To save time crossing the busy intersection, I cut through the parking lot of the mall, and was surprised to see a familiar face. Josie was standing outside the doors, looking like she wanted to go in, but every time she tried, would get scared and retreat to the shadows.
"Hey kid, what are you doing here?" I asked.
Josie looked up, startled, but when she saw it was only me, relaxed. "I need to get a copy of ‘Teen Beat’ or something."
"Oh. Why?" I inquired, interested.
She didn’t answer, but shied away from the door as a group of teenage girls, chatting and laughing with their boyfriends, went into the mall. I put two and two together and figured that her being there had something to do with Kyle. So, I took Josie in, bought her a copy of some fashion magazine, and took her to a few stores until she’d selected an outfit. Fortunately, business in Chicago had been going very well, for Zythe had been sending me almost double my monthly stipend.
After we were done at the mall, Josie and I had just enough time to walk to Pierce’s house for the DX meeting. She told me her suspicions about Mace, and asked that I speak with Pierce while she plead the case to Larcen. The two of us agreed that if Mace had indeed dealt with and become tainted by the demon, she had to be killed, for it would be the only was to save her.
We arrived and shortly after, were joined by Larcen and Katrina, back from their out-of-city business. Since all of DX was not yet present, we stood and talked the courtyard. As arranged, I took Pierce aside while Josie spoke with Larcen.
"Yes, Eternus?" he asked kindly. What I had to tell him was almost unthinkable, but had to be done; I had to let him know that a fellow DX member had gone against the family, and would probably have to be destroyed.
"Josie believes that Mace has been dealing with Archie, and that he has corrupted her. After council, I had agreed to advise you of this."
Pierce nodded. "Yes, I’d suspected such since the demon revealed himself the other night, but we have no proof."
"When I was in the lower room in wolf form, I saw Archie speaking with Mace, and Rosalynn with her arms around his neck. Monique was unconscious in a chair. You know as well as I do what Mace’s business is, and it is my belief that she conducted that business with the demon," I said, "besides, Josie was right about Catherine, she was right about Archie; why should she not be right about this?"
"If what you say is true, then what do you suggest?"
I sighed. "Josie believes that the only way to save Mace is to kill her, and it pains me to say that I agree."
Pierce looked up to the black night sky, and I felt his loss. "She’s coming tonight, but I don’t know when. Lady Meredith is also coming later to scan Kyle and make sure he really is on our side, so if Mace is here then, we can discover the truth."
"And if she has betrayed us?" I asked.
"Then she will have to be taken out."
Katrina, Larcen, and Josie walked over to us, and we all filed into Pierce’s house and into his small television room. I sat in the chair wedged in between the wall and modernistic bunk couch-bed, Pierce and Katrina sat on the lower bunk, Larcen stood by the window, and Josie sat by my feet, yawning and petting her kitten. Small talk was thrown around the room for as long as possible before Larcen finally said what no one else had been brave enough to.
"So, do we kill Mace now, or wait until she gets even deeper involved with that, that…guy?"
"Archie is a demon," Josie commented softly.
"Yeah, that’s another thing, who the hell decided to name a demon ‘Archie’? Where’s Betty, Veronica, and Jughead?" Larcen chuckled bitterly.
"Regardless of that," Pierce said, "we have to give Mace a fair chance to prove herself innocent."
"She’s not," muttered Josie, and rested against my leg.
"I say we just kill her now!" Larcen roared, and Pierce began shouting in disagreement.
"Both of you shut up, I’ve had enough!"
Everyone started, and saw Katrina standing, fuming. From her eyes I read fatigue, confusion, and a tinge of anger. As I looked around, I saw the same thing in Larcen’s, but not in Josie or Pierce, and I was willing to bet that mine were clear of that emotion. As things settled down, I reflected that our two volatile Brujahs hadn’t seen Catherine or Archie, and really didn’t know what they were dealing with, or even how to handle all that they’d heard.
"All I’m saying is that this shouldn’t be a witch hunt," spoke Pierce, calmly.
"And all I’m saying is that I’m in charge of discipline in the family, and that if Mace is found guilty, I’ll take care of it," Larcen replied.
"How could she not be?" exploded Josie, "you know what she does for a living, she’s a slave trader, and there’s no way that can be right!"
"I told you kid, I’ll deal with it."
"If it is at all possible," I said, a bit timidly, "it should be done carefully and humanely. After all, she is one of the family."
Katrina opened her mouth to speak, but a commotion by the door drowned out her voice. Kyle, who’d been staying with Pierce and who had been out on an errand, stumbled into the room, bruised and bleeding. I leapt to my feet and we all helped him to sit on the bed. Josie put her hand against the knife wound on his arm, and Pierce got some stored blood to help him heal.
"Man, what happened?" Katrina asked.
"I was walkin’ around on the campus and some kids ambushed me and started killin’ me. I held my own though, they’ll be sorry in the morning," he said casually, almost macho, while flinching from the pressure applied to his gash.
"Your claws?" I asked. He nodded. "Did you break the Masquerade?" I inquired, fearing what he might reply.
"Nah, they just thought I was wearing brawl gloves."
Kyle drank the vitae and began to heal. Josie took her hand away, and I saw her kick the blood off her fingers. My final suspicions had been confirmed, and I needed to tell Pierce, and try somehow to fix things so that no tragedy would come of it. We informed Kyle of the problem with Mace, and as we were, Lady Meredith showed up, but her true purpose was kept in silence; she didn’t speak much, in fact, the Tremere really didn’t seem herself.
A few minutes later, Mace arrived, and we all filed out to let happen what would. Lady Meredith told the Ventrue that because she had been in contact with Archie, she needed to be scanned for a ‘magic residue’; a clear lie, but one that Mace seemed to believe. Lady Meredith, Pierce, and Larcen asked many questions, but she kept answering that she was not corrupted by the demon, and that she had acted in the best interests of the Camerilla.
"I can’t see anything wrong," Lady Meredith finally said.
Mace smirked as if she knew what we had been up to, then came and stood against the wall near Josie and myself. Next, Pierce told Kyle that he needed to be scanned to ascertain his true loyalties, and the young Caitiff readily agreed.
"We don’t need to worry about Kyle, he’s on our side," Josie whispered to me, and couldn’t help smiling as she said his name.
After all had asked their questions, I entreated Pierce to let me ask one of my own; our leader conceded.
"Kyle, from whom did you learn the Protean Discipline?"
"My sire," the boy replied, hazy from the trance of Auspex.
"Are you now, or have you even been a member of the clan Gangrel antitribu, City or Country?"
"No, I have been Caitiff since the night after my Embrace."
I nodded, and returned to where I had been standing. Soon Pierce and Larcen were satisfied that Kyle was truly loyal to DX, and Lady Meredith took him out of his hypnotic state. That unpleasant business behind us, the Tremere then had to leave, but promised that if she heard anything else about Archie, we would be among the first to know.
Seeking a more private place to do what he intended, Pierce led us back inside his house and to the television room where we’d been before. He left, then returned with the white-hot DX brand, and seconds later, Kyle was a full member of the family.
Since all of our business had not yet been discussed, Pierce bade us relax for a bit while he spoke with people individually. He, Larcen, and Katrina went into the parlor, so Kyle started a poker game. Mace dealt and I played as well, though I’ve never been very good at gambling; I always want the other person to win so that good fortune may be shared among all.
Mace started the betting, Kyle reached into his backpack and pulled out a crumpled wad of bills, then they turned to me. All the money I’d had on me, having not been to my apartment for a few days, I’d spent buying Josie’s outfit, so I started to fold. The girl was sitting on the bed watching the game, and threw me a wallet.
"Josie, where did you get this? Did this come from someone at the mall?"
"He was a crack dealer anyway," Josie replied softly.
"Kid, how do you know that?" I asked.
"There’s a needle in there…" This was said as I explored the wallet’s pockets and pricked my thumb on said drug paraphernalia.
"Why didn’t you take it out!?"
"I wanted you to believe me. That girl in the picture’s a crack-whore, I can tell."
I removed the needle, wrapping it in a Kleenex and throwing it in the trash can, put the few dollars in the center, and gave the wallet to Kyle. I didn’t win the round, but Mace did and seemed pleased, so I was as well. A few rounds later Pierce, Larcen, and Katrina came back into the room, and I motioned to our leader that I needed to speak with him.
As I followed Pierce out of the room, I stopped to look back on my family, my fellow Kindred, those who I’d sworn to trust and protect. Mace was trying to swindle Kyle out of some cash, but the boy was conning her right back in a youthful way that made it seem OK, Larcen was speaking quietly with Katrina, and Josie was curled up asleep on the bed.
Some of Pierce’s ghouls were doing paperwork in the parlor, so we went outside to the courtyard. Reluctantly, I began.
"My Lord, as you might already know, I’m very concerned about Josie. What you told me the other night reminded me of something I’d heard, and after that, the pieces all started to come together…"
"What do you mean?"
"She bit you, fed from you, then seemed not to remember. She’s been to Philadelphia, probably not with Vincent, and tonight, after she’d helped Kyle with his wounds, she licked the blood from her hands. Now I do not know this for sure, for I haven’t yet spoken with her, but I think she used to be Sabbat," I said.
For a moment, Pierce was silent, then, he spoke, "If that is so, what do you suggest we do?"
"The Kindred of Swarthmore have suffered greatly at the hands of the Sabbat, and I don’t think they’ll react very well if they knew. Doubtless Josie is no longer with her pack, in fact, she probably looks on DX as her new one. If she believes in the Masquerade, then there’s no problem."
"But what would happen if her pack were ever to come looking for her?" Pierce asked.
"I had though about that, and have decided to Blood Bond her to myself, after all, I care greatly about Josie; she’s like a daughter to me," I replied, but said to myself, like the daughter I lost, and I will never let that happen to her.
"That is a good idea, Eternus, but do you think you can handle it?"
"With all due respect, Lord Pierce, back in Chicago I have a ghoul that I’m training to become a Gangrel, and he’s been my student for more than a year now. Yes, I can handle it."
Pierce looked up at the house, "Do you want me here while you talk to her?"
"No, I don’t want to make her upset or make her think I’m accusing her of anything. It would be better if I spoke to her alone."
We went back inside. Pierce went into the room and was immediately dealt into the game, which apparently was still a stalemate between Mace and Kyle. Larcen and Katrina were still in council in the corner, and Josie was watching the poker game intently. I almost felt sorry to take her away from it.
"Hey Josie," I said, taping her on the shoulder, "we need to talk, kid."
She nodded and we left the television room; I headed for the back staircase, and sat on the top step. Josie sat a step down from me. For a moment there was silence, then her gray kitten curled up in my lap and started purring. I love being Gangrel; animals don’t fear you as they do most other Kindred. Leaning against the wall, I gazed intently at the wallpaper pattern, trying to figure out how to start. Fortunately, I didn’t have to.
"What’s up, Eternus?" Josie asked.
"I’m going to be honest with you, I think that there’s something you’re not telling me about your past. From what I’ve seen, I’ve pieced together a theory, and I’m not accusing you of anything, but…I think you were Sabbat."
She looked down, no trace of emotion evident on her face, "Yeah, that’s what Vincent said. I guess he’s right, I…I don’t really remember."
"It’s OK, don’t get upset, but tell me what you do remember."
"We were in Europe, I think, then Vincent and me were on a boat, and I just went where he did, then we came here and stuff."
Were I still mortal, I would have sighed. Josie embodied innocence, at least, she seemed to have forgotten or blocked out anything that those monsters might have done to her. I wanted to know about her past, for my sire had told me that a Sabbat pack all drink each other’s blood and thus become bound, but perhaps it would be better if Josie didn’t remember.
"My sire tells me that the Sabbat ran in packs, like wolves, is that true?"
Again, she looked down. "I guess."
"A-and he also tells me that they have a ritual where all drink the blood of the pack. You said that you came here on a boat, right?" Josie nodded. "Is your pack here too?"
"Vincent said that my pack was destroyed." Then silence again.
I thought long and hard about what I said next. The child probably didn’t understand the power of another’s blood if she didn’t remember feeding from Pierce and trying to feed from Kyle.
"People here have lost a lot to the Sabbat in the past two years, you know that you would be in trouble if anyone found out that you used to be one. If they didn’t kill you outright, you’d be forced to leave the city, never to return. Vincent had to leave because of the confusion surrounding the death of Lord Ian, so he can no longer protect you."
Josie huddled up against the wall. "I’ve gotta go, don’t I?"
"No, I have a plan. I’m going to do some, um…magic that will make you closer to the Camerilla. Do you believe in the Masquerade?"
"Yeah, I don’t want any mortals to find out what I am," she replied.
"Do you know what? Long ago, I had a husband, an evil, heartless man who loved no one. I also had a young child, Sao-kan."
"Where’s your daughter now, Eternus?"
"One night, in a fit of rage brought on by his hate and drink, he beat her to death, then beat me until I was unconscious, and had this marked," I pointed to my tattoo, "to remind me that he was always watching me and that I would always belong to him."
"Oh," she whispered, "I’m so sorry."
"For nearly fifty years I believed that he had been killed in the war, or had died since, but now, I know that he is alive, as we, walking undead. Wen Fu is here, in the city, and he knows where I sleep. That’s why my clothes are dusty, I’ve been resting in the ground by day."
"Well, you know what, you should stay at the orphanage with me and Catherine and Nancy, you can help us take care of the children."
I nodded, and smiled to reassure the child. "If it is no trouble or burden, then yes, I shall stay at the orphanage." Then, without explaining, or even knowing why myself, I drew the Wolfclaws of my right hand and slashed my left wrist, offering it to Josie.
With surprising speed and hunger, she drank deeply of my vitae, then while I healed the gash her eyes cleared and Josie seemed not to remember what she’d just done. My sire often told me of Kindred who used the Blood Bond to create slaves, treating the Thrall terribly, often to the point where the bond was the only thing keeping them from attacking their Reagent.
"Hey, Eternus?"
"Yes?"
"Um, I’ve never had anyone before, so if no one’s around, w-would you mind if I called you Mom?"
"No, I wouldn’t mind that at all, kid," I said, trying desperately to keep the tears from slipping down my face.
At that moment, Larcen, came out into the hallway with the rest of DX. Again, we went into the business district and got pizza. I did not join the rest in eating, preferring to feed before dawn. We discussed a great many things, mostly Catherine and Archie, and the new Prince of the city. Larcen and Pierce were fairly sure that Lord Brendon would be easily controlled, and easily put aside when DX wanted to take over.
I was a bit concerned. Admittedly, the man was as insane as they come, he was a Malkavian, but I had the feeling that he’d waited a long time to be Prince, and wouldn’t give up the position lightly. Besides, I had no want to see the man killed; Lord Brendon had done me a great service by looking into the Mirror of Malkav on my behalf, one that I would not soon forget.
Mace left soon after dinner, saying tersely that she had other business to conduct before the night was over. After she departed, Josie stressed that evil could be quite deceptive, and even if Mace had shown nothing tainted on her aura, her agenda could still be malevolent. Pierce Kyle agreed, and our leader pulled out a cell phone and directed that Mace’s car not leave the area. He said that he had a friend on the Primogen of Detroit, one who had been a priest in his living life. We would send Mace to him.
That out of the way, Larcen asked how we were going to undo the corruption done by Archie. We knew that Yvonne had sold him her ring, however, in return for what was still unknown. Kyle said that while he’d been spying in the lower room, he’d heard Mace make arrangements to purchase said ring with Rosalynn, a Ghoul who was Monique’s sister.
Josie proposed that she could sneak into Mace’s house and get the ring back, and she seemed very pleased when Kyle insisted on going with her. While we were embroiled with plans for defeating the security system at Mace’s part of the Ventrue estate, Katrina slipped off, walking alone in the moonlit night. I felt sorry for the Brujah, whatever happened to her must have been bad, for she always seemed distanced, isolated, alone. Pierce followed and walked with her.
Kyle and Larcen went into a corner to discuss some plan they had for the government of Swarthmore, so Josie began telling me about the children at the orphanage. One of them, Nancy, who was 17, both lived there and helped with the young ones. Catherine had moved in, and Jack Lupus stopped by a great deal to do what he could.
At this point, Larcen and Kyle had come back over to the courtyard, and we were joined by Pierce and Katrina a few moments later. The meeting was about to break up when a figure stepped out from behind the near building. Kyle reached for his gun, but it was only Catherine.
"Pierce, I hoped I’d find you here," she said, "I was thinking that perhaps we could all pray."
"God’s dead and so are we," Larcen returned gruffly, and Katrina nodded.
"Please, everybody, let’s just do this. We’re a family, so we should pray like a family and stuff," Josie piped up.
Grudgingly, we all formed some semblance of a circle and held hands. I felt strange inside. I’d been raised to believe in the old spirits, deities, and ancestors of China, then in my years after, taught the way of Buddha, the path of Enlightenment, a very balance-based Zen philosophy. This talk of an all-powerful, all-good being who loved everyone seemed both a false promise and too ‘warm and fuzzy’ for me, but I hid this from Josie.
After that was done, Catherine stayed behind to talk to Pierce, and I walked with Josie back to the orphanage. After feeding for the night, I stopped at the Swarthmore cyber-café to check my e-mail. Josie waited outside while I logged on to the local mail network. There was a message from Pierce…
"The driver that was supposed to take her to Detroit was found dead in the car, a bullet wound in the back of the head, and Mace was no where to be found. I have learned through one of my off-shore bankers that she cleaned out all her bank accounts, as well as shutting off power and water to the orphanage.
"I will ask Justin King, the Pittsburgh leader, for funding to keep the orphanage open. Justin owes me big. I think she was affected by the demon, and I think that she is working for him; her ghoul Rosalynn may be involved too. They must be dealt with NOW. Also, Monique, must be protected, I fear she is in danger. Keep this confidential, and write back to decide what to do, quickly..."
-Pierce Blackhawk of Brujah
Hastily, I logged off and told Josie what had happened. We rushed back to the orphanage, which was dark as death. However, Nancy had a great deal of candles set up in the front room, and had all the children with her there. Josie told them that it was a sleep-over, then introduced everyone to me. By then I was on my cell phone to Zythe. I told my sire that I had moved in at the orphanage to better aid Josie, neglecting to worry him about Wen Fu.
My lord told me that he would pull a few strings, and that the building should have electricity and water by the morning. I helped with the children for a while, then saw that dawn was not far off, and retreated to the basement, which had no windows, and even a closet for me to rest in. Thankful to be under a solid roof, grateful that Josie would be safe in the city, and feeling protected by my DX kin, I slept.