BIOGRAPHY:
Suzanna had been cursed with premonitions since early childhood. Unfortunately, the visions that she had were never anything that any sane person would want to see; They were dark and disturbing, filled with terror, death and destruction. The premonitions came to her in the form of dreams, usually at night, when her mind was at rest, and nothing could block the invasion. The visions would come every night, getting more and more vivid each time, until just before the actual event transpired. Then they would abruptly stop, and some normality would return to her life.
Two things determined whether she would receive a vision: the magnitude of the event and the proximity to her present location. The more pain and horror involved, the further the vision would travel. The Oklahoma City bombing, the earthquake in Iran, these events and others like them haunted her dreams in days gone by. Before the poisonous gas escaped in the Tokyo subway, she had nightmares for days. This premonition bothered her more than usual, as she couldn't figured out what was causing the deaths: no blood, no explosions...
The "dreamer" in her continually tells herself that she receives these visions for a purpose, that she was meant to somehow intervene and prevent some future catastrophe. But, how can she help save an Asian city from an earthquake, or group of people from some unknown lunatic gunman, especially when she doesn't recognize the city, or any of the people? She doesn't understand how she can see things that have yet to be, but the dreams keep coming, leaving her frightened, frustrated and tired.
Suzanna was born in Rohnert Park, California, a small town about 100 miles north of San Francisco. She was abandoned by her family as a small child, and subsequently spent most of her early years being shoved from foster home to foster home, always searching, but never finding a family to call her own. Looking to escape the pain of her youth, she applied for, and received entrance into Tulane University on full scholarship in 1985. After receiving her Masters degree in International Business in 1991, she accepted a position at Bronson and Jacobs, and moved to Lafayette, LA.
Suzanna met Marcus at a charity function in December of 1992. Both were loners, both were different: She because of her strange abilities, and Marcus because he was one of the "Kindred". Suzanna was immediately attracted to this mysterious man; She could feel great power radiating from him, and knew that he wasn't a normal human being. The fact that he wasn't human at all failed to cross her mind.
Knowing that she suspected "something", Marcus eventually broke Kindred law, and told her what he was, and the history of the his kind. Possessing unusual powers herself, she readily accepted him for the man that he was inside, never shying away from him. Suzanna had the strange ability to reach inside a person, to "read" their souls, and she knew that Marcus' was good. It was the beginning of a long and meaningful relationship.
After dating for three years, Marcus convinced her to quit her job at Bronson and Jacobs. Suzanna hated leaving the position that she had worked so hard to achieve, but in reality, she came to learn more about business from him than she could at work. After all, Marcus was a Ventrue. Suzanna soon found out that he owned and operated companies all over the world, running his corporate empire from Louisiana.
Being the only Kindred holding a permanent residence in Lafayette, Marcus possessed a great deal of personal freedom, and he liked it that way. Technically he fell under the domain of the Prince of New Orleans, so whether for business purposes, or Kindred, they frequently visited the city. The two of them often mingled with the Kindred of New Orleans, as the Ventrue had a large presence there. Although the Kindred she met were courteous and seemingly friendly towards her, she knew that under the surface, they didn't approve of her relationship with Marcus, and were deeply suspicious.
Yet, back at home in Lafayette, everything seemed blissfully right. Suzanna realized that she had never been happier, or felt safer. She didn't need to hide her strange abilities from Marcus, like she usually did, and when she had one of her psychic "nightmares", he was always there to comfort and calm her. Finally her life seemed complete.
But all good things must someday come to an end:
While out for their nightly walk in the woods behind his home in Lafayette, they were suddenly attacked by three Kindred that Suzanna had never seen before. A raging battle began to take place in front of her, but she was powerless to do anything but watch. Being old and strong, Marcus was an accomplished fighter, but unfortunately he was also out-numbered. The Ventrue was able to put down two of his assailants, but at a cost of serious injuries to himself.
As Marcus faced off against his last adversary, she saw a change come over him that sent chills up her spine. Suzanna watched in horror, as Marcus' eyes turned a deep gold color, and seemed to glow. Elongated fangs sprang from his mouth, and claws from his fingertips. Seeing this change come over him, the last attacker attempted to flee, but Marcus leapt at him, and tore the man to shreds.
Suzanna was frozen with terror, afraid to move, or even breath. "Marcus?", she said softly. Instantly, he whirled around and fixed those strange golden eyes on her. A low growl came from his throat, as he started to advanced. Suzanna's first thought was to run, but she knew that running was just an invitation to be chased.
"Marcus, please!", she begged as he grabbed hold of her, sinking his teeth into her neck. She was instantly paralyzed. In this frenzied state, she knew that he wouldn't be able to stop. The man that she knew and loved wasn't even present anymore, this beast had taken his place.
Suzanna could feel the swoon starting to take over her, and knew that she couldn't give in to it. Finally, realizing that she was staring death in the face, she screamed his name straight into Marcus' mind, with all of her psychic ability. Instantly, he was shocked out of the frenzy. Marcus' eyes turned back to their usual color, but held a look of horror and anguish in them. A stream of red tears fell down his face, as he dropped her and ran. Suzanna slipped into unconsciousness.
She awoke the next morning in their bed, but she was its only occupant. Suzanna learned that his ghoul servants had come to bring her back to the house, after receiving a phone call from their master. Not knowing whether he was dead or alive, she frantically awaited his return. She prayed that she would have a chance to tell him that she knew he hadn't mean to hurt her, but the chance never came.
Months went by and the bills kept getting paid (from some unknown source), but Marcus never came home. Finally, Suzanna knew that she couldn't live like this any longer. She had to get her life back in order, and to do so, she needed to get as far away from Lafayette as she could. Tearfully, Suzanna packed as many of her belongings as her car could hold, and headed back home to California.
She has been living in the Castro area of San Francisco for nearly two months now, recently landing her "dream job" as head of the Asian Division of Raven Enterprises.
Suzanna has the ability to recognize Kindred, and is amazed at the size of the Kindred population in this city. For fun, she likes to drop by a club called "The Haven" to be near the Kindred, and feel them around her. Until she returned to California, she hadn't realized just how much she missed being amongst these people.
Yet, Suzanna knows that she could never chance making contact with any them. She understands the "rules", and realizes that if the Kindred ever found out about her knowledge, it would mean her death.
Still, it is fun to watch them, and remember...