| Chapter Eight: Fall From Grace By Richard LeBlanc In a secretive passageway within a part of the catacombs that Tanya had no idea existed - the two rested. Above and below them they could hear sounds of their pursuers. Tanya looked around anxiously - half expecting someone to barge in - the sounds were that close. "Did you get any rest?" he asked. "Not much," she admitted. "What is this place?" she asked curiously. "They are called nests - safe havens that people of my status are privy too," he replied. "I had no idea," she stated. "That was the general idea. These were made so that - in the event of - well this - that his inner circle could regroup and prepare to strike back," he explained. "Only - the inner circle - is now a circle of one," she stated. "True - but - once we get Snake," he began. "You are serious about this. You really think he is alive - and is here?" she asked in disbelief. Calloway smiled as he leaned against the wall behind him. "If all of this went down as fast as you say - how could he have gotten out?" he asked. "Then what makes you so sure that he is alive?" she asked. He closed his eyes as his mind flashed back to Eco. He remembered what the Malkavian Primogen said to him before he left. "I have a hunch - let's just leave it at that," he replied. "Hmm you and your hunches and dreams. So very scientific," a voice mocked. Calloway scowled as he looked over and saw Luther smiling. Tanya looked over at him and studied his expression. "Is - is that pest here?" she asked curiously. Her hand slid up the cuff of her jacket. "Is there a moment when he isn't?" Calloway rebutted. "I am here for the long haul. You fucked me up - seems only fitting and fair that I return the favor," Luther rebutted. The ghost watched as Tanya slowly got up and seductively let her jacket fall to the floor. "Your squeeze giving me a show? She must me hard up to find a real man," he added with a giggle. "What are you doing?" Calloway asked - watching Tanya seductively dancing and stripping before him and the ghost. "Why be modest? I know he has watched us fuck. I have anything he hasn't seen before?" she asked curiously. Her every movement accentuated every curve of her womanly body. "The answer to that would be no," he remarked with a smug smile. Tanya looked over her shoulder. She couldn't make out the features of ghost - all she could see was the aura that emanated from a spot behind her. By the height - it was clear the ghost was standing. "But - I am curious why she is doing this," Luther remarked. They both watched as she slowly knelt down before him and moved her hands up as though to touch his chest. "Want to know why I am doing this Cal?" she asked curiously as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. "The thought has come to mind," he admitted. Almost instantly she dropped her mask. She wasn't naked - she was wearing a skintight wetsuit and was holding a knife in front of Luther's chest. "A present," she said as the magical knife stabbed into the ghost. Luther tried to move - tried to vanish tried to do anything - but the power of the knife stabbed at him to the very core of his being. Calloway watched as Luther slowly fell to his knees. "You fucked with my man - one time to many," she began. She withdrew the knife and stabbed it where his groin would be. "Now - at long last - I get to fuck - with you," she whispered to the dying ghost as he slowly vanished into the ether. "He - he's gone," Calloway muttered in modest disbelief. "And - he will never - ever come back," she said as she got up and looked at the magical weapon that did the job. "How did?" he began as she handed the weapon to him. "The knife - I lost this in the fire," he added. "I sort of went back for it. I called in a few favors and had the - enchantment modified. I wanted the mother fucker that was causing you pain - to suffer as much as humanly possible," she said with a smile. "I - I still can't believe," he said as he looked around - half expecting the ghost to come back and bother him. "Believe it," she said as she turned her back to him and looked over her shoulder. "So - when you thought I was stripping for him - did it make you - jealous?" she teased. He quietly laughed and shook his head. "Not even when I," she continued as she lowered the straps to her top. "I am not quite so insecure that I would need be jealous of a ghost," he stated as he walked over and put his arms around her. "You needn't be jealous of anything," she reassured as the two began to kiss. Later that night - the two emerged from a secret passageway near to where the temple was. Calloway looked around - but there was no sign of anyone near. It was abundantly clear that whoever was now running the place did not think that they might double back. "You have to be joking - those people scoured this area," she stated. Calloway stood at the top of the staircase and looked around. He then began to walk away. He stopped. "What are you playing at?" she asked seriously. "In a dream - there was a secret passage near here - one I have no knowledge of," he explained as he looked around. She blinked as she looked around. "So - let me see - if I am understanding this. We are here - because of something you saw in a dream?" she asked - her skepticism not masked. Calloway looked at one spot of wall and placed his hand against it. It passed through it as though it wasn't there. "An illusion," she muttered. "Hurry," he requested as they vanished into the illusionary wall. In a secret part of the power base - known only to Snake an unknown vampire was doing some frantic typing. "Come on - transfer damn you," he cursed to himself as he watched the transfer rate slowly moving. "Fuck this has been taking," he continued but stopped. He spun around and saw Calloway and Tanya by the door. "You know - there are so many thing wrong with this situation," Calloway stated as he drew his sword and glared at the unknown vampire. "I came here looking for Snake - where is he?" he demanded. The vampire quietly laughed as he spun around - Calloway tensed up as the man before him looked just like Snake. "Congratulations - you found me," he remarked in Snake's voice. "What have you done with him?" Calloway demanded. "Cal?" Tanya began. He looked over and felt something stab into his chest. "I'm sorry - but this is something - I need to deal with," she whispered as the assassin fell to the floor with a stake in his chest. "That - I wasn't expecting," Snake admitted. "You may not be Snake - but he is still blood bound to you. No mere mask can change that. Be a sport - tell me where he is," she requested. "Why would I tell you anything - you deceptive little whore," Snake rebutted. "Oh come on - I just know that you are dying to gloat. Who the fuck are you and what did you do to the real Snake?" she goaded. The imposter in the guise of Snake rubbed his chin and smiled. He looked over at Calloway who was listening - paralyzed and helpless. "My name? Why not? It won't serve you where you are going. I am known as Malice - of Clan Ventrue - at your service," he mockingly stated - shedding his mask. "The idealist known as Snake - I remember that old boy well. I would probably say - I ran into him when I was in Egypt almost two centuries ago. He was - going on and on about some war or some other such bullshit. I said - why not. He brought me in - that was his first mistake," he began as he leaned against the computer. "What did you do to him?" Tanya asked curiously not taking her eyes off him. "He was most idyllic as I said. Very trusting for a snake - odd that. Not long into our - partnership - I - drank in his very soul - taking everything that he was - taking it into me. It was such a rush," he mused. "All of this - you prepared for all these years?" she asked in modest disbelief. "Prepare? I used his network to fatten my foreign accounts," he began as he smiled at Calloway. "Everything you did - was for my benefit - not that of some stupid mythic god," he mocked. Just then the computer behind him shorted out. "What the?" he muttered. Tanya smirked as she watched a virus consume everything that was on the monitor. "They say that god works in mysterious ways," she remarked. He frantically typed - but it was too late. "How much did you lose?" she mused as she could see his hands balling into fists. "You - were stalling for time you little bitch," he said under his breath. "Was I? I didn't know. Did that hunter virus do something nasty to all those posh and secretive accounts you had? If I was a wagering woman - I would say - you lost over ten billion dollars - oh and everything that you had stored in your databases," she added. "Clever. I never would have guessed - that the infiltrator was actually you. How did you get by this long and stay undetected?" he hissed. Tanya smiled as she subtly moved Calloway's body into the shadows under a console with her foot. "Remember that rumor that there was a spy in your midst? I started it. I left enough of a paper trail to get you to have your pet accountant fed to the ghoul pit. After that - I just kept a low profile," she answered. "I don't suppose that you will do something smart - like surrender?" she asked curiously. The imposter that both had known as Snake laughed. "You think me to be some timid Ventrue? In my time here - posing as your esteemed leader - I had time to - learn many things," he began as his eyes churned to that of a golden color. "I learned - every secret your clan held," he continued as his tongue elongated and retracted. "Not just the showy ones," he continued as his skin shifted from flesh to scales. "The really useful ones too. You might as well put the stake away honey. I don't have a heart - but then again - after I am through with you - neither - will - you," he concluded as his transformation continued until he took on the shape of a giant monstrous cobra. "You have learned a lot - but - there is one thing that you didn't learn," she began. The giant snake looked at her as if trying to understand what she was talking about. "You never learned - all of - my - secrets you arrogant fuck," she stated. Her arms vanished into the shadows. Seconds later tentacles of solid shadow began to attack the giant cobra. From where he laid he watched as the imposter was savagely taken down. Seconds later - a dozen some odd people rushed in. "That him?" one of them asked. Calloway felt a chill run down his spine. The voice - it was the same one he heard in his dream. "He isn't Snake - apparently Snake has been dead for centuries. This fucker was an imposter," Tanya stated seriously. The snake struggled to free itself from the shadowy tentacles but nothing worked. The man knelt down by the head of the restrained serpent. "You arrogant Cammerella bastards," he began shaking his head. "When will you learn? You fuck with the Sabbat - you fucking die," he stated as his arm shifted into a long serrated bloody spike. Calloway watched as the giant serpent was brutally slain by the Sabbat elder and his gathering. "After all this time - we finally finished him," the vampire began as he slowly got up. "That would just leave the matter of his pet assassin - Calloway. Where is he?" he asked seriously. "A fight ensued - more like an execution. The serpent killed him. Calloway - he - never even tried to fight back," she lied. The elder sighed and nodded. "I heard rumors that Snake kept his true warriors - his best talent blood bound to him. I see why," he stated as his hand retook human shape. "Have all of the others been dealt with?" she asked. "Near as I can tell. There might be a rogue or two we missed. But - after this - I don't see as to how they could pose any real threat to us," he replied seriously. "Then - it is finally over?" she asked. "In more ways than one. You ready to come home?" he asked with a smile. "I will shortly. I have to - fetch a few things. Apparently there are secret caches all over the place. Some of them might have items or weapons of interest to me," she stated with a smile. The elder quietly laughed as he patted her on the cheek. "Loot the dead city then - you earned it," he began as he looked to the others. "Pack up boys - we got what we came for," he concluded as he walked away. After a few seconds - the two could hear that they were alone. Tanya slowly pulled Calloway out and removed the stake. He twitched as he felt his limbs again. "What - the fuck - is going on?" he asked seriously. "What would you like to know?" she asked passively. "Uhm - okay - who the fuck are you?" he demanded. "I am Tanya. But - I am not a Setite. I am Lasombra," she said quietly. "All this time? You were just using me?" he asked seriously. "I have been here for over a hundred years Cal. I have been here longer than you," she pointed out. He blinked and began pacing back and forth. "I know this is a lot to take in - but if you give me," she began - he raised his hand - motioning for her to be silent. "I just found out - that everything - I have lived for - has been a lie. All of the work - suffering - sacrifice - all for the Ventrue," he spat in disgust. "Did you know?" he demanded. "It was rumored in my pack that - the head of the organization was an imposter. But we believed him to be an Assamite. When he had those two assassins sent after you I was sure," she began but stopped. "How much of it was a lie?" he asked seriously. "Between what you had with him - or - with me?" she hesitantly asked. "What do you think?" he rebutted. "You can ask such a question? Cal - I love you," she answered. "Love built on lies?" he rebutted. "Had I told you - would you have understood? If I told you that he was stealing from both the Cammerella and the Sabbat - if I told you he was not who he claimed - if I told you who I really was," she began emotionally as she walked over and stood before him. "Can you honestly tell me that you would have listened - that you would have understood?" she asked seriously. "How am I supposed to believe you?" he asked seriously. "They wanted every agent of his dead. When I first got here - I had no problem that," she began as she looked over at him. He could see that there was hurt in her eyes. "Then I had the misfortune of getting to know you," she muttered shaking her head. "I don't even know why I am even bothering," she said with her back to him. Instinctively he had a weapon ready to strike her down but something stopped him. "Go ahead - do it. I know you want to," she replied. She turned around and looked at the assassin that was still poised to strike her down. "What is to stop me from running from this place and hunting down everyone involved with this little operation?" he asked seriously. She lowered her eyes. "Nothing. If you wish to go - do so. I won't stop you," she replied. He headed for the door but stopped. "If you do - you will kill two birds with one strike. My elders - they will know I lied to them. They will kill me in a manner befitting to a Cammerella sympathizer," she added. "Did you - start the rumors? That brought the prince and her council against me?" he asked seriously. "I had my orders Cal. I didn't want too," she began but stopped. "I don't buy that," he rebutted. "What do you mean?" she asked. "You didn't want me finding sanctuary with them. Plus I had people in there that could have gotten them involved in this," he stated. "You think?" she began but stopped she walked over and placed her hands on the console. "Believe what you will. You have made it abundantly clear that you will not believe anything I have to say. You want to kill me - do so. You want to leave me," she began as she forced the emotion back. "Then go," she stated as a tear of blood escaped from her eye. Calloway lowered his weapon and shook his head. "Right now - both of us - are dead to the world. Please - give me a chance - please?" she requested sincerely. "What do you see happening?" he asked seriously. "I - I see us - starting over," she began. "How so?" he asked. "Cal - I never - really believed in this war you are fighting - not until I started getting to know you. If you want - we can leave here - go overseas - and prepare for the impending war. Only this time - you - you will be the one that rallies the people. And this time - Set - will be with you - and so will I," she answered with a smile. "If it doesn't happen like that?" he asked. She sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "You can be a real fucking dick-head at times you know?" she stated with a scowl. He quietly laughed. Hearing him laugh made the frown slowly melt away. "No more secrets?" he asked. "No more secrets," she repeated with a smile as she hugged him tightly. "Then - lets get the fuck out of this place," he suggested. She smiled as she coiled her arm around his. "The one thing I regret is that - that whiny fuck Glare will think he won," he stated as they began to walk towards the shadows they entered from. "Oh - he won't be for long. I left more than enough evidence for him to enjoy a life on the run. Come my Snake Charmer- we have a new life to start - and a war to prepare for," she said with a giggle as the two vanished into the shadows of the power base. The End? |