Chapter 7
The Mother of All Monsters
"So, can I get you anything, little sister?" Heracles, also known as Marcus Hamilton, asked.
"You know I won't trust anything you give me," I said.
"That's silly, Helene," Heracles said. "When I went into Hades' employ, and the employ of the senior partners, a deal was made. The senior partners may consider you fair game, but I have to keep my hands off of you. You know that."
"So why am I here, then, big brother?"
"Same reason we met the last time, little sister."
"You want me to avert an apocalypse? Does it involve my late mortal twin sister, by any chance? By the way, thanks so much for telling me about that."
Heracles shrugged.
"We didn't consider it important," he said.
"It's important to me," I said.
"Well, but you aren't all that important to us," he replied.
"Except when you need me, or when your senior partners think their Watcher's Council has an opportunity to kidnap me and tap my power."
Heracles chuckled.
"Most of the time, you aren't all that important to us" he amended. He was an arrogant bastard. I have to say it is something of a family trait.
"So what makes Clytemnestra so important now?" I asked. "And why aren't you dealing with her?"
"Things are happening, Helene," Heracles replied, excitement coloring his voice. "Can't you feel it? We're finally getting close to the tipping point. That means that everyone who is a player is stepping forward. There are even rumors of First Evil sightings in Sunnydale."
I felt cold. If Heracles said they were close to a tipping point, what he meant was that his employers thought they were close to achieving Hell on Earth from within. If that happened, I wasn't sure what I would do. I really didn't want to go live with my father in Olympus. I could barely stand him more than I could stand Heracles. Or would I step forward and wage guerilla warfare against Heracles and his senior partners? That would make me noticed, and I learned a very long time ago that bad things happen when people notice me. But, could I continue to wait tables and keep a low profile if the masters of the Wolf, Ram, and Hart finally achieved their Hell on Earth?
"Then, I ask again, what do you need me for?" I asked.
"Because vampires are an initiative of the other hells, the ones that want to destroy the world and start over," Heracles said.
"Hence the slayers you use as cannon fodder," I replied. "Tell me something I don't know. Tell me something about Clytemnestra."
"Clytemnestra," Heracles said. "You really should have known about her. Why else do you think she killed the slayer?"
"Cassandra (which wasn't exactly her name either, I'm translating here)," I said. "Her name was Cassandra."
"Whatever," Heracles said with a shrug of his shoulders to indicate how unimportant he thought that detail was. "Why do you think your half sister killed her husband and the slayer?"
"Because Agamemnon killed their daughter, like the barbarian he was? Or maybe because Cassandra was his concubine?"
"Please," Heracles said. " Agamemnon was Cassandra's watcher."
"You mean he replaced Odysseus?" I said. "That sucks. Agamemnon was a bigger bastard than Odysseus could ever think of being. And what qualified him to be a watcher, anyway?"
"You're losing the thread of this story, little sister," Heracles said. "Agamemnon was Cassandra's watcher. He was helping her continue to hunt vampires. Clytemnestra and Agamemnon had a son, Orestes. A son who was turned."
"Wait, Orestes was turned into a vampire?"
"Yes, and Cassandra was a slayer, and Agamemnon was her watcher."
"So the deluded fool killed Agamemnon and Cassandra to 'save' her son, and when said 'son' came back from wherever he was, Clytemnestra thought he'd be grateful."
"In a way he was, Orestes turned his mother while killing her," Heracles said. "She thought her son was giving her immortality. I am sure that her soul was surprised to find itself in Tartarus while a demon possessed her corpse."
"So what has Clytemnestra the vampire been doing with herself?" I asked. "And why is she so important now?"
"After Orestes got himself staked, which didn't occur too long after he turned her, Clytemnestra began siring surrogate sons. It just so happens that several of those surrogate sons have become master vampires. Kakistos, Hrothgar, Khan, even the fool who eventually became known only as The Master, they were all her 'sons'. Master vampires so powerful that the Watcher's Council didn't even think about sending slayers after them.
"Clytemnestra has generally been happy to stay behind the scenes siring new 'sons' and watching them thrive."
"So what changed?" I asked.
"That slayer you wait tables with, she confronted the Master, Clytemnestra's most powerful child."
"And since she's still alive, I assume the Master..."
"...is not."
"So, you want me to protect the slayer?" I asked.
"Actually, we propose that you let Clytemnestra kill this slayer, if she can."
"I'm not going to do that."
Heracles shrugged.
"Fine," he said. "That would be our preference, but we know you will do what you want. The important thing is, our intelligence indicates that Clytemnestra is starting a pattern that is likely to continue. She is going to start hunting slayers, and we can't have her going around killing slayers immediately after they are called."
I stared at Heracles. This was weird. Normally, the "senior partners" would just send him to do their dirty work. Why not this time?
"Isn't there another vampire who already does that? What's his name? Lothos?"
"Lothos was cooperative with us," Heracles said. "He also had very specific tastes. Besides, he is no longer an option."
Heracles had an uncomfortable look on his face, and I soon realized why.
"Anne," I said. "She took out Lothos too, didn't she?"
I started to laugh.
"You...you all are scared of her!" I said. This was really all too funny. The hidden masters of the Watcher's Council were scared of their own creation. "That's what all this is about. You aren't afraid that Clytemnestra is going to start killing slayers. You're afraid that Anne is going to kill Clytemnestra, another master vampire, and as a slayer she is too powerful already. So you want me to kill Clytemnestra first. That explains your lame assed attempt to manipulate me by suggesting I let Clytemnestra take a run at Anne first. And for some reason, just killing either Clytemnestra or Anne yourselves doesn't seem to be an option. Why is that?"
Heracles looked like he swallowed a persimmon. He wasn't going to answer my question, but the look on his face indicated that there was an answer to that question.
"Relax, big brother," I said. "I'll do it. I'll kill Clytemnestra. But I'm doing it for Cassandra, not for you."
The expression on Heracles' face was dark. He looked like he wanted to come after me. That would have been fine with me. I wouldn't have minded a throw down with my big brother.
But, there were treaties and agreements and all that, so instead he called me a cab, and I went home.
I know, a lot of name dropping this chapter. For those who found it confusing, check out your local Greek myths book. For those of you with a passing familiarity with Greek mythology (and I freely admit my own familiarity is "passing"), as you can see I am rewriting things a bit.