As the last rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon, I stirred and woke. It was going to be a long, though not unpleasant night; Lord Brendon was holding his first session of court at the house of Lady Meredith. Though I’d rather have stayed at my apartment or spent the night reading in the library, I stood and opened the closet door.
On the floor were six metallic-glass stones, each interred with a Chinese character, and arranged in a semicircle so they spelled out the sentence, "The way of chaos is the way of the Lord of Dragons." Terror gripped me, and for a moment, I froze. Sick at the thought, I ran through the rooms of my small home, terrified that one of them might contain my husband, Wen Fu. Though, after a thorough search, I was still the only one in my apartment, I dressed hurriedly, and left.
Soon I was at Mace’s house on the Ventrue estate, where I found her, Monique, Josie, and Catherine. After waiting for when I estimated to be at least three lifetimes while everyone applied make-up, we piled into Mace’s car and headed over to Lady Meredith’s house. Thin rain misted the windshield as fast as the wipers could clear it, and the damp chill of the night air seeped into the car. I stared out the fogged window; where was Wen Fu tonight?
We arrived at the small but stately house of Lady Meredith, who was waiting by the door to greet everyone as they entered. Polite as always, I complimented her on the decor, and thanked her for hosting the court. Pierce and Lord Brendon, the two Kindred I desperately needed to talk to, were not yet there, so I busied myself with small talk.
Josie looked terrible, worse than undead, if that was possible; her face paled in the shallow light, revealing tired eyes, red from nights of crying. Wistfully, she drifted from window to window, not speaking, not even singing, just slowly petting a quiet, gray kitten. I reassured her that Pierce would soon arrive, but that did nothing to console the poor girl. Inside, my heart was cleaving with her pain, but I did not know what to do to help her.
I spoke with Yvonne and William, who always make both pleasant company and conversation. It’s been my experience that not all Ventrue are power-hungry tools of autocracy, and the two were no exception. A few minutes later, Catherine came bouncing into the room in typical Malkavian style, and proceeded ramble on about computers and whatnot. Mace and Monique were busy talking with Rosalynn, another Ventrue Ghoul, and a tall, annoyed-looking woman in shades scowled at all from the couch.
Pierce entered a few minutes later, and I immediately informed him about my early-evening discovery. Though concerned, he told me that as long as I was a member of DX, I had nothing to fear. Before, that might have consoled me, but I was full of terror that Wen Fu or one of his allies now knew that I was alive, and where to find me during the day. I also told him how worried I was about Josie, and it was then that Pierce revealed that Vincent had fled the city for the time being.
We both agreed that Lord Brendon should be informed of the stones, and Pierce said he’d talk to Josie while we waited for the Prince’s arrival. More people slipped in, including a snide-seeming man asking around about the elder Malkavian. A few unfamiliar faces mingled with the rest, as well as a smell that choked and gagged. I prowled around the room, trying to escape the oppressive odor, but it filled every corner.
Lady Meredith strolled into the room to put on some music, and I pulled her aside, tactfully, of course.
"Yes, Eternus?"
"Lady Meredith, did your Ghoul leave a mortal around? Because, I hate to say this, there exists an unpleasant scent in the other room."
She nodded. "I’d noticed that. I think, however, one of the guests is a Nosferatu or Samedi, so I refrained from saying anything."
I agreed, and said nothing more on the matter. Sitting in one of the two comfortable, twin chairs, I was joined by William and Yvonne, the former sitting on the floor, and allowing the latter to take the other chair. Yvonne began telling me of her family’s history in France, and I found myself quite intrigued. Josie strolled by distractedly, and I offered her my chair, but she preferred to sit on the floor and pet her cat. After a while, my conversation with Yvonne lapsed into French.
"We really shouldn’t do this," I said in English, "it’s really not fair to William and Josie."
"No, that’s OK," Josie broke in, speaking in perfect French, and William nodded in agreement.
Pierce entered the front room, and I excused myself from the conversation and drew him over to a corner. He told me that Larcen and Katrina had called him, and they were out of the city on business, to be returning the next night. It was what he said next that severely worried me, however.
"I was speaking with Josie, and something, well, strange happened."
"What?" I asked.
"She bit my arm. When I asked her about it, she denied it three times. Finally I told her that her cat bit me."
"Did she feed from you?"
"Yes," Pierce replied, "but it was Josie, so I didn’t say anything."
I stared at the far wall for a moment, completely lost in thought. What I’d just heard reminded me of something my sire had once told me, and to be truthful, the very idea scared me.
"Eternus, what do you think we should do?"
"For now, nothing. From what you’ve just said, I’m calling to mind something I once heard, but at this point it’s still just a suspicion," I said.
"What? Is it something you can tell me?" he implored.
"Not just yet, my Lord Pierce, I still wish to talk with her and see for myself, but rest assured that when the time comes, you will be the first to know, and hopefully, one of the few who might understand."
We would have spoken longer, but Lady Meredith asked to speak with Pierce, and I left the two to whatever business they had, and went to sit on the stairs near the kitchen. A few minutes later Catherine happened by and sat down next to me. She began saying something about Lord Brendon, but then doubled over and cried out in pain.
I asked her what was wrong, tried to help, but she shrugged it off as nothing and continued through the room, only to be hit again by a similar fit. I followed her, and she seemed to have recovered, but said that she felt empty and tired.
"Catherine, have you fed today?" I asked, trying to find the root of her problem.
"Um, no. I haven’t fed in a month," she replied, and danced off into another room.
I shook my head slightly, thinking to myself. No, she couldn’t have been telling the truth. Wacked-out Malkavians, they never really know what they’re doing. Yes, that’s it, she’s confused; there’s no way a Kindred could last a month without vitae. My thoughts were then interrupted by the arrival of our Prince, Lord Brendon. He came in through the entrance to the lower room, and I went down to meet with him.
"Lord Brendon, I need your council," I said.
The man nodded, but looked exhausted and stressed. Others had followed me down to the lower room to also speak with the Prince, and they all seemed to be talking at once.
"Is this going to take a long time?" he asked.
Shaking my head, I led him over to a small table, and, reaching into my pocket and taking out a small blue cloth pouch, spilled the stones onto the cool wood surface. Then, I explained what had transpired. Though I tried to keep my voice down, it seemed as though the whole Kindred population of Swarthmore was now in the room and attempting to get Lord Brendon’s attention. After promising that we’d speak later on the matter, he led everyone up into the front room to hold court.
The Kindred new to the city came before the Prince, as well as the sly man who’d been sneaking around. He handed Lord Brendon an ornate sword, saying that the death of Lord Ian would not be forgotten nor go unpunished, then, he walked out the front door. Pierce followed, but soon returned, holding a piece of paper that had ‘I’ll be back’ written in blood. Lord Brendon turned paler than usual, and fell into a sudden fit of madness. He ran outside, followed by Catherine.
A bit bored, I wandered over to the couch and watched Lenore, the Ravnos I’d met at the wedding, and Mary Ann, a Malkavian who’d fought in the Vietnam War, do various tricks with a yo-yo. Dominic had one, and he once tried to teach me how to use it. Unfortunately, I could wind the thing and let it fall, but could never quite get the yo-yo to come back up the string.
The door suddenly opened, and a kid, probably not more than seventeen, stepped in. He kind of looked like someone you’d expect to see on the cover of a teenage-girl type magazine; slick and ruggedly handsome. The kid, who loudly and genially introduced himself as Kyle, moved gracefully through the room, shaking hands and learning names. When he came to Josie, she got a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look and sat down suddenly on the floor. I smiled inwardly, glad that, as it appeared, she had a bit of a crush.
After a while, Lord Brendon returned, and called for a general meeting in the front room. When we were all assembled, he addressed us, and announced that he’d decided to appoint William Blair as his second-in-command. He also warned us to be watching the city for Alex Storovich, the man who’d threatened him. Eddie South spoke up to say that he had heard of Alex; the Toredor ran a music store/bar/coffee club in Philadelphia. To my surprise, Josie said,
"Oh, so that’s who’s in charge of that place."
My mind went alive with electricity at her statement. Philadelphia was a Sabbat city. Eddie South was Brujah, so I could understand that he might have passed through there and gone unharrassed, but Josie? Vincent would have known better than to take there, or maybe… I couldn’t bring myself to finish the thought; something was seriously wrong, and I needed to find out what as quick as possible. I was still thinking when Lord Brendon dismissed the court, and left the room.
Kyle went down to the lower room to present himself to the Prince. Slavo, who had arrived, put some classical music on, and William and Yvonne took to dancing. The tall woman in shades continued scowling, and turned off the lamps near the couch. I sat on the stairs, at peace with both the music and the atmosphere. A few minutes later Josie sat down beside me.
"How are you doing?" I asked her.
"Why does my chest hurt and stomach burn when he’s near me?"
I grinned warmly. "It just means that you like him."
"I’m confused, and my stomach hurts," she repeated, and rested her head on my knee. So much, I wanted to be able to take away her pain, but I was still concerned about her past, and what it could mean.
"Josie? Have you ever been to Philadelphia?"
She shook her head, but her eyes told me that she had, then swept the room as if she expected people to be watching.
"But then…" I accidentally said out loud.
"What’s wrong?"
"Oh, nothing, kid. It’s just something that I’m thinking of, something that my sire told me, but don’t worry, for it doesn’t even concern you," I reassured her.
"OK, I trust you, Eternus." And she grinned and got up, probably to find her kitten, who’d been scampering around the kitchen.
The song ended, but William and Yvonne kept dancing. I heard some yelling from outside, but it soon stopped and I gave it no more thought. Pierce came into the room, summoning all DX members to a meeting. I followed him to the porch, where Eddie South, and Josie were already sitting. Pierce left to find Mace, and I noticed that Eddie was grimacing and squinting in his right eye.
"What happened?" I asked.
"He’s a monster, a terrible, bad, bad man!" Josie said, fearfully.
"Who, Eddie?" She shook her head, "Kyle?" Again, she responded no.
"It was Archie," Eddie said softly, rubbing his eye.
"Yeah, that guy put a cigarette in Eddie’s eye!" Josie vehemently agreed.
"Are you OK?" I was shocked, I mean, I’d seen Archie and he didn’t seem like a terribly sadistic person, but then, I hadn’t really ever talked to him. Still, Eddie’s eye was red, and I didn’t think that Josie would lie, in fact, she seemed very righteous about the whole thing.
At that moment, Pierce and Mace entered, and the meeting began. We discussed the man that had frightened Lord Brendon, and whether or not he was a threat to DX. Then the topic shifted to something a little closer to home.
"So," Pierce started, "what does everyone think of Kyle?"
I looked at Josie, who had begun to hum and had drawn into herself like a shy turtle. Eddie shrugged, as did Mace, and I put in that I really had no problem with the boy, in fact, he’d seemed very friendly. Pierce considered this for a while, and just then Monique opened the door to the porch and went to sit by Mace.
"He makes my chest hurt," mumbled Josie. Pierce shot me a questioning look, but I returned it with a reassuring one. He nodded and Mace snickered, whispering something to Monique.
"Well, I think he could be a useful ally for DX, so I’m going to bring him in. Josie, you tell me if you start hurting, OK? I don’t want anyone near us who has evil powers," Pierce said.
Josie said nothing, but it was clear what she was thinking. A moment later, Pierce returned with the young Kyle. He went around and shook hands with all of us, except Josie who petted her cat and tried to act oblivious, then told us a bit about himself. Pierce, however, was not impressed simply by manners. He took a coin from his pocket, and while Kyle wasn’t looking, hid it on his person, and asked the boy to find it. Kyle did, he pulled the coin out of Eddie South’s ear.
On that basis, Pierce named Kyle an official ally of DX, and sent him back to the party. Of course, we didn’t fully trust him, but with all that had been going on, we didn’t fully trust anyone but each other. The meeting ended, and I went back to the front room to sit and think.
Suddenly, Catherine, who had been sitting peacefully on the couch, stood, and was over-come. She collapsed on the floor, blinding white light shooting from her, and light hitting her from the ceiling. I was fascinated and scared at the same time, but finally had to look away, the glare was too bright. The fit ended, and everyone in the room was speechless. Catherine herself didn’t seem to understand what had gone on, and ran to find Lord Brendon. Josie and her kitten had been at the door and had seen what went on.
I Called Out to the cat, asking her what she thought of what had just happened. The reply was short and cryptic; Pretty. Though it made sense, it told me nothing. Never ask a cat for directions.
About to leave the front room, I was prevented by Lord Brendon and Chris who stormed into the room, the latter carrying the incapacitated body of Scott, a Ravnos. The sheriff dropped the body on the floor, and Lord Brendon shouted for everyone to come to court. I stared at Scott, a large stake protruding from his chest, and shuddered.
Lord Brendon began raving on the rules of the city and why he hated to be defied, so I didn’t notice that Josie was standing next to me until I heard the singing. She was wide-eyed in terror, and I led her down into the lower room, followed by Kyle. When he asked what was wrong, I told him that she’d seen a great deal of violence recently, including the death of the former prince.
"Yeah, Lord Ian’s head fell off," said Josie sadly.
"Shhh, don’t think about it, kid," I told her, trying to help keep that memory from surfacing. Kyle started telling us about a Tremere he’d once known, but was halted by the child Malkavian who was standing behind him.
"Josie? Catherine’s all alone with that guy, Archie," she reported.
I was almost knocked over by Josie, who flew up the stairs. Motioning to Kyle, we followed, and were met by Chris in the dining room. Catherine and Archie, apparently, were out on the porch, alone.
"He’s going to hurt her! We’ve got to do something!" shouted Chris.
"Yeah, let’s get going on a diversion," Kyle replied.
That moment, Monique walked into the room. I knew what had to be done, though I was a bit afraid to do it.
"Monique, give me your compact!" I demanded. She complied.
Opening the contraption, I stared at the mirror, not even getting the slightest glimpse of my reflection before the blind fear took over. I screamed and hit the wall, knowing nothing else besides the mind-numbing terror that ran through me. Slowly, I calmed down, hoping I’d created enough of a diversion. People had come into the room, drawn by my screams, but were now dispersing.
"Whoa, you’ve really got to learn to cool it," remarked Mary Ann, a Malkavian, pointing to the wall where a large chunk had been dislocated. Reddening, I picked up the pieces and put them on the table, then went to find Lady Meredith. She and Pierce were in council on the stairs, but when I told her what had happened, she didn’t seem fazed, and said that it was no big deal.
As the Tremere left the room, I was joined by Pierce, Kyle, and Jack Lupus, and by the looks on all their faces, something bad was happening. Pierce filled me in; Archie, the guy who’d stubbed his cigarette out in Eddie South’s eye, was sneaking around and making suspicious-sounding deals with people. Jack put in that there was something strange and evil about the man, and Kyle offered to pick his pockets but was deferred by Pierce.
I stepped behind a large house-plant in the darkened front room and shifted into wolf form, then padded softly down to the lower room to spy on Archie. The large man was sitting on a desk next to Monique, who was unconscious in a chair. Whimpering, I nudged her, but she did not move. Archie only chuckled coldly.
Back upstairs in the dining room, Kyle was in council with Pierce, and told him what he’d seen. I transformed back to my natural self and concurred with what Kyle had said. It was at that point Jack walked into the room to tell Pierce that his suspicions had been correct; Archie was not Kindred, Archie was a demon.
All of that was too much for me to take in. Pierce and Jack left the room to put plans into action, and I was left with Kyle.
"Pretty slick," he said.
"Pardon?"
"The wolf thing, I love to do that too."
"You know the Discipline of Protean as well?" I inquired.
"Yeah, well, being Caitiff, it sure helps me travel from place to place, and it’s great when I don’t have a place to rest during the day. Earthmeld is like, well, getting closer to the earth and stuff," Kyle replied.
Pierce came in seeking Kyle, so I strolled into the dark front room where the music was still playing, and took my place on the stairs. I don’t know why, but for some reason I just like sitting on stairs, it makes me feel at peace. Just as I was getting into a meditation rhythm, someone spoke.
"Eternus?" It was Lady Meredith, who was standing next to Shawn, her Ghoul, who was sitting in the large wicker chair at the other end of the room.
"Yes?" I replied as I crossed the room.
"Could you have a look at Shawn, I think something’s happened to him; he seems not to know anything but his name."
"Hi," the boy said, looking up at me benignly.
"Who have you seen him near in the last hour?" Lady Meredith asked.
"Hmm, Pierce and Jack Lupus. Oh, wait, he had been hanging around with Archie before."
Lady Meredith nodded. "Could you watch him for a minute, I’m going to go find Jack."
I complied with her wishes, and within moments, they returned. Jack examined Shawn; he snapped his fingers before the boy’s eyes and asked him several questions. Finally, he turned to Lady Meredith.
"I’m sorry, but his mind has been wiped. Anything you taught him, any information other then his basic knowledge of self, has been erased."
"But Jack, isn’t there something you can do?" I inquired. He shook his head sadly.
With nothing else to be done for Shawn, I was on my way back to the stairs when I ran into Catherine, almost literally. We began to talk about things, and she asked me what religion I was.
"Well, Catherine, I’m not really a member of any organized religion per se, but I was raised to respect the spirits of the ancestors, those of the dragons and winds, to follow the ways of nature, and the teachings of Buddha," I said.
"Oh, I don’t know anything about Buddha."
I smiled. "Well, basically he taught that one should honor all things…"
"Yeah! Like when he went out and saw all those sick people and decided to be a holy man and sat under the tree," Catherine suddenly expounded.
"Yes, and devised the Path of Moderation, the Noble Eight-Fold Way…"
"Because he reached Enlightenment!" Catherine interrupted again.
"Wait, I thought you said that you didn’t know anything about Buddha,"
Catherine didn’t respond, but instead bit her thumb. Blood seeped out of the wound, and I swear to Cain that it was white, and looked like liquid pearl. Haltingly, I reached my finger out to touch it, and it felt soft. Then, taking an even bigger risk, I put that finger to my tongue and tasted the blood. There are not even words to describe what it was like, but I felt as if I was standing in a field in the warm sun, but back before I was undead, when the sun couldn’t hurt me. I felt peace.
"I…I don’t understand," I stammered.
We walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Catherine started telling me about how she had been going through a lot of changes, and felt that she was becoming someone different. I tried to understand, but what she was saying was going against everything my sire had taught me. Then, she locked up in a fit of pain. When I asked Catherine what was wrong, she only replied that she was hungry.
Quite opportunely, Shawn walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.
"Hi," he said innocently.
Not wanting Catherine to continue hurting, I took Shawn’s arm, drew my claws, and cut a small gash. Once the blood began flowing, I pushed Shawn’s arm over to Catherine, who bent over it hungrily. However, she’d taken only but a taste when she choked, fell to the floor, and went into convulsions. Josie and Jack ran into the room and tried to revive her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shawn stand, but halted him.
"Sit down!" I shouted, "it’s your blood that’s done this!"
Lady Meredith, drawn by the confusion, walked into the kitchen. She put a hand on Shawn’s shoulder, and shot a questioning look at Jack and I.
"Oh, I’m sorry, I should have known better!" I cried.
"Eternus, what is it?" she asked.
"Please, Lady Meredith, I apologize to both you and the entire house of Tremere, I didn’t mean it!"
"Calm down. Now tell me what’s going on."
"Well, Catherine said that she was hungry and hadn’t fed for more than a month, and your Ghoul was here, and I didn’t think you’d mind, so I cut him, and when she tasted the blood, she, well…" I confessed.
"We have to get her out of here," Josie suddenly said quietly, and she and Jack helped Catherine to her feet. They walked through the front room and went out the door; I followed. Standing in the driveway by the entrance to the lower room was Chris, Lord Brendon, Pierce, and Eddie South. I looked through the window and saw Archie sitting in a chair surrounded by Mace, Monique, and Rosalynn.
Everyone was talking at once, no one really sure what to do, but all knowing that something had to be done. Catherine kept insisting that she should go in and try to reason with Archie, but Josie shouted that Catherine was the most important one of all of us, and had to be protected. Of the nature of Archie, we were now all certain.
Pierce and Jack suggested that they return to the house and try to get everyone out, especially Mace. I was in agreement until Josie spoke up.
"No! She’s with him now, she’s evil."
"Josie," Pierce said strongly but calmly, "are you sure about that? Mace is one of us, a member of DX, and I don’t think that she’d go against the family."
"I’ve been right so far," she replied.
Pierce looked to me and I nodded. From what I’d seen of the condition of Monique, nothing could be assumed about Mace, but we could now afford to take no chances. The two started up the walk to the front door.
"Well, if my head comes flying out the door," Jack said with a weak grin, "take that as a signal to run."
"Jack! Please be careful! Pierce, look after him!" I shouted, then saw that Josie was following them.
"What are you doing?" I nearly screamed, and grabbed her arm.
"I have to help, I have to help Catherine kill that monster."
I was sick at the thought of any harm coming to Josie. My legs felt like they were full of lead, and it was like that nightmare where no matter how hard you try, you just keep moving slower and slower.
In terror for her safety, I pulled Josie down to the driveway, and was going to ask Lord Brendon to watch after her, but found that he was gone. That, surprisingly, made no impact on me; I should have been angered that he ran, but in retrospect, our Prince had probably been working on conquering the demon, which he was, as I found out later.
Two shadows moved down the lawn, and I stood in front of Josie, claws drawn, ready to die protecting her. The smell hit me first, and I realized that the two horrible creatures before me were Chris, the Nosferatu sheriff, who had been scorched by the demon, and his Samedi deputy, Jasper. The two were unmasked, and after seeing our reactions, looked ashamed and resumed their other faces. As Pierce and Jack Lupus escorted Mace down towards the driveway, I was struck with a thought that made my undead skin crawl, and unbreathing chest tighten with fear.
The Nosferatu can change their faces if they wish, and I once saw Lord Brendon do the same thing, so the Discipline must be one that all Kinred can learn. If so, then Wen Fu could have the ability to alter his appearance and seem to be someone else, and if he could do that…
"Josie! Stay out here!" I yelled, desperate.
"Eternus, I’m fine!" she shouted back, a little annoyed, and continued towards the entrance to the lower room. I saw the cold gleam in Archie’s eyes, and felt my heart constrict.
"You took her once, you’re not going to take her again!" I vowed, and blindly ran to the door, finally blocking it with my body. Pierce and Jack were talking to me, trying to calm me down, but at that point I was a bit manic.
"No, Sao-kan, stay out here! Please, I lost one child, I’m not going to lose another!"
I must have regained my sanity a bit later, for I was standing with the others on the driveway when we were joined by Kyle and Eddie South. Eddie reported that there were still people in the upstairs part of the house, then asked Pierce if he could be allowed to retrieve a Camerilla ally from Philadelphia to aid against Archie. He was given permission to go, and left.
"I think everyone should be armed," Pierce commented, and unsheathed his sword, which glowed slightly, and those with weapons loaded them. I drew my Wolfclaws, and nodded to Kyle, who did the same, as did Jack.
"Catherine’s in there," said Josie softly, and we looked and saw her speaking with Archie, determined to do something to save all of us.
Pierce, Kyle, and Jack started towards the front door, and this time Josie and I followed. In the front room, Mace and Monique were sitting in the two chairs by the wall, and William and Yvonne were sitting on the couch. The three men deployed themselves in the upstairs rooms, trying to figure out how to attack from above. I met Mace’s eyes, and blinked as the blur of Celerity took them from my sight. An instant later the front door slammed.
"Do you know how to pray?" Josie asked William and Yvonne. They just stared at her. "Please, kneel with me, she needs our strength to keep fighting."
And They Shall Sing (Part Two)
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