Of Allies and Enemies

[Niccoli Cento]

Niccoli Cento, Cardinal of Russia, made the trip from the international airport to Eszerbet’s country estate by van. He could have traveled through the abyss, but he was going to be bringing something back with him and needed the vehicle to transport it in. Normally he would be surrounded by at least twenty loyal vampires, but on this occasion he brought only a ghoul to do the driving.

It was exhilarating to be alone.

The 'priest' hummed to himself in the back of the van, his hands clasped over a rosary out of habit. His fingers counted through the beads as his mind focused on the task ahead. She was expecting him, though not this soon. As long as she had kept her hands off of what he had entrusted to her care. It would not do - would not do at all! - if there had been any sculpting done.

Eszerbet was Sabbat, and loyal. More loyal than Katarina knew, and much more involved. But the Archbishop of Moscow was not ready to know all of his plans. She most likely never would be.

The panel sided van stopped at a set of gates, and Nicholas roused himself from his thoughts and caused the ghoul to look to the cameras and utter the passwords. Mortals were so easy to manipulate it was laughable. The gates opened, and the van drove through.

[Erzsebet]

Word of the Cardinals' early arrival had made it's way to mistress of the estate before his car had gotten half way up the drive. He would be greeted by the twin guards who would lead him through the darkened halls into her parlor.

Ghouls roamed the manor house, their low groans mingling with the sounds of the country outside. Niccolis' arrival was a surprize, but she knew he would come. Whispers of the Archbishops' departure had brought a smile to her face, but that was something they would discuss later. He was here to reclaim something that had been left in her care, with strict instructions not to alter it no matter how tempting it may be. The tiny girl sat in an overstuffed chair, thumbing casually through a well worn book, waiting rather impatiently for his appearance in the doorway.

[Niccoli Cento]

His scarlet suit was immaculate, and in stark contrast to the dim interior of Ezserbet's estate. The large schlatcha guards greeted him at the door and led him in silence to the parlour.

The diminutive Tzminisce did not rise as he entered, but he didn't expect her to. She was kicking her feet as she looked in a large book, her shoes skimming above the carpet but not quite reaching the floor. She was, as usual, as pretty as a doll, her features only enhanced by the fine stitchwork she had used, rather than marred.

Nicholas smiled in greeting and inclined his head with respect for her age. "Ezserbet, it is good to see you. I heard you put on quite a show in London, not only for the Camarilla but for the Archbishop as well." His tone indicated it was something of an inside joke - Ezserbet knew his plans for London. However, she would probably still be furious about the Tremere traitor. "I have sent her back to London to continue the work."

He took a seat without asking, crossing his legs and admiring his matching red shoes.

[Erzsebet]

"Mmmhmm."

The book shut as she nodded and folded her hands across her lap. Her face remained emotionless as she waited for him to settle into a seat. Erzsebet wouldn't allow him to see her displeasure at having to work with the sorcerer.

"Everything is slowly falling into place. Even if working with the tremere was, unexpected. "

[Niccoli Cento]

Niccoli sighed, “An unfortunate situation, to be sure. I did not warn you ahead of time because I wanted to make sure your reaction was authentic. We do not want Gordislava becoming more suspicious than she needs to be.

“Vishnyakov will be dealt with in time. Once he is separated from the Archbishop then you and yours may deal with him as you see fit. Until that time, however, you will have to tolerate his presence.” The Cardinal removed a speck of lint from his suit and flicked it away. “Will that be satisfactory?”

[Erzsebet]

The girl bowed her head, biting her lip for a moment then nodded once more.

"Yes, for now I suppose it will have to be." A childish grin graced her features at the thought of getting her hands on Vishnyakov. The thought of turning him into an end-table or foot stool made her grin wider.

Her book was tossed onto the floor as she stood, gesturing for Niccoli to join her. The pair left the parlour, walking down a dimly lit hallway decorated with dusty portraits of Erzsebets' long-dead kin.

"You must tell me how the Archbishop took her reassignment to London."

[Niccoli Cento]

"Badly," Niccoli smiled, adding, "She hid her feelings, but I know her well enough that it was obvious she thinks I am up to something." He looked down at his companion, "Which I am, but she will not figure it out. She lacks the capacity."

He reached as though to touch Erzsebet's hair, but stopped short. Holding his hands behind his back, he fell a step behind his host and followed her.

[Erzsebet]

"Good, good. I expected nothing less from her. I only wish I had been there to see her reaction for myself."

They continued to the end of the hall, through a doorway and down a short flight of stairs to her "work" room. Essentially, it was a torture chamber - tools lay scattered on a large wooden table, and several cages and cells lined one wall.

"Even if she does figure out our plans, it will be far too late for her to do anything about it."

[Niccoli Cento]

Niccoli viewed the room with some amusement, eyeing the apparently empty cages. Last time he had been in this room the cages had been full. It had been... enlightening, to say the least. The Cardinal smiled slightly, "Taking a break from your experiments?"

[Erzsebet]

"Yes. An unintentional break."

She sighed heavily as they walked passed the empty cells.

"My pets couldn't handle their alterations and died. I haven't had time to find more playthings."

[Niccoli Cento]

"Too bad," he murmured, following his hostess out of the room and down a narrow stone passageway. After a few moments they stopped in front of another row of cages, of various sizes. One was occupied.

He pursed his thin lips and studied the creature inside. "Are you sure you have not altered it?" Nicholas frowned, "It looks ... thin."

Walking closer, the Cardinal squatted in front of the cage. "Quite docile, however."

[Erzsebet]

"You said I couldn't play with it, and I havent...well, not in that way. No alterations. It won't eat properly and I can not force it to."

She rocked back and forth on her heels, hands clasped behind her back. She looked down at him, once again taking on a child-like quality.

"I took care of it as best I could."

[Niccoli Cento]

"I'm sure you did, child." Nicholas straightened up, brushing imaginary dirt from his red suit. "Hopefully I can teach it to use its talents, though I'm not sure how."

He turned to look at Erzerbet, "I am sending you some more pets to replace the ones you lost on New Years. Before the week is out." He paused, "Can it be loaded into the van I brought?"

[Erzsebet]

That childish grin returned as the rocking stopped - the mention of more ghouls was nearly enough to send her arms around the Cardinals' neck with a squeal of glee. She thought better of it, instead scampering out of the room to fetch her schlatcha. They could easily load the van without bringing any harm to the creature in the cage.

[Sonya Tvarivich]

The bright lights hurt her eyes. Where were they taking her?

Sonya, though she barely knew her own name, crouched at the bottom of her cage, crushing herself back into the corner as the schlatcha carried her out into a large garage. She whimpered as the cage was shoved inside of a van and secured, and shook with fear at the noise of the door slamming.

Her light blue eyes were downcast, but occasionally she would look around, trying to figure out where she was and where the most danger would come from.

[Niccoli Cento]

He could still feel Erzsebet's arms around his neck, and Niccoli felt like whistling as he was escorted back up to the house proper by a ghoul. He, of course, did not. She really was beautiful, especially considering her bloodline.

At the top of the stairs Erzsebet greeted him, pestering him with questions about the kine he would be sending. "All in good time, my friend." Nicholas was loathe to leave, but impatient to get his prisoner home.