Chapter 14

Cassi was devastated. She had been the cause of the deaths of four young women and was eaten up with guilt and remorse. Neither she nor Leonora could understand why, after her transformation to vampire, she could still harbor such compassion and empathy for humans.

After the tragedy at the council she had been too ashamed to go back to Leonora. She was aware of what a great disappoint she had been to the aging queen. She briefly toyed with the idea of seeking out Linda, but a mutual friend informed her that Linda was indeed pregnant and was apparently seeing another woman.

So, totally despondent, Cassi had rented a small furnished efficiency and tried to put together the pieces of her police career. She was very well aware of the irony when the three women, sacrificed in the arena, showed up as missing persons although no one had any reason at that point to tie the cases together. Cassi was aware that the bodies had been disposed of in such a manner that nothing would ever be found and the cases would eventually go into the unsolved file. This was no way for a human life to end she told herself convinced she should turn herself in. Yet she knew she would never be believed (who could believe such an incredible story?) and she had no evidence other than the fact that she now possessed a male appendage which would be laughed away as one more crazy hermaphrodite.

She saw no viable option except to continue her police work, try to collect evidence so she could one day expose the queens and what they were doing. And even though she had been thoroughly discredited at the council meeting, she was still a queen and she would work to undermine Vanessa and change the attitudes of the other queens to bring about at least a non-lethal relationship with humans. What she would do about her own hunger troubled her. She tried ignoring it but as time went on it became a raging, consuming fire within her.

She fed again, this time guarding her movements carefully to make sure she wasn't being watched or followed by Vanessa's pawns. The woman was a twenty-seven year old who had been celebrating at a friends birthday party. The festivities were held at a local bar and the woman had obviously had a bit too much to drink. As she staggered out to her car in the darkened lot, Cassi intercepted her, used her aura to subdue and keep the woman quiet, then fed upon her.

The woman's alcohol level was so high it polluted the taste of the blood and Cassi came away sated but determined not to feed on any more drunks. As the woman, her mind fogged now with both alcohol and Cassi's aura, staggered to her car, Cassi stole into the shadows and home again.

She was miserable. Larry had noticed the change in her and asked several times if there was anything he could do to help. She had tried to laugh it off as P.M.S. and/or other excuses which he didn't seem to fully accept even though he didn't press the matter. They continued to work on homicides and Cassi was grateful that since no bodies had surfaced she would not be called upon to work on any of the cases of the missing women.

Larry had become a real friend as well as partner. She could tell he would need little encouragement to pursue a more intimate relationship but she now drew the line more tightly than ever. Not only did she want to keep their relationship professional, she had no idea how he would react to a woman with a phallus which would put his own to shame. Yet she felt a closeness to the big gentle cop and realized she was beginning to consider him more a brother figure than anything else.

Three days later, just before their shift was over, she received a phone call. The voice on the other end was easily recognizable -- and detestable.

"Cassandra, you will come to Leonora's apartment, now."

"Why should I... ?"

"Because I can still kill that human's baby whenever I wish."

It was evident that Vanessa was prepared to continue to use Lorri's baby as a means of extortion. The baby was in the process of being adopted. Cassi had done some checking herself and found the young couple had all the qualities necessary to give the child a good life. She also knew however that Vanessa could and would wield her power at any time she wished.

"I'll... be there right away," she replied.

"See that you do," came the cold and curt end to the conversation.

"Hey, everything okay?" asked Larry, noting the concerned look on Cassi's face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," she covered. "Just need to go see a friend."

Cassi grabbed her jacket and headed for the door.

"I'll be glad to..." he began.

"Thanks, but it's a friend who just needs someone to talk with. See you tomorrow," she threw over her shoulder as she exited the squad room.

Larry looked after her, an unease in his eyes.

Minutes later Cassi stepped off the elevator and knocked on the door of Leonora's apartment. She had been asking herself on the way over what Vanessa could possibly want with her now. Did she simply have another urge to degrade Cassi in front of Leonora or something else more sinister? Whatever it was, Cassi was sure she wouldn't like it.

Cassi noticed the change in Leonora the moment she opened the door. Her long lovely face was deeply lined and her expression was decidedly lacking the self confidence Cassi had grown accustomed to.

Her posture was slightly stooped, her voice weaker than Cassi remembered.

"Get away! Go! Run!" she whispered, but another voice cut her off.

"Ah, ah, Leonora, is that any way to treat another queen? "

There was contempt in the voice and Cassi's instinct was to draw her weapon but she realized how useless that would be.

"Come in Cassandra. How nice to see you again," smirked Vanessa. The vampire queen stood on the balcony overlooking the city. She stepped a pace or two back into the room as Cassi and Leonora stood across from her.

"What do you want, Vanessa?" asked Cassi, trying to make it a demand rather than a question.

"Oh there are many things I want, slut. You see, I have had a plan for some time now. I wish to become queen of queens, the most powerful of all vampires. In order to accomplish that I must rid myself of those who would oppose me on the council. Leonora here is one. Actually I have been plotting her demise for years, but then recently she unwittingly played into my hands by announcing that she was stepping down. I handpicked the replacement I wanted but she caused me endless problems by naming you her successor. I have, of course, been busy undermining you and your influence with the council. Luckily that has not been difficult. You continue to show far too much empathy with humans. It is the very reason I hold sway over you now. You actually care about that human swine's child so much you would degrade yourself to assure her safety. No self respecting vampire queen would ever allow that to happen. I honestly thought after your unsuccessful challenge and the way I degraded you, that you would either step down as queen or perhaps even do the proper thing and take your own miserable life. But you have chosen to do neither. So now i must take matters into my own hands."

"You may be stronger than I am," said Cassi, "but Leonora and I together..."

"Leonora!" spit Vanessa. "She is old and weak. I have just fed on her, taken her vitality. She no longer poses a threat to me. And neither do you!"

"So your plan is to kill me?" asked Cassi.

"I intend to kill you both. You will be found at each other's throats, a lover's quarrel perhaps. Anyway, two more obstacles will be out of my way and the path shall be clear for me to name Leonora's successor."