Chapter 7 More mixture

• You are a smart little Ventrue," she said, "but you may be underestimating the value of your own worth. We were all newly embraced, once."
• She was talking to him so normally, like he was an equal -- well, almost. He started to relax a little, partly from being sated and partly from her words. She was Daeva, he had to be careful, but so far she hadn't said or done anything other than be friendly. Very friendly, what with Ashley snuggled against his arm, half asleep.
• "And you... my Prince, are... I just... wow. I...." He tried to find the words, but how the hell was he supposed to describe her? She was beautiful, but she undoubtedly knew that. She was beyond scary and intimidating, but she knew that too. She was drop dead sexy, but that'd be like telling a bird they have wings. What could he say? "You are... wow."
• Antoinette outright laughed, and Jack couldn't help but smile at the sound of her voice.
• "Thank you, Jack. It has been some time since someone has complimented me so truthfully."
• "Really?"
• "Truly."
• "But you're so... beautiful, and intelligent, and...." His words trailed off. She was smiling at him, but it had changed. This wasn't the cool, manipulative, powerful Prince smiling at him. It was a woman smiling at him, but there was a weight to it. Something pulled at her eyebrows and made her look somber.
• His mother had smiled at him the same way, after their father had died.
• "... are you lonely?" he said.
• The brunette ghoul behind the booth frowned, but didn't say anything. Antoinette gave Jack a hard look, and he almost shook in his seat. He may have just crossed a line.
• "Yes. I am." She finally looked away and back to the table in front of them. "It is the way of things. The Danse Macabre exists for a reason; Kindred are paranoid, avaricious creatures."
• He looked away as well. Things just got serious. His words had apparently struck a nerve with her, and her playful Daeva side vanished. Well, what a great way to repay her enormous kindness. Make her sad. Brilliant.
• "I... could... I mean I don't know what I could possibly do. I can't even begin to wrap my mind around the sort of world you live in, but... I could visit? Talk, maybe?" He ran his fingers across his buzzed hair again, and tried his best to look her in the eyes. His gaze kept drifting though, afraid her eyes would burn him if his proposal backfired. Who was he, to make such an offer to the Prince?
• She looked to him again, slowly though, and as she turned to face him, a small frown was on her lips. He froze. He might as well have told Kali he'd be happy to visit for tea.
• "I would like that," she said, and her warm smile returned. When his jaw dropped, relief washing over him, she reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. "You are a brave little Ventrue. Innocent, and terribly honest." She plucked at his ear a little. "I like that."
• The fresh blood in his stomach, and the touch of her fingers was making him blush. He was still trying to not shake; the sudden shift in their relationship hadn't changed that she was a spider and he was a fly. But now, with her fingers on his earlobe, even brushing his buzzed hair lightly, he couldn't help but sigh a little into her touch.
• Her fingers felt nice.
• "Come back soon, if you wish. I can help you with learning to feed." She leaned in close, close enough that her lips just lightly grazed his earlobe. "And other things."
• "Other... things?" He gulped. The Prince's lips actually touched his ear.
• "Indeed." She pulled away, but her voice -- so husky and sultry -- let out a quiet sigh of satisfaction. "You'll have to come back to find out."
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• ~~Beatrice~~
• There's nothing quite like a great singer who can belt a note with perfect glottal compression and cord closure.
• Beatrice had her headphones on, and she had the metal cranked. Normally she'd sit still when listening, maybe air guitar or mouth the lyrics, but this time she was jumping up and down. She couldn't stop smiling.
• When the singer hit a really high note, loud and hard, she kicked her bed hard enough to send it flying into the wall, and she slid onto her knees, all the while holding a non-existent mic to her non-existent singing.
• Her door swung open loud enough that the crack of it against her wall managed to penetrated her headphones.
• "For fuck's sake! Beatrice, the fuck is wrong with you?"
• Beatrice came to a stop, looked at Joe, and held up a finger. Just... one... last... minute.
• "Song had to finish," she said, and removed the headphones while she stepped over to her laptop to pause the music. Metal/rock operas always had the best singers.
• "Yeah, sure." Joe gave a low snort, not unlike an annoyed dog. She was tempted to throw the Gangrel a ball, just to see how pissed he'd get. He was a big guy though, a little older than her, a bit taller, and much thicker. Bald too. Looked kinda like a wrestler, now that she considered it.
• "What do you want then?"
• "Garry's back. Says he wants to talk to you?" Joe gave a shrug and disappeared down the hallway. He had a room down the hallway a bit. All of Garry's closest friends had rooms up here on the top floors of the building.
• She hoped she hadn't ruined that 'closest friend' title already with the whole Julias thing, hopefully still a secret. Even as she left her room and headed for the roof, she couldn't help but smile to herself at the thought of Julias. She knew she shouldn't of course; she'd made it clear to him what that night meant, but that didn't mean she hadn't enjoyed it. Or that it'd be the only night like it.
• "Hey Beatrice."
• A small guy stepped in beside her. Scrawny, short brown hair, dazed eyes. Mike, a Mekhet who spent his days on the computer. He hadn't been in the game for more than a few years, and he averted his eyes from her mouth when talking to her.
• He annoyed the fuck out of her, but he got her mountains of free software so, he'd earned a pass.
• "Yo Mike. Garry want to talk to you too?"
• The kid nodded back. "And he's got someone waiting for us?"
• "Know who?"
• "Nope."
• She shrugged, clicked her crocodile teeth from side to side, and stepped up onto the roof.
• Garry was standing there in the center, and from the way he had his arms across his chest, she guessed he was in a defensive mood. He was a tough guy too -- you had to be to run the Carthians -- and the Gangrel looked more like he belonged in illegal street fighting rings than running any covenant. His hair was buzzed to basically nothing, his scruffy-short beard was barely kept in any state of neatness, and his hard jaw kind of made him look Russian from a distance. Julias may have had a suave, kingly look to him, but Garry looked like he could rip anyone apart with his bare hands.
• The two vampires he was talking to, on the other hand, looked like a couple of wimpy bitches.
• "Garry... Tony, Rebecca," she said.
• Her inner-beast stood up straight and tried to seem bigger than it was, but Rebecca was strong enough to beat her in a fight. The Daeva had a lot of years on her. Worse though, was her sire Tony.
• Tony looked like he came out of a fucking vampire chick flick. She practically expected him to sparkle. He was a bit tall, with a lean and almost girlish figure. His hair was a short black trim, his face was soft with just a touch of scruff, and his blue eyes always carried a hint of gentleness to them. All he had to do was give her a small glance with those blue eyes though, and she found herself paralyzed.
• He was ancient. Far older than Rebecca, or Garry for that matter. Every motion he made, she could see how measured it was, how precise. Worse still was how his blue eyes carried just a hint of the insanity you saw in serial killer sociopaths. The Prince's ex-lover was terrifying.
• The two of them may had looked like wimpy bitches, but her inner-beast knew better. They'd rip her to shreds.
• "Mike, see if you can crack this. Tony thinks it may have some coordinate data encrypted in some messages." Garry tossed a phone Mike's way, and the Mehket reached out to grab it. Of course, the idiot nearly dropped it, and everyone sucked in their breath for a second before Beatrice snatched it out of the air.
• "Ah... sorry... boss," he said. Beatrice just had to wince; that cost him some respect points. She gave him the phone, and pushed him toward the door. He needed little convincing, and vanished back into the building.
• "That kid, I swear." Garry groaned and looked back to the two Daeva on his roof. "Any other favors you want? Should I fucking dance?"
• Rebecca looked angry, but Tony just laughed. "You don't want me to succeed?"
• "You could say you're not my first choice for the next Prince."
• "I'm hurt, Mister Tones." Tony shook his head, and his condescending-but-playful smile never waned. "But I could use a pair of eyes on the Invictus. You knew I'd ask though. That's why you sent for her, is it not?" He pointed straight at Beatrice.
• "Tch." Garry gave a small snort in Gangrel fashion. "If the Prince catches on to what you're doing Tony, the Sheriff will be the least of your worries."
• "I won't tell if you won't."
• The sheer amount of implied terrors was beyond her imagining. Julias was right, Kindred were fucking tiresome. Beatrice forced herself to stay silent, and instead resigned to watching Garry and Tony make thinly veiled threats at each other.
• She ignored the slight trembling in her boots.
• "I'll let you know if Beatrice comes up with anything. No promises," Garry said.
• "Of course. No promises. Are there ever?" Tony gave a bow. Hell, even his whore childe Rebecca gave a bow, and then the both of them walked off. A small jump and they were down the building side, and down into the streets to be on their merry way.
• "... we really working with those... no-covenant fucks?" Beatrice said, and stepped up to her boss.
• "Tch. We work the hand we're dealt. The idiot wants to be a thorn in Antoinette's side, I say let him." He leaned over the side of the rooftop and gazed out into the street below. "You think I went to a fucking Invictus party for the chicks?"
• "Hell no, sir."
• "Fucking right, no. Invictus are up to something. Viktor was pushing for a little ceasefire between us, for now. And you're going to deliver."
• "What?"
• "Ease off the aggression. Don't go making any new enemies until I say we're in the clear. Understood?" He leveled his gaze at her. Something was going on, and if she fucked with shit, she might ruin it.
• And she wouldn't do that. She owed him, and they both knew it.
• "... understood sir."
• "Viktor and Tony are going to get in each other's way sooner or later. When shit hits the fan... well, we'll see. Tony wants us to give him a heads up if the Invictus head his way, so just keep an eye on the triumvirate's right hands, Julias and Natasha and them. If they're on his tail, tell me."
• Julias. She tried hard to not smile.
• "Oh, and if you see an opportunity to kill that bitch Rebecca and pin the blame on the Invictus, take it."
• She couldn't hold back the smile anymore.
• "Hell yes, sir." She gave a small nod, and headed back inside.
• On the way down, she heard more voices. There hadn't been anyone else up there, and no one had come up the stairs since Mike had gone down. But when she stuck her head back out through the door to see, her boss was just standing there and looking out at the street.
• Weird. She never pegged her boss for the talks-to-himself type.