Disclaimer: Victoria, Lenilia, Justin, Laurana, Violet, and all other unknowns belong to me.  Victoria is the type of vampire from the Buffy universe.  Armand, Lestat, and David Talbot belong to Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles.

**This is rated R.**  Do not read if you are underage where you live or are squemish about vaguely descripted torture.  I started out this saga swearing I wouldn't write anything above a PG-13 level, but then those scars appeared on Victoria's back and I had to write the story....  So!  You have been warned.

Author's Note: This story takes place directly after "The Quest," and parts of it might make more sense if you read that first.

Prologue
Mid July, 1999

Screams tore through the ranch house, ripping a matching trail through Justin's heart.  Then there was only the sound of Victoria's ragged breathing.  She had run out of energy to sob about ten minutes ago, but somehow still managed to dredge up enough to scream.  Justin did not know which was worse.

They had tied her to the bed after the first panic attack, during which she had attacked the person closest to her hands.  The livid scratches on Laurana's face and down her arms had all but healed.  Removing all movable objects from the room had been next, when Victoria's telekinetic wind had gone to gale force.  That energy had run out after the third panic attack, but the antique bedside table was now little more than kindling.

Five panic attacks in less than an hour was a record as far as Victoria was concerned.  But she definitely had an excuse.  Finally Laurana took the knife from Justin's limp hand and gestured to the door.  Violet, the Australian ranch's caretaker, entered with towels and a bowl of warm water.  She tried to help, but Justin silently insisted on cleaning the blood off Victoria's scarred back himself.  Laurana and Violet glanced worriedly at each other, but Justin didn't seem to realize how badly his hands were shaking.

Laurana untied Victoria's wrists and ankles after Justin was finished and wasn't sitting on her back anymore.  The apparent teenager immediately shuddered violently and curled into a tight ball on her side.  Violet pulled the bloody blanket out from under her.  At Laurana's encouraging nod, Justin took off his blood-splattered shirt, pulled up the clean blanket Violet had brought in earlier, and curled around his closest friend.  He needed the comfort as much as she did.

Part 1
Early July, 1999 ~ Two weeks earlier

About half an hour after sunset, the vampire Armand entered the living room of his private rooms on Night Island, his Florida resort.  A backpack, a duffel bag, and weapons bag similar to his friend Laurana's lay next to one of the couches.  So as Armand rounded the couch, he expected to see Laurana's silvery blonde hair spilled across the couch pillow.

Instead, he saw the short brown hair that belonged to Victoria DiThon Kestral.  She was curled up and fast asleep - though the tension lines between her eyes gave evidence that she was not very relaxed.  Armand did not have the heart to wake the girl, so he covered her with a blanket and settled at his desk on the other side of the room to do some paperwork.

About three hours later, Lestat and David Talbot entered the room talking animatedly about some movie they had just seen.  At the sudden noise, Victoria bolted straight up and drew the stiletto from her wrist sheath.  When she saw the cause and noticed Armand at the desk, she glanced at her watch and groaned.

"I'm sorry, Armand," she said, hastily.  "I meant to be out of here by sunset."  However, when she reached down to grab her bags, she staggered and fell heavily against the arm of the couch.  In an instant, Lestat had her by the elbow and sat her back down on the couch.  Armand stood to pour a tumbler of brandy from the cupboard and walked over to hand it to her, while David re-covered her with the blanket.

Victoria grinned, but it was interrupted by a yawn.  Rubbing her eyes, she took a sip of brandy and said, "Wow.  It's not everyday I get to be spoiled by three gorgeous men."

"You looked so tired I didn't want to wake you," Armand said.  "Are you okay, Victoria?"

Lestat and David took seats, and Armand joined Victoria on the couch.  She gratefully leaned against him.  "Yes, of course I'm fine," she automatically replied.  But Lestat rolled his eyes, and Armand raised his eyebrows at her.  David merely looked thoughtful.  Victoria groaned again, but mentally.  She knew better than to lie around vampires.

Lestat echoed her, though Victoria knew he could not read her thoughts.  "You know better than to lie around us," he said.  "You must really be tired."

Nodding her head reluctantly, Victoria said, "Yeah, this summer has not been good.  I've been in Europe and…and…."  Armand wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face in his chest and cried.

After a few more minutes, she managed to compose herself and looked up again.  "I'm sorry," she said again.  Then she grimaced.  "I seem to be saying that a lot lately," she muttered, mostly to herself.

"Anything you want to talk about?" David asked gently.  He didn't know Victoria as well as Armand did, or even Lestat, but he knew something was wrong.  From what little he knew of the Immortal, she didn't seem the type to break down like this.

Victoria started to nod, then glanced at Lestat.  Immediately, Armand fixed a steely gaze on the younger vampire.  "Out."

"No," Victoria said.  "He can stay.  I just don't want him to give me any 'vampires-are-holier-than-thou' crap.  Because out of a group with four preternatural creatures, it was a human that died."  Lestat looked at her innocently.  "Yeah, whatever, I know you."  At that, she proceeded to tell the three vampires the story.  From her meeting in Paris with Hawaii Davids and her cousin, Illinois Smith, to stealing the mysterious manuscript from them, and later joining the group with her former teacher Methos.  Then from finding Caliburn to the adventure of getting it back from Samuel Zhen, an old enemy of Hawaii's cousin.

"And so she died," Victoria said grimly.  "And if felt like I was being ripped in two when it happened.  Literally."

"Wait, what happened?" David asked.  Victoria gave him a confused look, but explained what had happened more thoroughly.  "Someone stole your power," David immediately said.  "That sounds exactly like being power drained."  As the former head of an organization dedicated to investigating the occult, he was rather an expert in such matters.

"Well, that certainly explains why I feel so damned tired lately," Victoria mused.

"You are, of course, welcome to stay on Night Island while you recover," Armand said.  "Feel free to stay in Laurana's suite - she's not expected back for a few weeks."

She rested her head against Armand's shoulder, and he gently ran his hand through her hair.  "Thank you," she whispered.  "Miami was the only place I could book a flight to on short notice.  Personally, I don't feel up to any sort of challenge right now, much less an actual sword fight.  I was just planning on getting a hotel room somewhere on Night Island and hiding out for awhile."

Armand shook his head.  "It's summer - everything's booked for at least the next week.  No, stay in 'Rana's rooms, that way we'll be able to keep an eye on you while you sleep."  At that, he slipped an arm under her legs and easily stood up.  David gathered up her bags and followed Armand down the hall to Laurana's suite with its large bed and simple living area.  Victoria pulled off her shoes, coat, and jeans and crawled under the down comforter.  Lestat appeared a few minutes later with a tray of food, then the three men left with the order for her to rest.

Victoria stared out the open window at the waves as a cool ocean breeze gently blew over her face.  As tired as she was, she knew sleep would be awhile in coming.

Part 2

In a small room, five men stood around a marble pedestal.  They were dressed eclectically - from elegant business suits to ragged jeans.  What they each had in common was a small onyx earring in their right ears.

One of the men raised his arms and began chanting.  The rest quickly added their voices.  Fueled by the magic in their words, a globe of light appeared over the simple pedestal.  Their mistress had summoned them for a purpose.  It was time to learn what their task would be.

They all stopped chanting at the same time, and the first man asked the first question.  "Why?"

An ethereal voice emanated from the pale glowing orb.  Each of the men knew it intimately, for it was the voice of their mistress, the ancient sorceress Lenilia.  Her smooth, sultry voice commanded complete attention from all five of her chosen servants.  "My power is growing low.  I need the life force of something more than a simple human to supplement it until the eve of the Millennium."

"Where?" asked the next man.  He was a pilot, and would be responsible for getting the five men to Lenilia's chosen destination.

"The resort in Florida known as Night Island, owned by the vampire Armand."

"When?" came the next question.

Lenilia gave a short condescending laugh.  "As soon as possible, of course."

"How?"  This man, as opposed to his compatriots, was the one dressed in ragged jeans.  He was not a traditional businessman by any means.  He would be in charge of actually collecting the victim, for his occupation was that of a bounty hunter.  His black jeans and black shirt only served to highlight the utter darkness of his own earring.

"Only a simple kidnapping, my dearest hunter.  The chosen one will be alone on Night Island, for she has recently suffered a great loss.  Use this opportunity to every advantage."

And finally, "Who?"

The glowing orb suddenly showed an image.  It was a young woman with shoulder length brown hair and piercing blue-gray eyes.  "Her name is Victoria DiThon Kestral," Lenilia said as the image expanded.  The girl was standing on a balcony, staring out over the sea.  Her face was expressionless, but her eyes belied an underlying sadness.

After the five men studied the girl for a few moments, the globe winked out of existence, leaving them blinking in the sudden twilight.  The first man, the oldest in Lenilia's service and the unofficial leader, turned to the pilot and the bounty hunter.  "How soon can we be ready to go?"

The pilot made some mental calculations and replied, "If we leave by tomorrow morning we can be there by evening."

When the leader turned to the bounty hunter, the man added, "It's only a girl.  I have everything we'll need at home.  I'll be ready to go in the morning."  The hunter was actually rather insulted by his mistress' use of his skills.  Though he would never let her know that.

Three of the men left the room, leaving the leader and the bounty hunter behind.  "You don't like this," the leader stated.  "Is it because the victim is a child?"

His companion shook his head slowly.  "No, that doesn't bother me.  What bothers me is that I'm wondering if this is too easy."

It was the leader's turn to shake his head.  "Easy is good, my friend.  Life can't be a complete challenge all the time."  At that, he turned and left the room.

Silently, the hunter began to extinguish the many candles in the room.  In his head, he carefully began formulating the plans to capture Lenilia's next victim.

Part 3

"I told you," Victoria muttered softly, knowing full well that Lestat could hear her, even above the dull roar of the surrounding tourists.  "No 'vampires-are-holier-than-thou' crap."

"When did I say anything?" Lestat protested.  The two were walking down Night Island's main drag, having just left the large movie complex.  Lestat had recently begun watching a movie a night, and Victoria had decided to accompany him that evening.

"You know full well what I mean," Victoria replied sarcastically.  "Oh yeah, 'The characters in "The Matrix" could move just like that if they were vampires.'  When was the last time you dodged a bullet?"  For once, the vampire was silent.  "Uh-huh."

"No, I was just thinking."  He gave Victoria a pained look when he snorted in derision.  "Was your friend killed by a gun?  You never said."  Lestat was rather surprised when she reached over the clasp his hand, but he was fine with acting as her link to the present.

"Hawaii…Hawaii was killed when the monster she beheaded imploded or something.  That was when I got power-drained, or whatever David calls it, and blacked out.  So I don't remember much."  The two kept on walking towards Armand's house, silent for the moment.

Suddenly, "I'm sorry, Lestat.  Here's me, imposing on you guys and acting all sorry for myself.  Maybe I should just leave."

"And where would you go?" Lestat asked quietly.

She shrugged, and shivered in the night air.  Without hesitation, Lestat pulled off his black leather jacket and covered her shoulders with it.  Her jeans and purple tank top had been perfect for that afternoon, but the evening was slightly brisk.  Besides, Lestat didn't need the fashionable jacket anyway.  After a few minutes more of silence, Victoria finally answered, "Probably Australia.  But what I really want is to find Justin."

Lestat nodded slowly.  They walked on, ignoring and ignored by the tourists swirling by.  Conversationally, as if nothing was wrong, Lestat said, "We're being followed."

"I know," Victoria replied.  With a sly smile, she pulled Lestat into a nearby alleyway.  After giving back his jacket and pulling a knife from the sheath on her ankle, Lestat pushed her against the wall and proceeded to kiss her thoroughly, as if that were his intention all along.  When the vampire started heading for her neck, Victoria squeezed his side in warning.  But before she could fend him off, three men appeared in the entrance to the alley.

"You are Victoria DiThon Kestral," stated the center man as they broke apart in feigned surprise.  He had a handgun pointed at her.

Victoria noted idly that it was a Magnum, a gun she reserved for men with inordinately high views of themselves.  But instead of commenting sarcastically, she merely faked confusion.  "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied frantically.  "Don't hurt us, please!  We'll give you our money-"

"Shut up," growled the man to the left.  "We know who you are.  You-" he added to Lestat.  "Walk away now and you won't be hurt."

Lestat glanced at Victoria and she nodded slightly.  Both rushed the three armed men, Lestat snarling and Victoria with knife flashing.

But instead of retreating, as most mortal men were prone to do in the face of two vampires, all of them fired simultaneously.  Victoria dropped like a stone with bullet holes riddling her chest.  Her last sight was of Lestat rising into the air and fleeing.  She didn't fault him in any way.  The men had been after her, and her alone.

But dying still hurt.

Part 4

When Victoria breathed back to life, she found herself in a small room lying on an old cot pushed against the wall.  Everything was painted a dull off-white except for the plain wooden door.  There were no windows, and the cell's only light source came from a bare light bulb in the middle of the ceiling.

She didn't have to check to know that her weapons had been taken.  Her ankle sheath was gone, and the familiar lumps of her throwing stars in her back pockets had disappeared.  And maybe she was a bit precognitive, even if it wasn't as defined as her friend's Justin's or Elizabet's talents, because she had inexplicably forgotten to put on her jewelry before leaving with Lestat.  She had a feeling her various pieces of silver would have been taken, too.

"Brilliant," she muttered to herself.  "This is absolutely brilliant."  Victoria went on from there, raising her voice when she noticed the camera in the corner of her cell.  After insulting her captors' physical descriptions, ancestors, future children, and finally their sexual prowess, the slot at the bottom of the door opened.

"Enough already" came slightly disgusted sounding male voice.  Pushed through the slot was a plain glass bottle.  It was filled with a liquid that looked disturbingly like….

"Blood."  It was Victoria's turn to be disgusted.  Not because of her invisible captors' choice of sustenance for her, but because she would not have any taste for the blood until the sun went down.  Which, by her internal clock, was not for a few more hours.  And she may have been part vampire, but she still needed normal food and water to survive.  "This is not cool," she growled, staring at the bottled.  Raising her head, she glared into the camera.  "Not cool at all, you hear me?"  As she expected, there was no response.

Sighing, Victoria laid back down on the cot.  Her captor's had obviously kept her dead for some reason; usually she recovered quicker than that from gunshots.  Since she had nothing better to do, and bursting out of the cell with her telekinesis would likely just get her shot again, why not take a nap?

When she woke a few hours later, Victoria was in a slightly better mood - for being kidnapped, at any rate.  She was beginning to get hungry, but that was easily ignored.  She'd felt worse over the years.  Sunset wasn't too far off, and the bottle of blood sitting on the floor would be more appetizing then.

A tradition she and Justin had begun many years ago, started the first time they had been kidnapped while plying their mercenary trades, was to sing show-tunes.  It was a good way to pass the time when they knew their lives were in no immediate danger and annoy their captors at the same time.  Even a few of their friends had picked up on the habit.

Victoria settled herself on the cot with her back against the wall.  "Oh, what a beautiful morning!  Oh, what a beautiful day!  I've got a wonderful feeling, everything's going my way…."  She went through "Oklahoma," "South Pacific," and "My Fair Lady" before her throat got too sore to continue.  As she sat and contemplated a discolored spot on the opposite wall, something occurred to her.  Was she still in Miami?  Florida, even?  She had dropped all but the last layer of her mental shields upon waking.  Armand was close enough to her emotionally to be able to recognize her by her surface thoughts alone.  By her count, there were only two vampire-Immortals in the world, and according to Armand, Laurana Thompson had a very different mental "feel."

At that point, her vampirism recognized that the sun was down and that the bottle of blood still sitting by the door looked very delicious at the moment.  Sighing, she leaned over and picked it up.  Unscrewing the cap, she took a healthy swig and winced.  It was from a bum off the streets, one who did cocaine…no, LSD.  Having been part of an international drug ring for about two years, she knew first hand the effects of many types of drugs.  At least the poor guy had been put out of his misery before he died of an overdose…which was inevitable, really.

Victoria sighed again.  She was bored, hungry, and pissed off as hell - not a good combination.  Where was Armand?  He was supposed to burst in and rescue her any moment now.

As if on cue, the door to her small cell unlocked and slowly swung open.  A large man holding a gun, not Armand, was framed in the doorway looking down at her emotionlessly.  Victoria recognized him as one of the men who had attacked on Night Island.  Normally, she would have immediately rushed the guard, heedless of the gun, but he also had a sword hanging at his waist.  So she settled for sarcasm.

"Small prison cell, check.  Big, hulking guard, check.  Where's the cat o' nine tails?" Victoria asked innocently.

"Get up" was the only response, and in order to throw him off, Victoria did so without protest.  She walked out into the hall to find another guard, also complete with gun and sword.  That one turned, and Victoria followed him silently.

A short ways down the hall, they paused in front of a set of double doors which opened from within, seemingly on their own.  The first guard gestured with the gun, and Victoria walked in silently.

The room was rather large, and very elaborate.  And very obviously a combination of magic Work Room and torture chamber.  Victoria began to get a feeling for why she had been kidnapped.  She sent up a silent prayer to all the gods of which she knew about that she was wrong.

The guards directed her to the low table in the center of the room surrounded by elaborate designs and small candles.  Victoria did not recognize any of the painted symbols; but then again, she had only ever studied three magic systems intimately.  And she couldn't even use those without any of her jewelry.  When the guards tried to make her climb onto the table, Victoria balked.  "I think not," she snarled.

A woman's voice sounded out of thin air.  "And I think so," she laughed.  Then Victoria's world went black.

Part 5

Laurana Thompson walked into her bedroom on Night Island to find a backpack and weaponry bag by the door, and a duffel bag on the end of the bed.  None of them belonged to her, obviously.  It was still daylight, so asking Armand was out.  The only thing to do was look in the bags to find out who they belonged to.

When the first item Laurana pulled out of the duffel bag was a small brown leather bag decorated with Native American beadwork, she was pretty sure she knew.  Her friend Victoria DiThon Kestral had been the shaman of a Hopi tribe in the early nineteenth century, and she never went anywhere without her talisman bag.  Her suspicions were confirmed when the next item she pulled out was a T-shirt with the logo of a blues club in Seacouver, Washington called "Joe's."  Victoria had lived there about a year ago.

"Okay," Laurana muttered to herself.  "Donde esta Victoria?"  Just where was Victoria?  Laurana replaced the items and thought for a moment.  The only thing to do was wait for Victoria to show or for Armand to wake up, whichever came first.  But at the moment, dinner sounded like a good idea.

"Good evening," Laurana said as she breezed into Armand's living room.  The vampire looked up from his book, and then glanced at the clock.

"I knew you were here, but where have you been?  It's after midnight."

She gave him an odd look.  "Since when are you my father?"  Walking over to give him a languid kiss, she added, "Actually, I was out dancing.  Where's Victoria, by the way?  I'm assuming those are her bags in my room."

Armand looked slightly startled.  "I thought she was with you."

It was Laurana's turn to look startled.  "No…When was the last time you saw her?"

"She went out with Lestat last night, and he wandered in a little before sunrise.  He said something about the beach, so I just assumed that she'd stayed out to watch the sun come up."

"She hates sunrises, though.  They remind her that she's either up way to early or that she hasn't been to bed yet," Laurana explained.  "You know how that chica likes to sleep."

Armand nodded slowly.  "So let's ask the one who saw her last."  He placed his book aside and stood up.

Laurana headed for the door with Armand following close behind.  "Let's go find the Brat Prince."

They finally tracked down Lestat on the mainland, ghosting around in downtown Miami.  Laurana immediately transposed herself before him, hands on hips.  She tossed her long blonde hair behind her shoulders and said, "Okay.  Where is she?"

Lestat merely stared at her.  "I don't know what you're talking about."

Armand stepped up, closer to Laurana.  "Yes, you do.  You were the last person to see Victoria, and why else would you be wandering around downtown unless you're looking for her.  You've already fed."

Glaring, Lestat rose silently into the air and disappeared.  Luckily, the streets were empty at three o'clock in the morning.  Laurana stared after him, a thoughtful look on her face.  "He'll keep looking for her.  He doesn't care about us, but Toria's the only one who's ever been able to stand up to him indefinitely.  Lestat does care for her in his own twisted way."

"Yes.  So we'll let him to the dirty work.  Let us go home, Laurana."  They grasped hands, and also rose into the air.  Whereas Lestat had headed up the coast, the two older vampires went south, towards Night Island.  "And let us hope he does indeed find her."

Part 6

When Victoria woke, she immediately arched her back in fury and strained against her bonds.  She had been strapped facedown on the table with straps on her wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles.  "Bloody fucking hell!" she screamed in rage.  She pulled again, but without enough leverage, the simple leather straps held fast.  "Aaargh!" she cried again, more in frustration than anger.  Next she attempted to release the straps on her wrists with her telekinesis.  Nothing.  Somehow they had been shielded with magic.

She relaxed reluctantly, since there was nothing she could do.  Victoria mentally kicked herself when she thought about how she might have been able to escape earlier.  Well, it was too late now.  And where the hell was Armand?

As if on cue once again, the double doors opened and a woman strode in.  She was dressed in black robes, and had long, silky auburn hair.  Though she emanated no Immortal presence, Victoria instinctively knew that she was much older than she appeared.  "Who the hell are you?" she growled.

The woman paused a few steps away from Victoria's head.  Reaching out a hand, she gently stroked Victoria's hair away from her face.  "I am the sorceress Lenilia," she answered in a low silky voice.  "And you are…?"

"None of your damned business," Victoria retorted.  Gathering all of her rage around her like a cloak, she demanded, "And I order you to release me this moment."

Lenilia laughed gently.  "Poor child.  You don't understand at all what is happening, do you?"

"I understand enough to know that I have been taken against my will, and murdered besides," Victoria responded, carefully and succinctly.  "I understand enough to know that some of my property has been confiscated.  And I know that I'm strapped down to this damn table without knowing the hell why!"  Her voice had gotten louder as she continued, and her last words echoed off the walls.

The sorceress merely laughed again and drew a dagger from her belt.  Victoria tensed, but the lady merely cut off a lock of her hair.  "Thank you for being still, my dear," Lenilia said.  "This will be much easier on both of us if you do not resist."  Then she moved to a small table out of Victoria's range of view.

After a few minutes of only hearing small, indistinct sounds, Victoria's curiosity got the best of her.  "What are you doing?" she asked tentatively.

Lenilia's answer was rather business-like.  "You are an Immortal.  And you will heal too quickly for me to do what I must.  I am preparing a powder that will prevent your wounds from closing - that is why I needed that bit of hair."  The sorceress approached, again carrying the dagger.  Victoria shuddered slightly, though she tried to prevent it.  Lenilia said nothing, only smiled slightly, and deftly used the dagger to slice open the back of Victoria's tank top.  Then she quickly unhooked her bra and left her back open to the cool air.

The sorceress walked over to one of the walls and removed something from a hook.  When she turned, Victoria clearly saw that it was a whip.  "I've been told that you were asking earlier where the cat o' nine tails was.  This is only a simple whip, but I hope it will do."

Victoria tugged at her bonds in vain.  "You cannot do this!  What the hell did I ever do to you?"

"You are an Immortal, a vampire, and many other things, my dear," Lenilia simply replied.  "Your only fault was that the energy you will give off by the time I'm through is too tempting to resist."  She switched a toggle on the side of the table, and Victoria felt herself rising until she was at a forty-five degree angle and virtually hanging from the leather straps.  It wasn't the most comfortable position in the world, but she could live with it.

Closing her eyes, Victoria waited for the sorceress to begin.  She'd been flogged before, and her friend Elizabet Aspen had once been whipped to death.  In fact, Elizabet had also once been tortured.  She had survived for two days before Victoria and another friend had happened along - here was hoping that Victoria could do the same.

The first blow came, and Victoria winced at the harsh sting.  Another blow, and another.  Soon, tears of pain were streaming down her cheeks, but she refused to cry out.  She would not give the bitch that pleasure.

But in her mind, Victoria screamed.  Armand had to hear her, he couldn't not hear her mental cries!

After a few minutes, the sharp pains stopped.  Victoria cracked open an eye, daring to hope that Lenilia was through.  She clearly felt blood streaming from her back in numerous places where the skin had been slashed through.

"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"  The sorceress was suddenly at her side, sprinkling something on her back.  The sharp pains Victoria associated with healing abruptly stopped.

Victoria's mental screams grew louder.

Part 7

Lestat was…not really worried, but concerned for Victoria.  He'd thought that the men were simply muggers, and would raid Victoria's body then disappear.  Night Island certainly had no shortage of the type.  But when he'd returned a few minutes later, her body had been nowhere to be seen.  So Lestat had spent the next three hours searching Night Island for any sign of her.

When she had not shown either hide or hair of herself, Lestat had decided to check the mainland.  Starting with Laurana's adopted father Alexander Thompson's house, he had begun searching Miami.

That was when Laurana and Armand had shown up.  Having no time for the two, he'd merely cut them off and flown away.  When it had gotten late, he'd reluctantly returned to Night Island to sleep for the day.  But the second the sun had gone down, Lestat had been searching the streets again for any sign of the Immortal girl.  Now he was about as worried as he ever got for anybody besides himself or Louis.

Lestat had been strolling casually down the main street, all of his senses strained.  Quite suddenly, he heard the sound of someone sobbing.  Stopping in his tracks, he made sure that it was no one around him, or coming from any of the surrounding buildings.  He dodged into an alley and took flight.  It was finally time to get Armand to help him.

But Armand had already heard the sobbing.  He and Laurana had been about to start searching the streets themselves when he had stopped in the middle of the room.

Laurana looked at him curiously.  "What's wrong?"

"I hear…crying," Armand said slowly.  "In my head.  It sounds almost like-"

Lestat appeared on the balcony and strode into the room.  "It sounds like Victoria.  Something is hurting her, badly."  The fury in his eyes told the other two vampires that he was indeed interested in finding the girl.

Victoria, still trapped in Lenilia's clutches, chose that moment to begin screaming again.  Lestat and Armand both winced, while Laurana looked on in concern.  She didn't share their mental gifts and could only wonder at what was happening.

When the mental screaming finally stopped, Armand and Lestat stared at each other wildly.  Simultaneously, they each grabbed one of Laurana's hands and dashed onto the balcony.  Her flying speed could be enhanced with their help.  They now knew where to go, and they needed to get there fast.

Part 8

Victoria did not know how she still had the energy to keep up her mental screaming.  Her voice had gone out long ago, and she could no longer scream out loud.  But it looked as if Lenilia was finally done - for now, at least.  Victoria's back was burning with pain, so much that she could no longer tell one injury from another.  Despite Lenilia's magic, she had been healing a bit, but only enough to keep her alive.  Beyond that, it seemed there was no hope.

After the whip had come the dagger again.  First a few random slashes, progressively growing deeper.  Then Lenilia had rolled up her sleeves and began drawing.  She had explained as she worked, and Victoria had latched onto her voice to take her mind off as much of the pain as she could.

"Just torturing you isn't enough to get your power, my dear.  Now I am creating symbols that will draw the powers of darkness to you, so that I may feed off of them as well.  What's that, child?"

Victoria could barely gasp out the words.  "You're nothing but a fucking glorified vampire."

"Such language from one so young.  Did I mention how old I was?  Well, I was around in the time of King Arthur; in fact, the Lady of the Lake is my greatest enemy.  But she doesn't know where I am, I'm sure.  As I was saying, these symbols of darkness will actually enhance the energy I am able to get from you.  I'm borrowing most of them, though.  The one I'm doing now is from Satanism."

Each symbol from as many dark magic systems Victoria had ever heard of, and some she hadn't.  From her shoulder blades, then in roundabout circle around her back.  It took most of the day for Lenilia to complete the rituals required for each one, and she would intersperse them with the whip, more slashes, and even some douses of salt water when her back got too bloody.

When Victoria's eyelids were fluttering from exhaustion, shock, and blood loss, she heard Lenilia's voice again.  "This is the last one, my dear, then I'll be done for the evening.  It is my own personal symbol, so that I can finally harvest all the energy that has gathered around us.  Then I'll retire for the night."  She began cutting again, and suddenly laughed.  "If, for instance, you survive, no one else will ever be able to drain you of power as long as my mark remains on you.  Huh.  I just found that amusing."

Victoria couldn't even mouth the words that were running through her head for lack of energy.  "You sick bitch…."  But she'd thought that before, countless of times.

Lenilia continued without notice.  "But you won't survive.  I have an Immortal in my service, and he'll be arriving tomorrow.  This workroom isn't actually Holy Ground, so he will have no problem taking your head.  Then I can take as much of your power as I can from the Quickening."

Her hapless victim shuddered again, but not from fear.  Armand apparently couldn't hear her, so she had no hope.  Dying forever was an almost pleasurable thought compared to this unbelievable pain.  Victoria's only regret was that she would leave Justin behind without ever knowing what had happened to her.

Lenilia finally left the room, turning off the lights behind her, and Victoria sighed.  Facing her was a night of excruciating pain and darkness.  So Victoria prepared simply herself for death.

Part 9

She thought it was only a few hours later, but Victoria didn't have the strength to figure it out.  The doors opened again, and she dimly heard the sounds of someone cursing.  Next, the presence of another Immortal washed over her.  At first Victoria thought her death was coming earlier than expected, then she gathered the energy to concentrate on the aura that had flashed in front of her eyes.  Light gray equaled Laurana.  Victoria felt her lips curl up in a small smile, and then she just…let go.

Armand and Laurana were taking out the single guard they came across as Lestat practically ripped the doors off their hinges to get inside.  When Laurana heard his cursing, she also headed into the room; the fact that Victoria's presence was almost weak was not lost on her as she saw the younger Immortal tied to the table.  Then she let out a cry of anguish when she saw the ugly wounds on Victoria's back.

Lestat and Armand immediately began snapping the leather cords that held Victoria.  Laurana rushed to her friend's side and checked her pulse.  "She's fluttery, but she's not dead…Bloody hell, why is she smiling?  Damn masochistic idiot…"  But Laurana felt tears running down her cheeks at what one of her closest friends had obviously just been through.

When her bonds were free, Armand shrugged off his trenchcoat and began to cover Victoria's back with it.  "Wait," Lestat said.  "There's some sort of powder in the wounds.  We need to clean them first."  Looking around, he grabbed a bottle off the table of esoteric paraphernalia that he smelled was pure alcohol.  "Sorry, Toria," he muttered as he began to splash it liberally on her bloody back.

"She's so far out of it that she's not even screaming mentally," Armand warned, and Lestat nodded worriedly.  He finished and gestured for Armand to cover her, then Lestat picked up the girl himself, cradling her gently.  "Back to Night Island?" Armand asked.  Lestat nodded, and disappeared.

Laurana noticed the torture implements on the wall and growled deep in her throat.  "Let's torch the place.  We'll worry about who did this afterwards."

Half an hour later, they also arrived back at Night Island.  The two entered Laurana's suite to see Lestat pacing furiously, and David putting a last bandage on Victoria's back.  She looked dead to the world.  Laurana immediately sat beside her friend and took one of her hands.

David looked up at Laurana when he was done.  He shook his head sadly.  "She's not healing whatsoever.  We even tried suffocating her, but she only came back to life and slipped back into this…coma, is the closest thing to describe it."  The young vampire reached out a gentle hand to brush a lock of hair out of Victoria's face.  "It's a good thing you got rid of that powder, because it's probably what was keeping her from healing - but it is apparently having a lasting effect.  Now the wounds have closed, but that's all that's happening.  She's not healing beyond that."

Laurana looked up at Armand.  "Find Justin Le Faye.  Tell him to get his ass to Full Circle Ranch in Australia, but don't tell him what has happened to Toria.  We're going to get her out of this coma, and then I'm going to charter a private jet to take us to the ranch.  That's the best place for her to be right now."  Armand nodded, not daring to dispute the cold tone of her voice, and left the room.  She turned back to Victoria, tears again falling from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry we didn't find you sooner, love," she whispered as David also left the room.  She ignored Lestat when he took a seat across the room - he obviously wasn't budging.  "Whatever happened to you, we'll make you all better.  I promise."

Victoria sighed slightly in her sleep.  There was no pain here, so she was content to stay in the black little hole she'd found for herself in her mind.  Forever, maybe.  Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

Part 10
Full Circle Ranch, Northern Territory, Australia
Five days later

Victoria was out on the front lawn of the ranch house on some old quilts, trying to enjoy the morning breeze.  She was lying on her stomach, of course; her back could not tolerate any weight on it.  It was still bandaged against infection, even though all the wounds had closed.  They were healing slightly, but not much.

From her point of view, the whole situation seemed rather pointless.  She wasn't dead, but she hurt like hell.  And she almost wished she had died when Lestat carried her into the ranch house, and Justin saw exactly why he had been ordered from New York City to the ranch without any explanation.

She heard footsteps on the porch, but didn't bother to turn to see who it was.  Somehow she wasn't surprised when Justin lied down on the quilts next to her.  "Hey, lovely," he greeted her quietly, reaching out a hand to gently caress her cheek.  "How're you doing?"

"I don't know, m'love," she replied softly.  "I just wish it had never happened."  Victoria knew she was scarred physically and emotionally, but only Lestat knew of the latter.  She was sleeping with Justin, but it was Lestat who comforted her when she stumbled into the living room at three in the morning from nightmares.  He didn't judge.

Justin rested his head on his folded arms and faced her.  "I do too, lovely."  Only in private did they use most of their pet names for each other, and they were always used with absolute sincere inflection.  "I would give anything to make sure that it never happened."  Though it was only for a split second, his face twisted in mental pain.

Victoria instantly noticed it, and reached over to clasp one of his hands.  "What?" she asked.  "Spit it out, love."  They stared deeply into each other's eyes, hands gripping tightly.

"I talked to David Talbot on the phone last night," Justin began slowly.  He paused for a moment to take a deep breath.  "He said we weren't out of the woods yet."

"What do you mean?" Victoria broke in, panic nearly evident on her face.  "But I'm free!  Armand and Laurana said that they burned down her base-"

"But they never told you something important," Justin interrupted.  "They never found the bitch who tortured you."  Victoria closed her eyes in defeat, clearly fighting down the urge to get up and run, run far away.  Justin leaned over and kissed her deeply, trying to distract her.  It worked, as Victoria leaned into the kiss hungrily and began to slowly calm down.

Finally, she broke away from Justin and looked at him with pleading eyes.  "What did David say?"

He knew that she wanted him to say that it didn't matter, nothing else would hurt her, but Justin couldn't lie to her about something this important.  "All those symbols that she carved into your back mark you as a victim for every magic system she used.  You walk past someone on the street that uses one of them, and they'll know that you're fair game.  And the only way to prevent that is to alter the symbols."

"How do you do that?" Victoria whispered.  She knew, of course, but had to hear it out loud before she could accept it.

Justin felt himself close to tears.  He didn't want to do this to her.  But there was no other way.  "There's only one way that David knew of.  The same way she marked you.  With a knife."

An hour later, Victoria was shirtless, and the bandages on her back had been removed.  Laurana and Violet had agreed that this was best done during the day, so as not to torment Lestat and Armand with the smell of fresh Immortal blood.  When Justin was kneeling so that he had access to her entire back, Laurana reluctantly handed him the knife as Violet watched unobtrusively from the doorway.  She quietly asked, "You up to this, mi estudiante?"

He nodded.  "Si.  This is the only way."  Laurana nodded and sat cross-legged above Victoria's head, gripping her friend's hands in support.

Victoria tensed as she felt the tip of the knife touch her skin, and vowed herself that she would not scream.  But all hope was lost as she felt a sharp pain, and Victoria whirled back into the darkness.

Justin only slept for an hour after the cruel deed was done, but stayed where he was to sooth Victoria whenever she began to nightmare.  She slept the sleep of the exhausted for the rest of the day, but Justin was relieved to see that the wounds he had inflicted had closed.  Unfortunately, they did leave scars, but at least the magic symbols had been altered enough as to be rendered useless.

He knew that the sun had gone down when the door to Victoria's room burst open and Lestat stormed in.  "What the hell did you do to her?" he snarled.  "I heard her screaming again - and this time I was asleep."  Armand appeared right behind him, a matching look of outrage evident on his face.

All three men were surprised when it was Victoria who answered.  "S'okay, Lestat," she whispered.  "It had to be done.  You know that."  Laurana ghosted in behind the vampires to sit at Victoria's side.

"Feeling good enough to eat?" Laurana asked quietly, taking one of Victoria's hands.  They had had to force every bite of food down Victoria's throat ever since her rescue, but she needed to eat.  It was the only way aside from a Quickening that she could rebuild her strength - and fighting a sword fight was definitely out at the moment.

"Yeah, I guess."  Victoria tried to shrug, but winced at the movement of her back.  "Okay, note to self, no more shrugging."  Justin grinned, and between himself and Lestat, they got her to the dining room with not much effort on Victoria's part.

Justin chased everyone else out of the dining room so she could eat in peace.  After she had downed two bowls of cereal and four pieces of toast, Victoria finally made the effort to talk while she drank another glass of milk.  "Well," she said.  "I need to be someplace that's both out of the way and Holy Ground.  The ranch is out of the way, but I don't want you guys protecting me twenty four-seven until I recover.  It's not fair to any of you.  Which means that I get enough energy to head for the house in Wales and camp out there for a couple months."

Justin nodded, and recaptured one of her hands in his own.  Much as she acted totally self-possessed, her hands were still shaking.  "I agree with you.  But I still want someone there watching out for you."

"Easy," Victoria replied.  "Kenny and Kane are already up there.  They'll take care of me."  She gave Justin a pleading look.  "But you'll come up and hang out for a couple days before you head back to New York, right?"

He nodded.  "Of course.  I would never leave you while you needed me.  I love you."

Victoria was suddenly startled.  For all that they acted like a pair of lovebirds, that particular phrase was rarely said.  It was simply a well-known fact.  But it still felt nice to hear it.  "Thank you," she whispered.  "I love you, too."

"I know," Justin said.  "And I'll always be there for you when you need me.  And even though you hate to ever admit needing anybody…"

She sighed dramatically, and Justin knew that her spirits were the highest they'd been in a week.  "I need you.  Happy now?"

"How can I not be happy when I'm around you, my darling Victoria?" Justin replied.

Laurana startled them when she walked in to take Victoria's dishes.  "Enough with the honeyed sweetness, you guys, and go assure Lestat and Armand that you're okay.  They want a chance to spoil you too, Toria."

Justin grinned at Victoria when she rolled her eyes.  "Well, m'love, your public awaits."  As he helped her up from the chair, she suddenly wrapped him in what would have been a bone-crushing hug had she the energy for it.

"You're still the best thing that's ever happened to me in two hundred years, you know that?" she whispered in his ear.  "Never forget that, my darling Justin."

Since he couldn't hug her back, Justin took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply in response.  That was all the response that was needed.

~finis~

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