Vanessa backs silently out of John Constantine's hotel room, closes the door without making a sound, and then stands in the hallway of the hotel, looking distracted and lost in thought.
Of course, you could only see her doing any of this if you had some kind of supernatural powers. Her body was wrapped in shadows that no mortal eye could pierce.
Vanessa continually glances at the windows at the end of the hallway as she thinks. She knows she has an hour at the most before the sun rises, and she has to get home before then. If she's going to do this, she better do it now.
She walks down the hallway, pausing at each door to sense for the person she needs urgently to speak with. It's not long before she finds the right room. The man is not alone-- another member of the Trenchcoat Brigade is sharing the room with him...she doesn't take the time to discern which...but it will be alright. She can speak using her mind.
Vanessa shifts her consciousness so that she can see in both the Physical Realm and the Spirit Realm. A big, old hotel like this easily provides her with what she needs, and soon a Wraith floats over to her with large, frightened eyes as she pulls him to her.
"Don't worry...I only need you to perform an easy task and then you can go." she tells the middle-aged man with round spectacles in a striped suit.
The man continues cowering a little, but gives a tiny nod. In all the time he's been haunting this hotel, he's never encountered a being with powers like this woman's-- powers to summon him and make him do her will. He hopes she's telling the truth about letting him go when he's done.
Vanessa points to the door. "Can you turn the lock from the other side?" she asks politely.
The man-- quite powerless to say no-- floats through the door as if it wasn't there, and flicks the lock.
Vanessa pushes on the door and it opens easily. She smiles at the Wraith. "Thank you. Oh...and you really should resolve whatever is keeping you here and go on to your final rest." Vanessa releases her power over the Wraith.
The Wraith stares at her in surprise for a couple of seconds, and then speeds away-- relieved that he has dominion over himself again.
Vanessa creeps silently into the room-- closing the door behind her-- and walks over to the bed that Rick The Vick is sleeping in. She sits carefully on the edge of the bed, watching him for a moment as she wonders how best to wake him without causing him to freak out, and then finally just puts her hand on his shoulder and leans in, whispering his name and willing herself to appear as unthreatening and relaxing as her powers can make her feel to someone else.
Rick sits up quickly a shotgun materializing from somewhere in his arms. He looks about quickly and sees it's just Vanessa. "Crikeys little lady! The lord almost took me heart that time." he says putting down the shotgun. "Do you get amusement by scaring other people so?"
Vanessa's eyes widen in surprise when the shotgun appears, and she leans away out of reflex until Rick calms down! Then she puts a finger to her lips-- glancing over at the sleeping form in the other bed.
"I don't know which guy you're bunking with, but let's not wake him up!" she whispers. She taps the side of her head. "I can mind-speak if you're willing."
Rick looks over at Header. "Don't worry about Header. The hotel could fall around his ears and he'd not wake up." he says. He reaches over and puts his glasses on. "Ah Vanessa. Have you come to take sacrament?" Rick says with a smile. "Or perhaps confession?"
Vanessa smiles despite her mental anguish. All John's buddies are fun to hang out with and are good guys...so why do they like HIM? She stifles a laugh at her joke.
"Oh Rick...it's only about an hour until dawn so I'm afraid 'taking sacrament' is out of the question this morning." she winks. Then she opens a mental-channel to Rick and switches the conversation to their minds.
'You may believe that Header is sleeping, but I'd rather not take my chances if this is OK.' she thinks to Rick. 'Confession might be closer to the reason why I'm here.' She sighs. 'Is it true that one must be baptized before they can go to heaven...or whatever you call the place I'm trying to get to?' she asks, the worry back in her eyes.
Rick blinks. "Wait what?"
'You know...' Vanessa makes a sprinkling gesture in the air.
'Christened...baptized...whatever it's called? Is it true that babies who aren't christened and then die can't go to heaven...and adults who aren't baptized can't go to heaven? Help me out here, Rick! I know you're the expert on this topic!" she pleads, feeling out-of-her-element.
"Ah well according to Catholic law yes, but there are many Christian sects who do not believe one must be baptized. I'm not a fan of it, no. But according to Gnostic text of which Christianity is based one does not have to be baptized in order to go to heaven. One must merely accomplish good deeds that outweigh their sins." Rick says sitting up.
"Aah..." Vanessa says, looking relieved. She's quiet again for a moment. "Sooo...you said something about confessing. Does confessing your sins make them disappear from your record with God?" she asks, sitting up straighter and looking hopeful.
"Yes but you must be truly repentant." Rick says. "Do you wish me to take your confession?" he asks bewildered. "I can if you wish, I just have to get my things."
Vanessa looks ecstatic at this revelation, and then raises an eyebrow. "'Things??' What 'things' do you need to take my confession, Rick? I assure you I'll confess willingly! You don't have to coerce me!" she jokes to hide her sudden worry at Rick's reaction when he hears her confession!
Rick chuckles and points to his bag on the nightstand. "Oh my heart, Vanessa. If only," he says clasping his hands and looking up to the heavens. "Please if only." and then he smiles. He grabs his bag on the nightstand and opens it. He takes out his bible and a strip of cloth that is purple on one side and white on the other. He bows his head and says a prayer and kisses the cloth and wraps it around his neck purple side up. "I may take your confession now."
Vanessa watches all of this quietly, and then clasps her hands in her lap, wondering if Rick really knows what he's getting himself into.
"First, Rick, I want to tell you that you're a good friend, and you've always been kind to me, and...are you sure you're ready to hear a vampire's confession??" she asks, suddenly worried again. "I mean...I don't want to lose you as a friend." She's quiet for a moment. "I want to add that almost everything I'm going to tell you happened almost 30 years ago and I haven't even been tempted to do it since." she says, watching Rick intently.
Rick smiles at her. "Nothing you say to me will be held against you, Vanessa. What you say to me is between you and the lord." he says patting her shoulder. "Besides, I take confession for politicians all the time. I'm sure it couldn't be any worse."
Vanessa knows Rick meant that last part as a joke, but she's 100% sure that NOTHING any of the politicians confessed could be even CLOSE to what she's going to tell him!
She gives him a tight smile and then clears her throat. "OK. Well...here goes." she says, thinking back as far as she can remember.
She tells Rick about being Embraced in the Dominican Republic around 60 years ago or so. She tells him about how she used to go around at night getting revenge on those who'd mistreated her and her fellow orphans. She told him about how she developed a taste for torturing people to death...and then after she learned powers that helped her read peoples' minds she would find out what they most desired, and then torture them with that desire in creative ways.
She recounts every death she caused-- trying to skip over the worst details for Rick's sake-- including killing the former prince of Toronto while having sex with him, and killing other vampires there for the sake of getting more power and prestige. She confesses about all the young people she met at night clubs and brought back to the mansion and used her powers to force them to do things they'd only fantasized of doing, which always resulted in their deaths. She confesses about kidnapping two Mormon missionaries and killing one and then forcing the other to have sex with her for three days before he finally died. She confesses about egging Nero on when he was at work on one of his victims, and filming him at work and getting off on watching what he was doing...she confesses how she was able to get Carter to have sex with her by manipulating him...she confesses about all the victims she'd sacrificed to the loas...she confesses about the Sabbat orgies she participated in where she was the only woman and the men lined up behind her to take a turn...she talks and talks and talks until she's cleared her conscience of everything she can think of...save for 3 things. She's holding back on those 3 things until she can gauge how Rick's doing with the information she just dumped in his lap.
And so she pauses, clasping her hands in her lap and looking embarrassed and ashamed at all the things she's done-- feeling like it was another person who did them many lifetimes ago.
Rick blinks for a moment and nods quietly. "Well..." he says. "I'm not sure how many Hail Marys that is but I'm sure it's quite a bit," he says. Rick's face is a mask of quiet serenity to Vanessa. She's never seen him look like that. He's usually smiling or giving John his exasperated look, but for once she can see he really is a man of considerable faith.
This makes Vanessa calm down considerably, and she suddenly feels bad for giving him such a burden of all her sins...but then again...he doesn't LOOK burdened. Plus he's got to have been trained on how to just release people's confessions to...god or whoever...and not hold on to them.
"I have one more..." she says quietly. "Maybe another one after that...I'm still thinking." She sighs. "I'm indirectly responsible for John's little brother getting killed. That's why I've been trying so hard all these years to prove myself to him...hoping that maybe he'll tell me he forgives me. Maybe he has, maybe he hasn't, but he hasn't come out and said he forgives me." She looks down.
"One of our most powerful leaders demanded we indulge him with a contest to see who could bring him the most tasty blood. When I saw John's brother and saw that he was young, a virgin, AND a mage, I knew I wanted him. I wanted to give him his fantasy of sleeping with a beautiful woman, I wanted MY fantasy of taking a man's virginity, and then I could give him to the vampire to taste his blood-- mage-blood is supposed to be the most delicious blood a vampire can drink. I don't know...I've never tried it, myself. I heard it's addicting and I didn't want any addictions of my own."
"Anyhow, after I...made John's brother a man, I brought him to the vampire, who promised he wouldn't kill any of our offerings. I liked John's brother a lot...he was a very sweet boy...and I trusted the vampire's word. But...little did I know that this vampire liked men, so not only did my offering have the sweetest blood, but was the most appealing all-around, and...the vampire lost control with him and...took all his blood and killed him."
"I was so furious. I went in search of John to tell him what happened. John took it remarkably well...I was secretly terrified that he was going to just kill me outright, but when I told him I'd give him all the information about this vampire-- his weaknesses...where he slept...everything-- John seemed to realize that I hadn't meant for his brother to die, and I wanted the vampire to die almost as much as John did, so we joined forced and murdered the vampire." she says, falling quiet again.
"I didn't know John and I would end up becoming friends like we have. I wish his brother was around to be a part of the family..." she trails off, staring into space and then looking down, lost in regret. She mumbles something in Spanish.
Rick nods solemnly and puts his hand on her shoulder. "John told me this a long time ago. I think I'm the only one he's told." he says. "I wouldn't worry, Vanessa, he didn't seem angry at you when he told me about it."
"Is there any more?"
Vanessa sits quietly for a moment, and then looks up at Rick. "Well...um...hmmm." She's wrestling in her mind about if she should confess her most recent sin which concluded about a half hour ago. She feels heavy guilt, but...Rick said she had to be truly repentant to be forgiven, and...even in the midst of her guilt she knows she doesn't regret what she did. The most horrible part of it all is that she doesn't know if she'll be weak again years in the future and want to return to John's bed yet another time. She glances at the window. There's a slight lightening, but she's still OK for time.
She sinks her head into her hands. When she imagines Armande's smiling face and his eyes full of love, she just wants to run out into the sun and let herself burn up for being unfaithful to him. But this thing she has with John...this started well before she and Armande hooked up. She thought she'd resolved it decades ago, but she hadn't. Then she thought if she could just hold on a few more decades until John passed away...just keep herself in check...but then the thought of him dying sent her into a deep sadness...the thought of never repeating that one night they'd had together...and then he told her he was, in essence, immortal because of some deal he'd made with the devil...and all her willpower flew out of the window and she'd broken her marriage vows.
She turns her tormented face up to Rick. "You've heard all my sins now...you know the good works I've done for the last 30 years...do you think I'm ahead of the game yet?" she asks quietly.
Rick chuckles and puts away his bible. "Vanessa...you must understand that what you've done in the past is...well...hard to make up for. But you've done good works here in the city but it's time to do more. You're prince of this city so start acting like it. Take charge and help the city grow and be better for those that live in it. Do something for the homeless...or perhaps build them houses. You'll figure it out. But you must continue these good works. You've been forgiven for these sins you have committed, but you cannot slack off."
Vanessa listens intently, nodding her head, and then lapses into silence again. She thinks back to the last hour. She'd been laying in John's bed, stretching contentedly as he walked around the bed to get a drink and his smokes, and then he'd just out-of-the-blue told her something along the lines that if she was trying to get into heaven she now had adultery to add to her list of sins, and it had ruined the whole evening. She'd spent the rest of their time together laying there miserably until he'd fallen asleep, and then she'd come out into the hall, and now here she was.
She wonders if Rick already knows. She wonders if John told him about them sleeping together the first time it happened. Granted, the first time it happened she and Armande hadn't yet committed to monogamy, but on the same hand she'd never told Armande about it. She admitted to staying the night at John's, but Armande had never even guessed what had happened while she was there. But maybe he knew? Maybe that's why he's held a grudge against John all these years?
Vanessa groans a little and shakes her head. She feels like such a hypocrite because she knows if Armande ever cheated on her, she'd immediately find the girl and kill her. But she would freak out if Armande tried to kill John! What a mess...what a huge mess.
She finally looks up at Rick. "Did John tell you anything else about me that I should know about?" Her eyes are sad and tired-looking, but she gives him a suggestive smile to let him know what sort of topic she's referring to.
"Oh...I've known about that for awhile. And no John never said a word to me." Rick says. "I know John's moods better than he knows them himself and I know when he's in a good mood because he's had sex."
Vanessa closes her eyes and smacks her forehead with her hand, shaking her head, and then the tears start and she gives up on holding back anymore.
"Well, he's going to be in one terrific mood tomorrow, then!" she half-sobs, half-laughs, and then throws herself down onto her knees on the floor before Rick and presses her forehead to his hands. "Oh god, I am weak...I am a sinner...I hate myself, Rick..." she sobs, terrified of Armande ever finding out about this, but needing to confess it so badly. She really, REALLY hopes Rick is right about Header sleeping like a log!
Rick shakes his head and pats Vanessa on the shoulder. "Vanessa, stop worrying. You've done many great and good things and I believe when you finally come to the lord he will surely take you into his kingdom. However do try not to commit adultery with John anymore. He gets happy the day after and then he's very much prick for at least two weeks."
Vanessa pauses a second, and then bursts into loud laughter. "Really?" she laughs, wiping her eyes and feeling a little better. "Well...sorry in advance for the 2 weeks of asshole-John that I didn't mean to cause!" she smirks. "But at least tomorrow you're guaranteed a peaceful flight back to London!"
She squeezes his hands and gets back up and sits on the edge of the bed. "Rick, you are an excellent priest. I was fully expecting you to chastise me...yell at me...tell me I'm a bad person, but instead I feel...refreshed and...like I have a good chance to earn a good afterlife. I know I can trust you to keep the whole John-thing in confidence. I don't want to tell Armande about it, and it's very complicated."
"I thought when John and I agreed all those years ago not to sleep with each other again that that was it. But then...I don't know..." she throws her hands up. "How can such a cranky asshole be so irresistible??" she moans. "Rick, I want to be faithful to Armande more than anything. I never thought I would be so weak! I thought we had the whole marriage and family-thing perfected! He hasn't done anything wrong! He's an incredible husband and the only one I ever want to be married to, and he treats me like a queen. And then there's John who teases me all the time and makes snide remarks, and I betray my perfect Armande for a night with John! Am I really that stupid??" she cries. "I don't know what it is about John...I'm sure you know what I mean! You've stayed friends with him all these years!" she smirks.
"We've all been wondering how he gets the women all these years but it's been known to happen that women like assholes." Rick says with a smile. "No no, deep under that crusty interior is a man with a heart of gold who'd travel the world to find you and save you." Rick says. "He's a good man and only after you get to know him the way we have do you understand that." he smiles at her. "It's not my place to judge you, Vanessa. That is between you and god. But I would wager he's judged you well and worthy. Just to be sure however," he says raising his eyebrow.
Vanessa laughs and bows her head, nodding a little. "I know, I know. 'Don't fuck it up, Vanessa,' right?" she grins. "Pardon my language!"
She gives Rick a hug. "The color of the sky is starting to make me nervous, and I can feel the weight of sleep coming over me, so I'd better get out of here. You don't know what a great service you've done for me tonight." she says seriously, and then the corner of her mouth lifts. "Maybe better than the one John did for me! No, no...just kidding. Don't look at me like that!" she laughs. "As always, if there's anything you need anytime, don't hesitate to call-- by phone or by..." Vanessa taps the side of her head, "...thought. Thank you, Rick." she says, standing. "Whatever John may think about some of your...habits...I know god will judge you worthy, as well. You're a good man."
"May the lord bless and keep ye, Vanessa Grimaldi. And should you ever sin again just know that I am available to help you out with that." Rick says with a sly smile and lays back down. He waves at her as she leaves and nestles back into the pillow. "Now that ass is quite the miracle, yes indeed."
Vanessa's laughter echoes in his mind. 'I heard that, Rick...tsk-tsk-tsk, naughty-naughty!' she laughs, and then closes the mind-link.
Vanessa manages to cloak herself in shadows again before leaving the room, and then closes the door quietly behind her and activates her super-human speed to get out of the hotel. The sky is starting to turn that pinkish-color that precedes the sunrise, so Vanessa immediately shifts into her snake-form and slithers into the nearest sewer-grate.
A few minutes later Vanessa's voice enters Armande's mind. 'Hey baby...I'm almost home...I had to come the, uh...alternate-way because of how late it is. You're not using the bathroom again, are you?' she thinks to him with a wry grin.
'Not at all,' Armande says sitting in bed with his paper. 'I was worried there. You ok?'
Vanessa feels herself choking up a little, but keeps that out of her thoughts. 'I'm just fine! The city is secure, and the English gentlemen passed the night safely, so my work is done!' she thinks back to him as she speeds through the sewers, almost to their house. 'You won't believe why I'm so late, though...' she thinks with a chuckle. 'I had a religious discussion with Rick, and he took my confession!'
While Vanessa is thinking these things to Armande, she's also searching his memories to see if he knew about her and John sleeping together almost 30 years ago...to see if he thinks there are any feelings between her and John.
Vanessa searches her husband's memories, but he absolutely doesn't suspect anything about her and John, nor has any knowledge of what passed between them. Guilt and relief flow over her in alternating waves.
'No wonder you were gone so long...' Armande teases. He folds the paper and takes off his glasses and puts them on the nightstand. 'You showering before coming to bed I hope. Last time there was such a mess.'
'Whatever, Armande! There was not!' she laughs back, and then calls him a few choice names in Spanish. Suddenly she's silent and Armande can feel a ripple in the mind-link as she wavers on unconsciousness for a moment.
"Oh shit...honey? It's going to take everything I've got left just to make it into the bathroom...you might have to help clean me up?' she thinks apologetically with just a tinge of panic in her tone.
A moment later there's a splash in the bathroom as a long rainbow-metallic snake slithers up out of the toilet and onto the bathroom floor, and in a fluid shimmer it changes into a wet and naked Vanessa laying there very still, her eyelids fluttering a little as she tries to will herself from entering the "little death" that all vampires go through every morning. She's just grateful that the bathroom window curtains are drawn.
Armande opens the bathroom door and shakes his head at her. "Come on," he says helping her up. "Let's get you in the tub," he says helping her in the tub. He turns on the water and gets a washcloth. "This is what you get for staying out late."
Vanessa gives a weak chuckle and just lays there heavily-- unable to move. "I know, I know..." she says in a quiet, breathy voice. "But it was worth it...I confessed everything, Armande. Everything. And he didn't even flinch or run away screaming or throw holy water on me or anything..." she smiles tiredly. "He says that a sincere confession wipes away the sins from your record...I had to try it...my record's pretty bad..." she whispers. "Next time he's in town...you might want to...have that talk with him, too...it can't hurt, right?" she tries to smile, her eyes closing. "I love you, baby..." she breathes, and then goes still and pale and cold.
"Ah shit," Armande says. He sighs and washes her up and dries her off. He empties the tub and picks her up. He puts her to bed and then returns to the bathroom to clean up. Once he's done he dresses and heads back into the bedroom. He makes sure she is comfortable and then heads down to the kitchen whistling. 'It's going to be a good day now that asshole is gone,' he thinks.