A Scripta

Movin' on up...

2010-06-07T06:55:00.000-04:00

We've moved...to someplace I can access from work.

http://paragoncitytales.net/warwriter/

Final Resting Place

2010-06-02T08:25:00.000-04:00

"Your agent said that Havens is your home, and that this is your resting place."

Grim looked up at the runes over the door, now modified. None shall enter without my permission or they shall be destroyed.

Treated with scorn by everyone, he had finally realized that it wasn't worth beating his head against the wall over and over and over. Raina refused to consider him a leader and was sleeping with LeBeau, which meant only a matter of time before he would be a "leader" and the 'mancers would take over. Lue didn't care for him anymore. Stefan was gone. Kalius hated him. The technomancers hated him. Jack was a lost cause. Shadow said he was done with them, too.

Rusty suggested to concentrate on building up the warehouse, of building the school. He woke up this morning, deciding that was a great idea.

The hell with Havens. The gypsies took over the palace. He handed over the keys and walked out. He pulled the Havens comm out of his ear and tossed it to the ground, stomping it underfoot. If someone really wanted him - which he now doubted - he'd still have his phone. But like a rejected lover, he never expected it to ring from them again.

Time to go find some teachers and students for his school.

The Serpentine War 2: New Intel

2010-05-26T15:34:00.000-04:00

Icy Rage was outside and watched as the body was brought into the compound. Master Li, one of the best swordsmen in Paragon, bested by a mere mage. Rage went over to the body and pulled off the blanket. It had been pierced with multiple spikes - he could see the results of the Copper Serpent venom on the wounds. His uniform had been torn and parts of the flesh beneath torn off as well.

The sorcerer who had been his lookout was slated to be punished. He was already shackled to a post outside, and he would be put in the well later. Icy Rage went over to the man.

His topknot was undone and hung loosely down his back. He wore only his hakama, his socks and sandals lost. The soon-to-be-ex sorcerer looked up at Icy Rage. "What happened, dog?" Icy Rage demanded.

"The Traitor was there, too, with the Crystal Boy - and a woman with an army!"

Rage narrrowed his eyes. "Oh, really."

"They came from out of nowhere. I did everything I could, Master, I used every power I had. They defeated me first, but Master Li was still fighting."

Rage glanced at the body. "So how many were there?"

"The Crystal Boy - he was in black armor and he used black magic that terrified us. The Traitor, he had different magic than the Tsoo, Master Li said so. And the woman was all white, with ghosts who attacked us and disappeared."

Icy Rage tapped his finger against his chin in thought. "Did the Traitor seem to protect the woman?"

"I did not notice, Master."

Rage had heard this Copper Serpent was difficult morally and they had to break him, as happened to most boys at his age. Could it be that after leaving the compound, he had found a woman to attach himself to? Rage nodded to himself, kicked mud on the sorcerer and walked away. Now there were two people they could use against this Traitor.

Icy Rage reported to Tub Ci, and waited outside his office for two hours before being seen. He had not gotten to be the best in his abilities by being impatient. Tub Ci looked at him with lidded eyes. "Is the Traitor dead?"

"No, Master," Icy Rage said with a bow, "though I have new information. I would like to take some of your men and direct them against another person that assisted the Traitor."

"So the Crystal Boy did not kill Master Li?"

"He did not, Master. The Traitor did, with the assistance of a woman who summoned spirits."

Tub Ci tilted his head. "Really."

"That is what the Failed Sorcerer outside said."

"Have Herald Chi Kang tear the image of the woman from his mind and show you all, and then throw him in the well."

"Yes, Master," he said, bowing. He found the Herald in the mess hall, and brought him to the failed sorcerer. Kang looked the man over and gave him a predatory grin. Rage said, "He saw a woman who assisted a traitor of ours. Show him me she is."

The Herald nodded, and put a finger on the sorcerer's temple. The sorcerer tried not to scream, but his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell backwards. Then the Herald turned to Icy Rage and placed his finger on his temple. He got a vision of a woman in revealing costume, with white hair, partially visible, fading in and out of view. Icy Rage didn't really want him to show everyone else, not yet.

Not until he had his moment with her.

Consequences

2010-05-26T15:26:00.001-04:00

((This was retconned - it never happened. However I figured on keeping it here.))

Grim turned over, and looked at Lue's smiling face. "Morning sleepy head," he said with a grin. He whispered the spell and kissed Grim gently.

Grim smiled, putting his arms around him. "I must have been more tired than I thought."

"After last night, they gave me the day off," Lue settled in next to him. "What do you want to do?"

"We can do more research for Blue."

Lue nodded. "I'll go get us some coffee."

"Cream, four sugars."

Lue after another kiss, he walked down to the door of the warehouse, and suddenly got a sharp pain in his chest. It wasn't where his heart was, but it was the place he would feel tugs when the avatar was being used by Grim. He whirled around, and ran back to the bedroom, which suddenly exuded a sickly yellow glow. He ran into the glow and saw Grim in the middle of it, still sitting on the bed, staring at himself. He was beginning to go intangible.

"Grim!" Lue yelled, and ran to him.

Grim reached out his hands to Lue, but they passed through him. "LUE!" he screamed, and slowly faded away.

When Grim was gone, Lue slammed his fists on the bed in pure fury. "Grim..." he sobbed, falling to his knees beside the bed.

Grim looked down and saw he was still sitting and now wearing the gray clothes that he wore when he did reaper work. The world around him was cast in a yellow fog, though he could see his way through it. He was in the middle of a forest. He got up and stretched his black wings. He heard a noise in the brush, and turned toward it. Then another on the other side. Then another. His hand dropped to his belt, but his dagger was gone.

Slowly, angels came out from the trees. They were all in white, all carrying swords. He counted six of them.

"Uh...hi?"

They spoke in unison: "You have brought humans into the spirit world without permission."

"It was an emergency. Somebody else brought one of ours here--"

"They were not to be exposed to this world. They did not all have to come here."

"But--"

All the angels raised their swords and pointed them at him. Grim put his hands up.

"Only one can come with you," said one angel, coming toward him, still holding the sword out. "The one whose heart belongs to you."

Grim nodded. "Okay, look, I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"No," said the angel, "You will not."

They all spoke together, "For a cycle of the moon, you will have pain upon your return from here, to remember that the living are not permitted entry here."

Grim had felt pain before, but nothing like this. It filled his entire body, like someone was sticking knives in him, inside and out. Someone was tearing off his wings, his flesh, his eyes. He couldn't help but scream in agony, and that didn't help things. The pain went on and on, seemingly forever, and then it got worse. He prayed for bliss. He prayed to pass out, but he couldn't. Finally, either it abated or he got used to it, he couldn't tell which, and he slowly felt the coolness of stone on his face. He slowly moved sideways, moaning from the leftover pain.

He heard someone bounding up the stairs, and felt Lue skid to the floor next to him. "Beloved! Are you all right?"

"Pain..." he moaned. "Everywhere."

Lue started drawing a pain blocking rune on his temple. Grim screamed and writhed, slamming his head on the stone floor. Lue stopped and tried to hold him down to withdraw the rune. He finally did, and Grim calmed, breathing heavily. Lue held him, rocking him, as the pain subsided, though it seemed to take a very long time. Finally, Grim could speak coherently, and told Lue what had happened. Lue clenched his jaw. "Again, you suffer for them!"

"I honestly didn't think, it was all my fault--"

"They should share this pain with you. But they wouldn't. I would ."

Grim shook his head. "I don't want you to, love. It's only for a month. I'll be okay. I can't die from it." He looked up at Lue. "Just hold me when it happens?"

Lue held him tight. "I will. Always."

The Serpentine War 1: A Summons

2010-05-25T09:34:00.000-04:00

Tub Ci steepled his hands below his chin and regarded the five men standing before him. “Gentlemen, we have a problem.”

The men stood perfectly still. All of them looked like sorcerers, with the long gown-like hakama, some with shirts, others without and proudly exposing their yazuka tattoos. They were more than sorcerers, but warriors with some sorcerer abilities, and five of the best from all over Paragon and beyond.

"I have summoned you here because we have a traitor that needs to be destroyed."

"A traitor!" snarled Red Mist, "I will tear his soul from his body."

"I expect you do to more than that." He put his hands down. "He has taken down my gambling dens, he has attacked and killed many of my men in Steel Canyon, Talos Island, and Independence Port. And now, his most recent offense..." He pulled out a piece of paper and passed it across his desk.

Mr. Po, one of the Dragonfly, picked it up. His eyes widened. "This is...one of our basic spells! Translated into English!"

Others peered over his shoulder, and Red Mist tore it out of Po's hand. "This is a sacrilege!"

Icy Rage said quietly, "He must be more than destroyed. He must be made an example of."

Tub Ci said, "Him, and his sidekick, a Crystal Boy."

A couple of the men chuckled, knowing that meant it would be easier to get to main target. Take out the support, and then the target would be alone. The others looked angry - to associate with a gay man, a so-called "crystal boy", was worse than marrying your sister. Homosexuality was very taboo among the Hmong, and even worse among the Triads, where men were expected to be men, and not effeminate weaklings.

"The Crystal Boy has been passing these out in Steel Canyon. I want one of you to follow him, and then lay in wait for him. You will attack and destroy him and these pamphlets. Who will go?"

"I will," said Master Li, drawing his swords with a bow and presenting them lengthwise to Tub Ci. "He will have no chance against me."

Tub Ci nodded. "He's just a simple summoner from what I understand, who can do nothing without assistance." He looked to the other men. "The rest of you will have your chance against Lue Xiong, who shall be known from now on among us as The Traitor Serpent."

Push

2010-05-21T09:53:00.003-04:00

Grim came out of the spring waterfall drying his hair when he heard someone banging on the barn doors. The sound echoed throughout the tomb. Lue came out of the bedroom, straightening the shirt that he just pulled on. "Who's that?"

Grim wrapped the towel around his waist. "I'll go see. Whoever it is will leave when they see me in just a towel."

Lue put a hand out and stopped him. "I'll go." Grim watched him go down the hall, a spike extending from his palm as he walked. Lue went up the stairs, while Grim ran into the bedroom and at least pulled on a pair of shorts.

They banged again, and Lue and Grim heard clearly, "Police, open up!"

Lue stopped at the foot of the stairs. Grim had the shorts on and dashed down the hall. "No, Lue!"

Slowly, the spike retracted as he went up the stairs. Grim ran up the stairs on the other side, but Lue was at the door already, his hand on the handle. He pushed it open - it creaked on its hinges. "Can I help you?"

"Where's LeBonte?"

"Why?"

"We need to speak with him. Please step aside."

Grim went to the door. "Let him in, Lue."

Lue stepped back, and a short man in a brown trench coat came in, followed by a woman in typical Psi-Corps regalia. Grim peered outside when they came in. "What, no SWAT team?"

"Sorry to disappoint," said the man with a small chuckle. Grim closed the door behind them. Lue had moved between Grim and the cops. "Got anyplace we can sit down?"

"Sure." Grim directed them down the stairs to a bench. Lue took a position against the wall, and Grim stood next to him, while the two cops sat down. "You're obviously not here to arrest me because you would have done that by now."

"Right," said the man. "I'm Detective Fergus MacBride, and this is my partner Detective Judith Harris. We're here to ask you about something."

Harris said, "Do I have permission to enter your mind to show you some images?"

Grim blinked. "Uh, sure..."

She nodded, and then Grim's mind's eye focused on a scene with a dead and bloody body lying in the grass, a look of total shock on his face. Next to the body, burnt into the grass, was a near-perfect replica of Grim's face. Grim blanched - this looked so much more real than the pictures Jack had showed him. Lue looked at him concerned.

"Okay, stop."

The images stopped abruptly. Grim took a deep breath. "Are you okay?" Lue asked, after whispering the spell and putting a hand on Grim's arm.

"Yeah, just...you were there, huh?"

"Yes," said Harris. "We were called in as investigators."

MacBride said, "So you obviously didn't kill her, because you're smarter than that. But what do you know about it?"

"The short answer? It was done by a pissed-off psychic alien."

"Where is this alien now?"

"We have her locked up. The one who made her is taking total responsiblity."

The two detectives looked at each other. Harris only nodded. MacBride looked up at Grim. "I'm sorry, but this is our jurisdiction now. You can't seem to handle this, and ten murders were committed in Paragon City. The perpetrator needs to be brought to justice."

"We can take care of it," Grim said, bristling.

"Is it here?" MacBride asked.

"No, it's in Safe Havens. I think. Unless Shadow took it to some other dimension."

MacBride got up. "Safe Havens isn't in the place it was."

"I know. Let me get you a keycard to get there." Grim went back to the bedroom, and returned with two green keycards. "Use these at any portal. It's in another dimension. Don't worry, you can get back here without a problem."

Harris asked, "Why is it in another dimension?"

"Security reasons. Our enemies are legion."

Lue said, "Their enemies."

MacBride and Harris glanced at Lue, who was looking at Grim. Grim avoided Lue's eyes and focused on the two cops. "You'll have to talk to Jack or Raina Whitney. They're co-leaders of the group right now."

"Got it," MacBride said, and they started up the stairs. "Don't skip town, LeBonte."

"I don't plan on it."

They left the building, and Lue walked over to Grim. "Grim."

Grim turned to look at Lue, "Yeah?"

"You're going to get in trouble over them again. Will they stand behind you?"

Grim couldn't look at Lue. They both knew the answer - it was, at the very least, I don't know. Lue whispered the spell and took Grim by the chin, lifting his head up. Lue said firmly, "I will stand behind you. Always."

Wake Up Call

2010-05-19T16:49:00.001-04:00

Grim sat bolt upright in bed, a scream stuck in his throat. Lue woke up immediately, spines extended.

"God, oh, God..." He put his head in his hands. "Oh God..."

Lue retracted his spines, whispered the spell and touched Grim's thigh. "What, love?"

"Another job from Hades." Grim whispered the spell and kissed Lue, then got out of bed. He glanced at the clock - it was 4:30 a.m.

"Love, you don't have to do this anymore."

Grim turned to Lue as he grabbed Scythe. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you do this to protect Kalius from being claimed by Hades?"

"Yes."

"You said yesterday you don't love him anymore."

"But I don't want to see him dead."

Lue frowned.

Grim went over to him and caressed his cheek. "I still care about him enough to want to help him. If having to fetch souls and bring them to their assorted afterlifes every once in a while is payment for that, then it's okay."

"They do not know what a generous man they have in you," Lue said.

"Lue, if you want me to stop associating with them..."

"I do, but I won't tell you to."

"I'll wait until they tell me not to."

"They never will. They'll keep using you."

Grim's eyes danced. "We'll see." He kissed him again. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Lue watched Grim leave, then lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Oh, Grim," he sighed sadly.

Jeffrey Glick stumbled out of his car. Working third shift at the hospital in maintenance sucked, but at least it paid the bills and he could sleep in relative quiet during the day. He climbed up the four flights to his apartment and fumbled with the keys at the door. Seven a.m., he was so fucking tired, all he wanted to do was fall into bed with his wife, just a quick kiss and conversation while he undressed, and then she would get up and he would pass out.

He opened the door, dropped his knapsack on the couch where he usually put it, and passed the kitchen. The clock on the stove was blinking - the power must have gone out some time during the night. He turned the corner and looked into his bedroom. He stopped short.

There was a large lump in the bed. This lump was a lot bigger than his wife. This lump also had short curly black hair, as opposed to his wife's long brown, and the broad back was dark brown instead of milky white.

His mind slowly registered that another man was sleeping in his bed. He looked back at the kitchen and his eye fell upon the knife rack. No, something faster than that, something that won't miss. He turned back to the bedroom, and focused on the nightstand near the door. He walked quietly to the nightstand and slowly pulled out the drawer, then pulled out the S&W 9mm and the magazine next to it. He stood in the doorway and shoved the magazine in, flipping off the safety. Holding the gun tightly against his side, he walked back out of the room, making plenty of noise.

The lump in the bed stirred, and he saw there were two lumps moving. "Ah, babe," said the brown lump. He heard a wet kiss. Then his wife: "Oh, shit, the power went off, look at the clock!" The brown lump rumbled, "I hope that we're not too late."

He turned over in bed and saw Jeffery standing across the hall, the gun pointed right at him. "Oh, fuck," he uttered, his eyes wide.

"Jeffrey!" yelled his wife. "I can explain!"

Jeffrey didn't even see her, his eyes focused entirely down the barrel of the gun. Jeffrey had done enough target shooting with his father. He knew what he was doing. The brown man moved slowly, as to not startle him, and stood up. "Hey, man, look, I'm sorry. I'll jus' get my clothes an'--"

Jeffrey was prepared for the small kickback of the pistol and rocked back with it, but kept his arms straight and steady. The shot went true, right into the man's chest with an armor piercing bullet - his father always said, pack armor that you know will kill an intruder because you often had only one shot. This blew a hole out the man's back that he could very well put his fist through, and it blew gore all over his wife. She stared at it, and started to scream.

"Shut up, slut!" Jeffrey yelled, and swung the gun in her direction. He pulled the trigger without thinking, and the upper left side of her head blew off.

The man was no longer breathing. Jeffrey aimed the gun down and walked over to a pair of jeans hung over his computer desk's chair. He pulled out the wallet and got his name, Brian Simone, same address as this building, different floor. Jeffrey looked at the two bodies on the bed.

"You know," said a voice behind him, "I would have done the same thing."

Jeffrey turned around and saw a blond man in gray, with black wings folded against his back.

"I'll give you a choice. If you live, you go to jail, maybe get executed, maybe not, depends on the jury. If you die, you go to Hades and wander eternally. What are you going to do?"

Jeffrey looked at the bodies again. He looked up at the gray man. "I want to live."

He heard a "snickt" and saw that the man took his hand away from a knife at his belt. "As you wish. Better call 911."

He walked over to the phone and saw that he still had his gun in his hand. He put it down next to the phone and dialed. "911, what is the nature of your emergency?"

He glanced behind him, but the gray man was gone. He took a deep breath and said, "I shot someone."

((Inspired by Wake Up Call by Maroon 5))

Bride Price: OOC: Sources

2010-05-18T10:52:00.000-04:00

Names:

The Hmong have only a certain amount of names to choose from. There are 18-19 clan names and a small number of traditional first names for boys and girls. Because of this, there could commonly be more than one Lue Xiong in the same village. Therefore, many times, they are given nicknames or are called "So and so’s father's son/daughter" to differentiate them.

Once a woman is married, she assumes her husband’s name and is considered part of the husband’s clan, and is then publicly called "Wife of –" (The same word means "aunt"). Her husband is usually the only one who calls her by her original first name.

Sources:
Wikipedia: Hmong Customs.
http://www.cal.org/co/hmong/hlaos.html

Blackie – Lue’s father
He’s considered uncaring about the rest of the family and its customs and has "a black heart".

Jumping Tiger – Xang, Lue’s cousin
He is a highly competitive martial artist.

Sparky – Teng, Lue’s cousin
He’s an electrician by trade.

Cuisine:

The weird food you hear people eating in Third World countries is common in the markets. Fried grasshoppers, moths, boiled goat heads, roasted fetal pig is not unusual. The Hmong and Lao both consider glutinous rice to be a staple of a meal, such as bread with Westerners, and are usually eaten at all meals of the day. Breakfast and lunch are often the same type of meal, with dinner after sundown.

The most popular beverages are beer and coffee. Beer is drunk at all hours. Coffee is usually served in glasses at room temperature, with a layer of sweetened condensed milk at the bottom.

Desserts are mostly packaged and very sweet.

Wikipedia: Hmong/Laos cuisine
http://www.tamnaklao.net/mains.php

Bride Price 7: Final Adieu

2010-05-17T22:57:00.001-04:00

Lue and Grim were sitting across from each other at a coffee shop just down the street, when Lue finally spoke. "They wanted to use me. Just like at home."

Lue looked so forlorn, that Grim just wanted to hold him. Instead, he glanced around to see if anyone was noticing and took Lue's hand and squeezed it. He looked up at Grim, his eyes sad.

"Oh, love," Grim whispered, a hitch in his voice. Grim wanted to take the pain in his eyes away. He held onto Lue's hand with both of his own, no longer caring who saw. "After this, we'll go back to the house and pack, and practice some of the things Thao taught us?"

Lue squeezed Grim's fingers wrapped around his hand. "I know what you're trying to do, Grim." Grim pulled Lue's hand to him and kissed his knuckles. That got a slight smile out of Lue. He said quietly, "You're the only person I can trust."

Grim smiled and kissed his hand again. "I love you." He released Lue's hand, though Lue didn't pull it back immediately. "We have five hours until the flight. I still want to at least see the deep-fried grasshoppers."

Lue sat back with a gentle smile, "All right, all right. Finish your coffee, we'll go to the market."

For once, it wasn't raining. They had to pass by the house on the way. Lue and Grim glanced toward it, and saw more cars parked in front. They looked at each other. "No," Lue said, and kept on walking toward the market.

Although he started looking through the wares there, Grim was preoccupied with how to avoid a confrontation. He got to see the grasshoppers - they looked like french fries, too. They really didn't taste that bad - they were crunchy like the moths, without the papery aftertaste. Lue also picked up some red-colored strings of what smelled like some sort of meat. Grim regarded Lue, "Okay, what're these, worms?"

Lue laughed, "No, they're fried pig intestines."

Grim took one - it had the rubbery consistency of fried calimari and the spiciness of black pepper. "Do you guys deep fry Twinkies, too?"

"They probably would if they had them," Lue said, eating more. Then, lastly, Lue picked up one more thing - chunks of cold shiny red meat in a thick red sauce. He also got a side of more hot sauce, which Grim could tell was hot because he saw the pepper seeds floating around in it. Lue sat with Grim and plucked a piece off the plate with his chopsticks. He offered it to Grim. Grim reached for the chopsticks, but Lue said, "Go on, I'll give it to you."

Grim smiled, and let Lue feed it to him. It had the consistency of liver; it was smooth and slimy, and pretty much tasteless. Lue took a piece for himself and dipped it in the ever-present hot sauce. "Okay, what was that?"

"Blood bouillon."

"Blood?"

"Yes." Lue motioned to the hot sauce with his chopsticks. "Want to try it with this? It's got some taste."

Grim's stomach roiled, but he swallowed. Lue watched him, concerned. "I'll be all right," he said. "I've had blood pudding before, this is just, well, different."

"It's cold, for one," Lue said, taking another piece. "We're getting you a set of chopsticks so you can learn how to eat properly." He grinned.

"You're the barbarians, you don't even use forks!" Grim hit Lue's shoulder playfully. "Yeah, let me try it with the sauce."

Lue smiled and fed him again, lightly dipping it into the hot sauce. "Better," Grim said. "You can have the rest."

Lue finished it. "Can't wait until you get home and have a regular cheeseburger?"

"With pizza and a Coke."

Lue chuckled. He pulled out a huge wad of bills. "We still have a lot of kip left. I want to get a few pounds of chilies because I like these better than the ones at home."

"And the chopsticks."

"Right." They headed off into the market and got five pounds of chilies. Next they went away from the food stalls and toward the other part of the market, where there were assorted wares for sale. There was plenty of jewelry, silver and gold bangles and earrings, bolts of brightly colored fabric, along with scarves and sashes, pipes and Buddha statues. Grim saw a tapestry hanging up that he liked - a blue square of cloth with people and animals sewn throughout it. The woman saw him admiring it, and immediately extolled the virtues of the piece, explaining that it was a Paj Ntaub Tib Neeg or a story cloth. It illustrated Teng Chu, the son of the first man, putting up the sun in the sky. Lue saw that Grim liked it, so he started to haggle. Lue got her down to a reasonable price, and Grim happily took it.

Next they got a leather-like box with a pair of chopsticks. They were onyx and red, with symbols of good taste and fortune along the side. Lue again bargained. Grim stood and watched Lue, smiling. Grim took the chopsticks from him after he bought them. "You're good," Grim said, and smiled warmly.

Lue blushed slightly. They walked on a little more, while Lue counted out the kip. Grim stopped at another booth and saw a set of wooden bowls. However, they were colored like marble, with light wood and dark wood intertwined. "Lue," Grim said, "we can get these for your grandfather."

Lue slowly smiled and sidled up to Grim, close enough to get in his space without touching him. "That sounds nice."

This time, Grim haggled. Grim didn't do such a good job. Lue complimented him, anyway. They handed over the rest of their kip - even though it was more than what Grim had haggled for. Eventually they started to the house. The cars were still there.

"I can create a fog," Lue said.

"And I'll make the house look dark from the outside while we pack."

Lue nodded. He made some hand signs and they started up the path. Grim peeked into one of the cars and grabbed Lue's sleeve. One of the men in the back seat had a pistol lying across his lap. Lue pulled Grim to the house, and they went inside. Grim hissed, "They're going to try to kill you!"

"Both of us," Lue said angrily. He looked torn - should he go outside and wipe them all out, or should he avoid the confrontation? Lue stared at the door, waiting for an answer.

All Grim could see was Lue leaving behind a path of blood as he went down the street. And then they'd have to get past the police, and the resulting manhunt, and how would they get on a plane? If they travelled back on their own, they needed to somehow cross the ocean, and it could take a week. No, it did not bode well. Grim put a hand on Lue's shoulder, "Please, love, let's just get out of here."

Lue's shoulders slumped. Grim knew that wasn't the answer he wanted, but it was the safest one for now. If they were closer to home, it might have been different - Grim would have let him do it under the cover of darkness. Finally, Lue turned to Grim and nodded slowly. The men packed up quickly. Lue created the fog again and stepped out of the front door. "We'll go down a few blocks and call a taxi," Lue said quietly.

Grim stayed well within the fog, as they both slunk past the cars and down the street. There was a pay phone there, and Lue called for a taxi. The taxi came in twenty minutes, and, of course, had to drive by the house to get to the airport. Grim pulled Lue down against his protests and held him there on the back seat.

Grim swore he would never come to this country ever again.

Bride Price 6: Showtime

2010-05-17T06:52:00.002-04:00

Grim had closed his eyes and the next thing he saw was sunrise. Lue had also fallen asleep in his arms and was breathing deeply. He awoke moments later, even though Grim hadn't moved. "We...fell asleep," Lue said groggily.

"Fully dressed," Grim said and yawned. It was getting hot in the room again. "Dammit, is it ever cool around here?"

Lue made a couple of hand signs while they still lay there and a constant breeze flowed across both of them. Grim smiled and hugged Lue. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Lue looked up at the clock and lay his head back down with a groan. "Seven-thirty..."

"Three and a half hours to showtime."

"Must you remind me?"

Grim kissed Lue's hair. "What are you going to tell them, love?"

"I'm sure it's already been told."

Grim looked at the ceiling. "Oh." As he usually did, Grim searched for a way to make him happy by distracting him with humor. "Hey, can we go back to that market again? I want to try the grasshoppers."

Lue chuckled, saying, "I'd much rather stay here." He snuggled against him for emphasis.

"We can order out."

"At seven-thirty in the morning?"

"C'mon, you guys have running water, you don't have 24 hour delivery service?"

"We don't have that at home either."

"Which goes to show the necessity of it! I should tell Rorri."

Lue shook his head, chuckling. "Grim, I love you."

"I love you too, Lue." Lue raised his head, and looked with longing at Grim.

They discovered that the bed was sturdier than it looked.

=======================

Tao Xiong paced. Long Cha, the bride's father, looked worried. Mee Cha sat with her mother and two younger sisters in an adjacent room, oblivious to what was going on. Rumors had reached Long that Lue had arrived from America, which threw all the plans in disarray. Originally, the four negotiators would come together - two from the bride's and two from the groom's - have a few drinks, and negotiate the bride price and the dowry. What was to be exchanged was a mere formality, and an excuse to have a party. A wedding would be performed in absentium and Lue would be informed by mail that he now had a wife. He was honor-bound to accept her.

Now, it was all wrong. Lue was here, and he was going to refuse her. That part of the rumor mercifully did not reach Long Cha, though Tao wouldn't be surprised if it was making its way through the guests right now, and it would only be a matter of time before Long would come up to him demanding what was going on.

At five of noon, the door to the hall opened. Teng and Xang should have been the ones standing there, ready to begin negotiations. Instead, it was Lue and his alien friend, Kim. A collective gasp came over most of the hall, as the two men walked side by side down the aisle that was created, heading toward the booth at the end of the bar, where Cha's negotiators now stood to greet them. Both men were dressed formally, as was expected, and both of them looked very serious.

Lue walked by Tao, heading right to the booth. He whispered something to Kim, who stood back as Lue continued up the three steps to the booth. Lue said, in a clear voice, "I wish to speak to Mee Cha." It wasn't lost by the assembly that he didn't call her "my bride".

Long Cha looked at the negotiators, who were looking at him. One of them turned and went to the room the women were in. Kim stood alone in the middle of the floor, his hands behind his back, waiting. The door to the other room opened and a young, pretty girl came out. She looked about Lue's age, with raven black hair and gentle brown eyes. Lue wasn't wrong in saying that she was a kind person, because she exuded that sort of aura about her. She smiled at Lue. "Lue Xiong! They said you'd come here." She smiled happily. She was probably expecting a ragamuffin, and instead saw a very handsome man.

"Mee Cha," he replied with a small smile. Mee came forward and hugged him. He returned the hug, then held her at arm's length. "I must tell you something."

The smile faded slightly.

"I'm sorry, but I must refuse this marriage."

"Wh..." The entire hall gasped again, and Grim saw that some women had put their hands over their mouths in shock. Mee's smile totally disappeared. Grim watched Tao turn from the scene and head toward the bar. "Wh...why?"

"I am a hero in Paragon City, in America. I am a hunted man there. I won't have the time to devote to you, nor will I be able to protect you. Your life will be in constant danger. I cannot be responsible for that."

She looked ready to burst into tears. "You won't take me to America?"

Lue stared at her, stunned, and so did Grim. Grim whispered, "Son of a bitch."

Lue whirled and faced Tao, "Is that what this marriage was about, for me to take her to America?"

Tao said, a drink in his hand, still standing at the bar, "That was the bride price."

Lue's eyes were dark; Grim knew that meant fury. He took a deep breath and turned back to Mee. "I am sorry you were caught in the middle of this and mislead--"

"I want to go to America! And bring my family!"

Grim said quietly, "You're making this worse, honey..."

Lue said coldly to her, "That's not going to happen, at least not with me." He turned from her and headed back down the stairs, going to the door.

It was then that he saw Xang and Teng, along with some of the men from last night flanking them. Teng stepped forward. "You want to know the real reason, Mee?"

Grim started a spell that would cause him to lose his voice for half an hour. Lue heard him and put a hand on his arm, shaking his head.

"He likes men."

That caused an audible gasp in the room. Lue waited for some time then folded his arms and regarded Teng. "Are you finished?"

Teng was slightly taken aback. He was probably expecting Lue to adamantly deny it, or at least start an argument. He was ready for that. He wasn't ready for Lue's cold acceptance of the accusation. Teng blinked. Lue nodded his head toward the door, and Grim followed.

"Coward!" yelled Xang.

Lue turned around. "You are the real cowards. At least I have the bravery to follow my heart." Lue summoned a wind to throw open the doors before them, and both of them walked out.

Bride Price 5: Pedále

2010-05-16T15:17:00.001-04:00

As he flew, Grim let the rain cover him in a shield, about a couple of centimeters away from his body, like a second skin. He had warmed it up to his body temperature, so it wasn't cold and he could barely feel the drops. His head was full of the water knowledge, how to pull it from the very air and everything around him, how to manipulate it, warm it, change it into steam or ice, how to make it disperse in a violent explosion, how to part a lake or hold back a wave, how to create a tsunami and a localized storm, and how disperse them all. Thao alluded that anything liquid could be manipulated like this.

Including blood, which gave Grim all sorts of ideas.

He also alluded that this was only part of his knowledge, and he would share as time would go by. But he believed he wasn't much longer for this world. Grim, in all his honesty, silently agreed. However, Grim did leave Thao with a rune: the rune of liquid refill, which he thoroughly enjoyed with his Lao Lao - fermented rice wine.

They landed two blocks away from the house. It was dark again, Saturday night at midnight, and both of them were exhausted mentally and physically. They walked slowly to the house, and saw were a few cars parked in front of it, people gathered at the stoop. Grim could see well in the dark, and Lue could sense shadows, so both men stopped at the same time half a block away.

"We have a welcoming committee," Grim said.

Lue peered and Grim watched him close his fist to extend a long spine out of his knuckles. "Let's go see."

The men walked slowly, and the people started moving down from the stoop. Grim counted ten. More came out of cars. He counted six more. Lue kept his hand at his side. "What's wrong, Xang? I defeated you so now you've brought some friends?"

"We know why you can't marry Mee Cha. You're a homo."

Grim's translator changed the French word pedále into homo. Grim guessed there was no Hmong word for homosexual. Grim watched Lue for a reaction. Then someone grabbed Grim's arms from behind and yanked him back, away from Lue. Lue with a roar immediately exploded into spikes, and moved like a whirlwind, stabbing Xang straight through. Grim for his part yelled a spell that cast the entire block into pure inky blackness, with a howling of angry spirits all around them for additional effect. He was released, so he turned, seeing easily in the dark, and cast tentacles to hold three men down.

Meanwhile he heard men screaming as Lue let loose. Grim reached for the ley line - he was going to be doing some healing tonight. It wasn't as pure as the one near Thao's house, but it would have to do.

Grim pulled the darkness up like a curtain, and five men lay bleeding at Lue's feet. Three men were frozen in fright in tentacles. The rest of them were running blindly away. Lue was crouched over the bleeding men, not even winded, his venom dripping on them, but not causing them any further harm than the spikes had. Grim walked into Lue's line of sight. "Let me take care of them, love," he said quietly.

Lue stood up and nodded slowly, the spikes also slowly sinking into his body. Grim bent to Xang first, healing the hole in his chest, then putting him to sleep. He moved from one to the other, his hands glowing blue, healing as he went along, feeling slightly sick to his stomach as he did because of the taint of the ley line. Lue approached Xang and woke him up, then lifted him up by the front of his shirt. Lue pulled his face very close to his own and made sure that was the first thing Xang would see upon waking.

"Cousin," Lue said coldly. Xang opened his eyes and they went wide. "You are very lucky that Grim is a caring man, because I would have let you bleed to death on this street for daring to touch him." Lue let him go, Xang stumbled and fell. Lue looked around to see Grim finishing up healing the last person. Grim stood up after grounding; he looked pale and shaky. Lue went over to him, putting his arm around him to help him stand. "Are you all right, love?"

"Yeah. Magic isn't so organic here."

Xang had gotten to his feet, and was hugging a car, backing away from them. "You have brought dishonor on your father, your family," he yelled at Lue. "You disgust me!" He jumped into a car, and they let him drive off. The others started slowly returning. They stepped aside as Grim and Lue headed up the path to the door and went into the house. Without putting on the light, Lue went right to the bed. Grim followed, and the two of them held and comforted each other even after they heard the last car drive away.

Bride Price 4: Watermaster

2010-05-15T19:11:00.003-04:00

Now, this is what Grim expected when coming to Laos. They were fifty miles north of Phonmouang, in the "highlands" of Laos. The road had turned into a brown slow-moving stream with banana-shaped boats scattered through it. The water came up to Grim's waist when he landed lightly.

"You're not supposed to go swimming until three hours after eating, love," Lue said, chuckling. The water swirled around him, not touching him.

"Oh, hush." Grim uttered the spell that Lue had taught him and the water also started flowing around him. A boat was coming their way, and the man driving it was waving at them. "Gondala taxi?"

Lue laughed, and waited for the boat to come by them and they climbed in among the freight. There was assorted produce scattered throughout the boat. Lue handed the boatman some money and the two men sat at the his feet while he chatted about the lack of rainy season and the lack of produce. Grim raised an eyebrow - if this was lack of a rainy season, he really didn't want to know what the real rainy season was.

Lue kept his eyes on a lookout. To Grim, all the brown houses on stilts looked the same, but Lue tapped the man's foot and pointed. "That one, right there."

"Ah, you go to see the Watermaster." He looked at Grim. "Is your friend ill?"

"No, we seek his wisdom."

"Ah, that's unusual for those of your generation to look to the elders for guidance."

"Wisdom comes in many forms." Lue looked at Grim and smiled. Grim smiled back.

The boatman left them off pretty much at the door, where a man sat in a rocking chair whittling at some wood. He watched the two men disembark onto the porch of the house. With a final wave, the boatman continued on his way, as Lue turned to the man in the rocking chair. "Greetings, friend," he said, and bowed. Grim copied him. "We come to see Master Thao Pang. Is he available?"

"I'll see. Who comes to visit?"

"Lue Xiong, son of Toua Xiong, grandson of Lang Xiong, great-grandson of Kue Xiong."

The man had got up from the rocking chair. "Come inside," he said. Lue followed him and they stood in a foyer, where it looked like wet clothing was hung up to dry on hooks. Grim kept his hands in his pockets. He reached and touched a ley line very close by, and retreated quickly. This one was much cleaner than the one in the city.

The man returned. "Come with me."

Lue and Grim followed him, and Grim was assaulted by the smell of cigarette smoke. They found themselves in a bedroom, where a really old man sat up propped up on pillows, smoking a cigarette. "Greetings son of Xiong," said the man. "What brings you here?"

"We come for your counsel and guidance, wise one."

He motioned with the cigarette and ashes went all over his blanket. "Sit, sit."

Grim found a chair and Lue sat on the edge of the bed.

"Shut that off, young man," he said to Grim, pointing to the TV. Grim turned it off and sat back down. Thao took a long drag from his cigarette. "Now, what exactly? And what have you brought in payment?"

Lue pulled out a wad of bills and set them before Thao. The shaman didn't even pick it up. "We wish to stop Tub Ci, he is the leader of the Tsoo, a gang of killers in--"

"I know of them," he said. "You are a sorcerer." He pointed to Lue's tattoos. "Many of us know of this Tub Ci. He has gone into the spirit world and taken knowledge from parts of our spirits for his use."

"I know. We must stop him."

"Son of Xiong, the first thing you must do is guard the spirit world from his encroachments." Thao looked at Grim. Grim raised his head. "You and the Soul-Eater."

"I promised to help him," Grim said.

Thao said, "You are joined thrice: by your body, in the spirit, and at the heart. You have no choice, Soul-Eater. Nor you, son of Xiong."

"We need help," said Lue reverently. "We need knowledge of things he does not know. We haven't seen anyone use water-based abilities."

"You wish to learn them."

Lue nodded. "I can make it rain, but Grim, he doesn't know--"

"The Soul-Eater also?" Thao suddenly smiled wickedly. "How badly do you want to learn?"

Grim slowly let a grin spread across his face - this man was challenging him, and he never backed down from a challenge. "As badly as Lue does."

"Do you know what else has water in it that is always in a pouch?"

"Blood."

"Very good."

Thao raised a hand, muttered a spell, and a layer of water appeared on the bed. Grim could feel the air was drier now, but no less hot. The water flowed off, through the slats in the floor, and probably outside. The used cigarettes were gone. Lue, still sitting at the foot of the bed, wasn't even wet. "How long are you here for?"

"Another evening. We fly back home tomorrow night."

"Then I will teach you some things that will help you against Tub Ci. But the Soul-Eater must pay."

"What do you want?" Grim asked. "I can show you some of my magic."

Thao waved his hand absently. "I am too old to learn new magic. Promise me this in payment: Teach this to no one else."

Grim blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"This magic is dangerous in the wrong hands. It should die with me."

Lue looked at Grim. Grim nodded solemnly. "I agree."

The old man threw back the covers. "Then let us begin."

Bride Price 3: Battle for Refusal

2010-05-15T00:52:00.000-04:00

Grim put a hand on Lue's shoulder after they landed. Lue was dry, while Grim was soaked through and had goose pimples. "Dude, I think I need a cheat sheet here."

Lue muttered a spell, and the water flowed off of Grim to puddle at his feet. Grim shivered, and Lue smiled at what the shiver showed through the tank top. "What do you mean?"

"The translator is giving me words instead of names. Like your father's name is Blackie?"

"He is called that because some people have said he has a black heart." Lue stared into Grim's grey eyes. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Of course, love," Grim said. He went to reach out and touch his face, but stopped himself. "Whenever you're ready."

Lue nodded and turned to face a red brick townhouse with only two windows. Grim sighed - another closet, this one with one window.

He didn't even have to knock on the door when it flew open and an angry shirtless young man glared out at them. He was lithe and well-muscled, easily a fighter. "Get in here," he snarled.

Lue again held the door open for Grim. "Nice to see you again, too, Xang."

Xang turned around and glared angrily at Grim. "Who the hell is that?"

"He is my friend from America."

Grim bowed, ignoring the palatable anger in the hallway, "My name is Grim."

"You consort with aliens," Xang growled, "and you look like a hoodlum."

Grim muttered in English, "Maybe you should just hand them a piece of paper explaining things, it'd be a lot faster than repeating yourself."

Beyond Xang in the kitchen was another man, no less angry, but not quite as built as Xang. A few other women and children were gathered in another room watching TV, but obviously eavesdropping, since there wasn't much room for them to go.

Lue had already gone into how he was no longer a member of the gang, and Xang went into how the entire family had planned this and already. "There are 75 people coming to this! You're expected to marry her!"

"You can still have your party, just no wedding," Grim said quietly, and the translation stone picked it up. Xang glared angrily at Grim. Lue slapped Xang's shoulder to get his attention away from Grim. Xang turned at Lue and threw a punch at him. Lue caught it easily and twisted his wrist back. Xang also moved his off hand to hit Lue in the kidney, but Lue caught that one, too.

Lue's jade eyes turned dark green with anger. "Don't," he said coldly. He released Xang's fists.

The other man moved from the other room into the hallway. "Easy, Lue, we're not going to beat you up." Lue glanced at Grim who nodded that he was all right.

Xang stepped back to give himself distance. "So, Lue, you think you can beat me?"

Lue slowly turned his head to face Xang, and Grim stepped back. Lue would explode into spines any second now. "Yes," he said, with a predatory smile. "If I defeat you, you will accept that I will not marry Mee Cha and you will not stop me from refusing her." He looked at the other man. "Both of you."

Xang said, with a cold smile of his own, "And if I do defeat you, the negotiations go on as planned."

"Agreed."

"Come downstairs."

The four men headed into the relative coolness of the cellar. At the bottom of the stairs was what looked like a weight room and a medium sized mat in the middle of the floor. Xang took his position in one corner. Lue kicked off his sandals and Grim picked them up. Grim heard thumping from above them, and watched as the stairs filled with kids who all sat down quietly to watch the proceedings.

There wasn't enough room for them to do much more than circle each other for a moment. Then Lue struck out with his hand, and followed it up with a kick. Xang blocked the hand but didn't see the kick and got hit in the kidney. Then Lue was relentless. Grim slipped into mage sight for a moment, and saw Lue covered in shining layers of green, almost like scales. The tattoos superimposed themselves on the green, the nine-tailed fox he had drawn along with a snake from his back joined together and flowed among the scales. Quickly Lue got Xang down.

Grim blinked and studied the two men in real sight, Lue with one knee on Xang's chest and the other dangerously close to his crotch. "Well?" Lue demanded.

"You can refuse her," Xang snarled.

Grim said, raising his hand, "Excuse me? Can I make a suggestion?"

Lue got up from Xang and held out his hand for him. Xang took it and Lue helped him up. "What, Grim?"

"I think I remember Tao - Right? Tao?" He looked at Lue for confirmation. Lue nodded slightly. "Right, Tao - he said something about a dowry? That's when you pay for the bride, right?"

"The dowry is included in the bride price," Lue explained.

"Why don't you just give her the bride price without marrying her? Let her keep the dowry and be free to marry someone else."

"That's an insult!" roared Xang.

"Okay, look, I'm sorry!" Grim held his hands up and backed away.

Xang turned to Lue. "Did you tell him nothing of our ways?"

"He is only trying to help," Lue said. "I follow the traditions to a certain point."

"So long as it is convenient for you. What's the real reason you don't want to marry her?"

Grim said quickly, "He has someone in America."

Lue flushed brightly, and Xang stared at Lue. "An alien?"

"Yeah," Grim answered for him.

Xang sighed in frustration and headed to the stairs. The kids all jumped up and climbed back up the stairs. Xang looked at the other man while the kids moved. "Teng, he doesn't need negotiators. Tell my cousin and his mouthpiece to leave my home." He stormed up the stairs.

Teng looked sorrowfully at Lue. "You heard him."

"I did." Grim handed Lue his sandals and they trudged up the stairs, then quietly left. Lue stood out in the rain in the middle of the path to the door, not bothering to utter a spell to keep himself dry.

Grim embraced him. "Lue," he said, and kissed him. Lue put his arms around Grim, returning the kiss. Grim stepped back for a moment, blinking away rain drops. Lue put a hand on Grim's cheek and pulled the water off both of them. "Say, what about that guy you wanted to see?"

"Thao Pang?"

"Yeah, we can go get some lunch and then go find him."

"Sounds good." The two men separated and started walking down the path. Neither of them noticed the two women and child staring out the window at them.

Bride Price 2: Family genes

2010-05-14T09:48:00.001-04:00

Lue knocked on the door of a wooden pagoda house. Although slightly fancier than the one they were using, it wasn't much bigger. Grim wondered why people liked to live in closets.

An older woman opened the door and peered through the screen at him. Lue smiled. "Aunt Tao Xiong, remember me?"

"Lue Xiong?" she asked. "Blackie's son?"

Lue's smile faded. "Yes." Grim tilted his head at the direct translation - he thought Lue's father would have had a normal name, but this was obviously a nickname.

She scoffed. "We didn't honestly expect you to come." She looked him up and down. "We thought you would have stood her up."

"I have more honor than that," Lue said coldly.

"You have more honor than your father, that's for certain." She shoved open the door. "Well, come in." Lue held the door open for Grim and they stepped out of the rain into the already sweltering room. The woman moved through the house calling, "Tao, Blackie's son is here."

"Really?" Lue and Grim found themselves in a doorway to a small living room with a TV.

An older man sat there, a man with dark hair and equally dark eyes. "Uncle Tao," said Lue, and bowed respectfully. Grim looked from the man to the woman, slightly confused. They both had the same name? "Please meet my friend, Grimaulkin."

Grim turned to the man and also bowed. "They call me Grim."

"Kim," said Tao with a nod, then looked at Lue. "So, what did you bring for Mee Cha?"

"I am not marrying her, uncle."

Tao gazed at him. "This has been arranged since you were born in America. You are both of the same age and are of different clans as expected--"

"Uncle, I can't."

"Why not?" the man thundered. Grim stared at him - he was pretty loud for a small guy.

"I love another."

"Love doesn't have anything to do with it!" Tao yelled. The woman stood behind the two men, her arms folded with a very disapproving look on her face. "Status, and ability to provide children, and to continue the family line is what it has to do with it!"

"Uncle, believe me when I tell you, I cannot father children."

"Says who! Western doctors? They don't know anything! A shaman can find that part of your soul and bring it back to you, and you will be able to father many children on her. I'll even pay for it!"

Lue looked up at him, his jade eyes flashing. "I said no, I will not marry her."

"You're just as insolent as your father! Look at you, covered in tattoos like a Triad member. Is this what's in America, becoming the member of a gang?"

Grim was already angry, and the gauge had just gone up to furious. He clenched his fists at his sides and knew he was exuding the dark pitch aura of fear. It wouldn't take much to push it at this man, to make him cower screaming on his couch, as Grim would stand over him and pummel him with visions of pure horror...

"I am not a member of a gang anymore," Lue said quietly.

"Which Triad are you a member of, Lue? Or is that your name? Did you choose a different name now that you're in a gang?"

"I am not a member of a Triad, uncle," Lue said more forcefully. Grim's gauge went from furious to livid. Grim took two steps and Lue held his hand out to stop him.

Tao nodded to Grim. "Is he your enforcer?"

"Stop it!" Grim commanded. He glared at Tao, and Tao whirled his head to stare at Grim. "You have no idea - NONE - of what he's gone through the last couple of months. He left his gang, his clan, his family! They tried to hunt him down! His own brother tried to KILL him!"

"You left your clan?" Tao turned to Lue.

"I had to, uncle. They all fell under the spell of Tub Ci, who commands a gang called the Tsoo."

Grim could only hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Tao looked at Grim for a moment, then back at Lue. "And they did this to you?" He motioned to Lue's tattoos.

"Yes," he said quietly.

"My father must have been angry with you."

"He is not."

Tao didn't question that any further, because then it would have gone into the mystical, and Lue had already told Grim he really didn't want to go into explaining that to members of his family. "You still honor him?"

"I honor all my ancestors, uncle."

Tao glanced away and squeezed past them to a small room off to the side. Set up kitty-corner was a rickety table with burning candles and assorted things on them. Grim looked at Lue, who was smiling. "You have grandfather's wallet."

"One of them." Tao handed the wallet to Lue, who took it reverently and went through it. "He gave it to me before leaving for America."

Grim backed out of the room, feeling that this wasn't his place. He turned and was in the face of the woman-Tao. He smiled at her. She did not smile back. Grim side-stepped and took his place in the doorway of the TV room while the woman watched him warily. Grim stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned against the doorway.

Lue and his uncle talked in low tones, and he heard "Kim". Finally, the woman looked at Grim. "I am making some coffee."

Grim watched as she turned from him and went to the stove and started up an old-fashioned percolator. Grim smiled at the retro moment, launched off the doorway and walked a little closer to her. "Do you need any help?" he asked.

"I've been making coffee for longer than you've been alive."

Grim spread his hands. "My apologies."

Lue came out of the room and gave Grim a small wink. The female-Tao looked at the male-Tao. "Mai," said Tao to her, "please serve our guests."

Mai started taking out plates and some cookies out of packages, and pulled down three glasses. Tao made a motion to a chair at Grim and he sat down. Tao said to him, "Kim, so how do you know Lue?"

"When he left his clan, he came to our home. We helped him against the Tsoo."

Lue said, "Mostly Grim did." Mai set a glass of dark brown liquid before him. At the bottom of the glass was some carmel-colored liquid. He said thank you, but she gave no indication that she heard.

Tao sipped his glass. "You will be coming to the negotiations?" he asked Grim.

Grim looked at Lue. Lue said, "Uncle..."

"I know, I know, that's what you've said. But you haven't seen her since you were children."

"That does not matter. I've made my decision."

Grim sipped his liquid; it was coffee, similar to Jack's version of coffee, but much sweeter. It was also much cooler than normal coffee, but not ice cold. He could get used to it.

Tao merely sighed. "Her family is not going to like this."

"I know, which is why I will make my intentions known before them all."

Grim glanced around and saw that Mai had disappeared. Tao was continuing, "Your cousins Xang and Teng would have been your negotiators. If you want this man to be one instead, you will have to teach him some of our traditions quickly."

"We're not even going to get to the negotiations." Lue set his glass down. "I am going to refuse her immediately."

Grim was quiet as Lue told Tao about the family in America, about Tub Ci and what he had done to them. He left out key parts - such as what he himself had gone through to satisfy his father, his clan, and the Tsoo. He left out killing Zhao, saying only that he had been killed in a gang fight. He left out his war versus the Tsoo and the details. Tao for his part went into the health and welfare of Lue's multitude of cousins and uncles and aunts. Grim realized that most of Lue's family had remained in Laos for different reasons, most of them having to do with not wanting to be tainted by American life. However many of the new generation were striving to go to America.

Speaking of which, the phone rang and Mai appeared from seemingly nowhere to answer it. "Naim," she said to Tao, "It is Jumping Tiger."

"Xang," he explained to Grim, "It's Tao's third son, and he's two years older than me."

Grim nodded, and Tao took the phone. "Yes. Blackie's son is here. No one is more suprised than I. He is refusing her. I explained. You want to explain? I'll send him to you." Tao handed the phone back to Mai. "Jumping Tiger wants to see you."

Lue said, "I have made my decision - "

"Well you're going to have to explain to him and Sparky why." He nodded to Grim. "And figure out which one your friend is replacing."

Lue sighed and got up. "Might as well get this over with now." Grim followed, and then Lue hugged Tao. "I will see you tomorrow."

Tao nodded. Grim bowed and followed Lue back out into the rain. Lue nodded toward an alleyway, and they took off again, heading west.

Bride Price 1: Arrival and Market

2010-05-13T12:54:00.000-04:00

Grim and Lue stepped out of the airport and headed to a taxi. The clock said 10:00, it was pitch dark and more humid than he's ever been in. They had spent most of Thursday on a cramped plane. The ride to Hamburg wasn't bad, but he hated Bangkok Airways; even though the stewardesses were cute, that didn't detract from the constant up-and-down motion of the plane all the way to Vientiane, the capital city of Laos.

Lue greased the palm of a guard at customs who questioned the syringe of milky liquid in the luggage, and there were no other questions after that. Grim fingered the blue tourmaline translation necklace, one of four he had packed. He was tempted that maybe, after they got home, he would actually get a translation tattoo.

Lue told him the destination, his cousin's house in Phonmouang, about half an hour away. Grim sighed, sliding into the air-conditioned taxi. "Why didn't you tell me the air was going to be chewy?"

Lue laughed. "I did forget about that," he said.

"I'm going to melt, Lue."

"I will summon some breezes for you, love."

Grim chuckled and watched the scenery go by. There were a lot of wood pagoda-like houses; but it was an intense city, not quite as modernized and congested as Bangkok, but there was an undercurrent of darkness beneath. Grim reached and found a ley line, but it was tainted and felt like he was putting his hand in a pool of oil.

The house they were dropped off at was cute, but tiny. Lue found the key in some secret place and opened the door. He switched on the light, and it was even smaller on the inside, cluttered with furniture of all different sizes and styles. Some were obviously of French design and antiques, others were more modernized. Grim looked around, but the translation necklace didn't extend to writing, so all the curvy lines on things meant nothing to him.

"Well, you have a packrat for a cousin."

Lue also looked around. "I never knew he had a taste for antiques."

They went into the bedroom where a lone futon sat on stilts. Grim looked under it. "This doesn't look too sturdy."

"Then we must use it only for sleep." Lue grinned at Grim.

Grim advanced on Lue, smiling. "Well, there's always the floor..."

Grim woke up in the futon, cursing tweeting birds, his arms around Lue. The clock on the wall said 5:30, and the light around the windows was a dull gray. He moved, and Lue stirred with him. "Hm?" he asked, opening his eyes to look at Grim.

"The jet lag is gonna kick our ass, love," Grim said, and kissed Lue. "It's 4:30 on Friday afternoon back home."

"I will take a few extra days off," Lue said after returning the kiss.

Both men rose from the futon and Grim looked outside as Lue performed morning libations. "It's raining," Grim said.

"It is the rainy season. It will probably rain the entire time we're here."

"Wonderful," he grumbled. When he exited the bathroom, Lue was already getting dressed. He wore a tank top that showed off his tattoos, and Grim pulled out the same from his luggage. They both wore shorts and sandals, Grim staring at Lue's powerful, muscular legs. Grim, however, was paler but no less muscular from his running around King's Row doing modified calisthenics that Kal had trained him with, and beating up the occasional Lost. The blue tourmaline necklace on the simple leather thong around Grim's neck caught the light and sparkled slightly.

Lue opened the fridge and peeked inside. "Looks like he didn't expect visitors. There's nothing in here." He closed the fridge. "We'll have to go out."

"Fine with me."

The house wasn't exactly set away from anything - Grim now noticed that it was nestled among other houses of its type. They walked a couple of blocks in the rain and turned a corner, where there were cooking kiosks of every sort. Grim took a whiff of the air and smelled everything from frying fish to a sickeningly sweet burnt honey. Lue grinned and started walking - Grim followed dutifully.

People yelled at him from all sides, demanding that he come and taste their wares. Then someone got too close to him, and Grim grabbed the man's wrist that had wandered to his hip. He looked into the man's dark eyes and sent at him a vision of destruction, and the man backed off in fear. Lue had stopped and looked back at Grim. "What is wrong, love?"

"He touched me," Grim said angrily.

"That will happen a lot around here, Grim. The city teems with people. There's no such thing as personal space."

"Sorry." Grim looked over to see french fries with green specks in a box. "Hey, those look good."

Lue turned and smiled. "Want some?"

"Sure."

Lue bought a box and took a couple. Grim took one and popped it in his mouth. He wasn't expecting the slight crunch and something like paper on his tongue. It was a little spicy, but not bad. Grim watched as the man also rolled something white into a ball and handed it to Lue. Lue gave it to Grim. "Rice." Grim bit into it - it was slightly sweet and chewy, like someone had overcooked it, not at all like the white rice he was used to.

They walked a little further and Lue got some other things, and then they found a place to sit on a set of stairs under a church. Lue dipped some of his rice in a sauce, and Grim did also, being rewarded with something that tasted like wasabi with chili peppers. "Holy Christ..." He blinked as his eyes watered.

"I got this one for you," Lue said, handing over a small cup of brown liquid. "That's sweet and sour." The two men sat, and some people came by, panhandling. They approached Grim, avoiding Lue until he would look at them, and then they'd scatter. This happened over and over.

Grim finished the last of the french fries and dusted his hands on his pants. Lue said, "Do you want to know what those were?"

"They weren't french fries?"

"No. They were deep fried moths."

Grim stared at the box. "Uh..." Lue watched Grim almost turn green.

"Don't get sick on me!" Lue cried, and drew a rune at his chest. It expanded even while it glowed green and covered his throat and stomach.

Grim took a few gulping breaths. "Lue, tell me next time!"

"You were enjoying them," Lue said with a smile. "I didn't want to stop you."

"I ate...wings. Blech!" Grim spat a few times.

Lue chuckled and got up with their trash. "Let's go see my cousins now. It should be a reasonable time to go there."

"Do they live around here?"

"A half a mile."

Grim looked around. "Do we..?"

Lue nodded. The two men went into an alleyway, and, after glancing around to see no one was looking, both bounded up into the air, Lue with a mighty leap, and Grim taking to the air.

The Promotion

2010-05-06T12:47:00.000-04:00

Grim looked up from stirring his coffee absently when someone came into his peripheral vision. A blond-haired blue eyed man in running attire pulled out the chair next to him and sat down. Grim sat back and stared at him. "You've got some balls, Hermes."

"That's what Penelopeia said." Hermes put his feet up on the chair next to him. "Can I have that?"

"My coffee?"

"Yeah. You've been stirring it for a while."

Grim shook his head. "Oh, no, I'm not trusting you with anything."

"Oh, come on, it was just a little prank."

"Kal got his powers taken away!"

Hermes waved his hand dismissively. "Ares isn't that stupid."

"Well, he did it again when Kal failed to defeat Romulus."

"I stand corrected." Hermes looked at Grim as he turned back to his coffee. "Oh, c'mon Mike, you can tell me."

"I will tell you nothing."

"I'll tickle you with the feather of Ma'at."

Grim looked at him. "That's Egyptian. How did you get your hands on that?"

Hermes looked at him incredulously.

"Right. God of Thieves." He looked at his coffee again. "I had to kill people and then take their souls."

"So?"

"And I went to take one, but he fought me, and I cut him, and he disappeared."

"Ooooh," Hermes said.

"Is that a bad 'oooh' or a good 'oooh'?"

"Depends. You've been promoted. Sort of." Hermes held out his hand and a coffee mug appeared in it. "The Germans called it 'Totenengel'. The Angel of Death."

"I thought that's what I was."

"No, you were a Reaper and a psychompomp. You sent souls on, sometimes bringing them there yourself. Congratulations, you're an all-around agent of death. All you need is a pale horse."

"Somebody else has that," Grim muttered.

"Oh, the one Hades sent you after and you chose not to kill him? I think Hades was a little perturbed about that."

"Screw him. It wasn't Devil-Shot's fault. He didn't know."

"You Judged him also. That was out of your jurisdiction at the time." Hermes sipped the coffee. "Of course, that's well within your jurisdiction now, Totenengel."

"So what's the difference between what I was doing and what I'm doing now?"

"Not very much. You still go where Hades directs. You still bring the souls to their afterlife. But you have the power now to destroy their souls if they've been heinous enough to warrant it." He motioned to the knife at Grim's belt. "Scythe will know. She will destroy the soul as soon as you stab it."

"She?"

"Yes."

He looked at the knife. "What happens to the soul?"

"You want to know? They no longer exist. Within six months, their friends forget them. Within a year, immediate family will forget them. Two years, the living will no longer remember what they look like without pictures. The living will go to the grave, or the masoleum, or the area of their death, and there will be nothing there. The soul is gone."

"Gone-gone?"

"Gone-gone. Out of existance. Will never come back."

Grim looked down. "I really don't want to be the judge of that."

"Tell me, what was the grave sin that the man who's soul you destroyed do?"

"He cheated on his wife." Grim looked at him. "That's not so bad, I do it all the time." He blushed. "I did, anyway."

"But Scythe knew there was something more, and he still lied to you, the Grim Reaper. She knew, and the man wouldn't admit it. So, she ended his very existance."

"What about second chances?"

"Maybe he already had one. You do not know the history of every soul in existance." Hermes pointed to the knife. "She does."

Grim put a hand on the hilt of the dagger. It didn't feel any different. "So I'm just an instrument."

"You didn't know that?" Hermes got up with a grin and shoved his chair in. The coffee cup had disappeared. He leaned down and got in Grim's face. "We are all somebody's 'tool'."

"Only if we choose to be." Grim met his eyes, steely.

Hermes leaned back. "And you have, haven't you?" He laughed. "Eros' arrow struck you both squarely. At least both of you will be on the same wavelength." He started jogging in place, then took off down the street.

Denial is not a river

2010-05-04T11:05:00.000-04:00

Grim stood across the street from the ranch house. It was 10 pm, and Grim had to leave Lue, telling him he was being summoned. Grim’s leg was still sore, so he put most of his weight on his left.

Lights were on throughout the house, and there were cars parked in the driveway and on the street. Grim looked down at himself and saw that he was in gray. This meant he was ready.

Grim walked across the street, through a car and the picket fence, right up to the front door. He put his hand out, and passed through the door.

Assorted people were gathered in the TV room. Some were asleep, catching cat naps. Everyone looked exhausted, watching the news without really looking at the TV. He walked by them, and a woman came out of a kitchen with a cup of coffee. Grim stopped short, but he brushed against her. She shivered.

Grim walked around, finding a set of stairs and he climbed up them. A nurse was coming down and passed through him. She stopped, turned around, looking for someone. Grim looked at her – she had probably felt this thing before, being a nurse. She seemed to focus on him for a moment, and then turned slowly away, her head bowed.

He continued up the stairs. Two men were in the hallway, talking. “And I said to him, ‘I think the best thing to do would be to redo it,’ but he thinks that she’ll go within a year.”

“Probably,” said the other man. “Widows don’t last long in this family.”

Grim went past them, brushing them with his wings. The initial speaker said, “Did you feel that?”

“Yeah,” said the other. “You think..?”

“C’mon, you believe that grim reaper crap?” The initial speaker laughed. “That’s like believing in Santa Claus.”

Grim chuckled to himself – maybe he should look into that job, too. He went through the door of the room and saw a man laid out on a pristine bed. He looked like he hadn’t moved from that spot in a long time, as the sheets and blankets around him were unwrinkled. His chest barely rose and fell.

Two people were on either side of the bed. One was an older woman, already dressed in black, sitting on a folding chair and holding the man’s hand. The other was a younger woman, older than Grim, dressed conservatively, and standing next to the bed. She had dark circles under her eyes and looked tired.

Grim looked at the man in the bed. His soul was superimposed on his body – Grim could see the soul looking right at him. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Grim Reaper,” Grim said.

The soul sat up from the body, but was still attached. The man’s body in the bed sighed, and the women jumped. “You don’t look like one.”

Grim wondered if he should demand a dollar for every time someone said that.

The younger woman said, “Mother?” She wasn’t speaking English, but Grim was hearing English. The older woman burst into tears, holding onto the man’s hand.

“I know I’m not what you expect. Sorry to disappoint.” Grim noticed he wasn’t speaking English, either. Since when did he know Russian?

Grim took out his dagger and looked at it. It remained a dagger. This meant he would have to kill him, too. Grim walked around the side of the bed, the soul turning his head to follow his movements. The younger woman turned and left the room. “David, Stan,” she called.

Grim took her place. The soul looked afraid. “Wait, wait, I can’t die.”

Grim tilted his head slightly. “Trying to bargain?”

The two men from the hallway came in and stood at the door. The older woman still cried. The younger woman hadn’t returned.

“I’m sorry, but it won’t work.” Grim raised the dagger. He aimed to cut down, directly into the man’s chest.

Then a surprising thing happened, the man’s soul grabbed Grim’s arm to try and stop him. “No! I won’t die!”

“Everybody…does,” Grim said and pulled his arm out of the soul’s grasp. “It won’t hurt if you don’t fight.”

The body in the bed started to go into convulsions. The older woman started wailing, and the two men rushed out the door to probably get help.

“I can’t die! I'll go to hell!”

“Why?"

"I cheated on my wife."

"Didn't you get your last rites?"

"I never told him..."

"You're taking it to your grave." Grim coldly sliced at the man’s soul. He didn’t realize his dagger had turned into a sickle, and he didn’t realize that he aimed to behead the soul. The head separated from the body, falling back, but disappearing before it hit the corporeal body in the bed.

The body stopped shaking, and the rest of the soul faded away.

“Oh, my God…” He put his hand to his mouth. “Where did he go?”

The bedroom started to fill with people. “I called hospice,” he heard someone say. “She couldn’t have gotten far.”

Grim backed away from the bed, passing through people milling about, still a look of shock on his face. What happened? Did I destroy a soul, too? What happens when I do that? Where does the soul go?

Something told him to get out of that room – he vaguely remembered he only had a certain amount of time before he could clear out. He flew out the door and down the stairs as others came up, and the keening of the older woman didn’t stop. He headed to the door and slammed face-first into it.

“Shit!” he cried, and grabbed the handle with a normal-colored hand, throwing open the door. Luckily, no one saw him as he ran across the lawn, vaulting over the fence and disappearing into the night.

To collect a reward

2010-05-03T14:37:00.000-04:00

The Midnighter was seated at a heavy oak desk, that looked like it was placed a little higher than the chair Grim sat in. Grim wore his normal “costume”: the Aegis - his black coat, a grey shirt and leather pants, motorcycle boots. The dagger was at his side.

The Midnighter wore a bowler and a tie. Grim hated bowlers and ties. He also spoke with a slight British accent, which made the stereotype worse.

“You’re the one who bought the house in Cimerora,” he said.

“Yeah,” Grim said, looking at the grain of the wood on the desk. He saw a rune there, and suddenly started to smile.

“What’s so funny?”

“You have a rune of compliance there.” He pointed to the desk.

“Not many people can see that,” said the Midnighter, and he leaned back in his chair. “You’re pretty notorious, Grimaulkin.”

“Oh, come on, I’m really a nice guy.”

“We know your history. All of it.”

“So does MAGI, and I’m still registered there.”

“But they don’t know your work in Nerva.”

“What work in Nerva?”

The Midnighter tilted his head. “Don’t play coy with me, Grimaulkin. Your signature was on two murders of Family members there.”

There were more than that, but he knew better than to point that out. “Does this mean you’re going to arrest me?”

“No. I don’t have the authority to even if I wanted to.”

The ticking of the clock behind him seemed to echo all around the room as the two men stared at each other. Grim looked away first.

The Midnighter leaned forward. “Report to Joseph Green for further assignments. I think he has something with some Thorns. Go down the hall, he’s the white haired man in blue.”

“Great! Thanks!”

Grim, for once, did not comment on how cute this man was, but instead meekly accepted his assignment: some Thorns had a golden scroll with some dangerous spells. Grim headed out to Perez Park where the Midnighters claimed it was last seen. He had to go through Steel Canyon.

He flew through the air, and got near the hospital, when he felt a shurken bounce off his chest. It had hit the Aegis, but it still made him stop in midair.

Then he realized his mistake, as a heavy wind came up from behind him and threw him down to the ground on his back. He put his hand down and it was pierced by a caltrop. The Aegis protected his back. He looked up to see a red-clad man with a sword come swinging it down at him. He rolled, and immediately summoned tentacles, Lue’s spells totally escaping him. The tentacles wrapped around the red-clad man – and then another man in white tried to kick him.

He let it connect, knowing the Aegis would take the brunt, and it did. It was like he had just kicked a man in full armor. Grim tried to get to his knees but the caltrops pierced him – the Aegis didn’t cover his legs. He struggled to get up but was knocked down again by wind. The sorcerer stood above him, and behind him was a Dragon Fly, the one who had knocked him out of the sky. The red-clad man was getting out of the tentacles, and the bald man in white had recovered and looked very pissed.

The Dragon Fly spoke, “We will kill you and bring your head to Tub Ci, and we will be well rewarded.”

“I’m rather fond of my head being where it is,” Grim said, and summoned up horrible images of war and death, and projected it at them. He turned around and stunned the two men with a toss of a dark pit, which made them wander into the caltrops stupidly. Grim whirled back to the Sorcerer – who had teleported away – and the Dragon Fly, still cowering.

Grim rose up slowly, ignoring the punctures of the caltrops. “You can tell Tub Ci, that he’s going to have to do a lot better than you idiots to come after me. But then, let’s see if you’re sane enough to tell him.” Grim raised his hands, and the men disappeared in a pop.

The sorcerer teleported back and saw that his cohorts were gone. He looked at Grim, who merely stood there. The sorcerer picked up the sword and held it awkwardly. Grim drew his dagger and crouched. “C’mon…”

The sorcerer cut down. Grim blocked it with his arm, stepped in, and stabbed the sorcerer in the chest. The dagger went through bone cleanly. He stepped back, twisting it, hearing it scrape against bone, and yanked the blade out. The sorcerer sunk to the ground.

Grim made his second mistake, turning his back from the sorcerer. The sorcerer, with his last breath, lifted the sword still in his hand, and swung low, slicing at Grim’s knee. The sword jammed into Grim’s calf and shinbone instead. Grim went down onto the caltrops again, howling.

At the same time, the three men he had teleported to Tartarus returned in a flash, frightened beyond belief. Grim yanked the sword out of his calf but it was jammed on the bone. Through tears of agony, he finally got it off, and blood flowed freely down his leg to the pavement.

He couldn’t stand, he was in pure pain, and the three Tsoo would be coming out of their stupor soon. He tried to concentrate on a flying spell but couldn't get more than a foot off the ground. It was enough - at least he wouldn’t be putting weight on that leg. He slowly flew the hundred yards to the hospital.

Northern Warehouse

2010-05-03T09:03:00.000-04:00

Grim looked up from his iPad to see a man in a big red truck come driving into the gated area of the warehouse in Kings Row. This was a huge, long abandoned warehouse, with smoke stacks to one side and large barn doors on the other. There were many doors in between, and loading docks, ramps, pulleys - all sorts of trappings of a typical werehouse.

Grim had found the phone number after searching through the town hall records. The taxes were up to date, but the place hadn’t been utilized in eight years. The owner tried selling it two or three times, but because of the economy nobody seemed interested. It was officially off the market. Grim expressed an interest to see inside.

The man got out of the truck. He was a big, beer-bellied man, bald and a salt-and-pepper beard. “You Mike?”

“Yes, sir. You’re Luke.”

He nodded, shook Grim’s hand firmly. “So you want to buy this place?”

“Yes, I need the room.”

“It’s a mess."

“I can see that.”

Luke undid the padlock on the doors and shoved them aside. Grim immediately was assaulted by the smell of decay in all forms. Wood, rust, flesh. Luke gave him a flashlight. He walked through it, scanning all around. The place was a disaster.

“It’s 47,250 square feet. The furnace probably doesn’t work. Some of the doors are rusted shut.”

A bird flew up in the rafters. “How about the roof?”

“Dunno, haven’t looked up there in years.”

Grim looked disappointed. The price on this place three years ago was just about what was left in his bank account from all his work in Nerva. He would be broke if he bought it. But it wouldn’t be for just him and Lue. Grim sort of wanted to create an artist’s loft for mages, sorcerers, summoners, and other magic users, where they would all learn from each other, and work with each other, show each other their skills. They couldn’t be part of some Order, or a coven, or a group, or anything else. They would pass their knowledge among each other. No secrets.

And not only mages, but maybe fighters as well. It would be, he hoped, like an Academy, where everyone would bring their knowledge and they’d all learn together.

However, this was so utopian and far, far, FAR down the pike, that he didn’t even think it would be a reality. He also didn’t know if he would need to do it – maybe Havens would wake up. Maybe Jack would get some nuts, and the technomancers go away. Maybe pigs would fly too. He did have a rune for that. He wished he had a rune to solve Havens’ problems.

He certainly didn’t want to lose the connection with Havens. He still remembered what it looked like before Rusty improved it, he had such good memories there. He wanted to help with the Sealers. And he knew that there were some people there who were against the technomancers, but who didn’t have a loud enough voice. He was moving out, but not abandoning them, not by a long shot.

They wandered through the warehouse, and tripped over a few bodies of birds and rats. He crunched on syringes, and saw some places where it looked like people had squatted. Rain leaked through the roof in places, eating away at the metal floor. He couldn’t visualize the potential of the place – he didn’t have that kind of artist’s eye. Rusty should have come with him, he would have a better idea.

However, Grim needed to perform the true litmus test. At the old Havens, when it was first in King’s Row, it had been chosen for its convenience. Grim hadn’t used ley lines then. The new Havens also didn’t have ley lines, and Grim had “drill” for them and bring the energy to the surface like an oil drill, so he could have quicker access to it. Now that Grim used ley lines – and other mages would too – he needed to see if there was a power source.

He felt something, but he didn’t open his senses fully to gauge it. He handed the flashlight to Luke. “Give me a second?”

“Sure…?”

Grim took a few steps forward, and stood with his palms out. He didn’t even try, but he felt something already. He looked slightly confused – it shouldn’t be drumming that hard. Then, he opened himself up.

He wasn’t ready for the rush – it felt like cold water and hot lava both at the same time. It filled him and overflowed him; he closed his fists immediately and collapsed to the floor. He put his hands down on the floor, and he couldn’t ground – the power was right there at the surface.

He looked around frantically. He got up and ran to a metal beam, and wrapped his arms around it. The energy came out from him, into the metal beams, and suddenly, the area was enveloped in bright light, as the beams crackled. Some broke and fell to the floor below, shattering into rust. The light arced to the roof, brightening it for a moment, before it all faded.

“What the fuck was that?!”

Grim, panting, slid down the beam and sat on the floor. “How…how much, again?”

For Want of a Home Cooked Meal

2010-04-29T14:33:00.000-04:00

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."

MtF 16: Going out to dinner. (End)

2010-04-29T13:08:00.001-04:00

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.

MtF 15: California

2010-04-26T19:30:00.000-04:00

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."

MtF 14: Trial

2010-04-21T07:04:00.000-04:00

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.

MtF 13: The Prince

2010-04-20T13:37:00.000-04:00

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.

MtF 12: The Party

2010-04-19T15:57:00.000-04:00

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."

MtF 11: A Quiet Night

2010-04-18T10:31:00.000-04:00

"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.

MtF 10: Investigation

2010-04-17T10:13:00.000-04:00

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.

MtF 9: Convenience Food

2010-04-16T07:57:00.000-04:00

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.

MtF 8: Another Caller

2010-04-15T08:11:00.000-04:00

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.

MtF 7: Tourist Trap

2010-04-14T06:40:00.000-04:00

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!"

MtF 6: Quitting the Night Job

2010-04-13T07:04:00.002-04:00

Dmitrius and Kalius found Rowena and Josef in the library. It was floor to ceiling with books. If Rowena had a library like this, Kalius could only imagine Dmitrius' library, since Dmitrius was very much a scholar, even if he looked like he could physically tear a man in half.

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

Josef pulled no punches. "Winnette sucks."

"Why?"

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

"As was I."

"Yeah, but I remember you bucking his orders a few times."

"I didn't 'buck' his orders, I modified them."

Josef studied him. "Same dif."

Rowena watched the two men. She noted that she would need to speak with Dmitrius, alone. Dmitrius pulled Kalius close. "I'm not coming back, Josef."

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

The room went silent, the only sound a clock somewhere ticking and Kalius' breathing. Dmitrius said, "That's a mighty big accusation." He looked at Rowena. Rowena nodded once. Dmitrius sat up straight, looking between them. "What proof do you have?"

"His bank account."

Rowena said, "And some of his businesses have been traced to Sabbat holdings as well."

"He has business in Sabbat controlled areas. They've been attacked a little, but no where near some other Camarilla holdings in the same areas."

Dmitrius said, "He could be bribing people."

Rowena shook her head. "A few of us have looked into his holdings. They're not doing half as well as his bank account states."

"And there's other members that we know are spies. He's given them power," Josef continued.

"Whinette is one of them."

"She's Sabbat?" asked Dmitrius.

"A sympathizer. She owes them. They saved her from a cairn."

"That happened fifty years ago," Dmitrius said. "I remember it. Melanie found her. Don't tell me Melanie..."

"No," said Josef.

Dmitrius made a sighing motion though no air came out. "How could I not see it?"

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 looked away.

"I'm sorry, Josef. I won't get involved in this. I have someone else to concern myself with."

"Dimitri..."

"No, I said."

Rowena stood. "Josef, enough."

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.

MtF 5: Brujah Callers

2010-04-12T06:59:00.001-04:00

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."

"I can fucking see that," Josef said. "Put away the toothpick, little man." The blond man did not, to his peril, Josef thought.

Dmitrius growled, "What do you want."

"Was seeing if you're coming back to get your old job back."

"Let us get dressed and we'll talk about this like civilized men."

Josef snorted. "Fuck that shit." But he left anyway. Dmitrius heard him say to Rowena, "I'll send someone tomorrow to fix the fucking door."

Citations

2010-04-11T23:27:00.000-04:00

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.

MtF 4: Shopping

2010-04-11T10:12:00.002-04:00

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."

MtF 3: Sleeping arrangements

2010-04-10T10:22:00.002-04:00

After the movie, Rowena shooed her ghoul out and proceeded to speak in conversational Latin, a dialect that came from Iberia. Kalius smiled, understanding everything she said.

"The Sabbat has been quiet since Josef persuaded them to leave. There was no strategic value in your house, Dimitrius."

"I've staked enough of them and their spies," Dmitrius said. "They attacked at a moment of weakness. Someone's actually read Sun Tsu."

"Rumors are that you went into torpor."

"I've heard. They'll be dispelled soon enough."

Rowena looked at Kalius. "What about him?"

"I can take care of myself," Kalius said in the same language.

Rowena blinked. "How do you know--"

Dmitrius chuckled, "I told you, Rowena, that he's my lover from Lucerna."

She looked at him, her head tilted curiously. "Fascinating."

"The world is full of magic, Rowena. I have seen it in action."

"Can you truly take care of--" She suddenly moved off the couch from across the room with speed that rivaled Dmitrius', and Kalius reached out instinctively with his hand and caught her punch to his head. She was very strong, but not as strong as Dmitrius. She was mere inches away from him. Under the perfume she wore, Kalius smelled decay, something he hadn't smelled with Dmitrius since he had been influenced by Grim's spell. She had unnaturally sapphire blue eyes, and perfect white teeth. She smiled at him, and removed her hand. "--yourself," she completed.

"Yes, I can," Kalius said, bringing his arm down. He had felt the surge of power, but it wasn't the same as Ares' power. While Ares' power was like fire coursing through him, the power Grim had given him felt like molten lava, slower but hot.

She sat back. "I can approve of this one," she said, looking up at Dmitrius.

Dmitrius raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't approve of any others?"

She made a dismissive wave. "They were dinner."

"True, that." Dmitrius hugged Kalius. "To be released of the confines of the blood, to have humanity back..."

"Don't wax poetic, Dimitrius. You'll be composing sonnets again."

Kalius looked up at Dmitrius and smiled. "You composed sonnets?"

Rowena nodded. "To music."

"Rowena, that was in the 1500's."

"He went up against the Toreador pansy - who was that idiot?"

"Khurshed the Sun."

"Ugh, he was awful. Flowers and trees, and birds singing...Dimitrius - well, Dimitri then - composed dark sonnets wishing to join his true love in, what did you call it, 'the black empty garden'."

"Well," said Kalius, and squeezed Dmitrius' thigh, "he did recite poetry for me."

Rowena looked up at Dmitrius with a slightly evil smile. "Erotic poetry?"

He coughed embarrassedly.

The door opened, saving him from further embarrassment. A pretty woman peeked her head in. "Mistress, one of your charges is here."

"Is it Mars?"

"Uh...yes."

"Ugh," she got up disgustedly. "He doesn't fit in my feeding patterns anymore."

Dmitrius said, "I thought you were going to kick out that leech."

"I did. He keeps coming back. It's the Bond."

"Want me to get rid of him?"

She suddenly smiled. "Yes, I think that would be good."

Kalius and Dmitrius followed her down the spiral staircase to the foyer. Rowena walked up to a waifish young man and glared at him. He seemed to cower under her gaze, but then quickly regained himself. Dmitrius started walking forward, an arm around Kalius' waist.

Rowena's voice carried through the foyer. "What do you want now?"

"A few hundred dollars."

Said Dmitrius, "To get your next hit?"

Mars looked up at Dmitrius. "I thought you were gone."

"I was."

Mars nodded at Kalius. "New ghoul?"

"No," snapped Kalius.

"He is my Erastes," Dmitrius said. "My partner and lover."

The waif laughed. "You have any idea what you're getting into, man? You'll be one of them in a month. Dependent on them."

Kalius advanced. "I don't think so."

Dmitrius said, his voice a low rumble, "Why don't you get out while you still can?"

"Oh, sure, chase me out." He started to the door. "But I'll tell the papers - and the Sabbat - all about you."

Dmitrius suddenly smiled. He turned to Rowena. "Shall I perform my duties as your Sheriff?"

Rowena smiled. "Oh, since the Prince's sherrif is...busy. And you know what to do." Rowena turned her back on him.

"Wait," said the young man, suddenly looking from one to the other and slowly going into panic mode, "what're you going to do?"

Dmitrius kissed Kalius and whispered in Greek, "You may not want to watch this."

Kalius looked up at him. "I will watch, Eranamous." Dmitrius smiled at that, and then turned to the young man.

In a flash, he was across the room, suddenly standing between him and the door. "It has been found that you threaten to expose the Masquerade. The punishment for that is death."

"What?"

Dmitrius grabbed the young man and pushed him toward Rowena. "Lady, is this your servant?"

"I know him not."

Mars tried to pull away. "Wait, wait!"

Dmitrius' fangs descended and he bit savagely into the man's neck. His screams filled the foyer, as Dmitrius moved his head back and forth over his neck, exposing a huge gaping wound and causing the maximum amount of pain possible. Kalius watched, his arms crossed. Rowena had turned around to watch also. Some of her servants did, and some didn't.

No blood escaped the body to drip on the pristine white tiles or even on the man's clothing. Kalius watched as the man's face went white, and his eyes lose their light. Dmitrius didn't let go until a good five minutes went by. He lifted his head, his fangs and mouth bloody, and the wound in the man's neck huge and ugly. Kalius watched Dmitrius let the body slip out of his hands and thud to the floor. Dmitrius focused his eyes on his lover, and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

Rowena swept out of the room, as if she should have been wearing a gown. "Dispose of that," she ordered. Three servants bent at Dmitrius' feet and removed the body. Dmitrius walked across the room and stood before Kalius, his head bowed. Kalius smiled, and pulled him into an embrace. Dmitrius smiled and relaxed, returning the hug.

Rowena put in another movie, The Fountainhead. She sat down and watched, discussing the finer points of how the self-made man thought he was more important than the group. Kalius and Dmitrius let her talk.

Dmitrius could hear the birds, and knew that sunset wasn't too far off. Rowena started fading, summoned a young man and drank from him. She got up, her eyelids heavy. "Shall we retire, Dimitrius?"

Dmitirus could stay up until the sun cleared the horizon. He held onto Kalius as they went down a set of metal stairs to a deep, deep cellar. At the end of the set of stairs was a room decorated in Tudor style, except for the lighting, which was electrical but simulated torches. There was a TV down there, and a man wearing a shoulder holster sat in front of it. "Good evening, mistress," he said, looking over his shoulder. "Sheriff."

"Evening," Dmitrius replied. On the other side of the room was a huge metal door that looked like a bank vault's. Beyond that was a beautiful casket on a pedestal, and a futon next to it. Dmitrius kissed Kalius as Rowena headed to the casket. "Have a good day, love," Dmitrius said.

"Sleep well, eranamos."

One last kiss and embrace, and Dmitrius went into the room. He closed the door from the inside, and Kalius heard locks click into place.

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

MtF 2: Rowena's Haven

2010-04-09T07:12:00.000-04:00

They pulled into the garage. Billy had called ahead and a woman was inside the garage holding a small first-aid kit. The woman nodded to Dmitrius, "Welcome back, sir," she said and attended to Billy.

Dmitrius nodded. "I'll get your bags, sir," said Billy, while the woman took Billy's hand away from his neck to assess the damage. "You can go right in."

He went up a set of stairs and opened the door at the top of it. They found themselves facing a small hallway. Dmitirus took Kalius by the waist and guided him inside. "Don't worry. Rowena's the only resident Kindred."

They walked out of the hallway into a two-floored foyer. Kalius knew his jaw dropped because he heard himself close his mouth with a "clack". It was decorated in dark red mahogany wood along the pillars and off-white walls. Another woman came in. "Dimitrius!" She hugged him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "You're back!"

"Visiting," he said with a smile. "Marie, this is my fiance, Kalius."

The lithe woman smiled at Kalius and offered her hand. "It's good to meet you. Come inside, Rowena's home."

"Will you be sleeping together?"

"No," Dmitrius said.

"Yes," Kalius countered.

They looked at each other. Dmitrius smiled gently and turned to him. "We sleep in a vault downstairs. It's not like Havens where I can sleep in your bed."

"Then I'll sleep with you downstairs."

"It's air tight." Dmitrius caressed his lover's face gently, and Kalius put his hand on top of his. "I need you here during the day, beloved."

"All right." He didn't look too happy about it.

"She's upstairs in the theater," she said, and took their bags up the spiral stairs. They followed. The closer they got, Kalius could hear voices. They walked past the foyer's hallway to another room, where he could distinctly hear the dialogue of the movie, Casablanca. Dmitrius opened the door and they were immediately assaulted by how loud it was.

A woman with flaxen blond hair, dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, sat caressing the head of a young man on her lap. She would take his arm and lift his wrist to her lips, her eyes still glued to the huge plasma screen TV, then bite. The young man flinched, and the woman sucked once, as if she was sipping soda.

"Hello Rowena," Dmitrius said.

She touched a remote on the chair, and the sound stopped suddenly. "Dimitrius, dear!" She pushed aside the young man and got up. The frame on the screen froze as she bounded over and kissed Dmitrius in continental fashion. "And this is Kalius?"

He smiled, "Yes. Erastes, this is Rowena, one of my best friends since the Inquisition."

"He saved me," she said to Kalius. "Has he told you?"

"No," Kalius looked up at Dmitrius and smiled. "Though I believe it."

"I have owed him my life ever since. And he is a dear, dear friend in these troubled times."

He showed Kalius to one of the couches and sat next to him, holding his hand. "Alex," Rowena said to the young man, "Go fetch Louis and tell him Dimitrius and his lover are here." The young man nodded and left the room. "Did you have a good flight?"

"The flight was fine, it was leaving the airport that was a problem. Your ghoul was shot."

She frowned. "We chased the Sabbat off your property. You have Josef to thank for that."

"Remind me to thank him properly." The door opened and two young men came in, one carrying a tray of finger sandwiches and a small carafe of coffee. He set the tray down on the coffee table in front of Kalius, and turned to face Dmitrius, and passed a hand over his neck. Dmitrius looked up at him. "I'm all right."

Rowena smiled, and waved her hand in dismissal. Kalius assumed that was Louis, and watched him leave, though the young man looked slightly dejected. Alex returned to his mistress' side, and Kalius picked up a chicken salad sandwich. "Tomorrow night, Dimitrius, Kalius, we will go to Highland Village."

"I should present myself to the Prince," he said.

"Why?" she asked. "You are my guest. Do you think I can't provide you with vitae?"

"I would not want--"

Rowena gave him a look. "Dimitrius, let me entertain you like I used to do."

Dmitrius smiled and sat back, putting an arm around Kalius. Kalius relaxed, leaned into his lover. "I'll call him instead." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. With his arm still around Kalius, he spoke quickly. "Just tell him I'm in town, I'm staying with Rowena for the week. I'll be fine. Okay, George, see you." He hung up the phone.

Rowena nodded. "George will tell him. I want to finish the rest of the movie."

"Of course." He hugged Kalius close. Rowena turned the volume down, and they watched the movie.

((See floor plans of Rowena's haven.))

Meeting the Family 1 - Welcome to the Jungle

2010-04-08T08:17:00.000-04:00

They chased the darkness into Houston. Dmitrius wanted to get to Houston at a reasonable hour, and the plane touched down at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport at ten p.m. The two men went through security without an issue, and were waiting for their bags when Dmitrius turned to Kalius and spoke in their native tongue. "Old enemy standing at door two, the security guard."

Kalius passed his eyes over the area and noted the man, tall, gaunt, sunglasses, in a security guard's uniform. He didn't even look like he was breathing, he stood so still. Dmitrius and Kalius picked up their bags, and then Dmitrius turned to door two. Kalius said, "Reinforcements," noting four more men behind him.

"Behind," replied Dmitrius. Kalius passed an eye behind them to see two more men.

They started walking toward door two, not directly looking at the security guard. They got past him, and were quickly flanked by him and his friends. Dmitrius watched their reflection in a window as they passed by, the two men in front pulling their suitcases followed by half a dozen men in security guard outfits. Although it was late in the airport, there were still too many people around to get into a fight.

In the terminal itself, a few people were gathered to pick up passengers. Dmitrius scanned them and saw a black man in a suit coming toward them. He nodded to Kalius, and then went to greet the man. They shook hands warmly. Dmitrius turned to Kalius. "This is Billy McCain, he's a driver for Rowena. Billy, this is Kalius."

Kalius shook Billy's hand. Billy nodded to him.

"Sabbat still in control outside the airport?"

"Yeah," Billy said, and took their bags. "They let me in without a problem. Maybe they're busy."

Dmitrius nodded behind him. "Not really."

Billy met the security guards' eyes, and they melted away. He started walking to the front door of the terminal. Dmitrius asked, "So is there anything I should be aware of?"

"Rumors of your demise." Billy smiled at him. "They thought your sudden retirement was brought on by torpor."

Kalius knew that meant a sort of sleep that some vampires put themselves in, where they could sleep for centuries and not awaken. Most of the time they did it to heal from grievous wounds. Sometimes they did it out of boredom.

"Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated," Dmitrius said as they walked out the doors.

"Noted, sir."

They went to a black Cadillac sedan, and Billy tossed the luggage in its ample trunk. Kalius noted that he handled the heavy luggage easily, so realized that he was probably a ghoul - a human with some vampire blood in him. Dmitrius explained that the human would be utterly devoted to the vampire, would do anything for him, and in return he would get some of the vampire's abilities in a lesser manner and only temporarily.

Dmitrius and Kalius climbed into the back seat. Billy got in. "Buckle up, I saw a couple of packs on my way in. They might not want to let us out."

The two men did what he said, and Billy eased out of the parking space. He stopped to pay his way out of the garage, and suddenly a couple of cars appeared before them. "DOWN!" Billy yelled, as some people jumped out of the cars. Kalius didn't see what they were doing, but Dmitrius grabbed him and pulled him down on the seat, covering him with his own body.

Billy gunned the car and peeled forward. People jumped out of the way - he deftly wove between the cars and used the sidewalk, barely missing a bus stop and plowing through the redlight, heading out to the main road. There wasn't much traffic at this time of night, luckily, and he roared through the main streets.

The rear window exploded, covering Dmitrius and Kalius in glass. Kalius could swear he heard gunshots. "Shit," Billy spat, and pushed the car to 90, tearing down the main road, ignoring red lights, heading to the highway. Dmitrius got up, shedding glass, smelling blood. He risked a glance at Kalius, but it wasn't his blood he smelled.

Billy had one hand on his neck, the blood flowing between his fingers. He glanced in the rear view mirror at Dmitrius. "I'll be okay. Need to get you to the haven."

Dmitrius, although he had fed and was satiated, licked his lips at the sight of the red fluid flowing from his neck. He took Kalius' hand to reassure himself that he didn't need the blood, that there was something more important to concentrate on.

Kalius let out a breath. "You always get this kind of welcome home?"

"Actually," Dmitrius said with a small smile, "Yes."

Biting the bullet

2010-04-07T13:42:00.000-04:00

Grim was walking by the babies’ room and got assaulted by a vision in his mind of ...wetness.

He stopped at the door, and peered into the room. Anwen was right at the bars of the crib, her brother on the other side, sleeping peacefully. Anwen looked at him with those blue eyes of hers, and drew Grim right in. “What’s up?”

The vision in his mind was something he had sworn he would absolutely, positively never do. He stared at her. “I have never changed a diaper in my life and I don’t plan on starting now.”

Her face suddenly fell into a pout, and seemed to be a step away from a full cry.

“Wait, wait…Oh, hell.” Grim went closer. He looked at the diaper table, looked at Anwen, still with that pleading in her eyes. He sighed, bent down and picked her up by her armpits. He looked down at her very large diaper.

“What’d you do, have a Big Gulp?” He carried her at arm’s length and set her on the dressing table. He studied the make-up of this diaper contraption. It had two tabs on the sides, so he figured he’d undo those. Then he pulled the front down.

He jerked his head back. “Jesus.” He put the front back on her. Grim looked around for heavy-duty gloves. Not seeing any, he did catch the baby wipes on the dresser. Pulling out about a dozen, he lined them up next to her. He looked at her, and said, “All right, I’m going in!”

Quickly he pulled the front of her diaper down, and tried to figure out how to get her butt out of it. He knew if he wiggled the diaper off, it would make more of a mess. He covered his hand in the baby wipe and lifted her butt gently first on one side, and then the other. He pulled the diaper away, and pinched it between his fingers, tossing it into the basket. “Uck.”

Anwen gurgled. Grim used the baby wipes he had lined up – and more – wiping her down. Now she looked and smelled much better.

Anwen sent him the image of a diaper, and he said, “I know, I know, I gotta find one – oh here.” He pulled out a diaper and held it up. He looked at its length, looked at her, then at the diaper again. He glanced at the trash but didn’t dare go back in it to get an idea of how it could be placed. “Where’s the front of this thing?” He turned it over and over in his hands. “Well, I guess I put your butt in and hope for the best.” He put the diaper together, and then shoved her legs through the holes, pulling the diaper up. He lifted her by the diaper's waist, and pulled it up nice and tight.

“There we go. Pain in the ass these diapers are.” He put her down, and saw that Caden was awake. Grim’s phone went off – loud. “Yeah, yeah…Wait, not you too?”

The phone kept going off. “Shit…” He picked up Caden by the armpits also and brought him to the dressing table. The phone stopped, and Grim sighed. He undid the diaper, and pulled down the front, preparing for the worst. At least he didn’t have to deal with a mess this time.

“Don’t pee on me, don’t pee on me…” Grim worked quickly, using almost half the box of baby wipes. Caden grinned, and Grim said, “Yeah, you’re thinking about it, but you have an empty bladder, ha ha.” Grim put together the diaper again, feeling like an old pro at this now, and shoved Caden’s legs through, lifting him up like he had done his sister. “There! All clean and happy baby.”

He turned and put Caden back in the crib. He rearranged the pillows like he had seen Raina do. He gave them runes of unicorns and pegasi to watch, and then turned to the door.

To see Raina and Jack standing there, grins on their faces.

“You saw nothing,” Grim said, shoving by them, going into the hallway.

The Substitute

2010-04-07T12:25:00.000-04:00

Dean Joseph Griffin looked up at the soft knock on the doorframe. A short, bald man, dressed all in brown and tans, peered into his office. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

Dean Griffin raised his head and studied the man. He looked to be about his mid-thirties, was bald, with piercing grey eyes. He seemed well-built but short. “Yes, Dr. Thontius, please come in.”

Thontius went in and closed the door. Griffin still watched him as he sat down. “Okay, Doctor, I have no idea who you are.”

The man chuckled. “Professor Harrison asked me to step in for him while he’s ill.”

“He didn’t ask me. You’re not even on the payroll, and no where do I see your name on the faculty list.”

“Oh?” Thontius looked surprised. “Then what do you need to know? You can take a look at my Facebook page, my resume is there.”

Griffin blinked. “A Facebook page?”

Thontius tilted his head. “Doesn’t everyone have one?”

“No.” Griffin folded his arms. “I assume your doctorate is in history?”

“University of Athens, 1999, specialty in Greco-Roman Influence in War and Culture.”

“You don’t have an accent.”

“I’ve been here for close to 10 years, lecturing here and there, so I’ve lost it for the most part. I’m published in Military History of the West, American Journal of History, Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, Journal of Interdisciplinary History—“

“Okay, I’ll assume they’re on that Facebook page?”

“Yes, links to my articles are there.”

Griffin couldn’t understand this. He had heard of other professors calling in substitutes for one or two classes, and they would do it gratis, but for an entire semester? And undergraduate basic world history, when this man was obviously an established professor of ancient history?

Griffin sighed. “I did hear your lecture on Alexander the Great.” Thontius opened his lecture with the statement, “Alexander the Great was gay and a drunk” which grabbed everyone’s attention right from the get-go. He then proceeded to explain things in detail in a story-tale fashion, writing down the sources on the board as he went along. He explained how natural and normal it was for homosexuality between military men and how normal it was for Macedonians to have all-night drinking parties at that time. He compared it to modern values and made it seem that the modern view was skewed. “However, you didn’t touch upon the textbook.”

“They can read the book. That’ll be on the exams.”

Griffin had been burnt out by teaching undergraduate history and was more than happy to pass it on to professors newly entered into graduate school. This guy was a doctorate. Had been at it for years. And wasn’t burnt?

“I guess it seems all right,” Griffin muttered.

The man smiled. “You’re not paying me, right? I’ve done this many times before.”

“We must follow the undergraduate curriculum, Dr. Thontius.”

“Sure, on the exam. My lectures, though, don’t have to.”

“Are your lectures on the exam?”

“Of course.”

“That will get them confused."

"It will keep them intersted."

"Dr. Thontius, your job is not to get them interested in history but to get them through this class.”

He smiled again. “You never know, there may be a couple of budding historians there, or at least a few buffs.” He got up. “Take a look at the Facebook page when you get a chance, that might alleviate your fears. And email the other colleges I’ve worked for, their contact information is there too.” He nodded to Griffin. “Have a nice day, nice to have met you.”

Griffin watched him leave, slightly confused. “Well, might as well take a look at it.” He signed onto Facebook, and searched out the name of Erik Thontius. A picture of a Greek postage stamp of the first King of Athens greeted him in a small square. He clicked around, found the articles and other schools he had worked for, all around the country and in Canada. His last placement was in Yale as a guest lecturer on Greco-Roman weapon construction. There was a picture of him with a portable forge, making spearheads.

Griffin tapped his fingers on his chin as he did when he was thinking. There was no harm to the university to have this man here; in fact, it could be positive. But he seemed to want to skirt under the radar for some reason. The page linked to critics as well, but there was nothing more scathing than the possible misinterpretation of some Latin sources, which was typical of nitpicking historians.

“Doctor?” paged through his administrative assistant, “you have a call.”

He took the call, and promptly forgot about Dr. Erik Thontius.

Dmitrius and Grim

2010-04-06T09:33:00.000-04:00

Grim was halfway down the hall when he heard Dmitrius, “Grim, can I talk to you?”

Grim stopped and turned around. “Well, aren’t I the popular guy tonight.” He walked back toward Dmitrius. “What’s up? How’s Kal?”

“Good, considering.”

“Yeah, he actually let me go early. What can I do for you?”

“We’re going to Texas next week. He needs to have his weapons, and you know they won’t let him take them on the plane.”

Grim smiled. “Yeah, I don’t think they’d be happy seeing some guy with a gladius boarding their plane.”

“Is there anything you can do?”

“Come with me.”

Dmitrius followed Grim past the children’s room, to Grim’s room. Grim opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a purple velvet pouch. He handed it to Dmitrius. “There are four crystals. Put them at the four compass points, and they’ll create a teleportation anchor. Then give me a call and I’ll send the weapons to him.”

Dmitrius hefted the bag. “We appreciate this.”

“All his magic’s gone?”

Dmitrius nodded sadly.

Grim looked at Dmitrius. “Can’t you give him your blood?”

Dmitrius shook his head. “It will make him addicted to it and to me. It’s called being ghouled. He’ll be like a devoted servant. I don’t want to force him to love me.”

Grim considered. “Is your blood magic?”

“It can be used for that, yes.”

“Do you know how?”

“I do not.”

“Hmm...I have a couple of ideas.”

Dmitrius peered at him. “What are you thinking, mage?”

“Good old fashioned blood magic.” He turned from Dmitrius. “Let me sleep on it.” He went into his room, and gently closed the door. Dmitrius shrugged, tossed the bag absently in his hand, and headed back to his and Kalius’ room.

Rorri's Adoption - 2: Assessment

2010-04-05T14:34:00.000-04:00

Dr. Edward Feinstein looked at his appointments for the day and tilted his head in confusion. “Patty, I don’t remember scheduling an assessment for this morning.”

“Your first four patients cancelled on Friday and this was flagged as an emergency case,” she said.

“Don’t you think that’s unusual that they all seem to cancel for a four-hour block of time?”

Patty, usually pretty much on the ball, looked up at the doctor. “No…?”

“Did you see them yet?”

“Nobody’s come in yet.”

He nodded and headed off to his office. He had to pass by the waiting room, and he peeked in. A man in a black trench coat sat with a little blond-haired girl who looked about nine or ten. Feinstein glanced at his appointment sheet. The blond-haired girl looked around and caught his eye. “Grim!” she said, and tugged the man’s sleeve.

The man called Grim looked up at the doctor. “Are you Dr. Feinstein?”

“Yes, are you…” He looked at his appointment sheet. The assessment was for a Rorri Starkweather and the contact person was Michael Labonte. “Mr. Labonte?”

“I am,” he said. The little girl stared at him in disbelief.

“Just give me a minute. I wasn’t expecting an assessment this morning so I don’t have everything set up.”

“No problem.”

He went back to his office. Grumbling, he got out the forms and games that he would use to assess her IQ and psychological profile. He hated doing Monday morning assessments. His mind usually wasn’t clear enough from the weekend to do it properly. He took a form for the child to fill out and went back to the waiting room.

“You’re Rorri?” he said, getting down to her level.

She looked at him, keeping her gaze steadily on him to the point it was uncomfortable. She didn’t say anything for a long while. Finally, after a good two minutes of this, she said, “Yeah.”

He got up, slightly disturbed, and looked at Lebonte. “Do you mind if I take Mr. Lebonte into my office to answer some questions?”

She shrugged. Feinstein looked at Lebonte, who got up. “Don’t destroy anything.”

“Okay,” she said.

“Oh, can you fill this out?” He handed her the form and a pencil. She looked at it, looked up at him, and then bent her head to the form.

“Mr. Lebonte.”

“Call me Grim.”

“I’m sorry?”

“A nickname.”

“Oh.” He wondered if that was indicative of this man’s mood. They sat down in his office, and Grim proceeded to weave a tale that he had never thought possible in all his years of psychiatry. She was a clone, created by a madman to be used as a weapon – to be constantly used as a weapon. She was a shape changer, regenerated almost instantly, and had grown up pretty much without a parent or guardian in her first nine years of life. She’d never gone to school. Never had a normal childhood.

This was beyond Feinstein’s expertise, and he knew it. However, all Grim seemed to want was a basic assessment, IQ, psychological issues. He believed they were “legion” in his words. “I want to know what I’m dealing with,” he said.

Feinstein sat back. “I can do that, but as for treatment…”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Feinstein looked at Grim. “Do you feel she’s in need of treatment?”

“Certainly,” he said. “But, believe me, she’s not your average patient.”

They rose together, and went to get her. She had filled out the form and sat tapping the pencil and her hand on the arm of the couch in a beat, adding sound effects. Label one: ADHD.

“Ready, Rorri?”

“Uh huh!” She jumped up, and walked by Grim.

“Be nice to the good doctor,” Grim said, and sat down on the couch.

Feinstein said, “This will take about four hours.”

“No, it won’t.” Grim pulled out a book from his coat and put his feet up on the couch, settling in to read. He looked at Rorri and winked. She giggled, and followed the doctor to his office.

Two hours later, the doctor returned, haggard. Grim looked at the clock on the wall. “Wow, you did better than I thought. I thought you would have brought her back an hour ago.”

“Mr. Lebonte,” he said, forcing himself to be calm. “Rorri needs to be…inpatient.”

Grim looked at Rorri and smiled. Rorri smiled back. “I answered all his questions. You told me to be honest.”

“I know you did, and that’s good.” He looked up at the doctor. “I’m sorry, but that’s not possible. Did you at least get through the battery of tests?”

“Most of them, but when she started talking about where to put bombs to blow up Galaxy City, we stopped right there.”

“I want to know her IQ.”

“It’ll take some time to score it—“

“We’ll wait right here.”

“More than—“

Grim looked up at him. “If you start now, she won’t get impatient and start wandering around the hospital. You really don’t want that.”

Feinstein never scored an IQ and psychological assessment so fast in his life. As he did it, he knew this girl’s treatment was beyond him. He picked up the phone and called the only two physicians who had worked with disturbed mutants in the hospital. He explained the situation, and they both actually rushed right down, something that surprised even him.

Felicia Goduti was a mutant herself, with the ability to walk through walls. Also a mutant was Dr. David Bostrom, a small wiry man who could build himself up to a huge bulk by using the air of the area. Feinstein saw Bostrom in the waiting room, while Goduti he met in the hallway. He showed her the scoring thus far, and she nodded. “To be expected,” she said, and went to the waiting room.

Bostrom was talking intently to Rorri. “You don’t feel the need to hurt yourself?” Feinstein noted he had left off the “or others” that usually went with that question.

“Why should I?” she asked.

Bostrom looked up at the entrance of the other two people. He looked at the scoring and also nodded. “Well?” Grim asked.

“Her IQ is off the charts,” said Goduti

Rorri beamed. Grim also did.

“But she has a multitude of psychological disorders, and we’re not done with the testing yet.”

“ADD is but one of them,” said Bostrom. “That’s the most severe. She really should be brought in for more testing.”

"What do you have so far?"

"Bipolar, ADD, conduct disorder..."

“That's what I figured,” said Grim. “I would much rather she continue outpatient.”

“I’m sorry, but we may have to commit her without your permission.”

“Commit me?” Rorri looked horrified. Grim stood up, put a hand on her shoulder.

“That won’t happen,” he reassured her. “Thank you for your time.”

Then they both disappeared.

Feinstein realized he wasn’t holding onto any paper any more, and saw dust on his hands, and a small pile on the floor. The doctors looked at each other. “Your documentation,” said Bostrom, and the three doctors almost ran to Feinstein’s office. On his desk were small piles of grey dust. He checked on his computer – her name had been erased from the appointment program, and his other patients who he hadn’t seen were replaced there.

Feinstein looked up at the doctors. They both sighed. “You were dealing with a wizard,” said Bostrom. “Do you remember his name?”

“LeBon…no.”

“Dammit.”

Feinstein said looking confusedly at Bostrom and Goduti, “Why did I call you in here, again?”

In Hera's Garden

2010-04-04T16:02:00.000-04:00

"You are an idiot!"

Ares, with a small smile, examined his gauntlets. Athena looked so impotent when she was mad.

"Do you realize what you've done?"

"I'm teaching him a lesson. I'm reminding him who his master is."

Athena threw her hands up in frustration. "You don't think!"

"That's not my job, it's yours." He gave her an insolent grin.

Athena looked around for something to hit him with. There was nothing but trees and flowers. She could use that...She put her hands through her hair, and Ares, still grinning, watched her. "Ares," she said patiently, as if to a child, "They have a dagger that can kill you."

"They have to get here, first."

"They have a guide, you fool! The mage!"

"The mage?" He looked confused.

"The mage."

Ares blinked, and looked thoughtful.

"You really don't pay attention to your charges and their lives, do you?"

"So long as he serves me, I don't care."

Athena glared at him. "Well, I do. You have tortured him enough. And to threaten to take away what he's worked so hard for--"

"Ha! That was brilliant of me. He wanted a reason to fight, so I gave him one."

"Just as you have all these years." Athena crossed her arms. "I'm going to right your wrongs. Again."

"What do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to help him, since you won't."

"He's my servant. You can't take him away from me."

"Your deal with him is over, Ares. He's found his lover, am I right? I'm sure that we can discuss this with father."

"You wouldn't."

"Dare me?"

Ares watched her. She most certainly would, as she was still well-loved by him. He was already on Zeus' bad side. She smiled sweetly at him, turned on her heel with military precision, and walked away.

Rorri's Adoption - 1: Baby Steps

2010-04-03T14:12:00.002-04:00

Jacqueline Caskill stepped into the waiting room. One of the few attorneys at her firm who actually kept Saturday hours, she was happy that this was the last appointment of the day. Being that it was a nice day, maybe she could take the Harley out for a cruise around Narragansett. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, not her usual lawyerly attire, but hey, it was Saturday.

A man sat in the waiting room, drinking coffee from a Dunkin' Donuts styrofoam cup. He had blond hair, sticking straight up and was in a black trenchcoat. "Mr. LeBonte?"

"Yes." He stood up, looked at his coffee cup and then looked around for a waste basket.

"You can bring that with you." They shook hands.

He followed her down the hall. "Thank you very much for taking me on such short notice."

"I was here anyway, and my last appointment cancelled." She showed him into her office, pretty Spartan compared to her other partners, but she was still recently made partner here, and she would eventually get up to their level of ostentation. She motioned to a chair, and LeBonte sat down. She sat at her desk. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I want to be a legal guardian of a nine-year old child."

"Can you go into more detail?"

"She's the grand daughter of John Starkweather."

Her eyes went wide.

"I see you know him."

"I know of him. One of my partners had him as a client for a short time before he fired him. My partner wasn't ruthless enough, it seems." The partner happened to be the lawyer whose name was on the firm. He called Starkweather "insane", and that was being nice.

"Then you know he's an unfit parent."

She averted her eyes and sat back, her hands making a steeple under her chin. "Tell me how you got involved."

LeBonte then wove a strange and unusual tale about how he worked for Starkweather, how he met Rorri, how Rorri was abused by her grandfather, and how he rescued her. Then how she disappeared, and he thought she was dead, but she came back.

"Now she's starting to exhibit the same symptoms as her grandfather. I want to get her some help, but I can't do it without being her legal guardian."

"You're a hero."

"Yes."

"Some judges believe that you can't be a hero and a parent at the same time. Some believe the opposite. It's a total crapshoot."

LeBonte smiled. "Just tell me who the judges are that are favorable."

"We'll have to involve DCYF."

"Department of Children, Youth and Families? You mean social workers and all that?"

She nodded. "There are some social workers who are receptive, some who aren't."

"Again, just give me names."

"What will you do?"

"Push things in my favor."

She regarded him. "Are you a telepath or something?"

"No, I'm a mage."

She raised an eyebrow. LeBonte looked around the room, and his eye was caught by some fake roses in a vase. He went over to it, made some motions, and then brought the flowers to her. She could smell them as he walked across the room, and set them down in front of her. She touched the soft petals and inhaled the fragrance. "That's...amazing."

He smiled, and sat back down. "I can use magic to put the wheels in motion. I don't want to necessarily control them, but I want them to put a favorable spin on things. Rorri can't go back to her grandfather."

"All right, then, let's look at it from this angle. What makes you a good parent?"

LeBonte sat back. "I care about her."

"You'll have to do better than that."

"Look, to be honest, a monkey in a zoo can be a better parent than that bastard Starkweather. I treat her with respect. I know she's smart, she's very, very smart. The world bores her, it's so dumb, and she can't concentrate on one thing at a time. She needs psychiatric care, both to stop her from sliding down into her grandfather's madness, and to realize her true potential. I really want to help her."

Jacqueline had seen men emotional about their children before. Grown men had cried in her office once they realized they lost the custody battle for their kids. LeBonte didn't express it, but she could tell his depth of caring was similar to those men.

"Well, it's going to be complicated. She has to become a ward of the state first, and we can appoint you her foster guardian until the courts clear it for you to be her legal guardian. Social workers will have to be involved, and, from what you're saying, so will psychiatrists and psychologists from the IMH."

"I would rather involve Bradley than the Institute for Mental Health."

"Bradley Hospital?" She looked thoughtful. "Hm, yes, that would probably be a better choice, since she's a minor and they deal with mentally disabled children exclusively."

"Do you know anybody there?"

"No, but one of my partners does." She picked up the phone and dialed. She waited, and smiled when the voice on the other side said, "GO HOME!"

"I will, I will. Ian, what's the name of that psychiatrist in Bradley that you had see the client with the autistic boy?" She wrote down the name and phone number. "I'm leaving soon. Bye." She hung up and looked at LeBonte. "Doctor Richard Flemming. He specializes in autism."

"That's not what she has. She has ADHD, probably bi-polar disorder, and delusional disorders."

"At least you can start with him, and maybe he can direct you to someone who specializes in ADHD."

LeBonte nodded and took the name. "So you'll take the case?"

"It'll be a challenge, and it could take well over a year before you're her guardian."

"Oh, it'll be a lot shorter than that." He motioned to the roses. "Just tell me what needs to be done and I'll make it work faster."

"I'll need you to fill out a foster family application."

"Do you have one?"

"I might..." She bent to look in the drawers of her desk. "I don't see any..."

"Is that it?"

She looked up, and on her desk was a filled-out Rhode Island Foster Family Application Form. She peered at it, and picked it up. Everything was filled out as necessary. "How did you..."

LeBonte only smiled. "So what happens to that?"

"I send it to DCYF. I'll also have to send a request for Rorri to be made a ward of the state. That could take a few weeks while they assign a social worker."

"I need you to do me a favor. I need you to keep me in the loop at all times. I need names of people who have these forms, people that you speak with." He pointed to the form she still held in her hand. "That's marked, so I can manipulate it, move it up the ladder."

"What about computers? A lot of this stuff's online."

He looked determined. "I'm going to need a little help on that, but I have ways. Do you know any social workers who might be helpful in this case? I can push it toward them."

"I do, but it depends on their caseload."

"Tell me their names."

"We have to get her in the system first."

"I can take care of that, tell me their names."

She gave him a few names that she knew wouldn't mind a male having custody of a female child. She had never worked with heroes looking for custody, so she didn't know any of those. He nodded. "I can use you as my liaison?"

"Yes." She watched as he stood up.

He smiled at her. "This will be the fastest adoption you've ever seen."

Cimerora 4: Grim Gets Nailed

2010-04-01T09:10:00.001-04:00

Grim followed the Midnighter down the hall. He had gotten the voice mail early in the morning to come to the Midnighters at 9 a.m. Kalius woke him up at 5, an hour before he normally woke him up, and took him out for a run in the dark. Kalius didn't speak to him unless to give him orders. Kal released him at 8:30 so he could go to the Midnighters, but promised that he would look for him later. Grim didn't like the look Kal gave him when he said that.

As he went up the hall, he wondered what the Midnighters wanted with him. Did he know some magic that they might want? Did they want him to teach something? Someone came down the hall, dressed in robes similar to the technomancers. The man said as he walked by, "Lady Blue's on the rag today." Grim took note, and continued following the Midnighter.

He opened the door into a room, where two women and three men sat behind a large table. There were three chairs opposite them.

"Grimaulkin?" said the man in the middle.

"Yes."

"Please sit down."

Grim looked at each of them in turn, and noted one was a woman in blue robes. He pulled out the middle chair and sat down.

"You have been called here for violating the core rule of attempting to assimilate into the culture of a different time, and therefore changing the time stream."

Grim raised an eyebrow. "Say what?"

Another man said, "You purchased a house in Cimerora."

"Yes," Grim said. "It was a vacation home."

"For you and your lover."

"Yes..."

"And you've since given it to your lover exclusively for his use?"

"Well, yeah. Though I still pay for the upkeep."

"You do realize that is against the rules for us to be allowed to stay there."

"It is? I didn't know that."

Said the blue woman, "You lie, mage."

Grim looked at her steadily. "Really? I know of some heroes and villains who rent apartments there."

"Do you?" she stared at him.

"Yes, and you're going to have to rip their names out of my brain because I'm not going to tell you." Grim immediately intensified his "wall of porn" that telepaths met up with whenever they would try and look into his mind.

The woman sat back, and looked at the man in the center. He ignored her. "Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"Yes," Grim said, and spread his hands out on the table. "Kalius has been looking for Dimitrius for over 2000 years. They're both from ancient Greece, and they died in a battle there. They belonged to the Sacred Band of Thebes."

"We know," said the man. "Kalius told us last night."

Grim looked up. "This is Kalius' last life. He's found his love, and will go to the Elysian Fields when he dies. Dimitrius...I don't know what'll happen to him. Can you please let them enjoy the time they have left together?"

They all looked at each other. They communicated telepathically, because Grim could see some of them register emotions on their faces, especially the blue woman who looked disgusted. The man in the center leaned forward.

"Grimaulkin, you can keep the house under the following conditions: One, you will pay the fine that Atticus Titinius Silanus has demanded, 2000 denarii. Two, those who live there will not hold or attend social functions, or interact with the natives of that time, except as necessary and to assist as heroes. Three, they cannot stay there as a permanent residence. Four, you are banned from Cimerora."

"Wait, I'm banned?"

"You have given a good reason for Kalius and Dimitrius to be there, yet there is none for you," said the other woman, not the blue lady. "You knew when you purchased the property that you weren't allowed to do so."

"You cannot be allowed to further damage the time-stream," said the center judge. "Next you'll buy a business, or a ship, or slaves. That is not allowed."

"Can I promise I won't?"

"No," snapped the blue lady.

"I have a wedding to go to there!"

"Too bad."

Grim muttered something darkly. Obviously she had pushed for that.

Said the center judge, "You will have to appoint someone as your proxy to pay your taxes and interact with the Silanus family to pay the fine. We will be happy to do it for you."

"Fine," Grim grumbled.

"We will inform Kalius of Thebes that he and Dimitrius are allowed back to Cimerora with stipulation two and three. We expect the fine to be recieved here within the hour."

Grim got up. "I can give it to you now, but you'll have to convert it."

The man nodded. "We can do that."

Grim pulled out his wallet. "How much?"

"$100,000."

Grim stared at him. "I'm sorry?"

"One denarius is approximately $50."

Grim closed his wallet. "I'll get it to you in the hour."

"Thank you." The door behind Grim opened. "Good day."

Grim turned around and went quietly out the door. The door closed gently behind him. He sighed. At least Kal and Dmitri were allowed back, which was his whole purpose.

Cimerora - 3: Aftermath

2010-03-31T17:06:00.002-04:00

Kalius threw open the door to end the incessant pounding. The man on the other side regained himself as he realized the door wasn't there for him to pound on.

"What."

A woman in robes, and two men in obvious hero outfits stood at the door. The pounder was dressed in casual modern clothes. "Kalius of Thebes?"

"Yes."

"Can we come in?"

He held the door open to them. They streamed into the room, and Kalius passed his hand through his hair. "Is this about last night?"

"Yes, it is." The man in casual dress looked around the house. "How long have you owned this house?"

"My...ex bought it. The deed's right here." He went to a shelf and took down the manila envelope. The man sighed when he looked at it, looked up at the other people. "Almost a year."

The group of them looked around, saddened or upset. The woman in robes went over to the trap door. Kalius watched her carefully. She asked, "What's down there?"

"Wine casks. He bought all the furnishings to make it look lived in."

"Mind if I go downstairs?"

"I do."

The woman turned to him, her eyes glowing gold. Kalius looked back at her, steadily. The casually-dressed man handed Kalius back the deed. "We do not allow anyone to purchase a house here."

"I'm not going to live here." Kalius looked back at the woman. "You *really* don't want to go into my head ."

"Cassie," said one of the heroes. She closed her eyes and opened them, her eyes returned to a normal hazel color. The hero said to Kalius, "Then tell us what is downstairs."

"A vampire."

"You didn't beat this man Atticus because he found out you had a vampire companion?"

"No, he insulted us."

Said the woman coming back to them, "'Greek sheep-fuckers' was the exact term. And catamite?"

The other hero nodded. "Means faggot." Kalius bristled. That hero looked at Kalius. "Just explaining."

"Luckily he's healed, though he wants to exact vengeance," said the casually-dressed man. "Technically, you're not working for the Midnighters, though you have done some things for us in the past. Think you could pay a fine and stay away from here for a few days?"

"Do we lose the house?"

"I'll have to check with my superiors. Most likely, yes. You never should have had it in the first place."

Fucking Grim, Kalius thought in rage again.

The man who explained what catamite meant said, "You have a tie here. Maybe if you promise not to associate with the citizens..."

The woman glided over. "There are other heroes who have ties to Ancient Rome. Do we allow them all to come here?"

The casual man said, "It's not for us to decide." He started to the door, his entourage following. "Please leave by tonight. We'll send a messenger with the amount of the fine."

The people left. Kalius went into the house and punched the stone hearth. He was going to hurt Grim.

Ciimerora 2 - The Banquet

2010-03-31T16:17:00.000-04:00

Spurius watched the guests mill around his courtyard. He had twenty couches, and just ordered the extra two for the two men he invited yesterday. Although the man of the house was Greek, he had hoped his wife or concubine would be of some Roman stock. Otherwise - and he looked across the room at his guest Atticus - things could get a little testy. He had put Atticus far away from his Greek guest.

He sipped his wine and watched the doorway. Then the door opened, and Kalius of Thebes entered, wearing a deep red tunic with an undyed toga over it. Following him came a tall dark-haired man, wearing a simple off-white tunic with the same sort of toga over it. Both men looked confident.

"Soldiers?" asked his wife's brother, Cenna Cornelius, standing at his elbow.

"How do you know?"

"Their stance, how they move, with purpose."

Spurius knew soldiers would drink themselves silly. First Greeks, now soldiers. He couldn't kick them out now. What could be worse?

The two men came down to the dining area. Kalius bowed to the host. "This is my companion, Dmitrius."

Spurius looked up at the tall man, and Cenna gasped. "Your companion?" Spurius asked, not wanting to hear the clarification.

"I am his lover," said Dmitrius in a deep rumbling voice.

Kalius smiled, and Dmitrius moved closer to Kalius. Spurius realized it could indeed get worse. If Atticus found out, there would be insults, and maybe blood.

Cenna was no help, running off and leaving him with the two men. Spurius forced himself to smile. "It is good to see you. Please, come inside. Would you like some wine?"

"I do not drink," Dmitrius said. Kalius said he would take one. Spurius brought them to the couches that lay against the table. Women had stopped and stared at the men, not hearing that they were lovers. A couple of the women smiled at them, obviously flirting. Dmitrius smiled and said to Kalius in their native tongue, "We have admirers."

A few minutes after getting comfortable on the couches, dinner began to be served. Slaves came in bearing plates: jellyfish and eggs, udders stuffed with milk and eggs, boiled mushrooms with peppered fish-sauce, sea urchins with a thick spicy black sauce. Dmitrius watched it all with a smile, and Kalius looked at his lover, grinning. "Been a long time," Kalius said, and dipped the mushrooms in the sauce. Dmitrius acted like he was eating. A couple of dogs had appeared just under the table.

A woman sat next to Dmitrius, and watched as he brought food to his mouth and it would disappear. Dmitrius flashed his hand down, faster than the human eye could catch. The dog below snapped up the food. She smiled and flirted, and Dmitrius would turn to his lover pointedly. A woman next to Kalius was also flirting with him, but Kalius ignored her. Then a slave came over and whispered something to the woman next to Dmitrius, and the woman blushed. She turned back to the table, watching them clear the left overs away.

The first entertainment began. A young lady came out and performed on a lyre. Dmitrius put his elbows on the table and his head on his hand to watch. He smiled, remembering the times he had serenaded Kalius with his lyre in their tents, or all of them belting out drinking songs with the men at the fire. Kalius would sing to him too, quietly, as they lay together, believing he didn't have a voice for it so he wouldn't do it in front of others. Dmitrius glanced at Kalius, who was also enjoying the music. Maybe tonight, he would sing again for Kalius. He hadn't sung for a man since...he didn't want to think about it.

The young girl finished her playing, and there was polite applause. She wasn't bad, but she missed a few notes. Dmitrius saw the resemblance between her and their host, and assumed she was the daughter this banquet was for. Slaves came around and passed rose water over their hands into a bowl, giving them linen to wipe their fingers. The second course followed.

Kalius looked at the food coming out and realized he had forgotten how sumptuous Roman banquets were. Professional musicians were sitting down off to the side, just a quartet, as the slaves brought dishes: Deer roasted with onion sauce, dates, raisins, oil and honey; boiled ostrich with sweet sauce; turtledoves boiled and feathers re-stuck on them. Kalius fell on the venison slices like a man famished. The dogs beneath Dmitrius enjoyed them too.

And still, more food came. Roast parrot. Dormice stuffed with ground pork and pine kernels. Ham boiled with figs and bay leaves, rubbed with honey, baked in small pastry crusts like pies. Flamingo boiled with dates, its head reattached. Musicians played, and people talked quietly. Dmitrius took a pie as someone yelled, "Catamites!"

The room fell silent, and some people turned to look at Kalius and Dmitrius. Both men froze, knowing that word as a Latin derogatory term for a homosexual. Kalius slowly put down his dormice, and Dmitrius followed suit with his pie. A man in long black hair and a beard was standing up next to his couch, shaking with rage. A woman was holding his arm, and the host drew himself up, saying, "They are my guests."

"They are Greek barbarians!" The man glared at Spurius. "You invite these sheep-fuckers in your home?"

Kalius jumped up. Dmitrius moved a little more determinedly. The man shook off the woman, and started moving around the table in their direction. Kalius started going around, to meet him half way, and Dmitrius put an arm out to try and stop his Erastes. Kalius stopped, even though knowing he could easily walk around Dmitrius. "Ignore him, Erastes."

Some people caught the Greek word, including the man heading their way. "YOU'RE the passive one?" He stared incredulously at Dmitrius. "Aren't you ashamed?"

"No," said Dmitrius calmly. Kalius clenched and unclenched his right hand, itching to summon the sword. "You would not understand."

"I understand that you are Greek pigs."

Kalius stormed right up to the man, and even though he came up to the man's neck, and had to look up at him, he exuded more fury than the dark-haired man. "Take that back, right now."

"Fuck you."

Kalius then gave the man a feral grin, and Dmitrius knew what that grin meant. It meant blood.

Kalius said darkly, "Let's step outside, then, and see who fucks who."

Dmitrius got up, knowing that he couldn't stop his lover now. He could pick up the pieces of flesh when Kalius was done.

"Atticus!" Spurius called, "Please don't do this!"

Said another man, "Atticus, they're seasoned soldiers. They'll kill you."

Atticus said, "The little one can try." He led the way out the front door.

Kalius followed, and as soon as he cleared the threshold, Atticus grabbed him by the toga and threw him out into the stone lane. Kalius rolled, shedding himself of the toga and crouching in his tunic. Dmitrius stood at the threshold, hands behind his back and watching calmly. He forced himself to look like he was breathing, since humans were watching.

Kalius got to his feet just as Atticus came down the three stairs. Kalius' eyes were on fire. Atticus stopped for half a second too long, and Kalius sprung at him, tackling him back, landing on the stairs. Then he got up, holding Atticus by a fistful of toga, yanking him up and lifting him easily off the ground with one hand. He cocked his fist back, and slammed it into Atticus' stomach, forcing all the air out of his lungs, then threw him into the wall ten feet away. He slowly walked toward Atticus.

Atticus tried to catch his breath, but he probably had a punctured lung. Kalius picked him up, and punched him again, this time in the face. Dmitrius closed his eyes; that certainly meant a dislocated, if not broken, jaw. People had rushed out of the house, and a woman screamed, "Stop it! Stop hitting my husband."

Dmitrius said quietly, "He shouldn't have said those things."

The woman whirled on Dmitrius and pounded on his chest. It was like hitting a rock wall. "You disgusting Greek pigs! You're unfit for living in this town! I'll have words with Romulus himself!"

"I am sorry to hear that," Dmitrius said, as the husband flew by them into the other wall. Kalius stopped at the mention of Romulus. He hadn't even broken a sweat, and looked like he had just thrown a ball around for fun. Atticus lay in a heap against the wall.

"Do you think that name causes fear?" Kalius roared, his eyes on fire and heading to the woman. "I spit on the name of Romulus. We serve Imperious, the rightful ruler here."

The people looked slightly uncomfortable. Kalius grabbed Dmitrius' hand, and they started walking down the lane at a brisk military march.

Cimerora - 1: An Unexpected Guest

2010-03-31T14:43:00.000-04:00

(Cimerora stories will take place in or concern themselves with that zone)

Kalius was a light sleeper, a left over habit from all those years on campaign. He thought he heard someone upstairs, and immediately bolted upright. The cellar was dark, though he could see the sunlight at the edges of the door and window. He found the lantern and lit it, illuminating the bed he and Dmitrius had manhandled through the door. He headed to the stairs and peered over the trap door of the floor that led to the cellar they slept in.

He heard a woman's voice, singing a lilting tune, and heard her moving around. Then she heard her stop and say in Latin, "What?"

Kalius cleared the cellar entrance and put down the trap door quietly. He straightened his tunica and padded over to the archway of the seating area. A woman in a simple stola with no sleeves stood staring at the couch where Kalius and Dmitrius had left their duffel bags. Kalius coughed politely.

She whirled, and put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, I'm so sorry, sir!"

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I was hired to clean the house once a month, sir," she said, wringing her hands nervously. "My father owned this house before the strange yellow-haired man bought it."

Kalius smiled a little - strange for Grim wasn't the word. "You don't have to come anymore."

She started walking back to the door, her head bowed. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

"No, I had to get up anyway. What did your father do? There seem to be a lot of wine casks around."

"My father was a wine merchant. The buyer bought everything in the house - he wanted it to look lived in." She rolled her eyes a little, "As my father constantly told anyone who asked how he took the stranger for a great amount of money."

"How much?"

"3800 denarii."

Kalius blinked - that was more than he made in one year as a legionnaire in Ceasar's army during this time period. In ten years' service he would have gotten land, but he never lived that long. "Your father certainly did get a deal."

The woman stopped at the door. "I can make you something to eat."

Kalius looked around the hearth - it was cold, and looked like it hadn't been used in a long time. There was a door to the back of the house which led out to a tiny flat area where wood was stacked. His cooking on an open fire was mostly during campaign, and other times women did cook for them. However, he really didn't expect to live there - there were plenty of vendors in the village, and he knew he would be the only one to eat.

"No, I was going to go to town to buy something."

"Oh. I will leave you alone, then."

"Thank you," he said, and watched her leave. He took a breath, and looked around the home. It looked lived in, but in a transient way. He went back downstairs to make sure Dmitrius was all right, and then he did leave to go to a vendor.

He got something to eat and sat on the fountain with some bread, smoked cheese in the shape of a small bowl, and olives in the bowl. He people watched, and the soldiers seemed to examine him out of the corner of their eye. He knew he looked like a stranger attempting to assimilate as best he could. He would have to go to the clothier's to pick up more tunicas.

At the top of the hill to their house stood a man, waiting. Kalius stopped and studied the man from a distance. He was certainly a merchant, from the way he was dressed, probably the man Grim bought the house from. Kalius went up the stairs and the man smiled at him. Kalius gruffly asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Spurius Decia Mus, I was the owner of this place."

"It is a very nice house."

"I thought it had been abandoned. My daughter told me no one had been here for a while."

"He was busy. It'll be used now." Kalius glared at him, waiting for him to leave.

Spurius ignored it. "I will be having a banquet tomorrow night in celebration of my niece's fourteenth birthday. I would like to invite you."

"When?"

"It will begin at sunset."

"Can I bring a guest?"

"Of course!" Spurius clapped his hands. "It is good to meet you..."

"Kalius of Thebes."

He blinked. "Thebes? You're..."

"Greek."

"Ah." The wine merchant smiled even more. "Then it will be good to have you and your guest attend."

"Thank you," Kalius said shortly. "If you'll excuse me..." He opened the door and went inside, leaning against the door. He smiled. He hadn't been to a real Roman banquet in...over a thousand years. Still smiling, he went into the other room and started a small fire in the hearth. This time, he would proudly bring his lover...

Just as the sun hit the horizon, Dmitrius snapped his eyes open. He felt a pleasant, warm weight on his chest, and could hear his lover's heart beat against his own chest, and Kalius' breathing which meant he wasn't sleeping, but lying there comfortably. Dmitrius moved his arm and passed his fingers through Kalius' hair. His breathing quickened just slightly, and he let out a sigh. "You're awake," he said, and moved his head up to Dmitrius' face. They kissed, Dmitrius' fingers still entwined in Kalius' hair, squeezing his fingertips along Kalius' scalp.

Dmitrius smiled, and turned to see the bits of light through the windows. "I've been waking up earlier," he said, and looked again at Kalius. "I have a reason." Dmitrius pulled Kalius on top of him. Kalius smiled broadly.

The sun had dipped under the horizon by the time the two men left the cellar, hand in hand. Kalius put lanterns on through the house, so it was brightly lit. The hearth had a small enough fire to throw off heat to warm Kalius and not disturb Dmitrius. Dmitrius didn't like fire - he tolerated the fireplace in the base, though he sat stiffly next to it, as if ready to bolt over the couch at any errant spark.

"Did I miss anything?" Dmitrius asked, as Kalius finished lighting a lantern.

"We had a couple of visitors."

"Oh?"

"A cleaning lady that Grim hired, and someone inviting us to a banquet."

Dmitrius crossed his arms and gave Kalius a crooked smile. "Us?"

"Me and a guest."

"Ah. When is this?"

"Tomorrow starting at sunset."

"We can show up fashionably late, to let me take a traitorous centurion?"

Kalius nodded. "If we rush now, we can get to the clothiers to get proper clothes."

"Indeed." Dmitrius went to the door and let Kalius out. Kalius locked the door, and when he turned around, Dmitrius was already gone. "Why that..." Kalius chuckled, and saw a dust trail in the dusk leading into the city. Kalius followed at his high speed also.

Treasure Chest

2010-03-30T09:43:00.000-04:00

Once he found the shield, Grim couldn't see his future any more. It wasn't very accurate in his opinion - he wouldn't have gotten hit by the car in Africa if it was. General things he was able to see, such as knowing he and Caden would bond together, Anwen would also have an aptitude for magic and art and steal his items to play with. He would have constant friction with the technomancers. He would find himself in a few physical fights with them. Dmitrius would taste his blood. Stefan would return, then leave for good. There wasn't much after that.

He also saw his end. It was blurry, so maybe the Fates hadn't finished weaving it yet. It was a long time to come, because he knew he would teach an older Caden and Anwen, and reluctantly Aysun in an attempt to turn her against her father.

Grim approached the chest, where the bottles of mages' essences sat. He had also seen himself take them, and saw how they fractured his mind. He already didn't feel like himself. He had insulted Petite, still accusing her of infidelity. He had hurt Aysun, and didn't feel any remorse. He told Rorri he didn't want anything to do with her, since she dealt with the technomancers. Mind you, they saved her life...

My hate will turn me black again, he thought, sitting in front the chest. He looked at the essences, of hero mages that had been taken by the Circle of Thorns. Mages who were taught by covens, like Skylite, or possibly learned on their own. Mages who weren't full of hate and mistrust.

Don't you see? I know what mages can do. I'm one of them! You can't trust them. They use people. I've used people.

Grim picked up one of the bottles. It was red, with gold swirls throughout. This one he knew was a pyromancer. His name was Fire Dancer, and he was Native American, proud of his heritage. Grim had seen himself drink it and remembered he almost lost his mind due to the sheer force of Fire Dancer. Fire Dancer was a real hero, Grim had looked him up on Google. He had looked up all of them. Fire Dancer had a thing against Tsoo. They called him Cub Tawg, The Furnace.

Grim went to put the bottle back, when something said in his mind, Not all mages are like you.

He stopped, stared at the bottle.

You put yourself on all mages.

"They're arrogant sons of bitches."

All of them?

"All the ones in the supposed Order. Except Astor." Astor helped him, gave him the immunity against their probes. He owed him his friendship. Plus he was hot when he wasn't in his robes. "All the girls have fallen for them."

That is not your concern.

"They let them in here! They trust them!"

"Who are you talking to, Grim?"

Grim turned, startled, and looked at Raina. He turned beet red and put the bottle back. "Myself."

Raina looked concernedly at him. "Are you okay?"

"No. But you can't help me."

He got up, dusting himself off.

"I can listen."

"Raina, it's the same old shit that I can't shake." He started walking out. "I'm tempted to ask Jack to mindwipe me."

"What?!"

"Do what he did to Petite, do it to me."

Raina said, her hands on her hips, "He won't do that, Grim."

He turned to Raina and smiled a little. "Wouldn't hurt to ask."

Wildlife Preserve

2010-03-29T15:05:00.001-04:00

Phil Kagan was famished. Talos Island was mostly Camarilla-controlled, with a few pockets here and there that were constantly contested, mostly around the shore. A few Sabbat packs controlled the islands and terrorized the Circle of Thorns there, but Phil didn't like his packmates. He tried to switch around, but the Bishops wouldn't let him. So he took off on his own.

He knew he could be hunted as a Sabbat. He didn't know if he wanted to be Sabbat any more. "Destroy, Drink, and Kill, for Tomorrow We Die," his Bishop kept saying. Phil wasn't that lusty. He had been walking home six months ago in Skyway and got attacked. Next thing he knew, he was buried under dirt, his stomach burning. He crawled out of the hollow grave and bit into the first thing offered. When the red haze cleared, he realized he was wallowing in the blood of a sixteen-year-old girl.

His packmates were disappointed in him. He didn't seem to pick up using a gun very well. He didn't bathe in the blood of his enemies. He didn't really fight much, either. He had excellent hearing, amazing distant sight, and he could feel the patterns of things in his fingertips. He didn't like using them. He didn't like getting dirty. His packmates started calling him Pansy.

Phil had arrived in Talos a couple of nights ago, feeding on the sleeping bums that he saw in alleyways. He caught a passed-out Freakshow once and got so high from it that he was able to jump from roof to roof for a couple of hours. Then he landed in a dumpster and broke his leg, but used his ability to fix it. Not that it didn't hurt.

He saw a group of men in brown vests gathered, and one man off to the side, gazing at the water. He could easily jump that man and drag him away. He approached, low to the ground like a cat, his eyes glazed over with the red haze. A strong, normal man, with thick, heavy blood...

He pounced, one hand over the man's mouth so he wouldn't scream, the other holding him tightly. His body shoved them both to the ground and he felt the air whoosh out against his hand. He roughly shoved the man's head aside and bit hard into the jugular. The blood was sweet, strong, not like the bums, not like Freakshow, but blessedly normal and full of life. He was lost in the ecstacy of it.

Something grabbed him by the scruff of his jacket and lifted him bodily off the man, throwing him aside like he weighed no more than a scarecrow. He flew in the air and was stopped only by the rock wall about a hundred yards behind him. He fell against it, and slid down, stunned. He willed himself out of it, and looked to see a huge white man bent over his dinner.

Phil struggled up. How dare he! With a cry of anger, he rushed at the man. The man merely straightened, and caught Phil by the throat. He felt something snap and saw stars in his agony. Then he felt himself hitting the ground and bouncing.

"Who are you," rumbled the white man above him, "and why are you in my hunting grounds?"

He knew his head was hanging at a weird angle from his body. He didn't think he could speak anyway. Phil could now see that the man was a Cainite like him, but much, much older. He tried to move his head back to its rightful place. When he did, he said, "I--"

Then the man punched him solidly in the stomach, enough to make him throw up the blood he just had. It spewed out and into the Cainite's face, and he punched him again, getting another fountain of blood. He did it one more time for good measure, though not much came out that time.

The Cainite wiped his face and sucked on his hand and coat. "That blood is my blood," he snarled, "and not yours to take."

Phil scrambled back, his clothes soaked with blood. "I--I'm sorry, I won't--I'll leave--"

The Cainite rose. "You're Sabbat."

"No, not anymore! I left them!"

"You are under no one's protection, Thin-Blood. The Prince will kill you outright if you present yourself to him."

Phil pleaded with him. "I don't know what to do!"

"How long ago were you Embraced?"

"Just before Thanksgiving."

The Cainite regarded him, looking thoughtful. "There is no room where I live, and you are still too young to be among kine and not give in to your urges." He watched Phil get up. "I'm sure no one has told you about the Camarilla, other than we all should die."

"The Camarilla holds back freedom." He looked down. "I really don't care about that."

"Oh? What do you care about?"

"I'm a CGI Designer. I don't care about politics."

"Computer art?"

He nodded.

"Did they tell you what your clan was?"

"Clan?"

"Bloodline. Who your sire was."

"No."

He folded his arms across his chest. "Not that I expected it. I'm surprised you survived this long."

Phil looked at the sleeve of his denim jacket, soaked through with blood. He brought his arm to his mouth and tried to suck on it. The Cainite didn't stop him.

"What am I going to do with you," he muttered, shaking his head. "You're an orphan, and will meet your Final Death either way you turn. I can't bring you with me." He looked around. "But I can leave you here. Come with me." He pointed out a small group of gang members, beating on a metallic man. "These are my hunting grounds, and I am appointing you gamekeeper."

"What do need me to do?"

"First, protect the civilians. Second, make sure no one chases them out."

"Protect the civilians?"

"That's what I said." He gazed at Phil. "No drinking from civilians. If I find out you did, I will kill you myself."

Phil gulped.

"You can have any other gang members that pass by. I'll come back and see how you're doing. If you're improving, then I'll expose you to the kine little by little."

"Okay." The Cainite turned from him.

"Take the Freakshow," he ordered.

Phil suddenly felt compelled to do what he said, and ran into the group. The Warriors scattered, and Phil fell on the Freak. He drank his fill, almost draining him, and the world exploded in light and wonder, staying that way for quite some time.

The Cainite was gone by the time he came back down from his trip, and sunrise was dangerously close. He as he crawled into a "Keep Out" mine shaft, he realized he didn't even know the Cainite's name.

Epilogue

2010-03-27T13:10:00.000-04:00

Grim stumbled and fell to his knees. "For God's sake, Kalius, have mercy!"

Kalius, jogging in place, turned around and returned to Grim. Grim had fallen over and lay on his back, staring up at the sun of the Earth they had teleported to. "Be thankful I didn't tell you to go take a swim in the stream."

"We've been running for hours! Uphill!"

Kalius stopped jogging and looked with a smile at Grim. "Raina told me last night you're out of shape."

"No, she said I need to work on my footwork and my speed."

"Which means you're out of shape." He put his hands on his hips and studied him. "Magic's made you lazy."

"Been talking to Mareo?"

"You've been relying on your own magic and Raina's blood to get you by. Time to stop relying on magic."

"You do."

"Sometimes. But I can still fight without it. C'mon, get up."

Grim groaned and rolled to his knees, then stood up. "What's going to happen after this?"

"Breakfast."

"You cooking?"

"No, you are."

Grim whined. Kalius gave him a look, and Grim stopped. "You enjoy this."

He started jogging again. "I enjoy training men to the best of their ability. C'mon, Grim, I know you're better than this." He took off at a leisurely pace.

Grim watched him for a minute. He supposed he was right. He ran to catch up.

Grim stumbled into the base. He looked up to see Priest standing there, and Kalius walking by him nonchalantly. Priest gave him an amused look and sipped his coffee. Grim glared, though there really wasn't any menace behind it, and picked himself up to walk past him. He looked longingly at the couch and headed toward it.

"Eh eh," admonished Kalius. Grim, dejected, headed to the grotto. Jack and Raina, both looking like they just got up, were sitting on the couch together, feeding the babies. Grim looked again at the other couch and took two steps. Kalius grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to the kitchen. "No more sleeping until eleven o'clock for you," he said, and Raina chuckled.

Grim whirled on her. "This is all your fault!"

"You're the one who got his ass kicked."

"And I still don't know why."

"Probably something you said, Grim," said Kalius.

Grim went into the kitchen and got a cup of coffee, making it the way Kalius liked it and handed the mug over to him. Then he made his own. "Pancakes?"

"You're on a diet."

"Oh, for Christ's sake, Kal!"

Jack laughed. Grim glared at Kal. "What, granola?"

"I'll get it." Kal went to the fridge, and thought for a minute. He pulled out a plate with a bagel and cream cheese, an apple and eggs with cheese.

Grim looked at it. "Oh, that's not so bad." He put the eggs in the microwave and Kal got his breakfast as well.

Mareo came in, carrying a black leather jacket over his arm. "Grim, you left your jacket on the couch near the fireplace."

"I didn't have a jacket yesterday."

"Well, it's not mine, it's too nice." He chuckled and came around to the kitchen, handing it over to him.

Grim took the jacket, and flicked it out. He noticed something on the breast and folded the jacket to look at it more closely. Kal looked over his shoulder. "It's a Gorgon's head," he said. It did look like what he pictured Medusa to be, a woman with snakes as her hair. It was embroidered in dark blue thread, so it wasn't very noticeable unless he looked at it directly. "Athena's symbol," Kal continued, and looked at the coat. "Aegis."

"What?"

He lifted the coat. "Aegis. Athena's shield."

"But Hades..."

"Put it on."

Grim shrugged into the coat. It didn't feel any different. Kalius turned from him, rummaged around in the utensil drawer and came up with a knife. Grim watched as he held the knife up, as if to stab him. "Kal!"

Kalius stabbed at Grim's shoulder. At hitting the jacket, the knife bent and broke at the hilt. Mareo stood, his arms across this chest. "Hm."

Kalius gathered the knife parts and tossed them in the trash. Grim took off the coat, and gazed at it. "Maybe this is the gods' way of saying 'I'm sorry'?"

"The apology needs to come from Hermes," Kalius said angrily. "And he will apologize." He looked at Grim, eyes blazing.

Grim didn't think an Aegis could protect him from Kalius' wrath - and possibly Dmitrius as well.

South Africa -2

2010-03-26T18:57:00.000-04:00

He wished he could use magical sight in the air. He wished for telepathy too, but he could only concentrate on one thing at a time. He dropped down at another village, this one just a few kilometers north of the other one. This one didn’t have a church. This one also had no people.

Confused, he started walking around. Something was here, he wasn’t sure what. He slipped into magic sight again and turned around in a circle. He stopped, facing something glowing gold, like a sun.

“Gotcha,” he said, and started walking toward it. He bumped into something, and blinked, his magic sight gone. He had walked into a wall of a building. He shrugged, turned the corner –

He came face to face with a statue in the alley way. First, Grim thought this was a stupid place to put a statue of a running man. Second, Grim saw the frozen look of terror on the man’s face. Grim stared at the statue, and recognition slowly came to him.

Grim went to the front of the building and tried to open the door, but it was locked. He made a rune of unlocking at the door, and he heard a bolt slide back. He tried again, and the door swung open.

He found himself facing a small dining area, with a family seated to dinner, looking in all different directions, all of them statues. Their food was untouched, and looked like it had been like that for at least a couple of days. He walked through the house. It had been ransacked, rooms and mattresses torn apart.

The more Grim went into houses, the angrier he got. Children with looks of terror or confusion were frozen in time. Adults tried to run but were caught. Some tried to hide their eyes but were too late. Babies were turned to stone in their cribs.

That last did it. Grim drew the dagger, no longer a sickle, but the black sword he had seen at his side. He didn’t care if Hades said he wasn’t allowed to kill anybody – whoever did this didn’t deserve to live. He went a little ways down the road and saw the car that had hit him, the engine stopped and the doors wide open. He peeked inside – the keys were still there, and it was in park. He looked in the back seat and saw the woman who had passed out, turned to stone with a look of astonishment.

“Oh, no,” Grim said, and whirled around to look along the side of the road. He looked at the ground but couldn’t read tracks. He stood there for a minute. “Think, think, think…what turns people to stone…?”

He raised his head suddenly, as his mind filled with the answer. Perseus had killed Medusa, with the aid of Athena’s shield, and when he did, Athena took the Gorgon’s visage and put it on her shield from that time forward.

“Oh, fuck.” He should use a mirror. He looked around, again using magic sight. He saw the golden glow. The golden glow wouldn’t form itself into the Gorgon’s face, so maybe if he kept his magic sight up, he would only see it as a glow, not as what it was. However, keeping his magic sight going used most of his concentration, which meant he had none for killing the son of a bitch. And he wouldn’t be able to see him defined, unless he was magical as well.

“Cover the shield, worry about the guy later.” Grim breathed in and out, and flattened his palms out at his sides, aiming at the ground. He began a chant that drew ley line magic, and the power rushed to him, like in the church. He kept his eyes focused on the glow, and walked forward.

He let himself be pulled this way and that, trusting that something was guiding him around the trees that he couldn’t see. He let himself be lifted and set down, and still walked forward. He surrendered to the power like he had felt with Marcus and Stefan. He knew it would buoy him up and keep him protected.

The glow became brighter and faced right at him. Grim looked into the heart of the sun and wasn’t blinded. He worked entirely by feel, as he reached out and grabbed the glow. A man's voice came through, "What...?"

Grim backhanded something, and was satisfied when it connected with a loud crack. His hand stung. He yanked hard on the glow, but it wouldn't give. The glow's holder pulled back. Grim now hauled off and punched something. The man gurgled and slipped back, and the shield slipped off his arm.

Grim turned the shield away from him, and blinked three times. When he focused, a man in stone lay on the ground, holding his neck with one hand and holding his hand out to stop something with the other. Grim set the shield down so its front was on the forest floor. He took off his coat, and carefully pulled up the shield, draping his coat across the front.

Grim began the chant to return home, wondering if he actually killed this man or froze his soul in stone as well. He didn't want to think about it. He wanted to go home.

When he arrived in the magic room, the shield was gone, along with his coat. He sighed disgustedly. “If you wanted a coat that bad, I would have given you one,” he muttered, as he headed to the grotto.

South Africa -1

2010-03-26T17:27:00.002-04:00

Grim appeared hovering twenty feet in the air. He immediately took stock of his surroundings, hoping he hadn’t appeared in the middle of a busy street. Luckily there was a tree nearby, so he flew among its branches. He saw no one below, so he lit down to the base of the tree.

He walked around, trying to get his bearings. He took a few deep breaths and put himself in a trance.

He gasped at the magic here. Ley lines flowed like water, bright and shining. Did they know the power that was here? He tried to sort through the brightness, looking for something divine. He caught a gold light in the distance, and set his body in that direction. He blinked, and the magic sight faded.

Grim looked around, and took to the air. He made a bee line for where he remembered the golden light was. He lit down in an alleyway across from it.

It was centered in an old, run-down church, that looked like it had been transplanted there from the American South. There was no stained glass in the window, though the cross looked newly made. Grim came out of the alley to look on the building, his eyes squinting in confusion.

He walked across the dirt road, where no one except a couple of dogs watched his passing. He climbed the five steps to a set of dark doors and tried the handle. It turned easily. He pushed at the doors, they parted to allow him entry. He slipped inside to the cool dimness of the vestibule.

His boots echoed on the hard woods as he walked in. He looked around, trying to sense where the divine energy would be from. He peeked into areas with the pews. He eased around the corner quietly and stood at the rear of the church, near the basin where the holy water was.

He glanced at the basin, and took the water, making the sign of the cross on himself. Then he walked down the aisle.

The divine energy was somewhere in this room, he could feel it pulsing. The water he had used to mark himself seemed to burn into his forehead, but not painfully. He approached the chancel, glancing at the pulpit and walking on into the sanctuary and the altar.

As he stood at the altar, he felt power fill him from his feet to his crown, and he closed his eyes, thinking that light would explode from them if he kept them open. He cast his head back, let his arms drop to his sides, and leaned back from the altar. He felt himself swept away by it, rising from the floor.

He felt his heart open and power rush into it, like an empty jar filling with water. He didn’t feel his body buck in the air with the force of it. He didn’t see his countenance change, his clothes going grey, and huge black wings sprouting from his back. His dagger at his waist elongated, the sheath disappearing and a black bladed sword appearing at his waist, seemingly held there by nothing.

The power kept him suspended, and he finally opened his eyes. In the golden reflection of the apse containing the Host, he saw the black wings behind him. He stared, and was unceremoniously dropped, the power rushing out of him. He got up, using the altar for leverage, and stared again into the apse. He looked behind him, but saw no wings. He looked at his arms, and he wore the same black jacket. However, he made himself look with magic sight, and his arms were encased in grey. He looked behind him to see the black wings.

He spread his wings experimentally, and looked down at his waist to see the sword there. He gave it a tug, and it settled into his hand. He felt that power again, filling him with strength. He felt he could run through a gauntlet of Malta and survive. LeBeau and company could throw anything he wanted at him, and he would survive it, he knew it.

Grim shook his head. He didn’t want to test the theory, not really. He put the sword back at his waist, which attached to him like invisible Velcro. He took a step off the altar, and the sense of the divine disappeared. The dagger had changed back, his black wings were gone, his clothes were black again.

He looked back at the altar – even the glow on the altar was gone. The shield wasn’t there.

Grim walked a couple of pews down and saw a black man in a priest’s outfit sitting in the back. He smiled at Grim. “Did you see what you are?”

Grim blinked.

"You got what you needed, and you saw who you are." The priest got up, still smiling, and walked out. Grim went to follow, but as soon as he turned the corner, the priest had disappeared.

Grim sighed, and went back outside. He leaned against the doorframe and scratched between this shoulder blades, wondering if wings were hiding under them. He moved out to the road, and made himself see things with magic sight. The ley lines were still bright, and he risked a glance behind him. Sure enough, there were black wings.

“Oh, what the fuck,” he whispered, breaking the spell. He mentally slapped himself. He took a few deep breaths, trying to concentrate. Grim closed his eyes, tried not to think of the wings, and settled himself in a trance. A very bright gold light was in the north…

He didn’t hear the car coming, the horn blaring, or the grating sound of tires trying to gain purchase on the dirt road. But he did feel getting hit.

He landed hard on the hood and into the windshield, cracking it. He rolled off it to the left. He landed hard on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. He should have had broken bones. He should have been in a mess of pain. He was neither. He saw the doors to the car open and people come running to him. “Are you all right, sir?” someone said, while a woman screamed hysterically. Grim looked at the woman, actually tearing her hair out screaming, and he started to laugh.

The four people who looked down at him stared in disbelief as he got up and dusted himself off. “Fine,” he said. “Better than fine.” He grinned. The woman had stopped screaming, and stared at him. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell back against the car, passed out. Grim casually went over to her and checked to see if she was all right. Everyone gave him a wide berth.

He debated on giving the woman a rune to wake up. He decided against it, and then turned to the windshield. Muttering a spell for cohesion, he passed his hand over the cracks and they disappeared. As he did the spell, he felt that power from the church, and it made him feel warm and actually happy inside. He turned to the four people from the car. “I’m sorry, it was my fault. I’m okay, see?”

They nodded. They walked widely around him, afraid. Grim watched them help the prone lady back into the car, and they all got back in. The hood was dented, and so was the bumper and grill, but they didn’t care. He watched them drive away like the devil was after them.

Like before, no one had come out of the houses to see the commotion, no one had peeked outside of windows. He wondered if anyone lived in this village. He looked around, saw no one, and took to the air, heading north.

Hermes' Newest Fan

2010-03-24T17:52:00.000-04:00

"You snore, Master Grim."

Grim turned to Lue and smiled. "I'm suprised I didn't put my arm around you and give you a sloppy wet kiss."

Lue looked away, and Grim laughed. They had woken up an hour before landing, and Grim was drinking some coffee to assist him in waking up. The stewardess came by and asked him for his empty mug, as they were going to be landing in about fifteen minutes. They buckled in, and touched down gently.

Since they didn't have to claim any baggage, they just went through customs. Grim had purchased the tickets as a round trip, that they were going back on Friday night, in order to avoid raising any red flags. They were asked the typical questions, in English, and passed through without incident.

Grim drew a rune in front of Lue and "pushed" it at him. "Translation rune," he said, and did the same for himself. "Should last a couple of hours." Grim took out the map that Pyre had used. She wrote the name of the city on it, because the map didn't show specific cities other than Rio and Brasilia.

A taxi driver came over to them and spoke in flawless American English, "You need a ride somewhere?"

Grim turned to him. "How much to take us to Cambuci?"

The man looked thoughtful. "It's a two hour drive...it will be expensive."

"I half expect that."

He nodded to his cab. Grim and Lue followed him, and they climbed into a nice air-conditioned taxi. The two men settled in for a long ride.

Brazil didn't look that different from America, as they passed many cities with large skylines. "What brings you down here?" the cabbie asked.

Lue looked at Grim. Grim said, "We're looking for something that was stolen."

The cabbie chuckled. "Thieves went all the way to America and came back to Cambuci?"

"Something like that. What brings you here?"

The cabbie then went into a long detailed rant about his ex-wife and two children still in America, how his family disowned him and he decided to get as far away from them as he could. That took up most of an hour.

As they approached the city, the cabbie asked, "What address?"

"The city hall," Grim said.

"I don't know where that is."

"Probably the biggest building?"

"Yeah, maybe." The cab pulled into the city - which wasn't really a city, more of a town. The cab stopped at the largest building, which was actually a bank, but Grim said that was fine. Grim pulled some real out of his wallet and tried not to gasp at the exorbitant price the cabbie quoted. One Brazilian real was worth fifty cents, but that didn't make him feel any better as he forked over seven 100 real notes. The cabbie smiled at the tip, and took off.

Lue said to Grim, "Was that actual money?"

"Nope."

Lue chuckled, "What did you use?"

"Monopoly money. He's got until night time to use them before they change back. By then, we should be done."

Lue nodded, and the two of them looked out at the sleepy town. It was after 9, so people who should be at work were. They walked a little ways to a small restaurant and had something to eat. Grim set up the translation rune again, so they could overhear the conversations.

It seemed that there was a rash of business break-ins recently. This business was no exception, the waitress told them, as they had been robbed right under their noses some time after the church rush and before lunch hour on Sunday morning. Someone had cleaned out the register. Now the manager went to the register every hour and cleaned it out, keeping the money on his person. He knows it wasn't the waitresses, as they had been with him for years.

Grim and Lue looked at each other. It was, after all, a helm of invisibility, perfect for a thief.

They stepped outside into the warm air. Grim stood still, thinking.

"What is wrong, Master Grim?"

"I'm trying to think of the best way to find him. Should I do what I did with the arrows? Even if I come back to my body, he or she might move and I won't see them."

"Then we must bring him to us."

"How are we going to do that?"

"More Monopoly money, and make it noticable."

"Spend money like a drunken sailor?" He looked around. "There aren't many stores around here. And I'm not a philanthropist."

"Always a good time to start."

"Someone will curse me to high heaven when the money turns back."

So Grim sighed and walked back into the restaurant, and paid for everyone's breakfast. He went down the street a little more and stopped in a store.

It took about three hours, and much, much money passed out to children with their mother's, before they found themselves alone in the square. It was a typical town square, with a statue of a man on a horse, sword raised. The plaque discussed some distant foreign war and this man who fought in it.

Grim put the backpack next to him, still within sight. He was talking to Lue, who sat on the other side of the bench, the backpack between them. As he talked, he watched the backpack, and saw that the zipper was moving of its own volition. Grim moved his eyes to the backpack, and then Lue struck out, quick as a snake, and grabbed a hold of something.

A disembodied female voice yelled in Portuguese, "Let me go!" Lue held on tight, and Grim felt up the woman reaching her head. He yanked off the helm. It appeared in his hand, a black Greek helmet with a blood-red metal crest. The woman who appeared was no more than a young girl, about sixteen. Lue still held onto her.

"Let her go," Grim said, and Lue did. She stumbled back and ran away.

Grim stuffed the helm into the backpack, zipping it up. "We have what we need, let's go."

Lue nodded, and Grim got up, hefting the backpack over his shoulder. Grim took Lue's hand. Lue stared at him. "How are we going to teleport together otherwise?" he said with a grin.

Grim conjured the circle and enclosed them, and then imagined the anchor in the magic room and sang the spell to bring them there. Lue held on tight and closed his eyes, expecting the same sort of disorientation that Shadow gave him. He felt solid ground slip from him, and he panicked, but then felt his feet on solid ground again. He smelled the familiar scent of the magic room. He opened his eyes and looked over at Grim.

Grim turned to him with a look of shock. Lue said, "Master Grim?"

"You didn't see him?"

"See who?"

He gulped. "Hades."

"No, I didn't."

"How long did the teleport take?"

"Not very long," Lue looked at Grim, concerned.

"I saw him," he said quietly, almost like a whimper, and walked out of the room. Lue could see the backpack was empty.

Going to Rio First Class

2010-03-23T13:03:00.000-04:00

Grim kicked off his sneakers as he stood at the entrance to the x-ray scanner at the airport. His carry on contained a change of clothes, a couple of paperbacks, and an iPod. Lue had pretty much the same. The two of them knew they couldn't bring weapons, so Grim had left his scythe at home. He felt naked without it, and patted his side nervously looking for it. Grim didn't think he could override the scanning machine or the x-ray machine with a glamour, so he didn't want to take the chance of bringing it. Grim passed through with a beep at his waist - the buttons to his jeans. Lue also kicked off his slip-ons and passed through the scanning machine a couple of beeps that were easily explainable and found.

The two men claimed their backpacks and headed into the terminal. "We still have about an hour. Want to eat something?"

Lue shook his head.

"Don't like flying?"

"I like it better than the teleporting."

"Yeah. We can get to know each other and exchange iPods." He glanced at the concession stands. "Well, I'm getting something."

After a cheeseburger and a small Coke, they boarded the plane. Since they had first class, they boarded after the disabled (one didn't look all that disabled, but was adamant). A couple of other people were in jeans, but most of them were in tailored suits, and a couple with a boy about 10 years old also boarded with them. Both men had a book and their iPod in hand and they stowed their carry ons above. They settled in, Grim at the window, and Lue at the aisle.

About an hour and a half later, they were in the air. Grim watched the takeoff gleefully from his window, while Lue stared straight ahead. A little while later, they each had something to drink. Lue stuck with bottled water while Grim had his regular Coke. In front of them was a TV, and Lue fiddled with it noticing that they had a multitude of channels to pick from.

"Master Grim," Lue said, "how did you learn magic, anyway?"

Grim turned to him, closing his book. "It's a long story..."

Dream Trod

2010-03-23T09:27:00.000-04:00

Grim's astral self knew exactly where it was going. He had remembered the map to Olympus that Hermes had given him, and shot up there. He stood before a huge marble temple, with eight columns around it. He floated inside, to see a grassy courtyard, with a stream running through it, and deer drinking from it. He floated to them, and they scattered.

"As long as I don't catch her bathing, I should be fine," he muttered, and floated further into the temple. He saw a greyhound and it came right up to him. He let it sniff his hand, and then the dog looked up at him with eyes that showed intelligence. Grim wondered if it was a man that Artemis changed into a greyhound.

"Yes," said a voice off to the side. Stepping out from behind a column was a beautiful woman in a long blue dress, with long dark hair. Grim didn't think it was Artemis.

"No," she said with a smile, "I am not Artemis."

"I am sorry, my lady," Grim said and bowed, averting his eyes. "I don't know who you are."

"I am Hecate." She didn't move from the spot. The greyhound went to her. "You come looking for Lady Artemis?"

"To see if she has her arrows, that's all. I put them away--"

"She has them."

"Oh." He looked around the temple. "I guess I'll be going, then."

Hecate nodded, and turned away. "You will know us all eventually, psychopomp."

Grim floated out of the temple and looked at it from a distance. "I wonder if I can find Stefan while I'm here." Olympus was a part of heaven, just like Hades was a part of "hell". Kiko had explained it perfectly, that there were many realms where spirits could go, spirits that would be comfortable in their endings. Olympus was in the "good" neighborhood.

He thought about where Stefan might be, and he saw a gold light in the distance. He flew to it, through fog and clouds, and found himself at a wall, facing what looked like an abyss. Stefan was manning that wall, flying along it. Grim's heart leapt.

"Stefan," Grim called, and the angel stopped mid-flight.

"Michael!" Stefan flew to him, and they embraced in the air. Grim could feel him against him, smell his clean scent. Grim thought he could feel the kiss that Stefan gave him. "I need to patrol the wall--"

"I've missed you so much."

Stefan tilted his head, smiled wanly, and caressed Grim's jaw. "I've missed you too."

Stefan and Grim were oblivious to two angels that flew up in the air a few yards behind them. One wore a scarlet cape and drew a sword, while another wore a light blue tunic and put his hand on the other's sword arm. Stefan took Grim's hand and flew to the edge of the wall, and lit down. They embraced again.

Archangel Michael glared at Archangel Uriel who held his sword arm. "The Seraphim is tainted and distracted. He will remove that ring and he will be no longer in love."

"I don't think that will do it," Uriel said. "We were meant to love man, were we not?"

Michael said nothing, as he watched the two figures in the distance. "Romantics," he spat, and flew away. Uriel grinned, and sent a message to Stefan that he would watch the wall for him while the two reunite temporarily.

When Grim woke up, he felt angel wings brush his face.

Visiting China

2010-03-22T23:00:00.000-04:00

Grim couldn’t read Chinese, and he was lucky he could focus on anything at the moment after being burped out of the Void. Lue looked at the sign on the side of the road and said, “It says Huangtu’an.” Grim looked back at Shadow, who stood in his human form. He shrugged, a very human reaction.

Lue continued, “Maybe Hwang Chung doesn’t exist any more and they changed the name. That happened a lot during the Revolution, and those maps you were using were old.”

Grim nodded. “Well, maybe they’re here. Let’s go see.”

The village wasn’t really a village, as they could see high-rises sprouting in the skyline. “I don’t know how I can do this without a map,” Grim said.

“Have you ever tried to sense it?”

“I can help you,” Shadow said.

Grim raised an eyebrow, and looked at him curiously. “How?”

“Amplify your power.”

“Like Kalius?”

“Yes.” Shadow looked thoughtful. “But it could kill you.”

Grim threw his hands up in frustration. “We’ll fly – well, you jump, Lue – and I’ll see if I can get a sense of things.”

Grim flew up. He knew, somehow, that he was going to get the arrows, but the details were fuzzy. He landed on the tiled black roof of a house, and Lue and Shadow joined him. “Okay, let me see what I can do…” Grim sat down on the roof.
He pictured the arrows as he had made them, silver with false-feather crests and slightly blunted tips. He had the arrow perfectly in mind, and then reached out with his spirit self to find it. He ignored the souls that buffeted him, and concentrated on feeling for the divine.

He saw two glows, one brighter than the other, and he went toward the brighter one. He noted the house, and counted eight living souls there. Then he went to the lighter one. That one was a store, with two living souls. It looked to him like a typical pawn shop.

His spirit self returned to his body, and Grim took a deep breath and fought back the headache that was going to split his mind in two with pain. He looked at Lue. “Got it. But I think we’re going to have to ask for it this time.”

They lit down onto the street and walked the five blocks to the house first. They were stared at as they walked, but Grim paid it no mind. They stood outside a small pagoda-looking house. Grim rang the doorbell.

An older woman came to the door, and Lue spoke to her in a gentle voice. The woman looked curiously at them, and allowed them in. Grim looked at him. “What did you tell her?”

“I said they have something that belongs to us.”

A young man came out from another room, dressed in a wifebeater shirt and jeans. He looked like a punk. Lue spoke to him, a little more firmly. The young man looked defiantly at him and snapped something back. Shadow moved forward, “He’s saying he doesn’t have it, but I sense the energy here.”

“He’s pulling the ‘You’re not cops’ line,” Lue said.

“No, we’re heroes.” Grim shoved by the man and walked down the small corridor. He ignored the protesting man, and walked right into a room, where a little girl was sleeping on a cot. He reached up and pushed aside a drop-ceiling tile, and then pulled down the quiver of silver arrows.

He could hear the woman gasp, and the young man was now shouting, while the little girl rubbed her eyes as she was woken up out of sleep. Grim gave the young man a glare, then shoved by him again, and stormed out of the house. He hefted the quiver over his shoulder and started walking down the street, not caring if Lue or Shadow were behind him.

He had had it. His anger was palatable as he walked into the pawn shop. He drew a translation rune in the air and demanded, “You bought a silver arrow. I want it.”
The two fat men just stared at Grim. The door opened and Lue and Shadow were following him in. “Master Grim—“

“Give me the silver arrow or I will destroy this place a little bit at a time.”

One began, “I’m not sure what you’re—“

Grim raised a hand and drew a rune of force. He threw it at the fat man who spoke, throwing him against the glass case that held the more expensive items. He stayed pinned down in the glass. He turned to the other man. “The silver arrow. Please.”

The man turned and ran into the back room. He returned about a minute later with a silver arrow, and handed it to him just as the door burst open and policemen stormed in.

“Shadow—“

But before the second syllable left his lips, he found he was already back in the magic room, the quiver still on his back, and the arrow in his hand.

One Night in Bangkok

2010-03-21T22:15:00.002-04:00

Grim felt the yank of a teleport that almost tore apart his stomach, and his next moment of awareness was that he was in the middle of a square, with a fountain nearby. People stopped and almost ran away from them.

Grim also jerked back. "Nice, Shadow, real nice. Next time drop us off in the middle of the god damn street, why don't you."

Shadow said nothing. Grim shook his head and looked around in the bright sunshine. At least Shadow appeared as a human here - Grim didn't want to imagine him appearing as his normal "demon" spirit guise. Lue looked green, even with his glamour.

"We need to find a place with a map of the city," Grim said.

"There is a convenience store over there. Let's check."

Lue led them across the street to a small store. "Wait right here."

Grim felt self-conscious, being the only American in the area. Shadow shimmered in the sunlight. Lue came out, bearing a brochure. "Here is a map of downtown."

Grim nodded, and opened up the map. He closed his eyes and centered, and let his hand drift across the paper. It drifted up, and off the paper. "It's not downtown."

Lue frowned. "That was the only map they had. Maybe if we move closer to the airport, they will have better maps."

"The airport is that way," Grim said, pointing on the map and looking in the distance. Then the square disappeared, and he found himself close to a dumpster behind a building.

"GODDAMIT, SHADOW, WARN US NEXT TIME!"

"Sorry," Shadow said. Lue also looked shaky - he had landed in a puddle of water. At least Grim hoped it was water. Grim waited for Lue to regain his composure, and then they all walked around the building. They found themselves facing a very busy but clean street, close enough to the airport to see planes flying in. They were right behind another convenience store. Lue went in, and the two men hung outside. In moments, Lue returned smiling with a booklet. "A street map of Bangkok and its surrounding areas."

"Great." There was a bench nearby, so the three men went to it. Grim hovered his hand over the book, turned pages. Then, he pointed at a spot. "Here."

He fell off the bench, to land onto concrete. Lue stumbled, because he was leaning on the back of the bench. "Jesus FUCKING Christ, Shadow!"

"Sorry," he said again. Grim got up, dusting his butt off. Grim looked up a fire escape. "It's right up there."

"So do we just go in and ask for it?" Lue said.

"What're you kidding?"

Lue grinned. Grim flew up, while Lue leaped up to the second floor fire escape. It led into a bedroom, but no one was in it. Grim peered inside, and saw the spear resting nonchalantly against the wall near the bedroom door. He drew a rune to open the window, and Lue and Grim slipped inside. Shadow hovered outside. Grim could hear voices in the room beyond. They crept across the room and just as Grim reached the spear, the door opened.

A woman looked directly at him, speechless. He grabbed the spear, smiled and said, "Hi."

She started screaming.

"Shadow, teleport out now!"

Grim ran back to the window as a man appeared behind the woman. The man shoved the woman aside and went at Grim and the spear. He tackled Grim onto the bed, and Lue jumped onto him, a spike erupting from his hand to pierce the man. The woman screamed again, and the man was yelling something to her.

"Shadow, teleport dammit!"

"Not with him!" Lue said, trying to pull the man off Grim. But then Grim felt pain as he fell face first onto grass.

Without the spear.

Coffee

2010-03-21T10:14:00.002-04:00

Grim awoke, moaned and moved, and the map lying on his chest slipped to the floor. He didn’t have to fall that much further, as he was still on the floor in the center of the magic room.

Maps were spread out everywhere, maps of cities of the world that he was able to scrounge in the library. Some were dated back to pre-Vietnam and still had the markings for East Germany. He looked at the world map that had fallen off his chest. It had three circles marked on the world map, and they were so far away from each other. He had at least found the spear – in Thailand. The arrow was in China, and he had found the Helm in Brazil just moments before passing out.

“I could use a coffee,” he moaned.

“I heard that,” said a voice, and Grim looked over to the door and saw Jack there with a tray in his hands. “You look like you need some.”

“Your coffee?” Grim gave him a look of mock horror. “Gimme.”

Jack chuckled and Grim got up, meeting Jack half way. “What’re you doing down here?” He took the milk and sugar and made it to his liking.

“Raina wanted breakfast.”

“Got anything left?”

He gave him a look. “This is Raina we’re talking about.”

Grim chuckled, “Ha, yeah, right.” He sipped the coffee. “Leaving soon?”

“Yeah, really soon.”

Grim nodded. “As soon as I find the shield, I’ll be off, too.”

“Alone?”

“I’ll be fine.” He looked at Jack. “I wouldn’t ask the team to get involved in my issues.”

“Mike, we’d help you, you know we would.”

Grim shook his head. “I don’t want to pull a LeBeau, you know?”

Jack tilted his head and regarded him. “This is different.”

“Yeah, these are gods, which makes it even worse.” He drank the coffee. “I know Raina is like, ‘Gods, pfft’ but I have a lot of respect for them. They do things for me, and I don’t want to see them angry at me. Besides, I work for one.”

Jack sighed. “Remember that there’s people who would help you. Pyre, Mareo, Mark and Petite, and even probably LeBeau and his motley crew.”

Grim suddenly went pale, and handed the coffee back to Jack. “Thanks for that, I need to get back to work.”

“What’s wrong?”

“On Judgment Day, Gabriel came over and quoted the Bible to me, Luke 17:3. ‘So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him.’ “

Jack said nothing, and Grim turned to the circle. “Hope you guys like roller coaster rides, because between them and me, this is going to be a doosy.”

“Mike, it doesn’t have to be that way.”

Grim walked down to the circle. “We’ll see. Thanks, Jack. I’ll let you know when I leave.”

Jack watched Grim sit down and then turned and left, closing the door behind him.

The Quest - Prologue

2010-03-21T09:30:00.000-04:00

Gods never sleep, but they get distracted.

Ares picked up his spear and wondered who he would use in Fallujah to do his dirty work. It had been a while since he’d smelled burning flesh, so he thought a car bomb would be perfect for this. He shifted his form into that of a typical Iraqi soldier, gun at the ready. He walked over to a young man, a freedom fighter, and put it into his head that maybe that car right over there would be ripe for a car bomb.

The young man thought it was a great idea, and went to his leader and got the parts for the bomb. When he returned an hour later, the car and the soldier were still there. He broke in easily, tossing the C-4 in the passenger seat. Then the young man got into the car and drove away.

Ares smiled, and followed. As he was stopped in traffic, Ares thought this would be a great place to have the bomb go off. He raised his spear, aiming it at the passenger side door. He threw it, knowing it would easily pierce the metal and hit the C-4 inside.

The spear hit the door and exploded like glass.

Ares stared at what had happened. The young man broke free from traffic and continued on his way. He was heading to the Green Zone, but that didn’t put him in a better frame of mind. Still as an Iraqi soldier, he walked into the middle of the street, getting honked at by horns but being driven around, and looked to see if there was anything left of his spear. Bits glittered on the street, bits of magic.

Mortal magic.

Athena grabbed her spear and shield and laughed at her companion, Nike. “I would spar with you again.”

“You could spar with Eris.”

“She cheats.”

Nike also laughed, holding her own spear and shield loosely, and they went to the sparring area of Olympus.

“What about Herakles? He’s always good to watch.”

“You want to see him in the lion’s pelt.”

“That too.”

Athena took a simple battle position. “Have at me!”

Nike looked side to side, and thrust once with the spear. Athena moved to block it with her shield.

The shield shattered like glass, and the spear went through it, hitting her armor and deflecting off it.

“What…?” Athena stared at the floating bits of light that settled down on the floor of the sparring grounds. Nike put her hand to her mouth in shock. Athena’s brow furrowed in anger, and Nike knew better than to stay in the same area.

Athena stormed to her father, where she saw Artemis also there with Hecate. Athena bowed to Zeus and nodded to her half-sister.

“What are you missing?” Zeus asked Athena.

“My shield, my lord father.”

“There can, of course, be only one who could do this.”

Artemis and Athena said at the same time, “Hermes.”

Zeus sighed. “It seems, fair Athena, that Hecate has noted who created these imitations.”

Hecate nodded. “His magical name is Grimaulkin. He’s a mortal magician. A very good one.”

“Where is Hermes?” asked Athena.

Zeus gave her a look. “Where do you think? Hiding.”

Athena looked exasperated. Artemis glanced at her. “We know who made them—“

Ares thundered into the room. “He will find them.”

Athena looked at him. “How?”

“Because I told him to.” Ares glowered. “I took away my blessings from his beloved. He’ll do anything for him.”

Athena said, “Why did you do that?”

“Because I can’t do anything to him, he’s protected by a seraphim.”

“So you’re taking it out on your champion. Brilliant as always, Ares.”

“I want my spear back.”

“Holding a man hostage won’t bring it back any faster!”

“Cease,” said Zeus, his voice rumbling. “This Grimaulkin is a servant of Hades. His fate is already sealed and you are not going to cut it short, Ares.”

He raised his head defiantly. “I can do what I want to my champions, though.”

Athena turned away, muttering. “The horse bites you so you kick the dog,” Hecate said, shaking her head at Ares.

“Hermes can disappear for years,” Athena said.

“Then we must use the mortal.” Zeus looked to Athena. “You will go to Grimaulkin and assist him. Give him your blessings until this is over.”

“I will help too,” Hecate said, stepping forward. “He’s a mage.”

“He has magical help,” said Zeus. “He has many friends who can help him with that.”

Athena asked, “What is missing?”

“Some of Artemis’ arrows, your shield, Ares’ spear, and my brother Hades’ helm.”

Athena nodded. “I will give him wisdom and foresight.”

“He will see his own future, Athena.”

“Yes, my lord father.”

“Go and mend the rift Ares caused.” Zeus looked at Ares who, at first stood defiant, then backed down slowly.

Hecate stepped forward. “Wait, Bright-Eyes, I will walk with you and tell you about him.”

Athena went to go put on her armor, and listened to Hecate tell of Hades' newest servant.

Payment Demand

2010-03-18T10:48:00.000-04:00

Grim got hit over the head with the wooden sword again.

Kalius waited for Grim to get back into position. Grim shook his head to clear it. “There must be a spell to learn sword fighting.”

"There would be no fun in that." Kalius grinned.

“You like to kick my ass, and you know it."

Kalius merely chuckled and turned from him to toss a water bottle to him. Grim was able to catch it easily. He set down the sickle, which changed into its usual silver dagger. “How can anybody fight with this thing?”

“It’s not meant for fighting, Grim. It’s meant for harvesting.”

“Well, I should learn how to use it as a weapon.”

“Speaking of weapons…” came a voice from the door.

Grim and Kalius turned in unison to regard the blond man at the door. Dressed in a simple white tunica, Grim knew exactly who he was. He took one step, and was inside the ring with them. He smiled at Kalius, “Greetings, Ares’ Bulldog.”

Kalius glowered, and his armor appeared, along with the sword, which he held at the ready.

“Easy, Rover,” the blond man said. “All you Ares types, temper, temper.”

Grim reached out instinctively to guide Hermes away and put a hand on his arm. The feeling Grim suddenly got was beyond anything he’d ever dreamed – he knew how to pick locks. He felt he could run like a gazelle. He knew the ways to Olympus and Hades, how to unlock the gates, the paths through the dreamscape, and the utterances of command. He felt suddenly lucky and with a sense of wanderlust and thought he could change shapes – all at once.

Hermes slowly disengaged Grim, and almost everything he had felt slipped his mind, except the paths to Olympus and Hades, through dreams and travel. Grim stared up at Hermes, not realizing he had fallen flat on the floor and Kalius was kneeling over him. Grim looked at Kalius, blinking, and said, “It was a message.”

“What was a message?”

"Ares cares for his warriors.”

“What?” Kalius sat back.

Hermes folded his arms over his chest. “I would have let him figure it out.”

Grim blinked, and everything he was going to say fled from his mind. "Nothing, nothing." He shook his head at Kalius.

Kalius looked up at Hermes. “And what do you want?”

“To collect my payment.”

Grim stood up slowly. “You said a couple of months. I'm not done."

“Give me what you have.”

Grim climbed over the fence. "I'll be right back," he said to Kalius.

"I'm going with you." Kalius followed Hermes, keeping a close eye on him. They went into the magic room, and Grim pulled out some items from the endless magical chest put there.

Hermes watched as a quiver of arrows, a spear, a helm, and a shield - all made of bronze. Hermes smiled. "This is good enough," he said, and picked up one of the spears. "Excellent work."

"Yeah, thanks." Grim had tried to keep his signature off of them, knowing that whatever Hermes had planned, it couldn't be good. He hoped that the gods wouldn't know who made these things and wouldn't go hunting him.

Hermes waved his hands and the items disappeared. "Your enemy is in the deepest pits of Hades, as you asked."

"Thank you," Grim said.

Hermes motioned to the dagger at Grim's belt. "You plan on using that as a weapon?"

"I might as well, since I carry it."

"Lord Hades would find that amusing. You have noted my gift?"

He nodded once. Kalius stared at him. "What gift?"

"I know the way to Olympus and Hades," Grim said quietly.

"Heaven and hell, and everywhere between. You are the Mapquest of the universe."

Grim actually started to laugh at the look on Hermes' face, as he had delivered the line in a total deadpan. Hermes smiled, took another step, and disappeared.

Kalius looked at the area the weapons had been. "Something tells me this isn't going to end well."

Revant

2010-03-17T20:26:00.000-04:00

Dmitrius heard the footfalls as he fed. He had been at this long enough to not be totally enraptured with the Kiss, but to still pay attention to his surroundings. The footfalls were light, a dancer's movement. He licked the wound closed but kept his head bent over the Warrior he claimed. Then he moved like the wind, appearing behind the approaching woman.

She shrieked, as Dmitrius stood still, waiting for her move. She was a wraith of a neonate, so new as to be at least 30 or 40 years dead. She consciously made herself breathe, a waste of thought as far as Dmitrius was concerned. He no longer bothered. He breathed enough to speak.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he demanded.

"You're the Elder who came to Court," she said, turning around to look up at him.

"You didn't answer my question." His hand flashed out and grabbed her by the upper arm, holding her in a tight grip of stone wrapped around flesh.

"They call me Revant. I wanted to see if you were real."

He removed his hand and studied her.

"I'm sorry if I bothered you." She motioned to the prone Warrior. Dmitrius hadn't put the teleporter on him to send him to the Zig.

"Finish him if you wish," he said.

She looked up at him adoringly and ran to the prone body. She finished him quickly, draining him totally dry. Dmitrius kept an eye out, to make sure they weren't disturbed. She got up, wiping her lips, and again looked up at Dmitrius in awe. He wondered fleetingly if her curse was adoration.

"So, I am real. Is that all you require?"

"I stopped Leander from attacking you when you came to Court."

He remembered, the young man who came at him in Elysium. He couldn't tell clans from sight, but he assumed he was Brujah. He couldn't quite tell what clan this woman hailed from, and he thought it was impolite to ask.

"You expect that I should owe you?"

She blushed - a waste of blood, Dmitrius thought. "No, no, I...I don't know what to expect."

He regarded her. "Revant. I am not a rock star, nor am I a powerful god, nor am I here to lay waste to you and yours. I am here because something I care deeply for is here as well, and I won't leave it."

"What is it?"

"If I wanted you to know, I would tell you." He started walking away.

"Wait!"

He turned to see her kneeling. "Please, I want to be your servant."

He made the human motion of sighing. He went back to her and barked, "Get up."

"I'll be Blood Bonded if you want!"

"I don't need or want a servant."

"Please! I'm begging you!"

Dmitrius shook his head and walked away, and then he stopped a short way beyond. If she knew what he was, what would stop...

He shook his head again. No, he won't worry about them, but he would tell Kalius. He didn't think they would travel to ancient Rome looking for him, but one never knew.

Guinea Pig

2010-03-17T14:48:00.000-04:00

Grim locked the door to the magic room, and turned slowly to face the chest. It looked like a simple Circle of Thorns chest, no glowing, buzzing, humming, or strange runes on it. He went over to it and lifted its lid. They didn't even lock it.

Inside were about twenty tear drop shaped glass vials, about a foot long each, of different hues and colors. He thought he could see some of them have items swirling in them, but if he focused on them, they just were a different color. He could see his, a dark navy blue with dark gold swirls. He took it and held it up. Inside was liquid which swished around when he moved the vial back and forth.

They took it out through his ear, and he didn't know if he could - or should - stick it in his ear and pour it back. He went to Pyre's grimoire, and put his hand on a blank page to see what answers it would give. Ingest, imbibe, inject.

Grim looked at the vial. "Well, bottom's up." He put his mouth on the tip and tilted the vial up. The liquid was warm on his tongue, tasting like warm, but slightly thick, water. He drank it all, feeling the warmth go down his throat to his stomach. He waited.

The vial changed color, back to a clear glass, then started cracking. It fell apart in his hand. At the same time, he felt warmth, pleasant and gentle, like a blanket covering his nerves and body, bringing him peace, and strength, and memory. The knowledge of the runes came back immediately, and he laughed at the simplicity of them.

Still filled with that peaceful feeling, he turned again to the chest. He sat down in front of it and pulled out the vials one by one. The ones that he thought had items actually did, like a bird in one, and a flowering rose in another. All had markings in corrupted Theban, that looked like names or parts of names. The symbols were written in different hands, different styles, but the same corrupted language. He guessed that a higher mage had his acolytes do the work - was there someone in that lair that this chest belonged to?

"Oh well," Grim said, and started putting some of them back. He stopped, staring at one, silver with black lines twining through it, and the letters SKL in Theban etched on it. He peered inside it, but couldn't see beyond the silver glass. Grim put the rest back, but kept this one out.

The warmth had faded, but the knowledge, luckily, had not. Mage curiosity got the better of him. "All I need to do is the same thing," he said to himself. To be sure, he went into the magic circle with it and called a protective circle. He sniffed the opening of the vial - it smelled of anise. He could stand that.

He tipped the vial into his mouth and it tasted horrible, like mud and mint, hot pepper and candle wax. He forced it down, all of it, and waited for the warmth to fill him. Again, the glass became clear, and shattered in his hand.

Nothing happened at first. "Well, that--"

I AM SKYLITE!

Grim fell to his knees as his persona slipped away, and he thought for a fleeting moment that he was Skylite, Heroic Mage of Mirrors and Glass, real name Cassandra Dawn, married to the hero Flightpath, with three daughters--

NO. Grim dragged himself back into the forefront of his mind. He didn't realize that he was curled up on the floor, his body contracted in spasms. I am Michael LeBonte, Grimaulkin, I know runes, I'm loved by Stefan--

SKYLITE! Each personae fought for dominance. He saw memories of Skylite, her long (fake) red hair cascading forward as she cast a spell along the glass, drawing images out from them that became solid and real. He saw her memories of her daughters, how she trained them in magic with her husband watching, amused, and the love that they shared...

GRIMAULKIN! Roughly, he shoved her memories and essence aside in his mind. What remained was her spellwork. He took all that in, absorbing it into his own psyche. He coldly and calmly detatched her persona from the spellwork, like taking color out of a picture. Her persona, being slowly dismantled, tried to constantly reform, her voice and essence getting smaller and smaller. Finally, he savagely used runes of destruction upon the persona remaining. It shattered in a million pieces, like the glass he was rolling in.

He came back to himself, breathing hard. He hurt everywhere, inside and out. He waited, unfocusing, not wanting to go traipsing in his mind again. He didn't know how long he lay there, breathing, his eyes closed. The pain subsided until it was a dull ache, and he pulled himself out of the fetal position. He took a deep, deep breath, causing another ache.

He sat up. The barrier of the circle remained, the door to the room still locked. He wanted to lie right back down. He crawled to the edge of the circle and banished it, then lay face-first on the floor. Rest a little more...

Finally he felt like he could move. He got up, and climbed out of the circle in the floor. He stood on shaking legs, and looked for the glass on the floor. It had turned into piles of dust.

Mage of Mirrors and Glass, he thought, and called up the spells in his mind. A warmth filled his chest, power ready to be used. He looked down at his chest, and it glowed with a silvery-grey light. The glow flowed down his arm to his right hand, his projective hand. He uttered a spell, and a small glass orb, the size of a golf ball, formed in his hand. Gold swirlings covered it, constantly shifting.

Gods, he had a headache. He brought the ball to the magical chest and placed it inside it. As soon as he did, though, it turned to dust.

He suffered through the headache, and left the magic room. As he did, he went through the spells, of the things that he could do now. According to Skylite's beliefs, anything glass or a mirror had imprinted on it the images of whatever passed on them or through them. She could view the images in glass or the mirror. She could also create an image in the glass, and pull those out as illusions. This extended to any reflective surface, including water, computer screens, and TV screens. She could also tint the glass darker or lighter at a touch.

However, he lost concentration when he saw Pyre, and saw that she wanted to apologize...

Captive

2010-03-14T12:08:00.001-04:00

Grim knew he was tied up because he tried to bring his hand to his head. And he was cold, so he knew he had been stripped of his armor. Okay, think, think, think...it was you and Pyre, you finished off the mages, and then suddenly you felt totally drained so you sat down for a second, and you closed your eyes for just a second, and now you're...

He opened his eyes. The cave he was in cast and eerie blue light, and he could see things around him. Nothing was in his room. He smelled the heavy Envoy incense in the air, incense that was typically used by the Circle.

"Shit." He tried to move his hands, but they were smart, these Circle, binding his hands so that his index and middle finger were bound together, and the ring and pinky were bound also, so that he couldn't create runes or cast spells behind his back. He thought he heard movement, and saw a thorn acolyte peek over the hole in the floor.

"Hey, what's a guy gotta do to get some coffee around here?"

The acolyte ducked back below. Grim looked around and started singing Bohemian Rhapsody at the top of his lungs.

He got to the first chorus when he saw the Madness Mage cresting over the entrance way to the room. Following him was a man in red and yellow robes and markings. The Madness Mage immediately sent out an attack, but Grim was ready for it, and flared a rune in his mind to block it.

The Sealer in red looked at Grim casually. "Tell me what you know of the Strategist and the Vessel."

"The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle, the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true."

They stared at him, and the Madness Mage tried to force his way through, but Grim gave him some porno for his trouble. The Sealer conjured a ball of flame. "You will tell us."

"What do you want to know?"

"What are his plans?"

"He's thinking of growing a little garden in Atlas Park, way in the northwest corner. He'll have zucchini, lots and lots of zucchini."

The Sealer approached with the flame, holding it very close to Grim's face so that he could feel the heat. Grim refused to flinch from it, and stared steadily into the glowing green eyes. "You will tell us," he said.

"Or you'll set me on fire? Been there, done that. Doesn't hurt anymore."

The Sealer pressed the fire into Grim's shoulder. Burning flesh filled his nostrils, and Grim refused to show any pain, but it hurt like hell. He closed his eyes and swallowed the screams of agony that came to his throat. He involuntarily let out a suppressed cry. The pain traveled along his shoulder to his arm, and then the agony was too much.

"Stop, stop!"

The Sealer kept his hand on Grim's upper arm near the shoulder. "What are his plans?"

"To take over the world!"

"And the vessel's?"

"Her too!"

The Sealer removed his hand, and Grim slumped against his bonds. Raina's blood healed him, albeit slowly, but the pain was still there. The Sealer regarded Grim. "I will be back." He looked at the Madness Mage. "In the meantime, do what you had planned to do, it will make things easier."

The Madness Mage nodded, and grinned at Grim. "Welcome back to the fold, Initiate," he said. Grim watched the Sealer walk away, then slowly turned his gaze on the Mage.

"Ha, fuck you."

The Madness Mage laughed. "Thought you'd say that, but that's okay. We have plans for you."

"Everybody's got plans. Whatever happened to spontaneity?"

The Mage motioned with his hand, and an acolyte appeared with a small box. He opened the box and took out a clear glass thing that looked like an AquaGlobe, a teardrop shaped item that had a long stem. The Mage smiled and set the tip of it against his ear. Grim tried to jerk back but someone else held his head still. The Mage grinned at Grim, and then shoved the tip in further. Grim screamed at the pain, feeling that tip seemingly pierce his brain.

The rune blocking the Madness Mage faded away and disappeared. Grim searched for another one in his mind, grabbed a hold of it, but felt it slip away. He tried to find spells, but caught only pieces before those too slipped away. He searched through the agony, pain-blocking runes, offensive runes, wards, spells, anything...nothing stuck. Then, there was nothing in that part of his memory. Languages, gone. Spells, gone. Runes...gone.

Slowly, the pain in his ear dwindled and he opened his eyes to see the acolyte put the glass teardrop back. It was colored a dark blue, and he could see symbols in brighter colors swimming in the round part of the teardrop. The Mage smiled. "This will be useful." He looked up at Grim. "So, come back to the fold?"

"Hell, no."

The Madness Mage filled his mind with horror, but Grim had seen this stuff before and it did nothing to him. "You can do better than that, can't you?" Grim said mockingly.

The Madness Mage walked away, "Maybe not me, but there's a whole line of us to get to you." He chuckled darkly, and walked down the ramp and out of the room.

Grim cast his head back and started building the stronghold of memories that Jack had taught him.

Dmitrius Acheron (Dimitrius updated)

2010-03-12T16:15:00.001-05:00

Dmitrius Acheron (Dimitrius updated)

Clan: Brujah Generation: 6 Nature: Defender
Demeanor: Defender

Blood: 30 Morality: Humanity Aura: +3
Willpower: 15 Morality Traits: 4 Self-Control: 4
Conscience/Conviction: 6 Courage: 4

Physical Traits:
Agile
Brutal X2
Dexterous X2
Enduring X2
Quick
Stalwart X2
Tireless: X3
Tough: X3
Vigerous X2
Wiry

Mental Traits:
Alert X2
Clever
Creative
Cunning X2
Disciplined X4
Knowledgeable X3
Observant X2
Patient X4
Vigilant

Social Traits:
Alluring X2
Charismatic X2
Commanding
Dignified
Eloquent X3
Intimidating X4

Abilities:
Academics X6 Doctorate in History, English, Masters in Political Science.
Animal Ken
Athletics X3
Awareness X2
Brawl X7
Computer X2
Dodge: X7
Drive: X3
Etiquette
Expression X2
Finance X3
Firearms X2
Intimidation X5
Linguistics X7 (Greek, Latin, Egyptian, English, French, Spanish, Arabic)
Law
Melee X8
Occult X3
Security X2
Survival X3

Disciplines:
Celerity: Alacrity
Celerity: Swiftness
Celerity: Rapidity
Potence: Prowess
Potence: Might
Potence: Vigor
Potence: Intensity
Fortitude: Endurance
Fortitude: Mettle
Fortitude: Resilience
Fortitude: Resistance
Fortitude: Aegis
Obfuscate: Cloak of Shadows
Presence: Awe
Presence: Dread Gaze
Protean: Eyes of the Beast
Protean: Feral Claws
Protean: Earth Meld
Animalism: Feral Whispers

Backgrounds:
Allies X3
Resources X5

Influences
Finance

Merits:
Ambidextrous
Iron Will
True Love

Flaws:
Enemy (Assamites, Sabbat)
Touch of Frost

The News

2010-03-08T16:15:00.001-05:00

Dmitrius held the phone to his ear, while Kalius had stepped out of the room. "Hello, Rowena," he said.

"Dmitri, luv!"

Dmitrius smiled. "Rowena, I have some news for you."

"Yes?"

"I'm getting married."

"To that man you were searching for?"

"Yes."

"That's wonderful! When is the wedding?"

"After I take care of things down there."

"Will he be Embraced before or after?"

"He won't be, Rowena."

Rowena tsked. "Dmitrius, I know you haven't had much experience with mortal lovers, but it really is not a good idea to have a purely mortal lover. They will grow old and you will have to take care of them, and by the time you want to Embrace them it will be far too late, so it would be better to Embrace him now, while he is in the prime of his life--"

"No. I love him. That's that."

Rowena immediately fell silent. He had used his voice to command other vampires and men before, but didn't realize that he actually used it. Kalius entered the room, and didn't think anything had happened.

"I'm sorry, Rowena."

"No," she said quietly. "Don't be. I've had mortal lovers, Dmitrius. It always seems to end badly."

"I appreciate your advice." He put an arm around Kalius and sat with him on the couch, still talking on the phone. "I have a question for you. Will you come to the wedding?"

"Who else is going?"

"I was thinking of Aelric and Nexus if I can get a hold of him. It will be small, because Kalius' family has to come from California. And we are going to do a separate ceremony with his friends here."

She paused. "I haven't seen them in a long time...yes, of course I'll go. Do you need anything?"

He looked at Kalius and smiled. "No. Not anymore."

Kalius had gone to the grotto for a moment, and Dmitrius stayed up in the room. He called Cairo - it was only 1 a.m. there, while it was 6 p.m. in Rhode Island. He went through layer upon layer of personnel - most didn't remember him, but that was expected. Finally, he heard a familiar voice, a voice unlike anyone else, a voice that sounded like stone grinding against stone. "Dimitrius of Thebes," the man said.

"Aelric Princemaker."

He chuckled. "I have not had that designation in over a hundred years."

"Because you choose excellent princes for your city, my friend." The two men spoke conversational Latin, what they had spoken during their time before the Exodus to the New World. The younger vampires were always angry when Aelric's words travelled on the wind and Dimitrius would respond, as if speaking to no one but everywhere at once. Aelric was a master of hiding, and later a master of Shadows, learning from a Lasombra vampire he supposedly "kept" (though rumors said different, no one could prove it, and the Lasombra was killed by her own clan when she escaped). Even the shadows could carry words on them, and this is how he became a master of secrets and information.

"You did not call to exchange pleasantries."

Dmitrius knew Aelric liked to get directly to the point. "I have news. I have found my lover that I thought was killed in the Battle of Lucerna."

"How? Is he an animated body?"

"His soul is in another man's body."

"Ah, reincarnation."

"More than that." Dmitrius explained Kalius' agreement with Ares, and what had happened since. Aelric listened in silence. Dmitrius knew him well enough that the man did not waste air or movement to acknowledge anything to the speaker. Others would think him rude. He considered himself a conservationist. Dmitrius had taken a lot of that from him, but was slowly losing it as he was gaining in his humanity.

"So he will be your childe?"

"No."

"He will grow old and die."

"I will die with him."

"You will walk into the sun for him?"

"I will."

Aelric was silent for a while. Finally, he said, "It's good that you've found your love again. You know what you're doing."

Dmitrius smiled, and said, "Thank you, Aelric. We're getting married."

"Whatever for?"

"Kalius wants to. To show the Gods that we are meant to be as one. I want you to be there."

"As your best man?" He chuckled.

"You and Nexus."

"I have not heard that name in a long time. I heard Nexus went feral in the '70's."

"He was in Russia at the Fall in '89. He sent me a letter via courier saying he was going through Russia."

"The two of you were the fiercest fighters I had ever seen," Aelric said wistfully.

"My lover taught me the basics. Nexus taught me how to fight dirty."

"And your lover? Does he still fight?"

"Very well."

"I should like to see that."

"You always enjoyed watching that."

"You were the brawn, I was the brains."

"More than that, Aelric, much more than that."

"You flatter me because you want me to give you a fine wedding present."

"I only want you to be here."

He was silent again. Then his voice came over the line, "For you, Dimitrius of Thebes, I will gladly cross the ocean."

Dmitrius' voice was warm. "Thank you, Aelric. Thank you so much."

"When will this take place?"

"After I take care of some business in Texas."

"Then let me know. I will inform my people to put you directly through."

"Thank you, Aelric. Peace be upon you."

"And upon you, old friend."

The Search for Stefan

2010-03-07T13:53:00.000-05:00

Kiko had given Grim an idea, but as he lay in bed, he thought of one better. He got up, headed toward the grotto. He pulled out some valerian tea from the fridge and microwaved it to warm it up. He sipped it as he went to the magic room.

Grim pulled out a straw mat that he had used a couple of times before for meditation, so he could easily slip into that mindset. He normally didn't like etheric travel - stories he remembered from the Circle had scared him from it, of people who had left their bodies vulnerable and got them destroyed, or who were lost forever in the ether and their bodies wasted away. He had to get over his fear. He had to know.

Grim lay down on the mat and let the tea relax him. He closed his eyes and chanted in his mind, until he felt himself slipping into something beyond sleep, into a trance. He knew his body's functions had slowed, and he felt himself rise up from his body.

He couldn't sense an "up" or "down" direction. Instead he concentrated on Stefan, on feeling him near again. Then he felt himself almost "whoosh" in the air, hurtling through space faster than he'd ever flown before. The next thing he knew, he was in a huge gymnasium - set up like the Roman-type of gymnasium, with assorted pells and other training items. He could see Stefan, alone, battling pell after pell, running from one to the other, slashing and cutting with his fiery blade.

Grim was filled with such longing, and suddenly Stefan stopped. He looked directly at him. "Michael?"

*Stefan!* Grim didn't hear himself speak it, but actually felt the word leave him. His spirit rushed to Stefan and they connected - Grim was filled with pure love and devotion, and if his spirit could cry with joy, it would. Stefan dropped his sword and held onto Grim's spirit.

"What...what are you doing here? You're not dead..."

*No I came looking for you where have you been I've missed you please come back--* Grim also sent images, of Kalius telling him they were getting married, of when he had brought Dmitrius back using the spell, and feelings, of how he felt when all these things happened.

Stefan sent him love again, and said quietly, "I can't come back yet. I need to fulfill something for Michael. Once I do, my love, I'll be back, I swear."

Then suddenly Grim felt something close, something akin to anger. He looked around for it and saw a blond angel standing before him, dressed all in red. Grim stared at him, terror growing in him.

"What are you doing here?" the red angel thundered.

*I only came to find Stefan I haven't heard from him and I was worried and I was lonely and I miss him--*

"You are not his charge any more. Begone."

Stefan turned to the blond angel, his eyes filled with anguish, "Michael!"

That was the last image he saw, as Grim was thrown out of heaven, and came back to his body with a hard thump that gave him a horrible headache. He threw his arms up over his eyes, and remembered what Ryder had told him one night, "Stefan would defy heaven to be with you."

Grim had gotten his answer. As he picked up his mug and headed to the grotto, he knew now what he had to do.

He walked out of the magic room, and could hear talking coming from the new Roman baths that Rusty had built. It was 3:30 in the morning, so he knew who was there. At first, he was saddened, but then he lifted his head. Kalius was happy, fulfilled. He shouldn't deny him that and make him feel guilty. He brought Dmitrius back for him, and he should have expected this. He hadn't really lost Kalius, there was still love there, but a friendship, stronger than sex. Too many people in this group loved him. Kiko was right - what he thought was love was a "romp with friends."

He sighed. He would wait for that pure love to come back to him.

A Little More Conversation

2010-03-05T16:46:00.000-05:00

Grim opened the door to the magic room and jerked back in shock. Leaning against the wall outside was Dmitrius, looking nonchalant in a simple t-shirt and black jeans. He slowly but gracefully moved off the wall and stood straight.

"What do you want," Grim snarled.

"We need to talk."

"Like we did the last time?" Grim fingered the dagger at his belt.

"Like civilized men."

"Civilized men also duel with pistols at ten paces."

He smiled slightly. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

Grim crossed his arms. "So go ahead and talk."

"Why did you bring me back? Why did you do this to me? And don't say that it's because you love him, because if you did, you really wouldn't be acting like this."

"How do you know? How long has it been since you've loved someone?"

"A long time, but I still know the feeling."

"Because I gave it back to you."

Dmitrius inclined his head. "Yes, you did, and I appreciate that, which is why I haven't killed you by now."

"That's good to know," Grim muttered.

"Answer the question."

Grim glared at Dmitrius. "I wanted him to love me again."

Dmitrius looked confused. "He loves you like a brother, a comrade in arms. He told me he always has."

Grim said quietly, "I wanted more. I wanted a soulmate. But he was taken."

"Did you want him happy? Or you?"

"What do you think?"

"Tell me."

Grim looked angrily at him. "Yeah, I wanted to be happy."

"So it has nothing to do with loving Kalius, but only making yourself happy."

"Not nothing!"

"Then honestly tell me you're happy for him, because if you cared for his feelings, you'd know this is what he's always wanted."

Grim started walking away, but Dmitrius moved fast, putting an arm in front of him to stop him. "I won't let you walk away. I will stay here until the dawn if I have to."

Grim stared at the arm in his way. It didn't even look like an arm - it looked like a statue of alabaster. They stood there for what seemed like a long time, Dmitirus not wavering, staring Grim down. Finally, Grim leaned back against the wall, sighed, and put his head back. "I hate you."

Dmitrius waited.

"I hate what you have, the devotion."

"You have it also with your angel."

He snorted. "Where?"

Dmitrius took his arm down. "You remind me of a child, when someone hides his favorite toy, the child thinks the toy's disappeared forever, and immediately finds another favorite toy. When the first favorite toy appears, the second is cast aside until it's disappeared again. You can't remember, and treasure, and trust the first toy to come back."

"Maybe I have abandonment issues," Grim said angrily, "and I abandon them before they abandon me."

"Because you don't trust anyone."

Grim looked at him. "I trust some people."

"Not Kalius."

"He was devoted to you!"

"So you can trust him with your life, but not with your heart?" When Grim turned away, Dmitrius followed him to keep him in sight. "Is that why you broke up with him, because you felt you couldn't trust his love?"

"Since when are you my counselor? Leave me alone and go back to the grave you crawled out of." He started to leave again, but Dmitrius grabbed him by the collar and held him fast. Grim pulled out his knife, tried to turn and slash him. Dmitrius hit Grim's hand at the wrist and knocked the blade out of it, sending it skidding under one of the chairs.

"You haven't answered my questions."

"I don't answer to you!"

"I will hold you here until you do."

He struggled, and then resigned himself. "Okay, I wanted to have Kalius as a lover. And Stefan. And Ryder. And anyone else I wanted."

"You do understand that Kalius is not the sharing type." Dmitrius let him go.

"I hoped to change his mind."

"You might as well try to alter the course of an avalanche. Once he has his mind made up, he doesn't change it."

Grim glared. "I can't change it now."

"No, you can't. So that's all you wanted? Notches on the bedpost?"

"I told you I wanted a soulmate."

Dmitrius shook his head. "You wanted your favorite toy back."

"You know what? Fuck you." Grim ducked under the chair and retrieved his knife. When he turned back to Dmitrius, he was gone.

Summoning Hades

2010-03-04T09:24:00.000-05:00

Grim brought the sacrifices into the magic room. The female baaed as he tied her to the edge of the circle. He started setting up the altar, presenting poplar branches, fragrant cypress, and mint. He lit the censer and stood back, waiting for the incense to fill the air.

He turned around to go shut the door, and a blond-haired bearded man stood in the doorway. He was dressed in a simple robe, and he wore winged sandals.

“Nobody in their right mind summons Hades.”

“Whoever said I was in my right mind.”

The man smiled and leaned on the door frame. “What do you need him for?”

“I want to ask permission to take a soul.”

“For your own purposes?”

“I want to torture it.”

The man stood straight. “You are not sent here to judge, you are only here to take the souls and send them to Hades. The three Judges will decide his fate.”

“What if they’re wrong? What if Kell sweet-talks them, Hermes?”

Hermes cocked an eyebrow. “How stupid do you think they are? You really don’t know what happens when a person dies, do you?”

“I assume they just hang around in Hades.”

Hermes laughed. “Not Tartaros. Have you ever been there? You don’t ‘hang around’ in Tartaros. The wicked ones suffer eternal punishment, and Minos is very creative.”

“So he’ll never come back?”

“Has Sisyphus? Has Hitler?”

“Hitler’s in Tartarus?”

“Yes.”

Grim wanted to know more, but Hermes didn’t look like he would go into detail. Grim looked at the sheep, who looked at him with sorrowful eyes. “So Kell will go to Tartarus?”

“If he’s judged that.”

Grim looked up at him, “Well, dammit, I want to present evidence!”

“I’ll get evidence, but you have to do something for me.”

“Christ, I knew it.” He turned from Hermes and went back to the altar to put out the censer.

“Hear me out, Michael.”

Grim stopped. “Fine, what is it?”

Hermes came down and walked over to Grim, and took him by the chin. “Create replicas of items of the gods.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

He smiled at Grim. “All the gods have items that they use. Zeus has his lightning bolt. Hades has a helm of invisibility. Athena has her spear. Artemis her arrows. You get the idea. Imbue them with the power of the gods.”

“Won’t they be a little pissed if I do that?”

“That’s why they’re replicas.” Hermes let Grim go. “It’s magic, masquerading as the power of the gods.”

“Are you sure I won’t get in trouble?”

Hermes gave him a look. “What do you think I am?”

“A trickster.”

He laughed, and turned from Grim. “Just do it, and I’ll come back to collect them in a few months. By then, my part of the bargain will be fulfilled.” He walked through the door, and out into the library.

Grim turned to the sheep. "Did you ever get the feeling that you're being used?"

The sheep baaed. Grim went and untied them, and led them back out of the magic room. Maybe the farmer would buy them back.

Run, Run Away!

2010-03-02T20:28:00.001-05:00

When Grim awoke, he was covered in liquid peanut butter.

He jerked up, his first thought being for the book that he was reading, but someone had taken it off his lap and set it on the desk. He had fallen asleep on the floor in the library, sitting in a lotus position, having strange dreams. This was Arcadia after all.

Figuring out the fae magic book came easier and easier as he sat with it. They wrote like he did - in different languages and symbols, odd word tenses and mixed up sentence structure. There was no pattern, no rhyme nor reason, and if he let his mind go, things just came to him, just like he was automatic writing. However, they didn't stick - just like automatic writing.

He got up, and could hear giggling just beyond the door. It was a pooka, obviously, and could very well have been Skye. He headed out of the library, and saw something at the top of the stairs. It was small, green, with wild hair tangled among curly horns. He looked like a satyr without hooves. He looked at him and sang in a sweet voice,

I like black and white
Dream in black in white
You like black and white
Run run away!

Grim looked at the fae. He smiled, wiggled his hips and continued:

See the chameleon
Lying there in the sun
All things to everyone
Run run away!

"Right," Grim said, and walked past him. But the fae followed him, still singing.

If you're in the swing
Mud in everything
If you're in the swing
Run run away

See the chameleon
Lying there in the sun
All things to everyone
Run run away!

Grim stopped at the top of the stairs. "Will you stop it?"

Oh now can't you wait?
No no come on and wait
Oh now can't you wait?
Run run away!

See the chameleon
Lying there in the sun
All things to everyone
Run run away!

He kept repeating the last line, and Grim realized what he himself was doing. He was running away. Away from his friends, who needed him. Shar'nok, the new guy, was still learning. And he was a better man than the way he acted toward Dmitrius and Kal - he's not ready to apologize yet, but he is at least ready to avoid them. He said to the singer, "I run, run away." The singer nodded, and took off.

Grim went to the shower, and washed off the peanut butter. As he did so, he realized what Ryder was trying to do - keeping his mind off Dmitrius and Kal. That's what he would do - keep his mind occupied. He had an idea...

(Lyrics from "Run Runaway" by Slayer.)

Upon the hill

2010-03-01T08:47:00.001-05:00

Plato wrote about the code of honor of the Sacred Band of Thebes:

"The beloved, when he is found in any disgraceful situation, will be pained at being detected by his lover. If there were only some way of contriving that a state or an army should be made up of lovers and their loves, they would be the very best governors of their own city, abstaining from all dishonour... For what lover would not choose rather to be seen by all mankind than by his beloved, either when abandoning his post or throwing away his arms... Or who would desert his beloved or fail him in the hour of danger?"

Dimitrius carried Kalius' spear and shield and sat astride the horse while his commander looked down from his horse at the village stretched out below him. "This looks too easy."

"It never is," Dimitrius said.

Kalius grinned with pride at his eronamos. So young, yet so insightful. Twenty-four summers, eight years in the army, three years with the Sacred Band. Six years as his lover. Kalius was only four years older, but he treated the younger man as his equal. Age didn't matter with the Band - as he himself well knew, being among the younger commanders in the army.

"Let us go introduce ourselves."

Dimitrius jerked forward slightly to move the horse and followed his erastes down the hill. The rest of the unit followed them.

At first they advanced slowly, like men approaching a skittish colt, weapons drawn but not threatening. The commander's horse picked its way gingerly down the hill, reaching the flat land about a thousand cubits away. [500 yards] The unit consisted of about thirty men, with the rest of the Band resting just outside of Delphi. Scouts reported that an unknown number of Spartans had taken refuge here. Kalius thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

The men gathered around their commander, ten splitting off to take point. Kalius continued at his own pace as the point men jogged forward, arms still drawn but not at the ready. Kalius could see some people flee from the men, women gathering children and animals.

He noted there were no able-bodied men of soldiering age here, but some boys who could easily enter the Citadel if their parents so chose. A cripple on a crutch watched the men walk through the village.

Kalius reached the center, and turned to address the people who still remained outside. "We have heard you have some Spartans here. Present them within the hour and we will go without harm to you or your property. If you do not, we will search house to house, and show no mercy to the inhabitants."

Dimitrius knew that was mostly talk, though he had seen some of the other men tear through houses like men possessed, leaving nothing but a pile of debris in the center of the house.

Kalius sat down at the well and drank and Dimitrius joined him. The men relaxed, but were vigilant. Dimitrius watched the street, while his commander pretended to be at ease, but was also wary and watching. The required hour went by, the streets emptied - but no Spartans were brought before them.

Kalius nodded to the men, and they spread out in groups of four, bursting into homes. Kalius was surrounded by the sounds of screaming women and children, even though he knew they were not the object of the men's attentions. He watched as Galenos, son of Heron, dragged out a brown haired boy probably no older than 12, while his forever slighted eromanos Irenius stood off to the side, frowning. Kalius would need to talk to them after this.

"Commander!"

Kalius and Dimitrius rose from the well and looked at three men coming toward them. Two of his solders were holding the cripple.

They tossed the man to the dust before Kalius' feet. One of his men grabbed the scruff of the man's ragged clothes and cut it away. He wore a basic bronze breastplate underneath. Kalius nodded, and the men lifted him up to face Kalius. "Where are the rest of your men?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Hades take you, dog!"

"Tie him up."

The two men tied his hands behind his back and bound his ankles together. "Continue searching. Dimitrius, watch him."

The men continued to search, bringing up two more men, one injured. In the meantime, he also brought up the village elder, who claimed to have no knowledge of hiding the Spartans. Kalius let him go, believing that he might not have had knowledge, but some individual members of the village may have.

Another commander might have set fire to the village for hiding the enemy. Kalius wasn't at all like that - he was a believer that massacres turned people against the occupiers. Instead he mounted the horse and directed they bring the prisoners. Bound only behind their backs, the Spartans were forced to march at spearpoint.

Kalius joined the rest of the Band and reported to his commander. All of them expressed disappointment that there were only a few. Pelopidas looked over at his comrade standing with his lover. "I have another report, but it's too late to go after them now." He glanced toward the boy who was lighting candles in the tent. "Rest up tonight, and you can go out in the morning."

"Yes, sir," Kalius said with a salute, and the two men left. Kalius put his arm around Dimitrius' waist. "What I wouldn't give for a bath right now." Then he saw Irenius, sitting outside his beloved's tent. Kalius released Dimitrius and walked over to him. "What are you doing out here?"

"Galenos found a boy."

Kalius stormed over to the tent and tore open the door. He caught Galenos in the middle of taking the boy he had captured. Kalius stood, waiting. Galenos finished, then happened to open his eyes to see his commander standing there, his blue eyes blazing in anger. "Get up," Kalius said, his voice low and menancing. "Get dressed." Galenos threw on a tunica and went outside. Kalius pointed to Irenius. "Who's that?"

Galenos knew where this was going. "My partner," he said.

"Commander," Irenius said quietly, "it's all--"

"It is not all right," Kalius said angrily. "He is your beloved - he is who you should share your bed with."

Galenos looked down. "Yes, commander."

"Release the boy tomorrow morning." Kalius turned and stormed away. As Dimitrius watched him go, his heart swelled. He dutifully followed Kalius, and they went into their tent. Kalius turned to Dimitrius and sighed. "A man should have one beloved."

Dimitrius started removing Kalius' armor. "A man can't devote himself to more than one person," Dimitrius said, peeling off the breastplate. "I don't understand how Irenius can take that."

"Irenius is too gentle," Kalius said. "Galenos doesn't deserve him."

"Eutropios likes him. I've seen them together often when Galenos abandons Irenius."

"Eutropios has been lonely since losing his erastes. Maybe he can be a mentor and Irenius his apprentice?"

"Possible." Dimitrius looked down at his erastes, dressed only in his tunica. Dimitrius undressed, and Kalius watched, a small smile crossing his face. When Dimitrius finished, Kalius pulled him close and kissed him, deliriously happy with his devoted lover.

Further notes on Dmitirus - this is it, really.

2010-02-26T11:53:00.000-05:00

Observations based on his original character sheet, provided by Kal's player:

Although he's officially of Clan Brujah, he doesn't act entirely like them. He isn't looking to restore Carthage, nor is he bent on anarchic destruction. He is a class-A brawler and fighter, however, with or without weapons.

He has the nature of a Martyr - he knows he's damned, he's never going to the Elysian Fields, he had lost his true love - and now he would happily go into Final Death for him. He's a defender, which means he protects the people he cares about, although many years have gone by and he had lost his humanity. He considered people as servants and property to be protected. Although he no longer feels that way, he can't seem to express it right now.

The original sheet has 13 blood pool and a 10th generation. I've given him 30 and decressed his generation to 6.

He follows "The Road of Kings" which is defined as believing vampires are the heralds of the new order, and should be in positions of power. I didn't realize this part, and had assumed he was the power behind the throne - he kept himself hidden until needed. Need to retcon this.

He has strong willpower, morality, and mediocre self-control. He has a good conscience, and mediocre courage. I've increased this a little bit - given him slightly more self-control, willpower, and much more courage. He basically has no fear - except fire, but he won't show it. He has no fear of the sun, either.

I've taken the traits and expanded upon them. For physical traits, his two most important traits are Tireless and Tough, and I've increased those (need to max out Stamina in CoH). The older the vampires get, the tougher their skin is. A blade would have to be coming at him to get through. This guy doesn't get paper cuts.

I've added some to Brutal, Vigorous, Enduring, and Dexterous (originally ones). The Brutal maxes out when he frenzies. He can't dodge bullets, but he has a good chance of dodging things he can see coming at him, like a weapon or a punch. He can also use a weapon in both hands.

Social traits I need to do a little retconning. My portrayal was making him aloof, sort of like Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. He's a little more social than that - and he's intimidating. I was able to show that with Grim, but haven't been able to show it with others (he's getting a "feel" for the place right now). I increased his Dignified and Eloquent points, and pushed up the Intimidating points.

His mental traits I've had pretty much on the money. Disciplines is the main trait, and I've bumped that up. He's Knowledgable, Cunning, Vigilant (though the player hasn't been - sorry, afk issues), and Determined to the point of stubborness.

He has the following disciplines which I've been able to play: Celerity, Fortitude, Potence. Need to work more on the Presence discipline. He has Protean as well, not added in his original sheet but I thought it would work for him. Mind you, I thought of him initially as the lone wolf type, but he's more social than that.

He has many abilities, and will have many more. His largest are Brawl, Dodge, Melee, Academics, Linguistics (Greek, Latin, Egyptian, English, French - I'm adding Arabic, Spanish, and some American Indian langauges), and Leadership. Bumping up will be Alertness, Athletics, Archery, Intimidation, Occult, and Expression. Ride will be converted into something like "able to keep his balance on moving things". He knows field medicine, and that's about it. There will be more, as he is now in the modern age and does know how to use a computer and cell phone.

He has an acknowledged status - he was the Sheriff of Houston, Texas. He's still known as that, and wanted by the Assamites and the Sabbat in Texas. The Assamites because of his age, and the Sabbat because he'd put many of them to Final Death. He doesn't hate the Sabbat - he finds them irritating and just plain wrong.

He has 3 true friends. Rowena in Texas, Nexus (a Gangrel) in Russia, and a third I have to create, probably a Brujah or Nosferatu. He however does have other allies and friends that he can call upon - maybe one or two will be in Rhode Island...

He has a domain and resources, though I just took away the domain. He still has bank accounts in many different names, though many of the records are gone now. He can walk onto a car lot and buy four Ferrarri's, but he doesn't flaunt it.

His merit is a Natural Leader. Need to work on that.

His flaws - and I pegged these - are anachronistic and "Pagan Heretic". Call him old-fashioned... His good manners toward humans have more or less disappeared, but they're coming back.

As a final note - his dynamic with Kalius has changed. He was Kalius' eromenos, his younger lover. With all the intimidation and presence he now commands, he should be more controlling. However, because it's still early, and he's still feeling the waters of Havens, and doesn't want to lose his precious love, he'll stay in Kalius' shadow and take his orders.

Another thing that I will be adding to him - patience.

PS - none of this is engraved in stone, it's being used as a guide, and I'm shoehorning his abilities with the WP/SS tank I've built.

A Conversation

2010-02-25T21:18:00.000-05:00

2/25/10 17:28 EST

Dmitrius: Hell--

Cardinal Geoffrey: --Hello, Sheriff!

Dmitrius: Where's Tommy?

Cardinal Geoffrey: Gone to his just desserts. Did you know he cheated on you? It's a good thing we took care of him for you, or you would have found yourself in deep, deep shit. We know you resigned, and you know what that means?

Dmitrius: (Silence.)

Cardinal Geoffrey: That means everything you have is up for grabs. Word gets around fast in this town. So we grabbed it.

Dmitrius: You did. You're not going to--

Cardinal Geoffrey:Get away with it? We already have. Your Prince was VERY upset at your leaving. And his Justicars, especially the pretty Toreador one, oh, she's absolutely distraught. We knew that your heirs couldn't take care of themselves, so, we took care of them for you. Say 'thank you', Sheriff. Where's your manners, or was that bred out by the old boy network you hang around with?

Dmitrius: (The crack of leather splitting.)

Cardinal Geoffrey:You had a lot of nice things. Some items from Byzantium, Libya, very precious. We'll destroy them, one by one.

Dmitrius: No.

Cardinal Geoffrey:(laughs) So coming home?

Dmitrius: Oh, yes. I will come down there. When you least expect it. (crunch)