My Little Ventrue Pt. 05 Ch. 15

Her large bundle of frizzy red hair against the pale skin and freckles of her shoulders, was beautiful, and he struggled to not stare. Jack's words rung in his mind again and again, taunting him. Should he try and flirt back with her? How do you flirt? He could talk to her, but if he tried to say something flirtatious, or even slightly romantic or sexual, he was bound to fail. He had no idea how to do either.

"Damien!" Fiona said, smiling at him, and scooting in past Athalia to sit beside him. Crap.

"Fiona," he said. He knew his voice was deadpan, and he made sure to only meet her gaze and nothing but. He did not lower his gaze. No. No lowering of his gaze, despite his peripheral vision able to see how her low-hanging sweater hugged her breasts and waist tight enough to show the curves of her figure.

With a small giggle, she reached out, and adjusted his collar. "Suit and tie?"

He froze for a moment, before he forced his eyes in Jack's direction. The kid was smiling at him. Damn it.

"Jack is wearing this too."

"Aye, but he's Invictus. Plus, I bet Antoinette likes the suit and tie."

"I am a Right Hand of the Invictus. Some presentation is to be expected."

She rolled her eyes, and tugged on his tie a few times. "I think ye'd look better dressed like the sheriff, maybe a wee more modern. Ever see the Matrix?"

Jack choked on a chuckle. Damien frowned at him, before setting a hand on Fiona's, and guiding it away from his tie.

"Let's focus on the matter at hand."

"Fine fine." She slumped into the car seat, a little frown of her own. It didn't last. It never did. "I've felt a new presence in the dream, but I cannae find them."

"That's why we're here," Athalia said. "We need your help. Vrall is better at opening doors than I am."

"But, opening a door into another Begotten's lair? I... I dinnae ken if I can." Fiona's frown returned as she folded her arms across her chest, and stared down. "Vrall has ne'er done that before."

Jack nodded, and looked out the window as the car drove off to South Side. "I imagine tonight will be full of firsts."

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~~Jack~~

Other than Fiona's worry over opening another Begotten's 'tunnel', everyone seemed confident, and he knew that was because he looked confident. He wasn't. But, Julias had made it clear how important it was for people to trust in the confidence of the leader, and while he wasn't the leader, Ventrue habit dictated he start acting like one. He only noticed after the fact, that he was the one doing things first, and encouraging others to follow. Case in point, he opened the door to Eric's apartment first, and expected everyone to follow behind him.

They did, too. It was a bad time to let his Ventrue blood inflate his ego, but there was something damn satisfying about being in the front, and everyone following behind you without a complaint. He forced down the smile, and offered a small wave to Tash and the two Uratha. Three Uratha.

"Um, hello?" he said.

"Noah." The man, covered in tattoos with a shaved head and pale skin, walked up to him, and extended a hand. Wow, a hand shake. Taking it, Jack couldn't help but smile at the very old school form of introduction.

"Jack Terry."

"I'm here to back up Matthew and Arturo. They have a habit of getting stuck in stupid situations."

Art came up to the man, and shoved him, hard enough to make him stumble a couple steps.

"Don't pick a fight with me, you asshole."

Ok, that wasn't as friendly as Jack expected. Some buddy buddy shoving and insults, he got, but Art looked more than a little pissed by that remark. Noah, on the other hand, sighed, shook off his shoulders, and walked back to where he was as Art walked back over to Matt. The two of them were sniffing as they walked around.

Tash walked up to Jack, and smiled up at him. "Noah is... well, um, I wasn't there, but the boys say Avery isn't t-t-too happy about how often Art and Matt are with Kindred, so Noah is... is—"

"Just making sure things are going smoothly. Besides, I want to help get Clara back."

Message received. Noah was here to help rescue their pack mate, but also to make sure Art and Matt didn't do something to compromise the Uratha. What that meant could be anything, but it was definitely casting the man as some sort of auditor. Poor guy.

Athalia offered the man nothing more than a short snarl, while Fiona bounced up to him, and looked him up and down. He was fit man, wearing a t-shirt and jeans, so he fit in well with the Begotten, clothes wise, while all the Kindred in the room wore suits, Tash included. The vampires were the only ones with weapons too, hidden under their jackets, while the monsters and werewolves were more comfortable killing things with their bare hands. The whole situation made Jack feel like the vampires were the civilized ones, and the others were not. Not a healthy image to have, but, it was hard to ignore.

"Noah," he said, "this is Athalia and Fiona."

Noah nodded to each of them. The introduction was unnecessary; the werewolves had already seen both of them, that time in the tunnel with the strange spider monster. Still, it was nice to do things proper, and maybe keep things civil. Three Kindred, three Uratha, and two Begotten, working together, was going to test his skills, because an argument was going to break out at some point. Inevitable.

"So, mission breakdown," he said. "This is a rescue mission, but also a recon mission. We don't know where we'll end up, and learning as much as we can about enemy territory is secondary to rescuing our companions. Every effort must be made to maintain a stealth profile, and we should only engage the enemy if absolutely necessary." Remain calm, confident, don't think about the dangers ahead, don't think about Jeremiah or Angela, or this mysterious Begotten that might be an enemy. Stand strong, confident.

He winced as he thought about Antoinette. This was the sort of shit she was angry at him for, his natural tendency to put himself into harm's way, and try and deal with issues. Half of him knew it was because he really wanted to help, but deep down inside of him, he knew there was another reason, arrogant as it was. He couldn't trust anyone else to do it.

Where did that come from? It came naturally he supposed, with time, no matter the situation he was in. It was the same before he was Kindred; given enough time, he pulled ahead of others in his pursuits, and if it was a team effort, he could never quite trust other people to handle things, even if he knew they could. Ventrue hubris manifested in many forms, and that one was going to be a problem. Maybe he'd turn into an arrogant asshole like Viktor? He grinned at the thought. No way in hell.

He punched his palm, adopting the best hero pose he figured he could get away with. "Search and rescue. The hunters knew we'd be watching Eric, or suspected at least, so they sent someone or someones they could trust to get Eric out of here without getting caught. Based on information from Eric that he was assaulted in his dream, that whatever attacked him there was working for Jeremiah, and that the Begotten have sensed the presence of another, unknown Begotten, we have to assume a Begotten is working for Jeremiah."

"Question!" Matt raised his hand. Oh god, he acted like it was school. It was so damn cute, Jack had to look at Tash, who was smiling.

"Yes?"

"The monster attacked Eric in his dream?"

"Yes. Jessy said, after the dream, the man was wrecked, exhausted, dizzy."

"And the monster said it worked for Jeremiah?" Big guy looked complexed.

"More or less. Yes, I know that sounds fishy. Why would the Begotten give up that information? The most obvious explanation is that this is a trap, and we're walking into it." It sounded so cool so say shit like that in the movies, but in real life, it just sounded dumb. He could see doubt manifesting in their eyes, and he raised a hand to cut in before they could speak. "But that's why we're bringing a large crew, with many skills. Far as we know, Jeremiah hasn't had any interactions with the Uratha yet. But, considering the recon these hunters seem capable of, they might know werewolves are in the city. Kindred, Uratha, and Begotten all working together though? There's a good chance they won't see that coming."

The group nodded, each looking down and then around as they considered his explanation. It was a good one.

"Sounds like an adventure," Matt said, before a slap upside the head from Art earned a wince.

Noah sat down on the couch, chin between finger and thumb as he considered. "They also might not have expected Jessy, or Clara, to actually be with Eric in the room. They may have bitten off more than they could chew."

"Maybe." Jack had never seen Jessy fight, but she was one of the few ancilla in the city, and a Right Hand largely because of her might. He had faith she could handle combat situations easily enough. And Clara was a veteran werewolf; he'd seen her fight, when up against that spider monster, and he had no doubt in her abilities either. It was quite likely the abductors had indeed bitten off more than they could chew.

If that was the case, then their search and rescue mission would be easy. If not, it was a good thing they were bringing a group as large and strong as they were.

"Make sure you stick with us," Athalia said. "Fiona and I can break out of this Begotten's chambers, burrow into the physical world here, but you can't."

Noah leaned in. "Uratha can—"

"You can't do shit, you stupid fucking dog." Athalia dismissed him with a hand wave and a snarl. "And we're only bringing you because your companion is probably in the nightmare too. If it weren't for that, you could go fuck yourself."

The silence that fell on the room was cold, and painful. Only the ring ring of his phone managed to punch through the ice. Jack winced, sighed, and pulled out his phone.

"Sire?" he said, once the ringing stopped.

"Jack. Report." Julias's official voice. Jack smiled into the phone; he liked the official voice, efficient and prompt.

"Vola, Burksen, and I are here with Athalia and Fiona. We also have three Uratha for assistance"

"Three? I assumed Arturo and Matthew would be coming. Who's the third? Carter?"

Carter was a good guess, but the old man was with Avery at the moment, Jack assumed, and not in the apartment building. A waste. If the man didn't want to live in the luxuriousness of Carlava Villa, why'd he request it? Or maybe he was still pissed about the silver bullet Damien shot into his leg.

"Noah is the third. We'll be leaving, I assume, the moment Athalia and Fiona figure out how to track down whoever did... whatever." The holes in their knowledge about Begotten were painful, and it was going to make Damien and Jack look bad for Maria. But it wasn't like they could simply ask them for more details about how nightmares worked; Fiona'd already told them plenty, and was probably scolded for it. Knowing Azamel and Athalia, they likely treated her like a daughter who needed some rules to keep her safe. What a strange, twisted family.

"I'd say keep me posted," Julias said, "but I assume you won't be able to contact me from the nightmare. Stay close to Damien and Tash, Jack. And if you run into Jeremiah or Angela, keep your head on your shoulders. I know, believe me, I know what's going through your head." Jack highly doubted that. "But until you've got more years under your belt, you can't take the offensive against threats like that. If worse comes to worst, let the wolves do what they do best, and provide support. Agreed?"

"Agreed." What was that scene, in Game of Thrones, with someone getting their eyes gouged in by the opponent's thumbs, lots of screaming, until their head exploded? Yeah, if he got his hands on Angela, he could see himself doing that. He could feel himself doing that. Press in, drive the thumbs through the soft eye, and drive the glass eye into her fucking brain, until he felt the soft matter of fleshy pulp splatter over his face.

He shook his head, blinking a few times, and took a few, useless breaths. "We'll report back the moment we're out. Cya then." Beep. Nodding to no one, he put his phone in his pocket, and looked to the two Begotten wandering the room. "It's up to you, ladies."

"Make sure," Athalia said, "to keep your dogs on a leash. I can trust the vamps do be quiet about things, but if you mutts so much as howl, I will personally put the three of you into the fucking ground." The icy, beautiful woman walked up to Noah, and jammed a finger in his chest. "Or I'll simply leave you there to die."

Fiona squirmed, looking down and shifting her weight from side to side as she kept her fingers netted behind her. Yeah, awkward. "I can see the path the Begotten took."

"As can I." Athalia looked around at Eric's apartment after giving Damien a little shove, walking past him. No reason, she didn't walk in his direction. She just liked being a bitch. "Seems like... the path connects... over... a building, filled with rooms, similar size."

"A weak connection," Fiona said. "I'm surprised they managed to burrow from here."

"It's different with each Begotten." Shrugging, Athalia took a deep breath, and held out her hands. "Come on, it'll be easier if we're both opening it."

Jack stepped back beside the wolves and vampires, and watched the two monsters. Uratha considered the world of spirits to be their realm to guard and maintain, and the Begotten considered the world of nightmares to be theirs. They had a point. Vampires could touch on those things, but couldn't really exist in them, grasp them, bend them and bind them. Vampires lived in the physical, in flesh and blood, sex and bullets.

To the three Kindred watching, what the two monsters were doing might as well have been an act of god. To the Uratha, it must have been like watching how your neighbor did laundry versus you.

The room's light began to flicker, before it settled on fading away, as if someone had blown out the fire. There was no fire, but if a cold breeze had come through the room, announced by billowing curtains and a spooky howl, it wouldn't have surprised him. More than darkness found them, weight found them, something heavy that pressed on their shoulders.

He looked beside him, and offered Natasha a smile. She returned it, but she was glancing around as well, barely enough light for them to see by, and getting darker. Art had a hand nudging against the back of her shoulder though, and Matt looked down to give her a smile too; big guy radiated safety and joy at the same time. Noah was looking around with an analytical eye, like Damien was. Jack was doing his best to not visibly tremble; his previous trip into the nightmare was not a fun one, and he didn't suspect this one would be either.

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~~Eric~~

"So, find someone to bang yet?" Jessy said.

Clara stopped, turned around, and glared daggers into Jessy. Oh shit.

"What the fuck is the matter with you?"

"What?"

"We're kind of busy right now. How about you focus?"

"I am focusing. Casual chat helps me focus." Shrugging, Jessy took the lead, and marched down the hallway. It was a long, massive hallway, and while she made sure to stay away from the fires that lit the path along the wall, Jessy otherwise seemed incapable of fear.

No chance in hell that's what it was. She had to be afraid; it was her first trip into a nightmare, and everyone's first trip into this particular one. They had no idea what the fuck they were in for, and their lives were in extreme danger. But Jessy didn't show that, didn't shake or flinch or do any of the things he'd expect from someone unexpectedly pulled into a literal nightmare. Brave, foolhardy, both, he wasn't sure, but Eric was damn glad to have her nearby, because Clara looked nervous.

"Vamps like to fuck, a lot, we get it, calm down," Clara said, growling under her breath.

"You gotta be shitting me." Laughing, quietly under her breath at least, Jessy continued along the hall, glancing back to see if they were following only once, before she pressed forward. "I saw the look in your eyes, at the ball. I bet if the situation were a little different, you'd have joined in and made a few guys happy as a pig in shit. Maybe at least give a guy a blowjob."

Cat fight was on the tip of Eric's tongue, but through the infinite wisdom bestowed upon him by his experience with marriage and divorce, he kept his mouth shut.

"Sorry, I prefer monogamy. Guess I'm old fashioned that way." Clara rumbled in her throat, a growl deep in the chest.

"You're single. I didn't say cheat on someone, I said—"

"Not about cheating, fucking slut, it's about not opening your legs to everything with a pair of their own. I got a little more self respect than that."

Jessy rolled her eyes. She didn't turn around to look at them, so Eric couldn't see her eyes, but the woman's body language was blatant.

"You don't like sex?"

"I do, but I prefer to pair it with romance. I hear a lot of girls like to do that, too."

"If you ever get to be my age," Jessy said, voice getting lower as they grew closer to the corner ahead, "you might learn how to actually enjoy yourself. Romance is hard to find. A good fuck is a lot easier to find. Besides, if I was in a relationship, I'd be faithful as fuck. Got nothing against monogamy."

"Word is you prefer orgies to relationships." The venom in Clara's voice was not masked, the werewolf cluing in that subtlety wouldn't work with the vampire. Eric kind of wished it would, because subtlety was quiet, quieter than Jessy was being anyway. No sounds came from ahead, or the other rooms though.

Eric stopped, and eased open one of the doors along the hallway wall to peek into the darkness. Squinting until his eyes adjusted, he found nothing but another empty room. Mostly empty, with some old wooden chairs, a wooden table, and what looked like an empty fireplace. None of them looked comfortable, and it fit in nicely with the stone. It was like he'd been teleported into the guts of some sort of underground hold in a castle.

"I do love me a good orgy," Jessy said. "You would too, if you knew how to have an orgasm."

"Knew... how to... What the fuck?"

"Probably only ever cum with a vibrator on high power jammed against your clit, or a shower head on full blast set to incinerate. If only you knew how good it could be if you could get past your shit and relax."

Clara turned her head enough to stare at Jessy, and give her a backhand slap against the shoulder.

Jessy turned her head, stared at Clara, and returned the favor.

Clara turned completely, and shoved her. Jessy shoved her back.

Eric ran up between them, and winced, ready to feel fingernails dig into his skin. But thankfully, the girls — not women, evidently — got the message, scowled at each other, and grew quiet as they came to the turn at the end of the hall. He hadn't expected Jessy to start an argument in this circumstance, especially about something this ridiculous. He hadn't expected Clara to be offended, and return the argument. Maybe Jessy hit home, then. Still, a petty thing to insult someone over. Maybe Jessy was offended about the slut comment? If she was, she hid it well.

Jessy poked her head out first, before motioning for the rest of them to follow. Breathing deep and slow, Eric came around the corner, and looked up at the enormous door that barred their way. A dual door, wood, almost as tall and almost as wide as the giant hallway.

"Think fuckers are waiting for us past this?" Jessy said, walking up to the door. It wouldn't have surprised Eric if the doors swung open the moment she touched them, but only silence greeted her exploring fingers.