A/N: Here's chapter thirty-eight! A new arc approaches, a mainly OC contrived arc…then again, a lot of this fic now revolves around OCs…Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs. I do own Madame Guil, she belongs to White Wolf.
"I missed you!"
"Aurora, it's been one work shift…" Finley muttered as her face was squished up against her friend's shoulder in a bear hug.
"Miss Frisk?" She heard a voice behind her. "I didn't know you were…er…you…strayed…"
Finely turned around, looking at one of the vice-principals. The building she worked at was small, and it was late afternoon-early evening. Students had gone home hours ago, but many teachers like herself stayed to grade papers and talk to parents.
"Uh…Huh?" Finley looked confused, "Excuse me?"
"Is this your girlfriend?" He offered a strained smile at Aurora, an irritated look in his eye somewhere.
"Girlfriend? No…we live together…" Finley crossed her arms, "It's expensive to live here, and…you know, not like we get paid all that much anyway."
"Finely…" Aurora said softly.
The vice principal didn't seem to like that much. "Maybe if…you rose up in the ranks, you'd earn a bit more, Miss Frisk. You've only been here a year."
"Yeah, and the tons of loans I had to take out to get through college for this? I doubt you had to pay that much."
His eyes narrowed, "Maybe I should talk to Mister Shaeffer about this…"
She rolled her eyes, "Go ahead." She headed out with Aurora, "Can we go to your coffee shop?"
"Finley, what if you get fired?" Aurora's eyes were nervous.
"I'll quit before then."
"Quit? But…the children…"
"I tried, but…it's not doing anything. I need a job where I make more of an impact. The people there are driving me crazy. Mister suck-up vice principal has been hitting on me from day one and he's like, seventy."
Aurora swallowed hard and just reached out to hold her friend's wrist.
It was a short walk from the school to the café, which was nice because Finely didn't have to park in the school parking lot and wait for all the busses. And she got to have coffee before and after her shift.
It was empty because it was closed, but Aurora always made an exception for her friend, going as far as turning the lights on and everything. The store looked open, but the sign always said closed. A few confused customers would stumble in and order something, and Aurora never had the guts to turn them down. It was uncommon.
Finely sat at a table and Aurora sat across from her as soon as her usual black coffee and jelly filled donut were ready. Finley dabbed white powder from her lips. "I couldn't get her."
"Couldn't get who?"
"Daisy."
"What? Why not?"
She shook her head, "There are too many reasons. I don't make enough, I don't have suitable living conditions, the interview was kinda a crap-shoot…it was bad…"
"So, where is she then?"
"The adoption center. It…" She sighed, "It's a good one, at least. I would know." She gave a brief smile.
"You're visiting her?"
"Of course. You could come one day, if you want."
"I'd love that."
"She seems happy. She's not…anywhere near the relationship she was in before so…she's fine. Getting good food, making new friends, still getting educated…"
"That's an idea."
"Hmm?"
"Why don't you work in an adoption center?"
Finely thought about it over her coffee, taking a sip, then hissing when it was too hot. "I like it."
"…you like burning your lip on hot drinks?"
"No, no, the adoption idea. What the heck?" She asked her friend, both of them giggling.
"Maybe you could go check it out tomorrow. It's Saturday, isn't it?"
"Yeah…yeah, that's a good plan. I'll do it." Finely smiled brightly, the usual look she donned when she headed a new direction in her life.
Jasper paused in front of the coffee shop, looking inside at the two girls talking. One of them hardly amused him, but the other, she was perfect.
Platinum hair, tanned skin, and figure like that. Breasts like that didn't exist. They had to be fake. No one wandered around with a chest like that and actually survived day-to-day activities.
She would be perfect.
A sinister grin crept on his face, he marched into the coffee shop like he owned the place. The armor covering the lower half of his body and the elegant cape he was wearing most likely made him stick out even more. He walked towards their table, leaning in a bit, "Quite a late night to be out, yes?"
Finley looked disgusted, but Aurora smiled warmly, "Seems we lost track of time. We're not open, but…if you want, I could make you something." She started to stand.
Jasper smiled and crossed his arms, "That won't be necessary, but…for someone so breathtaking, I was going to offer you something."
Finley's eyes hardened. Aurora's cheeks blushed a bit, "Oh, that won't be necessary, I'm the owner anyway..."
"I was referring to an outing. There's a large party on the other side of town. Seems I'm running a little late, I was wondering if either of you would like to come with me?"
Aurora's lips were parted as she looked down to Finley.
Finely gave Jasper a death glare. "Where she goes, I follow. And I'm not as much as a ditz as she is."
"Finley…" Aurora said quietly.
"This has rape written all over it." Finely said bluntly.
Jasper folded his hands, not folding nearly as easily as the other smug date who Finley chased away, "The more the merrier." He said.
She rolled her eyes, "We'll take a hard pass. But thanks." She gave a fake smile.
"But…Finely…" Aurora looked saddened.
"If you're actually interested, you'll sit here, drink some coffee at three AM and talk about life. Going out to some shifty rave is not a date." Finley said.
Jasper sat in the chair next to Finley, across from Aurora, "Awful paranoid, this one." His eyes glided to Finley, then back to Aurora, "Very well, then where shall I start?"
"Paranoid." She scoffed, "I'm sorry. When I signed up to be a preschool teacher, I didn't agree to handle domestic abuse cases, but I've dealt with more of those than I have actual families. I'm not about to let that happen to someone who doesn't have the insight to see it coming."
"How noble." He mused in a bored voice.
She snarled, "Get the hell out of here. Sign says closed anyway."
"Finley." Aurora demanded, "Give him a chance."
"Aurora, it's a bad shot when someone comes in and immediately flirts with you. You want a shitty night of sex, fine, take it. But it's douches like this who will use you like a doormat until you break down and they throw you away."
Jasper made an annoyed glower. This entire thing was a big mess. How hard could it be to smuggle two annoying girls to the other side of town? No, he really only needed one, for his plans. He just needed to get rid the bratty, know-it-all teacher. She wasn't nearly as gullible as the white-haired one.
The chime to the door went off, causing the three of them to look in the general direction. Jasper looked positively angered, "You…"
The other man dressed ever stranger. His blue clothing, down to the elegant coat looked like it was stolen from a French museum. The blue wool cap looked out of place compared to the rest of his outfit. He was quite a bit thinner than Jasper, and tanner, but nonetheless, it seemed the two of them shared a history.
"What do you think you're doing here?"
"Shall I ask you the same question, monsieur?"
"Get out." He narrowed his eyes, "This doesn't concern you. At all."
Their blue eyes met, "In truth, I've been tracking you for quite a while."
"I knew this was fishy." Finley stood up, reaching for Aurora's wrist, "Let's go."
"But…I…I…" Aurora stammered, still transfixed with Jasper.
"You should show yourself out." Jasper growled to the man in blue, "They don't allow the homeless in here."
"So what have done since you've abandoned them?" He asked.
He narrowed his eyes, since they had two humans in their company, they'd have to play it safe. Jasper gave a small grin, they'd play along as well. "See…this is just a coworker of mine…Basil Lestrange…seems he's just as lost to the party as I am."
Basil raised a brow, "Pardon?"
"Well, look at this, I've secured two fine dates for us both." He held his hands out, "I think it should be fun. A nice gala, only for those with true class." He said, "You can have the plain one. I'll take the beautiful Aurora."
He narrowed his eyes, "Just what are you planning?"
"Hell. No. We are not your dates." Finely insisted, taking Aurora's hand, "We're gay. We love each other. We live together."
Aurora looked flustered, "I'm not…we're…we're not…Finley…"
Jasper smirked. Seemed the two girls were telling as many lies as he was. "So…which is it then? Hmm? I'm waiting."
Basil looked from Finley to Aurora, "Don't go anywhere with this man. He is not to be trusted."
"Oh, come now! Trying to take both girls for yourself, I see."
He was only mildly flustered, "You know that isn't true."
"We're not going anywhere. I'm about to call the police in about three seconds." Finley said firmly.
Jasper's face darkened, "Now, you shouldn't be so quick to ruin our fun." He said, finally standing up, "And I proof that what I'm planning is innocent and basic in nature. I will also prove that he is a man that you cannot trust." He said, pointing to Basil.
"We aren't going—" Finley started, but Aurora broke her hand away.
"Stop, just stop!" She shouted, "We'll go with you."
"Aurora." Finely snapped, "This is a trap."
Aurora looked up at Basil, "You'll keep us safe?"
Basil looked surprised that Aurora was trusting him so much, "You shouldn't—"
"Well, wouldn't you look at that?" Jasper smiled, wrapping an arm around him, "They believe us, friend. That means your little secret won't go out to the public ears." He neared Basil's ear, "Shouldn't that be a relief?"
Basil's eyes slid over to him, "What I'm most concerned about is how you're involved in this at all. You broke away from the group and you serve Mistress—"
Jasper gave a loud hearty laugh, "Oh, such fun, we should get going! To the party now! Onward, all of us!" He headed for the door.
"This is totally a scam." Finley held onto Aurora's arm, "We should book it now while we can." She muttered.
"I…I feel something about this boy…I don't know…" Aurora said softly.
Finley rolled her eyes, "You'll feel something when he throws us in the back of a pickup truck for human trafficking…"
"He wouldn't do that…" Aurora scolded.
"Mmm hmm…" Finley's eyes were jaded. More than anything, she wanted to go home, change into a sweatshirt, have some wine, ice cream, and sleep for thirteen hours.
The taxi ride took them to the other side of town alright, but that was about the only thing that Jasper said that was true. Jasper led them through a dark cave, for what felt like hours.
Basil's arms were crossed, unamused, "What's your game now then, Jasper?"
"The party will be just on the other side of this—"
"No one believes that anymore."
Jasper clenched his hands into fists, "You know what?" He pointed at him, "This is all your fault! Shouldn't you be slaving away to the Sabbat right now? You have no right to pester me so, I'm just minding my own business, trying to find some sense of enjoyment in my life, and you're following me around, trying to ruin it."
"I'm just as close to the Sabbat as you are." He said, "That is to say, not at all. I am using them, and also you, as leads. I'm searching for someone, and by some hilariously dumb miracle, you're the closest person to her."
He growled, "These two lovely women shouldn't have to listen to your pointless drabble…I'll make it so they don't take you seriously again!" He took a few steps forward, peeling Basil's coat off, then his shirt.
Basil gasped, more embarrassed that his chest was exposed than anything else, "Why…?" He covered himself.
Jasper snickered darkly, "This is far more than mere humiliation, you fool."
"I've been…deflowered…" He said quietly. Then his eyes widened when he realized what Jasper was really doing. His blue, dragon-like wings had probably folded out by now, all for them to see. When upholding the Masquerade, he tucked them in his jacket, but now the effort was just about useless.
Finley looked justly horrified and shocked, while Aurora just burst out in tears. Like she knew it was a nightmare to start with, and was hoping for it to develop into a good dream. She turned and started running.
Basil fell to his knees, his eyes glossy. The rare times kine saw him, they reacted similarly to what was happening now, and he hated it more and more each time it happened.
Jasper gave a dark chuckle, "There goes all your credibility…"
Basil clenched his hands into fists, looking from Finley to Aurora, "Run! Get out of here! Leave us, forget us, and never come back! He'll kill you!"
"Oh, must you ruin all the fun?" Jasper leapt in the air, landing right in front of Aurora, "Not another step." He smirked.
She bit her lip, her eyes watering. Finley ran up to her to rescue her, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She knew she wouldn't make it in time.
Aurora grit her teeth, anger looked wrong on her face. She reeled her hand back to slap him across the face.
Jasper caught her hand, "Aw…you humans think you have such quick little reflexes, don't you?" He said, using his free hand to snap his fingers, a green glow came from them. As dozens of sandy mummies rose from the ground, "Now you're being difficult too…"
Basil's eyes widened from where he was kneeling, "Serpentis…"
Finely came to a stop, "What the hell…" Her eyes were twisted with confusion and horror.
Aurora whimpered, "Please…please don't…"
"I will spare you on the condition that you and your bratty friend continue down this path." Jasper's face became downright sadistic, "Not that any of you have much of a choice."
The sudden creak of the door opening interrupting Dragomir and Genevieve's cuddling session, "Hey…" A baritone voice called, "Dragomir Haracha? He in here?"
Dragomir grabbed his glasses and put them on after rubbing an eye, "Ah, the serious one…I didn't expect company, let alone company of someone so…tall and quiet."
"Strauss wants us on a mission." Sirius said, "It'll only take a few nights, if that, come on."
He raised a dark brow, "Mission? He hasn't told me a word since my last mission last evening…"
"Then I guess you and I are in the same boat." He headed for the exit, when Genevieve got up to follow them out, Sirius held a hand out, "Uh…you stay here…this…is only for Kindred as powerful as Dragomir and I."
Genevieve paused, giving a lost look to Dragomir and blinking a few times, as if to ask whether this was okay.
Dragomir overall seemed quite divided. He put an arm around her shoulders and pressed a warm but quick kiss to her lips, then her forehead, "Stay with Slade and April. They'll need your foresight."
"Okay." She gave a quick nod.
They really didn't need it. In fact, Dragomir was sure Slade would be irritated having Genevieve lurking around like a third wheel. But he didn't want Genevieve to panic or follow them with Obfuscate, because he knew she would.
Sirius and Dragomir left the red tower rather quickly, Sirius started to look for a taxi to flag down, "So what's her story?" He said as he whistled one over.
Dragomir crossed his legs, looking over towards Sirius but keeping his head facing the window. "Genevieve? I'm not entirely sure. She's got the head of a genius and the social skills of a fish, and doesn't talk of much else. I don't bother asking. It hardly matters."
"Huh…" He said, as the car started heading for a more remote location, "So I guess you probably wanna here what this mission is about, huh?"
"Yes. And then you will weave your story to me because I know there are more facets to it than the diamond on your ring."
He grinned, as his forked tongue flickered out, "We're after someone named Madame Guil. Ever hear of her?"
"I have not. French, I'm assuming."
He gave a hopeless shrug, leaning back as far as he could in the seat, "She's a Toreador Elder. Actually…if ya wanna get technical, she's a Volgirre. A clan variant of the Toreador. She used to be in the Camarilla…a Justicar…know what that is?"
He looked at his nails, "Not a clue." He looked up at Sirius, "You'll have to forgive me, I haven't been doing this long, nor do I know much about the Camarilla."
"Highest known rank in the Camarilla." He said, "They're all in Europe, making plans that all take hundreds of years or more. There are seven, one for each clan. Think of them as…the 'super Primogen'…that live in Europe, and order everyone else around." He said, "Crap…I guess it'd be six now…Gangrel aren't really part of the Camarilla nominally anymore…are they…"
"Europe, you say? What is she doing here then?"
"Eh…can't say for sure…but she deserted her rank, and the Camarilla." He said, "Rumor has it that she'd been on a diablerie spree…and that ain't good. She was already a high-ranking, respected Elder to begin with."
Dragomir found his grin again, "Ah ha, so that's why the Prince requested my aid." He crossed his arms, "If anything, I'm going to look tastier to her than a normal Kindred."
"Well, he needs Kindred who know what they're doing." He said, "She could have help, and even if she doesn't, her generation could be at dangerous levels at this point." He said, "That's why you and I are the perfect candidates for this."
In the darkness of the car, Sirius definitely couldn't see Dragomir's eyes, but he could see the red irises when he flared up Auspex to investigate his new associate, "Your blood is potent but pure. As pure as it can be, at least. With hints of strawberry." One red eye winked before they turned invisible again.
"You said you wanted to hear me talk about myself or something?"
"I'm all ears. Promise I don't kiss and tell."
"You've probably heard of my lineage by now…" He said, "I'm Kemintiri's grand childe. Natalia's childe."
Dragomir scratched his chin, "A problem-maker's childe. What a rich life you must live…you have all the potential to choose whether you stray from their path or follow it…"
"That's what Natalia's here for." He said, "Me. Well, and to end the world as we know it with Kemintiri…but…still…this little Madame Guil nonsense is nothing but a detour to me."
"I can see why." Dragomir straightened his legs, then crossed his ankles and pressed a cheek up against the glass, "I wish my father was still around. As twisted as he was and could have been I…I would have loved to steer him on the right path. Not that I know the direction there, but we could have found it together. He had a remarkable mind that was tarnished with our curse yet, grew in value if anything…and then was burned…"
"You were Embraced by Grout…right?" He asked, looking out the window, "Part of me doesn't want Natalia to die either…"
"It's in our blood, I think. Watching a parent die, it's no easy task, is it? Despite how deplorable they may be…"
"Some people say that ghouls have it the hardest with that blood bond crap…but…it ain't necessarily true…"
She brushed part of her waving brunette hair behind herself. A woman in a lovely French dress, black stockings, and black heels seemed very out of place inside such a dank cave. She looked around, extending a gloved hand, "Isn't it lovely?"
Irving looked around, swallowing hard. Sure, there was a nice bit of moonlight pouring inside from an open hole in the cave, but he still had yet to know why they were even here. Nevertheless, he figured staying quiet would most likely be wising. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "Yes…yes ma'am…very lovely…"
Her pink lips curved into a smile, "Then this shall be an excellent meeting place…"
"Meeting place?" Irving asked, running a hand through his short black hair, "For…for what?"
"Oh, I haven't told you." Madame Guil said, strutting around the room like she owned the place, "A young vampire boy is bringing me sacrifices…dinner…children…if I so desire…" Her expression transformed into a sinister grin, "Perhaps I'll eat him too, if he brings me people I don't like."
Irving gulped. That sounds terrifying. He thought. Truth be told. His classmates were 'sacrifices' too once.
He was on his way to graduating college. He had a lot of friends and was doing well in his studies, for being someone as meek as he was.
An end of the year field trip to Paris changed all of that. Sure, it was optional, but the entire class went. It was late at night, his classmates started disappearing one by one. Until he was the only one left, and then he was attacked.
When he survived nearly being drained dry, she ghouled him. And he has yet to determine if dying would be a better alternative. For three long months after that, he had been her slave, participating with her in gruesome and heinous acts that he would never believe or thought possible until now. Sure, he was in a society of vampires now, but it seemed that Madame Guil was in a league of her own when it came to being a monster. As even most other vampires around the world seemed to fear her.
He was rebellious at first. Or, at least someone as timid as he could be. But he was quickly silenced whenever he spoke out of turn. Or failed a mission. Or if the nightly sacrifice wasn't satisfying to her.
He knew she had a lover, of some kind. She was in love once, she was also sane. But by the time he was bonded to her, her sanity was slipping, at an alarming rate. He could only guess that it has something to do with this lover of hers dying. She mentioned his name all the time. Irving had never been in love himself, but part of him felt bad for her, even though she should probably just be put down at this point. In a way, it was like she was made of glass and someone dropped her from high up. She was broken into pieces, hardly together, but still moving, still trying to function.
Vampire society eluded him, it really did. Madame Guil did a damn good job of making sure that Irving stayed away from other vampires. And honestly, it didn't make much of a difference, because she ate whoever she spoke to if she was with them for more than five minutes. Human, vampire, it didn't make a difference. He was just told to do grunt work, and he followed orders, whether he liked them or not.
He did know one thing. That vampire blood was valuable. Two things taught him this. For one, and the obvious one, being that it pretty much turned humans into slaves. And the other, was that he noticed how much giddy Guil would get if she drank from a vampire, rather than the human. At first, he just assumed vampire blood tasted better. But, then he seemed to notice something. Madame Guil was a powerful vampire, but it seemed with each vampire she drank from, she only got stronger. It made her all the more terrifying to anger. Soon there would be no cutoff point for her power.
Maybe he was just truly a coward. He would rather do horrible things for Madame Guil than face death. What did he even have to live for anymore? What did either of them have to live for? Given what she wore, and how strong her accent was, Madame Guil was probably ancient. Why didn't she and him just give up the ghost?
Maybe he would try it. Here and now, or in the immediate future. He didn't know how vampires worked, by he knew that they could die. That was enough information for him. They were alone in a dark, disgusting cave. This would be as good a place to kill them both as any.
"You want to kill me, do you, boy?" Madame Guil asked.
Irving's eyes shrunk, did she read his mind? He took advantage of coincidence. After all, this wasn't the first time they had this discussion, "No…no master…not at all…"
"For killing all your little friends…and whisking you away…you want to kill me?"
He held his hands up, "No…no, no…please…I don't want that at all…"
"Well, you can't!" She snapped, holding a hand out, a bunch of snakes went flying his way. Irving gasped and backed away, shuddering as the snakes hungrily crept closer to him. "I've gone too far to get where I've gone now, so many foolish men and would-be conquerors and officials have tried to stop me, and I won't be stopped by a little brat like you!" She held a hand out again.
Irving felt his stomach churn, as he began to vomit up blood, getting it all over his blue dress shirt and black pants. He fell to his knees, groaning in pain, "I…I will always be faithful to you…master…please…"
"Oh, will you?" She held a hand up, her nails turned into bestial claws, and blue lightning pulsated through her body, "Aw…you've always had such a young, cute face…maybe I should leave a mark on it, a reminder." She said, as Irving's screams echoed throughout the cave.
A/N: Hmm…I wonder who Irving's parallel is…Thank for reading!