The Dark Edge Chronicles - Clan War

Traitorous High Lord

"Lord Commander," Hunter said in a voice that, while it was over the basewide comms system, was pitched only for his ears to hear. Looking up from the blown apart image of the Nocturnum that was hovering above the war table, he looked out at the bullpen.

"Go ahead, Hunter," he replied.

"The Nighthawk carrying High Lord Giancarlo Giovanni is on final approach. Shall I notify Master Vulcrum and Night Mistress Fiadh?"

"Yes, please. And have an interrogation cell prepped."

Vulcrum was already in the cell with several of his interrogation team, jotting notes down on his ever present tablet when Lash arrived, an unconscious Giovanni slung between four of Vulcrum's tactical operators. A pointing finger at the only chair in the chamber had the four operators carefully put the stout, greasy-looking vampire there before strapping him in so he didn't fall out. Their leader then handed Lash a list of items they had taken from Giovanni's armory, including several hard drives and data vaults. A quick glance at it after thanking the commander, then Lash was handing it to an interested Vulcrum, who immediately began to enter the list into his tablet.

With Giovanni secured, Lash then sent the operators back out just as Fiadh was arriving. She carefully avoided touching any of the soldiers before stepping close to Lash to take his hand and squeeze it. She then looked at Giovanni, who now had two of Vulcrum's team going over him. It didn't take them long before they looked back at a waiting Lash and Vulcrum and nodded.

"We have approximately forty five minutes on Giovanni's original tranquilizer," Vulcrum indicated. Of his earlier acrimony, there was no sign. He was once again the even keeled, professional, and unruffled spymaster. Of course, that was due in no small part to the fact his concerns about Lash's bloodline surviving the big vampire's dangerous occupation being answered by Mara Darktower and the baby in her womb.

Hearing the timeframe she had to work with, Fiadh nodded. Then, after giving Lash's hand a final squeeze, she stepped forward and her face became a mask of concentration as she extended her pheromone cloud into the unmoving High Lord. And both Lash and Vulcrum smiled tightly in satisfaction when they saw Giovanni twitch.

"Do you hear me?" Fiadh asked.

"Yes, mistress " came the answer in the same faraway voice that Kanter had used, as if talking in his sleep.

"Are you conspiring with High Lord Joachim Narvaez to destroy Clan Ventru?"

It was a confirming question right out of the box. And nearly everybody in the room felt their faces tighten in disappointment when it generated only silence.

Glancing over at Lash and Vulcrum, Fiadh shrugged. Lash thought for a moment then brought his two index fingers together. Nodding in understanding, the Irish queen turned back to Giovanni.

"Do you know Joachim Narvaez," she then asked.

"Yes, mistress," came the faraway answer.

"Are you conspiring with him?

"Yes, mistress."

"To do what?" Fiadh pressed.

"Destroy the Queens' Conclave and break the lilith hold on power over the vampire world!"

Lash and Vulcrum exchanged looks. It was confirmation of what Sofia had revealed about Giovanni's motives. The hatred of liliths he and Narvaez shared had pushed them into conspiring to break the Queens' Conclave!

But why weaponize them? It couldn't be to just strike at the psionics that demonstrated a taste for lilith slaves.

Lash's expression abruptly tightened as another possibility occurred to him. Unless it was part of the plan to have the liliths exposed as weaponized, creating a crisis in trust across all vampiredom. If the liliths were shown as not only untrustworthy but dangerous as well, it would give strength to a call to curtail their power. Which would be a significant step towards dismantling the Conclave's power base.