Actually, I was a bit nervous about the coming evening. Lord Brendon, on hearing that the Ventrue Justicar, Gabrielle Gevon, had single-handedly dealt with the Sabbat and was leaving, decided to throw her a going-away party, and William Blair, being a fellow Ventrue, had graciously offered his house. Remembering the conduct and rage with which Lord Brendon, William, and Lord Ian had met DX, I was a bit reluctant to go, but then, feared what would transpire should I not.
Larcen, Mace, and Katrina were out of the city on business, leaving Pierce, Josie, and I as the only DX members in Swarthmore. Cautiously, I strode down the street to William’s house, hoping that there would be no trouble. I’d spoken with my sire the previous night, and Zythe had told me that for the next year or so, I was to stay in the city, since I had become quite entrenched in local ‘politics’.
The party was in full swing when I entered. People were milling around and talking, though a few minutes after I had come through the door, Lord Ian asked for everyone’s attention and directed us all into a back ‘meeting’ room. Looking around, I saw some that I knew, but also a great deal of new faces. That could be good or bad. I did not, however, see Prince Tyler.
When we were assembled in the meeting room, Lords Ian and Brendon, accompanied by Gabrielle, took their places. The Justicar started off by telling us that, having cleared Swarthmore of the Sabbat and come to the rescue of the Camerilla therein, she was leaving for Florida, and taking Lord Tyler with her. She announced that Lady Meredith was her Arcon, just in case anyone got the stupid idea of killing her, and berated us for the mishandling of the whole Sabbat affair. Like a kicked dog, I sunk into my chair, not even daring to make eye-contact with the woman, even though I’d not been in the city then.
After Gabrielle left, Lord Ian declared himself Prince, and, to my surprise, no one really had any objections. We went around the room and introduced ourselves, though a few were shady about the whole thing and didn’t reveal their clan. I tried to remember them, knowing that those with things to hide are usually victims or victimizers, and I wanted to steer clear of all trouble.
The meeting broke up, and we all drifted to various parts of the house. I stayed in the meeting room for a bit, and Lord Brendon, who’d been speaking with Pierce, burst into a fit of mad laughter and lay on the ground, still gripped by merriment. I had an idea of something that I’d always wanted to try. Leaning down, I said,
"Assimite."
Lord Brendon started laughing again, and sputtered, "Y-you said ass!" That’s why I like Malkavians, you can always count on them to find the light side of things.
For some reason, I felt uneasy in the front room, and preferred to sit on the stairs, talking with people as they passed. I spoke a bit with Monique, a Ghoul that I’d met at the wedding, but she was a bit flitty, and didn’t remember. Lady Meredith approached as the Ghoul ran off, and remarked that she’d be wan to create an undead servant if that was the result. I put in that perhaps her sire bit too close to the brain stem and took too much.
Josie arrived, looking for Vincent, who wasn’t there, carrying with her a quite disturbing doll, and a hand-bag that looked suspiciously like the one that the Justicar had. Pierce was talking with Eddie South, a Brujah that I’d seen at the wedding, and was joined by Dave Turner, a new Brujah, and his Ghoul, Danny Boy. Josie waited until those three had gone before talking with Pierce.
Warily, and unsure why, I entered the front room, and began looking at a Japanese print hanging on the wall over the fire-place. It was nicely done; esthetically pleasing and neat. Josie timidly crept up beside me.
"It’s sure pretty."
"I guess so, but I don’t understand why Americans see everything Japanese as so artful and graceful. When they run down the streets of your town and massacre your people, well," my voice dripped with bitter sarcasm, "you do kind of get a different impression."
"Did that happen to you?" asked Josie quietly.
"Yes, but that was a long time ago, in 1931, when they invaded Manchuria. Many people I knew and cared about were killed and tortured at the hands of the Japanese."
The girl started to reply, but a motion in the periphery of my vision caught my eye. I turned, and inexplicably, was filled with an overwhelming sense of dread. Fear, maddening terror, ran through me and I could see nothing of where I was. Truly blind, I screamed and tore through the room as people looked up, startled. My dizzied mind thought I was flying through a nightmare. I slammed into a wall, and huddled up between it and what felt like a chair. For seconds, minutes, could it have been hours, I lay, all my muscles locked, eyes clamped shut.
Soon, my senses returned, and I felt hands on my shoulders, voices coaxing me from the sickening void. Someone was talking, a kind, authoritative accent, telling me to be calm, someone asked what happened, and I heard a deep voice answer that I had a phobia of mirrors. I wanted to deny that, for I didn’t think it true, but I found I couldn’t make my lips or tongue work. Slowly, I sat up, and recognized that I was curled up behind an easy chair against the north stone wall of the meeting room.
Shaking, I stood. A bald man, who had previously introduced himself as Jack Lupus, a Child of Osiris, and former Gangrel, helped me to my feet.
"It happened again, didn’t it?" I asked, still confused.
"Yes, you frenzied, but you’re going to be all right in a bit, just calm down," said Lady Meredith.
She and Jack led me over to a chair, and gratefully, I sat. The Fear had come many times before, and I’d never known why, I just assumed it had something to do with being undead, for I’d never had such fits before my Embrace. I tried to remember what I’d been doing before the terror over-came me. That’s right, I turned, and, and…
"It’s still there, isn’t it?" I shouted suddenly, standing.
The two looked to where I was pointing; my forehead directly above my eyes.
"There’s some kind of mark," replied Jack, while Lady Meredith tried to convince me to sit and calm myself.
"W-what does it look like?"
"Well," said Jack, squinting at my face, "it’s shaped like an upper-case ‘T’ with a lower-case ‘t’ part of the bottom, there’s one line swooshing down, and on the other side, a line that curves up like a cursive ‘k’."
It drew the picture in my mind, the pieces coming together slowly, until the full impact of what Jack said ran through me. "Gai-jzin!" I cried, all the memories coming back at once. Lady Meredith forced me down into the chair, pleading with me to calm myself. Deep down, I guess I’d always remembered, but the images of that night now came back in full.
"What does that symbol mean?" Jack asked, concerned.
"It’s the gai-jzin, the character for chaos. M-my husband, Wen Fu, he, but that was a long time ago, in the early 40’s, during the war, he was Kuomintang, and, I, I…"
"Shhh, don’t speak, it will make everything worse," advised Lady Meredith.
"No, no, it’s clear now. Our child, yes, she was a girl, my little darling, Sao-kan. She was so small, and he came home on leave, he w-was drunk, in a rage. He, no, no! He beat her to death, then, chopped off one of her beautiful braids. That monster, he d-dipped it in her still-warm blood and painted the gai-jzin all long the walls. Wen Fu, he, no! He hurt me until I passed out, and I awoke the next day when my faithful servant-girl was dressing my wounds. He’d had it tattooed on my face, so as to always remind me that I was his."
Jack looked sickened, and told me he had a special meditation that could help me lessen the Fear. Lady Meredith reassured me that it had been a long time ago, and that I was safe now. The two took their leave, and I began to meditate, trying to calm down. Presently, I heard a small voice.
"Eternus? Are you OK?"
Opening my eyes, I saw Josie, and a concerned Pierce. I explained what had gone on, giving a G rated version of the death of my daughter, not wanting to upset the young singer. After she left, I told Pierce about what I’d discovered, and confided my fear that Wen Fu might still be alive, and was fearful of what would happen should he find me. Pierce understood, saying that if I ever had any trouble, to just shout for him, and all of DX would support me. He was drawn into conversation by Eddie South, and I carefully crossed the front room and hung by the kitchen.
There, I spoke a bit with William and Yvonne, and a charming Nosferatu, Slavo, who had been a cellist in Moscow. I’ve always liked music, especially Western Classical, although I remember with fondness the simple woodflute I played as a child. Dominic, my ghoul, being 19 and undead, sort of, for only a year or so, loves Contemporary Rock and Grudge, and more and more, I find myself listening to that when I have the chance.
We all got to talking about our embrace, and I told about how my sire had brought me into being Kindred and fighting against the Communists in one night. I mentioned that I’d been living in Jinzhou, and that caught the attention of Dave Turner, a Brujah. He joined the conversation, saying that he fought in China, near Jinzhou. I asked if he’d been Kuomintang, and he replied that he’d fought on the side of the Communists.
Tactfully, I excused myself from the group, and sat on the stairs to think. My people had suffered greatly at the hands of the Republic, my sire and many others had devoted themselves to the cause of the Anti-Communist Movement, the ACM, and my late sister, Ta’jid, and her family had all but been destroyed by Stalin, his Red Army, and the KGB. I did not trust Dave, nor his little ghoul, Danny Boy, who always seemed to be sneaking around and listening. Yet, if they became DX, I’d have no choice.
There came a great commotion from the back room, and Colin, a Malkavian, ran out, followed by Mary Ann Catherine, a 12 year-old fellow Malk, who slapped Josie on the back and shouted, "Tag!". I ventured into the back room, and was greeted by the sight of another Malkavian in full frenzy. Lord Brendon was trying to calm her, and had to drag her outdoors. There seemed to be a great number of Malks in the city, for Adam and Catherine were out of town on business, so that made six.
On my way back into the front room, I saw Pierce talking with Josie, and Dave Turner approached. The young girl appeared terrified, and I quickly moved over to stand next to her and Pierce, hoping to be at least a little intimidating to aid my fellow DX members. Though the Brujah said what he would and left, I was still wary. Pierce continued speaking with Josie, who mentioned that Vincent wanted very much to meet with the whole of DX.
I continued on my way through the room, and sat again on the stairs. As I thought about it, I wasn’t really sure about Vincent. I hadn’t really met the man, only seen him at the wedding. True, he was antitribu, and the Lasombra were a noble clan even before there were Sabbat, but still. Once, when Ta’jid called, she’d told me of a tall man and young girl who’d brought Prince Tyler the head of a powerful Sabbat as proof of their loyalties. She said that she at once disliked the girl, for she was timid and sang constantly. I, however, had no such animosity towards Josie, and if she trusted Vincent, well, then he couldn’t be that bad.
Lord Brendon wearily strode through the front room into the meeting room. While I was mediating about Malkavians, an idea revealed itself to me. I rose and walked into the meeting room, where I found Lord Brendon sitting by himself in one of the cushioned chairs, worn out, and massaging his temples.
"Lord Brendon?"
"Yeah, what?" he replied jadedly.
"What do you see?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, your kind, I’ve been told by my sire, that you have the ability to see much more than the rest of all Kindred, and that is what causes the inherent madness of your clan."
The man looked at me quizzically, then spoke, "Well, not every Malkavian sees things the same. Sometimes I feel like I’m blind compared to others, but it is both the gift and curse of Malkav."
"Is it the same thing when a human is insane? Do they see more than a normal mortal would?"
"Well, with breathers it’s different. Their insanity is caused by an imbalance in their mind, and it’s anyone’s guess what it is they see," he replied, "why do you ask?"
"It’s that, well, my husband was very, imbalanced, as you say. He did some truly terrible and sadistic things. Do you see this?" and I pointed to the mark on my forehead. He nodded. "Wen Fu, my husband, had it tattooed there, he said," but the Malkavian lord cut me off.
The woman whose frenzy I’d witnessed, came into the room, talking with the Tzimice antitribu. Lord Brendon put his hand over my forehead and quickly led me out, through the front room, through the kitchen, and out into the back yard.
"I’m sorry I had to do that, Eternus," he said, "but there’s a member of my clan who was in Vietnam, and I think Asian things make her frenzy. I hope that," and he was interrupted by the girl, who had followed us out. Before he could say anything, I went into Earthmeld, so as not to cause the girl undo torment.
"Who are you talking to?" she asked.
"Who, me? Oh, I’m talking to myself of course," Lord Brendon replied.
After the girl left, he looked around, confused. Then called me to come up, and was a bit startled when I rose from the ground beside him. I continued telling him about Wen Fu, and what he had done.
"D-do you think that he’s still alive?" I asked after I’d finished.
"Hmmm, it’s hard to say. He’d be pretty old, wouldn’t he?"
"Yeah, he was born in 1920, that would make him 78 now, unless…"
"Unless what?"
"Well, what if he’s received the Kiss as I had? What if he walks undead as do all of us here? He could come, he could find me, and if he is Kindred, he could be very powerful," I said.
Lord Brendon reached deep into his pocket, pulling out a small, cracked silver mirror. I recognized it as the same one he’d had at the Primogen meeting during the wedding. I’d told my sire about the thing, and Zythe knew it as the Mirror of Malkav. Lord Brendon explained that the mirror was like a gateway of portal to other dimensions, parallel Malkavian worlds, and alternate universes, and that it was bound to his soul. He asked me to try and take it from him, and when I touched it, the mirror sparked me. I understood most of what he said, except that holding the mirror was like holding Malkav himself.
"Now, I want you to think about your husband, get a good picture of him in your mind."
I closed my eyes and got an image of Wen Fu; how he looked the day we were married. It was not for love, that was for sure. My father, sensing that the Japanese invaders would soon be driven out, wanted to ally his house with the Kuomintang, who were sure to take over afterwards.
Wen Fu had been a petty officer who’d impressed his regional supervisor, so when the man was promoted to Chiang Kai-shek’s cabinet, my future husband was promoted to take his place. I first saw him walking in the street one day, and had shuddered at the cold gleam in his eyes. When I returned home that night, my father informed me that I would be marrying Wen Fu.
"All right, I’ve got your picture of him," said Lord Brendon, bringing me out of my reverie.
The mirror glowed intensely, and a white light shone out. Even though it wasn’t blinding, I looked away, fearful of what I might see. Rooted to the spot, I waited while the Malkavian stared deep into the mirror. Finally, the light faded and blinked out.
"What did you see?"
Lord Brendon looked tired, worried. H e rubbed his eyes and answered, "I saw a man who looked very much like the man you married, perhaps a bit older. I cannot say if he is mortal still or walks undead, or even if the man I saw is in this universe. Eternus, I will have to spend some time looking into the mirror before I can say for sure, but trust me, I will find out for you."
Scott, a Ravnos, approached us, wanting to talk to Lord Brendon, so I bowed, thanked him, and went back inside. My mind was crawling with fear; there was a chance that Wen Fu was still alive. I’d last seen him the night he killed Sao-kan, and assumed that he died either in the Cultural Revolution, or of natural causes.
I walked into the front room and hung by the wall. Mary Ann Catherine, the young Malkavian, came up to me, saying that I had some dirt on my face, and turned me around to face the mirror that made up the back wall of the room. My eyes fixed on the mark, and I felt the awful terror running through me again. As my sight started to fade, I ran from the room. Pierce, who had been on his way in, caught me, and calmed me down before the frenzy could take full effect. He pulled a Band-Aid out of his pocket and stuck it over my tattoo.
Going through the kitchen, I returned to the stairs and spent a good deal of time meditating. Coming back into ‘reality’ much later, I found that many of the people at the party had left, so I retreated to the meeting room along with Josie, Pierce, Lady Meredith, Jack Lupus, Dave Turner, Scott, William, and Yvonne.
Josie put on a CD that was highlights of various Broadway shows, and lost herself, singing, in the corner. Pierce and Lady Meredith, needing to talk privately, regressed to the front room, while Jack settled down in one of the easy chairs. Dave busied himself lecturing Josie, who told him he had a great deal of hate in him. With a flippant air, Dave replied that hate wasn’t so bad, and went to talk with Scott, who was lounging by the north wall.
I found that I had to disagree, but was in a strange mood. I could feel the night and it’s creatures calling me to run with them, could smell the smoke from a wood-fire, and longed to be under the stars in the wilderness. With Josie, Jack, William and Yvonne as my audience, I told of my husband, but, like a Gangrel told a story, rich with metaphor.
It was about a man who hated so much that his hate became a dragon that lived under his pillow. Every day, the man hated more and more, so the dragon grew bigger and stronger. Soon, it was so big that it took up his whole room, not just the area under his pillow. The smoke from the dragon’s fire blackened the man with soot, and he could never get himself clean. I saw that man, and my father married me to him. So, I had to go live in his castle among the chaos, and he called himself Lord of the Dragons. My little baby was choked by the smoke, and died.
By the end of the story, Jack had become busy staring at nothing, wile Josie sang to herself, and William and Yvonne looked at me with rapt attention. I told them that there were Kindred, mortals, and wolves, then there were those, like Gangrel and Garou, who crossed the line. Before their eyes, I used Shadow of the Beast and turned into a wolf, then back. I was waiting for their reaction, when I heard an explosion, and Josie hit the floor.
Wolfclaws drawn, I ran and stood over her, not knowing if she’d been shot, or if there was further attack coming, seeking only to protect my DX sister. In a blur, there was a decapitated body on the floor, and it’s head rolled against the wall. Josie was moaning and clutching her ears, in obvious pain. Truly, we had all been a bit deafened by the explosion, but at least she was OK. Jack picked up the body and head, and threw them out of the window, which had been shot out. He lit a match, and that was that.
Pierce came over and explained what had happened. Dave, had thought he saw a dragon coming through the window, screamed in Celerity, which had so hurt Josie’s ears, and emptied both guns at the window. Pierce, who had been speaking with Lady Meredith, heard the shots, ran in with Celerity, and had tried to calm Dave down. A second later, a random guy had run in, also moving as fast as they, and had pointed a gun a Pierce, who had no other option than to pull his machete and lop off the guys’ head.
After all that, William wished to call an end to the party, and everyone present agreed. We all made our ways to where we slept, and I was truly tired by the time I reached my apartment. Settled down in the closet, I was annoyed when my cell phone rang. It was Dominic, and I was in no mood to talk to him, feeling fragile and vulnerable after frenzying twice, and knowing that he’d be concerned and want to come rescue me.
"So, Eternus, how was the party? You there? Hey, Eternus! Did you lose connection? Have you been attacked?"
"Welcome to the Nuthouse, Dominic." Click.