Chapter Twenty-Eight
Clive placed a hand at her elbow to stay her.
They’d interviewed multiple Vampires and witches and a werewolf or two over hours and hours and had been able to piece together the big picture of what exactly had happened.
She turned, her features softening in question.
“It’s two in the morning. Might I tempt you into going home, eating a meal with me, and decompressing from everything we’ve learned over the last three days?”
Her brows drew together as she frowned. “I have to write up everything. I need to conference call with London and the other chapterhouses. I should check in with the clinic. Genevieve went over there to inform them in person when we got the news about Kerry.”
He took her hand and tugged her close. They were alone so she allowed it. Which only made him want her to rest more. “You can do all that from home. David and Vihan are already working on writing everything up. You can add your perspective when they’re finished. Rowan, you’re knackered. Physically and emotionally. You’ve flown back and forth to Southern California multiple times in the last few days. You’ve kicked doors down and broken ever so much rich people shit, as you so charmingly put it. Even a Vessel needs some downtime.” Especially when one was still recovering from multiple attempts on one’s life.
She gave him a raised brow and then she snorted. “I’m too tired to argue.”
It wasn’t until they’d safely arrived home and had settled at the table with a meal—Elisabeth had it all ready when they arrived—that Rowan said, “My Goddess. All the twists and turns over the last few weeks. Like a fuckin’ ride at one of those carnivals they set up in abandoned mall parking lots. Screws all over the ground. Smells like gasoline, puke, kettle corn, and the blue stuff they squirt on snow cones.”
Having never experienced such a horror—gladly—he still got the basic idea.
“For decades they had their little business. Sketchy at times, but from those adepts we’ve been able to speak to, consensual. The witches are making bank. The Vampires are able to get their sweet adepts via a process that makes them feel even more important. They even add their side businesses in with day trips to woo the adepts and all that shit.”
Greed and self-importance wrecked the best of things.
“Teresa flitted around, doing her thing, making deals, tucking away her cash, collecting rich lovers to get those connections and to further the life she wanted to live. Also, whatever, plenty of people do stuff like that and for years she’s able to do what she wanted. But Hugo, oh he’s got this gift that means we can just keep all the adepts we pull into our net! The rest, literally all the rest just went along with it! I don’t care what they say now they’ve been caught. If a bad bitch like Fiona doesn’t want to do something, it’s not going to be Teresa who makes her. They all knew and they all at the very least tolerated it.”
“I rather wanted to throttle the fourth one of them who claimed it was only a handful of witches and humans who’d been bespelled or harmed to achieve compliance.”
“They’re going to stick to that forever. Until they believe it. How else do you face the world if you don’t downplay your monstrousness?”
They’d been able to identify seven adepts, four humans and three witches, who’d been abused by Hugo’s magic. Two of their Vampires had physically dealt with Hugo when he’d started sniffing around after their adepts he’d used his magic on. Clive had to pull Patience off to the side after that had been revealed when she flew across the room, nails out, toward Hugo when he confessed that bit.
“I do appreciate your leaving the Vampires involved with the purchase of these adepts who’d been tampered with by Hugo to the Nation,” he told Rowan.
“I trust you to handle it. And if the Nation doesn’t, those Vampires are known to me, and they will be held responsible one way or another.” She shrugged one shoulder. “The Conclave is dealing with the witches from this workgroup, so it seemed best to let Vampires do the same. They’re already in your custody and Theo’s custody as it is. Why make more work for myself if I don’t have to?”
“But you’ll watch us?” he teased.
“I’ll watch you and the witches too because this happened right under our noses and we didn’t know until a few weeks ago when we went to that house on Holly where Dorothy, Jaylin, and Kerry lived and had gone missing. And when we’re in Prague for the Joint Tribunal, you can bet I’ll expect a full accounting from the Nation regarding this issue. And, while I’m willing to accept Takahiro’s and Tahar’s word that their involvement was only as a Scion passing on concerns of their Vampires to their leader, understand Hunter Corp. is already paying far more attention to them than we have before. If even a whisper of wrongdoing reaches me, there will be a problem.”
Clive grimaced. “These lords are radioactive. Any involvement or perception of involvement with them will be sure to gain your father’s attention. In the worst way. If I believed either of those Scions knew in advance of this outcome or this adept scheme, I’d kill them both myself.”
“Aw, romantic! Scions stepping out of their lane will always gain Theo’s attention. Well, Nadir or Recht’s first, and then his. It’s not like either Scion is new to this, so they’re welcome to whatever this stirs up. As for these pathetic lords? The two who’d been freed will most likely remain so. But the others in the dungeon? Most of them will probably be freed after a decade. Armas knew more and fooled Andros, so that’s going to hurt. He’ll be there as long as Mardoc now.” She shook her head. “If he’s released before at least a century, I’d be surprised.”
“My territory has registered a strong recommendation that Mardoc be executed.” Clive wanted to kill Mardoc himself for all his part in not only the suffering he’d caused the kidnapped adepts, but the ruthless attacks on Rowan.
Vampires were bloodthirsty. They battled and bloodied one another all the time. Sometimes they went too far, and one might die. Regrettable, but not frowned upon, usually. But they were also rare. Old ones like Mardoc rarer still. But officially sanctioning true death was only for the most acute violations of their laws. In most other circumstances, Clive would support imprisonment, as would the other Scions.
But his wife wasn’t just anyone, and she’d had enough violence from the Vampire Nation. Mardoc’s crimes had put the Nation in danger of being exposed, and he’d created major political problems with the witches and humans.
“That’s one of the sweetest things you’ve ever done for me.”
He took her hand, kissing it.
“He’s too old to be this reckless. It’s a danger to us all. As for my internal leak problem, every single employee at Die Mitte , as well as all Scion-funded and -controlled positions in Las Vegas, are undergoing upgraded training and security screens. It helps that Eduard and Stephen kept such good records pointing us in the right direction. Every contact that we discover will be rounded up and dealt with.”
“This won’t be the end of Sanguis Principatus ,” Rowan said as she dipped her bread in balsamic and olive oil.
“No. But this cell here in the West was controlled by Vampires most of whom are in my custody. That will leave them off-balance for a while. It’s too much to hope they’ll go away entirely. And for those who weren’t part of this kidnapping scheme with the witches, they’re staying on the right side of Nation law. They’ll lick their wounds and, in the meantime, I’ll be working to destabilize them across the territory.”
“Good idea. Get yourself someone like Andros and Recht combined. A spy who can get into their leadership and rip them apart.” Rowan hummed her approval of that idea. “What’s the situation with Elmer, then?”
“He’s being transferred to Recht’s custody in a few days,” Clive told her. “He’ll serve his sentence in Munich.”
Theo kept a Nation prison just outside the city. High security. Light tight. And not Clive’s problem.
“Brrr.” Rowan shivered. “The Conclave is transferring many of the witches to their various null facilities. Then I sincerely hope they do some major deep cleaning. I think they will, at least given what I know from Genevieve and Konrad. If Hugo and his grandpa weren’t so greedy, how many more would have been taken before they were found out? These are unprecedented times and the risks we all face grow every day. They have to pay attention.”
“I think it’s fate,” Clive said, surprising them both. He gave a slight rise of his right shoulder, slightly embarrassed.
She took him seriously immediately. Turning her gaze to him. “How so?”
“There are times when a situation hits a sort of mass. Roiling, building to something far worse. Over my life there have been instances when coincidences began to build up to the point they could no longer be ignored. First the Procellas put in their request, but it sat on someone’s desk because Genevieve’s time had been taken up on the sorcerer crisis. Even as it began to work its way through the system to get to her, Mardoc had begun his campaign to the Scions to be added to the official Nation response to Hunter Corp. in the wake of your announcement of hiring Vampires. That took time as well. That both inciting events finally surfaced within such a relatively brief time between them, in such disparate ways, says to me this was meant for you. Which I find myself hating because of how beaten up you are every time you take on an enemy. But your record of overcoming your enemies is undefeated, so I hold that confidence in your ability. And now I know I have this rot in my territory, and it needs to be burned out.”
“You can’t hold yourself responsible for what Jacques germinated for a century before he was terminated. Ha. Terminated. See what I did there?”
“I can hold myself responsible as Scion for what happens in my territory. I thought I was brutal when I came into the position, but I clearly showed too much mercy. A fact I will spend the next year correcting.”
“You know how sexy I find it when you’re very tough. But. I want to say mercy is never a mistake.” She reached over to cup his cheek a moment. “I’m not arguing with the fact you have a mess to clean up. I’ll happily watch you do it and lend a fist whenever you need it. I don’t doubt your ability. Vampires are notoriously troublesome. You’re going to have to create a process to be more thorough in each major quadrant of North America. If Patience wouldn’t be offended, I’m happy to talk about some of the ways Hunter Corp. is attempting to clean our own house worldwide.”
Just when he thought it would be impossible to adore her more, she proved him wrong. Over and over.
“I mean, don’t get it twisted, offending Patience is like my morning coffee or whatever. But not generally about this sort of thing. It’s a big job and despite her boner for you, she’s made a lot of improvements in the years since you came to Las Vegas. She can learn. That’s important. Don’t tell her I said that. I don’t want her thinking I like her.”
No danger of that.
“I appreciate the offer. I will bring it up. Naturally and not rehearsed,” he added because his wife was about to tell him that.
“Okay. Good.”
Star wandered in, her nails tapping on the floor. After a quick look to see what Rowan had to eat, she headed to her water dish and slurped it with gusto enough to have Rowan snort with amusement.
“Hi there,” Rowan said and then tossed a piece of strawberry Star caught neatly. “She’s going to come to the Joint Tribunal with us. I just said that without even conscious thought.” She turned to Clive, eyes a little wide.
“Then that’s what will be. Darling, these dreams and knowings have manifested themselves on you and they’ve led you to the truth over and over. If Star needs to be in Prague with us, by all means, we’ll pack her best toys and dog bed and put it on the plane. Elisabeth and Betchamp are coming along so she’ll have plenty of people to feed her, scratch her ears, and accompany her on walks.”
“I don’t always know how to process it. I’m more comfortable with punching my way to a solution to my problems. This sagey, woo-woo stuff is...it’s part of me I’m working on. I accept it as a gift. But I’m going to need to sharpen those skills like all my other gifts. It’s a trip to dream of confetti and find actual confetti outside a werewolf’s cell. Those abandoned human places? The paintings, but also I think it was about the kidnappings. Storms and tempests, we got the Procellas and their casino right in front of where I was ambushed. Then Holly Drive and Fiona’s stupid fucking vaudeville nickname. I wonder if it’s like this for Carl.”
“If so, let us hope you do not take on his sense of fashion or love of taxidermy.”
“Roger that. Rather than have to travel back to Southern California to interview Rose, that nutbag, since she’s free of the geas, Konrad is moving her here, along with Bess and Alfonso. But since we have all we need for the moment, I’ll let them stew awhile.”
“What about Teresa?”
“She’s a shark. Rose is a robot whose only pleasure seems to come from hurting people for amusement. Fiona is a boss bitch and all that, but she’s so greedy and entitled she’s gotten herself in over her head. And she knows it’s her own fault. If she wasn’t such a goon, I’d like her. Gerard, the husband, he’s all booming voice and backslaps, but he’s mean underneath it. Joseph, gods, what a dingus. Money. Power. Education. Talent. And he’s just useless unless he’s being directed. Rose holds the reins there. Still, he’s too dangerous to be free. I hate this for Genevieve, but her ex-husband Tristan is tangentially involved. Someone else has taken over that part of the investigation. The Salazars? They’re tight. Work as a unit. It would be nice if they weren’t working to kidnap people and sell them to Vampires.
“The rest of these witches got high on money and control and since they already think they’re better than not only humans, but non-Genetic witches, the road to get them to a place where it’s acceptable to use adepts like goods instead of people wasn’t very long. They’re devoid of empathy. I’m sure some Conclave psychologist will be writing papers on this for years.”
They got up to put away their dishes, but Elisabeth materialized with a tray filled with two large slices of coconut lemon cake, a pot of tea, and all the various accoutrements.
“I’ll take this to your sitting room and then come back to deal with the dishes,” Elisabeth called out as she walked past.
After thanking Elisabeth, and being left alone, Rowan moved to the love seat and fit herself against his side, allowing him to wrap an arm around her shoulders. The ease of her choice had been a hard-won battle. He hoped he never forgot what a gift she was.
“So, Teresa. She absolutely does not see anything she’s done as wrong. There was a market for adepts. She filled it. Described it as job creation . Positively crowed about how her business brought together multiple parties of witches to make money off Vampires. The witches and humans she stalked are nothing to her but columns on a balance sheet. Rose is honestly, she’s the closest to true sociopathy I’ve seen in a witch. But Teresa saw that and weaponized it. To make money off. To build her own power from. She bragged about being self-made. When we told her Kerry hadn’t lived, she said it wasn’t her fault that Mardoc couldn’t treat his stock better. Stock. ” She shook her head. “I wanted to punch her, but she’s...there’s nothing redeemable about her. Nothing. Even if I punched her, I’d have a sore hand and she’d still be irredeemable. By the way, she knew about the mage firebomb at the Procella mansion before it happened and said nothing. She didn’t know none of the family were home at the time.”
She sighed and sadness trickled through their bond.
“What a remarkable group of assholes, darling. I’m sorry you had to deal with them. Especially the ones who tried to have you killed.”
“Oh, and that’s a whole new thing on my to-do list. I’ve got to suss out this shifter situation. I can’t have these superpowered tree-trunk-sized people forming hit squads at the behest of witches. I don’t give a fuck what the witches have to say about that. That’s a Treaty no-go.”
“Prague first. The shifters in my cells will hold until after we return from the Joint Tribunal. Then we can go to Seattle. I haven’t been there in a few years. I want to swap out some of my Las Vegas people for some of theirs. Bring them back to Die Mitte and train them properly before we send them to their territory once more. Alice is creating an itinerary for visits across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. You can combine Hunter Corp. business if you like and accompany me.”
“Okay. I think I can do that. I have my own inspections to do. You cannot buy me a house in every territory we visit,” she warned.
“I do believe you said it best, I do what I want, Hunter.”
That made her laugh and lean her head on his shoulder. “I love you, Scion. Thank you for everything. The last months especially, I don’t know what I would have done without you. But I didn’t have to. That’s...well, I didn’t have that before.”
Her blush always delighted him.
“Let’s save this cake until after you rut upon me.”
“I do love a good rut. I promise to be gentle as you’re still healing.” He wanted her every moment of every day. But not more than he needed her to be healthy.
“You do know where everything is. It’s a fine quality.”
“Of course I do. They’re all my favorite places.” He stood, pulling her into his arms and carrying her into his bedchamber, kicking the door closed.