A Vampire For Christmas Ch. 05

"Katherine, you will spend the day with me, Diana and Colleen. I want you to feed from each of us. Today will be the completion of your change. In the morning, you will be physically, irrevocably pureblood. I will be the final feeding to secure the completion of your making."

"Of course, Mother. It would be good to have the three of you close after what just happened. May I ask a favor?"

"What is it, Dear?" asked Diana.

"I would like to do something for Bridget. It was her quick thinking that saved me. I know it's her job and she will not speak of it in any other way, but I would like to honor her somehow. I just don't know what's appropriate."

"We could make her your exclusive security," offered Helena.

Colleen said, "I propose we make her Special Assistant to the Director of Security. She would not appreciate being exclusive security for you, Katherine, no offense to you. Mother assigned her to me when I was first changed, I consider her a friend. I fear she might think I'm rejecting her. She would be proud to be seen as more than a bodyguard. She is our best. She knows it and this would convince her that we do as well. Katherine, you could benefit from her experience and insights as you grow into your job."

"Excellent, idea, Colleen," said Diana. "Helena, what do you think?"

"It will be announced along with the announcement of Katherine."

"Now, we have a busy two days ahead. I am looking forward to this meeting, apart from the obvious problem. Are we sure Beverly will have the results we need by then? If not, we can postpone until she is ready".

"We called her to let her know Victor was on his way and what we needed. She said she could do it," I responded. "You three know her better than I do, but I'm inclined to take her at her word."

"Then, to bed," said Helena "And, at least one of you had better give me an orgasm. I'm on edge, so it shouldn't take much effort,"

I took that as a good sign.

Diana and Colleen each fulfilled her request. I was too busy feeding, but I knew I would get my chance before too long. I look forward to time with Helena. She still scares me sometimes. She knows that and uses it to tease me. But, she opens up more with every session. I am determined to learn how an Original Vampire came to be. I have my theories, but, honestly, the whole idea of Vampires was not something I had ever imagined prior to two months ago.

The next two days were a steady stream of preparations and love making. Colleen and I had more intense orgasms than ever. She said I seemed different. I knew inside that I was no longer the person I was before the hunt. I was more Vampire. Stronger. Purposeful. I was ready to meet this damn family, one member in particular, who would likely not survive long enough to see me take Office.

Beverly had sent word that her research was complete and she had an answer for us. The perpetrator was, to no one's surprise, a member of the Committee. Helena asked Beverly to keep the information to herself and to definitely not tell me or Colleen prior to the meeting. She knew how ready we were for justice. Justice, Hell. Vengeance. Despite what we told Mother and Diana, neither of us was completely rational about the attempt on my life.

What do you wear to a meeting of a Vampire Leadership Committee? Especially, if you are one of the leaders of that group, which, in a few minutes, I would be.

Turns out, there is a uniform. Helena, was dressed in dark gold slacks with a lighter shade of gold blouse. Diana, as her partner and first in succession, wore the same dark gold slacks. Her blouse was off white with gold piping on the sleeves and around the collar.

Colleen, second in succession, was dressed in silver slacks with a lighter shade of silver blouse with gold trim. I had on a matching pair of silver slacks with an off white blouse with silver piping on the sleeves and around the collar.

Naturally, appropriately matching Louboutins all around.

We entered the Throne Room from a side door in rank order and took our seats on the dais. All present rose at our entry. Helena rose and stood in front of her chair. The men bowed. The women curtsied. The three us remained seated. I received a large number of curious stares and heard a few whispers wondering who I was and why I was seated on the dais. Everyone remained standing until Helena spoke.

"Be seated," she said. Not please. Helena was in full Matriarch mode.

"We have business to discuss today that is dear to my heart. But, before we get to that, I have an item to raise that was not planned for today's meeting. Only a few of us present know about it. One, and hopefully only one, of you will be surprised. Beverly, do you have an answer to my question?"

Beverly stood, an envelope in her hand, and said, "I have, Matriarch. Would you like me to have a member of security staff give it to you, or would you prefer me to read it?"

"Just the name, Beverly, if you would."

"The name, Matriarch, is Gustave."

Near the middle of the group, a man jumped to his feet. Before he could say a word, I was off my chair and had him pinned to the wall with my forearm pressing on his throat, my face inches from his. Colleen was a only a few feet behind me.

"You fucking piece of shit. I should tear your head off, right now."

"Katherine," said the Matriarch firmly. "Let him go."

"This fucker tried to have me killed. Let me kill him, Mother," I begged.

By then, Bridget and Victor had reached me. Bridget, said, "Katherine, as much as I like seeing this side of you, listen to the Matriarch. Let him go. We've got this."

They each took an arm and kept him pinned to the wall.

"Remember our discussion the other day, Katherine. He is not yours to end. Please take your seat," said the Matriarch.

"I'm not sorry, Mother."

"I don't expect you to be. I'm only surprised that you got there before Colleen. I'm impressed, if I'm honest. No apology is necessary. I just want to talk to him a moment. Please, both of you, contain your justified anger."

"Yes, Mother," I said as Colleen and I walked back to our chairs and sat down.

Colleen took my hand and squeezed it. "When did you become such a badass? You really have changed, I love it," she smiled.

"Yes, listen to your Mother, you little Bitch. Colleen, keep your puppy on her leash," yelled Gustave. "And you two wannabe cops, get your grubby hands off me. I am royalty, you common filth."

Helena nodded to Beverly, who left her seat at the same time Francois did. They took Gustave's arms from Victor and Bridget, dragged him to the foot of the dais and forced him to kneel.

"Let me clear something up for you, Gustave," said Helena. "YOU are not royalty. You WERE royalty as a human, but you never were and never would be as a Vampire."

"Fuck you," he replied. "It was you who changed me. Your blood I drank first."

"Fuck me is it? Fucking me is a pleasure you were never going to experience. I could, however, let Katherine cut off your dick and hand it to me. I'm sure she would willingly do that. That's as close as you were ever going to get."

"I changed you as a favor to your Father. HE was King. You were heir to the throne and he wanted you out of the way. It was be changed or be killed. I reluctantly took you into my family, but I purposely limited your access to pure blood. I knew what kind of person you were then. I hoped you would turn out differently. For the past few centuries you did well."

"Yes, and for that I got to watch you give the power and Office of Second to another. There is no one here more suited to that Office than I am. Instead you installed a common street whore for whom you felt pity. That's a poor way to decide control. And, now she has that skinny Bitch as her pet....."

He did not finish his tirade before I had a grasp of his hair. "This skinny Bitch is the mate of the Second." My fangs were fully extended. My eyes were glowing like fire. I stared at him and said in a loud, firm voice, "I will not allow you or anyone else to ever refer to Colleen in a disrespectful manner." I looked out at the crowd. "That includes anyone in or out of the family. Anyone who does will know my name as Death. If I have to face the Sun as a punishment, I will count it worth it to see the World rid of such vermin."

He was writhing in pain as I looked him in the eye and said. "Anything else you wanted to say about me or my mate? You'd best say it now. I have a feeling you won't be alive to say it later."

He spit in my face, whereupon I reached into his mouth and ripped out his tongue. Almost simultaneously, Colleen took action. She made a circle around Mother's chair and stopped at the bottom of the dais behind Gustave with Mother's sword raised. The sound of the blade swishing through the air filled the room. In a flash, I was left holding Gustave's head in one hand, his tongue in the other. In a matter of seconds, his body, head and tongue turned to dust and lay on the floor.

The room fell completely silent. Helena, who had remained standing quietly during those few seconds, spoke calmly but firmly.

"Colleen, Katherine, please return to your seats. And, Colleen, please put my sword back. I might have need of it later."

"Two nights ago, we received a tip about rogue Vampires in the warehouse district. Katherine, Victor and Bridget were sent to investigate. They found four unapproved fledgling Vampires, feeding on and killing a young human female. They were executed on the spot."

"The warehouse was rigged with explosives. Katherine, Victor and Bridget barely escaped. Bridget grabbed one of the fledgling's heads as they escaped the blast. One Katherine had decapitated. Beverly researched its blood and determined that it was Gustave who changed him. Clearly, it was he who also planted or had planted the explosives and triggered the bomb remotely to cover his tracks."

"Approximately sixty years ago, a group tried to kidnap and assassinate Colleen. Most of you will recall how that was handled. My question is whether any of you were involved in or knew about this escapade. If so, I advise you to come forward. Do not think you can keep it from us. She nodded toward the three of us on the dais. We WILL find out. What happened to Gustave tonight and those others sixty years ago was, in my view, merciful. If you do not come forward now, when we find out, what happens to you will not be."

No one moved.

"What Gustave said makes me feel I must remind you all who you are and who I am. There is not one being in this room who would be alive today, were it not for me. There is not one of you who would have the wealth and comfort you do, were it not for me."

"No Vampire in this family, whether I changed you or not, would exist if it were not for my blood that runs in your veins, no matter how diluted it may be. I have changed some of you. I have fed some of you. I have permitted your change in cases where I did not do it. You come from varied backgrounds and social strata. As humans that mattered. As Vampires, it does not."

"I am pureblood. More than that, I am Original. That means I am exponentially more powerful than any among you." She reached behind her chair and withdrew her sword. "I am also battle tested. Diana, Colleen and Katherine, while not as experienced as I am, are my equals in power. If we chose to do so, we could eliminate all of you, despite your sheer numbers and collective power. It would not take us long, nor be difficult. This is not a boast. It is something I know because it has been done before. The truth is, I could eliminate most, if not all, of you by myself."

"I have seen and experienced more of this World than everyone in this room combined. Because I choose not to rule by fear, doesn't mean there are not aspects to me about which you should be afraid. If I recited my history to you, the things I have seen, the things I have done, you would quake and worry that I might revert to some of those chapters of my life."

"My rules are few and simple. I am open to discussing them with you one on one or with the rest of the Matriarchy as a group. I, alone, make the decisions. My decisions are final. Period. They are NOT open to interpretation or further discussion once made. I do not care for dissenting opinions. This is not a democracy. You do not have a vote. Any attempt to damage a member of or undermine the authority of the Matriarchy carries an immediate death sentence."

"Today is a clear showing of how quickly justice can be served by any member of the Matriarchy. What you saw Colleen and Katherine do pales in comparison to actions I have taken over the centuries in development of and defense of this family. Humans tell tales of Vampires as evil creatures who senselessly slaughter men, women and children. Those stories are not entirely imagination."

"Katherine, Colleen, the only criticism I have is that we did not get to interrogate Gustave. Your ability to exact justice would not have been any less if you had waited. You both have my blessing and approval. Katherine, I did not agree to your request to kill him because his head was promised to Colleen, as you will recall. Personally, I think he got off easy. There are ancient tortures I would have enjoyed introducing him to. Nice bit with the tongue, by the way."

"If any of you assembled here doubted Colleen's ability or willingness to do what a Matriarch must, at times, what you just watched should disabuse you of that notion."

"Francois, I want you to take charge of Gustave's accounts and holdings."

"Katherine, you will lead a full security investigation into all of Gustave's friends and contacts, human and Vampire alike, as well as his staff. Bridget, Victor and my guard staff will secure Gustave's guards until we can determine the extent of their knowledge or involvement. Any Vampire who colluded with or knew about Gustave's actions and failed to inform us is to be immediately apprehended and brought here to possibly face the Sun or my sword, or worse, depending on how I feel that day."

Katherine, any humans involved, you will personally, summarily execute. You can decide how humanely. Tell them to be thankful I am not carrying out the sentence. I am not feeling very forgiving or understanding in this matter."

"Those humans in Gustave's employ who are found innocent of Gustave's actions are to be compensated well and released upon their pledge to divulge nothing of the family under pain of death, theirs for certain, potentially their families and anyone to whom they give information. Make sure they understand that might include women and children. We must deter future generations from trying to settle some grudge in the future. Coordinate the compensation details with Michelle."

"Does anyone on the dais have anything to add?"

We shook our heads no. I was stunned. I had not expected to be tasked to become an executioner. There's a difference between killing in the heat of the moment, like with Gustave, a mercy killing, like the other night, and a calculated, controlled ending of a life, based on a personal judgement of guilt. Though, I had no hesitation with the fledglings, nor felt any remorse.

I was starting to understand about the dark side of being a Vampire and the depth of what being Director of Security included. Leading the family means defending the family. A cancer like Gustave's could not be allowed to spread. The consequences for Vampires and humans alike were too dire. I could see that Helena's decisions, while seemingly harsh, were perfectly correct.

For the first time since I discovered this Vampire World existed I began to really see my place in it. I found myself, even more than before, in awe of this Woman who considered me "Daughter" and the confidence she had that I could be what she expected me to become. To her, I was no longer human. I was Vampire. I felt scared, proud, uncertain, powerful, but mostly, determined not to disappoint her.

I was pulled from my reverie in time to hear Helena say, "Very well, then. Let us turn to the main purpose of this meeting."

"Today, I present to you, Katherine. It seems redundant in light of what we just witnessed, but, please rise, Katherine. Katherine is Colleen's mate. Today, I direct that she has all the authority and privileges of and is due all rights and deference of the Office of Second. She is third in the line of succession. Her requests to any of you carry the full weight of the Matriarchy. The fact that she referred to me as Mother should tell you that I view her, as I do Colleen, as Daughter. That is a stronger bond than Matriarch and Second. You will honor that or face my wrath and that of their other Mother, Diana."

"Since security is one of the tasks under the Office of Second, I am appointing you, Katherine, as Director of Security. This you will do on a hands on basis. That means all security staff serving the family are answerable to you."

"A word of caution to all present. You have had a glimpse of Katherine's power and her fierce protectiveness of her mate and the Matriarchy as a whole. She is not simply pureblood. Her skills are beyond any Vampire I have seen in my time as Matriarch. She's young, so her temper can still be a bit wild. She reminds me of a younger version of myself. I encourage you NOT to test her. You will fail. I know how word spreads in the family. It would be wise to spread that,"

"Thank you Katherine. Please take your seat."

"Bridget, please step forward."

Bridget moved from her post to the dais, curtsied and knelt.

"Bridget, thank you, but I wish you to stand for this. Bridget, you and Victor have been almost brutal in your training of Katherine. I think you, personally, shot her five times."

"Six, Matriarch," Bridget offered proudly. "But, that was early on. Now, it is nearly impossible."

Helena laughed, "Six it is then. My original thought was to assign you to exclusively guard Katherine, but both you and Victor have long experience with and concern for Colleen. Friends is not too strong a word. You both have taken Katherine on as an extension of Colleen and treated her with the same regard. Thank you for that."

"Last night your quick thinking saved the three of you. Your reaction in securing the evidence we needed was an exceptional example of grace under pressure."

"Thank you, Matriarch. We were just doing our jobs. Victor deserves as much credit. In training, he shot Katherine at least four times himself."

Helena had to stand silent for a moment to stop laughing. "Duly noted. Thank you Victor. We are considering a proper reward for you. Bridget, we want to offer you a new position, Special Assistant to the Director of Security. You will assist Katherine in all security matters she deems necessary. You and Victor will remain detail for her and Colleen. You will both receive a generous one time reward and you, Bridget, will receive increased compensation reflective of your additional duties."

"What do you say, Bridget? Does the job sound like one you want to do?"

"Yes, Matriarch. I don't know how to thank you."

"Thank Colleen. It was her idea. Now back to work."

"Is there anyone present who has anything to say other than, 'Yes, Matriarch', to the matters I just covered?"

The room rose as one. "Yes, Matriarch," they all said.

Damn, that woman knew how to control a room. She oozed confidence and power. I so want her to teach me how to do that.

"In that case," Helena said, "let's turn to normal business."

The meeting lasted another hour and a half. I learned much about how things operate as well as who a lot of the players are. At the close of business, Helena stood and announced, "there is a reception in the Ballroom to welcome Katherine and to honor her and Colleen on their union. This is a day I have hoped for going on half a century. Today, I have TWO daughters."