DRAUMRS - Dreamweavers - Book Two

5 - The Ruse

Mikilo Chervoniy had finally made his way to his own simple bed, leaving Gloria Black in the luxurious guest quarters, fully enraptured, but unsullied. He was being the consummate gentleman. Perhaps, soon, they would share a dreamscape coupling reminiscent of the old times. Cherry smiled at the prospect of winding back the clock to days of revolution and nights of passion. Gloria had been one of many conquests; young and naïve, but well-schooled in Draumr creativity. She had certainly been one of his favorites, both asleep and awake. He was feeling very young again at heart, from the romantic titillation and from the deeper thrill of his renewed political pursuits.

Perhaps he should have her new partner murdered? English puffy lord something or other. She might then agree to stay with him. The sinister possibility was just one of many unfettered thoughts he mulled in his head now that wheels were in motion. No; no extra murders were needed to make him very pleased with the unfolding campaign, so perfectly staged and now ready.

He struck a dreamscape suitable for the meeting of his Bulo (war) cabinet. Unlike the Halls of the Circles, his setting was all about the trappings of power and conquest. He sat, as so many criminals and dictators alike had over the decades, in the main drawing room of Richard's Castle in Kiev. For his meeting, he had pushed out the walls and replaced window views of drab downtown Kiev with vistas of windswept cliffs above the Black Sea at sun-up. All that remained faithful to the actual setting was the solid oak table, faithfully carrying the stain of blood from arguments that ended badly for some of his waking foes. Cherry traced an old pattern engraved when the table had been used to calmly arrange the murder of hundreds by the Russian brutes. His knife had made the cuts in 1953 as he idled quietly by, while ensuring a fellow Ukrainian, young Nikita Khrushchev, would rise to ultimate power while standing on the idiot Stalin's cooling corpse.

Now he summoned his entourage to the Bulo with similar intent, but with no question of who was in charge. Unlike the puppets he had manipulated through night terrors or night fantasies, his Clan charges needed nothing other than his orders to move forward. He had mulled his plan for so long that it seemed almost self-evident in simplicity and grace, to him. Others, unaware of the end goal, needed to be told what to do at each step and saw only the binary possibilities of immediate reward or immediate punishment. Nothing but complete success was rewarded; the failing effort behind all other outcomes was remedied with swift and memorable correction.

Cherry remained in a very good mood. All of his plans had so far met with complete success. Thanks to the brilliance of Oksana and the passable efforts of the cousins, he had proven out the capabilities he needed to go forward and had passed off a contrived scenario as explanation to the doddering Armand Grau. Oksana was confident in her ability to achieve his end goal. Alexander, now under Stephan's tutelage and reinforced with Red Clan cousins, was ready to lead a critical dreamscape that would keep the interfering Clans busy while he took his real plans past the point of no recall.

Once events were truly set in motion, Cherry would simply sit back and wait to be called, by both his friends and his foes. All parties would need his special skills to guide them through a political and military quagmire perfectly suited for a power swing back to his old friends. Certainly, Draumr guidance would prove useful on all sides, once the inevitable outcomes were clear. Men could always be counted on to start new wars—just not ones big enough or soon enough for an impatient Cherry.

There were currently only three members of the Red Clan gathered. The big table had plenty of space for more chairs that would be filled during engagement reports in the weeks to come. Novices who proved themselves would get field promotions to the Leutnant rank within the Clan and have the opportunity to appear at his Table. These would be new leaders who had not been tarnished by the decadence and passivity of the Circles. They would know only the Red Clan way and their faith in the omnipotence of its leader.