Canticles of the Prophet Zachariah:

A New Understanding

Notes by Anthony

“I yelled for Cedric to keep Ben hidden and raced downstairs with Asa and Comet. I opened the front door. I thought I was dreaming. That couldn’t be Rose. Rose’s hand wasn’t shoved through the heart of a ghoul. Blood wasn’t spurting from his mouth and chest. But this was real. Asa tried to pull me inside as he shouted for Nana. I stood firm. I had to stop this. Something bad had happened to Rose. She needed our help to get out. 

“My mouth was dry. I licked my lips. I had commanded humans before. I shouted across the field: “Rose, STOP!” But she sank her teeth into his heart without a glance in my direction. The blood flowed faster than Rose could drink, pouring over her neck and shirt. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Comet drop into obfuscate and circle around Rose.

“The ghouls fired on Rose. Most missed, but one bullet struck her forehead. It healed fast, barely leaving a mark. I turned to Asa. I tried to sound brave. “No one else is coming. We have to be the heroes. Rose needs us.” I took a step forward. Asa grabbed my hand and followed. 

“A burst of energy rippled out, and a nigh-translucent barrier formed in front of us. It moved as we walked. I glanced behind. It was centered on Asa and extended about three yards around him. I had the feeling that as long as I stayed within it, I was safe. I squeezed his hand in thanks.

“I watched Rose leap at a second ghoul. Her claws slashed across his chest and arms, sending his shots wide. She stepped on top of him as he coughed up blood. Then the crazed, wild light drained from her eyes. She blinked. She looked lost and confused. I walked forward, hands outstretched and held low to show I was unarmed. I wasn’t a threat. I wasn’t going to hurt her. Asa and his barrier stayed in front of me, though it stopped just short of Rose. 

“I stepped to the edge of the barrier and knelt beside her. I told her: “I’m here. It’s okay. You’re safe.” The ghoul choked and gurgled at her feet. Rose’s eyes focused on Asa. Blood dripped from her lips as she spoke: “Asa. Need you to fix him.” Asa hesitated, maintaining the barrier. He could not move closer to her without dropping it. Without exposing me to her teeth and claws, however docile she appeared now.

“Gwen stood at by the farmhouse. She was flanked by walking skeletons. Just like Jason and the Argonauts. I recognized their bones from the Temple. She ordered them to grab Rose. I turned to Rose, keeping her eyes fixed on mine. “You promised you would protect me, remember? Let me protect you, now.” She whispered: “I don’t deserve it.” She sounded ready to die.

“I crawled through the barrier to sit beside her. It broke like mist and reformed behind me. Nothing protected me now. I had to trust Rose. I hugged her. Blood smeared across my shirt. “Let me be the judge of that,” I whispered. I waited, breathing slowly and deeply to keep Rose calm. If the ghouls or skeletons attacked Rose, they would have to go through me. I was her shield.

“Gwen’s sigh was audible across the field. She told everyone to stand down and for us to wait in the Temple. She sounded pissed, though she doesn’t sound happy at the best of times. 

“We sat on the floor of the Control Room. It felt like group therapy. Gwen spoke first. What happened here was unacceptable, she said. She is on our side and wants us to work together, but she has responsibilities. And if she does not fulfill them, if she looks weak, then she can’t protect us. She won’t be able to maintain control of the Temple. Gwen asked Rose what happened. 

“Rose spoke. While her body frenzied, her spirit woke up in a river. She spoke with Tala, the wolf spirit bonded to her when she joined the Sisterhood. Rose had done monstrous things, both as a Seth A’dar and with us. The Beast had grown in power as she slipped further from humanity. I remembered George telling me about that at Hotel Americana. Most kindred kept control of our Beasts by acting human. We followed the Path of Humanity. With all the violence she had dealt and been dealt, the Beast had nearly consumed her. But with Tala’s help, she had chosen the Path of Spirits today. Her purpose would be to protect nature and keep the land pure.

“Gwen said she would trust Rose to keep herself in check, though asked that Rose not go off on her own or interface with the Temple until she had proven she could. Rose agreed.

“Asa spoke next. He had faith that Rose would follow this new path. But he had other concerns. He didn’t like or trust Gwen. For all her claims that she knew best and should make the decisions, she missed that Rose was losing control. When the map of Enoch-called-Gomorrah burned my hands, Gwen had been more upset at its loss than my injuries. I ducked my head. I didn’t want to be the source of conflict between them.

Gwen responded: “Ezekiel. You think I am callous and cruel. But trust above all else that I act in my self-interest. For as long as we pursue the Temple and fight against the Tremere and others who desire it, I will act in your best interest, for it is my best interest. If that changes, you can reassess later. For now, the three of you are assets to me.” Asa responded that not everyone is cold like her. If she wants us to stay, she needs to keep a better eye on us. Gwen acquiesced. She was pragmatic. We would be successful together.

“All eyes were on me. I was nervous. I wanted us to get along. To be friends. I told them that I was scared. I was still new. But I knew what the Beast was. We all have it in us. And I have had dreams and visions where it takes control. Where I kill Ben over and over again. And if time travel is real and I’m connected to previous timelines, then maybe my dreams are memories from when I’ve lost control. Maybe I am not so different from Rose. Asa shook his head, telling me it wasn’t my fault. But I wasn’t finished. I said that I forgave Rose. I trust her. I trust Gwen and Asa, too. I want to preserve this world, and I think the three of them do, too.

“While I spoke, I could feel the three of them relaxing. But I wasn’t done yet. I had to bring us together as a team. I grinned and stuck my hand, palm down, in the center of our circle. Rose and Asa recognized the gesture and groaned. But I could hear their laughter, too. They stuck their hands on top of mine, and Gwen followed suit. On the count of three, I called out “Gooooo, Gateways!” and pushed everyone’s hands into the air. The three grumbled but played along. Just the Malkavian acting crazy again. But I’d accomplished my mission. They were united, even if it was just to laugh at something silly.

“It was getting late. Or rather, early. Gwen released the ghouls I mind-wiped and asked to speak with Rose alone. Asa and I went to one of the larger bedrooms and pulled the bedding onto the floor. He told me to have hope. Ben would wake soon. But until then, he would guard me when I slept and tell me when the nightmares were over. That’s where I am now, listeners. Recording the events of the past two nights for you in the room beside Asa’s. For those who might have tuned out during part of my riveting broadcast, that would include visiting the Giovanni Embassy, raiding Prentiss’s apartment, exploring the Temple, and calming Rose from her Frenzy. Hopefully the next few nights will be calmer. Doubt, it, though.

* * *

“I couldn’t move. My consciousness was trapped inside hundreds of bones. Thousands. Some were stapled to the walls, others melded to them. The air hummed with something like electricity. An explosion shattered the room. I clung to the bones as they whipped through the air. Outside, the world was dead. I knew that nothing would ever live there, again. Instead, skeletons wandered the earth, their tattered flesh and bones decaying into dust. Spirits screamed and howled, but they were soon drowned out by the oncoming Storm. It washed over the land like a tsunami, obliterating away everything. Then it hit me, and I was gone.

“I woke. The room smelled of blood. Asa was awake, drawing something in his notebook. He said a symbol had bled from my back and through my shirt, though it was now totally obscured. He’d captured most of it, though. I grabbed him a blood bag and tried to read it. Something like “The Storm and the Fools who Release the Maelstrom from which Abel shall cry his last.” Asa and I started to speculate, but I felt a familiar itching on the back of my neck. Joan. She needed me in the cobweb. I felt the ghost of Asa’s arms around me as I collapsed.

“Joan stood  before me in her Gallaudet library. It felt unfinished, like the half-remembered idea of a place. She seemed to vibrate with constrained energy. I knelt and held her tiny shoulders in my hands. She was running, Joan said. Her voice was high and sharp. Panicked. The Lady in the Lake had found OTCAL. Attacked Samal and Nikoli. Teeth sinking into Samal. Joan had taken the hand to distract Ruth, hoping it would give them an opening to flee. 

“I told her to get to the Wall. We’d bring her to the other side somehow. The world shifted around me. We ran together along train tracks that crossed a river in a small forest. The Bubble rose before us, pink and menacing. Distored picket-fence suburban homes peeked through the branches just beyond the Bubble. Joan said she’d try to make it, but this was her time. She had seen it in my eyes the first time she met me. 

“Even in the chaos, listeners, she sounded at peace. Whole. Like she was finally placing the last piece of a puzzle that had lain unfinished for centuries. “January. 866. Third night of the siege. Paris. The Path to Salvation is thin. Find me. Be judicious in changing the past. Remember: there is no language in the Cobweb.” There was such conviction in her eyes and voice. Devotion. Awe. Faith. I can’t do it justice, listeners. I don’t know if I can ever do her justice. Live up to the Prophet she had known. But I have to try.”