Time: early Monday evening, Oct. 28. Sonny is at
Camera della Luna for Frank's Embrace.
Jim Ellison glanced up as the Toronto detective entered
the division room. Instantly his senses went on the alert, remembering
his vision of the Stranger Wolf. [What is your game, vampire?] he
thought, trying to read anything in Knight's body language, but Nick hadn't
as much as even looked his way yet, stopping at his desk to pick up some
folders. All very ordinary.
So, though still wary, Jim focused instead for the moment
on the stack of paperwork the absent Frank Kouhanek had passed on to him.
Jim already felt prickly about that, wondering mightily why Frank would
suddenly take a two-week leave of absence. If he hadn't spoken to
Frank on the phone himself, he might really start to wonder. [Then
Sonny cuts out for the evening...]
The visions over the weekend still left him out of sorts,
and a mild headache had started up. When he said goodbye to Blair
this afternoon, he hadn't wanted to worry him, so hadn't mentioned it.
But the headache seemed to be increasing, and now, dealing with a real
vampire wasn't going to make it better.
Nick Knight suddenly arrowed directly over to Jim, perching
on the corner of his desk, smiling broadly. "Ow, who did you piss
off to get all that dumped on you?" Nick asked cheerily, smirking.
"Let me guess..." Unbeknownst to the mortal, the vampire already
was insinuating mental tendrils into his mind, working to erode his defenses.
As Ellison hadn't come across the likes of him before, this wasn't likely
to be difficult.
Jim straightened and regarded Knight warily. There
was no one else nearby, so he felt he could speak pretty freely.
No other Kindred in the room, at least. "Nick, you don't have to
make nice with me, I already know what you are," Jim replied, leaning back
in his chair.
Knight froze for a moment, then nodded, still smiling
faintly. "All right - so you know... Mind telling me how? Did
I give myself away somehow? Oh, wait, that's right, you're supposed
to be psychic or something..." [Let him think he's able to fend me off,]
Nick was thinking, enjoying the challenge. [It feels so good to do
this again...]
The Sentinel stood suddenly, letting his 6'2" loom over
the other man. "Okay, so I know your secret and you know mine," Jim
muttered, peering narrowly down at the vampire. "What is this going
to mean?"
Nick stood, a couple inches shy. "Well, I can't
help but think that it will force us to become very good friends," he replied,
smirking again. "Look, Jim, I'm not what you think..." [You
have no idea...]
"You're a vampire," Jim pointed out patiently.
The vampire waved that off. "I mean, I'm not a monster,
not an evil creature bent on killing or harming mortals. I *am* a
cop, and my work means a lot to me. Think of me as a sunlight-challenged
cop with some physical advantages that I can use to solve crimes.
You've got an edge, too - you know what I mean." [Play him, show
him I'm just another guy... that's it, Ellison, eat it up...]
Jim looked at the other man long, measuring him up.
Sensory wise, he didn't have a lot to go on. No heartbeat, so the
rate couldn't tell him anything, and everything else seemed really normal.
Nick seemed sincere. Frank had him checked out, he'd told Sonny,
having spoken to the guy's captain back in Toronto. "Yeah, maybe
I do," Jim replied finally, still a bit wary.
Nick looked at his watch. "You're supposed to be
off-shift now, aren't you? And I don't really start for a couple
hours - you want to go get a beer? In public, of course, very safe."
He grinned. "We can get to know one another. With Frank out
for a while, it's going to be you, me, and Sonny working together."
Within the mental link that Nick was setting up with the mortal, controls
were deftly set in place.
"You don't drink beer, you drink blood," Jim reminded
him, frowning. He shifted his weight to the other foot, uncomfortable.
The vampire's eyes widened slightly. When he spoke,
his voice had dropped a couple registers. "What do you know about
me?" [Gotcha...]
Jim's eyes widened as well, but it was too late.
He was dimly aware that the vampire was influencing him somehow, but also
that he could not defend against it. "I heard Sonny tell Frank about
you in the interrogation room," he related, his eyes going a little blank.
"He said you only drink blood, bottled supplies mostly. When you
bite, the wounds from your fangs don't heal over right away like a Kindred's."
"And how could you hear that?" Nick edged closer,
touched Jim's arm. Mentally he was nudging the mortal into complacency.
[I think I might have some plans for this beautiful one,] he thought to
himself.
"I have hearing beyond normal human ability," Jim explained.
A deep panic arose within, but too deep to surface past the vampire's light
hold on his mind, urging him to spill his secrets.
Nick nodded, thinking. Jim Ellison was an incredibly
gorgeous physical specimen, and the addition of psychic or other extra
sensory powers was an alluring combination. [I need to find a willing
Donor,] Nick mused. [He's going to be delicious.] "How did you know
I was a vampire?" he asked.
"You did not have a heartbeat," Jim replied. "You
did not smell like Kindred. Your body temperature is too low."
[More than one special sense? And he knows about Kindred!]
Nick was stunned, wondering what kind of prize he'd really stumbled upon.
[Lacroix will absolutely love this one... with enhanced senses, all that
increased sensory input spicing up his blood wonderfully...] "Let's
go get that beer," Nick murmured.
Nodding, Jim went with him.
The touch of the vampire in his mind wasn't enough to
prevent genuine responses, fortunately. Jim narrowed his eyes when
he saw their destination. "It's a gay bar," he said, frowning when
they pulled up at a club.
"Problem with that?" Nick asked, grinning. He had
a hand on Jim's shoulder, steering him easily inside.
"No, of course not," Jim replied of his own volition.
It seemed that Nick's mental influence only operated if he were to pull
away from him.
But of course that was what Nick wanted him to think.
"Hey, we're not in uniform, not on duty, what's wrong
with having a drink and a dance on off time?" Nick drew Jim over
to a vacant booth, but then slid in next to him. "This is San Francisco,
my friend, relax. We can be ourselves here."
"Dance?" Jim looked at the other man in bewilderment.
Nick leaned in, touching him lightly on the cheek.
"I can't help but be attracted to you, Jim." His gaze rove over the
Sentinel's face. "Man, you are so beautiful... do you find
me attractive, Jim?"
Jim no longer had any idea whether Nick was influencing
his responses or not or even still touching his mind. Some place
in his mind he had the thought that he was actually being seduced, but
that seemed so incredible he didn't know what to believe. "Sure,
Nick," he answered honestly, noting abstractedly that the blond, good-looking
Nick Knight was a bit of a feast for the eyes.
For some reason, his brain functioning was short-circuited
around the part of his memory that included his entire committed relationship
with Blair Sandburg. His senses weren't helping either, working on
automatic pilot to ensure his getting further acquainted with the vampire.
And for all that he'd been warned against Nick Knight, the moment the vampire
came into the division room tonight it was already too late.
"Oh, that's what I like to hear," Nick murmured, then
brushed Jim's lips with his.
The sensual touch only served to short-circuit the Sentinel's
brain further. Nick was a beautiful, willing man, and it felt so
good to be close to him, to kiss him. He found himself leaning in
for another kiss when Nick put a finger over his lips. "So eager...
mmmm, Jim, I like that. Hold that thought..."
A waiter came by just then. Nick ordered them a
couple beers, then turned back to his companion. "So what else do
you know about me, Jim? You must know that this 'vampire' thing is
exaggerated."
"Ah... what do you mean by that?" Jim asked. When
a hand slid onto his thigh, he did not flinch.
Nick grinned at him, squeezing his thigh. "We don't
kill, of course." [Well, at least *I* don't...] "Besides, the
locals would have our heads if we did."
"But you drink blood," Jim countered reasonably.
Somewhere deep within, a jaguar whimpered, but he didn't hear it.
"From the source?"
"When we can," Nick murmured. He'd noticed in Ellison's
mind the strong devotion already in place for Julian Luna. [When
did THAT happen?] It was a bit of a shock to discover that Jim Ellison
not only was already known to the Prince, but that they'd developed something
of a bond. "I would love to... from you..."
Jim's eyes widened, his heart rate spiking. It was
the memory of the Kindred Kiss shared with Julian Luna that he was remembering,
but it was a clear and welcome signal to the vampire of Jim's acceptance.
"You like that thought, don't you?" Nick purred into his
ear. [As do I, my beautiful one - to find something this close to
Luna that I can turn away from him is a happenstance too delicious to resist...]
"Sure," Jim murmured in a small voice. When the
vampire descended to his lips, he responded eagerly.
A couple hours later, Jim was standing outside his truck
in the SFPD parking garage, feeling strange and trying to keep hold of
the memory of his encounter with Nick Knight. Wondering, he recalled
that he and Nick went to a gay bar, kissed, danced, talked about Jim becoming
a Donor... but as Jim went over it in his mind, the memories drifted away
like mist through his fingers. The controls Nick Knight had placed
in his mind worked to effectively dampen his new relationship with the
vampire... until Nick should come to him again.
Rubbing his temples to ease the still-pounding headache,
Jim sighed and climbed into his Ford Ranger, starting it and easing it
out of the parking place. All he could think about was going home
to bed.
The jaguar was silent.
The ancient vampire ran a finger along his son's jawline,
grinning widely. "Nicholas, have I told you recently how truly delicious
you are?"
Nick grinned back just as widely. "No, Lacroix,
in fact you haven't." Now it was his turn to enjoy the cream off
his cat's paw, as it were. He'd just returned from work and told
his master of the seduction of the mortal detective earlier who had just
conveniently happened to be close to Julian Luna.
"Delicious," Lacroix purred, brushing his lips against
his beloved's. "You have done exceedingly well, my child, finding
this mortal pet of Luna's and luring him to yourself. I think we
may have to enjoy the man... together. Would you like that?"
The other sighed, his hands on Lacroix's ass, holding
him against him. "Oh, very much... even if he weren't a toy of Luna's,
Jim Ellison would be delicious. He has at least one enhanced sense
and seems to have some psychic ability."
"Wonderful choice," Lacroix murmured, kissing his son
on the cheek. "Now... we must plan this carefully..."
Blair Sandburg stared at his laptop screen in the loft
apartment he shared with Jim, waiting for inspiration to hit. He
had a week to prepare a lecture, his first at Berkeley. Although
he'd chosen his topic already - neolithic culturization - he had nothing
else done on it yet. Despite the fact that it was his first evening
during the week to devote to it, nothing was forthcoming as yet.
After an hour, he began to understand why. His sinuses
felt stuffy, his heart pounding. [It's happening again...]
The spirit world drew him. Blair glanced at the clock. [Jim
should be home from the police department by now,] he noted worriedly.
[What if he's drawn into the spirit world when he's driving home or something?]
Then he shrugged it off, remembering that a few nights ago he himself was
in the same situation and didn't get pulled in against his will.
[He'll be home soon...]
He shut down his laptop and headed upstairs to the meditation
space. In a few minutes he'd prepared the ambiance he liked - candles,
his favorite incense, Native American drumming music. Stripping down
to a t-shirt, Blair settled himself in lotus position, his quartz focusing
crystal in his cupped palms. Centering... then he was WITHIN.
Brown Timber Wolf bounded happily about for a minute,
Blair enjoying the feeling of his wolf-form. The jungle was quiet
except for bird noises and the crunching sounds his paws made. At
first it seemed like there were no other spirit animals around, so Timber
paused to sniff the air. The scent of Kindred wolves was lightly
in the air, so he started off in that direction, tracking it.
[Jaguar, where are you?] Timber wondered, remembering
that Jim and Timber had lost the jaguar when they were here last night.
He paused to mentally feel for his companion, but neither Jaguar nor Jim
could be detected. [Golden Wolf?] he called, hoping the Kindred who'd
guided them in their spirit visions was nearby. But the silence was
complete.
Uncertain as to why he was there, Timber continued through
the jungle, heading for the clearing near the Temple. Once he reached
the clearing, he saw who was within, and backed into the undergrowth again,
settling down to watch.
Raven was there, alive, so the vision must be taking place
in the present, not the future as last night. Right now, in fact,
Brown Timber Wolf believed. Raven seemed... afraid, subdued.
Scarred Wolf was with him, keeping close and reassuring him with gentle
nudges of his muzzle against the coal-black feathers. As Blair-Wolf
watched, Silver Wolf joined them. He, too, seemed to reassure the
Raven with soft pushes with his nose.
[There was another wolf, not Silver,] Blair remembered
the precognitive vision of last night. [A reddish-brown coat... Red
Wolf. Maybe Silver is taking his place...] Watching the intricate
dance of Silver and Scarred around the Raven, Timber began to whimper softly
in fear. [They're going to kill Raven, Frank!] he had the terrible
thought. But just before he could bark to warn the Raven, he felt
a cold nose in his side. Startled he looked aside to see that Golden
Wolf had joined him.
[Do not fear for Raven,] Golden Wolf assured him hastily,
looking at the small brown timber wolf with affection. [Be happy
for him...]
Brown Timber Wolf growled softly to Golden Wolf, confused.
[They're going to kill Raven!]
The violet-silver eyes gazed back, amused. [Yes,
one of them is,] Golden Wolf replied, [Think, Shaman. What are you
seeing here?]
Suddenly insight brought it all together. Dead Raven,
two wolves bounding away in joy, one scarred, one reddish brown!
Timber Wolf shivered in excitement. [Cash is Embracing Frank!!]
Then he wavered, still afraid. [Frank has to die? Cash is going
to kill him?]
Golden Wolf rubbed his muzzle against Timber's.
[Yes, it is our way, my friend. Do not worry, Frank will come back,
reborn as Kindred. He will be Gangrel, as he has chosen.]
Stunned, Timber looked at the golden wolf. [He has
chosen this?] Blair knew Frank was also under Julian's protection
as he and Jim were. Abashed, he remembered what Julian had said about
mortals who learned of the Masquerade - they were either sacrificed or
Embraced, usually. [Did he *have* to choose?] he had to ask the Kindred.
[Frank Kouhanek was ready to choose,] was Golden Wolf's
reply. [He chose his Clan, and the primogen accepted him. The
Prince granted permission. Frank will be reborn Gangrel.]
Wide-eyed, Timber asked, [Will Jim and I be expected to
choose... this?]
But the Golden Wolf just stared back at him.
Timber/Blair tried another tack. [Please, Dr. Severan,
please tell me... do we have any choice here?]
Golden Wolf had looked away to the clearing, but at this
looked back. [Life... has many choices, Shaman.]
[Right,] Timber retorted. [Die, get your memory
cleaned, or die and come back Kindred, that's it...]
[Or run away,] Thorne Severan added quietly.
[You don't believe we should do that, or *can* do that,]
Blair replied, serious. [We have a destiny here to fulfill.]
But the Golden Wolf did not have a chance to answer, for
the Raven screamed. Their attention was jerked back to the clearing
suddenly.
Timber whimpered. Scarred Wolf had his fangs deep
into the Raven, which writhed in apparent agony beneath him. But
a few psychic emanations greeted the wolf-form of the compact mortal, a
wave of exultation and joy and... pleasure. The full brunt of it
could not be experienced, of course, for only Cash and Frank would share
that. Blair did not understand about the blood-bond between Julian
and Cash, or he would know that Julian, too - Silver Wolf - shared much
of the ecstasy of the Embrace. Looking to his companion, Blair saw
that Thorne Severan, too, experienced the psychic outwash though in truth
it was no more than Blair himself received. Both Shaman and Magus
enjoyed that outwash purely through their personal innate powers.
[If only Jim could share this, too...] Blair had the thought.
As if sensing his trouble, Golden Wolf sent him a wave
of affectionate support. [Perhaps this is only for you, little Shaman.
Do not be troubled. This is a gift.]
In the clearing, Scarred Wolf finished feeding from Raven,
who lay apparently dead. What Timber saw next he would barely be
able to describe later, for it seemed a fantastic dance of energies.
Red blood like fiery streams of light seemed to transfer from Scarred to
Raven. The light/blood seemed accompanied by music, voices, vibrations
and scents, streams representing the transfer of the Kindred life from
Cash to the dead or dying Frank Kouhanek. Psychically Timber could
sense the war between pain and ecstasy battling it out within Frank.
To Timber's amazement, there appeared a Shadow Wolf, a
Kindred wolf-form that he could see straight through, a wolf with white
fur. As Timber and Golden watched, the Shadow Raven left the unmoving
form of the bird beneath Scarred Wolf, and approached the Shadow Wolf.
It seemed that the confused and suffering Raven wanted to fly away, fly
into... the sun? to escape the pain rolling through him. But the
Shadow Wolf somehow gentled him, sent him back into the dead body to complete
his transformation.
[Who is that?] Timber asked the golden wolf at his side,
bewildered.
[I do not know... or at least I do not know her name.
All I can detect is a connection she has somehow to Julian and to Frank
both. But this is the spirit form of a dead Kindred, perhaps a lover?
Yet she helped Frank turn from the light...] The tone of the Kindred
wolf was wistful with a note of longing.
Blair wondered at that, never before more aware of the
mirror nature of the spirit world to their own reality. "Golden Wolf"
was in fact a real person with his own desires and past pains, a Kindred
with a similar connection to the spirit world to his own, a Shaman like
himself, able to easily move himself or another - Jim - into this inner
universe. While Thorne's spirit animal seemed nothing more than a
wise and benevolent guide in the spirit realm, he himself was far more
than that, just as Blair Sandburg was far more than the observer timber
wolf he was right now. [I want to know him,] Blair thought, tingling
with curiosity.
Then the Raven was changing, morphing, taking the myriad
of sensory streams into itself and altering them throughout its body.
As Timber gazed in astonishment, Red Wolf was made from the remains of
Raven. Then all four Kindred wolves howled the triumph of the change,
the success of the Embrace.
[Come, Shaman, let them celebrate,] Golden Wolf was nudging
Timber aside, drawing him away from the scene which still pulsed with the
brilliant streams of light and music. Reluctantly Brown Timber Wolf
left the edge of the clearing, trotting deeper into the jungle at the side
of the golden bronzed wolf who was his guide.
[I wish Jim could have shared this with me,] Timber said
again to his companion.
[I know.]
[Thorne...] Blair asked of the magus.
[Yes, Blair?] A wave of warm affection.
[When will I meet you in person?] the young Shaman asked
of him. He couldn't help wondering what the Tremere looked like.
[Soon,] Thorne replied warmly. [I will come to you.]
As Blair departed from the spirit lands, he shivered with
happiness at the thought of getting to meet the Golden Wolf in person.
[I can't wait!] he cried just as the connection faded away completely.
Fifteen minutes later, Blair was tapping away on his laptop
downstairs again, writing the introduction to his lecture when Jim came
home finally. "Yo, Jim, you'll never guess what!" he called
after his lover shuffled through on the way to the kitchen.
Jim's headache was a roaring agony by now. He pressed
the heel of his hand to his forehead as he fished out a clean glass and
filled it with water. "And what would that be, Chief?" he muttered
as he left the kitchen with glass of water in hand, arrowing over to the
bathroom and the nearest source of aspirin.
"Frank Kouhanek has been Embraced, Jim!"
The detective stopped dead in his tracks. "What
the hell? Where did you hear that, Sandburg?" He couldn't keep
the irritation out of his voice.
Blair peered at his partner. "You all right, Jim?"
"Sure, just a little headache - where did you hear about
Frank? Tell me!" Again he had to press against the throbbing
spot on his forehead.
"On the spirit plane," Blair replied, looking at him with
more concern. "Jim, what's the matter with you?" He was about
to get up from the table when a long finger stabbed him back down.
"Okay, okay! What's wrong, Jim?"
"You had another vision?" Jim asked harshly.
"Er... yeah... wished you'd been there with me, man."
Jim ignored the wistful tone in his lover's voice, his
face twisted up in a scowl. "Well, I DON'T! They're giving
me headaches and I don't want ANY more visions! Fuck them!
I just want the damn, freaking spirit plane to leave me the hell alone,
you understand?"
Blair was out of his chair halfway through the tirade.
"Jim, did something happen?" He reached his partner and put his hands
to his waist, wanting to hold him.
But Jim wasn't having any. He shoved Blair away.
"Just leave me alone! I'm going to get some aspirin, lie down, is
that all right with you, Sandburg? I don't need a nursemaid.
I just want some peace and quiet."
Blair held his hands up, backing away as Jim turned and
headed for the bathroom again. "Fine, whatever. Geez..."
He could understand how the visions could be upsetting the Sentinel, however
- it had happened before. When they'd gotten home from Mexico after
Jim was drawn to the Temple of the Sentinels six months ago, Jim was mentally
and emotionally exhausted. Blair had just been physically exhausted,
as the trip had come too close to his near-death experience. But
it was a shared vision then as Blair came back to life that had started
them on their road to their present relationship.
Still, the Sentinel had had enough then of being drawn
into things against his will. Perhaps he felt again that he was an
unwitting participant in yet another mystical mess. [I'll talk to
him about Frank tomorrow,] Blair thought, sighing, as he returned to his
laptop.
The End
