Candy: Book 5 of the Lord Emperor Vampire Saga

November 29, 2008

Good Day eh, and welcome to the epilogue...of sorts. If you’ve been following the SAGA you kind of know what these little add ons do. I shall give you a warning now...it’s not going to be a happy one...and I don’t have a plot start for BOOK 6 yet so it might be a while before this gets all resolved. At the time of this post, I have not yet started Part Two...I hope to have it all ready by mid December. Still to follow, kudos and Q&As.

Now for a shameless plug: I have self published “THE BLACK TOWER” and it is available at lulu.com as a paperback and as an ebook. It is searchable under ‘kiix’ I have been trying to get advertising space on Aff.net but there is a computer glitch right now but soon I hope to be up on the banner heading. So...take a look.

READ, REVIEW & ENJOY

Kiix
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Chapter 228: Voices Carry: Part One

The concert hall was dark and the music swelled around me. I had my eyes closes and just let the music carry me in its embrace. This time was mine. The scent of blueberry filled my nostrils. This time was ours. Since that little incident in the private box oh so long ago (see The Dessert Cart) Lanseng and I have been purchasing the same box for the past twelve years. Finally I just took it upon myself to decorate it to both our benefit. Who says you have to sit upright to enjoy a concert? I had a custom chaise lounge made to hold my big muffin and myself in comfort. To keep the freaking out manager from having a seizure, I had it upholstered in red velvet to match the rest of the concert hall. I didn’t give a rat about what management thought of me. I was just an eccentric billionaire who wanted an orgy sized lounger and heavy privacy curtains that could be pulled around my box when necessary.

Right now, Lanseng was behind me acting as a warm lumpy cushion. I was leaning back against him as his thighs cupped me along my waist and hips. He had a soft bristled brush and was sending me into a different state of being as he brushed my hair in conjunction with the music. Lanseng had the brush moving in against my scalp and his other hand was over my heart. This was peaceful. I needed this break. Hell, all the brotherhood needed this break.

Von Drachenfeld was overrun with puppies within three days of Azrael’s coronation. Not all were our puppies but cousins we didn’t know about and far distant relatives had a habit of dropping off little bundles of fur at the front door. Since Azrael was officially of the Dennings line Von Drachenfeld became a part of the Den. If it was good enough for Haley and Ping to raise their litters in, it was good enough for the rest of the pack. Our house was turning into a zoo. No, it was more like a kennel.

I would have called pulled the plug on the puppy day care center but Haruka Chesterton was having a blast. Jax was an adult now and didn’t need the mothering she liked giving out so this kind of replaced the empty nest feelings she was having. Jax told his mother to puppy punt to her heart’s content. I think Treska and Lia bit him. My lips curled up at the corners. More like gummed up his sneaker. Wolf came to the rescue then defended his baby sister’s honor by shoving Jax into the pool. Everybody had a yipping good time, including Jax. He might be only human but he was raised with puppies and knew the Lycan lingo well. It was sort of nice to have little ones running around. Taking out the back of my knees so I slammed hard onto the marble floor, not so much.

“What are you thinking of to put that devious smile on that face?” Lanseng whispered into my hair.

I just pressed my shoulders back against him. “It’s good to see you smile, Polar.” He kissed my temple then set the brush down and used both arms to hold me. Hmmm, Snuggle Muffin. I liked.

Three months had passed since the threat of the Sorceress was taken care of. Seth is Liam but Liam isn’t Seth, yet. Well, that is what Hades says. I still couldn’t get my head around it. Sex had separated Liam from William and forced him into the empty shell Orel Wessel had created. I am the furthest thing you could find to talk about souls and reincarnation with any authority, but I wouldn’t put it past Orel Wessel to create soulless beings. Six was his rank in the birthing experiment. Seth was the name one of the nurses gave him. I liked the kid, ancient or whatever he was. He was a vampire. Now that he had a soul, the light affected him. So, he was watched just as carefully as the rest of the winglets. Considering he grew up in that hellhole, he didn’t seem to be too effected. His memories were just whispers of grey. The triplet winglets and our puppy regulars accepted him into the fold just as lovingly as if he had always been there. The memories and experiences he was having now were bold and bright Technicolor.

We kept the Liam soul stealing thing to ourselves. The only ones who truly knew was the dragon – who slept 23 hours of the day—and the annoyingly bubbly Fey who should sleep 23 hours of the day to stay out of the brotherhood’s face and Hades. That in itself opened up another kettle of fish. Hades was 900 plus years old. Liam was, what? A million? But Hades had the body of a horny seventeen year old, born again libertine and Seth, my son, was twelve. The heart and the mind are generally together on things but I’ve seen the way those pale watery blue eyes watch Seth at play. Hade’s catching himself and latching onto William like a randy burr but I’m going to have to keep an eye on him. There wasn’t going to be any Lolita scenarios on my watch. Seth was a Von Drachenfeld, whether it was an intentional breeding program or a happy accident. Just the same as Kain.

Kain. Kain. Kain was a pain in the ass. It didn’t help that Sex kept saying that our eldest son was just the same was Xavier was when he was human. There were some days, I had to pack up my wings and walk away before I smacked him up the side of the red head. It was partly our fault --the brotherhood. We overwhelmed him. Holy hell, Father made him piss himself and cry within five minutes of meeting him. I wouldn’t be too damned welcoming either. The excessive attitude was only held for us, Claudius and the Brotherhood – which we didn’t get into the multiples yet. He was actually cordial with the kids. The furry puppies freaked him out but he was trying to cope. The puppies that could change to human form he got along with as well. On top of that I think he had a crush on Claudia. His face would turn beet red when ever he tried to talk her. That was one of his redeeming qualities.

What surprised the daylights out of everyone was how hard he latched onto Mom and Dad and Shane and her children and grandchildren. Azrael had pointed out that our family was either Vampires or Hunters. It was glaringly obvious that Kain was part of the Hunter clan. I think we would have to work on him just like allergy shots…a little poke at a time. He acknowledged that We were his father. You couldn’t deny the pictures that his Grandmother had of me, er...us, and that his Mom had kept of him. Two peas in a strangely configured pod. He wasn’t going to change his name. I know my Mom was disappointed but she understood why. He was the last of the Sythe. It was good enough for his Mother. It was a tribute to his mother and grandparents.

Kain took the effort to come to all the Sunday family dinners with all the winglets, puppies, Loyal and sundry mates. He was uncomfortable but he was there. More brownie points for him. The ball was now in Kain’s court. We had made it clear that we were willing to get to know him, but we were done forcing him into the family. I’d wait for him to come to us. Just like the old black Von Drachenfeld doors to the Council Chambers, our doors were always open. We were vampire. We had nothing but time.

I shifted as a long limber finger rubbed up my nose and brushed at my forehead. “You will get wrinkles…”

I stilled. That was what Armor would tell Xavier. “Polar?”

“Are we meddling?”

“I assume that this is about tonight?”

Xavier was self destructing. If he wasn’t raging at some poor hapless employee, he was half cut or out making an ass of himself. I personally was at a loss on what to do for him. He was spiritually wounded by Armor’s abandonment. He kept it under control with the kids but…they knew he was hurting. I was afraid that he would do something and hurt a puppy and then there would be no coming back from that. So when Azrael and Sex came up with this plan, I couldn’t think of a reason to call it off. We had to do something. Xavier has always been there for us. If he hadn’t been there for me when I was coming out of Orel Wessel control and if I didn’t have my blueberry muffin o’ love, I wouldn’t have survived. The body might have continued on but I would have fallen. So, how could I leave him alone even when he railed about wanting to be left alone. That was something that brothers didn’t do.

“Can you tell me that this is the right thing to do?”

“Do you want me to?” Blueberry had that indefinable tone to his voice. He knew something bad and didn’t want to share it. At his core, my Seer was a big ole blue softy.

“So it’s not?” I tensed in his arms.

“Affairs of the heart rarely run smoothly through my vision. I cannot see the outcome. Good or Bad. I can tell you right now, that if you do nothing…you would not be able to live with yourself.”

“I wish…” I stopped.

“Polar?”

“I wish he would do something when he’s at the beach. I told him he could do what he wanted to in the Dark. He just stares across the beach out to the water and says nothing. Even when Sex was grieving, and that’s what it was, mourning Father’s betrayal, he was more animated than Xavier. He does nothing. He says nothing. It’s as if a plug has been pulled in him. How could Armor had left him behind? He started all this. We are here because of him.”

“I don’t think Armor himself knows.” I frowned and tilted my head back to look up at my Muffin. He was staring out into the semi darkness down to the full orchestra.

“Blueberry?”

“Armor is not Marcus.”

“I know that.”

Lanseng lifted his hand and brushed against my forehead. “There is knowing.” His other hand dropped down over my chest. “And then there is knowing.”

“I know that.”

“How old is Armor?”

“Twenty-five.”

“No, my Polar cubbie...you are fifty-four.”

“Okay, you are confusing me. What are you trying to say?”

“The Brotherhood shares. Memories. Experiences. Emotions – good and bad. You, my love, might have been born in Orel Wessel’s labs but you are more than a thirteen year old. While Sex might keep his dalliance with Claudius private, he shares the other things. You know how to handle Carnage when his game face is on. This seamless interaction between all of you makes this possible. It doesn’t work that way for Marcus and Armor.”

“How old is he then?”
“Armor came to the forefront when Xavier came into his sights. That was three years. Orel Wessel stole you. No one tried to help Armor deal with your disappearance and Claudius was very judgemental of him. He willingly faded back into the background. Add these last thirteen years and what do you get?”

“Sixteen.”

“Armor has the emotional control of a hormonal teenager and he is unsure of himself. He is at the stage to start discovering who and what he truly is. He needs time to figure that out. He realizes that he needs time to figure that out and Xavier is too much a temptation for him to resist. To grow, he has to leave.”

“Who’s side are you on?”

“Yours. I can just be more objective than most.”

“Because you’ve had to be.”

“I am part of the Collective.”

“When are they coming for you?”

“Not for a while yet.”

“You know I won’t let them take you.”

“Yes, my Polar cub. I know of your claws.”

“Too much has been taken away, I am not losing anything if I can do something about it.”

“I have no plans to go away from you and your household.”

The music began to follow that final rise to completion. I reached up and cupped the back of his head. His blue hair was so soft and silky. My blueberry muffin of hot stuff was still a freak in the sheets. He never did anything that sent me off guard because of my sorted past but he preferred intensity. His six foot, eleven inch body wanted to feel with abandon but he could kiss with the gentleness of a butterfly’s wings. Considering what we were going to be doing to Xavier later tonight, this body needs all the tenderness it could get. The music rose up in a crescendo sweeping over us with emotion and sensation. I ended up looking into his crimson eyes.
“I love you.”

“And I am grateful, my Hashmalliam, my Cubbie, my Love.”

I leaned back into his embrace and just basked in all that was blueberry as we waited for the crowd to begin to thin out. For some reason people thought that attaching themselves to my entourage as we left here would lead to bigger parties or photo opts. I was not the party animal. Sex wasn’t a party animal any more. He was a bigger home body that I was. Of course, whatever the hell he was doing with Father at home might be considered a party.

Huh. So that big hunk of vampire was sixteen. That explained a hell of a lot. Didn’t mean I understood everything, but it did explain a lot.

This was going to be an intervention. Trying to do it on the Unending Plain was useless. Xavier was able to slip away quicker than any of us could follow so it was going to have to happen here which is why I had some misgivings about. But as Lanseng said, doing nothing was not an option. I could be cool and calm but watching my brother just...systematically set out to destroy himself was something I couldn’t ignore. Xavier wouldn’t let Sex do something so drastic over Claudius. So why would he think the rest of the brotherhood would stand by for him? He should know better.

We waited long enough and the manager had taken it upon himself to escort us personally out of the concert hall. Either to run interference for their most generous patron or to make sure that we weren’t doing something we shouldn’t have been doing up in the hall.

Muffin and I snuggled together in the back of the limo. This was a late night for a concert but for clubbing, it wasn’t even appetizer time yet. The elevator doors opened to the white marble halls of the upper floor of Von Drachenfeld and our lovely little Fey was standing there waiting for us. I didn’t quite bite back my groan.

I got an eyebrow arch over those oddly entrancing silvery gray eyes. “Gees, Skell, tell me how you really feel.”

“This is not personal, Prince.” Lanseng quickly added laying a hand over my shoulder.

“Ixnay on the Prince there, Seer.” He lifted up a pair of bangles. Well it sounded better than cuffs or braclets, well more manly. “Are you ready?”

“Shouldn’t we wait until Sex gets here?”

“Nope. He said he would keep Xavier busy while you put these on and got changed.” Ripley shook the bangles. “Chop, chop.”

I truly couldn’t keep the grimace off my face now. I really didn’t want to have to wriggle bare ass naked into a pair of barely there white leather pants. I could wriggle bare ass naked into a kilt and get more coverage.

I got a kiss to my temple. “You are doing the right thing, Skell.”

I stuck my wrists out. Ripley began speaking like Q from a James Bond film. “Now this binding will only keep the Hand of Light in check. The wings you’ll have because that is independent of the actual power of the blue line. Anything else, nada. That in itself is something that is worth more study. Yeah, yeah, no labs, no needles. I got that from the Black Death. Now, how do I know this?” Ripley looked up and flashed his silver eyes at me. “I know this because I tried these little fashion statements out on Cutie. He’s still a very scary man even when he’s blue line limited. Scary and sexy. What a combination!” Ripley blew air up from his lips so it ruffled his hair.

“Are you insane?” I knew my eyes widened in amazement.

“Not really, but it doesn’t hurt in this family.” Riley clipped the bangle closed. I could feel a coolness settle over my frame, sort of like the cold air of air conditioning after stepping out of a hot shower. A shiver ripped through me. He slipped the other bangle on the other wrist. Damn....it felt like ice water just ran down my spine. “How does it feel?”

“Some kind of awful.”

“Good, it’s working then. Try and call the Hand of Light.”

My whole arm flared ice. I grit my teeth and winced at the strong sensation. I must have staggered because I ended up sandwiched between my Seer and the Fey. “What the hell is this?”

“It takes a lot of magic to bind the Blood Emperor. Still if you go call the Phoenix, it’ll nullify the effect, and it will kill anyone around you in a thirty foot radius.”

I glared at the Fey. “You could have said this before you put it on.”

“If I told you, you wouldn’t have put it on.”

“I should kick your ass.”

“Cutie already did that. I got the bruises to prove it. Wanna see?” Ripley’s eyes danced as he slid his fingers into the waistband of his pants.

“Apparently it wasn’t hard enough because you’re still standing.” I shook both my wrists and the bangles rattled against the thickness of my hands. “Take them off.”

“When Xavier gets back.”

“I can make you.”

“You can try. This is one of the side benefits of having a Mage.”

Lanseng slapped a hand over my mouth. “I will assist Skell with his change of clothes.”

Ripley flashed us a smile. “I’ll leave you to it then. I’ve got to ramp up my own hotness quotient.”

“You’re coming?”

“I wish.” I shot Ripley a glare. “You rush the miracle man, you get rotten miracles. So I’m coming along to make sure nothing bad happens, miracle wise, that is. The intervention thing is all yours.” Ripley turned and sauntered back down the hall.

Now that I think of it, how the hell did he end up living here? He just sort of moved into Azrael and Marcus’ closet sized room. Lanseng took my hand and lead me down to my room which I really didn’t need. Most of the time we ended up at Lanseng’s brownstone. Sex spent most of his time with Claudius at the Penthouse at the top of Shadoe Inc. Everyone had their own space except for Marcus and Azrael. The images I had seen of how Marcus used to live made it kind of sad that he was reduced to this small room. Until Armor and Xavier fixed themselves, Marcus and Azrael were kind of stuck like the monkey in the middle. They couldn’t move forward. They couldn’t make plans. So, yeah. This intervention was the right thing to do.

Oh crap, you could see my butt crack.

Muffin had been talking about some reading he had done for a socialite then there was nothing but silence. I looked over my shoulder into the mirror and was stunned by his expression reflected there. If a Seer could flame, I would say he was burning hotter than a Californian wildfire. “I know damn well that these aren’t a pair of Sex’s pants.”

Those red eyes never wavered from me. “Blue?”

Blink. Lanseng closed his eyes and his whole frame shuddered. “Blue?”

“I can see why Armor had to remove himself from temptation.” Lanseng opened his eyes and gave me a wicked smile. “You are sin in a pretty white ribbon. You make me want to whisk you away to my lair and pull your ties. However...” Lanseng took a deep breath. “no, those are not Sex’s clothes. These are the clothes that Armor would have originally dressed Xavier in.”

“You mean there’s more than just this?” Or rather less. This was worse than being naked.

There was a leather shirt...a jerkin? That laced up either side under my arms and it ended about a hands width from the waistband of these...pants. The laces from the shirt swept against the exposed skin of my waist and stomach. “These are...”

“Here.” I caught a pale grey sweater. The essence of blueberry arousal filled the air. “Cover yourself.” He said it in that way that basically told me I got to him.

I lowered the sweater and let the blue flame of arousal fill my eyes. I shook my head and let my hair slowly cascade over the side of my shoulder. Sex wasn’t the only one who could play...well Sex. “You have a problem, big boy?”

I could see his big problem. “I can take care of that.”

“NO!” I stilled. “No, my cubbie. Vampire have acute smell. You do not want my pure essence tainting your body...not tonight. Not with him. Remember, we are dealing with a angsty teenager who has the capability of killing anyone who gets between that body and himself if he gets possessive.”

“So what? You’re just going to suffer?”

“It really isn’t that much of a hardship, Polar.” I watched mesmerized as elegant and elongated fingers caressed the oh so warm and tanned skin of his cheek. The finger tips slid smoothly down the jaw line,. He turned his face away from me and extended his neck line. My fangs tingled as I watched my muffin o’love touch himself so innocently but with an erotic bent to it. If these pants weren’t so damned tight, my erection might not be so painful. There is nothing like debauchery in a tux. Correction, blue haired, red eyed, tanned flesh debauchery ingrained in a tuxedo.

Blueberry opened his eyes and he looked at me. “We will pick this up, later.”

I shook my head. “You started this. Since I can’t touch you...show me how you would like to be loved.”

One eyebrow arched up and his mouth quirked up at the edges. “You want a command performance?”

“I would never presume to think that I could command you to do anything, Blue.”

“Which is why I do the things I do for you, my love, because I know you would never make those demands. I prefer to give you want you desire willingly. Get on the bed and relax. I am not getting anywhere near you. You have told me yourself that my scent gets stronger on you when we are intimate.”

I’ve personally never been to a strip show. Oh yeah, at the Golden Phoenix there was always someone who had too much to imbibe and there would be a shirt flying off over someone’s head but nothing remotely like a sex show. Been there. Done that. Group sex wasn’t something at appealed to me but just watching my tall Seer and all that powder blue hair and darkly tan pigmented skin was more than enough for me. Sex was a private thing done between lovers. This was a brotherhood sentiment.

Love was meant for Lovers.

And, I loved my Lover. Hmmm. My Mate. I needed to take it up to the next level.

“Skell?” The Seer cocked his head to the left and scads of blue hair cascaded over his shoulder and down his sleeve. Lanseng was absolutely adorable.

“I need to make you an honest man, Lanseng.”

He straightened up abruptly. “Skell?”

Here I was dressed in something sluts wouldn’t wear and I was asking the tallest love of my life to marry me. I could do this right. I slipped off the side of the bed and walked towards him. “You’ve waited for me to arrive. You’ve waited for me to be comfortable and feel safe with you. You’ve waited for me to make the first move. I’m apologize for not being able to move forward faster and for being a little dense in matter of the heart.” I lowered myself to one knee. “Lanseng, Envoy of the Collective will you do me the honor of officially becoming my husband?”

There was nothing but silence and air-conditioning. My heart did a little lock step. I looked up at my Blueberry’s face and tears beaded at the corner of his red eyes. “Lanny?”

He lifted his hands and wiped at his eyes. “You never call me Lanny.”

“You don’t call me Edward, so...”

“You can call me Lanny. We are more than just master and servant and...the honor is all mine, Polar Cub.” Lanseng...Lanny extended a hand down to me.

Clapping came from the doorway. I turned my head and had to blink a couple of times. I thought I was dressed trashy. I was trashy 101. Ripley was trashy haute couture. He looked like every Fairy picture every drawn: gossamer toga robe-ish, flower petal skirt/kilt with silver leather Romanesque sandals. Considering how girly it looked, Ripley was working it. Maybe this time the clubbers would be hanging all over the Fey instead of trying to feel my ass for underwear. “Very romantic, Skell, however, we don’t have time for a full sanitized scrub down if you are going to be doing what I think you both want to be doing. Congratulations by the way. You make a very strange couple. I mean that in a good way.”

“You’re calling us strange?” I climbed back to my feet under my own power and gestured to his clothing.

“I know. I haven’t put on Court Robes in decades. I feel a little exposed, but I’ll take one for the team.” Ripley grinned. “Come my little vampire. Your chariot awaits.”

I was hesitant. I just proposed to my love. He said yes. Didn’t he? My expression on my face must have told him my confusion because all of a sudden I had a whole lot of blueberry muffin in my face. He stole a kiss from my lips. That’s all that touched, our lips. “I have picked out love tokens at a reputable jeweller. We have an appointment Saturday afternoon at 2:00.” He straightened up and I had to crane my neck up to see him clearly. “That is a draw back to being a Seer. The waiting for the good stuff to happen.”

“Why didn’t you ask me?”

“Because I knew you would ask when you were truly ready to. I will never force you into something you are not prepared for, Cubbie. Now, go and help your brother.” It was hard to walk away from that stud muffin. More than just a painful full pulsing erection shoved down vaccuum formed leather pants. It actually hurt to breathe.

Ripley stood in the elevator and waited patiently for me to walk funny down the corridor into the car. He kept his face forward as the rest of the Loyal entourage piled in with us. “You know for being the ultimate destruction, you are so damned lucky to find that kind of love...four times over. Not too many can stand with you even when you end up falling to the dark side.”

That came out with a tiredness and a little pinched with bitterness. I didn’t like to pry in other affairs. All I knew that the Dark Fey learned the forbidden magic of his people to protect those who were the most important to him. I doing so it seemed he saved his people. In the end, he ended up alone. Denied his heritage and titles. Betrayed by his family. The price of his sin was forever marked in his eyes for the whole world to see. Yet, he did not truly regret doing what he had to do.

I didn’t care of the scent of another lingered on this body. I drew Ripley close and wrapped my arms around his chest. The bangles clinked on my wrists. “Be my best man?”

“Was there any other choice?” His teasing tone was back. “Let’s get Xavier fixed up. It’s hard watching someone you love continually keep making the wrong choices.” He patted my hands. “Those pants though...”

The elevator doors opened to the main lobby and I shoved Ripley forward out of the car. Ripley was right thought. This intervention was the brotherhood’s way of reaching out to Xavier. When someone is flailing around needing rescue you do what you have to. I followed the Dark Fey out toward the waiting car. Xavier needed to be rescued. That’s why I was magically shackled and restrained. That’s why I was almost popping out of these lower rider pants. He has been then for all of us in our times of need. We could do anything less. That’s just what brothers do.

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Yes, I know, shameless plug here...bwah hahahahah