The Vampire's Apprentice

"Seriously?" Felix asked as they moved down the street as fast as they could. "A sheriff's office? That's where you're taking us? Did you forget what happened last time?"

"If you've got a better suggestion, I'd love to hear it," Alain fired back. "Everyone, inside!"

He went to try the door, only to find that it was locked; Jasper hurriedly pushed him aside, then bashed the door down with the stock of his rifle. Him and Felix filed in, weapons at the ready, but it was completely clear inside the darkened building, save for a few corpses that littered the floors. All of them cautiously pushed inside, but once it was apparent that there was nothing there, they allowed themselves to react.

"What do we do with her?" Felix asked, motioning to the still-unconscious Thorne.

Alain and Sable shared a quick glance with each other, both of them quickly coming to the same conclusion.

Just a few moments later, and they were all gathered outside a locked jail cell, where Thorne had unceremoniously been dumped on the ground inside. Once she was secured, the rest of them set about treating their various injuries.

"Fuck me…" Alain muttered as he took a seat at a nearby desk. "I think she might have bruised some of my ribs…"

"Let me see," Sable said, heading over to him.

"Sable-"

"Don't argue," she retorted. "Let me see it."

Reluctantly, Alain obliged, unbuttoning his shirt and letting her take a look at his bare chest. Sure enough, a series of deep blue-and-purple bruises had started to form along his skin; Sable gently poked and prodded at each one, causing him to hiss with every ministration.

"Are you done yet?" Alain asked, impatient. "Seriously, that hurts, you know."

"I'm aware." She looked up at him. "And your assessment was correct."

"Great…" He let out a sigh. "How about everyone else? Sable, you look fine."

"I am, thanks to Jasper."

For some reason, she sounded embarrassed when she said it. Alain wasn't sure why, and he didn't care enough to ask at the moment, so instead he focused on the others.

"Felix, Jasper, Heather," he called out. "You all alright?"

"Fine over here," Felix reported.

"A little lightheaded, but I'll live," Jasper said.

"Honestly, my pride hurts more than anything," Heather admitted. "That's the first time I've lost to a vampire in a very long time."

Alain rolled his eyes at that. "I think you'll be okay," he said. "Az, are you okay?"

"Not at the moment," Az said through gritted teeth. "My lady, do I have your permission to deal with this?"

Sable didn't answer at first, prompting them all to turn towards her. To Alain's surprise, she shrank under their gaze, which caused alarm bells to start going off in his head.

"Alright, talk," he told her. "What does he mean?"

"It's… difficult to explain," Sable weakly offered.

"Can he actually fix his leg by doing this?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Okay, so then let him do it."

"It's not that simple," Sable retorted. "Just… promise me you all won't freak out when you see it. It can be a bit… jarring."

The four humans all exchanged a glance with each other, all of them giving a brief shrug. Alain's brow furrowed, and he turned back to Sable.

"Let him do it."

"Very well, but don't say I didn't warn you." She turned back to Az. "You have my permission, Az. Do what you must."

"Very well, my lady. Thank you."

Before Alain could ask what he intended to do, Az closed his eyes, and the atmosphere of the room began to change. The ambient noise seemed to suddenly quiet, and what little light was present in the room began to dim. Alain looked around, one hand instinctively dropping to the revolver on his hip, as the air began to pressurize.

Then, from where Az was lying down, a red light began to form. It started small, but within just a few seconds of forming, it grew to encompass all of that side of the room. And as Alain stared, he could see something coalescing within it – some kind of darkened shapes, swirling around Az. They weren't Darklings, rather they were something else, though he couldn't tell what.

And then, in an instant, the sound came flowing back. Those darkened objects, whatever they were, began to scream in terror as they flowed towards Az, as if they were being involuntarily drawn into his own body. The ear-piercing noise sent chills down Alain's spine, and caused him to freeze with fear at what he was witnessing.

And as he stared, through the red light, Alain could have sworn he saw a set of blazing crimson eyes staring back at him.

Then, with one final series of screams, it was over. The red light faded, as did the screams, and the sound and ambient light returned. Alain lurched forwards, leaning on a nearby desk for support as he gasped for breath. The others all did the same, save for Sable, who was mostly unaffected, though her eyes were wide with shock regardless.

"What…" Felix began, his voice coming out strained. "What the hell was that…?"

"Wrong question…" Alain managed to get out. He whipped around to face Az, who was now standing upright, curling and uncurling his fingers as he stared at his hands. "Az… what the hell are you?"

Az turned to look at him, unperturbed by what had just happened. "I am Az," he said, "nothing more."

"Az-"

"Alain," Az interrupted, cutting him off. "There are some things you are better off not knowing right now. Believe me."

Alain was taken aback. He wanted to argue, but at the same time, Az was right – they had more important things to worry about.

"No offense," Jasper cut in, "but fuck that. I want answers. What we just saw-"

"I'm in the same boat, but unfortunately, I'm also inclined to agree with Az," Alain grunted. "We have more important things to worry about than whatever the hell that was. For now, we still need to question Thorne."

Reluctantly, Jasper backed down. Alain gave him an apologetic look, then turned to Heather and Felix. "Think you two can scrounge up some supplies? We're in the sheriff's office – there has to be a stash of weapons or ammo somewhere, assuming it wasn't already looted by desperate people."

"We'll look around," Heather promised. "And what about the rest of you?"

"Simple," Alain replied. "I think it's time we finally get some answers."

XXX

Thorne was awake by the time Alain, Jasper, Sable, and Az approached her in the room full of cells. She'd apparently made no attempts to escape, instead simply sitting in her cell with her head in her hands, letting out the occasional grunt of pain.

"Thorne," Alain said as he approached, getting her attention. She looked up to him in surprise, and he noticed that her eyes were no longer misted over.

"Human," she said, sounding confused. "Why are you holding me here?" Her gaze fell on Az and Sable, and confusion crossed her face. "And… why is one of my own assisting you?"

Alain paused. He turned over to Az and Sable, but they seemed just as confused as he was. He cleared his throat, then looked back to Thorne.

"You mean you don't remember any of us?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. Should I?"

"Yes," Sable cut in. "You should. We just met with the Tribunal a short time ago. You truly mean to tell us that you don't recall any of that? Nothing about who we are, or why we met with you?"

"I don't recall meeting with anybody," Thorne admitted. "But since a human was involved, I can only assume that some idiot decided to pierce the Veil in some way. Am I about right?"

"That's an understatement, but yes," Alain told her. He turned to Jasper. "Is the memory loss normal?"

"To a certain degree," he admitted. "The memories will come back eventually, but for the time being, it's likely that the last thing she recalls is meeting with the person who brainwashed her."

"Wait, what?" Thorne asked. "Brainwashed? You think I was brainwashed?"

"We know you were," Alain emphasized. "The important thing is figuring out who did it, and why."

Az stepped forwards. "Who was the last person you met with, Thorne?"

She immediately bristled at that. "If you mean to accuse them of something as heinous as brainwashing me with magic, then-"

"Answer the question," Alain insisted. "Unless you haven't noticed, we're currently in the middle of a massive incursion of some kind. Somebody is trying to use this city for some nefarious purpose, and a lot of people are dead; we initially thought you were responsible, but now we know you aren't."

Thorne's eyes widened in shock. "But… that can't be true! And even if it were, I have no reason to give you that information. The veil-"

"Lady, for fuck's sake, did you not hear what I just said?" Alain growled, impatient. "This entire city is currently at risk, assuming there's anything left of it to even save at this point. If you're trying to maintain the Veil, or whatever, then let me tell you, it's a fool's errand at this point, because soon enough, the entire world is going to know, if they don't already."

Thorne blinked, then looked down. "Very well. Just… please, give me the brief version of what's happened, so I know I can trust you all with this information."

"We don't have time for-"

Sable stepped forward, holding an arm out to cut him off. Slowly, she nodded.

"It all began with a small California town called Los Banos," she offered. "The mayor there tried to cast a ritual to give himself and some others immortality. It didn't work. That's how most of us met and started working together – we managed to survive that encounter, and then were whisked away for questioning by the Tribunal. From there, we were sent here, to try and track down Heather Smith. That was some time ago. None of this rings a bell?"

Slowly, Thorne shook her head. "No… but perhaps in due time-"

"We don't have any time," Alain insisted. "So start talking, please, before things get worse."

Thorne exhaled. "Fine. The last thing I can recall before my memory fades away is meeting with Elder Owen in his room."

"Elder Owen?" Alain echoed, surprised. "The old guy?"

Thorne turned to glare at him. "You ought to show some respect-"

"Enough," Sable spat. "If what you say is true, then Elder Owen is responsible for all this. He's the one who brainwashed you, though for what end, I cannot yet place. Unless you'd prefer to shed some additional light on things?"

"We know that some vampires want to return to the old ways," Alain told her.

"Not him," Thorne insisted. "He was always outspoken against the old ways – he knew that they'd lead to nothing good, that humanity would eventually wipe us all out if we tried to go back. If what you say is true, then something drastic has changed, though what it is, I have no idea. That he would do something as extreme as this… it defies belief."

"Whatever reason he had for doing it, that doesn't matter at this point," Alain explained. "What does matter is that we need to know where we can find him. Do you have any idea-"

"None," Thorne interrupted. "And that's the truth, I swear."

Alain was about to continue asking her some more questions, when a sudden commotion from outside caught his attention. Immediately, him and the others turned towards the door, only for Felix to come sprinting in.

"Alain!" he called. "You have to come see this!"

"What is it?" Alain asked, suddenly on edge.

"The military is here," Felix told him. "And they're asking for you."