Chapter 24

NEW MIAMI

"Dear sister." Xerxes spoke, his voice deep and powerful even on the monitor. "You don't sound happy to hear from me."

Yuri snorted. "I'm never happy to hear from you Xerxes. Now what is it you want, I was involved in something very entertaining and you interrupted that."

"Ah Yuri ... are you playing with your food again?" Xerxes asked with a low chuckle that carried the distinct flavor of malice and distaste in it.

"Unlike you brother ... I don't have to brutalize my prey before I feed." Yuri replied leaning back in her chair. "I find that it's much sweeter when I take my time." She traced a finger up between her large firm breasts teasing him, "And so much more pleasurable. Something you are infinitely unfamiliar with."

Xerxes's jaw twitched in the transmission. "Then you have finally turned someone I take it."

Yuri smiled sweetly. "Oh yes ... and he is wonderfully well equipped, much more so than even you brother. And he makes me scream to the heavens." Her face changed in a heartbeat from that angelic pose to one of a stone cold killer. "Now what do you want?"

"There have been rumors sister." Xerxes spoke evenly, "Rumors that have reached the ears of our father."

"And were these rumors begun by your lap dogs dear brother?" Yuri asked. "Or did you have the courage to start them yourself?"

"The rumors say that the descendant of Leonidas has arrived Yuri." Xerxes spoke.

"If you actually read the reports I send to father Xerxes, you would know that those are not rumors." Yuri told him calmly. "They are quite true."

"And you did not think to contact me?" Xerxes said. "Sister I am injured."

"Father placed me in charge here Xerxes, not you!" Yuri snapped. "He prefers how I handle things discretely, unlike your attempts at control, which regularly include mass slaughter."

"That dog of a werewolf gave me this!" Xerxes roared his hand coming up to the scar on is face.

"Father told you not to continue your campaign after the second day brother. Leonidas and his 300, not to mention their simple squires and servants, slaughtered over twenty thousand of your men those first five days, among them seven thousand of father's precious Immortals." Yuri spoke as she got to her feet. "And they nearly took your head as well if I recall. With nothing but a handful of Spartans and their squires they actually breached your tent and almost killed you. If Leonidas had not been so tired from killing your men, he would have thrown his spear straighter and impaled you through your pitiful throat. Be thankful so many died to save your hide."

"Do not anger me sister!" Xerxes snapped.

"Or what Xerxes, you will rape my ass as you did in the past!" Yuri snapped right back, her snarl twisting her beautiful features into something feral, "Never again Xerxes! Never again! I guarantee you that. Now unless you have something of importance to tell me, I have business to take care of elsewhere!"

Xerxes's face changed. "I'm finishing my campaign here Yuri and I thought I might stop in and say hello to my beloved sister."

"You can't be serious?" She barked, her features showing her shock. "Father would never allow that."

"But he has allowed it Yuri." Xerxes replied. "I'm to bring my forces there for rest and recuperation, as well as to pick up an additional shipment of elves for the mining pits. Don't worry sister, you are still in charge, and he made it clear I am to take your orders."

Yuri glared at the screen. "Oh and you will Xerxes. You will."

"And the descendant of Leonidas sister; what will you do about him?" Xerxes asked calmly.

"What I have always intended to do Xerxes." Yuri replied.

"Fuck him you mean." Xerxes said as he smiled cruelly. "That is what you did for two years isn't it? You had him in your grasp, literally, and you did nothing. Does father know about that dear sister?"

Yuri smiled just as cruelly. "Perhaps if your reports were as thorough as mine brother, you would still be commanding the High Guard and not I. Unlike you, I tell father everything, no matter how miniscule or private. I don't keep secrets from him, again unlike you. Perhaps it is why he put me in charge here after you failed so miserably. Father knows that in the end our goal will be achieved, and the descendant of Leonidas will be dead. And I won't slaughter millions just to accomplish this."

Xerxes jaw line twitched once more in annoyance and anger. "I will be finished here in four months sister. I will see you shortly after that." Xerxes spoke. "Pray the descendant of Leonidas is dead before I get there."

"I will do things my way Xerxes, remember that!" Yuri spat at him. "Not yours ... and certainly not according to the fools you employ. You would do well to remember that."

"Oh I will sister. I will. I look forward to seeing you soon Yuri." Xerxes spoke with a mocking smile.

"Oh I can hardly wait." Yuri snapped before stabbing the panel ending the transmission. She threw her glass across the room, shattering it against the wall and splattering blood. "Fuck!" She screamed.

Moran looked at Deval and motioned with his head for him to leave. He waited until the man had left and the door slid closed before going to the panel and locking it. He turned and looked back to Yuri who had moved to the large bay window, her arms crossed in front of her.

"Yuri?"

"Not now Robert." She snapped. "I am not in the mood!"

He moved up behind her and stopped, not touching her, but providing his presence so that she could sense him. "So that is Xerxes uhu?"

"Yes."

"Pleasant fellow," Moran spoke sarcastically, "If a bit short on brains. And what's with all the rings on his face? Is he a faggot or something?"

Yuri chuckled softly at his words and pressed back against him, feeling the tension begin to leave her slowly. "Robert ... you do have a way of soothing me with your words." She said.

"I don't like to see you agitated." He replied.

Yuri turned slowly and looked at him. "Robert do I detect warmth for me in your voice?"

Moran looked at her. He had always thought her to be stunning, even when he first saw her in the holding cell the day after her supposed defection. She had given him a hard on even then, and she still did to this day, even though he was technically considered undead. "Does he do this to you all the time?" He asked softly.

Yuri nodded slowly. "I ... I may be a vampire ... but I am still a woman. I do have some dignity, and Xerxes took that away from me many years ago. It has taken me many years to recover it. I have hated him ever since."

"Does your father know?" Robert asked reaching up to touch her but stopping his fingers just shy of her skin.

Yuri shook her head. "I never told him for fear he would not believe me. Xerxes was ... until Thermopylae Xerxes was always the favorite. He could do no wrong. The power he had acquired made him think he was truly god like. He thought he could take whatever he wanted, including his own sister. I prayed that day ... I prayed that Leonidas would kill him. I wished for it. After the second time he raped me because of his looses, I laughed at him. As Leonidas and the Spartans slaughtered his men, I laughed at him. Leonidas may have been the child of slaves ... but when he died that day he was more a King than my brother ever will be."

"There was more than once?" Moran asked stunned.

Yuri nodded. "Seven times he raped me." She answered, "Each time like a dog! He tied me to a horse rail like an animal in his rage!" She hissed the words. She felt more than saw him flinch and his hands lowered to his sides. Yuri turned to face him then, her dark eyes scouring his face. "What are you thinking Robert?"

Moran looked at her. "Then all the times we have ... I have reminded you of him, of what he did to you?" He said.

"No!" Yuri spoke quickly. "That is not true!"

Moran looked at her. "You made me a vampire Yuri. Now ... now I have to know why? Why didn't you just bite Leonidas, kill him and get it over with? You had plenty of chances. Or better yet ... why didn't you just kill me?"

"Martin was a task I was assigned by my father." Yuri told him. "That's all he ever was. I never had feelings for him ... regardless of the bed we shared. And that will not keep me from killing him like the animal he is when the time comes. I still shudder at the times he held me, the vileness of having to sleep with him, knowing what he really was. And I couldn't kill him because I wasn't sure who he truly was back then. I suspected ... but if I had killed him and he was Leonidas's descendant then my entire purpose would have been for naught. I would have never gotten off that station alive." Yuri turned around and walked to the balcony doors and swung them open, allowing the setting sun to come into view. It was low enough that only half the patio was bathed in the light. Moran stepped towards her as she stepped into the part that was now shadows. "You on the other hand Robert. You are different. When I first saw you that day, I knew I wanted to turn you. To make you like me so that you would stay with me." Yuri looked at him. "I made a vow after Xerxes had his way with me the last time. I vowed no man would ever do that to me again, that no man would ever have me that way. And I kept that vow for almost three thousand years. Until I met you."

"Yuri I don't want to remind you of your fucking pervert brother raping you in your ass!" Moran nearly screamed.

"But you don't!" Yuri spoke quickly stepping towards him, leaning into him. "You don't Robert! In three thousand years you are the first man I have allowed to have me in that way, like an animal. Many have desired it ... it is a curse from my mother that she had such perfection in that way, and I inherited it. It is no doubt why my father still stays with her. But you ... I wanted you to take me in that way. I wanted to feel your power, your size filling me like that. I knew from the first moment I saw you that I wanted you to dominate me. It was and continues to be glorious in every respect."

He looked at her as if she was crazy. "You're joking right?"

Yuri smiled. "It does appear ridiculous doesn't it?" She spoke softly. "You are the second largest man I have ever had inside me Robert. And I tell you now; no one makes me feel the pleasure you do."

"Not even Martin?" He asked. "You slept with him for two years."

Yuri nodded. "I did. But as you no doubt know, he wasn't always there. I used that time to learn as much about EDEN as I could. Apparently not enough given the damage Wallace did, but I can count the number of times he had me on both hands Robert. He was larger than you in that regard, but he did not do to me what you do."

"He's sleeping with three different women at the same time." Moran spoke defensively. "He must be doing something right."

Yuri chuckled. "Robert I have been sleeping with men ... vampires and humans for three thousand years ... I think I have a tad bit more experience than the whores that occupy his time. Outside of the few times that you and your soldiers have had me ... who is it that always remains at my side? You Robert."

"I don't want to do that anymore." Moran spoke looking at her. "I may be a vampire and technically dead ... but I don't like sharing you. Not anymore."

"There it is again." Yuri spoke softly, reaching up to touch his face. "That tone of possessiveness when you speak of me."

Moran met her eyes. "I guess I still retain enough of my human side to fucking hate having to share my woman."

"So you consider me your woman?" Yuri spoke with a smile.

"I guess I do." Moran said. "If that is going to be a problem..."

Yuri's eyes glittered in the evening sunlight. "Bite me Robert." She said softly.

He looked at her. "Excuse me."

"Bite me." Yuri told him. "Vampire's do have wives and husbands Robert. Those we wish to spend eternity with. In order to seal such a pact we share blood, each other's vampire blood."

"Yuri ... Yuri you have never let me bite you before." He spoke.

Yuri smiled. "Yes I know. Nor has anyone else in my lifetime. Do you wish to spend eternity with me?"

"Does that mean exclusive like?" He spoke. "No one else gets to..."

"Only you Robert," Yuri replied with a smile.

"And you are ok with that?" he asked.

"I find that arrangement quite to my liking yes." Yuri spoke.

Yuri gasped when he pulled her to him, crushing her lithe body against his powerful one. She felt the pin pricks of pain as his teeth sank into the flesh of her neck in an instant and Yuri smiled in bliss as pleasure surged through her. His strong arms held her tightly, possessively, and Yuri realized this was what she wanted. As she smiled, her own vampire fangs extended and without a second's pause she bit deeply into his neck and they began to feed off each other. This was what she wanted and as all thoughts or feelings of Martin Leonidas raced from her mind, Yuri felt the pleasure surge through her body and she groaned in delight.

Yes ... this was what she wanted.

EDEN

ONE WEEK LATER

2ND WEEK OF MAY

"Leland is finishing his sweep through the lower portion of our new lands." Tareif spoke, holding the data pad in one hand and the enormous mug of coffee in the other. The mug had become his constant companion after a Raptor flight with Leland and Cathy. She had introduced him to the dark liquid, the aroma powerful. When he first tasted it, his taste buds had screamed in delight, and since then he was never without a mug of the steaming brew.

His uniform was still dusty from the many miles he had traveled, the HK74 he had used for the last three weeks leaning up against the wall behind his chair, immaculate and ready to fire. The effects of the mind control drug fully gone from his system, he had returned to the famous and often times reckless War Master he was known to be. He had led his four battalions of Dragoons and another complete division of elf and human troops on a wild and destructive path through three states, cleaning out slaver and mercenary scum, freeing thousands and thousands of elves and hundreds of humans. Nearly twenty-five thousand strong, it was the largest force he had commanded in his almost three hundred years of life, and he was the happiest elf on the planet.

He employed his Dragoons as scouts and Special Operations teams, sweeping ahead of his main force in small numbers to harass and send back intelligence. He had a combined force of forty-three Scorpion Battle tanks and four dozen heavy Hoppers for troop transport that his people had modified in such ways that it boggled the imagination. Some now sported heavy chain cannons, others carried abandoned mortars welded to the tops. The human engineers from Eden and those that had come from the base on EDEN were ecstatic about the field improvising his troops had conducted, and hundreds of them flew out to reinforce and even improve the make shift weapons platforms.

Tareif commanded a full Battalion of MLRS IIIs that he used as his personal shotgun so to speak. Four times he was forced to employ these rocket launching monsters against mercenaries that would not surrender or release their slaves. Four times they left nothing but rubble in their wake. He had three batteries of the 200mm self propelled artillery pieces that were his main long ranged weapon, and they were devastating. Tareif had no knowledge of such weapons before this last month, and he spent hours with the human commanders of these units to learn what they could do.

Vengal sat beside Tareif, his dress much similar, though he had been able to change his uniform before coming to the meeting. He commanded an identical division of troops, his entire force of Wood Elf Rangers acting as his scouts and Special Operations troops. Like Tareif he was another happy elf, his wife complaining in an amused tone to Aihola at one point that she could not get husband back from having so much fun.

The two of them, High Elf and Wood Elf military leaders had also spent much time together. They had formed a bond when Vengal insured the safety of Tareif's sons to him, and neither man was willing to let that bond slip away. Both men knew war, as both had fought for countless years against the Alliance and the mercenaries. They knew what they were doing was merely the lead up to a larger battle to come, a battle that could well see both of them killed. So they drilled their men and women like task masters, in tactics and redundancy, over and over, so that their tasks became like breathing to them. The bond was growing between them, and growing between their men and themselves. Whether human or elf, the troops of these two divisions were growing to love their commander in every regard. It was very basic for most of them, if they knew their officers cared for them, ate the same food, slept in the same conditions, those men and women would fight through the very pits of hell for that leader.

Tareif and Vengal were rapidly gaining that fame, and they were instilling it to the officers under them.

Military training had increased ten fold due to the number of volunteers. Admiral Wallace, already commanding great respect due to his actions on EDEN in saving so many lives, had been appointed by Tarifa and Aihola to oversee the training. With the remaining elves and humans that had survived the battle of EDEN, he set about to train warriors second only to Spartans. His senior instructor ... a Drow female named Anari.

Factories were working almost twenty-four hours a day, schools were open, children played in parks, elves and humans worked side by side, day in and day out. As each day passed in Eden they came to love their new lives even more.

Tareif looked up from his pad and met his daughter's eyes. "He will return to Eden at the end of the week." He finished. "After that ... we will have only small units out helping to establish new settlements for the thousands that have been freed."

"And the routes to the High Elf cities; are they secure?" Aihola asked from her chair.

Tareif nodded. "As well as we can secure them." He replied confidently. "No slaver or mercenary would dare enter our territory now."

"Even so papa, ensure that any supply convoy or transport to the cities outside our ten state areas is heavily guarded." Tarifa spoke.

It was just seven of them in the room, as this was a meeting of the Council of The Defense Ministry and the six positions for that had not been filled completely. Minister Treblar and King Anotan were the only ones that had been chosen so far, and their seats were temporary. Tarifa and Aihola agreed that Martin should be the one to choose the members of this Council as he would deal with all matters in the defense of Eden. Selene Torcrum had been a godsend to all of them because of her wealth of knowledge about the Alliance and their practices. She had been the unanimous choice of the twenty-four full Council of Elder positions to hold the title of Chief Secretary of Eden.

Tarifa felt more than saw Dekton shift behind her. He had become a constant fixture in her and Aihola's lives. No matter where they went, he was always in the shadows protecting them. Always alert, always waiting to defend his charges. Tarifa and Aihola had often spoken with each other in regards to him, and admitted only to each other that they both felt much safer with him always around. He never commented at meetings like this, always standing behind either Tarifa or Aihola, never moving around the room, always ready to pull them both to safety against some unknown threat. Aihola had told her what he had said to her, and over the last two weeks they did indeed discover that they now had a telepathic connection of sorts. She and Aihola had been practicing whenever they got the chance, Dekton helping them to understand their new abilities and the responsibility that came with it. They could swim freely within each other's minds now, experience each other's desires and fears, and it had brought Tarifa and Aihola closer together and more in love than either of them could believe. Yet even with their new found abilities, neither of them could penetrate the black wall that was Dekton's mind. He was much more powerful then they were, yet he had never been put out or angered at what they attempted.

Dekton? You have something you want to add? Tarifa asked, reaching out with her mind, feeling Aihola mingled in the tendrils of her thoughts.

Tarifa felt the wall around his mind drop ever so slightly. It is unwise to discount the Alliance. The vampire High Priestess will no doubt test our readiness to the extreme without actually breaking the agreement she made with our King. The easiest place for her to turn others against you and Aihola is outside the realm of your control.

The High Elf cities not within Eden's sphere of influence, Aihola spoke now. She and Tarifa kept no secrets from one another.

Yes. Perhaps it would be prudent to have your father's troops within these cities begin monitoring known Alliance sympathizers.

Tarifa moved the data pads around on the table as if she was looking for something so as to disguise the conversation they were having. She heard Dekton chuckle within her head.

We do not want a Police State Dekton. Tarifa snapped more harshly than she intended.

That is not what I meant Milady. He replied, not showing if her outburst disturbed him or not. It was one of the more infuriating traits he had. He almost never showed any sort of emotion. Anger, hate, love. Nothing. Tarifa and Aihola knew practically nothing about him, and he never gave them a window into that part of him.

What did you mean then Dekton? Aihola asked as she sent a soft reprimand of her love through the bond they shared.

There are elves you trust in these cities yes?

Of course. Tarifa answered. They have been friends of my family for centuries.

Everyone is a potential gathering point of information and they don't even know it Milady. Invite them here to Eden. Talk with them, eat with them. Your discussions with them can provide intelligence boons that would otherwise be lost to us. And they won't even be aware they are working for you.

That sounds an awful lot like spying. Tarifa spoke.

Do you wish to see this city succeed Milady? Protected at all costs against harm? Dekton asked.

Not at the cost of liberty.

And what liberty are you taking away by having family and friends to Eden for dinner and conversation? I am aware of none. Dekton said.

Are all Spartans as shrewd as you? Tarifa asked.

Only those that wish to see you and Aihola succeed in your duties Milady. At the moment that is limited to those in this room, the King and his Queens. Dekton replied. Others still have doubts about what you do, and the power the two of you wield. That frightens your enemies. And that is good. It makes them sloppy.

How do you know all this? Aihola asked quickly.

I see and hear things Little Drow. He replied in an almost affectionate tone. I walk the streets at night after you and Tarifa have retired. In the shadows.

If you are out skulking about at night, then who is protecting us? Aihola asked.

You are never alone. Dekton spoke softly. Ever.

You spy on people! Tarifa gasped.

I protect who my King ordered me to protect. And I will do that ... regardless of what I have to do. Dekton answered. The others are becoming suspicious. We should continue this at another time.

And then the walls around his mind sprang up once more, impregnable and unreadable.

"Tarifa?" Selene spoke from her chair. "Are you alright?"

Tarifa looked at her and nodded. "Yes ... I'm sorry. I was looking for the information on known Alliance sympathizers."

Treblar held up that data pad. "It is on this intelligence brief Milady." He replied. "I was comparing it to recent intelligence we have obtained from those we have freed in the last few weeks. There are hundreds more documents to pore over, but the intelligence is firming up."

Tarifa looked at Aihola. "Nya Istel what do you think?"

Aihola nodded. "I believe it is something we must do, at least for the immediate future. And I believe Martin would do the same thing."

Tarifa nodded. "So do I." She said.

"Do what?" Vengal asked.

Tarifa looked at her father and Vengal. "We want all known Alliance elf sympathizers within the High Elf cities outside of Eden placed under surveillance." She said. "It is to be discrete and they are only to watch."

"Why not just arrest them now?" Selene asked. "We have enough evidence against many of them."

"They could lead us to others." Aihola replied. "We have the means to stop a full scale invasion by the Alliance," Aihola saw their eyes go a little wider at this information. "However the Vampire witch will no doubt attempt to instill fear among our own people against us. If we can discover this information first ... we can fight it."

Tarifa felt relief wash over her as she saw the heads of everyone around the table slowly nod in agreement.

"I will see to it." Vengal spoke up. "Tareif you still have to get your division fully situated and it will give my Rangers some additional work. I'll send word to Cantel in Salem City."

Tareif nodded. "Very well. We do need to discuss..."

Dekton stepped forward now, surprising everyone, "Tomorrow." He spoke firmly.

Tarifa and Aihola, not to mention everyone in the room looked at him. "We have quite a bit to cover Dekton." Aihola spoke.

Dekton nodded. "Perhaps. But it will do no good if all of you work yourselves into the ground. Everyone here has been fighting or in meetings for this or that for almost two weeks. Our King would not want the people he trusts most to work themselves to the point of exhaustion. He is doing that day after day as we speak because he needs to. No one else need do that. It is my duty to protect Tarifa and Aihola. This just happens to be another way of doing that."

Treblar laughed and sat back in his chair. "I agree with the Spartan. I have been to more meetings in the last two weeks than in the last two decades. I suggest we each take two days to rest and recuperate. And I include our Generals in that as well. We have done quite a bit in two weeks, and we have much more to do, but not at the cost of our health."

Two days alone with you Nya Istel. I'm not going to complain about that. Tarifa spoke to her.

Aihola smiled. Nor am I.

Tarifa nodded. "Then I will see everyone back here in two days at nine o'clock. General Vengal if you would issue those orders before you retire?"

Vengal nodded. "I'll see to it right away."

Tarifa got to her feet and looked at Dekton for a long moment. His dark eyes were like his mind, unreadable. "Thank you."

Dekton bowed his head slightly. "It is my duty." He spoke.

Lynwe squatted on top of the roof of the twelve story building, her amber eyes focused on the window on the apartment building across from her. These last two weeks, indeed these last two months had been life altering for her, all of it in a good way. The hate for the Alliance still burned within her, but now it was buried deep. Aihola and Tarifa had taught her how to feel again, how to love. Her time with them had been like applying a soothing balm to an open wound. They never denied her attention; indeed she had shared their bed almost every night with the exception of his last week. And each time she had learned new things about pleasure that she had never experienced before. While she still could not bring herself to taste them in the way they shared each other, they had taught her the pleasures of kissing, and Lynwe discovered she enjoyed that immensely. And both Tarifa and Aihola could kiss oh so well.

When they had asked her to conduct this task, she had thought it was their way of getting rid of her, but after reflection and the fact that they kept insisting she visit them at least for a few hours soon, Lynwe knew it was because they trusted her skills. This is what Lynwe lived for. She was a master of the shadows, always able to move without being seen, without being heard. Her half vampire genes increased her visual acuity even more than the normal elf's enhanced vision. Her hearing was superior, her reflexes unmatched, and her strength far greater than nay human or elf, almost a match for any full blooded vampire with her training.

Selene appeared at first to be a normal elf female, though her father was human. For two weeks now Lynwe had watched her, monitored her movements. It was mostly mundane, meetings, going to her parent's new home in the southern district of Eden, making her way back to her own small apartment and working, shopping and the many things a female elf would do. Until Lynwe had seen the men begin appearing in the early morning hours.

There were three of them ... two elves and a human. They would come on different nights, never more than one at a time and Selene obviously knew who they were, or at least knew they were coming. It was what took place when they arrived that shocked Lynwe. Selene would allow these men to use her in every way possible. They would fuck her for several hours, never showing her affection, no tender caresses, no kissing, nothing like the cuddling she had so grown to love with Tarifa and Aihola after a night of pleasure. They would use her like a whore and then leave her. Selene would lie in her bed for a time after the man had left, and then rise to take a shower before sleeping for a few more hours until she rose to begin another day. The human male was the most brutal, often times slapping her hard enough to draw blood, or biting her on her shoulders and neck. And Selene would endure it all stoically, never fighting back or crying out.