What's in a Name? Ch. 06

First things first: I'd like to thank LissaSue for again editing What's in a Name, it's thanks to her that you're not reading the most horrible English imaginable ;-)

Secondly I'd like to thank my readers for their patience. It's been a long time but fortunately, here's the sixth chapter of What's in a name. Enjoy!

***

Alexander drove his car across the city towards the River's Building. Ravenna shifted nervously beside him, her fingers fiddling with a loose thread on her clothing. She wore a stylish skirt with an asymmetrical red blouse, her long blond hair braided intricately with various kinds of hairpins. She looked stunning, Alexander mused, as she always did. He could not really blame Dominic for wanting to make a move on her, he wouldn't mind so himself, he thought, smiling.

Ravenna grew more and more quiet as they neared their destination, her hands almost successful in tearing the thread from her blouse. "If you keep that up, you'll ruin your new clothes," he warned her. She looked up startled and shot an annoyed look at him, her ire eliciting a smile from him.

"Don't worry, Ravenna, you'll do just fine. Dominic and I will be with you, and you'll only meet our secretary. She's very kind, really." He smiled reassuringly. "Just a quick introduction, and then your off to your new office."

She nodded and drew in a long breath to calm herself. They had spoken of this repeatedly; she knew there was nothing to worry about. Still, she felt anxious enough to try and hide under her bed. It wouldn't be very useful, she thought, grumbling, they'd probably just drag her from under it. This was the first time she'd left the grounds since Alexander and Dominic had brought her with them. What would she find out there?

As they turned the last corner, the Rivers Building appeared in front of them, and Alexander took them to his private garage. He smiled an encouraging smile to the pale looking woman beside him and got out of the car. Opening her door, he offered his hand to the girl inside. She really looked like she was going to pass out, drawing in shallow breaths.

"Ravenna," he said sternly, "breathe. It's going to be fine. Now, come on." He pitied the girl next to him, but she could not hide inside forever. Together they entered the elevator.

The bell indicated they had reached the top floor, the floor of her new office, of her work. Why had she agreed to this, again?

The doors slid open and suddenly, everything happened in a blur. A grey, older woman flitted to her side, shaking her hand while a stream of words poured from her mouth. "It's so nice to finally meet you! Mr. De L'Ile and Mr. Orion already told me so much about you! I just could not wait to make your acquaintance!"

Ravenna did not even have time to look surprised, or confused. The lady was still holding her hand firmly, and she stumbled behind her as she was towed through the hallway.

"Oh my, you must be thirsty. This is the kitchen. You can find all kinds of food and drinks here. You'll have to tell me your favorites, and then I'll make sure they are on stock." She fluttered to the cupboards and started collecting cups. "What would you like to drink dear? Tea, coffee, juice, soda? You look like a juice person to me. I have just the thing!"

Stunned, Ravenna looked down at the glass of grape juice that was pushed into her hands, one of her favorites actually. She looked at Alexander uncertainly, who eyed the spectacle with an amused look on his face. He nodded at her encouragingly; sipping the coffee his secretary had donned him moments after she had tended to Ravenna. She smiled shyly at the short woman in front of her who started beaming, and relaxed, this wasn't so bad at all.

The woman moved like a whirlwind, already towing the group to their next destination. They started with the office at the end of the blind ending hallway, perpendicular to the other offices. "This is Mr. De L'Ile's office."

Ravenna shot a look inside, surprised by its splendor and size. It was bigger than the room she lived in, in Alexander's mansion and held more furniture, too. Before she managed to have a good look, the lady already walked them back towards the elevators. She stopped where two doors faced each other on each side of the hallway, one open, one closed.

"Here, we have Mr. Orion's office." This room was quite the reverse from Alexander's. Both offices held a grand bureau with computer, a couch, TV, stereo set, lots of art, and a door that looked like it led to a bathroom, but this room was decorated in masculine brown and black, red leather furniture covering the floor. Alexander's office was the opposite, painted in light tones and classic furniture. But both offices held a magnificent view, covering almost the entire city. They were great working spaces.

"You've seen the kitchen around the corner; my office is at the other side. Now, it's time to see your new office!"

Alexander walked them to the closed door across from Dominic's. "My lady, your new working space," he said, as he opened the door with a grand gesture.

It was a breathtaking space, just as the other two offices were. It was spacious with a curved glass wall that separated the room from the sky. It was decorated with a wooden floor, the two side walls painted in light tones.

The wall that faced the windows was a bright red, it gave the room a playful look, but, thanks to the light toned side walls, it did not dominate the room. Ravenna loved it. She had a spectacular view and even a bathroom in the far right corner. She entered it, stunned. All this was for her?

"We did not order any furniture yet because we wanted you to decorate it to your own taste," Alexander explained. "Karen has got the catalogue for you. Just make a list of whatever you like, and then she'll make sure everything is delivered around noon." The secretary handed Ravenna the catalogue, who accepted it with a grateful smile.

At that moment, Dominic entered carrying several large boxes, a huge grin on his face. "Hey, Rav, a lot of room for a tiny girl like you. You sure you won't get lost once it's furnished?" She stuck her tongue out at the annoying vampire, eliciting a grin from the people around her.

Dominic nodded to the pile of boxes in his hands. "I've got you your own computer with all kinds of cables, plugs, boxes, cards, chips, and whatever you'd like. You just start ordering the furniture and install your new equipment. It's about time you start earning your stay."

Enthusiastically, she pulled the electronics from his arms, ignoring his quip. She immediately began unwrapping them, looking like a child in a toy store. She rummaged through the packets, collecting everything she needed, a huge smile on her face.

Alexander and Dominic laughed at her eager movements in the growing pile of electronics. "Don't drown in all these wires, Rav," Alexander teased her, "and don't forget to order your new furniture." Ravenna nodded distractedly; too busy with her new computer. The two men left her to it, smiling, this would turn out just fine.

***

Mason was pacing the room restlessly, waiting for a report from his secretary. It had been almost three weeks since the girl had been spotted, and she still had not been brought in. Angrily, he glared at the clock, the report should have been in over an hour ago. He decided he would take out his frustration on the girl he'd left tied to the bed in his quarters and collect the report himself on his way back.

He walked over to his room and smirked at the naked girl in his bed. She looked up at him eagerly, lust clouding her eyes. He did not particularly like her, but it was refreshing to fuck a pussy once in a while, without being disturbed by tiresome whining.

He undressed and settled himself between her legs, stroking his member to full erectness. Trembling girls did turn him on more, but she'd do for now. He lined himself with her dry sheath and started pushing himself inside her. She let out a strangled moan, a combination of pain and pleasure.

Every time he pushed himself into some girl's cunt, he regretted he hadn't fucked his little refugee when she'd still had been in his hands. He had wanted to break her first, and then take her, making her his completely. Now, he'd have to wait until he had his hands on her again. These trembling substitutes that were brought to him would have to do until that time.

He thrust in and out of the girl for a while, enjoying the pleasurable friction it caused. His lust surged as he looked down at his penis disappearing in the girl's cunt, her walls enveloping his stiff member.

Pulling himself from the girl, he ordered her on all fours. She got up as much as her bindings allowed her and he shoved himself back in her hard, eliciting another tortured moan. He imagined that it was his little refugee, lying under him brokenly, following his every order.

He groaned as he felt her pussy walls contract around his cock, the fantasy of the other girl still in his mind. Thrusting harder, he felt his cock expand as the picture of the girl fueled his lust; he moaned as he felt his cock spasm in the girl, depositing his seed inside her deeply.

He pulled from her satisfied, his mind a bit less tense. He got dressed again, leaving the girl on the bed as he had found her. First, he'd go and kill whoever forgot to bring him the report and then fuck her some more.

***

Ravenna sat in her new office, behind her new desk, and looked around contentedly. She'd gotten more or less used to leaving the estate in the past weeks and felt at home in her new working space. It was now fully decorated; Alexander had even let her order art she liked.

He had overdone it a bit, in her opinion. Instead of ordering reproductions, he'd even laid his hands on original paintings, beautiful, but unnecessary; it made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. He didn't seem to mind though.

Karen entered her office with a stack of papers; all business protocols and information about the River's Company. She'd already been familiarizing herself with the company for weeks, but it only had been the tip of the iceberg, she'd soon realized. The business set up by her vampire friends was huge.

To her surprise, Karen also brought in files for her to work on. She actually could do something to add to the company, she thought happily. For all the generosity Alexander and Dominic had showed her, she craved doing something in return.

She started working on the files. All issues with the computer system, and she fired up her triple D, the Digital Diagnostic Delver, as she called the program she'd written for sorting out these kind of problems. She let the program run and soon found the problem that caused the crashing of the software.

She set to fixing it, resolved to finishing the work by the end of the day. She worked at it for a couple of hours, frowning as she discovered the software was a tangled mess of programmer code. Whoever had worked on this before had created a digital maze, no wonder the system crashed all the time.

She sighed and got up to get a drink first. Her brain felt like jelly from the effort she'd made. She found Dominic in the kitchen; he was making himself one of his famous coffees. "Yo, Rav, you look like you've been fighting a bull."

She grimaced. "A computer actually, the software here really is a mess."

Dominic smiled at her cheerfully. "That's what we got you for," he said, and pushed the coffee in her hands.

She sipped the hot beverage, smiling at the teasing vampire. "Yep." The coffee made her feel better instantly, and she walked back to her office to take on the system again. She'd be damned if she'd let some zeroes and ones beat her.

She heaved a relieved sigh as she finally managed to untangle the mess in front of her. Proudly, she looked at the computer; she'd completed her first job! She was surprised at the satisfaction it gave her, she really liked doing this.

She heard Alexander close his office door, time to call it a day. She got up and collected her stuff. Tomorrow, she'd crack another of those files.

***

Alexander left the elevator at the top floor and walked to his office. Dominic had picked up Ravenna early, and they had arrived some hours before him. Surprised, he dodged the paper airplane that flew from Dominic's office to Ravenna, who was trying to suppress her hysteric giggling.

Dominic was turning his monitor upside down, the screen image flipping every time he tried to turn it in the correct position again. Exasperated, he cursed the giggling girl in the office across the hall. "Rav, you really are the most obnoxious, blond midget ever alive."

Grinning, she shot the ball back at him immediately. "Your 6'5' and can't even beat a girl midget, weak mind in a weak body vampire!" Shrieking and giggling, she dodged the airplane he shot back at her.

She winked at Alexander, who rolled his eyes. She really had felt too much at home, too soon, he smilingly thought. As she looked his way, she stiffened, and instantly vanished into thin air. Alexander looked around him surprised, another one of her powers discovered. He found a tall man standing beside him, an amused look on his face. "Gabriel!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "What brings you here?"

Curious, Dominic looked over to where Alexander stood, ignoring the flipping screen on his monitor for a moment.

"I was sifting through my agenda and found it's been half a century since the last time I visited," the man replied jovially. "Always a good reason to visit the States."

"It's been fifty years already? Come on in!" They turned to the office where the Dominic was replacing his monitor, the screen normal again. Gabriel nodded to him smiling. "Dominic."

"Hey, Gabe! How's life?"

"Excellent, thanks. Who was the girl you were abusing verbally? You do know that's not how you ensnare beauties like that, don't you?" Gabriel hid the interest the girl had stirred in him. She had been gorgeous and exuded something that made his insides tingle. He'd like to meet her.

Alexander kept his voice casual. "That's our new cleaning lady, nice looking bird isn't she?" He felt his insides tighten at the less than chivalrous words. He hoped she had not heard him, or she'd make him pay for it later. "Shall we go to my office?"

Gabriel shot his friend a scrutinizing look; obviously that was not all there was to tell about the girl. He followed him to the office, closing the door behind him. They'd talk about that later.

***

At that moment, Ravenna reappeared in her office, anxiety on her face. She darted to Dominic's side.

"Who was that?" she whispered to him, stressed.

"Shh, Ravenna, relax," he answered soothingly. "That's Gabriel Astori, an old friend. He is entirely trustworthy and can keep secrets." He grinned "He's a secret himself."

Ravenna looked at him warily. "He's not human. He can conceal himself because I did not notice him enter the floor."

"No," Dominic confirmed, his tone still reassuring. He'd forgotten the girl next to him had found out recently she could feel everyone around her. A kind of warmth that radiated out of them, she had said, trying to explain how people in the vicinity felt to her. "He's Zerphirdean, a peaceful race of individuals as strong as vampires, but they have a regular diet. They are mortal and can produce children, but age slower than humans do. Most Zerphirdians reach the age of 600 easily."

Ravenna looked at him thoughtfully. "You have known this man for a long time?"

"Yes, we fought in the War of Races together." He smiled as even more questions formed on her face and decided to start explaining before she'd attack him with them. "Two hundred years ago, on the European continent, vampires and weres fought demons and warlocks. Some of the Zerphirdians fought at our side. Gabe actually was the general who led the winning battle. He really is a mighty warlord."

Ravenna listened surprised. This was a whole chapter in the world's history that had been concealed successfully from humanity. She wondered what more she'd learn that she'd never heard of. Thoughtfully, she stood there for some time, staring at the wall. Alexander had taught her to read intentions and thoughts, and she scanned out for the man, trying to pick up the tenor of his mind. She found he successfully blocked any of her attempts, keeping her out easily.

Trying to listen in on their conversation wouldn't be helpful, either. With all these supernatural visitors, the offices had been built to accommodate vampire privacy; sound proof. Frowning, she thanked Dominic and returned to her office, closing the door behind her. Who was this man?

Dominic followed her with his eyes, frowning. She still looked somewhat shaken. At moments like these, it was painfully clear how easily frightened his little friend still was.

***

Alexander poured Gabriel a drink and took a seat across him on the couch. "How have you been since the last time we've met?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Very good!" Gabriel replied laughing. "Let me see. Fifty years ago I had just purchased an estate on the Croatian beach. I've built a house there now, a beautiful mansion with stables; you should visit me there sometime. The company is doing great. We own practically every windmill on the European continent, a great investment. Actually, we're doing business with the River's Company on green energy."

"I heard of that," Alexander said thoughtfully "It's a market we're exploring, too. You should talk to Dominic about it, maybe we can arrange a deal or something."

"Good idea. But first, tell me how you have been since we last met."

"Same old, same old" the vampire said smiling. "Business is going well, we've renovated the house, and Dom's still a pain in the ass. Nothing new." He grinned. "We run into other vampires from time to time, but everybody more or less keeps to themselves."

"And you've gotten yourself, a cute bird, as you called her, on the executive floor?"

Alexander kept his tone light as uneasiness crept through him. "Yes, she does her job excellent. Already taken of course, or I would have made a move to date her." He frowned at his lies. Gabriel was entirely trustworthy, but the urge to protect the girl in the other office was instinctual. Ravenna had already suffered more than most did in a life time.

"Alex," Gabriel said, reading his friends expression. "She was in a previously unoccupied office, wearing expensive designer clothing, throwing snide comments at Dominic, and vanished instantly as soon as she saw me. Please tell me where to get these kind of cleaning ladies because I'd like on for my own office."

Alexander sighed and nodded. His friend was right. "Her name is Ravenna; we found her three months ago." He told Gabriel the story of how they had found her, and how she had recovered from her ordeals. Gabriel listened thoughtfully; impressed by the story that Alexander unfolded in front of him. "We're still discovering what powers she has, and now know she has exceptionally good hearing and sight, comparably to vampire's senses." He paused, "and Zerphirdean," he added after a moment. "She's very powerful. She can pulverize items up to a small table, after that she's at a loss how to focus her energy, but I'm convinced she could destroy entire buildings if she wanted to." He thought back at the chaos at Mason's he'd seen and was convinced she'd caused it, she still did not believe him though.

"She can broadcast and shield her mind very powerfully, as well as read minds." Gabriel nodded, he'd just felt her tug at his mind "And just now, she vanished for the first time. I'm keeping tabs on her, and she reappeared as soon as we closed the door. She's still very shy." He smiled. "She plays chess brilliantly and can do anything with computers. She's one of a kind."