Author's Note: Wow, a month? Ooops. My bad. In my defense, life is hectic and my focus has faded. Still, here it is, in all it's glory

As far as the Giovanni go, I don't have any clan books to base how their powers work, so I'm winging it. If any Giovanni kindred out there would like to provide me with more information on the actual mechanics of their clan, feel free to add it in the comments.

As always, I don't know if you like or hate it if you don't review!

Chapter 52 – The Giovanni

October 8, 2004 = Friday

~Eliza Flores~

Stepping into my motel room, I found Yukie and Dominique sitting to the headboard watching 'Down Periscope' on a movie channel. Yukie had bought popcorn somewhere, and the bag was open and cradled on her legs. She gave me a nod as I came in, then a quizzical look as I began to undo my blouse.

"Something wrong?" she asked me, but I shook my head.

"Just changing clothes before I head to the Giovanni mansion," I told her, stripping out of my clothes on my way to the closet. I folded everything as I took it off, placing it in a basket for dirty laundry. "I have to slip in and see if they have something, and I want to wear something that'll offer some protection in a fight."

"Do you need assistance?" she asked, sitting straighter.

"No," I told her as I slipped my slacks off. "I hope to get in, and if it's not there, out before I'm noticed."

"Okay," she said, leaning back against the headboard.

I went through my available clothes, picking out a pair of leather pants and slipped them on. Next was a dark blue spandex shirt, which I was hoping would help me blend into the shadows and not stand out. After grabbing a pair of socks and my motorcycle boots, I sat on the edge of the bed and finished getting ready. I couldn't help but think that if Heather hadn't been abducted, I'd have had her make me a gown and crashed the party through the front door.

But, Heather was dead. It was a thought that haunted me even as I walked out to the car where I'd already stashed every weapon I had. Diamond gave me a nod from inside the motel's office as I slid into my car, and I noticed that her Focus was back. As I pulled out of the driveway, I also saw Cherry on the sidewalk as she tried to get her first customer.

Shaking my head, I couldn't help but think about Cherry and her sister. Cherry was just baggage, it was her sister I wanted which was why I was willing to devote any time to helping her in quest to keep her sister out of stripping. The problem was I didn't think blood-bound ghouls were the way to go.

Still, I wanted, needed, Diamond to run Four-Play. If I wasn't 'nice' to her and helped her out, I was afraid she might run off on me. So I helped her out with her sister, trying to convince her that blindly following another wasn't the best path in life. So far I'd molested her, sexually assaulted her, and now she was prostituting herself on my behalf. If she mentally survived the next five days, I had more tricks to deploy against her, though even I flinched at them.

The problem was, I hadn't intended for Diamond to interfere. Part of the aspect of selling herself was to feel man after man shoot his wad inside her. Diamond had decided to interfere, practically begging for the use of condoms. If only for her and not drive her away, I had relented, allowing their use. Cherry would still have to feel every man's cock inside her, and if she were foolish enough to allow it, on her.

As I drove on through traffic, I plotted my next move with the pair. I had no doubt that Cherry would survive her week as a whore, she was utterly devoted to her sister, but that wasn't the end game I had in mind. The end game I had in mind was putting Diamond firmly under my control where she could never leave, and I was now two-thirds of the way there. The problem was keeping her there.

"Sister's in love," I muttered, thinking it was inherently wrong in a depraved way. But, as my brain went click, I thought I had a solution. Ensnare the sister in some way to force Diamond to do my bidding. If I could do that, I'd have Diamond under my control just like a ghoul, though without the blood connection.

The only problem was she could still cause me problems if she wanted, but I'd have to make sure she understood that I could find her no matter where she wandered. Maybe if I dug up some sort of dark dirt on her she'd understand? Or maybe there was a thaumaturgical spell that would help out?

One way would send me to Gary, the other to Eloise. Or to my books of which I needed to read.

I had days, hopefully, before I needed a solid answer, though, so I let that headache go with a gentle sigh as traffic ground to a halt due to road construction. On my bike, which I'd get after getting out of the mansion, I could have split the lanes and gone straight through. Now I was stuck in traffic, so I let my sight wander back to the motel.

Cherry wasn't out front, but checking the front of the motel showed a lower level room where the lights burned bright near a familiar looking black Chevy. With a slight exertion of will, I moved into the lit room to see Cherry getting it on doggy-style with the man Diamond had turned down when I woke up. A condom was being used, and the guys hands were all over Cherry's breasts, but she was taking it like a trooper, reinforcing the idea that she would survive this particular week.

Letting my vision slip as I moved forward in traffic, I thought about Yukie and her unborn child. I was sure the process used to create a revenant in her would work on Diamond, but they may not share any common characteristics unless I intermarried their children. It was, I continued to think it over, maybe a good thing. Different characteristics meant different purposes, and if the blood followed the carrier's purpose, Yukie's child would likely be a warrior/hunter and Diamond's would probably be entertainers.

Not the worst ideas, I thought as I finally left the interstate and headed into the hills. In later years I'd have a class of protectors and money makers to tend to my unlife and its needs. The mansion I wanted to build would need caretakers and groundskeepers, and those would be privy to all sorts of my personal problems. Yukie could teach whatever form of martial arts she used as a hunter, and I could farm their training out to various dojos for increased performance and safety. If I were lucky, my revenants would manifest abilities like celerity and potence which they could use in combat against invaders.

It'd have to be with swords and such, I thought as I got closer to the mansion if the glow were any indication, because gunshots would attract attention. I might get away with it in the hills because the echo would bounce around and be hard to pinpoint and the Giovanni's status would keep cops away unless bodies turned up. I was sure that would never happen, but my guns were only for when I got caught and needed backup.

I slowed down as I passed the Giovanni's mansion, finding the driveway lined with varying cars like limo's and luxury cars along with taxis dropping off well dressed passengers. I was sure I would be spotted if I stayed, especially considering my planned firepower. I instead parked at an access-way just down the street and opened the trunk and slipped my messenger bag over my head to leave it on my right side. I then pulled out the long belt of ammo I had purchased and wrapped it over my left shoulder, then wrapped the other one over my right, keeping both belts tight around me so they wouldn't flop and make noise.

With SAW in both hands, tucked in tight to my elbow like in the Rambo movies, I moved closer to the fence. There was a line of thick column-like trees forming a twenty foot high privacy screen behind the fence, so I used my potence to scale the fence and then ducked under the branches to see into the yard.

There wasn't but a few people milling around, most of them seemed to be waiting on someone, a date perhaps, when a couple getting out of a taxi caught my eye. The woman was smashed, needing her male beau to stand upright. To me though, that didn't matter, because I wouldn't be affected by the large amounts of alcohol in her system.

The question was, how far could my domination reach? Staring hard at the guy, I waited for his wandering eyes to drift my way before I said, "come." The man began walking towards me, bringing his smashed friend along. From his glassy eyed state I saw when he got closer, I knew I had him under my influence. When he was close enough to have a conversation with me, I started to give him orders.

"When the woman with you tells you the word 'walk' in a minute, you'll return with her to the front door and act like nothing strange has ever happened here," I told him. He gave me a nod, then I looked at her, and possessed her. Once I was in her body, my own slumped into the trees, and was hidden from sight.

I took in my new attire and lack of a ring, then looked at the man holding my elbow. He had a pair of invitations in his jacket pocket, and I pulled them out. They were adressed to Victor Giovanni and Maria Rosselini, so I filed my new name away. The problem was, wife or lover? Not every woman took their husbands name when they married.

Still…

"Walk," I said, setting in motion the trigger to get this show on the road. It did no good to sit here and brood over my status, I just needed inside.

Like a machine, Victor led me by my elbow back to the mansion, giving greetings to those he passed, even calling some by name. Some responded, but no one talked to me. I was getting the feeling I was a recent addition to Victor's life. When we approached the door, I handed Victor our invitations, who promptly handed them off to the ill-fitting suited man, likely some of the muscle the Giovanni kept around.

"Have a pleasant evening," he said with no warmth at all. He did open the door for us, and we stepped into inside.

The Giovanni had gone all out with servers everywhere carrying silver trays of hors d'oeuvres and champagne in fine crystal. We passed a small dining hall where a number of people sat and chatted, with large buffets of various foods against the walls. On the other side a small bar was set up, but the moment my eyes fell on it, Victor squeezed my arm slightly.

"Not right now," he hissed in my ear as he pulled me down the hallway. I just nodded, knowing he only saw his girlfriend looking to get even more smashed. Down the hall, we came to some doors marked bathroom, probably for those who weren't regulars to the house or to prevent any embarrassing conversations.

"Excuse me, Victor," I said, looking at the door to the bathroom.

"Take your time," he said, releasing my arm. "At least in there you can't embarrass me."

I give him a wan smile as I went inside. I didn't need to do anything, and since I wasn't carrying a purse, didn't have anything to touch up any makeup that I couldn't see anyway. I waited several minutes before gingerly opening the door to check for Victor, then slipped out into the crowd.

At first I stuck along the edge of the wall, but at every access up or down, or deeper into the mansion was blocked by suited thugs. They were easy to spot, they all wore scowls and had bulges under their armpits indicating a gun in a holster. I didn't acknowledge them in any way, just walked on by. Problem was, I was hemmed in. There wasn't any way past the guards without creating some sort of ruckus, and I didn't want to bring the Giovanni kindred down on me before I had the sarcophagus confirmed.

"Hi, I'm Adam," a man said as he came to stand beside me. "Adam Dunsirn. I don't think we've met. You are?"

"Maria Rosselini," I told him with a smile.

"Maria, pleasure to meet you," he said warmly, offering his hand. I shook it, and he moved a half-step closer as a group moved past us. "What line of work are you in?"

"Real estate," I told him, thinking it was about the only thing I was doing at the moment. "I'm about to close on a two hundred fifty acre golf course in Gardena for fifty million right now."

"Nice," he said, giving me another smile. He didn't fool me, he was after something, but it wasn't me personally, so I let him bait his hook. "Myself, I'm an investment banker...great business, lot of potential. For example, I got the inside track on this company right now, and let me tell you, when this company goes public, everyone's going to wish they had a piece of it."

Ah, so that's what he was after. Money. Well, I had money, and investing it was something I was actually looking forward to doing.

"Tell me more," I said, inching closer so I could better hear him. Maria apparently had problem hearing around lots of background noise.

"Well, it's a biotech firm," he said, and I had the feeling I was getting played by the vagueness. "You know they're working on growing replacement organs, really fascinating technology. In a couple of years, I'd bet everyone will be going to them for parts. I figure an investment of fifty thousand dollars could be easily tripled in five years."

Yeah, the long con. Make a target wait so long for their return that you might actually make their return, if any, back before they get suspicious. Still, he couldn't be all con, could he? I did need an investment banker like him, but did I need someone who was really a con man?

"You have a lot of experience in this?" I asked him, acting on my suspicions. If I were here in person, I might use my newfound auspex abilities to read his mind, but for now I was kind of stuck. "How much did your last investments return?"

"You take risks in this game," he said, trying to downplay his situation. "Sometimes you make a million, sometimes you lose a million. The economy changes on a whim."

I nodded my head, but it didn't tell me much. What it did tell me was that he was likely broke, and he needed money. I needed my kindred powers.

"You haven't been very successful lately, have you?" I asked him, and he deflated.

"No, damn company I was selling turned out to be a long con," he groused. "I managed to get my principals their money, but it's broke me. If I don't get some money soon, people will notice. Most people here, they've got cash they don't know what to do with!"

"So what you need is an investor worth millions?" I asked him, smiling.

"How about you?" he asked, getting his smile back as he hit on an idea. "Surely you have some extra capital?"

"Not me, exactly," I told him, my smile widening. "I'm the intermediary for a much richer person who has millions extra and nothing to really do with it. If you want, I can set you up a little something in a few days. Just might be worth your time."

"I'll do that," he said, and then he scanned the crowd. "In fact, if you can help me with something, I think we can all benefit."

"What do you have in mind?" I asked him, curious to what he had in mind. If it led deeper into the mansion, I might just have to skip adding an investment banker to my herd and trade it in for a ticket to the sarcophagus.

"This party, do you know the reason for it?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"Tonight, Uncle Bruno will select the best and brightest of our generation a blessing, the Kiss," he said, and I cocked my head. He wasn't talking something Kindred was he?

"Those that have the Kiss go on to the inner circle of the family, the true power of the Giovanni," he told me and I nodded my head absently, but I realized coming in as a kindred might have raised a few red flags. Scanning the crowd quickly, I recognized a few pale faces as being kindred, and I wondered how I missed it on my way in.

"If you were to help me, by say, drawing some attention away from my financial shortcomings, I'd be guaranteed the Kiss. There's only two others with any real chance at beating me, one is just because they're Giovanni," he said, saying the last word with a snarl.

"Who are we talking about," I asked and he pointed to a a dark haired man in the corner, alone.

"That's Christopher Giovanni," he said, and I nodded for him to continue. "His main claim is that he's a Giovanni and he's a guy, unlike Mira. He know's a lot of famous people, can usually get things done, but so can Mira, plus you can sleep with her.

"Mira Giovanni, over there," he said, pointing to a brown haired woman in a dark red dress, "is my only other concern. She's great with politicians, and is on a lot of their mailing card lists, if you know what I mean."

I shrugged, not wanting to judge her for the life she led because of her family. "If you can get me a lock on the Kiss, I can bring you along later and show you how to make real money."

"I'll see what I can do," I told him, figuring the Kiss was likely Giovanni slang for the embrace. Maybe like most Italians, they had rituals for this and the Kiss was something of a formality?

Too many questions, I reminded myself. So I give Adam a smile. "If you don't hear back out of me, there's a motel called the Pleasure Inn in Santa Monica run by a man named Jimmie Briscoe. He runs it for a woman named Elisa Flores. She's the millionaire in need of your services."

"I'll look her up," he said smiling as I ghosted away with a group of passing party goers.

Adam was easily found, as he was still leaned against the wall. He wore a blank look on his face, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. He didn't even notice me as I got closer, so I decided to introduce myself.

"I'm Maria Rosselini," I told him, extending my hand.

"Another person who isn't a Giovanni," he groused silently.

"Not a Giovanni?" I asked, trying to clarify his statement.1

"Call me paranoid, but how do I know I can trust you?" he said darkly.

"Color me tabloid, because I can paste it all over this party that you don't feel you're a Giovanni," I told him. "Especially if you feel the need start conversations off disparaging the family friends."

"Really?" he said drawled. I decided to play my one card, and stepped closer.

"If I told you Adam Dunsirn's big secret, would you tell me yours?" I asked him, wanting to break Adam off from his family.

"Why not," he said sadly. "At least we can go down together."

"Adam's broke," I said, knowing that if it got out that Adam had made some bad decisions, no one would trust him. I would though, because I'd seen many millionaires lose their fortunes at the club on once tried and true investments. Problem was, the stock market was a fickle mistress since the towers fell.

"Really?" he said, scratching at his chin. "Adam always seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders. Might just as well be dead as broke in this family. To think I almost let him handle my investments."

Chris looked thoughtful, then he huffed. "Well, I found out a few months ago my mother had an affair before I was born. Turns out my father isn't a Giovanni at all. My real father's this writer named Michael Avellone. If people found out, I'd never be able to rise up in this family. At least this way I can take that prick Adam with me."

"A pleasure," I said walking off with a group of passersby. I angled off from that group not far away, getting lost in the crowd. I ended up next to a piano, and spun around trying to get my bearings. I groaned when I realized I somehow ended up in the middle of the room, having lost track of Mira. I then spotted her, not far away. Like Chris, she was currently alone, sipping what I thought was water. I snagged a glass of champagne, downing a large gulp to make it look like I hadn't just grabbed it before walking closer.

She noticed me walking up, but scoffed. I was wondering if I should take offense when she downed her glass, handing it off to a passing waiter, then leaned up against a marble pillar. She was a looker, perfectly proportioned and stunningly beautiful in a way that no woman could do without a team of cosmeticians.

"Might as well be a costume party," she said under her breath as she took me in. "Everyone smiling, pretending this isn't a pageant put on by Uncle Bruno. Fine, but this is a contest and I came to win."

"What are you talking about?" I asked her, curious about her attitude.

"If you don't even know about the contest, then you don't have to worry about winning it," she told me sourly.

"I'm Maria," I said, introducing myself, or at least my host's body.

"Hmm," she said, smiling. "Mira. Mira Giovanni."

"You look stunning tonight," I said complementing her. "So what did you mean when you called this a contest?"

"They gather us up here to decide just who the best and the brightest of this generation is," she explained for me, eyeing Christopher with pure hatred. "The luck few are given the real power in this family. But some of us need to win more than others.

"Of forget it," she said as she caught my intense look. "You wouldn't understand."

I understood more than she knew. But I didn't want to tell her that.

"I'm interested, actually," I told her. "I know a lot of the secrets of this family."

"Secrets," she said, giving me a smile. "Really?"

"Yes," I said, sipping my champagne.

"Do you have anything on Chris or Adam?"

"Adam, Chris and Uncle Bruno," I said, and her eyes shot up.

"You know, don't you?" she said, and I nodded my head.

"I'd give anything to get into the inner circle of this family," she said, gripping her glass tightly. "I've made some bad judgements, a terminal one, but I've lobbied hard for this family's interests."

"What bad judgements?" I asked her, but she seemed uneasy. "Even the best of us make mistakes. It's obviously set you on this path that you believe the family's inner circle is the only way forward."

"They're not the only path?" she said, eyes filled with hope as she took me in. "You know of another way?"

"I do," I told her, thinking that maybe if she had something to truly offer, I might take her under my wing. "She's like Uncle Bruno, but she's not in the family's inner circle. She walks her own path."

"Would she be willing to help me?" she asked, and I shrugged. "I'm HIV positive."

"It all depends," I said, and she gave me a sour look. "If I tell you what I know about Adam and Christopher, can you help me out?"

"What do you need?" she said, and I looked around.

"I need to find something the family is keeping secret. Something large, about the size of a buffet table and very heavy," I told her. "You do that, and I'll tell you what I know about them and put in a good word with you with my 'friend.'"

"Follow me," she said, leading me through the party guests to a large set of double doors guarded by a thug with a gun. He looked at Mira for only a second, before reaching behind him and opening the door, giving me a salacious grin and chuckle as we passed through into an empty hallway. Mira turned and walked deeper into the hallway, then opened another set of double doors. Inside was an office befitting a Fortune 500 exec for size, and the walls were lined with bookshelves.

"Wait here," Mira told me, then walked across the room. She walked up to a large plaque with a sword on it, then pulled out on the sword. It gave, and with a groan, one of the book cases opened to reveal a passage.

"It leads to the private areas that Uncle Bruno hides from almost everyone," she told me after walking back over. "I only know about it because I used to slip down here to read and meet his 'friends.' There's also a plethora of hidden passages in this house, but I don't have time to show you all of them."

"Thank you," I told her.

"Now, about those secrets," she prodded, and I nodded my head.

"Adam is broke," I told her, and her mouth fell open.

"Adam? Broke?" she said, not wanting to believing it until I nodded my head. "A few years ago they did an article on him in Forbes. Money's practicaly more important than God to this family. I'll make sure Uncle Bruno somehow overhears this."

"Also, Christopher isn't a real Giovanni," I told her. "His mother had an affair with a writer named Michael Avellone."

"Aunt Cecilia had an affair?" she said, mouth agape. Apparently Aunt Cecilia wasn't know for being loose. "If Chris isn't really a Giovanni, it won't sit well at all with Bruno. All I have to do is set the rumor mills in motion and watch their careers tank. Now about your friend?"

"You'll find her at the Pleasure Inn in Santa Monica," I told her. "Her name is Elisa Flores, and she owns the place. She'll know you're coming, so don't worry about that, and don't be surprised at her current meager existence. She just lost her mansion in Malibu to an arsonist," I told her, remembering hearing the news report on the radio about my former mansion. It was all they had to run on, but they thought it was unoccupied since no bodies were found.

"She has money?" Mira asked, and I nodded my head.

"Half a billion," I said, and Mira nodded slowly, a smile on her face.

"Thanks," she said, heading for the door. "Should I look you up if I win?"

"No thanks," I told her, giving her a smile. "I'm well taken care of."

Mira just gave me a smile then slipped out the door, and I smiled at the simplicity of it all. I give her a few minutes to get clear, then followed the route back to the party, getting another salacious grin as I passed the guard. I found Adam, then walked up to him.

"Well?" he said expectantly as I smiled. "Hear anything...interesting?"

"Christopher isn't a real Giovanni," I told him, and his smile grew even wider.

"That's...great news!" he almost shouted. "And here I was worrying he'd get picked just because of his name. Things are looking better."

"Mira is also HIV positive," I told him and his jaw nearly dropped. "She needs to get chosen to save her life."

"Mira is…?" he stammered. "I used to have a crush on Mira. It's a shame, but business is business. Thanks for that."

"You're welcome," I said, giving him a smile as I turned away.

I walked quickly back to the bathrooms, going inside and placing Maria in a stall. Once I had her settled in, I willed myself back to my body, waking up in the bushes. I stood up, and hefted the SAW and shadow-stepped back to Bruno's office, then I walked to the open bookcase and went down the spiral stairs. I wondered how they would have gotten the sarcophagus down here, but when I came out in a large medical theater, my question was easily answered by the sight of a cage-style cargo elevator on the far wall. It was easily large enough to handle the sarcophagus, and seemed to go both up and down.

I walked over to the elevator, finding it's main panel required a key to operate. I didn't see another way down, but knowing the Giovanni as I was beginning to, they loved their secret entrances. I began searching the wall for a switch, but the austere room lacked anything resembling a switch. Arriving back at the elevator, I could only sigh at not finding a switch when my eyes fell on a set of books.

"Could they be that old fashioned?" I wondered, pulling at the old tomes. One by one, I pulled each one out, but none of them was a secret switch. As I held the last one, I fingered the old leather binding and read 'Voce del Morte' off the spine. The words inside were all in Italian script, completely indecipherable to me, but the words voce and morte did hold some meaning.

"Voice of Death," I translated vaguely, growing thoughtful. Gary had said they had skeletons literally in their closet. Could they be necromancers and this tome telling them how to conduct their rituals?

Since the only way to find out was to read it, I took and stashed it in my messenger bag along with my guns. Sighing, I shifted to my shadow form, but the SAW didn't shift with me. It clattered to the floor, and I could only give myself a mental shake at the weapon being left behind.

Dropping down the shaft, I soon came out in what had to be a crypt. It was lined with small burial spaces filled with corpses for several football fields. A large gathering of kindred and ghouls was also being held, and I was able to see and hear them as I traveled overhead in the dark.

They had several people tied to stakes, their mouths sewn shut. Two were already dead, what looked like their ghost floating in front of their corpses. A third, a dark haired man, was having hysterics as he fought to get free. A large Giovanni kindred in a suit approached him, then plunged his hand into his chest. The man went rigid, then I watched as his soul was ripped from his body. Only when his soul was free of his body did it slacken in death. I looked at him from where I was positioned at the head of the elevator, and the wraith stared at me.

"Three more souls to add to our collection and three closer to ripping down the Shroud," the kindred said, as the bodies were taken away and the souls faded from sight. Everyone locked their eyes on the speaker, and I began moving across the roof to the rear, traveling at a good walk.

""I appreciate everyone's attendance here this night," he said as he continued with his speech. Surprisingly, there were great acoustics here, and I could hear his speech even as I got further and further away. "It has been several years since I saw some of you. In that brief period of time several events have seen this family fall from the good graces of the head of the family back in Italy. The American Giovanni have been through hard times, this is true! The fall of the stock market, poor investments in several once tried and true industries. The loss of many old and dear friends in Washington who served our best interests. But I promise you, that after tonight these unfortunate mishaps will all be forgiven!

"The Ankaran Sarcophagus is ours," he continued, "You well may have heard about it's theft on the news. The truth of the matter is it was taken on my orders, why? It bears a great resemblance to an artifact said to contain the spirits of an entire kingdom wiped out during the time of the pharaohs. As I speak the most accomplished of our family are preparing to harvest this bounty of souls. Bringing the Giovanni family one step closer to the endless night we have toiled to bring about all these centuries! Once again, the American Giovanni are poised to make a grand return to a position of esteem. And to celebrate this momentous occasion, I have decided to embrace two of you, and to allow you to choose one person each at this party to bestow the proxy Kiss upon. When the others return, we shall inform Italy about our accomplishments and commence with the embrace. Let this night be the beginning of a prosperous new century! And let us not forget to thank God for this opportunity he's provided to regain face with our honored elders!"

"Amen!" they all chorused together.

I just chuckled softly to myself as I continued on. His speech told me a lot, mainly that the Kiss wasn't the embrace; it was being turned into a ghoul. Likely the process wouldn't save Mira, but it would probably extend her life. Turning her would extend it indefinitely, something I would likely use to put her under my thumb.

At the rear of the crypt, when I heard the amen, I turned back into my human form. I was faced with another set of stairs down. Sighing I turned back to see a pair of ghouls walking up a set of stairs at the opposite end. Thoughts of my SAW laying on the theater floor sparked through me, and I stepped back to snatch it off the floor. I then stepped back to the end of the crypt, with no one having ever seen me, and headed deeper into the crypt.

The prince's prize was down here, and it was time I found it.