Into the Ether - Complete

Spring, When New Things Grow: Part 22

Running into Saunders had been a stroke of luck. I'd wondered how to play this, but his company would make things easier.

"What I have to say should only be heard by the most trusted people," I explained.

He nodded.

"It's going to be a hell of a story, isn't it?" he mused.

"Yep," I acknowledged with a grim smile.

"I have to ask – are you the only one to make it out?"

"I'm afraid so," I said. He nodded, but I saw the flash of sorrow cross his face.

"My brother..." he explained.

"I'm so sorry," I said. We both understood.

We walked through the foyer at Headquarters and Saunders swiped us through into the back part of the building. He swiped us through several other doors before we were finally in a long corridor. There were various doors, but he stopped at Guardian Mitchell Erskine's. A controversial choice to replace Schoenberg as Head of the Guardian Council when he'd retired, the word was Erskine was completely out of his depth. Saunders knocked twice, and the voices on the other side of the door stopped.

"Enter," a deep voice intoned. Saunders opened the door, and we both stepped into the room.

"Belikov! What the hell?" It was Art Schoenberg. For a usually unflappable guy, he was looking pretty astonished. "I had to tell your girl you were dead. I hope you've let her know otherwise?!"

"I have. She's here at Court with me. Shopping," I said with a grin, shaking his hand before clapping each other on the back. Saunders shot me a surprised look putting two and two together. Erskine was staring at me curiously, so Art made the introductions.

"Erskine, this is Belikov. He was one of those thought captured in Saunders' mission. Belikov, Guardian Mitchell Erskine – Head of the Guardian Council."

I nodded my head politely.

Indicating for us to sit, Art looked at me and asked, "So what the hell happened?"

"Well, I was captured and taken to the Strigoi army's manor," I started.

"The one that burnt down?" Erskine interrupted. If he did this every minute, we were going to be here for hours.

"Yes. I'll get to that," I explained. "In a nutshell, I was captured and held there for five weeks. I knew the Strigoi in charge from when she was a Guardian, and she gave me a choice; be turned or be killed. She gave me five weeks to decide, during which time I scoped out the manor. Last Friday, which is the day I was to be turned, there was a meeting of her full army at the manor. I destroyed the mansion with them all inside it and escaped."

"Did you kill many?" Erskine said looking at me with an inscrutable expression.

"I believe the entire army was killed," I said. "Around a thousand."

"There were a thousand?" Erskine said raising his eyebrows. Saunders also looked surprised. Their estimates had indicated more like two hundred.

"About that," I confirmed. "This had all been going on for much longer than was perhaps thought."

Over the next hour, I went through everything with them. The scouting party, being captured, the Guardian and Moroi observation rooms, what I had learned during my time at the manor, and finally my escape.

"I'm not sure if it's complete, but this ledger was outside the Dhampir and Moroi observation rooms. It outlines those turned and those killed."

Art and Erskine looked at it, noting the date of the first entries. By far the sharper of the two, Schoenberg asked, "I see it indicates deceased or awakened. How was it decided who was turned?"