VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE FANFICTION PART 2- NEW YORK

OUTSIDER

The last summer rains battered his black Mercedes Benz sedan as he cruised through a suspiciously empty highway. Ernest laughed to himself. He had heard of the old stories surrounding this place; of the supposed ancient vampyr who descended from his craggy castle at night to feed on hapless peasants. The shopkeeper who told him had said it with an air of humour, but even now nobody lived here or built here, despite problems of overcrowding in major cities. Perhaps the people of Romania were not as "enlightened" as he had imagined. Or perhaps some of them knew, as much as he did, of the actual vampyr that lived around here, in a craggy old castle that was clearly due for demolition. One that was older than Romania, Europe and indeed most of civilization.

After thirty more minutes of driving, he arrived at his destination. The castle seemed a lot smaller up close, he thought, especially since the rain had stopped. No chill coursed through his body as he stepped out of the car, even though he wore only a simple navy blue t-shirt and light brown trousers with black sandals. He had not felt cold since the days of the Holy Roman Empire. Though he had managed to stave off the deathly pallor that Cainites his age often suffered from, his relatively slight build and curly black hair gave him away-to anyone who could notice- as a relic from a younger time.

He knocked the large wooden door three times before it was answered by an elderly-looking man who was even more deathly-looking than he. "Ernest." He said, in a deep but quiet voice. "The master has been waiting for you. Right this way please." He led him to what seemed like the living room, complete with an active fireplace and a single couch. Pacing around the couch was an extremely tall, old-looking man with a long, aquiline nose and a mane of long white hair and a long white beard which both reached his navel. He had a furtive look on his face and would have been handsome in a way, if a little girl in a red dress and platinum-blonde hair wasn't placidly sticking out of his back. Velya the Vivisectionist, Voivode of Voivode, Cardinal of the Land beyond the Forest, stopped as soon as he set eyes on Ernest.

"Ernest." He said, uplifted. "Thank the gods. I have been waiting for you."

"It's good to see you too, old friend." He responded. He moved towards the girl attached to his back. "Hello Elaine." Said Ernest. The girl did not respond. "She's getting worse." Velya iterated sorrowfully. "I can feel her, Ernest. I do not know how long I'll be able to hold it off."

Ernest focused on Elaine. Eleven years ago, the elder Tzimisce used his powers of Vicissitude to graft the young Bostonian girl to his back after she had fallen to the Beast. This, unfortunately, means that their Beasts were also bound together as well. Velya had been able to hold her in check using sheer force of will, but it only went so far. "I see." He said, touching the girl's face. She let out a loud shriek that startled him. "It's not possible for you to control two of your Beasts at the same time. I'm afraid you'll have to..."

"NO!" Yelled Velya, hissing loudly as he whirled to face Ernest. "I won't let you separate us! I won't!" His face was a mask of animalistic rage.

"Calm down, Velya! Calm down." Said Ernest. Almost immediately, the elder's demeanour softened, and he returned to normal. "I-I cannot live without her, old friend. I love her."

"I understand, Voivode." Replied Ernest, softly. "I believe there might be a way to cure her. But it's risky."

"Do whatever it takes." Velya replied, turning so that Elaine once again faced him. Ernest placed his right hand on her head and closed his eyes. Then a large, third eye on his forehead opened up, its iris glowing bright blue. It almost seemed to radiate some sort of power; power that was being focused directly at the little girl grafted into Velya's back. After a few minutes, the eye closed, and Ernest straightened himself.