Katrina saw her hands before her face. They were stained red with the blood of men and women. Before her was a fountain carved with multiple strong and healthy human figures. Katrina touched her hand to the water and suddenly the figures necks began pouring blood, soon making the fountain as bloody as her hands. The blood seemed to beckon her to it, to dive into it and lose herself and her worries.
Katrina jumped back in revulsion turning to run away from the fountain. Each step became harder to take as she seemed to get ever closer to the fountain, rather than farther. Ahead of her she saw that she was fast approaching a shadow figure embracing one individual after another.
As she closed on the figure he saw that the person the thing was embracing was her sister, exactly as she had seemed five years ago. Behind the figure and its victim there was a pile of corpses. Katrina could see her family stacked on top of the pile, only her sister remaining. She looked at the figure's feet and saw Renfield's boots.
She must save her sister, whatever the cost!
"Stop!" she demanded, pulling the vampire away from her sister and turning it towards herself. "Leave my sister..." she trailed off as the black haired vampire stared up at her with a monstrous mockery of her face. The doppelganger's laughing and smiling face was dyed red with the blood she had taken from the countless bodies. Katrina could see the hit man's and the poor girl's bodies on the bottom of the pile. Somehow she could see them through the pile now, staring at her with blaming eyes.
"Would you interrupt my feast?" the...the thing asked her. Katrina let go of the monster and shook her head in denial as she slowly backed up. Then her sister stood up and spoke, fangs bared.
"You've given me eternal life, Katrina. How should I thank you for that?" Then all the corpses stood up and stared at her either with blank, blaming eyes or bared fangs and cold, hungry gazes.
"Yes, how should we thank you?" the horde asked of her. Katrina turned away from them all, fountain, corpses, doppelganger and sister and she ran.
"NO! NO! NO! NO!" she chanted in denial of the things pursuing her.
Then the fountain was in front of her again, and she was falling and then sinking. She sank into the fountain unable to swim back to the surface. She sank deeper and deeper, never drowning, always in complete awareness of her situation. Forever, sinking, sinking...
Jaera arrived at the industrial park just in time to hear the scream. She had no idea what to make of it so she choose the safe route. Nobody was nearby, she could use her magick to change slightly. She couldn't enforce a complete transformation yet, but one day she would. That day would be great indeed, but for now she would have to settle for the enhanced vision, dexterity, speed and talons.
The rote complete, she raced for the office building the cry had come from.
Somewhere beneath him, Bregan heard a voice chanting one word over and over again with increasing volume and agitation. Then suddenly a scream erupted from the voice, ending the chant. A scream packed with more rage, revulsion and fear than he had ever heard a creature produce. He shifted into his Homid form and made for the source of the sound as quickly as his two-legs would carry him. He came to a door then and heard weeping on the other side.
Opening the door was easy, it hadn't been locked, it had just warped into a misshaped thing. So it opened with a large creak, and the room's occupant instantly knew that she had company.
"Stay away," declared the young girl with her back turned to the door. "You don't know what I could do to you. Stay away!" Bregan had a brief glimpse of a pale red-streaked face before she turned her face away again. Bregan ignored her and began walking forward, keeping a ray of sunlight between him and her. Her voice sounded strained and tired, maybe day-time had an effect other than to burn vampires
"Why do you care to warn me," he asked. "What does it gain you."
"What do you know, you don't even know me, much less what I am. What knowledge allows you to mock me and my warning?"
"Knowledge that is my own miss...?" he paused politely. The girl appeared to have to think a moment to come up with the answer. "Katrina Wujick." Bregan blinked.
"I've heard of you, you disappeared on your way home five years ago, your killers...sucspected killers were convicted..."
"Am I on Unsolved Mysteries or something then, or maybe they made my life into a movie of the week?" Bregan laid off, this was a vampire he was talking to yes, but apparently not of the normal ilk, or at least what was supposed to be the normal for the undead. "For your life's sake leave, now!"
"You couldn't get close enough to harm me." He decided to play it straight. "There is sunlight between me and you, and even if it wasn't there, I would lay wagers that I'm more than a match for you."
"You know what I am!? You know what I am and you stand there and make jokes about it?!?" She had turned around and there was an angry glint in her eyes.
"No I do not make jokes about it, I'm disobeying one of my people's laws by even talking to you, but you might be of use to me."
"Might be of use to you? Is my survival to be based on serving others forever?"
"If you wish, I'll pay you for your help." Katrina appeared to think it over, she really didn't know of what use she might be to this man, except as a killer or some more intimate purpose, but he had plucked a heart string with his offer of payment. Perhaps she could buy a new violin, her old one had been broken when she was kidnapped.
"No, he'd come for me, and then you'd die. Best to leave me alone."
"I can defend myself against, whoever it is you mean, though I can guess."
"What can you do to him?"
"What can I do? I'll show you." Bregan shifted to wolf form and back, stopping for moments at each individual form, and then returning to his homid form. "I believe that I am quite capable of protecting myself. Katrina stared with awe at him, even now as a vampire she disbelieved many of the other legends. Inspite of her disbelief this here was a werewolf standing before her. A young werewolf, probably no older than she was truly, but he was a werewolf.
She made up her mind then and there.
"I want a new violin," she requested quietly. "Then after I help you, you leave me alone here." Her blood tears had dried to her skin and her voice, though still tired, sounded more gentle at the mention of a violin. Could vampires feel anything other than bloodlust then? he asked himself, or is this merely a trick.
"Fair deal," Bregan scowled, he didn't like dealing with a vampire. Even if she could lead him to his prey, which was far from a guarantee, she was still the undead herself, and thus, of the Wyrm.
"I still might not accept, I haven't heard what you want me to do."
"Is your master a drug-lord named Varney," Katrina felt a sudden stab of hope, this creature before her was hunting her sire.
"No. My sire is Varney's master." With the appearance of actual hope that her sire might be destroyed, the blood bond linking her to him was weakened. Though she didn't notice that. Bregan was taken aback, he hadn't expected someone to be behind Varney on this. "There's a house..." she paused for brief moment, suddenly afraid. "I can't say anymore."
"Can't, are you sure about that choice of words."
"I'm bound to him by his blood, I can't reveal anything more. He would know." Bregan was good at solving riddles, and this sounded like a riddle to him. A riddle to which he had an answer.
"You've already escaped him, what have you to fear of him."
"He'll come for me, he'll know I've betrayed him and he'll punish me for it," she spoke in shaky whispers. She was full of fear now, where before she had been angry. Bregan could see new blood tears begin to form and then proceed down her face.
"Do you know where he is now?" Bregan asked her. "Does your bond to him tell you anything?"
"No," she admitted to him sounding curious under her fear.
"Then how do you know that he'll find you?"
"I've never succeeded before, why should I now?"
"Did he ever come to get you when you'd escaped him?"
"No."
"Did you go back to him?"
"Yes, but if I didn't he would have been angrier than if I returned. He would have given me to Mina." The mention of the name "Mina" caused the vampire to shiver.
"It's a mind trick, that's all it is." he said. "A plucking of emotions to induce loyalty. It is nothing without help." Of course he could always be wrong, but he cautioned himself to avoid mentioning that.
Katrina looked at the logic Bregan spoke and couldn't deny it, but the feeling was still there. She was betraying her sire, her regnant and she knew it, but she could fight it down for now.
"Will you help me now?" he asked as he approached her across the shrinking sunlight.
Katrina nodded her head slowly, wondering what would happen if she lost control of her actions while trying to help free herself.
"Then where is this house?" He asked her as he smiled and brushed aside one of her tears. He was surprised at himself, almost suscpecting the vampire to be manipulating his emotions just as he had been describing. In the space of this one conversation he had convinced himself that this vampire was still salvagable.
"Yes, where is the beast's house?" a voice aboved them boomed. Bregan and Katrina looked up to see what they both immeadiatly thought of as a were-hawk. She had feathers instead of hair and great talons instead of hands. Her eyes were those of a bird's and obviously had the accurate vision of that group of animals. Even her human features, like her nose and the shape of her body, reminded them of a hawk. "Where is the lair of Jared Mason, the killer of my sister and mentor. Lead me there and I shall honor the agreement made by the pit bull."
"Pit bull!" Bregan began shifting into Glabro form with anger. He moved forward to confront the bird lady. "Listen lady, you should be more respectful of those you choose as allies."
"I need no allies, I am a magus of the Akashic Brotherhood. I need only my Do to defeat my enemy."
"You're not the only one with a score to settle, mage, and either way you'll have to wait for nightfall to learn anything."
"What makes you think you can stop me from doing as I please?" Bregan grinned at her in a I know something you don't know manner.
"Katrina fell asleep while we were arguing." The mage turned her gaze upon the vampire and saw that she was indeed asleep, as only the dead could sleep. The mage cursed him, and turned to leave.
"I have my own leads, ones not tainted by the enemy." Her hawk-like features faded and disappeared as she became a normal, attractive, though cold and unfriendly, young woman of about twenty-three. Then she was gone. Bregan blinked and suddenly she wasn't there.
"Mages," he muttered.
Jaera ran back to her apartment as she had run to the industrial complex. Imagine a shape-changer suggesting that she would need help. Then again she rarely imagined herself using a derogatory term for anybody. This hunt had her worked up, that was all. One had a right to be nervous on their first true hunt.
At any rate, on to the Shadowspot.
The car started, and nothing was missing from under the hood. This was the big event for the day; now Renfield could go hunting as soon as the sun set. Pushing the car away from the vicinity of the house had helped matters greatly. Though Jenny was conserving a lot of energy after her attack earlier in the day she was causing enough trouble with missing tools and other small problems.
They finished just in time, for the sun set and all three could feel Renfield waken as his conscious will flowed through their blood bonds. Their master and god was awake and that was all they needed to know.
Three miles away Carmilla felt the blood bond flare in strength as well. She felt the shame and guilt from her willing betrayal increase as it worked to bring her back into her master's fold. She glanced over to where the werewolf sat and watched her. He was right, it was all in the mind, and more than that, it was only in the mind. She had to believe that, true or false. Otherwise, there was virtually nothing she could do against her sire.
She was more worried about the Hunger. It was growing inside her spirit, reaching up to release the Beast from its cage. She would make it through tonight, but soon she would need blood. Then she would have to feed on, to kill, another human being.
"Where did the bird go?" she asked as she became more aware of her surroundings.
"Off to follow other leads," he said, simply. "Night has fallen, so I think its time you started to lead me to this house." Carmilla blanched.
"I have to go to the house?" she asked shakily. She had betrayed Renfield, to go back was suicide.
"I can't leave you behind me," he admitted bluntly. "It would be dangerous for us both."
"You don't trust me," she concluded. Bregan searched for a diplomatic answer to the statement. He couldn't think of one, but he had always been somewhat lacking in diplomacy.
"No, I don't."
"I can't trust myself, why should others trust me," she resigned herself to that truth. No one could trust her as long as she remained a vampire, and as far as she knew, there was no cure. She collected herself then, to leave, maybe Renfield would be merciful when Carmilla brought him...
"Katrina! Katrina! Katrina!" Bregan stepped back surprised by the sudden outburst. "My name is Katrina! I am not Carmilla, I am not what he wants me to be." She spoke the words as she had for the past year and a half, as a litany against loss of self. She calmed down quickly, as she recovered her identity.
"What was that?" Bregan asked suscipicously. Katrina stared at him a moment.
"You wouldn't understand, now can we get this over with?" She wouldn't have to worry soon, soon Renfield would be dead and she would be free. Then she could do what she wanted to do, and not follow other people's commands.
He felt her prescence the moment he stepped into the building, the spark of life that she possessed called to him from across the room. He saw a beautiful woman with Mediterrennian features and dark, auburn hair. Here was the woman that had been hunting for him, without a doubt.
He should just wait to find a way to kill her, but the spark of life was too tempting. Here was one with the potential to be his most prized minion, if she would come under his fold. He examined her aura and was almost blinded by its brilliance. A mage, he was sure of it, for as vampires are pale so are mages bright.
Her aura held mainly the light blue of calm, this was coupled with the orange of a sense of justice, and the yellow for spiritualism. These colors intermixed beautifully, the orange and yellow rippling through the serene blue. In places, however, other streaks appeared like wounds. The black of hatred, the purple of aggressiveness, the bleeding red of anger, and the light, pale green of distrustfulness. All these were trying to dominate over the central calm. It was an odd mix for one person, but who was he too say what was normal for a mage?
Yes, tonight she would be his prey. True she wasn't the sweet innocent he usually preferred, but here was a greater challenge. Corrupting someone who knew what he was, he was certain of his success. Of course, if he failed she would die and he would still have one less enemy.
Jaera saw him enter, but didn't respond to it, letting him think that she hadn't seen him. She, too, read auras, but without needing to concentrate on only one person. The aura of Jared Mason stood out from the white of innocence that dominated the club. Jared entered the club and drug in with him a swirling, deep red streaked with purple and with a core of blackness at its center. The colors of psychotic lust, aggressiveness and hate. All pale and dim revealing his vampiric nature.
She had no doubts as to where his gaze would take him. She possessed the spark of life, in essence she was like a rechargable battery. Most vampires wouldn't be able to resist her as prey.
She found it easy to keep track of him, his aura acting as a beacon. When would he approach? She found herself thinking after an hour had passed and the vampire had paid only minimal attention to her. She turned toward him to get more than just a glance through the corner of her eye, and fell into one of the most simple of traps Jared, now known as Renfield, possessed.
She made eye to eye contact with the vampire. A brief struggle between Jaera's young, stubborn, yet unpracticed willpower and Renfield's mental prowess plus decades of expierence followed. The result had never been a question.
Lucy was in state of almost pure fear, she knew they were being haunted. She knew that there was virtually nothing that she could do to a ghost. Only her loyalty to Renfield kept her from leaving the house then and there. Even so, she was alone, Varney was in town on the master's buisness, Mina was visiting Rohan in the hospital and Renfield was hunting. She was alone with the ghost of the girl she had helped kill.
Lucy heard a brief laughter behind her. That set her off, she whirled and shot into nothing.
In the spirit world Jenny felt the bullet pass through her. Passing through physical things was tiring, and she had no idea what would happen if she became exhausted. She wondered if she could endanger her existence by using her energy.
Kill her, a voice remarkably similar to her own said. Don't worry about the consequences, kill here now!
The effect of the voice was the exact opposite of what it asked, and Jenny broke off from the frantic ghoul.
Downtown, Marie still watched over the body of her fiancee. The doctors had told her that he had a good chance of recovery, but there was still some doubt. She could hear it in their voices. Bregan had been in and taken care of all the paper work for her, and then he had left for some unsaid reason. She wondered what could be more important than his brother.
The nurse came in then for the routine check every couple of hours or so. It was a different nurse this time, odd.
"Where's the other nurse," she asked suscipicously.
"Oh, she was giving some blood earlier," The new nurse replied. She was rather young, couldn't have been more than twenty, more likely seventeen. "There were some complications," the girl's Indian features began to twitch into a smile as she spoke in a British accent. "She probably won't be waking up." The girl produced a gun with a silencer.
Marie's eyes went wide. "How did you get by security?" she asked as she backed away from the girl.
"Oh, it helps to look like a teenager, most just don't see me as a threat. It makes it so much more enjoyable when I kill them to see the looks on their faces. Bye now." She started to point the gun at Marie and then changed her mind. "Maybe I should let you watch your lover die first." Suddenly the air shimmered inside the room as Bregan's guardian spirit moved to fulfil its orders.
It materialized near the window as what seemed to be an abstract person made of glass.
I have been charged with the safety of this mortal, you will do him no harm.
"I'm fucking tired of ghosts!" Mina yelled as she fired at the new threat. Her bullets had an effect, but not much, as each of the shards she shot off of it merely grew back as the spirit used its power.
I am not a ghost, it corrected her. A large shard removed itself from the creature and impaled the insane ghoul. She died as she emptied her clip into the spirit. Security barged in just after the spirit disappeared, leaving a confused and frightened Marie to try to explain things to them.
"This is it," Katrina whispered, as they pulled up to the run-down mansion that contained Renfield's evil. They had approached without headlights, Bregan in Glabro form so he could see in the dark.
The house had been built nearly eighty years ago, now it was almost forgotten, as Renfield wished it to be. He had a great deal of influence through his control of the heroin trade, he had used this influence to hide records of the house. All that was known was that the land around it was private property and had been that way for as long as most mortals could remember. It had been hiding up here outside of town all that time, hidden in the terrain. When the industrial complex had threatened to bring the city closer to his haven, he arranged for it to be placed out of buisness.
Katrina didn't like being this close to a place she had tried many times to escape, especially when it seemed that she had finally succeeded. She knew that to be only temporary, however, the blood bond that insured loyalty told her that. To be truly free, Renfield must die, and it looked like that was going to happen.
Bregan parked his car behind some trees and shut off the engine.
"What are you waiting for?"
"It's called a stake out," he told her. "He's not here."
"How can you possibly know that?" she asked him.
"Instinct," he said. And a few chattering spirits, he added to himself.