Loki grinned down at Amaranth, a look of fiendish delight on his
face. "They say revenge is a dish best served cold, and I find that I
agree with that sentiment. How's it feel to be framed for a crime you
didn't commit Amaranth, to know that no one will believe you when you try
to convince them that you didn't commit it?" Amaranth closed his mouth,
trying to think of anyone in the city who he hade offended. Quick
reflection revealed a number of elders who were upset with him for some
small reason or another, but Loki didn't seem familiar.
Loki must have seen the puzzled expression on his face. "What, you don't remember me? Too bad, but I'm sure you'll figure it out in time. Anyway, I still have a good three hours until dawn, so I'll be heading out into the city. I'm sure I can find some others of importance to stake out for our friend Sol. Only thing is, I'll look like you when I do it, so.just think of what the cameras might record." Laughing maniacally, Loki turned and began to walk away, down the sewers. The triplets fell in behind him and Telleroin started to. Than Telleroin turned back.
"Come Jayrod, chain him and let's go." Telleroin's voice was a little odd to here coming from a fiend. A high tenor, it was amazingly cultured, carrying a massive amount of power and dignity in this simple command. Amaranth recognized the discipline of Dominance, but only because the effects were not directed at him. He grudgingly reassessed the fiend in his head.
Cold metal closed over Amaranth's wrist and a figure stepped around from behind him. The torn cape, black with a redlining, was the only thing Amaranth could distinguish of the figure before it faded in with the shadows.
? ? ?
A minute passed. Then another, and shortly an hour came and went. Amaranth waited, feeling a vague presence as something approached him. It was the second type of Enigma, different, almost antithetical, to the first, yet similar. He would have been at a loss to describe it, save to say that it was to his awareness like a dog whistle to a mortal's ears. Vague, just beyond perception, yet still noticeable somehow. He felt it stop in front of him, but his undead eyes could not find anything where he could sense it to be. A voice spoke, sounding inside his head rather than in the air.
Well boy, it would seem that you've gone and jumped into the fire now. You're like a fox who was playing hide and seek with the hounds, and who, not paying attention, ran into a bear's den. So, how are you going to get out of this one?
"Who are you?"
Didn't mommy ever tell you it's not polite to answer a question with a question? But, I suppose you do need a name to refer to me by, don't you Amaranth? Some others call me Jak.
But you. you fascinate me Amaranth. Former member of the Canards Chronique, a band of Vampiric intelligence gatherers and assassins. Embraced by the almost mythical Thomas Berium, the group's founder and a vampire who renounced his clan, but not Thomas' Childe, as evidenced by the fact your blood is more potent. Former Archon in the service of the Justicar of the Toreador, despite not having any formal allegiance to that clan. But no longer protected by that post's power and influence, the Justicar's term having expired twenty-six. no, twenty-seven years to the day now. And now. now what are you Amaranth? You kill vampires, mortals, werewolves, anything that you think needs killing with equal skill and lacking any form of mercy, compassion, conscience , or other human virtue. Sabbat or Camarilla, Gaia or Wyrm, Ronin or Caitiff, it doesn't seem to matter to you. What makes you tick? What makes you stay to such a dangerous and insane path?
Amaranth would have laughed had it not been for his circumstances. It had always seemed crystal clear to him. Insanity. "If my sword can lessen the suffering in this life for others, then I will act as the wind of Heaven's Justice. If my sword can protect the lives of others, then I will kill without mercy." Insanity. Absolute justice may have seemed like insanity to others, but he saw just how much it was needed.
Hmm. perhaps you have potential. Your future is to twisted and snarled for me to tell. A billion turnings in the web of fate, and some lead to utter annihilation. Others to failure, and still others to success. Perhaps.
Amaranth felt the locks on the manacles give with a small click. Than the presence began to fade, rapidly vanishing into the depths of the tunnels. Amaranth smiled. The hounds may have forced the fox to ground, but they had left it alone. He massaged his wrists. By the time they returned the fox would be long gone.
? ? ?
He trudged along the streets, his torn clothes filthy with the muck of the sewers and the gore of his fight against the Spirals. He had no weapons, and he dared not return to his haven. No, if a camera had caught Loki diablerizing the Seneschal's childe, the surrounding neighborhood would have been teeming with the sheriff's men. Once inside the church he would have been safe, no vampire would have come within a hundred feet of one of his ghouls willingly. When all three were together. But all the power of their faith would not be enough to protect him if he were attacked on the streets outside. Moreover, it was nearly dawn. A group of ghouls could keep him away from the church long enough to let the dawn take him.
He had to be thankful that it was so close to dawn though. After all, were it not, the other kindred who saw him would attempt to destroy him, if a blood hunt had been called on him. He dared not hope otherwise, remembering the advice of Kyrie Elision, the Justicar under who he had served. Her beautiful voice, a silky soprano spoke breathily into his ear. "Plan for the worst, and any surprises will be pleasant."
He slipped into an alley and climbed a fire escape, opening a window as he reached the third floor. The apartment he entered into was empty, but he had known it would be. Jeckyl would be out hunting the streets with the rest of her pack, and none of them would return until midmorning earliest. The night was at it's darkest now, in the hour before dawn. With luck, the pack would go home before nightfall.
Amaranth pushed aside the ceiling tiles and pulled himself up into the crawl spaces between floors, sliding the tiles back into place after him. He curled him self up into a fetal position on the platform nestled among the pipes and wires. Tomorrow would be soon enough to find out how much damage had been done to his reputation.
Author's Note: I think Dawn is a good place to end this chapter.
Sorry it's so short to those of you who are get upset by such things (cough, cough, Thor, cough), but I don't want to start the next day yet. The idea behind this was to introduce Jak and give a little more info about the other characters.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review.
PS: Top marks to anyone who can guess what Jak is (you fail the test if you can't figure out what Jeckyl is).
Loki must have seen the puzzled expression on his face. "What, you don't remember me? Too bad, but I'm sure you'll figure it out in time. Anyway, I still have a good three hours until dawn, so I'll be heading out into the city. I'm sure I can find some others of importance to stake out for our friend Sol. Only thing is, I'll look like you when I do it, so.just think of what the cameras might record." Laughing maniacally, Loki turned and began to walk away, down the sewers. The triplets fell in behind him and Telleroin started to. Than Telleroin turned back.
"Come Jayrod, chain him and let's go." Telleroin's voice was a little odd to here coming from a fiend. A high tenor, it was amazingly cultured, carrying a massive amount of power and dignity in this simple command. Amaranth recognized the discipline of Dominance, but only because the effects were not directed at him. He grudgingly reassessed the fiend in his head.
Cold metal closed over Amaranth's wrist and a figure stepped around from behind him. The torn cape, black with a redlining, was the only thing Amaranth could distinguish of the figure before it faded in with the shadows.
? ? ?
A minute passed. Then another, and shortly an hour came and went. Amaranth waited, feeling a vague presence as something approached him. It was the second type of Enigma, different, almost antithetical, to the first, yet similar. He would have been at a loss to describe it, save to say that it was to his awareness like a dog whistle to a mortal's ears. Vague, just beyond perception, yet still noticeable somehow. He felt it stop in front of him, but his undead eyes could not find anything where he could sense it to be. A voice spoke, sounding inside his head rather than in the air.
Well boy, it would seem that you've gone and jumped into the fire now. You're like a fox who was playing hide and seek with the hounds, and who, not paying attention, ran into a bear's den. So, how are you going to get out of this one?
"Who are you?"
Didn't mommy ever tell you it's not polite to answer a question with a question? But, I suppose you do need a name to refer to me by, don't you Amaranth? Some others call me Jak.
But you. you fascinate me Amaranth. Former member of the Canards Chronique, a band of Vampiric intelligence gatherers and assassins. Embraced by the almost mythical Thomas Berium, the group's founder and a vampire who renounced his clan, but not Thomas' Childe, as evidenced by the fact your blood is more potent. Former Archon in the service of the Justicar of the Toreador, despite not having any formal allegiance to that clan. But no longer protected by that post's power and influence, the Justicar's term having expired twenty-six. no, twenty-seven years to the day now. And now. now what are you Amaranth? You kill vampires, mortals, werewolves, anything that you think needs killing with equal skill and lacking any form of mercy, compassion, conscience , or other human virtue. Sabbat or Camarilla, Gaia or Wyrm, Ronin or Caitiff, it doesn't seem to matter to you. What makes you tick? What makes you stay to such a dangerous and insane path?
Amaranth would have laughed had it not been for his circumstances. It had always seemed crystal clear to him. Insanity. "If my sword can lessen the suffering in this life for others, then I will act as the wind of Heaven's Justice. If my sword can protect the lives of others, then I will kill without mercy." Insanity. Absolute justice may have seemed like insanity to others, but he saw just how much it was needed.
Hmm. perhaps you have potential. Your future is to twisted and snarled for me to tell. A billion turnings in the web of fate, and some lead to utter annihilation. Others to failure, and still others to success. Perhaps.
Amaranth felt the locks on the manacles give with a small click. Than the presence began to fade, rapidly vanishing into the depths of the tunnels. Amaranth smiled. The hounds may have forced the fox to ground, but they had left it alone. He massaged his wrists. By the time they returned the fox would be long gone.
? ? ?
He trudged along the streets, his torn clothes filthy with the muck of the sewers and the gore of his fight against the Spirals. He had no weapons, and he dared not return to his haven. No, if a camera had caught Loki diablerizing the Seneschal's childe, the surrounding neighborhood would have been teeming with the sheriff's men. Once inside the church he would have been safe, no vampire would have come within a hundred feet of one of his ghouls willingly. When all three were together. But all the power of their faith would not be enough to protect him if he were attacked on the streets outside. Moreover, it was nearly dawn. A group of ghouls could keep him away from the church long enough to let the dawn take him.
He had to be thankful that it was so close to dawn though. After all, were it not, the other kindred who saw him would attempt to destroy him, if a blood hunt had been called on him. He dared not hope otherwise, remembering the advice of Kyrie Elision, the Justicar under who he had served. Her beautiful voice, a silky soprano spoke breathily into his ear. "Plan for the worst, and any surprises will be pleasant."
He slipped into an alley and climbed a fire escape, opening a window as he reached the third floor. The apartment he entered into was empty, but he had known it would be. Jeckyl would be out hunting the streets with the rest of her pack, and none of them would return until midmorning earliest. The night was at it's darkest now, in the hour before dawn. With luck, the pack would go home before nightfall.
Amaranth pushed aside the ceiling tiles and pulled himself up into the crawl spaces between floors, sliding the tiles back into place after him. He curled him self up into a fetal position on the platform nestled among the pipes and wires. Tomorrow would be soon enough to find out how much damage had been done to his reputation.
Author's Note: I think Dawn is a good place to end this chapter.
Sorry it's so short to those of you who are get upset by such things (cough, cough, Thor, cough), but I don't want to start the next day yet. The idea behind this was to introduce Jak and give a little more info about the other characters.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review.
PS: Top marks to anyone who can guess what Jak is (you fail the test if you can't figure out what Jeckyl is).