Demon Chord - A MaxTul Supernatural Thriller

Chapter 13 - Nocturne

Chapter Thirteen

Nocturne

Max stepped back a couple of steps – just enough to put him out the Wamphyri''s handshake reach and turned to Saint, "I have a truce? With him?"

Saint grinned wickedly but didn't answer – instead, he lifted the water bottle to his lips and drained it.

Tul wasn't offended at the unfriendly gesture, but saw Kate bite her lip in order suppress her urge to chastise the slayer. Tul responded, "Yes, we decided earlier today that we wouldn't kill each other until after we had a chance to talk things out. Don't you remember?"

"No, I don't" countered Max with a snide glance to Saint. He saw a look of confusion pass between the two Wamphyri and the female thrall.

Vlad stepped forward and motioned to the large dining table with an elegant wave of his hand, "Why don't we all sit down and talk? I assume that it why you traveled all this way through the void."

Now it was Saint's turn to look confused, "You know about void travel?"

"I do" smiled Vlad knowingly, but he didn't elaborate further, "now if you please, let's talk, I am afraid that we are running out of time to stop this war before the casualties start to increase."

They sat down at the table; Tul and Kate on one side, Max and Saint on the other with Vlad at the head. Kate rubbed her hands against the smooth wood and frowned at the sense of déjà vu, she had a bad feeling about this.

Max was surprised to see that the two Wamphyri were looking at him with expressions of expectation. Frustrated, he turned to Saint, "I think you should start."

Saint, never the one to miss an opportunity to be the center of attention, nodded his agreement to Max, and began to fill the others in on his father's plan to take over the mortal realm by fracturing the truce between the Cadre and the Wamphyri and ended with his eavesdropping on the earlier encounter between Tul, Kate and Max and finally his subsequent veiling of Max's memory of that meeting.

After Saint had finished answering all their questions, Vlad looked at Max and asked, "Do you think you can arrange a meeting with the council?"

Max glanced around the room, "do you have a computer?"

After sending an encrypted email through the dark web to Gabriel asking for a meeting, Max looked around at the others in discomfort, he was feeling outnumbered with the only other human in the room aligned with the Wamphyri; and while he felt friendly towards the shadow – that didn't mean he trusted him completely – he was after all still an immortal creature from another realm.

Sensing Max's unease, Tul stood up and said, "I'm starving, who else is hungry?", but that only served to increase Max's anxiety as his face paled at the perceived implications. Realizing Tul's mistake, Vlad quickly interjected, "Kendra and Knox will be here shortly with food from the Korean BBQ restaurant down the street."

A few seconds later, the ebony skinned thrall entered gracefully into the room carrying a white plastic bag in each hand, she was followed closely by a human male who was built like a linebacker; he carried a case of Soju in each hand. Kate jumped up and walked quickly to Kendra and relieved her of one of the bags, "thank the gods your back, I was about to start gnawing on my own arm."

While the women started to unload the bag and set out the food, Vlad make the introductions, "The beautiful one is my companion Kendra", as she beamed a bright smile at Max and Saint, "and the burly one is my security detail, Knox", who flashed a peace sign before beginning the traditional Korean soju bottle opening ritual."

"You have a bodyguard?" questioned Max, "why?"

Kate answered for him, "Vlad is our leader, not a warrior."

Accepting the honorary pour from Knox, Vlad continued, "Much like your shadow friend, I prefer to stay in the background as much as possible."

Saint nodded his agreement, but Max still wasn't convinced, "You were once a death dealer, I have seen your name in the ancient records, or are you going to tell me that was another Vlad? I believe they called you The Impaler."

Max saw a flash of anger cross Kendra's dark eyes, but Vlad remained unfazed, "You are correct; I have done my fair share of fighting...and killing. Just because I can doesn't mean I want to."

Max opened his mouth to continue, but Tul stepped between the Wamphyri leader and the slayer, "everyone in this room has blood on their hands, and we are not here to judge that; but to stop future bloodshed....on both sides of the battle."

Knox poured a generous glass of Soju and offered it to Max, "Tonight we eat and drink together slayer, who knows what tomorrow might bring, but that it has enough worries of its own."

Max gave the big man a bewildered look at the flowery prose coming out of his mouth, but he accepted the glass and drained it one drink. No one called him out on the breach of Soju etiquette, but instead raised their own glasses to their lips.

After the group had eaten and drank their fill, Kendra rose and offered her hand to Vlad, who accepted it with a smile.

Pulling on his suit jacket, Vlad spoke to the room, "I am going back tonight to meet with Galen. Knox will fly the three of you to Rome tomorrow in the Lear. Saint? I am assuming you will meet them there?"

The shadow nodded his agreement while a confused look passed over Max's face..."how do you know we're going to Rome?"

Vlad didn't reply, he just smiled and walked towards the door arm in arm with Kendra, who looked back over her left shoulder, winked at Tul, and said, "You have your work cut out for you with that one."

Author's note:  Now that we have all the metaphorical pieces on the board...it's time for the games to begin.