Chapter 13: Double Jeopardy
At the mansion, Julian paced back on forth on the carpet floor, ignoring Daedalus who sat on the sofa opposite him.
"What is wrong?" Daedalus asked. Daedalus was the Primogen of the Nosferatu. He had a misshapen baldhead with ridge forehead, green reptilian eyes, fangs instead of teeth and retractable claws as his fingers. He was dress casually in a blank mandarin jacket with silver thread inlay on the collar and matching pants. He was also Julian's best friend.
"Drusilla gave me a cryptic message earlier and that's wasn't the half of it. I cannot reach Lissa.
"Lissa?" Daedalus question, his forehead furrowed. "Is something wrong with her."
"I don't know," Julian said with a frown. "Did you hear that," he asked, shivering. He cocked his head to the side; listening to a sound, only he could hear.
"No," Daedalus said with concern. As Kindred, his hearing was superb; he could hear a pin dropped two rooms away. But he didn't heard what Julian was hearing. What is it my Prince?" Daedalus asked, walking over to the other man.
Julian stopped suddenly, holding his head as if in pain "No," he moaned staggered slightly against a wall.
"Where are you hurt?" Daedalus demand, grabbing Julian's arm.
"It's gone," he moaned.
"What?"
Julian looked at Daedalus with red-rimmed eyes. "Since Lissa has been in my life, there was always a constant buzz in my head also a static. It's now gone."
"That could mean only one thing."
"Lissa," he said bleakly.
"Have you tried contacting her?"
"I been trying since I felt this way," he said.
"Where Victor?" Daedalus questioned. "They always together," he said walking over to the telephone. He punched a few numbers, but the he couldn't connect with anyone.
Julian sighed and sat down with his head rested in his hands.
Daedalus frown. "Where Cash?" he demand, taking note of Julian paleness. Only a few people knew that Buffy and Julian was bonded. Because of the bond, if they were grievously wounded, they might die
"I sent Cash on a errand," Julian said breathing harshly.
"What errand?" Daedalus asked frantically. "He needed to be with you. He's your bodyguard," he said sharply. "I don't trust anyone else with you. I will go out to look for Lissa," he said turning towards the door.
"My friend," Julian said speaking in ragged bursts. "Lissa is alive, I can feel her."
"Where is she?" Daedalus asked eagerly. He couldn't stand to see Julian like this. "I will contact some of my people to go for her."
"I don't know," he said coughing. "I can sense her. It's like she is a veil or a cocoon."
"Not even with the blood bond," Daedalus asked aghast.
Julian shook his head in despair. He was in pain; it was if his soul was gone.
"What is going on here?" Daedalus asked exasperated. "I cannot get anyone on their cell phone not even Cash. What sort of errand he was running for you?" he questioned, strolling back towards Julian who was lying on a black leather couch.
"I told him to follow Sabine," Julian said, his voice low.
"Lillie's daughter," Daedalus asked with a frown. "Why?"
"If that who she really is," Julian said with a shrug.
"I believed so," Daedalus said with frown. "She has Lillie blood. I can smell her blood in Sabine. That is why I really do believe she's Lillie's Daughter."
"If she is truly Lillie's daughter, where has she been all these years? I would have welcomed her as my kin daughter of that one that was lost to me. I had loved Lillie once. Even on the moment of her death. But betrayal is hard to forgive."
"I know," Daedalus said on a sigh. "I was disappointed with the choice Lillie had made. But what I could I do," he said shrugging.
"Nothing my friend," said Julian. "Nothing. As you said it was Lillie choice. It was her choice to offer up my city to terrorists. But if Sabine is truly Lillie's daughter, we have a major complication."
"Why?" asked Daedalus with a frown.
"I had asked Cash to follow Sabine, but he lost her."
"The Gangrel lost someone," Daedalus said incredulously. "They rival the Nosferatu in tenacity."
"That's true," Julian admits worriedly. Cash never lost anyone he had tracked before. That's what made Cash such a valuable asset. His doggedness. Julian eyed his long time friend, and made up his mind to confide in him. "After the situation at the Haven. Lissa and I had come to some sort of resolution. She had reminded me that she had scent a strange perfume in the conference room of the Haven. You know the Slayer has a keen scent of smell."
Daedalus nods.
"At the time when she had mention the perfume, I had accused her of jealously."
Daedalus grinned briefly. "Have you told her, she had nothing to be fearful of?"
"Of course I told her," said Julian impatiently. "But she says she wasn't jealous."
"And you didn't believe her?" Daedalus said.
"She wasn't quite telling me truth, but I let it go," Julian admits, running his hand through his hair. "The scent of the perfume was much worse in her eyes. Lissa recognized the same scent at being at two different crime scenes. Sabine was the only female in the conference room wearing perfume."
Daedalus stared in disbelief.
"Yes my friend," Julian said. "That was my reaction too. If indeed it is so, I won't be a friend of the Toreadors after killing two Primogen. But, if she's guilty of killing mortals, then she needed to be executed for breaking our masquerade." Julian sighed. "I remembered a time when every one lived to uphold the laws, and no one dares to break the masquerade in fear of true death. Now, lot more people knows we exists, and because of that we Kindred are grow indolent. Lissa wanted the laws to be changed, but the laws don't need to be changed. It needed to be amended."
"Are you sure about that Julian?" Daedalus said doubtfully.
"I'm sure," Julian said firmly.
"You are not going to get all the heads to agree with this," Daedalus warned.
"I have a strategy," said Julian. "If we can get New York, Illinois, Dallas and Nevada, to see reason, we'll be all set. The rest will follow."
"Yes they will," Daedalus acknowledged. "But every state must agree," he said with a frown.
"It's not going to be a problem," he said with a shrug.
"Julian," Daedalus caution. "Don't let arrogance be your downfall."
"It's not arrogance," Julian admits. "It's surety," he said
In the midst of their conversation, the telephone rang.
Julian exchanged glances with Daedalus.
He walked cautiously towards the telephone. Did he want to answer the phone, he thought putting the phone to his ears. He didn't recognized the voice on the other end but he paled as he continued to listen.
"Julian?" Daedalus called out in concern, watching the borrowed blood bleached out of the other man.
Julian held up a hand to silence him. He slowly hanged up the phone.
"My Prince, what is it?" Daedalus asked, walking over to put a hand on Julian shoulder in sympathy.
"Sabine have Lissa," he whispers hoarsely.
"Are you sure?" he asked, looking into Julian's ravage face. "I guess you are sure."
Victor opened his swollen eye. He blinked, trying to orient himself. Blood dripped steadily from the wound on his forehead. He tried to raise one of his to arms to wipe it from his forehead, but he found both of them shackled to a silver chain on the wall. To a werewolf silver was poisonous. And he could feel it burning steadily in an open wound, especially since he was nude. His assailant had given his body a work over. There were places were the skin was raw and ragged. His face contorted in agony as pain racked his body, as he tried to breathe through his mouth and thru a broken nose. He tried to take stock of his injuries. His fingers and ribs were broken, both his arms were dislocated, and it was painful hanging he way he was. And he probably has some internal bleeding. Normally shifting into a werewolf would speed up the healing but the silver chains that bind him continued to leak poisons into his wounds. Suddenly the air around him changed and he strained to separate the sound. A floorboard creaked and the shadows on the wall facing him shifted. He looked cautiously around, his heart beating a mile a minute. The last thing he had remembered was he was looking for evidence of Burke abduction, when six vampires attacked him.
At that time, he had given as well as he had received, but still the vampires had over powered him. A moan of pain escaped from his lips. He sensed that he was alone in a large room, although his keen nose had detected that recently a lot of people had recently vacated the room. Oh no, he thought sniffing. Is that a dead body? He tried to separate the scents. Decaying bodies and fish. Fish, he thought. It could only mean one thing. He was near the docks.
The floorboard creaking caught his attention. Someone was coming! He quickly shut his eyes, and regulatedhis breathing to slow.
Two men entered the room, carrying a large package wrapped tightly with a gray and frayed blanket. They had thrown the bundled on the cold concrete floor, and the blanket open to show a bruised and battered Buffy.
Ummph, Buffy thought as her body slowly came to a hauntingly roll. She could feel the aches and pain as her battered fell on the concrete floor. She slowly opened her eyes gazing disoriented around the room. She couldn't believe she had walked into a trap. She could literally kick herself, but she can't. Since she found herself lying on the floor, she had been trying to move. For the first time in years, Buffy found her self in unattainable position. She was a Slayer damn it. She shouldn't had gotten in such a situation. Arrogance and ennui was her downfall. Here she was in a lot pain and she has no idea where she was. She tried concentrating to contact Julian psychically, but the connection wasn't there. It was like trying to make a phone call and getting a busy signal. She was blind psychically. Buffy felt frustrated she could also feel her throat closing up and there was heaviness in her stomach.
She couldn't move her body. Oh dear God, she thought. I'm paralyzed. They must had giving me something. Curare, she thought, remembering the rare drug that was fed to Catherine. No, she moaned. She now remembered feeling hands touching her in places only Julian had the right to. And when they weren't fondling her they were hurting her by kicking, pinching, biting, even slicing her and watching her bleed. She couldn't see them, but she could smell them and she marked their scent in her nostril. She felt the pain, but couldn't do anything about. She shuddered inwardly, her mind going back to Catherine Dunmore and what they had done to her and what they probably going to do the same with her. She could feel the small hairs on the back of her neck stir. She was not going out like Catherine, she won't let them.
The men had left the room after disposing of their burden and Victor slowly opened one swollen eyelid and cautiously looked around. His keen hearing, heard that something was left behind and he wondered what it was. He scented the air, but the overwhelming scent of fish musk and decaying bodies masked the scent. It was a person and he barely hear it's heart beating. He saw the package amidst stale water and debris littering the floor, and his eyes widen in surprise, causing him to blink in pain. "Buffy? Buffy!" he called thru clench teeth, his pulse roars in his ears.
Buffy was surprised to hear Victor's voice. While pondering her own problem, she thought she was alone. She tried to turn toward the voice, but the effects of the drug were too strong.
"Buffy can you hear me?" Victor called, his voice strained. "I need your help." And for the next fifteen minutes he periodical called her until he was hoarse.
Trapped into her paralyzed body, Buffy couldn't respond.
Victor hanged his head down in despair. Finally, in one last act of desperation, he called to her. "Please Buffy if you can hear me. They wrapped me with silver chains, I need to shift to heal my self," he said on a moan.
Tears fall from Buffy eyes, to drip next to her on the floor. Her Slayer metabolism was acting fast, breaking down the curare in her system, but she knows it's wasn't fast enough. Normally the drug would have left her body already, but the vampires fearing her strength had tripled the dose. But in a couple more hours it would be gone altogether. It was fifteen more minutes before she could move her head and she slowly turn it towards Victor. With a fierce concentration, Buffy used her telekinesis to unwrap the chains from around Victor's waist.
He was in so much pain he barely took note, when the chains around him fell to the ground. "Buffy?" he said shakily, hope and relief in his voice.
After she had un-wrapped the chains around Victor's ankles and wrists, she was drained. She laid her head heavily back on the ground, her face dark with pain and sweat.
"Thank you, thank you," Victor moaned, falling to the ground. He crawled on all fours over to Buffy prone body. "Where are you hurt?" he demands, rubbing his broken digit over her body. "Shit," he said wincing. "For minute there I forget that they broke my fingers." With his fingers aching, he dragged Buffy head to rest in his lap. "Buffy? Why won't you answer me?" he demanded.
"She can't," said voice at the entryway. "And I see that you managed to free yourself."
"Who are you?" he demanded, giving her a long searching look. Vampire, he noted smelling her scent.
Sabine strolled into the room. "My" she said, ignoring his comment. "If I knew you were that well built, I would have given you a go," she said eying his nude state.
An unwelcome blush crept into Victor face as he cradled Buffy's body strategically in front of him.
Buffy turned her head slowly to watch the woman, walking haughtily into the room. She was Buffy size. Anyone that arrogant, thought Buffy must be self-assured or a vampire. She ignored Buffy lying on the floor and her own personal bodyguard that scurried behind her to circle a blushing Victor. Here she was, Buffy thought trying not to think about the situation, she was in. It's not everyday that she find her self being cradle by a naked man, that's not her husband. Plus she does want to think about where her head was being cradled. It's on something hard, and she hoped it's Victor's stomach or thigh. It had better be for both their sake.
Buffy continued to eying the woman surreptitiously, who was leaking massive power, this can mean one thing. This is Lillie's daughter, Sabine Petit-Raine. Julian was right, she doesn't look like Lillie. Throughout her contemplation the muscles in her legs and hands began to spasms, which means the drug had finally run it's course throughout her body. She gritted her teeth on a painful spasms and it took a small effort for her not to move. If this was indeed Lillie's daughter, then she was killer. She didn't fits the description of the woman that was seen on campus with Mr. Dean. That was probably Drusilla. But why killed all those men. For blood. That was no excuse. Although Kindred were in the masquerade, there were a few mortals out there that know that they exist and willing share blood with them.
What Sabine did was cruel. What does she want from me? Buffy wondered. She wanted to jump up and confront Sabine and maybe beat her to a bloody pulp. But Buffy needed to know what her agenda is. What is her purpose? Why kidnapped both her and Victor? And what happen to Burke? Victor's a cop, he need to keep her talking. All bad guys have this need to confess or boast of their intellect. Buffy was depending on Victor, to hold out as long as he could. She could smell blood, thick in her nostrils, and being close as they were, she could feel his pain, and his instinct to shift. And she wished she could give Victor a small signal telling him to hold out a little bit longer.
"Who are you?" Victor demanded again, watching the woman warily. He could feel the power radiating off her and he could feel his beast. It wasn't the full moon, he shouldn't be feeling this way. They probably gave him something, like they did with Buffy. He wanted to scream. Instead, a growl echoed out his mouth. "What do you want with us?" he said in a gravel voice tight with pain.
"Us?" the woman said giggling. "You are bait. I don't want you," she said motioned to a couple of men towards him.
"Don't come near me," Victor warned, dragging both himself and Buffy backward. He winced. Although some of his wound had healed during the few minutes since Buffy freed him, he was still in a lot of pain.
"What are going to do?" she demand, eying him with a dubious expression.
Victor fixed a level stare onto Sabine and crawled backward, still dragging Buffy.
Buffy moaned.
"Where do you think you are going?" Sabine said her eyes light with amusement.
Victor slowly put Buffy head on the floor and with a low growl he stood up, his forehead furrowed and his eyes red. Another growl sounded as his teeth elongated and his face lengthens. His bones beneath his skin start rippling and his skin twisted, contorted making away for another shape. And his skin ripped apart in a gush of blood and gore leaving behind a large black wolf trailing viscous fluid on the floor. The wolf howled and eyed Sabine as it slowly stalked her.
"En bas le chiot!" said Sabine, backing away slowly.
Screams and shouts echoed in the room as vampires scrambled out the way of the stalking wolf.
Grimacing in pain, Buffy wanted to scream, but she needed the element of surprise. "Damn," she muttered. In the confusion, Buffy with the poisons out of her system raised herself slowly from the floor and stealthily walked up to Sabine, who was watching Victor with a watchful fixity on her face. "She's mine!" Buffy yelled, putting herself between the werewolf and the vampire.
"Mon Dieu!" Sabine cried, looking at the revive Buffy in shock and disbelief. "How?"
Buffy twist her body to look at both Victor and Sabine. "I am a Slayer," she said simply.
"A what?" Sabine said eyeing Buffy askance
Suddenly several more men crashed into the room. Victor seeing more target charged them. Screams of pain and rage echoed throughout the room as Victor charge the crowd. The wolf tore into bodies scattering blood and flesh throughout the room.
What's going on? Sabine thought ignoring the sound of pain. The bitch should be dead. She wanted her to be dead.
"A Slayer," Buffy said with a smirk. "All this time, you had been messing around both with my head and my co-workers and you really don't know who I am or what I am capable of. Being French and all haven't you heard of the adage know thy enemy?"
Sensing, rather than seeing Buffy's amusement Sabine lips thinned with irritation. "Well, well, well," she said mockingly. "Look, who's had been playing beaver."
"Speak American," Buffy said flatly, hitting Sabine with a right hook across her face. "It's possum." Looking back, Buffy could see when everything had change between her and her team. At the time, she didn't question it. she should have asked more question, but she wasn't clairvoyant, but a telepath, a touch telepath. But this person had made a mockery of her gifts. She's strong. To be able to influence normal humans, but humans with psychic ability it was rare, but rarer still was the ability to influence Kindred.
Buffy wanted to annihilate her. But the thing she had said to Sabine holds true to her. 'Know thy enemy." She watched her carefully as Sabine staggered backwards.
"She's the bad guy," Victor asked with an incredulous air, as he walked to stand beside Buffy. He was wearing tattered and bloodstain clothing from his victims. He could only gape at the barely five feet nothing woman. He eyed her in disbelief. She could be Buffy's twin, sort of. They were both opposites and the same. Buffy was the sun and Sabine the moon. Buffy had a darker blond hair while Sabine's was a pale silvery blond. She looked almost ethereal.
Buffy rolled her eyes. Why is that people always underestimating a woman because of her size? "Why else would she be here?"
"But-but, look at her," he stammered, making a slight gesture with his hand. "She's a doll."
"Yeah, a doll with sharp fangs and teeth," Buffy said eyes narrowed on the woman.
Sabine shook her head, licking blood slowly from a cut at the corner of her lip. "Yum," she moaned, her eyes turning gray as power crackled in the room and electricity arch in the room hitting metal and steel in the warehouse.
Sabine turned towards Buffy, levitating, hair flaring out behind her.
"Victor," Buffy said, backing away slowly. "Run!"
"What?" Victor said, his body suddenly rigid and unyielding and his feet felt as if in was encase in cement. He turned awkwardly to look at Sabine as she continued to float towards him.
"Don't look her into her eyes!" Buffy shouted. But she was too late, Sabine had capture Victor with her eyes. He stood stiffly, as if he was made out of stone.
"Let him go!" Buffy screamed, rushing towards the other woman.
"Why?" she growl, her eyes dark and stormy like a turbulent sea. "Do you care about him?" Sabine ask in a silkily voice.
Buffy stopped in headlong rush. She eyed the woman, giving her wide berth. She opened her mouth to respond but quickly shut it with a snap.
"Non- non, don't lie," she admonished. "I can read your every thoughts," she admonished.
"Who are you?" demanded Buffy. "A freak?" she asked her voice heavy with sarcasm. "What do you want from me?"
"Aberration?" Sabine cried in disbelief looking Buffy up and down as if she smelled something rotten. "Nature created me. What are you? You are the anomaly. You are not human, not Kindred. You are the aberration!"
It wounded Buffy. To be called a freak hurts, that's why she flung that insult at Sabine. Even Julian, although he never said, even he couldn't quite grasp what Buffy had become.
Sensing a hit of weakness, Sabine continued using her voice to persuade, to control, to entice. "Soon your amoureux et amis will be afraid of you."
Feeling the push, Buffy throw away the doubts that crowded her mind. She drew upon an inner reserved of strength. "I am not a puppet, for you to pull my string. What do you want?"
"Want?" Sabine cried with disbelief. "I want you to die."
"Positive much!" said Buffy taken aback. "I just met you, wait until you know me before you try to kill me. At least that most people do."
"I don't want to know you," Sabine retorted, her beautiful face twisted in a snarl. "I want you to die."
"Okay," Buffy said placating. "You don't have to be a repeat-o girl. You want me dead, yeah. But why?" she asked watching the other woman with a puzzled frown. "I never do anything to you? I just met you."
"You ruin my life!" she shrieks. Sabine eyed Buffy with a hint of madness in her eyes. All the rage and bile spelled out. When Julian Luna had met Lissa, Lillie had called her. Crying. Sabine never understood how her beautiful mother could be stuck over one man. Julian Luna was not all that. At the time, she had made promises to meet Lillie, but when she had gotten into town, she found out that she was dead and all because of Lissa Luna.
That day, something inside of her snap and she vowed revenge. It took years of carefully planning before she able to see everything come to fruition. Over the years, she watched trying to find Lissa's weakness. It was her family, she knew with all the guards surrounding the family, she won't get a chance through them. So she found the next best thing. Her job. That was a lucky happenstance. While watching, she had come upon Lissa Luna changing her appearance to Buffy Summers, and then entering the A.D.A.P. building. Then she had made it her choice to cultivate the members. It was easy. And she knew the only way, she could draw Buffy out was to kill mortals.
"Your life?" Buffy asked incredibly, interrupting her thoughts. "What about the young men you killed."
"Collateral damage," she said with a shrug. "I was hungry."
"Hungry?" Buffy said stunned. "The senseless killing of several young men was because you was hungry. How about Catherine Dunmore?"
"Who?"
"You don't even know who I'm talking about," Buffy said incredulously.
Sabine shrugged. "I killed many," she admits. "What so significant about one woman?" she asked.
Buffy turned to look her with eyes stony with anger. "She maybe insignificant to you, but not to her family," she retorted.
Sabine glance sharpened. "This woman was important to you. Why?" she asked, observing Buffy through lowered lashes.
"Why?" Buffy asked incredulously. She couldn't wrapped her head around the idea that Catherine wasn't important. When a person takes time to torture someone, they had better be important. "You bleed and torture her until everything about was erased. "Tell me she was important," she spat.
"Aah," she said smiling a maliciously smile. "So it was she that got your attention. I've been leaving my calling card all over, it was about time you noticed," she said harshly as she paced up and down in front of Buffy, both of them ignoring Victor who was still frozen to the ground. "I knew that would get your attention."
"My attention?" Buffy cried bitterly. "We have never met. At least when a person is trying to kill me I wanted know why."
"You killed my mother," she said shooting daggers with her eyes. If she had knife or a gun, Buffy would be dead.
"Your mother?" Buffy questioned, not giving a hint that she know that Sabine was Lillie's daughter. Ah, Buffy thought, revenge. She understood the act of revenge. "Who was your mother? I kill so many vampires, what's one more," she said nonchalantly, watching her intently.
"Aargh," Sabine screamed rushing towards Buffy. But Buffy had anticipated that and put her foot out, to cause Sabine to tripped in her headlong rush.
"Who was this paragon, I had supposedly killed," Buffy mocked, looking down at Sabine who was sprawled at her feet.
Sabine turned gray and she snarled through clenched teeth. "Lillie Lantry.
"I didn't have Lillie killed," Buffy said quietly.
"I did," said Julian, walking slowly into the room. Behind him were several hundred Kindred. Ventrue, Gangrel, Nosferatu and Brujah.