Erotica Harem

Title: Servants of Night

Chapter: (Chapter 20)

Author: Sephina

Plot: Cassandra settingout to protect Natalie behind Langston's back. She's showing strenght and loyalty toward her family. Good to see this side of her. This moves the plot forward. As does the introduction of more powerful vamps.

Scene/Setting: good description in cemetary. Only thing missing were sounds and smells.

Characters: Cassandra-the fact that she is going against her sire makes her more likable in my eyes. Had she not sought outside help, I wouldn't care what happens to her. Quinn-very possessive of Richard, loyal. Dana-still unclear about where she fits into all of this. Could be my bad memory. But I like her, she is intriguing and adds intersting dynamic.

Grammar: see line edits.

Just My Personal Opinion STory is heatin up. Looking forward to seeing where it goes from the point, how it will play out.

Line Edits:

Cassandra entered the gate to the cemetery and pulled her coat tighter around her. Vampires didn't feel the cold, but she couldn't help but get a chill as she entered. It had been a few days since the ball and Alex hadn't mentioned her sister since then. She wasn't foolish enough to believe that he had forgotten about her. Right now, he was preparing to finish his take over of Christine's followers.

Cassandra had been looking forward to that day for months, but now she knew once it was over Alex would start obsessing over Natalie. He still intended to work on his other plan to get onto the council, but he would be free to divide his attention. If she could find another powerful vampire for him to focus on he may forget about Natalie and her friend.

Due to her limited resources, she didn't think she would fare much better than Alex in finding some of these hidden vampires. To her surprise, Ted provided her with a number of rumors. In his opinion, it was all urban legends. The rumors gave her several options to choose from to start her quest. Several buildings downtown were reported to house vampires, including the Catholic cathedral. It was true that one of the council members was a monk, but Ted said the rumors were not about him. Parks and cemeteries rounded out the list.

She chose to check out this cemetery because she believed it was the most accessible out of all the locations. If this didn't work she didn't know how to begin to infiltrate the other places. She had to admit that she didn't expect to find anything on her first try, but now that she was standing among the tombstones and ancient seeming trees her mind started to change. need to clarify

There was definitely a different feel to this cemetery than others she visited. She could smell the earth and the river that flowed at the base of the hill. The only light came from the street lights that circled it. For her it was enough to see by, but it caused odd shadows to play with her mind. light is repeated. maybe using lamps, or glow

Several mausoleums made out of granite dotted the area. In the center of the cemetery a circular building made of white stone stood. It almost glowed in the darkness. Despite the huge raven perched atop the piedmont, she decided it was a good place to start. To her surprise, the door easily opened.

The room was clear except for a stand holding a small plaque at its center. The only light she had was from the flashlight she brought with her. Small engravings filled the wall, indicating who rested behind them. The plague at the center said nothing that pertained to her search.

Shuffling noises came from the darkness. She swung her flashlight around the room and saw decomposing corpses coming towards her. Terror crept down her spine and her stomach tightened. Where did they come from?

A voice reverberated throughout the mausoleum.

"Your kind are not welcome here."

Fear overcame her and she backed away toward the door and tripped. The jolt of falling made her remember why she was here. I have to try. Natalie's life may depend on it.

"Please, I've only come to ask help for my sister."

The shuffling stopped, but the zombies didn't retreat. The closest one was a few feet away from her. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Cassandra was debating whether or not to speak when a door opened on the far wall.

"Come," the voice invited, but it didn't sound any kinder than it had before.

She stood up and avoided touching the zombies as she went to the opening. From what she could tell, the door was made to look like the wall. Stairs led downwards with torches lighting the way. The smell of earth was more prominent here. The walls looked to be made of cement bricks.

At the end of the stairs, she found herself in a small room also lit with troches. Tapestries hung on the wall with emblems on them. Cassandra guessed that they must be a coat of arms, but there was no way for her to know who they belonged to.

Two high back wing chairs with black upholstery faced each other with a small coffee table between them. One chair held a man with long white hair and dark eyes. His face looked younger than his hair would suggest. A long black robe covered his white pants and shirt.

"Please, sit down."

The voice was softer and gentle than the one from earlier, but she could tell it was the same voice. As she sat down, she noticed that the man was a servant and not a vampire. Yet there was something about him that made her believe that he was more powerful than her.

"You're not a vampire."

"No, but I assure you everything you tell me, will be told to my master. It will be as if he were watching a video recording."

Cassandra glanced around wondering if there were cameras hidden in the small room. She saw now evidence of any. How else could his master be observing? There's no scent of a vampire close by.

"Who are you?" he asked abruptly, but she was intruding on his master's property.not sure what you meant here

I'm lucky he didn't kill me the moment I entered the mausoleum.

"Cassandra VanSkylore."

"Who's your sire?"

"Alexander Langston."

"His sire?"

"Liam Williams."

"Do you know his sire?"

"No, sir."

He sighed. "I suppose it's something you know who your grandsire is."

Alex said linage once meant something to vampire society and still does in places in Europe. Would having a prestigious sire have helped me here?

"What's your name?" she asked.

"You can call me Charon."

"That name sounds familiar."

"How long has it been since you've been in school?"

"I just graduated from college."

Charon's eyes grew wide in surprise and he shook his head. "You're so young. What do they teach kids now a days? Charon is from Greek mythology. For a small price he would carry your soul into the underworld over the River Acheron."

Since learning about vampires, Cassandra wondered if some of the gods and heroes of legends and mythologies were actually vampires. Charon must have seen the question in her eyes because he quickly added, "No, I'm not where the name comes from nor does my master have anything to do with the myth that I'm aware of. Charon is merely a title for this position. My master is very private and I guard the entrance to his domain."

"He's a vampire himself, why doesn't he allow vampires here?"

"He doesn't wish to involve himself in the petty squabbling of the vampires in the city." His hand gestured upwards to the metropolis that bustled somewhere above them.

"Oh." She looked at her hands as she played with the straps of her handbag. "Why did you invite me down here?"

"You were asking help for your sister. That is something that has intrigued my master enough to allow you down here to learn more. Is your sister a vampire like you?"

"No. She's human. She's not even a servant. At least she wasn't the last time I saw her."

"What does she need help for?"

"I want to protect her from my sire."

A pale eyebrow rose above a dark eye, glinting with curiosity. "What does your sire want from her?"

"She knows a more powerful vampire than him. Alex wants to know about this vampire and will use her to find him."

"What does your sire wish from this vampire?"

"I'm not exactly sure. He may not yet himself. All I do know is that Alex will seek more power whether through an alliance or taking over his assets. He will use my sister to get to him. I don't know if he'll end up using her as a hostage or making her a servant, but I don't want her to end up under Alex's control." She clutched her handbag tighter to her. "He's wanted my sister to join us for years and no matter what happens, I'm afraid he'll try to keep her."

"You don't think your sister's ally will be able to protect her?"

"I don't know. I know he will use me to get his hands on her."

"Why do you think my master can help?"

"Honestly, I don't know who your master is. I was told a powerful vampire resided here. That's why I came."

"What do you expect a more powerful vampire to do?" He steepled his fingers together.

"I thought if I could find a better path to another vampire on par with my sister's he would abandon his plans for her."

"I see." A thin finger tapped his chin then gestured towards her. "You admit yourself that your sire is not above taking over someone's interests and you expect another to allow this Langston a chance to take over his domain?"

"No. I don't think Alex would be able to for starters, but he would realize that himself and offer his services as an ally or vassal."

"You want nothing yourself? You merely wish for your sister to remain out of your sire's grasp?"

"Yes."

"You don't want to be free of your sire yourself?"

"No. I want to be with him. My sister doesn't want that. She would fight him whenever and however she could. Alex wouldn't be kind in his punishments."

The welts on her back throbbed at the remembrance of her chastisement. They were still tender and pink, but soon they would be gone.

"I will discuss this with my master. He will have to look into your claims and decide what he wants to do about it. I will warn you now if you knowingly lied to us, you may find my master's wrath far more severe than your sire's."

"Everything I've told you is true to my knowledge."

"Very well then. There is one more matter before you go. You are to tell no one that you found anything here. Again if my master finds out that you told anyone about him, he will not be happy. Understand?" He locked his dark eyes with hers and she had to suppress a shudder.

"I understand."

"There is only one problem with that. Your sire can still make you tell him anything he wants. He's still giving you blood to keep his control over you strong."

Her insides turned cold. How can he know that?

She peered up into his eyes as he approached. He laid a cool hand against her face to hold it in place. His eyes flashed an icy blue and in that instant she thought she heard a voice murmuring in her head.

"There. If your sire tries to force you to tell him where you've been tonight, you'll be able to lie, but only about circumstances regarding my master. Your Alex still may be able to tell that something is amiss. I suggest strongly you don't give him a reason to force you into answering where you've been tonight."

"Yes, sir."

She bowed her head. This human servant humbled her. She would never imagine being this respectful to a human since becoming a vampire, but she had never come across one who seemed to wield such great power. If he could block Alex's power and tell that she still took his blood, who knew what else he could do.

"We'll connect you when my master has reached adecision. Good evening, Miss Vanskylore." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand.


***


Quinn stood behind Richard, who sat on the couch across from Dana McKane. She sat leisurely on the white and gold couch and took the time to enjoy the sip of tea she just took. Richard waited for her to state what brought her here.

"Quinn, you can sit over there if you want." Richard pointed at the chair that stood at the head of the couches.

Quinn perched on the edge of the seat. Even if Richard allowed him to be a little more lax in front of Dana, he still needed to be ready if they needed him.

Dana put her cup down and fixed her dark green eyes on Richard. "Your charge is moving in with you then?"

Quinn tried to hide the surprise from his face. Not that she's looking at me anyway. It often amazed him what Dana was able to find out. Natalie just told us a few days ago that she would take up our offer.

Richard rested his arms on the back of the couch. "Not until August."

"You need to be careful. She's already pulling you into other vampire's affairs."

"So far I've kept Langston's spies away from us. She's given up on her sister for now and instead wants to focus on her parents."

Dana laughed softly. "Then I'm afraid their roles have changed slightly. Cassandra is trying to ensure that her sister remains out of Langston's hands."

One of Richard's dark red eyebrows shot up. "Really? How is she doing that without Langston's approval?"

"He doesn't know what she's done. If he finds out what she stumbled onto, he may do more than whip her."

Richard leaned closer. "What did she stumble on?"

"Hades's cemetery."

Quinn shivered at the name. Hades was a very old vampire sorcerer who lived underneath the biggest cemetery in the city. He did not appreciate unexpected vistitors.

"She ended up speaking with his servant Charon. She's hoping to find a vampire as big and bad as you, if not more so, in the hopes that Langston will leave Natalie alone."

Richard had grown a little pale at the news. There was not much that frightened him, but Quinn didn't know of a vampire in the city who would not tremble at thought of earning Hades's attention.

"What happened?"

"She made her case and Charon sent her away. So far they haven't contacted her yet. Hades summoned me to his crypt a few days ago and wanted to know what I knew about it. He's more reluctant than you to be drawn into other vampire's affairs. I told him what I knew."

"What does he think?"

"He's tempted to tell her that you're more than capable of taking care of her sister."

A brief look of self doubt entered Richard's eyes. "He wouldn't tell her who I am would he?"

"No. You should know he wouldn't do that. He's concerned a bit about Langston's ambition, but until Langston manages to pull something off much bigger than taking out a ditzy vampire, he's not going to do anything. All the same, he seemed rather intrigued with Cassandra."

"Intrigued how?"

"Almost like he's watching a really good movie and he wants to see how it ends."

Richard sighed.

Dana satset down her empty cup. "He wanted to know if I might be able to help her some way."

"How would you do that?"

"I don't know. If I knew I could control Langston, than I think he would be a very good vassal to have. I don't think I could trust him."

From what Quinn knew of vampire politics, no vampire could be trusted. But Langston seems more untrustworthy than most.

Richard gave a humorless chuckle. "Is that what he wants of me? To declare me his lord?"

"If he doesn't think he can take your assets from you. But I don't think you two will ever come to an agreement like that."

"Why not?"

"Cassandra is concerned that Langston is going to make Natalie his servant no matter what happens. He's seen something in her that he likes and wants to exploit. He'll either lie to you or try to bargain with you to let him have her. I don't think you'll turn her over to him."

Quinn clenched his fists in anger. Even Dana talks about humans as if they were property.

Dana brushed her chestnut locks over her shoulder. "If you wanted too, you could give him a trail to follow to another of the city's hidden vampires."

"You know I wouldn't do that."

"You will have to do something soon. In a few weeks, he's going to invite Christine to a party at that old hotel he claims to live at, but I don't think she's going to leave. If she does she isn't going to be the same. After that's over with he'll probably start putting more of an effort into finding out who you are."

Richard clasped his hands together. "Can't you arrange something to distract him from us?"

"Maybe, but I have to think about it for a little longer. I would think you could do the same."

"I've been trying too."

"If you need help with something, you know how to find me. I think I should be going."

She stood and Quinn excited the room to retrieve her coat. Her visits never lasted very long, but this one unsettled him a little more. Richard has never become so involved in another human's life before, at least not since he took me in.

When he returned with Dana's coat, he helped her into it as she chatted with Richard. Before Quinn escorted her out, she put her hand under his chin.

"You need more servants, Richard. I'm sure Quinn would like a friend."

"I'm fine, ma'am." He was sure that was Dana's subtle way of telling Richard he should make Natalie his servant.

"Good-bye, Dana." Richard was smiling slightly amused.

Quinn said nothing to her and only waved to her as he left her in the care of the house staff. He hurried back to the sitting room where Richard stared out over the city.

Quinn stepped beside him. "What are you going to do?"

"What I've been doing. We'll train Nat to take care of herself. She's moving in here so it'll be easier to keep her safe."

"Couldn't you give Langston some other vampire to bother? I know there are ones out there the city would be better without."

Richard shook his head. "It's not my decision to make. I do as the Regent asks. Besides what if Langston allies himself with one of them, then we make an evil, powerful vampire more powerful, unless Langston kills him. Then Langston replaces him. I'm not sure that would be much better."

Quinn shook his head. "I don't like it. We're just waiting for Langston to make his move."

"I'm hoping to keep Natalie below his radar. If he can't find her, he can't contact her."

"I don't think it will be possible to keep her hidden for long."

"I just need to keep it up long enough to think of something better."

Quinn sighed. The pit in his stomach grew at Richard's indecision.



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