[DCI] Chapter 89 - Not-So-Equal Exchange (Patreon)

The ladies sat around the table while I brought some drinks from the fridge. We might usually use the magic delivery system, but that didn’t mean our supplies were low. As much as the instant processing was convenient, just grabbing something from your own stock was the best feeling. Especially now that I didn’t need to skimp on beverages and other purchases thanks to our well-paid job.

Finding a chair for myself, I took our guest in once again, my eyes wandering over Briar’s quite outstanding features. She noticed it right away and brought her gaze back from examining my apartment, most likely dissecting it in her head already. A regal smirk curled the edge of her black lips up.

“If it’s not lipstick, then what is it?” She raised a curious brow at me, calling back to our exchange at the entrance.

“Apologies.” I grinned back at her. “You are the most striking non-human I have met so far and I can’t help but take glances. It doesn’t help that I keep getting flashes of your old appearance now and then. You’ve been under the veil all the time, right?”

Briar gave me a gentle nod. “I certainly was back then. And in case you are wondering, there were no other Unseen in there at that time. That’s the closest to an official term for people behind the Mirage.”

“Unseen and Uninitiated, huh? It does have a paranormal ring to it.” I chuckled amusedly. “I guess that was the reason why you politely rejected everyone’s advances. Did it need to be after a full day? Some kind of a vampire tradition?”

A small, quiet laugh escaped her. “No, nothing like that. Relationships as an Unseen are a real chore. The dating pool is much smaller than you would imagine. But, I was taught to never judge a book by its cover, so after being reached out to, I used that time to investigate the person coming onto me and see if they aren’t actually an Uninitiated with paranormal background or an Initiated who simply acted casual.”

“Makes sense.” Aisha sipped on her chilled drink through a plastic straw. “Even if Defenders aren’t viewed too positively in some realms, it’s much more convoluted in this dimension. I can’t imagine the effort I would have to put into it to find a partner here compared to my world.”

“You mentioned Lucas possibly belonging to a magical lineage earlier and now spoke about checking the ancestry of humans you interacted with. Are you perhaps a legitimate resident of this realm with an ancient descent?” Levia inquired calmly.

“Vampires live forever, right?” Shuri wondered out loud. “I bet she is someone from way before that illusion system became a thing.”

“It’s true that we are what you could call time immune, but we can of course die of many other causes,” Briar confirmed her assumption. “As for my origins, my family did migrate here about a hundred years ago or so. My grandfather came in through the spatial gate not that far from this city. Most of them are located at the airports, for obvious reasons. It was a smart move from humans to limit interdimensional travel to those sky ports since they serve as a decent cover for extraterrestrial activities. Also, I’m not as ancient as you might think. I’m twenty-six.”

“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to be younger than me, perhaps because of your refined demeanor.” I wasn’t hiding how surprised I was and it seemed to entertain our guest a little at least. “I hope this doesn’t sound too inappropriate but how does your kin… reproduce?”

She scoffed softly to the side, crossing her arms over her chest. “No, we don’t make more of us by biting humans, retaining the appearance of that moment. That’s just what vampire families native to your world came up with to keep their enemies at bay before the peaceful times. At best, we could turn you into something akin to a thrall, a mindless slave that listens to all orders, but I’m afraid I can’t reveal much more since the details about such matters are rather secretive.”

The girls chuckled at me as I simply smiled wryly. A man had to ask, okay?

“To answer your question, we reproduce like all the other humanoids,” Briar continued. “The majority of families care deeply about blood so they mingle with each other most of the time. Arranged marriages are still quite common in our circles. But, it doesn’t mean some individuals don’t bind themselves to other races or live more carefree lives. I’m what you would call a True Vampire, born from pure Ebenholz father, and pure Mortis mother, arranged by the grandparents. My mother’s side looks more like what you are used to with pale skin and scarlet eyes. I inherited my appearance after Father.”

“I see.” I nodded, fascinated by everything she was sharing with us. “Okay, as much as I would love to keep grilling you about this because of how curious I am, it’s obvious we’ve gone way past what can be considered an initial interview between prospective partners, so should we perhaps move onto the business at last?”

“I haven’t asked about her perfect man yet!” Aisha whined and I glared at her.

Briar wisely ignored the mischievous drakan and focused on me. “With pleasure. I had no idea I would be working with a Defender. I shouldn’t be revealing this before the negotiations, but it could end up being huge for me and my company. I’m looking very forward to this partnership.”

“You mentioned your struggles before too. Isn’t your family fairly prominent? Or were you unable to bring your wealth to Earth?” I furrowed my brows, trying to look at all the information.

“Most vampire families are rich, that stereotype is correct.” She smiled mirthfully. “If you can’t become a successful person in multiple centuries, there really is something wrong with you. My folks are no different, and they own some big brands even here. But, they have a different approach from the Bathory Household for example, who are the richest vampires on Earth and one of the oldest of its bloodlines. The Ebenholz clan believes that one needs to work for their prosperity so our children don’t get any handouts past the funding of education and living necessities until its climax.”

“That is why you have been doing that… internship… where Lucas previously worked,” Levia noted, earning herself a commending nod. “You had to get to where you are with your own effort. It is a rare approach to upbringing, I have to admit. But it certainly allows the descendants of your line to understand how the world functions.”

“That’s the official reason, at the very least, the one shared with the public,” Briar added and rested her cheek against her palm with a cunning smirk. “Can you guess the real reason behind it?”

The four of us exchanged glances and got to thinking. I tried to recall all the fictional information I knew about vampires and even dove into the game’s lore and worldbuilding. However, I couldn’t figure out anything worth mentioning. She’d already rationalized it fairly well.

“Alright. I’ll give you a hint.” Our vampire friend conceded. “We are extremely greedy.”

“How does that help?” Aisha complained, tugging at her lush hair.

Then, it dawned on me.

“You are immortal,” I pointed out and caught an intrigued glint in her scarlet eyes. “The children can’t exactly inherit their parents’ wealth when daddy and mommy are gonna live forever and make use of it. Your folks don’t want to part with what they earned and thus make you work for it from scratch. Is that it?”

A bigger smile adorned her charming lips. “Impressive. I thought you would need at least one or two more. You might be the first non-vampire that I asked who got it this fast.”

“Lucas is a very intelligent man,” my wise Witch complimented me, even though I was quite sure she had come to the same conclusion and I beat her by just a moment. “He is able to spot connections between things almost instinctively and cleverly make use of them. My profession grew greatly thanks to his bright remarks.”

“We both know that’s only because your magic bears some similarities to coding.” I waved my hand dismissively. “If you hadn’t explained it to me so well, I wouldn’t have been able to come up with a thing.”

Aisha slugged me in the shoulder. “Sometimes this one gets too humble for how smart he is.”

“I do get my moments.” I squinted at her. “Anyway, back to the topic. I guess this means you are trying to work your way up in some company now?”

Briar glanced at the table, peering into her empty glass. “I actually run my own business, just me and my assistant. A design house. I was very confident in my talents and decided to start big. But, the competition is fierce and I might have been a bit blinded by my passion. We do get contracts, don’t get me wrong, but they mostly come from Uninitiated. Everyone knows that the money is with the Unseen. And so is renown. In my father’s eyes, we would be a failed company, although he is too kind to admit it outright.”

Shuri rested her slender palm on the dark woman’s shoulder. “It must be rough. Persisting in a thing not viewed as suitable for you by others is not easy even if it comes straight from your heart.”

She must be talking about her love for artisanship, namely smithing and artificing. This reminded me that I still didn’t know a lot about our oni princess, even if we’d only just met like a day ago so we were fresh colleagues. I wanted to learn more about her and offer her my support. And the first step to doing that was getting that forge set up.

“Each flower requires a different time to fully bloom,” I said, capturing their attention. “Let’s give ours some well-deserved nourishment and make sure it grows into a beautiful and healthy marvel everyone is going to fawn over. Shall we?”

Their blinking faces stared right back at me until Briar graced us with an elegant little snort. “You are such a romanticist, aren’t you?”

“He does have that charm.” Levia finished her drink with a faint smile over the rim of her mug.

I shook my head and got up, walking to my desk chair. The ladies followed me soon and Aisha brought an extra chair for Briar. My companions decided to stand behind us for now, most likely planning to go their separate ways while we dive into the gritty details of the editor.

“So, let me boot the app up to show you what we are working with and… Fuck.” I paused after bringing forth the interactive plans of our apartment.

“What’s wrong?” Aisha peered over my shoulder.

I rubbed my eyes while groaning. “We forgot about the most critical part.”

Her brows furrowed in confusion but the almost silent gasp behind us made it obvious Levia caught on right away.

Turning to Briar, I bumped the mouse closer to her. “Try placing your hand on it.”

Slightly perplexed at the weird seriousness of a fairly normal request, she did as instructed, and we watched everything gray out on the screen.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” My drakan mate growled and smacked herself on the forehead as if it was her fault for not reminding us.

“This is going to be a problem…” I sighed heavily.

“Did I—” Briar spoke up with a worried expression but I gently raised a hand to interrupt her.

“It’s not you. Well, technically, it is you, but not the way you are thinking.” I met her striking red eyes. “I might have just completely wasted your time here. I’m really sorry. Sometimes I’m just so stupid. The thing is, all the tech and soft given to Defenders work only with Defenders. The three behind me are an exception since they are an extension of me. You won’t be able to use the program that lets us manipulate this Personal Domain of mine.”

“The whole thing is pointless since Lucas intended you to have fun with this without him needing to hold your hand or monitor you over your shoulder.” Aisha huffed as she dropped her ass onto the floor next to me and rested her back against the desk. “But, you can’t do anything without us because you have no connection with him. And it’s not like he can Bond with you to fix that since you are not his summoned Subordinate.”

“In simpler words, myself, Aisha, or Lucas need to be the ones using the editor while all you can do is instruct us,” Levia added to further clear up the confusion. “That does not sound like an effective or even enjoyable work process, does it?”

All of that got our almost collaborator thinking deeply. Briar seemed like a kind and understanding woman so she must be considering going the mentioned way for us. But, everyone here had to be aware of how tedious it would be. If we couldn’t just leave her with this stuff and go handle our Assignments, it would disrupt our workflow.

“You say that the two of us need a connection…” The vampire lady brushed her chin ponderingly. “Perhaps the Blood Oath would work at creating such a bond?”

I stared back at her languidly as she peered into my eyes questioningly. “Uh… That feels like quite a big deal?”

She offered our troubled faces a wry smile. “Kind of. My mother would have most likely whipped my butt for days just for bringing it up in front of a stranger, but… My gut is telling me that this is an opportunity I will greatly regret missing. It deems you a trustworthy person, and I have seen through our conversation that your character remains the same as back when we were coworkers. How did that one human saying go? It’s better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission?”

I couldn’t help it and laughed openly. But, since she was treating it seriously, I got a hold of myself quickly.

“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to settle on something so consequential when we aren’t even sure if it will work out,” I replied, tapping my fingers on the desk nervously. “I don’t want you to make a life-changing choice that ends up a meaningless mistake, just hurting you in the long term, because that’s how this Blood Oath feels like.”

“It is a pledge of eternal loyalty that’s supposed to bind souls together, but the sides can propose conditions they need to uphold,” Briar explained. “In the past, it’s been used a lot in the wars where entire families were wiped out and the last remaining scions ended up swearing their lives to their aggressors just to save their skin, becoming servants, since there are grave consequences for going against it. Nevertheless, I’m fairly certain it’s possible to use it more neutrally, treating it as just another binding contract, only with more flair. Depending on the set or hidden conditions, even the traditional agreements can hold power to destroy someone’s life, no?”

“I don’t know…” I ran my hands through my hair.

“Hey, you did make the System recognize Rose.” Aisha leaned her head onto my thigh, gesturing at the floaty orb hanging around under the ceiling. “Who says you can’t do it again?”

“A Pixie?” The vampire woman glanced at the orb with some astonishment. “They were supposedly almost extinct in this realm, save for a few sanctuaries.”

“That one is Lucas’ familiar that he had accepted in one of our assigned Dungeons,” Levia informed her. “And I agree with Aisha. It most likely will not make Briar into a Subordinate or a Defender, but she might be able to play a supportive role from the sidelines. You are an Overlord, an entity that does not take no for an answer, are you not, Master?”

“The way you phrased it couldn’t sound any worse.” I snickered lightly while shaking my head. “But, maybe you are right. If you are truly certain about this, Briar, I’m willing to go along with your suggestion.”

“Worst case scenario, I will gain a powerful Defender as an eternal ally.” Briar smirked reassuringly. “Or multiple, considering your circumstances. This party will only grow, won’t it?”

“You bet your ass it will!” My horned and horny mate cackled. “Lucas said we are still missing a healer at the very least!”

Roughly messing up her crimson hair, I turned to face the gorgeous vampire woman. “Okay. What do we need to do and know about it?”

“Not much. All we need is a surface we can permanently ruin and our blood.” She gracefully stood up and I followed her. “Are you attached to that kitchen table?”

“Since we are going to be replacing most if not all things here, no, I’m not,” I responded and moved to the sacrificial furniture.

We sat on opposite ends while the girls stood a distance from us to not disrupt the important ceremony.

“I will draw the sigil with my blood since I have more experience handling it, then you will add yours when I tell you, and we will present the terms, or in our case, what we are going to offer in this partnership.” Briar took off her red jacket, revealing the entirety of her comfy turtleneck sweater, and rolled up her left sleeve, showing more of her dazzling dark gray skin. “Take your time and don’t rush it. Ready?”

Nodding, I brought myself a knife with Telekinesis and copied her posture. She sliced her wrist open like it was something she’d done a thousand times and directed the blood out of the cut with the same finger like an experienced musical conductor. The crimson liquid flowed onto the table, starting to form something akin to a complex magic circle with lots of glyphs and sigils. Though, it had a demonic vibe to it.

The formation was finished in less than a minute, filling most of the surface between us, leaving just some space for my elbows to rest atop it without touching the scarlet lines. Briar then disconnected from the flow of her blood and glanced up at me. I sliced my wrist too, knowing that Rose would be with me right away to heal it up.

I waited for Briar to direct my blood in the same way, but it simply seeped onto the table and began pooling under my arm. Frowning lightly, I looked at her to check if perhaps I didn’t fuck it up or something, and I found the vampire girl staring daggers into my wrist, her scarlet eyes glowing fiercer than even during the small scuffle we had earlier. She was so still it looked almost comical.

So, I couldn’t waste such an opportunity.

“I didn’t mess up my lipstick, did I?” I cracked a cheeky grin at her.

Briar blinked absentmindedly a few times before her eyes widened, her gray cheeks turning much darker. “My apologies. I got a little… distracted.”

She quickly scooped the crimson liquid and used it to add some more elements to the ominous array, her gaze following it with rapt focus and attention, save for the brief moments it flicked to my wrist.

“She didn’t react in the slightest to her blood. Why?” Shuri whispered to the others.

Briar still caught it. “It’s like any other thing related to one’s own body. You are always the person to notice your natural smell the least while it’s much more pronounced to others. The same goes for blood in our case. You can say that our physique or mind, no one can be sure, simply reject it. It would be silly if vampires could be stimulated by their own blood, wouldn’t it? That’s also why we can’t feed on ourselves.”

“Still, that was one entranced face.” Aisha chuckled devilishly. “It must be hard to be a vampire in such a populated world.”

Continuing to direct the ritual, Briar had enough mental capacity to answer, albeit definitely a tad embarrassed at her slip-up. “We learn from a young age how to resist the call of blood. It usually doesn’t affect us much, but our kin avoids blood-related jobs, just in case. I… I’ve been sustaining myself on synthetic products for a long time. It’s like comparing bland water with a delicious cocktail. And I was slightly taken off guard by… the scent of his.”

“Why not use the real thing?” I asked, a bit confused. “Or is that your choice as someone akin to a vegan vampire or something? Not to sound offensive, of course.”

“First and foremost, it’s expensive.” She offered me a light smile to let me know I wasn’t discourteous. “You won’t find it on the shelves of your local supermarket. It’s more of a luxury good. And since vampires are pretty much the only ones that need it for means other than transfusions and operations, they are the ones controlling the market. Most families compete over it like cartels, tightly managing their territories, sales, and production, where prices can be winded up astronomically. The supply isn’t infinite as they can’t just empty blood banks or take away the resources required by hospitals. Not to say that there aren’t criminals doing that anyway, but such things and harming others are obviously illegal. And I would never assault another person just to feed.”

That sounded more complex than I had expected, and still like just the tip of the iceberg. I guess it wasn’t that impossible to believe that vampires controlled the blood flow. The nobility or governments had controlled alcohol in the past too. One would think that with so many humans on Earth, blood would be plenty, but we were protected by laws. And I bet not many volunteered to be drained regularly even if it paid good money.

“Now, let’s focus. The preparations are complete.” Briar met my eyes with hers full of resolution and a hint of vulnerability. “I’ll go first to give you an idea of how this works. Try to match my offer with something of equal value. As I said, there is no time limit unless you are squeamish.”

Nodding respectfully, I watched as the blood trails from our wounds shot upwards and merged in one point above the middle of the array, where they formed a golf-sized sphere. Briar extended her arm underneath it like she intended to wrestle me and took a deep breath.

“I, Briar Ebenholz, offer Lucas King all my expertise, talents, wisdom, experience, and passion related to the subject of architecture and structural design, seeking to form a mutually beneficial relationship that will aid us both in our growth and development where we stand together on equal footing and treat each other with proper compassion and respect,” she recited with an ethereal tone. “That I vow on my bloodline.”

Finishing, she reconnected our gazes, awaiting my response silently and patiently.

I could tell what she was thinking. She had been hinting at the things she considered valuable during our discussion, and even before. 

The most obvious aspect was money, which she lacked, and which could get you almost anything you needed. She most likely expected me to come up with a considerable sum for her services, relying on the kindness I had shown during our interactions. It wasn’t a bad choice, but it wasn’t the only one.

Another thing she alluded to was allies. Comrades that could support her and not only financially. Who not to best fill that slot if not a Defender, an entity that would continue to grow stronger quicker than most if they didn’t fall in battle, of course? She could use our support and likely hoped to receive it, even if she was too uncertain to ask as we’d just barely met.

There were a few other matters I could come up with, but both those and the ones I had already brought up could all be fulfilled naturally, just by us working together and perhaps becoming friends. I didn’t mind helping out a person in need. So, it didn’t really matter what I promised, as the Blood Oath didn’t forbid you from going over what was agreed upon, only from not meeting the conditions.

Therefore, I decided to keep it simple, and instead of offering what she needed, share with her something that she wanted.

A warm smile rising on my lips, I brought my arm forward to meet hers, not clasping our hands together yet.

“I, Lucas King, offer Briar Ebenholz my own blood in the amount that will satiate and satisfy not just essential hunger but also self-indulgent craving for well-deserved lavishness, willing to answer the call for such at any non-disruptive moment, striving to establish an honest and amiable relationship that will guide us both to greater heights where we unite together under the banner of shared goals and interests, treating each other with proper acceptance, care, and understanding,” I recited, watching her eyes widening to the brim and her mouth opening, but my palm grasped hers before she could utter a sound. “That I vow on my bloodline.”

Heat rushed into my body from the point of connection and a wave of pressure blasted us in the faces. I felt a tug at my wrist and observed with squinted eyes as the bloody threads coming from our wounds into that floating blob of dark red liquid started tensing up. The sphere grew smaller until it was gone, leaving just the two strings behind, now joined into one line in its place.

This single cord then started to press into our skin right from the edge of the wounds and sank underneath the thin layer, buried deep in our flesh like a setting pipe. It continued merging with us bit by bit until the final section disappeared in the center of our joined hands. Immediately, I felt my heart thump in my chest strongly and understood that something had settled within my very existence. The cuts healed up and everything slowly returned to normal.

Briar was the first one to slip her fingers away from mine, still gaping at them with wide eyes and a dumbstruck expression. “You have no idea how grossly you just overpaid… Can you even guess how much a cup of pure blood costs?”

I scratched my cheek while scrunching my nose. “Five hundred bucks or so? Maybe closer to seven since it’s so elevated in your circles?”

“Thirty thousand Earth Dollars on average.” She shook her head and exhaled heavily. “That’s over ten times my usual commission. This is insane…”

“Well, that sounds like you can make a fortune by draining me and selling the excess.” I chuckled merrily.

“I would never!” Briar shouted and huffed to the side, rubbing her face with one hand. “My conscience won’t allow me to abuse the Oath’s conditions like that. This is too precious of a gift.”

“Wasn’t that meant to be a payment?” I asked with a raised brow but she just sent me a glare, the first time showing that kind of emotion, but I saw her eyes drifting to my wrist. “Want to take an advance?”

Her expression softened and a bit of her fang poked out as she bit into her lip. “Are you sure?”

“I’m a big boy. I can handle it.” I playfully psyched myself up while tugging at my collar to expose more of my shoulder.

Briar chuckled quietly while rolling her striking red eyes. “I don’t need your neck. And you won’t feel much past the initial prick thanks to our toxins. But, I haven’t had natural blood for years. Saying that vampires used to suck humans dry is not an understatement in this case.”

“Don’t leave me a husk, then.” I winked at her. “Remember that you can ask for this as many times as you want, so maybe spread the portions out.”

She nodded daintily and moved her chair to sit on the side of the table instead. I held my arm out to her, enjoying how her fingers brushed against my skin as she brought my wrist up to her face.

“I expected you to be colder,” I commented, making her pause right before digging in.

She scoffed gracefully. “I’m not a corpse. But you might end up as one if you interrupt me again.”

Her blood-red irises shimmered dangerously, but I simply grinned in response, knowing she was messing with me, clearly having fun with it too. Naturally, I could also feel how much she craved this, so perhaps part of her threat was supported by that instinctual desire.

As shameful as it was to admit, I actually moaned a little as she sank her fangs into my veins, hearing Aisha snicker to herself in amusement. Shuri’s quiet chuckle echoed somewhere around too and I bet Levia had a jovial smile on her adorable lips.

Briar hummed blissfully, her eyelashes fluttering as she drew on my blood. Closing her eyes after a while, she relished in the heavenly taste and kept sucking the exquisite beverage and I could actively feel myself getting emptied. Her remark about sucking me dry wasn’t a joke.

But, while I felt myself quickly approaching my limit, she looked like she could go on for much longer. I had promised her to satiate her desire, so I was a bit reluctant to give up right here. Thankfully, I got an idea.

“Aisha? Mind lending me a hand?” I turned to my drakan mate.

Surprised, she pointed at herself, then grinned excitedly and sat down right at my side. I touched her warm cheek and invoked Transfer Lifeforce, immediately feeling better. She caught on instantly, and dove right for my lips, deepening the connection. I fought to keep myself steady as my strong mate showered me with rough and passionate kisses, chasing after my tongue like a predator hunting its prey.

I had to admit, I lost myself a little in the moment, experiencing the pleasant suction that tickled me from inside and savoring my affectionate lover’s mouth crashing against mine. Both things made me quite hard. Even though no blood should have been able to move that way during this process.

It was only when a loud prolonged burp reached our ears that the intimate bubble burst and we looked at our vampire friend.

Briar reclined in her chair with a somewhat drunk expression, holding onto her stomach dearly, her cheeks flushed from the unintended social transgression. “My apologies for acting so… uncouth. I’ve never been so full in my life. Not to mention with blood of such an unbelievable quality.”

“Was it that delicious?” Shuri inquired curiously.

“Not just delicious…” Our dark friend sliced her wrist again and a lot of scarlet liquid rose into the air.

In a flash, it formed a dozen sharp longswords above her head, all aimed forward, then sealed the cut.

“Twelve? I could barely uphold seven before.” She marveled over them, stroking the sharp edges with her finger. “I’m starting to feel really bad about this.”

“Don’t. That’s what blood friends are for, right?” I smiled at her warmly. “But, we might as well see if our little scheme paid off. It’s your moment of truth.”

She nodded earnestly and walked up to the desk with a serious expression. As she laid her hand on the mouse, I was just as tense. Then, all that tension was replaced with euphory as the inactive sections of the screen lit back up. Briar’s face snapped to mine and she grinned victoriously as I pumped my fist.

Looking over my shoulder to the sound of high-fives, I saw Levia holding my phone with a proud grin while Aisha made happy dances behind her. Shuri just stared at the display excitedly with Rose zooming in circles around her horns.

I had a feeling that those high-fives were unrelated to the editor app working.

★━━━━━━━━━━━━Author's Notes━━━━━━━━━━━━★This was a looong boi but I couldn't cut it in half before the ritual ended :v