Chapter 7

Chapter 7


**Geri’s View**

“Wow, that was a shock.” I said to Armond. “Did I hear what I thought I heard when my mother hugged you?”

“Welcome to the Family?” he giggled slightly.

“That’s what I thought I heard. Well damn. This has been one hell of a night of revelations. Finding out that my parents are Mages, and that they are not only ok with the fact that I’m a vampire, but that I’m gay and have a boyfriend!” I shook my head a bit, “This is just all so overwhelming. I’m almost afraid to go to sleep for fear that I’ll wake up and find this has all been a dream.”

“It’s no dream babe, here, I’ll prove it.”

And with that Armond spun me around, penned me to the nearest wall and planted a lip-lock on me that would have made the writers of those cheesy romance novels proud.

When we finally separated, he looked into my eyes, “Still think it’s a dream?”

“If it is, I don’t ever want to wake up.” With that said, I pulled him back to me for another long deep passionate kiss.

While we were deep in our kiss, Pasteur snuck up on us and threw a big pot of cold water on us.

“HEY!” we both said at the same time.

Pasteur started laughing. “What the hell did you do that for?” I yelled at him.

“I had to do something to put that fire out before you two burned down the house.” He said between his laughs.

“Great, now we have to go change clothes again before we head out. Oh wait, damn it, I don’t have any other clothes here.”

“Neither do I.” Armond said. “Guess we’ll just have to strip down and put these in the dryer.” There was no mistaking the mischief in his eye when he said that.

“Ok,” Pasteur said, “You two do that while I take the nightly food supply down to our friends. Unlike you, my dear Geri, I do not have a live-in supply of blood and need to go feed. Your parents showing up kinda put me late on my feeding and I’m starved. After you two get your dry clothes out of the dryer, you might want to run over to your parents house Geri and get your stuff if you are going to be staying here. Armond, do you have enough clothes hidden somewhere that you need to bring over here?”

“I have a few things in my bag back under the bridge, but it’s not much.”

“Ok, I’ll grab your things while I’m down there and bring them back with me. You go and help Geri pack up his stuff and bring it back.”

“Ok.” We both chimed in, and headed for the laundry room to get out of our now soaked clothes.

After stripping down to nothing and throwing our wet clothes in the dryer we headed upstairs to take a nice hot shower.

The pure joy that I felt at having Armonds naked body close to mine was indescribable, to say nothing of the feelings that were generated by him washing my naked body under the flow of the warm water in the shower.

After what was probably close to an hour of washing each other and playing in the shower, we finally got out and dried each other off.

“Let’s go see if our clothes are dry yet.” Armond Suggested.

We streaked back downstairs to the laundry to find the dryer buzzer just starting to sound the end of the cycle.

“I wish we didn’t have to get dressed,” I said, “I would like nothing more than to look at your gorgeous body for the rest of eternity.”

“You’re going to get to do that babe, but we have to put clothes on in order to leave the house.”

“I know.” I said with just a hint of disappointment in my voice.

Armond smiled at me. I swear, that smile could melt a hole right through the permanent ice pack at the poles.

“Hey, I just thought of something babe, how are we going to get all your stuff back over here?”

I smiled at my precious mortal lover, “That won’t be a problem. We’ll just put it all in the back of my truck and bring it over. Oh HELL, my truck! I bet it’s still sitting down at The Underground. I hope it hasn’t been towed away yet.”

“Well, I guess we need to go by there first and check. Actually, I have a better idea.” Armond walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the charging base hanging on the wall. After punching in a number he waited for an answer.

“Who are you calling?” I asked him, but he just held his finger up signaling me to wait a moment.

“What’s your truck look like anyways?”

“It’s on old green 73 ford. Why?” Again the signal to wait.

After a couple of moments, someone finally answerd the phone on the other end.

“Hey Steve? It’s Armond. Not much, just calling to check on something. Is there still an old green ford pickup sitting in the lot? Yeah, it’s been there a couple of days. Can you check for me? Thanks. It is? Great, just wanted to make sure it was still there. Yeah, see you in a little bit. Night.” Armond hung up the phone. “Ok, it’s still sitting there, so we can go by and pick it up and then go over to your parents’ house to get your things.”

“Who’s Steve?” I asked with probably a bit more jealousy in my voice then there should have been.

“Steve is the doorman down at The Underground. I’ve known him for some time now.”

“Ok, next question, how are we going to get down there? Walk?”

“Oh, just a sec.” and he once again picked up the phone and punched in some numbers. “Olympus? It’s Armond, is Michael there? Can I talk to him for a moment? Thanks.” Armond noticed the puzzled look on my face. “I’m going to see if Michael will let me borrow Olympus for a little bit.” He returned his attention back to the phone, “Hey Michael, I need to ask a favor of you. Can I borrow Olympus for a little bit? I just need him to come over here to Pasteur’s house and take me and Geri down to the club. Geri’s truck is still sitting there from the other night. Great, thanks Michael, you’re a prince, not THE prince, but still a prince.” Armond said with a giggle. “Ok, we’ll be watching for him, thanks again.” And he hung the phone up again. “Michael said he’d send him right over. He should be here in about 10 minutes.”

True enough, 10 minutes later there was a knock at the door. I opened the door to see Olympus towering over me. “You boys called for a ride?” He asked me.

“Yeah, we need to get down to the club so I can pick up my truck.”

“Ok, not a problem, you two ready to go?”

“Sure, we’ll be right out.”

“Armond!” I yelled back into the house, “Come on, Olympus is here, let’s go.”

Armond came running down the hall and about knocked me over when he got to the front door. “Damn Babe, slow down.” I smiled at him.

We closed the front door and headed out to Michaels car. I guess I wasn’t totally surprised to see that the Toreador elder owned a brand new Mercedes. I was kind of surprised that it wasn’t stretched though.

Olympus held the back door for us to get in, then went around and got into the drivers seat and headed off for the club.

I leaned into Armond and put my arm around his neck. “You know, I think I could get use to this. Being driven around so that I can concentrate more on you then the driving.”

Armond kissed the top of my head, “Yeah, I know what you mean. We may have to get us our own ghoul to drive us around.” He let out a little giggle at that. “Though I don’t know how well it would work with your truck.”

“Yeah, I would definitely have to get a new ride.”

It did not take us long to get to the club, and sure enough, there was my ratty old green ford sitting in the lot. Olympus pulled up next to the truck and even got out and opened the back door for us to get out.

“Damn Olympus, you are going to spoil us if you keep doing that.”

“Doing what Geri?”

“Opening doors for us.” I said with a grin.

“It’s just habit. When you’ve been doing these things for as long as I have, you don’t even think about it, you just do it.”

“Thanks for the ride Olympus,” Armond told him, “I guess you can get back to the house now in case Michael needs to go anywhere.”

“Thank you master Armond, you two have a good night.” Olympus turned and got back into the car and was gone.

Armond took me into his arms, “You want to go inside for a bit, or just head on to your parents and get your stuff?”

“Let’s go in for a bit, I want to meet this guy that I actually got jealous about earlier.”

Armond laughed at my comment, “Ok, come on, I’ll introduce you.”

We headed on over to the front doors of the club. Being as it was still rather early on a Saturday night; there were not very many people here yet. We walked in the front door and saw a VERY cute blond guy standing behind the front desk. I swear, this guy looked like something right out of a surfer magazine. He was about 6 foot tall, long flowing blond hair, blue eyes, and built like the proverbial brick shit house. I could see that I had reason to be jealous.

“Yo, Armond, dude, long time no see bro.”

My God, he even talked like a surfer.

“What up Steve, I want you to meet my boyfriend; Geri.”
It felt so good to have him acknowledge me in public like that, though I was also a bit nervous about it as well, knowing how the people in this berg tend to react to gays. But since Armond knew the guy he must have known it would be cool to introduce me like that.

“Yo, Geri, good to meet you dude.” He held out his hand to me, which I took and shook. “You be good to my little buddy here or I’ll have to come looking for you.” He said that list with a grin, so I knew he wasn’t being totally serious or threatening in anyway.

“Thanks Steve, and trust me, I intend to take VERY good care of this one.”

“Come on babe, let’s go on in and see who all might already be here, even though it is rather early.”

“Ok.” I said and he grabbed my hand and started pulling me further into the club. When I glanced back at Steve I saw him watching us with a big ole grin on his face.

As we turned the corner into the bar area I froze in my tracks. When I did that it almost pulled Armonds arm out of its socket from the sudden stop. “What’s wrong babe? Why’d you stop like that?”

I looked at my beau dumbfounded, “Can’t you see it?”

“See what babe?”

I nodded up towards the ceiling. “That.”

Armond looked up where I was indicating, “I don’t see anything, what are you talking about?”

“That, that, person? Floating up there near the ceiling. I can almost see right through him, you mean you really can’t see him? Oh My God, he’s coming this way.”

Armond seemed to get a bit of an amused look on his face, “Sweety, it’s probably just one of the local wraiths, ghosts to most people. Mortals can’t see them unless they want them to, but you can see them at any time unless they don’t want you to. If that made any sense to you.”

About that time the ‘wraith’ settled down to the floor next to us and looked at me staring at him, and then looked at Armond and smiled. His body started to glow and then become more solid.

“Hey Armond, who’s your friend here that can’t stop staring?”

“Hey Eric, should have known it would have been you hanging around here. This is Geri, please excuse his staring, you’re the first wraith that he’s ever met.”

“Oh well, then the honor is all mine.” Eric had a very seductive smirk on his face when he said that and extended his hand for me.

I was surprised when I took his hand that it did not pass right through mine, it actually felt solid.

Eric must have noticed the look of surprise on my face, cause he chuckled a bit “Yes, it is solid at the moment. I can make myself as solid as I wish so that I can interact with the physical world.” He seemed to hold my hand just a bit longer then was needed and kept smiling with his eyes. I was starting to get a bit uncomfortable and broke the handshake.

“Back off Eric. He’s mine.” Armond said and brought me back to the present, I had not realized that I had blocked everything out except for me and Eric. Armond pulled me to him and put his arm around me.

“Oh, sorry bud, you should have said something.”

“It’s ok dude, just chill out, and quit hittin’ on my beau.” Armond said kind of jokingly.

“It’s cool man, now that I know I won’t be trying anything again.”

I looked at Armond, “Why don’t we just go and get my stuff now, I don’t think I could handle too many more surprises tonight, if you know what I mean.”

“Ok babe, we can go if that’s what you want. Hey Eric, we’re throwing Geri here a graduation party tomorrow night up at Pasteur’s, why don’t you come and ask some of the other teen wraiths that hang here if they want to come too, OH, and if you happen to run into any of Geri’s old school mates that have passed on invite them as well.”

“Sounds cool dude, I’ll do that, what time?”

“Make it about 2 hours after dark, to give us all time to get up and get things ready.”

“Ok, see you dudes tomorrow night then.” And with that Eric once again glowed and faded out and back up to the ceiling over the dance floor.

As we walked out and past the front desk, Armond invited Steve to the party as well. We walked on out to my truck and got in.

“You ok babe? You’ve hardly said anything for the last little bit.”

I looked at my sweet Armond, “Yeah, still in a bit of shock I guess. I think this is all a bit to much to fast. I’m really starting to dread tomorrow night, I don’t know if I’m ready to meat so many supernatural people at one time.”

Armond took my hand in his, “It will be ok babe, you’ll see, we’ll just go to your folks house, get your things, and go home for the rest of the night. You can relax and come to grips with everything that has been going on in the last 48 hours. I know it’s a lot to take in at once. Especially for someone who is not familiar with this world already.”

“That sounds like a good idea. But sweetie, I’m going to need my hand back in order to drive.” I had a big smile on my face at the last comment.

“Oh, alright, if you insist.” Armond leaned over, gave me kiss and then released my hand.

I reached down, started the old truck and headed off to my parents house.

My folks live just outside of town. So it took us a few minutes to get there. We rode the whole way in a very comfortable silence. We didn’t even turn the radio on.

Once we got to the house I could see that my folks had gotten home already. I backed the truck into the driveway to make it easier to load my things into the bed.

As we were getting out of the truck, my dad came out of the front door to meet us. “What are you boys doing here? I expected you two to be getting the house ready for the party tomorrow night.”

I gave my dad a hug, “Yeah, well, I had to come get my things; I’ve already been wearing the same clothes for more than 2 days.”

“Why didn’t you just call, we could have just sent your stuff to you and saved you a trip out here.”

I looked at him kind of puzzled. “What do you mean ‘sent’ them to me?”

“I mean teleported them.”

Now I KNOW I looked confused.

“Sorry son, I forgot. You don’t know what I’m talking about. We have the ability to make things instantly move from one place to another. Armond should have told you that.”

I looked at my boyfriend and gave him a questioning look.

“Umm, yeah, well… I kinda wanted to see where you grew up, so I didn’t say anything.” Armond looked a bit sheepish.

I smiled at him, “It’s ok. I don’t know if I could have handled another surprise like that at the time.”

My dad just smiled at me. “Well, ok, since you’re here, I guess we can go ahead and start loading your things into the truck.”

He stepped between me and Armond and put his arms over each of our shoulders and led us toward the front door.

“I just can’t get over how cool you’re being about everything.”

“What do you mean?” my dad asked me.

“I mean about the whole vampire thing for one and about being gay for another.”

He stopped and looked at me, “As for you being Kindred, I suppose that is partly our fault for not telling you everything earlier. Maybe if we had then you wouldn’t have been snooping around the back room at The Underground. We’re just happy that Pasteur was given permission to embrace you rather than you being destroyed for snooping. As for you being gay, I would have thought that even by know you would realize that a persons sexuality has no baring on things where the majority of our world is considered.”

“I had been told that, but I thought that because you were my parents it might be a bit different.”

“I won’t lie and tell you that we were not shocked, but we are fine with it, as long as you are happy, that is all that matters to us.”

I gave my dad a big hug, having to be careful that I didn’t crush him with my new strength.

We quickly packed up my clothes and a few other things like my computer equipment and my TV & VCR and my tapes. After getting everything loaded into the truck, we said our goodbyes and headed back to the Pasteurs place. It was getting late, and I knew my parents would need to be getting to bed shortly.

When we got home, we quickly moved everything up to our new room. Gawd that sounded good, OUR room. We hung up the clothes, but decided to wait till later to unpack everything else.

While we were moving things inside Pasteur returned with Armonds things, most of his clothes needed to be washed so we took them directly to the laundry room. Pasteur told us to just leave them there and they would be taken care of.

Pasteur had to go back out to take care of some Kindred business, so that left Armond and I alone in the house.

Since it was still relatively early in the night, at least for those of us that are only awake during the night, we decided to just sit in the living room and watch a movie or two.

We snuggled together on the big over-stuffed couch to watch the movie, I don’t remember what we watched as we seemed to spend more time paying attention to each other than the movie.

After spending a couple of hours on the couch kissing and snuggling into each other, we decided to head up our room and call it a night.

After making love to each other for a couple more hours, we collapsed into each others arms and fell asleep.

Neither of us ever heard Pasteur come home and did not wake up again until the following night.

-End Chapter-

(Word count to date: 16,405)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Revelations

--Geri's Perspective--

After walking around town for a while and picking a few things up at a 24 hour grocery store, we finally returned home. I could not believe what we found when we came walking up the street. My absolute joy at seeing Armond curled up and sleeping on our front porch was indescribable. I quickly transferred the bags I was carrying to my sire and ran to the porch.

“OH MY GOD!! Armond, I can’t believe you are here!”

Armond roused from his sleep and looked up at me with a look in his eyes that I had never seen when someone had looked at me before. I knew, somehow, that it must been a reflection of the way I was looking at him.

“Geri, I’ve been waiting for you. I think we need to talk.”

I did not like the sound of that. Every time someone has said that phrase to me it tended to be followed by bad news.

Pasteur walked up at that point, “Hello Armond, What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to Geri and missed you guys at Michael’s party. Victor was kind enough to give me a ride over here when he left.”

”Ok, then why don’t we go inside where it’s a bit more comfortable?” Pasteur moved past us after handing me back the bags I had pawned off on him so that he could open the door and we went inside.

Armond took one of the bags from me and followed us to the kitchen. “Why don’t you guys just put the groceries down on the counter and go into the living room and talk, I’ll put all this away.”

After doing as Pasteur said we went into the living room and sat down.

I looked at Armond with an almost pained expression on my face, “Ok, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Well,” Armond started and then paused for a moment, “I did a lot of thinking this evening after we met, and even went and talked to Michael and Victor about this, and they both did not see any problem, and did not think that any of the other Kindred would have a problem with it either.”

I was starting to get just a little bit exasperated with him. “Would please stop beating around the bush and just tell me. What have you been thinking about and what is it that they have no problem with?”

“Geri,” another slightly uncomfortable pause, “I love you.”

I could not believe my ears. Did I hear him right, did he just confess his love to me, FOR me? This was just to good to be true.

“I know you said earlier that you had never done anything with other guys before, and now you probably don’t want to have anything to do with me again, but I…” I quickly interrupted him and kissed him tenderly and lovingly to get him to stop babbling.

I pulled away from him after what seemed like an eternity of something that I really never want to stop. “Armond, I want you to know that after we left Michaels we went back to the bridge so I could try to find you, but you were gone. I wanted to tell you that I had never felt like this before and that I was in love with you.”

The look of pure joy mixed with relief that washed over his face was a truly beautiful site to behold. I did not think that anything could him seem more beautiful to me, but that look did. He very quickly pounced on me and had me in a lip lock to beat all lip locks.

Finally coming up for air he looked deep into my eyes. “You have just made me so happy. I don’t ever want us to be apart. Even though I will be brought into the Toreador clan in a few months, we will still stay together. It has already been cleared with Michael and Victor.”

“What’s been cleared with Mickey and Vic?” Pasteur asked as he walked into the room.

I looked at my sire with a sheepish look on my face, “Armond and I are in love and want to spend the rest of our lives with each other.”

“Congratulations you two.” Pasteur looked at Armond, “So does this mean that you’re moving in here?”

“Can I?” Armonds joy was obvious at the shear thought.

“Yes Armond, we can fix up one of the spare bedrooms for the two of you.”

Armond was so happy at the news that he instantly planted me with another kiss that amazingly enough surpassed the previous one. Something that I did not think was possible.

“Ok you two,” Pasteur said with a snicker, “The sun will be coming up soon, why don’t you two go pick your room, and make sure the curtains are well closed.”

“Yes sir!” we both said at the same time and ran up the stairs to find us a room.

The next evening I woke up with us wrapped in each others arms and legs. The feeling of Armonds naked warm flesh against mine was like nothing I had ever experienced before. To feel him this close to me. This was a feeling that I never wanted to end.

Armond stirred a bit and opened his beautiful blue eyes. Eyes that I could look into for the rest of eternity and just let myself drown in.

I smiled over at him warmly and kissed him gently, “morning love, did you sleep good?”

Armond stretched a bit in my arms, “yeah, I slept better than I have ever slept before. Something about being in your arms just made me feel so safe and secure.”

I had to snicker a bit at that, “I don’t think ‘Safe and secure’ are words that most people would use when being held by a vampire.”

Armond couldn’t help but snicker himself, “True, but then most people don’t know the Kindred the way I do.”

~~~

A short while later, after taking a not-so-quick shower together we came downstairs to find Pasteur sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper. I had never heard of this paper before though. I thought I knew all of the publications in town, but I had never heard of one called ‘The Dark Truth’. “Is that an out of town paper Pasteur? `Cause I don’t recognize the name, and I thought I new every publication in town.”

“Nope, this is the local Kindred news paper. It is only delivered directly to the homes of the Kindred in this area. You must be very careful with it though so as to be certain that it does not fall into mortal hands. For this reason, we burn each issue after we have read it. Not to mention that it makes a great fire starter for the fireplace.”

The look on his face when he said that last told me that a bit of the insanity was seeping through.

Armond leaned over my shoulder, “Can I see the gossip section please? I want to see if there is any mention about you two crashing Michael’s party last night.”

I looked at my lover, “You know about that?”

“Of course I do. Hank told me that he heard Pasteur mention going to the Toreador Elders party, and then I was told about it when I got to Michaels last night shortly after you two left.”
“Ohh”, was all I could say. I looked at Pasteur, “Are there no secrets within this secret society?”

“Not really. If you ever want to know anything about what’s going on or about anyone, just find one of the Nos and ask them. They deal in information and somehow manage to know about everything that is going on around here. Sometimes even before the people involved know about it. It gets a bit spooky at times.” Pasteur gave a shudder with that last statement.

“Here’s a good example of what he means Geri, look at this.” Armond was pointing to an article in the paper:

‘Seems that Pasteur’s new childer is already making
a name for himself after only being embraced two days
ago. The young new Malkavian, Geri, made an impression
on Michael Angelo by displaying knowledge about the
new piece that he was showing off last night. He then
proceeded to take Armond, a young man who has been
promised to Michael by Victor, into his bed last night.
So all you others may want take note that both Armond
And Geri are now off the market.’

I could not believe my eyes. “HOW THE HELL!!!!!???” I yelled out. “Nobody knows about the two of us except for you Pasteur. How can something like that make it into the paper?”

“There are some that think that the paper has one or more Mages on their staff, and others that think the paper has all of our domains bugged somehow. I myself would not be a bit surprised if they have Mages on staff, after all, I know they have Garou there, and I would not be a bit surprised to find a changeling or two running around down there as well, maybe even a few wraiths.”

Ok, my mind just turned to total mush. Vampires I could believe were real, but I had no idea what he was talking about with all those other groups he mentioned. The look on my face, not to mention the fact that my chin was sitting on the floor at the moment, must have gave me away, as Pasteur pointed at me and started laughing his fool head off like we were doing the night before at the party.

Armond looked up from his paper at Pasteur, and then looked at me with a big grin on his face, “What, did you think that Kindred were the only super-natural beings around?”

I slowly turned my head to look at my new lover; the look of total confusion on my face making his grin grow even more than I thought would be possible.

Armond put down the paper and put his hand on my knee, “Babe, there are a lot more out there than just the Kindred, and a lot of them are a lot more dangerous than any vampire ever could be. Some, the Kindred get along with and others they don’t. Here in Huntsville, there is a rather uneasy peace amongst all the super-natural beings, but I fear it would not take much to shatter that peace.”

I looked at Armond with what could amount to a bit of skepticism, “So you’re telling me that Ghost, and witches and the like really do exist?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Ghosts are called wraiths, We don’t call them witches or wizards, they are just called Mages. The Garou are what are commonly referred to as werewolves in mortal society, and Changelings are sorta what you might call Fairies. Just as in Kindred society each of these groups can be further divided into houses, tribes and such.” He looked at me, his grin returning, “You still with me?”

All I could do was nod to him as my brain tried to process all of this information.

“Good. Like I said some of them are more dangerous than any of the Kindred. The Garou, for example, when they go into full crinos, that is to say, the giant werewolf form, could easily rip a kindred to shreds in a matter of seconds without even thinking about it. In fact there are some that would like nothing more to do than just that, and would take great delight in doing it.”

Ok, I was starting to get a little scared now. Vampires I could deal with, since I was one, but all this other stuff was beyond my belief. I took Armonds hand and held it in mine, “I know you wouldn’t lie to me about this stuff, but I’m afraid that until I see it for myself I don’t know if I can totally believe it.”

Pasteur had finally stopped rolling on the floor and poked his head up over the edge of the table. “That can be arranged my dear boy, that can be arranged.”

Ok, now I really was scared, “Are you serious? You actually know some of these other creatures?”

“Of course I do my boy. Hell we have a Wraith right here in the house.”

“What?” I could not believe what he was saying, “do you mean this house is haunted?”

Pasteur let out another chuckle, “Not exactly, at least not in the since I’m sure you’re thinking of. I employ a Wraith to watch over us during the day while we sleep.”

My head was swimming so fast that I had to cradle it in my hands with my elbows propped on the table.

Suddenly a load pounding came from the front door, “PASTEUR! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW BEFORE I BLOW IT OFF ITS HINGES!” I knew I couldn’t be hearing correctly through the fog in my brain, but it almost sounded like my dad.

Pasteur quickly got up and ran to the entry hall to answer the door. “Dr. Atricks, Mrs. Atricks, what a surprise. What brings you to my humble abode this fine night?”

“WHAT BRINGS US HERE!? WHAT BRINGS US HERE!? I’LL TELL YOU WHAT BRINGS US TO THIS SORRY CESPOOL YOU CALL A HOME, THIS!” He shoved the evenings edition of The Dark Truth under Pasteur’s nose, “HAVE YOU SEEN TONIGHTS EDITION!?”

I knew I wasn’t hearing things. I just knew that that was my father yelling at Pasteur in the front hall, but how did my parents and Pasteur know each other. This night was just getting more and more confusing by the minute. I got up from the table and headed into the hall. Coming around the corner I saw both of my parents standing in the entry hall with my dad waving a copy of The Dark Truth in Pasteur’s face.

“MOM, DAD, What are you doing here? And where did you get that paper?” I just had way to many questions running through my head at that moment to do anyone any good any where.

Everyone turned at the sound of my voice and looked at me. My mom came running towards me and grabbed me up in a hug. Pasteur gaped at me and my mom and managed to croak out “Geri is YOUR son? We had no idea, I swear to you Peter; we had absolutely no idea that he was your son. He never told us his last name.”

“HEY! You still haven’t answered my questions.” I said pushing my mother away enough to be able to look at both her and my father.

“We’re sorry dear; this is just a bit of a shock to us, after reading that article in tonight’s issue of The Dark Truth.” My mother told me with a worried and concerned look in her eyes.

Before anyone else could say anything, Armond suggested that everyone go into the living room and sit down so that we could have a bit more of a civilized conversation. Leave it my sweet Armond to be the only one in the hall to be keeping a level and calm head on his shoulders.

Once we were all in the living room and seated, Armond offered to get my parents some coffee, which they gratefully accepted.

While Armond was gone to fetch their drinks, my dad popped off at Pasteur, “I see you got you a new house boy Pasteur. Isn’t he a bit young even for you though?”

Pasteur snickered, “Oh He’s not mine Peter; he’s Geri’s”

My parents both looked at me in a very questioning manner. About that time Armond returned with three cups of coffee and two wine glasses full of some red liquid. He placed the tray down on the coffee table, and handed a cup of coffee to each of my parents and a wine glass to me and Pasteur. I could not believe that he was serving me wine in front of my parents. But when I took a sniff of the glass I was surprised to smell the distinct metallic smell of blood.

Pasteur noticed the look on my face. Through one of his crooked grins he told me to relax “It’s cows blood, I get it from one of the slaughter houses out in the county.”

I took a tentative sip and found that it was not bad. Not as good as Armonds blood, but still drinkable. I pulled Armond down next to me and gave him a quick kiss, “Thank you sweet.” Then it hit me, I could not believe that I had just kissed Armond right there in front of my parents. Who, by the way, where now looking at me with their jaws firmly planted on the floor. “I guess an introduction would be in order,” I said sheepily, “Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend, Armond. Armond, my parents.”

Nobody moved or said anything for what seemed like an eternity.

My mother was the first one to come around. “Ok Geri, let’s start this from the beginning, there are just way to many questions hanging in the air at the moment. What happened when you left the house 2 days ago?”

I took a deep breath, held Armonds hand in what must have been a death grip, and proceeded to bring my parents up to speed on everything that had happened to me since I left the house.

After I finished my father looked at Pasteur, “I guess we owe you our thanks then Pasteur, for talking Victor out of destroying him outright for being where he did not belong.” I looked at my dad with surprise. “We’re not thrilled that he’s Kindred now, but at least he is still with us.”

Now it was my turn to have my jaw hit the ground. “Ok, now that I answered your question, how about answering a few of mine? For starters, how do you guys know Pasteur and how did you get a copy of The Dark Truth?”

My mom looked at me with compassion on her face. “We were going to tell you yesterday, now that you’re old enough, but you never came home. Your father and I are Mages. So naturally we get a copy of the local paper, as do all of the super-natural folks in the area.”

For the second time of the night I could not believe what I was being told. “You’re WHAT? How come I never knew this?”

“Because, dear, it is our way not to reveal ourselves to our children until they turn 18. That way they are old enough to be able to start their training in our ways as well as being old enough to be able to keep our secrets.”

“Mom, I turned 18 months ago, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, your father and I decided that we would until you finished school so that you could concentrate on your studies without this added weight on your shoulders. If you had come into your powers before then we would have told you sooner.”

Pasteur had a strange look on his face, “What are you thinking about Pasteur?” I asked him.

“I was just thinking about an ancient prophecy.”

My father looked at him, “You don’t think…?”

“It’s possible, but I can’t be sure just yet.”

Oh great, I thought, more secrets. “What’s this prophecy?”

My parents looked at each other, “There is an old prophecy,” my father said, “that tells of one who will be from 2 worlds that will unit the others in a world of peace.”

“And you guys think that it’s me?” Once again I was having trouble believing what I was hearing.

“Well,” Pasteur said, “You have to admit, you are now from 2 different worlds, the Kindred and Mage worlds.”

“Ok, but how am I supposed to bring peace?”

My father looked at me, “It may not be you at all, there are rumors floating amongst the Mages that there is another up north that is also of 2 worlds. Born of Mage parents like you, but he is a Changeling.”

My mother nodded her head sagely, “So it could be either one of you, really.”

My head was really starting to spin now.

My mother looked at me with sympathy in her eyes, “I think we are overloading him here. Maybe we should stop for tonight and give him time to process all that he’s heard.”

“Good idea,” my father said, “Geri, are you going to stay here with Pasteur or are you going to come home now? Since we know all about the Kindred it would be fine for you to come home if you want.”

“What about Armond? Could he stay with us as well? I really do love him.”

My mother looked at me, “Geri, we thought you were straight, you always seemed to have one of the girls from school on your arm. What happened?”

“It’s not that we disapprove,” my father said, “We’re just more than a bit curious.”

“Well, I guess it was all just a cover. I had never really thought about being with another guy before, but then when I fed off Armond here last night, I could not deny the feelings I was having for him. I guess the feelings were always there; buried deep down somewhere, and then the embrace just brought all my feelings more to the surface. And since Pasteur told me that same sex relationships are not looked down upon in Kindred society the way they are in mortal society, I guess I just felt safer expressing my feelings now.”

My father nodded his head knowingly, “It’s not just Kindred society son, but all of the super-natural world. We all recognize that love comes in many forms, and expresses itself in many different ways. So you are safe to be ‘out’ in our world. There are very few that would bother you for that fact. You’d be more likely to be hassled for mixing with members of other parts of our world, then for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean for mixing with the Garou or the Changelings.”

“I have never even met any of them, and how would I know if I did meet any of them? I would imagine a Wraith would be easy to recognize, but unless a Garou is in werewolf form how would I know who is one?”

“That’s easy,” Pasteur chimed in, “Just look at their aura. A persons aura will tell you all you need to know about them.”

“Aura? What do you mean?”

“Use your vampire eyes and look, I mean really look, at the 4 of us, you will see that your parents have one color glowing around them, I have another color, and Armond still another color. Each race has its own color; in addition to that, you can also tell a persons moods by the shifting of the color in their aura. But if you see someone with a black aura, be sure to let either myself or Victor know right away.”

“Why? What’s wrong with a black aura?”

“If someone has a black aura that means that they have taken the life of a fellow kindred which is in violation of our laws, and the prince should know about it immediately. If they have killed one kindred, they may very well kill others.”

“Ok, I’ll remember that. So when do I get to meet some of these other groups? You said we had a wraith here in the house. When do I get to meet this specter?”

“Right now if you like, as for the others,” Pasteur looked at my parents, “Did you two throw Geri a graduation party?”

My parents looked at each other and then back to Pasteur, “No, we didn’t, that’s a great idea Pasteur. Your house is considerably bigger then ours is, how about we have it here?”

“That’s what I was thinking too. We’ll invite everyone we know from our world that we know would not have a problem with him being of two worlds. This way he will get to know some of the others in our world. Shall we say tomorrow night? Two hours after sundown?”

Armond and I looked at each other with wry grins on our faces. I could not believe (yeah, I know, I should be getting used to that by now) that my parents and my sire were planning a party for me. And from the sounds of it there would be more super-natural beings here then I could imagine. “Can I invite anyone?”

Pasteur looked at me, “Other than the people you met last night, and ones in this room, who could you invite that would not violate our laws and expose us to mortal society?”

“The only 2 people I want to invite are Victor and Micky” That last one got a smile out of ole Pasteur. “Hell, someone has to show Micky how to throw a proper party.” I said with a chuckle.

“You are SO right.” Pasteur said joining in my chuckle. “I’ll be sure to get word to the two of them tonight.”

“Ok then,” my father said, “tomorrow night it is.” With that he and mother stood up, with the rest of us following suit. My parents gave me a big hug, and then surprised me by giving one to Armond as well. I even heard my mom say something to him that sounded like “welcome to the family.”

With all that planned my parents said their goodbyes and headed out the door till tomorrow night.

As if my head wasn’t already spinning enough from all the information I had been given, now I was wondering just who and what all would be showing up tomorrow night. Guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

END CHAPTER 6

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

---Armonds perspective---

The look I received from the two of them is kind of hard to describe, it was kind of a look of combined concern and confusion.

"Michael, Victor, I've fallen in love."

They looked at each other and then back at me, "So what's the problem with that?" Michael asked me with a bemused expression on his face.

I paused for just a second, "It's not so much the fact that I've fallen in love as much as who I've fallen for. I don't know what you two will think or how the kindred society will take it when they find out. Especially since I've been promised to you Michael."

"Is it a member of another clan and you no longer wish to be brought into the Toreador clan?"

"Yes and no. Yes, it is a member of another clan, but I still want to be Toreador. Which is another question: how can things work out with us being in different clans?"

Victor looked at me and smiled, "I don't really see much of a problem then. The Toreadors tend to get along well with all the other clans here, so I don't see any concern there. It's not like you're Gangrel and fell in love with a Brujah." Victor chuckled. "Why don't you start by telling us who it is and we'll just go from there."

I looked at the two kindred and then down at my shoes. After a moment of silence I finally spoke. "It's Geri, Pasteur's new childer."

The three of us sat in silence for a few moments, I in shame, Victor and Michael with their jaws on the ground.

"A Malkavian??? You've fallen for a Malkavian???" Michael exclaimed, dumfounded. Victor started to snicker at Michael’s reaction.

"Maybe it's because the madness hasn't taken him yet," I tried to explain, "maybe it's because I was his first, maybe it's because he still has so much of his humanity still. I just don't know why, but YES, I've fallen in love with a MALKAVIAN!"

Michael looked at me with an expression that I could not read. "Well, I did make a comment earlier when they were here that he should have been brought into clan Toreador. He does have an eye for art. I suppose there are worse people that you could have fallen for. So don't beat yourself up over it."

I looked at Victor and he just nodded his head in agreement with what Michael had said. I was kind of stunned for a second. I must say that I was a bit surprised that they were not making a fuss over this, if not because of him being in a different clan, then because he was a he.

"Ok, so you don't care that he is a member of another clan?"

"Nope."

"ok, then what about the fact that he's a he?"

Victor and Michael both let out a chuckle. Victor looked at me with a huge grin on his face, "Do you know how old I am Armond?" I shook my head in the negative. "It has been just over 800 years since my embrace. In that time, I have had dozens even hundreds of lovers. Both male and female. Kindred society does not have the same hang-ups about sexuality that mortal society does. I think you'll find that the majority of Kindred are what the outside world
would label as 'Bisexual' but we don't use labels here. We just are. We don't worry about who we fall in love with, or what sex they are. When you live as long as we do, you come to realize that there are much more important things to worry about than sexual labels."

"He's right Armond; I too have had many lovers of both sexes in the 400 years since I was brought across. Taking lovers from both sexes is especially prevalent amongst the Toreador."

I must say that I was a tiny bit shocked to hear them make these confessions to me. I never would have thought that either of them would have ever been in any kind of gay relationship.

"The question is," Michael continued, "is does he know and share your feelings?"

Ahh yes, I thought, the million dollar question. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since I gave him his first feeding earlier tonight. I heard them talking about crashing your party so I thought I might be able to catch him here and talk to him, but I guess I missed him."

Victor put his hand on my shoulder, "Relax, you just missed them by maybe 15 minutes. I have no idea where they may have gone after leaving here though. You're best bet might be to try and catch them at Pasteur's house. Do you know where it is?"

I thought for a moment, trying to remember. I had only been there once. "I'm not sure. I've only been there once, and of course it was dark at the time. Guess I need to start getting used to doing things in the dark and start paying more attention to things." I said with a little chuckle.

"Might not be a bad idea." Victor chuckled with me. "Come on, I was about to head out anyway so I'll take you over there."

"Thank you Victor, I really appreciate that"

"By the way Armond, how old are you now?"

"I'm 17. I'll be 18 in about 3 more months."

"Ahh, so are you ready to be brought across? In 3 more months you will be old enough to be brought into Kindred society." Victor asked with what I could only describe as a 'paternal' look on his face and in his tone.

"Yes, I'm ready right now. I have no family that would miss me, and no reason why I could not be embraced right now." Ok, so maybe that sounded a bit too excited.

Victor snickered and looked at me, then at Michael, then back to me again. "When you turn 18, you come see Michael and let him know. It is one of our unwritten laws that nobody under the age of 18 be brought across. When you turn 18 though... I hereby give Michael standing permission that on that day he may embrace you if that is what you still wish in 3 months time. He will not need to ask me first, he can just do it. Though you will still need to present yourself to me afterwards so that I can officially recognize you as Kindred."

"Thank you sire." Michael and I both said at the same time.

"Now, if there is not anything more young Armond, I suggest that we be going and let Michael get back to his other guests."

"No sir, that was about it. Except, thank you both for your understanding in this."

"Don't think any more about it." Michael said and stepped to open the door back to the downstairs room where guests to patiently awaiting his return.

Victor and I then stepped out of the small room. Victor took his leave of the others and we went upstairs. Olympus handed Victor his hat and top coat while he opened the door to let the two of us out. We went down the front steps and into the back seat of Victors waiting car. A few minutes later we arrived at Pasteur's home. I thanked Victor again for both his understanding, the ride, and for his permission for me to join the Toreador's. After I closed the car door and headed towards the house, the car pulled away.

I walked up to the front door and knocked. I waited a sew seconds and then knocked again. No answer. I guess they have not gotten home yet, and there is no telling how long they may be gone. I had no idea what time it was or how long until sun rise, so, since I had nothing better to do I decided to just sit down on the porch and await their return.

***End Chapter***

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

We stayed at the 'party' for a few more hours before we got bored and left.

"Where are we going now?" I asked my sire.

"No place in particular. Is there any place you would like to go to?"

"Well, I do have one question. What about my parents and my things at home?"

"Ahh, yes. That can be a sticky situation. As far as your parents are
concerned, probably the best thing would be to fake your death and let them lay
you to rest and put everything behind them."

"WHAT?" I couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Well, how else are you going to uphold the masquerade? It would be extremely
difficult for you to stay at home and explain sleeping all day in a darkened
room, and being gone all night."

"How about I just leave them a note and let them think that I've run away?"

"If that's the course you would rather take, then it is a viable option. As for
your possessions, I suppose we could go by and get what you want and take them
to my place. It would be best that you move in with me for the foreseeable
future any way."

"Ok, then that's the route I want to take. It would be better for them to think
that I'm still alive then to break their hearts thinking that I'm dead."

"Here's another question for you," I asked. "How do we afford to have a house
and everything if we can't go out during the day to have a job? Cause even
working 3rd shifts you don't always get off work before sunrise, I know."

"Excellent question, some of us have investments that pay out each month into
checking accounts. Still others have servants, or ghouls, that work during the
day to bring in the money. So long as you live with me though, you will not
have to worry about money. Kindred society does not use money the way that
mortal society does. We only need it to interact with the mortals."

"Ok, I think I understand."

"Good. Now is there anything you want to get tonight before we go home?"

"Not that I can think of. Will I have my own room and bed, or stay in yours?"

"That's your choice. There are plenty of rooms at the manor."

"If it's ok with you, I'd like to sleep with you for now."

"That will be fine. I know that this is your first night as one of us, so there
is something else you might not realize. Sexuality between Kindred is not the
same as between mortals. We do not view things so much as Straight, Gay or Bi.
We just are. In my life time I have had many lovers, both male and female. I
have loved them all equally."

I had never considered myself anything but straight, but after being with Armond
earlier, I have not been able to get him out of my mind. I could not wait to be
able to be with him again. I have never felt like this about anyone before. I
had dated some girls in school, but this was different. I don't know if it was
him or the change in me from becoming a vampire. All I know was that I wanted to be with him, to hold him, and kiss him. I had no idea if he might feel the same way, but I hoped.

"I have never had feelings for another guy before tonight. But ever since I fed
off Armond, I have not been able to get him out of my mind."

Pasteur smiled at me. "Would you like to see him again before we head home?"

"Can we?"

"I don't see why not."

I couldn't believe it, I was actually excited to go see another boy. This was
deffinately a night of firsts for me.

We went down to the spot under the bridge where we had been earlier, but I didn't
see him anywhere. I spotted Joseph and called him over, "Have you seen Armond?"

"Not in a while. He probably walked off somewhere, he tends to that. You might check at Michaels."

"We just left there and I never saw him." My excitement was starting to seriously slip from my mind. "Well, if you see him, tell him that I was looking for him."

"Ok, I will, though I don't know when I'll see him or hear from him."

I went back to where Pasteur was waiting for me talking to some of the others that were there. "Ok, I guess we can go home, he's not here."

Pasteur put his arm around my shoulders to try and comfort me. "I guess I should have warned you that Armond is a bit of a wanderer. It's not uncommon for him to be gone for days or weeks on end."

Just what I needed to hear. I had this ache in my heart that I had never felt before, and now I hear that it might be days or weeks before the one cure for that ache might be seen again.

We walked slowly home in silence.

---Armonds Perspective---

I could not believe what had happened. I had let several of the Kindred feed from me before, but it was nothing like tonight.

I think Pastuer said his name was Geri.

While the whole feeding process was usually very errotic, tonight was different.
Maybe it was the age of the boy, or something else. I just didn't know. But I have never felt like this before. Ever since he and Pasteur had left, I have not been able to think of anything or anyone but him.

I wandered around for several hours trying to figure out what was going on. I finally came to the realization that I was actually in love with this creature of the night. I never thought it would or could happen, but it was the only explination for what I was feeling. It HAD to be love.

I remembered hearing Pastuer say something about them going to Micheals party tonight so I decided that that was where I would start looking for him.

On the way there I got to thinking about something else. Victor, the Prince of the city, had promised Michael that he could embrace me when I became old enough. What was Michael going to say when he found out that I was in live with a Malkavian? He would probably go right through the ceiling.

By the time I got to Michaels house up on Chandler, I was more than just a bit nervous about seeing him.

I rang the door bell and waited. A few moments later the door opened, Olympus stood in the door frame blocking the entrance. "Evening Olympus, is Michael here? I really need to talk to him."

"He's down stairs with his guests, follow me."

With that the great hulk of a man turned around and led me down a spiral staircase into the lower portions of the house. I could hear the soft sounds of the chamber music that michael seemed to like so much (though hardly my taste of music).

When we got to the bottom of the stairs Olypmus told me to wait there as he walked over to the small knot of people near the bar. "Master, pardon the intrusion, but there is someone here to see you." Olympus made a gesture in my direction.

Michael excused himself from the group he was talkign to and came over to where I was waiting. "Armond, this is a surprise, what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you about something that happened tonight, and I suppose I will also need to talk to Victor over there as well. Can the three of us go into another room where we can talk in private?"

Michael had a look on his face that was sort of a mix between worry, concern, and compassion. "Sure, why don't you head over there into the other room, and I'll go get Victor and we'll be right in." With that he turned around and went back to the bar to get Victor.

The two of them came into the room scant moments after me.

"Michael tells me that there is something that you want to talk to the two of us about." Victor stated without preamble. I guess that being the Prince does have its advantages. Victor motioned for us all to have seats.

"Yes my liege, something happened earlier tonight that I never expected to happen." oh jeez.

***End Chapter***

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Master, what are these traditions and laws that Armond mentioned to me?"

"Oh crap, that's right; I need to tell you these things before we get to the
party."

We sat down under a tree and he proceeded to tell me the traditions. "Many
centuries ago our leaders sat down to draw up some rules for us to live by and
to protect us. The first tradition is the most important of them when it comes
to protecting us. That is the tradition of the Masquerade. What this means is
that we do not allow mortals to know of our existence. If Mortal society was to
know that we truly existed they would hunt us down, for it is mans way to
destroy that which he does not understand. If you allow yourself to be seen
feeding by anyone who does not know of us, then you are in violation of a
capital offense in our society. Breaching the masquerade is one of the few
offenses that can get a blood hunt called on you faster then you can blink."

"A Blood Hunt?" I asked.

"It is when the prince has washed his hands of you and has made your existance
null and void. You will have every kindred in exstance hunting you down so that
they can take your blood. It is the ONLY time that it is allowed to drink the
blood of another Kindred and rob them of their existance."

"Anyways, where was I?" "Oh yes, The Second Tradition is that of 'Domain'."
"This means that when you visit other kindred in their home that you respect
them, even if you do not agree with them. The same holds true if they are in
our domain. A kindred's domain is not only their haven where they sleep during
the day, but also includes their feeding area. This means that you do not feed
in another's domain without their permission."

"The third tradition is that of Progeny. This tradition is what helps to keep
our numbers in check and prevent us from over-running the world with our kind.
If this were to happen then the world would be covered with vampires, and there
would be no mortals left for us to feed upon. The tradition states that you can
only embrace a mortal with the permission of your clans elder, but we carry it
one level further and require that a kindred have the permission of the reigning
prince in their area."

"The fourth is that of The Accounting. This means that whatever you do until
you are released, I am responsible for. Your transgressions are mine. If you
break any of the traditions then not only are you in trouble, but so am I."

"The fifth tradition is that of Hospitality. This just means that when you
travel, you are to present yourself to the prince of the city you are in. If
the prince of that city does not recognize you then you are nothing in that
town. You will be granted no respect, not even from our own clan."

"The sixth, and final, tradition is that of the destruction. This means that
you are not to kill any kindred. That right belongs only to the prince. If one
of us breaks the traditions so badly that death is warranted, then only the
prince can declare a blood hunt. At this point any kindred who come upon the
transgressor have the right and obligation to slay them."

"Do you understand these traditions and swear to live the rest of your days by
them?"

"I do." I told him with all honesty.

"Good, then let's be going."

After he finished telling me about the traditions and giving me a brief synopsis
on Kindred history, we continued on to the party.

We went up on Chandler Dr. to a house that had a long standing reputation for
being haunted. "The party is HERE?" I inquired. "This place is haunted."

"What makes you say that?"

"Simple, the house has a history; every family that has ever moved in here has
died under mysterious circumstances."

"Mysterious my dear Geri, Only because Mikey has been very careful to cover his
tracks."

"Mikey?" I asked?

"He hates it when I call him that." Pasteur said with a smile, "His real name
is Michael. He was the one who had this house built many years ago. Shall we
go in and say hello?" With that he sauntered up the walkway to the front door
and proceeded to knock on the door: ?Shave and a haircut?" Then without waiting
for anyone to open the door he walked on in. He stopped in the entry hall and
looked at me as if to say `are you coming?".

I proceeded to follow him on into the house, but before I could even get to the
door a very large ominous black man who had to be at least seven feet tall (and
just as broad) appeared behind Pasteur.

"Pasteur, I should have known that you couldn't pass up a chance to crash a
party. I can only assume that you do not have an invitation." The mans voice
was very deep and thunderous.

"Evening Olympus, how's it shaking? Invitation? Since when have `I' ever
needed an invitation? You know perfectly well that if I didn't show up these
parties would be the dullest thing to ever come out of a member of the Camarilla
since they proposed the whole ludicrous idea of the masquerade. Now step aside
and let me and my young childer here through. It is time that he met the others
of the nobility."

"Yeah RIGHT!" he boomed, "You think I'm going to risk punishment and just let
you pass right on in. You really ARE crazy."

"Just tell them that I knocked you out"

Olympus cocked and eyebrow at Pasteur and gave him a look that said `You're
shitting me, right?' And I kinda had to agree with him. I just could not see
my sire putting down this mountain of a man.

"If you don't let me in, then you know perfectly well that I will find some
other way of getting in. Since when have I ever not been able to get into one
of these events?"

"Ok, but Just remember, I never saw you and you never saw me."

"That's a good man, now step aside." And with that Pasteur walked past the
giant. I cautiously edged my way around him to follow my master.

Once inside we could hear the sounds of the party going on in the basement. It
was not the loud thundering bass that I was use to associating with a party, but
the delicate sounds of a string quartet playing soft chamber music. When we got
downstairs I noticed that everyone seemed to be gathered around a statue over on
the opposite side of the room.

Pasteur nonchalantly walked over to the stereo system. Producing a CD from an
interior pocket of his coat, he placed it in the stereo. As soon as the piece
that was playing finished he switched the CD's. The next thing I knew, loud
hard hitting industrial came out of the speakers shocking everyone in the room,
including me.

"Now it's a party!" Pasteur exclaimed.

A young looking gentleman dressed in fine clothes moved in the blink of an eye
over to the stereo and hit the stop button. "Just what do you think you're
doing Pasteur, and who is this child with you?"

"Relax Mikey, Meet my new Childer, Geri. Geri, this is Michael Angelo, Elder of
the Toreador clan."

"New Childer? You mean to tell me that Victor has given you permission to
create new childer?"

"That's right, because of my assistance to him and the Camarilla in the war he
has granted me permission to rebuild my brood. Geri here was unlucky enough to
stumble upon us all at the club last night."

"Ok, be that as it may, you felt that this gave you the right to just waltz into
my haven and crash my little gathering?"

"Pop a chill pill Mikey, I just thought I'd make the rounds tonight and
introduce Geri here to the other Elders. Besides, it looked like this place
needed a little livening. What the hell's going on anyway? You get a new piece
in?"

"As a matter fact I have, not that someone like you could appreciate fine art."

"Ouch, that really hurt Mikey. Remove thy dagger from mine heart unto which thou hath thrust."

"Enough of the theatrics Pasteur. It's time for you to leave."

While the two of them bickered I moved over toward the statue to take a look at
it. "This is really a very nice piece you have here. What is it? A Moore?"

Michael's jaw dropped. "As a matter of fact it is. You're familiar with his
work?"

"Sure, I love the simplistic and fluid lines. He manages to show so much while
using so little detail."

"My God, why the hell were you given permission to embrace him Pasteur? He
should have been brought into the Toreador clan, not Malkavian. I just hope
that your madness does not distort this young mans views of art too badly. It
would be a shame. Maybe he can actually bring some culture into your poor
clan."

"Just the right place at the right time Mikey." Pasteur said with a grin.

"So who else have you assaulted tonight?" Michael asked turning to Pasteur.

"You were the lucky first Mikey. By the way, where is dear ole Victor? I
thought he was supposed to be here."

"He should be arriving shortly."

"Good, Geri needs to be formally introduced to him. He met him last night at
the club, but now it is time to deal with the formalities."

"Well, then I guess you two can enjoy the blood bar while you wait for him, I
see that young Geri is at least being civil and enjoying my collection, Unlike
OTHER kindred I might name."

"Hey, you have a few pieces that I like, for instance the paintings you have by,
what was his name? Picasso? Now THERE was an artist with true vision."

Before Michael could say anything else Pasteur came over to collect me and lead
me over to the blood bar. "Here try this one." He said pouring me a glass from
a bottle. "You will find that different types of blood have different flavors."
He pushed a wine glass over to me, "This one is pork."

I took a sip of the red liquid. "Hmm, this is pretty good. You mean we can
drink the blood of animals?"

"Of course my dear child. Pork is my personal favorite. After all, it IS the
other white meat." He said chuckling to himself.

"Ok, if we can survive off the blood of animals then why do we need to feed of
of people?"

"Simple, if we were to feed off of animals only then we would be nothing better
then the Nosferatu with their rats down in the sewers. Besides, Human blood
contains an ingredient that is found in the blood of no other animal on the
planet." "Speaking of Nosferatu.. Looks like their elder has surfaced."
Pasteur motioned toward a dark staircase that seemed to lead even further
downward. "Daid Man Walking.." Pasteur said just load enough to make sure that
he was heard.

The rather sickly looking kindred heard him and moved toward us.
As he got closer my nostrils were assaulted by the foul smell of the sewers.
His appearance was human, but with what could only be described as a 'ratty'
face. Nearly bald, with just a few hairs on his head. Pointed ears with wisps
of hair growing from them. The image I had was a funny one. I got this image
in my head from an old 'Dick Tracy' comic book of 'Pruneface' wearing Vulcan
ears.

As soon as that image popped into my head I fell off the stool I was sitting on
and hit the floor laughing.

"What's wrong with him Pasteur?"

"I honestly have no idea Daid." Pasteur was starting to get the giggles himself
as laughter is extremely contagious. "Maybe the madness just suddenly hit him,
this is his first night after all."

Pasteur was finding it more and more difficult to keep from joining me rolling
on the floor. Every time I would start to calm down I would look up, see
Daideless' face and erupt in a new fit of laughter.

Daideless just shook his head and walked over to inspect the new piece of art and to say hello to the others gathered there.

Pasteur picked me up off the floor and asked me what I had found so funny. I
whispered it into his ear and no sooner did I finish than we both just collapsed
on the floor in hysterics.

It took about 10 minutes for us to calm down enough to be able to stay in our
seats again.

While we were rolling on the floor, Victor had arrived. He heard us before he
saw us. When he came in and saw the two of us rolling on the floor in a fit of
hysterics he inquired of Michael what had happened.

"I have no idea Victor, Daideless came in, Geri saw him and fell down laughing,
a few moments later Pasteur was on the floor with him. I'll go take care of
it."

Michael managed to get us into an anti-room away from the rest of the guests.
"Ok, what the hell is going on? Have you two been hitting the laughing gas?"

I snapped my fingers like a light bulb had just come on in my head, "No, but you
just gave me a glorious idea."

Michael shook his head and left the room shutting the door behind him.

After about another 5 minutes we were able to relax enough to rejoin the others
in the main room. I figured that the only way I would be able to keep from
laughing every time I saw Daideless would be to just think about all the things
I would no longer be able to do since I could no longer go out during the day.

Pasteur told me to stay at the bar while he went over to get Victor. When he
returned to the bar with Victor he presented me to the Prince. "My Prince, may
I present to you Geri. He has already been told of our laws and our traditions
and is ready to enter Kindred society."

I made an over exaggerated bow, "My Liege"

Victor snickered at my dramatics but quickly regained his composure. "You
understand all that your sire has told you and swear to uphold our laws and
traditions?"

"I do my liege." Again, bowing dramatically to him.

"Very well, then I recognize you as Geri of the clan Malkavian. So long as you
continue to abide by my directives and observe our laws, you are welcome to stay
in Huntsville."

"Pasteur, he is your responsibility, make sure that he does not get out of line.
Though I can see that the madness of your bloodline is already starting to take
hold. I just hope that it does not take him too far into insanity."

"I will watch him closely until he is ready to go out on his own." My sire told
him.

-End Chapter-

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

It was the first night following my embrace. I was still very dazed and
confused. My sire assured me that it was perfectly normal for someone who
hadn't had their first feeding yet, and that it would soon pass.

He was right; shortly after we'd risen and gotten dressed he informed me that it
was time for breakfast.

The sky still had a slight reddish tinge to the west as we left the house. With
some admitted trepidation I followed my sire to a place that I had always heard
of as being where the homeless and derelicts lived under the roadway.

I was so engrossed in the way everything looked at night with my new vision that
the embrace gave me, that I had failed to notice that my sire had brought a
couple of bags of groceries with us.

When we came to a spot where a drainage creek ran under the road, we started
down the bank to go under the street. I was amazed at the number of people that
where all huddled together down here trying to keep each other safe and warm in
the cooling night air.

One of them spotted us and alerted the others to our presence. The throng
quickly moved toward us and encircled us the way that the pigeons do at the park
when they know that you have bread for them.

"These are my friends," my sire informed me, "we have a symbiotic relationship.
I bring them food, clothes, blankets, and what ever else they might need to stay
healthy, and they allow me to take small amounts of their blood to keep me
healthy."

"You are also welcome to join in this relationship, but be warned, you are only
to take a small amount from them or they will become sick and die. The Prince
has declared that the mortal population of this city is not to be harmed. The
Kindred population of the city is growing to fast, if the mortal population
should start to decline then there would not be enough blood to support our
population. Do you understand what I'm telling you Geri?"

"Yes sire," I replied. "When will I get to meet the Prince or some others of
our kind?"

"You met the Prince last night, though I doubt you remember him. Tonight, the
Toreador Elder is throwing a party."

"And we've been invited?" I inquired, as I love to party, or at least I hoped I
still did, I know I did when I was still mortal.

"Not exactly," he said, "but it is expected for me to crash the party, it just
wouldn't be the same if I didn't. Besides, the Prince will be there and it will
be as good a time as any for me to introduce you to the Prince as well as the
rest of the elders that will be in attendance."

"So you're saying that we are just going to crash the party?" this was sounding
better by the minute.

"But of course, it's about the only way that members of our clan can ever really
go to these big fancy events. Besides, if we didn't show up to throw some life
into the party, it would all be so boring that those stuffed shirts would
probably see final death from the boredom." He chuckled.

"But first, you need to feed before you frenzy from the lack of blood in your
system." he called a young boy over who looked to be about 14. "This is Joseph,
he's one of my favorites here because his blood is so sweet and pure." He gave
Joseph a hug and ever so gently and carefully bit his neck just below the right
jaw where the fresh oxygenated blood travels from the heart up to the brain. He
took only a couple of sips and then licked the bite marks with his tongue.

I stood there in amazement as I watched the wounds heal before my eyes to leave
no trace of the spot where he had bit him. "Always remember to lick the wound
so that it will close and the person will not lose any more blood. It also
helps so that if any other mortals happen across one of these there will be no
mark. These people know about us and keep our secret. But there are others who
would see us destroyed if they knew of our existence. Now it is your turn to
pick one for your breakfast."

I looked around and noticed a young handsome man standing in the back eating a
chunk of bread and drinking some wine. "Who's that?" I asked indicating the
young man.

"Nice choice," my sire said with a Cheshire cat grin on his face, "I see that
you have an eye for beauty that could rival the Toreador Elders. That's Armond;
he's a good strong one and can give you a good bit of blood for your first
feeding." He called to Armond and motioned for him to join us. "Armond, this
is Geri, he has just awakened this night and has not yet had his first meal and
he has chosen you to be his first, so I want you to take it easy on him as he
has not yet learned what his strengths are."

I could not understand why my master was telling this BOY to be easy on ME!
Well, I was soon to discover, to my delight, what he had meant.

I had thought that it was my job, as the vampire, to initiate the feeding
process, but Armond pulled me off to one side into a shadowed corner away from
everyone else. He then proceeded to instruct me in the fine art of seduction
and ways of a vampire. Now I had never had anything to do with other guys up to
this point, but Armond was actually seducing me, and I was enjoying it. He
proceeded to work on my neck as if HE was feeding from ME. I could not believe
that I was actually enjoying this. But I actually caught myself thinking that I
wished he would never stop. Finally I could take it no longer. I reversed on
him and clamped down on his neck. The blood that flowed into my mouth had a
metallic taste, but was intoxicatingly sweet at the same time. I drank slowly,
savoring the flavor of every drop that eased from his neck.

Armond must have started to feel weak from the loss of blood, but he still had
enough strength to push me away before I could take too much. "Don't forget to
lick the wound." He reminded me.

I was shaking from the extreme pleasures that I had just experienced, but was
able to regain myself enough to lick the spot on his neck were I had just
suckled from. I watched in amazement as the two holes on the side of his neck
closed up and vanished to leave no telling of our time together.

As I said before, I had never been with another guy before this night in
anything that even remotely could be construed as sexual. But now I never
wanted to leave this beauty that had opened my eyes to whole new possibilities.
I pulled him close and gave him a hug, "I'm sorry that I didn't stop sooner."

"It's ok. What happened is normal for someone who has just awoken and is
feeding for the first time. Very often they get so drawn into the intoxicating
effects of the blood that they don't stop in time and end up killing the vessel.
Luckily, I have experience and knew when to push you away."

"I have never been with another guy before," I told him, "but what you just did
to me was so erotic that I actually found myself wishing that it would never
end. I wonder if my master would give me permission to embrace you so that I
could spend eternity with you."

Armond didn't even look shocked at my statement of desire for him. "Well, first
of all it is not your sires place to give you permission to embrace a mortal and
bring them across, that is the sole privilege of the Prince. Second, I have
already been promised to the Toreador Elder."

"Oh." I said feeling kind of rejected.

"But that's ok Geri, just because you're Malkavian and I'm going to be Toreador,
does not mean that we can no longer see each other. It's not like our two clans
are fighting with each other the way that the Brujah and the Gangrel constantly
are."

I had no idea what he was talking about, but just the thought of being able to
still see him made me happy to no end.

"Has Pasteur not taught you the traditions and laws of Kindred society yet?"


"Nope, but we really haven?t had any time to sit and talk yet this evening."

"Geri!" Came the voice of my master, "Come on, we need to be going now, the
night isn't getting any younger you know!"

"You'd better get going," Armond told me, "you don't want to make old Pasteur
Mad. And don't forget to ask him about the traditions and laws. He can be a
bit scatter-brained at times."

I gave Armond one last hug and a kiss before hurrying over to where my master
was waiting patiently for me.

"Come along Geri, we don't want to be more than `stylishly' late for the dear
Toreador Elders party, now do we?" And with that we left. All the while I was
hoping that I would be able to be with Armond again.

-End Chapter-

Chapter 1

Armond

(c) Copyright 2003,2004 Dallas Wayne Vinson (dallaswv35077@bellsouth.net)
All rights reserved.
GWG Code: Adult, SiFi
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without written permission from the author.
The character of Armond is in no way related to the character of the same name by Ann Rice.
The names of the various "Clans" are copyrighted by White Wolf Publishing. No claim is made to those copyrights.
This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real people are purely coincidence.
This story contains acts of a gay nature. There IS NO graphic descriptions of sex in, this work (I like to leave something for the imagination ).
Comments are welcomed, flames are ignored.
Latest chapters and discussion list can be found at: http://Armond.webhop.net
Please visit the Gay Writers Guild at: http://www.gaywritersguild.org
--------


Chapter One

My name is Geri.

I was a high school senior in the growing city of Huntsville, Al. For the last
two or three years I had been hearing rumors of a growing underground in the
city. A secret society, of sorts, that had started to move in. This of course
captured my imagination and my curiosity.

I had been trying for some time now to find out all that I could. All I was
able to really find out was that this group seemed to congregate on Thursday
nights at a club that had opened up a few years.

On the Thursday following graduation I decided that I would sneak into this club
to see if I could discover anything new. Little did I know that I would find
more then I had either hoped for or imagined in my wildest dreams.

I managed to get into the club with little to no trouble seeing as how I looked
older than I was so I did not even get carded at the door. The club itself was
pretty cool. Done up in a gothic atmosphere. There was some hard hitting
industrial music playing and the dance floor was packed. I went up to the bar
and got myself a beer and got myself a table on one of the risers that put me up
high enough to be able to see everything that was going on in the club. From my
vantage point I was able to keep my eyes open to anything that might seem out of
the ordinary.

As I sat there watching the throng of people and enjoying the music and my beer,
I noticed a few people secreting off through a door at the back of the building.
After they had vanished within; I waited a few moments and proceeded to follow
them in.

Now I know that you are all familiar with the old saying that 'Curiosity killed
the cat', well I'm here to tell you that 'Satisfaction brought it back'.

What I found was what looked to be a "make out" room. There were people lying
about on couches and over stuffed pillows making out. There were guys on girls,
girls on girls, and guys on guys. I had never seen anything like it. I had
never been in anyplace that was so open and free when it came to sexuality.

Upon closer observance, I noticed that they were not just making out, but every
once in a while I could spot a trickle of blood going down someone's neck.
These people were not just making out, they were feeding. I had stumbled upon
what appeared to be a hang-out for vampires. But that was impossible. Vampires
don't exist, they were just legends used to frighten young children. Or were
they?

I gasped, apparently loud enough that someone heard me and brought the attention
of the others to my presence. They all turned and looked at me; actually it was
more like hissed at me. Bloody mouths open and fangs showing.

I started to back towards the door that I had entered through when I backed into
something that I didn't remember being there a few moments ago.

I looked to find myself staring up into the face of one of the blood suckers. I
was so terrified that I literally froze where I was and could not have moved if
I had wanted to.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" The vampire said towering over me.
"Seems we have an uninvited guest." He grabbed me by the shoulders and lifted
me off my feet. He then proceeded to take me over to one corner where there was
a man sitting on a chair that was raised higher then the others like a throne or
something. "What shall I do with him my prince?"

"He has seen us for what we are Daideless, you know the law, he must be
destroyed."

One of the others in the room addressed the one that had been referred to as
'Prince'. "My Prince, I know the law as well as any other kindred. I am not as
insane as everyone thinks, as you well know. As you also know I lost many of my
brood in the last conflict with the Sabbat. I therefore ask you to grant me
permission to embrace this young one."

"Because of your great service to both myself and the Camarilla, I will grant
you your request. But be aware Pasteur, that as per our traditions, you are
responsible for his actions."

The one called Pasteur inclined his head, "I understand my Prince." With that
he picked me up and carried me off and out a side door into the night.

He moved with such alacrity that I was unable to watch were it was that he was
taking me, and I was still too petrified to put up any kind of struggle.

In what seemed almost to be the blink of an eye, we had left the club and
arrived inside a rather plushily appointed house. He sat me down on a large bed
that was covered in what appeared to be furs for a bedspread and real silk
sheets. He looked right into my eyes, "You have stumbled across something that
you should not have. Luckily for you I am in the Princes good favor at the time
or you would not be sitting here breathing right now. The Prince has given me
permission to bring across into our world and make you one of my own, to replace
those that were lost in the recent war." He chuckled, "Well, recent for our
kind at any rate. I suppose it would have been over a hundred years ago to you
mortals, but the batting of a lash for ones as long lived as we are. Do you
understand what I am saying to you?"

Amazingly I was actually able to speak now, "This can't be happening, there is
no such thing as vampires. They are nothing but myth and fantasy."

"Ahh, but even myths and fantasies have their basis in reality. We have existed
almost since the beginning of time. How familiar are you with the Bible? The
book of Genesis in particular?"

"I'm familiar enough with it, but what does that have to do with Vampires?"

"Then you are familiar with the story of Cain and Able?" I nodded that I was.
"Good. You remember that because Cain had killed his brother Able, God punished
him and placed a mark upon him lest others kill him, and that he was to wander
the earth for all eternity as an outsider. Well the mark that God placed upon
him was the mark of Vampirism. Cain was the father of all vampires. Well,
almost all, the stinking Tremere are not descendents of Cain."

Ok, now I was even more confused. But he assured me that I would be less
confused come the next night. The hour was getting late and the sun would be
rising soon. "It is time that I brought you across. When you awake tomorrow
night you will see the world with new eyes and a whole new perspective. Just
relax, this won't really hurt, in fact you will more than likely find it to be
very erotic, I know that most mortals do." And with that he bit down on my
neck. He was right, the sensation was VERY erotic. Even as I felt my life
blood leaving my body I could do nothing but hope that the feeling would never
stop. I could feel my heart starting to slow down as there was becoming less
and less for it to pump. Just before it beat its last beat he pulled away from
my neck and opened up his wrist. He placed his bleeding wrist to my mouth,
after the first drops of his blood hit my tongue I started to drink like a man
who had been lost in the dessert for days with no water. I drank and drank
until he pulled his wrist away from mouth. "That's enough, now lay down there
and sleep. I will teach you more when we awaken." And with that we went to
sleep.

For the next several hours, throughout the day, I literally slept the sleep of
the dead.

-End Chapter-