to her. She looked at me, and I nodded my head. Reluctantly, she ducked her head and exited our room, shutting the door behind her.
"I come to offer you a job. I want to make you Sheriff of Area 41." Ondre was quiet, studying the Queen's face. The two of them were acting as if I wasn't there, something I took as a cue to listen and observe.
"Why make me sheriff of the area you reside in?"
"You're the greatest killer the centuries know; you were the only choice for the position. I have tasted your strength, and you possess power beyond your years. The way I understand it, you were made by an ancient named Zuriel, said to have walked the earth for millennia."
"Zuriel was the greatest of our kind; you know nothing of what you speak."
"I know that were he alive today, he'd have the Authority under his thumb. And I know his power and his wisdom lives on in you. You're a wise vampire, you're able to see every possible scenario and adapt to them without a lapse in judgment. I see that now, the night you attacked me in my home I knew you had the strength and the will to see yourself through anything, and lead those around you with a calm and subtle control. You're the only vampire I'd trust to see to my safety."
"I know it's not my life you've placed value on, and I do not hold that against you. What is good for you-" She looked at me now, then back to Ondre. "Is good for me. With my name behind your word you will have the power to protect your Queen, your Lover, your nest mates, and yourself."
This was why she showed up here tonight. Ondre could be a Sheriff; Ondre could be King if he wanted it. He was a powerful vampire, able to get into the minds of those around him and influence them through gentle coercion and not-so-subtle violence. I often wondered if he was gifted with some manner of undead telepathy; the way he could read me to the core, but that was the understanding between two souls tied together.
The position of Sheriff was not a job of leisure; he would be the authority in the area. Vampires moving in to the area would have to make themselves known to him, appearing at our home and making their intentions clear. He would be the peace keeper, dealing out his Queen's brand of justice to those who happen to find themselves on the receiving end of his fury.
I watched him thinking the Queen's offer through and without cause I went to stand beside him, taking his hand in mine. He turned his head and touched his lips to the side of my face.
"I will be your Sheriff, Queen Serana, only after you've deposited a lucrative sum of money to the account of my companion here. Consider it my bonus."
"Ondre-" I touched his side.
"What?"
"I don't want any more of your money!"
"Then call it my money." Queen Serana raised an eyebrow to me and held her hand out to Ondre. He gave me a kiss and took her hand.
"Welcome to the Court of Virginia, Sheriff Ondre."
The Queen's face definitely bore a smile, a pleased, satisfied smile. Ondre wore the intense look I so often saw when he was amid something he didn't like. The Queen left soon after and when Ondre and I were alone I sat beside him and took his hand in mine.
"What is it, my Love?" He looked up at me, pressure behind his glittering eyes. "Ondre-" I touched the back of his hand to my cheek. "Please, tell me." He scrunched his face and looked away from me. His eyes shut and I saw a drop of blood fall from his face; he was crying.
My barbarian was crying before me, for reasons unknown.
"I can't do this, Leon."
"You can't do what?"
"I can't go without you. If I'm sheriff, the easiest way to get to me, is through you."
"No one will harm me."
"They will kill you! There are forces at work here beyond my control, Leon!" He was loud, tears streaming down his face. "I can't protect you forever." His head fell, and hung limp.
"You have always protected me."
"I've put you in so much danger, danger you can't comprehend."
"There is nothing I cannot face with you by my side." He looked up at me and touched my face, pulling a streak of crimson across his finger.
"I promise you, Leon, no harm will come to you while I walk this Earth."
"You say that like a day will come when I'll be forced to go on without you..." He was quiet, and tucked his hand behind my neck. I fell to his lap, where he wiped the bloody tears from my face as his dropped down on me.
"Should that day come, promise me you'll go on."
That was impossible. He was my everything. I couldn't think without him by my side. The very idea of facing a world without him was too much to bear, and I felt the blood run rapidly down the sides of my face.
"I know...I know-" He shut his eyes and pulled me to his chest, holding me close in the most grievous and heartbreaking embrace I'd ever felt.
