Llyr's Court

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha merely stared, her eyes blank and bored. It was only after the ghost had vanished that she bothered to touch her cheek, coming away with a stain of red on her fingertips. "It's quite alright," she replied, laughing, "Really now, does she think it's impressive? I've met ghosts with enough power to dismember me, some of which tried. But this? This isn't even worth the blood it would take to heal it." Again there came that trickling witch's laughter, that spark of lunacy. "Unless of course you had other plans, Atticus dear," she said softly, turning and extending her hand to him. It brought a softer laugh from her, a more teasing laugh. "You were complaining just last week that I grant Singe the honor of my blood more often than I do you, were you not?"

 

[.David Talbot.]

Courtland made a sound like a growl low in his throat. If there was one thing people could say about him itwas that he was protective. That was especially true about Antha. "We should have brought Nicolae," he hissed. "He would have pitched a goddamm metaphysical fit."
The tension in Atticus's body drained away when the ghost left. He had been covering his eye without even noticing. "I am going to have to keep this from the Talamasca records aren't I Evie?" Something about what the ghost girl had said left him feeling odd. Something was up and he had a feeling Antha wasn't going to want it stored away in the archives.
Her next words stopped him cold. He stood for a long time staring very pointedly at the blood on her fingers. For vampires blood was good. Witch blood was better. Antha's blood was a drug. "I was not complaining," he argued as he inched towards her. His eyes never left the bright smear of red. "He was picking a fight and I told him you just liked the rougher feeders. That is all."
He was close enough to touch her and that's what he did. He took her wrist in his hand and bowed to lay a light kiss on the patch of blood. "Besides. I was trying to kick the habit." He stood straight and smiled at her as he licked the blood from his lips.
His gaze went to the boys on the stairs then. "Are you alright?" he asked the one who had just recently entered. He looked concerned.

 

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha gave him a wry smile as he started towards her. "I'm sure," she said softly, "After all, I don't think the Calais family would like all of their secrets spilled across the pages collecting on David Talbot's desk. Besides, my family is already an obsession of the Talamasca. I don't think you need another witch family to stalk, do you?" She let her hand fall when he released it, her eyes following his crimson stained lips as he moved.
"Atticus." She took a step forward, closing the space left between their bodies. "If David gives you any trouble over your report, call me. I'll shut him up." Antha wasn't entirely sure why she wanted to protect them from the Talamasca. Her family had learned to cope with the constant surveillance, the reports of their everyday lives filed away with pictures and paintings and diaries and other relics of her ancestors, but it had taken a terrible toll on both sides.
Her gaze turned to the stairs a moment after Atticus, her stare more curious than his. "Oh my," she said softly, a trickle a laughter escaping her lips as she turned and flitted up the stairs. She stopped hardly a foot short of the two boys, her eyes sweeping over Cian and settling on the other. "Atticus talks a lot when you get him started, you know," she said softly, that teasing smile to her lips, "It's really quite surprising how much someone can learn working for an organization like the Talamasca for centuries like Atticus has."

 

[Rynn Calais]

+Rotting Lunacy+

Antha gave him a wry smile as he started towards her. "I'm sure," she said softly, "After all, I don't think the Calais family would like all of their secrets spilled across the pages collecting on David Talbot's desk. Besides, my family is already an obsession of the Talamasca. I don't think you need another witch family to stalk, do you?" She let her hand fall when he released it, her eyes following his crimson stained lips as he moved.
"Atticus." She took a step forward, closing the space left between their bodies. "If David gives you any trouble over your report, call me. I'll shut him up." Antha wasn't entirely sure why she wanted to protect them from the Talamasca. Her family had learned to cope with the constant surveillance, the reports of their everyday lives filed away with pictures and paintings and diaries and other relics of her ancestors, but it had taken a terrible toll on both sides.
Her gaze turned to the stairs a moment after Atticus, her stare more curious than his. "Oh my," she said softly, a trickle a laughter escaping her lips as she turned and flitted up the stairs. She stopped hardly a foot short of the two boys, her eyes sweeping over Cian and settling on the other. "Atticus talks a lot when you get him started, you know," she said softly, that teasing smile to her lips, "It's really quite surprising how much someone can learn working for an organization like the Talamasca for centuries like Atticus has."

Erin brightened, stepping out of Cian's grasp with some difficulty. "I don't suppose I could persuade you to part with him for a few--"
"--several--" amended Cian, now using the railing to drag himself to his feet,
"--a few hours? Our library escaped the fire in the West Wing mostly intact--I've been cataloging it for the past three years--but some of the texts are coded, Talamascan work, I had been thinking, but I never suspected that I'd have the good fortune to encounter one of its representatives."
Cian said, "You won't see him for days. There's mazes of the stuff in Erin's room."

The show had not been to strike fear into Antha; nothing so petty. It had been to show her something, or to try to--Rynn craned his neck, staring at the quivering chandelier in unmasked disgust. What did the b***h think she was playing at now?  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha turned her attention momentarily to Cian after his brother had stepped away from him, offering him her hand before she glanced back, laughing. "If Atticus does not mind, then I see no reason why I should object. After all, I trust him to return to me when I call. But first, we need a short audience with your brother." Her expression changed into something calmer as she spoke the last few words, her own version of being serious. "Mon ami," she called to Rynn, turning and folding her arms on the railing, "You realize, I hope, that if you want us to be able to help you, then you're going to have to tell us how she died." In truth, Antha didn't want to know. She simply didn't care enough to pry, but both she and Atticus knew it had to be done.

 

[.David Talbot.]

Courtland tried to follow her automatically but stopped himself.
Atticus looked between the two discussing him. "Would it not be a better idea to speak with David or Aaron?" he asked. "Since David is the head of the Talamasca and Aaron is something of our vice-president. I am only the resident witchdoctor." He smiled at his own joke.
He looked at Rynn while Antha spoke to him. "It is true," he said quietly. He didn't like to pry any more than Antha did. "Right now we are not sure what to do. If you want us to face her ghost we have to know what happened."
We can speak in private if you prefer. He tried extremely hard to keep the mental talk between him and Rynn and Antha. The others in our party do not have to hear. But Antha and I need to know about it.

 

[Rynn Calais]

The temperature in the room dropped, several degrees, as four unerring gazes fixed on Antha, even Liesse's lucid eyes lifting to the girl on the stairs. In the dead silence, Cian laughed, caught within the uplifting grasp of his drug.
"She's charming."
To Atticus, Rynn replied, "No, you're perfectly correct." Liesse's breath hissed inward, caught in her throat, and he held up a hand to his twin, motioning for her silence. "She...fell. In the mazes, down the centre well, before it was covered."
It was not really a well. It never had been, but that was what it had become, when the steps had been covered up and the pits removed of their grisly treasures. An ordinary, stone-rimmed little well, with an ornamental bucket and crank. Covered now, thinly, by a rotting wood door.

"A witchdoctor might be exactly what's required, actually; most of the texts require a rather advanced understanding of foreign thaumaturgical practice, from what I can decipher from the code--"
Erin, too bright, too loud in the overwhelming silence, had gone to Atticus, trying to fill up the gaping silence.
Rynn struck Erin with a glare; for those unversed in the language of his brother's expressions, Cian translated. "Oh, Lord. Somebody stop my fool brother. I'm going to the observatory before Rynn gets the knives out." Leaning heavily on the railing, he began the arduous trek up the stairs.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

For a moment or two, Antha merely stared at Rynn. She did bother to speak to Cian when he announced his departure, murmuring a soft, "Bonsoir, mon cher." But her gaze was all for Rynn, and there was something in her eyes then that was cold, calculating, like a piece of her had died and left nothing behind. "We had a niece once, you know," she said softly, breaking the thick silence. She made a small gesture to Courtland as she spoke, including him in the 'we'. "She was a pure Mayfair, a cousin of ours as well I believe. It's hard to tell, the way we interbreed." A faint laugh escaped her, and it was as cold and dead as her eyes. "She found out about some of the things that us older kids were doing, things that would have ended us had they ever been brought to the attention of outsiders. So we killed her. We murdered our own flesh and blood and buried her in the garden because she would never keep our secret."
She turned then, retracing her path down the stairs. Her eyes never left Rynn. "She had always hated us to begin with, of course, but that wasn't the reason she came back. She came back and plagued us because as we had killed her, she wanted to kill us. Because that, mon ami, is what angry people do. Instead of moving on, finding new bodies to inhabit, they come back and they are nothing but rage." When she came to the end of the stairs, she went to Rynn, her pencil heels clicking on the floor, too loud in the silence surrounding her. "What is important right now is why your sister is so angry. Tell me, what could have happened that would make her hatred for you so intense that it will not leave her even in death?"

 

[.David Talbot.]

Atticus blinked at Erin. "I still believe it better for you to speak with David or Aaron. They are the scholars not me." He smiled. Then he heard Antha speaking again and he stopped everything. It was the stillness only vampires had. No breathing or nervous fidgeting or heartbeat.
"Evie!" Courtland glared at her but it wasn't an angry glare. Not anger at her. "Ne leur dites pas que ils n'ont pas besoin de savoir. On l'a cense etre un secret!" He scoffed. "You know bringing things like that up will just bring them to us. Don't we have enough angry spirits runnign around here without them?"  

[Rynn Calais]

+Rotting Lunacy+

For a moment or two, Antha merely stared at Rynn. She did bother to speak to Cian when he announced his departure, murmuring a soft, "Bonsoir, mon cher." But her gaze was all for Rynn, and there was something in her eyes then that was cold, calculating, like a piece of her had died and left nothing behind. "We had a niece once, you know," she said softly, breaking the thick silence. She made a small gesture to Courtland as she spoke, including him in the 'we'. "She was a pure Mayfair, a cousin of ours as well I believe. It's hard to tell, the way we interbreed." A faint laugh escaped her, and it was as cold and dead as her eyes. "She found out about some of the things that us older kids were doing, things that would have ended us had they ever been brought to the attention of outsiders. So we killed her. We murdered our own flesh and blood and buried her in the garden because she would never keep our secret."
She turned then, retracing her path down the stairs. Her eyes never left Rynn. "She had always hated us to begin with, of course, but that wasn't the reason she came back. She came back and plagued us because as we had killed her, she wanted to kill us. Because that, mon ami, is what angry people do. Instead of moving on, finding new bodies to inhabit, they come back and they are nothing but rage." When she came to the end of the stairs, she went to Rynn, her pencil heels clicking on the floor, too loud in the silence surrounding her. "What is important right now is why your sister is so angry. Tell me, what could have happened that would make her hatred for you so intense that it will not leave her even in death?"

Behind Rynn, his twin shuddered, and went pale. She had to grasp his arm just to remain steady on her feet, and her knuckles were white on his sleeve.
It was just a matter of warping the words in his mind, and the truth, so very slightly--enough to call up real rage, rage that could not be faked nor mimicked. Cold and direct, unfaltering anger laced every word of his voice, in a way that she could not possibly mistake or guess as falsehood. "I would never kill a member of my family, Miss Mayfair. My siblings and I are the last of the Calais line; we cannot afford to shed our blood as freely as the Mayfairs." His mouth was a thin white line, lips pressed together bloodlessly.

Erin sighed, dropping his gaze in disappointment. "If I really cannot persuade you, then I expect I must concede defeat." The longing in his voice was evident. A real member of the Talamasca--here, in Llyr's Court, where he might never see another of their ilk again--and he couldn't even garner the slightest--
"Erin," Liesse touched his arm, briefly, her little white hands fluttering together like anxious butterflies, "It's not a good time to be around--please." She cocked one head, as though listening, and some secret flutter of words passed between their minds. "Go to your room; I'm sure Mister Atticus can give you a little of his time after all this is over." She smiled, beseechingly.
And tell Cian--and Aedan--to be ready. If we should need them.  

[XCandy and LunacyX]

The girl gave a vague shrug of her shoulders, as if she really did not care, and when she directed her gaze again to Rynn, her eyes were normal. At least as normal as anything ever was with Antha. "Only making a point," she excused herself carelessly, running a hand through her hair, "But my point remains, Monsieur Calais. Something must have made your sister very angry to be lingering this way. Whether it was any of you or not I do not know, and I don't really care to press." She turned and walked to Courtland then, closing any space between them and laying her head gently against his chest. In that touch came many thoughts, most of which went along the lines of 'shut up'. "But what do you think, Atticus darling? I have no desire to put my cousins at such a high risk. If we do not understand, then we cannot be sure what will happen, can we?"

 

[.David Talbot.]

Atticus sighed. "We are going into this blind. If you are worried then send them home. That is my opinion."
But Courtland shook his head. He had wrapped his arms around Antha when she came to him. Now he kissed her hair. "If you're staying then so am I. You can forget sending me home unless you're coming." He tightened his arms around her for a minute. "That's what big brothers do damm it."

 

[XCandy and LunacyX]

Antha stepped away from her cousin---or more correctly, her brother by Julien, as he had pointed out---brushing him off and giving him a sharp gaze. "Courtland, Felix, I want you both to go back to Mayfair Manor. It is a necessary precaution, and I am not asking, I am ordering you both." As Designee of the Legacy, those of Antha's generation could not disobey her. It was one of the few parts of their curse that she liked. "Vikteren." As she spoke, she turned to face the vampire, taking a few steps towards him. "Please, go back with them. There is really no use in you being here, and I would feel better if you were not." For a moment, the mask broke. She let the insanity and the anger and the responsibility drain away, leaving only that childish helplessness that few had seen behind. "Please?" she asked, her voice soft to a degree that only the two vampires present could hear. She didn't expect him to simply turn around and leave, so she felt it necessary, but it only lasted for a moment before she reconstructed her mask.

 

[Azure Halfbreed]

"Very well." Felix didn't see a reason for staying, nor a reason for leaving. He was here because Antha told him to come. And just now, Antha told him to leave. And she even said it herself. It was an order not a request. That lifestyle of his would probably be carried with him to the grave.

Pushing himself away from the wall, Felix headed out the door. He didn't know if Courtland would argue the order or not, but Felix wasn't going to stick around to find out. He remember every turn the made to get to this place. He could find his way back. He found Antha with out a map or any direction at all. The moment he left the property line, Felix started to sprint. Just becuase he wasn't in the guild any more doesn't mean he shouldn't keep up his training. And judging the distance they drove here, Felix should have no problem running back.  

[Vikteren]

+Rotting Lunacy+

Antha stepped away from her cousin---or more correctly, her brother by Julien, as he had pointed out---brushing him off and giving him a sharp gaze. "Courtland, Felix, I want you both to go back to Mayfair Manor. It is a necessary precaution, and I am not asking, I am ordering you both." As Designee of the Legacy, those of Antha's generation could not disobey her. It was one of the few parts of their curse that she liked. "Vikteren." As she spoke, she turned to face the vampire, taking a few steps towards him. "Please, go back with them. There is really no use in you being here, and I would feel better if you were not." For a moment, the mask broke. She let the insanity and the anger and the responsibility drain away, leaving only that childish helplessness that few had seen behind. "Please?" she asked, her voice soft to a degree that only the two vampires present could hear. She didn't expect him to simply turn around and leave, so she felt it necessary, but it only lasted for a moment before she reconstructed her mask.

Silence. He raised his glass-green eyes, and spoke for the first time since he'd come to the mansion. The words were soft, flickering in her mind like candlelight.
I don't want to leave you here.

The place made him feel--crushed. Manacled. It was almost enough to make the cuff welts on his wrists, burned into his skin so long ago, light in chafing pain again. It was worst inside the manor--with the oppressive memories bored into its very walls, the spirit of the place was far too twisted, too reminescent of Cyrus's chambers.
And the idea of that was sickening.

He couldn't leave her here.
She'd said please.

"If that is your wish."