I go for my jog in the morning sans Danielle (she had apparently slept with Scott last night, and is worn out). When I get home she apologizes for not being up to go with me. I make a casual comment, when I learn for sure that she and Scott have slept together, to the effect of asking if Sandy knows about it. Scott pulls out his phone to text her about what happened. While he’s texting, there’s someone at the door and I go to answer that – turns out it’s a very angry Donnie who lays in on Scott about the other night. It’s only after he’s literally got Scott backed up against the wall that he reveals it’s a joke and he’s cool with what happened.
I head back to Donnie’s place with him to hang out for a while, and “train” him, using sex as a distraction while he plays video games, to see how well he can focus while I do things to him. Plus, it’s just fun. Well, it was fun until my brothers started blowing up my phone incessantly. As we are supposed to head to Elysium (Donovan, Scott and I, that is), I stay till a couple hours prior to sunset, then head home to shower and change my clothes.
Once Donovan is awake, we head to Elysium, and meet the Brujah Max whom we met last time. He makes a casual mention that if things around there were to change, he’d probably support Donovan. There’s no real reply from Donovan, save for a smile, if I recall properly. We meet another vampire there by the name of Jeremy – and Goddess do I wish I had never shaken his hand! I saw the thin piece of paper there, but I took his hand anyway, and ended up dosed with LSD! Suffice to say it made the meeting with the Prince rather……interesting.
In short, the Prince had an assignment for us. He had a vision that something what going to happen, at the park – the green bench across from the wishing well, sometime tonight. It’s apparently an unusually vague vision for him. After getting our assignment, we leave. In the car, I apologize to Donovan for my behavior, despite the fact I couldn’t help it and tried to maintain control as best I could. He drives us around a bit until the effects wear off, then drops us off at the park, stating he’ll send Danielle our way.
I assign Scott to sit at the red bench on the other side of the wishing well, while I sit at the green one, just incase the vision was off. Twenty minutes after we arrive, Danielle comes jogging up, and we catch her up on what’s going on, and what we’re to do. Assign her to run around and keep her eyes and ears open for anything unusual.
After a little while, the only individual I see approach is a small girl, maybe nine or ten years old approach the wishing well. I talk to her a little, as I overheard her wish about hoping he doesn’t find her this time, and she seems to be lost. I do a little quick divining at one point, and determine that she is the individual that Nicodemus had a vision about, but I am unclear as to whether or not I should take her to him. Seemingly at random, the death rune comes up. I try to focus on that, but I get a severe headache trying to do so, though I do have visions of fangs and blood.
Penny (that’s her name, as I find out later) keeps saying that she’s hungry. I assume she means regular food, because I got the impression that she was trying to escape and abusive domitor, however she lunges for me, and sinks in her fangs. Danielle and Scott pull her off of me, and she immediately becomes apologetic, not realizing we were ghouls, and somehow heals the bite marks. Obviously by this point, the three of us realize she is a vampire, and now have a dilemma on our hands about what to do with her.
After some discussion, we take her to the cabin, and go over our options. None of them are pleasant, and we agree to try and give her a good night, and treat it as though it’s her last. I finally get the idea to call Max, who has told us before that if we ever need help, to give him a call. It takes him just shy of half an hour, but he meets us at the cabin, and we talk with him a while before letting him see Penny. To our relief, he isn’t going to kill us, although he made it seem like he might. After talking to Penny, he agrees to help us save her. He gives us an address a state over, and tells us to ask for Billy – even gives us a keychain to prove he sent us. Promises us Billy will take care of her.
Send Danielle to collect Scott’s car, and the four of us head out to collect supplies, and I rent an RV for the trip, making sure that the sleeping area is safe (for Penny’s sake). As my brothers had wanted to get together earlier and maybe head to the cabin, but I had told them I was busy, I text them and let them know that something had come up and I wouldn’t be able to meet with them tonight. They figure out that I’m on a road trip without them, somehow, and I don’t hear from them for a while.
We talk with Penny for a little while, and learn of something we didn’t know – a blood bond. She offers to give us some of her blood, and then we hear some insane honking. Check out the window, and it appears to be a Jeep, containing my brothers. How in the hell did they find me? I have Scott pull off to the side, since I know they won’t stop following us. I give them the excuse that Penny is Scott’s runaway cousin, and we’re returning her. They buy it, but before we leave Gabe stuffs a rag in the gas tank of the Jeep and lights it, setting the Jeep ablaze. All because they bought the extra insurance on their rental.
After a while, Scott switches off driving with Gabe, and a little while that I try to get some sleep. Big mistake. I wake up to find myself under the blanket, nude and covered in sharpie (in three different handwritings and drawing styles). I got to get a shower to wash it all off, and have to deal with ice cold water. The marker is literally everywhere, too. Damn my brothers…they’d cut my clothes off of me, so I can’t wear them. Luckily Danielle has a change of clothes. They aren’t my usual style – just plain jeans and a tee ( and yes, underwear and bra too), so I look different. Gabriel begs to do my makeup, so I let him. Surprisingly, he has one of those professional makeup artist kits on him.
After a bit, we pull off into a McDonald’s to take a half hour break for lunch (yes, it’s the following day, stay with me folks). While we’re eating, Gabe asks to talk to me about what’s going on, so we head outside to “check the tire pressure” and talk. I wind up telling him the truth, and beg him not to tell Raph. We get back into the RV and don’t let on like we talked, though it’s readily apparent that no one believes we didn’t.
About three or four in the afternoon we arrive at the pub, and decide to relax for a while before evening rolls around. Raph tries to get Gabe to go for a walk, but Gabe refuses, which makes Raph extra suspicious – he even says that he knows Gabe and I are up to something and that he will find out. So I do what I usually do when I’m stuck – I divine the future, and ask what might happen if Raph learns the truth, and get rather positive results.
Tell Raph to give me ten minutes, then pull Scott and Danielle outside to talk, and tell them what I had told Gabe. The second the ten minute mark hits and then passes, we hear a groan from in the RV. I head inside and apparently Raph had donkey knuckle punched Gabe in the balls. My brothers, folks. Sit down, and crows Raph so he can’t run, and tell him everything, including the stuff I hadn’t told Gabe. Raph takes everything in stride, which is an immense relief to me.
After evening has rolled in and Penny wakes up, we head inside the pub, and ask for Billy. I meet with him, and he’s a rather nice and jovial individual (for a vampire), and agrees to help Penny. We stick around for a little while and have drinks, and while we do I text Ben and inform him I won’t be able to make it tonight. He sends me a pic, and shows me what I’m missing out on. Before we leave, I get Billy’s number, and am told that if we ever want to switch sides, or play double agent, to let him or Max know.
Since it now looks like I will be able to make it home on time, albeit late, I text Ben to let him know I’m on the way back, and he lets me know that he’s with my parents – and they brought the photo album. I don’t remember how it came up, but I confess to my brothers that we are ghouls, and talk about what Ben is too. Raph takes things in stride, Gabe….not so much. Half an hour after informing them of this, we pull up to the cabin.
I mingle with my coven and assembled guests for a while, and spend a little time with my parents before going back to mingling. Meet up with Ben, who whispers in my ear. No, I don’t remember what he said, I just remember that I had an orgasm from it. Thankfully, it wasn’t apparent to anyone else. I just don’t know how he does it – but he sure does seem to enjoy teasing me in public. At least for tonight.
Meet up with Raph at one point and catch him up to speed on how we do things in my coven. He informs me that I should probably inform Dad of what his role is, as I haven’t yet, so I locate him and tell him that he’ll be at the center of the circle, that we’ll be praying for healing energies his way, to lessen his pain. Ben makes it a point to say goodbye to all and sundry before the ritual starts.
I begin the ritual the usual way, and then at the peak of the ritual something unusual happens. Clouds roll in and lightning strikes the exact four corners of my property. We her thumping coming from the woods, and a great being in the form of the Horned God appears, telling us that our ritual is right and good, and so are we. He places a hand on either side of my father and light surrounds him. After some time the being backs away, disappearing again into the woods. I quickly finish the ritual and run to my father, who is fully healed and standing.
Mingle afterwards, hearing everyone’s stories about what happened. At one point I see Donovan arrive and he gets that what happened was Ben doing his thing – but he’s the only other one who knows. Eventually, the only ones left at the cabin are myself, my brothers, Danielle and Donovan. My brothers volunteer to take the RV back, and Donovan gives Danielle and I a ride back to the house.
He (Donovan) informs us that he’s been thinking of an appropriate punishment for us (seeing as how he was completely out of the loop on what we’ve been doing). He’d contacted Max earlier, and learned we were doing a favor for him. He thinks for a while, then informs Danielle and I that we are forbidden to have sex of any variety for the next two weeks. This sucks!