Amadeus Lazarus (sanguinemagic) wrote in nybynightic, @ 2020-08-01 00:02:00 |
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Entry tags: | activity type: log/thread, character: amadeus lazarus, character: ariel lee underwood, npc: sethius dragomir |
Sheriff and Hound lay a trap for the Tremere Primogen to get the answers they need only to discover the web is even more tangled than they imagined.WARNINGS None • STATUS Complete
That didn’t mean that Sethius was going to wait around to be seen by the Sheriff nor did he feel inclined to knock on the door, not with how often Amadeus walked into his own office without doing so.
What Sethius had not counted on finding waiting for him in the Sheriff’s office was that Gangrel mutt that Amadeus felt so inclined to call a lover. The Primogen didn’t even bother to hide the disgust on his face as he looked at the young Kindred. Amadeus had done a lot of outlandish things over the years but being with a Gangrel still seemed low even for him. “What are you doing here? Where’s Lazarus?”
Ariel had made sure he had explained his plan to Amadeus. He didn’t want there to be any nasty surprises when he said a lot of things that he didn’t actually mean. So luring Sethius to the sheriff’s office was the first order of business. Ariel had asked what was stopping Sethius from just blood portalling away but Amadeus would know what to do as well. Contingencies upon contingencies. The whole thing was a performance, though, and one he knew how to orchestrate - he’d done it before.
So he had dressed finely - black slacks and a black button down, only half buttoned. His sunglasses for the evening were an older pince-nez with deeply black lenses. If he hadn’t been who he was, he might not have even been able to see through them but wolf eyes were better suited to darkness. He was leaning against the wooden desk, hands braced on the edge and legs crossed at the ankles. The pose was casual - but the grin wasn’t. There were more sharp teeth than usual…
“He’s not coming,” he noted casually, grin widening slightly, “I wanted to talk to you and I knew you wouldn’t come if I said it was me.” The grin widened more, looking definitely inhuman. “I have a proposition for you, considering the Sheriff. Care to hear it?” Ariel arched an eyebrow as he asked his question.
To say that Ariel was not what Sethius had been expecting the Gangrel to look like would have been an understatement. The boots, the leather jacket, those were what one expected from the beastial Gangrels when it came down to it. Not this. For a split second the Primogen could almost see the appeal but he was not one who could forget what lurked under the surface. Especially with those sharp teeth…
And the state of the desk that Ariel leaned on. That had Sethius narrowing his eyes before he looked back up at Ariel.
At first his response was going to be an outright denial until Ariel continued on. “What could you possibly have to offer that would be of use to me?”
Ariel chuckled, a low sound in the back of his throat. It really fucking helped that he and Sethius had never met before. He could put on a beautiful show which was mostly for the sake of Amadeus at this point, hidden in the wings. Ariel lifted a hand, one finger up and moving in a slow swirling motion, “A sheriff, wrapped around my finger. This shit’s getting boring. I was expecting more from fucking him but it seems whatever he has - it’s not gonna get me very far.”
That was a very neat way of saying it wasn’t enough power, wasn’t it? “I have all-access to him. Everything. It wouldn’t be difficult to… Make him not your problem anymore - if you have something to offer me. No fucking required, I promise.” The pince-nez came off and pale wolf eyes peered into Sethius’s as he used the soft cloth of his shirt to clean the lenses that didn’t actually need cleaning.
Sethius didn’t bother to hide the sneer that appeared on his face at the mention of fucking the Gangrel. “That’s good because while Lazarus may be into bestiality—” his eyes flicked down to the desk once more “—I assure you I am not.”
It was easy for one such as Sethius to believe that Ariel would turn against his lover. He didn’t believe love could exist between Kindred for the very reasons that the young Kindred was presenting him with. It was also just a matter of time before they turned on you for power or what they could gain by shoving the knife into one’s back.
“Everything you say? Including his haven? And just what, pray tell, would one such as you want in return?”
He didn’t answer, didn’t specify that yes, it included Amadeus’s haven. After all, who knew if Sethius was going to leave here alive. Ariel certainly hoped not but it was better not to give everything away. So he just kept smiling as he replaced the pince-nez. “What does every Kindred want? Wealth, respect, power. It’s so difficult to get things done when everyone looks at you and immediately writes you off as… mongrel.” Oh, wasn’t that just an accusation and a half. But the smile remained and his tone was still friendly even if they were conspiring murder. Neither one was going to say murder but that was hardly the point.
And oh, did Ariel wish Amadeus would hurry up and take his moment. Any second now would be fucking fantastic. He wasn’t sure how long he could take plotting the death of his lover, with his lover in the room, without wanting to laugh or be metaphorically sick. Or both - which was more likely. “I mean, what more could I possibly do to cast off my fucking clan? Look at me.”
“You have to admit, Sethius, that he is very pretty to look at,” Amadeus pointed out as he stepped out and dropped the spell that had made him incorporeal and nothing more than a ghost in the room until now.
As Sethius turned around to face the other Tremere, Amadeus stuck, his ringed finger lashing out to slice over the skin of the Primogen’s neck. As blood started to seep from the wound, Amadeus shoved a bowl under it so that the blood mixed with that which was already in it.
The Sheriff moved away from the Primogen before he could think to react and came around the other side of the desk to stand next to Ariel while he placed the bowl on top of it. “Do have a seat Sethius. We need to have a little chat.” Not that the Primogen had much of a choice as Amadeus forced him into it the same way he had forced the vandals to their knees. They wouldn’t have long before the elder Tremere would manage to break out of it though.
Dipping his fingers into the bowl, Amadeus recited the words that would activate the ritual spell. The Tremere Primogen now had no choice but to tell the truth or Amadeus would otherwise know it.
There was a sensation of relief when Amadeus finally revealed himself. If he could breathe, he would have exhaled right then. Instead, he moved behind the desk to get out of the way and knowing that it would be good to have the barrier between himself and Sethius when this was all over. The smile was gone and he grit his teeth slightly in preparation for the worst - Sethius breaking the bonds too early and deciding to fight rather than flee.
When the Sheriff joined him behind the barrier that was the desk, Ariel habitually put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. He wanted to kiss his lover’s temple but he wouldn’t let Sethius have that too. “You really do have an ego, asshole,” he said to the Tremere Primogen flatly, “That was really way too fucking easy.” To the point that he was keeping an eye on the doors and the dark corners of the room. Who knew who Sethius might have brought along with him as insurance. “You do the questions, I’ll keep an eye out…” He chuckled darkly. Eye out. Fucking Hell.
Sethius on the other hand was not nearly as amused. “You have a lot of nerve, Lazarus, using blood magic against me. I’ll have your head for this you know but only after I have that whelp put down in front of you like the dog he is.”
Despite the threats, the Primogen seemed much too calm. He of course knew what the spell was that Amadeus was using and he didn’t seem overly concerned about it. He seemed more outraged over being played then he seemed worried about what they might learn from doing so. Of course the spell only helped Amadeus discern the truth of things. It couldn’t make Sethius actually speak. He could sit there silently if he so chose.
“And people say I talk too much,” Amadeus pointed out with a roll of his eyes. “Might want to work on the insults as well. They’re getting a little tired and worn out from being overused.” The Primogen had better insults the other day but they were quickly becoming insults that they had already heard and were likely to keep on hearing. Really, people needed to get more creative.
“Now, let’s get this over with shall we? The sooner we do, the sooner I let you go and the sooner we don’t have to look at you anymore.” Amadeus' smile may lack the extra sharp teeth of his lover’s but it was still just as dangerous. “We know that Maya was awake during the day because someone used blood magic on her. Not a simple feat to use that spell on another—” just a little bit to stroke the ego there and make Sethius more inclined to answer “—was that you?”
It was easy to see that at first Sethius was considering whether he wanted to answer or not but then he gave in. “Of course it was. Who else do you think would have been able to pull that off?”
“Besides myself,” Amadeus offered with another dangerous smile. Okay, so he couldn’t help but rub that in and he could see Sethius seething over the fact that Amadeus could do it. “Was it your idea to use the spell on Maya? To use it so that she could kill Alex Caine in his sleep?”
“I was the one who thought of the spell to use on her, but that was all. Someone came to me needing help. They needed a powerful enough Tremere to come up with a way to get Maya into Alex’s haven so that she could do the deed. Of course at the time I was not fully aware of the details or who they planned on using it to get to.”
Amadeus really wanted to call bullshit on that but he knew that Sethius was telling the truth. He glanced down at the bowl to see how much more time he had. “Who was it then? Who is it that came to you with this request?”
It was Sethius’ turn to smile. The moment he had been waiting for since they started this little q&a. “I don’t seem to be able to recall.”
Truth. Amadeus’ jaw clenched as he looked over at Ariel.
Ariel rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses at being called a ‘dog’ once again. He’d show Sethius a fucking dog given half the goddamned chance. But Ariel said nothing and just listened to the back and forth between Sethius and Amadeus. Alright, so they established that he had, in fact, done the spell but now it was looking like Maya was one of the main perpetrators and not Sethius? That didn’t make sense but Amadeus wasn’t calling out a lie.
Although his lover let his frustration show with the slight expression, Ariel didn’t. Instead, he grinned - very threateningly, looking very shark-like. He leaned forward, bracing his hands on the table as he looked Sethius in the eyes over his pince-nez. The thing of it was that he had a lot of experience with different clans - some more deeply than others.
He couldn’t tell you everything a clan could do but he knew enough to ask one question, just to be real fucking sure. “Sethius… Have you been a naughty boy? Are you working with the Sabbat?” He almost sounded excited at the prospect. All that time hunting in LA might have just paid off - more than it had in bounties - if he was right. It wouldn’t explain Maya’s involvement really but maybe if she was definitely slipping… But it would definitely explain Sethius not remembering.
Those eyes peering at Sethius disgusted the Tremere Primogen as they reminded him of the beast that the Gangrel was. Instead of intimidating him, they just caused him to laugh at the question presented to him by the mutt. “If I was I’d hardly remember now would I? Use your head, dog. You might make a good attack dog but maybe you should leave the questioning up to your master. He may be deprived but at least I know he has two brain cells that he knows how to use.”
Sethius shifted ever so slightly in his chair, evidence that their time was running short. Though he found it a little bit harder to do so again as Amadeus’ fist clenched while the Sheriff stared at him and purposely tightened his hold.
“The Tremere have spells that could have been used to wipe the memories. Or even a Ventrue,” Amadeus explained to Ariel, ignoring Sethius for the moment. Sethius who was becoming furious as he realized that this was likely not the first time that the Tremere had told the Gangrel their secrets.
Ariel just laughed at Sethius’s defense, shaking his head slightly and then deciding to ignore responding to him. Instead, he focused on the Sheriff, “I’ll explain my reasoning after you finish asking questions and decide what you’re doing with him. After all, wouldn’t you say he’s now guilty of aiding and abetting in the murder of the Ventrue Primogen?” He clicked his tongue slightly, shrugging his shoulders.
As much as he wanted to dismissively turn his back to the Tremere Primogen, he didn’t. The spells were wearing off so he needed to be ready to move, just in case. And anyway, he didn’t figure that not knowing how the spell was going to be used was reason enough to proclaim him innocent. He still did it, didn’t ask questions. That was guilty enough to Ariel.
“Oh, I’d say he’s guilty of a lot of things.” Amadeus looked at Sethius and raised an eyebrow as if to ask ‘isn’t that so’. However much he’d like to be able to kill Sethius here and now, the Sheriff knew that he couldn’t. Things were getting more and more twisted and complicated and while the spell couldn’t discern any more from him, there was an off chance that they’d still need Sethius around.
For now.
Amadeus looked down in the bowl to see that the blood had turned to ash signaling that it was finished. It was just as well. There was no more they could get from the Primogen right now. He released his hold on the other Primogen but remained ready in cause Sethius decided to strike back now. “We thank you for your time and readiness in answering our questions,” Amadeus said mockingly.
Instead, Sethius stood up and straightened up his jacket. “You’re going to wish that you hadn’t done this, Lazarus.”
“Kind of like how you wish you hadn’t worn that tweed jacket?”
The Primogen narrowed his eyes at the Sheriff once more, spared a glance towards Ariel, and then disappeared from the office.
He didn’t relax even as Sethius left. Instead, he closed his eyes and counted by slowly tapping his fingertips on the surface of the desk. One… Two… Three… All the way up to ten. By then, those extra animalistic features he’d borrowed for the evening were gone leaving him as he ought to be. He ran his tongue along his teeth, counting the fangs to make sure he hadn’t kept any extras for once. But no, he was back at six like he should be.
“Ventrue wouldn’t trust a Malkavian to get the job done right. They’re more likely to hire an outside assassin. Nothing gets a job done better than cold, hard cash. I know from experience,” he tilted his head from one side to the other until he felt a pop in his neck. That was a nice relief. “And I feel like it would be real messy getting Sethius involved if it were another Tremere. It’s like The Art of War. Turn everyone against each other on the inside - chaos is opportunity. Outsiders can then come in and take over.” There he went again, going against those Gangrel stereotypes.
Amadeus had a feeling that was exactly what was happening. Someone sowing the seeds of chaos within the court in all likelihood of seeing it get torn apart from within. The plot surrounding Alex’s murder was becoming to thick, to involved to have just been a simple murder. If only it had been for something as simple as him not choosing a side in regards to the NET.
“I think right now our expectations of what the clans would and would not do is being used against us. Discretion so that we continue chasing down all the wrong leads.” Not that the information they had gotten from Sethius hadn’t been for nothing. They now knew that while he had a hand in it, he wasn’t the mastermind behind it, and that there was at least one more player involved. It had to be a player that stood to gain something from this. The question was who.
“It’s time to question Maya next. See what we can pick up from her. See if she also has memories of what happened missing. Maybe it’s why she hasn’t cracked on her own yet.”
Well, at least what he thought wasn’t being entirely thrown out. Ariel’s eyebrows furrowed together for a moment as he thought. Maya wouldn’t speak to him, he was certain of it. He wasn’t sure why he was certain but he was. He straightened up finally as if coming to a decision that only he was privy to, “Let’s split the proverbial baby. You handle the internal for the next step and I’ll cast out a few reels on the external.” Well, that was a very specific metaphor wasn’t it?
“In the words of Garth Brooks, I’ve got friends in low places. I’ll see if there’s any increased river business or if I can find out about some off the books international trade out of the docks. It’s the easiest sort of business to break into,” his face scrunched up a little, “Maybe a hell of a longshot, but I’ll try and find out if maybe there’s a sneaky local Mariner. It’d be a good place for one.” But there were so few of those damned underwater Gangrel that he doubted it. Still - if there was, they’d know shit.
Amadeus only bothered with considering it for a moment before nodding in agreement. “Alright. As long as those low places don’t involve you coming home smelling of them.” As if that’s what really mattered right now. They both knew that it didn’t.
“While you do that, I’ll continue pressing the rest of the primogen. See if I can’t get Maya to break.” Though now he was leaning in a new direction on how to break her. One that didn’t involve doing it himself. It was a bit unorthodox what he was considering but then it wasn’t as if what they had just done hadn’t been as well. To Amadeus the ends always justified the means, no matter how unsavory they may be.
Ariel made a sound that was clearly quite disgusted but resigned, “I apologize ahead of time for the smell of brine, dead fish, and the Hudson.” Of course, there was also the worry of what Sethius was going to try to do to get revenge. They both knew he would try something, he was sure of it. But what? What the fuck did he have to look out for now?
He scrunched his nose slightly, disliking the idea of breaking Maya. As if they needed to ruffle Malkavian feathers all over again. Still, it did have to be done if they were actually going to figure this shit out. “Hey,” Ariel said suddenly, reaching out to pull Amadeus close by the collar, “do I still get a kiss after all the horrible things I said?” His tone was teasing, laughter hidden in his grin.
“Hmm, I don’t know. They were pretty horrible and made me feel like you really did want to kill me,” Amadeus mused even as he let Ariel pull him close. “But then again you do look pretty damn hot right now so I’m very conflicted.” As if to prove his point, the Tremere’s eyes wandered down his body before coming back up. Reaching up he removed the sunglasses completely so that he could see Ariel’s eyes. Sethius might have been disgusted by them but Amadeus couldn’t get enough of them.
He made a humming sound as he moved in. “Oh, I suppose just this once.” Amadeus slid a hand around the back of Ariel’s neck and kissed him. He had hated putting Ariel’s in Sethius’ way like that. Still hated it because now there’d be an even bigger target on his lover’s back.
Snorting vaguely, Ariel rolled his eyes. He doubted most of that statement except the fact that Amadeus found him attractive. That was definitely true. When his lover took away the pince-nez, Ariel bit down on the tip of his tongue hard enough that he tasted blood. He had seen the disgust as well and it had stung a little bit. Maybe he was spoiled by the way Amadeus treated him. But more and more he kept feeling that… Oppression hit. He was never fucking enough just because some mountain man took a shine to him once.
So he pressed into the kiss with an air of sadness growing around him. And as much as he might want to linger, they both needed to start making plans for the next move. They were all pieces on a chessboard and the whole thing was locked in a stalemate until someone broke down and moved wrong. “Can we get the fuck out of here?”
It was true that they needed to plan their next move, report to the others what they had discovered here, and make preparations for what came next. But first Amadeus planned on chasing away that sadness that clung to Ariel. He was just thankful that his lover had only heard the abridged version of what all Sethius had to say where the Gangrel and their relationship together was concerned. Ariel was so much more than any of that and the elder planned on reminding him of it.
Amadeus drew him in for another kiss before nodding. “Let’s get out of here,” he agreed, his hands still holding on to Ariel as he whisked them away lest Sethius have someone waiting around to try and follow them.