Drake tasked his queen with one all important task that was only superceded by her duty to serve him to the best of his needs. This task – as he called it a mother of all tasks – would consume the entirety of the month. His army of turned familiars needed a leader to trust in – and in his absence – she would be their leader. Perhaps this cycle, his queen would outlast his advisers because obviously his advisers couldn't hold together for the sake of the vampire race.

He needed purebloods, she had an army, and they would conquer the world. Secluded in an office on the second floor, Emery Nowankowski faced her 'children' in the famously awkward silent acceptance that they were all pawns in Drake's plans. " I vote we all pick a name and whenever we reference the task, it'll be easier. I think Overlord is tad overkill," She glanced along the conference table.

" Bloodlust," Leverett suggested.

" That's too straightforward," Julian snapped back. " It should be an inside joke,"

" I vote Dinosaur," The quietest member spoke up. The newest member only joined their ranks yesterday from Russia. Liev* Vasiliev served a vicious vampire who never intended to turn him, and when Drake offered him a better future, he accepted. To be turned by Drake's Queen, a new turnblood herself, assured him that his previous handler would not demand satisfaction. " It is befitting to the task at hand," His thick accent caused everyone to pause in their reflections.

Finally everyone nodded. " Here, here… Dinosaur is both an inside joke and not straightforward," Julian stated as he readied his pen and legal pad. " Do we all agree on Dinosaur?" Everyone's hand rose.

Satisfied that they properly named their operation, Emery spread the printed lists across the table. The rest made to follow suit with the copies given to them. " Operation Dinosaur is aimed at gaining the favor of purebloods but ultimately their resources. I don't care anymore for the high and mighty dumbass than I do the fact that he has millions in an offshore account and at least three capable vampires willing to obey his commands,"

" Why not more?" Liev* demanded.

" Mr. Vasiliev, all we need are three people. Someone to blend in. Someone to stand out. Someone capable," Emery listed her pre-requisites for assets before engaging assets to accumulate more assets.

Leverett sighed. " And which one are we to you?" No one bore her ill will. She tended to them after she fed on them and then checked in on them during the two days they would spend without responsibilities before being fatally stabbed on the sacrificial table in the initiation chamber. Everything about her spoke well of her character, even the little smile she had when she thought no one was looking.

" Liev* blends, Leverett is simply capable, and Julian loves to stand out-" Even now the Brit colored red at the attention focused on him. " Although he is British…" The last part lingered over the bonded group in all good humor.

" Just because I am British-" He pointed his pen at her without any fear of repercussion.

" You should relax, Julian. I am only teasing. Now onto business," Her tone took a warning tilt. " We need money and we need people. We can make do with one or the other and only achieve half our goals,"

Silence overwhelmed the table. Four people new to the vampire authority tasked with the impossible - separating vampires from their money.

" What do we know of purebloods? Collectively, as familiars, you have more experience in this than I," She swallowed hard and wanted to be more educated. To lead, she needed a better education on all things vampire. As of right now, she only stood above them all by laying down for the progenitor. " What are they always pursuing?"

Julian and Leverett started to argue about how much wealth swayed purebloods versus how much wealth actually swayed purebloods. Liev* leaned in toward Emery. " Might I suggest the food chain? Humans are their weakness,"
" How so?"

" His Lordship chose you to be at his side. Other purebloods…"

" -have playthings that they favor?" She ended the sentence for him. He nodded, embarrassed. " That is a good lead, but it could take weeks to even hear hint of a rumor-"

Both Julian and Leverett stopped arguing, facing her. She sighed. Liev* leaned back not wishing to be part of an unspoken plan. " You could simply ask for their loyalty,"

" Ask? You mean beg,"

" There is a difference between asking and begging," Leverett said carefully. " If you come with gifts and an offer of peace, promises, and whatever other enticement, it is asking. If you go with nothing in addition, then it is begging,"

A slow clap started from the door, startling them all. " Politics never tires," Drake turned to Emery. " May I enter?" She waved him to take a seat.

" What do we have to offer besides Drake as an ally?" She took the opportunity of his arrival to stimulate the fledgling conversation.

Liev* cleared his throat. " There is of course the knowledge that the Talos House collected on their allies and enemies. Blackmail is a strong incentive with the proper leverage,"

Emery held up her hand. " What enemies do the houses have besides each other? Do we know of any hunters who'd be willing to join with us?"

" Blade," Drake announced.

" I thought the FBI apprehended him again," The news canvassed the story so thoroughly she believed him the serial killer with the longest kill list in known history and vampires to be a myth. Conspiracy theorists eager to latch onto anything countered vampires were real. At the time, she dismissed it all. Her brother started dating the daughter of a French millionaire while working in France under contract of a mercenary organization. Now, however, if someone were to say faeries existed and Changelings were real, she'd believe them.

Julian and Liev* started praying in the vampire language. Leverette waited till they finished their prayers. " He was freed by a rogue Nightstalker cell the vampires failed to flush out," How he knew this he did not elaborate.

" He's in the United States attempting to eliminate the House of Chthon," Drake shared. " He's no more the enemy than the ally, and should he stake you, Emery, you will be ashed,"

" Noted," Dying ceased to frighten her as much as living currently did. " So we contact him first? Or do we contact the purebloods first?"

" We'll contact Blade first, and then we'll take the blackmail and broker an alliance with the House of Erebus. Emery, Liev* will come with me. Julian and Leverett will stay with you to sort through the database,"

" I'll need Emma then,"

" Emma will always be yours to do with as you please," Drake answered her. " I will return to Paris once I have made contact," Liev* followed Drake with more relief than his comrades currently were permitted.

The laptop now became their favored tool as they started perusing through the database Danica Talos so wisely ordered created and maintained. The precision of a surgeon matched their own growing interest as more details unearthed connections not even the former familiars suspected. Before they glanced at the clock four hours passed and Emma dutifully recorded the random details that caught their curiosity.

The running commentary bordered on improper. " Oh, look at that. The purebloods do like their playthings after all," She referenced to her remark to Liev* earlier. " I wonder if he's still alive – no. Blade needs to slow down his crusade,"

" That's not the only thing that needs to slow down. This asshole is running through familiars like a bag of M&Ms to a fat kid,"

" Experimenting with the vampire strain is suicide. Haven't they learned from their own lack of ability to walk in sunlight? What did they think would happen? That click-boom, daywalker!"

All of them laughed at the audacity of the hope. Emma allowed herself to relax as she noted the way Leverett took his cues from Emery and Emery teased Julian mercilessly. Leverett, 20, Emery, 25, and Julian, 32, all hated vampires of their own, yet on the command of the progenitor jumped to conquer the world. The Frenchman, American, and Brit bonded more in the short acquaintance than they might've in a mortal lifespan.

" What do you think Drake actually is? I know he's Sumerian, but what actually is he? A god? A demi-god?"

" He's Sumerian, and Sumerians worshipped city-gods. That makes him a god,"

" Yes, but Drake almost died at Blade's hand,"

" He didn't die though,"

" Gods are invulnerable-"

" Does it matter what he is? He is our creator, and that means we respect his existence,"

They argued about this for several more minutes before moving onto the turnbloods they individually knew. Unfortunately those they associated with held no relation to who they wanted to reach. Retiring they argument, they sought sleep to attack the problem tomorrow. Tomorrow offered more hints and information, more inappropriate conversations, and more dead ends than a city.

Drake returned to find them piecing together bits of information to houses and individuals on multiple white boards in different colors. " You went through the entire database?"

Leverett stopped writing out a name in blue. " Half the database. We could use Blade's memory if he's willing to lend it,"

" Emery, what is the takeaway?" Drake asked as he looked it over with increasing interest and growing confusion.

She moved to her feet from the computer. " Well, we determined that the houses themselves have distinct tribes. Tribes make the houses, blah blah. In all reality, the Vampire Nation is just another House, and the Talos understood that," She pointed out Danica Talos's private network on one white board. " Damaskinos, who's been around for far too long, has no surviving child. He killed two of them in the Reaper Affair. The others, we are assuming, died through various manners similar. That's old news. Talos however uncovered something more. Danica, however she did it, discovered that Damaskinos had for a long time experimented with genetics. The Talos imported it to dogs, but Damaskinos actually followed Frost's example and tried to make a half-breed like Blade. He failed in every time,"

" So you're saying that there could be others like that in the world? More Blades?" His voice lifted.

She nodded. " Possible, but Blade's mother was bitten hours before the c-section. If the baby isn't born right away, we can only assume that they kill the mother and consequently rot away in the womb," A shiver went down her spine. " Damaskinos tried the natural way, but that failed and the Reapers came next. The takeaway is that the child is possible. They might be dead, in hiding, or what have you,"

Julian related more names and connections to Leverett.

" What else did Talos uncover?" His mind furiously worked to commit the growing web to memory.

She sat on the table. " Nothing out of the ordinary,"

" And what is ordinary?"

Julian pointed out the webs of networks. " All vampires have one rule – do not intermix with houses unless you must. The House of Leichen and the House of Chthon for example are sworn enemies,"

" Go on," Drake assumed that red meant death as he counted the number of familiars various vampires killed. A 'graveyard' white board listed the dead familiars recorded in the database.

" From what we know, purebloods don't make public appearances," Emery pointed to the white board by Drake. " It's a short list, well shorter than our graveyard,"

Emma entered the office with fresh coffee.

" It's a start," Drake conceded.

" How did Liev* perform?" She poured herself a cup of coffee, more out of habit than necessity.

" He performed well. He's working with Blade, and another person will join your ranks,"

Leverett and Julian both exchanged weary glances. They remembered the visions upon turning – Emery laying in the dark of a chamber, huddled in fear. Those visions never shared with anyone but themselves, and Emery withheld her own visions of Drake.

" This person is a hunted former associate of a criminal organization. He was the familiar of the Erebus house. You will use him to build our own ranks of familiars. I want capable people. Soldiers, fighters, politicians, the wealthy,"

As Leverett and Julian were none of these, they wondered if this would overthrow their budding queen. " It appears we are to welcome more company rapidly,"

" The waterfall was going to build, Julian, it was only a matter of time," Emery corrected him quickly. " How soon?"

As Drake gave her a perspective time and praise on their progress, the two men counted down the days of their unfettered influence on the still pliable Emery. Two more days of hard work filled the office with white boards, a depressing graveyard, and the long list of people to recruit or observe. Finally faced with a stopped flow of information they began to plot the various operations Drake demanded.

Operation Dinosaur was always in effect. On top of that, Operation Spider would pursue the web of familiars and Operation Sunlight would introduce their own houses and blood banks. With an open wound of free flowing cash and resources, Drake launched his bid for power and the authority of his name and a handful of turnbloods. Emery distrusted Blade, always counting the half-breed as an enemy.

Drake's recruit, an irish man by the name Fergall Murphy, arrived in Paris. Emery walked into the initiation chamber expecting a nervous man. She found a red headed older man sitting calmly in the chair. The moment their eyes met she wished Drake turned him instead. " Hello,"

" I am ready," His thick accent made her wonder how Drake found him in the US. Had he fled there?

She made herself comfortable on his lap, holding his head in her hands. " Are you?"

He never blinked.

The lure of blood called forth fangs. She wasted no time on feeding from him. His blood, always repulsive only because it belonged to Murphy, sated her appetite. For his strength, he hesitated to drink from her wrists. She forced it against his mouth and forced his head forward until finally he lapped and suckled the blood.

After she pulled her wrist back, she leaned over and whispered into his ear. " 72 hours. In the last four hours, you will lay on that table and suffer a dagger through the heart by Drake. All you were is no more. Welcome to the House of Dagon,"