There is a group of vampires that have decided to remove themselves from the petty struggles of their kind. Ages old, they are known among the other creatures of the night as the Inconnu. There is no rule of non-intervention among these kindred, it is usually merely assumed that they will not make themselves known, for fear of being discovered.. or hunted. And yet, there are extremely rare occasions, possibly once in two centuries when an Inconnu will poke its nose into the affairs of the other vampires..
Kala, Inconnu Monitor of Baltimore, strode along the dark, wet streets of the inner city. High heels in account, she was a full six feet, nine inches tall. The mask of deception she wove around herself with her vampiric talents shrunk that to six feet, three inches.. still more than enough to garner a good deal of attention. This mask also hid her features. Still, she didn’t care to hide her eyes, leaving that work to stylish purple sunglasses that didn’t actually prevent her from looking out but merely obscured vision for looking within. She wore a long, thin black raincoat to "protect" her from the elements, mostly warm animal fur within.
Kala’s attention turned to an attractive young man running down the street, for his life. Tall, with slightly angular features and a pale white face.. he touched a nostalgic cord in Kala, and though she knew it was coincidence she allowed herself to smile. And yet, not far behind the first man another pursued him. Any fool vampire would have noticed him to be one of their own from the speed he was moving at. Large, and with a deep, dark trenchcoat that flapped behind him quickly as he ran through the rain soaked street.
A normal occurrence in Baltimore, though enough to merit a fair amount of attention from her, Kala’s turned to view the two.. bringing her cloak of invisibility up around herself as she did. The young man’s first action caught her in shock, for he turned and let out a shattering wail from his mouth, the concussive force slamming his pursuer back into the street, right into the path of an oncoming bus.
The young man spared no time and spun on his heel, running straight into the nearest alley.
Pulling the raincoat tighter around herself, Kala made her nimble way across the street towards that alley..
Everything broken inside.. "Damn. Look at his body. You really fucked him up." You are the fulfillment of a prophecy. Hatred. "No, that wasn’t all me. Something strange is happening with this kid.. and we’ve put too much into him already. Let the Archbishop know we’ve arranged tomorrow night’s entrée.." Pain. I love you, Domingo.. with all of my heart. "You’re the boss.." Malice. The King of all Unseelie. "Watch over him, Natalie. Make sure he doesn’t try to pull anything. Not that he can.." Spite. Domingo, I’m pregnant.. SLAM. Infinite. I’m pregnant.. "Drink, Dominic. Drink. Easy now.. that does it.. drink.." I’m pregnant.. Agony.
Dominic’s vision was blurred, but he opened his eyes. A caring hand on pained wounds, and precious, desired blood.. coursing down his throat. A natural instinct to heal took effect as it came, and so did more blood. Not enough to heal him completely but.. enough. Natalie was before him, and she smiled, running her front three fingers through his hair affectionately. "I know you had a reason for running Dominic. They wouldn’t listen. But I.. I think I can keep you alive long enough to find out."
For Natalie, the moments may have been passing just as that. For Dominic, it was different. So many thoughts, so much to take in. If he was the fulfillment a prophecy, why should he die here? How could he ever get back to his people, as a slave to these vampires? But most of all, his thoughts were above mere linear thoughts. They were complex webs of barely caged cruelty and rage, the higher interactions of malevolence and animosity. As much as he wanted to tell the Ravnos Antitribu and her Sabbat to fuck off, Dominic remained silent yet again and allowed himself to think of a useful string of lies, which Natalie quickly took to be the lack of strength from one wounded.
She smiled at Dominic, and begun healing her own wound as she was suddenly flung forcefully back against the door. Neither of them expected the creature before them to have burst through the earth straight into the room, rocks and debris flying in every direction. A single clawswipe, and the woman from the ground had ripped out Natalie’s dead guts and prevented any attempt she might have given in resistance. Kala next shifted her attention to Dominic, who was wounded and confused enough that sweeping him into her grasp and pulling him back down into her earthen tunnel was a simple matter.
Don Nihlo and Cliff raced back into the room to find a pile of dirt, a pool of blood and a disemboweled, screaming Natalie Hart.
Dominic’s thoughts had already followed the train of lies, and so that is where they lingered through his "rescue". To Dominic’s surprise he found that the creature who had saved him, Kala, was emotionally weak. He couldn’t help but wonder how such a pathetic being had managed to live so long as a creature of darkness, but he didn’t wonder for long. He had well since learned that some of his kind could read minds..
Through their travels into western Maryland, Kala and Dominic spoke on a large number of topics, especially after he had healed most of his wounds. It was from Kala that Dominic learned of the Inconnu. He took the knowledge without much skepticism, for he had no reason to do otherwise. In return, however, Dominic allowed Kala to learn of little. While letting her know that he was from Spain and forced into the Sabbat, his true thoughts and lineage were kept inside for the time being. It was obvious that Kala had taken a shine to Dominic and he took full advantage of every aspect. This elder creature had become fully and completely enamored with him by the time they reached the farm, and it is there where Kala told Dominic of what and who he was. She let Dominic know that he was one of the Kiasyd, as much Fey as vampire. He would never have a true sire, but she took up the mantle in teaching him the ways of the vampires, the "kindred" as they liked to call themselves and adopted Dominic as her surrogate childe. According to Kala, the Kiasyd were a peaceful, scholarly line of vampires. One that preferred exclusion from the petty struggles of others in favor of merely learning all that they could. Dominic instantly understood why these Kiasyd read all they could, even if the ancient Kala was yet still blind to see. And he also knew that merely reading could not get them what they want.
Dominic was brought to a simple farm, and introduced to the two Inconnu that Kala lived with, a Ventrue elder by the name of Vincent Crawford, and a Malkavian elder named Penelope Callan. They also had a small number of humans empowered and bound by the blood of vampires there, much as Dominic had been empowered before his transformation. Penelope, the Malkavian elder with the body of an eight year old child, took a shine to Dominic almost instantly. She smiled almost too knowingly whenever she passed Dominic, a smile that was returned without hesitation. Though Dominic knew he was outclassed mentally with her, but also knew the game that she was trying to play with him. The rules of the game were enough, and he returned her friendship without fear or hesitation, even faking a bit of his supposed endearment for Kala to fool Penelope’s obvious empathy.
Vincent was less convinced with Dominic, but Kala’s sway over the Ventrue and his growing curiosity changed the elder’s mind enough for him to pay less critical attention to Dominic.
The weeks after that went easy and relaxed. Kala was persistent in her lessons, but ever gentle, and Dominic was even more eager to learn what she had to show him than Kala was eager to teach. As before with the Sabbat, he had taught himself to sift through the propaganda that he was faced with. The greater truths were brought before him, and every piece was studied meticulously. Kala entrusted her inner feelings to this son that she had never had in life, and in return she was rewarded with his attention and compassion. Or at least pretend compassion, for she was too much the fool to know the difference.
After only a month at the farm, Kala took Dominic down past her wards, into the deepest parts of her haven. Her whole body lighting up with the warmth of her motherly love, Kala removed the cloth from an ancient, ornate longsword and held it out towards Dominic. His own eyes widened in awe at the sight and he took the weapon into his hands. The blade was the darkest black, and the hilt golden and encrusted with numerous expensive gems. Still in awe of the gift, Dominic sat down as Kala explained to him the ancient tradition of her line. She had spent over a decade crafting the sword for her future childe, as was the tradition started by her grandsire, childe of Marconius himself- the founder of the Kiasyd. She had once tried to create a Kiasyd with her own blood, a child that seemed perfect and was deeply dear to her. She found out the hardest way that night that there was something about her blood that prevented her from siring further childer. So fate had sent Dominic to her instead..
Dominic smiled, though not for the reason Kala thought he was smiling. Fate indeed..
When Vincent learned of Kala’s gift to Dominic, he made his final decision that she was acting to brash with the young one and would not be swayed by her words. He took both Kala and Penelope in private and demanded that Dominic prove himself to the Inconnu. Swayed by both his strong words and a touch of his vampiric Presence, Kala submitted. It was decided that Penelope would speak with the young one, learning everything about him, even the deepest secrets that they knew he had not yet entrusted to Kala. If the answers were satisfactory, Dominic would then be sent to Baltimore to collect information on the new Sabbat that were said to be arriving in town.
Accepting the decision of her Sectmates, Kala strode down into the stone tunnels to the room where Dominic was practicing with his new gift. She smiled to him, as she always did, closing the door softly behind herself. "Dominic, we must speak."
Dominic sheathed his sword and placed it to the side, his full attention turned on Kala, fuller yet at the serious tone of her voice. "I’m always free to talk with you Kala."
She smiled sadly back at him and sat down nearby. "I know you are.. the others, they aren’t happy that I gave you the sword."
"Do they want me to give it back?" He looked over towards the beautiful, obsidian weapon.
"No. But they have decided that, since I have given it to you that your time.. to prove yourself has come.."
Dominic remained silent, taking in her words and nodded once.
"Penelope wishes to speak with you, to learn all about you. After that, you will leave to Baltimore. When you get there, you need to study the Sabbat, including all the new ones that may have arrived and bring back information on them to us.." She was slow with her words, and kind, but it was impossible to take away their true meaning.
Dominic knew from his past experiences that what they were asking would almost certainly lead to his death. Without a power to identity vampires, how would he know them? And without Kala’s knowledge of obfuscate, how could he shield himself? But still, he knew that he had no choice in the matter. "I will do as you ask, Kala. I will prove my worth to you and the others." He let his voice fill with a false fire that brought another smile to Kala’s face, and a bloody red teardrop to her cheek. Kala put her arms around Dominic in a soft embrace before stepping from the room.
Dominic picked up his sword and turned, to plan for the future.
Shortly after he woke, Dominic walked to the barn were Penelope was to be found. He told her much there, almost the complete truth including his dark nature and Unseelie heritage, while still hiding many of his true motives. Penelope seemed satisfied as she walked away from their talk.
Dominic made his way from the barn towards the small car he had been given for the job, his thoughts again on the events to come. He knew he could never join them again. He would always be nothing more than a lap dog to Kala, and with the information Penelope now held more questions were sure to come.
He drove off to the east, taking a number of backroads rather than the main roads to both give him a chance to think and allow him to find places that could serve as temporary havens. The roads he chose were a bit less used than he expected, and more than once Dominic needed to stop and get out of the car in order to move fallen branches or rocks out of the way.
A worn sign on one of such roads proclaimed "st Ne thodist Ch ch of Blu rry." Intrigued, Dominic turned down the dirt road leading up a hill towards a small, old church in the distance. There was a decrepit Dodge parked outside, with vines grown over the tires and much of the outer surface covered with rust. Stepping in through the front entrance, a familiar, pungent smell hit Dominic’s nose and he set about exploring the church. There was a layer of dust over everything, with a fair number of spiderwebs in the corners and wasp nests near the ceiling. Down the stairs Dominic found a large cellar, but the scent had faded, so he walked up back into the main room, and to another pair of stairs leading up.
There was only one small room at the top of the stairs, the priest’s bedroom. There the source of the stench was found, the priest there laying in his robes, dead in bed. From the progress of decay he had to have died at least three weeks ago. Dominic smiled to himself at his fortune and approached the man, reaching down for a golden cross that hung about his neck. A searing pain raced through his body as he touched the metal, and he brought back his hand to gaze at it. He clenched his fist, willing himself to heal the burn and looked back at the priest and his cross. His smile widened. The body and the cross were both quickly buried near the church, and Dominic went down into the cellar to rest there for the day.
Upon awaking the next night, Dominic drove back to the road near the entrance, stopping occasionally along the way to throw some logs in the road. When he approached the intersection, Dominic cut down the sign announcing the presence of the church and continued on his way east. He stopped briefly at a supply store to buy three large bags and a pair of gloves. A more firm destination in mind, Dominic traveled back to the main roads and to a church much more modern and populated that he had seen on his way West while with Kala.
The design of the church was an affluent and eccentric one, obviously constructed by a membership with more money than they knew what to do with who decided to spend it on making their own eccentric tribute to god. Dominic stood before the front door and thrust his sword near the lock, allowing the magical energies emanating from the weapon to do their work of removing the obstacle the front doors presented.
A firm kick finished the job, with Dominic swiftly moving through the entrance in the wake of the breach. One priest stood awake in the evening, cleaning the church and keeping watch for the night. He frowned and turned towards Dominic, setting down the broom that was in his hands. The old man began to angrily demand Dominic’s reasons for entering, but those demands were cut short just as his legs were cut off at the knees from a slice of the Kiasyd’s sword. A second thrust impaled the priest, the magical waves proceeding through his body to destroy the holy man’s internal organs and silence his life. A large pool of blood began spreading over the floor, the liquid reflecting the few dim lights that were still on inside the church.
Dominic’s attention was caught by movement to the left, and his reaction was instant towards it. A much younger priest held his hands up in front of himself as if to find some defense in it. "Don’t kill me. Please. Please don’t kill me. Please" Tears began to flow from the man’s eyes. In return for his pleas Dominic’s sword was thrust up just underneath his chin, continuing out the back of his cranium.
The sword was lowered, and the young priest’s head slid down and off even as it melted away from the obsidian blade. Dominic cut open the doors to the back rooms of the church and entered into the sleeping quarters. A few muffled screams came, but in all the remaining residents were taken care of with little effort. Dominic searched about the church, gathering any items that seemed of religious value and stuffing them into the duffel bags he had bought. The holy water in the basin was slowly poured into several gallon containers for transport as well. Turning his attention back to the carnage, Dominic took a rag and dipped it deep in the coagulating blood. Symbols of Anarchy, Satanism and Fascism soon adorned the church. Blamed on one hate group or another, it mattered not to him. The truth would never be guessed. Taking his spoils with him, Dominic walked back to his car and drove back to the older church to sleep for the day.
When he awoke again, Dominic set out immediately for Baltimore. Once there he found the first store and bought himself a cloak and a pair of binoculars. He adorned the cloak and moved through the darker alleys of the city. It wasn’t long before Dominic spotted one of his old packmates, Meretriz, out on a street corner awaiting her next prey.
"Meretriz".. She turned towards the whisper from the alley cautiously, sliding the strap of her minidress back up to her shoulder. The Pander stared into the darkness for a few more moments, then gave into her curiosity. Eyes narrowed, she stepped into the alley to see a dark form in front of her.
"I can’t talk now. I have to be getting back. Take these".. it took a few moments for Meretriz to remember Dominic’s voice, and by that time he was already out of site. She bent down towards what he had left in front of her- two duffel bags and a note. Meretriz reached for the note and spread it open with her fingers, reading the contents.
"My brethren,
I have not betrayed the Sabbat, and I was not fleeing from the sect when Ramón began to chase me. I remain ever loyal to our holy cause. For some reason, the Inconnu have decided to take me under their wing. These fossils will pay the price, and face our wrath. I have included in these bags both directions to their haven at a small farm to the West, as well as holy items that will help you in your fight against them. I must now return, so that they suspect nothing. When you come, their defenses will be down."
Folding the note back up carefully, Meretriz picked up both bags and took her findings back to the pack haven.
Dominic rested one day in the abandoned church, and set out the next night to return to the farm. There, he moved quietly towards the small hill overlooking the area and sat there in the darkness with his binoculars. Two hours later, twin pairs of headlights were visible moving through the night.
The van, driven by Eileen, drove in front down the path leading to the forest. The second vehicle was a Ford Bronco, with Cliff Roberts at the wheel.
The van pulled up out in front of the barn, passenger side to the left, as armed ghouls cautiously approached it. The Bronco continued on, circling around behind the barn.
"Come out and state your business." One ghoul shouted towards the van. The requested statement was an explosion of fiery automatic weapons fire from the passenger window. Frank loosed another volley before hopping out of the van’s passenger door, letting loose the entire clip of sulfurous rounds into the group of ghouls.
As the body parts of the unfortunate speed bumps flew, the rear doors of the van flew open. With a flame-thrower strapped to his back, Godito hopped out first and didn’t hesitate a moment before setting the farm houses aflame. Luke Fiél exited the van behind him, a submachinegun in his left hand and a leather bag strapped to his belt. Eileen quietly and patiently walked from her seat to stand beside her husband.
In front of the group they saw the figure of Vincent taking large, powerful strides towards them. A flash of motion from his arm launched two large knives. The first slammed into the pack for Godito’s flame-thrower, spinning him around and causing the pack to explode, burning away most of the Malkavian Antitribu’s flesh. The second knife impaled Luke through the chest, pinning him back against the van.
Eileen smiled malevolently, spouting curses and raising her hands high. A huge inferno of flame came from the air to envelop the elder Ventrue, a hail of sulfurous bullets joining the fire from Frank.
His clothing on fire, Vincent grimaced and walked from the flames as if they didn’t bother him a touch. One wave of his hand threw Frank up and over the van. His full attention turned on Eileen, both hands pressed to either side of her head, pushing inward. She screamed in pain for only the short moment it took to crush her skull and splatter the insides of her head over Vincent’s hands and the ground below.
About to revel in his victory, another stream of burning bullets raced up Vincent’s body, causing him to stumble backwards. Luke pressed the attack, slashing the knife that had been thrown at him several times over Vincent’s chest. The charred Godito pummeled the Ventrue from behind, beating him with all the fierceness of a Sabbat warrior.
Vincent’s fangs elongated and he howled in rage, swinging once clumsily at Luke and missing him. Another slash at his thigh was felt. Vincent gripped Godito’s hand, squeezing tightly. He twisted the Malkavian Antitribu’s arm behind his head and thrust the knife up inside the soft unguarded area of his skull. Vincent tossed Godito’s corpse at Luke, hitting him square and sending him to the ground.
Finally around the van, Frank leaped towards Vincent, tackling him and slamming him down into the ground. Frank grabbed his gun and held it out in front, firing bullet after bullet into his stalwart enemy.
"You are my ally." Vincent spoke calmly from where he lay.
"I am… your ally." Frank paused, holding his gun.
"Help me. Help me kill our enemy." Frank stood from Vincent’s body, shifting his aim towards Luke.
One slice of Luke’s blade and Frank’s hands were cut off. A second slide and there was nothing left of his face. Frank’s body fell down. Vincent sat up waved his hand again, and Frank dodged to the left to avoid the shockwave of force. He kneeled down and fired off more rounds into Vincent until he was out of ammo.
Blood trickling from the Vincent’s mouth, he put his hands to the ground and pushed himself upward.. willing himself to stand. He felt his head jerked suddenly and pain shot all throughout his body as Luke pressed a cross hard into his forehead.
The Ventrue fell to the ground, unmoving. Luke wasted no time, taking a container out of his bag. He unscrewed the cap and emptied the holy water on to the elder. He sizzled and popped for a few moments, and after that there was simply dust being blown away by the wind.
Up on the hill, Dominic placed the binoculars to his side. He drew the obsidian blade from it’s sheath and began his descent.
The Ford Bronco parked on the opposite side of the farm. Don Nihlos closed his eyes and concentrated.. his body becoming wholey one with the darkness. He leaked out through the cracks in the vehicle. Cliff held his M16 at the ready. Meretriz readied her .45, slipping out of the 4X4 and slipping into her cloak of obfuscate.
Cliff walked out in front, with a confidant step. Meretriz followed behind unseen and the shadowy from of Don Nihlo remained further behind in the darkness.
Meretriz howled in pain and was pulled violently back, becoming visible. Before Cliff’s eyes her spine was torn out of her body from the bottom up, ending in her head being ripped off from it’s place. The central nervous system of Meretriz was tossed to the side by the unseen assailant, the remainder of her body falling down on it’s knees then falling onward into the pool of blood.
Cliff fired off a series of shots, but hit nothing. He stepped backwards, hands gripping the M-16 tightly. His eyes widened suddenly, staring down at the ground below him. "The grass! By Caine, the Grass! Get it off of me, get it off of me! Aaaugh!" Cliff dropped his weapon and fell to his knees, patting down his body.
Occupied by his imagined opponents, Cliff was caught off guard as his head was torn straight off from his body. Don Nihlo, however, was not caught quite so off guard and Penelope found herself pulled down to the ground by over a dozen inky tendrils of darkness, Cliff’s head still in hand.
More black arms leaped from the shadows to lace themselves over Penelope’s once perfect wedding gown. They tore through her flesh and sought any opening they could find to cause damage. She cried in pain but could do nothing to stop them. The Malkavian ceased moving in a few short moments.
A tower of shadows rose and Don Nihlo’s body reformed, the tendrils of darkness sliding away. "I thank Caine for the bounty he has given me. I praise Caine for his appreciation of my loyalty.." The words were spoken solemnly, and he pulled his lips across his teeth. The Lasombra thrust his fangs into the child-like body of Penelope, feasting on her soul.
Don Nihlo stood, drunken, from his kill and turned towards the blazing fires of the farm. A quick series of high pitched screeches were heard just before the same number of concussive blasts slammed into him, throwing him back down on the ground. Dizzy and disoriented, Don Nihlo struggled to stand.
Kala’s mind was filled with blind rage as she cut her sword through Don Nihlo’s body. She run it multiple times through him, the magical energies of her weapon incinerating the vampire before her.
When she regained enough of her senses, after her opponent was nothing but dust, Kala turned back to the other side of the farm. She moved bravely through the blaze and noticed Luke’s figure in the distance.
Luke readied his weapons as Kala did, prepared to join in combat. To the side, the cracking of wood was heard and the wall of the flaming barn collapsed on top of them. Wooden splinters pierced through Luke’s heart, immoblizing him. The flames crawled along the woodwork, reaching the young Lasombra and taking him within their fiery grasp.
Pinned on the other side of the barn, Kala clawed and pulled fiercely, attempting to free herself. Out of the shadows, she saw her adopted childe approach, sword in hand. "Help me Dominic.. please.. help me.." she reached out towards him in her desperate cry.
One slice was all it took to remove Kala’s head from her body. The wood of the barn collapsed down upon the pile of ash that remained.
Dominic stepped back a fair distance, allowing himself to take in the beauty of the carnage..
"Oh my god. Oh… I knew it would end this way. I always knew.." Dominic turned his head to the sorrowful voice.. Natalie Hart. Bloody tears of pain ran down her face. She hugged her arms around herself tightly, stepping towards him.
"They wanted me to use my powers of illusion.. to distract them. But I couldn’t do it. I was too afraid.. Dominic, I can’t live like this. I can’t be Sabbat anymore." She moved to stand beside him.
"Neither can I.." Dominic turned his gaze back to the burning farm.
Natalie was hesitant, but faithful. She reached out a hand to touch Dominic’s arm softly. "I heard there is a place run by the Camarilla where they will accept you, no matter where you came from. All you have to do is prove yourself." She moved closer to him, tears still streaming down her face. "It’s not much, I know. But it’s the one hope we have."
Dominic turned his attention to Natalie, his interest sparked by her words. "Where can we find this place?"
Natalie smiled for the first time, pleased that he didn’t respond to her desire to join the Camarilla with anger. She leaned close to Dominic, pressing her body up against his and whispering the directions softly into his ear, enjoying his touch.
Dominic listened to the directions carefully, and allowed some tension to leave his body. He held his left arm around Natalie and closed his eyes. To him, it was no longer Natalie in his arms.. but Racha. Happiness was once again his.. bliss once again something tangible. The fires of hatred and pain dulled. And when he met his lips to hers, it was Racha he was kissing.
But when he opened his eyes again, the truth came rushing back in a tidal wave of anguish. Racha was dead. The Seelie killed her. Malifex was dead. The vampires killed him. Natalie’s eyes alighted with concern when they saw Dominic’s face contort with unbearable pain. To that incomprehensible pain that Natalie had unintentionally given him, Dominic responded in the only way he knew how.
Natalie’s corpse was left with the others, and claimed with the others by the light of the sun come dawn. The police found out about the mysterious scene as the Camarilla authorities did, and soon all memory of it was forgotten.