36 - Chapter 34

The Ancestor looked at the woman in front of him. He did not know how, but she seemed to be in perfect control of herself. He had not realised humans were capable of that level of self control. She must have been trained for years to reach such heights. If not for his magical capabilities, he would doubt himself about her thoughts and motivations. Yet, even with all his abilities and experience he could not work out what she was trying to get to. Did she even have an end goal that she was targeting, or was she just playing this completely off the cuff? And that was when it clicked for him, she had been reading him, and Malim before him, to deduce their secrets. She did not come here with a specific goal in mind, and was only trying to push for the best deal she could.

Obviously she had realised that she could not win in a fight. Given her background, she would have taken the option to attack had she thought it was a viable path. She had also not chosen the path of mutual destruction. That at least gave him a starting point. Now what could she be aiming for? Money would be a pointless offer, as would normal political power. Once those in the circles of power realised the wealth she controlled, she would be courted by every power brooker and politician in the world. She would be able to get any agenda enacted in the human world that she choose. Anyone who challenged her could be destroyed by her simply choosing to back their opponent.

She had come from a solid intelligence background, that would be a return to her roots, with only one difference. Where she had been the pawn, carrying out the will of others, now she would be the queen, controlling the agenda. She had only just started creating her support structure, but from what reports he had received, she was creating exactly that, an intelligence agency at the same level of power as any in the world with no allegiance to any government. It would make her a sovereign without a state.

So what did that leave, why would she willing come to meet them alone? What benefit could make the risks worth it? As he thought through the options, there was only one option. Only one thing that she could not get with money alone. Though he was already cold blooded, the thought still made his blood run cold. This woman was audacious. He had not seen it because a part of him was still treating her like prey. If his realisation was accurate, then she was anything but. She was a true predator, one that had ensnared him in her carefully orchestrated web.

“No, I can’t offer you what you want,” said the Ancestor.

“Really you are reneging on the deal?” asked Tasha.

“What is going on?” asked Malim. “I didn’t hear her ask for anything. What are we refusing her?”

“It took him longer to get there than I thought it would,” replied Tasha cryptically. “Though that is what happens when you see everyone as food. Would you care to explain your thoughts to your protege Ancestor?”

“It seems I still have a lot to teach you,” said the Ancestor. “You should have also realised what she is after.”

“I am obviously missing something,” said Malim. “If it was so obvious, then I would not be struggling.”

“Tasha is building out her organisation to enact her agenda,” said the Ancestor. “She has the knowledge, background and finances to build out an organisation that would be able to prosecute her agenda effectively. The only ones who may be able to stymie her ambitions would be the syndicate. She needs an organisation, that is a vassal to prosecute her agenda in the magical world.”

“And she wants us to be that organisation?” replied Malim. “But how would that be equitable as a blood price?”

“That is the point,” replied the Ancestor. “We accepted that we are responsible for the death of her family, but do you understand what that really means? Why did I offer to bring her into this secret to pay our debt?”

Malim still looked confused, and just shook his head.

“We wiped out her clan,” replied the Ancestor. “That was all her living relatives. If we do not make her an offer of equal value, and she rejects our offer, equitable exchange would allow her to go after the whole clan. The syndicate could not intervene in the collection of a blood debt. In fact, I am sure our enemies would side with her, and have no doubt, now that she knows about us, she would be able to find them. Her pointing out that she had already worked out the more precious parts of the knowledge we offered her was to remove most of the value of our offer. Once she knew some of it, she would find a way to get the details from others.”

“So our information holds no value,” said Malim, finally catching up. “And since we have nothing else of value to offer her, we are not able to pay the blood price. We can either declare war, leading to mutual destruction, or we can become a vassal clan and have the potential opportunity to survive?”

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“Further since we are the ones that managed to give away our hand so badly,” said the Ancestor, “there is no guarantee that it would be mutual destruction, there is every chance that Tasha survives even if her organisation is damaged. That would lead to open war between humans and the syndicate. We are strong, but we would still lose. Most of us would be wiped out and the remaining pockets scattered and hunted. Millions of years of history are at risk due to our mistakes. If the syndicate realised that, they would just wipe us out. They might even thank her for her assistance in rooting out a problem.”

“So now that you have taken the opportunity to educate your disciple,” said Tasha with a smirk. “Perhaps you would actually answer my question. Are you rejecting the deal put forth by yourselves?”

“The only reason you would still be so smug is that you believe we will not kill you,” said the Ancestor. “Or that we cannot. Why would that be?”

“If you push me to the point I have to reveal that,” said Tasha, “then the deal is off the table. At that point nothing will be able to save your clan. You would be better served by rejecting the deal and letting me walk away.” Thanks to Tasha’s stats she was able to project complet self assurance, fooling both vampire’s senses.

“You really aren’t lying,” breathed the Ancestor. “It really is either bondage or death for the whole clan.”

“You should have realised that humanity is not that weak,” replied Tasha. “I think you still think of us as the animals you kept an eye on while harvesting a few. We are so far beyond that, but you failed to see the changes.” She needed to keep his suspicions off her actual backers. There would be war against the syndicate, of that Tasha had no doubt. However, she would need time to prepare humanity for that war. She needed to buy as much time as possible.

“Perhaps,” replied the Ancestor.

“Enough dissembling,” said Tasha. “I need your answer.”

“I am not willing to put the whole clan at risk,” replied the Ancestor.

“Well it is too late for that,” replied Tasha, her calm countenance changing to one of rage. “You already did by just offering to tell me. Had I been an agent of the syndicate, your clan would be well on its way to being eradicated. That was based on your actions. Malim did not have to come to meet me. You did not need to get involved. You could have kept better control over your daughter and not targeted my family. You find your clan under threat due to your callous actions and mistaken assumption of superiority. As much as you would like to blame me, the whole debacle can be laid at your feet. The universe follows the law of balance. With me there is the possibility of survival, without me there is none. I have contained my anger at your audacity to kill my family then claim absolution. If you keep pressing me then I will show you what happens to those who think they have me in a corner.”

Malim and the Ancestor were both taken aback by the vehemence of Tasha’s diatribe. They could feel her conviction that she would rather die than let them get away with their actions. They had reached the point where capitulation was the only option that led to survival. There was no time to look for other options, or get this woman to back down. Their strategy of separating and isolating her had backfired entirely.

Tasha had still been acting, but a part of her true anger had bled into her words. She could feel that they were on the edge. She needed to push them over the edge. That would both give her the time and security to find a real resolution. She would also need to stop them from taking people to feed on. She would have to accept a blood bank solution until she could deal with them. As she was thinking about her options, she noticed a new message pop up with a quest.

Dynamic Quest: Conquer a clan

Have the Ancestor and Patriarch of the vampire clan swear a divine bound oath. “We swear fealty of blood, by blood, to Tasha Andersen. Witnessed and bound by the divine heavens.”

Reward: Dominion over the vampire clan with assurance that they can not act against you

Status: In Progress

“I take it that you have both decided on your only option for survival,” said Tasha. “Now hear the price. You will both swear a divine bound oath.”

Malim looked confused again, but the Ancestor blanched at hearing those words.

“Just who are you?” he asked in a whisper.

“The words you will use are as follows,” continued Tasha, ignoring the question. ““We swear fealty of blood, by blood, to Tasha Andersen. Witnessed and bound by the divine heavens.”

The ancestor could not believe what he was hearing. The human would be unaffected by words, but as a magical race, they would be bound. With both him and Malim forced to take the oath, all of the Vampires would be bound. Not just the Daud clan, but all vampires that were still alive today. How did she learn their secret? Just who were her mysterious backers? This oath would bind them to her till her death or theirs. And if any vampire anywhere acted against her or her interests, the heavens themselves would punish them. She seemed to be fully aware of the effect she was having on him, and was ignoring his questions on purpose. This would bind them to her. Could he really go through with it? Was this better than extermination? As the Ancestor was lost in thought, frantically trying to find a way out, he heard the last thing he expected, Malim reciting the oath. By the time he opened his mouth, it was too late.

“So, you did not teach him everything then,” said Tasha. “You can save your answers and excuses. There is no more choice. You need to recite the oath.”

The Ancestor let out a weary sigh, and then recited the oath himself. As he finished all three of them were covered in a radiant light. While the light bound the Ancestor and Malim in chains of ethereal light, those chains led to Tasha, handing her their physical and metaphorical leash. It was done, and could only be revoked by her.

“Now we can plan our next steps,” said Tasha.