A Scripta

Near midnight, Dmitrius headed through New Thebes toward the parking lot that he liked to frequent, which usually had a goodly contingent of Warriros, his preferred prey. He peered around in the dark. Freakshow, Freakshow, Circle...where were the Warriors?

He didn't come here to hunt, he came to check on the Kindred he had set to guard the area. Dmitrius frowned - he probably got killed by his Sabbat "friends" or was staked in one of the caves and paralyzed.

He walked along a bit and could see a place where the parking lot had been disturbed. No, not quite disturbed. There was a hole in it that was blacker than the darkness, and he was very close to stepping into it. He looked around - then went in closer. He tested the area, to see if it would hold his weight, and he fell slightly into the hole, sliding about four feet.

He smelled blood. Kindred blood.

Dmitrius turned and followed the scent, which went across the parking lot. He saw another dark spot in the concrete next to a store - it could have been oil, it could have been blood. He bent to it and touched it - no, not oil. It was dried and crusty, and he scratched at it, sniffing at what was under his nails. Definitely blood.

Licking his fingers absently, he got up and surveyed the area. Whoever killed this far out in the open, and this messily, must have been desperate.

He went down a little further and saw that a door had been cracked open to the back of a convenience store. He pushed open the door. The smell of blood was instantly stronger in here. He slowly walked forward in a crouch, ready to spring to avoid if it was bigger than him, ready to beat it to a pulp if it wasn't. He heard a sound and froze for half a second, noting where it came from and putting more weight opposite from where it was.

Something crashed, Dmitrius stood up, and was tackled by a yelling man. His eyes were bright red and his fangs were bared - Dmitrius caught him easily by the throat. "Orphan?"

The man hissed and lashed out with hands that were claws. Well, this answered him what clan he was. Dmitrius threw him into a door that led out into the store proper. The man fell hard against the register's counter, knocking over the register. Dmitrius kept walking, and slit his wrist as he did so. Dmitrius had an angry look on his face, and it got even more angry as he stepped into the store.

Bodies were all over the floor, throats torn open as if by a newly fledged childe. They were all civilians. Dmitrius advanced, fury now etched in his featues. "What. Have. You. Done."

Suddenly the hissing vampire stopped, and looked up at Dmitrius. If he was a dog, his tail would be between his legs.

"Where are my Warriors?"

The vampire said nothing, so Dmitrius grabbed him by the throat again and lifted him. "WHERE ARE MY WARRIORS!"

He choked, and Dmitrius squeezed, his fingers going into the vampire's throat, and wrapping around his trachea, but not squeezing it. Yet, so he could still speak. "Well."

"I--I--was buried alive!"

Dmitrius eased up.

"I only got out a few days ago, and I was so hungry..."

"I can see that. Who buried you?"

"A green man...with spikes. He opened up the ground and it swallowed me! I swear to God!"

"Do you know this man's name?"

"Jade...?"

Dmitrius let go of him. He probably chased the Warriors out, cleaning up the area like all the heroes do. The name was familiar...

He checked his comm and scrolled down the names. Sure enough, there was a Jade Najah in the group. He called up his profile. "This him?"

His guard stumbled over and peered at the comm. "Yeah...I think so."

Dmitrius put the comm back in his pocket. He whirled on his heel and stormed out, yelling, "Clean up this mess."

When they arrived the next night, Lori and Jason were already at their car. "Want to follow us?" they called as the two men pulled up.

"Okay," Kevin called, and they followed them. The pair of cars parked in a large parking lot for a steakhouse restaraunt. Dmitrius got out of the car and looked up at the restaurant's sign. Jason thought he could read something like apprehension.

They went inside, and had to wait for a table. Kevin sat between Dmitrius and his parents, holding Dmitrius' hand. Jason turned away. The whole thing was uncomfortable. Jason didn't know if he would be able to stand a whole dinner like this.

They finally got a booth. There was a pail of peanuts, and Jason started to dig in. "So you're a hero too, Dmitrius?" he finally said, because he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Yes, I am," he said, in that deep voice of command again.

Jason pushed on. "What do you do? Like your powers."

"I have super strength, super speed, I am very agile, and I have tough skin." He looked around the table and got a fork. He turned his arm over on the table, and stabbed the fork down. Lori and Jason both gasped, then saw the tines of the fork bend away from his skin. "I also have the ability to make people afraid of me."

Jason sat back, thinking, That explains it. Dmitrius focused his eyes on Jason, deep dark eyes, almost crimson red irises. He looked away immediately, not believing what he was seeing. The waitress came over and they ordered. When they got to Dmitrius he said, "Just ice water, please."

Kevin's parents stared at him. Kevin looked down at his placemat. The waitress walked away, nonplussed. Dmitrius looked up. "I can't eat any MSG."

"You can ask them to not put it in."

"I am highly allergic to even trace amounts," he said quietly. "You can tell them not to add it, but it's already in prepared food." He took a small dropper out of his pocket. "In fact, I have to test everything I eat."

"Oh..." Jason looked a little more concerned. "Maybe we could have eaten at home."

Dmitrius said, "You can't afford it. I have to go to Whole Foods or other organic places to get my food. They guarantee no MSG."

"Don't worry," Kevin said, and put a hand on Dmitrius' arm. "He already ate."

Their drinks arrived and Dmitrius dropped something from the vial into the water. The water turned purple. He shook his head. "They're using tap water." He sighed, pushed the glass away. "It's not your fault. This happens all the time."

His parents dug in guiltily when they got their food, but Kevin didn't seem to mind. Then, Kevin headed to the bathroom. Lori glanced at Jason and excused herself as well.

Jason screwed up his courage to look this man in the eye. Dmitrius met his eyes. "Yes?" he asked.

"Let's step outside."

Dmitrius gave a small nod and pulled himself out of the booth. He followed Jason out the front of the restaurant and they stepped over to a bench. Dmitrius sat. Jason did not.

"I want to know who you are."

"What would you like to know?"

"How many businesses do you actually own?"

He gave him a small smile. "Own? Three international conglomerate companies. I'm on the Board? Maybe six more."

"How did you meet Kevin?"

"We were both working on the same assignment. It's classified."

Jason looked down at him, but still felt that Dmitrius was the one who was in command. "Okay, I'm going to come out and be straight with you."

Dmitrius sat back and crossed his arms. "Good."

His words came out in a rush. "I think you're taking advantage of my son. He's still young, he's in a strange city, and he sees you, and you're probably throwing all kinds of money at him. Kevin will not be bought."

Dmitrius inclined his head. "Go on."

"And this getting married, it's way too fast. Six months ago he had Michael. He had been going out with him for months, I heard. Now you show up all of a sudden. What happened to Michael?"

Dmitrius said, "Kevin was dumped."

"Oh, oh, that makes this even better!" He raised his hands and dropped them in frustration. "Now you're really taking advantage of him, with him coming off a rebound."

"Tell me, Mr, Nokimos, why would a man of my station, with as much money as I have, want Kevin?"

"Maybe you're one of those sugar daddies."

Dmitrius laughed, a booming sound. Jason flushed red with embarrassment. "That could not be further from the truth." Dmitrius looked at him, smiling. "Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"Yes..."

"Kevin's soul, and my soul, have been searching for aeons for each other. Now we will join as one."

Jason stared at him. "Is that what you fed him?"

"No," he said. "It is what he fed me."

Jason was stunned. Kevin believing in reincarnation? He didn't even believe in karma. That Paragon City was odder than he thought.

"Mr. Nokimos, I know you believe that I am the older man. He is the older soul."

Jason turned away. This was getting too weird, even for him. "And you believe this?"

"With all my heart."

He looked back toward the restaurant. "I really think you're going way too fast."

"Mr. Nokimos, has it occurred to you that Kevin may be taking advantage of me?"

Jason blinked.

"I have the money and the power. I'm new to the state. I know I have powers, but I don't know how to use them well. Kevin as a lot up on me."

Jason considered while Dmitrius rose fluidly. "I love him, and he loves me. Isn't that what marriage is about?" He started walking back to the restaurant. At the table, he picked up the check, smiled at Lori and Kevin, and paid it.


For the weekend, the two men visited twice again, and both times Kevin's parents didn't seem too much more endearing to Dmitrius. Kevin extended the invitation by phone to the wedding to his brothers, and told them something formal would be coming soon. They didn't sound that much more happy, either. Finally, Sunday, it seemed like they were almost glad to leave. They laid overnight in Detroit, and took the last leg of the trip home, arriving in Boston at 12:54 a.m.

Billy finished loading the bags into the Caddy. Rowena stood in the doorway, Dmitrius and Kalius giving her hugs. "Sorry about last night," Rowena said.

"I'm sorry for what I've done to you," Dmitrius said, his head bowed.

"It's all right. I would rather be bound to you than anyone else." She smiled at him, kissed the top of his bowed head. "Go on, before you miss your flight." She took Kalius' hand in both of hers, and squeezed gently. "I'll see you at the wedding."

"Thank you again, Rowena," Kalius said. She released his hand, and waved goodbye to them. She turned to her servants. "All right, who's coming with me to Rhode Island?"


They got to LAX in three hours, and the hotel a half an hour after that. It was 10:30, still early by their standards, but far too late to call Kalius' parents. They walked into the hotel, looking like exhausted travelers. Dmitrius went to the desk and spoke to the woman there. "Evening."

"Good evening, sir."

"We have room 189, I would appreciate if you send the maid after 9 pm in the evening."

"Sir?"

"I sleep during the day, and do not want to be disturbed."

"Yes, sir," she said, and made a note.

The following evening...

Jason Nokimos was finally settling down to watch the game, when the doorbell rang. His wife Lori was working late at the office this time around, instead of him, and he was happy because he finally got to have his everything pizza with anchovies and a bottle of stout.

"Ah hell." He got up from the couch and went over to the side door. The only people who came to that door were family and friends, and if Tony wanted a cup of sugar, he was going to punch his lights out. Jason opened the door, scowling.

"Hi, dad."

Jason blinked. "Kevin? What're you doing here? And..." He looked up at the tall, rugged, dark-haired man behind his son. "Is that...?"

"This is Dmitrius Acheron, my fiance."

"Hello, Mr. Nokimos," he said, and held out his hand. This guy was huge, compared to the last boyfriend Kevin had brought home. Jason shook it, and knew the man was holding back on his strength, even though he shook it firmly.

"Well, c'mon in." Jason stepped aside and let them in. "This is a surprise. Your mother's working late."

"We figured we'd surprise you," Kevin said, walking in. Dmitrius looked around the house, and instinctively ducked from a low lamp. He slowly straightened. It wouldn't have hit him - he probably had a few centimeters' clearance.

"Want a beer?" Jason asked them.

"No thank you, I just ate."

"No," Kevin said, they headed to the living room.

Jason used the remote to shut off the TV. Kevin said, "Dad, it's okay, you can watch the game. I know you like the Lakers."

Jason smiled and put the TV back on. "Mind if I eat?"

"Go ahead," they both said at the same time, looked at each other and laughed. Kevin directed Dmitrius to the recliner, and Kevin sat at the small bar.

"So what brings you this way?"

"We had some business to take care of in Texas," Kevin said, "so we figured we'd stop by so you can meet him before the wedding."

Jason looked at Dmitrius, who kept his eyes on the TV. Something about him disturbed him. He felt like he had invited a wolf into his house and his son was marrying it. "Have you set a date?"

"July 24."

"I'll go online and get the tickets."

"I will," said Dmitrius, turning to slowly face Jason. "Just tell me how many people are going."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"I insist."

Jason was not necessarily a big man. He was an architect, but he wasn't built like a stick. He had stood up to people before, and although he never lorded it over anyone, he could often get his point across. Dmitrius looked at him intently, with a look that brokered no argument, that seemed one step away from a command. Kevin came over and put a hand on Dmitrius' shoulder, and the feeling lessened, but didn't go away.

"Kevin, can I talk to you a minute?"

"Sure, dad." Jason rose from the couch.

Dmitrius got up, "Pardon me, where is the bathroom?"

"I'll show him," Kevin said, and took Dmitrius' hand. Jason went to the sliding door leading out onto the rear deck, and when Kevin returned, stepped outside with him.

"Kevin, I know it's your life. But there's something wrong with him. He's dangerous."

"I know, dad."

Jason narrowed his eyes. "Has he done anything to hurt you?"

"What? No!" Kevin looked at his father. "He's dangerous to his enemies, but not to me."

Jason gazed out at the lawn. "Is he a hero, too?"

"Yes."

"What can he do?"

"He's fast and strong."

Jason drummed his fingers on the deck's railing. "Kevin, I don't know. He's not like Michael."

"He's nothing like Michael, dad."

They heard commotion in the house, and turned around to see his mother drop off something at the counter. Dmitrius was standing in the doorway of the TV room, and she stopped as if she had seen a ghost. She started to back away, heading into the kitchen area and beyond their line of sight. Dmitrius merely stood there, then also retreated into the TV room.

"See?" said Jason quietly.

Kevin said, "He's had a rough life. He's safe to us."

"God, I hope so," said Jason, and let Kevin back into the house.

Lori looked at them enter, her eyes wide as saucers. "Oh, there you are."

"Hi, mom." Kevin went around the counter and hugged his mother.

"That's your new boyfriend?"

"Yes."

"Isn't he kind of old for you?"

Kevin smiled. "Not really."

She looked at Kevin, and then Dmitrius was standing in the doorway again. Kevin looked back at Dmitrius and beckoned him over. Dmitrius came over, and Kevin could tell his mother was practically forcing herself to stay still. Dmitrius held out his hand, and she went to shake it. He deftly turned it over in his hand and kissed the air above the back of her hand, like they used to do in medieval times. "Mrs. Nokimos, it is a pleasure."

She merely stared at Dmitrius and they knew she was trying not to back up. He stood up slowly, gracefully. He moved aside, and leaned against the counter. Kevin came up to him and put his arm around Dmitrius' waist. "We figured we'd stop by, so you could see him before the wedding."

Lori turned to the fridge, just to get herself some distance. "Can I get you boys anything?"

"I'm good," said Dmitrius, and Kevin said at the same time, "No." They looked at each other and chuckled. Kevin looked up at the clock above the stove. "It's late, we better get going." Dmitrius nodded.

"How long will you be in town for?"

"The weekend. We're flying back Sunday night."

"Want us to tell your brothers?"

"Not really."

His parents looked at each other.

"We want to spend time with you."

"We can go out tomorrow night for dinner."

"It's a date, then."

The two men left, and Jason looked at Lori. "What's happened to him?" Lori asked.

"I don't know," Jason said, scowling at the door, "but I plan to find out more about this Dmitrius character."

Dmitrius and Kalius were still standing, covered in blood not their own. When the last creature went down to Kalius' sword, and the silence deafened the area they were in, they turned to look at each other and kissed passionately, thanking the gods that they had survived. Corpses - some still moving, others quiet in death, their blood drained from them - littered the floor. They had moved through the foyer, up the stairs and into the bedrooms. Death and destruction, shattered glass and torn bodies, were throughout the hallway and in some of the rooms. They passed some other surviving Camarilla vampires, a couple of humans wandering in shock, soon to be set upon by the vampires.

Hanging over the stairs was a dead black-furred creature with a huge head and upper body, and tiny legs. Dmitrius kicked it over. It fell to the floor below with a wet plop. "God damn Tszimice."

"I don't think I want to know."

"Flesh crafters of the Sabbat. They alter people and animals into whatever form they want." They reached the bottom of the stairs. The blood was at least an inch thick in the room.

Rowena came around the corner from the kitchen hallway. She looked like she had a fight with a thorn bush, she had pricks of blood all over her. "Dimitrius!" she cried. She deftly jumped over the corpses and ran to him. She put her arms around him, then did the same to Kalius. "Are you two all right?"

"Yes," Dmitrius said, and reached for his lover's hand.

Rowena looked around the room, taking it in for the first time.

A male vampire walked proudly out of the side room. "Rowena! Great party!" He picked his way around and headed out the door.

Josef came out of the kitchen. "We're ready," he said.

"What for?" asked Dmitrius.

"Allard," Rowena snapped, and headed to the kitchen.

Dmitrius and Kalius followed Rowena. There, bound with plastic handcuffs to the chair, sat Allard, his blue suit torn and stained in places with black blood. He looked up and focused on Rowena. Four other people were in the room: Josef, a jaundice-looking man, a long-haired woman in a leather biker jacket, and another gaunt woman who look like she stepped out of some yuppie catalog.

"We have a quorum," Josef said and focused on Allard. "Are you, or are you not, a member of the Sabbat?"

Allard looked up defiantly. The gaunt woman came over to him and scratched his face, then licked the blood from her nail. She turned, and went back to her place. The wound smoked, beginning to fill the room with the stench of sulphur. "Ask again," she said, and sucked on her finger. Josef asked again.

"I am a member." Then he started to scream. The vampires watched impassively.

Dmitrius turned around and took Kalius by the waist, guiding him out. "It's going to be a while."

Two hours before dawn, Josef emerged from the kitchen. Dmitrius, Kalius, and a few other vampires and humans had stacked up the flesh and bodies. The vampires they set outside in the back lawn. The humans and flesh creatures they brought down to the garage. It was from one of these runs that Kalius returned seeing Dmitrius talking to Josef.

"...he was going to try and kill me."

Josef nodded. "So it seems. Rowena was going to be his weapon for that, and then eventually he was going to turn her over to the Sabbat."

"Did he say why he joined them?"

"He was Blood Bonded to a Toreador wench and he wanted to get out of it."

"How did that happen?"

"I didn't ask, and I really didn't care."

Dmitrius saw Kalius. He smiled at him. "Kalius, love, can we ask a favor?"

"Of course," he said, coming up to them.

Josef said, "Allard is sentenced to meet the sun. Can you make sure he does?"

"Of course, I will."

Dmitrius and Kalius manhandled the yelling Allard out to the lawn. Dmitrius gave Allard a glare, kissed Kalius goodbye, and headed back into the house to take a quick shower before bed. Allard shouted at Kalius, "How dare you! Release me now!"

"Oh, shut up," Kalius said, summoning his sword, and running him through the chest with it. It went right through the flimsy wood of the back of the chair, impaling him. The look of horror on Allard's face was priceless.

"You tried to kill my beloved," Kalius snarled at him, getting very close to his face. "This is a mercy. If I had my way I would cut you into pieces and let you heal, and do it all over again for years and years. Remember that as you burn, vampire."

The sun cleared the horizon. Kalius watched it, ignoring the smell of burning flesh all around him. He then turned to Allard, and watched as his skin started burning under his clothes, the smoke wafting up in the air. Within an hour, Kalius was surrounded by piles of ashes. He retrieved his sword, went in the house and took a shower. His bedroom had been spared, so he was able to collapse in a clean bed.

When he awoke, it was raining. Two people were scrubbing the floor, a wet-vac off to the side. Kalius went to the backyard to see the chair still there, the pile of ash much smaller from the rain.

Kalius didn't know why everyone talked about him so reverently. He was a tall, thin man, his blond hair parted on the side, dressed in a blue suit. Dmitrius looked far more intimidating than this man. He looked better suited in a board room than as what he visualized was a prince.

However, the man walked through, and others showed him deference. Rowena saw the Prince and something came over her, an angry look. The prince headed her way, and Rowena put a smile on her face for him. "Rowena, dear," said the Prince, and kissed her cheeks. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you, my Prince."

He turned to look at Dmitrius. "Hello, Dimitri."

"Prince Allard," Dmitrius said with a bow of his head.

Allard looked at Kalius. "This is the man you left my service for?"

"I am Kalius of Thebes," he said.

Allard looked merely amused. "Indeed." He turned from them to Rowena. "I believe I see Nikoli. Excuse me." He put a hand on her forearm and headed out into the crowd.

"He tried to have you killed, Dimitrius," she whispered to him.

"I know," Dmitrius replied, and kept a hold on Kalius.

Entertainment was some music and dancing out back. The party started to get in full swing, as loaded up humans and equally loaded vampires let loose inhibitions. Dmitrius was talking to Josef, when he saw the Prince walking back into the house, Rowena following behind him. Dmitrius tapped Josef, interrupting him, and motioned with his head to them. Josef looked curious, and sped through the crowd to follow. Dmitrius and Kalius also did.

They found the two in the kitchen. Josef to the side of the door, evesdropping, but Dmitrius and Kalius were in the hallway with a clear view of Allard's back. Rowena was pushed up against the kitchen sink. Dmitrius couldn't see her face. Allard brought his arm up to his mouth, and then put it against Rowena's mouth. They could see Rowena put her lips on it, and then she looked up at him with fury in her eyes. She hauled off and slapped him across the face.

Josef moved, a gun drawn, and Dmitrius instinctively pushed Kalius behind him. He held the gun to Allard's head, and assessed the situation. "You didn't..."

"I did," Dmitrius said, stepping forward.

Rowena yelled, "To protect me from you!" She glared at Allard. "You tried to bond me! A justicar!"

Josef looked to Dmitrius, then Rowena, then Allard. He pressed the gun harder against Allard's head. "Spill it."

Allard drew himself up to his full height. "I don't have to tell you anything."

Rowena said, "That won't work on me anymore."

Josef said, close to Allard's ear, "Or me, either."

Allard stared straight ahead, like a statue. Then something burst through the kitchen window.

It was a huge black thing made out of legs that surrounded it in a circle, like a demented clock gear. It had a distorted face in its center and hands coming out from it. The feet kicked Josef's arm, and the gun went off into the ceiling. The thing seemed to roll out into the hallway. Kalius tried to trip it, and the hands grabbed at Kalius' leg. Kalius summoned his sword and chopped at it, slicing off one of the legs. It fell off in a gush of blood. The thing screamed, a woman's terrified howl of pain.

Josef had tackled Allard, and Rowena dove out of the way of the window. Other creatures came piling through the window. A round ball with bone hooks tipped in metal, barefooted with a mouth on its top and eyes all around it, headed right for Dmitrius. A crocodile-like thing with huge hands and spines for bumps also came climbing through.

Dmitrius punched through the round ball, his arm getting gouged by the hooks. Kalius moved out from behind him and went after the crocodile. Josef was fighting off a wolf-headed creature with a snake's tail instead of back legs. Allard had run out the side door into the garage. Rowena took off after him.

Kalius looked up from his fight with the crocodile and saw a woman behind Dmitrius. She stabbed him through the back with a bone-like spike that came out of his chest, thick black blood all over it. Kalius yelled, "No!" and he rushed at her, sword swinging. In a perfect arc, he sliced her head in half, barely missing Dmitrius' shoulder. He couldn't get a clear shot to behead her, so he pulled Dmitrius by the shoulder, yanking him off the spike. Dmitrius thudded to the floor. The woman laughed, but it came out as a gurgle. Now clear, he swung hard, lopping off the woman's head at the shoulders.

He turned to Dmitrius, lying on the floor, the wound closing quickly. He smiled at Kalius, reassuring him. "Been a while since that happened. I'm getting lazy." Kalius helped Dmitrius up. "Where's--"

Now Kalius heard the sounds of battle in the other room. He had been so focused in the kitchen, that he hadn't heard anything beyond. Dmitrius and Kalius both ran down the narrow hallway, following the blood trail of the multi-legged creature. The room was engulfed in chaos, with creatures and vampires fighting among each other. The floor was slick with blood, and frenzied vampires were everywhere. Dmitrius and Kalius looked at each other, then both turned back toward the room. Yelling the warcry of the Sacred Band of Thebes, they surged forward into the fray.

Kalius was a little shocked. People kept coming all day, standing or sitting around in all corners of the house. It was like the humans were having their own little daylight party, drinking and eating, but taking care not to disturb the decorations, and quickly cleaning up after themselves. All of them were probably ghouls, or some sort of servant to a vampire. Billy brought him to the kitchen and fed him on hors d'oeuvres. He was introduced as "the old sheriff's boyfriend." One man said to him, "So the rumors are true."

"What rumors," Kalius asked, drinking a beer.

"The sheriff left because of you."

"I didn't ask him to. It was his decision."

"Is he going to be sheriff in Rhode Island?"

"No, he's retiring."

Another man snorted. "Nobody retires from the Camarilla."

"Maybe he won't be a Camarilla."

"You're Sabbat, Camarilla, or Caitiff. It's better to run in groups because you'll always need protection."

"He has protection," Kalius said, and drained his beer. "Excuse me." He glanced out the rear windows of the house, and there were cars parked all throughout the driveway and street, so he couldn't take the Mustang out. He sighed, went to his room and locked the door. He picked up a copy of the Iliad that he had found in Rowena's library. Although he had pretty much memorized it over the years, he never tired of its story.

Half an hour to sunset, he left his room to go to the vault. For once, a large guard that he remembered from downstairs stood at the upstairs entrance. He held an Uzi loosely in his hand. "Precautions?" Kalius asked.

"Trust no one," he said, and opened the door for Kalius. Kalius stood outside the vault door, and it opened just at sunset. Dmitrius smiled at Kalius and kissed him. "Good evening," Kalius said, slipping his arm around Dmitrius' waist.

"Rowena's still sleeping. What have I missed?"

"There are a lot of people upstairs."

"It doesn't officially start until eight. We have some time."

Kalius smiled. "Yes, yes, we do."


Dmitrius moaned at the knock on the door. Kalius chuckled, as Dmitrius cast his head back upon his pillow. "Yes," Dmitrius said wearily.

"The mistress hopes that you plan on coming down for the party."

"We thought we'd be fashionably late," Dmitrius said, as he ran his hand over Kalius' bare chest.

"I think you're fashionably late now, sir."

Dmitrius kissed his lover and they both rolled out of bed. "Give us ten minutes. Is the Prince here yet?"

"No, sir, he's not."

Dmitrius scowled. "All right. Thanks."

"Yes, sir." Dmitrius heard him walk away.

Kalius looked at the clock. "Time flies when you're having fun."

"I didn't even realize it." They finished getting dressed and walked out of his bedroom.

The foyer was full of people, vampires and humans, mingling among each other like normal dinner party guests. Dmitrius came down the stairs and someone walked right up to him. "Sheriff!"

Dmitrius sighed. "I am not sheriff anymore, Gavin."

Gavin said, "To me you always will be."

"Gavin, this is my fiance, Kalius."

Gavin looked down at Kalius. "Your WHAT?"

"Fiance," Kalius said coldly. "Have a problem with that?"

"I don't see a ring."

"We don't need one," Dmitrius replied.

Gavin folded his arms across his chest. "You're stooping pretty--"

Kalius punched him in the face. Dmitrius immediately stood between Gavin and Kalius. "Gavin, go away."

Gavin was holding his nose, a tiny bit of black blood oozing out of it. Gavin melted into the crowd. Dmitrius looked around, as if daring anyone to speak. Vampires and people turned away from the scene. Kalius flexed his hand, ignoring the pain of hitting a man. He might have had the strength to break his nose, but that didn't stop him from feeling pain. "Ex-lover?" Kalius asked.

"Please," Dmitrius said disgustedly. "Not for want of trying."

They found Rowena. She immediately brightened on seeing Dmitrius, and hugged him, and then kissed Kalius and hugged him, too. Dmitrius and Kalius introduced themselves as a couple, and most vampires thought that was at the very least odd, at the very most doomed.

Then the front door opened. Dmitrius happened to be looking in that direction, and squeezed Kalius' waist to get his attention. He bent to Kalius' ear and whispered, "The Prince is at the door."

"More bunting!"

Rowena rolled her eyes. Why did she ever ask Dwanna to decorate her house for her birthday party? The Toreador childe came well-recommended by one of the few Toreadors that Rowena could stand. Dwanna kicked out her servants and brought in her own, who patrolled through the house like ants.

She sighed, and headed into the library. Sitting at her computer was Dmitrius, his lover right behind him. She felt a small pang of jealousy - she would have wanted to hold Dmitrius like Kalius was doing. However, she knew he loved Kalius with all his heart, and seeing her regent happy was paramount, even if it meant she had to suffer.

Dmitrius told her, in no uncertain terms and in a commanding tone, that she was never, ever, to harm his beloved, and that she should treat Kalius the same way that she treated himself. Something switched inside her, and she nodded, promising to do just that.

She asked, "You can log into my account all right?"

Dmitrius looked over his shoulder. "Yes, I'm booking the flights now."

Kalius turned to her. "We appreciate everything you've done for us."

She smiled, and it was actually genuine - Kalius made her regent so happy. She wished she could do it, too. "I am only returning the many favors he's done for me."

"You are coming to the wedding?"

"Of course. I want to see those tuxes on you. Kalius..."

He looked at her. "Yes?"

"How did you meet?"

"He was 17. I was 19. We met in the Citadel, for military training. I had just gotten my first commission and I chose him as my Patroclus."

"Patroclus?"

He smiled slightly. "Achilles had a partner and lover, Patroclus. I believed that we were made for glory, like the Trojans of old. I was Dimitrius' erastes, his lover and teacher. He was my eranamos, my beloved and student. Those words actually mean more than that, but you get the idea."

Now she understood why Dmitrius surrendered himself to Kalius. "But times have changed. You're younger. He's older, far older than you."

"We're equal partners," Kalius said. "We were then also. He fought beside me, as an equal, defending each other, fighting back to back in battle against all enemies. We swore our bond together, and sacrificed at the temple of Ares."

Muttered Dmitrius, "Even if he is a prick."

"Who?"

"Ares."

A voice yelled from the other room, "Rowena, how's this?"

"Excuse me," she headed back out to the foyer. She looked up to see trails of large roses covering the staircase. "Good," she said, and then wanted to go back into that room. She saw the two of them, Kalius leaning over his lover and kissing him, and Dmitrius holding Kalius's arms against his own chest.

The jealousy was too much, and she left, more afraid of Dmitrius than the Beast.


Dmitrius sighed and sat back, finished with his computer work. Kalius whispered, "She seemed to handle it all right."

"I didn't want to do it." He looked at Kalius. "If I wanted slaves, I would go out on the street and get them. Now I've cursed my best friend." He motioned to the computer, changing the subject. "We leave Thursday night at 7. It's a 3 hour non-stop flight."

"How long are we staying there?"

"I have it booked that we fly east Sunday night, stop in Detroit overnight, and then finish the flight Monday night. We'll be back in Boston at 1 am Tuesday."

He nodded. "That's long enough. I don't really need to see my brothers or my uncle, but I'd like to see my neice."

Dmitrius got up. "Let's hope that tonight things are quiet."

"Tomorrow is her party--"

"Dmitrius!" Rowena called. "Want to come with me to the dress store for a final fitting?"

Kalius stood back. "We can go."

Dmitrius looked up. "I'd rather stay here with you."

"I'd rather stay here with you, too," he said, smiling. Dmitrius kissed Kalius again, he looked beyond him to see Rowena in the doorway, a forced smile on her face.

"We're coming," he said, and rose from the chair.

In the roomy Cadillac, Rowena chatted about the people she had invited and the people who would be there. Dmitrius knew them all, from his time as a sheriff, and some of them had things against him because he hunted some of their childer down. Josef was even coming. Her cell phone went off. She looked at it and answered curtly. "Hello, my Prince."

Dmitrius could hear him, "You did not come to my haven tonight."

"Something's come up," she said, and smiled sweetly at Dmitrius.

"I had told you to come here last night."

Dmitrius raised his head slowly, realization crossing his features. Kalius noted it and mouthed, "What?"

"Like I said," she continued, "something's come up. I have to plan for the party. You will be there, won't you?"

"Of course, dear. Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Good! Then I will see you there tomorrow. I have to go. Goodbye." She hung up and looked at Dmitrius, still smiling.

"He tried to Bond you," Dmitrius said angrily. "That son of a bitch."

"Nonsense," she said, and put a hand on Dmitrius' thigh. "I did see him last night, but it was for business. That's all right, isn't it?"

Kalius watched Dmitrius struggle with something. Finally, he calmed down enough to say, "Yes, that's all right."

She looked at him adoringly, and it wasn't too much longer before the car stopped in front of the outdoor mall. Rowena jumped out of the car and waited for Dmitrius and Kalius. She went to the store with the dress, and tried it on. The two men told her she looked ravishing, and she basked in their praise. Her cell phone rang again while she stood there in the dress. "Get that for me, dear?"

Dmitrius went into her purse and pulled out the phone. "It's the Prince again. Maybe I should talk to him."

"All right, dear." She started to slip out of the dress right in front of him.

Dmitrius pressed the button to connect. "Hello."

"Who's this?" asked Prince Allard.

"Dmitrius."

"Where's Rowena?"

"Indisposed."

"I want to talk to her."

"I'll let her know." He disconnected, looked up at Kalius, barely contained anger on his face. "He wanted to talk to you."

"Oh, he can wait until tomorrow."

They headed home, and Rowena asked them to join her with a movie and asked Dmitrius to pick. He chose No Country for Old Men. She set up the movie, grabbed her version of popcorn, and they settled in to watch. A servant stepped in to say a visitor was downstairs but she had them turned away. She asked Kalius to choose the next one, and he picked Heartbreak Ridge. After that, Rowena chose My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Dmitrius and Kalius laughed, comparing that to what could happen at their own wedding. Rowena smiled, knowing that's exactly whey she picked it.

Rowena took one last tour of the house. Everything was to her orders. There would be more vessels tomorrow night, she was promised, and the two headed off to bed. Rowena looked at Dmitrius, as he settled down on his futon. "You can sleep in here," she offered.

"I never liked caskets," he said. "My servants bought me a silver one, and I never used it."

She shrugged, and lay down. "I love you, Dimitrius."

Dmitrius closed his eyes. "Rowena..."

"I know you love me like a sister, you always have. It's enough." She smiled, closed her eyes. "I want you happy, and you're happy with Kalius."

"Yes, Rowena, I am."

"Good," she whispered, and the sun took her.

Dmitrius could stay up until the sun cleared the horizon. He lay there, still saddened about what he had done, but curious as to why the Prince tried to bond her. He fell asleep, mulling that over in his mind.

The Poison Girl was a dive. That's immediately what Kalius thought when he walked into the bar.

Pinball machines lined one wall, the bar lined the other, a jukebox took center stage at the rear wall. The two men walked through the doorway and headed away from the bar so they could get a look at the patrons.

Somebody put "Du Hast" by Rammstein on the jukebox, and the hard guitar pumped through an excellent and loud speaker system. Dmitrius tugged on Kalius' sleeve and pulled him toward one of the pinball machines. The man in the "Night Devil's" jacket shoved against the machine, trying to force the ball to stay aloft. Dmitrius gave it another shove, and tilted it.

"Hey!"

"Where's Josef?"

"How the fuck should I know?"

Dmitrius gazed at him. "Are you sure you don't know?"

The man rubbed the back of his head, the hackles on his neck suddenly rising. "Uh, well, he said he was gonna get somethin' t' eat outside."

Dmitrius thumbed at the door. "Right out there?"

"Guess so."

Kalius shoved open the door that said, "Fire Exit". He looked around the corner, and Dmitrius followed him. Kalius heard sounds of passion coming from behind one of the cars. Dmitrius nodded, and the two men split up to get on either side of a man and a topless woman in a passionate embrace - at least it looked like it from a distance. But upon getting closer, he was sucking her neck, and she was moaning in pleasure, shoving her hips against his.

Dmitrius waited, and when Josef raised his head, he saw Dmitrius standing there, nonchalantly leaning against the car's trunk. Josef turned his head to see Kalius to his right.

"Aw, baby, don't stop," said the girl in a heavy drawl.

"We got company, bitch," he snapped.

The girl looked over to her left at Kalius and flicked back her hair. "You wanna run too?"

"No, thank you," he said.

She looked back at Josef. "C'mon, baby, we ain' done..."

"Yes, we are." He got up, shoving the girl off him. She stumbled up, her huge breasts shaking. Kalius saw her pink tank top and picked it up, handing it to her. She put it on - it barely covered her breasts. She humphed and, grabbing her heels that were almost as tall as she was, stormed back to the bar. Josef turned to Dmitrius. "So what--" Dmitrius grabbed Josef and threw him into the car, making a sizable dent in the trunk. Dmitrius held him down with one hand. "What the fuck!"

"You control the Bloods."

"Yeah, so?"

"They attacked Kalius yesterday."

He was silent for a minute. "I didn't do that."

Dmitrius pressed hard on Josef's head. "Who did? And don't dick us around, because we killed an assassin sent after me last night and we are not in the most pleasant of moods."

"How the fuck should I know?"

"Josef, they're your army." Dmitrius took a fistful of Josef's hair and lifted the head up, then slammed it down again, making a much larger dent. "You're responsible."

"Wait, wait! Fuck, sheriff, wait!"

Dmitrius didn't release his hold. "We're listening."

"Ratchet, one of the boys - he said some of the homies - some guy came along - gave them drugs and made them stronger - never got to check - "

"Where's Ratchet now?"

"City morgue, some guy slashed his chest open."

Dmitrius looked up at Kalius who nodded once. Dmitrius lessened his hold slightly, but kept his hand on him. "You have no idea what guy?"

"Goddammit, sheriff, I told you, I never got a chance to check it out!"

"Let's go check it out now." Dmitrius lifted the Brujah Justicar by the scruff of his jacket and turned him around to face him. "Ride with us."


Brandy opened the door to the drug house and saw Josef there with two men behind him. She put the gun she was holding behind her back. "Joey--"

"Who came here a week ago and talked to Ratchet and Flyboy?"

"Uh, some guy..."

Josef grabbed the girl by her throat. The gun came out and she shot him point black four times before he crushed her hand around the gun. His back exploded onto the two men behind him, flesh and blood covering them. Josef shoved the woman into the house. Dmitrius shut the door as Josef fed on her, draining her dry.

"Ugh, All Five." Josef spat blood. Josef swiveled his head around, his wounds healing near instantaneously. Kalius had his sword, and Dmitrius stood cautiously. He sniffed the air, and headed upstairs. They followed him, and Josef stopped in front of another young man. Kalius said, "That was one of them."

The man was caught in the throes of a drug-induced dream. Josef bent and bit into his wrist, then licked the blood welling there. "What the fuck..?"

Dmitrius and Kalius watched Josef stand up. "Either he's been given blood everybody in the four corners, or he's--"

Dmitrius stated, "Sabbat."

Josef looked at the man. He bent down to drink. Dmitrius sighed and turned away. They went back down the stairs, shoved aside some waif who stood in front of them, demanding money, and went back outside to the car, which was still in one piece.

"Sabbat destroyed my house. Assassins usually work for the Sabbat." Dmitrius was disappointed that the Assamite didn't talk, even as he threw her remaining head and torso into the fire.

"They probably sent those Bloods after me," Kalius said.

Dmitrius nodded. "I can't go after them alone."

"Is there some neutral ground?"

"They don't respect it." Dmitrius drummed his hand on the passenger side door of the car, then pulled it open. "Let's go, then."

The two men pulled into the garage back at Rowena's, and her Cadillac was gone. They went to the top of the stairs in the garage and saw the night butler. "Dmitrius, Kalius, something is wrong with the mistress."

"What?"

"She awoke after you, and she immediately had to go, she said. She didn't feed from any of us."

Dmitrius looked at him curiously. "I'll speak with her when she returns."

She returned about an hour before sunrise. She looked very confused, foggy, and walked right by Dmitrius when he tried to talk to her. She went directly to the vault.

"Rowena, what's wrong?"

She silently went into the vault and tried to shut the door. Dmitrius stood between the vault door and held it back. He was far stronger than Rowena was, but she was determined to pull the door shut. Finally, he stepped inside, and she slammed shut the door, locking it. Without looking at Dmitrius, she went to her casket.

Dmitrius knew what this was. She was under a thrall. Dmitrius paced.

He had told no one, not even Kalius, of his tenuous bond with Rowena. He found her during the Portuguese Inquisition, after her sire had been given the auto-da-fe and was set out in the sun. She was weak and starving, and he gave her his blood. He gave her a taste again, in Colonial America. If he did it for a third time, she would be in his thrall. But someone was beginning to control her now.

Something had happened last night because she was already asleep when he came downstairs. Tonight was probably the second bite. Tomorrow would be a third bite, and she would be in someone else's thrall, absolutely devoted to this other person.

He walked back and forth near the casket. He didn't want to enthrall her. He wanted her to be his friend. But what's to say she wouldn't turn on him in the evening, and then kill his beloved?

Savagely, he bit into his wrist. His face was dark, determined. He slowly placed his gouged out wrist to her lips.

Narayanan "Sham" Sharma locked up his store. He had hoped to get home before midnight to see his wife before she went to bed, but a jerk dropped a jar of Tostito's cheese and then kicked the glass under the display, making a horrible mess he had to almost scrape up. He adjusted his over-the-body purse - he didn't care if it made him look female, it was a secure way of travelling with his money. He stood under the small light that shined at the door, the only light in the immediate area. The rest was darkness around him.

Sham was a small man, so when the three bigger men in gang colors came up to him and one held a knife to his throat, he merely stood there paralyzed with fear. "Hand it over, towel-head," one said.

He shakily started pulling the purse over his head. Then suddenly, one of the men leering at him was suddenly yanked back, into the darkness. Sham heard a muffled cry, and the other man turned to look into the dark. Then he, too, was yanked by his shirt into the darkness. There was a scuffle, and then silence.

Sham heard water hitting tar and hoped that wasn't him.

"Who's that? I'll kill this mother fucker!"

"No," said a voice, and the man whirled toward it still holding Sham. "You will release him."

"Fuck you, pall!"

Someone stepped into the light from the left - he looked like he was made of marble. His black hair was like a raven's wing, and he had a short neat beard. He was tall, even taller than this other man who held Sham, and wore a well-worn Houston Astros baseball shirt. His jeans were torn and greasy, and he wore no belt. Sham glanced up at his eyes and immediately looked at the Astros logo, not wanting to look at them again, ever.

"Release him."

The knife dropped out of the young man's suddenly limp hand, as he was absolutely frozen with terror. Sham took a step out of his arms. The dark-haired man only had eyes for his attacker. Sham moved out from between the attacker and this man. The last thing he saw before he dove for his car was the man putting his arm around his attacker, as if they were old friends, and guiding him out from the pool of light into the darkness.

He snapped on his headlights, pointing them at the store, but the men were gone.


"Mr. Acheron, if you would sign here..."

Dmitrius took up the A.T. Cross pen the banker offered and began signing. He would sign a paper, and then put it aside.

"Mr. Nokimos, if you could sign here..."

Kalius no longer had the sling, and his arm was fully functional now. He picked up another pen and signed below Dmitrius. He smiled at Dmitrius' flourish of his initials.

"You can just fax over the marriage certificate when you get it."

"Now," said Dmitrius, "the property. You said there were issues?"

"They are treating it as arson, Mr. Acheron. This is what I didn't want to discuss over the phone with you."

Dmitrius rubbed his thumb along the cleft of his beard. Dmitrius had dealt with this bank for over a hundred years, and this particular banker's great-grand-uncle when he first opened it. They've kept him quiet all these years, and he sent them business and helped keep them afloat. He didn't want to move the banking to Rhode Island, and he could still do many things electronically. But he wanted the bankers to be sure that Kalius - Kevin Nokimos - was allowed access to his funds as a domestic partner.

"I appreciate your discretion," Dmitrius said. "Do they have any leads?"

"Not from what I've gathered."

"You will keep me posted?"

"Of course, sir."

Both he and Kalius got up at the same time. Dmitrius pushed up the sleeve of his jacket and bit into his own wrist. Blood welled up, and he held out his wrist to the banker. The banker bent his head and licked the blood, then closed his eyes and suckled. Dmitrius gently pulled his arm away, and covered the wound with his jacket sleeve. The banker sat down, seemingly in a daze, gazing up at Dmitrius.

Dmitrius left the bank, and Kalius put an arm around his waist. "Is that necessary?" He nodded back to the bank.

Dmitrius nodded. Taking a vampire's blood three times usually meant that the person was absolutely devoted to the vampire. This was called a Blood Bond. It was the way most vampired controlled their people. Dmitrius did not like using that ability, and, even among his servants, did so very sparingly. Oftentimes he wanted to offer his blood to Kalius, when he was injured or had his power taken away, but he didn't want Kalius to love him because of the bond.

Dmitrius said quietly, "It's insurance. If I don't claim him, someone else might." He stopped, and turned to face Kalius. "So, how does it feel to marry into money?"

Kalius looked up at him, "I wouldn't care if you were poor. I have you. I love you, eranamos."

"I love you, erastes," Dmitrius said, and the two men kissed under the moonlight.

Dmitrius pulled open the vault door to see his lover's left arm in a sling.

"Kalius!" He dashed out the door and took Kalius in his arms. "What happened?"

"Ran into some Bloods."

Dmitrius' eyes narrowed as Kalius ran through what happened.

Rowena meanwhile was feeding from one of her people who sat in the couch. Kalius could see Dmitrius growing more and more angry. "Eranamos, I'm all right. The bones have already healed."

Dmitrius whirled on Rowena. "Josef controls the gangs."

Rowena was oblivious to what was going on. Dmitrius pulled Kalius by the waist and headed up the stairs. He stood at the top, fists clenched in barely contained fury. Part of him wanted to rush out to find the bastards who did this to his beloved. The other part of him wanted to wait until the perfect time. He finally focused on Kalius. "Do you want to find them?"

"Once my arm heals, love. We'll take them out together."

"If this is Josef's doing..."

"What, dear?" Rowena appeared at the top of the stairs. "What happened to you, Kalius?"

Kalius repeated the story. Rowena looked confused. "Bloods?"

"Gangs," said Dmitrius. "Josef has made ghouls out of Crips and Bloods before and set them at each other's throats for his own entertainment."

Rowena looked disgusted. "Waste of blood." She looked up. "I am going to get ready for the gallery. Are you sure you don't--"

"No."

Rowena fought the urge to back away. Dmitrius' blood was boiling. Kalius reached out with his free hand and put a hand on Dmitrius' arm. "Eranamos, we will be ready to work tomorrow." Dmitrius looked down at Kalius' hand, and Rowena watched as he calmed down right in front of her. The control he had over Dmitrius!

Disgusted again, she went upstairs to get dressed.


Rowena crossed the room to the Prince. Prince Allard kissed her on the cheek. "How are you, Rowena?"

"Doing very well. Thank you for the stock tip about Northern Lights."

The Prince waved his hand dismissively. "I look out for my people."

They made further small talk, but Rowena was paying more attention to the people invited. Lynette was on the other side of the room, looking sulky. Good, Rowena thought. Then a woman in a severe suit that she didn't know took the Prince's attention, and he excused himself. She curiously watched the woman take him away. Rowena looked around the gallery to see if she was noticed, and followed him.

She caught the woman and the Prince in an alcove, and hugged herself against the opposite wall. "Now is not the time," the Prince was saying. Rowena's eyes widened. He was speaking Arabic.

"He is alone," spat the woman.

The Prince sighed. "He will have to leave sometime. Take him then."

Someone approached, and Rowena could see one of the Prince's many ghoulish goons come down the hall toward her. She had no place to run, so she straightened out her dress and walked forward. The ghoul met her eyes. "Miss Rowena, do you think I'm stupid?"

She looked right into his eyes. "No, of course not. Let me pass."

But the Prince had come around the alcove with the woman and saw Rowena there. "Rowena, dear," he said, as if admonishing a child.

Rowena turned around to face Prince Allard.

"I'm sorry it has come to this. I had hoped he would have come here tonight and we would have spared involving you in this."

Rowena looked from the Prince to the woman, and realized what the woman was: Assamite, also known as Assassins.

"Now, unfortunately, you have to lure him out, or allow Mawiyah to have access to your home."

Rowena shook her head slightly, then a little more firmly. "I won't do that, Kenneth."

"He's your friend?" Prince Allard gave her an amused look. "Then it will be done without you."

Rowena saw that the assassin had disappeared. She raised her head and said, "I will not allow this. Most of the Justicars are here and will override you."

"It's too late now," he said, and walked past her. "Keep her here, Jimmy."

"Yes, sir," the man said, and barred her way out. Ten minutes later, all she had to do was give him a hard look and push into his mind that he had better move out of her way, or she'd make his life more miserable than his master could. She dashed past him, skirting along the outside of the building, dialing her phone frantically.

She connected, and uttered something, before the phone was ripped out of her hand and she was thrown hard into the wall.  She looked up to see golden eyes filling her entire vision.  "You will forget..."


The two men lay together in each other's company in Kalius' room. Kalius had removed the sling and showed Dmitrius that he could move his arm around just fine. Dmitrius caressed the injured arm gently. "If Josef sent these men to you, I will tear him apart and leave what's left for the sun."

Kalius nodded. "Can you reattach limbs that have been cut off?"

"We can sew them back on and they'll heal the next night. I lost a hand once, and it grew back in about a week with a constant supply of blood."

"You will need blood for what we need to do tomorrow night."

Dmitrius smiled and put his elbow on the pillow, leaning his head on his hand. "The first thing we'll need to do is find Josef. I'm sure he hasn't changed his normal haunts in the last six months, which means we'll probably be at Poison Girl--"

Dmitrius' phone rang. He looked confused, and reached down to get his jeans with the phone in the pocket. He fished it out and saw it was Rowena's number. He flipped it open. "Rowena?"

"An assassin is after you! She's on her way to the house now!" Then Dmitrius heard a click, and static.

Kalius heard it, and he knew what an Assamite was since Dmitrius had told him. The two men jumped out of bed and dressed quickly. Dmitrius opened the door cautiously, and Kalius was right behind him, sword in hand. The house was dark and quiet, which was very unusual. They walked out of the room, both watching the sides and each other's back. They were at the top of the spiral staircase.  Kalius thought he felt the wind displaced. Dmitrius felt it too - but something came out of the darkness. Kalius summoned the shield seconds before it hit him - he caught it on the shield and shoved it up over his head, and over the spiral staircase.

Dmitrius vaulted over the railing of the balcony and landed on his feet on the white tile. From what Kalius could see, it at first looked like a catwoman like Raina, a lithe creature in black with glinting silver claws. It had landed on its feet in a crouch, the nails scraping the tiles. Dmitrius stood in a ready stance, and Kalius also vaulted over the railing, thanking Grim that the amulet gave him the agility to land easily on his feet next to Dmitrius.

Both men moved together, to flank the woman in black. She looked from one to the other, watching them. Kalius feinted, and the woman turned her body to him, then Dmitrius jumped. She twisted and raked claws across Dmitrius' chest. She slashed his shirt open and her claws scraped his alabaster skin. Kalius slashed forward and cut through her kidneys and liver to the spine. Black blood splashed onto the tiles. Dmitrius grabbed her arm and snapped it out of its socket. The woman didn't scream, but grunted. She tried to slash across his face, but he also grabbed that hand and twisted the wrist back with a crunch. Then he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her.

"Poison?" Dmitrius said in Arabic, "Really now."

She struggled to move her dislocated arm, and was able to move her arm feebly to force herself to try to thrust the claws into him. He threw her hard to the ground. "You are the sixteenth Assamite I've destroyed in my life. Don't you quit? The originator of the contract is dead."

"No, he is not," she said. "There is a new contract."

"Tell me who," he demanded.

"I would suffer Final Death first."

"Suit yourself." He picked her up by her shirt and hoisted her over his shoulder. She kicked him, but it did nothing. He carried her across the hall to the living room, where there was a fireplace. He looked at Kalius, "Can you start a fire in there for me?"

Kalius nodded and got some kindling and matches. She continued to kick him, and he finally kicked her, breaking her knee. "Stop it," he growled. She spat at him. He slapped her hard enough that it would make a lesser man's head spin around.

"Dmitrius," Kalius said quietly.

"No, my love, this is something I must do. May I have your sword?"

Kalius quietly handed Dmitrius his sword, and he put it under the woman's throat. "Tell me."

"Never."

He took her hand and slashed it off at the wrist, then tossed it in the fire. Dmitrius looked at her, no emotion on his face. "Human bodies have a lot of joints, Assamite. You will tell me, or I will eventually be tossing your head into the fire."



Rowena walked through the door. The house was dark. That was unusual, but, then, so was the smell coming from the other room. She had a hazy memory of the party, like she had had too much to drink. She'd lost her phone.

She suddenly felt tired, very tired. It was still two hours to sunrise, but she was exhausted. Maybe she would turn in early.

She went down the metal steps to the vault. The guard looked up from his TV. "Mistress, you're early."

"I'm tired," she said, feeling suddenly all her thousand years. She went to the casket and lay down. The world went dark around her.

Kalius was chased out of his room by the construction crew that the vampire had threatened them with yesterday.  He had slept until noon, with his blade next to him.  Armed with brunch and caffeine, he went downstairs to the garage.  He remembered seeing a Ford Mustang there, and wanted to take a closer look.

He walked around it, examining the silver car.  Billy was underneath one of the Cadilacs.  He crawled out from underneath, his white shirt stained and jeans stained with grease.  "Nice car, huh?"

"Very nice.  What year is it?"

"2009 1/2.  It's a Lee Iaccoca special edition.  Made for the 45th anniversary of the introduction of the Mustang."

"I didn't think your mistress would be into cars."

He smiled.  "It's daytime; we call her Rowena.  She's not; she's holding it for someone."

"Ah."

Billy turned and went to the wall where the keys for the cars were.  "Here," he tossed Kalius the keys.  "Take her out for a spin.  She's due anyway."

"You sure?"

"Yeah.  You're probably bored here, anyway."

"Let me go get my wallet."

Billy had the garage door open to the sunny day, as Kalius came back down the stairs.  "Can you stop off and get a pack of Marlboro lights, soft pack?"

"Sure," Kalius said, and climbed into the soft leather seats. 

Billy peeked in.  "The GPS has a home button so you can find your way home if you get lost."

"Yeah, I think I'll need that."  He started it up - it roared like a panther at first, and then started to purr.  He eased out of the garage, with Billy waving at him.  He got the cigarettes at the first convenience store he saw, then got the highway and let her rip.  It cruised beautifully at 90, and in ten minutes he was passing the city limits. 

He ended up at LaPorte, driving along the beaches that looked out at the Gulf of Mexico.  Kalius wondered if Dmitrius would want a home by the beach after their marriage, or if they would still stay in the base.  He didn't mind staying in the base, if it wasn't always so busy.  He started to head back to Houston.  He happened to see the exit for the stores that they went to last night, so he stopped there.  The parking lot was full.  He drove around a little and found a spot not too far from the main entrance.

Kalius wasn't the type to go shopping, but it was still too early to go back to Rowena's.  He picked up a smoothie and wandered through the shops aimlessly.  There was nothing special that he wanted to get or was looking for.  As he walked out of a natural science store, a young man in a Kansas City jacket came up to him and put an arm around his shoulders.  Kalius tried to pull away, but the man said, "Don't fuckin' move."  Something was thrust against Kalius' kidney.  Kalius knew exactly what it was.  "Walk."

The man started to take him down into an alleyway, and four other young men followed - they wore blue bandannas and more Kansas City shirts.  Kalius knew these type from California: Bloods.  They walked a short way and turned down an alley way, at the end of which was a white van, its doors open.

Two other Bloods stood at the van, and the man finally released him.  Kalius whirled, summoning his sword and shield.   The one who held him said, "What the fuck--"

Kalius didn't give him the dignity of a reply, as he ran him through.  He slammed the man behind him in the head with his shield.  Pivoting, he twirled around in the air, slashing at anything in striking distance.  Two other men stepped back, gouges slashed across their chest.  A third fired a gun.  Kalius blocked it with the shield, but the bullet plowed through it, hitting Kalius in the arm.  He winced, ignoring the pain, and cut off the gunman's arm at the elbow.  The Blood screamed, and Kalius saw a crowd beginning to gather at the alleyway mouth.  He needed to wrap this up, and to stop his bleeding arm.

Five men were down, and one bolted, jumping impossibly high and onto a roof.  Kalius turned and ran across the rear of a store, as it led out to the rear of the food court.  He dropped his sword and shield, and looked at his shattered arm.  He ran across the food court, heading to the parking lot.  His arm had finally stopped gushing blood.  He got to the car, unlocked it, and sat inside it.  He struggled to keep conscious.  He wished that Grim would have given him a healing spell in addition to his strength and dexterity in the amulet.  He let the blood soak his shirt instead of the leather seats.

He was able to start the car and get it into drive.  He followed the GPS home, and pulled into the garage, breathing heavily.  Billy was in the garage and looked over to see that Kalius hadn't gotten out of the car.  He walked over to see Kalius sweating and pasty white, his arm mangled.  "Holy shit--Tina!"

Dmitrius put his arms around his lover's shoulders as they sat down on the couch.  "What's going on?"


"Why?"

'She's a total tool of the Prince."






"Then maybe this might entice you.  Allard's working for the Sabbat."





Dmitrius said, "He could be bribing people."









Rowena smiled gently.  "Intrigue has never been your forte', Dimitrius."

"Comes from being a soldier," said Kalius, squeezing his lover's thigh.

Dmitrius glanced at Kalius.  "All right, but I'm not here for my old job back."






Josef stood straight, and glared at Kalius, as if it was his fault.  Kalius met the vampire's eyes and stared back.  "You will know fear, little man."

"I have."

He walked out in disgust.  Kalius had to force himself to stop from shaking.  Dmitrius squeezed him close.  A servant peered in.  "Excuse me, mistress, but I have something for the sheriff."

Rowena nodded, and the servant came in, handing him a cream-colored envelope with gold trimming on the edges.  He sat up and opened the envelope.  He pulled out a very fancy, hand-written invitation.  He sighed.  "Word gets around fast."

"It's not like you've been hiding, love," said Kalius.  "An invitation to where?"

"Gallery opening tomorrow night."  He put the invitation aside.  "I'm not going."

Rowena nodded.  "Please send along Dimitrius' regrets."

"Yes, mistress," said the servant and ducked out. 

"Are you going?"

"Yes," she didn't look happy about it.

Dmitrius looked at Kalius.  "I would like to spend the evening with my erastes."

Kalius smiled.  Rowena said nothing, but turned to her computer.  "I need to do some more work, gentlemen, if you'll excuse me?"

Dmitrius and Kalius both got up and left quietly.


Dmitrius kissed Kalius one last time before shutting the door to the vault.  Rowena sat up in her casket, watching him.  "Dimitrius, we need to talk."

"Of course."  He went to his futon and sat on it with his legs tucked under him.

"I know he is your lover, and you've searched for him, but you're giving up everything you are for him."

"Did you ever think that this is what I really am?"  He waved his hand.  "All these years, I acted the strong, silent, brooding creature.  And now..."

"You act like a teenager in love.  You show your weakness."

Dmitrius lay down on the futon.  "Which is why I  no longer want to be involved in Cainite politics."

Rowena's voice sounded muffled.  "He is your weakness, Dimitrius.  You're too old to have such an Achilles' Heel."

"You don't know him, Rowena..."  Then sleep overtook them.

Kalius went up the stairs to the room he had been given, Dmitrius following him.  They put the tuxes in the armoire.  Dmitrius sat down at the foot of the bed and bounced.  "Very comfortable."

"They even made it up for me," he said.  He looked at his lover, sitting there at the edge of the bed.  He went over to him, and gave him a playful shove.  Dmitrius fell back onto the bed with a small grin.  Dmitrius' shirt creeped up seductively, exposing the lower part of his six pack abs and the point leading down to his groin.  Kalius climbed up and lay on top of Dmitrius, kissing him deeply.  Dmitrius moaned against him, knowing that turned him on, and wanting so much to pleasure his Erastes, feeling pleasure himself when he did so.  No longer did the blood hold sway over his own happiness - to hold his lover brought pure pleasure to him.

"Eranamos," Kalius whispered, breaking from the kiss.  Dmitrius started pulling Kalius' shirt out of his pants.  Kalius chuckled, low and lusty.  "I should shut the door."

Dmitrius only nodded.  Kalius got up from him, went to the door, shut it quietly, and turned the lock.


Rowena walked out of her computer room, slightly irritated at the results from her latest company, and a little more irritated that she was being disturbed by visitors.  "Three Kindred at the door," said her usually astute night butler, but he had no idea who they were.  She stepped out into the foyer, and knew them all by scent. 

A woman stood leaning insolently against the large mahogany column.  Her head was shaved except for a blue spiked Mohawk.  Spikes and piercings adorned her body; she wore only a small jacket over a lacy black bra.  Next to her stood a man with just as much piercings and leather as her, except he was more wary.  In between these two creatures stood another man, also in a leather jacket, but his was a simple biker jacket, with patches and decorations all over it.  If she looked at the back, it would say "Night Devils" emblazoned across it.  This man had long black hair, tied back in a tight pony tail.

Rowena was too old to shudder at these uncouth barbarians in her home.  "Josef," she said.  "To what do I owe this call?"

"The sheriff, where is he?"

"He is the sheriff no longer."

"Fuck that.  Where is he?"

Rowena sighed and turned to her butler.  "Find Dmitrius and Kalius, please."

The butler melted away, and went up the stairs.  He went down the hall.  He had slightly superior hearing, which meant he could hear sound in the rooms nearby.  If they were voices, he wouldn't be able to tell what they were saying.  He stopped outside the door to Kalius' room, and raised his hand to knock.  He stopped himself, as he heard distinctive noises come from beyond the closed door.  He barely hid a smile, and headed back the way he came.

Meanwhile, Rowena was getting more and more irritated.  She called to the butler, "Did you tell them?"

"They are...indisposed."

Josef stared at the butler.  "Are you fucking kidding me?!"  He started up the stairs.  Rowena yelled at him to stop.  The two other Brujah followed their master, and Rowena was up the stairs by the time Josef cleared them.  "What do you think you're doing?"

Josef also ran past Rowena.  He stopped outside a door and tried the handle.  Then with a grin, he kicked it in.

Josef noted a blond man lying on top of what looked to be the sheriff, both of them naked.  The blond man rolled off the sheriff, and a sword suddenly appeared in his hand.  The sheriff rose up and was on his feet at the same time.  Josef stared at the two men.  "What the fuck is going on here?"

Said the woman with a chuckle, "They were fucking each other like rabbits."

Jack shoved his notebook into his backpack.  He preferred to wait until most of the lecture hall cleared out before getting up himself, as the doorways were usually clogged in the first few minutes after the class.  He looked down the hall at the bald man erasing the blackboard.

At first, Jack wasn't sure what to make of this guy.  He took over the semester just as they started into Alexander the Great.  He skipped over a lot of things in the book, but he had told them the mid-term exam was going to be half book, half lecture.  There were also two smaller papers instead of one large one, one paper covering up to 30 CE, and the other paper after that time period.  Today they had to pass in a thesis statement for the first paper.

"Mr. Whitney," called Dr. Thonotis from the front of the room, "A word, please?"

Jack looked around the room - it had pretty much cleared out.  He went down to the lecture stage.  "Yes, sir?"

"I noted your thesis statement," he said, putting his hands behind his back and leaning against the table.  "Not too many people write about the Sacred Band of Thebes."

"Well, I know a little about it.  I thought this would be the best way to find out more."

He nodded.  "I notice you have a ring.  You're married?"

"Yes.  My wife and I just had two children."  He smiled proudly.

"My congratulations to you, then.  I am surprised at how you're balancing your schooling with two newborns."

"We have a lot of help."

"Well," Thonotis said, standing up straight, "it is very unusual to have straight men write about the Sacred Band of Thebes.  Makes them uncomfortable."

Jack peered at him.  "Do you not want me to write about them?"

Thonotis laughed.  "No, no, that's not what I meant at all!  I do want you to write about them.  I want you to know I have a special place in my heart for them, Mr. Whitney, so I will be looking at your paper very carefully."

Now Jack understood.  "Oh.  I'll be sure to give them the respect they deserve."

"Excellent."  He turned from Jack and went to the table.  "Oh, by the way, Mr. Whitney, the proper format of citing personal interviews is Last name, First name, Type of interview, Day, Month, Year."

Jack turned around.  "How do you--"

Thonotis waved.  "Have a good day."  He went out the rear door.

Rowena turned around once in the turquoise gown, her arms up in the air.  "What do you think?"

Dmitrius and Kalius stood at the base of the dais, next to each other hand-in-hand.  "Will you be blushing?" asked Dmitrius.

"Hm, no, it's my party and I can do what I want."

Dmitrius chuckled.  "Then, to be honest, it makes you look ghostly."

The saleswoman looked at the clock on the wall.  Rowena DeLune was a special customer, so they kept late hours for her, and a few others.  She had hoped to get out of here by eleven.  It was 10:45, so that didn't look like it would be happening.  Rowena had tried on ten dresses in the space of two hours.  All of them had a flaw.  If Ms. DeLune didn't give such good tips...

Rowena snapped at the saleswoman.  "Find me something lighter."

"Pastel, madam?"

"I do not wear pastels!"

The saleswoman cringed, and headed back out into the store.  "Rowena," said Dmitrius patiently, "there's other stores, and you still have five nights."

"It takes three nights for alterations!  At least two fittings."

"You're not getting married."

Rowena turned to Dmitrius, and then looked at Kalius, who was sitting on one of the settees.  "Kalius, dear, do you have a tux for your wedding?"

"I have one suit," he said.

She looked at Dmitirus.  "I know you don't.  I will get you both tuxes."

Dmitrius admonished, "Rowena..."

"Help me out of this, darling."

Kalius watched his lover help Rowena undress.  He wasn't jealous in the least, knowing Dmitirus was considering this as stimulating as changing a bed.  Rowena pulled on her dress and sling-backed heeled shoes.  By the time the saleswoman came back, Rowena was already at the door.  Rowena gave the woman a disgusted look, and headed into the shop proper.  Dmitrius and Kalius followed behind her, walking shoulder to shoulder, looking more like her bodyguards than lovers.  Her bodyguards were stationed outside.

"Rowena!"

She turned on her heel and faced another vampire.  "Lynette."

This was a small dark-haired woman of what looked to be straight Egyptian descent.  Her skin was no longer dark red, but not overly pale like the two vampires standing before her.  She could pass for human.

Rowena turned cold.  Lynette smiled, perfect teeth.  She tossed her long locks back.  "I hear you're having a party next week."

"Yes.  You are not invited."

"That is rather rude, not to invite your childe."

"I would rather not have you under my roof."

"Think I will steal more of your special stash of grad students?"

She grew even colder.  "I thought you were under a ban."

"Oh, I talked to the Prince.  I told him I had to destroy Komka."

"You shouldn't have made him in the first place."

"You didn't see in him what I did."

"I certainly did not."  She sounded like an exasperated mother.  "If you will excuse me..."

"Good evening, sheriff."  Lynette looked up at Dmitrius.  "Though I note you're not sheriff any more."  She ignored Kalius.  "You were such a good one, too.  Now we have that lapdog."

Rowena had already left the store.  Dmitrius glanced at Kalius, then took Kalius' hand and led him outside without another word to Lynette.  He said, in Greek, "Remember I mentioned that there were some people I didn't want you to meet?"

"That was one of them?"

He nodded.  "Rowena found out that she had made a Kindred out of one of her trusted servants, and she was secretly submitting Rowena's servants to her own Blood Bond."

"She didn't kill her?"

"No.  Instead, Rowena gave her all her servants and sent her to the hinterlands of Phoenix with no money."  He glanced back at the store.  "I'm surprised she's alive, with all the garou there."

"Garou?"

"Werewolves."

"Seriously."

"Yes."

"Okay, I'm not surprised."

"Gentlemen!" Rowena called.  She was standing in front of a well-lit gentleman's shop.

Both men moaned, and trudged forward, then laughed at their twin reaction.  Rowena breezed her way inside the door.  "Jose, dear!" she called, and kissed another vampire on both cheeks.  Kalius was beginning to notice the differences so he could tell vampire from human.

"Rowena, you are certainly lovely this evening," he said with a heavy Spanish accent.  He looked up to see Dmitrius.  "Ah, sheriff, you are back in town."

"Just visiting, getting my affairs in order."  Dmitrius stepped close to Kalius.  "This is my fiance, Kalius."

The man turned and eloquently bowed.  "A pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Likewise," Kalius replied, with a nod more than a bow.

"Good to hear you have finally found someone to share your unlife with.  When will the nuptials' be?"

"After we get back to New England."

Jose made a face.  "Ugh, you are going to live up there?  It's forever cold."

"It doesn't matter to us."  He put an arm around Kalius' waist. 

Jose studied Kalius a little more closely.  Kalius raised his head and also put his arm around Dmitrius' waist.  "Small build for a Brujah," he muttered in Spanish.

Dmitrius' eyes went cold.  "He will not be a Cainite."

Jose continued in Spanish, not knowing they could understand him, "You will marry a mortal?  He will grow old and die."

Kalius said in the same language, "We will grow old together."

Dmitrius nodded when Jose looked up at him.  Rowena turned from them and found a sales clerk, who showed her to some tuxes in the back.  Jose's disapproving look disappeared.  "Then I do wish you both well.  Excuse me."  He bowed to both, and headed toward the front of the room.  Rowena caught Dmitrius' eye and called them over.  Dmitrius took Kalius' hand and brought him over.  Rowena pulled out rack after rack of suits, measuring it up against Dmitrius. 

"No colors, Rowena."

"Black?"

"Yes, Rowena."

"That's so droll."

"I'm old-fashioned."

She looked expectantly at Kalius.  "Black for me, too," he said.

"Some color!"

"A shirt."

Rowena sighed.  "So anachronistic," she said offhandedly.  She walked away, waving her hand in dismissal.  "Two normal black tuxes."

One of the servants put his hand on Kalius' shoulder.  "C'mon, I'll show you your room."