Asha sat in her office leaning against her desk, face buried in her hands. The redhead let out an audible sigh, things were gonna get so much more complicated soon and she had no clue how to begin damage control let alone figure out how to solve them.
her imminent and eventual demise haunted her waking moments and conquered her nightmare ridden nights, the wailing and shrieking of Alex resonated in her ears and the images of the devastated blonde made Asha's heart ache a little more. She remembered their brief kiss the day Alex had left, that simple innocent kiss that took her breath away.
A subtle knock on the door brought Asha out of her thoughts and repelled the images of a shattered Alexandra. the redheaded vampire looked up immediately then cleared her throat
"come in" she spoke barely loud enough for whoever knocked to hear. Her voice sounding raspy and restricted, Asha cleared her throat once more to rid herself from the lump that was obstructing her vocal chords.
The door creaked open and a messy head of raven hair peeked inside, at the sight of Asha's reddened eyes and tear-streaked face, the man's features softened. He took a cautious step inside, closing the door behind him gently and locking it, making sure no one saw his friend so vulnerable.
"did you call for me Asha?" he asked while making his presence known.
"yes I have, come in Elia, have a seat" Asha simply spoke and wiped her cheeks of the remainder of the salty liquid that stained her face. Elia moved inside with great ease, he took a seat in one of the black leather chairs lined in front of Asha's mahogany desk.
He locked stares with the redhead trying to convey his understanding and compassion but Asha broke away from his gaze in a matter of seconds. She briefly smiled and cleared her throat for the third time in just a few minutes, minutes that seemed closer to decades.
As she finally regained her composure she was able to speak " I need you to spare a few men and women, four. Two men and two women" Asha spoke gravely, almost whispering, afraid that if she were to speak any louder her voice would betray her and falter, showing how vulnerable she really was at that moment.
Elia nodded absent mindedly "anyone in particular?" he asked with a hint of hesitation, he didn't know what Asha was planning but he knew that spark he saw in her eyes. It was a dangerous spark. A knowing spark. He'd seen it so many times before in the century they'd known each other and it always bore bad news.
"no..." she paused then immediately her face brightened slightly and resumed "actually, yes" she rolled her chair back and stood up, Asha made her way gracefully towards the mini bar and poured herself some single malt scotch offering Elia one, but the raven haired man declined politely.
"I want Gordon, David Genevieve and is Amira back from London?"
Elia wondered for a moment then replied " Gordon is covering for the twins, Don and Dan, David was recovering from injury, he was recently cleared by Cheyenne, Genevieve marked her first human, she hasn't turned him as of yet, and Amira returned yesterday and is currently 'entertaining' someone in her chamber" Elia explained wondering why she requested those specific vampires.
David, the son of a great warrior king from centuries ago belonged to the Etlu clan, his war tactics, both in offense and defense, were sharp and well calculated. the result of merciless training as a human and severe conditioning as a vampire, David possesses killer instinct keeping him three steps ahead of his foe.
Gordon, also from the Etlu clan, a young vampire barely a few centuries old showed great strength and determination and with proper guidance had become one of the top fighters among the vampire ranks. His brute force combined with the fighting methods that were instilled in him by the academy made him a force not the be underestimated. He was the equivalent of ten vampires at such a young age.
Genevieve, one of the first additions to the Sha'ol clan, was one of the few to review her clan's traits before receiving the proper training. As a result Marduk took her under his wing as his protégé, she excelled in magic and medicine alike much to Marduk's joy.
As for Amira, part of the Kishargal clan, she was one of Asha's most prideful creations and one of Ishtar's most esteemed descendants along with Asha and Viktor , she possessed legendary Arabian beauty, beauty of which poets in the old age once praised and lusted after. her beauty and wit were only enhanced by the gift bestowed upon her by Asha, a gift she truly deserved to retain. She is a true seductress, like a single floating flame, once you've reached to grasp it, it'll burn away your flesh.
Asha nodded decisively "clear their tasks get the twins back on their job, send Genevieve's human to the academy, start his conditioning now, inform Amira to cut down on her extra activity and rest for the night, gather them tomorrow in my office around four" Asha concluded and gulped down her drink.
Elia nodded, easy enough right? He thought and was about to turn around and leave but his curiosity got the best of him "what would their new assignments be?" he asked calmly, inwardly hoping he didn't get on the redhead's bad side
"go now Elia, we can discuss that tomorrow, from now on they answer only to me" Asha concluded dismissively, Elia didn't dare press the issue any further and took his leave. When the door clicked shut the redhead sighed and shook her head, a deep frown was etched onto her features and it didn't seem it was about to go away anytime soon
Ishtar and Viktor sat at the back of 'La Maison Du Café' in a dimly lit booth, the staff and other customers left them alone undisturbed in the secluded part of the shop. Ishtar sat facing Vick, her black eyes trailing a blonde waitress from afar. The elder's deadly gaze was fixed onto the angelic looking waitress as she watched her like a predator stalking its prey, a monster hiding in the dark waiting for its chance to strike.
Ten minutes into their conversation, Vick had enough of the constant staring and snapped in a hushed yet very aggressive tone at Ishtar
"stop staring at the damned girl, she's probably noticed by now!" he warned looking over his shoulder at the seemingly unsuspecting waitress as she picked up a few dishes from a table near the front. His voice was angry and flustered at his elder's inconspicuous actions.
"mind your tongue Vick, and your own business as well! I'm no child and I am certainly not your inferior for you to snap at me!" Ishtar snared back breaking her unwavering gaze from the girl's back and setting in on the slightly cowering form of Viktor. He lowered his gaze from the elder's furious dark pools that shimmered with a hint of anger at the disrespect he'd shown her and squired under her harsh gaze.
"I'm sorry milady I was out of line, but if Asha knew you were here, if she knew what you'd done..." he began but was cut off by an enraged elder
"if she knew what I had done she'd thank me! One way or another I'm keeping a eye on this girl, whoever she is" she answered defensively .
it was rare for this level headed elder to lose her calm demeanor and her stoic exterior in such cases but when came to Asha, she lost her temper very easily. When it came to her favorite descendant, Ishtar was more irrational, severely overprotective and unreasonable.
No price was high enough, no feat dangerous enough if it meant that her precious Asha would acquire what she desired. To the raven haired elder, Asha was a precious gem that required protection even though the redheaded vampire was more than capable of handling herself.
(Part I is up! Yay!!! Pics of Amira, David, Gordon and Genevieve on Pinterest! Posting a link soon, READ, VOTE, COMMENT! )
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