It was many decades ago that I began to ask my guests to fast before attending my New Year’s fête. I have the unfortunate tendency toward irritability from time to time and I think that’s how it all started. I did not, on this night, enjoy them knocking on my door wearing rosy cheeks and blood-stained lips. I was well-acquainted with the gruesome truth of the Curse, but on this night, I began to demand a certain level of civility and decorum. I did not think one day was too much to ask.

Maybe I had started it all when Vatore and I were friends. He was the one who had suggested the party in the first place. He wanted to show off his orchards. But I told him that everyone wanted to be inside, and that the fruit could be harvested and brought in. Vampires are creatures of sensation, I reminded him. If you want to sell your fruit, let them touch it, taste it, juice it between their fingers. They will not be moved by the sight of a tree. He agreed, and though I would be the one dusting my mantel for days afterward, I was content. His pipe organ did not have such tone as my own.

I did not bother sending invitations anymore. It always foretold disappointment for me. I would take great care to pen my name just so on a card intended for someone with no intention to honor me while still others came with no blessing at all. But I cannot remember ever turning any away. Even in later years when rooms otherwise abandoned were filled with chatter and laughter, I wanted them to have a chance to raise a toast.

But this year, I feared, might be the year when the seams would start to break. I could not place my finger on why - and certainly not how - I felt this year was going to be different, no, that knowledge was forbidden to me. Trente had been oddly quiet, yes, and I had heard little news of skirmishes in Brooklyn. Davian was away and the edges of the coterie were fraying. It did not fill me with confidence, but all of them looked to me for guidance. I did not have the luxury to dwell in doubt.

Not once in all those years had I ever canceled my party. Through deaths and wars, through pandemics and blizzards, I bid them come. Let them taste the fruit, let them see the value of peace, let them remember that we all share in the bounty of this planet.

I made up every excuse in the book as to why, more than ever, I needed to uphold the tradition. And yet, when the thirty-first arrived, I contemplated throwing them all out the window. Let them wonder, let the gossip swell. I do not want this. Not at all.

But I had become unaccustomed to listening to my own desires. I resolved that these cold feet were something I suffered each and every year and it would fade as soon as I opened the doors. This gathering was not about me or what I wanted, it was about them. So I starched my shirts, took out my best handkerchief, and laid out the welcome mat.

I should have said no.


The first visitor I receive is Sebastian Eriksson. I do not expect him at the event proper; he has his own appearances to maintain.

As if hearing the chime of a delicate bell, I know when he’s entered my home. He tended to use a portal we’d set up in my catacomb - when he entered, it was as if he’d never left.

SEBASTIAN

GREETINGS, MY LORD.


Only rarely did he use such formal address. I can feel how it strains him to remember filial piety. Where he now claimed fiefdom, few, if any, could claim their castle sat on a hill as high as his.

STRAUD

IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU, MY CHILDE.

BUT SURELY YOU’VE ARRIVED A DAY TOO SOON.


He laughed.

SEBASTIAN

YOU KNOW I STOPPED HONORING REQUESTS FOR THE FIRST-FOOTING YEARS AGO.

STRAUD

IT IS TOO BAD.

WE COULD ALL USE SOME AUSPICIOUS TIDINGS.

SEBASTIAN

YOU MUST NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BECOME TOO DOWNTRODDEN.

WE HAVE PERSERVERED THROUGH WORSE.

STRAUD

I HOPE YOU ARE RIGHT.


He grinned, the smarmy look of perfection that had left a generation swooning. Only I could see the fangs.

SEBASTIAN

WHEN IN A THOUSAND YEARS HAVE I BEEN WRONG?


I raised an eyebrow.

STRAUD

IT HASN’T BEEN QUITE SO MANY…

SEBASTIAN

WHO’S COUNTING?


He broke eye contact with me and began to motion as if he wanted to go upstairs.

SEBASTIAN

ARE YOU DONE WITH PREPARATIONS?

STRAUD

NEARLY.

MIRIAM AND HUA JIA ARE SEEING TO THE DETAILS.

IT IS GOOD TO HAVE A FEMININE TOUCH.

AND MANDARC IS OUTSIDE–

SEBASTIAN

IN THIS WEATHER?

STRAUD

YES.

THIS YEAR I MADE SURE OF IT.

EVERY YEAR THIS POOR OLD MANOR BEARS MORE AND MORE BODIES.

I AM HOPING THIS YEAR I CAN PERSUADE A FEW SOULS TO MOVE FESTIVITIES OUT OF DOORS.

THERE IS ONLY SO MUCH I CAN ASK OF THIS HOUSE.

I AM NOT IN THE CONDITION TO BE REPLACING SPLINTERING BEAMS.

SEBASTIAN

I LOVE A GOOD BARN-RAISING.

STRAUD

AS DO I, BUT I HOPE IT DOES NOT COME TO THAT.

I’VE GROWN QUITE FOND OF THE VERY PARTICULAR WAY THIS ONE GROANS AGAINST THE WIND.

SEBASTIAN

IT’S STILL A BIT EARLY TO CHALK THE DOOR.

INVOKING THE NAMES OF THE WISE MEN MIGHT WARD AGAINST THOSE YOU INTEND TO ENTER HERE TONIGHT.

STRAUD

PERHAPS THAT IS A BOON I NEED.

SEBASTIAN

TAKE OFF YOUR SCOWLING FACE, EBENEZER.

IT DOES NOT BECOME YOU.

STRAUD

I CANNOT MUSTER MUCH MORE.

IT HAS BEEN A SEASON OF GREAT LOSS.

I STRUGGLE TO SEE WHAT IS WORTH CELEBRATING.

SEBASTIAN

PERHAPS IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE.


So many of the Kindred reveled in what they were, but Sebastian in particular took great pride in his position as a predator.

STRAUD

THIS IS THE WAY WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE THINGS.

SEBASTIAN

YEAR AFTER YEAR YOU PEDDLE THE FRUIT.

THE PANTOMIME IS GETTING STALE.

AND YOU ARE VERY AWARE OF THE KEY PROBLEM WITH YOUR PITCH.

WHEN VATORE WAS HERE TO PLAY SALESMAN IT WAS EASIER TO HIDE, BUT NOW–

STRAUD

IT DOESN’T AGREE WITH ME.

SEBASTIAN

AND SO HOW ARE THEY TO BELIEVE IT WILL AGREE WITH THEM?


We had been over these roads ad nauseam. I had my convictions and he had his.

SEBASTIAN

IF YOU ALLOWED - NAY -

ENCOURAGED -

VAMPIRES TO BE VAMPIRES, PERHAPS THEY WOULD HAVE THE WHEREWITHAL TO BEHAVE IN YOUR HALLOWED HOME.

AS IT IS NOW, MANY ENTER WITH MINDS HALF-CONSUMED BY THE BEAST.

STRAUD

IT IS A SUGGESTION, NOT A COMMANDMENT.

SEBASTIAN

THEY WILL NOT, IN THEIR FRENZY, SEE THE FRUIT AS ANYTHING BUT A PACIFIER.

DO NOT FORCE THEM TO RECANT THEIR NATURE, TO DO SO WILL ONLY FATTEN THE ENEMY’S PURSE.


There was no swaying him. But I could not permit these parties to become a celebration of the profane. Just because an act was necessary did not make it holy.

STRAUD

THEN I WILL LEAVE IT TO YOU TO REMOVE THE BLOODSTAINS FROM MY TABLECLOTH.

SEBASTIAN

ISN’T THAT WHAT YOUR LIEUTENANTS ARE FOR?


Mandarc had just come in from the cold. He was carefully removing snow from his boots.

MANDARC

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU, TOO -

WILL WE BE SEEING YOU THIS EVENING?

SEBASTIAN

‘FRAID NOT.

THOUGH I WOULD LOVE A CHANCE TO CATCH UP WITH SOME OF MY FAVORITE CREATURES OF THE NIGHT, MY FIANCÉE AND I ARE EXPECTED AT WHAT PROMISES TO BE A FAR LESS ENTERTAINING SOIRÉE.

MANDARC

SO WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT?


I had to silently applaud Mandarc. His candor pleased me.

SEBASTIAN

SOON, MANDARC, SOON.

I HAVE TO BE SURE SHE’LL TAKE ME.

MANDARC

YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

SEBASTIAN

SO HOW’S YOUR LIFE IN LOVE?

HAVE YOU EARNED THE ESTEEM OF ANYONE SPECIAL?


If he could blush, he might well have.

MANDARC

WELL, MAYBE.

BUT I WON’T BE KISSING ANYONE AT MIDNIGHT.

SEBASTIAN

PITY.

YOU DESERVE IT.

MANDARC

…

SEBASTIAN

BEFORE I GO, I MUST PAY MY RESPECTS TO MIRIAM.

MANDARC.

MY LORD.

HAVE A MEMORABLE EVENING AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

MANDARC

HAPPY HUNTING, CAPTAIN.


I simply nod. He smiles.

SEBASTIAN

SAME TO YOU.


CEDRIC//

Kev and I are on our way shortly, you want us to bring anything?

STRAUD//

A six-pack.

CEDRIC//

... Really?

STRAUD//

You should know better.

I detest beer.

CEDRIC//

Your deadpan is something else.

STRAUD//

Bring yourselves. I require nothing else that can be so easily procured. I assume it is just the two of you?

CEDRIC//

Yeah, I told the Matron that she was invited but she didn't seem interested.

STRAUD//

She is always welcome.

CEDRIC//

I think she feels she's too old for these kinds of shenanigans. Or maybe she thinks it's a bit of a sausage party.

STRAUD//

Excuse me?

CEDRIC//

Y'know. The ratio of men to women--

STRAUD//

Ugh. How crude.

CEDRIC//

You haven't heard that one before? Glad I could be the first.

STRAUD//

Pop my cherry?

CEDRIC//

Wow - um - please don't say that, it sounds so so incredibly wrong when you say it.

STRAUD//

If that is too much for you, be glad you did not live in ancient Rome.

CEDRIC//

I am. Every day.

STRAUD//

Oh, it wasn't all that bad.

CEDRIC//

Tell me about it.

STRAUD//

...

Maybe another time.


My spirits had been lifted when Miriam had rejoined my coterie. There were a great deal of things Saulot had done that I questioned, but his choice to bring Miriam into the fold was not one of them. She was gentle and wise and contemplative and very few had earned my trust as she had. So when I found her rummaging through my fruit stores, punishment did not even come to mind. Yes, I suppose that is favoritism but I contend that Miriam and her kind are not just rare among the Kindred, they are endangered. When Miriam came seeking the fruit, I gave it to her gladly.

Miriam’s brothers and sisters are known as the Salubri. They are renouned for their ability to heal the souls and flesh, both Mortal and Immortal alike. So few vampires take their newfound lives and turn them toward fixing that which is broken. The practice has earned the Salubri plenty of enemies among the world of the Vampire. Add to that a soul devourers find particularly appealing, sweetened by their devotion to benevolence and the quest for Enlightenment - and it is no wonder that they’ve all but become extinct. But I did not value Miriam simply because of a debt to her Sire, I valued her because she was good. Such a weight had been lifted off my chest when I had discovered her again - I had lost count of the years at that point.

A peculiarity of the Salubri that have mastered healing magicks is a third eye in the center of their forehead. This is not simply an affectation or adornment, it is a change of who and what they are. The eye, once opened, can never again be shut. But this saddened my friend, as it made it much more difficult to help the Mortals who so desperately needed her abilities. I was able to teach her a way to appear as she once had, a specific application of the glamour in which I was well-practiced. But as it was my trick, she couldn’t use it against me. I would always see her true form, the one she’d earned. I don’t think she found it as beautiful as I did.

She had adopted a deceptive pattern of dress in the modern age. I suppose eras of fear had encouraged her to adopt symbols of defense - cryptographs, spikes, dark colors. There were so many who wished for the total eradication of the Salubri - I suppose she needed all the help she could get.

As the sun sank behind the horizon, I found her in the study doing something completely mundane. Out of courtesy, I did not try to sense her actions with anything but my eyes. However, I could not help but smell the odor of artificial orange. She was polishing the furniture. Mandarc had kept my house spotless during his residence, but I don’t think even he had oiled the woodwork.

STRAUD

OH, MIRIAM, YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT.


I had made her jump. I find that even adepts of Auspex are caught off-guard by me in this house.

MIRIAM

VLAD–

I DIDN’T FEEL YOUR PRESENCE.

YOU SURPRISED ME.

STRAUD

MY APOLOGIES, MY LADY.

IN MY YEARS HERE, I HAVE BECOME FAMILIAR WITH EVERY LOOSE FLOORBOARD.

MIRIAM

IT IS A LOVELY HOME.

SO VERY…

YOU.

I SUPPOSE I DID NOT SENSE YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE EVERYWHERE HERE.


We stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, she into my blue eyes, and I into her yellow.

MIRIAM

IT IS SO GOOD TO SEE THIS SIDE OF YOU.

YOU WANDERED…

FOR SO MANY YEARS.


I paused.

STRAUD

YOU DID TOO.


She looked away, embarrassed. But then she looked back, her gaze seeming almost tearful.

MIRIAM

YES, BUT IT WAS DIFFERENT FOR ME AND YOU.

I NEEDED TO WALK THE ROAD, NEEDED TO FIND THOSE THAT NEEDED MY HELP.

I THOUGHT…

I ALWAYS THOUGHT…

YOU DIDN’T SETTLE BECAUSE YOU NEVER FELT YOU BELONGED.

WHEN YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO THE NEW WORLD, I FEARED FOR YOUR LIFE.

THIS PLACE HAD NONE OF THE OLD SAFE HAVENS.

I HEARD TALE OF GAROU LOOKING FOR REVENGE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THEIR HOMELANDS.

AND THE STREETS, WIDE AND STRAIGHT–

STRAUD

CERTAINLY THEY WERE NOT PAVED IN GOLD.

MIRIAM

DON’T MAKE LIGHT OF MY CONCERN FOR YOU!

TOO OFTEN YOU STEP INTO THINGS WITHOUT A SINGLE THOUGHT!

YOU HAD FRIENDS THERE, YOU KNEW THE OLD FORESTS LIKE THE BACK OF YOUR HAND, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU ANNOUNCE YOU ARE GOING OUT!

STRAUD

YOU STILL HAVE NOT FORGIVEN ME.


She pursed her lips.

MIRIAM

NO…

PERHAPS NOT.


She turned from me and began to speak to the walls.

MIRIAM

OH, IT IS ALL WELL-AND-GOOD NOW.

YES, YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME AND FRIENDS BEYOND NUMBER, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US?

STRAUD

YOU ARE HERE NOW, AND I AM GLAD FOR IT.

MIRIAM

AND HOW LONG UNTIL YOU LEAVE THIS PLACE TOO?


She still had not turned around to face me. I peered into her raven locks, waiting for her.

STRAUD

MIRIAM.

I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE.


I spoke with a low voice as I did not like confronting this truth. It scared me.

STRAUD

THIS IS MY FINAL STAND.


She turned around, three eyes blazing into my soul.

MIRIAM

HERE, IN THIS PLACE?


It was good to see her.

STRAUD

HERE, IN THIS PLACE.


Her eyes welled up as if she might shed tears but rather, she rushed forward and embraced me. Her hair smelled like fresh flowers but the metal adornments affixed to her jacket pressed into my flesh. She spoke in a whisper.

MIRIAM

YOU MEAN IT?

NO MORE RUNNING?


As if sensing my discomfort, she pulled away and we locked eyes again.

MIRIAM

YOU’RE HERE FOR GOOD?


Her words, not mine.

STRAUD

ALWAYS.


The first to arrive is hardly a guest in my house. Quarq is an old friend of mine from the Old World. He had been reticent to leave his old contracts but I had lured him with the promise of new business. I hoped he had no regrets.

But tonight he seemed distracted, almost twitchy. I had long ago found it difficult, nigh impossible, to read his thoughts, so I had stopped trying.

He doesn’t greet me with his usual salutations, nor does he seem able to look me in the eye.

QUARQ

LILITH CAN’T MAKE IT TONIGHT.

SAYS SHE DOESN’T FEEL WELL.


Only very certain things can affect the constitution of a vampire. His news concerned me, and yet, I sensed that I should not pry.

STRAUD

I’M SORRY TO HEAR THAT.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THERE’S ANYTHING–

QUARQ

FRUIT GOES IN THE USUAL PLACE?


Business as usual.

STRAUD

YES, THE USUAL.

QUARQ

I BROUGHT MORE THAN I DID LAST YEAR.

IT’S SUPPOSED TO STORM.

THAT’LL DRAW THE KIDS IN DROVES.

WE RAN OUT LAST YEAR AND THAT WAS WITH CLEAR SKIES.

STRAUD

… YES, I REMEMBER THAT.

QUARQ

WELL, I DON’T WANT IT TO HAPPEN AGAIN.

SHINDIG ONLY HAPPENS ONCE A YEAR AND–

STRAUD

QUARQ?


He stopped fussing with the fruit.

QUARQ

… YES?

STRAUD

YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAY.

QUARQ

FOR THE PARTY?


He finally looked at me in disbelief. He was trying to set me at ease.

QUARQ

OF COURSE I HAVE TO STAY FOR THE PARTY.

WE ONLY GET THIS KIND OF OPPORTUNITY ONCE A YEAR!


He was trying to mask his concern but when it came to personal matters, he’d always been a poor liar.

QUARQ

THINK OF ALL THE GOSSIP I’D MISS OUT ON!

STRAUD

I’LL FILL YOU IN.

QUARQ

IT’S THE BARTENDER WHO GETS THE BEST DETAILS.

STRAUD

I’LL TAKE A SHIFT MYSELF.


His mouth shot open, revealing many tiny, very sharp, teeth.

QUARQ

HA!

YOU’RE ALWAYS FAR TOO GENEROUS WITH THE GOOD STUFF.

YOU WOULDN’T KNOW A DIME FROM A DOLLAR IF IT HIT YOU IN THE HEAD.

STRAUD

A PARTY IS ONLY AS GOOD AS ITS REFRESHMENTS.


He smiled, revealing those alien teeth. But it is short-lived.

QUARQ

STRAUD.

I’M WORRIED ABOUT HER.

SHE’S DELICATE, GENTLE, SENSITIVE.

SHE SHOULDN’T HAVE TO SUFFER LIKE THIS.

STRAUD

SHE WOULDN’T LIKE TO BE GOSSIPPED ABOUT.

LEAST OF ALL TO ME.

QUARQ

I KNOW, I KNOW!

WELL, SHE CAN SUE ME!

I’M IN A FIT!

STRAUD

IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN HELP WITH?

QUARQ

MAYBE?

I DON’T KNOW.

PROBABLY NOT, BUT MAYBE?

…

…I THINK IT’S SOMETHING I’VE DONE TO HER.

I THINK…


He looks around anxiously, trying to determine if anyone is listening.

QUARQ

…I THINK I MIGHT HAVE GIVEN HER SOMETHING FROM THE OLD WORLD.

SOMETHING I HAVEN’T DEALT WITH SINCE I WAS A LOBELING.

STRAUD

YOU WERE NEVER A LOBELING, MY DEAR FRIEND.

QUARQ

POINT TAKEN.

BUT REGARDLESS, I’M AT A TOTAL LOSS FOR HOW TO HELP HER HERE.

I DON’T KNOW WHERE ELSE TO TURN.

STRAUD

SHE WOULD NOT LIKE YOU COMING TO ME–

QUARQ

SHE’S CRYING!

SHE’S CRYING, STRAUD!

CRYING!

ALL THE TIME, SAD, MOURNFUL, JUST… CRYING!


I was a bit taken aback by this news. I open my mouth to ask a question but he interjects.

QUARQ

TEARS OF BLOOD!

JUST STREAMING DOWN HER FACE!


As if I could not use my imagination, he raises his hands to paint a picture of fluid flowing from the eyes.

QUARQ

RED!

RED BLOOD, JUST… EVERYWHERE!

FIRST IT WAS ALL OVER THE COUCH CUSHIONS, THEN I GOT HER TO USE THE TISSUES, THEN SHE RAN OUT OF THOSE–

STRAUD

I… UNDERSTAND.

QUARQ

NO, YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND.

YOU RUN A TIGHT SHIP HERE.

I HAD NO IDEA THAT THE FE-MALE–

STRAUD

QUARQ–

QUARQ

BESIDES, ISN’T SHE ONE OF YOUR CHILDER?

I THOUGHT THAT SUCH A PEDIGREE–

STRAUD

QUARQ!


His eyes shift downward as if chided.

STRAUD

IT IS UNSEEMLY FOR US TO DISCUSS HER AS IF SHE WERE YOUR PET.

I REFUSE TO ENGAGE IN THIS.

I, TOO, VALUE YOU, VALUE OUR FRIENDSHIP, MY LOYAL FRIEND THROUGHOUT THE AGES.

BUT I WILL NOT DISCUSS THE BODILY FUNCTIONS OF LILITH WHEN SHE IS ABSENT AS IF SHE HAD NO AGENCY.

NO DIGNITY.

I REALIZE SHE MAY NOT WISH TO SEE ME–

QUARQ

YEAH–

NOT REALLY.


He did a double-take, seeming to regret his honesty.

QUARQ

NOT THAT SHE’S AVOIDING YOU TONIGHT!

SHE REALLY REALLY DOESN’T FEEL HERSELF!

STRAUD

…

I BELIEVE YOU.


He sighed, and it seemed as if his ears would droop, looking away from me.

He continued, speaking without vigor but with considerable conviction.

QUARQ

I…

I JUST WANT TO HELP HER, STRAUD.


I was moved by his desperation.

STRAUD

I KNOW YOU DO.

BUT IN THIS CASE…


The reality of this began to set in but I could not worry my friend.

STRAUD

IN THIS CASE, WE MUST DO AS WE WERE FORCED TO DO IN THE OLD DAYS.


He shrugged, feeling helpless, avoiding my eyes.

QUARQ

STAY THE COURSE?

WAIT IT OUT?

BE… PATIENT?


He did not like it but what else could I say?

STRAUD

YES, MY FRIEND.

THIS, TOO, SHALL PASS.

QUARQ

EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!

YOUR SIX-FIGURE SOFA ISN’T SPECKLED IN RED!

STRAUD

NATURE DECAYS, BUT LOVE LASTS FOREVER.


He smiled. Those countless teeth.

QUARQ

LATINUM.

LATINUM LASTS FOREVER.

STRAUD

GET OUT OF HERE.

GO TEND TO YOUR WIFE.

THERE WILL BE MORE PARTIES.

MANY MORE PARTIES.


He paused, still grinning.

QUARQ

YES, I HOPE SO.

…

OKAY, FINE, I’LL GO.

TRY NOT TO HAVE TOO MUCH FUN WITHOUT ME.

AS THE KIDS SAY–

STRAUD

FEAR OF MISSING OUT.


He winked and made a strange clicking sound.

QUARQ

YOU GOT IT, STRAUD.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

STRAUD

YOU TOO.


I left him to deposit his delivery behind the bar and then he disappeared back into the night.


All too soon, the guests began to trickle in. Mandarc was happy to linger near the door and play porter. From there Hua Jia and Miriam took their coats and led them into the house. My most trusted members of the coterie came just as the stars rose, Cedric, Kevin, and some of the younger soon after, Roxanne, old childer Jude & Charlotte, old childer made new again in Áine. Even some of my contacts in the Camarilla thought to join us. The place was buzzing and all seemed fine until I stopped to reflect on who wasn't there. Some could no longer attend: Svetlana, Eliza, Mortimer. Others were housebound either by choice or circumstance: the Elder Marscapones, the Zhou sisters, the Oborovsky twins. And still others had chosen to leave the coterie: Friday Perkins, AVAEL Easton, Makoa Kealoha, Caleb Vatore. And maybe that last one stung the most because of a promise I’d made to his father long ago…

But I have no time to dwell in my grief - my thoughts are shattered when I am approached by a woman whose sadness feels even more palpable than my own.

Chiasa Chinoko is a charming but serious woman from the East. As I understood it, she had been a physician in life. Who had turned her, and when, escaped me. She now produced electronic music by night for thousands of adoring fans both Mortal and Extranatural. Davian had told me little else about her and she had made few moments for chit-chat when we’d crossed paths at the Blue Velvet. Tonight, however, she seemed to be on a mission to speak to me.

CHIASA

WHAT DO YOU KNOW, COUNT?


She could mean only one thing.

STRAUD

YOU MAY KNOW MORE THAN I, MY LADY.

THE MAGISTER DISCLOSED NOTHING TO ME.


Her usually placid face twisted in anger.

CHIASA

YOU LIE!

YOU TWO ARE THICK AS THIEVES!

STRAUD

I WISH IT WERE NOT SO.

PERHAPS HE THOUGHT I WOULD WANT TO GO WITH HIM.

I MIGHT HAVE.

I CAN’T SAY.

BUT I AM BEING TRUTHFUL WHEN I TELL YOU THAT I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HIS DISAPPEARANCE THAT I’VE HELD IN CONFIDENCE.


She glowered at me, as if trying to detect any cracks in my sincerity.

STRAUD

HE SENT A MESSAGE TO MANDARC.

CHIASA

AND WHAT ABOUT ME?

I JUST WOKE UP ONE EVENING TO FIND HIM AND HIS APPRENTICE GONE.

I SAT AROUND WAITING, LIKE AN IDIOT, FOR HIM TO RETURN.

AND THEN I FIND OUT FROM YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS THAT HE’S GONE TO THE STARS?!

WITHOUT LEAVING ME SO MUCH AS A NOTE?

STRAUD

HE VERY WELL COULD HAVE ATTEMPTED TO REACH YOU BUT BEEN STYMIED–

CHIASA

DAVIAN?

YOU THINK DAVIAN WOULD FAIL AT ANYTHING HE SET HIS MIND TO?

STRAUD

IT MAKES MORE SENSE THAN OTHER EXPLANATIONS.


She narrowed her eyes at me.

CHIASA

I DO NOT TRUST YOU, COUNT.

IF HE HAD ASKED YOU TO LIE TO ME, YOU WOULD DO IT.

I HAVE NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT.

AND NONE OF US WOULD KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.

THIS WHOLE HOUSE IS FULL OF THOSE WHO HANG ON YOUR EVERY WORD AND I AM BEGINNING TO WONDER HOW GENUINE IT REALLY IS.


Out of nothingness coalesces a Tremere I had hoped in vain I would not see tonight. He wears a smug expression on his face, draping his arm over Chiasa.

HASSAN

FOR ONCE, CHIASA, I AGREE WITH YOU.


Personal space violated, she immediately blinks away from his touch.

CHIASA

HASSAN.

WHY HAVE YOU COME SLITHERING INTO THIS PLACE?

SHOULDN’T YOU BE OFF LOOKING FOR PIXIE RINGS?

HASSAN

HAVEN’T YOU HEARD?

MY GUYS AND YOUR GUYS AREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE FIGHTING ANYMORE.


He brought his hands together and began to flap his fingers, conjuring a white dove with an olive branch in its beak. It flies up and perches on a nearby bust.

HASSAN

A CHEAP TRICK IF YOU ASK ME.


I glance at the bird and it erupts into grey ash, that too quickly disappearing without a trace.

STRAUD

I WILL ASK YOU ONLY ONCE TO REFRAIN FROM INDULGING IN YOUR CONJURATIONS IN MY HOME.


He mutters to himself.

HASSAN

(I SPENT A LONG TIME ON THAT ONE…)

…

(NO MATTER.)

YOUR LITTLE PARTIES ARE ALWAYS SO BORING, CAITIFF.

NO SEX–

NO MAGIC–

AND WORST OF ALL–


He holds out his arm and points at the bar.

HASSAN

NO BLOOD.


The glasses instantly shatter, sending daggers outward. I can feel my anger surge.

He dares disturb me in my own house?

I can feel each shard sliding through the air as if in oil. But I am faster.

This is my house.

I pulverize each bit of glass into a thousand tiny pieces and they fall, lifeless, as sand to the floor.

We had attracted attention by now.

HASSAN

CHEAP, CAITIFF.

SHABBY.

WEAK.

BO-RING.

IS THAT ALL YOU CAN DO?


He radiated pure rage. I tried to think of any way I could defuse him, eject him–

HASSAN

GABRIELLE!


She flew toward him from the other side of the room. He, too, began to hover. I did not like that it had come to this… I did not want to meet his rage with my own, but–

HASSAN

WHERE IS YOUR WIZARD, CAITIFF?

I’VE BEEN JUST…

DYING–

FOR A FAIR FIGHT!

GABRIELLE

I, ON THE OTHER HAND, COULDN’T CARE LESS ABOUT A FAIR FIGHT.

WHERE IS HE, COUNT?

WHERE IS DAVIAN?


Everyone in the room was watching now. Some backed up against the walls, some looked toward the doors, and others stood their ground.

STRAUD

THE MAGISTER ISN’T ABLE TO BE IN ATTENDANCE THIS YEAR.

HE SENDS HIS REGRETS.


I still hold on to my gentleman’s guise.

For now.

GABRIELLE

BULLSHIT!


She snapped her fingers and a twisted bramble shot up from the floor, wrapping Chiasa in a thorny embrace. Enormous dried spikes emerge from the plant, threatening to pierce her heart. She tries to call out but as her mouth opens, her lips are encased in a black ice, revealing her fangs.

Gabrielle flashes and reappears next to Chiasa, running a long red nail down her cheek. She smirks just slightly.

GABRIELLE

MAYBE I’LL JUST HAVE TO ASK HIS LATEST PRETTY LITTLE ESCORT–


From behind me shoots a jet of bright green flame. It is quick, like a dart, and flares up just as it finds a spot upon her nose.

Gabrielle snaps back, her focus ruptured.

Someone in the crowd yells magefire and they all begin to panic and scramble for the door. But I can hear through the din and clatter.

KEVIN

LEAVE HER ALONE, TREMERE.


The voice, cool and collected, comes from behind me. As the crowd begins to thin, he steps forward.

HASSAN

YOU DO NOT FRIGHTEN US, MARSCAPONE.


I release Chiasa from her bindings. She collapses to the ground. Miriam rushes forward to address her wounds. Neither of the party-crashers pay them any mind, attention now turned to Kevin, who stands to my left.

HASSAN

YOU WANT FIRE, DO YOU, BOY?


Hassan lifts his hands to his sides, palms up, and from each hand, a dark red, almost black, flame rises. The few vampires that had tried to remain calm at the sight of the first fire now flee. I can hear Mandarc helping them out the front door, and the subsequent shrieking of bats fleeing into the black sky. Only the most stalwart of my companions could stand the sight of fire. They are brave, or perhaps more accurately, incredibly foolish.

Hassan sets the doorways ablaze, trapping us inside the living room. I glance from wall to wall as my house begins to burn in the demonic flame. The cracking of wood is deafening to me but it is nothing compared to the cacophany of the crackling fires.

CEDRIC

VLAD…


I close my eyes.

This is my fault. I let the Tremere into my house. I forgot the lessons I had learned long ago, things I swore to never forget. There is no kindness in allowing suffering to come to those we are tasked to protect.

A gale-force wind emenates from my person and my friends brace themselves against it. Hassan and Gabrielle, who had been flying, are sent reeling. But there is nothing to halt their path - the burst of wind quickly flattens the walls of my home, smothering the fires but leaving only the chimney still standing.

Chiasa, now healed of her wounds, transforms into a bat and flees into the night. Mandarc effortlessly flashes over the rubble and appears in front of me.

He smiles, weakly, trying to bolster my spirit.

MANDARC

LOOKING GOOD, MASTER.


My silver hair has disappeared and all that remains are my blue eyes, burning in my skull as little suns. This is who I am when I am not trying to set them at ease. When the mask has come off. When I have no other choice.

HASSAN

NOT DONE YET!


The man, still flying, zooms toward me. I raise a barrier of pure energy, glimmering in pale purple, but he never touches it. Cedric is faster, hurling himself at the assailant. He pins him to the ground and begins an all-out brawl. My attention turns to Gabrielle.

She has also flown back to the flattened house that forms our battlefield. Kevin shoots a wave of green fire but she raises her hands to deflect it, and raises her own shield of flame - the same dark red that I had seen Hassan conjure. She cackles.

GABRIELLE

IS THAT ALL YOU CAN DO, MAGICIAN?

YOUR SQUEAMISHNESS DOOMED YOU TO BECOME A ONE-TRICK PONY?

A GLORIFIED ZIPPO WITH A FAMOUS DADDY?


She flies in a circle around us, leaving a trail of flames on the ground behind her. I remember Davian had hoped to redeem her, to free her from the blood bond…

GABRIELLE

I DO NOT NEED MY AVATAR ANYMORE.

GOOD RIDDANCE.

BUT YOU?

MAYBE YOU OUGHT TO TRY TO PUT YOURS BACK TOGETHER.

OR IS THAT A PUZZLE BEYOND YOUR MUSTER?


She smiled, a wicked, terrible smile. She had stopped her pattern and now perched above the mantel, one of the only things of my house that remained.

GABRIELLE

WHO KNOWS, MAYBE YOU CAN USE HIS.


At that, Hassan burst into flames and Cedric was forced to back away. Gabrielle began to dance and I gathered clouds over our heads, thick, billowing clouds that choked out the moon and stars. Rain began to pelt the area in sheets driven by an intensifying wind. The flames she’d drawn sizzled and threatened to sputter out, but it was too late.

The two winked out, leaving a fire blazing red hot in the fireplace.

I panic.

STRAUD

PUT IT OUT - PUT IT OUT - PUT IT OUT!


I fling myself forward and a torrential wave of blue water sprays from my hands toward the base of the fire, but it is not enough.

I am laying flat on the ground when the liquid splashes ineffectually on one of two enormous hooves. A huge Hellbeast, a great demon, towers fifteen feet above us. It raises a boar-like snout into the air and opens its dragon maw. Dark red flame pours from its mouth, creating a gaping hole in the cloud cover.

My four companions, the only ones too stupid to run, clamour toward me, all attempting to help me to my feet.

STRAUD

I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE DONE YOUR READING.


The beast lets out a roar that would have shattered the eardrums of ordinary men.

But we are not Ordinary.

The demon begins to march toward us. It lumbers, lurching for balance. It is heavy. We will be quicker.

I hold out my hand and summon metals from the Earth into a huge weapon that gleams with an almost-white sheen.

MIRIAM

…

DEMON’S BANE…


I hold it out to her but she steps away, embarrassed.

MIRIAM

ME?

IT IS YOUR BLADE.

I HAVEN’T HELD–


The demon snorts, its hot breath leaving steam in its wake. The terror stumbles toward us, seeming unsteady but none-the-less determined to end us.

Miriam turns back to me, seeming to understand. She grabs the sword and rushes off to engage our foe.

I turn toward the three that remain.

I tap my foot and a sprout divides the rubble, quickly taking the shape of a sapling about five feet tall. It is pale with plenty of emerald leaves.

KEVIN

PALO SANTO…


I swipe it from the ground, and having been plucked, it changes into a smooth staff. The leaves scatter in the wind.

STRAUD

SACRED WOOD.

GO.


He runs to join Miriam. I can hear the demon move with increasing vigor. The longer it is here, the more it acclimates to this plane, the longer it feeds off our anger, the more dangerous it will become.

I turn to Mandarc, opening the top few buttons of my coat and removing a small vial. He takes it and holds it to his eyes, allowing what little light there is to filter through.

He is unimpressed.

MANDARC

WATER?

YOU GAVE ME SOME WATER?

CEDRIC

IT’S HOLY WATER, YOU NITWIT.

MANDARC

SO…

IT’S WATER THAT’S BEEN…

BLESSED.


I smirk wryly.

STRAUD

I PUT SOME SALT IN THERE.

MANDARC

OH, GREAT, SO I’M GOING OFF TO FIGHT SOME CREATURE FROM THE NINTH CIRCLE OF HELL AND YOU GIVE ME SOME SALINE.

STRAUD

IF IT WERE TRULY FROM THE NINTH CIRCLE, IT WOULD BE A FAIR BIT LARGER.

MANDARC

LOVELY.


He pockets the vial and rushes off, seeming to disappear in an instant.

It is just me and Cedric now, and he looks at me expectantly.

I look at him and recognize those eyes glowing amidst the dark sockets. Bright blue, almost cyan, orbs blaze with purpose. They are mine, but I did not give them to him.

I raise my right hand and place it on his shoulder. He is cold in the winter’s bite, and yet, energy as heat radiates from within him.

STRAUD

CEDRIC–

GOOD LUCK.


I turn from him, sensing I can tarry no longer, and run toward the demon.

Behind me, Cedric has not moved.

CEDRIC

LUCK?

“GOOD LUCK”?!


He mutters under his breath as he runs to join the mélée.

CEDRIC

FUCK YOU TOO, OLD MAN.


As we reach the other three, they have avoided damage from the creature but seem to have done little else but make it irritated. It lumbers about, heavy and clumsy on its hooves, swiping at its assailants indiscriminately. Although there is but one of it and five of us, each seems to be fighting their own war. As the atrocity waves its wicked claws through the air, our team seems to be just short of tripping over themselves to avoid getting hit and maintain their spacing around the monster.

Cedric turns to me, looking helpless.

CEDRIC

THEY NEED AN OPENING.

STRAUD

THEY NEED A LEADER.


He frowns and blinks his eyes in the rain. Then, without hesitation, he engages the demon.

It is gigantic and would have easily broken the walls of my home. I am glad I was the one to make it fall.

I concentrate my mind on the growing storm. I close my eyes and focus on brewing the weather effects. Rain and wind are all well enough, but we’re going to need more if we’re to defeat this beast. I try to steady the doubt at the edges of my consciousness. Yes, I could fairly easily banish the thing. Send it back to the place from whence it spawned. But that was not good enough.

I wanted it dead.

The low rumble of thunder invigorates me and my eyes shoot open. Cedric has taken hold of the end of its mighty tail and is trying to pull it backwards against the spine. It writhes this way and that, trying to free itself from the discomfort. But this creature is awkward and stiff, unable to bend its arms to reach its own back.

Cedric, with his impressive balance of strength and dexterity, is able to keep a good hold on the tail even as the creature flails about.

STRAUD

BE GLAD ITS TAIL IS ADORNED WITH SPIKES INSTEAD OF FLAME.


But he is in no mood for my humor.

CEDRIC

LITTLE HELP HERE?!


Miriam gets a good strike at the monster’s tail, but it seems to be scaled in obsidian and the sword succeeds only in scraping against its hide noisily. Kevin tries to pierce the creature in the belly, but there, too, he makes no connection. The whole of the creature’s focus cannot be drawn from its desire to crush the little gnat bending its terrible tail.

Far away, lighting cracks between two clouds, showering the field with photons. It comes closer, but still not close enough.

CEDRIC

GUYS–

I CAN’T DO THIS FOREVER!


I know that if the creature goes berserk, we cannot take it, not as we are now.

I address Mandarc.

STRAUD

USE THE WATER ON ITS EYE.


But he resists me.

MANDARC

MASTER, I CAN’T FLY!

STRAUD

YOU DON’T NEED TO FLY.

USE THE EARTH TO STEADY YOUR HAND.


He looks up at the creature twisting its neck back and forth, desperate to get at Cedric. Tiny spurts of flame ignite from its hot breath. Mandarc is afraid. But we don’t have time to hesitate.

STRAUD

THE LONGER YOU WAIT–


But I chose not to finish my sentence.

STRAUD

GO, MANDARC–

GO.


Even the rain cannot touch him as he folds spacetime around himself, seeming to move with impossible speed. Lightning flashes and I catch a glimpse of him in a singular frame, cork between bared fangs, one hand peeling back a rank eyelid, the other delivering the holy payload.

I can hear a distinct sizzle as the liquid hits the surface of the eye. The monster wails in agony and clutches at its eye, unable to do anything but twist in pain. Fire spews haphazardly from its maw as it tries to use its one good eye to aim at us. It stumbles around, and I can sense its building rage. We don’t have much time.

I turn to Miriam, who brandishes her sword proudly, but I can feel the fear in her.

STRAUD

BLIND IT.


The monster stumbles toward us and we are forced to scatter.

MIRIAM

VLAD–

I CAN’T–

I–

KEVIN

WAIT.

IT’S IRON, RIGHT?

IRON IS–


A breath of fire puts us on the run again.

KEVIN

HOLD ON TIGHT–

I’VE NEVER QUITE DONE THIS ONE BEFORE!


He raises his hand, fingers tightly together, thumb loose. He is touching the magnetic field. It is all I can do to keep my own interstitial fluid from vibrating to the fluctuations. But I hold steady.

He slaps his hand forward, releasing the building pressure. Miriam, now holding to her blade with both hands, forms a great javelin through the rain, and their aim is true. Her blade pierces the last hope the creature had of using its vision.

It twists its head down and claws at its face. Finally we have respite from its breath weapon.

STRAUD

KEVIN, FINISH IT!


He looks at his staff, remembering what came before. He looks at me, then at the others. With one hand, he holds the weapon out to Cedric.

Not contented with what he’s been given, Cedric raises his fingers to one end and, using his unnaturally tough fingernails, fashions the end of the staff into a point. It is rough, but it will do the job.

He runs toward the monster with the staff in his hand. The terrible creature, groaning in anguish, goes silent as the spear, as a stake, penetrates its great heaving chest. Cedric then runs against its neck as a ramp, kicking it in the chin with a triumphant backflip, sending the Hellspawn sprawling. But the great spikes lining its spine do not allow it to fall on its back, so it flops awkwardly on its side.

STRAUD

FINISH IT!


Cedric touches the protruding end of the staff and leaves a small blue flame in his wake. The sacred wood is alight, but I am impatient and the storm has finally arrived.

I use telekinesis to fling Cedric to safety just as a lightning bolt crashes upon the end of the stake, igniting it as a match. White fire erupts upon the wood, following a fractal trail down the length of the staff. The stench of sulfur permeates through the air. I look at Miriam, and she looks at me, and we are lost in a happy memory.

To the surprise of everyone else, the spark disappears inside the body of the slain creature, only to cause a grand explosion, showering us in blood and the shredded remains of its innards. Spattered in bits of entrails and pus, we look at each other, bathed in faint starlight as the clouds dissolve. The moon is there too, as a waxing crescent, casting a faint milky glow on the ruins of my house.

STRAUD

WELL, AS THEY SAY.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.


My house is completely demolished. But I was satisfied with how it had happened. Some of the demonfire still smouldered in the rubble but that could be cleansed. I had done it before, and I could do it again.

I was glad no one had been hurt. My friends had been terrified but I knew the truth - that specimen, slow-moving and witless, was a mere underling in the realm it had been summoned from. A nothing, a nobody, a simple body in a plane of innumerable bodies formed from the most primal fears of Mortal men. There would be more, many more, if the Baali had anything to say about it. That the Tremere had given themselves to demon-worship was news to me, but it was no surprise. Yes, this had all happened before. However, I had been younger then. Much younger.

The others are sorting through the debris when Cedric approaches me. I know their gestures are futile but it is still touching.

CEDRIC

SORRY ABOUT THE HOUSE, VLAD…

AND THE BOOKS.

STRAUD

WHAT HAPPENED IS NOT YOUR FAULT.

CEDRIC

YEAH, I KNOW, BUT IT STILL SUCKS.

YOU HAD LOTS OF FIRST EDITIONS.

STRAUD

MANY WERE ORIGINAL WORKS.


Cedric folds his arms in melancholy.

STRAUD

BUT THEY ARE NOTHING THAT CAN’T BE REPLACED.


We look about the field, a breeze sweeping our hair astray. I remember when this place was an empty meadow.

He emits a small, reserved chuckle.

CEDRIC

WELL, I’LL SAY ONE THING.


I raise an eyebrow and glance at him sideways.

CEDRIC

YOU THROW A HELLUVA PARTY.


( ...AND I KNEW THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK-- )

( "THUNDERSTRUCK" - AC/DC )