Inquisition
William woke with an uncomfortable sensation in his chest. Confused he opened the lid of his coffin and climbed out…discovering that his favorite suit had been torn to shreds and his best fedora had been nailed to his coffin with a railroad spike right above his heart.
"I take it Tanith is upset with me," he murmured thoughtfully. "I'll have to-"
"E-excuse me, sir," said Richard, one of the Dandies, opening the door tentatively.
"What is it?" demanded William irritably.
"It's Tanith, sir," said Richard. "She's…she's…"
"She's what, for heaven's sake?"
"Sir, she's dead."
William's eyes widened. "You can't be serious."
"I'm sorry, sir," Richard said unhappily. "We found her ashes on the roof. She killed herself in the sunlight."
William just stared at his underling, a pained expression crossing his face. "Out," he whispered.
"Sir?" asked Richard.
"Get out," repeated William. "GET OUT!"
Tanith woke with a jolt, smacking her head against the metal doors of the closet. "Owwww," she groaned, still half asleep. "Fuck." She pushed the doors open and climbed out, rubbing her head where she had struck it. She thought about her dream. Is that what had happened the night after she escaper from the Dandies' lair? Had William really been upset by the news of her death? Tanith shook her head to clear it. It was way too early for an existential meltdown.
She pushed the metal doors open and sat up, cracking her neck slowly. As she rose and went to the kitchen she thought about Brendon. He could be of great assistance to her and her new friends, but could they accept the aid of a Dandy, even one faltering in his devotion to the Baron? Tanith loved Brendon because she knew who he really was; like she had told Pete the night before, he only knew Brendon as an adversary. Well, there was still some time to think about it, she reasoned.
"What're you doin' up?" Joe's sleepy voice drawled as he dragged himself into the room, plopping himself down at the counter.
"Good morning, Sunshine," Tanith teased. "I had a weird dream. Woke me up."
"About what?" asked Joe.
"Nothing important," Tanith replied, turning away and popping a blood pack from the fridge in the microwave.
"Are you sure?" asked Joe. "Dreams can mean something, and if you figure out what-"
"I said no!" Tanith snapped, spinning around to glare at him.
"All right, all right, I'm sorry," Joe said, shrinking back. Tanith just growled a little and turned back to the microwave. Joe silently got himself a glass of orange juice, knowing better than to say anything. Tanith was a good kid, but her patience had been stretched to the breaking point over the last few years and was wearing thin. She also had a dangerously short temper that, while useful when fighting other vampires, also put him at risk. He had met vampires with short tempers before; the end always resulted in injuries.
Eventually the microwave dinged and Tanith pulled out her blood pack, taking a long drink from the IV tube. She sighed after swallowing and looked at Joe. "Look, I'm sorry. But I don't like to talk about things as personal as my dreams." She hesitated a moment before asking, "Would you understand if I said I was only human?"
Joe laughed. "Yeah, I understand. It's OK." Tanith smiled and took another drink.
"What's up, dudes?" asked Patrick, coming into the kitchen and fixing himself some coffee.
"We are, apparently," replied Joe. Tanith made a sound of agreement in the back of her throat but didn't say anything. Patrick turned to her with a concerned frown.
"Something bothering you?" he asked.
Tanith rolled her eyes. "If everyone's going to ask me that, I might as well be honest." She sighed heavily before saying, "I saw Brendon last night. He came here to see me. I was so happy to see him! But now I have a really bad feeling. I'm afraid that he's in trouble because he knows where I am."
"Yeah, but he loves you," Patrick said. "He wouldn't give you up, right?"
"Not willingly, no," answered Tanith unhappily. "But given enough time with William's version of persuasion-"
"Eww," said Joe, grimacing.
"Oh God," said Patrick with a shudder. "He'd torture him? Just to find you?"
"If he finds me, he finds you guys too," Tanith pointed out. "He won't pass that up lightly."
Patrick took a deep drink of his coffee, his face a mask of concern. "Why is he after Pete? Why did he turn him in the first place?"
Tanith smiled darkly. "Because he was afraid of what Pete can become. Pete could easily be more powerful that William if he lets his powers develop. The problem is that Pete won't do that for fear of losing his humanity."
Joe whistled. "Are you going to tell him that? If he knew, we could beat the Baron and the Dandies and all the vamps in this city once and for all."
"If I were to follow the formula of a faerie tale, I suppose I would say 'No, this is something he must discover for himself'," Tanith mused. "But this is no faerie tale. The evil sorcerer is winning, the princess is not asleep but dead, the prince is a toad and all the kisses in the world can't change that, and love does not conquer all. I'll tell him when he wakes up."
"Cynical way of putting it, but I guess you're right," said Patrick.
"I think I've earned the right to cynicism," Tanith said. She sighed. "I'm going out. I didn't tell Émile where the warehouse is in case of phone taps, so I'll see if he's in the city yet. He ought to be; he's rarely late. Be back soon."
The guys said goodbye and Tanith left, her hands in her pockets. She carried only three weighted throwing knives and her magnum, but she still felt heavy and tired. Her heart was weighing her down, it seemed, so full of conflict and unfulfilled desires. All she wanted was peace with the ones she loved. It wasn't such a lot to ask, really, but it seemed that it was the one thing she'd never have. After walking a few blocks, she got the prickly feeling on the back of her neck that someone was either watching her or too near her for comfort. She could hear a vampire's heartbeat not far away. Stopping, Tanith looked into the distance curiously. A slim girl stood in the shadows, apparently waiting for something. She was very pretty, with short soft brown hair, sky blue eyes, smooth milk-white skin, and delicate, angular features. Tanith's eyes widened in surprise and delight.
"Minuet!" she squealed, running to the girl. Minuet turned just in time to receive a crushing hug from her friend. "Oh Minuet, I'm so glad to see you! How've you been? What are you doing here?"
"It's great to see you too, Tan," Minuet said, smiling as she gave her friend an affectionate squeeze. "I've been great, really, though it's pretty quiet without you around to cause trouble." Tanith laughed. "I was sent out here to check on you, actually. How are you holding up?"
"I'm good, really good," said Tanith. "Made some new friends, kicked some ass, hooked up with an old boyfriend, the usual. How's Gabriel?"
Minuet smiled at the mention of her sire – and boyfriend's – name. "He's just fine. He says 'hi', by the way."
Tanith smiled. Gabriel was a very handsome vampire with pale skin, jewel-like hazel eyes, and glossy black hair that he cut in layers to the nape of his neck so it framed his angelic face. All the girls, and some of the guys, in the Syndicate had crushes on him, but his heart was only for Minuet.
"Bon soir, mes amis," came a new voice.
"Émile!" cried Tanith happily, running to greet the newcomer, who smiled and caught her in his arms. They kissed quickly on both cheeks, both glad to see each other. Tanith stepped back and smiled up at the werewolf. He was very good-looking, with short hair bleached white-blond, dark eyebrows, puppy-dog eyes, and a playfully crooked smile. Despite his square chin and high cheekbones, Émile's face still had a roundness to it that gave him an innocent, boyish look when he smiled, which was often.
"It's great to see you, chérie," he said with his crooked smile. "It's been too quiet without you."
"So I hear," Tanith laughed. "I'm so glad you're here. I'm gonna need that venom before the full moon passes. And, with your added firepower, we'll be that much stronger against William and the others."
"Exactly how many vampires are in this city?" asked Minuet.
"Well…there's roughly a one-to-three ratio of humans to vampires," said Tanith hesitantly.
"And how many humans are there?" asked Émile.
"About forty, give or take," answered Tanith. Minuet groaned.
"A hundred and twenty vamps in one city?!" yelped Émile.
"Give or take," Tanith affirmed unhappily. "Look, we can worry about that later. Let's go back to the hideout, and you can meet Pete and the rest of the guys." Without waiting for an answer she turned and started back toward the warehouse, knowing her friends would follow. But as soon as they reached the warehouse Tanith knew something was wrong. "Wait here a sec. If you see any guys in 1920's suits and derbies, kill them with extreme prejudice." Tanith slipped inside silently…and was greeted by William and several of his best lieutenants. Andy, Joe, Patrick, and Pete were scattered through the room fighting while William stood in the center watching with that insufferable smile.
Tanith's eyes went wide. "You!" she shouted. William turned to smile at her.
"Ah Tanith, it is good to see you," he said.
"How in the hell did you find me here?" Tanith demanded in an angry hiss.
"A little bat told me," replied William with a smug smile. Tossing something to Tanith, he casually asked, "Look familiar?" Tanith caught what he had thrown, opened her hand…and gave a furious shriek. In her hand was a pair of bloody fangs. Brendon's fangs.
"I'll kill you!" she screamed. "I'll kill you, you gutter-blooded son of a whore!" She launched herself at him, but he was gone before she even came close.
"Now Tanith," he said in mock reproof, reappearing a few yards away. "That's no way to get what you want. Why I-" But he was cut off by Tanith's fist connecting with his jaw with a sickening crack! She seized a chair, snapped one of the legs off to form a makeshift stake, and lunged at William with a feral shriek. William vanished before she struck, and she spun around, searching for him.
"I'll kill you I'll kill you I'll kill you," she kept chanting. But William was gone, as well as his cronies who had survived.
"Tanith, what the hell just happened?!" cried Minuet, running inside with Émile.
"I'm going to kill him!" Tanith screeched. Minuet blinked in surprise, then her eyes widened as she realized what had happened.
"Brendon…" she said softly. "That son of a bitch did something to Brendon, didn't he?" It wasn't really a question. Émile snarled, his canines already elongating into werewolf fangs.
"We'll find him, Tan, don't worry," he said. "If we have to tear the whole city down brick by brick, we'll find him."
"That won't be necessary," said Tanith in a dangerous tone. Looking at the whole group, she said, "I know where Brendon is."
A/N: Émile and Gabriel are both based on Gerard Way, who, sadly, I do not own.