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#Post#: 989--------------------------------------------------
Grim Embrace: Strange Bedfellows (1940)
By: MAT Date: February 22, 2025, 1:22 pm
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Character: Rudolph Longstaff
Location: Asperg, Germany
Year: 1940
The moon was completely obscured by thick clouds, casting the
streets of Asperg in a deep darkness. The occasional lamp pole
or doorway lantern threw out tiny blankets of warm light, but
they were tiny, isolated pockets in a swathe of shadow that
stretched across the entire country town and its 4,000
residents. From time to time, a strong wind kicked up through
the narrow, cobblestone alleyways, and above, the tree branches
swayed almost violently.
A storm was coming.
Rudolph walked hurriedly down the lane, crossing an interchange
to enter a small park. He didn’t really know where he was
going. He didn’t really know why. All he knew was a pulsing
sensation in his otherwise dead heart that drove him forward.
It wasn’t enough to overwhelm him; he still had his wits about
him. He’d managed to evade the Orpo - so far - despite the fact
that they seemed to be everywhere. Something big was starting
to happen in the town, but he didn’t know what and he didn’t
care. By the time it all went down, he planned to be long gone.
The clean-shaven young man came to stop under the creaking
branches of an enormous oak tree. Here, behind the bushes and
away from the streets, he felt a small release; felt some
anxiety swirl away. He really should have known better.
“Well. If it isn’t the amazing Dr. Fraus.”
Rudy flicked his gaze to the left, where before there had been
only empty space, and now stood a man very familiar to him. It
was his sire, Tamas, who had embraced him and left him at the
tender mercies of Valerius, the Would-Be Prince of London. A
flush of hatred and anger hit his stomach and spilled up his
throat. To his credit, he managed to keep the bulk of it from
manifesting on his face, though his lips curled ever so slightly
into the smallest of sneers.
“Alte Füchse gehen schwer in die Falle,” Rudy greeted the other
Ravnos; his voice low and graveled.
“Do you consider yourself an ‘old fox’?” Tamas asked, letting
out a brittle chuckle. “You’re still just a pup.”
Rudy narrowed his eyes. “What do you want.”
Tamas reached up and pulled off his signature rose-tinted
glasses, folding them carefully and placing them in the breast
pocket of his suit coat. “I want your help.”
Rudolph snorted. “And I want you to go away.”
“Why do you think you ended up in this quaint little town, boy?
I called to you through the blood, and you answered. You didn’t
have a choice.”
“Well, that’s at least keeping in theme, isn’t it. For all your
talk about freedom, you’ve never really given me the freedom of
choice.”
“Oh poor little Rudolph. How far you’ve come from servicing the
clients of the Friendly Bell. A century of existence beyond
what you ever would have had. Entire lifetimes of indulgences.
Of freedoms. All of that you owe to me.”
“The only thing I owe you is that shiv from Parliament Square,
and I know just where I’m going to stick it.”
“Rebel, rebel, rebel. How much has changed, and yet, how
little. But not tonight, I think. You may have noticed things
happening in this backwards little town.”
Rudolph glanced aside and shrugged, though it may as well have
been a confirmation of the fact.
“The Nazis have been using Hohenasperg to house political
enemies for some time, but soon they’re going to use it to
deport the Sinti.”
Crossing his arms, the younger Ravnos looked back to Tamas and
gave a helpless little smile. “Well. A broom doesn’t sweep
itself, does it,” he retorted with just the right amount of
callous jest, only because he knew how much it would irritate
the other vampire. Unlike many of his former clanmates, Rudolph
had no ties to the nomadic peoples, and cared as much or as
little for them as any other mortal kine.
“Mmm. I missed your particular brand of humor, Rudolph. I want
to get my relatives out of the region and I want you to help
me.”
“And just how do you expect me to help you do that? My auto
only comfortably seats two, I’m afraid, and that seat is already
spoken for. I can put you in the boot, but I’d much rather give
it to you.”
“Don’t be coy,” Tamas snapped. “I know you have a contact in
the SS. Someone you’ve probably addled with morphine to ensure
your business dealings aren’t disrupted. Someone who can get you
papers to cross the border. I need to know who it is.”
“Even if all that was true - which it isn’t,” he said, lying
easily, “it’s too risky. Also, there’s the small matter that I
don’t give a damn. Poor little Tamas; his family imperiled!”
Anger started to build up in Rudolph’s heart; a heat that made
the hairs on his arms prick up. “I don’t have a family. I don’t
have any mortal relatives, thanks to you,” he hissed. “You
locked me in a room - starving - with the mother of my unborn
child tied up in a corner. You knew what would happen, and you
thought it would be amusing. Well. I may just be a ‘pup’, but I
know men, Tamas. I can look into the future, and I’ve seen what
happens to your dirty band of undesirables. If you’re lucky,
they’ll all simply be shot in the head. You want them away?
You’re not a cobblehead, do it yourself.”
A pause filled the space between them, and the silence was only
broken by the groaning and creaking of the tree limbs above
them. Wind pushed through the leaves, causing them to rustle
and sending several fluttering down to the ground. Both of them
knew that Rudolph had been coming close to loosing the Beast,
and both of them knew that neither could afford a frenzy.
“My resources are stretched too thin,” Tamas explained quietly;
truthfully. “I’m trying to move too many people at once. That
**** Toreador Hildebrandt has spread several of my names and
likenesses to her booted thugs. I need an intermediary. Someone
she doesn’t know. Another Toreador. Like your old friend Abel.”
Rudy unclenched his jaw. “And I...still need a reason.”
Tamas leveled a dark look at his childe. “I’m sure the
Schutzstaffel would be delighted to hunt down a British spy in
the heart of Germany. Or a French officer across the border.
That’s the thing about your predilection towards false
identities, Mr. Longstaff. I can pin crimes on every one of
them.”
For a moment, the threat felt real, but then Rudy realized it
was just a feint; an illusion forged with words instead of light
or sound. “Really. With Hildebrandt and Stuckart chomping at
your heels and your kine throngs suckling at your teats? You’re
bluffing - and who would even believe you? Burn me, and you
burn your only source of help.”
Tamas smiled; that calm smile that always unnerved Rudolph so.
“How do you know about Stuckart?”
The younger Ravnos shook his head slightly. “How do I know of
him? Oh, I did my research. Unlike you, I don’t just blindly
traipse my way through someone’s territory flaunting their
authority. Or...did you mean how did I know you angered him?
That was just a toss of the dice, and the odds were in my favor.
From what I hear, he’s about as petulant and vengeful as they
come, so you being you means that you were probably just
screwed.”
The elder’s smile grew into a small grin. “Fine. The stick
didn’t work, so I’ll try the carrot. Your nordic lady isn’t the
only one who can teach you things. I will owe you a sizable
debt. Surely that can carry some great value compared to what
little I ask.”
Rudolph was silent again for a long time; a stretch that
probably seemed agonizing to his sire. In fact, as the seconds
grew longer and longer, Tamas found his patience waning.
“Just do it!” the elder Ravnos barked. Desperation wasn’t the
only thing in his voice; the words also carried influence; the
mystic power etched into the curse shared by blood. It was a
gamble; if it didn’t work, it would be ruinous. “Well?!”
Finally, Rudolph shrugged again. “Fine. I will try. But I’m
going to meet the contact alone.”
“No. I have to be there.”
Rudy shook his head. “It’s a delicate situation. A stranger
will spook him.”
“I am going with you,” Tamas insisted.
“Why?” the younger man asked. “You think I’m going to sell you
out? Throw you to the wolves. Because that’s exactly what you
would do if the situation was reversed, innit? No. No, you’re
not coming. You’re just going to have to trust me. And your
anxiety over wondering if the next bump against the door is a
squad of jackboots kicking it down. Hah. That will delight me
immensely. We’ll meet here again in two night’s time. Until
then, this little reunion has been promiscuous enough for one
evening.”
Without letting his sire respond, Rudolph adjusted his lucky
newsboy cap and turned, heading out of the park.
—
Rudolph rapped sharply at the door, the sound crisp against the
quiet of the corridor. A moment before it opened, the faintest
shift of air behind him signaled Tamas’s presence. He had
de-obfuscated without a sound. Rudolph did not react outwardly,
but his mind bristled at the intrusion. When the door swung
open, Dr. Karl von Arent’s eyes flickered with recognition
before narrowing at the unexpected visitor.
“Who is this?” Karl asked, his tone clipped, suspicious.
Rudolph turned his head sharply, his dark brown eyes burning as
they locked onto Tamas. A message unspoken, one that should not
have needed saying. Then, with a smooth pivot, he turned back to
Karl and gestured casually toward Tamas. “One of my regional
distributors, Herr Doktor. Johann Meissner. He may be taking
over part of my supply network.”
Karl von Arent’s frown deepened. “I don’t like surprises.”
“I sympathize entirely, and I deeply apologize,” Rudolph said,
pouring on his usual charm. He lifted the satchel he carried, a
hint of mischief in his smile. "I come bearing gifts I hope will
soothe the offense, though.”
Karl hesitated only a moment before stepping aside. “Very well,
come in, then, lest you be seen.”
Inside, Rudolph produced the expensive cognac and the large
supply of morphine, setting them down with practiced ease. He
made a point of not overstaying his welcome, quickly steering
the conversation toward the matter at hand. “I don’t want to
impose on your time, Herr Doktor. We had an arrangement - if
you’d be so kind.”
Karl studied him a moment longer before turning to his desk and
producing a set of travel papers, placing them with deliberate
precision on the polished surface. Rudolph reached for them, but
before he could secure them, Tamas spoke.
“I’ll need some as well,” the elder Ravnos said, his voice a
shade too insistent.
Rudolph stiffened. He had hoped to avoid this. His mind
scrambled for a way to smooth the situation. “The maintenance of
the supply network is becoming more difficult,” he said
smoothly. “Legitimate travel documents would ease matters
tremendously.”
Karl’s expression remained unmoved. “It isn’t possible right
now.”
Tamas, however, was not one to accept denial easily. His eyes
darkened as he pushed his will forward, reaching for something
deeper, commanding. But something was wrong. The command should
have taken hold, should have bent Karl’s mind, but the doctor
remained firm. The resistance sent a ripple of unease through
the room.
Karl’s face darkened with realization, his voice turning sharp.
“Enough. Get out. Now.”
The tension snapped like a wire drawn too tight. In an instant,
Tamas’s form blurred - his fingers elongated, sharpening into
talons. A blur of motion, the sickening tear of flesh. Karl von
Arent’s neck opened in a gruesome spray, blood splattering in a
wide arc as the doctor crumpled to the floor, dead before he
could even cry out.
Tamas fell upon him, greedily drinking from the gaping wound,
lost in his hunger. But when he finally lifted his head, panting
from the rush of it, he realized he was alone. The door stood
ajar. Rudolph was gone.
—
Rudolph burst into the dimly lit room where Auda waited, his
breath short, his body tense with barely contained anger. She
barely had time to register his entrance before her gaze settled
on his face. A single drop of blood marred his cheek. She raised
a finger, tracing the spatter with casual detachment.
“Have you been feeding?” she asked, her voice more amused than
accusatory.
Rudolph blinked, then swore under his breath. He had left so
quickly he hadn’t even thought to check himself. “We have to
leave.”
“Did you get the papers?” she asked, already moving.
“Yes.” He held them up, then cursed again. A dark stain marred
the corner - blood. “****. ****. That **** gobshite destroys
everything he touches.”
Auda examined the papers, tilting her head. “We can try to
remove the stain.”
“No. No, that will waste time we don’t have and might damage the
paper.” His mind worked fast, already formulating a solution.
“We’ll just say wine spilled on it. A faint odor should be easy
enough to produce with Chimerstry.”
Auda nodded, rolling her shoulders in an easy stretch. “A little
Presence never hurt, either.”
“Whatever the case, we need to leave. Tonight,” he said.
She met his gaze without hesitation, offering no argument, no
frustration - just simple acceptance. “Let’s get moving, then,
love.”
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