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CHAPTER 8
Harris tried to settle Melanie. It wasn't going well. There were too many of them. Too many mortals and the scent of fear made it hard for him to think, and if it was difficult for him, he could only imagine what Doc and Christian were going through. "Hold on, honey. Soon enough, it will all die down." His eyes sought Doc's. "Baby, do me a favor, while I am helping our girl here, why don't you take Chris, and step out of here."
"You are planning to bring her and follow, right?" Doc reached and pulled the suffering Fledgling close. "Come on Harris, she is almost totally shot by all of this." Doc was worried, not only for Christian, who was in so much pain, but for Harris and this new mortal pet. If she didn't calm down soon, it was going to be another hard moment, like it had been the night before.
Harris nodded. "Yeah, probably be for the best." He stood, reaching for Melanie. "Come on sweety. Let' blow this pop-cycle stand." He lifted her, as Doc bent and gathered Christian. "Let's go to bed, for a while."
* * *
Austin led Randy down the hall. "It's okay, really it is." He understood why Megel, his soon to be Sire, chose this one. Shadow and Julian, still looked so very young, and the two that Shadow had taken looked as young as they did. They looked way too young for him to have ever even considered.
Megel lay the still unconscious form of the young woman on the bed, reaching to draw Austin close. "Come here, lovely one." He so missed Cain. Cain had been such a contradiction in terms. He looked so young so painfully young, but he had grown so much in the short time that he had been his Childe. The gaping hole, left in his soul where Cain had been, it hurt so much, but now, with this one. He could finally at last ease that pain.
Shadow pulled Randy with him as he gathered his two, close. "You can curl up with my two for now." He reached for Julian, as his, Chosen finished undressing the two unconscious boys'. "I'll feed later. But for now, I have to make you as much mine as my Father is making my little brother, his." He pressed his lips to Julian's cheek. "I would beg my Sire to let me take you like Cerberus did with Eris, Gabriel with Hunter or Zephyr and Topaz. But I've flaunted Line Rules enough in making you, but come the end of my hundred year service, if you still want me like I want you, I'll mark you as my husband." He shuddered as Julian's blood filled his mouth. *Hold on baby, just hold on. * He moaned as he felt Julian, weaken, in his arms. But the feel of Megel's strength flowing over and through him, protecting Julian's life, eased his fears.
Megel touched his First-Born's mind as he returned life to his new Childe, knew what Shadow had decided to name his son. And agreed with the boys decision, agreed with it so much that as Shadow renamed Julian, Thorne, doing to him, like he had done, forbidding the boy to ever think of himself as anything but Thorne, he named Austin, Torin. Giving the man he loved more than anything living back something of what he lost. *Torin, I give you the Gift Name Torin. When you rise, you will be Torin. * He held his new, Childe, stroking his hair as he cried in pain as the change began in him.
* * *
Sam moaned as Hunter forced him to bend and blow Gabriel as he fucked him. No, he wouldn't make love to this thing, that struggled so hard to show how sorry he was, but he could, and would, use him. Reaching to grab him almost painfully, masturbating the man that he was fucking.
*Come here, beloved. * Gabriel reached out to pull Hunter's head to him5, kissing his love and Childe, before pulling Hunter's head to his throat. * I know how little pleasure you are getting from trying to help me with this one. But now, like this, * and he sank his fangs into his Childe's throat, even as Hunter fed from him, again offering him a bond that stripped all conscious thoughts from him, leaving only the joy and pleasure of the blood and the love.
Topaz lay curled up against Azrael, Loki, and Crystal as she watched her two new pets make love to each other. She didn't understand why she seemed to luck out on everything when it came to being Kin, first, she never was really just a pet, she had been marked as Azrael's Chosen from the first night. The night that he had saved her from cancer and had taken her virginity. Then there was no pain in her death, and she had Zephyr, who she loved more than anything else in her life, save Azrael and Loki. And now, she had two pets, which had been almost sinfully easy to break. Susan had spent so much time as a prostitute that the concept of actually belonging to someone wasn't that frightening to her, and Bryan, the hardest thing about dominating him for Azrael, had been the idea that his owner was a woman.
Zephyr pressed both Eric and Mitch into Cerberus and Eris's arms. "Take care of them for me, please." And he rose to move across the room to where his wife lay, curled up in the safety of her Sire's arms. "Hi, pretty girl," he pulled her up and into his arms. "So your pets doing as well as, mine, now?"
She just smiled. "Susan, Bryan, this is Zephyr, my, husband." She held out a hand to them. "Come on, both of you. He's as much your master as I am your mistress." She took Susan's hand first. "Zeph, this is Susan. Susan, may I introduce my old man, Zephyr?
"Keep it up, pretty girl, and I am going to start referring to you like my Father does, and call you, baby girl." He squeezed her. "Hi, Susan, do you prefer to be called Susan, or Sue?"
The girl just looked down, trembling under his gaze. "I don't care, Master. I'll answer to anything you call me."
Topaz just moaned. "Damnit girl, I keep telling, you, that that isn't how it is here. I don't want you to throw away any chance you have at ever getting your self-respect back." Then to Zephyr, "she was willing to answer to some pretty ugly names. I talked her out of whore, slut and bitch. Silly me, I thought with killing that stupid idea, I'd have her past that nonsense, but seems I was wrong."
Zephyr just laughed at her. "You do know who you are beginning to sound like don't you, love?"
"No, who?" She grinned up at him. "And if you say Azrael, then yeah, no shit. He is my Sire, after all. Who am I supposed to sound like?"
Zephyr just laughed harder. "I know that honey, that is probably one of the first things that made me fall in love with you." Then he looked down at Susan. "Susan, Sue, we'll call you both for now. Sooner or later one will stick, like me, I was given the name Zephyr as a Gift Name, but everyone just calls me Zeph."
Topaz held out her hand to the boy who lay on the floor. "And this is Bryan. He's going to be more happy with you when we are here, than with me. Az had to force the issue with him so he would touch either me or Susan." Then to the boy on the floor, "Bryan, Hon, this is Zephyr. He is your Master. See I wasn't lying to you. Gender really doesn't matter to us, my Sire has made love to you once already, and Zeph will do so as well, soon enough." She watched as Bryan crawled to Zephyr's feet, groveling there.
"Why don't we take your two over and let me introduce you to Eric and Mitch. I do believe if we do this right, we can see to all their needs, and Darion's as well. I can take Bryan with me when we go home, and we can bring Darion back with us when we return. He is a whole lot better at dealing with girls than the three we have here now." He growled into Topaz's neck as he felt her against him. "Let's see to introducing you to the two that will be living with us at my Father's domain, soon enough, I promise, soon enough. But for now, we got things that we still have to do."
Eric looked up as Zephyr led two women, and a boy, all naked as he was, to stand before him. "Eric," his master smiled at him in a soothing way. "This is Topaz. She is my wife, my lifemate. And these are the two that she collected for us here. But I think it would probably be better if when we left we took Bryan with us. Darion is a hell of a lot calmer around girls that any of you will be. As is, the first few times you make love to Topaz, she is going to have to feed, or bond with you first, to have you willingly love her." He held out a hand to Eric. "Baby, this is Eric. He will be staying in Cerberus's realm for us, and that," he pointed to Mitch, who still sat, curled up in Eris's arms. "That is Mitch. He is like Eric and will be there for us when we go to stay in my Father's home."
Topaz smiled at them. "Hi, I have to say, Zeph, I am almost jealous. You went out and got pets that suited your tastes. Me I got a girl and a boy that, as your Father would say, is, as queer as a football bat. You're right, it would be a whole lot easier if we took Bryan home with us when we go, and bring Darion back here when we come back. Just as soon as they are used to us, and aren't freaked out by the Dark Paths, we'll just, lump, them all together, in which ever home we are living in. But for now, yeah, it would probably be best for all considered if we broke them up like you suggested."
Eric looked up at Zephyr in terror. "But, I did everything you told me to do, Master. Please, don't take Mitch away from me, I was, am, good." The only thing Eric still feared was the loss of his lover, if he could keep Mitch with him, then he didn't care what Zephyr did to him, but if he was taken away from him.
"What is he talking about?" Topaz didn't understand the fear the boy was suddenly feeling.
"Stop it Eric." Zephyr pulled him close. "I am not going to take Mitch away from you. What Topaz was talking about is us taking Bryan with us when we leave, and bringing Darion, my other pet, with us when we return." He felt the boy tremble against him as he kissed him. "And yes, you are being, very good, unbelievably good."
"I think your girl there, her good luck it's rubbing off on you Zephyr." Cerberus smiled proudly. "But, if you start talking like her, with as much as she is taking after her Sire, I'll get irritated with you."
Zephyr just laughed. "Father, you are my Sire, if I take after anyone, it's, going to be you and Eris."
"Just make sure you keep that in mind, boy."
Zephyr let Eric go as he went to his Master, and Sire. "I know that, Sire. Topaz knows whom I belong to. My heart might belong to her, but my mind and body belongs to you. Will always belong to you." He kissed Cerberus before lowering his mouth to cover Cerberus's hardness, going to give him pleasure.
"Come here, honey." Eris held out a hand to Eric. "Come and be with your little friend and me while your Master goes to prove his servitude to his Master."
"Go on Bryan, go play with Eris as he keeps your Master's pets busy." Topaz reached out for Susan. "You, the boys are still none too thrilled with having to face a woman in their bed. So we can be together." She pulled the girl close, lowering her mouth to kiss her. Hand cupping her breast stroking it lightly as the girl moaned softly, willingly pressing herself even farther into Topaz's hold.
* * *
Megel held Austin close as the man died. Later, when he rose again, and rose whole, he would see to it that he only thought of himself as, Torin. But until he rose, He would not put too much hope in his crafting. Tori had been a Mage, and his new Childe was one as well. And it didn't matter how much he wanted to give his oldest friend and Sire something back of that which he lost, until he knew Austin was whole and full Kin, he would not present his new Childe to his Sire. If Austin failed to take the Gift, he would let him die as Austin.
He looked up at the sounds of his Childe's, his, First-Born's sob. Shadow was busy, cleaning his own First-Born's body of the waste that was always present at the death of the body. "Don't worry about him, baby." Megel smiled as Shadow threw the soiled clothing to the floor, using a wet soapy cloth to clean Thorne's body of all the last traces.
"I know that Megel, Father, he took to it almost as quickly as I did. But I still killed him. I still killed my Chosen." He fell into Megel's arm, crying. "Is this what you felt when you made me?"
"Yes, you are my First-Born, he is yours. It always hurts when you take and make a, cherished, Chosen your Childe, but it is always hardest the first time you, Sire, a Childe." He wiped Shadow's face, wiping away the stain of his tears. "Let's get Austin cleaned up too, and the bed stripped, before we feed again."
Shadow looked at him, a confused look on his face. "Austin? I thought you were naming him Torin."
"Yes, but like my little brother, he is a Mage, even more, a Healing Mage at that. So for now, until I make sure that he is going to rise and rise whole, I won't get Azrael's hopes up too much. If he is going to die, then so be it. But he will die with the name he was brought into this world with, and not the one I, Gifted, him with. Torin is dead, and if my Childe dies too, the name is a doomed one. But if he rises, whole and strong, then I have, in my Childe, a little of what was lost when my brother died." He lifted Austin's body, helping Shadow to pull the soiled clothes from him. "I probably should have done this with you, but I was just too relieved that you were well, that I didn't think about it." He washed the body, going to clean him ever so carefully. Lifting him from the bed so that Shadow could pull the sheets from out of under him. "One useful thing I learned from your birth, was the usefulness of mattress covers."
"Yeah, we'll burn this one, and get another. I don't think that you're going to make another Childe anytime in the near future. And me, after what I felt when Thorne died, I might be as old as you are now before I, Gift, another." He carefully stepped past his Childe's body, going for the closet where the other sets of sheets were kept. "Would you make the bed, Father, I am starved."
"Go on, boy, you haven't even fed from one yet. Don't forget to bind them to you. If you want to keep them, if not, it is up to you how you handle them." Megel took the sheets from his Childe, smiling at the hungry look in Shadow's eyes. "Go on, baby, you look like you're about to blow away from hunger."
Shadow gathered one of the sleeping forms to him. "Hello, pet." He smiled as the young man's eyes opened. "Ssshh," Shadow tightened his grip as the boy went to fight him. "Don't do that."
The young man, boy, looked up at Shadow. "You're going to kill me, aren't you?" He knew what Shadow was, that was one of the reasons he had been knocked back out to begin with, he already knew what Shadow was. And it terrified him.
Shadow gritted his teeth as the fear that this one was feeling, washed over him. "Stop that. I'm not going to kill you, but I got to get you to relax, or it's going to hurt Thorne, and I can't let you do that." He was only one, and so Shadow could put all his attention in to his work. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually such a prick, but, you have to stop fearing me." And he threw all he had into forcing his will on the boy beneath him.
*Easy there, Childe, * Megel's power washed over Shadow, offering his precocious First-Born his help. *You have the way of it, but less force. You want him to come to you, but you also want to make him feel, on some level, that it was his idea. That belief will help you greatly until they come to wanting you solely of their own will. *
*Thank you. * He looked up briefly at his master, a gentle smile on his face, before lowering his head back to the youth in his arms. "I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to go all weird on you. You just have to understand, I have a newborn Childe now, and your fear, I'm not old, but I'm am able to resist it, just barely. So, I know there is going to be no way in hell he will be able to, and if he loses control. You, could be hurt, probably pretty bad, if not dead, and Thorne, he can't drink from anyone but me right now, so it would make him very sick, maybe even kill him too." He brushed a loose strand of hair from the boy's face. "I'm so very hungry, pet, what say we talk after I've fed. I am pretty sure that you will be a whole hell of a lot more willing to talk about any number of things then." And he gently, but firmly, took the frail mortal's head and turned it to the side, exposing the clean column of his throat. *I will love you, always and forever, I will love you. *
The boy just lay underneath him, crying softly as Shadow began to love his body as he cooled his thirst.
*You want to be mine. * Shadow knew, even as he brought his will down, a second time. That he, still, was a lot bit sloppy. But it was the best he could do for now. *Drink, be mine forever. Give yourself, your body, heart and soul to me. Call me Master. * And he ripped at his wrist, briefly wishing he had thought and brought a knife.
The boy lay in his arms, his whole world now wrapped up in the strange and wonderful feelings he was experiencing . 'Be his', call, him, ' master' . 'Yes' , that he could do, would do, and even wanted to do. No one had ever made him feel this way. So content, so safe, yes, this man was one he could call, master. And he freely gave into the domination.
Shadow held the quiet boy close. "Are you all right now?" He looked into the boy's stormy blue eyes.
The youth nodded. "Yes, Master." His response was easy and natural.
Shadow smiled, relieved. "Good, now, we can talk. What's your name, pet?"
He looked up at Shadow. "Joe, Master."
Shadow only moaned softly, kissing the boy. "I can't leave you with that name. We already had a Cain, and he is dead now. Joe is just to close to his name. He was a vampire, like me. He was also my brother, and I don't think, not even with a new Childe, my Sire would be able to take it." He looked at the boy, thinking. "I know, why don't I just call you Max?" He kissed his new pet again. "Yeah, I like it. Now listen to me, Max. You do understand that that is your name now, right? No one will ever think of you as anything else. You are Max." He bit his bottom lip as he tried to just brush his will against the boy's. "What's your name, baby?"
Max looked up, "Max, Master." His old name, forgotten. Oh he still remembered a time that it had been his name, but no more. His master had taken it from him and gave him another. And as many Kin had learned to their joy, it helped the boy begin his transition. "You gonna bite me again, Master?" He asked, shyly.
"Not right now Max. I just fed from you, and even though I have a bond with you now, give it a little time to start to change you, make you stronger." This one was so cute. Shadow knew that Thorne would simply love this kid. "Will you help me with your friend here? I am still a little sloppy with my technique. But maybe if you helped me talk to him, I could ease him into it, with just a few less shocks."
Max pulled himself up. "I, I don't know him, Master. He's new on the street I was on."
Shadow sighed. ' Oh well, looks like I am going to be getting a lot of practice on mental control'. "Okay, well I guess I have to try to get him to listen to me like I did you." And he patted Max's hand. "Don't worry, pet, I'm going to try and do it right the first time, this time." And again he gathered the slumbering form to him. "Wake up, kid." He whispered.
Eyes, so dark blue that they almost rivaled Shadow's Sire's, came alive at the briefest touch. Blue eyes, again. Blue seems to be a favorite of the Kin or something. Shadow mused as he tightened his grip on the boy as he began to struggle, crying out in fear. "Hush," Shadow was glad he wasn't human as he tried to bring this one to him, but do it carefully. If he had been, he would be sweating buckets with the effort he was putting in. "I am not going to hurt you, pet. You don't have to be afraid of me." He was so tempted to just take the easiest route with this one and just dominate him first before he told him what he was, so he could make sure that the boy never felt any fear.
*That is the easiest way this is true. * Megel's mind touched his softly . *But it is only good in the short term. Remember, you knew who I was before I bound you to me. You were allowed to know and face your fear, and you were allowed the chance to overcome them. You are my Childe, do what you know is right. *
Shadow looked down, ashamed of himself. *Of course, forgive me Father. I don't know what I was thinking of. I'm sorry Sire. * Then an, almost, humorous touch to his thoughts , *my bad. * Then Shadow's thoughts went back to the boy in his arms, the one that looked up at him with such, no, not only fear, but, it was, still, there within the confusion. "I want you to listen to me, pet, first, what is your name?" He would do this right, this time.
"Gregory," the boy whispered. "Where am I, who are you?"
"Shadow," Megel drew his Childe's attention. "Why don't you let Max come over here and let you give your new pet your full attention."
Shadow spared a moment to look at Max. "Go on, Hon, that's Megel, he is my Sire, my Master. He won't hurt you. No one is going to hurt you, ever again. I won't let them." Then he looked back at Gregory. "Okay, where was I?" He smiled. "Oh, yeah. You wanted to know where you were. Well, right now you're in my arms. As to where I am," he took a brief pause, trying to figure out just how to say what he needed to. "You are in a Covenstead of vampires." He let his fangs down so the boy could see them. Okay, now all hell would probably break loose.
But oddly enough, the boy only lay there, looking up at Shadow, silent.
Shadow sat there, holding him, waiting for a response, one that just didn't seem to come. "Gregory?"
"How long?" The calm, clear question.
Shadow shook his head at a loss. "How long, what Greg?"
The beautiful dark blue eyes met his. Again the fear was mixed with the confusion in his eyes. Not overwhelming, but it was still there. "Do I have to live?"
Okay, so the kid was fast on his feet. He was thinking. Shadow felt a little better. "That all depends on you, Gregory. I took you for one of the pets I am going to need now that I have, sired a Childe. So, one way or the other, you are mine. But I'd just as soon not have to fight you. So will you listen to what I have to say before you make up your mind if you are going to go into this willing or not?" Gregory nodded. "Okay, first, like I said, I brought you home with me to help me see to it that I can take care of Thorne. I won't hurt you, and I will never put your health at risk with my feedings." He loved this part of the explanation. "You will be safe, because when I feed from you, I will feed you from me as well. I will form a bond with you, one that grants you roughly a century and a half of health and youth. You will never get sick or old or lose the looks you have now. Though I don't have anything, I'm still a very young vampire and still live under my Sire's rule. He will see to it that you never go without, again. You will be safe, safer than you have been in a long time. And when it is finally, time, for you to die, I will see to it that you don't suffer. I've never seen any pet ever have to go through the end of their life, but I've been told it's pretty ugly, and I won't let you go through that." Okay, he'd made his sales pitch, and now he was going to set the price. "All you have to do is give yourself to me, Greg. Be willing to bend, don't make me take your will completely."
Gregory closed his eyes. Fighting the tears that he knew were so close. There was no doubt that he would bend. There was something in this creature that held him. "What," he was losing his war with his tears. "What do you want me to call you?" He wanted to die now. He was making a fool of himself, crying like a damn baby. But he didn't understand it all, one moment; he was finally desperate enough to resort to start selling his body too more than just a few, to live, and the next.
"Master." Shadow was impressed with how well he was holding up. True he was crying, but hell, he did at the very beginning, most of the new ones did. Julian was damn right hysterical at first. "You can call me Shadow too, it's my name. But you gotta call me Master." He captured Gregory's face between his hands. "So, you going to bend, willingly, or do I have to force you?"
Max sat with Megel and Randy, watching as his new master, went to ease this stranger to him. "Is he gonna have to hurt him?"
Megel looked down into the youth's face. "Is Shadow going to hurt him?" He bent and kissed the boy lightly. "No, trust me, Max. Shadow is my Childe, and he won't do anything that I won't allow. He's already promised you that you are safe here. Well so is Gregory. He just has to accept that he is safe now." He gathered the Max close. "You know you are safe. Soon enough, he will too. Now come here, I am sure that you need some attention." Yes he was still hungry, but it was nothing compared to how he knew his Childe was feeling, and so far, Shadow had done very well controlling himself. "Don't worry, baby, I won't hurt you. No one is ever going to hurt you. Your Master won't let them, and if he can't stop them, I will."