My Little Ventrue Pt. 02 Ch. 02

"Honest. Determined... you summarize people very well in few words," he said.

"Only because I have been doing it for much, much longer than you." She righted her gaze at him then, and a harsh edge joined it. "You would do well to hold onto Beatrice. She has that inner fire that will warm your cold insides. As Jack will mine."

He did not like that predator look in her eyes. "Are you saying I'm using Beatrice, and you're using Jack?"

"We all use each other, Julias, but that does not mean I don't hold Jack in my arms, and wish happiness upon him. I want nothing more than what is best for Master Terry," she said, Invictus title and all, "and I will fight for that." She stood then, and looked down at him. He couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze just then, like she were some goddess casting her gaze down at him from on high.

She was grabbing what she wanted, she wasn't going to let go, and if he stood in the way, she'd destroy him.

But, after a while, she let out a slow sigh. "I am sorry. I made that sound a threat, and I did not mean that. I only wished to say...."

He raised his eyes to blink at her, surprised. The Prince was embarrassed about something. She was even squirming a little.

"To say that Jack is precious to me, Julias, and that is a feeling I have not felt since before your existence. Do you understand what that means to me?"

"I... I don't think I can."

"I believe you do, Julias. It is why you sired Jack in the first place, no? You sensed in him that fire that warmed your cold, dying soul." She reached out, and poked him in the forehead. It was the first time she'd ever touched him.

She sure was Daeva. Disgustingly, unabashedly poetic, but painfully truthful.

"If you do not wish to become Viktor, a broken and paranoid man with no humanity in his withered, dead insides, you will fight for Beatrice, as I will fight for Jack. And I do not wish Viktor's fate upon you, Julias. You are a kind man, and one I would like to keep in my city." Again she sighed, and reached up to pull her main of hair over her fur scarf and down her chest so she could comb it with her fingers. "Forgive my ranting. Do you have anymore questions?"

The fuck could he ask after that? A single conversation and she'd made him feel like he was a teenager barely passed puberty, getting a lecture from his mom about love.

"I'm not sure. I... I'm glad, that you think so highly of Jack. I really do love that kid," he said.

She smiled, was about to say something, but stopped herself. "... I owe you, Julias. I cannot grant you a boon that would affect the covenants, but whatever personal favor you can think of, please, ask of it."

He just blinked at her. He was doing a lot of that, but Antoinette was not someone he could control in conversation. "If I think of something I will. Thank you."

"You are most welcome, Mister Mire." She gave a small bow, turned, and headed toward the door.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was up and opening the door for her. For a moment, he thought maybe she'd bewitched him into opening the door, but when she gave him a smile, another nod, and walked on, he knew she hadn't. She just had that affect on people.

"Ah, Prince?"

She stopped, ten feet from the doorway, and looked up the stone pathway up to him. "Yes, Mister Mire?"

"The Ordo Dracul, do you-"

"Don't worry, Mister Mire." She tapped her lips in a mocking shh. "Master Terry is Invictus, and it would be decades before I could even open those doors to him. You have nothing to worry about on that front."

He sighed with relief, and gave a nod of his own before watching her go. Well, at least that one was thing he didn't have to worry about; she wouldn't steal Jack that way, and she wasn't stealing the other neonates either.

Then where the hell were they?

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

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

~~Natasha~~

"Man that Julias has a big pair of balls on him." Jessy said. She was smart enough to keep her voice down, but the Gangrel kept getting louder and louder until Natasha had to poke her in the ribs. She'd had to a few times now.

"He is Viktor's childe, after all." It was so much easier to not stutter when it was just the two of them. "And he was right. It was the right plan."

"Fuck, doesn't mean he should talk down to us like that."

Natasha smiled up at the Gangrel next to her. It was just the two of them, and they'd worked their way down the subway tunnels. Natasha was happy to wear one of her typical suits, but Jessy was much happier going all out. She'd put on leather, and all sorts of weird layers of straps, belts, and vests over top of it. It was some sort of modern, secret military espionage armor, probably, maybe. It looked cool, but kind of silly too.

But then, Natasha was the one with a silenced pistol in her hand, and a short sword on her side. To each their own.

She'd kept the two of them hidden from eyes with her cloak of night. If there was at least one thing she could do right, it was hide them from prying eyes, even with Jessy's loud voice. Julias trusted her with stealth, even for infiltration, and that made her smile.

"I still c-can't believe Viktor is dead, and Tony. You think Julias did it?"

"Maybe." Jessy shrugged. "Or his little kid Jack. See that kid? Christ he's tiny."

"Hey." Natasha frowned up at her partner.

The Gangrel laughed down at her, and even put a gloved hand on her head to toy with her hair. "Tiny little thing like you? Bit different than with a guy. A small guy like that, all I can think is, his dick must be the size of a used-up pencil. You though? Guys are thinking 'hot damn, she'd be so fucking tight.'"

Her friend knew no shame, and Natasha could swear she was blushing, even without the blush of life going. "He's dating the Prince."

"I know!" she yelled, and Natasha was quick to give her another jab in the side. "Sorry, sorry. But yeah, she's so damn tall, and she's a pretty curvy thing you know? The hell she doing with that pipsqueak?"

"Size isn't everything." She shook her head. Why was she having this conversation? It was such boy talk, talking about penis sizes and breast sizes and vagina sizes. "And besides, biological differences in size of genitalia are not correlated with frame height at a one-to-one ratio in an adult. His penis size is probably of adequ -- are you making fun of me?"

Jessy had started using her hand as a fake mouth, and was flapping it in the air in front of her. "Nerd."

"Barbarian."

"Geek."

"Philistine."

"Hermit.

"Butch."

"Hey hey, now that's below the belt." Jessy gave her a frown, and used both her hands to adjust her hair a bit. "Shit, you got me all self conscious now."

They had to slip through some very old tunnels, older holes, into ancient tunnels that weren't even used anymore. Tony's underground network was very, very old. But at least it was sturdy. Without a fear of a rock falling on their head, they were free to stick to the shadows of the pillars that held the tunnel up, and once they were beyond any lights, there was only darkness. Eventually it got so dark that even Kindred eyes could barely see. But that's where Natasha was her most comfortable.

She could see where others could not; an unnatural talent for the auspex, her sire had said. Jessy called it Sith sight.

Natasha smiled at the thought, but a noise down the way had her reaching up to grab Jessy, and she pulled her down into a crouch along the railway. Voices rolled off the walls up ahead from far ahead. Natasha crept closer.

Light was starting to bounce off the rocks of the large tunnel, but thankfully its curving nature and metal pillars gave them something to hide behind. Not that they needed it, as Natasha kept the cloak of night upon them both, but better safe than sorry. She crept from corner to corner of the curling tunnel, to pillar to pillar, until the tunnel straightened out and finally, they both could see a gateway.

It was odd. Deep down, under the earth, in old abandoned tunnels, they'd found what looked quite majestic. The tunnel ceiling rose so the gate had room to stand tall, a pair of pillars of dark metal with a beam that connected them above. But the metal had been shaped into ornate curves that looked like something that would belong in the Prince's Elysium. It was definitely Tony's nest, complete with electric lanterns that dangled from hooks and gave off gentle white light.

And they could hear people talking. Not just talking, Natasha noticed, but talking casually. They were... happy? She pressed forward, but stepping out into the light and through a gate was not so easy. Her cloak of night drained her, and doing it so openly was exhausting, but if Vivienne was in there, or Amanda or Jordan, she had to find out.

So they walked through the gate. Jessy kept low, stuck to her side, and behind a little. They'd worked together for over a decade, had developed great synergy, so all they had to do was make small gestures at each other or tap each other on the shoulder to communicate. They stuck to the walls of what had become a hallway, plain and metal like everything so deep underground, but the further they got into the lit tunnel, the more it became not-so plain. More of the electronic lanterns hung from the walls. Carvings and engravings of ornate, meaningless patterns decorated the floor and ceiling.

And then the hallway opened up into a giant room. All it took was a glance left or right to see it was a series of several massive lobbies connected by doorways similar to the one they'd found to enter the complex. There were chairs, there were tables, there were lights and doors with names on them, some open and some closed. And there were ghouls and Kindred walking around, young neonates all of them, minding their own business and chatting with each other. They had smiles on their faces, and many had a large book in their hand.

Vivienne. Her childe was sitting at one of the tables, chatting with Jordan, and Amanda too. Others were at the table, Kindred she did not recognize, but none of them were a threat. Now that she looked around at the strange group of Kindred, perhaps nearly fifty, with another fifty ghouls, she sort of recognized them, if only in passing. Tony's brood. The anarchist had a thing for collecting souls for his personal use, she knew, but his brood never looked happy whenever she saw them.

They looked happy now. So too did the three missing Invictus neonates. Vivienne, a small and quiet little thing like her, was laughing openly, loudly even, with her fellow missing Invictus, and the others.

What was going on? She almost said it, but they were too close to make a sound; even her cloak of night wouldn't be able to hide everything from so close. Jessy and her kept to the hallway, with its metal pillars serving as something to hide behind, but they couldn't do this for long. Natasha looked at Jessy, but the Gangrel just shrugged at her and mouthed 'your call.'

The Mehket bit her lip, and poked her head out to look further down the way. One direction lead through another large lobby, with its own doors along its side -- bedrooms, she guessed -- and the other direction opened to a lobby filled with pews. Pews?

And then two men walked out. One of them was of average height, average build, and all around forgettable if not for his hair; she kind of liked the look of it, one side shaved clean, the other half with long black hair. A Mehket, and judging from what her inner-beast felt at the sight of him, one of similar age to her.

She contemplated talking to him. He did seem like a guy she'd want to talk to. He had a nice, gentle face, and plain clothes; just jeans and a blue shirt.

The man he was talking to was a fledgling, a Daeva not even a week old. A freshly embraced Kindred. A smiling, freshly embraced Kindred. It was unsettling to see so many content faces.

"Bishop, I worry about my role in all this. You—"

"Jonathan, you spend far too much time worrying about things beyond your control." This Bishop fellow put his arm around the fledgling's shoulder. "Your purpose is clear, and the Archbishop and I will help you with any problems you may have serving in that purpose."

"So, I mean... I just...."

"Serve your sire. She will teach you how to seduce kine with but a glance, and you can feed upon them as God demands we should. You are the wolf, and they are God's sheep."

"God's sheep. But then, I don't understand why we're supposed to feed on them, and even kill them sometimes...."

"Read the Testament of Longinus. And then, once it has confused you, read it again. And then once you are confused even more, come talk to me," the man said with a chuckle, and gave the fledgling a pat on the back. "But for now, simply know that human kind has sinned, corrupted to the core by Adam and Eve. Earth is their prison, and we their tormentors. Only through total devotion to God will the sheep find salvation, and by preying upon them as the wolf, we will force them to put their faith in the shepherd."

Natasha managed a half-smile half-frown. He had a lovely voice, but his words were a loud warning. Lancea et Sanctum. She'd never met one, how could she since the Prince had banished their covenant from the city. It was when she was first embraced, half a century ago, and she could only barely remember the conflict. But there had been violence, and a lot of it.

And then the Bishop looked straight at her.

She jumped. Jessy jumped too, hand on Natasha's shoulder. But it was enough signal for the two of them to immediately turn around, and run. Natasha dropped her cloak of night, ready to put all her speed to use, but she froze.

The Bishop was already behind them, with his head tilted to the side so his half-head of hair hung over the shaved side. He was fast! Faster than most Mehket. Faster than her. "I am surprised. It has been not even two weeks since Tony's death, and already scouts have come for his place?"

"Well you fuckers stole three of our-"

Natasha elbowed Jessy in the side. Her friend talked way too much.

"Oh? Three? Then you are Invictus. You speak of Amanda, Jordan, and Vivienne," the bishop said, and gestured behind them.

"... Sire?" Vivienne said. The three Invictus members, and a couple dozen Kindred and ghouls stepped up to circle them, but only through sheer intrigue.

"... Vivienne. I'm g-g-glad... you're well." Neither she nor her childe could look each other in the eye. Guilt dripped from Vivienne's face like tears, and Natasha was forced to look away to avoid it. She'd been betrayed, but it need not be said.

Jessy, of course, was more than willing to say it. "So what's up you fucks? The fuck is going on here? Lancea et Sanctum shit? The Second Estate was banned from Dolareido."

"We... we...." Vivienne tried to talk, but Amanda stepped up.

Amanda Pol, Gloria Jenning's childe, another Mehket of the Invictus, stood her ground. "They've started again, and we've joined. We're a family here, we belong, and—"

"And nothing you stupid little shit. You don't just vanish without a word. Now I don't give a fuck about what church boy here," Jessy gestured to the bishop behind her, "or his 'family' want to do, or whether they exist, but you owe the Invictus. You're coming with us, and you're going to explain everything."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that." Damien reached behind him, and slowly withdrew a sword. It was an elegant piece, sleek, modern, and he held it with a confidence that had Natasha almost trembling. "Please, do not force me to kill you. Surrender, and no one will be harmed. Once my sire is back, he can decide how to deal with this situation. We want only peace."

Sire? She'd figured this Mehket had avoided notice due to his young age, but if he had a sire, she was thoroughly confused. She knew of no one old enough to be this boy's sire except for the sheriff. And he most definitely was not the sheriff's.

"Two against one, fucking priest." Jessy took a step forward, hunched over slightly, and pointed her hands down. With an almost sickening tear of leather, large claws erupted from her fingers and through her gloves.

"... Invictus Gangrel, I pity your sire. Your counting ability leaves much to be desired."

Jessy and Natasha looked back to the crowd that surrounded them. The two of them were at the entrance to the hallway that lead out of the weird underground complex, but the Bishop was in the hallway blocking them, and behind them was a growing half-ring of Kindred. The former Invictus neonates did not join in, but that didn't stop Tony's old brood from stepping up.

And Tony's old brood didn't seem too upset by the prospect of beating up some Invictus.

Natasha put on her biggest frown, pathetic as it was, and walked up to the bishop. She motioned for Jessy to cover their six, and the Gangrel gave an annoyed grunt before turning to face the oncoming neonates.

"... w-what's your name?" Natasha asked the bishop.

"Bishop Damien." He said it with a small bow.

"Alright, so no violence? And we c-can't leave?"

"Correct. Please submit. You will only be detained until my sire returns, and then he can determine what to do. He wants only peace for the Lancea et Sanctum."

She gave a small smile. He really did have a nice voice.

He didn't make a sound when she shot him between the eyes, and collapsed with a large hole in his forehead.

A silencer did not reduce a gunshot to quiet levels, not even close. Instead, it was just not ear-splitting loud, so the score of Kindred behind her did not hesitate to jump forward and tackle them when she fired. To their surprise though, Jessy also did not hesitate to throw herself against the tide.

"You stupid fucks!" She grabbed one of them by the throat -- she did not spare her claws -- and smashed their skull into the floor and walls. Natasha turned to face Jessy, only to look away at the sight of a Kindred's skull splitting open.

It wouldn't kill a Kindred, but it'd be a close call with second death for any fledgling. But, to Natasha's surprise, it didn't deter them. In fact, a few of them threw themselves at Jessy, and Natasha was forced to step back and away from the cluster of limbs fighting and scraping.

"Get off of me! Fucking vermin!"

Those poor Kindred, they didn't know. They may have known who Jessy was, but none of them had seen her fight, not really. Natasha stepped back a little further, and made room.

One of the Kindred flew straight up and into the ceiling, and her arm was missing. Another was thrown back and into the lobby, through several chairs and tables and ghouls. The ghouls were not so sturdy as to not break limbs on contact with the flying body. Another Kindred lost a leg, and Jessy screamed murder at those on top of her and drove the limb into one of them like a baseball bat.

There were too many though. Too many. Get out get out, they had to get out. Don't panic, Natasha. Look at Vivienne, what's she doing? She's just watching, scared. This doesn't need to get worse, just get out.

Then Damien got back up.

"That... hurt...."

She squealed with a jump, but Damien's hand was around her throat and pinning her to the wall before she got two inches into the air. From so close, she got to see the hole in his forehead close itself. The Bishop, this fellow Mehket, was strong. Too strong. His grip was tight enough around her throat to break skin, and his other hand was on his sword and raising it to her eye.

But she still had her gun in her hand, and she raised it to try and shoot him again. All she got for her efforts was a sword through the palm that stuck her hand to the wall. She screamed.

"Natasha! Shit, get the fuck off of me," Jessy said. Natasha couldn't see the her, not with Damien pinning her by the throat against the wall. But she could hear the crunch of bone, tearing clothes, and ripped skin coming from her friend's direction. Jessy was not happy.