My Little Ventrue Pt. 10 Ch. 18

"Hi Triss. Hi Jen. Come on in." She wore a business suit, which Triss most definitely did not expect. Pajamas, maybe, or something super comfy, the sort of clothes anyone wore when sinking into a pit of despair. But nope, the woman was looking okay. No jogging pants or loose hoodie to be found.

Triss and Jen blinked at each other a couple times, but followed the woman in. Big room, with more black marble walls, but there were curtains hanging from them too, very mature sky blue curtains. Her bed was the same color, and damn it was a big bed, with a night stand beside it with three pictures. Jack, Mary, and James.

There was a bandage on the nightstand, too. Jesus, that was Jacob's eye bandage.

"Sam." Jen came up to her, and held out her arms. And to Triss's surprise, Sam didn't hesitate to return the hug.

"Jen. Did my sire hurt you too bad?"

"I can't say a stake in the heart is fun, but the pain dies pretty fast when torpor pulls you down in seconds."

"That's good. I wasn't too happy when I learned what she did."

Triss shrugged as she came in and stood beside them. "I can't blame the Prince. She didn't know if she could trust us."

"I can certainly blame her," Jen said, putting a hand over her heart. "Ow."

Triss laughed, which of course made Jen frown at her, which of course got Sam between them to play peacekeeper. She pulled them down until all three were sitting on the foot of her huge bed.

"How's Jack?" Triss asked.

"Sleeping. Er, torpor. Now that the curse is gone, healing all those wounds is going to take him a long time. A week or two."

"That's definitely a good thing," Triss said. "Well, you know, about the curse. Sucks that he's down for the count for so long. I bet he got used to recovering from injuries like that in record time."

"He did. But, he's happier now. Much happier. The little we've talked, it was like... I could see he didn't look so heavy." Sam smiled as she looked down, and set her hands on her knees. "I owe Elaine a lot, for that."

"Maybe," Jen said. "But she bet a lot on things going a certain way. It could have easily backfired, from what Triss told me. And from what else she told me, it sounded like Elaine wouldn't have been all too disappointed if Jacob had actually succeeded."

"Maybe." Sam nodded as she pat Jen on the leg. "Maybe. Jacob promised... something really amazing. But, Mary was right. It wouldn't be fair to everyone who didn't want that. And, more importantly, it wouldn't be paradise, would it?"

"No," Triss said with a heavy sigh, and collapsed back on Sam's bed. Big ceiling. "No, it wouldn't have. It might have been, at first, but give it some time and I bet everyone woulda kinda just... stopped. Without death, there's no life. Without down, there's no up. All that crap."

"It's not crap." Sam reached out and gave Triss a pat on the stomach; on the abs, considering Triss had a cropped tank top on. "Mary made that clear. And Julias made it clear, right? Enjoy life while you can. It's special."

Holy shit, this woman was unbreakable. Triss lifted her head enough to smile at Sam, before relaxing back on her bed again.

"You're right."

"Samantha," Jen said, "you okay to talk about it? I missed it, and Triss talked about it with me, but I wanted -- we wanted -- to know how you felt about everything. But, if--"

"I can talk about it." She nodded as she got up, fetched Jacob's eye bandage, and sat back down between the two women. "James really... really helped me."

Triss sat up. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Jack takes after his father. James was a logical man, and he helped me see things in a way that was... painful, at first. But he knows... knew, how to say things in a way that I could understand. I'm not smart like him or Jack, or my sire, and sometimes I think they'll never really figure out how to talk to me so I can understand things. But James knew." She held the bandage in her hands and along her lap, and stared down at it as she ran a finger across it. "He was happy for me, you know? But he was also sad, because he knew what I'd do, once I realized... what I had to do."

Fucking christ. Triss slipped an arm about the woman's shoulders, and gave her a sideways hug as she looked down at the bandage, too.

"James knew you pretty well."

"We were married for a good while, before he died. He knew me better than anyone. And he... helped me understand." Nodding, she slid the bandage onto Triss's lap.

"You want me to have this?"

"Yes. I thought about keeping it, but James was right. Everything that happened, Jacob, Black Blood, the ritual, me... killing Jacob, it was all a... different Samantha."

"Different? I don't--"

Sam shook her head as she laughed. "When I first woke up as a vampire, everything just kept... happening. I didn't get to make any decisions. All I could do was hold on as everything kept happening around me. The only decision I got to make was trying to bring Mary back, but that wasn't really a decision either, that was just me running away and trying to get things back to the way they used to be. Last night, when I killed Jacob, that was... the first time... I've made a real decision. "

Oh. Triss nodded as she took the bandage, and admired it in her palm.

"You changed." More than changed. Sure, Sam wasn't the smartest cookie, but now, she was talking with a degree of self awareness Triss doubted most vampires had. You didn't get to thinking in those terms until life chewed you up, spit you out, and you had the will to get back up.

"Looking back at it, I can't even understand how I wound up in such a situation! And Jacob, he..." She shook her head as she frowned. "We used each other. We were both running away from our pains, and... I don't think either of us would have agreed to Black Blood's plan, if we hadn't been."

Jen rubbed Sam's back and rested her head against the mother's shoulder.

"You did the right thing in the end, I believe."

"Agreed," Triss said. "Just, holy fuck it sucks that... that you had to do that."

"It does." Sam managed a solemn nod, before she pulled a gentle smile out of some deep reservoir of will Triss doubted she'd ever be able to match. "But James was right. I'm not the person I used to be."

Triss hugged her friend, nice and tight, before wrapping Jacob's bandage around her wrist. Whether Sam knew how 'witchy' it was to hold onto something like this, from someone she'd killed, Triss didn't know, but it was pretty much a given the bandage would have power. Dangerous witchy power she could investigate later.

Triss felt bad Jacob was dead, but, not as bad as she thought she would. Sure, the dude had been awesome in his own way, and if it wasn't for him, she'd still be that punk Carthian, raging at the Invictus for being assholes and controlling everything. Now, those problems seemed petty and pointless.

She flicked her crow skull necklace a couple more times, looked at the bandage wrapped around her hand, and smiled.

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~~Eric~~

He was in a dream.

He was getting a lot better at figuring out when that happened. Lucid dreams, maybe. He was in wolf form, sitting on the edge of a river, Dolareido on the other side of it and a forest behind him. It was an obvious metaphor. And kinda comforting, now that he'd seen it so many times.

Beside him was another wolf, white, and she let out a long, wolfish sigh as she lay on the ground.

"You won," she said. Her voice sounded so normal, it was almost frightening. She didn't usually sound like that.

"I guess we did."

"Your mother had some interesting things to say."

Eric frowned down at the white wolf beside him, as much as a wolf's face could do that.

"You were eavesdropping."

"Everyone watched. Me, the old crone, others."

"Crone?"

"Beatrice can explain, if she wishes."

Slowly, Eric lay down as well, and looked up at the moon shining overhead.

"You sound disappointed," he said. "I figured you'd be happy. The Gauntlet's still up, and everything's normal."

"And I am still separated from your father."

"My fath--oh. Father Wolf. Christ, I hadn't even thought of that." He pawed at the ground a little. "I'm surprised you didn't help Black Blood, then."

"I will not remake this world for my own selfish reasons. Urfarah will be beyond my reach until the end of days, and so too will Mictecacihuatl remain beyond Mictlantecuhtli's reach."

"End of days?"

She shrugged. "Should such a day ever come."

Oh thank god, she wasn't predicting the end of the world. He couldn't stomach an Armageddon prophecy, not right now anyway.

"I'm... sorry," he said, "that your mate is still separated from you, then. I--wait. Spirits like you, big, important spirits, were watching Dolareido, weren't they? A bunch of... gods, have been watching, because of what Black Blood was doing?"

She nodded.

"This whole time," he said, "we've been stuck in some sort of game, or experiment, or fucking something! You all have been watching, waiting, to see how Black Blood's plan would go!"

She nodded again, eyes still pointed to the city across the river. If she wasn't going to say anything, he sure as hell was.

"That spirit I ran into years ago, in the prison, the tiny young spirit that looked a lot like Black Blood. What was that?"

"One of the many spirits of death that grow from the tainted ground Dolareido was built on. It was called to the violence and death of the old prison."

"Jesus. The city really is on cursed ground?"

"In more ways than one, as the vampire Prince knows. She uses its strange nature to fuel her experiments, just as Jacob did. And just as Black Blood did. His past, his essence, the ruination his existence brought to those who lived here before, has made this land a part of him. And..." She sighed as she gave a wolf shrug. "It doesn't matter. The guardians have bound him. His new chains will last a cycle. And even when he does return, his presence may lead to millions of deaths, but no damage to the tapestry itself. Such a task must be done by someone in the great game."

Tapestry? Great game? Guardians? There wasn't any point in asking.

"How did those souls visit us? I--"

"The tear was powerful, and the guardians decided you and your companions deserved a small reward."

"A small reward for saving the universe."

Luna laughed. "Indeed."

"It was... pretty amazing, getting to talk to Mom again."

"She scolded your mate for tempting your father with pictures of her breasts."

It was his turn to laugh. "Yeah, she did. I thought maybe she was jealous, but nah, I think she was just teasing Jess. Mom was happy that Dad got himself in shape, and is finally enjoying his golden years."

"I am glad."

He wasn't so sure about that. Luna sounded torn, maybe a little bitter. Considering Samantha had stopped her from being reunited with her mate, he couldn't blame her. But it was for the better, according to her. It was a victory.

"Are you going to leave Dolareido? I mean, I don't know if you've truly been here, but--"

"I am here more than elsewhere, in a sense. But now that Mictlantecuhtli and Malachi's plot is broken, I shall return to where I used to be."

"Does that mean, uh..."

Luna lifted her head enough to look directly at him, and give him a small wolf grin.

"I have blessed this city for my forsaken children. The spirits of sexuality remain in the city as well, and will obey my order. You will be able to continue your carnal indulgences, but only within its walls."

"So Dolareido really is the sex city capital of the world."

She laughed again. "It is not only I that has set my gaze on this city. Many spirits come and go, and many more will come. Some as powerful as I. Dolareido remains a... hub, for many forms of interaction. The very soil beneath it has forever been altered." Slowly, as if mulling the words over, she looked at him. "My children must remain, to keep this place under control. You must herd the flock, and cull the herd, as is necessary. And... since so many spirits of sexuality exist here, and you have earned my aid, it seemed simple enough to bless it so. A reward for Uratha that remain here and do my bidding."

"Jessy certainly appreciates it."

Again, Luna laughed as she sat up. Still a wolf, so, sitting on her hind legs with her front paws between her knees.

"I like her."

"Jessy? My girlfriend?"

"Indeed."

"The super brazen punk, Jessy? Hyper sexual, no shame, no guilt, Jessy?"

"Quite."

"Why?"

Luna shook her head as she chuckled. Okay, no explanation then. Maybe she saw something of herself, or itself, in Jessy? Crazy to think of a god spirit like the moon ever behaving like Jessy.

Or maybe, Jessy behaved like Father Wolf.

"Your father," Luna said. "Were you considering asking a Kindred to sire him?"

Well, fuck, that was a hard question. He shrugged wolf shoulders as he stared off to the distant city.

"I'd considered it, yeah. Mom's happy Dad's finally moving on. But..."

"Your father is old, and alive. To become Kindred at such an age will be difficult, and while he may be moving on from your mother's death, a part of him will not be able to, not after the strife the three of you faced together. It may be best to let age take him."

"Yeah... maybe..."

"And after everything that happened last night, I hope you've come to understand, young Uratha. Your mother's words were wise. Be happy while you can."

And of course, the god didn't beat around the bush when it came to the big, life altering questions.

"I... think I understand."

"Will you tell your father what she said?"

"I'd thought about it. But he's... happy. That's what she wants. I'm not necessarily happy knowing that he's seen my girlfriend's breasts, a lot, or is apparently getting laid quite a bit..."

"The old still enjoy sex."

"Yeah, apparently." He shuddered. It didn't matter how much he'd grown up or would ever grow up, he'd still have trouble picturing his dad having sex. "If I tell him I talked to Mom's soul, that might ruin things for him. But before that, I think... I think I'll ask him, if he wants to become a vampire. He'll think I'm kidding, but now that we're talking again, I think I can get an honest answer out of him."

"Be careful, young Uratha. You would not be the first soul to ruin someone's life, by having them become Kindred." Before he got to ask, Luna stepped onto the water. And in classic fashion, she walked on the water, because of course she did. "I take my leave. I am glad to have spoken with one of my children, about more... normal things. But we will not speak again."

"We won't?"

"Mictlantecuhtli will not be back for some time, and my interference, and the interference of others, were only balanced by his own. My gifts will remain, as will his, but you and I will speak no more. From now on, you are on your own."

"I... see."

The wolf looked back at him over her shoulder, and nodded her head slowly.

"The power of the wolf will always threaten to drown you in the lust of the hunt, young Uratha. But it is a desire only. It is not who you are. Breathe, child of the city, and it will not control you. Breathe, and..." Laughing again, her tail wagging slightly, she managed another shrug. "If you do not understand yet, you never will. Goodbye."

With a quiet shimmer, the white wolf faded away, but instead of floating up into the sky to join the moon, she dispersed into the water below her like mist. The mist settled, coalesced, and disappeared into a white circular shape in the water. The reflection of the moon.

"I understand," he whispered, "... I think." How long ago had she told him that word? Breathe? At the time, he didn't get it. It took a long time before he realized Luna was telling him how to be... aware. Aware in the big sense, in the 'I'm alive' sense, in the sentient sense.

Very guru, very yoga or Buddhist, and very much not him. Probably why she felt the need to tell him, or he'd still be that raging Uratha who'd killed and eaten three humans. Sure, Avery probably understood it intimately, and she'd taught it to her pack. Eric didn't have a pack, and he doubted he ever would. Too stubborn, and too dumb.

He owed Luna his life.

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~~Damien~~

"I have seen crushed insects in better shape than you."

Damien managed a weak chuckle as he sat down by Maria's new piano, in her cavern beneath the Grand Cathedral.

"I never did heal very quickly. One night is not enough."

"Indeed." Maria got up from her desk and sat beside him on the piano bench, facing forward, same as him. "Why didn't you visit me last night? A single phone call was hardly enough of a report."

He frowned slightly as he looked down. "I had to think about how to... best tell you about what happened."

"How best to tell me?" The corpse woman, dressed in one of her fuller, fancier white gowns, eyed him with a raised eyebrow. "What happened?"

His report last night had simply been: 'Black Blood is defeated, and Jacob is dead. We're safe.'

Now, it was time to explain everything, and maybe bring his boss to emotional ruin.

He spared no details. Maria was the definition of methodical, and she listened with focused eyes as he detailed Jacob's trap, the battle with the azlu, the intervention of Sabrina, the Ripper's slaughter, and finally, the encounter with Jacob and Black Blood.

"Samantha killed Jacob? Oh... Lord help her. Is she alright?"

"I texted Jack a moment ago. He'll be spending the next couple weeks mostly in torpor, but he assures me his mother is doing well. She's... grown, for the experience."

Maria did something the corpse vampire almost never did. She trembled.

"I cannot imagine... doing such a horrible thing. I am glad she did, but..."

"She surprised everyone. And I mean everyone. Jack, Antoinette, her daughter's ghost."

"She is a stronger woman than I had considered."

Damien smiled at her, and leaned in a little as he set his elbows on his knees.

"When the dust cleared, we heard a voice from the tear. It was Mary's."

"The ghost--"

Damien shook his head. "Mary, the real Mary, her soul stepped out of the tear. A being of gold." A shiver went through him, not of fear, but of awe. "I'm sorry you weren't there to see it, Maria. Gold poured out of the tear, liquid gold. It flowed over the stone and caressed our ankles, and it... soothed everyone and everything it touched."

Maria's mouth fell open.

"Mary," he continued, "asked her ghost to join her in the afterlife, and the two merged. The ghost's memories went into Mary. According to Mary, that's what happens when ghosts cross over, and apparently, most ghosts do not get to do so. But, that moment was just the beginning. More souls stepped out of the tear. First, Julias."

"Julias Mire!?"

"Yes. Then, others. Many of Avery's dead werewolves, including those that'd just died that night, came to say goodbye. Jack's father came. Sándor's wife and son. Eric's mother. Clara's brother. Natasha's parents. Others I didn't know. Even the two ghouls Antoinette lost before the Purge came to say hello and goodbye." He looked to Maria again, and she stared at him, desperate to hear her lover's name. "But not Lucas."

"Oh..." Her posture sank.

"Apparently the truly old have trouble abandoning their anchors, according to Julias. It weighs them, traps them, in the afterlife. Which is why I suppose some individuals didn't appear, such as Viktor or Tony, or Azamel, or Lucas. But... Julias had a message from Lucas."

"Oh?" Her posture returned, and she leaned in, eyes so wide he could see into her soul.

"Lucas... apologized. He admits that, toward the end, he was mad with conviction, not thinking straight, and obsessed." Before Maria could look away, disappointed with the lack of her in the message, Damien lightly pat her leg. "And, for you, Lucas had another message: he was a fool. His biggest regret, is doing what he did, and asking you to betray Natasha to him, instead of re-seeking the love you two had."