Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 18:27:37 -0500
From: Kathrine <storykath@operamail.com>
Subject: Eternally Yours, part ten

Legal disclaimer: This is fiction. I don't know them. Don't read if you're not
allowed to.

Author's note: I was going to wait a bit and try to update some other stories,
but I got the nicest mail from Phillip about this story...so here it is. Enjoy
:)

 - Chapter ten -

"I can't understand why they have to have this meetings at eight o'clock in
the morning!" Carrie thought as she looked out at the road winding in front of
her car. Since the council held house far outside the city they had to start
driving at seven. Throwing a little look over in the seat next to her, she saw
that Chris was still asleep. He had fallen asleep about five minutes after
they had started driving, and she had let him sleep even if they needed to
discuss a lot of issues before facing the council.

But Carrie just didn't have the heart to wake him, not when she knew that
Chris probably hadn't slept at all last night, and they both had a long and
tiring day in front of them. She was very happy to be back in Florida, it
wasn't that. But they had both grown used to doing things their own way now.
That was part of the reason that she had insisted on picking Chris up before
the meeting, in spite of his protests. If she hadn't, Chris would have very
conviniently "forgotten" all about the meeting. They hadn't talked about it,
but Carrie suspected Chris also knew why they had been called back. There were
no use for them in Mexico anymore, and things were definetely changing here.

Next to her, Chris moved a little for so waking up. Rubbing his eyes, he sat
up and looked out the window. "We're not there for another half hour,
Christopher," Carrie said, "go back to sleep." "It's ok, Chris answered, "I'll
sleep when we get there. Those old bastards can't tell the difference anyway."
"Christopher," Carrie started, then she gave up. "Don't get yourself in
trouble alreay," she said instead, "at least wait a month?" "Can't promise
anything," Chris muttered. Then he sighed. "Carrie, you know how I feel about
this."

Carrie knew. And she started talking about something else. "Anyway, I don't
think you can get yourself into stranger situations than you already did down
in Mexico. Like that time I had to come save you, after you went missing..."
She had at least made him smile. "I was just waiting for the right oppurtunity
to make my move," Chris answered. "Oh, I think you had made plenty of moves
already," Carrie said. "How did you get yourself handcuffed to the bed like
that, after all?" Blushing just a little, Chris smiled again. "Ahm, let's not
get into that right now."

A little while later Carrie stopped the car in front of an old mansion.
Supposedly it was the home of a English Lord that had grown tired of England's
somewhat humid climate. In reality it was the seat of the American council of
slayers. The big building made out of withered stone was an impressive sight
as it balanced on top of the cliffs over-looking the sea.

"Do I have to do this?" Chris whined while pulling himself out of the car.
"Why do I need to meet with them? I slay vampires, they do whatever it this
that they do...and we all just walk merrily on our way." Pushing Chris gently
forward, Carrie told him: "The sooner you get yourself in there, the sooner
this will be over. Go get them, tiger." Sighing deeply Chris entered the house
with his watcher.

The meeting-room was circular, a oak-table formed as a half circle seated the
six members of the council of slayers. Three former slayers, and three former
watchers. At the moment it consisted of four two women and four men. Both the
women and the youngest of the men were slayers, the three other were wathcers.
"Behave yourself and you might end up here someday," Carrie whispered to Chris
as they were standing in front of the table. The horrified look he sent her
almost made her laugh. She knew that a lot of the other watchers falt sorry
for her because of her wild, reckless slayer.

But the thruth was that Carrie wouldn't trade with anyone, she had tons of fun
and loved Chris like her own son. In fact, if she had been only a couple of
years older, he could have been her son. Which she felt, if he didn't always
agree, gave her the right to mother him a little. The watcher was also
supposed to cut all their bonds with family  and spend their lifes in
solitude, just as the slayers.

"Welcome back, Christopher," one of the men spoke. "Whatever," Chris shrugged.
Carrie stepped on his foot. "I see you haven't lost your attitude,
Christopher," another one of the men said. Now Chris knew he should know the
names of the board of slayers. But then again, he had never bothered to learn
them. "So," he started and stepped away from Carrie so she couldn't step on
his foot again. "Let's get to the point. You brought me back because your
other slayer fucked up, and this town is about to blow up in your faces. I'm
here to get rid of the fallen one."

"Very good," one of the women were now speaking. "And correct, except for one
little detail. We have studied the situation in this city for a long time."
She stood up and walked around the table. "The vampire community is in fact of
the verge of a revolution. The outcome of this revolution is very important to
us. And we want to make sure that it is one that benefits us."

Pausing in her strode, she looked at Chris. "You are here for a spesific
reason, but it's not killing our runaway slayer. Yes, we would like to see
Joshua gone, but he will not be your first priority. There are more pressing
matters at hand." Chris didn't answer her, just kept looking at her.

The tall, blonde woman had been a slayer, he remembered that now, She had been
chosen for the council because of her efficiency and quick mind. But Chris
already disliked her, there was a coldness radiating from her. Yeah, he killed
vampires himself, but he didn't enjoy it. Not like a lot of slayers did. It
was his job. He went out at night, found himself a few victims, did the usual
tough-talk and dusted them. End of story.

Carrie kept to the background, Chris was able to handle this himself. She had
to admit she had been a little worried about this. Knowing how Chris felt
about the council and their way of dealing with things, had her waiting for
everything from a temper tantrum to what Chris were doing now. Waiting and
biding his time. Since Carrie had been there, in Mexico, she knew what had
happened. She knew and the council knew.

"There is another one we would like you to slay for us. He can become a very
important figure during the uproar, and he might even be their next leader,
the one they will gather around. As our observers tell us, a move haven't been
made yet, but they will approach him soon."

Sitting down on the end of the table, the women locked eyes with Chris. "Let
me tell you a little story, Chris. About how one of the most dangerous
vampires of our age was turned."

Chris stayed where he was, remaining quiet. "He was born in Italy,the woman
started, "the exact year isn't important. His family was noble in many ways.
It is still one of the oldest, richest and most powerful families in Italy,
and his father was a slayer, and a member of the Italian council.

We had high hopes for all of the slayer's children, they were two brothers and
a sister. But the youngest of them betrayed the family, betrayed us. He
committed a crime, an attrocity that would have him banned even if he hadn't
let himself be turned. He let himself be turned to the dark side, then he
killed his own father."

"And this vampire would be..." Chris said. "I'm guessing you have a name." "We
have," the female slayer answered. "Even if it took us quite some time to
track him down. In Italy he goes under the name "Nacosto Uno". "Hidden one",
Chris quickly translated. "Correct," the answer came. "But when he came here,
he got careless, taking his own name back. Well, a popular short-form of it
anyway."

The woman joined her associates behind the table again. "He is a wayward, and
so is his lover. Someone you know very well, Christopher. You might be able to
kill two birds with one stone here." Something set off a flame in Chris' eyes,
Carrie moved closer to him. "JC's lover. Joey. He is the one I'm going to
kill." Chris voice was flat, devoid of any emotions.

"Yes," one the watchers spoke, a tall, skinny man with black hair and
moustache. "The elder vampires despise him because of his relationship with
the fallen one. But the younger ones are children of our time as much as we
are, and they find it attractive. He won one of the enemy over to their side,
right from under our noses. The truth about his origin is known among the
elders too, and that still earns him a great deal of respect. When the younger
ones finds out... You can see what makes him so dangerous to our cause,
Christopher?"

"I can," Chris answered. The Italian vampire could easily do what no one had
been able to do before. Gather the entire vampire community, making it
impenetrable from the power that laid in standing together. Today the
community was split and vulnerable. That could very well change, and change
soon.

"We have been gathering information for you," the other woman spoke now. "An
associate of ours, a half-bred, have been able to infiltrate the community.
Posing as a follower of the revolution he has gained their trust. You will
work with him. He gives you the information you need, and you will track them
down and slay them."

A door opened and shut silently from somewhere in a dark corner. A young man,
about Chris' own age approached them. He was tall, his body was lean, yet
forcefull. Thick, raven black hair was tied back into a ponytail. Only the
dark brown eyes and the look in them stopped Chris from charging at the
newcomer and kill him with his own, bare hands. Still his feelings were drawn
into a wold storm of rage, pain, hurt and hate. Clenching his fists along his
side, Chris locked eyes with the man, his body trembling from the urge to hit
something, anything would do. His own voice was barely recognizable to himself
as he said the other one's name. "Dacos. So you're back."

"Christopher," the young man greeted him. Just the sound of his voice, so much
alike the one he had spent six months trying to erase from his mind, was
enough. Six long months, and in the end Chris had managed to push what had
happened back into the nightmares that kept hunting him in his sleep. Without
looking back at the council Chris left the house.

Outside in the sunshine, he felt weak, dizzy as if he was on the verge of
passing out. "Chris!" a voice called. "Please wait, let me talk to you."
Slowing his steps, Chris didn't stop, but he allowed Dacos to catch up with
him. "I'm sorry," the Mexican said as he was at Chris' side. "I'm eternally
sorry for what Damien put you through." Where is he?" Chris interrupted, he
didn't want to be reminded of what his former lover had done to him. "I know
you know where Damien is. He is your twin-brother." Dacos hesitated a little.
"You know I can't tell you that, Chris. As you said, he is my brother. If you
find him, you will kill him."

His words made Chris stop. "At least tell me if he has turned." "He hasn't,"
Dacos answered. "Not yet. He is too valuable as a half-bred. Damien and I
can't be hurt by the sun, we don't need to drink blood...yet we possess a
number of vampiric strenghts. We were made to serve our purpose to the
community as the link to the word of mortals. Only on opposite sides."

Dacos fell silent as they walked through the park surrounding the Southern
side of the mansion. "My father was cursed from the beginning, Chris. Even as
a vampire. And as his father before him, and his father before him again.
Their women will get pregnant and will die during deliverance. The offspring
is always a set of male twins. One will choose the good path, the other will
serve evil. My father followed our family's curse, and he fathered us as a
vampire. Damien and I were his only children. And as the good one, I will
bring the curse on. Damien will never breed."

Pausing to let his fingers close around a blood-red rose, Dacos bent down to
examine the dark flower. "Damien chose sides very early, and he became a
master of disguising himself. He and I lost contact after father was slayed,
so I didn't know about him and you before I was approached by the American
board of slayers."

"So they knew," Chris stated. "I had a feeling they did." "They knew," Dacos
said, he wasn't looking at Chris. "It was part of your punishment. And it was
a test. If you beat them, as you did, then you were the right for coming back
to kill the Hidden One." "So not only did they know," Chris said, bitterness
spicing his casual words. "They sent that maniac after me. Great." "It wasn't
like that, Chris," Dacos attempted to explain. "It was more like they were
observing. They knew what Damien was up to, who he worked with. They just
chose not to intervene."

"Dacos," Chris started, to get the others' attention. When the dark-eyed man
looked at him, Chris went closer to him. "I work alone. I don't need, and I
don't want your help. You tell those bastards inside that." Narrowing his
eyes, he studied Dacos for a second, getting a little satisfiction from the
other man's nervousness. "In fact, it would be kind of...unfortunate if I
should see you one dark night, and maybe mistake you for Damien..." The treath
was as clear as the spoken words.

Leaving the Mexican to his own thoughts, Chris started to walk back to the
car. At that moment he just wanted to leave it all behind. Leave it to someone
else to kill someone that once had been his friend. Dump the whole ugly
business in someone else's lap. And they expected him to be able to work with,
to stand being around, the man that was the mirrored image of his nemesis. The
man who stole three months of his life, who almost succeded in taking the rest
of Chris' life too.

Back at the car, Carrie was waiting for him. As Chris had left, they had
turned their attention to her. Carrie had known about her role in life since
she was a child. Being a watcher had always made her proud, made her feel like
she was doing something right, something needed. Now those feelings was
rapidly melting away. This was nothing but a dirty game, based on the search
for power. The ancient purpose of slayers and their watchers was somehow lost.
It wasn't about good battling evil anymore. It hadn't been for a long time,
Carrie was starting to wonder if it ever had been.

All her suspicions had been fullfilled. They had been watched most of the time
Christopher and she spent in Mexico. Christopher had been tested, so had she.
Joshua may have taken over Christopher's domain here, but he was never
intended to be the one they sent on the mission to once and for all pull the
foundation out from under the vampire society. As fate spun her intricate
veavings and Joshua joined the enemy, Christoper became an even more important
piece in their game.

The vampire community had always been small, and besides their hunt for
mortals to feed on, the vampires kept to themselves. Their kind had always
fascinated Carrie, which came in useful to her. The main purpose of a watcher
was to gain knowledge for her or his slayer. Of all the watchers of now Carrie
was the one that held the most knowlegde, who knew the most about vampires.

Old lines was being erased as new ones was establised a little piece at a
time. The first card was thrown, the game had started. What worried Carrie the
most was the fact that when it ended, she wasn't sure which side she would be
on.