Grayson Mudali (forevergrayson) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-08-24 00:23:00 |
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Entry tags: | #solo, 2009-07-24, grayson |
Holding on to what is right, the truth escaped me twice last night
Who: Grayson Mudali and his sire, Hasim
Where: Grayson's office at Heme, via phonelines
When: Early morning
Grayson Mudali was not a man who was easily flustered - at least, not in the public's eye. The charismatic businessman always put his best foot forward, facing whatever challenge he had to with easy smiles, calm assurances, promises that were always followed through. In his mind, it was just good business.
Today, though? It was a bad day to be a vampire. One of the Azrael higher ups called him that morning to aske him what the hell was going on in Scarlet Oak, and whatever answer Grayson had, it wouldn't be enough - because he just didn't know. These were the kind of moments that had him drinking so much, all those years ago.
Six people dead in the last day alone. Six. Did these vampires not realize this would hurt every single one of them? To the public it didn't matter what house you were from, if they saw fangs, today they'd want you to burn. Grayson wasn't stupid - not every house followed the same rules as Azrael did. The Shades didn't, that was for sure. Or Gabriel House, or a half dozen others he could name off the top of his head.
Grayson might be a vampire, yes. He might need blood to survive, yes. But he sure as hell wasn't a murderer. And he knew - knew! - the protestors outside Heme's door would accuse him as such. Oh, and the reporters - he'd already spoken to three that morning, all but one implying he knew something about what happened. And there was nothing the former soldier could about it but smile and find the right words to say.
Which was why Grayson was sitting in his office at Heme, door locked, fingers idly tapping on the desk as he thought. The local news was on in the background, the sound turned off; he didn't need to know the best way to protect yourself from a vampire, thank you very much. Gray needed someone to talk to, someone he could allow to see him as frustrated as he currently was. There was Eric, but the cardinal had matters to attend to of his own. He nearly called Saoirse - but she was young still, and he had no wish to burden her. And Gray wasn't stupid, he knew she'd be as livid about this whole thing as he was.
No, he was to be Seer's rock, not the other way around.
Instead, he called the one other person he could think of - Hasim, his sire. He'd been there through the highest and lowest parts of Grayson's long life, and he would not judge him for losing his composure for a moment. Hell, Hasim dealt with Grayson when he was still an alcoholic, this should be easy.
He didn't even wait for Hasim to say hello, Grayson's impatience getting the best of him as soon as he heard the telltale click that someone had answered. "I would like to know," he said, slipping into Hindi without even realizing it, not something he did often, "when common sense failed to carry over when you were turned. Honestly, this is beyond ridiculous."
Hasim chuckled into the phone. "Gray, you are the only person who would call me at this hour rambling like that. Tense a bit, are we?"
Grayson rubbed at his eyes, wishing - not for the first time - that sleep was still an option for him. "To say the least," he said, normally this time.
"Your Scarlet Oak's made the national headlines, you know. Even mentioned it on CNN this morning. I was unaware things had become so bad out there." Hasim's rich voice had something of a soothing quality to it, speaking of years of experience. In truth, Grayson's own natural charisma was helped by the fact Hasim had been his sire - Gray had learned from the best.
"I would blame it on the youth of our kind, but I fear I would sound like some old man demanding the local children stop playing on his lawn." The smallest hint of a smirk crossed his face, "I would sound like you, actually."
He imagined Hasim shaking his head on the other end of the line. "So it's true then? Six dead by vampire drainings?"
"Sadly." Grayson leaned back in his office chair, glancing up towards the ceiling. "As I told the elders this morning, and the reporters too, we had no idea of the whole thing. Bloody hell, they're telling people to stay locked in their homes at night. Because of our kind."
"Any idea who might be behind it?"
"No. I meet so many vampires every night, some come back, some don't. Even the Horsemen aren't as blatant as this."
"Young ones, then? Perhaps you're onto something there. Or ones without proper training."
Grayson sighed. "Perhaps. Either way, it can't go on for long." Because if the community didn't find out who the vampires were behind this, then the vampires would. Granted, being an Azrael meant Gray couldn't do much himself, but that didn't mean he couldn't support those who did.
"You're right, of course." Hasim was quiet, likely thinking along the same lines as Grayson was. Who knew, maybe even the Styx would get involved. In which case, then Grayson could definitely be an ally. "And Heme?"
"They're lining up outside already, signs and all." Was it so hard to understand the idea that not every vampire was out to get them? Apparently. Incidents like this just set the cause for vampire rights - hell, all supernatural rights - back god only knows how many years. After years of living by night and having to hide what they were, to be exposed in such a horrendous light was crushing. At least for the vampires like Grayson, who had not - would not - do anything wrong.
"Of course they are. You know as well as I do that it's the fear that motivates them." Hasim paused for a moment; Grayson had the mental image of the other vampire gathering his thoughts, rubbing at his chin. "You have a talent, Gray - you can talk to people, almost everyone. I've seen you calm down an angry crowd before, and I've no doubt you can do it again."
He blew out a breath he didn't need to be holding. At this rate, it seemed like Grayson was going to have to give these sort of speeches every other week. Like when those teenagers had been kidnapped, or when Claire Korey died... just to name a few. "I'm actually rather livid, Hasim. Not just because of the situation this puts us in, but on behalf of all of us. Azrael, at least." Azrael were the good guys. The ones who were sure not to hurt anyone, to live by the rules of vampire ettiquette. To be lumped in with the reckless idiots that caused this was infuriating.
"Trust me, I'm angry for you. It'll take us years to recover from the damage done from incidents such as this." There was a second of silence, followed by, "Listen to me, Grayson. You've faced this before, this sort of opposition. It will pass. And you will say the right things to gain the public's trust again. It's only a matter of time."
Rubbing at the back of his neck, Grayson straightened himself in his chair. "Thank you, Hasim. For listening." In the moment, that was really all Grayson had needed; he already knew what had to be done.
"Always. Do call and let me know how it goes." And with a click, Hasim was gone.
Grayson spent the next few hours in his office, fielding a few more phone calls from reporters and the like. There wasn't enough PR he could do to fix the damage done, not now. He could just prepare for the upcoming days and the challenges ahead, knowing nothing about them would be easy. Now, all vampires were paying for the mistakes of the few.
And Grayson fully believed it would only be a matter of time before karma turned in favor of the good guys yet again.
Tonight was definitely a night for the angelic blood.