Birthrights

by Butler, Christine M.

  "You've reached the desk of Marc Pithview. I am currently unavailable, but if you would please..."

  Seth disconnected the call and realized that the sun was rising. He would not be able to get up with Marc for several more hours. That meant he had time to find out what he could about the Seer. The girls had seen him outside of Ve's place, which meant that Ve was involved. There were no coincidences when dealing with those creatures. The challenge that Seth faced would be getting Ve to give him information. Unfortunately, it looked as though Seth was going to have to make a bargain with him, though he wasn't thrilled with the idea of being in debt to a demon. Right now, he saw no other way.

  ***

  Demons & Nature

  Seth pulled into the gravel parking lot outside of "Succubus" the strip club owned by Ve. This was no ordinary strip club. It catered to both humans and supernatural species alike. It was well known that one could find anything they desired inside the club, as long as you could pay the price. The thing about a demon running a club like this was that he always made sure the patrons paid, usually more than they originally bargained for.

  Seth got out of his vehicle and walked to the side door. He wasn't about to go in through the front and get bullied by the bouncers. He'd was going straight to the source. Seth had just put a fist up to knock on the door when one of the guards answered, "What do you want?"

  "I'm here to see Ve."

  "Ve don't deal with no vampires. Go away," the guard turned and started to close the door. Seth grabbed the man by the neck and squeezed. The guard struggled and tried to grab at Seth who only batted his hands away with ease.

  Seth picked him up by his throat and threw him face first into the outside wall, then held him there. "I said, I wanted to see Ve," he snarled. Seth grabbed the man's arm and pulled it up across his back until the bone snapped and popped. The guard screamed out in pain. Seth then kicked both of the man's knees in and dropped him on the ground. The guard rolled in pain as one arm flopped beside him uselessly and he reached for his legs with the other.

  Seth stood silently looking down at the guard with his eyes blazing green and his fangs at full length. He was counting on the guard's pain to catch the attention of the demon inside. It seemed as good a plan as any he had come up with thus far. Giving Ve a taste of pain would put the demon in a much better mood, and make it easier to strike a deal with him. It wasn't long before Ve stood beside Seth gazing down at his employee.

  "I would ask why you felt the need to take out one of my staff, but I enjoyed it far too much to care," Ve said nonchalantly. "To what do I owe the honor, Seth?" Ve asked walking back into the club, motioning for his other guards to clean up the mess Seth had made of the doorman.

  Seth followed the demon inside and down a short corridor to an elevator. Once he was sure that they were completely alone, Seth explained his unannounced visit. "I need information that only you can provide. I want to know what you have to do with Old Seer."

  Ve pushed the button on the elevator indicating the floor where his private suites were located. He gave a long look at the vampire standing before him. The two had crossed paths a few times, but always through other business associates. Seth didn't strike him as the type to work with a demon, so this situation gave pause to Ve, intriguing him more so than making him cautious.

  "Straight to the point, that's refreshing. I normally have to play all sorts of manipulative games when I've worked with your kind in the past," he commented as they entered the elevator. The door closed with a ding and started to descend as Ve spoke once more. "Although, I'm not quite sure why you think I can provide you with information. What makes you think I had anything to do with this Seer?"

  Seth didn't hesitate. He wasn't in the mood to play games much less with a demon. He figured truth was probably the best option, especially when dealing with Ve. He tended to know more about what was going on that any one else. "He was seen outside of your place yesterday afternoon, and it was definitely the Old Seer. My source is concrete."

  "Really? This yesterday afternoon you say?" Ve asked as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened to his personal suites. "Hmm," Ve sat down and offered Seth a drink out of a crystal decanter filled with a dark viscous liquid. "Drink?" The red shone through Ve's demon eyes as he offered the blood to Seth, "It's O positive, everyone likes O positive, don't they?" Ve sat back and thought a moment before he asked his questions. "I have lots of visitors, Seth. Some of them are a bit more well mannered than you have been here tonight. It's not easy to find a good doorman, you know." Ve took a sip of his own drink and appeared to be thinking. "Then again, obviously Teddy wasn't that good, since you worked him over like that so quickly." Ve sipped another bit of his drink before adding, "perhaps I owe you a..." Ve dropped just short of saying favor before Seth interrupted.

  "I don't want your favors Ve, I need information." Seth took the decanter and set it aside, not trusting blood offered by a demon.

  "So, you expect me to believe that your witnesses are concrete, yet you provide with me no revelations?" Ve was not a patient demon when it came to other people's demands, however; this was the first time he had ever felt Seth shaken so he was more than happy to play along. "Who, and do be specific, was here to see me? And why on Earth did they think the Seer was here?"

  "A couple of girls named Jaxon and Caislyn were here." Seth divulged. It couldn't hurt them any. They had already done enough damage by simply showing up to a demon's place to begin with.

  "Ah, yes, it was a shame really. Caislyn sure does know how to make a sweet deal. Her father taught her that, no doubt." Ve looked out past Seth, as if reliving a fond memory. "Which is another shame because as much as I wanted what that girl was offering, I would almost rather have what she wasn't offering."

  At the mention of Caislyn in that light, Seth began to loose his cool a little. He now felt protective of the girl.

  "But that friend of hers, all jitters boiling and toiling under that fiery personality," Ve said added then licked his lips. "What I wouldn't give to have her working for me. The things I would be able to feel with her kicking around the customers!”If Seth had a hard time controlling himself when Ve talked about Caislyn, he found it an impossible task to maintain his cool when the demon talked about Jaxon like a piece of meat or an hot commodity. "Watch yourself Ve," the vampire warned with a low growl of a voice, "those are my friends you are talking about."

  "Well, well, who would have thought that the hardened truth seeker for the Vampire Council would be caught up in the lives of two little girls."

  "They aren't children," Seth began.

  "No, they certainly are not. I'm not in that particular business, as you well know." Ve smiled at Seth, "Now, back to business." As Ve took another short pull on his drink he thought about how to approach the next subject without giving too much away. "What exactly did they see here?"

  "The old Seer told them a bit of prophecy and ran off into the sunset. You know anything about that?"

  Ve's face wrinkled up in distaste. He had not been expecting that particular answer. He was thinking more along the lines of the hell hounds running into Seth's friends and pissing everyone off. "He spoke to them?" Ve questioned. Unfortunately, the shock was audible through the quick question.

  Seth's eyes narrowed as he caught Ve's surprise. "Are you worried the Seer ran off with your secrets, Ve?"

  "That old fool had no secrets of mine." Ve clarified.

  "The Seer knows everyone's secrets, Ve. Demons aren't excluded from prophetic powers."

  "Point taken." Ve sipped his drink thoughtfully again. "So, tell me why you are so interested in this Seer." Ve's eyes flashed a bright red as he anticipated Seth's loss of control. "What does he know that you are trying to hide? Or, who does he know? He talked to Yummy and Scrumptious today - maybe it has something to do with them?"

  Seth's temper was on edge and nearing a danger zone with the demon. "I warned you once, Ve. You won't get another. Watch your tongue."
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  Ve poked out his forked tongue at Seth and laughed."You are no fun at all." The playful disposition was gone in a flash as Ve stood before Seth and gave a warning of his own. "You dare come into my home, misuse my employees, and threaten me, all the while begging for answers?" Ve turned his back to Seth, a gesture sure to let him know that he did not fear the vampire. "To be sure, you have forgotten who you are truly dealing with." Ve turned a cruel face back at Seth, red eyes blazing, "You were made young one - of something inferior.” Ve looked down on Seth with disgust evident on his face. “I was brought forth out of nothingness and chaos - complete. No changes needed."

  Seth ruined Ve's very serious speech at that point, "complete - you say?" Seth stifled his own laughter now. "Complete? Truly? Last I heard you were still a Enoch, are you not? I would say whoever brought you forth forgot something very important." Seth moved to stand before the demon in a flash. "I could care less about your pomp and power plays, right now I want answers. If I don't get them I will see this place leveled before the night is out. You can taste the truth of what I say on the air, demon." Seth returned to his chair and took his seat. "Now, let us talk as two civilized beings before things get out of hand."

  Ve's eyes still glowed red as he continued to seethe over Seth's crude but quite truthful comments. He knew Seth had the ability to take down Succubus as he claimed, and Ve wasn't about to allow that to happen, especially over something so insignificant as this. He sat, his eyes returning to normal.

  "Fine, vampire, but know that this will be the one and only time I accommodate you. Ask your questions."

  Seth leaned back in his chair with some relief. He hadn't been sure that calling Ve's bluff would work, but he was quite glad it did. Vampires usually didn't fair well when fighting a demon. Besides, Seth had more important things to take care of right now. "Why was the Seer here?"

  "Because I was hiding him," Ve stated as if Seth should have known that bit of information.

  "Why? From whom?"

  Ve rolled his eyes, knowing he would have to start from the beginning. "The Seer goes into hiding after every major prophecy he spews forth, especially one as controversial as this was. Do you know how many inter-breed couples were murdered at the onslaught of that pretty little prophecy? How many people wanted the Seer's head on a pike in their front yard? Everyone wanted to get their hands on him either to find out more or for interesting lawn art. Either way, the Seer had to disappear and I simply offered my services to the poor fool. Everyone has a price you know." Ve sat back smiling.

  "So what changed that you just let him go on his merry way, then?" Seth questioned a bit confused.

  Ve snorted, "Not on his merry way, I was in the process of retrieving him from hiding per his own request, when the moron, Tobias tried to sell my package to the highest bidder. He had a change of heart when he realized what a huge mistake it would be to cross me. His partner, who I didn't know about at first, decided to double cross Tobias and sell the package to the highest bidder, keeping the money to himself. Now, I'm not stupid, seeing what was going on, I was of course the highest bidder." He was bringing the package to me when my man Carlos brought Tobias in. Unfortunately for Tobias, the other party he was trying to sell the package to had sent hell hounds to retrieve him."

  Seth let out a whistle. "There aren't too many with the kind of power to control the Hounds."

  Ve smirked, "Yes, well, they didn't control them very well. They ate half of Tobias before Carlos was able to bring him inside. Fortunately for him, we were able to get the rest of him back here before he became their full meal."

  Seth sat forward, "So your double-crossing employee, did he happen to be tell you anything useful?”

  "What kind of demon would I be if I didn't take advantage of a wounded employee who was prone to disloyalty? He said the woman's name was Melina. I've had my people out searching for information on the Seer. It seems that he escaped my delivery boy's grasp when the Hounds attacked. That is when the girls must have run into him, because from the reports I've received, the bitch sent back up and they grabbed the old fool a few blocks from here." Ve smirked, “he was tra, la, la-ing up the road without a care. Seers are the strangest breed.”

  Seth rose from his chair to pace, "Well she's not a vampire, we don't need the Hounds to handle our business. She's not Fey, they only use the hounds for the great hunt. It's got to be a demon or a witch and you would know if another demon was moving in on your territory. Melina…" Seth knew he had heard that name somewhere, but he wasn't remembering. Whenever he followed that train of thought, his mind went blank. It was as if someone had plucked that memory out of his mind. Seth turned back toward Ve, who was watching the vampire with slight amusement. "I'll find the witch. Do you want her when I'm finished or do you just want the Seer?"

  Ve tilted his head while he thought about the possibilities. "The seer is a must. You could just dump them both here, but if you choose to handle the witch, I wouldn't mind having a 'taste' of her." Ve smiled.

  Seth walked to the elevator and pushed the button. The doors chimed and opened. Seth entered them and hit the button to go up. "That shouldn't be a problem." he said as the doors closed.

  Seth threw open the side door of the club and headed for his Escalade. Just as he was climbing in, he saw a familiar figure moseying up to the front door of Succubus. “It's my lucky death,” Seth said as he got back out of his Escalade., slamming the door shut as he went to approach Frank. With a fierce determination and blinding speed he flew up to the front of the building before Frank could get inside.

  "What the hell!" Frank yelled as he landed with a thud on the gravel.

  Seth stormed over to him, grabbed him by the collar hauling him to his feet. "I should have taken care of you at the gallery. Better yet, I should have let Jaxon take care of you!" He tossed him back again.

  "S-Seth. What are you doing here?" Frank stuttered.

  "Don't play coy Frank. I'm tired of you following me. You're gonna tell me everything you know, and you're not going to leave out even the smallest detail." Seth hauled Frank up and threw him inside the Escalade. Then he climbed in and took off in a cloud of dust and rock from the parking lot.

  "Now talk Frank. Why did Marc send you after me?"

  "No way, Marc will kill me. He told me to make sure you didn't find out. But I swear Seth, I wasn't following you today. This was just a coincidence."

  "He was right in telling you to make sure I didn't find out. But, Frank, Marc is not going to kill.” Seth paused and waited for that information to sink in. He saw Frank visibly calm before he continued, “I am, if you don't talk though." Seth snarled through growing fangs.

  "Uh uh, well, he wanted me to find out what you were doing with those girls. He didn't think you was telling him everything. He didn't trust you."

  Seth gunned the gas at Frank's admission. "Continue, Frank."

  Frank swallowed and tried to regulate his breathing. He was scared. Seth was barely controlling his temper and that did not bode well for Frank. Seth was not a vampire to reckon with.

  "Well, I um, when I left, um, the gallery, I went back to Marc and I told him what happened. About how that vampire girlfriend of yours threw me around."

  Seth swore underneath his breath. He made a few more turns in the Escalade. finally ending on a back road heading out of town. The sun was barely showing in the morning sky which meant he'd be able to handle the UV rays for a few more hours. He slowed the vehicle and pulled into a deserted clearing.

  “What else, Frank? What was Marc's reaction?”

  Frank eyed Seth curiously, “well, he didn't get to react that girlfriend of his, she crawled out of her hole and piped up.” At the look from Seth, Frank continued on, “she laughed and said, 'she is one of them.'”

  "Get out of my car now, Frank."

  Frank obeyed silently as Seth walked around to his side of the SUV.

  "Why did Marc not trust me Frank? Why is he interested in the girls?" Seth questioned
.

  Frank looked around. He was uneasy with being so far out of town and in the middle of nowhere. "C-cause of that witch. She screwed up her job and so he had to send you in to keep an eye out on that bookstore chick."

  Seth looked at the nervous vampire, then started pacing. "Marc is working with a witch? Do you have a name?"

  Frank thought for a moment. "Yeah, yeah, its like Melody or Melinda or something like that. She's been hanging around for awhile now. She's a power hungry one, that witch. I don't like her."

  Seth stopped in his tracks, his face showing his surprise. "You mean Melina?"

  Frank nodded, "That's it. She's the one that told Marc that he should keep an eye on you. She said she saw it in her visions or tea leaves or some mumbo-jumbo."

  Seth started pacing again. His mind was quickly putting the pieces together. Melina worked for Marc. Melina was after the Seer. Marc was watching Caislyn and wanting leads to her parents disappearance. Marc knew of his involvement with the prophecy, and now thanks to Frank, Marc knew Jaxon wasn't just a witch. He had to protect the girls, he had to protect Jaxon.

  "Damn" he said aloud. He walked over to Frank and put his arm around the vampire, walking him towards the SUV again. "Thank you Frank. You provided me with answers I needed."

  "Uh, Your welcome. You can't tell Marc that I talked with you Seth. He'll kill me."

  "No, he won't Frank," Seth said as he took a step behind the vampire. He thrust his hand through Frank's body and pushed out his heart. "I will." Seth pulled his arm out of Frank's body and let it fall limply to the ground. He threw the heart on top of it. The only real way to kill a vampire was to make sure the wound was mortal and unable to heal. A broken neck could heal. A stake in the heart could heal, but disconnect the head or take out the heart, and their bodies weren't able to fix that kind of damage.