A companion fic to In the Still of the Night. In which all is revealed in the form of a report and a series of entries in Millie's diary.

Thank you to spikeslovebite for her betaing!!!

Excerpts taken from the Journals of Emily Tenbury Head Watcher of the Council her records about the Vampire Arthur Ashbury-Soames former Watcher of the Current Slayer Millicent Lane .


It has fallen upon me to record the last few weeks of Arthur Ashbury-Soames’ existence. I have managed, through interviews with his surviving sons and his Slayer, and also from the reports from our field operatives, to pull together a picture of what occurred to one of our most progressive members of the Watcher organisation. Sadly, I suspect that his ‘newfangled’ ideas and practises in training his Slayer were contributing factors to his downfall.

His death unhappily was the realisation of all our nightmares. As Watchers, we fear the sensation of a vampire’s teeth sinking into our necks. We pray to all that watches over this godforsaken little world that we die swiftly and are not reborn as the creatures we teach our Slayers to hunt-- reborn soulless and into the Darkness.

Unfortunately, this was not the case in point for Soames – we had initially thought that he had been killed alongside his family, but the demons that wrought that horrific massacre were far more devious than we had ever imagined. The Slayer discovered the disfigured male corpse dressed in Arthur’s clothes in Soames’s study; pinned to the wall by his own weapons and with his face practically torn off. It turned out not to be our fellow comrade at arms– something we only discovered later on-- but was instead some poor soul with the misfortune of crossing paths with the Vampire Clan that had decided to attack the family and friends of Millicent Lane. We are trying to ascertain who the poor soul was and contact his family, but I fear we may never know the identity of the decoy body.

From what I can gather – Soames was taken from his home and the scene of his wife and daughter’s deaths and secreted in the catacombs in Highgate cemetery – it would appear that the vampires were following some sort of macabre homage to Dracula and his use of the old cemetery in the last century.

This we have divined from comments he made to his Slayer and his son James, who were the first to confront him. It appears that the cadre of vampires – originally from the Du Bois clan, which I can now happily record as being completely decimated by the Slayer and Arthur’s sons a fitting memorial for such an outstanding man. The desecration of his character and achievements as a Watcher by these vampires, by their turning of one of our own was an affront that would not be countenanced. I was relieved to hear that Soames had been dusted and he was saved from anymore despoliation of his character.

I digress – the du Bois clan of vampires - where the ones to remove his exsanguinated corpse and leave it in the catacombs of Highgate cemetery- to rise as one of the demons he fought against.

It is with some relief that I can add to this final entry on Arthur Ashbury-Soames the fate of the vampires who destroyed his family and took his life. As far as we are aware the entire Order of Du Bois are no more and cannot inflict their evil machinations on the world.

From my field workers reports and observations I have managed to piece together some of Arthur’s movements as a newly risen vampire. It appears that he was abandoned to the catacombs by his Sire and his followers – something they had not planned, but where forced to do due to Millicent and the boys pursuing them with a single minded and entirely justified intensity-- leaving him to rise alone. An attempt was made to stake him through the heart but his ability to wield magics forestalled the team who had located him and Soames managed to escape.

It is appalling to even consider the secrets that the newly turned Soames could have divulged about our organisation; so much could have been lost and I shudder to even think about it. The idea that the vampires could have tracked down the Potentials that we have earmarked for succession in the Slayer line could have been disastrous!

Also, all of our mystical secrets could have been exposed to the wrong eyes. Arthur had been one of our most trusted magic wielders. We even allowed him to train his Slayer in the use of Magics; something that we had never before considered or even entertained as possible.

Surprisingly, Millicent was proficient in her use of magic to aid in her slaying. She has done Soames proud. In fact; she has done us all proud. Her swift response to the threat of the clan and her ability to put aside her emotions and take on her turned Watcher has been nothing short of miraculous. For a Slayer that most of us considered weak, she had come into her heritage with a panache that does justice to her predecessors.

I am thankful that she, however, didn’t have to be the one to stake her former Watcher.

Sadly that chore fell upon another’s shoulders – his sons. I cannot even begin to consider how devastating the entire experience must have been for the family. To witness the savagery of their mother and sisters demise, all the while believing that their father had been tortured and killed in his home alongside his beloved family. Grieving his passing and then to discover that he had been turned into a vampire… Unbelievable…and horrifying.

The events of the pursuit of the clan are recorded by Millicent and have been included in this dossier, so I shall not cover old ground and instead will focus this treatise on Soames and his fall into vampirism.

He awoke the following evening – by this time the Slayer and her assistants were long gone and heading north. Our seers had managed to track the vampires and Millicent was hard on their heels. I can understand her need to avenge the murders of her adopted family and her Watcher. As head of the Council, I offered her all our resources. At this point, we were under the impression that Soames was dead and had begun to plan his burial and commission a portrait of him to add to the other Watchers throughout history.

The first inkling we had of the true fate of Soames was when he approached one of our operatives. Initially, he had managed to fool Reeves, but being a Fledgling, Arthur had little control over his face and his demon mask appeared. Luckily, Reeves was armed with a cross and a bottle of holy water and was able to fend him off and escape – coming straight to the Councils headquarters to alert us all.

Immediately, I dispatched a team after Ms Lane to warn her of the fate of her erstwhile Watcher and then began to gather forces to go after him ourselves. I myself have not been out in the field for many years and was not looking forward to the experience. My old body is not up to fighting these days, unlike in my youth. But I did go, and it was an utter wash out…

We tracked his path across London using the trail of victims he left in his wake – those poor unfortunates – some of which were acquaintances of the family. He was ferocious in his hunger. The state of the bodies was appalling. Some were mutilated beyond all belief, while others were carefully drained and then laid out in macabre positions. If I were not already grey; I would be now. I had to send out so many of my people to clean up the various victims and to ensure that there would be nothing unusual discovered about the corpses. It would not do too alert the general public to the existence of the supernatural world.

It took my predecessor’s a long time to restore the status quo after Vlad the Impaler’s visit to London. His flamboyant behaviour and the trail of fledges and victims he left behind him led to a lot of civilians becoming aware that vampires were in fact a reality and not a myth. All of this is documented in the Journals in our archives and is a fascinating read. I have to admit that the inclusion of non-members of the Council fighting against such a Master Vampire seemed to work, as it has done in the last few days as well.

It was in the most unlikely of places that we finally came face to face with Soames. The Chelsea Physic Gardens, located on the Embankment in Chelsea. This wonderful place was founded in 17th Century and is an invaluable resource for apothecaries and also magic users, which is in fact why Soames had headed there to gather ingredients for his spells. We had managed to use a locator spell to track him across London and it was a group of us who arrived for the confrontation in the Gardens. Most of us were known to Soames from his time spent at the Council.

Fortunately, we were able to obtain the keys to the walled garden and slipped in unnoticed by our quarry. He had gathered copious amounts of herbs and was digging up some mandrake roots when we surrounded him. From later inspection of what was abandoned as Arthur escaped, I suspect he was attempting to create a spell to overcome the barriers surround our Headquarters and also to attempt to circumnavigate the invitation barrier. All of which worries me. If these spells are indeed an actuality, we will need to investigate them more thoroughly and create appropriate defences. But in this instance we managed to divert Soames from his original plan of attack.

The fight was terrifying – despite being newly risen he was strong – far stronger than any other fledgling I ever came across when I was younger and in the field. He fought with such ferocity that we were caught off guard and several of my friends and fellow workers were killed in moments.

Peter Hughes-- my right hand man, a dear friend and the one I had hoped to lead the council once I retired. The image of his eviscerated corpse it burned on my mind.

Iain Staithes-Jones – one of our field operatives who in the past had fought many vampires and demons successfully. He died trying to save Peter. Soames broke his back with one well-placed kick.

Brian Cavendish and his younger brother, Rupert – both of whom will be missed. Their family has been involved with the Council since the 12th Century and I suspect that they were the last of their line. A great family of Watchers who are no more because of one of our own. To have died by a fellow Watcher’s own hands is ignominious – and unfair.

Jenny Edwards – the strongest of our seers and also a proficient magic user, who had assisted Soames in training his Slayer in magical usage. I think of all of us, she was the one who knew Soames the best and thus she allowed him to approach her, resulting in her downfall. Soames tore open her throat in seconds with his fangs and had her drained so swiftly that it surprised us all.

I had never seen such feral behaviour. Soames was foul, both in manner and in conversation. I know that the demon inhabits the body, but to hear the vitriol pouring from a former friend and colleague’s mouth was chilling and unsettling. I think with hindsight that this was why so many were lost in that initial clash. He baited the trap by using memories we had of Arthur and Linnet from various social engagements and our guard was lowered long enough for him to attack. It was appalling to witness him drinking from the necks of his co-workers Brian and Rupert; an image that I will take with me to the grave.

We managed to marshal our defences and attack. I for one was able to wound him in the shoulder, not bad for some one of my age. We fought him as best we could, but the lack of supernatural strength amongst my fellow Watchers and fighters was most telling. We desperately needed our Slayer to fight him, but she was occupied elsewhere fighting Soames’s Sire and clan.

We succeeded in injuring him several times, but at great cost to ourselves. Eventually Soames retreated; leaving behind the ingredients he had been gathering and allowing us some respite. I instructed that everything he had collected from the gardens be taken back to Headquarters for research. I also called a retrieval team to collect the bodies of our fallen friends and associates and prepare them for burial.

A task I loathe – to lose so many young people to the fight is disheartening. I accept that my time is not long on this world having reached the age that I have. I have accepted that death is not far around the corner, but when I see men and women cut down in their youth, I often question why I do this job. For the Slayer it is a calling, but for the Watchers it is a choice – and recently I have begun to question many of the choices I have made.

On my return to the Council, I called a meeting of all our Brethren. I was determined that there would be no more loss of life due to lack of information. It took several hours for all the Watchers and various workers for the Council to gather in the Great Hall, but we managed to get everyone there.

I ordered stronger wards to be placed around the place. During the time it took for us to convene, I had examined Arthur’s collection and determined what spells he had been planning to cast. Filled with fear, I contacted a rather disreputable individual– a warlock-- and I brokered a deal with him. Surprisingly, he was amenable to the request. Having lost his own child to a vampire in recent years; he had a vendetta against the breed.

He is a formidable wielder of the Magicks, and has reinforced our original barriers by adding many more protection spells to the building. I have to say he was a breath of fresh air; his irreverence towards the occult and his power was intriguing in that he has had no formal training and is self-taught. A Mr. Embry Rayne. I have added his name to my lists in hopes of approaching him in the future to see if he has any interest in joining our organisation. At the very least; I would like to know if he would interested in being paid for his services as and when we need them once we have sorted out the situation with the vampire Ashbury-Soames.

I felt such a coward for pulling everyone together in one place and cowering behind magical protection, but after the fight in the Physic garden, I was at a loss as to what to do. By now the rumour mill was running at full steam and the younger members of the council were under the impression that the Slayer had been turned and was on her way to attack and destroy us all. It took many precious minutes to calm the twits down before I could get out the true story and the fate of Arthur. As expected, there was tremdous distress at my announcement, accompanied with calls for revenge.

Something which I hate to admit I was inclined towards as well after watching my friends die at the fangs and hands of Soames. But the seers locating spell diverted all our plans. He was heading north towards his erstwhile charge and the surviving members of his family.

This was the extent of my involvement in the hunt for our fallen friend, Arthur Ashebury-Soames. I have copied some segments of the Slayer’s reports on his activities and his final demise below.


Mrs. E. Tenbury – Head Watcher of the Council



5th February

We finally managed to kill the last of the four Master Vampires this morning. The confrontation at the Abbey had been tiring, but I staked several of the minions and managed to decapitate two of the Masters of the Order. I have a more detailed entry on the confrontation at Whitby Abbey in my Diaries.

Kit staked the hell bitch that had caused us all so much distress by detailing the final moments of the girls. Her malicious glee was revolting. Before I could engage her in battle, Kit stepped in front of me and attacked her with a fervour that surprised her. I suspect that most vampires don’t expect their food to turn on them and when they do it often catches them unawares. She died screaming, turning to dust around one of the special stakes Arthur used to make for me.

With her death, the fight went out of the remaining minions, especially when their last leader ran off – the coward that he is! Between the four of us we managed to make short work of the minions. It was satisfying to put them down.

It was a difficult confrontation. I am used to being alone on my patrols and to have back up from Toby, Kit, and Jamie was an adjustment, but from they way they fought and helped me I am considering asking if they would want to work with me in the future. I’m slightly hesitant, for after all that has happened to their family, I fear that I maybe asking too much of them.

It was good not to be alone in my fight against the creatures of the night. To have companions was a revelation – it’s strange that traditionally Slayers fight alone. Surely it would be safer to have others there for backup? It may be considered too progressive, but when I return to London I shall make a proposal to the Council on this matter, even if they remain stuck to their ways

But to return to the reason for this entry; the Head of the Clan Du Bois and his demise. It took me a matter of hours to re-establish the locating spell I used to track them down initially to the Abbey grounds. I’m still puzzled as to why they retreated there? I imagine it has something to do with that ridiculous book written by Bram Stoker—Dracula. The entire town is trading on the infamy of that book. What an utter bore. I did notice that there was a large undead presence there – including the clan we were after. I shall remain for a few days and clean up the rest of the vampiric population. It may be worth sending a few field operatives to the town. I have a feeling that more vampires will come to the area, but if there is a Council presence there it may deter a few?

The Leader of the Clan – I believe he went by the name Favier-- was hiding in a barn on the moors about four miles west of Whitby. By the time we cornered him in the barn it was daylight, and Toby and Kit manhandled him into the sunlight. I have rarely used this method for slaying vampires; as a rule I patrol at night. It was a disturbing and putrid experience; the scent of burning dead flesh is not something I imagine Chanel will be creating a perfume using that scent…

He died screaming vengeance on us all and that his family would hunt us down and kill us all. A futile gesture really as there are no more of his Clan left walking the earth. All of them are dust.

6th February

Jamie and I nearly lost our lives tonight.

He’s a vampire…

I don’t understand. I saw him dead. It was him, I am sure of it.

But then tonight at the Ship Inn, Arthur appeared. We thought at first that he was alive, that he had somehow survived the massacre. Jamie went to him and embraced him while I sat there in stunned silence.

My body began to prickle in warning, a talent he himself had taught me to use in the fight against my prey. Something was wrong – all my senses were now screaming at me to react. Arthur’s face was too still, there was no emotion in his eyes, which remained opened throughout the embrace with his son. That alone should’ve alerted me, because Arthur loved his boys.

I must have made a noise or something, as Jamie pulled away and turned to me. He noticed my discomfort at first and tried to calm me down; unaware of the danger he was in by turning his back on his father. The shock of my realisation prevented me from saying anything. And then I caught sight of the malicious look in my mentor and friend’s eyes – something I had never seen in them before. He and I had close relationship – in fact he on many occasions had called me daughter – something I treasure to this day. But that look in his eyes… the coldness and lack of humanity in the usually warm brown eyes added to the prickling of my skin all led to my reluctant realisation of what was in truth, standing before us.

A demon had taken over my Watcher’s body, casting his soul into damnation by its noxious presence and animating his corpse. I felt sick and still do – after everything we had gone through together to be faced with this…

The vampire-- I refuse to acknowledge that he is anything but a vampire; it’s not Arthur-- lunged at Jamie’s unprotected back. I managed to pull him aside and sent him sprawling to the pub floor, kicking it away from us both. I had no weapons on me as it is nigh impossible to secret a stake about your person when you’re in a dress.

I pulled Jamie up and managed to place myself between them, prepared to fight the creature of the night with my fists. But I faltered in my defence when I heard the strangled gasp that fell from Jamie’s lips at the sight of his fathers distorted face. My heart shattered. The leering vampiric features of his father were not something he had ever expected to bear witness to – neither had I.

I don’t know why I couldn’t attack him; I just froze. He managed to get past me and sink his filthy fangs into Jamie’s throat. It was only then that I intervened, seeing my Jamie in mortal danger triggered a response. I was able to attack my teacher; using the same moves he had trained me in to defend his son. It was a blur- I could hear the other people in the bar running away from the sight of Arthur’s vampiric form and the battle between us.

In the distance I heard Toby and Kit arrive and pull Jamie away from the melee and stem the flow of blood from his neck.

I failed – he escaped my stake. But at least now we all understand why Favier was so determined that one of his Clan would come after us.

7th February

We have returned to London for the funerals. We couldn’t delay it any longer.

Arthur has so far avoided all our attempts in staking him Yes, I have resigned myself to calling that vampire by my beloved Watcher’s name. He knows too much about us all for us to pretend he is not.

He is using my own training against me and clouding my attempts at tracking him with magicks of his own. I am trying so hard to keep the boy’s moral up but it’s difficult. Seeing their father possessed by a demon is unbearable for all three of them.

The funerals are the day after tomorrow and I hesitate to write this down, but I imagine that Arthur will make his move on the day his wife and daughters are laid to rest. The evil that dwells within him would take such delight in adding to our torment by doing something to us.


8th February

I visited the Council headquarters and for the first time met with the Head, Mrs Tenbury. She seems to be a nice enough sort – for a career bureaucrat. She recounted what occurred once I had left the capital and headed north after the vampires.

I failed in my duty.

If I had not been so consumed by vengeance then lives could have been saved. Jenny might still be alive… Arthur killer her; he killed them all.

I felt sick when she told me what had happened in the Physic garden. Arthur and I had spent many hours there while he tutored me with Jenny’s aid. She had been a friend as well as a teacher. My focus on anilating the vampires had lead to hers and the others deaths. If I had been there, then maybe things would’ve turned out differently.

I think Mrs Tenbury realised my anguish and, much to my surprise, she attempted to comfort me. But there is little that can be said to heal the wounds. My Watcher and father figure has become the thing we fought nightly. It’s the realisation of his greatest fear. All I can do is stake him and in doing so make amends.


9th February

It’s done.

We buried Linnet and the girls. They were laid to rest in Brompton Cemetery.

The turn out for the services was immense. The family had many friends and relatives, all of whom where there to pay their last respects.

Everything had been carefully orchestrated by the Council and with my and the boys help. We were ready for attack and now it was a waiting game. I had anticipated that Arthur would strike as the coffins were being interred but for some reason he did not. If I didn’t know better he was being respectful – but I know vampires have no moral fibre – so I imagine he was prolonging everything and enjoying the waiting game. All through the funeral I could sense the presence of vampires and demons lurking under cover of darkness, waiting for the moment that they could attack.

Unbeknownst to Arthur, Mrs. Tenbury had also marshalled her forces; all cloaked with spells from Jenny’s coven. They had been only too happy to assist in destroying the vampire who wore the face of their friend.

Toby, Kit, and Jamie, were so strong. I worry once this is all over that they will succumb to the grief that they are suppressing, but if they allow me to be part of their lives then I will do all I can to help them.

The moment of attack occurred once the funerals were done.

Arthur appeared from nowhere and tried to kill his former leader. But to my utter surprise Mrs Tenbury fought him off, injuring him with her stake before passing out as a result of her injuries.

I launched myself at the vampire that had been her friend and my father figure, tearing him away from the older woman. With a swift kick I managed to send him flying, his fall broken by one of the demons he had enlisted to help in his attack.

All around me were people fighting the hordes of undead and demons. The mourners were flinging off their coats to reveal the arsenal of weapons hidden under them. From the surrounding walls other fighters leapt down, the cloaking spells unnecessary now that the fight had commenced. All of them had been enlisted by the Council for the coming fight. There were mercenaries from all over the world fighting alongside tweed clad men and women, as well as soldiers from the army who had been seconded in for the fight.

No quarter was given.

All I can hear even now is the taunts that the vampire who inhabited Arthur’s body threw at me. Belittling my abilities as a Slayer and how he had always been so disappointed by me.
I managed to ignore him and engaged in battle. It was hard as many of the moves I used he had taught me when he had been alive.

All around us as we fought I could hear and occasionally see the boys holding their own and killing the scum that Arthur had brought to his wife and daughters’ funerals. Slowly, the hordes of demons and vampires began to diminish under our weapons. I was too focussed on staking Arthur. We fought for what seemed like an eternity. He managed to wound me on the face and stomach, but I persisted.

Even if I died tonight then I was taking him with me.

There would be another Slayer called – there always was…

10th February

I woke to the battered faces of Jamie, Kit and Toby peering down at me. The relief on all their faces was overwhelming.

I remember Jamie pulling me into his arms and holding me close. Whispering in my ear that it was over.

And it was.

My last memory of the fight with my former Watcher, Arthur Ashbury-Soames, was of being kicked away from him, and then a sharp pain in my head as it hit the side of a gravestone. Then darkness.

From what I could make out over Jamie’s whispers of relief, he and Kit had seen their father looming over my unconscious body, fangs out and ready to drain me. They had in unison run towards his unprotected back and buried their stakes in him.

Arthur had crumbled to dust in seconds, coating my body.

It was over…



Addendum by Mrs. Emily Tenbury
the end

A final note for the files.

Ms Millicent Lane today was married to her fiancé, James Ashbury-Soames, in the Chapel here at our Headquarters. They had been engaged for a year and it was a joyful occasion for us all.

As too the comments about the swiftness of their marriage -- all I can say is this; a Slayer has a short time on this world and should grasp every chance for happiness when they can. Millie’s life is a hard one and filled with danger, she is all too aware that she will not live to an old age, as is her husband Jamie, but they are determined to live what time she has in this world to the fullest. And I say more power to them!

I hope and pray for the couple and offer them my congratulations.  

 

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