Alejo [Vampire]

Alejo- Chapter 31

::CHAPTER 31::

I spent a lot of the day in my office talking to various government leaders while Ria was out shopping with Ana and their personal guard. There was going to be a party tonight and Pets were invited to come with their Masters and Mistresses. Loki was going with Ana of course and I was taking Ria with me. It was her debut as a Pet in the world of the privileged humans who were spoiled, pampered and adored by their doting immortals. The sisters seemed only too happy to get to go to one of these things together.

Meanwhile I closed the conference call and leaned back into my seat. There was growing unrest in many countries over the global change in leadership. People weren't too pleased that the leaders who'd been voted in were being controlled by someone they'd never met. They questioned whether an artist was trained and prepared to manage their countries.

I neither needed nor particularly wanted their blessing. In another reality, I would have been the one calling the shots whether or not they knew it was me. They would have had to deal with the same decisions anyway. This way − and I would have thought the humans would appreciate the honesty − it was the same decisions, the same leader, but this time they actually was aware of the face behind the orders. And this is why you don’t let lunch make the important calls.

Naturally, I'd been planning for this fallout. Ordinary people had an irritating need to feel like they have control. I suppose it's why most of them vote, bless their hearts. Unfortunately for them, it made no difference. I was in my rightful place and now they knew who was at the head. I expected the unrest. I expected the complaints and indignation. I'd prepared for the worst.

If they wanted to overthrow me by force − and that was indeed the only way they could − I had protection. My personal army was off on one of my islands under strict supervision and stricter training programs that I devised.

When soldiers gained my trust and approval, as well as a flawless foundation in fighting and weaponry, they were sent to the island. They were trained further when they got there, but under a different regime that still answered to me.

I ensured that the soldiers' time at the castle was so miserable that they'd do anything to leave. They lived a life on the edge. The men spent half of the time feeling uneasy and under sporadic attack. They were jumpy and afraid to sleep too soundly. I knew at least five dozen of them who would sell out their best friend to get a ticket out of here. It was just the way I liked it. As much as I valued their ability to work as a a unit and trust each other, I valued their need to meet my standards more.

They worked hard and listened well. They did what they were told and began to trust that good behavior and skill would be enough to get them to the island. There was rumor that it was a brutal place, but it was refuge compared to this palace of a building. Soldiers weren't beheaded or turned inside out and left to heal that way. They didn't suffer fear and anxiety there the way they did here. I allowed the rumors to continue. I wanted them to dream and to hope. That would fuel less resistance.

I smiled to myself over steepled fingers. Ares was outside the office. I could smell him through the cracked door. He'd been there for the past thirty-two minutes and seventeen seconds listening in on my last conference.

I wondered if he'd purposely waited for that particular call or if he'd just walked by and happened to hear one going on. Both were probable enough. I wasn't an idiot. I didn't underestimate Ares Odin for even a millisecond. If there was anyone who would bring my life crashing down around me, it would not be Loki. It would be Ares. That didn't worry me in the least. It excited me in fact.

Eternity was a tedious thing to be subjected to. Enough so that one would risk losing everything just to see how it would work out − all in the hopes of even a sliver of novelty. It was a wonder that some of the other immortals hadn't gone insane with the tedium.