Birthrights (32 page)

"I...i...it wasn't there at the drop point." Carlos
was stammering, which really wasn't a good thing to do around Ve.
Ve's eyes again flashed the dreaded crimson color as Carlos began
to stammer out the rest of his answer. "Th...t...the alley
wa..wa..was empt..t..ty." Carlos shuddered as Ve broke the eye
contact and empathetic connection. Ve knew the boy was telling the
truth. The greatest use for his demonic talents was his innate
lie-detector. Ve was a tempter demon and so much more. While he
tempted good people to do bad things, he also fed on their
emotions. Demons feed on the truest emotions, usually the strongest
- fear, pain, hunger. Even the best actor in the world can't fool a
demon. Since the Other Than Human Society began their plight to
incorporate many non-humans into the mainstream societal
occupations it had been suggested that demons be given positions in
the courts due to their innate lie detection. Trial runs on special
start up projects did exactly that until it was learned that demons
couldn't be trusted. Even when they know the truth, sometimes they
themselves would lie for sheer entertainment. Watching an innocent
person sentenced for a crime they didn't commit struck a funny
nerve with them. The OTHS would loose this battle for normalcy,
because demons just didn't cooperate.

"I want to know why my package wasn't delivered." Ve
cast a glare around the opulently furnished room as he began to
speak again, "find out where it is and get it back.. Vast rewards
await the one who brings it to me, if you fail - there will be hell
to pay." Ve dropped his gaze and waited momentarily for the room
full of thugs to react. When none did his voice boomed across them
at an agonizing level, "Go! Now!" He again, collected himself as
they began to scamper up and head towards the door. "Do not fail
me," he reiterated as he retreated to the back room while his
minions were off to do his dirty work. "Whores..." Ve called, as he
glided over the threshold of the back room, "I need some
entertainment to take my mind off things."

Ve sat back and watched as the girls worked. He was
only half-heartedly watching though. Ve was a Eunuch so the sex
itself didn't really do anything for him, but the emotions behind
it were what he fed on. As a few of teh girls came closer to their
own climax, Ve began to feel more more energized. He picked up his
cell phone, the best invention the humans had come up with by far,
and he dialed Tobias.

Tobias was a small time mover in the city. He would
often make runs up the coast to New York or down the coast to Miami
for supplies that the local leaders couldn't get their hands on. He
had always been a loyal runner for Ve, but with this latest
screw-up, Ve was beginning to rethink that.

As Ve thought would happen, Tobias did not answer his
phone. Instead, Ve was greeted by the weaselly voiced message
Tobias had on his voice mail.

"T. here. You need it, I get it! You know the drill,
and if you don't...you got the wrong number!:

"Tobias," Ve said in the serene, yet commanding voice
he always used when he wasn't getting his way. It was his dangerous
voice and anyone who spent any amount of time around Ve knew that.
"Tobias, Tobias, Tobias, you enjoy the rewards you reap from me,
yet I find myself wanting again - yet another shipment gone awry.
Tobias, I want answers, soon. Don't make me send the dogs out." Ve
hung up just as two of his whores reached their climax. The surge
of energy he sucked in was enough to sustain him for quite a while.
"Out," Ve demanded quietly. "Get cleaned up and get to work." The
girls did not hesitate when Ve gave an order. They all knew what he
was capable of. While he was probably the best pimp to have to deal
with on the streets, Ve was not one you ever wanted to cross.

Ve tossed a vial of demonic essence to the last girl
leaving the room. He would always provide the girls a little bit of
himself to use before they went to work. The essence worked
two-fold. It gave him a connection the girls so he could feed off
the energies of those they came in contact with and it gave the
girls a higher power of persuasion. They were given a taste of Ve's
power with each dose they took, and it became like a drug for them.
There weren't really any addictive properties to demon blood, but
that didn't stop the girls from wanting another taste of power,
even if it meant they were physically linked to a demon while it
was in their system.

****

Ve pulled his cell back out and dialed Marco, "Marco,
forget the package, the others can deal with that. I have a new job
for you. I want you to bring me Tobias. Get the dogs out if you
have to, but Marco - don't let them get away from you this time. I
won't save your ass again." Ve hung the phone up and walked to the
far wall where the mirror was situated. At first glance he really
could almost pass for human. He was tall, around six foot. The
light in the room was gleaming off his perfectly bald head. Demons
were always hairless. If you found one with hair it was because
they were using some form of influence to pull off something akin
to Fey glamour. His eyes looked almost brown at first glance, but
upon further inspection they were the reddish brown of dried blood.
When he was pulling energy from highly charged emotions around him
those same eyes would turn to a bright crimson. Ve's skin was pale,
not vampire pasty, but he was not going to be mistaken for having
spent a day on the beach anytime soon. His eyes began to shift
colors as he received a remote intake of energy from one of his
working girls, Carly. She always was the go-getter of the group. Ve
closed his eyes and concentrated on the feelings he was pulling
from Carly and her client. He opened his eyes and looked back at
himself in the mirror. "If only they knew what I would give to feel
those things first hand," Ve said out loud, "then they would truly
understand what it is to be powerless."

****

Marco hung up the phone wiht Ve and immediately felt
his skin crawl and the blood drain from his face. He hated dealing
with the dogs. 'Hounds of Hell,' he thought to himself. Why did he
have to be the one Ve always picked to clean up the messes when
Tobias and the other runners decided to take payment from someone
else? He already knew the answer to that - it had something to do
with the fact that he got more perks than the other degenerates Ve
kept around. Marco was going to be with Carly tonight if he was a
good boy, and that in itself would keep him going for a little
while. 'Maybe she'll even share a little Essence of Ve with me
tonight,' he thought as he thought as he scrolled through the
contacts in his cell looking for his top informants.

Marco wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so it
completely took him by surprise when the person he was looking for
found him first. Tobias was running down the alley and slammed
right into the back of Marco, effectively knocking them both off
their feet. As Tobias struggled to get up, the knowledge of who was
laying spread over him dawned on Marco. He grabbed hold of Tobias
and both of them came to their feet. Tobias staggered in the grasp
of Marco, who while a little slow on the uptake was still very
strong physically. "Run," Tobias managed to squeak out.

Marco looked back over his shoulder and realized that
there were hounds closing in fast. "Those aren't Ve's hounds, I
haven't gotten them out yet."

"No shit, Sherlock, now run or die with me!" Tobias
yelled.

Both men took off down the alley back to Marco's car
and hit the passenger door at the same time. Marco tossed Tobias
through the door and jumped in after him. He tossed Tobias the
keys, "Drive!" He yelled it as the dogs ran into the door of the
car without so much as a whimper. They dented the door panel far
enough in that a jagged piece of metal was now jabbing into Marco's
leg. About that time Tobias got his fingers working and started the
car, taking off as fast as the squealing tires would allow.

Marco realized his cell was still laying in the alley
when he wwent to grab it to call Ve. "Damn, you stupid son of a..."
he looked up at Tobias and noticed the bulge in his pants pocket.
"Gimme your phone, now."

Tobias stammered,"I don't know..."

"Save it," Marco shouted as he leaned over and
reached into Tobais's pants for teh cell. "How about that, it's
right where you left it, keeping your dick warm. I guess your mom
had a headache last night, because you have it on vibrate too."
Marco slapped Tobais in the back of the head and then dialed Ve's
number and waited for him to pick up. Just as Ve answered teh car
was hit from behind by what felt like a semi-truck. "Shit!" Marco
screamed into the phone.

"Marco, you had better have a good damn reason for
offending my ear that way." Ve was calm, as usual, when he
spoke.

"Ve, we got hounds on us. I found Tobias, but we got
some serious problems here. They keep catching up to the
Beamer."

'I told you I wouldn't rescue you from the dogs if
you lost control again, Marco." Ve said as he stifled a yawn.

"They ain't our dogs, Ve."

"Hmm, " came Ve;s response. "truly that begs some
questions I want answered." Ve thought a moment. "Hit the bypass,
they will run out of steam, then double back through town and get
Tobias here as quickly as you can. I don't know who else he's
double-crossed, but I don't have them get a hold of him first."

"Understood," Marco said as he closed the phone.
"Take the bypass and we will double back once those freaking mutts
loose some of that stamina."

****

Ve sat back wondering who exactly Tobias had gotten
involved with that would have the capability of commanding the
dogs. He didn't have time to really think it over much because
Jacob came in and announced that someone was waiting at the front
door. "I'm a bit busy, Jacob. Send whoever it is away." Ve told
him

"Ve, it's a couple of girls. One says you know her."
Jacob had subconsciously backed himself almost out of the room
before he finished," her name's Caislyn Vadoma."

Ve looked up and held Jacob's eyes with his. "Caislyn
is here, now?"

"Sir, she's at the door, says she needs your
help."

"How fortuitous." Ve looked at Jacob, "what are you
waiting for, seat her adn her little friend in the parlor." Ve
grabbed his suit jacket and began to put it back on. "I may be
missing a package, but at least I have something to play with in
the meantime," Ve whispered to himself.

****

Jacob brought Caislyn and Jaxon into the parlor of
the house. They sat and waited for an audience with Ve. Jaxon's
hands were shaking slightly in her lap when Caislyn reached over
and grabbed them to still her.

"Don't worry," Caislyn whispered to her.

"Easier said than done, you brought me to a demon's
house to talk with him about weapons because we have so many other
creepy things chasing after us."

"I think dealing with Ve will end up being the least
of our problems, today. Remember though, he feeds off of strong
emotions so try to calm down a bit." Caislyn was trying to reassure
Jax, but the whole prospect of something "feeding" on her emotions
brough a renewed sense of dread to the pit of her stomach. Taking
several deep breaths, Jax tried to calm herself, concentrating on
keeping her hands still so that Caislyn, nor Ve, would see just how
nervous she was about being there. A few moments later, Casly
reached over and put her hand on Jax's arm. "You do realize that
you are shaking the whole couch with your leg don't you?"

Jaxon gave her friend a blank stare, "Oh, see, I
can't just sit here when I'm this nervous. It's either shake my
legs or pace. And I figured that pacing would probably give away
the whole 'I'm extremely nervous because I;m about to be face to
face with a demon' thing. I have to get this restless energy out
somehow, so I guess shaking..."

"Now you're rambling, Jax." Caislyn went on, "just
stop worrying so much. This is going to go just fine. I know it is.
Now, just sit there, close your eyes, and center. Remember how I
taught you to shield yourself? Try building a shield to keep your
energy in and other energy out. I mean this place is full of all
sorts of emotion. I can only imagine what you are picking up on in
here, whichis probably exaggerating your nervousness. So,
concentrate on your shield."

Jax listened to her friend's advise, closed her eyes
and breathed deeply. She visualized an impenetrable shield forming
around herlsef. As soon as the shield was complete, Jaxon felt calm
and peaceful. She felt like she could breath and think again.

****

Ve entered the room in a manner that exuded a pompous
stature without even trying. "Ah, Caislyn, it has been a while." Ve
looked Caislyn over with hungry eyes. He could feel the tension
flowing from her, but he could not feel anything coming from her
friend, despite the wave of nervous energy he felt before he
entered the room. "And who have you brought for me? Another whore
for my collection, perhaps?"

"What is it with everyone assuming I'm a whore
already?" Jaxon whispered to Caislyn. Ve could taste the anger in
her tone and even though she had only whispered to her friend, he
was able to hear every word. Caislyn may have been a smart girl,
but this friend of hers was a novice when it came to dealing with
demons, obviously.

"Now, is that anyway to treat guests, Ve?" Caislyn
tried to appear indifferent and to anyone else in the room she
probably seemed it as well., but Ve could taste the emotions
rolling off of her in waves. He had to admit to himself, they
weren't what he was expecting. She continued to speak as Ve tried
to get a better read on her. "We came to beg favors from you and
you call my friend a whore?" Ve watched Caislyn stand and finish
her statement, "maybe you were the wrong demon to come see, after
all." She was good. Ve thought about his dear old friend, Mac. Now,
there was a man to be reckoned with and he had taught his daughter
very well. Curiosity won out as Ve had to know exactly what kind of
favors Caislyn was willing to trade. She had played her hand so
well thus far, so he knew it must be good.