I used his now still chest to push myself up on steady hands, puffing a loose hair out of my face I considered the head, barely attached to the side of the vampire's shoulders. Then I retrieved the short sword at my back, while I swung the sword in...
"Roderick Keats, Archon vampire of Sierra territory. Age and origin are unknown. Is it common to not know those details about an Archon?" I asked. Through many years of repetition, it was easy to perform the physical task of the forms while still conversing with Hugo.
"No, it is not. It is uncommon in any vampire, most vampires go on and on about their lineage. Like in any type of politics, it's important who your connections are and what they can do for you. It bothers me that no one seems to know anything about his origins, though age doesn't necessarily mean power it certainly could mean intelligence."
I didn't bother telling them that if I got close enough I would be able to tell his age by feeling his power signature. I kept that secret along with anything else that might make me seem weird or possibly more than human. Ever since I'd hit puberty, when more than my boobs showed up, I'd been hiding anything abnormal from everyone. Hell, I've been hiding it from myself, not even I really knew what I was capable of anymore. Unless I was on a job I shut down my ability to read power signatures, besides who wanted to know that their dry cleaning lady was really a wolf shifter. I spent my evenings with monsters, seeing them everywhere I went would make me feel all kinds of schizophrenic.
"Mr. Keats also has many different businesses in the area, as well as, overseas. With a corporation that has many different facets, I don't really care about. He also has several nightclubs, bars, and restaurants. He seems to have a very high profile life for a bloodsucker," I said as I neared the end of my stances with Daniel. Also, I was at the end of the information I knew about Keats.
"That is all true. He also has numerous connections in the human world and in the supernatural community. The estate he lives on is outside the city and is said to house over thirty vampires, not to mention the human employees and guards. It would be impossible to infiltrate even with a ten man team." He paused giving me a serious look as if that information would deter me. When I made no obvious signs of discouragement he continued.
"When in public he travels with an entourage of at least three other vampires and a mix of humans. There is no way to get close enough to kill him without drawing the attention of the others."
While he talked Daniel and I had moved on to sparing, working on various grappling techniques. I went through the motions as I took the time to analyze what Hugo was saying. The chances of entering his estate and not being detected were very low, so a stealth approach wouldn't work. A public hit would mean certain death, add that he couldn't be taken out with long-range weapons less I would be willing to blow up a whole city block with him. As much as I wanted to argue, I knew Hugo wasn't just trying to scare me off the job but simply stating facts.
"Well he has to be alone some of the time," I said putting up a hand to pause Daniel's advance.
"Probably only when he feeds or fu---," Daniel caught himself just in time, "or is intimate" he finished lamely while wiping sweat from his upper lip with the back of his hand.
"Well I'm not interested in being food," I stated simply. After a few minutes of silence, I realized both guys were gawking at me. Then I saw what my statement had left out as a possibility. "Well, I won't have to actually sleep with him," I said as a plan started forming in my head.
"Have you seen him yet?" Hugo asked me.
"I don't see how that is relevant," I huffed starting to feel annoyed. Hugo curled his finger bidding me to come over, of course, Daniel followed. When I made it to Hugo's side he held up his tablet which displayed a picture filling its screen. The vampire I assumed to be Roderick had a long strong face accented with piercing blue eyes and his honey blond hair fell to his shoulders in a designer cut that probably cost a few hundred dollars. The long hair should have softened him, but it only added to the suggestion that this was a man from a time when battle and rigorous physical labor shaped men into hardened warriors.
Next, to me, Daniel gave a whistle, "That is one good looking man. If I wasn't so handsome myself I might even feel a tad bit insecure."
"So what relevance does his attractiveness have to the mission," I asked. But they guys didn't respond they just looked at me without really making eye contact. "Are you guys saying he wouldn't sleep with me?" I blurted out. My ego was at risk of being bruised when they both laughed, however, I tried to brush it off as I walked away handing Hugo his tablet back. After a few moments, they both sobered and watched me.
"Stop sulking and come back over here," Hugo told me.
"I'm not sulking, just waiting for you two to be useful," I said as I walked back over to them.
"Look here, this is Roderick Keats' on again off again lover."
With my arms crossed over my chest I looked down at the tablet. The woman on the screen was in a slinky evening gown and looked every bit of a classy European model. With light blond hair pulled off of a beautiful, symmetrical face, her eyes far spread enough to look exotic with pale blue irises. But above all that she held herself with grace and confidence that every man on the planet found sexy. I let out a huff of breath and handed the tablet to Daniel, obvious in his want of a closer look.
Self-esteem was not something I struggled with since I didn't date, therefore never really thought about my physical appearance outside of utilitarian purposes. Logically I could understand what the guys were saying, it wasn't that I was unattractive or even that I was plain. Genetically speaking I had a lot of things to be thankful for, I was well proportioned along my five-foot-eight-inch frame. My Italian mother passed on the olive skin tone and dark hair, as well as, wide hips and a generous bust. I had a pretty face with strong cheekbones and a full lower lip, even if there was a slight bump in my nose. But those physical traits weren't what had Hugo and Daniel so skeptical of my chances with the bachelor.
They must have been thinking of my confident, albeit sometimes aggressive, walk or my well-toned body that made looking feminine most of the times a challenge. Or it could possibly be what they liked to refer to as my resting bitch face. I asked Daniel to continue the spar session so I could evaluate everything they said and what I knew. Turning my frustration at their doubts towards the physicality of the familiar motions of fighting. Both boys tried to apologize thinking they hurt my feelings, but I didn't need them as I began to work out a plan in my head.
Sensing my distraction neither man tried to stop me or talk to me as I left the dojang and headed home. I was nothing if not a girl that liked a good challenge. So I needed to go find out what it would take to make a very powerful, rich, handsome vampire want to have sex with me.
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Daniel
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