A church
The priest is sitting at his desk, reading a newspaper. There's a knock at the door which makes him look up. "Enter."
A black haired man in a grey suit walks in, looking serious yet pleased.
"Ah Brother Thomas, what news have you?" he asks the man in the grey suit.
"Three more bloodsuckers have been killed."
"Most excellent. And what about their so called freshies, have you managed to get a list of those providing Kostan of his sustenance?"
"Yes, we have. And we realised that this one, Simone Walker, is not just his freshie but also his companion and lover."
The priests eyes are dark. "Bring her to me."
"As you wish Father Luciano."
Mick's apartment
It's getting dark... too soon... a threatening silence...
Surrounding me... a wind comes up from the islands...
Distance fades to stormy grey
Washed out from the deep of the ocean
Here I will stand to face your wrath...
While all the others are praying
Ben, Mick and Beth are going over a missing person's file together.
Mick is recapping what they just told him.
"So all of these women have disappeared? And we know they're freshies, because they're also women who's disapearence I've been asked to look into."
"Yes. Do you think it's hunters?" Beth sounds worried.
"I sure hope not…" Mick sounds worried too.
The sound of the doorbell makes their heads turn.
"I'll get it!" Ophelia shouts from the living room as she runs to the front door.
"Josef, what's wrong?" she looks curious while she lets him in.
Josef starts pacing, worried sick, not even stopping to say hello when the other 3 come out of the office.
"Josef, what's wrong?" Mick walks over to his best friend whilst Ophelia sinks to the floor, meditating.
"Simone, she got a phonecall this afternoon and never came home…"
"Does anyone know who she was going to see?" Beth asks, concern apparent in her voice.
"No! She got a call and that's it. Ryder traced it to a payphone. I thought it had to do with her job you know…"
"I'm going to her office, see if I can find a clue there." Beth sounds determined.
"I'll go with you." Ben adds.
Josef looks at Ophelia, who seems to be out of the world and deems it appropriate to vent on her out of sheer frustration with being helpless and stressed with worry for the woman he loves.
"YOU! You have the power to change all of this, do it! NOW."
"Don't scream at her, it's not her fault." Mick defends his sister. "Don't lash out at her just because you're worried about Simone."
"She should have seen it coming Mick!"
"It doesn't work like that, I have no control over this." She's dropper her hands in her lap and has opened her eyes to look at them, but she's still sitting on the floor crosslegged.
Josef is furious, still looking for someone to lash out at and sweeps her clear off the floor by her shirt, his face inches from hers "I know who your grandsire is girl, and I know what he's capable of, now FIND SIMONE!"
Ben growls softly, a low sound coming from the deep within and moves towards Josef. Mick grabs him by the arm, motioning to let them sort it. At least for now.
For the first time she vamps out in front of Josef, and he can't help but feel like he's just made a very bad move and it shows on his face. It seemingly takes her little efford to push Josef off her, sending him flying into the opposite wall.
"My grandsire is the worst kind of monster you can imagine. I will NOT be like that. I refuse. And let me tell you something else, him being a monster has nothing to do with him being an oracle. His powers are the same as mine! We can't see the future whenever we want, Faith decides when we get a glimpse and that's it. I'm sorry Josef, I can't help you that. I can't force my gift. I'm sorry..."
She looks like she might cry and runs outs, followed by Beth and Ben.
Josef turns to Mick. "You need to find her for me, please Mick. I've already lost Sarah, I can't loose her too."
"You won't, we'll find her, just please, calm down, and don't upset my sister in the process, you know it's not Ophelia's fault."
"I know… It's just... I was going to do it you know, turn her. I was going to do it tomorrow. And then Saturday would be her big coming out party. She doesn't even know, I was going to surprise her. She thinks we're throwing a party because I feel like it."
He looks at his best friend surprised "wow…"
"In nomine padri, spiritus sancti."
They turn to look at Ophelia, who has reappeared in the door opening, her eyes black. "Find the priest, find Simone."
"Father Garza…" Mick suddenly recalls the vampire priest's name.
Mick grabs his coat, and Josef grabs Ophelia by the arm, pulling her along. "You're coming with us seer, I'm not leaving that gift of yours behind."
"Let go off me Josef, I'll come without you dragging me too you know!"
"Let go off her Kostan." Ben has been patient but obviously has enough. His eyes turn golden brown, like a wolfs.
"It's ok Ben, I'll go with them. You and Beth need to find where father Luciano has his diogenises, doublecheck whether it really is where Mick thinks it is. He's with the Sacred Cross… He's the one that will kill Simone if we don't intervene." Ophelia reassures him whilst still being dragged along by Josef.
Father Garza's church
Omnis mundi creatura
quasi liber et pictura
nobis est, et speculum.
Omnis mundi creatura
quasi liber et pictura
nobis est, et speculum.
Ophelia is looking up the building from the street, it's the address that Beth texted her brother. Once it was the church where a vampire called Father Garza was the parish priest, no doubt the Cross killed him. Josef and Mick jump up one by one, getting in via an open window. Ophelia holds her head to one side and then instead of following them like she should have, pushes open the front door, walking into the empty church like she's in a sort of trance, down the stairs, leaning against a a door before pushing it open, forcing the lock, to find 3 dark haired women praying on their knees, dressed in habits, only without the nun's caps. They look up at the girl who stands in the door opening listening.
"Are you here to join us in prayer sister?"
The vampire blinks, surprised at that question. "Aren't you one of the girls working for Fresh?"
"I once was sister, but Father Luciano has made me see the error of my ways. I am now ready to only serve God and the Holy Order. Soon the false gods we once worshipped will die." The girl speaks with religious vigor.
"How do you know about the Fresh?" another asks
Ophelia sighs and pushes the door closed behind her. "Because I'm a vampire."
"Then you will die." One of the girls stands, drawing a short sword. The others do the same.
"I had hoped that this would not be necessary." In one swift move she has her kukhri in her hands, drawn from their sheets on her back, hidden under that loose coat of hers.
Father Luciano's office
nostrae vitae, nostrae mortis
nostri status, nostrae sortis
fidele signaculum
They move silently over the thick carpet, stopping at the door from which they can hear shouting.
"REPENT OR DIE!"
"I would rather die than betray the man I love."
Hearing Simone's voice makes Josef panic, and he breaks open the door. Mick tries to stop him but it's in vein, and he vamps following in his best friend.
"Well well well, I see you have found me." Father Luciano is looking at them with a smile on his lips, a gun to Simone's head. She's clearly been beaten, but seems to be otherwise ok.
"Don't get any ideas, my order uses silver point bullets as standard issue. And my associates have the same ammo."
Mick curses as he sees two more men step from behind the curtains, guns pointed to their heads. The men are dressed in grey, smiling contentedly.
"Well it seems like tonight it will be the end of the illusive Josef Kostan and Mick St-John."
"I wouldn't bet on it."
They turn to look at Ophelia standing in the door opening with her swords drawn, vampiric visage on, and in that split second of distraction, the Mick and Josef both lash out, knocking the guns out of the men's hands and getting them into a holding grip they can't get out of. Before Luciano can pull the trigger a knife is flying straight into his shoulder and he's forced to drop the gun.
"Don't ever throw a knife that close to my head again!"
"Jeez Simone, I'll let someone blow your brains out then shall I?" Even in situations like this Josef still finds the time to be snarky at people, even loved ones.
"She'll fit right in this one." Mick remarks, snapping the assailants neck and dropping the lifeless body of the man who had previously pointed the gun at him on the ground.
Josef would retort, but he's too busy draining the guy that tried to kill him.
Ophelia walks to Luciano, smiling evilly. "I met your "sisters" my friend. I made sure to take them out."
"You killed 3 unborn children."
The room turns so silent you can hear a pin drop, all eyes are on Ophelia, who rolls her eyes. Mick looks shocked.
"You fanatics are so boring, always with the killing. I left them tied up and knocked out in their prison. I could hear the heartbeats of the babies just fine thank you very much."
"They will raise their children into servants of the Order!"
Still shocked, Mick looks at his sister's swords.
Mick voice-over
"Those swords have not been used to draw blood tonight. She's not lying. Thank god."
For a moment it looks like Ophelia is going to kill the priest, but then she turns and walks out of the door.
"I'll be going home, you guys can sort out this mess. You've got about 20 minutes before the cavalry arrives, he's triggered a silent alarm the moment you guys got in."
"How did she know?" The priest looks at them confusedly.
"Because my sister is special." Mick's voice is proud.
Ben's apartment
Beth is on the phone, Ophelia is stretched out on the sofa, her head in Ben's lap.
"That was Mick. They killed the priest. The women will be taken to a special institute where they are trained in deprogramming people that were captured by hunters. If it works, they will be released, if not, the children will be raised by adoptive parents and the mothers will have to be dealt with…" She's quiet for a moment. "I'm not sure whether I'll ever get used to the violence of this world."
"There's no more violence in our world then there is in that of the humans Beth, we deal with so many crimes every day that have nothing to do with vampires." Ben sounds serious.
"At least Simone is safe." Ophelia adds.
"Yeah." Beth smiles. "I'm glad, I was really scared I'd loose another friend. After Josh and Maureen I don't think I could have coped with that."
There's a knock on the door, and Mick comes in, hugging Beth to him, holding her close and kissing her. "Let's go home."
She smiles at him. "Yes, let's."
He nods at his sister and Talbot, before walking out with Beth hand in hand.
Song List:
Alphabeat "Fascination"
Abney Park "Love"
dEUS "The Ideal Crash"
Natalie Imbruglia "Wrong Impression"
Wolfsheim "Once in a Lifetime"
