Post by David Lo on Jun 18, 2012 22:35:33 GMT -5
((Originally posted Sep - Oct 2010))
((OOC Note: This series of posts is a crossover from the Something Wicked... Story Line))
Taking her own advice to Luc, she went out exploring this unfortunate little hole they'd landed in. Kine and Kindred alike seemed oblivious to the murderers stalking in their midst - though perhaps oblivious wasn't exactly the right word. Maybe numb would be a more apt description. Never in her entire 400 years of existence has she ever seen such chaos and killing going unchecked. The anarchs of the Sabbat would have a field day here.
But for Luc's sake, she will learn to like their new home. The excitement she saw on her childe's face the night he saw an elf for the first time was something she knew she would never forget...and she knew further that she would never forgive herself if she did something to tarnish that excitement.
As she wandered, she dipped into the shining pool of blood deep within her core and called up just a bit of it to enhance her sight. Now, everyone she looked at had a glowing nimbus of color around them. Some were bright colors, indicating a strong life force, possibly one of the Changing Breeds. Those with faerie sparkles were either magic users, or in the case of a tall, ethereally beautiful male, a Changeling himself. Some were muted and belonged to other Kindred. And more than a few were swirling, hypnotic colors, a sure sign of a psychotic personality.
One such man, a powerfully built Asian who moved with the predatory grace of a big cat on the hunt had the most terrifyingly beautiful aura she'd ever seen. Purple and red snake-like patterns melding and turning black with hate, swirling faster and faster with green obsession, and the pulsing purple of greed. Dannika felt herself turning to follow this one, curious as a cat about this kine.
She followed him to the mouth of an alley and watched him stride purposefully down it, no doubt planning something nefarious and dastardly. Calling up more of that precious vitae, she concentrated and disappeared from view, as if into thin air. She followed him stealthily down the alley, keeping a short, safe distance between them.
When he turned to face her, she froze, positive that he'd seen through her obfuscation. When he turned back and made no further indications that he did indeed see her, she relaxed slightly and maneuvered into a better position in which to not only observe but also to defend herself should it come to that.
After a short wait, fifteen minutes or so, she heard the tell-tale steps of a large, rotund man approaching the alley in which she and the man were lurking. The Asian man turned to face the mouth of the alley and backed up a few paces, before calling out in a hoarse, strained voice, “Help, someone help me.” The face of a man wearing a blue uniform peered down the alley. Dannika assumed that he was a member of the city's Watch. He called out, "You okay, buddy?" the sergeant asks. The Asian remains quiet, no doubt using the silence to increase the Watchman's curiosity and concern. It's a brilliant hunting tactic, one she herself had used many times in the past.
The Watchman entered the alley, his broad brow creased. As he moved deeper into the alley, the Asian man struck, lightning-fast, crushing the heavy man's windpipe and then sent a powerful punch to the Watchman's chest, splintering ribs with the ease of someone crumbling fallen leaves. The Watchman's body sags and the scent of voided bowels fills the alley. The Asian let the body drop to the ground, an expression of disgust on his face.
Dannika gasped involuntarily at the sudden, violent killing blows dealt to the portly Watchman. Her control slipped and she revealed her existence, not five feet from where the body lie slowly growing cold. Stormy gray eyes gone huge at the savage fierceness of the kine sweep up to meet the man's gaze and her hands blur as she reaches for one of the throwing knives strapped to her upper thighs.
The man whirled to face her, tearing a gun from a holster and leveling it at her. She held the knife in one hand, the other hand hovering over the rondel dagger riding her hip. Her eyes flick from the gun to his face, as if trying to gauge whether he will fire or if he's just trying to scare her off. Considering the corpse at her feet, she has to believe he will fire, so she dips once more into that shining pool at her center and spoke to him, sending out a tiny bit of her Will as she did so to wrap around his mind and tug subtly at him. "I won't tell anyone what I saw. Just don't shoot me."
He paused for a moment and she prepared another subtle tug at his mind, certain that she'd succeeded in getting him under her control. He didn't say anything, didn't move...other than to fire at her. Knowing that she can take the shot without much harm befalling her, due to the unnatural toughness of her skin, she stood still and the bullet just bounced off her chest to fall with a metallic clatter to the floor of the alley. She **** her head to the side - she honestly hadn't expected that - and said softly, "Stop now and I'll let you go."
His hand dropped to a knife she'd missed until now and drew it, lunging forward to plunge the blade into her heart. She managed to bring the throwing knife up to intercept his downward strike, but his overwhelming strength drove her blade back against her and its sharp edge nicked her through her blouse, drawing a thin line of blood. She backed up a step, she asked incredulously, "What are you?”
Her words caused a cold smile to curve his lips. "Death. God. Take your pick." He attacked again, slashing the knife at her a second time.
In the split second it took for her brain to recognize the slashing blade, she reached into her blood pool once more and summoned up vitae that would significantly speed up her actions. She moved out of the way of that on-coming knife. As his strike sailed past her, her free hand drew the rondel dagger at her hip in a fast, fluid motion. She turned the blade to face him, aiming a snake-fast stab to his stomach, while the throwing dagger in her other hand plunged downward at his forearm.
He threw himself to one side, not quite quickly enough, and she scored a strike across his ribs. His sideways motion was stopped by the alley wall. A tight grin showed as he fell into a ready stance, knife raised before him. She **** the hand with the throwing dagger and let it fly, aiming at his shoulder. "This is not over; I will find you again," she said and turned and fled the alley, inhuman speed taking her quickly away from the area, leaving him and the rapidly cooling corpse of the Watchman at his feet far behind in only a matter of seconds.
****
When Luc told Danni that he was going to visit some local stores to see about getting together some equipment that would let him continue his work, she'd decided to go out and explore the city a bit, get a feel for it. He didn't mind, knowing that while she really was quite interested and invested in what he was doing, the day-to-day aspects of it sometimes bored her. She wasn't the sort of person who was comfortable sitting around for very long.
After less than an hour's work, he'd already amassed a tidy pile of gear. It turned out, much to his delight, that this city was far more in tune with the magical and occult than their former home. Alchemy and sorcery were just as normal here as engineering and biology. Two hours later, he had enough equipment that he had to return home for fear of not being able to carry it all. He had a good feeling about this city and how it would relate to his work.
When Luc came inside, Dannika was clutching a naked blade in her hand and standing beside the big, boarded over shop window at the front of the building, peering through cracks in the boards. Her blouse was ripped, the edges of the tear stained with her blood, and she had a savage, beastly snarl on her pretty face.
Seeing that snarl on her face, he all but dropped his huge box of gear and ran over to her. "What is it, cher? What has happened?"
"We have to leave, Luc. We have to find a different haven. It's not safe here. He could have followed me." She turned to regard him, the ghost of a long-dormant fear slipping through her gray eyes.
"He who? What's going on?" He was shaken by her fear, an emotion he didn't often see in her eyes. He glanced behind him, making sure he'd closed the door tightly. He quickly locked it, then turned to face her again.
She took a moment to collect herself and then launched into an explanation. "I was out walking, reading people's auras as I wandered. I saw a man, a tall, powerfully built man, with the most...horrifyingly exquisite aura I'd ever seen. I followed him into an alley not far from that Inn."
He nodded, moving up beside her to peer out through the cracks. There wasn't anyone there, not that he'd expected anyone to be. Even in his excitement about finding so much useful equipment, he'd been careful to watch for anyone following or even paying too much attention to him. Concealing their haven had been one of the first lessons Danni had drilled into him, and he'd never forgotten it.
"He killed a...a Watchman, I think. He was so brutal and savage, like a Kindred in the grip of frenzy. And he was strong, Luc, stronger than you or I, and just as fast. We fought. He shot me and when the bullet did no damage, came at me with a knife. I hurt him, though, and got away." She shook her head and sheathed the dagger in her hand. "We have to find another haven, Luc. I will not chance your safety staying here."
"He was human?" He didn't know what to make of her description of the man, other than he'd obviously rattled her badly. He looked around at the boarded up windows and dusty floor, and inwardly shrugged. It wouldn't be a difficult thing to leave this place behind. It had only been the closest shelter, after all, some place they could hide while Danni recovered from the wounds he'd inflicted in the grip of frenzy.
"He said he was Death...or a God," she replied, her voice soft. "He smelled human, Luc. But...not even ghouls are that strong or fast." She quickly moved around the rooms they'd inhabited in the short time since leaving Earth, picking up anything she thought worth keeping and adding it to the box he'd brought with him.
"There are so many strange beings here, he could have been anything," Luc replied. They'd been looking for a new haven off and on for the past few days, but had been unable to find anything ideal for their needs as of yet. Just a few maybes. "Where should we go? We haven't found a good place yet."
"Perhaps the one near the Museum complex." She gave him a quicksilver flash of a smile. "Seems fitting, doesn't it? We are antiques, after all."
He chuckled, grateful for the joke to break the tension. "That's right, we get more valuable with age." He dropped his few belongings into the box of stuff he'd brought back. "That's everything I've got here."
She nodded and went to peer out through the boarded over window before unlocking and opening the door. She stepped out and used her blood to enhance her senses, listening hard, scenting the air like a blood hound. "It's okay,” she said. “Let's go. Quickly, though."
Luc nodded, scooping up the large box and calling on the power of his blood to increase his strength and speed. He was ready. He slipped through door behind her, moving silently despite the bulky box in his arms.
****
Danni and Luc had been sitting atop the roof of the Red Dragon Watch House for the past couple of hours. It was early on in the night, and they were watching the traffic flow down the busy street. It was mostly foot traffic, but the occasional vehicle passed as well. They'd already fed, and weren't there to pick out potential victims, just to watch. The irony of sitting on top of the police station with a wanted fugitive was not lost on Luc, and he knew Danni was appreciating it, too.
The city, which at first had reminded her so strongly of London in her own time, had long since ceased to bear any resemblance to Elizabethan England. The wide variety of citizens and technology was just the beginning of it. The fact that Rhydin's streets were more populous after dark was the biggest difference between the two places. In that way, it was more similar to modern New York City than her own London.
Luc watched one of the rare automobiles pass, a large black limousine, and thought of the run down, abandoned old house they were living in. It had been a nice place, once. "Maybe we should try to make some money," he said. "Get ourselves a real place to live."
She chuckled softly and shifted in her perch, giving her childe and sidelong look complete with a smirk. "Hold out your hand," she said softly to him. He complied, lifting his hand palm up to her. She handed him something cold, metallic and musical as it tumbled from her hand into his. "There. Money." She laughed and then turned back to watch the crowds.
He chuckled, flipping one of the coins into the air with flick of his thumb. "Probably not a good idea to buy a house with this. They'd know where we live." The coin disappeared as soon as it reached the zenith of its path into the air.
Dannika shrugged a little at his words. "Luc, we are Cainites no longer restricted by the Masquerade. What we want we can take with ease."
"Then why are we living in an abandoned old house that's near to falling apart, chere?"
She shrugged again and then cast about the area, stormy gray eyes coming to rest at last on a beautiful chateau. She nudged him gently and pointed to it. "Would that serve your needs better?"
He looked over in at the house she was pointing at, and nodded. "Sure, looks nice. I imagine someone lives there already, though."
"So? If they are mortal, it would be the work of half a minute to put them firmly under my thumb. And if they are not mortal, well..." She patted the brace of throwing daggers on her thigh with a loving touch.
"We can still be hunted here, just like back home," he pointed out.
She snorted derisively and stood, stretching her cramped muscles and moving closer to the edge of the roof. "You would have us be like the kine, Luc. Working and paying taxes like them." She turned and gave him a long look. "We are above them, better than them. Too long we have hidden in the shadows and denied ourselves, Luc. We can drop the charade, take our rightful place, have the things we deserve."
He frowned. "What's wrong, mon coeur? It's not like you to be incautious like that."
She made a sour face and dropped down next to him once more, propping up one booted foot on a crenelation. "I tire of hiding, Luc. I tire of pretending not to be what I really am. Don't you?"
He nodded. "You know I do."
"Then why do we persist in doing so?" Dannika fell into a rare and uncharacteristic pout - arms crossed over her ample bosom, full lower lip stuck out, forehead furrowed and creased. "I see them all down there, humans and other vampires, Changing Breeds and things I've only heard of in books. They're free, Luc. They...live, while I'm stuck skulking around in the bloody shadows."
He nodded again. "I know. I've been thinking the same thing since we got here." He stepped up close to the edge of the roof, leaning on the edge of the crenelation and peering down into the street. "This place is so different from home. No one cares who or what a person is. There's no reason we should be different, really." He stopped, catching sight of a familiar-looking figure walking towards the Watch House. It took him a moment to realize it was the woman who'd told him about RhyDin, the feline Changing Breed. Riley was her name. She was walking along with a man he'd never seen before, a tall, well-built Asian-looking man. They were holding hands and chatting. He glanced over at Danni.
She raised a brow and looked back at him. "What is it?" She followed his line of sight and drew a reflexive, involuntary breath and stood suddenly. "That's him," she hissed and her hand flew to one of the brace of throwing daggers on her thigh. "That's the fiu de catea who tried to kill me in that alley."
His eyes widened in shock. She was cursing in Romanian and normally that would have caused him to smile but the venom on her voice repressed that reaction. "What? Where?"
She pointed to the Asian with the tall, leggy brunette who'd obviously attracted Luc's attention. "That one," she growled and moved to the edge of the roof, bracing her back against Luc's side, and prepared to throw a dagger at the man.
It took only an instant to realize what she was about to do, and he quickly grabbed her wrist, preventing the dagger from launching. "Wait," he said quickly. "I know the woman he's with."
"What?" She was stunned into immobility by his pronouncement. "You know her? How?"
"It's the woman I met when we first got here, the one who told me about this place. Riley. The Changing Breed." He stared down at the couple, wondering how the woman, who'd seemed perfectly nice and friendly, could be walking around hand-in-hand with a murderer. She doesn't know, he realized. The man, whoever he was, had to be hiding it from her.
Dannika frowned and slid the dagger back into its sheath. "Are you sure of your initial impression of her, Luc?"
"As sure as I've ever been about a person. Not only did I use the blood to make my senses as strong as they could be, but I used my will on her - gently, but I used it. There's no way she could be involved with a murderer knowingly. She was...normal." He shook his head. "No, she must not know what he is."
"And I suppose you feel it's our duty to inform her of the truth somehow?"
"She helped me, even knowing what I was."
She smiled softly and rose to plant a quick kiss against his cheek. "That's my boy," she said and then turned again to regard the couple. "There exists the possibility, Luc, that she will not believe us."
He nodded in agreement. "Of course. No one wishes to hear ill of their loved ones."
"So, we should...gather information, oui? Present her with undeniable proof?"
"Yes, we should. We should follow this man, find out where he goes and what he does."
She nodded and reached for his hand, summoning up vitae enough to hide their presence from their quarry. "Come," she said. "Let's go."
((OOC Note: This series of posts is a crossover from the Something Wicked... Story Line))
Taking her own advice to Luc, she went out exploring this unfortunate little hole they'd landed in. Kine and Kindred alike seemed oblivious to the murderers stalking in their midst - though perhaps oblivious wasn't exactly the right word. Maybe numb would be a more apt description. Never in her entire 400 years of existence has she ever seen such chaos and killing going unchecked. The anarchs of the Sabbat would have a field day here.
But for Luc's sake, she will learn to like their new home. The excitement she saw on her childe's face the night he saw an elf for the first time was something she knew she would never forget...and she knew further that she would never forgive herself if she did something to tarnish that excitement.
As she wandered, she dipped into the shining pool of blood deep within her core and called up just a bit of it to enhance her sight. Now, everyone she looked at had a glowing nimbus of color around them. Some were bright colors, indicating a strong life force, possibly one of the Changing Breeds. Those with faerie sparkles were either magic users, or in the case of a tall, ethereally beautiful male, a Changeling himself. Some were muted and belonged to other Kindred. And more than a few were swirling, hypnotic colors, a sure sign of a psychotic personality.
One such man, a powerfully built Asian who moved with the predatory grace of a big cat on the hunt had the most terrifyingly beautiful aura she'd ever seen. Purple and red snake-like patterns melding and turning black with hate, swirling faster and faster with green obsession, and the pulsing purple of greed. Dannika felt herself turning to follow this one, curious as a cat about this kine.
She followed him to the mouth of an alley and watched him stride purposefully down it, no doubt planning something nefarious and dastardly. Calling up more of that precious vitae, she concentrated and disappeared from view, as if into thin air. She followed him stealthily down the alley, keeping a short, safe distance between them.
When he turned to face her, she froze, positive that he'd seen through her obfuscation. When he turned back and made no further indications that he did indeed see her, she relaxed slightly and maneuvered into a better position in which to not only observe but also to defend herself should it come to that.
After a short wait, fifteen minutes or so, she heard the tell-tale steps of a large, rotund man approaching the alley in which she and the man were lurking. The Asian man turned to face the mouth of the alley and backed up a few paces, before calling out in a hoarse, strained voice, “Help, someone help me.” The face of a man wearing a blue uniform peered down the alley. Dannika assumed that he was a member of the city's Watch. He called out, "You okay, buddy?" the sergeant asks. The Asian remains quiet, no doubt using the silence to increase the Watchman's curiosity and concern. It's a brilliant hunting tactic, one she herself had used many times in the past.
The Watchman entered the alley, his broad brow creased. As he moved deeper into the alley, the Asian man struck, lightning-fast, crushing the heavy man's windpipe and then sent a powerful punch to the Watchman's chest, splintering ribs with the ease of someone crumbling fallen leaves. The Watchman's body sags and the scent of voided bowels fills the alley. The Asian let the body drop to the ground, an expression of disgust on his face.
Dannika gasped involuntarily at the sudden, violent killing blows dealt to the portly Watchman. Her control slipped and she revealed her existence, not five feet from where the body lie slowly growing cold. Stormy gray eyes gone huge at the savage fierceness of the kine sweep up to meet the man's gaze and her hands blur as she reaches for one of the throwing knives strapped to her upper thighs.
The man whirled to face her, tearing a gun from a holster and leveling it at her. She held the knife in one hand, the other hand hovering over the rondel dagger riding her hip. Her eyes flick from the gun to his face, as if trying to gauge whether he will fire or if he's just trying to scare her off. Considering the corpse at her feet, she has to believe he will fire, so she dips once more into that shining pool at her center and spoke to him, sending out a tiny bit of her Will as she did so to wrap around his mind and tug subtly at him. "I won't tell anyone what I saw. Just don't shoot me."
He paused for a moment and she prepared another subtle tug at his mind, certain that she'd succeeded in getting him under her control. He didn't say anything, didn't move...other than to fire at her. Knowing that she can take the shot without much harm befalling her, due to the unnatural toughness of her skin, she stood still and the bullet just bounced off her chest to fall with a metallic clatter to the floor of the alley. She **** her head to the side - she honestly hadn't expected that - and said softly, "Stop now and I'll let you go."
His hand dropped to a knife she'd missed until now and drew it, lunging forward to plunge the blade into her heart. She managed to bring the throwing knife up to intercept his downward strike, but his overwhelming strength drove her blade back against her and its sharp edge nicked her through her blouse, drawing a thin line of blood. She backed up a step, she asked incredulously, "What are you?”
Her words caused a cold smile to curve his lips. "Death. God. Take your pick." He attacked again, slashing the knife at her a second time.
In the split second it took for her brain to recognize the slashing blade, she reached into her blood pool once more and summoned up vitae that would significantly speed up her actions. She moved out of the way of that on-coming knife. As his strike sailed past her, her free hand drew the rondel dagger at her hip in a fast, fluid motion. She turned the blade to face him, aiming a snake-fast stab to his stomach, while the throwing dagger in her other hand plunged downward at his forearm.
He threw himself to one side, not quite quickly enough, and she scored a strike across his ribs. His sideways motion was stopped by the alley wall. A tight grin showed as he fell into a ready stance, knife raised before him. She **** the hand with the throwing dagger and let it fly, aiming at his shoulder. "This is not over; I will find you again," she said and turned and fled the alley, inhuman speed taking her quickly away from the area, leaving him and the rapidly cooling corpse of the Watchman at his feet far behind in only a matter of seconds.
****
When Luc told Danni that he was going to visit some local stores to see about getting together some equipment that would let him continue his work, she'd decided to go out and explore the city a bit, get a feel for it. He didn't mind, knowing that while she really was quite interested and invested in what he was doing, the day-to-day aspects of it sometimes bored her. She wasn't the sort of person who was comfortable sitting around for very long.
After less than an hour's work, he'd already amassed a tidy pile of gear. It turned out, much to his delight, that this city was far more in tune with the magical and occult than their former home. Alchemy and sorcery were just as normal here as engineering and biology. Two hours later, he had enough equipment that he had to return home for fear of not being able to carry it all. He had a good feeling about this city and how it would relate to his work.
When Luc came inside, Dannika was clutching a naked blade in her hand and standing beside the big, boarded over shop window at the front of the building, peering through cracks in the boards. Her blouse was ripped, the edges of the tear stained with her blood, and she had a savage, beastly snarl on her pretty face.
Seeing that snarl on her face, he all but dropped his huge box of gear and ran over to her. "What is it, cher? What has happened?"
"We have to leave, Luc. We have to find a different haven. It's not safe here. He could have followed me." She turned to regard him, the ghost of a long-dormant fear slipping through her gray eyes.
"He who? What's going on?" He was shaken by her fear, an emotion he didn't often see in her eyes. He glanced behind him, making sure he'd closed the door tightly. He quickly locked it, then turned to face her again.
She took a moment to collect herself and then launched into an explanation. "I was out walking, reading people's auras as I wandered. I saw a man, a tall, powerfully built man, with the most...horrifyingly exquisite aura I'd ever seen. I followed him into an alley not far from that Inn."
He nodded, moving up beside her to peer out through the cracks. There wasn't anyone there, not that he'd expected anyone to be. Even in his excitement about finding so much useful equipment, he'd been careful to watch for anyone following or even paying too much attention to him. Concealing their haven had been one of the first lessons Danni had drilled into him, and he'd never forgotten it.
"He killed a...a Watchman, I think. He was so brutal and savage, like a Kindred in the grip of frenzy. And he was strong, Luc, stronger than you or I, and just as fast. We fought. He shot me and when the bullet did no damage, came at me with a knife. I hurt him, though, and got away." She shook her head and sheathed the dagger in her hand. "We have to find another haven, Luc. I will not chance your safety staying here."
"He was human?" He didn't know what to make of her description of the man, other than he'd obviously rattled her badly. He looked around at the boarded up windows and dusty floor, and inwardly shrugged. It wouldn't be a difficult thing to leave this place behind. It had only been the closest shelter, after all, some place they could hide while Danni recovered from the wounds he'd inflicted in the grip of frenzy.
"He said he was Death...or a God," she replied, her voice soft. "He smelled human, Luc. But...not even ghouls are that strong or fast." She quickly moved around the rooms they'd inhabited in the short time since leaving Earth, picking up anything she thought worth keeping and adding it to the box he'd brought with him.
"There are so many strange beings here, he could have been anything," Luc replied. They'd been looking for a new haven off and on for the past few days, but had been unable to find anything ideal for their needs as of yet. Just a few maybes. "Where should we go? We haven't found a good place yet."
"Perhaps the one near the Museum complex." She gave him a quicksilver flash of a smile. "Seems fitting, doesn't it? We are antiques, after all."
He chuckled, grateful for the joke to break the tension. "That's right, we get more valuable with age." He dropped his few belongings into the box of stuff he'd brought back. "That's everything I've got here."
She nodded and went to peer out through the boarded over window before unlocking and opening the door. She stepped out and used her blood to enhance her senses, listening hard, scenting the air like a blood hound. "It's okay,” she said. “Let's go. Quickly, though."
Luc nodded, scooping up the large box and calling on the power of his blood to increase his strength and speed. He was ready. He slipped through door behind her, moving silently despite the bulky box in his arms.
****
Danni and Luc had been sitting atop the roof of the Red Dragon Watch House for the past couple of hours. It was early on in the night, and they were watching the traffic flow down the busy street. It was mostly foot traffic, but the occasional vehicle passed as well. They'd already fed, and weren't there to pick out potential victims, just to watch. The irony of sitting on top of the police station with a wanted fugitive was not lost on Luc, and he knew Danni was appreciating it, too.
The city, which at first had reminded her so strongly of London in her own time, had long since ceased to bear any resemblance to Elizabethan England. The wide variety of citizens and technology was just the beginning of it. The fact that Rhydin's streets were more populous after dark was the biggest difference between the two places. In that way, it was more similar to modern New York City than her own London.
Luc watched one of the rare automobiles pass, a large black limousine, and thought of the run down, abandoned old house they were living in. It had been a nice place, once. "Maybe we should try to make some money," he said. "Get ourselves a real place to live."
She chuckled softly and shifted in her perch, giving her childe and sidelong look complete with a smirk. "Hold out your hand," she said softly to him. He complied, lifting his hand palm up to her. She handed him something cold, metallic and musical as it tumbled from her hand into his. "There. Money." She laughed and then turned back to watch the crowds.
He chuckled, flipping one of the coins into the air with flick of his thumb. "Probably not a good idea to buy a house with this. They'd know where we live." The coin disappeared as soon as it reached the zenith of its path into the air.
Dannika shrugged a little at his words. "Luc, we are Cainites no longer restricted by the Masquerade. What we want we can take with ease."
"Then why are we living in an abandoned old house that's near to falling apart, chere?"
She shrugged again and then cast about the area, stormy gray eyes coming to rest at last on a beautiful chateau. She nudged him gently and pointed to it. "Would that serve your needs better?"
He looked over in at the house she was pointing at, and nodded. "Sure, looks nice. I imagine someone lives there already, though."
"So? If they are mortal, it would be the work of half a minute to put them firmly under my thumb. And if they are not mortal, well..." She patted the brace of throwing daggers on her thigh with a loving touch.
"We can still be hunted here, just like back home," he pointed out.
She snorted derisively and stood, stretching her cramped muscles and moving closer to the edge of the roof. "You would have us be like the kine, Luc. Working and paying taxes like them." She turned and gave him a long look. "We are above them, better than them. Too long we have hidden in the shadows and denied ourselves, Luc. We can drop the charade, take our rightful place, have the things we deserve."
He frowned. "What's wrong, mon coeur? It's not like you to be incautious like that."
She made a sour face and dropped down next to him once more, propping up one booted foot on a crenelation. "I tire of hiding, Luc. I tire of pretending not to be what I really am. Don't you?"
He nodded. "You know I do."
"Then why do we persist in doing so?" Dannika fell into a rare and uncharacteristic pout - arms crossed over her ample bosom, full lower lip stuck out, forehead furrowed and creased. "I see them all down there, humans and other vampires, Changing Breeds and things I've only heard of in books. They're free, Luc. They...live, while I'm stuck skulking around in the bloody shadows."
He nodded again. "I know. I've been thinking the same thing since we got here." He stepped up close to the edge of the roof, leaning on the edge of the crenelation and peering down into the street. "This place is so different from home. No one cares who or what a person is. There's no reason we should be different, really." He stopped, catching sight of a familiar-looking figure walking towards the Watch House. It took him a moment to realize it was the woman who'd told him about RhyDin, the feline Changing Breed. Riley was her name. She was walking along with a man he'd never seen before, a tall, well-built Asian-looking man. They were holding hands and chatting. He glanced over at Danni.
She raised a brow and looked back at him. "What is it?" She followed his line of sight and drew a reflexive, involuntary breath and stood suddenly. "That's him," she hissed and her hand flew to one of the brace of throwing daggers on her thigh. "That's the fiu de catea who tried to kill me in that alley."
His eyes widened in shock. She was cursing in Romanian and normally that would have caused him to smile but the venom on her voice repressed that reaction. "What? Where?"
She pointed to the Asian with the tall, leggy brunette who'd obviously attracted Luc's attention. "That one," she growled and moved to the edge of the roof, bracing her back against Luc's side, and prepared to throw a dagger at the man.
It took only an instant to realize what she was about to do, and he quickly grabbed her wrist, preventing the dagger from launching. "Wait," he said quickly. "I know the woman he's with."
"What?" She was stunned into immobility by his pronouncement. "You know her? How?"
"It's the woman I met when we first got here, the one who told me about this place. Riley. The Changing Breed." He stared down at the couple, wondering how the woman, who'd seemed perfectly nice and friendly, could be walking around hand-in-hand with a murderer. She doesn't know, he realized. The man, whoever he was, had to be hiding it from her.
Dannika frowned and slid the dagger back into its sheath. "Are you sure of your initial impression of her, Luc?"
"As sure as I've ever been about a person. Not only did I use the blood to make my senses as strong as they could be, but I used my will on her - gently, but I used it. There's no way she could be involved with a murderer knowingly. She was...normal." He shook his head. "No, she must not know what he is."
"And I suppose you feel it's our duty to inform her of the truth somehow?"
"She helped me, even knowing what I was."
She smiled softly and rose to plant a quick kiss against his cheek. "That's my boy," she said and then turned again to regard the couple. "There exists the possibility, Luc, that she will not believe us."
He nodded in agreement. "Of course. No one wishes to hear ill of their loved ones."
"So, we should...gather information, oui? Present her with undeniable proof?"
"Yes, we should. We should follow this man, find out where he goes and what he does."
She nodded and reached for his hand, summoning up vitae enough to hide their presence from their quarry. "Come," she said. "Let's go."