Tell me would you kill to prove you're right? Who: Lex and Salvatrix Where: Ad Gustum When: Early morning
To say the vampire enjoyed his task given to him by Domina was an understatement. He was on an adrenaline rush for the past two days dealing with this mother and child. It meant that Lex himself didn’t get any sleep and was a bit... off... but that was neither here or there. The Shade was a bit more paranoid than usually once he came back to Ad Gustum, eyes frantically flicking about as he entered the building before sunrise with a huge duffel bag on his back. The girl at the front desk gave him an odd look as he walked on by, obviously looking like he hadn’t slept in a while, but Lex just flashed a smile. That was always unnerving.
Though said duffel bag contained a “gift” for this new slave manager. Dear god, how many had they gone through at this point? Four or five? Lex didn’t bother to keep track, but he was thankful to still be around. While walking into the dungeon portion of the mansion, he pondered what this great-grandmother would be like. He vaguely remembered Domina mentioning she was a demon... like, full blooded demon. Demon as in the creatures he killed on the front lawn a month or so ago. They had deemed him a traitor, but really? Fucking idiots needed to stay away from Ad Gustum. Geez.... He wondered if this woman would pick up on that and if she would lash out at him. Well, hopefully not if he was giving her two badly injured and exhausted humans. He even heeded Domina’s words an wrapped a big white ribbon around them, which was now red due to being soaked in their blood.
He didn’t bother knocking on the door to the slave manager’s room and just waltzed right in and tossed the bag onto the desk. “Special delivery, love.”
There was something about having a desk that Salvatrix found far too... human. Oh, it came in handy and it was a rather beautiful piece of furniture, but she was more inclined to sit on it than sit behind it. Having moved the desk further over to the side and brought the recliner down from her quarters, she was far more comfortable writing her reports seated upon the latter. Some viewed her position as a job. ‘Slave manager’ sounded a fair amount more official than, say, ‘whore’. To the demon, this was but a hobby. It was difficult for her to take it seriously, family business or not. She was an advocate with a number of desperate individuals in her care. That alone was enough to leave her feeling fairly relaxed. It didn’t even take into account her little... altercation with the siren the day before. Now that had been fun. Painful, but fun. Legs crossed, she sat side-on, going over what she had already written. It was brief, but concise and to the point. The demon did not believe in unnecessary frills unless they generated entertainment. Nobody wanted to read through reports that were longer than they needed to be.
Her tail twitched idly. She’d had to customise her skirt to accommodate it, but then she found she was making a lot of changes to her clothing while in Ad Gustum. Quite simply, she did not care whether the clientele knew what she was. That her current clothing revealed most of her tells was immaterial. She preferred having the room to spread her wings if she-- Crossing a ‘t’ she seemed to have missed, Salvatrix raised her eyes to the door. Something reeked of desperation and it was heading in her direction. She resisted the urge to stand. There was apparently no reason for it, since the door opened without any form of announcement. A vampire. A vampire who brought with him that vastly irritating tick that marked him as a killer of demons. Was it really so difficult for people to simply run or something? Well... Actually, she supposed it was. The legionaries might have been little more than thugs, but they were relatively efficient. Relatively. It still didn’t give their targets the right to cause her headaches whenever she came across them. “What did they do to deserve you?” Her eyebrow arched slightly. She could smell the blood from where she was sat, which rather suggested the desperation that was pulling her attention away from her work was manufactured. Not that it made a blind bit of difference to her. “Conversely, what did you do to deserve them?” Setting the reports aside, she clasped fingers over her knee. She hadn’t even looked at the bag itself yet. There wasn’t any point. She knew what was in it.
...what? Not exactly the idea of a first meet with his boss’ great grandmother, but he knew he had to mind himself. Here he thought she would be all smiles and rip the bag open like a kid on Christmas and all would be well. The way she looked at him made Lex shift his weight a bit nervously. Damn paranoia was getting the worst out of him. After a brief pause, along with a brief scan over her body, he looked the woman in the eyes and answered coldly, “A mother and daughter from the children’s hospital up in Detroit. The kid’s slowly dying and was denied services. So I took the luxury of snatching them up and making them wish they really were dead.” He smirked at that one, way too proud of that. “Both have been tortured to near death before brought back with some blood. Rinse, repeat as necessary, and viola.” He motioned to the bag. “All yours.” Domina did say to pick out the most desperate ones and make their lives a living hell. He liked to think he did that just fine.
“Which answers the first question, I suppose, but not necessarily the second.” It was a riveting little tale though. Clearly the boy had enjoyed himself. Good for him. And the end result was for her. Bonuses all round. Stowing away the details he had already given, Salvatrix rose. Her fingers toyed with her necklace as she cast her eyes over the bag once before returning them to him. “You have me at a disadvantage.” Her eyebrow raised a touch. “Or I shall assume you do, since I cannot think of anyone else in the building who would know how to put these--” She gripped the end of the bag, using both her own strength and telekinesis to pull everything closer. “--to proper use.” Her tail began to open it up of its own accord. “So who are you?” Peering into the bag properly, she reached one hand in, talons raking across skin until she drew blood. The bloodied fingertips were drawn back, eyes momentarily flashing electric blue. They were definitely quite unconscious. A slow smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. It had been a whole week since she had last indulged herself. “And more to the point - mother or child first?” Really, she never could decide.
Lex remained still as he watched the demon tear open the bag, raising a brow at the tail. Well, you didn’t see that every day. Eyes back on the woman, a smirk tugged at his lips for a moment. “The name’s Lex. I’m the resident blood hunter for this establishment and more or less Domina’s right-hand man.” The thought made him twitch. He didn’t like having a woman being his superior, but the pay was incredible and enough for Lex to put up with her. As for the presents, his blue eyes looked back down at them as he took several steps in closer to examine them. He wasn’t sure what exactly she was getting at in regards to which one to pick first. Was she killing them? Torturing them? All Lex knew was that he had to bring them back alive. Hell if he knew. After his eyes darted back and forth between the two, then finally came back to the demon’s. “I’d say the child.”
Where Lex said ‘Domina’s right-hand man’, Salvatrix heard ‘Domina’s bitch’. How old was she? Eighteen? Nineteen? She would put a pretty penny on this vampire being far older than that. And yet he was working for a teenage were... something. What did Domina turn into again? There was a chance she had never actually known, and with that realisation that trail of thought was swept right under a figurative rug. Perhaps he was here for the same reasons she was, minus the familial ties. Enjoying the ride. She could appreciate that. Waiting for an answer, she watched Lex quite intently. Had he been told what was going to happen to these creatures? In fact, did Domina herself fully understand? So very few people took the notion of selling one’s soul seriously. In all fairness, the advocates didn’t either. But as to whether they themselves had souls to sell... well, the jury was out. And wasn’t that was Ascension was? “Very well.” She flashed him a smile. The child it was. Freeing the brat from her trappings, Salvatrix raked one nail across the girl’s forehead and dabbed the resulting blood on her temples. “Now... you stay there and stay quiet. You’re my deal breaker. Don’t disappoint me.” Muttering a few words - a mild curse, nothing more - she cradled the child on her knee, ensuring her back remained to Lex. If the brat saw him, all bets were off and she’d have to wait until later. She didn’t want to wait. As the blood evaporated from the child’s skin and she stirred - I’ll bet that stings. - the hard lines disappeared from the demon’s face. Her tail had hidden itself inside her skirt. By the time the little human in her arms came round, staring at her with impossibly wide eyes, Salvatrix actually looked concerned. “Shh,” she cooed, pre-empting any and all whimpering because while she loved playing games, she wasn’t quite in the mood for it. Someone’s neck would snap before she humoured that kind of behaviour. Oh, and the lip was already trembling. You’re going south faster for that. “It’s alright, sweetheart, I’ve got you.” Which was the problem, really, wasn’t it? “Would you like me to fetch your mother? She’s not far away.” She felt the nudge at the child’s desperation at the mention of her mother. Parents were god-figures. They made everything better. This little one needed her mother. As proven by the sniffle and the weak nod that the demon actually had to catch as the child’s head lolled. Lex really had devastated her - to give credit where it was due. “After I bring her, though, do you think you could do me a favour?” Silence. Confused silence, no doubt. Salvatrix was no empath, but it was a standard reaction. “Just a little one. Promise.” She gave the girl the benefit of her warmest smile - and received another nod for her efforts. Signed on the dotted line. Children were so easy. “Excellent.” Sitting the girl on the desk, still facing well away from Lex, she pulled the bag back to reveal the child’s mother. Here come the waterworks. “Oh, please. She’s only unconscious.” The demon dropped all pretenses. She’d provided the mother. She was owed a favour. “Now,” she lifted the girl from the desk and stood her on the floor - well, propped her up, “I’d be much obliged it you could give my friend here a hug.” Turning her around by the shoulders, she let her take in the view that was Lex. The child stiffened, gurgled something... and shook her head all of once before dropping dead with a crack made sweeter as her head hit the table. The vampire really had put the fear of the almighty into her. And lord only knew what else. Salvatrix smirked down at her. “I do love that noise.” Tail whipping back out again, she turned half of her attention to her nails. Lex had the rest. “Questions, comments?” Really, she’d love to hear them.
Staying still and keeping quiet was what he did best. He was an assassin, after all. Nodding to Salvatrix, he backed up against the wall and leaned against it with his arms cross. He watched silently, not able to see much with the demon’s back turned to him. She was talking to the child, rather sweetly. What exactly she was going to do was beyond him. The second he heard the order for the child to give him a hug? Lex almost flipped. Instead, his eyes merely widened, far beyond perplexed by what she was suppose to do. No no, he didn’t sign up for hugs. Just staying still and quiet and nothing- Oh... she died...? Lex knew the child was horribly sick, but that was just mere coincidence that she suddenly died. The demon didn’t seem to think so, way too pleased with this. After his eyes darted back and forth the child and Salvatrix, he pushed himself off of the wall to finally pinpoint one question. “I suppose the most obvious question is how in bloody hell did you do that?” Mostly so he could store that bit of information in his mind and make sure to never cross paths with this woman. She obviously was stronger than the two legionnaires he had came across months before. He wouldn’t admit that out loud, but he knew it was probably true.
They always asked how. Not that Salvatrix minded, necessarily, it was just that the theories varied regarding how an advocate’s powers actually worked. It was easily argued that she’d not actually killed the child herself since she had made no conscious decision to do so. Those who didn’t believe in a higher power tried to rationalise it every which way. She would settle for knowing the right person was aware who had signed their soul away for a pittance. Nevertheless, they died. The light behind their eyes flickered off, soul gone to hell. “We made a deal,” she answered simply, looking up. “She broke it.” Alright, so hugging the person you’d been tortured by for however long probably been hell for a traumatised human child, but it meant nothing to Salvatrix and that was what mattered in this equation. “Hugging you wouldn’t have killed her - though judging by the look on your face I wouldn’t put money on that horse.” She nudged the body with one foot. The little wretch’s posthumous head injury was bleeding all over her floor. For that, she was making the mother last longer. “Like I said, you were my deal breaker.” A beat, eyebrow arching. “Bearing in mind these deals cannot be broken.” Which she considered to be perfectly obvious. The girl was quite dead.
That... was fascinating. And here Lex thought all the stories pertaining to people selling their souls to the devil were just myth. Well, myths had to start somewhere. Lex stood there for a moment, unsure how to reply after all of that, but he did give the woman a slow nod to show he understood. It looked like she just needed bodies to toy with for one reason or another. He wondered if it was somewhat of an addiction of hers, like how a siren needed to constantly kill to stay alive. “And the mother?” He motioned to the last remaining body in the bag. “What of her fate?” If he had a guess, it would have been that she would do the same thing with the woman as she did with the child. Or maybe she had more tricks up her sleeves, he didn’t know. But Lex wanted to stick around and watch. If anything, he was familiarizing himself with what this demon was capable of. He already made a mental note to himself to never make a deal with her. He liked living, thank you.
Glancing between the the second human and the vampire, Salvatrix’s eyebrow rose. “The same, darling. I’m an advocate, not a magician.” As far as she was from being a one trick pony, her games tended to be really rather formulaic. “Though now that I’ve though about it,” she started absent-mindedly, “slaves can be fun. Though they have a tendency to kill themselves.” She spoke both from her own experience and that of other advocates. It was a little annoying when they broke the rules deliberately. Batting the woman on the forehead harder than was really necessary her eyes rolled. Humans were disgustingly fragile. Anyone would think this one simply didn’t want to wake up. Which was pathetic. She was about to bring the back of her hand down across her face - neither really noticing nor caring that she was still in the bag - when she stirred. The first request, unsolicited, was for water. Salvatrix’s tail flicked in amusement. The things people sold their souls for. The second request - that she be let go - came with the realisation that she was in some kind of bag. And Lex was stood right there. The demon supposed the last part might be reason enough for someone in that condition to kick up such a blessed din, but really. “Stop that.” And now she was writhing. Maybe she’d clamped her hand over the woman’s mouth a little too hard, but that noise was annoying. “Stop that, or so help me I will break every bone in your daughter’s body.” The look she received in turn was almost disbelieving - and consequently a little insulting - but it came with a strange sort of silence, so it could be tolerated. “Now... I’m going to let you out. And then you’re going to do me a favour in return. Understand?” She released the woman’s face in favour of an answer. Instead she got unwanted mumbling about her daughter. Which she didn’t listen to. “Interesting, but sadly not the answer to the question asked.” I’m waiting, angel. A nod and a whimper which she supposed could have been a ‘yes’. Salvatrix promptly pulled her out of the bag and seated her in the chair behind her desk. Turning back to Lex, she ignored the sudden outburst of incoherent hysteria that she was assuming was the discovery of the dead child, and brushed back curls that were only just beginning to work their way out of place. “I think I shall let this one stew for a while.” It was always more fun when they realised what they had done. “Though a healer is called for.” Her brow furrowed in distaste. She hated white magic.
Lex wasn’t sure which was more fun: the trauma he struck into this woman or the mindfuck she was being given by the demon. Both made him smirk with so much delight. This Salvatrix definitely knew how to have a good time. It was obvious at this point that she was related to Domina. They both had that twisted sense of pleasure that needed to be satisfied every now and then. He could have stood there all day and played the part of the voyeur so long as Salvatrix didn’t mind. Though the mention of needing a healer made him cringe a bit. Healing usually meant one of two things - administrating vampire blood or calling on the services of a white witch. Lex loathed all sorts of magic, very well aware of the effects it had on him, but he made damn sure no one knew of that secret in Ad Gustum. That was the last thing he needed. It would have been easier to give the woman a couple sips of his blood, but he recalled the last hours he spent with her and how she spat out most of it. She wanted to die. No, this would definitely require some magic. A moment of silence washed over Lex until he perked up an eyebrow. “Is that my cue to go fetch one?” He would if that was the case. He wasn’t in the mood to piss off Domina’s demon great grandmommy any time soon. Or ever, for that matter.
Salvatrix’s head tilted. “Or get someone else to do it for you.” A mirror was pulled from the top drawer of her desk and she set about fixing her hair back into place. “As long as it gets done, I really couldn’t care less.” Snapping the compact shut, she turned to look over her most recent distraction once. She did not think the woman would last long, but then it hardly mattered. “Chin up. You’re going to do as I tell you from now on, aren’t you?” A fairly heavy pause while she waited for some kind of answer, but since nobody dropped dead, the advocate assumed that was an agreement. It was a little like talking to a brick wall, though. “You’re not to leave this room until I say otherwise.” Now, if that was all, she was going to take the used goods on her floor to the nearest trash receptacle or incinerator and get herself a coffee.