My Little Ventrue Pt. 03 Ch. 12

Oh god. She fucking lost it, laughed until it filled the whole catacombs, and she had to sit down to keep from falling over. It was how the kid said it, like it was completely normal, like he was just sharing a fact, that had her almost doubled over.

"And you were friends with Julias before, for how long?"

"Several years. He was involved in some of the contracts my firm was negotiating, and I was just an intern at the time. We started talking, and hit it off."

"Little kid like you talking to a big-n-bad-looking guy like Julias? Were you trying to get in with the mafia?" Cause, no two ways of looking at it, Julias looked like a mobster with his slicked back blond hair and suits.

"A little? Really I was just curious. He looked like a powerful man, and had this air about him, of... confidence, but also... dunno. Just seemed like someone that, if I asked him a question, a good one, a smart one, I could expect a real answer from him."

Ah, the Julias effect. She knew it well. Man was good with his words, and unlike Antoinette, he seemed like someone you could talk to despite his obvious power and confidence. A classic leader of a sort. If only the others knew what he was like behind closed doors, sick of his Kindred life, depressed, attaching to kine to feed off their joy by proxy.

At least until they met each other. She smirked as she thought of the man, her stupid Superman, and what they did for each other, the changes they made for each other.

And of course thinking of him made her think about having her hands pinned to her back while the man fucked her hard from behind. Not really the norm for them, but damn it'd been awesome.

"You don't have any electricity here," he said.

"Nah. Oh, fuck, good point. Let's go back to your place, I gotta recharge my laptop and phone and shit."

"Sure sure, invite yourself over."

She chuckled, got up, and got moving. "I'll try out some of your bands I haven't heard yet, as payment."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A quick trip to the Circle to pick up her shit while Jack went home, and then she met him at his place.

"So," she said while plugging in her laptop, the two of them in his living room, "what bands you think I haven't heard of? I've been into prog metal since before you were born, twerp."

"Yeah but you're a girl."

"... what the fuck, the fuck is that supposed to mean? You little—" She was ready to get up off his couch and teach the little fucker some manners, but Jack smirked at her, the way Julias did when he managed to catch her off guard. Oh, he was kidding. "Not all girls listen to pop and shit you know." He better have been kidding.

"Yeah I know, sorry. My sister, god damn she listened to nothing but. If there was any more than fives notes to the melody, and god forbid more than four chords, she'd call it too boring and not catchy enough."

"Sure she's your sister?"

"Yeah, looks like me and everything." He shrugged and got some blood from the fridge, and for her too. At least Julias had taught him some manners. The absurdity of her worrying about manners made her smirk as she took the drink. "I could say the same thing about my whole family though. I was the apple that fell far from the tree."

"I get the impression Kindred often are." She nodded and took a sip. Cold blood had such a different taste and texture than warm blood, and she doubted she'd ever get used to it like the Invictus did. But it was fun to drink from a glass every once in a while. "I—"

Jack's phone buzzed, and buzzed again as he took it out of his pocket. "Julias."

"Better answer it."

Kid nodded and raised it to his ear. Started drifting around his apartment too; he was one of those types. "Yello... really? You sure? ... shit, you really think she'll do that? I mean—fuck, right... yeah... I don't know Julias, something else is going on. Like I told you, she said one of those kills wasn't hers. I'll... fine, I'll stay out of the way." With a frown almost comical, kid hung up and put the smartphone back in his pocket.

"Personal news? Or Invictus business?"

Kid let out a long sigh and sat down across from her. No table between them anymore; her fault. "Julias says more people have been reported missing from Devil's Corner."

"... shit."

"Yeah, they think it's Fiona." Jack frowned, grit his teeth hard enough she could hear it, and slowly shook his head. "No blood or claw marks, but there's no ignoring the amount of disappearances. A few, in a week."

"That isn't good. Fuck that isn't good at all. You think—"

"Julias figures Antoinette's going to call a blood hunt on this girl if it really is all her."

Beatrice winced and leaned back. A blood hunt meant all the Kindred would be duty-bound to kill whoever was targeted. Course that didn't mean they had to do it, but it was a good bet the Prince would harshly punish any who didn't do as the blood hunt demanded. And a blood hunt was not called lightly; Kindred rarely disagreed with one when it happened.

Lucas would have had a blood hunt declared on him, if it'd been possible politically, Garry told her. But when a Prince can point at a single individual, and blatantly declare they are a menace to the Masquerade with evidence to prove it, no one would dare ignore the call.

Which was a problem if the person wasn't actually to blame.

"You don't think it's her making the kills?" she said.

"Do you?"

"I... definitely not, not from the impression I got from her. Seemed nice, reasonable, intelligent. Seemed like she wanted to make the Prince happy, find a place to live here." Cause Dolareido was awesome. Shitty, and awesome. "Guess Azamel was right. There's something else going on."

"I—" Knock knock. Jack reached up and started tearing out his non-existent hair. "Might as well hang a sign on the door that says No Appointments Necessary." He got up and headed for the door, each step accompanied by Triss's laugh. People were showing up at his place a lot, and no one bothered with the stupid elevator when everyone visiting could bypass it easily.

"Who is it?" she said.

"... fuck, it's Fiona and Damien."

Well, fuck indeed.

"Hmm, ain't no blood hunt call yet. Your call."

Jack sighed, nodded to no one, and opened the door. "Hello."

"Hi," Fiona said. "Think we can come in?"

"... sure." Jack stepped back, and motioned for them to step inside.

"I—oh, Triss! Hi."

The Nosferatu smirked and nodded to the monster. Hard to imagine the girl going on a killing spree, slaughtering kine like they were going out of style.

Damien came in behind her, and miserable thoughts dripped from him like black ink. The brooding sort no doubt, like Julias; after what happened to him, she couldn't blame him. Cute though, with the weird half-bald head look and shoulder-length dark hair.

"Damien," she said.

"... Beatrice," he said, some worry in his tone. Understandable, two of them barely ever said a thing to each other. First time she'd seen him was when she spied on him from the vents in Tony's old fortress. Third time, he was surrounded by ash, including that of his sire.

"Right horrible things are happening," Fiona said.

"Tell me about it." Jack leaned against the counter as he watched the two newcomers sit on the couches, Fiona next to Triss. "Avery came by and told me about your run in with the wolves. Glad you two came out alright though."

"Mostly awright." Fiona gestured with her chin to Damien. "Poor Damien got cut up a bit."

"That's of no consequence," the Mekhet said. "The problem now is that the Uratha say Fiona is something called Azlu, and they're hunting her."

"It's nae true!" Fiona bounced her legs and pounded her tiny fists against her knees. "I... I'm nae that. Vrall remembers Azlu, and she's nae that."

Jack nodded, and with a few seconds of silence, came over to sit beside Damien. Uncomfortable, to be sure. "... there are more disappearances in Devil's Corner."

"More?" Damien said.

"Yeah. If things keep going this way, the Prince will call a blood hunt on Fiona."

"I'm being framed!" Fiona threw her hands up and went sandbag on the couch. Triss struggled to keep from smiling, but the girl was too damn cute.

"You did kill twelve people before," Beatrice said.

"But nae thirteen! Or any more since the meeting. I'm starving. Vrall is starving. She's stomping around in the dream right now, and... I'm so hungry." She leaned onto Triss and set her cheek against the Nosferatu's arm. "Wish I could just feed on blood like ye."

"We talked to Azamel," Triss said. "She wants to talk to you. Might be able to help you out with the hunger thing."

"You talked to Azamel?" Damien looked at the two of them like they'd grown extra heads. "Why?"

"Figured she knows what's going on more than we do." What, did he think he was alone in helping Fiona? If that was true, he wouldn't have come here. "Says there are spider things where you like to hunt, girl. Says something's there taking advantage of the situation."

"I knew it, I am being framed." She got up and started to stomp around, face scrunched up like a squirrel. "We need to clear my name! Let's go to the tunnels."

Jack put up his hands. "Whoa, Uratha specifically said don't go there. And if I go there, they will be pissed as fuck."

Triss nodded. "Kid's got a point. They come to him to be their ambassador or whatever. He should stay out of this... How about that Natasha girl, Jack? You know she's probably working on this issue same as we are."

"Yeah, probably. Hold on." He took out his phone again and called her; actual calling instead of texting. Good to see kids these days still knew how to do that. "... no answer."

"Phone off?" Triss said.

"Natasha? Not a chance." Jack got up, started to pace, and folded his arms across his chest before stroking his chin. Kid probably had no idea how much he looked like Julias right there. A few flurry taps of his fingers and he'd sent the woman a text no doubt. And then another, and another. "Should I contact Jessy?"

She shrugged. "You think Jessy will know where she is?"

"Jessy and her have a buddy system. But... I... I don't think we should contact her."

"Why not?"

"Cause Jessy is as volatile as these wolves. If there's confusion about Fiona and this Azlu thing, and if Natasha is in anyway involved, she'll only make things worse."

Yeah, that was very possible. Beatrice could still remember the chaos that had started in the tunnels last time with Jessy and Natasha, when they dealt with Damien, Triss hiding in the vents. "Maybe Julias?"

"He'll be mad we talked to Azamel, and will probably lock me up... and lock you up too."

"Ha, true that." Beatrice smirked as they went through their list of options. Not many, but far more than their two buds had. Well, bud. She didn't know what to think of Damien, but Fiona seemed to trust him.

God damn it was too easy to trust Fiona. Girl next door with just a hint of party vibe.

"She probably went to investigate the tunnels beneath Devil's Corner." Damien sighed and let his head hang as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "... wasn't there a table here before?"

Beatrice shook her head. "You're imagining things. So you think Tash went to investigate in the tunnels?"

The priest boy nodded. "I've seen her socializing with two of the Uratha. I'm guessing she saw an opportunity to prevent this matter from escalating. Or at least discover the truth of the matter, as the Prince has no doubt tasked her."

"Where did you see her hanging out with Uratha?"

"... in her apartment."

The Nosferatu raised a brow and leaned in to look closer at the man. "You were at her apartment?"

"No."

"Then how do you know?"

Damien squirmed, and she leaned in harder, like putting weight on a rat. The man did have a certain sneakiness to him, an element of guilt hidden behind a calm face. She knew his type, spy types who could look you in the eye and lie, the sort that cracked when you put them under some pressure.

"... I've been in this city a long time, Triss. I observe everyone, all the time. It's how I stayed alive, and how I know things."

Fucking Mekhet.

"Spying on people?" she said.

"We all spy—"

"Until Lucas came back, the amount of spying had been steadily decreasing." She gnashed her teeth a few times, just enough to make Damien wince and lean back away from her, like she was going to bite him. Tempted. "Way I hear it from Garry and Jacob, back in the day shit in Dolareido was a nightmare when Lucas was around, people spying on each other constantly, killing each other when someone let their guard down. You really are a relic from that age. Let it go."

That's what bothered her about him, that's what got under her skin. The man was still treating everything like back then, like the days Garry used to warn her about, tell her scary stories about. Much as the Invictus and the Carthians still got into fights and tussles with each other, sometimes broke a few bones or burned a house or two, the killing was pretty much a thing of the past. Things were good now in Dolareido, except for this dick bringing it all back.

She liked that she could go visit the Carthians again whenever she wanted, Garry's temperament aside. She liked that she could date Julias despite him being in a different covenant, and they didn't have to deal with any Romeo and Juliet bullshit. She liked that the worse she had to worry about was pissing Jacob off. Course none of that was entirely, perfectly true, but true enough.

"... I am trying to—"

Jack put up his hand with a frown and shook his head. "Come on Triss, you don't know all the details about him or his circumstance. Believe me, things are different."

She frowned but shrugged and looked at Fiona. Girl was smiling at Damien and then her; probably wanted the two of them to be friends. Fat chance, she never got along with Mekhet. "Fine, my bad. So, what're we gonna do?"

"... I'm worried about Natasha." Jack sighed and held out his hands in front of him, palm up, like weighing his thoughts on a scale. "On one hand, we really should just stay out of the tunnels and let the werewolves do their thing; don't want a repeat of the last time Avery came to Dolareido. On the other hand, they might come topside thinking Fiona is this Azlu, and hunt her up here. And Nathasha might be down in the tunnels needing our help. And if we can prove Fiona isn't this Azlu thing the wolves are hunting, then all the better." With each option listed, the hand on the right went further and further down. "... guess we should go to the tunnels. Fuck me we are so going to die."

"Perhaps today is a good day to die," Triss said as she got up.

Damien rose as well, and he blinked at her several times. "Oglala Lakota, American settlers history?"

She blinked at him just as many times. "Dude, Star Trek."

Course, Jack laughed, little asshole. "You watch Star Trek?"

"Fuck no, but I had TV growing up you know. That shit was everywhere." Guess Damien didn't have that luxury. Poor guy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~Jack~~

If there was one way he was going to die, it'd be with a Scooby-Doo gang, going on a really stupid mission.

He could turn around, go back to Antoinette, slip under the blankets with her and spend the whole night having sex. A smile found him as his mind wandered. He'd be on his back, and Antoinette would be on her side beside him, pressing her breasts into his neck and chin, his mouth, letting him suckle on her beautiful perfect nipples while she stroked his cock. The softness of her bosom against his lips, and her perfect grip teasing the length of his member. Or maybe she'd have the ghouls over? She'd still be lying on her side, letting him kiss and lick her nipples, but instead of her hand, it'd be Ashley on her elbows and knees between his legs, giving him a blowjob in that super enthusiastic way she had. And maybe after a little encouragement, Julee would lean in from his other side, and start kissing on the head of his cock with Ashley. The two would switch between kissing each other, and kissing his glans, all while Antoinette would tease his stomach with her fingernails. And when he eventually came, the two girls would take turns suckling on the tip while the other would kiss and lick his length, and—

"Jack."

"Wha—yeah?"

Damien frowned at him. Apparently he'd snapped his fingers in Jack's face at least once, given the position and shape of his hand. "Pay attention."

"Yeah, sorry." But no, none of that, no super awesome sex with his love and her pets. Instead he'd decided to go on a suicide mission, cause he was dumb like that.

He looked at his companions. The assassin priest who was trying to find a new lease on life. The badass vampire chick with the scary teeth. The young girl with the monster inside her. And him, the little guy. Well, Fiona was smaller than him, but not by much.

The four of them walked along through the tunnel, disguised under Damien's cloak of night, a step up from Beatrice's. It was enough so he felt comfortable whispering, even as the tunnels grew darker.

"You hide down under Ronder Street a lot, Fiona?" he said.

She shrugged and shook her head. "I cut through it sometimes, but I don't hang out there. I have a few places where I can tunnel into my lair, and I aft place webbing in those spots."

The dream, tunneling into it, entering it like it was somewhere you could walk, somewhere you could set your feet down and touch it. He couldn't imagine it, couldn't—

"Aye, he felt the same way," she said.

"Eh?"

"It's written on yer face, same way it was Damien when I told him where he was. Had to prove he was in a nightmare."

He shivered and rubbed his arms. "So not even a dream, but a nightmare! Christ, I can remember the nightmares I had when I was younger, after staying up late to watch a scary movie. Things with hands grabbing you from under the bed."

She smiled, almost crooned, and stepped in closer to him to touch her shoulder to his, similar as their height was. "Us Eshmaki love to do that."

"... you... you uh... actually do that?"

"Me, nae. Well, maybe? I could learn. I'm new to this, and I can tell Vrall isn't, and there's a weird back and forth where she hits me with some memories, shows me how to catch flies in my web. Hiding in the dark, waiting for a body to trip along the webs, and then drag them into the darkness?" Her turn to shiver, though from what he could see, she was smiling. "Makes me feel... whole."

"That is a very strange thing to say about... well, all that," he said. Beatrice looked over her shoulder at him and smirked at him the same way Fiona did. The two of them had a monstrous side they could both probably bond over, though Triss was a menace to society when she was in a bad mood, and Fiona seemed too nice for that. Hell, Fiona seemed too nice for everything she was describing, like this whole nightmare monster horror thing inside her wasn't real.

It was, he'd seen it, but to call it a nightmare?

"I—whoa." Triss stopped, and turned on her flashlight. The tunnels ahead had gone black, completely black. But they weren't near Ronder Street yet. Hell they had a good while to go.

And worse, there were spiderwebs around. Large ones, a few feet tall or wide, splattered along various parts of the concave walls and ceilings.

"I didnae make these!" Fiona jogged over to them and reached out. Just like regular spiderwebs, they stuck to her fingers and wrapped them as she ran her fingers through them; more like purposefully destroyed them. She frowned with each one, stomping her feet as she moved back and forth between walls, swiping off the webs and jumping up to try and reach the spiderwebs above, and failing horribly. "These are... these are strange."

"Weird how?" Jack said.