Reese Ch. 04

Her impulsiveness was one of the things that he had loved about her-maybe she could appeal to that love. She would try to get him to see reason- she would be nothing more than something to fuck. His life would be dull, but then a memory hit her. She wasn't Cristiano's first mate. There had been another- Adalina, but she was dead. Cristiano had killed her for some infraction that on the face of it looked like a major thing. The reality of it was, it was something petty that he had blown out of proportion. He took her-Elena as his mate less than two weeks after Adalina's death.

Elena jumped when the servants began to wash her body-she was going to die. She just knew it, but... not in the traditional sense. Cristiano wanted her alive. To have killed his first mate and to take another was against tradition. He wouldn't do it twice... it was all about appearances. He could keep her as his mate, but he would fuck another. This other female would take her place at his side and no one would question it. All he had to say was that she had been put to ground in order to heal-and he would put her to ground for eternity. After a while no one would remember who she was. Rarely shed tears ran down Elena's face as she tried to accept her fate. All too soon, the bath was over and her skin was being oiled.

"Please just let me die," she prayed to whoever was listening. She stopped praying when she remembered the human male who had prayed to his god while she took his seed-"your god is not here," she told him. Now here she was praying to that same god-one that she had forsaken so long ago. Deciding that she had no right to ask god for deliverance, she didn't finish the prayer.

She didn't move when her hands were chained together with black chains instead of the pure gold ones that meant that she was in his favor. Nor did she move when a matching black collar went around her neck. There was no point to resisting. Her only chance was to convince him that she was more valuable with her mind intact than she was without it.

"Come my lady," a female servant said gently as she pulled lightly on the chain. "Our master is waiting."

Elena looked into the servant's eyes and saw pity- she knew what was going to happen. For the briefest of seconds Elena thought about vanishing. But where could she go that he couldn't find her? Even if she made it out of the house no one would dare help her- no one considered her worth dying for. She squared her shoulders and prepared for become nothing more than a shell of what she was.

The servant led her to the room without speaking. She was actually trembling as much as Elena was which told Elena something- the servant had been a guest of the crimson room at some point in time or she was afraid that she had to stay. Maybe it was both. Cristiano had a cruel streak a mile wide and it wouldn't be beneath him to add to her humiliation by fucking another female in front of her. Elena looked at the female and wondered if she was the one that he was going to use to replace her. She didn't think so-the female was too skittish for him. She wouldn't be able to withstand his punishments and he would quickly become bored with her.

Suddenly the door to the crimson room loomed before them. Like the room, it was blood red. Once again she thought about running. Wouldn't it be better to die trying to escape than to live as a walking vegetable? That's what she would be by the time Cristiano was finished with her-but then; there would be no guarantee that he would kill her. He could draw out her punishment and then offer her body for use at the gala. Her mind spun with the seemingly endless possibilities of her fate.

"Please don't do it my lady," the servant said. "You know that he will find you within the hour and your punishment will be worse."

What the servant wasn't saying is that until she was brought back, she would have to take Elena's place. Cristiano would hold her responsible for the attempted escape. Elena didn't reply. One- she could have cared less about the fate of the female servant and two; she was right- She would be found and brought back within the hour. The only thing that she could do was to hope for the best and pray that he would change his mind.

The door to the room seemed to open of their own accord, but there was a male servant on the other side waiting for their arrival. As soon as they were inside, the female servant was dismissed. The dismissal hadn't even been totally spoken and she was already halfway down the hall. Elena looked at the male servant taking note of the way that his eyes ran over her scantily clad body.

"Do not think it," Cristiano said as he walked into the room via a door on the other side of the room.

"I... please my lord- will you not reconsider my punishment? I am but a silly woman..."

"Whom I have forgiven time after time," Cristiano replied."

Was he weakening already? Elena wondered as she continued her defense.

"This is true my lord, but have you not said that one of the things that you love the most about me is my impulsiveness? So tell me ..."

"What you say is true, but it isn't your impulsiveness that is the issue," Cristiano interrupted.

"I understand," Elena replied. "I have disrespected you by thinking of another when my only thought should be of you and how best to please you."

Cristiano's eyes narrowed in anger.

"Do you think me a fool?" he roared as with the flick of a finger he flung Elena against a wall. "Did you really think that I would fall for this feeble attempt to manipulate me? Answer me!"

"No my lord!" Elena cried as she stood up. "I was only admitting that I was wrong and throwing myself upon your mercy."

"Tell me why I should reconsider," Cristiano said as he took a seat. On a table next to the chair was a paddle with holes in it. He picked it up and stroked it as if it was a lover and waited for her to reply.

Realizing that this was her one and only chance to escape the horrors of the crimson room, Elena took her time. She had to offer him something that he couldn't resist. Sex was out of the question, he could get that from any of the servants. It had to be something that only she could offer and she could think of only one thing. But she had to be certain. Did she really want to take such a gamble? Yes-she decided.-especially if she wanted to keep all of her mental faculties intact. The question was- how important was it? Important she thought. The sound of the paddle meeting flesh told her that Cristiano was growing impatient. She looked up to see him slapping the paddle against his hand.

"My lord- I have already admitted to my wrong doings and I agree that you have been more than patient with me..."

"Get on with it!" Cristiano said impatiently.

"If you will give me but one more chance you will not regret it," She stopped and took a deep breath. If he said no then it was over. "If you will give me another chance and I fail-you may kill me. That will free you to take another mate."

"Interesting offer," Cristiano said as he played with the paddle. "And when you fail- and you will fail- you will try to manipulate your way out of our agreement."

"You have my word that I will not try to bargain my way out of it. As a token of my sincerity- I willingly offer myself for use at the gala."

"You forget," Cristiano said evenly, "you have nothing to offer. You belong to me- a fact that you seem to have difficulty remembering. You would be offered for use if I desired it."

"I have not forgotten," Elena replied. "But my lord, what will your friends and allies think of you when you tell them that your mate is willing to please them in order to show you honor? If I should fail, I will not try to as you say bargain with you- I give you my word."

She held her breath as Cristiano considered her offer.

"If I agree to this," he said after several long minutes, "this is what's going to happen. You will be punished-there is no escaping that. You will agree to be used in any manner that is requested of you. The only things that cannot happen are your death and you cannot be permanently marked- that is for me to do. After the gala you will join the slave pool- in other words technically you are still my mate, but you will be demoted. All of the privileges that you have as my mate are null and void and another will take your place in my bed. You may not think of him... if you do, you die. What say you? And there is no further negotiation."

Elena blanched. She knew that he would have his own terms, but he was taking everything. Was her sanity worth that much to her? It was she decided. There was always the possibility that she could work her way back into his favor and bed.

"I agree," she replied with her head bowed. She jumped when what little clothes that she wore were ripped off of her. The golden chain around her waist was removed and replaced with a plain black string signifying that she was the lowest of his slaves. She looked up at him shocked. When he said that she would be demoted, she didn't think that it would be to the bottom of the heap. She also thought that he would wait until after the gala.

"You will have to explain your fall from grace to your friends won't you?" Cristiano asked snidely. "Oh, by the way- that string will be all that you wear from here on out. You will service anyone who demands it of you and I don't care who it is. If you refuse..."

"This wasn't...."

She stopped when she saw Cristiano's raised eyebrow. He wanted her to argue with him so that he could kill her where she stood.

"Yes?" he taunted.

"When do I begin?" Elena asked softly. She was now wondering about her decision.

"Too late for regrets," Cristiano said with a cruel grin. "It will be very enjoyable starting over with you. You begin now and with me. Get your ass over here."

Elena hesitated even though she knew better.

"Now bitch," Cristiano said.

That alone told Elena that he was serious. He never called the new slaves by their names. It was always bitch, cunt or something even more degrading. When she reached him, he grabbed her and threw her over his lap.

"Start counting," he snarled as he delivered the first hard whack of the paddle on her ass.

Elena cried out the number one even as the second whack came.

Whack.

"Two master," she was already crying. He was starting out hard and it the paddling would only get harder. Twenty excruciating whacks later, he was done.

"Maybe my mistake was that I was too gentle with you," he said as he ground his hard cock against her belly. "What do you think?"

Elena couldn't answer, she was crying too hard. Cristiano pushed her off of his lap and made her get onto all fours. He got behind her and rammed into her and ground his pelvis into her sore and excoriated ass. She thought that it would never end. When he was about to come, he pulled out and ejaculated on her back. He was telling her that she wasn't worthy of receiving his seed inside of her.

"Get up," he said, "and turn around."

Elena struggled to her feet and struggled to keep her balance.

"You will walk around like that for the rest of the day- now get the fuck out."

Elena stumbled toward the door grateful that Cristiano hadn't used any if his other toys that were expressly meant to cause pain. The paddle had been bad enough. When she reached the door, the guard stepped in front of it. "On your knees bitch."

Elena looked behind her to see Cristiano watching her-waiting for her to refuse. With tears running down her face, she dropped to her knees and took the offered cock into her mouth. The guard wasn't gentle.

"I've always wanted to do this," he confessed with a moan as he held her head between his hands and pushed the entire length of his cock into her mouth. "Sire," he called to Cristiano, "may I empty into her mouth?"

"You may empty in her anywhere you wish," Cristiano replied.

"Thank you sire!" the guard exclaimed. "Use your tongue bitch!"

Moments later, the guard was coming in Elena's mouth. And so her life as a slave began.

****

Lewis and Jean were still arguing about what to do when the prepaid cell phone rang. They looked at each other with Lewis's look being accusatory.

"He can't possibly know can he?" Jean asked afraid again.

Lewis didn't answer her, but picked up the phone.

"I certainly hope that you didn't do as your mate wanted," Reese said his tone cool.

"No!" Lewis exclaimed. "We talked to no one."

"Good," Reese commented. "Does your phone have a speaker?"

"Yes."

"Turn it on, I am only going to say this once," Reese said.

When the speaker was on, Reese began to talk.

"This is what needs to happen in order for you to see your son again. I need to get into that gala and I don't care how it happens. I know that it is a by invitation only event so that means that you get me in another way."

"Where is Edgar?" Jean asked.

"I'll get to that," Reese said his tone cold. "And do not interrupt me again."

Jean looked at Lewis and then grabbed his hand.

"As I was saying," Reese said, "get me into that gala even if it's as kitchen help."

"That's impossible!" Lewis exclaimed. "Everyone has to be approved..."

"Figure it out," Reese snapped. "In regards to Edgar, he will be with an associate. As soon as I am inside of the gala, he will be notified and Edgar will be released unharmed. I have already taken some of Edgar's blood so if you betray me- I will find him. Do you have any questions?"

"No," Lewis said quietly, "wait... May we speak with him?"

"I see no harm in that," Reese replied after thinking about it.

A few minutes later, Edgar's voice came over the speaker.

"Mom?"

"Hi sweetie, we're here. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine-I guess he told you that he took some of my blood."

"Yes he told us," Lewis replied. "We'll do whatever we have to do in order to get you back safely."

"I know," Edgar replied, "but please do not endanger yourselves."

Lewis heard it again- strength.

"Edgar, I must beg your pardon for not allowing you to call me what I am-father. I... we love you and I am proud to call you son."

"I don't know what to say," Edgar replied, his voice choked.

"There is no need for you to say anything," Lewis replied. "When this is over, we will sit down and talk as father and son."

The next voice Lewis heard was Reese's.

"Do what I ask and you will have that talk."

Before Lewis could say anything, Reese hung up.

"We have to do as he says," Jean said all ideas of talking to someone forgotten.

"Agreed, we just have to figure out how to get him in without being checked out. Jean... you were right about Edgar. I'm sorry that I kept us from being a family."

"We'll deal with that later," Jean replied as she leaned forward and kissed him. "The important thing is getting him out of there alive. Now as far as getting Giovanni-if that's his real name in, we can't figure that out until we know where the gala is going to be held. I don't think that he'll pass security so we'll have to sneak him in. Once we've done that; our obligation to him is over."

"I hope so," Lewis replied sounding doubtful. "He'll always have access to Edgar. What if he wants us to help him again? All he had to say is that he'll take Edgar and we'll have no choice but to do as he says-there is no keeping Edgar safe. In fact none of us are safe."

"One thing at a time, darling," Jean soothed as she reached between his legs and took a hold of his stirring cock.

****

Edgar lay on the bed wide awake long after Reese had gone. He couldn't believe that Marco had been a part of the whole kidnapping scheme. As angry as he was, he was aroused. Reese taking blood from him had started it- someone taking blood from him had always been like an aphrodisiac although in those cases a connection hadn't been established. It was simply a part of making love. He looked down at himself and tried to ignore his rapidly hardening cock. Marco had been the last to touch it. The thought of it made his member stand at attention. No longer able to ignore his arousal, he stripped. The days of not being touched and the feel of being feed from intensified the sensations to his rigid member. The thought of Marco's mouth on him made him leak. Closing his eyes, he wrapped a hand around his member and began to slowly pump it. He made himself go slow- he wanted to enjoy his first orgasm in several days. In spite of his determination to prolong his orgasm for as long as he could- he sped up. In no time flat, his seed was shooting toward the ceiling as he moaned out Marco's name.

Now that the immediate need was taken care of, he could think. His anger at Marco had cooled. He couldn't have had a choice Edgar deduced. That had to be the reason that Marco had helped with the abduction. His head swam with questions. Some of them he could answer but many he couldn't. He did however come to the same conclusion that his parents had- they would be forever tied to Reese because Reese took his blood. He now understood how the blood taking worked. What happened during the taking was determined by the intent. With the others, the intent was only heightened arousal. With Reese it was because of control. He would remain in Reese control because Reese wished it. He also knew that he wouldn't be free of Reese until one of them was dead. He wasn't sure of how he felt about that, but he pushed the thought aside. He took his mother's stance and decided that first things first- they needed to get through this.

He switched his train of thought to Marco. What would he say to him? Would he finally tell him exactly what he wanted? He was tired of playing games and ready to settle down. When this was over, there would be no more parties and trolling for cocks. It was going to be Marco or no one. After he made his decision, he felt better. He calmed enough to sleep.

****

"We need to start in the present and work our way backwards," Vangie said more to herself than to Donatello. "Whoever it is must have left a cyber-trail. We'll start with Paolo's party. We need the guest list. Can we get it?"

"I believe so," Donatello replied still marveling at how Vangie's mind worked. She loved puzzles and he had just handed her a big, life sized one.

"Good, we need it as soon as possible. How many people usually attend these things?"

"It varies- the one that I attended had over one hundred vampires in attendance. What are you thinking?"

"That whoever killed Paolo Rossi is on that list- he or she is also the one who killed the others that you told me about."

'It's a male," Donatello said. "I don't know how I know that, but I do and it's someone that all of us have wronged somehow."

"You told me about the Borcelli's- do you think that this person would know them? And is it possible that whoever is doing this was someone that was turned with you?"

"I thought about that," Donatello replied. "The only one left other than me is Emilio and I don't believe that he is behind it. He loves this life and he thinks that he Borcelli's are greater than god himself. Of course there are others who were turned that I'm not aware of- that number could be in the hundreds if not thousands. The Borcelli's are several centuries older than I am so it stands to reason that there are those that I have had no contact with."

"That's the key," Vangie said. "This is someone who knew you and my hunch is it goes back to the time of the plague. It has to be someone that you came in contact with."

Donatello thought about the young father that had begged him for help and discounted him. Surely he had died- but he had seen him once more after he was turned. He had been walking along the road toward the potter's field carrying a small bundle. But he was dead- unless....

"What is it?" Vangie asked. "You thought of something."