AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ambrose and the doc were with Lauren, so Gavin finished Basil off, forcing the vampire to stuff his own balls into his mouth, effectively quieting his begging, and then Gavin forced the weaker vampire to place his hands on either side of his head, his eyes frantic, pleading sounds coming from his mouth, full of his own bloody balls, and Basil ripped his own head off, cutting himself off mid-scream.
The body and head fell together, and the head bounced once and then rolled over, so the face was towards the audience, eyes and mouth still open, the very picture of pain and terror.
Gavin looked at Lauren’s bear, who stood as if deciding what to do.
“Join her. Give her strength. Activate your smallest associate, if you can.”
Gavin didn’t know if one of her riders could help another or not, but it was worth a try. The bear folded back onto Lauren, and Gavin dropped to his knees, put his hands on her, and pushed his life force into her.
Ten seconds later, her eyes opened and Gavin scented pain.
“What hurts?”
“Arm.Fuck.”
When she lifted it, Gavin could see the break. Lauren sat and cradled her arm to her body, and Gavin telepathed,engage your axolotl.
“We have your back,” Link told her. “Close your eyes and let it happen. You can do this.”
Back off, please Master,Link telepathed.She needs to be in her own energy field, I think.
Gavin stood and faced the audience. “For now, I’m using the modern-day rulebook of my former Master, which means I’ll only make use of those who go into indentured servitude of their own free will. No slavery in my territory except for special circumstances, to be decided on a case-by-case basis. As of now, there are a handful of slaves and indentured servants in the dozen counties that make up my territory, all of which were either here before I stepped in, or the relationships existed before the vampires moved to this territory, as is the case with my own indentured servant.”
He looked around the room and let that settle a moment before he told them the rest. “I’m not above turning a traitor into an asset I can sell, however. Nor am I above torturing for the pure joy of it, before I kill. Basil’s treason was accidental — he provided information to someone he thought a friend, and didn’t understand the ramifications until we were attacked. Had he not harmed Lauren, he’d have been whipped for not coming to me when he realized what he’d done, and then undergone further training so such an accident wouldn’t happen again.”
Gavin looked at the body on the stage, the decapitated head fifteen feet away, from the force of what was necessary to rip it from the body. Someone had put towels down to keep the blood from coming near Lauren or from dripping off the front. The stage was flat, so it was spreading in other directions, but Gavin would have his vampires rip the flooring out and bleach everything so the theater could pay someone to redo it. Vampires get used to dealing with blood.
“I have lockup facilities to hold four people in this building. Two are already in use, and those people will be moved elsewhere soon, where they will undergo weeks, possibly months of torture, before I deem them broken and retrained enough to sell on the slave market. The sex slaves who bring in enough income to warrant the effort it takes to break them to it are most often either beautiful, or shockingly grotesque. Basil was ordinary looking. He also had no special talents beyond basic security — a position that’s only useful if you are proven loyal and trustworthy. It wouldn’t add to his value as a slave in any way.”
He ran a hand through his hair. He was explaining too much.
“Bottom line — hurt someone who’s mine and you will die a horrific death or be made a slave. Basil was let off easy because of circumstances. I do not foresee allowing anyone else who harms a single hair on Lauren’s head an easy death.”
One of the paramedics who’d been overseeing the injured downstairs came onto the stage with a sling, and he helped Lauren get it on and adjusted so it supported her arm. She levitated up to stand beside Gavin and told the audience, “Damn, Basil was fast. I think I’d have been able to counter his attack if he’d been farther away than the fourth row, or maybe that’s just wishful thinking.” She gave a single-shoulder shrug. “My guess is that what Gavin was getting around to saying, is that if you think you’ve accidentally given something away, you probably want to come forward with that sooner rather than later.”
“A cousin asked me details about the mansion, about a month ago,” one of the deer who sang in the chorus line said. “I only told him there’s a lot of glass and the views are breathtaking. He asked some specifics that, at the time just sounded as if he was being nosy, but now I’m wondering.”
Gavin peeked into the deer’s head, replayed the conversation, and telepathed the cousin’s name and city to one of his geeks.Go deep. Finances, texts, emails.
“Thank you,” Gavin told the deer. “Your memories of the conversation tell me you also gave him some details about the outdoor areas, including the walk to the main structure from the parking area. I can see how you wouldn’t think that a security secret, but we like to keep people as uninformed as possible.” He scented the young lady’s fear, and let it build a dozen seconds before he let her off the hook. “No consequences, but only because you came forward with the information voluntarily, and because I can see you thought nothing of it at the time. I’d like for you to go through the security orientation again. Please get with your immediate supervisor so she can put you on the roster.” He looked around the room. “Every employee and coterie member is required to sit in on a security orientation every year, within fifteen days before or after the anniversary of being hired or blood oathing in. If you’d like to refresh yourself on it at any time, you can sign up to sit in on any orientation already on the schedule by speaking to your immediate supervisor.”
Lauren’s voice came in his head.Where are the employees who aren’t blood oathed?
He’d have to answer that question later, because she wasn’t going to like the fact the human employees without knowledge of supernaturals were all in their homes without protection.
Gavin looked to the young vampire who’d been sitting with Basil, rage pouring off her. “Do you have something to tell me, young Katherine?”
“I’m sad and angry, Master Gavin. Thank you for explaining the reason for the execution. It helps. I don’t think Basil would’ve knowingly tried to hurt you. I’m sorry he hurt Lauren.”
“But you’re still beyond pissed at me for killing him?”
“I’m feeling extreme emotions, Master. I’m sorry if they are coming across as aimed at you.”
“They are coming across that way because that’s what you feel,” Gavin told her. “Aim your anger at Basil for getting himself killed. If you can’t do that, you’ll need to find another coterie to blood oath to.”
Gavin went through her head and removed all images of the coterie house, and all information about the security protocols, as well as the underground areas of the theater she worked in. He also removed the feelings she’d had for Basil, and he was brutal about cutting her memories.
Katherine bobbed and lurched in her seat as if she’d been struck, and looked at him in horror, but she kept her mouth shut. Gavin could hear her thoughts, and Katherine was smart enough to understand he’d taken away her reason for being so angry with him, as well as her ability to bring harm to the coterie.
