The front of the mansion shook as motorcycles zoomed past. Lights blinded Cash as he went running for the door. He was going to beat the living hell out of whoever it was. He knew it had to be Gangrel. Only they would be foolish enough to buzz the prince's home. Only they would be stupid enough to howl with laughter as they shook the mansion's very foundation.
"Here's your human bitch, Luna!"
Cash froze just steps from the door. He didn't recognize the voice over the roaring of the bikes, but the words... If they got Sydney... He shook his entire body, a curse on his lips. Jeff Hardy had better be dead, because if he let someone get ahold of her without a fight, Cash was going to rip every limb from his body.
He surged forward and yanked the door open. Staring out into the night, all he could see was the rear lights of four motorcycles. Looking down, all he could see was pale white flesh. For a moment, he thought it was Sasha. Not that the two women looked that much alike, but seeing Julian's niece on the ground... all he could remember was Sasha lying on the bed, struggling beneath Brujah scum.
After a few seconds, he dropped down and grabbed Sydney, pulling her body up against his knees. He was afraid to touch her neck, to feel for a pulse. Her head rolled to the side and Cash saw two ragged bite marks. His eyes trailed down her body. Her arms were bitten. Her leather pants were in shreds, and between the strips, he could see more bites. They had drained her, but... had it been replaced?
She wasn't moving, which was a bad sign. If she had been Embraced, she would have at least made a noise. Cash gently pressed two fingers to her neck and waited. Her body was growing cold, and had he not felt anything, he would have been sure she was dead. And then, he would be dead, because there was no way that Julian would have forgiven him for this.
A slight bump pushed against his fingers and his hand jerked back. She was alive, but just barely. How long that lasted, and in what form, was up to Cash. His head popped up and he looked around. Where the hell was everyone? This was not a decision that he was supposed to have to make. This was Sydney's decision, one she was adamantly against. However, that had been while she was fully alive. Would her mind have changed knowing that an Embrace was the only way she could survive?
And then there was Julian. He hadn't wanted Sasha to be Embraced, and he didn't want it for Sydney, either. In the end, though, he had agreed to let Cash do it, though he had been too late. But, the circumstances were different. He and Sasha were in love. He and Sydney were barely on speaking terms. There was no excuse for what he could have done other than to save her life... or finish killing her human body, as the case may be.
The wind blew against Cash's skin and he shook his head. He looked down at himself and realized that his jacket was already gone. His hand was poised over his arm, preparing to cut. While he was mulling over the right course of action, his instincts had already made the choice. He couldn't just let her die. She was too young to reach final death.
His nail bit into his skin and he hissed. This all could have been different. For the first time, he found himself cursing the day he met Sasha. She had ruined him for something that he knew could have been an instant attraction. Sydney was so like him, like his clan, that it was sickening. Maybe they wouldn't have constantly fought if it weren't for her. Maybe, if not for Sasha, they wouldn't be in such a horrible struggle when she woke and found herself Kindred. And fight she would. Cash was sure of that. She would eventually understand the why of it, but until then, she would just be angry.
Knowing that didn't stop him from pressing his bleeding arm to his lips. It didn't stop him from parting her lips more. Didn't stop him from stroking her throat to push the blood down. She began to fight, but he held her tight. She struggled a few seconds more, then grabbed his wrist, drinking greedily. "Enough," Cash muttered, starting to pull his arm away. She hold on and he pulled harder.
And, then, he was being thrown across the garden. He landed in a thorny bed of roses. Cash shook his head clear and looked up to see Julian kneeling beside Sydney, holding her shivering body against his chest. Julian looked up to him and growled, "What have you done!"
"She..." He shook again, then stood up. "She was dying!"
"I told you! Not this one! This one was not to be embraced!" His anger made him set her back on the ground. He strode fast over to Cash and grabbed him by the throat. "This one was to live!"
"That's why..." He clawed at the hand around his neck. He gagged and twisted his head. Blood sprang up around Julian's fingers. "That's why I embraced her!" He gripped the fingers and tried to pry them away.
Morgana ran over and grabbed Julian's arm. "Julian, let him go!" She pulled on him. "He can't explain if you don't release him!"
Abruptly, Julian let Cash go and he dropped to the ground. Cash came up sputtering and holding his throat. He rose to his feet and looked past Julian to where Sydney was starting to sit up. "She was going to die. They..." He coughed to clear his throat. "They drained her and dropped her on your doorstep."
"Who? Who would dare!"
"They were Gangrel. I don't' know which one, but I swear, when I find out, I'll kill every one of them." He started to walk forward, but was stopped by Julian. "I couldn't just let her die! It was final death or Embrace! I Embraced!"
"On my own doorstep! You Embrace my blood on my own step! Without any thought, without any discussion..."
"Come on, Julian! You know she wouldn't have made good Ventrue. And, you know that's what you would have done. After losing Sasha to Fiori, you wouldn't have let her die if you were here. You would have Embraced her, and that's what I did. I couldn't just let her die!"
"You said your clan was punished!"
"I punished those who I knew about!"
"And what of this guard? You put a guard on her."
"He's either dead, or he will be." Cash took another step forward. "I made a decision. I had to choose, and I chose her life. I may be your guard, I may be lower than you, but I am still primogen of my clan. I still have a brain and I can make a decision!"
"Julian!" Morgana held onto his arm and pulled until he looked down at her. His eyes glowed and his lips were curled up in a sneer. "Can you say that you wouldn't do the same? Can you say that you would have let her die? She's alive, Julian, and she can tell us who did this to her."
"I know who did this." His head whipped back around to Cash.
Cash growled. His own eyes began to glow. His lip curled up. Both men growled. They started to crouch. Their bodies were already starting to blend into white and gray fur when a scream pierced the night. Both stood up straight and turned. Sydney was on her feet. She stared down at her trembling hands and shredded clothes. She swayed from side to side with weakness. Her eyes focused on the Kindred across from her and her irises were glowing silver. She took a step towards them, stopped, then screamed, "What did you do to me!"
