*looks at chapter, sighs*

Chapter 47 – Confessing the Past

October 6, 2004 = Wednesday

~Eliza Flores~

Walking up to the front door, I ghosted through it without a thought that there was even a door there. It was so simple now, entering where I wasn't wanted, going where I didn't need to be, that it didn't even register until I was dipping my finger in the holy water font to cross myself. Sighing, I crossed myself and entered the dark chapel, the feeling of loneliness an ache in my being.

Looking around, I took in the dark chapel and its ornate architecture. Not a single piece caught my eye in the darkness, nothing seemed to touch my soul. Here, where once I had been filled inside and knew for a fact that there was a God, I now felt alone and hollow.

I couldn't even find a tear to express my desolation.

Sitting in the pew, I decided to wait. I could do that, at least. Waiting was easy, as it was a return of my undead body to its natural position; rest. I didn't need to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom and I figured my muscles lacked the stimuli needed to cramp, so there was nothing left to do but assume the most position available and wait for something to happen.

Sitting in the dark, my mind blank, time seemed to fade away. Day might have approached and I wouldn't have noticed. Such was my state, that I didn't even notice I had company until I felt his sleeve brush my arm as he sat down. I turned my head, wondering who might disturb me in a chapel in the middle of the night to see it was a priest. He was dressed in a black cassock, white collar around his neck with a Holy Bible in his hands.

He gave me a smile, as he took in my leather pants and crop top, but he didn't seem angry that I broke into church. "I don't encounter many people who so desire to be in church that they'll break in," he told me, voice somewhat high pitched for a man.

I hung my head, wondered briefly if he would ask me to leave when he settled himself a bit more comfortably in the pew. "You look lost to the world," he said, his face becoming concerned as he studied me. "What troubles you so much?"

Looking down at my T-back high heels, I told my story. Of being kidnapped from midnight mass at the Saint Martin of Tours church near UCLA by Simeon, to his goons raping me for almost a month straight. With shaking words, I told him of running naked down an alley and Simeon running me down and turning me into a vampire. I couldn't bring myself to look the priest in the eyes to see if he believed me or not, so I continued on, telling him about my first kill when I drained one of his goons of blood.

The priest offered no word, just sat listening as I told him being sent by the prince to the Santa Monica, meeting Mercurio then finding Heather dying in the clinic and giving her my blood to keep her from dying, and of meeting and killing Dennis and his cronies before giving Brian an ultimatum to become my ghoul or perish like his friends.

One by one, I told the priest of every action I had taken in the past few weeks. When I told him of Celeste kidnapping my ghouls and their state when I found each one of them, he let out a silent, "My word," at the details. I told him of Brian's suicide over his ruined state, and Heather's violent freak out at hers. When I told him that I had cradled her and comforted her to calm her down to put a bullet in her head, his bible fell to the floor with a thump.

"Heavens," he said, almost breathless as if he'd been afraid to breathe.

When I told him of finding and killing Celeste, then digging up the body of Sharron, I finally found the strength to look at the priest I had been confessing to and see the utter shock on the man's face. If it was from the fact that I was kindred or the story I had told him wasn't easy to decipher, but either way, the look was chilling.

"The other body, the one of Meredith Coates," he said, after forcing himself back to some form of normalcy, "What happened to her?"

"Celeste made her into a vampire, to wake up in a coffin and freak out," I told him. "I calmed her down, and she's with another to learn what she needs to learn." I hadn't told the priest everything, the desire to protect the masquerade still going strong, but I had told him what I'd done.

"So, you come here to seek absolution?" he asked, once he had himself under control again.

"I just feel so hollow inside," I told him, looking at the crucifix attached to the far wall behind the pulpit. "Since being turned into a vampire, I've done things I shouldn't ever be forced to do and I feel so lost."

"God has not abandoned you, my child," he said, trying to comfort me. "But euthanasia is banned by the church for a reason. No matter how well intentioned your actions, you did still kill Heather Poe."

"I know," I breathed, hanging my head.

"And this Brian character, to rip him from any life he may have had, as well as Sharron Carter, just to serve your own selfish needs," he told me. "It may sound cliché, but God does give us the gift of choice, and your blood robs people of this."

"I know," I whispered, wondering if he were going to excommunicate me for my sins. I wouldn't blame him if he did, but hearing the words would be painful.

"I don't think you should ever make a person a ghoul again, whether they want to be or not," he told me, and I was stunned. No ghouls? "I take it you don't approve?"

"Actually, I was already planning on freeing one ghoul and maybe the other I still have," I said, turning my head back to the priest and giving him a smile. "I'm finding that ghouls are as much a liability as they are a help."

The priest relaxed beside me and I found it shocking I hadn't noticed him tense. "It's a relief," he said, smiling back at me. "I'm not as young as I used to be."

That took me aback, and then it made it sense. "You're a hunter?" I asked him.

"Formerly," he said, giving a slight shake of his head. "I quit some fifteen years ago."

"Might I ask why?"

"There was a young man I hunted in Kansas City," he began. "I was put on his trail by the Society, when they began to suspect him of being a vampire. He was young, a drug dealer I would find out, but we had tagged him as being supernatural when he was shot several times by cops and didn't seem fazed. I found him one night, dealing drugs in an alleyway and engaged him, but he was fast. He outran me at first."

"How did you catch him?" I asked, getting a sheepish smile from the priest.

"One must be smarter than their prey if they are hunting a more powerful species," he said in an almost mocking tone. "My first shot was always a tracker, allowing me to track the man down, with several more shots behind it to shroud the true nature of what I had done. I tracked him all night long in what eventually became a car chase. I used my pickups steel bumper to crash him, but in his desperation to escape, he jumped the divider to the other side and hit a car head on making both cars fell off the bridge onto a set of railroad tracks.

"I watched in horror as the train bore down on them, the family that was in the other car trying to escape. The father and mother got out without much help, but the vampire ripped the car apart to free a little girl, pushing her to safety before the train hit him."

"He saved the girl at the cost of his own life?" I said, not so much a question but as a statement of fact.

"The tracker still worked, and after the train ground to a halt, I went down and checked," he said, closing his eyes at the memories he was relieving. "I found the tracker amid the ash of the vampire, but I realized I had been oblivious to the horror I had caused."

I watched a tear leak out of the corner of his eye, and wondered briefly if there was a second child in the car. It took a moment but the priest finally continued on.

"I sometimes hear the mother's screams in my sleep, as she wept for what she thought was her daughter's life. It was in that moment I knew my bloodlust had gotten the better of me. I decided it was over, that I would have to concentrate on more productive things. I climbed over the train's connectors, found the girl where she had fallen, and carried her to her grieving mother.

"She was so happy her daughter was alive, that she refused to believe I hadn't done it, that I was being modest, but I told her it wasn't me. I don't know if she ever believed me, but I refused to hunt again after that. I devoted my life to good works, to saving people."

I nodded, glad he had at least done some good for people, then found I was feeling something besides the emptiness from before.

"But back to the matter at hand," he said, clearing his throat and looking at me again. "Do you feel so lost now?"

"No," I admitted, giving him a wan smile. "But now I guess I just have to find the best way of moving forward."

The priest gave a soft chuckle at that. I gave him a questioning look, and he smiled broadly. "You know, given your obvious dedication, I'd say you should start a convent."

"A convent?" I asked, him shocked at the idea. Me? A nun?

"Well, the term is not directly tied to the church," he said, rubbing at his collar as if he were uneasy about something. "Many convents run themselves without any type of papal authority or help, but they commit themselves to an idea, mostly helping others through education and healing. It can be difficult, sisters would grow gardens and crops and tend cows, chickens and sheep to provide everything they needed. The main idea though, was that they devoted their lives to doing God's work and consecrated everything to Him.

"Also, in a convent you'd be somewhat shielded from the world and it's problems," he continued as I sat their stunned at his idea. "You could devote yourself better to God's teachings."

"You're saying I should start a convent and feed from any sisters I gather?" I said trying to wrap my mind around his idea. The priest nodded, and I sat there and thought it over.

The problem was, it wasn't a terrible idea. The idea of a kindred secluding themselves away from the world seemed terrible at first, but then I remembered the blood bags that Lacroix kept in the tower, and the blood Michele herself drank from. Humans weren't kept around for feeding, all I really needed was to get blood shipped in and store it as I used to store food.

Then I remembered my newfound status as a Methuselah, and sobered a bit, but then my brain found the workaround. I might not be able to feed from blood bags, but my deal with Eloise meant she could and I could feed from her. Remembering that led me to the chantry, and I realized that kindred had been doing it for ages. Michele herself said that rich kindred used to seclude themselves in estates with kine noblemen for frontmen, using their status to keep blood handy in the form of criminals and the insane.

Smiling, I could see it come together in my mind. Make a compound and lure Eloise and Meredith to it with the offer of blood and protection. I was still in tight with the prince, though I still didn't like his methods, but he was turning a bit. If I could get enough favor, I might get Strauss to leave us alone, allowing us to grow.

All I had to do was provide for Yukie, if she even decided to stay on as my ghoul and not want to be freed, but that was easy. She could be the front for our convent, even add a Japanese garden for aesthetic purposes, but make it a place of healing the soul and finding peace, things I wanted in my life. Though I didn't know enough, I was sure that Yukie would go for it as it aligned more with the concepts of Buddhism of overcoming suffering and rebirth.

With my thoughts aligned, if still a bit blurry on the final product, I nodded my head in acceptance with a smile on my face. The priest seemed happy as well, sharing my smile.

"I see you have found peace again," he said. "God's peace, perhaps?"

"Definitely," I said, thinking that when I had the finished product ready to go, the city could go to hell, as long as it remained outside the convent's walls.

"God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of His Son," he began, giving me the traditional words of absolution as we finished my confession. I sat, smiling at the peace I had and the completeness I now felt. The words were comforting, giving me the absolution I came for.

When he stood to leave, he looked back at me. "I do have one last thing for you to do, though I'm sure you'll do it anyway," he said, looking at me. "Find your friend, Samantha. Bring her home, no matter what state she's in."

"I will, father," I told him, rising to stand beside him. It was surprising to see I stood just a few inches taller than him, though I did have on four inch heels. "When I find her, she comes home."

He gave me a nod, as we began to walk towards the door, though we shared no words. I knew there were things I needed to do, and pulling out my phone, saw that it was now just past five in the morning. Time was getting short for the night, so without warning, jumped back to the tower.

Looking around the lobby, I headed straight for Walsh's office, finding the man at his desk, where Rochelle was having him sign multiple forms. I always found it odd that though Walsh was essentially the Under-Sheriff of the county, he was always engaged in business. Must be a Ventrue thing.

"Ah, Miss Flores," he said, after I knocked lightly on the door frame to announce my presence. "We have the paperwork to finalize the insurance adjustment for the Pryce estate. There's no further financial cost to you, however, there is no benefit either."

"Essentially you're writing off my brief stay as rent and recouping the loss of the house from insurance and keeping the land," I said, summarizing what I'd already surmised. "Guess I can't argue that."

"Then we are agreed," he said as Rochelle laid out some paperwork with the little arrows attached to indicate where I needed to sign. Walsh lent me his pen, and I signed off on all the paperwork.

"Wouldn't happen to have any more land for sale?" I asked him. "Just land this time, I have something I want to build."

"Anything in mind?" he asked me.

"Ten or twenty acres, I want to build a large mansion with designs for better security, a large library and having kindred living in it," I told him. "I'm thinking of also building a large wall around it, building a garden for a little peace, and settling myself in for the long haul."

"The way of a kindred politician," he said we a bemused grin on his face. "Walls for security, security for privacy, privacy means the fewer people see your face and can figure out your secret. I have a few tracts of land, up near Ventura. It's farmland, but that just means you have fertile ground for your garden. Miss Sciuto, can you get me the deeds for my properties in Ventura?"

"Yes, sir," she said, before leaving the office.

"Any luck on finding the rest of the Sabbat?" I asked him, fishing for a lead on where Samantha had been taken.

"No, but the Nosferatu are looking," he told me. "I used to think there was nothing they couldn't find, but in the past week, they have become unreliable as a source of information."

"How so?" I asked him, wondering if Gary was working against the prince as well. It would make for an ally in a pinch.

"They remain unable to find Mister Rodriguez," he told me. "He has been seen in several areas of the city, according to reports from trusted sources, but other than that no trace of the man can be found."

"And I assume following known Anarchs hasn't yielded any progress either?"

"None whatsoever," he said, relaxing into his chair. "I hate the idea of a known threat living in the city and hiding so well he can't be found until after the fact."

"And the Sabbat?"

"The Sabbat has changed the way it operates, using vans for their 'assualt' to keep the more unruly of their minions in line," he told me. "This also keeps them hidden, as we used to just follow the violence back to their 'nests.' Celeste Evans had hers well defended, which was why we couldn't route it out so easily."

"So, there's no way of discovering where the Sabbat are holed up until they make a mistake?" I said, shaking my head. "What's the likelihood of my friend Samantha surviving being their guest of honor?"

"I'd rather see her hang then be in the Sabbat's hands for an hour," he told me as Rochelle came back in with a large folder in her hands. "The Sabbat are cruel, you're embrace being a prime example. This Andrei," he said, then shook his head. "They have a power called Vicissitude, it allows them to bend bone and flesh like clay. They can even make the body operate in weird ways, and the way people think."

"You mean he could turn Samantha against me?" I said, but Walsh just shrugged.

"It's likely, but unknown," he admitted. "I have seen reports of them using their abilities to turn once proud businessmen into low-class whoremongers. They were useless after that, caring more for drink and women than their money. They died broke men."

"So if he gets a hold of Samantha, he can strip her of her pride?" I asked him.

"She would be better off dead," he told me.

I shook my head as Walsh began to sort through the deeds, looking for what he wanted. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Sammie. It didn't matter though, I set my brain to bring Sammie home no matter what. She didn't deserve to be left in a madman's hands. If she were reduced to nothing but a crack whore, I'd still bring her home and having a secure place of peace and healing might help her.

And a former hunter for a ghoul sure wouldn't hurt to make sure she didn't run away.

"I have several properties," he said, laying out the deeds for me. I looked them over, reading the various contracts that some had. "Unfortunately, you'll have to abide by the contracts that come with a property you buy, meaning you may have to wait out a lease."

"That's the least of my worry," I told him, setting those aside. That left me with two pieces of property, the smaller one was nine acres and was located in Oxnard, not too far from the city. The other was in Somis, and was about twenty. Both were farmland, but the contracts seemed to have run out and were up for lease again.

"This other one isn't farmland, but it is up for sale," he said, sliding it over to me. It was a golf course in Gardena, which was right next to Compton. It was expensive, almost fifty million, but it covered two hundred fifty acres in the middle of the city.

"Why is it up for sale?" I asked him.

"Caring for the grass has become so expensive with water shortages that put the place up for sale," he told me. "I thought I might try the game, but it holds no appeal. Besides, all people of importance meet at clubs in Beverly Hills and the surrounding area. This one is too far away to attract much besides the middle class."

"It works for my interests," I said mulling it over.

Rochelle handed me a paper holder full of pictures, which I found to be pictures of the golf course and attached lands. Most of the pictures were of the green, but some showed a large pond on one side with several smaller water hazards on the property. The grass wasn't as manicured as I'd seen in the clubs frequented by the rich where I once worked, but they were decent. One of the last pictures was an overview taken from a helicopter, and I could see how things were situated, it would make a wonderful place to live with the right groundskeeper.

Still, as I shuffled back through the pictures, it was going to be a years worth of work to build what I wanted on it, and years more to cultivate the grounds into the enhanced state of a thriving garden with rock lined ponds where pretty fish swam contentedly in shaded water, not to mention the ripping out of unneeded buildings, shrubbery, trees and walkways. It was going to take a lot of effort, but it wasn't like I was running out of time.

The location worked for me, inside the city and close to everything, I'd have water close by to sooth my blood, and large enough to not need to leave and still have some creature comforts. Plus, if I ever got the support to be made a primogen, I'd need to be available to what few kindred would want or need to see me.

"It'll work," I said, nodding my head. It looked like I had crossed the first hurdle to starting a convent, find a place to put it.

"We'll get the paperwork drawn up, and you can drop by another night to sign it," he told me. "There's no rush, no one is interested in buying it."

"Seems cheap, actually," I said, noting that fifty million was cheap for that much property.

"I actually acquired it some months ago from a young Ventrue," Walsh said, smiling as his eyes grew misty. "Poor fool made a rather foolish investment, then needed cash to bail himself out."

"Why not dip into the endless Ventrue funds?" I asked him.

"He was riding a high of popularity at the time," he said, his smile broad. "But, like large corporations have done for years, I had to smack the little upstart down."

"So what did you do?" I asked him.

"I gave him a low price for the club, about ten million dollars, and then floated a cheap loan to his competitor," he told me. "The pup needed the money to secure his position for a military contract. He'd impressed many and was a serious contender for the position of scourge with the prince. I floated the loan and saw a Ventrue pup get ripped apart by a kine businessman. His popularity fell apart when that gossip was spread through the city."

"So, what did you do for the businessman who beat him?" I asked him, and he chuckled.

"The clan was willing to show him how small his thinking was," he told me. "He accepted our offer and currently works with Mueller learning how we operate."

"What happened to the pup?"

"He's rebuilding his little empire after taking three hundred million from Ventrue funds and moving to Texas," he told me, still smiling.

"How are things going with Mueller?" I asked, wondering how things were going since I had emptied his bank account.

"He has four days to acquire a hundred million for his collateral in a loan, and at last check, only a percentage of it in his bank account," he said, his smile still plastered on his face. "After that, I can secure the collateral with no problem and move past him. The profits alone are enough to get me into the billion range."

"Oh, one last thing," I said, standing up. "I need to make a cash withdrawal on my account to get some operating funds going."

Walsh opened a drawer on his desk with a key, reached inside and then tossed me a stack of hundred dollar bills in a currency strap. Checking the strap, it said it was worth ten thousand dollars.

"Need more?" he said, holding up a second.

"Sure," I said, slightly stunned as he tossed me a second. The man was a banker alright.

"You have passed 'go' and may collect twenty thousand dollars," he said as he smiled. "I wish you well," he said as I turned and walked out the door. In the lobby, I pocketed the bundles in each of my pants pockets.

Riding the elevator down, I made up my mind to check on my Ninja before going back to the motel room. I rode down, my mind going to my upcoming convent. I guess the best way of looking at it, I was becoming a sister, and I was fine with that.

Catching a cab, I rode it down to the Ride or Die club, finding it was a biker bar hangout with its own motorcycle repair shop attached. My Ninja stood out front, still sitting on flat tires and I could only shake my head at the side sight. Men were still moving around, doing their best to get drunk before the sun rose. I was quickly noticed, a big bruiser of a man carrying a beer bottle coming over.

"We're not going to ride today, sweetheart," he called to me. "Try again tomorrow."

"I'm here about the Ninja," I told him, and he grimaced. "Needs tires?"

"Yeah," he said, turning to look at my bike. "You trailer trash, wannabe? Or do you actually intend to ride that thing?"

"I ride," I told him, getting defensive. "Want to hit the twists, sometime? Hope you can keep up with that granny of a ride when I pass the ton."

Yeah, it seems dumb to antagonize these guys, but personal experience has taught me that if you start backing up, you'll never get going forward. My experience paid off, and the guy smiled and laughed.

"Yeah, you got the grit, alright," he said, taking a swig. "What kind of tires you want?"

"Something with good traction," I told him. "Money isn't a problem, so if you need to order something, that's fine."

"We might have to anyway," he said, nodding at me. "I don't think we have your size, being a crotch rocket and all."

"That's fine," I said. "Sharron said she knew someone who could get some wicked rims on it, also."

"Uh, yeah," he said, moving to the shop. "We can have new rims made and installed by Friday morning. All we need to know from you is what style, and you can select from hundreds in our catalogue."

"All custom made for my Ninja," I said, nodding my head.

He led me inside the building, and showed me the catalogue. I looked through the set, finding a style that looked like small curved blades going from the hub to the exterior rim. The rear rim would match, and the tires were a set of a triple compounded tire designed for racing but were street legal, giving me great traction and speed capability, even if the tires cost four hundred a piece.

All in all, I spent maybe four grand on getting my bike going, the guy guaranteeing it would be ready on Friday. With everything set, I decided to step back to the motel, but a quick look around told me I'd be missed if I just stepped out in public.

"You got a bathroom?" I asked and he nodded.

"Behind the Bud sign," he said, pointing me to the Budweiser sign that turned on each syllable before flashing off again.

I went inside, blanching a bit at the 'wallpaper.' The small was covered in naked women in provocative poses, from the door around and behind the mirror, the toilet and back to the door again from ceiling to floor. I looked at the debauched scene for a moment, before shaking my head and stepping out to my room. Music still blared from the party, so I looked out to see most of the crew of Four-Play still living it large.

I quickly shed my clothes, putting on the borrowed bikini from earlier and wrapped towel around my lower half. I stepped out of the room, the room's key held in my top and got a roar of welcome from the girls, all of them now so drunk that one set of three girls I knew as Star, Scarlett and Ice could barely walk even as they supported and steadied each other.

Looking around, I saw Meredith and Eloise sitting on a pair of chaise lounges, both girls in bikinis, though Eloise was in a red one piece while Meredith had a two piece string of pure white. I walked closer, getting a smile from Meredith when she recognized me.

"Any luck?" she asked as I sat on the edge of her lounger.

"None," I told her. "Even the Nos don't have any clues where the rest are."

"Nos?" she said, then nodded. "Ella told me about the different clans, though I've only met you, Jean and Walsh."

"We'll get you acclamated," I told her assuringly. "Be glad you have the time to learn before you have to walk on your own. I learned the hard way."

"I couldn't imagine," she said, her smile lacking. "My real training starts tonight, so this is sort of a fling for me before I dedicate myself to the books."

"You need to learn the Path of Blood before you start dealing with people," Eloise told her. "It's basic survival."

"And mind control and reading minds," she said, pouting.

"Tremere can do all that?" I asked, and Eloise nodded.

"I think the reading of minds is a hold over from our mage days, when we used to need to know countercurses to survive attacks," she said, shaking her head. "It's not entirely useful, not in a fight, but it can make negotiations easier."

"So, what are your future plans?" I asked the pair.

"I go where she goes," Meredith said quickly.

"And I have no home outside of the chantry," she said. "I'm going to be sleeping on the couch, but I guess we'll have to figure out some way of making money to afford our own place."

"Well, I don't mean to be the spoil sport, but you," I said, pointing a finger at Eloise, "still owe me for testifying to your lord."

"I was hoping you'd let that slide," she said blanching at my stern gaze. "I don't have the blood to replace my supply after you feed."

"Any ideas on where to get some?" I asked her, and she shrugged.

"I can put out some feelers, start seeing if anyone can point me to a blood supply, but I imagine I'll have to hit a bar or street corner for a meal in the meantime," she said. "Since I need to teach Mer here how to survive, she can come with me."

"I'll ask around tomorrow," I told her. "Until then, I'll let you two in on a secret project of mine."

"Secrets are the clan's business," Meredith said sadly.

"I'm building a convent to sequester myself away," I told the pair. "I'm willing to let you two live there, I'll provide you both with blood to live on, and all I ask is that you let me feed from you as I need it."

"Why don't you feed from the same blood as us?" Meredith asked.

"She had an experience with her clans founder," Eloise told her. "He tried to possess her body, changing it be like his. When she kicked him out, it left her with very potent blood. It also made her need to feed on kindred instead of kine."

"That sucks," she said, shaking her head. "So I'll eventually need to feed from kindred too?"

"Only if you live a thousand years or so," she said.

"What happens to her in a thousand years?" Meredith asked.

"What happens to us all," she said, sighing and shaking her head. "What happens to all immortals in time. You grow disconnected from the world, lethargic, and then one day you don't wake up."

"You mean I die in my sleep?" I said, thinking it sounded like human old age.

"Not dead, just asleep," she said, looking at me. "You're body will enter, basically, hibernation and shut down. They say that's what's in the Ankaran Sarcophagus, a sleeping ancient from millennia ago."

"What could happen if he rises?" I asked her, and she shrugged.

"No idea," she said honestly. "There's no telling what clan he is, or generation. He could be a lost clan for that matter; Cappodocian or Salubri or one we've never heard of. For that matter, it might be Caine himself. It could also be a kindred so dangerous he was staked and buried as a punishment, but not outright killed because of political issues."

"So opening it up might not be a good idea," I said, hanging my head.

"If you do, I suggest middle of the desert and a vehicle handy to make your escape," she said seriously.

"I'll take that under advisement," I muttered, worried now that my finding the sarcophagus could be such a big problem.

"So, a convent, huh," Eloise said, changing the subject again. "Going to become a nun?"

"Well, I'm not seeking the Pope's permission, so not exactly, but close," I told her. "What I'm building is a place of healing. Might allow people to join us on the grounds, but that's more along the lines of needing the help for the upkeep. If it seems like a jumbled mess, it's because all I have is a general idea, and not written everything out. Guess you might call it a halfway house for the battered, but," I said, shrugging as I didn't know where I wanted to take it.

"I like the idea," Meredith said. "But we're going to need to make sure us kindred are kept separate from the group so they don't figure us out."

"I was thinking of building a secure area for us to sleep during the day," I told them. "I'm already feeling the sun coming."

"Yeah," Eloise said, looking to the pinking sky. "I might stay up a bit, but there's no sense in fighting it."

"Wait, we can be up in the day?" I asked her and she nodded.

"Why don't you meet us tonight if you have nothing to do and I'll teach both of you to be kindred," she said, smirking at my shocked look.

"Sure," I said, thinking that would be a good idea. It would explain why Celeste could kidnap my ghouls, but I had assumed it was some form of magic she had used to just stay awake.

"My room is at the top of the stairs," she said, giving me directions. "It's one of the suites on the third floor. More like just a pair of rooms joined together, but it has room."

"I'll likely be there," I told her, when I felt someone tap on my shoulder. I turned to see someone unexpected, Yukie.

"I come at last," she said. I took in her appearance, her dress was clean, probably from being laundered by the hospital, but I could see where it had been cut from her body and was now held in place by safety pins. A white bandage bulged on her chest, and I could see the other one through the bullet hole. She looked good, standing on her own, but she seemed sad.

"Yukie, this is Meredith and Eloise," I said introducing the pair I was talking to. "They'll be coming to stay with us when we move."

"Greetings," she said, smiling at the pair.

"Well, the day approaches, and I've got things to talk to Yukie about," I told them. "I'll see you tonight."

"Night," Meredith said as I led Yukie back to my room. Once inside, she took in the bare motel room then nodded once.

"First off, do you still want to be my ghoul?" I asked her, and she hung her head.

"Hai," she said, nodding. "I have thought about it since you first let me go. You could have let me die, but you save me. You helped me hunt Hengeyokai, and kill him to avenge my sensei. My family is gone, killed by Hengeyokai, and now there is no one left to mourn me."

"Don't you even want to know what I'd ask of you?" I said.

"I," she began to say, then wrapped her arms around her middle. "I care, but I do not care. I feel terrible but I want to help you be stronger," she said, seeming agitated. "Why does it conflict me so to want to do this?"

"Because my blood is overriding your nature," I said, standing behind her and putting my arms around her. "You hate my kind, but now my blood is making you serve me and it's ripping you apart inside."

"Will it go away?" she asked, and I gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Yes, but this is the last time you have a choice," I told her. "After this, you are mine. If I tell you to kill, you will kill regardless of whom it is or if they are innocent. My word is becoming law in your mind and my blood is coursing through your veins."

"But you care for me," she said, sounding lost.

"You are, to me, a pet, a dog." I said, and she gave a hiccup. "You will love me unconditionally, even if I beat you, make you kill innocents, you will come back and curl up at my feet and beg for my continued favor," I told her, making what was coming sound worse than I'd ever do to her. I didn't want her to chose yes, but this was the only way.

"But you would care?" she asked weakly, and I think she began crying.

"Stroking your hair, giving you praise?" I said, and she seemed to vibrate. "Maybe. I may hardly ever be near you, seeing you only for a few minutes a day before I disappear for the night. I do have one mission I might send you on, hunting a vampire even as he hunts you. If you fail, you will die."

"But if I die, you will bury me?" she asked, her voice high. Yeah, she was definitely crying.

"Yes, and plant flowers on your grave," I told her.

"I, I will stay," she said, placing an arm over mine. "If I don't, I have no one. A lonely home I share with bugs, trying not to starve as I work meager job in skimpy dress."

""With me, that changes," I told her. "But I take everything. If you have a boyfriend, it will be with my blessing. If you want kids, you will ask me for permission. Your body and mind become mine, and what you were gets lost."

"I understand," she said, relaxing into me as she settled down.

"Come sit beside me," I said, and she joined me on the bed. "You're sure you want to do this?"

"Hai," she said, again nodding her head. "You've kept from dying, two times. I can think of nothing better."

"Alright then," I said, giving her shoulders a squeeze. At least now I knew where she was. "How are your wounds?"

"They are not so serious," she said. "They heal faster than should be possible, but it is difficult to lift my arm."

"It'll get better, I think," I told her. "My blood will heal all your wounds faster than should be possible. You should still be in the hospital."

"I feel you summon me," she said, almost crying again. "But nurses held me down, made me sleep. I'm sorry," she said, looking lost and hurt.

"It's okay," I told her, kissing her on the temple like my mom used to do when I came home crying. Guess Yukie was my own daughter now, in some ways. "You're forgiven."

"Thank you," she said, smiling for the first time this morning.

I began to think about sending her out for some clothes, both for herself then me. I needed something to wear tonight, preferably comfortable, and Yukie would also need to tend to her needs. The upcoming party at the Giovanni mansion weighed on me, but an idea hit me. I didn't need to go in personally to the party, just make sure the sarcophagus was there. In fact, it might be better if I wasn't seen.

I didn't need to be physically present, I mused, just have my consciousness there, and though I was Lasombra, I had access to dominate, dominate powerful enough to subplant a person's mind. I could do my own shopping, getting a few things for Yukie to allow her to shop tomorrow. At least this way, I wouldn't be counting on someone else's tastes. It'd also allow me to check and see how far I could push my dominate controlled puppet, to make sure I didn't need to be in the same room as the puppet.

"Yukie," I said, getting her attention. "I would like to do something."

"Yes?" she asked, looking at me.

"I have the ability subplant your conscious with my own, taking over your body," I explained to her. "It will allow to leave the motel room during the day so I can do my own shopping."

"What do you need me to do?" she asked.

"Just asking your permission," I told her. She nodded, and with a quick shove of my will, took her over to see my eyes roll up and fall back on the bed.

Standing, I moved to tuck my body into bed, leaving the borrowed bikini on to act like sleepwear. I was weaker than I was used to, but everything seemed to function normally. I took my phone, cash and motel room key and tucked it into Yukie's red purse. I went to the mirror, to check her composure and found her reflection blurred to the point I could only tell I was there.

Shaking my head in disgust, I went to the door. I looked back once on my sleeping body, seeing it tucked securely under the covers to further protect it from any stray sunlight and opened the door. Stepping out into the sun, I felt the warmth on my borrowed body, freezing for a moment to make sure I wasn't going to burn. When nothing happened, I smiled and called the cab company, requesting a cab. It was going to be a long day of shopping.

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took so long to get out, but I was having lots of problems with the confession and the priest's story and past. I wanted it to be right, making things flow, and still, some of it doesn't flow for me. So if it feels like a tangled mess, that's why. Also, I'm not Catholic, I'm Baptist, and I had to do lots of research to make that part right for my Catholic readers. I'm sure no one wants their religion misrepresented, and if there are any mistakes, just let me know.

Convents, by historical standard, are present in many religions, from Catholicism to Islam. I know, I looked. Eliza's will be non-denominational, so I may fudge a bit there. Advice is appreciated, as is ideas. The golf course was just a crazy idea of how to get a large tract of land inside the city that was useful, and there are golf courses in the town mentioned. One, anyway.

Hope everyone likes the chapter, and if life doesn't get too hectic, I will continue to update as often as I can. Not sure if I should showcase everything Eliza does in Yukie's body, or just make it a footnote at the beginning of the next chapter.

Love it, hate it? I won't know if you don't review!