Raving Moon, Lords of the Night Book One

Chapter 33: Magaven, Rising

Ariane slept the entire ride back to HQ. Sitting beside her, I quietly contemplated the events of the night. Three officers down. Wilson's glock was hidden within my specter suit. I still didn't know what was happening and how exactly it all tied together.

House Agatha commissioned Tanner & Bones to create a bullet capable of killing an elder vampire. A team of berserk wolves, one of which is likely the killer in my primary murder case, stole from a shipment of these bullets. Thrones responded, but filed no reports. There was no evidence of the crime except for surveillance footage provided by Kwame and a video recording by Ty Brewster. Zimmerman and Wilson killed him to find it and tried to silence us when we got too close.

All the evidence pointed to House Agatha preparing for war and Captain Hawkins playing a hand in it. How high did it go? Was Captain Shaw involved? Was Lord Clovis? I couldn't be sure... I needed to confront Hawkins officially. He'd be required to answer truthfully. If he didn't, I'd know he betrayed his oath and could react accordingly.

Part of me hoped I could take his head.

We pulled into HQ's parking complex and I gave Ariane a gentle nudge. Her eyes opened and she looked up at me. There was a hint of the previous madness, but only for a moment. She and her beast watched me with caution.

"You okay?" I whispered.

"I can still feel him running through my head." She swallowed. "For a moment I wasn't sure who you were... or who I am..."

The driver looked back.

"We're here, sir. Do you need help?"

"No, we're fine," I said.

I helped Ariane out of the van and we made our way into headquarters. The waiting area was empty, a rare occasion during the best of times. We passed the desk sergeant without any acknowledgement. He was focused on his radio. The protest in Stygia was shaping up to be the largest in Gorgon City's recent history. A local elven radio station host described the gathering in colorful melodic metaphors.

"My head is killing me," Ariane said.

"Look, Iet's find you somewhere to sit. Then I'll get you some water and an aspirin."

"Two."

"Deal."

My leg was still tender, but both wounds had been glancing. Supernatural healing would deal with the worst of it and a good day's sleep would tend to the rest. Once we moved down to C Level, we headed towards my office. Halfway there, I paused and led us to the other end of the floor. We stopped in front of a locked room and I fished around for the keycard.

"This isn't your office."

"I know. It's Wilson's." I handed her the card I'd pulled from his ashes. "Get comfortable. I'll be back."

Ariane went inside and I hustled to the infirmary. Bayer marketed and distributed an ultra strength pain killer exclusively for shifters and other people with preternaturally fast metabolisms. Two pills could kill a human or leave a preman in a coma. I grabbed a couple and a bottle of water from the pantry. Headquarters was nearly empty. Even the administrative staff had been dispatched to the protest.

Taking a detour, I went to Lord Clovis's office to feel him out, get an idea of where he stood in the matter. I'd never known him to be the kind of man to get caught up in conspiracy, but people changed. Vampires changed much slower than most, but even we eventually became different people. His assistant informed me Clovis was out in the field. I'd have to speak to him after I confronted Hawkins. I soon learned he was supervising the throne response to the Stygia protest.