Bloodlines Ch.06

'So, on to business, I suppose,' Richard said after they had sampled their drinks. 'I thought we'd use today mostly to get to know each other, and I'll tell you about myself and what I do. I'm to teach you about aspects of our power, but that does not mean we can't enjoy ourselves while we're at it.' He winked at that.

'You'll soon see that my strengths are quite different from Steven's, though I have no doubt a talented young man such as yourself will do just fine. Steven, for all his faults, is brilliant at what he does, and he has an almost supernatural finesse with his powers.' Garth nodded at that.

'But, where Steven is all about details, my talents lie in volume, I guess you could say. I will show you how to influence large gatherings of people. How to make an entire crowd hang on to your words and be moved by them. Most of my work is related to speeches and rallies, giving prepared speeches designed to motivate or influence crowds of people this way or that. I have a collection of companies that pay me handsomely to help them promote products, motivate employees or simply act as entertainment at conferences and such. It's not exactly glamorous, though there are some obvious perks.' He emphasized that last with a sweep of the room.

'I own the entire building, renting out the lower floors to businesses, and my own apartments are at the top floor. Plus, with the proper, motivation, there are usually some who are inclined to follow me back for a drink after a performance.' His lecherous grin made Garth grin back as well, not that he was surprised to hear him say it. Richard Simms seemed to be the kind of man who enjoyed life to the fullest, eagerly sampling everything he could get his hands on.

They chatted about this and that, sharing some stories and comparing notes, as it were, before Richard said it was time to head towards the restaurant. It turned out to be only a few blocks from the office building, on a busy street with a few other restaurants as well.

Stephano's turned out to be a medium-sized restaurant of obvious quality, though not top-tier, it was obviously not a cheap one either. They were greeted by a pleasant man in his middle years, Tracy, Garth supposed, who showed them to a small table at the back of the restaurant.

'Thank you Tracy, no need for the menu, just bring us a bottle of a dry white, you choose one, and the seafood platter for four.' He arched an eyebrow in question at Garth at the last, and Garth nodded seafood was fine.

'The owner is a dear friend,' Richard said after they had gotten the wine, an excellent white with crisp acidity and some mineral notes that would work well with seafood. 'We have an agreement that I eat basically for free, provided I make sure his other customers are satisfied. Sometimes he'll invite me over specifically, when someone he wants to impress is dining here.' He tapped the side of his nose.

'Not that the food isn't extremely good, it just helps if the customers feel extra satisfied as well.' True to his words, Richard Simms sent forth a wave of power, like a gossamer sheet of influence that settled over the entire restaurant like a silken blanket, subtly drawing up emotions like Enjoyment, Satisfaction and Pleasure. The effect was immediate, if subdued. All around them, the other customers started sighing in satisfaction, complimenting the food and generally having a good time.

Garth sat looking around, using his powers to visualize the effect, noting the ephemeral touch of power, the sharply outlined boundaries to the sphere of influence and the sheer power involved in producing such a wide-spread effect. He was left with no doubt in his mind that Richard Simms was very talented at what he did. Wanting to show off a little himself, Garth singled out a young couple two tables over, who were obviously very much in love, evident from the way they shared their dessert back and forth with the same spoon. Both had that almost hazy cloud of loving emotions around them like mist, with a healthy amount of Lust and Desire in both. Garth latched his power onto them and started slowly pulling their lust for each other steadily upwards, something they mirrored by kissing and touching more and more until they left in a hurry after paying their tab. Judging by their emotions, dessert was only just beginning.

Richard watched him apply his power the whole time, nodding in approval as Garth showcased some of his skill, even if it was just a couple of basic emotions requiring very little effort to him now.

'Very nice, you have excellent control, but can you do more than a couple of emotions at once?' Garth heard the subtle challenge in his words and smiled deviously back at him.

Opposite where the couple had just left from, a young woman was sitting by herself. She appeared to be in her late twenties or something, with nice, though slightly drab clothing. Garth could not get a clear look at her face as she was looking away, towards the exit, but she appeared fairly average in most respects. Certainly not someone who would turn heads or anything, but not ugly, just plain. What was interesting about her, though, was the wide range of emotions she was experiencing. While obviously enjoying the food, courtesy of Richard, she was looking longingly after the two love birds who had just left, and at the same time obviously in a generally dour mood. Longing, Dismay and a hint of something that had to be Betrayal as well as Envy stood out in her. He noticed the table was set for two, though one set of plates had not been used. Maybe she had been stood up for a date and was consoling herself with some of the excellent gelato the restaurant served?

Garth decided to brighten her day a little and drew upon his recent tutoring by Steven to try to turn her dour mood around. Sending forth a good handful of tendrils, he latched onto her negative emotions and started subtly suppressing them. Richard arched an eyebrow and nodded approvingly, but Garth was just getting started. Next, he sent forth another handful of tendrils to modulate her positive emotions to help with his suppression of her negative ones. Within minutes, she seemed to perk up where she sat, smiling a little as she continued eating her dessert.

Garth could see Richard watching intently as he worked to improve the young woman's day, but he said nothing. Judging from the way he had more or less stopped his own blanket manipulation, Garth was quite certain he was focusing completely on what Garth was doing.

After he was quite certain her mood had improved considerably, Garth was about to call it mission accomplished when he became aware of a slight discrepancy. Having dealt mostly in the more sensual and erotic emotions, he had an excellent idea of what those emotions felt like, though she displayed none of that, she was simply enjoying her food and her improving mood.

On a hunch, Garth latched onto where he would have expected her Arousal to be, almost seeing it overlaid her where she sat. At first, his power met nothing, kind of like a void, but somehow, Garth was able to tinge the tendril of power with his own more or less ever-present Arousal. Before he could fully sense what was happening, he had latched onto what had to be her Arousal and started pulling it slowly up. The woman started squirming a little in her seat, sliding one hand along her thigh and generally fidgeting. She started smearing some of the ice cream onto her lips and licked them sensuously with her eyes closed. She was getting turned on, it seemed.

Garth was so engrossed in the situation he started when Richard touched his arm, breaking his concentration somewhat.

'Very impressive, my boy,' Richard said in a low voice, 'but I think this will do. Better if we don't make a scene. Not here.' His voice was sober and quiet, but Garth could hear he was shaken.

'Did I do something wrong?' Garth asked a little nervously.

'No, nothing wrong,' Richard assured him, 'but we need to talk before we continue, just not here. Let's finish up and head back, then we'll talk.'

They finished the meal with a modicum of small talk, both watching as the young woman left a little later, her visage vastly more attractive when she smiled at them, having seen them look. The waiter that had greeted them stopped by to check on them a little later, after which they said their good byes and walked back to Richard's office building. When they got back, Richard led him to an elevator off to the side, which he opened with a small key. Inside, there was only one button for the top floor.

Richard's private apartments spanned the entire top floor of the building, and Garth saw a staircase the he assumed led up to a rooftop terrace. The entire entry hallway oozed of quality, with dark, expensive wood paneling and floors, art on the walls and plush carpets. Richard led Garth into a library with some comfortable leather chairs and an impressive bar that spanned an entire side of the room.

'I could use something a little stronger,' Richard said, pulling down a bottle of something dark. 'what are you having?'

'Single malt, if you have?' Garth asked. Richard grunted in approval and poured him a generous amount of a dark amber whisky, older than Garth himself unless his guess was off. They both sat back and enjoyed the first sip of their drinks, though Garth could feel a sense of apprehension, wondering what had happened to elicit this kind of behavior in the otherwise affable man.

'So,' Richard began, sitting forward a little, towards Garth, 'what you did was not wrong, at least not in any sense we consider it to be.' Garth assumed 'we' meant neuropaths, though he decided to stay silent until Richard explained more. Morality was, after all, a less-than straightforward subject when you could mess with someone's emotions to influence them as you saw fit.

'But first, tell me, where did you learn to do that?'

'I'm not sure exactly what you mean, I figured some of it out on my own, and Steven helped me refine my talents, if that's what you mean?' Garth answered.

'I'm talking about what you did at the end there, where you modulated her Arousal, did Steven teach you that?' Garth was slightly taken aback by the intensity Richard was exuding.

'No. Well, not exactly, I sort of just stumbled into it. I'm not entirely sure exactly what I did, to be honest,' Garth explained. He could almost see the tension drain from Richard as he said it, though.

'Good, good,' Richard sighed in relief.

'Was that something I was not supposed to do?' Garth asked curiously.

'I wouldn't say, not supposed to,' Richard explained, 'more like, shouldn't be able to. Yet.' Garth frowned, though he had an idea what was coming next and secretly delighted at it.

'What you did,' Richard continued, 'is considered an advanced technique, something we are strongly discouraged from teaching anyone until they have gained quite a bit more experience than you have. The fact that you stumbled onto it by yourself says a lot about your mastery of your power, unfortunately.'

'Unfortunately?' Garth asked.

'Yes, the fact that you are able to do this at such a young age is potentially very dangerous. It would have been better if you were older and more mature before you learned this. I am sure you have heard about our less than sterling reputation already, and young, reckless neuropaths are without compare the source of this. Over the centuries there have been some like you, who discover this too early, and without proper guidance have abused their power tremendously. I should not have to tell you to exercise extreme restraint in this, though I have to.' Garth nodded somberly, having gone through much the same line of thought before, as he contemplated Steven's revelation about advanced techniques.

'What can I say,' Garth began after a while, 'I have considered this already. Steven said there were some advanced techniques he could not teach me, and this was something I considered as a likely application. Please don't hold it against Steven, he was quite firm in not saying anything and should not be blamed.'

'Oh, I'm not blaming anyone,' Richard said with a laugh, 'those stiff-necked old cronies in the council are way too uptight in any event, but I will say that we will all suffer if you mess up.'

They chatted about this and that for another hour, sharing stories and such, before Richard said he had another appointment to attend. Garth was to meet him the next morning for a seminar Richard was giving at a local branch of a large retail company he worked with at times. They were due for a reorganization, and Richard had been tasked with making sure they saw the value of it, despite the jobs that would have to be cut in the process. Garth thanked him for the drink and made his way to the elevator. Lost in his own thoughts, Garth entered the elevator as the door opened and walked straight into Ginny, who was on her way out. They collided, but Garth's larger mass sent the beautiful redhead bouncing to the floor beside the trolley with cleaning supplies. He started apologizing profusely, reaching to help her up when he noticed her attire.

Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun and she wore an almost comically typical maid costume. It obviously was a costume, Garth decided, since she wore nothing beneath it, and those high heels did not belong on someone about to do any actual cleaning. Without meaning to, Garth's eyes traveled down her body to the bright red bush of her neatly trimmed pussy, her lips peeking out beneath the furry patch. Ginny did nothing to cover up, instead pulling the costume up a fraction as she watched him.

'See anything you like?' She teased before closing her legs and reaching for him to help her up. He took her hand on reflex and pulled her up until she stood pressed up against him, her soft tits pressed against his chest and her breath hot on his face. Garth could feel a hand sliding up his thigh to his inflating cock. A few quick squeezes later, he was fully hard in her grip and she smiled up at him, her breath sweet on his as she leaned in as if for a kiss.

'Not today, big boy, the boss is expecting me, but make sure to stop by my room some day. Soon.' She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and a last squeeze, and then she was pushing the trolley down the hallway towards Richard's apartment. Garth watched as she walked, admiring her completely bare backside and firm ass. He was sure she was rolling her hips excessively for his benefit.

By the time Garth exited the building his hard-on had subsided a little, enough that he seemed very well endowed, rather than sporting an obvious erection. He did not mind in the least. The hotel they were staying in was not too far away, and Garth opted for walking, both to stretch his legs, but also to have time to think. He quested out with his powers on habit, and was surprised to feel no voids in the area, no obvious surveillance anywhere. Was he just not sensing them, or had they chosen another type of surveillance he was ignorant of? This was a serious cause for concern if true, because then his discovery would be a moot point, something that would restrict his freedom a great deal. Best to lay low for now, something that was doubly wise until he knew more about his powers and their surveillance both.

Before he had gotten two blocks, another surprise hit him; there was another neuropath using his power close by. Garth was unable to see him, but there were obvious pulses of power from one of the upper floors of an office building he passed. It made sense, he supposed, that there would be others around who could use their power. Paranoia set in just about then. Maybe that was someone who was watching him? Another neuro set to keep an eye on him? He walked a little faster towards their hotel, wanting to be away from the street. He did not notice the scruffy-looking man across the street who also sped up to match his pace.

Their hotel room was more like a tiny apartment than a room, complete with a separate bedroom, living room and a spacious bath with a double size tub. While not top tier, it was certainly way better than any hotel Garth had ever stayed in. He guessed real estate prices in the capital made it a better option to rent hotel rooms for visiting practitioners, which made sense to Garth. Their bags had been unpacked and put into the closets, though Erica was not around. After a quick tour of the suite, Garth sat down on the bed to change into something more comfortable when he saw a note on his pillow.

I'm in the pool, entrance next to the front desk. Meet me there!

Erica

A quick rifle through her clothes told him she had brought the new bikini they bought from Elsa. Garth grinned and picked up his own trunks, the see-through ones, and hoped the pool would not be too crowded this time of day. A few minutes later, the pleasant clerk at the front desk buzzed him in to the pool area. The familiar scent of chlorine and the warm humidity of the pool washed over him as he entered, his bare feet slapping the slightly wet tiles as he searched for Erica.

He found her in short order, her familiar shape draped on a sun chair next to the pool. The area was blessedly empty except for her.

The pool was pretty standard, long enough to be able to swim properly, with a shallow end for kids and a low diving board on the deep end. Off to the side a Jacuzzi bubbled away, and two doors led to saunas next to it. Everything was of excellent quality, if not huge or anything. Garth took it all in before settling his gaze on Erica, who appeared to be slumbering. Her revealing bikini hinted at everything, but showed only hints, with darker patches where her areolas were visible through the mesh. Her legs were closed, so nothing of her pussy could be seen, but had she spread her legs, it would be quite obvious.

Garth sent forth a tendril of power, not bothering with subtlety with her, and forcefully tugged on her slumbering Horniness and Lust. Garth watched as her nipples hardened to nubs, dimpling the mesh and poking through a little.

'Mmm, I thought I heard someone coming in,' she said in a sleepy voice. 'see anything you like?' Garth was momentarily struck with a deja-vu to Ginny just a short while earlier and, like then, his cock swelled and grew until the trunks became practically transparent.

'Ah, you DO like what you see,' Erica teased from where she looked up at him. 'Is all that for me? I'm not sure I can fit all of that in me,' she teased.

'Well,' Garth played along, 'I have it on good authority that it will fit just fine anywhere in you I see fit to put it.' Erica opened her mouth in mock surprise, then swung her legs down and sat facing him, legs wide for his viewing pleasure.

'Just so you know,' Erica said in her normal voice, 'there's a camera behind you, overlooking the pool, so we'll have to behave.' As if to counter her own words, she pulled the bikini to the side and spread her swollen lips before slowly pushing two fingers inside herself. Garth turned his head and saw the camera, his body blocking Erica from view. A quick survey showed there were two more cameras, effectively covering all the places someone could potentially drown or something, he guessed.

Erica rose and walked over, held her sticky fingers up for him to lick clean and then kissed him deeply and ground her body up against his.

'How'd the meeting with Dick go?'

'Ok, I guess,' Garth said distractedly as he slid a hand down her back and cupped her firm ass, then squeezed it. 'He seems like a likeable enough type, though I can easily see him being an ass. He sure likes his comforts.'

'Yeah, I guess he can be charming when he wants to, but he got it in his head that I would be a great addition to his 'harem'. He has a thing for redheads.'

'I noticed,' Garth agreed, 'he has an assistant, Ginny, who could have been your cousin or some other distant relative.'