Upon returning home where the rest of the clan resided, I was greeted by the guard at the front post by the gate.
"Mistress Seline! How was your meal?" he asked, as if by exchanging pleasantries he would be in the graces of vampires; the guard wanted to be a vampire himself.
"Satisfactory, Emile. How fair things while I was away?" I asked, and he looked at his clipboard, notes written upon them.
"The twins, Therissa and Jayden left about an hour ago for their meals, Master Tomsworth has just returned, and the perimeter check revealed nothing." He reported, looking up at me with a smile, as if that would satisfy me.
"Very well, continue on." I mused, walking through the gate, and he shut it behind me, shouting his goodbye, but I paid him no mind.
Slinking up to the front door, I opened it and walked in, seeing some of my brood-mates lying around talking amongst themselves and waiting for something to happen; as if they were to do anything if anything happened anyways. A servant with a silver serving tray walked up to me on shaking feet, his fear spiking when our eyes locked. He bowed, offering a wine glass of blood up, but I merely walked past him and headed up the grand staircase to the left of the room. I couldn't tell you if I wanted to go to my room or to see Master Tomsworth, my decision was not made up, but I was walking the hallway that lead to both rooms. My decision was made for me when I spotted another servant leaving his quarters with a fearful expression on her face as she headed towards me.
"Master Tomsworth would like to see you in his office." She managed out, her voice quivering and missing at some places during her sentence, but I got what she was attempting to speak. I nodded once, and she coward past me and down the stairs to the servant's chambers or the kitchen, they were in the same relative area.
I walked down the long hallway slowly, knowing he could hear me from here, as well as every vampire in the premises. I knocked on his door when I reached it, gently, as if to gently wake him from his thoughts, or paperwork, which-ever he was doing. He was constantly writing, either his thoughts down, or doing paperwork or reading.
"enter." His voice commanded, firm yet tolerant, he had fed recently, and his usual mood swings were gone, now was a good time to talk to him freely.
"You sent for me, Master Tomsworth?" I asked, walking into the room. He gestured to the chair opposite of his by his desk, and I shut the door behind me. I walked across the carpeted room and sat gracefully in the chair, wanting to read his mind, but that would result in punishment, or seeing something I did not want to see, or need to know about.
"Have you fed?" he asked, and I nodded.
"Good. I do not need my second in command neglecting herself to take care of the clan. There is talk of enemies gathering to take us down, and we need to be on alert." He said, getting straight down to business. I looked at him, surprised that someone would try to take down a clan as large as us, but then realizing most of us were high powered aristocratic vampires from centuries ago, I can see their reasons as to why.
"What do you wish to do about it?" I asked, I wanted to hear his plans before countering them with my own. My centuries of experience of fighting and protection has lead us through many battles, victorious.
"I want to either get rid of the problem, or disband them. I want to know their numbers, strengths and weaknesses. I want you to plant fear and doubt, and instill in their minds that they have no will to fight. Gather information if you cannot do that, and report back here. In the dark tomorrow, Raul will go with you. Take a faithful if you must, but keep the party small. What say you?" He said, and I thought for a moment. My mind was racing, this is what I was good for, battle and planning, cunning and outthinking my opponent. I wasn't Tomsworth's mate for 400 years for nothing.
"Nothing, it is a good plan. I am going to retire till morrow. Goodnight, Master Tomsworth." I said, standing up from his desk and leaving, heading to my room. I couldn't help but think as I walked down the elongated hallway to my chambers.
I was beautiful, smart, and ruthless, and I got the job done. But I didn't love him. No, he was my boss, and my boss only. He only picked me as his mate for political standing, power, greed, and for wanting control over me. I never much cared for the clan either, my first clan had been slain by them in a ruthless attack for power when I was only two hundred years old, some eight hundred years ago. I was only the physical age of twenty those years ago, and I have only physically aged myself five years, so that of a twenty five year old sense then. Tomsworth was in his thirty's in appearance, the oldest looking of all of us. There are many in this clan that are five hundred years old, looking that of a twenty year old would, some even going as young as eighteen to attract more prey.
Most of us were born vampires, but the ones that were turned and were female were sterile. I was born a vampire, but Raul, and a couple of others were born mortal. They will never have the power the born have, that extra supernatural ability. For Tomsworth it came in calling others to his side, not seduction, but merely to share the same lust for power. I could read and manipulate others minds, going as far as cleaning their minds, controlling them from continents away, speaking to them, and seeing and hearing from their eyes, like possession. There was one vampire here that could even manipulate fire, but he used it for shows instead of protecting others.
Born vampires were higher up the status then others, but there was still made vampires in social hierarchy. They could not control their age, permanently frozen at the age they were turned. They were not immune to holy water, and garlic and could only barely control their bloodlust, with no supernatural powers. They could also never reproduce with their own made vampires, only the males were able to spread their lineage, and could only create half-lings, half mortal, half immortal. They were often more mortal then not, and served as good servants. Some were even used for breeding more Halflings, they were very fertile, some were used as blood or sex slaves, and others just maids. They were easy to train, easy to make, and easy to kill, and only one in a thousand chance of them having supernatural abilities.
Born vampires on the other hand, could not make Halflings, or want to. We were in control of our blood lust, our age appearances, immune to garlic, holy water, sunlight, but we only had a select few to have supernatural abilities, it was more common in Halflings and made vampires, but only barely. To have a power was rare, and treated as such; if it was of importance, you went up in the social ladder, and learned how to use it. If it was useless, you stayed where you were. All born vampires had slight mind abilities, able to call to servants or humans for blood, or to control their emotions to an extent, and our bite was euphoria to them, and highly addicting. Made vampires and half-lings could only have their bite painful, and it made it harder for them to get meals. Born vampires were often called high bloods, or bluebloods, or purebloods. Halflings were faster and stronger than normal humans, but died just as easily. Made vampires had too many human tendencies, and born vampires were unnaturally fast, strong, smart, beautiful and had that air or command that any lower born vampire or vampire, or mortal-animal included- would submit to.
Unfortunately, we were few in number, only a few thousand. That was the total vampire world, including the Halflings. Werewolves and vampire hunters came together about three hundred years ago to take us out. There are seventeen clans left, the last of the royal houses after the royal family were brutally murdered in their sleep by the werewolf king all those years ago.
Yes, I remember them, I was friends with their daughter, Anabelle, as was my clan at that time. The werewolves and vampire hunters killed the royal family first, in one swift move, killing the whole clan. Tomsworth's clan attacked us in a rage, but seeing as we were innocent, they spared few of us, me, a cousin of mine, and the slave we shared at that time. The slave was killed first by the werewolves, my cousin went to avenge the slave, and died as well.
That was when Tomsworth had made me his mate, and made me pledge loyalty and I could not break it, not without serious ailment to both me and him. To break a vampire mate bond was not an easy thing to do because it brought pain, but it could be done. To break a vampire mate bond was easy in plan and talk, but required time. And time was something I had, and lots of it. The first step was severing emotional ties to the clan the mate belonged with, and then the mate him or herself. The next step is to see another vampire, slowly moving your loyalties to the new vampire, it is a slow process because it is painful to the one who is breaking the bond. The third step is the final push, either kill the old mate, or create the new mate bond with the new vampire, and it severs the old mate bond, and both parties will feel it break, as will the new mate. Unless you just killed the mate first, and which case it will sever the ties, although in one sweep, many did not survive that. I was on step two, trying to find a vampire I could bear to spend my life with, but finding none so far.
I unrobed for the night, placing everything back in the closet it climbed into my silk sheets and waited for sleep to take me. I didn't often sleep, but when I did, it was important.
"Mistress! Mistress wake up! Mistress they are attacking, and Master Tomsworth needs your assistance!" a servant woke me only hours later. I sped through my room, putting on leather pants, a leather corset, and my armor over top. I grabbed my silver swords and my guns, and my cloak, and ran out of my room, towards the scent of my 'mate' Master Tomsworth. I was only asleep for about three hours, enough time to be energized enough to do more damage then usual. I heard the clashes of fighting, and when I stormed into the room, I watched in shock as Master Tomsworths' head was severed from his body, his now dead eyes staring into mine.
"Present for the pretty lady." One sneered, tossing his head towards me. I merely moved out of the way, his head hitting behind me on the floor. I was mateless, which was good, but it hurt, my mind and body was in agony. I began to fight blindly, which was not a good thing, as mortals say, I was on autopilot. I slashed through my enemies as if they were water, and I scorching metal. I heard the dying screams around me, I felt little of the wounds I had been inflicted with.
When I finally regained my senses, I was badly wounded, but all the enemies, and the clan, were dead. How could I be the only survivor again? Surely there were others that escaped? I could sense them fleeing. I could hear more enemies coming, so I had to flee myself. I knew they wouldn't pillage anything from my room, or other rooms, only master Tomsworth's rooms, and so I left, running through the woods of New York, heading to Canada, where I could metaphorically lick my wounds and find another clan to settle with and heal.
I was losing the battle of unconsciousness the longer I was running, at full speed, a mere blur of a bullet of darkness to mortals. I felt the presence of mortals in a manor not far away, and I knew that was where I was to succumb to my injuries there. I felt myself being pulled there, as if my instincts knew I was to be treated there. My vision was fading, as was my hearing, the sound ringing of my ears like the bells of Notre Dam and I could no longer feel my body, or sence things around me. I was on the patio in the next second, walking at a mortals pace to the door, when I succumbed, my head knocking against the patio stone mere five feet from the door. I sent a wave of urgency from my mind into the nearest minds of the mortals, connecting with what seemed like two telepaths and a feral before I lost consciousness, falling into the black that was tempting me to stay.