The Breed 2
By Dream Janus
Disclaimer: All rights are protected and the story cannot be reproduced without permission.
This story is a work of fiction and contains scenes of gay sex between consenting individuals. If you find this offensive, are under the age of 18, it is illegal wherever you are to read this, stop reading now. Leave this site. If you are offended by harsh language, please exit this page immediately. You have been warned. This work of fiction is property of myself and may not be copied or used in any way without my express consent.
Much thanks and appreciation goes to Rubilacxe and Flyboy38 my editors and second & third set of eyes.
Note from Dream Janus: I now have a presence in Yahoo groups.
On Yahoo it is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dream_janus_stories/
If you want, I can be emailed at dreamjanus@yahoo.com.
Chapter 1 "Transitions"
The plane's interior was very stylized with wood accents. It had an ornate entry, a dining area, a meeting area, an office, and a bedroom onboard. The office and meeting areas each had computer access and the plane was totally wireless internet accessible. Toban sat down in the office and buckled the seatbelt in preparation for take-off. His thoughts were not about the mission but what the future held and he smiled.
Just before the plane was due to take off; a woman that Toban did not know entered the plane followed by Junior and Karl. Each of them was carrying duffel bags and the woman also was carrying a laptop computer bag. Toban heard them enter the plane before he actually saw them.
The woman walked up to Toban and introduced herself: "My name is Tash'sel`nar, the Ancient sent me to act as your secretary."
"Well Tash, you better sit down and buckle up; that noise means we will be moving any second." Toban said with a bit of humor as the jets engines began to whine in preparation for takeoff.
Junior and Karl both laughed as they had already stowed their gear and sat down. Toban was in fact upset that Antino sent a female secretary. It was not the fact that she was sent; just that she was a female. With a female around Toban felt restricted and he knew that Antino would know that.
Five minutes after the plane took off Toban shut the door to the office, shutting out Tash'sel`nar, Junior, and Karl. He then was on his cell phone with Antino asking: "Why did you send me a female secretary?"
"Toban, I have no idea what you are talking about." Antino said softly with confusion in his voice. "I did not send you any secretary, let alone a female."
Toban was now furious; the woman had to be a plant from someone wanting to know his business. "I have to let you go now so I can throw someone from the plane." Toban said with a growl.
"Hold your temper, love." Antino said lovingly but with undeniable authority. "She may have been sent to you by another Ancient." His smile was evident even through the phone. "I know that the others contacted you the other day." Antino explained. "Nothing involving them gets past me."
"It was never my intention to hide it from you." Toban said with an apologetic tone.
"I never thought you did." Antino said with a continued smile. "They just try to get around me when they want something and it never works. I always find out." He then laughed.
They talked for a few more moments as Toban calmed down and began setting out the work folders that he needed to work on before landing. Once the paperwork was where and how he wanted, Toban stood and headed to the front of the plane.
"Tash'sel`nar, do you want to explain to me how Antino does not know anything about you and why you are here?" Toban asked in a calm voice that rang with deadly force.
Junior and Karl both stood up and began approaching the unknown woman.
"I do apologize for that miscommunication." Tash'sel`nar said with a soft nonthreatening voice. "I was not sent by the Ancient Antino but by the Ancient Luis to assist you in any way possible."
"Contact Luis immediately then." Toban demanded. "I want to see his face on video feed and hear his agreement to what you just said."
The woman knew that she was now expected to prove her words by the means Toban dictated or she would be dead shortly. She withdrew her laptop slowly from its case and activated it. This type of laptop had a built in webcam on the cover so she was able to make connections quickly.
"This is Tash'sel`nar. His Highness requires visual and verbal verification that I was sent by the Ancient Luis." Tash'sel`nar said to the computer.
A moment later Tash'sel`nar rotated the computer so that Toban, Karl, and Junior could see the screen. The Latino Ancient Luis was on the screen. Karl and Junior both stood up and had their heads bowed in respect.
"Don't eat her, boys." Luis said with a big smile. "I sent her to help out as you need her."
"Ancient, it would be better if you had asked first." Toban said softly, respect evident in his voice. "I am a gay man with three Zoméa and five children, so having a female around is a bit disconcerting."
"I am sorry for that, Shade Prince." Luis said with total sincerity. "Tash is the best I have and no, she is not there to keep tabs on you."
"Plus I am a lesbian." Tash'sel`nar said softly.
"Well that is a bit more comforting, but we will set up hours of work and rest." Toban said with a lopsided smile. "Both of us need our private down time."
"I apologize, Ancient, for disturbing your busy schedule." Toban said bowing his head slightly.
"None is needed or expected." Luis said with a smile. "You were only protecting yourself."
After another few moments of idle small talk the Ancient Luis disconnected from the video conference with a smile. Junior and Karl returned to their seat at the front of the plane and began to plan Toban's security needs. Toban returned to the office to work on the paperwork. Tash'sel`nar then accessed Toban's schedule and found that a couple very important pieces were missing.
Tash'sel`nar opened her cell phone and began dialing. "Hello. Yes, I need to make sure that you have his Highness the Shade Prince arriving?"
The voice answered her and her response was: "Bloody Hell, NO! He is not coming next week. He is arriving today." She then looked at her wrist watch and said: "In just over three hours to be exact."
The voice responded again and this time Tash'sel`nar was pissed: "You expect the heir to the oldest Ancient in the world to take common transport on arrival! I am sure that you will be able to explain to him why he has to travel in steerage?"
"What are you yelling about woman?" Toban came out of the office with a confused look on his face, though he was far from angry.
"These fools think you are coming next week, not today." Tash'sel`nar said with frustration.
"Double fucking damn." Toban said with exasperation. "Well at least you were doing what I would have done." He then took the phone from her.
"Conclave code Alpha Alpha Epsilon three seven five." Toban said into the phone. The person on the other end connected him to a supervisor. "I don't care whose fault it is that they got my reservation fucked up, but I am going to expect the following:" he then pinched his nose just below his eyes and sighed: "I want a Conclave SUV with full plate and GPS."
Toban then sat and put his legs on the boardroom table. "I want Toŏmę to be notified that I am coming today and by what means. That way they can deal with the SUV."
"Of course your Highness, we do apologize for the mix-up." a feminine male voice said in an almost whining voice. "We shall have an SUV waiting at the terminal when you arrive with the required equipment."
"Good for a start." Toban said softly. "My family will be coming in exactly one week. There will be five adults and five children." Toban's voice then increased: "This will not happen again!"
"I will make sure of that Highness. My name is Tobias. Just ask for me to plan it for you." the man's feminine voice squeaked.
"Oh, I will remember and you will be held responsible if something fucks up." Toban said with a tone of finality.
The man gulped and then said: "Yes, Highness."
Toban then hung up the phone and handed it to Tash'sel`nar whom was soon re-dubbed Tash. Even though she was a host, it seemed that her personality was well meshed and there were no flaws or areas missing. Tash already feared the young Lord and now she was just short of being terrified to even be around him.
Toban returned to the office area and went though the files in front of him. The files were divided between information on personal profiles and situational information. He opened the third file which was marked with an Ancient marker that was a symbol between Antino and Toban that the person inside was to be watched as a potential threat.
The person revealed in the folder was a seventy-six year old wolf with the form of a forty year old, named Nathanial. He was the sheriff of Toŏmę the overtown and a 2nd in command of Toŏmę the undertown. It was believed that Nathanial had been involved in the last three disappearances of Conclave leaders from Toŏmę. Antino apparently suspected that Nathanial was disposing of those he did not like.
The next folder held the information on Toŏmę's overtown mayor with the name of Kent. An older bear at ninety years, the Ancient mark on his folder showed that he was loyal but possibly no longer effective. Toban read that Kent had spent his entire life in the town and had not ventured beyond the state line in his life.
The next folder Antino marked as a major threat potential. The person inside the folder was Valden, a true blood vampire of over three hundred years of age. He was in command of the Toŏmę undertown protective services. Valden had been placed at Toŏmę after a run in with the Conclave leaders in Phoenix.
Toban had become frustrated with those folders and put them aside and began looking at the other stack. This stack held several files regarding the issues and situations that needed attention. When he began reading the first report he almost threw the folder across the room. The contents of the folder spoke of children being sold into illegal slavery.
Conclave law only allows for adults to be enslaved and on rare occasion whole families, with the children being given their freedom at the age of majority. This file spoke of individuals or groups that abuse and ignore those laws. Antino had marked the files as second highest attention. He wanted it dealt with quickly.
The second of the situation folders spoke of the issue that they could not keep a regional conclave leader in place for more than a few months before they disappeared unexpectantly. It was marked highest priority. In Toban's mind it actually was of less importance than the slavery.
The third and final file folder was the one Toban expected to be taking care of anyway. It gave anecdotal information about a group of teens that were supposed to be fangs hanging around a small school and church in Phoenix. The problem was there was no apparent sire and Fangs were known to go insane just before they died without a sire. The interesting thing was that this group had been seen for well over a month and had not apparently gone nuts yet. Most Fangs without a sire die within ten days of losing their sire. It was given the lowest priority of the folders.
Toban reached into his front pants pocket and withdrew his cell phone. He pressed and called a speed dial number. When the phone answered, Toban immediately said: "Thanks a lot; sending me to do months worth of work in just a month."
Antino's rich voice was heard over the connection: "I never said how long you were expected to be there, you just assumed it would be a month or less." he explained with a light laugh.
"How the hell am I supposed to deal with government issues, slavery, and a bunch of almost mythological supposed Fangs?" Toban said forcefully and turned to look at the map on the wall of the office. "They won't listen to me."
The map was more or less a map of the United States, but was divided into six smaller color coded sections:
· The section that was home to Toban included most of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and a small portion of Nebraska was in dark blue.
· The light blue section was the area due east of Toban's home region; it included Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina.
· The section due north was purple and included Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and a small portion of Canada.
· The Northeast section was green and included Kentucky, Virginia, all points north and east including another small section of Canada.
· The Southwest section was gold and included New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, a small portion of Mexico, and Utah.
· The Western section was red and included California, Baja peninsula, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Montana.
· Alaska was white as it was partly under the Canadian Conclave control and partly under the Eastern European Conclave control.
· Hawaii was black as it was an International Conclave controlled area and totally a feed free zone. The Conclaves considered it vacation only property.
"From this moment on, you are my representative to the whole United States of the Breed." Antino began to explain. "If you need to protect, punish, maim, or kill to complete your mission, you have full rights to do as you see fit, not only as the President of the Conclave Council, but as my representative and the heir apparent." he continued. "These rights are non-revocable."
It then sank into Toban's mind that he was now the second most powerful person in the entire Breed and if need be he could do what was needed to the leaders of Toŏmę if required. He wanted that part dealt with before the Zoméa and children got there. Their protection was paramount. "I understand, but just expect a lot of calls either from me asking for advice or from others bitching about my choices."
"You calling will not be a problem. In fact I want you to do so daily." Antino said softly. "If I get calls from people bitching, I will say that you have my complete faith and they need to get over it."
"Well, I need to have a quick meeting with my security force before we land." Toban said with a bit of longing in his voice.
"Well, tell the boys I said hello." Toban said just before hanging up on his end.
"I need a meeting!" Toban hollered toward the main portion of the plane.
Immediately the office door opened and Tash, Junior, and Karl filed into the room. Toban motioned to the other empty seats at the large table. When the others had sat down he handed the personal files to Karl and the situation folders to Junior. Tash opened and turned on her laptop after connecting it to the planes wireless on board network.
"We have a lot more to do than any of us expected." Toban announced softly.
Karl and Junior began reading and memorizing the information in front of them so Toban turned to Tash and said: "I need you to make sure we have a secure location to meet once we arrive in Toŏmę."
Tash nodded already knowing that meant not only for her to find a location but to make sure that it could not be overheard by para-natural or electronic means. She already had a small electronic and hearing sound jammer in her luggage. "How large are we needing?"
"I think big enough for about six people to meet would be large enough." Toban said lightly skimming the woman's mind and the minds of her symbiotes. He found that the thoughts of one were the thoughts of all. It actually surprised him that she was excited to be helping him.
"The information I have access to about the layout of Toŏmę's undertown shows several possible locations that are used for meetings and conferences that could fit what you want." Tash stated while looking at the information on her laptop. She then turned the laptop so that Toban could see the floor plan.
The computer screen showed a three dimensional floor plan for the portion of Toŏmę that was underground. The plan had over twenty areas that were orange and had approximately eight areas that were green. The representation moved slowly in a clockwise direction to allow a better all around view.
As Toban looked at the floor plan, he marveled at the sheer size of the town. To call it a town was actually ridiculous as the undertown was larger than the total square mileage of Tulsa itself. Plus it was many times larger than the Conclave complex under Tulsa. It was as he was watching the floor plan that he noticed that it had its own rail system that ran a circuit on the outer edge of the complex.
"You got to be kidding me." Junior said softly as he reviewed the information. "I will take the slavery thing as a personal task."
"I would love to see the look on this guy's face when he comes against you when you're pissed." Karl said pointing to the file of the sheriff. "I want ring side seats for that battle."
Toban smiled and then looked sheepish: "I hope it doesn't get that extreme."
The expression on both Karl's and Junior's faces showed that they didn't believe Toban's statement. When they both scowled at Toban all three of them began laughing, totally confusing Tosh. When they noticed she was confused, it caused them to laugh even louder.
"I am planning for the worst and hoping for the best." Toban finally admitted.
"Your Highness, would you like to see the cockpit?" the pilot's voice came over the intercom.
Toban smiled broadly: "Well it seems time for the big bad Heir of the Ancient is to get a few minutes to act as a kid." He then stood and headed toward the cockpit.
Just as Toban opened the door to the cockpit he heard the Pilot on the radio: "Conclave 2 out."
"I thought the jet was Rkj759." Toban asked softly.
The pilot bowed his head slightly when he heard Toban enter the cockpit: "Usually that is true, unless you or one of the Ancients are on board. The Ancients are Conclave 1a through 1f, you are exclusively Conclave 2. Your family is Conclave 2z."
The co-pilot smiled at Toban and began to stand up to offer his seat to the Heir. He was surprised when Toban smiled back and gently pushed his shoulder so he would remain seated. "Dude, I can fly on my own – just not this high up." Toban said with a smile.
Over the next twenty minutes Toban and the pilots talked about as many points about the plane as any of them could think to express. Finally Toban asked: "So will you be bringing my family to Toŏmę?"
"Yes, we will be at your beck and call from the moment we land in Flagstaff." the Pilot said softly. "I will also act as your helicopter pilot between Toŏmę and Phoenix."
"That sounds like a plan." Toban said with a smile. "Well guys, I got to get back to acting like I am working." he then joked.
Toban returned to the office and continued reading the files. He began to talk with Karl and Junior about the situations. As they spent the next forty-five minutes making plans and options to those plans, they had devised a working plan to cover almost every possibility.
"Please buckle your seat belts. We are on approach to Flagstaff Pulliam Airport. It is a balmy 96 degrees with a light southerly breeze." the pilot announced over the plane's speakers.
Within minutes the plane had landed and was directed to a private hanger. Within a minute of the plane stopping in the hanger, ground crew rolled a portable staircase to the front door of the plane. The plane's door was then opened by the co-polit.
Karl and Junior both assisted Toban in getting the files put away, while Tash collected her laptop and other stuff. Toban was even relieved of his carry-on luggage by Junior. They each made sure that they had retrieved everything from the plane before they disembarked.
When Toban exited the plane he noticed that the hanger's main doors had been closed. He then noticed that the windows of the hanger were made from neco-glass which protects vampires from exposure to the sun. There appeared to be a small office, a conference room, and a private waiting area along one wall. A mechanical shop was along the opposite wall.
A young looking, effeminate man was looking terrified as well as expectantly toward the plane as they disembarked. Next to him was Nathanial, the supposed sheriff of Toŏmę, dressed in his uniform. Toban touched each of their minds and found that the effeminate man was indeed Tobias and he was terrified that Toban was furious with him for the mistake. Nathanial's mind showed that he was planning to either discredit or kill Toban as soon as possible.
Toban walked up to the obviously shaking Tobias. Tobias immediately looked at the ground and bowed slightly. His fear radiated off of him in waves and it was actually upsetting to Toban. "Look at me." Toban ordered softly.
Tobias looked up but kept his eyes lowered. He tried to look the 2nd most powerful being in the United States in the eye but could not force himself to do it. "I am so sorry for the failure to prepare for your arrival, your Highness." Tobias voice said cracking in fear.
"I am sure that you were not to blame, Tobias, as it is your job to make things happen and if you do not know when and how, it makes your job impossible." Toban said with genuine feeling. "Please just make sure that my family does not have the same trouble when they arrive."
"Of course, Highness." Tobias gushed and even glanced up into Toban's eyes for the briefest of seconds.
It was then that Toban noticed that Karl and Junior were packing his and their luggage into a black SUV. He then turned his attention to the sheriff: "Karl will drive. You will navigate. Junior will sit behind you, Tash in the center, and I behind the driver." It was an order without room to argue. Everyone standing there recognized it as a challenge between the young leader and the older sheriff.
A moment later they were in the bulletproof and armored SUV preparing to leave the airport. Once they left the property of the airport Nathanial began giving Karl directions toward the highway and to their final destination, Toŏmę. Toban surveyed the scenery all the while never allowing his mind to drift away from the focus he had directed toward the crooked sheriff.
Karl took the SUV upwards of 80 miles an hour as they traveled down the highway to the secret location of the town that would be their new home for the near future. Junior pulled out an MP3 player and pretended to listen to the music that was playing on it; instead he was observing the sheriff as well. Tash took the opportunity the hour and twenty minute drive afforded her to extract her laptop and work on some notes for later. Even though she was new around Toban, she felt his distrust of the Sheriff and divided her awareness between the notes and observing the man.
Over the next hour Karl slowly increased the speed of the SUV until they were traveling at just over 100 miles per hour. At those speeds he was able to arrive at the exit almost twenty minutes ahead of schedule. That was totally planned on his part. He did not want to expose Toban to the sheriff any longer than necessary.
The turn-off led to a dirt road and then rose into the mountains. The SUV slowed down as the road was not one to take at quick speeds. Almost immediately everyone in the vehicle knew they were being watched. "Part of the security around the town – lets us know when humans or unexpected visitors are coming our way." Nathanial explain gruffly.
The sheriff knew that Toban was a Shadow Lord and Shade Prince but his intelligence was behind the time and he did not know that Toban was now the 2nd most powerful and wealthy being in the United States Conclave. Nathanial did not know the extent of how powerful Toban was personally and began making plans to get rid of him. He even began formulating how he could make it the fault of the two body guards.
Toban felt the sheriff's mind working on something but was distracted when the first signs of Toŏmę became apparent. A moment later the town came into sight. Toŏmę consisted of three houses, a general grocery, a mill, a feed store, an ice house, a school, a hotel, town hall, sheriff's office and jail, plus a restaurant, and a gas station. Anyone who saw the town could tell that it evolved from an old western ghost town, was brought into the 1950's and then was frozen in time.
Nathanial directed Karl to pull up in front of the hotel and park. The hotel was a white, three storied building with light blue trim. At most it could only boast fourteen or fifteen rooms and one of those belonged to the owner. It appeared to be a clean place and gave off a comfortable appearance. A graying mountain of a man stood in front of the hotel expectantly.
When Karl and Junior exited the SUV, the man who was obviously the mayor attempted to rush to the rear passenger door and Toban. He was stopped by the sound of both Karl and Junior growling an unspoken warning. Karl waited until Mayor Kent had stepped back, before opening Toban's door.
Protocol in this situation had to be followed to the letter. Tash exited the vehicle through the other door and stood behind the vehicle with the sheriff. She would attack him if he made one inappropriate move. Karl and Junior placed themselves between Toban and the as of yet unknown man.
"Welcome to our humble Town, Prince Toban." Kent said with great feeling. "We are honored with your presence." his eyes directed toward the ground and bowing stiffly.
Toban smiled but it did not reach his eyes. "It is I who should feel honored." he responded in the traditional response. "These are my guards Karl and Junior." Toban said motioning to his two friends and guards. He then motioned behind him and said: "She is they, Tash'sel`nar, my secretary." Toban said identifying her as a symbiote host.
"Please come inside out of the heat and refresh yourself." Kent said with a dramatic flair of his hand and deep bow.