Bathory Blood

Minerva Vesuvius

After fluffing the silver streaks amid her thick, black curly hair, Minerva returned the gold-plated compact to her Gucci handbag. The hair was deliberate and would be completely silver if not for the black dye. Minerva felt that the silver streaks contrasting with the black made her look more vampiric. She was fifty-two, but most honest guessers would estimate her to be in her early forties. Incredibly slim, she was also reasonably tall for a female at five foot eight.

Minerva felt Glen's presence as she briefly hovered overhead but assumed Lucius had consumed too much blood again and was enjoying himself. Besides, Minerva had more pressing matters to attend to. Across from her in the back of the limousine sat Dr. Franks, a slim, middle-aged man, balding with a pointy face, wearing a three-thousand dollar suit and designer spectacles. He had pale, grayish skin and thick black hair, which he dyed to remain looking young. However, it only had the effect of making him look even older.

"I must commend you on your stellar work, doctor."

"Thank you, Mayor Vesuvius."

"Minerva, please, we're friends." Minerva was overjoyed as the good doctor had just mapped the vampire genome with some fascinating results. "So the genes can work together?"

"Yes, in vitro, there have been some optimistic successes, but this must not be taken to mean that we can go ahead with human experiments. There's no telling what could happen. If anything at all, then it could go in the extreme..."

"Let's remain positive, doctor." Minerva cooed, tapping his knee affectionately. "It's been such a good day. Let's not spoil it." More than anything in the world, Minerva longed to be non-reliant on having to consume Erzsebet's blood. Although she hadn't admitted it to herself yet, it was Minerva's intention to reignite the vampire species using her own bloodline. Which was no less than the Vesuvius family deserved after being betrayed. "I'll have Lucius take you to the club." Minerva removed her hand, sensing that the doctor was becoming turned on by her touch. "Settle some of those frustrations. You're so tense."

"Couldn't you and I go? Lucius is a little..." The doctor didn't want to use the word 'psychopathic'.

"I'll tell him to behave. Unfortunately, I cannot attend tonight as I have an early start tomorrow. I'm collecting another award for solving the homeless problem." Minerva slipped a chuckle at that, and the doctor appreciated it with a smirk. Both knew that Minerva had solved the homelessness problem by effectively slaughtering them all in Lucius's nightclub.

And that was precisely where the doctor was going later. He preferred males, and he liked to abuse them before having s*x with them and then finally slaughtering them. Of course, this was all done while high on vampire blood. Ordinarily, he would never consider such a thing. He had a wife and two young children at home, and it would devastate him if they found out about his perversions. He felt that the vampire blood absolved him of blame. Although he was undoubtedly himself after consuming it, it was a different self. Not really him at all. At least, that was his prepared argument in case the worst should happen.

As the limousine pulled up on the gravel drive outside the mansion, Minerva was surprised to find an anxious Lucius waiting for her. If it wasn't he who had passed overhead earlier, then who was it?

"You've had your friends over again, Lucius," Minerva warned as she climbed out of the car. She'd told him not to do his deals at the house.

"No, this is... something different." Lucius became cagey as Dr. Frank followed Minerva out of the limo.

"Different?" Minerva searched his face, attempting to gauge the level of the problem.

"It was Anna's fault. She had a friend around." Lucius had always found it best to provide as few details as possible. Especially when those details revealed the level of his own guilt.

"And?" Minerva became impatient as Lucius hesitated.

"There's a tube missing."

"A tube? An entire tube?" Minerva screeched. Lucius could only nod in response. "Where is she?"

The cellar was dark, had rats, and poor Anna had been locked in by Lucius. Too terrified to sit, she stood, listening to the rats squeak around her. Occasionally one would scoot over her feet, and she'd scream, sending the rats into a squeaking frenzy.

The sound of the door opening gave her sudden hope that Lucius had forgiven her early. She was even more relieved to find that the door had been opened by her mother.

"Mommy," Anna squealed, lurching toward the stairs. "Lucius locked me..." she stopped when she saw Lucius standing behind Minerva with Dr. Frank. "What's going on?"

"You had a friend here tonight?" Minerva asked.

"Yes. Yes, I did. What's the big deal? Lucius has friends here all the time."

"Stop lying to save yourself, Anna." Lucius sniped.

"I'm not lying. You have friends here..."

"Anna!" Minerva interjected angrily. "Keep to the point. Your friend, who is she?"

"Just someone who works at the clinic. Jesus! No wonder she ran away. I have the most f****d-up family in the world." Anna complained.

"If you want to see 'f****d-up' try looking in the mirror," retorted Lucius.

"Lucius, you're not helping." Minerva snapped, and Lucius knew well to listen to his mother. Minerva was a powerful woman unused to people disobeying her. So, when they did, there would often be severe punishments. For example, if she felt like it, Minerva could shut Lucius's nightclub and starve him of Bathory blood forever. So, he held his tongue from that moment on and instead settled for smirking cruelly at his sister instead.

Minerva turned back to Anna and smiled, the way a mother should at her daughter, and then moved aside so that Anna could step into the stairwell near the living room. Finally, out of the cellar, Anna breathed a sigh of relief, but it was fleeting as Minerva had more to say. Especially as the subject of the clinic had come up.

"And the role this friend has... at the clinic?" Minerva asked.

"A cleaner, OK? Is that what you want to hear? That my only friend in the world is a lowly cleaner?" Anna asked. Minerva chuckled involuntarily at her daughter's evident naivety. It was all her own fault, Minerva realized. She'd attempted to shelter both of her children. Unfortunately, Lucius became impossible to shelter after getting involved with drug dealing. Minerva felt it better that her son worked for her rather than some cartel that would likely kill him one day. As losing the blood had proven, he was not the most reliable of people. That Anna's friend was a cleaner wasn't here or there. That she worked in the clinic was possibly telling, however.

"Get over to the clinic," Minerva commanded Lucius. "Make sure all is well."

"What about the club?" Lucius complained.

"I'll deal with it." Minerva's tone suggested that she was definite and there would be no more argument. Upon hearing it, Lucius sighed and made to leave. "Take some of your friends with you, just in case," Minerva added.

"Yeah, great." Lucius retorted, "Ruin their night too, why not?"

"I'm sorry, Mom, I didn't mean to cause any trouble," Anna whined, deflating.

"It's OK, baby." Minerva soothed and then hugged Anna tight. She held her daughter for a few moments, actually enjoying it, which meant that she needed to top up on blood. Human emotion was not exactly a part of the vampire high, although one could never discount it entirely. A top-up was even more necessary now that she would have to visit Lucius's club. Although she had her own tastes in the s*******r of innocents, it irked her to see others partaking. A psychologist might suggest that it was because she saw her own depravity reflected in them, but she didn't see it as depravity when she did it. It was her birthright.

The Vesuvius family should have been producing kings but was instead left with Dukes and then, gradually, even less. All while the other families took power for themselves. Well, her family's time was coming. The others had grown fat and forgotten the past. The majority had no idea that vampires had ever existed. Even the Van Helsings had changed to various family names and settled as royalty. Only the Vesuvius clan had retained the memory of it. Better than the memory, as they owned the last vampire on the planet. How valuable, such a thing, Minerva wondered briefly? Then remembered that it was, of course, priceless.

Once Minerva had secured the country's presidency, she intended to implement a new royal family, with herself as the figurehead, and then go to war until the entire planet belonged to her. Despite being fifty-two, Minerva had no intention of dying, not ever. And Dr. Franks was going to help ensure that.

"Ahem." Dr. Franks cleared his throat, breaking into both Minerva's thoughts. Anna separated from Minerva's hug with a big grin plastered across her face.

"Thank you for not being angry, Mom," Anna said.

"I could never be angry with you, darling." Minerva turned to Dr. Franks. "Give me a moment." Dr. Franks nodded politely and watched as Minerva headed up the stairs.