Heart's Price
by Severitus
--Part 7--
Julian was pacing his library, waiting to hear back from Cash, when Jeffrey hurried into the room, looking harried.
"Cameron has just arrived, my Prince. He insists that you come out front at once," Jeffrey said, then ducked his head, and added discreetly, "If I may…he seems very worried. He also asked if Daedalus were here."
Julian frowned, already heading toward the door. "Cameron asked after Daedalus? Did he say what for?"
"No, my Prince, only that it was urgent."
"Call Daedalus up. Cameron wouldn't ask for him if this wasn't serious," Julian ordered, then quickly outpaced the young Ventrue. Cash was standing by the door when he approached, looking somewhat angry and confused.
"What's going on?" he asked, "I thought I heard Cameron." Julian merely grabbed the Gangrel by the shoulder and steered him toward the front door.
"We're going to find out."
Cameron was pacing the drive when they emerged, and his expression was one that Julian couldn't remember ever seeing on the Brujah's face before. It reflected worry, fear, and even a bit of shock. The front of his suit was stained with spots of blood. Julian jerked…Frank's blood! Quickly staunching the anger that threatened to overtake him, Julian forced his expression into one of calm curiosity.
"Cameron? What is it?" he asked, and the Brujah looked glad to see him for once.
"My Prince…I…you'd best come see," he said, then without waiting to see that he followed, turned to the sleek black sports car than he drove. Julian watched with a feeling of dread creeping up his spine as Cameron opened the back door and stepped aside. Julian approached slowly, and then at a run as he spotted a familiar pair of shoes on the seat.
"Frank!" he nearly choked as he saw inside the car. At first glance, he would have sworn that Frank was dead. His breath was so shallow that his chest barely moved, and his heartbeat was sluggish and irregular. And his throat…oh, god…how had he lived?
"I found him collapsed in the warehouse district, my Prince. I do not know what happened to bring him there," Cameron was saying, but Julian barely heard his words. Cash had stepped up behind him, and had thrown a hand to his mouth in shock.
"Uh…the rogue kidnapped him yesterday," Cash managed to say. "She slaughtered everyone on his street…left a bloody message on his wall that she was taking him in exchange for her mate." As Cash spoke, Cameron's eyes lit with understanding. That explained all the Kindred scouring the streets, and why he hadn't been contacted. Frank was a friend of the Gangrel, of the Toreador Primogen, and respected by the Nosferatu. Cameron had not been purposefully left out of anything…the Detective's friends had merely gone to his aid.
"Oh, Frank…" Julian suddenly said, and the tightness in his voice drew the other's attention. Julian had pulled Frank from the car and held him carefully in his arms. Once out of the confined space of the car, he had smelled it at once. The scent of Gangrel, incredibly faint now, but undeniably present, was in his blood. He'd been Embraced. Blind pain and fury flooded Julian's veins, and his eyes glowed brightly silver. She would pay…he would rip her heart out with his bare hands for harming his mate so!
Wasting no further time, Julian secured his grip on the smaller man and left for the house at nearly a run, all too aware of the staggering beat of Frank's heart. If it stopped before his body was far enough into the Change, there would be no saving him. Cash and Cameron both trailed behind him as he unconsciously sped toward his bedroom.
Daedalus was already waiting, standing beside the bed with a leather pouch in hand. He looked unsurprised as usual, though his pale brow knit together in concern when he laid eyes on Frank.
Gently, Julian laid the prone man on the bed, being especially careful of his head and neck. He sucked in a breath as he caught sight of it anew…he'd never seen anyone survive such a brutal wound. To see it on the one he loved…it made his heart feel as if it were collapsing in his chest, his lungs as if they had frozen. Warm tears coursed down his face, but he couldn't focus on them.
Daedalus was quick to action. He inspected the wound with clinical detachment before gently touching Frank's forehead, closing his eyes as he easily sensed what others could only guess. "He is near his True Death," he said, removing several bottles from the leather pouch.
"I will do what I can, but it is a miracle he has survived this long, even having been newly Embraced," Daedalus said. Expertly, he administered several drops from each bottle, urging the injured man to swallow with gentle strokes to the uninjured side of his throat. Then he removed a long, curved needle and spool of black thread from the pouch, and Julian could not bare to watch as the Nosferatu began to sew shut what wounds he could. There was too much flesh missing for much, but at the very least, the continued blood loss could be stopped.
Julian was surprised to find both Cash and Cameron standing behind him, not glaring daggers at one another for once. Rather, they were staring at Frank, both wearing expressions of deepest concern.
"I…thank you, Cameron, for bringing him to me," Julian began. The Brujah turned to him and nodded politely.
"Though the Detective and I have not been on the best of terms, I would not wish such savagery on anyone. To be forcibly Embraced is crime enough, but this…brutality…is unforgivable," Cameron paused, meeting the Prince's silvered eyes. "I told you that my clan wished for him to be either Embraced or killed, my Prince…but we have not truly wished for his death. Though I admit I find your choice in him as a lover disturbing, I do not fault you for it. What I am trying to say, is that we never wished him ill. I am sorry this has happened, my Prince," Cameron said, and bowed slightly, politely ignoring the crimson tears that streaked the Ventrue's face.
"Your honesty is appreciated, Cameron. As is your concern. If you had not found him, Frank would certainly be dead already. That will not be forgotten," Julian said, then turned his head toward the bed again. Daedalus had finished his stitching, and was carefully winding a roll of white gauze around Frank's neck. Julian was pleased to note that, though still slow, Frank's heartbeat now managed to hold a steady rhythm, and his breathing was no longer as labored. As he watched, Cash and Cameron both slipped from the room, leaving the Prince to his privacy.
While Daedalus worked, Julian decided he could no longer stand idly by while Frank lingered at the doorway to death. Quickly fetching a washcloth and a basin of warm water from the bathroom, he sat on the opposite side of the bed and began cleaning away the dried blood. There were bruises beneath the blood, and Julian cringed anew. When he finished with his face, Daedalus helped him to slip off the ruined leather jacket and cut away the ragged shirt.
Frank's chest and arms were even worse than his face. There were large, dark, hand-sized bruises at his shoulders and on his arms, no doubt where he'd been held down. There were also shallow gashes down his front, but nothing that required more than a gentle cleansing with the warm cloth.
"How is he, Daedalus?" Julian asked, trailing his fingers over a bruise at Frank's temple. The Nosferatu sat on the side of the bed, not looking up from his patient.
"He is strong in spirit, my Prince. I have bolstered his strength, but I cannot guarantee that he will live. If he can last through the next few hours, enough for the Change to aid him, he will survive. I am sorry I cannot give you better news," Daedalus said, finally looking up to meet the Prince's eyes.
"Then I shall remain with him. If he does not live, at least he will not die alone," Julian said. Unsurprised, Daedalus nodded, and stood to collect his pouch from the bedside table.
"As there is nothing more I can do at the moment, I shall take my leave. I will return tonight to see how he has fared," he said, then turned for the door. Before he could slip out, Julian called to him.
"Thank you, my friend. For everything," Julian said. For the first time that day, Daedalus smiled.
"You are most welcome. Frank Kahonek is a good man," he said, then slipped quietly out the door. Julian almost laughed. From Daedalus, that had almost been a declaration of everlasting friendship. Somberly, he turned back to Frank's still body. Cleaned up, he looked much better than before…but he was still deathly pale and far too cold, even by Kindred standards. Kicking off his shoes and dropping his jacket to the floor, Julian pulled a folded blanket from the end of the bed over the unconscious man and crawled in beside him. Though he knew his own body was cool, he hoped that even that might help. Wrapping one arm gently about Frank's chest, he rested his head against his bare shoulder and closed his eyes. And then, he listened. Frank's heartbeat filled his senses, and it was on it that he focused. If Frank slipped into True Death, Julian determined that he would be there to give what comfort he could.