Part 2

Stick together or die alone

The Tremere had a bad habit of collecting all kinds of obscurities of books. Most of them full of nonsense written by delusional doomsayers. For the Tremere however those books could withhold a secret, however miniscule that secret may be. Most of the time, that secret was nonexistent altogether, but the Tremere would still hold on to it, just in case. Snow had just gone thru 14 of these books in the last weeks. She apparently had a knack for picking these books out. If it was up to her, those books would do better to light the fireplace than dusting away in the library shelves. Only a foolish Malkav would find any pleasure in these books. For all Lady Snow knew, most of them were probably written by a Malkavian. It was getting early and she should have been in her apartment over an hour ago. She hadn’t fed today. In fact she couldn’t remember the last time she did, which was strange for her, since she always kept sure to be well fed. Getting settled in this Chantry had taken all her time, she hadn’t heard or seen the other neonates in weeks. She had of course kept tabs on them so she knew they were still in the city. As she started to pack her stuff and got ready to leave, one of the Chantry servants carefully entered her research room.

-“It’s getting late, Miss Snow. Is there anything I can assist you with?-

Snow continued packing her stuff without turning around to look at the servant.

-“I know what time it is, there is a watch right here and the alarm on my phone has been ringing for over an hour…”

The servant drew a nervous breath before apologizing

-“I am so sorry Miss Snow, I was just trying to…”- Snow cut her off before she could finish

-“Did you come here to apologize? Or did you come here to assist me?”-

The servant nervously looked down into the floor, ashamed that she had upset the Tremere.

Snow turned around and looked at the girl standing in front of her. She was a young woman. Snow could see that she had not been doing this for long and that she was uncertain how to address the new Tremere that had occupied the studies.

-“Well?...”.- Snow threw her hands up as she raised her voice.

-“I came to assist… Miss Snow.” The servant replied

-“Then get me a ride to my apartment while I finish up in here”

-“Yes Miss Snow, but all our drivers are currently busy. Is it alright if I arrange with a cab to pick you up?

-“A cab is still a ride last time I checked, so yes that is fine.  Have it here in ten minutes”

-“Yes, of course Miss Sn…” Lady Snow interrupted the young servant again.

-“And another thing. If you intend to keep those beautiful peepers, you will address me as Lady Snow from now on. No more of this Miss bullshit! Are we clear?

-Yes, Mi…” The servant swallowed her words and rephrased herself.

-“As you wish Lady Snow”

-“Good girl! Now scram!”  Snow turned her back on the servant and smiled barring her fangs as she struggled not to giggle.

15 minutes later Snow was standing outside the Chantry. The city was waking up and the smell of dawn was ripping at her nostrils. A small cab with darkened windows was standing there waiting for her. She quickly jumped inn and handed the driver her address. The cab driver was a well groomed older man with a nice suit. Not your typical cab driver in El Paso Snow thought to herself. Peering thru the window she could see the red horizon over the buildings. “The rising of the red destruction” the old ones had called it. She could feel the hunger tearing at her. It was tempting for her to ask the cab driver to stop at the hunting ground, but there was no time. Snow could smell the blood from the driver. It filled the beast with lust and craving. She closed her eyes and focused the sensation away. When Snow reopened her eyes, the cab was pulling into the street of her building. Her eyes fell on his artery pulsating from the drivers’ neck. Fuck it, she thought to herself and reached into her book bag for something. As the driver turned around to inform her that they had arrived, Snow pulled out a steel ball and hit it across his head. If she would have hit him any harder his skull would have cracked open like a melon. Luckily his skull was intact, but he would feel that blow when he woke up. Snow leaned over and pierced her teeth into his neck, feeding on him until it was responsible to let go. She wiped her mouth and licked the wound shut. After a glance at what the meter said, she left the right amount of dollars in his hands and added a good amount of tip. Snow hurried her tiny body to her apartment and sealed the rising sun out from her widows. She dropped on the floor out of sheer exhaustion until her phone woke her the next night.

When Snow woke up the clock was already nine. She had slept too long and she had missed twelve calls, ten of them from Elisa Day and two from an unknown caller. Day was calling for the eleventh time when Snow finally managed to answer. The Primogen was not happy. It had been reported that Fame had been seen dressing as an iconic vampire figure, and obtaining a great amount of attention around himself. As a sponsor for the neonates, this was looking bad for Elisa. Since she had put the responsibility for them on Snow, she would now have to answer for this. Day also informed Snow of a new kindred that the neonates had welcomed into their group. Great, Snow thought to herself. Another whelp to the bizarre entourage.

-“What the hell! Are they picking up any riff raff we bump into now? I refuse to be responsible for another puppy” Snow heard her words came out a bit harsher than she intended. Day was quick to snap back.

-“You will not refuse shit! You will abide with what I tell you to do. I am not comfortable with your position here in El Paso, but I will adjust to the fact that you are. And if I can find a good use for you as long as you are here, I will make you work for your keep. Are we on the same page here Snow?

Snow bit down on her tongue hard and nodded. When she realized that she had not said anything thru the phone she quickly responded

-“Forgive me my Lady. I spoke out of place; it will not become a habit. The Malkavian will be spoken to and I will greet the newcomer as soon as I can find the time.

-“See to it that you do” Elisa said and added

-“But before you do, come down and see me. Your friends have been busy while you have been buried in books.”

Snow agreed and hung up the phone. She was now wondering if her new found friends where worth sticking out her neck for. She knew the Malkavian was trouble and he was stirring up a terrible mess around him that would eventually hurt her badly. The Gangrel was a ticking time bomb waiting to be activated, and when he did she should be miles away. Marcus the Nosferatu had acted as a true camarilla and had some chance to build himself a name in the nossie network. He could on the other hand become a great threat to her if he would turn against her, maybe more of a threat that even she could handle. She had taken precautions to prevent this from hurting her to bad, but it was still at threat.

She would at least head down and hear what Day had to report. Elisa Day updated Snow with what had happened the last couple of days. The reports showed that the entourage had been busy with personal agendas and that Fame was up to his usual menacing and conniving.  Snow felt that something terrible was brewing. They had had gotten themselves into something that was hard to get out of. Somebody had gotten their claw into them and was now playing them like puppets. She had to get a hold of them before it was too late. Who would be leading them now in her place? Oh my god she thought to herself and quickly found her phone. Her fingers ran down the names in her phone list and stopped at Fame. She hoped it was not too late. With Fame at the steering wheel who knows what kind of a mess they would be in.

The last few days had been interesting and eventful for Fame. He sort of liked the feeling of being in charge of the group. It gave him a thrill that even if he was the youngest kindred among them, they still listened to him and followed his lead. He had used the time well; taking advantage of that Snow was busy. She would probably never let this fly if she was around. Fame smiled as he thought of the surprises that were in store for Snow when she would return. He had seen her temper before and knew she would probably fly of the handle when she found out what was going on. It would be hilarious. Pedro had proven to be a valuable ally, while Marcus had listened to his words like a loyal pup. There was still something with Marcus that scared him. He was always lurking in the shadows, talking to his underground contacts. The fact that at any moment Marcus could rip his arms out of his sockets and slap him silly with them was more than a little disturbing. He would have to be careful with him, at least until he knew what he was whispering in the darkness. Fame had also taken in another newcomer to the city; a Toreador who had some rather sketchy company. They had taken him to their little group even if Marcus had questioned it. Snow would probably disagree too, but screw her and her conformist thinking, Fame thought.

They had recently made contact with Eustace; an old Setite who had been in this city longer than most. Eustace had made them an offer. They would do him a favor; in return they would get access to a hunting ground. They desperately needed a hunting ground and would almost do anything to get access to one. Out of all them, only Snow had access to a hunting ground since they came. It was getting hard for the others to stay well fed without one. The favor Eustace had asked of them was a political one. The city had several bridges connecting it to Juarez. These bridges have border control to prevent people and unwanted goods from passing the border. To be able to pass safely, you would either have to be lucky or have political pull thru influence. Vampires don’t usually get far on luck, so they focus more on influence. There was an election coming up, where the president of the board for the border controls would be decided.  The leading candidate was the one who currently had the position. A re-election was eminent the way it seemed now. Eustace plan was to mix it up a little and wanted somebody or anybody else to take that position. He did not care how it was handled; as long as the leading candidate didn’t hold the position. The election was only in a few days, so they had to act quickly if they wanted to please Eustace. The Setite had suggested that they keep the mission under wraps and not tell anybody what they were up to. That way it would be harder to direct any involvement towards them, once the deed was completed. He was interested in seeing how they would handle it, what kind of kindred where they? They decided to accept the offer and made sure not to tell anybody what they were up to. Each of them started researching the candidates and ways for them to deal with it. As they left they were almost relived that Lady Snow was not with them. First of all she would probably not approve of the mission, but more importantly the holy pictures and the fact that Eustace was involved in some holy sect would probably test her temper. They still remember what happened the last time she was confronted with someone with a strong religious belief. It did not end well for the other part.

Fame felt his phone vibrating in his back pocket. He reached for it and tapped the display screen to see who would be calling him. The screen displayed a caller ID picture of the Wicked Witch of the west from “The wizard of Oz” movie. He was wondering when she would call. Fame let the phone ring a while before answering it. His finger hit the answer button and answered with an exaggerated surprised tone.

-“Snow, where have you been? You missed out on all the fun.”

Snow was not happy on the other side of that phone. Fames smile got wider and wider as Snow confronted him with all the things that were reported on him. Lady Snow asked Fame to gather the gang and meet with her. The Malkavian agreed and set up a meeting at a bar hidden away in some remote street.

The bar was a rundown place with a few locals that were already wasted and could hardly keep their heads up. Uneven floors and ripped wallpaper almost seemed deliberately placed as an allover theme. Snow stepped lightly thru thw bar looking for a seat that was a little less stained than the rest of them. She gave Fame a squinted stare.

-“Wow Fame, you really outdid yourself here with finding a classy joint for us to meet up in” she said while wiping off one of the chairs. Fame kicked a stool so it slid nicely in front of one of the tables

-“Hey, you were the one that wanted to meet up. I was perfectly fine with having you on the other side of the phone. The way I see it, it is only fair that I get to choose the place, and I choose a place with soul. It may be some dying souls but still it feels like home. Besides, look around. Nobody here will remember that we were even here. Even the bartender looks out of it. That means you don’t have to brainfuck everybody here to believe we weren’t here. I am saving you a lot of work actually. You should probably be thanking me for being…”

Marcus cut him off before he could finish his monologue. He didn’t know if he was glad or worried that Snow had decided to meet up with them, but he was dying to find out. –“So why are we graced with an audience with the Lady?” His tone was sarcastic, but Snow was willing to ignore the tone and took it as a polite gesture. Fame dropped down on his chair like a sack of dirty laundry. He started to throw some stale peanuts in the air and tried to catch them with his mouth. The peanuts he had swiped from one of the other patrons who had passed out right before they arrived. He would not miss them anyway; they might even have been there from way before. Pedro chose not to sit; he found his place at the end of the table standing with his arms crossed. He gave Snow a welcoming nod, but said nothing. Marcus found the darkest corner near the table and sat down while melding in with the shadows. Snow leaned back, and started to let her guard down. She had carefully analyzed the area to make sure that the place was safe. There were no other kindred here except for them.  More importantly there were no Lupines around, which was her first concern when she saw the place. She had stepped in to a Lupine dive once before and this looked very similar. As she leaned back her eyes fell on her fellow kindred. The quiet little Mexican with the short temper, a pasty British boy with dyed hair and the mysterious beast wrapped in shadows. What a bunch she thought and smiled. Her eyes then fell on another vampire. A young looking man with fair blond hair down to his shoulders was standing behind Pedro.  His emerald green eyes reflected the dim lights from the bar and shined like little lanterns. He had pale smooth skin that gave of a faint glow. Snow could see that he was a man who took very well care of himself and groomed himself thoroughly. Everything from his well combed hair to his perfectly filed long fingernails screamed flamboyance, that or of the Toreador clan. Of course being one usually meant being the other, she thought.

-“Well, who is this cute little thing?” Snow asked looking at all of them.

-“Is this the stray dog you opened your arm to and accepted into the group, no questions asked?” she continued.

Marcus raised his hands and shook his head, giving her the signal it was not his doing. Fame hadn’t paid attention at all; he was hitting a new personal record in his little peanut trick. Pedros arms uncrossed and reached behind him to grab the newcomer.

-“Introduce yourself so we can get the fuck out of here, it smells like sweaty nutsack in here, and not the good kind.” He said as pulled the boy in front of him.

The young man bowed gracefully and kissed Lady Snows hand as he introduced himself.

-“My lady, I am Lustrie of the Toreador Clan. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I look forward to working with you.” The Toreador leaned back and assumed his graceful stance.

Lady Snow looked around at the others as if she was expecting them to reveal that it was all a prank.

-“Wow, you had the little pup trained. How amusing...” Her eyes shifted towards Lustrie.

-“..Working with us? Is that what you said?” She leaned forward, staring him deeper in the eyes.

-“I didn’t know we were hiring.” She added while skewing at the others.

Pedro crossed his arms again and stared right back at Snow.

-“I didn’t know we were running things like a business now” he replied. “Are we on a payroll that I don’t know off?”

His sarcastic disrespectful tone pissed her off immensely, but she could deal with it later.

-“You are missing the point here. You see Lustrie, everybody here serves a part, a role if you will… Fame here for example serves as the groups’ pain in the ass, but also has the marvelous ability to notice details that the normal eye can’t. That makes him valuable. Marcus here could do well as a scarecrow, but he also seems to be able to stay unseen and dig up a lot of useful information. That makes him valuable. The fresh mouthed little Mexican here, is our cheap labor. He also possesses the ability to scare little children and beat the shit out of snot-nosed fuck-heads. That makes him valuable. I function as the loud mouthed bitch that screams and causes all the drama, but I also make sure that thing get fucking done. That makes me valuable. Now we have you, a pretty boy who can flash his gleaming eyes and do something really artsy. You see Lustrie, we do not need a fiddler on the roof. That makes you…”

-“..A gunslinger!” Fame interrupted. His was still focusing on his little trick.

Lustries face hardened by Fames comment. He was wondering how he could possible know that he was good with guns. The Toreador had never mentioned it to them before and he was not carrying any guns at the moment. He was about to ask how he could possibly know, but Snow beat him to it.

-“What are you talking about? Are you even in this conversation or was that comment meant for somebody else?” Snow was annoyed at the interruption but also curious.

Fames hand pointed loosely toward Lustrie while still looking up while he flickered the peanuts into his mouth. Three of them flew through the air and all landed in his mouth. He started chewing with an open mouth before finally answering.

-“His fingers…  Look at his fingers. He has trigger fingers. He is obviously a gunslinger”

Lustrie nodded with an impressed expression on his face.

Snow had to admit that she was impressed. Impressed and frustrated that she could did not see it. She pointed towards Fame and nodded her head.

-“See…? Valuable, and at the same time annoying. Now that is a god damn gift.” Snows tone got softer.

-“Well…” She continued and turned towards Lustrie “We don’t have a gunslinger. I am not sure if we need one, but we might.”

She leaned back in her chair.

-“I might be a bitch. Any of these men here will tell you that, but I am a reasonable bitch. If you can prove yourself to be half as good as these guys, there might actually be a future for you here.”

“-You will not be disappointed my Lady” Lustrie replied with a smug smile on his face.

Marcus started to get impatient and hinted on that they should move soon. Snow agreed and continued with her real agenda for meeting them; what have they been doing? They told her how Eustace had made them a deal that if they made sure that Conway did not win the election they would get access to a hunting ground. Snow was informed that they still hadn’t acted and was still just investigating and planning what and how they would do it. The neonates had been stealthy in their approach so that no one could tie them to anything that would affect the election. If in fact they had not acted yet, then she was relived. However, she was not certain that everything was as it should be. This whole deal stank. There was something here that they either didn’t know or was not telling her. She understood that they were desperate for a hunting ground, but what they were about to do she could not be a part of. Snow made it clear that whatever they did now could make them very unpopular with certain people in the city. A deal with a Setite usually never ended well for the other part. Sadly Snow realized that if they did anything that went against the Camarilla way, she herself would have to hunt them down and destroy them. She made sure to inform them of that and to be careful with what their next actions were.  The group decided to try and get Conway eliminated from the election and avoid to try and harm him. Snow told them that she would go and talk to Eustace and try to get to the bottom of this and see what his intentions are. She made sure that Lustrie came with her. Lustrie had been there with the others before and knew where to go. As they approached Snow felt uneasy, the Setite was protected by some sort of religious cult. They decided to let them in when they saw Lustrie. They remembered him from earlier and knew that he had dealings with Eustace. They walked thru a corridor with large pictures of Adam and Eve and other religious relics. Snow had heard a about this cult before, it was started somewhere in Europe. Germany to be more precise. She had little patience with fanatic lunatics belonging to some crazed order, but she would have to bite her teeth together and control herself for now. Eustace welcomed them and introduced himself to Snow. Snow did not hesitate to get down to business. She started to interrogate him and what his gain in this was. His coy response worried Snow. Eustace told her that he was interested to see what they would do. She could see now that there was something that he was not telling her. Eustace smiled when he saw her worried expression.

-“They did well” he said with smug smile.”Not very discreet or imaginative, but it did get the job done.”

Her eyes immediately fell on Lustrie. He looked as surprised as she was. Eustace continued with telling them that he saw the news where they had found Conway beaten to death. Snow composed herself as well as she could. She felt worried by this and disappointed. Most of all she felt angry. There had been a lot of that lately. Soon or later she would have to let that anger out, but not here, not now.

-“Any witnesses?” she asked Eustace and bit her under lip. He shook his head and replied that he had not heard of any witnesses yet. Snow knew there was always a witness, no matter what. One would just know where to look. Lady Snow knew where to look. She was only worried if somebody else also knew, had beaten her to it. Snow gave a long hard stare at Lustrie. A million thoughts ran thru her head. The little voice in her head screamed at her to get out while she was still uninvolved, to leave this mess while she still could. She decided to ignore that voice for now, even if every bone in her body told her otherwise. Her head turned towards the Setite again.

-“Excuse me Eustace” she said “Thank you for meeting with me, but I have some urgent matters to attend to.” She bowed gracefully and spun around on her heel. Before she managed to take her first step Eustace intercepted her with a question.

-“Tell me my precious Lady Snow, what do you think of my chambers? Do you like the art?”

Snow froze at the question. She knew where he was going with this, and it worried her that he somehow knew how to agitate her. The Tremere managed to compose herself before she answered.

-“It reminds me of my childhood home” She replied with stone like face. The Setite was smiling as he fired his follow-up question.

-“So does that mean that you are a God fearing woman?” His serpent eyes stared motionless at her, without blinking. It freaked her out. Lustrie was trying not to look at anything in the room and stared endlessly at the floor, making sure not to make eye contact with the serpent eyed kindred. His master had told him enough about the clan of the Followers of Set that he knew what not to do in the presence of one. Snows memory quickly reminded her of the same lesson and her eyes immediately shifted from Eustuces gaze.

-“I never said that I was a God fearing woman or where my beliefs lie. My family was strict catholic, so my upbringing was accordingly.” Her stone like face changed into a flirty smile. –“If you want to discuss religion and talk about that little Jesus club you’re in, I am yours. You will have to make an appointment however, because right now I have pressing matters to attend. Farewell Eustuce” She turned and left with hasty steps. Lustrie bowed before the Setite before following her. Snow grabbed her phone and hit the speed dial. She signaled to the Toreador that it was a private call, so he gave her some space. Lustrie used that time to make a phone call for himself.

They met with each other after a few minutes and continued to meet the others. Suddenly Snow stopped dead in her track as if she sensed something. The Toreador stopped behind her and sharpened his senses to see if there was something he had missed. He felt nothing out of order, but there was something unsettling about Snow. She turned slowly towards him and stared him deep in the eyes.  Her hand lifted slowly and started to caress his face as she started to speak.

-“Listen Lustrie! I don’t know what your intentions are and I don’t trust you for shit” Her fingers moved to his hair as her fingers started to spin the hair around her index finger. “I don’t know where this will end, but I do know that things will start to be complicated from here on.” Her other hand reached for his face and moved to the back of his head caressing him gently as her face moved closer to his.-”So know this my pretty little fiddler. That when the shit hits the fan I better not find out that you are in league with the shit throwers.” Her voice lowered as their faces was inches from touching –“Cause if anything happens to the others, and I find out that you are at fault, nothing in this world will save you from my wrath” Her lips moved towards his lips ready to kiss him, but with a hard pull they moved to his ear as she whispered –“Whatever you do to them, you do to me. If they are harmed in any way, I will rip your throat out and feed it to the dogs.” Her hands let go as she calmly moved away with a smile on her face. Lustrie was unsure what had just transpired. What he did understand was that Lady Snow might be crazier than Fame, which was scary because she seemed normal. The other thing he saw and that surprised him was how protective she was of the others. Why did she care what happened to them? More importantly how would one go about to gain such protection?

Fame and Pedro had gone off together while Marcus had gone to his own contacts. They were all careful not to speak to much about what they were doing, which was a smart move, since this city has ears and eyes in high and low places. They could see that there was some tension in Lustrie and Snows face when they arrived. They informed the rest of the group of what the Setite had told them. They all acted surprised by the news, and started to eye each other out to see if any of them were involved. The tension grew thicker as the air went silent. Snow would get to the bottom of this no matter what. This would come back and kick them in the ass. She knew that whatever the Setite gained from this was lost from somebody else.  Snow asked them all if they were involved in the murder, because if they were, they would have to speak out now. Nobody responded. The Tremere located where the closest morgue was located and had Marcus and Fame find the blueprints of the building. It was no problem for them to get the information needed. Snow wanted to see and inspect the body to find out what had happened and see if he was marked by the Camarilla. Fame drove them all to the morgue, but waited in the car together with Pedro. Marcus, Snow and Lustire walked towards the entrance to the morgue. They had laid a plan that Lustrie and Snow would pose as a pathologist and investigator. If they could not convince the guards then Marcus would slip inside unseen while the others distracted the guard. The guard that met them was a young man with dark perfect skin. Neon lights reflected from the sweat dripping from his forehead. It was a hot night and he was not used to having people coming up to him during the nightshift. Lustrie could see that he was pretty new at this job and did not have a lot of experience. That was something he could use. He was however experienced enough to ask for credentials when they presented themselves. Snow gave Marcus the sign to start sneaking himself inside as she realized that this might not work. That was when Lustrie took control over the conversation. His voice softened and his eyes shimmered with a beautiful glare.

-“Listen..” he started and looked quicly at the nametag on the guards chest. It said Lawrence on it with big blue letters.

-“…Lawrence, we just got called in the middle of the night to come look at this body. Dr. Monroe here had to travel from across the state to get here. Neither of us had time to pack anything. Now my boss said he would call you and inform you, but if I know him right he is probably leaning over an empty bottle of Jack Daniels about now. I see you are a man that knows his job well. The thing is that if you don’t let us in you are actually obstructing an investigation and a man of the law. If my boss finds out that we did not get to do our job, because you denied us access… Well, you get the picture don’t you Lawrence? I would hate to see a bright young man ruining his career because a stupid mishap like that.”

Lawrence look into Lustries eyes. He could not tear himself from looking at Lustrie. His words sounded so reasonable and he felt an urge to do as the man had said. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to please him. Lawrence reached for his walkie-talkie

“I am sorry sir, I will let you inn, but I just need to check with my supervisor. Just to make sure” His voice was nervous and unsecure. Lustrie caught the signs and acted immediately.

“Lawrence, look at me. Can you picture yourself one day being where I am today?” Lustries voice was still soft and gentle. Lawrence nodded carefully.

“Do you think I got where I am today by second guessing myself and my decisions? If you don’t trust your own choices, why should anybody else trust them? Do really need to check with somebody else to do your job?

Lawrence finger moved away from the call button on the radio. The words from the investigator seemed reasonable to him.

-“No, I guess not” he finally replied. -“But, I have to ask you to sign in here. Everybody has to…”

-“No problem Lawrence” Snow interrupted and signed in together with Lustrie.

Lawrence showed them where Conways body was lying and left them alone. Snow gave Lustrie a look the moment Lawrence closed the door and left.

-“That was some impressive display of bullshitting back there. Bullshitting of that caliber could prove useful.” She said while smiling at him.

-“Would you say bullshitting of that caliber is VALUABLE?” he quickly responded. Snow started to laugh before she controlled herself and replied.

-“If you are as quick with your guns as you are with your tongue, you just might be, Fiddler. You just might be.” She could not hide her smile from him, and Lustrie returned it with a smirk. He had found a way bypass her hardened personal wall. That could be useful later.

Snow and Lustrie proceeded with their mission and performed an autopsy. The result showed little, but it was clear that he was beaten to death and had suffered heavy trauma to the head. There were no punctures on his skin and he wore no markings of the Camarilla. At least he was no retainer, but he could still be paid for by one of the Primogen. Lustrie could see that Lady Snow knew what she was doing, she had skill with this sort of thing. He watched her as she flipped the body with ease over on his stomach, and then to his back again. She was a lot stronger than her petite body showed. They were getting ready to leave, when Snow froze. It was as if she realized something that had spooked her. She leaned over Conways head and opened his eyelids to reveal his eyes. Lustrie observed as Snow stared deep into his dead eyes. He felt a weird discomfort as he saw Snows face freeze while staring at Conways eyes. What did she see there that had made her so uneasy? Snow snapped out of it quickly sealed Conways eyes and covered the body.

-“Come on Lustrie, we have to move” she said and they left the morgue with hasty steps. The sun was a few hours away from rising. Snow told them to all go to their haven and get some rest before the next night. They would need it when they would meet with Eustuce and claim their reward.

Marcus was restless. He was uncertain what would happen the next night. Had they acted to quickly and taken the mission from Eustace without considering the consequences? What were Snows true intentions? Had Fame mislead them? If this would blow up in their face would Lady Snow leave them and turn on them, or would she back them up? The questions looped thru his head as the rising sun forced him into slumber.

When the sun disappeared behind the horizon the air was still thick and hot. It had been an extremely hot day and the pavement was still burning hot. Pedro woke up with a great hunger for blood. It was hard to find nourishments in the city without a hunting ground. He had not been well fed in months, and he could feel the beast scratching underneath his skin. The beasts’ strength was getting stronger and stronger for each day. Pedro embraced the beast when it came, but knew that if this continued this way, he would lose control, become feeble and an easy prey. That was something he would not allow. He looked himself hard in the mirror. His face was paler than usual and his skin was stretched and worn out. Pedro started to think what this day had in store and how it could end. If Snow was right and Eustace had set them up, the Setite would pay dearly. There was also an issue with his group. He knew that things would change soon. It would only be a matter of time until she found out what was going on, and all hell would break loose. The question he was asking himself was now was: where would he be when it happened? Would he idly stand by and watch, or would he intervene and stop it. If anybody had the pure force to do it, it would be him.

Snow was in the middle of one of her rituals when somebody knocked on her door. She ignored it and continued her ritual, if she stopped now she would have to start all over. The knocking continued, harder and harder.

–“Puta de Hijo” she cried out and got up, making sure to put a robe on her naked body before approaching the door.

-“Who is it?” Snow enquired

-UPS Miss” It was the voice of a young man “I have a package here for a Miss Marceline Arroyo, but I couldn’t find any name on the door. The number seems correct, is that you miss?” Snow stepped back from the door. Who would call her Marceline she thought. She was looking for the quickest escape route in case this was what she thought it was. Then she remembered something, someone who would call her by that name.

“Where is the package from?”

-“It’s an international package miss… from Europe I think” She could hear in his voice that he was annoyed that she hadn’t opened the door yet. Snow lowered her shoulders and moved towards the door again. She thought she knew what this was if it came from Europe. The Tremere made a sign with her hand and waved it in a circle. It would be a bad idea to open that door with her security ward still active. As the door unlocked she saw a short stumpy man with glasses holding a rather big package.

-“Please sign here miss” She quickly signed the tablet he was holding, grabbed the package and closed the door behind her. The package fell heavy on her ritual table. She grabbed her ritual dagger and sliced the top of the box open. Under all the wrapping she found what she was looking for. “Espina” Her trusted blade. She picked it up and unsheathed it. It felt great to hold it again. The handle was made of bone and looked like a piece of a spine. The blade was thin and light. A perfect katana blade made specifically for her by her sire. The blade was pure white and looked liked it was carved from bone.

-“Soon, my dear Espina, you will taste the blood of kindred again” she spoke to like it was a child, like the blade was alive. –“For now however, you must rest and let me deal with something and prepare for your bloodshed.”

She put Espina aside and looked further down in her package. There where books on cults and religious inquisitions, several talismans and some dark red beads the size of golf balls. In the bottom was another box. It was a beautiful dark wooden box with wolfs howling at two moons carved into it. Snow carefully opened it. Two silver daggers revealed themselves under a cover of a red velvet cloth. –“My dear Luna Gemelos, I really hope I don’t have to use you girls anytime soon.” She said and closed the box again, as if she was frightened of them. Her alarm on the phone went off. It was late and she was supposed to meet the others to go see Eustace.

Marcus looked at the clock when Snow finally arrived, shaking his head. He had been the first one there and was getting tired of waiting around. They did not say much to each other on their way to Eustace. Something dawned on Snow as they quietly walked towards the Setite. They were slipping apart as a group, if they ever were one from the start. Something was dividing them. It could be her fault. She could be making them paranoid and unsecure with her outburst and behavior. Before she could give it more thought, they arrived at their destination. They were quickly led into Eustace quarters. He was smiling when he saw them, clapping his hands as they approached. Snow walked in the background and held herself in the back, distancing herself from others. Eustace gave her a victorious smile as if she had just lost a contest with him. His eyes then moved back to the others as he spoke

-“Congratulations, you came thru and solved the task. You held your part, no I will hold my part. Feel free to use my hunting grounds….”

His words where silenced by a loud spectacle in the corridors. The doors burst open and a well dressed man stormed into the room. He was followed by a group of other men with guns.

-“Eustuce, you little fucker” he yelled “I know you are behind this”

Eustuce opened his arms as if to greet him. –“Holger, please sit down and relax…” The man interrupted him and pointet towards Marcus and the others.

-“let me guess, you used these goons to do it?” He gave his armed men a signal and they moved towards the group. They pointed their guns towards their heads and surrounded them. Snow, who was standing in the background, readied herself, analyzing the armed men and focused hard on their blood. This was what she feared would happened. This was the place and situation she did not want to be in. She knew who the well-dressed man was. Holger Stein, a Primogen of the Ventrue bloodline. A man of influence and power.

Holger Stein looked at Fame as continued to yell –“Big mistake guys. You have fucked with the wrong person this time. Prepare to be seriously….”

Eustace interrupted him before he could finish. -“Holger, take it easy. They work for me now, I made them do it. It’s not a big deal, I reimburse your loss. Conway was done regardless, he can easily be replaced by someone else. Someone better.” He smiled at Holger barring his fangs. “Tell  your dogs to back down and we will settle this later” he continued.

Holger gave the men a signal to back down. He gave Lustrie a harsh look. –“You guys better step very carefully from now on, because if I get my hands on you, you will be sorry.” He turned towards Eustace –“You owe me big for this Eustace, remember that!”

-“Actually, I believe this makes us even” The Setite replied coy.

Holger rushed out cursing under his breath. Eustace suggested that the others probably should leave as well. Snow stayed behind waiting until everybody left and only her and Eustace was left.

-“Lady Snow, consider yourself relieved of duty. From now on they will work for me. You may leave. Unless you also want to work for me?”

“You couldn’t handle me Eustace, trust me.” She replied as she moved towards the door. “You may think that you are done with me, but I am not done with you”

The others were waiting outside. Marcus looked at her with those dark beady eyes. He was not happy with the situation. Fame did not seem to care much at all, or maybe he had a plan laid out already. Pedro was looking at Fame waiting for him to say something, but no words came. Snow had no words either, she was to far inside her own mind. What should she do now? Should she back out now, while she could? Leave them to themselves, let the night of El Paso deal with them as it seemed fit and let them be torn apart by the political struggle of bureaucratic kindred fighting for power? Or should she stand her ground together with them, jeopardize everything she had been fighting so hard to achieve, and help them survive the mess they had started? The smart choice was obvious. She knew what her Sire would do, if he was still around. The reason that he was no longer there with her was because he did not make the smart choice, but the moral one. It would take a lot of resources to keep Holger away from them now, a lot of effort and a lot of goodwill. Where these neonates really worth it? How did she know they would not turn on her? Some of them where well on their way already. The temptation to vanish from the face of the earth, like she had done so many times before, grew stronger. The easy way out that had made her loose so much. It had been years since she had fought for someone, fought for anything except herself. She gave them one last look before she made up her mind. Before she turned her back to them and walked away she told them that no matter what happened now, they would have two choices: Stick together or die alone.