Shattered Scepters

DISCLAIMER:
The Clan names, discipline names and structure, titles and other such things are copyrighted to White Wolf Game Studio. Neither I, nor this story, are affiliated with White Wolf or any of their associates or subsidiaries, nor do I receive any monetary compensation from the publication of this narrative.

A/N: trigana thanks for your motivating posts.

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CHAPTER 14: MISSING

Stephan was curled about Lolli, holding her protectively beneath the covers as they slept. Then suddenly and without warning Stephan sits straight up, clutching his chest and screaming in pain. Lolli is jolted awake, every fiber of her being screaming at her to attack. Instead she leaps from the bed and crouches in the shadows, keeping a bleary eye on Stephan.

“What’s wrong?” she asked her words lucid and clear.

“Isabella…” he answered a thin layer of cold sweat covering his body. His dark eyes searching the room as he tried to organize the images in his mind, to understand the sensory input he was receiving. “She’s been staked.” He answered, still clutching his chest. The intense shooting pain had subsided to a dull ache.

“Do you know where she is?” Lolli asked, curling into a comfortable ball on the floor as she fought off sleep.

“I think…maybe.” Stephan said. His eyes continued to scan the room as if he were looking through someone else’s eyes. “It’s dark. The air…it’s damp and smells foul, like stagnant water and rotten blood.”

“What do you hear?” Lolli asked, suddenly discovering that getting comfortable was not the most brilliant strategy in her battle against slumber.

“People talking, whispering but I can’t make out what they are saying. I hear water dripping. Footsteps…someone is coming.” He could feel Isabella’s fear as if it were his own. His heart was beating so fast it threatened to break out of his chest. “It’s…it’s fading. She’s slipping into sleep.” Stephan reported, almost thankfully.

“Are you leaving?” Lolli asked her eyes once again closed.

“I…I am not sure…”he began, trying to catch his breath. “ I feel that I should leave immediately, but…”

“But…what?”

“The logical part of me points out that I am not in the best of shape at the moment to mount a rescue. I would do her no good at the moment. The rest of her ghouls and I will meet this afternoon.”

“Ok.” She said in a sleepy singsong voice.

“Come back to bed.”

“Nuh-uh…dresser…comfy.”

Stephan chuckled as he climbed from bed. He picked her up, telling her that she can’t sleep against the dresser. He gently placed her back in bed and covered her up.

“We’ll find Isabella, my love.” She said, her words slurring together.

“What?”

“We’ll find her.” She repeated.

“What was that last part?” he asked, but was unable to get an answer as hibernation had claimed her completely.

Sleep was an elusive concept for Stephan, the dull throbbing in his chest and Lolli’s words kept his mind active. Ruefully he climbed from bed and began calling his fellow ghouls to arrange the meeting. Then he arranged for a ‘babysitter’ to ensure Lolli would not be disturbed while he was out for the day.


--------------------~*~--------------------


The brightly painted ice cream truck casually pulled into on of the warehouse buildings found on Industrial. This building, one of the Retirement’s headquarters nicknamed the “Corporate Office”, still bore the branding from the building’s previous tenants. A group of five men approached the truck, expecting to be carrying a staked Malkavian; instead they were great by the bloody and broken remains of Brandon’s group.

“What the fuck happened?” a dark haired man asked.

“Our information on the Malk was wrong, Jack.” Brandon growled, as he pulled Random out of the truck by the collar of his jacket. Furiously Brandon dragged Random across the floor, closing the distance between himself and the dark haired man. “I watched as she did this!” his anger evident as he dropped the incoherently babbling Random at Jack’s feet. “She is no 10th generation vampire. She can fight. She can move. And now she knows that someone is after her.” Brandon snarled.


--------------------~*~--------------------


Stephan had called the meeting for 11:00; however, he, John and Antonio had arrived at 10:30 and were all ready exchanging their experiences and what they were able to pickup before they lost connection with Isabella. John and Antonio did most of the talking, while Stephan busied himself making a pot of coffee.

“Where were you Stephan?” Antonio asked, referring to Isabella’s staking.

“I was in bed.”

“Alone or with your girlfriend?” Antonio pressed, his dislike of Stephan had always been apparent, even more so since Stephan’s disappearance.

“I do not have the luxury of a girlfriend.” Stephan calmly responded his face and eyes devoid of any emotion he might be feeling.

“You certainly spend enough time with her.”

“She is an assignment. Isabella requested that I associate with her in order to obtain inside information about the Malkavians, more specifically their Primogen, Raven.”

“And the first thing you do when released from The Room is run to your whore.”

“The Prince requested that Lady Peltier locate Raven as she had been missing for several days. The most efficient way to obtain that information is through me and my contact among the Malkavians.” Stephan countered, opting to ignore the ‘whore’ comment.

“And the fact that her price for that information was a quick fuck had nothing to do with it.” Antonio spat sarcastically.

“Kindred don’t have sex drives. Sex is just a hunting technique for them…it’s not for pleasure.” John intervened.

“And you’re the expert on that?” Antonio scoffed.

“Just because I’ve been under a punishment of celibacy for 30 years doesn’t mean I don’t have desires. It doesn’t mean I’m not aware of a woman’s body language.”

Antonio laughed. “Of course it doesn’t.”

“Have you ever watched a woman walk?”

“I watch them all the time.”

“You’ve leered, but you’ve never watched.” John corrected “When a human woman walks, the little bounce she puts in her steps or the smoothness of her stride is because she knows she’s being watched. Subconsciously she is looking to attract a worthy mate. A human woman knows in the first ten seconds if she would take you to bed and you can see her answer in her smile. She knows every man in the room is watching the sway of her hips and movement of her breasts. She moves her body to accentuate or discourage our lust for her.” John said softly. “When a Kindred woman walks her strides are purposeful and silent, she moved like a predator on the prowl. Always hungry…always alert. She’s not looking for a mate, she’s looking for meal. A Kindred woman knows she’s being watched, but is not always aware of how. Her step never has a bounce and her hips do not sway as fully or with the grace of a breathing woman’s. A Kindred has decided in the first five seconds if you are a meal, and you can see her answer in her eyes as she stalks towards you. In my 40 years of service I have seen only two Kindred who move with the warm, soft rhythm of a living woman, and the Malkavian is not one of them.”

“Who were these two?” Antonio asked, both stunned and intrigued by John’s observation.

“One was in Italy; a French Kindred named Nicolette D'Aubigne. She was the Toreador whip, I was sent to ‘distract’ her while the Primogen was being assassinated in the winter of 1971.”

“And the other?” Antonio asked.

“Emma Marks.” John smiled as he answered.

“I often wondered how it was you kept Nicolette away for so long. You two were gone for over three hours.” Stephan commented, pouring himself a mug of black coffee.

John grinned like a cat that ate the canary. “You, of all people should know; a gentleman does not discuss such intimate details.”

“So, John, I guess you and I will talk later.” Antonio joked. John joked in agreement, and Stephan was grateful for John intervention.

Elise was next to arrive, dark rings under her eyes evidence that she had not slept either. Without saying a word he headed towards the coffee. John greeted Elise with a friendly phrase as she stepped aside. Elise grumbled something in return as she filled a large mug with plenty of sugar and coffee. John made his way towards Stephan, noticing that Antonio was watching her with new eyes.

“Now that we are all here, we start planning Isabella’s rescue.” Stephan said, as David walked into the room.

“Do we even know where she is being kept?” David asked, forgoing the coffee and sitting at the table.

“Nellis Air Force Base.” All three of them answered in unison.

Stunned, David remained silent and listened to them plan, strategize and pool resources. Faced with Elise’s military contacts, Stephan’s underworld contacts, Antonio’s surveillance ability and John’s ability raise an obscene amount of money in a short period of time David felt like a fifth wheel. Even when he asked how he could help no one, not even Stephan, could answer his question. David’s sole purpose in Isabella’s existence was to ensure she dressed as a proper Ventrue and not, as Vincent would say, ‘a dirt dwelling dog.’ As a result David has no skills that would help in a rescue; in fact half of the conversation had gone over his head.

“Get close to Emma Marks.” John suddenly suggested, only to be greeted by blank stares. “Isabella, as we know, has almost no allies among the Ventrue, but she is close to Emma. Other Ventrue underestimate Emma and tend to talk more freely around her then they do their own ghouls. Through her we may find out what, if anything, the other Ventrue are planning.”

“That is actually a good plan.” Elise noted, getting up to have her third cup of sugar with coffee.

“Why David?” Antonio asked.

“Because Emma has always wanted to out dress Lady Peltier and this next Ventrue dinner is the perfect opportunity. David can use his knowledge of fashion and sewing skills to help her, in exchange for information.” John explained.

“Can’t I just seduce her?”

“No, Antonio, you can’t.”

“Why not? It would be quicker.”

“Because you’re not her type. Elise is more her type.”

Antonio ceased any further argument with a small “oh.” The conversation then momentarily switched to David and his getting close to Emma.


--------------------~*~--------------------


It was just over three hours until sunset before Stephan managed to return to the hotel room with a shopping bag in hand. He conversed briefly with the ‘babysitter’ before paying the hefty fee and then escorted the man to the door. With a soul weary sigh Stephan sat on the edge of the bed. This day was impossibly long, full of meetings, and the pooling of resources. The thought of curling up next to her and sleeping was blissful, and irresistible. He removed only his shoes, and jacket before slipping beneath the covers and curling about his sleeping Malkavian. He drifted into a dreamless sleep breathing in the vanilla and brown sugar sent of her.

As the sun neared the horizon the pain in his chest grew more intense until he woke suddenly clutching his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on breathing. Eventually the pain subsided to a dull throb. With a relieved sigh he looked over at Lolli who was still dead to the world. He got out of bed and used the small coffee to make himself some desperately needed caffeine. With coffee in hand he sat on the corner of the bed watching Lolli sleep.

As darkness crept over Vegas, her eyes fluttered opened. There was a second of panic as she realized she was not in her room. Quickly the panic faded as memories of last night filled her eyes. She looked at Stephan and smiled brightly.

“Hi. Did you sleep well?” she asked, sitting up.

“I slept.” He responded.

“Well, I guess that’s a start. I suppose I need to get up and stuff, huh?” she asked, a playful smile on her lips. Stephan was ignorant of the meaning behind her smile when he agreed. She giggled to herself at his obliviousness as he rose to collect the bag he brought in earlier.

“These are for you. Your clothes last night were damaged and blood stained. I bought you these as replacements. There are also some hygiene products as well.” He explained, watching her dive into the bag like a child at Christmas. A ghost of a smile graced his lips as pleasant childhood memories peeked around the corner of his mind.

“Thank you.” She said with a broad grin and sincere tone. “I suppose I should shower. Care to join me?” She invited, casually making her way to the bathroom. Stephan appreciated her naked form before declining her offer.

“Then how will I wash my back?” she asked, her eyes wide with concern.

“I am certain you will find a way of washing your back.” He assured.

“I have found a way…you’re just being oblivious.” She said, gently grasping his tie and pulling him close for tender kiss. Stephan fell into that kiss, cupping her face with his free hand.

“You are wicked.” He said, allowing her to lead him into the bathroom.

“No, I’m just horny. There’s a difference.” She said, taking the Styrofoam coffee cup from his hand and dropping it into the bathroom trashcan. Again she pressed her lips gently to his as nimble fingers worked on removing his tie. Once completed she promptly began removing his shirt. He said, pulling her close eager to feel her skin again his. His mouth hungrily devoured hers as she pulled him free of his shirt, tossing it onto the bathroom counter. Her skin felt so soft to his hands, and her little mewling sounds were incredibly arousing. She wrapped her arms about him as she planted delicate kisses along his neck. He sighed, rolling his head back, bearing his throat to her, that’s when her Beast reared it’s head. She ran her the tip of her tongue up his throat taking pleasure in the taste of his skin and the precious vitea beneath.

“If you keep that up, your back will not get washed.” He teased.

“You and your logic.” She teased, stealing several kisses, as her battle with her ravenous beast continued. She worked desperately to replace one hunger with another, trying sate he need for blood with the need for him. Her kisses grew more intense as her fingers frantically explored his body. Before she realized it he was within her, she called his name as she clutched him close. His name became her mantra, as he repeatedly drove into her; his need for affirmation that she was still with him as great as her need for him. The feeling of his warm living body was intoxicating, driving her beast back into submission. She cried out for more, clutching onto the counter for balance. He pressed his lips to hers, giving in to her demand for more. Her pleasure was mounting; Stephan could feel her body tightening about him. She cried out his name as she climaxed, followed shortly by Stephan. Breathing heavily he held her close, resting his forehead on her collar bone.

“I needed that.” She said with a satisfied grin.

“As did I.” he said, kissing her quickly.

“Your eyes have a confession.” She noted.

“I am worried that either my Regnant or Primogen will destroy you to end our relationship.”

“No one in your clan would dare destroy the Malkavian Primogen.” She countered.

“But you are not Primogen.” He said, worried that Lolli was going to try something that would get her killed by one of her own.

“I will be.” She said.

“Raven is known for both her prevailing powerbase and viciously maintaining her station. If you plan to overthrow her it could take you months to develop that kind of support.”

“Raven has gotten sloppy and has made enemies in her greed for power.”

“Still, to orchestrate the coup you are planning will take months of preparation.”

“It has.” She responded with a grin that told Stephan he probably did not want to know what she has been planning behind his back.


--------------------~*~--------------------


Frank walked into Chris’ office wearing dark jeans and a green tee-shirt warning “If I wake up with marker on my face I’ll stab you.” If the situation weren’t so serious he would have chuckled. You play one prank over a century ago and he never lets you live it down.

“What did Mason say?” Chris’ sire, Caird, asked. She towered over Frank at an impressive 6’ 2” in flat shoes, a solid 6 inches taller than Frank.

“The idea was his, but the plan was Raven’s. She is the one who got him in contact with Isabella. It was Isabella’s poor judgments that lead her to choose Lollipop for the assassination.”

“Who are his clan supporters?” Chris asked.

“No one among Brujah knew his plan. With you and your most powerful supporters out of the way, he was the logical choice. He’d have been the most powerful, and most experienced based on his accompanying you to various meetings.”

“Now we take our grievances to the Prince and get permission to destroy Raven.”

“How can we locate her?” Chris asked.

“Lollipop can take us to her.” Frank answered.

“At what cost?” Caird asked, a ghost of her Scottish accent lacing her words.

“She wants protection.” Frank said.

“I do not think it wise for clan Brujah to quickly throw its support around.” Caird countered. “We out number every other clan in this city and our members are more powerful than any other kindred in Vegas.”

“I will protect her.” Frank said.

“You cannot represent clan Brujah.” Chris protested.

“I don’t. I represent myself. Because of her, You live…we live. And that is a debt I do not wish to remain unpaid to a Malkavian.”

“Because of your ties with Chris, everyone will assume you represent Brujah.” Caird pointed out.

“The only reason she came to us is because Chris is the only Kindred to not treat her as an idiot. While she thinks he was leery of her, he was always respectful. She believes you to be honorable, dependable and worthy of her trust. You have earned her as an ally.”

“A lunatic ally.” Caird voiced.

“I have seen her fight, and I have seen beyond her stereotypical bat-shit crazy Malk façade. She is a powerful ally with a clever, albeit fractured, mind.”

Caird laughed. “She is a ‘bat-shit crazy Malk’ who happened upon valuable information.”

“Caird, do you realize that she has just used us to clear her path to the Malkavian Primogen seat? Now the Ventrue cannot sever the ghoul’s association with her, not when they have been and are using him as a spy on the Primogen, as the Ventrue have insisted. And they cannot destroy her without the Prince’s approval. She out thought and out maneuvered the Venture.”

“She out thought Isabella Bruno.” Caird countered. “A dog in heat could out think her.”

“Not Bruno…Peltier, she out thought Peltier. Peltier has wanted to sever the ghoul’s relationship with her. This little Malk manipulated the Ventrue’s master manipulator.” Frank explained.

“Holy fuck.” Chris laughed at the sudden realization that Frank was right. “He’s right. Raven has made no secret of her distain of me and my wanting the Prince’s seat. And if she has made one attempt, she will try again. Not destroying Raven is not an option for us. With Raven gone, Lolli has the backing of the Nosferatu and the other Malkavians to claim Primogen.” Chris said.

“I will protect her. You figure out the political side of it.” Frank concluded.


--------------------~*~--------------------


“We need to move her.” The woman said, producing a black body bag from her backpack. “Patriarch wishes to have placed in a special location.” Isabella recognized the voice as the woman who staked her.

“Why is she so special?” someone asked.

“She’s from his past.” A man answered, Isabella was also able to place his voice as one she heard the previous night.

“That works for me.”

Isabella had never felt so helpless in all her life; she could not even move her eyes to see the faces of her attackers. All she could do was lay there, completely at her captors’ mercy and wait for her ghouls for rescue her…which had better be soon. Rather unceremoniously Isabella was moved from the cold metal table to the thick, lightproof body bag. She was then lifted and literally tossed into the back of a vehicle. She was terrified of what the near future held in store for her, but a very small part of her was strangely excited. Was it true? Was her father still alive? Was she really going to see him now? If it was true and she was on her way to him then all this fear would be worth it.

Her mind was a flurry of wild and random thoughts but nothing she could focus on. Mentally she roared with rage, embracing her Beast’s desire for violence. She wanted to scream and drench her hands in the blood of her enemies. She wanted to see the fear in their faces as she tore them asunder. She wanted to do anything, but because of a small 6-inch wooden stick she was compelled to do nothing.

Isabella was aware of the vehicle turning and picking up speed, presumably getting on the freeway, but heading which way? She was instantly reminded of a line in a song she had heard once “does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes into hours.”

The man and woman barely spoke during the drive except for the brief discussion about which radio station they would or would not listen to. Apparently she’s a little country and he’s a little rock-n-roll, but they finally settled on 80’s. Internally Isabella groaned she hated 80’s music; in fact she could find nothing redeeming about the entire decade. The vehicle slowed and turned, leaving the freeway and for a while the road was smooth and paved, but another turn took them off the paved street and onto a dirt road. When the car finally stopped and the pair got out Isabella was at least grateful that at least she no longer had to listen to that blasted music. Carelessly she was dragged out of the vehicle and carried inside a building where she was dropped on a hard surface.

“Return the vehicle, in two night’s time to move her again.” The woman ordered. “I’m going to go get Patriarch.”

“Two nights. Got it.” The man responded. Isabella listened to two sets of footsteps departing the room in opposite directions. Moments later two sets of footsteps returned and were approaching the powerless Isabella. She could hear the two talking quietly and then lighter footsteps departed, presumably the woman leaving the room. The bag was unzipped and quickly opened; Isabella found herself staring at a shrouded face.

“Hello daughter.” The voice said.

She did not have to see the face to know the voice. She wanted to cry out with joy and

“Yes, I live and we are going to have a little talk about how you have been running things in my absence. Well, that is I’m going to talk you will have no choice but to listen.” He said, lovingly patting her hair. “You’ve held loose reigns where your ghouls are concerned, and because of that you are ruining Stephan, and I’m sure you’re ruining John too. Letting them live outside the manor? Giving them days off? Allowing Stephan to socialize with a Malkavian? He disappears for two days and what do you do? How do you discipline this insubordination? I’d wager you did nothing more than lock him in The Room…you were always too lenient daughter. Ghouls need strict discipline. Ghouls do not respect what they do not fear. They need to know who is master. They need to know that disobedience is not tolerated. This is a test, my dear childe. If your ghouls rescue you within five days, so be it…if not, I will take it as a sign that they do not respect or fear you. If that happens I will punish you for a month, as much as it pains me. You need to learn to discipline your ghouls. I will get you in touch with Vreneli Rorschach; she is the one who educated John for looking at you inappropriately. Remember to pronounce her name correctly ‘raw-shock’. She will be offended if you don’t and that is the last thing you want.”


--------------------~*~--------------------


“Lolli, I must ask you a question.” Stephan said, watching her slip into the black jeans he purchased for her.

“You must? Ask away.” She said, pulling the new lavender bra from the bag and ripping off the tags.

“This morning…”

“Yeah! You were screaming! What was that about?” she interrupted.

“My Regnant has been staked and kidnapped. This morning you said ‘we’ll find her’ and then you said something else.”

“I did? No clue.” She lied while quickly slipping to the bra.

“You said ‘my love’.” He finished with a sigh.

“No I didn’t!” she said hurriedly.

“Yes, you did.”

“No I didn’t.” she repeated, just as quickly.

“Lolli, I am not loosing this argument. I clearly heard you.”

“I wouldn’t say it because I don’t know if you feel the same way. Why would I ruin the great thing we have going on right now?” she countered.

“What if you did know?” he asked, subtly implying that he returned her affection.

“Then I would’ve said it; but I don’t know so I didn’t say it.”

“Lolli, I am telling you now.”

She froze mid action and looked at him. Her mind absorbed the news with a very small “oh” as her only response. “Then I did say it.” she finally confessed. “You’re not just saying that to win the argument are you?” she suddenly asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

“I am quite sincere.” He assured.

“Yippy skippy!” she squealed, throwing her arms about his neck and pulling him back onto the bed.

“Lolli, you need to feed.” He reminded when she began showering him with kisses.

“Later?”

“No, now. I know you can smell the blood in my bruises. And I know that you would not intentionally harm me, but if you Frenzy out of hunger you may hurt or kill me.”

“Stupid moon logic.” She said with a pout.

“I promise I will make this up to you.” He said with a sly grin. “But right now you need to finish getting dressed so I can take you to your feeding ground and then to your Haven.” He explained, standing up.

“Ok, but only because you promised.” She said, pulling on the bright green sweater.


--------------------~*~--------------------


“You are not wearing that shirt when we meet with Peltier and the Primogen council.” Caird insisted, pointing at Frank’s shirt which read ‘I’m surrounded by fuckin’ idiots’. He did not like politics and this shirt was an accurate representation of his disdain.

“Take it off.” Caird ordered.

Frank sighed, slipped out of his sports jacket and removed the offending shirt to reveal a second reading ‘Shut the fuck up”.

“FRANK!” Caird roared in anger. Chris quickly stepped in, and calmed his sire down.

“Frank, please. During the meeting would you please button your jacket?” Chris calmly asked. Frank was silent for a moment before agreeing.

“I’m going to go get the traitor.” Frank said, grabbing his sport jacket on the way out.

“Who the Hell does he think he is?” she demanded.

“The single most powerful Kindred in all of Las Vegas; which, by the way, he is.” Chris explained. Caird sighed in frustration. “He is also a good friend.”

“A good friend who will not back you taking Praxis.”

“He will, but it will take some time. Frank has never been interested in politics.”

“Why must you have his support?”

“Because without it there is nothing stopping him from leaving; I need Frank in Vegas. I need strength known.”

“Are you planning on making him Sheriff?”

“Yes, I am but I need to talk him into it. That is why I need his support; he will be my Sheriff and bodyguard.”

“Chris…”

“Caird, everyone knows Frank by reputation, but after tonight everyone will know the violence Frank is capable of. He will execute Mason, the only reason he has not done so is because I need Mason to testify before the Primogen. Once that is done, Mason’s usefulness is over and Frank will tear him apart.”

“You need him for intimidation. With Frank as Sheriff no one would dare question you.” She said, realizing her childe’s plan.

“Exactly.”