This was the last one. The last of Julian Luna's human line. The only blood he shared with anyone after this girl was with those he had sired, and already he had ordered the death of one and might have had to do the same for another. When she died, so would end the line that had brought what so many so as weakness within Julian. There would be no more reason for his softness towards humans, because there would be none left for him to care about. The only way it could go on was if she married and had children. That was the reason for her arrival at Julian's estate.
Sydney knew of the Masquerade, and that alone was enough to sign her death warrant within the Kindred. Only under his watchful eye could Julian keep her safe, and at the same time, that safety could still bring her destruction. His attempts to keep her sister alive had only brought her death, and while he knew he ran the risk with Sydney as well, he couldn't help but try.
"So, this is where you kept Sasha." Sydney looked around the foyer with a slow nod. "Nice digs. A bit fancy, but still nice." She turned to Julian. "Am I supposed to still call you uncle? Like I don't know you're my million times grandfather?"
"Not that much," Julian said softly, "but if that makes you comfortable..."
"I'll just call you Julian, how's that? Or Jules. Jules is cool."
"I'd prefer Julian."
"I bet you would." She strode into the room and the tread of her Lugz squeaked against the hard wood floor. Her duffel bag fell from her arm. "Servants for that kinda thing, right?" She snorted. "I was starting to think Sasha was the only special one. And to think, I just had to have a few vamps try and kill me. Not too shabby for riskin' my life, huh?"
Julian sighed. Truthfully, he hadn't kept as close of an eye on Sydney as he had Sasha. Sydney had a rebellious streak and got in her share of trouble, but she had never ended herself up in jail. She most certainly wouldn't have kissed her dead grandfather on the mouth at his funeral. In fact, she didn't even attend the funeral. It was a family that she was happy forgetting, and though Julian wished she had stayed closer to home, he couldn't blame her for wanting to expand.
"It's like we've always told you, Sydney. You're not like Sasha. She was..."
"A brainless twit who did whatever she could to get attention." She turned to him. "And in the end, it got her killed." Sydney took in a deep breath, then let her body droop. "Don't confuse me with her. Of course, you never have but..." She shrugged. "Sasha got into things she shouldn't have, and in the end, her mouth and her attitude got her killed. Yeah, I get into my fair share, but... this whole Masquerade thing was a total accident. It's not like I have a hard-on to be one of the undead, ya know? So, don't worry about that. It's not in my best interests to become one of you."
"And why is that?"
"Because I'm not too keen on the whole blood drinking thing."
"Good." Julian had feared that she would be more like Sasha than she would have liked to admit. He hadn't wanted Sasha Embraced, and he didn't want Sydney to be Embraced, either. She wasn't in San Francisco to join the Kindred. She was there to stay alive long enough for Julian to convince the others that she was no trouble. "If you'll go up the stairs," he said with a flourish of his arm, "I'll show you to your room."
"In a rush to get me settled, huh, Jules? Got a big date?"
"Sydney..."
"Yeah, yeah, it's Julian." She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "I'll tell you now, my skills don't fit in with whatever business you have running here. I don't do the office thing, and I'm not gonna be a flunky at your little paper. So, if you want me to pull my own weight, you need to find something more along the lines of drink slinging or bike fixing."
"I won't force you to work, Sydney. I have more than enough for you to live comfortably. If you insist upon working, I'm sure Morgana can find you something at Haven. In fact, I'm going to Haven tonight. You can meet Morgana there... if she's not taking care of other business."
Julian fell silent and Sydney nodded. "I get the point. Your business, not mine. It's cool." She turned abruptly and was suddenly face to face with someone she didn't know, but she would wager half of Julian's money that it was a vampire. Though, from what she had learned of clans, he definitely was not whatever clan Julian led. "And you are?"
"Cash," he said in a rough, low voice. "You're..."
"Sydney."
"Sasha's sister."
"No. I'm Sydney. Sasha was Sydney's sister, got it?" She rolled her eyes. "That look in your eye says you fell prey to my sister's underwear. Let me tell ya somethin' to make it all better. Sasha hopped beds and fell in love more often than she changed said underwear, so don't feel bad, okay? She was bound to end up toast."
"Don't talk about her like that."
"Uh huh. She was my sister, I can talk about her however I want." She groaned and looked to Julian. "Is he going to be here a lot?"
"Cash is my bodyguard," Julian told her, "and the primogen of his clan."
"So, I take it then that the answer is yes. Great." She turned back to Cash. "Look, I'm sure you're cool and all. Just don't start with me. I've never been a member of the 'Sasha is great' fan club, and her being dead doesn't change that. Sorry that she's dead, but it's not like I didn't see it coming a mile away."
Cash growled at her, and Sydney just stared. She was used to the attitude. Somehow, being a spoiled brat had managed to get everyone to think that Sasha was special, but Sydney knew better and she had no intentions on pussy footing around because this guy had the bad taste to fall in love with her sister.
A hand touched her shoulder and Sydney slowly looked behind her. Julian's eyes were vacant, his face a mask of unreadable lines as he said, "Let's get you settled in."
"Uh huh." She moved past Cash and started up the stairs. A few steps up, she asked, "Does him being your bodyguard mean that he's mine, too? That attitude he's got... I don't trust him."
"I trust Cash with my life, Sydney. San Francisco is the only town that has managed to get the Gangrel clan to come together and be a part of Kindred society. He is completely loyal to me, and in turn, to you."
"Yeah, well... he needs to get that chip off his shoulder. And you need to get that vacant 'I miss Sasha' look outta your eyes. She's dead, but I'm not, and sorry if it sounds harsh, but I've got absolutely no problem with that. It could be worse. We could both be dead, and then where would you be? Up shit's creek, multiple-times great Gramps. So cheer up and be glad ya got me. Sasha's gone, end of story."
