Paris, France
The hotel room was incredibly luxurious, as was any haven of the Tremere in the city. Gratiano noticed the large mirror in front of the bed and frowned. His attendant, a far younger vampire, said with an English flavored by a thick French accent:
"This is the best room in the hotel. I hope everything is perfect."
"Everything but that mirror. You do realize that no matter how handsome I am, I can't see myself."
"I know about your clan's… problem with reflections. That mirror was put there to prove that you are truly Gratiano de Veronese. It could have been anyone wearing that face of yours. Now, we know it is truly you. Sorry if we offended you."
"Your master is understandably cautious. I can respect that and I accept your apologies. Tell me, where is he."
"He will arrive shortly. Until then, anything you need, I can give you."
"I need some… refreshment."
"Of course. What type of blood do you prefer?"
Gratiano smiled and said:
"We of clan Lasombra don't have this kind of preference. Your Ventrue allies might notice differences between the blood types, but the Lasombra don't care about that. Blood is blood."
"True, but if I may, sir, I would recommend you this AB we took from a young nun outside Marseille. It is quite exquisite."
"By all means."
The young Tremere left the room. Gratiano used this time to look around the chamber. Everything was made of metal and glass. The Methuselah noticed that even the floorboards were coated with a metallic paint. After a while, the attendant returned with a blood pack on a silver platter.
"Thank you… um…"
"Jacques-Louis Berinder, at your service."
"Thank you, Jacques-Louis. I hope you will be available later, I plan to sightsee. Even though I came from Europe, I never had the opportunity to see the beauties of Paris in detail."
"Of course, sir. My master will arrive soon."
Jacques-Louis bowed before the Lasombra and left again. Gratiano left for the balcony. Paris was truly a wondrous city and even an old vampire like himself had to admire the City of Lights. From the balcony, the Lasombra Cainite noticed the Eiffel Tower standing tall, like a pyramid of light in the middle of the city.
"Do you like our city, Monsieur Gratiano?"
Gratiano turned and saw a tall and pale man with red eyes, wearing an extremely expensive suit. The man had a royal bearing to himself, one that didn't endear himself to the Italian vampire. The Sabbat leader said:
"Absolutely. A most exquisite place."
"Paris is the center of culture and enlightenment in Europe. Some would say, in the world. Oh, I am sorry. I was taken by the beauty of the city. LeDuc, at your service."
LeDuc extended a pale hand to Gratiano. The Lasombra shook his hand and said:
"Gratiano de Veronese."
"I have to say, Monsieur, that your visit is extremely surprising. Especially after your… appearance on Canadian television."
"Oh, that. That was a warning, Monsieur LeDuc. A warning to every Kindred across the globe. Something evil is coming for us all."
"I know about your ideologies. The Sabbat enjoys to share their ideas with the entire Kindred society."
"The vampire who allowed me to walk into the light of the sun is your old nemesis, Saulot the Dragon."
LeDuc frowned:
"We are aware of that. The Antediluvian… escaped my master's control and now poses an immense threat to us. A threat the Camarilla refuses to acknowledge, especially after what happened in the East with the Ravnos progenitor. But I can't let this situation like it is. I spent almost 800 years hunting Salubri. I know everything about them and most importantly, I know how to kill them."
"And I want to help you. I was a prisoner to Saulot and his mad brother Malkav. He forced me to appear on television to show the Kindred world his power. Everyone will cower before me when they see a founder of the Sabbat walking beneath the sun. This is what he told me."
"How did he capture you?"
"I was leading a cell of specialists tasked to kill the Antediluvian. My men were killed by those mad Garou prince Siegfried keeps as pets and I barely made out alive. Then, I had to fight the Dragon himself. I am not ashamed to say that he bested me. He can best anyone."
"Interesting, but let us be honest: after you drank from your maker, you became as strong as anyone from the third generation. Is he so powerful as to defeat an equal?"
"No one is equal to him, not even me. This is why I decided to seek you out, Monsieur LeDuc. You are the most efficient Salubri killer in the world. Saulot poses a threat and I wish to exterminate this threat. Now, before you, I declare myself antitribu and a member of the Camarilla."
This revelation shocked the otherwise stoic LeDuc. Gratiano was one of the greatest enemies of the Camarilla and the ideals it championed but such a betrayal of the Sabbat was not to be discarded.
"You do realize that by joining the Camarilla, you will be hunted by your fellow clansmen and former sect mates?"
"Please, I am not a stupid fledgling. I know what I'm doing. We tried to kill Giangaleazzo ever since he left the Sabbat. The same will happen to me, as well. I just want to survive. I learned that surviving means Camarilla."
"Your rationale is correct yet I do question your loyalty. Pardon me for saying something inappropriate but you are well known in the Kindred society as the rebel Lasombra who killed and diablerized his own maker. While I do not doubt the fact that you can be an incredibly powerful ally, I am uncomfortable with considering your conversion true."
"Of course you would do that. I would do that too if you would come to me wanting to join the Sabbat. But do not think I came here without a proof of my loyalty. Monsieur, may I use the phone?"
"Please."
Gratiano approached the phone on the table and called someone:
"It's me. Get the package to the penthouse."
After that, he said to LeDuc:
"My underlings are bringing the proof right now."
"What is it?"
"Something your sect wanted for hundreds of years."
After a while, four men brought a coffin to the room. After they left, Gratiano opened the lid and said:
"I offer you Petaniqua, one of the devilish thirteen of the Red List."
LeDuc saw the woman staked in the coffin and, after cutting her cheek and dipping his finger in her blood, he touched it with his tongue and said:
"It's true. She is Petaniqua. How did you capture her?"
"I fought and defeated her after I escaped Vancouver. She was trying to get in the city in order to reach her grandsire, Malkav the Mad."
"The Malkavians defected en masse since Saulot returned. It seems Malkav's call was heeded even by infernalists. Thank you, Monsieur Gratiano. She will be transported before the Inner Circle and executed for her crimes. You have earned yourself her Trophy."
"Well, I want to be a member of the Camarilla. That is the Trophy I want."
"That is not for me to give. Come to us before the Inner Circle and plead your case. If they deem your desire to be true, you are welcomed to be one of us."
Suddenly LeDuc started to cough blood and fell on the floor. He said:
"Wh… what is happ… agh!"
"Well, you Tremere are not the only ones skilled in Thaumaturgy. You might have developed it but some took it to a whole different level. Such as… inducing catatonia through blood contact?"
"You… tricked…"
Gratiano approached the coffin containing Petaniqua and removed the stake from her chest. She then jumped off the coffin and started to laugh hysterically. Jacques-Louis entered the room after he heard the former Queen of Macedonia's laughter and said:
"Master?"
"Jac… kill… Gra…"
"Yes, Master."
The young vampire took out a stake of his own but instead of attacking Gratiano or the woman with it, he stabbed LeDuc in the chest with it.
"Ha! Did you see that? He betrayed him right here, right now!"
"Well, I Dominated him to do that. If your plan would have failed, this was my plan B."
Gratiano then staked Jacques-Louis and, after putting LeDuc in the coffin, he put Jacques-Louis on top of him. He then said to Petaniqua:
"An hour until sunrise. We'll move them in the morning. Less complications."
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Saulot was watching Johann when someone spoke:
"They did it. They have LeDuc."
"Good."
"A risky gambit… using Gratiano for this."
"Not as risky as using that infernalist as bait."
"True, but Petaniqua couldn't resist, not after seeing this…"
A shambling mummy approached Saulot. It was wrapped in dirty bandages with only a golden mask its only adornment. Saulot looked at it and said:
"Why would she still care about this corpse? Those of my blood are capable of resurrections but only when the corpse is fresh, not after 2000 years of death and decay."
The mummy said:
"My childe Cybele gave the Embrace to Petaniqua because she was mad, fanatic and utterly without remorse. Nothing good in her, except for the love she had for her son. When he died, she became even madder. She still hopes to restore him to life. As long as I am inside this body, she would be meek and compliant."
"You can't stay inside that for long. Even with my help, it can support you for just a few months."
"Plenty of time, brother."
Malkav then said:
"It seems another gift has come to our doorstep."
Saulot and the mummy which contained Malkav ascended to the church level. There, Gabriel Glover of the Order of Cascadia said:
"My lords Antediluvians, I give you Lambach Ruthven."
A pale man dressed with leather jacket and pants appeared before the two ancients:
"Well done, Gabriel. Leave us."
Gabriel left and Saulot said to Lambach:
"Did Gabriel mistreated you somehow?"
"No. We didn't fight. I came here willingly."
"That's good. There is no point in fighting us, Lambach. I don't want to harm you. I simply wanted to talk."
Lambach nodded.
A few nights later, Gratiano de Veronese and Petaniqua returned to Vancouver with the two captured Tremere. Saulot noticed with disgust the sick adoration the Malkavian woman had for her son's corpse, currently possessed by her grandsire. However, she kept the end of her bargain and would be rewarded, when the time was right. The Salubri noticed that she already started to receive her reward, as she was so close to the mummy of her son. Gratiano noticed that his fellow Sabbat member Lambach was present there and said:
"Jonesing for sun too, Lambach?"
The Tzimisce didn't answer. Gratiano continued to tease him:
"Did they get your tongue? That's what you get for spewing insanities."
Saulot said:
"Fellow children of Caine, the time has come to leave this city behind and move to France. Paris was a warzone between three powerful Cainite factions but due to the efforts of Gratiano and Petaniqua, we removed a major problem from our way."
Lambach then said:
"Paris is currently under the control of Prince Villon. The Sabbat tried to remove him from power several times, yet our efforts were futile. If we are to move there, we need to either kill him or turn him to our cause."
Gratiano laughed:
"We? Remind me, Lambach, but what did you do in this war, except for sitting here? Even the infernalist did more than you."
Petaniqua didn't seem to mind the insult as she was fawning over the mummy of Alexander. Lambach retorted:
"You will see my contribution right now, if you listen. As I said, we need to either kill or turn Villon. Killing would be easier yet turning will achieve more for us in the long run."
Gratiano said:
"And how do you plan to do that?"
"By using that."
Lambach pointed at a coffin that contained a staked woman whose beauty was unimaginable. She had long blond hair and full red lips, looking as innocent as a child. Malkav spoke, through Alexander's mummy:
"This young creature is a childe of one of my blood. Her sire fell madly in love with her and turned her out of lust and passion. And due to the alterations made to her by our Tzimisce allies, her beauty is now otherworldly."
Lambach then said:
"In a few days, the Paris Fashion Week will start. This lovely girl will impress anyone with a combination of beauty, Presence, Dementation and who knows what other stuff we poured into her. Her sole purpose is seducing Monsieur Villon."
Saulot then said:
"He's a Toreador. He can't resist beauty, and we made this beauty to truly be irresistible."
Gratiano said:
"Good. I'm impressed. But are you sure your puppet will do your bidding?"
Malkav said:
"She has been conditioned to do it. She's an important part of the plan but we can't allow her freedom. She must play her part and nothing more."
"Good."
Saulot then said to Gratiano:
"Have you watched television in the plane, Gratiano?"
"No. What happened?"
"Famous actress and television presenter Karen Anatos disappeared without a trace from her home in Los Angeles, California."
"Another one of the Red List, like the infernalist over there."
"Yes. The Order of Cascadia found her after she… what did she do, Lambach?"
"She played truth or dare during an AMA on Reddit. She mistakenly disclosed her location. It was dumb luck, but we have her."
"Plan to turn her to our cause?"
"No. She will be given to the Camarilla for Trophy by one of our accomplices. The Trophy would be an ungodly amount of money… in front of the Inner Circle. But the true trophy would be given by clan Gangrel… an audience with one of their Methuselahs thought long lost."
"Who?"
"Odin."
Gratiano frowned:
"Didn't the All-High die?"
"No, he didn't. He awoke from torpor recently. But you need not to worry about that, Gratiano, for you have another problem. Many in your sect consider you a traitor, a pawn of the Antediluvians. From what we heard, they plan to lure you in Atlanta and kill you there."
"Let them try."
Gratiano left the church and went straight for the airport. A few hours later, he arrived in Los Angeles and then he drove for hours and hours towards Atlanta.
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
"OH GOD! NO! GOD, PLEASE!"
"Now I'm God? When I first came here, I was a fucking traitor. See, this is what I like about cutting someone's tendons: it changes your vision about life."
The bloody man in front of him was almost unconscious after screaming for hours. Gratiano then said:
"Oh, goodness. You have no stamina."
He slit the man's throat and proceeded to the woman tied near him:
"I just made you a widow… how about that?"
"Mmmmm…mmmm"
"Oh, sorry. Is the gag too tight? I thought you church-going ladies of the South like it rough. Saints in the streets, whores in the sheets, no? Okay, cross-burning, racist saints, just like any other in these rebel states."
"Mmmmm….mmmm"
"I meant to ask: what's it with you southerners and burning crosses? Are you so sick in the head that seeing a man burning on a cross gets you off?"
"Mmmm…mmmm"
"Uh, okay. I didn't think about THAT answer."
Gratiano then stabbed the woman in the heart. A few minutes later, his phone rang:
"Hello?"
"Where are you?"
"I just finished killing congressman… what's his name and his whore of a wife."
"I thought you were killing those who wanted to kill you, not innocents."
"Ghouls are hardly innocent, especially ones as devious as those two bastards. But anyway, they will enjoy a much better reputation in death than in life. You see, Mr. Congressman here wanted to extend some rights for African Americans but poor man and his wife were tortured and killed before that plan could turn into a law."
"What? Isn't Dralik the most racist guy in Congress?"
"Do you know about an organization called CSPF?"
"Christian… something, no?"
"No. Conservative South for Protection of Families. They seek to uphold Christian values in the South."
"But…"
"But they are all ghouls. Well… were. I didn't know Southern values involve drinking blood but hey… who I am to judge? Anyway, tell Saulot that I dealt with all the ghouls in higher places. Now I'm going after the vampires."
"Be swift."
After another hour of driving, Gratiano smiled while hearing the radio:
"Congressman Anthony Dralik and his wife Katy were violently tortured and killed today in their own house in Atlanta in what would go down as one of the bloodiest day for a city in America. Twenty-six men and four women were killed in a mass-murder spree involving torture and even rape with Anthony and Kate Dralik being only the latest victims."
"Now you're calling splitting a woman in half rape… tsk tsk."
"Apparently, the congressman and his wife died due to a politically motivated act as the lawmaker wanted to extend the rights of African Americans in his state. Ken Lewis, political analyst, declared a few moments ago that despite Dralik's checkered past when it came to racial equality, he was on the right track now and that his segregationist views were nothing more than campaign promises. A scary thought: to be murdered when wanting to do the right thing. America, let's pray for those whose souls departed this world today."
"Amen, Jesus!"
Gratiano's phone rang again:
"It's illegal to drive and talk to the phone at the same time so…"
"You are dead!"
The Lasombra smiled. Now, he knew his deed hit the spot.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
"Gratiano is a madman. He killed 30 today. Does that man have no regard for his own Humanity?"
"He's a Lasombra and a Sabbat. I believe he was too soft on those ghouls. Usually, when a Sabbat does something like this, is far worse."
"You are right, brother. He's a powerful ally but he's… too deranged."
Lambach Ruthven interfered:
"I wouldn't call him deranged. He does what he has to do. Besides, it's good for the cause."
Saulot then said:
"You seem rather… enthusiastic about what we do. And considering your history, I don't think it's because you love your clan so much that you want to get revenge for the Tremere's crimes against them."
"You would be too if you'd have seen the things I saw."
"I can only imagine."
Atlanta, Georgia
Gratiano's suit was ruined, so he was forced to discard it. In one hand, he had a revolver while in his other hand had a sword. A vampire tried to stake him but the Lasombra cut off her hand and shot her in the head with the gun. Another tried to attack Gratiano with a Potence-infused punch but the far older vampire ducked and the attacker got stuck with his hand in the wall, easy prey for Gratiano's sword. The Methuselah looked at the remaining vampires: when he began his attack, they were 36. Now, only 4 remained. Suddenly, one of them shot another with his SMG.
"Shit, he is Dominated!"
Gratiano took advantage of the distraction and killed the remaining Cainites with ease. A fourth generation vampire who was active for centuries was too strong for freshly Embraced shovelheads. However, Gratiano felt something: an incredible sensation of dread, something he didn't feel in centuries. He looked in every direction, trying to pinpoint the source of that sensation. Eventually, the source came to him in the form of a dark skinned man wearing a black cloak who approached Gratiano and said:
"I see you didn't lose your touch."
Gratiano knew this moment would come in this war, but not now. He wasn't ready. He realized that those fledglings were nothing more than pawns in the hands of a god.
"I… thought you were with the Camarilla."
"It is so much chaos in this world… allegiances change with each minute of each night. For example, you were the worst enemies of those whom you call Antediluvians yet now you bow before two of them."
"I don't bow to them. I simply fight alongside them. Just as I did when I fought with the Anarchs… When I diablerized my father…"
"Ah, I see. Truly, walls do have ears."
"If you want to kill me, just do it already."
"Give up so easily, Gratiano?"
"Take my blood already and spare me your arrogant words."
"Your blood will stay in your veins, at least for now. I have watched you these last few weeks… You are different than before. More… involved. You are not just the puppeteer, you are there, at the front line. I respect that. Of course, I knew those filthy beings were no match for you but still. You performed superbly."
"I don't need your praises, Montano."
"You always told me that I never acknowledged your strength. Now I do it and you are mad about it?"
Gratiano remained silent. Montano then said:
"You are doing the work of God, Gratiano. Eliminating the filthy Tremere. It attracted the attention of many others, you know?"
"I suppose so."
"You will need to turn your attention towards the Assamites. Ur-Shulgi arose."
"I know. Some Assamites want to join the Camarilla while others want to join Saulot."
"Make sure all of them join Saulot."
"What? Since when do you support the Warlord?"
"Since I realized he has the power of destroying the Tremere."
A mass of shadows engulfed Montano and he left without a trace. Gratiano frowned and left the warehouse not before torching the Cainite corpses.
