Emma stared at the pack of books in her hands and carried them over to a nearby desk, which felt pretty lightweight despite the thick pages and the hardcover. It was the second dozen of books that she had searched through this week, most of them having details about the past of some ancients and the clans that had kept on existing until today. She put the books down before pulling a chair to sit on and took one of them from the bundle, pushing away random papers with written notes to open some space. The mansion had a library as old as the building itself and provided her with a wide range of resources to go by.
Despite having a new lead to work on, she had near to no knowledge about the world of the kindred. The more she looked into it the less she grasped the wide sea of unknown around her. It wasn't just the kindred that occupied the world of the supernatural, and although pretty rare there were still some other creatures related to old curses and myths. She knew for one necromancers were one of them along with their thralls, and also ghouls which were basically humans endorsed with vampire blood. Some other myths included creatures like reapers, banshees and maenads, most known to be very few in numbers. It was a strange pattern that kept occuring with every new supernatural she found out about.
Breezing past through several books gave her basic knowledge on the clans and the ancients. The Elders Council consisted of a group of strong vampires that kept hierarchy and order in place, while ancients were more on the chaotic side. They never had any specific information related to their age and nobody seemed to bother them or question their actions. Nehut had been a strict supporter of many anarchist groups throughout the history, as Dominic had mentioned before. There were other ancients like Valeris who had been on the more sophisticated side of the spectrum and Ophen, a current supporter of the council. Emma couldn't help but wonder if she would find Jean's mother in between those names, but she doubted the books had much information about the remainder.
Another few hours into research proved futile to be of any use and Emma sighed in frustration, closing the book in her hands and putting it aside on the ever growing pile. She had started doubting if any of the books in the library had information that would guide her through this mess. She had just finished stacking the books in an order when her attention switched back to the door to see Danielle enter with a cup of coffee in her hands, closing it after her and walking over with quiet steps. She stood next to the table and sipped from her coffee,
"You should take a short break, you've been here for days."
"It's alright, I don't feel tired."
Danielle put a hand on her shoulder,
"Maybe you'd like some company then?"
Emma looked up at her and smiled,
"Sure, I'm not doing any better on my own anyway."
Danielle pushed a few books aside and put the coffee mug on the table, reaching for a few notes and looking through them.
"You've done a lot of research."
She switched through a few pages with interested eyes.
"So there really are other creatures among us huh. I guess it'd be silly to think that vampires exist while no other supernatural does."
Emma nodded, drumming her nails on the wooden table.
"I don't think there's enough information on them in this library though. I've been wanting to have a word with Kat when she comes back, she seems to know more about these."
"Oh?" Danielle switched in her seat, taking a sip from her coffee, "I saw her on my way here, she should still be around."
Emma beamed up at that, almost throwing the notes in her hand aside while sitting up.
"Oh, okay good, mind keeping an eye on these while I'm gone?"
Danielle gave her a curious look as she held the coffee mug close to her lips.
"Sure, I trust that you won't disappear for a week and make my butt stick to this chair while I wait?"
Emma gave an exaggerated sigh and Danielle laughed,
"Just kidding, go catch her."
"Thanks."
Emma smiled before turning back and walked out of the library. She came to a stop near the stairs, keeping her ears open for any kind of sound. Dominic was still in the hall concentrated on his book and soft chatter came from downstairs. A sound outside took her attention and she strutted out into the backyard, taking fast steps down the field before coming to a slow. She saw Kat waiting while staring at the tattered walls of the mansion. She stood there with her hands in her pockets, waiting silently without a word. Emma took a few steps forward.
"Hey, can we talk?"
Kat turned her attention to Emma, giving a soft nod.
"I think we should."
She turned back before making her way to the forest with a slow tempo. Emma ran to catch up with her. It was a few minutes of trekking through the forest before Kat broke the silence.
"I already know who that scent belongs to, so instead tell me how that happened."
Emma stalled for a second in confusion, then remembered that Caleb's hoodie had probably left its mark on her body despite taking it off a good while ago.
"That... Well, he saved me from getting trampled by a mob of anarchs."
"He saved you?"
Kat sounded genuinely surprised,
"He pulled me behind an alleyway and hid our tracks. Trust me, I was surprised when I saw him too."
Emma leaned onto the trunk of a tree and dragged her foot on the ground, creating a small cloud of dust.
"I also noticed something else. The group of anarchs that jumped on me weren't all vampires."
"Ah, that's their thing. Siding with humans every now and then is their way of saying 'fuck you' to the council."
"They can do that? I thought you guys were under hiding."
Kat put her hand down at her side and leaned on a hip,
"They can't go and claim their existence to the world of course, Nehut wouldn't allow that. Trust me, even if some of those people were to reach out to the media they'd just be shut down."
She gave a knowing look,
"Vampires play in the shadows, remember?"
A chill went down Emma's spine with her words, just how much power did they hold around the world?
"What about other supernaturals?"
Kat shifted in her place before crossing her arms. Her mimics showed displease, almost pulling her upper lip in a snarl.
"What of them?"
"Dominic said they could have something to do with Jean's disappearance. Maybe you would know more about that."
Kat stood quiet for a while, she almost seemed sorrowful for a second.
"Even if they did it's not like I can go and look into it. Most of them do not fancy kindred a lot, especially ones as infamous as we are."
Emma tilted her head questioningly,
"Aren't all kindred infamous in a way?"
"Yeah but most of them didn't serve some psycho bitch of an ancient like we did. Your name can't really recover from something like that."
Emma considered her words and then looked away.
"What does that mean for us then? Are we just gonna sit with our hands tied?"
Kat opened her mouth, hesitating for a second before speaking,
"Well, you might be able to do something."
Emma gave her a curious look,
"Go on."
"There's an underground haven that is a neutral area for the supernatural, if you can get inside we might find something that's actually worth looking into."
Emma's eyebrows shot up in surprise,
"There's a place like that?"
"Yeah, it's called the White Heather. It's been there ever since-" Kat abruptly stopped her sentence, biting her words, "Ever since a long while."
Emma tilted her head questioningly but didn't comment on Kat's strange behavior.
"I get how that might help us, but why me?"
"Most of the people that have seen your face is dead, including your master. That puts you in a position of mystery which the rest of us don't have."
"And you don't think Caleb will be a problem?"
"No, if anything I think they have an interest in you which can be either good or really bad. We don't need to worry about them for now."
"Them?"
"Caleb and Jes, you know they are a duo. His decisions are most likely influenced by her."
Emma bit her lip and nodded, her sharp teeth drawing a drop of blood. She licked it up and stopped leaning on the tree.
"I'll do it, as long as it helps us find Jean."
Kat seemed relieved,
"Okay, great. I have an intel who can help us out but before that I'll teach you about a few things."
"I'd appreciate that."
Kat pushed some of leaves on the ground away with her shoe and dug her heel in the soft terrain.
"First things first, do not let anyone touch you when you're there. Most supernaturals have the ability to create some kind of an influence through physical contact. That goes for a few of the kindred too but they will most likely prefer physical brawl."
Emma's eyes switched down to the holster that stood on Kat's belt, it made sense that she had specialized in ranged combat,
"What kind of an influence can they have on you, for example?"
"Well, maenads have an enchanting touch that will fill you with desire and cloud your judgement. Then there are kindred like Linda who can suck the life out of you with a simple touch."
"Sounds nice."
"Yeah, no, you really don't want to experience that."
Kat looked like she had something bitter on her tongue and Emma wondered if she was speaking from personal experience.
"Just avoid physical contact if you can. Also I think this should be obvious but do not tell anyone the real reason you're there. Jean isn't exactly a charity figure in the community."
"Okay, I'll be careful."
A few minutes of silence followed their conversation and Kat dropped her stance.
"You know, I never thanked you."
"Huh?"
Emma looked at her with a confused expression and she went on,
"Back there you really saved my ass, Jeselyn would have made a cocktail out of my insides if you hadn't stopped her."
It took Emma a few seconds to realize what she was talking about,
"Oh... It's not like I could just leave you like that."
"Most would have."
Kat added nonchalantly and began another stroll down the forest. Emma followed behind, keeping her pace close.
"What you have done takes solid guts. Almost makes me believe this plan could work."
"Almost?"
She kicked a rock on her way,
"Don't get me wrong, but there's still a very high chance you could die doing this. If people get an idea of who you are they'll rip you apart."
Emma winced at her words and looked down, watching the dry leaves crunch under her feet.
"That's a risk I have to take then."
Kat glanced back,
"You're taking this surprisingly better than I thought."
She walked on in thought before slowing down,
"I'll get in contact with my intel, he should answer back in a few days. Keep in mind that you might not be back for a while so maybe you should go talk to your friend."
Emma nodded,
"I will, and thank you for trusting me."
"Not sure why you'd thank me for a suicide mission but I'll take it."
Her usual sarcasm made Emma smile and Kat returned it after a sigh, melting the tension a bit. She stepped back after a while and turned to the roadside.
"Get ready, I'll see you soon."