Beoir Àite was eerily empty of its usual patrons but there was a reason for it this time other than the customers avoiding the wrath of the bar's owner. Now all of the windows were covered and the door was locked to keep anyone unexpected from coming in.
Only three figures were currently in the bar, two sitting at the counter with the other behind it since it was still her bar.
Elizabeth frowned as she refilled the glasses of the two men sitting before her and softly said, "Whatever he did, it's not Edward's fault."
The younger of the pair - Cyclaryn, sire of her own Line - looked up and frowned before commenting, "I thought you hated the fledgling for causing you to driving off customers some time ago."
"Edward's too sweet to hate," she corrected. "And it was my own fault, continuing to rage at him like I did." Her eyes flicked to the other man and she continued, "Sir, please -"
"Lizbeth," said the dark-skinned man softly as he curled his fingers around his glass, the nickname making her go quiet. He lifted his dark eyes to meet hers and smiled gently as he explained, "I am not going to kill the boy the moment he's brought through the door, I assure you. But this meeting...it must happen because of what he has done."
"It wasn't his fault!" exploded Elizabeth suddenly. She ignored her great-grandsire's hissing of her name and barrelled on. "If anyone is to blame, it would be that sire of his!"
"Elizabeth!" snapped Cyclaryn. "I thought Kaeli taught you better than to snap at the First!"
The Welsh vampiress whirled on him then, wagging a finger in his face, and snarled, "Don't you give me that psuedo serious bullshit. Every single one of our Line know exactly how you are and it isn't some bootlicker, so don't pretend you are!" Turning back to the other vampire, she leaned on the counter and hissed, "This isn't fair, Omcha."
Omcha, the First, nodded his head slowly before saying, "The boy has broken none of the Laws. All he is responsible for are the deaths of these women." Looking at Cyclaryn, he asked, "What was the final count?"
"Thirty-four," answered his child. Cyclaryn then said to Elizabeth, "And we would have done something about his sire if we knew who it was."
"Cael Ward," said a voice from behind them and the trio turned as Darien let himself in with the key Elizabeth had given him once upon a time. That earned surprised looks from both older vampires and he shrugged. "Yeah, big joke from the universe with that one."
Omcha nodded in agreement then asked, "And what are you here for, Darien?" He then smiled and answered himself, "Ah. Support."
"Eligius is a friend," Darien confirmed with a nod. "Besides...if anyone of us should be here for Edward besides him, it's me. I know exactly what it's like to lose control like that." He didn't add that he had a tendency to kill more people indescriminately as they all knew that fact well enough.
Cyclaryn gave Omcha a questioning look but the First just shrugged and picked up his glass as he nodded towards the door Darien still held open. As the younger vampire turned to look, he observed, "Here they come," and everything went quiet.
Eligius came through the door first, nodding at Darien before he turned his gaze to Cyclaryn and Omcha. The Roman blinked then said softly, "Kivana didn't come."
At that Cyclaryn coughed and said, "My sister...she says she can't claim the actions of any of hers that are like this. I apologize on her behalf."
"Unacceptable. She -" Eligius sighed and bowed his head before saying, "No, I won't lose my temper. Not today." He turned, clapped Darien on the shoulder, then reached an arm up the outside stairwell. "Come, Mico. This must be done."
It took a few minutes for a shaking hand to reach down to take his and then Edward came into view, his entire body trembling so much that he missed a stair and tumbled into his lover's arms. Eligius lowered him to the floor as Darien pushed the door shut and turned the lock again with a finial click that made the youngest vampire flinch. It took a few minutes but Edward slowly lifted his gaze to the pair seated at the bar and a whimper left his lips.
"I didn't -" he began but Omcha lifted a hand to still his words. Edward flinched back, pushing himself further against Eligius, and the First blinked before lowering his hand with a sad expression on his face.
"Tell me what happened," Omcha said gently.
Edward looked nervously up at Eligius then over at Darien who had moved to stand next to the couple. While his lover merely hugged him tightly, Darien laid a hand gently on the younger vampire's shoulder and said softly, "Tell them. It will be all right." The blond gave him a look that said he didn't believe that but nodded before drawing in an unneed breath with a shudder.
"I-I was going to work," he began slowly. "Just walking along, thinking about what needed to be done today...and then I heard him."
"Who?" asked Cyclaryn.
"Cael," answered Edward in a tone that said it should have been obvious. " 'Oh, how you've fallen,' he said. 'Here I saved you, made you this marvelous killer...and you go falling from grace. Do you know how that hurts me?' " A strangled, hysterical laugh tore out of the young vampire's throat and he gave the two eldest vampires in the bar a half-mad look. "Hurts him, he said. Him. The one that did this to me, that-th-that ra -"
"Shh," breathed Eligius, fingers slipping over Edward's lips. "We talk of him now, not then, Candeo. Tell them what he did next."
The young vampire nodded at that and began again.
"He said then, 'It looks like I'm going to have to reteach our lessons.' And I told him no, that I was happy, that I was with someone that loved me, that I didn't need him. He laughed. Laughed. Said 'You don't know what you want, child. This life they all lead - it's just an illusion they think they can live. Now Voschlaq...Voschlaq and most of his know the truth I know.' Then he moved towards me and I wanted to run but I couldn't. He...he touched my cheek and said, 'The truth you know deep in that wicked little heart of yours.' "
Edward shivered as he continued, "I told him I wasn't wicked and he laughed at me again. Told me that if I wasn't, then why did I do what I did after he Turned me? Said, 'You know you love what you did then. Love the blood. Love the hunt, the kill. I doubt that soldier so smitten with you even let's you that far off the leash. He doesn't want you to be what you really are.' "
A growl rumbled out of Eligius and Edward paused to touch the taller vampire's face, looking up at him as he breathed, "I called him a liar. Laughed in his face. Told him you were far more my sire than he ever was." He then looked at Omcha and said, "Cael grabbed me then in a rage, dragging me back into the alley he came from. He...he did the things he d-did to me before. And I...I got lost."
"It's all blood after that. And those women's faces," finished Edward softly, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to -"
"Shh," hushed Darien, touching his shoulder again. He then looked at Cyclaryn and Omcha, eyes narrowed as he snarled, "Isn't that enough to go after Cael without Kivana's permission? We all know she won't give it."
"She's terrified of him with good reason," explained Omcha. "He stalked her across Europe for a century in the 1400s. Didn't stop until Jifar managed to knock him unconscious and locked him in some cathedral tomb in Italy."
Cyclaryn coughed at that. "Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence," he supplied. At the First's look, he explained, "She didn't want to go back there again and he was taking care of her so he asked me to go check if Cael was still there. If he had been there when I arrived, I would have killed him him just for daring to stalk an Elder, let alone my sister."
"So," said Darien, "after that he escaped and just roamed around killing freely?"
Omcha just nodded and Darien continued in exasperation, "And we just let him? He's nothing more than...than...me! He is the embodiment of everything that I was and more! Gods, we're damn lucky I never met him back then."
"The world would have gone up in blood and fire," intoned Cyclaryn. He then looked at Omcha and said, "I am of the mind we hunt him down, whatever Kivana may say about leaving him be. He crept into this city like a ghost to merely torment his own child and caused the mindless slaughter of thirty-four humans. Should that not be as much a crime as child attacking sire?"
"It is as of now," answered Omcha. He moved from the bar stool then, slowly crossing the room to where Edward still huddled in Eligius' arms. As his eyes met the Roman's briefly, the First touched the young vampire's shoulder and said gently, "I know that this will haunt you for the rest of your life, child, but this was not your doing. There will be no repercushions from this, not for you. You are safe."
Edward had first flinched away from the touch then had stared at Omcha, his eyes filling with tears as the oldest vampire spoke. He slowly nodded then turned in Eligius' arms, burying his face in the older vampire's chest as he let out a sob.
Eligius inclined his head respectfully to the First and Omcha returned it before saying, "Come, Cyclaryn, if we are to find him, we should begin now."
"I'll meet you outside the city," answered Cyclaryn as they unlocked the door and left the bar together. "Tehran isn't going to let us leave without her after I tell her what happened."
"You know I always welcome your sister's council and aid," those left below in the bar heard Omcha say before the two older vampires drifted out of range. There was silence amongst them except for Edward's sobs until they finally stopped and the blond turned in Eligius' arms.
He smiled at Darien and said, "Thanks. You didn't have to be here."
Darien shook his head at that and smiled at the younger vampire. "Yes, I did," he assured. "Eligius has been my friend for some time before you came into his life, Edward. And I felt you needed someone here who'd been through something similar."
Edward blinked in confusion and the Irish vampire said, "I've given Eligius permission to tell you later. Right now I think you both need to go back home and relax."
"Which is exactly where we are about to go," rumbled Eligius. "Darien, Lizbeth, we shall see you later." He then gently guided Edward out of the bar, the young vampire waving over his shoulder before they disappeared.
Darien closed the door behind them and sagged against it before breathing, "Gods."
"You didn't honestly think that Omcha was going to kill him, did you?" asked Elizabeth as she poured out something into a shot glass and held it out towards him. As he staggered over and threw back the liquor, she said, "You did."
"I've seen two like him be killed before with kill counts at ten," hissed Darien as he sat down on the bar stool Cyclaryn had abandoned. "Plus I didn't know why Edward had gone over the edge - Eligius didn't tell me anything except when the meeting was." He ran a hand over his face and shrugged as he continued, "I didn't know what to expect."
"Darie, if Omcha spared you, I think he will spare anyone."
"That doesn't make me feel any better given what I was, Liz," he grumbled, grabbing the bottle to pour another shot. After he downed it, Darien said, "And I'm the exception, remember? The only reason I got spared was Everett begging for my life on her hands and knees."
Elizabeth's eyebrows went up and he said, "Kaeli told me that after. Said it proved how much she cares about the three of us." Then he coughed and continued, "Anyway, I think the real reason was Eligius."
"Why?"
Darien gave her a level look before he answered, "You don't have to know anything about them to know that Eligius would do anything for him. If Omcha had brought down the death sentence, there would have been a fight."
"Could he have won?" asked Elizabeth.
"Against Cyclaryn at least." At her surprised look, he chuckled. "Trust me, I've seen them both fight. Cyclaryn may have some practice at hand-to-hand but you need to remember that Eligius was a Roman legionaire. And he keeps in practice."
She smiled at that and said, "I seem to recall you becoming fairly good with a blade yourself."
He snorted and shook his head. "Fencing. I showed Eligius the only sword I kept from a duel - you remember the Frenchman that nearly gutted me? He looked at it and laughed before asking me if I really called that a blade."
Elizabeth laughed.
"What did you say in response?" she asked.
Darien gave her a sideways grin as he answered, "Told him that, no, I called it Isabeau and she didn't take kindly to not being considered a blade."
They both had a long laugh at that and fell into silence after, Darien fiddling with the shot glass in front of him and Elizabeth frowning at the counter top. After a moment she lifted her head then reached across to rest her hand on top of his wrist, stopping his movement. When he lifted his eyes to meet hers, she asked, "Will he be all right?"
He stared back at her for a moment, thinking of a time when she had asked him that same question, then smiled.
"Given what he's already survived," he replied in a quiet voice, "and who he has on his side, I think Edward is going to be just fine, Liz."
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