Yes I know its been forever. There will be an explanation at the end of the chapter, but I figure you guys have waited long enough. Thanks to predator808, ben revell, starspawn07, Raptor-Chick, Ronnie R15, Jak4, Lamyka, LordCrunchCricket, StormRaven333, and mckeown who reviewed the last chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 12: Ivy and Eve
"Where the hell did I put my I-Pod?"
"If I'm meeting Amy at 5, that should give me…"
"I hope there's edible food at that convention; the only thing edible about that in-flight meal was the plastic fork…"
"Will someone shut that brat up? He's been screaming half the flight!"
Ivy rubbed at her head as the plane descended into the Paris International airport. Though over the years she had learned to better control her telepathy, being stuck in an enclosed space with so many people still took a toll on her mind. She couldn't completely block out all the voices, but she could tone them down enough. However, she hadn't managed to sleep at all during the plane ride, taking her energy was down and weakening her abilities.
Within a half hour she was out of the plane and picking up her luggage, glad that for once they didn't lose it. After making her way through the crowds to the outside hangar she let her mind reach out, grimacing at jumble of languages that poured into her head as she sifted through them, finally picking up her name floating within the quagmire of thought.
She followed the direction of the thought to a man in a business suit who met her eyes and smiled, "Bonjour dame Ivy, accueillir à Paris. Je suis Jacques. La Tête d'Association souhaite rencontrer avec vous le plus tôt possible." He opened the door passenger door of the car he stood next to, "Si vous ferez ?"
Ivy didn't speak a word of French, but she could pick up images and feelings. Warmth and respect washed her mind as well as a sudden desire for haste. She smiled and handed off her bags, sliding into the sleek blue car as Jacques tossed her luggage in the back, moved into the driver's seat and sped away.
Letting herself relax in the plush, high-backed red velvet chair Ivy's eyes roamed over the various violent décor that decorated the French Guild Head's office. Various weapons, apparently originating from ancient times to modern, hung form the walls.
Upon first seeing the French guild house, Ivy had decided they were both better funded and frivolous that the Guilds back home. The guild house was a literal mansion, complete with fountains, gardens and lots of expensive looking trinkets. Then again, they had probably been around a lot longer than any American guilds so who knew how much money they had accumulated over the past years.
She had been escorted to the guild head's office, and was told in broken English that he would be with her shortly. She was content to sit and relax for a few minutes anyway; it wasn't like the room was a boring white cell.
The most outstanding item in the room was the antique guillotine that stood in the corner, the blade lowered into the wooden headrest. The slight brown stains that surrounded the crescent carve out of the wooden base spoke that it wasn't a reproduction. Ivy glanced at its' impressive height, almost touching the swooping rafters of the ceiling and she pondered how the hell they had gotten the damn thing through the door,
The small door in question gave a slight squeak and Ivy hopped to her feet as a stout man entered the room. For a hunter, he was surprisingly old, perhaps in his fifties, his hair completely gray without any signs of balding. He held out his hand in which Ivy placed hers and received a polite kiss before he gestured for her to sit. The guild head maneuvered around the polished mahogany desk but did not sit in the chair that was a twin to Ivy's, with the exception of a huge tear in the velvet, exposing the padding beneath the fabric.
"Welcome to France, Mademoiselle Ivy. I hope you have found your short time here enjoyable?"
Ivy smiled, "Yes, Sir. Though you should tell Jacques to lay off the gas for his future escorts; most Americans don't have my strong stomach."
He grinned, "Well, he had good reason to hurry; we are short on time…" He paused, a flash of embarrassment flickering across he face, "Though, that does not excuse impertinence. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Remy, the Guild Lord here at the Pitié Guild."
"Please to meet you," Ivy said with a smile, widening to a grin as she caught some of his thoughts; Pitié meant "Mercy", though the guild was famed for showing none, "Jonathan has spoken… much of you." Ivy held back a giggle knowing this was probably the same Remy Jonathan had called a "Cheese-Eating-Surrender-Monkey".
Remy raised a brow, "I'm sure he has."
Ivy chewed her lip and changed the subject, "Ah, um… you said we need to hurry?"
"Indeed," Remy nodded, "Eve was very specific as to her conditions of this meeting. We are strictly forbidden to send any hunters to accompany you, unfortunately, though Eve was… kind enough, to offer to meet you in a crowded area."
Ivy leaned forward, "You spoke to Eve?"
Remy blinked, "Yes."
"How did she contact you?"
"She appeared in the chair you are sitting in while I was drinking my morning coffee. I must say I overreacted," he waved his hand at an axe on the wall. Upon closer inspection, Ivy could see a dent in the blade. Remy glanced at he torn chair, "I suppose I should be thankful she chose to miss after she ripped it from my hands…"
"I see," Ivy nodded, "She has a bad habit of startling people for her own entertainment. Though I'm glad to see she's around and will actually meet with me."
"Yes," Remy agreed, "But we must hurry if we do not want her to vanish again."
Ivy began to pick up on a sense of urgency emanating from Remy, "When do I meet with her?"
Remy glanced at his watch and frowned, "In twenty minutes. Jacques will drive you."
Ivy tapped her nails on the glass of the table and sighed. Eve was late.
The waiter approached the small table for the third time, inquiring in broken English if Ivy was sure that she didn't want anything.
"Not what you're offering buddy," Ivy thought, catching the waiter's true motive behind his smile and courteous behavior. Just because she her hair was dyed purple and she had a nose ring, god the stuff people thought made her twitch sometimes… and gag.
Stifling a yawn as the waiter moved away, Ivy grudgingly admired Eve's cleverness in planning this meeting. The place was public, a little pricey café with glass tables and polished wooden chairs sitting under a veranda. Younger people were gathered around, talking, flirting and eating; even with the kinky waiter Ivy decided that Eve definitely could have picked a worse place.
The sky had only just blackened, when a vampire would be at the peak of her strength while Ivy would still be slow from jet lag. Damn, a nap would be good now. Ivy let out a yawn, her eyes closing reflexively; when they opened Nacht was sitting across from her.
"Ack!" Ivy yelped, jerking back from the table her chair tipping backwards as her arms pin wheeled in a last-ditch attempt to regain her balance.
Nacht reached across the with liquid speed and caught the edge of the chair tapping it forwards enough that the legs clacked back onto solid ground, jerking Ivy forward.
"Steady little psychic, or you'll smash that lovely brain to putty on the concrete; and won't that be a waste?"
Ivy shuddered and blinked, "Eve?"
"No, Elvis. Thank you very much," the vampire said, a perfect vocal imitation.
"You look… different," Ivy managed, trying to reconcile with herself that it was Eve, not Nacht that sat in front of her.
Eve's hair was no longer multi-colored, but as black as her coal eyes. It hung to her waist in a wave of oil while a well-fitted violet dress clung to her frame sleek and stylish. Silver and black beading about the bodice, as well as the cut of the fabric, made flame-like designs crawling up her to wrap around her neck while the bottom was fashioned to look like rough waves.
She looked the spitting image of Nacht.
"Yes, I know I've let myself go a bit; hold on a moment." And she disappeared.
Ivy sighed and rolled her eyes, looking at her watch. Approximately forty eight seconds later. Eve reappeared, looking much more like herself. She wore a black-based, tie-dye t-shirt and a lemon yellow peasant skirt. A gaudy silver peace sign hung from a leather cord around her neck while huge glasses with neon pink frames covered her eyes. She worn no shoes and her trademark sombrero hat with the peacock feather perched on her head at a jaunty angle. Her hair dripped color.
Literally.
"Did you dunk your head in blue paint?" Ivy asked, wrinkling her nose as the acrylic smell hit her.
"Well I figured you'd be pissed if I was gone for a few hours at the salon, so I figured this would do," she twirled a finger around the clumping blue coated strands, coating her hand.
"Whatever," Ivy didn't want to discuss the dementedness of dunking one's head in a bucket of paint, let alone where the vampire had found an open can of paint to do so. That was not what she was here for, "We need to talk."
"Well, duh," Eve drawled, "Do you think I came here to play a rousing game of tidily-winks?"
Ivy held back a growl, " I am here as a representative…"
"One second, WAITER!" Eve yelled. The waiter approached the table seeming oblivious to Eve's appearance, paint and all. Eve rattled off something in French and the waiter trotted off quickly. "They have the best red wine here," Eve sighed.
"Right…" Ivy muttered as the waiter returned with two glasses setting one down in front each of them. Eve took a deep draw from hers and smiled, showing her pointed teeth.
"Much better. Now, love, what is it that you want?"
"I am here as a representative of the Ash Guild house as well as the surrounding guilds that hold charge of the areas of you sister's former territo- are you listening!" Ivy snapped. Eve wasn't even looking at her, choosing instead to finger paint all over the glass table.
"I'll listen when you actually have something to say."
"I am saying something! Sebastian is moving in on your sister's territory…"
"Killing hunters, letting his dogs run wild, disturbing the peace…" Eve interrupted, ticking each fact off on her blue hand.
"God dammit!" Ivy pounded her fist on the table, "I am not here to play games Eve! IF you know all of this why the hell am I even here!"
Eve stared at her and slowly removed the ludicrous glassed, closing them with a click and hanging them for the collar of her shirt. She blinked lazily, "I must admit, that was my next question. Why are you here?"
"To tell you that all hell's broken loose since you up and disappeared," Ivy gritted her teeth as Eve held up a blue hand.
"Yes, I know," Her eyes fell to the table as her fingers swirled in elegant patterns, leaving elaborated designs on the table, "I have my informants. Sebastian is taking over and, with his politics, humans will figure out that something's going on and the hypothetical shit's gonna hit the proverbial fan," her eyes never left the table, "So what's that got to do with me?"
"We need you."
"Need me?" Eve glanced up her eyes watering, "Really? You need me? I don't know what to say! You lil darlin'," Eve attempted to pinch Ivy's cheek, though Ivy managed to dodge it, simultaneously not wanting Eve to touch her nor get blue paint on her face.
Eve chuckled, "Seriously though, why the hell do you need me?"
"You're the only one who can rally and control the vampires; the only one who Sebastian would respect a claim from. You need to take over Nacht's empire," Ivy said quietly. She swallowed her distaste; Eve may be the lesser of two evils, but she was still evil.
"You want me to take my sister's place," Eve muttered as she dropped her eyes to the table wiped her hand across the glass, smearing the paint into a blue coating, only to draw her fingers through it, making lines in the paint, "But you are hunters. Why should I return to chase away a competitor only to be hunted myself?"
"We are willing to negotiate a temporary cease in hostilities until Sebastian gets back to his hole. Hell, if you want to put it that way, we'll hunt you whether you come back or not. We'll just be more persistent if you don't return."
"So let me get this straight. You want me to come back, claim my sister's territory as my own, chase Sebastian off, and everything will go back to as it was?"
Ivy thought about it, "That's pretty much it."
"No."
"I beg your pardon?" Ivy's eyes narrowed, "We are willing to offer…"
"You have nothing that I could possibly want," Eve wiped away her scrawlings and stood, "This little chat is over."
"Eve you must…"
'I must do nothing. I don't want my sister's lands. Give them to her rodents. They'll be happy to snap at each other for a piece of the meat."
"They are and it will be their downfall, and ours. Sebastian's is an idiot, even you must see that!" Ivy snapped, "People will notice his uprising. People will die."
"People die every day."
"Eve, it' your responsibility-"
"I owe nothing." Eve hissed, baring her fangs, "Not to you, your little friends, or my sister."
"What about your fledglings?"
Eve blinked, "If they die they obviously weren't worth the trouble."
Ivy stared. This was not going at all as she had expected. Eve was always eccentric, but it was normally a bubbly, head-dipping-in-paint-crazy kind of way. This heartless, apathetic painter was not right; something was wrong. Ivy probed with her mind.
Gasping, Ivy clutched at her skull. It felt as if it was going to explode!
"Ah, ah, ah…" Eve wagged her finger at Ivy, "Bad girl. Those are not for you to see."
Slowly the pain dulled and Ivy grew desperate, and angry, "Eve, this isn't a matter of politics or ownership. If we didn't need you, I wouldn't be here. If you don't come back your carelessness will cost thousands of lives!"
"Carelessness costing lives…" Eve trailed off, "You know all about that now, don't you?"
"What?" Ivy raised a brow
Eve stared into her eyes, "Don't play coy, your carelessness cost many lives a long time ago, didn't it?"
Ivy stiffened, realizing what Eve was hinting at, "That was an accident." How the hell did Eve know?
"Was it?" Eve dropped back down into her chair and swirled her fingers in the paint, "How often do you stay awake at night telling yourself that?"
"That happened a long time ago."
"But the memories remain," Eve grinned, though it was more of a baring of teeth.
"Fine," Ivy snapped, moving to stand, "This isn't what I'm here for. If you're not coming we'll make you." Standing Ivy let her temper get the best of her, "Screw you, you heartless bitch."
"Heartless…" it was barely a whisper. As Ivy began to turn away, Eve lunged across the table, her paint coated hand grabbing Ivy's face while her clean one wrapped around the back of her head, pulling Ivy back over the table, knocking both glasses of wine to the ground where they shatters, spilling their bloody contents.
"You call me heartless? What of you, love? You do remember the screams don't you? The cries as the children realized they were surrounded by flame and their was no way out?"
Ivy tried to jerk out of Eve's grip, but it was an iron vice. Her eyes darted about looking for aid, but Eve was likely using her abilities of illusion to make it seem as if they weren't even there. Eve shook Ivy's head violently until Ivy met her eyes.
Eve continued, "Why didn't you help them Ivy? Why didn't you save them? Or take them with you before you started the blaze? Where was your heart then? Your selfishness condemned them all to burn. I've heard burning is the most painful death anyone can experience. You're alive as your very flesh chars and flakes off. You've heard the screams; is that what it sounded like? Being cooked alive?"
Tears streamed down Ivy's face, "It was an accident."
"Sure it was. You needed to escape, or you were going to die," Eve's eyes flickered downward, and then back to meet Ivy's, "As do I."
As suddenly as she was captured, Ivy was free as she collapsed back into her chair. Eve had vanished, leaving no sign of her presence but the blue paint smeared on her face and the table. There was something written in the paint. Though it was upside-down, Ivy could read it:
Murderer.
With a choked sob Ivy jumped up from her chair and ran away from the café, needing to run, to escape, to be anywhere else but the memories Eve had dragged up from their graves in Ivy's mind.
I realize I haven't updated in almost a year, but I've been up to my ears in work. Currently I have a paid internship at my college (I'm working in a molecular biology lab!). Now, the problem is: my college is over 2 hours from my home so I needed to get my own apartment and pay for it too. So I'm working 2 jobs (giving summer tours at my college in addition to the lab job), and I'm working about 40 hours a week and essentially living on my own, so free time is hard to come across.
However, for all your guys' patience, I will promise this: Chapter 13 will be up by the end of this month. I need to review it and tweak it around, but it will be posted by then. Oh, and it's got a pretty good fight in it. ;)
Please review, 'cause you're the ones I keep writing for.
