sparkindarkness (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sparkindarkness) wrote2005-04-05 10:43 pm
sparkindarkness) wrote2005-04-05 10:43 pm
Predator's Predator # 8, good advice in dark times.
And onwards - I wonder how long it will last before the muses get stubborn?
Lakshmi was sulking. Even worse, she knew she was sulking and couldn’t seem to stop. She had spent the entire trek to Marlena’s trying to convince Ian that he should let her come with him to rescue these girls. He’d said no, said that she wasn’t ready, that she would endanger herself, the girls and him, that she had no chance against a vampire. He’d said it once then ignored her, not bothering to repeat himself no matter how much she complained. She hated it, she hated it all the more because he was right and treating her like a whining child - hated it still further that she half suspected she was acting like one.
When Lakshmi had first head of Marlena and her abilities, he expected her to live in a horse drawn wagon in the middle of a park or some public ground, perhaps surrounded by a troop of gypsies in bright clothes and long flowing skirts dancing around camp fires. It was almost disappointing to find out that Marlena lived in a cheap flat in one of the many run down apartment blocks in the city. Marlena always said that most real psychics weren’t very popular - people wanted convincing lies and pleasant, exciting fantasies, get someone with any real talent at seeing the future or talking to the dead and they usually didn’t want to know. They wanted the tarot to bring up trials, tribulations, death, love and wonder, not washing up, school runs and hours spent in front of the television as your buttocks grow steadily bigger and flabbier which is what the future holds for most people.
Of course, Marlena was a surprise as well. When thinking of a Romani mystics, Lakshmi normally thought of willowy, dark women with penetrating eyes dressed in flowing clothes, shawls and lots of fascinating jewellery while speaking mysteriously in a rolling eastern European accent. She did not expect a tall, rotund woman with rosy red cheeks, bright clothes, a wicked sense of humour and a broad northern accent. The only mysterious flickering light in her flat came from the dodgy electrics in her living room and though she did deal tarot cards she dealt them on a sensible dining room table and refused to get all dramatic because some upsetting major arcane happed to show its head. Marlena’s family had lived in England for four generations, she saw no reason to put on some absurd accent from some country she had never seen before to impress the gullible. She certainly had no time for anyone who tried to make magic and the next world supernatural or anything other than mundane.
Lakshmi gasped as the door to the flat opened before Ian had time to knock, Marlena standing there and treating them to the cynical smile that was never far from her face. Marlena grinned at Lakshmi and stepped forward, putting her weight on the squeaky floor boards in the hallway. “Could hear you a mile off, girl. Didn’t need to be psychic for that.” She pulled them inside with an expansive gesture, grin still merrily in place. “And good day to you boy, what have I done to deserve such a cheery house guest.”
“Father Michaels told you why I am here.”
“Aye, that he did, boy. Two poor girls got themselves dragged off by a vampire. And that’s not the half of it.”
She herded them into two heavily overstuffed armchairs with a truly hideous chintz pattern while managing to bustle forward with the tea tray at the same time. “By my reckoning there’s three, maybe four young girls and possibly the same again in boys been taken.”
Ian frowned, ignoring his tea. “Six to eight taken?”
The gypsy nodded, setting her chins wobbling. “That I know of. Odds are, if I can read eight being taken there’s probably a few more.”
“How come we’ve never heard of them?” Lakshmi asked, finally giving up stirring her tea. She was disappointed to find there were no tea leaves at all.
“Why should you have heard about them, girl?” Marlena half-laughed. “Murder’s not as rare as it used to be. Besides, media don’t report what it don’t know - and I reckon these guys got some major power behind them. Something old and rich - amazing what gets swept under the carpet if the rug’s expensive enough.”
“If the victims are all from deprived areas the police rarely overly concern themselves,” Ian added. “Nor does the media especially care. Disappearing people are assumed to have run away, committed suicide, or have been killed and the bodies well hidden. A missing person form is filled out and the police file it away. Possibly in the dustbin.”
“It’s not like they have much choice, girl.” Marlena said, patting Lakshmi’s hand.
Lakshmi swallowed, she knew the system didn‘t work in their favour, but.... “I meant why didn’t WE know. We have contacts, we look for the supernatural, we...”
“Are a few severely overworked, outnumbered amateurs doing our best.” Marlena amended, raising her tea cup in a toast. “The day you assume you know everything is the day the unknown kills you. Besides, this isn’t some hungry vamp carelessly picking off a few of the voiceless, though that’s bad enough. This is a whole new level above that.”
Ian frowned, “I need details, Marlena. I cannot fight a vague threat.”
“You can, you know.” She replied, simply “people do it every day. Facing vague fears, uncertainties, threats - we carry enough of them around with us in our own heads after all.” Ian’s frown deepened. “I know you don’t understand that much, boy. You run and hide from your daemons - spend your life distracting yourself so you can ignore their breath on the back of your neck, ignore their claws in your heart, their gaze on your soul.”
Her voice seemed to echo in the sudden, hungry, painful silence. Lakshmi held her breath, would Ian lose it? He wasn’t exactly stable... Ian’s face didn’t twitch from its frozen mask. “I need details to save or avenge these missing people. I need details so I can hunt down the creatures that are doing it and prevent them from doing it again. Do you have any?”
Marlena sighed heavily and filled her cup again. “I have some. Not much, boy. Not much, but maybe enough to help you with this distraction. First of all, I don’t think these kids have been taken for turning. Maybe they have, but it feels a lot larger than that.” She saw impatience flicker in Ian’s eyes. “I know you normally don’t care about they why, boy. But I think it matters in this case - hear me in this, this is not just ordinary vampires looking for food. There is something big and old and powerful behind this, you want to step carefully, boy. You don’t want to be caught in the middle of this, not unawares, boy.”
“I need details.” Ian repeated, flatly.
Marlena surged forward in her chair, stabbing at Ian with an accusing finger. “And you ain’t going to get them, boy, unless you listen to me and convince me it’s going into that thick skull of yours - if I have to ram it past the daemons myself.” Ian blinked, leaning back slightly from the infuriated gypsy. “Now you listen. I give you the details, you go in and may get one - and you listen now, boy, you won’t get them all at once, we don’t even know how many there are! You’ll get yourself one, boy. But if you’ve been a fool and treated this like any other kill, they’ll find you - yeah and they’ll fine me, and the pretty girl there,” she nodded to Lakshmi. “And me, and the old man in the church and probably everyone else we work with as well. And likely a few other passers by, just to make a point, boy.” Ian’s face remained a mask. Marlena leaned even closer, resting one thick arm on the coffee table between them. “You don’t care about your life, boy, I know that - death would be the ultimate way of hiding from your daemons. But you’ll be feeding us to an evil that makes everything else you’ve killed look like the Easter Bunny on happy pills. You may be tired of life, boy, and maybe even the poor girl there, she’s got the look of someone else hiding from her daemons and maybe even the old man is willing to give up the rest of his days - I’ve given up guessing how much he’s willing to give up, he has his own issues. But I ain’t ready to give it all up. Nor’s Kieran - he had folks who rely on him, nor Mary, one of the few people with integrity left in our justice system. And that’s saying nothing of all the people you will rescue or protect in the future, because if you throw your life away, boy, ain’t no-one else going to step into your shoes and pick up the slack.”
She took a deep breath, laying back in her chair. “So, boy, what’re you going to do? You going to listen to the gypsy lady or are you going to sacrifice all these people to the monsters? It’s your choice.”
Another ringing silence, made even deeper by the gentle sound of Marlena emptying her cup again.
Ian picked up his cup, leaned back in his chair and sipped the now cold tea. “Tell me what I need to know, Marlena. All of it.”
She nodded, her grin spreading across her face. “Not entirely a fool, are you boy? Now listen and listen well.
“There’s something old behind this, as I said. And I don’t know if it’s vampire - don’t get me wrong, it probably is, but it’s different from most by the feel, but that could just be age and power - old vampires can be a diverse and dangerous lot. I also don’t think he’s in the city - he’s pulling strings from afar, which is pretty bloody impressive, boy, as you know. Either way, he’s powerful, and if he’s outside the city, it’s not a big stretch to assume he has some power in other cities as well. As if that weren’t enough, I’m pretty sure he controls more than just vampires. There’s magic behind this. Powerful magic, lots of magic and a fair few different kinds. Blood magic, death magic and they’re just the ones I can name. It‘s hungry... curious... and it‘s theft”
“Have these people been taken for magical reasons? A sacrifice or something?” Lakshmi asked. Murderous vampire wizards? Did she want to sign up for this?
“Maybe, girl, maybe. I can’t rule it out, but I’m not certain and an assumption would be a bad idea, as our Mary would say.” Marlena turned back to Ian. “You’ve got wizards and vampires, and I don’t think you can rule out shape shifters either, not from what I’m reading. Go in armed for everything Ian, or don’t go in at all. I don’t want to hear that you were killed trying to bring down a werewolf with a wooden stake.”
Ian smiled, a little. “No, that would be an... embarrassing way to die. This creature sounds worse than anything I have ever faced - I do not wish to die until I have had chance to kill it.”
Marlena grinned. “That’s what I want to hear, boy. Probably the best assurance you can give me. OK, down to the brass tacks. One of the twin girls that have gone missing is by the river, surrounded by the arbour’s death, in the shadow of man’s labour sacrifice to vanity.”
Lakshmi groaned. “Father Michaels said you didn’t bother with silly mysticism.”
Marlena laughed. “No, girl, I don’t. But scrying tends to come like that - probably the world’s safe guard against anyone knowing too much. I’d check a timber warehouse next to a cosmetics mill on the river bank somewhere.”
Ian stood. “I need to prepare.” He turned and left, leaving Lakshmi to scurry after him, mumbling apologies and goodbyes to the laughing gypsy and curses after the departing hunter. She resolved to learn all she could about fighting, not just to fight the monsters, but also so one day she might be able to kick Ian’s arse. Just once.
Lakshmi was sulking. Even worse, she knew she was sulking and couldn’t seem to stop. She had spent the entire trek to Marlena’s trying to convince Ian that he should let her come with him to rescue these girls. He’d said no, said that she wasn’t ready, that she would endanger herself, the girls and him, that she had no chance against a vampire. He’d said it once then ignored her, not bothering to repeat himself no matter how much she complained. She hated it, she hated it all the more because he was right and treating her like a whining child - hated it still further that she half suspected she was acting like one.
When Lakshmi had first head of Marlena and her abilities, he expected her to live in a horse drawn wagon in the middle of a park or some public ground, perhaps surrounded by a troop of gypsies in bright clothes and long flowing skirts dancing around camp fires. It was almost disappointing to find out that Marlena lived in a cheap flat in one of the many run down apartment blocks in the city. Marlena always said that most real psychics weren’t very popular - people wanted convincing lies and pleasant, exciting fantasies, get someone with any real talent at seeing the future or talking to the dead and they usually didn’t want to know. They wanted the tarot to bring up trials, tribulations, death, love and wonder, not washing up, school runs and hours spent in front of the television as your buttocks grow steadily bigger and flabbier which is what the future holds for most people.
Of course, Marlena was a surprise as well. When thinking of a Romani mystics, Lakshmi normally thought of willowy, dark women with penetrating eyes dressed in flowing clothes, shawls and lots of fascinating jewellery while speaking mysteriously in a rolling eastern European accent. She did not expect a tall, rotund woman with rosy red cheeks, bright clothes, a wicked sense of humour and a broad northern accent. The only mysterious flickering light in her flat came from the dodgy electrics in her living room and though she did deal tarot cards she dealt them on a sensible dining room table and refused to get all dramatic because some upsetting major arcane happed to show its head. Marlena’s family had lived in England for four generations, she saw no reason to put on some absurd accent from some country she had never seen before to impress the gullible. She certainly had no time for anyone who tried to make magic and the next world supernatural or anything other than mundane.
Lakshmi gasped as the door to the flat opened before Ian had time to knock, Marlena standing there and treating them to the cynical smile that was never far from her face. Marlena grinned at Lakshmi and stepped forward, putting her weight on the squeaky floor boards in the hallway. “Could hear you a mile off, girl. Didn’t need to be psychic for that.” She pulled them inside with an expansive gesture, grin still merrily in place. “And good day to you boy, what have I done to deserve such a cheery house guest.”
“Father Michaels told you why I am here.”
“Aye, that he did, boy. Two poor girls got themselves dragged off by a vampire. And that’s not the half of it.”
She herded them into two heavily overstuffed armchairs with a truly hideous chintz pattern while managing to bustle forward with the tea tray at the same time. “By my reckoning there’s three, maybe four young girls and possibly the same again in boys been taken.”
Ian frowned, ignoring his tea. “Six to eight taken?”
The gypsy nodded, setting her chins wobbling. “That I know of. Odds are, if I can read eight being taken there’s probably a few more.”
“How come we’ve never heard of them?” Lakshmi asked, finally giving up stirring her tea. She was disappointed to find there were no tea leaves at all.
“Why should you have heard about them, girl?” Marlena half-laughed. “Murder’s not as rare as it used to be. Besides, media don’t report what it don’t know - and I reckon these guys got some major power behind them. Something old and rich - amazing what gets swept under the carpet if the rug’s expensive enough.”
“If the victims are all from deprived areas the police rarely overly concern themselves,” Ian added. “Nor does the media especially care. Disappearing people are assumed to have run away, committed suicide, or have been killed and the bodies well hidden. A missing person form is filled out and the police file it away. Possibly in the dustbin.”
“It’s not like they have much choice, girl.” Marlena said, patting Lakshmi’s hand.
Lakshmi swallowed, she knew the system didn‘t work in their favour, but.... “I meant why didn’t WE know. We have contacts, we look for the supernatural, we...”
“Are a few severely overworked, outnumbered amateurs doing our best.” Marlena amended, raising her tea cup in a toast. “The day you assume you know everything is the day the unknown kills you. Besides, this isn’t some hungry vamp carelessly picking off a few of the voiceless, though that’s bad enough. This is a whole new level above that.”
Ian frowned, “I need details, Marlena. I cannot fight a vague threat.”
“You can, you know.” She replied, simply “people do it every day. Facing vague fears, uncertainties, threats - we carry enough of them around with us in our own heads after all.” Ian’s frown deepened. “I know you don’t understand that much, boy. You run and hide from your daemons - spend your life distracting yourself so you can ignore their breath on the back of your neck, ignore their claws in your heart, their gaze on your soul.”
Her voice seemed to echo in the sudden, hungry, painful silence. Lakshmi held her breath, would Ian lose it? He wasn’t exactly stable... Ian’s face didn’t twitch from its frozen mask. “I need details to save or avenge these missing people. I need details so I can hunt down the creatures that are doing it and prevent them from doing it again. Do you have any?”
Marlena sighed heavily and filled her cup again. “I have some. Not much, boy. Not much, but maybe enough to help you with this distraction. First of all, I don’t think these kids have been taken for turning. Maybe they have, but it feels a lot larger than that.” She saw impatience flicker in Ian’s eyes. “I know you normally don’t care about they why, boy. But I think it matters in this case - hear me in this, this is not just ordinary vampires looking for food. There is something big and old and powerful behind this, you want to step carefully, boy. You don’t want to be caught in the middle of this, not unawares, boy.”
“I need details.” Ian repeated, flatly.
Marlena surged forward in her chair, stabbing at Ian with an accusing finger. “And you ain’t going to get them, boy, unless you listen to me and convince me it’s going into that thick skull of yours - if I have to ram it past the daemons myself.” Ian blinked, leaning back slightly from the infuriated gypsy. “Now you listen. I give you the details, you go in and may get one - and you listen now, boy, you won’t get them all at once, we don’t even know how many there are! You’ll get yourself one, boy. But if you’ve been a fool and treated this like any other kill, they’ll find you - yeah and they’ll fine me, and the pretty girl there,” she nodded to Lakshmi. “And me, and the old man in the church and probably everyone else we work with as well. And likely a few other passers by, just to make a point, boy.” Ian’s face remained a mask. Marlena leaned even closer, resting one thick arm on the coffee table between them. “You don’t care about your life, boy, I know that - death would be the ultimate way of hiding from your daemons. But you’ll be feeding us to an evil that makes everything else you’ve killed look like the Easter Bunny on happy pills. You may be tired of life, boy, and maybe even the poor girl there, she’s got the look of someone else hiding from her daemons and maybe even the old man is willing to give up the rest of his days - I’ve given up guessing how much he’s willing to give up, he has his own issues. But I ain’t ready to give it all up. Nor’s Kieran - he had folks who rely on him, nor Mary, one of the few people with integrity left in our justice system. And that’s saying nothing of all the people you will rescue or protect in the future, because if you throw your life away, boy, ain’t no-one else going to step into your shoes and pick up the slack.”
She took a deep breath, laying back in her chair. “So, boy, what’re you going to do? You going to listen to the gypsy lady or are you going to sacrifice all these people to the monsters? It’s your choice.”
Another ringing silence, made even deeper by the gentle sound of Marlena emptying her cup again.
Ian picked up his cup, leaned back in his chair and sipped the now cold tea. “Tell me what I need to know, Marlena. All of it.”
She nodded, her grin spreading across her face. “Not entirely a fool, are you boy? Now listen and listen well.
“There’s something old behind this, as I said. And I don’t know if it’s vampire - don’t get me wrong, it probably is, but it’s different from most by the feel, but that could just be age and power - old vampires can be a diverse and dangerous lot. I also don’t think he’s in the city - he’s pulling strings from afar, which is pretty bloody impressive, boy, as you know. Either way, he’s powerful, and if he’s outside the city, it’s not a big stretch to assume he has some power in other cities as well. As if that weren’t enough, I’m pretty sure he controls more than just vampires. There’s magic behind this. Powerful magic, lots of magic and a fair few different kinds. Blood magic, death magic and they’re just the ones I can name. It‘s hungry... curious... and it‘s theft”
“Have these people been taken for magical reasons? A sacrifice or something?” Lakshmi asked. Murderous vampire wizards? Did she want to sign up for this?
“Maybe, girl, maybe. I can’t rule it out, but I’m not certain and an assumption would be a bad idea, as our Mary would say.” Marlena turned back to Ian. “You’ve got wizards and vampires, and I don’t think you can rule out shape shifters either, not from what I’m reading. Go in armed for everything Ian, or don’t go in at all. I don’t want to hear that you were killed trying to bring down a werewolf with a wooden stake.”
Ian smiled, a little. “No, that would be an... embarrassing way to die. This creature sounds worse than anything I have ever faced - I do not wish to die until I have had chance to kill it.”
Marlena grinned. “That’s what I want to hear, boy. Probably the best assurance you can give me. OK, down to the brass tacks. One of the twin girls that have gone missing is by the river, surrounded by the arbour’s death, in the shadow of man’s labour sacrifice to vanity.”
Lakshmi groaned. “Father Michaels said you didn’t bother with silly mysticism.”
Marlena laughed. “No, girl, I don’t. But scrying tends to come like that - probably the world’s safe guard against anyone knowing too much. I’d check a timber warehouse next to a cosmetics mill on the river bank somewhere.”
Ian stood. “I need to prepare.” He turned and left, leaving Lakshmi to scurry after him, mumbling apologies and goodbyes to the laughing gypsy and curses after the departing hunter. She resolved to learn all she could about fighting, not just to fight the monsters, but also so one day she might be able to kick Ian’s arse. Just once.