Sunrise(Pact Arcanum 2) (31 page)

“What have you been telling him?” Take said to a furiously blushing Rory.

Rory shrugged. “He asked.”

“I take it the two of you are picking up right back where you left off,” said Ana.

* * *

Take turned back to the other Sentinels. “Typical. We’re trying to save their skins and they’re gossiping about their sex lives.”

Scott raised an eyebrow. “You and Rory?”

Take rolled his eyes. “Don’t you start.”

“Just curious.” Scott shrugged.

“We’ve been together for about a year. After Nick bailed on him, he was kind of lost and vulnerable. I got him to give us another chance at being together.” He glanced back over his shoulder at the two vampires, now deep in whispered conversation. “And now that he’s mine, I’m certainly not going to step aside without a fight.”

Scott frowned in confusion, and was about to ask him to explain that remark, when someone started banging on the door of the suite. Rory, Take, and Ana immediately moved away from the others, with the ease of long familiarity, and faded from sight as Take threw a shroud of invisibility over them. Scott walked to the door and extended a psychic tendril to determine who was on the other side. “Aw, crap.” He unlocked the door and their bodyguards piled angrily into the room.

* * *

“Don’t ever run out on me again!” Joey screamed in Nick’s face. “What the hell were you thinking?”

Nick’s face reddened in chagrin. “Joe, I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?
You’re sorry?
I thought you were a professional, Jameson. You never go out in public without security. Never. If you deliberately endanger yourself like that again, you can find yourself another bodyguard.” Turning on his heel, he stalked out without giving Nick the chance to reply.

“That goes for the rest of us, too,” Don spoke for the other members of their security team, who followed Joey out and slammed the door behind them.

Ana burst out laughing as soon as Takeshi dropped his shroud. “Ah, the good old days. I remember being on the other end of that lecture so many times.”

“I think we’re going to be stuck eating room service for a while,” said Scott with resignation.

“No joke,” said Nick, his ears on fire from the dressing down.

“It’s for the best.” Rory said, trying to keep a straight face. “You’ll have a better chance of defending yourselves from fixed positions than you would out in public.”

Nick rolled his eyes and was about to speak when he felt a whisper of magic. A faint shimmer formed over the coffee table as all five of them raised their defenses. Then something dropped onto the table, and the shimmer disappeared.

Nick probed the site of the disturbance with his mystical senses, but it was gone. Refocusing on the tightly rolled scroll that lay on the table, he found it to be completely mundane, lacking any trace of magic. Not willing to touch it, he lifted it with telekinesis to examine the red-wax seal that held it closed. It was a circular image of a snake biting its tail, enclosing the Arcolin rune for ‘power.’

The seal of the Court of Shadows.

Nick raised an eyebrow at Rory. “Well, that was quick.”

CHAPTER 39

Ten minutes later, the Four Winds had finished their examination of the scroll. “There are no hidden spells, no psychic traps, and no contact poisons,” Ana said to Nick. “As far as we can tell, it’s just paper.”

“Well, then, we might as well open it.” Nick telekinetically cracked the seal, spreading the document flat on the table. They all gathered to read the elegant calligraphy.

To Nicholas Magister Luscian, called Soulkiller’s Bane, whom we name the Prince of Thunder.

We acknowledge you as Master of House Luscian and invite you to take your rightful place in the Court of Shadows. Should you decline that position at this time, however, we ask that you accept a liaison from the Court to accompany you and act as intermediary between you and the houses that rule over the territories you will enter over the course of your travels outside the Armistice Zone.

The first purpose of this liaison will be to present your security requirements to the leaders of the local Nightwalker populations, to prevent any accidental incidents and thus shield your people and ours from harm. The second purpose will be to gather more information about your intentions toward the Children of Darkness, in general, and the Court of Shadows, in particular.

We see no reason why this arrangement cannot be mutually beneficial. Your security will be maintained, and our people will be protected. The liaison we have chosen for this task is Lorcan Consul Diluthical. He will await your answer tomorrow night in the lobby of your hotel. Should you chose to decline this offer, he will depart with the dawn, and you will be free to negotiate the terms of your entrance into house territories on your own.

We strongly advise you against entering any further sovereign house territories without formally requesting leave, as this discourtesy may provoke reprisals in the name of honor, which will only result in needless bloodshed.

The decision of how to proceed is yours.

Set and done over our seal and signature, Imperator Aleksei Magister Talizered, called the Prince of Vengeance, in the year 2804 of the Fourth Council, in the Third Age of the Court of Shadows.

Nick chose a green apple from the fruit bowl on the suite’s hall table and munched on it quietly as they digested the offer, waiting for one of the others to speak first.

“I don’t like it,” said Scott, finally. “They’ve obviously got something up their sleeves, and with one of their own on the inside, they’d have a distinct tactical advantage in an attack.”

“I agree,” Nick said thoughtfully. “But keeping him on hand but isolated will solve a lot of our security concerns for the rest of the tour.”

Rory’s expression was stony. “I thought the same thing about Luscian.”

Nick flinched at that. “You’re probably right. What do you think we should do? You have more experience dealing with Nightwalker politics. What are they after?”

“Layla is the expert,” Rory said. “Guys, give us twenty minutes and we’ll take this back to Anchorpoint and let her examine it. We can link you her opinion when she’s had a chance to look it over.”

“Good thinking.” Take nodded at the Journeymen. “We’ll contact you as soon as we know something. In the meantime, take care of each other, and don’t hesitate to contact us if we can help in any way.” He turned to Ana. “If you can take us back to the Castle Night relay, we can make it home on our own. Thanks for bringing us this far out of your way.”

She shrugged. “The Winds stick together. Though it will take a bit of time to get used to the idea of there being four of us now,” she said, looking directly at Scott.

“Don’t keep me waiting so long this time, Nicholas,” Rory whispered to Nick as they embraced. Then Rory, Take, and Ana stood back, and she cast her spell to teleport them away.

Armistice Security Headquarters, Anchorpoint City, Colorado

Rory gazed out the window of the council chamber again, thinking about Nick.

Behind him, Take had just finishing telling Nemesis of the events in Italy. While she considered Take’s story, she idly fingered the embroidery on the right breast of her white silk blouse, depicting the cross and circles that symbolized the Children of the Dawn. “So, Nicholas has publicly declared himself the Magister Luscian. That was irresponsible. He has taken a dangerous position, putting himself forward as a ranking member of the Court of Shadows without any scions to call to his defense.” She addressed Rory. “You should move quickly to confirm his authority. With our support, the Court will be more cautious and perhaps attempt to find a way to discredit him, rather than trying to eliminate him immediately.” She thought for a moment. “How strong is Scott?”

Take whistled. “If I hadn’t felt his power, I wouldn’t have believed it. I know there’s a quantum leap between a regular Sentinel and one of the Winds, but I never expected it to be so great. In his own element, he’s as strong as any of us, and our powers have only increased now that the Wind link is active. With a little experience working together, the four of us could take down an entire army without breaking a sweat. If he’d been with us when we went up against Luscian, the outcome of the battle would never have been in question.”

“Did you tell him that?” asked Nemesis.

“Of course not.” Take grinned. “It would have made it that much more difficult to convince him to sign up.”

Rory’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re not seriously going to recruit him into Armistice Security, are you?”

“Yes, I am. Scott would be a tremendous asset, both militarily and psychologically. The Children of Twilight have bowed to the authority of the Four Winds for more than thirty thousand years. They only gave the idea of a truce a second look back in the beginning because I endorsed it as the Wind of Earth. For all of the Winds to join us would be an unprecedented propaganda victory. The influx of new Sentinels willing to sign the treaty would be immense. We might even become strong enough to expand the truce beyond North America.”

“Ambitious,” said Layla. “We will need to make such choices if you are ever to complete the Great Work, Sean.” She focused her attention on the Court’s missive, which was now spread out on the conference table. “This letter gives some clues, though, as to how they plan to attack, especially the choice of Lorcan Consul Diluthical as liaison.”

Take’s eyes narrowed. “Do you know him?”

“I know
of
him.” Layla scowled at the parchment. “Lorcan is quite a rising star in Nightwalker society. For all his relative youth, only five centuries old, he has already reached the third-highest rank in his house, the highest it is possible to advance without challenging a more senior scion to combat. He is considered a brilliant negotiator and a shrewd manipulator. I don’t think they would have chosen him if they planned to attack Nicholas militarily. No, I suspect they have something more devious in mind.” She glanced up from the letter to give Rory and Take a stern look. “I think they intend Lorcan to recruit Soulkiller’s Bane to their side.”

Rory widened his eyes. “Nick would never join them!”

“Perhaps it was a mistake not to insist that he swear allegiance to you as Primogenitor Jiao-long,” said Nemesis. “It would have neatly disarmed this line of attack.”

Rory set his jaw. “No. Not unless he chooses to join us on his own.”

“Then, should Nicholas decide to accept this offer of a Court liaison, he must explicitly bind Lorcan’s loyalty. I suggest he require Lorcan to swear allegiance to him for the duration of his stay. The rank of Praetor should be sufficient for him to carry out his stated function on House Luscian’s behalf. As for his hidden agenda, I would advise you to caution Scott to be particularly vigilant for attempts to manipulate Nicholas. It would be better not to warn Nicholas, himself, so that he does not inadvertently tip off Lorcan to our suspicions.” She pointed at Rory. “You should also rekindle your friendship, sooner rather than later, to counter Lorcan’s influence.”

“This is a dangerous plan, Layla,” said Take, dubiously. “Maybe we should tell them to refuse the offer.”

“If they refuse Lorcan’s services, the Court will use that as an excuse to provoke an incident with one of the houses, which would require honor combat. A Head of House cannot refuse a challenge to his honor. How many duels do you think Nicholas will have to fight before one of them gets lucky?” Layla sat back in her chair. “House Luscian has a long and influential history. It is in our own best interests to see that it survives long enough to become a useful ally. This is our most effective course of action under the circumstances.”

Rory nodded reluctantly. “We’ll tell them what you said.”

Take linked with the other three Winds, relaying Layla’s analysis of the situation. The four debated the implications before coming to a resolution.

“I will be vigilant,”
thought Water.
“They will not take my brother from me again
.”

The link fragmented as they returned to their bodies.

* * *

“Nemesis thinks you should force Lorcan to swear allegiance to you for as long as he’s here. She suggested the rank of Praetor,” Scott told Nick.

Nick considered that. “Praetor is a second-tier diplomatic rank, right below Consul. If we do this, there might be a way we can keep him in check, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

“Tell me anyway.”

Nick explained his idea.

The Sentinel stared at him in disbelief. “You can do that?” asked Scott.

“I am the Magister. I can do whatever I want.”

“Alright.” Scott nodded grimly. “What do you need to make it work?”

PART VI:  EMISSARY

CHAPTER 40

Milan, Italy; The next night

Just after dusk, Nick felt the presence of another vampire crossing the threshold of the hotel. He launched a psychic probe to send his instructions.
“Lorcan Consul Diluthical,”
he thought before the Nightwalker could speak,
“a member of our security team is waiting for you. Identify yourself to the front desk and they will direct you to him so you may be brought up to my suite.”
He broke contact before Lorcan could answer. Then he waited impatiently until Don opened the door and ushered the Court of Shadows emissary into the room. The Nightwalker wore a violet shirt over black slacks and looked young, with spiky black hair and green eyes.

“Come in, Consul,” Nick said after Don had left the room. He had expected the confidence and arrogance of Lorcan’s bearing, but he hadn’t expected the Nightwalker to be beautiful.