The Hidalgo Rescue

• • The Rio Grande Chronicles

    Based on the storytelling of Vegard Kivle and his Rio Grande Chronicles

    Written by Eric Meland

    
    

    Background

    This story is a result of a game session of “Vampire The Masquerade” played with Vegard Kivle as storyteller on the 19 of February 2010. Thanks to Marius Pedersen, Joakim Peersen and Ståle Skjelmoen for creating some of the main characters in the story. Big thanks go to Vegard Kivle for creating a great story with a living city and great characters.

    
    

    Chapter 1

    First impressions

    Her skin was itching like it was out of place. It felt tight and stretched, like a rubber band stretched to the very limit before ripping apart. The young looking Tremere felt like ripping her face off, like a Halloween mask, for relief. It was a disturbing thought and an uncomfortable sensation. Lady Snow almost had to pinch herself to make sure she was awake. She took a moment to collect herself and focus her thoughts. The strange discomfort disappeared and she found the court and all the spectators looking at her, waiting for her to say something.

    If she would have let their first impression decide, she would still be standing there with Elisa Day, and never be able to prove her value to the prince. Lady Snow knew however that first impressions are often deceiving, so she let their sluggish looks and poor attempts to impress slip this time. She knew that she needed them as much as they needed her. Elisa Day was however was not too impressed, Lady Snow knew that expression on Days’ face and it was never good. Elisa was skeptical towards the three newcomers as they came asking for her sponsorship. The three kindred in question would never win a male version of American Top Model and reminded Snow of a Freak show she had once seen, for something that seemed like a century ago.

    One of them had introduced himself as Pedro, a small muscular Mexican with his upper body covered in religious tattoos. They had noticed him first as he stood out as the better looking out of all them. That did however not take much effort in this crowd, and he was by no means a handsome man, but good enough to rest your eyes on. Pedro had all the gestures of a member of the Gangrel blood, but felt uneasy revealing this for some reason, which Snow found strangely enticing.

    The other kindred was under no doubt embraced by the Nosferatu. Lady Snow could smell his vitae, and it reeked. His deformation had given him an unusual large mouth and his eyes had sunken deep into sockets. The skin was replaced with a thick leathery hide. Lady Snow thought of a shark she had seen in the movie theater once. She tried to remember the name of that shark. This Nosferatu reminded her somewhat of that shark. He introduced himself as Marcus however and seemed to have some grace as he stood there begging for sponsorship. Lady Snow could see he used to be a tall man, but was now slouching slightly, taking the edge of the height he once possessed. It was like looking at car accident, it was truly hideous but Snow couldn’t help looking at this monstrous man. There was something there, something hidden, something secret, and something in Marcus eyes that enthralled her. She saw sadness in there or maybe it was a darkness, she couldn’t quite tell, but she would find out. “Jaws”. It had come to her. The name of the shark in the movie was Jaws. That is who Marcus reminded her of, but Marcus was probably even scarier than the killer shark, and probably deadlier. She shuddered with the thought of what that mouth could do to a little girl like herself.

    Finally the last kindred was a strange and funny looking man. He moved in a weird way that put Lady Snow off in an uneasy way. He looked around at everything in the room and everyone in it as if he saw something different than everybody else. It almost seemed like he was in different plane than rest of them. His manner of dressing was almost intentionally bad and disorganized. Snow disliked everything that was not organized and neat. She felt an urge to grapple the deluded kindred and fix him up. Button up his shirt, tie the shoelaces on his right shoe, which by the way was the only shoe the kindred possessed, and comb his messed up red hair. He bore all the trademarks of the bloodline of Malkav. He only introduced himself as “Fame” with a distinguished British accent and a quirky smirk on his face. That is when Snow noticed his fangs. They were visible, like they were ready to feed. She wondered why he hadn’t retracted them and found it immensely disrespectful to stand in front of Elisa Day in this manner. Lady Snow then started to wonder if it at all was intentional, a part of the whole get-up, or if this was a result of a curse from the embrace. She had met kindred with this unfortunate curse before. It made her uneasy either way. It could prove to be a massive breach of the masquerade if he could not hide them. That is something Snow would not stand for. For a split second, Snow hoped that this was not the group for which her mentor would have her join. She knew of course that she was only fooling herself. This could work though she thought. She had already seen potential in this freak show. Then she quickly cleared her mind, nervous that the malkavian had read her thoughts. Did he possess those powers? She couldn’t be sure, so until she knew for certain, she decided to shield her thoughts.

    Markus, Fame and Pedro where all new to El-Paso, and had just presented themselves to the Malkavian Prince. Without a sponsor however their stay would be cut short. In order to stay they had to get the sponsorship of somebody with a good standing in the city. That somebody was in their case a certain Elisa Day of clan Tremere. Being of clan Tremere, Elisa knew the value of a favor and how to exploit the naivety of neonates, relatively new to the night. The more experienced vampires know to be more careful when making a deal with a Tremere. Not before they had ended their audience with the prince they had attracted another poor soul of the night. A caitiff named Henry, who had been so “unfortunate” to be caught hunting in Elisa Days hunting ground. He pleaded the neonates to speak with Day on his behalf and beg for forgiveness and sponsorship for him to continue to stay in the city.

    Elisa Day chose to meet with the neonates the same night and they pleaded their case to get her sponsorship. Elisa Day was a beautiful young 18-year old looking girl with long black hair. By her side was another girl about the same age. She was slightly shorter with curly hair, white as snow. Her dress matched her hair, and even though her features where clearly Hispanic, her skin tone was long gone and a pale lighter skin had replaced it. She was beyond beautiful, almost to the extent where she was not real. Her piercing blue eyes, shined like frosted crystals as she glared over the newcomers. Her mentor had given her a task to be able to stay by her side. She had to prove that she could lead and make well planned decisions. The newcomers had presented themselves and Elisa Day decided that she would sponsor them if they did something for her in return. That something was to investigate and find a Giovanni that was being held by the sabbat and bring him back to her. She had given them the young, white haired lady as aid, and they were all looking at her now waiting for her to introduce herself. The white haired girl had not spoken a single word since they arrived, and now she looked lost. Starring into the void, her thoughts somewhere far away from the court, her hands touching her face as if to see if it was still there. The young girl snapped out of her lost state and introduced herself as Lady Snow from the house of Tremere.

    The neonates accepted Elisa Days’ offer, but remembered the poor caitiff waiting for the mercy of the Tremere Primogen. The Malkavian pleaded for Henrys case and asked if he could join the cause, but Elisa was done doing favors this day. Henrys chances seemed lost and a future of ash seemed eminent for him. Lady Snow did not know this Caitiff that called himself Henry, but he seemed important to the others somehow. She decided to convince her mentor to give him a chance, since he might prove useful in finding the Giovanni. Day changed her mind and gave Henry a chance to redeem himself. Snow knew that Henry owned his unlife to her actions and made sure to let him know that. She did not trust him for one second, but neither did she trust any of her new found kindred. As any smart kindred, they also knew better than to trust a Tremere. The night was nearing its end and dawn was nearing. Before they parted ways to enter their undead slumber, Lady Snow gave them some advice. -“Do not for one moment think you can trust anybody in this city. They will all deceive you if it benefits them. Lay your life in someone else hands and that is exactly what they will take. Everybody here is after the same thing: Power! The ones’, who have none, will do anything to get a little. Others have a little and will do whatever they can to get more. Finally the few, who actually have power, will do everything to keep it that way. Trust no one!”

    The new crew used the next few night to gather intelligence on the missing Giovanni, and make themselves acquainted with the primogens and influential kindred in El-Paso. Henry had a car and knew the city like the back of his hand. That came in handy as he could easily take them anywhere they needed to go. Fame decided to introduce himself with the other Malkavian of influence in the city. The Malkavian primogen was as one would expect one of the clan to be: Bat-crazy. Fame made a rather harsh first impression and the primogen was not impressed, but seemed tolerable as far as clan loyalty goes. Marcus chose to speak with the Nosferatu Primogen Bonita. She accepted Marcus as nosferatu and seemed welcoming as long as he had a sponsorship. Marcus instinct of digging for information ticked in and he started to dig as much as he could for anything about the Giovanni. Bonitas’ lips where however tight and she would not spill a lot of information. Being a creature that was used to read peoples like open books, he saw that Bonita knew a lot more than she led on, but he let it go for now. Pedro did some information gathering on his own keeping a low profile and following Marcus and Fame around like a loyal dog, or at least that is what they thought. Pedro looked like a simple man, but he had fooled many poor souls before with that presumption. Like a smart hunter, he waited, observed, anticipated and seemed relatively harmless. Then, when you least expect it, he pounces for your throat. In other words, Pedro was one of those beasts you don’t want as an enemy, and keep well fed. Luckily for these kindred, he was on their side. Lady Snow spent a lot of her time preparing rituals and hunting in the hunting ground, making sure she was well fed. The night had left them with limited information, but they had pulled names of who could bring them to Juarez unseen. A Ravnos named Leandra ran a human trafficking business who could take them over and back to El-Paso. They decided to wait with making a deal with the gypsy until they knew where the Giovanni was being held and who was keeping him. Marcus and the others knew that they needed more information if they were going to find this Giovanni. Their last resort was to speak with one of the harpies. Lady Snow hated the idea of speaking with the harpies and getting information out of one. She knew all too well what the harpies where capable of. There seemed few options however and they were forced to make an audience with the nosferatu harpy. Snow knew how the harpies worked and had experienced how important first impressions are when dealing with them. She decided to take charge of the questioning even though every inch of sense told her not to. Luckily the harpy they were looking for was not in the Elysium, which was an advantage. The Harpy was hanging out at some lounge surrounded by a herd of beautiful people dazing around. Fames’ jaw dropped when he saw the Nosferatu they were meeting. She was truly a beauty to behold. It was obviously a well made mask from the dark trick of obfuscation, but for now, Fame was going to let that little detail slip thru the cracks. The Harpy obviously had a thing for everything beautiful. Snow used this to her advantage and introduced herself using all her charm and elegance to make the Nosferatu talk. It worked. The Harpy told them that a Harbringer of Skull, by the name of Gisela Harden, had been seen in Juarez and that she and her pack had taken the Giovanni, known as Hidalgo, prisoner. The pack currently resided in “Hollywood”, a techno club, and probably kept the necromancer there. Snow gave Pedro a worried look, she was not ready to meet a Harbringer. She had read about these hideous creatures, but almost took the stories as fairytales to scare youngbloods to stay out of the cemeteries. The Harpy calmed them down by telling them that reports said that Gisela was out of town at the moment. They had to act quickly. Fame would love to sit and chat at the lounge, looking at the beautiful people; dazzle them with confusing words and charming them with his British accent. Marcus however gave him a nudge to wrap it up. He wanted to get out of there. This place made him feel uncomfortable. There was a time were this would be a perfect place for him to hang out, when he was among the smooth skinned ones, with fair well kept hair and when his scent was that of the most expensive colognes. Those days were long gone now. All that represented that life now, was a fading photograph in a cheap frame bought at Wal-Mart. The man in the picture was a typical yuppie taken straight out of the eighties. It was a good looking man. The suit he was wearing was nicely fitted and designed by Hugo Boss. Marcus focused his mind and tried not to think more of that time. Nothing good could come of it, and those days would never come back.

    The night was still young. Pedro was already on his way down to the gypsy when the others came out of the lounge. He had been itching to go see the Ravnos lady by the river since he heard of her. The others were not certain why he was so eager, but as a long as he didn’t rip her head off, Snow was happy. The gypsy woman had made herself a little establishment by the riverbanks. She had made big business of transporting people across the borders. She introduced herself as Leandra. It was clear that she could bring them across and back, but the costs would have to be negotiated. Money was not of interest to this smuggler. She had seen the potential in dealing with a group of kindred. In exchange for safe passage to the other side and back, Leandra wanted the entourage to get rid of some competition on the other side. The competition was a mortal sod that had made a living of transporting desperate souls over to the promised lands. If they only knew what awaited them on the other side. Snow felt sick thinking about all the dark stories that came from human trafficking. The few people that get rich, because of others suffering and desperation. Children and women that get abducted and transferred to the other side of the world, smuggled thru boarders and sold as slaves. She could feel the beast gnawing at her soul when thinking too much about it, so she stopped. She refocused her thoughts and concentrated on the moment at hand. -“We are not some random group of bounty hunters. If you want someone to do your dirty work, hire some street thugs!” Lady Snows voice was soft but strict in tone. Killing mortals was beneath her and something she hadn’t done in centuries. The last time she took a mortals life felt like it wasn’t even her taking it. That person had it coming though, and she felt no remorse killing that man. The Ravnos laughed a condescending laugh, shrugged her shoulders and wished them good luck swimming across the river.

    Pedro intervened. -“Don’t worry, we will find your little mortal and deal with him.” He gave her a disturbing smile -“Tell us where we can find him.” The young Gangrel had a plan. He had known all along what he needed to do since he heard of the business of the Ravnos. Pedro hadn’t come down to rip the gypsies head off. Not that he would mind doing it, but that would have to wait. He came down here to talk business, look for opportunities, find loopholes and weaknesses in the business structure. Then when nobody is expecting it, he can leap up and shanghai the entire business. To Pedro, Leandra was competition. But just for now.

    The deal was made and the smuggler was going to take them to the club, then bring them and the extra passenger to the destination of the mortal target. They would remove the mortals head and bring it back to the gypsy as proof of the deed.

    -“Tomorrow night then at nine” the gypsy said. -“No weapons, right?”

    -“Define WEAPON” Fame returned immediately.

    -“No, ignore him” Marcus quickly responded, shaking his head. -“We will not be bringing any weapons”

    In Henrys’ car on their way from the riverbanks Marcus, Fame and Pedro started discussing how they would evacuate the club once they had found the Giovanni. -“A fire alarm would do it” Fame shot in to the conversation. -“I can be responsible for the fire” he added. Marcus and Pedro looked disturbed at each other before Marcus had to respond -“Nobody is going to torch the place down. What happened to discretion?” He looked at Snow for some support to his statement. -“Besides, I doubt they would keep the necromancer in the middle of the dance floor. They probably have him stored away in some secret backdoor” Pedro nodded to Marcus reasoning.

    Snow had stayed silent, but had followed the entire conversation. The car stopped at a red light. Snow tilted her head slightly and stared blankly onto a discarded map laying on the pavement sidewalk. “Marcus is right!” She turned around and faced them, her head still tilted to the side. “We need to know what we are looking for in there. We need a map of the place…” She stopped, raised her head up straight and smiled with the right side of her mouth.”…No. Blueprints. We need blueprints of that club.”

    Snow didn’t know the first thing about hacking and computers. She knew how to turn one on and how to check her Yahoo account and maybe read some news. But she did know that if they were going to get those blueprints before tomorrow night, they would have to use the internet. Preferably that someone also knew how to bypass security and obtain sensitive information. Luckily both Marcus and Fame knew their way around these things. Together they managed to get the information and the blueprints they needed. They saw that there were some strange structured walls in the bathroom. That had to be the entrance to wherever it was they were keeping Hidalgo. Snow made sure that everybody was dressed appropriately for the next night. She wanted everybody to blend in and not pull any unwanted attention. Marcus got worried. He had no means to cloak himself in a fashion that wouldn’t pull any attention. Lady Snow had however already planned how she would get Marcus into the club. It was Fame that worried her. He might look normal, but she had no idea what he could do once in that club. Normal was under no doubt NOT part of his personality. Marcus was still worried how he would get in without scaring away everybody. The Tremere calmed him down however and told him to meet her at her apartment after dusk the next night. Marcus was unsure what to think about the offer, but decided to go with it for now.

    The next night Pedro and Fame made their preparations while Marcus went to Lady Snows apartment as agreed. Snows apartment was filled with candles and strange symbols hanging from the ceiling and on the walls. Strange markings filled the floor and random places on old wallpaper that was once bright and colorful, but the sun had long faded it into a bland distortion of its previous pattern. In the middle of the room a dining table had been made into a makeshift operation table that looked more like a sacrificial stone. Marcus felt uneasy; this did by no means look good. Snow was standing barefoot in a white, slightly see-through robe holding a symbol necklace in her hands. “Welcome Marcus, please relax and take all your clothes off” Her voice was calm and warm. Marcus hesitated; Snow had promised that he could make him look like he did before he was turned. All she needed from him was two vials of blood and a picture of his former self. He had brought it all. The offer was too good to be true, but also too good to let go. He didn’t really trust her, but he imagined that he could deal with her easily if she tried anything. Marcus pictured that her smooth beautiful neck would snap easily and that her vitae would probably taste as sweet as she looks. The nosferatu found some strange reassurance in that thought. He did as she asked, removed his clothes and laid down on to the table. Snow had pointed out the transformation was only temporary and that within the first night he would start changing back to his deformed state. By morning he would be the same nosferatu he had gotten used to look at for the last 20 years or so. It was like a darker version of the Cinderella story Markus thought, laughing sarcastically to himself.

    Snow took the vials and the photo. It was hard to imagine that the handsome man in that photo was once the same creature as the one lying on her dining table, she thought to herself. -“Try to relax and close your eyes. It is better if you don’t see this ritual, believe me.” She smiled a comforting smile and closed his eyelids with her delicate fingers.-“I’m sorry, but this will probably hurt like hell.” That was not a lie. Marcus tried to open his eyes but he couldn’t. It was like they were glued shut. He could hear her chanting words that sounded like gibberish to him. The pain was unbearable for a while; it felt like his face melted away. When he couldn’t take any more of the pain, he opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. He didn’t even have a voice anymore. The panic started to take hold of him and he felt the beast taking control. Then he felt the soft, gentle hands of Snow embracing his face and her soft lips kissing his forehead. -“Relax, handsome” she said -“You are almost done, you are doing great” It helped. The beast resided and he felt a strange peace in her soothing words. Before he knew it, Marcus could open his eyes again. He jumped up like as if waking from a terrible nightmare. As he sat up his hands ran up his face. The skin was smooth, flexible and soft. That is when he noticed his hands. His claw like fingers where gone, the thick leathery fingers were replaced with long beautiful fingers with well groomed fingernails. Marcus stood up and ran to the nearest mirror. He could not believe what he saw. What did she do to him? Was it real or just some illusion? What kind of sorcery could do this? He had his face again, the face he had before the embrace. His mind could not grasp what was going on. A million thoughts and feelings ran through his head, it was too much to withstand. Suddenly he noticed Snow lying on wooden floor. He managed to rip his attention away from the mirror and bended down to help her back on her feet. -“Snow, are you all right? What happened?” She was fine, but the ritual had taken more out of her than anticipated. The transformation was a success but Snow was left weak. She wondered how this night would turn out with her not being at full strength. It didn’t matter now, they had to move on quickly otherwise all this would be for nothing. They both got dressed in their new techno clothing. Marcus couldn’t stop looking himself in the mirror. -“Come on Marcus we have to hurry, Fame and Pedro are waiting. We have no time to spare” They both ran downstairs and towards the riverbanks to meet the others. Fame and Pedro couldn’t believe what they saw when Marcus approached them.

    -“Nah…, I liked you better when you looked like one the monsters from the Muppet Show” was the last thing Fame blurted out before jumping in to the van. As they all got into the van, Marco noticed that Fame pants were bulging out around his pockets. Marcus felt uneasy and hoped to God that Fame hadn’t brought some sort of weapon that would put them in a dangerous situation. The Ravnos made sure they all were inside the back of the truck, and then closed the doors. -“Keep your hands and feet inside the moving vehicle at all times until the ride has come to a complete stop…, and so on and so on.” The Ravnos kept muttering something more on the other side of the steel doors, but it was to distant now to make out. As the van started moving Marcus and Fame felt a strange sensation. There was something strange about the van. They were approaching the border control and the officer waved them in. -“This is not going to work” Lady Snow said giving Marcus a worried look. The men in the front were doing all the talking, and presented some documents to the officer. Snows worries now spread to the others. They were all thinking how stupid a officer would have to be to not check a huge van being driven by a couple of gypsies. The officer returned the papers and gave them a nod. Then he made a waving motion with his hand to signal the van to drive. Pedro started to laugh. -“That devious little gypsy puta” He now started to piece together how she did it. -“She is cleverer than I gave her credit for; this is going to be hard to compete with.” Pedro knew what the Ravnos could do with their dark illusion tricks. Leandra had made the van appear as something else. Pedro assumed that she probably made it look a lot a smaller, so it wouldn’t draw attention. The van stopped outside a club with a big glowing sign that said Hollywood. Young, drunk and high people were standing in line to get in. With the motor still running, the doors slid open and the driver told them they had arrived at their first destination. The neonates got in line with the others and soon made it to the bouncers. A tall muscular man, with no neck and upper arms wider than Snows’ waists, were looking at them. The bouncer was hesitated to let the pale creepy looking British Malkavian and the yuppie trying to be hip inside. Fame and Marcus were the only ones around who did not have Hispanic features, and it obviously worried the bouncer a bit. Snow took her harm around Marcus and told the bouncer that this was her date for the night. The bouncer let Snow and Marcus pass, but not before padding Marcus down. -“Take care of her in there, ok sir?” Marcus nodded but added -”Somehow I think she can take care of herself. “ The bouncer laughed and shook the nosferatus’ hand. Pedro looked at Fame and punched him hard in the arm. -“El gringo está conmigo” The top heavy bouncer accepted it, but made sure to check them for any items. By some miracle he did not notice the object sticking out of Fames pocket. Somehow Henry had managed to get inside without them knowing. He was standing there by the bar waiting for them smiling. The dance floor was filled with youngsters dancing, drinking and rubbing their sweaty bodies against each other. A strong scent of body odor, alcohol, perfume and urine filled the air. Feeding here would be way to easy, no wonder the sabbat had chosen this place. That was not why they were here thou. Lady Snow went over to the bar and ordered a drink. She didn’t know quite what it was but it tasted like a mix of soap and cigarettes. Pedro got nauseous watching the kindred gulp down the beverage. To him and most vampires, food and beverages were almost impossible to swallow, let alone keep down for long. It did not seem to bother Snow at all however. Fame also poured down a few drinks without a single twitch. It was too much for Pedro. He had to turn away, it was too nasty for him to witness. Marcus however was fascinated by Snow and how naturally she melded in with the mortals. It was as she had been doing this for decades. This was all new to him. He hadn’t been in this kind of scene in over 20 years. Acting like a mortal was a strange concept to him now. He felt all out of place here, the smoke, neon blinking lights and enthralling music was strange to him now. People were touching him, smiling at him and giving him flirting looks. They treated him like a real person. Not frightened and disgusted. He had forgotten this feeling. The Tremere had given him something back that his sire said was impossible. Now she was dancing around, flirting with the young boys as if she was one of them. He would never guess what she really was if he didn’t know the true creature she really was. Fame was different, he acted much like human, but something was off. His features had more resemblance to the beast and he possessed an eerie presence Marcus thought. The Nosferatu could see that Fame had lost his touch on humanity and was spiraling closer to the beast. Snow smiled at him and came dancing lightly over to him. “What, you forgot how to dance?” She took his hands and led him towards the dance floor. “Come, let me remind you. You look like a perv just standing there looking at people” She smiled at laughed as he stumbled and tried to keep up with her moves.

    Fame was trying to check up on one of the drunken girls by the bar, when Pedro pulled his arm and pointed to the bathroom. “Let’s get this show started, Amigo” he told him. “Go get the chica and the bestia” he added, while pointing towards the dance floor. Fame gathered the couple and led them towards the bathroom stalls. Henry followed them looking around if anybody was following them. A group of clubbers were snorting coke by the sink as they walked in. They were too busy lining up their stuff to notice the pale skins that just stepped in, even if they did they probably wouldn’t care. Snow dragged Marcus into one of the stalls and closed the door, to look less suspicious. After all it was more natural for somebody to head into a bathroom stall to have a “quickie” than rummaging around for a secret door. Henry guarded the door, making sure nobody else walked inn. Pedro walked over to the youth and split them up by getting in the middle of them -”Ok niños, wrap it up!” he said with firm parental voice. The kids looked questioning at him. Who the hell was this crazy looking guy? His smile was creeping the hell out of them. In most other cases they would grab any fool who disturbed them like this and beat him to a bloody pulp. This guy, however, who was standing between them now, was different. He looked like one of those guys you just did not want to fuck with. You probably would not even look a guy like this straight in the eyes. One of the kids, the bigger one out of them with spiky hair, felt brave after snorting. He grabbed Pedros’ shoulder. “Oye, don’t be a culo. Go have another drink and fuck off!” Pedros’ smile dropped immediately. He turned his head toward the foolish boy and looked him straight in the eyes. The boys’ smug look drained from his face and was replaced with a face filled with dread. When he looked into those dark kindred eyes he saw only death, his own death. The others didn’t say a word. They just stood there, all terrified. Pedros look shifted slowly towards the hand grabbing his shoulder. In a whiff, the high that the kid had gotten from the coke vaporized and he was left wondering why the hell his hand was still on that crazy looking Mexicans shoulder. He quickly pulled his hand towards him, like he was seconds from getting it bitten off. If he only knew how close to the truth he actually was. Pedro turned towards the rest of them again. –”Muevete.” The kids backed up, while one of them started to gather their stuff. –“AHORA!” They dropped everything and stormed out of there. All the guests had left the stalls. They were now all alone. Fame made sure to lock the door behind them as the last crowd ran out. Snow came out of the stall with Marcus. She walked over to Pedro. –“Subtle Pedro, real subtle” she said with a sarcastic tone. No time was wasted and they all started to look after something to trigger a secret door. Marcus looked at himself in the mirrors. He still looked good, but he could see the nosferatu curse taking hold again. It was subtle and only he could notice, but it was still there. His skin tone had shifted slightly and his has eyes had gotten a bit darker. Then he saw the reflection of Fame in the mirror. He was walking around in a daze looking at everything with a huge fascination. –“Are you ok Fame?” Marcus asked him. -“So many patterns everywhere, it’s amazing” he replied. Marcus quickly looked at the sinks where the cocaine was lined up. –“Please tell me you didn’t…” Fame gave no response and just continued in his daze. They had found where the door was, they just needed to know how to trigger the mechanism to open it. Fame had stopped in front one the toilet paper dispensers. The others had no idea what he did or how he found it, but the door slid open and a tunnel was revealed behind the toilet. If it was the cocaine or the matter of just being a Malkavian that had revealed the trigger for Fame, they would never know. Then right before he entered the tunnel, Fame produced a bottle of spray-paint from his pockets. Marcus gave a sigh of relief. At least it wasn’t a weapon. Fame shook the can and sprayed an anarchy symbol on the wall, before he followed the rest down the tunnel. Henry decided to stay behind and cover their backs and make sure it was clear for when they came back.

    The rest of them moved further in to the tunnel. There was a lever on the inside that closed the door behind them. To make sure that others wouldn’t follow, they decided to close it. The tunnel continued down in a spiral. Small torches were placed alongside the wall, giving just enough light to see where they were going, but not giving them clear sight of what was ahead. The flames flickered as they passed them and left long crooked shadows against the walls. They kept descending down the spiral tunnel until they where way underneath the club. The tunnel slope started to even out and the spiraling stopped and ended in a corridor with a slight curve. Snow held her hand up and signaled the others to be silent. Marcus stepped forward and gave a sign that he would go ahead and take a look. As he moved between the torches, he just faded away. Snow franticly tried to figure out where he went. There was absolutely nowhere to hide against the wall but still he had just vanished. She knew very well that this was one of the tricks the Nosferatu possessed and used very efficiently, but it still creped the hell out of her. Then just as he had disappeared he faded back into view and moved between the next set of torches, before the shadows again consumed him.

    Marcus could now get a clear view of the next room. It was a big oval shaped room with curtains covering the far wall. He quickly calculated that this room had to be placed directly beneath where he and Snow had been dancing together, fifteen minutes ago. In the middle of the room a large cage was hanging from the ceiling. Inside a man was laying with one of his arms hanging outside between the bars. Marcus couldn’t make out which state the person was in, but assumed that this had to be Hidalgo. Beneath the cage stood three men, they were discussing something that Marcus couldn’t quite make out. Each of them had a sword hanging from their side. They were clearly vampires, but didn’t look too experienced by looking at them. Marcus started to head back to the others to report what he had seen.

    Snow saw Marcus appear out of the flickering shades of the torches again. She now noticed his darkened eyes and skin, and understood that he was changing back and her rituals effect was fading. He was still handsome however and moved elegantly towards them. He told them what he had seen. Snow quickly laid a plan in her head which would avoid all bloodshed. Then as she looked at her new found companions, a new thought struck her mind. This would be an excellent opportunity to see how these kindred proved themselves in combat. Snow hadn’t been in a decent fight in a long time. She didn’t miss it, fighting for her was always the last resort to a mission that didn’t go as planned. There was however something pure and exhilarating about a good classic fight she thought. Regardless of what she would have done or planned, it would not seem to matter to much this night. While they were discussing strategies, Pedro was already on his way towards the oval room. Before they noticed him leaving, it was too late to stop him. To Pedro the plan was easy, rip their heads off and rescue the necromancer. No point standing around talking about it. Snow shrugged her shoulder –“Well, I guess its show time then...”

    The others kept a certain distance from Pedro, making it appear as if he came alone. This way the guards would feel confident to fight instead of fleeing and getting reinforcements. Marcus disappeared into the shadows again and started to move behind them, flanking the guards. Fame reached into his pocket and produced a lighter. His other hand reached for the can of spray-paint. He turned his head toward Snow, who was standing behind him, winked and gave her a smile. -“¡Dios mío” was all she muttered when she understood what he was planning on doing with these items. It was a smart plan, but only somebody half crazy would ever be foolish enough to try something that dangerous.

    The moment Pedro stepped into sight the guardians drew their swords and started towards the little Mexican Gangrel. Pedro didn’t even twitch; he went thru his plan. Heads off, save necromancer and get out. The scary smile had returned and his hands were spread apart as if he was ready to give them a huge solid hug. That would probably be a hug most people wouldn’t walk away from. He was ready, he could smell their vitae and he would soon have it spread all over the cold stone floor. Just when one of the guards had three meter distance from Pedro, the Gangrel leaped with his right hand raised above his head and let it drop right in the guardians face as he landed in front of him. The sabbat guardian slightly lost his balance for a second grabbing his face with his left hand trying to control the bleeding gashes. With his right hand he plunged his sword towards Pedros chest, but only a muddled thud could be heard as the tip of the sword pierced the Gangrels clothes. It was like stabbing a piece of pure stone. Pedro smiled as he smacked the sword aside as if it was an annoying fly. With his right hand he grabbed at the sabbats throat, but the sabbat managed to plant his foot in Pedros stomach and kicked himself out of the grapple. Meanwhile Fame was storming towards the sabbat on the far left. He had noticed Fame and had his sword risen above his head as he met him head on. Suddenly Fame stopped dead in his tracks, raised his lighter and lit it. A tiny flame burned with a fragile glow. The sabbat closed in, charging up his blow to cleave the Malkavian in half. Fame carefully placed the can of spray-paint behind the flimsy flame. Just when the sabbat started to swing his sword, Fame pressed the top of the can. A marvelous burst of flame flew against the face of the sword wielding sabbat as the paint hit the flame. The swing from the sword lost most of the momentum it had build up, but still managed to hit Fame in the upper arm. Fame shrugged it off without much effort however. The flames had surprised the sabbat guardian but did not seem to affect him.

    The third guardian had moved in on Pedro now and was swinging after the Gangrels head. Pedro saw his blows coming a mile away and dodged each of them with ease. Dodging two swords was however not that easy and every time his attention drifted to one of his attackers the other used the chance to strike. Pedro knew that this would not work in the long run. He needed an advantage position. As he dodged the swings of one assailant the other was already swinging his sword toward the position where he was dodging to. He immediately retracted his dodge and spun on his back heel 180 degrees, while raising his hand to retrieve the blow. The sword hit Pedros arm with an immense force that would have severed most limbs. Instead the sword did not even pierce the skin and a loud clunk filled the room. Pedro noticed now that he had opened himself completely to the other attacker. The other sabbat was already using this opening to make another attack He had both hands on the weapon and had build up a powerful momentum. This is going to hurt like a “madre”, Pedro thought, preparing for an excruciating blow to his bare neck. In that exact moment Snow came out from the corner with her arm raised, with a tiny twitch at her fingertips the sword headed for Pedros’ neck melted into å puddle that ran down the sabbats hands and ended up at his feet. -“Please” Snow said to him –“What kind of man uses a sword against the unarmed?” The sabbat had calculated a resistance to his blow as he aimed for the Gangrel. Now that he had lost the balanced weight of his sword and there was nothing in his hands to strike with, he quickly fell off balance.

    The other sabbat flipped his sword so it pointed downwards and raised his hands, putting both of them on the shaft to give more power to the the blow. His chest was now completely open and the Gangrel now saw the opportunity to act. Finally, Pedro thought, an opening. He leaped forward putting all his weight on his left foot has he kicked off the ground. He hit the sabbat right in the chest so hard that he fell off his feet and the sword flew across the stone floor.

    On the other side of the room Fame was at the same time trying to deal with his assailant. The sabbat moved in close to make it impossible for Fame to use the flames. He moved with a spinning move and planted his elbow deep in Fames stomach. If Fame was a mortal, a blow like that would have knocked all the air out of him leaving him very vulnerable. Luckily Fame was a vampire and there was no air in him that he needed to concern himself with. He pushed the sabbat of him while moving backwards. The guardian was already set up for a new attack and struck high. Fame spun rapidly and quickly dropped to one knee, while readying his improvised flamethrower for another attack. The sword hit high as anticipated and missed by a few centimeters. Fames finger thumped the temple of the lighter and produced a weak flame. The sabbat tried to pull back, but it was too late. Fame let a new burst explode throughout the room. Once again it hit the guardian directly in the face. This time however his eyebrows and hair lit up. The guardians eyes darkened as the terror grabbed him and the beast took over. He dropped his sword and headed towards the far side of the room. Out of the shadows Marcus stepped out right in front of the frenzied guardian, stopping him dead in his tracks. Marcus immense strength easily overpowered him and brought the sabbat to his knees.

    The guard who had been tackled by Pedro managed to get his feet grounded and got back up from the floor, but it was too late. Pedro had a grappling hold on him now that was not easily escapable. The last and only guard who was left standing, was still pondering what the hell just happened to his sword. He then saw how his friends were doing. This was hopeless. He knew that now. These vampires were too strong for them. -“We surrender” he finally cried out -“Take the god damn Giovanni, this is not worth it”

    Marcus gathered the three guardians while Pedro and Fame helped Hidalgo down from the cage. Snow collected the swords and held one of them firmly in her hand. She had forgotten how it felt to hold a sword. It was strange how quickly the brain remembered. All the training and fighting came back to her in an instant. She was surprised to see that they still used swords in an age where everybody ran around with semi-automatic guns and hand cannons. A memory came to her. The captain of the guard had once said that there is nothing like a good sword dual to sharpen the mind and body. Everything in movement and sync, as you anticipate and react. He had often compared it to chess, always plan two moves ahead and never leave yourself open, unless you want to lure them in for a final blow. The Captain had saved her life more than once, but when he needed her to do the same, she had failed to return the favor. She saved many lives that day, but failed to save the life that mattered the most. Damn sabbat scum she thought, before her mind returned to the present.

    Marcus had lined the sabbat up in a row now; they were kneeling on the dark stone floor with their head bowed and hands tied on their backs. The nosferatu was looking at the puddle on the floor that used to be a long sword just a few minutes ago. He had seen how the sword had just melted and turned in to this liquid goo. Marcus remembered the feeling when he was laying on Snows table and he felt his face melting away. Was it the same sorcery that had done this? He shivered from the thought. As a nosferatu he had seen a lot of scary looking faces among his clan mates that would scare the water out of most. The Tremere clan however, creeps him out, far more than any scary face in a dark ally. Their sorcery was to unnatural and twisted to ever being trusted. Yet, he had put his life in one of their hands and let it perform some horrid ritual on him. It had given him something he thought was impossible, even if was for a short time. She had also been very kind and charming, but could he really trust her? Are all the Tremere the same? Snow had herself said not to trust anyone. For now he would keep his distance and see what happened.

    Snow moved towards the sabbat with the sword resting on her shoulder. She focused her vitae to make herself stronger. Lady Snow could feel how the vitae burned thru her body as her strength increased. The sword felt a lot lighter now. She stopped right in front of her newly captured prisoners. –“Now you are going to tell me why Gisela wants this Giovanni and how many are in your pack.” Her tone was strict and firm. The sabbat gave each other a quick look before the one the middle responded. –“Fuck you, Tremere bitch!” Snow wasn’t surprised by the response, she knew the sabbat packs were hard nuts to crack. The sabbat on the left spoke as well. –“Gisela is going to have all of asses ashed, Camarilla scum!”

    -“Don’t be stupid, tell us what we want to know and we will let you go. You can go tell Gisela herself what assholes we are” Snows voice had changed; there was more compassion in her tone of speaking now. She imagined them being terrified of this Gisela, and decided to try something she knew they would reject. At least she would give them a choice before she eventually had to destroy them.

    -“You are scared, I understand that, but the sabbat has you all fooled. They are using you as cannon fodder here. It’s not too late, come with us. We can protect you.” She was pleading them with a great compassion in her voice. It didn’t work.

    -“You and the rest of the Camarilla fools will all soon die and El-Paso will be controlled by us. Take your fucking offer and shove it up ass!” They all spat at Snows feet.

    Snows head fell in disappointment. –“You want to be martyrs for a cause that is not even your own, that is fine with me you deluded little puppets. Make no mistake however, that you will die here on this cold stone floor. Believe me, the second death is a real bitch too. No sabbat will shed you a tear, not even your precious Gisela. She does not care about you, and will have you replaced by tomorrow night. Now I will give you another chance, join us or perish.”

    The sabbat simultaneously started praying to the Mother Mary and Christ their Lord. Looking at them there on their knees praying before their final night awakened Snows anger and lost memories. Distant memories that she had tried to forget. Memories of flames, men with crosses and robes and her fathers’ look as his last breath left his body. She purged the memories and cleared her mind, but the anger remained. Her hand grabbed tightly on her sword as it raised ready to strike. Marcus interrupted with a quick remark –“Eh… I thought you said that a man should not strike an unarmed man with a weapon.” He smiled, as if to piss her off even more.

    She did not even look at him as she replied –“That is correct. A man should not strike an unarmed with a weapon.” Her hand fell hard as the blade cleaved straight thru the first sabbats neck. His head flew off and a fountain of blood squirted out from the headless body. –“But I am no MAN” She added as she stared Marcus directly in the eyes. Her crystal blue eyes were gone now and replaced with darkness. Snow stared emotionlessly as the body fell to the floor. It didn’t turn to ash as expected. These poor bastards were newly embraced, they knew nothing but what the sabbat had poisoned their mind with. They were a lost cause. She moved on to the next in line. –“We can show you the truth of being a vampire, it is not too late” she said while raising the sabbats after his hair. He never broke away from his prayer. “Idiota!” she cried as she let her blade slice thru his neck, still holding his head by the hair. The body collapsed as his blood covered the floor. Snow looked at the head she was holding in her hand. She dropped it and it rolled over to the last kneeling guard. Snow took no pleasure in this. Some part of her felt sorry for them. Not for them facing their second death, but that they had not been given the chance to join the Camarilla before it was too late. The sabbat had already fucked them up, taken their mortal lives and embraced them as shitty shock troops. It aggravated her immensely. She kneeled down to last one raised his head with a soft and gentle touch so his eyes met hers. Her eyes had returned to their crystal clear blue color. She moved her lips closer to his ear as she whispered. –“Please, let me help you. Why won’t you let me save you, when I hold your life in my hands? What do you have to gain from this? Tell me!”

    He opened his eyes for a moment and stared into her beautiful eyes. The sabbat stopped his prayer as he leaned his head against her soft hand that held his face. -“It is you who are mistaken” he whispered back –“It is you who need saving, not I” He pulled his face back and continued his prayer. His head was raised, ready to retrieve the final blow. Snow released a disappointed sigh. –“So be it!” It was a swift clean cut and even if the head was severed it didn’t fall. Marcus gave the body a nudge with his foot. The guards’ body fell forward as his head tipped and fell backwards. Snow dropped the bloody sword to the floor. It fell heavily on the blood covered stone floor. Silence filled the room. Marcus, Fame and Pedro were all looking at Lady Snow. They had all seen her as this gorgeous innocent looking girl before, but now she had showed them another side. The ruthless beast that hid under all that beauty.

    Snow walked over to Hidalgo. Pedro was helping him stand, since he was still weak. Hidalgo told them that he needed to feed if he was to get out of there with them. –“Of course” Snow quickly replied. She removed one of her necklaces with three big blood red beads. As she held the beads over his head she instructed him to open his mouth. Hidalgo did as she asked. With a single command –“Bleed!” the beads transmuted in to pure blood that ran straight to the Giovannies mouth. Hidalgo felt the vitae strengthen his body, and managed to get to his feet. –“That will do, for now” he said –“Now please, let us get the hell out of here. I have seen enough of this shit hole.”

    As they started to head out, Pedro stopped and looked behind him. Counting the bodies then looking at Hidalgo. He smiled. Heads off, check. Necromancer free, check. His plan worked, like always, he thought to himself. At the bathroom Henry was waiting for them, making sure everything was clear for them to come out. Fame took out his phone and hit the speed dial. A few seconds passed before he said to the person in the other end –“We are on our way out, be ready!” He put his phone back in his pocket, and turned to Pedro. –“They will be outside in a few minutes. Let’s move”

    Marcus stepped into the bathroom and saw himself once again in the mirror. It had gotten worse. Dark circles under his eyes shadowed his monstrous iris. His skin had once again lost its nice glow. He could still easily pass as an average looking human, but his charming good looks were deteriorating. Outside Hollywood the van was waiting as they stepped out. It was still night and they would have approximately four hours before dawn. They had to hurry. Finding the mortal proved easy. Leandra had known exactly where he could be found and she was right. He was at some sketchy club, drunk out of his mind while drooling over some young girls. It was too easy for a woman like Snow to pick up a man like this. The moment she gave him a little attention, he was on her like white on rice. She suggested that they should go somewhere a little more private. He followed her without hesitation as she led him to the van. Snow did not like the position she was in. Even if this guy was a low life and probably a scum bag, he didn’t deserve to die, at least not by her hands. She could not pass any judgment on these mortal souls. Killing kindred was one thing. They were already dead and had a chance at life and lost it. She was just making it final. Mortals however needed the chance to live a fulfilling life, without the creatures of the night intervening. Like she had told Leandra when she mentioned what she wanted in return for transportation, she was no bounty hunter. Snow took a quick look around; making sure nobody saw them before she threw the drunk in the van. When he saw the crowd sitting there he knew something was wrong, but he was too drunk to do anything about it now. Snow sat down in front of him and with an instant move she grabbed his throat. –“Ok, listen asshole. This has been a long fucking night and I am not in the mood for bullshit. So when I ask you a question you will answer it truthfully and don’t even try lying to us. You see my friend here?” She nodded towards Marcus -“Yeah, he can sniff a lie a mile away, and let me tell you he hates fucking liars. He hates them. You do not want to know what he does to liars. Comprende?” The man nodded repeatedly.

    -“Good! First who are you and who do you work for?”

    -“What? I don’t understand. I am just…” Snow interrupted him before he could finish, tightening her squeeze around his neck.

    -“Who the hell are you and who are you working for? Do not make me ask that fucking question again or I swear…”

    -“Juan! My name is Juan Gonzales. I don’t work for anybody. I run my own business, smuggle people over the border for some cash. That’s it I swear, please don’t hurt me.” His voice revealed great terror.

    Snow looked at Marcus and loosened her grip. –“How do you know Leandra?” Snow asked him.

    The man sighed and cursed something under his breath. –“Oh fuck, that puta. She sent you out to get rid of me? That’s why you are here isn’t it? Listen I can pay you the double of what she is paying you, I swear. I can get you the money right now. Please if you jus...” Snow interrupted him again.

    “Shut up! We don’t want your dirty money. This is not about money Juan.” She let go of his throat.

    The driver turned his head and shouted to them to hurry up and kill this bastard so they could leave.

    Snow sneered back at him –“Shut the fuck up dickhead and drive the god damn van like you are supposed to.” She turned back to their mortal captive. –“ Listen Juan, what did you do to piss Leandra of so much that she wants you dead?

    He was reluctant to respond to that question, but quickly remembered where he was sitting and who his company was. Juan exhaled heavily thru his nose. “Leandra sees me as competition. I take business away from her. A few months ago she approached me with an offer for me to work for her. I refused. It would have cost me too much and I need to eat. She has tried to get rid of me ever since.” He sat back and let his head fall against the side of the van. Snow tried to find a valid reason to waste this low-life sitting in front her. No matter how she angled it or how much she wanted to find a good reason, she couldn’t. Juan leaned forward again and spoke . –“Listen guys, I can leave. I will pack up everything and leave. You and Leandra will never see or hear of me again. I swear…” The driver turned around again and was getting annoyed that they had not yet done as agreed. –“Don’t you dare let that dipshit go. We had a deal. You better keep your end of it. Let’s get this over with…” Snow halfway got out of her seat. She was angry now and yelled back at the driver. “I didn’t know we brought you along to give us your opinion. We don’t give a shit what you have to say. Now turn that fucked up face of yours around and watch the fucking road.” She turned toward Marcus and continued –“Marcus, if that dickhead turns his head of the road, interrupts me again or feels like giving us some more of his enlightened advice, rip his fucking tongue out and nail it to the god damn wall!” Marcus said nothing, but the driver heard and made sure that his tongue stayed in his mouth.

    Snow turned back to Juan. Her anger was gone and her sweet gentle face had returned. -“Juan” she said. -“If you run now, you will always be running. We could let you go, but somebody else would come for you. It will never end and you could never rest and never be safe. You can end it now. Join Leandras crew. Yes she will take most of the earnings, but you will still have your business. You can still stay here and you will be safe. She can protect you. It may not be the perfect life, but at least it is a life.” Juan thought hard about what she said. He knew she was right, but he did not like it.

    Pedro was ready to convince him in another way and hinted to Lady Snow that he could make him agree. All he needed was five minutes in the back ally. Snow was tempted to let him do it, but something in Pedros face told her that he was up to something. She would not take the chance that Pedro would rearrange Juans organs, so she brushed him off. Luckily Juan agreed to the terms before she had to evaluate Pedros’ suggestion. Fame made the driver call Leandra up and see if the new deal was acceptable. The Ravnos finally agreed and they could let the mortal go. He would now work for Leandra and her goons. Fame then instructed the driver to take them back to El-Paso.

    On their way, Marco looked down on his hands. His black nails had returned and his skin was changing back to their thick leathery shape. He could remember the first time this had happened many years ago, how scared he had been then. It had scarred him mentally to go thru that transformation. Now he had gotten a renewed chance to be normal for one night, but the curse was not letting him enjoy it for long. Suddenly Snows’ hand gently stroked and grabbed his hand. Her soft skin felt nice against his rougher hide. Marcus looked up and noticed her sad expression as she spoke while looking deeply into his eyes. –“I am so sorry Marcus. I really am. If I could make it stick permanently, I would. Maybe one day we will find a way, but we are just not there yet. I am sorry you have to experience this again.” She raised his hand to her lips and kissed it. Marcus looked at her, without saying a word. Was she really sorry? Did she really care? Why should she? A thousand questions ran thru Marcus head. She seemed sincere, but he had seen how she played with men. Snow was charming and sweet, even a man like him had to admit that. He had also seen the dark side of her, how merciless she could be. A part of him wanted to believe that she was sincere, that she did care and that he could trust her. Some small part of him needed it to be true.

    Fame was quietly staring at the vans’ ceiling. He wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or if he was awake. It didn’t matter to him, but the colors he was experiencing were amazing. If only the others could see what he saw they would understand what he understood. To make that possible however they would need to have his eyes. He was thinking that his eyes would look pretty funny in Pedros skull. He laughed a little at that thought. His eyes started to shift at each member of his new crew. He didn’t really like any of them he thought, but he didn’t dislike them either. They were fun enough to be around. Especially that huge oaf sitting there looking at his hands. A man that manages to be beauty and the beast in one night has to be awesome. He did like him better when he was a beast however. There were so many neat details to look at when he was like that. Lady Snow was pretty and that was almost a good enough reason for Fame to have her around. People called him crazy, but Lady Snow was way off the bat. She could do well in our clan, he thought still grinning. The little Mexican was fun too; he just needed to see what his beast looked like. He was thinking that Pedros’ beast was probably awesome and that he should try and lure it out if had a chance.

    The van was near its end destination as Pedro started to remove his hipster clothing from the club. He hated clothes like that and had been dying to get them off. His tattooed sleeves where again visible and he looked at them as if he was checking if they were still there. All those tattoos told a story of their own and had a meaning. He had experienced some crazy stuff as a vampire, but this night was pretty good. What a fucked up bunch of kindred he had found though, he thought. He looked at Fame who was sitting there looking around the van smiling and laughing to himself. -“Ay dios mio” he said under his breath shaking his head. He liked the british dego however. There was something refreshing about the spontaneous nature of Fame that reminded him a little of himself. Marcus was a likeable guy, no matter how you looked at it. He wore his beast on the outside and his humanity on the inside, the complete opposite from the rest of the deluded Camarilla. Pedro admired that. Snow on the other hand was exactly what he didn’t like in the Camarilla. A pompous jerk-off that hid her beast behind a beautiful facade. She had however showed that she could take action and that there was a beast somewhere inside of her, but would she ever let it truly shine? Would she ride it out till there was nothing left for beast to hold on to? She was no doubt resourceful and could prove to be a valuable companion. Then again she was a part of the Tremere, and should probably be held off with a burning pitchfork.

    Henry was talking to Hidalgo about the city and preparing him for what would be in-stored once they arrived at their destination. Hidalgo seemed nervous, was he really freed or did he just change captures?

    The dawn was nearing and El-Paso was starting to awaken to another day. While the neonates were processing their first impressions they finally arrived at the riverbanks were Leandra was awaiting them. Even if it wasn’t according to the original plan, she was satisfied with the outcome. They had to get to their haven quickly and jumped in the car to drive to Elisa Day with her prized necromancer. Henry had to stay behind because of lack of space in the car.

    Once at Elisas’ court, Hidalgo was delivered and taken care of by Days’ people. She would now accept the neonates as a sponsor and they could now stay in El-Paso. They were about to part ways for the night when Snow grabbed Fames attention. -“We should probably go back and get Henry at the riverbanks and get him into safety. He has been a great aid to us and deserves at least that.” Fame smiled back at her and nodded. -“Of course, don’t worry Snow, I’ll go pick him up. You can just go back to your apartment before the sun tans you to ashes. I’ll take it from here. I guess I’ll see you around, my lady” He took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. She would have blushed if she could. There was something charming about him that she could not put her finger on. Maybe his British accent or his gentleman behavior. As they parted ways, Snow stopped and turned. –“Hey Fame, take care of yourself. Ok?” He smiled as he got into the car and drove off.

    Marcus had rented an apartment for the night and was looking at himself in the bathroom mirror. There was no window in there and therefore the only safe place where the sun could not reach him. The man in the mirror was by no means a good looking man. His eyes were slightly retracted in the back of his skull. The skin was a tint of grey and his hair was thin and discolored. Marcus would turn off the light and when he turned it back on the next night he would be the same creature he had learned to accept. The bathtub would be his bed this day. Darkness filled the apartment with a hit on a switch, and the monster laid down to rest.

    Back at the apartment of Lady Snow the first rays of morning hit the windows. No light passes by thru the glass however. Snow had ways to keep the killing beams of the sun at bay. The apartment was swallowed in pitch darkness as she sat naked on the wooden floor meditating, focusing her mind and recapping what she had experienced the last couple of nights. Her mind cleared away all thoughts as her body entered a serenity state, All she could hear was the city of El-Paso waking up, the sirens, the traffic, distant birds singing a beautiful song, a dog barking and on the other side of the city she heard the echoes of a gun-shot. All sounds fade, becoming more and more distant and then everything is silent as her mind slips away. Now there is only peace until the next night calls her name.

    That is when she notices it again, that insatiable itch.