I woke and dressed, putting on my favorite suit, it having been freshly dry-cleaned and ironed. Prince William had graciously granted Josie’s request of a wake for Catherine and Jack Lupus, and I wanted to look my best. My chest ached as the thought returned, constantly reminding me that Jack was gone. If only I’d been able to see him one last time, see him flash his endearing smile, heard him say just one more word to me before disappearing into the void.
No, it was only damaging to think like that. Jack Lupus was dead, and it was something that I’d have to learn to accept. Perhaps Bastian was right, and I would find him again in some other manifestation. Yet, the fault was mine; I’d loved him and never let myself know, I’d loved him and never said a word. He died not knowing how I truly felt, and for that, I knew, I could never forgive myself.
Josie had left a few minutes earlier, for Kyle had shown up to escort her to the wake. This I did not like. The young Caitiff had betrayed Larcen and Katrina, and in doing so, had betrayed DX. At the Primogen meeting, after the two Brujah left, he advocated throwing them off the council, and told Prince William that should he need force, all the Caitiff in the city would rally in support of him against Larcen and Katrina. All this, of course, was in exchange for the position of senchel.
However, tonight I was in no mood to continue in my efforts of keeping Kyle away from Josie. As she left, I told her I’d be along in a bit, and to tell the Prince not to begin the ceremony until I arrived. Then, arm-in-arm with Kyle, she departed, looking grave as she remembered the loss of Catherine, looking pleased to be with her friend.
Straightening my jacket, I patched a Band-Aid on my forehead, over the terror-inspiring symbol forever marked upon me. Then, it was safe for me to regard myself in the mirror. A trace of red was still around my eyes, undeniable proof of the time spent crying for Jack the night before. However, it was not very noticeable, so I had no need to worry.
Glancing at my watch, I headed upstairs. Nancy was feeding the younger children, and giving Lily her bottle. I’d explained to our mortal friend that Josie and I were going to a funeral, so we’d made the kids’ dinner the night before and frozen it so Nancy wouldn’t have that much on her hands while handling the orphanage on her own for a night. She didn’t seem to mind, as the children were, for once, all behaving themselves.
I told Nancy that Josie and I would be back late, probably a few hours before dawn, and not to wait up. In truth, even though it was summer and she didn’t have school, I didn’t want the girl to be up all night as well as the day. She gave us so much help, and asked so little in return, in addition, she had developed a strong friendship with Raven, a young Brujah neonate, who often stopped by to read to or play with the children.
The night was oppressively warm, and the rain from the early evening caused steam to rise from the pavement and drift along the ground, illuminated by the headlights of passing cars. Despite the lack of reason, I felt nervous, caged, as if something horrible were happening somewhere, and I was powerless to stop it. Walking at my usual pace, I turned the corner, going down one of the wooded side-streets of Swarthmore.
Again, that creeping feeling, rising along my spine and turning my stomach. A small sound exploded behind me and I whirled around, ready to draw my Wolfclaws, ready to defend myself. The squirrel continued capering through the underbrush, having been startled by my sudden movement.
Sighing inwardly at my foolishness, I kept walking. I was reminded of my childhood, when the nights seemed ever so long, and 5th Cousin would trick all of us children into scaring ourselves. These were just the darkened streets of my city, and the only dangers therein were from the kine, but only if they should ever know what I truly was. Of course, I could also be harmed by a fellow Kindred, but the Sabbat had long since been taken care of, and I had no enemies among the members of the court…
The thought came so suddenly that I stopped short. Yes, but my enemy wasn’t one from the court, it was my former husband, the monster, Wen Fu, and he could be anywhere. I quickened my pace, chastising myself for becoming so lax as having forgotten his ever-present threat. It was this kind of carelessness that had led to my daughter being attacked, and I would meet Caine before I would let that happen again.
All the shadows seemed to be hiding things, and every night sound was either muted or amplified. Hurrying along, I became aware of someone coming towards me. The man was a bit taller than myself, and was wearing a sweat suit, apparently jogging. Just a mortal out for exercise, nothing wrong with that. He looked exhausted, and nodded in greeting to me as we passed. As his soft footsteps receded into the darkness, I forgot about the man, and kept my thoughts on reaching the wake in time.
Suddenly, I tripped over an unseen hazard, and fell heavily to my hands and knees. Muttering a slight profanity, I brushed off my pants and looked back to see what had caused me to fall. There was no unevenness in the pavement, no far-reaching root, no stone nor errant branch. I grinned for the irony, having worked myself up so severely that I’d tripped over my own two feet. Josie, had she been with me, would have also laughed at my absurdity.
Yet, as I fell, I could have sworn that I saw the form of a man disappear into the gloom of the woods. Nonsense, I should stop this and just keep on going. It would not be good to keep the Prince waiting because I was seeing ghosts in every shadow. However…there was still that feeling…
"Excuse me, do you have the time?"
To say I was startled would be a great understatement. Spinning around, I was brought face-to-face with the jogging man. Strange, I hadn’t heard him turn around and come back, but to be fair, I had been a bit distracted. Smiling, I glanced down at my watch, noting that it was nearly nine.
"Yes, it’s just about ten of nine," I replied, meeting his eyes, which were a deep bluish-gray. He said nothing, but his eyes crossed and blurred, still locked with mine. They seemed to turn red for a moment, then seeped into black.
No! Fear pumped into me, and the thoughts ran ‘round through my mind in a typhoon of terror. Josie was in danger! I was here, where I couldn’t help her! My Sao-kan would die, and it was all my fault! Desperately, I turned around, but couldn’t decide which way to go, which way led to my daughter. The man stood, smirking at my distress.
Before me, his visage shifted, and in an instant I was staring at an all too familiar face, though one I had not, gladly, seen in over 50 years. Wen Fu laughed.
"So, Pu-jin, I finally get to see you after all these years. Tell me, how have you been?"
"You monster!" I shouted, "Tell me what you’ve done with my daughter!"
Wen Fu, threw on a look of mock confusion. "Your daughter? Oh, my Pu-jin, I do not know what to think! Is it the suckling bitch that I exterminated from our household? The rat that you gave me instead of a son?" he laughed madly, his speech growing higher as his words came faster, more frenzied, "Or could you mean that weak little waif that was so easy to break?"
"I mean it, you leave Josie alone!"
"Oh, so she has a name. She would not tell me what it was, or your new name, I’ve heard you have one."
Chills assaulted me, and I felt my stomach turn as I remembered the time I spent as the wife of Wen Fu. The sorrowful day of our marriage, the frightful evening I lay with him, the night soaked in the blood of Sao-kan. No, my new name, the name my caring sire gave me, would never fall upon the ears of my former husband. He had no right to know. Confidence surged within me, and I stood up straighter, knowing that if Wen Fu killed me tonight, at least I’d have died honorably, and without fear.
"Yes, Wen Fu Xiao, I do have a new name, but there is great magic in this, and a ghost demon such as yourself cannot hear it," I replied.
"Tell me!" he screamed in fury, drawing closer to frenzy by the second.
"No."
"I am your master, don’t forget! I am the King of Chaos and the Lord of Dragons!"
In willful defiance, and probably foolishly, I met his eyes, meaning to say no once more. They flashed red again, and fright made me blind and confused. I had never before felt such wild fear. Where ever I looked, it seemed as though Wen Fu was all around me, blurred in my sights, at once growing bigger and monstrous, then small and impishly quick.
He struck. Though I pulled my claws, I was too bewildered to defend myself, and was helpless. Wen Fu seemed to hit from all sides, and though I knew he was not moving fast enough to indicate the use of Celerity, I still could not seem to gather enough wits to fight back. The pain became a constant, and after a while, I resigned myself to it and let my body go limp, for it was becoming a struggle to stay conscious.
Strange, the ground wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, and my head was already spinning too hard to feel the crack of the asphalt. His hand was near or on my face, I know that much, and my forehead burned in response. Then, silence.
For how long I lay in that position, I do not know. Wen Fu had long gone, but it must have been hours before I moved. From what I felt, there were deep gashes over most of my face and arms, the left side of my ribcage was smashed in, my legs broken, and my spine crushed in at least two places. It took a lifetime to summon the strength to inch over to the grass of the woods, and by the time I was laying on the soft ground, dawn was minutes away.
With the bit of energy left in me, I managed to sink into the earth just as the sun crested the horizon. My mind was scattered and jumbled, and as I tumbled into an unwilling slumber, my last thought was that I wouldn’t be back at the orphanage, and Josie, my innocent daughter, would worry.