The Club Meeting

After Sy had gone, Nina locked the door of the Ryerson and found Tom pacing in the art gallery. The stone-skinned kindred was clearly agitated, and doing a bad job of hiding it. He looked up at her, concern clouding his features.

“What were your thoughts on what happened the other night, at the Ashen Ball? Did we do the right thing?”
Nina glanced back toward the door, from whence Sy had come, and then back to Tom.
“He get you worked up? I can imagine what his thoughts are, but he’s been having those since before the ball.”
She paused, took a step closer, and laid a hand on Tom’s shoulder.
“I think a lot of things. I’m not sure what’s right, wrong, or indifferent anymore. In this unlife, I’m beginning to believe that’s just how it should be. I think our Prince has a lot of well-earned power and deserves our respect and fealty. I also think that power can easily lead to corruption, or at least little pet-corruptions. Prince Bianca is a far more benevolent ruler than the mob bosses I’ve encountered, from what I’ve seen thus far. We make our own morality now, Tom. Rescuing those fairies, Agatha, Rosa… that’s what we wanted to do and that makes it right.”

Tom took her hand from his shoulder, held it for a moment, and then let it drop.

“I want to say that you are wrong, because that is how I feel. But I don’t have much to fall back on. My sire’s teachings were that freedom is important above all else, but also that when we have nothing, we at least can give our word as gargoyles. Something about that seems true, but I am afraid that my amnesia does not lend itself to particularly learned debate.”

“In life, I found that there was never any freedom. You serve a master of some kind. Death has shown me the same. Bianca is our master. However, we can have pet-freedoms, just like she has her pet-corruptions. Our very existence is an abomination to what most of this world calls ‘right’. In the face of that, what I choose to do I will call ‘right’ and assuage the guilt of my existence.”
Nina frowned and sighed heavily. “Or something like that. If I dwell too deep and too long I just want to end it all anyway.”

“I would prefer you not say such things- my nights would be very lonely indeed if you did that. You know, Sy was angry at Bianca for not protecting us, her charges. I told him that none of us are safe.”

“But I want to keep you safe. I don’t know whether it is just instinct, or whether it is because you got the short end of the stick in life. Maybe it doesn’t matter.” He held her gaze, a fierce look in his dark eyes. “I’d prefer if you got a shot at something better now.”
Breaking free from his gaze she laughs hollowly. “You can trust I will take no such action. Even now, my instinct to survive clouds many decisions.”

Tom stepped around, back into her field of view, smiling. “Well, good- that will make my job far easier!”
She glanced back to her desk for a long moment and took Tom’s hand back again.
“As for your amnesia, I’m afraid I have been a poor and reluctant friend. May I show you something?”

He nodded, curiosity written on his inhuman features.

She retrieves her messenger bag from a low drawer and removes a large, rolled piece of paper.
“If you overheard me speaking with Alistair last night, you’ll know I lied for lack of anything better to say. You were there when I took Alphaerus’ blood and my visions returned.” She takes his hand once more, turning it over, and revealing the scar where she had also taken Tom’s blood. “I also lied about your blood lacking the potency to inspire a vision.”
She rolled the paper out on the desk, revealing an old charcoal sketch. In the lower left corner of the page was a small ring, like a flea circus, with a biplane in flight. Beneath the plane was a banner reading “Ricthofen’s Rip-Roaring Rivals”. Looming above this miniature scene was a massive magnifying lens that took up almost the entire page. The hand gripping the handle was missing its pinky and ring finger.

Tom hunched over, pouring over the page, his gaze returning again and again to the plane. Then he looked up at Nina. “Did you want to hide this from me for some reason? Does it mean something terrible?” An expression of dawning realization crossed his craggy features. “Wait, does Flick only have three fingers?”
Nina crossed her arms. “No, I’m afraid I don’t know what any of it means. To be frank, that’s the only reason I didn’t show it to you. I didn’t know what it meant in the slightest. I didn’t want it to mean something that could hurt you… or something that could make you leave.”

Tom gave Nina a hard, searching look before turning back toward the etching. “Well, I am curious. I do wish you had told me earlier, but given the circumstances at Alphaerus’ lair, I think you did me a favor by being discrete.”

“And thank you for telling me now. Perhaps... “ He hesitated for a scant moment.

-perhaps this little partnership of ours would work better if we had fewer secrets between us. I don’t like that we are on uneven footing, you and I.” Tom indicated the scar on his hand. “You have tasted my blood, maybe it would be best if I could take some of yours.”

Nina’s eyes widened and she held herself a little tighter.
“It was a few weeks before the vision came, but I still confess I’ve held this image longer than I should have. Renee is going to have me all around town taking blood from other vampires if she has her way. I’ll have little loyalties spread everywhere whether I like it or not. Are you quite sure you want to have any loyalty to me beyond your usual chivalry?”

Tom shook his head slowly as he listened. “No, I think that is even more cause for me to help, in any way I can. You seem alone, Nina, and your bond to me, however slight, is not something I wish to hold over you. I want to be able to protect you… regardless of Renee’s plans.” Tom gave her a good approximation of a roguish grin. “Besides- you saw what happened at the Ball. I would not be surprised if a lot of Kindred’s carefully laid plans are going up in smoke, your sire’s included.”

He drew close to her. “Any other reasons why you would hesitate?”
She smiled weakly at him, a warmth like the first sputters of a pilot light starting in it. She began to unbutton and roll up a sleeve. “Plans and kindred alike went up in smoke, I’m afraid. I will not turn down your offer to strengthen our alliance. You should be fully aware that I am convinced it will ultimately cost you dearly.”

Tom knelt and took her pale wrist in his claws. “Careful, talk like that could give a guy second thoughts.” He bared his fangs- and he had many of them, more than just a pair of sharpened incisors. He looked up at her. “Plans fail, and people die. But you seem to forget that you and I- we are immortals.” Then he bit deep.