((Hey everyone! First of all, I want to say how sorry I am that this took so long. Things have been incredibly horrible the last few months, with only a few good things scattered here and there. It's all really personal stuff, so I won't talk about it much here, but I'm hoping that with the posting of this new chapter, my will to write is finally back!

Thank you so much for sticking with me, guys! As always, comments feed my tainted soul.))

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The moon glowed low in the sky, its reflection shimmering on the surface of the sea like a mirage. On a secluded cliff overlooking an empty stretch of beach was a gathering of the undead, split neatly down the middle by a makeshift path lined with softly glowing candles that flickered in the salty ocean breeze. The guests were dressed in a wide variety of clothing, from antique Victorian suits and dresses to modern haute couture. At the edge of the cliff stood three figures, one on each side of the aisle, with the third in the center.

On the right stood Paul, who had been wrangled into a royal purple suit worthy of Mick Jagger in his prime. On the left was Mae in a vintage 1930's tuxedo (one that Túlio swore up and down once belonged to Marlene Dietrich herself), her hair slicked back to add to her androgynous look. She was Túlio's best man, while Paul was Casper's. In the center stood David, who was officiating as the king of the city. He wore a military-inspired suit in deference to the importance of the occasion, although both he and Paul had refused to listen to Mae's insistence that they tame their hair. Oh well. Some battles just weren't worth fighting.

A few of the Russian vampires were classically trained violinists who had offered to play the music for the ceremony; they were stationed several feet behind Paul, the gentle strains of a Tchaikovsky piece floating across the breeze. The quiet murmurs of the guests suddenly ceased as footsteps so light only a vampire could hear them scraped across the sandy soil. Hand-in-hand, soft smiles on their faces, Túlio and Casper paused at the end of the aisle, waiting for the violinists to finish their current piece before beginning the song they would walk down the aisle to. Florence + The Machine's "All This And Heaven Too" seemed an odd choice for the damned, but it held a special meaning for Túlio and Casper, one that only they knew, and so no one questioned it.

The song began, and the two took their first steps towards the edge of the cliff. Mae watched her brother and her friend walk slowly across the cool grass, their expressions serene. The guests were silent and respectful; indeed, many of them were ecstatic that Túlio, long a fixture in vampire politics, was finally doing something solely for himself and cementing his own personal happiness. Many regarded him as a stabilizing for in the world of the damned, a voice of reason that both treasured the traditions of the most ancient of their race while embracing the rebellious nature of their newest additions. The members of the Los Angeles coven had been given places of honor at the front of the gathering, and only a few had dry eyes as their lord and his lover came to a stop in front of David. The song ended with a gentle flourish, leaving the air empty, save for the quiet rustling of the wind in the trees.

"You are all gathered to witness the union of Túlio, Lord of Los Angeles, and Casper, Captain of the Echo Park Coven." David began, his voice effortlessly carrying to each and every ear in the crowd. The ceremony itself would be short, since most vampires lacked religion, but the meaning was still there. Túlio and Casper turned to face each other while Paul and Mae stepped forward, placing the rings they'd kept in their pockets into the hand of their brother and friend before stepping back again. David turned his head towards Túlio, a gentle nod signaling that the man could begin his vows.

"Casper…" Túlio's accent was thick and heavy as his emotions threatened to overwhelm him. He took a steadying breath before carrying on.

"I could say a million flowery things to express how I feel about you, but none of them would do you justice. I have spent only a century in your company, and yet it feels like I've known you ever since I was born. You have been my guide, my heart, my salvation, my friend. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, however long that may be. If ever I wake up without you by my side, then surely that will be the day my long life has come to an end. Never shall I desire another, Casper. It is only you, always you. I give you my heart and soul, mi amor. Forever."

He carefully slipped his ring onto Casper's finger, the polished black obsidian shining in the hazy light of the moon. Túlio brought Casper's hand up to his lips, kissing his knuckles before bringing their hands back down again, waiting for Casper to say his piece. Casper's mind seemed to be slowly healing, and today was proof that he was on the mend: Casper's eyes shone bright as he gazed at his beloved, his smile soft and warm.

"Túlio…you were a king long before you gained a crown. When I first saw you, I thought the works of a master had come to life before my eyes. It was as if Velázquez had painted the perfect man and set him loose upon the world. And then I came to know you, not as the bright man who stood beside the throne, but as just a man, and I fell. I loved you in silence for decades, the shattered corners of my mind painted with your name. Even when the world was just a dizzying array of colors and shapes, you alone stood clear in my eyes. All around you was chaos, but you were order, a port in the storm, perfect elegance in an urban wasteland. You never cared that I wasn't whole, that my thoughts betrayed me, that I was pouring through the cracks in my own mind. And now you've become the pieces that were missing. My soul was never mine, Túlio; it was always yours, and it always will be. Forever."

A ring of burnished gold, studded with rubies shaped like tears of blood, was placed onto Túlio's finger before Casper mirrored his lover and kissed the shorter man's knuckles. The human part of the ceremony was complete. Now all that was left was a pact more binding than any marriage vow could ever dream of being: a mating, the sharing of blood to create a bond that would be broken only by death. The two men loosened their ties and collars, baring their necks to their chosen mates in a sign of trust and love.

"Before the eyes of the world, Túlio and Casper have chosen to become bound for eternity. Any who dare to object, keep your silence. They won't listen anyway." David raised an eyebrow at the gathered crowd, almost wishing that someone would cause a fuss just so he could punch someone. Sadly, no one did, so he continued on. "Then let it be known that with the sharing of their blood, they are mates, now and forever."

His part done, David stepped to the side, standing next to Mae as Túlio and Casper leaned in, their fangs bared, their arms wrapping around each other as sharp teeth sank into cold flesh.

The cheers of the crowd were drowned out by the roaring of the blood in their ears.


The black magic on Mulholland Drive

Swimming pools under desert skies

Drinking white wine in the blushing light

Just another LA Devotee

If anyone knew how to throw a party, it was a vampire. Túlio had spent untold amounts of money to make sure that tonight was a night no one would ever forget, not even in a thousand years. One of the largest warehouses in the abandoned industrial district had been transformed into a delightfully odd mix of nightclub and Victorian cabaret. Sure, it was cliché and gaudy, but if anything described Túlio's modern style, it was cliché and gaudy. Mae was kind of surprised that he hadn't put Brendon Urie under a mesmer and dragged him up to Santa Carla for the night, especially given her brother's love for the singer. Still, the DJ was playing enough Panic! At The Disco to make up for the man himself being absent, and Mae wasn't ashamed to say that she didn't mind it one bit.

The first few hours of the evening was taken up with dinner, or as close to a real dinner as one could have when none of the guests could really subsist on human food. Blood was pouring from the bar almost as readily as the wine, and the buffet of delicacies that lined one wall was nearly empty by the time midnight rolled around. No one really minded, though, since by then the dancing had well and truly begun. Túlio liked to dance almost as much as he liked wine and his now husband, so more than half of the warehouse was taken up by a dance floor. In deference to the unusual crowd of vampires in attendance, the musical selection was a mixture of modern music and classical, with dances from the 17th century mingling with 80's pop fads like they were old friends. An elegant waltz from the 1800's would melt into a rather stunning rendition of Thriller, which would be followed by the Brazilians giving an impromptu capoeira demonstration. The eclectic mix of dancing kept everyone entertained, even those who weren't inclined to let loose on the dance floor.

Sato and Nash stood near the bar, keeping a careful eye on the patrons, all of whom were well on their way to blackout drunk (and it took a lot of alcohol to get a vampire drunk). The shorter man raised an eyebrow at his captain, subtly nodding his head towards a pair from Perth who were about three cups away from causing a scene. Even though they seemed to be jovial drunkards, Nash had made it clear that anyone who got close to tanked would be cut off. With a smile, Nash nodded back, and Sato gave a signal to Lukas, who was having the time of his life serving drink after drink. The barkeeper nodded back, carefully switching out their drinks with plain blood, rather than the spiked blood they kept ordering. Several blood banks would be missing quite a few cases of blood come the morning, but Lukas had made sure that the thefts were spread out enough that they wouldn't be noticed for a long time.

Dwayne passed by and gave a silent command to his subordinates, indicating that they could take a break while he took over at the bar. Sato and Nash bowed their heads in thanks before heading towards the remains of the buffet. Dwayne had been hovering around the edge of the dance floor all night, taking his fun when he felt like it, but he wasn't the world's biggest dancer. He wasn't unhappy at all to take over for his men when they looked like they needed some time off. Aminah and Jamie were currently trying to learn the tango, helped along by a few willing partners from the Mexico City coven. At least, he was fairly sure they were from Mexico City.

He leaned against the bar, mentally tallying the rather enormous amount of covens represented in the room. From Oceania, Asia, and Africa, there was Sydney, Perth, Wellington, Cape Town, Nairobi, Cairo, Casablanca, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Manila, Mumbai, and Bangkok. The Europeans were from Paris, Bucharest, St. Petersburg, London, Stockholm, Venice, Madrid, and Reykjavik. Most of the major North and South American covens had sent someone, too: New York, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, Anchorage, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, and Montreal. It was a hell of a lot of people to keep track of, but so far, no one had tried anything stupid.

So far.

Sparrow and Caleb gave him a smile and a wave as they leaned against the bar next to him, trying to flag down Lukas, who was now occupied with nearly half of the representatives from the Miami coven. Caleb groaned, turning towards Sparrow with the beginnings of a pout on his face.

"Looks like we're going to have to wait." He sighed, his jacket askew after a few too many turns around the floor. Dwayne wasn't too familiar with Caleb's past, but he knew the kid had come from a family of actors. It's part of what made him so invaluable to Marko's company. "Seen anything interesting, Captain?"

"Nothing yet, and I hope it stays that way. I think all the hidden corners of this place are being used for 'secret' fuck spots, though." Dwayne groaned, running his fingers through his hair to straighten it out.

"Yup. I can confirm that." Sparrow cringed, obviously remembering an earlier encounter with something she definitely did not want to see. Dwayne vaguely remembered that she was asexual, so he felt a bit sorry for her. Tonight wasn't going to be pleasant for the sex-repulsed, that was for sure.

"You can call up Murtagh, he's due for a break from rooftop duty, if you want." Dwayne offered. He'd sent his second-strongest fighter up there to cool down after he nearly started a brawl with the muscle of the New York contingent. Something about baseball team rivalries, of all things.

"Sounds good, Commander." Sparrow nodded in thanks, patting Caleb on the back before heading for the stairs to the roof. Her friend had finally caught Lukas' attention, and the two were chatting about something or the other, leaving Dwayne alone to his thoughts once more.

A cheer rose up from the tables where dinner had taken place as one of the Swedes and one of the Filipinos decided to have a drinking contest. Dwayne barely held back another groan, sending out a mental command to Aminah and Jamie to cut their break short to keep an eye on them.

It was going to be a long night.


Mae cast her eyes around the room, doing a periphery check even though she wasn't on the security team. As the maid of honor, so to speak, she was in charge of making sure the evening went as smoothly as possible. It was an arduous task, but she knew her brother would do the same for her if she ever got married. She pushed the thought aside, not wanting to dwell on her boyfriend's obvious reluctance to talk about the subject. Sure, they had other things on their plate at the moment, but a bit of mindless talk about maybe reaching some sort of compromise would be a nice distraction. Oh, well. Mae liked to think that she was a practical woman, and dwelling on such a delicate subject wouldn't help her focus at all. Besides, she didn't need a wedding to dedicate herself to her chosen lover, but it would be nice. Túlio wouldn't shut up about it, now that he was married himself…when he wasn't making googly eyes at Casper and failing to subtly feel him up whenever they had a moment to themselves…

Nope, not thinking about it. Focus.

The tide to and from the dance floor ebbed and flowed like the waters of the nearby ocean. Right now, the floor was at high tide, filled to the brim with bodies moving to one of the latest club hits. The pulsing thrum of the bass made the glasses on the nearest tables shake, whatever liquid that had remained inside them sloshing about precariously. Some of the more sedate members of the guest list sat at the few tables that weren't covered in empty glasses, talking amongst themselves about whatever vampires liked to talk about at a party. Mae didn't pretend to know what their interests could be, although she could name every single person in the room and give you just enough information about them to be useful. She caught a snippet of conversation, something about a few vampires from Bangkok wanting to extend their stay in America and travel up to San Francisco. She mentally relayed the information to her boyfriend, catching Marko's interest in the form of a warm buzz just below the nape of her neck. He was moseying around the room, smiling in that devilish way of his as he collected all the dark secrets he could. David seemed to be on the roof, probably to escape the constant politicking the more traditional covens were trying to do, and Dwayne was by the bar. Paul was in the middle of the fray on the dance floor, as he had been all night. Mae smiled, turning her head to catch a glimpse of her brother's blonde mop of hair peeking out over the crowd for a brief moment before being lost again. At least he was having fun.

"A penny for your thoughts?" A soft voice broke Mae out her musings. She whipped around, seeing an unfortunately familiar face sitting at the table just to her left.

Star, or rather, Ileana, was dressed in what could be generously described as 'high fashion bohemian chic', a incredibly colorful mix of lace, fringe, full skirts and peasant tops that looked like it took entirely too much effort for very little result. It looked like she had told a stylist to make her look like a hippie without ever leaving the Givenchy store. Mae suspected that Cosmina had a hand in Star's look; from what little David had told her, Star was something of a 'free spirit' back in the good old days, and she often looked like an extra from a Stevie Nicks music video. Cosmina must have wanted her lady-in-waiting to retain that aesthetic without ever leaving Rodeo Drive. Frankly, it was a bit much, but, to her credit, Star wore it like it was the most perfect outfit ever created.

"Ileana, am I correct? I'm afraid my thoughts are worth more than a copper coin." She smiled politely, trying to keep the acid from her voice. Star only looked amused, pulling a deck of cards from her pocket and shuffling them expertly.

"Care to have your fortune told, then?" Star offered, indicating the chair across from her. Mae frowned, quickly looking around, but since there was no one nearby to rescue her, she sat down and decided to play the game.

"Tarot?"

"Yes. I learned it a long time ago from an expert. They're not always easy to read, but they tell the truth every time."

"Of that I'm sure." Mae replied, but it was obvious that she didn't believe it. Despite living in a world of monsters and shadows, she thought that fortune telling was a children's game at best and a scam at worst. She wasn't quite sure what Star was up to, but it couldn't hurt to see it through.

"We'll just do a three card spread: past, present, and future. Anything you want to ask?" Star raised an eyebrow, spreading the cards out in a fan on the table.

"…How will this week end?" Mae answered, figuring that it was the most generic question she could ask.

"Then run your fingertips along the cards. Pick the first three that call to you." Star prompted, waving her hand over the fanned out deck.

As her right hand hovered over the cards, something began tingling at the back of her neck, the sensation of being watched, but not by anyone in the room. It was as if a shawl made of gauze had settled on her shoulders, heavy with the weight of the supernatural. Had she not being having premonitions of danger for days on end, she would have shrugged it off, both literally and metaphorically. As it was, she once again pushed her thoughts aside, instead choosing to focus on the here and now. Her three cards selected, she watched as Star carefully put the deck aside and arranged the remaining three cards in front of her. She flipped the first over, revealing the picture of a man carrying rods on his back, heading towards a distant town.

"For the past…the Ten of Wands." Star murmured, running a perfectly manicured nail along the edge of the card. "A sign of stress. This card means that a great effort was undertaken, and now it is nearing its completion."

"The wedding." Mae frowned.

"Indeed. You worked hard to see this event come to fruition, and now it's here." Shit, Star even talked like the damn Romanians. Mae was sure that David had told her that Star was just a normal American girl, not someone who used the entire thesaurus to describe the time of day. Despite the accuracy of the reading, Mae chalked it up to just a lucky guess. Star flipped over the next one: five men, each holding a staff, waving them about like they were fighting each other.

"For the present…the Five of Wands." Star tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before continuing. "There is conflict and tension. Either a great battle is about to begin, or the delicate threads that hold something together are about to snap. Perhaps there's an argument going on?" The woman looked up at Mae, as if asking for clarification…or the latest gossip.

Mae said nothing.

"As you wish. Finally, the future…" Star turned over the last card, revealing a white hand holding a sword, a wreath and a crown at the tip of the blade. The card was upside down. "The Ace of Swords, reversed. Very interesting."

"What does it mean?" Mae frowned again, wondering what had Star so intrigued.

"This card, when facing this way, means chaos. Soon, something will happen that will throw your world into turmoil." Star looked up, her eyes serious, as if she knew exactly what would happen. Mae held her gaze, sitting straight and tall, like a viper poised to strike.

"And what chaos can I expect, Miss Ileana?"

"More than you know, Miss Clayton. More than you know."

And with that, Star gathered up her cards and stood, sweeping away in a rustling of skirts and silks, until Mae was the only one left at the table.


The sun was less than an hour away from rising when the last of the guests was finally ushered out of the warehouse and into a waiting car. Mae sat on the counter of the bar, her tuxedo jacket long discarded, her sleeves rolled up as she sipped a few fingers of bourbon mixed with blood. The warehouse would be locked up until the next evening, when the cleanup crew (some very heavily mesmerized humans overseen by what would likely be a few incredibly hung over vampires) would come in and return the building to its usual drab, empty state. Túlio and Casper were safely tucked away at Mae's house, guarded by Reina and the rest of their attendants. All of the various covens had retired to their hotels and hideaways for the night, with most of them due to leave first thing in the evening the following night. Some, like the Bangkok coven, would be caravanning up to San Francisco, where they would extend their vacations in the picturesque city before flying back home. At least they would be the San Francisco council's problem then.

David was talking with Dwayne, the two of them probably going over the plans for tomorrow, making sure that every entrance and exit to the city was watched to make sure no one overstayed their welcome. Paul was ostensibly helping Lukas pack up the few remaining bottles of alcohol, but in reality he was just drinking as much as he could before everything was locked up for the day. With the exception of Aminah, who was checking that the remainder of the warehouse was secure before they all left, the rest of the Santa Carla coven had been dismissed, heading back to their apartments or houses before the sun could catch them. Aminah had a flat a few blocks outside of the industrial district and Lukas lived in Pandemonium's second floor, so they had offered to stay behind and help tidy up. Mae finished off her glass and handed it off to Lukas, who wiped it off and chucked it in a basin with the other dirty glasses. They'd all get washed tomorrow, bacterial growth be damned.

It's not like any of them could get sick, after all.

Marko was lingering near the doorway, tapping rapidly on his phone, probably texting one of his men or making notes of all the things he'd heard that night. Mae pushed herself off the counter and grabbed her jacket, making her way over to him as the others began wrapping up and getting ready to leave. His phone was back in his pocket by the time she reached his side, and thus his hands were free to rest themselves on her waist as he pulled her into a soft kiss. When there was no one here but the people he trusted with his life, Marko was more than willing to give his girlfriend the affection she was obviously angling for. The gentle warmth and fondness pulsing radiating from her mind was his reward, although they were interrupted by Paul, who decided that careening into the two of them was the best idea ever.

"Ugh! You smell like a condemned Hooters!" Mae gagged, pushing her youngest brother away.

"Aw! You flatter me, kiddo!" Paul ruffled her hair, although his attempts were somewhat hindered by the incredible amount of hair gel Mae had needed to slick back her thick locks. Androgyny wasn't easy to come by when you'd been letting your hair grow out for the last few years. "Ugh! It's like a salon jizzed on your hair!"

Marko snickered at his brother's comeback, ignoring the death glare Mae sent him. Still, now that the worst of the week was over, Mae was willing to be nice, so she only stomped heavily on Paul's foot in retaliation, instead of doing something worse. Paul counted it as a win, and once David and Dwayne finally joined them, the five headed towards Mae's truck, David taking his usual place as shotgun while the rest clambered into the back, uncaring of the dust ruining their "formal" wear. With a wave to Aminah and Lukas, they were off, ready to get home and bunker down for the night.

The two remaining members of the Santa Carla coven waved back, checked that the warehouse door was securely locked, and parted ways, eager to get to their own beds. The night had gone well, and they deserved their rest.

In the distance, the sky was turning blue, the sun clawing its way inexorably towards the horizon.


At sixty minutes to sunrise, seven vampires died.

At fifty minutes to sunrise, two vampires succumbed to their wounds.

At forty minutes to sunrise, the smell of ash and burning bone was blown towards the sea by an errant wind.

At thirty minutes to sunrise, the fires on the beach were gone, as if they'd never happened.

At twenty minutes to sunrise, a homeless man saw two bloody, gaunt figures ran past him at speeds unheard of by mortal man.

At fifteen minutes to sunrise, there was a knock on Mae's door.


"…Teodor? Cosmina?"

"They…They tried to kill us!"

"We formally request asylum."

"…David?"

"…Asylum granted."

"Get in."