CHAPTER 11 RAGNOR
CHAPTER 11
RAGNOR
They said trouble sired three.
For Ragnor, the first was when his Ram truck broke down. Not an existence-ending event but enough of a hindrance, considering he’d had an Imprinting appointment to catch earlier today.
Second, Magnus, whom he’d sent on a spy mission in Vermont, wasn’t answering his calls. Ragnor had faith in his Lieutenant, knowing full well what he was capable of, but never before had Magnus gone off the radar so completely.
And three, the worst one yet, was his subordinate standing before him, in perfect military resting position, telling him, “No.”
“I’m afraid I didn’t hear you correctly,” Ragnor now said, his eyes boring holes into Maika, the deputy director of the Rayne League Vampire Resources office.
Maika blanched but stood her ground, something Ragnor would’ve found admirable in any other circumstance, considering Maika rarely had a backbone when it came to him. But this was not one of those circumstances. “It’s exactly as you heard, my Lord,” she said, and while her voice trembled, she held her chin high. “You cannot join the CNC’s field trip this time.”
The Comprehensive Newcomer Three-Month Course’s field trip was a quarterly occasion, during which each League’s newcomers visited other Leagues all across the country at the same time to get to know the Lords and specialization of each League. Normally, the Lords themselves didn’t accompany the newbies and their teachers; they were supposed to stay in their respective Leagues and introduce themselves to the visiting newbies.
Be that as it may, Ragnor had already decided to ignore that rule once, and he planned to ignore it yet again. Maika growing a spine overnight wouldn’t change that.
“I wasn’t asking for permission, Russo.” Ragnor’s voice was cool, and he gave her the kind of hard stare he usually refrained from where she was concerned, considering their history. “I was merely stating a fact: I am going on this field trip.”
“But you can’t.” Maika shook her head frantically, almost as if she was in a panic. Ragnor narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Your secretaries cannot adjust your schedule, and with Magnus gone and with Margarita busy with the new Commons’ job reassignments, there is no one to fill in!”
Under normal circumstances, he would think Maika was absolutely right. He couldn’t trust anyone but his Lieutenants to fill in while he was gone, and even that extended only to Magnus, considering Margarita’s erratic personality that made him regret more than once that he’d even appointed her a Lieutenant to begin with.
But now that he’d made up his mind, he refused to wait until a more manageable time could present itself.
Yet Maika needed a logical response. Something that would convince her it was okay for him to leave for a couple of weeks. Normally, he wouldn’t bother explaining himself to anyone other than his Lieutenants, but Maika was so fragile that he refused to push her to that brink for her own good.
So he said, “In order to be a good Lord, what does a Lord need to have?”
Maika seemed baffled but replied nonetheless. “Authority, power, and control.”
“Right.” Ragnor nodded. “Now, what would happen if a Lord had only two of the three?”
She frowned. “It depends on which one they lack, I believe.”
“Right again.” Ragnor leaned back and folded his arms. “Now, here are a few examples of certain Lords who lack one of these crucial three. Take Lord Daugherty, for instance. Do you know what he lacks?”
Maika, who’d met all the Lords on different occasions, thought it through. “I believe he lacks authority, my Lord.”
“Correct.” Ragnor gave her a somber gaze. “Daugherty has no authority over his people. He has an inherent inability to rule as a Lord over the vampires in his care who are in need of tight community and guidance. Thus, his many falters throughout the years.”
“That can also be attributed to a lack of control, though,” Maika murmured, frowning.
Ragnor’s eyes sharpened. “You’re starting to understand what I’m getting at. Now, let’s take Lord Bowman. What does he lack, in your opinion?”
“Power,” Maika said at once. “On the Lords’ scale of both magical prowess and charisma, he’s dead last.”
“And what does that say about his authority and control?”
Maika was now fully at attention as she realized what he was trying to tell her. “His authority is still undeniable because he has other attributes supporting that,” she said quietly, “but his control suffers because of that.”
“So,” Ragnor prompted, “what can we conclude?”
“That while authority and power are important,” Maika said, conviction bright in her eyes, “in the end, control is everything.”
Ragnor let those words sink in for a few moments before he spoke again. “What happens to a League if its Lord lacks control?”
“It perishes,” Maika answered without pause, her eyes filling with sadness. “I can still remember the Al-Biran League’s disaster in Dubai back in the seventies.”
Ragnor remembered that too. He’d been fond of Hakim Al-Biran. But the man knew no bounds, and in the end, he’d asked Ragnor to do the one thing for him to save his lost pride, as both a friend and a fellow Lord, and Ragnor obliged and gave him a clean, painless death.
“So you see how it all goes back to one thing,” Ragnor said. “Control. Now, Maika.” He saw her eyes widen at him using her first name rather than her last. “Do you believe I lack one of the three?”
Maika immediately shook her head. “No, my Lord. Never!”
Ragnor pushed. “You can agree with me that if I lose one of those, especially control, the League would be in danger?”
She gasped, horror in her eyes as she probably imagined such a scenario. She didn’t need to reply; Ragnor knew she agreed. And it wasn’t because his ego was large; the Rayne League wasn’t simply the oldest in the United States, but it was also extremely important to the North American vampiric ecosystem. Ragnor had made sure of that throughout the many years he’d been in charge.
But Maika needed to understand that for the next part to make its necessary impact. “In my current state,” Ragnor said quietly, trying to hide his self-directed anger, “I’m a hairbreadth away from losing control.”
Maika took a step back. “That’s not possible, my Lord,” she said, staring at him as if she’d never seen him before. “How can that be possible?”
Her surprise was warranted. Ragnor wasn’t the type to air his dirty laundry in public. He kept his private affairs private, for everyone’s sake. He hardly ever confided in his Lieutenants—not even Magnus, his oldest friend—and while it suited him just fine, it was also a double-edged sword, because when things went awry in his private life to the extent it affected his job, none would be the wiser if he flipped a switch.
Which was why he’d always made sure to be in control. It was the price he had to pay for keeping his private life off the radar.
But now, for the first time in his existence, he couldn’t manifest that control he was so proud of.
Because, ironically, that control had led to his current lack thereof.
And so, he looked at Maika and admitted out loud, perhaps for the first time, “I made a mistake.”
Maika didn’t know what to do with this information, he knew, seeing as she started to shift from foot to foot uncomfortably. “W-what kind of mistake, my Lord?” she asked hesitantly, shock on her face.
His self-directed anger rose, and he glanced down at the canvas painting he was hiding under his office desk. While he could admit he’d made a mistake, he couldn’t tell her the nature of that mistake. He could still hardly believe it himself.
“Let’s just say that by going on this trip, I’ll be able to rectify that mistake,” he said. Or try to, he added silently in his head.
Because he knew it wouldn’t be simple. It might even be impossible.
But he had to try.
And he had to succeed against all odds.