Last Chance
The Second Line: Driu's Line
Hotshot
There were still hours before their loosely enforced curfew so there was no reason to be heading back yet but to be honest the night was quite boring. Movies just weren't as good as they had been. Especially the horror pictures with vampires and such.
"I'm telling you," The brunette told his blonde companion. "There has not been a good vampire movie since Interview With a Vampire with Brad Pitt and whoever. And honestly that was back when… the 1900s. That does not say much for human society."
"I agree," the blonde said pushing a pair of wire-rimmed glasses up his nose, "I mean they could at least make it look realistic…" His speech ran off as he realized his friend was no longer walking beside him. "Skittery?"
A second later he found himself on all fours on the ground after being shoved hard into a brick wall and kneed in the stomach. He mumbled threats under his breath as he rolled onto his side to get a look at his assailant and found Skittery sitting on the ground beside him. He looked up to find a bulking twenty-something dressed in the colors of the local gang. He would have laughed, save for the gun in his face.
You had to admit though the two of them looked easy to mug. Both were scrawny as hell as far as the normal person could tell when giving them the once over. Dutchy was a blonde nerdy looking kid in glasses, and therefore fragile. Skittery was tougher looking, but not by enough that he looked like he could take care of himself. Well, maybe now he did, a nice black eye would do that to a guy.
"Give me all your money, now." The boy standing over them ordered, a friend appearing seemingly out of nowhere to back him up.
Dutchy groaned and rolled his eyes to himself before reaching into his back pocket as if to get his wallet. With a subtle signal with his head he communicated with Skittery who nodded in return and replied verbally.
"Yeah."
It must have been the poor thugs first time doing something like this because that was enough to set him off. "No talking. Give my your money or I'll blow your fucking brains out." He brandished the weapon yet again and it went off.
"Christ, this was my favorite shirt!" Skittery cried. He wiped at the hole the bullet had left and rubbed the small amount of blood away as the wound began healing itself. He looked back up at the two with fangs bared and pounced.
The second boy tried to run as Skittery sank his fangs into his friend's neck. Dutchy, however, wasn't going to let him get away that easily and stuck a foot out to trip him. He was on the boy before he could gain his footing.
The two vampires finished their dinners and shoved the bodies against a wall, wiping any blood form their lips. The whole time Skittery was muttering under his breath about the half-wits of the city.
"Come on, let's just get back," Dutchy ignored his complaints.
The two were walking along the street, and checking alleyways if they considered using them. Their district was a mess at the moment. Though the fact that they had killed two gun-toting morons that night didn't exactly make them feel bad. Dutchy, for one, always got a bit cocky after he ate.
"Hold on," he grabbed his friend by the shoulder as they turned to take a shortcut back home. Standing there in an alley were a frail looking girl with wispy dark hair and a lean nearly white-haired boy. They were standing over a girl laying out cold on the ground. They were also, the two boys discovered as the two's auras hit them, vampires. The tingling feeling other vampire clans gave them hit them like a ton of bricks before they'd taken a few steps.
The girl and boy seemed to sense them at the same time because both looked up and the four of them stood there for a moment.
"We could take them," Dutchy hissed to his friend, the blood making him cocky "It'd be easy."
Skittery wasn't in the mood for a fight but that had never made him stop Dutchy before. He was all for watching Dutchy be a moron. He grabbed his friend's coat at the last minute as something else entered his senses. A much older, and much more adult, vampire entered the other end of the alley, followed by another girl.
Even Dutchy wasn't that stupid. The two of them turned and walked briskly out of the alley. The long way home it was.
Swifty was at the back door with a lit cigarette in his hand when they arrived. He did little more than nod until they were close enough to talk without anyone hearing. "Driu's gonna be here in an hour," he said, "Roman's close to putting a hole in his drum set over it and Swinger and Mina are arguing over… something."
"Big surprise," Skittery rolled his eyes before heading inside. Swinger and Mina were usually arguing over one thing or another. Mina was very opinionated, and Swinger far too proud for her own good. Neither was a bad thing except for the fact that Mina's opinions were often different than those of Swinger.
He grabbed a new shirt from his room and followed Dutchy down the stairs and out through the back entrance to the club. The music was similar to the punk and emo rock of the early twenty first century, it was really making a bit of a comeback lately. A lot of obscure and older music.
Roman, Swifty, Itey and a few other boys were playing instruments onstage as several singers battled for a spot at the mic.
Dutchy popped into a chair between Specs and Lute whom Snitch was trying to keep away from Mina. Unfortunately Mina wasn't helping matters.
"Driu's coming?" he asked the group in general.
"Yeah," Rings muttered, fiddling with the straw of her drink, "No one knows why."
"Supposedly there's gonna be some sort of meeting with him and all the vampires in our clan. Something about a counsel." Of all people Buzzard was always the one to know the most. She slipped along below everyone's radar, even that of her friends on occasion.
"All I know is whatever it is we ain't allowed in," Roman said joining them, "and that is plenty of reason for us to be either pissed off or not care."
Roman wasn't quite the oldest of them, at least not in the vampire sense of the word but he was easily the strongest. Muscles had rippled under his clothes even before he'd died. Becoming a vampire and gaining strength only made him all the more frightening. He'd been changed in a night during which he'd fallen asleep drunk and been killed in a sense while he slept. Whether Driu, or Le Croix who was easily Driu's second in command had done it, Roman certainly hadn't cared; at least with the vampires he was taken care of. He'd risen easily up the ladder nonetheless.
"Well, did you actually expect them to include us in something," Swifty asked, an unlit cigarette hanging between his lips.
The band on the stage stopped playing and someone dimmed the lights. The dancing stopped and a voice came on over the loudspeaker.
"Okay guys, we're going to close a bit early tonight," a raspy voice echoed from the speakers, "There's some taxis outside waiting for those of you who aren't driving. Those of you that should be working we have a meeting in half an hour so get back here as soon as possible."
A chorus of groans arose not only from the customers, but also from the circle of teens that grew to include a few more girls and the remnants of the band that had been onstage. As people made their way slowly to the doors the large group sat around the table downing their drinks and making idle chatter amongst themselves to seem normal. A few of them were in for an ass chewing later, as they should have been at work but had snuck out.
Once it was only them Swifty went on a quick hunt through the place before locking the doors. Only then did the group stand and trudge back toward the rooms behind the club.
Behind the main doors Le Croix was waiting for him. Le Croix with his tousled brown hair, pale skin, and thin frame. As always he was greeted enthusiastically. Unlike many of the other adult vampires he appreciated the teens and knew how to handle them. Though, at times it could be very difficult. He shook hands and slapped a few of them on the back before the group retreated across to large group of more adult vampires. Driu was among them.
Every single one of them had known that as soon as they entered the room. They silenced themselves out of respect. Driu was strong and a very powerful vampire but he was not fond of the violence like many of the others. He was on the tall side with neat blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He looked to be a bit of a weakling but wasn't by far.
He looked at the teenagers with a large sigh. "We're having a meeting down here. I want all of you up to your rooms in the next few minutes. I don't care what you say; I don't want you involved. We will handle this matter soon."
The teens reluctantly turned to head up the stairs.
"Oh yes, Skittery and Dutchy," Driu called after them, "I was told you skipped working tonight. Do me a favor and take over the kitchen chores."
The two boys stopped and looked back only seeing a grin on Driu's face and split from the group toward the kitchen, closely followed by Specs and Roman. Eul, Lavinia, and Li were washing dishes in the kitchen and Adher, Valentino, and Perevial were helping them to dry the drinking glasses. The older vampires knew the drill.
"Kitchen duty, eh?" Eul asked in her Scottish accent, "Well, have fun boys." She threw a sponge at Dutchy and the other women and three men followed her out of the room.
"You guys should just go upstairs," Skittery said, "No point in the helping us out."
"Yes there is," Roman peeked out the swinging doors. "We can check in on the meeting if we take long enough." He took a seat on a stool.
"Then why don't you get off your lazy ass and help," Specs threw a damp towel in his general direction.
Two of them set off loading a dishwasher, and washing what couldn't be put in there. One of the other two brought out the trash to the old dumpster, while the final member, Dutchy, turned on a quiet radio and began slowly working around the kitchen and cleaning up whatever else was a mess.
The job didn't take nearly as long as it was meant to, seeing as there were four of them. However, they extended their amount of time downstairs by goofing off, as most young men would do. Their games ended when someone dumped a glass of water deliberately over Skittery's head and he began complaining about all of his shirts getting ruined.
The other boys just rolled their eyes and called him a girl before putting all towels and glasses and plates away. They made their way quietly out the door and were crossing the main room toward the stairs when Roman glanced toward the meeting room. He casually strolled over to where the doors had been left with little more than a crack.
Roman being the only one of them who felt he needed to know everything going on the other boys just sighed and motioned him back, but he blatantly ignored them. Being the curious teenagers that they were the three other boys soon joined him in a neat line, each peaking into the brightly lit meeting room.
Driu's line was by far the largest of all the vampire clans in the area, though also the least violent. The elder vampires that lived behind the club, commonly referred to as the Compound, were all gathered around the table at which Driu sat. In other chairs sat the vampires that commonly visited, or were known to live in the area. Some of them Roman was even certain he had never seen before. Driu's line really was so large that it was impossible to keep track of everyone.
His steady gaze ranged over the adult vampires. The ages they looked to be ranged from far older than Driu to one young woman who looked barely old enough to not be shoved in with them, the teenagers. A very diverse group it was.
He held his breath and shushed the others behind him as he strained his ears to hear what was going on inside the room. Specs was also leaning in closely but Dutchy and Skittery seemed to care little as they were shoving each other and joking around. Albeit they were acting quietly Roman knew that if anyone got them caught it would be those two. He just had to be thankful Snitch wasn't down there, the triple threat was just plain annoying, and the girls…
"They're going to be here at the beginning of the month," Driu was saying, "I don't know exactly how many will be coming but there are going to be a lot of them. They are coming to New York-"
"We're not the only clan in New York, Driu," an elder vampire named Marques spoke boldly, "There are two other major ones. Are we going to be meeting here, or at Leith or Tobias' lairs?"
Roman would have been highly agitated at such an interruption but Driu was a calm leader. He shook his head, "They have not yet informed me of that. Your guess is as good as mine at the moment. My guess would be that they are going to find the largest conference room. They may even use the old chamber under the statue. Actually, I believe they shall. It is after all far larger than the halls any of the clans have built."
"Driu, they haven't used the chamber in over a hundred years," Lavinia pointed out.
"Well even if it hasn't been used doesn't mean it's been left to ruins, it is kept well maintained, trust me."
"The chamber…" Specs muttered to himself behind Roman. The name obviously sounded similar to the brunette. Roman would have to question him on the matter later. For now he turned back to the conversation.
Le Croix had been watching the entire happenings with an even glare. He wasn't foolish and had been weighing every word said. "Driu, what is this meeting about?"
Driu sighed, "I do not know for certain." He looked directly into the face of his old friend.
Le Croix's eyebrow rose in question. The two of them must have been sharing some sort of through process.
Driu nodded, "I believe that may be a large part of it. As most of you know there has been some speculation about the teenagers housed in most of the New York clans-"
CRASH!
Specs, Roman and several members of the vampires meeting jumped at the loud noise. Roman spun to find Dutchy and Skittery had knocked over a very old, expensive vase that held black roses. They were in for it now.
He'd also noted that Driu had not jumped. Roman inwardly smirked; he must have expected as much.
Driu was at the door in seconds, a look of livid anger across his already pale features. He gave Roman and Specs a disapproving once-over before turning his glare to Dutchy and Skittery who were frantically trying to clean up the mess they had made.
"Enough," Driu snapped, "Upstairs, both of you, this instant."
Both froze halfway between crouching and standing looking form each other to the mess still on the floor.
"Leave it." Driu's yell had them running.
Specs was grinning at his friends' stupidity until Driu turned his temper to the two of them remaining.
"I honestly thought you two knew better." His gaze passed over Specs as though he didn't exist and landed on Roman. "Then again, I might have expected as much from you. Too curious you are." He shook his head, "You're a good vampire most of the time but it's times like these when I question my making you. Both of you go upstairs, now." Without another word he turned and strode back into the depths of the room, slamming both doors shut.
"C'mon," Roman started toward the stairs, and Specs followed. Once upstairs the group of teenagers met them. After living together for so long they could all anticipate the actions others would take, meaning that the moment Specs and Roman decided to stay downstairs they all expected to hear Driu screaming at them in the next hour. It also meant that now they expected some kind of information.
More than a dozen of them, the entire group of teenagers from that clan was crowded into one room. All were looking at him with mild to moderate interest.
"Well…" Swinger and Rings both jumped forward at the same time, all but pouncing on him.
"What happened?" Snitch asked, eyes wide.
"There's going to be a meeting of the Council," Roman stated. "They're all coming to New York and there's going to be a huge meeting. I don't know where. Driu said they might use the chamber…" He looked in Specs' direction, "What is this chamber, Specs. You sounded like you recognized it."
Specs shook his head. "It sounds really familiar Rome, but I can't think of what it is. I'll see what I can find out tomorrow."
Roman nodded.
"What's it about?"
Roman looked in Swifty's direction. "Even Driu doesn't know for certain…"
Swifty was by no means stupid, "But he does have an idea what it's about? You can't keep this stuff form us Roman; we're a family. If you know we all know."
"Part of it is something about us."
"What about us…" Itey interjected.
Roman shook his head shrugging, and turning to Dutchy and Skittery, "I would know if you two hadn't knocked over that damned vase."
"God didn't want you to know then," Elijah spoke form the corner where he'd been sitting patiently. "You'll know when he wants you to know."
Chaise turned to the young boy who was still God-fearing, "Kid, even if there is a God, we're vampires. We're too far out of his reach. The only reason we don't know if because those two are morons."
Roman nodded in slight agreement. "Why don't you all go to bed, or at least get out of my room. There's something going on around the city tonight. I can feel it. Just go get some sleep. I'm sure someone will know what's going on by tomorrow."
They reluctantly filed out of his room and down the hall, Skittery and Dutchy mumbling brief apologies as they passed him. In a half-truth he really didn't care that they'd messed things up. He was going to find out eventually. What he really hated was their not being allowed in there in the first place. Many of the teenagers were more alert and knowledgeable than some adults.
Along with his clothes he stripped off any worries about the meeting that was going on downstairs. It wasn't worth his time to try to find anything else out now. He had bigger things to worry about.
For one, now he knew Driu was in fact his sire. That could complicate or change things a bit. He rubbed the light scars on the back of his neck from the first time he was bitten and drew his thumb across them sighing. He had a lot to think about.
A/N: Look who's back! I know I've updated other stuff and sort of ignored this but over my last vacation I wrote the chapter that was supposed to go here, and decided it didn't fit right. The good news is that it's already completely written and edited. I might update it Sunday night or next Friday depending on how many reviews I get. Over ten and I will post it Sunday.
I'm going to be bumping the rating of the next chapter up to R, because it's a little bit questionable at parts and just because the rest of this story might not be as easygoing as the first few chapters have been.
Thanks to all who have reviewed so far and read the story. –Breathes a sigh of relief- good to have backup for cc's and chapters. Hope you enjoyed. Now go visit the little purple button down there.
~Hotshot~~~