Raving Moon, Lords of the Night Book One

Chapter 29: Repercussions

By the time the streets were cleared of preternatural protesters, GCPD had nearly quelled their own protest. The news had video of confused and lethargic people stumbling through midtown Gorgon City. Some with fantastic stories of monsters and wild animals in the fog. They ran for about an hour before a terrible crash on the Two Serpents bridge became the new big story. I watched from the infirmary while a medic tended to Ariane.

"Ouch!" she hissed as the medic administered her second injection.

"I apologize, Lieutenant, but, unless we can examine the shifter that bit you, we have to be careful of infection."

"I know that, carnicero. Can we also be careful of turning me into a pin cushion?"

I tried to stifle a chuckle.

"This isn't funny," they said in unison.

Ariane growled before joining me in a hearty laugh. I laughed and laughed until my stomach hurt. The medic shook his head. It wasn't that funny, but we needed something to break the tension.

"This is serious. If the offender had Strain 3 Rabies or the Laughing Disease, you may have contracted it." The medic prepared a third syringe. "If we don't treat it immediately, you could be beyond help."

"I know... just hurry up." Ariane laid back and closed her eyes. It was obvious she didn't like needles.

I looked across the room. More than a dozen thrones received emergency medical treatment. Cody was among them, sedated and being fed fresh blood intravenously. His burns were from a holy symbol backed by powerful faith. The conviction of that young man had been strong, dangerously strong. His faith burned as bright as the sun.

The door burst open as a pair of premen wheeled in a wounded elf. Half her face had been ravaged by large claws, a throne's blade protruding from under her arm. She'd been hit by both sides. I felt for her, but my attention was grabbed by the argument in the hall.

"You're a megalomaniac and an imbecile. Those bodies are on your head, Eli. Theirs and ours!" Captain Shaw could barely contain his fury. "There's blood in the streets and cameras in the air."

"Cameras? Cameras! Are you kidding me? You think we should be worried about human cameras? Have you gone soft?" Hawkins was amused, but under the taunting was mounting anger. "We are the eyes and ears of our king. We are his blades, we are the edge by which he dispenses justice. We are the Lords of the Night!"

"Listen to yourself! This wasn't justice. This... this was abuse of power. Plain and simple."

They stopped in front of the door, the two glaring into each other's eyes. Four burning red pinpricks. The men and women in the room watched in silence as our leaders argued.

"These people have been riled up by the mongrels and the animals, led to believe they have the right to stand against our monarch. Mongrels!"

"They have a right to gather and to protest. We should have sent them home. We should have given them a chance to disperse."

"We should have crushed them under heel," Hawkins hissed. "The message would have been loud and clear, but you delayed my response. You purposefully handicapped me. Our people's ashes lay at your feet."

People began to murmur. Debating, arguing. The rift between the captains was cutting a swath between our troops.

Ariana squeezed my arm.

"They shouldn't have this argument here."

"I know."

I went out into the hallway, closing the door behind me, and it caught on Ariane's foot. She eased out and shut it tight.