Of Superior Design

by Matt Rogers

  Chapter 12

  The Beech house was naturally located on a beach if one defined beach in the broad sense. The home sat on a cliff overlooking the sand below and the view was spectacular.

  “My goodness that’s a long way down!” Melissa screamed over the wind.

  “Yes, five hundred twenty-feet to be exact!” the Matriarch of Food Tribe, Victoria Beech, answered.

  They were outside enjoying the afternoon weather, the two Vamps standing at the cliff edge, Daemon holding a string attached to a kite which was flying far overhead and Johnny off to the side, away from the women not out of respect for privacy but fear of heights.

  “So, he is the one?” Victoria asked.

  “Yes, he’s the one” Melissa answered.

  Melissa was getting used to the initial reaction others of her kind had when first encountering her half-brother and fake-mate. When Johnny was around they felt a connection sever and the result was not pleasant. They could still see, hear, feel and taste at times their brethren but they could not detect their scent. They were essentially odorless, in effect, Human. Wolves and Vamps relied on their sense of smell more than their weaker subspecies and they used it for different purposes. Wolves detected pheromones in the air to locate potential prey and Vampires used their aroma-detecting abilities for another, more important, purpose; the art of staying alive. Vampires could become invisible, blend into their surroundings so the sense of scent proved rather useful in the prevention of death from competing factions. Without scent another strange aspect also arose as the power between the genders reversed. Wolves were by far the stronger of the two and could render headless a Vamp in no time flat. Vampires had evolved two traits to offset the obvious disadvantages they were bred with; they emitted odors found to be irresistible to Wolves and their skin pigment could be altered to provide stealth. They either seduced or they hid. Wolves could detect them through the use of smell but it was time-consuming and haphazard at best. Vamps had been perfecting the art of disappearance for so long they were exceptionally accomplished at the task. With Johnny around, though, the Vampires were at an advantageous state. They could remain essentially invisible and sneak up behind any Wolf. It would be a dangerous situation for Wolves were a breed apart but with cunning and skill a Vamp could and had removed the brain-case of many their canine equivalents over the millennia. What Johnny gave to Vampires was the possibility of dominance and since they were bred for it they relished the opportunity it provided. Wolves, not so much. They felt he was a betrayal; a weakling Wolf who empowered vindictive Vamps with the ability to rule without mate. It was one of the reasons they’d rebelled when Yin held sovereign over the clans. With Yang not only was Yin unstoppable but so were their murderous mates. Wolves would become extinct. The only ones who could scent Vamps were Yin, Yang, and Merri Li. Melissa, of course, also held the ability for she shared Yang’s blood but she was unknown to Wolves at the time so was never mentioned in the archives.

  “He’s not as I thought he would appear” Victoria said and Melissa could only concur.

  Johnny was in every way the definition of average. He was so average he went unnoticed. Whether Human, Wolf or Vampire the outcome was always the same and Johnny was ignored. The only time he became noticeable was in the presence of two Superiors and one had blood-bonded with him. If they’d been talking and Johnny appeared a sudden and shocking development occurred as the one not bonded would immediately lose the subliminal but most powerful sense they possessed for telling apart Superior from Inferior. Wolves were large and Vamps beautiful but there were enough Humans on the planet to make sight detection meaningless. A few Human males were of relative size to Wolves and since Wolves attack each other on principle alone the ability to detect a true Superior from a large Inferior became of utmost importance. The Wolves couldn’t very well go around beheading every large male because they were unsure of their intentions but they also could not stop themselves for they were bred to dominate.

  “Uncle, Johnny?”

  “Yes, Daemon?”

  “Others are coming.”

  The child was stronger than him and it was proving difficult to take. Johnny was the weakest of his kind but the most valuable also. He gave the Wolf what he wished for and allowed Vamps the opportunity of conquest. His only problem was both halves would rather see him dead for two distinct reasons. Wolves, obviously, because they’d never feel safe if their mates could sneak up on them and Vampires because at the end of the day, when everything ironed itself out, it would still be a Wolf who led all. Any Wolf who bonded with Johnny retained the power of scent and thus would be the most dominant player in the pack. Vamps would need to acquiesce or receive the consequences of non-existence.

  “Where are they, Daemon?” Johnny asked.

  “At the bottom of the cliff” the boy replied.

  Melissa heard what Daemon said and glanced down at the beach to see who was coming. She saw no one so allowed her vision to wander until she spied a small boat approaching the shoreline.

  “The child is amazing” Victoria remarked.

  “Yes he is” Melissa replied.

  “He is also extremely dangerous.”

  “Yes, he is that also.”

  Daemon was the answer to Heaven’s prayer, the reason for Superior existence, the meaning of their life. He was Wolf, Vamp and Cloak all rolled in one. He was the savior, the one destined to rule all but he came with a question Superior minds feared to answer. What does one do with old medicine after a cure has been found? Daemon was the product of new and old. He contained the gene line of Yin and Yang yet was borne without another. Modern medicine had finally arrived. Johnny had exploited its potential. He knew of Stephanie’s desire to rule in her sister’s place so had planted the seed which grew the heir. If Stephanie would wait until medicine advanced what was previously impossible could become reality. If an egg could split in two then two could become one. Stephanie agreed to wait and when the time was right, as Johnny knew it would come, she’d bewitched Lucifer and became pregnant for her one and only time. Medical research was employed and a switch thrown. The genetic code was manipulated and where once many would reside only one took residence. Daemon’s DNA held the answer. In it was the program for cell division. It was shut off. What they were trying was to breed a dominant Wolf with the physical power of Yin and the cloaking abilities of Yang. What they received was more than they’d bargained for. While it was not unheard of for a litter to provide both Werewolf and Vampire it generally never transpired. Litters usually began with twenty to thirty possible children. Half was the normal birthing rate. While in the womb survival became a game of numbers. If more Vampire embryos existed they would attack and render harmless the lesser Wolf ones. The same was true in the opposite direction. What happened with Daemon should’ve been predicted but wasn’t. One of the cells imprinted with Vampire traits was written to form. It would’ve surely been eliminated by the more numerous Wolf ones but wasn’t. It was instead blended in with the others and when Daemon emerged a new species arrived; a superior Superior.

  “You do not think it wise to do away with him?” Victoria asked.

  “No, the end game is near and so long as they do not suspect we have a fighting chance.”

  Victoria nodded her head in acknowledgment of the statement. She may not agree with her Matriarch but she would not question her authority to decide. Vampires were, unlike Wolves, tolerant of authority if they viewed it worthy of admiration. What Melissa had accomplished none had tried before. She was attempting to change the game, to alter the rules and allow for Superior survival.

  “It is a strange feeling knowing what you are but sensing you are not” Victoria said and once again Melissa merely nodded.

  She had no viewpoint to agree with the Matriarch of Food Tribe only a vague understanding for she could compare it to Human scenting but there the similarities ran dry. Humans were of little concern for Superiors since they held none of their talents. They were pathetically
weak and incredibly slow not only in their physical traits but also in their chemical ones. What a Superior could recover from in a matter of seconds a Human might never do so. Their immune system was too fragile. What Victoria was feeling was the sense of unease for she could not tell in the presence of either the child or Johnny the approach of impending death. She could not tell if the man in front of her were Wolf or man-ape, death or insignificance. It was unnerving and set her on edge.

  “I believe we should go inside, the others will arrive soon.”

  They turned and moved to enter the house as Johnny and Daemon remained in the yard. It was needed for safety’s sake. Wolves were on the way and while they would obey matriarchal rule they were not necessarily going to like it. They would need time to adjust and prepare themselves for the future.

  “Uncle, Johnny?”

  “Yes, Daemon?”

  “Where does wind come from?”

  The interior of Beech House was immaculate and ornate. It was as the LeTorque Manor in its selection of artworks with priceless and individual uniqueness as the theme.

  “Is that…?” Melissa asked breathlessly.

  “Yes” Victoria answered knowingly for the reaction was the same from every visitor first viewing the original.

  It had a child-like quality to it. There wasn’t much left for it had been ravaged by time but what remained was still a wonder to behold. The first artwork with true and lasting significance; the original Ten Commandments.

  “It’s very powerful, isn’t it?”

  Melissa could not deny the claim for it was powerful indeed. It was also slightly mocking. What was inscribed was the answer of peace without the guide for implementation. It was one thing to say not to kill but without a reference for how to heed its advice the document of stone may as well have been written in water.

  Melissa was in deep concentration over how difficult the advice was, at least from the intellectual point of view, for she could not conceive how one of a certain mindset could possibly follow the rule of not coveting. Coveting was thinking, after all. It didn’t apply to an act itself but was an attempt to change thought. How to change thought was on her mind when they arrived. She felt them enter and moved to encounter.

  The Wolf in front was impressive. He stood near seven feet and weighed well over three-hundred pounds. He could possibly be a match for their Alphas if not for one small man and a child playing with a kite in the backyard.

  “Mistress” he said to her as he slightly bowed his head in respect.

  “You are the Wolf Andrew, I presume.”

  “Yes, Mistress.”

  “I have heard of you.”

  She had, most had, for he was a force to be reckoned with. He led the House of Beech and was the Alpha to the Matriarch of one of the three families chosen to rule Third Clan before the LeTorque took over. He was mighty with a sword, deadly with a pistol but terrifying with a sledgehammer. It was his preferred weapon of choice and was quite effective for its intended use of splattering brain material. Wolves were hard to kill for they healed fast. The most effective way to solve the problem was to remove subconscious thought from the equation. A sledgehammer to the head performed the task adequately especially when wielded by a figure who could literally lift a cargo van.

  “Thank you Mistress. I, of course, have also heard of you.”

  Melissa was of legendary stature and had been in rumors for centuries. Her reappearance sent a shock through Superior circles and when it was revealed she traveled with a Cloak many surmised the truth, that she was seeking to make a claim her bloodline suggested she had a right to; Matriarch of Clans.

  “I need your fidelity, Andrew.”

  “You shall have it, Mistress.”

  And with those words the two she was entrusted with were given safe passage to live. Andrew was the boss and any Wolf challenging his ruling would become wallpaper applied through massive brain-force trauma. His word was law so long as he reigned. Victoria was Matriarch because he was Alpha. Both led with metallic authority.

  “I want you to prepare yourself because the feeling is not one you’ve encountered before.”

  She was prepping him for the future.

  “I hear it’s like meeting a Human” he said and she allowed him his belief. It would last only so long, after all.

  They headed outside and she heard his intake of breath.

  She followed his gaze and smiled to herself. The child really was the real thing. What Andrew was witnessing was the most advanced form of hide and seek the world had ever known. Daemon hid while Johnny seeked although they’d thrown a twist into the game. Johnny could sense where Daemon was but could not seem to capture the lad. The game was rigged to allow for competitiveness. Daemon could go opaque, blend in with the background, but he could not move while doing so. Johnny would find his scent and move in but the game never ended for the child would become visible and move with a speed Johnny had no answer for. One second there, the next not. The child was giggling as Johnny lunged and held nothing but air.

  “Mistress?” Andrew said.

  “Yes” she replied.

  “Is the boy…?”

  “Yes, Andrew, the boy is the one we’ve been waiting for.”