Birthrights

by Butler, Christine M.

  Ve sat back and watched as the girls worked. He was only half-heartedly watching though. Ve was a Eunuch so the sex itself didn't really do anything for him, but the emotions behind it were what he fed on. As a few of teh girls came closer to their own climax, Ve began to feel more more energized. He picked up his cell phone, the best invention the humans had come up with by far, and he dialed Tobias.

  Tobias was a small time mover in the city. He would often make runs up the coast to New York or down the coast to Miami for supplies that the local leaders couldn't get their hands on. He had always been a loyal runner for Ve, but with this latest screw-up, Ve was beginning to rethink that.

  As Ve thought would happen, Tobias did not answer his phone. Instead, Ve was greeted by the weaselly voiced message Tobias had on his voice mail.

  "T. here. You need it, I get it! You know the drill, and if you don't...you got the wrong number!:

  "Tobias," Ve said in the serene, yet commanding voice he always used when he wasn't getting his way. It was his dangerous voice and anyone who spent any amount of time around Ve knew that. "Tobias, Tobias, Tobias, you enjoy the rewards you reap from me, yet I find myself wanting again - yet another shipment gone awry. Tobias, I want answers, soon. Don't make me send the dogs out." Ve hung up just as two of his whores reached their climax. The surge of energy he sucked in was enough to sustain him for quite a while. "Out," Ve demanded quietly. "Get cleaned up and get to work." The girls did not hesitate when Ve gave an order. They all knew what he was capable of. While he was probably the best pimp to have to deal with on the streets, Ve was not one you ever wanted to cross.

  Ve tossed a vial of demonic essence to the last girl leaving the room. He would always provide the girls a little bit of himself to use before they went to work. The essence worked two-fold. It gave him a connection the girls so he could feed off the energies of those they came in contact with and it gave the girls a higher power of persuasion. They were given a taste of Ve's power with each dose they took, and it became like a drug for them. There weren't really any addictive properties to demon blood, but that didn't stop the girls from wanting another taste of power, even if it meant they were physically linked to a demon while it was in their system.

  ****

  Ve pulled his cell back out and dialed Marco, "Marco, forget the package, the others can deal with that. I have a new job for you. I want you to bring me Tobias. Get the dogs out if you have to, but Marco - don't let them get away from you this time. I won't save your ass again." Ve hung the phone up and walked to the far wall where the mirror was situated. At first glance he really could almost pass for human. He was tall, around six foot. The light in the room was gleaming off his perfectly bald head. Demons were always hairless. If you found one with hair it was because they were using some form of influence to pull off something akin to Fey glamour. His eyes looked almost brown at first glance, but upon further inspection they were the reddish brown of dried blood. When he was pulling energy from highly charged emotions around him those same eyes would turn to a bright crimson. Ve's skin was pale, not vampire pasty, but he was not going to be mistaken for having spent a day on the beach anytime soon. His eyes began to shift colors as he received a remote intake of energy from one of his working girls, Carly. She always was the go-getter of the group. Ve closed his eyes and concentrated on the feelings he was pulling from Carly and her client. He opened his eyes and looked back at himself in the mirror. "If only they knew what I would give to feel those things first hand," Ve said out loud, "then they would truly understand what it is to be powerless."

  ****

  Marco hung up the phone wiht Ve and immediately felt his skin crawl and the blood drain from his face. He hated dealing with the dogs. 'Hounds of Hell,' he thought to himself. Why did he have to be the one Ve always picked to clean up the messes when Tobias and the other runners decided to take payment from someone else? He already knew the answer to that - it had something to do with the fact that he got more perks than the other degenerates Ve kept around. Marco was going to be with Carly tonight if he was a good boy, and that in itself would keep him going for a little while. 'Maybe she'll even share a little Essence of Ve with me tonight,' he thought as he thought as he scrolled through the contacts in his cell looking for his top informants.

  Marco wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so it completely took him by surprise when the person he was looking for found him first. Tobias was running down the alley and slammed right into the back of Marco, effectively knocking them both off their feet. As Tobias struggled to get up, the knowledge of who was laying spread over him dawned on Marco. He grabbed hold of Tobias and both of them came to their feet. Tobias staggered in the grasp of Marco, who while a little slow on the uptake was still very strong physically. "Run," Tobias managed to squeak out.

  Marco looked back over his shoulder and realized that there were hounds closing in fast. "Those aren't Ve's hounds, I haven't gotten them out yet."

  "No shit, Sherlock, now run or die with me!" Tobias yelled.

  Both men took off down the alley back to Marco's car and hit the passenger door at the same time. Marco tossed Tobias through the door and jumped in after him. He tossed Tobias the keys, "Drive!" He yelled it as the dogs ran into the door of the car without so much as a whimper. They dented the door panel far enough in that a jagged piece of metal was now jabbing into Marco's leg. About that time Tobias got his fingers working and started the car, taking off as fast as the squealing tires would allow.

  Marco realized his cell was still laying in the alley when he wwent to grab it to call Ve. "Damn, you stupid son of a..." he looked up at Tobias and noticed the bulge in his pants pocket. "Gimme your phone, now."

  Tobias stammered,"I don't know..."

  "Save it," Marco shouted as he leaned over and reached into Tobais's pants for teh cell. "How about that, it's right where you left it, keeping your dick warm. I guess your mom had a headache last night, because you have it on vibrate too." Marco slapped Tobais in the back of the head and then dialed Ve's number and waited for him to pick up. Just as Ve answered teh car was hit from behind by what felt like a semi-truck. "Shit!" Marco screamed into the phone.

  "Marco, you had better have a good damn reason for offending my ear that way." Ve was calm, as usual, when he spoke.

  "Ve, we got hounds on us. I found Tobias, but we got some serious problems here. They keep catching up to the Beamer."

  'I told you I wouldn't rescue you from the dogs if you lost control again, Marco." Ve said as he stifled a yawn.

  "They ain't our dogs, Ve."

  "Hmm, " came Ve;s response. "truly that begs some questions I want answered." Ve thought a moment. "Hit the bypass, they will run out of steam, then double back through town and get Tobias here as quickly as you can. I don't know who else he's double-crossed, but I don't have them get a hold of him first."

  "Understood," Marco said as he closed the phone. "Take the bypass and we will double back once those freaking mutts loose some of that stamina."

  ****

  Ve sat back wondering who exactly Tobias had gotten involved with that would have the capability of commanding the dogs. He didn't have time to really think it over much because Jacob came in and announced that someone was waiting at the front door. "I'm a bit busy, Jacob. Send whoever it is away." Ve told him

  "Ve, it's a couple of girls. One says you know her." Jacob had subconsciously backed himself almost out of the room before he finished," her name's Caislyn Vadoma."

  Ve looked up and held Jacob's eyes with his. "Caislyn is here, now?"

  "Sir, she's at the door, says she needs your help."

  "How fortuitous." Ve looked at Jacob, "what are you waiting for, seat her adn her little friend in the parlor." Ve grabbed his suit jacket and began to put it back on. "I may be missing a package, but at least I have something to play with in the meantime," Ve whispered to himself.

  ****

  Jacob brought Caislyn and Jaxon into the parlor of the house.
They sat and waited for an audience with Ve. Jaxon's hands were shaking slightly in her lap when Caislyn reached over and grabbed them to still her.

  "Don't worry," Caislyn whispered to her.

  "Easier said than done, you brought me to a demon's house to talk with him about weapons because we have so many other creepy things chasing after us."

  "I think dealing with Ve will end up being the least of our problems, today. Remember though, he feeds off of strong emotions so try to calm down a bit." Caislyn was trying to reassure Jax, but the whole prospect of something "feeding" on her emotions brough a renewed sense of dread to the pit of her stomach. Taking several deep breaths, Jax tried to calm herself, concentrating on keeping her hands still so that Caislyn, nor Ve, would see just how nervous she was about being there. A few moments later, Casly reached over and put her hand on Jax's arm. "You do realize that you are shaking the whole couch with your leg don't you?"

  Jaxon gave her friend a blank stare, "Oh, see, I can't just sit here when I'm this nervous. It's either shake my legs or pace. And I figured that pacing would probably give away the whole 'I'm extremely nervous because I;m about to be face to face with a demon' thing. I have to get this restless energy out somehow, so I guess shaking..."

  "Now you're rambling, Jax." Caislyn went on, "just stop worrying so much. This is going to go just fine. I know it is. Now, just sit there, close your eyes, and center. Remember how I taught you to shield yourself? Try building a shield to keep your energy in and other energy out. I mean this place is full of all sorts of emotion. I can only imagine what you are picking up on in here, whichis probably exaggerating your nervousness. So, concentrate on your shield."

  Jax listened to her friend's advise, closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She visualized an impenetrable shield forming around herlsef. As soon as the shield was complete, Jaxon felt calm and peaceful. She felt like she could breath and think again.

  ****

  Ve entered the room in a manner that exuded a pompous stature without even trying. "Ah, Caislyn, it has been a while." Ve looked Caislyn over with hungry eyes. He could feel the tension flowing from her, but he could not feel anything coming from her friend, despite the wave of nervous energy he felt before he entered the room. "And who have you brought for me? Another whore for my collection, perhaps?"

  "What is it with everyone assuming I'm a whore already?" Jaxon whispered to Caislyn. Ve could taste the anger in her tone and even though she had only whispered to her friend, he was able to hear every word. Caislyn may have been a smart girl, but this friend of hers was a novice when it came to dealing with demons, obviously.

  "Now, is that anyway to treat guests, Ve?" Caislyn tried to appear indifferent and to anyone else in the room she probably seemed it as well., but Ve could taste the emotions rolling off of her in waves. He had to admit to himself, they weren't what he was expecting. She continued to speak as Ve tried to get a better read on her. "We came to beg favors from you and you call my friend a whore?" Ve watched Caislyn stand and finish her statement, "maybe you were the wrong demon to come see, after all." She was good. Ve thought about his dear old friend, Mac. Now, there was a man to be reckoned with and he had taught his daughter very well. Curiosity won out as Ve had to know exactly what kind of favors Caislyn was willing to trade. She had played her hand so well thus far, so he knew it must be good.

  "Favors, you say?" Ve loved having power over people, especially powerful people. He looked again between both girls and noticed a shift in their energies. They were, to his eyes, almost feeding off of one another. Ve took note of that and nonchalantly began talking again, "my apologies to your friend, please, sit and stay a while." He smiled as Caislyn sat back down. "Now, do tell what sort of favors fair Caislyn is requesting?"

  "We ran into some trouble with a few Fey, and we need..." Caislyn's voice trailed off because as she thought of what she would need to kill a Fey, an unsettling shiver ran through her body.

  "Demon forged steel." Ve finished quietly.

  Jaxon leaned over and whispered to Caislyn, "I thought we were here for cold steel?"

  "Cold steel is just a simple term for demon-forged steel. Throughout history there have been accounts of demon-forged steel being too cold for a mere human to handle, thus the term 'cold steel.'"

  Ve listened to the exchange between the two girls and watched as the shield that wrapped around Jaxon also began to coil in and out of Caislyn's aura. 'Interesting,' he thought to himself and then he decided to provoke them again to see what the reaction would be, now that he was paying closer attention to what has happening between them. He looked at Jaxon, "and are you going to be my payment?" Red flashed through Ve's eyes as he picked up on Caislyn's sudden horror at what Ve was implying and the waiver of the shield that was being held around her friend. Jaxon was about to loose it and the only thing that held her shield in place was the Caislyn battery it was now attached to.

  Caislyn threw an annoyed glance at Ve. "Don't get your hopes up demon-boy, she is not the prize."

  Ve feigned a sigh, "well, one can always hope." Ve tilted his head back and took in a big breath then looked back at Jaxon. "It's a same really, because I sense so much potential in this one."

  "Earth to Ve," Caislyn interrupted. "We did come here for a purpose, and as to the payment plan..." Caislyn reached into her book bag she had brought with her. "These are the books you used to eyeball in my parent's store." Caislyn quickly held up the volumes in question and then put them back in the bag.

  "You brought them with you, interesting!" Ve smiled at Jacob. "Not very bright to bring them in person though."

  "Aww, Ve!" Caislyn feigned hurt for a few moments as she pouted. "I think you know me a little better than that. The books are charmed right now." She smiled. "If I don't give them to you of my own free will they will return where they belong.

  "Mac taught you well." Ve conceded. "What exactly do you require?"

  Before she could answer there was a commotion in the main entryway of the house. Ve turned, eyes the deep hot red of burning anger personified. Before he could even get the words out of his mouth, Jacob was running to the entryway to see what was going on.

  "I do hate being interrupted in the middle of business." Ve sat back down. He looked at Caislyn and began again, "so, you've run into a bit of trouble with the Fey? Is this anything to do with Mac and Vesta's disappearances?" Before Caislyn had a chance to respond, Jacob came back and whispered something in Ve's ear. "Ladies," Ve started while staring forlornly at the book bag Caislyn was holding. "As much as I want to conduct business with you, I am afraid this is going to have to wait. We've had..." Ve looked away from the bag and up towards Caislyn's face, "a bit of an emergency situation. If you don't mind seeing yourself out the back door, Caislyn - I believe you know the way." Ve got up from his seat and walked towards the entry way.

  ****

  Ve made his way to the front of the house in time to see the blodd trail Marco was leaving across the marble floors as he drug the stump of what had once been Tobias, the best runner on the east coast. "Marco, I did intend for you to bring Tobias to me in one piece so that I could slowly do what has so obviously been done to him already. When we spoke on the phone you were in a car driving, would you like to explain to me how this happened?" Before Marco could answer Ve picked up what was left of Tobias's legless body and took it to the elevator. "Jacob, see that this mess is cleaned before any more guests arrive."

  "Ve," Marco started to say, "I thought we were in the clear, but when we got out of the car and started walking up to the door..." the elevator opened and Ve walked in and placed Tobias down on teh floor on his bloody stumps. He pushed the buttons to get to the lower levels as Marco gulped back the gut-wrenching vomit-inducing feeling after watching Ve stand Tobias on his stumps.

  "You were saying?" Ve asked as he looked entirely serene, as if he had simply wondered onto the wrong set in a movie.

  Marco cleared his throat and continued, "there were hounds outside
. They were waiting here for us when we arrived." Marco was ringing his hands, an age-old nervous habit for him when things got a bit too uncomfortable. "Trained well too," Marco said as an afterthought.

  The elevator door opened just then and as Ve grabbed Tobias again he asked, "what was that?"

  "The dogs, boss. They were trained well. This pack didn't even try to come after me. That's how come they got Tobias so quickly. Usually they get confused about who they want to eat first and it gives you a second to run. These dogs sniffed the air and flew hot for him. I barely got him through the door."

  "I am sure Tobias would not agree with your assessment of getting him through the door since obviously, not all of him made it." Ve quipped. He opened a silver door about half way down the dark, surprisingly empty hallway. The opulence of the upstairs decor was not carried over to the downstairs areas. For Ve, the downstairs was a functional affair, not about the glamor. Ve's strange humor still managed to permeate the room they entered. A stranger would think they were waiting for their doctor to come examine them. It was set up like a doctor's office, down to the rolling little stool that always graced those kinds of rooms and the jar of tongue depressors. Ve plopped Tobias's still unconscious body down on the exam table and sat on the stool. He rolled it across so he could get a better look at Tobias's stumps. Then with a giggle he looked up at Marco. "You know, Marco, I often wondered why doctors were so inclined to use the rolling stools, but I think I understand better each time I have to do this. They are like crotchless panties. They provide easy access to things you want to see the most!"

  Marco stood, not knowing what to say to that. "Um, can you fix him up enough to get him to talk, or was this a wasted trip?"