Cold Bite of Frost

"**Cold Bite of Frost**" is the sixth episode of Season 1, the final episode of The Book Club story arc, and the sixth episode of the show overall.

## Plot

*On Halloween night, a vampire party is held. Jill teaches Lee how to fight. Boris and Harriet discover a problem under a church.*

## Synopsis

### Part One

A while after the last episode, Lee's life appears to have calmed a little. He has slowly been adjusting to his new life and now has little problem drinking the blood he is given, finding that only a few cups every couple of weeks suits him just fine. He has also befriended Strepp, who studies photography at the university.

At the next club meeting, Isiah announces that Halloween is tomorrow and that "to those that don't know, a friend of mine hosts a large party every year to celebrate the occasion. Every year, we are all invited, as are a large amount of fellow vampires. You don't all have to come, but it would be greatly appreciated. Aaron is...an entertaining host, to say the least. Just don't ask him about his past." Jill gives Lee a warning look and shakes her head, but he appears confused and asks Isiah why he shouldn't, to which he says "because, in his youth, Aaron was known as Jack the Ripper."

At the AVD, Boris appears distracted as Harriet talks to him about their search for more The Widowmaker and other Blood-born members. She eventually notices this and pinches him on the arm to make him notice her. She asks him what's wrong, but he brushes her off and tells her it's nothing. She insists, telling him that "we need to keep looking into this stuff and I can't have you only being half at work, here." Boris nods quietly and begins filing through their files. He eventually asks her if she's "really okay with dropping this Henka thing? I mean, you were really hell bent on finding that guy." She looks at him and shakes her head, then tells him that she has to drop it for now, at least until they get rid of the Blood-born.

As the others leave Paperback, Lee asks Strepp whether Isiah means "the *real* Jack the Ripper?" to which he nods, telling him that he's a "bit of a dick, but he's a good guy, you know?" They walk down the road and Lee wonders aloud how a serial killer can be a good guy, but Strepp tells him that "most of us *are* serial killers, Lee. I've killed, Jill's killed. Hell, Isiah used to-" but Jill cuts him off, telling him not to talk about Isiah while he isn't here. Lee asks her if she's going to the party and she shakes her head. He then tries to convince her to come, but she insists and says that "parties aren't my thing." Lee asks if she drinks alcohol and, when she says yes, he tells her "then it's your thing. Come on, just come. It'll be fun." Jill laughs and shakes her head before telling Lee to meet her tonight night outside his flat before walking in another direction. After, Strepp jokes with him about "going out at night with Jill Goode? You lucky, lucky man." Lee explains that she is teaching him how to fight using the old base the Blood-born used before it was assaulted by the AVD.

Back at the library, Isiah packs up his things when Heracles asks him what Lee told him about the night he was turned. He explains that "someone came and saved him from the Henka. A tall man with white hair. Cut his head clean off and fed Lee his blood." He asks if Heracles knows such a man, to which he shakes his head. He comments that "it's a weird situation. Usually, we can at least guess who might have turned someone, but a random man turning him and killing the other guy?" Isiah asks if he thinks he's lying, but he denies it and says that the party might be a good opportunity to find out.

Strepp returns home, where his elderly grandmother is waiting for him. She stands looking out of the window and greets him when he comes in, calling him "Jun". Strepp corrects her, telling her that it is him. He guides her into her room and she asks him where her son is, to which he tells her that he "isn't here. I'll take care of you though" before setting her down in bed. She tells him he's "a good boy, Jun." Strepp gives her a smile.

### Part Two

Jill takes Lee down to the Blood-born's old base. They look around for a moment to check for any intruders, finding none. There, Jill challenges Lee to hit her, which he fails miserably at doing. She then tries to show him how to improve his stance and not show where he is going to be going for next. They continue for hours as Lee gets more and more exhausted. They soon take a break, where she offers him a small flask. He sniffs at it, smelling the blood, when she tells him that "you'll wear yourself out too much if you don't drink it, so go on." Reluctantly, he does so. He then asks her where she learned to fight and, sitting down across from him, she says that she learned it herself and that "after I was turned, it felt like everyone wanted to fight me, so it was fight or die, really." He asks her how long ago she was turned, to which she tells him that she hasn't stopped ageing yet, before taking the flask from him and drinking some of the blood.

The next day, Harriet and Boris question a man on the streets who claims to have seen a vampire the night before. He tells them that they "jumped from building to building. I was too scared to move I was. Thought for sure he'd get me, but I don't think he saw me." He then says that he saw him jump to the street and points in the direction he went. Boris thanks him for the information, wiring him some Neo-Euro with his phone for his trouble. The two of them walk down the street and he asks where Harriet thinks the man could have gone, "if our guy is telling the truth, that is." She says that she doesn't know, but "it's somewhere close. Has to be." As they look around—people avoiding them as they see the badges on their belts—she asks him "if you were a vampire looking for a new hide-out, where would you look?" Boris answers that he wouldn't go here, as they reach an open square with shops all around them. He then says "at least, not if I didn't already have a back-up in mind." Harriet nods, deep in thought, She talks to herself for a moment, looking at a map of the area on her phone, before turning and looking up, seeing the spire of a church behind one of the shops.

Lee, dressed in the best formal clothes he has, goes to leave the flat when Polly chases after him, asking him where he's going. When he tells her he's off to a party, she remarks about his attire, saying that "I've never seen you where something *that* fancy to a party." He shrugs glumly and says that it's not "that bad." When he tries to leave once more, Polly asks "what happened to you?" He turns round again, feigning ignorance, but she has had enough, telling him that "you've been acting so fucking weird lately. What is going on? Are you in trouble or something? It's driving me insane!" Lee says that nothing's wrong, but she is having none of it and yells at him to just tell her. She hugs him, pressing her face into his chest, begging him to tell her what's going on. He doesn't speak, the tears welling in his eyes as he pulls away, once again telling her that he's fine, but with more annoyance in his voice. He turns around and leaves before she can say anything.

Out on the street, Lee tries to keep his cool, but can't contain himself and eventually punches a lamppost in a fit of rage. It shakes for a moment, but doesn't move.

In the flat, Polly sits on a chair watching him walk down the street. She takes out her phone and begins messaging their mother, asking her what she should do. She gets a response fast, saying that everything will work itself out, one way or another. She sighs, resting her head on the back of the chair. She gets another message, asking for her address and suggesting that she might be able to help. For a moment, Polly doesn't respond. Instead, she sees Lee as he turns a corner, leaving her sight.

Lee arrives at an apartment building in Southwark, a bag of alcohol in his hand. When he rings the buzzer, he sees Jill coming up the road. He smiles, a look of victory on his face, but she tells him not to say a word. As they are let in, he comments that she's "not even dressed up" but she says she doesn't care "and nobody else will." Lee then says he's "just glad you came, at least." Strepp then appears at the door, which has now closed and locked. He knocks, but when Lee notices, he just gives him a wave and keeps moving. Jill does the same, leaving Strepp giving them the finger as they climb a set of stairs.

### Part Three

Jill and Lee arrive at the party in a penthouse at the top of the apartment building. There are at least a hundred people there, all vampires. In the kitchen, a variety of snacks have been laid out, with a punch bowl filled with blood at the centre. Isiah and Heracles greet them both at the entrance just as Strepp comes in, commenting that he is looking forward to getting them back. Isiah then pulls Lee away, taking him to an old man surrounded by a group of people, Nynaeve included. Upon seeing Lee, the man greets him happily and introduces himself as Aaron Kosminski.

Watching the church, Harriet and Boris sit drinking coffee in a car. Boris asks if he can confess something without her getting mad. She frowns at him, but allows it. He then tells her that he was contacted by Jess Black and that they talked. Harriet sits up and he immediately says that it was only the once and he regrets it. She tells him that he could get fired and sent to prison for conspiring with a known vampire, to which he says "that's only if anyone finds out." She sighs and leans back, asking him what she told him. He tells her that it wasn't much, but that she wanted to turn herself in, but was almost killed for it. Harriet explains that "some people don't like the idea of vampires leeching off of society. They'd rather they all just...die." Boris quietly whispers "like DCI Allen" and she nods. They then see someone outside leave the church they have been watching looking suspicious. Harriet says "fuck it" and get out of the car.

At the party, Heracles asks around about a "man with white hair" while Strepp asks Nynaeve if he is "too young for a girl like you." She responds by saying that "even if you weren't, you'd be lucky to be able to talk to me, Kamura." Jack the Ripper talks with Lee, who drinks his drinks fast as Kosminski tells him that he "didn't even mean to kill only women. The bloodlust just kept taking me at the wrong time, really. I really was a rascal back in my day. At least it gave me a story to tell, eh?" Lee frowns, and points out that "you brutally murdered multiple people" but he just waves his hand away and says "who hasn't." Another vampire grabs Aaron's attention and he moves away from Lee, who goes to get another drink. Heracles approaches him, telling him that he can't find anyone who knows anything about the man who turned him. Lee, slurring his words a little, tells him not to worry about it and to enjoy himself. He then notices the bowl of blood and moves towards it. Noticing this, Heracles moves in front of him, arms open, saying "that's not what you want, Lee. You know that." Lee pulls a face, telling him he doesn't know what he wants. He tries to go to it again, but when he is still blocked, he asks "why shouldn't I? I'm a vampire aren't I? I'm a monster!" Heracles doesn't speak and for a moment, Lee looks ready to fight him. Eventually, he closes his eyes and goes to the balcony outside. Jill, having watched all this, looks at Heracles, who shrugs and shakes his head.

Harriet and Boris enter the church, guns raised. The building is pitch black save for a group of candles at the altar. They slowly make their way to the end before determining that nobody is inside. After a quick search, they find nothing and Boris starts to think that their search is hopeless. That is, until they find a small trap door on the floor behind the altar. It appears to lead deep underground. Harriet goes to climb down and Boris stops her, asking if they shouldn't call for back-up first. She says that they can't until after they find something worth reporting. As she climbs down, he whispers to himself that they already have.

Harriet reaches a tunnel wide enough that she can stand up straight. Boris follows soon after and reluctantly, they begin to make their way through. eventually, they begin to hear voices. They soon find a steel door on one side of the tunnel left ajar, light poking through into the dark. Harriet peeks in, seeing a small group of Blood-born members on the other side. They talk about The Widowmaker and his search for "the new blood boy that smells funky."

Jill walks out onto the balcony and joins Lee as he leans against the side, admiring the view the best he can. She asks him if he's okay, to which he says that "I'll never be okay. Everything's turning to shit." She then tells him that "everything already *was* shit. It just took you longer than most to realise it." After a moment of silence, he asks her if she ever had to hide who she was from someone she loved. She thinks for a moment, then shakes her head. Lee sighs, taking another sip of his drink, before Jill takes it from him and has some. He hands it back to her and he looks at it, then throws it off the side. Jill laughs, then grabs a glass that has been left on one of the tables outside and does the same. The crash can be heard far down below. Lee smiles and she tells him that she almost didn't come. When he asks why she did, she says "I figured you'd do something stupid and Jack the Ripper would kill you." He laughs and tells her that she was partially right.

As they come back inside, Lee sees Nils, who smiles at him. Jill sees this and calls for Isiah. Heracles and Strepp notice him as well and they immediately move in his way. Isiah approaches, telling Nils to leave immediately. Still smiling at Lee, who looks at him wide eyed, Nils says that "there's no problem. I'm just here for my friend." He points at Lee and many of the vampires at the party look. Nynaeve places a hand on Nils' shoulder while Strepp tells him "you can't have him." After a moment of tense silence, Nils nods, impressed, then turns and leaves. As most other party-goers return to their business, Isiah approaches Lee, who asks him "what the hell is he doing here? I thought..." but he shakes his head and tells him that "The Widowmaker is still out there, it seems. And it looks like he's after you."

## Trivia

* First appearance of Mei Kamura
* First appearance of Jack the Ripper
* This is the first episode since her introduction that Valerie Allen does not appear.