They walked through the middle of town. It used to thrive; she could tell. It was much larger than her home. Much more developed. With a town square leading to the city hall next to the mayor's office. She was sure it used to be beautiful, but now it was a mess. The vampires just reaped destruction for fun. It actually made her a little sad, but she didn't reveal it. She just walked with Benny until they reached the mayor's office. Where the rest of the town was in shambles, this building was pristine since it was now his. She bet the mayor's home was the same. They made it to the door where he stopped with Serafina allowing Danny to open the door for the both of them.
They walked into a fairly large office where Benny offered Serafina a seat and placed his sombrero on the desk. She thanked him and accepted, sitting across from him. Her posture erect with her legs together and crossed at the ankles. Hands overlapping on her lap. Small professional smile on her face. Dignified. He liked being in charge; she could tell. She wanted him to think that they were equals so she maintained eye contact and never once lowered herself to him. She wasn't like the other vampires in his group who looked up to him and obeyed. She was his better, but he didn't know that yet. She was alright allowing him to at least believe they were equal for now. She could play nice.
Benny couldn't remove his eyes from her as she sat. He had watched her movements from when she entered the town. She was stunning. He always enjoyed adding the more beautiful humans to his army. Once they turned, they were just ten times more beautiful, just flawless. He figured if they were all good-looking, then it would be a lot more satisfying to enjoy those carnal pleasures of the flesh with them. He wasn't wrong. He enjoyed it very much. But even so, this woman was magnificent in both her face and body. She must have been flawless in life. The fact that she was so prideful brought him an immense need to conquer. He really wanted to have a taste. His eyes burned with obvious desire as he attempted to maintain his friendly smile.
"Miss Hart, that's a lovely name. But what's your first name? I'm sure it's just as beautiful, if not more so, than Hart." He asked, sitting forward with his hands clasped on the desk, expressing his interest.
"Serafina," she responded. Though she felt her smile twitch slightly. Her anger was building with his lustful gaze. But it was strange. Danny's glare on her back would intensify whenever she felt her anger rise. She was beginning to get suspicious of his ability and did her best to suppress the anger. Was he able to tell she was getting upset? She couldn't show her hate now; she instantly calmed her inner frustration.
"Serafina Hart, it is beautiful. I knew it. But isn't that Spanish? Your last name is white though isn't it?" he asked with slight confusion while giving her his full attention.
"My mother was Mexican, while my father was American. But please. Call me Miss Hart, we don't know each other very well, and it's been a long time since I've allowed anyone to call me by my first name." She smiled while calmly and politely distancing themselves with her words.
"Lo siento. Your name is just tan hermosa, it rolls off the tongue- Serafina. Muy bonita." He smiled, "but you're right. We don't know each other too well yet. I'll keep calling you Miss Hart until you give me permission to call you Serafina. I'm pretty confident we can get close enough that you'll give me that honor." He toned down his energy and smile, now seeming to get serious.
"Now, Miss Hart, what can I do for you? Why did you enter my town? Are you trying to join? Or did we wipe out your coven, and you're here for revenge? I hope it's not revenge, I really don't want Danny here to have to destroy you. You're much too pretty to kill." He said with a teasing lilt to his voice. Smile back up. No longer being as upright as he slouched a bit putting his face in his hands as he leaned on his elbows towards her. Professionalism gone. He was openly teasing her.
She raised her chin a bit and spoke up, "I'm not here to join and I'm not here for revenge. Before I tell you why I came, I just have to ask. What are you actually doing? I heard you had nearly a hundred vampires with you. But I thought it was difficult to maintain such a large group? How do you do it? Why are you doing it?" she asked, feigning interest.
"This is none of your business!" Danny growled out, stepping forward towards Serafina.
"¡Cálmate Danny! She's just curious." He scolded Danny. Then turned his attention back to Serafina, "but he's right. I don't need to tell you this." He smiled.
"True, I was just very impressed when I heard you managed to make all those vampires follow you. It must take a very powerful man to make them obey. I wanted to hear more," She said, leaning forward while pressing her breasts together a bit, drawing his eyes to her chest. Her seductive eyes staring up at him. She gave off the impression that she was in awe of his achievements. Playing to his vanity.
He couldn't look away. But his smile turned into a bit of a smirk. Believing that she was falling for his strength in leading his army, he straightened up and looked back into her eyes, "You know, not anyone can lead this large a group of newborns. But I have a way with words. It's been pretty easy for me to build my army. People can't help but want to follow me." He shrugged. His smile deepened as he continued, "With them, I will wipe out all covens who get in my way. All countries will fall to me. I will have the largest territory where I can do whatever I want and feed whenever I want. My army will get me there. You know, puedes quedarte conmigo as I become a god."
"Hmm, that is tempting." She said, nodding back at him, "but no thank you. I was just curious." She sat back, no longer allowing him a peek at her chest. Face blank. "But let's get back to why I'm here. I heard you had hostages. Some children and maybe their mothers if you haven't eaten them yet. I want the children. I'll let you keep the mothers." She paused for a moment in thought, "Actually, some children may be fairly young, and I don't want to take care of them. I want all of your leftover hostages." She smiled at him.
Benny's confusion was written on his face at her quick about-face. But his expression turned serious as he stared at Serafina with his furrowed brows. He immediately jumped up and slammed his hands on the desk, he held his strength in check so as not to break it. But raised his chin and sneered at her. "You're making demands of me? Me? ¿Quién te crees que eres?" he attempted to calm himself down, but his friendliness was gone as he stood looking down at her. "No, they will stay where they are. These hostages have loved ones outside this town who are working on bringing us more prisoners to feed from. If this is why you're here, then you should go." He looked over at Danny, giving him a nod.
Serafina never even flinched during his outburst. Always calm. Danny was more than ready to get Serafina out of the office. He quickly made his way over, clearly agitated. Before he could grab her shoulder, she stated, "do not touch me." As she stood up with her smile still on her face.
Danny looked to Benny for confirmation. Benny shrugged and nodded in acquiescence. But still looked at Serafina, "good, you should know your place. A lone woman in my town. I can make it so everyone here can have a go if they please. After myself, of course. Just join and it will be just you and me. I'll forget your silly little request. A clean slate. Ven." He held his hand out to her with a new smile.
She looked down at his outstretched hand, then looked back up at Benny. Anger and disgust were visible on her face as she folded her arms across her chest, "I wasn't taking back my request. I just didn't want your boy Danny here to touch me. And you think you can threaten me? Ha!" Her anger was building, and Danny immediately took a defensive posture in front of Benny.
Benny scoffed at the situation. This rebellious woman was refusing him. And Danny actually thought that she was a threat. Danny was attempting to protect him from her. This whole thing was ridiculous. He would make her follow him just like the others. He couldn't wait to see her beg for his attention. "Sígueme," he said as he grabbed his sombrero from the desk and walked to the door.
He walked to the town square and jutted his lower jaw out a bit, releasing a loud whistle. Serafina followed behind, watching with interest, while Danny just kept his focus on Serafina. Within moments, the other vampires began to gather in front of them. Serafina was grateful that it was an overcast day, she thought with all these vampires gathered together, she may have been blinded.
The other vampires' eyes shifted between Benny, Serafina, and Danny. But Benny stepped on the wooden stage where hangings typically took place. It hadn't been used for hangings in a long time, but it was still a spot that easily drew all eyes, which was what Benny wanted.
"¡Ahora todos se reúnen alrededor!" he shouted, causing everyone to step forward, including Serafina. She was confused and wanted to see what he was going to do. She uncrossed her arms and let them hang at her sides while she listened. He seemed to puff up his chest a bit and threw his arms open as though addressing his audience and yelled into the crowd, "As you've all noticed there is a newcomer in town." He gestured towards Serafina, "isn't she beautiful?" there were mumblings of agreement among the crowd. "I asked if she's beautiful, well, is she? I can't hear you!" he yelled back a certain tone being used that Serafina found oddly charming. They yelled back in agreement, getting more and more excited.
"I agree. She's stunning. But she doesn't want to join us. In fact, she actually made demands of me." He made an exaggeratedly confused face, causing the crowd to laugh. She had to give it to him, he knew how to play to his audience. "I think she just needs a good understanding of what we're doing. Once she hears, she'll join the rest of our familia! What do you think?" More cheers. Serafina had actually found herself a bit closer to the stage to have a better view. He turned his head to Serafina with his wide smile again. He knew she was hooked already like the rest. But turned back to address the whole crowd.
"As you all know. We have a goal. We march north! Why? To build our territory. We are stronger and faster than humans. This is fact. Why do we need to hide from them? We don't! So what if they fear us? ¡Deberían tener miedo! They are nothing but livestock to us. Un aperitivo." He yelled jokingly. Getting laughter and agreement from the crowd. Serafina agreed but didn't yell it out. "We will never die. They should be worshipping us like gods! Me, I will lead us to that godhood. No one will stand in our way! Just listen to me! Follow me! I will make it so all the humans know to fear us. They will bow at our feet and send their people to us willingly so that we may feed whenever we please!" More cheers. Serafina believed he could lead them to that end. He seemed to be a good leader. He had led them this far. "I am the only one who can lead you there! There will be no rules to hinder us. Once we expand, we will do as we please. Indulge in all our pleasures. What we have now will continue. Our good fun will never stop. I won't let anyone ruin this! Not even other covens. Los destruiremos si no quieren unirse a nosotros. It can only be us at the top! Follow me. Only look to me. You want to be with me. Never against me." he looked towards Serafina with expectation, hand extended to her in offering once again.
She reached out about to fully agree with him, but then her old pain flared up in her head. She froze with her hand partially towards Benny. But this pain was strange; if she vented her abilities, the pain was usually gone for days, sometimes weeks. Even when it started coming back, it was a slow build and then stayed at a manageable dull burn that felt more like an ache after all the times she'd had to endure it. But this was just a huge amplification, like a white-hot flame that she wasn't used to. She couldn't hear, she couldn't think, but she was furious. Why did her flames hit her like this? As she stood there in thought, she realized what was going on. Her fury disappeared, but the pain was still there, not as bad as that initial shock but still high enough to keep her mind focused on the pain. She realized her flames were shielding her. It was a horrible way to protect her since it felt like torture. But she knew it was protecting her mind from being manipulated. Her feelings and thoughts had been being manipulated. This was Benny's ability. He was able to twist these people's minds with his words. Made them believe in his words. Made them believe in him.
Everything she figured out was realized in a matter of seconds. She narrowed her eyes at Benny and brought her hand back. Folding her arms across her chest as she raised her chin in defiance. His smile dropped as he cocked his head in confusion, glancing at Danny. She wasn't going to fall for his tricks now. Now she was mad. Mad that she almost fell for it, if her flames hadn't flared up, she would've willingly joined this false god. This fool. She didn't care if Danny could tell she was mad anymore either. She was done playing nice.