\ Author:Kaarin http://drupal.wildandbad.com/taxonomy/term/182/all en 2021-05-25 06:15 - Tuesday http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3514 <p><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The ride to the motel was eerily silent, punctuated mainly by the occassional grunt of pain when they hit a bump in the road. Eventually, light conversation made its way in after the initial shock after her jumping passed, directing them to the glove box for the envelope full of money. Naturally, Jasmin just kind of shrugged when they asked why she had a fairly large quantity of <span style="font-style:italic">cash</span> in her glove box.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Getting to a room proved to be more painful, the effect of the blood from before starting to wear off on her. The two women did eventually get her into a room, and on bed though, leaving the vampire finally able to relax, staring up at the cieling. &quot;Thank you, both of you,&quot; she managed, with a glance over at the clock.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin pulled blankets over her damaged legs. No sense having the distraction, and she&#39;d need to cover herself completely very soon. &quot;I owe both of you my life, now. Thank you, again. I&#39;m sorry I couldn&#39;t explain more, but....&quot; she gestured to the window. &quot;Sunlight. It is a slight issue, as <span style="font-style:italic">both</span> of you seem to understand.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Anne, feeling more like herself, chuckled at Jasmin&rsquo;s words and looked at the clock too. It was almost dawn. Frowning, she got up quickly and closed the curtains of the only window in the room; but, not happy with the results, she proceeded to take a blanket from the closet and secure it against the window as well. &ldquo;This will do,&rdquo; she said finally.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Cadee watched Anne work silently for a few seconds and then turned her attention on the vampiress. Now it was the time to ask questions, even more so if Jasmin&rsquo;s &lsquo;gratitude&rsquo; may have softened her a little. All cards were in the open, they knew she was a vampire, and she knew they knew. It was time to talk openly.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;You said Romano did this to you,&rdquo; she asked the other. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why you were in the open almost at dawn? Did he lock you out or something like that?&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;Something like that, yes,&quot; she replied evenly, folding her hands over one another. The legs still hurt, and probably would for a while. But at least now they could rest. &quot;He was waiting for me when I got home with his thugs &ndash; two of them are still on my living room floor. Romano did... something. Not sure what, but couldn&#39;t break the glass doors.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin chuckled to herself, and shook her head. &quot;And you know, the worst part of it all really <span style="font-style:italic">is</span> the insult. Like I&#39;m not dangerous enough to properly stake or set on fire.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Cadee smiled, understanding her outrage. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re in entertainment; you surely understand the need for a grand finale. He probably thought your despair as the time went by was worth it.&rdquo; She shrugged, &ldquo;men usually underestimate women, more so that lecherous one. You may not be dangerous, but you sure are resourceful enough.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;Hey!&quot; Jasmin snapped back at her, glaring. That was... how could she? Ok, she&#39;d never seen her fight, but still. To hear herself called that by this young woman, whether or not she was a hunter grated her. &quot;I am <span style="font-style:italic">plenty</span> dangerous. You don&#39;t get to be my age without it.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Cadee&rsquo;s eyes twinkled in mischief at the vampiress&rsquo; outrage. &ldquo;Maybe when you&rsquo;re recovered we could do a little sparring? Show me how good you are? I&rsquo;d like the sport.&rdquo; Her eyes moved to Jasmin&rsquo;s covered legs, which showed not too straight, even below the blanket, and she sobered up. &ldquo;Maybe we should straighten your leg up before it heals like that, don&rsquo;t you think? Or do you have some kind of vampire physician that can do it?&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin nodded a bit at that, relaxing back a bit more. She studied Cadee in a new light now, appraising her with a thing smile coming to her lips. &quot;Ah, yes. You must be Anne&#39;s hunter friend. I suspected she would bring you.&quot; And it wasn&#39;t obvious, either. It meant the woman was either lucky or dangerous herself. &quot;There aren&#39;t exactly doctors among us. Most would find my laid up in bed like this hilarious. Have a good laugh at the jumper.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;Guilty as charged,&rdquo; Cadee nodded. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d intended to pay you a visit, in a few days, but alas, things got a little hurried.&rdquo; She looked at Anne who was glaring at her. &ldquo;Sorry, Anne, but if my best friend is working for a vampire, the least I can do is meet her.&rdquo; Then she turned to Jasmin again. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the typical hunter, I don&rsquo;t kill just for killing&hellip; never been my way. But I protect my own.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin watched the two like ping-pong balls going back and forth, giving out a small chuckle of hers. Of course she had planned it; and she fully expected that any such meeting would have probably included warnings. &quot;Well, then, we&#39;re suprisingly more alike than you realize,&quot; she spoke lightly, trying her best to put on a bit of roguish charm.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;Killing just seems so pointless.&quot; And fun, she didn&#39;t say. It could be fun, but there were times to avoid it. Besides, going for the pain was so much better. &quot;I&#39;ve got a nice life, well, unlife I suppose. It&#39;s got power, money, and a nice little niche for myself. Add to that immortality, and it&#39;s a nice little gig. Not something you throw away.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;I guess we understand each other, then. Although, to be honest, it&rsquo;s the first time I talk with a vampire with your&hellip; <i>unique</i> approach to life.&rdquo; Cadee nodded again, thoughtful; she remembered her mother&rsquo;s stories about Californian slayer Buffy Summers and her vampire lover, Angel. He had been souled, if she wasn&rsquo;t mistaken, and lost his mind eventually, years after his slayer&rsquo;s death. However, she didn&rsquo;t believe it was the case with Jasmin, and maybe there were more vampires like her and she just hadn&rsquo;t meet them&hellip; she was young; she didn&rsquo;t pretend to know everything.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> They understood each other all right, there wasn&rsquo;t need of more talking on the matter. And she didn&rsquo;t think Jasmin would tell her more about Romano, but she had to try; besides, her interest in the sorcerer had grown since Logan had told her he worked for him.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;What did you do to enrage Romano like this? You sure he won&rsquo;t follow you here?&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Now she continued to appraise Cadee carefully. She had to tread especially carefully now; that she wasn&#39;t dead already meant that this might be why, though she did doubt that the other woman would do anything with Anne around. At least, not right now. Unfortunately, with Balthazar, she had a great deal in the way of conjecture and very little in the way of evidence for any of her conjectures.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;I have a reputation among the local community,&quot; she spoke evenly, simply. Start with the true and easily verifiable. &quot;My library isn&#39;t nearly as good as any of the more specialized ones, but being a generalist means being able to point people in the right direction. Romano... I recently tried to lead him astray in some of his research. This was him stealing an item from me that I was attempting to keep out of his posession.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She paused again in her consideration. Yes, that would do. Cadee had no need to know what the exact item was, and unless there was no other alternative, she wasn&#39;t about to tell her, either. But Jasmin knew the next question that was to come; and she knew that the answer was terrifying. &quot;I confess that I don&#39;t know his exact intentions. But, I believe that Romano is attempting to achieve immortality. His questions of late have involved artifacts relating to restoration of life, and once, regarding to mystical theft of bodies.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Anne&rsquo;s gasp was clearly audible in the silence that followed, even if she felt cast out of the conversation, she didn&rsquo;t miss the gravity of the situation. After Jasmin&rsquo;s warning about Romano, she had questioned Cadee about him, and worried about her friend&rsquo;s answers. An evil sorcerer, unscrupulous enough to take whatever measures to attain his goals; owner of a multimillion worth company that covered for a myriad of shady business, natural <i>and</i> supernatural&hellip; who could achieve <i>immortality</i>? Not good news at all.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Cadee looked at her and read her expression easily enough; besides, she was sure it mirrored her own. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think Romano&rsquo;s area of expertise was necromancy,&rdquo; she said slowly, and then a thought hit her. &ldquo;Those&hellip; things in the club, they weren&rsquo;t alive&hellip; I&rsquo;ve found two more of them since then, and I&rsquo;ve overheard the cops of the SCU talking about their growing in numbers, all over the city, they are worried sick about the matter&hellip; You mentioned body theft, could they be Romano&rsquo;s doing?&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin perked up at the question. The things that had attacked Graveyard fell to the wayside in her research in favor of the Eye. But if the Special Crimes Unit was talking about them, and there were more? That wasn&#39;t exactly the best news. She whistled lowly at that. &quot;If they were, why were they there? But, it&#39;s possible. I know less about what those things <span style="font-style:italic">are</span> and more what they&#39;re <span style="font-style:italic">not</span>.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She raised her hand, counting off fingers, wincing a bit at her rib cage as she moved. &quot;Feels like three broken ribs. Anyway, they aren&#39;t vampires. They weren&#39;t room temperature. They also aren&#39;t zombies of either stripe I&#39;ve heard of. Too intelligent for one, and even zombies tend to stop moving faster than them.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;No, not zombies. I dealt with two of them that night, in your back alley; maybe you have me on film,&rdquo; she winked at Jasmin at that. &ldquo;The ones I found in my rounds, I couldn&rsquo;t kill them either, and one of them was an old woman, she still had her bathrobe on. They were attacking a homeless guy, at least I could help him.&rdquo; Cadee sighed, frustrated at the memories of that night. Those things hadn&rsquo;t even tried to fight her when they noticed she wasn&rsquo;t easy prey, finally managing to escape after she had hidden when a police patrol passed by.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;However, they surely are too fast and <i>awake</i> for zombies&hellip; they talk too. But you&rsquo;re right, why would Romano attack a place he was in; too much risk.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She looked at Jasmin in the eye, a little doubtful about what she was going to propose; but she knew her limits, and if what the vampire had said was true, she could be a good source of information. &ldquo;What if I can get one of them here, so we can interrogate it&hellip; maybe we can learn something that way? Seems you know Romano better than me.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin listened to the new information, testing the movement she had in her arms without eliciting extreme pain. &quot;That&#39;s... odd. Extremely odd, actually. Someone <span style="font-style:italic">could</span> be experimenting, but I don&#39;t think Romano would be careless enough to allow his experiments to escape. It&#39;s not like the man. He&#39;s far too careful.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She drummed her fingers a bit. &quot;If we could get one to question, it might provide answers. I could even tell you if it&#39;s human, with a drink of its blood. There&#39;s differences in flavors and textures, you see.&quot;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure you can.&rdquo; Cadee smiled broadly, wondering what she would notice if she drank <i>her</i> blood, she guessed it&rsquo;d be like a cocktail of different beings. &ldquo;So it&rsquo;s settled, I&rsquo;m a little busy tomorrow and the night after, but I&rsquo;ll get you one of those things by Saturday night tops. Now, about your legs? Want me to try my best?&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin nodded slightly at that. &quot;Knock yourself out. I&#39;m going to need a wheelchair. Be a regular terror on wheels by the time this is all through. Can make the best of it, though. Just get a nice blanket and drape it over. Be like FDR. Shame I could only vote for Truman and Ike.&quot; <span style="font-style:italic">That&#39;s right, hide your worry about her behind bravado. Just like your femme fatale roles.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Cadee nodded, serious, not buying the bravado but respecting the vampire for it. &ldquo;Just get something to bit on, then. We&rsquo;re in for a ride.&rdquo;</div> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3514#comments Author:Ana Author:Kaarin Character:Anne Millet Character:Cadee Cloud Character:Jasmin Tue, 22 Mar 2011 02:02:13 +0000 Kaarin 3514 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 2021-05-25 05:10 - Tuesday "A flying vampire" http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3513 <p><p> Jasmin paced back and forth on the terrace, her gaze turning East, always East. The rage had threatened to overwhelm her when the first calls went to voice mail. She&#39;d kept dialing however, and eventually, in desperation, turned to dialing Anne&#39;s number. That finally produced someone answering their phone, and her pleading with the young woman to come at once. For her plan to work, Jasmin knew she&#39;d need someone to help her get somewhere safe once she got off the roof.</p> <p> Now her gaze moved between horizon and phone. Anne didn&#39;t know the details, just that she needed the other woman to come <em>now</em> and that her life was in danger. *<em>Trusting the friend of a hunter. I must be mad. I&#39;m liable to end up as dead from this as if I&#39;d done nothing.</em>* But in the end, she knew that likely death was better than certain.</p> <p> As her pacing continued, she looked at the time once more, before moving to look over the edge, and then returning to the pacing. She knew she should stop, but it helped the nerves. Dawn was coming, after all. Finally, she just collapsed into a lawn chair, and waited. Someone would be here soon.</p> <p> Cadee followed Anne, cycling wildly through almost desert streets.&nbsp; She knew Anne was choosing their route, she knew the neighbourhood streets, its twists and turns, as the back of her palm, and she was evading populated streets; sacrificing distance in lieu of speed, reasons unknown.</p> <p> She had been returning from a busy hunting night &ndash;those strange not-quite-dead creatures again, it seemed they were growing in numbers too &ndash; when she had almost collided with Anne in her way out. She hadn&rsquo;t explained much, but ordered her to take her bike and follow. It was almost dawn and she looked determined, so Cadee had obeyed.</p> <p> &ldquo;Are you gonna tell me where we&rsquo;re going?&rdquo; Cadee shouted to Anne, in a moment the other girl got close enough to hear.</p> <p> Anne looked back over her shoulder and laughed, she was enjoying herself, the imp. &ldquo;To Jasmin&rsquo;s,&rdquo; she shouted back at last. &ldquo;Sounded dead scared on the phone, needs me asap.&rdquo;</p> <p> Cadee almost yelled in outrage, <span style="font-style:italic">Jasmin?</span> She was too tired for this! Dammit! But she kept pedaling, if Anne was going to Jasmin at dawn, she surely wanted to go along.</p> <p> She picked up her phone, and looked at it again, getting up to pace. For a moment she looked at it again and considered calling Balthazar. Just to fuck with him one final time, just in case. Maybe swearing &ndash; no, no, no <em>forgiving</em> him. It&#39;d cause the wizard worry to hear her do something like that. Then she decided against it. Better not to give him the satisfaction.</p> <p> It was when she looked over the edge that she couldn&#39;t believe what she was seeing. People.... biking? <em>Biking</em>? That couldn&#39;t seriously be her, could it? The figure looked familiar. Pulling her phone, she dialed Anne again quickly, trying to get an answer. When she heard the answer, she wasn&#39;t sure what Anne said, her mind racing.</p> <p> &ldquo;Hello. Is that you down there on the bikes? I can see a couple of riders. You can drive, can&#39;t you? Please say yes.&rdquo;</p> <p> &ldquo;Sure I can,&rdquo; Anne answered, breathless from the ride. She looked up; was Jasmin watching from her terrace? She couldn&rsquo;t make it from the street, not at night, at least. This was getting stranger and stranger. &ldquo;What do you need, Jasmin? Should I go up?&rdquo;</p> <p> Jasmin gave an audible sound of relief, patting her back pocket. Her keys were still there. That was a relief at least. &ldquo;No, no don&#39;t come up. There&#39;s nothing you can do for me up here.&rdquo; She paused for a moment, moving over to the side. &ldquo;Look, Anne. I don&#39;t have much time to explain. It&#39;s a long story. But I&#39;ll need you to help me to a motel I know that won&#39;t ask questions. Is that you down there?&rdquo;</p> <p> &ldquo;Yeah, it&rsquo;s me. Cadee&rsquo;s here too.&rdquo; She continued looking furiously up, she really couldn&rsquo;t see a thing.</p> <p> &ldquo;She&rsquo;s in the penthouse terrace,&rdquo; Cadee interrupted her, looking up too, aware of her efforts. &ldquo;I can see her.&rdquo;</p> <p> Anne nodded and continued talking on the phone. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll take you wherever you want to go, just tell me what to do.&rdquo;</p> <p> Jasmin continued to watch the area. At last, things were looking up, though with her roommate along? <em>No. No time to complain.</em> She rattled off an address quickly. &ldquo;That&#39;s in case... Anne. Thank you,&rdquo; she moved back to the sword momentarily, running her tongue along the blade and shuddered. It might not do much. But that deliciously powerful blood might help some.</p> <p> She made the mistake of looking down for a moment, snapping her head up and steadying herself, eyes closed. That was a long way down. Jasmin waited a few more moments to gather her nerves, before taking a single, fateful step forward, air rushing around her, arms up and over her head. Then suddenly her jaw was clenched, and pain shot through her body as she stopped moving, fighting the urge to scream.</p> <p> Anne watched the vampiress&rsquo; fall with horror, frozen. For half a second she stupidly thought she would turn into a crow or a bat or something, like in one of her novels, but Jasmin fell like lead, seemingly gaining speed with momentum; she looked like a broken doll being tossed by a careless child.&nbsp; And then it came the noise, something between a splash and a thud. She didn&rsquo;t react until she felt Cadee spring into action next to her.</p> <p> Without a word, Cadee jumped off her bike and in two strides she was next to the vampiress, looking at her thoroughly before daring to touch her. Jasmin had fallen legs first, probably on purpose, and they were clearly broken, in more than one piece, too. One of the femurs was showing through her jeans, a mess of ragged flesh and shattered bone, the other was twisted in a very unnatural way at the height of her calf; her arms didn&rsquo;t look broken, but she had damaged them pretty bad protecting her head, which wasn&rsquo;t as bad as she had feared it would be.&nbsp;</p> <p> What could have possessed the vampire to attempt a fall like that? Even if she couldn&rsquo;tdie, she must be in excruciating pain. But this wasn&rsquo;t the moment to ask.</p> <p> &ldquo;Jasmin?&rdquo; she called the vampire, softly. &ldquo;Can you hear me?&rdquo;</p> <p> Pain. Oh the pain was incredible. She moved her hands just enough over her mouth to scream into them, an event which seemed to last an eternity to her, but couldn&#39;t have been more than about a good half minute. Then she started to laugh, unaware of Cadee&#39;s question, nearly hysterical. &ldquo;I&#39;m... going... to LIVE!&rdquo;</p> <p> One of her arms moved behind her back slowly, fishing the keys out of her pocket. They fell on the sidewalk next to her. That was when the voice began to penetrate at last, laughter decreasing although not quite stopping. &ldquo;Oh, yes, Cadee was it? ... oh yes, I can hear you just fine... you know how we are in theater, have to make an entrance....</p> <p> Through the laughter, she pushed herself to roll over, phone forgotten as she did so, screeching in pain again. Her face was bruised and battered as well. She looked over the two women as she began to calm. &ldquo;Let this... let this be a lesson to you,&rdquo; she laughed again, pointing at Anne. &ldquo;Don&#39;t leave... don&#39;t leave someone in the death trap... they will do something stupid and escape.&rdquo;</p> <p> Cadee looked from the hysterical Jasmin to Anne, and they exchanged a puzzled look. She didn&rsquo;t really follow the vampiress histrionics, but this wasn&rsquo;t the moment to try and do that either. &nbsp;She took the car keys Jasmin had dropped and threw them to Anne.</p> <p> &ldquo;Bring the car,&rdquo; she ordered. Anne nodded and left for the buildings underground parking entrance. Cadee looked back to Jasmin. &ldquo;Oh yeah, it&rsquo;s Cadee and you&rsquo;re alive, or as alive as you can be. Now, let&rsquo;s forget theatrics and get you somewhere shady, right? Sun is about to rise.&rdquo;</p> <p> &ldquo;Well, this will hurt,&rdquo; she added, moving so she could raise her. Cadee slid an arm under Jasmin&rsquo;s broken legs and another beneath her back, and raised her effortlessly. The vampiress groaned and closed her eyes. &ldquo;Sorry, Jasmin. But I guess the less we&rsquo;re in open sight, the better.&rdquo;</p> <p> Jasmin dropped her head back, blinking several times at the pain and actually breathing. It was a rare event, but it stopped the urge to scream. She was... off the ground? This easily? Her head turned to the side. &ldquo;Listen to me,&rdquo; she managed to croak out, and breathed deeply again.</p> <p> &ldquo;Romano,&rdquo; she said at last, with the car coming around. The rage welled up inside of her, fighting through the pain. &ldquo;That lecherous old troll did this... this... and the worst is the insult! What am I, a new fucking turn? Not dangerous enough to kill?&rdquo;</p> <p> *<span style="font-style:italic">Romano again! Who is he? Fucking Houdini to appear everywhere?</span>* At the thought of the escape artist, she looked up and chuckled; Jasmin probably deserved the title best, surviving such a&nbsp; fall. &ldquo;My guess&rsquo;s&nbsp; you&rsquo;re not easy to kill, Jas,&rdquo; she said as she walked to the car. &ldquo;And I wouldn&rsquo;t be so angry at not being a pile of dust, if I were you.&rdquo;</p> <p> With care, she managed to get the vampiress in the back seat of the car, as comfortable as she could get, while Anne moved the bikes to the building&rsquo;s parking lot. Five minutes later, they were in their way to the motel.</p> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3513#comments Author:Ana Author:Kaarin Character:Anne Millet Character:Cadee Cloud Character:Jasmin Storybuilding Tue, 22 Mar 2011 01:55:33 +0000 Allyana 3513 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 2021-05-25 01:57 - Tuesday http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3512 <p><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The vampire took the steps to her condo two at a time. If nothing else, Jasmin was in a good mood tonight. There wouldn&#39;t be much that could get her down, after all. She was home, she had the Eye safely stowed in a small box; her sword hung in her left hand in the sheeth, carried like she had just come home from practice, if anybody had bothered to ask. Her keys were out and in the lock as she passed inside, shutting the door behind her and locking it.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin turned then and stopped at the sight before her. Balthazar she knew; Logan she knew. The other two heavies with him, she didn&#39;t. &ldquo;Balthazar,&rdquo; she spoke with more venom than usual. &ldquo;I come to find you invading my personal home without an invitation. Is there a reason for this? I thought we had an understanding.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The sorcerer was sitting calmly on the woman&rsquo;s sofa, surrounded by his three henchmen. &ldquo;You know what, I also thought we had an understanding. But then, you had to go and lie to me. I don&rsquo;t like liars Jasmin, I don&rsquo;t like them one bit&rdquo;. Balthazar crossed his legs, making himself comfortable as if he was in his own home. &ldquo;So it leads me to wonder, why did you do it Jasmin, why did you have to go behind my back? It&rsquo;s just so very disappointing&rdquo;. Balthazar gave a quick glance to his two brutes and they began to advance.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin looked between the two of them and sighed to herself. Humans, she knew from the smell. More importantly, how the fuck did he... <span style="font-style:italic"><i>the old geezer must have been scrying</i>.</span> She put the sword aside for a moment as they started to walk over, setting the box down, moving to stand with both arms out before her, palms in.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;Let&#39;s do this the legal way. This is your <span style="font-style:italic"><i>warning</span></i> to leave now.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The first one aimed a fist to her face, the vampire&#39;s face quickly shifting as she reached up to knock the arm away. His other other came around to be blocked easily enough. As her fingers came out to strike his windpipe, she could feel the other one kick her in the kneecap. Jasmin dropped down to one knee, rolling aside in time to avoid a stake aimed at her back.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Then she was back on her feet, and moving again. She caught the next blow on the way to her chest, pulling him towards her. A quick grab, twist, and audible crack as his neck snapped. Her attention returned to the first one now, trading blows with him quickly. The din, the flow of battle, she just felt so <span style="font-style:italic"><i>alive</span></i> when it happened. As her palm struck bone of the nose, she again felt another life snuff out. Another lifetime of possibility, gone in a moment.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin licked her lips as she picked up her sword again, holding it in the left at the ready position. &ldquo;....you have no idea what a turn-on it is when someone provides foreplay like that.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;Well, that was a waste of two perfectly good employees,&rdquo; the sorcerer yawned, completely unconcerned that two men were just killed. &ldquo;Logan, can you please retrieve that box there. Then we can be on our way&rdquo;.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Logan nodded, as he advanced slowly. The vampire was clearly dangerous, but he was no push over himself. When he got into range, Jasmin lashed out like a viper, her blade arching up, down and then straight towards his chest. Matching her inhuman speed, Logan spun sideways, his hand shooting out to grasp Jasmin&rsquo;s wrist. She was quick to react, kicking up, but Balthazar&rsquo;s bodyguard had anticipated the response and his foot was up even faster, knocking her leg out of the way with his own. With strength that he shouldn&rsquo;t have, he tugged to his left, practically throwing the vampire across the room.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> As she sailed through the air, she had to wonder. What was he? A normal human shouldn&#39;t be this fast or strong. Maybe one of those half-breed dem- the thought broke as her back landed on the ground. Legs came into the air, jumping back up onto her feet. &ldquo;Logan, this man is not worthy dying for,&rdquo; she snapped at him.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> When he began to come close, she struck again with blinding speed, Logan catching the blade of her sword in his hands. She could smell the blood in the palms this closely, more pungent and sweet than normal, drawing her blade back towards her, Logan&#39;s advance forcing her to actually retreat up the stairs, towards the terrace.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Logan ignored Jasmin&rsquo;s comment as he continued to stalk forward, preparing to pounce.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;That&rsquo;s enough Logan,&rdquo; Balthazar&rsquo;s voice called out seriously. Although relatively sure his bodyguard could finish off the vampire, at this point, he was not going to take any unnecessary risks.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Grinding to a halt, Logan stopped his advance and stole a quick glance back. The sorcerer had the box in his hand. &ldquo;Whatever you want boss,&rdquo; he answered, honestly a bit disappointed. His blood was pumping and he was itching for battle.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Always an opportunist, Jasmin tried to take advantage of the distraction. Running forward, she intended to decapitate the young man, but it was now the mage&rsquo;s turn to intervene. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned an unseen force which he used to hurl Jasmin through the windows to the balcony outside.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Balthazar casually walked towards the newly smashed window and inspected the small outdoor space. No fire escape, no other close rooftops - this was perfect. &ldquo;You know, I do believe morning is just over the horizon,&rdquo; he laughed, enjoying the sight of his enemy struggling to her feet. &ldquo;When was the last time you got to see the sunrise? I bet it&rsquo;s been far too long&rdquo;.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Calling out words of power, the broken glass flew back into place, reforming the window. One final small spell to reinforce everything and it was done - the sorcerer had sealed her fate. &ldquo;Thanks for picking this up for me Jazzy,&rdquo; Romano called out, holding out the box to taunt the woman caught on the other side of the glass. &ldquo;I owe you one&rdquo;.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> With that, Romano and his bodyguard disappeared out the front door, leaving Jasmin locked out on the balcony.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin rushed forward. Rage boiled up inside, over any sense of pleasure she might have at the battle, her blade left on the roof. Hands moved over her face, expecting to crash through her own window, fantasies of digging her fangs into Balthazar&#39;s neck running through her mind....</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> ....a moment later, she was looking up from the ground, up at the windows, banging fiercly on it. &ldquo;Get back here you coward!&rdquo; she screamed at it. &ldquo;BACK HERE&rdquo; A final, frustrated bang on the door, and she turned back to survey the area, face returning to normal.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The vampire paced, and felt around in the back of her pocket. There it was. Cell phone. Handy inventions, as she looked back inside. He was gone with the Eye. For a moment, to soothe her rage, she reclaimed her blade and made just a small taste of the blood there... and the rush was incredible. Oh, it was always was, but this, this was special. Powerful.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> When she came down from the high, a plan formed, beginning to dial her contacts.</div> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3512#comments Author:Kaarin Author:Shaun Character:Balthazar Romano Character:Jasmin Character:Logan Location:Jasmin's Apartment Tue, 22 Mar 2011 01:45:10 +0000 Kaarin 3512 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 2021-05-24 20:15– Monday http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3505 <p><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The lone car pulled off to the side of the road in Maryland, door shutting. Jasmin moved around to the trunk of her car, keys out as she unlocked it. Her normal patrons wouldn&#39;t recognize her tonight: jeans, boots, a black turtleneck, and trenchcoat; her broadsword left the trunk and quickly got tied around her waist and covered. Patting her phone and bluetooth in the back, she gave a final look across the area, before making her way into the woodland area.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> After twenty minutes, she finally heard a voice coming at her from a tree behind her. &quot;That is quite far enough. Have you brought the money?&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She turned in place, looking for the source, unable to see. <span style="font-style:italic">Just my fucking luck.</span> Only her inborn night vision permitted her some degree of sight and navigation. &quot;Yes, I do,&quot; she spoke up, her voice carrying. &quot;Do you have the item?&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;Show me.&quot; Of course, she had expected that, as she pulled a large envelope from the right side of her jacket. &quot;Toss it on the ground,&quot; she heard the voice say. Jasmin complied stepping away from it. There was a rustling a few moments later as it opened.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Moments later, she turned to find the greenish, Chameleon-resembling demon looking at her, highly annoyed, a bag over its own shoulder. Angry teeth bared at her. &quot;This is <span style="font-style:italic">half</span> of what I asked for, bitch.&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;Yes, it is,&quot; replied evenly, hands resting at her waist. Her eyes never left the demon this time. Why this demon needed money, she didn&#39;t know or care &ndash; cash had become a more common currency among some demons, she knew, for the same reason she had the practices she did. In the modern world, integration and camoflage was not just a luxury, but a necessity.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;I told you. I get the money, and you get the item.&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;And I told <span style="font-style:italic">you</span> that you get half in advance, and half following delivery.&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> For a moment, the two of them stared at each other. Then it reached into its bag, and removed a box, opening it up to show the contents. Jasmin moved closer to look inside, the look on her face turning reverent. Here, at last, was the item Kadmus had written about: an item carried by St. Vigeous, which became a symbol of his station and authority. While she didn&#39;t share the religious devotion some were said to, Jasmin did have an admiration for someone able to amass a following large enough to require <span style="font-style:italic">three</span> armies to defeat him.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;Satisfied?&quot; he asked, as she looked over the design. It was a braclet, held on with a single clasp; three chains connected to a ring, clearly meant to be worn on the middle finger. And in the braclet itself was a stone, a small jewel which did resemble an eye.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She looked up, and back at him steadily. &quot;Yes. I am. Just... one more thing.&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The demon tilted its head slightly. &quot;What&#39;s that?&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Her broadsword was out a moment later, giving an inhuman growl as the blade flashed around, cutting into the back of its kneecap. The demon was on the ground as the blade swung back into its arm, the vampire moving around behind it. When the blade dropped to the ground, she wrapped her arms around its neck and began to pull back.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;....wh....why....?&quot; it choked out.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;Because I want the tactile pleasure of ending your existence, and I can&#39;t afford to have any loose ends.&quot; It continued to struggle as her phone rang. Of course, the phone rang. Always at the worst possible times. Jasmin reached up to hit the blue tooth button, speaking light. &quot;Hello?&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Anne&#39;s voice came back. &quot;Hello, Jasmin?&quot; The vampire gave a jerk back on the demon as it tried to make a pained sound. &quot;What was that?&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;Oh, nothing. I&#39;m at a dinner meeting and some just,&quot; she gave another good jerk, fulling crushing the windpipe, &quot;had something go down the wrong pipe. What can I do for you, lovely?&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;I was thinking about your offer,&quot; Anne sounded a bit hesitant, she thought. Nervous, but not offput. &quot;I&#39;m thinking of accepting, and was wondering about the details.&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> A quick twist as it tried to throw her, and she felt the struggling start to lessen. The power was intoxicating. &quot;Tell you what. I&#39;m currently out of town on a business trip. Be back -&quot; she winced at the audible snap of the demon&#39;s neck, standing and recovering her sword &ndash; &quot;rather late tonight. How about if you come see me at the club tomorrow night? We can talk details, pay, benefits then.&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;Really?&quot; Now Anne sounded excited. Jasmin couldn&#39;t help but think that she hadn&#39;t heard the sound. It made her all giddy.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;Really, my dear. We&#39;ll get together then, and you can make a final call. Come by whenever you have time; I&#39;ll tell the bouncers to send you right to me.&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &quot;Alright. I&#39;ll see you then. Thank you.&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin looked into the box briefly, and then down at the demon&#39;s body. &quot;No, my dear. Thank <span style="font-style:italic">you</span>. Have a good evening.&quot; She thought she heard the usual, bandying reply, but she missed it as the phone hung up. Reaching down, she collected the envelope as well. &quot;Thank you, indeed..&quot; She rapped her knuckles on the back of the demon&#39;s head, beginning back to the car with an extra spring in her step.</div> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3505#comments Author:Kaarin Character:Jasmin Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:23:59 +0000 Kaarin 3505 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 2021-05-23 22:22 - Sunday "Out of State Trip" http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3504 <p><div align="JUSTIFY"> Jasmin drummed her fingers on the dashboard of her car, looking down at her spedometer one more time. It was rarer for her to travel, and she knew that she had to get back to New York as quickly as possible. Still, the ride was only a few hours on I-95. If all went according to plan, she would have the Eye and be back in New York before anyone knew that she was gone. Looking up at the latest sign, she decided that it was time to make the call she had been dreading, putting her Bluetooth headset on.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> Reaching down, she picked up the phone to dial a number, waiting for someone to answer. A secretary picked up, and asked her to wait a moment as she was transferred to him. &ldquo;Balthazar!&rdquo; she let out before he could say anyway. &ldquo;How are you doing this evening?&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;Jasmin, darling!&rdquo; The voice on the other end of the phone was loud and excited. &ldquo;I was beginning to think you&rsquo;d never call. Put an old man out of his misery and tell me you have some good news&rdquo;.<br /> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> Her eyes glanced over to the seat beside her only briefly, with the address and sketch. Once she&#39;d seen the Eye in Kadmus&#39; work, it had proven surprisingly easy to locate. It lead to a flurry of phone calls and deals to make arrangements to meet the demon who had it to discuss a possible deal, and used up <span style="font-style:italic">most</span> of her favors owed to do this discretely. It was, she decided, fate bordering on predestination. &ldquo;Unfortunately not,&rdquo; she said, trying to keep her voice light. &ldquo;The information on the Eye is scant at best, despite my records. By all accounts, it vanished into the vaults of the Knights Templar &ndash; if it existed at all.&rdquo;<br /> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> There was a long silence as the mage was contemplated her words. Balthazar was not used to being disappointed and the bad news clearly weighed heavy on him. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s quite upsetting. You&rsquo;re telling me that with your extensive library you found nothing? No leads, ideas, anything?&rdquo; His tone was becoming frantic. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t stress how important it is I get the Eye&rdquo;<br /> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> Any doubt she had had before at the course of action faded, though she could smell the opportunity. Balthazar was desperate for something, and desperation breeds stupidity. &ldquo;I don&#39;t know. Can you travel back in time a couple hundred years or so? There are limits, even to my knowledge. Although, maybe if you gave me some idea as to what you needed it for, that would help me broaden my search.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> There was another pause and for a moment the vampiress thought that he just may show his hand. However, despite his anxiety, Romano remained tight lipped. &ldquo;I have some critical experiments I want to do and I believe the Eye has the properties I need for them to be successful&rdquo;. It was enough to shut her up, but not enough details for her to ask questions. No, no one could find out the true reason he needed the artifact. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and he damned well sure wasn&rsquo;t going to do anything to jeopardize it now. &ldquo;I need you to keep looking Jasmin. If you find it, whatever you want, you name your price and I&rsquo;ll get it&rdquo;.<br /> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> <i><span style="font-style:italic">So. Close.</span></i> She swerved to the side to avoid an asshole who cut her off letting out a slight shriek. &ldquo;Sorry, stuck in traffic,&rdquo; she said, returning her voice to a light tone. A blank check. He had offered her a blank check. &ldquo;I&#39;ll keep looking. But no promises. It doesn&#39;t look good - especially with St. Vigeous, it&#39;s hard to separate fact from myth. Call you back when I have more.&rdquo;<br /> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;I look forward to it.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> Sitting in his office, Balthazar sighed as the phone clicked and went dead. He tried to calm his nerves but the bad news put him over the edge, &ldquo;Fuck!&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;Oh Balthazar, don&rsquo;t fret my sweet.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> Balthazar turned to the old woman who was sitting on the edge of his desk. She had been there for the entire conversation and from the coy smile on her face, the mage was certain she was about to be the bearer of good news. &ldquo;Well out with it. What did you see&rdquo;<br /> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;The vampire is lying through her pointy little fangs.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> Romano practically jumped out of his chair, as he grabbed hold of Tabitha&rsquo;s withered old hands. &ldquo;You beautiful woman, tell me more,&rdquo; he flattered.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;She knows where it is and she&rsquo;s on her way to get it now.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;Where is it?&rdquo; His voice was almost hysterical.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;That I&rsquo;m not sure. But she&rsquo;ll be successful in getting it. By tomorrow night, it will be in her possession here in New York&rdquo;.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> Balthazar beamed with delight as he pulled the Tabitha close and, to her delight began to waltz around his office. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve made me a very happy old man my darling&rdquo;. As Tabitha laughed, a wicked smile crossed the mage&rsquo;s lips. If Jasmin wanted to play games, he would be happy to oblige.</div> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3504#comments Author:Kaarin Author:Shaun Character:Balthazar Romano Character:Jasmin Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:26:19 +0000 Kaarin 3504 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 2021-05-20 23:52 – Thursday “An Evening in the Market” http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3503 <p><p> &nbsp;</p> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Finding the Grathoki Market proved as easy as it usually did. Long experience taught Jasmin how to deal with them in her own way: they would drive a harder bargain with her, but still be fair. One simply had to remember that one paid for everything obtained from them; and so finding out where a bookseller who dealt in certain books might be based was as simple as finding one who knew where specific sellers did business, and giving him a small fee upfront for the location.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin pulled her car onto the side of the street, paying the parking meter, as she went into the used book store. A man looked up from behind the counter as she came in, glasses resting on his head. &ldquo;Can I help you, miss?&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She kept her voice light and cheerful as she spoke. &ldquo;I&#39;m here to see Mr. Grath about a book.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The other watched her, and nodded, pointing towards a door. &ldquo;Through there. Make sure you remain polite.&rdquo; Jasmin nodded, leaving a small payment on the counter, then adding a second bill to the side. &ldquo;I don&#39;t understand. What&#39;s this for?&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;Your discresion in not mentioning I was here.&rdquo; He nodded, as she passed through to the next area beyond. It wasn&#39;t busy tonight, but the books here were bound in a variety of materials, many of them quite old in appearance. She waited patiently for her turn to talk to the Grathoki dealer, whose name nobody, it seemed, could afford to buy aside from calling him merely, &ldquo;Mr. Grath.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> When she finally reached him, he did a momentary recoil, veiny blue-skin striking her immediately. &ldquo;You, vampire. What brings you here?&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The woman looked about the books, and back towards the dealer. &ldquo;Something I am attempting to acquire. I have been told that you have a reputation for locating hard-to-find texts. Name your price and time.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;How long, depends on offer. How much, depends on what.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin smiled to herself. Of course, he wasn&#39;t going to reveal his cards first. It needed a baseline. &ldquo;I am told that you have access to texts from the Watcher&#39;s Council.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">That</span> got the Grathoki&#39;s attention fully on her. Vampires, as a rule, tried not to attract that kind of attention. Not without an angle, or something important. Immediately, in his head, the Grathoki jacked up his price accordingly. &ldquo;Council texts highly sought. Very dangerous to have. That will cost you more.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;I understand that,&rdquo; she spoke evenly, almost biting out the word. Now began the dance, of letting the Grathoki know that she wasn&#39;t trying to fleece it, appearing desperate enough to pay the undoubtedly high fee. Moving to his shop desk, she drummed her fingers lightly. &ldquo;The text that I am looking for was reportedly recovered in the fifteenth century. Written by a vampire named Kadmus.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;Kadmus, Kadmus....&rdquo; the Grathoki spoke. &ldquo;The name sounds familiar. Religious context, I believe?&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She smiled to him lightly. At the very least, it meant he was familiar with the contents of what she was looking for. &ldquo;There is a book of his that I would like to acquire.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;<span style="font-style:italic">Very</span> dangerous book, that is.&rdquo; It considered her more closely now, studiously, with a knowing look. &ldquo;If one had knowledge of such a book, it is one whose value would be registered in the tens of thousands, minimum.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;If one had such a knowledge,&rdquo; she repeated, considering him. She patted the oversized purse she carried. She calculated out the likely price in her head, and felt her heart sink. This would, she knew, run into the kind of cash that she couldn&#39;t easily move without drawing attention. Not that quickly. No, she would have to trade.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin reached into her purse, pulling out a book wrapped in brown paper. &ldquo;If one had the work of a Watcher, could one acquire it?&rdquo; The Grathoki reached out for the book, but she pulled back. &ldquo;I show you mine if you show me yours.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> It considered her again, before moving down several shelves, and recovering a book bound in leather, bringing it back. The Grathoki opened the first pages as she looked over it. The two traded books, each looking through the initial pages. Finally, the Grathoki spoke up. &ldquo;You offering a trade, of book for book?&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;And money,&rdquo; she added hastily, making a couple hundred dollars appear on the table. &ldquo;I trust you won&#39;t speak of how you acquired that tome, yes?&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The Grathoki smiled. &ldquo;No. This one much more valuable. <span style="font-style:italic">Much</span>.&rdquo;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;Only to you,&rdquo; she returned, slipping the book into her bag. As she left the place, she felt surprised and elated, felt guided by fate, as she made her way out to the car. A sense of elation ran through her as well.</div> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3503#comments Author:Kaarin Character:Jasmin Sat, 12 Mar 2011 22:44:41 +0000 Kaarin 3503 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 2021-05-20 21:45 - Thursday - "Bookworm" http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3489 <p><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;"> As she had done for the past two evenings solid, Jasmin didn&#39;t bother with changing out of her night clothes, simply pulling the black silk robe back around her. Ever since the Monday visit from Anne, the vampire had let business sort itself, and sequestered herself, largely, for research.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She made her way to the kitchen to reach into the fridge, pull out a container of blood, and pour an oversized mug. Bringing it up, she drank a bit, the inner demon coming out. Satisfied with the selection, she nodded to herself and started for the bedroom that she used as a study.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Windows were covered over heavily, to block any potential sunlight; one end was dominated by a table against the wall, holding a desktop computer, external hard drive with the Graveyard surveillance footage, her notebooks and a number of open books; a low shelf sat under it, containing Jasmin&#39;s personal journals. And then there were the bookcases of her normal books.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She sat the mug down, reaching for the notebook to read over the night&#39;s previous notes, and the list of items to try to obtain from the Grathoki. Taking another sip from the mug, she reached over to pick up the chart on Mystery Number 1 for her: the Eye.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin turned to look over her notes.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <blockquote><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="text-decoration:underline">Mallory&#39;s Artficact Compendium</span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Providence</span>: Claims creation by St. Vigeous, c. 1000 to 1100 AD. Defeat of Vigeous 1254. Posession of Knights Templar, on Malta; last record 1375.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Powers</span>: Revivification of vampire from dust.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Physical Description</span>: None given</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="text-decoration:underline">Vallus&#39; Commentaries</span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Providence</span>: &quot;Created or Found&quot; by St. Vigeous c. 950 to 1050. Defeat in 1254. Knights Templar ambushed 1255; last record 1255. Note, Vallus commentary on Latin text points out the latin used, invenire, means both to create and to discover.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Powers</span>: &quot;Restoration&quot; of vampires; unclear what &quot;restoration&quot; entails.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Physical Description</span>: None given</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="text-decoration:underline">Zulkash&#39;s Vampiric Lore</span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Providence</span>: Created by St. Vigeous c. 1025 to 1100 AD. Defeat in 1254. Eye disappears from 1254 to 1317. Templar vault on Malta, 1317. Last record 1412.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Powers</span>: Said to &quot;hold power over the soul and life of the dead, and to restore them&quot;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Physical Description</span>: None given</div> </blockquote> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She put the blood down, going back to her shelves to peruse the books, pulling another off the shelf, one of her most guarded books: the diary of a Watcher. After about two hours of reading, she stopped, and had to read the paragraph again.</div> <blockquote><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The Fourth of October, Year of Our Lord 1437</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> My slayer brought in a local today who was badly beaten and tortured. It took some time to get him able to speak, but his reporter was reputedly the vampire Kadmus, who based on the description had five followers with him, engaged in a ritual blood feast of some sort. The name `Vigeous` was used, and I believe from the description that Kadmus may have been a personal discipline of Vigeous. Kadmus was seen reading from a book, as though giving an unholy homily.</div> </blockquote> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Grabbing her notebook, she made a new entry. The Eye wasn&#39;t mentioned directly as she read on, but some other pertinent pieces of information were. As Jasmin made a new entry in her notebook, she began to record the details: Kadmus was, indeed, a contemporary and Lieutenant to Vigeous; had seen and known the legendary vampire; and that a few books had been reportedly recovered from him, to be sent to England, reputedly containing first-hand accounts of the vampire.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin made a few more notes, and knew what she was looking for. No, still no description or anything solid. But <span style="font-style:italic">something</span> had happened to the Watchers in 2007. She still didn&#39;t know exactly what, and wasn&#39;t sure she wanted to, but a number of their works had appeared in underground markets over the years. Doubtless, they would be trying to recover their holdings. But it meant a chance that the works of Kadmus were available.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> For the first time since Monday, Jasmin went to her room to get changed.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> It was time to go to market.</div> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3489#comments Author:Kaarin Character:Jasmin Location:Jasmin's Apartment Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:51:51 +0000 Kaarin 3489 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 2021-05-17 10:25 "Confronting a Vampire" http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3488 <p><div> <strong>Jasmin&#39;s Apartment - 151 Wooster</strong></div> <div style="margin-top: 0.07in; margin-bottom: 0.07in; line-height: 100%;"> <br /> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Anne stopped in front of the double doors of Jasmin Taylor&rsquo;s elegant department building, doubting. As usual, her manager had appointed her for the woman&rsquo;s runs, but for the first time, Anne wasn&rsquo;t thrilled.</span></span></div> <div style="margin-top: 0.07in; margin-bottom: 0.07in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-top: 0.07in; margin-bottom: 0.07in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">She remembered the last time she had seen Jasmin, at the Graveyard, dressed with an incredible Goth outfit. Remembering her like that, it was incredible she had been so blind not to notice the vampire in her, but then&hellip; it was Jasmin Taylor! Then she thought about the psychos in the party and she shuddered. Anne shook her head, it wasn&rsquo;t the moment to ramble, she needed to decide what to do. Either she entered the vampire&rsquo;s lair again, or she didn&rsquo;t, it was as simple as that.</span></span></div> <div style="margin-top: 0.07in; margin-bottom: 0.07in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-top: 0.07in; margin-bottom: 0.07in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">*Who are you fooling, Annie?* she asked herself, taking a step further and pushing the huge door to enter the building. *There&rsquo;s no choice and you know it. She&rsquo;s not gonna eat you&hellip; much.*</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Jasmin sat in the living, with the stereo on, notebook out next to her and a stack of sealed envelopes. She always wrote her releases by hand - technology made the world easier, but writing statements felt more <span style="font-style:italic">real</span> that way. Still, the press&hellip; the only thought on her mind as she went back to work was how to take advantage of the events at the club. Now that things were open today, it was easy enough. A little &quot;charity&quot; payment here, a carefully worded statement there, and with luck, when they re-opened, people would show up in droves to show their support for the generous owned.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Now, if only that damned bouncer had had the decency to die. Oh well. She&#39;d fire him next month.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">At the sound of knocking at the door, she pulled herself up in the darker room, heading over to it with the notebook in hand. She unlocked and opened the door, stepping back from it. A brief glance and a smile to Anne in greeting followed. &quot;Hello. Please, come inside - how are you doing?&quot;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-top: 0.07in; margin-bottom: 0.07in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Anne smiled briefly, congratulating herself for her acting skill; she was scared to death, but still she managed to smile.</span></span></div> <div style="margin-top: 0.07in; margin-bottom: 0.07in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-top: 0.07in; margin-bottom: 0.07in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;Fine, thank you,&rdquo; she answered and followed Jasmin into the apartment, her eyes watching it as if it were the first time. And in a way it was, she had been blind about it too. Suddenly, she needed to fill the air with conversation. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s terrible what happened at the club on Sat, Jasmin. I&rsquo;m glad you&rsquo;re all right.&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&quot;Thank you,&quot; she replied lightly, letting the door fall shut. A few quick scribbles, and finally, the release was done, the stereo flipping over to a track by Emilie Autumn. Jasmin looked over to her and smiled a bit at some memories. &quot;I was relieved to see that you and your friend weren&#39;t on the casualty list. Sorry I didn&#39;t get a chance to run into you - playing hostess is busy work.&quot;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">She trailed off, tearing out the sheet as she moved to pack, and begin label one final envelope. &quot;Be ready for things to go out in a moment here&hellip;.&quot;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;No problem,&rdquo; Anne said casually, and prepared to wait. It wasn&rsquo;t the first time a client had taken his or her time before giving her instructions, but of course, they usually weren&rsquo;t blood sucking monsters.</span></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0.01in 0.07in 0.05in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0.01in 0.07in 0.05in;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">She watched Jasmin work, concentrated in the letter she was writing, listening to some ancient music she couldn&rsquo;t identify&hellip; no wonder she liked old music. How old was she? Maybe she had the wisdom of millennia like Queen Akasha? She didn&rsquo;t think she was a newly risen, they couldn&rsquo;t stand being so close to a human and not attack, like Jasper Cullen. She was so blond and delicate; one could easily forget she could go game face any moment. Maybe Carmilla? Oh yeah. Think Carmilla meets the Snow Queen.</span></span></div> <div> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Then she frowned. What the hell was she doing? This wasn&rsquo;t a damn book she was reading; this was real. Jasmin was real. She was a not-to-be-taken-lightly fucking vampire. What the hell was she thinking, playing charades like that?</span></span></div> <div> &nbsp;</div> <div> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;I know what you are.&rdquo; she spurted suddenly, before she could stop herself.</span></span></div> <div> &nbsp;</div> <div> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Jasmin worked hurridly to finish addressing the evelope, the words penetrating almost distantly. &ldquo;Yes, I was making out with another woman, and yes, I am gay,&rdquo; she said flatly, almost disinterestedly. &ldquo;I work in theater, often <span style="font-style:italic">musical</span> theater, in New York; I didn&#39;t think I had to spell it out.&rdquo; Everyone always acted so surprised when they realized that about her, even if it had taken her several decades to come to terms with it. Death didn&#39;t stop emotions.</span></span></div> <div> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">She moved to pick up the envelopes, looking over to Anne... and stopped in her tracks. There was something in her stance and pose. She couldn&#39;t mean <span style="font-style:italic">that</span>, could she? That would... no. No jumping to conclusions, as the smile returned to Jasmin&#39;s face. She tried to keep her words light and joking. &ldquo;Didn&#39;t think you were like that. Wow, my gaydar must be off.&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Anne was so surprised she couldn&#39;t speak for a few seconds; then, as she realized what the other woman had said, laughter erupted from her, like lava out of a volcano.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;Oh, my. You <i>are</i> Carmilla, all right!&rdquo; she managed to say, after the laughter subdued a little, only to start laughing again, almost hysterically, all the tension of the last few days raging off her system with her laugh.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Realization dawned. Yes, she meant vampire, and now she was... laughing? Not good. People who laughed like that tended to do stupid things, and she really did not, on top of everything else, have to hide the body of a dead courier if that became necessary. &ldquo;....uh, Anne? Are you alright? I actually have some tea on hand to help the nerves, if you need some.&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Granted, if she knew what she was, that could be an act to throw her off. It wouldn&#39;t be the first time some hunter thought playing the easy prey routine lead to an even quicker kill for them. Jasmin wasn&#39;t falling for it. <i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Please don&#39;t make me kill you. I don&#39;t need more paperwork.</span></i></span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">The mention of tea received another peal of laughter. The vampire was inviting her to drink tea&hellip; how did the nursery book go? &lsquo;Miss Spider&#39;s Tea Party&rsquo;? Oh no, no tea for her, please! However, sanity crept into her slowly, as she fought for control between hiccups and tears. As the laughter died, Anne&rsquo;s mind got clearer and she realized the danger her impulsiveness had put herself into. It seemed she didn&rsquo;t do anything right that morning. What the hell was she thinking? She asked herself not for the first time. Evidently, in nothing. Mayhap she would need that tea after all. To help the nerves.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;I know you&rsquo;re a vampire,&rdquo; she finally said, her mind strangely calm after her outburst. She couldn&rsquo;t even say she was scared anymore.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Nope! She couldn&#39;t catch a break. For a moment, she considered the usual flat denial. Telling the other woman that was crazy. That usually worked... but she considered where they were. In her home, with blinds blocking out the sun at ten in the morning. &ldquo;Calm down, my dear. Unless this is the part where you tell me you&#39;re a hunter. &ldquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">She stopped again, frustration coming to the forefront after everything else for just a moment. So much for finally being in the clear. Jasmin pushed her bitchy urges aside as a scathing remark threatened to come to the surface. &ldquo;Right. What makes you say that, then? I&#39;m a nightclub owner. Doesn&#39;t translate into soulless, evil creature readily, wouldn&#39;t you say?&rdquo; Maybe there was some chance for salvation... maybe she didn&#39;t know everything about vampires.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;<span style="font-weight: normal;">I&rsquo;m not a hunter, but you&rsquo;re a vampire.&rdquo; Anne grinned, adrenalin making her fearless. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;ve been running your errands for months with my blood count intact&hellip; now, that </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">is</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> strange, isn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo; </span></span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Jasmin shook her head slowly, circling around as she kept her eyes on the other woman. &ldquo;Not really. Think about it,&rdquo; she raised her hands slowly, fixing her with a steady gaze, an almost impish look in her eyes. &ldquo;Consider this, if you will, from the most selfish angle possible. I <span style="font-style:italic">could</span> grab and bite you. But then, you&#39;re likely to never come back or word will get around. I <span style="font-style:italic">could</span> kill you, but then, you couldn&#39;t deliver my mail for me, could you? And if <span style="font-style:italic">all</span> the couriers I hire disappear, someone is going to come looking.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;Or,&rdquo; she trailed off, taking a more relaxed stance, &ldquo;I could keep you in the dark, plead a late night working at the club, and tip you well enough to not care that I look and act a touch on the eccentric side. You&#39;re happy not knowing, I&#39;m happy getting my little jobs taken care of, and your company is happy to collect your fee.&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rotating slowly to face the vampire at all moments, Anne did consider Jasmin&rsquo;s words. It was just what she and Cadee had discussed, but still&hellip; vampires </span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">were</span></i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> soulless, evil creatures. No, she wasn&rsquo;t buying the Jack Sparrow&rsquo;s act. Much. </span></span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;How do you feed?&rdquo; she asked. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t kill couriers, your club is clean&hellip; how do you feed?&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Jasmin continued to keep an eye on her, studying the reaction as she propped herself against the wall. Waryness, to be expected; but no sign of recognizing that she moved with the careful steps of someone trained to fight. &ldquo;There&#39;s a couple of butchers that I pay well enough to not tell anyone about the blood they give me. Then the fans more than willing to experience the danger of a vampire feeding from them.&rdquo; Her eyes continued to dance impishly. No, she wouldn&#39;t tell her everything, of course. Just enough. Let the poor woman think her not a threat.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Anne nodded. She knew of those fans, addicted to the thrill of nursing vampires. You could recognize them, if you knew where to look; the Graveyard wasn&rsquo;t one of those places, but it made sense.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">She could see Jasmin relaxing at her nodding, and that put her on guard again. Could she trust her? Her explanations made sense, the club was clean, and so was her theatre company or Cadee would have heard of it. In fact, Cadee herself hadn&rsquo;t considered the vampire an immediate threat. &lsquo;Immediate&rsquo; being the key word, but what the hell...</span></span></div> <div> &nbsp;</div> <div> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;So, this is the &lsquo;<i>show me yours and I&rsquo;ll show you mine&rsquo;</i> act, but in reverse? I don&rsquo;t tell on you and you won&rsquo;t kill me?&rdquo; she asked at last. But she raised her hand before the vampire could talk, and went on. &ldquo;Just so you know, I&rsquo;m not a hunter, but I&rsquo;m closely related to one. I&rsquo;m sure that, if I disappear, she&rsquo;ll come looking here first thing.&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Clever. Very clever. Whether a lie or not... she had assumed that Anne had to have something up her sleeve. One does not confess, generally, to knowing about a vampire without reason. Death had been a consideration if needed. Time to try an approach, more subtle. Bending someone to her will was always much more fun.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;You knew I wasn&#39;t going to kill you already, or you wouldn&#39;t be here,&rdquo; she said evenly. &ldquo;You could have turned down being sent here, or pleaded illness. Could have even said that I was a colossal bitch, and lord knows they would have believed <span style="font-style:italic">that</span> if they read the gossip columns. And then you not only came... you tipped your hand to me.&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">She smiled again, a slightly more predatory, but still restrained look. &ldquo;You&#39;re a smart woman, Anne. So why tell me all this? This the part where I get blackmailed, now? It&#39;s not like I don&#39;t have the connections to help your career. I&#39;ve only been involved in entertainment since the 1950s. Looking for parts, or to move into producing?&quot;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;Ohhhhh, so you <i>were</i> Bathory in &lsquo;First Bite&rsquo;&rdquo; Anne&rsquo;s eyes brightened at the thought, her love for all things vampire &ndash;fictional at least &ndash; overcoming the seriousness of the situation. Besides, she wouldn&rsquo;t deign discussing those blackmail implications, better let her believe she was daft. &ldquo;I was sure she looked familiar. Did you work with Jack Arnold? Ever been a vampire in a vampire movie? So, just how <i>old </i>are you?&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;No; no Jack Arnold, though my partner has been in Hollywood long enough to remember the Wild West,&rdquo; she returned lightly to that, spotting the opening, noticing that she sidestepped the question of blackmail. It also told her that the young would-be actress knew the craft, though not all of the tools involved. Oh dear lord, the enthusiasm.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Times like this was when she was very, very glad that Twilight and the like had softened the mythos, made them invigorated and sexy again. &ldquo;And think, Anne. No reflection. Most cinema techniques require your actor to have that in order to be imprinted to film, even if you&#39;re playing say, Morgana le Fey. Digital recording is a new medium. I&#39;m <span style="font-style:italic">just old enough</span> to be, quite literally, worth more to you and your hunter friend still mobile.&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Yes, she would bring it back to that. She had to &ndash; she knew that the focus on that tended to break down walls. Ironically, the very offer made her harder to exploit from past experience. Humans so wanted to take the moral high ground on the big bag, so to have them <span style="font-style:italic">suggest</span> the very thing they were considering so casually made them pause. &ldquo;I&#39;ll give you and your friend a free piece of advice &ndash; Balthazar Romano. Avoid him and his close associates if you know him, and tell your friend the same. When the vampire tells you someone is bad news, <span style="font-style:italic">listen</span> to them.&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Anne frowned, she didn&rsquo;t recognize the name but she would tell Cadee about it. She too was glad the topic had somewhat moved from veiled threats to less personal ground. &ldquo;Is he another vampire?&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;No. He&#39;s a mortal sorcerer,&rdquo; she said, watching her reaction. &ldquo;Yes, those are real too, if you didn&#39;t know. He&#39;s also quite wealthy, connected, and ambitious. If the Special Crimes Unit could pin even <span style="font-style:italic">half</span> activities to him, the man would be locked up in solitary for the rest of his life.&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;Oh, I know about sorcerers and such. Living with a hunter gives you that kind of knowledge&hellip; but I never heard of Romano. I&rsquo;ll tell her.&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">She looked at Jasmin&rsquo;s attentive face, the vampire was watching her closely, probably seizing her up. She wondered about her thoughts. The morning was coming quite differently of how she had expected; from her spurting her knowledge to them talking movies. It was evident Jasmin wouldn&rsquo;t harm her; besides, the vampire was right, if she had thought so, she wouldn&rsquo;t have come. She would have to think about everything that had transpired... Now, how do you leave the beast&rsquo;s lair?</span></span></div> <div> &nbsp;</div> <div> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;Okay&hellip; it&rsquo;s been fun and all, but I have other errands to do.&rdquo; She looked at her watch casually, &ldquo;are yours ready?&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">She inclined her head slightly, moving over to the stack of envelopes to hold out for her. Jasmin, truth be told, had nearly forgotten about them. &ldquo;Ah, yes. A different kind of theater &ndash; public relations. It&#39;s all a pagent,&rdquo; as she passed the envelopes over. &ldquo;Releases for a few press contacts, something for the lawyer and police, and a nice legal document pledging to cover the expenses for any injured patrons who were uninsured.&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Then cash appeared, her usual tip for Anne. She paused for a moment to scribble on a piece of paper quickly, slipping it inside the stack of cash.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Anne nodded, checking the addresses; she&rsquo;d been to most of them. &ldquo;Piece of cake,&rdquo; she said with a smile. She walked to the door, but paused a second before leaving; she slipped the bills into her corset as usual, and as she did so, realization that the vampire was gay downed on her. Amazing.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY"> &nbsp;</div> <div> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&ldquo;You should consider producing &lsquo;Carmilla&rsquo;, you know? A pity such unique perspective put to waste&hellip;&rdquo;</span></span></div> <div> &nbsp;</div> <div> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">&quot;Already did it - 2015 release, Taylor &amp; Anderson Productions, Showtime original movie, <i>Dark Passion</i>. Not the best work, but it paid relocation expenses.&quot;</span></span></div> <div> &nbsp;</div> <div> <span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">Then she left.</span></span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"> &nbsp;</div> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3488#comments Author:Ana Author:Kaarin Character:Anne Millet Character:Jasmin Location:Jasmin's Apartment Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:43:26 +0000 Kaarin 3488 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 22:51 Jasmin Reviews Security http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3469 <p><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;"> With a sharp turn, Jasmin stormed away from the sound of downstairs, letting Lucinda Graves head down unopposed. Stupid, stupid woman. At least she could claim, honestly, that she had tried to stop her now. Her eyes turned to the other man, coming up the stairs, with a bit of purpose to his stride. For a moment, the vampire considered following him, then changed her mind. <span style="font-style:italic">Priorities</span>.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Pushing past Evalyn, she made directly for her office, slamming the door shut behind her as she reached to dial 911 on her phone. She heard a young operator answer the line, cutting said operator off mid-greeting. &ldquo;This is Jamin Taylor. No e on the end of the name. Need police and ambulance at Graveyard, address....&rdquo; she trailed off, slowing down just long enough to give the address, pausing a moment to think of how to describe the situation.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;There are at least two people firing on the lower-level of the club,&rdquo; a gloved hand reached out to the controls for her monitors, flicking through security cameras. &ldquo;Yeah, there&#39;s injured people. Send ambulance. Back to work for me.&rdquo; She ignored the standard request to please stay on the line they were always trained to give, hanging up on the operator and placing the phone down on the desk.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Click. Click.</span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin stopped and stared. In the privacy of her office, she finally gave up, a pair of now-yellow eyes watching the security monitors. She clicked through, stopping on the upstairs one. Good. That was looking normal, and her security had, finally, moved over to the stairs. It was about time.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Click. Click.</span></div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> A low, deep, animalistic growl escape from her throat at the image that greeted her on the screen. Was that one really missing half his face? It was an injury that should have left him dead, and given that the remainder of his face looked human, she had to assume not vampire.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Something inside of her snapped, the glass in her hand sailing into the wall. Every instinct told her to go down there and give in, to join the battle; to feed and to kill these things that were invading the territory of a predator which would not brook interference on this level. The rational part of her mind answered back about the dangers and the need to hide, and conceal, to be that predator.</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> A minute later, the chair across from her desk stood in pieces, and the vampire began to calm. There. She had destroyed something; the urge was settled for the moment. Training before bed would also help. When she turned her eyes back to watch, she let the fantasies of destruction pass through her&hellip;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Then she reached for her phone again to dial her lawyer. There would definitely be a Special Crimes Unit investigation at this point. Copies of security tapes could be made and reviewed later. Whoever managed to escape, found and dealt with. <span style="font-style:italic">Yes. I can get through this. It&#39;s not like I&#39;m getting any older.</span></div> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3469#comments Author:Kaarin Character:Jasmin Location:Graveyard Sat, 05 Feb 2011 17:21:17 +0000 Kaarin 3469 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 22:47 Alison ventures downstairs http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3459 <p><p> Five minutes. All she&rsquo;d wanted was five minutes alone with her man, and she couldn&rsquo;t even have that.</p> <p> Alison&rsquo;s progress across the floor to the head of the stairs had been accompanied by little other than that thought. She barely noticed Jasmin and Evalyn as she passed them by, lost in her own ruminations. She couldn&rsquo;t help feeling bitter about the interruption to her balcony rendezvous with Pablo, but she also felt sorry for the poor man in the alleyway. He&rsquo;d seemed terribly burned, what she could see of him. And as for the rest of it &ndash; whoever had been involved had gone inside. Even as she put her foot on the first step she was fishing out her phone again, ready for whatever awaited her downstairs.</p> <p> That&rsquo;s when all hell broke loose. Shots rang out below, and someone screamed. Alison hesitated. Human instinct told her to run and hide, but her reporter&rsquo;s instinct told her to head down and get it all on HD video. The two sides warred momentarily, until a portion of her human side reminded her that Pablo was down there in the midst of that chaos. The gunfire and screaming and breaking glass began to crescendo, and she forced herself to start walking down those stairs once more.</p> <p> Keeping her grip on the railing let Jasmin focus on keeping herself under control. It was still tempting to head down there and begin snapping a few necks. No matter how fun that would be, however, the necessity of not getting caught loomed overhead. So instead she stood, listening and watching in a mix of anger and anticipation when the woman she knew as Lucinda started walking downstairs. She moved quickly, probably too quickly, laying a firm and cold hand on her shoulder.</p> <p> &quot;You may want to stay up here,&quot; she spoke in her chilly tones, the warmth and compassion still gone from her voice. &quot;Don&#39;t try to be a hero, Ms. Graves.&quot;</p> <p> Alison started slightly at the touch on her shoulder. She hadn&rsquo;t noticed anyone right behind her on the stairs. Turning to see that it was Jasmin she wondered how the woman had got there so fast &ndash; hadn&rsquo;t she just passed her by further back in the room? Those thoughts flitted by, filed away somewhere for later consideration. Right now she had other things on her mind.</p> <p> &ldquo;Oh believe me, I&rsquo;m not planning on doing anything stupid.&rdquo; She held up her phone which she&rsquo;d just thumbed over to video mode. &ldquo;When I&rsquo;m not writing novels, I&rsquo;m a reporter. I&rsquo;ll be hiding behind some heavy scenery, taking pictures. Ghoulish, perhaps, but it&rsquo;s that or cower up here. Besides,&rdquo; she added with a quick glance down the stairs, &ldquo;Pablo&rsquo;s down there.&rdquo;</p> <p> <span style="font-style: italic;">....I can&#39;t catch a god damned break, can I? The police and the press are both already here! Maybe Connie is secretly an EMS so she can have brought the medical services, too.</span> The thought flew through Jasmin&rsquo;s head, her eyes falling onto the video phone. She made a note to thank Evalyn for, once again, stopping her from doing something stupid. Video.</p> <p> She made one more attempt to stop the horrible headline, <span style="font-style: italic;">&lsquo;Celebrity gunned down in shooting&rsquo;</span>. &quot;Not necessary. We have security cameras.&quot; Still, she relaxed her grip now in case the other woman pulled away.</p> <p> &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure you do.&rdquo; Alison kept her tone polite but professional. &ldquo;However, I&rsquo;m sure you also understand that reporters like to get their material first-hand where possible.&rdquo; She half-turned, freeing her shoulder from Jasmin&rsquo;s cool fingers. &ldquo;And like I said; Pablo&rsquo;s down there. If he gets himself hurt, I want to be right there so I can tell him off. You probably ought to call the police and ambulance, though, if you haven&rsquo;t already. Now excuse me.&rdquo;</p> <p> Not caring whether Jasmin had a reply and not wanting to be held up on the stairs any longer, Alison continued her downward journey. A man was coming up the stairs. He wasn&rsquo;t running, as Alison would have expected of someone escaping the fray, but was climbing with a deliberate tread, a scowl on his face. Keeping her phone by her side she pressed the record button, knowing where it was from long practice, and surreptitiously angled it to film the man&rsquo;s ascent. Their eyes met briefly as she passed him by.</p> <p> &ldquo;Is dangerous down there, girly,&rdquo; he growled in heavily accented English.</p> <p> Alison ignored him, and he seemed unconcerned whether she heeded his warning or not. Keeping her video running, she took the last few stairs slowly, crouching behind the banister as much as possible while holding her phone just above the railing.</p> <p> What Alison saw sent icy tendrils of fear through her guts. Several people lay still on the floor, some twisted at unnatural angles. Blood was everywhere, spattering the walls and pooling on the floor, showing as dark stains in the electric blue lighting of the club. From where Alison crouched at the bottom of the stairs she could see several people hiding behind whatever furniture they&rsquo;d managed to find, some of it entirely inadequate for protection from bullets.</p> <p> She panned her camera around, zooming in on some of the grisly details. She&rsquo;d never be allowed to publish anything too graphic, but she had to get as much footage as possible. After her survey of the existing carnage, she finally focused on the section that her brain had been screaming at her to look at from the beginning. Two men stood to one side of the dance area, the muzzle flashes from their guns erupting in bright orange against the subdued lighting of the nightclub. Alison wished for some normal white light, knowing that she&rsquo;d see far more details that way, even though part of her was glad that the imagery was somewhat surreal and muted.</p> <p> A pair of gunshots sounded from further back and one of the figures stumbled. He didn&rsquo;t go down, however. <span style="font-style: italic;">Pablo, that was a lousy shot. Take them down before they get you!</span> She had to assume it was Pablo who&rsquo;d shot the man, at least. From here she couldn&rsquo;t see him at all. There were other people still moving about the room, not hiding. She focused her camera on them for a few moments.</p> <p> Two people &ndash; a young black woman and an older man &ndash; looked to have recently come in the front door of the club. Their backs were to Alison as they moved around the room. Too far away for them to hear her over the ruckus, Alison willed them to dive for cover, or better yet to turn and run back out the door.</p> <p> Another person was on the far side of the room, appearing from behind the heavy bar and circling around behind the two shooters. Alison zoomed in on the man&rsquo;s face and stifled a gasp of shock when she recognised him. Logan? What was he doing down here? <span style="font-style: italic;">Damn fool&rsquo;s going to get himself killed if he keeps on playing hero,</span> she thought to herself.</p> <p> Biting her lip, resigned to her role as observer and chronicler of events, Alison watched and waited to see what would happen next.</p> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3459#comments Author:Heather Author:Kaarin Character:Alison Scruggs Character:Jasmin Location:Graveyard Sun, 30 Jan 2011 15:18:16 +0000 Heather 3459 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 22:45 Evalyn and Jasmin on the second level http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3453 <p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in; font-style: normal;"> Having just raised her drink with Jasmin, Evalyn was taking a sip, feeling the warmth of the alcohol and pleasure of the evening together when Yves suddenly interrupted her again.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> <i><span style="font-style:italic">Evalyn....</span></i></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> <i><span style="font-style:italic">Ta gueule! Let me enjoy myself.</span></i></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> <i><span style="font-style:italic">I am serious. I &#39;ave a feeling your night is about to be ruined.</span></i></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> <i><span style="font-style:italic">Putain! Je ne se soucie pas de ta jalousie!</span></i></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> <i><span style="font-style:italic">Regardez!</span> </i><span style="font-style: normal;">He all but snarled back and Evalyn&#39;s mind was suddenly flooded with the vision of a fireball as if it were directly in front of her. Immediately she began choking on her drink, the warmth of it suddenly burning unpleasantly as it assaulted her sinuses and throat.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> &ldquo;<span style="font-style: normal;">Ah... Evalyn? Have you forgotten how to drink?&rdquo; Jasmin asked in mock concern at the same time Evalyn spotted Lucinda walking determinedly through the crowd.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> <span style="font-style: normal;">Evalyn shook herself, ignoring the author for the moment and frowned back at Jasmin, unsure of what to say. The vampiress wasn&#39;t aware of her connection with Yves, but she&#39;d definitely want to know of anything that sounded remotely like &#39;fireballs&#39; happening around her club. &ldquo;I uh... s&#39;ink I need to get some fresh-&rdquo;</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> <i><span style="font-style:italic">-Non! Zey&#39;re inside. I do not s&#39;ink you can &#39;andle zem.</span> </i><span style="font-style: normal;">Evalyn suddenly got new, vague images of a bullet ridden man, and another who was decently char grilled, walking around. The sight of it made her feel ill.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> <span style="font-style: normal;">Jasmin lifted her glass to finish her latest drink of the evening when preternatural hearing picked up the sound of gunfire coming from downstairs. The vampiress froze solid in place for several seconds, fighting to keep her countenance human, teeth griting. A moment later, she heard the sounds of Avenged Sevenfold come from the small pouch at her hip that held her cell phone, Emilie Autumn&#39;s voice coming up to greet them. </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> <i>So let the record show that you murdered me in your coldest blood with your own two hands don&#39;t think no one understands it happens every day</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> <span style="font-style: normal;">Fucking security. </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> <span style="font-style: normal;">The phone was out of its case and up to her ear, speaking low and dangerous. &ldquo;Yes! I can hear it! Don&#39;t ask me for fucking directions, just DO SOMETHING!&rdquo; The phone disappeared as the look on her face grew more dark, turning on her heel to start for her stairs down, Evalyn following her. &ldquo;Let&#39;s get dangerous,&rdquo; she mumbled in a voice icy and cold, devoid of any hint of compassion or mercy. </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> &ldquo;<span style="font-style: normal;">I do not sink zat is the best idea.&rdquo; Evalyn muttered softly behind the vampiress. She&#39;d heard the shots from downstairs when they went off, and after Yves warning, it seemed less and less like a situation she wanted to involve herself in.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> &ldquo;<span style="font-style: normal;">Jasmin</span><span style="font-style: normal;">?&rdquo; She tried calling her friend back, but the vampiress was only increasing her pace as she closed on the stairs. Evalyn reluctantly followed, &ldquo;Jasmin? I do not s&#39;ink zese are your regular... fiends....&rdquo;</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> <i><span style="font-style:italic">Do not worry about &#39;er! Stay away! Je vien!</span></i></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in; font-style: normal;"> Jasmin stopped for a moment and turned back, giving a low, inhuman growl, barely noticable but still there. &ldquo;Someone comes in here, shooting, and I&#39;m supposed to do nothing why?&rdquo; She shifted her weight impatiently, as though waiting for an answer.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in; font-style: normal;"> Evalyn froze. What should she do? Let human security handle it? There was little she had to fear herself of being killed unless they happened to have a <span style="font-style:italic"><i>stake</i></span> launcher. And if she did manage to kill one of the things that was down there, it&#39;d certainly send a strong message of <span style="font-style:italic"><i>&#39;don&#39;t fuck around in this establishment!&#39;</i></span>.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in; font-style: normal;"> &ldquo;If you get shot in front of ze media and do not go down...&rdquo; Evalyn cursed inwardly as Jasmin snarled <span style="font-style:italic"><i>&ldquo;adrenalin&rdquo;</i></span> and turned savagely back down the stairs. Evalyn sighed, following cautiously behind as she slipping a knife from under her dress and muttered. &ldquo;Just be sure zat <span style="font-style:italic"><i>adrenalin</i></span> does not show on your face!&rdquo;</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in; font-style: normal;"> Jasmin stopped dead in her tracks at that, the displeasure clear on her face as she reached and gripped the railing. Her friend raised a point, too good of a point. The rational part of her brain came up and began to take control. Vengence could come later. Or maybe a nice hunt. For the moment, however, this <i>was</i> the age of cell phone cameras, and she knew all too well what an <i>instant</i> of the demon fully coming forth could mean: even if she passed it off, it would draw SCU attention. <i>But the SCU is already here; I don&#39;t want to give them even more reason.</i> And as she stood and thought, the decision was made, nodding to her. &quot;Let security handle it....&quot; <i>Hey, maybe I&#39;ll get lucky and won&#39;t have to pay unemployment to that one I was going to fire!</i></p> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3453#comments Author:Amanda Author:Kaarin Character:Evalyn Toussaint Character:Jasmin Character:Yves Location:Graveyard Fri, 28 Jan 2011 05:26:59 +0000 Evalyn Toussaint 3453 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 22:30 Jasmin and Evalyn http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3441 <p><p> Jasmin made her way through the crowd, not for the first time. Playing hostess through the evening went as it always did: you greeted, you talked, you monitored everything; nobody realized the work that went on even during. Half of her evening was spent directing staff to replenish this table or that one, or sometimes, getting involved making sure that a fight failed to happen. It meant drinking enough to become slightly tipsy, and in low moments like this, getting lost in more pleasant memories.</p> <p> In this case, memories of having another young woman sat next to her, who only after they had to get up, did she realize had managed to take charge of virtually the entire conversation, save for inviting her to dinner. That, she considered a minor victory, but couldn&#39;t help feel that she must have been slipping. Especially if -</p> <p> &ldquo;Oh, I&#39;m terribly sorry,&rdquo; she said as she ran straight into another person, stopping, staring, and look turning into a genuine smile. &ldquo;Evalyn, my friend! So glad you managed to get here tonight. How have things gone so far?&rdquo;</p> <p> Evalyn only had a moments irritation at being bumped before noticing the familiar face, then beamed in delight as she turned to regard her. &ldquo;Jasmin! Look at you!&rdquo; she said as she opened her arms to hug her friend and plant a kiss on either cheek, &ldquo;I would say zat sings are going fairly well.&rdquo; She smirked, glancing aside to where Sebastian was standing. On Jasmin&#39;s approach he gave a short, respectful bow. &ldquo;I &#39;ave to say, even when zey are not working, some of your staff are most accommodating.&rdquo; Evalyn winked at the man and turned back, ignoring Yves who was clawing at the back of her mind. &ldquo;But what about you? You look... different. What &#39;as &#39;appened! You must tell me!&rdquo;</p> <p> She felt almost a bit overwhelmed, and probably looked it. Having to overcome her metabolism was one thing; but after a certain point... <i>Ok, time to stop drinking for tonight.</i> Still Evalyn received the same kisses on either cheek in return, with her taking a quite relaxed look. &ldquo;Patience, my dear. I have a potential business partner here for you you should at least be aware of,&rdquo; pointing out Balthazar across the room.</p> <p> &ldquo;And, a potential job for you,&rdquo; she noted, mind racing with those details again, as it had, off and on. She would sort that out when she was sober, though now her smile grew more genuine, the implications gone. &ldquo;I also have a date for tomorrow night, now.&rdquo;</p> <p> Evalyn glanced briefly at the gentleman Jasmin had indicated across the room, but at her friends last sentence, she lost any interest in potential work.</p> <p> Smirking she gave Jasmin a playfully stern look over her glass, &ldquo;You sink I care to &#39;ear about work when you &#39;ave a date?&rdquo; she quirked her eyebrow and gestured absently to Sebastian who was still standing somewhere nearby, &ldquo;Sebastian, dear, would you please get me anozzer drink? I fear I &#39;ave nearly finished zis one.&rdquo; She wasn&#39;t watching to see if he obeyed her request, but she did inhale sharply as he stepped up close behind her to whisper assent in her ear and promise other things for the evening.</p> <p> She watched him leave, hungry to have him back again, gripping her upper arms, but she took the opportunity she&#39;d created to focus on Jasmin who was quirking an eyebrow of her own at the little exchange that took place. &ldquo;&#39;Ee is an excellent bartender.&rdquo; Evalyn said simply to explain herself, then shook her self. &ldquo;But tell me about you! Who is zis date?&rdquo;</p> <p> &ldquo;Yes, he is. Not as good as the girl that I have to make... these,&rdquo; she proclaims, holding up the glass with the remains of the latest Sling in it. She didn&#39;t fight the memory returning of earlier in the evening, and the promise of another night to come. &ldquo;Her name is Connie. She&#39;s Lucinda Graves&#39; agent... I suppose I should actually <i>read</i> Lucinda&#39;s books, now, shouldn&#39;t I?&rdquo;</p> <p> Jasmin let the thought trail off, finishing off her drink with a quite pleased look to her. &ldquo;Bold, direct, and I realize this now, apparently able to direct me when I&#39;ve been drinking. And also, a <i>skilled</i> kisser,&rdquo; this last she added more softly, and a bit conspiratorially. &ldquo;Tell you what. Come by my place... evening after next. Can tell you how it went, and then, we plan business.&rdquo;</p> <p> &ldquo;Connie...&rdquo; Evalyn repeated the name thoughtfully, then smiled, &ldquo;I actually met Lucinda Graves earlier zis evening, but I did not see any Connie wiz her,&rdquo; her grin turned teasing, &ldquo;zat would not &#39;ave been, per&#39;aps, because you &#39;ad already stolen &#39;er by zis stage?&rdquo;</p> <p> Jasmin got a quite thoughtful look to her. &ldquo;You know, I&#39;m not sure which of us stole the other... just that we spent some time getting along.&rdquo; She cleared her throat a bit as she inwardly reminded herself that it had certainly been a while since she had a shot. &ldquo;It is so good that you could make it, though. Aside from one or two minor inconveniences? This night seems to be going quite perfect. Nothing could ruin it at this point.&rdquo;</p> <p> &ldquo;Oui,&rdquo; Evalyn agreed, raising the remains of her drink. The evening was proving to be quite a pleasure indeed, and there was still more to look forward to!</p> <p> <i>I could ruin some sings for you, Eevie.</i></p> <p> <i>Why Yves! I can not imagine what you are talking about.</i></p> <p> Evalyn&#39;s grin deepened as she toyed with Yves jealousy and continued to speak aloud- &ldquo;To perfect nights and perfect companies!&rdquo;</p> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3441#comments Author:Amanda Author:Kaarin Character:Evalyn Toussaint Character:Jasmin Character:Yves Location:Graveyard Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:24:31 +0000 Evalyn Toussaint 3441 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 20:36 Connie and Jasmin http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3427 <p><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The look of relief on Jasmin&#39;s face went from subtle to downright blatant as they retreated from Lucinda and Balthazar. Her Singapore Sling went up to her lips and she drained about a third of the drink in one go; to hell with the subtle of it. Balthazar showing up just added to the stress of the evening. When she turned back to Connie to say something, though, her voice caught for a moment.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;Thank you for that,&rdquo; she finally said, actually looking over the other, young woman. If only it were easier for the alcohol to have an actual effect. &ldquo;Must say, the present company is certainly a far more pleasant and attractive alternative. How has the night been so far for you?&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;Fabulous. I got to watch Sven playacting at being a vampire, got him in all sorts of sexy poses pretending to bite Lucinda.&rdquo; Connie sighed wistfully, &ldquo;You know, I could be the meat in that sandwich, no problem.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She glanced at the woman beside her, appreciating the way the shiny latex accentuated Jasmin&rsquo;s curves. &ldquo;Have you ever thought of writing a book? We don&rsquo;t just publish fiction, you know. I can just imagine the stories you must have from this place &ndash; the tell-all of a sexy nightclub hostess. Could be a bestseller, you know.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin gave a highly amused chuckle. Of course there would be the sales pitch. Should have known. &ldquo;Hmm, yes, clubs and theater. I could write a riveting tale of tax time, and the stack of forms my accountant gives me that I don&#39;t understand.&rdquo; She gave a more appreciative glance over the other woman, finally allowing herself to relax.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;No time to write, anyway, I&#39;m afraid &ndash; my life is all work, no play.&rdquo; That was a lie, but a plausible one at least. In some ways, there was far too much time, and the last night to herself, well... she wasn&#39;t doing that again soon.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Connie glanced around at the party going on in full swing, ending on the nearly-empty glass that Jasmin held. &ldquo;As work goes, this isn&rsquo;t too tough,&rdquo; she said with a wink. &ldquo;Technically, I&rsquo;m at work tonight too.&rdquo; Holding up her hand to forestall any protest she added, &ldquo;Yes, yes, I know. Believe me, I&rsquo;m well aware of the effort that goes behind the scenes to produce something like this. Lots of people think my job is all glitz and glamour too, but trust me it isn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> She drank a generous gulp of her own cocktail and nodded her head at the bar. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s get another drink each and find somewhere quiet to commiserate about how tough our jobs are.&rdquo; Connie let one hand trail down Jasmin&rsquo;s latex-clad arm, feeling the cool smoothness of the material. &ldquo;And maybe you can tell me how long it takes to get into an outfit like that.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Inwardly, there was still a bit of surprise at some of the bluntness to it. Part of her questioned if a pass had just been made at her, though she knew better. She debated how to respond for a moment, before throwing caution to the wind. Taking a chance, she slipped an arm around Connie&#39;s to start towards the bar. &ldquo;I think I&#39;d like that.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Along the way, she cast casual glances around the place, looking for somewhere that could qualify readily. &ldquo;We can steal a nice, quiet booth over in the corner, or even in my office if you prefer some extra privacy.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Relief relaxed some of Connie&rsquo;s tension. She was sure she&rsquo;d read Jasmin&rsquo;s signals right before, but hadn&rsquo;t been completely sure until now that they were on the same page. However, she wasn&rsquo;t ready to abandon Alison entirely to the wolves just yet and wanted to be close enough to keep an eye on things. Occasionally one of Lucinda&rsquo;s weirder fans would gain access to a launch party and she didn&rsquo;t want a repeat of the events of the <span style="font-style:italic">Darque Dreams</span> launch.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;The booth, I think.&rdquo; She glanced up at Jasmin, a knowing smile curling the corners of her mouth. &ldquo;For now, at least.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> At that Jasmin felt a bit of relief; test the first passed of her mental checklist. Connie hadn&#39;t jumped straight at the office, which she took as a very good sign. &ldquo;The booth it is, then,&rdquo; she spoke softly, ordering a couple of drinks and offering one to Connie. The booth that she would lead her to was deliberately designed to afford privacy, and something of a view of the floor.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin stayed silent for the trip over, letting anticipation hang in the air, until she slid down inside with a refilled Sling, scooting over a bit to give just enough room to see how close Connie would want to get. &ldquo;Please, come into my dark and foreboding lair. I promise not to bite unless requested.&rdquo; A crooked smile formed on her face at that last.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Connie chuckled. &ldquo;Ah, but who&rsquo;s the spider and who&rsquo;s the fly? Maybe I&rsquo;m ensnaring you in my web.&rdquo; She set her drink on the table and slid into the booth beside Jasmin, so that their hips and elbows barely touched. Picking up the glass, she sipped her drink and spent a few quiet moments studying Jasmin&rsquo;s profile.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> It was hard to judge her age, for one thing. Connie herself was in her mid-30&rsquo;s and had been around the block many a time, but even though Jasmin looked like she was probably in her early 30&rsquo;s or so she exuded an air that bespoke of much greater age. Such people existed, of course. Old souls. But there was something about Jasmin that was &hellip; different. <span style="font-style:italic">Oh please,</span> she chided herself. <span style="font-style:italic">Don&rsquo;t start getting all misty-eyed and whimsical.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> To counter her strange feeling of nerves &ndash; something Connie rarely experienced &ndash; she placed her drink carefully on the table and leaned her face fractionally closer to Jasmin. &ldquo;So,&rdquo; she murmured, &ldquo;now that you have me in your lair&hellip;&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin tilted her head slightly, relaxing in. She considered Connie closely. Oh, she was sure she would pay for this later; though she reflected that she was already having trouble pinning her down. Connie was blunt, and tap-dancing at the same time. &ldquo;You know, I&#39;m not entirely sure,&rdquo; she said softly. &ldquo;Normally, I&#39;d try to cleverly draw you into a trap that results in you agreeing to buy me dinner tomorrow at nine in the evening.&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> The closeness sealed the instinct for her. She could tell that the other was interested, dropping an arm across the table to lightly brush the back of Connie&#39;s hand with hers.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Jasmin&rsquo;s hand was cool to the touch, and a frisson of excitement thrummed through Connie. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s not play games,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s pretty clear that neither of us are the dinner and a movie type.&rdquo; She twisted in her seat and reached across to cup the far side of Jasmin&rsquo;s face in her hand, exerting light pressure to encourage Jasmin to lower her head as Connie tilted hers upwards.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;We both know what we want,&rdquo; she murmured, leaning in for the kiss.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Let&#39;s not play games.</span> The phrase hung there in a bit of confusion for her. The problem was that she was very much the dinner and movie type. Still, she was surprised to find herself actually leaning down into the kiss, lips pressing against hers softly. What happened to caution again? They&#39;d always had a word for women who moved this quickly to the main event, and it wasn&#39;t a pleasant one.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Pulling back just a bit after, she blinked a couple of times to herself, speaking softly, seductively. &ldquo;Then let me take you out. Think of the anticipation....&rdquo; There was still a bit of wonder there, herself; it was rare to find someone whose personality could actually stand up and demand attention, and she did know exactly what she wanted.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> A small sigh escaped Connie&rsquo;s lips. Ah, so Jasmin was going to be one of the ones who played hard to get, it seemed. Still, it wasn&rsquo;t a complete rejection. She knew she was very upfront and forceful about her advances and had scared off more than one potential sexual partner because of it.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;Anticipation, is it? Honey, I&rsquo;ve been thinking about you all night. But&hellip; dinner could work. Did you have someplace in mind?&rdquo;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> <span style="font-style:italic">Down around the lower thigh; nice, erotic vein there.</span> Not that she would ever dare to say that, especially now. The success invigorated her, the battle of wills. Dueling this way was always half the fun. &ldquo;I know a nice little place in SoHo called Aurora. Italian &ndash; and near home.&rdquo; That seemed like enough of an enticement, she thought.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &ldquo;SoHo it is.&rdquo; Connie glanced out to the party. She spotted Alison talking and laughing with a small group of people. Everything was under control out there. She could spare a few minutes for personal pleasure.</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> &nbsp;</div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Her hand still rested on Jasmin&rsquo;s cheek, and now she moved it, caressing her earlobe and running her fingertips across the nape of her neck. &ldquo;Now as for tonight&hellip; I think a little appetiser might be in order.&rdquo;</div> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3427#comments Author:Heather Author:Kaarin Character:Connie Webb Character:Jasmin Location:Graveyard Sun, 23 Jan 2011 22:03:10 +0000 Kaarin 3427 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 20:24 Balthazar and Jasmin http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3420 <p><p align="JUSTIFY"> As the party continued, Jasmin moved about with the practiced grace of one long experienced to hosting upscale events. The evening was going well, she thought. Nothing well and truly major had gone wrong, and as far as she could tell, she hadn&#39;t run in to anyone there to cause trouble. It left her making her way through the crowd with a Singpore Sling, highly alcoholic though it was and having less of an immediate effect. A slight frown crossed her face, though, at the newest arrival she found herself almost literally crashing in to, gone just as quickly.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> She forced a smile to her face as made out the familiar sight of Balthazar Romano and his new associate standing to the side. Putting on her best smile, she moved to put her free hand up on Balthazar&#39;s shoulder, moving to kiss each cheek lightly. &quot;Ah, Balthazar, such a pleasure to see you. Didn&#39;t realize you were on the list or I would have made it a point to come greet you, personally. How are you this evening?&quot; <i>And how many women have you tried to pick up so far?</i> she wondered.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;Oh you know I hate to miss any A-list party&rdquo;. The older man took in the sight of the vampiress, decked out in her overly sexualized outfit. A grin crossed his face. &ldquo;You&lsquo;re so stunning, I think my heart might just stop,&rdquo; he purred, turning on the charm. &ldquo;Perhaps that was your plan all along; shame on you, trying to kill an old man.&rdquo;</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> <i>You have to have a heart before I can make it stop.</i> &quot;Alas, you have uncovered my hidden agenda. As always, however, you have managed to survive my best attempts to do you in.&quot; She clears her throat slightly, taking a perhaps longer sip of her drink than she intended. &quot;I hope things are going well?&quot;</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> Taking Jasmin&rsquo;s arm, the two began circling the room, Balthazar&rsquo;s bodyguard trailing a few steps back.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;Things are well, for now,&rdquo; the sorcerer said cryptically. &ldquo;Great party by the way,&rdquo; he added, changing the subject, as he smiled and mouthed &lsquo;hello&rsquo; to some bossomy blonde across the dance floor. The girl giggled, waving back as she flashed a coquettish smile. &ldquo;Money and power, it&rsquo;s the best aphrodisiac,&rdquo; he whispered, into Jasmin&rsquo;s ear.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> Jasmin stopped and turned to him, with her thin smile. She knew he was like that, but the earlier ruining of her evening several nights before still grated. &quot;Yes, it is. Many young <i>women</i> have told me the same thing.&quot; Well for now. That hung in the air, along with their earlier discussion. Just what was he planning? &quot;I know you. You&#39;ve got something on your mind, and it&#39;s more than A Little Piece of Heaven.&quot;</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;You&rsquo;re always so straight to business,&rdquo; he sighed, their arms still locked. Romano was about to speak, when he noticed a familiar face across the room. Balthazar scowled. &ldquo;Playing with fire are we?&rdquo; Jasmin followed his gaze to the Hispanic man at the bar, waiting for drinks to be delivered. From the look on her face, he knew she wasn&rsquo;t following. &ldquo;His name is Pablo Sandoval. He&rsquo;s a cop who specializes in cases dealing with people who run in our social circles. If I were you, I&rsquo;d be wondering exactly why he&rsquo;s here&rdquo;.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> Jasmin looked over at him, flashing a small smile. <i>Special Crimes Unit. Of course.</i> It was the way that her luck went. Still, she wasn&#39;t too concerned. It wasn&#39;t without the realm of possibility that something strange could happen at an event which was, in a sense, dedicated to the supernatural. Even when said dedication was to a romantic, highly inaccurate version of how things really were. &ldquo;Probably just a fan. You worry far too much for your own good some nights.&rdquo;</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;Well, there&rsquo;s something else, but we need to talk private. Especially with people like him, around&rdquo;.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;Unless you haven&rsquo;t noticed, this is a bit of a busy night and I don&rsquo;t have time to&hellip;&rdquo;</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> Balthazar interjected &ldquo;well if it&rsquo;s time we need,&rdquo; he huffed, catching Jasmin off guard as he grabbed her hand. The sorcerer began to mutter under his breath, weaving together the pieces of the spell which would offer them some privacy. &ldquo;Perhaps you now you&rsquo;ll be more willing to listen&rdquo;.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> Jasmin looked about the room again. Balthazar was still clear, but everything else seemed slowed down, blurry. Like looking through a glass. <i>I really hate it when he does that.</i> No matter how often he dropped the Cone of Silence, she would never get used to it. &quot;This is important if you&#39;re willing to risk this. What&#39;s going on?&quot;</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;I need your help finding an artifact,&rdquo; he said, his face serious for the first time all night. &ldquo;We both know that you have the most comprehensive library in all of New York and I need some information which no one else seems to be able to provide. Of course,&quot; he added, the sly smirk once again emerging, &quot;If you help me, i&#39;ll be indebted.&quot;</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> <span style="font-style: italic;">Most comprehensive in all of New York, now?</span> Now she definitely knew that he was up to something. Yes, she had a decent collection of general knowledge. But she knew damn well that her own collections could not hold a candle to the more <span style="font-style: italic;">specialized</span> occultists around. &ldquo;What are you looking for, Balthazar?&rdquo;</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;Whatever you can find on The Eye of St Vigeous&rdquo;. Balthazar seemed to waver, the exertion of the magic catching up on him. &ldquo;And this is time sensitive my dear. The quicker you can help me, the more I&#39;ll make it worth your while&rdquo;. The wizard hesitated a moment, considering if he should bring up the other topic that was weighing on his mind. <i>The </i><i>Drop</i>...Tabitha had mentioned Carmine had the object and that spelled trouble. <i>Let&#39;s just see how that plays out</i> he decided, not wanting to show all his cards to the crafty vampiress.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> The Eye of St. Vigeous. The name hung there, not because of what it was but because of part of the name. She knew in the vaguest sense who St. Vigeous was. Any artifact related to him, though, spelled trouble in the hands of a human. Especially among the older vampires, it would make him both a target and a person with leverage. &ldquo;I&#39;ll see what I can find,&rdquo; she said softly to him, mind already racing to recall details. &ldquo;No promises, though.&rdquo;</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> With that, the room came back into focus as he let the spell drop.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;Now, that business is out of the way,&rdquo; he huffed, his breath coming a big heavy, &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s time to enjoy the party&rdquo;.</p> <p align="JUSTIFY"> &ldquo;Yes, it is,&rdquo; she spoke, staying locked into his arm for a few moments longer, as her mind considered the possibilities. Whatever he had gotten himself in to had to be bad for a meeting, and if that bad gave her bad publicity, he&#39;d pay. She was broken from her reverie, disengaging from him gratefully as someone else approached.</p> </p><table id="attachments" class="sticky-enabled"> <thead><tr><th>Attachment</th><th>Size</th> </tr></thead> <tbody> <tr class="odd"><td><a href="http://drupal.wildandbad.com/sites/default/files/jasminparty.jpg">jasminparty.jpg</a></td><td>138.87 KB</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3420#comments Author:Kaarin Author:Shaun Character:Balthazar Romano Character:Jasmin Location:Graveyard Sun, 23 Jan 2011 01:20:16 +0000 Kaarin 3420 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com 19:02 “Graves at the Graveyard” http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3388 <p><p>Alison and Connie emerged from the limousine, both stifling laughter brought on by a lewd joke Connie had been relating. Alison filed it away in the back of her mind as a joke that Lucinda might tell, in the right company. Tonight, with her hair and makeup both done professionally she was already immersing herself in the Lucinda role, adopting a sexy sway to her hips. The stiletto heels helped in that department too, of course. The blue dress she’d chosen draped gracefully around her, the slits revealing tantalising glimpses of her legs when she walked.</p> <p>Leaning down to speak to the limousine driver through the window, she knew she was giving him one hell of an eyeful of her cleavage. She managed not to blush and considered it a dry run for later that night. “This is the address in East Harlem you need to go to pick up Mr. Sandoval. He’s expecting you.”</p> <p>As he took the slip of paper from her she smiled. “Thanks.”</p> <p>“No problem, Miss,” the driver replied. “I’ll have him here by quarter to.”</p> <p>“Good, the party starts at eight.”</p> <p>“I still think you should have brought Sven as a date instead,” Connie said with a mock pout. “Think what a lovely couple you’d make. And I still can’t believe you guessed who my mystery guest would be.”</p> <p>Alison grinned. “It wasn’t too hard to figure out. As soon as you said it was a he, Sven was the obvious choice. Anyway, let’s get inside and meet the hostess, shall we?”</p> <p>They entered the club. At a little after 7pm and still daylight outside, the club wasn’t yet open for regular business. Upon seeing the doors open, a man crossed the floor to meet them and directed them to a stairway on their left. Reaching the top, Alison smiled at the Victorian décor. “Oh, I can see why you picked this place, Connie. It looks very like the way I described Donatien’s club, even down to the dark leather barstools.”</p> <p>As they came up stairs, Jasmin was already in the middle of her final arrangements. Yes, the publicity was good, but she'd had to sleep in the office yet again. Someone came up and put a box down on the table in front of her, looking inside at the Blood Energy Drinks. The irony was just too delicious to pass up. “Bar, hang them on the hooks. Make it look like a hospital wing.” And please don't let any actual vampires think it's real.</p> <p>As she moved around with an eye out for the preparations, she could hear the latex of her skirt crinkle. She stopped another waiter on the way to a table with a small selection of food. “Other side, over by the punch.” The frustration in her voice at all the little things that could and did go wrong shone through. When she finally saw the other two women arriving, she started over to them, putting on her best smile and speaking up once she neared. “Ah, you must Ms. Graves and her agent. I do hope you don't mind the outfit. Someone failed to specify which Goth they wanted, so I decided to give them Industrial-Fetish.”</p> <p>Alison blinked at the woman’s outfit. While technically it covered everything, the black latex was so skin-tight that it left absolutely nothing to the imagination. It took her a moment to get back into Lucinda mode and let a knowing smile cross her features. Connie, in the meantime, had beaten her to it.</p> <p>“Oh, that’s an adorable outfit. You know, I wanted to wear something a bit more exotic than this,” she gestured to the black beaded corset that Alison had rejected yesterday, “but I was vetoed.”</p> <p>With her reactions now under control, Alison turned to her agent and raised an eyebrow. “Oh please, you had no intention of really wearing that thing with the straps. At least, not at the book launch anyway.” </p> <p>Alison turned back to the hostess and extended her hand. “Charmed to meet you, Ms. Taylor. This is my agent, Connie Webb. She’s the one who did most of the hard work organising this shindig. And I think, if you don’t mind, I might steal that look for a character in my next book.”</p> <p>Jasmin took Allison's hand extremely briefly. The cold would, if she was fortunate, go unnoticed or be easily brushed off. “Of course not. Steal away, though if you do it for a vampire remember that they don't breathe, so they can probably lace the corset far tighter than mine.”</p> <p>She looked over Allison's dress quite appreciatively, before turning to Connie with an equally appraising eye. “It is a pleasure to meet you, as well as your agent, who I must say would look adorable in a bunch of straps.”</p> <p>Alison swore that Connie’s smile turned positively coquettish, before she dropped back into business mode. That was one of the things Alison loved about her agent: she would joke and flirt with anyone and everyone, but when it came to business she was on top of everything and nothing would slip by her. </p> <p>“I see you’ve got refreshments well in hand,” Connie remarked, indicating the tables laden with food and drink. “Now how about that book display? It needs to be somewhere prominent, but not in anyone’s way. And naturally we’ll want an area for photographs. I have a photographer coming along later tonight. There are some very particular publicity shots I want to have taken.” She smiled broadly at Jasmin. “And of course there’ll be plenty of press here. I’m so glad we were able to hold this in your beautiful club.”</p> <p>Alison quirked an eyebrow. “And these publicity shots wouldn’t have anything to do with that ‘mystery guest’ you told me about, would they?” She laughed her tinkling Lucinda laugh that had been designed to make men melt, and which she’d been practising in the limousine on the way over. “No wonder you’re disappointed that I’m bringing my own date tonight.”</p> <p>Jasmin turned towards Connie, fixing her with slow and steady gaze. It was the kind of disapproving look that you gave for only a brief time. “My dear, I am an experienced professional. Trust me when I say that I am well aware of how to arrange these kind of events,” raising an arm with the matching arm warmer on it to point at a book display. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she always resented that. She only had six decades of experience in this. She knew her type. All business, and at least as far as business went, one of them had to establish themselves as the dominant figure. Her smile softened then.</p> <p>“And I've found an interesting energy drink you might use in them – it's made by some geeky company called Blood Energy Drink. Looks like a packet of blood like you'd see hanging in the hospital for a transfusion....” She trailed off then, looking between the two of them. “And Ms. Graves, believe me, even with your own date, you can still pose for a photo or two.”</p> <p>Alison ignored the woman’s momentary frostiness towards Connie, knowing that at events such at this feathers were occasionally ruffled when two organiser types first met. She trusted Connie to keep things friendly and not to let Jasmin’s minor display of bitchiness get to her. After all, Connie was an experienced professional as well. Instead she focused on the discussion of photos.</p> <p>“Well, that depends on my date. This isn’t really his sort of thing, so he may be a bit shy.”</p> <p>She headed towards the book display to get a better look. Personally she wasn’t sure that the blood packets weren’t perhaps a trifle cheesy, but she supposed it fit with the theme for the evening. She glanced at Connie to see what she thought, and Connie shrugged in her “what the hell, roll with it” manner and conducted a quick visual tour of the rest of the arrangements. </p> <p>Once she was satisfied that everything was in order, Connie turned to Jasmin. “Superb,” she said. “It looks wonderful. Thank you so much for helping us out with this. Tonight’s going to be a huge success, I’m sure. This club and Lucinda’s books will be the talk of the town tomorrow.”</p> <p>Like any typical Leo, when the conversation turned to praise, her smile turned more genuinely warm. Dominance established, she decided, speaking more lightly. “Oh, no problem. It's part of my job to try to make sure that events like this go off well. No doubt some of the gossip columns will have fun describing how, once more, I was a secret and epic bitch.” That, she tried to keep very light. Jasmin was well aware of her reputation.</p> <p>“Give you a trick for your date,” she turned back to Lucinda. “Something that helped me with these things. No, not that cheesy underwear or naked thing. If his nerves get too bad, tell him to just focus on making his breathing rhythmic – trust me, between that and you, he'll be too distracted to be nervous.” It wouldn't help much with dealing with crowds either, she knew, though she did have more than a little curiosity at who, exactly, her date might be.</p> <p>“Oh, I’m sure he’ll be fine. He just may be reluctant to have any publicity shots taken. I’m sure the papers will get a few candid shots through the night, but he’ll be fine.” Alison grinned. “We’ll just have to behave until the press go away.”</p> <p>Connie laughed. “Trust me, the press will be too busy taking photos of you with… oh, speak of the devil.”</p> <p>A man emerged at the top of the stairs. He was tall, blond, and handsome, and anyone who’d ever seen the cover of a Lucinda Graves book would recognise him immediately. </p> <p>“Sven, darling, over here!” Connie called. “I’d love to introduce you to the creator of Donatien Darque. This lovely creature, my dear, is Lucinda Graves.”</p> <p>Alison had guessed this was who Connie had invited, but even so Sven Tonnesen was imposing in person. She hadn’t realised just how tall he was. Seeing the man who’d become the face of her vampire hero was a very surreal moment for her. “Hello,” she said eventually, “It’s lovely to meet you in person at last.”</p> <p>“The pleasure is all mine,” he replied, sweeping up her hand to bestow a kiss upon it. </p> <p>Alison laughed. “Oh, please tell me Connie put you up to that.” His only reply was a grin.</p> <p>“And this, Sven darling,” Connie interjected, “is Jasmin Taylor, our gorgeous hostess for the evening.”</p> <p>Sven nodded to Jasmin, his eyes dropping from her face only momentarily to take in the curves that her outfit accentuated. “Charmed, I’m sure,” he said. </p> <p>Jasmin squinted her eyes at him when he came in, looking and peering at him more closely. The man seemed familiar, extremely so, but she couldn't quite place him. Not at first. It wasn't until she gave a look at the books on display that exactly who this was actually clicked in her head. <span style="font-style:italic">Maybe it would have helped if I actually read one of these books before agreeing to this, or at least, read it for more than the humor.</span> “Pleased to meet you, Sven.” Her eyes fixed for a moment on his neck, confirming that there was indeed a pulse there.</p> <p>She clasped her hands together in front of her, as another person came up to ask her something about the arrangements, staring. “So get some Bailey's from the downstairs stocks. There's always a call for Irish Coffee at these things.” Turning back as he went away, she gestured broadly. “Well, is there anything else that I can do for all of you this evening?”</p> <p>Connie took the lead. “I think we’re all set for the moment. My photographer should be here any minute, and we’ll get a few publicity stills with Sven and Alison before the guests start arriving. So if you don’t mind us camping out in this corner here for a bit, we’ll leave you to any last-minute details you need to attend to.” She cocked her head slightly. “I do hope I’ll get to spend some time chatting with you properly once the party’s underway.”</p> <p>Jasmin hung on to the actual name used, filing it in the back of her mind. Alison. She'd need to remember that Lucinda Graves was a pen name. “Not at all. The doors will be open in a bit, and if you all need a drink, might I recommend the Black and Blue? It's extremely tasty. Be seeing you all.” With one final polite smile, she began to move off, making a final set of rounds to be certain that everything was in order. It was going to be a long night.</p> </p> http://drupal.wildandbad.com/node/3388#comments Author:Heather Author:Kaarin Character:Alison Scruggs Character:Connie Webb Character:Jasmin Character:Sven Tonnesen Location:Graveyard Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:28:49 +0000 Heather 3388 at http://drupal.wildandbad.com