Uninvited guests

—Mira

Levi finished speaking while I stared at him excitedly, but he wouldn't meet my gaze. Whatever he had seen of my kind, it was obvious he feared me.

"That's all I have, my friend. Have you tried taking her blood to see how it would affect you? She seems to be different, from what I know, and I would say that the demon in you has something to do with it. It would be good knowledge to see what other differences she displays."

"Take her blood as her sire?" My Master scoffed at the very idea of it. "You might as well ask me to give up a cruel amount of dignity."

His hand stroked my shoulders. "I can't take from her when she's just newly born. It's not proper."

Levi stared at him, and then his face broke into a grin while Sadra coughed with amusement. "Lucius, I always forget how much of a reclusive bastard you are until you spout off old convictions like that. It's a little refreshing."

My Master seemed to blush, and I giggled, which drew his gaze, which made me giggle all the harder. At last, he smiled warmly. "Sadra, do you know anything that goes along with it?"

The quieter vampire considered the question thoughtfully, seeming to search his memories.

And when he spoke, his voice seemed to be rusty in a way that suggested lack of use. "I only know rumors, and all of those seem to corroborate much of what Levi has said."

Master answered, "I'd like you to go through those with me anyway, please," and I shifted, barely stifling a groan.

God, how was it possible for the conversation of creatures with such history to get so boring?

It had this diminishing return factor where it had been really cool to listen to my Master tell his stories, but that was my Master and he wasn't giving me attention now.

I did like hearing possibilities about myself, though.

The magic had held something when I influenced those tourists and I knew that because if I remembered through the insane fog, I could logic out the fact that I had depleted my magic by overloading three people with so much of it.

Wouldn't it be easier and more expedient to steadily influence with just a small amount, like the girl from the story?

My logic sent me down the path, and I tuned out the vampires talking around me, searching inside of myself for that pool that was refilled when Master f*cked me.

That was my version of feeding, and it seemed that pool of magic could be controlled if what the story implied was true.

I tapped the magic, holding it inside of me and carefully letting it trickle out curiously. Was that... how it worked? Surely, there had to be more to-

"Bad Mira!" Master's voice cut through my focus, and I gasped, glancing up at him.

The sight of him made my eyes go wide because the demon inside of him had burned to the surface in evident response to that flow.

His eyes swirled black, and the demonic presence beneath his flesh was an intense storm.

Besides him, the other two vampires stared at me with fear, even while a kind of hunger appeared in their eyes.

"Well, that answers a question or two," Sadra choked out, as if he was trying to keep from breathing.

I shrank back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, I really didn't!" At the same time, I thrilled to the look in my Master's eyes, the delicious deviance that the demon gave him when it rose to play.

I loved it when he treated me like this, when he scolded me and punished me. It satisfied me in a way very similar to food.

"It doesn't matter. Guests aren't food for you to entice, and they're not toys, either. Don't do it again."

He leaned closer to me and whispered, "You don't want punishment in front of guests, do you? That would be humiliating."

I shivered because, yes, I kind of did want that, and he smiled and stroked my nose, holding me close. "Behave and I'll give you a treat later, one that you'll like more than punishment."

His head lifted from me, and he looked towards the direction of his front door. This time, I could feel what had gotten his attention, and I shot to my feet, hissing and thinking only to guard my Master.

But he and his friends stayed seated, and he patiently caught my wrist while he stood far more calmly than I. "Thinking to guard me from an intruder, little one?"

"The fairies," I answered softly. "It's like shouts. It's so loud. They didn't do this with the other three. I don't think it's a friend, Master." I said it matter-of-factly, but he only smiled patiently.

"Now, this one, I can explain to you. It's merely an uninvited and unannounced guest, Mira. They're stupid, though. It's not like vampires are known for their fondness of uninvited guests, and there's two of them, unless I'm mistaken. This has to be friends of the person who saw you last night. And, as a guess, I think the alarms you hear are the desecration's wards being set off. For me, it is very much like feeling an electrical shock, but that's because these wards are tethered to me, now that I live here."

I followed beside him, my thoughts clearing now that the initial panic was over. I stood back nervously, though, when I saw two figures waiting for his permission to enter at the front gates.

Their eyes shot to me almost instantly, and I was discovering that I disliked attention.

To my relief, my master sent them away, but he turned to me with a frown. "They'll send someone else, someone I won't be able to turn away."

"Why not?" My voice came out petulant. I wanted it to be just him and I again, and having visitors was boring.

"Politics," he sighed and then chuckled at the look on my face.

"You may actually like the politics, little one. Vampire Court intrigue will be something you can wrap around your fingers. You'll make the strings dance like a spider spinning a web, and you'll be able to influence and break the rules as you will."

He ruffled my hair and guided me to the door.

"Chin up, little one. You'll grow used to our world, and you'll love it, especially as powerful as you are. You just don't realize it yet." He caught my chin with a smile. "In the meantime, why don't we make this a game?"

My eyes lit up because his demon was rising to the surface with his words. "What kind of game?"

"I'll quiz you every now and again on proper etiquette. For every correct answer you give me, I'll spank you with the wooden spoon in the kitchens. You know the one I mean?"

I grinned, wickedly mischievous. "Oh, yes!"

He chuckled. "Now I can expect you to pay attention and not torment my guests with lust."

***