Control

by James D. Horton

  “Óchi ! Af̱tó den tha eínai ! Stamatí̱ste af̱tó tó̱ra !”

  My eyes fly open and Athene is standing there screaming at me as I look at her through the haze of the seamstress’s hair; my mouth still pressed to her neck.

  Athene is wearing some kind of white toga with a gold belt around her waist, the scar on her face is gone but her features are distorted with anger. She is red in the face as she screams at me in a language I don’t understand. I withdraw from the girl, licking the wound my fangs have created instinctively knowing that my saliva will heal her leaving no trace. I let her slide to the floor but it is not the floor anymore, we are standing in a forest grove. I blink my eyes and look around, Have I lost my mind?

  “Athene?” I look around confused and she slaps me across the face, spinning my head back around.

  “No! We do NOT do that! It is not acceptable; you will not do that ever again!” Athene is shrieking at me. “It is not right; it is not the way of things! Unpure. Cannot be. Will not be, not in this house, not anywhere!” She talks so fast her words are running together and I can barely keep up with them.

  “Why . . . Ho . . . How are we in the woods?” I still have no idea what’s going on. The girl at my feet has apparently passed out from shock or loss of blood, I don’t know. My face stings where Athene slapped me and my stomach is turning flip flops as waves of nausea pass through me.

  Athene stops and looks around then she looks down at herself. She pauses in her tirade, closes her eyes and takes one very unnecessary, very deep breath. As she exhales the forest is gone and we are standing in my room again. She opens her eyes and smiles at me.

  “Let’s not do that again,” she murmurs.

  My chest tightens at her soft words. “I’m sorry, I just . . .” I stutter.

  “I understand, I do. It is frustrating when you are but as a child. You are young and want to control your world. You must learn that I know best, I am as your Mother now, a bright light in the sky from which you can garner wisdom. We are superior creatures, our sustenance is not as mere mortals, we are the immortal gods and you are my child, created by my power. You must be benevolent to those who would worship us if they knew our true nature. Would you treat so poorly those who would worship you? Who would be drawn to you? You must be better than that.”

  I nod and then look at the girl leaning against me. Athene takes her away, gently laying her in the bed and arranging her hair.

  “She will only remember having a very intimate encounter with you when she wakes, you must do nothing to disabuse her of this idea. She will feel uncomfortable I’m sure, and she may not be willing to work for us anymore but that is as it will be. Now,” she turns to me “where did we leave off? Ah, I see.” Kneeling down she takes up the needle and thread and sets to work finishing my hem.

  KEEPING THE SILENCE

  Katherine

  “REGENT,” I ENTER HIS OFFICE WITH A SWAY IN MY HIPS. The room is a lot like him; it attempts to be ostentatious but comes off commonplace. It has dark paneling with thick pile carpet, bookshelves line one wall and are filled with law books behind glass. A self portrait hangs directly behind the massive desk which is sparsely decorated; the corner is taken up by a large hand crafted chess set with marble pieces.

  I walk across the room and take a seat in one of the overstuffed suede chairs. The Regent of the City slouches in his high backed chair, his suit is slightly disheveled, his tie is undone and the top button of his shirt is as well. He has his hands steepled in front of him, an affectation he picked up from Genosoa, and he watches me over the top of them.

  “Katherine. Is it covered?” Angelopolous’s manner is abrupt.

  I smile at him, he is only a pawn in a much bigger game but I do so enjoy playing with him. I lean back, half lid my eyes, and adjust without seeming to so that the hem of my dress climbs just a little bit up to reveal my perfect thigh.

  “Oh yes, the incident has been handled. The little boy is back with his family; surprisingly he survived the rampage of the beast. Dallas seems to have gotten there in time to save him which was a pleasant surprise. When one is dealing with animals, you never really know what results you will get when you set one against another.” I slowly close my eyes and open them again without really taking them off of him. He leans forward, elbows on his desk, his eyes locked to my exposed skin not even pretending to keep eye contact. Albert, you are so easily manipulated!

  “Good. I don’t know why Genosoa wants him back in the game but you know he gets what he wants.”

  I let my tongue flick out to moisten my lips before I reply. “Of course he does,” I make sure my voice is just slightly breathy. That always gets him and I want him around my finger completely.

  Suddenly he sits up in his chair, his eyes narrowing as he actually looks at my eyes. “You don’t know what he wants, do you?” Suspicion clouds his face.

  I widen my eyes in surprise, just the right amount; too much gives the game away and too little will not be effective.

  “Me?” A sad half smile forms on my face. Perfect. “I’m as much a pawn in this as you. He talks to you; I just pull some strings at City Hall.”

  He nods in acceptance, leaning forward again his attention returns to my exposed flesh. Good boy.

  “Was it hard to cover this? It was quite a mess.” He doesn’t really care, I can tell.

  “Oh, the usual, a string here, a favor there.” I wave my hand dismissively; I never reveal how I do what I do. He would be so upset if he knew that I trade sex with one of the old men on the City Council. I find the Regent a bit fascinating in his desire to see me as a pure, virginal girl who is his only. He is a vampire and his world view on women is still that of his childhood. He sees what he wants, and with some little effort I am able to give him what he wants to see, if he doesn’t look too closely. It works well for both of us in the end.

  “The pieces are being moved,” he gestures at the chess set.

  I nod, playing along, and as I adjust my position again the low cut dress I’m wearing slips just as I intend, drawing his eyes back to my chest this time.

  “He’s called her in.”

  “Her?” I freeze. An instant only, but he notes it; I see it in his smile.

  “Yes, her.”

  I shake my head, just slightly. It can’t be ... “Why?”

  “I don’t know,” he sighs running his fingers through his hair. “That is what I need to find out. Why? Why now?” He leans back further in his chair. “The City has been quiet, we’ve kept the Silence. Why the moves now? Why shake things up and break the status quo? Why bring Dallas back into the City now? Most especially, why risk bringing her in? Dallas is unpredictable in the best of times, if she gets involved, there is no controlling him.”

  My mind races as I process this new information. This changes everything. I know Genosoa is bringing the Wolf back into the City, but why would he bring her back, to control him, or to push him over the edge? Genosoa has told me of a grand experiment, of trying to find a new way to control the beast without giving up the power that comes with it like others have done before. That is why I work for him, but if she is involved the situation just went from dangerous to insane. That woman is a power player, as the daughter of Athene her power could rival Genosoa if not exceed it because she doesn’t have the disadvantage of being off her rocker like Athene. What is his move bringing her into the City? What is he trying to accomplish?

  Albert’s hand on my shoulder startles me out of my thoughts. He runs his fingers lightly over my collar bone, down my neck and across the top of my breast.

  “I need you,” he says as his fingers run back up into my hair.

  I feel his hand clench into a fist there using the leverage to pull me to my feet. He swings me around using his hand in my hair so that I land on the desk knocking the lamp and other items aside. He pulls my head back at the same time forcing himself between my thighs. His free hand grabs both of my arms by the wrist pinning them behind me. His ro
ugh tongue runs from my neck up to my cheek bone. I moan as expected, feeling his cock pressing against me. I push my breasts and pelvis into him, I let him handle me roughly as he takes his pleasure. I moan and thrust all in perfect time, fulfilling his needs while keeping him from taking too long while he does. He collapses onto me spent and I let him rest there a moment before gently pushing on his chest. He rises off of me, pulling his pants back up and straightening his clothing as I slide off the desk, pushing my dress back into place.

  He looks tired and almost I feel sorry for him. He turns his back on me as he dresses and I stomp on that niggling feeling of concern for him. He wants to play with the big boys but is not a big boy himself in any sense of the word.

  “I have to go,” I excuse myself and his face drops like a lost puppy for an instant, then he steels himself.

  “Of course,” he says.

  I walk over to him, kissing him lightly on the cheek. “It will all work out just fine,” I say with a smile.

  He nods and reaches his hand out to take mine. I let my finger tips linger in his hand as I slowly back away, then turn and make sure I put an extra bit of sway into my walk as I leave feeling his eyes on me as I do so.

  The door closes behind me with a quiet click and I pull my phone from my clutch, hitting the speed dial in a single motion as I approach the elevator. The phone rings twice and is answered with silence.

  “He is under control,” I say to the silence.

  “Good.” John Genosoa says nothing more and I hear a click as the line disconnects. When I get in the elevator I check myself in the reflective stainless steel around the buttons. A quick touch up of the lipstick, a slight adjustment to the dress, then the elevator doors open and I stride out to my next appointment. It’s good to be Queen.

  INTO THE LION’S MOUTH

  Lily

  WE DRIVE TO MY DEBUTANTE BALL IN A LIMOUSINE. It’s yet another change from what my life would have been like with Wolf, with him we walked everywhere. Wolf eschews most things of Society; he lives in a cave, dresses like a cowboy and refuses to have much to do with the city. Athene embraces all that the world has to offer, embraces it and dominates it. She sits next to me now, one hand casually resting on my thigh; she is looking out the window with a dreamy look. I stare out my own window at the city, silently watching the scenery pass by.

  As we drive I see my old life out there on the streets. There are gang members on street corners and kids on bikes serving as lookouts for drug dealers. We pass by hooker row where all the whores work the street under the watchful eyes of their pimps. These people scrape by, surviving in a city that is filled with darkness. A man walks up to a woman and slaps her across the face right as we drive past, I hear him yelling at her and screaming obscenities. My beast rears up out of nowhere, things turn red in front of me and I’m opening the car door, crouching to leap but just as I do Athene’s hand tightens on my thigh and pulls me back to my seat.

  “That dress is much too nice to be wasted on such a situation.” Athene’s voice is calm.

  I turn on her ready to fight but her own beast snarls from behind its cage of light. I suddenly find myself cowering down.

  “I’m sorry, oh God, I’m sorry Athene,” I grovel before her. “I’ll do better.” Athene smiles and it makes everything all right. I try to examine the feelings that she creates in me but they are tangled up with the monster. I can’t separate out what is me and what isn’t, I don’t see the separation or what she is doing that gives her such a level of control over me.

  “Do not be distressed child; it will get easier I promise you.”

  I nod as peace returns to me; the beast is subdued yet again. I can’t seem to keep it under control. Anytime I relax it is there ready to take over and there is no separating its primal urges from my own thoughts and ideas. It hits me and I just react. It scares me when I think about the things that it wants me to do, mostly it scares me how much I want to give in to it and do them. I want to feel flesh under my fangs and that first piercing as the skin breaks. I imagine the squirt of blood coppery and salty as it bursts into my mouth. I shake my head to try and clear the thoughts, How does anyone survive dealing with this?

  Outside the streets continue to pass; the drive leaves me more time alone with my thoughts. Since I’ve become what I am now I find myself figuring out new things I can do, mostly by accident. I found out that I can move really fast when I ran into a wall because I moved to catch a falling glass off my bedside table. I learned my strength by breaking things. It takes a while to adjust. Athene helps and she is imminently patient with me as I tear up her stuff but I can’t say it doesn’t bother me, both to tear up her possessions and to so often feel like a fumbling child learning to walk.

  My eyesight is also greatly improved now that I’m dead. I can see a fly at hundreds of yards away. Literally, I was looking out the window hoping to see Wolf waiting for me and I noticed a fly on the building across the street. It was fascinating and weird all at the same time.

  I focus on the buildings as they go by the car and then I see him. He stands on top of a corner drug store; his shadowed form is unmistakable to my enhanced eyes with that cowboy hat and duster fluttering in the breeze. My heart leaps up, my throat tightens, my beast reaches out for him and my hands ball into fists. Then he is gone, we drive past and the moment is over.

  I push down the urge to jump from the car again. Athene stopped me once and I don’t want her to think I’m foolish. He is not here for me, he watches the city often, or so I’ve been told. No one really knows why Wolf, or Dallas as Society calls him, does anything he does. He walks his own dark and lonely path. I tear my eyes away from the street and stare ahead at the darkened glass that separates us from the driver. I struggle with the thing inside me silently, trying to find a way to cage the monster. I wonder how Wolf had done it; I wonder about the others as well, each one seems to have their own way of coming to terms with it. I have no idea what will work for me or if it’s going to kill me trying.

  We arrive at the Genosoa Towers, two skyscrapers that rise thirty floors over the city made of black glass and steel, they are elegant and sleek in design. Genosoa Towers are the heirloom of the Genosoa family, a family alleged to be the least known of the old mob ‘families’. They supposedly went legitimate after the Prohibition Era but in this city, in this world, no one is innocent and I sincerely doubt they make all their money above board.

  We pull up to a red carpet and a man in a tuxedo opens my door and holds his hand out for mine so I give it to him. He assists me out of the car which I appreciate, getting out in this dress is more awkward than I would have thought, at least if you want to maintain a modicum of decency. I step aside and he assists Athene from the car as well.

  “Welcome,” he says warmly. “Please allow me to escort you into the Towers.”

  We walk along side of him up to the doors and I can hear his heart beating slowly as we walk. I keep my eyes focused straight ahead, if I don’t look it is easier to maintain control. We walk the carpet alone through the night, there are none of the pressing crowds that would accompany an event like this on television but that is probably a good thing with my current inability to handle myself.

  As we approach both the doors swing open and two men step out to greet us. We walk into an empty lobby with green-veined white marble floors that is sparsely decorated with modern furniture. A guard station sits just ahead of us beside a hallway that leads to two banks of elevators that face each other. Directly ahead is a sweeping grand stairway wide enough for six people at a time. The stairs are also marble with shiny chrome rails and frosted glass panels coming down each side with another in the middle. Hanging from the ceiling is a life sized banner of John Genosoa, founder of the Genosoa fortune. He is a stern looking man in this likeness of him, sporting a bristly grey beard that seems to stick off his chin as if a pointing device of its own. He has cold, steel grey eyes that stare out of a wrinkled face with pinched features.

&nb
sp; I stare up at him for a moment before I realize someone must have said something as the greeters and Athene are all looking at me.

  “I’m sorry?” I ask.

  “Are you ready my dear? Our party is on the 20th floor,” Athene is smiling patiently.

  “Of course,” I answer. The monster inside me stirs and I swat its head, or at least figuratively I do. I’m not sure how my power works exactly; it’s all pictures in my head though so I work with it.

  They lead the way to the elevators, which run faster than any I’ve ever seen and in moments we are on our way to my debut. I brace myself as the doors slide open, Athene steps in front of me to lead the way. I feel the vampires in the room before I see them. When I came into these situations before as a human, I was afraid of them; tonight the monster in me wants to challenge them all. It leaps up in an instant but I am ready for it, Athene has schooled me on the initial response of the beast to meeting others. It wants to show dominance over them so I take its energy and channel it. I stand straighter; I imagine pulling a cloak of self assurance and pride around myself. I am someone to be feared and admired. They think they are the predators but I am the bigger predator in the room. As I channel the energy from the beast it settles down and I feel it purring with satisfaction. I nod to Athene that I have myself under control and she steps into the room to clear the way for me.

  As I exit the elevator applause breaks out and works its way around the room. My smile broadens as I walk, feeling the sway in my hips that my heels create, I pull their attention to me and for the first time in my life I let myself revel in it. I am the center of attention and I deserve it. I am beautiful, I am the predator in this room and they all should bow to me. The rumbles from my beast exude satisfaction that it has shown its dominance and is being properly admired.

  Athene leads the way and I follow as people come up and introduce themselves but it is quickly a blur, I try to remember names and faces but the distractions are too many. Some I know from before. They each approach Athene and then turn to greet me.