Alistair stared at Cassandra, mouth agape, for several moments before he managed to stammer out, "Cah-Cah-Cassandra, l-long time, n-no see."
"For pity's sake, Alistair," Cassandra replied scornfully. "I'm well aware that the standards for exchanging pleasantries have plummeted in the past few centuries, but I still expected you to do better than that."
Alistair gulped. "Please forgive me, but it's just such a surprise to see you. You haven't been here in nearly thirty years, and I heard that you were, well, sort of—"
"Dead?" she finished for him. He nodded. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm most definitely still alive. Well, undead, at any rate." She smiled a bit more fiendishly after her last sentence.
"Then you hadn't been done in by that hunter eight years back," Alistair said, half to himself. Damn it, he'd been in charge for so long now, and this was one adversary he would not be able to rid himself of!
"You are a sharp one, Alistair," she snickered as she sauntered up to him in the other side of the room, yet despite her leisurely pace it was quite clear that she was easily capable of moving at lightning speed if she so wished. Her hunter green outfit obviously came from a top Parisian fashion house, but though her dress was wholly modern, even cutting edge, it seemed to have an old-fashioned, almost ancient look when she wore it. "It's always comforting to know that the Crane fortunes are safe in the hands of a man who can just look at me, standing in front of him, and actually deduce that I have not been killed!
"You see, when I left for Europe to take care of a few "business" matters, I had fully expected to be back here in a year or two to oversee the family's affairs, but there were so many unforeseen setbacks that the time just kept slipping away. Then, as you so obligingly reminded me, that horrid man latched onto my trail and chased me around half the continent. Let me tell you, this world's not what it used to be. Once, you could cut a bloody path a thousand miles long with little hassle. Nowadays, a few drained bodies are found in a ten-mile radius and they're onto you! Anyway, he eventually caught up with me, as you indicated, and very nearly had me, but he missed my heart by about half an inch. Still, I was forced to lie low, appearing to be dead while biding my time, these past few years. Of course, I eventually took care of him, and here I am, twenty-nine years later, trying to fathom what a great mess you've made. That fellow really was clever, you know, the most dangerous vampire hunter I've ever run into. Unfortunately for him, I've learned a few tricks in the past three-hundred-and-fifty years." As she said this last part, she smiled extra wide, showing all of her teeth, and Alistair had no doubt about just what became of her pursuer.
Though intimidated, Alistair still felt obligated to defend himself. She was the only person who was ever able to make him feel inadequate, and he wasn't going to take it quietly at this stage of his life. "I'm the reason the Cranes are where they are today! I've built up the industries until they were a global corporation, accumulated power until we could influence world superpowers, and made us the envy of all!"
"I'll admit that you were more than adequate in furthering the family's financial status, though much of your success as always was made possible by my work well behind the scenes. However, you've run the family itself so far into the ground that if you're allowed to continue there won't BE any Cranes left to enjoy the wealth, and furthermore, anyone who knew the facts and wanted to be a Crane at this point must be a little funny in the head."
Alistair couldn't believe this. He, one of the most powerful men in the entire world, was being chastised like an errant child. In a slightly petulant tone, Alistair muttered under his breath, "Typical melodramatic vampire, always exaggerating."
Cassandra Crane, however, had excellent hearing. "Exaggerating, you say? Let's see: Julian, unfortunately our heir, is constantly suffering through murder attempts by the locals. Granted, he is the most embarrassing of all my descendents, but that doesn't mean a Crane should allow the riffraff a chance at finishing off one of their own. He's got three slightly deranged women battling it out for the title of Mrs. Crane, a son with the former fiancée of the phony Crane Ethan, and three other children who are so estranged they hardly even fit into our little "melodrama" as of yet. Finally, there's Sheridan, your daughter, whom you actually have the nerve to order dead, and you know I don't approve of one Crane murdering another. An outsider is fine, if necessary and concealable, but not family."
"But, if she marries Luis, he may find out about the Martin Fitzgerald incident!" Alistair exclaimed.
"We'll take care of that if and when it happens. That's still no excuse to get rid of her! I didn't spend the last three and a half centuries building up my family to see them all killed off. What's the point of us gaining this level of power if each and every Crane doesn't bask in the victory?"
Alistair was now fuming. "Sheridan is a silly, useless bother; worse, she's an active threat to the Crane name. Speaking of which, what's the significance of the loss of a troublesome female here and there, when there's still a male to carry on the name?"
Faster than he could blink, Alistair found himself staring down at Cassandra, who had grabbed him by the throat before he knew she had moved, and squeezed just hard enough so that he knew she meant business. "You're lucky I follow my rule, or I'd get rid of you right now," she snarled. "I may have tolerated that attitude back when I was alive, but this is the twenty-first century, or haven't you noticed? In this day and age, you continue to hold onto your outdated, chauvinistic views about women. You groomed your imbecile son for leadership, but never even considered your daughter, by far the superior of the two."
Alistair attempted a scoff, but it came out as more of a gurgle. "Sheridan?"
"Yes, Sheridan. It's far too late now, of course. She'll never be a proper Crane, but she's got the basic qualities: intelligence, resilience, an inner toughness without which she'd probably be certifiable by this point, a quick wit, and an ability to survive the impossible which even baffles me at times. What's more, she always had such an overpowering need for love and approval that, had she been given the proper attention as a child, could have been used to mold her quite impressively. Unfortunately, you chose instead to neglect her, and once she found Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, we lost her for good. Now that she's here, we wait, see what develops between her and the two brothers, and decide our course from there. It's really my fault; if I'd been here, things never would've gotten this out of hand. Well, I'm back now and I intend to keep a close eye on everything that goes on, to make sure you don't botch anything else up." After she finished, she released the industrialist, who stood gasping for breath for a minute or two.
When he recovered, he glanced at his ancestor suspiciously. "How do you know so much? Sheridan hadn't even been born when you were here last, and you seem to know more about her than I do!"
Cassandra now looked at him in utter disgust. "Honestly, Alistair, you're starting to seem as thick as your inebriated son. I'm a vampire, for goodness sake! I'm not about to give up my secrets, but I have ways of keeping on top of events that are far more effective your hidden cameras and microphones. Now, tell one of your maids to ready a suite, preferably without windows and mirrors, of course. I'm moving in!"