Forgotten Promises - Setting/OOC/Casting Call

[GomerFox]

This story setting is in the old World of Darkness series.

For those of you unfamiliar with the World of Darkness, it was a series published by White Wolf Games, and involved Vampires: the Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse & Mage: The Ascension

The World of Darkness resembles the contemporary world, but it is darker, more devious, and more conspiratorial. The dichotomy between rich and poor, influential and weak, powerful and powerless, is much more pronounced than in our world. Decadence is common and corruption is everywhere. Humans are unwitting victims or pawns of vast secret organizations of supernatural creatures (for the most part). Vampires, werewolves and wraiths—among others—struggle with internal factionalism and against other "species" in secret wars of intrigue for control of reality. The battles in these wars may last centuries, beyond the realization or comprehension of ordinary humans.


I wrote the below for a setting and a start to the story, and I'd like to see if anyone would like to participate.




There I was, standing in the doorway of the office of the Vampire’s club. He was an elder, I knew that. How old he was remained a mystery, but like all bloodsuckers, he was a spooky one.

And no shit, on the TV in the office…Dexter. Season 3, I think…but I wasn’t sure.

Man, surreal. My life I mean. Not the office.

The office was ordinary, if you want to call piles of small bills (mostly singles), a shotgun, used lingerie and strip club flyers waiting for distribution ordinary.

The creature barely looked at me and finished what he was writing as I walked in and took a seat.

Formal greetings seemed out of place in this setting, and quite frankly, I wasn’t in the mood, so I sat down. This wasn’t the usual way someone like me encounters an elder vampire, but that’s the way this decade has been going, so I decided to roll with it.

The creature’s features didn’t change, but I knew it was annoyed.
Courtiers, retainers, servants, and other lesser beings begged leave to sit when in the elder’s presence…food like me didn’t even get a vote.
Fortunately for me…I’m not on the menu tonight. I think.

It closed the notebook, sealed shut the leather buckle on it and with a hint of power activated the lock. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Fuck me, someone put some serious effort into the ward on the book.
Before I had time to wonder what was in the book, the vampire’s eyes turned to me, and the rest of it followed slowly.

The dead move…differently from the rest of us. Deliberately. Most times you can’t tell with the younger ones, and even the older ones who are more sociable.

But elders who don’t interact much with humanity, who study, plan and sleep more than they get out…you can tell.

He must have been about 30 when he was Embraced. He looked much older than a 30 year old would be today, but then again, life was harder back in the middle ages. Or ancient Ur…whatever.

What he said next shocked the fuck out of me.

“Thank you for coming” he said in accent-less English. “I know it was short notice, and I’m pleased you made the time to see me here.” waving his hand at the surroundings. This was not good. Elder Vampires do not make small talk. I was so fucked. I just didn’t know how fucked.

“No problem at all.” I responded. I was sweating. He knew it. I knew that he knew.

He grinned. No teeth. How polite of the bloodsucker.

I had run into numerous bloodsucking fiends over the years, and found that the more polite they were, the more it would hurt.

But that was OK. The vampire sitting across the titty bar manager’s desk knew a bit about me too. Well, probably more than a bit…and it knew what I did when I got frightened.

The elder blinked and said, “Long ago, a family worked for me on my estates.
They were my retainers, my revenants. For many years, they prospered until the war came, and they had to flee from my holdings.”

The War…he could mean anything from the Crusades to unpleasantness in the Balkans in the 1990’s, or Iraq today. He’d tell me more later. I let him continue without interruption.

“When they fled, the bloodline I had so carefully nurtured became corrupted, and I lost interest in them. I started over when matters settled down. However, these…computers. Such wonderful things. Ancestry-dot-com…how delightful. On a whim, I checked to see if my old retainers still existed, and it turns out, they do.”

He smiled, paused, then continued, “I checked the family tree…you would call it, the old fashioned way. It was fascinating. The bloodline I had so carefully nurtured had flowered. Cross pollinated, if you will. The youngest daughter has blood of Fae, Witch and Wolf.”

Vampiric ritual blood magic wasn’t my strong suit. Hell, it wasn’t my weak suit; however, I wasn’t stupid. That kind of a bloodline makes anyone powerful, or makes a hell of an ingredient. Bones, blood, skin…soul. Yeah. It is like that.

“Any you want this scion?” I asked.

“Yes” he responded. “I want to make sure this power doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”

Oh, I’ll bet he didn’t. Revenants, you see, are ghoul families, and as such the bloodline of the vampire who created them runs in them from birth. Revenants can live for centuries, and are powerful. Strong, swift, hard to kill for the most part. Some can use vampiric magic without actually being bloodsuckers themselves. Of course, the stronger ones are usually kept on a tight leash by the bloodsuckers they serve, and are remarkably fucked up in the head.

Think “It rubs lotion on it’s skin!” fucked up…power comes with a price. A long lost scion of the family wouldn’t have much of a taint, if any…but with the werewolf, witch and fae blood in the scion’s background…who knows.

This woman could be nuttier than a fruitcake, sane as librarian or anything in between.

Why did he want this one? I don’t understand it much, but I know that it leaves a pathway to the bloodline’s creator that a sufficiently skilled practitioner can exploit. It dawned (ha ha..dawned…vampire humor…) on me.

He needs me to save his hide.

Or hers.

Semel sanguinem semper sanguine, the saying went. “Once blood, forever blood.”

This was the descendent of a line which swore it’s loyalty to him, from the day the oath was sworn until the end of time. Creepy vampires may be.

Dangerous, creepy, secretive and, well…creepy…they took oaths seriously.

If that was what this was about, then things got worse.

A vampire elder taking his ancient responsibilities seriously means he might pull out all the stops…as would people…well, people AND ‘things’ that wanted to thwart him.

“You have retainers for this kind of thing. Good ones, too. So. Why me? You know I’m not cheap.” I said with a slight smile.

He knew I wasn’t talking about money. I would be paid handsomely without question…but the favor I would be owed would be a doozy. Vampires aren’t in the habit of owing favors to food, and for him to be opening himself up to this meant that shit was getting real.

Truth be told, I wasn’t interested in this job given the stakes, but I was sure refusal would be not allowed. Vampires like this one aren’t in the habit of making offers that can be refused. Yeah, he was watching Dexter, but moldy-oldies like this guy are more the “Godfather” type.

His eyes hardened, and I felt a push into my mind. I pushed back. The pressure abruptly vanished and I slumped in my chair without realizing it.

Warning received.

I straightened in my chair, really pissed off. I was frightened too. Dam I was frightened. Elders like him do not usually go for the hard sell when it comes to getting people to do what they want. If he was this desperate to have allowed etiquette to slip things must really be going to hell.

Or maybe hell, excuse me…Hell was actually coming for him, and he needed the power to fight it off.

“Why you? You need ask?” he snorted. “You will be paid.” He said. He then opened the desk drawer and withdrew a document case, placing it on the desk. It was old, but well cared for. The leather was stunning, a deep, burnished bronze that just oozed luxury. Finely wrought gold trim and a strap holding it shut with a red gemstone that seemed to be a little too bright in the dingy lighting of the office. The gemstone seemed to glow from within, an unpleasant, disturbing light that seemed to be bright, but cast a shadow on all it touched at the same time.

“A bloodstone?” I asked?

He nodded.

Bloodstones were the concentrated blood of a vampire, infused with the vampire’s own will for a specific purpose. Powerful…and not something lightly done. Vampires had only a limited reservoir of will. Chipping off a piece to act as a lock on a document case wasn’t normal.

Unless you were a badass and didn’t worry about a little chip like that.
Suddenly, the light in the stone was gone. It fell off the case onto the desk, making a heavy, wet sound. The vampire placed his palm over it, and withdrew it. Not a trace remained.

I took the case.

I walked out.

I knew I was dismissed.

As I walked out, Dexter was disposing of a body.

Surreal. Fucking surreal.

Hi. I’m…well, these days, I’m called Uriah. I’ve even got a driver’s license and all that appropriate paperwork that I’m supposed to have under that name. The name…picked it out of my favorite book, you see. I’m old too. Not as old at the crusty old elder I just talked with, but old enough. I can still get a tan though, so I’ve got one up on that old guy.

I sat down in the club. A drink appeared at my elbow, delivered by the bartender. I glanced at her. Eurasian, with an unruly head of hair so dark with looked blue, leather pants and a half shirt covering up her c cups. I looked down. She had legs. Wow.

She looked better than the dancer on stage, and looked like she was board as hell. Well, who wouldn’t be in a 3rd rate titty bar on Tuesday.

I took my drink, left her a $20, walked over to a private table by the wall, and pulled the shadows in around me with an effort of my will to cloak myself and my reading material. I needed to know what was going on in a hurry.

The case contained an envelope with piece of paper containing the personal identifying information for a woman & photographs of a green eyed brunette catching a cab, at the beach, on a boat in the harbor and shooting a course of fire on a rifle range. She was holding an M-4 style rifle with some sort of optic and a suppressor. The photographer caught her in mid string, as there were several empty shell-casings in the air being ejected.

Oh. Great…this would be fun. What made it worse was the hat what she was wearing. It said L.A.P.D. and it wasn’t the tourist hat sold in gas stations. It was the real deal.

Vampires. Witches. Werewolves. Fae. The LAPD.

What else is going to be involved in this week's fun times, the Inquisition? Out of suspicion, he crossed himself. You know, for luck.

The case also contained a leather bound notebook, this time secured with a mundane buckle.

It was 1:37AM. The club closed at 4. I sipped my drink and settled in to read.
I wasn’t a vampire…but I still had lots of time.




'Uriah Johnson' is...human. Mostly.
5'10", 180# Average build. Blonde hair, brown eyes. 2 days of stubble today.
Wears business casual, with a Colt 1911 & spare magazines under his shirt. Microtech UDT (Circa 1990) knife in his pocket.
Looks somewhere between 30 & 50. His actual age, and his bloodline...he feels that would be telling.

He reinvents himself every so often. He's been using this identity for the past 12 years. He's got an excellent background with perfect documents...but if a deep background check were to be done - he'd probably not like that very much.

Uriah Johnson would have some explaining to do.
Uriah Johnson would prefer not to explain things...

He's a man who's got his own thing going, deals a lot with vampires of various sects with a reputation for generally being reliable, getting things done and someone who won't take well to being shorted on a deal.

Hit man, you say? No. Not full time, anyway...but offer him enough money and morality is kinda flexible.

Invincible, oh, hardly...hard to kill, yes, but no more than anyone who keeps his head while dealing with the supernatural. He may be food, but isn't really interested in being eaten.

Is he a good guy? Bad guy? Duno. When he figures it out, he'll let you all know by wearing the right hat to meetings.

He was in LA for business with the Kuei-jin (Kindred of the East) when he got a message that his presence was requested.

And now, he's in a bind. He is right now is a guy who just got handed a shit sandwich, and no acceptable way to say "Thank you, but no."

More can be revealed in a story as it progresses, if it ever gets going.



Well, that's the story line, setting and my character.

Anyone interested, please post a character.
Vampire, werewolf or other (you don't have to tell) would be cool too.

 

[Iscaa]

Name; Molly O'Leary
Age ; 21, newly graduated and just learning the ropes.
Height; 5" 2'
Hair; Flaming red, long, ( halfway down her back ) thick and curly. worn up when on duty.
Eyes; emerald green
Build; slim, very athletic,

Appearance;
Has a cute pixy like face, ears are small even a bit pointy at the top ( was made fun of when growing up.) Even though she is pretty small, she makes up for it in her self defense skills and temper ( red head) Likes to dress for comfort but that said, she cleans up pretty well. Having grown up around 4 huge brothers she had to learn to stand up for herself at an early age.

Bio;
Loves to hear stories from the old country even though she doesn't believe them. Is a good story teller herself. Of late she has been feeling rather strange and restless. When someone is very emotional she is drawn to that person, but doesn't know why. But when she touches them physically, they calm down and she feels somehow stronger.

 

[GomerFox]

The werewolf was still alive.
Technically, anyway.
It was hanging on a meathook under the overpass in central LA. Ordinarily the underside of this overpass was crowded with vagrants, but the aura of unease kept them away tonight.
On the ground, a chalice caught the blood as it dripped from the werewolf far above.
The chalice was a human skull inlayed with silver, its eyes set with an opal in the right, obsidian in the left. It was inside a salt circle inscribed with sigils that could barely be seen, but who’s effect was hard to ignore.
Sitting in the circle watching the blood drip into the chalice was a man. He was old . His flesh was gaunt, his face lines and his hair white. His skin was a deep caramel color, and he wore a robe made of horsehair, and a necklace made of fingerbones. His cane was a tusk of some forgotten animal, and inscribed with beautiful carvings that seemed to dance in the pale light of the city.

His face bore a small smile. The kind of smile someone has when they know a secret, but aren’t telling. His eyes…they danced with knowledge that mortal men should not know…

The pain of the werewolf meant nothing to him, except that it was necessary for his working.

He meant to find the scion. This ritual was a guide.
The last drop of blood fell. The wolf died.

As it fell into the chalice, he uttered a guttural, harsh word. A subtle ripple of power went out from the circle. He listened.

It was just before dawn. Animals all over the city howled at the feeling that just went over them.

Those who were awake at that time looked around, and the few people who were more in tune with the spirit world saw the searcher which swept all over LA in an instant.

It was an enormous, reptilian winged monstrosity, black as night circling the city. Had anyone looked at the moon, they would have seen the figure floating there for an instant.
It was the hideous corpse-specter of death staring down from the sky.
The ritual was over.

The power faded as soon as it came.
His eyes shined with glee.

She was here. She was in this city.
She would be his…

As he left the titty bar, Uriah felt the subtle whisper of power in his bones.
“Fuck me” he said. He knew this wouldn’t be a coincidence. He had read the file in the hours he sat in the titty bar on Fairfax. Molly O'Leary, age 21, new LAPD police offices. Something was in the works for her. Something bad…something with a lot of power.
The file said she’d be on days, and would be assigned out of Parker Center downtown.
She’d be waking up around now, getting ready for work. LAPD worked 7AM-3PM, 3PM-11PM, 11PM-7AM.
She was a dayshifer for now…Thankfully, most things didn’t come out in the daylight…but those that did had their own issues.
Tomorrow morning, in about 2 hours, he’d go to Parker Center and see if he could spot Molly O'Leary.
He wanted to lay eyes on her.
Dawn was coming. Creatures of the night were snuggling into their coffins or wherever it was the hell they slept.
He was gonna take a nap. He had a busy day tomorrow.

 

[Iscaa]

As the 5:45 am alarm went off, Molly made a fist and slammed it on the cheap clock, she did this too often to replace them with expensive gadgets. She sighed and relaxed again...thirty minutes later she sat up in bed. The covers falling to her waist. Looking at the watch on her wrist 6:15 , she cried, “shit shit shit, why do I always do that?" Throwing the covers off she jumped out of bed and ran for the bathroom, turning the shower on before taking care of business. Lucky she liked to sleep in the nude, she quickly put some toothpaste on her brush and jumped in the shower, swearing, brushing, shampooing,and soaping all at the same time. Within 8 minutes, she was out, reaching for a towel as she ran back into her small bedroom. Pulling her undies drawer open Molly grabbed the first bra and panties her saw, ( black bra, red panties ) and quickly threw them on. While trying to dry her long hair.

Looking at her watch again, she groaned, 6:28, it would take her 20 minutes to get to the precinct, she now had, 12 minutes to get out of the apartment. ( Oh, wouldn't her brothers laugh at her if they could see her now), they said she wouldn't be able to live on her own. But she swore she would show them how wrong they were. Adjusting herself she quickly made her way over to the closet, grabbed a fresh uniform shirt and pants, throwing them on, she added her belt and holster then looked down. Shoes, socks she hastily grabbed fresh socks from the drawer and slipped them on, followed by her shoes.

Glancing at the mirror, (no time for makeup now), she grabbed some pins then her uniform jacket and headed out the door. It locked automatically as it shut behind her. Two minutes later Molly slipped behind her 2003 Volkswagon, put it into gear and glanced at her watch, 6:41, hoping luck was on her side and the traffic didn't jam up, she just might make it to work on time. Grimacing, (I'd better be on time, for my first day on the job!) She backed out of her parking space and put petal to the metal, and was soon speeding along in the morning traffic.

As luck would have it traffic wasn't too bad, enabling her to get to Parker Center right on the dot. At the last stop light she quickly coiled her hair, pined it, then took her hat from the seat beside her and plunked it on. Once parked, she took one last look in the rear view mirror, groaned and headed for the front door. Molly stopped took a deep breath and stepped inside.

 

[GomerFox]

Uriah felt her approach more than he saw her.
She got out of the VW and he first laid eyes on her. Slim, petit little thing in an LAPD uniform. He gun wasn’t the usual service weapon. Due to her small size, she was carrying a 1911 pistol and 4 spare magazines in place of a pistol with larger capacity and 2 spare mags.
Similar to him.

Good. He hoped she was good with it, given what was after her, for her sake and his.

Well, mostly for his. If he lost her, that crusty old fucker wouldn’t be pleased, and vampires who were kicking around since the time of Jesus Christ aren’t into forgiveness for failure.

Idly, he wondered how he’d take out that old fucker…he was drawing a blank. Something that old probably had pretty complex arcane defenses around his usual locations, good physical security and were tougher than could be estimated.

He supposed he could get hold of a nuclear device…but at that point all was probably lost.

She drove into Parker Center’s parking area, and he went back into the coffee shop. Vampires had ways into everything in this town. They had to in order to survive. If you had access to the various tunnels, warrens & assorted passage ways their weren’t a lot of places you can’t go while avoiding human eyes and the sun.

Vampires don’t like the sun. Unlike twilight, these fuckers don’t sparkle, and some of they aren’t really human looking.
Shudder.

Nosferatu. Ugly fuckers. Private, reclusive, information gathering sewer dwelling ugly fuckers.
Surprisingly easy to deal with when you are in possession of information yourself. They do so love to trade…and for undead fiends, they are VERY computer savvy. Sometimes they hack into systems – other times, they just mentally dominate people into giving them the passwords.

Either way, earlier he had made a phone call.

A bit of haggling later and a tidbit about what the Kindred of The East were doing in LA, he had what he needed – a genuine, authentic, police ID as a contract consultant for the LAPD’s Special Persons Observations/Operations Coordination Sections.

The name sounded odd, but the acronym was pronounced SPOOKS.
A seldom talked about unit, populated by those who were…different.

The Vampire in charge of LA – if one could really be in charge of this sprawling, fought over city which had changed hands many, many times…had attempted to kill off this unit’s but other factors had kept it alive.

The LAPD wasn’t as unaware of the Supernatural as many would have liked, and in a city this size…well. That could cause problems.

The werewolves didn’t much like the vampires, and also had a hand in the LAPD to keep an eye on things – at the same time, the Vampires had access to the unit as well vial electronic taps and several people they owned.
It was all very back-biting (literally) and back-stabbing (literally); however, as a way to manage the masquerade, everyone had to play nice with surrogates in the police department.

Without this unit, the supernatural would have even less of an idea of what went on and less of a way to direct things away from them.

Great.

He finished his coffee looked at Parker Center. OK. Time to head into the belly of the beast.

He walked to the back of the store into a room marked employees only, then looked up at the fire alarm on the ceiling. A gravely voice issued forth.
“Yes?”

He answered, “Honored ones, I am a traveler, one of the wise. I seek entry to the ways.”

It responded, “Proclaim yourself.”

He answered, “I am of the most ancient and honorable Order of Hermes. I am proclaimed as wandered, and hold a seat at no house but mine own. I am friend to all who would be friend, enemy to none but those who would harm me and mine, or those whom hath given shelter unto me. I am Gideon, once apprentice to the most wise and honorable Alaric of House Flambeauand.

I seek entry unto the ways, Oh Honored Hunter.”

The voice was silent for a long moment. It knew who he was. Then it said, “Would you honor hospitality?”

Hospitality. If he gave his word to honor hospitality, he would be bound to raise no hand to anything that he encountered in the tunnels, no matter how horrible he found it. Were he to find blood slaves being kept, homeless fed upon and harmed…no matter what, he would be bound to not raise a hand, else be struck down in the Vampire’s warrens beneath the city.

He answered, “I can pay for my passage.”

The voice responded, “With coin? Or with secrets?”

He answered, “With secrets.”

The voice responded after a time, “Watch your step…”

The doorway on the other end of the room opened. He walked into it, then down a short flight of stairs to an elevator guarded by 3 large, ugly men. Ghouls. Humans given vampire blood. Each must have been 300 pounds, and was armed with an FN-FAL.

Light security when it came to vampires.

One of them motioned to the elevator, and he entered it.

The door closed, and began to fall. A LONG fall…then it stopped.

When the door opened, a hideous, misshapen creature awaited him. It’s skin was the color of molted garbage, veins on the outside pulsed oddly and it’s maw was massive.

When it spoke, however, it was proper, crisp English. “Gideon…welcome.”

He nodded, and followed the creature as it walked away.

The warren was complex, and they arrived at a room which was…nothing like he expected. It was furnished with old, comfortable furniture of European origin. A wine rack held ancient vintages of reds, and the lighting was soft, without glare. The creature bid him sit, and it sat on a massive cushion.

“You want entry to the ways, mage…you must buy them with secrets. Secrets I do not know…I am Porthos, master of whispers. Master of the warrens. Camarilla & Sabbat come to me for tales of strange things…tales of mystery that they do not know…what secrets do you bring me that are worth passage without hospitality in the warrens?”

“I bring you this…” he said, and handed a sheet of paper to the vampire. The vampire took it gingerly, knowing that mages could be dangerous. The paper could be anything from a note to a rune which would flare bright as the sun.

The creature opened it up and looked at it for a moment. “Where did you get this?” it asked.

“I was called by one from the East a week ago. An artifact was discovered in North Korea, and recently…sold. They had acquired it, and wanted someone to take a look at it.” He said.

The paper was a photocopy of a rubbing of the surface of a stone he had made. On it was ancient glyphs which were mostly undecipherable, but three glyphs were clear – one, a Dragon, swallowing it’s own tail. The symbol was Tzimice. The other, was an ancient glyph for the Verbena, a sect of Mages. The last, was a symbol the Kindred of the East did not know, but he did. It was a glyph seen seldom if ever outside of vampyric writings on the ancient past…

“How old is this?” it asked?

“Approximately 6 thousand years. They haven’t done carbon dating. The age isn’t the issue, it’s what the glyphs say that’s the interesting part…” He pointed. “That is.”


The vampire looked at it, and stared at it. The third glyph. Absimiliard. The Nosferatu Founder. The one who cursed his blood with their visage.

It said, “You have bought your passage unto the ways, honored sir. Be welcome, be under my protection. Free passage unto you and yours… and fair journeys wither thou go within my domain.” The vampire was breathless.

It wanted more information, but it knew it would owe him enormously for it…but now was not the time.

Gidion nodded, then left. A second creature, small and terrifying in it’s own right was waiting for him. It asked his destination, and he told it he wanted to go to Parker Center.

The creature took him without word or incident. He arrived at an elevator which would take him back to the world of the living.

The creature was looking at him. A human in the heart of the Nosferatu domain. He nodded at the creature and said, “Thank you, noble hunter.”

The creature responded “Fuck that shit, I’m Jack. You’re obviously a heavy, else you’d be lunch.” The creature gave him a business card with a QR code on the back of it. “That’s my contact info. Let’s talk some time. You need it, I’m selling it. Word?”

Gidion smiled. “Word, motherfucker.”

The creature said, “Peace out!” and he entered the elevator. The elevator arrived in a supply closet in the LAPD’s basement. He got out, crossed a hallway and entered another elevator back to the land of the living.

He emerged on the 3rd floor, exited an office and got himself a coffee from a pot. Terrible, but strong.

He flashed his ID at a scanner and opened the door to the Spooks. 3 people were in the office, studiously ignoring each other. They all looked at him. The door closed. He could tell they were all sizing him up, literally and figuratively.
One was a large man, with bulging muscles, black as midnight without hair. One was a elfin looking woman with vaguely Asian features and the other was swarthy, lean and had dark, dark eyes.

He nodded to each of them, and said “Relax fellas. I’m just passing through.”

The woman asked…well, more warned than asked, “You aren’t going to cause trouble?”

She was pretty. Slim, slinky and very confident…she looked like she’s be the one to either tear him limb from limb, or shoot him dispassionately and then tough up her hair, either way.

He looked right back at her, smiled and shrugged. He then traced a sigil in the air which flashed with emerald and gold fire.

He said, “I hope not.”

She and the others looked at him and the air was thick with hostility, mistrust and the potential for things to get ugly. He got the message. So did they.

Mutually Assured Destruction.

“How long you gonna be?” Asked the smaller man.

“Hopefully not long, but I don’t know. I’m not here to step on your toes, so I’m bein polite by checking in, but I got things going. You don’t get in my shit, fuck with me or otherwise make my life difficult, I return the favor. I may even help with your caseload while I’m in town…you fuck with me, I will put you in a world of shit in another dimension.” He paused, then looked at an empty desk.

“That in use?” He asked.

“Yours now.” Said the big guy.

“Thanks. I’ll move in later.” He said as he left. As he turned his back, he felt the stares.

There was a lot of power in that room. The Asian woman was a werewolf, and she was horrifyingly powerful. The others, one was a ghoul that had to be over 500 years old and belong to an elder. The other, a revenant, but one that was…dam.

Werewolves as a rule were enormously dangerous. For her to have not killed those two…shudder.

Thankfully, nobody liked to fuck with a mage. Mages were mysterious. Nobody knew what they were capable of…and he liked it that way.

Could he have taken any of them?
Maybe…would he have liked it? No.
All three…he didn’t want to find out. At least, not up close.

Mental Note: If you are going to take them out, summon a demon, bribe it and set it loose on them without warning.

Note taken, and coffee consumed, he went to find the briefing room for the day shift.

He entered, as they were all milling about, settling down. He was reading some of the reports from those going off shift.

Something odd happened last night. That ripple of power wasn’t something that wouldn’t leave traces…and it was likely to be grisly.

Yeah, that was it. He found the report.

A body hanging. Blood spatter. Some traces of a “satanic” ritual under the freeway.

Briefing started, and everyone sat. Well, cops. People like him stood in the background. The supervisor introduced the new people, told them they were going to learn a lot, not to fuck up and if they had any questions, to shoot the guy with the camera first and ask questions never.

Everyone laughed.

He was kidding, of course…but may have been prophetic.

Then they went into activity from last night. The “satianic” ritual was the last thing. Everyone looked a bit uncomfortable about it.

The LAPD was used to odd shit, but most of that was drug related. Kids trying to get high and summon things…as foreplay to getting laid. Celebrities doing weird shit…

Weird people doing weird shit…all very mundane.

This had a seldom seen flavor to it. It seemed more real. More organized.
The fact that someone didn’t bother to clean up meant that whoever was behind it wasn’t very worried with a police response, and that indicated age, and therefore power.

The slight Asian woman from upstairs came into the briefing room. She had a copy of the file on the murder. She looked calm, but standing next to her, he could read her aura without even trying. She was homicidal.

She had what at first glance to be a stress-ball in her hand, but was actually a very large ball-bearing that she was casually crushing. He said to her quietly, “I felt it last night. Whatever it was, whatever did this…when you decide to kill it, call me. I’m pretty sure I don’t want it running about…”

Without looking at him, she whispered, “I knew him. He was not in my pack, but one of my kind. What can you tell me about the ritual?”

He answered, “It was a seeking. Someone was looking for something hidden. Something or someone connected with the Garou by blood. Something that needed a lot of power to find. Beyond that…I’d have to see more. The body, the circle…I was across town and felt it, so it wasn’t only Garou blood related…”

He stopped.

Oh. Shit.

He looked at the front of the room.

The red.

She followed his eyes, and delicately sniffed the air.

Her eyes narrowed.

She mouthed the words, “The puppy?”

He nodded to the hallway. She followed.

They looked at each other. She said, “She is mixed blood. I can smell the corruption in her.” She meant vampires. Oh, great. A homicidal elder wolf going to kill his mark in front of him… she continued, “It is faint, but present. She is…different. I smell the earth, magic and earth…”

She looked at him. “Why are you here?” she asked.

Shit. A direct question…he loathed those.

He could sense something in the air. She would smell a lie, then kill him.

He answered, “For her. The elder from who her blood comes wishes the safe return of his blood. Semel sanguinem semper sanguine.”

Her eyes flashed with rage, then calmed. She spoke, “I have dealt with the fiends before, and have never know them to keep their word. You are but food to them. Why do you serve this one? Why do you not kill him and free yourself from his bondage?” she asked with a sneer.

He responded, “I am no thrall. I am magi. I do as I will, and walk my own path. I am seeker, traveler, seer of many lands, and will not be spoken to as this by one such as you. I walk the path set for me of my own will, and seek the grace of no Vampyr, Garou or Coven. I have offered you no offence, nor trespassed your people or lands, yet you insult me? I expected better of the Garou than one as you. Know you this – when you have passed to your fathers and your bones dried to dust, I will still walk the lands you have left.
We need not be foes over the puppy. She is no more of your blood than the fiend. I bear her no ill will and wish to keep her from that which is hunting her. But cross me, and I will strike thee down.”

She smiled.

Fuck me Jesus, the phyco bitch smiled. She sniffed. Then she smiled with more teeth.

She leaned in close, he mouth and nose by my ear and neck. She whispered, “We are so going to be friends…”. Then she rubbed her forehead on my chin and walked away.

She went back into the briefing room. I followed, picking up the end of the briefing. Molly was looking at the pictures of the scene and I could see she was studying them intently, almost as if they held something for her that she couldn’t understand…

But wasn’t able to ignore.

Fucking surreal. First Vampires watching Dexter, now I had just been threatened, then “friendly” marked by a werewolf.

My life was fucking surreal. She was probably going to kill me, but at least I’d get to see her tits first.

Some days, I should just create my own dimension and hide inside of it. I'd eventually go insane, but it would be a happy, pleasant insanity with rainbows, puppies and strippers...

The briefing ended. Phyco Asian Wolf Bitch and I walked over to Molly. Wolfy introduced herself as Detective Vanessa Chou. I introduced myself as Uriah Johnson, a private consultant with her unit.

Vanessa said quietly, “I saw you looking at the photographs. Tell me what you see.”

 

[Iscaa]

Once Molly had stepped inside the building, she stopped to get her bearings. It was busy, typical of a big city precinct, officers hauling suspects to interrogation rooms, hookers waiting to be booked. Then she spotted a young girl crying over by the wall, she couldn't stop herself from going over to her. Speaking quietly, “Are you OK? Do you want a glass of water?” The girl just kept on sobbing so Molly gingerly touched her arm, suddenly, she feel the girl's fear and anguish flow from the girl into Molly's hand and up her arm. She let go and stepped back,( Wow, what was that?) The girl had stopped crying and sighed, glanced at Molly replying, “No I am alright now thanks.” she pushed herself off the wall and walked over to the sergeant's desk. Molly continued to stand watching the girl walk away. She appeared like she was going to be alright, or at least she now had a handle on her emotions. As for Molly, she felt like she had gotten a big boost of energy or great night's sleep.

(Strange, very strange) she muttered to herself, as she walked towards the briefing room, sitting down in the nearest empty chair. The supervisor introduced the new recruits including Molly, then went on with the usual business til he came to the satanic ritual killing. She listened to the details of the crime scene with acute attention. When he was finished she got up and walked over to the table with the photos. She picked each one up and examined them, something about them made her blood sing, for want of a better way to describe it.

Molly felt two people approach her from behind, turned and looked them both over as they introduced themselves. She didn't much their demeanor, a little too pushy for her tastes. So when Vanessa asked,

“I saw you looking at the photographs. Tell me what you see.”

She looked at her and replied, “Just a lot of weird stuff, I have no idea what it all means.” Pausing for a few seconds she then added, “It was nice to meet you both I need to have a word with the supervisor.” Nodding her head she then took her leave of them and headed to the supervisor to see about getting a partner.

 

[GomerFox]

When he was finished she got up and walked over to the table with the photos. She picked each one up and examined them, something about them made her blood sing, for want of a better way to describe it.

Molly felt two people approach her from behind, turned and looked them both over as they introduced themselves. She didn't much their demeanor, a little too pushy for her tastes. So when Vanessa asked,

“I saw you looking at the photographs. Tell me what you see.”

She looked at her and replied, “Just a lot of weird stuff, I have no idea what it all means.” Pausing for a few seconds she then added, “It was nice to meet you both I need to have a word with the supervisor.” Nodding her head she then took her leave of them and headed to the supervisor to see about getting a partner.

Uriah watched Vanessa’s approach.

Phyco wolves. Pushy, pushy. He glared at Vanessa. She snarled. Barely audibly, but she snarled. The ‘stress-ball’ creaked.

He watched as Molly approached the shift supervisor regarding being assigned a partner. He watched as she was assigned a partner, then waited as her partner retrieved a pair of radios, and the patrol car’s shotgun.

He approached her and coughed politely to get her attention. She looked at him and quickly scanned him. It was quite clear he was armed, but wasn’t wearing a badge, marking him as somewhat odd, and probably important.
Nobody got carry permits in LA without ‘juice’ and fewer still dared carry pistols into the LAPD absent dam good reason –California is not gun friendly– yet here he was, surrounded by the police without worry…sporting a blued, well worn Colt 1911 pistol in a tanned, mahogany leather holster just in front of his hip, and carrying it subconsciously, the same way a knight would carry a sword he had wielded for a long, long time.

Quietly, politely he said “Sorry about Detective Chou. She’s a bit on edge regarding this murder. It’s a somewhat personal for her, and she’s not taking it well. Please…I saw you looking at the photographs. I think they meant something to you, or you saw something in them. I’m not sure what it was…but I’d like to know.”

He paused, then said, “Please.”

 

[Iscaa]

Lifting her eyebrow Molly regarded the man, listening to his apology she then nodded her head,

“Well I understand then why Detective Chou was anxious just now. What did you say your name was?”

Just then a messenger passed quickly by and knocked Molly into Uriah, as soon as her hands touched his chest, she felt some of his power. But mostly she felt that he was to be trusted at least in this matter. Getting her footing again she stepped back. Looking up at him thinking,
( maybe I will trust this guy just a little wee bit, then watch what he does.)

Shrugging her shoulders she indicated for him to follow her back to the table with the evidence and photos. Once there, Molly picked up a photo frowning as she concentrated on it. Talking as if to herself she commented,

“ I feel like these photo speak to me, as if I am somehow connected to them. Which is crazy, I have never been near any satanist activities in my life.

Shivering she looked up at the man again, “What did you say your name was again?”

 

[GomerFox]

She touched me. Shit.

Power. She had power…or at least the potential of it. No wonder why that cankerous old thing wanted her. If I felt it, she must have too.
From the feeling he got last night, his suspicion that whoever killed the wolf and worked the ritual was looking for her knew it too.

“Uriah Johnson” I said. I flashed her my LAPD consultant ID. She inspected it suspiciously, then handed it back. “I consult with the police on certain things that are out of the ordinary.”

She looked at him inquisitively. “Things like this” he said.

She asked, "What kind of person does something like this?"

He answered, "What makes you think whatever did this is a person?"

He paused, then finished, "Well. In terms of mental processes, anyway...Some...some people, aren't people. Not as you'd usually think of them."

He looked at her carefully, then asked, “What do the photos say to you? Anything could be helpful.”

 

[Iscaa]

Molly looked at the photo in her hand again, then closed her eyes. Slowly an image started to form in her mind. Frowning she started to speak,

“ I see an old man with white hair, he is the one who is doing the killing in some horrible ritual.”

She hesitated wrinkling her brow as if seeing the events unfolding in front of her,

“ He is wearing a robe, and some kind of weird necklace , oh gods it looks like bones, yes the necklace is made of bones.”

Molly opened her eyes and looked at Uriah, saw that he wasn't laughing at her so she closed her eyes again and continued.

“ Oh this is just too bizarre for words, he has the victim hanging up and his blood is dripping into a skull. Now I see him mouthing some kind of word, and then look up into the sky. Something is flying above the city, he smiles. The thing is searching for something on the ground.....”

Molly again opened her eyes blanching at what she just realized.

“That old man and the thing he conjured up is searching for me!"

Looking around wildly, Molly cried,

“ I have to go, I can't stay here!”

In a panic she starts heading towards the main entrance.

 

[GomerFox]

Molly again opened her eyes blanching at what she just realized.

“That old man and the thing he conjured up is searching for me!"

Looking around wildly, Molly cried,

“ I have to go, I can't stay here!”

In a panic she starts heading towards the main entrance.

He watched her eyes grew large as she realized she was the target.

As she cried wildly, his left hand came up and in a subtle sweeping gesture and an effort of his will, pulled the words out of the air as she said them.

Molly headed toward the main entrance, but as she left the briefing room, she ran right into detective Chou. Literally, she ran into her. Chou, although a slightly built woman, didn’t even move at the impact, and put her arms on Molly’s shoulders, then said, “Don’t panic. It’s unseemly, beneath your heritage and your badge.” Chou released her.

Uriah followed her out into the hallway, and caught up to her as Vanessa released her.

“Look. I know this is a shock to you…but you really can’t panic like that. At least, not in public. I’m sure this is a lot to take in on your first day on the job, but I think you are overacting slightly. Besides…think about it. You are in a police station, surrounded by about 500 people all wearing the same uniform you are, who are wearing a lot of guns. I think you are in a safe place right now – don’t you.”

He sipped his coffee, finishing it. He clenched his left hand hard, knuckles cracking as he gripped, and then opened it. What looked like a pale golden spark lay inside it.
He continued, “I believe that’s yours.”

He offered her words back to her.

 

[Iscaa]

Trying to get a grip, Molly looked first at Uriah and his hand, then at Detective Chou. In a shaky voice she replied, “ What exactly are you two? I know I have heard a lot of weird stories over the years, but never for one moment did I think there was any truth to them. Now your telling me different? What do you take me for...a fool?” She backed away from them shaking her head continuing as if more to herself then to them. “ What I felt from those photos, was real...real evil real fear, real pain. Looking up at the two of them she asked, “What am I to do with that? And how am I going to hide from what I know I saw in those photos?”

As more and more of all this sunk in her mind Molly frowned, “ What on earth does anyone want with me?” Lifting her hand up to her forehead, she rubbed at her temple, knocking her hat off her head. Bending down she picked it up off the floor, since she hadn't had a chance to put her hair up properly, it now came undone falling around her face and down her back. Totally frustrated Molly quickly stood up trying to get herself in some kind of order. Now she was getting angry, “Are you going to answer some of my questions or not?”

 

[GomerFox]

Chou responded, “Yes. But not here.” She went back into the briefing room to speak to the supervisor, leaving her with Uriah.

Uriah looked at Molly. He didn’t need special powers to see she was frustrated, pissed and ready to hurt someone. And she was armed. With a .45 pistol.

He chose his words carefully.

“Let me first ask you something…all through history, people told stories around the camp fire about things that went bump in the night. You call them weird stories, but if they were just stories, would they have lasted until now? Would people have told the same stories over the years if they didn’t have a kernel of truth to them?”

He looked around carefully. Casually, but carefully.

“You’ve heard stories…tell me what you've heard.” He asked quietly.

 

[Iscaa]

Rolling her eyes at Uriah, Molly sighed, “We all have heard of the vampire stories its really the latest rage, all the goth stuff too, but really I think people are just bored with their lives and are looking for excitement, danger. It must make them feel alive, I don't know.”

Seeing that he wasn't smirking at her she gruffly continued, “OK, my granny used to tell me about the wearwolves, and banshees, fairies globlins and the like, but it was only to scare us kids into behaving ourselves. Everybody knows that, besides most of the old time superstitions can be explained scientifically now.”

Lifting her eyebrow up at Uriah, “Your not going to tell me that they are all true are you? Because your going to have to prove it to me before I believe there are really vampires running around drinking our blood” she scoffed.

Now that she was calmer, she added, “As for the photos back there, I was just having a nervous episode that was all it was nothing more. I'll get used to the blood and gore eventually.”

Sighing she tries to get her hair into some kind of order, but its just not working. Finally she just lets it be, “Can we go somewhere I won't been seen looking out of uniform? Glancing towards the briefing room, “Where is that Detective Chou?"

 

[GomerFox]

He looked at her, bemused.
She had just had a vision of a sorcerer engage in a pretty powerful working with her as the target, gotten an image of whatever the fuck that was searching for her over the city, experienced her words snatched out the very air in front of her, then offered back to her…

And she was looking for a rational explanation. He didn’t have to wonder why nobody knew of the supernatural world, even with signs in front of them. Idly, he wondered if she’d believe Chou was a werewolf if she transformed right in front of Molly and started eating people.

“We can talk, but not here. Not now. You’ve got to go on shift, and I’ve got some follow-up with Detective Chou to handle. Keep an open mind, Officer. You might be surprised at how often superstition…isn’t.”

He left to find Detective Chou, who was in the briefing room talking to a supervisor in hushed tones.

The Supervisor was Kinfolk to the werewolves. Not a shapeshifter, but a human relation to them. Someone who had the blood, but not the powers. The both looked at Uriah as he approached, and got quiet.

“She does not know.” Chou said.

Dam. Bitch had sensitive hearing…but then again, as powerful as she was, that wasn’t unusual.

“No…she does not believe. She is not so ignorant, as uninformed.” He said.
“This is Sergeant Jimenez, her field training officer. He will be with her today. If anything happens, he will let us know immediately.” Chou said.

Uriah got the impression she wasn’t just stating a fact, but a command. Chou outranked Jimenez in the LAPD, but the imperious tone of her voice and the deference of Jimenez suggested a different relationship.

One that was more pack related than paramilitary.

“Good. Sergeant, I don’t know exactly what that working was, but I believe it was searching for Molly. That was ancient magic. Savage, powerful and ritualistic…but for all that, effective. I don’t know what the person who performed that working is capable of, but I believe it best if whoever enacted that ritual ended up dead.” Uriah said.

Jimenez nodded and said “How much do I have to worry about right now?”
Uriah said, “Good question.”

Jimenez made a ‘give me more info’ motion. Uriah responded “It’s a good question. I don’t know. Right now…keep her off the night shift, and if possible, in bright sunlight.”

Jimenez said “That bad?”

Uriah said “Yeah. For now…yeah.”

Jimenez “What about when she goes home tonight?”

Uriah turned to Chou and said, “Then we see what the cat dragged in.”

Chou smiled. It was pleasant and predatory all in one glance.

 

[Iscaa]

Molly watched as Uriah walked back to the briefing room. She sighed, thinking about what he had just told her. Shaking her head, (Naaa....that man has to be a major head case if I ever saw one. I think I will keep my guard up when around him.)

Her hand went up to brush her hair out of her face, annoyed she grabbed ahold of it and looked around. Spotting the women's washroom Molly headed over there to see what she could do with it. Once inside she went over to the large mirror and proceeded to coil her long tresses up took some more pins out of her pocket and in no time at all she was presentable. Setting her hat on top of her head she took one last look, nodding in satisfaction. Straightening the rest of her uniform Molly then left the washroom.

Looking towards the briefing room she headed in that direction thinking to find the field training officer to see who she was to be assigned with.

 

[GomerFox]

Molly watched as Uriah walked back to the briefing room. She sighed, thinking about what he had just told her. Shaking her head, (Naaa....that man has to be a major head case if I ever saw one. I think I will keep my guard up when around him.)

Her hand went up to brush her hair out of her face, annoyed she grabbed ahold of it and looked around. Spotting the women's washroom Molly headed over there to see what she could do with it. Once inside she went over to the large mirror and proceeded to coil her long tresses up took some more pins out of her pocket and in no time at all she was presentable. Setting her hat on top of her head she took one last look, nodding in satisfaction. Straightening the rest of her uniform Molly then left the washroom.

Looking towards the briefing room she headed in that direction thinking to find the field training officer to see who she was to be assigned with.

She walked back in and Jimenez motioned her over to him as he walked away from Uriah & Chou.

He said to her, “You’re my rookie. You got your kit?”

She nodded.

“Good. Don’t fuck this up. You are going to make mistakes, that’s understood…just don’t make the critical one.” He paused.

Molly looked inquisitively at him, and he said, “Do not spill my coffee. Seriously, I get this shit imported from Africa and it’s worth more to me than you are. If you are good, I’ll let you have some eventually. Maybe…but if you cause me to spill the juice of the bean, I will simply kill you. Oh. And don’t shoot me. I’d be pissed off about that too.”

He drank from his Titanium travel mug. Titanium was nonreactive and did not influence the flavor, so only the pure smell of the coffee came through. The smell was intoxicating. He wasn’t kidding, as it really was custom blended, imported coffee. Expensive as hell, but with being single, without kids and not owing a hole in the water into which one pours money (read that as a boat) and doing a lot of overtime, Jimenez could afford his coffee. Even at $70/pound.

They walked to the car, got in and drove out into the big city.

They were silent for a while, then he asked her, “So. Spooky shit today at briefing. What did you think of it?”

 

[Iscaa]

Molly walked along side of Jimenez, listening to him go on about his coffee, thinking, ( geezz...is everyone around this precinct from another planet?) She nodded her head at the appropriate moments. Once they were in the car she finally asked, “ Do you want me to hold your precious coffee while you drive?) Thinking she would sneak a sip when he wasn't looking, it smelled that good! She looked at him with a straight face hoping he would comply. Nothing....( well you can't blame a girl for trying.)

With the prolonged silence, Molly was just about to ask if he preferred to be called Jimenez or just plain Jim, when he asked her,

“So.Spooky shit today at briefing. What did you think of it?”

Rolling her eyes at him she frowned, “You too? What's with all this weirdo shit? Isn't there any ordinary normal kind of murder and mayhem anymore?” Seeing he was wanting a real answer she leaned back and thought for a minute. “OK do you want the truth?” She turned her head staring at him before taking a deep breath, “ To tell you the truth, all this shit is scaring the hell out of me. I mean I got the most creepy feelings when I held those photos. What am I supposed to do with that?” Thinking about those images, her face took on a haunted look.

Leaning towards Jimenez she lightly touched his arm, “Tell me what do you think?” Her eyes became large as she felt his emotions flow from him to her via her arm. “Wow, what was that?” She jumped back away from him, leaning against the door

 

[GomerFox]

Molly walked along side of Jimenez, listening to him go on about his coffee, thinking, ( geezz...is everyone around this precinct from another planet?) She nodded her head at the appropriate moments. Once they were in the car she finally asked, “ Do you want me to hold your precious coffee while you drive?) Thinking she would sneak a sip when he wasn't looking, it smelled that good! She looked at him with a straight face hoping he would comply. Nothing....( well you can't blame a girl for trying.)

With the prolonged silence, Molly was just about to ask if he preferred to be called Jimenez or just plain Jim, when he asked her,

“So.Spooky shit today at briefing. What did you think of it?”

Rolling her at him she frowned, “You too? What's with all this weirdo shit? Isn't there any ordinary normal kind of murder and mayhem anymore?” Seeing he was wanting a real answer she leaned back and thought for a minute. “OK do you want the truth?” She turned her head staring at him before taking a deep breath, “ To tell you the truth, all this shit is scaring the hell out of me. I mean I got the most creepy feelings when I held those photos. What am I supposed to do with that?” Thinking about those images, her face took on a haunted look.

Leaning towards Jimenez she lightly touched his arm, “Tell me what do you think?” Her eyes became large as she felt his emotions flow from him to her via her arm. “Wow, what was that?” She jumped back away from him, leaning against the door

He felt what just happened.
Wow. She had power. He felt calm, but from the look at her, she was definitely freaked the fuck out.

He continued driving. “Spooky shit, huh? Kid, you remind me of me when I got introduced to this kind of thing about years ago. Matter of fact, I didn’t get such a calm introduction. I found out about all this shit when I encountered a fucking vampire – yeah, they exist…as it was attacking a hooker. I put 2 rounds of .357 into it’s head, and it laughed at me.”

He sipped his coffee.

“Well, that tells you how old I am…we were still carrying revolvers. Anyway, so…this vampire was having a snack, and wasn’t very discrete about it, so when I ran into him, I shot it. Him. Whatever…anyway, the fucking thing laughed, and said I was next.”

He paused again, then said, “That’s when I met Vanessa Chou. She was a detective back then too…cute little thing. She was tracking it and sheer luck she was going to, eh, solve that problem, the night I ran into it. Dam, did she solve it…”

He looked at her again, seeing she was listening (and hadn’t decided to start shooting), continuing, “It’s a lot to take in. Just be glad you aren’t taking it in covered in vampire parts. Now, I know you want to ask, so I’m just going to lay it out for you…

All the freaky shit you were afraid of when you were a kid…real. Well, at least some of it. How much, I’m not to sure. I’m not the authority on it. Chou, she could tell you. That consultant guy, Uriah, him to. Me, I’m just a beat cop who’s familiar with certain things.”

As he said that, a call came over the radio screaming about a madman with a machete close by. Jimenez grabbed the mike, responded and called in that they were heading that way.

“Get your shit together, kid. You wanted mayhem and murder of the ordinary kind, looks like we go it.”

Seconds later, they arrived at the park in which the attack was happening. People were panicking, running and bleeding, pointing at a group of tattooed man with Machetes.

They ran quickly to the attackers, and as they did Jimenez shouted "CONTACT REAR! KNIFE!!" and in one flowing motion turned toward Molly, who ducked to the ground and rolled to her right.

Both shot the man, he with the shotgun, Molly with a fast pair of shots from her pistol that sounded like a single long noise.

The man fell, and strangely had a grateful expression on his face.

"Coming Up." she said as she rose, then shooting another as he walked toward them.

Suddenly, the group stopped, and ran.

Well...shambled away fast...

Toward a playground.

 

[Iscaa]

As Jimenez started to talk Molly watched him in shocked silence. Taking in what he said and how he was so very matter of fact, caused her take in a deep breath and relax a bit. She still remained against the door, just in case she needed to make a quick exit. Her mind was absorbing the details, (Vampires, fucking vampires, what on earth is this world coming to? And how am I supposed to deal with all this crap?) She watched him sip his damn coffee, giving her time to absorb what he had just divulged then he continued on with his story. She closed her mouth which had been open since he started talking saying, “Wait, Detective Chou and the consultant know all about this stuff? Geezzz!”

Just then a call came through Jimenez handed Molly his coffee putting the car in gear he said,

“Get your shit together, kid. You wanted mayhem and murder of the ordinary kind, looks like we got it.”

Holding onto the cup with a shaky hand Molly replied, “Well no use wasting expensive coffee.” swallowing the last of it before putting his fancy cup on the floor.

As soon as the car screeched to a halt she was out and running towards the attackers that some terror-strickened bystanders were pointing at. When Molly heard, Jimenez shout,”CONTACT REAR!!” Her training took over, she ducked and rolled coming up with her pistol aimed at the deranged attacker and fired twice. As she rose up there was another man coming at them, “Coming Up.” Molly calmly aimed and fired yet again.

Seeing the rest of the group hesitate then start to move off, Molly went over to the second man. He was still breathing but highly agitated. She hunkered down beside him and touched his chest. She felt all of his extreme pain and agony rapidly channel into her body making her fall backwards. When she looked at him he still breathed but was now calm. Molly herself felt a strange amount of strength like she could do anything. She quickly stood up seeing the fleeing group of men armed with the machetes she shouted, “Jimenez! I'm going after the rest of them!” With that, she took off running at an astonishing speed.

 

[GomerFox]

The sorcerer smiled.

He watched as she encountered his pawns. They were irrelevant.

Young people he had enslaved with magic, binding them to his will by tattooing their flesh, and setting them loose.

It was merely a test. He watched as she touched the man she had shot. He saw the power flow to her. Felt her gain the power, as one feels a woman rise up under him.

But this was different. More wild...and while he felt the power enter her, he didn't feel it take root. She swallowed the bait, but the hook didn't set.

His smile faded. He would have to act quickly. He moved closer, then stopped as he felt a ripple in the fabric of reality.

Another Willworker. He was not alone. He had a Wolf with him, and other lesser beings. Servants of some kind.

Now was not the time. He scowled, then turned and walked away....






Uriah was at his desk when he heard the call on the radio. Everyone in the room looked up at the same time and the large Ghoul said "Tell me you all felt that?"

Chou said "Yes." She looked at Uriah and said "Take us there. Now."

Uriah nodded, took out a piece of calk from his bag and said said "Move the desks back a little, and get me a map. I can do it, but this will be fast and dirty. I mean, fucked up, ugly, blood magic on the fly dirty."

The large ghoul took the blade and cut himself silently, the smaller ghoul, Carlson shrugged and said, "Nothing I haven't seen before..." cutting himself.

Chou narrowed her eyes as she took the blade from him. You could tell the tension she had. She did not like her partners, and would gladly tear them to shreds if she could, but had to work with them to preserve the veil kept over the humanity of this city.

She ripped a button on her shirt, and sliced between her breasts, handing the knife back to Uriah.

They quickly moved the desks, and he drew a 5 foot circle with all of them inside of it. He drew a switchblade from his pocket, opened his shirt and sliced his chest, then passed the blade around to each of them who did the same.

He touched the bloody knife to the circle, the map and then bit the blade. He tasted the blood on the knife.

His own, rich and full of magic. The ghouls blood, each powerful, cold and slow...they were old, kept alive by powerful vampires who...he didn't think about it...and Chou's blood. Hot, rich and ancient. He heard the calm, deliberate thinking of the vampires, saw the sound of a werewolf howling at the desert sun and smelled the light of magic performed under a crescent moon.

He looked at the map, seeing the location of the park. He focused on it...

He saw the park as an eagle sees the ground. He drew closer, seeing the ground, the trees, the tables...

His will, like a great fist compressed around them, knuckles cracking, reality tearing.

And they were in the park. Atop the bathrooms 50 yards away.

Chou transformed in the blink of an eye. Faster than thought, she was a lean, grey wolf. The others simply hopped off the building and ran towards the mayhem.

They knew Molly was the target. Why, they didn't know...but after talking to Uriah, they knew she was not to fall into the sorcerer's hands.

Beyond that...well.

Another time.

Uriah watch them go, then threw up. He looked at the knife.

It had turned to obsidian from the power of the magic. He threw it into his shoulder bag, climbed down from the roof and hauled ass over to the fight.

By the time he ran the 50 yards, they fight was mostly over, so he looked at the bodies.

He'd seen a lot of bodies, and seen a lot of sorcery.

The smell of the blood was horrifying, the smell of the magic used nearly brought him to his knees. It was maggot gagging, at least to those who could smell it.

The bodies were all tattooed in a similar manner. Strange, almost dancing in his vision.

One of the corpses sat up and said "Well me, young one."

Uriah had his pistol in his hand before the corpse had twitched, ready to put a bullet into it's head.

"It's not like you can hurt me with that." The corpse said condescendingly.

Uriah looked into the corpse's dead eyes and said "Hail, elder one. What brings you to these lands?"

"The scion. I will have her. You will not stop me." he dead body pronounced.

Uriah said "If I oppose you?"

"You will die." it replied.

Uriah didn't laugh. This being could do it. As the corpse was talking, he had palmed the knife, and in a well practiced thrust, he put it through the corpse's eye.

He didn't so much as hear the howl of pain as feel it. He smiled.



The sorcerer staggered in pain. He had not expected that. He attempted to stand, but could not.

His hands came up to his face and he wiped away blood.

Slowly, he gained his footing, and looked into the car window.

He was missing an eye. The mage would pay for that...




Chou walked up to him, slim, prim and as well groomed as ever. Guess she's had a lot of experience in keeping things together.

He told her what happened, and told him what she saw as a wolf. She saw the men bound as slaves, but without any way to help them she smited them.

Smited. The crazy bitch said "Smite".

He'd just done some on the fly shit & stabbed someone in the face through the aether.

It was a good day.

"Let's go find Molly." He said.

 

[Iscaa]

As Molly ran towards the playground she spotted one huge man with a machete heading for a sandbox containing two small boys. Just as he drew near them they both looked up at this monster of a man, eyes widening when they saw the weapon he held. One of them started screaming.

Molly whispered, “Oh no! Oh God let me get there in time.”

Using the last of her increased energy reserve she doubled her speed, at the same time pulling her pistil out and emptying the rest of the bullets into him. This only caused him to hesitate for a second before continuing. Just as he stopped and lifted the weapon up high for a double sweep, she launched herself at him.

Molly hit him from the side knocking the machete out of his hand. They ended up rolling over and over coming to rest with him dying on top of her, all 300 lbs of him. One arm was stuck between their bodies the other was loose. She tried to push him off with her free arm but there was just no way she could budge him. His weight was crushing her, turning her head to the side Molly tried to take a deep enough breath to call for help. All she could do was to croak out, “Help me someone!”

 

[GomerFox]

As Molly ran towards the playground she spotted one huge man with a machete heading for a sandbox containing two small boys. Just as he drew near them they both looked up at this monster of a man, eyes widening when they saw the weapon he held. One of them started screaming.

Molly whispered, “Oh no! Oh God let me get there in time.”

Using the last of her increased energy reserve she doubled her speed, at the same time pulling her pistil out and emptying the rest of the bullets into him. This only caused him to hesitate for a second before continuing. Just as he stopped and lifted the weapon up high for a double sweep, she launched herself at him.

Molly hit him from the side knocking the machete out of his hand. They ended up rolling over and over coming to rest with him dying on top of her, all 300 lbs of him. One arm was stuck between their bodies the other was loose. She tried to push him off with her free arm but there was just no way she could budge him. His weight was crushing her, turning her head to the side Molly tried to take a deep enough breath to call for help. All she could do was to croak out, “Help me someone!”

Chou ran to the melee in her wolf form with the speed of an ancient creature she was. As she approached the first man, she instantly snapped back to her human form so quickly it appeared as if she just came out of nowhere.

The man was was at least 250# built like a refrigerator. She hit him like a linebacker and he broke. An autopsy would later reveal his spine was shattered, along with his hip from the impact.

Chou did not use her gun, instead relying on her speed and collapsible baton. A skilled fencer, she had quickly dispatched her opponents by disarming the machetes by either smashing the hands that held them, guiding the thrusts into other attackers or in one case, taking a man's leg off at the knee with the impact.

The ghouls arrived seconds after she did, and knowing how little she tolerated their existence, stayed out of her way. Chou was known to have "accidents" when it came to ghouls, having dispatched others with a mere "oops".

Jimenez was kneeling, taking precision shots with his shotgun using slugs at targets over 50 yards away, and making hits - impressive in it's own right, only to have to end up dying with one of the possessed men who ambushed him and taking his head.

It was over in seconds.



Chou and Uriah came upon Jimenez's corpse. Uriah didn't know the man, but wasn't pleased to see him dead.

Chou's eyes narrowed. For her, it was more of a debt to be paid against those who had slain one of her pack than any true grief, but she was not pleased.

Her pack had dominion over this territory, and Jimenez was Kinfolk. Not a werewolf, but a human relative, therefore he mattered.

Someone would pay.

They found Molly under a 300 pound corpse. Chou, simply pissed off and somewhat distracted by the events of the day, casually rolled the body off Molly with a backhanded push, then realized what she had done.

She said to Molly, "Nice job protecting the children. Next time, try not to get tangled up in your work."

She looked at Molly's gun. Picking it up,she handed it back to her.

Uriah was looking at the markings on the man. He was kneeling over the body, and as he did so, the markings began to fade.

Not so much as into the skin...but they...

They bled out onto the ground and slithered towards him.

Uriah scrambled back, his hand up, curled like a tiger's claws, vaguely shimmering with a searing heat.

The marking's advance stopped, and what appeared to be a...something jumped from Uriah's hand onto the markings, and a pale blue light shimmered where they met, then the grass burst into flames. Uriah sent the force twice more in fast succession, and by the time he was finished a seared piece of what looked like a burnt spider made of iron lay on the ground which had turned to glass.

Uriah's shoulder's bunched for a moment, then he slowly released it, looked at the piece of iron and said a word that could barely be heard.

The iron turned white hot, then melted into a greasy film.

Chou watched, her eyes intent on the power playing out before her in silence.

She asked "What was that?"

Uriah looked up. He was breathing hard, pale and looked like he wanted to vomit.

He said "I don't know...but I have a feeling we are going to find out"

He looked at the park. He stretched out his mind and looked for the rest of those...things.

They were gone. They left traces, but they were gone. The beings didn't last long without a host, and the hosts were dead.

Uriah looked at Molly.

He looked at her carefully, as if he was looking at a lab specimen, but his eyes were closed.

He seemed to stare her right in the eyes. His eyes opened. He inhaled and said, "Please...don't move"

The blood drained from his face and his hands came together in what appeared to be a vaguely martial arts gesture.

A light, barely perceptible strand of something that, if one saw it indirectly, looked like a parasite of some kind, came off of Molly's neck, and she suddenly breathed easier as it came away.

"Grrrravitas" he said, his hands closing tightly. With a sound of a tomb door slamming shut, the strand was crushed.

Uriah fell to his knees.

He vomited from the exertion.

He looked up at Molly & Chou.

He said, "We need to talk."

 

[Iscaa]

Obviously agitated Molly sat up and in a rough voice grimaced her thanks to Chou while reaching up she rubbed at her throat. She still was having a hard time catching her breath, even though the huge weight was off her.

Turning her head towards the mammoth corpse she watched in total bewilderment as the markings on the man's neck bled onto the ground then moved towards Uriah. She sucked in her breath as she watched the next five minutes of horror unfold thinking, (This is a nightmare!) Still holding onto her throat she tried to back away from it all.

Once he was done with the thing that had been a part of the man Uriah next turned his attention onto Molly. She could feel his power directed at her even with his eyes closed, her mind kept saying, (No...this isn't real.) she felt another shudder go through her body. He made her feel like a bug under a microscope. Finally he opened his eyes inhaled and said;

“Please...don't move.”

Molly couldn't have moved if her life depended on it. All she could do was hold her breath watching his movements as the nightmare continued. Something then moved from her neck and she was able to gasp and breath easier. Putting her fingers to the place that the thing had been she touched her skin hoping it was all gone. Wided eyed she looked from Uriah to Chou and back to Uriah when he said,

“We need to talk.”

With still a rough voice Molly whispered, “What was that and why did it go after me?”

 

[GomerFox]

With still a rough voice Molly whispered, “What was that and why did it go after me?”

Uriah caught his breath, spat and said “Some sort of binding. Nasty one too. When you killed him, then got tangled up in him, covered with his blood, it tried to attach itself to you. Its drawn to people in order to continue existing, and allowed in through emotions, pain, fear…the greater any of those, the easier it gets in and the harder it attaches.”

He looked at her again for a second.

“Looks like it didn’t get into you, and I got it.”
She asked “How would you know if it had gotten into me?”
He replied, “We wouldn’t be having this conversation…” he said dryly, looking at the patch of ground turned to glass, then back at her.

“You still looking for a rational explanation for this? Still believe you were just having a nervous episode?” he asked, standing up.

Sirens were heard in the background, as well as cops flooding the scene with rifles, shotguns and riot gear. Uriah looked at Chou and said, “You got it?”

She nodded, walked away toward the police, but looked over her shoulder and mouthed, “Friends…” and flashed him the tip of a canine tooth.

A white, sharp canine tooth that looked like it didn’t quite belong in a human jaw.
She wants me, he thought. To fuck me. To eat me…maybe both. He wasn’t sure if he should be aroused, terrified, intrigued or all three. He looked at Molly. Hell. This is likely how she got her bloodline…the excitement was getting to him too, and Chou was likely very persistent in getting what she wanted.

“Jimenez is dead. He lost his head to one of the last men with machetes. He died saving the kids, so make sure you tell the officers that. Go make your report. Explain it as you will to the police. Many of them will be looking for a rational explanation too. I suggest you give it to them, like you would have this morning, else be though…crazy.”

He turned and started walking away slowly. He paused, then said softly, but loud enough for her to hear, “If you want to know the truth, think back to what your grandmother and what she told you. Then, come see me. I’ll be with the squad…”

He walked away, and as he did, he drew out of his pocket her words, the spark he offered her earlier. He broke the spark with a snap, and tossed it at her under handed.

Her earlier panicked words washed over her in a whisper. Not a recording…her words.

He turned and walked away into the crowd.