This is a story I wrote a while ago. It's been over two years ago since it was published in a 'zine, so now it can be put online. I did add a new ending scene and tweeked some of the wording of the other scenes.
This is also a stand-alone story. It is not a part of any series and none of the characters are mine, except for the creepy cousin.
Frank's Dilemma
The slender, dark-haired man with the mismatched set of eyes, one black and one brown, turned, a silver fire blazing in the depths of those eyes. "Bring him to me," he snarled.
A thirty-something man, with brown hair and eyes, awoke. His right eye was throbbing in time with his rapidly quickening heartbeat, his face felt as if it had been sandblasted and he wasn't sure where the manic elves, with the tiny hammers, had come from. Detective Frank Kohanek moaned as his restlessly moving head met a stiff object - and bounced off it.
What happened, Frank thought as he carefully turned his head away from the scratchy surface. His eyelids fluttered several times before the unhappy detective could keep them up long enough to peer through the quarter-opened slits, and what did he see? A disapproving, and obviously unhappy, Julian Luna, clad in his grey, pin-striped Armani-suited best, was sitting two feet away, elbows on his knees, eyes studying Frank over steepled fingers. With his eyelids slowly rising and falling, Frank dazedly peered through the lashes at the heavily frowning Prince.
That's quite the scowl Julian has on his face … ; Frank's mind was still on the bleary side of waking; … and where am I? His thoughts rambled on; this isn't my couch. Frank's eyes opened wider as he cautiously studied his surroundings. Good furniture, fancy furniture, expensive furniture and a heavy mahogany desk: This is Julian's place; I'm in his study.
"Hello, Frank," Julian Luna, Prince of San Francisco's Kindred, said; voice coldly foreboding, as he grimly watched his 'guest's' bleary survey of his study. Frank's reaction to Sonny's use of dominance appears to have left him disoriented - extremely so. Good! Maybe I can get some honest answers out of the man. The Prince stood, moving to closer to stare down at his increasingly uncomfortable guest. Julian Luna's eyes were cold as he measured Kohanek's reaction to his present situation. "So, when did you become a hunter, Frank?" Julian asked conversationally, arms folded, right index finger casually tapping his left bicep.
Huh, was Frank's first thought after his mind processed the Prince's abrupt question. What the hell is he talking about was the second thought entering his mind as he struggled to sit upright on Julian's over-stuffed and rather scratchy burgundy-colored sofa. "I don't hunt!" Frank's bewilderment was obvious as he continued. "San Francisco has well stocked super markets and restaurants, with any meat I could want. Why should I look like an idiot in 'safety' orange just to go out, and shoot Bambi, while other 'hunters' try to bag the rare 'safety orange' deer," Kohanek's tone was sarcastic as he peered at the annoying man questioning him.
He's looking at me as if I've gone insane. Frank's brain is so totally scrambled my question makes no sense to him. My eldest 'son' outdid himself this time. Sonny must have been worried Frank would fight, so he over-dominated the man. Julian started to pace in front of the sofa, pausing occasionally to glare down at its miserable occupant. "No, Frank …," Julian said, his strained patience obvious as he emphasized every word, no - every syllable, "… Kindred Hunter -When did you decide to hunt Kindred? When did you start to hunt us?" His patience fraying with Frank's every blank look, Julian stopped abruptly, looking down at the upturned, faintly greenish face of the man peering back at him, before commenting tartly. "You know, Frank, if I hadn't promised Alexandra I'd take you under my protection you'd be in my cellars now, or dead. So …, I'd suggest you answer my question. When did you decide to hunt Kindred?" Julian repeated his previous question.
What gave him that idea? He has gone insane; Frank's thoughts froze; … and so has Sonny. In Frank's last conscious moment, before awakening in Julian's study, he'd just finished his shift and had been standing beside his car, key already in the driver-side lock, when he'd heard his partner's voice and, turning, saw an angry Sonny behind him. He did it; my partner put me here. Sonny's eyes were glowing silver. He's the reason for my aching head.
"I'm not hunting Kindred." Frank's indignant outburst set his head to renewed pounding. "What makes you think I am?" Frank demanded as he removed his hands from his aching head and started waving them at the Prince. "I don't dislike any of you enough to hunt one of you, much less Kindred in general."
"You told me you'd hunt me for a thousand years. That you'd never stop, even if you had to become like me. You also swore, to me, that you'd be there when I least expected it." Julian said evenly, as he continued to stand directly in front of Frank, his cold eyes steadily returning his 'guest's' gaze.
"That was just after Alexandra's death," Frank responded impatiently, "… and it was just you. You're the only Kindred I've ever had homicidal thoughts toward and like I said, that was right after Alexandra died. Yes, I pursued you before her death but, all I wanted then was to see you in prison - to tear you away from this house. I thought you were a mobster, and I was personally offended by the thought you were not only getting away with it, but were profiting so well by it." Frank blushed. "I was acting out the colloquial definition of the word assume. I was being an ass." Fortunately you wouldn't play that game, Julian; you refused to reflect my assininity back at me. "Even when I found out about the Kindred, I never wanted to go after you in general," Frank protested. I'm in danger. Julian thinks I've betrayed them, Frank thought incredulously. I could die because of this. "Why do you think I'm hunting Kindred?" he demanded, as he rapidly tried to pull his thoughts together.
Kohanek doesn't appear to be lying. Julian's dark, mismatched eyes narrowed as he replied, "because, you've been seen several times, in the last month, with a well known Kindred Hunter, your cousin, Cedric Atkinson."
"Cedric …" Frank paused, his voice flat, "… my cousin Cedric. He's what this is all about," Frank replied incredulously. "Have you and Sonny gone crazy?" Frank paused after his outburst, before taking a deep breath and, with arms wildly gesticulating, continued his indignant response to Julian's statement. "Cedric Atkinson is no hunter. We could never get him to go into the woods, not even on a bet, and believe me, the family tried every bet we could think of. He hates hunters. He hates hunting. Cedric wouldn't kill Bambi, much less Thumper, or any of the other "little woodland creatures." Frank stopped to make the quote symbols with his fingers before taking a deep breath and continuing. "Why would he go after people," Julian's unhappy, still somewhat disoriented 'guest', patiently explained, making sure he emphasized each, and every, word to his extremely annoying 'host'. "The man is a Vegan; he doesn't believe in killing anything, in order to feed or clothe himself." Frank snorted, and then jabbing a forefinger at Julian, continued: "I'd think the two of you should get along well, considering you were the one who told me Kindred didn't need to kill to feed. You're practically vegetarians yourself," Frank concluded indignantly, his sarcastic wit showing.
Julian's eyebrows rose as he listened to Frank's rather amusing diatribe. He wasn't sure where the man's logic, or the lack thereof, was coming from, but it was obvious the good detective believed what he was saying. Frank did not appear to even know of the Kindred hunters stalking the city, much less to be knowingly in league with them. Sonny would be relieved. Neither Julian nor his eldest living childe had wanted to believe Kohanek had betrayed them, but the circumstantial evidence had been damning. Frank was truly a lucky man. If it had been any human other than Frank Kohanek, the Prince of San Francisco's Kindred would never have insisted on having the man brought directly to him, and he certainly would never have placed his 'guest' on his sofa and then left that 'guest' to wake on their own. The Prince would confirm his supposition shortly, to his and the conclave's satisfaction, but he wondered how Kohanek would take the news of his cousin's involvement with the Kindred hunters. Julian also wondered what Frank's reaction would be to what 'Prince' Julian would have to do to stop 'Cousin' Cedric's 'hobby' or, for that matter, what Frank's reaction would be to Julian's pending decision concerning Frank's own fate. It was time to find out.
"Frank …" Julian replied briskly, "… Vegans don't believe in using animal products for anything. They disapprove of milk because it means holding cows captive to get it. While respectable Kindred do not hold humans captive to 'milk' them, we do walk among you, taking our nourishment from you; but that's beside the point." Julian's voice was gentle as he watched Frank's discomfort and increasing unease. He sighed, sat on the arm of the sofa and watched as a faint hint of suspicion appeared in his charge's brown eyes. "Several Kindred have been attacked in the last month - two of them were extinguished. Sonny was one of those attacked and he barely managed to get away. Your cousin was one of his attackers." Julian paused, determined to impress the seriousness of what he was saying on the man sitting beside him. "He was the one wielding the stake." The expressions on Frank's face shifted through indignation, bewilderment, fury, and disbelief, as Julian watched, finally settling into an expression of bewildered disbelief.
"Julian, Cedric has never been physically active and his social skills are inept at best." Kohanek explained patiently. Frank's endorphins were flowing, his mind was trying to shift into overdrive, and the headache was receding. Scooting forward, to perch on the edge of Julian's burgundy sofa, he continued his diatribe. "I can't remember all the times I, or one of his other cousins, had to rescue him from people he had offended. Hell, even his sisters have had to rescue the little twerp." Frank choked with laughter before saying, "Cedric was a prime candidate for 'swirlies'. We were always having to pull his head out of toilets." Frank's shoulders and arms rose incredulously as he said plaintively, "Cedric's a wuss." Kohanek paused to collect his thoughts, trying to think of the perfect argument. The argument that would most convince his 'host' of the complete impossibility of 'Wussy Boy' Atkinson being in anything close to the physically violent and dangerous avocation The Kindred Prince claimed his jerk-faced cousin was in. Ah, he had the perfect one. An argument Julian would not be able to refute. Luna would have to admit Frank was right. "He's an accountant, Julian," Frank burst out in exasperation, leaning closer to the Prince seated to his right, as if the fact of his cousin's occupation obviously disqualified the man from anything involving physical violence.
Julian's eyebrows rose even further. Frank obviously did not know the same accountants he did. "I'm an accountant," the Prince said dryly. "Do you think I'm a wuss, … and ,by the way, Frank, what do you think the Kindred are, if not hunters?"
"Of course not, Julian," Frank replied impatiently. "I know you're more than capable of violence. You're also not an accountant. Oh …," he raised his hand to halt Julian's rebuttal, "… I've no doubt you're a 'wiz' with numbers and can make a ledger book stand up and salute you. You probably know double-entry bookkeeping front, back, and sideways. I'll bet you're great at ferreting out fraud as well, but you are not an accountant. You're just good at accounting stuff and scaring the shit out of people; that disqualifies you right there, Julian." Frank had an obnoxiously smug smile on his now pale face, with barely a hint of green remaining, as he proclaimed. "Accountants aren't scary: you are, therefore, you're not an accountant," he finished triumphantly. Mentally congratulating himself, the still somewhat confused man continued his "impeccably logical" argument. "You've alsonever waxed rhapsodic over the joys of double-entry bookkeeping, and you've never annoyed everyone in earshot by insisting they'd be better off becoming accountants, than remaining in their pathetic little lower-class jobs and anyway, accountants are too scared of people like you to go hunting them, no matter how much one of them might hate you."
Julian blinked in steadily growing amusement as he listened to the amazing stream of logic flowing out through Kohanek's lips. Frank might as well have ended his diatribe with a "So there!" That smug smile on the human's face was priceless. The former enforcer was particularly impressed by his reluctant guest's "accountants aren't scary" comment. Kohanek definitely had never met the same accountants Julian had. Frank's mind had obviously thrown off some of the effects of Sonny's dominance, even though that mind still didn't appear to be firing on all cylinders. Frank was still a can or two shy of a six pack. The Prince sighed and shook his head as, with a slight twitch of his lips, he stood and walked around Kohanek. Seating himself beside his friend, and prisoner, Julian reached out to grasp Frank's chin. Turning the man's head until their eyes met, Julian smiled as gently as he could. "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you, Frank. I just need to know, what you know, about your cousin. Please don't fight me," he ordered softly, before pushing his mind into Frank's.
Several minutes later, Julian withdrew. He now knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Frank Kohanek had nothing to do with either the extinguishment of the dead Kindred, or with the Kindred Hunters. 'Cousin Cedric' though ….: Frank's mind had contained some interesting memories of the man. It's amazing what family can overlook in one of their own, Julian thought as he considered some of those memories. Cedric Atkinson's actions did not appear as innocent to the Prince of San Francisco's Kindred as they apparently had to the man's own family, although they did give Julian several angles to follow when questioning the hunter. However, he first had to deal with Frank who, at the present time, was more mentally impaired than Julian felt comfortable with when presenting the decision he had made concerning the man's future.
Frank Kohanek felt Julian's mind leave his. As his eyes refocused, he saw Julian's hand pass in front of those eyes and relaxed, feeling himself drift off to sleep.
A thoughtful look was on the Prince's face as he studied the peacefully sleeping man beside him for several minutes before making sure his 'guest' would not wake until his return.. After making sure the man was left lying in a comfortable position on the deep burgundy sofa, Julian rose and, closing the door behind him, left the room. Stopping to direct one of his guards to watch the door and to allow no one, except himself, or his childe, Sonny, in, or out, without Julian's direct order, Julian set out for his cellars.
Sonny Touissant, Ventrue Primogen, childe of Julian Luna, and partner to a frustrating and annoying, but strangely likable human, sighed in disgust as he listened to Cedric Atkinson, a scrawny, blond-haired man in his mid-twenties, with a complexion more pallid than most Kindred, including the Nosferatu, and a black suit cheap enough to bring a sneer of disdain to the Ventrue's lips. Under the domination of the Nosferatu Primogen, Daedalus, the witch-hunter was spewing his genocidal plans. Sonny truly hoped his partner had nothing to do with the hunter's plans. Hearing approaching footsteps, he glanced over to see his sire step through the doorway.
"Sonny, Cash," Julian nodded to his childe, and to the Gangrel Primogen standing near his childe, making sure not to distract Daedalus, the Nosferatu Primogen, from his concentration on 'cousin' Cedric. Quickly crossing the small, damp room, he stopped next to Sonny and quietly asked, "Has Daedalus found anything useful from our hunter 'friend'?"
"There's a seven person 'team' of hunters loose in your city, Sire," Sonny whispered back. "He's described two of them so far. And Frank …?" Julian's eldest 'son' raised an inquiring eyebrow.
Julian knew what question his childe was really asking. "Frank didn't betray you, Sonny, and he didn't betray the Kindred," Julian said softly, glancing over to Daedalus' continued 'conversation' with Cedric. "Frank Kohanek merely has the misfortune to be related to his cousin, Cedric," The Prince's tone was tart as he commented on Frank's misfortune. "In his case, familiarity really does breed contempt. In Frank's mind "Cousin' Cedric is a wuss, apparently …," he shook his head in bemused disbelief, "… because Cedric's a vegan and an accountant." Julian met Sonny's look of skepticism with a smirk. "Frank wasn't exactly in possession of all his faculties after he woke from your domination, but he was very certain of his opinion of his cousin's physical and mental prowess. Apparently your partner has been protecting his cousin from something called 'swirlies' all his life." Julian leaned back and folded his arms, settling himself comfortably against the rough stone wall behind him, before continuing. "I read his mind too, Sonny. Frank didn't even try to fight me, and he truly believes his cousin is a harmless ass. He can't stand the man, but Frank will protect family. Loyalty is a virtue, don't you agree?" Julian's one brown and one black eye twinkled as he asked the rhetorical question of his childe.
"Yes, it is Julian." Sonny was willing to supply the expected reply. I've got to ask this. I never have quite understood my partner's thought processes. "Why does Frank think being an accountant disqualifies someone from hunting Kindred?" he asked curiously. "You're an accountant!"
A pensive look on his face, Julian's lips rose into a slight smile. "I found out some interesting things about Cousin Cedric from both Frank's conversation and from his mind. Apparently you're not an accountant unless you harangue everyone in your sight, especially your relatives, about the joys and virtues of double-entry bookkeeping and, above all, you are not scary.
"That does disqualify you, Julian," Sonny replied dryly, suppressing a snicker. "You are scary, and I can't imagine you waxing rhapsodic over something as mundane as bookkeeping. Maybe I should have toned down the dominance. It sounds like my partner is flying high. Julian's lips are twitching. Frank must have been amusing as hell for my sire's mood to be this good, especially with one Kindred hunter in his cellar and another six loose in his city. He's leaning toward me now. This should be good.
"You also need to …," Julian leaned closer to Sonny, and confided with a whisper, "… tell all your relatives, especially your cousin, the cop, that being an accountant is not only the only truly civilized profession, but that cops aren't a profession at all, just violent bullies who like to harass, and/or shoot, people, preferably both at the same time."
Sonny's eyebrows rose into his hairline. "And Frank protects this asshole?" he hissed incredulously.
"Not anymore," Julian hissed back. "I read his intentions before I left him in my study, sleeping off the effects of both our dominations. The last time they met, Cedric told him the only reason Frank was a cop was because he was too stupid and vile to be an accountant. That comment was after Frank told him to keep his prejudiced comments to himself. Cedric kept making snide remarks about you, but because Frank is too used to thinking of his cousin as an idiot, he didn't realize Cedric's comments were because you were Kindred. He thought when his cousin referred to your 'species' the "twerp" was referring to your race. That's why he never thought to warn you; he's too used to thinking of his cousin an ineffectual fool. He didn't think Cedric Atkinson was any danger to you," and here Julian laughed. "In fact, in this case, your being Kindred worked against you. He was sure you'd have no problem with a little twerp of a human - if the man could even find the courage to say something nasty to you. But your partner's no fool; by the time I left his mind Frank was having his own suspicions of his cousin Cedric. He's pissed he didn't think to warn you."
"Frank believes he's responsible for everything that goes wrong around him. He's not as all-knowing as he thinks he is, especially if his cousin could fool him so easily. My partner obviously doesn't know the same accountants we do." Sonny replied dryly. "What do you intend to do with him, Sire?"
Pursing his lips, Julian glanced up and studied the gray stones of the cellar ceiling for several seconds, before replying. "That will be up to Frank. After this, I can't leave him human. He'll have to make his own decision as to where he wants to go from here. I'm sorry Sonny," Julian said abruptly as he lowered his head to stare directly into his childe's face. "I know he's your friend."
Sonny sighed. 'He is human, but I do like him." He stepped closer to Julian, thinking to offer to embrace his friend, but before he could ask, Julian shook his head and said, "If Frank chooses that option: I'll be the one to embrace him." Prince Julian grinned at the puzzled look on Sonny's face before taking pity on his eldest living childe's confusion."I've known you for over seventy years now, Sonny. I know how you look when you're about to ask me for something." He looked directly into his childe's dark eyes, before asking seriously, "Tell me something, Sonny - Do you really want Frank Kohanek as your first childe?"
Sonny stepped back from his sire, a thoughtful expression on his dark brown face. "When you put it that way, Julian …," Sonny paused, "… no, I don't."
"I'm glad you agree." His sire replied, before switching to another topic. "Frank's mind provided me with some interesting information on Cedric Atkinson that I need to share with you," He said, including Cash in his comments. Nodding in the direction of the hard-working Nosferatu Primogen, Julian continued, "When Daedalus finishes, this is the direction we need to take during further questioning. Remember, Cedric Atkinson is an arrogant bastard with a low self-image, and a high degree of pride in his own intellectual prowess."
Daedalus calmly pushed Cedric - the Kindred Hunter, into unconsciousness before turning and saying wryly, "I'm sure Mr. Atkinson will appreciate your knowledge of his psyche, Julian."
Several hours later, Prince Julian was dismissing the guard stationed outside his study. Opening the door, he paused to glance around the room before entering. His reluctant 'guest' was still asleep on his sofa. Julian closed the door, walked over to Frank and, crouching next to the sleeping man's head, passed his hand in front of his prospective childe's face.
Frank Kohanek blinked. His head was no longer pounding, but this time Julian Luna's face was in his. At least, he's not scowling. Frank had time for the quick thought, before he heard the Prince ask him if he felt better. "Yeah, I do," he said warily, taking the hand Julian offered. As Julian rose to his feet, he pulled Frank up with him. Releasing Kohanek, he gestured for the man to sit. Frank sat - back on the sofa.
"Are you comfortable, Frank?" Julian asked as he sat on a strategically placed hassock providing him with a direct view of the man's face. At least he's no longer looks green and he's stopped swallowing every two to three minutes. I'm not going to need to call for a cleanup crew with a mop and a bucket.
"As comfortable as I can be, with you sitting knee to knee with me and staring into my face." Frank responded dryly. He may not be scowling, but that's a serious expression on his face, and this solicitousness of his is making me nervous. I'm almost afraid to ask this, but …, "What's happened to Cedric, and what do you want with me, Julian?"
Frank got directly to the point! At least, he's spared me from having to start this. "Cedric Atkinson is no longer any concern of yours." Julian's voice was as hard as his face was cold.
"He did hunt Kindred then, and he did attack Sonny." At Julian's nod, Frank sighed heavily. "What about the rest of the family?"
He is loyal. Julian didn't let his approval of Frank's attitude show, but the Prince did want that loyalty: for himself, for the Ventrue, and for the Kindred. He rested his arms on his knees, leaned forward and, locking Frank's gaze to his, said calmly, his tone reflecting the seriousness with which he expected his next comments to be taken, "Kindred do not kill for pleasure. We do not kill indiscriminately and we certainly do not kill children! Your family is safe. None of the Kindred questioning your cousin, including myself, could find any knowledge of any other person in your family being involved with the hunters, and the man never shared his 'knowledge' with any of them. Kindred will keep an eye on them, but none of your family is in danger from the Kindred." Julian saw Frank's eyes flicker in realization with that last statement. He's no fool; he suspects what I'm about to say.
"You said my family is in no danger. Then who is?" Frank's voice was steady as he watched the face of the man who, he now suspected, was acting in his official capacity as Prince of San Francisco.
"You know the answer to that question," Julian Luna responded gently. "You are. You know about us, too much in fact, and you're closely related to a Kindred hunter. Oh, I know you didn't betray us …," Prince Julian said in response to the look of faint hurt he saw reflected in Frank's eyes, "… and, in this instance, the Conclave will take my word for that, but it doesn't matter. You still know too much about us. This time that knowledge didn't hurt us, but if your cousin had realized what and who you knew, he'd have given you to his colleagues, and those colleagues would have gotten that information from you. The Inquisition still exists, Frank." Julian continued steadily. "Once they had gotten the information from you, they'd have killed you and, most likely, dumped you on my doorstep as a warning to any other 'Kindred lovers'." Frank's looking sick. He knows where this discussion is going.
"You want to kill me." Frank said flatly.
"Not if I can help it," Julian replied truthfully as he reached out to place his hands on either side of Frank's face, not allowing Kohanek to look away. "You do have the option of being embraced."
"Embraced," Frank swallowed heavily. "Who do you have in mind?" he asked, unable to break away from Julian's gaze.
"Me, I'll be the one embracing you," was Julian's steady reply. He calmly brushed his thumbs along his friend's cheekbones. "I won't abandon you to someone else," he reassured the obviously apprehensive man.
A faint smile flickered briefly across his face as Frank whispered, "You won't let me out of this will you, Julian?"
"No, I won't," Julian whispered back, his dark, mismatched eyes firmly fixed on Frank's.
"I don't want to be an accountant," Frank said plaintively.
Julian Luna stared in shock at the man before him, and then, dropping his hands in the process, burst into laughter. Shaking his head in amusement, Julian said, "Where did you get these ideas! Were you attacked by a ledger book in your cradle, Frank?" He demanded, laughing. "Not all Ventrue are accountants. You very emphatically informed me I wasn't one just a few hours ago. Do you think Sonny is one?" Eyes wide, Julian looked expectantly at Frank. "I didn't think so," he said as he saw his friend's sheepish expression. "I want you as a cop, Frank," Julian said gently.
Frank's face reddened as he sheepishly admitted, "I can run my own affairs. I do know how to balance my checkbook."
"I'm very glad to hear that. Those are useful skills," Julian agreed solemnly, head bobbing up and down. He leaned forward once again, to whisper, cool breath brushing lightly against Frank's left ear, "but I still want you as a cop." Julian returned to his previous position as he watched the changing expressions flitting across Frank's face.
He's apprehensive, but he's considering it. The only thing I suspect he's sure about now is that he's furious with his cousin. "Remaining human isn't one of your options, Frank," Julian said before settling back to continue closely monitoring his potential childe. After several minutes of mutual silence, Julian quietly asked, "Is the idea of becoming Kindred so abhorrent to you?"
Startled, Frank's eyes met those of the Prince. "No, I don't find you abhorrent," he replied. The blood rushed to his face, turning the skin of his cheeks from white to a deep pink. "I'm just unhappy about being forced into this choice. I also have some problems with your laws, and …," he finished in a rush, "… the details of what you're asking me to do leave me nervous."
Julian relaxed. He could do this. Frank had already more than half convinced himself. Julian moved to sit beside his friend. "Frank, look at me," he requested quietly. Prince Julian smiled as Frank promptly turned his attention to him, before answering the man's first comment. "Many Kindred come to us in the same way, Frank." Placing his hands on Frank's shoulders, once again making, and keeping, eye contact, before continuing their conversation, Julian took care to emphasize his precisely chosen words. Calmly and steadily, he began, "I'd have preferred to have waited for a few more years and offered this to you, instead of demanding your choice, but we all do what we can with what we have." Responding to the incipient suspicion in Frank's narrowed eyes, Julian said, "Yes, I was watching you adapt to our ways, and I would have been content to continue watching you until you died. I also wanted to offer you the choice to become Kindred, but that way is closed to us now." Julian's thumbs pressed firmly into the muscles under Frank's collar bones. "If I were offering this choice to you, what would your answer be?" Seeing Frank's mouth start to open, Julian shook his head and calmly ordered, "Don't answer that yet. Think about it while we discuss your other objections.
I'm particularly interested in your objections to Kindred laws: do you have an objection to a specific law, or laws, or is it our laws in general, you object to." Julian's head tilted to his left as he returned Frank's gaze.
Sighing, Frank thought: if his expression gets any more quizzical, or polite, I'm going to complement him on his judicious deportment. "I don't have a problem with Kindred law as it applies to Kindred, Julian. Now that I know more about Kindred society, and your people in general, I'm perfectly happy to let you deal with each other."
"That's big of you, Frank," Julian replied dryly, "and …?"
"I don't like it when it spills over into human society. Why should humans be subject to your laws?" Frank's face was flushed as he stared indignantly back at Julian.
"Because, if a Kindred knows about a human, that rarely leads to the human's death," Julian promptly replied. "Whereas: if a human discovers the Kindred, we'd almost certainly be hounded to our deaths. Your cousin and his 'team' were proof of that." Growing more frustrated by the look of complacent disbelief on the human's face, Julian commented tartly, "They are not an aberration! There are whole societies of hunters whose sole goal is to destroy us, and what do you think governments would do about people with the power we have. People they have no control over. People who have their own power structures and their own laws - people who they were taught to believe are not people - not human. We're a threat to their power, and they value that far more than they do even their lives.
Even if an individual human does not seek our destruction, they are still a security threat! One slip of their tongue could betray a whole city's worth of Kindred. Humans have far less to fear from us, than we do from them. Kindred don't want to destroy humanity. We depend on you; we need you. Yes …," he raised an impatient hand, "… we need to feed from you, but we don't kill. Can you say the same about humans and your food?" Julian snapped. "… And don't talk to me of vegetarians! Everything I love may die; but everything you consume has to die." The Prince nodded in satisfaction at a startled Frank. "I see you can't." He continued in a calmer tone, "Then don't judge us so harshly. We have as much right to exist as humans. Our lives are as precious as theirs. There is only one Kindred law humans are subject to, and that is: if you find out about us, and we can't make you forget, you must be embraced, or die," Prince Julian stated firmly. "We're a society under siege." Julian spoke more gently. "We can't afford to let humans know of our existence. Remember the Inquisition? Remember the Holocaust? This isn't something from humanity's remote past! Peoples die because other peoples hate the mere idea of their existence. I don't have to tell you this; I know you've been well educated."
Julian's eyes narrowed. "Are you afraid I'll try to turn you into an enforcer?" he asked, his tone turning thoughtful. "I have enough Kindred I can use to fill those positions." The Prince's voice gentled even further, "I may need your help sometime in the future, and I'll expect you to give it to me, but I won't use you badly. You know my rules concerning humans. You're the first person I've had to force this choice on in the fourteen years since I became Prince." Julian leaned to his left, letting his shoulder rest against the back of the sofa, and bending his left leg, pulled it up onto the sofa before him. With a conspiratorial wink, the Prince commented dryly, "In my sire, Archon's, one hundred-fifty years as Prince, he only had to force that choice on eight people, and Archon was a far more ruthless Prince than I." Julian's lips twitched as he noticed how amazed Frank looked. If this wasn't so serious, that look of polite disbelief on his face would be hilarious.
Frank looked about ready to protest. Before the words could leave the man's mouth, Julian spoke. "The Kindred have had to fight off humanity's 'incursions' before. The Church's witch-hunters and the Tongs come to mind. That was during Archon's time …, and no, we weren't gentle. Neither were they; it was a war. Do you think we should have turned the murderers of Kindred over to the human authorities, such as they were, in that time?" Julian's lip curled in disgust as he wryly asked, "Do you believe the Kindred would have been given justice, or would the authorities have joined with the hunters to destroy us?"
Feral stare I can't break, serious expression frozen on his face: Oh, hell, Frank thought - he expects me to answer him - Great. "No, Julian," disgust was plainly evident in Frank's voice as he replied. "The Kindred would not have been given justice. The civil 'authorities' would have fought with the Church over the right to dissect you, letting the hunters burn whatever was left. The funeral, except they wouldn't have been 'funerals' to the Church - would they?" At the slight shake of Julian's head, Frank continued, "The pyres would have filled San Francisco." He shrugged, and then slumped to his right, leaning against the sofa back. He and Julian shared the sofa for several companionable minutes, Julian watching Frank, and Frank staring over Julian's shoulder, watching the fire's glow reflected in the mirror he saw on the teakwood wall behind the Prince.
Frank jumped as he heard Julian clear his throat. Subtle, Julian, subtle, Kohanek thought wryly. Sitting up straight, Frank took several deep breaths before trying to sound casual as he asked, "So, what are the details of what you're asking me to do?"
He couldn't look me in the eye when he asked me that, and he's still avoiding my face. Frank is a brave man, but he wants, and needs, to be reassured. "The word you are looking for is embrace, Frank." Julian said calmly. "I'm asking you to let me embrace you. It's natural to be nervous, to be anxious. It's a big, life-long decision and, once you make it, your life has the potential to be quite long. Once you're Kindred, you can't go back to what you were. I'd be worried if you weren't nervous.
Making sure a reassuring grin was on his face before he spoke, Julian said, "One misconception I can clear up for you: is that an embrace does not actually kill you. In spite of what those old books you found said, an embrace does not kill the subject." Julian watched as Frank's head turned and their eyes met. I thought that would interest you. "Those books were written before anyone knew of the concept of brain death. I'll drain you to the point of death but, before you actually die, I'll give you back some of my blood.
Another misconception Frank probably has: is that the embrace will be agonizing. Julian paused to study the effect his words were having on Frank. He's focused, those brown eyes of his are staring directly into mine. I've got his attention. He's nodding. "You'll be pleased to know - the only part of the embrace that actually hurts is when my fangs first pierce your throat. That part will hurt. There's no avoiding it, but it will be over quickly and I will not let you hurt yourself. Keeping you still while I drain you is my problem, not yours." Julian's matter-of-fact recitation continued, "Once the draining starts, you'll feel euphoria; especially the further along the process goes. You won't be aware of anything by the time I'm finished … and then you'll awake … Kindred."
Frank watched as Julian's lips formed into a soft smile, and his eyes appeared to glaze over in remembrance. He realized Julian's embrace must have been a pleasant experience for the Prince to have such obviously fond memories of it. "You weren't afraid?" Frank forgot his own anxiety for the moment, and leaned forward to stare intently into Julian's eyes.
"Apprehensive, yes, afraid, no," Julian replied. "I already knew Archon; he was my sire, as well as my Prince, and I trusted him," he said. His voice was soft with the remembrance of his late sire.
And his point is? Frank lifted his hand to cover his twitching lips. Could you be any more obvious, Julian: Frank realized the funniest thing about Julian's last comment was that Julian hadn't meant it to be a dig at Frank. Kohanek removed his right hand from his face and raised it. Tilting his head to the right, Frank propped his head against his upraised hand.
"Cedric always was a little creep. I apologize for not realizing sooner how big a creep he really was"… and I've no intention of trying to rescue him this time. It was the only apology he could, or would, ever be able to give Julian. For several minutes he carefully studied the weave of the sofa's fabric, his fingers leaving patterns in the surface of the nap, before resuming speaking. "I suppose you want my answer soon," he said quietly.
Julian reached out and gently turned Frank's head, returning it to a position where he could once again watch the changing expressions reflected in the eyes and face of his prospective childe, and where his own face and eyes were equally accessible to Frank . The Prince could easily understand the temptation to retreat mentally from the enormity of the situation and the decision being demanded of the human but, just once, he wished that at least one of his potential childer would resist that temptation and keep their eyes focused on him. A truly successful sire/childe relationship started with the perspective childe's confidence and trust in the sire's ability to know what the hell they were doing and with the sire's confidence in the sincerity of the childe's answer. It was also nice for the sire to know that the childe knew what the hell they were agreeing to as well. Fleeting expressions and open eyes were easier to read than the spoken word. Oh, well, at least, it had never taken much more than a touch and a word to regain their attention. Frank was no different than any of his potential brood-sibs had been.
"Yes, I do," he replied softly. "If it's any help; I'll get you through this, just as my sire got me through it, and just as I got Sonny and my other childer through their embrace, and then the change.
Leaning closer, until their noses were mere inches apart, Julian whispered: "This is my promise to you if you accept the embrace from me, Frank Kohanek: An embrace is a controlled drain, not a blood-spattered ordeal. You will not be able to move, much less to interfere with what I will need to do to you to complete your embrace. I will not allow you to put yourself in danger, and I will not leave you to go through the change alone."
"The Change - what's that Julian?" Great, now he tells me there's something else involved. Frank noticed Julian didn't appear to be too worried about 'The Change'.
"It's when your body changes from human to Kindred," Julian explained briskly. "I can guarantee you won't like it. It's like a short, never to be repeated episode of malaria. You'll get through it, Frank," Julian said, reaching out with one hand to grasp Frank's shoulder in reassurance. "It only lasts a day or two for Ventrue." He placed his other hand on Kohanek's opposite shoulder, and with a firm squeeze, asked, "Do you have an answer for me yet?"
He sounds so damn gentle, you'd never believe the man was capable of the actions he's done and the decisions he's made. He was his sire's enforcer before he became Prince and he hasn't been shy about making sure his own laws were enforced after he became Prince. I can't put this off any longer. I need to give him an answer. Julian has been so damned patient with me and not just tonight. Frank took a deep breath, opened his mouth and let the words flow out from between his lips.
"You asked me what my answer would be if you were offering this to me." Frank found that as he focused his eyes on Julian's face, his confidence grew. "If you were offering it to me, I would say yes. So …, he said, smiling wryly, "… I'll say yes now. I'm not going to bite off my nose to spite my face."
Julian felt his muscles relaxing as the tension drained from his body. Frank had agreed. Julian wouldn't have to be the death of his, and his childe's, friend. Now Frank was asking him what came next. Julian grinned as he released his friend's shoulders. Grabbing Frank by the wrist, he stood, pulling the younger man up to stand with him. "Thank you, Frank," he said sincerely, before throwing an arm over the human's shoulder and steering his soon-to-be-childe toward the fireplace. Upon reaching an area by his desk, with a clear view of the fireplace, and the leaping, crackling fire within it, Julian removed his arm and, pausing a moment to remove his suit coat and place it carefully over his desk chair, rolled up the sleeves of his charcoal grey shirt to expose several inches of his wrists and forearms. Sinking to the floor next to his desk, he allowed his back to rest against the side of the heavy, antique mahogany desk, looked up andmotioned for Frank to sit in front of him, watching as Frank gingerly did so. He's still nervous, Julian thought as he reached out to pull Frank toward him. The man's stiff as a board.
Frank felt Julian's hands pull him back to rest against his soon-to-no-longer-be-future sire's chest. Julian's right leg was thrown over Frank's legs. Frank noted, with morbid fascination, Julian casually tucking that right leg under the Kindred's left ankle, leaving Frank's legs pinned beneath, and between, Julian's legs.
He's done this before; he knows what he's doing. He promised he wouldn't let me hurt myself during the embrace. It was only that thought which kept Frank from giving into his anxieties and starting to panic. Julian's right arm was across Frank's chest, right hand firmly grasping the area above Kohanek's left elbow, pinning Frank's arms, and his soon-to-be sire's left hand was wrapped around Frank's forehead, applying a steady pressure, forcing Kohanek's head back until it was resting upon Julian's left shoulder.
Whenever Frank remembered his embrace in later years, it was with laughter and a certain amount of mild embarrassment. He'd been so nervous …, and so determined to hide it. How he'd thought he could hide something like that from Julian, he would never know. Frank was just grateful his sire had been experienced enough to know what to do. His greatest amusement was saved for the memory of Julian ordering him; his sire's voice a mixture of laughter and exasperation, to "relax that stiff neck of yours." Frank was sure Julian had been thinking of adding the words, "Before I do it for you," to the end of that order. He remembered somehow managing to comply, letting the inexorable pressure of Julian's hand on his forehead guide his head back to rest on Julian's left shoulder, and then feeling that same cold hand twisting his head to expose his throat. That had set his heart to racing, but his sire had managed to calm him. When Julian Luna chose, his voice could be the most calmly reassuring thing Frank had ever heard. That calmly reassuring voice whispering into his right ear, had coaxed his soon-to-be childe to relax, had advised Frank to concentrate on the flickering flames of the fire leaping in the fireplace before them.
Even Julian's matter-of-fact pinioning of Frank's limbs had been oddly comforting. His sire had kept the promise he had made. Once Frank had put himself into Julian's hands, Julian's newest childe hadn't had to worry about any of the mechanics of his embrace - certainly not about something as important, and hard to do, as holding himself still. Frank had been so thoroughly pinned; the only parts of his anatomy he had been able to move were his eyes and his mouth. Julian had allowed him no chance to fight. His sire had been quick as well. Somehow Julian had known the exact moment when Frank was as relaxed as Frank would ever be, and had chosen that moment to start his embrace. It had hurt when Julian bit into his neck, but his sire had been correct, that pain was soon washed away as the draining began. Frank had gone willingly, even happily, into unconsciousness. And then he awoke to find himself propped against one of Julian's knees, his new sire cradling his head and shoulders. Julian's eyes were smiling warmly into his; Julian's wrist was pressed firmly to his new childe's lips, and his blood was filling Frank's mouth. His first introduction to his sire's sense of humor came next. Julian had asked him expectantly, his eyes reflecting laughter, and his voice filled with humor and gentle teasing, "So, was it as bad as you thought it would be?"
Julian's memories of Frank's embrace were of a job well done: of taking the time, and making the effort, to calm the man's nervousness and anxiety before beginning his embrace. This childe had certainly needed it. Frank had been a slight challenge for his sire. Fortunately, he was as susceptible to the lure of leaping, dancing flames as any of Julian's other childer. The only real challenge had been getting the stubborn man to relax his stiff neck before Julian gave into the temptation to do it for him.
After his disastrous embrace of his first childe, Alexandria, Julian had seen to it that all of his future childer were as calm as he could possibly make them before going into their embrace. Once Frank had relaxed to the point where Julian felt comfortable starting his embrace, things had progressed rapidly. Frank found out his sire kept his promises.
As if Julian would ever allow one of his childer to hurt themself during their embrace. It was safer, and far less traumatic, for both sire, and childe, when the prospective childe was left with no chance to resist. Julian smirked whenever he remembered just how relaxed, and compliant, Frank had become as soon as Julian had started to drain him. All the anxiety, and fight, had 'drained' out of the man, figuratively speaking of course. Julian did love a particularly apt pun.
Frank had come through the embrace fine - just as Julian had expected him to. He'd had no trouble in getting his newly embraced childe to swallow the blood he'd allowed to pour down the man's throat. Frank had been perfectly content, as well, to continue to suckle Julian's blood after he'd awakened from his embrace. Just as with all his other childer, Julian had had to pry his wrist away from the man's mouth, before his new childe would stop. Then that new childe had been given Julian's standard first 'lesson', just as Archon had taught it to him: "Only take what you need, if you take more, you'll want more." Kohanek's face had been just as frustrated and annoyed as that of any of his other childer had been or, Julian supposed, his own face had looked to Archon. Julian hadn't been able to resist his next comment. He'd had to ask the man if the embrace had been as bad as Frank had thought it would be. The expression on Frank's face had been priceless as his newest childe had tried to think of a reply that wouldn't be too embarrassingly sappy. Trust was another thing Julian now tried to instill as soon as possible in his childer. He wanted them to trust him. He needed their trust. The Prince did not want another Alexandra. Frank had finally managed to admit his apprehension about the process, while understandable, had been groundless. His sire had not lied to him. Julian hoped that knowledge, and the knowledge Julian had never previously lied to him, would be enough to bind Frank's initial trust. Of course, the sire/childe bond would help as well.
The fact that he was generally trustworthy was a bonus. Julian had never promised anything he knew he couldn't, or wouldn't, be able to fulfill, especially to his family. Frank would learn that, for Julian, getting loyalty meant giving loyalty in return. Unlike Eddie Fiori, who had used his childer and clan mates as fodder for his schemes; ordering them to commit crimes against Kindred law, and then, when his 'minions' were inevitably caught, abandoning them to face the consequences of Eddie's actions, Julian would never leave a childe, a friend, or a sworn ally, to face the consequences of Julian's actions. His own sire had taught him better than that. Archon had died protecting Julian from the physical, and mental, consequences of Archon's own past actions. Julian's sire had made sure his childe could not be blamed for the Manzanita massacre. Archon had been the one who sent him, and Archon had never told Julian the deaths were unjust - that he had used his enforcer to settle a personal vendetta. It was the only time Archon had ever used him badly, and Julian had sworn to himself, he would never do anything similar to his own childer. Still, Archon had protected him once his sire's crime had been discovered. The former Prince had allowed his own death at the hands of one of the surviving Brujah. Once his sire's 'crime' had been 'paid for,' the Brujah had no claim on Julian's life, and Julian was spared the responsibility of ordering the destruction of his own sire.
Gazing up quizzically at his no-longer-future sire, Frank Kohanek allowed Julian to pull him to his feet. "Your hands are warm, Julian!" The startled comment burst from Frank's lips as Julian released his newest childe and started to return the sleeves of his gray shirt to their previous position about his wrists.
The Prince calmly fastened his cufflinks and retrieved his suit coat before replying. "Yes, they are. So is the rest of my body. Do you remember when I told you the Kindred could go out in the sun if they had fed?" Julian smiled. Frank was nodding. "Well, feeding also supplies warmth to our bodies and I fed well during your embrace but, the longer you wait to feed the more that warmth will fade from your body." Julian's head tilted to his left as he watched the expressions flitting across his childe's face. He could almost see the light bulb go off over Frank's head as he heard the man mutter, "So, that's why her hands felt like ice. Warm hands, cold heart - Shit, Alexandra!" The detective's eyes narrowed as an old memory surfaced. " … And that was why that woman damn-near fainted, coming out of the bathroom in that restaurant." Frank's words were barely audible.
The Prince's eyes narrowed as he heard Frank's faint whisper. Damn Alexandra, you were sloppy. I know you enjoyed kicking over the traces and I know you never forgave me for embracing you, but you were taught better than that. I made sure you knew how important our Masquerade was. Disregarding it in a fit of pique is what brought about your final death.
A Kindred sire's first duty to their childe is to protect that childe, even from itself if necessary. I failed her. If I'd kept a closer watch on my eldest, I could have blood-bonded her before she could bring about her destruction. Julian blinked. That was the past. Sonny, Frank and any other childer he might chose to later embrace were his future, and he would not fail another childe. He might as well start his newest childe's lessons in the reality of Kindred life now. Moving quickly, he caught Frank's arm and guided him over to the nearby sofa. Once Julian had them both seated, he turned to the younger Kindred and said, "There a few things that need to be clarified before we go upstairs. While you still may feel warm, that will change once you've completed the Change. Feeding is the only way to experience the warmth you felt as a human but, to keep that warmth continuously, you would have to feed much more than what is required to sustain your life. Being warm is a luxury, Frank. If Kindred were allowed to feed that often we'd be noticed within six months. Your body will get used to the cold. Do you understand me, Frank?"
Frank's eyes widened. He could feel the concern radiating from his sire. Julian's turned serious and he's worried. Does he think I'm a total idiot or did his experience with Alexandra incite latent paranoia? "You don't want me to run around sucking the life out of anything that moves just to keep myself all toasty warm and, reading between the lines, you're telling me that I don't need to be warm to survive and prosper. I also presume you're going to teach me how much is enough, Julian and …, by the way, are there any more important safety tips I need to know about this 'Change' thing you keep talking about?
Julian shook his head as he concealed a smile and stood. Smart ass! Well, I knew what I was embracing. Waving a hand he indicated for Frank to precede him. "Yes, I'll teach you how to hunt and feed but, in the meantime, we can discuss all the safety tips you could possibly desire," the Prince said, his lips turned up in an innocent smirk.
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