The Fifth Clan

by Ryan T. Nelson

  Rachel ran ahead of me and slammed her shoulder into the ten foot tall wooden set of double doors that covered the entrance to Brotherhood Hall. Still getting a bit used to her strength the doors flew open rather harder than she had intended, but just as hard as I had expected. I wanted to make an entrance and she made damned certain of that when the doors came open with a booming crash and every single eye in the room turned to us as I strode in behind her with all the confidence and arrogance that I didn't feel.

  Here was where things truly would get dicey. This could save us or kill us right here and now and acting afraid would only make things worse. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury," I yelled as I walked in. "Rumors of my death may have been greatly exaggerated."

  "Really?" Rachel muttered back to me. "That's what you're going with?"

  "Gimme a break, I'm making this up as I go."

  "I can tell."

  "Rachel?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Shut up."

  She shut up. I made sure to keep my tone light so she wouldn't take too much offense but she understood the seriousness of the situation so she kept her lips closed. That did not prevent her from rattling off a list of jokes at my expense in my head. A quick glare stopped that though and we continued walking until we were in the center of the room standing directly on the seal of the Brotherhood set in gold into the stone floor.

  The room was roughly the size of a high school football stadium. The ceiling hung a hundred feet over our heads and the walls were lined with a series of balcony seating at various levels. The rooms design allowed for acoustics and the general sharpness of Wolf and Vampire hearing to allow anyone to speak from the seal and be heard clearly anywhere in the room. Don't ask me to explain how the acoustics worked. It was a rectangular room, as far as I knew it shouldn't work that well. But it did and that's all there was to it.

  Directly in front of the seal were the Council Seats. Five plush chairs, raised on a Dias some twenty feet into the air looked down on us where we stood. The seats along the other three walls were filled with vampires representing all four clans and numerous wolves from the various packs. Silence reigned supreme as Rachel and I came to a stop.

  I kept my eyes on the five seats on front of me, ignoring all the other eyes in the room as Rachel looked around nervously at everyone else. Facing the seats, the one on my far left held Lord Kargon, an exceptionally old Vampire and head of the Kargoni Shape Shifters. He seemed rather androgynous in appearance, tall, willowy and ethereally beautiful. He kinda reminded me of Hugo Weaving playing Elrond in the Lord of the Rings movies except his hair was a pale blond color.

  To his left sat Keilyn, Head of the Vasith Clan. A powerful telepath her body appeared emaciated. So long had she focused on her mental powers that she had long since allowed her body to deteriorate through lack of use. Some said she didn't even hunt to feed anymore, she just used her mental powers to coerce a random human to approach so she could feed, erase their memory and send them on their way.

  On her other side sat a single empty chair with a depiction of a cloud burned into the back. The chair for the head of the Vayun. Threntü really was dead. Tradition demanded that if he was still alive they couldn't begin the meeting without him present. Since they had obviously been meeting there was only one conclusion.

  Grim had said it several times. I had believed him in an initial manner but seeing that kind of proof, short of his body lying at me feet... I wasn't sure how to feel or what I even should feel at first.

  I shoved it away however as an image caught my eye. For a second. For a fraction of a second I could have sworn that I saw a figure standing behind and just to the side of the chair. Like the old advisors that would stand and whisper in their kings ear while he thought hard on important issues of the kingdom. And like the fictional, evil, advisor plotting against his king this shadowy figure filled me with a sense of foreboding.

  Then the image was gone and once again I was looking at an empty chair and blank wall behind it. I blinked for a second, confused and a little shaken by the apparition until Rachel looked back at me and jerked her head in the direction of the Council Heads.

  I shook myself as Grim cleared his throat and leaned forward in his seat on the far right. Next to him sat Shad, the head of the Shadu and head of the Vampiric version of Internal Affairs. The Shadow Vampire was so old that even in his shade form he was strong against light. A young Vampire of his clan, in that room would have been severely burned and injured by appearing in his shade form. He sat there as a lump of featureless black in the shape of a human figure in his chair, eyes as impossible to read as a silhouette.

  "Is there a reason you have interrupted this meeting Gabriel?" Grim asked.

  "You could say that. How long has the old windbags’ death been kept from the rest of the Brotherhood?"

  Grim snorted but thankfully did not start laughing in the middle of the meeting. "You are referring to Threntü Vayun?"

  "Yeah. Wind Clan, Wind Bag. It fits if you think about it." I was being deliberately rude and I knew it. I didn't really intend to but authority always rubbed me the wrong way and these four were the ultimate authority in the vampire and werewolf world. Hence I tended to speak without thinking through the consequences of what I said.

  "I try not to think about what oddities run through that twisted little brain of yours Gabriel Winters."

  I bowed mockingly. "Thank you."

  "Why have you breached this meeting and interrupted us?" I turned my attention to Shad and nodded to him. I had always liked Shad reasonably well despite the fact that he was a terrifying son-of-a-bitch.

  "Why didn't you answer my question?"

  "Because you have broken into a meeting not meant for you and are therefore not in a position to be demanding answers or information from anyone."

  I shrugged. True enough.

  "Then I shall do you the courtesy or answering your inquiry first. I am here to seek inclusion within the Brotherhood of Vampires and Werewolves, as is allowed by the conditional clauses set forth in the original treaty five centuries past."

  A general murmur of disquiet ran through the crowd. Like the wave at a baseball game it spread quickly and as the volume level slowly rose, Grim stood and loudly cleared his throat. Silence fell as quickly as someone hitting the mute button on a television remote and I grinned, my expression hidden from the crowd. Only Grim could silence a room like that with nothing but a cleared throat.

  "To seek inclusion by right, you would need to be the head of a new can. We all know that part of the reason for this meeting is to discuss the existence of your fifth vampiric power. Are you going to claim that you have finally Sired a Child of your own?"

  Here was where it got difficult. In her brief introduction to being a vampire I had tested Rachel. She did exhibit all of the powers I had but the Fifth had been hit or miss. It took practice and she simply hadn't had the required time to hone her skills in any way. An hours’ worth of practice was not enough by any stretch. I reached into my pocket and drew out my Zippo.

  "Catch," I told her and lightly tossed it in her direction. She let out an indignant squawk but her hand shot out, reflexes highly enhanced beyond her experience and she caught it neatly. "Please demonstrate the Fifth Power if you would Rachel." I mentally crossed my fingers and prayed that she would be able to do it. If she couldn't we had a few serious problems facing us.

  "We have asked for no demonstrations." Kargon had leaned forward in his seat as well. At his age very little happened that surprised him anymore, the curse of a long life. I imagine this unusual occurrence was his idea of front row seats at an MMA fight. Free entertainment for the masses. I'm pretty sure I'd heard a rumor once that he had been around when the gladiatorial games were being played in Rome.

  "Is not a demonstration of a viable clan-centric power a requirement for inclusion into the Brotherhood?" I asked. "Those of you that know me are aware I'm not one to play politics. So let me cut to the chase. Someone, I ha
d thought Threntü but I have since been informed of his death, has gone to a great deal of trouble in the last month to force me to reveal my power to the vampiric and werewolf community at large. I do not like being played with and I know that thoughts of war and conflict have concerned you all since that information was revealed. I have no problem with defending myself. But I will not be someones pawn in this plan."

  You speak of a conspiracy.

  I shuddered slightly when Keilyns' voice echoed inside my head. Her lips didn't move but by the reactions I could tell she had broadcast the thought to everyone in the room. Rachel shuddered, almost violently, at the sudden intrusion.

  To what end? What purpose could there be in forcing war or conflict, as you say, against you?

  "It is no secret that I have made enemies. I am at once more powerful and weaker in many respects than the individual clans. My creation was intended to create a single leader to unite the clans. I have no idea why you, and the other heads, humored Threntü in his initial decision to create me in the first place but his plan failed.

  "I cannot unite the clans under a single leadership. First that would require you to abdicate your rightful positions as Sires of your clans. Second, as it has now been proven, I am the scion of a new clan and cannot rule over the others as you would not be asked to govern the Kargoni or Shadu. So where does that leave us?

  "You can try to have me killed to avoid complications. Or you can accept me as a new clan head and we can proceed forward."

  "You seem to feel that you alone could defend against all of us here?" Kargon asked. He did seem interested, almost amused by the very thought.

  "You have no idea the true extent of my power. That is the only reason I have been left alone for this long." It was a calculated bluff on my part. If they decided to attack me now I would be hard pressed to escape. Even with my speed and strength and the powers of the clans at my disposal I was at a severe disadvantage.

  "You sill haven't explained why someone would persecute you in the manner you have suggested Gabriel," Grim cut in again, trying to keep things on track, bless him.

  "No, I haven't. And until I can ascertain for sure who was responsible I cannot even begin to guess as to their purpose. It could be political. It could be for personal gain in some manner. It could even simply be a personal vendetta against me. I have no idea. I would like to head off having the entire Brotherhood against me however if I can help it. Hence why I come before you today seeking to establish myself as the head of a new clan.

  "I wish only to be left alone, but since I apparently cannot do that then I wish to be included as a productive member of the Brotherhood for the benefit of all our kind."

  It wasn't a bad speech at all. Now I just had to hope it worked. I really didn't want to have to kill anyone today if I could help it. I would. But I didn't want to.

  "Since when have you been a team player?" Kargon asked.

  "Since it has been made clear to me that I either play the game or find myself with a bull’s-eye painted on my back. I do not like being a target."

  The four heads exchanged glances, faces unreadable and I didn't even try to read their emotions. Keilyn would have felt the attempt and there was no point either way.

  "I believe that, at the very least, a demonstration is not a poor idea. We should see if he even has a claim as the scion of a Fifth Clan." Thank you Grim. I really needed to buy that man a fruit basket. Or a moose to hunt. Something.

  "Agreed." Kargon stood and leaped easily down from the platform. "I would view this closely if I may?" I nodded. That was a good sign. He was asking permission, even though there was no way I wouldn't grant it, to view my first Child closely. Something that custom still dictated and his sticking to conventions meant he was honestly considering the idea.

  He walked forward to within twenty feet of Rachel and that was when the wheels fell off the wagon. I felt it. A sudden pressure against my mind. Something I had been trained to notice but most others had not. I felt a spike in my adrenalin, a trigger of the ingrained fight or flight response that was so much stronger in the animalistic nature that was Vampires and Werewolves. Every wolf in the room suddenly howled, a mixture of rage and indescribable fear as the wave spread through the room.

  Rachel.

  Poor Rachel who was unprepared and undertrained had no defense against the instinctive reaction the wave produced.

  She dropped my lighter and threw herself at Kargon teeth bared and hands extended. She pushed past his feeble attempt to guard himself, still staggered by the wave himself, and rammed her forehead into his face. His perfectly sculpted nose was crushed by the blow and bright blood spurted across them both. Reaching out she grabbed one of his arms and with a savage twist dislocated his shoulder and broke his fore arm and elbow.

  I went to run toward her, to pull her off of the Kargoni leader when Keilyn stepped in. Metaphorically speaking.

  She reached out with her powerful mind and lifted Rachel bodily into the air. In the span of ten seconds the attack happened and had been stopped. Rachel hung impotently in midair, writhing and twisting, hissing like a cat as she attempted to reach for Kargon.

  "There will be order in these chambers!" Grim bellowed and the howling wolves stopped suddenly as their Alpha commanded them. The Vampires were less inclined to listen to him but still settled back into their chairs. Most of them had made to leap down into the central chamber with me when the wave hit but they were slowly beginning to gather their wits.

  The only thought that could pass through my head was just how undeniably bad this whole turn of events was.

  "Gabriel Winters. Your Child has attacked the head of one of the Four Clans. As a Child can only cause such action through the direct order of their Sire we can only infer that this entire attack was orchestrated by you to cause the war you claimed you wished to avoid." Shad was glaring at me from his spot still sitting in his chair atop the dais.

  This was very, very bad.

  "As such you will both be incarcerated until such time as your punishment can be determined by us, the Council of the Brotherhood."

  I opened my mouth to speak but Keilyn shut it for me. Her mind overwhelmed mine and Rachel and I both fell into a deep sleep.

  The last image I remember seeing before my consciousness failed me was that same shadowy figure standing behind Threntüs' chair. Somehow, I knew, that figure was responsible for everything that had happened to me, and everything that would happen in the near future.

  26

  March ????, 2005: Scotland

  "You know I had kind of figured that being a Vampire now would mean that I wouldn't get knocked out so often."

  "Try not to think that. If you expect to get knocked out every other minute you won't be as surprised when it does finally happen."

  "You know I never got knocked out at all before I started hanging out with you fools."

  "I'm sure Gabe will appreciate that knowledge when he wakes up."

  "I'm awake."

  I opened my eyes. I was lying on a stone floor, staring up at a stone ceiling in a stone room. I'll give the architects something for consistency of building materials. I wonder if this place was built by the same guy that designed the all metal room.

  Turning my head, I saw Rachel sitting on the floor against one wall with Ghost sitting beside her, his long legs stretched out in front of him. A heavy steel reinforced wooden door blocked the entrance and on the other side of the small barred window I could see Grims face peeking through into our cell. He smiled broadly when he saw me move and Rachel turned at the sound of my voice to look at me.

  "About time you woke up," she said. "I would have thought you'd be up before me, healing faster and all that."

  "Yeah but for the start of this you were stronger than I was remember? Bloods equalized by now so you'll have dropped down to my level at this point." I studied her quietly for a minute and she started to fidget. "What happened?"

  "I don't know." Her face screwed up into
a pained expression I had seen before but couldn't quite place. "I was thinking about how to change the lighter and Kargon walked up. Next thing I knew it was like my mind shut off and my body was moving on its own. I tried to stop and I couldn't... I couldn't control myself."

  The proverbial light bulb went off over my head as the information clicked into place and I understood the pained expression she'd held moments before. I had seen similar expressions on the faces of other humans many times in the past. It was the expression of pained confusion that one gets when portions of their memory have been modified or erased by a heavy handed Vasith. I had never been particularly subtle in the use of my skill and apparently whoever had taken control of Rachel's body to attack Kargon wasn't either.

  "That explains a few things at least. What are you doing here?" I asked Ghost.

  He scowled and crossed his arms. "I tried to jump into things when they went to take you two away and I was hrwn in here with you for my efforts." I chuckled a bit and turned back to stare at the ceiling.

  Rough blocks of stone mortared together with the kind of expert construction that was required in centuries past. Todays construction was pretty shoddy in comparison to the castles and structures built in the 14th and 15th centuries. When new construction methods were introduced that were faster, people used them. Just because something was new didn't make it better in my opinion.

  "When did people stop building things the way they used to?" Grim asked through the door. His voice sounded odd to me, too light, too high. "Seriously. Just because something is new doesn't make it better."

  My blood suddenly ran cold at the same time that I saw Ghost perk up and turn to look at the image of his Alpha. If I hadn't been a Vampire I would have shivered and broken out in a rash of goosebumps across my entire body. Slowly, I turned my head until my eyes were facing the door, and the small window of light that Grims' face was visible through. The face that peered in at me didn't seem entirely right. The square jawed seemed a little more pointed, the deep furrowed brow seemed smoother, the eyes set shallower in the skull.