There was much to do when I awoke that night. The kitchen was a mess, and I’d promised the children that I’d tell one of my ‘famous’ stories before putting them to bed. Then, there was paperwork to do, for the orphanage was a non-profit organization, and in order not to pay income tax as a business, I had nearly ten forms to fill out. Nancy wasn’t getting home until 7:30, so Josie, Catherine, and Jack Lupus went ahead to court, and I would show up late.
As the older children were sitting down to dinner, the younger ones having been fed, bathed, and put to bed, the phone rang. In the middle of spooning the green beans into a serving dish, I grabbed the phone.
"Hello, Eternus speaking."
"Eternus? It’s Josie, and you’d better get your ass over here!" My daughter sounded upset, and I’d not often heard her swear, only when there was something very wrong.
I hurriedly threw the rolls into a basket and set them on the table, telling the older children that everything was fine, and it had only been a tele-marketer on the phone. Luckily, Nancy walked through the door five tense minutes later. I told her that there was an emergency at work, and I had to leave early. Thus, the children safe with someone, I made my way to Prince William Blair’s house.
Searched for weapons on my way in by Kyle and Chris, I ran into the front room, being careful to keep my eyes from the mirrored wall. Josie was sitting on the couch.
"Kid, what’s wrong? Are you OK?"
She jumped up when I came in. "Eternus, it’s Sally!"
"Sally?"
"Yeah, come on," Josie said and lead me into the back meeting room. Prince William was there, and Kyle and Chris followed us.
"Your wolf friend, Sally, she’s in trouble."
"You mean Surrey?" I asked, realizing that Josie might not have heard my friend correctly, for my Garou friend had a cleft lip and palette. She nodded.
Yes, Eternus," Prince William cut in, "she suddenly shifted into a big, slavering, man-wolf. Chris managed to get a punch in, but that only served to make her even more enraged. Then, suddenly, she froze, and Kyle was able to stab her in the back with two silver butter knives."
"Please, tell me you didn’t kill her," I said softly.
"Naw," Chris said and pointed out the window to the dark back-yard, "we tied her up in the shed."
I ran out and opened the tool-shed. Surrey was propped against one of the walls, still in full form, hands and feet bound. I shook her shoulder, and she groaned, shifting back to human form and falling to the floor. My friend looked terrible; she was cut and bruised, incredibly weak from the damage she’d taken from the silver.
"W-wha?" she asked, confused and in pain.
"Shh, just rest. I’ll take care of everything, OK?"
Surrey fell back into stupor, and I untied her. This was not good. I didn’t know who attacked her or why, but now her cover was blown and she’d have to leave the city. Even worse, she was a high-ranking member of Midnight Crimson, the supernatural level of the ACM. It did not bode well that she’d been assaulted.
Back inside, I asked Marita, the Toredor Ghoul, what had happened. She said that she’d been talking to Surrey, who turned to talk to Josie, then just suddenly changed to full form. Marita had fled with Celerity, then Chris had attacked. He had hit her in the face, then, strangely, the enraged Garou had frozen. Kyle, using his speed, had gotten Surrey in the back with two silver knives, which incapacitated her.
They were going to kill her, but Josie had protested, so they decided to tie her up in the shed. I thanked Marita, and started to question the people who had been in the room at the time. One of them was an Irish man, Darby O’Reilly. He seemed like a nice man, but hadn’t really seen what’d happened. Another was a man wearing goth make-up, sitting silently on the couch. I introduced myself and asked if he had seen anything.
"Bastian, that’s my name. Yeah, the girl with the speech impediment just reared up into this monster. The big guy attacked, then Josie sang at her and she froze. Then that kid stabbed her with silver, and that was it."
"But did she seem upset or angry before-hand?"
"Not really," Bastian said and went back to writing.
Perplexed, I retreated to my favorite place to sit and think when at the house of William Blair; the stairs. Flanking the front room and directly across from the front door, they provide an opportune place to both be over-looked and to observe. As I was mulling over when I’d learned, Josie wandered past, singing.
"Josie? Can I talk to you for a minute?" My daughter nodded and sat down on the stairs. "You saw what happened with my friend Surrey, right?"
"Yeah, that girl was walking across the room, and she was saying something to me, then she got all big and hairy. Chris ran in and hit her in the face, but the cuts just healed themselves. She stopped for a bit, and Kyle hit her in the back with silver. Eternus, they were gonna kill her, but I asked the Prince if he could tie her up instead. That’s when I called you," Josie said.
"Hmm. This is indeed very confusing, for Surrey comes from a peaceful clan of Garou, and she would know better then to shift to full form in front of a room full of Kindred. I am also not pleased that she was beaten into unconsciousness."
"Well, you can’t reason with a werewolf when they’re like that," she commented rather matter-of-factly.
"What makes you say that? Have you ever seen a Garou ‘like that’?"
Josie got suddenly quiet, and I realized that once again I’d slammed into some hidden memory or forgotten darkness. "Yeah, but I can’t tell you."
"All right," spoke I gently, not wanting to pressure her into something she might not want to remember. It seemed to me that more and more had been coming back to Josie in the past few weeks, and I wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing.
"Well, I can tell you, Eternus. See," and she lowered her voice, "the packs used to hunt them sometimes. I didn’t, but I was kind of along for the ride."
I nodded. "Did Surrey seem angry or upset before she changed?"
"Um, I don’t think so, but she didn’t like that guy in black, or his Ghoul. You know what? I don’t like them either, they give me chills," then my daughter stood and walked after her gray kitten, who’d just scampered past.
I busied myself speaking with Catherine, who’d just arrived, having stopped off at a local bookstore to pick up a few texts she’d ordered. Alexandria, the Tzimice antitribu, was out of torpor; Lady Meredith had later explained to me that she’d been Blood Bound to Lord Ian, and her being in Horrid Form had been in frenzy, not an aggressive action.
There was a commotion at the door, and I made my way over to see what was wrong. Prince William, looking pale and drained, was shouting through the door. Kyle and Chris stood by.
"And I don’t want him in my house for the remainder of the evening!"
Chris went back into the front room, "OK, everybody, don’t let the Tremere, Martin Oliver back in the house. He used some kind of spell to steal vitae from the Prince."
I nodded in agreement, and made the mental note to stay away from doors or windows, for Martin might thus try to gain access. Everyone was a bit upset by this, and I was uneasy, for Lady Meredith had not yet arrived, and I had always trusted her to keep a tight reign on the two deceptive members of her clan.
"Oh! My master’s so upset!" whined a Ghoul in a pink shirt, "Mr. Lupus, maybe you could talk to him, calm him down or something."
"Sure," Jack said, flashing the genial smile that had endeared him to many of the children at the orphanage.
They carefully slipped out, and I realized that the guy in the pink shirt was the Ghoul of Martin Oliver. Prince William strode angrily back into the front room, fuming over the fact that a Tremere had tried to pull some kind of trick in the very estate of the Prince. Kyle reassured the man, saying that Martin Oliver was outdoors, and had no way of getting back in.
"What about his Ghoul?" Josie spoke up from the couch, "I bet he’s going to let that guy back in."
"He went outside to calm his master, I saw. He took Jack Lupus with him," I replied.
Josie jumped up and ran out the front door. I rose to follow her, but rationalized that Jack was out there, he’d look after her, and besides, that Tremere had gotten in a good bit of trouble tonight, he wouldn’t want to further risk his place in the city. She’ll be fine, stop worrying so much, I told myself.
Turning my mind back to the event at hand, I walked into the kitchen, looking for Catherine, for I knew that it had been Surrey’s mission to find out as much as she could about her. She was not there, but I ran into Darby, quite hard in fact; the man was running around in panic, but he didn’t seem to be in frenzy. Grabbing him by the shoulder, I forced him into the small side room set off between the front room and the kitchen. He collapsed in the corner.
"Hey, it’s all right, settle down. What wrong?"
Darby was out-of-breath from his hysteria, a fact that alerted me to the fact that he was either a mortal or a Ghoul. He tried several times to speak, but could only get out bits of phrases. I saw the Prince walk by and called out to him.
"Yes, Eternus?" he asked, and by the look he gave me, I knew he was in no mood to deal with whatever the problem was.
But I didn’t even have to say anything, for Darby started up again, saying that there was terror and horror, and he would rather die than see something like that again. I was beginning to suspect that he’d seen someone break the Masquerade, and if so, then it was indeed a matter for the Prince to be involved in.
Shouts came from the back room, and with an exhausted expression, Prince William turned to go. I followed, and I assume Darby ran off in the other direction. As I walked into the back room a step behind the Prince, I was greeted with a sight that I hope never to set eyes on again.
Alexandria came through the back door, carrying the unconscious body of my daughter. Josie’s face was burned, and there was a large, bloody hole in her chest; a hole left by a stake. My chest constricted in guilt and pain, again I’d let her be hurt, again I’d failed her. Speechless, I followed Alexandria as she bore Josie to the front room and lay her on the couch.
I knelt by her side, not knowing what could be done to restore her life, rather, unlife. The tears blurred my vision, and I apologized, admonishing myself for not being wary of danger, not protecting her. Alexandria, speaking softly, told me that it was OK, and that Josie was going to be fine.
She put her hands on the incapacitated form of my daughter, and seemed to play with the burned flesh around the hole as if it was as malleable as clay. Her fingers closed the wound and it healed before my eyes, leaving only a pink scar. Running her hands over Josie’s scorched face, Alexandria fixed the charred skin, leaving her face looking as it had when she’d left the orphanage after dusk.
"Sao-kan, I’m so sorry, it’s all my fault! I should have gone with you, I should have…"
"Eternus! I’m fine!" Josie snapped as she sat up, "I’ve got to find Kyle, he’s got to know!"
As she ran to the kitchen, I turned, and saw what was occurring on the other side of the room. Catherine was kneeling by the bloody, scalded body of Jack Lupus, which was lying on the other couch. He was silent, and did not move.
"I-is he dead, Final Dead?" I asked, the words barely coming out. Catherine nodded.
As I looked down, every moment I’d known him came rushing back to me…meeting him at Lord William’s house in this very room…he and Lady Meredith calming me from frenzy…him teaching Lord Pierce to meditate…how he lovingly took care of the children whenever he could…Jack bravely going back into the house to attack Archie…his face, his smile…how he listened, and reassured me that he’d never let Wen Fu hurt Josie or myself again…I looked down, and realized that I’d loved him.
Chaos was all around me, and my thoughts returned to the present. Bastian passed me on his way to the back room, and motioned that I follow. Josie and Kyle ran in from the kitchen, she heading towards Catherine, he heading for the front door.
"What’s going on?" I asked desperately.
"Our old pal Archie’s back," the young Caitiff commented as drew his Wolfclaws.
The very real threat of danger penetrated my thick haze of grief and pain, and instantly I snapped into crisis-mode, as Dominic like to call it. "Everyone get to the back room," I said, loud enough for all to hear me.
"No! I’ve got to fight him, I’ve got to save you all!" shouted Catherine as Josie and I herded her through the doorway.
"Catherine, listen to me! If Kyle and Chris can defeat him without you risking yourself, then it’s for the better."
As we milled nervously in the back room, there came several explosions from the other end of the house, and Prince William moved towards the front room. "Please, Lord Prince, for your own safety, stay here. Keep by the back door in case he manages to…"
Kyle ran in with Celerity, and was attacked by Martin Oliver, whom had been in Obfuscate by the wall. From the other end of the room, Prince William shot at the Tremere, but I didn’t see if he hit, for there were other problems. A column of flame strode into the back room. Terror overcame me, and I tried to back up, but was trapped betwixt the Demon and the high side of the couch; caught between a wall and a hot place.
He stuck out his arm, and a hand of lambent fire gripped my face and burned deep. The pain exploded wildly in me, and I buried my head in my arms as I sunk to my knees. Archie moved past me to confront Catherine. Nearly blind, I rose, leaning on the couch, and searched the room for Josie. She was watching the battle from the protection of Bastian’s arms; good, she was safe.
"You really think that you can win, don’t you?" Archie chuckled darkly, "Look around, they don’t want you here anymore! See, they’re fighting even now," and he gestured towards Kyle, who was trying to subdue Martin Oliver. "They fight, they kill mortals, they even kill each other. Do you really think that you can actually change anything? Ah, here’s my quarry!"
I turned, and saw that Lady Meredith had chosen in inopportune moment to join the party. Archie re-formed in his physical manifestation, and ran towards her, holding the petite Tremere by the throat and burning her forehead. She crumpled to the floor. Rage, a feeling that I did not often experience, boiled within me.
"You stole souls, burned hearts, and corrupted innocents! That even, I could forgive, but you staked my daughter and killed my best friend! Now, you dare to threaten my Prince and my city?"
Purblind with fury, I drew the Wolfclaws of my right hand and slashed at the malevolent creature. Archie caught my wrist and slammed me into the stone wall, then tossed me across the room. Reeling, I sunk to the floor, my energy spent, my will sapped.
"Eternus, take this! It’s holy water!" Catherine shouted, thrusting some kind of vial at me.
"Are you crazy? I’m a vampire, it will harm me!" I spoke harshly, for my throat was seared from the enchanted fire.
Archie dissolved into black smoke, and Catherine began to glow, the light blurring her form. They circled each other, neither willing to make the first move, but both refusing to back down. The glare became too bright, and I had to look down, but when I again raised my head, the two were entwined, the air around them shaking. They merged, becoming one. The blast and flash were overwhelming, then the angel and the demon were gone, leaving only a scorched mark on the floor.
There was silence for a moment, then Josie fell forward on floor, sobbing. The Prince and Kyle ran out the back door, looking for Martin Oliver, who’d been blown through the wall by the explosion. Lady Meredith was coming to, and where Archie had touched her forehead, there was an open, ice blue eye.
This was all too much. Darby, frantic, ran into the room and put his hands on the burned place, and it seemed he was trying to absorb energy from it, but was unsuccessful. Josie was still lying on the floor, crying fitfully. I put my hand on her should, not knowing how to reassure her that things were going to be OK, when I knew that they weren’t.
"Shhh, it’s all right, kid. She’s not gone forever, she can’t be…"
"Why does everybody always leave me?!? Go away! Soon you’re going to leave me too!" she wailed.
I had no more words, knew not what else could be done. Everyone spoke softly, afraid and unsure. Everything was coming undone at once, Jack was dead, Catherine was gone, nothing seemed real or right. I, with the rest who had been in the back room, relocated to the front of the house. Yet, I could not sit, could not think, just wandered. Reentering the back room, I found Colin, the young Malkavian, peering out the window.
Prince William, Kyle, Chris, and a weakened Lady Meredith, had Martin Oliver cornered in the backyard. Guns were out, and it appeared as if the Tremere was living his last moments, but at that point, I could care less, and went back to the front room. Josie was holding a piece of sheet music, still weeping.
"Josie, I’m sorry you got staked, I’m sorry for all of this…"
"Eternus! That’s not important, she’s gone!" my daughter shouted and ran off.
I found no response. The little gray kitten was sitting on the couch, and I Called it over. It rubbed against me, then curled up in my lap, purring. I stroked its soft fur, lost in my own thoughts. What hope was there for the rest of us? Catherine had been Kindred, but had changed, evolved into something new and special. Would I ever see anything like that again?
"Eternus, I’m sorry I snapped at you," Josie said, creeping back into the room.
I nodded, "I understand, but try not to take it so hard. She wouldn’t want that. Perhaps, that’s what Catherine was here to do, perhaps that was the only way she could have defeated Archie, by losing herself, creating balance."
"Everyone keeps saying that, but she’s still gone."
The kitten stretched, got up, and gamboled off through the room. I also rose, and went to my sanctuary, the stairs. Shaking, I wanted to calm down, wanted to meditate, but was in shock. The charred skin on my face was healing, but I felt burned out, like a wasteland, rotted by acid until only a carbonized shell remained of what was me. Unable to deal with feeling so vulnerable, I curled up against the wall.
After a few minutes, I felt a presence near-by. Opening my eyes, I saw Bastian sitting on the stair below me, staring. "Yes?" I asked.
"You’re upset," he stated.
"Well, it’s been a long night. My friend was severely beaten, my daughter staked, the angel gone, and a man that I loved, killed. Just when things start to equalize, when everything is fine, then all death and damnation returns."
"But he’s gone back to the Circle, and maybe you’ll see him again."
"Yeah, the whole reincarnation thing. Great Dragon, I don’t even know what I believe anymore! All I know is that Jack’s gone, and even if his essence returns, how will I know that it’s him?" I asked hopelessly.
"Your soul will know," Bastian replied.
"I know, but now Catherine’s gone, and we never really figured out what she actually was or how she became an angel. And Josie, my daughter, burned and staked by that monster, did you see what he did to Lady Meredith?"
"Things will even out again, just as they upset themselves, you’ll see. Perhaps all that has happened has done so because that is the way it should."
I shrugged, and as I did, someone came around the corner. The woman was taller than I, dressed in a black business jacket/skirt. Her left arm was twice the size and girth of the right, and she bore a curious scar on her neck. The new-comer was breathing, and fixed her eyes toward me. As she moved in, Bastian slipped away.
"Hello, Eternus Hyperion of Gangrel," she said softly, like a predator.
"G-greetings," I replied, unconsciously moving away. Who was this person, and how did she know my name? She could be a fellow ACM agent, but Zythe had sent no word of someone else coming to Swarthmore besides Surrey. Indeed, if they did send anyone, it would be a Midnight Crimson agent, not a mortal. Certainly not a mortal who knew about clans, unless she was a Ghoul.
"I am Opal, and I’ve heard a great deal about you."
"Oh, you must know my sire then."
"Your sire? Ah yes, a Gangrel. Perhaps we might speak, but not here, there are too many…open ears," Opal remarked, "let us go outside."
I nodded, and followed her out into the yard. By the big tree in the front, she stopped, and turned to face me. "I know quite a bit about you, Eternus Hyperion."
The Midnight Bells Toll(PArt Two)