[b:1db3982941]Michelle[/b:1db3982941]

Swathed in nothing more substantial than moonlight, Kemintiri stood outside the doors of Julius Darrant’s York mansion. At those doors, the Toreador Eveshka now stood, dressed in black spandex and armed with her enchanted rapier and main gauche. For a moment, there was nothing but the quiet of night.

Kemintiri’s presence beckoned Eveshka, called to her deep in whatever soul she still possessed. Eveshka knew she was no longer bound to the anathema setite, but also knew that that dark beauty might still enchant her. Eveshka stepped forward cautiously, out of the doors and down the steps, but stopped well apart from her former lover. She was not at Kemintiri’s beck and call any longer. Neither beauty spoke, they simply stood there for a moment.

Without a word Kemintiri came slowly forward, hips swaying seductively, raven hair flowing like silk around her shoulders and breasts. She allowed Eveshka to see her as she truly was, to feel her presence and experience the perfection of form that 3000 years of un-life had brought her.

Still, Eveshka did not move.

Kemintiri came on, step by step, slowly crossing the distance between the two former lovers. Eveshka stood before her armed, perhaps armored, well prepared for combat. Kemintiri was not concerned; Kemintiri’s flesh was as marble and her powers far exceeded those of any mortal crafted weapon she had yet encountered in more than three millennia.

Kemintiri’s eyes ran across Eveshka’s lithe form as she approached. Her perfect, glossy lips parted just slightly as she considered the toreador’s body and remembered times they had shared. The thought of those lustful encounters prompted the release of slight gasp and Kemintiri licked her lips, her pink tongue sliding slowly between her slender, elongated fangs. Her eyes roamed the toreador as she remembered the creature’s sweet taste – and even sweeter bite.

And then the two stood, nor more than an arm’s length apart. Lust filled Kemintiri’s eyes; her mouth already parted as if to moan, her full round breasts, uncovered by anything but the stars and moon above, presented to her former lover. Slowly, she reached to Eveshka, gently taking the toreador’s hand. She could see lust in Eveshka’s eyes as well, but also mistrust, doubt, fear and defiance.

Kemintiri held Eveshka’s hand and began to slowly walk in a circle around the toreador, viewing her, examining her. She made no threatening move and said not a word. Kemintiri’s eyes ran across the black spandex that hugged every delicious curve Eveshka’s body had to offer and then strayed to look into Eveshka’s own eyes – still lustful, still wary, and still defiant. Kemintiri continued her circle, and once behind Eveshka she leaned in close to the toreador’s delicate neck. Kemintiri could see Eve’s hands slip slowly, but surely, to the hilts of her weapons. Kemintiri did not try to stop her, she simply breathed in the toreador’s scent and let the flame haired vixen breath in hers. As she leaned in, Kemintiri closed her eyes and let her breasts brush against Eveshka. For Kemintiri the contact was electric; her nipples hardened and she let out a slight gasp.

Kemintiri backed away slowly, completing her circle around Eveshka whose hands rested lightly on the hilts of her blades. Kemintiri reached out again, slowly, gently, and took hold of Eveshka’s right hand. Carefully, with as little force as possible she closed her hand around Eveshka’s forcing Eve to grip the weapon tightly. Eve’s eyes narrowed, but she did not yet resist. Kemintiri guided Eve’s hand back, drawing the blade free of its scabbard. Kemintiri stepped back away from Eveshka now, her hands sliding from Eve’s across the hilt and down the blade.

Silently, her eyes locked with Eve’s, Kemintiri stepped in front of the enchanted blade. Gingerly, her fingers lifted the tip of that dread weapon until it rested upon Kemintiri’s own breast. Her eyes still locked into in those of the toreador, Kemintiri took a half step forward and leaned into the blade ever so slightly. She gasped and the gasp turned into a soft moan, as if her lover had just entered her, which in some respect was true. A tiny rivulet of vitae ran down the milky white skin of Kemintiri’s breast, across her abdomen, and down to her sex. From there, a tiny dribble made its way down her leg.

There the two stood. Eveshka, in her black cat suit, arm and rapier extended, poised to impale, and Kemintiri, naked but for her own blood, poised to be impaled. Kemintiri’s eyes were heavy, her blinks slow and sensual. Her gaze was matched by her countenance, as her lips were still parted in lust and expectation.

For a moment, nothing happened. There was no sound and no movement other than the slow running of Kemintiri’s crimson vitae across her alabaster body.

Slowly a smile crossed Kemintiri’s lips. It was a wicked grin, born of lust, filled with expectation, and yet it also betrayed her vulnerability. She was hunter and hunted. Murderer and victim. Mistress and slave.

Locking eyes once again with Eveshka, Kemintiri finally spoke, asking but a single question:

“Are you still mine?”

[b:37a6a95f65]Julius[/b:37a6a95f65]

Julius headed firstly for the ballroom, where the three stunned Cascadians awaited. Gabriel opened his mouth as if to speak.

"Not now." Interrupted Julius before sound issued from Gabriel's mouth. "A Setite Antideluvean is at my front door and all here are in mortal danger. The name Kemintiri should mean something to you, Gabriel."

Gabriel blinked. Kemintiri, the Anathema, on Julius' doorstep. One of the Camarilla's most wanted kindred and considered dangerous beyond compare. The utter rediculousness of his situation was almost comical. From Seneschal of small town USA to this? At least Julius and Eveshka hadn't tried to eat him, yet just as he reels from discovering the truth of their powers, Kemintiri turns up. He should have expected it really. Doubtless Caine would be shortly arriving for tea and perhaps a slice of fruit cake.

"Stay here, all of you. The room is magically protected." Continued Julius. "If you see a small light appear, follow it to a secret exit from the manor. The wards upon the house will be your only defence, if this happens, for I shall surely be dead."

Gabriel could only nod as he watched Julius quaff a vast quantity of vitae, before running towards the front door. He stopped in the doorway, observing the dance. Watched as the snake once again attempted to snare Eveshka within her coils. Julius simply waited in the doorway, ready to fight if need be, but biding his time. This decision Eveshka would have to make alone and for herself only.

[b:fe83fffdcd]Gabriel[/b:fe83fffdcd]

[i:fe83fffdcd]"He wants us to wait here like fledglings?"[i] Porter snarled, taking several deliberate steps towards the door where the solemn Tremere slipped through.

[i]"Porter no!"[/i:fe83fffdcd] Kathy cried, chasing after him. Outside the chateau, barely visable through the high arching windows of foyer, lightning temporarily illuminated the treetops, and revealed three statuesque figures. Porter stopped, glancing over his shoulder, only a step from the front door. [i:fe83fffdcd]"Compared to what's outside, we ARE fledglings." [/i:fe83fffdcd]


[i:fe83fffdcd]"What do you think that makes Darrant?"[/i:fe83fffdcd] The Gangrel snarled, now pacing in front of the French styled double doors. The soft flicker of candles splashed his shadow across the narrow hallway, it's intricate dance moving with each step he took. Thick clusters of ebony hair trailed him as he stalked the room, almost catlike.

[i:fe83fffdcd]"Suicidal perhaps?"[/i:fe83fffdcd] Gabriel said quietly, having relocated himself near the front door as well. He crouched over several feet from where the Gangrel nervously paced, and sat digging through his suitcase.

[i:fe83fffdcd]"Well I refuse to hide in here like a coward."[/i:fe83fffdcd]

An oppressive silence overtook the room, and the three Kindred simply listened to the muffled voices outside quip back and forth. The air in the room began to stagnate and Porter was becoming increasingly anxious.

[i:fe83fffdcd]"Jesus Gabriel, what does she want?"[/i:fe83fffdcd] Kathy whispered, edging closer to the windows. At last her lover joined her side, staring apprehensively through the whitewashed window panes. The lawn spilled out in the front of them, drenched now in moonlight, the preceeding storm having seemingly vanished into thin air.

The Anathema, a figure he had never even comprehended running across, stood silently on the front lawn, her nude form contending with Eveshka's radiant beauty. She was both splendid and ghastly at the same time, the holder of so much power...

[i:fe83fffdcd]"I could say Kathy...but I've no intention to find out."[/i:fe83fffdcd] he whispered, finally producing a shimmering schimitar from a sack he had placed in his suitcase. [i:fe83fffdcd]"This thing is undoubtably more powerful than either Eveshka or Julius...I don't intend to be next in line."[/i:fe83fffdcd]

[b:0838291645]Michelle[/b:0838291645]

[i:0838291645]San Francisco[/i:0838291645]

Two women take seats at a small red table by the windows of Nirvana, a trendy noodle bar in the Castro neighborhood of the City. Though both beautiful, they are a study in opposites. One is a raven haired brunette whose gently wavy locks fall elegantly about her shoulders; the other is blond, her hair curly and seemingly unkempt, almost wild. The brunette wears a tight low-cut, silk, sweater that matches the blue of her eyes. With the sweater she wears a tight, but otherwise conservative, black skirt. Her legs are sheathed in shear stockings and she wears knee high boots with a substantial heel. Her make up is matched to her outfit and is perfectly applied. Her scent is musky, and expensive, without being too exotic. The look is elegant, relaxed, and professional.

The blond on the other hand wears an olive drab military style jacket, likely purchased from an army surplus store. She wears well-worn khaki cargo pants, the pockets clearly well used and full. She wears no make up, but its absence does not detract from her beauty. On her feet she wears Puma cross trainers. The look is somewhere between skateboard punk, homeless and third world adventurer.

The two study each other across the small red table. Both have ordered drinks and neither has tasted theirs. They are old acquaintances. Very old acquaintances.

As they sit watching the crowds go by out on the sidewalk of Castro St., they speak in French to lessen the chance of eavesdroppers. The general noise of the Castro adds to their protection.

The brunette speaks first. “You are a long way from home Lucinde. I find it hard to believe my return alone could drag you across the Atlantic. So what brings you here?”

The blond smiles. “Ever to the point Michele? No reminiscing?” She pauses, but only for a moment. The questions are rhetorical. “I have my reasons, and I have my questions.” The blond leans forward. “Tell me about York.”

The brunette, Michelle St. Claire, once Michele Du Claire, rolls her eyes at the question. “As I have said, many times now, I have never been to York. It has been years, decades even, since I have been to England at all.”

The blond, a creature known as Lucinde, simply nods. “Yes, but I had to hear you say it, see your aura.”

Michelle smiles. “I know. But you are still a bitch”. She holds the smile.

The blond leans back. “And you are still a whore. But lets leave the personal attacks out of this. You know why I have come calling don’t you? Why I am interested in your return? And your…departure?”

“You mean my betrayal? My torpor at the hands of the anarchs?” Though Michelle needs no breath, having been a vampire for more than 500 years, she sighs anyway. “Yes, I know why you are here. I have heard the rumors. Someone using my name and likeness went to York and the Camarilla, in its infinite wisdom made that person the Prince of the city.” Michelle smiles again. “Nice work by the way. I am simply soooo impressed by the efficiency of the Ventrue leadership and the inner circle in general.”

The comment bites at Lucinde, but she rejects the bait and does not bite back. “Do you know who we, or at least I, suspect is behind the deception?”

Michelle giggles. “Of course. Though you are the Ventrue Justicar Lucinde, you have had a single mission for decades. Besides, there is probably only one creature that could pull off such a ruse anyway. You are, as you have been for years, looking for Kemintiri.”

This comment bites Lucinde, as she fears her own transparency when it comes to her quest to find the anathema. For a moment Lucinde says nothing. Then she nods. She studies Michelle for a moment. She first met the dark haired beauty centuries ago when Lucinde was but an archon. She had helped raid a setite brothel, one that maintained a harem of vampires for clients whose desires could simply not be performed with, or on, mortal women. Michelle had been a part of that harem.

After her rescue, Lucinde had tried to train Michelle to become an archon herself. Michelle had so much potential. Her blood was strong, she was frighteningly intelligent and she seemed to be afraid of nothing. But, in the terminology of the Far East, she was a poisoned dragon. Her decades in the brothel, or perhaps her embrace or even just her native personality left her with a self-destructive hedonistic streak that could not be controlled. Even as Lucinde attempted to train her, Michele repeatedly got involved in one scandal after another in pre-revolution France. Her circle, then known as the Salon de la Nuit, formed the inspiration for Les Liasons Dangereuses. When the Salon was punished for their exploits, and for nearly violating the masquerade, their punishment was later recorded by the Marquis de Sade, a pet of certain elders at that time, in his 120 days of Sodom. Though Michele survived those times, as well as the revolution, she was no archon. Indeed, she was one of Lucinde’s great disappointments.

Lucinde looked across the table at her. On the outside, professional, elegant, and very attractive. On the inside, debauched, insecure and self-destructive. How sad. Still, Lucinde had a quest.

“I need your help.” Lucinde asked. “I need to know what you know about Kemintiri.”

Michelle furrowed her well-groomed brows. “Me? I know almost nothing. I have never met her as far as I know. I was told she performs a ritual on those who lives she assumes so I suspect she was probably mixed in with the anarchs who chased me into the tunnels. Why she left me in torpor and not destroyed I do not know.”

Lucinde considered the answer. It was what she expected.

For the next hour Lucinde asked questions and Michele gave responses that were not answers. She knew little or nothing that Lucinde did not already know.

“What is the inner circle going to do now? It’s bad enough that Kemintiri killed Michaelis and imitated a Justicar – now she has been a Camarilla prince? And note, both times, Ventrue. Our clan seems particularly inept at stopping her.” This last was a direct jab at Lucinde, who had served as archon to Michaelis and later as Justicar when Kemintiri had posed as the Prince of York.

Again Lucinde avoided the bait. She was not here to try and work out the centuries of bad blood that existed between her and Michele. She did have one final question.

“Michele, do you know a Russian toreador named Eveshka?”

Michele sat looking out the window at the colorful denizens of the Castro. “No. Should I?”

Lucinde smiled. She was well aware of Eveshka’s fondness for the false Michele. Perhaps that could be used. “No, I suppose not. Though perhaps I will arrange a meeting someday. Perhaps.”…

[b:c81c9d90e2]Eveshka[/b:c81c9d90e2]

"Are you still mine?"

The question reverberated and echoed through the night like a full battery of artillery firing in unison in the midst of a prayer meeting.

Kemintiri stared deeply into Eveshka's soul with her lips parted expectantly.

"Were you ever mine?" asked Eve, flexing her fingers beneath the immaculately roped golden hilt of her rapier. She knows that mere yards away, Julius and his entire arsenal of supernatural powers lay coiled to strike this snake from the past. Kemintiri smiled at Eveshka with a slow smile meant to disarm her. Eveshka does not smile back.

"Did it not seem so - am I not yours right at this very moment? Yours to kill, or yours to love...." said Kemintiri.

"It seemed like something," responded Eveshka with a hint of sorrow in her voice. Sorrow and longing. "what would you have of me now Kemintiri. There was a time when I would have given my very soul to keep you safe, yet you ran from me."

"Did I? I do not remember - I do not remember how I ended in sleep next to you, though I am aware that you drank from me - indeed, tried to drink all of me. It does not seem to me that I ran - but you did try to slay me..." purred Kemintiri seeming sincere enough.

Eveshka's eyes blazed defiantly as she growled, "You induced it somehow. I would not have destroyed you on my own. You tried to use me."

Kemintiri answered her with a bittersweet smile saying, "Perhaps, perhaps, there are certainly times when I long for the release of final death."

"YOU didn't want the release of final death, you wanted to be free of the hounds of the Camarilla, "yelled the Comtesse blinking a blood tear away. "You KNEW i couldn't take all of you!"

The setite antedeluvian regarded her silently for a moment, "If I wanted to be free of the hounds, why would I appear here - in front of their servants, with no disguise, no srtifice to hide me, naked, and at your mercy? If I wanted to disappear - I have had my opportunity.
But I came back - I came back for you.... And now I risk everything."

Eveshka blinked more blood tears away and looked away from her former Dark Mistress. Her rapier, still pointed into the Dark Mistress' chest faltered slightly as the spiritual battle within Eve raged once again. The battle between Sacred Love and Profane Love. Finally she spoke. "So what would you have of me?"

Kemintiri ran her hand down the length of the Toreador Methuselah's blade causing blood to run down it, through the rope work of the intricate guard and onto Eveshka's gloved hand. Even through the glove the vitae seered her undead skin. Kemintiri smiled and said, "I stand at your mercy, under the gaze of your wizard, in front of the hounds of the Camarilla who watch, behind leaded glass..." After an eternity of silence she finished with,"I would have you. As I had you before, and as you had me...."

"Who ARE you?" demanded Eveshka. Kemintiri gasped slightly. "Are you Kemintiri the Destroyer? Kemintiri the murdering Whore? Or are you something else completely?"

Kemintiri turned her head away, her turn to shed tears. "I....." began Kemintiri, only to be cut off by the Russian.

"I am not the same woman I was three years ago. Things are happening that are greater than me, more powerful than even YOU Kemintiri," said Eve, turning the Setite Goddess around in a slow circle with her rapier still pointed into her naked breast.

Kemintiri allowed herself to be turned while she softly said, "There are many, many things more powerful than I.... And few as lost."

Eveshka continued circling her, the rapier point forcing Kemintiri to circle with her. "So who or what are you," demanded the Russian, her aura flickering all over the place." Kemintiri sheepishly whispered, "You tell me. Who am I? Who SHOULD I be?"

Eve stopped turning Kemintiri and said, "It doesn't work that way KEmintiri. It's only taken me 800 years to figure that out. You've had 3000."

Kemintiri blinked and said, "Have I? I suppose I have..."

"There was a time that i would have gone through the fires of hell for you.... to be with you," said Eveshka, her emotions taking over more and more as she speaks with the Setite.

"And why not now?" asked Kemintiri.

Eveshka stomped her foot and lowered her rapier screaming into the night, accenting each word sharply, "BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ARE REAL!!!! Why am I different? HOW am I different? WHY ME!?!?! Why not that useless piece of shit Lucinde?," screamed the Toreador Princess, her words dripping with wrath.

Kemintiri smiled softly and asked, "A riddle of the heart Eveshka?" She regarded the younger vampire for a moment before continuing, "In all this time I do not understand mine any better than I did so long ago when...... well... when I was younger..."

"For once in our relationship, answer me straight forward," cut in Eveshka, ending the Setite's musing. "I know you still have emotion. I know you still feelm," she said. "We joined once... remember? In Warwick. We became one."

"I remember," said Kemintiri.

"You pushed me out.... why?" asked Eve. "Was it to save me? Or to HURT me?"

The Egyptian softly, and with all appearances of sincerity, "Never to hurt you Eveshka, never to hurt you."

Eveshka closed her eyes and used Skin of the Adder for the first time in years, a gift from the union of the two vampires in Warwick by an ancient Druid. Her skin changed colours and took on the appearance of a snake. Inside the house Gabriel and Kathy gasped. Julius, who still stood at the top of the stairs simply watched.

"You are still in me," said Eve to Kemintiri. Almost accusing her with the statement.

"So i see," said the Setite, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"I don't want it anymore," said Eveshka, letting the effect run its course. "I can't take the debauchery. I can't take the immorality. I can't take any of it. I am too old for this nonsense and I am running out of time."

Kemintiri laughed outloud. A sinister sounding laugh, but one that had elements of humanity to it still. Anger flared up in Eve's eyes at the sound of it.

"The debauchery? The immorality?" asked Kem. "Where do you see either of these this night? Have a brought a harem of boys?"

"I saw the lust in your aura," said Eve. "The basest of romantic notions."

Kem smiled wickedly and said, "Yessssssss..... I do lust for you Eve - I always have, do you find that so repugnant?"

"No," answered Eve with cutting simplicity. "I still want it," she continued and lowered her head in defeat. The Setite would have her again, she thought. She would have her and there was nothing she could do about it.

Kemintiri reached out slowly to touch her chin and raise her head. She stepped in slowly and paused, a scant breath away form Eve's face. At the first touch of Kemintiri, Eveshka recoiled with a mighty gasp and summoned a host of wraiths which circled and screamed around them like banshees. Banshees that awaited the signal to attack.
Julius' eyes turned to flaming orbs at the site, but did nothing. He would not interfere until called upon. Gabriel and Kathy gasped at the site of the legion of wraiths circling the manor and the two seemingly omnipotent women standing out front.

"DO NOT TAKE SUCH LICENSE WITH ME!" screamed the angry Toreador. " I don't know anything. I don't KNOW a FUCKING THING."

Kemintiri, who had flinched slightly at the army of undead beings, recovered in less than a heart beat and icily said, "Vulgarity does not become you Eveshka. But i will not take such license again." Eveshka tried to read her aura at this, but could not as it was securely hidden behind Soul Mask.

"Even now you re hiddne from me, " said Eve. "You come desiring me and you cannot even reveal yourself to me."

"It is not you I hide myself from," said Kemintiri. "It is the sorcery of the wizard."

Eveshka flashed her eyes to Julius who stood smoldering at the top of the stairs. "He will do nothing Kemintiri. Unless you attempt to harm me," she said and paused a moment before continuing. "Then all Hell will break loose."

"You underestimate his passion, Eveshka," said Kemintiri.

Eveshka quipped back, "Enlighten me then."

The two regarded each other with tensions building to an electrifying peak. The tension broke as Eveshka flung her rapier into the ground saying, "This reminds me of another time...."

"When was that," asked Kem, watching Eveshka draw her main gauche and fling that away in turn as well.

"When i was your regent and tried to break the bond myself to see if you truly loved me," answered Eve. "I am unarmed. If you would have me, what will you do with me," asked Eve. Kemintiri said nothing. "I am now a Prince in my own right."

Kemintiri looked slightly taken aback, but then looked almost proud. "Are you?"

Eveshka took a few steps closer to Kemintiri and asked, "Would you have me give it all up for one last hurrah of destruction before the entire inner circle crashes down on our heads?"

Kemintiri recoiled, with tears flowing fown her cheeks. She opened her mouth as if to speak but cannot seem to find words.

"No," the villanized Egyptian Queen finally responded feeling beaten.

"Good-bye. Eveshka. Live long, and find happiness," she said with a smile and turned to go.

Eveshka watched her for a moment. Julius' eyes returned to normal thinking that the situation was finally over.

"Then WHAT," asked Eveshka moving towards Kemintiri again, Julius rolled his eyes thinking, "Ah fuck, here we go again."

"What would you have of me, Kemintiri?"

"You were the first to make me feel like a goddess," said Eve. "Did you USE me?"

Kemintiri stood slightly bathed in shadows, shadows that were pierced at times by the passing of the wraiths that yet circled the area. "You are right Eveshka - you have alife, a world, a place, friends - I would only destroy it. I do not wish to do that to you."

"Then WHY must you destroy it?" implored Eveshka. "Just banish Kemintiri, go back to being Michelle."

Kemintiri looked at her and shrugged with a smile, "Because I am the villain - and as you said - the inner cirle will come, Lucinde will come, and they will try to destroy me and those that are with me." She smiled another bittersweet smile and finished with, "And the real Michelle is awake."

That last statement didn't even register with Eve. "You want me to tell you who you are?" she asked. "You are a woman. You are a woman who has been MADE a villain. Lucinde and the entire Inner Circle thinks you are gone. STOP trying to find the secret to eternal Life. IT DOESN'T EXIST!"

Kemintiri's lips part to speak but again cannot find words for a moment.
"You may be right Eve, but whether I was made a villain, whether what I seek exists, you are also right that I will likely bring you only harm," she said. "so - what would YOU have me do?"

Eveshka covered her face with her hands and continues to weep. She meandered drunkenly to lean against a tree not far off the path. She knows she lost the fight. She knows it in her heart. She whispered more to herself than anyone else, "I love you, god help me I still love you." Eveshka looked up at Kemintiri and commands, "Come away with me to Touraine." She blinks her eyes frantically as if fighting within herself again. "You will be safe there. It is my domain: Chenonceau, Tours, Chinon.... all of it. Mine." Julius groaned standing on the door step, knowing the battle has just been lost for good now.

Kemintiri smiled at her and said, "I love you too Eveshka - and you want me to come with you I will, but I do not wish to bring you any harm."

"THEN DON'T HARM ME," shouted Eveshka in exasperation. "It's REALLY that simple."

"Is it?" asked Kem with genuine confusion. "Is that the way Lucinde will see it? Or the inner circle? Or even my younger bretheren?"

"Just don't surface again, and what they think can be changed, erased from their minds."

"But i HAVE surfaed Eveshka, right here... right now... to see you," said Kemintiri.

"I know that, take a new form, a new identity. Come with me to Touraine. Just start again. Just believe you can, that's all you need to do," said Eveshka sounding, in Julius' ears, like a complete fledgling.

"Continue your search for true immortality, just don't start blowing stuff up. Touraine is safe. It's quiet. It's MINE," said Eve with much conviction.

Kemintiri smiled and nods. "I will come Eve - but tell me this, will you allow me my search? Do you not have a search of your own? Do you not still seek the blood of the one you call Caine?"

"I seek something," said Eveshka. "I don't know yet what it is." Kemintiri nodded as Eveshka looked down, thinking. "I do know," she continued as Kemintiri smiled. "I am not seeking the blood of Caine. I am seeking redemption of my own soul."

Kemintiri looked at her strangely, not comprehending her meaning. "For what?" she asked. "Eveshka - just because you are undead - why do you believe your soul in peril?"

Eveshka looked into Kemintiri's eyes once again, her soul reaching out again, becoming entrapped in the unknown that is the Anathema Kemintiri. "What good is all the power in this world if you can only wield it for at most a few hundred years. A reckoning is coming," said Eve. "I still cannot commune with the Lord, I still cannot set foot on consecrated ground, I am still damned." She stared into Kemintiri's eyes and delivered the punchline, "As are you."

"I have heard that before Eveshka - in fact, I have heard for 3000 years, and as much as I would like that day to come it never does," said Kemintiri with bitterness and sorrow in her voice.

"Help us find it," begged Eve, sinking to her knees and grasping Kemintiri's right hand . "Help me, please my love.... help me."

Kemintiri dropped to her knees as well and kissed Eve's hand, "I will help you my love, I will help you."

Eveshka smiled and said, "Go home now... Go."

Kemintiri looked sad again and asked, "Home? Where is home?" Eveshka looked at her a moment before answering. "Do you recall the Loire Valley from Michelle's youth?"

Kemintiri smiled and nodded, "Of course, it is as if it was my own youth."

"Mont Louis. The chatelet on the hill, just outside of Valencay."

Kemintiri nodded.

"I will be there soon," said Eve. "If you are there, I will knoq you are true. If you are not," Eveshka paused and looked away. "I will forget you."

"Alright my love," said Kemintiri in something sounding like relief. "But Eveshka...."

"Yes?" asked Eve.

"I know you seek to protect me in your lands, in your domain, and I will go and will be there waiting for you - I ask this," she said. "Please do not turn your fortress into a cage for me. I have not the strength to escape anymore, and eternity as a prisoner is more than I can bear to think about. Let me be you lover - not your possession."

Evshka nodded with a smile, but said nothing.

"But I will be there either way - it is only a request," finished Kemintiri.

"It will not be a prison. You are free to go," said Eve. "If you go and do not return, know that I will not look for you. Also know that I will not betray you. If you leave here now and go your own way, I will not give you away."

Michelle smiled and said, "Then i will await you there in the Loire. But one lsat thing."

Eveshka looked up at the wraiths still flying around, to Julius who stood listening, to the nearly comical expressions on Gabriel's and Kathy's faces through the window as they strained to listen in but couldn't. "Yes?"

Kemintiri looked at Eveshka very seriously again before speaking. "As I mentioned, Michelle is awake in San Francisco. Stolen from Paris and sold back to the new Prince there."

Eveshka looked more confused than alarmed. "Stolen from Paris? What are you tlaking about. I had her KILLED. Gaelle brought me word of the success of her mission." She shook her head in confusion as the world again turned upside down. The battle within her began again.

"I do not know how it happened, I just have a link to her so I know it did happen," said the Setite. "She has been asked about her time in York.
About why she abandonded her city.... Her responses were as you might predict."

Eveshka said nothing, she wsa thinking that Renee had to have known something about it and kept it quiet from her. She was the one who observed that Michelle St. Clair was no more from her aura. What was going on? Had she been duped?

"Lucinde goes to San Francisco and will pick up the trail from there," said Kemintiri. " I say this just to warn you."

Eveshka looked down, heavy in thought. "I will have a talk with Renee. She led me to believe," Eve trailed off. "Lucinde is going to San Francisco? I can't have this." The desire for self preservation was warming up her well honed skills of deception and scheming. Kemintiri touched her hand and said, "I will try and disappear into the Loire."

Eveshka wasn't listening, "Lucinde already wants my head, she will just use this as as pretet to destroy me."

"Avoid her," commanded Kemintiri. "She may not be as powerful as you, but if slain, the whole of the Camarilla will follow. I know, it is what happened after I killed Michaelis. And I have been running ever since."

"But they already know, or THINK that they know that I diablerized you," said Eveshka in a slightly calmer tone.

The two talked for a moment longer about the possibilities of duping Lucinde, there was no question about it, Kathy's and Gabe's minds would be erased. It wouldn't be too difficult. Porter wouldn't need to have his mind altered. He could be trusted. Julius, of course, was completely trustworthy. Gabe and Kathy were the loose ends. Eve's mind was reeling. She did not want to have to make anyone "disappear." It depended on how well they responded to "suggestion." Eveshka finally looked at Kemintiri with concern in her eyes, "Go.... Hide."

Kemintiri nodded and said, "I will, goodbye Eve. Come for me. I will see you soon I hope." She turned and walked into the night, fading into the darkness.

Eveshka turned and walked up the stairs towards Julius who was going to need some explanations.

"When it rains it fucking pours," said Eveshka as she approached Julius.

[b:4fee17adfc]Eveshka[/b:4fee17adfc]

Julius looked at her apprehensively as if waiting for more information.
They were in relative seclusion here on the doorstep but she knew that inside were Porter, whom she trusted, and Gabe and Kathy, whom she did not trust, but could easily deal with. She whispered to Julius, "I will fill you in on everything, but their memories must be altered first. At least Gabriel's and Kathy's." Julius nodded. "We brought them out to the front entranceway to show them the lovely marble pattern," asked Julius. "That's as good as anything else," replied Eve. "And it is simple, it would be very hard to find fault with something that mundane."

The two rearranged themselves and entered the mansion to modify two memories. Eveshka gently took Porter by the hand and led him away, while Julius was finishing up the last bits of memory modification. "Please Porter, I am trusting you to keep this secret. It is not what you think. SHE is not what you think," said Eve, motioning back in the direction that Kemintiri had been. "Please, I have never betrayed you or led you astray Porter, in all the years we've known each other. Please go along with this one."

Porter considered it for a moment and said, "Ok Old Woman. But you owe me something big for this." Eveshka merely nodded adn then smiled. "I will owe you something for this, not a lifeboon, but something big." Ports patted her on the hand and said, "I believe you were showing us some pretty rocks in the entry way."

The two went back in and heard Julius giving a witty discourse on the various nifty things that can be done with Marble.

[b:7685afc2fb]Julius[/b:7685afc2fb]

What in the name of fuck was she doing? After all of this, after she tried to kill him and he yet again risked his life to break her bond, the snake slithers in and Eve promises to keep her safe. Julius felt betrayed and he did not care for being described as "your wizard". Only a few months ago an event like this would likely have shredded his often fiery temper and someone would have suffered for it. Perhaps himself. Recent events had taught him the value of restraint and it was only fair that he give Eveshka the chance to explain.

The night had been long. He had made some pretence of looking at Gabriel's sword, intending to study it further later. Gabriel had, finally, begun to be honest with him and with Porter as a trusted link between Eveshka and Gabriel, there had been less suspicion and tension during their discussions. Julius would be heading back to Turkey with Gabriel whilst Eveshka would head to Touraine. As far as Gabriel knew, she needed to attend her fief.

As the first hint of the coming sunrise began to lighten the sky, Julius and Eveshka were finally left alone. Gabriel and Kathy lay entwined in a guest bedroom and Porter was... well wherever he was. Julius poured three drinks, setting a large armagnac in front of himself and in front of Eveshka, both a large malt scotch and an absinthe, mixed with vitae, a stick of celery in the glass.

Julius raised his glass, meeting Eveshka's eyes and summarized all of the questions on his mind into one simple statement.

"I wasn't sure what you would want to drink, love." He said.

[b:06e1659044]Michelle[/b:06e1659044]

Far across the grounds, hidden deep within shadow, Kemintiri watched Evehska return to the mansion. The Toreador spoke quietly with the Tremere wizard and Kemintiri listened from a far, though not so to their voices, but to their thoughts.

Her brief encounter with Eveshka left Kemintiri feeling more alone than when she had first awoke and stalked the ruins of Club Purgatory, chasing the phantoms of her past. Kemintiri was undead, but she was not lifeless; she had no heart in her breast, but she was not heartless. She could still feel, love and hate. She could also see into the hearts of others. She needed no vampiric powers to do this, just her own senses and her intuition. This night, Kemintiri had seen into the heart of Evehska and what she had seen there stabbed the setite beauty through her soul:

Eveshka did not love her.

Eveshka wanted her, that was true. Eve craved the taste of Kemintiri’s blood, of her power. Eve admired her beauty and lusted for her to the point of self-damnation. But Eve did not love her.

Eve loved Michelle St. Claire, a woman she had never even met.

In the darkness, Kemintiri began cried silently. Crimson streaks of blood flowed from her eyes. Those eyes were not the black pits of Kemintiri the Destroyer, nor were they the deep liquid blue orbs of Michelle. The eyes that cried now were the green eyes of a young princess from Khem, the Black Land, as Egypt was known in ages long since past. A princess whose unearthly beauty had set her apart her from all others, before or since. An unearthly beauty that had tempted the gods of her age and proved to be her undoing more than three thousand years ago.

Once, in an age she struggled to never remember, she had tried to love two men, two gods. But love and lust engender envy and mistrust. She had lost both, been punished by both, and instead of being loved, this most beautiful of creatures had been cast out, cursed to live forever and live forever without love.

Tonight, her hopes for happiness were dashed yet again. She was still alone. Eve did not love her, and soon, perhaps very soon, she would realize it….

[b:560bccc45d]Eveshka[/b:560bccc45d]

[i:560bccc45d][b:560bccc45d]DATELINE OCTOBER 5, 2002: CNN HEADLINE NEWS SHOWDOWN IN THE GULF[/b:560bccc45d]

More explosions this evening in Baghdad as the street to street and house to house fighting continues for the third straight week. The Pentagon has admitted that several of the explosions "may have been made by weapons of mass destruction." They have made assurances that Coalition soldiers have been mostly untouched. Elements of the famed 101st Airborne Division has taken Tikrit, the ancestral home of Saddam Hussein, after weeks of house to house fighting. The city lies in ruins.

In Washington and San Francisco, peace protesters have rallied in the hundreds of thousands to denounce the US Government's involvement in what they label to be a war of aggression against the innocent people of Iraq. The President has expressed his disappointment but stands by his convictions that the war is just.

The Vatican. Pope John Paul II has shown no signs of regaining consciousness from his coma. He was badly injured in an automobile accident last week as he journeyed from Rome to Monte Cassino. His prognosis is stated as "grim." The College of Cardinals is making inquiries for a successor should he not be able to continue in his Office.[/i:560bccc45d]

[b:75f208ed4b]Gabriel[/b:75f208ed4b]

Gabriel awoke the following night to the overwhelming scent of moist grass and the chorus of crickets chrooning through the open bedroom window. Kathy's slender silky arms lay laced across his bare midsection, her naked body pressed against his. As the drowsy euphoria of slumber began to wane, Gabriel slipped carefully from her arms and made his way across the room.

As he rummaged through the dressers where his clothing lay folded neatly, the events of the previous nights reverberated in his brain. Their arrival had been none too pleasant, Julius taking particular offense of the extra house guest. As barbaric and tactless as his "show" was, it had been effective, and the Ventrue guest now realized how crucial his trustful cooperation and assistance were to be in the matters at hand.

The rest of the night was somewhat blurry, perhaps from the shock of their hosts behavior. Gabriel vaguely remembered a rather long lecture on early 16th century masonry and marble work that he had found excrutiatingly dull, but other than that only quotes and scenes remained. Like still frames in his mind he could picture them clearly, but could not put them into any type of context or order. Something else lingered in the recesses of his mind....a lost memory. But as he attempted to zero in on it, it escaped his grasp like the fleeting dream from an awoken sleeper.

By the time he was dressed in his usual slacks and woolen sweater, to befit the damp English night, the memory had completely vanished from his train of thought. He slipped silently down the Victorrian staircase and made his way into the kitchen where Eveshka and Julius sat a small round table.

As he entered the room they fell strangely silent, both looking up at him with blank faces, as if to purposely imply he had interupted something important. A mood of annoyance eminated from the Comtesse only briefly, before she smiled and invited him in.

"Ah, look who's finally up. It's half past eight, we were beginning to think you'd sleep all night." she said cheerily, sliding her chair slightly to accomodate the Ventrue.

"Yes...travelling can be tiresome." Gabriel responded sullenly. He scanned the room for any sign of Porter but found none. No doubt the Gangrel had fled in the night to get a better survey of his surroundings.

"Well Gabriel, I'm sorry to hear that." Julius said "Unfortuneatly, as much I'm enjoying having house guests, we must leave for Turkey soon. We must further analyze your prize." The last word came out with a bit of unintentional contempt, which although justified, nearly caused Gabriel to sink from his chair.

"Of course. When do we leave?"

"I've booked us a 1 AM flight into Instanbul...but look how rude I'm being, I've not even offered you anything to drink!" The Tremere rose from his chair and went about rummaging through the refridgerator. He placed an assortment of bottles on the counter, ranging from fine liquors to exceedingly rare vitaes. "Ah, it's virgin's blood correct? Female if I'm not mistaken?" he said offhandedly.

Gabriel gasped slightly at Julius' casual reference to his blood preferance. To his knowledge he had at no point mentioned his restriction or least of all the specific type he craved to the Tremere, but apparently Julius had done some digging. To a Ventrue, knowing one's blood preferance was a major advantage, and the Clan of Kings strived to keep such information secret at all costs.

But from the affable expression written on Julius' face, he had apparently meant no harm by it, but was merely intent on being a polite host. The gesture, while innocent, was still a testiment to his abilities. Gabriel, now considerably impressed, nodded and took the cup of vitae with a false smile.

[b:12b0713bda]Eveshka[/b:12b0713bda]

[b:12b0713bda]Eveshka[/b:12b0713bda]

[i:12b0713bda]York, England, the night of Kemintiri's arrival. Just after Gabe and Kathy had retired for the morning.[/i:12b0713bda]

Julius and Eve sat up in his private study on the opposite wing of the house from the guest quarters. They had been speaking for hours now. Speaking was a euphomism however. Were this anyone other than Eveshka Shuvolov, Comtesse de Touraine, former Boyarina of Pskov, she'd probably have been a fine layer of dust. Conversely, had Julius been anyone other than Julius Darrant, Tremere Pontifex, he'd have been bones. Yet it was not the thought of the awesome power the other wielded that stayed their respective hands. It was the deep respect and love for one another that guided them through this minefield.

"For FUCK'S SAKE Eveshka, this is TWICE you've damned near destroyed me on account of that fucking snake. If you go back to her, that is fucking it. You are on your fucking own. No more fucking Julius to play the white fucking knight and pull your pretensious Toreador cunt out of the fire," bellowed the enraged Pontifex who felt more betrayed than anything else. The damned setite pops out of nowhere and Eve crumbles like a stupid school girl.

Eveshka slapped him across the face using no blood strength. It was merely a slap. Julius' face recoiled from the hit and he turned back to face the ancient Toreador defiantly.

"How am I betraying you? Are you just jealous that you might not have me around to suck your tremere cock anymore? I FUCKING LOVE HER YOU ASSHOLE. I am [b:12b0713bda]IN[/b:12b0713bda] love with her still. You don't understand, you can't POSSIBLY understand. You are probably not even a century old. You are practically still mortal," yelled back Eveshka.

"Yeah," said Julius. "Like that fucking matters a fucking hill of fucking shit. Whether I am 8 years old or 8000 years old is ir-fucking-relevant."

"YES IT MATTERS!!! That is the ONLY thing that matters. You FORGET what it is like to love. To feel. I Love you Julius, you know that, but it is different. She made me feel ALIVE. I love being around you, I love making love to you. I Love fucking your brains out. But it is not the same. Besides, there is also the fact that if she is on her own without someone to fucking babysit her, she will get into some god awful fucking mess. A mess that will somehow lead right back to me. And Lucinde already is looking for an excuse to end me."

Julius gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes that were starting to be rimmed with fire. "Listen to yourself Eve. She's GOT you already. She's sucked you in hook, line, and fucking sinker. Sure you think you are strong enough to face you, but listen to yourself, for once in your fucking life, listen to what you are saying." Julius assumed a mocking high pitched voice and said, "She's different, she makes me feel alive." Eveshka snarled and turned from him.

"There are some lovely Waterford Crystal glasses for you to smash just in the cupboard. Smash away. And as you are tearing apart my house you spoiled cunt think on this one.... "

Eveshka hadn't thrown anything, nor had she picked up anything to throw. She wished that she had a hand grenade though. She whirled around and looked at Julius who looked as if he were about to cry or something. She had never seen him this passionate about anything before. Not even that retard Carlie. "What, Julius, what in your endless wisdom do you advise that I think about?"

He regarded her a moment "You are not even in love with Kemintiri."

"What the fuck would you know about it Tremere," she spat. But he continued on undaunted.

"You are in love with a woman you've NEVER FUCKING MET. YOU, my dear Comtesse de Touraine, YOU are in love with Michelle St. Clair, NOT Kemintiri. Unless I miss my guess, I would bet that Michelle St. Clair is NOT in love with you seeing as she might not even know you exist."

That last sentence stopped her completely cold. It hit her with the force of truck hitting a kitten at top speed. The blush of health left Eveshka as she simply said, "Oh ... my God," and collapsed into a chair looking and feeling like a complete ass.

Julius nearly regretted being the cause of the pain he saw in her angelic face. NEARLY.

"Eveshka. If you go back to her now, don't ever look for me again. I will not risk my position or my Clan in something this stupid. It is bound only for destruction. It is not a question. It is a certainty that this path will lead you to destruction. If i am a part of it, it will lead me to destruction."

Eve didn't hear any of this, his previous words kept ringing n her ears. [i:12b0713bda]Not in love with her. Not in love with her. Not in love with her. Michelle St. Clair. Not Kemintiri.[/i:12b0713bda] How could she not have seen it. Worse yet did Kemintiri see it? She surely had. She was millenia older than either of she or Julius. [i:12b0713bda]Michelle St. Clair. Not Kemintiri[/i:12b0713bda]. She had probably seen every outcome already and explored her options, yet she still chose her path. [i:12b0713bda]Not in love with her[/i:12b0713bda]. What was she missing? [i:12b0713bda]Not in love with her. Not Kemintiri. Michelle St. Clair.[/i:12b0713bda]

"I can't go back to Touraine," said Eve. "Not with her there."

Julius merely looked at her and gave no hint of emotion either way.

"I need something to drink," said Eve. She got up and walked out to the receiving room that contained the full bar. She poured herself a nice Port and sipped at its contents. Julius came out later and leaned up against the door jam. He sliently watched her as she paced about, deep in contemplation.

"Please Julius, You friendship these past years has meant a lot to me. I didn't mean to hurt you. Please don't abandon me now. There has to be some way out of this. But I can't face her. I will succumb to her. Her charisma is too powerful for me. I can't resist her."

"What if you gave her to Lucinde," asked Julius coldly. He clearly had not forgiven her that easily.

"What? Betray her," asked Eveshka as if the idea was ludicrous.

The two began to discuss the pros and cons of back stabbing Kemintiri. Eveshka wanted NO part of it. She was utterly terrified. Julius, was confident he could deal with her with Eveshka's help, and maybe some other minor assistance. Eveshka thought that was his age speaking. He truly did NOT understand the thing with which they dealt. But, Eve thought, He probably could deal with Kemintiri. He was ridiculously powerful after all. But was he powerful enough?

"There has to be another way," said Eveshka. She looked up as Julius was about to start speaking and hissed, "Gabriel's coming."

Julius stopped talking abruptly and they both looked at the young ventrue as he entered the room.

[b:b69f40ad83]Gabriel[/b:b69f40ad83]

The mood in Darrant's Manor had grown increasingly tense as the night wore on, and Gabriel began to notice Eveshka pacing anxiously. Even stranger was that the pair seemed to avoid one another, Julius doing his own packing and leaving the room rather coldly as the Comtesse entered.

As he went about finalizing his flight plans and making sure Kathy and Porter would be have adequate transportation back to Cascadia, his nerves began to wear thin. If two Cainites as powerful as Eveshka and Julius were so distressed over something, then surely the threat was both dangerous and immenent.

Julius went about at a frantic pace finishing his final arrangements and contacting his shadowy 'connections' in preparation for their arrival in Turkey. Gabriel, unable to withstand the unease any longer, retreated to the front deck of the manor, stopping only to pour himself a glass of vitae tainted scotch.

He emerged from the house and was immediately bathed in the cool October air. As he willed his nerve endings to life, he became aware of another presence on the porch. The Comtesse sat motionless near the edge of the porch, no doubt staring off towards the direction of her beloved Touraine. Gabriel took several cautious steps towards her.

[i:b69f40ad83]"Good evening Comtesse."[/i:b69f40ad83] Eveshka's brilliant face, now held stony and frigid, glanced over at him.

[i:b69f40ad83]"Hello."[/i:b69f40ad83] she responded dryly. Gabriel, oblivious to the previous nights events, merely pressed on.

[/i]"I must thank you once again." he said as he raised his scotch to her, "It's been sometime since I could enjoy fine spirits."[/i] Eveshka returned her attention to the purple hues of the night sky.

[i:b69f40ad83]"Glad I could be of use to someone for a change."[/i:b69f40ad83] she nearly whispered. Gabriel, even as young as he was, could sense her sorrow. Her aura was saturated with various layers of self loathing and pity.

[i:b69f40ad83]"So Gabriel, what did you think of my performance yesterday? Was it everything one of my age and supposed breeding should display?"[/i:b69f40ad83] The question was lost on Gabriel.

[i:b69f40ad83]"You're....referring to the Assamite Eveshka?"[/i:b69f40ad83] Her eyebrows shot up for a moment before she remembered of his mind manipulation.

[i:b69f40ad83]"Ah...yes. Assamite Elders, Sabbat maniacs, bloodthirsty lupines, when will it all end?"[/i:b69f40ad83]

Gabriel turned his attention back to the ever darkening blanket of stars.

[i:b69f40ad83]"I would've expected nothing less from one of your potency and reknowned abilities."[/i:b69f40ad83] The memory of the blood, ravaged Assamite shot into his mind.

[i:b69f40ad83]"You know, these stars have actually changed since I was a little girl..."[/i:b69f40ad83] she sighed slightly [i:b69f40ad83]"They rise at different times of the year and we called them different things."[/i:b69f40ad83]

[i:b69f40ad83]"The benefits of immortality eh?"[/i:b69f40ad83] Gabriel added.

[i:b69f40ad83]"When I was a little girl, the constelation you call Orion used to rise at this time of year....now it doesn't rise until later."[/i:b69f40ad83] abrubtly she turned her face to him once more. [i:b69f40ad83]"Do you believe in Gehenna?"[/i:b69f40ad83]

[i:b69f40ad83]"I do indeed."[/i:b69f40ad83] he nearly stammered his words, being slightly taken aback by the question.

[i:b69f40ad83]"Do you believe in God?"[/i:b69f40ad83] she asked, her face neutral and calm. Gabriel began to feel foolish, no doubt she had some wisdom of the ages to endow on him to crush his feeble Christian beliefs.

[i:b69f40ad83]"I do..."[/i:b69f40ad83]

[i:b69f40ad83]"Do you believe the signs of the times are pointing towards a grand finale?"[/i:b69f40ad83] Gabriel had studied the Book of Revalations relentlessly in his youth, and was indeed a believer, but even with the most devout belivers, time can ravage one's faith.

[i:b69f40ad83]"People have been saying the end is around the corner since I was born...why should I believe them now?" [/i:b69f40ad83]

[i:b69f40ad83]"Well then what is going on?"[/i:b69f40ad83] she said, blinking slightly in surprise.

[i:b69f40ad83]"I suppose with the apparent Red Star and the situation with Clan Ravnos..."

"I'm not talking about Cainite crap. I think you'll find that vampires play an almost irrelevant role in the larger picture."[/i:b69f40ad83] now it was Gabriel's turn to feel the pang of insult. He turned to look the Toreador square in the eye.

[i:b69f40ad83]"I'm a son of God before anything else Eveshka, despite my age I like to think I have a fair grasp of my insignificance. After all it's displayed before me nearly every night."[/i:b69f40ad83]

[b:dc65827bc6]Julius[/b:dc65827bc6]

For someone who claimed to be so full of love, Eveshka had displayed an astounding lack of it. She had been quite prepared to simply drop him like a stone and head off with Kemintiri without so much as an apology. Not, in Julius' opinion a loving way to behave, or even the actions of someone who knew the meaning of the word. It wasn't love Eveshka craved, it was sensation. Constant intensities of passion were her deep set need, that feeling of being alive to dull for a while the awfulness of her existance. Sad old woman.

To get any kind of sense out of her, or even to break into that ancient stubborn mind, he had needed to rant and rage and cause her pain. She'd lost the ability to feel. Needed the drama, needed the stimulation of the extremes of others hearts to even gain a glimpse into the feeling world she tried vainly to remember. Poor sad old woman.

And was this, in time to be his fate? To sponge off the dregs of others emotions to give him some kind of kick start into a half remembered mortal existance? He was young yet, it was true. Blessed with the best of both worlds, the humanity of youth, yet with the power of an ancient. If when eight hundred years he reached, he was as lacking in true emotion as Eveshka, then it would be better that someone slay him. Truly she was a vampire, leeching the blood of others to maintain her unlife and leeching the emotion of others to maintain her sanity. Poor pitiable old woman.

He wouldn't abandon her. For all her faults, he did love her and on some level she believed she loved him. Things would have to change though. He could not continue to maintain the illusion that she felt about him in the same way he felt about her. She simply wasn't capable of it. Capable of love. No wonder a trail of broken hearts seemed to follow in her wake, indeed that part of his which had fallen for her wept now. He was simply glad it wasn't the whole.

She was afraid for her immortal soul, she had told him that, back in Paris where they had started. The scroll and it's link to the biblical apocalypse she feared. Yet, again, she had been prepared to drop it all and run to Touraine with her former lover. With or without her, Julius would now persue the scroll and it's secrets. How much he gave to Eveshka would depend upon her. She would learn that relationships, be they with friends or with lovers were about give and take. Julius was fed up of doing the lions share of the giving. Eveshka's soul would now be her own responsibility and it's fate would depend upon the choices she was about to make.

[b:31bbfdc5c8]Julius[/b:31bbfdc5c8]

Julius and Eveshka were alone in his lab. Unfinished business needed to be laid to rest and this was the one place they could be sure of some privacy. The events of the past couple of days, the bruised feelings, it all needed to be aired lest they simply drift apart.

Eveshka jumped up onto the table, crossing her legs, watching, without blinking, as Julius took his skull from it's stand and placed it in it's carrying case. Finally, he took a chair and sat down, facing her.

"I know you are upset with me Julius." Eveshka looked down. "I never meant to hurt you."

Julius half threw up his hands in exasperation and shook his head slightly. "I'm sure you didn't, but then again, you weren't really thinking of me at all, were you?"

Eveshka looked up, piercing his eyes for a moment with her own. "Haven't you ever been sucked in by someone before? Someone so powerful that you cannot resist it?"

Julius pursed his lips slightly, considering the question, as Eve continued, "Someone who just inflames your every base desire and makes you feel high, like you are invincible."

"No." Replied Julius. "I can't say that I have. I suppose magic makes me feel like that. It's like a drug."

"Well," Evesha went on, "I... am old. For all of your power, for all of your mortal wisdom... you are..." Eveshka's eyes met the floor again, "you are young... the older we get..."

Julius interrupted abruptly, "Yes, yes, but when was the last time you actually made any effort to find your own feelings Eveshka? Or has it become so hard that the habit has formed within you to not even bother to try?"

Eveshka looked up, slightly startled. "I still feel. It is just sometimes I get confused between the adrenaline rush of addiction and true love. But... sometimes..." Eveshka's eyes wandered around the room and she shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know. Maybe I do just go from addiction to addiction." She jumped off the table and started examining some strange looking alchemical paraphanalia.

"I don't know Eve. It's hard to me to understand when you say you love me and then..." Julius paused, " You know, Kemintiri is just feeding off you. If you have these problems think how much worse it must be for her."

Without turning to face him Eveshka answered, "I know. I have never been in love with Kemintiri."

"At least you know what you get from me is real" Answered Julius, "and I liked to believe that what you gave me was also real. But... shit Eve, you've given me something to think about these past two days."

"I know what real love is Julius." Eveshka turned back to face him. "And I imagine I have. I so so sorry to have dragged you into this." She turned away again. "If you want, I will just... go, I guess."

Julius had to fight not to roll his eyes at the Toreador's melodrama. "Do you know what real love is, as a distant memory of something you once knew, or as something you experience now? And no, I don't want you to go. Don't be stupid. If you'd left with Kemintiri then, maybe." He paused. "But you didn't."

"Love is the desire for someone else to be happy, to care for their well being, to want to see them smile even if you are not." Answered Eveshka. "Love is a committment to another to say 'I will always be behind you.'"

"Very good, dictionary perfect," Said Julius somewhat cynically, feeling that Eveshka had avoided the spirit of the question, "But see, actions count, not words."

Eveshka turned back and fixed him with a steely gaze. "Yes well, let's see how well you respond when a fucking antedeluvian with the face of a Goddess, and the powers of one as well, comes calling for you wanting your soul." Her voice softened and she sighed. "Your whole point is academic Julius. She didn't come for you. She came for me" The steely gaze dropped to be replaced with a rather hurt look. Didn't he understand?

Julius nodded slowly "True enough, love. You could have let me help you though, but you had to see her alone. I thought we were partners."

Eveshka looked confused. "Partners? As in, like Mates? Ummm... Significant Others? What exactly do you think we are?"

Julius opened his mouth to come out with some stupid retort, but saw in her eyes the question was genuine so answered in kind. "Somewhere between the two, perhaps. I know we were mates, but things change. We've been closer recently, I know it's had an effect on me, hasn't it had one on you?"

Eveshka answered with some frustration "Yes,of course it has. Why do you think I am here talking about this. I love being around you." She looked down and wrung her hands a bit.

"Then stay with me. I don't want you to go." Julius said softly.

Eveshka refused to meet his eyes. "How do we handle the fact that my heart seems to belong to a vampire I don't even know."

"How do you want to handle it?" Asked Julius. "It's your problem, but that doesn't mean I am going to divorce myself from it."

"I don't understand." Replied Eveshka "It's my problem?"

Julius read her aura. She wasn't angry, rather she was sad and confused. "Yes. It is your problem. I can't control your feelings and I wouldn't want to. You are your own person. But I'm here to help you with your problems. I've always been, maybe I always will." He paused. "I do love you Eve."

"But what happens if I meet the real Michelle. I love you too, Julius, I am just not in love with you. I guess I don't understand what you want of me."

"Well, see, here's the thing," He replied "I don't know what you want of me. I'm not in love with you Eveshka, but I'll tell you what I do know. What we've got is a good thing, not corrupted, nor confused by outside influences. What people call a healthy relationship, I suppose, whatever that is supposed to mean. I could be in love with you, I believe." Eveshka nodded as Julius continued. "Just not right at this moment. I do have feelings towards you and they aren't based on power and addiction and all that stupid stuff that seems always to suck you in." Julius looked into Eveshka's eyes. They are based on you."

Eveshka once again refused to meet his gaze and stared intently at the floor, finally speaking in a small voice. "Bond me to you then. That is the only way I can think of keeping my useless addictions in check."

Julius paled significantly. The idea was both unexpected and somewhat distasteful to him. "Is that really something you want?" He asked

Eveshka covered her face with her hands, hiding and trying to suppress the flood of tears that threatened to unleash itself at any moment. "I just don't want to hurt anyone any more."

"And I don't want to hurt you." Julius replied with a pained look. "After all I've done to keep you free... to allow you your own choices." He stood up and gently wrapped his arms around her.

Eveshka looked into his eyes, blood tears streaming down her immaculate face. "Don't you get it Julius? I don't have any choices. without a leash I am dead. I mean really dead."

"No Eve," Replied Julius gently, holding back a waterfall of flowing emotions. "I don't get it, explain it to me."

Eveshka sobbed again, "Lucinde wants me dead, Meerlinda wants me as her own, Renee wants me as her own, Kemintiri wants me as her own. Hell, Rhiannon probably still wants me as her own. Everyone wants me as a possession. That is all I am. That is all I have ever been." She stopped a moment. "Julius, it's the only thing I know."

"But why? What happened in your past to make this so." Replied Julius in a husky voice as he choked back his tears. "I have no desire to own you. I don't own you Eve."

"You know my past as well as anyone else." Said Eve in a steadier voice. "I was [i][b:31bbfdc5c8]born/i][/b:31bbfdc5c8] to be someone's property. I was sired to be a trophy. Held at Royal courts to be a decoration." Her voice raised. [b:31bbfdc5c8]"I don't know how to be anything else."[/b:31bbfdc5c8] Her voice softened again and when she next spoke it was tinged with an aching sadness. "I am nothing else. Everything good thing I've tried to do I've destroyed."

Julius blinked, realising he had missed something. "Meerlinda?"

"What about her?" Asked Eve, suddenly confused at the change of direction.

"You mentioned her." Explained Julius.

"She made me drink of her in order to get you out. That was the price I had to pay to save you..." Eveshka remembered that day, believing that it was her actions and not Morathi that was the reason Julius had been rescued. "and you say I don't love you."

Julius closed his eyes, and rested his forehead on Eve's for a moment. "Meerlinda played you for a fool. Morathi sprang me with help from Ibn Sabbah's people. And I never said you don't love me." He asked the question again. "Is this what you really want, Eve?"

"I have no idea what I want." She replied with a shaked of her head. "I just don't want to be anyone's trophy anymore. I wish I could just turn it off."

A whirl of emotion cascaded through Julius head and then a single point, a clarity of thought. Eveshka could not allow herself the freedom he wished to give her. Someone would bond her. She would let them. Something deep seated inside this Toreador's heart feared freedom and so she would find her own chains, even if no-one sought to capture her. The only real question would be who would bond her and of what material they would forge such chains. If he wanted to protect her, if he wanted to grant her even a part of the freedom he had so long sought on her behalf, then he would have to take the responsibility. Forge the chains from velvet and pray that he was worthy. He opened his mouth and spoke in a steady voice. "Then drink and may God forgive me. If nothing else, I can promise you're not a trophy, not to me." He paused. "You're Eveshka, and that's enough."

Eveshka pulled away from him, narrowing her eyes, her gaze piercing his body, heart and soul. Julius met her gaze, his own eyes speaking of great pain and sadness, but sincerity in his action.

Eve paused. Her mind awhirl. Of all things, of all people, she had expected Julius to refuse outright. Now that the choice was before her, she didn't know what to do. Her lip curled into a snarl and she bared her fangs, sucking air, making a hissing noise. Julius stood silent and steady, waiting for her to make that choice, perhaps the last freedom he could grant her and the most important.

Eveshka's eyes opened wide, insanely, as if on the verge of frenzy, yet still Julius stood, waiting, defenceless. She could take his blood or his life with equal ease. This moment was all about Eveshka, about her future. For this single drop in the ocean of time, if at no time in the past, nor in the years to come, Eveshka would be free.

Abruptly her gaze met his and he felt his will crumble beneath the light that shone from the brow of the Goddess standing before him. Of course, how could he have been so blind. It was foolish to consider that this vision would bond herself to him. She was placed upon this earth for him to worship and serve, unto the end of his days. He belonged to her, his life hers to do with as she would, to live or die at her command. Indeed, the very spirits of the dead were here, to do her bidding. That was, he thought, as it should be. Even death would not take him from her side, from her service. An eternity to give his all to her whims. A great privilege granted to one so unworthy as he.

"Come to me Julius." She commanded, the words echoing in his ears like sweet nectar. He approached her gladly, to bask in her majesty and power. Eveshka placed a gentle hand upon his face, her touch sending waves of pleasure throughout his undead body. She bent her head towards him and with a feral growl her fangs sank into his neck. Julius threw his head back. Yes, food for the Goddess, again, this is how things should be. His own life unimportant, the Goddess must be fed.

As her fangs withdrew, Eveshka released her hold upon Julius mind. He staggered for a moment, as she licked the wound shut. Her arms encircled him and held him tightly as her head came to rest upon his shoulder, crying softly. Julius could do nothing, holding onto her gaining equal comfort from the embrace, his eyes rimmed red with blood as he blinked his own tears away.

[b:bd037e8e53]Morathi[/b:bd037e8e53]

[b:bd037e8e53]The Black Sea[/b:bd037e8e53]

Darkness gave way to limited illumination as the two Hardsuits sank alongside each other towards the bottom. Both suits halted their descent abruptly with their suits fans before continuing at a far more gentle speed, kicking up a small cloud of debris as they touched down on the sea bed...

[i:bd037e8e53]"Well done Lucilla... This is one of the deepest dives I've ever made in one of these type of suit... Try to be careful and avoid banging the suit into anything... No need to test the integrity of the suits if we can avoid it.... Now ROV-Six should just be to the North of our touchdown position... I think I can just see the lights... Lets see what it found..."[/i:bd037e8e53]

Morathi carefully piloted her suit after Mooreland in a series of short hovering 'Hops' with the suit's waterfans. She tried to mask her excitement, the ROV's had found something promising, really promising. Not a ship, that much was clear from the ROV's video camera's. Mooreland himself was practically hopping with excitement at the potential of finding a previously undiscovered settlement on the Black Sea bed, although his excitement was more of the promises of fame and glory kind...

Unfortunately for Dr Mooreland if the site did prove of note he would never get to report its location, Morathi would cloud his memories and with the Revenants help on the Ekaterina alter the logs so that this dive never happened as far as he would recall. But for now the aide of an experienced deep water archaeologist would be invaluable...

Both hulking suits landed again in the additional illumination provided by ROV-Six that was circling above them controlled by one of the Revenants up on the surface providing an additional set of eyes on the ground as they looked about the survey site...

The paticular structure they had initially found consisted of the remains of a single building with hewn beam and wooden branches that formed the walls and roof of a structure, remarkably the roof was still intact despite many years of Black Sea debris settling upon it. It was most likely a house and a few sweeps of the Hardsuit's lights indicated there were similar structures nearby, cautiously Morathi followed Mooreland inside the remains, the bulky suit scraping slightly on the doorway.

Inside it was a little darker, the ROV's lights being cut out by the roof of the structure, inside it seemed a little disordered, artifacts strewn about the floor some broken, presumably the result of whatever cataclysmic event that had led to the settlement's current location. Dr Mooreland was carefully indexing the locations of each artifact, photographing them in-situ and then carefully and with considerable care selecting some of the more intact artifacts for storage in the special compartmentalised case he had detached from his hardsuit for the purpose, which would preserve the items in the same water they had been resting in all these years for their trip to the surface, where they could then be treated and preserved as appropriate in the Ekaterina's labs to survive surface conditions.

Morathi watched silently letting the expert do his job, feeling a slight pang of regret that what to Mooreland would be his greatest lifetime discovery would ultimately never be made public. Knowing that the study of the artifacts this dive recovered would have to be done behind Dr Mooreland's back as he would never remember this dive after finding something like this. But such a betrayal was needed, the location had to be kept a secret else it would be bombarded with more publicly monitored studies...

[i:bd037e8e53]"Remarkable.... These artifacts would seem to point to this settlement belonging to a Proto-Sumerian culture.... Lets see what else has survived down here..."[/i:bd037e8e53]

They continued to search the other structures, some not as intact as the first they had visited, the passage of time and settling of debris had led to some collapsing under the unplanned for stresses, they found a few more artifacts of note including some golden trinkets such as bracelets, bridle plates and combs, that Dr Mooreland believed were similar to those developed by the Scythians. Morathi herself found herself drawn to collecting a few of these, choosing some for the rich memories contained in the artifacts that her auspex could sense even through the indirect manipulators of her hardsuit. In particular Morathi's eye was caught by an exquisite brooch depicting a horse warrior, that after showing to Dr Mooreland learned was similar to those found in digs of tombs farther to the east...

[i:bd037e8e53]"Well... Thats about all we can do on our first dive but now we know this is here we can come back... We should head back up and start cataloging these artifacts...."[/i:bd037e8e53]

Morathi agreed and gave the signal to the Revenants on the Ekaterina to start winching them up, giving them the prearranged signal to indicate she wished them to slow Dr Mooreland's return winch slightly so that she was able to be recovered first and de-suit in time for Mooreland's arrival, her face being the first he saw as he cracked open his hardsuit's helmet, her emerald eyes glinting in the reflected illumination of his hardsuit's lights, catching his attention fully as he dimly became aware that the attractive singer he had been working with on these dives was speaking to him.

[i:bd037e8e53]"A shame we did not see anything interesting down there again... The ROV's just found some driftwood in the end.... I guess we will just have to hope for better luck next time Sheridan wont we?...."[/i:bd037e8e53]

Maintaining the eyecontact link Morathi was carefully editing Dr Mooreland's recent memories, patching in parts of memories from previous dives to fill in the blanks of an uneventful routine dive...

[i:bd037e8e53]"...Yes... A pity.... Ah well... A couple more dives at the last few sites and then we are done for this trip.... We can always try again another Year I guess...."[/i:bd037e8e53]

Morathi smiled as it appeared her editing of Mooreland's memories had worked, noting in the corner of her eye that the Revenants were carefully taking care of the Hardsuit's blackboxes and artifact storage cases and replacing them with blanks as they assisted her in helping Dr Mooreland de-suit. Having liberated him from the bulky suit, she gently steered the good doctor towards the Ekaterina's mess hall leaving the Revenants to cover up the dive's discoveries...

**********

Later that evening, having bid Dr Moorland a good night's rest after the tiring dive, Morathi typed up the dive's true discoveries which were now only known to herself and the six Revenants onboard. She had personally edited Dr Mooreland's recall of the dive, and as far as the Russian crew had been concened it had been an uneventful survey. Attaching the photos of the artifacts recovered, she reported that the Ekaterina would be heading back to port and in the meantime she would study the retrieved artifacts as best she could.

This information was then sent of to Julius via encypted satphone uplink. She intentionally did not include the precise GPS location of the settlement that had been found, she trusted the encyption but broadcasts could always be intercepted and even the best codes could be cracked eventually, Julius would understand this caution, thus she would save such information for a face to face report.