My Little Ventrue Pt. 08 Ch. 04

Damien, Fiona, and oh good god, Athalia waited for them on the stairs.

"Athalia." Jessy said, bite in her voice. "Still not sure why you're coming along."

"I am here to help find Sándor. Azamel desires to speak with him."

Eric frowned slightly as he looked between the two women. Athalia had apparently not done what she was supposed to do, when Jack attacked the hunters, and that put her on a maybe-enemy list for the vampires. But, considering how well the ball had gone, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"Dinnae worry yer pretty head, lass! Ye can trust her." Fiona folded her arms across her chest and leather jacket, nodding sagely.

Everyone looked to Damien, who stood beside Fiona, his girlfriend between him and Athalia, and he shrugged, offering little more than a cold and calculating gaze. Just like Noah, and just like the sheriff, he didn't let his expression show much, except that he was prepared to handle things with a cool, albeit sneaky approach, if it came to it. They were scary fellas.

"None of you can follow the trail without us?" Noah said.

Damien shook his head. "Vampires have a good sense of smell, but not that good."

The bald man gestured to the two women beside the vampire. "And them?"

"Different, for each Begotten," Athalia said. "Fiona and I can see in total darkness, but our sense of smell is nothing special. And Mark isn't leaving Azamel's side."

That made sense. If Begotten were each a nightmare monster, and each unique, then each would come with different abilities or handicaps.

"Alright, let's go," Caleb said. Everyone except Noah raised a brow as they looked at the man, but he shrugged and waved it off. "I've been hunting with Clara for years. Easy to pick up her scent. Come on."

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~~Beatrice~~

Once dusk arrived, she and Jennifer left, and went out into the desert where Jacob had set up the... interrogation room. Beatrice wrapped them in her best Cloak, and both did their best to spot any followers. If the sheriff wanted to find them, he could, unless Jacob was there to help. But Jacob was off, doing his own thing, apparently uninterested in helping them anymore.

Resurrection was not feasible, according to him. He'd captured Elen for no other purpose than to let Beatrice attempt it, and inevitably come to the same conclusion. Jacob, like all the elders, played the long game, and seemed intent on teaching Beatrice quite a bit about being a witch. And, in classic evil witch or warlock fashion, enjoyed teaching lessons the hard way, for maximum impact. Sick bastard.

She smiled to herself as she thought about her boss. The man was an enigma, even to her, and despite the Prince's request that she try and help Jacob out of his pit of depression, the closer she got to Jacob, the more she found herself thinking like him. He'd lost the love of his life, and so had she. He was neck deep in occult shit, seemed to enjoy it, and she found herself kinda liking it too. Using pain to empty the mind so she could speak with her Beast wasn't fun, but the rewards for tapping into the creature, and then using it to learn rituals from the great beyond, was a rush.

Jacob was preparing her. She knew that, she wasn't stupid. Like a moth to flame, she was getting sucked into his world of butchery, sacrifice, and darkness, spurred by the train wreck that was her second life, and the misery that her friends suffered. Misery, and death. She wasn't stupid. She saw all that and saw how Jacob was using it to shape and mold her.

Jennifer saw it too, and was invested in making sure Beatrice didn't drown. God, it felt great to have a friend like her. It was the only damn thing keeping Triss from going full psycho and tearing Elen's guts open in some pointless attempt to torture answers out of her. She didn't want to do that, to go so far she'd lose all connection to the human half of her.

"I think," Jennifer said, walking alongside her on the sand and rocks, "that the sheriff knows exactly what's going on out here."

"Then he'd have stolen Elen away already. We know they have her book and tools. If they had her, they'd have the whole set. Pretty sure the dragons would want her, just to experiment on her and shit." If the Circle was filled with witches and warlocks, the Ordo was filled with Doctor Frankensteins. They'd cut off Elen's head and stick her on a younger body or something.

"Maybe. He might think the cave is booby trapped."

"True," Triss said. Surprising that Jen didn't jump at her own mention of booby, but she didn't. Probably picking up the vibe that now was not the time. It wasn't. "I know Mekhet like the sheriff can do some pretty insane feats with Auspex. But, I suppose if that's true, Jacob may have accomplished equally insane feats using Crúac rituals. Maybe he's put a spell on the cave, to hide it from Daniel, or to strike at the man if he gets too close?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't put it past him. Or maybe the sheriff just stays away because he respects Jacob."

"That respect didn't stop him that one time." Daniel had walked into the main sacrificial chamber Jacob maintained, and had basically interrogated them, on Jacob's home turf. Gently, but still, terrifying, to have the fucking sheriff asking questions. "He was looking for something. I don't think it had to do with Jacob."

Jennifer nodded, and they continued along in silence for another minute before she spoke up. "So, that Sándor, he--"

Okay, time to call this out into the light before it drove Triss nuts.

"Jen, I see what you're trying to do with Sándor."

"Well, yes, he's a valuable ally, and--"

"No, I mean, you're trying to use him to fill the Julias-shaped hole in my life. And I get it. He fits the bill, sorta, I guess. He's handsome as fuck, and he used to have a family, like Julias. And he's probably a nice guy, when he finally removes the stick from his ass. Not nice like Julias was," suave and smooth and charming, "but nice. Plus, he's a literal monster, and probably doesn't give a shit about my fucked up mouth." She kept walking. If she stopped, it would have given the conversation more gravitas than she wanted. Instead, she wanted to casually let Jen know that she knew what her friend was up to, in greater detail than Jen realized.

Jen grinned at her. "You forgot a big reason."

"Ha, yeah? What's that?"

"That he can be a great source of blood, and orgasms."

Laughing, Beatrice finally stopped. Had to. She buried her face in a hand and laughed and laughed, until she was sure her Cloak wouldn't be able to suppress the noise. Jennifer was relentless.

"I guess that's true. You know it hasn't really been that long since Julias died, right?"

"Yeah, I know." Jen's smile faded, and she stepped in a little closer. "But, it wasn't last week either. It's been long enough that you should at least start looking at other people. Not fuck them, but look. That's all I'm hoping for, honestly, that you start looking."

After a heavy sigh, Triss nodded, stepped in close to Jen, and set her hands on her shoulders. Jen set her hands on Triss's hips, and she stepped in close as well, eyes a little wider than usual, surprised. Surprised even more, when Triss triggered a kiss, a proper one, deep, long, and slow. Kissing didn't have the same impact without the Blush of Life, not as warm, or moist, but it was still pleasant and inviting enough.

More pleasing and inviting, was Triss's hands gripping Jen's ass through the snug skirt of her business suit. Jen purred, and pressed her chest into Triss's, squashing her large rack into Triss's, dwarfing them, burying them, and within seconds, Jen's lips found Triss's neck. Always on a hair trigger, Jennifer. Triss knew the moment she actively engaged Jen sexually, the girl would give in instantly; lo and behold.

"You've been patient," Beatrice said into Jen's neck. "I appreciate that, a lot. A... a lot lot lot. We can have some fun later, ok?"

Jennifer tightened her hug, gave her another kiss on the neck, and stepped back. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Julias is gone, and it has been a while. Not nearly long enough for a stranger, you know? But... I have missed you."

Her friend nodded, squeezed Triss's hand, and started walking again. "I've missed you, too. And, you have no idea how hard it is to see that ass every night, and not do something about it."

Triss laughed again. It felt damn good to laugh. Maybe she was feeling better because she had something she could do now, a project to work toward, to put her energy into. Whether or not dealing with Elen would succeed, and it probably wouldn't, it felt nice to be able to think about something other than Julias. For now, her focus was on finding a way to make Elen do what she wanted. The fact that that meant resurrecting Julias was such a distant dream that she dared not consider it possible. First step was making Elen obey commands. Resurrecting Julias would probably be step six six six.

And, as the weeks went by, she did find it easier to stop thinking about him. The waves of depression weren't gut wrenching anymore. Painful, yes, but they didn't make her want to puke up all the blood she'd managed to force feed herself, not anymore. More than once, she'd managed to fall asleep come dawn, with Jen in her arms, and not dream of him. It was sad, knowing that she was slowly getting over him, and a colossal relief, too. Part of her had worried she'd end up like Jacob, and probably forever trapped in a loop of depression over Minerva. The guy had an amazing poker face, but Triss and Jen, and Aaron for that matter, were pretty sure the man still thought about her, all the time.

"Think Jacob will connect with Samantha at all?" Triss asked. If there was hope for him, then, by comparison, it'd be easy for Triss to find happiness again. Maybe.

"Maybe. He did say there was something special about her. And if she's Jack's mom, I can only imagine that's true."

"Except, if it's the curse that makes Jack special, then there'd be nothing special about his mom. Except, you know, being the Prince's childe."

"Good point. But I doubt the curse is the reason Jack continuously throws himself in front of oncoming problems with such... enthusiasm."

Triss nodded. "Yeah. The way Samantha dealt with Athalia? Fuck, I should thank Samantha for that. I was kinda worried Athalia would find me and kill me when I had my guard down. Or, find a way to get into my dreams." She shivered. That crazy skeleton monster, in her dreams, stalking her in the dark? Good god. "Samantha's got spirit. I hope she can get through to Jacob. Maybe, you know, settle him a little? Make him happy, if only a little?"

Jen nodded, eyes down, chin in her fingers. "I expect Jacob is using her, but at the same time, is genuinely intrigued by her."

"So, he'll try and use her, but she'll melt his heart in the process?" After a few chuckles, Triss made the classic swooning sigh. "So romantic, and unrealistic."

"One can dream."

They laughed, and kept laughing as they found the giant rock blocking the entrance to the cave. Then, they stopped laughing, and the horrible reality of the situation they were both ignoring set in.

Time to see if Beatrice could summon Black Blood, without Jacob's help.

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~~Jack~~

He woke up. That was a plus. He wasn't entirely sure he would wake up, and the worry infected the dreams of his torpor. Scary nightmares, about things jumping out of an endless mist.

And, of course, he sat up in an endless mist. He expected to see a cave, but instead, found the tunnels of Dolareido. What the fuck?

He got up and turned around, trying to figure out what he was looking at. Yeah, these were Dolareido tunnels. He recognized the concrete work of the tunnels, and the way the old tracks were set up, tracks he'd walked along many times in the deeper tunnels when going to visit Azamel. They were beneath him, maybe three feet down, since he was on the edge of a landing platform.

"Jack," Clara said.

"Clara?" He smiled as relief hit him, and walked over to join her. She was leaning against a subway gate, one of the older ones that used to be manned, with someone who'd check your ticket and everything. Beside her, Sándor sat on the floor, back to the wall. He'd woken up, and he wasn't sweating excessively or panting heavily, so that was a good sign.

"Jack," the Begotten said, a hint of smile showing, but only for a moment.

Jack hopped over to them, but slowed when he remembered he had no idea where the fuck they were. "Glad to see everyone's alive, but, uh, where--"

"Still in the Underworld, or Realm of Ghosts, or Great Below or whatever." Clara shrugged. "Sabrina took us here. Said not many ghosts drift this way, and we should be safe. She also said we should do our best to just avoid any ghosts we run into."

"Right, right. Wandering, angry ghosts? Yeah, after meeting my sister, I'm happy to avoid ghosts." Sure, he could probably survive any beating they threw at him, but he had no way to strike back. He had to imagine a ghost couldn't go on the offensive forever, and would run out of juice long before they could kill him. Clara and Sándor, on the other hand, were not so impervious.

But, Clara said she could probably hurt ghosts, since they were spirits. Hopefully that was true, if it came to it.

"So, this is pretty neat, eh?" Clara said, gesturing around them. "Looks like we're in Dolareido."

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly."

"Sabrina says it's the first level of the Great Below."

He quivered at that, and slowly spun around as he took in the sight, and scanned for potential threats. In the physical world, ghosts could hide anywhere, in anything, even air, but he had no idea if it worked any differently in the Great Below.

"The first level of the Great Below looks like Dolareido?"

She shook her head. "Sabrina said the first level is sorta like, a place where the environment reflects the underground stuff you'd find in the physical world."

"First level? What's--"

She put up her hands. "She doesn't know. And judging from the conversation, the fact she knows as much as she does is a little unusual. We passed a few ghosts on the way here, and they were... kinda spaced out. I don't think they realized they were dead."

He quivered again, and stepped in a little closer. "Ok yeah, that's creepy."

"Yeah, it is." She said. "I didn't want to leave, but she insisted it wasn't safe. Lot of ghosts wandering around."

Nodding, Jack paced back and forth, rubbing his chin. "Sabrina. Sabrina Sabrina. That name is familiar."

"She says she died here in Dolareido. I'm guessing mosts of the ghosts we're seeing died here."

He rubbed his head and paced faster. "So, this Great Below place, or at least this top part of it, reflects the underground of the physical world. If we go deeper, we..." He shuddered again. The cold, sterile, unendingly bleak atmosphere of the mist-filled fake Dolareido tunnels, was sending spiders up his spine. It was just like back at home, with Mary, how her ghost altered and affected his old home, burying it in an oppressive blanket of death. "Well, the fact that there's a deeper is enough to tell me: don't go deeper."

"Agreed," Sándor said.

Clara nodded. "You're awake now, and Sándor's feeling a little better compared to yesterday. Let's go back to the hole, and see if Sándor can get us out of here."

The two men nodded, and Clara and Jack helped Sándor to his feet.

"I don't think you should go," another voice said.

Everyone froze, and looked around for the origin of the voice. It came up from the mist, a subtle green glow growing until it bathed the area in its gentle hue for a good twenty feet.

"Sabrina," Jack said. "Um, hello." Time for diplomat mode, and to put all his experience to use. "Thank you, for helping my friends out, while I was asleep. Greatly appreciate it, you have no idea. But, we don't belong here, and we really need to--"

"There are others, in the tunnels," the ghost said. Christ, those empty eyes were disturbing. "If you go now, they'll notice."

Jack eyed her, then looked to his friends with a wary expression on his face. Either the ghost was telling the truth, and it'd be dangerous to go, or the ghost was lying, and it'd be dangerous to turn their backs to her.

Sándor coughed, a harsh sound, and looked down. Yeah, he wasn't in the best shape, even if he was willing to go. Clara looked at the man hanging over her shoulder, then over at Jack, a wince on her face. Thinking the same thing he was about Sabrina.

"We can... stay for a little while," Jack said, slowly turning his eyes from Clara to the ghost.

Sabrina smiled and clapped her hands twice. "Great! You can tell me about how Dolareido's changed since I died. Right, Jack?"

"R... Right."