MadCap's Fiction Corner - "Seattle By Night: Black Sabbath, Part 2"

"This entire thing is ridiculous."

"Isn't that relative?"

"No, I mean...us. Sitting in a burnt out Pinto, waiting for any sign that something is in that building." Ben was pointing to an small apartment complex that was all too familiar to Anthony, being where he and Marion had run from literal shadows only shortly before. "Three vampires in a rat-trap car. Feels like the set up to a bad joke."

"We should have brought my car." Anthony said.

"Because he wouldn't recognize that?" Sybil asked, staring through the binoculars at the place. "First rule of stakeouts, don't be conspicuous."

"Which is why you're rocking the full jungle binoculars?" Ben asked, quirking a brow at the Malkavian in the driver's seat. Sybil didn't miss a beat as she didn't lower the binoculars.

"I'm birdwatching, sir." She muttered.

"At ten o'clock at night. In the middle of the city." Anthony deadpanned.

"Someone's bound to piss off a pigeon eventually." Sybil still gazed at the place.

"Seattle's finest indeed." Anthony muttered.

"Look alive." Ben said, then after a second and a roll of his eyes pointed. "Look!" The door to Marion's apartment had opened up. Instead of a living shadow, there stood a man. Tall, thin, and deathly pale. He was dressed in a suit of fine clothes - a three piece suit, black with a silver tie. Under his arm he held what looked like a package of some kind. In a moment, though, he unfolded it to reveal that it was empty, tucking it once more under his shoulder as he'd folded the piece together again.

"Is that your guy?" Sybil asked Anthony.

"Unless he suddenly turns into a living shadow, then I have no fucking clue." Anthony said.

"He's a Lasombra. It wouldn't surprise me if he could." Ben said, leaning forward in the seat to watch the man move.

"How do you know he's Kindred?" Sybil asked.

"Given the outfit and the skin tone, he's either a Kindred or he's a Ghoul." Ben said. "And knows a bit of blood sorcery if he was able to break through Marion's wards."

"I can counter that." Anthony said. "I'm pretty sure."

"I doubt we'll have to worry about it too much." Ben said, watching as the man made his way out to a car about half a block down. "Ideas?"

"If he didn't take anything from the apartment, why would he go there?" Anthony asked.

"To leave something?" Sybil suggested.

"Maybe." Ben said. "If we're going to tail him, it ought to be now." The car's lights came up.

"We should see what he left." Anthony said. "If it's something to harm Marion, we might not set it off."

"Or it could be set off and brings us all to Final Death." Sybil said, somewhere between sarcastic and cheerful.

"Either way, we need to make a decision...now." Ben said.

"I'll go check." Anthony said, unbuckling his belt and opening his door. "You two go after him." He started to slide out.

"Hey! All hands and feet inside the vehi-" Sybil started, but Anthony had already started off. "Not exactly the best idea."

"Tail him." Ben said. Sybil took off after the car, the back door that Anthony had just left slamming shut as they left their parking spot, the other car getting a decent distance ahead. The Gangrel and the Malkavian took off into the night after it, leaving the Tremere to his own devices.

The screen flickered into life. Before her eyes, Grace witnessed the image of Stephen Corwin, seated at his desk.

"Hello, Miss Penderghast." The recording intoned to her, the man giving a respectful nod. "If you are viewing this tape, then Marquis had followed my instructions to the letter. If you are viewing this tape, then I am also disposed of."

The Toreador sighed in irritation, eyes locked on the image of the man.

"However, I am not beyond reach." Corwin said. "I have an item that I have tucked away for this occasion, a specific urn. It is kept in a warehouse of mine, the address has been written on the inside of the case of this VHS tape. If you go there, take Marquis with you. He will take the urn into his custody. Your task, then, is to find the last place where I lay." Grace's head tilted slightly, eyes squinting in confusion. "I know this may seem strange to you, but when the task is done, I will be in a position to pay you as per our agreement. You know well by my reputation, Miss Penderghast, that I do pay my debts."

Grace pondered this for a long while. An urn? The significance escaped her utterly.

"Good evening."

The tape ended there, leaving Grace looking at a black screen.

"Shut it off, Mortimer."

"Yes, mistress." The ghoul dutifully followed his dormitor's order and shut off the television, hitting rewind on the VCR. Grace ran a hand down her face as she stewed all of this over. "Mistress?"

"Yes, Mortimer?"

"Are you well?" Grace looked up at the man, regarding him for a moment. The light of devotion shone in his eyes, the product of the Blood Bond that existed within his very soul, held him fast to her just as it did Martin.

"As much as I can be." Grace said quietly. "You may go."

"Can I fetch you something to-"

"You may go." She intoned sharply, and that time her Ghoul got the message. He nodded, withdrawing from Grace's chambers, closing the doors behind him. Grace reached over to the table next to her chair, picking up her phone from it. She saw eight missed calls - all of them from either Ben or Sybil. No messages. She set the phone down again, deciding not to call them back. Clearly, whatever it was, they'd stopped trying about half an hour ago. It was as the phone touched the glass of the table that the screen lit up.

". . .Fabian?" Grace squinted, picking up the phone and sliding a finger across the screen to accept the call. "Hello?"

"Good evening, Miss Penderghast. How are you?"

"Well enough, Fabian. What can I do for you?" Grace asked, resting the phone against her cheek.

"It's rather about what I can do for you." Fabian said. "I understand that you've come into possession of a message from my Sire."

"I have?" Grace asked.

"With respect, Miss Penderghast...please do not insult my intelligence." Fabian said. Grace found herself surprised, it was the first time she'd ever heard his tone shift from a bland, almost analytical tone. There was an edge to it. Something was up. "I know you have something of his, and I wish to...negotiate...concerning it."

"I see." Grace said. "Where would you like to meet?"

"I am on my way to your manor now..." The impertinence! Grace felt her upper lip stiffen.

"I'll be waiting for you, then." Grace said. Fabian hung up and Grace set her phone on the table. This would have to be a really damn good explanation...

"Brother! Sister! Welcome!"

"Okay, wasn't expecting that..." The trail had led them to Leschi. Several homes set against the waterfront of Lake Washington and, just a few blocks inland, was a church. At least, it had been a church at some point. The place looked like it was being refurbished. Around it was the framework of a fence, with only a bit of the wires that would make it up having been placed in. As Ben and Sybil had approached it, they were met by a woman in a black dress. She was drawn, pale, and there was no light whatsoever coming from her eyes.

"Come! Come!" She beckoned them forward with the coldest of smiles on her face, stepping through the opening in the fence toward the steps leading up to the church. Ben looked to Sybil.

"Trap?"

"Nah." The Malkavian shook her head. "At least, I don't think so...not yet."

"How can you tell?"

"Crazy knows crazy." Sybil pointed a finger toward the door. "That's happy crazy, not 'I'm going to stab you with every sharp object I can find' crazy." She slid her hands back into the pockets of her coat. "Let's go." She started off after the dead-eyed woman. Ben followed, walking with her into the church. They passed through the foyer and into a larger room. 

The main worship area, lined with pews that looked new as though they had just been placed a short time ago. People moved about the room, none of them seeming to pay any attention to the two who had just entered.

"Brother Oliviera, I have two new recruits to our family."

"Wonderful." A man's thick accent got the attention of both Kindred, who turned to see the very man they had seen leaving Marion's place. Getting a look at him, he was wearing the same suit as before. His facial features pegged him as Hispanic. His accent, too, was somewhere in that range of linguistics. His eyes focused upon the two Kindred. "I am Antonio Oliviera. Welcome to the Church of the Yawning Void. How can we help you find emptiness today?"

"Emptiness?" Sybil asked, her head tilting to the side.

"Ah! Very fresh, then." Oliviera stepped a bit closer to them. "You see, we beli-" He stopped short, his head tilting to the side just a bit. ". . .how about you come with me? I believe it is better to show than it is to tell." He turned, heading back toward the altar. Ben looked to Sybil, who merely shook her head. With that settled, they followed the man that Ben was now positively certain was a Lasombra through a doorway and down a lengthy, narrow hallway that opened up into a larger room. This place was far less fixed up than the atrium or the main worship area had been, tile flooring having been torn up in quite a few places. From the look of it, cabinets had been removed, given the outlines on the floor made of wood and plastic where they had been hastily pulled up.

Instead, in this room, were three large glass tanks. Two were filled with clear water, another was currently being filled from a hose by another man on a ladder. Like the woman at the gate and several people they had seen since entering, they all had the same black clothing.

"The water is ready, Brother Oliviera!"

"Wonderful, Brother. Wonderful." Oliviera said. "Bring in the new initiates. I have some recruits who are interested in learning about our faith."

"Joyous day!" The man came down from the ladder, nodded to both Ben and Sybil, and then moved to the other side of what had once been a kitchen, opening a door. "Sisters, if you please." Three women entered through the door, all dressed in white cloth gowns. They were young, somewhere in their early twenties. They looked vibrant, excited.

"Such eager, young things." Oliviera walked over, cupping the chin of one of the women, gently guiding her gaze up to meet his own. He smiled warmly to her. "Are you ready to be emptied, Sister?"

"Yes, Brother Oliviera."

"Come with me, then." Oliviera gently removed his hand, then clapped his hands. "Enrique!" The man from before walked over, moving the ladder to the first of the cases, where the water billowed and buckled with the motion of the ladder once more sliding into it. Oliviera guided the young woman over, helping her up the ladder. She descended into the water rather quickly, the water rushing around and enveloping her as she displaced it.

"There's no way for her to get out..." Sybil noted, and Ben saw she was right. The walls of the tank were smooth glass and it was unlikely the woman would be able to reach the ladder and get out. He tensed, watching the scene. The woman hadn't even attempted to hold her breath, instead beginning to thrash as her body's instincts for air took over. Her hand slammed against the glass, hitting with a dull thud as the water slowed the momentum of her hits. "Ben, we can't ju-"

"Wait..." Ben said, eyes locked on the scene. Sybil, however, was already drawing her pistol. "Sybil, wait!" He caught her hand, keeping her from drawing the weapon fully from its holster. In the tank, the woman's already weakened strikes became weaker...and she began to drift within the water, her eyes closing drifting shut as her body gave out...and she drowned...