Chapter Two
Simone didn’t start holding interviews for Danton’s position until after she spoke to Danton herself. She wanted to know straight from his lips why he was stepping down.
“It’s not forever,” he had said. “I just want a little less responsibility for a little while. I want someone else to sit on the committee. I want to focus on bringing people to justice rather than handing down the sentence of that justice. I grow weary of deciding between life and death for my people.”
She understood. Their laws were simple…and absolute. To break the law meant to risk censure and even death. They had no jails. The logistics of feeding prisoners had forced them to act with decisiveness. But everyone knew the laws and it was their own choice whether they broke them or not. Some laws were more serious than others, but most were simple and straightforward and a matter of survival for their species. There was no need for gradation of laws among their people. There was no theft, as all essentials were provided to all vampires, and there were no laws to cover petty crimes like assault. Fights were settled between the vampires themselves.
There were other similar departures from human law, but there was also the fact that they were subject to human law as long as they lived in the human world. That meant lawyers. Powerful lawyers whose sole job it was to keep vampires out of human jails. When that failed them, the vampires took flight from one jurisdiction to another…remaining hidden away from human justice.
There were no drug dealers…drug dealing was inherently about money and, again, vampires had no need to make that kind of cash when the opportunity to live in comfort was provided for every vampire. If a vampire broke a law like that…a human law…they were subject to vampire justice long before they were subject to human justice, and vampire justice was far more absolute than human justice…so punishable things were avoided at all costs.
Vampires were not fools.
Until they were. Until they crossed over from vampire to sycophant. Then they were lost and subject to immediate and final justice, on the spot, at the hands of whatever lawful vampire came across its path. But again, sycophants tended to roam in packs, so it was usually a very dangerous situation for a vampire to be caught alone with a sycophant. There were only a few vampires, like Halo and perhaps Rafe and herself, who could take on more than one sycophant at a time. The older the vampire the more powerful, so age had something to do with that ability.
But Danton wasn't talking about sycophants. He was talking about vampires. Fellow vampires. They didn’t consider sycophants vampires any longer. Sentencing a vampire was heavy business and responsibility. It could wear on a soul. And if there was one thing Simone could sympathize with, it was the weight of enormous responsibility on a soul.
So she had granted Danton permission for his hiatus and gave him his pick of assignments. She knew him. He wouldn’t be able to tolerate a slow pace for very long. He would be back. He was a lot like her. He might need a break to recharge, but he would feel useless in a position of little power and less effect.
So she had Rafe send out an email to all princes in the world announcing the opening on the committee and at her left hand. They would in turn filter it down to those who would be interested in the position that that princes felt were worthy of the shot. The only prerequisites? They had to be a high-ranking authoritarian…and they had to be trustworthy enough to serve the queen. That meant selecting their offerings carefully from a limited pool. She would have responses by the end of the day…and they would be of a select few. Rafe would do background on each candidate and provide her with a dossier. She would review them that night and line up interviews the next day. She should have her choice by the end of the workweek. Since it was Monday, she figured that to be an impressive turn around. Of course it could be sooner. She might like someone on the spot.
That was doubtful. Choosing someone to be her left hand would be like choosing a brother or sister from a pool of strangers. Trust would not come instantly. It was the possibility of trust she would be looking for. That was why she was depending heavily on her right hand man, Rafe, to do all the necessary work for her…so she could focus strictly on her senses and feelings on the matter and not the necessary qualifications and experience. She would interview as far as that was concerned of course…but she would get most of her security and information from Rafe.
The responses to the call for an aide to the queen were actually many more than expected. Not that she doubted the ambition of her people, but that so many would be recommended. Of course, each prince would have motivation for sending their best and brightest to her. They could be using a loyal authoritarian to spy on her. She could hardly trust that all the motivations for serving her were pure. Her selection would be more likely to come from a prince she trusted…which numbered in the few rather than the many. But Rafe would take that into account as well. He knew who could be trusted…and who would be suspect.
Rafe did all he necessary legwork, researching the candidates and selecting the top ten that, in his opinion, would suit her. He notified each and told them to get on the next plane to New York for their interviews the next day. She would start interviewing around six tomorrow evening, giving them plenty of time to arrive and settle in.
She took home the dossiers that night and, after pouring herself a healthy glass of chardonnay, she kicked off her shoes and settled onto her couch, her feet tucked up off the floor. She was aware of Darcy in the kitchen, her live in maid of all trades preparing her night meal. It wasn't necessary for vampires to eat food…they gleaned all their sustenance from the taking of energy, but eating was a pleasurable experience and most vampires partook of at least one meal a day. She had her vices as well. Not only was Darcy an excellent chef, she brewed the best coffee in town…a dark elixir Simone could barely get enough of. Caffeine did not affect vampires adversely, it was not addictive as it was in humans, but she did so take pleasure in it in its many forms.
She began to read through the dossiers, studying the faces pictured in each, seeing who appealed to her sense of trustworthiness in their expressions as best she could. It was silly of course, pictures told her nothing, but she tried to get a sense of who had a good face. Not an attractive one, but an honest one.
By the time she went through half of the pile it was time for dinner. Darcy set out a gorgeous spread of food, veal saltimbocca on the menu that night, and Simone brought the files to the table with her in spite of Darcy’s scolding frown.
“I suppose I should just be thankful you’re eating. But you really should relax,” Darcy said to her.
Darcy, a fair haired, slight figured woman of about 5’6’’ was pretty in her special way. She was gentle natured, nurturing and caring, which she would have to be in order to serve Simone in such a personal way. She worked very hard as both her maid, chef and personal assistant. Originally her personal assistant had been a separate position served by a separate person, but when the position had come open a bout a year ago, Darcy had begged her for the work. Since she had come to trust Darcy and Darcy had proven herself to be a hard worker she was very compatible with, she had given the woman a chance. That had been a year ago. Darcy’s devotion to her and her jobs astounded Simone. She would be lost without her and she made certain Darcy was well compensated for her work and that she showed her appreciation for her at every possible opportunity.
They had also become friends. It was hard not to grow that close to someone you spend most of your day with every single day. Especially someone you installed in a position that required a lot of personal exposure and private trust. Darcy knew things about her that no one else knew. She did her laundry for goodness sake. It didn’t get much more personal that that.
Simone refused to let Darcy overwork herself too much, so once a week she had a girl come in from the outside to help her with the more heavy duty cleaning of the week. This usually was on Saturday, when they weren't spending the day downstairs on the lower floors of the vampire business headquarters.
Business and living was done by the vampires in the same large building. All it took to commute was a trip down in an elevator. The building was more than large enough to house all of the vampires who chose to live and work in New York City. Actually, there were a great deal of vacancies in the building, their numbers not being as great as all that. She could hardly imagine how many vampires were needed to fill the building…and the logistics of having them all hunt in the same hunting ground. Sure, there were millions of people in the city, but there were surprisingly few who led a clean lifestyle…i.e. no drugs, be they recreational, an addiction or a narcotic prescribed. They also preferred they led a healthy eating lifestyle too. Too much junk food meant too low a resource of energy…and people who did not care for themselves and what they put into their bodies tasted unpalatable. They would do in a pinch (not the drug users of course) but they were generally to be avoided. It was a little like dumpster diving, you could find something to eat perhaps, but it was always a last resort and it didn’t promise to taste all that good.
Darcy looked over her shoulder at the open dossier on the table. She whistled long and low.
“Oh mama. He’s a hottie. Pick him.”
Simone burst out in a laugh. “I can’t just pick someone because they look hot,” she scolded her.
Darcy shrugged a single shoulder. “Why not? You know Rafe has done an excellent job at finding you the best candidates. Why not base it on sex appeal? It’d be nice having that hanging around.” Darcy growled playfully. “If not for you, do it for me.”
“You’re incorrigible,” Simone said with a chuckle. She looked down at the photo. Darcy was right. The vampire was hot. Unlike most of the other photos, this wasn't a headshot. It was a full-bodied shot, as if someone had taken it when he hadn’t been paying attention as he’d gone about his business on the street. It made her curious. She read it as him not particularly enjoying the time it would take to take a proper I.D. photo. She didn’t know why. Perhaps it was Halo rubbing off on her. He was another who wouldn’t sit still for a headshot. He had to be caught in action when he wasn't paying attention.
She read the name on the file.
Marcus Alliene.
She frowned at the play of his last name. To her he was snubbing his nose at their secret lives by joking around with the word “alien”, which in fact they were. But when she read a little further in his profile she saw he was actually a third generation vampire and so had not chosen the name more than likely.
Curious. A third generation vampire made him significantly younger than she was. Significantly younger than most of them. There were of course many later generations than that, but since vampires were slow to reproduce for a variety of reasons, third generation made him as unique as first generation. He was a mere one hundred and fifty three years old. So young. But old enough, she supposed, to have earned his position. After a certain point age ceased to mean anything. Well, not much of anything. Except to serve as a reminder of just how long they had lived on the planet.
Their agelessness had been a result of a combination of the electrification process and their alien DNA. In fact, it was safe to say all of their vampirism was due to a combination of both. However, there were also several instances where humans had been struck by lightning and found themselves in the same predicament…and some who had been suited to purposely crossing over from mortal to immortal by purposefully recreating the conditions that had changed the vampires initially and subjecting themselves to it. This, however, took a great deal of courage and a good deal of compatibility. There were signs that had to be satisfied. In the past there had been a lot of trial and error in learning how to bring mortal loved ones into the fold of immortal vampirism. Now the signs were more easily recognized. It was easier to tell who would survive such an ordeal and who would not. Still, it was a big risk. But many were willing to risk it in order to enjoy immortality with the vampire they loved. Of course, they had plenty of time to decide. They didn’t have to choose to do it in their youth. Upon successful electrification the aging process would be halted and reversed, bringing that human back to a state of youth and beauty during the prime of their adult life. She had known mortal lovers who had waited until they were in their fifties before risking the transition. Sometimes even later. But most who learned about this potential fountain of youth plunged into the risk headfirst when they were at the peak of their youth and were most willing to dare to risk a new adventure.
She knew of two humans who had made this transition. Neither of them were close friends, merely acquaintances. It was a very rare occurrence and it was likely most didn’t know someone who had gone through the process.
She knew Renee Holden was considering going through it. Rafe’s woman was showing all the signs of compatibility and potential for transition. They didn’t know what made some genetically more likely than others. Some said it was alien DNA that had been seeded into their genetics a long times ago. Potentially even from some of Simone’s kind. Others said it was simply a matter of serendipity. Chance. A genetic fluke. Perhaps even a mutation. It was hard to tell for sure. They had scientists who had studied all of this on a molecular level, but they were still baffled as to what that special thing was that made some humans compatible with transition and others not. Renee was displaying all the markers of one who could.
She was skeptical of transitioning, however, and Simone didn’t blame her. What if she tried to transition and she turned out to not be compatible enough? She could be cutting her life short. Also, in Simone’s opinion their relationship was far too young to start thinking about living together for eons. Marriage between vampires was not like it was for humans. People grew and changed too much to think they would be suited to one another through all of time. A look at the divorce rates between the shorter-lived humans was a testament to that fact. And although vampires were less capricious when it came to choosing a marriageable mate, they also tended to be more devoted to one another. Still. Vampire wedding vows had to be renewed every decade according to vampire law. If the vampires failed to renew their vows the marriage would dissolve and both partners would be free to find others. Very affirming, or an easily achieved escape clause. Every vampire knew that a marriage proposal was not necessarily forever, but it was a commitment of ten years. There was no such thing as vampire divorce. After ten years a relationship could naturally be dissolved. Shortening that period was not in their culture. If you weren’t willing to commit at least ten years than you shouldn’t marry in the first place. For a long-lived species, after all, ten years was not a lot of time.
Then again, it could feel like forever if you found yourself tied to the wrong person.
Simone had never married. She hadn’t even been tempted. Nor had she ever enjoyed a child. That latter one she felt regret over. She thought she might be missing out on something there. But having a child out of wedlock was seriously frowned upon in their society, even in these modern times, and she had simply never found anyone she had been willing to spend at least ten years with…not to mention being connected with that person forever through that child.
Perhaps that made her a selfish creature. Her career had always meant more to her than anything else. At least, it had until recently. She was engaged in her third term as queen of the vampires and she wasn’t certain she wanted a fourth. There were no term limits as far as re-election was concerned. Once a decade, on the anniversary of that decade, a vote was called for and held. Every vampire had a voice. One vampire, one vote…clean and simple. Even more so now with electronic voting methods.
Anyway, she had run away with the vote for all three of her elections. Twenty-five years of service and she was still as popular now as she had been in the beginning. As far as many vampires were concerned she should be queen for the remainder of her life on this planet. She thanked them and was flattered, but she couldn’t imagine doing this for hundreds of years on into the future. The idea of it weighed her down, dragged her under and had her gasping for breath.
Now she wondered if it wasn't time for her to put herself before her people. She had neglected herself for so long she didn’t know if she even knew how to care for her own needs. She didn’t know how to be selfish.
She looked down at the handsome face that was looking off into the distance and not at the camera. It was only a profile shot, but it was enough. She supposed he had no problems taking care of himself, and as she read the file she was assured of that fact. He was, of course, the top of his field, an authoritarian for her cousin, the prince of London, Leopold. That put him high in her favor because she trusted Leopold with her life. He would only send her the best, even if it cost him, and clearly that was what he was doing here. He was sending his best man to her. His very own left-hand man. It was a favor she wouldn’t forget, and she figured Leopold was counting on that fact. He may be her cousin, but he had the concerns of his people to look out for as well and it was a pretty decent marker to have the queen owe you a favor.
That was true of almost all of the offerings before her. These princes had sent her their very best in the hopes of currying favor…and as planting a direct line of information into her inner circle. She would doubt the loyalty of anyone she chose at first. Again, trust would take time and effort. Still, she might never really know if her selection was serving her wholeheartedly or serving the prince that had sent them.
She turned her attention to Marcus’s history. There wasn't much on paper about him. He had been born and raised in London. He hadn’t explored the world much in his life except when his prince did. He had earned his position as Leopold’s man at a young age and had served him faithfully for four decades…even before Leopold had made it into office. Leopold’s reign was exactly as long as Simone’s was. They had been voted in at the same time. Marcus had been Leopold’s companion from before his elevation to prince and had simply followed Leopold when he had been promoted. Leopold had assigned him his position even before he had chosen any other cabinet members. That said something about their relationship and Leopold’s faith in the man. As head of the London authoritarians, Marcus ran a tight ship. He brooked very little in the way of insubordination. On paper he was really quite exemplary.
But so were all of the other candidates. The only thing that set him apart was her infinite trust in her cousin. Her cousin wouldn’t try to plant a spy in her organization. Her cousin knew she was transparent with him. He was the closest thing she had to a brother and their relationship was very much more like brother and sister than it was cousin to cousin.
She wished she could say the same for her other cousin. Sensha, the current prince of Brazil, envied Simone so obviously it was scandalous. She imagined herself next in line to the throne of queen, even though it was far more likely that Leopold would follow in her footsteps…if he so chose. Leo liked running his little principality…if it could be called little. It was the third largest collection of vampires in the world, next to New York, which was her seat and number one in population, and Los Angeles, which was Henry’s seat. There were other princes in California…San Diego and San Francisco, but mostly the vampire population was in L.A. just like it was here in New York City. A building in the heart of the city that housed vampires that chose to live out there and their west coast businesses were run from it as well.
Thinking of L.A. and San Diego made her frown a little. In the past the close city-states had displayed animosity toward one another, competing with each other for God knew what reasons. Each believed they were better than the other; each prince believed there was no need for two princes in such close proximity to each other. Each believed the other should be dissolved.
She had entertained the idea on more than one occasion, but the small gathering of vampires in San Diego deserved a voice of their own. They weren't as large as the L.A. stronghold, but they were large enough to require true representation.
Luckily there were no other states in the United States, other than New York and Texas who had more than one principality within its borders. Texas had Houston and Dallas. New York had the city and Buffalo. Unlike the rivalries between Houston and Dallas, and L.A. and San Diego, New York City had no squabbles with Buffalo. Indeed they were barely big enough to be considered their own principality, so they were of little threat to her. Not that she should feel threatened even if it were otherwise. They were all vampires. Petty bickering did not flatter them and it did not get them anywhere. They should work with one another instead of against each other.
At least the problems between vampire principalities in the states were all bickering. There were those in other countries that had dissolved into all out wars for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was religious matters. Most Vampires were atheistic. They knew too much about what was beyond the world to believe in an all-powerful god that controlled their fate or punished or forgave them. But some had come with a strong belief system that had suited the religions of earth, allowing them to pick and choose what they believed as humans chose what they believed. This meant conflicting religions and beliefs. It meant holy wars. It meant brother alien against brother alien. The only thing that saved them was their universal obedience to their political system, their obedience to their princes and their queen. It had allowed them to come to the table and sign the treaty she had worked so hard on that brought peace to warring factions at long last, turning their focus to the sycophant problem rather than their differences of opinion and belief with each other.
Simone sighed and closed the dossier on the table. All of the candidates were viable. Some appealed to her more than others on paper, but she would have to wait and see about them when she met them in person over the next two days. There was nothing more that could be done by sitting there reading what had already been read. It was her third time going through them and a fourth wasn't going to reveal anything more. She sat back and rubbed her weary eyes. It was time for a hunt. If not tonight than definitely tomorrow night. The idea of going out in the cold of the night made her shiver and she decided to put it off. She would get some sleep, rest her mind, and then she would worry about a hunt.
For now, she finished eating and then headed straight into the shower and into bed.