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Brooke, the child vampire, came to the table and sat with Becca.
How did you know she’d like cinnamon rolls and milk?Even in his head, Brooke’s voice sounded like that of an eight-year-old child, but he wasn’t fooled. Brooke was a powerhouse in her own right, and just as sadistic, possiblymoresadistic, and few people on the planet fell into that category.
I talked to her former pride leader. This afternoon, Becca will help the chef kill and skin some rabbits, which he’ll then cook for her. I can’t let herchangeand kill her dinner, but I think she’ll enjoy killing it as a human.
Yes, I believe you’re right. It’ll speak to the lion inside her without completely letting it out. We’ve been trying to only focus on her humanity in an attempt to pull her back from the animal, but I believe your method is better: Keep her in human form but acknowledge the animal.Aloud, she said, “Nathan, we should leave the two of them so they can begin to get to know each other. Our presence isn’t needed.”
Kendric met His Majesty’s gaze and saw the lion prowling inside.
“Our agreement calls for updates weekly at first, and then monthly,” Nathan said. “I’d appreciate updates every couple of days to start. I know not to expect much, but she’s my responsibility and I worry for her.”
“When I feel there is progress to report, I’ll let you know.”
A single nod and then, “Don’t make me regret this, vampire.”
Kendric watched the van leave and wondered that the girlfriend had teleported them into town but hadn’t ridden in the van with them. He knew the vampire and lion wouldn’t talk while still on his property, but he’d positioned a shapeshifter to trim the bushes a mile from the house, near a stop sign, and he listened to what the shapeshifter could hear as Nathan and Brooke reached her.
“…most of the supernatural world has heard wild rumors of what Kirsten needs to teleport somewhere,” Nathan said. “So the fear is that she can pull an image from my mind and use it to teleport. I’m not surprised he didn’t invite us in.”
“Maybe so, but to keep a visiting Master Vampire outside and not invite them in is rude.”
They drove out of hearing range of his shapeshifter, and he telepathed the young owl shifter that she could return to the coterie house when she finished with the bush she was working on. She hadn’t known why she’d been sent, on the off-chance Brooke looked in her head as they passed by. He’d have to do something to mollify the child vampire. He respected her, and didn’t wish to hurt her feelings, but it’d felt important for the hand-over to happen outside, so Becca walked into her new home alone with Kendric.
Beckett, can you look to see where Cirque du Soleil is performing in the coming weeks? Or something comparable I can take Brooke to see? Preferably on the East Coast in a city with a friendly Master Vampire. Purchase eight tickets in the best seats available and then let me know the particulars. I’ll offer to pick her up in the jet and take her to the show.
He focused back on his lioness and watched her pick strips of the cinnamon bun off and eat them. He had the idea she liked taking them apart nearly as much as she enjoyed eating them. It was a process for her.
Her long, blonde hair flowed down her back and around her face beautifully, but he expected that was Brooke’s doing — making her as lovely as possible so he’d want to keep her. Her make-up was expertly applied to look natural, and he wondered how Becca would put it on, once she remembered more of who she is.
“I’ll tell you a secret, Becca-mine. Are you listening?”
She turned her head towards him, her face blank.
“I need to know you’ll understand. Can you tell me the first part of the alphabet?”
No response. He telepathedA B C D E F G.
And he heard her haltingly thinkH I J K.
Oh, that is excellent, Becca-mine. I’m pleased. Aloud, he said, “Here’s my big secret: I am evil personified. Oh, sure, I take good care of my people, but don’t for a second think that makes me good. I’ve learned how to show the world what they need to see — a reformed evil vampire who’s found a way to feed his dark side in socially acceptable ways, but the truth is, I’m still evil, through and through. If the world knew my thoughts, and knew what I enjoy doing, they’d find a way to burn my heart and head, and they’d spread the ashes all over the planet, just to make sure I never come back.”
He was in her head enough to sense her emotions, and he picked up on curiosity, rather than fear.
“I promised no restraints so long as you behave and prove yourself trustworthy. Until you can be trusted, you’ll be in a jail cell while I’m down for the day, but you can have whatever you want while you’re in there — within reason, of course, but I’m feeling pretty reasonable. You can have a laptop, a phone, even knitting needles and yarn, if you want to knit a blanket.” He gave her his no-nonsense look. “But if you hurt one of my people with the knitting needles, you’ll lose the privilege of having potential weapons on you. If you want to hurt people, you tell me, and I’ll make sure you have the opportunity to do so, but only the right people, do you understand?”
Clearly, she didn’t. She’d picked up a few words in his first sentences, but not the meaning of the entire sentences, and then he’d completely lost her. He was using too many words.
He telepathed Janus to have one of the screamers put on the wall, facing it so he could be whipped. He thought his lioness would be happier whipping a man than a woman. As an afterthought, he sent another order to make sure to use a shapeshifter, rather than one of the humans. You have to be more careful with the humans, and he didn’t want to put too many limits on what his little lion could do to this man.
Many vampires found college students to fill their coterie, but that didn’t work for Kendric. He had a few aspiring actors and actresses who’d gone to work for the local amusement park when their acting careers never took off, but mostly, his coterie was made up of gaming addicts. He provided them the very best hardware available and bought new stuff as soon as it came on the market, and he kept the accounts they bought games through well-funded. In exchange for this, he fucked them and hurt them regularly, but he had a trigger in their heads, so they only remembered what happened in the dungeon while they were in the dungeon. As soon as they left it, they only remembered the good parts of what had happened. Most didn’t remember being hurt at all. Some remembered bits and pieces of pain, but only as a happy memory, not as a bad one.
The shifters were allowed tochangeand heal, and Kendric owned a Lugat vampire who gave up his blood on command. When the young vampire had been with him fifty years, he’d be required to make another Lugat before he’d be given his freedom. The human he changed would sign away fifty years of his life, with an agreement to provide another new Lugat before he obtained his freedom. This was perfectly legal in the eyes of the supernatural world, and it meant Kendric could damage the humans and heal them, so he didn’t have to explain bruises and whip marks. A new Lugat’s blood wasn’t strong enough to repair kidney damage or broken bones in a matter of hours, but skin damage usually healed while the human slept after a hard session.
His house manager had taken the rolling suitcase Nathan had brought, and should have unpacked it into Becca’s room by now, but he didn’t think Becca would care much about her bedroom at this point. No, he needed to show her he understood her, and could give her what she needed. He’d coax the human out with promises of fun playtime.
He sent her an image of the two of them walking together through the house, and then stood and offered his hand. She looked at it but didn’t take it, and he dropped it at his side. “That’s okay. No touching, for now, but you’ll need to walk with me.”
She telepathed in a halting mental voice,Will walk.
