Children Of The Night
By: Veronica Leigh Marquette
CHAPTER 13
Jessy turned slowly, pulling Kris close. "Merry Yule, beloved." He kissed
her.
"Hmmm, Merry Christmas to you too, baby." She took his tendency to avoid
recognizing Christian titles whenever he could, in stride. That was just Jessy,
and she would probably as the years went by, get to be just as bad. "I have a
Christmas present for you."
"I know, I saw it under the tree. I have been dying to find out what it
is."
She just laughed at him. "No, Jess, something other than that."
He just snorted. "Does it come wrapped in a ribbon, or you just wish to
begin this Yule off right?"
"Both. My gift to you is tied up with a bow, and just as soon as we make it
upstairs, and take care of the Christmas gifts, the Yule orgy will begin."
"You didn't have to get me anything else, hell baby, you didn't have to get
me any presents at all. Having you here with me, every night and every day, is
gift enough."
"That isn't a gift, pretty boy, that is something we share with each other.
As for not having to get you anything extra, baby, I could spend every dime I
have on you and still think I missed something."
* * *
The house was alive as they came up the stairs. Hair still wet from their
shower. "Merry Yule." He smiled at them all.
A chorus of season's greetings met them. All around the room, they sat,
still dressed for the most part in either robes or pajama bottoms "Come on over
Master, Mistress, we have gifts for you both." Jake held out a hand. Since
making it back from being trapped in his mind, totally defenseless, he had swore
he would never do anything to get sent back there, ever again.
"Presents they say." Jessy grumbled, smiling. "They buy expensive things
that sparkle and twinkle for us, and we get the bill."
"Not true, Master. I will have you know that all of us have been saving up
the allowance you give us each for months, and for those of us who haven't been
here as long, Bobby helped to cover their expenses."
"I was only teasing pet, I don't care about money. Janis has me set up so
that I could pretty much spend hundreds of thousands a year, and still not hurt
myself, and on the un-likelihood that I do get tight, Kris is more than just
simply my wife, she is my mate."
"I'll be paying Randy back forever." Mike hugged the man. "But, after I
saw this, I just had to have it for you."
"You don't owe me anything, Mike, that is a beautifully practical present,
and I am happy to be part of you giving it to them."
"And Kris and I have a special present for each of you as well." Jessy
moved to sit by the tree. "So, who shall play old St. Nick?"
"You know, the oldest man in the room, and Master, you have us beat by over
a century."
Jessy blew him a kiss, bending down to pick up the first present, a tiny
box. "Kris, this is for you." And he passed it to her.
"Thanks, Jess." She looked down at the gold box in her hand, the tag that
hung from it. "Jessy," she carefully pulled the top off the boy to display a
velvet ring box. Inside a band of bright gold with the most gorgeous Amethyst
she had ever seen, so dark a purple that at some angles, it almost looked black.
It had to be a good five to six carats of flawless stone, and set in a princess
cut setting, bracketed on both sides by a thin band of tiny diamonds. "Oh," she
burst into tears, hand over her mouth as she looked down at the ring.
"Here," he took the box from her, gently pulling the ring out of where it
was held, taking her left hand, slid the ring on her middle finger, beside where
Mitch's engagement ring still sat. "I know, that there is no way you and I
could ever go before a priest and make our vows, but when I opened myself to you
as completely and I did, and you responded by opening yourself up as well. We
became more than married. We are now lifemates. Soulmate's, for the lack of a
better, more complete word."
Kris just cried, trying to see well enough to reach for her present to him.
It was a tiny box as well. "I couldn't have said it better."
Jessy had trouble opening the box; his hands were shaking so, and an even
harder time with the ring box within. He gasped looking at the ring within. A
large, solid gold band, with a wide, long, bar setting of emerald.
"It matches your eyes." She took the box from him and slipped the ring on
his hand. "I didn't fully understand what it would mean if I opened to you, but
now that I have, I can't think of a time when I wasn't. I love Mitch, more than
I could ever tell him, but I never really lived before you." Then she smiled,
ignoring the tears as they ran down her face to stain the light lavender robe
she was wearing. "But it doesn't stop there." She reached under her seat and
pulled out a small, flat, box. "I just got this back from our friend,
yesterday. He, did remarkable work." She held out the box. "Merry Christmas,
Jessy."
He took the box, from her, too stunned to even speak. What, could, she
possibly think of that could ever compare to what she had just given him?
The knife was thin, and the handle was exquisite. A single ruby on each
side set into the design as eyes of the oriental dragon that the handle
portrayed.
"The handle is gold, but the blade is carbonized steel. That is the hardest
thing about these ceremonial daggers, finding one that not only has an edge, but
can keep it as well."
There was a chorus of groans in the room. They all had thought of the same
gift. Each one, sure that the present that they had gotten was the best, but no
one could even hope to touch what Kris had just given Jessy.
"So much for that idea." Randy muttered to Sam. "And here I thought for
sure that what with it being the first Yule after introducing the benefits of a
knife, that no one would think about it."
The younger man just laughed at him. "Who are you kidding, you've drank
from Master when he cuts his throat, it was pretty much a given that we all
would conspire to out do each other in the sharp pointy objects division. Just
after looking at the knife Mistress gave him, it's all pretty much a waste of
effort."
Jessy broke eye contact with Kris, looking back down at the ornate blade in
the box in his hands. Chuckling softly. "I do believe you stole their thunder,
love."
"Not really, with as many different places in the house that we end up in
the night, the more knives the better."
* * *
"It's beautiful, Pet," Jessy held up the single dagger that Randy had found
for him.
"You keep saying that." Kris just laughed, looking around at the small
arsenal that they had collected. So far, they had each, gotten, knives from
each of their lot. Twenty pretty, ornate, and delicately designed blades.
"I don't think this is a knife." Jessy held up a flat box, but it was too
big to be hiding another blade.
"It isn't." Bobby sat back quietly as Jessy opened the present, which ended
up being a black handled long lashed cat-a-nines. "You have been obsessing
about all the quote, un-quote things that a real Dom has to have. Well, Master
that is one of the things that go with the look you are trying for.
"I would never, do you have any idea how much damage this thing can do?" It
was a truly spectacular gift, but it was too much.
"I know that, Master, it's just for looks. Will add a certain threat, to
the playroom you're building downstairs." He grinned at Tracy. "Found it some
time back, when I was helping baby, to get the things she needs for her boy
there."
"And how do you think she is coming along? I haven't bothered stopping in
and checking on them. I figured, bright eyes hasn't come to me and begged for
mercy yet, so it must be going well for him."
"As long as you keep feeding him your blood Master, I don't think he ever
will, he's worse in his own way than I am, believe it or not."
Jessy laughed at him. "That is something I find very hard to believe
Angel."
"Well, if she hadn't got a gag for him, you'd have heard him, and then you
would believe. This ability that we have now, thanks to you and mistress, to
talk without words, it means she don't have to worry about not knowing when it's
time to stop with him."
Jessy nodded. "We'll discuss this later, but for now, there are still
presents to be handed out."
Mike grinned as they both opened his present. "I figured you two were
getting too many knives to begin with, but a good sharpening kit. Can't have
all these pretty things going dull on you, now can we?"
The bag revealed a thin electronic sharpening wheel, with a polishing cloth.
"This must have cost you a pretty penny, love."
"Not really, it cost Randy a pretty penny, I didn't have the money to get it
by myself."
"How much a week are you giving them baby?" Kris pulled the sharpening kit
out of its case.
"Two hundred a month. I buy all the food, clothes, pay all the bills, that
money is for them to blow on little things that strike their fancy. Hell I even
buy the marijuana and wine that they go through in this house, and it isn't dirt
weed that they are used to either. So I figured, what with that expense out of
the way, what else could they possibly want?"
"Don't' worry Mistress, Master has a real deep bank. When he says he takes
care of us, that he covers everything, he means it." Randy hugged her. "And
after discovering that he is willing to spring for the pot and booze, there
really isn't much more that I need. Don't suppose I ever finished growing up,
but as long as I got food, clothes, a roof over my head some one to own me, and
my recreational tools, I am pretty much content."
"Merry Christmas, loves." Mitch held a box out to each. Again, they both
were tiny boxes, obviously rings. "There is no way I can ever hope to even come
close to what you both just gave each other, but I figured, if I can't out shine
you, I might as well try for a deeper meaning." He smiled. "Kris, I was going
to marry you, I love you more than life, more than any one else here. I know
for you, now, I will always play second place in your heart. But that doesn't
matter, I still love you, and like Jessy said, even though we can't ever really
stand infront of a minister on our wedding day, that is no reason why you can't
wear a band." He opened a box in his hands to display a plane, simple, gold
wedding band. Nothing fancy, just very simple in it's beauty. "I belong to
you, will be with you for the rest of my life. Already love, honor, and obey
you." He pulled his engagement ring from her finger long enough to slip the
band on. "Can I kiss the bride?"
The ring in Jessy's box wasn't a wedding band, but it still was quiet in its
simple beauty. It was a simple band of gold with a whip and crop crossed,
engraved on the face. "I," he pulled the younger man close, kissing him.
"I already had Krissy's, all I had to do was slip back into our old house,
which is now your old house, I might add, and get it. But yours, I had to have
designed special and made. Bobby loaned me the money for it. It was more than
I had to spare at this moment. A mold had to be made, I own it, and it had to
be hand crafted. There is not another ring like it anywhere. There are others
out there that look something like it, but that is an original piece of work."
He nodded at Ryan. "The ring might come from me, but puck did the sketch for
it."
Jessy slipped it on the little finger of his left hand. "You do realize
Butch, with as pretty as this is, and as obvious as what the theme for its
design is, I just might start to wonder if you might now be just a little bit
like, our, boys are."
"Pain, I am learning to love, but I don't bend. Which is one of the many
reasons I can live here and be happy, neither you or Kris are big on making me
bend." He moaned, thrusting his hips forward into the hand that was touching
him. "And I know you can, that is the most wonderful thing of all. You could
very easily, and you don't."
"Absolute power, baby, corrupts absolutely. I tried for so long with the
others, to just never touch the power that they have given me over them. I was
afraid that, even though I'm not mortal anymore, I am still all too human. But
with Kris here, and the constant need to be a good influence, to see she is
raised right. I can finally at long last give into what I've been denying
myself for so long."
They all sat around, waiting patiently. Jessy never failed to always go out
of his way to surprise them, every year.
*Ladies first. * Jessy smiled at her.
*No go on, this is as much a gift to you as it is to, them. * She touched
his cheek.
"Okay, I actually have two presents for you each. First silver dog tags to
go with your collar, with your name, or at least the one I prefer to use, on it.
And then," he pulled out a piece of paper, unfolded it, and lay it on the coffee
table infront of him.
The design was breath taking. A simple J and K, but interwoven with each
other, the J a vibrant greens, the K in deep rich purples. "Bobby got me to
thinking when he asked me, back when his was still wandering, if I was going to
brand him. I promised him I wouldn't. I can't even think of the agony that
would put you all through, but a tattoo that would be nice. I want to announce
it to the world how I feel about all of you. And now I can."
"Wow," Tracy just breathed. "Where you planning to mark us Master?"
"Obviously not where Raymond had planned to put mine. Sorry pretty girl but
last time I checked, being a girl, means you don't have balls. Be mighty damn
hard to tattoo that in an area that doesn't exist on you, don't you think?"
Bobby smiled.
"He was going to have you branded . . . There?" Jessy was stunned. "Gods,
Angel, I should have done more than just reduce him to a mindless wretch, that
walked out in traffic to be killed, when I saw to it that he would never hurt
another like he had you. I should have ripped that worthless piece from him,
shoved it down his throat, and let him bleed to death, choking on it."
"It's okay, Master, he's dead, and I don't have to worry about him ever
doing anything like that to me, or anyone else for that matter, ever again. So,
if you aren't planning to mark us, at least the guys there, there, where do you
plan to do it?"
"Your left breast, over your heart. Because, that, is what I own in you
all. Just as surely as you own mine."
"So we're going on display." Jake laughed softly. "You do know Master,
that this time four years ago, no woman, that wasn't breast feeding, could be
seen topless in public."
"Boy, I was mortal in the time when women didn't show their ankles in
public, forget their breasts. I have lived through both world wars, and all the
other little skirmishes that mortals have had ever since. And I know that it
seems that the world is so much more violent than it once was, but it isn't. It
is only that there are more of you now than ever before. So much more that you
can't see the progress mankind has made unless you step back and look at the big
picture. But there has been incredible growth in the last hundred years. The
least wondrous of them is the attitude that is taking place about the human
body."
"So, you taking this to a shop?" Ryan smiled at the design; he had drawn it
for Jessy, just like he designed the ring pattern for Mitch.
"No, Puck, I know a mortal, she belongs to one of us. And Aaron is letting
me borrow her for a few evenings. He will give me a break on the price, if she
can spend a little time with us, Aaron is entirely too homophobic to even take
one or two men for the girls he keeps. She's gnawing at the bit as it were. I
agreed, after all, Gods know we have enough of us here that she should be
walking funny and grinning for days."
"I have just one more present Master, Mistress." Ryan held out two scrolled
pieces of paper with bright red ribbons. "If it can be done, I think you would
like these."
Jessy handed Kris the scroll with her name on the tag. Before unrolling
his. "Awww, Puck." It was the same J as had been part of the pattern for the
tattoo's he was giving them all. Vibrant shades of green, so beautiful in its
design, the simplicity and grandeur of it, touched, Jessy.
"Ryan," Kris looked up from the picture he had given her, again, just one
letter, but instead of green, her K was done again in the deep, rich purples
that made the first so beautiful.
"I didn't want to spend money I didn't have, but, I still wanted to show you
both what you mean to me. The ring on your hand Master, Mitch had me design.
The drawing for the Tattoo's you know about. And if the needle can pierce your
skin, you have one of your own, each."
"That isn't going to be a problem, Aaron has worked with Maggy, long enough
that he knows how to do art as well as she can. It's not the metal that will
give us a problem, at least not treated needles, they are going to have to be
dipped into vampire blood, the same as the knives to keep them from being dulled
at once. Aaron is a good two hundred years older than I am, so his blood is of
course stronger. Thank you Puck, no amount of money could ever buy me a gift
that means more to me than what you did when you took your pins to paper."
"Can we hurry this love feast along, here, guys. I'm starved. We usually
eat before we do presents. And if I'm hungry, I know you two have to be
starving." Sally squeezed Mike.
Jessy lay small silver tags out of the table. "Kris and I agreed on what to
put on these. So now you all are tagged as well as collared." He picked up the
top tag, "Come here Pet, this one is for you." He touched Randy's cheek
lightly. "You should have seen the poor woman who had to engrave them all. By
the time I got to my boy's there," he nodded at Jake. "She was quite
speechless."
"How about those of us that you haven't given pet names to, Master?" Tracy
had been with him long enough to have learned his endearments for the other
five, and now with Mitch, Ryan, Alex, Bobby, Brenda, Mike and Sam, added to his
personal line up, she knew that she wasn't the only one that didn't have a
special name.
"Don't worry so, Baby, there is not a one of you that I didn't get a tag
for." He held out a tag for her. "Happy Yule, Baby."
* * *
Kris sat back, peacefully, as the lot of them fed on a huge Christmas feast.
She had never seen anyone put away what these kids were. "Good God, you all act
like you haven't eaten in days."
"Feels like it." Patty mumbled, loading more dressing on her plate. "Been
up since noon, cooking ever since a quarter to one, cleaning, getting every
thing perfect. Lucky we have Brenda now to add to the ranks of women here,
because with the addition of six more to the already overwhelming number here, I
don't think we could have ever kept the boys out of the food."
"Who are you kidding Patty, one smack with that spoon you wielded today was
enough for me. I'm going to be bruised for most of the night." Sam laughed,
kissing Tracy on the cheek. "You do know, Mistress, she can be down right
protective of the food."
"You're on kitchen duty tonight, remember." Patty waved her spoon at him
teasingly. "Or it will be more than just most of the night your butt is going
to be bruised.
"Too late Patty, I have a special Christmas gift for him later." Tracy
grinned at him. "One that should do more than just bruise his butt."
Am I going to need a gag again Mistress?" Sam grinned at her.
"Unless you want to entertain the house with the noise you make, you will
need one."
Jessy grinned, laughing at Sam's blush. "Forget the gag Baby, I am sure
that his cries won't sound out too much over the ones that my three will be
making later."
Dinner was finished, dishes dealt with, all in the highest of spirits. "So,
love, we've been patient, dinner is over, the dishes as well. So what have you
for us?" Jessy pulled her down into his lap.
"Room," she looked around the cramped living quarters that they now shared,
and true, it wouldn't be as bad, once the tree was taken down, but it was still
cramped. "I have more property than I know what to do with, one stretch just
outside of Macon, Georgia that is a huge twenty acre plot of land that I'm not
renting to anyone as of yet. I thought I would have the old buildings cleared
away and I have blueprints for a new house, I talked to my attorney a day or so
back you remember the one that helped with my return from the dead. I can
rebuild, alter, or fix anything I want. Just can't sell it. The house I have
planned will keep us safe, without it feeling like they are climbing over each
other so often."
"Everything will be underground. The living-room, bedrooms, the bath, the
kitchen, all of it." She laughed. "Oh, for all intents and purposes, the world
will see a ranch style house, but other than for show, the upper floor isn't
used for anything. Everything will be down stairs." She grinned. "We won't
have to ever worry about daylight again, and by the time we have to move, what
the hell, I have property in seven other states, plus two more in Europe, and
can always buy more. Never again will I let us live, like this. The house is
nice and all, but we have fifteen people living in it."
* * *
Jessy watched as Kris moped around the house. Not even the idea of looking
over the building of her, their, new house improved her mood. "What is it baby,
you've been walking around all night like you lost your best friend. What's the
problem?"
"It's April, twenty-ninth, don't you know what day it is?"
He just looked at her for a moment. "No, baby, I don't. But it must be
important to you. So tell me."
She made an exasperated noise, looking at him with disgust. "You might be
better than any man alive, but you are still just a damn man. Think Jess. What
was the date when I came here last year?"
"The first of May, that is why your being here confused me until I got a
whiff of you. I thought Janis was bringing me a May Day present."
"And how old was I when Janis brought me here?"
He stopped and thought about it. "A day or so, Marcus had made you, then he
killed himself." Then he slapped his forehead. "No, he spent that first night,
after you woke as his Childe, with you, and didn't kill himself until that
morning. You were two days old, and still lost when we met."
"Which was the first of May, now count, backwards, two days. It was on this
night last year that I died." She wrapped her arms around herself, looking out
unto the darkened landscape. "So many have been hurt because of me. Mitch,
Alex, I still feel guilty for what I did to Bobby. The others, they have a
better life here. I don't feel bad for them. But those three, I took them from
their life."
"You saved them from themselves Kris, remember that. As much as precious
and angel loved each other, sooner or later, angel's true nature would have
broken them. And then, without it having anything to do with you, they would
have parted. Angel would have ended up sick anyway, he was looking for
something that filled his needs. True, if they had parted peacefully, it might
have taken longer, but angel would have still ended up in the shape he was in.
And you and Mitch, love the boy though I do, his nature would have, one day,
made living together hard. He isn't submissive at all, but he is just a tad bit
of a pain slut. Do you have any doubt, if the two of you had continued on the
path you both were on, that eventually, love just wouldn't have been enough for
our boy. You both were virgins, so he couldn't have explained what he needed
from you, and you, honey, you are just now learning to deal with what his inner
drives are. You weren't near as dominant as you are now. You wouldn't have had
a clue. But, beloved now, true he can never be who he was, but with the money
you have, you can buy him, all of them, new identities, and they can continue on
with their lives. He can finish school, be a lawyer. Angel, he can't ever go
back to the place he had worked for so long, but that is not to say that he
can't try managing a club for a while. You got the money, you hate having it so
much, well then spend it. Give it away. Get a new CPA, and basically tell
them, that as long as they don't try to rob you blind, you don't care about the
money. And once you finish the house, buy some little dump somewhere and
refurnish it. It would probably do our boy a world of good, not to have to just
sit around and feel useless."
Kris had never looked at it that way. Guess it was a guy thing, but yeah,
now that she, had, had it explained to her. She could finally, really see the
good Marcus had done when he had decided to make her.. "I got to talk to the
builders."
She moved quickly, leaving Jessy standing there, with the look of a man
without a clue on his face. "Kris?"
"You just reminded me of the good I can still do. You keep telling me, over
and over, how I am where, control and power wise, you were at three almost four.
So, it's about time I used what I have to create a better life for as many
mortals as I can take on. Think about it, the four we collected, Ryan, Brenda
and the guys. We got them off the streets, gave them a home and purpose again.
Why can't we do that for more? Think about it, you have already saved the lives
of not only Tracy and Brenda but Bobby as well. I can do that too. Together,
we could create a new life for more than just our thirteen, but for so many
others as well."
A wonderful dream, but sadly not one that she could ever hope, to achieve.
"Kris, honey, that isn't possible. I had to rush you along in your growth so
that I could get a little help with our bunch. You forget every new feeder we
take on, means that we have to feed much more to keep up with their care. No,
they don't take much from us, but every time they do take from us, it's like
losing almost half a pint or more a time. You are right, you are a whole hell
of a lot more mature than I was at your age, but baby, you, are still just an
infant. You haven't even grown to the point that you can be looked at as a
real, Childe. That is why you don't come into your full inheritance until your
fifth birthday. Your father, he wanted to make sure, before you got your hands
on all of his money, that you have come that far through infancy."
She had felt so alive, for just one second, but with Jessy's gentle, but
painful words, she slumped back down. To know you could do so much, if you only
dared. But Jessy was right, she had forgotten what helping him with those in
their house cost her every night. "You're right, let's go take a look at our
new house. They should have gotten it ready for us, by now, to move in." So
much for big dreams, she would have to just settle herself for what little
victories she could manage, and hope for the rest.
* * *
She never realized, before now, that being locked forever to the night might
have just a few drawbacks. They had to book the red eye from Cincinnati to
Atlanta. Have someone pick them up at the airport, and make it under ground
before the sun rose.
Their host for the time that they all would be staying in Atlanta, before
their flight back home to begin to, move, was the eldest in that state. News of
Kris's birth and subsequent being made an orphan was a well-known fact to all of
the vampires, worldwide. The southern vampire seemed almost too friendly, and
god but he was a curious man. Fortunately for them all, there were only ten
vampires in all of Georgia, and, the old vampire was putting them up, wouldn't
let them be bothered.
* * *
Jessy watched as Kris moped around the house. Not even the idea of looking
over the building of her, their, new house improved her mood. "What is it baby,
you've been walking around all night like you lost your best friend. What's the
problem?"
"It's April, twenty-ninth, don't you know what day it is?"
He just looked at her for a moment. "No, baby, I don't. But it must be
important to you. So tell me."
She made an exasperated noise, looking at him with disgust. "You might be
better than any man alive, but you are still just a damn man. Think Jess. What
was the date when I came here last year?"
"The first of May, that is why your being here confused me until I got a
whiff of you. I thought Janis was bringing me a May Day present."
"And how old was I when Janis brought me here?"
He stopped and thought about it. "A day or so, Marcus had made you, then he
killed himself." Then he slapped his forehead. "No, he spent that first night,
after you woke as his Childe, with you, and didn't kill himself until that
morning. You were two days old, and still lost when we met."
"Which was the first of May, now count, backwards, two days. It was on this
night last year that I died." She wrapped her arms around herself, looking out
unto the darkened landscape. "So many have been hurt because of me. Mitch,
Alex, I still feel guilty for what I did to Bobby. The others, they have a
better life here. I don't feel bad for them. But those three, I took them from
their life."
"You saved them from themselves Kris, remember that. As much as precious
and angel loved each other, sooner or later, angel's true nature would have
broken them. And then, without it having anything to do with you, they would
have parted. Angel would have ended up sick anyway, he was looking for
something that filled his needs. True, if they had parted peacefully, it might
have taken longer, but angel would have still ended up in the shape he was in.
And you and Mitch, love the boy though I do, his nature would have, one day,
made living together hard. He isn't submissive at all, but he is just a tad bit
of a pain slut. Do you have any doubt, if the two of you had continued on the
path you both were on, that eventually, love just wouldn't have been enough for
our boy. You both were virgins, so he couldn't have explained what he needed
from you, and you, honey, you are just now learning to deal with what his inner
drives are. You weren't near as dominant as you are now. You wouldn't have had
a clue. But, beloved now, true he can never be who he was, but with the money
you have, you can buy him, all of them, new identities, and they can continue on
with their lives. He can finish school, be a lawyer. Angel, he can't ever go
back to the place he had worked for so long, but that is not to say that he
can't try managing a club for a while. You got the money, you hate having it so
much, well then spend it. Give it away. Get a new CPA, and basically tell
them, that as long as they don't try to rob you blind, you don't care about the
money. And once you finish the house, buy some little dump somewhere and
refurnish it. It would probably do our boy a world of good, not to have to just
sit around and feel useless."
Kris had never looked at it that way. Guess it was a guy thing, but yeah,
now that she, had, had it explained to her. She could finally, really see the
good Marcus had done when he had decided to make her.. "I got to talk to the
builders."
She moved quickly, leaving Jessy standing there, with the look of a man
without a clue on his face. "Kris?"
"You just reminded me of the good I can still do. You keep telling me, over
and over, how I am where, control and power wise, you were at three almost four.
So, it's about time I used what I have to create a better life for as many
mortals as I can take on. Think about it, the four we collected, Ryan, Brenda
and the guys. We got them off the streets, gave them a home and purpose again.
Why can't we do that for more? Think about it, you have already saved the lives
of not only Tracy and Brenda but Bobby as well. I can do that too. Together,
we could create a new life for more than just our thirteen, but for so many
others as well."
A wonderful dream, but sadly not one that she could ever hope, to achieve.
"Kris, honey, that isn't possible. I had to rush you along in your growth so
that I could get a little help with our bunch. You forget every new feeder we
take on, means that we have to feed much more to keep up with their care. No,
they don't take much from us, but every time they do take from us, it's like
losing almost half a pint or more a time. You are right, you are a whole hell
of a lot more mature than I was at your age, but baby, you, are still just an
infant. You haven't even grown to the point that you can be looked at as a
real, Childe. That is why you don't come into your full inheritance until your
fifth birthday. Your father, he wanted to make sure, before you got your hands
on all of his money, that you have come that far through infancy."
She had felt so alive, for just one second, but with Jessy's gentle, but
painful words, she slumped back down. To know you could do so much, if you only
dared. But Jessy was right, she had forgotten what helping him with those in
their house cost her every night. "You're right, let's go take a look at our
new house. They should have gotten it ready for us, by now, to move in." So
much for big dreams, she would have to just settle herself for what little
victories she could manage, and hope for the rest.
* * *
She never realized, before now, that being locked forever to the night might
have just a few drawbacks. They had to book the red eye from Cincinnati to
Atlanta. Have someone pick them up at the airport, and make it under ground
before the sun rose.
Their host for the time that they all would be staying in Atlanta, before
their flight back home to begin to, move, was the eldest in that state. News of
Kris's birth and subsequent being made an orphan was a well-known fact to all of
the vampires, worldwide. The southern vampire seemed almost too friendly, and
god but he was a curious man. Fortunately for them all, there were only ten
vampires in all of Georgia, and, the old vampire was putting them up, wouldn't
let them be bothered.
* * *
"You know, girl, I never thought about anything like that. The number of us
it would take to actually work, that is where your problem lies. Your man, he
was right, there is just no way that the two of you could hope to accomplish
your goals." The old vampire mused over what Kris had told him.
"I know, it's just that no matter how stupid I know what I wish is, I can't
help it, I still think about it all the time."
"No one said it or you were stupid, love." Jessy had been ever vigilant
with her during their visit with their southern kindred.
"No, not stupid, gutsy, yes, but not stupid." The man agreed. "It really
shouldn't come as a surprise to any of us, that sooner or later one of us would
die, and another would have to be made, and that Childe, being raised as all
must live now, would turn their attention to the world they had just so recently
left. Marcus might have broke pact with us when me made you before he died, but
he chose well." The man patted her on the leg. "And to be honest with you,
dear, with the way you keep your herd, you might just have the right idea. Just
tell me how, a infant that is just now, one, accomplished all you have done?"
"It wasn't all me, Jessy had the foundation that I work from, set up
already. I learned it all from him." And slowly, with pride and pleasure she
went on about what Janis had brought her into.
The old vampire listened quietly, nodding every now and then at certain
points in her story. Secretly amused at her dedication to not only the man at
her side, who had taken the duty of raising her, but to those in their keep.
Silence as Kris finished her tale. She just sat there, waiting for the old
Nightwalker to comment. But the ancient one just sat there for the longest
time, looking at both her and Jessy, his glance would move from them to their
bunch and then back at them, contemplating in silence.
Finally, when Kris was getting ready to burst with nervousness. "If your
father wasn't already dead, I do think I would string him up for what he has
unleashed on us all."
Jessy pulled Kris closes, "she hasn't broke any of the laws, elder, if you
don't want her to be here, just say so, but you can't touch her. She is
orphaned and blameless." She was his mate, and she was an infant. He would die
before he let her be touched.
The old vampire just laughed at Jessy. "Childe, I wanted to meet her, to
learn what sort of Childe might one day grow among us, not to try to kill her.
You are right, she is an infant. Relax, boy, your woman, is safe, not only from
me, but any that live in this state. I know Anise. And unlike some of the
younger blood, those of us who go back as long as he and I do remember a time
when one of the blood's word, was respected and protected by the rest. He gave
Marcus his word, his bond, that she would be safe. So she is."
"Then why, if Marcus had not died, would you have stung him up? As pleasant
as the thought of that, particular, family member being strung up is, I still
don't understand why. If you have no war with Kris, why would you wish to hurt
her, dead, father?"
The vampire just sat back looking at Kris for a moment before answering.
"First, because I feel pretty much as you do, he had no right to do to her what
he did. Second, because her new spark will spread through us all like brush
fire, and the elders, we will have to sit down and devise new additional laws to
go with the ones we have currently. All on the care and tending of mortal's
under, our, control."
"Hey, now, like I said already, Jessy was already doing that." She got
defensive, "he has been my teacher. And if you want to bitch at Janis about how
she insisted he be with Randy, and through Randy all the rest, be my guest."
She had finally forgiven Janis for her part in Mitch and Alex's capture, but the
woman still wasn't on her, top, most loved people list.
The man laughed. "Oh, no you don't, girl. I growl at Janis, then Asha gets
involved, and then Anise will step in to defend his Childe. I know Anise. I
would never dream of warring with him. His father and my mother were brother
and sister. He is my cousin, and through him, both of you as well. I am sure,
Childe, with as young as you are, you haven't considered telling her how few of
us there really are in the world. And how interconnected we are by blood."
"Actually, Ramaine, he has. That was why Marcus had to die. There were,
originally, only a thousand vampires in the US. And that can't change. Yeah we
might move around the world as we want, but there can't be a change in the
original number. There are, only, a little over six thousand, total, in the
world. Jessy can't remember the exact number, but it is less than sixty-five
hundred tops. And that is the number that has to be maintained."
"Six thousand four hundred and thirty-one, to be precise." Ramaine smiled
at her. "And do you know why we had to set into law the ban on making any more
children, against hunting, against killing?"
She nodded. "Mortal man, became too powerful, to smart. They rule the day
and the night now. We aren't a very large race, and any careless behavior could
mean that they would hunt us again, and this time, they are a whole hell of a
lot better armed than before. Sun and fire are the only things that they can
control that can kill us. But they have all kinds of weapons that create fire.
And if they knew of us, really, believed in us, they could whip up some kind of
laser or gun that used UV bandwidths to kill us. We can try to escape fire, but
sunlight paralyzes us, and we burn to death, unable to do anything more than
scream. Trust me, elder, Jessy didn't have to take any time out of the day to
sit me down and explain all of this to me, I have been nothing but a pest with
never ending questions."
"An oddly appropriate saying among mortal parents is that a child can ask up
to four hundred questions a day." Jessy hugged her to him tightly. "This
Childe, she has that beat by breakfast."
"Questions that sooner or later, someone had better have an answer for, I
wager." Ramaine laughed. "Well go on you two, you both looked starved. Tend
to your herd, and we will go out to see your new home when the sun sets
tonight." He looked to Jessy, "Little cousin, perhaps your mortals would
welcome my two. On my word, Childe, I would never harm any of those you claim.
But there are a few that just look so, adorable."
Mitch touched Kris's hand. "Don't worry about us, Kris, I am sure Ramaine,
is no more likely to hurt any of us as you and Jessy are." He whispered kissing
her cheek.
Ramaine looked up. "Cousin, best you talk to your herd. You and she might
have a new and unique way of keeping mortals in your home, but, most will not
approve." Ramaine warned him.
"Butch isn't like any of the rest. Janis had to take him and Alex, he was
her promised before Marcus made her his Childe. So, he doesn't exactly respond
to us as a slave to his master. He knows who he is, and where his place in my
house is, but it is on a very deep level. Knows it so well that he doesn't feel
the need to grovel to us. Knows it in his soul and is comfortable with it.
Randy is, as well. My girl knows it, but she doesn't call me anything but
master for the most part. The rest are still learning it." He smiled at them
all so fondly, with such love in his eyes. "You have no idea what it feels like
when they finally are comfortable enough with you and their place, to call you
by your name. To talk with you, to joke and tease, just as if you were their
closest friend, but cry, master, and beg in your arms."
The elder vampire nodded. "It is a rare thing to be learning from one as
young as you. But learn, we shall, the possibilities are quite endless."
