Vicente paced through his private little room in the Sanctuary. It had been a week since the Speaker last paid them a visit and the Breton was worried to say the least. Worried, because of the disturbing turn of events Lachance had shared with him. And worried because as for now, neither the Speaker nor his Silencer had returned to the Sanctuary. It struck him as odd, since Boudicca often came for a visit after completing a contract. And that one was so easy she should have come back days ago.
Maybe she is still angry.
He thought.
Or Lucien has her running over Cyrodiil as some form of sick punishment.
He sighed and turned to his cabinet, only to find it empty. Again he sighed and looked to the door.
How am I supposed to stay low?
He asked himself.
If I don't go out, I'm going to starve!
The gaze of his pale red eyes fell on his cape. He already looked haggard and frighteningly thin. He needed to feed, besides his hunger was burning inside him like a fire.
"Oh screw you Lucien. I need to go out!"
He muttered under his breath as he threw his cape around his shoulders.
"Besides what the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over. Lachance wont know I've been out and about."
He opened the door and quickly made his way through the hallway. The sanctuary was quiet. Some members were still on contracts, while others spend their free time in the common area. There have been no new contracts coming in. And how could they with Lucien out there. Somewhere.
The vampire made his way over to the hole in the wall, leading to the secret entrance. He passed by their newest addition. For a moment Vicente stopped. Ever since the young Dunmer returned he seemed shaken, even though he performed well at his first contract. At this moment he considered asking young Ghost what plagued his mind, yet he ultimately went for the door. He was too hungry to listen properly anyway.
Silently he made his way out the city and past the stables. There were always bandits around the city. And if not, he would simply pay a visit to Harlun's Watch.
In the end, he indeed ended up in Harlun's Watch, since he could not find any travellers or bandits along the street. He licked his lips as he slowly walked back to Cheydinhal. He had made a mess. A mess, he was definitely not proud of. But when he saw his sleeping victim, saw the pulse on the neck, heard the heart beat, he couldn't contain the beast within him any longer. He took such a ferocious bit from the neck, that blood sprayed all over him. His hands and hair were still caked in drying blood, as were his clothes. With his next victim, he was more restrained and was able to refill some of his bottles.
He looked down at his hands. They were still coated in crimson liquid.
Oh dear. I definitely need to use a cloaking spell to sneak back into the city.
He thought to himself with a satisfied smile. It would raise every red flag in Tamriel if he walked past the guards bathed in blood. Luckily there were enough caverns around Harlun's Watch to blame the recent deaths on something else, beside he had heard rumours about villagers disappearing in that area.
Vicente took a deep breath in to calm himself down. He still was excited from the hunt, his senses on high alert. He stopped dead in his tracks. Did he just smell blood in the air? Slowly he inhaled again.
Yes. There is a faint smell of freshly shed blood in the air. And it is not coming from me.
A frown appeared on the old vampires face. Could it be and there was another vampire on the hunt that night? He wasn't aware of any other of his kind living around Cheydinhal. He would not tolerate that either. Too many vampires tended to attract hunters and adventurers. He walked on, careful not to make a sound, following the smell of freshly shed blood.
He neared a bend in the road and though the view was obscured by a very large boulder he knew that he was close. The smell was overwhelming by now and his eyes started to glow in suppressed blood lust. Out of habit he cloaked himself in an invisibility spell and silently rounded the corner, only to freeze on the spot. Right in the middle of the road lay the body of a newly slain victim and a dark cloaked man couching beside the body. And uneasy feeling took hold of the old Breton. Something with that scene just felt wrong. Careful not to make himself known to the stranger he inched closer. His eyes grew narrow, as he took in the slender legs, clad in a dark leather armour, the bloodied light brown hair, the head bend sideways in an unnatural angle and the unseeing blue eyes still wide in terror. The hooded man in front of him slowly stood up, and something glinted in the fain light of the stars. Vicente was horrified, so horrified indeed, that he didn't even noticed that his spell wore off. The man wore a black robe with matching hood, the victim a light leather armour. It slowly clicked in the vampire's mind, as he still stood frozen to the spot, his eyes widened in disbelieve and horror. A shrouded armour. A Black Hand robe. Shrouded armour, blue eyes.
"Boudicca..."
Vicente whispered.
"By Sithis..."
He just could not look away from Boudicca's broken body. Away from a throat cut so deeply from ear to ear that her head was almost severed. He had seen that kind of work before. Had seen it done so often. He still did not react as the man swiftly closed their distance. He just couldn't. And then he was pushed painfully rough against the boulder, the sharp blade of a dagger pressed against his throat.
"What are you doing here!"
The man growled, his eyes almost black in anger. Finally Vicente was able to look away from Boudicca and into his Speaker's eyes. His gaze narrowed. Now he knew where he had seen that kind of handiwork before. Not only on the latest victim he happened to come across. But it was Lachance's preferred method of killing. A slit throat, quick, silent and very messy.
The pressure on his throat slightly increased as Lucien growled:
"I've asked you something."
Again Vicente's gaze wandered to where Boudicca lay and he felt his anger rising. Felt his blood starting to boil. A deep growl escaped his lips as he bared his fangs. And drew his knee up in a quick motion, hitting his Speaker where it hurts most. The dagger nicked his skin only slightly as Lucien let out a painful gasp and stumbled back a few steps clutching his private parts with his free hand. Vicente did not wait for Lucien to recover as he rammed his shoulder into the Imperial's chest. The impact was enough to send Lachance to the floor. With his vampiric speed and strength Vicente straddled the taller male's torso, pinning the hand with the dagger under his knee.
"It was you!"
the vampire hissed with a ferocious growl while slapping Lucien's face so hard, his head flew to the side and his lip cracked open.
"You killed Boudicca!"
Another punch to the Imperial's face.
"Why brother? Why did you betray us!"
Valtieri wanted to strike again, but hesitated a moment, hoping to get some answers for his questions. A moment he hesitated too long, as Lucien seized this opportunity to buck his hip up and sideways, throwing the smaller Breton off balance. The trained fighter he was, Lucien was not about to give up so easily as he quickly reversed their roles, now having Vicente pinned to the ground, letting his whole bodyweight rest on the vampire's unbreathing chest and pressing his shins down painfully on his upper arms. Vicente gave a growl of frustration as he tried to struggle free but found himself at the taller, heavier male's mercy. And then the enchanted dagger was yet again pressed against his throat, this time however so hard that the blade bit into the sensitive skin right where his chin met his neck. He could feel blood slowly run down to the back of his neck.
"Look who's talking!"
Lucien said in a low and very menacing voice, wiping the blood away from his chin, while giving the vampire a good look over. There was a murderous gleam in his dark eyes as he pressed the dagger deeper into the Breton's skin. The vampire bared his teeth in a low growl.
"You just happen to stumble over her body as well? Like you did with our other dear sister? A bit much of a coincidence, don't you think?"
Lucien cocked his head to the side, squinting his eyes.
"Besides I am not the one covered with blood!"
"I was FEEDING!"
"You really want me to believe that?"
Lucien leant forward, feeling his shins grind against the Breton's armbones.
"Believe what you want Lachance! You are not the one with a knife against your throat."
Vicente stopped searching Lucien's face for a sign of emotion. Searching for something, but there was only this murderous rage in his Speaker's eyes.
"I knew I had seen this method of killing before when I found Heniele's body! But seeing you now over Boudicca's body. Seeing the same wounds... This was your handiwork all along. You are known for that method of killing!"
Vicente Valtieri again stopped, the feeling of betrayal as heavy on him as his Speaker's weight. And still there was no emotion in the other's face. The Breton shook his head in disappointment.
"She was your Silencer. She trusted you, damn it Lucien she loved you. How could you have done such a vile act against your family."
Still Lucien did not move, did not react to anything the vampire said. He just stared down at the other male, his jaw set in a hard line. And then Vicente moved his head, exposing his throat just a bit further.
"Kill me now, Lucien. It doesn't matter. The Black Hand will take notice. Sooner or later they will be on your trail and hunt you down like the vermin you are."
Vicente closed his eyes and waited for his throat to be cut. He couldn't remember when he had felt so let down in the past 300 years of his unlife. He always regarded Lucien his friend ever since the Imperial came to their sanctuary. How could he have been so wrong. And then the weight on his chest and arms was gone. Slowly he opened his eyes, Lucien was gone. A confused frown appeared on his face as he slowly sat up and felt for his throat. He was sure he was going to die, but Lucien only left a superficial cut on his throat. He looked around and found Lucien again kneeling over Boudicca. The Breton's frown only deepened as he slowly walked over to his Speaker. For a moment he just watched as Lucien carefully closed her eyes, before he slowly stood and turned towards Vicente.
"Why are you here?"
Lucien asked, his voice still low, yet missing the menacing tone.
"I was hungry Lucien. What do you expect me to do? Starve to death in the Sanctuary?"
Vicente answered pointing in direction of Harlun's Watch. Lachance only nodded and turned to look at Boudicca again. Slowly the old assassin closed his distance to his Speaker, overthinking the whole situation. True, neither Lucien's clothes nor blade had blood on them. The vampire bit his lower lip. Had he been jumping to conclusions?
"Speaker?"
He finally asked, but the Imperial did not react. A heavy silence settled over them, as they stood heads bowed in thought.
"I don't understand..."
Lucien finally muttered, his face grim.
"She should have been back from the contract days ago. She only had to kill an old man at the Inn of Ill Omens."
Again he paused, finally turning towards the vampire.
"What delayed her? Who did this to her?"
Vicente shook his head and raised his shoulder in frustration. He had asked himself the same questions.
"I don't know. But..."
Lucien's eye narrowed.
"But what?"
Vicente sighed and ran a hand through his ruffled messy hair.
"Speaker Lachance, I am sorry I hit you. But look at her. This is strangely reminiscent of your handiwork..."
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
"You really thought I would kill my own Silencer? I have picked her out personally because I trusted her experience."
Vicente looked miserable.
"You have not gotten along with her very well..."
The Imperial huffed.
"So you quickly jumped to the conclusion that I did this? How long have we known each other. I've always been loyal to our Dread Father."
The vampire gritted his teeth together.
"Look. I have no idea what you are up to ever since you became Speaker."
Lucien shook his head, disappointment clearly written all over his face.
"And you have to understand me. Look how this looked, you being bend over her corpse, knife in hand. What would you have thought in my place?"
Vicente shook his head.
"I just put two and two together."
Again he paused, running his finger over his bloodied throat.
"As did you, did you not?"
The taller male ran his hand over his cracked and bruised lip and for a moment studied the blood on his finger tips, taking in a deep breath. His chest protested slightly and there was still a dull pain throbbing in his groin. A slight smile tugged at the corners of Lucien's mouth.
"You pack quite the punch Vicente. Fortunately I don't plan on having children."
The vampire looked away in shame. He was sure, that this would have some repercussions later. He just had broken a Tenet.
"I...I'm sorry, Speaker La..."
"Ach come on now, Vicente. Don't Speaker me! You jumped to a hasty conclusion as did I. I think we are even."
Lucien paused, looking down at Boudicca again."
"Besides, we have a more pressing matter to focus on."
Vicente nodded.
"What do we do about her?"
Lucien sighed and let out a loud a shrill whistle.
"Help me put her on Shadowmere's back. I will bury her at Fort Farragut."
They put her on the black horses back with little effort and Lucien climbed in the saddle behind her. He winched involuntarily as he sat down, before he looked down at the vampire.
"You should head back to the sanctuary. Dawn will approach soon and you should really clean up."
The Speaker was about to kick his heels into his mare's flank, but the Vampire grabbed his lower leg.
"Lucien, wait. There is something else."
He licked his lips, while searching for the right words.
"You know, your brothers and sisters at the Sanctuary will be loyal to you. And I apologize deeply for being so disrespectful"
Lucien made a dismissive gesture, as he prompted the Breton to go on.
"But like I came to the conclusion, the Black Hand will too. Lucien look at her. It looks like your work."
The Imperial paled, as words settled in.
"Oh no...no no. Someone tries to frame me!"
Valtieri nodded.
"So it would appear."
"If the Black Hand figures this out, they will hunt me down as a traitor!"
The two assassins shared a glance of understanding.
"Vicente. Protect the Sanctuary. I need to find the traitor."
The old Breton's head snapped up.
"What? Are you crazy? Maybe the traitor counts on that? What if he set a trap? All you need to do is hide!"
He held his hands out to his sides in almost an helpless manner.
"I can look for clues."
"No, Vicente! That's too dangerous!"
"Yes, right it is. As it is for you! You can as well serve yourself on a silver platter with a red bow tie around your naked body!"
Lucien cringed inwardly at the images Vicente's vivid description evoked.
"Don't worry. I recently made a new friend at the Thieves Guild. He can look for clues without raising suspicion. Now go."
Though not satisfied with the solution, the assassins finally parted ways and Vicente hurried home. As he reached the sanctuary he was in an uncharacteristicly bad mood. Too many questions were swirling through his head with almost no answers. As he hurried through the hallway he almost ran into Ocheeva. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in his dishevelled bloodied lock.
"By Sithis, Vicente. What happened?"
He only shook his head.
"I was out feeding, the victim struggled. Please Ocheeva I'm tiered!"
The Argonian nodded, though she was obviously not satisfied she did not prod deeper. He would tell her if he was ready to.
At Fort Farragut Lucien put the shovel away and wiped his blistered sweaty hands on his dirty robe, before he gently placed a nightshade on the freshly dug mount.
"Farewell, Sister."
He whispered.
"My the Night Mother hold you in her cold loving embrace."