. 01

Author's Note: Second edit pass complete! Check out my bio for details.

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~~ Welcome to the world of Vampire: The Requiem ~~

~~One week later.~~

~~Jack~~

"Twenty million."

"Fifty million."

"Twenty million."

"I'm sorry. Is there an echo in here?" The sly brute adjusted his gloves, even as he put his feet up on the table. A pistol rested in his chest strap, mirrored by the four thugs who stood behind him. Thugs in suits.

"I know what the merchandise is worth, and it's not worth fifty," Jack said. He was standing, with his arms folded across his chest and a surly look on his face. It was all part of the game, of course. Bargaining was just as much a game of knowledge as it was poker, reading and outplaying the opponent.

"Seller's market kid. You want it, you pay fifty, and I know you want it."

Jack could feel his frown growing. "You think I won't buy it elsewhere?"

"Who else would deal with Xnomina? Your head man has gone missing, and all they have is his lackeys to follow up for him. So how about we cut the bullshit, and you give me fifty or get the fuck out." The weasel kine gave a hearty chuckle; he'd thought he won.

Jack glanced over his shoulder. Julias was leaning against the wall, his arms across his chest in a similar manner to Jack. Or maybe it was Jack mimicking him?

Julias just gave him a shrug and a tiny smile. Time to man up.

Jack feigned a weary sigh, and began to pace left to right in front of the kine. He could smell the blood in their bodies, he could just faintly make out other smells too. Things normally lost to the air, he could make notice of; too much cologne was easy, but one of the men had a hint of perfume on him, and another smelled of gunpowder. All of them had the subtle mix of salt and musk that came with sweat.

When he glanced between them, they held his gaze, but there was a flicker of concern there. They didn't know him, and they didn't understand why he was so confident. He was just a young man, a tiny young man, with only one man for back-up, in a room full of sharks. What could he possibly do? When he returned their gazes, he gave them a smile, a grand smile, the smile of a man who made men like them dance on strings.

Being a Ventrue was not just his title, but his blood. Julias's lineage had started to take hold, and now, when he looked over the five humans trying to negotiate with him, he delighted in bravado of it all.

"Mr. Woolang... look into my eyes." Jack took a step toward the table, put his hands down against it, and leaned forward to look straight at the businessman.

"Kid, I am looking right the fuck at you. What kind of... of...."

Mr. Woolang's voice died down. His expression deadened, became deadpan. His body relaxed. With just a moment, he even lowered his feet, and sat still and limp with his head loose on his shoulders. He looked right back at Jack, and Jack in turn gazed straight into the conniver's soul.

And he crushed it. The human's will was just an ant before him, and through his eyes he was able to find that will and grind it into dust. His sister Mary's will had been much stronger than this oaf, this worthless gutter trash, this inferior, juvenile thug. And despite himself, he enjoyed squashing it.

"You will accept twenty million, Mr. Woolang."

"I will... accept... twenty million." Like a drone.

"Mr. Woolong?" His guards walked up to reach out and shake him, and when they looked to Jack, they met his gaze too. And they too crumbled.

"You four will accept this as a good deal."

"We... will accept...." A chorus of drones.

"Good. Call my assistant to arrange the exchange. Good night." He gave a short nod, didn't even try to hide the obvious pleasure in his eyes, and walked out of the room.

Julias chuckled behind him, but didn't say a word. He just followed his childe out, playing the role of bodyguard in their little charade. When Jack gave a glance over his shoulder, Julias was grinning at him, and gave him a pat on the shoulder as he closed the door behind him.

A few minutes later, they were out of the dark alley and back onto the busy streets of Dolareido. Hookers in fancy, expensive dresses, cocaine addicts in expensive suits, and expensive cars with nowhere to go. Such was Dolareido night life.

The sidewalks were large, but Dolareido was a city that reached the sky with apartments stacked on apartments, particularly in South Side. The hotels were luxurious and the casinos were noisy. It was a city that never slept, and that meant people, lots of them. Julias and Jack were soon buried in the crowd, but they walked through them with an ease Jack had never known when he was alive. Dodging shoulders and hips was easy, but keeping his eyes off their exposed necks was not.

Damn he was hungry. Mesmerizing five kine was not what he'd planned, and now he had an empty stomach to show for it.

"Five at once, Jack. Color me impressed."

"Thanks. They were just... it was just so damn easy. I mean I really wanted to do more, like tell them to beat each other senseless for that bull shit. Fifty million for just a year's worth-"

Julias gave him a quick jab in the side. Right, right, you don't mention any details where people can hear. Xnomina didn't need a federal investigation into its less-than-legal dealings. Kindred talk was easier to get away with in the open; vampires didn't exist after all.

"If you could have done more, then that is even more impressive. It may be a talent of a Ventrue to dominate another's mind, but it's coming to you really quick."

"I got a good teacher."

Julias stepped in beside him and hooked an arm about Jack's shoulder, complete with a hug. "I am pretty amazing."

Jack laughed. Julias laughed. It was that same stupid laugh they shared back before Jack had ever known about vampires. God damn the nostalgia felt nice.

"Got another date with the Prince?" Julias said. His sire let go of him then, but not before giving him a hard punch in the arm. Julias didn't used to be the guy with the buddy punches; Beatrice probably taught him that one.

"Yeah. With Xnomina's schedule and her schedule, we don't see each other as much as we'd like."

"Look at you, trying to balance your work and social life like an adult."

His sire was goading him. Good-natured ribbing had become the norm between them again, since Julias's rise to power. The two of them had become the duo Viktor and Julias had once been, securing deals for Xnomina and expanding the power sphere of the Invictus. For now, it was just dealing with kine, and that was getting easier and easier every day.

But there was something else too. Julias was smiling more. He'd always been a more morose fellow, and in hindsight, Jack realized his sire fit the bill of eternally-tormented undead creature of the night quite well. That was then though. In less than ten days, the century-old Ventrue had gained a bounce in his step.

Could it have been because Viktor was dead? Or was it shark-mouth's fault? Mental note: ask Beatrice, and thank her for whatever kinky shit she was doing to him to make him smile.

"Things going well with you and the Nosferatu?"

"I haven't shown her the new place yet." Julias waved down a taxi. "At first I figured she'd hate a mansion, but then... well, she's really got a thing for suits." His sire grinned with that one.

"Ugh, I don't want to visualize that."

"Hey, you're the one whose relationship is the hot topic. You don't think everyone's visualizing what Antoinette's doing to you?"

He hadn't thought of it, at least not in such explicit terms. Their relationship wasn't secret, there was no way it could have been, but knowing other people were talking about him, picturing him with her? For a moment he frowned, but then the reaction passed, and a Ventrue smile replaced it.

"Let them."

Once the taxi came to a stop, Jack jumped in, but Julias remained on the street and leaned forward to put his hands on the door and roof.

"Just be careful kid."

"You know Antoinette won't-"

"I don't know her, and that's the problem." Julias gave a shrug. "I got everyone in this city figured out, Jack. I know what they want and I know why, even that witch Jacob. But her? Who knows what's going on in any Dragon's mind?"

Jack laughed then, and gave Julias a small, dismissing salute. "Blood and secrets, like everyone else."

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The Elysium tower -- the humans called it Central Tower -- was where the Prince both held her meetings, and where she slept deep down in its depths. There were no other towers near it for several blocks, so once he found the garden maze that spread out before it, all he had to do was walk toward the giant glass monolith.

He stuck to the sidewalks for a little while, just to hear the heartbeat of the city more clearly. Taxis and high heels instead of crickets and rustling leaves. Over the past few months, they'd become his chorus of life; it's not like he had his own to provide it. No heartbeat, no breath, even swallowing saliva or the need to blink were gone. He kind of missed it, but only a little.

Some larger kine walked by him, obvious that they expected him to be the one to move, but when he gave them a hard glare they were the ones to step aside. Julias had warned him Ventrue had a desire to dominate, to control, to own and rule, that it was in his blood and it would be both an asset and a curse. But for the moment, he enjoyed having the street crowd of kine be the ones to step around him, instead of him being the one to move.

He stepped into the garden maze. Antoinette really did have amazing taste, if old, but it really lent to the odd mash-up of modern metal railings and walls that served as platforms for the garden walls, the benches with carvings of stone vines, and actual vines that joined them. It was like someone had combined smooth, minimalist metal architecture with old, rustic stone carvings. The walls were short, three or four feet, so it wasn't much of a maze, and it let him see the various people coming and going from the streets and paths that connected with it.

Elysium was a no-violence zone for Kindred, and its garden maze was a great place for Kindred to hang out. He could see them, hiding in the shadows with only the occasional lamppost to expose them, and they gave him a quick glance before going about their business. Some of them stopped though, stared at him in shock, and then turned to a fellow Kindred to whisper.

He was the survivor of the incident that had killed Tony and Viktor; so many talked about that. Then there was the fact his relationship with Antoinette had become public knowledge. It's not like he could have hidden it, he was no Mehket, and Antoinette's movements were monitored by everyone.

And that was fine. He gave the other young Kindred a small smile, even a small wave, which was very decidedly not Kindred-like of him. They faded into the shadows. He couldn't blame them; that's what he did for a while when he first became Kindred.

According to Julias, he got over bullshit fast, and was picking up being a Kindred fast too. That didn't mean he didn't think about Mrs. Pavala or Mary or his mom, but he knew if he did too much, he'd be just like those other Kindred hiding in the shadows of Elysium. Weak, depressed, and struggling with their new life as undead predators. A different sire, different circumstances, and he could have spent a decade wallowing in misery.

He stopped in front of the giant, glass tower, and glanced back over his shoulder toward the garden maze. Damn it. He shook his head, like he was trying to shake out the infectious thoughts. Why the fuck was he thinking about all this? Get out of your head for once, Jack. Shit was going well. Shit was going very well. Just enjoy it.

So he pushed open the doors of the Elysium Tower, gave a nod to the front desk, and headed towards the elevator.

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The elevator didn't go all the way to the bottom floor, but stopped before an array of stairways in a giant lobby of the black marble the Prince seemed to like so much. From there, the stairways reached down to varying levels, each opening to a hallway marked by dragon statues at their entrances. Antoinette's vault was only the final part of the inner depths of the Elysium tower, and he wasn't there quite just yet.

It was an underground, ridiculously expensive paradise. The cost to fill each floor with its luxuries would have easily been in the tens of millions, like the huge pool, the electronic entertainment, the bar where only the best blood was served, the stage for musicians, and its locked labs where Antoinette pursued her secret Dracul ways.

The joys of power, money, and the centuries to use it.

Then there was a giant vault door. Getting through that would have taken a nuke, and it was only there the Prince felt comfortable sleeping the day. He walked down the stairs, fully intent on knocking, when the sound of splashing water drew his eyes to the side.

He walked between two dragon statues, curling marvels of blue, before stepping into the pool room. Like much of the underground levels, the walls, the floor, everything was black marble with cracks of white throughout. Antoinette really had a thing for marble. But, to her credit, it both looked awesome, and was updated with smart LED bulbs in carved holes. They were emitting slow waves of blue and white light over the huge room. The only sounds were the quiet hum of air cycling, and more splashing.

Antoinette was there. For a moment, he was excited at the prospect of seeing her in a swimsuit, but the tall creature was in a white bath robe, sitting on her side on a lounge chair by the poolside, her elbow propped up on its arm and a book in her hand. She was so tall, curvy, long white hair, just... so fucking beautiful.

The water looked surreal with the white and blue light gently alternating over it against the black marble. Around the pool were a dozen huge lounge chairs of white, with glass tables for sitting and chatting. He'd never seen anyone use them though, until now.

The splashing was coming from two girls in the pool.

"Ashley, come on, I beat your time so bad."

"Lies! Madness! You did no such thing. I am still the champ -- Oh! Jack!"

Jack found himself standing at the edge of the pool. He felt so out of place, still in his shoes and wearing his suit, while the two ghouls were wearing open-back one-piece swimsuits. But hot damn, the two blonde and brunette ballerinas looked great in the water. He did always have a thing for wet hair.

"Ah, Mister Terry. You arrived early," the Prince said, and she lowered her book down before giving a small smile. "Good."

"Ah, hey... girls." Nervous cough. The Prince's two ghouls swam up to him, came to a stop only a couple feet away from him, and glanced at each other with delighted giggles.

"You've been stealing all the Mistress's time! We haven't seen her in over a week!" Ashley said.

Julee nodded in agreement.

"Sorry! But we're... you know...." Christ, he could stand toe-to-toe with any cold, ruthless thug, but talking to a couple of pretty girls was more than enough to put his tongue in a knot.

"Forgive the girls, little Ventrue. It is true that I have neglected them for you lately." She motioned for Jack to come to her. "I hope you do not mind sharing my time with them for a little while?"

"No, of course not." He walked around the pool, almost skipped, and came to a stand by the Prince. She had her white hair combed over her shoulder to drape down her chest and white robe, and she combed it with her fingers when she looked at him. So pretty.

"Come now Jack, please undress. There is no need for suits here."

"Hehe, ya!" Ashley had followed him without leaving the pool, and now the blonde had her elbows up on the pool edge to hold herself while she watched. Julee followed in behind her, the quieter of the two girls, but she hooked her elbows over the pool edge just the same, and gave Jack a rather intrigued look.

He looked to the two ghouls, then back to Antoinette. She was giving him that look with her red eyes, the one where she expected him to obey. It was never a harsh or cruel look, but a dominating one nonetheless, and it was more than enough to make him oblige. He wanted to oblige.

He started to undress.

"Julee, Ashley, come here. You may have your drink while Jack gets comfortable," the Prince said.

The girls pulled themselves out of the pool, and Jack couldn't help but sneak glances at their bodies while he undid the buttons of his jacket. Their swimsuits may have been one-piece, but their open-back designs left little to the imagination. Tight little ballerina bodies Jack very, very, very much wanted to sink his teeth into. Why didn't he eat before coming?

It only got worse when the two girls sat down on the floor, and with great smiles, waited impatiently while the Prince cut open her own wrist. Jack had never seen what it looked like, for someone to drink Kindred blood, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Antoinette cutting open her skin with a fingernail. The pale skin of a vampire did not let blood just flow out freely, so Jack's eyes were glued to the sight of it when a large, thick, dark droplet of it formed over the wound. The Prince was forcing the blood out, much the same way a Kindred controlled their blood to do many things.

In this case, it was to feed her ghouls. First a single drop for Ashley, and then Julee, which had them both sighing with the bliss of satisfied addiction. Julias had explained the addictive properties of Kindred blood, but also how it turned humans into immortal, strong creatures for weeks before more blood was required. It had all been explained, but seeing it was so different, so real, how the two ghouls sat at Antoinette's side like pets. Happy, purring pets.

Soon, his jacket, tie, and shirt were on another lounge chair, with his shoes and socks underneath. "Um, should I—"

"All of it," the Prince said.

He was just going to ask about the pants, but she wanted him naked. Naked in front of her two ghouls. The two pets even turned to look at him then, and they got comfortable on the marble floor to watch him like giddy school girls.

With an awkward cough, he slid off his pants and boxers. Like the Prince, he hadn't blushed yet, so his skin was pale, thinned, and no physical symptoms of arousal were to be had. Despite that, Ashley and Julee giggled yet again, and watched him with hungry eyes.

"Oh. He's a strong, lean little man, isn't he Mistress?" Ashley said.

Antoinette nodded. "Indeed he is. Julias groomed him well."

All three women were gazing at him, looking him up and down, smiling their devilish little smiles and sharing hushed chuckles. He was a piece of meat on display, and yet, he couldn't even begin to be offended. Nervous and uncomfortable, sure, but after having seen Antoinette devour him with her eyes many times, it was exciting instead.

"Blush for us, Jack," the Prince said.

He knew what would happen the moment he did, so he looked away, and kept his hands at his sides as he began the blush of life. Immediately, his skin warmed with the pulse of a fake heartbeat, and his member rose to a full erection; he suppressed his reflex to cover himself. Antoinette would not want him to cover anything.

The ghouls burst into fits of giggles, cheeks red with their own blushing, but the Prince gave each of them a thump on the head.

"Treat Jack with respect. He is my lover, and you will be seeing much of him." The Prince motioned for Jack to sit on the chair his clothes were laying on. "Jack, you would not mind letting my pets grow more comfortable with you, yes? They have never been with a man."

Jack took a seat, gripped the edge of the chair, and did his best to not squirm. Never been with a man? Was Antoinette implying what he thought she was implying?