Dark Redemption chpater 69: Guardian Angel

Beneath the gleaming skyscrapers and picturesque facade of the City of Redemption lies another city; a community of dark and ancient magic populated by creatures of the night. Dark Redemption is a shared-world novel based on an online role-playing game by James Crowther.

Reporter Cassandra True; with the help of Strephon, the semi-mortal half-fae, his disreputable cousin Devon, and the Jamaican wise woman Mrs. Simms, has managed to free her roommate, Cecilie, from the thrall of Cecilie’s vampire boyfriend, Philippe. Returning to her apartment, Cassandra finds Philippe outside waiting for her. Unexpected help arrives in the form of Saul, a co-worker of Cassandra’s.

Philippe curled his lip, exposing the full length of his fangs. “This is no business of yours,” he hissed.

Saul seemed unperturbed by Philippe’s display. “I’m making it my business,” he said coolly. “The lady wishes to be left alone. I think you ought to leave.:”

Cassandra’s heart thudded. What did Saul think he was doing? She slipped her keychain back into her purse – she didn’t think that jabbing Philippe with her housekey would faze the vampire much, and she didn’t really want to get within grappling distance of him – and felt for her can of pepper spray.

The two men locked gazes, it seemed like forever. Cassandra expected Philippe to lunge, but instead he was the first to back down. He gave a feral hiss and dashed away to the nearest patch of shadow. Cassandra watched him, and did not untense until he was completely out of sight.

“Saul, what did you think you were doing?”

He gave a bemused smile. “I happened to be in the neighborhood and noticed you seemed to be having problems.”

“Thank you, but that was extremely dangerous.”

“It seemed like the gentlemanly thing to do. I guess your friend, Strephon, is rubbing off on me.”

“Don’t joke about it.” Cassandra wrinkled her nose. “You just ‘happened’ to be in the neighborhood?”

“Well…” Saul admitted, “I actually did want to talk to you about something. Could we go inside?”

Cassandra felt her heart sank. She’d had so many intense talks these last few days, she wasn’t sure she could take another. Granted, she had initiated some of them herself, but still… “Please don’t tell me you love me. The last guy who told me that was that vampire.”

“What?” Saul gave a short, surprised laugh. “That’s not what I was going to say.”

A rather peculiar non-denial, Cassandra thought. But she told him to come with her and she let him into the apartment building.

They did not go up to her flat. “It’s a mess,” she explained. “Things have been crazy these past few days and I haven’t had time to do much cleaning.” The building had a lobby area just inside the entrance, which seemed like a good place to talk: semi-private, but not too intimate.

“That really was dangerous, what you just did,” Cassandra said, settling down into one of the lobby's uncomfortable vinyl chairs. “He really is a vampire.”

“I know.”

“You know? I thought you didn't believe in spooky stuff.”

“I never said I didn't believe in it; I said that it was a bad idea to write about it. Billy doesn't like it. Nor, I suspect, does the Celestial Mister Knox.”

“Why not? If there really are vampires and ghosts and werewolves running around in this city, don't people have a right to know about it?”

Saul leaned back and sighed. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “You know, don't you, that Aoi Kurayami takes out a quarter-page ad every issue for Club Cyba-Netsu and a half-page for our weekend edition.”

Cassandra didn't; but she immediately caught his point. “The first rule of journalism,” she groaned. “Never piss off the advertisers.”

“Precisely. And Kurayami's not the only one. Lukas Bianca is a werewolf and runs one of the biggest wolf packs in the city.”

“Head of the Redemption Decency League? That Lukas Bianca?”

“One and the same. And the CEO of the city's biggest public relations firms leads one of the other wolf packs. And the senior partner in one of our oldest legal firms is a werewolf too. And then there's your friend, Strephon...”

Cassandra blushed. “I know about Strephon.”

“Did he tell you, I wonder? Or did you have to work it out on your own?”

The conversation was beginning to take an uncomfortable turn. “You seem to know a lot about it,” Cassandra said.

“Ah. And there we get to what I wanted to talk about.” Saul glanced around him. The lobby was empty. He raised his hand with a sharp motion and seemed to mutter something under his breath. Suddenly, a folded copy of the Morning Star rose into the air and darted into his hand.

“You're... a wizard?”

“The traditional term is 'warlock', but 'wizard' is more popular these days. Thank you J.K. Rowling.” He folded the newspaper and set it on the coffee table.

“And you didn't tell me.”

“Well, I barely knew you at first. And we like to keep these things to ourselves. Witch-burnings may seem like ancient history to you and me, but there are some in our community who can remember them happening and know it could happen again.”

Cassandra bit her lip. What he said made sense. “Then why are you telling me now?”

“Because you've entered the Hidden World already. You've encountered creatures of magic on your own; and your experiences have put you in danger. “ Saul gave a self-deprecating smile. “I hope you don't think me too stalkerish if I tell you I've been trying to keep an eye on you..”

“No, no...” Cassandra said vaguely but with little conviction.

“I really have been worried about you, Cassandra. You're dealing with beings of great power. I don't think you fully ken what you've gotten into.”

“Good grief, am I the only normal person around here? It seems like everybody around me is a fairy or a vampire or a werewolf or a warlock or something. Where do you all come from? Or has Redemption always been like this?”

“The Hidden World has always been around, but most people are unaware it exists; or at best, only vaguely aware. But this city has perhaps more of it than others. You know something of the history of Redemption?”

“It was built on the site of an old shrine, wasn't it? The Shrine of the Holy Redemption.”

“The shrine was built on an old pagan site; a lot of old churches were; partially to exorcise the old magic and partially to appropriate it. And the pagan shrine was chosen because it was a magical nexus; a place where the line of magical force intersect and converge. These intersections are natural sources of magical power, and so creatures of magic will naturally gravitate towards them. Back in the really old times, the Faerie Court used to start its Wild Hunts from the spot where today they sell tourists 'Redemption Castle' paperweights.”

That was something else she'd have to ask Strephon about. “What do you think I should do?” Cassandra said quietly.

“I want to give you this.” Saul reached into his pocket and fished out a round, smooth object, something like a billiard ball, made of a translucent, purplish stone. It had a peculiar symbol Cassandra did not recognize carved into it. He placed the stone in her hands. “It's a talisman. It will guard you against baleful magics.”

She looked at the stone, and then to him. “You're kidding, right?”

“I am not kidding. This is serious, Cassandra. I mean it. You're dealing with vampires; you're dealing with ghosts and sorceries. You need to be safe.”

A week ago, Cassandra wouldn't have believed it. Even today, after all she'd seen, the thought of Saul being a sorcerer seemed ludicrous. And yet...

She closed the purple stone in her hand. “Thank you,” she said.

“And listen. If you ever need any help, whatsoever, you know how to get in touch with me.” He squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.

A week ago that squeeze and that smile would have made Cassandra melt inside. But too much had happened in the past few days; too much and too fast. She needed time to sort things out. She returned his smile with a nod and a week smile of her own; then retreated to the elevator.

Dark Redemption chapter 68: Unwanted Advances

Beneath the gleaming skyscrapers and picturesque facade of the City of Redemption lies another city; a community of dark and ancient magic populated by creatures of the night. Dark Redemption is a shared-world novel based on an online role-playing game by James Crowther.

Reporter Cassandra True has finally discovered the secret of her mysterious acquaintance, the reclusive Strephon Mackenzie, a semi-immortal half-fae.  With the help of Strephon’s snarky cousin Devon, and the Jamaican wise woman Grandma Simms, they have staged an intervention to free Cassandra’s roommate Cecilie from the thrall of a vampire.

The cool of the morning, following the early showers, had turned hot and sticky by mid-day. Descending from the air-conditioned bus seemed like wading into a vat of warm spit.  Cassandra would have liked to remain with Strephon a bit longer, but he said he had another errand to run and reminded her that she needed to write and file her story about the craft fair in the park, and that she had promised to collect some of Cecilie’s things from their flat.  Cassandra wasn’t sure how she felt about Cecilie going off with Strephon’s cousin.  Strephon obviously disapproved of him, but seemed to regard him as the lesser evil compared to Philippe.

As she approached her flat, she noticed a person in sunglasses and a hooded sweatshirt, it’s hood tightly tied obscuring most of his face, leaning against the building in the narrow strip of early afternoon shade.   Cassandra wondered how he – she assumed it was a he, anyway – could stand being dressed so warmly on such a steamy day.  He seemed to be loitering with a distinct purpose, and Cassandra had a disturbing feeling that he was watching her.  She shifted the keychain in her hand so that door key stuck out from between her first and second fingers, they way they’d told her in self-defense class; and resolutely proceeded towards the building, keeping him in view but avoiding eye contact.   As she neared, the man spoke to her.

“Cassandra?  Hello!” He gave her an ingratiating smile, partially obscured by the hoodie.

“Philippe,” Cassandra said.  “I didn’t expect to see you here.  I thought… your kind couldn’t go out in the daytime.”

“That’s a myth,” Philippe said.

Cassandra noted that he was also wearing heavy gloves and his nose was slathered with zinc oxide.  “Aren’t you a little bit warm in that outfit?”

“Well… it was raining earlier, and the weather is so chancy.”  He took a step towards her, but remained in the shadow.  “I was hoping to talk to Cecilie, but she doesn’t seem to be in.”

Cassandra remained where she was in the sunlight.  “She’s gone out of town.  I don’t think she wants to see you anymore.”  That was mostly true.

Philippe made a noise that might have been a hiss or maybe just a sharp intake of breath.  “Well.  That’s too bad.  I handled things badly last night and I did want to explain.  But you know, perhaps it is better this way.”  He inched a little bit closer, and his voice dropped down so that Cassandra almost took a step towards him herself to hear him better.  She caught herself in time.  That would be a bad idea.

“You see, I wasn’t sure how I could tell her,” Philippe continued.  “Attraction is such a mysterious thing, and hard to fathom, let alone explain.  And yet from the moment I saw you last night, I felt a strange fascination.  Perhaps you felt it too…”

Good grief, Cassandra realized, he’s trying to seduce me.  And listening to his voice, he was almost persuasive.  But then Cassandra focused on his hoodie and his ridiculous nose.  He looked for all the world like Claude Rains, the Hip-Hop Years.  “I think you are mistaken,” she said firmly.  “If you will excuse me…”

“Wait.”  Philippe reached out into the sunlight and seized her by the arm.  “I’ve been waiting out her so long, and as you said, it is warm out here.  Perhaps you might invite me in?”

His smile widened; not enough to show the points of his teeth, but Cassandra knew they were there.  She felt her flesh creep and she felt an overpowering urge to get away from him.

“I don’t think so.”  Cassandra pulled her arm away from him, causing him to stumble into the sun.

Philippe winced.  He didn’t burst into flames or disintegrate into dust they way Cassandra hoped he might; but he clearly did not like it.  Apparently the movies were wrong about these things.

“Please, Cassandra… I love you.”  He removed his sunglasses and gazed at her with soulful, if bloodshot and watering eyes.

The audacity of this declaration caught Cassandra by surprise, and she felt the force of his charisma bearing down on her like physical pressure.  But did he really think she would fall for his wounded puppy routine?    Her instincts told her to run away, but on impulse she decided to try something else.  “Are you going to offer me Essence, like you did Cecilie?”

Ah, that worried the little weasel.  He withdrew just a hair.  “She told you about that, did she?”

“She did.”

“Of course, that experience is not one I would share with just anybody; but you, Cassandra; you I think possess the depth of soul to truly appreciate it.” He advanced again, no longer letting the sunshine hold him back.

Cassandra retreated a step.  “And is Kurayami aware you’re dealing Essence?”

Philippe stopped again.  Now she saw fear in his eyes.  “The Lady Kurayami does not concern herself with my personal life.”

“I thought as much.”  Now it was time to get away from him; but Cassandra suddenly found that she could not move her feet.  She seemed rooted to the sidewalk; she had tarried too long.

“Nor will you be bothering her with it.”  Anger tinged his voice now and he bared his teeth as he advanced to attack.

“Pardon, mate,” said a voice from behind Cassandra.  “Aren’t you out past your bedtime?”

It was Saul. 

Dark Redemption chapter 67: Three's a Charm

Beneath the gleaming skyscrapers and picturesque facade of the City of Redemption lies another city; a community of dark and ancient magic populated by creatures of the night. Dark Redemption is a shared-world novel based on an online role-playing game by James Crowther.

Strephon MacKenzie, a semi-immortal half-fae, has finally admitted his supernatural heritage to his uncomfortably close acquaintance Cassandra True, (mainly because she’s guessed much of it already).  But Cassandra has more pressing concerns:  her roommate, Cecilie, has fallen under the spell of a vampire.  She has taken Cecilie to Mrs. Simms, a sorceress in the local Jamaican community and a friend of Strephon’s.  As Strephon questions her, his cousin Devon arrives.

“Please tell me this has something to do with your investigation,” Devon said, peering over Strephon’s shoulder to get a better look at Cecilie’s décolletage.

Strephon gave a snort and pretended to be taking Cecilie’s pulse.  “This young lady is under the thrall of a vampire and at Miss True’s request I am endeavoring to help.  I would appreciate your assistance.”  Cecile seemed not to notice him taking her wrist; her attention seemed completely riveted by Devon’s arrival.  How odd, Strephon thought.  Just a moment before it had been fixed on him.

“So the answer is no.”

Strephon felt himself losing patience.  “Lord Melchior has dealings with vampires.  The Lady Kurayami is a business associate of his.  And this young woman fell in with the vampires at Madame Kurayami’s club.  So the answer to your question is yes, this does have something to do with my investigation.”

Devon seemed about to retort with something sarcastic, but must have thought better of it.  “Very well.  How can I help?”

“Something seems odd about her aura.  What do you make of it?”

Devon gave a cautious glance over at Mrs. Simms, who glared at him with matriarchal disapproval, and then at Cassandra, who merely looked at him expectantly.  He stepped back and slowly walked around Cecilie, peering at her over his sunglasses.  Cecilie blushed and straightend, obviously enjoying the attention.  She pursed her lips in a coquettish smile.  She was flirting with him, Strephon thought.  And Devon was flirting back, the cad!  And after all the comments Devon had made about his own romantic entanglements. 

“May we… speak freely?” Devon said at last.

Strephon divined his meaning.  “Everyone here knows what we are.”

“Ah.  Good.  Well, the influence of the vampire is obvious.  Her aura shows signs of her being drained.  Psychic anemia, one might call it.  But there’s something else as well.  You haven’t been tupping her too, have you, Strephon?”

Strephon slammed his hands down against the armrests of his wheelchair.  “Good God, Devon!  I will thank you to remember that there are ladies present!  If you must descend to obscenity, kindly refrain from doing so in the language of Shakespeare!”

He couldn’t be sure, but he suspected that behind his sunglasses, his cousin was rolling his eyes.  “C'est mieux comme ca?”

“Marginally.”

“Bon d'accord, mais tu n'as pas répondu a ma question.”

Strephon gathered his temper, and replied in French.  “Je n'ai définitivement pas été intime avec Mademoiselle Draper. Ni avec Mademoiselle True, Madame Simms, Camilla Parker-Bowles, ou autre femme que tes intérés lubriques puissent suggérer!”

He would have gone on, but an impatient scowl from Mrs. Simms checked him.  Cecilie was obviously confused by this sudden torrent of a foreign language, but Cassandra frowned.  Evidently she remembered more of her schoolgirl French and had followed the gist of the exchange.

Devon gave an infuriatingly Gallic shrug.  “Comme tu veux. Mais l'aura de cette jeune dame a des fortes traces de magie féerique. C'est surprenant que tu ne l'as pas remarqué.”

“Faerie magic?”  Strephon furrowed his brow and looked at Cecily again.  Devon was right, damn his eyes.  How could he have missed that.  “I supposed she couldn’t have picked it up indirectly, from shaking my hand, say, or touching my wheelchair…?”  He doubted this was the case, but he had to ask.

“Regarde pour toi-même. C'est en elle: l'essence de féerie est dans son sang.”   Cecilie started at that.  Had she understood Devon?  “C'est comme si elle avait eu une grandmère fée,”  Devon continued.  “Ca ne serait pas la première fois.”

“That’s quite enough,” Strephon grumped.  “Your are tiresome enough in English.  In French you’re tiresome and pretentious.”

“Did he say… essence…?” Cecilie said.

Strephon and his cousin looked at her sharply, and she shrunk a bit in her chair.  “It’s just that… well…”

“Out with it, child,” Grandma Simms said.  “It’s about time someone said something sensible here.”

Devon pulled a chair up in front of Cecilie and sat down.  He placed his sunglasses in his coat pocket and took her hands in his.  “You must tell us,” he said, gazing into her eyes with a semblance of earnestness.  “We’re here to help you.”

Strephon expected her to protest, and for a moment she seemed to tense.  “Essence is what Philippe called it; the stuff he gave me.”

“I knew it!” Cassnadra muttered under her breath.

“It’s not a drug,” Cecilie insisted.  “Ms Kurayami doesn’t permit them at her club.  Philippe explained it to me.  It’s an enhancer.”

Strephon glanced over at Cassandra, who pursed her lips as if holding back an injudicious comment.  Devon gave Cecilie’s hand a squeeze.  “Tell us more about this… Essence.  It’s important that we know.”

Cecilie hesitated.  “Philippe said I wasn’t to tell anyone about it.  But…”  Her gaze was transfixed by Devon’s and Strephon could sense her resistance melting.  “It’s like this nectar, the color of lavender and it comes in these tiny little vials; and it tastes like thrills and fireworks and every flower you can think of..  It makes everything more… more…”  she trailed off in a vague state of blissful abstraction.

“More magical?” Devon suggested.

Cecilie’s eyes brightened.  “That’s it!  More magical!  You understand!”

Strephon fidgeted in his wheelchair, but Cecilie, ignoring him, continued.  “Each night after we left the club, we’d go to his place and he’d give me some of the Essence and then we’d f---“  Cecilie caught Strephon’s eye and checked herself.  “We’d make love.  And after that… he’d bite me,” she finished in a quieter tone.

“I see.”

Strephon leaned closer to Devon and in a low voice said, “Well, this explains a lot:.  She was flirting with me earlier and I don’t think she even realized she was doing it.  You are right; she’s clearly been exposed to faerie magic and is reacting to its presence.  She’s come to associate it with… well, with…”

“Sex,”

Devon put it more bluntly than Strephon liked, but decided to waive the point.  “As you said.”

“Quite interesting, don’t you think?” Devon added casting a speculative glance back at Cecilie.

“Don’t tell me you intend to take advantage of that girl!”

“Of course not.  I intend to take advantage of the situation.  Listen, we both agree that the girl’s present paramour is unhealthy for her.  What’s wrong with showing her, as the poet says, that there are lots of good fish in the sea?”

“Are you French?” Cecilie interrupted.  “You’re really sexy when you talk French.”

Devon favored her with a seductive smile and squeezed her hand.  “I can be anything you want me to be, ma chère.”

For someone who was always going on about Strephon’s social life, Devon seemed to be enjoying himself much more than was seemly.  “If I might speak with you privately,” Strephon said crossly.  “And Miss True?”

The cramped break room offered little scope for privacy, but Devon cast a simple glamour on Cecilie, rendering her blissfully oblivious to their conversation.

“So what is this ‘Essence’ stuff anyway?”  Cassandra asked.

“A distillation of faerie magic, unless I miss my guess; which the vampires are using as a drug.” Strephon replied.

Devon disagreed.  “Except that vampires are allergic to faerie magic.  They are unlife, and the raw magic of faerie is anathema to them.  Like sunlight.  That’s why vampires don’t drink the blood of fae.”

“Is that so?  I didn’t know that.”

“Really, what do they teach in your English schools, Strephon?”

“Only trivial things like Virgil and Magna Carta.  May we get back to the point?”

“Cecilie didn’t say that Philippe took the Essence himself,” Cassandra reminded them, “just that he gave it to her.  Maybe it’s safe for vampires when it’s been ingested by a human and metabolized in her blood.  Does that make sense?”

“That could be,” Devon mused.  “I don’t know that anybody’s ever made the experiment.”

“We have Miss Draper’s testimony that someone has..”

“So is Melchior supplying Kurayami with this Essence?”

“Kurayami says she doesn’t allow drugs in her club,” Cassandra said, “and Cecilie says the same.”

“I’m not sure if Melchior is involved with this at all,” Strephon admitted.

“There seems to be quite a bit of faerie magic going about these days.  Melchior is selling faerie computer games to mortals, and someone is selling faerie drugs to vampires.  There must be some connection.”

“That’s not all,” Strephon reminded him.  “One of the werewolf packs have been wearing collars inscribed with faerie runes.  I suppose, though, that could be a coincidence.”

Devon turned grave.  “They don’t teach you enough in English schools.  Twice may be a coincidence, but three times is always a charm.” 

Dark Redemption chapter 66: Second Thoughts

Beneath the gleaming skyscrapers and picturesque facade of the City of Redemption lies another city; a community of dark and ancient magic populated by creatures of the night. Dark Redemption is a shared-world novel based on an online role-playing game by James Crowther.

Strephon MacKenzie, a semi-immortal half-fae, has finally admitted his supernatural heritage to his uncomfortably close acquaintance Cassandra True, (mainly because she’s guessed much of it already).  But Cassandra has more pressing concerns:  her roommate, Cecilie, has fallen under the spell of a vampire.  She has taken Cecilie to Mrs. Simms, a sorceress in the local Jamaican community and a friend of Strephon’s.

“It’s about time you showed up,: Grandma Simms sniffed as Cassandra wheeled Strephon into the Friendlee-Mart.

“I came as soon as I heard, and I regret not having come sooner,” Strephon said contritely.

Mrs. Simms gave a grunt to acknowledge that Strephon had apologized, but that she was by no means going to let him off the hook so easily.  “Come along,” she said.  “Cassandra’s friend is in the back.”  She turned and called out to a girl in a blue apron stocking a display of tinned meats.  “Theodora?  Mind the cash register ‘till I get back.”

“Yes, Grams,” the girl replied.

The employee break room of the Friendlee-Mart was a cozy affair, barely large enough to accommodate tow vending machines, a microwave and a smallish table.  Cecilie sat at the table, where she was occupying herself by drawing facial hair on pictures of the Prime Minister in the previous day’s copy of the Daily Oracle.  She got to her feet when Mrs. Simms led Cassandra and Strephon in.

“I’ve changed my –“ she started to say; then stopped.  “You brought Strephon.”

Cassandra grimaced.  “His name is… wait, you got it right.  You never call Strephon by his right name.”

 “Of course I did.  What else could he be?  He looks like a Strephon.”

Strephon had only met Cecilie very briefly and she’d seemed to him rather flighty.  Still, he told himself not to make snap judgements.  Cecilie gave him an odd, speculative look that make Strephon feel uncomfortable, so he changed the subject..  “You were about to say…?”

“Oh, yeah.”  Cecilie turned to Cassandra.  “I’ve been thinking, Sandy, about last night.  I kinda over-reacted.  Maybe if I just talked to Philippe, he could explain things…”

“I’m sure he could,” Cassandra replied dryly.

Mrs. Simms grumbled.  “She been doin’ this all morning.  Back and forth.  ‘Oh, I was so mean to Philippe!  How can he forgive me?’   ‘He been usin’ me!  I got to stay away!’  Make up your mind, child!”

“I think I understand,” Strephon said quietly.  “Last night you made a decision and now you’re not sure if it was the right one.  You are afraid of doing something irrevocable.  Am I correct?”

Cecilie brightened.  “That’s exactly it!”

“But that is precisely why you ought to wait a bit and think things over, Miss Cecilie.  If you don’t mind the familiarity.  I don’t believe Cassandra ever told me your given name.”

“It’s Draper.  But you can call me Cecilie.  I don’t mind.”  She had that same vexing, speculative look in her eye that Strephon had been trying to discourage in Cassandra.  He noted that Cassandra had observed the look too and did not care for it either.  Strephon firmly steered the conversation back to the subject.

“The point is, Miss Draper, that if you do eventually decide to return to your lover, he will still be there.  I daresay he will wait for you.  If he doesn’t, he’s clearly unworthy of your affections and you’re better off without him, vampire or no.  But once you return to him, if that’s what you do, there will be no turning back.  He made a mistake with you last night; he will not make it again.  He will not let you go. You will be his thing, until he finally decides to discard you.  So I implore you, Miss Draper, to consider long and hard before you… Miss Draper…?

She was staring at him intently but did not seem to be listening.  “You never told me he was sexy, Sandy.”

Cassandra emitted an incoherent squeak.  Then she said, “Oh, I get it.  This is payback for my flirting with Philippe last night!”

“What?  No!  What are you saying?”

“Can we keep to business?” Mrs. Simms snapped.  “I got me a store to run!”

Strephon frowned.  There was definitely something peculiar about Miss Draper;  something he didn’t remember noticing on their first meeting. Something peculiar, and yet maddeningly familiar; something about her that he felt he ought to recognize.

“I never thought I’d say this,” he muttered to himself, “But I wish Devon were here.”

A sarcastic voice behind him spoke:  “You rang?”

Strephon looked over his shoulder and saw a shadow by the vending machine take form and solidify into a black-coat and sunglasses around and Devon’s cynical smile.

“Ah,” Strephon said; “Speak of the Devil.”

Dark Redemption chapter 65: Moving On

Beneath the gleaming skyscrapers and picturesque facade of the City of Redemption lies another city; a community of dark and ancient magic populated by creatures of the night. Dark Redemption is a shared-world novel based on an online role-playing game by James Crowther.

Strephon MacKenzie, a semi-immortal half-fae, has finally admitted his supernatural heritage to Cassandra, (mainly because she’s guessed much of it already).

Strephon noticed a confused-looking lad walking slowly by.  He seemed to be looking for something and from his gait, Strephon guessed that it was probably a lavatory.  That was the third bewildered market-goer he’d seen in the past few minutes and he realized with a guilty start that his spell of concealment had extended to the garish porta-loo behind which he and Cassandra were conversing.  “Perhaps we ought to move,” he suggested.

He permitted Cassandra to push his wheelchair down the sidewalk and out of the park.  “So when you took me to that party at Mr. Aeserman’s…” Cassandra said, “that was for your investigation?”

“Yes.”

“I guess I messed it up.”

“Not at all.  You were quite helpful.”

If Cassandra thought he was just being gallant, she didn’t say so.  “Is Ms Kurayami involved with Aesermann too?”

“She does business with him, but she’s curious as to his true motives as well.  Why do you ask?”

“Well, she was also at Aesermann’s party, remember?  And, well…”  Cassandra paused, and then in a rush she spilled out Cecily’s story.

Strephon pursed his lips.  He was glad that from behind his wheelchair Cassandra could not read his expression.  When she finished, he said, “That was quite dangerous, but you seem to acquitted yourself well.  Where is your flatmate now>”

“We decided it might not be safe to go home.  Philippe knows where she lives, see?  And she wasn’t sure if he showed up there that she wouldn’t let him in.”

Strephon nodded.  In his career as a barrister, he’d known of women who had left abusive marriages, only to return to their abusers; convinced against all reason that he had changed or that he hadn’t really meant it.  And those were mere human brutes, lacking a vampire’s powers of charm and seduction.

“…So I took her to Grandma Simm.”

“A wise choice.”  Inwardly, though, Strephon squirmed.  Grandmama Simms would undoubtedly give him a thorough chastisement next time they met for not taking better care of Cassandra.  But damme, how was he to know?  She could have told him her roommate was involved with vampires.  She should have told him!  Why hadn’t she trusted him?  Then again, had he given her reason to?

“Well then,” he said at last.  “It looks like a trip to Grandmama Simms is in order.”

“I don’t want to put you out.”  Did Strephon detect a hopeful tone in her voice?

“Nonsenes.  You seem to be handling your vampire situation quite admirably.  I’m afraid I underestimate how resourceful young women are these days.  But Mrs. Simms will have words to say to me about the subject, and I should hate to deny her the chance to say I told you so.”

As they left the secluded corner of the park behind them, a bit of green in the nearby foliage shimmered and a spent cigarette dropped, seemingly from nowhere, onto the sidewalk.  Saul Taylor dropped his own concealment spell and ground out the butt with the toe of his shoe.  Damn.  Obviously this was significant development on the Cassandra/Strephon front.  And just when he thought he had gotten Cassandra to trust him.  If only he could have heard more of their conversation; but he had been afraid that if he’d gotten too close that damn half-fae would have spotted his spell.

Well, it couldn’t be helped now.  Still, Saul mused, this new development could be useful.

Dark Redemption chapter 60: Three's a Crowd

Beneath the gleaming skyscrapers and picturesque facade of the City of Redemption lies another city; a community of dark and ancient magic populated by creatures of the night. Dark Redemption is a shared-world novel based on an online role-playing game by James Crowther.

Cassandra True has followed her roommate Cecily to the Cyba-Netsu, a local club frequented by vampires and other exotic people.  She has learned that Cecily has been seeing a vampire there, and Cassandra hopes to save her.  Miss Kurayami has warned Cassandra not to interfere with her friend’s love life, and so Cassandra decides on another course of action.

“Oh, my god.”

“What is it?”  Philippe looked around the club floor.

Cecily crouched down, trying to hide behind the screen on her table’s laptop.  “It’s my roommate, Cassandra,” she whispered.  What was she doing here?

She saw Cassandra come out of Kurayami’s office and look around the dance floor.  Cecily tried to sink lower in her seat, but it was too late; Cassandra’s gaze met hers and she strode purposefully towards their table.

“Hullo, Cecily!” Cassandra said cheerily.  “I was hoping I’d find you here!  This must be Philippe.”

Philippe rose and gave Cassandra a half-bow.  “Your servant.  And you must be Cecily’s friend, Cassandra,” he said in the suave, Continental tone that made Cecily melt inside when he directed it at her, but made her feel quite differently when spoken to her roommate.

“What are you doing here, Sandy?” Cecily said through gritted teeth.

“I decided you were right.  It’s not fair for me to judge your friend before I’ve even met him.  So, if it’s all right with you, I thought I might join you.”  Cassandra grabbed a chair from a nearby table and sat down between Cecily and Philippe.

It was not all right with Cecily, but Philippe said, “We’d be delighted and sat back down.

“Then we’ll make it a three-way.”  Cassandra giggled.  “I mean, a threesome.”

Cecily frowned.  That remark was so unlike Sandy.  “Have you been drinking?’

“I have not,” Cassandra insisted.  “Just one Nuzzy Fable.  Fipple.  One Fuzzy Navel.”  Cassandra giggled again.  Yes, Cecily was sure now; Cassandra was pretending to be drunk.  Now she was unbuttoning the collar of her blouse, that silly high-collared thing that she thought made her look professional but really made her look more virginal than usual.  “Whew!  It’s so warm in here!”

Good grief, how unsubtle could she get?  But Philippe seemed to be eating it up.  “Another Fuzzy Navel for this lady here,” he told a passing waiter.

Philippe couldn’t keep his eyes off Cassandra’s cleavage.  No, not her cleavage, that peculiar amulet she was wearing.  Where did she get it?  Cecily didn’t remember seeing it before.

Then Philippe turned his attention to Cecily again and in an instant all her jealousy evaporated.  Of course he loved her.  How could she think otherwise?  She relaxed a bit.  But then his gaze returned to Cassandra.

“So I understand you’re a vampire,” Sandy was saying.  “Tell me a bit more about it.  I expect most of what I know is wrong.”

“Well, to begin with, we dislike the term ‘Vampires.’  It has such a superstitious connotation.  We prefer to call ourselves The Kindred.”

“That is so fascinating!” 

Cecily scowled at that. Cassandra wouldn’t find it fascinating; she would find it pretentious.  She’d figured out Sandy’s game now; she was trying to break the two of them up. Well, it wouldn’t work.  But why didn’t Philippe see that?  And why he focusing on that amulet and why did he seem so tense?

“What an interesting charm you’re wearing,” Philippe said at last.

“Oh, this?”  Cassandra seemed to notice what he was staring at for the first time.  “A friend gave this to me.  For protection, she said.  But we’re all friends here, right?  I’m sure I don’t need it.”  She unfastened the amulet and set it down on the table.  Philippe seemed to relax.

They chatted some more and Cassandra slipped deeper and deeper into her Fuzzy Navel.  Cecily was still sure she was only pretending to be tipsy.

“Would you excuse me?” Cassandra said suddenly.  “I have to visit the Little Girl’s Room.  I always get turned around in this place; where is it?”  She stood up abruptly and teetered a little.

Philippe rose immediately and steadied her elbow.  “I was on my way there myself.  Let me show you.”

His offer was like cold water in Cecily’s face.  He was going to bite Cassandra.  She knew it.  How could he do that?  Cecily wanted him to bite her.  She was expecting it.  She was waiting for it.  And now he would be drinking from Sandy, his lips at Sandy’s throat.  It wasn’t right!

Cecily was about to say something, when Cassandra scooped up the amulet from the table and placed it in her palm.  “Take care of this,” Cassandra said softly, her voice suddenly sober.  “Keep it safe.  Please.”  She closed Cecily’s hands over the charm; then she lurched towards the lavatories.

Philippe came close after her, but first also paused by Cecily and brought his lips close to her neck.  “I won’t be long.”  His breath was cool and sweet on her flesh.  “I haven’t forgotten you darling.”  Again, all her suspicion and mistrust ebbed from her, replaced by a sense of blissful anticipation.  How could she doubt him?

He gave Cecily’s hand a pat.  “And dispose of that, will you?” 

The chill returned.  Cecily watched Philippe escort Cassandra towards the back of the club.  Then she opened her hand and looked at the amulet.  Sandy told her to keep it safe.  Obviously, it was a charm to protect her from vampires.  And Philippe had told her to throw it away.  Cassandra was trying to play some sort of game here.  But she had also trusted Cecily.

She did not throw it away. Instead,  Cecily fastened the amulet around her own neck.

Immediately, a strange clarity seemed to come over her. She still loved Philippe, and desired his touch on her throat; but for the first time she realized that his regard for her was purely nutritional.  He was going to enthrall Cassandra; and then he was going to take both of the back to his flat and feed on them both.. And she wouldn’t even be sharing him with Cassandra, because he belonged to neither of them; they belonged to him.  And despite how wrong she felt this to be, Cecily knew she would welcome it, and he would make love to them, and he would offer Sandy some Essence…

No.  She couldn’t let Cassandra do this.  She rushed to the back of the club to the alcove in front of the lavatories.  Cassandra was backed up against the wall, with Philippe standing over her cooing tender blandishments and drawing closer to her carotid artery..  In Cassandra’s face Cecily saw the same mixture of dread and desire that had paralyzed her so often.

“Sandy?  I was thinking,” Cecily said, and the Vampire’s spell was broken.  “Neither one of us got much sleep last night.  Maybe it would be a good idea to call it a night.”

Cassandra blinked, as if confused.  Then slid away from Philippe to Cecily’s side.

“I could call you a cab,” Philippe offered.

“That’s okay.  We’ll manage.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”  Cecily put her arm around Cassandra and escorted her out of the club.

“Thanks,” Cassandra said.  “I thought I could hold out against him.  It was harder than I thought.  I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how it was.”

“It’s okay,” Cecily said.  “We’ll get you home.”  Already she was beginning to regret leaving Philippe.  She had so looked forward to later.  Still, there would be tomorrow night; and she did have a responsibility to Sandy.

“Funny,”  Cassandra said as they walked out into the evening drizzle.  “I thought I was coming to the club to rescue you.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Cecily said.

A taxi cab pulled up alongside the sidewalk by them, and a big black cabbie rolled down the window.

“Tobias!”  Cassandra said.

“Grams told me you might need a lift about now,” the cabbie said.

This made no sense to Cecily, but it seemed to make sense to Cassandra.  In any case, she was glad to get out of the rain.

Dark Redemption chapter 59: Into the Lioness' Den

Beneath the gleaming skyscrapers and picturesque facade of the City of Redemption lies another city; a community of dark and ancient magic populated by creatures of the night. Dark Redemption is a shared-world novel based on an online role-playing game by James Crowther.

Cassandra True has discovered that her roommate Cecily has become involved with a vampire at a local club called the Cyba-Netsu .  Her attempt to discuss the situation with Cecily has gone badly and ended up as a quarrel.  She decides that she will have to go to the club herself and speak with its owner, a powerful vampire named Kuraymi .

“There is somebody watching the club from across the street.”

Kurayami looked up from her invoices.  “You are sure, Seymour?”

The club’s bouncer nodded curtly.  “She’s been sitting at the bus stop for over an hour now.  Three busses have gone by and she’s still there.”

“Do you recognize her?”

“Yes.  She has been here before.  She is Miss Cecily’s friend.”

Kurayami brought her pencil to her lips thoughtfully.  “Yes, the reporter.  She is also a friend of Mister MacKenzie.”  Seymour stood over her waiting mutely as she considered the matter.  “”It is a cold, damp night.  Invite her in.  Politely.  Bring her here to my office.”

Seymour nodded again and turned to leave.

“And Seymour,” Kurayami added, “bring her in the side door; not through the club.”

• * * * *

Cassandra had not intended to confront Kurayami this quickly.  She had planned to just watch and see when Cecily went in and came out again and maybe get a good look at Phillipe.  She’d also hoped that in her overcoat and sunglasses, she’d be nicely inconspicuous.  In retrospect, she realized that was a mistake.  When the club bouncer came out to her and offered her and umbrella and invited her in, there seemed little point in refusing..

“How pleasant to see you again,” Kurayami said as the bouncer escorted Cassandra into her office.  “Do have a seat.”

Cassandra gingerly sat down in the chair the looming bouncer placed for her and accepted the fuzzy navel from the tray he offered,  “Thank you,” she said.  She felt the same unease as she’d felt when visiting Mrs. Morrigan; the sensation that she was entering a spider’s web.  Still, she couldn’t back down now.

“You may remove your coat if you like.  Please, make yourself comfortable.”

Actually, Cassandra would have felt more comfortable with the coat on, but acceded to Kurayami’s request.  She thought she caught the hint of a smirk on Kurayami’s face as she unbuttoned her overcoat and revealed the high-collared blouse she was wearing.  It had seemed an obvious precaution at home when she was getting ready to go out; now it seemed childishly futile.  The smirk disappeared when Cassandra unbuttoned the coat further, revealing the medallion Grandma Simms had given her.

“Should I be carrying a crucifix?” she had asked Grandma Simms.

“You say your prayers before going to bed every night?  You go to church every Sunday?”

“Um… well…”

“A cross be no good luck charm.  You can’t impress a vampire by pretending.  This might help, though.”  Grandma Simms had pressed the medallion into her hands. “ I
It has spells on it to repel the undead.  Might not stop a powerful vampire like Kurayami, but it’ll give her something to think about.”

Kurayami seemed to be thinking now.  She gave an annoyed frown and Cassandra thought she heard a sharp intake of breath like a hiss.  Kurayami’s glance darted to her sharply.  After a longish pause that made Cassandra’s throat feel dry, Kurayami said, “So.  That’s how it is.”

Cassandra nodded and hazarded a sip of the fuzzy navel.

“And my I ask you what brings you to my club this evening?  You know you are welcome to come inside whenever we are open.”

Cassandra took a deep breath.  “I’m sure you remember my friend Cecily.  She comes here often.  She’s been seeing a lot lately of this guy she met here named Philippe.  I don’t think we need to pretend he’s not a vampire.”

There.  She’d said it. Cassandra felt her cheeks burn under Kurayami’s relentless gaze; did that lady ever blink?  But at least it was all out in the open.

Kurayami did not respond immediately, as if carefully choosing her words.  “Then I think we may speak frankly.”

Again, Cassandra nodded.  The sip of alcohol had bolstered her confidence a little, but she didn’t want to drink too much.

“You disapprove of your friends paramour and so you wish to break them up, am I correct?” Kurayami continued.

“I’m concerned about Cecily and her safety.”

“Surely, she is the best judge of that, isn’t she?”

“I don’t think she’s entering this relationship entirely of her own free will.”

Kurayami chuckled, as if Cassandra had said something funny.  The laugh made Cassandra feel chill, but she pressed on.

“:I have reason to believe that she and Philippe have been doing drugs.”

The chuckle ceased.  “That is preposterous.  I permit no drugs in  my establishment.”  The warm hospitality had left Kurayami’s voice, replaced by an edge of steel.

“Maybe they’re not doing it here…”

“Where is your proof?”

Cassandra looked away.  That was the thing.  “It’s mostly a hunch.  But I’m pretty sure.”

Kurayami relaxed and the serene smile returned.  “Don’t you think you are being a bit presumptuous?  Your friend’s romantic affairs are her own business, not yours.  You are judging Philippe based on superstition and Hollywood myths.  You haven’t even met him.  Don’t you think your friend knows his character better than you?”

Cassandra tried not to squirm.  What Kuriyama said was true; Cassandra had been asking herself the same questions.  It was hard not to feel intimidated in her presence, and the sensation of entrapment became more and more palpable. Cassandra felt a strong urge to simply acquiesce and go home.  “Perhaps…” she said.

Then she met Kurayami’s basilisk gaze and held it.  She knew now what to do.  “Perhaps you are right.  It’s wrong for me to jump to conclusions like that without getting to know him.”

Cassandra stood up and gulped down the rest of her fuzzy navel.  “Thank you very much, Miss Kurayami; you’ve been very helpful.”  She grabbed her overcoat and headed for the door.

“Miss True!”  

Kurayami obviously did not consider the interview over yet; but Cassandra had no desire to prolong it.  She beat the bouncer to the door, but paused before she left.  “And thanks again for the drink.”

She strode briskly out of the office and towards the club floor.

Next:  Getting to Know You