Fountain of Beauty

by Meraki P. Lyhne

  Well, Seldon certainly figured out what that smile was about, and if that cheeky smile hadn’t convinced him, the lingering kiss did. Seldon turned his back to give them privacy and looked in the basket. Beverages and stuff for the trip.

  The trip so far had taken three hours. Elakdon, Geodin, and Seldon had gone through every part of their plans and contingency plans, and they’d come up with a route to hide the boy away from the biggest Cubi Houses outside the Great House. Most were known to the humans, and if they had to hide, it couldn’t be in any of those. But they still had to go to some of them for Daniel to be able to Empower his people, they just shouldn’t stay for days at a time.

  Elakdon had come prepared. He’d brought a warrior for every two Cubus in Daniel’s Kingdom in less than a week. They were stationed all over the Kingdom and ready to step in, warn, or fight if necessary. Another ten thousand stood ready to board planes if Elakdon found it necessary.

  Of course, none of those details had been shared with Daniel. He had enough on his mind as it was, and Seldon wondered if Daniel really was okay with so much being out of his hands or if he just kept a brave face.

  Both some of Daniel’s and Elakdon’s Guard Lords followed in unmarked and anonymous cars. It was odd thinking how much security was around them, yet the humans didn’t notice. Probably because they had the whole POTUS getup in mind with big black trucks with bulletproof glass and men in black suits with white curly wires behind an ear.

  And here a King and a High Council member sat in a minivan with a Soccer Moms Rock bumper sticker. It was all he could do to not snicker. But it was a pretty fancy minivan considering the two rows of five seats in all were facing each other, and a compact table separated them.

  His attention was brought back to the situation at hand when Great Lady Laudin, Nol-Elakdon’s left hand, handed the three of them a folder. Opening it, Seldon found two photos of military personnel, and by the stars and ribbons, they were high up in the ranks.

  “This is Colonel Bridge.” Laudin held up a photo. “Our intel so far points to him as the instigator.” She put the photo back in her file and picked up another. “This is Lieutenant Winters. She helped coordinate the attack. That’s what we’ve got so far. Supporting files are enclosed.”

  Seldon looked through the files, and a few were transcripts of phone conversations. Most of the intel they had to work from was obtained by questioning the soldier in the basement and the ones who survived the attack on the Great House and had been taken captive.

  “Any knowledge on why this Colonel pointed us out?” Seldon asked. “We didn’t change his niece or something, right?”

  “No. But this one sheds a bit of light.” Laudin pulled out a copy of an email that sounded more like a personal witch hunt or private vendetta against the Cubi. “More than fifty thousand people are missing in America, and that number is pretty much a constant. This number covers only adults, of course. Some go on their own accord, granted, but fifty thousand? We’re not the only ones collecting.”

  “The human military collect them, too?”

  “Of course. It isn’t only during war that people like Doctor Mengele exist. It’s just easier to get funding for sick shit during wartime.”

  Seldon shivered in disgust. “So why does he have it in for us if humans do it, too?”

  “Because he’s a bigot,” Geodin said. “He thinks we don’t have the right. That only humans have the right.” She nodded at the paper in Seldon’s hand, and he read through the rant.

  “Argh, back to the devil and sin shit,” Seldon mumbled.

  “There’s a lot of politics you haven’t been informed about yet, but I will fill you in further as I teach the young Prince,” Elakdon said.

  “What do we have to keep an alliance with the human powers? Has to be more than a dose, right?”

  “You’d be surprised how fascination and fantasy can warp a mind,” Geodin said. “Our youth, longevity, libido, and strength are in their field of interest, too.”

  Breeders often couldn’t go more than a round, maybe two until their dick needed a break before it would rise to the occasion again. Incubi could go as long as they were hungry, and even then a cock would jump to attention if someone smelled good. Royals, as Seldon had just learned, could fuck twenty-four, seven.

  There was a moment of distance in the Great Lady’s eyes as she revealed the last traits on the human’s list of interests frightened Seldon. “And?”

  She drew a deep sigh. “When we come across a Changeling who can feed on the negative energy, we let the humans have them. Had the Elias-case been a closed meeting with only the Grand Council, and not the young Prince, he’d have been sent off, too.”

  Seldon scrubbed his face callously. “Is that for the human military and scientists to study what keeps us young or to see if they can find out what fucks up the protein to feed on fear and degradation instead of pleasure?”

  “Both.”

  “And it can’t be weaponized? They might already have the means for dose production if they get the failed Changelings.”

  “No, they’re dead when we pass them on to become research subjects.”

  Well, now Seldon knew why they’d waited with disclosing that part of what he needed to know before the meeting and not divulged it the day before with Daniel present.

  “Great Lady, the second file, please,” Geodin said.

  Seldon looked up, watching Geodin receive a tablet from Laudin. She, in turn, placed the tablet on the folding table in front of Seldon. “You are the right hand of the Prince. Daniel isn’t the only one who needs to learn a lot in a short period of time because you are only a Sire. Had Caledon been the right hand of Daniel this would take less time as he, also being a House Lord, is already familiar with much of what you have to learn.”

  Seldon fired up the tablet and found it full of files. “Maybe he would have been better for this than me, then.”

  Geodin patted his hand. “Don’t sell yourself short, Seldon. This tablet is for your safekeeping. It doesn’t contain everything, of course, but look at it as a table of contents of what you have access to. Which is everything, of course. Lord Caledon will be given one, as well. He has an extraordinary eye for detail, a trait we cultivate in Heads of Houses, yet you have a practical skill. You are hands-on and can keep a cool head in chaos. You don’t get petty even when angry or wronged. That’s the Cubus we need now.”

  “Thank you, Grand Lady,” Seldon said, shuffling through the files.

  “What you will not find in there is all that is only for the Royal to know because it must never be written down.”

  “Yes, Nol,” Seldon answered, figuring it was definitely an order from up high.

  “Go ahead and look through the contents,” Geodin said, smiling. “You have time before we arrive at the meeting.”

  “Yes, Grand Lady.” Seldon glanced out the window, finding them on their way into the heart of New York or something. The streets became busier and denser while ads became more colorful and grew in size. The buildings looked more expensive, too.

  In the meantime, Seldon looked through the tablet’s Table of Contents files, finding headlines like Treaty – Humans, Treaty – Cubi, NATO sub-clause. He clicked on the one mentioning humans and found more folders. Government, State, Military, National, International. Going back and into the Cubi folder, he found degrees of alliances between Houses.

  Even though Seldon was immensely curious about the treaty between the Great House of Dahli—Beaudon, and what it could mean for Daniel, Seldon knew he had to focus on the human problem at the moment. He backed out of the Cubi folder and opened the Human Government.

  The light around him changed. Seldon looked up from his reading. The car had turned into an underground parking garage, so he powered down the tablet and put it in his bag.

  “This meeting will probably last many hours,” Elakdon said, turning his golden gaze on Seldon. “You do know that the hunger of a Royal will continue to be as when we�
�re empowered, right?”

  “I heard you tell Daniel yesterday.”

  Elakdon smiled mischievously. “That’s right. We did end up on you, didn’t we? Will you feed me before we go in? Just a snack?”

  “Yes, I will. I need one too if we’re going to be here for hours.”

  The King purred. “Oh, the increased hunger of a Royal’s lover.”

  “How increased can it get?”

  “A purple-eye, whose requirement has gone down to only need to feed once a day, can maybe follow twice a day.”

  “I fed twice and snacked once to be comfortable. What can I look forward to?”

  The King smiled. “Three and at least one snack. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but all Guard Lords feed at least three times a day.”

  Seldon tried to remember the rhythm of the guards, but since they were often out of sight and had their own schedules, he hadn’t noticed feeding.

  “Guard Lords are fed differently from when they’ve been chosen for the task. This happens as red-eyes, sometimes even before. The Guard Corps, without a Sovereign to protect, don’t do much else than feed, train, and scout. Now that they have a purpose, they feed, train, and work. I feed one Guard daily, my own and Beaudon’s until his dose is powerful enough to tend to his own.”

  “How long will that be, you think?”

  “Thirty to fifty years. I take this task as agreed upon with my sister. I have a schedule and have traveled to the Great House in intervals to keep the strength of the Royal Guard up. Now…” Elakdon folded the table and scooted off his seat to kneel between Seldon’s legs.

  “I’ll wait outside,” Geodin said. Lady Laudin left with her, and once the door slid closed again, the King’s eyes darkened.

  “Let’s see what you like. Only snacking, so only oral.” Elakdon leaned in and forced his tongue into Seldon’s mouth. The dose filled it seconds later, and the taste was exquisite. Seldon moaned and grabbed Elakdon’s neck, holding him in place as their tongues battled for dominance.

  Elakdon pulled back a bit. “Tell me. What’s your favorite idea for a snack right now?”

  “Your mouth on me.” Seldon panted, gripping the armrest hard to stay in his seat. Oh, damn, and he’d thought Guard Levidon’s dose was powerful. Elakdon’s sent jolts of need through Seldon, and his skin felt electric and overly sensitive as the King worked his pants down his hips. He even pulled a shoe off and untangled one of Seldon’s long legs from the pant leg.

  “Tell me, show me,” Elakdon said, his molten gold eyes locked on Seldon. “I like feeding on strong Incubi who know what they want and aren’t afraid to show it. To take it.”

  Whatever hold Seldon had on his self-control slipped before Elakdon had finished his sentence, and Seldon spread his legs further, grabbed the King by the neck, and pulled his face to his crotch. Once his tongue went to work, Seldon floated away in rapidly increasing pleasure. The closest that dose came to was when Daniel and Caledon had double dosed him and fucked him until he passed out from the intensity of his multiple orgasms.

  The only difference was that when it all culminated, and Seldon came in Elakdon’s expert mouth, he didn’t pass out. But he certainly needed a few minutes to calm down.

  Elakdon sat opposite, licking his lips when Seldon pried his eyes open. “I bet you’re a hard fucker, too, aren’t you?”

  Damn, the King still looked hungry. Seldon then noticed his hand was covered in spunk—probably his own since Seldon was no longer dosed. Elakdon cocked his head, looking mischievous. He then reached his hand across for Seldon to lick clean, and oh that was as tasty as the dose.

  “Yeah. Not as hard as my son Marcadon, but you’ll feel me for a while,” Seldon said, unable to contain a grin as he polished off the last of the semen.

  “Really? I look forward to that.”

  Me or Marcadon? Seldon didn’t get more time to figure that out because Elakdon opened the door and got out, leaving Seldon to straighten his clothes and find his shoe.

  Chapter Ten

  A s agreed, Seldon and Geodin took the lead while Elakdon, posing as a Guard, and Levidon followed. They all wore dark glasses to avoid unwanted attention as they made their way up from the basement parking of the skyscraper. Geodin pressed the fourth floor, meaning Seldon wouldn’t get the opportunity to see a cityscape. He much preferred the national park he’d looked out at ever since coming to America, but he’d still have liked to have seen it.

  He noticed that the elevator buttons had business names beside them, yet a few of the floors had blank tags. The fourth floor was one of them.

  They exited the elevator finding three men in black suits, all looking grim and tough like you’d expect from security guards. Seldon didn’t find them the least bit threatening, but he didn’t like the fact that he noticed a gun bulge on one of them. The rest had to be armed, too.

  The men stepped in their way, and one held the elevator doors while Geodin showed them ID. With a curt nod and no pleasantries, the men motioned for them to follow. The floor seemed deserted as expected from the missing tag, and the open office they were led through looked like it was under construction and only taken into use at the announcement of their arrival. Or was it to be some sort of neutral ground?

  The men opened a door to a sparsely decorated conference room, only holding a table for ten, chairs, and one cabinet. It was big enough to hold a lot more furniture, though. One security guard entered with them, while the man sitting at the end of the conference table got up to greet them. The balding middle-aged man had one of those diplomatic smiles plastered on his face, and Seldon had to suppress a sigh, hiding his trouble to do so behind taking off his glasses. Geodin did as well.

  When the man forewent Geodin to shake Seldon’s hand, he had to suppress a growl. He folded his hands behind his back and stared at the man blankly, enjoying watching him fidget as his attention then had to go to Geodin.

  “Oh, yes, purple,” the man finally said and held out his hand to Geodin. “Assistant Secretary Helmer of Homeland Security, Cubi Relation.”

  “Grand Lady Geodin of The Great House of Dahlidin.”

  Mr. Helmer looked from Geodin to Seldon a few times. “I believed only Grand Lords and Ladies attended meetings like this?”

  “What you believe doesn’t interest me,” Geodin said. “We’re here to talk about what you know.”

  Seldon bit down hard to smother a smile.

  “This is Grand Sire Seldon, my right hand in this matter,” Geodin continued.

  Seldon extended his hand to greet the human who smiled a bit awkwardly as he shook it. He then looked at Elakdon and Levidon, both still with their glasses on, and both standing with their hands clasped in front. None of them made a move to shake the man’s hand.

  “I see you brought security.”

  “I see you did, too,” Geodin retorted.

  The Assistant Secretary flinched while pulling off a polite smile. “Shall we?” He held out his hand and strode back to his chair at the head of the table. The power seat. Seldon took a seat on one side, Geodin on the other, while Elakdon went to stand six feet behind Geodin, and Levidon the same behind Seldon. The human guard did the same behind Mr. Helmer, even though Seldon would have expected him to stay by the door.

  “Well. Nasty business,” Mr. Helmer opened the conversation with.

  “Yes.” Geodin’s confirmation left room for an awkward silence to grow.

  Mr. Helmer finally cleared his throat. “What I meant before was that the Office of Cubi Relations has only ever had meetings with Grand Lords and Ladies, and I was wondering about Sire Seldon’s place at this meeting.”

  “Grand Sire Seldon,” Geodin corrected the human. “Our internal politics and hierarchy is of no concern to you in this matter. What is your concern is that the treaties for our and your safety have been breached by the very people you have entrusted to see that that doesn’t happen.”

  “Well, we’re of course mounting a full-scale investigation to find out w
ho would—”

  “Let me be of assistance.” Geodin placed a folder on the table between them and sat back, her purple eyes lighting up just enough for Seldon to see that the Grand Lady was far angrier than her cool and collected façade let on.

  Adrenaline pumped a bit faster in Seldon.

  Mr. Helmer pulled the file closer and opened it. “Ah, well, yes, this is what our preliminary results have pointed to as well.” He closed the file.

  “Preliminary?” Seldon asked. “I would expect a government to work faster than only having a preliminary result on an investigation after a month, considering it is a full-scale investigation.”

  “Well, of course we do.” Mr. Helmer pulled the diplomatic smile again.

  “Where is it?” Geodin asked.

  Mr. Helmer dug into his briefcase and put a file on the table. Geodin opened it and positioned it between her and Seldon, so he could follow upside down. It didn’t contain much more than what they already knew, but it did hold some information about how they’d gone about it, and technical stuff about the rubber bullets developed. A wording caught Seldon’s eye.

  “May I?” he asked Geodin and motioned to take the file. She pushed it to him, and he turned it to read the specs on the bullets. It was a recent design yet to be tested and designed for non-lethal infiltrations or efforts at riot control. The Cubi had been test dummies? Seldon pulled a pen and pad from his inner pocket and wrote in Cubi to investigate who had overseen the project of the bullets because if that led back to the Colonel or Lieutenant, then he figured there was more to it than wanting to get Cubi to test whatever they’d gotten from the poisonous breeder.

  The Colonel had expressed concerns about the Cubi race as being dangerous and a threat to humans on a much larger scale than their small numbers could ever pose, and Seldon wondered whether the poisonous breeder was just the catalyst to set a covert operation going.

  They had too many questions, too few answers, and too little information to work with, though.

  Seldon turned the pad for Geodin to skim the note.