Betrayal's Gift

Chapter Thirteen

A/N: Now you get to meet the best villain I ever created. :) Officially that is. It does get a tad brutal so you've been warned.

Kenneth paced in the office confines restlessly. The vampire had said he would contact him. He looked at the phone and snorted. If he knew these creatures then the summons would not come by phone. He hated their sneaky underhanded ways of communication. They were powerful on a level he could never attain.

Especially the one he was waiting on right now. He hated him most of all. Power was as natural to him as breathing. Ken sneered. Let's see how tough he would be without his magic tricks.

"You've not been straight with me, Kenny." The low gravelly voice was coldly mocking, making Kenneth jump. There was a glimmer of swirling silver in the shadows of his office. It made Kenneth wonder how long he'd been there, watching him pace. Knowing what had been going through his mind. "You were going to make sure Delilah and Varagon didn't spend any significant amount of time together." Sweat beaded on Kenneth's forehead as he looked at the man calmly reclining back against his wall. This man was a killer, unapologetically so. He was also willing to bargain for a good deal. Kenneth had and thought he had succeeded easily. Too easily.

"They didn't. She..."

"Is on his private plane. After spending the weekend with him." he finished bitingly. Kenneth shivered as the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. Julius smiled abruptly, white teeth flashing with sudden charm. "You failed to be of any use at all. Your daughter monitors them better than you. Maybe I should go make her the deal I cut you." Kenneth panicked. After what he'd done to her, she would ruin him. Deliberately and with great pleasure. She was after all her father's daughter.

"I know. Entertaining how fast power shifts, isn't it?" Julius said cheerfully. He stood and walked up to Kenneth. "Kenny, I gave you a chance and you blew it. Thanks to you, my job of driving the man insane is going to be twice as hard. Thanks to you, he claimed her in the way of our people and guarded his soul." He ambled closer, his eyes locking on Kenneth. Holding him in place effortlessly as he circled.

"You...you can't hurt me. There are dozens of people just on the other side of that door." Kenneth stammered, pointing. His darting nervous gaze landed on the phone.

"It's disconnected." Julius said helpfully. "You think they'll protect you? Go ahead. Ask them." The office door swung open and beyond the frame he seen the people that worked for him teeming about. Hope sprang up in his chest. Kenneth ran out and into the crowd.

"Help me please. He'll kill me." he pleaded to anyone that he could stop. They looked around looked into his open office and seen nobody. They shrugged him off and kept going about their business.

He was desperate now, fear congealing inside him. His muscles quivered as he rambled throughout the complex, begging for help. He was in charge. He was supposed to make people do what he wanted to. Why wouldn't anyone help him?

"Who will help you? That's an intriguing question." Julius said walking beside him. "Teresa, your loving daughter? To be truthful, I should've approach her about this. She's more honest than you, but she's also more capable." he shrugged his broad shoulders. "Lesson learned."

"She'll help me. I'm her father. If she does, will you spare me?" Julius looked at him with disgust.

"No. I'm just curious." he stopped as he seen the look in Kenneth's eyes. "You thought because someone might care enough to save you, I'd spare your life?" He looked at him puzzlement in his silver gaze. "What part of bored bloodthirsty killer don't you get? I'm going after Teresa anyway, just for making my life more complicated. In a way, I should thank her. Life is going to be more entertaining now." His eyes were thoughtful for a minute. "I'll kill her quickly." he decided generously. Paternal urges started to rise in Kenneth. After all, she was his daughter.