Chapter 15

USU'OZEIB 7
CAPITAL CITY OF DWURI

Yuri sat up quickly in the bed, her face and neck laced with a fine sheen of sweat, the thin loose shirt she wore spotted with sweat stains in several places as well. The bedroom was dark except for the lights of the capital drifting in through the large floor to ceiling windows that open onto a balcony. Yuri turned her head quickly in the dim light of the room to see that his eyes were still closed and his naked chest rose and fell evenly. Robert's large and spacious apartment was in one of the more modern buildings within the city and the window balcony view from his bedroom was quite beautiful. Yuri gently extracted her body from under the sheet, the shirt she wore belonging to Robert and falling to just above her thighs. She moved to the balcony doors where she pulled them open slowly and felt the cool breeze caressing her skin and drying the sweat. It was a wonderful night really, the weather changing now on Usu'Ozeib 7 and becoming warmer in the days and evenings, actually allowing them to enjoy a dinner in one of the outdoor cafés within the city center. When they returned to Robert's home, the place she considered her home as well, her true husband had proceeded to fuck her senseless as he always did, leaving Yuri crying out his name and yearning for more of his touch. Though she was officially married to the son of one of her father's strongest supporters, Robert Moran was the only man to have ever fed on Yuri's blood, and the only man she considered her husband.

Yuri smiled as the soreness between her thighs vividly reminded her of what they had experienced together. It seemed that the more time they spent exploring each other in bed, the more their pleasure only increased. Yuri already knew without a doubt she would much rather meet Robert for lunch and be in public with him, showcasing the affection he openly showed for her, then be the arm Princess of the man who was her husband by name only. It was selfish of her she knew, but Robert never once treated her like she was a prize, probably because he already had her love and he was completely comfortable in that knowledge.

This may have been Moran's apartment but it was also her home as well really and that knowledge sent warm sensations through Yuri.

Yuri spent almost no time at the home she shared with her Pureblood vampire husband, preferring to come here and lounge about and sleep in this place even when Robert was not here. She had helped to decorate most of the large apartment, and while she was not Lycavorian and did not have their animalistic sense of smell, Yuri swore she could almost smell Robert within the walls of this apartment. While she would never admit how she felt to anyone for fear of appearing weak, Yuri took great comfort in what his presence gave her. She had grown to hate the pompous pureblood vampire bastard who played the part of her husband. She hated him even more than she hated Leonidas, and that was saying quite a bit. He was considerably younger than her, and unlike his father who was a well respected and renowned fleet officer, Vavant was an arrogant fool who preferred the halls of politics to serving in the High Coven fleet, and he only used the influence of his father when he wanted something. He treated Yuri as a possession, a trophy of sorts, and whenever she attended a High Level function with him as was their station, he always made sure to paw and manhandle her body in every way he could to make an impression for the others who attended.

Vavant hated the fact that she spent more time here than she did in their home, and it enraged him that it wasn't him who shared her bed on a regular basis, but the humanoid genome officer that she had turned. Her pompous husband also hated the fact that Veldruk had promoted Robert Moran to Senior Commander himself in a private ceremony, after Moran's actions in defeating Admiral Pontal so handily.

Yuri turned in the open doorway and looked back to the sleeping form of her only true husband. Yuri would never be able to explain what Moran did to her that so captivated her attention and her love. He was one of the most ruthless men she had ever met, and that was part of his appeal to her. When Yuri had turned him, his genome DNA and his vampire genes had come together and bonded in such a way that he became far more than a simple vampire soldier. He was stronger and faster, and in many respects superior to many pureblood vampires. He already had a cold and calculating mind, and when Yuri had turned him, she had given him the means to be perfect in every way. At least in his eyes.

Yuri remembered that night vividly. Robert had pummeled her tight body for three hours without pause, taking her in every position she could have imagined, making her scream out her pleasure and his name. When he had pulled her into his lap afterwards, his arms crushing her naked body to his as she sank her long fangs into his neck, he had known what she was. He had not drawn away in fear or surprise as she would have expected. His arms had pulled her closer, tighter against him, almost crushing her small frame against his hard body as she fed; willingly offering himself up to what she was making him. This fact and the fact that he could and did fuck her senseless caused Yuri to turn him completely that night, draining him entirely and then offering her own blood to him as he hung on the very abyss of death. Something within her told her this is what she wanted to do. As she sat with him during his rebirth, she had gazed long and hard at the only person she had ever turned in her life, and Yuri realized at that moment that he would play a major role in her future. How much a role he would play in her life Yuri would not discover for many years, but when it came to her eighteen months ago, she had embraced it completely, and now she belonged to him, as he belonged to her.

Robert surpassed Vavant so much in every regard that it was sometimes laughable. They were comparable in terms of physical proportions, though Robert's tanned body was much more defined and he outstripped Vavant by a good margin when it came to the size of his cock. Robert had won her father's respect on his own merits, never allowing Yuri to do anything for him. He had told her he would prove to her father he was worthy of her all by himself. And he had done just that over the last fourteen months by doing something no pureblood vampire fleet commander had ever done before. He had defeated the legendary Admiral Pontal in open fleet warfare, and done so with a flare that still had many officers talking in whispers at the academy and within the fleet. Vavant used his position to spend as much time near her father and try to influence him as much as he could.

This was the longest stretch of time they had been able to spend together in nearly a year, and Yuri cherished every moment of it. The last two nights in a row she had been awakened by something she could not explain, sweat rolling off her skin. She had said nothing to Robert, simply moving to the kitchen area and making herself some warm tea before returning to the bed and the warmth of his arms. This night was different, the dreams so much more vivid and real. And central to that dream was the face of Martin Leonidas and the young half breed daughter she had given birth to.

Yuri had waited for ten days to give their code technicians time to try and break the pirate code. When they were unsuccessful she had gone to her father and discussed what Vonis had brought up. Her father had agreed and Yuri had arranged a meeting with the weakest of the Overseers in The Wilds. He was a weasel of a man, rat like in more than just his appearance, and it had been a simple matter of offering him several million Ducat and a dozen of the new High Coven Runners when they came into full production. Yuri had been stunned to discover that Lisisa had been brought to a planet within High Coven space. As the Overseer and his people began to unwrap more and more of the encryption, he had told her just yesterday they would have the exact location within two days. The Hadarian witch he had told her, had added several layers of encryption to the files, but it would only add a few hours to the deciphering process. He had come through for Yuri so far, and she had no doubts he would get the location for her. She had an entire Strike Wing ready to depart and collect Lisisa from wherever she was, and she would command the Wing personally.

Yuri turned from the door and walked into the main room of their home and she padded across the huge living room. His position as her consort allowed him the entire floor of this building and he had certainly used every portion of the floor, knocking down some of the walls for the openness, and adding others. Robert Moran did not like to be cold, much like Yuri and no matter where you walked there were thick plush carpets covering the floor, not to mention blankets neatly tossed as decorations across the numerous pieces of furniture in the main room. They were pieces of furniture that they had used on many mind blowing nights of sexual experiences, not to mention the soft rugs that dotted the main room. Yuri was sure not one of those rugs was untouched by their combined juices by even a small amount. When he was truly in a mood, Robert could go on for hours, much to Yuri's eternal delight.

She moved into the small kitchen and went immediately to the dispenser, entering the code for light Trellian Tea. It was a soft soothing blend from a race of beings that had willingly joined the High Coven thousands of years ago, and even to this day were steadfast allies. Yuri drew it out of the dispenser and brought it to her lips, savoring the tangy flavor as she moved to one of the smaller couches that sat facing the large wall length window and allowed the view and lights of the capital city of Dwuri to bath the main room. As her dark eyes fell on the cityscape before her, Yuri felt the powerful but almost imperceptible tremor within Mindvoice and she opened her awareness just enough to engulf that tremor.

It woke you as well Yuri. Her father's voice filled her mind.

It has for the last two nights. Yuri replied calmly, relishing in the power of her father's presence in her mind. What do you think it is father?

To have woken us up daughter, it is powerful and untrained. A strong presence ... it is close ... but still on the edges of perception. I reached out to touch it ... and then it was ripped away from me, and that shock is what woke me up. Veldruk spoke.

Yuri nodded gently, picturing her father doing much the same thing as she was doing in the palace on the other side of the city. Yuri's mother Aikiro was the only woman to have occupied Veldruk's bed in almost two thousand years now. She had given him four strong children, though Xerxes had allowed his arrogance to be his undoing, and even though her father had strayed and had a daughter with his royal concubine, Veldruk had always remained with her mother. When Isabella had betrayed them all and attempted to escape off world to join the Union, Veldruk butchered Isabella's mother in front of her for helping her and even though many pureblood females had offered themselves to him since, he has steadfastly refused to take another concubine. Yuri knew after talking with her mother that he had rediscovered Aikiro in ways that they had not explored before, and that discovery had resulted in the birth of her sister who was growing rapidly but was still less than a year old.

Father ... it was almost as if someone very powerful erected shields to block this presence and hide its existence. Yuri spoke.

I had thought of that. Veldruk said. The only ones powerful enough to erect shields we could not penetrate are that dog Leonidas and his whore Queens. And in order for him to do that for this presence we felt, he would have to be nearby.

He would never risk coming into High Coven space father. Yuri spoke confidently. He is many things, but foolish is not one of them.

Yuri could almost feel her father nod in agreement. I agree ... which means it must be one of his Queens combined with the power of her dragon. We know that all of them except Isabella have bonded with dragons correct?

Yes ... and any of them could do this if it was augmented by their dragon. Yuri said. All of them have grown far more than our intelligence people said they would. Especially that raven haired slut Aricia.

Veldruk chuckled within their connection. We can rule out the elf Queen, for she and her dragon are on Elear, which means it must be the flame haired Hadarian witch or this Aricia that you hate so much.

I will send out a general inquiry to our people on Apo Prime, perhaps one of them knows where Leonidas's Queens have gotten too. Yuri said calmly. It could take several days for one of them to get back to us, but I would put my money on Aricia.

I would tend to agree. She is the more powerful of his whores, and according to what information we have been able to obtain, she has become just like Leonidas in many regards. Veldruk spoke.

I should hear something from that fool Overseer later today or tomorrow on the location where Lisisa was taken Father. Yuri said.

Once you have the location Yuri, bring the abomination back here, get what we need from her and then feed her to the Rock Spiders. Veldruk spoke distaste very evident in his voice. At least then we will be free of that event in our lives. One which I regret ever having to put you through.

We made that decision together father. Yuri spoke. I keep telling you that.

Perhaps...

Yuri turned and lifted her head when she felt Robert's fingertips caress her shoulder and then move to the softness of her neck. She smiled up at him. I will talk with you later today father.

She could have sworn she heard her father chuckling as she broke the connection to turn her full attention on her husband.

ELEAR

Dysea looked up as Isabella walked back into the main room of their suite carrying the small data scroll. Her bare feet padded softly on the cool polished tile floor and then the sound was gone as she stepped onto the thick rug. Neither of them had changed from their sleeping clothes yet, and for both of them, their sleeping clothes consisted of one of Martin's formal uniform shirts which dwarfed both of their bodies. Isabella waved the data scroll as she settled back onto the couch next to Dysea and lifted her tea with the other hand.

"The daily spaceport entries." Isabella said casually. "And Marci's daily intelligence report."

Dysea sipped her own tea as she lowered the data pad she had been reading to the table in front of the couch where they sat. "You are checking the daily spaceport entries?" She asked. "Bella why?"

Isabella nodded. "If my half brother is going to attempt another assassination he will bring in off world assistance from member states of the Union. We knew this ussta she-elf. I simply had all the port entries of non-elves coming from Union worlds over the last three days condensed into one report and I am reviewing it."

"Deia would not approve of that action Bella." Dysea spoke with a small smile. "She would say it violates their right to privacy."

"Then Deia can come here and take not only my place as main target but yours as well." Isabella said.

"Having someone trying to kill you all the time is really becoming quite tiresome." Dysea said with a sigh leaning back on the couch.

Isabella smiled and leaned forward, brushing her lips against her elf lover's neck and the bottom of her ear lobe. Dysea grinned and tilted her head slightly towards Isabella's lips as she felt the tiny shudders of pleasure ripple through her at Bella's actions. "Be thankful you and I ... we must be thankful we are not Martin." Isabella spoke softly. "He will always have a target painted on his chest, for as long as he lives now."

Dysea's head came up slightly and she stared at Isabella's hazel/green eyes with a shocked expression at her words. "Bella ... I ... I never once thought about that in regards to him. Not in those terms at least. You ... you are so very right!"

Isabella nodded slowly. "It is why he dealt with Joric so brutally. So savagely." Isabella looked down as if she was deep in thought. "Many may accuse him of not being a diplomat and unintelligent, and they would be correct about the diplomat part, but Martin Leonidas is also the most perceptive man I have ever met in political terms. And he is also the most intelligent man I have ever known. He knew what he was doing even then. He was shaping the future Dysea. Our future."

Dysea leaned forward now. "What do you mean Bella? We all saw it happen. He dealt out Spartan justice, yet you speak as if it was something else."

Isabella lifted her face again and met her beautiful elf lover's emerald green eyes and shook her head slowly with a thin lipped smile. "It was something else ussta she-elf. What Martin did was not Spartan justice Dysea, he was sending a very specific message ... a message to all who would do us harm." Isabella spoke softly. "He was telling them he is fair game ... but that Aricia, you, Anja, For'mya and even me ... we are off limits to personal attacks of any kind. How he killed Joric ... that was his way of saying this is what will happen to anyone who crosses that line. He obliterated a sovereign government to get Aricia back. A government that had joined the Union and plotted against us yes, but you must see it in the way he did it. The precision and ruthlessness. He destroyed it completely Dysea, from the very foundations that Chetak had built. Not even my father is fool enough to tempt his wraith in regards to you and the others."

"But Aricia is his Soulmate." Dysea said evenly, as if that information did not faze her in the least, which in fact it didn't. "That is why he acted as he did. He loves us all yes, but she is his Fea. His purpose for going on."

Isabella smiled and set the data pad aside before moving closer to Dysea, pulling her lover into her lap, their bodies touching very intimately in all the right places, just as Isabella had planned. Isabella had finally discovered what love felt like with this elven female, and not just the explosive nights they had spent making each other cry out in blissful abandon. She and Dysea had connected in an emotional way that went far deeper than just sex. The same way that she had connected with Martin. What they had was far beyond just physical pleasure, and Isabella was quickly learning that she meant more to Martin and the others than even she first thought. She remembered the night before they left Apo Prime to come here. Aricia, Anja and For'mya had shown her that they did not care in the least that she was a vampire. They had shown her pleasure until she was withering beneath their caresses, and she had eagerly returned the attention, feasting on all of them in those hours together. And then they had shown her love as the six of them ended up in a mass of flesh, their limbs entwined with each others until it was impossible to see where one of them ended and one of them began, all of them sleeping the sleep of the content.

Isabella kissed her softly and took her hands. "Aricia is his soulmate yes. His Ano. The one he could not live without according to Lycavorian legend." Isabella said using the ancient Lycavorian language. "But do not think for an instant that Martin Leonidas would not blaze a path across the stars for you. For me. For Anja or For'mya. We are each a part of him ussta she-elf, just as he is a part of us. He would never forsake us ... never leave us. And he would utterly and completely destroy anyone or anything that attempted to take us from him, or hurt us in any way. He has formulated plans within plans Dysea, and even now he plans for the future of the Lycavorian Union should he be killed. That future is Aricia, Anja, you For'mya and I; and the children we will give him. It is why he dealt with Chetak and Joric as he did. But in doing that, in assuming that burden and it is not a burden to him, he knows that no matter where he goes he will be a target. And that does not trouble him in any way."

Dysea stared at her for a long moment. "How do you know this Bella?"

Isabella chuckled gently. "I may not have shared his bed yet Dysea, but I have picked his brain on many occasions." She smiled coyly. "He has also used my knowledge of the Coven in some instances. I believe I have come to represent Martin's darker nature Dysea."

Dysea looked at her like she was crazy. "Bella ... you..."

"No ... listen to me ussta she-elf." Isabella said softly. "I want you to know and I want you to understand more than anyone. We all have darkness in us Dysea."

"I know that Bella." Dysea said. "I..."

Isabella put a finger to Dysea's soft lips stopping her words. "Listen to me she-elf." She said more firmly, "Or I will bite you in a most delicious spot to silence you." Dysea huffed at her words, her face twisting into a feigned mask of confusion and anger, and she folded her arms across her ample chest.

"I am a vampire Dysea." Isabella spoke. "What you have shown me ... what you show me every day, I cherish above everything I have ever known. I love you ussta she-elf, with every fiber of my existence, just as I have now come to love Martin. I just want you to understand that I am vampire, Martin is Lycavorian, and both of us have darker sides to us Dysea. Much darker than what others might believe." She took a deep breath. "I do not want to frighten you my love, but you must know this. If anything were to happen to you, if anyone were to hurt you in any way, take you from me; Dysea ... I would not hesitate, I would not pause, and I would not question. I would become far more brutal than those I was facing and I would not stop until you were back in my arms. I pray you never see that part of me my love, for I don't know if you could love me if you did. I do know for certain that Martin ... the darkness in Martin is not something that any of us wants to see unleashed. The day he breaks those chains and releases the darkness within him Dysea, that day many will die horrible deaths." Isabella lowered her head slightly. "I tell you this because only you know me as well as I know myself. I have never shared with anyone what you know of me Dysea, and I don't want to ever lose you."

Dysea grasped Isabella's face in her hands and glared at her with those emerald green eyes. She didn't hesitate in the least and she crushed her lips upon Isabella's, feeling Bella's arms wrap around her waist as the kiss they shared seared both their souls to the core and was a commitment of love and honor that neither of them wanted to let go of. Dysea pulled her head back, a thin strand of salvia connecting their lips for just a moment, and she reached up to caress Bella's soft pink lips with her fingers.

"As Nauta Melme will never forsake one of us Bella, I will never forsake my love for you." Dysea spoke. "As fate and destiny brought us together Bella, only fate and destiny can tear us apart. With Nauta Melme in our lives all I need is you Isabella, if that is what you wish of me."

Isabella shook her head quickly. "No. Fate has brought all of us together. It has entwined the fabric of our lives together so tightly we need to feel each other, physically as well as emotionally. We could no more deny their touch upon us then they could deny our touch upon them." Isabella smiled shyly. "And ... there is always Anja's tongue to consider. She is so very skilled with that incredible appendage of hers."

Dysea laughed and kissed her hard, her fingers tracing the contours of Isabella's ears and jaw line. "Melyanna is certainly talented with her tongue." Dysea said almost breathlessly after breaking their kiss. "However ... I prefer the taste of sweet lilacs."

Isabella smiled as she looked at Dysea, hazel/green eyes alive and bright. "You were reading the Wainn City calendar of events."

Dysea nodded. "This cult ... they call themselves The Order of Arte ... they have to file the proper permits to gather and I had the schedule pulled as well. They usually gather at the city Amphitheater once a week, and are scheduled to do so tomorrow in the late afternoon and early evening."

"I take it we will be going to this gathering." Isabella said.

Dysea smiled. "I want to hear what they have to say before I let Arzoal know what we have discovered. They may be just fanatics using that name, or they could very well be part of what Arzoal fears. Iriral returned to the Dragon Island early this morning to try and obtain more information."

Isabella nodded. "I was going to visit the Elven Constable in the city center later this morning." She said looking at Dysea with a twinkle in her eyes. "He has something that he says we might find interesting."

"What time?" Dysea asked.

"I told him eleven hundred hours." Isabella spoke. "I know how hard it is for you to get up and moving in the morning."

"Bella ... that's still two hours from now." Dysea said.

"Yes I know." Isabella spoke.

Dysea's eyes never left Isabella's face as she lifted a hand and used her TK power to lightly tap the control panel by the main door, dropping the security locks back in place, as well as the voice and optical absorbing screens as well.

"We won't be disturbed now." She spoke seductively as Isabella's hands came up and slowly undid the buttons of Dysea's white shirt and pushed the two sides of the shirt apart, exposing Dysea's firm full breasts to her hungry eyes. Dysea's nipples were already eraser hard and standing out proudly, begging for attention.

Isabella's eyes turned to vampire cobalt blue as she gazed up into Dysea's gorgeous eyes. "Good ... because I intend to have you screaming my name in minutes."

"Ah ... Bella ... you misjudge my will power." Dysea said with a smile. "You..."

Her emerald eyes flew open wide as Isabella's warm lips and tongue engulfed her right nipple and suckled hard, her vampire fangs nibbling ever so deliciously on her stiff bud, but never causing pain. Isabella's right hand slid behind Dysea's back dropping lower over her buttocks at the same time, and her index finger buried itself within Dysea's incredibly tight ass.

"No ... that is not ... not fair Bella!" Dysea complained in a gasp of fiery pleasure as her body ignited.

"I know." Isabella growled.

HOPE'S QUEST
LYCAVORE SYSTEM
TWO HOURS FROM LYCAVORE

How does that feel Jeth? Martin asked the young dragon hatchling as he opened his eyes and looked at him.

They sat in the cargo hold of HOPE'S QUEST, Jeth settled on the deck in front of where Martin and Helen sat lotus style. Torma was to Martin's immediate left, Miath to Helen's right. All of their heads were leaning towards each other, all of them touching in some manner. When Martin spoke to Jeth, their eyes opened as well and they began to lean back.

Jeth opened his Maya colored blue eyes slowly, his wings folded back along his sides in a comfortable sitting position. He focused them on Martin and blinked several times.

It ... it feels strange King Martin. Jeth answered.

Martin nodded with a small smile and looked at Torma. It worked my brother. We did it. He said.

Then it was Lisisa? Torma asked softly.

Helen opened her eyes completely as well and looked at Torma. Yes, and she is far stronger than we first thought. She just is not aware of it yet. She replied slowly getting to her feet, and taking Martin's hand as she did. You and Miath will need to show Jeth the first Levels of Shielding and Control Torma, before we reach Lycavore. I know it is years before he would learn them normally, but we have to improvise now and he is strong enough. Helen turned and looked at Jeth. And you need to start thinking before you act foolishly.

First Oracle I...

Helen shook her head and lifted her hand, stepping closer to Jeth. Your actions have put all of us at risk young dragon. Helen's voice within their minds was sterner than Martin had ever heard it. You are less than a year old Jeth, and now Martin, your father and Miath must teach you things that dragons do not learn unless they are part of Mjolnir's Hand! And most certainly not before they are at least ten years old!

I needed to come on this mission First Oracle! Jeth spoke maintaining what he had been saying since they had discovered he stowed away.

Jeth you will... Torma's growl and words made his son cringe in fear.

No Torma. Helen spoke once more, her voice softer now as she looked up at the obsidian colored dragon. He is correct in what he says. Somehow he knew ... something told him Lisisa was to be his bonded sister. That alone says quite a bit. And just as Elynth is beginning to already bond with Androcles Torma, Jeth and Lisisa will now start. It seems that you and Isheeni were meant for this role. Just as your children are meant for theirs. We can no more deny destiny than we can deny ourselves. This is how it will be. Helen looked at Martin quickly and then back to Torma. You felt it ... just like we all did?