My Little Ventrue Pt. 04 Ch. 16

"... could you though?" He tilted his head to the side, and rubbed the back of it a few times as he let his mind piece together the puzzle. "The old tunnels are used by Kindred, and most of them are located in parts of the city where either the Invictus or Carthians consider it to be in their purview. I know Jacob uses some of the tunnels in a different corner of the city, so you'll be avoiding him too. It seems you need a foothold in the physical world"—oh good god he called it the 'physical world' like that was a normal thing—"in order to pursue your agenda, but you also need some degree of privacy, and defensibility. If it was just privacy, there'd be a million places in Dolareido you could hide, but you need walls, some way to guard yourself from... hunters, and other dangers, while you're in the physical world. Hard to beat fifty-foot-thick walls of rock lined with concrete in that department. But the Invictus explosives would cave in all entryways into this particular alcove, which could cause the whole tunnel to cave in if it dominoes, spoiling your defensible position. And... you like this spot, in the tunnel depths. You often came here before, last time you were in Dolareido. Something about it resonates with you, and from what I know about Begotten, that's important."

The three monsters stared at him, until all Jack could hear was the heartbeat and breath of the god giant before him. He looked around for the fourth, for Mark, a man he'd never seen but had been described to him. No one knew what the man's horror might look like though, or at least no one had told him. For all he knew, Mark was watching him right now; certainly felt like he was being watched, especially with the three monsters staring at him. He really should have tried to word the breakdown better, maybe in a less offensive way, but like usual, once the thought sparked in his head, it just came out of him.

"Fiona, you tell this little Kindred too much," Azamel said.

"Nothing he and the other Kindred hadn't already learned." The spider monster shrugged, and lowered herself until she was beside him again, stiletto feet grazing against the blood puddles around him. "I told him we can't simply walk in and out of our lairs wherever. Something I know the Kindred have managed to pieced together on their own."

Azamel snorted. Even as a giant elephant god thing, Jack could tell that snort was a 'there's more to this than we're saying' snort. He'd figure it out eventually, but for now, it was one more secret on a pile of hundreds.

"Yes, little Kindred, I value the local in the tunnels. My statement was true though. I could make my home elsewhere. But I would prefer to keep what I have, and you would be better served to keep that a reality."

How the fuck did the giant elephant monster articulate so well? The heavy, booming voice alone should have made that difficult, and yet its echoing, wall-shaking power was enunciated without issue. It, or she, didn't have human lips, and yet he could see her mouth move between the tusks to speak as a human would. Nothing in this nightmare world made sense. Everything in this nightmare world was determined to get under his skin. He would not sleep well today, even in Antoinette's arms.

"If you're willing to keep the peace," he said, "willing to keep your appetites under control, and willing to help us deal with Jeremiah, Angela, and the other hunters, then I can't see any reason the Invictus will ever detonate the explosives."

"... our hungers are not always easily satisfied," Azamel said. "Perhaps, one day, a Begotten will make a mistake, their hunger seeping out and infecting the humans with nightmares. On that day, the Invictus may respond with cruel swiftness. I hope that you can help create understanding with them, that that need not be their response."

"Spreading nightmares... I'm pretty sure I can get the Invictus to take their itchy fingers off the trigger, with a little show of good faith from you."

One of Azamel's scimitar-wielding hands stabbed the sword into the ground, the enormous blade cutting down into a car like stabbing a sausage with a fork. The blade stood up on its own when she let go of it, metal cutting clear through the car and into the soaked pavement beneath it. Hand free, she held it out before Jack, and set it on the street, palm up.

She wanted him to get into her hand.

He looked at Athalia and Fiona, but they said nothing. They waited, Athalia resting her weight onto her large hands — nowhere near as large as Azamel's — against the street, while Fiona gently drifted in place, with her weight hanging on her eight spider legs. Athalia might let him die to Azamel if her boss decided to kill him, but Fiona would probably protest, and she seemed ok with him getting into Azamel's hand.

Trembling, shaking in his blood-soaked three-hundred dollar shoes, he stepped into the monster's grip.

Azamel rumbled contentment, and raised her hand. Enormous things moved slowly, relative to their size; it was physics. Nine point eight meters per second squared was gravity, so a giant trying to walk looked like they were walking slowly. On top of that, square cube law said enormous heavy creatures simply couldn't exist, as the surface area to support their weight increased at a slower curve compared to the weight itself. None of these seemed to apply to Azamel. He squeezed her thumb where it stood upright beside him, and held on tight as she lifted him into the air, like a human would lift a pebble. So fast he felt his guts pull down into his pelvis, like a roller coaster pulling up or down too fast.

He always hated roller coasters.

"There are forces at work, child of the night, that you cannot comprehend. Jacob and Antoinette test their knowledge upon the shores of existence itself. But this realm is but one of many, and your idiot elders flirt with forces beyond their understanding. Beyond my understanding."

Ok, Antoinette and Jacob fucking with crazy shit, he could understand. The two of them were ancient, and if they were flirting with dangerous shit Lovecraft style, he couldn't really blame them. If he was half a millennium old, and had dealt with shit like vampires, werewolves, and monsters his whole life, he'd be curious to know about what lay beyond the veil too. But if the giant elephant god monster thing in front of him said it was beyond her understanding too, was willing to admit ignorance, and since these monsters were capable of insane shit like entering nightmare realms, then he had to consider that.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, you asked for a sign of good faith, and I have been assured you are unique among your brethren. Fiona and Athalia vouch for you, and events to this point suggest they are correct to do so. I tell you this, in confidence and trust, that you will do what is necessary to keep the peace."

"I... I don't get it. What's one got to do with the other?"

The god snorted, and Jack clutched her thumb tighter as her hot breath slammed against him. Smelled of rotten blood and a damp cellar.

"I seek my own goals, and Dolareido is the stage for my pursuits. Your kind need not be my enemies in this journey of mine. But, someone is poking holes through the walls of realms, and I believe they are attempting to upturn the city in its entirety. Someone is hiding in the wake of Jacob and Antoinette, hiding their actions, their flirtations with the other realms, and using those two as a smokescreen."

"Upturn the city? What's that—"

"Destroy, little blood leech. Dolareido and its humans are at risk, to something... someone, here in the city."

"... that is the most vague and useless warning ever, Azamel! How am I supposed to keep the peace and—"

Her fingers wrapped his body, and began to squeeze. Oh shit, oh shit oh shit. His arms were free, and they pressed down on the colossal fingers surrounding him; might as well have been trying to move a building. Her grip was absolute, and she squeezed tighter, and tighter, until his ribs were threatening to break.

"Do not test me, vampire. Since I have arrived here, I have attempted to make peace, despite the trials I faced last time I nested within your city's walls. Your superiors were not innocent, but the two who were most responsible for my suffering, are dead. So now I attempt peace, and it is thrown back in my face. I offer advice, I offer knowledge, and again and again, it is thrown back in my face."

"You... b-brought... Jeremiah... here..."

With another snort, and a trumpet sound from her alien trunk, she loosened her grip. He was still trapped, but at least he wasn't at risk of being turned into paste.

"... what did you tell Jeremiah of me?"

"Nothing! Christ, nothing. They fucking tortured me, tortured me! I fucking bled and killed and nearly died, and it's because Jeremiah and that psychopath Angela are here for you. You... you knew he would too, didn't you? Chase you to Dolareido."

"... I made a tactical decision, vampire."

"I almost fucking died! Barry died! They—"

"Hunters were already here, preparing in wait, when Jeremiah arrived pursuing me. Do not mistake his presence for the entirety of the troubles that plague your city." The giant monster sighed, and brought him in closer, closer, until he was only a few feet from her enormous eyeball. She released him, and kept her hand out, palm up for him to stand on, beside one of her tusks. "You truly told him nothing?"

"Well I mean, I don't have any way to prove that to you, but no, I told him jack shit. Figured it'd bite me in the ass if you ever found out."

"You are wise," she said. A compliment from the beast he suddenly so very much wanted to kill. He wasn't sure if he wanted her words to make him feel pride, but they did anyway. "You would do well to avoid Jeremiah and Angela, little vampire. They are hunters that have progressed past the limitations of a human. They are far more dangerous than you understand."

"Past the limitations?"

"Surely you felt it, when dealing with them."

Yeah, yeah he did. Angela's unbreakable mind was what she was talking about. The fuck else did those two have going for them?

"Any other tips for me about them?"

"I am sorry, but the nature of their... inhuman abilities eludes me. They are tough to kill, and will not be broken easily."

Well, better than nothing.

"Ok, so, you say something's happening in the city, something that's threatening the whole city? And it's probably not the hunters? Some... magical sorta stuff?"

"Indeed. And while I have asked you here to agree to be my voice for your infuriating superiors, I have also asked you here to keep an eye open for what troubles may brew in the dark corners of the Earth."

"Because... if Dolareido is destroyed, everyone's fucked. Me, you, the wolves, everyone."

"Correct." And, with a long sigh, she reached up with her other arm, the one with the sword, and used it to scrape at her tusk. "I so despise this game." She lowered him back down to the street, and he hopped out of her palm. Maybe she had wanted to look him in the eye, so she could be sure he was telling the truth or something. "But it is a game we must play."

"Yeah, no argument from me here." Sighing, and strangely enough, getting a little more comfortable with the company, he leaned against a nearby car. It was a shitty game, playing for lives. Just like politics, the smarter you were, the more you didn't want to play it, but the more you knew you had to.

"Fiona, Athalia, and Mark will notify you if they discover anything about this unknown threat, Jack Terry," Azamel said. "And, if the hunters make a mistake and expose themselves, we will bring it to your attention."

Jack glanced the two monsters' way. Impossible to read either of their expressions, Fiona with the horns coming out of her eye sockets, and Athalia with the skull face. Fiona would probably be more than happy to help him, and Athalia would no doubt hate every second of it, but do it anyway.

Good god, Angela was her daughter. Angela was her fucking daughter. How the fuck was that going to go?

"I'll let my bosses know and—"

"Do not tell anyone else of this." The monster ripped her scimitar from the skewered car, and offered him an annoyed, loud trumpet sound again. "Not your lover, nor your sire, or your friends. There is a strong possibility one of them causes the ripples I fear, or that the spreading word will cause the perpetrator to hide their tracks all the better. No, keep this to yourself, tell only the Begotten, and even then, be careful with your words. Whatever stirs the realms has touched their toes into many worlds, Jack Terry. The realm of spirits, the realm of dreams, the realm of the dead. Someone is searching for something, and leaving scars in their wake."

This very much, super definitely sounded like something he should tell Julias. But, god damn it, she asked him not to, and she was the one telling him the info. And it wasn't like it was info he could action; it wasn't a lead or anything. Best he could do was keep an eye and ear open for strangeness. And fuck, strangeness found him every day these days.

"I will do as you ask," he said.

Azamel groaned, a strange, satisfied sound, like a giant cat might make. Or a purring whale? It filled the streets around him with vibrations, causing the pools of blood scattered over the asphalt to tremble. Something about the way he said his phrase that appeased her.

She liked to be obeyed.

"Fiona, please escort Jack from the lair."

"Yes Azamel." Fiona nodded her giant head of horns, and turned to walk with Jack.

He kept glancing over his shoulder, at the reaper and the elephant god as they began to chat. But soon he was too far to hear them, as if the nightmare buried sound with its rain of blood. Down and along the streets they walked, Jack eventually walking the line of its center, moving between the still cars that looked like they wanted to go, to move and drive, but never would. The statues in their seats looked as zealous as their cars, but they too were only a decor for the stage of these deals with devils.

"Hey Jack," Fiona said, lowering her human-ish body down to hover beside him while her spider legs continued to walk, height of them arching far over Jack before coming back down to the street. "I had sex! Well, sort of. There was a man and woman present, and fingers, so I think it counts."

He laughed. Fucking hell this woman. He really needed to hang out with her more, she was awesome.

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

Jack stood before the triumvirate, and waited. The room felt different than it did in the past, where he'd feel trapped, weak, and at the mercy of his superiors. Tonight, he was the young blood coming into his own, rising up from the pool of tadpoles and making people notice him, making people respect him. Michael noticed him, Maria noticed him, and Julias was happy with him, impressed, and grinning a sly, cocky grin as he watched the boy from his seat.

They were in the Xnomina headquarters building, where the Invictus usually had their meetings. He waited, standing before the council in the main meeting room, the three of them sitting and looking at him while he stood at the head of the table. But, it wasn't just the council he was dealing with, as Jessy was behind him, wearing a business suit with legs like she often did when doing business. And even scarier, was Damien was there too, standing beside Jessy, wearing a similar dark business suit, some shade of very dark navy, and a midnight blue tie to go with, with some jagged black lines down its length. Very slick, and it matched the half-buzzed head look Damien carried, dark hair running down the side to his shoulder.

The only remaining original right hand of the Invictus council behind him on his right, and the assassin and newest member behind him on his left. Hard to read their mood, and for Jessy's mood to be hard to read was a damn strange thing.

"Master Terry," Maria said, a small smile on her cracked lips. "You have been through much in your scant time as Kindred. You have suffered under the quarreling of Tony and Alder Honors, and survived. You and your lover suffered under the assault of Lucas, and survived. And in the most absurd fashion, a monster from another realm sneaked into Dolareido, assaulted the Uratha, and you, and yet you survived."

"But in all those situations, you were a spectator," Michael said. Thank god he still thought that. "Even in defeating the spider abomination, you were taking advantage of an opportunity created by the Uratha. It wasn't until these hunters decided to make their move that you were given a real challenge, a direct challenge." The Gangrel leaned forward, set his elbows on the table, fingers netted together on it, and smirked at him. "You performed beyond our expectations, Master Terry. Vengeance for Barry Tellern, served."

Holy crap. He could feel his Ventrue ego grow until it was threatening to burst.

Julias turned his chair to face him more directly, and tapped a finger on the table. "And on top of all that, you have managed to smooth relations with two... three groups, from the past." Three? Ah, right, Damien. If that qualified. "The Uratha owe you, and we have reports of the werewolves integrating with the Kindred in both the Invictus and Carthians, a far better situation than last time, where only Garry managed to find common ground with them. With the Begotten, situations are more tense, specifically with Azamel, but I assume your meeting with her went well?"

Ah shit. It wasn't like they weren't going to figure it out, or wouldn't have predicted it since Athalia talked to him. But still, it'd be nice if he could do something without everyone in the city knowing he was doing it, or knowing he'd do it before he did.

"... it did, sire. To a degree, at least."

"Consider this your first report to the Invictus as our intermediary with the Begotten," Maria said with a small hand wave.

"Yes Madam Turio." He almost said 'um' to begin his report. But, that wouldn't do for an Invictus report. No um, ers, likes, no filler words. "Azamel is upset with the Invictus, as you know. But she is willing to cooperate with us, as defeating Jeremiah has become her new goal. To prove her... harmonious intentions, she has asked me to be her voice, as you expected, but has also stated she will provide me information if the hunters expose themselves. In the nightmare, she—"

"You were in the nightmare?" Maria raised a hand, and gestured to Damien. "Then you two are to consolidate your knowledge. We need to know more about these monsters."

"Agreed," Michael and Julias said together.

Jack looked over his shoulder at Damien, and waited for the man's reaction. A shrug, a small nod, and a smaller smile. Well, that was pretty good for Damien.

"This only lends more weight to our decision," Julias said. "Congratulations Master Terry, you are now the third member of the right hands of the Invictus."

He froze. Oh shit. Shit shit shit.

"... I'm sorry, sire?" If one more god damn thing was put onto his shoulders tonight, he was going to crack like a toothpick.

The man smirked at him, one of those manipulative smirks the man used on him frequently, from well before Jack was Kindred. "The combination of your surprising strength, tenacity, your relationship with the creatures of Dolareido, and your ability to foster such relationships, is a powerful tool. We would be fools to ignore that power, simply because you are young."

"But we're not jumping the gun here," Michael said. "Madam Herrington is running the show. Both Mister Burksen and you, Master Terry, report to her. Understood?"

"Yes Mister McDonald, understood." Shit shit shit.

"This is an important decision," Maria said. "And not just for you, Master Terry, but for the Invictus. Younger Kindred will see that advancement occurs through accomplishments, and with great accomplishments, you receive great advancement."