Candy: Book 5 of the Lord Emperor Vampire Saga

This was actually done last night, so if i was really energetic and all that rot, I would have gone on a commando posting spree. I don't spree much with a broken toe. So...you had to wait twelve hours. ho, hum. I hope you like it...it just sort of typed itself. Almost Ouija like. dodeedodee dodeedodee.

As always ENJOY! Oh and feedback, damn it. I's a cravin' it!! please. Thanks!! Mauh.
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Chapter 215: By Your Command

“Xavier!” Both Claudia’s and Claudius’ voices intermingled as they shouted my name. It halted me then Father slammed into me from behind wrapping his arms over my shoulders and wings but around my neck.

The Councillors scrambled backwards almost falling over themselves to get the hell away from Renfury. They were there the night of my Introduction and blue line outing. They survived the carnage a young fledgling less than six months old could dish out, the hotel eventually wasn’t so lucky. There was too severe structural damage and it was condemned and torn down. While it might have been construction workers and dynamite that truly took down the Hy-Raitt Hotel, its destruction was accredited to me and it all started with two little words – let’s dance.

“What are you doing?” I hissed back at Claudius.

“Renfury is your strongest ally. He has not been acting normally the whole session. If Renfury falls, who else will support you, especially if you are the one to kill him. Serephina means to strip you of everything of value. Renfury is priceless. Think, Xavier.”

I stopped struggling. Renfury stood there at his assigned spot and just looked down at us. He was the only one still sitting and the expression on his face wasn’t one of traitorous intentions. Actually, he had no expression at all. “I’m gelling.....”

Father didn’t let me go. “You are too quick for me to stop if you decide to continue on this course of action.”

“What is the meaning of this?!” The Speaker of the House was on her feet as the Council Guard protected her and the Empress. The rest of the Council huddled back against the walls.

Ripley walked up to me, his eyes were hidden behind the sunglasses I gave him but his face was turned toward the seated man. “There is a binding spell on him.”

I took a deep breath and willed my wings away. I ended up plastered hard against Father’s chest. His hold tightened on my neck. His breath whispered in my ear. “Be still, my son.”

“Lord Xavier!”

“There are dark magics at work here, Speaker. This is my mage. He will try and help Renfury. He has been...attacked.”

The brown haired Vampire sat still at his seat. His eyes were forward centered on me but the usual liveliness that made me appreciate his support was dull. Renfury was not a stupid man. Truthfully, if Father hadn’t jumped, he would be dead by now. I know my abilities, well not the Lycan stuff that Azrael just picked up, but even if Renfury had decided to defend himself, he would be dead. Clever girl. I absolutely hated her guts.

“There is a cage over his head and strap across his eyes. His hand has a glove on it. X, the sorceress may make him try and kill you or himself as soon as she feels me start dismantling her magic.”

“Explain, Lord Xavier.” The speaker repeated, the hysteria in her voice was now calm as she took control of herself.

“I can explain or Renfury can die. You can make the choice.” I didn’t bother looking at her. Yes, Renfury was a major player in politics that I really didn’t want to get involved in but was turning into my everyday life. Father was right. I needed Renfury at my back.

“What do you need?” Her answer was for life.

“Ripley, you’re running the show.”

“Guards to hold his limbs. Don’t touch his left hand. Try not to touch his head. As soon as I start, there maybe some resistance.” The Council Guards came forward and took up position as Ripley commanded.

“You can let go, Father.”

“When this event is over until then, just chill.” If his words were meant to stun me, it worked. Chill?

I could sense the subtle build up of power as Ripley approached the still sitting Vampire. Even if no one believed that Renfury was ensorcelled, they knew something was wrong because he had just sat there as everyone else scrambled to safety.

Resistance, my ass. As soon as Ripley dropped a binding spell over the councillor he seemed to go into a grand mal seizure. I knew Renfury was an Ancient. I think at least close to six hundred or at least five fifities. He had seen Sigmund descend into madness but he was too damned young at the time to do anything about it. No one could have done anything about it. To think that he could be ‘spelled’ so easily was a kick to my stomach. The guard holding his left hand went flying backwards as if he were a spit ball.

Father’s choke hold on me tightened as I tried to take a few steps forward. “Do I need to call Sex here?”

“What for?”

“You do not listen.”

“And Sex does?” Oh, that came out so wrong.

“You are not thinking clearly, my son. That sorceress wants you dead. She has your signature, just as Ripley now has hers. Do you not think that she has placed another of her killing spells on Renfury? If any of us who wear your mark comes near...”

I stilled. Standing helpless is a horrible thing. The Loyal had moved forward to help hold the struggling Vampire but Claudius called them back. They looked to me for confirmation. “Let the Council Guard help him.”

The magical build up was oppressive. It was like a physical force pressing down on us...well me, no one else seemed to be feeling it. My vision was blocked by black feathers and then I was slammed down to the floor. Claudius was sprawled over me then there was a loud pop, like a gigantic child’s balloon exploding then there was a gale force wind ripping around the chamber. The Speaker of the House screamed as the suddenness of the explosion. Another heavy weight landed on me and any oxygen I had still in my lungs from getting pile driven into the floor was squished out. This all happened in a heartbeat.

Then there was nothing but silence.

“My Liege?” Bruce’s voice sounded close to my ear. Well I guess that explained building number two burying me.

“Off...” It came out more like a groan but the Lycan’s weight shifted off.

“Secure the chamber and the hall.” Father finally rolled off and pulled me up to prop against his chest. His wings were still around me in a feathery shield. I looked toward the upper level and found Renfury hanging limp between two Guardsmen who looked like they wanted to drop themselves.

Ripley had his chopsticks out and was flicking at something on the desks that only he could see.

“Claudia?”

“Vladimir has her.” Father shifted slightly and the sound his wings made were just like mine, rain. There were plenty of reasons why Sex didn’t pick up on that...which I didn’t want to review at this time.

“Ripley! Speak to me.”

“I can only tell you magically what was here. If you want the truth, you’ll have to look at security tapes.”

“I can do you one better. I can get it right from the horses’ mouth.” I tried to get up and just got a mouthful of black feathers as Father sat me back down hard on my ass. His arm came back around my chest.

“Is the area secure, Hrypanleah?”

“I’ll make you a deal, Black Death. You don’t call me that, and I’ll stop calling you Cutie.”

“Is the area secure, Ripley?”

Ripley pulled out the same small bag he had deposited the hall talisman in previous and picked up....white hair? He carefully coiled it into the bag and pulled it closed. “The area is secure, Lord Claudius.”

Father whispered into my ear. “Again, your control over the mind is more tactile than mine. There is no telling if there is residual damage. I knew that Ren was odd this morning. I never would have guess that he was magicked. Be careful and be merciful, at least until you can ferret out the facts.”

I could have done it from sitting on the floor of the council chamber if I wanted to rip apart his mind. I could get within ten feet of him and sort through his short term memories quickly but something cautioned me not to tip my hand. As far as the Council knew, I had to physically touch someone to get into their heads. Father’s face blanked even more than usual as I walked up to the slumped Vampire. Sweat beaded his face and his hair was wet with it. His breathing was ragged and shallow.

Ripley held a hand out over bowed Renfury’s head for a moment searching for any malignant magic then tangled his hand in the back of the Vampire’s hair and pulled it upright. There was still a dull sheen in his brown eyes but it looked like someone was home now.

“Hold him.”

I reached out my forefinger and touched between Renfury’s eyes. He jerked, more of a spasm than an effort to get away. I rewound his morning. Nothing out of the ordinary. Get up, kiss the wife and baby vamps good-bye the for day. Stop at the local beanery and get the usual large triple, triple. Triple milk, triple sugar in a large coffee cup. Renfury was going to rot his fangs. There was nothing. He stopped at the usual newspaper stand. Why didn’t he have guards? Just because he was an Ancient, doesn’t mean he didn’t have enemies. In fact, it should just be the opposite. He headed to a small park not far from here. He liked to sit in the morning light and sip his sugar and read the news. Rather human-like actually. Rather regimented. He did this every morning. A scoccer ball hit his legs and rolled under the bench. He dropped his paper and fished it out with his feet.

I froze. How? Crap. A young boy came up with pure white hair and jade green eyes. He couldn’t have been more than thirteen but he was rather tall and skinny.

“Here you go.”

There was no expression on the kid’s face. He just cocked his head to one side, just like I was doing – I snapped my shoulders level and concentrated on the memories flowing into me. The boy laid a hand on Renfury’s wrist as he held out the ball. Things got Technicolor after that. His memories were choppy and looked like a sixties movie flash back, all wonky and out of context.

Serephina walked up and stroked the boy’s head. She was blonde and in jeans and a blue t-shirt. Just a mom spending time with her white haired, green eyed kid in a park. She had two hands. Liam and his damned observations. She had a brown leather purse over her shoulder but other than that, she could have been anyone. She cupped Renfury’s hand looking as if this was just a family greeting. In reality she was wrapping an unseen magical glove on his hand – a binding spell. She pulled the hall talisman from her purse and pressed it into his palm. “Lay this in the hall seven paces from the dragon’s doors. Only touch it with this hand.”

“No...” I could feel the struggle Renfury was going through. He was fighting her. He was resisting with every inch of his being but she had trapped him before he knew something was wrong. A human had trapped an Ancient. Ice formed like a lump in my chest. Suddenly all light disappeared and there was only the sound of her voice. “You will call the Lord Emperor to council. Accuse him of starting a war, of empire building. Do what you must to get Xavier into the hall. You will obey me.” She stepped backwards and held her arm out to the boy. “Six, go back to the car.”

Then there was nothing. No sight, no sound just white noise. The static of a tv that is on but not turned to any channel. Finally color and sound burst back into being as Ripley ripped the magical bindings off Renfury’s head. I staggered backwards breaking the link. Renfury cried out as I ripped him wide. Damn. I brought my hands up and send waves of healing light back to his psyche. I kept the healing light steady until I could feel his breathing even and a sense of calm and peace descended on him.

I knelt before him. Fuck. Fuck. Fuckityfuckfuck FUCK!!

“X?” Ripley.

Thirteen. He couldn’t be more than thirteen.

“My Liege?” Bruce.

Oh, god. Oh my god.

/Xavier!/ I snapped my head up and turned back to Father. /What is wrong?/ “Is Renfury a traitor?”

Six. She called him Six. What does that mean? It can’t...I couldn’t....

Father slapped me hard across the face. Holy hell. I blinked at him. “Xavier!”

“No....Renfury was ambushed in the park. She...” I grabbed Father’s suit. “She’s got my son!”

“Alexander?”

“No...”

“You are not making sense.”

“She’s got...” Father cupped my head and hauled me to his chest. He muffled my words but hauled me up to my feet.

“Medicial attention is needed for Renfury. He was magically enslaved. His actions were not his own. As for Lord Xavier...he needs some rest. I will take him to the Empress’ back chamber.” I didn’t fight him. I was knocked of my centre. I think everyone on Council was knocked off their centre today. A Councilman was attacked. The Advisory Council was attacked. An Alpha Lycan had come into chambers and declared their menace to society their King. I...I...it couldn’t be...could it?

/Skell!/

“Xavier...”

/SKELL!/

/Brother./

/Did you ever fuck a woman?/

/Uh? No. Why would you...?/ I shared Renfury’s memories. I could feel him get cold...get anarctic kind of chilly. /Orel Wessel./

/Explain./

/They took samples...medical samples from me, from us. I was usually out of it, just coming off a change in meds. They had female fledglings in the labs./

Horror ripped through me. /Serephina called him Six./
/Six? What sort of name is that?/

/It’s not a name, it’s a number. A sequence. It comes right after five./

Understanding filled baby brother with anger like I haven’t felt in a while. /Orel Wessel has taken my seed and raised it as their own? They want to start their own army?/

“The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”

“What was that, my son?”

/Find him, brother. Find them. Orel Wessel shouldn’t be raising our children./

“I will.”

A hand came around my head and I was pulled forward until my forehead rested against Father’s. “You are not making sense. What did you learn, Xavier?”

“Serephina has more than just a lock of hair...she’s more than just using Orel Wessel to get to us.” If Wessel was creating an army, I couldn’t see them loaning out a little bit of vampire to an part time acquaintance. This would explain how she had vampiric intell. Pomp and ceremony and traditions were going to be the death of us. Wessel knew how the council had worked before the cull. We, the Vampire Nation had just went back to code and right into a sorceress’ machinations. “She’s a part of it...”

“And?”

“They have a white haired, green eyed vampire that stands by her side.” The horror that I felt ripped through Claudius’s face. “He looks like he could be between ten and twelve years old.”

“Then you find that bitch and you bring ‘our’ son home.” Claudia stood at the door her eyes were in full flame.

“There might be sons. I know that Wessel didn’t really care too much for girls.”

“Then you find our sons and daughters and you bring them home to Von Drachenfeld. Make that your priority, Xavier.”

Claudius rose to his feet. “Is this from his wife, or from the Empress?”

“X, find that boy. It doesn’t matter is he is Blue line or not, Orel Wessel shouldn’t be raising anything. That I beg as a wife and mother of the Vampire Nation. As Empress, you take the House of Assassins and you liberate every Blood, be it Vampire or Lycan or something else, Orel Wessel has in captivity. If you happen to find the sorceress there in the evil hole, kill her.”
I lowered myself into reverence. My hair hung around my fist and my knee as I honoured my wife and my Empress. “By your command, Claudia the Radiant.”

“Leave them nothing, Azrael, the Angel of Death. Not even hope.”

Claudia took up the mantle of Empress because it was foisted on her; just like the marriage to me. I lifted my head and took in her full countenance. Today, she filled her father’s shoes. “By your command, Chippie.”

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