A Master's Ring: Book 03

"You were asked to select the Siblings that would surround our new Brother," Anna said pointedly. "A lot rides on his shoulders, not the least of which is the rebuilding of his Bloodline. I find it annoying that the three Siblings you selected are leaving. The only Siblings staying basically selected themselves."

"Michael's family has attended this University since it's inception; his behavior is also prone to the accommodation of a Brother. Melisa has been imprinted with David for years by her dad, so strictly speaking she is our doing," Samantha said forcefully. "Susan was already teaching here; if she has any problems with David, I'm sure being able to fuck a Brother who is also one of her students would make her blithely ignore them. Then there's you, but the Bloodlines have been waiting for a Brother like David for the last century, haven't they? It seems to me that a problem exists for David only with Siblings you selected."

"One was expected," Roderigo said before Doris Alex had a chance to speak. "Two would not have surprised any of us since this is not a normal situation, but three is a failure, Sibling."

Doris Alex opened her mouth to speak, but I interrupted.

"Why did you bother selecting them?" I asked the Brothers. "Or does every Brother get an initial allotment of Siblings?"

Roderigo laughed at my phrasing.

"How is their training holding up?" Anna asked looking at Simon and Roderigo's Asian companion.

"You trained Kiera personally, Anna," Roderigo answered. "She rarely disappoints me so I only need to perform the maintenance you suggested. To be honest, I think Kiera misbehaves to make it easier for me to do what needs to be done."

"Simon hasn't learned not to pee in the house yet," Samantha said with some amusement in her voice. "But he knows to keep his mouth shut."

"Siblings know about Brothers in the area since they choose to live near us. Most Brothers prefer the pleasure of finding un-crested Siblings on their own, not that it's difficult when the prey cannot help but make itself a noticeable target," Anna told me. "An active Enforcer has his cage gilded."

"Why?" I asked.

"Nobody likes the idea of an Enforcer hunting, even if it's just for sexual companionship," Roderigo told me. "We prefer that you stay close to home so Siblings are guided to your door. Enforcers recruit more Siblings than a normal Brother, you already have three on the verge, so they tend to set deep roots in good recruiting ground so there's really no reason for you to range far. The Council agreed with Robert's reasons for not isolating you; it would have been difficult considering your Bloodline. It's not the sort of thing Siblings will keep quiet about and other Brothers deserved to know. Renard's death, especially the way he was killed, meant we needed your skills sooner than expected."

"An isolated Brother's First tends to provide a steady sexual diet of new Siblings once the Brother is ready for them. In your case, it was decided to import Siblings to attend school here rather than make you feel like we were throwing them at you," Anna concluded. "My understanding is that you plan to do your graduate work here. With two Brothers readily available, this will become a University of choice for Siblings, making anything more than an initial effort unnecessary."

"We did not foresee every Sibling that was specifically brought in leaving your side," Samantha said looking at Doris Alex.

"Brother," Doris Alex said with a barely perceptible amount of penitence. "I've never been asked to do this before, and David is an Enforcer. No one told me that Siblings would be more prone to problems with him than a normal Brother."

"Did you ask?" Roderigo queried, but the gleam in his eyes said he knew the answer.

"She didn't ask me," Anna answered for Doris Alex. "Since I'm the only ex-Enforcer or active Enforcer she knows, I doubt she did the necessary research. It's not even that big a logical leap; Enforcers are the standard defense against generalizing Brother behavior. It's almost a joke among other Brothers how different we are."

Doris Alex pressed her lips together until they turned white.

"This wasn't my fault," she insisted finally.

"Are you blaming David for three Siblings leaving, even though it was you we told to select them so his new life would have some measure of stability?" Samantha asked softly.

"He's in the process of recruiting three new Siblings," Doris Alex said changing the subject.

It would have been better for her to use the standard military answer of 'No excuse, Sir'.

"I've seen pictures and Nancy's profile of them," Roderigo replied. "Are you planning to indoctrinate them here?"

"Only Emily," she told him.

"What about the other one?" Roderigo asked looking at Doris Alex pointedly. "She is far more important than Emily."

"She...she..." Doris Alex said but snapped her mouth shut before anything else came out.

"Her indoctrination will be time-consuming; six months for a standard Sibling but almost two years for the Bloodline indoctrination," Roderigo said. "You are the only one here that can do it."

"We could always bring in Iane," Samantha suggested.

"No!" Doris Alex protested too loudly.

"Then?" Samantha asked.

"She's too young to be brought here yet," Doris Alex said. "I will be done with Emily long before SHE ever learns about David."

I sat quietly watching them wondering who they were talking about. The last words from Doris Alex debunked my first thought, that they were discussing indoctrinating Melisa. Anna watched me and shook her head slightly before I could ask a question.

"Our plans have changed; the father and brother are becoming a danger to her. Having those animals damage her in any way is unacceptable," Roderigo told Doris Alex seriously. "Is Emily ready to begin indoctrination tomorrow?"

"No," Doris Alex whispered.

"I expect to interfere in our new charge's life within the next six months," Roderigo informed her. "This is the best place for her when we do that. If you can't be done with Emily in six months, then like Alyssa and Sandra, Emily will have to be indoctrinated elsewhere or Iane will need to be brought here."

"Why is Iane's name coming to your lips so readily?" Doris Alex asked suspiciously.

"Ian is the other Bloodline that will be allowed to mix with the Ekaterina," Samantha said.

Doris Alex's face turned red with fury.

"Iane does not have sisters like you do," Samantha continued cutting into Doris Alex. "But she has plenty of cousins who can continue the Ian Bloodline. Like you, Iane is the best choice we have from her Bloodline."

Doris Alex looked a split-second from losing control; I wondered what about Iane made it so the mere mention of her name set Doris Alex off. I decided to leave that question for after I was done with her though.

"You don't have a problem with our selection, do you, Sibling?" Anna asked innocently.

Doris Alex bit her lip but suddenly her vision cleared. She looked at each Brother individually and then at the Siblings. Her gorgeous dark green eyes turned to me, and in them was knowledge that she had been setup.

"My name is Doris Alexandra Smith, a child of the Sibling..." she began to intone looking at the Siblings.

I pointed one of the forty-fives Jason had given me at her head, curdling the words in her throat. She turned to look into my eyes, and discovered that her worst fears were true. I would have no problem pulling the trigger.

"It's different, isn't it?" I asked in a dead voice. "You knew in your mind I would kill a Sibling as easily as any Brother; but in your heart, you never believed I could kill you."

Her eyes widened as she looked at the other Brothers for a reprieve that did not exist.

"Why did you feel you needed these Siblings under your control?" I asked.

"We're talking about things outside of their knowledge, the mixing of the Bloodlines is ..."

Cocking the gun silenced her.

"Do not lie to me again, Doris Alex," I told her coldly. "Why did you want them under your control?"

She looked at the space between Roderigo and Samantha while biting her cheek. Her head went up proudly, but two tears fell from her eyes speaking volumes about what she felt.

"I did not want them to hear Brothers talk to me like this," she said blankly.

"You had no problem talking worse than this to a Sibling in front of other Siblings," I said. "You even made it a point that Michael has to abase himself every month to keep his place in my house firmly in mind."

"This is different, Brother," Doris Alex replied. "I have authority with Siblings."

"Someone failed in your training, Doris Alex," I told her. "Responsibility is not authority, slave."

She jerked at the word as if I had lashed her back with a whip. I uncocked the forty-five and put it on the table with the barrel facing her.

"When you give a command, it is the Brotherhood's voice a Sibling hears, Doris Alex," I told her.

"You are a beautiful woman," Roderigo said looking at Doris Alex. "An intelligent and strong one, too. A Bloodline child of many gifts, but Brothers gave you every one of those gifts. We cared and watched over your parents, and their parents, and their parents; all the way back to Alexander. We did not ask you to repay our care; it was you, who chose the white ring."

"What have I done to deserve this?" Doris Alex asked wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Would you have tolerated any Sibling making David wait forty-five minutes when he called?" Samantha asked.

"I did not know all of you were out here," Doris Alex said near hysterics. "Melisa didn't tell me!"

"Is there a difference between one Brother or four calling for you?" Anna asked. "Or is it that you do not believe the least of David's requests deserves your immediate attention?"

"I...I...," Doris Alex said before snapping her mouth shut so hard her teeth clicked.

"Your sisters are very proud and arrogant also," Samantha said. "But do you think any of them would behave like this? Even the one who is not a Sibling."

"No, Brother," Doris Alex admitted quietly trying to mollify her.

"You said Janet made you realize there was a problem with this Sibling, David," Samantha said without taking her eyes off Doris Alex.

"She brought things into focus," I said. "There have been noticeable problems, but I put them down to Doris Alex's overweening pride and arrogance."

Doris Alex straightened her back looking like she had an unbendable steel bar for a spine.

"All the Bloodlines are like that," Roderigo said sadly.

"She believes she's better than the rest of the Siblings here," I said thoughtfully. "She is more submissive, but there's something about her submission."

"She holds it over the head of other Siblings," Anna said.

"Yes, that's a good way of putting it," I said looking at Doris Alex. "She holds her heritage and submissiveness as a shining example of virtue over everyone else in the house. Sometimes, I feel like she's holding her Bloodline against me, as if being Ekaterina is somehow an insult to her."

"The Ekaterina was always looked down on by the other Bloodlines," Roderigo said. "It took more work to keep it alive than the other Bloodlines since it is almost a direct line of parent and only child all the way back to Ekaterina. The few times they were fruitful, problems occurred. The children were never as gifted as the others either. I imagine it would burn someone like Doris or Iane that the Ekaterina produced the third Bloodline Brother rather than their own blood."

"Did Doris Alex and this Iane want to be Brothers?" I asked curiously. Doris Alex wiped her tears again as they continued falling.

"Neither Iane nor Doris could be, but I'm certain they have dreams of their child being a Brother," Roderigo said with a dark smile.

"I thought Doris Alex's attitude was something she just needed to outgrow," I continued from earlier. "Unfortunately, it seems to be worsening, which creates some troublesome situations for me, like not being told about the three Siblings leaving."

"So what did happen with those three?" Samantha asked Doris Alex.

"I had nothing to do with that, Brother," Doris Alex defended angrily. "I chose Siblings I thought David would enjoy having around. I had nothing to do with them leaving!"

"Were you unhappy to see them go?" Anna asked her.

"I don't understand," Doris Alex replied.

"Yes, you do," Anna said in a deadly voice. "How did you feel when they decided to leave?"

"I was not unhappy," Doris Alex answered truthfully without meeting Anna's eyes.

"The disruption of three Siblings leaving a Brother's house, not to mention the loss of a potential Sibling in Rachel," Anna said showing her teeth, "and you were not unhappy!"

"Rachel is what really brings us here," I said before Doris Alex could reply to Anna.

"I had absolutely nothing to do with Rachel leaving," Doris Alex said righteously turning to look at me.

"No, you did not, Doris Alex," I whispered.

Her green eyes turned fearful as I stared at her.

"Janet said she would not have failed me when it came to Rachel," I told Doris Alex. "As much as she loved me, she would not have failed if Rachel was what I wanted."

Doris Alex looked away and tears streamed down her face.

"Melisa wanted Rachel for me," I said. "I wanted Rachel so my First set her sights on giving me exactly what I wanted."

"You didn't believe Rachel would take the white ring," Doris Alex whispered.

"No, I didn't," I told her. "But that didn't stop Melisa; I wanted, and she took it upon herself to try and serve me Rachel on a silver platter. Every other Sibling worked with her; Heather who thought it was the worst thing Melisa could have done did what she could; Janet did what she could while hating every second of it. What did you do, Sibling?"

"Nothing until it was too late," Doris Alex replied not looking at me.

"Out of curiosity," Samantha interrupted. "What were you doing inside that you made David wait forty-minutes for your illustrious presence?"

"Nothing," Doris Alex said barely above the audible range.

"Hmmm," Samantha said.

"Is it really that you did nothing about Rachel, Doris Alex?" I asked.

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

"You were an obstacle," I said. "Alyssa, your attitude with Melisa, your attitude towards Rachel when she lived here: what didn't you do to stand between what I wanted, and the people trying to give her to me?"

"Even if I had helped, Rachel would not have chosen you," Doris Alex said shakily.

"So?" I asked.

She did not answer.

"Why didn't you give Melisa your support?" I asked her.

"I didn't think Rachel was good for you," she answered honestly. "I was only doing what I thought was best."

I put my hand on the gun and closed my eyes.

"I want Melisa," she added desperately a few seconds later. "I want to stand as close to you as I can; you are a Bloodline Brother, Rachel would have stood closer. I could not allow that."

"There is that word, allow, again," Roderigo whispered. With a nod to him, I took the hand away from the gun.

"Maybe I'm wrong," I said to the three Brothers. "But it is not a large step from knowing what is best for one Brother to knowing what is best for the Brotherhood."

"No, it is not," Roderigo replied dangerously.

"I don't know a lot of Siblings," I said looking at Doris Alex, "so I have to measure your failure, Doris Alex, by the ones I do know. Melisa could not have been pleased to bring Rachel into my life, but she did her best, even fell in love. Heather thought it was the dumbest thing possible, actually the dumbest fucking thing possible was how she described it, but I think if she had been my First she would have done the same. I almost believe Janet would have succeeded in recruiting Rachel. Then we have you, I believe if you had to choose between something you wanted and something I wanted, you would choose for yourself. Wait! I don't have to believe it, I witnessed it, didn't I?"

She nodded slowly; I smiled and put Jason's gift back in its holster. Doris Alex did not relax though, which pleased the rest of the Brothers at the table.

"You seem to think you're the perfect Sibling," I said. "Every Brother I've met says you're an exceptional one, yet... I don't see it. I see pride when a slave should only be proud of a task done to their master's satisfaction. I see arrogance when every Sibling makes your failures obvious; the very Siblings you look down on believing you are better than them."

"I'm sorry, Brother," Doris Alex whispered brokenly.

"Let me tell you about the standard I hold all Siblings to, Doris Alex," I said ignoring her words. "His name was Jason. He died in my arms after stepping in front of bullets meant for me. I believe with every fiber of my being that if you told him what was going to happen, Jason would have followed me into the military anyway and never said a word about how he would die. If I wanted something and he thought something else was better for me, he sat me down to discuss it but did what I wanted when I made a decision. I do not think any Sibling here could have gotten Rachel to choose a white ring, but I cannot doubt Jason would have found a way."

I looked past her into the distance as my eyes lost focus.

"Every time a Sibling does something for me, I measure it against how Jason would have done it," I told her. "And of every Sibling I have met, you fall farthest from his mark, Doris Alex."

A sob broke out from her, but she held back the rest after taking a deep breath.

"Had a Brother disappointed any of us like you have, he would already be dead," I said. "You life is spared because you are, only, a Sibling."

Her hands tightened into fists on the table, and she bit her lip until blood flowed into her mouth and down her chin.

"Anna tells me your behavior can be corrected," I said looking at Doris Alex. "I have agreed to let her try."

"No, David," Anna said. "Leonard is truly one of the most troublesome Siblings I've ever had to train; I don't have the energy to deal with two irksome children at the same time."

"Ahhh," Samantha said looking between Anna and me.

"I'm sorry, David," Anna said apologetically. "Samantha will have to do this for you."

Samantha turned her shark's hungry smile on Doris Alex. The Sibling's face went stark white, and her eyes turned to me.

"You should..." she started to say only to realize her monumental error.

"Sibling," Samantha said in steel voice. "You have already earned the punishment for believing you could tell a Brother what he 'should' do. There is no harm in finishing that sentence, which you should have never thought to speak."

"You should punish me yourself, Brother," Doris Alex begged me.

I reached out and put my hand on her cheek. I wiped a falling tear away with my thumb.

"If I punish you, Doris Alex, you will believe I have forgiven you," I said gently. "Forgiveness is permission to do it again. I do not forgive you coming so close to acting on what you think is best for the Brotherhood. I do not forgive you choosing what you wanted over what I wanted."

"Many Brothers can handle the disciplining of a Sibling; but there are only three Enforcers," Anna said. "And only David can give us back the Bloodlines that we thought were lost."

"Bloodlines?" Doris Alex asked distracted for a second.

"Your children with David will not be Alexanders," Roderigo informed her. "Nor will Iane's children with him be Ians. The Sarah and Matthew Bloodlines will be returned to the Brotherhood in the form of the mixed children of the Ekaterina and your Bloodlines. It was important to us that we give those Bloodlines a good rebirth, and we are pleased to have such gifted mothers for the children."

"That's not what we..." Doris Alex said sitting up.