Bloodsong: Vampire Hunter D

An Anime Tangent by James King and Lianna Skywalker

Prelude

Is there something I should know? (Is there something?)

I think about everything we've seen, was it just a dream

- Great Big Sea, Something I Should Know (Play)

Mason seethed as Celeste tended his wounds. La'avar would pay for this. Pay big.

'OW! Jeez, Celeste, not so tight!' He started pulling the bandages off his neck.

'Mason, do you want to bleed to death again?' Celeste tightened them again.

Mason sighed, and played with the holes in his shirt while Celeste finished with the bandages. He caught her arm when she finished and began to walk away. 'Will it leave a scar?'

'Hard to tell. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.' Celeste bared her throat, revealing a jagged knife scar. 'I did. Saint, who claims the guy nearly decapitated him, didn't. It's almost as random as becoming a Vampire to begin with. You know, for a Vampire Hunter, you know so little about us...'

'Well, a lot of what we - that is, Vampire Hunters - think we know about Vampires is completely wrong. We know about the clans, but /what/ we "know" about them is half fact, half conjecture. And don't get me started on what some 'researchers' believe about Vampiric powers...'

Biblios, the Patriarch's archivist, who Mason was only passingly familiar with, entered and nudged Saint and pulled him over into a corner where they started speaking in hushed tones.

The cloaked figure would have stood out like a sore thumb, had there been anyone around to make note of them. As it was, the only other breathing in the warehouse yard was from a small pack of guard dogs, sleeping off the effects of the drug that had been slipped into their water bowls.

This is not to say there were no other people in the yard, but, breathing had since ceased to be a concern for them. The two night watchmen were leaning against the dogs' shelter, their heads cocked at odd angles, only attainable by those whose necks have been broken. Blood red paint dripped into their hair from the 'D' which had been slapped onto the roof of the shelter.

The cloaked figure cursed, as they noticed the small red stain on their glove.

Chapter 1:

Every breath you take

And every move you make

Every bond you break, every step you take

I'll be watching you

- The Police, Every Breath You Take (Synchronicity)

'What?' Mason gaped.

'I - or one of my assistants - will follow you at all times.' Biblios adjusted his glasses and scribbled some notes in the small notebook he carried in his incomprehensible personal shorthand.

'Thank you Biblios, I got that much.' Mason ran his fingers along the light scar on his neck. Not bad, considering the vicious wound it had been. 'Allow me to rephrase. /WHY/?'

Biblios cleared his throat and looked about to faint. 'Well, um...' He sighed. 'I didn't wish to bring this up until I was sure, but... Well, you see the legends about Vampiric powers aren't as completely wrong as had been thought. Exaggerated, to be sure, but not wrong...'

'Wait...I've never - in all my time as a Vampire Hunter - not even after hooking up with the Patriarchs - seen a Vampire with any of the pow...'

'Nor have I, or any Vampires still living. The Powers started disappearing approximately 1500 years ago. By 1000 years ago, any Vampire who had the Powers was either dead or in hiding.' Biblios removed his spectacles and cleaned them silently with the cuff of his right sleeve. After confirming they were clean enough for his taste (It seemed a hellishly long time to Mason) he settled them back on his nose and looked at Mason. 'It had been thought that they were self serving legends circulated among us. That is, until recently...'

'Recently?'

Biblios smiled. 'Rumours hold that a handful of younger vampires with the Powers have surfaced. Mind that they are only rumours, but if they're true...' Biblios shook his head.

Mason nodded. 'Alright. But what the Hell does that have to do to me?'

'Well, I want to see if perhaps you manifest any of the Powers - it seems that these Returns - as I and a few others have taken to calling them - only manifest one Power, by the way - as you are newly Born.'

'I see...well, I guess I can't co....'

'Mason, Biblios, C'mon.' Celeste looked in around the door. 'Saint just got a call from Thomas at the police station. They've found John and Greg.' She turned and strode down the hall.

'That doesn't sound good...' Mason shook his head and ran to catch Celeste, Biblios close behind.

The cloaked figure watched the Vampires step out of the Citadel into the moonlit night. Mason /was/ among them. The cloaked head shook. There went the hope that Mason /hadn't/ betrayed humanity.

Chapter 2:

Bang, Bang, Maxwell's silver hammer

Made sure that he was dead

- The Beatles, Maxwell's Silver Hammer (Abbey Road)

'Good Lord, what happened to them?' Saint made the sign of the cross several times. Biblios looked ill.

'The dogs woke up.' The Coroner, Dr. Lucy Westenra, threw the sheets back over the bodies, and took off her glasses.

'Dogs?' Mason immediately regretted asking, as the answer came suddenly and sickeningly to him.

'They were found in the warehouse yard....the warehouse has a number of guard dogs, which had been drugged...' Thomas - Detective Thomas Cain, who, like Dr. Westenra and the two men who now lay growing cold on the slabs, was a member of Celeste's Family, was rather visibly shaken.

Dr. Westenra, on the other hand, seemed unaffected, and smiled. 'When they woke up, they were....hungry.' Biblios and Mason both choked, and Thomas left the room, in a rush.

'Lucy, that was uncalled for.' Celeste gave her old friend a stern look.

'Sorry, Celeste, it's just...'

'I know. Anyway, what happened to them?'

'Well, the dogs didn't leave us much to work with, but it's pretty clear that the cause of death was a broken neck in both cases. It also seems, from the bruising and the way the bones are broken, that they were given a pretty good going over first, and possibly afterwards.' Lucy put her glasses back on and looked Celeste straight in the eye. 'Who - or what - ever did this really wanted to make sure they were dead.'

'Um, Celeste, Saint? Sunrise is in about an hour. We should be headed back to the Citadel.' Biblios was happy for an excuse to get out of there. For a Vampire, he was always rather squeamish.

Saint nodded, and headed for the door, followed closely by Biblios, and then Mason. Celeste turned towards the door, and was stopped by Westenra.

'Thomas is /not/ cut out for his job.' Celeste nodded and left the room.

The cloaked figure climbed out of the washroom and dropped to the ground. Rather convenient timing. The traitor with the weak stomach had come to vomit just as they had broken in. It was almost too quick, but, when one is in a police station, one doesn't complain about those things.

Chapter 3:

The birds they sang

At the break of day

Start again,

I heard them say,

Don't dwell on what

has passed away

or what is yet to be.

- Leonard Cohen, Anthem (The Future)

Hanako was hungry. Eating her meal and her mother's on the plane hadn't satisfied her. 'Made me a little sick, actually.' She groaned under her breath.

'Did you say something, Hanako?'

'No, Mother. '

'You're sick.'

'No, Mother.' Hanako kept walking down the darkened hall, not looking her mother in the eye.

Sakura sighed, and put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. 'No need to put on a brave face for me, child. I know how you're feeling. You over-ate. If you need to throw up, there's no one around. That trash can will serve.'

'Mother, really, I'm fine.' Hanako swallowed and looked down....she didn't like being under her mother's gaze.

'Hanako....' Sakura frowned, and Hanako's embarrassment finally got the best of her. She absolutely had to throw up now. She knelt next to the garbage can, and began to heave. It was horribly embarrassing, but, it really did make her feel better. 'You'll feel better once we get you fed.'

'I don't think I can eat right now, Mother...But I /am/ hungry....'

'Don't worry, Hanako.' Sakura smiled at her - an odd, almost frightening smile, Hanako thought. 'Come on, now, we're almost there.' They continued down the hallway until it opened into a large room - a throne room, Hanako realised with a start.

An old, wrinkled, sinister looking man sat on the throne, and beckoned to her mother. Sakura gestured for Hanako to stay, and walked over to the old man. They spoke to each other in whispers, the man occasionally glancing towards Hanako. She wanted to disappear.

'Hanako, is it?' The man sounded as cruel as he looked. 'Would you like a drink?'

Sakura nodded slightly at her daughter. 'Y...yes, please. May I have...'

'I know what you want.' The old man snapped his fingers, and a few moments later a man appears from the shadows carrying a tray with a /gold/ cup and pitcher. Hanako was terribly confused. 'Drink up, Child.'

Hanako took the cup and looked at the deep red liquid inside. 'Some sort of wine?' It certainly smelled good... She took a tentative sip. It had a somewhat metallic taste that Hanako found strangely satisfying. She swallowed the last of it, greedily. 'More, please.' She pushed the cup back towards the man with the tray who grinned, and refilled her cup.

Chapter 4:

She's come undun
She wanted truth but all she got was lies
Came the time to realize
And it was too late

- Undun, The Guess Who (American Woman)

What did Sakura want? All she would say was that it was urgent. Why would she risk his wrath like this?

'They're here, My Prince.' Tobin entered the throne room, and bowed before La'avar, his forehead almost touching the floor.

'"They", Tobin? Who are "They"?'

'Sakura and her companion, My Lord.' Tobin swallowed hard. La'avar hadn't known about this. This was not good. He didn't know whose fault it was, but /he/ was going to be the one to suffer for it.

'She said nothing about a companion.' La'avar growled. Had the time she spent with that 'Airbats' organisation in Japan made her go soft? He sighed. We'll see, won't we? 'Send them in, Tobin.'

'Yes, Lord.' Tobin silently thanked God that Prince La'avar seemed particularly forgiving today - and then laughed at the thought....God, if He existed, had long since forsaken Tobin, he was sure.

Sakura was accompanied by a young woman. Her companion looked very ... vulnerable. La'avar liked that. Perhaps Sakura was bringing him a gift to gain his forgiveness for not foreseeing and forestalling the ... incident? He still felt dirty having had to work hand-in-hand with that Patriarch. La'avar smiled slightly, and waved for Sakura to approach.

'Sakura. You are braver than I gave you credit for. Who is the child?' He looked over Sakura's shoulder. There was a strangely familiar aspect to the girl, that he couldn't put his finger on.

'My daughter, My Prince.'

La'avar tilted his head. 'And why have you brought her here?' Her own daughter? If this was a gift, she either wanted forgiveness badly, or was colder than any Vampire he'd ever known aside from Miyu herself.

'Is it not the duty of every Vampire to bring new recruits into their clan?'

La'avar sat back. 'She's....one of us?' Sakura nodded. 'So. Helsing wasn't completely wrong after all. I almost regret killing him now.' He looked at the girl. 'What's her name?'

'Hanako.'

'Does she speak English?'

'Not very well, I'm afraid.'

La'avar nodded and addressed Hanako in perfect Japanese - rather surprising Sakura. 'Hanako, is it?' The girl nodded. 'Would you like something to drink?' Hanako started to speak, and La'avar interrupted her. 'I know what you want.' He snapped his fingers for Tobin, who he knew was waiting, and nodded slightly towards Hanako.

Tobin carried the pitcher of blood to her.

'Drink up, Child!' La'avar watched as Hanako took a tentative sip, and turned to Sakura. 'She doesn't know yet, does she?'

'Not as yet, My Lord.' Sakura looked down. 'I know that it is counter to tradition, but I wished to make the transition as easy on her as I could.'

'That's alright, Sakura. Tradition is not Law after all.' La'avar glanced at Hanako who was polishing off her third cup of blood. Sakura had brought him a plaything whether she knew it or not. He smiled.

Chapter 5:

Celeste shook with anger, pacing around Saint's throne room, shooting evil looks at the Prince, and totally ignoring Mason and Biblios.

'They killed them, and you're not doing a God damned thing about it!'

'Celeste, we don't know who did it...'

'Dammit, Saint, who else /could/ it be? It was La'avar and his...abomination of a clan!'

Biblios cleared his throat. 'Celeste...we don't know that, and, frankly, they're too busy with their own aff...'

'Shut the Hell up, Biblios, it's /my/ Family that's being killed here!'

Biblios plowed on. 'They're too busy with the growing schisms within the clan to make any attempts on us or our Families. And beside that this simply isn't La'avar's style. Drowning? Too quick. And they'd take credit!'

Celeste looked at him angrily for a moment, before falling to her knees and bursting into tears.

'Celeste...' Saint stood, and lay a hand on her shoulder. 'We'll find out who did this, don't worry. Now, it's almost dawn. Go, sleep.'

Celeste nodded, and wandered out of the throne room.

Saint turned to Mason. 'Mason, are any of your Watchers still on speaking terms with you?'

'I lost a lot of them when I hooked up with you guys. A few more when I actually turned. I still have a few friends among them, though. I can have them make inquiries about this 'D' person, or persons.'

'Good.' Saint settled back into his throne. 'Any other business, Biblios?'

'Mason, sir. He hasn't eaten since he turned.'

'What?' Saint looked Mason up and down. 'You must be feeling awful.'

'I'm OK,' Mason lied.

'Nonsense!' Saint picked up a phone and dialled. 'Marcus? Could you come to my throne room please? No, Mason, actually. Thank you.' He hung up and turned to Mason. 'Now, we need to see about getting you a Family....'

'I have very few mortal friends left, and those that I do....either they'd refuse - and probably stake me on the spot - or I'd rather /not/ get them involved in....this.'

Saint nodded. 'Very well. We can build you a family from ours, for now.'

'Thank you.'

'It is our way. Ah, Marcus, hello. Do you have your coin, it's Mason's first feeding.'

Chapter 6:

Mason mused over what Kevin had told him. Not much use, he thought, but maybe Saint or Celeste would be able to work something out....

'LET GO OF ME! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?'

'I don't think La'avar will mind if I have just a small sip, before I bring you in...'

La'avar? Mason stopped, trying to place where the voices were coming from. The echoes in this

'What are you talking about? Let go of me you're hurt....oh, shit.....'

Mason spotted some shadows moving on the wall of a nearby alleyway, and, praying it was the right one, and not just some teenagers looking for some privacy (that time was embarrassing), dashed towards it. His view wasn't the best, but he knew it wasn't a paid of teenagers.

'You heard the lady, Beast. Release her.' He wished he had a stake, but, he couldn't have everything.

The vampire turned, keeping the girl pinned to the wall with one hand. 'And what are you going to do abo....' He dropped the girl onto a pile of garbage bags, where she lay, gasping for breath. 'Mason....I thought Prince La'avar had killed you...'

'Not quite, Tobin. Now, piss off, before I play shish kabob.' Tobin shoved Mason into the wall and barrelled off into the darkness, not taking time to think that had Mason /had/ a stake, he wouldn't have let him leave.

The girl moved, and groaned, weakly.

'Are you alright?' Mason came to her side, and tilted her head up, checking for wounds on her neck.

'I'm...I'm OK. What the /Hell/ was /that/ about....?'

'Long story....'

'Was he what I thought he was?'

'Dangerous? Yeah.'

'No...you...you said.... He was...and you know.... What the Hell is going on here?'

'Ah, Hell....' Mason helped her up. 'It's a long story. There's a bar I know nearby, maybe we should go there to talk.'

The girl nodded, and they left the alley.

Mason sipped at his gin & tonic (thankful that Vampires could handle alcohol, if little else) as the girl looked into her Coke.

'So, you're one of these Patriarchs, Mr. Mason?'

'Call me Arnold, please, Lianna.' He fished a slice of lemon out of the drink and set it aside. 'And yes, I am.'

'Tobin...he's not?'

'He's a High Vampire. They're the ones I told you about. The ones that wanted to keep people as cattle.' Lianna nodded, pale blonde hair brushing against her pale white neck. This fascinated Mason. He didn't know if it was hunger or ... something else...

'And he seemed so nice when we were talking....' She laughed a bit.

'They usually do. They'd rarely eat if they didn't....' Mason smiled at her.

'How many people do you have in your....Family, is it?'

'Yeah. Family. None, right now. I don't have many mortal friends left.'

Lianna looked into her Coke and smiled shyly.

Chapter 7:

La'avar had Tobin by the throat. 'You great imbecile!' His eyes almost seemed to glow with his anger in the darkness of his throne room. 'Do you honestly think that if Mason were /able/ to carry through with his threat, you'd be /standing here/?'

'Well...'

'He's a Vampire Hunter you idiot! He...!' A knock came at the door. La'avar dropped his hapless servant and glared at him. 'Go find me someone else to eat. I'm not even in the mood to play right now.' Tobin bowed and rushed out the door. Sakura walked in eyeing Tobin as they passed.

'You wished to see me, My Prince?'

'How is your daughter?' La'avar leaned back and smiled.

'She is well, My Prince. Why do you ask?'

'Have you been told about the Returns?'

'Yes, My Prince. Stories about Vampires with Powers.'

La'avar nods. 'I don't think they are just stories. I believe they are true.'

'You believe Hanako is one of them?'

'I suspect she may be. I ask that you allow us to watch her for a while.'

Sakura's brow furrowed. La'avar usually wouldn't ask. Something was strange, but she couldn't put her finger on quite what. She decided it would be best to play along for the time being. 'Alright, My Prince. Did you want anything else?'

'No, Sakura. You may leave.'

He waved Sakura off, and settled back into his throne, as his door opened and Tobin walked in leading a half-conscious young man into the room.

'Ah, Tobin. Go fetch me my ... tools. I have decided that I do feel like playing with my food.'

Chapter 8:

through every forest, above the trees

within my stomach, scraped off my knees

i drink the honey inside your hive

you are the reason i stay alive

- Nine Inch Nails, Closer (The Downward Spiral)

'Do you really think he'll come looking for me?' Lianna asked.

'Don't know,' Mason replied, opening the door to his suite in the Patriarch Citadel. 'Ordinarily he wouldn't, but... since I stopped him, he may be angry.' He paused. 'Scratch that -- he /will/ be angry.' With a gesture, he ushered the girl through the door. 'After you.'

'Man,' she said softly, looking at the lush draperies, the ornate furniture of the room. 'This is some place.' She tugged at her plain black T-shirt. 'Shit, I think I should have dressed up.'

Mason smiled. 'You look fine.' He felt an odd twinge in his stomach -- nerves? -- and waved it off. 'Have a seat.'

Lianna sat nervously on a large, plushy red couch. 'Look -- I have to ask you something.'

He sat at the other end of the couch. 'Ask away.'

'In the hallway, one of the women who passed us gave me this.' She opened her hand to reveal a small silver coin nestled between the heartline and lifeline of her palm. 'She told me I would need it...'

Mason sighed. 'She must have been a Family member,' he said. 'All Family members carry those coins -- sometimes, when one of us has not fed for a while, we find it hard to, ah... disengage. Silver causes us enough pain to make us break away.'

Her gaze was fixed on the circle of silver in her hand. 'So that's why you brought me here,' she whispered.

'No!' Mason shouted. He leapt to his feet and would have torn the silver coin away from her, if he had been able to touch it. She cringed away from him, wide-eyed. 'That's not it at all! I ... I just wanted you to be safe...'

'But you were thinking about it, weren't you?' she asked softly.

He sighed and dropped back onto the couch. 'Yes,' he admitted. 'But I wouldn't force you -- don't think that. I wasn't even sure about bringing it up...' He stopped, struggling for words. 'But... if you... would... I mean... I don't have a Family yet. Not one person.'

'How can you feed, then?' she asked.

'Last night -- one of Saint's family let me feed from him. It was my first time.' He showed her the circle of charred skin on his right hand. 'It's been about a week since I first became a Vampire -- I had a bit of a hard time restraining myself.' He grimaced. 'I hate having to borrow from other people.'

'You saved my life,' Lianna said. 'I owe you something for that...'

'Don't feel like you owe me anything,' Mason told her. 'I have ... a history with Tobin, anyway.'

She smiled a little. 'Still -- if you want me to be -- a Family member... I would be honoured.'

Mason took her hand in his. 'Thank you,' he said softly, wondering why he suddenly felt like crying. He wasn't normally a crying man. 'It means a lot.'

She looked away from him. 'Um. Well. If you want to -- you know -- I suppose now is as good a time as any --' She was trembling slightly, her normally pale skin almost dead white.

He slid closer to her on the couch and gently pushed her blonde hair away from her throat. 'I am hungry...' he said awkwardly, feeling like a teenage boy on a first date, wondering whether he should kiss the girl or not. 'But are you sure...?'

She took a deep breath, and he felt her hand on the back of his head, pulling him closer. 'It's all right,' she said softly. 'I'm ready.'

Sweetness: spiralling sweetness like he'd never experienced. Her body beneath him, quivering with mixed ecstasy and suffering. The taste of her blood, bitter as precious metals, sweet as honeysuckle. Her breath against his ear. Her heart beating against the dead silence within his chest.

Then suddenly pain, a great burning silver pain that yet did not equal the pain of leaving her as he recoiled and fell to the floor, clasping his hand against the searing agony on his throat. His eyes cleared and he saw Lianna curled on the couch, her back to him, her knees clasped against her chest, moaning.

'Are you all right?" he gasped.

'Okay...' He could barely hear her. He came closer and tentatively put a hand on her shoulder. Quick as a snake striking she brought her hand up with the silver coin in it, and he flinched back. Then she subsided again, panting.

'I'm not going to do it again,' he reassured her, stroking her hair gently. 'It's all over.' He picked her up and lay her on a couch. Reaching for the box on the table beside it, and taking bandages from it, he began to tend her wounds. 'I'm sorry.'

She shook her head. 'No. Don't be sorry.' She leaned back. 'You did warn me...'

He put away the bandages, and looked down at her. 'You should rest.' She nodded, and he picked her up.

'You're...strong.'

Mason grinned and walked to the far wall, pushing open a hidden door.

Lianna looked around the room. Like the main room of the suite, it was decorated lushly, red being the predominant colour. 'Nice...' She looked at him. 'Lots of red...'

'Well, red was popular when they were decorating the place.' He lay her on the bed, and sat beside her. 'You're sure you're OK?'

She nodded. 'Just a little tired.'

He stroked her hair. 'OK. Rest.'

A knock came at the suite's door. Mason grumbled and went to the door. Celeste was standing there, arms crossed over her chest. 'You forget your appointment with Saint?'

'Ah, dammit....yes....' He looked back into the room... 'She'll be alright...' He whispered to himself as he closed the door, and headed towards Saint's throne room.

'Who is she?' Mason hadn't expected those to be the first words out of Saint's mouth, so he was brought up short.

'Pardon?'

'The girl you brought in. Who is she?' Saint was slumped back in his throne - he did that a lot, Mason noted. He seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. Mason didn't envy his Prince for a moment, and regretted adding to that weight, even as he knew he couldn't have done otherwise.

'Her name is Li....'

'Forget her name, what do you know about her?' Biblios looked distinctly unhappy. Mason had no idea what might be bothering him.

'You've had Jason tailing me all night, why don't you ask him?'

'Jason lost sight of you soon after you left your Watcher friend's hou...' Biblios started. 'Wait...do you mean you just met this girl tonight???'

'Um...yeah....?'

'Do you realize how dangerous that is?'

Mason eyed Biblios. 'Biblios, I can take care of myse...'

'I'm not talking about you, you great twit! You might have brought this D ... /thing/ right into our midst!'

'Biblios, are you nuts?' Mason stood to his full height, and towered over Biblios. 'I was a Vampire Hunter. I /know/ Vampire Hunters. Lianna is /not/ a Vampire Hunter!'

Saint raised a hand. 'Mason...Terry was killed today, while you were out. It was D. Biblios is under a lot of stress right now. As am I.'

Mason stepped back and fell into a nearby chair, looking dazed. 'Wh-when did this happen?'

'About 11:30, after Jason had lost track of you.'

'Well, that proves Lianna can't be D! She was with me at that point! We were at the Star, talking!'

'She might have done it earlier...' Biblios glared at him over his glasses.

Saint again raised his hand wearily. 'Mason's word is good enough for me, Biblios. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to rest. Mason, you can brief me on D later.' He left the room, and Mason shuffled out with a backwards glare at Biblios soon afterwards.

When the other two were gone, Biblios turned to Celeste. 'Fools.'

Celeste nodded, and looked towards the door. 'Agreed. Watch Mason and the girl.'

Biblios nodded and walked off towards his library.

Chapter 9:

'Hanako.' A knock came at her bedroom door. 'Hanako?'

She pulled a robe around herself and went to the door, blinking sleepily. It was Tobin -- the Prince's servant. 'What do you want?'

'Ah... La'avar wants to... see you,' the servant said in clumsy Japanese. Obviously he'd just learned the phrase for the occasion. He opened his mouth, shut it again, and gestured for her to follow.

She expected him to take her to the throne room, but they took a left when they should have turned right and ended up in a hallway with no lights. Tobin counted under his breath and stopped at a thick wooden door, heavily barred with iron. With some effort, he pushed it open and gestured her in.

She stopped dead at what she saw in the room.

'What -- '

The door slammed shut behind her, and she heard a thunk as the bolt shot home.

La'avar turned, holding a long iron forceps in his hand. The metal clamped in its jaws glowed cherry-red. Blood-red.

'Welcome, Hanako.' He smiled. 'It's time for your lessons.'

La'avar smiled at Hanako. She was so small, so slim and lovely in her brightly-colored robe. So utterly oblivious to her heritage. Time for lessons, indeed. Ones she wouldn't forget soon -- ones that would leave their mark in her blood.

'What do you mean?' she whispered.

'Ah, little one... it seems your mother has been neglecting your schooling.' La'avar gestured with the forceps. 'I've decided to take it upon myself to... rectify the problem.' With a speed utterly unexpected from such a twisted body, he crossed the floor, wrapped an arm around Hanako's waist, and tossed her lightly across the room as if she were a doll. She cried out as she struck the stone wall, but her cry was only partly of pain; it was shock as the manacles set into the walls snapped shut on her wrists.

'Nice trick, wouldn't you say?' La'avar inspected the iron in his forceps, shook his head, and set it back into the glowing coals in the fireplace. 'Just a few more minutes for this.'

'Mother!' She struggled against the clamps, but she felt oddly weak; the metal seemed to burn her every time her skin touched it. Maybe it was electrified.

'She can't help you now.' Obscenely, he giggled. 'Poor little girl... she's tried so hard to protect you. But you're mine now.' He pulled the forceps out again. This time the colour of the metal seemed to meet his standards, and he waved it under Hanako's eyes. 'Pretty, isn't it? I love the colour of red-hot iron.'

'Please... please...' She began to cry. 'Don't hurt me.'

'And I love it even more when a pretty little girl like you begs.' He reached out and stroked her cheek, then dropped his hand and grabbed the belt of her robe, untying it and pulling it out of its loops in one swift jerk. She cried out as the folds dropped open to reveal her body, naked save for a pair of cotton panties.

'No -- no --' she moaned, thrashing wildly. If he touches me --

La'avar laughed, correctly interpreting her distress. 'No, child. At least... not tonight.' He cupped her face in his hand and forced her to look at him. 'We have more pressing business at hand.' The forceps lifted.

She shrieked then, shrieked until it seemed her throat would burst, until her body convulsed for lack of air. The pain was fire and ice, was a knife in her heart, was acid poured on her skin. The hideous face near hers fairly shone, transfixed with the taste of her pain. She would have almost welcomed rape instead of this. This was desecration.

At last the agony seemed to lessen a bit. She slumped forward in the manacles, whimpering, shivering. Burnt into the soft ivory flesh just above her small left breast were two Japanese kanji symbols.

'Maigo,' La'avar whispered, almost reverently. 'Lost Child.'

Chapter 10:

Sakura heard the sobbing before she even opened the heavy wooden door to Hanako's chambers. 'What is it, Dear?' She shut the door and sat next to her daughter on the large bed Hanako lay sprawled across.

'M...mother?' Hanako threw her arms around her mother and wept on her shoulder. 'It was awful...why did he do it Mother? Why did you let him?'

'Please, Hanako, tell me what's wrong.'

'Mother.....La'avar.....he....' She fell quiet and, trembling, opened her robe, uncovering the slowly healing burns above her breast.

'"Maigo"?' Sakura stood, and stormed to the door. 'La'avar did this, did he?'

Hanako nodded. 'Yes, Mother.'

Sakura grabbed the back of a chair. The wood splintered violently under her fingers. 'I will have to speak with our Prince, my daughter...'

Chapter 11:

The door flew open. Almost as if they'd summoned him, like a demon, by simply speaking his name, La'avar stood in the doorway, grinning.

'You wished to speak with me, Sakura?'

'You --!' Sakura howled, forgetting herself completely, and lunged at her prince. He smiled and stepped aside, sending her rushing straight into Tobin, who clamped silver shackles onto her wrists with gloved hands.

'Mother!' Hanako shrieked, trying to go to Sakura only to find herself shaking, knees weak, unable to approach La'avar. She staggered back against the bed, eyes wide and fixed.

La'avar pulled on black gloves and took Sakura's chains in his hands. 'Bring the girl, Tobin,' he ordered. 'I hadn't planned on having spectators for this, but...' He smiled at Sakura. 'It will be interesting.'

La'avar finished affixing Sakura's chains to the clamps in the walls and stood back, inspecting his handiwork. 'Aren't you excited?' he asked. 'You get to watch your daughter's final... initiation.'

Sakura snapped her head back and spat in his face.

'I see.' He wiped his face with his gloved hand, then stripped the gloves off and dropped them indifferently to the floor. 'I will let that pass for now, Sakura -- I have more pressing matters at hand.' His eyes glowed. 'But you will pay for that.'

With that he turned, as if Sakura were nothing but a painting that he'd spent a little time getting properly hung on the wall, and regarded the child.

He was about six years old, with brown hair and fair skin, and he hung from chains attached to a free-standing structure of wood rather like a door frame, but braced on both sides so it would not topple. He was naked. His feet hung about half a meter from the ground, and below them was placed a large shallow basin. His head lifted wearily, then dropped back to his chest; he had hung there for three hours, and his strength had quickly been exhausted.

'Maigo.' La'avar turned to Hanako, held tightly by Tobin. 'Look at him, Maigo. What do you feel?'

'I am not Maigo!' she shouted. 'I am Hanako!'

La'avar slapped her across the face. She cried out between her gritted teeth, her head hanging. 'You are what I say you are,' La'avar hissed. 'No more, no less.'

He took a long knife, its blade so thin it was almost like a skewer, from a table nearby. Testing the edge with his thumb, he raised one eyebrow at Hanako in a mock show of forgetfulness. 'How long has it been now since you last ate, Maigo?'

'F.... five days,' she said dully. Sakura moaned softly. Her daughter had responded to the name.

'Poor little one.' La'avar sighed deeply, as in sympathy, but his eyes glittered. 'Poor little lost one. You must feel terrible. We must do something about that.' He turned to the child hanging from the wooden frame and drew the blade of his knife quickly and lightly across the thin bare chest. The boy screamed in pain.

'Stop it!' Hanako screamed. 'Stop it!'

'Pity? Do you feel pity?' La'avar crossed the first stroke with a second, making a crude crucifix shape between the nipples. 'Or is it something else?' The knife slashed at the thighs, the straining arm muscles, the defenceless belly, never cutting deeply enough to truly wound. The boy thrashed wildly, chains jangling. 'What is it, Maigo? What is it that you feel?'

Hanako shuddered. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off the blood on the boy's skin, the blood that was now pattering slowly into the basin at his feet. There was a roaring sound in her ears, swelling to the point of madness, and she was suddenly acutely aware of the hollow feeling in her stomach. Of the hunger that racked her body -- that had tormented her since the first night she reunited with her mother. The hunger that no food could appease.

La'avar held the tip of his knife under the boy's chin, forcing it upward. A bead of blood formed there and rolled slowly down to the hollow of the throat, between the collarbones.

'What do you feel? What do you want?' La'avar's teeth showed in a sudden, shocking grin, wide and white and sharklike. 'What do you need?'

Hanako's back arched, the roaring in her ears monstrous, overwhelming, and she shrieked at the ceiling. Tobin lost his grip on her arms and she rushed forward, forgetting all pity, all sympathy, all human emotion, her eyes burning with red blood on white skin. She leaped upon the boy, bringing the whole structure down with a clatter of wood and metal, hitting the floor with her teeth buried in his throat, the heat and the incredibly sweet bitter awful taste of blood flooding her, the roaring rush of it in her veins, and as she tore the child's throat out she realised that La'avar had been right: she was lost. Lost.

His shadow fell over her, and his hand stroked her hair, gently, with love, as she fed.

'Maigo,' he whispered. 'My little lost child. Mine.'

Sakura screamed in agony.

Chapter 12:

Saint sighed. Celeste and Biblios looked very angry. Well, Mason was late, but Saint knew that wasn't it. Saint trusted Mason's judgement completely. His advisors, however, didn't seem to agree.

'Sorry I'm late, Saint. Was on the phone with one of my contacts.' Mason rushed into the room, followed soon after by a rather intimidated-looking Lianna. A shadow seemed to cross Celeste and Biblios's faces.

'So, Mason, what can you tell us about "D"?' Saint gestured towards the two small chairs that were still empty in his sparse throne room.

Before Mason could speak, Biblios jumped up. 'My Prince, should we really be discussing this in front of...her?'

'Biblios, I asked Mason to bring her.' Saint slumped back in his throne. He had expected that reaction, but had hoped otherwise. The situation was getting to Biblios - and Celeste too, but she could better handle it. Paranoia and anger were running rampant through his mind, ruling him. 'Please, Mason, continue.'

'D is sort of a legend among the Watchers. A lone Hunter, no help from any Watchers. Some say he went insane and killed his Watchers, thinking they were in league with Vampires...'

Saint raised his hand, and looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. 'So....he's killing our Families. Because they're helping us? He thinks they're traitors?'

'Seems that way. But...'

'But?' Biblios almost grinned when he heard that 'But...'.

'But...these stories have been told among the Watchers for almost a hundred years. If there ever was a real D, either he's immortal - and has been in hiding for decades - or, we're dealing with a new person using the name.'

Biblios frowned. 'What I'd like to know is, why haven't we heard about this guy before?'

'My Watchers claim that when the original D was working, the Watchers of the time cleaned up his messes. They were afraid of the Hunters finding out about him, and thus more going rogue.'

'Damned mortals! Petty differences making it impossible to get anything done....'

Lianna rolled her eyes, and earned a reproachful glare from Biblios - the only one to see her.

Saint cleared his throat, and stood. 'Is that all?'

'That's all I have for now, yeah.'

'Good. Celeste, Mason, Lianna, you're dismissed. Biblios, could you stay a moment?'

Chapter 13:

'The most important thing to remember,' the red-haired woman said, 'is never -- /never/ -- be without silver in the Citadel.' She smiled and indicated the silver dagger pendant nestled between her breasts. Lianna thought its point looked uncomfortable -- but with her tight black corset and heavy velvet skirts Nicola seemed more concerned with Gothic fashion than with comfort.

'In fact, it's probably a good idea to keep something silver with you at all times.' Nicola's smile disappeared. 'Families are... easy targets for vengeance from other clans.' Lianna fingered the coin in her pocket and wondered what she was getting herself into.

Nicola saw the concern on her face. 'Oh, I'm being pessimistic. New subject -- I don't like this one.' She pursed her lips critically. 'Your clothes -- well, at least the shirt is black, but you should try to look the part, you know?'

'Should I see the costume director?'

'Whatever. What else was I supposed to tell you?' Nicola fiddled with the dagger. 'Oh yeah. You should be willing to allow other Patriarchs to feed from you should the need arise -- it's rare that one is that desperate, but it's happened. Best to be prepared.'

Lianna nodded. 'I know Mason had to --'

'Yes, he did, and it served him right too. Foolish man hadn't even fed /once/ since he was Turned.' Nicola sighed deeply, threatening to spill out of the top of her corset. 'Going so long without food -- it's like they have something to prove. Damn machismo.'

Lianna giggled. 'Do vampires even /have/ testosterone?'

'If they don't, they sure act like it.' Nicola stopped, regarding Lianna closely. 'Has Mason already fed from you?'

'Last night,' Lianna said, self-consciously covering the bite on her neck.

'How did it go?'

'Ah... as well as could be expected... I guess.' She took the coin out of her pocket and regarded it sadly. 'I burnt him with this. I wish I hadn't -- maybe he would have let me go on his own. Maybe I could have stood more. I just felt --'

Nicola leaned forward and took Lianna's hands, folding them gently in her own. 'Don't ever take chances,' she said earnestly. 'Don't ever push it farther than you can handle.' She took the silver coin from Lianna's hand and held it up. 'Don't be afraid to use this. For us, the difference between life and death can be as little as five seconds.'

'So when do I get to meet the others?'

'Right now.' Nicola stopped in front of a plain door. 'This is a sort of club we put together.'

Lianna tapped the suspiciously shiny door handle. 'Is this silver?'

'Silver-plated, yeah. This is /our/ place. If one of them wants us, they have to knock. Helps them remember that we have our own lives.'

'Is that a problem?'

Nicola shrugged. 'Sometimes they get big heads and start thinking we're their lowly minions or something. It's up to us to keep them in line.' She grinned and turned the silver handle. 'After you.'

The 'club' was a large oak-paneled room with two floor levels joined by a short flight of steps, surprisingly modern in appearance compared to the rest of the Citadel. The furniture was obviously chosen chiefly for comfort -- plushy armchairs, a huge velvety-green couch. A refrigerator shared an alcove with a fully-stocked wet bar.

'Nice, huh?' Nicola said proudly. 'Oh, hey, I'm starving. Scuse me.' She made a beeline for the refrigerator, leaving Lianna standing awkwardly on the landing. A young man with tousled brown hair saw her, rose from his armchair, and extended his hand. Lianna took it, looking quizzically at his faded jeans and white sweater.

'Um -- isn't there a dress code here?'

The man laughed. 'No, no -- that's just Nicola's idea of the way a Family member should dress.' He smiled fondly and shook his head. 'We all love Niki to death, but she's a bit of a drama queen.'

'So I've noticed.' Lianna laughed. 'Thank God I don't have to dress like that. I couldn't take it.'

'You're new here, then?' He smiled. 'I'm Adam.'

'Lianna.' She noticed the lack of last names and frowned a little. Nicola hadn't given her last name, either.

'You'll like it here, Lianna,' Adam was saying. 'It feels a little strange at first -- being food for Patriarchs -- but you get used to it.'

'Why don't any of you call them vampires?' she asked quizzically. 'I haven't heard that word since I entered the Citadel.'

'It's a little hard for some of us.' Adam looked away. 'A vampire is a monster -- something inhuman. Evil. It's easier to think of them as Patriarchs -- that word doesn't have the same connotations. It's a little more comforting.'

'That's one way of looking at it, I suppose.'

'It's the only way.' He suddenly looked tired. 'What we do isn't all Goth and glamour -- it's /hard/, on the body and mind both. It's a good thing, don't get me wrong. We're saving innocent people from being victimised. But it's still... it's very hard.' He sighed and rubbed a hand over his brow. 'We make up a hundred ways to deal with it -- we have to, or...'

'Or what?' Lianna prompted gently.

'Or we'd go mad,' Adam said softly. 'It's happened before. Some people -- they seem able to deal with it, but in the end they can't. They -- ' He turned away abruptly, rubbing his forehead again. 'I'm sorry,' he muttered.

'No. I'm sorry.'

'You were wondering why we don't use last names here, weren't you?' He didn't turn.

'Yes...'

'Around here... it isn't wise to get too attached. People around here have a way of... leaving.'

He turned the door handle then and left quickly, not looking at her, leaving her wondering anew what on earth she thought she was doing.

Chapter 14:

Vladamir hung limply from the silver chains that bound him. Blood ran down his face, chest, and arms from the myriad cuts La'avar had made in his flesh. But he never cried out from the pain, though he was conscious. He was too weak to do more than struggle for breath, the silver and blood loss quickly sapping his strength.

La'avar smiled at Hanako, a silver bladed, bloody scalpel dangling from his black-gloved hand. 'See, Maigo? Even we bleed.' He turned back to Vladamir. 'And if anyone crosses me, I take great pleasure in making them bleed.'

Tobin swallowed hard. He knew this demonstration was as much for his benefit as it was Hanako's. A first warning. La'avar wasn't stupid enough to kill him in a fit of pique, for one mistake. But a second, and his life would be forfeit, just as that traitor Vladamir's was.

He would have to rectify his oversight.

Sakura glared. She had begun backing Vladamir's coup. La'avar knew this. That was why she was there. But, he had no proof. That's why Hanako was alive. Sakura sighed. La'avar would have no problem with torturing his 'pet' to get at her.

She would have to be more subtle in the future.

Chapter 15

'So this is a vampire's idea of a date?' Lianna asked, amused. 'I can't see a bloody thing.'

Mason blinked. Standing above her in the dark stairwell, he realised his mistake -- of course she couldn't see as well as he could. 'We'll be out soon,' he promised. 'Come on.' He took her hand and led her upward.

Someone had locked the door since the last time he'd been here; he wondered why, considering it was an abandoned building. 'Stand back,' he warned Lianna, and kicked the door open. Starlight flooded into the hall. She brushed past him and went out onto the roof.

'God,' she said softly after a moment. 'You can see the whole city from here.'

Mason joined her at the edge of the roof. The city lounged below them, lights blinking lazily like a thousand eyes. The streets were nearly empty; he felt like a lord surveying a dead empire.

Lianna giggled suddenly. 'I feel like that dumb quiff in "Titanic".' She leaned out over the edge and spread her arms wide. 'Oh, Jack, I'm flying!'

Mason laughed and took her by the waist, pulling her back gently. 'Careful,' he said. 'I'm not Leonardo DiCaprio.'

'Thank God.' She smiled up at him. He was suddenly acutely aware of how warm she was in his arms; he'd become accustomed to the coldness of undead flesh after only a few weeks as a vampire.

'You're cold,' she whispered.

'Comes with the territory.' He knew he should let go at this point -- it wasn't as if he was protecting her from the drop anymore -- but he felt incredibly reluctant to do so. She had stopped smiling and was only looking at him, her eyes solemn. He couldn't look away.

'How sweet,' a sarcastic voice said. Mason and Lianna turned to see a dark figure standing in the doorway to the stairs. 'And how nice that I could... bring you together, so to speak.' Tobin stepped from the shadows and leered suggestively. 'Ah, I remember the prince of the Sanguinus Clan. He had a mortal lover too. And La'avar crucified him.'

'She's not --' Mason began.

Tobin waved him off. 'It doesn't matter what she is to you -- what matters is what she /will/ be. To me -- and to La'avar, of course.'

'If you /dare/ try taking her, I'll kill you.' Mason started toward Tobin, drawing a stake from under his jacket. 'In fact, I think I will anyway.'

Tobin pulled a gun from his jacket. 'Silver bullets,' he said with a smile. 'Much longer range than a stake. Now drop it.'

Mason let the stake fall and raised his hands. Tobin edged toward Lianna, switching his aim back and forth between the two of them. 'I can kill you as easily with this gun as I can kill him, girl,' he said. 'Come here and I won't hurt you.'

'No,' she whispered.

'Your choice.' He lunged for her and --

--something huge and black swept down toward him, the buffet of wind from its passage almost knocking Lianna off her feet. Tobin flew backward, legs and arms flailing in the thing's. Mason caught a glimpse of glaring red eyes, glaring white claws. Tobin screamed -- whether in terror or pain, Mason couldn't tell.

Then the thing was gone, up into the black sky, blotting out the stars in a huge phantom shape before dwindling and disappearing from sight. Tobin was also gone.

Lianna started toward Mason, then bent and picked something up -- the gun with the silver bullets. 'He went over,' she said, stunned. 'It took him -- it took him over the edge. My God, Mason, what /was/ that thing?'

'I don't know,' Mason said. He gripped the stake tightly. 'But I don't know whether the fall would kill him --'

She nodded. 'We'd better go check.'

As it turned out, they had nothing to worry about. Tobin sprawled spread-eagled on the pavement -- with a stake through his heart.

'Take me home,' Lianna said faintly. 'I don't think I want to be outside with that -- that thing.'

'Me neither,' Mason said. He didn't know if vampires normally threw up, but he did know that if he looked at Tobin's eyes any longer -- those staring terrified eyes -- he would.

Chapter 16:

Sakura paced. 'Dammit! She's my DAUGHTER... I can't let that ancient freak have her!'

As the last syllable passed her gritted teeth, a knock came at the door. She swore under her breath, praying that whoever was at the door didn't understand Japanese as she opened it a crack.

It was Blade, La'avar's new servant. She silently thanked whatever dark god was watching over her that it was someone who barely understood English, let alone Japanese. 'What is it, Worm?'

'Prince La'avar wishes to see you.' Blade grinned evilly as he watched what colour Sakura had drain from her face.

'It is hard for them,' Nina said. Lianna nodded and tried to keep up with the vampire's longer strides. She felt vaguely uncomfortable talking to Adam's Patriarch, as if it were taboo, but she had to know.

'But you have to understand, it's their choice.' Nina ran both hands through her thick chestnut hair, sweeping it back. 'Some have gone mad, yes. Some have died. But they all know the risks when they first make the decision.'

'I understand. And I'm not blaming any of you. It's just -- Adam made me nervous.'

Nina stopped abruptly. 'Yes.' She pressed her lips together tightly. 'I remember.'

'Something happened to him?'

'Not to him. To Julia.' Nina sighed. 'Julia was part of Saint's Family. Adam fell for her hard. He worshipped her. But Julia was in love with Saint.' She laughed ruefully. 'Oh, Saint was completely oblivious. But we knew. She never said anything, but we knew.'

Lianna nodded. 'Women almost always know.' Looking at the rueful expression on Nina's elegant face, she thought that perhaps she knew something about how the Patriarch felt for Adam.

'Saint was oblivious, and Julia got worse. She offered herself to him whenever he felt the slightest hunger pang -- even if she was obviously too weak. He just couldn't see what was happening. Finally --' Nina stopped and rubbed the palm of her hand over her lips. She looked ill. 'She gave herself to Saint. After he hadn't fed for a week. And she didn't stop him.'

'Oh, God...'

'It wasn't his fault. He honestly didn't know. And it was her responsibility to stop him. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late to do anything.'

Lianna breathed in deeply. 'To do something like that -- I can't imagine being that desperate. And how Saint must have felt...'

Nina laughed harshly. 'An irony worthy of the poets. She loved him, but the guilt of what she made him do nearly killed him.' Her eyes narrowed. 'Do Mason a favour. Don't fall in love with him.'

Saint looked at the pair.

'Explain to me again what happened...'

Mason and Lianna looked at each other and shrugged.

Lianna tugged at her shirt, fidgeting under the Prince's gaze. 'It's like we said... We're not sure...'

Saint placed his fingers to his temples. 'So... Tobin threatened you... a dark shape killed him...'

'Staked him...' Mason piped up, trying to be helpful.

'Yes... I had assumed so.' Saint continued. 'So this ... Shape killed Tobin, then just disappeared...'

'Flew away.' Mason and Lianna glanced at each other as they interrupted simultaneously.

'It flew away, without so much as a backwards glance at you?'

Mason nodded. 'That's right. And we didn't get enough of a look at it to say even /generally/ what it was.'

'It was big and black...' Lianna looked down, knowing that was no help what-so-ever, but feeling compelled to say it.

'Alright, I guess you two can go...'

'I'm sorry, Saint...They insisted on seeing you right now...' Celeste was virtually pushed into the room by the three figures which followed her.

Sakura sat shivering after her audience with La'avar. He was ... CHEERFUL.

And THANKING her for bringing him a new 'pet'. PET! It was disgusting. Sakura grew more determined than ever to rescue her daughter and leave this place.

***

'I am Prince Hawk, of the Clan Darkstalkers.' The figure at the front of the pack was a handsome young man floating about half his height above the ground.

Hawk landed gracefully and gestured grandly to his left, indicating a tall, pretty woman, wearing dark, wraparound sunglasses. 'This is my advisor, Lamia.'

A second sweeping gesture indicated a small furry man - more a wolf-man, Mason thought. 'My bodyguard, Fenris.'

Fenris paced forward - slowly, subtly transforming into a large, grey wolf.

He circled Mason. 'I know you...' he half-howled, half spoke before turning his attention to Lianna.

'I know you, too...' He sat back on his haunches, grinning at them, tongue lolling. 'You don't know me, do you?' He stood on his hind legs and metamorphosed into a giant, black bat before their eyes.

Lianna gasped. 'It was you...!'

'Don't let it go to your head, kid, I had an old score to settle with Tobin.' He returned to his wolf-man form and walked back to his Prince's side.

Saint looked Hawk up and down. 'I've never heard of your Clan.'

'We're a new Clan, only a few months old. A small Clan, made entirely of Returns.' Hawk raised himself off the ground again. 'A safe haven against exploitation by the other Clans.'

Biblios raced into the room. 'Saint...they've found Joshua....' He choked. '...Strangled... About 100 yards away from the Citadel.'

Saint slumped in his throne. 'Was it...?'

'Yes. That makes 15.'

'Maybe it was a copycat...' Mason looked at Saint. 'D's been in the news a lot of late...'

Biblios barked laughter. 'One of a family? One of Saint's Family? Within sight of the Citadel? No...this is D. That makes 5 of my Family, 3 of Celeste's, and 4 of Saint's...' Biblios pulled himself to his full height. 'It seems that the only Patriarch in this room who hasn't lost a Family member is YOU!'

Mason glared back. 'Don't start that again, Biblios...'

Saint stood. 'Biblios, for the last time...Lianna's not D.'

'All you have to go on is Mason's word!'

'Biblios, she was with me when most of the murders happened!'

'Again, your word!'

Saint inserted himself between the two Vampires. 'Biblios, why would Mason lie?'

'I don't know...to save himself the humiliation of having brought D into our presence?'

'Biblios, be sensible...'

Saint turned to the Darkstalkers. 'I'm sorry, Prince Hawk, but this isn't a good time for an audience.'

'I understand, Prince Saint. When the internal politics have cooled enough for you to honour us with an audience, give us a call. He turned towards the door, and nodded towards Lamia, who pulled a card out of her pocket, and handed it to Celeste. 'Fare well, Patriarchs.' The three Darkstalkers left Saint's office as quickly as they had come.

Celeste looked at the card. It was a very simple design, but an elegant, flowing script.

Mason slammed the door behind Lianna and himself. 'I can't believe that....PRICK!' He picked up a throw pillow and hurled it across the room. 'Accusing you! '

'And he should know it can't be me...' Lianna looked down. 'He's been following me...'

'WHAT?' Mason stormed back towards the door. 'I'm going to KILL him...I'm going to put a stake right through his stupid, hateful, DECEITFUL little heart!'

'Mason...don't...' Lianna took his arm. 'Don't make trouble... I don't mean to cause problems...'

'Lianna... It's not you...' Mason turned and looked into her eyes. 'It's...' He stopped as the expression seemed both to freeze and drain from her face. 'Lianna?' He touched her face...she never responded. 'LIANNA!' He shook her... still nothing.

'Oh, God...Lianna!' He turned back towards the door.

Lianna slid to the floor with a groan. 'M-Mason...?'

'Lianna!' He dropped to his knees beside her. 'Are you OK?'

'I...I think so...' She stood, shivering. 'What was that?'

'I don't know...' He stood and led her to the couch. 'Perhaps I fed too much...'

'No...no...' She shook her head. 'It wasn't like that...I wasn't weak...It was like...like I was falling into you... Or...you into me...I...I don't know...'

'Rest...we'll figure it out tomorrow night.' Mason led her to her room, then retired to his.

'What the Hell just happened? What did I do to her...?'

Chapter 17

Mason lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, long after Sundown. He heard Lianna moving about in the main room, but still he lay in bed. When he eventually heard her leave, he finally got up and dressed. He sighed, deeply, but was sure it was for the best.

A knock came at his door - Biblios, he discovered.

'What do you want?'

'Nothing. Saint wants you to go to his office.'

'Why?'

'Those Darkstalker people are back, and he wants all of the "inner circle" to be there.'

'Alright, I'll be right there...'

La'avar awoke from his sleep with a warm and nervous feeling in the pit of his belly. He recognized that feeling immediately. It had been far too long since he had tortured simply for the sake of pain. He'd played with his food, of course, and done the most delicious things with Maigo, but these were means to an end, not the end in themselves.

Maigo. He turned, raising himself on one elbow, and looked fondly at the sweetly sleeping face next to him on the pillow. She was so like Miyu, he thought; tall, slender, dark of night and pallor of death in gorgeous harmony. Of course, Maigo was young yet, still fresh and untouched; Miyu had been a work of art, her beauty overlaid with a century and more of cruelty and black joy, like a coat of finest shining lacquer on ivory.

There was another important difference, of course. Miyu had been his mistress, commanding, sometimes petty, giving or withholding pleasure as her mercurial nature dictated. She had learned the ways of pain far before ever meeting him. But Maigo was new, naive, and under his power. He would teach her. She would be --

Trembling in new and dizzying excitement, La'avar slid out of the curtained bed, careful not to disturb Maigo. There were things to do before waking her.

'But what are you going to do with them?'

Five women: three crucified with silver spikes, one chained to the wall, one strapped hand and foot into the old scorched electric chair.

'What do you think?' La'avar picked up a silver dagger, tested the blade with one gloved thumb. Maigo, in the heavy ornate chair in which Miyu used to sit during La'avar's games, swallowed.

'Are any of them vampires?'

'Can't you tell?' La'avar smiled. 'Of course not, you're young... They're all mortal. Pale with fear, they are, but if you look more closely you can see the blood in them...' He nicked the nearest woman's collarbone with the tip of his knife. A tiny rill of blood ran down her bare skin. She shrieked.

Maigo laughed. In the firelit dimness, she sounded exactly as Miyu once had, in the days before everything fell down. 'You'd best save your voice, woman,' she sneered. 'He'll give you something to scream about, be sure of that.'

He'd saved the best for last: a slender Asian woman, nailed to the centre cross. She looked vaguely like Maigo. La'avar thought that she would look even more similar when she started screaming. And he remembered:

Miyu sitting in the chair, face serene, hands folded neatly in her lap, eyes blazing. You could feel those eyes all the way across the room, with your back turned. And as you turn with the knife in your hand you meet those eyes and she knows, she knows your lust in this room is not only the lust for blood, and you cannot look away even as --

-- he slipped the knife slowly between the woman's legs, his eyes never leaving Maigo's. The woman moaned but remained still. The knife moved upward, and she screamed. Blood poured down her legs.

La'avar grinned darkly. 'She was a virgin.'

Maigo fell to her knees and vomited.

Mason felt sick to his stomach. The feeling wasn't similar to the one when he'd watched Tobin die, it was more a hollowness than a need to vomit.

'Mason? Mason are you alright?'

He hadn't realised he'd drifted until Saint's voice brought him back to reality.

'Yes, My Prince?'

'I said are you alright, Mason? You seem distracted.'

'I'm fine, Saint. Just didn't get much sleep today, I guess.'

'Fine. I'm sorry, Prince Hawk, please, continue.'

'Yes. As I was saying... I've already explained the origin of the Darkstalkers. We are a young Clan, created to protect Returns. We would like permission to speak to any returns within your Clan, to give them the option of joining us.'

'Are you implying that the Patriarchs in some way abuse any Returns we have among us?'

'Of course not, Prince Saint. It is insurance against the possibility of a less enlightened Prince in the future.'

'Such a Prince is unlikely. However, it is a moot point anyway, as we have no Returns in our Clan.'

'Um, My Prince?' Mason raised his hand.

'Yes, Mason?'

'I am...well, I think I am...a Return.'

'Oh?'

'Last night, I was talking to Lianna, and when I looked at her...looked her in the eye...she just stopped...seemed to go dead...'

Lamia nodded. 'Hypnotic gaze. It can be rather frightening the first time. You soon learn to control it, worry not.'

'Good.' Mason was rather visibly relieved.

'So...that's what she was talking about...' Saint rubbed his chin.

'What's that, Saint?' Mason had figured that he had probably offended her, but was still a little shocked to find that she was so offended that others would make note of it.

'About 10 minutes ago, she came out of your suite, muttering something about you. When I asked her what was wrong she growled and stormed out of the Citadel.'

'Stormed out...? Oh, Hell... La'avar's probably still after her. She'll be killed!'

'Mason, she'll be alright.' Saint placed a hand on his arm. 'Don't worry.'

'Saint... she's out there, alone, probably with half the High Vampires after her...'

'Mason, you're exaggerating. But if you're that worried, go.'

'Let them have her, we'll all be better off.' Biblios muttered into his chest, but was heard quite clearly by the others.

'You little bastard...if you say that again, I'll put a stake so deep into your chest, they'll be able to burn a heretic on your back!' Mason spun and raced out to find Lianna.

Saint stood, and looked Biblios in the eye. 'If he doesn't, I will.'

He turned to the Darkstalkers. 'I am afraid that we have no returns among out ranks, except for Mason. I assure you, though, that if any others surface, I will bring up your offer.'

''Tis all I can ask. Farewell, Prince Saint. I hope all works out well for your Clan.'

La'avar stared at Maigo. She sat on the ground, a pool of dilute red soaking into her white dress, her eyes vacant. She swayed slightly, moaning wordlessly.

'Maigo? My Pet?' He touched her cheek, and she didn't respond.

'Maigo, speak to me...' She sat, unmoving, unresponsive.

'Maigo! MAIGO!'

Nothing.

Chapter 18:

Mason swore as he ran. He didn't know who, or what he was swearing at, but, nonetheless, he swore. It, quite frankly, was all that kept him from crying.

He raced through the streets, not knowing exactly where he was headed, not really caring. He just knew Lianna was out there somewhere, and was afraid to think what would happen if La'avar's lackeys found her before he did.

'WHAT?!?!?!?' Sakura shook. 'That....that....that....'

'Sakura, please, calm down.' Blade was visibly terrified. He didn't want to be there, but, even with Sakura in this maternal rage, she was less frightening than La'avar.

'CALM DOWN?' She grabbed the hapless lackey by the collar and hoisted him. 'He...DESTROYED my daughter...and you want me to CALM DOWN???'

'Please, Sakura, he wants you to help...help bring her back...'

Sakura dropped him, scowling. 'I don't really have a choice now, do I?' she hissed through clenched teeth, her fangs gleaming in a seeming threat.

Mason found himself standing in front of The Star. He was exhausted and emotionally drained, so, he decided, if Lianna weren't there, he'd have to head back to the Citadel, and hope that she came back.

'Mason?' He barely looked up when he heard her voice.

'Lianna, you're ok...'

'Of course I am...I can take care of myself.' She frowned at him. 'Looks like you can't though, you're a wreck. C'mon, sit down.'

Mason let her lead him to a table and they sat down. 'I've been looking all over...so worried...'

'Mason, I'm not a child. Please don't treat me like one.'

'I know...but...La'avar...'

'Probably has bigger worries than me...'

'Will she be alright?' The concern in La'avar's voice was disturbingly real. But so was the contempt. He didn't want to lose his pet, but he hadn't expected her to be so weak.

'I don't know. Did you honestly believe Hanako would watch your atrocities without some ill effect?'

'She is Maigo. She is a Vampire. She is mine.'

'You arrogant old fool...'

'SILENCE!'

'Do you want my help or not?'

La'avar grinned. A sickening sight. 'She's your daughter.'

'My daughter is dead, already. You killed her.' Sakura forced the words out, keeping her voice calm, despite the fear that that thought dragged out of her heart.

'D is still on the loose...' Mason looked at the drink the waiter had just brought him.

Lianna laughed dryly. 'But everyone knows I'm D!'

'Please don't joke about that.' He sighed. 'Look, Lianna, about last night, this evening...I'm sorry.'

'You damn well better be! Mason, I don't need you to look out for me. I don't need you to avoid me because you...' She winced as someone walked by. 'Because of last night.'

'But...'

'Mason, you wouldn't hurt me, right?'

'Of course not.'

'So, what's to worry about? If that happens again, we'll just wait for it to pass, right?'

'I suppose...'

'Mason...I trust you. Why can't you trust yourself?'

Chapter 19

Desperate, for something to touch
A moment of kindness like that in a dream
Your innocent eyes, have yet no idea
of the path your destiny will follow...
- Cruel Angel's Thesis - English Translation (Neon Genisis Evangelion)

Hanako was cold, so very, very cold.

Cold - a cold that began within, deep within her heart - permeated every part of her. A cold, she thought, akin to death.

But there was warmth also. A warmth that she recoiled from, a warmth from without, a warmth that was no part of her. But, part of her, the deepest, coldest, most primal part reached out, tried to assimilate the warmth, despite her crying out to stop. In the darkness, there was nothing but her and the warmth.

Except...

A name came to her in the silence.

A name she knew, a name she feared, a name she hated.

Maigo. Maigo.

'She will feed if you put the victim's throat against her lips, but she will make no other move, no sound.' La'avar sat in his throne, watching Sakura as she told him of her progress. Anger swelled in his chest. Two weeks, and still his pet wouldn't respond. Sakura was useless. He wanted to strike her dead, but he knew that doing so would end any chance of recovering Maigo.

'So what have you been doing all this time if that's all you've managed?'

Sakura hissed. 'PRINCE La'avar, your little stunt drove her so deep into herself that it may be years before I can draw her out.'

'Then you will stay here for years...my dear Sakura.'

Chapter 20:

Mason settled Lianna onto the couch before dropping into a nearby chair. 'I'm really going to have to give that Lamia person a call. This is getting stupid.' He tapped the arm of his chair - an ancient wooden deal, in exceptional shape - as he waited for Lianna to wake.

'Mason...?' She sat up slowly. 'Again? I'm beginning to think you do that on purpose...'

Mason jumped, eyes wide. 'What? NO! Of course I don't!'

Lianna shook her head and laughed. 'Mason, I'm joking.' She felt her neck - nothing. 'You didn't feed?'

'No. Didn't seem like a good time. I couldn't count on you to stop me if I kept it up too long.'

'Good point. But I'm awake now. No need to go hungry.' She brushed her hair aside and tilted her neck, exposing it, leaving herself open, vulnerable. Mason felt his heart begin to beat...to race in fact. He stepped forward, his eyes fixed on her throat. A quick, hungry leap and he had her pinned to the couch, his teeth in her throat, her blood - her life - filling him.

Suddenly, his left cheek was on fire, he pulled back with a shreek, tumbling over the arm of the couch. He lay there for a moment, the hunger and pain fading, letting his senses return. Once his world was a touch less red, he pulled himself to his feet, and stumbled over to Lianna.

'Are you alright, Lianna?'

She blinked and looked at him. 'Uh, yeah, I'm ok. A little dizzy, but I think I'm better at doing that on time.'

'Sorry, I should be able to break off earlier.'

Lianna shrugged a little, careful of the wound on her neck, as Mason reached for the bandages. 'You should probably get someone else for your family.'

Mason nodded as he cleaned and dressed her wound. 'I should...'

A knock came at the door. Mason sighed. That was never a good thing, lately.

It was Saint, of all people. 'Mason, come to the main hall, please.' He looked over Mason's shoulder, towards the couch. 'You too, Lianna.' The Prince of the Patriarchs turned and headed off towards Nina's suite.

Chapter 21

The main hall was crowded. All but a handful of the Patriarchs were there, and each had at least one member of their Family. A dais had been set up near the external doors, and Biblios and Cesleste sat upon it, on either side of a podium - Mason guessed that Saint would be speaking from their once he returned with Nina - the only Patriarch unnacounted for, as far as Mason could tell.

Indeed, when, in just a few moments, Saint and Nina - accompanied by Adam, the apparent representitive of Nina's Family - entered the room, Saint headed straight for the podium. Nina and Adam took their place in the crowd. Adam smiled strangely at Lianna, and a few other Family members.

'It's an unpleasant situation that makes me call you all here this evening.' Hushed whispers broke out in the crowd - the name D was repeated often. 'Silence, please, you will have plenty of opportunity to discuss after I've spoken,'

Saint took a few deep breaths, and looked down as the crowd slowly fell silent.

'I don't do this easily, but, while D is at large, Family members should not leave the Citadel alone. Always remain in groups of at least 2, preferably with a Patriarch, when outside the Citadel, even - perhaps especially, given...' He paused, shaking. '...Given recent events.'

More whispers flared up, some indignant, some terrified, some glad that Saint had finally taken action. This time he let them talk. He seemed to be sobbing, several people noticed.

He finally composed himself. 'I am sorry, friends, but, in these times, we must take unpleasant actions.' He sighed, and stepped down from the dais. 'Good evening.' He walked quickly from the hall, followed soon by Celeste and Biblios. The rest of the Clan filed out in small groups, until, finally Mason and Lianna were left, the last ones to leave the hall.

'I wonder how long he was considering that...' Lianna stuffed her hands in her pockets as they walked through the empty halls.

Mason yawned as he opened the door to his suite. 'I dunno. He's never mentioned it before.'

'It's a pretty good idea, though.'

'Yeah. You can bet Biblios will have an eye on you forever, though.'

Lianna laughed uneasily. 'I suppose...'

'Well.' Mason turned and opened his bedroom door. 'I guess I'll see you tonight then.'

'Right.' Still neither one moved.

Mason cleared his throat. 'Ah -- goodnight.' He shut the door hastily, leaving Lianna alone. She shook herself. Foolishness -- there was certainly no reason to feel so awkward in Mason's presence. He certainly wouldn't hurt her.

She found herself unable to sleep, and headed into the halls. She walked slowly down the hall, lost in thought, not realizing that the tremor she felt inside when Mason was near had nothing to do with fear; and so she had barely time to react when the black-hooded figure lunged out of the shadows, reaching for her. Without thinking she snapped her upper body backward, avoiding the figure's strike by bare centimeters. Had she been more coordinated she could have ended it there, but her balance deserted her and she staggered back against the corridor wall.

The figure rounded on her in a swirl of black cloak and pinned her shoulders to the wall. She screamed and clawed at the blackness where its face should have been, half-thinking of headless men before her fingers encountered linen. The mask came off and she stared into a far too familiar face.

'Adam?'

'Bitch,' Adam hissed. A knife appeared in his hand, seemingly from nowhere, and he pressed the edge of the blade against her throat. 'You won't live to regret that.'

'And you just won't live.'

'Mason!' Lianna shrieked. Adam turned in time to block a two-fisted blow that would have left him unconscious had it fallen. With the same movement of his arm, Adam reached inside his coat and flung a cloud of glittering powder into Mason's face.

Mason tried to scream, but it was all he could do to breathe. The silver dust burned in his throat, his lungs, sent currents of pain through his skin. He backed away, retching, and fell to the floor. Dimly, he saw Adam pull a far too familiar shape from his cloak and crouch over him.

'You die now, monster,' Adam whispered, his face alight with a fanatic's joy. Mason tried desperately to move, but the world was fading from him, his vision blurring, his ears filled with a thudding roar as his body struggled for air.

A shriek sliced through the roaring in his ears, a wordless shriek of pure venom so intense he shuddered. Adam looked up, eyes wide.

And Lianna, her teeth bared in a snarl every bit as menacing as the worst vampire's grin, seized his collar and hurled him across the hallway. Mason gaped as she threw herself on the murderer with a cry of rage and slammed his head against the floor. Adam's hands groped and for a moment wrapped firmly around her throat, but she ignored it and kept shaking him back and forth, pounding his head against the floor until he stopped struggling.

'Lianna -- ' Mason gasped.

'Mason!' She left Adam's still form and knelt beside Mason, her fingers brushing his hair away from his face. 'Are you all right?'

'I think so,' he said, and grimaced. 'I will be, at least. Thank you.'

'We're even,' she said softly, smiling at him. Footsteps sounded in the hall, and soon half a dozen people surrounded them.

'What happened?' Celeste, wrapped in a sheer robe, stepped forward hesitantly. 'What did you do to Adam?'

'He's D,' Mason said hoarsely.

It took four people to restrain Celeste from ripping Adam's throat out where he lay.

'So,' Celeste said. 'What do we do with him?'

Nobody spoke. Lianna looked around the throne room. Her eye fell on Saint -- Saint whose face was hidden in his hands. He glanced up, disclosing haunted eyes, a countenance racked by guilt. Lianna felt a sudden, helpless ache. Was there no end to the pain this man had caused?

With that thought, the answer came to her.

'I have an idea,' she said.

La'avar glanced up from his book -- /The 120 Days of Sodom/, by the Marquis de Sade -- to see his new young servant in the doorway of the throne room. He was leading a young man by one arm, a man whose hands and feet had been tied with thick ropes.

'What is this?'

'He was on our doorstep.' Blade -- a silly name for a vampire to take, La'avar thought -- laughed a little nervously. 'Like a present.'

La'avar left his throne and stepped closer. A fairly normal young human, messy brown hair and ruddy skin. He had a beautiful black eye, and a swollen bruise on his left temple. There was a paper pinned to his shirt. Bending closer, the prince read the message in block letters: VAMPIRE HUNTER.

'What does it mean, master?' Blade asked. La'avar decided that he would have to teach the impudent boy a lesson about respect. After changing his name to something less ridiculous, of course.

'The Patriarchs, I think -- unwilling to dirty their own hands with murder.' La'avar smiled wickedly. 'Or perhaps they just know when to leave the job to an expert.' He put a finger under the man's chin, tilting his face upward. 'You and I,' he said softly, 'are going to have /fun/.'

Coda:

we'll see how brave you are

we'll see how fast you'll be running

we'll see how brave you are

yes, Anastasia

-- Tori Amos, "Yes, Anastasia" (Under the Pink)

Sakura stumbled, the chains around her ankles nearly bringing her to her knees. They weren't silver, but they were strong enough to hold her and short enough to make walking nearly impossible. La'avar's servant -- she didn't know his name, she didn't know where Tobin had gone, and frankly she didn't give a damn -- grabbed her elbow and yanked her up. 'Come on.'

She'd expected to be taken to the torture room, to watch some other horrible sacrilege performed on her sweet daughter's body. But the door the servant shoved her rudely through was to La'avar's throne room, and the sight that confronted her was far worse than any silver knives or fiery brands.

La'avar reclined at ease on his throne, one hand draped idly over the armrest. The other rested on the shoulder of her daughter, who stood straight and slim beside the throne in a long dress of wine-red, blood-red velvet, the neckline cut low and square to display the blood-red kanji branded on her skin. Her hair hung loose around her white face, and as Sakura watched La'avar moved his hand to stroke the shining black strands.

'Get your hands off her,' Sakura hissed.

La'avar laughed. The girl merely stood still, her eyes dark with something her mother could not read at all. 'I don't think you have any say in the matter, Sakura. You brought her to me. Remember?'

'I didn't say you could --'

'But you knew.' La'avar slipped his fingers down to caress the kanji. 'You knew what I was before you brought her here. Did you really think you could ask me to help her and yet protect her from me?'

Sakura lowered her head, tears stinging in her eyes. 'Please. Just... just don't hurt her anymore. Let her go.'

'Oh, I think we should let her choose, don't you?' La'avar stepped down from the throne and took the girl's hands in his, smiling fondly at her. 'Maigo-chan?'

'Hanako,' Sakura said hoarsely. 'Please -- I didn't mean -- Hanako --'

'Sakura, please,' the girl said coldly. Her eyes gleamed with -- Sakura's mind reeled -- could it possibly be hatred? For her own mother? 'I am not Hanako.'

The girl's eyes shifted to La'avar's face, and her expression shifted along with them. Sakura cried out at what she saw in her daughter's face: it was devotion, it was reverence, it was hideously close to love.

'I am Maigo.'

The world spun under Sakura's feet and she could only watch helplessly as her daughter, her lost daughter, smiled and raised her lovely face to the hideously twisted face before her... as La'avar, triumphantly, claimed her lost daughter with a kiss.

Sakura screamed as she woke. Since she had become a vampire, years ago, she hadn't dreamed at all. Now...nightmares.

Nightmares which spoke the truth, she had to admit. It was her fault that Hanako was the way she was. Her fault that her beautiful little daughter was now nothing but a husk of herself. She brought her to him. She...

A knock came at her door.

'La'avar wants to see you.' Blade - now, awake, she knew his name. She wished she didn't, she wished she had never seen the Prince's lacky's face, that she'd never come here.

'Give me a moment to dress.'

Sakura fumed as she watched Hanako feed. Her daughter should not be getting La'avar's table scraps. It was obscene. But she was unable to do a damned thing - La'avar knew he was enraging her and expected her to move, and if she did she was dead. And so, probably, was Hanako.

Hanako dropped the lifeless body and sat straight for a moment, blood running down her chin. As La'avar reached out to wipe her face, she brushed his hand away, and ran the back of her sleeve over her chin. 'Thank you, my Prince, but I can do it myself now.'

La'avar smiled. His pet spoke, and she called him her Prince. Her will was his, completely - and rationally.

Hanako stood and looked at La'avar for a moment, then at Sakura, then Blade. 'Now, I no longer have need of you, so I will be leaving.' She turned and strode towards the throne room door.

'What?' La'avar jumped and grabbed at her shoulder, but she simply shrugged his hand off. 'You little bitch, you can't leave! You're mine!'

'I am nobody's. Nobody's pet, nobody's daughter. I am MINE.' She walked to the door and pulled it open. 'My stay here has been....educational. Farewell, you shall not see me again.'

La'avar shook. 'BLADE! STOP HER!'

La'avar's servant grabbed her as she stepped through the door, shaking his head. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew La'avar was pissed.

Hanako glared at him, and with unexpected speed ripped a slat of wood from the throne room door and drove the jagged edge into Blade's heart. The other Vampire dropped to the floor, twitching twice before he finally expired. 'You really must hire smarter servants La'avar. Now I will be going.' She looked to Sakura. 'Are you coming?'

Sakura smiled and followed her daughter out of the throne room, leaving La'avar to sit, stunned, watching them leave.

Sakura took Hanako's shoulder, and smiled. 'Hanako, you've returned to me!'

Hanako turned and looked Sakura in the eye, a darkness shining brightly within. 'My name is "Maigo", Sakura.'

Sakura's heart dropped. But she knew that part of her daughter had returned, and with time she could get her back completely. 'Alright, Maigo. Shall we go?'

Maigo nodded, and turned. 'Come then, Sakura.' She strode down the hallway, standing straighter than Sakura had ever seen her.

Sakura walked behind her, smiling softly, yes, she had changed, but her daughter had returned to her.

Maigo smiled. I know what you're thinking Sakura. I know you think you've got your daughter back. But no. Your daughter is dead, you killed her. You killed her and now you have an avenging angel at your side.