Chapter Nine:

Making My Way

Day Forty-two...

Location: Hollywood...

Zatanna stepped out of the taxi, the cold evening air kissing her cheeks as the driver grabbed her red suitcase from the boot.

"Thanks," she tipped him and watched him drive off as she stood on the side-walk.

"Ain't seen you before," a male voice addressed her and she turned, finding a guy with sunglasses on behind her. "And if I haven't seen you, neither had Isaac, so that's your next stop."

Annoyed at yet another order, she glared at him. "And you might be?"

"Isaac's in the jewelry store at the end of the street. Consider yourself invited," he ignored her question before walking off. She glowered at his back, half tempted to...do something horrible to him but then remembered she was in public.

I don't have time for this, she thought, shaking her head and heading to the jewelry store pointed out to her. The sooner she greeted Isaac and asked for sanctuary for Nines, the sooner she could track down Beckett. At the moment, finding Gary was the last thing on the Tremere's mind.

She saw the front entrance closed and frowned slightly. Zatanna looked through the window, finding no lights on and no one inside. A frustrated sigh passed through her lips as she walked towards the alleyway, finding a brown door at the end connected to the shop.

Figuring it to be the back door entrance, the Tremere walked towards it and knocked on the door a few times. When no response came, she opened and walked inside.

Inside, she found herself in a lavish office with a man sitting behind the desk at the back of the room, eyes focusing on pieces of paper in front of him. Zatanna figured it was Isaac as he glanced up briefly from his work.

"Good evening, neonate," he turned his focus back onto the papers. "I've been expecting you. Seems the wooden soldiers of the Camarilla shuffle in a little too often these nights. That baby-faced, two-bit prince LaCroix got something to say to me?"

Zatanna crossed her arms over her chest, raising a brow at him. "You tell me. One of your goons directed me here."

Isaac mirrored her expression, rubbing his chin slightly. "Very courteous of you to stop by. All Kindred that enter my domain are expected to introduce themselves. It may seem like an outdated formality, but it serves its purpose," he informed her.

"And what purpose would that be?"

"It gives me the opportunity to personally welcome visitors to my domain. It also helps to establish an understanding in advance, so that there are no unfortunate accidents when they are in town."

The young Tremere thought about it and saw why LaCroix hated him; he was an intelligent guy when it came to formality.

"So, what sort of 'understanding' is there going to be between us?" she questioned curiously.

Isaac cleared his throat before his face darkened with a serious nature. "Call me old-fashioned, but this is my barony, and as tradition, a token of respect must be paid."

"What do you want?" Zatanna asked, already feeling like she was going to have to track someone or become his errand girl for a bit before she got what she wanted.

"What I want is a simple exchange. Last week I paid for a certain item-a movie, and this evening I got an email saying that the seller is ready to deliver it," Isaac pulled a sour face, obviously displeased with something or someone. "Unfortunately, he's become paranoid all of a sudden."

"Won't meet me in person, won't drop it off, won't even answer his phone. Says he'll send the location of the pickup to a computer in the nearby internet cafe," he paused and looked at her expectantly. "You see where I'm going with this?"

She did, unfortunately.

"You want me to make the pick up," Zatanna stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

He gave her a satisfied nod, glad she wasn't a moron. "Go to the Ground Zero internet cafe, look for a directory named 'Josefk' and and use the password 'Kafka.' There will be an email in there that will specify a nearby location. Meet the contact, pick up the item, come back. Not too painful, right?"

Zatanna saw there was no other option than to carry out Isaac's wish and sighed tiredly before giving him a hard look. "I'll do your little errand. Then we'll discuss my issue."

"Excellent," he clasped his hands together, giving her a warm smile. "In the meantime, consider yourself a welcome guest in my barony. Welcome to Hollywood."

"Thank you, Isaac," Zatanna shook his hand politely before turning on her heel, leaving her suitcase by the door and waled out of the barony. The night air was a warm welcome as she breathed it in before setting off down the sidewalk.

As she walked passed a restaurant, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Zatanna?" Samantha's eyes widened in disbelief as she ran over and hugged the young Tremere with all her mundane strength. "Oh my god! Everybody was worried sick about you! When you didn't show up for work and didn't call and nobody knew anything about what happened to you," Samantha sniffed, pulling back slightly as tears filled her eyes. "We all thought you were dead! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Zatanna reassured her, checking the time on her watch before looking around the area. She needed to tell someone she was fine, already her friends and family were devastated by her sudden disappearance.

That was what hurt the most, in her opinion. The fact that she never got to say goodbye, she never agreed to this life and yet she had to send her old one off on a mysterious farewell and none of her loved ones were there to see it.

"Sit down with me for a moment," she suggested to Samantha who nodded eagerly, wanting to get the information out of her best friend. The two women took their seats outside the restaurant and Samantha ordered a slice of chocolate mud cake and offered to buy Zatanna one but she declined.

"Whoa, something must be wrong if Zatanna Rosemaria Ible is saying no to a piece of cake," Samantha commented and the said woman rolled her eyes. As soon as the waiter left, Samantha's light brown eyes narrowed in on her. "So? Where the hell have you been? And why haven't you been answering anyone's calls? Do you know how worried May and I were? Your parents?"

The neonate was silent for a few moments, trying to push away the guilt that stabbed at her not-so-beating-heart.

"It's hard to explain but...let's just say I'm not the old me anymore," Zatanna chose her words carefully before forcing herself to smile. "In fact, you could say I underwent a complete transformation."

Samantha stared at her in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me? You want to make a joke now of all times?" she fumed.

"Mio Dio Samantha, I wasn't making a joke. I'm serious," Zatanna snapped at the Hispanic woman in front of her just as Samantha's cake arrived. The young Tremere waited until the waiter was gone to continue. "Look, I saw some shit on the night May and I went out and now...I'm part of something like a witness protection thing."

"May said you left the club with some guy."

"And saw some things I shouldn't have seen," Zatanna saw her friend was about to enquire further as to what she had seen but shook her head. "It's better that you don't know what. Trust me, I'm already putting you in danger by talking to you."

Samantha snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "What kind of danger are we talking about?"

The kind that turns you into a fucking vampire and throws you into the middle of some kind of civil war, she thought dryly but shook her head. "Just eat your damn cake and listen to me."

The Hispanic complied, grabbing hold of her silver tea spoon and digging into her chocolate dessert.

"First off, you cannot tell my parents that I'm alive or even May at this point. Not until I've talked to her and discussed it with her," Samantha nodded. "Second, don't look around for me, it'll draw attention to yourself. I'll just give you my private number."

Zatanna grabbed Samantha's phone and added her number to her friend's phone book. When she handed it back to her, her eyes glanced at the time and she knew she had to get going.

Standing up, Zatanna gave her friend a sad smile. "And lastly, I'm not the girl you once knew anymore," she added before walking off.

"Wait! How will I find you?" Samantha called, standing up as the young neonate turned back and looked at her. She could tell by the clear worry and fear that the Hispanic was afraid the Tremere would disappear again.

"I'll call you," she promised before walking off, a single tear running down her face.

oOo

Day Forty-Two...

Location: Alley Behind the Fast Buck...

Zatanna stepped into the dark, deserted alley. Instantly, she could smell the human blood and hear their heart pumping furiously from fear. Wanting to scope things out, she hid behind a wall and merely observed the human guy.

He was looking around, paranoia coming off him like bad BO. Wanting to get this over with so she could wrap her head around the idea of keeping Samantha and possibly May into her life, Zatanna stepped out and revealed herself.

"Are you the guy with the tape? Isaac sent me," Zatanna called, walking towards him calmly.

"Ye-Yeah," he nodded but then quickly shook his head, his face scowling in anger but his eyes still held the immense fear. "I-I mean what? Who the hell is Isaac?! I don't know anyone named Isaac! Get lost bitch!"

The Tremere rolled her eyes with impatience and held out her hand expectantly. "Look kid, I know about the tape. Just give it to me and then you can go and jerk off to cheap porn," she snapped in annoyance.

But he didn't let up and even denied profusely.

"Tape? What tape? I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about," he took a few steps back. "I-I'm gettin' the hell outta here."

"Fine, I'll just inform Isaac you wouldn't give me what is rightfully his."

He hesitated and paused in his step back before letting out a huge sigh, seeming defeated. "Alright, s-sorry. It's just that...I mean, something is...I just want out of this whole thing. I don't want anything to do with that damned tape."

Curiosity peaked her interest. After all, she assumed it was just a tape but the measures this guy has gone through and the fear of the tape is clearly evident on his face, has gotten Zatanna interested.

"Why? What's going on?" she questioned, a hand on her hip and closer to the semi-automatic Colt M1911 pistol strapped to her side. At the insistence of Jack, Zatanna had bought herself a gun and a gun holder strapped to her thigh before she left for Hollywood.

"I don't know," he saw her raised brow. "I mean, when it comes to video, I've seen everything and I do mean everything-but this thing, it's sick. I-It can't be real, but...I know it is! I know it, it's real and scares the hell out of me."

Zatanna let out a bitter laugh, seeing the irony of the situation. "I know how you feel. Lately, I've seen a lot of things you wouldn't believe."

"The tape...something just ain't right man! And now...something's wrong...something's after me!" he looked at her desperately. "I swear to God something's after me!"

She grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard. "Calm the fuck down and giuro su Dio you can go if you give me the tape."

He shook his head frantically. "I don't have it. I stashed it someplace. You need to find Ginger Swan's," he paused as something scurried further ahead in the alley. "Oh shit, did you see that?"

"Stay back," Zatanna warned him, stepping a little further ahead, pulling out her handgun. Her eyes narrowed at the dark, watching the area closely with her guard up.

"I'm getting the fuck out of here," he swore, running past as she paid him no mind. It wasn't until she heard his scream did she turned her back from the alley and run towards the scream.

Zatanna's eyes widened as she saw him missing and only the sewer lid slightly opened.

"Che cazzo sta accadendo?" The Tremere whispered in horror, realising this was turning into something bigger than picking up a tape.

oOo

Day Forty-Three...

Location: Isaac's Barony...

A dark mist covered the ground, making her feet non-existent as it surrounded the area. Golden Egyptian hieroglyphs flashed through the mist and disappeared before reappearing, resembling lightning.

In the middle of the hieroglyphs, were a pair a blood red eyes glowing and watching her.

"Tu enim coepisti neonate. Antequam incipit gehennam ..." a deep, crispy voice hissed at her.

Her eyes flew open and she sat up immediately, breathing hard and fast. Her back was covered in cold sweat, something she didn't think was possible for a Kindred.

"Va tutto bene, solo un sogno, solo un sogno," she murmured to herself, as if it were to calm her down. Not wanting to go back to sleep, Zatanna checked her phone and saw she had a missed call from Samantha.

Without even giving it a second thought, she dialed the number and pressed the IPhone 4s to her ear. It rang a few times before it went straight to voice-mail.

"Hey this is Samantha. I can't come to the phone right now because-Z! Put that down!" the Tremere could hear her laugh in the background, along with the familiar giggle of May. "Dammit you two, now you've fucked up my voice-mail shit. Just leave a message."

When it beeped, Zatanna opened her mouth. "Hey it's me. I told you I would call you and I will...at night though. The protection thing doesn't want me to call during the day or some shit. So I'll call you tonight," she hung up the phone before climbing out of the bed Isaac had provided for her.

It's only twenty minutes until six...might as well get ready, she thought, putting on a pair of light blue skinny jeans, a white square-neck shirt. Remembering last night's activities with a shudder, the neonate grabbed her gun belt and attached it to her thigh before throwing on her black princess coat and tied her hair back into a low bun.

As she walked down the steps, one of Isaac's goons met her halfway.

"Isaac wants to see you now, don't keep him waiting," he sneered, walking past her as Zatanna glowered at his back. She was growing tired of being ordered around.

"Asshole," she muttered, heading down stairs, striding into Isaac's office as the man in question stood behind his desk, staring at the monitor in front of him. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I wanted to apologize for my behaviour towards you last night," he answered, giving her a soft look. "It was a reflex action. I get a lot of young blood in here forgetting their place. I will assist you as reasonably as I can with your task. But first..."

"You want to look at the tape," she finished for him as he pressed play. Zatanna stood next to him, arms crossed over her chest.

The screen fizzed for a moment before showing a girl running desperately up a flight of stairs, running away from some kind of mutated two legged creatures with sharp claws and teeth. She had burst into a room and slammed the door shut behind her with her back pressed against it.

Zatanna's eyes widened and she covered her mouth as she watched in horror whilst the girl sobbed for help. The camera moved to another two creatures on the bed in the room as they jumped and attacked her, ribbing out her neck with their bare teeth.

The screen turned black and was replaced with a three-eyed skull with eighteen tentacles around it with the words 'Death Mask Productions' underneath.

Isaac turned it off, appearing a few shades paler than before as he swallowed hard. "It's more disturbing than I was led to believe," he stated before turning towards her. "You can understand my concern now, can't you?"

"It's alright, it's not like I wanted to sleep or eat later," she replied sarcastically, raising a brow at him. "Why the hell did I need to see that?"

"It just so happens that around the time this snuff film started circulating, the Nosferatu disappeared," he answered her grimly. "I tried to elicit their help in tracking down the source, and for the first time in all these years, I was dismayed by their absence."

"How do you usually contact them?"

"Usually I just put the word out I'm looking for them, and sooner or later, they appear."

Zatanna crossed her arms in front of her, staring down hard at the ground. "So you think this tape has something to do with their disappearance."

"I assume it does; it's awfully coincidental otherwise. And those creatures," he visibly shuddered at the memory of the horrendous creatures from the tape. "I don't know how many professional FX houses could pull those off."

"Get one of your boys to handle that," she told him and held up a hand as he tried to speak. "No, I've done your tribute and now it's your turn to help me."

Isaac sighed tiredly. "If it's the Nosferatu, I cannot help you."

"No, I couldn't care less about what LaCroix wants me to do. Right now, I have a bigger favour to ask of you," she said firmly, staring straight into his light brown eyes with her own green ones. "I want you to provide sanctuary for Nines Rodriguez."

Isaac seemed surprised for a few moments before the corners of his mouth twitched into a small smile. "An Anarch? Your clan don't exactly sway from the Camarilla side of things."

"I'm not an Anarch, I just don't approve of a man hunt against a friend for a crime he didn't commit," she informed him of everything and even Isaac was disgusted by LaCroix's methods. "So will you help me protect him?"

He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes searching hers for some kind of truth or secret. Finally, after a few silence minutes, he opened his mouth.

"You love him...don't you?"

Zatanna was stunned with his statement and went to shake her head but paused and thought about it. She didn't exactly love him per say, but she cared about him deeply.

Even if he's not exactly speaking to me, she thought ironically and sighed. "I...I care a lot about him. More than I should."

Isaac nodded in approval of her answer. "Very well, I will grant him sanctuary here in my barony if you do me one more favour."

"I refuse to get the rest of the tape."

"No, I know when to not pursue a chase," he chuckled before sobering up and giving her a firm look. "It involves a...Gargoyle. It's taken up residence in my beloved Asian theater. I sent some people to evict it, and it sent them back with a few less limbs. I can't have that monster attacking Kindred in my city."

She held her hand out as he handed her the key to the theater. "How exactly am I supposed to get rid of it?" she questioned, having known what a Gargoyle was from her lessons with Strauss.

"It's a walking block of stone with a taste for blood-I'd suggest whatever method doesn't result in you being eviscerated. I'll leave it up to you."

Translations:

Mio Dio - My god

giuro su Dio - I swear to god

Va tutto bene, solo un sogno, solo un sogno - It's okay, just a dream, just a dream

Song: Making My Way by...I honestly can't remember who to tell you the truth. Anyway, enjoy and leave a review if you want :)