Book Three, Chapters 0251 to 0260

The Vampire's Daughter
Book Three

Chapters 0251 to 260
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0251

At the table, Jane introduced Susan to four other girls so quickly that Susan missed all but one, Bobbie.

As soon as they were all sitting down, all the girls, including Jane, wanted to know how Susan subdued Margaret.

"It's just a leverage thing. If you bend someone's wrist the right way, it just hurts. Then it breaks," Susan responded, using her own hand to demonstrate.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Jane asked.

"A friend taught me."

"That's..." Jane started, but her head was thrust forward by Margaret's hand. Susan instantly stood up.

"Look at the band of misfits initiating a new loser," the bully said loudly, causing laughter in both her rank and file and the other students.

"What's wrong with you?" Jane asked, with a snotty tone.

"Nothing's wrong with me, but you guys have some issues."

"Just leave," Jane said, fluffing out the hair where Margaret pushed her head.

"I'm here to challenge little miss tuff girl to a fight after class at the tall rock," the bully announced, turning her head as she said it so everyone in the lunch room could hear. Then, turning to Susan, she asked, "Gonna show, or are you chicken?"

"I will not show. I have no desire to fight you," Susan said, still standing.

"If you're too chicken to show up, then maybe I should just beat you up right now?"

"God gave you free will."

"What the hell does that mean?"

Susan said nothing.

"Be there tonight," Margaret said boldly after a long pause.

"I told you that I won't go. You will have to decide if you want to back down or attack me now," Susan responded.

The lunchroom was buzzing because it was obvious that Susan was completely unfazed by Margaret. The bully clearly didn't frighten her, despite the fact that she was bigger and older than Susan. In fact, she was so unimpressed by the older girl's bullying, that she was calling her bluff.

"You really want to get hurt, don't you?" the bully asked.

"No, I really don't," Susan said, as calm as ever.

"What is going on here?" the Headmistress' voice boomed from the other side of the room, as she walked over.

Margaret's demeanor changed completely and she said, "I'm just extended the hand of friendship to the new girl. I just think we got off on the wrong foot." She put her hand out for Susan to shake.

"Susan?" the Headmistress asked.

Susan looked at the headmistress and then at the hand being extended to her and said, "She's lying." Then she sat down and continued her meal.

The Headmistress looked stunned. She watched Susan eat for a few moments, then said, "Margaret, go back to your table. Susan, when you are done eating I would like you to come see me in my office."

"Yes headmistress," Susan said without looking up.

0252

Susan took her time eating, which obviously made the other girls nervous.

"You should hurry up," one said, "or she'll be really mad."

All the girls quickly agreed.

Susan smiled at them and then went right back to eating.

Jane asked, "Don't you care that the Headmistress will be mad."

"No," Susan answered. "I've done nothing wrong."

"I know, but..." Jane started, but didn't know how to finish her thought.

The table ate in silence until Susan completed her meal. "Thank you for inviting me to eat with you," she said, standing up with her tray.

"Well, you're welcome to join us anytime, if you make it out of the Headmistress' office alive," Jane said, to agreements from the others at the table.

"Thanks, I'd like that," Susan said, walking to throw out her trash. At the doorway to the lunchroom, she paused and looked back. The girls at her table waved, causing Susan to smile.

She walked to the Headmistress' office, knocking before being told to enter.

Inside, there was a man of Middle Eastern decent talking to the principle. Susan looked at him and her eyes went wide with surprise, though the rest of her face was blank.

"Susan," the Headmistress said. "I wanted you to meet Mr. Jude."

Susan walked over and tentatively shook the man's hand. He just smiled at her.

"I was telling Mr. Jude about how bright and talented our children are and I wanted him to meet our brightest new pupil."

"Yes Headmistress," Susan said, eyes still wide.

"Yes, it is wonderful to see such beautiful children with such obvious talents," the man said. "It is through the enhancement of these talents that we grow as humans. It is a shame when I see people who do not use their abilities to their fullest potential."

"Oh, I couldn't agree more," the Headmistress said. "Far too often we let our abilities stagnate for lack of use. This is particularly true of women, who all too often allow themselves to be subjugated by men."

"Yes," the man responded nodding his head. "God has given us all gifts and we must use them to their fullest potential."

"But what if using our gifts would hurt others?" Susan asked boldly, shocking the Headmistress, but having no impact on the man.

"That is, of course, one of the problems with free will. You decide what you do, which may, in fact, be good or bad. However, the fear of doing something bad shouldn't stop one from using their gifts. It merely means that one must consider the repercussions of their actions. The issues are, thus, separate."


0253

"That was an excellent answer Mr. Jude. Thank you for answering such an impertinent question so politely," the Headmistress said, looking at Susan.

"The question wasn't inappropriate in any way. In fact, I think it showed a great deal of insight and intellect. Susan is, clearly, one of your star pupils," the man responded.

"Susan is one of our star pupils," the Headmistress parroted.

"I believe I would like to see some of the campus, perhaps Susan can show me around. Of course, that is if you grant permission for her to miss classes on my behalf," the man said.

"Most definitely," the principle said.

"Then I believe we'll be off," the man said, standing up and offering Susan his hand. She took it and they walked toward the door.

As he touched the doorknob, the man stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot. I wanted to make a small donation." He let go of Susan and walked back to the Headmistress' desk. He paused to look at her, then reached in his pocket and pulled out a small leather bag and handed it to the woman. "It isn't much to look at, just some old silver coins, but they are from my collection and have historical value if nothing else. Perhaps you can put them on display or, if you choose, sell them at your annual auction."

He turned and, with his hand out, went back to Susan.

"These coins look very old," the Headmistress said, as the man and Susan started to leave.

"At least a couple of thousand years," the man said, as he shut the door.

"Shall we walk the grounds?" he asked the little girl.

She started walking, but asked, "I thought you weren't supposed to interfere?"

"I'm not," he answered.

"Then why did you?"

"You know full well that this wasn't the first time," he answered.

"I know, but that doesn't answer my question," Susan said.

"Well, my dear, it is just such inappropriate interference that has gotten me to where I am today."

"That's not funny Judas," she said, pulling her hand away and stopping.

"Don't be so serious," he said, turning back to look at her. "You needed to hear what I had to say. The timing seemed good."

"Who sent you?"

"You know who sent me."

"Why didn't one of the others come?"

"The others?" he asked sarcastically. "They don't know how to interact with your kind and, besides, we haven't seen each other in so long. Rest assured, I've done nothing wrong."

Susan gave Judas a stern look, then smiled and ran at him to give him a hug. He smiled and messed up the girl's hair.

"Come, let's play in the woods for a little while before your lessons," he said, and the pair ran off.

0254

Francis, meanwhile, had found his way onto a transatlantic flight with the help of his grandfather. In New York, a car had been arranged to take him from the airport to a small motel in the town right next to Rye. It was, in fact, the same motel that Susan and Claudia had stayed at.

The next day he went to the house. As he walked up to the door, it became obvious that it had been broken in. He looked around knowing full well that whoever broke it was long gone.

Not knowing what else to do, he knocked on the door, sending it crashing down. The shock sent him back a few feet, as he looked around again, to make sure no one had heard. His heart pounding, he looked inside and yelled, "hello!"

"I guess no one's home," he said out loud to comfort himself before gingerly stepping over the door and into the house.

As soon as he stepped inside he smelled something rotten. At first it made him gag, but he got used to it. Moving from the entry way to the living room he said, "What a view," as he walked over to the window. He was standing in Sabastian's favorite spot.

Francis thought he saw someone standing behind him in a reflection in the window, which caused him to turn quickly. His already overworked heart pumped even faster. There was no one there, but he could now see into the kitchen, where food was literally all over the place.

He walked into the kitchen, looking around nervously for the person he thought he saw in the window. The smell in the house was rotting food, which was a comfort to Francis, as he thought it might have been something far more sinister.

Looking at the spoiling food, it was obvious to him that it was mostly frozen goods. He figured there must be something in the freezer, so he opened the door and found Claudia's body.

He turned away in disgust and puked into the sink. He couldn't turn around for several minutes he was so paralyzed with fear. He had seen dead animals, he had been tortured by Jamie, but he had never seen a dead human body. He was scared and sickened. He didn't know what to do.

After a couple of minutes he regained his composure and turned around. He looked at the corpse, felt his stomach tighten, turned around again and puked some more.

Breathing heavily with wide eyes, he knew he needed to close the freezer door if he had any hope of completing his mission. So, in one quick movement, he turned and closed the freezer door.

He assumed the old woman in the refrigerator was the Claudia about whom Sol had told him. He pitied her, being stuffed into a freezer was not the way he pictured anyone dying.

Looking around the kitchen at all the food, he decided he needed to go back into the living room and regroup. Sitting down, he realized that he was way over his head and needed help, or at least some guidance. Delivering a note was one thing, dealing with dead bodies was another.

He called his grandfather on his cell phone.

0255
"
Grandpa, something is very wrong. I found the house, but it's empty. The old lady Sol told me about is dead and in the freezer. I don't know what to do," Francis said, almost in one breath, as soon as he heard his grandfather's voice.

"I'm sorry, son, what's gone on?" his grandfather asked, as he only caught the information about a dead person in a freezer.

Francis took a deep breath and explained again, leading his grandfather to ask, "Has her blood been drained?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"It is important that you are certain of this. Check."

"Yes, sir," Francis said, standing up and bracing himself for what he was about to do.

He walked into the kitchen and stood in front of the refrigerator. "Well?" his grandfather asked.

"I haven't checked yet," Francis said sheepishly.

He expected his grandfather to yell at him, but instead he heard, "It's O.K. son. You've been through a great deal and in a very short period of time. Take a few moments to collect yourself."

"Thank you," Francis said, breathing a bit easier. "This is the first time I've seen a dead person, you know, outside of a funeral."

"Death is not pretty. We work very hard to dress up what we don't want to see. To make the ugliness of nature appear safe and tranquil. To make ourselves believe that death is not painful in any way.

"But you can see with your own eyes that it is nothing like what you've seen at funerals. You will never view death the same way again. Nor should you, for you will visit death many more times as you traverse the path you've chosen.

"Now reach over and open the door," his grandfather instructed. Francis, much calmer, did as he was told.

He checked the body and it was obvious that most of the blood was still inside, as it had pooled in the lower extremities. "The blood doesn't appear to have been drained."

"OK," his grandfather said. "Now leave the body and get out of the house. I'll take care of it. You were sent to deliver something. What and to whom?"

"A letter to someone named Sabastian," Francis answered.

"He mentioned that name to me, but said little more. Take down this address," Francis' grandfather said, sending Francis to Elizabeth's Central Park apartment. "Ask for Elizabeth and tell her you need to deliver the note to Sabastian and on behalf of... of our mutual friend," his grandfather said, making sure not to call Sol by his name. "Call me again when you can or if you run into any trouble."

"Yes grandpa, and thank you."

"I'm glad I was able to help this time," his grandfather said before hanging up.

Francis called a car service and went outside. He did his best to return the broken door to where he found it, and then sat down and waited.

0256

Finding trouble didn't take long, as he arrived at Elizabeth's old home after the sun had set. Of course Francis didn't realize the danger, but he did have a particularly bad feeling, as so far his trip hadn't gone nearly as well as he had hoped.

He walked up to the building, past a group of people loitering around. He noted them because they were all in various forms of black leather. And they seemed to take a keen interest in him as he walked past. Not sure what to do, Francis nodded politely.

As he stepped into the lobby of the building, a doorman greeted him, though he looked like the people past whom he had just walked.

"May I help you sir?" the doorman asked with much fanfare and grand gestures.

Cautiously, Francis said, "I have an urgent delivery for a Miss Elizabeth."

"Do you? How grand. I'll make sure she gets it," the doorman said, holding out his hand.

"I have instructions to give the document directly to her."

"Oh," the doorman said, holding a hand to his chest. "Do you not trust me?"

Taken aback, Francis sputtered, "N.. No, that's not it..."

"Then I'll take it and deliver it for you."

"No. My orders were to give this directly to Miss Elizabeth and that is what I must do."

"Well, it's your life I guess. Take the elevator to the top. You're a bright boy, you'll figure out the rest."

Francis was very confused by the encounter. He wondered how anyone would have hired that person to be a doorman, but didn't pay enough attention to the thought to realize that no one had.

When the elevator doors opened, he was greeted by a scantily clad woman.

"Miss Elizabeth?" he asked.

She didn't answer, but did invite him into the apartment.

Inside, he was confronted by over a dozen other people, but was escorted past them to a room in the back of the massive apartment.

"This human wants to see Elizabeth," the woman said to a man sitting with his head in his hands.

Slowly lifting his head, the man asked, "Why?"

"I have a message for her," Francis stammered.

"What is it?"

"I.. I can only deliver it to her."

"No worries, I'll give it to her," the man stated, holding out his hand.

"I'm sorry sir, but I must give this message to her. Would your name happen to be Sabastian?" Francis asked without thinking.

The man perked up and asked, "Who sent you?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

The man laughed and said, "I'm not Sabastian, but I think we can help each other just the same."

0257:

"We have company," Sabastian said quietly.

"What?" Elizabeth asked in genuine shock. Sabastian hadn't initiated a conversation since the day he almost killed Thomas. And since that day he had only responded to her about half the time when she attempted to interact with him.

"We have company," he said again slightly louder. "Reach out, you will sense them."

Elizabeth paused and said, "Yes, there are four of our kind waiting outside the door."

"There are thirty one more spread over the surrounding area," Sabastian added.

"Are there?" she asked.

"Yes. They are here to see you."

"Did Thomas send them?"

"No.

"Do you know who they are?" queried Elizabeth.

"No. I have always avoided your affairs. However, they mean no harm to you, no matter what overtures they make," Sabastian said, before curling up again and going silent.

"I guess that means you want me to let them in," she said, knowing full well that Sabastian wouldn't respond.

She got out of bed and put on a pair of jeans and a shirt. She noted that her body had healed nicely from Thomas' attacks and sighed. Looking over at Sabastian for a moment, she said, "I hope you're right," and walked upstairs.

As she got closer to the door she sensed that it was a vampire named Vein. He was the lead advisor to the other clan that made up the governing trio in the Tribunal and they had a contentious relationship at the best of times.

Elizabeth opened the door and said, "Hello Vein."

"Hello madam president, puppet of Thomas. Highest to lowest. Leader to slave. How is your new home, does it feel like a jail cell?"

"What do you want?"

"A visit, that's all. I believe I'm in possession of something you might want."

"Thirty some vampires is more than a visit," she said.

"Yes, well, the puppet king has made this side of town a little less hospitable of late. You just never know when you'll need a few friends," Vein responded.

"I would tell you to leave, but I have it on good authority that, despite your insults, you are here for our mutual benefit," she said, standing aside and gesturing for him to enter.

"Oh my, yes. I'm sure your authorities are fine judges of character, look how well they've steered you so far," Vein said walking in.

As his guards moved to follow, Elizabeth stopped them, then looked at Vein and said, "They are not allowed to join us."

"Ah, but they are my guards, they go with me everywhere."

"You will be safe here so long as you do not do anything stupid," she answered.

He looked in her eyes and said, "As you wish, Madam President. Of the many faults you have, I have never had to question your honesty."

0258

Once Vein had walked in, Elizabeth looked at his guards, smiled and nodded, and shut the door.

She turned to see Vein wandering around the living room, inspecting things. "Well?" she asked.

"This is a nice place you have here," he said, then turning to face her, he asked, "How do you know how many vampires I've brought with me? I know full well you aren't powerful enough to sense them. No vampire in the New World that I know of is."

"Perhaps you don't know of all the vampires in the New World. Or, maybe, you have underestimated my powers," Elizabeth responded.

"No, no, that isn't it. I know exactly how powerful you are," he said, sitting down in what was obviously her chair. "Besides, if you were powerful enough to sense that, you'd be powerful enough to defend yourself from Thomas. But, from the healing wounds I can see, I'd say you couldn't."

"Perhaps wouldn't," she suggested, sitting on the couch.

"Ah yes, honest and loyal, that will take you very far, won't it? Yes, it seems Thomas holds your honesty and loyalty in high regard. What's next in your illustrious climb down the ladder?"

"Are you here to insult me or discuss something?" Elizabeth asked, tiring of Vein's games.

"Yes, right," he said. "I have a letter that I think you might want to read."

"Who is it from?"

"In fact, I don't know. You see, in an act of good faith, I've not opened it," Vein said. "A fine young chap from the Old World delivered it. His name is Francis, do you know him?"

"No, I don't."

"Well, he seemed to know you. Oh, and that fellow you sired, what was his name? Let me see, I think I remember. Was his name Sabastian?" he asked mockingly.

"May I see this letter?"

"Perhaps," he answered. "That fellow was named Sabastian, right? You know him, the one who brought down the Tribunal because you refused to allow justice to be served. I think that was the vampire my European friend mentioned anyway. However, I know for a fact that he was looking for you."

"Is the letter for me?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm not really sure," Vein said. "There's nothing on the outside to indicate who the letter is for. I just know that the deliverer asked for you at a previous residence."

"Do you know who the letter is from?" she asked, obviously becoming frustrated.

"Try as I did, the lad wouldn't say. And trust me, I tried quite hard to persuade him to reveal the author. The only thing I didn't do was kill him," Vein said with a laugh. Then, quite seriously, he said, "I figured it would upset you if I killed the messenger. You know the old saying, 'don't shoot the messenger.' Though I guess bite the messenger would be more appropriate in this situation."

"Vein, must we play this game?"

"No, we don't have to play this game. I simply thought you would enjoy this game, for old times sake," Vein said.

"What do want? Am I to barter for this letter?" Elizabeth asked him.

"That sounds interesting," Vein mocked. "What do you have to offer?" After asking that question, Vein looked down and his entire appearance changed. His haughty, larger than life exterior slumped and his gleeful face waned into a serious expression. "Actually, no," Vein said, looking up, his appearance had changed from condescending and protective to open and honest. "I simply want you to consider a proposition."

Elizabeth, taken aback, asked, "A proposition. Are you playing games with me?"

"No, I'm not."

"Well then, let's hear your proposition," Elizabeth said.

0259

"I'll give you the letter as a gesture of good faith," Vein said, pulling it out of his pocket and handing it to Elizabeth. "As you can see, the seal is still intact. I've not opened it."

Elizabeth took the letter and instantly recognized the seal as Sol's, though she didn't say anything. "And what is it that I'm supposed to do in exchange for this letter?" she asked.

"Nothing but consider what I'm about to ask of you," Vein said.

"Well, I guess I'm listening."

Vein took a deep breath and leaned back in the chair. "The Tribunal was a joke from day one. No one knew how much of a joke, accept your sire of course. In fact, you were just as ignorant as the rest of us. Although there are many among our kind that don't like you, the fact is that no one actually blames you for The Tribunal's failure. Be assured that your current situation is well known to our kind and is quite solid evidence that you and Thomas are at odds.

"With the destruction of the Smithsons, that leaves my clan as the next most powerful. I say my clan because my sire was recently assassinated by Thomas. I've had my hands full trying to keep the clan together. It seems there are a great number of upstarts that believe they should be the new leader and not I. I've dispatched five of them already, and I fear there are still more waiting in the wings.

"From the accounts that I've gotten, it seems that Thomas has used a similar tactic with all the large clans: killing the leader to divide the troops. It's worked wonders. Although he wasn't able to take the city in one swoop, he has kept the rest of the clans off balance enough to take it block by block.

"I do not believe I'm exaggerating when I tell you that not a single vampire in New York City wants to be under Thomas' thumb. But, sadly, that isn't enough to align us as a single force. We remain fragmented.

"Thomas can not be defeated if we do not band together. He will win. We need a unifying force. If we had that, we could band together and not only defend the areas we now control, but slowly force Thomas back until he has nothing."

"That sounds like a wonderful plan," Elizabeth said, not grasping what Vein was asking. "Who exactly are you going to get to unify your rag tag band of vampires?"

"I thought that was obvious. You," he said.

"But Thomas is my sire, who would believe I had turned against him?" Elizabeth asked.

Vein stood up and walked over to her. He sat beside her and touched a wound on her neck. "Who wouldn't believe?" he asked rhetorically.

"I can't," she said, standing and walking across the room. "Thomas is my sire. To betray him like this after all he's done for me. I..."

"All he has done for you?" Vein asked, interrupting Elizabeth. Standing he continued, "He set you up to fail at The Tribunal, he sent you to die in a fight with the Zealots, he keeps you here like a prisoner, and treats you worse than a feeder. What has he done for you?"

Turning away, Elizabeth said, "You wouldn't understand."

"I wouldn't? I know a great deal about you Madam President. More than you probably realize."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, turning back to face him.

"I know that Thomas extracted you from horrid squalor. I know that he gave you free reign when others weren't. I know that you loved him. But that love must surely have faded. He's used and abused you so many times. Isn't it obvious that the only vampire Thomas loves is himself? How long will you allow yourself to be treated like this before you stand up and fight?"

0260

"You don't know as much as you think," Elizabeth said to Vein. "Besides, if Thomas has killed the heads of the larger clans, what do you think he would do to me if I attempted to unify the clans against him?"

"He'd try to kill you, but we wouldn't let him. As a group we would be able to stop him. The only reason he's been able to kill off so many clan leaders is because of the conflict between the clans. He's simply making that conflict worse by creating conflict within clans, too. And it's working. Working so well that he is gaining ground every night. Block after block is falling to his troops as they kill any vampire that doesn't fall in line behind Thomas or run away.

"With you to unite us, we can fight back. As a group we can and will protect you. In fact, if you agree to this, I will personally guard you. I will pledge my total support and give up my position as head of the Orion clan to become your personal bodyguard. I will give the leadership of the Orion clan to you."

"I don't want to run your clan. I don't want to run anything," Elizabeth said exasperated. "All I want is to be left alone." As the words left her mouth, she felt that she understood Sabastian's disdain for his own kind more than she ever had before.

"Is Thomas going to leave you alone?" Vein asked.

"After recent events, you might be surprised to find that I believe he will," Elizabeth said, in a matter of fact tone. "Besides, I have other obligations at the moment."

"Other obligations? And what would those be?" Vein asked.

"I'm currently protecting something that is of great value to me. I'm afraid that attempting to recreate The Tribunal would distract me from this task."

"We will protect whatever it is that you are guarding. My entire clan is at your disposal to protect anything you want to protect.

"You must understand how hard it is for me to come here and say these things. I'm not joking around, I'm not making fun of you, I'm here because we need you. And we don't have to recreate the Tribunal. We could install you as the Queen of New York City for all I care. I just want to stop Thomas before it's too late."

"Call myself Queen!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Vein, I appreciate your intentions, but what you are asking is simply too much. You know all too well how powerful and brutal Thomas is. How much more so will he be if I do as you ask? You know yourself that I'm lucky to be alive. He has killed his own for lesser offenses. Moreover, what sane vampire would believe I've decided to betray him?

"And I do, honestly, consider my current task of greater importance than anything that involves Thomas."

"You are condemning all of us that believe in freedom to death or servitude," Vein responded.

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said, "but I can't help you."

"I am sorry, too," Vein said, walking to the door. Before opening it, he said, "I won't kill the messenger. I'll release him, as a further act of good faith. Shall I tell him how to find you?"

"No, I would appreciate if you didn't. If I need to find him, I'm sure I will be able to find him myself."

Still holding the door handle, Vein said, "As you read the letter, please remember that my act of bringing it to you put me at great personal risk. That I've willingly taken on this risk to better the lives of all the vampires in New York City, including yours. Regardless of what it contains, I hope you will reconsider my request."

He opened the door and walked out, shaking his head at the guards waiting for him to show that his plan had failed.

[The Vampire’s Daughter: An ongoing vampire story. Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009. All rights reserved.]