As I returned to the Palisades, immediately Marius accosted me. “Were you able to negotiate the release of our kin?” I didn’t respond and continued my walk towards my quarters where I knew Khayman was awaiting my return and my orders. Marius followed me, “M’lady I urge upon you for some news,” he pressed. Once I opened the door to the chambers I gazed upon Khayman’s face. My sister still kept her distance from him so she had stood outside, but now followed Marius and I in.
Khayman spoke in our ancient Kemetian. I nodded and finally turned to Marius, “If Merida is not released by midnight this next evening, Khayman and I will walk in and retrieve her.”
Marius nodded in agreement, “what of Carrie?” “She is not our concern, Marius. She is not a Romanus nor is she tied to us in any way. I will not risk a war with our sire-brother if it does not directly affect our coven houses.” Marius eyes gleamed a bit. He seemed disappointed. “Marius, Merida is Armand’s wife and my protégé, there is a clear line of succession there and David knows this. This newborn is really a non-entity.”
Back at the gun cellar, Marius and Armand go in on each other and a full screaming match ensues behind that now sealed door. Even Cherry has to stand in the middle and break it up a few times. All the while, Va’lis sits in a corner thinking of his next move. He really desired to get his magic working on Earth, to no avail but none the less. The thought of it helped him calm down, regroup, and focus. And when Va’lis is calm, he’s even more dangerous. Something Pandora’s taught him to do. “Look at a problem from all angles,” she would say to him, “Focus on all the countermoves.” How he appreciated her teachings in these moments. Va’lis had come to realize that a proper sire was an invaluable part of his life that had been missing for so long. He missed the bond with Pandora; now more than ever.
Maharet is cool as cucumber. You really think she would allow anyone to kill her protego? Heck no. As soon as David hears that Merida is bonded to Maharet, it would send him into a mediocre panic. It’s his sire-sister, he knows just what she’s capable of just as much as Maharet knows that David craves power, by any means he gets it. She knows of his plans for human enslavement, and has never agreed with it. She also has backed the Romanus clan for many millennia; that’s not going to stop any time soon. She doesn’t get involved in the day to day issues and trusts Marius to run things, but this isn’t an ordinary issue. This is Merida.
Marius had given us both clear instructions. We are to wait for the rest of the family before attempting to start our recon mission. Yeah, right? Like Va’lis was going to wait. Him and I had formulated a great plan to confirm that Carrie was being held in that old familiar place. The Tower of London is a historic place having held many Queens prisoner before their beheadings took place in the famous courtyard. More notably the death of Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife to Henry VIII. The tourism to the place was a great cloak to what really was held behind closed walls. The Draconians had effectively purchased the rights to the tower through various entities and ghost corporations, as they did with much of the territory they held. It is heavily guarded of course, but it does have nooks and crannies that modern day prisons do not. Luckily, we had a full map of the place. 