[Masqtober] Day Eleven: The Traditions

It wasn’t fair! Beth pouted. She was every bit an adult, yet here she was, being treated like a mere child. Not even a teenager, but a child! It was incredulous, and often made her angry. Shouldn’t the fact she was a vampire now only lend credence to the fact she was an adult? She’d learned how to feed, why did she have to be treated like a mere child?

Her pout deepened, and she stuck her tongue out at her sire when his back was turned. He’d been lecturing her on various topics for what felt like hours, and to be perfectly honest, she hadn’t paid much attention. Something about rules. She waited until he was done prattling before she spoke. 

“Can I go now?” she whined. 

“Yes, fine. Remember what I told you, and be back in two hours.” he said, exasperated. 

Two hours! Now she had a curfew?! Grumbling to herself, she left, and headed out, texting her boyfriend once she was clear of the building. She’d been meeting with him in secret for a while now, and of course she’d been honest with him from the get-go. They’d been together forever, and she wasn’t going to lie to him. 

“Was beginning to think you wouldn’t make it.” her boyfriend said, wrapping her up i n a hug and leaning in to kiss her. 

She sighed happily. “Sorry Garrett. He was just going on and on and on. I’ve told you before about him.”

“Prude.” was all he said. 

“I’ve only got two hours.” she pouted. 

“Hardly enough time.” he muttered, looking annoyed. “Have you thought about doing anything with him?”

“Like what?” she asked. 

“Stake him. Stuff him somewhere. Get rid of him. Whatever.” he stated. 

“Now that sounds like an idea.” she said, cozying up to him. 

“Consider it done.” he said, before taking her back to his place, where they spent time being ‘intimate’ in the bedroom before it was time for her to head back. 

On the way to her sire’s haven, Garrett stopped to pick up a few simple things. He took his time driving, to the point of making Beth late getting back, to purposefully make her sire angry, so he’d be off his guard.

“Where have you been?” her sire demanded when she got in. 

“None of your business. I’m back, aren’t I?” Beth complained. 

“No more outings for you.” Evan said. 

Beth stomped her foot. “I’m not a child!” 

“You’re certainly acting like one.” he pointed out. 

“Hey! Leave my girl alone!” Garrett shouted from behind Evan.

Evan began to turn, and as he did so, Garrett held up a makeshift flamethrower consisting of a lighter and a can of hairspray. The jet of flame caught Evan in the face, and he screamed, clutching at it. As he was flailing, Evan clicked off the lighter and dropped both it and the hairspray, racing into his coat pocket for a wood gardening stake, and attempted to plunge it into Evan’s chest.  It took some doing before he managed it, and in the process he was quite badly injured, and bleeding. 

“Garrett!” Beth shouted as Evan fell to the floor. 

“Shit.” Garrett muttered, stumbling a little before sinking into a nearby chair. “Babe, now might be a good time to do what we talked about.”

“Oh! Yeah!” she exclaimed, and sat next to him. “I promise it won’t hurt.” she said, before sinking her fangs into him, before drinking deeply. As he began dying, she stopped, bit her wrist, and fed him her own blood in order to turn him. 

It didn’t take long for the change to take effect. He opened his eyes, looking around in awe, and then his eyes locked onto Evan’s body. 

“Hungry babe?” she said, wrapping him into a hug. 

Garrett nodded. “Go ahead.” she said. “He’s not going anywhere.”

She let him go, and he stood up, making his way over to Evan, dropping to his knees when he reached the body. Before long, he was bent over the body, holding it tightly and drinking deeply, until the body turned to ash in his arms. 

“How do you feel?” she asked him. 

“Like a god.” he said, grinning at her. He walked over and scooped her up, feeling full of energy, and he knew a good way to work that out. Carrying her to the bedroom, he kicked the door closed, and became lost in the sensation of Beth.

It was some time later when Sophia came to see Evan. They were supposed to have a meeting, and he hadn’t shown. Out of concern, she had gone to his house, and found the door unlocked and partially open. Cautiously, she pushed the door open, and gasped when she saw the scene in front of her. On the floor lay a can of hairspray and lighter, there was blood on an armchair, and a pile of ash mixed with Evan’s clothes and a stake not too far away. 

Immediately, she headed back to her car and contacted the Hound, explaining the situation. In short order, Finn arrived, and looked over the scene. Using Auspex to heighten his senses, he looked things over carefully. The blood was just blood – not vitae, so that meant a mortal was here, and Evan wasn’t known to be a sloppy eater. A sampling of the ashes were collected, and then he heard noise coming from one of the bedrooms. 

Pulling out his phone, he texted the Sheriff, explaining that some assistance would be useful, as the probably Hunter or Hunters were still here. Waiting for Milo was going to take time, so he proceeded to listen in, and then wrinkled his nose when he realized what was going on. What the fuck was wrong with those demented people, he wondered. Since it seemed like they were going to be a while, he took his time and waited for Milo to arrive, sending Sophia on her way in the meantime. 

When Milo arrived, they both headed into the bedroom, and took in the scene. Beth and an unknown were startled as they burst in, with Beth screaming at them to get out. Milo and Finn scanned the couple’s auras to gauge them, and learned that the young man was a vampire – an unknown, with black veins in his aura. Immediately, Milo went for him, while Finn restrained Beth. 

There was a struggle, but they were able to successfully arrest the two, and drag them to Elysium to be brought before the Prince. But first, they needed to spend time in separate cells in order to be interrogated before all the information was presented to the Prince, Lucien. The interrogation took a couple of hours before the truth finally came out, and it was presented to Lucien, and he ordered them to be dragged before the court for a public display. 

Lucien turned to Garrett. “For violating the Right of Destruction, for being made without permission, and for committing the vile act of Diablerie, you are sentenced to Final Death.” he nodded to Milo, who took a step back, raised a sword, and beheaded the fledgling.

Beth screamed, and Lucien then turned to her. “I expected better of Evan’s childe.” he sighed. “Beth Peterson, for violating the Right of Progeny, for being accessory to the Right of Destruction, for standing willfully aside while Diablerie was being committed in front of you, and for ignoring The Accounting, you are hereby sentenced to Final Death.”

Behind her, Finn raised a sword, ready to behead her. The last thing Beth saw was the mix of sadness, anger, and disappointment on Lucien’s face.

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