The Coven Of The Articulate...Countited

[Violet Twlilight]

Yes, This story is back! I'm sorry I only saved so much from where we left off but I do have the whole frist part saved as well if you wish to re-read it.

"Mommy! Please wake up! Please!" The little girl cried, tears staining her ruby cheeks. She shook the shoulder of her unmoving mother and conuited to cry.
The dark shadow responsible loomed over the child with a sick, satisfied grin. The girl's sobs paused and her big innocent honey-brown eyes widened in fear. The figure kneeled and reached out, threading it's bony pale fingers in the child's soft curls.
"Evil is real, little one." The creature whispered and leered in close to her sweet, round face, kissing her pink lips and reducing into the darkness of the shadows.
Drops of cold, freezing rain fell from the sky, on the pitiful sight. Like the Gods were crying.
The girl's crying grew to wails of agony and confusion. These wails were heard by a vampire.

"Lydia! Sweetheart! I…um...have a surprise for you!" Lydia rushed into the pallor and stopped in her tracks when seeing the small, shaking, dripping wet child in her husband's arms.
"MY god, Ville! What did you do?!" she asked quickly walking closer to examine the little girl.
"I didn't do anything! I found her crying over her dead mother! What was I spouse to do?" Lydia tried to take the girl away from him, but she stayed glued to him. Lydia sighed,
"Listen, she won't move, but she needs to get out of those clothes and into something dry and warm right now. Than you have some explaining to do." Ville gulped knowing very well he was facing the fiery wrath of his wife soon.

Once the child was tugged into a nice warm bed, she fell fast asleep…still attached to Ville. Lydia sat next to him on the side of the bed.
"So, why did you think it was a good idea to bring a human child into a house crawling with vampires?"
"No one's here now, and I would never hurt her." Ville looked at the little girl with affection. Lydia sighed and knew what this was really about.
"Ville, she might have a family." She softly whispered, fighting back tears. It was too soon to think about her mother right now.
"No, she doesn't. She and her mother were homeless. I wouldn't have bought her here if she did."
"What killed her mother?" Lydia asked, closing her eyes and hopping for the right answer. Ville frowned,
"It wasn't me if that's what your asking!" he hissed, "But, she was killed. By what…I'm not sure."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I smelled something all over her and the child that was not human, nor vampire."
"…Than what killed her?" Ville's green eyes clouded over with frustration.
"I don't know…"

(Lucy)

The man was squatting near a large hole in the ground, trying in vain to get a fire going with wet wood. He only had two matches left, and with the wood as wet and the wind as cold as it was there was little hope of getting even a spark. He'd probably die out here.
He gritted his teeth and lit one of the matches, holding it to the wet wood.
"Come on, come on!" he urged it.
The fire at the end of the match wouldn't take, and a sharp breeze swept up and ate the flame like candy.
The man cursed and sat back. He gazed up at the sky. Any minute now it would start raining again. The cold had made his entire body numb.
"This is it. Hypothermia. The number one killer of bums. I should have known," he muttered to himself.
He was a gruff man in his early thirties, with dark brown hair and even darker eyes. His face was covered in a fine shag of brown hair, as he hadn't seen a razor in several months. He'd lost his job, lost his house, lost his wife. Lost his son. It was all because the company had laid off half of its employees. And his wife wanted something better, for her and thier son. So she'd taken him and left without a second thought for her husband.
"And now I'm going to die," he said aloud.
"Perhaps not," a voice behind him said.
He stood and whirled around, peering into the gloom beyond uncertainly.
"Hello?" he asked the dark.
"Hello," it answered.
The man felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to rise. It wasn't like other transients to sneak up on people. It was like a street code. This stranger wasn't following it.
Probably wants my money, the man thought before he realized he didn't have any. How easy it was to forget when you used to be somebody.
"But you are somebody," the voice said, answering his thoughts.
This disconcerted him even more and he began shaking.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" he demanded.
"As you wish. Just remember that it was you who asked me to," the voice said.
The man began to discern a shape looming in front of him. The strange, cat-like movements of the form shook the man to the very marrow of his bones. There was something amiss about this being. It grew very tall before him, and two, bright eyes appeared in the dark. They appeared as any normal human eye, except that they glowed in the dark, two lights in the dark mass. Soon the figure began taking steps toward him, and the closer it got the more it grew into the figure of an ordinary man.
Finally he was able to distinguish normal features when the person got within five feet of him. It was a man, over six feet tall, with black hair and a warm smile.
"Good evening, friend," he said.
"Who are you?" the shivering man asked.
"My name is William," the man replied.
The shivering man said nothing. He was sure he was speaking to the devil.
"And you, your name is Vince. You used to work for a grand company, until they fired you. And you lost your lovely wife and child. Now you have no assets, and no property to speak of. Your pockets are empty. And I believe you are down to your very last match," the man said quietly.
"How do you know all this?" Vince asked.
"Is that important? I should think that you would find it of more interest to know why I know all this," William replied.
He grinned and Vince thought he saw several sharpened tooth points in his mouth. He attributed it to his growing hypothermia.
"I know all this because I need you. I have a very important job for you. I can offer you a warm apartment, and all the other amenities you'll need. Plus a very handsome pay," William said.
His voice had a silky quality that was hard to resist. Vince imagined that this man had probably thousands of women waiting for him somewhere that he'd seduced with his voice alone.
"Are you the devil?" he asked, almost ashamed.
William laughed good-naturedly. "Don't be ridiculous. There is no devil. Now, do you want the job, or must I offer it to someone else?" he asked.
"No. I'll take it," Vince replied.

The red convertible had a sound like no other, and he cringed at the thought of how much he liked it.
"You had the right idea," he said to the beautiful woman beside him.
"Sure. I always have the right ideas, Jake," she replied and switched on the radio.
It was a song he'd listened to with Bridget many times, but for once he wasn't feeling as much sadness when he heard it. In fact, this song inspired something else now.
He began singing over the sound of the radio and the wind whipping past them.
After awhile Veronica joined in and their voices echoed along the lonely road.
They'd been traveling like this for a few years now. They'd seen almost all that America had to offer in the way of sights. They'd even visited Lestat for awhile in New Orleans. It had felt great to walk those streets that were forbidden to all other vampires with no fear.
Veronica switched off the radio suddenly. "I keep getting this feeling that something terrible has happened," she said.
"You've been talking about it so much you're making me agree with you. What should we do?" Jake asked.
"I think we should go check on Ville and Lydia," she replied.
"We were just there last month," Jake said.
"I know. But something's changed. I'd feel better if we spoke with them," she said.
"You're the boss," Jake said with a shrug.


(Me)

"….And I know what this is really about!" Lydia snapped, turning her back on Ville and looking out the window into her mother's garden. Ville who had kept quiet though most of the fight slowly walked towards his wife and placed his hand on her shoulder. Lydia began to weep silently.
"Lydia, darling…I just think that maybe this is a sign. After Marian passed well, it's been so lonely here when the others don't visit. I know how you feel about traveling for long periods of time…and well maybe raising this girl will help fill that…void." Lydia looked at Ville, pain engraved in her lovely face.
"I'm sorry that you feel guilty that you can't give me a child Ville, but you have to think that maybe I'm not ready to let go and be a mother." Ville winced slightly and took a short walk over to the sofa and fell into the pillows with a sigh.

Jake and Veronica drove up to the gate of the now Valo estate and Jake pressed the buzzer to be let in. When a few moments passed with nothing happening, Veronica leaned over and gently gripped Jake's arm, worry painted on her face. Just as he was about to press it again the gates opened and both relaxed.
Once the car was parked, they existed it and headed for the backdoor, seeing as this place had become as much of a home to them as Lestat and Louis' flat. As they started up the back stairs Jake turned when he heard Veronica gigging.
"What is it?" he asked, she waved her hand.
"Oh, just thinking about when we here for their wedding." Jake than, too broke out in a chuckle. The whole party was of vampires and so it had to be done over the light of full moon, the reason for the laughter was because on the way back up to the house Lydia couldn't see a thing and ended up tripping and ruining her dress.
As they entered the main pallor they saw Lydia sitting in the red chair facing the fire place sobbing. Veronica rushed over to her side,
"What's wrong?" Lydia sniffled and wiped her face.
"It's nothing, I just-" She stopped and sighed, "It's good to see you." She tried to smile. Ville than walked into the room.
"It's good you two are here," Jake frowned,
"Why?"
"Well, you see-" he was cut off by the loud cries of a child. Veronica and Jake first looked at each other than Ville.
"Um, well that's our problem. Her name's Mana, apparently."

(Blood Flower)

"Maaah-maaah!" The tiny child flung herself face-down on the beautiful quilt of the bed where she'd been placed. She didn't like this place. It was unfamiliar, and the four figures who clustered in the doorway were all strangers. Everything was all wrong! "Mamma!" She demanded, as if expecting her mother to step out of the shadows and declare it all a horrible joke.
One of the strangers, a small woman with dark golden hair like her own, broke away from the others and slowly crossed the floor. With cool hands she lifted Mana and cradled her against her bosom. Mana stopped crying.
"There, darling," The woman murmured. "Dry your face now. You're all right."
Mana remembered a girl like this, a sister? She looked up into the young woman's gentle eyes. They were dark, shimmering blue. Her sister's eyes had been brown. And, of course this couldn't be her sister, because her sister had gone away with that man who made her wear bright, skimpy dresses, even when it was cold. But that didn't matter, really. She squirmed to be put down.
"Not yet, Mana. I don't want you to run off and hurt yourself. Why don't we get you something to eat, then we can all sit together and talk. How about that?"
Mana considered, chewing on one, chubby fist, then nodded. She WAS terribly hungry.

The others watched Veronica in amazement. Her actions seemed so natural, so normal, as though she were well accustomed to soothing young children.
"I had five younger siblings when I was mortal," She explained a little sadly, brushing past them and into the parlor where she balanced Mana in one arm, the telephone in the other, so she could call for take-out.
'What happened?' Jake projected to Ville silently, so as not to upset the girl further. 'How did you find her?'
'Her mother had been killed by... something.' Ville replied cautiously.
"Something," Jake repeated aloud, suspiciously.
Mana glanced at him quizzically, then buried her face in Veronica's neck again, tangling her grubby little fingers in the mass of her flaxen hair.
Veronica sat down the phone.
'She'll feel better after she's eaten.' She thought at them all. 'She'll be more open and willing to talk.'
Ville approached tentatively and held out his arms, longing and hope etched on his expressive face. "Mana?" He whispered. "Are you feeling ok now?"
Mana released Veronica's hair, peeping at Ville with shy affection. "Better now," She confirmed, sucking her thumb. "Sissy is here. Scary man all gone."

(Lucy)

"What does she mean, scary man?" Jake asked.
"The scary man!" Mana cried and buried her face away.
"The rest of us are so helpless, what do we know about scary men?" Ville asked.
"Could be anybody. Maybe some sicko on the street tried to get her to take candy," Lydia said.
Veronica set Mana up on a counter so she could face her. "Mana, what scary man?" she asked.
"The scary man," Mana insisted.
"Which scary man?" Veronica pressed.
"Scary man who came when mama," Mana grumbled incoherently.
"What did he say?" Veronica asked.
"I don't know," Mana replied.
Ville sighed. "She's too young to remember anything important," he said.
"Mana, look!" Veronica cried. Mana sat straight up with her eyes wide open. "You're all dirty!" Veronica said, smiling.
Mana checked herself over and shrugged.
"I think you need a bath," Veronica said, clucking her tongue.
"Bath?" Mana asked.
"Yes. A nice, warm bath with bubbles," Veronica said.
"Bubbles!" Mana cried, clapping her hands in glee.
Veronica picked her up off the table and headed toward the stairs.
"I'll get her cleaned up. We need clothes for her and somebody needs to pick up the food," Veronica said. She looked only at Jake when she said this.
Jake held out his hands, and after fumbling briefly in her pocket Veronica pulled out a wallet and tossed it to him with one hand.
"She keeps the money?" Ville asked mockingly.
Jake smiled. "No. She took my wallet earlier," he replied.
"Sure she did," Ville said and gave Jake a punch on the shoulder.

The food smelled disgusting.
"Is there a problem?" the attendee asked him when she saw his nose wrinkle.
"Oh, no. It looks great!" Jake assured her and left.
He put it next to him on the seat of the car, beside a bag filled with small pants and a shirt.
He stared at the food for a long time, trying to recall the taste of Chinese food. The smell nearly made him gag, but he remembered that at one point food like this had made his mouth water.
"The last meal I had was a sandwich. And the last drink was a terrible beer in a pub far away," he thought aloud to himself. The dark sadness was about to wash over him but he fought it off and started the car.
He didn't see the dark figure crouched in the shadows, watching him.

(Blood Flower)

"So, where the hell are we?" Vince blinked in the over-powering glare of the lobby's chandelier. After the blackness of the night outside, the light made his eyes water. The artificial heat being pumped full-force through the entire building made his body feel heavy and sluggish. The whole atmosphere seemed unbearably oppressive, despite the size and grandeur of the rooms around them.
"This way," William motioned, ignoring his question.
They strode casually past the receptionist's desk, unnoticed and unescorted. The elevator into which they stepped was occupied by only one other man whom Vince accidentally bumped upon entering.
"Sorry," He mumbled. But the stranger didn't even spare him a glance. He fiddled with the newspaper he was holding, the better to read one of the sports articles, his eyes never leaving the page.
Vince backed away, looking confused and awkward and a little affronted at having his apology disregarded.
On the next floor up, the newspaper-reader exited, brushing past William with that same air of indifference, and an elderly woman got in, trotting heavily on Vince's foot as she shifted to reach the buttons.
"Excuse me, Mrs." Vince cried, now truly offended. He may not have been the most respectable-looking person at the moment, but such blatant discourtesy was uncalled for. "You've just crushed my foot, lady."
She gazed off at the corner of the small chamber, oblivious.
William was laughing, his pointed teeth clearly visible in his wide, mischievous grin. "They can't see you Vince," He chuckled. "They can't see me either."
"What--who--what in God's name are you talking about? What do you mean they can't see us? We're here aren't we?"
William traced the line of his jaw with one, slender fingertip. There was the barest shadow of whiskers there. "Hmm," he mused, slouching leisurely against the wall. "We are and we aren't." He said slowly, as if puzzling a deep yet ultimately unimportant enigma. "We are here, and they are here, but we are not with them. We're in the same place... but not together."
"You're crazy!" Vince half-shouted, frantically pummeling the button to get out. "You're insane. I was right. You ARE the devil! And what's wrong with your teeth?"
William smirked, coolly. "I've already told you, Vince. There is no devil. You'd better believe everything I say, because you're in my power now. You've agreed to my deal. You belong to me."
To emphasize his point he swatted the old woman hard on her broad rump. The sound of the slap was like a firecracker in the enclosed space. The woman didn't even flinch.
The doors opened, and the old woman took her time getting out. But Vince had shoved past her and was pelting down the long, carpeted hall toward the nearest exit. William chased after him, rye amusement on his handsome face. "Don't run, Vince. It's too late to escape me. Remember, it was you who asked me to show myself."

(Me)

Mana giggled splashing the bubbly water around. Veronica sat on the floor next to the tube, her hands washing the little girls' light brown knotted curls. Ville stood in the door way and next to him Lydia and Jake.
Lydia watched the female vampire as she enacted so well with the girl and she looked over at Ville. His face was completely relaxed and his eyes were gazing intently on Mana. Lydia wrapped her arms around herself and left to go outside for some fresh air.
She settled herself down by the pond and sighed looking into the water. Suddenly she felt a hand on her should and looked up to see the dazzling smile of Lestat!
"Hello, Ma Cherie, I heard that your idiot husband had some news for me?" Lydia blinked a few times,
"Oh, ok, your fast." Lestat laughed,
"Yes, I am aware, come on let's go see what's the damage."

[Violet Twlilight]

(Lucy)

Lestat was nearly in hysterics about the whole story, despite the tragedy of Mana's dead mother.
"Oh, this is just like a repeat of my life," he roared. Then his face became mockingly serious. "Don't turn her into a vampire. It'll only bring bad luck," he said, then chuckled again.
"Lestat, please. What are we supposed to do?" Lydia asked.
"You don't have many choices. You could bring her to an orphanage. You could try to raise her yourself. You could find someone else to raise her. That's about it," he replied.
"Couldn't you-" Ville began.
Lestat held up his hands. "Ooooh, no. You're not bringing me into this. I've had enough of orphan children. It's your turn," he said.
"I had hoped Lydia wouldn't mind having her around," Ville said sheepishly.
"You should have asked me first," Lydia said.
"So I was supposed to leave her there with a dead mother just so I could ask you if it was all right to give her food and shelter?" Ville asked.
Lydia put hands to her temples. "Let's not do this. I love you too much to fight with you. It's all too much right now, with this and my mother," she said.
Ville put his arms around her. "I'm sorry, love. I thought maybe a child in the house would help," he said.
Mana joined them with her small hand in Veronica's. She was clean and dressed, and Jake had set up the food.
Veronica put Mana near the table and helped her to eat the long noodles and small chunks of meat. Mana ate happily, nearly all thoughts of her mother and bad men gone from her mind. Her newfound companions brought her peace, and her child's mind didn't need to question it.
"We have to do something," Veronica said.
"She'll stay here for as long as she needs. Maybe someone will come forward to claim her or we'll think of something else. But Ville's right. If I have a child around I can't think of...other things," Lydia said.
Lestat smiled. "I can help. But only a little. I hate to get too involved when it comes to kids," he said.
"I'll help, too," Veronica said.
They looked at Jake.
"And our road trip?" he asked.
"It's been going on for years. Surely you can take a break," Veronica said.
Jake sighed. "All right. But I don't know the first thing about children," he said.
"You had siblings, didn't you?" Lydia asked.
"Long, long, long ago. And we were all so worried about whether or not we were going to starve to death that we didn't have much time for family bonding," Jake replied.
"Well, after she's finished eating we need to put her to bed. She'll have to get on the same routine as us. Sleeping during the day and waking at night," Lydia said.
She picked up the girl and took her to one of the rooms.

William was waiting just outside the door when Vince finally found an exit.
"I thought you'd never get out of there," William said, casually examining his fingernails.
Vince took a moment to catch his breath. "Okay. Just tell me what you are," he said.
"The truth? I don't know. Anymore than you know what you are. Are you a man? A speck in space? A soul trapped in a body? We know only that we are, not what we are," William replied.
"Enough of the cryptic messages! Are you a demon? A ghost? A vampire?" Vince demanded.
"No, no, and no. But the last idea intrigues me a little. See, demons don't exist. Ghosts...well, we'll get to them later. Vampires? Now there's a real adversary. Quick thinkers and even quicker on their feet. Blood-suckers from a long line of blood-suckers. Vampires are my forte," William said.
"What do you mean?" Vince asked.
"I have spies working for me. They find out all they can about certain vampires and relay the information to me. That's what I want you to do. Be my little spy," William said.
"Wait a minute, vampires aren't real!" Vince said.
"Aren't they? Believe me, I've seen enough of them to know that they are as real as you and me. And the power they have! It's enough to drive a man insane trying to get it," William said.
"You're not making sense," Vince said.
William sighed. "Then let me begin again. I have been tracking vampires for many years. When I catch one, I use what resources are available to me to capture their power. I suck them dry of it. Then I take it for myself. I have several spies who track down the vampires I tell them to follow. When I have them backed in a corner, I have my spies capture them. And I take thier powers. Am I making sense now?" William asked.
Vince nodded, unsure.
"I have the powers I have because I've taken them from the vampires. It's fatal for the vampires, but very good for me. It means I live a very long time and have nearly as perfect powers as they have. Given enough of this power, I can live forever. And the best part is that I am not limited to the same road blocks as they face. You see, vampires cannot go into the sun. I sunbathe on a daily basis. They cannot eat food, I enjoy a fine cuisine every day. They cannot have women, I have ten of them. You see? I've stumbled onto the one of the greatest secrets known to man. And the vampires themselves are not even aware that I exist. I have ultimate power," William said with glee.
Vince could hardly take all this in.
"Another perk of my special abilities is that I can move among people without them knowing it. Something even the vampires can't do. It's a side effect of the special concoction that makes this all possible," William said.
"And you can make others have this invisibility, too," Vince said.
"Yes! Now you're catching on. Remember the fine wine I gave you? It was laced with my own special mix. But it was such a small amount that it's worn off by now. However, take up my offer and I'll give you what I give the others. A small taste of what I enjoy," William said.
He beckoned for Vince to follow him back inside, and Vince, dumbfounded, followed him.
"Now I choose to make myself visible, and you will notice people interacting with us," William said and he waved to a guard. The guard smiled and waved back.
"What is this place?" Vince asked.
"It's where I call home. Actually, it's full of office space. But I paid these people a large sum of money to let me live undisturbed on the uppermost floor. Now what do you say we get back in the elevator and try again?" William asked.
Vince's curiosity got the best of him and he hung on William's every word. After all, what did he have to lose?
They arrived at the suites on the top floor. William stopped and put his hands on Vince's shoulders.
"We cannot go any further until I have a solid commitment from you. Therefore, I require that you tell me for certain whether you are in or out. To be in, you must be all the way in. Vampire hunting is a very dangerous job, and there's a good chance you could end up a vampire's meal. There's also a good chance that you could end up powerful, rich, and as content as myself. What do you say?" William asked.
Vince paused. "I'll do it," he said.
"That a boy!" William said, clapping him on the shoulder.
He followed William into a the parlor and down a series of halls to a back room. William opened the door.
The room was shrouded in black, with heavy black curtains on the walls. William flicked a switch and the room was bathed in light.
A man lay chained to the wall, and when William turned the light on his eyes rolled sluggishly up to see the two figures in the doorway.
It was a vampire, with eyes more sinister and less human in appearance than William's. There were only two fangs, the canines, unlike William's several. This creature was obviously starved and devoid of energy.
"If you are to be my spy, you must be equipped with certain powers that can keep you safe. For instance, the ability to walk without making a sound. Vampires are impossible for mortals to sneak up on, so you will need that silence. You need keener senses, better sight, hearing, and smell. You need faster speed, and extra strength. All of which you will receive tonight," William said.
He began preparing a mixture at a nearby table.
"What's in that?" Vince asked.
"Can't tell you, otherwise the secret's out. I'd never tell another soul. And never have. Here," William said and handed the mixture to Vince in a cup.
"Don't drink it now," William warned.
Vince took it away from his lips and set it on a shelf nearby.
"First, hold out your arm," William said.
Vince did as he was told, and William stuck a needle in it. Vince flinched and was about to protest, but William held up a finger.
"It's necessary that you should be half empty of blood before we begin," he said.
"But that'll kill me!" Vince cried.
"No. Only makes you weak. But believe me, it's very temporary," William replied.
Vince's blood flowed through the needle and into a large covered basin.
"What do you do with that?" he asked, indicating the basin.
"I feed it in small amounts to the creatures. I must keep them weak but alive," William said.
He stuck another needle into the vampire and began to drain him. The vampire made a weak attempt to struggle but didn't have the strenth.
Soon the vampire ceased to breathe, and lay dead against the wall. Vince had collapsed to his knees with blood loss.
William pulled the needle out and handed Vince the bowl filled with vampire blood.
"Drink this, and then immediately drink the mixture I gave you. The key word is immediately," William said.
Vince did as he was bid, gagging a little at the blood. Then he swallowed the mixture.
Immediately he began to feel strange.
"And so the magic begins," William said with a grin.

[Violet Twlilight]

(Blood Flower)

Mana snuggled into the nest of blankets she'd been provided to sleep in. There was no crib or toddler bed for her, but she didn't know enough of such things to miss them. She was warmer, fuller and cleaner than she had been in a long time. Sighing, she lifted her thumb to her lips and sucked it for comfort. She didn't do this often (her mother had not approved). But no one here seemed to mind... except.
"Stop that," The voice was gentle but firm. Two, cool, strong fingers plucked her tiny hand from her mouth. "No thumbsucking now. You're not a baby. We're going to talk like grownups."
Mana gazed up into the young man's brilliant blue eyes. 'blue,' she thought fretfully, 'Everyone's eyes are blue.' But then the ghost of a smile crossed his lips, and they softened into gray. Mana gasped in delight, and with the uninhibited curiosity of a child reached up to touch his eyelids.
He blinked, "What--?..."
"Make it change again," Mana begged. "Make the color change!"
"Oh," He recaptured her hands with unusual delicacy and laid them, folded, on her stomach.
"All right Mana," Lestat conceded, struck by a sudden idea. "I'll make the color change again. Just look into my eyes, ok? Yes, just like that, and don't look away." This was nonsense. He had no power over the prismatic quality of his own eyes, but it would keep her focussed enough for him to do what he must.
Within a minute the child had fallen into a light trance. Her mind was completely open.
Ville took a step nearer, fingers twiddling anxiously. "Be really, really careful Lestat. Please. Try not to mess her up too bad."
"Shh. I have to concentrate."
Ville went back to Lydia, who was staring out the window a bit sadly. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and she laid her head back on his shoulder, now gazing up at the ceiling. Her dark hair and his were mingled on the fabric of his shirt. "Just a little while," He whispered coaxingly. "We'll keep her just a little while, and see where it goes."
Wordlessly she nodded, making the mass of their combined hair bounce.
Lestat stood up, tugging the covers up to a sleeping Mana's chin. "Well," Ville prompted.
"I got all I'm going to get from her. The memories are tangled and hidden deep. She is trying to forget them, and frankly I can't blame her." He paced to the window, gazing out on the night.
Ville cleared his throat pointedly. Lestat didn't seem to have heard. "So," Ville tried again. "Are you going to tell us what you saw?"
"Hmm, oh, yes, of course... No. Not now. Tomorrow night. I need to think."
"To think about what," Lydia asked impatiently.
Lestat spun on his heel and was standing directly before them in a fraction of an instant. "Things," He said unhelpfully, and was gone.

William was burning the latest vampire corpse. He had folded it up and shoved it in a satchel (it was nearly weightless.) Then he'd hauled it out to a woody place on the outskirts of the city where nobody but bums and outlaws came. He had no fear of either. He'd dug a deep hole, thrown in the body, doused the entire thing in gasoline, and set it alight. It shriveled and flaked and was soon nothing more than a mound of smoking, stinking black ash. He scooped up the mess and spread it far and wide, just in case the creature might have tried to make a come back. Then he filled the hole, washed his hands in the nearby stream, and left.
Vince was weighting for him in the kitchen, having showered and shaved and dressed himself in the clothes William provided. He looked like he could have been a businessman, perfectly at home in this massive building, except his hair was still a bit too long and straggly, and there was an indefinable glint in his once-dull eyes. Someone who'd never seen Vince before wouldn't have detected the change, but it was obvious to William. The other man seemed harder somehow; stronger, more imposing, and his very skin appeared to reflect light.
"Excellent," He declared, sitting down across the table and appraising his handiwork. "Absolutely perfect."
Vince blushed a little, uncomfortable. "Yeah, well," He muttered.
"Here," William said, pushing a small, handheld mirror at him. "Look at yourself. Do you like what you see Vince? This is only the first taste. There is so much more to come."

Lestat shuddered involuntarily as he prowled Ville and Lydia's garden. The scene was so familiar, yet different. The mother, dead, wasted. The sick child clinging to her remains. He felt like vometing.
"She's not Claudia," He told himself savagely. "She's another little girl. Her fate has not yet been decided. The same mistakes won't be made. Not again. Never again."
And then there was the matter of the "scary man." Who the hell was he? A vampire? But Mana didn't fear any of the vampires in this house. She was reticent, but that was normal for one so young, even among her own kind.
It was connected with vampires though. He was sure. The bone-thin hands. The pale skin. The rasping, malignant voice. 'Evil is real little one.' And the dry lips kissing hers, drawn back from sharpened teeth. Too many sharpened teeth.
The dawn was pink and gold on the horizon. His skin prickled. Somebody seized his hand and drug him inside. The soft, warm hand pulled him unresisting into the basement. Into darkness and safety.
Lydia's voice hissed in the cool air. "The others are already sleeping. I'm going to look out for Mana during the day. She's sleeping too, but if she wakes, I think it best that I be with her."
Lestat sunk to one of the mattresses, heavy with the coming sun. "I knew you'd warm to her," He smirked.
There was no answer but a noncommittal sniff, then the door above opened and closed and she had left. And the world went blank.

(Lucy)

That look was coming into his eyes again. And she hated it. She thought it was because she wasn't doing enough, not being enough. But even when she thought she was doing her best, she'd see that look creep into the corners of his eyes. She'd learned to spot it long ago, when they'd first hit the road together. It had been happening less often, but it still came. And it was here now.
He was quiet. Too quiet. And she hated the way he gazed out into space at times like these. And she had to repeat herself several times before he even looked up.
"What?" Jake asked.
"I said, what do you think will happen to the child?" Veronica asked.
"Oh. I don't know," he said distantly.
His hand danced around on his leg until they found the car keys.
"I need to go out. I'll be back," he said.
"Jake," Veronica said.
He finally lifted his face and looked her full in the eyes.
"Please, just be careful," she said.
She had thought to stop him, but what good could she do? She wasn't his boss, nor his mother. Nor even his girlfriend.
Even though they'd spent years together he'd never treated her as much more than a good friend. Sure, there had been times when he seemed just about to tell her, or just about to kiss her. But it had never happened. And she'd never tasted his blood since that night she'd been close to death. And he'd never tasted hers.
So many times she wanted to tell him that he needed to stop with Bridget and focus on her. But she couldn't do that without breaking his heart. She'd gotten him to drink Bridget's blood. That was all she could hope for, at least for now.

He started the car and drove out onto a desolated interstate. The road stretched in a straight line out before him under millions of stars. He breathed the air deeply into his lungs and let his foot slowly descend onto the gas pedal with harder and harder force.
Soon the little convertible was roaring pleasantly, cruising along at an illegal speed. But just let a cop come get him now. His thoughts were beyond this world.
As the car reached top speed he lifted his chin into the air and let the back of his head hit the seat. He gazed up into the stars and watched them fly by. Like on Star Wars, when they go to light speed. The colors washed over him and then he closed his eyes as the wind whipped over his face. Why didn't he ever have a car before this?
He was thinking of her. How she'd looked, all the life gone and only a corpse left. It still gave him nightmares, even in the deepest sleep of day.
But in a part of his mind, a part that had only recently shown up, something told him to let it go. Something told him about how there was a lovely woman waiting for him who'd give anything if he would just say something to her. But he couldn't. Any time he tried to open his mouth his throat would close up and he'd think of Bridget. Any time his thoughts drifted lazily back to that night and the feel of Veronica eagerly taking life from his veins his thoughts snapped back to Bridget's face.
He knew Bridget would never condone this. He knew she'd want him to move on. She'd been all about moving past those things which hurt. She'd told him many times that the only way you survived was if you forgot all the hard things and moved beyond them. But if you were immortal? What then? What then, when you could remember every detail of everything that ever happened to you since you became a vampire? How to move beyond that?
He was not even aware that he'd pulled to the side of the road. The car sat idling, chugging away. Around him stretched miles of farmland and beyond that, some hills. The stars blazed on. The night was fresh.
The familiar hunger pains rose in him. But there were no hospitals, no rest homes nearby. Where would he find his flightless angel to send into the air? He took his foot off the brake and turned the car around, back toward the lights of a nearby city. There would be plenty of victims there.

Lydia lay asleep by the small child. Veronica came in to the room and smiled. The two of them looked very right together, and when she turned and saw Ville watching them both from a chair she smiled again.
"She's been there all day, I bet," Ville whispered.
"She seems to have taken to the girl," Veronica commented.
"I'd like to hope so. I've taken to her, and I want Lydia to like her. I think she needs someone who needs her," Ville said.
"Maybe," Veronica replied.
The child stirred and her eyes slowly opened, the light-colored lashes drifting apart gracefully.
Lydia noticed the movement of the child and sat up, then looked at Ville and Veronica in surprise.
"How long have you been there?" she asked.
"For about an hour," Ville answered.
"Two minutes," Veronica said, and smiled.
"Where's Jake?" Lydia asked.
Veronica's face grew hard. "He's out," she said. She didn't want her disappointment to show, but she knew that even Lydia could read it on her face.
Suddenly Lestat came to the top of the stairs. "I think it's time we had a talk," he said gravely.

[Violet Twlilight]

"I have a job for you," William said with his hands clasped.
He'd called Vince to what he termed his "office", which was really a lavishly decorated room on the floor in his suites.
"I've been watching a certain vampire for a few nights now. I didn't know who to send on the job; all my other spies have jobs of their own. But now that I have you, and I have faith in you, I want to send you out to learn as much as you can about him," William said.
"Already? But I don't know the first thing about capturing vampires!" Vince protested.
"Relax. I don't want you to capture him. Yet. We'll get to that when the time comes. For now, all I want is information. What he does, where he goes. It'd be great if you could find out where he sleeps during the day. Find out if it's one place, or several. If several, find them all," William said.
"This seems like an awful lot," Vince said.
"Don't think I expect you to do it all in one night. This is a job spanning over several nights. But you'll have to get into the sleeping habits of a vampire. Sleep during the day so you're well awake at night. I've sent one spy out to see what he was like, but other than that I know nothing. I think he consorts with mortals, because the spy said he picked up food. And what use has a vampire for food?" William asked, chuckling.
"I guess no use," Vince said.
"Well, let me get you the file I want you to make," William said, and fumbled in a cabinet. He pulled out a vanilla folder and handed it to Vince.
There was a picture of a vampire inside, with blonde hair and Chinese takeout. He was getting into a red convertible.
"This is him?" Vince asked.
"No, it's his mother. Of course it's him!" William said. But he said this in a cheerful tone, and Vince smiled in spite of himself.
"Get everything you can on this guy," William said.
"Yes, sir," Vince replied.

(Me)

Everyone gathered in the main pallor room and waited for Lestat to start talking. Lydia had picked up the still sleeping Mana and carefully bought her with her and sat near the window, the girl curled up in her arms. Ville stood above the chair with his hand on her shoulder while Veronica sat on the loveseat facing the fireplace which Lestat was leaning upon. Finally the silence was broken,
"The person who killed the girl's mother is either two things, one a very weak and young vampire or a human who has drank vampric blood." Ville frowned,
"I told you that there was no scent of a vampire." Lestat turned towards the younger vampire.
"Your senses are not that acute yet, the smell of death may have over powered your senses."
"She was not dead that long." Lestat rolled his eyes,
"Do you have a better theory? Either way this creature is dangerous." Lydia looked at the angelic sleeping face of Mana and back to Lestat.
"Do you they'll come looking for her?" Lydia asked, Lestat shook his head and paced the room.
"No, he would have just killed her if that was his game. I don't think that her mother was killed for blood or anything else. I think it was a…vanity thing. A rush, to see if he could do it, maybe even to see our reaction."
"So you think he knows that we're here?" Ville said, gripping tighter on his wife's shoulder. Lydia reached up to hold his hand in hers, and rubbed her cheek against it.
"I'm not sure, but if he's as clever as I think he is than yes." Veronica stood and said,
"So what do we do? Do we know this man is a threat to us? Perhaps he's an ex vampire that's found a cure but still craves the kill?" Lestat's eyes bored into her,
"We don't know anything yet, only that it's nature does not value life as we do. I advise we stay alert until we know for sure it's motives." Mana whimpered and yawned opening her honey golden eyes and smiling up at Lydia. Everyone's attention was on her, and the old dissection dead for now.
"Your warm, your not like Sissy, Fluffy and uncle Lestat are you?" Lydia giggled and looked up at Ville,
"Fluffy?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Ville's cheeks gained slight color and his hands ran though his hair.
"She thinks I'm fluffy…like a kitty." He mumbled, his fingers still combing though his wild curls. Lydia glanced back down at Mana and smiled,
"No, I'm not. I'm like you." She made a 'oh' sound and cuddled into her chest. Lydia's heart melted.
"Are you my new Mommy?" Mana asked sadly, looking up at her. Lydia bit her lip and looked at first Veronica and Lestat who gave her looks of 'well, your not going to crush the poor thing are you?' before looking at Ville, who only smiled.
"Yeah, I'm your new Mommy." Mana kissed her cheek and nuzzled into her neck. Lydia held her closer and closed her eyes enjoying the feeling of love the child gave off.

Vince took a sip of his coffee and sighed with bliss. It'd been too long since he'd felt the liquid gold warm his body. He opened his eyes and looked outside the café window, before glancing down at his shinny new clock. Smiling slyly, he took another drink of coffee before looking though the pile of papers on the wooden table before him. The light in the café was dim so reading over the sales records on cars in the last past seven years was getting to his eyes. Although after a few blinks the print was as clear as day, as if someone had just flicked a switch on. Vice chuckled to himself,
"I could use to this," his whispered to no one. He picked up a very thick folder and a piece of paper work fell out. Vince picked it up and scanned over it quickly. It was a sales report of a red 2007 red mustang convertible being sold to a Mr. Jake Smith. He paid in cash and later his credit report came back saying that person had been deceased for four years before the perchance took place.
"This is it," Vince finished his coffee and gathered the papers only keeping track of the one and headed outside where he threw the rest in the trash and tucked the report in his coat.

[Lucy]

*Thanks so much for saving this, Violet. I suppose I'll start writing again. I hope someone joins in soon.*


Someone was following him. Of that he was certain. He knew it wasn't a vampire, but at the same time it wasn't a clumsy mortal either. Just what he needed. More mysteries. As much as the thought to someone spying on him angered him, a part of him didn't want to deal with it, just wanted to forget about it. But forgetting about things was dangerous.
Jake knew he couldn't go back to Lydia's house. If he did, he'd be leading this stranger right to all of them. And the little girl. And Veronica. Veronica worried him most of all. How long would she put up with his constant fear, and walking out, and gazing off into space. He was aware of these behaviors but had no idea how to change them.
Actually, he did have idea, but it would be the hardest thing he'd ever do. He'd have to give up. He'd have to completely give it up and accept Bridget's death once and for all. He'd have to let her slip between his fingers and surrender to this new feeling with Veronica. He'd have to break down all the walls he'd been putting up and hope that pain wasn't waiting for him again. And he wasn't ready to do that. Not just yet.
The car's headlights were still behind him, far off down the road. Whoever was following him underestimated his visual range. Driving a little too close.
"All right," Jake said to himself. "Let's see how good your tracking skills really are." He pushed harder on the gas and sped off down the road until the lights far behind him became specks and eventually disappeared.

Vince braced himself. He knew William didn't mess around, and if he told him that on his third night on the job he'd lost his target...well, he didn't want to think about what would happen. But he couldn't run away. William would track him down and it would a lot worse then. He had to face up to it, test William's mercy.
But to his bewilderment, William only yawned absent-mindedly.
"Let it go. It's okay," he said.
"You mean, you're not angry?" Vince asked in surprise.
"On any other given day I would be. I'd be furious. Let that serve as a warning. You can NOT let these guys even get suspicious of you, or they're gone. Simple as that. And if it happens again there'll be hell to pay. But this time, I've actually found what I'm looking for without his help," William said.
"Oh?" Vince asked, relieved.
"Yes. You ever hear of "The Vampire Chronicles?" William asked.
"Yeah. I heard of them. Fiction stories," Vince said.
"No. True stories disguised as fiction. Do you know who wrote them? I'll give you a hint. It's not the name on the book covers," William said.
"A vampire?" Vince asked.
"Not just any vampire. One of the most sought after vampires in existence. Lestat De Lioncourt. Remember that name," William said.
"What's this got to do with Jake?" Vince asked.
"Apparently he and Lestat have a bond. A friendship. Along with a few other vampires. I'm not sure who they are. I do suspect that one Louis De Point du Lac is also associated with them. Another writer of the chronicles. These two, and especially Lestat, are some of the most powerful vampires in the world. I want their power. They could be the key to eternal life, and not just an enhanced one," William said.
"You want me to find them?" Vince asked.
"I wanted you to find Jake because he had a connection. But one of my other spies stumbled on the secret of where Lestat and his little coven are hiding. I want to send you on this mission because you haven't yet gotten a chance to prove yourself. And I know that this last thing was just a one-time mistake, right?" William asked warningly.
"Absolutely," Vince said.
"Good. Here are the directions to the house. And listen. If you find them and help me capture Lestat, I'll share the secret of everlasting life with you," William said confidentially.
"I won't disappoint you again, sir," Vince replied resolutely.

[Violet Twlilight]

+I'm very happy that your posting, Lucy. Do you happen to know how to find Blood Flower by any chance?

Mana giggled and hid behind Lestat, he looked down at her with a cocked eyebrow. The girl put her tinny finger to her lips and held in another giggle. Lestat smiled and cleared his throat, looking up to see Ville walking towards him looking around the floor searching. He paused and looked up at Lestat.
"Have seen Mana? She's thinks I'm playing but I just want to see if some of Lydia's clothes from when she was a child will fit her or not."
"Marina kept them?" He asked with inertest, trying to cover the child behind him better. Ville saw though it.
"What are you hiding?" He asked poking his head closer. Lestat's grin grew when a soft giggle floated though the room. Ville's face dropped.
"For goodness sake, Lestat! Your as bad as her!" Ville scorned and reached behind the older vampire, grabbing Mana around the waist. Mana cried out, flinging her small, tinny arms and legs around.
"Fluffy! Put me down! Fluffy!" Ville rolled his eyes at the child and turned around to carry her out of the room. She peeped over his shoulder to glare at Lestat and shouted, pointing her finger.
"Traitor!" Lestat chuckled and waved as her little face disappeared into the hall.

Vince's heart began to beat slightly faster as he looked up at the log cabin, surrounded by gardens. How was he going to get any closer? What was it exactly was he suppose to do anyway? William had pretty much left him in the dark when it came to his next move. Then he saw the back door open and a small white clothes figure running towards a circle of rose bushes. The door opened again where a what looked like a young woman went after her.
"Mana! Come back here!" she shouted, the woman must have been human. Her voice, although pretty, was not of an other worldly nature as William's was. The small figure came into better view and Vice knew it was a little girl. A sudden rush of pain crushed him, remembering his own son-he'd be about nine by now. Frowning he promised himself than once this was done was paying his 'dear wife' a visit and taking back his child. The little girl, Mana spotted him hiding in the trees.
Instead if running the girl wandered closer, she was a very pretty little girl. Not expectably beautiful but still very attractive, with big dear-like eyes and dirty blond curls, that one day would surely darken to a rich brown.
"Hello," The girl said, her little kid lisp still very much present. Vince wasn't sure how to react-perhaps he could use her to a advantage.
"Hello, what's your name?" He tried to ask in his softest, friendliest voice to not seem threatening. Mana drew closer, playing with her hands, her bottom lip sticking out to one side.
"I'm Mana, Mommy is chasing me…you have a good hiding spot can I" she paused and frowned, trying to correct her voice, "hide with you?" Vince smiled and made room in the little nestle of leaves for her to crawl into.
"That's a nice name- Mana." She nodded,
"That's what Fluffy says," Vince grinned to himself-this was getting somewhere.
"Who's Fluffy?" Mana started to play with her hair,
"He's really pretty…like Mommy...he's my new Daddy, I never had a Daddy before…that I can remember. Old Mommy use to say he was bad."
"Old mommy?" The girl's face dropped and tears pickled her eyes.
"Old mommy didn't wake up,"
"Oh," Vince felt uncomfortable, but Mana smiled again, in spite of the sadness still lingering in her eyes.
"But new Mommy is nice and pretty…they'll all pretty. Mommy is the only one like me."
"What's different about the others?"
"They're all beautiful. And they just…feel weird. They're all so pretty!" She examined again. Vince sighed, knowing there wasn't much more that was going come out of her.
The woman's voice grew closer, Mana pouted.
"I better go now, I don't want Mommy to be mad." She stood up and brushed off her white-now stained- dress and ran off yelling,
"Good bye!"
Vince knew he didn't have enough to go back to William…so he would stick around just a bit longer.

[Lucy]

*I don't know how to get ahold of her. I was hoping that you did.*

The vampires were beautiful, Mana had been right about that. They moved so elegantly, so gracefully. William had a little of it, but these were the real deal. Upon meeting William Vince had thought that he was so distinguished and elegant, but after Vince caught sight of one of them pacing on the porch he saw what elegant truly was. William had in some way polluted this with his half-human nature still lingering. Vince knew now why he wanted the full power. After watching the slim, graceful creature on the porch he wanted it as well.
She was quite pretty, with long hair and agile movements. But even in the dark he could see she was anxious. She looked beyond the porch out into the dark as though searching.
"What are you looking for?" Vince whispered in the dark, not intending for her to hear.
She stopped however, and stood with her head cocked, listening.
Vince almost laughed with delight. What power these creatures had! What sharpened senses. He thought he'd gotten a taste of it, but he really hadn't. Sure, his senses had amplified but not to this degree. He was beginning to understand better than ever what William wanted with the vampires. They had it all.
Steps from somewhere behind him alerted his attention. Vince turned around as quietly as possible and peered out the other side of the bushes.
A dark figure with the same cat-like movements was slinking toward the house. The woman on the porch looked eagerly toward it with her hands clasped.
Vince heard her exclaim breathily, "Jake!"
The figure stopped slinking and hurried toward the porch until the light illuminated him. It was Jake indeed. Vince craned his neck and listened with all his might. The only words he could make out were few, but enough to alert him to the fact that Jake was on to him, and about to warn everyone in the house. He swore, but was comforted by the fact that Jake hadn't seen him in the bushes.

"So this mortal is after us?" Veronica asked.
"I think so. But I don't know if he's mortal. He has an odd quality about him, but I can't put my finger on it," Jake replied.
"Great. More trouble. Perhaps I shouldn't leave you all alone anymore for any length of time," Lestat said disdainfully.
"Do you think he's after Mana?" Lydia asked, troubled.
"I don't know what he's after. God, he could be anybody. He could be after me, to settle some old score of Franz's. He could be after Mana, maybe even a parent of hers. He could be after any of us for anything," Jake said.
"I doubt he's after you. Yes, he chased you, but I'm positive we obliterated anything of Franz's last time. No, this guy's after something else," Lestat said musingly.
"What should we do?" Veronica asked.
"Nothing right now. I don't think he's found us here. We'll wait, and if we get wind of him we'll make him talk," Lestat said.
"Your life is never boring, is it?" Jake asked.
"Hardly," Lestat said with a grin.

[Lucy]

*Since no one else is writing, I guess I'll continue.*

Vince watched as Jake stepped out on the porch for some air. He watched as the vampire put his hands in his pockets and leaned lazily against a porch support. He eyes gazed off, behind Vince's hiding spot, to the woods beyond.
Vince was becoming more and more confused by his thoughts on this particular vampire. There was something oddly familiar about him. He knew they'd never met before, and yet he felt strangely akin to this creature and it made him feel somewhat guilty for spying. The feeling was completely without foundation, and he wondered why such thoughts should occur to him.
Jake remained on the porch for awhile before a sweet female voice called to him and he disappeared inside the house. Vince still couldn't shake the odd feeling, and since it was already near morning he decided to return to William and ask him about it.

"It's almost sunup," Veronica said softly as Jake approached.
He nodded, partly in a daze.
"Is it Bridget again?" she asked warily.
"No. Not this time. It's that stranger. Why would he be following us?" Jake asked.
"He's probably after Lestat. You know how much trouble he gets himself into. He has so many enemies it's surprising that he still lives," Veronica half joked.
"You're probably right. I worry way too much," Jake assented.
"Let's sleep. I'm feeling tired," Veronica said.

"Funny you should mention an odd feeling of alikeness with this vampire. Your senses are quite attuned," William said.
"You mean, there is a connection?" Vince asked eagerly.
"Nothing much. Tell me again what you're feeling," William said as he began to dig around in one of his boxes.
"Just a strange sense of...being akin to him somehow. Like we are connected by a similar thread," Vince replied.
"Mmm-hmm. Just as I thought. It was in here. Take this," William said and handed him a decaying book.
"This is one of my ancestor's diaries! I thought I'd lost it years ago! How did you get it? And how did you know it was mine?" Vince demanded.
"I taught you how to dig up information on the vampires, didn't I? Getting the background of a mortal is far easier," William replied.
Vince thumbed through the pages. "What's this got to do with Jake?" Vince asked.
"This diary was written by, I believe, your great-great-great-great grandmother?" William asked.
"Something like that. Her name was Gwendolyn Vera Harvey," Vince replied. "My mother told me about her and gave me her diary. I used to read it all the time. It was like a great western novel, really," he added.
"Gwendolyn Vera Harvey. Do you know much about her?" William asked.
"Only as much as was in this diary. Her days with her family struggling to survive in California. Then meeting up with an actor in Oregon and falling in love with him. Her parents didn't approve and it became a forbidden romance. They eventually eloped and traveled all over the country together. She used to sew his costumes," Vince said.
"Yes, yes, all very nice indeed. What does she mention about her family?" William urged.
"She mentions having another sister and brother. Her father and mother. Why?" Vince asked.
"What became of her siblings?" William asked.
"Her other sister died of pneumonia not long before she ran away from home," Vince asked.
"Her brother?" William asked.
"There's a whole page there about he disappeared one day without a goodbye. She never forgave him for that. She mentions looking for him when she travelled with her husband, but I never paid much attention to that," Vince replied.
"Her brother's name?" William asked.
"Let's see. It was..." Vince looked up suddenly, dumbfounded. "Jake," he whispered.
"The vampire. Jake's full name was Jacob Lee Harvey," William said, smiling widely.
"Can't be," Vince said, shocked.
"The very same. You see, I knew sendingyou on this assignment would be a very good idea indeed. Not only am I working to catch a vampire I've been trying to get for years, but one of his friends just happens to be a relative of yours. I thought you might enjoy that," William said.
"How will I enjoy that? It makes it all the harder to try and betray a member of my family," Vince said.
"Just think. Gwendolyn never forgave him. Perhaps that will fuel some deep-set anger over his abandoning her. Do you think he knows that his other sister died so young?" William asked.
"I don't know. I don't..." Vince's voice trailed off.
"Tonight you'll go back there. I don't care what you do, just as long as you get Lestat in a position for me to capture him at last. Understand?" William asked.
"Yes," Vince replied uncertainly.

[Lucy]

*Where is everyone? Am I going to have to write this alone?*

Vampires don't normally dream. So when Jake awakened after having had a particularly vivid one he was confused. His dreams had only ever been full of visions of Bridget, and once a dream of Veronica that he was ashamed of. But this new one had brought him back many years earlier.
He had dreamed he was back in California with his family. His father and mother were nowhere nearby, just him and his two sisters. They looked just as they had when he'd last seem them, a century before. Their names were Emily and Gwendolyn. Gwen had been his favorite sister, as Emily was too young to have decent conversation with. Gwen was a few years younger than him, sixteen, but she'd been wise for a sixteen-year-old.
In the dream, Gwen was making dinner for the three of them and Jake was chopping wood in back while Emily played.
Gwen had called them both to eat, and when Jake entered and spoke to her she didn't answer. It was unlike her, and when he looked at her she turned away. She placed a plate of food in front of Emily and herself, but in front of Jake she placed a goblet of blood. Jake was horrified by the sight of it and when he confronted her about it, all she said was, "Don't ask me what I was thinking. Ask yourself."
He'd woken up gasping and disgusted. Now he sat in bed wiping his face. It was covered in a fine layer of sweat, something which hadn't happened in a long time. Veronica lay beside him as she always did, still sleeping deeply.
Jake wondered what had brought on this dream. It had been ages since he'd even thought of his family, and the memory of them brought him pain. Especially the anger he'd seen in Gwen's face. He'd loved her the most, and she was probably the one who'd caused him the most guilt after he'd left. He'd thought about her more than the others, and had always felt bad about leaving her. He'd never known where her life had brought her or how she'd died. And now she was haunting him for some unknown reason.
He washed his face in the bathroom adjoining the small room Lydia had given them. By now Veronica had awakened and stood in the doorway, concerned.
"Are you okay?" she asked him.
"Not exactly. I had this horrible dream," he replied.
"You dreamed?" she asked, wide-eyed.
"It was about my family. I haven't even thought of them for years," he said.
"You've never even mentioned them to me," Veronica agreed.
"I don't know why I should start thinking about them now. I'm telling you, something strange is going on. I can't help thinking it has something to do with that guy who's been following me. Whatever he has to do with it, I have no idea. But I've had enough of it," Jake said.
"What are you going to do?" Veronica asked.
"I have to confront him about it," he replied.

[Lucy]

"I would advise against confronting him," said a sonorous voice from the room behind Veronica. They both turned to see Lestat watching them. When Lestat saw Jake's face he scowled. "You look terrible," he said.
"Yes, thank you. I'm aware," Jake said sarcastically.
"Glad to help. Listen, I don't want you going near that stranger. I think he has a connection that could do extreme harm," Lestat said.
"What do you mean? What connection?" Jake asked.
"We all agreed that there was something very strange about this person who's been following you. The same strangeness I saw in the young girl's memories. But this was a different person, and his strangeness was more potent. I think he's even stronger than the mortal following you. I don't where they are getting their power, but whatever it is, it could be deadly for us," Lestat said.
"Great. Just when things were settling down again, a new mystery," Veronica moaned.
"Don't trouble over it. I'm going to find out some more. But in the meantime, I'm warning you not to go near this stranger. Let me handle it," Lestat commanded, and promptly left.
Jake shook his head. "What horrible advice," he said.
"Horrible advice?" Veronica asked.
"I can't follow that. This guy has my interests peaked, and if Lestat thinks I can ignore the fact that he's bringing on memories of my family he should think again," Jake replied.
"What are you going to do?"
"What do you think I'm going to do? I'm going to find him."

Mana was becoming very used to the strangers she was living with, and even enjoyed adapting to their nocturnal lifestyle. She felt safer with them at night than alone during the day. Even Lydia followed the nocturnal regimen of the others, in order to keep everyone alert and informed as to the new danger threatening them.
"I just thought we could live in peace," Lydia sighed as Ville held Mana.
"Lestat told us not to worry. Maybe we should follow his advice. I mean, how much trouble could a mortal be?" Ville shrugged.
"But you heard Jake. This is no ordinary mortal. He has something odd about him, which makes me afraid," Lydia protested.
"Let's focus on Mana right now. Maybe playing with her will take your mind off it," Ville suggested, to which Lydia reluctantly agreed.

Vince was feeling extremely uncomfortable with this assignment, and was beginning to wish he'd never agreed to William's offer. But he had a strong feeling that if he hadn't, William would just have killed him anyway.
"Although what did I have to lose, really?" he asked himself ironically. "Maybe death would have been better."
These ghosts from the past that William had brought up were troubling him. He'd remembered very well reading the diary left to him by his ancestor, Gwen. At the time it had intrigued him that someone in his own family could be so interesting. But that was nothing compared to the interesting aspect of his newly found relative. This person in his bloodline had lived for centuries. The very person who'd spoken to Gwen, perhaps loved her and cared for her. William had suggested he think about Gwen's anger over Jake's disappearance in order to help him be more ruthless. But all he really wanted was to talk to Jake, figure out what had caused him to leave like he had. Figure out what it must have been like to become a real vampire. Had Jake chosen to become one? Had it been against his wishes? Vince was not even sure how one became a vampire. He was sure it had to do with the blood, because that was how he'd gotten his own powers. But William had tweaked the process in order to allow them to still be living, breathing mortals.
He drove down the rode absent-mindedly, not really going anywhere yet not wanting to stop. The sun blazed above him and he felt grateful that he was not relegated to being a creature of the night only. He could enjoy both times of day and still get the benefits of superhuman powers. What might Jake think of that? He didn't know.

[Violet Twlilight]

I promise that I'll add something to this in a little while

[Lucy]

Much as she was loathe to admit it, Lydia was falling increasingly in love with the child Mana, until it reached the point that she felt she would do anything to ensure her safety. The recent concern over a stranger prowling nearby and Lydia's belief that it was Lestat's presence that was attracting him had caused her to try to find a way to get him out of the house. The last thing that she and Ville needed was a nuisance attracting danger to their newly adopted child. Ville had been enamored with the girl from the start, but Lydia was unsure how she would get Lestat to take his "business" elsewhere to ensure the girl's protection.

"I love you dearly. You introduced me to this life," she said when she spoke to him later. "You know that, don't you?"
"I understand, dear. I agree that it's important to keep the young girl safe, and although my presence isn't helping I don't think I'm the culprit this time," Lestat replied quietly.
"No? Then who is?" Lydia asked, surprised.
"The stranger seems a bit more interested in Jake than myself. If I were you, I'd ask us all to leave," Lestat said.
"I'd hate to sound rude," Lydia murmured.
"I think they'll understand. Anyway, Jake has gained interest in this fellow and although I've tried to convince him not to pursue the matter he seems intent on doing it anyway. I'm sure he'll have no problem leading the stranger away from your home," Lestat replied.
Lydia stroked Man's hair as the little girl played at her feet by the chair. "I just don't want to see her hurt anymore. She's faced enough danger already for someone her age," she said quietly.
"Talk to Ville about it. Maybe he can shed some more light. But really, asking us to go would be no problem," Lestat said.
"Even for Veronica?" Lydia asked.
Lestat chuckled. "I think she'll be willing to go wherever Jake goes," he said.

"And you basically want to kick them out," was Ville's reply to Lydia's plea.
"No, not exactly. I want us to be together again when any danger has passed. We can't have dark strangers in the night prowling about the house with Mana here," Lydia protested.
Ville looked at the young girl. His face softened. "I guess you're right, after all. She is in danger as long as their are strangers around. She's had enough of that," Ville agreed.
"Please, let's just ask them if they can give us some time alone as a new family for awhile," Lydia said.
"If it's what you want," Ville consented.

Jake waved his hand impatiently when Lydia tried to apologize. "I get it. Anyway, I've been wanting to get out there and find out what's up with this guy. No need to feel sorry for us, we're used to travelling," he said.
"You need time to get close to each other anyway," Veronica said. "Although I'll miss Mana a bit."
"We want you to come back as soon as you get this all resolved," Ville urged them.
"Of course. Lestat, where will you go?" Jake asked.
"Here and there. Maybe Louis is in need of a visit from me," Lestat said and winked slyly.

So, the vampires were leaving. But Lestat was not following Jake as planned. What would this mean for his mission? Vince rubbed his chin. If William discovered that he was no longer following Lestat and only trying to solve some family mystery by following Jake he'd be enraged. This whole project centered around William's obtaining Lestat's power. Choosing to follow Jake could be fatal. But the draw of meeting an immortal ancestor was too appealing to abandon. Vince was torn between curiosity and a strong sense of self-preservation. What to do?
"Follow Jake," William said from behind him.
Vince whirled around in the bushes to see William squatting behind him.
"What?" he croaked. His heart thudded heavily in his chest.
"Relax, Vince. I'm not here to kill you. I'm offering you the chance to follow Jake instead of Lestat. It's been far too long since I took my own little hunting trip, and Lestat is worthy enough prey that I don't need to send one of my many minions after him. I'll capture him myself," William explained.
"You said earlier it would take the two of us to corner him," Vince said uncertainly.
William's eyes blazed suddenly. "You want to follow Jake?! Then go, damn it!" he commanded.
As the red convertible carrying Jake and Veronica sped off, Vince dove for his own car and drove away, not so much to catch up with them as to escape William.
William turned again to look at the house which now contained only one vampire, a mortal woman, and the young girl.
"I don't have to capture Lestat. I just have to lure him," he said slyly. Then he slowly made his way toward the house with its inviting light.

"We'll go to the next city. If this guy is as smart as I think he is, he'll track us there. Give me a chance to confront him," Jake said to Veronica as they drove.
She only nodded. She was busily watching the night breeze whip over his face, wondering what he really thought of her. Lately she'd become obsessed with his opinion of her, wondering if he only kept her with him for amusement or companionship. Or a sense of duty. All of which she hated the idea of. She hoped he felt attached to her somehow, as she did him.
"What are you thinking?" he suddenly asked her.
"Mm. I don't know. I'm wondering why you are so enthralled with this stranger," Veronica replied.
"I don't know. There's just something about him. First of all, he's not vampire and he's not human. There's something odd about him that I can't place. Second of all, I feel oddly attached to him, like we have something major in common and I need to find out what that is. Does that make sense?" Jake asked.
"Very little. You can I could be having such a great time together and all you care about is this strange guy," Veronica said.
"Since when did what interests me become such a concern of yours?" Jake asked, half kidding.
He glanced at her and saw the blood flood her cheeks in embarassment. She looked away shyly and folded her arms.
What he'd been suspecting for so long was finally becoming apparent, and he had no idea how to react. He'd done many things for her. He'd saved her with his own blood, he'd drained a bottle of his lost love's blood because she'd asked him to. And for what? He'd carried her with him all this way, not ever stopping to think why. But he was afraid to think why. He had the sudden urge to reach over and stroke her hair but his hands stayed rigid on the wheel and he realized suddenly that his own cheeks were just as red as hers. He was afraid of what this meant, and in order to clear his mind of certain unthinkable thoughts he mused over what he and this stranger had in common.
Meanwhile, Veronica sat longing in her seat, unaware of the boiling emotions in the figure beside her, or his furiously beating heart.

[Violet Twlilight]

Lydia smiled brightly as she watched Ville and Mana have a tickle fight on the floor. She had to admit that, at first she'd been so worried about Ville not being able to contorl his streght around the child. Funny, that when she first started having feelings for Ville (pretty much from the moment they met) that peticler thought never crossed her mind. All she knew was that Ville loved her and even though she knew at times he was fighting his hunger, it didn't bother her. Now she saw that Ville made a wonderful Father, she only hoped she'd be as good a mother.

"Fluffy! Mama I'm hungry!" Mana aounceed, standing as if to say, "alright now, listen here." Ville looked over to his human wife and smirked crookedly. Lydia sighed and giggled as she stood from the sofa.
"Ok, hunny, I'll go fix us something. You keep playing with Fluffy." Ville shot her a glare at her use of thier daughter's pet name for him. Mana looked down at 'Fluffy' and a smile spread across her face before jumping onto him. Ville dramitcly fell over and reached out to her as she turned to the door, and said,
"Oh Woe! Lydia! Save me! Save me from the cuteness!" Lydia rolled her eyes and left the room, as she made her way down the hall she heard,
"Death by cuteness!"
"NOOOO!" She laughed, complently unaware of the stranger waiting for her in the next room.

Willam waited, calmly standing aganist the icebox, his arms crossed, as if he were waiting for the morning bus. When the light flicked on he had her, she tried to scream but his hand muffled it. Than he felt Ville's panic, They were contented! why hadn't he thought of that? No mattder for him, this was the easilst step of his plan. Ville was at the door in moments, luckily Willam had already entered Lydia's mind and willed it into sleep, he carelessly dropped her limp body to the cold tiled floor and saw Ville was making a leap towards him, fangs beared.

Lestat was already in SanFanisco by the time he heard Lydia's and Ville's pleas for help. In fact thier fear for eachother and Mana's safety was so strong it was givinvg him a mother of all headaches. 'Relax, are you trying to spilt my skull open? I'll be there in a flash, hold tight loves.' was his comforting message.

[Lucy]

They reached the city as dawn approached over the horizon. Jake checked them into a room at a nearby hotel and handed his keys to the valet.
"Off on a romantic getaway, sir?" the valet asked pleasantly.
Veronica glanced at Jake questioningly, too fast for the valet to see.
"Actually my sister and I are visiting relatives here but they haven't got enough room for us in their house. And anyway, we really wouldn't want to stay there, if you get my drift," Jake replied smoothly.
The valet laughed openly. "I get it. You know, my parents live in Florida and they've got tons of space in their house. I hate visiting them because they absolutely refuse to let my wife and I stay at a hotel. They say it'd be rude, but they don't realize how much kindness they'd be doing if they let us stay elsewhere," he said candidly.
"So you understand us then," Jake replied, smiling just as cheerfully back.
"Without a doubt," he said, then took Jake's keys and prepared to park the car.
Jake happened to catch Veronica's eye as they made their way inside, and the look she gave him was far from warm.
Jake made a reservation as Veronica wandered aimlessly through the expensive lobby, oggling the crystal chandeliers and exquisite flower arrangements. She wondered if their room would be as spectacular.
"I have extremely sensitive skin, so I was wondering how heavy the drapes are in the rooms," Jake asked at the desk.
"Well, our honeymoon suites have velvet curtains in them," the young lady suggested.
Jake laughed. He called over his shoulder to Veronica, "Hey sis! How about we treat ourselves with a honeymoon suite?"
No matter how upset she was, Veronica had to play along. She laughed and raised an eyebrow. "Why?" she asked.
"They're the only ones that have heavy drapes for my skin," Jake replied.
She waved a hand. "Whatever."
"We'll take one," Jake said turning back to the girl at the desk. The girl smiled and typed into the computer. Veronica strode up to the front desk to stand beside Jake.
"Are the room as pretty as the lobby?" she asked.
"The one you've reserved is," the girl replied with a smile.
A young man accompanied Veronica and Jake to their room to help them with their bags. After tipping him, he gave them a list of numbers for various room service at the hotel and left.
Veronica was quiet as she sat on the bed and lightly bounced up and down to test the softness. "Well, it doesn't get better than this," she said.
"Look. Because we forked out extra money to get this room they offer us a complimentary bottle of fine wine," Jake said humorously.
Veronica would have joked back but her heart wasn't in it. Damn these female emotions, she thought.
"I wonder how long it takes for that guy to find us here," Jake mused.
"I don't know. He seems like he knows his trade," she replied.
"I wish it would be soon. I really want to meet him."
"Well, relax. We should get some sleep," Veronica assured him.
She drew the drapes closed until a deep darkness pervaded the room. But her eyes adjusted almost immediatly under the convenience of immortality and she turned to see that Jake had disappeared into the bathroom to change. She hurriedly slipped on her own nightgown and climbed into bed.
When he joined her she had an immediate urge to scoot closer to him but she was held back by a fear of what he would think. Always worrying about what he thinks, she thought bitterly.
Just then she felt his hand clasp hers and give it a squeeze, almost like a peace offering. She was immediately surprised by his action, and her heart raced to the point where she knew he could hear it. But a part of her no longer cared. If he knew, he knew. And that was all there was too it. She was immortal, for God's sake. Embarrassment was a human emotion.
"Oh hell," she murmured and slid right straight into his arms before he could react.
But to her comfort he merely closed his arms around her and they slept.

It hadn't taken long for William to restrain Ville until he could fasten him with chains to the wall, and he allowed Lydia to remain free in the room so she could hold the sobbing Mana.
"Why are you doing this?" Ville asked angrily.
"There'll be plenty of time to explain. Your mortal wife and child have nothing to worry about. I don't need them. I need you first to lure Lestat and then for your powers. Let's leave it at that," William replied.
But Ville wasn't satisfied. "Leave it at that? No! What do you mean my powers? You have your own," Ville said.
"And where do you think I got them?" William asked acidly.
Ville was perplexed, but beginning to get a vague idea of what William meant, and he didn't like it.
"It shouldn't be long before Lestat comes to rescue you. And when he does I'll be waiting," William said with glee.
At that moment there was a sound outside signaling the arrival of Lestat.

Vince arrived outside the hotel by morning, and inquired as to the whereabouts of Jake. The hotel denied to give him any information, as guest information was classified. So Vince went out to get a coffee and some breakfast and decided to wait out the day. No doubt Jake would leave the hotel soon. If there was one thing he had learned it was that vampires never stay in one place for too long.

Veronica awoke alone as the darkness gently urged her to wakefulness. She spied a very large flower vase full of lilies and roses on the nightstand. She reached for the card and recognized Jake's rounded handwriting.

I'm sorry I left without telling you, but you were fast asleep. I've gone to find this stranger, and I wanted to keep you out of harms' way. Please stay here tonight and I'll be back before morning. If something should happen, contact me right away. I'll be there. Jake

She had wanted to accompany him and was disappointed but understood. And the simple fact that he had held her when she'd wanted him to was enough for her for now.

Vince saw the shadow approaching him, blatantly striding up the sidewalk, and knew that Jake had expected him. He watched as the vampire's features became clearer and clearer as he came closer.
Jake stopped about a yard away and looked the man over. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"My name is Vince. I think we need to talk, Jake," Vince replied.
"What about?" Jake asked. "Why have you been tracking me down like this?"
"I think I'd rather find another place to discuss this," Vince said and led Jake away to a 24-hour coffee shop. Vince ordered a coffee and was surprised to see Jake order one as well. Perhaps vampires could enjoy food after all? But it was soon clear that his order was a front, as the coffee merely steamed before him without Jake ever touching it. Vince, however, enjoyed his thoroughly as they spoke.
"I have something to tell you that may surprise you," Vince began.
"Yes?"
"You sister Gwendolyn-" Vince started to say but stopped as Jake's head shot up.
"You know about my family?" he asked, dumfounded.
"Gwendolyn was a relative we share in common, only for me she is much farther back than for you," Vince said carefully.
"What are you saying?" Jake asked warily.
"I'm saying that her children gave birth and several generations later I came along. We are related by blood, Jake, you and I. We're relatives," Vince replied.
Jake was silent, gaping at Vince like a child.
"I was working for a man who wanted me to find out information about you because he's...interested...in vampires. He knew about you and wanted me to follow you. As fate would have it, turns out I couldn't get over a strange feeling of kin with you. And I was right. I grew up reading Gwendolyn's diary and discovered that the brother she always raged about leaving was you," Vince said.
Jake still said nothing. He was realizing the true weight of his dream several nights ago.
"Anyway, the man I was working for suggested that I talk to you about it, get a chance to meet you. Mostly, for Gwendolyn's sake since she never knew, I wanted to find out why you left her," Vince said.
Jake's voice came out in a croak. "Couldn't stay. We were starving and I had to find something else."
"You couldn't manage to take her with you?" Vince asked.
"She never would have come. She was close with Mother, and I knew she'd never want to come," Jake replied, finding his voice.
"You never wrote to her. You just disappeared right out of her life and I have to tell you that she never forgave you for it. She resented you until the end. Or at least the end of her diary," Vince said.
"Where is it?" Jake asked.
"I won't show it to you. It belongs to me. You don't deserve to know what she thought," Vince said evenly.
"What happened to her?" Jake asked.
"She married, had children. A simple life. But now that I have your attention I'm more interested in yours, Jake," Vince said.
"There's nothing to tell," Jake spat.
"Nothing? A man runs away and becomes a vampire, forever trapped in his 19th year, yet hundreds of years old and there's nothing to tell?" Vince said.
"I think you have far more to tell than I have. Mine is the classic vampire story. But you, I can see you are not the simple mortal you would have me believe. You've done something to yourself," Jake said.
"I didn't do it. My boss did. The guy who gave me a job stalking vampires. He's created a way to keep us alive for much longer than the average human being, yet we can still enjoy all the pleasures of mortal life," Vince replied.
"How did he do it?" Jake demanded.
"You think I'd tell you that? It isn't so much loyalty that keeps me from divulging, it's a fear of what he'd do to me if I told you," Vince said.
"What if I promised to protect you if you told me?" Jake asked.
Vince laughed darkly. "Jake, he'd kill you just as easily. He doesn't have one vampire's power. He has several," Vince said.

[Violet Twlilight]

Mana was so scared, she couldn't stand why the bad man was here. The one who hurt her old Mommy. She wouldn't let him hurt her pretty new Mama...why was he hurting Fluffy? Why did he hate the nice people she loved? The bad man had to go!

Taking a deep breath, Mana bravely stood, grabbed the knife sitting on the counter and ran at William. Lydia screamed bloody murder and tried to reach out to the child.
William was completely unaware until the moment the blade dug into his calf. The pain was nearly unbearable, he yelled and enraged turned to the shivering girl. Mana dropped the knife and he lifted her by her shoulders, shaking her.
"You stupid little bitch! I could break you in half!" Lydia screamed and she charged towards him, he turned his side to her and elbowed her across the room. Her head slammed into the wall, echoing with a boom.

Ville's strengthen doubled and he broke lose from the chains. He ripped Mana from William's grasp and tossed her towards the hall.
"RUN! MANA RUN!" He shouted after her, with tears running down her face she turned to look at Lydia, who hadn't moved on the floor. A stain of blood drug down the wall. Her lip quivered and she whimpered before running down the hall, out the door and into the garden and right into Lestat.

He picked up her and frowned, looking at her bloody little hands.
"What are you doing out here? Why your little paws are covered in blood! Tsk, Tsk, you know, Louis would disprove that your taking after me, dear." Mana tried to speak but her voice was caught in her throat. Lestat studied her mind and the memory of the last few moments. He put her down,
"Go hide in the brushes, I promise that they'll be ok." Mana nodded and took off, Lestat hurried to the house.

Ville had William pinned on the floor, it was becoming harder to hold him, the less angry and the more worried about Lydia he became. William sensed this,
"She's already dead, you know. I felt her neck snap. Surly as much of her blood you've sucked from her you'd know that. It's amazing she'd lived this long, living with such a weak and foolish vampire. Vampires can't have families, they can't create life they only destroy it." Ville's racing heart, slowed as it became heavy with pain and grief.
"Shut up, you bastrnd!" He punched his shoulder, it cracked and popped out of place. William hissed in agony, but kept his head.
"Your pathetic, I'm not even immortal yet, and you still couldn't keep her safe. Face it, she's gone and it's your fault for your pity ideas." Ville dug his knees into his chest, feeling the ribs cave in under the pressure. William smirked though his hazy vision,
"If you don't believe me, look at her! Try to get her to wake up, I dare you. Call her name, she won't hear you in hell." Ville grimiest and glanced over at his wife's broken body. Red tears welled in his eyes....
William took his chance and threw Ville off of him, he jumped to his feet. Ville was gone. He looked around seeing only the body of Lydia. He narrowed his eyes.
"So your coward?" He called out, The answer was not what he expected...
"Coward? I've been called many things, but never such..." The vampire Lestat spoke, appearing in font of him.