CHAPTER 15 Friday, October 28, 1994
An Invitiation is Received
By L. Dawn Steele
Dawn was helping Tracy to unpack. The last trips from the
old St.George residence had been made in the past couple
of days, and the new apartment was simply full of boxes,
books, papers, odd items of food, etc.
"Tracy? Where does this go?" Dawn held up a large poster
with a vaguely Tolkien theme. It was remarkable similar
(except for time of purchase) to one she had herself.
"I don't know. Maybe over there... Center it in the
corner beside Henry."
"I still don't know why you named that plant Henry. I looks
more like a Bernard to me."
The discussion was postponed by a firm knock at the door.
Tracy went off to answer it while Dawn found some tacks
for the poster.
"Dawn? It's for you. A delivery courier."
"I didn't know anyone knew I was here."
Dawn thanked the delivery man and opened the package.
Inside was an fancy invitation to some sort of party in
New York.
"Tracy? Do you know anything about this?"
"If it's related to the war, then I'm afraid I've been too
busy moving to even look at messages lately. If they aren't
from Dearest Uncle, then I've just been saving them to
read them later. Is it something he should know about?"
Cousin Tracy looked over Dawn's shoulder, but she had
already put away the invitation.
"I'm sure he already knows about it. Besides we both
promised not to pry into each others affairs while I was
here."
"Yeah. But you're a Die-Hard. Even if you did find out
something interesting, you'd probably either tell all of the
groups or none of them."
Dawn felt at the invitation in her pocket.
"Maybe I should answer the invitation. Could I use your
account to telnet McMaster? I need to contact the other
Die-Hards."
"Sure. As long as you're not around chocolate, your
ethics are pretty firm. You wouldn't let loose a virus in
my account."
"Tracy! Of course I wouldn't. After all, you might have
joined the Cousins, but you were a Die-Hard first!"
Tracy went back to unpacking while Dawn quickly logged on.
***
To: Calliope Catlin <ercatlin@ucdavis.edu>
Kitty Hanks <DYKH007@kiowa.astate.edu>
Ruth Dempsey <Anlofans@aol.com>
Kathy King <kingk@fern.physun.mcmaster.ca>
Subject: An invitation.
I've just received an invitation from Janette. The Die-
Hards are officially invited to a party in New York. There
weren't any details on the invitation, but I think things
are drawing to a head in the war.
We might be able to help out. If we can't then we can at
least try to keep things calm. Neutral parties can
sometimes defuse tensions.
I'll email you all again later with more details. I'm going
to call in a few favours around town.
Dawn
steeleld@mcmaster.ca
ps. You're all heard about Ruth's "suicide". I've been
checking some sources. It looks suspicious to me. I
think we need to meet in person. I've made reservations in
the Royal York hotel. I was able to get a suite of rooms in
a floor beneath the one <she> had. I wasn't able to get
rooms on the same floor. I talked to the desk clerk.
Apparently all the rooms on that floor have been reserved by
a group of people who wear black all the time and have had a
few loud parties. Maybe it's the Corbie headquarters.
pps. I don't want to seem crazy, but I think Ruth is still
around. I think I saw her ghost the other day. I'm sending
this message to her old accound in the hope that she can
still access her email somehow. You know if they Raven/
nettes are occupying her old rooms, they may have seen
her. I'll try and sneak in.
***
A couple of hours later, Dawn slipped out of Tracy's
apartment. Another courier package was filled out at a
corner postal store, and the reply to the invitation was
under way.
Janette,Thanks you for the kind invitation to your party.
I've contacted the other Die-Hards, and we will be
accepting. I'll see you in New York.-Dawn Steele
When she got back to the apartment, she carried a small
bag full of expensive, imported chocolates. Dawn knew
her own weaknesses, but she also knew that chocolate was one
addiction she and Tracy had in common. Tracy hadn't been
in touch with the other Cousins for awhile. The chocolate
should be enough to sooth her desire to call them. In
another couple of days, it wouldn't matter anyway.
Cousin Mike Gets a Suprise
By Kat Feline
"Something devious, huh?" Kat said to herself as she
stared thoughtfully at the message on the screen. She
thought for a moment more, then a slow smile spread across
her face. In one fluid motion she turned, reached across
the bed and picked up the phone.
The phone rang four times before someone answered.
"Hello?"
"Dan? It's Kat. I need you to do something for me. Can
you?"
"Kat?? Where are you?"
"I'll tell you in a minute. Can you do something for me?"
"For you, anything. What'cha need?"
"For you to come to Toroto and bring your equipment. You'll
need it."
Dead silence on the other end of the line.
"Dan??"
"I'm still here. Did you just say you want to me to come
to Toronto, as in Toronto, Canada??"
"No, Toronto, Texas!!" she snapped. "Of course, Toronto,
Canada. Where else?"
<Where else indeed> thought Dan. "Why? What's going on?"
"I'll explain when you get here. Don't worry about the
plane ticket, it's all taken care of. Can you come?"
<What the heck, why not.> "When do you want me there?"
"As soon as possible. I'll tell you the rest when you get
here. Here's the address where I'm staying..."
After hanging up on Kat, Dan grabbed a bag, stuffed some
clothes in, grabbed his equipment and left.
***
Kat chuckled as she hung up the phone. <Ah, Cousin Mike,>
she thought <you are going to wish you had stayed out of
this war.> She glanced at the clock on the bedside table,
it read 2:28, which meant it was 4:28 where Dan was. He
should be here by 6:30 or 7. Hmm, that was cutting it a
little close but it would have to do.
***
Several hours later, Dan squatted down in front of a door
and started to carefully pick the lock. He glanced up and
down the hall to make sure no one was coming. <I really
don't want to have to explain this.> he thought. He laughed
softly as he remember what Kat had told him what she
wanted done. It wasn't just devious, it was downright evil.
It was right up Kat's alley.
Finally, the lock sprang open and he slipped in. After a
momentary search, he located what he was looking for. He
sat down on the bed and got to work. The procedure took
about a half-an-hour. Everytime he heard a noise in the
hall, he looked up. It would not do to get caught by the
occupant of this room. He finished, put his equipment away,
wipped the room and the door to get rid of prints and
slipped out the door. He checked the door to make sure it
was locked and headed for the stairs.
Along the way, he passed somebody, who, he assumed had
just walked up the stairs. The person was a tall,
slightly muscular man, with dark brown hair and dark
eyes. He was wearing all black. He walked right past
Dan, didn't spare him a look. Dan watched him disappear
around a corner, then trotted down the stairs. He had the
strangest feeling that he had just seen the occupant of
the room he had been in and he wanted to get the heck away
from him and the room before the man discovered what he
had done. Dan ran the rest of the way down the stairs,
out the building and hailed a cab. He gave the cabbie the
address of the hotel Kat was in, he wanted to report to
her the success of the mission.
***
Mike walked into his room and went over to where he kept his
PowerBook hidden. He pulled it out and started the warm-
up procedure. He wanted to check and see if he had gotten
any mail. Whlie he waited, he thought about the man he
had seen in the hall. Tall, well-built, with reddish-
brown hair. He walked right past Mike and continued down
the stairs. He had been carrying a tool box with him. Mike
had never seen the man before and wondered if he was new
convert. <Have to ask, I guess.> he thought, looking at the
screen, wondering what was taking so long. He realized what
was wrong a moment later.
Instead of the menu, he normally got, a JPEG of Barney was
staring at him, strains of "I LOVE YOU..." started eminating
from the machine. He stared dumbfounded. Who dared to come
and mess with his computer??? Ravenettes??? Knighties???
FoD's??? Suddenly, his mind flashed back to the man on the
stairs. Of course!!! Why hadn't he figures it out sooner!
The man with the toolbox was the one who had messed with his
computer. But who had the man been working for?? He was
furious, if he had been a vampire, his eyes would have be
glowing red by that time. A polite beep came from the
machine, breaking into his thoughts, he stared down at the
screen and a message appeared. It read:
Cousin Mike:
We have had your computer rigged. Everytime you reboot, you
will get this message on the screen. Every button you
push will result in the Barney song, music only, being
played and a JPEG of Barney will appear on the screen.
One aspect of this is that if you try to delete this sub-
program your hard-drive will crash and dump everyting on
it into the void.
There is a key; you can find it at The Slaughtered Lamb in
New York City on Halloween night.
Thank you,
Kat, Ravenette
Mike was beyond furious at this point. He tried to reboot
and sure enough, the music and the picture appeared. <Looks
like I'm stuck going to New York.> he thought. He shut
off the PowerBook and went to tell the others what had
just happened. <When I get my hands on her....> he
thought as he stalked down the hall.
A Conversation, Overheard
By Selma McCrory
Karin and Jennise sped onwards in their rented car. They had
their minds set on locating Susan, who had been kidnapped by
Nick.
So they could be forgiven for not noticing their visitor. He
hovered in the night, listening to their conversation with
LaCroix on the phone. Karin was talking at a normal
volume, and it really helped when they stopped at
stoplights.
Vince was that visitor. He had followed orders and tried
to find out what LaCroix was up to. And what he had found
out was interesting. Karin and Jennise were trying to find
Susan for her interview. In New York. And LaCroix was
scheming to drive Dorian up the wall.
Once he was sure that he knew everything that he needed to
know, he headed for a payphone. He got out his phone card
and went to call Sacramento.
Lost Connections
By Selma McCrory
I listened as the phone rang again, frustrated at not
getting anyone. First I'd tried Sharon, and then I'd tried
ringing Nat at work and at home. I'm sure that someone at
the Raven would have answered the phone if I had called
during the night, but I was too impatient to.
Since my email had gone out, I'd had difficulty reaching
anyone, and I'm not sure that my current screename was
sending anything out. AOL's mail system was having fits,
sometimes handing me things from yesterday, sometimes
handing me the most recent stories from fkfic. Oh, I'd
been reaching John occasionally, since he'd been helping
me handle Vince for the last few months, but he hadn't
been responding lately.
The only person I reached, or I should say, reached me,
was Vince. He'd uncovered something. I could tell that
he'd found something that he was excited about, even
though he tried to cover it up with that calm British
demeanor of his. Maybe he'll even forget that he wants to
bring me across.
Well, Vince may be heading home soon, but then he may become
so fascinated that he'll forget me. I pray so...
And maybe I'll find Sharon. Sometime.
A Knightie and a Ravenette Take Flight (Part 1 of 2)
By Amy Denton and Kate Feline
I e-mailed Sandra about the blond brick I received in the
mail, then left for class. After class I came into the
computer lab, logged on and discoverd that I had an e-mail
message from Sandra.
***
To: z_dentonam@titan.sfasu.edu
From:TMP_HARKINS@DIRAC. PYHSICS.JMU.EDU
Subject: You got one too, huh?
So, you got one of the bricks, huh?? I don't know why
they attacked us. We haven't done anything to them.
That, however is about to change. :)= Why don't you join
the others in Toronto. You know where they are staying.
Sandra, forever Knightie
tmp_harkins@dirac.physics.jmu.edu
***
<Go to Toronto?> I thought, <Why not? I've never been
there. I've done all my reports for school, I can leave
Snowflake with my neighbor and tell my mom I'm going to a
writers convention. (It's not a complete lie)>
"Yes," I said out loud, "I'll go. It'll be fun." Joe,
the computer worker looked in my direction but not for long.
He was used to me talking to myself. I e-mailed back to
Sandra that I would be on the first plane out, after getting
some stuff. (GrimJim had asked me to bring something). I
asked her for transportation from the airport and the
address of the hotel. I then logged off and ran out of
the Boyton computer lab, banginng the door behind me. I
had a million things to do.
When I got home, I went downstairs and banged on the door of
my Raventte neighbor Kat. She opened the door on the second
knock.
"Guess what," she said, "I'm going to Toronto."
"Me, too." I replied. "Whanna go to Tyler and get some
stuff?"
"Give me half a minute." She said, disappearing into her
bedroom in the back of the apartment.
"You wanna drive or should I?" I yelled to her.
"Why are you asking?" She reappeared, shoes in hand.
"Well, I don't want to die on the way there but I also don't
want to take an hour and a half getting there."
She looked up from tying her shoelaces. "Are you implying
that I drive too fast?"
"No, I'm *saying* that you drive too fast." I grinned
when she made a face at me. "So," I said, repeating myself,
"do you want to drive or should I?"
"I'll drive as long as *you* don't back-seat drive." We
walked out of her apartment. She locked the door and we
headed for the car.
"You won't hear a peep out of me. Maybe a squeak of fear
now and then but no peeps."
She made another face at me. I handed her the keys and
got in the passengers seat. "C'mon," I said "it's already
2:30 and I don't want to be on these roads after dark.
You can't see anything on them."
"All right. Hang on." She turned on the engine and we
flew out the apartment parking lot.
The trip to Tyler was uneventfull. (It took half-an-hour.
I didn't look) We arrived in downtown Tyler at 3:00 and
decided to go to Foley's to get some clothes for out
trip. Yes, Foley's was expensive but it had the greatest
selection of clothes for 150 miles around the area.
Three hours and hundreds of dollars later, we staggered
out of Foley's weighted down with our purchases. As we
waddled to the car, I remarked "Now would be a great time to
mug us."
"Nah," Kat replied "they'd never find us under all this
stuff." We finally made it to the car (all the way at the
end, wouldn't you know) and dumped our purchases in the
trunk. (Big trunk, Nick would approve)
After we got back in the car (I releived Kat of the car
keys.), "Where to next?" she said
"I've got to go to Target and get some stuff."
"Okay, I'll come along with you."
"I need to get some stuff, but I don't want you to be
there."
"Ditto. Why don't we split up and meet back at the car at
quarter till?"
"That's cool."
Amy...
As I walked into Target, I wondered <Where did they hide the
candy??> It was, after all, near Halloween and the junk food
should be nearby. 15 to 20 minutes later, I had located
the object of my search. I got a few strange looks from
people as I dumped all of the Raisinettes into my cart.
<That should do it.> I thought. <Hmm, how much is this
going to cost? Not that it really matters. I lik
spending other people's money.
The checkout guy's eyes nearly popped out of his head as
he looked at all of the bags of Raisenettes.
"How many bags did you get?"
"I don't know. The entire display."
"Paper or plastic?"
"I'm paying with plastic, but I want the stuff in paper,
so my travelling-mate can't see what's inside. Folded at
the top, if you can.
He gave me a strange look, but I could see that he was
thinking <Whatever the customer wants.>
Kat...
I got my stuff for the party and picked up a cheap walkman
for the ride. We'd be on the puddle-jumper for a couple
hours and they might not have a radio on the plane from
Dallas and I could not handle the country music usually
available on Texas flights. I also refused to take my own
walk-man because there might be nasty little surprises
waiting for us in Toronto.
As I prepared to meet Amy back at the car I was ready to
argue with her over who was driving. If I let her drive
we wouldn't make it back for our 9:30 flight to Dallas.
It was 7:30 and we still had to get back to Nac, leave the
cat with the neighbor, Caroline, Amy had to call her mom and
I still had call my sister, get to the airport. leave our
stuff with the guy at the counter, get on the plane for a
take-off time of 9:05. If she drove we might make it back
to Nac by 9:00. I drove.
Arrival at Nac...8:15pm...Amy...
"Let me unclench my hand from the door now," I said
glaring at Kat. "I thought I told you not to act like Mario
Andretti." I got out of the car; Kat just smiled evilly.
"Let me go upstairs and leave `Flake with Caroline and
call my mom while you call Mimi and let her know we're going
to Toronto."
Kat waved as she walked away, not bothering to reply.
"Oh, shit! I forgot to pack!!!"
I ran up the stairs praying to God that I wouldn't fall
and break some important bone. I unlocked my door,
grabbed a cussing Snowflake and banged on Caroline's
door. Snowflake caught sight of Moo-bear, Caroline's cat,
and freaked. She bit me, I released her, she jumped over my
shoulder and ran back into the apartment and dove under
the couch "Dammit! Come back here Snowflake."
Deciding this was not worth it, I turned to Caroline. "Here
are the keys," I gave her my extra keys. "She gets fed at
7:30 am and 6:30 pm. I'm going to call my mom." I
thanked Caroline who was laughing too hard to reply and re-
entered my apartment, slamming the door behind me. "Come
out from under there, you little monster! I lifted the ruff
on the couch and looked at Snowflake, who glared back at me,
her green eyes glowing in the light of the lamp behind
me. "I'm leaving you here. Caroline will feed you if she's
feeling like it. You ungrateful little harridan."
Snowflake just glared at me, then came out from under the
couch, nipped at my hand (which I yanked back before she
could sink her fangs into it) and stalked into the kitchen
yowling at me that dinner time had passed over an hour and a
half ago. I fed her and then called my mom.
"Mom! I'm going to Toronto for a writer's convention."
Isn't invention on-the-spur-of-the-moment fun?!
"And who is paying for this? And what about your classes?"
"Uh...Well...They're paying everything...and...uh...," I was
trying not to break out laughing, and still come up with a
story she'd believe and accept. "Professor Carbajal will
not be there on Friday. Dr. Darville had to sit with his
children while his wife had a job interview. And Dr. Beatty
gave us a walk because she felt like it." Damn I'm good!
"Uhuh. And when will you be back?"
"Tuesday."
"And what about Dr. Malpass? And work?"
"Dr. Malpass is in DC at a history teacher's convention.
And there's nothing going on at work. Any more questions?"
"No. Just call me when you get there."
"OK, will do. Bye. Oh, next-door neighbor, Caroline, is
taking care of Snowflake." I hung up.
I went to my closet and picked up my suitcase. I walked out
and opened the thing on the bed, opened my drawers and
just dumped them in the suitcase. <Who cares about
neatness?> I walked into the bathrom, got my toothpaste,
toothbrush, shampoo, soap, dental floss, make-up, etc. and
threw them into the over-full suitcase with my clothes. I
went into the living room, carrying the suitcase <damn thing
weighs a ton> grabbed my book-bag, stuffed my Spanish
textbook in it <got to pass this damn course>, opened the
door, exited, locked the door <Good-bye `Flake> and went
downstair to bang on Kat's door.
"I'm ready!!!"
Kat...back in the car, before Amy went home to wrestle
with her cat...
Amy was gritching about my driving. <I don't know why
she's so loud about it. We made it back in time for her
to pack!>
I went into my apartment, checking my mail on the way <bill,
letter, post-card, letter from my Grandmother...>. I walked
into my bedroom, got my suitcase walked back into the living
room grabbed my red bookbag and my caboodle with my make-up,
etc. in it and went back out to the car. I could hear Amy
shouting at Snowflake, a yowl and more yells. Caroline
was laughing fit to split herself in two.
I walked out the car, unlocked the trunk (I have keys) put
my suitcase and caboodle in. I closed the trunk, walked
around to the passenger door and unlocked it. I opened
the bookbag and put the new walkman into it, closed the bag,
threw it into the back seat, locked and closed the door.
I then walked back into my apartment to read my book and
wait for Amy to bang on the door.
<Oops, forgot to call Mimi.> I grabbed the phone and dialed
her number. Ring, ring, ring, ring. "Damn, she must be at
Mawmaw's." I dialed *her* number.
Ring. "Hello?" Cindy answered the phone.
"Cindy, is Mary there?"
"No, she went to town."
"Can I talk to Mawmaw?"
"I'm on the phone," Cindy's attitude showed. Cindy is 16
and a freshman in high school. Gods forbid I interrupt
her talking to someone she sees 8 hours a day, 5 days a
week. She might miss something.
"Tell Mawmaw and Mimi that I'm going out of town for the
weekend and will call them Tuesday when we get back."
"It's only Wednesday. What are you doing, taking the week
off?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm leaving
town. Bye, Cindy."
She hung up on me without saying Bye. Little witch.
As I hung up...BANG BANG "I'm ready!!!"
Amy...
"Let's go. You drive...it's ten till and we'll be late
driving on these dang back-roads you seem to prefer."
"Dude. Let's go."
"Did you get ahold of Mary?"
"No, she wasn't home, but I talked to Cindy and told her
to tell Mary and Mawmaw I was leaving."
"Did you tell them where?"
"No."
Shoppers' Paradise, Sharon's Hell
By Simone "Angel" Morgan
Bzzzzzzzzzzzz.....CRASH!....bzzzz...bzz..
Angel felt better now that she had destroyed the alarm
clock. 10 AM...it was too early to get up. She hoped
last night had been a twisted dream. The meeting between
Janette and Natalie had gone well enough. She had even found
time to flirt with Jeff, and set up a time to meet with
Sharon. The Ravens and Ravenettes had pulled off the
meeting perfectly.
Then, after what seemed like an eternal night already, she
had arrived back at her hotel suite, ready for a blissful
night's sleep. Angel groaned as she thought about what the
Knighties had done. Her precious wardrobe... Angel sat
up. She had to go shopping! She didn't have a thing to
wear! Karen had already left, taking one of Janette's
credit cards with her. And Angel had discussed the
situation with Janette last night. She was not amused.
Yes, it was time to go shopping. But what about Sharon?
Hmmm. What *about* Sharon? She wouldn't mind tagging
along. Maybe Angel could recommend some appropriate outfits
for the party. Angel had also been given another mission by
Janette. Sharon's company would make it that much easier
to accomplish.
Angel staggered out of bed, refusing to even glance in the
direction of the closet. She would have to wear her
outfit from last night, even if it smelled like smoke.
She was glad it had been spared. It was one of her
favorite ensembles.
***
11 am, the Raven
Sharon was waiting in front of the Raven when Angel drove
up. Angel motioned her into the rental car.
"Good morning," said Sharon in an annoyingly cheerful voice,
Angel noticed a half empty cup of coffee in her hand. "So
where are we headed?"
As Angel began to drive, she answered, "Well, I have to pick
up some clothes. I thought it would be a great
opportunity for us to decide on a game plan. You don't mind
shopping with me, do you?" The pained expression on
Sharon's face spoke volumes. "Don't worry, it won't take
long. Besides, we might find a suitable outfit for you to
wear to the party. It's just a couple of days away, you
know. These things can sneak up on you, and then suddenly
you realize you don't have a thing..." Sharon's annoyed
glance cut her off mid-sentance.
"Look," said Angel, in a no-nonsense voice, "I'm having a
slight...complication with my clothes. I need to get
some. You're coming along." It was not a request.
Sharon took a closer look at Angel. *Wow, she looks
beat.* Although her hair and makeup were impeccable, there
were bags under her eyes even the makeup couldn't hide. And
what was that smoke smell? Sharon realized with a start that
Angel was in the same outfit she had worn to the Raven. The
stockings, the boots, everything was identical. What was
going on?
"Haven't you gone to bed yet?" she asked.
Angel's chuckle made her wonder even more. "Let's just
say it was an unusual night. I deserve a shopping spree,"
she replied with a cheerful smile. Angel seemed to be her
usual friendly self again. Too friendly for Sharon's
peace of mind.
An hour and a few thousand dollars later, they had been to
seven shops, and had seven large bags of clothing to show
for their efforts. Every concievable type of clothing and
accessory had been purchased. And Angel had been less
than subtle about using Janette's credit card. Sharon was
annoyed. She detested shopping, but had to admit that Angel
was the fastest shopper she had ever seen. Still, almost
nothing had been resolved. The morning had been passed with
sly attacks and subtle barbs.
Sharon breathed a sigh of relief as they left the shop.
"Done?"
"Just one more stop. Janette's tailor needs to fit me for
some things."
"You're kidding, right?"
"Half of the things I need can't be store bought," Angel
replied as if talking to an ignorant child. "I'm having
them made instead. See, lighting cigarettes has it's
perks." She laughed to herself.
Sharon ignored the jibe, wondering if they would ever get
back to the subject she was there to discuss. "So how are
you planning on getting everyone to the party?"
"Oh, that'll be simple enough. I'll send out an
invitation to the Die-Hards this afternoon. They can't
resist an opportunity to mediate. You ladies aren't a
problem. We can extend a banquet invitation to the
FoD's. They're easily enticed. Since *some of us* aren't
on a budget, we can go all out. If we can lure Nick to
the party, the Knighties (she almost spat the word) will
follow. And he's not hard to trick. Besides, the
Knightie spies at the Raven last night probably helped
prod them into action. The Cousins will be more
difficult. I think torment is the only thing they
understand, so that's what we've been using to spur them
into action. See, it's simple."
Sharon wasn't so sure. "Wouldn't honesty be a better
method? I can't imagine everyone turning down a party
invitation." She guaged Angel's reaction carefully.
"Sharon, you don't seem to realize how serious this is.
We can't take chances. I would rather be sure of their
presence and be deceptive than be honest and fail."
"Yeah, the Ravenettes seem to live by that, just like
their mistress."
"Rather deception without pain for anyone than bluntness and
lack of finesse like your friends. Who benefits from that?"
she asked as she pulled up to the tailor shop and got out of
the car.
Sharon followed Angel into the expensive shop. A little man
came forward, greeting them profusely. "Mademoiselle Angel,
welcome back. Is the cloak to your liking?"
"Oh yes, Edouard, it has worked out splendidly. Did you
receive the list of things I'll be selecting today?"
Angel asked. When Edouard nodded, she said, "Then lets
get started."
As Edouard hurried out of the room, Angel started
examining the creations hanging all over the shop. She eyed
a lovely silk dress.
"What do you think?" she asked Sharon.
"It's nice, but isn't it a bit conservative for you?"
"Not for me, silly. For you. You haven't gotten anything
for the party yet. And it looks like a perfect fit. Come
on, try it on. You'll love it." Angel started pulling
Sharon towards a dressing room. "Don't look at me like
that. Listen, if money's the problem, I'm sure Janette
would rather pay for your outfit than have you show up
looking like a..."
"No, Angel. Look, I don't *need* more clothes. I'm sure my
own clothes will be fine."
Angel tilted her head and just looked dubiously at Sharon,
who was dressed simply in jeans, a t-shirt, and a long
grey wool coat.
Sharon glanced down, then looked back up at her. "Don't
start," she warned.
"Just *one* outfit!" Angel protested.
Sharon shook her head, holding her hands out in front of her
as if warding Angel off. "Thanks, but no," she said.
Angel sighed and shook her head. Just then Edouard
returned, his arms loaded with velvets and other black
fabrics. As he started measuring and draping, Sharon
paced around the shop. She had to admit that Edouard's
creations really were beautiful. She was restless, and
decided to pry more information out of Angel while Edouard
held her captive. "Angel, I've started wondering what this
party is really all about."
Angel laughed under her breath. "There are things that need
to be resolved. You don't understand what's going on, but
trust me, this party is essential for all of us."
"Oh? And why's that?" Sharon asked, as Edouard left for
a moment.
"Look Sharon, I'm not sure what exactly is happening either.
Janette has us doing some confusing things. Doing
background research that just doesn't fit together.
Asking scary people unusual questions. And I've been
trying to figure this out while relaying the information
to Janette. There is something big going on. And I'd
prefer not to speculate what it is."
"Oh yeah, you're just a mortal. This is none of your
business, right?" Despite her comment, Sharon was
thrilled that she was finally getting somewhere. Angel
had been elusive with most of her responses.
"Did I say that? Maybe this as a problem we can't solve.
From the looks of it, I'm happy to leave it to Janette and
the others. This whole situation is getting really
strange." Although Angel was getting annoyed, Sharon
could tell she was serious.
"How's that?" Sharon asked.
"I dunno...I've just had these feelings since I got here.
Something's not right. I feel like I'm being watched,
like people know things but won't speak up, all kinds of
stuff. Maybe I'm just paranoid. Wars can do that to a
person." Sharon just shrugged.
Edouard returned with a rack full of gorgeous dresses.
Angel couldn't disguise her delight. Sharon could have
sworn she saw mischief in that smile. "Mademoiselle, I've
done all the measurements. I can have the velvet dress
ready by tonight. I'll have the rest delivered to you as
I finish them. Mademoiselle Janette suggested you look at
the dresses here for..."
"Thank you Edouard. I appreciate you doing this on such
short notice." The man nodded and left the room. Angel
started flipping through the dresses.
"Don't you have enough? You're going to need new luggage if
you buy any more stuff." Sharon was getting exasparated.
Angel just smiled slyly. "Oooh, look at this!" She held up
a dark red dress. "My favorite color. That dried blood
shade."
"Uh. . .i--it's nice?" she stammered. Sharon had never seen
anything quite like it, not that there was all that much
to it, and it was beyond her how someone could wear
something like that in public. In fact, she'd be
embarrassed to wear something like that in the privacy of
her own home where no one could see her! "But I thought you
didn't wear red."
Angel laughed. "Stranger things have happened. I'll take
it." She signalled to Edouard that she had made her
choice. He put it in a box for her, and the two women
were on their way.
Sharon was so relieved to get out of there. "We're going
back now. Can you drop me off at Nat's?"
"Sure. I'm done for today. It's been a long time since I
had a good day's rest, so I think I'll take the rest of
the day off."
"You haven't exactly been working."
Angel harrumphed. "You'd be surprised."
Sharon decided not to probe any further on this subject.
"I'll be heading to New York pretty soon to secure those
pubs. Are you going to check out the `Jeckyl and Hyde'?"
"No. Janette wants me here. I'll send some of the others
ahead and come down with Janette later this weekend."
Sharon started to get out of the car, but turned back toward
Angel. "We'd better be able to trust you," she said.
"The same goes for you," Angel said evenly, putting the
car into gear.
"Mmmm. Well, it's been...interesting. I'll see you at
the party." And with that, Sharon got out of the car and
headed into building.
Angel chuckled as she drove away. Her mission was
accomplished. She had worked things out with Sharon and
gotten Natalie a dress all in one fell swoop.
A Change of Scenery
By Eryka Hughes
"Adios Vampiero," Professor Ash called to me after I dropped
the midterm on his desk.
"Adios don Pablo." <If he calls me that one more time I'll--
Oh never mind. He's not worth it.>
It was Thursday and I could care less about anything that
didn't include my upcoming trip to Toronto.
Midterms were finally over and I was free until the next
Tuesday for some fun. An old friend from high school, now
living in Toronto had invited me up for the long weekend.
"It'll do you some good to get out of that dingy city,"
she'd said.
Back in June, Toronto had been the farthest place on my
mind, but some strange happenings with my neighbors in the
dorm over the past few weeks had me curious. Suddenly
everyone and their uncle were breaking out of New York.
Not one to be left behind, I called Amber and let her know I
was on my way.
"That's fantastic!" she gushed. "I'm dying to take you to
this club. You will _love_ it. You probably won't want to
go back to New York. I know I don't."
"I'm looking forward to it. It'd better not let me down."
"Oh I promise you. You won't be let down at all."
That was about a month ago. Now I was two hours from
boarding a plane and getting the hell out of New York.
After sitting on the groud for an hour at LaGuardia, the
plane ride was uneventful. Amber picked me up and instead
of heading for her apartment, we hit the mall.
"Amber, I never knew you to be a shopper."
"We're going to the Raven and dress is too important for
me to trust you to your own instincts."
I looked down at my ripped jeans and flannel shirt.
"What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing. You look fine--for daytime. It's the night
that I'm concerned about. To get into the Raven you've
got to have the right look. Don't worry. You can trust me."
"OK. Just no frilly dresses and no pink."
Culinary Enticements
By Simone "Angel" Morgan
Angel frowned as she examined the list of FoD's. Janette
had charged her with getting them to the party on
Tuesday. What could she do? Petty torments would work on
the Cousins and Knighties. But the FoD's were different
from the other groups. How could she lure them to Manhattan
and the Jeckyll and Hyde?
Suddenly it occurred to her. The solution was so
obvious! The FoD's were connoisseurs of all things
edible. The only way to lure them was to offer them
culinary delights. Angel grabbed some of Janette's
stationary and started writing. Ten minutes later,
several invitations were sent out to the FoD's, inviting
them to a gourmet tour of Manhattan next Tuesday, all
expenses paid. The last stop on the tour was the Jeckyll
and Hyde. The attendance of the FoD's was assured.
Dawn Checks Out the Corbie Digs
By L. Dawn Steele
Dawn was decked out in black. Her make-up was all in dark
tones to complement the silver jewelry. The jeans were a
bit tight and the shoes were a bit small, but it was all for
camouflage anyway. She hoped that if she were caught trying
to break into the Corbie rooms... pretending to have
joined <any> affiliation was not a pleasant thought. It had
to be done only in a last resort.
Breaking in was relatively easy. Dawn could tell that
someone had already broken in once before. The lock had
numerous scratches.
Dawn had gotten friendly with the desk clerk. Apparently
all the occupants had left earlier in the day. He had
overheard something about a mass shopping exhibition.
The first two rooms didn't hold anything of interest. The
third (Ruth's old one) was a mess. There was glass
everywhere and the furniture was disarranged. The wallpaper
was discoloured as if someone had taken a black spray
paint can and decided to start spraying <underneath> the
wallpaper.
"Either they had a truly <wild> party, or Ruth showed
up." Dawn went over to the middle of the room. Upon closer
inspection, the black streaks on the walls were also in
the carpet. They all seemed to be pointing to a
particular spot on the floor.
Dawn walked over and cautiously stepped into the center of
the black lines. Nothing happened.
"Ruth? I'm here. Can you come and talk?" Dawn walked over
to the bag she had dropped by the floor. She brought out
a pad of paper and some pens, then a bunch of candles.
"I'm glad this room is a mess already."
Dawn set the candles in a circle on the floor. The center
positioned at the equicenter of the black lines. Entering
the circle she reached into a bag and started to mark
outside the candles with chalk powder. After she was
done, the candles were lit.
"I'd like to talk to you Ruth. I've tried to make this a
friendly place to visit. I know it's difficult to appear,
but it'll be easier this time, I promise. Enter my circle."
Dawn closed her eyes and tried to visualize Ruth as she'd
last seen her. She concentrated on calling out Ruth's
name in her mind. In less than two minutes the air within
the circle started to noticibly cool, and Dawn opened her
eyes.
Ruth was within the circle. She didn't look very well.
Sections of her body weren't well defined and her feet
refused to appear.
"Hello Ruth. I've done some research since you first
appeared in my apartment. I thought it would be easier
for you if <I> came to you."
<<<MRhdrfh hrkkm hrrhmmr>>>
"I still can't make out what you're trying to tell me, but
I've got a solution. We both know you're telekinetic. I
want you to move either my hand or just the pen. You can
write on the paper what you're trying to tell me."
The ghost hovered within the circle, then moved over the pad
of paper. Soon the pen was working furiously and the
paper was being filled up at an alarming rate. Dawn
leaned over and helpfully turned the page before the
pencil reached the bottom.
The writing continued for some time.
"I'm going to have to take this pad with me in order to read
it all. I can't risk being discovered here. Is there
anything else I can do for you?"
The ghost slowly left the circle. Her edges smoothed out,
but she was starting to fade. Dawn quickly blew out the
candles and started to follow. They went through a
connecting door into another room. Black feathers were
lying everywhere but Ruth ignored them and moved quickly
over to the TV.
Under Ruth's urging, Dawn inserted the tape into the vcr and
turned on the TV. It was an episode of "Forever Knight".
"Is there something I should see?" It was (naturally
enough) the "Fate Worse Than Death" episode and the vcr
was playing the scene in which LaCroix reaches out his
hand to Janette.
The ghost emitted what appeared to be an impatient hiss
and seemed to sink into the TV. The show continued but with
certain slight changes.
LaCroix and Janette were surrounded by a faint black
nimbus of light. It seemed to shimmer and move and the
longer Dawn watched the stronger it got. The black light
thickened and then seemed to {reach} out of the TV and
headed straight for Dawn...
CLICK!!
Ruth had turned off the TV.
"What the #@$&&* was that?!" Dawn headed hurridly into
the other room and started to pack everything back into
the bag. The chalk couldn't be helped, but they probably
weren't using this room anyway.
She didn't want to think too much about what had happened
with the TV. Dawn's subconscious went to work trying to
figure it out while her conscious mind didn't want to deal
with it.
"Ruth? I'm going to leave now. The Die-Hards will be
meeting just one floor down tomorrow morning. I've reserved
rooms #415 to 418. If you can make it, the others would
probably want to meet you. It looks as if you've been
wearing yourself out though. Try to rest tonight and
recover."
The ghost seemed to float across the floor until she was
in the middle of the chalked circle, then she seemed to
dissolve and sink into the floor.
Dawn hurried out the door and took the stairs to the
ground floor. She wasn't going to chance meeting anyone
in the elevator.
She was almost out the front doors of the Hotel before her
subconscious slapped the answer in her face. Dawn face
became paler than it normally was and the freckles started
to <really> stand out.
"Shades of the Nine Hells! There's a spell on the actors in
the show! It must be affecting everyone who watches
`Forever Knight'!"
Dawn went down the street and headed for a subway
terminal. The pad of paper that Ruth had spent so much of
her precious energy on was tucked sucurely beneath her
arm. Dawn's mind wasn't on the pad of paper though. It was
trying to figure out what kind of spell it could be, and how
it could be affecting the viewers. Alternate game plans
were being formed and discarded furiously.
It was going to be a long night. She had to figure it out
before the other Die-Hards arrived in the morning.
On The Road Again
By Karin Welss
The small tracking device on the dashboard of the rental
Honda Accord beeped steadily as the car flew north on the
Garden State Park, in the direction of the Jersey Turnpike--
and the Newark Airport.
"How are you feeling?" asked Jennise sympathetically, for
the hundredth time. She was driving, her face lighted an
eerie blue-green color from the dashboard lights.
Sitting in the passenger seat, wrapped in a large blanket,
Karin gave a muffled groan. "Why the hell did you let me
bite Lisa? I couldn't have <possibly> been that hungry.."
She blinked, and sat up groggily, her head still pounding
from the aftereffects of Lisa's poisoned blood. "If Susan
and Nick got on that plane to Toronto, we're shish-kebab,
Jennise. Dorian will kill us-- if LaCroix doesn't first."
Jennise looked critically at the tracking device, estimating
the distance from the transmitter concealed in Susan's
antique garnet earrings by the frequency of the beeps. "We
seem to be holding steady. Not really getting any closer,
but we're not losing them either."
"Thank goodness for small favors." Karin said shortly, and
began rummaging around in the glove compartment for the
cellular phone.
"Who're you calling?" Jennise asked.
Karin smiled for the first time in two days. "I'm doing mail
order-- for our friend Lisa. How does the Good Vibrations
catalog sound? I'll ask them to leave off the brown paper
wrapper-- that should give the folks in Columbia, South
Caroline something to talk about. Now, which of the
bondage toys do you think would cause the biggest
scandal...?"
***
Thousands of miles away, in San Francisco, a bored mail
order clerk wrapped up the first of the black leather whips,
and addressed them to a Ms. Lisa McDavid....
Another Night At The Raven
By Simone "Angel" Morgan
Angel sat at her usual perch in the Raven, watching the
dancers and reflecting on the day's events. She had just
received confirmation about the rental of the pubs in New
York. She had hired caterers to set up a banquet for the
FoD's, and sent out the invitations. She had also hired men
to guard their hotel suites. Angel was fed up with the
nearly constant flow of intruders during the past few
days. Now the rooms were nearly impregnable. She felt much
better knowing that her wardrobe was safe. The next
person who messed with her clothes would die slowly.
Her eyes stayed to Jeff, who was talking to Rob. The
three of them had gone shopping for a few hours. They
looked extremely handsome in their new clothes. The Nat-
Packers had liked them before. They would really swoon when
those two showed up on Monday. Angel had really gotten to
like Jeff. Even Janette had a hard time resisting his
charm. Unfortunately, she still turned down their requests
to DJ again. The two of them had turned the Raven into a
total goth club Wednesday night. Janette didn't mind, but
she thought it might hurt business on a Friday.
As Angel scanned the crowd, she noticed a brunette, who
looked a bit out of place. She was standing near the
dance floor, watching the swaying bodies. *Hmmmm.
Another Knightie spy? Geez, I don't have time for this.*
She got up, and walked over to the girl, who appeared to
be close to her own age. As she got closer, Angel saw the
girl's eyes stray towards Rob.
"He's prtty fine, isn't he?" Angel commented over the loud
music. The girl smiled. She seemed friendly enough. She
wasn't acting paranoid like a spy would.
"Yeah. You know him?"
Angel nodded. "His name's Rob. He's German. You should
hear his accent. I just melt every time he opens his mouth.
Want me to introduce you to him?"
Eryka wondered who this girl was, and why she was being so
friendly. She was one of those goths. Her hair was
blonde with a purple glow, and her face was practically
white. This was definitely the strangest club she had
been to in a very long time. She thought women were
supposed to compete for guys, not help each other get dates.
"Yeah, that would be great. I'm not from here, so I'm not
sure it's worth your effort."
Angel smiled as she led the way towards the two men. "Don't
worry about it. He's not either. I just thought he
looked lonely over there talking to Jeff. I'm Angel, by the
way."
"Oh, I'm Eryka."
They walked up to the two men. Eryka was certain they
were the two best catches in the club. Of course, that
bartender was pretty hot too.
"Rob, Jeff, this is Eryka. She's visiting here and I
thought she could use some *company*." Rob understood
that he was supposed to pump this girl for all the
information he could get.
The guys mumured their greetings. Eryka was quite
charmed. She noticed the flirtatious look that passed
between Jeff and Angel. *Well, I guess he's off limits.
That's okay. Robert's more my type anyway.*
"Eryka? Jeff and I need to take off for a while. Could you
keep Rob safe from all these women for me?" Angel winked at
her. "It was nice meeting you."
"Nice meeting you too." Jeff took Angel's arm and led her
away. Eryka would be in for an interesting night.
-------
CHAPTER 16 Saturday, October 29, 1994
Getting to Know You
By Eryka Hughes
Rob eyed the newcomer Eryka with suspicion. She didn't
look like she belonged to any other factions, but those
Natpackers could be slick. It would be just like them to
have a set of back up spies. Then again, she could be
completely innocent. He'd have to see.
***
I didn't exactly like the way Rob was staring at me.
"I hope you don't mind me asking you this bluntly, but
what are you staring at? Have I grown an extra appendage
anywhere?"
"I was staring? So sorry. That was rude," he apologized in
his melting German accent.
I smiled up at him. "You're forgiven. <With that accent of
yours you'd be forgiven of serial killing.>
They made small talk for awhile with Rob gracefully asking
her questions. To him she didn't seem to be connected to
anyone. If anything, her sympathies lied with the
Ravenettes.
***
Very early the next morning...
The club seemed about to close. Only a few strangling groups
of people remained.
"It looks like the party's over," Rob observed.
"Well it doesn't have to be." <God, I never flirt like
this in New York. What's gotten into me?> "I'm staying
with a friend here in Toronto. If you'd like to come over--"
"I'd love to take you up on your offer, but I've got
business to attend to."
I looked at him and batted my hazel eyes. "OK. Have it
your way. Will you at least take a lady home?"
Dawn makes a Lot of Fudge (Part 1 of 2)
By Story, by L. Dawn Steele
Poetry by Ruth Dempsey
Saturday, Pre-dawn
Dawn hadn't gotten to bed yet. The past fews days had been a
nightmare of lost sleep, but she had to keep going. Her
secret stash of chocolate covered coffee beans was
disappearing rather quickly though.
The past hours had been spent divided up into two goals.
Figure out what Ruth was trying so hard to tell her, and
also to work out just what that spell on the Forever
Knight actors was for.
After supper she'd done some experiments to base her
theories on the spell, but then she'd started going back and
forth between the two projects.
She had spent the latter part of the evening trying to
figure out what Ruth had written down. Dawn didn't know if
it happened to all ghosts, but apparently Ruth had lost
the ability to communicate clearly. The pages could have
been written in code and Dawn would've been able to figure
them out quicker. It was worse though.
Every single line Ruth had written was some form of poetry.
Some poems <were> straightforward, but there didn't seem to
be any consistency from one poem to the next. The third
one for instance...
I sought wisdom in ancient tomes
Where only scholars go
Where by chance there passed
One whose face matched portrait
On yellowed page,
"Not at all flattering," said he
"Look into my eyes," he said
O ancient, ancient is his name
"Know me for what I am"
And ancient, ancient is his name
"Dragons live beyond the lives of men," said I
"Dragon or devil?" smiled he,
"How much do you think you know, wise child?"
The child stung and I was not wise
"Seven years unknown to the living or dead
And Devil or Dragon can the sun regain,
So it says in ancient legend."
*"Woman you know too much"*
Green, green are those soulstealing eyes
Hand and thought were not my own
"Die for peace," said he.
"Protest as a monk, the blame will fall on others."
Seven years come to an end soon
And war will be an excuse for his rising.
Beware, beware his green, green eyes
For ancient, ancient is his name.
The poem seemed to indicate that Ruth might have been killed
by a green-eyed vampire because she knew too much. Perhaps
something to do with Nick becoming human again. Perhaps it
meant that a vampire would be coming back soon in the
midst of a war. Like most poetry, each line could be
interpreted in <many> different ways.
Most of the poems though, seemed to deal with phrases and
images of cults or groups of obsessed humans. Vampires
images were intermixed, and some seemed to imply that the
vampires were being watched.
It was past two-thirty in the morning before Dawn decided to
take a break on the poetry. There was that other matter to
concern her...
The matter of the spell. And just <what> the Die-Hards
should do about it.
Dawn makes a Lot of Fudge (Part 2 of 2)
By L. Dawn Steele
It was after 02:30 Saturday when Dawn had left Ruth's
poems behind and had gotten back to the "small" matter of
the spells...
Dawn got out her small blue notebook. It had been given to
her by her youngest sister who had drawn a dragon on the
front cover. The notebook had originally only contained
recipes for some of Dawn's favorite foods, but after the war
this past summer other items had been written in.
Spells. Spells of protection. Spells to break other
spells. Detailed instructions on setting up a basic work
area so the spell-caster wouldn't be sucked into another
dimension just for mispronouncing one of the words in the
ceremony.
Now Dawn hadn't exactly been brought up for this sort of
thing and she was certainly not a natural talent. Practice
did help though and she was able to do the more simple
spells with little effort now. Dawn paused for a moment
and started to reflect on just how she'd acquired this
recent budding talent...
Semi-flashback/explanation mode on
She certainly hadn't imagined herself practicing sorcery, or
witchcraft or whatever you wanted to call it. At the end
of the last war though, she suddenly found herself in the
possession of a copy of the Abarat. Copies had been flying
left and right throughout the war. LaCroix had made a
copy, but Dawn got the original. Or at least she had it
for awhile.
Dawn had been going slowly through the book. Laborously
translating page by page. She had managed to copy a few of
the spells into her recipe before that unfortunate
accident...
She had been trying a short spell that she didn't fully
understand when the book started to burn... Within seconds
flame whose colors ranged from nearly ultraviolet to wine
red were consuming the book. The fire didn't even singe
the living room carpet, but it was gone in less than a
minute.
Any hope of Dawn discovering a cure for Nick and slipping it
to him was gone with it. She had felt guilty not handing the
book over from the moment she received it, but she hadn't
wanted to start another war.
Explanation mode off
Now here she was, trying to remember what little she knew
about spells and the general rules they followed. If it
was LaCroix who had put the spell on the Forever Knight
show, then perhaps one of the general "break" spells would
work. Dawn closed her eyes and thought back to her
"experiments"...
Flashback, Friday evening right after supper
The first thing to do was figure out exactly what the
spell did. Dawn hated using Tracy as a guinea pig, but she
was a Cousin after all. LaCroix wouldn't want to hurt his
own... So after supper she and Tracy had sat in front of the
TV (Dawn wearing a protective amulet and Tracy exposed to
the spell). The show had gone smoothly enough, but as soon
as the actor playing LaCroix showed on the screen, Dawn
could feel her amulet getting warm. And that wasn't all.
Tracy was gushing.
Dawn wouldn't have believed it, but it was happening in
front of her eyes. Tracy had started to expound on how
wonderful LaCroix was, how handsome he looked, and how he
was so <misunderstood>. Nick was described as being willful,
and after one particularly well-acted scene... Nick was
now being nasty to LaCroix. Tracy seemed ready to go on
for quite some time in quite cruel detail, but then the
episode ended and Dawn decided not to show another.
Half an hour later Tracy was more even in her opinions about
Nick as if some negative influence was wearing off, but
LaCroix was still the best thing since sliced bread.
The spell seemed to catch peoples attention and make them
more sympathetic to LaCroix. If they had any Cousin-ish
tendencies, these were brought to the fore. It also seemed
to work when Janette was on the screen but not as
strongly. Dawn didn't know if that aspect of the spell was
weaker, or if perhaps Tracy had more "Cousin" leanings
than "Ravenette".
Was Tracy's recent conversion to the Cousins forced
through spells. Dawn had known Tracy for quick some time and
hadn't been <too> surprised at the sudden departure from the
Die-Hards into the ranks of the Cousins. Was it <too> fast
though? A lot of new Cousins and Corbies had shown up
recently. It might not be a coincidence.
It didn't really matter who had cast the spell though.
People were being "forced" to choose a side. Dawn got queasy
just thinking about it. She'd been wearing her protective
amulet quite a lot lately. Obviously it had been enough to
protect her, but others didn't have that option.
The strong willed wouldn't be swayed by a single viewing.
VCR's would capture the images <and> the spell. Repeated
viewings would intensify the effect. The confirmed Nat-
Packers and Knighties wouldn't be paying that much attention
to the scenes with Janette and LaCroix in them. That
should have protected them from the worse of the effects.
The unaffiliated were fair game though. This COULD NOT be
allowed!! It went against everything the Die-Hards stood
for!!
When Tracy went to bed, Dawn leaped into action.
Flashback mode off
She kept herself in the kitchen. Her only light that of a
few candles. She tried one after another of the spells on
the videotape she'd brought over from Hamilton. Trying to
figure out it the spell was broken took quite some time.
After each trial she got out the ingredients and tried to
make a batch of fudge.
It was a well known fact that fudge <could not> turn out
well if there was a strong spell resonating nearby.
Batch after batch of fudge was made. Spell after spell was
cast. The candy thermometer was checked carefully throughout
the process. Fudge was a tricky business at the best of
times. Batch after batch either solidified into a solid,
uneatable crystalline mass or refused to solidify at all...
It took five batches, but finally Dawn managed to turn out a
delicious penuche and walnut fudge. It melted beautifully in
the mouth and seemed to give an almost instantaneous sugar
rush.
She checked the last spell she'd cast. With a couple of
modifications, she might be able to boost it's effectiveness
enough to permanantly break the spell. She'd need some
help though.
Luckily enough, Die-hards would start arriving within a
few hours. In the meantime though, Dawn planned on getting a
few precious hours of sleep.
The fudge would be waiting for Tracy in the morning. Dawn
had made sure that one side didn't have any walnuts in it.
A New Approach
By Caile Donachaidh Kane
In which Cousin John tells Cousin Caile of a new approach 29
October, evening Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Things have been quiet here at Uncle's pad. No new
attacks, and I hadn't been out since my experience at the
Raven. Facing Janette's wrath in person had been a
sobering experience. Also, there was still the matter of
that guy following me... As usual, I rose a little after
Uncle had left. He was in and out more than usual, and was
keeping closed-mouthed about his business. I knew he'd had a
meeting with Jennise and Karin about Susan, but he'd left me
in the dark about the rest of his activities.
I went downstairs first thing after eating the hot breakfast
I found on my table. I got on to the computer and checked
the mail. It was almost exclusively for Uncle, but I at last
found one for me:
From: mx%"jdencoff@polaris.unm.edu"
To: mx%"LC@dungeon.com"
Subj: for Caile - plots & plans & things
Hiya Cousin! I've sent this to all the other Cousins as
well, so pay attention. We're planning a suprise visit to
the Raven, I'll get back to you with date and time. Also,
I need you to pick up a box at the airport. It's in my name,
just sign for it, ok? I've made sure you can get it.
Thanks alot, and I'll see you at the party! >:>
-Cousin John
Hmmm. This sounded *very* intersting! I got my coat and
called a cab for the airport - I couldn't wait to see what
was in this box!
Die-hards Dare to Defy Deception in the Dark
By Story, by L. Dawn Steele
Poetry by Ruth Dempsey
Four Die-Hards were sitting around a campfire in High
Park. They were a motley bunch and came from all over
North America.
Kathy had learned of the emergency meeting and had sneaked
away from a fencing tournament in Kingston to help. Her
coach was still under the impression that she was studying
in her hotel room. She had managed to bring along her
epee, in case there was any trouble.
Kitty Hanks and Calliope Catlin were sitting next to each
other. They both had reddish-blond hair, but that's where
the similarities ended. Calliope only topped five feet and
had hazel-green eyes while Kitty was the second tallest in
the group (Kathy was 5'8") at 5'6" and had gray eyes.
They had been briefed earlier in the afternoon. Dawn,
Kitty and Calliope had gone to Le Marche for supper and
had argued over the meaning of Ruth's poetry. They had
agreed on several points and also on some other matters.
The rest of the list would <have> to be told. Ruth had
been murdered because she had known too much. The
murderers had learned that Ruth had come to the Toronto area
to talk to Dawn. Unfortunately for the murderers Ruth had
proved tenacious and refused to leave the material plane
without her knowledge being passed on.
Sitting around the campfire the Die-Hards planned and
plotted. They would go to New York and see what the rest
of the list members knew. If it looked as if their knowledge
would be needed... they would scatter amongst the groups and
pass it on. Knowledge on such a serious subject should not
be held in reserve by one group or another. Some groups
probably already suspected though...
Of course there was the other matter. Dawn had gathered up
the needed materials and had briefed them all on their
roles. Only one thing was missing and Dawn had high hopes
that it would come in time... It was time to get started.
<Hey watch out!>
[I've got to clear the area of all the garbage camp-goers
have left behind.]
{Hey Kathy, could you help me get the chalk and dried
eggshells mixed together? Did anyone bring a hammer?}
"I've gotten the white and gold robes over in the corner.
Try them on and make sure you don't trip over the hems."
<Dawn? Are you sure we have to wear the robes. I'm going
to feel silly enough as it is.>
"Probably not. Most spells don't even need a lot of the
trappings we put on them. Just the desire of the people
casting the spell and the knowledge of what they're doing.
Hey I thought we could have a bit of fun with this while
we're at it! You're welcome to keep the robes. Hallowe'en is
coming up after all."
{Knock, Knock} The others stared at Calliope for a
second, but then Kitty decide to accept the challenge.
<Who's there>
{Dawn}
<Dawn who?>
{It's dawn, so the vamps better watch out.}
Silence reigned for a minute and then they got back to
work.
[Who do you think cast the spell in the first place?]
{My vote's on LaCroix or Janette. Hmm... Maybe both. They
both took the desertions very hard during the last war.}
<There's certainly been less changes during this war.>
"The spell would help to cement loyalties."
[Kitty? Have you finished copying the glyphs onto the
ground?]
<I'm on the last one. The salt crystals stay there a lot
better once you pour the glue in the pattern first. What are
these things made out of anyway? It's a wonderful shade of
cobalt blue.>
"They're supposed to be made out of a <very> expensive
type of seaweed. I couldn't get my hands on enough of it
today for the ceremony so I mixed in a bit of it with some
salt. It dyed the whole batch."
Dawn had experimented on the best type of structure to
enclose the glyphs in and had finally decided to use the
sterotypical pentagon.
They spent the next half hour getting ready. Friendly
chatter kept them occupied as they started to learn more
about each other.
The moment arrived. The Die-Hards took their places in the
pentagon. Four people went within four of the stars tips.
They all turned and stared at the empty spot. It was the
moment they were halfway dreading. Dawn had told them that
Ruth had stuck around after she died, but they had doubts
that she hadn't just cracked up. All this white witchcraft
didn't help matters.
"Ruth? We're waiting for you. We need your presence to break
the spell. You can be our link between the material world
and the one beyond. The spirit plane has many borders.
Planes of the underworld, and the upper. Planes that cross
into the bounds of fiction where LaCroix is only a dream.
Planes of reality we wouldn't recognize."
"Please come Ruth. We're counting on you."
As if only waiting for the invitation, the empty space
within the stars' tip began to be filled. Wisps of white
were the first to appear and then Ruth's familiar face
coalesced. The apparition shimmered and seemed to vary
it's demeanor and clothes by the second, but it was there
and ready to help.
"We gather now in a time which has no time. The clock has
struck one, but it is not one. Time has no meaning, and
has started to repeat. People's senses are confused. This
night has an added hour, and it is ours to use."
"A hole in time."
<Time>
{Time given to us.}
[Time given to us to use.]
"The bonds of reality has loosened. Fiction becomes fact,
and fact becomes fiction. Time is created by the
consciousness of those who observe it. When they loosen
the strings... Anything can happen."
"A spell has been cast. The caster is unknown but we have
our suspicions. No retaliation will be made, but this
abomination must stop."
{Stop}
<Be broken forever.>
[Be broken forever and never repaired.]
"We beseach our companion Ruth to aid up in our quest.
Search the material plane and take our wishes with you. Find
all the traces, upon videotapes around the world. Search the
Broadcasting stations for tapes of shows yet to be seen.
Remove all traces."
[Remove them]
{Shred them forever.}
<Rip them apart!>
"<[{NOW!!!!}]>"
Ruth's presence thinned until only a smear of white could be
seen. Images formed within, of places none of them had seen.
Actors and members flashed and were gone.
From seemingly everywhere a voice coalesced. It was
Ruth's. It seemed to make the very air reverberate as if the
bass knob had been turned <all> the way up...
For in this time that is not,
Then must evil be unwrought
Send us power for this night
To change the darkness into light
Now let the curse be ended,
Now let what's marred be mended
All hostilities must cease
Now let all thoughts turn to peace.
"Our time is almost done. The minds of the world steady
in the new framework. We disband our search. We close our
ceremony. We are finished."
{Finished}
<Done>
[complete]
<<<ffiinnnniiisss....>>>
The Die-Hards closed their eyes and were silent. A strong
breeze came and started to whip at their clothes. The
pentagon and glyphs were destroyed. Small branches and twigs
settled onto the earth and the wind was silent.
Ruth had disappeared again. Dawn hoped she could make it
to New York. She was an awfully active ghost, so she might
not be limited to the area near her earthly death.
{Well... That was wierd.}
[Does anybody want to go out for coffee? I know this great
place that's open till two in the morning. With the daylight
savings time change they should still be open till we get
there.]
"That sounds good. I've still got half a ton of fudge in
my bag too. I made three more batches this morning testing
the ceremony out."
The Die-Hards gathered their belongings and left. There were
no signs of their deed. Those influenced by the spell
wouldn't feel any immediate effects, but some would soon
have doubt as to their chosen affiliation. Most would
stay. The spell had only enhanced what was already there.
The breath of freedom could be felt in the air.
Party Favors
By Sharon Himmanen
The Jeckyll and Hyde
It was the last of the pubs on her list to check. Arriving
back from Toronto early Friday morning, she'd spent most
of Friday evening at The Slaughtered Lamb and The Jack the
Ripper. She smiled to herself as she stood outside the third
pub. Janette was not going to be happy--from the look of
things, the Jack the Ripper was by far the smallest of the
three.
She'd spoken to the managers of all three by phone on
Friday, and was assurred that all the arrangements for the
meeting and party had been arranged. Friday night, the
manager of the Slaughtered Lamb had taken her down to the
dungeon and they'd walked through the tunnels that connected
the three clubs. All three tunnels met up in a large
centrally located room with three exits.
The tunnels were the best part, Sharon thought, although
it did present certain problems. It *would* allow for easy
travelling between the three pubs, but she also saw the
potential for trouble. She'd made a note to make sure that
someone tried to keep an eye on tunnel traffic during the
party and meeting.
Taking a table in the back of The Jeckyll and Hyde she
decided that both Natalie and Nick would like this pub,
especially appreciating the "For adventurers and mad
scientists" logo over the sign. It was smaller than The
Slaughtered Lamb but much larger than The Jack the Ripper,
with an upper level and several alcoves. Like the other
three, the bar was located near the door. And the decor
was perfect. All three had a horror motif. There were plenty
of skelatons, creepy paintings with fake eyes, and the
Jack the Ripper even had a display case with lots of
knives and meat cleavers.
Sitting at a table near the back and sipping her quarter
yard of ale, Sharon set up Karyl's laptop which she'd
borrowed for the weekend and began making notes and drafting
out a quick floorplan marking exits (including windows,
especially those located in the restrooms) and where the
entrance to the tunnel was located, adding it to the same
information she'd gathered on the other pubs. She'd
sampled dinners, drinks and desserts at all three too, and
put that information in as enticement for the FoDs should it
be necessary.
Remembering how handy the fireworks had been during the last
war in July, she included a few suggestions as to where to
put items such as flashlights, first aid kits, and a few
other things they might need for cover should things
suddenly get strange. Which was always a distinct
possibility for which it was always best to be prepared,
although she thought it best to keep that last bit of
information to herself and a few others from her group.
Things were less likely to go all flooey if people didn't
spend the evening expecting it because someone had
anticipated and prepared for it.
A few more comments, and the document was ready to be sent
out as soon as she got home. The party was set for Tuesday
night and Sharon knew and had warned everyone that the
area would be a zoo tomorrow night, between the parade and
general mayhem of Halloween.
Janette and most of the other Ravenettes would arrive
sometime tomorrow. Sharon had also heard from Linda,
Tanaquil and Elizabeth. They'd rented a car and were driving
down. She'd meet Nat at the airport tomorrow afternoon.
And Sharon had *finally* heard from Selma, whose mailer
had gone down without warning (and wasn't the timing on
*that* suspiciou?). So things were gradually coming
together. But coming together for . . . what?
For the umpteenth time Sharon wondered just what was going
on. When she'd spoken with Natalie this morning they'd
brainstormed over exactly what Janette had meant about the
extreme danger they were all in and had come up empty. The
only "information" Natalie had been able to pry from Janette
was that she wasn't to worry about her outfit because that
had been taken care of. And *that* had Natalie terribly
worried. Other than that, Natalie was as in the dark as
everyone else, but she promised to share as much information
as she could once the meeting was over.
With a sigh, Sharon shut down the laptop and looked around
the club over her half empty glass of ale.
Pub Reports
By Sharon Himmanen
TO: The NatPack
CC: Ravenettes, Knighties, Die-Hards
FROM: Sharon Himmanen
SUBJ: Pub report
Here, as promised, are some details about the pubs.
All three are located in Greenwich Village, and all are
within close proximity of one another, separated by only a
few blocks and within very short walking distance of one
another.
The Slaughtered Lamb, which we have designated as
LaCroixUs base of operations (do we know how weUre getting
him there?) is located at 182 West 4th Street. ThereUs a
werewolf in a glass case located outside, and outside
seating for those who want it. As is the case with all three
pubs, the building is made of brick (Nick should feel
right at home) and a fully stocked bar is located to your
left as you enter the building. Full yard, half yard and
foot long glasses (one would assume that the later would
be quarter yard, but the logical progression obviously
escaped them for some reason, which now that I think about
it is just as well since there probably isnUt much beer to
be had in a quarter yard glass but thatUs beside the
point) and accompanying wooden racks are hanging above the
bar.
Seating is available on the main level of the Slaughtered
Lamb. ItUs a reasonably large sized club, but thereUs also a
basement area called The Dungeon. Both levels are dimly
lit and have tables. Some of the decor in The Dungeon
include manicles, and thereUs a skelaton down there as well.
There are several monitors located throughout the pub
which show horror movies (this is true for The Jack the
Ripper as well). For instance, the night I was there they
showed Night Breed. The door to the tunnels is located in
the basement, just pass the stairs as you come down. Seating
there is availabe on both sides, with the stairs decending
into the middle of the room.
The Jack the Ripper (228 West 4th Street) is by far the
smallest of the three clubs, but itUs the only one with
space for a band or DJ and dancing. That is located to the
left, in the rear of the club just as you pass the bar.
Tables a all located on the right side of the club. As I
said, itUs the smallest, but it seats a fair number, and
itUs by far the darkest of the three clubs I think.. O
course thereUs a Jack the Ripper standing outside, and
inside, there are a few skelatons, and a large display
case containing knives and meat cleavers and so on. The
tunnel entrace is again in the back. ThereUs a short
flight of stairs leading down to the main tunnel. All
three tunnels, BTW, meet up in the center in a large room.
The Jeckyll and Hyde (91 Seventh Avenue South) is by far the
best one, IMO. ThereUs outside seating, and inside seating
on the main level. ThereUs also an upper level called The
Cannibal Cafe which was closed off for a private party the
night I checked it out. Bar is again on the left, there
are *a lot* of tabl and the decor is jam packed with all
kinds of cool stuff. There are street lamps strewn
throughout the club. They have big bats on them. There are
skelatons everywhere, including one doing a yard of ale
and a whole skelaton crew suspended upside down from the
ceiling in a boat. ThereUs a suit of armor that has seizures
at intervals and a big gargoyle that talks and has red eyes.
ThereUs a Sphinx on the wall and a fireplace. The entrance
to the tunnel is located in a secret passage behind the
bookcase in the rear of the pub (also where the bathrooms
are located).
In addition to whatever mixed drinks you can think of, all
three pubs boast a *very* impressive collection of beers
from around the world. I recommend the Newcastle Ale and the
Old Peculiar Ale. Both are brewed locally and are excellent.
They serve pretty traditional English food--Shepherd's
Pie, Fish and Chips (with a very good, heavily dilled tartar
sauce) and so on. Deserts include Snicker's Pie, Chocolate
Mousse Pie, Reese's Pieces pie, and carrot cake.
Exits are pretty limited to the front door, unfortunately.
And of course through the tunnels.
Sharon
-------
CHAPTER 17 Sunday, October 30, 1994
Ah, Sunday
By Tara "LJC" O'Shea
LJC had to stop this habit of wandering between the hotel
and the club, she decided. Aside from using Saturday to
exact a little revenge for the feathers, she hadn't had time
to go shopping like the other Ravens, or even do a little
sight-seeing. Her flight to New York wasn't leaving til that
night, and the waiting was making her just a little stir
crazy.
That, she she was still wearing her outfit from Friday,
and it was getting just a little dull.
"I've given you a line of credit, why don't you pretty
yourself up a bit?" Janette purred, lighting a cigarette. LJ
bummed one and blew smoke into the near empty club, watching
the patterns the blue swirls made in the air.
"I guess I'm just not in a shopping mood, and I hate
facing my reflection in those dreadful flourescent lit
stalls they call changing rooms, now a days. As if anyone
likes what they look like under those conditions, it's a
wonder stores sell anything."
"Ah, there's your problem. You need to change your class
of stores." Janette scribbled an address on the inside of
a raven matchbook, and passed it to Tara. "Tell them I
sent you, and to treat you right. After all, you must look
the part at the party, non?"
"You're just too good to me," Tara pocketed the address,
taking a long drag off the cig, and stubbing it out in the
asktray Miklos set before them.
* * *
The address proved to be a small-town house on the outskirts
of the city, on a tree lined street. Despite the early hour,
a young man in some kind of tux opened the door for her,
smiling beneath his shock of black hair.
"One of the lady's little ravens come by, I see." He
smiled at her when she produced the matchbook.
"I was instructed to make an impression, though I warn you
my tastes aren't nearly as extravagent."
"We outfit women of all tastes here, do come in, sit
down." He waved her through the entry hall, which was lit by
an elegant chandelier, and two yougn owmen in matching black
sheath dresses greeted her at the entry to the parlor.
"I'm Anastasia, and this is Lily," the towheaded one
smiled at Tara, and indicated the darkhaired costumer with a
nod of her head. "What exactly do you have in mind?"
"Something black, velvet, modern and simple. No lace,
chains, silver or bows." Tara glanced at the three
mahogany wardrobes that lined two of the three walls, the
third dominated by a marble fireplace one could stand up in.
"I think we can accomodate you," Lily opened the second
wardrobe, eyeing Tara, and pulled out what appeared to be
a short velvet trenchcoat-like affair.
"A fan of Chris Bachalo, I see," Tara laughed, slipping
the dress on and doing up the sash. "This is rather like the
Death poster I have on my wall at home, except more
tailored."
"We only handle the very best." Anastasia helped her
adjust the coat, the rich black velvet sucking in the light,
and soft as a child's cheek. Tara spun before the mirror set
into the door of the wardrobe, feeling just a little giddy.
"Oh, I think I like this." She smiled, and accepted the
matte black streach pants Lily held out for her, and the
thigh-high suede boots. The clothes made her feel invisible,
yet ten feet tall all at once, and she really wanted them.
And what a raven wants, she gets. Along with a black crepe
cocktail dress that any socialite would kill for, and
several silk blouses in a deep grey, dark wine red, and
emerald. Now she felt fortified, now she felt like a raven.
Now she wanted a sweater. That was all she needed now, being
the queen of sweaters, and she was pleasently surprised when
Lily came back from the back room with an oversized shaker-
knit turtleneck in a warm dark russet that fell almost to
her knees, and made her feel warm and alive.
"Remind me to come back here sometime, when I'm feeling
flush. I feel a little guilty accepting Janette's credit,
when all I can offer is my loyalties, and piddling
talent." Tara's eyes glowed with satisfaction as her
purcheses were carefully packed in boxes and bags for the
cab ride back to the hotel.
"Your praise is enough for the designer," the man in the tux
bowed, and kissed her hand, and the skin on the back of
her neck rose as she noticed the delicate canines as they
pressed against the back of her hand, and his green eyes
never left hers.
"It will have to be enough, I'm afraid. I'm not quite in the
mood for breakfast, else I'd offer..."
"Of course." The three vampires smiled, and waved as she
walked down the cement stairs, her hand trailing along the
wrought iron railing. ""Do come again when you are...
feeling flush."
Stepping into the taxi, Tara couldn't help but laugh as
she sat, snuggled among her purchases as the sun began to
rise on a beautiful fall Sunday morning.
Trick or Treat
By Annette Berghoff
Bamberg, Germany, Oct. 30th - Sunday morning.
Annette was sitting in her room in the student's dorm,
sorting through yesterday's mail. Bills (too many),
postcards (too few), and one very strange envelope.
Expensive stationery, canadian stamps, air mail, postmark of
Toronto, correct address - but no sender.
*Oh goody, my first anonymous letter. I can hardly wait.*
She gingerly opened the letter, hoping it would not
explode or something, but it contained nothing except a
few big, glossy photographs of...
*What the ...?!? HHAAHAAHAHAHA....!!*
After the laughing fit had stopped and she had wiped the
tears out of her eyes, Annette took a closer look at the
photos. They had been developped in Toronto. They showed a
tall male person, scantily clad in a black peignoir, in
several decidedly seductive poses. The man's face was only
half visible, but she would have recognized him anywhere.
Particularly when he stood like that ... It was Robert,
her boyfriend. In the photos, however, he also bore a
striking resemblance to LaCroix. She fleetingly wondered how
they had managed to hide Rob's pony tail for the occasion,
and who exactly had had the honour of taking the photos.
Some fellow Ravenettes, no doubt - Robert had mentioned some
prank that he and a few others had played on a Knightie with
a crush on LaCroix. These pictures had clearly served
their purpose...
But how the heck did they end up here in Germany, at her
address? Annette nervously rubbed a small silver ring on her
left hand. The Raven/ettes had no motive to play tricks on
her, and if Janette needed her, she would call, wouldn't
she? The Knightie in question would hardly have the
resources to track down some obscure German address. Maybe
if it had been a vampire, but ...
*Uh-oh, wait a minute. Suppose, just suppose LaCroix has
seen these cute little pictures? He would be _pixxxd_. And
he would track them to their source. And it would be child's
play for him to find out my name and address. No revenge
yet, just a little tease. He would figure that either I stay
at home, steaming in jealousy, and make Rob's life a
living hell when he returns - or that I will rush to New
York in a fit of jealousy and make his life a living hell
_there_. The jealousy part won't work, but how should he
know? Anyway, the intention is to drag me into the war.
And it is going to work, because Rob is in deep sh*t, and
I bet he does not know it yet. I have to be there to help
him. ... If it really is LaCroix, he might even plan to
complete his revenge on Rob by hitting me as well. <gulp>
What a comforting perspective ... But a woman's gotta do
what a woman's gotta do. And I gotta pack now.*
She put the photos on her desk with a smile. *I think I will
frame one of these - for Rob's birthday in December. If we
live that long.*
The rest of the day passed quickly, as Annette was really
busy with booking a flight from Munich to New York for the
next day, arranging to stay overnight at her friend Regina's
place in Munich, packing her clothes, her collection of
dried herbs and herbal potions, her small bronze mortar, and
a few other odds and ends. She also took a small pouch of
thick green silk, slipped her silver ring into it and hung
it around her neck. She would call Janette from Munich to
coordinate plans with her. Before Annette caught the last
train to Munich, she made very sure that both Rob's three
computers and her own one were secured and switched off, and
their rooms were locked - she had heard of a few unfortunate
_accidents_, and Rob would kill her if anything happened
to his babies.
New York, Oct. 31st - early Monday evening
Annette stood shivering in the hall beside the airport's
main entrance, guarding a neat pile of luggage. After the
rush of the last 36 hours, the flight had been exceedingly
uneventful, if not to say boring. The little scene with
the customs officer had been entertaining, though. All the
pulverized herbs had really disconcerted the poor man. Drugs
- well, yes, but not _drugs_ as in class-d substances!
Tricky to explain that to a bureaucrat. And how do you
explain a bag full of 2 kg of the finest French garlic?
She chuckled a little. On the phone, Janette had agreed that
Rob deserved a little surprise, and she would personally
send him to the airport to pick up a Ravenette without
telling him exactly who it was. Well, Rob, trick or treat?
*I am really looking forward to seeing his face when I
tell him about the photos. And my conclusions about LaCroix.
Oh, that reminds me ...*
She pulled out the small pouch and peeled away layers of
silk, revealing the silver ring that seemed to wiggle out of
the fabric out of its own accord. The ring had the
delicate shape of a small , long-tailed lizard with strong
thighs. As she slipped it on her finger, it snuggled eagerly
up to the warmth of her hand. Annette looked up in time to
see a tall man in dark leather almost crash through the
glass doors in obvious haste and run straight past her
with his pony-tail flying. After a few steps, though, he
froze in his tracks, turned very slowly and faced her.
*I should have known it,* said Robert, walking up to her.
*I agree.* Annette smiled and embraced him.
*Not that I mind,* said Robert a few minutes later, *but
what are you doing here? You are supposed to be in Bamberg
writing your MA thesis, and you said you had no time to
spare for warfare ...?*
*I was lured here by a kind anonymous soul who sent me a
choice selection of boudoir photographs.* (Annette was
smiling angelically.) *I hope you have secured the
negatives. You might want some blow-ups later.* (The smile
became even wider). *You look cute when your ears blush, did
I ever tell you that?*
*Yes. Several times. Thank you. - But who would send them
... Uh-oh!* Robert looked more than a little alarmed.
*Probably LaCroix.*
*Yeah, that is just what I thought. Help me with the
luggage, please. If he wants to roast you, he'll have to
toast me first. Careful, that's the garlic - don't crush it.
Did Janette tell you what we need it for?*
A little later, while they were driving to their hotel,
Rob asked:
*... Did you like the photos?*
*You need to ask?*
*Thought you might.*
Kat gets a message and a laugh
By Kat Feline
[Sunday morning...]
I was staying at Karyn's for the night and would be catching
up with the rest of the Ravenettes in NYC after picking up
my new outfit for the party from Edoard and some extra
outfits Jeanette suggested I buy. The phone rang waking me
from a dreamless sleep.
Dan: Kat? The program was thrown. Someone sent you a copy of
the virus/ subprogram and tried to fix Mike's computer.
I'm glad you had me copy his harddrive, because it dumped
everything but the modem program. The first time you log on,
the program will be on your computer with a slight
alteration, but just log off and it'll disappear, thanks
to the protections I've installed.
Kat: What kind of alteration? What time is it, anyway?
Dan: Well, the Barney gif is attacked by a Q look-alike
and it makes no sense to me, but it looks funny.
It's....10am.
Kat: Boy are you lucky you had important information or
I'd have to hurt you for calling me before noon. You might
want to stay away from home for a while, it could get pretty
hairy. Did you get the ticket to your sister's?
Dan: Yes. I left the copy of the hard-drive with the key for
your cousin--
Kat: He's NOT my cousin!
Dan: --so you can have them delivered together with the
message you had me print.
Kat: Okay, bye. See ya later?
Dan hung up without answereing. <Hmm, I'll just have to do
something about that rude streak.>
Since I was curious I plugged my moden into Karyn's wall
line and used my credit card to see what had been
forwarded my way. Before logging in, though I set the
internal recorder to save whatever appeared, just in case
I wanted to show it to someone else, since it'd disappear as
soon as I logged out.
I logged in and watched the Barney gif appear and get
attacked by LaCroix. <Dan thought it was a blonde Q! Oh,
Gods, how funny!!> It was kinda funny.
I logged off, to get rid of the gif, then logged back in and
sent a message to Cousin Mike and Cousin John (I was
rather glad I'd had Dan place protections on the modem
program, so Mike wouldn't be off-line and get behind).
To: Cousins Mike and John
From: Kat RE: Sorry, I warned you
Mike, I'm sorry about your harddrive and I am pleased that
Cousins can be kind to each other, at least--John--but the
attempt at help crashed your hard- drive. I warned you
that any tampering with the thing without the key would
result in that, but I did have my, uh, helper place
protections so you could get e-mail and not fall behind. I'm
a Ravenette, but I'm not cruel enough to be a Cousin. I'll
have the hard-drive back-up disks with the key in a
magnetic-protective box waiting for you at the Slaughtered
Lamb.
And Remember...I warned you!
Kat
I sent it and went to take my shower. I was awake, so I
might as well get the day-time errands completed.
Shifting Locations (or How To Lose An Errant Vampire )
By Selma McCrory
I like flying, to some extent. I've travelled so much in
my lifetime that planes mean very little to me except a
way to get from one place to another.
This time I was actually travelling in an airplane with
other people. The last few months, I had been taking a
regular flight over to Silicon Valley, but since those
flights had been courtesy of Vince, I had somewhat forgotten
how it felt to fly with a plane around you.
I finally got in touch with Sharon, and was surprised to
find out that I'd missed a trip to Toronto. Oh, well. I'd
gotten a little of that city when I was playing LaCroix's
errand girl last war. Now I was headed to New York, to see
Sharon. And to help her out with whatever she'd implied. I
was reading Jeckyll and Hyde, but I couldn't figure out
why she wanted me to read it.
I checked my watch. Only an hour to go.
Now I would entertain myself with thoughts of Vince
landing in Sacramento with me in New York. I leaned back and
smiled as I thought of his rage. After all, I had
something to do that didn't involve him.
Shifting a little in my chair, I snoozed off.
At the Airport
By Selma McCrory
I arrived in the airport on time, and it was fun to
finally get off the plane. I keep forgetting this, but
Sacramento to New York is not exactly a short trip. Even
Sacramento to Ontario, California (nearest airport to my
Alma Mater) takes an hour.
So, I was off the plane, and I'd picked up my luggage. Two
days of clothes doesn't take up the world's greatest
amount of space, but my blankets did. I was camping out at
Sharon's and I figured that I could do her a favor and bring
my own stuff for sleeping on the floor. Now I was looking
for the international arrivals to meet Sharon and Nat.
Actually, I was supposed to meet Sharon at Nat's gate.
I've been in larger airports (Heathrow comes to mind), but I
think that this one was big enough.
I found the gate where Nat was supposed to come in. Sharon
hadn't arrived yet, but I wasn't worried. The last time I
was in this airport, I was in transit from Los Angeles to
Stockholm, and I was impressed with the amount of things I
could get to stay entertained while waiting.
Sharon joined me at Nat's gate, and caught me up on
current events. Nat's flight was a little late, but she
seemed in relative good spirits.
We were all going to need good spirits.
Sandra Takes Flight
By Sandra Gray
I made myself as comfortable as I could in my seat. Thank
God I didn't have a window seat. The very idea of watching
the ground drop away made my stomach queasy.
I hoped I was doing the right thing. But Nick could need us.
Bruce was still in Norfolk and wouldn't be back until the
evening, I felt sure. I *had* tried to call him at the
hotel--well, I didn't exactly try real hard--without any
luck. He hadn't been real thrilled with my involvement in
this "war," but I had pointed out more than once that I
wasn't flying off to Toronto, after all.
`No, I'm flying off to New York, dear,' I thought. Not
that he'd get the distinction.
I'd left him a short note on the refrigerator, saying that
Amanda was over at Christie's house; her mother, Aletha, had
agreed to watch her until Bruce returned. I'd told her I had
to go out of town due to a family emergency. A longer,
more detailed message waited for Bruce in our Post Office
box downtown; even the Ravenettes wouldn't dare break into
that.
The letter explained about the party and how we'd all been
invited to it. It also gave the hotel I'd be staying at
and when I would be returning. I'd tried to downplay any
possible danger; besides, Amanda couldn't be taken out of
school (and I didn't want her in New York anyway).
The plane took off and I tried to ignore the queasiness I
got (and the view out the window). I hated heights.
I had to switch planes in Washington. Of course, the
second flight was delayed and my arrival in New York was
later than expected. I staggered off the plane, glad to be
on the ground again. I'd brought only one suitcase and a
tote bag.
As I walked through the terminal, I thought about the last
time I'd been to New York. 1976--the Bi-Centennial 10 Star
Trek convention. Of course, then I'd taken the train. Almost
wished I'd taken the train this time too.
Well, time to get to the hotel and meet some of the people
I'd been corresponding and talking with. I walked off in
search of a taxi.
The Die-Hards' Deliberate on Driving
By L. Dawn Steele
After the activity of the night before, the Die-Hards had
settled into their rooms in the luxury hotel for a good
nights rest.
Which included sleeping in till noon of course.
One after another awakened. After a certain amount of time
to rub the Sandman's sand out of their eyes, they went
downstairs for a bit to eat.
"Are we really going to New York?" Kathy asked the rest
of the group.
"Only if you want to. I know everyone has obligations.
Life goes on despite what certain allegiances might think.
Lunches must be made. Significant others kissed. Homework to
do, and classes to go to."
"You don't have to make a speech Dawn. The ceremony was
<last> night." Kathy retorted.
"Sorry."
Kitty joined the discussion after taking a sip of her drink.
"If we want to go to New York... How are we going to get
there? I don't know about anybody else but I'm not rolling
in money. If this hotel hadn't been paid for..."
"Do the Die-Hards have a treasury?" Calliope asked.
"Nah. I had a bit of money left over from the last war, so I
thought we should spend it. I've still got a couple of
thousand left."
"That's not enough for everyone to fly <and> hotels while
we're there."
Kathy (after reflecting on whether her new engagement
could take it... ) decided to volunteer. "My fiancee has a
car. He'd probably let us borrow it for a few days. Then
we'd only have to pay expenses and the hotel in New York.
"What kind of car?"
"Well it used to be a small blue compact, but the
strangest thing happened just after the war started. It
magically turned into a beautiful black 1989 convertible
(ala Nick Knight)."
The other three stared at her for a moment, then...
"I'm <not> passing this up..."
"New York, here I come."
"Anybody else want to see the Statue of Liberty?"
Back to the Big Apple
By Eryka Hughes
I hated having to leave when Amber was at work, but I
_had_ to get back home. I wrote Amber a quick note saying
how much fun I had and I would talk to her soon. Then I
caught a cab to the Airport.
Surprisingly, while waiting for the 8 p.m. flight, I saw a
familiar face from the Raven. She was dressed fashionably in
black and silver.
"I remember you," I said sitting next to her. "You
wouldn't happen to be headed for New York?"
"Sure am. You?"
"Yeah. I've got to get back to classes and _stuff_."
"What kind of _stuff_? Like going to the Jekyll and Hyde
tomorrow night?" She seemed a little on edge.
"No. Actually I was planning on meeting up with some
people I met over the weekend at Jack the Ripper."
She breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Good. You're on the
right side."
"Well, I heard about the feathers incident and whoever is
rude enough to do that is rude enough to be my enemy. That
was sacreligious!"
"I agree, but it's muich more than that."
"She proceeded to fill me in on what had happened before I
arrived in Toronto.
"So you see, it's more than just clothes."
"Doesn't change my mind any. I'm more determined to do
something about this than ever. New York should bring
surprises for us all.
We boarded the plane and took off fifteen minutes later.
My fellow Ravenette and I continued to chat. Somewhere I
mentioned my neighbor's strange activity.
"I wonder if Janette will send me on a spy mission. I
don't like those guys down the hall and I'd kill to know
what they're up to."
"Hey, don't use the word kill lightly. Someone may ask you
to."
I sat back in my seat thinking.
<What exactly have I gotten myself into?"
Road Warriorettes
By Jill Bradley
As Jill sat in the terminal waiting to board the night
flight to New York, she was on the receiving end of some
strange looks. Apparently some thought it odd that she was
wearing dark glasses at 8:00 p.m. in the airport lounge.
Jill, however, ignored everything. She was on her third
gin and tonic, and was finally beginning to notice the
lessening of her headache. "Disco sucks and so do certain
dental disasters," she was muttering to herself. "No one
should have been able to do that to the Raven...what's
with Janette, anyway?"
She carefully avoided voicing that particular thought,
even to herself. One just never knew who was listening.
"Cousins--*choke*," she began to cough as a piece of lime
caught in her throat. "Probably one of the lounge
bartenders...rub out the Ravenettes by poisoning their
drinks." As Jill regained her composure, she noticed two
women chatting further down the aisle. They were Ravenettes,
she was sure. The one girl, Eryka, that was her name, Jill
remembered meeting her briefly before the Flying Elvises
came down. The other girl looked familiar too, but Jill
couldn't place a name to the face.."probably I need
another drink." She was just about to place the order,
when the announcement of the charter to New York blared.
Gathering up her pitifully small suitcase..."gotta shop
tomorrow"...she headed for the plane and the knowledge
that at least there would be no surprises on Janette's
flight. Surely plotting with the Ravenettes through the
flight would brighten up her night. Idly, Jill wondered if
Miklos would be bartending at the New York party. She licked
her lips in anticipation and headed towards the plane.
Inspired by Dracula (Part 1 of 2)
By Jennie Hayes, Amy Hull and Valerie Meachum
Thursday morning, (10/27):
"I have to go back to work," Jennie sighed as she hung up
the phone, "they've canceled one of my projects and want
it wrapped up as soon as possible. It shouldn't take too
long, most of what I still had to do can just be dropped, so
I just have to make sure nothing's left hanging. This is
gonna be depressing." She slumped against the wall.
"Valerie, why don't I head to your place afterwards, like we
planned with Amy? We should at least make sure she's
informed of all that's happening. She *is* a Natpacker too!"
"Do you think we can get her to join in? She's usually
stayed on the sidelines during the wars!"
"Hmm...that's usually because of time constraints. She seems
to have a bit more free time these days, since she's got a
regular teaching job. That could be a problem, though. She
won't be able to spend much time away from her class. Too
bad this isn't taking place in the summer!"
"Then we'll have to see if we can come up with something!"
"Mm-hmm!"
***
Very Early Saturday Morning sometime (10/29):
"You know, I just realized something," Amy peered at the
expressway signs they were passing, "there's really
nothing much between here and Columbus."
"You mean we should've stopped for dinner before leaving
Indianapolis?" Jennie made a face at the open fields they
were currently passing.
"Yep. Oh, I also didn't tell you that we were supposed to
call Jack before we left the airport, so they know when to
expect us!"
"Well, we can tell him that the airport was closing. I
sure didn't expect it to take so long to get through
Chicago. I knew it would be bad but it was worse than bad.
Just keep your eyes peeled for a Dennys or something."
"This is gonna be so good. I can't wait to see Valerie in
the Scottish Play. She's gonna make such a good witch."
***
Sunday (10/30):
"Let's grab some Taco Bell before we head out," Valerie
suggested. "That way we won't have to stop and we'll have
plenty of time."
"Sounds good," Jennie replied, ever agreeable.
"Okay," Amy echoed vaguely. A moment later she shook her
head as if to clear it. "I'm still kind of zoned from
standing out in the sun. It's really hot today."
Valerie raised her eyebrows and cast a worried look at
Jennie, "It's only 70, my dear," she commented.
"I know, but the sun is just *hot*--especially since it's
directly on me. And anyway; I'm wearing my list shirt and
it's *black*.
"Uh huh." Valerie and Jennie chorused, clearly
unconvinced. "Just like Lisa Jacy is really tan just because
she looks like it next to you in that picture," Jennie
teased. "Sure."
The sun still hung directly overhead as the three Natpackers
pulled into Dayton's downtown district. After an initial and
abortive attempt to park, they found a small lot for the
car. They got out and crossed the street (Jennie and Valerie
reminded Amy that in a *city* like this, they should
*really* use the crosswalk and wait for the appropriate
light). They walked over to the theater and oohed and
aahed over the lovely poster of Dracula the Ballet, then
headed for the lobby to purchase tickets, having to wait a
bit for the box office to open. They soon secured good
tickets and, to kill time, browsed in the theater's gift
shop. There were wonderful t-shirts with lightning for the
Dracula production, t-shirts with bloodied fangs, and
other goodies.
"Oh, look!" Jennie suddenly enthused. "A shirt that says
`NatPack' ....oh...." she broke off as she spread the t-
shirt out and saw it was part of the company's merchandising
for their production of the Nutcracker.
"You know you've been watching too much FK when...." the
other two giggled. While making minor purchases, the trio
discovered that curtain for Dracula was an hour later than
they had thought and so decided to explore Dayton's
downtown. They glanced at the alleys, pointed at the
streetcar wires, and quickly stumbled across a large
Nieman Marcus.
"Oh, we *have* to go in and get something nice to wear to
the party! We don't want the Raven/ettes to get to do all
the shopping in this war!" Valerie nodded to the nearest
door and they headed for it enthusiastically. "We'll beat
them at their own game."
"What party?" Amy, who had not been keeping up well with the
war proceedings, asked curiously.
"All the factions are meeting in New York for a party at the
pubs," Jennie explained. "That's why we're working with
the Ravenettes; they need us to get Nick to invite the
Knighties."
"Because he's a blond brick with fangs who wouldn't come
without feeling he needed to be there to protect us,"
Valerie interjected.
They approached the door of the Nieman Marcus and only
then realized that it like the street and the sidewalks,
looked decidedly empty and unoccupied.
"Aww, it's closed Sundays," Amy made a face at the sign.
"They must still have blue laws here; none of the other
shops look open either. But we *are* Nat-Packers, after all;
we only *think* we know what we're doing. We can go shopping
after the ballet if we go somewhere else."
"Yeah, we *have* to get something appropriate so they
won't show us up at the party," Jennie observed. "We could
go to that little bagel shop and wait for curtain; it
looks open."
"Good--that will get us out of the sun. It's so *bright*
today," Amy complained as she shoved her sunglasses
further up her nose.
Valerie and Jennie looked at each other in mild concern.
"Pretty soon she's even going to have Nat worried about
her," Valerie commented wryly.
***
The curtain came down and the lights came on for
intermission, but Amy, Jennie and Valerie didn't even move
from their seats. They looked at each other. "Wow,"
Valerie and Jennie mouthed in unison. Amy nodded. Their
appreciative comments all began simultaneously,
overlapping as they babbled their enjoyment of they show and
applauded the talent of its performers.
"This music is fabulous. Perfect for the story."
"Did those costumes on Dracula's wives look familiar? Just
like Valerie's banshee/red shoes costume!"
"It was so cool, how the dancer playing Dracula managed to
make his mouth look like he had fangs, even though he wasn't
wearing any!"
"How could they dance in those long skirts without tripping?
One move and I would've landed on my nose!"
"Oh, but aren't the dresses *gorgeous*??"
"Yeah, the costuming is absolutely *brilliant*."
They continued in that vein for quite some time, then Amy
shook her head. "I just seem to be so sleepy. This is a
really good show, but my eyes don't want to stay open."
"Are you feeling OK? You were having trouble with the sun
bothering you before, now you're sleepy..." Valerie looked
concerned.
"I'm fine, I'm just a bit sleepy."
The house lights dimmed for the second act.
***
After the show, the trio jumped up and ran out to look for
the stage door. Unfortunately, there was no stage door in
evidence, not even when they walked around the entire
building, so they decided to wait in front of the main
entrance.
They waited. And waited. Then they walked down to the corner
and back and waited some more, gushing about the ballet
the whole time. The policeman who'd been sitting in front of
the theater apparently decided they were harmless (hah!) and
moved on. Finally, they got a chance to pounce on some of
the dancers, complimenting them on the performance.
"I've never seen a Lucy with remorse before!" Valerie gushed
to the lady who had danced that part.
Later, at dinner, the topic had hardly changed at all.
"You know, I wish we could find dresses like those ballgowns
to wear for the party. It *is* Halloween-time, so they'd
be appropriate." Jennie looked up to find Valerie staring at
her like she'd just said something brilliant. "What?"
"Yes! That's it! We can *make* them for ourselves!"
"In one day? Are we *ever* going to sleep?"
"Sleep is for con wimps. Besides, we have to look
presentable, preferably by Janette's standards. With three
of us sewing we should get them done in plenty of time."
Valerie looked like she was issuing a challenge.
Amy nodded thoughtfully. "Oooooh, that's an idea!! And,
you know, this could work. We each have a sewing machine, so
I could do long seams (I love long seams), Jennie could do
the gathering, and you could put the things together since
you *are* the costume designer."
"So who's going to get which dress?" Jennie asked curiously.
"That purple dress *was* really nice. I like purple." Amy
looked wistful.
"So Amy gets the purple dress! I liked the blue one," Jennie
offered hastily.
"And I get Lucy's!" Valerie looked very happy about that.
"We'd better go, then, and get to work. Where's the waitress
with our check?"
***
The drive back to Columbus was filled with sewing plans. Amy
kept a list of the items they would need to construct
their respective dresses, and Valerie sketched the
patterns for the three slightly different styles, while
Jennie drove quickly. As soon as they hit Columbus they made
a beeline for the So-Fro which, happily for their
checkbook balances, was having a massive going-out-of-
business sale. While Valerie searched pattern books for
model patterns that could be easily adapted to the styles of
the dancers' costumes, Amy and Jennie collected lace,
buttons, fake roses, beads, thread, crinolines, and
virtually the entire remaining taffeta section of the store.
They finished just five minutes before the store closed,
then headed for Valerie's, all set to take over the entire
downstairs with their yards of fabric and lace.
Hours and massive quantities of caffeine and FK tapes later,
the dresses were starting to take shape and the three
seamstresses were beginning to be quite punchy.
"Well, I *have* to go to New York now," Amy was
explaining, half to make sure she understood it herself.
"I mean, I have a new dress to wear. So I have to go. But
I'll have to figure out how to get off work."
"So call in sick," Jennie suggested.
"But then I'd feel like I was lying," Amy protested.
Valerie began to giggle. "You could call and tell them you
have hematolopapsia and it's flaring up. You had trouble
with it this summer and then today you were too." Valerie
grinned broadly as she looked up from the sleeves she was
stitching. "They dont' have to know what it is, and it
sounds technical enough that they probably won't question
you."
"That's *perfect*," Jennie gasped through her own giggles.
Amy only nodded and bobbed one fist in a signed "yes"; she
was laughing too hard to produce speech at that moment.
The dressmaking continued until sunup, and by 10:20, three
ball gowns were hanging from the louvre doors and their
creators were admiring their handiwork.
"Now all we have to do is sew on the little extras like
Valerie's flowers and my beads." Jennie smiled at her new,
and very appropriate, garment.
"Yeah, we need to start rotating showers. Whoever's not
showering should be collecting stuff if we're going to catch
our plane at 1:30. Then we can arrange hairdos and put on
makeup on the plane, get dressed in the airport bathrooms,
and get to the pubs by rendezvous time," Valerie said.
"Good idea," Amy replied. "Why don't you go first and I'll
start filling a bag with our notions. We can't forget the
flowers and beads. And Jennie and I have to remember the
black ribbon for our chokers. It's kind of cool that my
ruffle matches the choker. And it's *really* cool that I
happened to have brought my good lipstick along."
"You know," Valerie said, "maybe you should take your shower
first; your hair will take the longest to dry and if I'm
going to put it up on the plane..."
"Good point," Amy agreed, and began grabbing what she needed
for her shower.
They got out of the apartment at 12:50 and were the last
passengers to board their flight to New York. The flight
attendants tried rather unsuccessfully to avoid bemused
grins at the trailing threads and piles of taffeta on the
trio's laps.
"Whew. That was a close call," Jennie commented as she
leaned back to relax for a moment in her seat.
"We've had much worse," Valerie smiled. "At least we're on
the plane. This way we will get to the Jeckyl and Hyde at
just about the time Natalie told us to meet."
"Sounds like a plan," Jennie replied.
"Yep," Amy agreed. "Now let's hope we can finish the
notions, hair, makeup, dressing, *and* make it through New
York traffic. This could work."
Ah, Canada!
By Ronni Katz
John ran a quick comb through his hair. There were ice
particles in it! It had been COLD on that flight from
Alburquerque to Toronto but he had no idea they had been
flying through snow clouds! It was a little early for snow,
wasn t it?
The Enforcer s normally dark hair was also frosted but he
didn t seem to mind. He gave John a wry grin as he
ignored the line of people who were waiting to get into
the Raven and walked in past the bounced who *seemed* not to
even see him!
Neat trick, John said to himself as he tried to do the
exact same thing but was stopped at the door.
Get in line, the gatekeeper snarled.
John looked the man square in the eyes and, as he felt their
heartbeats coming into synchronization, commanded, I am
expected. Let me in.
The man blinked for a second and then backed away letting
John enter. He spotted the Enforcer having a drink at the
bar and moved over to join him.
Is that-
Jack Daniels, neat, his mentor replied smiling. A
little something to warm the bones. Have one.
I....can t. Well, I mean I can t have it stright. How
is it that you *can*?
Ancient blood has it s rewards, the Enforcer replied baring
his fangs. I can eat, too. Not much, but enough to fool
the mortals I must deal with in my everyday life. It
took many ears of constant practice to be able to do this,
mind you. He poured John a drink from out of a familiar
green bottle adding, But, sad to say, being able to eat and
drink is *not* a way back, like Dr. Lambert thinks. I would
put more stock in *your* work, John, than I would in
anything Nick s Coronor friend is up to.
My work?
Yes, which is why I told you to keep it a secret from the
world at large. Your research *IS* a threat to the
Community. I m willing to ignore it. However, if those
I serve find out and force my hand-
I know. John interrupted not wanting to get into *that*
subject again. What are you doing now? Staying here or-
Leaving. I *must* get to Susan Garrett before Dorian and
the little fillies he has working for him catch up with her.
Last I heard, Nick has gone off and taken her somewhere. I
m a little ahead of the game because I *know* Susan, I spent
a few nice evenings as a guest at her home, and *sensing*
a familiar mind is far easier than reaching out to a strange
one. I may not be able to communicate with her but I
*may* be able to put her at ease - let her know I m nearby
and able to aid her if she needs me.
But if Nick s with her-
The boy means well, but he is no match for Dorian. If he is
willing to cooperate with me, fine. If not-
Don t hurt him, John interrupted. Nick has his faults-
I won t hurt him, Ron reassured his pupil. I only want to
*talk* to him. We *both* want to protect Susan. It would
be best for all if we worked together. I doubt Susan
would want to see me carve Nick a new asshole and I *know*
LaCroix wouldn t like to see me damage his favorite son.
And going toe-to-toe with LaCroix yet again is *not* in my
battle plans.
You two would kill each other.
Yes, which is why two Ancients NEVER fight each other unless
it s unavoidable.
John sighed. The image of Uncle and the Enforcer going
tooth and claw with each other made him shiver slightly.
John looked away from his drink and noticed Janette
looking over in his direction. She wasn t alone - a few of
her lovely Ravenettes were with her. He looked over at The
Enforcer, who also saw Janette and her allies, and noticed
that Ron seemed unconcerned.
Don t you want to know- John began but was cut off by Ron
dismissing him and his curiousity with a wave of his hand.
I ll find out all I need to know at Janette s party, he
replied. I m fairly sure The Slaughtered Lamb was the
venue she had chosen. Now, I am needed elsewhere so, if you
will excuse me....
John and everyone else around them watched in shock as Ron
stepped on what looked like a CD and disappeared in a
glaze of *Star Trek* lighting effects....
Walking On Eggshells
By Simone "Angel" Morgan
Angel looked towards the bar and froze in her tracks.
There was a new vampire sitting at the bar. One she hadn't
seen here before, but she knew him from somewhere. His
face looked so familiar. And he had a purpose here. She
was certain of it. Something to do with the war perhaps?
Suddenly, it dawned on her. *That's Cousin John! Oh geez,
was the Lacroix-in-the-box too much?* She fervently hoped
his visit had nothing to do with her. His lack of response
after her repeated "gifts" had unnerved her.
She decided that it would be an excellent time to visit
the DJ booth. It was secluded. He wouldn't see her there.
She hoped John wouldn't recognize her as rushed to the
corner of the club to seek out the DJ booth's shelter. He
didn't really know what she looked like. And he didn't
know her hair was purple, did he? Angel reached the dark
corner with relief.
Did Someone Say Disco?
By John Dencoff
At the Raven, you could feel the deep bass of the music as
it thrummed and reverberated in your spine. The speakers
were positioned perfectly to resound in hypnagogic rythym.
It calmed Janette's human guests, and excited her...older
patrons.
On the floor, the effect was warm and made you feel more
alive that you might have felt in years...but in the
rafters, it was simply loud. Headache-inducing, in fact.
Several dark figures moved about in the ceiling rafters,
unnoticed by the patrons below. They carried tools and
equipment, and were setting up something devious...something
that only a Cousin would have conceived. They installed
the small motors and devices quietly, not that it would have
mattered. The music drowned everything out.
One of them pushed a small button on a device attached to
his belt, sending a short, quick signal to someone in the
club below. As he watched, the person responded and moved
over to the DJ. They exchanged a few words.
Soon now...and all Hell would break loose in Janette's Club.
The men in the rafters withdrew even more in the
shadows...and they waited. It would be soon.
***
Angel thought it was a good idea to hastily move toward
the DJ's booth when she'd seen John enter the club. He
*might've* been a little peeved by the garlicky gifts
she'd playfully sent him. As she hovered near the DJ, trying
to see what John was up to, she overheard a little
exchange between a man and the DJ.
"Well, we will wait for the final signal. John should be
here any moment, and we'll set this place reeling!" the
man said quietly.
"But...Janette will never forgive..." the DJ plaintively
whispered.
"Everyone needs a little shaking up now and then. It's
good for the circulation." he smirked, and walked away.
Angel couldn't believe it! We're the Cousins going to strike
*here*? In Janette's own place? He wouldn't...he couldn't!
***
John felt Caile's presence as she neared the Raven. Quickly,
he dashed outside to meet her.
"Caile! Did you bring the box? The clothes?!"
"You don't seriously expect me to wear 1970's disco clothes,
do you? I mean...the sequins...the mix of purple and lime
green?"
"No no, these are for *Janette*!" he laughed wickedly.
Let's get back in. I've got a tasteful black dress waiting
for you. We'll enter in style, and send the club into
histrionics when the music starts!
***
LaCroix watched as John and Caile hurriedly changed into a
black tuxedo and an elegant black evening gown,
respectively. He'd told John to make sure that Janette and
the others were stalled, and this would do the trick nicely.
A little extreme, but then John always was a little...no a
lot...extreme. He laughed and flew into the night sky. He
would watch through their eyes, as he had other fish to fry.
A fish named Dorian, in fact.
***
John and Caile entered the club, and John touched a little
pocket signalling device that he had tucked away.
Up in the rafters, one of the men took notice, as did the
DJ. Angel caught the glance of the DJ as he looked toward
the ceiling. She almost...thought she could make out figures
moving!
Suddenly, the music changed. The lights first dimmed a
bit, as electric lights and a huge disco ball swung down
from their hiding places in the rafters. The lights swung
and flashed furiously in time with the music from a not-so-
distant, but hated era. The vampires looked on in shock, and
the humans' eyes went wide in shock.
Ah, ah, ah AH =STAYIN' ALIVE!!=STAYIN' ALIVE!!
Caile and John moved toward Janette, shaking her head in
equal parts of shock and disgust.
"Janette! So good to see you!" John said cheerfully.
Janette stared blankly at him, as he handed her a small
package, neatly trimmed with ribbon. He opened the box to
reveal a shocking purple-and-lime green jumpsuit. It was
tight-fitting. It had a tu-tu like thing hanging down from
the hips, covered with sequins and glitter. He held it out
to her, but she recoiled as if from the Cross.
"Did you do this? So help me, if LaCr..." she started,
furiously.
At that moment, more than fifteen men jumped down from the
rafters. Parachuted might have been more accurate. They
ranged in size and shape, but they all wore that same tell-
tale outfit...
"The FLYING Elvises, Ladies and Gents!!" the DJ announced.
John thought he heard Janette growl, almost.
"Dontcha just love a Cousinly entrance?" he grinned.
Disco Fever?
By Simone "Angel" Morgan
Angel felt a knot in her stomach as the Raven's sound system
was shut down and loud disco started blaring from the
speakers. She had stood transfixed as she watched John put
his evil scheme into action. Argh! She hated disco! *I
thought I left this trash behind when I left Albuquerque!*
She was furious. It was one thing for John to retaliate
against them personally for tormenting him, but he had no
right to attack the Raven.
Angel became even angrier when she heard the DJ announce
John's merry band of Elvis impersonators. She clubbed the DJ
over the head with a beer bottle. *Janette will take care of
him.* She dared a glance in Janette's direction. John was
standing in front of her with an obnixious jumpsuit. She
looked as if she might burst into flames at any moment.
She would expect her followers to retaliate for this.
Angel smiled. She already had a big surprise for Lacroix and
his minions in New York; something that would appease
Janette. But suddenly, it didn't seem like enough. This
insult called for something more... something subtle...the
smile returned to her lips as she pondered the
possibilities.
Staying Alive
By Tara "LJC" O'Shea
As the fifteen Elvis impersonators jumped from the
rafters, LJC's eyes went up, and she spotted several black
boxes affixed to the walls near the speakers. Looking to
Miklos, who had his hands over his ears as if he was in
acute pain, she pointed up, mouthing what she needed and
he nodded.
Next thing she knew the bartender had an arm around her
waist and she was hurtling towards the ceiling. They
landed on a rafter, and without slowing down, Miklos drove a
hand into the nearest remote device, making sparks, and
the speaker next to it ceased playing disco, and the
lights in one quarter of the room resumed their normal
settings. LJC grabbed a second box, pulling it from the wall
and yanking the wires that connected it to the speaker
with her left hand. When she looked up, Miklos had already
trashed the other two, and down below Alma had one hand
locked around the throat of the hapless DJ, who looked
stunned and confused.
The Elvises stopped their gyrations, and a couple in black
formal wear lost their brilliant grins as Miklos set LJ back
on the floor near the bar, and Janette took a step towards
them.
"Well done, *fledgeling.*" Janette's voice turned the
compliment into the gravest of warnings. "Though brief, your
stunt will be remembered, I grant you that. Now kindly
*get out of my club*"
Her eyes glowed amber and LJ shivered at the iron in her
tone. Angel already had her head bent next to Risha, as
she whispered about possible revenge for their vandalism,
and Miklos suddenly pressed a vodka and cranberry juice into
Tara's shaking hand.
"I didn't order this," she said mechanically, still trying
to convince her body nothing was wrong, everything would
be fine.
"Drink. You need it." Miklos was amused at how the quick
flight had affected her, not knowing of a particularly
frightening "favour" Lacroix had done for her in the first
war that had put her off flying without the benefit of a
plane.
LJ downed the drink in two swallows, and the shaking finally
stopped. The green and purple disco outfit was thrown
unceremoniously into the trash, and Alma had released the
DJ, who had recued the music, and now "Burn" by the Cure was
floating down from the restored speakers. The bass made
the floor hum beneath her feet, and the glasses hanging from
the bar chime like bells and order finally returned to the
club as Cousin John escorted Caile out, still smiling at his
brief victory.
"He's one of His, you know." LJ said to Miklos, who
shrugged.
"I know."
"The Cousins won't let us forget this."
"Probably not."
"Just bloody brilliant." Tara muttered, setting her empty
glass on the bar, and wandering over to where the other
ravens were plotting.
Cousins in Flight
By John Dencoff
"Well, it was just rude of them to throw us out like that"
Caile said, irritated. "Those Ravenettes have no sense of
humor, especially considering all the things they've done to
the Cousins!"
John handed her a tall glass of white wine, and prepared a
glass of Uncle's finest (human blood) for himself. *How
did they keep it from coagulating?* his scientific mind
wondered.
"They've spent a great deal of time cultivating the
fashion attitude. I wasn't terribly surprised, but I thought
maybe a few of the other patrons might've gotten a chuckle
out of the Elvises, at least."
Caile started laughing hysterically. "Do you know how
completely funny it is...to be on a private jet, talking
about Elvises and drinking wine across from a vampire?"
John flashed a toothy grin.
He reached behind one of the lounge chairs in front of him
and pulled out an expensive laptop. He'd spotted it earlier,
and his eyes were alight with mischief as he booted it up.
And it even had a cellular modem jack! Uncle was
*definitely* a joy sometimes!
To: The Cousins From: Cousin John
Everyone, we need to meet at a club called the
"Slaughtered Lamb" in New York City. Be there or be
square! And bring thoughts of vengeance with you! :) Tickets
for flights will be in the usual pick-up points at your
respective airports.
Cousin J
With a tap of the return key, the email went out to all of
Uncle's followers. Suddenly, it bleeped back at him,
noting that one message didn't reach one of the
Cousins...Cousin Mike. Something was wrong with his computer
pick-up, perhaps.
"What's going on, John?" Caile asked.
"Oh, it looks like `Kat', one of the Ravenettes, put a
lock on Cousin Mike's system. We'll fix that in short
order." he said cheerfully.
His fingers flashed across the keyboard with inhuman
speed, targeting the malicious little program that blocked
Cousin Mike's access to his files. "Let's see what you *do*,
little virus," John said under his breath. A small window
popped up on his screen, with a Barney-GIF dancing about and
sweetly piping `I love you'. Well, this was just *cliche*.
He went to work.
In short order, he sent the Barney generator into limbo,
returning the file to haunt *Kat's* system with a small
addition: Barney leapt up onto the screen, and a little
LaCroix attacked it from behind. As he drained the little
Barney, and plopped it unceremoniously on the ground,
LaCroix said "I love BLOOD!" and laughed maniacally. The
sequence then repeated in an infinite loop...one that
maybe only Larry Merlin could erase, besides himself! The
little Barney struggled valiantly, screaming with fear;
but in the end, Uncle had his day!
Cousin Mike's computer was free, and he'd have access to his
files and mail, so John re-sent the invitation to the
Slaughtered Lamb. Hopefully Cousin Mike would see the note
in time to meet them there.
Meanwhile, Caile was peering out the window of the small
jet. "How long did you say, John?"
"About another hour, I'd guess. Then we'll have some
*real* fun! I think Uncle has something really *big* planned
this time!"
Start Spreading the News
By Elizabeth A. Scroggs
Betsy leaned back in her seat and sighed. The past few
days had been quiet. Thankfully, the only clothes of hers
that got ruined were new things since she never originally
packed for the trip. So she had just gone back to the same
stores and got the same things, with a few additions. One of
them was a travel outfit, black velvet leggings with a
wine colored oversized blouse.
After shopping, she arranged to have Julian sent back
home. As much as she loved him, she had no urge to babysit a
clueless Knightie cat during the party. She made sure
there was no outside intervention with Julian's trip home.
She called several times to make sure that her friends met
him at the airport and took him to a safe apartment. With
that business taken care of, Betsy spent the rest of the
weekend in the Raven getting better aquainted with the
male clientele. Now on the flight to New York, Betsy was
beginning to feel tired. `I hope it will be over soon,'
she thought. `I hope we can get some kind of truce worked
out.' Tormenting may be fun, but trying to anticipate
counter-attacks has been very stressful.
In the Wellington
By Sandra Gray
I paid the taxi and walked into the Wellington hotel. As
I got the keys to my room, I enquired about some of my
fellow Knighties. No one else had arrived yet. But at
least we all had rooms on the same floor, as I'd requested.
"Your husband called earlier. He wanted you to call him when
you got in."
`Wonderful,' I thought, but said, "Thank you."
I made my way up to my room. It was small, but I'd seen
worse places. I unpacked and undressed. Then I sat down on
the bed and looked at the phone.
I dreaded calling Bruce. I hadn't really had to come to
New York on Sunday; I'd just been concerned that he would
have vetoed my coming at all.
Sighing deeply, I dialed our number.
Off to New York
By Simone "Angel" Morgan
Angel sighed as the plane took off. She was glad to be
leaving Toronto. The last few days had been fun, but hectic.
But she had a new wardrobe to show for her trouble. It was
safely packed away and stowed on the plane. Janette had
chartered a plane for the Ravens and Ravenettes. A couple of
the people who had driven to Toronto had chosen to drive
to Manhattan as well. Angel wished she could have driven
with Jeff in his Jaguar. But Janette had insisted that she
fly, reminding her of the arrangements yet to be made. Angel
wasn't happy about it, but knew Janette was right. The extra
time spent driving could be used more effectively. Besides
she had great company on this flight. The giggling girls
around her were discussing Miklos' attributes, much to
Janette's amusement.
Angel wondered what was in store for them in New York. While
it was a delightful place to shop, there could be many
dangers awaiting them as well. The vampire to human ratio
would be a bit too high for her comfort. The information she
had gathered for Janette worried her. It's implications were
too strange to contemplate. And Susan's plight gnawed at her
constantly. Dorian didn't seem like he had mellowed with
age. Janette seemed confident that all of the problems would
be resolved to her satisfaction. Angel didn't know what to
think. So she contemplated how to fill the time between
now and the meeting Tuesday night.
Nighttime Thoughts
By Jeff Carey
Jeff stared at the ceiling wondering what had awakened
him. Normally he'd probably still be out at the Raven but
unfortunately he had decided that he'd drive to NYC in the
morning rather than accompanying the others on their
flight *After all* he thought *why should I leave the Jag up
here and have to bother with shipping it back to me later*
He closed his eyes and started to try to <sense> the more
unusual defenses he had put on the room after the clothing
insident *Blasted Knighties! If they only knew how hard it
had been to find half way decent replacements for what
they had destroyed!*
Almost immediately he <felt> the now familiar presence and
moaned in despair. *Does that little ghost think that I'm
made of energy or something?* he wondered *I should have
never <fed> it the first time* but his compassion was
already softening his annoyance <*Alright, alright, but this
is the last time*> he projected as he tapped what little
energy he'd managed to replenish with his short nap <*Will
you please stop wasting it in futile emotional displays? I
mean, I understand that you've been trying to tell them
something but why must you burn yourself out doing it?*>
Jeff smiled slightly as the wordless gratitude touched his
mind before the presence disappeared and the wards were
silent.
Getting up he decided that the only way he was going to have
a chance of replenishing himself before leaving would have
to be unorthodoxly *but then what else is new* he thought.
He quickly slipped into one of the more relaxed outfits he'd
purchased on his recent (Janette sponsored) shopping trip
then walked over to his boombox and selected one of his
gothic remixes and started it playing on the tapedeck.
He then walked out onto the small balcony outside his room
and (after allowing himself to become suitably lost in the
music blaring from the speakers) he <reached> with his
senses and was relieved to <sense> the beginnings of a
windstorm nearby. Opening himself to this phenomenon he
quickly channeled its energy into himself.
Feeling invigorated he reentered the hotel room to prepare
for the trip to NYC and by the time he was ready to leave
there was a definite sparkle of new life in his eyes...
***
The trip itself was uneventful (especially given the fact
that Janette had again `arranged' it so that the border
guards couldn't notice the Jag's passing through) and when
he arrived he immediately parked the car in the Raven/ettes'
hotel's guarded, indoor parking garrage.
After setting the alarm and informing the guard that
`Madamosel Janette' would be VERY displeased if something
were to happen to it (she had already informed the place's
guards that the Raven/ettes' vehicles were to be guarded
extra closely and had hinted at the consequences if they
were not) he went upstairs to see if anyone had left him a
message to inform him of what was to occur next...
-------
CHAPTER 18 Monday, October 31, 1994
The Ultimate Revenge
By Monica Seiler
Monica had decided to check into the hotel after her flight.
She was really tired after several hours of air time. But
not so tired that she couldn't plan her revenge. Revenge
against Betsy Scroggs. That was going to be SWEET!
She sat on her bed surrounded by several boxes and bags.
It took her a while, but Monica managed to pack her little
surprise for Betsy into the box she had obtained at the
front desk. Splendid! It was all ready to go.
[Monday morning, 7AM]
There was an obnoxious knock at Betsy's hotel room door. She
wearily dragged herself out of bed and cautiously opened the
door to the limit that the chain would allow.
"Delivery, miss." There was a good looking, well dressed
young man at the door holding a fairly large box.
"Who's it from?" she asked curiously. It was a very unusual,
yet intriguing box.
"The card is addressed to an Elizabeth Scroggs. Would that
be you, miss?"
"Yes. Who is it from?" she asked again. Betsy was getting
suspicious now.
"I don't know miss. Would you like me to read the card?"
"No. Hold on." Betsy closed the door, undid the chain, and
opened the door again. The delivery man handed her a
clipboard.
"Could you please sign on line 12?" Betsy signed the paper
and handed it back. She pulled pulled the box inside and
looked at it for a moment before finally opening it.
Betsy read the card.
To: Elizabeth Scroggs
From: An anonymous friend
That's odd. Who would send such a mysterious package? Who...
Betsy groaned as the realisation hit her. This *must* be
from Cousin Monica. She decided not to open it.
Angel picked that moment to walk through the doors that
joined their rooms.
"Betsy, Betsy! Where in the world did this come from? A
secret admirer?" Angel asked. She eyed the box with envy.
"I think it's from Cousin Monica. She must be really
hacked off about her wardrobe. I mean look at the *SIZE*
of this box! It just has to be from her." Betsy sat on the
bed and mangled the card.
"Don't be silly. Why would she get back at you after all
this time? It's probably from some cute guy back in Toronto.
Open it... or I will."
Betsy eyed Angel nervously. She didn't want to open it,
but then again, she didn't want Angel to either. She steeled
herself for something to jump out of the box at her. It
never came. She looked inside to find another box with
"Try again" written on it in big block letters. Betsy looked
at Angel.
"Okay. That went well," said Angel, indicating that Betsy
should open then next box. Betsy took a deep breath and tore
the tape on the second box. Nothing jumped out, but a
mechanical voice said, "EEEEEEEHHHHNNNNN, thank you for
playing... please try again."
"Cute. Very cute. Are you sure this isn't from Cousin
Monica?"
"No, but so far it hasn't done anything. Keep going."
Betsy pulled the tape off the third box and wasn't too
surprised to find yet another box within. It was a small,
black box with a small, black bow on it. Angel stood up
and pulled the box out of the box. It looked innocent
enough.
"Never do anything half-way. Open it. I'll be in the next
room," said Angel as she handed Betsy the box. Before
Betsy could respond, Angel was gone.
"Aw, hell. You only live once." Betsy pulled the lid off the
box with her eyes closed. The box did nothing. Betsy
opened her eyes and saw a small envelope inside the box. She
pulled it out and tossed the box onto the bed. The
envelope opened easily enough and yielded a small card.
She opened the card and read it.
PSYCH! Nothing here but this stupid note. My revenge was
knowing how paranoid you'd be about this little giftie. Be
forewarned though. Never mess with a cousin's wardrobe
again.-Cousin Monica
Personal Effects
By L. Dawn Steele
The car was fantastic. Incredibly smooth, terrific
handling and it sat four people <very> confortably.
Now if only it could've been better on gas.
"Did someone make reservations?" Dawn was driving.
Prescription sunglasses perched on her nose.
"Um-hmm. I booked us some rooms at the `Chelsea Hotel'."
Kitty was sitting in the front seat. Dawn's map of the
Eastern United States was open, and they were trying to
chart the quickest route to New York.
"Is that going to be expensive?"
"It's only for a couple of days..."
In the back seat, Kathy and Calliope were getting
acquainted. At the moment though they were discussing Ruth.
"...I always thought ghosts were kind've up there with
U.F.O.'s and Bigfoot. There's a lot of weird evidence, but I
didn't ever expect to see any of them." Kathy bent over to
her bag and got out a Diet Coke.
"It <is> strange. I was talking to one of the cleaning staff
this morning. They were let into <her> room yesterday.
Apparently they're charging the Raven/nettes a huge cleaning
bill."
"Janette can afford it. Still, Ruth can cause a lot of
damage. I'm glad she's on our side."
Calliope looked out on the scenery. The trees made a
fantastic collage of oranges, yellows and reds. "Can she
come to New York? I thought a ghost was pretty much stuck
where they died. I was surprised that she could come to Hide
Park for the ceremony."
"Dawn should've thought of that..." Kathy leaned over the
front seat and raised her voice to speak to Dawn. "Can
Ruth come to New York?"
Dawn glanced back at Kathy for a moment before her eyes came
back to the road. "I'm not sure. We'll have to wait and see.
I managed to get some of her personal effects from the
morgue department. I knew I might need them sooner or
later."
Calliope looked over. "Personal effects? Shouldn't those
have been sent home to her family with her body?"
"Ummm... Yeah. And I <will> send them on as soon as the
war's over. It's just a few pieces of jewelry, and some
items she had in her purse. I wasn't looking for anything
valuable, just objects she might have carried around with
her all the time."
"Will they help?"
"I guess we'll find out, won't we?"
They were silent for a moment, then conversations resumed.
The latest topic seemed to be when to stop for a snack...
On the Road to New York
By Story by L. Dawn Steele
Poetry by Ruth Dempsey
They'd pulled out of the restaurant a few minutes
ago. Dawn had been adamant. No fast food. Never mind
the fact that they were almost always a Vegetarian's Hell,
more often than not they weren't that good for you either.
Besides, the Die-Hard treasury still had a bit of
money. Why not spend it. You never knew when your
affiliation of choice would change.
Dawn was now in the back seat with Calliope while Kathy
took her turn at driving. The other tried not to look as
long hidden hereditary driving skills came into play and
Kathy's foot went to the floor.
Ruth's poetry was being handed around to read (except
to Kathy of course <g>). Discussions were started and
lapsed in mid-air as they went back to reading... Dawn
had all the poems numbered and cross-indexed when she
thought some of them were related.
"Everybody... listen to this one. I think it's
important." Kitty raised her voice so that the others could
hear over the noise of the car.
Poem#16
Sorrow falls like autumn rain
And chills the soul within
A just wrath is too easily twisted
A narrow vision too easily distorted
And God will weep
When Darkness clothes itself in Light
Anger at one become anger towards all
Obsession overcomes grief
Obsession becomes life's mission
A blind ear and blind eye sees only what it wishes
And the truth is shut away
Satan will rejoice
When Darkness clothes itself in Light
'Ware, O 'Ware your own desires
Flame fuels the fires of hate
Used by one used by all
Divide the living to destroy the dead
Wars never decide who's right
They only decide whose left
O walk you wary
When Darkness clothes itself in Light
Kitty's voice had fallen silent, then she hesitantly
asked "what do you think? It seems to imply that somebody
or some group has started this war in order to get the
vampires in a vulnerable position."
Dawn scrambled with the pile of poetry she had in
the back. "Here's another one. It definitely ties into
Dorian though."
Poem #23
One archive for the living
One archive for the dead
Two archives two purposes
When the eye is blind
Can an archivist be objective?
Find the one who has seen both archives
One archive for the living
One archive for the dead
Two archives to record one event
But each gives a different blame
Each assesses a different guilt
Each sees a different responsiblity
Two archives two purposes
Find the one who has seen both archives
"It's definitely about Dorian." Kathy stated. Her
hands were steady on the wheel as she turned her head
briefly to look at the others. "Maybe something he did in
the past? Somebody wants revenge?"
"Maybe we can contact Ruth tonight. The party isn't
until Tomorrow night so we should have at least half a day
to try and get in touch." Dawn pulled off her sunglasses and
stored them in her bag.
"What will we do if we can't contact her?" asked Calliope.
"I think we should take this as an opportunity to be grapped
and
see a bit of New York. After all we have to get some
outfits for the party anyway." Dawn replied.
And so it went. As the hours passed, more poetry
was read and various meanings were deciphered. The
scenery was fantastic and the day was perfect for a
convertible.
New York, New York
By Perri Smith
"Halloween. What a bloody wonderful day to start a vampire
convention," Perri complained as she and Amy left the
airplane.
"Well, at least it's appropriate," Amy shrugged, searching
for an Arrivals moniter. "Stop complaining and help me
find out when Panthyr and Patsy's flights are getting in."
Perri wandered over to the terminal and started looking.
"Looks like Panthyr is coming in in about an hour."
"Patsy will be here in ten minutes," Amy reported. "At the
other end of terminal."
"Of course," Perri groaned, stretching a travel-stiff
body. "O.K., let's go."
After a breathless run to the other end of LaGuardia
airport, they waited thirty minutes for the plane from San
Francisco to land. They spotted the petite woman in jeans
and a T-shirt the second she walked off the crowded commuter
flight.
Hugs were exchanged all around.
"So what's up with this party?" Patsy yawned.
"Beats me," Perri shrugged. "All Sandy said was that the
Ravens are throwing us a party, bless their black-hearted
little souls, and she didn't want Nick to be there alone."
"Yes, that's what she said in the post I got," Patsy said.
"What are we supposed to do to protect Nick?"
"Beats me," Perri said again. "If nothing else, we can
warn him when a Raven tries to stake him in the back."
Patsy blinked at the venom in Perri's tone.
"Bad news from home," Amy explained in a whisper. "The
Ravens snuck in and erased all of her tapes, including her
X-Men episodes. She's not happy."
Perri overheard and raised an eyebrow at the understatement.
"And I suppose that wasn't you I heard cussing about your
hard drive?"
Amy grinned a little sheepishly. "At least they backed it up
for me."
"For you maybe. Those tapes cost me over a hundred bucks!"
"What are you going to do to them?" Patsy asked curiously.
Perri smiled. It made the other two nervous. "I'll tell
you later."
Before they could press her further, one of those strange
miracles you never expect happened -- Panthyr's plane
arrived on time. She got off the plane and made a beeline
for her fellow Knighties.
"How'd you know it was us?" Patsy asked her.
"I just looked for the group of people wearing large crosses
in plain view. It doesn't work too well, you know,"
Panthyr answered.
Perri grinned, looking down at the silver cross glittering
against her black T-shirt. "It doesn't hurt, either."
"So, what's the plan?" Panthyr asked, hefting her
overnight bag. "And where're Jim and Sandra?"
"Jim's staying in Toronto...he said something about
wanting to check out a radio station. Sandra's going to meet
us at the hotel when she gets in," Amy told her.
"As for the plan," Perri continued, "we're supposed to get a
cab and head for the hotel. Sandra asked us to check out the
nightclub where our part of the party is being held and make
sure the Ravenettes don't try to pull anything there.
We're going to meet with Nick, but I'm not sure when. He's
... in the middle of something, Sandra said."
Perri smiled again. "But we should be able to keep ourselves
busy until then. All's fair...."
Panthyr laughed. "Sounds good to me."
They left the airport together and hailed a cab for the
hotel.
Trill, Lost in New York
By Dionne Nelson
The little cat looked out of his carrier. He was in
another airport. He thought someone said he was in New York,
but he didn't know where that was.
A family walled into the office complaining that their
lugage wasn't there. They use a lot of words that Trill
didn't know, but they didn't sound very nice. The little boy
came over and sat down next to Trill's carrier.
"Hi kitty-cat. Are you sad too?" the child asked.
"Meow!" Play with me!
"I bet you're someone's little brother, or maybe a cousin."
"Mreow!" Uncle!
"I'll leave a note for them when they come get you." The
little boy took out a black crayon and wrote "Cousin" in
large almost friendly letters over the `Live Animals'
sticker. And just for a good measure, he drew a smiling
planet by the open end.
"There, that looks much happier."
"Meeeeo" Thank you.
"Come on George, we have to go or we'll miss our next
flight."
"Coming Mom. Bye little cat."
Heeeere, Kitty Kitty Kitty
By Caile Donachaidh Kane
I couldn't sleep today. I don't know why. I woke up around
ten o'clock and groggily checked the mail. Uncle was out
cold in his secret hiding place. I read the message from
Dionne with some trepidation, realising that one of our own,
be he human, cat, or otherwise, was lost. And he needed
help. Having always had a soft spot for kittens, I made
the appropriate calls - to Kennedy, to arrange Trill's
flight, and to one of my cronies in New York, to make sure
Trill was put on said flight. Then I sent a message to
Dionne telling her that Uncle and I would take utmost care
of her cat, and that he couldn't possibly get in any worse
trouble with us than he had already gotten *himself* into.
(Monday afternoon)
Yet another cab out to the airport. Yesterday I had made
the trek to pick up Cousin John's mysterious package,
today I was going to pick up one errant cat that could
probably use a paddling for all the heartache he's given his
human. But my heart melted when I saw him, grinning at me
from the beige plastic carrier, "COUSIN" proudly inscribed
on the side in crooked black crayon letters. I squatted down
in front of the carrier after I had claimed him, and figured
it was time for a Cousin-to-Cousin talk.
*REEOWW!* <Where's Uncle?!>
"He's asleep - it's the middle of the day, Trill. I'm Cousin
Caile, and I'm taking you to Uncle's place right now."
*Meow...* <Hi, Caile.>
"Hi, yourself. Do you know that Dionne has been very worried
about you??"
*mewww* <Yes. I'm sorry, but I just wanted to come out and
join all the fun.>
"Well, you're smack in the middle of it now. Let's go.
I've got to figure out how to explain you to Uncle..."
*MeOWWW?* <Do I get to meet Uncle now?>
"Tonight. Now, hush. We've got to go." I stood up and picked
up the carrier. I toted him back to the waiting cab, and
we returned to Uncle's. Trill blissfully ran rampant and
scratched up Uncle's antiques while I slept, my cousinly
mission accomplished.
Life During Wartime
By Windy L. Treese
A party in NY? Just for being a Ravenette? Wow. Windy knew
this was a great idea and that she had to be on the plane
Janette had chartered for everyone. Either that or she would
fly home to mom in Jersey. Hey, a party and mom. Of
course, mom wouldn't see that missing school for a war would
be such a great idea. Oh well, have to tell her it's a 3-day
weekend.
Later on Sunday: Newark International Airport "Hi Mom.
Thanks for picking me up." "I just don't understand why I
had to pick you up from Newark off a flight from Toronto."
"Class trip. My class was studying the migration of
Ravenettes. Apparently they suddenly flock to Toronto
sometimes." "What class is this for?" "Migratory animal
behavior involving the provinces of Canada." "They teach
that at Hopkins?" "Yeah, it's offered by the Humanities
Center. (Sorry JHU joke.)"
Later, Monday Morn - Halloween
Mom, Had to borrow the car and go to NYC for research on
my Ravenette paper. Will be back sometime tomorrow. If I see
Betsy there I'll bring her back. Yes, she's in my class.
Windy
Lisa quits as Nick's researcher
By Lisa McDavid
From: mcdavid-lisa@scarolina.edu
To: lambert@coroner.toronto.gov.ca
Subject: I quit
Look, I realize it's not your fault, but Nick can find
another patsy to do his research in our occult collection.
If he were still mortal, I'd say he'd been jousting
without a helmet because he knows damned well I'm on his
side. I only got involved with LaCroix in the first place
because it gave Nick a line on the enemy camp. He was
right there last time when I staggered into the loft after
LaCroix bit me. He was the one who agreed you could tell the
rest of them, at his loft.
Even if his memory isn't functioning because he put too much
mousse on his hair again, he ought to remember who got him
that copy of the Abarat.
Please inform him that I was there under compulsion, as he
should have guessed, and that I was also feeding you
information. It's only good luck that Karin bit me, when she
vamped out under stress (not that Nick had anything to do
with their not blaming me -- he did his best to set me up)
and not LaCroix.
One of the things I hadn't had a chance to pass on yet was a
little discovery about Polidori's Syndrome. It seems that
one episode is all it takes for a really old vampire to
build up an immunity to the poison in anyone patient's
blood. Suppose that had been Uncle who'd found me?
Wishing you luck, because you'll need it around Nick,
Cousin Lisa "That will be trouble."
Lisa McDavid
mcdavid-lisa@scarolina.edu
d020214@univscvm.csd.scarolina.edu
Lisa's Enthusiasm Is Whipped Up
By Lisa McDavid
To: Kwelss@oracle.us.com
From mcdavid-lisa@scarolina.edu
Subject: Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Karin, your whips and chains and masks have worked a
miracle! I'm sure it was just serendipity, but you got the
address wrong when you told that mail order bondage place
where to send the things. It's true that I used to do some
Rare Books cataloging before they had a cataloger of their
own and I do spend a lot of time up there (or I did before
Nick the Brick with Brains to Match set me up) researching
in our occult collection for vampire cures.
But, my desk is in Cataloging and that's where my mail's
supposed to be delivered. Instead the packages arrived at
Rare's door.
The Head of Rare Books, who is also Chairman of the
Library Tenure Committee, opened them. Now, Rothgar has a
reputation on campus for weirdness, but I never knew until
today just how weird. He took one look at all the whips --
especially the knout -- and happily concluded that I was a
soulmate. In return for my agreeing to bring my new toys and
play with him and a select few of his pals from the
university tenure committee, one of the President's
assistants and a mysterious "Ms. Big" from the Board of
Trustees, I've not only been granted tenure without having
to make a formal application, I've been made a full
professor.
So thank you, Karin!! If I can ever help you, just let me
know!
Cousin Lisa "That will be trouble."
Lisa McDavid
mcdavid-lisa@scarolina.edu
d020214@univscvm.csd.scarolina.edu
A Knightie and a Ravennette Take Flight (Part 2 of 2)
By Amy Denton and Kat Feline
[takes up where we left off, on the way to Nacogdoches
Municipal Airport...] We made it in time to get our
luggage loaded and while Amy wasn't looking I transferred
some stuff to my backpack. It wouldn't do to let her know
what I had in the bags from Tyler.
As we re-entered the terminal (one terminal, about the
size of my living room) we noticed that the guy had just put
up another sign on the door:
Lone Star Airlines will be closing this terminal at an un-
disclosed date. All flights will cease leaving and
arriving daily on that time when we will be closed
permanantly. The Management
Well. I suppose that means we'll have to go all the way to
Longview to leave town. Or we could just drive to Houston
and Amy's mom could drop us off at the airport (Hobby or
Intercontinental). But this will piss Lisa (my sister)
off. She was planning on going to Denver this winter leaving
from here since she doesn't have a car anymore. Oh, well. To
mis-quote LaCroix: Life's a bitch.
The flight to Dallas was un-eventful except for the
country and western music. The radio played local C&W
stations instead of muzak, which would have driven me
bonkers, but would have left me only marginally insane. I
asked the flight attendant/co-pilot if he could just turn it
off as I was hoping to take a short nap, but he refused
and showed me how his neck could glow by singing along for
the rest of the trip. I comisserated by fetching my new
walkman from my backpack, putting in Led Zeppelin and
relaxing for the rest of the trip. Oh, what joy.
Our flight out of Dallas left at 11:00 and the
puddlejumper flight arrived at DFW at 10:45. We made it in
time, but barely. Amy made some smart-ass crack about
maybe I should have driven (or flown, as it was a plane),
but one look silenced her.
I told Amy I had to go to the bathroom and went to the
information desk to retrieve the package Dan had left for
me.
The Continental flight was supposed to have Jurassic Park
showing as the in- flight movie, but when The Cowboy Way
came on and I saw Woody Harrelson in a cowboy hat playing
Rodeo King, I had to put the headphones on again. This
time I listened to Simon & Garfunkel done by the Lemonheads.
It was strange listing to "Mrs. Robinson" by that group, but
he music section of Tyler's Target didn't have the classic
version, and I wasn't bringing my copy.
After The Cowboy Way ended they put on the movie about Clint
Black. I looked down and asked the passing steward where
we were and he said we were passing over some state that
began with "M". I thanked Einstein and changed tapes.
Metallica should keep me up at least until the horrible
movie fest was over.
After that movie was over I asked the steward how much
longer we'd be in transit since we'd been in the air (hmm,
lets see 11 take off stated time, 11:30 actual take-off
time, it was now 3:30 and we had an estimated arrival time
of 6:30 am) four hours. He said we were just on schedule, so
I calculated (6:30-3:30) three hours more. I asked him if
there were going to be any more movies and he said there
wouldn't. I asked him what happened to Jurassic Park and
he said the pilot had asked to listen to a C&W related
movie. I thanked him, pulled the pillow out of the corner
where I'd stuffed it using it as an armrest, and took a
three hour nap.
Amy nudged me at 6:15 in time to hear the flight attendant
announcing that we were approaching the airport in Toronto
and could we please fasten our seatbelts and bring our seats
to a full vertical. He began passing out Orange Juice and
Apple Juice and petrified bagels with pre-applied cream
cheese or strawberry preserves.
After our quickie breakfast, the steward disappeared to
strap himself in for the landing. Some woman screamed
hysterically as we hit a pocket of turbulence. While I
fought the urge to get up and slap the b**ch, the steward
came forward again and tried to calm her down.
"Oh, what I wouldn't give to be a vampire," Amy muttered.
"And hypnotize her into being quiet." <This is not an offer,
you bloodsucking brethren, so don't try anything.>
We off-loaded, got our luggage and walked to the lounge
where Karyn was waiting for me and Amy picked up the keys
and information on where the Knighties were staying. I heard
a moan of frustration, or was that anticipation, coming from
her direction, so Karyn and I headed her way to ask her what
was wrong.
"We're staying at the same hotel as the Raven/ettes. This
should be interesting." A gleam came into her eye. Was it
mishief or what?
Amy left for the parking garage where her rental was waiting
and Karyn and I headed for her car.
Karyn: "My husband is out of town for some business, so
you can use his car. But, remember. You're responsible for
gas, and any damages." She handed over a set of keys on a
key-ring with only one ring and about fifty-million keys.
Kat: "Good Gods! How does he find the right key?" Now you
all know why I have a different key-ring for each key.
Karyn: "Oh, I'm sorry." She took the keys back, took four
off. "This one's for the door, this one for the deadbolt,
these are to the car."
We were off, I needed a couple more hours sleep, then I
had to meet with Angel so I could be introduced to the other
Ravenettes.
[Amy Denton, Knightie takes up now with her story of
Toronto...]
6:30 am, Friday, October 28...
I staggered into the hotel with my belongings and went up to
the front desk, where a desk clerk who appeared to be
about as awake as I was was doing something. I told him I
had room reservations, he looked up my room assignment and
gave me a generic hotel key. I asked which rooms my fellow
Knighties were staying in, and he gave me a strange look and
began looking them up, name by name.
I looked up to see several women and men wander in, and
judged by the hour of day that none of the Knighties would
be up. They must be Raven/ettes. I grinned to myself as I
thought of the revenge we had planned for them in
retaliation for the bricks.
I wrote down the room numbers, paying special attention to
the one for Perri, and got on the elevator. After a moment
the elevator stopped on the floor I wanted, and I went
down the hall and banged on the door.
"Perri! It's Amy. Wake up!"
After a moment's silence I could hear movement within the
room. The door opened and there stood Perri, more asleep
than awake. "What?"
"Hi, Perri. I'm Amy. Here's the stuff. I've been on a
plane since 9:00 last night. I'll talk to you later. I'm
going to bed."
She stared at me blankly for a moment, looked at the stuff
in her hand as if curious as to how it had gotten there,
then turned and closed the door.
I went into my room, plopped my stuff on the floor, called
my mom to let her know I was still alive and went to sleep.
That night we played our little trick on the Raven/ettes
then giggled ourselves into a stupor. When they arrived back
from their secret meeting (ooh, real big secret!) we
listened closely for their reactions. Then laughed ourselves
into another stupor.
We were scheduled to go to New York to find out what
Janette's big secret was, but Sunday afternoon when I called
my mom to tell her I was still alive and to withhold the new
travel plans, she told me about my computer. I was NOT
pleased. LJC was dead. I'd have to hurt her now. "Good thing
I'm going to New York." <Oh, boy. Another long plane
flight!)
[Kat's adventure in Toronto...]
After my duly earned nap and shower, I read the note from
Karyn telling me she'd be at work till 5pm. I looked at my
father's watch (I inherited it) and saw that it was 11am.
I called the hotel where Angel was staying and woke her up.
"Hello? Who is it? What TIME is it?"
"Hello. It's Kat. It's eleven am, time to get up and go
shopping. You said that you had some addresses to give me to
get party-wear?"
"Yes, two. The first is open during traditional hours, while
the sun is up." She rattled off an address, which I wrote
down, praying Karyn had a city map handy. "The other one
opens up 20 minutes after sundown. You'll have to look in
the newspaper or something to find out what time that is."
She rattled off the vampire tailor's address which I wrote
on the other side of the note papaer.
"Go take a shower. You have some shopping to do, too."
"Bye." She hung up, obviously not ready to get up.
<Is it my fault my body reacts well to being away from
100% humidity?>
I went to Eduoard's, the recommended daytime tailor and
had clothes fitted for the meeting that night at the
Raven. I chose a spaghetti-strapped red velvet of a nice
burgandy shade with red hose and black flats. The neck was
of black lace-cloth and went from the bust to the neck <no
sense leaving my neck too exposed> and long sleeves. I had a
red-red cloak, long enough to just clear the floor, made
to go over it <any cracks about Red Riding Hood and I'll
have to hurt whoever you are!>.
I looked for a shop that tailor-(and quick) made slips and
other unmentionables in the phone book. Found one and went
to the shop with the drawings and had under clothes made
to go with my dresses.
By the time I was done it was 3:30 and time to go back to
Eduoard's to pick up my new clothes. After picking up my
carefully packed dress and cloak with specially dyed flats
of a soft leather, I returned to Karyn's for a quick nap.
When I arrived, the paper was out (I must have missed seeing
it on my way out) and looked up sundown. 7:05. Great. That
leaves me with 2 hours for a nap. I crashed.
"Kat! Hey, Kat!"
"Huh? Oh, hi Karyn. Let me go take another shower and I
may be near-human." I looked at my watch; it was 5:15.
Perfect.
I got out of the shower at 5:40 and Karyn was ready with
blow-dryer, curling iron and hot curlers as well as our
combined make-up kits.
Forty minutes later I was unrecognizable. I pulled out my
camera and Karyn took pictures. Then we had a quick supper
which turned out to be not so quick. I only then realized
that I hadn't eaten since the petrified bagel that
morning, so we had a larger supper than indende. I then
put the gorgeous dress on and Karyn took more pictures. I
looked at the information I had scribbled in my notebook and
saw that the Raven opened at 7:15. I was supposed to meed
Janette before going to the tailor's, apparently since I'd
been ordered to be there at opening and the tailor's
didn't open till 7:25. I left at 6:50, hoping I could make
it on time.
I arrived at the Raven at 7:16 praying no one would notice
my teensy tardiness. No one did. They were all preparing for
a meeting with the NatPackers and Nat herself. I met Angel
and we talked for a bit till Miklos arrived and told Angel
to go into our Lady's office. While Angel was in with her
coolness I flirted with Miklos a bit, but carefully.
Wouldn't do to get him salivating.
Angel emerged from the office looking less than pleased
and told me to go in. Janette and I spoke for a bit and
she admired my dress. I told her who I'd been to to get it
made and she complimented my taste. I told her it was
Angel's taste and the Lady said it was more than just the
tailor, but the dress itself. She said it reminded her of
something she'd wear. Then she told me to go get the rest of
my wardrobe. I was to have three dresses made at the vampire
tailor's instead of just the one I had planned. Then,
assuring me that I'd be back the next night she lit a
cigarette and walked with me out into the common room.
I walked to the bar and asked Miklos <Mr. Laconic, huh? He
doesn't have to say ANYthing!> for a seven-up with a bit
of lemon juice in it.
"This is a bar, madame. I only have alcoholic and rare
beverages."
I took the hint and left the bar. I'd have to bring my own
supply to the club the next night. With a brain tumor
alcohol was out of the question.
As I left the club, I saw a large group of people getting
out of a cab and a car. I recognized the driver of the car
as Natalie herself.
I arrived at the vampire tailor's at 7:45. A truly
gorgeous man (well, not really a man, but who'se asking)
wearing a tux. He greeted me as if he was expecting me and
kissed my hand (ooh lala). I could feel his elongated
incisors against the tender skin of my hand and shivered.
We sat down and one of his two assistants brought the
pattern books over. I asked him to aid me in my
differentness.
"Everyone will be wearing black or red. Maybe green or other
dark colors. But definately colors. I want to be
different. I would like my dress made with an ivory cloth
and white leather."
"You do wish to appear different."
"It's a life-long hobby of mine."
We chose the dress for the party, a simple yet elegant
gown which left my neck and shoulders exposed. He refused to
make the dress with the protective collar I wanted. He
wanted my skin exposed and assured me that I would NOT be
the only one with an exposed neck at the party. I took his
hint and stopped argueing. The bustier's bottom edge was
in the shape of a V down my front and back, made of white
leather (well, more cream as he didn't have white, but I was
OK with that) with a long, wide skirt of cream colored raw
silk. I was VERY glad I wasn't paying for this.
For Saturday night we chose a knee-length black taffeta
dress with no sleeves or neck to speak of. Even trying it on
I felt a bit exposed, but it looked so nice on...
For Sunday night we chose a bright red satin mini that
left my midriff covered only with a sheer red muslin and a
top of red leather. This dress had sleeves that were loose
all the way down to just above the wrist where it was
tight till it ended in a V in the middle of my hand. It
had a thumb cut-out; it would cover most of my palm.
Since it was cold out we chose to make boots to go with
all the outfits except the mini. For the mini I would wear
shiny red flats. With the black taffeta I would wear ankle
high boots of black suede and we made cream leather, fur-
lined boots for the party in New York.
None of the boots had heels.
There was a matching cloak with each dress: Black wool,
Red wool and cream leather.
By the time we finished planning my wardrobe for the
party, it was after 2am. I bade my hosts farewell since they
were all getting a bit toothy and I supposed they were
hungry. The nice assistant (I couldn't tell which one,
they didn't volunteer any names) told me they were going
to stay open till noon the next day because of the traffic
they were getting as a result of the war.
I returned to Karyn's and slept for 8 hours, waking at 11am.
After a shower Karyn, who had the day off and I hung
around getting better acquainted in our foreign fandom. I
showed her the wooden atheme (ritual knife) Di had given
me the last time we'd met in Dallas. Mark was a policeman
there and he was really nice. But I stray from the subject.
At 6:30 I began getting ready <again> to go to the Raven.
I wore the red dress and left everything in the car to
show Angel at the first opportunity.
I stopped at a grocery store to get some 7-up and
RealLemon and arrived at the Raven to see what was what at
8:00. I handed over the drink stuff to the relief
bartender wondering where Miklos was and he fixed me a quick
drink with it.
For quite a while we just mingled, danced and had fun. I met
my fellow Ravenettes and even got to meet the Ravens as
Janette left them alone for a few minutes for a quick snack.
There were other vampires there, one was rumored to be a
Cousin and one to be an Enforcer.
There was a little altercation with a disco ball, some truly
horrible music and some nerds dressed as Elvis. Janette
threw two Cousins out of the club, Angel decked the DJ and
we all got to see Janette throw a tantum. She ripped the
`gift' from the cousins into shreds. She had a little
trouble tearing the polyester, but she soon overcame the
toughness of the ugly uncomfortable cloth.
After such an eventful night the guest's bed at Karyn's
was welcome. Before driving back, though, I gave in to a bit
of paranoia and checked on my wonder- ful new clothes.
They were fine.
The next day (Sunday) before sundown and departure time
Angel dropped by Karyn's house during a brief moment of
peace. I showed her the clothes, got a strange look for
the cream color, and showed her my surprise.
I opened my bookbag and got the pictures out. I chose the
ones she needed to see and enjoyed a good laugh with her.
The images of Amy, Knightie, in her nightie and sweatpants
(with `Flake in the background) getting, opening and
disposing of her blonde brick. She took the re-prints and
promised to share them with the other Raven/ettes.
The flight to New York was fairly uneventful, crowded and
fun. We flew with Janette and I wore the black tafetta. I
asked Angel who would be doing the music, but she wasn't
sure.
"But I heard we were the only club with a stage."
"We are, but I'm not sure who'll be doing the music. Yet."
We arrived in New York about 2 hours after Amy's flight
had landed. Poor Amy would be staying at a Holiday Inn. I
decided to get my rental car and go visit her. So my best
friend is a Knightie; forgive her, she knows no better.
I arrived at her motel just in time to see her in hysterics.
"I'm leaving this motel! I am out of here!" She was re-
fastening her suitcase. "I thought staying at a different
hotel that the rest of the Knighties would protect me from
discovery, guess not! I'm gone!"
"What's up?"
"I found a dead bellhop in front of my room! It looks like
Cousin Mike had lunch!"
"How do you know it was Cousin Mike?"
"He's the only one who would be quite so obvious!"
"Oh--" the phone rang.
"We're supposed to meet a strange helper somewhere."
I pulled up in front of Jennifer's house and she was waiting
for me.
"The couch pulls out into a bed, it's after midnight and I
have to go to class at 8am. I'll see you whenever. I'm not
giving you keys because I'll be home by noon and I'm sure
you'll still be asleep."