Suffocate In Spirit - Shadows of the Night 4

Chapter 62

Hi,

Another week over! We're on our way to the last chapters. Brace yourselves for what's coming. ;-)

Oh and let me know if you have any speculations about what Anna found out, and or what might happen next. :-)

Lara

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Chapter 62

Nathanial Norson was working for the Circle for over fifteen years before he quit one month prior to the incident. He was a Force member, just like Andy and Maria.

There was no other information in the file about his status in the Circle, or what exactly he was working on. No record about prior cases he was involved with. No nothing. Why?

And that wasn't where the oddities ended. There was more. Kidnapping half witches was a serious crime, a big one. Still, the case was closed pretty fast by the Circle. For such a big case there should have been tons of files and information on it.

The scraps of information Blaze got made me think there had to be more. Could it be that the finer details were confidential information a normal Force member didn't have access to?

And if that was true, why had it been rated confidential to begin with?

The scene of the crime, the place where Nathanial Norson died, was the basement of the Braxton Hotel at the border to the Crimson District. It was one of the more respectable human business ventures close to the Crimson District that were neither in the hands of vamps, nor frequented by them. Apparently Nathanial Norson accessed the hotel through the employee entrance. After that the flow of information got diluted if not murky. The reports focused on hard facts, like the taking of hostages, and the fact that the Circle intervened, killing the culprit in the process. No technicalities, no nothing.

I went on the internet and opened the Braxton Hotel's homepage. Even if the incident happened in the basement, the hotel had to have security cameras. If I could get my hands on the footing, I'd know what exactly happened, and why the Circle's report on it was more than sparse. According to the homepage Braxton Hotel was a part of the Arrow group, a corporation firmly in the hands of one of New York's wealthiest investment bankers.

Would contacting the management get me anywhere?

I scrolled down. Then froze. Stared.

The hotel's emblem at the bottom of the page was what caught my eye. It kept my attention; consumed it with the force of a violent, knock-out punch. I knew it deep in my bones, knew it with the certainty of a dying woman. I'd seen that sign before.

The first weeks after the incident in Boyd Park and before my abduction, I was what Alexander always wanted me to be. His human servant, personal witch, and fetch it dog. Always ready and at his disposal. I spent more time in his office than I ever imagined I would. As much as I hated being forced into the position, I didn't let the chance go by idly. If I learned one thing in the last few months, it was that any information was worth having, no matter how seemingly trivial.

The office in the Blood Line Hotel, more than the Blue Room in Ryon Club, was the stronghold of Alexander's political power. I paid attention when I approached the black-marbled writing desk that I'd come to think of as an unholy shrine. The one place where he would be mapping out his next moves on New York's political stage, spin his web of deception.

I watched who was coming and going, hoping to gain insight into his network of spies and contacts in the city. I watched Alexander out of the corner of my eye when he was writing what I initially thought were diabolical decrees and death sentences for humans that wanted to become undead, aiming to catch a glimpse of a list of vampiric hopefuls.