The Depth of Rital [Part I of II, Closed]

[Damon Fauci]

[This post serves as the back story for a ritual Damon will require of Titania as her next lesson. The lesson itself will be part two.]

Three weeks had passed since Damon had introduced Titania to the benefits of a circle, and instructed her to find a place to build one of her own. During that lesson he'd made the coming day of incredible power known to her - that it was coming, and when, no more information than that. If Titania took it upon herself to do some research, more precise details wouldn't be hard to find. In nearly all magical communities, the Summer Solstice was a day of great importance.

Normally for Damon it meant little. What use was the day of longest light to a nocturnal creature such as he? But this year he was blessed with Bella. A pupil who could work such energies at a time when he actually had a need for it. Come the day, what magic they would make.

But three weeks had to pass first, and during them Damon did not sit idle. Among his other affairs, a return to Italy was made. There he spent the new moon with Petsha, the leader of the Kalderash - the clan of Romani gypsy with whom Damon had allied himself since boyhood. What favors Damon required in exchange for a vial of his blood always delighted the shrewd, clever elder. The vampire always brought with him a great challenge, one that Petsha and his people always conquered with great success. This time was no different.

Upon leaving the compound, the next order of business was to travel across the country to meet with his most trusted friend. They met in plain sight. Two Italians walking through the Villa Borghese who soon sat to enjoy Rome's best gelato, no local would find this curious. Any interloper employed by the Three to watch for any occasions when Dominic and Damon should meet, they might find it so. Yet the suspicions of those voyeurs would come up empty. The two men spoke about casual affairs, sipped hot espresso, and ate cold cream. When the check came, Dominic paid the bill. A friendly argument ensued. Damon insisted he pay, at least for his own share. Dominic was persuaded, and a few bills exchanged hands. An entirely innocent meeting to all onlookers. After the men parted ways, Damon traveled to his villa to take care of some state affairs and was back in Rhy'din by the end of the week.

Yet, on the contrary. It was in the passing of those bills at the cafe that Damon gave Dominic his assignment. Concealed between them was a white paper with instructions wrapped around twenty paper-thin discs, each with a circumference no wider than a quarter of an inch.

It took Dominic the full of the remaining two weeks to execute what Damon asked of him. To move about the Saint Louis coven house into rooms both frequently and infrequently used and not raise questions in the mind of the Three was no small feat. He knew he was well-observed because of his kinship with Damon. So while there was a deadline, Dominic carried out his secret task as if there was no rush to ensure that haste would not lead to his detection. Thus, sometimes in a day one disk was placed, sometimes three, sometimes none. Sometimes he waited for someone to enter the room before he followed after them with an inquiry. Sometimes he gave himself need to enter the room alone to complete a task which would cloak his true purpose with one of misdirection.

Some of the disks were easily distributed. Others infinitely hard. Five days before the Solstice he had only two left to place. In locations that belonged to the Three's private affairs more than to any of the other members frequenting the mansion. It took all five days, and one disc placed in Zachary's own office while he looked the leader directly in the eyes during a conversation about the questionable doings of the coven in Amsterdam, but the last two were placed. Undetected.

Damon owed him. Big time. And next time they were face to face, Dominic would find a way to let his honored friend know exactly that. For now, on the eve before the Solstice Dominic walked through the coven's gardens, plucking a single red rose on his way. Continuing to the back corner of the grounds to the small cemetery, he knelt down and placed the rose againsy the marble tombstone that marked their fallen friend Jacqueline's grave.

Thanks to a favor done by clever Petsha and his people almost a year ago, in this way Damon was alerted by Dominic that the task was complete.