Emery's web expanded slowly, manipulated by Drake's choices in people and the still dangling offer to Blade who she relied on circulated between Julian, Leverett, and Fergall. Leverett now permanently aided Drake in his dealings with the Carolos faction. Drake's test for Leverett, the extermination of the Jairus faction, hovered over the young vampire's head. Drake's attentions to her increased becoming a twisted game for the woman's mind to lose itself in.
It is one thing to 'romance' the Vampire Nation into obeying him. It is another to lavish her with constant compliments, rough sex, and then turn around and unleash her on paranoid vampires only to yank her back to his side and crack the whip at everyone. She believed that he dangled her as a punishment - her inexperience with the numerous demands and slyness frustrated the best of vampires. Never once had she seen him be angry when they failed to show significant progress.
" Drake," She asked of him as they visited the initiation chamber. " Why take a queen if you are capable without one?"
He blocked her against the wall, hands against her wrists. His facial construction contorted into the red demonic monster he entered the world as. A shiver of fear ran up her spine, the gut instinct twisting. He smelled different in his true form - almost as if he defied all blood typing and just created his own blood type. " Ask what you truly wish to know," His tongue licked up her neck, teeth teasing skin.
She hated this - the fear of being killed by him. Being offered as bait so that he can lure Blade into another showdown. " Why did you choose me?"
In a flash he went from gripping her wrists to holding her by the throat with one hand while the other lifted the house of dagon silver and jade medallion he required her to wear at all times in public. " A woman in danger. A woman who laid eyes on me without screaming. A woman to turn into the ultimate queen. If she withstands the politics and destructive humanity that pollutes this earth," He hissed in supreme vehemence. His eyes glowed, grip tightening. " A woman who knows I am patient but not naive or soft on inaction. You bow and pay lip service, mold to my body for pleasures of forbidden pleasure, and loathe me for making you want more. Even now you hate me, but in the rising rays of light, you will lay beneath me, moaning my name submitting to my will. I smell your growing lust, and in your lovely humane soul you wince at your own inaction against my will. You tell me why I choose to take a queen,"
She flinched under the intense stare. Beast to prey. Lover to lover. Abuser to victim. " It's fun," She uttered the words that Fergall said days prior to the same question. " I'm nothing more than a doll,"
" Hate me for objectifying you," He dared her.
She wanted to look away. He tilted her chin up and turned her head, his teeth ripping into her throat. Drake savored the gushing blood, licking at the broken skin to heal it's broad edges. She stopped fighting once the lightheadedness controlled her basic instincts of flight. His voice weaved into the very fabric of life as she clung to him, taking on an echo effect, almost dream like.
" Soon an innocent woman will be lead into this chamber, and you will feed from her. Bleed her dry," He held her chin in place and looked her in the eye. " Death will become you and you will become death. You are not a nurturing mother to my army. You are my vicious queen who will ruthlessly lead it into victory and submission of all our foes. I will continue this lesson repeatedly until you learn to be the proper queen to Dagon,"
He may as well have spit on her, for the power of his order dragged her into darkness and primal urges she foolishly attempted to suppress. In vain it snarled at her and rattled the 'cage'. Emery wrapped her arms around her knees drawn to her chest. Her body started to exhibit lack of control, morality intermixing with desire and necessity to morph into a twisted heap of lies and illusion. Her hatred for Drake strengthened, coddled in a womb of wounded morality and lost strings to mortality.
Her last clear memory is that of a woman pushed into the room by Drake before the door closed and locked. Her next clear memory evolved from hazy, waning bloodlust. Covered in blood head to toe, strength turned into a side effect of a powerful euphoric drug-like possession. She looked down at her hands and past them to spy the source of vampiric euphoria. A woman pale of skin and no pulse or body warmth lay in on a blood splattered floor, limbs twisted in grotesque angles.
Slowly clapping hands turned her attention to Drake in his preferred human form. She clenched her fists at her slow walked toward her. Her arm raised up against conscience choice, Drake catching her fist in a much larger fist. His fangs bared in a snarl. " You should learn to control yourself better if you expect to face down purebloods. The 'Vampire Nation' is made of up of twelve houses. Demaskinos lead one house. Your intel was wrong," He squeezed her fist, igniting a full array of pain. " I learned that Blade when I should have learned it from you,"
Emery cried out as blood leaked out between Drake's fingers. " I didn't know,"
He lowered her arm back to her side still holding her fist hostage. " Ignore the pain. It's all mental," He instructed calmly. " You were not a familiar. Your familiars failed you and for that they are punished," His detachment and bare seedling of humanity stopped him from understanding her inexperience with vampires - or he just didn't care. She took solace in that he didn't blame her for this failure.
Drake pulled her close by the wrist and tended to the injury he purposely inflicted.
The clean up crew entered to clear out the fresh victim. Drake lead his queen away from the initiation chamber with growing confidence her humanity dwindled each destructive violent domestic abusive attack he committed against her. He helped her bathe in the shower, her scent ripe and ready for the plucking from the likes of him. He carried her off to bed to remind her who she answered to in and out of it. Afterwards he sent her back to the conference room to regroup with her advisers. She noticed each person using only one hand for their various needs and tasks. Drake removed their non=dominant hands ( presumably). Her hand still hurt, the fresh blood easing the immediate pain without instant healing.
She sat down silently at the head of the resin and wood artistically designed conference table. Her gaze tracked across the chunks of wood in anger and fury at Drake's method of punishment and instruction. " Welcome to today's meeting. Our target," She accessed the laptop permanently stationed in the conference room, chicken pecking her password. " Is none other than House Erebus. It is the largest house of the Vampire Nation and will need to be the most divided. House Leichen extended an invitation to discuss negotiations,"
" At the very least they won't destroy humans on sight," Julian faced her, tucking his handless arm on his lap. " Have you accepted?"
" I think the better question is why did they extend it, and more so would I be discussing it if we were only going to debate it? Approval has already signed off. Emma!" The door opened and Emery's assistant stepped through the door. " We'll need to send invitations to the House of Leichen and meet on neutral ground. Are you aware of neutral grounds?"
Emery's assistant since day one, Emma understood her place in the House of Dagon and also understood her mortality depended on Emery's good will. That said, she also obeyed orders from Dagon/Drake to not help them more than necessary or risk being fed upon by new bloods.
" I will reference maps immediately for suitable rendezvous locations," She bowed her head and stepped back, hand still still on the flat rectangular handle.
" Fergall will help you. His experience as a former bodyguard," Emery looked directly at the irish man and nodded toward the french woman. " And courier will be of great use," Her jaw set. Drake handicapped her people and now she needed to wait till they all regrew their hands before meeting with the chosen Leichen member. " Julian, I need to know who our familiars are, and if they can be used to arrange it without being killed by Leichen,"
Leverett stopped attempting to fix his shirt sleeve. " A true queen wouldn't care,"
Emma bowed out of the room. Fergall wordlessly obeyed the snappy order.
Her eyes landed on the young man. " I don't care what he-who-will-not-be-acknowledged has harped on. I care about preserving assets and resources. Vampires may own governments but what good is wasting resources? I prefer to keep mine breathing," She tucked her hands out of sight, the claws sharper and longer than the average vampire.
Emma and Fergall leaned over a large map of Paris that marked territorial lines of the houses. After selecting a location they google mapped it and viewed the area via last satellite image taken.
Emery breathed deeply and batted down the primal urges to rip Drake a new - new something! " Julian, who do we know is in Leichen?" She scrutinized her map on the wall of people still alive.
" They are the most peaceful of vampires. Largest blood banks. It wouldn't be hard to scope them out," He answered. Everyone forced their eyes up out of fearful respect to the punishment.
Checking the time on the laptop , Emery smiled. She loved Paris. France teased her with locations she had yet to visit and she needed to deal with politics. Come to think of it, why select a location in the city except for convenience? It's Europe! " Emma, check out french sites that receive tourists. Julian, we'll use a french familiar to meet with one of their familiars,"
Leverett pinned his notepad with his arm stub and snapped the pen unintentionally. " I'll have Emma call him," He tossed the remains at the garbage can and missed.
Standing, Emery reached down to pick up the laptop and flexed her hand Drake injured. It healed, a tingling sensation overtaking any other current nerve sensation. Putting it out of her mind, she plotted how to protect her people. Whether this is another lesson intended by Drake, she still wanted to kill Drake. Between the show and sex, she reflected on whether she'd help Blade try to kill Drake. Answer? None. Therefore at the moment, Emery tolerated her human shame for not fleeing an abusive significant other.
Not that Drake permitted it.
Holding her head high, Emery walked past Emma and Fergall to the tower apartment that she shared with Drake. The many steps helped her anger fade, and by the time she reached the last floor before the apartment she stepped into the elevator and prepared herself to deal with the one monster that destroyed anything normal. She punched in the keycode and then slid the identification card through the sensor, unlocking the door. Placing the laptop on the counter of the open planned kitchen, she slipped out of her heels and removed the obligatory jewelry.
Mira wordlessly scrubbed out the kitchen sink of blood. Emery listened to the coarse grinding of the abrasive pad as if it were a body dragging on the floor over gravel. She walked toward Mira and stopped a breath from her before stepping backward equally silent. Full blooded effect wooed her entire being in harmony. Flexing her hands again, she sensed something different about herself. Probably another vampire thing, she ultimately decided before taking a seat and sprawling out to think.
Being the queen of Dagon is frustrating and impossible at times. For an ancient being who decided modern humans are weak and stupid, he certainly liked to play games with them as a cat would bat a mouse around before finally killing it. Leverett's mission to eliminate the Jairus faction of the former Demaskinos lead house is the only mission Drake forbid her involvement with. But! That didn't mean she couldn't assist Julian in his own rite of passage as Drake had yet to forbid her from helping with that.
Already briefed to not overly help any of the punished vampires, queen included, Emma evaded Julian's attempt to use her to call their french police officer; Leverett's demand for search results of the Leichen's known safe houses; and Fergall's sexual advances . In respect to Fergall, he creeped her out both by age and character. Unknown to Emery, but not to Drake, Emery's brother received a 'bonus' in exchange for Emery become Drake's queen.
Rhys Nowakowski fortune of 100,000 euros turned into a down payment for a home he'd co-own with his soon-to-be-wife. Emma's responsibility existed as long as Rhys lived - to ensure his comfort and life of ease. Drake's commitment to Emery extended beyond his possessing her body, mind, and mortality. It enveloped the immediate family as a preventive measure to encourage his queen's loyalty.
Emma considered it a low move and prayed that earning a comfortable six figure per year allowed her to look past these moments of discomfort. Drake coldly informed her that she'd always answer to him or his queen, and death by old age nigh impossible. She hoped that Emery took pity on her and gave her a merciful, short, painless death before the progenitor of evil took action.
She started at the hand on her neck. " Are you intending to take tomorrow off for your anniversary?" Julian stuffed his hand in his pocket and shield the other tucking his arm behind his back.
Dusk settled over them. Julian's resistance to solar rays shielded him from suffering debilitating ashing. Compared to Fergall Murphy, she let her guard down and relaxed. " It must be hard to never share a bed with your lady friend. Do you miss her?"
His gaze shifted to her wedding ring, a small diamond on a silver band. " At times,"
" I have to go. I'm already late," She shifted her jacket sleeve back to reveal a gold, ruby encrusted wrist watch.
He stepped back toward the tower building that was many things - home, office, and feeding pit. " May you enjoy your evening, Madame Beaufort," Watching her step into the company car, Julian's jaw grinded. He smelled Emery before she strolled out of the building still garbed in the same clothes from their brief meeting. " Madade Dagon,"
Her lip twitched. " Fuck him," She leaned against the building and crossed her arms. " I need you to do something," Julian faced her ready to receive orders.