Samuel worked fast closing the area down, flashing fake badges for
the cops who inevitably showed up and yelling orders he’d seemingly
memorized to heart. Ordering them this way and that, demanding names
and badge numbers, until The Lady finally had someone call in and set
things straight. My dad, grandma, and step mom leaving before the
dust had settled, Percy calling in from down the street as soon as he
saw flashing lights, and everyone sent to a safe house.
No excuse for me to hang around, I was forced to leave while Samuel
and Chasse were still keeping half-ones in check, and had no time to
waste before going to The Lady’s mansion.
The back entrance she’d assigned to me for official business, I
walked into a backroom with my clothes and instructions already laid
out. Needing to quickly shower and shave before changing into the
dress she’d given me — a sleeveless red gown with a slit on the
side near to my hip that showed off the swords and vines on my arms
and leg and the massive mural on my back. A wolf howling at the
crescent moon, Bloodhound written above it across my
shoulders.
The makeup she’d gotten me some time ago applied next, kept with
the rest of my supplies here as just another step in my long
preparation, before needing to change out my eye patch to one the
others she’d gotten me. This one a red leather embossed with a
rose, something she was quite fond of, though combined with my auburn
hair, red dress, and blushed cheeks made me look absolutely drenched
in the color.
Gaudy, something I’d never pick for myself, made me feel
practically naked, and I wore all the same as I stepped into a pair
of high heels and entered the home. Unsteady and unsure, feeling my
body twist and turn as I tried to force myself to remain upright on
my limited experience with six inch heels. Through the echoing halls
with maids in outfits made for the bedroom more than work and up the
steps and down a hall to a pair of double wooden doors at the end of
a hall I knocked at before letting the air settle on me.
The air smelled…wrong, and I could tell probably a half
hundred people had passed through it just today. Most of them
half-ones, but a few other pheromones underneath I thought might have
been familiar. Werewolves certainly, the ashy scent of another
vampire, the unusual mixture of smells that hung to Elizabeth the
witch, even some other things I knew weren’t human but
wasn’t sure what it was otherwise.
One the scents underneath, buried deep and unsure but still strong,
familiar enough, and a voice coming through the heavy doors ringing
bells in my ears. Different tone, different way of speaking, but the
voice ringing in the back of my head, sadly not setting off
enough flags until the door opened.
Half a head shorter than me, brown hair grown out to his chin and his
face roughly shaved to stubble; his brown eyes stared up at me from
under the brim of a cowboy hat in confusion and then surprise. Smells
of blood and filth hanging to his body even looking recently bathed,
barely hiding the natural scents underneath.
The man quickly stepping back and half-opening his mouth as he asked
to himself as much as me, “Bloodhound?”
“It’s Mary now,” I reminded him awkwardly, my eye not leaving
the floor as I only felt more naked in the outfit The Lady had
chosen for me. For a man who’d seen more of me on a regular basis,
I felt wrong letting him see me like this now as I tried to keep the
conversation going, “how are you, Hunter?”
My former mate, my ex-husband as I more often called him lately,
sputtered out a few awkward sounds. His face and posture only briefly
swinging to the wildly confident look he preferred, trying to lean
against the door a short time before seeming to immediately regret
it.
His posture returning to stiff, unsure, stepping aside to let me in
as he tried to answer, “I’m here on business, The Lady’s doing
some event and well like…you know, we just-”
“You just…” The Lady started from her desk, “you were just
insulting my halls claiming a right to full…representation at this
assembly.”
A relatively short blonde woman, The Lady wore an elaborate robe of
blue silk and gold flowers over her dress shirt. One the rare
vampires old and powerful enough to sit in the sunlight, her skin was
too pale, too translucent, fangs long enough to always peak from her
mouth, blood red eyes striking into both of us with a general
annoyance.
All three of us.
A third werewolf, by smell alone, blood and filth strong to her as
well as she stood by one window overlooking the fields. Short-cut
black hair in a boyish cut, with a massive pair of aviators on a
heavily scarred and torn face. A pair of muddy and torn jeans and an
equally ruined wifebeater making up the rest of her outfit as she
barely paid attention to us; a burning cigarette held idly in her
fingers that made me crave my own.
Barbie perhaps silently judging me for it even as I removed a pack
from my purse without thinking and was only stopped by The Lady
clearing her undead throat.
Still, happy moment as I recognized the woman and asked, “that you,
Tracker?”
“Eh, you know it. I haven’t quite yet gotten bored of Virginia
again — even getting into politics,” Tracker said with a dull
smile, tossing the remains of her cigarette out the window as she
turned to walk towards us. Half a limp in her step, a new problem for
her, but one she ignored even as she asked, “You lost an eye? And
what’s with the dress? Wouldn’t exactly recommend wearing stuff
like that around this one.” Her head nodded towards The Lady.
And yeah, this was just getting worse as I tried to defend it, “I
was just-”
“She was just coming to attend my last few…attendances,” The
Lady finished for me, a rare thin smile to her lips as she gestured
me beside her, “come, pet, the last guest shall arrive presently.”
And yeah, I knew how this part worked after so long, even if I now
felt like I’d have rather died. The look of slight disgust on
Tracker’s face rather obvious as I let out a sigh and walked over
to take my place. A little to the side and back, gingerly sat on my
knees, hands folded in my lap and head raised just enough to be a
guard dog and look for threats while The Lady could reach out to play
with or stroke my hair.
The once proud Purist who talked of the superiority of werewolves and
massacred humans in the dozens reduced to a house pet. Tracker, my
first mentor who trusted me with the wolf runes, had every right to
be disgusted in me, and even hunter looked a little unsure as he
stared me down.
The sort of display The Lady liked to reserve for everyone who needed
to be reminded of who she was.
The air in the room perhaps a little too tense as I felt ice cold
hands play with my hair and The Lady declared, “presently,
presently…” her tongue clicking a few times as she with one
finger awkwardly clicked at her computer, “yes, I shall…display
benevolence. I do not care if the Purists believe themselves more
organized, I shall still treat them as a…regional group. One
representative, one knight. Mayhaps next lustrum you can prove
yourself as earning more, little wolves.”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Tracker’s disgust turned to cold anger in a moment, lip pulled thin
and into a mock smile as she nodded and declared, “fine. I’ll be
at the assembly to represent the Purists. My mate’s being
determined tonight and tomorrow, so I’ll have a knight to bring in
time.” Tracker snapping her fingers as she ordered, “Hunter, run
ahead and tell Killer to start the car. I need to talk to someone
first, and I don’t want y’all hearing my call.”
Hunter nodded, giving me a final long look as he declared, “yes,
ma’am,” and ran out; Tracker not far on his heels as she closed
the door behind her.
The Lady and I left alone, my humiliation for letting them see me
like this feeling ongoing even as I hesitantly asked, “what did she
mean by all that?”
“What did she mean,” The Lady muttered with half-hidden disgust,
“she is a…prideful child. Purists of the coast held some
tournaments, she won. She seeks to be treated like someone more
powerful than she is. Ignore her, my important…employee is arriving
soon.”
And I nodded even as I knew what she meant, and what exactly Tracker
must have done if that were the case.
More theoretical than anything successfully done, the Purists could
at any time declare a leader to look over and guide them. Each pack
who wished was able to pick one member, who would then prove
themselves in tests of strength, hunting, and speed. The winner was
supposed to be the new leader, and I knew in practice all three times
it’d been attempted that the leader had died rather shortly after
and the Purists went back to their local ways.
Bad sign for Tracker, but it felt weird rooting for her at this
point.
No time to rest on that though, it wasn’t a long wait before the
door was almost violently swung open. A half-one in maybe his
mid-forties marching through who smelled too strongly of cologne and
fresh laundry; his black hair styled into a tight cut, gray suit that
probably cost most people’s monthly income perfectly done even as
he barked out, “what is this about a fucking Christmas Eve press
conference?!”
“The Christmas press conference?” The Lady asked in a bored tone,
her hands never leaving my head as she let out a low hum, “yes,
well, you’re trailing in the polls by…three points? Consider it
voter outreach.”
And what confusion I had barely had time to show on my face as the
man scoffed and paced the floor, waving a handful of papers around as
he complained, “three points because you won’t let me have
a fucking position beyond corporate talk and trashing my opponent.
The fact is we’re almost a year away from the election, I told you:
let me talk about universal healthcare, expansion of voter rights,
decriminalization of drugs and sex work, fucking just increasing
minimum wage, something, anything, where I can
get attention!”
“Something where you can get attention,” The Lady muttered in
annoyance, her foot tapping against the floor in a barely audible
movement I was unused to from her, “you’ll broker those…ideas
all the same. I don’t need sweeping changes, I need a Senator I can
keep for a time, no?”
The man obviously didn’t like that, looking like he was resisting
lunging at the woman as he complained, “this isn’t why I agreed
to do this.” a rough hand running over his mouth a few times before
lunging forward. His foot kicking forward into a chair leg, only
managing in making it skitter a few feet away and almost tip over as
he yelled, “fuck! You said I could do my own campaign! You said I
could do what I want, long as I pressed for a few bills or
appointments when you needed them!”
“You could do what you want, yes,” The Lady agreed with a languid
sigh, pushing herself up from her seat as she idly paced the floor
around her desk, “however, I would remind you to remember who it
was that brought you so far. Who pushed Karnstein and Karnstein to
trust a lawyer with questionable… references from their law School.
Who had your student loans paid for in a competitive time frame, who
realized your hopes for a political career and brought you to such a
current point.”
And the man stared her down, something dark to his voice as he asked,
“what makes you think I’ll keep going along with you if you can’t
even hold to a simple agreement?”
Barbie looking almost expectantly at me as I tried ignoring the urge
to step in and stop things getting worse, swallowing my fear as The
Lady gave a cold smirk. Softly turning on her heels and marching to
me, crouching low as she rested a single icy nail under my chin and
asked, “what makes me think that…This is Mary, my right-hand.
Tell him, Mary, how many of those pesky little…half-ones, I believe
you still call them, have you killed?”
The question leaving a dull pain in my chest, a rock in my throat
even as I forced myself to answer, “almost…it’s probably around
ninety at this point, counting ones you had me around to help with.”
And The Lady chuckled like it was a joke, rising back and turning
with confidence as she kept predator eyes fixed on the man and paced
to the side to show me off once more.
“Ninety humans, some werewolves and others,” The Lady reiterated
like it was a show dog’s pedigree and training, “she is one of
the werewolves as well, and I hold many of their kind under my sway.
I could beat her and she’d not snap a fang, I could collar her and
walk her on a leash in the streets and she’d not dare complain.
This, Richard, is why you shall not tread on our arrangement. Your
grades were real, I assume you’re intelligent enough to understand.
I have waited centuries to attempt this sort of investment, and I do
not mind… liquidating it and trying again in a few decades.”
And the man didn’t respond, teeth grinding loud enough for me to
hear them as he turned on his heels and marched out. Head high,
pushing through the door and nearly trampling over a confused Samuel
who didn’t wait to get invited in.
The older werewolf obviously trying to not look towards me as he
asked The Lady, “was that Tony Richard?”
“Was that…yes, now wait here,” The Lady declared as she started
towards the door herself and called back, “I will…debrief Samuel
about what he’s learned, and ask you about the one killing hunters
over dinner. Make your way to the dining hall, I’ve ordered four
courses for tonight.”
Heavy doors having only a few seconds to close before I let myself
rise to my feet, grunting as I stood and asked Samuel, “who’s
Tony Richard?
Samuel looked genuinely confused at that, his brow furrowed and head
tilted as he slowly explained, “he’s…you don’t know? One the
candidates for Senator, announced his run last year? He’s running
ads all over the place, how haven’t you heard about him? I thought
it was weird that someone from The Lady’s firm was announcing a
run, but I didn’t think she’d actually be talking with him.”
“Samuel, I’m legally dead and my driver’s license and birth
certificate was given to me by an administrator in a college student
center. I barely keep track of politics not on my dashboard or a
couple LGBT Forums, and that’s more national news,” I said as I
moved to stand beside him, the man glancing my way for only a second,
“sounded like she’s running his campaign, at least I think she
is. Any reason she wouldn’t be getting political connections? I
mean, she seems to already own one of everything else in the state,
why not a politician?”
The man actually looked concerned at that, stepping closer as he
half-whispered, “supernaturals do not get involved in politics,
Mary, it’s like how I don’t go running around in wolf form in
Maymont. Cops, administrator’s, clerks, all that, they can get paid
off and sweep shit under the rug if they get found out, but
politicians? We don’t risk it.”
And I had to admit the idea sounded wrong to me on a moral
level, but it didn’t feel like top five worst things she’d done
in front of me, “what’s the problem with it? I mean, morally it’s
fucked up, but I help cut up a body and melt it in acid at least once
a month. How is this any worse?”
One more glance back at the door, and Samuel lurched forward, a hand
on my shoulder as he held the other up and counted off, “Hamilton,
Nixon, Clinton, Budd Dwyer, those are four I could think of in five
seconds who did shit and got found out.”
“Who the fuck is Budd Dwyer?”
“Fuck you’re young,” Samuel sighed out a moment before forcing
himself to continue,
“The point is, one of those is from
colonial times, and we live in an era of the NSA and two government
entities literally dedicated to spywork. Journalists watch
politicians, interns watch politicians, government agencies spy on
politicians to look for security risks, and if one of them gets
suspicious of The Lady and looks too deep into her, we’re all
fucked.”
Yeah no, he was making a very compelling case for this being a
problem, “why risk it then?”
“I don’t know,” Samuel admitted with a defeated sigh, “what I
do know is she’s hosting a big meeting in a few days, supernaturals
from around the region, allies she’s had for centuries, once every
five year thing she hosts. If this gets out it’s bad news; so keep
it quiet for now, even at the Covenant, alright?”
I nodded, halfway not wanting to question it and halfway feeling like
thinking on it too hard would just cause more problems than it was
worth.