The Unlikely Protagonist, Chapter Two
Jane took a breath of fresh air, but it didn't have any effect. She frowned.
“What a scene, man! Then they just plop you out here like a naked baby in the woods. And you a Fiendling too."
Jane turned into the direction of the voice and saw a long-haired bearded man who looked like he never exited Hair Metal period.
Jane frowned. “I’m a Fiendling?”
“Your clan is usually the bad news, kiddo. I know you’ve got nothin' to do with that, but prejudice doesn’t go away that easily for most.”
“Clan? I think you people are mistaking me for someone else.”
“We’re not talking cosa nostra here. Your clan is your...bloodline, so to say. You belong to the clan the vampire who turned you belonged to, and that reaches way up to the great ancestors. Each clan has its own blessings and curses.”
Jane nodded; then his words registered properly. “Vampire?”
Jack chuckled. “Yeah. Life eternal, blood-drinking, helluva sunburn - all there.”
“And my clan is...”
“Tzimisce. A regular tongue-twister, eh? Well, they used to be this spiffy east-European landowners. Think Dracula. Who is one, by the way. Except he never moved from Romania. Deliberate misinformation. Guess even old stick-in-the-mud felt bored for once and sent a ghoul or something to write a nice scandalous story about his esteemed person.”
"I doubt this hatred stems from them being prissy aristocrats."
"Smart one, aren't ya? Good, that might keep you alive. Now, a bunch of us youngsters decided to rage against a machine. Y'see, Elders - they controlled everything. The lower in the family tree you are, the more power you get. So we decided to take some of it. A good chunk of Tzimisce joined in. But they were a bit different from the Club Dracula. They made a deav with the Devil - well, a demon, to be more precise. This gave them a power to mold flesh. But they say it also drove them crazy. Long story short, one of the lot got to munch on the great ancestor - but he was never heard about again."
"Munch?"
"Diablerie. The 'so-called' "greatest sin". Basically, you drink from a vampire of lower generation than you - and drain his soul in the process."
Jane blanched.
"I said 'so-called', right? That's what Elders want you to believe. No one wants the risk of waking one night to a bunch of youngsters standing over their coffin, ready to have some of that fine old vintage. Still, you ever think of it - don't get caught. And there are those that can see the trace. You should be able to too, from what I heard. Anyway, this group of elders and another bunch of shady characters - Lasombra - plus a few misfits from other clans banded together and made Sabbat. And then they let themselves go. Became mindless bloodthirsty assholes. They draw too much attention. You don't wanna sheep know there's a wolf hiding amongs them."
"So...how much does this "bloodline" thing influence me?"
“Remember what I said about seeing traces of Diablerie? You can see far. You can see stuff others can’t. Try to see what’s behind this fence.” He pointed to the wooden fence to his right.
She squinted hard. “I can’t.”
He rapped his knuckled on her head. “Focus.”
Jane shut her eyes and tried to remember the yoga classes Sam dragged her to. Deep breaths did not seem to affect her, but she managed to blank out her mind. And then she opened her eyes. Something inside stirred and she felt her field of vision shift. What was clear moments ago seemed cloudy. And there were shapes visible behind, and then even further behind.
Another rap of the knuckles on her head snapped her out of it. “Right. That’s enough. Don’t want to see too far. You really don’t.”
Jane shut her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them again, her vision vas back to normal.
“Now, you lot are also close to The Beast Within.”
“The Beast Within?”
“That what sleeps inside. That what causes you to Frenzy and slaughter all in your way if you are too angry or too afraid or someone just decides to poke and prod at it. But you can also get close to other animals, not just those inside of us. Look, there’s a rat there. Call it to you.”
“Eh...okay. Here, ratty, ratty?”
Jack laughed. “Call to it...like you just saw through the wall”.
Jane took in a deep breath and stared at the rat. Come, she said mentally. It looked at her, but didn’t budge. She tried again. Come. The rat looked at her, then sniffed.
Jane almost slapped her forehead. Right. She focused on projecting the idea of moving towards Jane instead.
The rat came.
“Right,” said Jack. “Now, this is usually frowned upon in the polite vampire society, but hunger doesn’t ask. Give it a try.”
Jane stared at him.
“Remember what I said about frenzying with hunger?”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.”
“Suit yourself. Don’t say you weren’t offered.”
"Fear not, I won't."
“Now, here is why people fear you lot. Vicissitude. The body-warping. When they say someone has eyes on the back of their head? WIth your clan, it’s entirely possible. Or teeth where they shouldn’t be. Or...fuck, anything. Say...try making your nosetip touch your forehead.”
She slipped into now-familiar blank state, shutting her eyes. This time, she felt the flesh. She could have sworn it jumped up, eager for attention. She pulled it up and then slightly backwards, until she felt touch in the middle of her forehead.
“There we go.”
She looked at herself in the nearby dirty window and screamed. Jack burst out laughing. She focused on fixing it, but she was too stressed. Instead, she made her nose twist in a spiral.
Jack howled. “Better fix that before you’re arrested for Masquerade violation.”
“What is masquerade?” Jane's voice sounded odd.
“The reason you didn’t know any of this before tonight. Remember what I said about Sabbat? If humans catch wind of our existence, there will be problems. Also, other vampires do not take kindly to getting our secrets exposed. That guy in the theatre with the Magilla Gorilla? They call themselves Camarilla. And make a neat job of enforcing laws like that. And controlled siring - that which got your sire turned to cinders. Well, that and his being on the other side of the law in general.”
She wasn’t very keen on meeting the Prince or his - literal - gorilla again. She took a deep breath. She could feel flesh again. It…wanted to go back into the form it was used to. I’m going crazy. She “listened” to it and it moved with more ease then when she was twisting it.
She looked in the window again and it worked. Wait. Why can I see myself in the window? She repeated the question aloud.
Jack laughed again. “Ah, the myth. Only Lasombra have a problem with that. You won’t be meeting any of those since you aren’t entering Sabbat. Garlic - myth. Crosses - only when done by right people. Oh, by the way, you see a Kine wearing a trenchcoat and carrying a katana ‘round - run the hell away. They know where it hurts. Society of Leopold’s the name, and they’ve been sniffing around here since last month. Sun burns in a matter of seconds,” continued Jack, “fire is dangerous too.”
They were interrupted by the car honk.
“Well, that’s your ride, kiddo. Better not keep ‘em waiting.”
“Thanks, Jack. Thanks for everything.”
“Heh. Just try to stay undead, kiddo. Oh, by the way. Where you from?”
Jane stopped in her tracks, puzzled. The car honked again. “Er…San Pedro”
“Right then. Off you go.”
The woman who gave her the clothes was waiting for her inside.
“Good evening. I am to take you to your new apartment. Nourishment will be provided there, but you will be expected to provide for your own. Please use maximum discretion. There is a blood bank available in Santa Monica, but it’s owned by local Baron and payment will be required.”
“Er…is it okay? About Masquerade?” she whispered, gesturing to the cabbie.
The woman smiled. “Yes, it’s fine,” she replied in a low voice. “He cooperates with us.”
“Okay.”
“Elizabeth. Pleased to meet you.”
“Jane.” Plain Jane. “Pleased to meet you too.”
"You will be provided a haven in Santa Monica. Your contact will be Mercurio. He will provide further instructions."
Jane nodded. "Right."
"As long as you follow the rules, there shall be no trouble."
Jane nodded again. I sure hope there is some instruction manual. Or maybe this 'Mercurio' will deliver a speech. Heh. Fitting name for a messenger.
Jane entered her new apartment. The wallpaper was grey and stunk of tobacco. The bed was stripped of sheets and mattress had an unsavoury-looking large yellow stain on it. A picture of a sunflower that looked like something done in grade school hung over the bed. But what threw Jane off were the windows. Wow. Why so many? Wait. Doesn’t sun burn? Where are the curtains?
She panicked. She looked around, but couldn’t see anything she could use to cover the windows. Dammit. Do they want me dead or something? Probably just got the cheapest thing with not a care.
She could feel her limbs gradually get heavy. Right. Bathtub it is. She debated bringing the mattress and decided not to. I don’t want to know where that stain came from. Instead, she picked up the rug and the pillow. At least I can’t catch cold anymore, right?
She thought of conversation with Jack and his parting comment. Why did he ask? she wondered.
Masquerade…no. Surely they wouldn’t…erase people that know me? But Jack was a nice guy. He didn’t seem to like the prissy bastard. Maybe he asked so he could protect them.
She smiled. Silver lining to every cloud. Oh, I need to thank that elderly gentleman too. She chuckled. He really is ‘elderly’, isn’t he?
She was worried she'd have problemswith falling asleep in such uncomfortable setting, but her doubts were proven wrong; as the sun rose up, she fell into deep, dreamless sleep.
Chapter Three