6.20pm Friday 12 hours until sunrise. 7 days until the Succubus Club Izac’s Apartment, Leichhardt
Eclipse awoke feeling disorientated and out of sorts. She’d been plagued by visions that left her exhausted even as she awoke from a full day’s rest. The images were a disjointed swirling of scenes between the rainbow serpent and the dark-skinned human figures. People travelling, people dancing, being eaten and dying. And through it all, the iridescent body of the serpent wound through it.
This worm doesn’t come with instructions, She thought to herself as she tried to understand what she’d seen. There was a definite connection between the people and the serpent, a relationship where their deaths empowered the serpent.
She had to talk to the Days of the Week, but she had no contacts for any of them. They were regulars at the Club. Maybe she could catch them there.
She sighed and rolled over. Izac was still out cold. She watched him, but it was like watching a statue. There was nothing to show any life stirred the body into action. If she touched him, he’d be cold as her, cold as the black abyss inside her. Eventually, she gave up, quietly got out of bed, and tip-toed to the lounge room.
It had to be said that Mr Giovanni’s staff accommodations were top-notch. The Smart television had access to most of the major streaming services, and with one search, Eclipse had found a documentary providing a potted history of the ancient world. It was brain rot stuff. Lollywater for the intellect, but she amused herself for a while, nodding along at one moment and ridiculing their conclusions in the next.
Izac woke to the sound of voices talking in the apartment. Instantly, his paranoid mind leapt to the thought that ‘They’ were back for Luna. He, too, silently crawled out of bed and edged around the doorframe, peering into the lounge room to see…
…Luna watching TV.
He physically slumped, letting go of the tension and padded out into the loungeroom to fall in beside Luna on the sofa.
“What time is it?”
“Six-twenty,” She answered without taking her eyes off the TV.
“Sundown yet?” His eyes glued to the moving images of cracked pots in dusty places engrossing.
“I don’t think so. Didn’t look.”
“What are you watching?”
“Documentary, “She sighed herself, “Everything else bores me.”
“What’s your agenda for today…ur…tonight?”
“Nothing planned, you?”
“I have a few things to chase up.”
She leaned into his side companionably, “Make a few calls. You don’t have to run around all night.”
“Yeah, I guess,” He agreed as they slowly allowed themselves to sink into a couch potato state.
6.00pm Friday 12 hours until sunrise. 7 days until the Succubus Club The Warehouse, Wetherill Park
Stallion awoke to the streams of daylight falling through the cracks in the roof of the warehouse and a thirst.
Lucky I kept aside a little snack for just this contingency, He thought to himself and glanced over at the corpse. Two days in the summer heat, unrefrigerated, had not been kind to the body, which its previous owner had never really respected.
He took a sip. The skin relented in a way that living or recently dead flesh did not. It slipped against his lips and teeth so he had to bite hard to break through. It was clammy, though not cold, having retained some of the warmth of the day. Neither was the blood smooth and thick as he was used to, either. He moved it around in his mouth. It wasn’t bad, but it did have an odd, chunky texture with a thin, watery finish. It was something like a jelly left out of the fridge, except with the metallic tang he expected.
Eventually, he’d have to get rid of the body, but he’d learnt the sewer trick, so he wasn’t too worried. Leaving the rest for later, he left the warehouse and headed east to the Crow Bar.
6.20pm Friday 12 hours until sunrise. 7 days until the Succubus Club The Old Pyrmont House
Dominic awoke somewhere unfamiliar but, at the same time, felt like home. The recollection that he had spent the night with Aunty Lucretia at the Pyrmont house gave him a sudden cold feeling of joy that sufficed his whole body.
It was like being a small child all over again. He had learnt things. Yes, the world, as he had known it, was a very small and insignificant thing compared to what was beyond. And he’d only just begun his journey of discovery. It was the first step in the next stage of his life.
He looked around the master bedroom and didn’t see Aunty anywhere. He stood and went in search of the woman who had opened his eyes to find her downstairs, already busy with her affairs.
“You’ve dominated far too much of my time, “ She said without looking up from her work, “Have a good one, nephew.”
“You too, Aunty, “ He replied as he silently closed the front door behind him.
6.40pm Friday 12 hours until sunrise. 7 days until the Succubus Club The Crow Bar
I’d spent hours floating disembodied through the warren of the Wollongong Nosferatu. Its complexity and organisation were incredible. I’d seen nothing like it anywhere else in vampire society so far. The small room Luna and I had visited in Sydney was obviously just a foyer or visitors’ room if Sydney’s Nosferatu were as industrious as those down south. They acted like an army, all working together for the common good. For all their broken natures, I envied them their…community spirit. Their shared vision.
When I felt I had the layout of the warren firmly fixed in my mind, I returned to my body. Though it had been nowhere and done nothing, the hours of travel had taken a toll. I came too in the darkness of the Time Out room feeling like I’d run to and from Wollongong. Without too much thought, I lay out on the cold concrete floor and fell instantly to the dreamless sleep I’d come to treasure.
Sometime later, I was aware my phones lit the space with the cheery green numbers, denoting it was after six pm. At first, I thought I was still chained to the wall and scrambled off the floor to find the chains silent and empty. The next thing I realised was the raging hunger coldly burning deep inside. I hadn’t felt that hungry since…
…I rapidly left Time Out in search of blood.
The Crow Bar was quiet at that time in the evening. Above, people were walking past the front door on their way home from work, but at that moment, the V.I.P. lounge was empty. I strode across to the ‘keg’ fridge and the silent bodies that hung there. If my mind hadn’t been focused on other things, I could have stood there drinking directly from one of them…like drinking milk from the fridge. As I wanted to write down what I’d discovered in my travels, I grabbed a few blood packs and headed back to the office. As one hand squeezed a blood pack, the other hand texted Izac.
6.40pm Friday 12 hours until sunrise. 7 days until the Succubus Club Izac’s Apartment, Leichhardt
Izac’s phone buzzed. Without taking his eyes off the TV he leaned sideways to get access to his pocket and pulled out the phone.
I KNOW WHERE HE IS.
Luna dragged her eyes off the television long enough to see the phone screen.
“Rain was quick at finding Wid,” Izac said to her, snapping his phone closed, “It looks like he wants to talk.”
“I wonder…” She mused out loud, “If he can find people, do you think he can find items?”
“That’s a question you’d have to ask him,” She took the opportunity to give her a peck on the forehead, “Speaking of which, when do you want to go to Lightning Ridge? Wasn’t it for something? Or is it just a sightseeing tour?”
“There’s something out there I have to find, “ She thought, imagining an iridescent blade of her very own, before snapping back to the reality of the lounge, “Still, I guess it’s more up to the werewolves than it is us.”
‘I make a call, and we can get things rolling,” He held out his phone, which hadn’t made it back to his pocket just yet, “Just say the word.”
“I can always go to Lightning Ridge by myself, “ She responded, the TV forgotten, “It’s a long way for you to travel.”
Izac didn’t like the sound of that, and the creases in his forehead deepened, “Is that what you want to do?”
“It depends on how far you’re willing to venture,” She poked him in the chest, “I’m not going to stop you if you want to come.”
“It sounds like I’d be an imposition. ”
“Do you want to go to Lightning Ridge?”
“I want to help.”
She looked thoughtfully at him for a moment, taking in his earnest desire. It meant nothing to the gnawing nothingness inside her, but part of her realised it meant something to him.
“It won’t hurt if you join me,” She finally relented. It certainly wouldn’t hurt having the werewolf whisperer with her out west.
6.40pm Friday 12 hours until sunrise. 7 days until the Succubus Club Crow Bar
By the freak chance of Sydney traffic, Dominic and Stallion drove into the Crow Bar’s carpark one after another. The Bronco and the black SUV were as distinctive as their drivers. Stallion, tall, young and tan, in his trenchcoat and designer labels, Dominic, what would be considered a silver fox, impeccably dressed in his black suit. The two men nodded greetings to each other.
“Stallion, how are you doing?” Asked Dominic cheerfully.
“Augh, pretty alright,” Stallion replied, trying to match Dominic’s mood. He felt the need to have Mr G. think well of him, even if he wasn’t ‘in the family’.
“I’ve come in to do a little reading tonight.”
Dominic looked around the carpark and beckoned Stallion over to a blank wall.
“Just come over here for a moment. I have something to show you, “ And, after pressing in the code, the wall slid away to reveal the armoury, “Let’s just slip in here for a private chat.”
Stallion followed, taking in the view of racks of weapons, ammunition and other assorted deadly-looking tools of death that he could not put names to. Dominic slid the wall closed and, without preamble, bit into his left wrist, allowing the dark Giovanni blood to well up.
“Here, have a couple of sips. You deserve it.” He said, offering up his wrist to Stallion.
Stallion’s eyes bulged. Though not strictly hungry, the beast is never sated and the thought of vampire blood just there for the taking…
“Awkward…tempting…”He said as the thoughts rolled around in his mind, “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Dominic replied and again extended the wrist out for Stallion to drink.
“The last time I had Vampire blood…it was delicious,” He thought back to that moment, draining the mad vampire to the last drop. He wondered if he could do the same with Dominic.
“Have some more, you deserve it,” Dominic offered.
“But…fine, but you said…Vaulderie…?” He was confused, a state he was well used to. He could smell the blood. His mouth watered.
“Don’t worry about that. Remember, you asked me to do this to you,” Suddenly, Stallion did remember, in Dominic’s house, asking him to…well, obviously this!
He bent his head and sipped the blood. It was like ripping the scab off a wound, painful… but the final release made it worthwhile. Instantly, Stallion was filled with good thoughts about Dominic, how kind he was, and how much trust he put in Stallion. Surely, it was only natural that Stallion would want to trust him back.
And the thought of eating Dominic was ridiculous! Mates don’t eat mates.
“You can have another sip if you like,” Dominic offered as Stallion straightened, flush from the blood and his newfound…love for the man in front of him.
“You’ve been generous already. If you offer later…”
“Sure,” Dominic rolled down his shirt sleeve, and the blood was gone, “Stallion, I wanted to know, what are you using to protect yourself these days?
“Wha…in what sense?”
“It’s a rough world out there, and I’m not always going to be there to protect you, “ He gestured to the array of weaponry on offer around them, “Do you carry a gun, a knife, a stick…”
“I’ve got my claws,” Stallion said, lifting his soft human hands, nothing like the clawed weapons they could become.
“That’s true, but there will come a time when you may want something with a little more…range…a little stopping power. You’re going to want to have options. You have to understand that most of us who have been here for a while are good at fighting with our hands. Even me.”
Stallion scoffed out loud. In all the time he’d known Mr Giovanni, he’d never seen him fight with his hands. A gun, sure. He’d seen him shoot that hunter…and the mage. But fight with his fists?…Mr Giovanni wouldn’t want to get his suit wet, would he?
“I’ve never seen you fight with your hands.”
“You’ve never had the opportunity.”
“Do I have the opportunity tonight?”
“Do you want a friendly brawl?” Dominic said with a smile that would have made lesser men quail, “Perhaps another time. But that’s not what tonight is about.” This time, he walked to the racks where the handguns gave way to sawn-off shotguns that gave way to semi-automatic rifles.
“You have your short-range attacks covered. You’re right there. But sometimes you want to put one or two things into your opponent before they get that close.” He pulled a sawn-off off the rack and held it comfortably in his hands. “Not all fights are nice and civilised.”
“Of course, that’s when you king hit them,” replied Stallion from his experience in street brawling in the gang.
“Hmm,” Dominic replied, leaving their air clear for Stallion to continue.
“It’s just…we never really used guns…”
“Well, “ Like the used car salesman he was, Dominic used the sawn-off as a pointer as he listed off the guns available in the lock-up, “We have your standard semi-automatics handguns, basic but reliable revolvers, we have a few submachine guns. There’s always the shotguns, of course, but they’re not really portable except the sawn-off…”
“What’s the biggest gun you’ve got that I can fit in my pocket?” Stallion broke through the dizzying array of choices on offer.
“Under your coat? This double barrel sawn-off could be made to fit very nicely,” Dominic offered the gun to Stallion as pulling a suit off the rack. Stallion didn’t take it right away.
“I can’t always be wearing the jacket,” He bawked at the gun.
“There are snubnose revolvers. Small, reliable, not a lot of stopping power but easy to hide,” Dominic pointed out some smaller guns that Stallion recognised from rerunning cops shows he watched as a kid.
“They look like sharpeners,” He smirked, “And would I have to pull the hammer back each time?”
“Maybe something simpler?” Dominic walked over to the handguns and pulled out a .38 special that had been modified to take a shotgun shell, “Small, simple and with the stopping power of a bull. One shot, though.”
When Stallion didn’t seem convinced, Dominic pulled a box off a shelf and pulled out a tiny gun that fitted into the palm of his hand. The bullets, in fitted slots inside the box, were the size of Tic-Tacs.
“There’s always a Derringer? Hold two bullets, double-action, easy to hide.”
Stallion was spoiled for choice. What should have been a kid in a candy store moment was becoming an ordeal of decisions.
“I’m sorry, Mr Giovanni. I just don’t know much about guns.”
With a fatherly smile, Dominic put away the Derringer box, “That’s why we’re here picking one for you.”
“What about a police Glock? They hold lots of bullets, right? How about damage?”
“Damage?”
“Firepower? How many bottles of coke can it shoot through?” As if the YouTube standard was a good judge of the effectiveness of weaponry.
“That’s up to the bullet, not so much the gun, “ Dominic pulled a box of .38s for the aforementioned Glock and opened them for Stallion to see, “See the bullet…the projectile is just that lead slug at the top. Not much wider than your claw, right, and does about the same damage,” Placing the box aside, he then pulled down a box of deer slugs for the double-barrel he’d been waving around, “These are cartridges. Inside these are a slug almost as wide as the cartridge. This takes down big stags, moose even. See, the more you put in, as it were, the more you get out, do you see?”
“Yeah…ah…um…” Stallion pointed hesitantly at the racks, “The sawn-off shotgun.”
Dominic gave Stallion two boxes of the deer slug and a single-barrel shotgun, showing him how to load it.
“This is a break action, single barrel shotgun that takes these cartridges. Just make sure one of these is in the chamber, and you’re ready to go. Line it up and pull the trigger. Hide these in your car somewhere, and you’re good to go.”
6.40pm Friday 12 hours until sunrise. 7 days until the Succubus Club Crow Bar
Three blood packs later, I had four sheets of photocopy paper filled with notes about the Nosferatu warren and was worrying over a blank space on the page. I’d memorised the layout as a series of moves, as I would a magic routine. I often found it easier to remember things if I put them into movement and was now dancing around the office, trying to remember what had been at the blank intersection.
First on the left, murder hole
Second on the left, guard post rest spot.
T-intersection, east and west.
Past the eastern dormitories and….
…nothing.
I tried from the other end:
Stores
First on right, computer room.
Follow the network cables, left, and servers.
Down the corridor…
…I drew a blank. “Shit.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
WHERE ARE YOU? It was Izac.
OFFICE, I quickly sent the reply and went back to my notes.
Downstairs, Luna and Izac walked into the bar. Izac sent his message as Luna, wanting to practise her new talent, stepped ahead of him and seemingly disappeared from sight. Izac looked up, missed Luna, looked around and found himself alone. He sighed, and Luna clearly recognised the upset and resignation on his face before he headed for the stairs. She raced ahead and beat him to the office door. As Izac reached it, she broke the illusion and winked back into existence.
“You’re getting quicker,” Izac said, surprise clearly replacing the disappointment with admiration.
“Quicker or at least better at the in-between,” She smirked and walked in after him.
Inside, they found me…dancing. Pages of notes spread out on Dominic’s desk of a cryptic mind map that meant nothing to anyone but me. I paused in the dance, swore, and started dancing again.
“You’re busy,” Izac commented, catching my attention. I turned to see both of them walking in the door, conspiratorial smiles on their faces.
“Oh! I memorised the warren but forgot a section. “ I pointed out the location on my notes, “I’m just walking through in my mind to see…” I blathered. Realising I was blathering, and started again, “I found Wid.”
“Where is he?” Izac asked, stepping up to the table to look over my scribbled notes.
“He’s deep in an extensive warren under the Port Kembla steelworks. I’ve remembered most of it…” I listened to myself and internally rolled my eyes. When had I become so desperate for their approval?
Since they left you on the outside, It was my conscience. He was becoming as annoying as the beast.
“I’ll remember…or not,” I admitted with a cringing smile, “Regardless, if you can get us to Wollongong, I know the way.”
“Wollongong’s not far. We could easily do the trip in a night,” Izac studied the notes, couldn’t make sense of it and gave up.
“Oh, and probably best that they don’t know how much I know.”
“They?”
“Oh, it’s a city down there, a city under siege. They look like they’re at war…or expecting war.”
“With?” Luna asked, and I wished I had better information to offer.
“Yeah, dunno.”
“Okay, but there’s unrest. Good to know.” I took that as a positive step in our ever-fracturing relationship. For the first time that evening, I looked in her direction. She was still wearing the ridiculous witch costume, but her stance and bearing, the tilt of her head, all gave her a subconscious…regalness. No, not my Luna, but maybe she was her own, Luna.
“Afraid though,” Izac worried, “That may make him too busy to see us.”
“No. Not for visitors,” Luna replied with such assurance we all nodded.
“Well, I hope so.”
“In any case, “Izac straightened from leaning over the table and turned to me, “That’s good work, Rain.” Ah, praise, warmth, and desire are what I live for. More so coming from Izac whose praise seemed hard-won, and whose goodwill I needed.
“So, you can map out an entire warren to find one person? “ Luna drew my attention again.
“More like, I searched for Wid, and the mapping was a happy result, but yes.”
“How about items?”
Intriguing. This ability was so new. I’d had no idea I could see Wid with such clarity until last night. It would be interesting to try.
“Oh…well…I don’t know. I could always try. I’d need a description. I know I didn’t have a lot to go on with Wid, but he’s kin.”
Luna glanced at Izac, a knowing look of shared concern crossed between them.
“Lightning Ridge?” He asked, and she shook her head.
“No. Do you think you could find the Prince’s heart?”
What a thought. Until this week, I would have thought that obvious, but we all knew hearts didn’t always stay in chests. Now, I was intrigued. If the Prince’s heart were separate from him, and we could get it, it would be a wonderful bargaining chip…at the very least. Still…
“The Prince’s? Or…” I looked at Izac.
“The Prince’s. We can always find his when the Prince is gone.”
I stiffened. It was one thing to talk openly about the demise of the current ruler and quite another to do it in front of a security camera just above our heads.
“So you don’t think he’d keep it…” I tapped my chest.
“It would be just like him to keep them together,” Izac laughed humorlessly.
“It could be,” Luna shrugged coolly, “A sick play…I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Well, at least I know him,” I thought again about the puzzle put in front of me, “That should make it easier…” Regardless of cameras and talk of Regicide, I was engaged. The game was afoot!
“If the Prince’s is a bust, then Izac’s.”
Izac was now paying attention to me. I must admit to having finished the last of the blood packs and still felt the gnawing emptiness of hunger, but surely it didn’t show…that much. His eyes did travel to the empties now gathering at my feet.
“You look like you could do with a meal,” He said, and I felt his concern like an embrace.
“Do you need more of those?” Now Luna? If before I had felt left out, now I was inside the coil of their collective arms. It was what I’d wanted and needed, and I was a little surprised at the suddenness of its arrival.
“Ur…yes, I…this took most of the day…it was pretty hungry work,” If I could blush, I would have.
Luna left the room, practicing her invisibility and slunk down the stairs to retrieve more bags as Izac stayed with me. I wonder if they thought I was on the brink of frenzying. On the contrary. With their praise and attention, I could live in happy bliss for a year. For the first time, I was starting to see that momentary loss of control as a blessing in disguise.
When she’d left, Izac turned back to me, “What are we going to do about the other problem?”
I glanced back the way Luna had gone, “That problem?”
“I want to find them.”
“Oh!” Them. The odd ones in random clothes driving the ancient station wagon. The ones that took my Luna. Yes, I knew what they looked like. I looked up at where I knew a camera must be hidden and returned to my notes on the table. In one corner, I scribble…
There’s a camera. We really shouldn’t talk here. I let him read the note before tearing it off and stuffing it in my pocket.
Izac’s eyes narrow, unsure why I’d now be concerned about the direction of our conversation.
“Right. On to more pressing topics, then. How hard do you think it will be to find my heart, or Saraseen’s at the very least?”
Hadn’t I just told him about the camera? Still, riding high on his approval, I didn’t want to disappoint.
“Um…I don’t really know until I try, right? This is all very exciting and new.”
“Fuck!” He swore, looking up at the wall I’d indicated and realising what he’d said, “By any chance, are you handy with computers.”
Ah, a trip back to Bruce’s sanctum?
“I have been known to dabble.”
“This conversation would have been better had somewhere else, right?”
“Right.” I agreed, “Thus why we were… downstairs…last night.” I stressed, hoping this time he understood.
“Ah.” He changed the subject, “How are things going with you and your friend?”
Oh God! Now, it was my turn to swear. With all the excitement over the Nosferatu and the warren, I’d completely forgotten about Brendan. I pulled out my phone. No messages. Not a good or bad sign.
“I’ve not checked in on Brendan,” I admitted.
“Have you thought of a way of getting him out? You must have given it some thought.”
I shrugged, “I’ve done what I can. I will be there, by his side…”
“Be careful about that,” He warned, “Some people might think it a bit of a joke if you’re too close.”
So true. I nodded and accepted his advice gratefully. There were ways of keeping close without being physically clinging to Divine’s tulle. She’d hate that, anyway.
“If the worst comes, I may have to offer some boons.”
“Be careful who you make those with. They may come to bite you on the arse.”
I nodded again, “I’m aware.” I knew this was also what I’d asked for. Another point of view, a wiser pair of eyes.
“And…about last night. When you said to let him go…it’s not that I wasn’t listening. I heard you. There’s just sometimes…for better or worse…you know? I can’t let go…at least until I can’t hold on anymore.”
“He might not be breathing by the time you let go,” He said, part advise, part plea.
“Then I’ll be there in the end.” And that one thought drained all the joy out of me.
7.00pm Friday 11 hours until sunrise. 7 days until the Succubus Club Crow Bar
Mr Giovanni and Stallion rose from the carpark companionably together, having just stowed Stallion’s new toy. They were now heading for the office and library, respectively. Luna had just left the fridge with a new supply of blood packs and was invisibly making her way across to the stairs herself. Spotting Dominic and Stallion, she ran ahead, desperate to beat them back to the office. She took the stairs easily enough, then realised she’d need to break the illusion to open the office door. Carefully, she opened the door as gently as she could.
At the bottom of the stairs, Dominic and Stallion looked up as the door to the office swung open seemingly by its own accord. Out of empty space, Luna’s face appeared for a fraction of a second, and then it was gone. They both realised she’d always been there in the hallway, carrying blood packs up to the office, but for some reason, it was only until she opened the door that they registered it. Dominic eyes narrowed in suspicion and anger.
“It looks like someone’s learnt a new talent,” Stallion gloated, oblivious to Dominic’s mood change.
Izac and I turned as the door opened, and Luna appeared where nothing had been before.
Dominic, She mouthed and handed me the blood packs. Making the papers disappear from the table, I took the packs gratefully and quietly drank one, awaiting the arrival of our sire.
“I really have to learn that one day,” Izac said under his breath.
“I was practising. Surely the best place to do it, “ She answered just as low.
Dominic, stormclouds evident in his expression, and Stallion smirking quietly, entered the office. Dominic closed the door with emphasis behind him.
“Luna, did you just use Obfuscate to go down to the basement and get blood packs?” He asked in his reasonable and all too dangerous voice.
“I use obfuscate to walk around the Crow Bar. I’m practising, “ She replied without hesitation.
“This bar is my Elysium, and all powers besides my own are banned here. If you were caught by a mortal using obfuscate, it would have been a violation of the Masquerade.”
Elysium? Surely, this was the first we’d heard of this. What would he have thought of Delith’s little indiscretions? What about my own?
“Aren’t you lucky I’m good at it,” Luna replied, full of bravado.
“No, because I saw you, Stallion saw you, “ He pulled back his jacket sleeve and unbuttoned the cuff of his left shirt sleeve. Luna and I knew what this was, and we both flinched. Izac knew something was up from our reactions.
“No, wait!” Luna protested, “I call bullshit on this. Delith is on your payroll and uses dominate all over the place.”
Dominic frown only deepened, “I’ll look into it.” I didn’t like the sound of that. If Izac wanted me to clear the office tape of tonight’s discussion, I’d have to get moving. I remembered my mind-reading of Delith and hoped that didn’t show on the common room tapes.
“I collaborate with Luna’s evidence. Delith has on two occasions tried to dominate me…and another patron.” I swallowed hard on that last one.
With my evidence, Dominic paused. It seemed he may not have been clear with his ideals of Elysium with his staff or with us.
“I’ll deal with that later, “ He said and held out his arm to Luna, “But for now…”
Luna took Dominic wrist and sipped. I winced along with her, remembering the pain like razor blades, the burning like acid. She took the sip demanded, then pulled away, gasping, a blood tear streaming down her face. She stumbled back and fell into Izac’s waiting arms.
Izac was horrified, “Isn’t that a bit excessive?”
“Have you seen what happens to vampires that break Masquerade? I am responsible for them, “Dominic turned his cold eyes on Izac as he buttoned up his sleeve once more.
“She was just trying to avoid as much contact with the mortal as she could. She was being responsible.”
“She is my childe, and I will discipline her as I see fit.”
Izac rolled his eyes, “Of course, you are correct as always, Mr Giovanni.”
“And what about your staff?” Luna said tearily.
“I’ll have no more lip from you,” The urbane manager of a popular nightclub was gone, and Dominic exposed his cold heart. I’d never seen him so mad, and I’d been blamed for the book theft.
Stallion, Dominic’s good boy of the night, now took his chance to rub some salt into the wounds.
“How long have you known about Delith for, Luna, and you didn’t tell him?”
“His staff. We didn’t know there was a problem besides her being a bitch.”
“So you’re not willing to snitch unless it benefits you?” His delighted grin stretched menacingly across his face.”
“What are you, two? Wake up, Stallion.”
“I am,” He said, “to you.”
I ignored the sibling fight and watched Father. Even when I’d yelled at him to leave Pyrmont, he’d been more in control than at that moment. Bringing Delith into the argument had been the wrong angle. He didn’t care for Delith. If she broke the Masquerade, it was no skin of his nose. But Luna, and Stallion and me. We were a problem. A scolding parent more fearful than angry for their reckless children.
“Mr Giovanni, for my part, I apologise for breaking the rules of your Elysium, I honestly didn’t know we couldn’t use our abilities.”
He looked at me with the same tired look of all parents, “I did mention it.”
“That this was your domain, of course, and we would not dispute that. That you hold the Crow Bar to be Elysium? The only Elysium I knew was the Prince’s.”
“It is a place where our kind are welcome. That is Elysium,” He said, slowly enunciating every word as if to a stupid child, “As long as they behave themselves while in this space. That includes minor Masquerade breaches.”
I sighed. I felt the weight of the cultural iceberg on me once more. What people think to tell you about their culture is only ten per cent of the important and possibly life-threatening elements of any society. Yes, we had been told about Elysium. I may have even gathered that the Succubus Club would be something like Elysium, but that the space I was currently calling home was also an Elysium had never crossed my mind.
“We’ve all been made fully aware now of our responsibilities here. We understand now. “ I tried to quell the parental concerns.
It seemed to work. At least he changed the subject… somewhat.
“It seems I have to go over a few things before we go to the Succubus Club so you don’t get yourselves killed.”
He informed us that the Succubus Club is something like a super Elysium where all kindred are welcome regardless of age, clan, tradition…anything. I could see that could lead to many opportunities for disagreement, so being on our best behaviour could well mean more than just polite conversation. As with the Prince’s Elysium or the Crow Bar, someone is responsible for that good behaviour.
“So, who’s Elysium is the Succubus Club? Who is responsible?” I asked, gaining for myself an odd look from Dominic.
“That’s the thing. No one knows. That’s why it is imperative to behave yourself while you are there. You’re not even a year old. All the other vampires there are going to consider you children.”
“We really didn’t intend to cause trouble for you, Mr Giovanni.”
“It is somewhat expected, “ At least now he sounded a little mollified, “You are children, after all, regardless of whether you want to hear that or not.”
“Remember, at the Succubus Club, do not approach anyone you don’t know unless they approach you first.”
Great, how to create wallflowers. Still, I was grateful for the advice.
“That’s going to be a very small pool,” Stallion said, having given up on trying to make Luna feel bad, “Like, who do you know outside of this coterie?”
“I wish I knew more,” I went through my sparse list in my head. I had the names of a few Nosferatu (Paul, Sparrow, and Pangea), our three sires, the Prince, and Cabolut Hazzim. If we got to Wollongong, we could possibly add Wid to our collection, and that was about it.
Luna shrugged, though Izac and I knew she had five on all of us. Certainly, Stallion’s question had us all thinking. What were we going to do at the Succubus Club? The room had gone silent for the first time.
“Now that the lecture is over, “ He glanced at Luna, the coldness thawing from his expression, “Congratulations on learning a power not your own.”
“Isn’t that taboo?” Stallion asked. After what I’d heard in Dominic’s place, I figured this had to do with his Thaumaturgy, “You know, learning abilities outside your blood?”
“It’s not unheard of,” Dominic replied reassuringly, “Only your abilities are guarded most…jealously by the Tremere.”
“Only we know that, right? Not them?” It was unclear what he meant by them. The Tremere? If they did, I was amazed he was still walking about making snide comments to Luna.
“He’s thinking out loud again,” Said Izac and I had to agree.
Dominic turned his cool gaze on the cocky Stallion, “Stallion, I need you to remember at the Succubus Club, you are not the entertainment. You are there to enjoy the entertainment.”
“And what does that entail, Mr Giovanni?” Izac asked
“People like Rain’s friend. Often, Torreadors will put on spectacles. There will be competitions of concealment from Nosferatu and La Sombre. Tzimisce may fleshcraft something as a show. They will have all sought permission to use their abilities, and as no one mortal will be getting out alive, it’s not a Masquerade breach.”
Izac looked balefully at me without saying a word. No mortal out alive. I looked at my phone again. No message.
Stallion was on fire though, “I wonder if you could buy him?”
“Possibly, for a few favours.” Except I couldn’t talk to anyone or do anything. Maybe Brendan would just wow them to the point where he saved himself. It sure seemed like I was going to be as useful as tits on a bull.
The conversation died away, and once more. Dominic was left to get the happy family talking again.
“So, what have you lot been doing while I’ve been away?” He asked.
Oh, not much. Wooed the sacrificial lamb of the Succubus Club, discovered and used a highly dangerous ability in your Elysium, conspired to kill the Prince, it seems and organised to go out and talk to their old enemies…
“Just hanging around the bar,” I actually said. It wasn’t a lie.
“Just be hanging out here,” Izac admitted, but not convincingly.
“Reading,” Luna admitted, also not a lie.
“I ran around town,” Stallion said, the short form of the truth.
“Honestly, Mr Giovanni, if we had anything interesting to tell you, we’d tell you,” Izac tried again to assure Dominic.
Dominic didn’t seem convinced by his assurances but didn’t bat an eye at my outlandish lies. Regardless, he chose to ignore it all.
“I think it’s time we did something nice together. What’s playing at the State Theatre tonight?”
“Last time we did that, we killed a bunch of people at a bar,” Luna replied scathingly. I was excited about the prospect of getting out of the Club for the night.
We all pulled out our phones and started searching. Ironically, Bram Stoker’s Dracula was being performed.
“How would you like to see a play from a story written by a Vampire?” Dominic was now a little playful at the thought of taking a bunch of vampires out to see the story of the most famous vampire of all.
“Do you want to see it?”’
“Yes, “ I said, “People will just assume the pasty-faced bunch are in cosplay for the show.”
“Hey, who are you calling pasty-faced,” Stallion replied. Yes, even after all this time away from the sun, he’d never lost his hint of a golden tan.
Dominic spared no expense in acquiring tickets and then went off to change into something fitting for the theatre. He returned in a double-breasted suit of the finest make. It was a great suit, but it made him look like he was trying too hard. After three nights in the same clothes, I quickly headed off to the hotel, showered and dressed for a night on the town. I changed into another of my new suits and slicked back my hair to make me look like a nineteen-thirties silver screen star. Luna and Izac…made do with what was at the Club and made miracles happen, looking like a modern alist couple direct from New York City. Stallion looked like he’d hauled himself out of a bin. Unidentifiable stains pockmarked his once pristine coat. He found a longline puffer jacket in lost property and decided he looked fly.
Dominic made a call to his staff, “Bring around the limousine.”
8.20pm Friday 10 hours until sunrise. 7 days until the Succubus Club Crow Bar
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Eclipses examinations:
An Ode
That eternal end. The thing beyond death where the wyrm resides. It speaks in images.
Destroy.
Consume.
Create.
Your lover is another pawn in this dance of death. He sleeps almost soundly with a predator beside him. What to become of him, in his moment of stasis?
Yours led to finding the serpent. To destroy you to create me. What about him?
Wednesday is a choice. One you are not happy with.
What to make of a man being marinated through every decision.
I know you can sense the irony. I am no better than the others but they want to use him.
But I know better.
I know he can be saved.
Cut from the strings of all the entities dragging him along. Aid him to see beyond the veil. This could very well kill me. It could easily lead towards his death.
Why not try? It’ll be fun.
None of it will fill the void I’ve craved into my being.
Remember the pain of Dominic’s bite? Of his putrid blood?
The pain of consequence we walked.
Emotions that were all swallowed in that pit.
Bleed through every drop from my neck.
In this game I’ll keep up your charade. Even though, at the end of this world, is nothing but what I’ve created and what I am destined to be.
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Biting the hand
My beliefs are all I have. Are they really mine?
In life I was told this and that, how to act, how to be. All for no doubt some high-minded virtue
In death, it was no different, for the same reasons. But what if I don’t believe? She can see the mask poorly concealing my doubt. Used as a tool in the thralls of others: Kat, Giovanni, Sarrasine. Where is the next prospective owner looking to claim a controlling stake in my actions?
Running away again?
I refuse to run anymore, but this has to happen. I need to carve my own path, not the one set for me. I’ve been a slave too long. This idea of sire, ownership and favours created monsters. Even the unwilling are twisted into cynical, deceptive and manipulating caricatures. The Children are no exception. left alone to struggle and then retrieved like a child in the cold.
It wasn’t to learn, it was an indoctrination.
It doesn’t matter what comes after, but it has to be better than this. A world without monsters…
They all have to burn.
The people I need to find, will they have the answers I want to hear? She is different, a coldness is in her eyes. Why? What happened to her?
Luna, why won’t you tell me? I don’t care if it kills me, I need to know.
Maybe it’ll be better if you are.
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
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.
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.\][poFrancis 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.
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)
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*
Sparrow: a Nosferatu of the warren in Pyrmont, closest to home
Teeth of Titanium: Werewolf dingo met in Leichhardt.
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.
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.
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 sculpture 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 