Keeley Thomson (Book 2): Keelzebub (20 page)

He looked at Keeley though, from the side of his eye. Worried about her? That made sense. She could easily take out the entire line before her. Didn’t these fools pay attention to anything? She looked at the one trying to read her mind and winked, remembering not to do that, since a real teenager wouldn’t anymore.

So, she thought clearly, they’d stolen her present? That wouldn’t end well for them, would it?

The man with the nearly all read eyes that was focused on her took a step back. Then two. That was wise, because she planned to kill him first. The telepath being the only real threat to her at all and that only while he lived. He kept staring as her rage built. She stayed calm outwardly, but inside she let the theft of her gift, her new plaything, build, until it threatened to rip the worlds to shreds.

Dan let himself move a few steps away and shook his head at Darla.

“The Mistress of Souls is not at all please by this, daughter. Perhaps if we offer her another of your people instead? These beings didn’t know, of course, that they stole from her, or what it would mean…”

Keeley threw her right hand up.

“Silence.” She stepped close to the pale man in front of the group, his teeth all pointed, some crooked, like a rats instead of a movie Vampire. It was interesting. She made herself smile sweetly, moving so close that the fool could try to strike her.

If he wanted to cease existing that badly.

“First you insult me by not using my proper title, prevent me from communicating with my people, now you steal from me? So that you can force another into a business deal with better terms? Now that’s hardly sane is it? Or survivable.” She placed the flat of her palm on his cold chest and held it there, as if daring him to try and move it. At least she was right about him having blocked their cell phones. It was a combination of tricks, including one to simply jam the signals going out, using a very high tech device not on the open market at all.

One of Darla’s.

“Brilliant. I applaud your attempt. If you were one of my people, I’d end you now, before you make a similar mistake and caused your entire kind to cease being. I think I may do that anyway. Unless you want to make a deal? Michael.” The information was right there, and she took it at a simple touch, then spun away, as if daring him to attack her from behind, waiting for him to try it.

He wouldn’t though. Not if he wanted to keep existing. He was speaking to his people the whole time, a subliminal thing, too high pitched for a human to hear. She could hear it of course, but it wouldn’t really matter in a moment. He at least had enough sense to look scared, once his mind reader spoke her thoughts to him.

That he hadn’t been frightened before just showed what a fool he really was.

“I… what kind of deal, I have no soul, if that’s what you want. You can’t easily bind us to you like most others. Vampires are immune to such things.” He seemed confident of that.

“Oh? Very well then, let us strike a bargain indeed. You let my girl go, unharmed, give me three of your people here as my slaves and, let’s say three million dollars? One for every second it would take me to bind you all to my will?” Leaning in Keeley kissed his cheek. It was cold and had a slight hint of death about it, but that was probably just due to poor dental hygiene. She’d fix that once the being messed up and became hers. Almost anything he did led to that now, that or not being at all.

“That, or, if you wish, we could have a contest? I do love a good contest. You agree to the terms I set and if you can prevent yourselves from being taken for a full minute, you can keep the girl, I’ll get you that twenty percent you asked for and I’ll throw in…” Keeley looked around and finally let her eyes go to Edith.

“Her. She’s not in her prime, but she’s a Gatherer and has some interesting tricks. I was simply going to kill her anyway, not needing anything she has to offer myself, but you lot might find some utility there. So what do you say?” She chuckled. It was a singsong thing, light and airy, rather than menacing. They didn’t rate her bothering to scare them, did they?

“Or we could fight, but unless you can also enlist these two to your cause, I don’t like your chances of even surviving. Decide.” Her voice sounded almost sweet when the last word came out, even as she gestured to the other Demons next to her. They really wouldn’t do it though, fight against her, not just for some Vampires.

Terry the Vampire, who really should have stuck with the name Michael, shook his head.

“Your bluffing. You all lie, it’s what you’re known for.” He sounded less than totally confident, which was really a good thing. She was just going to kill them all if their leader didn’t start playing though. This was getting tedious. She’d wanted to dance and hadn’t gotten to at all yet.

Taking one step forward she readied herself to rip apart the very quanta of their beings. True some of the people around would be lost in the explosion, but they could just call it a gas leak. Or claim someone had brought an improvised explosive device. Yes, that would work.

“Wait!” The telepath looked shaken enough that the others all buzzed at him then, their supersonic version of yelling, it seemed, even though they were very still otherwise.

After half a minute, just as she readied herself to act again they all bowed.

“The girl shall be returned without further harm. Some have fed on her and Elis… had his way with her. He used coercion, but not force.”

Elis was betrayed with a single glance from the leader, he was in the line behind the pale man, in the very center of five. At least he cringed, knowing he was going to die.

So not an incredible moron?

“Fine, him and two others as my slaves. Three million and the girl unharmed more than she has been. If the harm is too great, then I take you all as my slaves. Do we have a bargain?”

The man shook his head.

“No. I can’t just let you take my people. I’ll triple the money.”

“Fifteen million, Elis and the girl on the left. She looks pretty enough. I like her hair color.” Keeley did too, it was a very unusual copper tone that actually looked a bit like metal thread.

Neither Darla or Dan were looking at her, since it was her business and really, they didn’t want to be involved. This was about to go very wrong, if these beings didn’t give her a lot more than they were offering. This was the last pass for negotiations, she decided. She’d just take them all as slaves and call it done then. After that she could just take all their funds anyway. It’s what ownership meant.

There was a reason she was called “Mistress of Souls” after all.

“Deal? Take it or leave it. Or would you like to attempt to defeat my will? No one has ever succeeded that wasn’t another Greater Demon.” It was pure truth. She broadcast that fact and readied herself on a level that had the telepath starting to push Elis forward by brute force. The leader finally had a slightly nervous look about him and the others looked like they were about to die.

“Rebekah, go, if you don’t she’ll take all of us. We… didn’t mean anything. Go, Elis, go!”

The panic in their otherwise still red eyes was delicious. It didn’t make up for her rage though, did it? Not at all.

She pointed a finger at Elis and focused her total being on him, everything she had in that moment locked on to his eyes.

“You are mine, or you die right here, do you understand? Do you agree? Any action you take will work as a full and true sign. Do you understand? A blink, a breath, a thought…” Nothing happened for a second, then two, she focused harder.

Ten.

Then it locked home, a sense of twisting inside her, a true lock being set. One that would never be broken.

“And there we go. Rebekah? Do you wish the same bargain? You have not harmed me or mine, so if you wish, I’ll leave you your will, in return for absolute obedience. Choose now.”

The female Vampire also had a broad mouth with rows of sharp looking pointed teeth. She wasn’t a grand vision of loveliness, but she’d do well enough that way, at need. She actually seemed to bother bathing and brushing her teeth, if the memories from Terry could be read that easily.

Instead of a big production and clash of wills, the woman just sank to her knees on the grass where she stood.

“I will serve you, totally. Mistress.” The words caught in her throat, which made sense. She was the bottom Vampire in their clutch. That meant she had to do all the work, was used for sex and even took care of over half the hunting, while the others played and made merry. At least Terry actually bothered to run a business, which kept that part of things going well. As a group they were rich.

Good.

No excuse not to have her money then.

She nodded.

“Very well, Elis, Rebekah, go and retrieve your new sister Eve. Elis, if you ever take any of my people by force again without permission, in any way, you won’t survive it. Do you understand? You will destroy yourself before you try. You may not harm anyone without my permission from this point on and you may not attempt to lie to me, escape or harm me. From now on, Rebekah is your leader. If you fail her, you fail me, and you die. Go.”

Then Keeley glanced back at Terry, ignoring the two people that moved, but looked hesitant.

It was the girl Vampire, woman really, she looked to be in her late twenties, who explained, carefully not making eye contact.

“Mistress? We don’t have a vehicle, we came with Terry…” She seemed ashamed of the fact.

“Are there others guarding Eve?” This got a nod from both her new people.

“Fine. Terry, please contact them and have them bring her along. You may take Elis with you. Elis, if they attempt betrayal, do your very best to kill them all. Unleash the truth and total power within, in that case, even if it means your own destruction, understood? How long will this take?”

Her new slave Vampire was breathing, which the others didn’t bother with, almost panting. Afraid.

“About twenty minutes? Maybe slightly longer if the others balk. They might not listen to me, if Terry orders them not too.”

Keeley nodded. It was a risk then. Everything in life was. Well, Eve was only one girl, and two Vampires trumped that. Or more, if the money wasn’t delivered in a timely fashion. She didn’t say that though. Breaking their agreed upon bargain would make them all her slaves after all. It was kind of great, being her. She let her rage subside.

A little. They needed to hurry though. She was getting bored.

“Terry, I suggest you not dawdle on arranging those funds either. My patience is not known as one of my stronger suits. I’ll attempt not to be unreasonable, but that will last almost exactly as long you all keep me entertained. Go now and retrieve my property. Unharmed in all ways. The rest of your people shall let these humans here go and stay until you return, without being overly noticed. Rebekah, see to that. The rest of you do as she says, without question. Now.”

They moved fast, running as if their lives depended on it. Which they did. Before they were out of earshot Keeley spun and glared at first Dan, and then Darla.

“We will have words about this. I expect all such plots to be far more interesting in the future, is that understood? If you wish to anger me, you might want to do more than to give and then steal a toy.” The words were sneering and cold, which still almost got a smile from the other two. They didn’t though. It would ruin the mood and piss her off.

“Oh, come, this one obviously wasn’t one of ours. We wouldn’t have botched it that badly for one thing.” Dan spoke gently as if placating a madwoman.

Keeley growled at him, angry still.

“Don’t try that with me, “Dan”. I know you far too well.” She did too. Going back longer than she cared to imagine.

So she didn’t. Instead she fumed a little and calmed herself as everyone else awoke. She was nearly back to normal Keeley by the time everyone else started to rouse. Everyone was confused, so Darla just put on some music and yelled loudly.

“Keep dancing! Woooo!” It didn’t work that well, since it wasn’t what Mrs. Gibson would normally say or do, was it? Keeley took over and did it herself, grabbed Rebekah and winked, then remembered not to and started dancing with her while everyone else stood up. After a few minutes most of them, still dazed, were following suit.”

“Best party ever!” She called out, getting a few slurred replies in response.

It didn’t work on everyone, the Durgs kept shaking their heads for instance and didn’t dance at all. Edith also didn’t dance, she just glowered.

Fair enough.

That situation wasn’t hers to deal with, it was Darla’s. This last one had been too, come to think of it. Oops. Well, hopefully guest rights would stop too big of a fight from taking place later. She should have just accepted the cute redhead or one of the blond boys as a replacement instead. Well, her temper was as famous as her ability to kill almost anything in existence, or bind them to her will.

It still hurt that Terry didn’t remember her. Ah well. She’d just have to look him up and remind him.

They managed to get things back to normal, then breaking up by the time the others came, slightly dragging a scared looking Eve with them. Too roughly to tell the truth. Keeley was tempted to use that as a breach of agreement, but the telepath buzzed at Terry, who got Elis to let Eve go almost instantly.

She nodded and just stared at Terry, not even thinking, just waiting for him to make a mistake. The pale man gave her a slow red eyed blink and finally spoke after nearly a minute.

“I don’t know where the money should be delivered.” Terry didn’t add more, not knowing her title, other than Mistress of Souls, and just calling her Mistress would be stating she owned him. An interesting dilemma. Enough to claim they’d broken the spirit of the agreement? No. Not on that score.

“Get with these two on that. I don’t actually need money, I just like to roll around in it from time to time or give it away for presents.” She waved her hand as if it didn’t matter at all, and put her arm over Rebekah’s shoulder. The girl was slightly taller than she was. That was fine, she liked her women a little bigger. Slightly heavier too, but the Vampire was what she was. She pulled her close, relishing the slight fear the woman held in her cold tense form.