Chance Meeting

[Celeste Darken]

I have not had the time to look up this site, let alone any internet site. But then, I’ve not looked into it for some time. So I would have no idea about the trouble lazlosociety.org might be experiencing. It has been a . . . busy weekend. With the dar’ota on the loose, I haven’t exactly been spending my time on the computer. And Dante hasn't said anything, either.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me proceed chronologically. With the advent of John Doe’s escape, I have taken to wandering the streets at night and finding new resting grounds before every new day. I have checked the address printed upon his driver’s license and thoroughly checked the premises of his home in hopes of finding him. Though I cannot be certain, I believe he left his home the same day he was checked out. Because of my vampiric nature I have been unable to search inside, having no one to invite me in and break the barrier of private residence.

Thus, I have wandered the city after dark and kept no single hiding place for my daytime sanctuary, my reason being I am paranoid of being caught off guard by the hunters should I stay in one place for too long. I have taken to random circles and aimless hikes in the city that I have, for the moment, chosen to reside in. It's a city of bright lights and shady characters, well-suited for one of my . . . tastes. But these aimless circles have found a focal point, for it seems I have stumbled upon a territory claimed by two rival gangs.

Feeding is plenteous here, rife with the crime of these gang members. More than one culprit in this “turf” has felt my fangs at their throat, at least one a night, which is more than I can say for my old hunting ground. I used to range wide in order to quench my thirst and satisfy justice all at once, but here in this new city, it is far easier to find it among the “gangsters.” Each side believes that the other is the cause for the vampire attacks. They are not stupid. They know a vampire is among them. They do not dare to say the word aloud, and they trust the police about as much as I trust the sun.

So each side believes the other has found an ally with a vampire and neither side will admit the attacks to the authorities, for that would implicate them in the crime they were committing before I intervened. So now my worry resides in the chance that the two rival gangs may learn that I hunt from both their ranks, and form an alliance to destroy me. Not that they would prove a threat, but it is easier when they watch for signs that I do not give.

But enough of that; I did not come to boast of my deeds, but rather to relate a curious meeting, one that seemed to have happened purely by chance.

But I wonder.

I had fed early on Friday night. A member of the Gang One had cornered a woman near the subway entrance I had chosen to use for my shelter, with his intentions to assault her obvious. Needless to say, I put a stop to that right away. The woman fled screaming after I had dragged the villain into the shadows and divested him of a portion of his blood. I then set him where a member of his own faith could find him and decided to spend the rest of the night wandering in search of other criminals to confront.
The street lights were brightly colored, but did little to pierce the gloom of the shadows, something I always appreciated when trying to remain unseen in the darkness. Humans have such poor night vision it’s a wonder they even go out after dark without tripping on their own feet. But then, I suppose that’s what all the night lights are for.

My path led to a nightclub, though brightly colored and very extravagant, where the name could just have easily been The Sleazy House.

And I must admit, I was not entirely sure why I came to the nightclub. Certainly I would not have even if it had been in my old territory and I hadn't left my old haunts. In a new city with new streets, I normally would have scouted different grounds first. Nearly shoved in between two immense, gaudily decorated buildings, with a street crowding it from the front and a parking lot in back, this tavern was always frequented by a small posse of customers and prostitutes alike, forming a nearly nonstop crowd of people in its general location, going in and out its doors like a lineup for a thrill ride. It was an artificially bright place, decorated by neon lights that couldn’t hide the encroachment of human lust. So early in the night, the place was leaping with activity. But the deep darkness of night held secrets of its own, and in spite of the crowd, everything felt like it was shut tight with the intent of keeping its secrets safe from the public eye; it was an odd contrast to the atmosphere of nonstop partying that permeated the air as rampantly as the cigarette smoke did.

As I said before, normally I was not one to stay in such an area. My justification might be because such a place borders closely on my human memories, and I didn’t like to see what could have happened to me had I remained a human and proceeded with my desperate career. Those kinds of women do not love. They sell their dignity to those that have no respect for another’s dignity. But tonight I felt I should make an exception and shrug aside my distaste. Men came here to drink or find women, and one invariably led to another.

And I think I am correct in thinking we all know how much trouble a drunken man can get into.

But what, pray tell, was I looking for? Was I going to help someone, or was I going to simply scope out a possible hiding place for future reference? I could not tell. Keeping to the deep shadows lest someone mistake me for what I was not, I circled the building and investigated the less populated back.

In fact, it was nearly deserted, locked tight as though hiding something. But I found what I was looking for. Yet I was still uncertain what that was.

I spotted a man and a woman, holding hands and exiting the nightclub property line. They looked innocent enough, if such infidelity could be labeled as innocent. But they were not innocent. At least, one of them was not. I didn’t know what it was at first. But then I decided it didn’t matter. I had to stop it. It was a confusing jumble of inconsistencies. Everything looked all right and was not. Everything smelled wrong, but was all right. But then I sorted through it and knew.

The woman smelled wrong.

Celeste Darken

[Celeste Darken]

Part II

It was obvious he had hired the woman for the night and was now taking her to a more intimate place. Downwind from them, I could easily smell the alcohol-laden breath of the man 200 feet away. And the woman, not at all drunk, smelled . . . .

Like a demon.

Caution awoke my senses like a burglar alarm. Quite suddenly, I could feel the magic in the air, as rife with foul intent as rotting meat exuded an odor. I fought off the effects of the spell that obviously kept others from going out back along with the couple and followed them as silently as I could.

For a minute or two, they laughed and talked like a normal couple would. Their path involved the alleys, avoiding the public’s eyes as much as possible. But as the night deepened, the woman allowed her temporary “employer” to leave the privacy of back alleys and take her to the sidewalk. The streets were mainly empty. Then, quite suddenly, the woman changed the topic of her discourse in the middle of a sentence.

“I had a really good time at the bar,” she purred seductively. “So should we go to your place or mine?”

“I already told you,” his irate reply was slurred. “Mine. I have champagne.”

“Good,” she squeezed him close and ran her palm over his stomach. “It sounds perfect. So long as you have a campi dereg mosa pir.”

I hastened my pace as I felt the chords of magic strain through the air.

“So . . .” his tone had become relaxed. “My place or yours?”

She smiled and passed him a bottle of whiskey. “Mine. Here, drink this.” Without questioning the opened bottle, he readily gulped it down. By then I was in the immediate vicinity.

“Actually, I suggest you leave it to me,” I stepped out of the shadows and into the streetlight they were cuddling under. The man chuckled.

“You can tag along too,” he smirked. “I wouldn’t mind two lovely ladies for the night.”

“Get out of here, vamp,” the woman snapped and released the man from the hug.

“Well, I guess one lady a night is enough for me,” the man changed his mind abruptly at the demon’s words. “Try somewhere else, babe.”

“He’s mine,” she repeated and then sniffed the air attentively. “You’ve had your fill, leech. If you’re going to gorge, then gorge on someone else. He’s mine. I found him.”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” I replied coldly, then turned to the man. “I was talking to you. You should leave this area, and go home without her.”

The man chuckled again, as placid and cheerful as could be. “No, that’s all right. I’m having company tonight.” He squeezed the demon woman’s shoulders. She smirked as though a point had been proven.

“You misunderstand me,” I kept my calm façade for the moment my fingers brushed my glasses’ frames. Then I whipped off the shades and snarled, baring my teeth. “Leave here now, if you value your life. Leave! Now!”

The man took one look at my eyes, paled, and began to flee. He stumbled on the small embankment that separated the sidewalk from the street and fell face first against the gravel. I quickly sidestepped until I was between the fallen human and the fuming demon.

“You should have left him to me, little girl,” she sneered, unafraid of my vampiric visage. “I fight for my food. I kill for my food.” Her eyes gleamed with a gleeful malice that suggested she was ready to have two meals for the price of one.

I brought up my hand and beckoned her forward. “Come then. Are you willing to die for your food?”

With a shriek that belonged to a car wreck, she lunged for my throat.

Celeste Darken

[Celeste Darken]

Part III

But she was far too slow to even have a chance at touching me. I hammered the back of her head and knocked her to the ground. Flat on her stomach, she snapped for my feet, but I leaped lightly past her hands and landed on her back. I stomped once on her head, kicked her in the ribs, and then slipped off her before punting her in the face.

Was this really the danger I had felt? She was making this too easy. However, a demon was a demon, and a stalker in the shadows could be just as deadly as a charging predator. I knew she was more than a match for the ordinary human. There was a small gathering of strollers, curious as to the fallen man and the sounds of battle. I waved them back with my arm.

“Back, all of you! Be gone!” All but one readily did so; my tone of voice was not to be argued, but I could not spare my attention on the imbecile that refused to follow my orders. I turned back to my opponent, who had stood up slowly. A streak of blood, more like tar, smeared her lower lip and was gently bleeding.

The sneer was gone and her eyes burned with hatred. She ambled forward slowly, hunched over until her fingers swayed at her ankles. I furrowed my brow in concentration. Appearances could be deceiving.

Had I mentioned something about shadow stalkers and charging predators?

She was both.

“Time to die, vampire,” she croaked in a voice that no longer even resembled a human’s, let alone a woman’s.

I stepped back in alarm as she shed her skin and suddenly bulged like a water balloon. The transformation was grotesque and as rapid as an intake of breath.

Now the beautiful woman was gone, replaced by a hideous . . . humanoid-lizard . . . thing . . . whose shadow now engulfed me completely. Great, gaping alligator jaws creaked and flexed. With a primeval roar, the seven foot creature rushed me. But I was a vampire, and size did not equate strength.

Besides, I was not going to leave a path open for this slime-covered dinosaur thing to kidnap the fallen man. I stopped the initial momentum, but the scaly monster was too massive to shove backward at this angle. It yanked free of my grasp and swatted at me with both of its immense arms. I staggered under the heavy blows, but refused to give ground. Its snapping jaws narrowly missed taking off my head. It continued to lunge and froth, raging to get past me. Though its agility was lacking compared to mine, its speed was more than enough to snatch up its prey and destroy him if it could simply get past me. An attempt to leap over me failed; I caught the brute in my arms and hurled it with all of my might back into the alley.

“What are you doing, you idiot? Run!” I snapped at the man that had ignored my order to flee, who was now kneeling by the fallen drunk and examining him carefully. He snapped his head back up.

“Move it!” he hollered.

I turned just in time to see the massive paw of the lizard-thing come crashing down against the side of my face. My flight took me over the street and into a dumpster. The force of my momentum left an impressive dent in the steel and rocked the entire contraption. It balanced on two wheels for a second before it landed heavily and deposited me back on the ground. Shaking myself free of the disorienting feeling, I looked up and expected to see the creature feasting on both men.

Instead, I saw the man who had ignored my orders holding his own against the supernatural monster.

Celeste Darken

[Celeste Darken]

Part IV

It was fairly obvious the man was a normal human, though highly athletic. He nimbly dodged the creature’s lumbering attacks, all the while taunting it and deftly sliding its attention from me to him.

“Darling, I’ve seen better looking whores on street corners,” he yelled, stalling for time as he started to undo a large satchel belted at his waist. “Is that your best? Blind pigs could de better ‘n that!” His language was unrefined and rather crude, but . . . I might have misunderstood him; his accent was very thick. But at least it got the creature’s attention and held it. The moment the large bag was open, he leaped back and pulled out a little pouch and chucked it at the beast like there might be a rock inside it. The lizard-thing’s lunging jaws were too wide and coming in too fast for him to miss.

The bag smacked into the back of its throat and exploded as the giant jaws clamped down, sending a cloud of brackish, misty dust everywhere. The creature heaved and gurgled in alarm, inhaling the substance like a vacuum. By this time my head was clear and I was rushing past the empty street. But the man was already and still in motion, reaching into his pocket and pulling out even more of the odd little bags, chucking them against the monster’s slimy scales like a pitcher practicing hardballs.

Big clumps of the dust were coming together and flaring with a strange light as he smashed more and more of the bags against it. The creature lurched and shuddered, and I heard a hissing and smelled burning flesh. Like giant fireflies, the glowing dust balls appearing like miniature fireballs clinging to the monster, burning with a refusal to fizzle out on impact. The monster jerked about as the fires arced through it. I reached it just as the buzzing flames started to wisp away in trails of smoke.

A jump kick with all my strength behind the attack sent the lizard creature soaring. Or rather, it would have soared if it hadn’t smashed into the brick wall of the building front behind it. Gasping hoarsely and with two able-bodied enemies stalking toward it, the lizard-thing began to blur about the edges and to shrink.

In a few seconds, the beautiful woman stood there once more, her clothing torn with blood, bruises, and burns smattering across alternate patches of skin. But the demon had had enough. It fled down the alley. I started after it when the man grabbed my shoulder.

“Ay, we gotta see to the geezer,” he interjected. I resisted the urge to turn around and look at him just long enough to quickly put on the sunglasses. Then I nodded and prepared to pick up the drunken fellow, but my unexpected ally took him under the shoulders and hefted his upper body above the street. “Take his feet ‘n help me carry ‘im,” he instructed.

I thought it best to follow him, so I nodded and complied. “We should take him to the hospital,” I suggested, but then thought about it and felt the concern rise. Why was the man still unconscious? What had the demon done to him? “Only, it’s across town.”

“Too far,” he shook his head. “I ken a place to keep ‘im safe, juss roun’ tha corner fae here.”

I nodded after deciphering his words. We crossed the street with care. The time between passing cars was so long did I fear being seen or mistaken for some sort of mugger. My companion led the way while I kept a look out for any unwanted attention, sniffing the air experimentally and eyeing any shadow that moved.

But we were not molested. The place he recommended was the basement portion of an apartment complex. Cautiously making our way down the stairs with our comatose cargo, the man kicked at the door with the heel of his foot in a sequence that I quickly memorized. But no sooner had he finished than the door burst open, a tall, well-built man of advanced years framing the threshold.

“Come on in,” he said breathlessly. “You’re late—”

“I ran into trouble,” my companion interrupted the other, his speech going back to a more refined drawl, the accent less intrusive and a bit more identifiable. Scottish. Maybe. He drew the doorman’s attention to the body with a shake of his head. “And we’ll need some help.”

The other nodded and beckoned us inward.

With no identity to bind the invitation to anyone person, the old man’s salutations was enough for me to enter without trouble. The door led immediately into a small den of sorts, a sofa at the wall opposite the entrance and a desk with a computer to the right of that. A closed door was immediately to the sofa’s left and beyond that was a three-step rise leading to a small table with two chairs, likely serving as the dining room.

The old man scrutinized the unconscious body and me with sharp, gray eyes. “She wise?” he asked my companion.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged and nodded toward the dark dining room.

“Right, then. Bring ‘em up here,” the old man returned without missing a beat, striding up the carpeted steps with a single movement. We followed less swiftly because of our burden. Past the table and chair, also at the far wall, was another door. To the far right was a small couch, which the old man gestured to.

We carefully set the incognizant man on the couch. I instinctively edged to the darkest corner of the room, beside the cornered fridge and a small counter and oven. The old man inspected the drunk with an indifferent calmness, slapping his cheeks lightly.

“Asleep,” he announced perfunctorily and looked from my companion to me. “Has he eaten or drunk anything within the last fifteen minutes?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “The woman gave him a drink of whiskey.”

“Woman?” the old man questioned with a look of understanding coming to his eyes.

I spoke of following them, though my companion briefly told the man of the battle.

“An’ I used all my pixie dust on it, too,” he cursed. “Sophia’s gonna kill me.”

The old man mused only half a second. “Dar’ota,” he said. I raised my eyebrow. I had heard the word used before on this forum. The other man nodded with a knowing look. “He shouldn’t be asleep much longer than two hours,” the old man said sagely. “But he’s asleep through magic, so we’ll have to wait it out.”

Both my companion and the old man cleared their throats in succession. The younger man glanced at me out of the corner of his eye before turning to me. “I was goin’ ta visit here when I stumbled on ya. We have some very important business to attend to, so would you mind watching him?”

I raised both my eyebrows high at the odd request, but didn’t object. “Very well,” I replied coldly, lowering my eyebrows.

They both retreated to the computer desk and began whispering to each other. I smiled inwardly while leaning against the wall and watching the sleeping man, but otherwise remained expressionless.

With my vampiric hearing, I could hear every word they said.

Celeste Darken

[Celeste Darken]

Part V

“What’ve you found out, Shane?” my companion asked in a whisper.

“Not much,” the other replied sourly. “Your grandpa has a better ear for this sorta thing.”

“Gramps is in Great Britain,” the younger man reminded Shane pointedly. “But you’re better than most. What did ya find?”

“Well,” the old man scrolled through the computer screen absently. They were making a pretense at looking over the screen. “Leocadia was supposed to be a saint for the Catholics. But I’m guessing you knew that, right?”

The other nodded; I pricked up my ears with attentive interest.

“Well, it seems that in the late fifties, some disenchanted priests left the Church,” Shane continued. “And one of my war buddies happens to have a friend of a friend who’s a member, who is also willing to . . . talk. Seems these priests left the Church over a matter of, shall we say, some dirt they uncovered. Or thought they uncovered.”

“Oh?”

“The way my friend hears it, they left because this dirt happened to shed some not so happy light on some of their saints and martyrs.”

“And Leocadia happens to be one of them,” my companion guessed.

“And Leocadia happens to be one of them,” Shane nodded. They played over the keyboard again. “The way my buddy hears it, these priests didn’t leave over some self-righteous indignation about finding out one of their heroes was a mortal that made mortal mistakes, but rather, they left because they thought they found an opportunity to get some more power. So they left the Church and formed their own: to worship the new Leocadia.”

“Ya’ve lost me,” my companion echoed my thoughts.

“Leocadia is a two way street,” Shane explained. “The Leocadia of the Church is all bright and just and true, but the Leocadia of these priests . . . is a different matter. A different matter entirely. More like a mirror, only this mirror is made up of evil . . . pure, unadulterated evil. This thing is such a mirror image, that the only way to find it is through the teachings of the good Leocadia. The writings are so cryptic, they’re more like riddles.”

“And how do we find them if they’re so difficult ter find?” My companion asked the question with a tone that brought a smile to Shane’s face.

“They have a church on Redwood South,” he said. “It’s just past the maple orchard on the southwest cemetery, you can’t miss it. There’s no doubt you’ll find your answer about your ‘bludgeon and blade’ madman there.”

“Thanks, Shane,” the younger man shook hands with him.

“Yes. Thank you, Shane,” I said in a normal volume. After all the whispering, my words sounded loud. They jumped in surprise. The moment Shane saw I was still beside the sleeping man he reached behind the computer desk and pulled out a long and very sharp iron sword, brandishing it menacingly.

“Put it away, Shane,” I commanded, walking down the steps at an angle to keep Shane between me and the other man in case he also tried something. “I’m on your side.”

“Not from where I’m standing,” he replied. He swung the blade in an effort to ward me back, but I caught the blade by the edge and yanked it out of his hand.

“A nice blade,” I meant it as sincere praise, admiring the fine craftsmanship. “However, it is utterly useless against me, sir. So don’t hold your breath.” They both cringed when I drove the blade through my heart.

Celeste Darken

[Celeste Darken]

Conclusion

“And you trusted this thing to fight by your side?” Shane reprimanded the other man when I pulled out the sword and tossed it behind me. “Didn’t it occur to you that it could be a ruse, boy?”

“I didna know,” he replied with caution, his hand inching for the limp bag at his belt. “She fought the thing, I thought . . . .”

“Peace, Shane,” I said sternly. “He guessed I was an ally and he guessed right. Do not judge him harshly for making a mistake, because he has made none.”

The old man clamped his teeth shut in bad humor at being rebuked.

“He promised to help me discover what was meant about Leocadia and the riddles surrounding it,” I said.

“Wait, wha . . .?” The young man’s face went completely clueless when Shane looked at him askance. “What do ya mean? I’ve never seen ya before in ma life! An’ trust me, I would remember someone with a bod like yours,” he turned to Shane. “I swear I never met her before tonight! I swear ta—”

“Of course you’ve never met me before tonight,” I agreed. “Or rather, I should say you have never met me in a face-to-face confrontation. We have never had a chance. You only recently came to America, whereas I have never been to Britain. You may not think you know me, but you do. You know as much about me as I know about you. Admittedly, it’s not much, but—”

He dove with incredible speed, bringing out another of the little bags to bear and whipping it at me. The bag slammed against my cheek and exploded, the dust scattered across my face and clothes. A moment later I felt the flames rushing across my clothes and skin, but like the iron sword before it, it had no effect on me. I smiled.

“Pixie Dust” was another item to go on my list of invulnerabilities. I gently brushed aside the small flames licking at my clothing. He had pulled out an Egyptian ankh from somewhere else on his belt. I didn’t know if it was a holy symbol that could hold me at bay or not; there was enough distance between us the normal range was not effective.

“Dante Andel, you never struck me as a man that wouldn’t negotiate to an unarmed opponent,” I declared. “Don’t ruin that perception just yet, especially since I am not your enemy.” The young man jerked as though stung by a bee, understanding suddenly dawning on his features. He lowered his ankh.

“Who are you?” Shane demanded, his alarmed gaze going back and forth between Dante and me. “Let him go. Hypnosis only works for so long.”

“I’m not hypnotized,” Dante grinned, while I flashed my fangs once before hiding them behind a closed smile. “Sir,” I swept off my sunglasses and gave a courtly bow, Shane and I watched each other’s eyes unblinkingly. “You may call me . . .”

Celeste Darken

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Exceedingly well told as always. Be careful though, you've made an enemy tonight that you didn't kill. Always kill your enemies, that way they can't come back to hurt you or the people you care about.

[Dante Andel]

Thats true Bert, trouble is alot of things can still strike out after they hit the dust and are 6 feet under and as far as I know Celeste was out hunting it, so hopefully the Dar’ota won't be wandering the streets for long.

Though I'm a dead man if any one back home finds out about this, attacking an unarmed opponent, wasteing pixie, dust I'm sure there's a few more things people will find to kill me for.

Anyway I better stop wasteing time and try and figure out what I should be looking for in this church, one of us will keep you updated on whats been found out.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Be careful when you go to check out the church. If you think you'll be fleeing the scene with hell giving chase, you can improve your odds with a little planning. I don't know what kind of skills and abilities you have available, but it doesn't take any talent at all to siphon the gas out of someone's car as an example and it doesn't do any permanent harm. Similarly, if you can aquire or make some caltrops, they'll certainly slow down persuit on foot. Finally, a little advice for actually gaining entrance: Coveralls with "Al" embroidered on the front. Bring a tool box and a clipboard and a good cover story. "Someone reported a gas leak and I have to check it out. It'll only take 5 minutes." If you know anything about covert surveillance (which was never my forte' though one of my squadmates got some very incriminating pictures of a belligerent CO one time, err I won't go into that now) it'd be an excellant time to set up any surveillance devices. A false bottom in the toolbox would hold everything you'd need.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Anything new? I'm interested to see how this is resolved.

[Dante Andel]

Absolutly nothing new on my front, well thats a lie there is something new in that I got hold of a couple of the churches bibles but nothing in the way of information that could actually be of some use to us.

Though I haven't seen much of Celeste since she went back out after the Dar'ota, so she may have found something out but I doubt it I believe that she would of posted anything she found out here.

Anyway I'm going to go tackle the next few chapters of there holy book see if I can find something of use in there, I'll post here if I find anything out.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Thanks for checking in. Err, how did you manage to aquire their holy texts?

[Dante Andel]

Same way as I get bibles from any church, I asked for them.

If you give them the slightest hint that your intrested in their beliefs then say you don't have a bible/holy book whatever it is they like to call it they just end up giving you one.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

That is absolute brilliance in its simplicity.

I don't suppose you've had word from Celeste, I haven't seen her around here in awhile and I'm getting a bit worried.

[Dante Andel]

No word on Celeste, Bert, though I doubt she's gone for good or perhaps thats just me hoping that she hasn't.

Anyway I'm off to see if I can get a decent nights rest I haven't been this much of an insomniac because of research since my GCSE's.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Thanks for giving me the news (or lack thereof in this case.) Hope ya get some rest.