The Dark Edge Chronicles - Clan War

A Difficult Extraction

Tanis favored her with a look, as if considering whether to divulge a trade secret or not, before he abruptly sighed.

"After the handful of us that were left, decided to support whatever effort was being made by other agencies against the traitor on the council, we needed to find out who was actually opposing the council." He looked at Lash. "So we began sifting through reports that were spiraling around the Nocturnum to see who was being the greatest thorn in the side of the enemy. Your name, Ingamon, came up time and time again as the Hand reported over and over about you obliterating everything they were throwing at you."

A slight smile touched the Nosferatu vampire's lips.

"It was pretty much a no-brainer, as the humans like to say, at that point. I mean, we saw reports of other powerful Ventru Houses holding off the Hand's attempts to destroy them, like your House, Ingamon. But nobody was taking it to the Hand like you were. We knew we needed to do what we could to help you. We just needed to track your path for a bit and figure out what your goals were."

The smile became wry.

"Outside of destroying the traitor, of course," he added. "It was after the events in Salzburg that we thought to hack into the Silver Legion database in an attempt to find out what you had told the Queens' Conclave" Tanis frowned. "Only to discover you and your nestari didn't make a report about what was found in that safehouse in Galway."

Lash and Naryan exchanged a quick look, Lash's brow raised in silent question. Before either could speak, however, Tanis was explaining further.

"Fiadh O'Broin, however, did. In fact, it was her report to the Conclave in congress that finished the job of convincing the queens the Conclave needed to help your company in fighting the Hand and their attempted extermination of liliths across the continent. We got Anna's name from that report." He looked at Naryan. "As soon as I gathered enough resources to launch an operation, we began our hunt for the rogue Ventru highborn."

He looked back at Lash.

"My apologies, but I never did thank you for not killing the people I sent to extract her. I'm running low on operatives nowadays. Losing those four would've been a blow the VCG might not have recovered from. So thank you."

Lash hesitated for a moment before slowly inclining his head to acknowledge the thanks. Then he looked back at Anna.

"I think the Nestricht might have a problem with us dragging a hooded woman through their streets. You obviously weren't stopped from doing so. How did you get into the enclave without the locals stopping you?" he asked, looking over at Tanis.

"Obviously not through the front door," the VCG operative replied. "There's a constructors' entrance that the original builders used to come and go without the humans in the city above knowing. We used that. As will you."

Tanis looked at the two legionnaires.

"Do you mind terribly bringing her along?"

As they stepped back into the dance hall, the two guards warding the door leading to the back, broke from their positions and moved towards the side door. Without looking at the chaos in progress out on the dance floor, Tanis and Triss followed them, Tanner and Galloway with a limp Anna hanging between them on their heels.

Lash sent Absinthe and Ballan next, choosing to make himself and Naryan the rearguard. It was as they cleared the curtains and entered the dance floor that Naryan paused, a barely seen frown on her face.

"Is that lightning?" she asked out loud.

His frown deepening, Lash looked into the ground. And he almost immediately spotted what had caught Naryan's attention. Dancing forks of blue-white electrical discharge, visible through the twisting and moving bodies of the vampires on the dance floor. Then they began to flare as more energy was shunted into the mechanism creating them.