8.30pm Saturday 12 hours until sunrise. 6 days until the Succubus Club Crow Bar
The shark hunted for its next prey. Sinking into the depths, the predator could smell fresh meat. The schooling crowds covered his tracks as he spied the catch, the flash of copper a dead giveaway. With instincts honed over years of survival, the shark makes its way…
“Hey, Stallion, haven’t seen you in a while. Watcha been up to?” Delith called. Mad’s looked up and spied Stallion walking across the V.I.P. Lounge. His surprise ruined, Stallion jigged towards the bar.
“Has it really been a while? We were only up to no good a couple of nights ago,” Stallion said, not particularly interested in a conversation with Delith. He has a score to settle with Mads. He ordered two of what Mads was drinking and waited for his order.
“Usually you guys are up to a riot a minute,” Delith commented, showing once more she knew a little more about the coterie than was healthy.
“You know me too well, “ He replied, revealing his secret weapon, “As you can see, I have this shark puppet.”
“Um-hm,”
“It cleverly hides the buzzer underneath. “
“Yeah, “
“I shake someone’s hand…buzz-buzz.”
“Scandalous. “ She dropped the conversation. “Are you looking for anyone?”
“I’ve already spotted someone.”
“Okay then, you enjoy your drinks then, “She said, and presented the drinks with a stylised flourish and a wink. Oblivious to any foolery from Delith, Stallion took his drinks and headed for Mads’ table.
Without a greeting, he sat down and handed her one of the glasses.
“Er… thanks for the top-up,” Mads took the offered glass suspiciously. “I’m afraid I don’t…”
“No worries. So, are you joining the coterie or is this just a temp thing?” Stallion interrupted, getting down to business.
Mads gave an empty chuckle, “Joining is not my style. I’m just happy to help out.”
“So you’re independent.”
“In a way.” Mads took a sip of the new drink, found it to be good and accepted Stallion’s awkward greeting.
“If you’ve got time, “ Stallion said, leaning back in the chair with a swagger, “I can show you many things.”
Mads’ lips twitched, “Oh, what are you going to show me, huh?”
Stallion looked around the crowd and smirked, “Probably nothing in here, but somewhere else…somewhere, private.”
Intrigued and unsure if Stallion was flirting or serious. She was sure that the Gangrel had no murderous intentions…at least at the moment and felt there was something more mischievous at play.
“I’m sorry to disappoint. I’m actually waiting for someone at the moment. What exactly do you want to show me?”
“You know. Have a little open chit-chat. Get to know each other better. Like, why you’re after Izac?”
Mads rolled her eyes and sighed, “I had this conversation with Rain. You were there. He’s an old friend and I’m trying to find him.”
“You say that,” Stallion said, sitting up and leaning across the table to Mads. “But we can be more open with each other.” If he wasn’t giving off a creepy pick-up vibe before, sitting so close Mads couldn’t help but get a whiff of damp earth. She didn’t budge from her seat, but now all her nerves were on edge.
“Can we? I barely know you.”
“And I barely know you. You be open with me and I’ll be open with you.”
This had gone far enough. As far as Mads was concerned, the conversation was over.
“Look, I don’t fuck on first dates.”
“Ah, but you do fuck with first dates, don’t you?” Stallion grinned, catching her with a pun.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Now, I’d like to mention here that any other man, drunk or otherwise would know he was in trouble as soon as the ‘what’s that suppose to mean?’ question was pronounced. It is a clear indication to most that beyond this point, there be dragons. But Stallion, oblivious to the choppy waters he was now entering, continued blythly on.
“Just be a bit more open. What do you want from us?”
“Nothing. Izac.” Mads’ hands were on the table, ready to either push herself up or push the table into him.
“Our Special boy? You were angry with him?”
Mads thought for a moment. If giving him something will make him go away, then it would be worth it.
“I admit, I’m looking for a small amount of closure.”
“Not murderous intent, then? Maybe torture, but not murderous?”
Mads looked around the room at who might be listening. What was this talk of murder?
“Listen, Madeline. You can be honest with me, I don’t have to tell the others. “And without warning, Stallion brought both his hands up from under the table and tried to grab Mads’ shoulders.
Mads’ knocked his hands away, “I don’t fucking know you. Who do you think you are?” She turned to leave the table, aware that half the room was watching their little scene.
Stallion grabbed for her wrists.
Mads yanked her hands away, Stallion following, tumbling on the ground at her feet. For good measure, Mads’ took her unfinished drink and tipped it over Stallion’s sandy hair. Now, all the room was watching.
“You keep your hands to your fucking self, okay?” She said, desperate to leave the situation. She started walking away.
“You know I’m a bouncer. I can kick you out.” Stallion rose, dripping with blood.
“Go ahead! I’m not staying!” She called over her shoulder.
Stallion followed her up the stairs and towards the exit through a sea of whispered conversations.
8.30pm Saturday 12 hours until sunrise. 6 days until the Succubus Club Crow Bar
A key turned in the locked door of Dominic’s office, and Bruce’s head popped through the opening.
“Sorry, you know I wouldn’t bother you unless it was important.”
“I understand,” Dominic said, carefully returning Mother’s head to her resting place and giving his full attention to Bruce.
“Stallion is causing a bit of a scene downstairs. Everyone was watching. I thought you’d like to get involved.”
“Alright,” Dominic rose without another word and smoothly started heading down to the common room.
“Now, are you going outside?” Stallion asked as if he were just doing his job, keeping the peace instead of being the instigator of the crime. Mads did not reply, hitting the common room floor and storming across to the exit.
Hovering in the kitchenette of the common room bar, Bruce stood watching as a very familiar set of leather-heeled shoes clicked down the stairs behind Stallion.
“What the hell is going on with you two?” Dominic’s voice, low and quiet as the black-suited businessman brushed past Stallion to stop Mads in her tracks.
“Keep your dog on a short leash! He was getting handsy in the middle of a bar for no reason!” Mads rounded on Dominic, indignant at the way she’d been treated.
“Stallion? What happened?” Dominic glanced at Stallion, wanting to give the boy the benefit of the doubt.
“She’s saying that, but really, it was just a friendly gesture, “ Stallion replied, the same hands now held out in a gesture of nothing to hide.
“Okay, you go stand with Bruce a moment,” Dominic pointed to Bruce, and Stallion complied without comment. “ Mads, will you please give me a moment as I check the video cameras. I won’t be long.”
She shrugged as if it mattered to her, “Go for your life.”
True to his word, it only took him a moment to see where the fault lay. Mads had been minding her own business when Stallion seemed to try to make a move on her. He was rebuffed, didn’t like it and grabbed her, resulting in him overbalancing and falling to the ground. It was unsavoury and unfortunate, but there didn’t seem to be a breach.
Meanwhile, Stallion stood beside Bruce behind the bar. Blood from his head now stained a couple of white bar towels red as he tried to scrub it off.
“What the fuck do you think you were doing? You never shit where you live.” Bruce mumbled to Stallion so only he could hear.
“It was a private conversation, “ Complained Stallion, throwing the latest towel in disgust.
“I was just trying to take some advice. Never give up more information than you get out.”
“ Fair enough. You should have found some place less obvious if you wanted to try something with her.”
Dominic was gratified to still find Mads waiting in the common room when he returned.
“Mads, I want to offer you my sincerest apologies.”
“It’s alright, I suppose,” Mads replied, slightly mollified, “But that guy’s crazy. You should keep him away from the customers.”
“I don’t know what he said to you, but from what I can see, he definitely overstepped his bounds. Please, you are still my welcome guest, and I’d be happy to take you back down and buy you a drink by way of apology.”
Reminding her still had a meeting arranged for this very bar, Mads allowed Dominic to sway her
“It’s fine. I don’t want to make any more of a scene. By the way, do you have any private rooms I could borrow for my meeting? I haven’t learnt the full layout of this place yet.”
“I think they’re all empty at the moment. You’re welcome to take one, please,” And with the smooth sophistication honed from decades of experience, Dominic led Mads back downstairs.
“Stallion. Office. Now.” Dominic said without interrupting his stride on his way to the office.
“Anything for me, boss?” Bruce asked
“No, just keep an eye on the place. I’m going to be busy having a conversation.”
He continued climbing the stairs to the office, Stallion in tow, before they reached the office and the door was closed behind them both.
8.30pm Saturday 12 hours until sunrise. 6 days until the Succubus Club Prymont
I pulled up outside the old Harris Street house. Nothing had changed since I’d been here with Dominic for our Necromancy lesson. Was it possibly a little creepier? As if creepiness were a moss that collected over time? Regardless, I stepped up to what had been my front door a week ago and knocked.
“What the hell is it this time?!” Barked Lucretia from behind the door.
Confused, I leaned in, going for my phone, “Lucretia? It’s Rain. Have you…is someone causing you trouble?”
“Oh,” The door opened, and Lucretia stood there looking as stony-faced as always. It was a family trait, “Don’t worry about it. Why are you here?”
“Several things, actually,” I looked behind her. Things looked as bland as normal. “Do you mind if I come in?”
“Sure,” She stepped aside, “You know you don’t have to ask permission. It’s not like, in the movies, you can just come in.”
The comment about the movies threw me until I realised she was talking about Dracula and his penchant for being invited into a home. I smiled, if only it were something as ridiculous as a superstition.
“Ah, I am very aware you live here now.”
“Well, the respect is appreciated.”
I walked in and allowed her to close the door.
“Firstly, I wanted to see how you were. It’s been a few days since our last lesson, and I don’t know if anyone is stopping off to see if you need anything. It’s got to be lonely here.”
“In that regard, I am perfectly fine,” She replied quickly, brushing off my concerns.
“You enjoy the solitude?” I know some find being alone…restful.
“Meditations. Machinations. Plans that are decades or centuries in the making. Normal things.”
A little insight into the mind of an elder. Though I don’t feel I have to be as reactive as I once did, last night’s upset showed that Vampire society in general doesn’t work on a night-by-night basis.
“I’m slowly coming to understand that it all takes time,” I confessed, walking into the sparse gallery, the chez lounge the only piece of furniture in sight.
“Well, I’m here to help. Even if it’s just a walk around the block, just to get a different view than these empty walls.
Lucretia went over to the lounge and sat down, silent and imperious. She was not interested in a walk. I continued with my list of reasons for visiting.
“I also wanted to extend my thanks to Ambrogino through you for Lupara. I recently had the opportunity to use it, with startling results. A cylinder of…something was ejected from the gun. I was wondering what it was and if you’d find it useful.”
“Do you have it on you?” She asked with some interest, and now I wished I hadn’t left it behind.
“It’s at the farm. I do have to make a trip out there soon.”
Her interest cooled, “Sure. Well, when you get it, you can bring it back.” Good. As one of the very few elders I knew, I wanted Lucretia to think well of me.
“If you can find a use for it, it’s yours. I also have a little information. I met an elderly gentleman last night called Padre Cerano.”
“Hmm?” Her eyes narrowed with the mention of the Padre’s name, but I ploughed ahead, hoping I would at least learn something interesting about the old man.
“He’s made it very clear he’s interested in returning to the Shadowlands. It seems he’s had some problem getting back.”
“Hm, you should probably stay away from him,” Lucretia warned without explanation.
“Really?”
“You know how dangerous it is there. Imagine how dangerous the sort of person who lives there is.”
Point taken. Still, It seemed like a very easy win-win if she helped the old man on his way.
“We were in the bar. It wasn’t like I was alone with him,” I replied, “I felt pretty safe.”
“Do you think that would protect you?” And now she was looking at me oddly, as if through 3D glasses and trying to pay attention to the red and blue versions of me independently.
“Do you really think he’s that much of a problem that he’d break Dominic’s Elysium?”
“I don’t know,” She continued to stare through me oddly, “There appears to be something different about you. He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
She was so serious, I thought back over the conversation with the old man. He’d been quiet for the most part, ashamed of his eating. When provided with a little privacy, he’d been very open and generous with his time and knowledge. He’d said he saw himself as a mentor and teacher to the younger generations, and he certainly came across as that.
“Him. No.” I said and considered that the evening had not been incident-free, “I did have an altercation with a very powerful…someone.” And I described the Lady from the night before. How her dark hair fell in billowing waves around her flawless face and dark eyes. I found a few of my words from the night before and described her in enough detail so that if Lucretia knew her, she would be recognised.
“Hmm, that’s very odd, “She said after some time thinking, “Tell me what happened.”
“Well, it may amuse you to know, we’ve lost Izac. Izac, our little grey cloud. Ambrogino threw him into the Shadowlands when he said he didn’t believe in hell.”
“Yes, the bleeding heart,” She confirmed, and I continued with my story.
“I did a little astral travelling and came up right beside him. He wasn’t alone. He was with the woman I described, who saw me, though I was still in my astral form. In one breath, she demanded I leave but also seemed to…” It was hard to say what she’d done as I was having a hard time admitting it to myself. In the end, I shrugged and confessed, “She’s hard to get out of my mind.”
Lucretia withdrew into herself for a moment. When she opened her eyes again, she looked around and through me.
“Hmm, that does sound like something we can do something about. It looks like you made a mistake. It’s not your fault, these things happen.” She said, sounding like a GP giving advice to a young man with his first STD.
“And now I feel rather foolish,” I admitted to her, grateful she was there to help. I let go of some tension I hadn’t realised I’d been carrying and rolled my shoulders, ready to accept whatever she did.
“Describe her again, please?” She asked, and I did, lamenting my lack of artistic talent. I would have loved to have painted her like Lenny could have. Even a sketch would have been useful. But all I had were my words.
“Her eyes have changed colour,” She finally said, and my heart lurched in my chest at the thought of finally knowing who my mystery woman was.
“Her eye colour has changed? So, you know who she is?”
“Yeah, I’m going to need you to leave.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. That wasn’t the answer I was expecting. A vague handway away, a confession she didn’t know her name, but only her reputation. Sure, I was hoping for a name, but I live in hope. What I hadn’t expected Lucretia to do was turn me away.
“Right now. Don’t ask questions.” She said in the same blank voice that she always spoke, but this time there seemed an urgency to it. I admit, I stood there stunned, sure if I could just understand what was going on…
“Leave! Now!” She said, and this time there was no doubting the urgency. I stepped back.
“Okay, Lucretia,” I replied slowly, heading for the door, unable to hide my disappointment, “I’ll leave.”
I stepped out and closed the door behind me, standing on the doorstep for a moment, trying to make sense of what had just occurred. She’d used a discipline, of that I was sure. Something like my Auspex to recognise there was something…wrong. Something that didn’t just impact me but also her somehow. Stiffly, I returned to the car and sat behind the wheel. Pulling down the sunshade to reveal the mirror behind, I also tilted the rear vision towards me. I’d never tried looking at my own aura before. It seemed a little narcissistic, even for me. But now, I opened my sight and looked into the two mirrors.
At first, it was hard to tell. As you can imagine, the colours were swirling to match my confused state. I let them settle and tried to see beyond them to something… that wasn’t me. A darker outline, a silhouette of a woman, not Avel, sat just behind my head. Colours that weren’t mine swirled around it, creating a double halo in the rear vision mirror. Excited violet, innocent white and spiritual gold. Whoever they were, they believed in what they were doing was important and were interested in our interaction. As I watched, trying to make out details, I saw a dark hand rise and touch the lips in a gesture for silence.
Like seeing a ghost, I jumped out of my skin and whipped around, praying there was some obvious, unconsidered reason for this shadow’s appearance. At that moment, I would have taken a crazed serial killer in the back of the car over a mysterious animated shadow. I was being stalked by…something, and I had no way of determining its purpose or intent. Was it just marking me so the woman knew where I was, or did it have a more of an objective? I knew for a fact it wasn’t a spirit. Spirit auspexs tend to be weak and intermittent, and this was pale like any other vampire’s. That meant that drawing upon my necromancy to speak to it wouldn’t do any good. Still, if it was a self-aware projection of a vampire, maybe I could just talk to it.
I looked back into the mirror. The shadow was still there. I could almost feel it watching me.
“What could you possibly learn from me?” I asked, feeling foolish as I sat seemingly talking to myself.
Though the shadow was feminine in form, the voice I next heard was very monotone and genderless. Like simple computer voice synthesisers from my childhood.
“There’s plenty to learn. I don’t know much about your friends.”
“I’m willing to tell you. Tell me where you are and I’ll come to you.”
“You don’t need to do that, just yet, “The voice was appalling. There were no nuances, no rhythm or pitch to give me any clues as to what they thought. It was like listening to a script read by the teleprompter instead of the actor, “All in due time. Right now I’m just learning.”
Learning. About us? Even under the worst police scrutiny, I’d never felt under as much pressure. An unwilling spy for…who? For what purpose?
“I’m uncomfortable with that. I go back, and you’ll come along for the ride? Just ask me what you want to know or….or I won’t go back to the club.”
“I wish you hadn’t said that,” The voice said.
“I have a place. I will go to that place and stay there until the Succubus Club, and then…we can talk.”
I found myself sitting in the Audi outside of the old place at Pyrmont. I remembered something happening…something bad. The sunshade was down, and the rear vision mirror was askew. I spent a moment putting them right as I tried remembering what had happened. I remembered talking to Lucretia, she’d been happy to see me but was busy at the moment and asked if would I come back and see her another time. That in itself seemed odd. She was never happy.
The image of a feminine, hazy blur came to mind. It was reminiscent of the Woman, but when I tried to recall what she looked like to compare…there was nothing. Even the words I could remember telling Dominic had no meaning to me. The feeling of dread grew. I probed around the edges of my memory, feeling like you would a bad tooth to find where the problem lay. I had a hole in my memory. Some part of my evening had been modified, manipulated to hide…something.
I sat rigid in my seat, my mind going through the possibilities. I thought about going into Lucretia and asking her what we’d spoken about. Besides the thought of revealing to her I was losing my mind being very unappealing, the dread told me to stay away.
I locked the car door and turned on the engine. I tried locking the door again and when I didn’t hear the engine purring, I tried the key again, making the engine grind in protest. Checking my mirrors three times, I turned out into the empty street and started for the apartment.
8.30pm Saturday 12 hours until sunrise. 6 days until the Succubus Club Sydney
The night was cool and fresh as Eclipse, Monday and Tuesday drove out to The Block in Redfern.
Monday, the quiet of the two was driving, already on the hunt. Eclipse silently watched from the back seat as they sat hunched over the wheel, scanning the early evening crowds for potential prey. It reminded her of a lion watching behind tall grass, calm but aware of everything. On the other hand, Tuesday, in the front passenger seat, was a collection of nervous twitches and jitters. Where Monday was silent, Tuesday was effusively talking shit about the ritual and how easy it was going to find a victim or two.
“Hey, I might even snag myself a spare while we’re here.”
As for herself, she wasn’t sure what was going on. They said they’d help her find a sacrifice, but how and who? As the long ride around Redfern continued, she became more and more irritated with Tuesday’s blathering and more respectful of Monday’s focus.
“So, is there a plan? I’m not a mind reader.” She finally asked, breaking her own silence.
“We’ll see how you handle yourself,” Replied Monday, not taking their eyes off the crowds.
“What, like a test?”
“Hey, we can’t hold your hand forever,” Tuesday replied with a giggle. No, not nervous, Eclipse thought, more eager for the hunt to begin.
“Or maybe you just like a show. I have been known to impress,” She replied, and Tuesday snorted.
“See, you made a good choice with this one, Monday.”
Monday was less supportive, “Such enthusiasm. Most end up cry their guts out of their first.”
Eclipse shrugged. In her short life she figured she’d seen enough not to blab like a baby at the first sight of blood.
“Do you not remember when you threw me into a pit of bodies?”
“It’s not personal. We all went through it,” Monday said matter-of-factly.
“And you were squeamish?”
“Different time. Your generation usually have no link to death. In our lives we cut the heads off animals for meals, you buy them wrapped in plastic in the supermarket, “ Monday said talking as if their times were the good ones. Soon their monologue took a more spiritual turn.
“Taking a life with so much importance attached…its something different again. It’s a very important job and we want to make sure you can do it correctly.”
“So I won’t disappoint,” Eclipse replied and like Monday started scanning the crowds for potential victims.
A child of the Western Suburbs, Eclipse was aware she knew almost nothing of the Redfern Indigenous Community. Was it large and sprawling? Was it close-knit and defensive? She had no idea.
“What sort of scene are we walking into?” She asked, trying to get a sense of what they were up against.
“Destitute,” Tuesday said, “At least it was last time I was here. Not that much could have changed in fifteen years, right?”
“And are we using this car to get them to a second location? They have to be held for a night, and I don’t have a place.”
“We’ve got you covered,” Said Tuesday almost boastfully, “We have holding cages on site.”
“Really, we just want to make sure you don’t have an issue with…scruples,” Monday added, turning off the Great Western for the urban sprawl.
“Scruples?” Eclipse asked, unsure what they were talking about.
“Yeah. You can’t…feel for your sacrifice.”
“I’ve learnt in these nights, empathy doesn’t get you much anywhere,” Eclipse said, and the other two nodded at the sage wisdom of the youth.
9.00pm Saturday 11 hours until sunrise. 6 days until the Succubus Club Crowbar
“What the hell, Stallion!” Dominic roared, confident that this voice would not carry beyond the soundproofed walls of his office.
“I was trying to be a bad cop and get a little extra information out of Mads.”
“In the middle of service? Are you serious? You couldn’t have found a better place to try and do that?”
“I was sure she’d be more even-tempered with other people around,” Stallion shrugged, showing a lack social knowledge that made Dominic wonder if he wasn’t raised in a crate.
“No! Not in front of everybody! When have I ever interrogated people in front of complete strangers?”
“We were at a booth. People tend not to listen in.” Stallion justified, failing to reach his audience.
“You were on the floor in the middle of the main V.I.P. Lounge, Stallion. The illusion of privacy provided by the booths is just that, an illusion.”
“ Well, I guess that was my bad,” He replied sullenly, “I wasn’t going to go into details, anyway. I was trying to lure her away.”
“And you thought that would go unnoticed? Blurting out you’re a bouncer and abusing your power.”
“That was only after she poured the drink on my head.”
“That was only one wrong thing in a whole wrong thing. Everything was wrong. Didn’t you get that? Subtly. If you want to get something out of someone, you don’t go in heavy-handed in a public place. In public, you calm down, you act natural, you may use hints in innuendo if you wish to intimidate, but you certainly don’t pull out your morning star and start bashing them across the head.”
By now, Stallion was fed up with the conversation. He appreciated Dominic being so kind about the issue but he was over-talking about it. He’d tried to do what he’d been told by Dominic only the night before. It wasn’t as if it was much of anything. He’d only grabbed her. It wasn’t like he slapped her or anything.
“Well, like I said. I was trying to lead her somewhere else. The Time Out room.”
By now it was clear to Dominic he wasn’t getting through. With a huff of frustration, Dominic held up a finger.
“Just wait,” He said and went through to the library where he found a well-worn copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Returning to the office, he dropped the tome in Stallion’s lap. Stallion flipped through the pages of dense text, and even Dominic had to admit that Stallion would need something more…rumedial. He returned to the library and found Social Collaboration for Dummies. This too was added to the pile in Stallion’s lap.
“Read that. Learn it. You could have got so much more out of the person with just a little gentleness. It was totally the wrong approach. Don’t ever do it again!”
10.20pm Saturday 10 hours until sunrise. 6 days until the Succubus Club Prymont
My driving, much like my current state mind, was going around in circles. I’d get to a turn off, second-guess my memory and continue straight until I realised my mistake and would have to go around the block. At the same time, my thoughts were swirling. If there was a gap in my memory I could identify, were there parts of my memory I wasn’t detecting? Had I been subjected to the same memory treatments as Stallion and had no recollection? I was getting to a point where I couldn’t trust anything that I thought was true, and there was no one to ask to confirm anything. Eventually, after the third time I’d driven past my turn off, I connected my phone to the car Bluetooth and rang Dominic.
What I didn’t know, he was already in a fantastic mood after balling Stallion out and was even now helping him through the book. He saw the call come through on his phone, and he rolled his eyes. Another one of his special children. He took the call.
“Yes, Rain? How’s the new place?”
”I just…just go around in circles…um…there’s…I don’t know…this is stupid, I shouldn’t have called,” I said, all the words falling out in a high-speed jumble. I should have pulled over, but the constant motion of the car gave my hands something to do.
“There’s something wrong…I…don’t know what to do about it?”
“What’s the last thing you remember about it?” Dominic said with his calm assurance. It cut through the chaos in my head and gave me something to focus on.
“Last thing…I went to see Lucretia, to make sure she was okay and share some news, maybe pick up the old paintings… anyway…then she said she was busy and I had to leave….and then, the image of the Lady…from last night… had been so clear…all I get now is…blank…nothing…she’s gone. But I know she exists…I saw her… described her to you…”
“Described the Lady to me?” Dominic interrupted and again gave my mind a touchstone to cling to.
“…I…can’t…there’s words, but they don’t mean anything anymore.”
Dominic was quiet for a long time.
“Yeah, someone has definitely been playing with your mind.”
It was like receiving a pronouncement that I had a brain tumour, or was suffering Alzheimer’s Disease. My memory, the one thing I have always relied upon, was untrustworthy. Faulty. Damage.
“Is there anything I can do about it?” Treatment doctor, please tell me I have a chance.
“Well, I could try reversing it,” He said, and the vitae from my veins, leaving me cold. The same sort of thing he did to Stallion.
“I can fix things. You would have to come to me for that.”
“Wot you did ta Stallion?!” I exclaimed, the cockney in me having its say in the heat of the moment, “You’ve gotta be kiddin’. Have you seen the basket case he is?!”
That didn’t go down well, “I don’t think he’s changed that much to be honest.”
“I can’t communicate with him about anything from our past because for him it doesn’t exist.” At least my indignation allowed me to forget my own wretched position. No, Dominic doing what he liked with my mind was not an option I was willing to contemplate, but now at least I could contemplate other things.
“I can’t live like that!”
“You already are. You’ve just told me you’re circling the block trying to remember what’s been taken.”
“I am,” I admitted, and finally found the corner for the fourth time. I took it and found myself in a tree-lined avenue leading to the apartment block.
“Have you had a look at your new place yet?”
“No, but I’m nearly there. I…I’ll go to the apartment and…”
“Well, have a think about it,”
“…I’ll have a think about it.”
“And remember, if you want me to undo it, you’re going to have to come to me willingly. Like Stallion.”
“I don’t know if I can do that.”
I knew my memory about the Lady had changed. I knew that my conversation with Lucretia wasn’t natural or normal even for her. It had also been changed.
“Lucretia may know something. My memory of the conversation I had with her was…odd. I think it’s false. Maybe she could give some clues.” I suggested with not much hope.
“I could make some time to go see my Aunty,” He said after a long pause, and I had to accept that, that was probably the best that could be done at the moment.
“She seemed to have been harassed by someone before I arrived. She wouldn’t tell me what it was about. Told me not to worry about it.”
“Well, that’s interesting,” Dominic’s urbane voice took on a sharper tone. Messing with the brains of the childe is one thing, but you never mess with The Family.
“Okay, I’ll go check out the new place. Um…thanks, Dominic,” I hung up and used the security swipe card to drive down into the underground carpark of my new home.
Dominic put away his phone. Bothering Aunty Lucretia was not high on his agenda that evening. He knew she appreciated her privacy and wouldn’t want a third unsolicited visitor. Still, it was a concern. Who was dominating his childe? His wards. He recalled the description of the Lady that now eluded me and once more tried to recollect if he knew of such a person. Moulding the minds of the young was his job.
He glanced over at Stallion, reading his book. Yes, if anyone was going to dominate them, it would be him.
10.30pm Saturday 10 hours until sunrise. 6 days until the Succubus Club Redfern
Gone were the old terrace houses and indigenous graffiti that marked The Block. Redfern, like much of Sydney, had undergone a facelift in the last decade and was now a sleek, modern inner-city suburb to rival its richer cousins to the north and south. In saying that, it was still a housing commission area. Student and other low-rent accommodations were common. More importantly, it was still the heart of the City’s Indigenous population.
Past all the stainless steel, concrete, and bright-coloured corporate signage, some of the old terrace houses still leaned, propping each other up like the drunks on the footpath. Here, the new shiny gentrification hadn’t reached and may never have known it existed. Here, the old 70s station wagon cruised.
Eclipse was watching the people like a cat watching the mice at a bag of wheat. She was looking for the slow ones, the weak ones, the ones that no one would notice if they went missing. Two targets caught her eye, one homeless man nursing the remains of a bottle to his chest, another passed out, a needle still in his arm. Either one would be good, and she assumed that, with help, the unconscious one would be the easiest to get into the car. But with a little persuasion, the drunk may walk himself in.
She waved for the car to stop just down from the junkie and climbed out. As she did she used Mask of a Thousand Faces to mould and reshape her appearance. Clothes and hair were still hers, but the face and height were Mads. It was an odd amalgam of the two of them that she hoped would help keep her safe from a camera or nosy locals. Eclipse then turned on Obfurscate and slowly made her way down the footpath to the junky sure that at least her approach would go unseen.
When she reached the junky’s side, she crouched down and shook his shoulder. He wore a hoodie three sizes too big that seemed to double as a sort of makeshift sleeping bag. He was rake-thin and out cold. He was perfect. Finally, she called upon her vampire strength to pick him up and carry him to the car. No one stopped her. No one asked what she was doing. No more hassle than picking up a big roast of beef at the supermarket.
The days of the Week applauded as she returned to the car, stuffing the unconscious body in the back like bulky luggage.
“Well done. You look a bit…well, we get it. You certainly don’t look like you.”
“Well, it was the first time using that ability,” She admitted, allowing her own features to return, “It’s not really my forte, yet.”
“Sure. Ready to take him back?” Monday asked, turning on the indicator to enter traffic once more.
“I am,” Eclipse said and meant it. She’d done it. Now all she had to do was deliver him, and the sacrifice could go ahead as planned, her place assured. The cold fires sated hopefully for another week, “Unless you guys want a turn.” She pointed out the drunk.
“What do you mean, a turn?” Tuesday asked.
“You were all excited about this hunt. Am I the only one catching?”
“Good point,” Said Monday, turning off the indicator and putting on the handbrake. From an internal pocket, he extracted a hypodermic needle, expertly palming it before stepping out of the car. With an unhurried approach, he crossed the road and was beside the drunk as he finished his bottle. There was little protest as the needle was jabbed through clothes and flesh, and soon Monday returned, the slumbering drunk slung over one arm.
Now, the twitching Tuesday wanted to get into the act. Without a convenient drunk of junkie, Tuesday got out of the car and did a standing jump up to the first floor of the nearest terrace house. Landing heavily on the sagging verandah, the ancient facade groaned and snapped. Voices of shock and surprise went up as rotten timbers and ancient flakes of paint rained down on the car. Neighbours’ lights went on. Like a coiled snake, Tuesday waited in ambush as a man stumbled, bleary-eyed, out to see what the noise had been. With one arm lashed round his shoulders, the other twisted his head with a jerk. Even from the car, Eclipse could hear the snapping of vertebrae as the man cried out in shock and slumped paralysed into Tuesday’s arms.
This was insane! They were meant to be showing her how to hunt and here was Tuesday bring down the neighbourhood on their heads. The alarm was raised! Eclipse and Monday scrambled to be ready to go. Tuesday, the man slumped over one arm, leaped off the verandah to the ground in front of the car. Eclipse had already opened the door for Tuesday to stuff their victim and themselves into the back seat.
“Drive! Drive!” Tuesday yelled with excitement as Monday dropped the handbrake and they sped off into the night.
10.30pm Saturday 10 hours until sunrise. 6 days until the Succubus Club The Harbour Mill, Pyrmont
This was not how I’d hoped to arrive at the new apartment, only an hour before. Shaken and distracted, I found one of my two parking spots and turned off the car. Taking my suit bag from the back seat, I locked the car, checked it was locked and locked it again. In the lift, I checked the floor number against the details in my phone, thought I knew (or thought I knew) it off by heart. I tapped the security card as the lift reached every level until the tenth where I got out and scanned the hallway. There were only six doors. I went to each one, checking the number on the door to the information in my phone before trying the security card again. A satisfying click proved I had chosen correctly and slipped in the door and shut it quickly behind me. The door locked with another satisfying click, but it didn’t stop me from checking the lock three times before finally passing over the threshold and into my new home.
Down a cream carpeted hallway that split into small rooms ahead and to the right. I stood at the intersection, frozen by indecision. As I turned from looking down the hallway to the bedrooms back to the path leading to the kitchen lounge, a flicker of movement caught my eye. Beside me, a large floor-to-ceiling mirror reflected light down the windowless hallways, providing an extra feeling of space. It also reflected swirling auras of mottle shifting colours. I didn’t remember turning on Auspex, but here they were, an aura of a confused vampire swirling around my head. Why didn’t I remember using Auspex, and on what? I filed the thought away and turned to put my bag in the master bedroom.
A black shadow, out of the corner of my eye, slipped in behind my own reflection.
I leaped back, stumbling to flee the apparition in the mirror. Nothing was there. I spun around, hoping to catch something behind me, but all was as it should be. I was alone. And yet, when I turned away from my reflection, the black image of a woman stood behind me in the corner of my eye. The dance of spinning on the spot went on for several minutes as I lost and regained the image only perceptible in my peripheral vision. It was like my central vision couldn’t hold the impression that my peripheral was seeing. There was another blockage… or was it the same one? Was it the Lady herself following me around and trying to strip all memory of herself from my mind?
“Who are you? What are you? What have I done….what can I do to appease you?” I heard myself say, my voice strained and high-pitched.
“Me? Well, we have met already. I just need some information. If you’d been kind enough to let me know what I need, I can be on my way.” Said a voice neither male or female with a lack of intonation I found disturbing.
“Information?” About me? If this was the Lady, did she want information on Izac…maybe confirming what Izac had told her?
“Sure, yes,” I continued to engage the images at the edge of my view as I slid my hand into my pocket… “What do you want to know?” …and tried a sneaky text to Dominic.
I HAVE A SHADOW.
“As a trade, as you did see me and would like to see me again, either tonight or another night, I’d like to see the rest of the coterie.” The voice continued in seeming ignorance. It seemed they did not have access to my thoughts, which was interesting in itself.
“See the rest of the coterie?” I repeated her question, stalling for time, “I don’t know who you’ve seen. I don’t know what I know anymore.”
“I’ve seen you. And I’ve seen Izac. And when you saw me, you thought I was the most beautiful thing in the world.”
“You’re the Lady,” I acknowledged quietly, nodding to the shadow in greeting. The silhouette and voice were galling, but at least now I knew who I was talking to.
“Yes.”
“So, I saw you last night. Have you been with me the whole time?”
“No, I just made it easier to locate you,” She replied simply as if it were nothing to reach out and affect an incorporeal being.
“So, how long have you been with me?” I repeated, I was drawing the edges around that blank space in my mind. Not before last night, and possibly not before whatever happened at the Old House gave me the black feeling of dread.
“Ah, for a bit,” Vampire vague. It was a habit I needed to cultivate.
“Can you be specific, and then I’d know if you’ve met all the coterie?” More vamping, hoping to draw out something else from the Lady.
“I was in the car with you, “ The silhouette waved its fingers at me, and I thought back to the mirrors in the car. Yes, it seemed we had spoken before, but in the car it had ended with a black hole in my memory and a feeling that nothing was right.
“I was with you and the Giovanni…witch…that probably wasn’t Lucretia, was it?”
“My adoptive sire is Giovanni, if that’s what you’re talking about,” I deflected her question. I remembered Lucretia asking me to go, though that memory was definitely modified. If Lucretia had seen the silhouette…I shuddered, concerned at how much risk I’d put her in.
“And what’s his name?”
“Dominic,” I answered. This was all public record. We’d been introduced to the Prince as Dominic’s adopted childe. Was she only confirming what she already knew? Or was she from out of town, as Dominic had suggested the night before?
“And when do you intend to see the rest of your coterie? Barring Izac, of course.”
I shrugged, unsure if she could even see the gesture, and answered honestly, “I’m concerned about your intentions for my coterie.”
“I just want to get to know who they are,” She replied quickly, which seemed to be the truth as far as it went. It still didn’t explain why we were so interesting to her.
“I can tell you all about them. We’re not that interesting, really.”
“You can do that, can you?”
“I’m very perceptive.”
“Sure, how much time do you have?” And once more, though there was no intonation, there was a feeling that they were settling down…getting comfortable. I had captured her interest a second time, it seemed. Good.
“We can start and see how we go, “ I said, dropping my suitbag behind me in the hallway.
“That would be splendid. Speak to your heart’s content.” And even though there was no rise in tone, I was sure she was smiling and wished I could remember her face.
“And if your information is as good as I think it is, I’ll fix that little thing in your head. Sound good?”
I took a cleansing breath in and let it out slowly. These may be her rules, but we were playing my game now.
“We’ll see.”
“Splendid.”
10.30pm Saturday 10 hours until sunrise. 6 days until the Succubus Club Crow Bar
Mads, now in one of the private rooms usually set aside for those willing to put down good money or favours for the privilege. Like the Time Out room, what happened in here was nobody’s business except those who went in.
After an hour waiting, Mads was disappointed when it was one of her sire’s lackeys and not her sire that entered the room and closed the door. More so that it was this lackey. They’d never appreciated why her sire had embraced her.
“You wanted to speak?”
“Nice to see you again, too,” she replied sarcastically, and gestured to a seat beside her. They took one opposite her instead.
“Enough of that. You caused a big scene, and now I’m here. What do you know? I hope it’s important.”
“I got us a private room.”
“You’re risking a lot,”
“I know,” Mads admitted and allowed the seriousness of the moment to tame her tongue, “But, I think it’s worth it considering that I had a breakthrough.”
“Oh really?” The representative said unimpressed, “Enlighten me.”
“I have a lead as to where… my friend is. But I have to get in contact with his captors, the Banu Haqim.”
“Hmm,” A sound neither negative or positive. At least he hadn’t stood up to go.
Mads pulled out her phone and scrolled to the image of the Blue Mustang and driver outside the Crow Bar.
“This man…this man. If I can speak to him, I can bust this wide open.”
“Hmm, bit rich for your blood.”
“That’s beside the point. Do you know who he is?”
“It’s not so much knowing as how to get in contact with them. But again, it’s expensive.”
“How expensive?” Mads leaned in, she could almost sense the victory.
“Blood of a certain kind. To be paid near or on completion.”
“Can you tell me what sort so I can start looking?” Surely not too much of a problem. Vitae was a rare but not unusual currency for vampires.
“Usually eighth generation or lower.” The bottom fell out of Mads’ plans.
“Oh, right. Well, that’s going to be a challenge.” she said trying not to sound as crestfallen as she felt.
“As a said, too rich for you. At least you know he’s not dead.”
“Now.” Who could say in another night, maybe even tonight.
“If an Assamite is behind this then if the point was to kill him he’d just be dead.” The fact that a professional on this task did give some assurance of Izac’s safety.
“Still, I need to find this guy. He knows where…he is.”
“Look, this is not the days of yore where you just look for the bad guy and shoot them up.”
“Do we know anyone who could pay that toll?” She hoped that her sire would come to party on this one and pay up.
“Still too rich for you. You could never pay it back.”
“So, you’re telling me I’m fucked.” Mads spat, finally letting her frustration show.
“I’m not saying that. You just don’t have that option available to you. We understand it’s important to you, not to anyone else.”
“Many other people think he’s important, so I can tell,” she replied. The whole of Sydney it seemed.
“ Okay. Options…options…options…”
“You could always set up another stooge and make them do the rounds.” The representative suggested with a shrug.
“That’s a good option. Yeah, I think I have someone in mind.”
“What? The one you had the performance with earlier?”
“Something along those lines.” She waved away the question vaguely hoping they wouldn’t press for details. There weren’t any.
“Any other pieces of information?”
“I’m assuming you have no other useful information that can help me with this?”
“A lot of important people seem to be gathering around your target.”
“What makes him so special?” She said with real irritation. He was never very special when I knew him.
“I don’t know. He seems to be of your pedigree.”
“Yet powerful ones flock around him like a murder of crows.”
“Well…you’re the one who’s supposed to be telling us about it.” The representative glowered and she dropped the subject.
“Maybe I should try…no…I have a few ideas, “ She tried to sound confident. One wasn’t a few but it was a start.
“Anything else?”
“I guess that’s all I can do for now.”
The representative went to rise, “I’ll let them know you didn’t completely waste our time.”
“It’s always nice to see you too,” Mads accepted with as much grace as she could muster.
“Yeah, don’t make a habit of it,” and he slammed the door of the room behind him.
10.40pm Saturday 10 hours until sunrise. 6 days until the Succubus Club Sanctum
Now from the passenger seat, Eclipse watched her two companions as they drove across Sydney to the Days of the Week hideout and Sanctum. Monday was irritated at the mess Tuesday had made of the job. Tuesday had the good grace to be embarrassed for their botching of the job.
They’d gone out to show her the right way to do things and Tuesday and nearly caused a breach in the Masquerade. She was sure within the close community of the Days of the Week, tonights excitement would not go unnoticed. There would be repercussions.
As for the take that night, the one with the broken neck was conscious but still, only able to take shallow breaths. The other two were still unconconscious. At least that part of the night had been successful. Three victims of the snake’s preference, who knew how many more it would take. It didn’t matter.
She thought for a moment maybe black mailing Tuesday into giving her a favour. Something like, ‘hey, we don’t have to say anything to the others about tonight…” or possibly, “…we just went out, helping the new kid find their first sacrifice, right?” In the end, as in most things, Eclipse decided on silence being the best course. Her action spoke better than any words did this night. She’d proven herself equal to the task, even superior and that had to count for something.
The car eventually pulled up beside the old abandoned house surrounded by trees.
Monday turns to look at both Tuesday and Eclipse, “Okay, from here on everyone carries their own.”
Eclipse shrugged, “That’s fine,” She said know that she was often underestimated because of her size.
And that’s just fine with me, She thought to herself as one by one the sacrifices were taken from the car and man-handled down the steps and into the tunnels under the house.
10.40pm Saturday 10 hours until sunrise. 6 days until the Succubus Club Crow Bar
There was a knock at the door to Dominic’s office as Dominic was helping Stallion understand the nuances of the text he’d been given.
“Col-lab-o-ration,” Stallion sounded out the second word of the title of his new book.
“Yes. Working together,” Dominic explained. At this rate, it was going to be a very long night. He took the chance to have a break and opened the door.
Mads, sullen and…maybe a little humbled, was standing behind the door.
“Come on in, Mads” He said and invited to her to take a visitor’s seat. Dominic could smell business.
In a huff, he grabbed his books and took them to the library to read out of sight of Mads.
Mads opened the conversation. “I have a rather big favour to ask, but first I’ll lay on the table everything I’ve learnt, since this is about your coterie member. The man who took Izac. We can get in touch, but it’s costly. The price is rather exceptional blood. That of an eighth or lower.”
“Hmm, Ancient blood. It doesn’t just hand itself over.”
“That’s why I came to you. You’re older and have many more contacts.”
“So you want me to act as your middle man?.” They were now talking business, and business was always Dominic’s favourite topic. He sat back in his chair, steepled his fingers and waited to see how much Mads was willing to go into debt for.
“No, I simply want your help, “She qualified. She would already be in debt for the rest of her undead life if the price for the vitae was to be believed. She wasn’t interested in another large debt to a Giovanni. Still, a moderate debt could be done, “I was hoping you could help point me in the right direction.”
“What favour are you willing to offer for this ‘…pointing you in the right direction…’?”
“What could I do for the illustrious Dominic Giovanni?” She said, hoping to sound more confident than she felt. It came off sounding sarcastic.
“Do they want a particular vintage or just the age that matters?”
“The age,” She agreed. That had been the only stipulation required.
“If I point you in the right direction. Do you have the currency required?”
She internally winced, “Probably not, but I’m asking your advice.”
“Oh, multiple favours. For me? One mid level favour to be paid at a latter date.”
“That’s fine.”
“But the individual, whoever that is, is going to require quite a bit more. How much vitae do you require?”
At his Mads cursed herself silently, “A vial or something? To satisfy some thirst.”
“A blood bags worth?”
“I wasn’t told any specific amounts and I didn’t ask. My bad, I guess.”
Dominic thought who he could contact. Eighth or older. There weren’t that many in Sydney. There was the Prince, but he would be far too expensive. He could ask the family, but there again, he liked his independence and didn’t want them involved. The most likely way was to put out feelers through the club. Maybe someone would know the Banu Haqim. Maybe the car. It all depended on how much you wanted it all to remain secret. The Nosferatu may know. For the right price they’d keep it to themselves.
“Do you have any family members you could ask?” Mads asked, showing she was on the same train of thought as he was…if a few stations behind.
“The Prince..you can’t afford and I won’t get Family involved in this one. I could send out feelers through the club and get back with a price.”
“Thank you. That’s a good place to start. Better than where I was twenty-four hours ago.”
Dominic leaned across the table and held out his hand to shake. With some gratitude, she took it.
“This place is pretty quiet tonight,” Mads said by way of small talk, now that the business was concluded.
“Saturday night, many people are out sightseeing.”
“I meant more the coterie. No one seems around.”
“Oh. I have a good idea where most of them are.” A thought that he hadn’t seen Luna for a while sprung to mind.
“They don’t seem to be…Giovanni…how did you run into them?”
“People come up to me and ask favours knowing I can deliver. I get paid in favours.”
“Someone asked you to take them in?”
“Yes. But enough of that. I have to get onto the thing that you asked me for.”
“Yes! I won’t disturb you any further.”
Mads returned to the V.i.P lounge unsure where anyone was or when they were likely to return. Dominic went and found his right hand man.
“Bruce. Put the word out I have a client willing to pay for elder vitae.”
“Okay, sounds good. Anything else?”
“No, I’ve got to keep an eye on Stallion he’s messing up again.”
And he returned to he office and by the night’s end he would have learnt his lessons.
11.00pm Saturday 9 hours until sunrise. 6 days until the Succubus Club Crow Bar
Notable NPCs
Abram: Ventrue, and one of six founders of Sydney Masquerade
Agaricus: Children of the Moon, and one of six founders of Sydney Masquerade
Alicia: Toreador Vampire met at the Crow Bar
Ambrogino: 5th Generation Vampire, Cappadocian and Elder of the Giovanni Clan.
Avel: Rain’s mother, a wraith.
Beelzebub: Fallen angel, demon entity in Rain’s pocket watch.
Blanco Falzo: A man who had made into a likeness of Stallion’s dog for a time. Now deceased.
Bobby Lisner: Malkavian seer who lives in an old Sewer pipe in The Rocks.
Brendan Virgil: A.K.A. Miss Divine Intervention. Rain’s close friend.
Bruce: Ghoul of Mr Giovanni
Cabolut Hazzim: the name given by a vampire who cleared out the homeless at Rain’s old squat. Prince’s Assassin.
Days of the Week: Pseudonyms for members of the Baali group Eclipse (Luna) is now part of.
She is Sunday, and they are missing Wednesday. Tuesday seems to be their nominal spokesperson, though they seem to have no leader.
Delith: Ambitious Ventrue bar staff at the Crowbar.
Detective Woodman: NSW Policed premiere detective and a sufferer of schizophrenia. He has an assistant currently called Notetaker.
Doctor Willis Hodge: Ghost acquaintance of Dominic Giovanni’s from the Coroner’s Court.
El Torcedor: “The Twister” or ore accurately, “The Fleshcrafter” A Tzimisce from South America
Founders of Sydney Masquerade: Those still alive: Abram, the Ventrue, in Canberra, Wid, the Nosferatu in Wollongong, Agaricus, Child of the Moon, Tasmania, Montague Layton, Toreador current whereabouts unknown.
Francis Tuttle: Name given in charge of the investigation into the deaths of homeless in Surry Hills.
Garcia: Sire. Unknown location.
Giuseppe Giovanni: Ghoul of Mr Giovanni and nephew.
Kenneth Stahl: South African Giovanni (exiled)
Lambach Ruthven: Kin met at the theatre. Sire of Dracula. Drug addict.
Lenny: Rain’s Ghoul and artist friend, now with mages. Location unknown.
Lucretia: Childe of Ambrogino, now caretaker of the Pyrmont House and teacher to Dominic
Madeline Blackwell: Ghoul of Mr Giovanni, working at the State Coroners Court.
Montague Layton: Toreador, and one of six founders of Sydney Masquerade
Night Rider: Red-haired vampire? Works for the Prince.
Pangea: a Nosferatu (tunnel builder)
Padre Craneo: Nagaraja vampire met at the Crow Bar
Paul: a Nosferatu of the sewer rats
Prince Lodin: Prince of Chicago (until his final death in the 90s) and sire of Al Capone.
Prince Sarrasine (Sar-ras-seen): Toreador Ruler of Sydney*
Sebastian Melmoth: Kin met at the theatre. Powerful Toreador.
Shara-had: Banu Haqim (Assamite).
Sparrow: a Nosferatu of the warren in Pyrmont, closest to home
Teeth of Titanium: Werewolf dingo met in Leichhardt.
The Woman: A powerful being of unknown name who kidnapped Izac and enchanted Rain.
Tom: A sleeping head awakened by Dominic in the Dreamtime.
Wid: Nosferatu, and one of six founders of Sydney Masquerade
Glossary of terms:
Anarchists: a faction of Vampires. Caused issues in Los Angeles recently, killed the Prince.
Antediluvian: from before the time of the biblical flood. The third generation that were the progenitors of the thirteen clans of vampires.
Banu Haqim: Also know as Assamites, Assassins though sometimes just mercenaries for hire.
Bone Gnawers: A pack of werewolves
Blood hunt: A process to destroy a vampire who has broken a tradition. Specifically mentioned in the sixth.
Blood worm: What a possessed vampire can turn into.
Black Spiral Dancers: A pack of werewolves that worship a being of entropy.
Canaanites: Those descended from Cain, the first murderer and vampire.
Camarilla: a faction of Vampires closest to the Princes. Believe in hierarchy and order.
Clan or Bloodline: From one the 13 antediluvians.
Christopher Charlton: Rain’s pseudonym.
Marauder: A mage gone mad. Living in his own pocket dimension that answers to the whim of his broken mind.
Diablerie : the drinking another vampire blood and soul
Favour: How Vampires pay for things they want or need doing.
Fetter: A place, person or thing that binds a wraith to the Shadowlands.
Ghouls: Servants of a vampire who have been fed vitae. They are loyal, stronger, and more resilient, and sometimes, they show other powers gained from the blood. They must receive the blood at least once a month or they return to being human. Can be addictive.
Glasswalkers: A pack of werewolves Izac is familiar with this
Hunter: Members of the Society of Leopold, a branch of the Catholic Church. Fanatical vampire hunters and killers.
Kin: Short for Kindred. Vampires, a name among themselves
Kine: Humans
Marauder: a rouge mage, often mad. They are likely to act in a way that exposes the Otherworld of the Masquerade to exposure.
Masquerade : The rule that keeps vampire society safe. Hiding ones nature from the world.
Nagaraja: A bloodline that are obligated to eat the flesh as well as the blood of their victims.
Men in Black: An international unit dedicated to controlling supernatural and alien entities.
Sabbat: a faction of Vampires that believe that the progenitors of the clans will one day awake and eat all their young.
Traditions: Six laws that vampires live by.
Vaulderie: A ritual where Kindred swear loyalty to each other.
*Sarrasine, a novella by Balzac. Sarrasine is a sculptor who is infatuated with an Opera Singer, Zambinella. She thinks herself cursed and deflects his advances. At a performance, Zambinella is revealed to Sarrasine to be a castrato. In a rage, Sarrasine attacks the singer, only to be cut down and killed by their bodyguard.
A Strange Life 