Chapter 4 (Revised Version)

Blake stood in front of a large display screen, frowning as he ran various scenarios through his mind based on the numbers calculated by his spreadsheets. He held one elbow while his other hand absently played with his lips. It was unconsciously soothing in contrast to the mounting frustration he was feeling as each subsequent projection he tried seemed destined for either a slow demise or a swift failure.

Now that Gabrielle was back in the picture, Blake knew he had to be more careful. That was why he'd left the Arena shortly after she had, going straight home to review his current plans for any possible way to speed them up. He'd been at it for hours, but the spreadsheets didn't lie. It would be at least another year, more likely three, before he could hope to expand his little test case group of Lower Order vampires into a larger network of cells unknown to the Council and under his direct control. No one in the Upper Orders thought it was possible to tame the Lower Orders, but Blake intended to prove them wrong. And with his own private army, it might be enough to tip the balance in his favor and persuade the rest of the Council to remove the threat of the VHA once and for all.

Unfortunately, in every scenario in which he tried to grow the cells too quickly, it became almost a certainty that the groups would be discovered and his connection to them along with it. The VHA were always on the lookout for patterns in the way the Lower Order vampires hunted, sending more patrols to any areas that showed more attacks, usually within days, in order to stake the culprits.

Then there were the Lower Orders themselves, gossiping about the newest members to join their ranks or their latest kills. They had a tendency to talk when they should keep their mouths shut, so any anomalies in group dynamics tended to reach the nearest hunter's ears before dawn.

Of course, the most dangerous threat to Blake's secret plans were the other Upper Orders. Though they were more inclined to be self-involved, there were quite a few who made it their business to maintain the separation between the Lower and Upper Orders.

Ninth Orders, the lowest of the Upper Orders who were usually chosen from among the servants, weren't even allowed to give the Gift and any vampire had the right to ask a Ninth Order point blank if they had done so. If the Ninth Order couldn't honestly reply that they hadn't, it was an automatic death sentence for both themselves and their progeny. Since most Ninth Orders had worked for decades to gain their shot at immortality, few had ever attempted to break that particular rule and they were usually the first to enforce it.

There had also been a recent trend the past few years with some of the Upper Orders taking it upon themselves to keep a watch on some of the more powerful Lower Orders to make sure none of them ever came close to discovering the existence of the Upper Orders. If any of those individuals in particular even caught a hint of his plans, he'd be hard-pressed to avoid the kind of reprisals that might very well involve catching his first sunrise in over 2,700 years.

That was one of the reasons he'd chosen the weak little group he had. He needed to keep them from arousing anyone's suspicions, at least until he could convince the others of the soundness of his plans. But anything that could potentially put their anonymity at risk was seen as a betrayal and betrayal was punishable by death.

However, if he could make them realize that their anonymity was slowly killing them, that the only way they'd ever truly be free was if they claimed their rightful place as rulers over mankind, then maybe he could claim his own destiny as their Sovereign King, rather than serving as merely Gabrielle's Regent.

Blake growled under his breath as he looked over the numbers again. The group was already bordering on too large to go unnoticed. He needed to split them up and—

The intercom buzzed, instantly derailing his thoughts and grating on his nerves.

"Yes? I thought I said I wasn't to be disturbed."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but that woman is here and she insists she must speak with y—"

The disembodied voice was cut off as a new one broke in.

"Blake, we need to talk. Now."

Blake raised an eyebrow as he smirked in amusement. Maybe a distraction wouldn't be so bad right now.

"Fine. Escort the young lady to my study, Tomas."

"Yes, Sir."

Blake powered off the large display and moved to sit at one of the long couches and waited. A few minutes later, Vanessa Brayden entered behind his servant.

Tomas stood at the entrance and waited patiently, but Vanessa strode forward and took a seat opposite Blake. She turned to glance at Tomas over her shoulder.

"You can go now."

Tomas looked to Blake. Blake nodded and the man left, closing the door behind him.

Blake smiled at the young woman.

"You shouldn't take your frustration with me out on Tomas. He's a good servant. And I realize I canceled last night's meeting at short notice, but it couldn't be helped. The First Born arrived without warning and it would've looked suspicious if I hadn't stayed."

Vanessa was already shaking her head.

"It's not that. The VHA hit Ashwood last night. Wiped the place out. It's actually a good thing you weren't there."

Blake stopped breathing for a moment as his face went completely still.

"What?" Blake asked softly.

Vanessa felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up at the deadly quiet tone. She swallowed before slowly giving her report.

"Dana Clark led a raid against the Ashwood complex last night. There were no vampire survivors, but most of the slaves were taken into custody."

Blake stood, pacing away for a moment before turning to face Vanessa again.

"She got all of them?" Blake asked in shock.

"It wasn't just her. Nearly all of Manhattan North was there. But she was the one who made Connor talk. I tried to stop her, I swear. But the rest of those assholes sided with her." Vanessa shook her head in disgust. "So much for upholding the law. And me calling her out like that pretty much blew any chance I had of getting in with her, so that's out now, too."

Blake tried to collect himself.

"Do you know how she discovered them? And what exactly does she know?"

"She said she got the info based on an interrogation. From what I heard my captain say, I think she caught one of the newer recruits and tortured him for the location of the den. Then she scoped it out, realized it had way too many vamps for her to deal with on her own, and set up the raid. I don't think she knows anything beyond that it was a larger den than normal. I think it was just sheer luck she hit it on the night everyone was there to meet you. And none of the slaves know shit, except for that safe house we set up. That's all Connor told them, but that's how they were able to catch up to Malcolm after me an' Connor helped him escape. They've already raided the place, but it's not like there was really anything there, so it's fine. Jordanna was the only one who'd ever even met you, but when Captain Becket came out of her apartment with his team, it sounded like they'd staked everyone without even an attempt at interrogation, so I think you're safe."

Blake nodded.

"At least there's that."

Vanessa slid off the couch and onto her knees as she scooted closer to where he stood and placed her hand on his thigh.

"We can start over. Learn from our mistakes. Maybe even start multiple dens this time, like I suggested before."

Blake frowned at the implied criticism, but he could sense only earnest eagerness in her to do better, to please him. He shook his head as he smiled and cupped her cheek.

"All right, young one. We'll try it your way this time."

Vanessa smiled, nuzzling against his palm, then pushing her head against his thigh. He combed his fingers through her hair for several minutes before rubbing her shoulder. She lifted her head and he moved back over to the couch, patting the cushion next to him. She took her place at his side as he spoke.

"It's too bad you weren't able to make friends with the hunter. It would've been nice to be able to keep tabs on her patrols."

The last time he'd attempted to have someone follow the hunter, the woman had realized it all too quickly and had launched a 3-month investigation into finding out who had put the tail on her. Eventually, he'd been forced to kill the Lower Order vamp himself as well as several servants the hunter had managed to track down in the process. Keeping it all from the Council had been an exercise in obfuscation and misdirection that he had no desire to repeat anytime soon. All of that had taken place several years ago before he'd met Vanessa, but she was aware of the complications his position sometimes created.

"I'm sorry. I made the wrong call. I should've gone along with her, but I was just so pissed that they were killing all our vamps and then... Everyone acts like she's this pillar of moral rectitude, but she's not. None of them are. They try to pretend like they're all high and mighty, but they're just in it so they can kill and torture people whenever they want."

Vanessa shook her head.

"You should've seen her with Connor. I could hear him all the way from one of the other vans, he was screaming so loud from whatever she was doing to him and none of the others even cared. He looked right at me and I know he'd never met me, but I've read his file. I've read all their files. I knew him and he was just so scared."

"Ah, young one. We're in a war, even if it hasn't been declared as such, and in war, there are always innocent casualties. When we've won, we will punish those who deserve it, but you must also remember to show mercy where you can. Not all the hunters believe as she does. Those are the ones you need to find. Don't worry that you couldn't force yourself to betray your convictions. We'll find another way."

"I could kill her for you," Vanessa said quietly.

Blake smiled and shook his head.

"You know I can't sanction that. Every time a hunter dies, we're all asked if we had anything to do with it. You think they won't ask about the death of the greatest hunter of all time?"

"But if I do it—"

"I know about it now. I wouldn't pass the test."

"So if I'd just done it and not told you about it—"

Blake's hand was on her throat in an instant. He didn't squeeze as he leaned in closer to her face, but his eyes were cold with intent.

"You should know, if you ever choose to give such a gift to me, you will probably die for it." He released her and looked away as she rubbed her neck. "I need someone who knows how to obey me."

She lowered her gaze and bowed her head.

"I'm yours to command, you know that."

Blake studied her and nodded.

"Yes, I do. Now, why don't we move on and see what we can salvage from this mess before I have to go to the Council meeting tonight."