by Kimbra Swain
Tierney stirred, but didn’t wake. I would miss her, but she needed to go home. The East waited on their new leader. Stanley had left me a new cell phone while I was in the shower. With a bag of O-positive, he was healed up and ready to go. The phone buzzed several times. Stanley was letting me know that Lorcan and his entourage was leaving. Then again, he buzzed to let me know that Little Dick had healed up, drank the blood of his father, and headed back to Texas. The last text was to ask when the Lady of the East would be leaving. My response was regretful, but quick. Soon.
I slid out of the bed, grabbed a few clothes, and went into the other room to make coffee. My head pounded from the blood rush of last night. It was worse than any hangover I’d ever had.
“You have a bad habit of leaving a woman in bed,” Tierney said. She stood in the doorway, surrounded by the sheet from my bed.
“I’m still here.”
“I see.” I poured her a cup of coffee. She took it from me and blew over the top of the cup.
“Stanley wants to know when you are leaving.”
“He wants to know or you want to know?”
“I told him soon.”
“I’m not sure I can do this.”
I sat my coffee cup down and hugged her. She stiffened, but eventually relaxed. “I’m not sure I can do this either.”
“Let me go or take your father’s place?”
As much as I wanted to say both, I replied, “Take his place.”
“Then don’t. Make your own place, Reject.”
“Hey, I’m not the one sleeping with me.” She rolled her eyes at me. “No, you could use your own advice. The East is yours now. Go out there and make it what you want it to be. I look forward to seeing what you do with it.”
“And the blood bond between us?”
“I can’t remove it, but I swear that I’ll never use it against your will. If I do, you can take my life. I’m not in the habit of making people do things they don’t want to do.”
“I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t trust you. Do you think he will come after me?”
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
“May the old ones help him if he does,” I said, flashing my fangs. “If you need anything, I’m here. Stanley has made sure that I have a cell phone, and apparently there are other devices waiting for me at the condo.”
She reached up and touched my cheek. “You will be a good Lord. Lord Reject.”
“I’m not the Lord yet.”
Her lips found mine one last time before she sprinted off to use my shower. I dressed and decided to check on my father. When I entered his personal residence, I found him sitting at his desk going through papers.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Weak,” he replied.
“You are still you.”
“You have a lot to learn in a year, but it doesn’t have to happen today. Make sure you are with her before she leaves,” he said.
“It’s not like that with us,” I replied.
“It’s not like that for her. Yet.”
“I’m glad you have that confidence.”
“No one can resist a Demonbreun man. Your mother couldn’t.”
I couldn’t move. Surely, he hadn’t said what I thought he said. “My mother?”
“I loved your mother.” He sat the papers down on the desk and looked up to me. “There are a lot of things you need to know. Why don’t you sit down? Unless you want to go tell Tierney good-bye.”
I sat down in the seat. “You were with my mother? My biological mother?”
“I loved her. She agreed to produce an heir for me. Not just some random child taken from an orphanage. We obtained the sperm of a Demonbreun from a local bank, and she was artificially inseminated. However, we wanted for her to be pregnant outside of this home. She had an easy pregnancy, and I stayed with her a lot in those days. However, one day I returned here to do some work. I received a call from my security detail saying that she had disappeared. We searched this city for her for days. Then, I received a call saying that a child had been left at the hospital. When we got there to get you, they had already sent you to the orphanage. It only took twenty-four hours, and I was able to obtain the documents to prove that you were my son.”
“How did you know I was her child? Your child?” I asked.
“Because her father told me where to find you,” he replied.
“Her father?”
“Beauregard Jackson.”
I jumped out of the chair. “What!? That’s how he knows about us? He said his son got into drugs and died. He never mentioned a daughter.”
“That’s how she wanted it. I don’t know what changed, Malik. But for some reason, she decided she didn’t want anything to do with me or you. She ran, and I searched for her. Beau searched for her. We never found her.”
I shook my head and jumped out of the chair. “You were going to kill him!”
“No, Son. I wouldn’t harm a hair on that man’s head. He loved both of his children. He jumped at the chance to allow you to work for him. He’s a good man with a good heart. He agreed to lie to you, so that you would accept your inheritance. He knows that you are now protected more than you ever were. He knows that he may have lost his children, but he won’t lose his grandchild.”
“Where is my mother?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You know everything. You can find anyone.”
“She didn’t want to be found, and I had a son to raise.”
I knew why she had left. She was afraid of him. She didn’t want to see me turn into him. “I can’t.” I ran out of the room as he called out to me. The elevator opened, and I rushed inside. When it hit the bottom floor, I exited and took a left toward the parking deck.
“Malik?” Tierney called out to me. I hesitated but kept moving. I couldn’t breathe. She followed me. “Hey, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”
“He knew my mother. He. She. Fuck, I can’t breathe,” I said.
She touched my hand, and I looked down to see my claws extended. She didn’t pull away. “Tell me.”
I managed to blurt it all out in incoherent sentences, but she got the gist. “I want to hate him.”
“Why? He came for you. He looked for her.”
“He never told me!”
“You were never okay with his house. With this way of life. You never gave him a reason to trust you.”
“Whose side are you on?” I growled.
“I’ll always be on your side, Malik. I get it. You weren’t ready to take this responsibility. I’m sure it’s not the only secret he has, but you are what we need. All of these things won’t happen under your reign. You won’t make the same mistakes. You will make them, but they won’t be the same ones.”
“Why do you sound so wise?”
“I’ve always been wise, and you’ve always been a wise ass.”
I coughed. “I have a nice ass.”
“I agree. You do, and I probably sound different because for the first time in my life, I’m not under my father’s thumb. You did that. We are on the road to setting things right. I’m willing to believe that your father just wants to clear the air before he dies.”
“You say that like he’s a cancer patient.”
“I’ll be surprised if he lives a year without that demon inside him. It’s a curse and a blessing.”
“And it’s my cross to bear now.”
“Yes, Vampy Jesus, it is. Now, walk me out to my car,” she demanded. I took the hand she offered and said good-bye once again.
Stanley rounded up the staff that were left. We inspected their hands until we found a few with the evidence on their fingers. Five of our staff stood before my father and me. Four men and one woman. I needed to get to one of them, but the woman wasn’t the obvious choice. I knew more than one stubborn woman. For a moment, my thoughts drifted to Tierney. She’d stayed in contact. We talked on the phone and texted, but it wasn’t the same.
We walked into the basement room where the carnage began two nights ago. The cleaning crews were still collecting bodies and cleaning blood. They weren’t in the room now. We had dismissed them earlier.
Stanley laid his hand on the man’s shoulder, guiding him into the center of the room.
“What is your name?” I asked.
“Clement,” he responded.
“You were involved in the campaign to remark the city?” I asked.
We’d discovered that all of the previous marks that I had made which were removed by my father had reappeared. Plus, any new holdings had been marked. Of the dead, we found seventeen of the staff with stained fingers.
“Yes,” he said, lifting his chin.
“Who organized the grafitti campaign?” I asked.
“Lady Demonbreun and her mother, Sofie,” he said.
“Why did you join the cause?”
“You marked them long before we had. They removed them, and we felt like they needed to be there to warn others about us,” he said.
I looked back to my father who did not meet my eyes. He focused on the ground just beyond his feet.
“I was wrong,” I said. My father’s head shot up. “Exposing ourselves in any way shape or form is forbidden. It isn’t because my father wants to control us. It’s because he’s protecting the humans of this town from us. The marks only make humans curious.” I took out my phone and showed him the buzz on the internet about the markings that had appeared across town. The curiosity about the marks had driven humans closer to these areas, bringing them in direct contact with our kind. Thankfully, we hadn’t had an incident, but all it would take would be one hungry vampire. “Someone is going to die because of your actions.”
“I didn’t think of it that way,” he responded.
“Clement, please. Do not be afraid to speak. I’m not going to kill you or punish you. I want to know the root of disobedience with you. For me, I wanted to punish my father for turning me. I gotta suck it up, because it’s done now. Why is it personal to you?” I asked.
“I can’t…”
I lifted my hand, showing him my insignia ring. “I swear by the house of Demonbreun. You will not be harmed.”
“A vampire killed my girlfriend three years ago. I worked my way into the scene and got turned by offering my services to the Lord. I came for revenge.”
“Did you find the vamp that killed your girl?”
“No, but Lord Demonbreun did.”
“And?”
“He was executed, but it wasn’t enough. I lost her forever!” His frustration boiled to the surface.
“And now because of your actions, because of my past actions, someone else’s girlfriend might die. Is that what you want?” I asked.
“No, sir,” he replied.
I placed my hand on his shoulder. “My neighbors died because of my ignorance. I’m not the best vampire out there, but I am one. I’ve had to decide to hate the bad things but embrace what I am to protect those who are not us. Promise me that you will never cross this house again,” I demanded.
“I swear it on my life. I will serve your father’s house,” he said.
I nodded to Stanley who escorted him out of the room, leaving me with my suspiciously silent father.
“Well?” I asked.
“Mercy.”
“I didn’t deserve it, but you gave it to me.”
“I’m not sure it was mercy as much as I had no other choice,” he said.
“Considering how much staff we lost in this debacle, I’m not sure I had any other choice,” I said.
“I would have murdered him,” he said.
I watched my father’s grave face darken. It had only been two days since our world exploded in blood and death. It looked like he’d aged a decade. His life was fading, but I didn’t want to admit that.
“Sorry to disappoint you,” I said.
My father put his hand on my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. “I’m proud of you, Malik. Not because you’ve come home. Not because you are going to take my place. I’m proud of you because you are my son.”
While in a perfect dream about Tierney’s naked body beneath mine, someone threw a pillow at me. That someone wanted a piece of my claw.
“Leave me alone,” I grumbled.
“Get up, Asshole. You have a meeting this morning,” Stanley said.
“But Mom, I don’t want to go to school today,” I moaned.
“Idiot,” he mumbled, then left me alone in my room.
“I like Danny better than you!” I yelled at him. His brother had been spending most of his time with me while Stanley kept tabs on everything in my father’s home. Occasionally, I’d have the pleasure of Stanley’s company. I just hoped he brought Stella with him. She was more fun.
It had been two months since Tierney left, and the realms were settling down into their new existence. A scent beckoned me to get up. I followed it to the kitchen where a goblet of blood sat.
“I told you that would work,” Stella said, as she sat on my black leather couch in the condo.
I gulped down the O-positive blood and moaned with pleasure. “Morning, Stella. You are lookin’ beautiful today.”
“Give a man a pint of blood, and he becomes Shakespeare,” she scoffed.
“What’s the big hurry?” I asked.
“Dick is in town to present his work over the last couple of months after taking over. It’s a routine check-in. Your father wants you to be there, because it will be your responsibility before you know it,” Stanley explained.
“Are we taking a pool on how many dick jokes I can make?” I asked.
“I picked twenty-two,” Stella said.
“Low ball me, Stella!” I said, grabbing my crotch.
“Go get dressed. Don’t piss your father off this morning by being late,” Stanley urged.
“Hey, Stanley, what’s the difference between three dicks and a joke?” I asked, walking back down the hallway to my bedroom.
Stanley didn’t answer, but Stella did. “I dunno, what?”
“Your mom can’t take a joke,” I said, then ducked into the bedroom, slamming the door.
Stella howled as Stanley tried to get her to shut-up. I laughed while I showered. When I got out, I had a text from Tierney wishing me a good day. I texted back, “No such luck. Dick is here.”
To which she replied, “Oh, I’m so glad you found it. I know you lost it when I left.”
I loved it that she gave me the same as I dished out. She had settled into the Lady of the East role, as I knew she would. I was sure she still had to prove herself to the nobles in her realm, but I had no doubt she would exceed. However, I missed her.
Father showed up a couple of days after telling me about my mother. Beau came with him, and they had a photo album with pictures of my mother. I flipped through the pictures of her from high school until pregnancy. Beau gave me the picture of her smiling with her hand on her belly. He said that the police believed that she ran off and got killed in a bar fight in Vegas. She had been a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, I didn’t look anything like her. My sperm donor father was dead. He died of a stroke when I was five. I was still pissed at Timothy, but he had loved my mother. That had to stand for something. I’d been created out of that in a confounded way.
Dear old Dad had retrieved my motorcycle from the impound. I rode the bike to his building. Stanley tried to keep up with me in his Tahoe. I walked into Demonbreun Tower with a smile on my face. I had a bet to win. I intended to rise to the occasion.
“Well, how are ya, Dickey?” I asked, shaking the Lord of the West’s hand.
“I am well, Malik,” he replied.
“I meant to ask you if you have ever been to Africa,” I said.
“Africa. A few times,” he replied. “Why do you ask?”
“Fuck, Malik. You are still an idiot,” Dick said. Stanley snickered in the back of the room. My father entered.
“Sorry I am late. I had to deal with the arrangements for dinner, and since my best kitchen help died at your ascension, I’ve been at a loss to replace her,” he said.
We had buried Lydia and her mother in our family cemetery just outside of town. I would have just cremated them both, but father insisted on a private funeral.
“What’s the occasion?” I asked.
“Richard is here to tell us about his progress in establishing his authority in the realm,” Father said.
“Everything is well within the West,” he replied.
“I spoke with the head of your household, and he said that you were having problems with several of the nobles,” Father said. “What seems to be the issue?”
“ED?” I asked.
Dick snarled at me. “Do you forget that I fucked her too? She was so good.” I shot up and slapped him across the face.
“This is my house, and if you do anything or say anything derogatory toward the Lady of the East, I’ll make you eat your own dick. Are we clear?” Three scratches bled on his cheek.
“Are you going to let him get away with this?” Dick asked.
“He’s the Lord. What do I have to say about it?” my Father said.
We had decided it was time that Dick Jr. knew who was in charge. Now all the Lords knew.
“You didn’t subdue Lorcan. Malik did,” Dick said.
“You are so smart, Dick. Get your shit straight in the West. Don’t make me come out there,” I said.
“You can’t come into my territory without my permission,” he snarled.
I leaned over him and released my power. “Things are different now. Don’t make me come pay you a visit. You will enjoy my puns while you are here, but if I have to come to San Antonio, I’ll cut you off.”
“I haven’t done anything,” he said.
“You sure haven’t. You’ve spent your time fucking women, spending money, and partying. This is a job not a party. Your people are depending on you, and I expect you to fulfill your responsibilities. Are we clear?” I asked.
