Birthrights (24 page)

"You've reached the desk of Marc Pithview. I am
currently unavailable, but if you would please..."

Seth disconnected the call and realized that the sun
was rising. He would not be able to get up with Marc for several
more hours. That meant he had time to find out what he could about
the Seer. The girls had seen him outside of Ve's place, which
meant that Ve was involved. There were no coincidences when dealing
with those creatures. The challenge that Seth faced would be
getting Ve to give him information. Unfortunately, it looked as
though Seth was going to have to make a bargain with him, though he
wasn't thrilled with the idea of being in debt to a demon. Right
now, he saw no other way.

***

Demons & Nature

Seth pulled into the gravel parking lot outside of
"Succubus" the strip club owned by Ve. This was no ordinary strip
club. It catered to both humans and supernatural species alike. It
was well known that one could find anything they desired inside the
club, as long as you could pay the price. The thing about a demon
running a club like this was that he always made sure the patrons
paid, usually more than they originally bargained for.

Seth got out of his vehicle and walked to the side
door. He wasn't about to go in through the front and get bullied by
the bouncers. He'd was going straight to the source. Seth had just
put a fist up to knock on the door when one of the guards answered,
"What do you want?"

"I'm here to see Ve."

"Ve don't deal with no vampires. Go away," the guard
turned and started to close the door. Seth grabbed the man by the
neck and squeezed. The guard struggled and tried to grab at Seth
who only batted his hands away with ease.

Seth picked him up by his throat and threw him face
first into the outside wall, then held him there. "I said, I wanted
to see Ve," he snarled. Seth grabbed the man's arm and pulled it up
across his back until the bone snapped and popped. The guard
screamed out in pain. Seth then kicked both of the man's knees in
and dropped him on the ground. The guard rolled in pain as one arm
flopped beside him uselessly and he reached for his legs with the
other.

Seth stood silently looking down at the guard with
his eyes blazing green and his fangs at full length. He was
counting on the guard's pain to catch the attention of the demon
inside. It seemed as good a plan as any he had come up with thus
far. Giving Ve a taste of pain would put the demon in a much better
mood, and make it easier to strike a deal with him. It wasn't long
before Ve stood beside Seth gazing down at his employee.

"I would ask why you felt the need to take out one of
my staff, but I enjoyed it far too much to care," Ve said
nonchalantly. "To what do I owe the honor, Seth?" Ve asked walking
back into the club, motioning for his other guards to clean up the
mess Seth had made of the doorman.

Seth followed the demon inside and down a short
corridor to an elevator. Once he was sure that they were completely
alone, Seth explained his unannounced visit. "I need information
that only you can provide. I want to know what you have to do with
Old Seer."

Ve pushed the button on the elevator indicating the
floor where his private suites were located. He gave a long look at
the vampire standing before him. The two had crossed paths a few
times, but always through other business associates. Seth didn't
strike him as the type to work with a demon, so this situation gave
pause to Ve, intriguing him more so than making him cautious.

"Straight to the point, that's refreshing. I normally
have to play all sorts of manipulative games when I've worked with
your kind in the past," he commented as they entered the
elevator. The door closed with a ding and started to descend
as Ve spoke once more. "Although, I'm not quite sure why you
think I can provide you with information. What makes you think I
had anything to do with this Seer?"

Seth didn't hesitate. He wasn't in the mood to play
games much less with a demon. He figured truth was probably the
best option, especially when dealing with Ve. He tended to know
more about what was going on that any one else. "He was seen
outside of your place yesterday afternoon, and it was definitely
the Old Seer. My source is concrete." 

"Really? This yesterday afternoon you say?" Ve asked
as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened to his personal
suites. "Hmm," Ve sat down and offered Seth a drink out of a
crystal decanter filled with a dark viscous liquid. "Drink?" The
red shone through Ve's demon eyes as he offered the blood to Seth,
"It's O positive, everyone likes O positive, don't they?" Ve sat
back and thought a moment before he asked his questions. "I have
lots of visitors, Seth. Some of them are a bit more well mannered
than you have been here tonight. It's not easy to find a good
doorman, you know." Ve took a sip of his own drink and appeared to
be thinking. "Then again, obviously Teddy wasn't that good, since
you worked him over like that so quickly." Ve sipped another bit of
his drink before adding, "perhaps I owe you a..." Ve dropped just
short of saying favor before Seth interrupted.

"I don't want your favors Ve, I need information."
Seth took the decanter and set it aside, not trusting blood offered
by a demon.

"So, you expect me to believe that your witnesses are
concrete, yet you provide with me no revelations?" Ve was not a
patient demon when it came to other people's demands, however; this
was the first time he had ever felt Seth shaken so he was more than
happy to play along. "Who, and do be specific, was here to see me?
And why on Earth did they think the Seer was here?"

"A couple of girls named Jaxon and Caislyn were
here." Seth divulged. It couldn't hurt them any. They had already
done enough damage by simply showing up to a demon's place to begin
with.

"Ah, yes, it was a shame really. Caislyn sure does
know how to make a sweet deal. Her father taught her that, no
doubt." Ve looked out past Seth, as if reliving a fond memory.
"Which is another shame because as much as I wanted what that girl
was offering, I would almost rather have what she wasn't
offering."

At the mention of Caislyn in that light, Seth began
to loose his cool a little. He now felt protective of the girl.

"But that friend of hers, all jitters boiling and
toiling under that fiery personality," Ve said added then licked
his lips. "What I wouldn't give to have her working for me. The
things I would be able to feel with her kicking around the
customers!”If Seth had a hard time controlling himself when Ve
talked about Caislyn, he found it an impossible task to maintain
his cool when the demon talked about Jaxon like a piece of meat or
an hot commodity. "Watch yourself Ve," the vampire warned with a
low growl of a voice, "those are my friends you are talking
about."

"Well, well, who would have thought that the hardened
truth seeker for the Vampire Council would be caught up in the
lives of two little girls."

"They aren't children," Seth began.

"No, they certainly are not. I'm not in that
particular business, as you well know." Ve smiled at Seth, "Now,
back to business." As Ve took another short pull on his drink he
thought about how to approach the next subject without giving too
much away. "What exactly did they see here?"

"The old Seer told them a bit of prophecy and ran off
into the sunset. You know anything about that?"

Ve's face wrinkled up in distaste. He had not been
expecting that particular answer. He was thinking more along the
lines of the hell hounds running into Seth's friends and pissing
everyone off. "He spoke to them?" Ve questioned. Unfortunately, the
shock was audible through the quick question.

Seth's eyes narrowed as he caught Ve's surprise. "Are
you worried the Seer ran off with your secrets, Ve?"

"That old fool had no secrets of mine." Ve
clarified.

"The Seer knows everyone's secrets, Ve. Demons aren't
excluded from prophetic powers."

"Point taken." Ve sipped his drink thoughtfully
again. "So, tell me why you are so interested in this Seer." Ve's
eyes flashed a bright red as he anticipated Seth's loss of control.
"What does he know that you are trying to hide? Or, who does he
know? He talked to Yummy and Scrumptious today - maybe it has
something to do with them?"

Seth's temper was on edge and nearing a danger zone
with the demon. "I warned you once, Ve. You won't get another.
Watch your tongue."

Ve poked out his forked tongue at Seth and
laughed."You are no fun at all." The playful disposition was gone
in a flash as Ve stood before Seth and gave a warning of his own.
"You dare come into my home, misuse my employees, and threaten me,
all the while begging for answers?" Ve turned his back to Seth, a
gesture sure to let him know that he did not fear the vampire. "To
be sure, you have forgotten who you are truly dealing with." Ve
turned a cruel face back at Seth, red eyes blazing, "You were made
young one - of something inferior.” Ve looked down on Seth with
disgust evident on his face. “I was brought forth out of
nothingness and chaos - complete. No changes needed."

Seth ruined Ve's very serious speech at that point,
"complete - you say?" Seth stifled his own laughter now. "Complete?
Truly? Last I heard you were still a Enoch, are you not? I would
say whoever brought you forth forgot something very important."
Seth moved to stand before the demon in a flash. "I could care less
about your pomp and power plays, right now I want answers. If I
don't get them I will see this place leveled before the night is
out. You can taste the truth of what I say on the air, demon." Seth
returned to his chair and took his seat. "Now, let us talk as two
civilized beings before things get out of hand."

Ve's eyes still glowed red as he continued to seethe
over Seth's crude but quite truthful comments. He knew Seth had the
ability to take down Succubus as he claimed, and Ve wasn't about to
allow that to happen, especially over something so insignificant as
this. He sat, his eyes returning to normal.

"Fine, vampire, but know that this will be the one
and only time I accommodate you. Ask your questions."

Seth leaned back in his chair with some relief. He
hadn't been sure that calling Ve's bluff would work, but he was
quite glad it did. Vampires usually didn't fair well when fighting
a demon. Besides, Seth had more important things to take care of
right now. "Why was the Seer here?"

"Because I was hiding him," Ve stated as if Seth
should have known that bit of information.

"Why? From whom?"

Ve rolled his eyes, knowing he would have to start
from the beginning. "The Seer goes into hiding after every major
prophecy he spews forth, especially one as controversial as this
was. Do you know how many inter-breed couples were murdered at the
onslaught of that pretty little prophecy? How many people wanted
the Seer's head on a pike in their front yard? Everyone wanted to
get their hands on him either to find out more or for interesting
lawn art. Either way, the Seer had to disappear and I simply
offered my services to the poor fool. Everyone has a price you
know." Ve sat back smiling.

"So what changed that you just let him go on his
merry way, then?" Seth questioned a bit confused.

Ve snorted, "Not on his merry way, I was in the
process of retrieving him from hiding per his own request, when the
moron, Tobias tried to sell my package to the highest bidder. He
had a change of heart when he realized what a huge mistake it would
be to cross me. His partner, who I didn't know about at first,
decided to double cross Tobias and sell the package to the highest
bidder, keeping the money to himself. Now, I'm not stupid, seeing
what was going on, I was of course the highest bidder." He was
bringing the package to me when my man Carlos brought Tobias in.
Unfortunately for Tobias, the other party he was trying to sell the
package to had sent hell hounds to retrieve him."

Seth let out a whistle. "There aren't too many with
the kind of power to control the Hounds."

Ve smirked, "Yes, well, they didn't control them very
well. They ate half of Tobias before Carlos was able to bring him
inside. Fortunately for him, we were able to get the rest of him
back here before he became their full meal."

Seth sat forward, "So your double-crossing employee,
did he happen to be tell you anything useful?”

"What kind of demon would I be if I didn't take
advantage of a wounded employee who was prone to disloyalty? He
said the woman's name was Melina. I've had my people out searching
for information on the Seer. It seems that he escaped my delivery
boy's grasp when the Hounds attacked. That is when the girls must
have run into him, because from the reports I've received, the
bitch sent back up and they grabbed the old fool a few blocks from
here." Ve smirked, “he was tra, la, la-ing up the road without a
care. Seers are the strangest breed.”

Seth rose from his chair to pace, "Well she's not a
vampire, we don't need the Hounds to handle our business. She's not
Fey, they only use the hounds for the great hunt. It's got to be a
demon or a witch and you would know if another demon was moving in
on your territory. Melina…" Seth knew he had heard that name
somewhere, but he wasn't remembering. Whenever he followed that
train of thought, his mind went blank. It was as if someone had
plucked that memory out of his mind. Seth turned back toward Ve,
who was watching the vampire with slight amusement. "I'll find the
witch. Do you want her when I'm finished or do you just want the
Seer?"

Ve tilted his head while he thought about the
possibilities. "The seer is a must. You could just dump them both
here, but if you choose to handle the witch, I wouldn't mind having
a 'taste' of her." Ve smiled.