Revision as of 17:41, 18 March 2010

Background

Jacqueline is a year-old neonate Gangrel who has the appearance of a 21-year old punk rocker. She is new to the Seattle area from Boston (or so she claims) and is the vocalist and frontman of the punk band Seven (no relation to VII). She resides at the bar/club where she performs most at the edge of downtown. At first, she had no covenant ties due to being so new to Kindred life, but after witnessing things nearly erupting in a war, she is extremely hesitant to even consider joining one for resentment at being used as a pawn. Though she has her secrets, being the new kid and having no one to even truly call a friend, she is quite naive and may get herself into trouble just by following her heart to what she thinks is salvation from her loneliness.

Notebook

They say inspiration can come from anywhere. I don't know who "they" are, but given that I have quite a bit of time on my hands, I suppose I can give their theory a thorough test. So here I am writing in a little black notebook about the daily events of my alleged life. Maybe some hack will want to publish it for me to become the next Anne Frank (I don't recommend it, wannabe publisher), but the hope is that maybe "they'll" be right and I'll get inspired for a song or two out of all this. So let's begin from when I arrived in the emerald city.

Page 1

My sire taught me all he could in the short time we had. He put extreme emphasis on the fact that if I remembered nothing else, I needed to remember to present myself to the city's Prince the moment I arrived. Given that I was quite sure Seattle didn't have some secret invisible vampire castle to find said Prince, I asked around for the only contact I had: Simeon Blade, an elder of my clan. He was professionally cordial and told me where I could find the Prince. Imagine my surprise when I found out that his royal highness was a woman named Genevieve Harcourt! I followed my sire's advice and was very humble towards her. Lucky for me, I must have made enough of an impression on her for she granted me a small place to call my own: my beloved El Corazón.

A couple weeks went by and I received notice that there was going to be a party held at the SAM. I tagged along with Simeon and met one big, tall, burly dude. He went by the name of Jericho and was Simeon's childe. Didn't really talk much though. Genevieve made the announcement that this party was in honor of some dude named Petrovsky. Apparently he's amazing and was awesome. Or something. Whatever. Jericho seemed a little rough around the edges about this. I guess he was equally responsible for whatever it was that Petrovsky was in the limelight for, but didn't care to make a big deal out of it. We chatted a bit and turned out his name is actually Euphonious. I asked him why he went by Jericho and his answer was as good as any: "can't really have anyone callin' ya' 'Phony', right?" Ha!

While mingling (or just sitting there, people watching, in my case), Petrovsky introduced himself to me and had a scary lookin' little dude with him. This guy's name was Little Jim. How fitting. We made small talk at first, but then Petrovsky propositioned a job for us, being that we were both new in town. I didn't have anything else better to do and wanting to fit in well here, I agreed. I called Paul, my dear Paul Holloway who I met shortly after coming to town and thought was pretty, and had him drive us over to Petrovsky's estate. There, Petrovsky filled us in on what was happening. Apparently, the Prince's hound and childe, Simone, was seen killing a human by one of Petrovsky's retainers and worse yet, he claims to have seen another human on the other end of the alley with a camera. But because this chick is the Prince's right hand man, we needed hard evidence to take care of this.

Wow, what a cluster fuck! I got some info that what had actually happened was that there were two people arguing in the alley and things got heated. When a bum came through, the poor guy got attacked. I assumed one of the arguees was Simone, but now I had to find out who the other one was. I'm no Sherlock Holmes so of course Simone knows I'm snooping around and corners me. I tell her, as politely as I can, what I know and she flips out about some lobster faced something or other and runs off. Turns out Simone had a boy toy named Rosario who was an artist. Little Jim and I sneak around gathering as much intel as two amateurs can. We managed to get a hold of a freshly made photocopy of a flyer for a midnight art opening. Smells like trouble. And toner.

We arrived at the gallery and to be less obvious, they should have had a giant neon billboard with dancing girls screaming "VAMPIRE VAMPIRE VAMPIRE" for the painting being showcased, was a photo realistic piece of Simone and the homeless guy being attacked by Petrovsky! Great. I've been had. Jim was able to secure and destroy the painting, but a fire had started in the gallery and Petrovsky and his band of goons burst in with guns blazing, literally. Paul got us the hell out of there and Jim said we needed to meet up with Blade. We met in an underground parking lot. A snippet of conversation I heard was Blade asking Jim, "is she with us?" and him answering "well she's not against us." whatever the hell that means. A couple people, a nervous, computer hacker type and an unsettling rough and tumble dude show up, but Blade quickly ordered them to go upstairs. Genevieve arrived and it was a clash of the titans. Blade's retainers drove by and kicked out the body of one of Petrovsky's guys. Blade demanded that a blood hunt be called on Petrovsky and Simone for endangering the masquerade. Genevieve didn't look too happy about having to call out a death sentence on her own childe, but reluctantly does. She yells that this isn't over yet and drives away. Phew. Blade escorts us up to a condo where a small group was gathered. And now Blade wants a favor. I hope that given we share ancestry, he won't fuck me over like Petrovsky did...

Page 2

In this cozy abode, the two people Simeon ordered upstairs were gathered along with a snazzy lookin' guy with a cane. The hacker's name was Mike Smith; a twitchy, paranoid type. The gruff, grungy guy was Vince, a slum lord. And then there's Gabe; an opera singer and DJ by night. Simeon comes in and says that he has a favor to ask of us. Over in Issaquah, uncontested territory, there's an old cemetery called Arkwright Cemetery and Vince claims to have some information on where to find a guy named Rafael Pope. Simeon wanted us to bring this Pope guy to him. We were going to set off the night after tomorrow.

Oh man, a lot of this night is just a haze to me, but here's what I can remember. Simeon sent us with a big heavy duffle bag saying to give it to Pope when we find him, but to not open it beforehand. Paul drove us over to the cemetery in a white van. Classic. I sure am glad the others were there to pick up on clues as to where to even find this guy. There was something about a liar's grave and Lady Grief or something or other. I found myself just tagging along. I'm not very good at cracking mysteries; I don't watch CSI. Along the way, Gabe got caught up with some of the "locals". They were none too happy about us trespassing, but he managed to sweet talk them into letting us stick around for just a couple hours with the promise of a cocktail of drugs they could inject into their herd for a rush.

When we finally stumbled upon the mausoleum where Pope was said to be buried, Little Jim ran in with the duffle bag to try to find our guy in question. That's when we were ambushed. There were rumors circulated about a mercenary, Vincenzo from Everett, who only works for a pretty penny, lurking around town. Turns out, he was lurking around us. When I had a moment, I dashed in after Little Jim. By the time I got there, Jim had the bag open and the reason why it was so damn heavy? Petrovsky's torso. Jim kicked it over to a guy who I can only assume was Pope, for food. He went way past the limit though and ended up killing Petrovsky. Eh, he was bound to be killed anyway. Less work for others to do. He still looked pretty weak and Jim was about to shove a stake through him. Man, maybe he's getting paranoia lessons from Mike! I stopped him and offered Pope my wrist instead. He seemed pretty grateful.

We made our way outside and the fight was getting cleared up. It pathetically ended like how most playground fights do: Vince gets mad, says something nasty, and big ol' mercenary runs away. As we were making our way back to the van, Pope struck up a conversation with us. He's a really cool guy! Very charming. Given that he still could use a bit more vitae, I offered my services again after he said that now we'd be family. Maybe I finally have a place to feel at home! The others seemed a little nervous, but maybe it was just the paranoia pandemic hitting them. I don't care. I don't really remember what happened after this. I just remember being really, really hungry and Mike shoving some dude towards me.

My memory skips ahead to where we were in the van on our way back to the city, but it was starting to get light. We weren't going to make it so after getting in touch with Simeon, he said to meet at Meydenbauer Center. That's Genevieve's territory, but when we got there, Blade lead us around like he owned the place and opened some trap doors to a secret basement where we took refuge. What a night.

Page 3

After that debacle at the cemetery, I noticed that although things were quiet, the air was TENSE. I wanted to know what was going on so I wandered into First Hill, looking for Blade and a black F350 pulled up beside me. It was Carlos, his retainer, and he said that Blade will call me later. Great. Way to leave me hanging after doing you a favor, man.

A few days go by and on the first night the air felt calm, Rafael came to visit me at my club! We chit chatted for a bit, and he asked if I'd like to go for a walk. Of course, I agreed. We strolled around the area and he told me a bit about his past and what Seattle was like during his time. He mentioned that Old Seattle, the underground, used to be his territory and eluded to wanting it back. After we parted ways, I used this opportunity to pay Jericho a visit.

I had no idea what I was going to do, but it kinda felt nice to have a purpose to call on someone. He was nonchalantly friendly to me (if that makes any sense), but also pretty vague. He said he hasn't had any visitors lately, but did have a call and request from Blade which he refused. I can only assume Blade was asking if Jericho would be willing to move in order to give Rafael his old territory back, but hopefully he'll respect his childe's wishes. I left to go home after wishing him well. I hope I get to know him a bit. He may not talk much, but at least he seems genuine.

As I made my way up the street, I saw that Mike was pacing outside my club. He had Xavier, a nervous doctor type I met earlier, with him. I called out to them and Mike seemed really concerned. Well, he always looks concerned, but he looked it even moreso this time. He said that it was nice to see someone after a while of tension and everyone keeping to themselves. But then he says that I need to be careful around Pope. I told him I appreciate the concern, but that I'm fine. I've made it this far on my own anyway. When I told him that I only got to spend a year with my sire, he seemed really shocked. Apparently he's been with his mother dearest for 30 years! He said it was great that I'm so put together and I called him out on flirting with me. That might have been the wrong move as it made Twitchy McTwitcherson even MORE twitchy!

I got a phone call at this time and he took it as a chance to escape. It was Blade. I asked him what was going on. He was quiet for a bit, but then said that while he admits that I did him a favor and he owes me one, and even as we share the same blood, things go deeper than blood and didn't owe me this. I was stunned. Hell, just when I thought I was making headway on establishing a camaraderie with my kin and making friends, I get reminded that I'm all alone here. Fuck, I felt like I was going to cry. But given that this was outside in public, it wasn't the best place to get blood all over my shirt. So I drowned my sorrows and loneliness in a drink. I think I drank a little too much from him, but he'll probably just think the same anyway.

The next day, I got a call from an unknown number. It was my dear Rafael! I asked if he wanted to hang out and we made plans to meet at Gas Works Park. Since he gave me a tour of what Seattle was like before, I gave him a tour of what the park was like now. I helped him out on figuring out his phone and inputted my number for him. Towards the end of our night, he mentioned that he needs help retrieving a personal effect of his that he left behind. If he were to have it again, he may consider leaving for San Fransisco or somewhere similar because the city of Seattle has changed so much for him. It's apparently a doctor's bag hidden somewhere in underground Seattle and he said that the contents would be a surprise for me. Hrm... I like surprises...!

Page 4

Xavier called me up a few days ago and said that there was going to be another meeting at the SAM at 9:30 on Saturday. And, like before, all of us, now 14 thanks to no Simone or Petrovsky, showed up on time. I sat with Jericho like before. I thought Rafael would join us, but no sign of him either. Genevieve got down to business right away. She started off with her wonderful pleasantries by accusing Rafael of being exiled due to stealing something from Lancea Sanctum and had a blood hunt called upon him. Then, to make things even better, she goes on to say, "Vince, Mike, Jim, Gabe, Jacqueline: you have 15 days to bring Pope's staked body to me or YOUR lives are forefit." Then she flashed her ever so friendly smile and dismissed the meeting. Oh god...

I nearly ran out of there. As soon as I got outside, I called Rafael. I was kind of in a panic, but he calmly reassured me that he wasn't in any sort of danger and that we could meet. He apparently was at Hemp Fest and had a few people with him. One of them was a young-business-man type, but the others were your typical low-life stoners. When Rafael and I were alone, I blurted out that I would get the bag for him. Maybe if he ran away for California, we'd be far apart, but at least he would be safe(r). He described an old store in the underground and in the back of that store, there would be a false wall. The doctor's bag would be behind that wall. I asked how I would know it was the right one and he gave me a blank smile like a parent would to try to not laugh at something his kid did. He patiently explained it's exact whereabouts again and I suppose the chances of someone else putting a similar looking doctor's bag in the exact same location is probably pretty slim. I told him I'd get in touch with him later that night and ran off to Pioneer Square. On my way, I called Blade to tell him that I was calling in the favor he owed me. I asked him to get in touch with Jericho and to have him expect me soon. He agreed, said he'd call back soon as he got in touch with Jericho, and when he called back, he told me he'd expect me at 1am.

Promptly at 1, I scurried down to where I knew Jericho usually hung around. As I got closer, I started hearing what sounded like a choir singing, but it was only the baritone section. It kept getting louder and louder the closer I got. By the time I got to our meeting place, the sound was resonating through my whole body! But when I saw the doorknob turn, it stopped suddenly and out came Jericho. He greeted me with a nonchalant "Hey, what's up?" I stammered a bit, thinking maybe I was going crazy in addition to being a fucking vampire, and asked if he heard the singing. He gave me an is-this-a-joke look and said, "Of course, it was me." I think I did the opening and closing of my mouth like a fish that Mike sometimes does out of being stunned. Jericho lead me to the store that I described. On our way there, we chit chatted about music. Turns out we have one big thing in common: music was a big part of our pasts that we (I think) miss terribly. I even suggested that maybe we should get together and sing some time... and now, looking back, that sounds pretty dumb when said aloud. Oh well. He didn't seem fazed by it. I think.

The bag was exactly where Rafael said it would be and as soon as I thanked Jericho for letting me come by to get it, I called him to tell him I had what he wanted. We made arrangements to meet at the Red Robin down at the pier. I made my way there on foot, but that might have been an error in judgement. As soon as I crossed the street near Ivar's, Sam, who I only knew by name, appeared out of the shadows and I swear, he was going to kill me. That scary fucker's scary enough without him growling at me to get away from his territory!! So I just ran. I ran so far away, Flock of Seagulls. And Sam.

We met at the restaurant as promised and Rafael seemed elated, after asking me if there were other bags there and if this was the right one, of course. I reminded him of his promise to show me what it was and it was a gilded cross. Hm, okay. Not as exciting as I had hoped, but at least I'm in on the secret now. He mentioned that he and his crew had a house party to go to in Wallingford and invited me along. I had nothing else better to do so I went. We all crammed in this beat up VW bus and headed north. When we got to the place, it was rowdy as hell. Part way through the night, Rafael took me aside and mentioned that he thinks Michael, the businessy guy, would make a good addition to our little family so he wants me to judge him. He said he would get us tickets to the opera and make it a black tie affair.

The next night, Mike and Vince dropped in to my club. Given that we were all on death row together, we tried to come up with a plan to get ourselves pardoned. We kept going back and forth on whether or not we should try to get Rafael to come in so I offered to call him up. Man, their eyes can get wide. I called him up and said that we'd really like to talk to him about the stuff that's going on. He mentioned that he's busy tonight and tomorrow, but suggests we meet before the opera to chat. He said he'll ExFed the tickets to my place. ...ExFed? Mike looked like he was going to be sick and immediately declined going. Vince said he'd think about it, but I can't honestly picture him in a tux. Mike then threw me for a loop and asked if I've seen a gilded cross on Rafael. Since he had said that it was for my eyes only, I sweetly told Mike no in order to protect the secret. Apparently it has something to do with Lancea Sanctum rituals. I got a text from Rafael saying "FedEx!!!" Ah, now, it makes sense. And he learned how to text! Vince also mentioned that Blade offered me a spot in the Invictus family if I was interested and wanted something to belong to. Maybe if he had asked me before I met Rafael and was a member of my own little family, I would have agreed, but I just said that I'd think about it. Truthfully, given all the fecal matter that's hit spinning blades, I think Jericho has it right: don't get involved. And speaking of the big mountain man, since Mike wasn't going to the opera for sure, I thought I'd give Jericho his ticket since it may be something he's interested in. I left him a note in our usual spot.

We left the club with the thought that the next best move was to track down Poor Old Willie because he was known to be good friends with Rafael back in the day. We went up to a run down church on Broadway in Capitol Hill where he's been known to be, and of course, the gate's locked. A small altar boy came out from the church and when he got to the gate, he mentioned that Willie had sent him along with a message that he will see us, but not tonight. We didn't want to press the issue any further so we left. Vince parted ways with us saying he had to make some calls. While Mike and I were walking down the hill, he got a call and it sounded like the conversation was cut short. He shoved me into the coffee shop we happened to be by and told me to go get some coffee while he uses their Wi-Fi.

By the time I returned with the drinks I stared at wistfully, Mike looked like he was about to start sweating. He spun his laptop towards me and pressed play on a crappy little cell phone video. The quality was poor, but anyone could tell that it was a woman, kindred, of course, staked and set on fire. There was a glint of something that looked like a cross, one I hadn't seen before, on the ground that looked as if she had dropped it and a hand came from off screen to snatch it away. There was a bit of a scuffle before the video ended. Apparently we've now met the mysterious Melanie who was rumored to have been floating around, unassociated with anyone. Mike about jumped through the roof when his phone rang again. Cursing under his breath, he answered and I could even hear the other end of the line screaming to delete the video and that someone had gotten killed over it. He made quick work of storing it on a secure something-or-other, and had me call Vince. I simply told him he should meet us at the cafe and that we had something important to show him.

After Vince showed up and we stepped outside and showed Vince the video. As we were standing there, a sedan drove by and slowed down when it was near us. It was one of Willie's retainers and as soon as he figured out who we were, he sped off. The three of us exchanged glances and ran back up to Willie's church. The place was lit up like there was some big function going on inside. The sedan was parked there and so was a familiar looking VW bus! The same altar boy came out to us again and had a different message this time: "Things have changed, but he still cannot see anyone yet. But rejoice for Rafael Pope has returned to the fold! He was innocent all along."

Page 5

The following night I had a show. Monday's not a great day to perform, but eh, you take what you can. Halfway through the set, I noticed someone staring intently at me, completely motionless. I knew something was strange so I looked a little harder and saw that it was Vincenzo!! I couldn't do anything about it now so I just kept singing. That fucker made me miss half a beat, but I got back on track and kept singing. I lost sight of him after a couple songs.

Around midnight after the show was over, I went looking for him. I didn't know what the hell I was planning to do since I'm not as scary as Vince, but I just acted upon instinct. I couldn't find him, and even worse, I had lost sight of Paul too. When I went out to his car, I saw him knocked the hell out. I gave him my wrist to help him out and though he was conscious again and seemed okay, he couldn't remember much of anything in terms of what happened. He just remembered getting some shoes at REI. When he got up to show me, there was a note on the seat that was placed underneath him with just a simple "Hello. :)" written on it. This made my blood boil and chill at the same time. That bitch was toying with me. I texted Vince to keep him on the alert and called Little Jim, but didn't get an answer so I left him a message. I called Gabe to warn him too. After herding the cats of the cemetery crew, I told Paul to get out of town if he could and to not tell me where he's going. I certainly wasn't going to risk someone using him to get to me!

Tuesday night was the night of the opera. The first thing I did was to call Paul. He told me he was safe and was in Portland. Good. That's a fair distance away until some of this shit calms down. He said he would catch a train tomorrow and be back in town in the evening. A couple hours before Rafael was due to pick me up, I went to see if Jericho took me up on my offer. He said he wasn't going to go. Bummer. He also told me to be careful around Rafael. Why does everyone keep saying this?? I certainly think Rafael is nothing but harmless, but since it was Jericho, one of the few genuine people I've met, requesting this, I said I'd keep it in mind and said goodbye. Rafael arrived in a limo right on time and brought me something pretty to wear too! This dress must have cost a fricken fortune... At least I wore it well. Haha! Michael was with him too and after I got dressed and prettied up for the evening, we set off for McCaw Hall. It was a beautiful performance and I felt extremely wistful listening to classical music. After the show, Michael asked if we wanted to take a little detour to the Pacific Science Center where one of his exhibits was on display. We had the limo wait for us outside, Michael nodded to the security guard and we were treated to a private tour. When we came to the end of the exhibit, Rafael mentioned that they had places to go, so I had him take me back to El Corazon. I thanked them both for a lovely evening. I didn't get to know Michael all that well, but I certainly don't think he's a bad guy. Before they left, Rafael gave me a little vial pendant saying that there is a part of him in it and now we won't ever be far apart.

I changed out of the dress that's worth about my annual salary with the hope of having another occasion to wear it to. After dressing in my usual gear, I went back up to the main floor and stepped outside. Talk about good timing! Mike was just walking up the alley. But as soon as I waved to him, he said "Hey J, something's... not right...!" And understatement of the year award goes to Mike! We were ambushed by Vincenzo and his gang. It was a fricken cluster fuck of a battle. I heard Vince groaning after taking, what I assume could only be a few shot gun blasts so I knew he was around somewhere taking a beating too. Mike kept yelling at them that we shouldn't be fighting in plain view of the kine and he was totally right. I had two of these goons on me at one point and one of them lost his nerve and ran off. I think the other followed after a while. I suppose if we can't take it out of view of the public, them just running off works just as well too. Just as things were looking really dire, for both sides, it seemed, an El Camino screeched around the corner and drove off with Vincenzo. Fuck, that fucking fucker!! How many times is he going to run away?! I was a bit shell shocked so Mike was kind enough to take care of me. He cleaned up my wounds and the blood, only a little of it my own, off my face and seeing the hunger in my eyes, he took me into Belltown. We went to the Zig Zag Café, a swanky little bar and I picked out some tasty morsels. I was kinda surprised to see Mike actually socializing. Maybe next time I can be his wing man. We parted ways after we were full.

I knew I couldn't go back home because by the time our fight was breaking up, sirens were starting to make their way towards the club. By now, the place must be swarming with officials. I didn't know who else to call so I called Rafael. I told him, briefly, what happened and he said he would come pick me up. He took me to the Green Tortoise Hostel by the market. We snuck around the front desk and he pulled up a panel in the floor to reveal a flight of stairs down to the basement. I told him about Vincenzo in more detail. He thinks that someone somewhere is being sloppy; it can't be just coincidence that on the exact night we went out to a forgotten cemetery in Issaquah, a mercenary from Everett appears and and is now continuing to hinder our lives because he was made to look like a pansy. After relaying the whole story, Rafael stood up and knocked out a fragile wall revealing a coffin. It was pretty ornate, and equipped with a few stakes too. He offered it to me to sleep in. I asked if he would still be here when I wake up and he reassured me that he would. We chatted a bit more until I eventually drifted off to sleep.

Page 6

I woke up around 6:30pm on Wednesday. It took a second to get my bearings because I wasn't used to spending the night in a strange place. Rafael was there as he promised and we talked for a little while. He had an appointment at 7 and I made plans to meet up with Vince at 8. Last I knew he had a few gaping holes in him so I wanted to see with my own eyes that he was okay.

I took a little detour over to home and saw that there were still police lines around the club. I stayed out of sight in case anyone recognized me and called Paul as I walked up to Bauhaus in Capitol Hill. He mentioned that he came by a little earlier and was spotted by the manager. Some officers were asking him questions about me, but he truthfully said he didn't know where I was because he had just gotten back into town. Even had the train ticket stub to prove it! He asked if I needed anything, and when I declined, he mentioned that if I did, he'll be at Salty's on Alki with his family. I met up with Vince and was satisfied that he was still alive and well. We talked for a while over untouched, cooling coffees.

At 10:30 or so my phone rang and it was Paul. He asked if I wanted to come by to meet his family. I must have come up in conversation... But he must have done well at saying the right things if they were willing to have me join them. I agreed and headed over there. As soon as I walked in, I immediately felt out of place. I didn't know it was an upscale place. I think I hid my discomfort pretty well and just held my head high, despite being punked out as I was. I found Paul, but nearly didn't recognize him. I don't know if he rented it or what, but the sweet boy was in a tux! And he looked damn good too! I met his mother and sister, Virginia. They didn't seem to notice my being dressed down and we got along great. I declined offers of food and drink under the guise that I had already eaten and the four of us chatted away. After an hour or so I said goodnight and headed back down to the hostel. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to go back home for another day or so.

The next night, I got woken up a little earlier than usual. It was around 6 and there were some LOUD sirens screaming nearby. It didn't take me long to find out what was going on: apparently Pioneer Square was up in a five-alarm blaze!! SHIT!! I got outside as fast as I could and sprinted through the underground market to get to Old Seattle. I'm sure Jericho wouldn't be too happy about me trespassing, but dammit, if he gets pissed, at least that means he's okay!! I came to a door that led to Old Seattle and it was certainly warm. FUCKFUCKFUCK!!! I somehow found my way to where he normally hangs out and screamed for him. No response.

After my throat was raw from screaming myself hoarse, I dejectedly went back up to level ground. The fire was slowly being contained, but I NEEDED to find Jericho. Some asshole news reporter kept shoving a mic in my face, but I was so lost in thought that I couldn't even hear what he was asking me. Everything seemed to be muffled and moving in slow motion. I was my own action hero. There was an aid station nearby so I let a worker coax me into coming in. I must have looked pretty terrible with soot and ash all over my face. I said that I was desperately looking for a friend and gave her Jericho's description. She said he hasn't come by and offered me some orange juice and crackers. I willed my blood to let me consume these things for my own comfort in addition to not wanting to raise suspicion. Some medics checked me out to make sure I was okay so it was a good time for my heart to actually be beating.

Around midnight, things were calming down. I went back down to Jericho's usual spot and left a note with my phone number: "J, worried about you. Please call me. -J" I almost hit the ceiling from being startled at my phone ringing a few minutes later. It was Paul. He said that his family flew out to Iowa today, but not before a ridiculously thorough, "random" search. Apparently it took so long that they missed their flight! WTF? Something's up. I need to track down Liam; I hear he controls Sea-Tac. I gave my sympathies to Paul and his family and asked him to keep an eye out for probably the only person in the city who matches Jericho's description. It was a little early, but I decided to call it a night after all this excitement. I didn't even feel like going all the way home, especially since it was probably still blocked off, so I went back to the hostel.

When Friday came around, I woke up and immediately set out for Pioneer Square again. I texted Blade on my way saying Jericho was no where to be found and asked if he knew where he was. Surprisingly, I actually got a response, but it was just a simple "No, but I'm sure he's fine." I sent a text to Rafael too and he mentioned that he was laying low for a bit. Finally, I texted Mike and Vince saying I was going to go look for Jericho and they were welcome to come if they wanted. I headed down to his spot again and after looking a little closer, I found a small pile of stuff that was obviously his, including a CD player. I put on the headphones and pressed play. It was Paganini; the same song Jericho was singing that one time I paid him a visit. I didn't know the words completely, but since I've always been a pro at sight reading, I was able to pick it up pretty easily after listening to it once. I pushed a button to have it play again and sang along with it this time. I felt like maybe this would be a way to call out to Jericho. About halfway through the song, Mike and Vince showed up. I put everything back and we began our search.

A little ways down from where I started, we found a doorway and some hidden stairs. At the bottom of them, we were in what must be Jericho's place. There were books and journals all around that Mike was eyeing, but politely (or fearfully) refrained from looking through. There was a violin case on the floor and I was awed to find a fricken Stradivarious violin tucked away in it. There was an inscription on the case saying "Forever yours, Niccolò". Niccolò...? ...Paganini?! My thoughts were interrupted by Vince calling out from another room I hadn't noticed. He was holding up the lid to a jet black coffin and I could see the end of a stake jutting out. My fears were confirmed when I rushed over to his side and saw Jericho! I made a move to remove the stake, but Vince stopped me saying he might be in a frenzy by this time. Mike agreed with him and eased me away. Vince offered to go hunt for a "snack" for him. I paced around nervously waiting for him to return.

After about 15 minutes, I heard a gunshot upstairs. Mike and I exchanged glances and made a run for it, but he BLAZED by me. When I made it to the top of the stairs after what seemed like an eternity compared to Speedy Von Runsalot, Vince was struggling with a guy who I could only assume was our offering to the mountain man. I told him to pass the guy to me and he ran back to where he came from, shouting over his shoulder that Blade and Carlos were on their way and not not wake Jericho up yet. Oh, for fuck's sake! "I'm sure he's fine," my ass!!! There was obviously a scuffle going on, but I had my own to contend with. I drug the live bait downstairs and took long enough that by the time I finally got to the coffin, everyone came into the room. I glared at Blade and spat out a biting comment of "Oh, he's just fine, huh?!" but he didn't really acknowledge it. Either he knew I was right and didn't want to admit it, was too concerned about his childe's well-being at the moment, or only cared about getting him awake now and didn't care about what could have happened. I sincerely hoped it wasn't the latter. Blade took the guy from me and said that he'll go in and wake Jericho. He told us that he was going to lock the door behind him and to not open it unless someone knocks. It might be just him, just Jericho, or it just may be both of them.

He went in and locked the door. A series of snaps echoed out the door which could only be the sound of him snapping the extra stakes Jericho had on his coffin. A split second of silence and then absolute pandemonium broke out. A fight EXPLODED behind that door with plenty off yelling, snarling, screaming, cursing, and crashing around. It felt like forever, but in reality it was only a few moments. When everything calmed down, there was a knock and when the door was opened, but Blade and Jericho stepped out, both looking like hell. Blade had blood and gash marks all over him. Jericho had blood spattered in his whiskers and his claws out too. They both looked pretty shaken and Mike ran upstairs to go get them a bucket of water to clean up. There was a tense air hanging around us, so I took a cue from Paganini and sang my calling to Jericho. I only intended on trying to calm him down, but to everyone's surprise, he actually began to cry!! I got a little choked up seeing this, but continued to sing. When it got to the part that was so low it was just barely within my range, Jericho took over with his booming voice. Everyone else was shocked, but I smiled in familiarity. After the song ended, Blade nudged him saying "the walls have come down" and shared what seemed like a private joke between them. Jericho stood up and walked up the stairs. Blade signaled for us to stay put for a second, but then beckoned us when he knew the coast was clear. They conversed in hushed tones and though it was quite animated, but ended in a hand shake.

Blade and Carlos left, Mike took care of some unfinished business, and Vince, Jericho, and I looked around his place to try to find clues as to what the hell happened. Vince managed to find traces of an accelerant in the duct above the coffin where a ceiling tile had been pushed just slightly ajar. That was about as far as we got when Jericho mentioned that he was going out to clear his head, and didn't want us to be here when he returned. I gave him my number and asked him to call me tomorrow to talk and he agreed. What the fuck is going on?!

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The next night, I woke up peacefully. It was a Saturday, but the bands weren't going to be playing until at least 8 so it was quiet upstairs. When I got to the main floor and said my customary hellos, I saw Mike in the doorway just past the bouncer's podium. I prickled a bit at his presence, but made myself give him a break considering he was waving timidly waiting for my permission to enter. I allow him in and we chatted for a bit. He seemed rather impressed by my singing the other day. Maybe it's not the smartest thing to be letting on, but damn, it felt really good to sing like that again. At least he appreciates it, I guess.

After a bit, the bouncer came by us and said that there was some dude in a limo outside looking for me. Limo? I'm sure I wouldn't have forgotten someone picking me up in style. I excused myself, but Mike said that he should get going anyway so we walked out together. Just as the bouncer said, there was a limo driver outside with a small stack of envelopes. He handed one to me with my name written on it. After catching sight of Mike, he waved him over and handed over a similar one to him as well. I flipped it over and saw that it was sealed with wax and embossed with a signet of "G. H." Ugh. There's only one person I know with those initials. I rolled my eyes and opened the envelope. Inside was in invitation to a formal event at Anthony's down on the waterfront on Sunday at 8pm.

At that moment, I got a call from a bar down in Pioneer Square. It was Jericho on the other end of the line. I asked him a barrage of questions relating to the staking, but he didn't really have very many answers. All he remembered was being woken up by something and falling right back asleep. He didn't even know about the tunnel in the ceiling! He was polite, but seemed impatient to get off the phone so we wrapped up the conversation. Mike and I walked down to the Denny triangle and met up with Vince and Xavier. He had some news to share. It turned out that Genevieve and Rafael have reconciled and thus, our death sentences were nullified.

The four of us got into a discussion about what we should do next. Mike sought out his opportunity in the conversation to say I should join Ordo Dracul. For fuck's sake, no offense to Mike, but I am not a damn pawn to add to a team just for an increase in numbers! I gave him the same answer I gave to Vince when he invited me to Invictus a few days ago. Man, that started quite the conversation. I feigned interest for the most part because honestly, until things actually explode into a fight, I'd rather not worry about it. I don't like the thought of being on edge all the time. Being too defensive is just as bad as being on the offensive and I'm sure as hell not going to be responsible for sparking a fight. I'd much rather take things as they come. Yes, things are brimming with danger now, but it's ridiculous to feel like you have to wear a bullet-proof vest all the time!

It feels like Mike and Vince have a bit of the wrong impression. They seem to think that because I'm refusing to take a side, I must be thinking that I'm totally invincible and that I won't get pulled into the mess. Please. I may be young, but I wasn't Embraced yesterday. I know full well that if a fight breaks out, everyone will get involved in some way or another. I have no problem with being on the side I feel is right, but absolutely refuse to take a side just because others in a clique do. This is why I stay out of covenant bullshit. It may mean I get into trouble, but at least I'll be in trouble for the decisions I made rather than a flock of sheep. What's the point of this endless life if you don't stand up for yourself? I guess the others are just a little too old-fashioned to see this. Well, Xavier might be thinking like me. After the initial chiding, he resorted to just telling me to be careful, be prepared, and save my own ass. I wanted to stop talking about this "what if" crap so I steered the conversation, at least with Xavier, about what I was going to wear to this party tomorrow. He offered to buy me some sparkly accessories to go along with that amazing dress from the night of the opera! We somehow managed to coax Mike into coming too. I'm sure he'll look much nicer in a suit rather than the ratty old sweatshirt he always hides in. He may even be able to impress some girl there who I'm sure will be around as hors d oeuvres.

I arrived at the restaurant a little early. We had a private banquet room in the back reserved so I sat down at an empty table. Vince and Blade were talking in hushed tones a couple tables down. Jericho came in and he seemed startled after exchanging glances with Blade. He pulled out the chair next to me to sit and asked, "what happened?" I gave him a puzzled expression and said that I just got here. He chuckled a bit nervously. "This should be good..." The chair on the other side of me was pulled out a moment later and I was elated to see Rafael there! He gave me a warm smile, but Jericho seemed confused. When he asked what he was doing here, Rafael plainly answered that he was a Seattle kindred just like the rest of us.

Genevieve started the meeting when all of us were seated. Well, almost all of us. There was still no sign of Little Jim. She announced that the restrictions on childer are now lifted in addition to the city's borders being opened as well. Rafael, though found innocent, was restricted from this for a year as punishment for fleeing the council of justice. There was a bit of commotion that stirred among us at that. Genevieve paid no attention to it and went on to the next order of business: a new sheriff was appointed. She wanted someone with experience so she brought in a Tacoma native called The Eye. It was also announced that Mike was appointed head of media relations as well. Good for him! Given this new state of affairs and perhaps the laws being on a bit more stable ground, I asked to speak just before Genevieve was about to adjourn the meeting. I asked what was going to be done about a mercenary who was intent on killing some of Seattle's kindred and she simply dismissed it saying it was our problem. What the hell?! Ugh... Elena Kasparova, the Mekhet elder and Mike and Xavier's sire, passed by me and whispered to come find her if I needed help with my problem that Genevieve oh so kindly said was mine.

I went and found Liam after we were all milling about. I wanted to see if he had any information on why Paul's family was so thoroughly searched. It seemed like, given the tension in the city among the kindred, too much of a coincidence that MY retainer's family was the one being searched. But I had no proof of anything so all I could do was to politely introduce myself and ask him to look into it... which, of course, got me no where. When I returned to my table, I saw Xavier had taken my seat and was chatting with Rafael while Jericho looked extremely annoyed. Rafael touched Jericho on the shoulder, and he jerked away and snapped, "don't touch me!" After Xavier left, Rafael apologized to him saying he didn't mean to upset him, and Jericho looked at him straight in the eyes and replied, "yes, you did." Whoa, boys...

The Eye was making his rounds of introductions and soon it was my turn. Given that he's supposed to be the law now, I asked him directly about Vincenzo like I did to Genevieve, wondering what he plans to do about it considering our fearless leader just announced that she was opening our borders because in order for us to hold power over the kine, we must increase our numbers. I'm sure some murderous rouge wasn't going to be helping with increasing our numbers. But to my disgust, his attitude was the same as Genevieve's; it's your problem. While I was talking to him, I caught Elena's eye and she looked quite offended. After wrapping up my disappointing conversation with The Eye, Jericho came by and mentioned he was going to get going. I wanted to chat with him so I asked him to wait up for me while I took care of something. He said he would wait for me outside. I approached Elena. Sure enough, I guess I pissed her off because she thought I was refusing her offer for help just because I expected someone who was here to govern our laws to... govern our laws.

When the night was drawing to a close, I met Jericho outside, linked arms with him, and had him walk me home. I tried to coax him to play violin, but he changed the subject. "Watch out for Pope," he said. "He's up to something." I asked what Rafael had to do with playing violin and he just told me to think about it. What?? It was my turn to change the subject and I asked him if he and Blade were okay. I was still a bit perturbed at him about the whole "oh, he's fine" incident, but Jericho seemed okay since they go way back. I grudgingly figured that if Jericho was okay with him, I had no reason to be upset at him either. I also asked him how he felt about being unaligned and I was glad to know that we shared the same opinions about being able to act based on your own opinions.

When we got to the Fairview intersection, he said he had to take care of some things in the opposite direction. He reiterated to be careful, I said goodnight to him, and squeezed his arm in a hug. To my surprise, he lifted me right up and gave me a half-hug too. As he was walking away, I shouted back to him that we should get together for some music sometime and his chuckle echoed back to me.

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