NOVEL NEXT Interlude — Shattered Teeth
Lesath knocked twice on the door to Her Majesty's office, and spoke in a clear voice, "Your Majesty, I have brought the documents you requested on retainer families to the Vanas. I have records dating back the last five hundred years with me."
She glanced down at the massive bundle of documents tied up in twine under her other arm. No doubt there were more efficient methods of collating all the data, but Her Majesty agreed with Lesath that maintaining paper records made it much easier to sniff out corruption and embezzlement. Much to the dismay of most family accountants. At least it was leaving jobs on the table.
After standing around for roughly fifty-three seconds, Lesath furrowed her brow and stared at the door. Lilianna was clearly in there, Lesath knew she would be busy in the aftermath of Court. Another seven seconds later, she knocked again.
The woman on the other side of the door remained silent, however, and the Executioner sniffed the air cautiously. She knew the Exaltare was in there, she could feel her presence beyond the door, smell her scent.
Slowly, she twisted the knob and pushed the door open, stepping inside and quickly taking stock of the room.
"…Rosey…?"
The room was somewhat disheveled. Some of the relics sitting on the shelves had toppled over, some logs had rolled off of the rack, and a photo frame sat face down on the floor. Of course, there was one, most glaringly obvious detail.
The desk in the center of the room had been split by a singular strike, and Lilianna sat in her seat with her head in her hands, unmoving.
The last time she had seen the woman like this had been after Gelden-of-the-Ka's death. And if she recalled correctly, Rosey had snapped both her legs backwards when Dagger tried to help her get over it.
But they were children—in a metaphorical sense—back then, and had lived many, many long and short years since. To see her equally distraught… it was painfully obvious what had transpired.
The real question was how to proceed in a manner that would best serve Her Majesty's interests.
"Don't say it." The silver-haired woman seated behind her desk took the initiative without even raising her head.
Lesath sighed in response, "Then let me ask instead, what did she do to cause such a reaction?"
Lilianna mirrored her sigh, "She was displeased with the resolution of the Geolle situation. Though our hunch was correct, the result was the same even after attempting to change strategies."
"So your unexpected change in strategy was because of her."
"She didn't ask us to. We—"
"Should have heeded my warning." Lesath's voice dipped into a hushed growl, "That Hero is dangerous. Can't you see she's already poisoning your mind?!"
"You're mistaken on both counts, Lesath. She is no Hero. Else that Machiavellian System would have seared us for even laying a hand on her. But there wasn't even a droplet of Its influence in her."
"That isn't possible."
Lesath glared at Lilianna in exasperated disbelief.
She might as well have said that, before Lilianna embraced her, the girl lacked a brain or heart or blood. Nothing in this world was truly free from that false divinity. Lesath wasn't privy to all of the knowledge that Lilianna possessed, but she had received an education—even if it came rather late in her life—and still had eyes besides. She could see how deeply suffused everything in this world was with mana.
Lilianna sat up properly, lowering her hands as her pupils narrowed dangerously at Lesath. "Neither is a Human becoming a full zeroth generation Vampire by Embrace. Curious as we are about how something like her came to be, our theories matter not. She is our daughter, and she has done nothing to our mind. We made the decision ourself to follow a different course. You know better than most that we are not so easily swayed. Unless you believe that you know better than us, how best to manage this dusken empire we have made."
"…" Lesath bit back her words, and instead got on one knee. "Rosa Drimus, Rosey, Lilianna, 173rd Exaltare, Noctilucous Shepherd, Plainsbreaker. Regardless of name or title, my loyalty to you burns as hot as the day you first saved me. You are free to test me at any time you wish; know that I would sever my head from my shoulders the moment you order me to."
"And you know I would never do such a thing."
"Then also know that I am worried about you because this girl, this… Hero or… whatever she may be, has you acting irrationally!"
"You sound like they do, right now. But they could at least be silenced by logic. Lycoris is young, and doesn't see the world on the same scope we do. Children should be protected from the harshness of reality until they can accept it, but we've already cursed her with a great burden at a tender age, where she is yet still reckless and full of youthful naivete." Lilianna leaned back in her chair, glancing toward the lopsided screen to her right with a sigh.
"No matter what she is, she was raised by Humans, by Human logic."
"And until the time comes and she realizes the flaws in that, we will meet her in the middle. Besides, there are lessons to be learned from how a child behaves and reacts, just as one can learn from how a wolf hunts. It would be a waste to completely squander this opportunity. Right, Dagger?"
Lesath frowned, unamused. "And one can learn from a mortal enemy too, if only to know where weakness lies. She knows you have feelings for her, that you crave motherhood above even your station."
"And we… I know she loves me just as tenderly in turn. Else she would not have been so genuinely furious at our blunder. If you truly are loyal to me, then trust that I know what I'm doing. Manipulation and petty tactics won't win someone's heart, and she is a precocious child." Lilianna seemed to have relaxed, comporting herself with the grace honed over three millennia as Exaltare. "Perhaps some time away from us would be for the best after all… Distance makes the heart beat louder, as they say."
Lilianna's expression softened at that. "All things come to an end, dearest blade. Even you, even us, even this land we built our home upon. Eternity is a curse, regardless. A mounting burden that only grows heavier with every stone added. So enjoy the present, its ephemerality is what makes it special," she choked out a laugh, "after all, we've lived long enough to see how dreadful a foe boredom makes. In that sense and more, Lycoris truly is a gift from the Ancestors."
Lesath shook her head and whined in frustration. She knew that she couldn't change the Exaltare's mind—just as she said, she was not so easily swayed. Which only made it that much more troubling that motherly affection was causing her to blind herself to the danger the girl presented.
But even so, she could no more resist the pull of the woman seated before her as Lilianna spread her arms out for an embrace. Stepping through the broken desk, Lesath accepted the gesture, and soaked in her heady aroma. Like warm roses under the summer day sun, forever taken from her at her own request.
The silver-haired woman stroked at the stumps around where her ears once were, and in embarrassing reflex, Lesath yelped and nipped at her neck in turn…
＊ ＊ ＊
Blood sprayed from her mouth as Tatyana cartwheeled backwards across the marble floor, her hat knocked clean off her head while tome and wand clattered across the tiles.
The offending man stood with his shoulders hunched and tightly clenched fist bloodied, his teeth gnashing and fangs exposed. He'd held back—otherwise her head would be a fine red mist instead—but no doubt the Human would understand the pent up fury behind his blow.
She hacked out a globule of blood and covered her disfigured mouth with a hand, crouching awkwardly on one knee as she looked up toward Cedric with concern in her eyes. Not fear, he noted, just calculated worry.
Irritating.
"F-Fohgive meh foh this foolish queshtion, but what haff I done to desehve thish?"
"Lying to me," he growled. "That princess knows you by name. Why conceal the truth of her? Why did you not tell me you met her? If you think I'll play the fool for you…" He walked over and crushed her pen-like wand beneath his foot, powdered gemstone spraying across the white stone, "then you have made a grave error."
Though her mouth was still covered, her eyes registered genuine shock. She was a poor actor, even compared to Princess Lycoris. That was genuine emotion. But was it because she'd been exposed, or because she was genuinely caught off-guard by Cedric's question?
She took a moment to close her eyes and compose herself, a faint green glimmer emanating from her palm as she pressed it against her face. After it faded, she stood up and pulled it away, revealing no signs of permanent damage… though there was still quite a bit of bruising and swelling on her cheeks.
"Feed me a truth serum if you must! I have never heard the name Lycoris before in my life, not before her New Years debut at least, nor have I met any blood-heirs to the Aphtangloa. Even I know such a thing is impossible!"
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"There's no such thing as a truth serum. Only placebo and wishful thinking."
"…I could show you a proper recipe for—no, off-topic. Are you sure that she knows my name?"
"She called your name out in the middle of COURT!"
"Ah."
Tatyana wrinkled her brow and arched her back, as though getting punched several meters across the tilework was a light workout for her. She reached unsavorily into her cleavage… only to lock eyes with her tome on the ground in front of her. Scooping it up and clearing her throat, she flipped through the pages and scratched at her bruised cheek.
While she scanned its pages for whatever information she thought she'd find, she flicked her finger in a beckoning motion and pulled her hat off the floor, back atop her where it rightfully belonged.
With nothing to do while waiting for whatever it was she was looking for, Cedric mulled over if he would be able to offer a believable argument if he handed her over, or if he should simply execute her in private and leave the mysterious witch at large in everyone's minds. Handing her over would likely only win him favor with the Princess anyways, and having everyone jumping at shadows would be far better.
Irritatingly, after several tedious minutes, she snapped it shut and shook her head, drawing him from his morbid musings.
"The only people who know my current name are Your Grace, and the three Humans I traveled the continent with. And none of them survived."
"Are you sure?"
"Your own soldiers bled the life from the Cleric. That gaudy Christmas ornamentation is all that's left of the Hero. And…" she hesitated for a brief moment, "if you think the Mentor could survive a duel with the Exaltare, and slip away to somewhere in the Palace without getting detected, then I'd say you—er…"
She trailed off when she saw the fury still etched into Cedric's visage.
As crafty as any "heroic" individual could be, she quickly adjusted to assuaging him with a wry, sycophantic smile and bow of her head. Though the damage had already been done.
"…W-We both know how powerful Vampires are, after all. And someone in his position is ill-suited for survival! That sort typically sacrifices themself for the Hero, not the other way around. I'm not sure what compelled Mizar to take his place, but it has worked out quite favorably."
"Has it? Her Majesty is still unharmed, at the peak of her power, with an Heir-Significate that has circumvented tradition instated since antiquity, and her pull throughout the Seven has only grown at a blistering pace since just, last, YEAR."
"I know patience better than any slimy, insipid Human, you miserable excuse for a blood sac. You twist and writhe away from the topic, but you still have yet to explain why Her Highness knows your name."
He raised his hand, the lights in the room flickering as he robbed the environs of mana in preparation to smite her into ash.
To her credit, instead of panicking or fleeing, the Witch lowered her head deep in thought, puzzling over the mystery the princess posed. While his rage was trying to get the better of him, she maintained a cool head as she genuinely sought out answers.
"Perhaps she overheard the other two going through the Palace? Hmm, no but why wouldn't they kill her? Surely she'd be no match for the Hero… Maybe they took pity on her because she's a child? Somehow, I could see those stupid bleeding-hearts making an insipid call like that… But there's no way a guard wouldn't have overheard such an encounter, else they would undoubtedly have reported it. Mrgh…"
Seeming to forget that Cedric was even there, despite her imminent death, she pulled her tome out once more and flipped through it, increasingly agitated as she muttered disconnected questions to herself. Though she was staring down at the pages, her eyes appeared unfocused, as though it wasn't even whatever contents was written within that she was looking at.
"But why isn't there anything about her? Did I screw up somewhere? Or did they catch on to me and cut me off from—"
"Did who catch you?"
"Ah?! OH, um… how to put it… The, ahh… Angels, I suppose? But that doesn't make sense either, they would've taken a far more direct approach if they realized…"
"You're on your last chance to answer my questions before I break you, Tatyana."
His rope of patience had been burning rapidly over the course of this conversation, and it'd finally reached the knot fastened at the end. If she wasn't so dangerous a collaborator, he would've shown more grace. But he couldn't afford to give a member of that party—traitorous or otherwise—more than an inch.
"Huh? Sorry, sorry I'm getting distracted. Trying to follow too many threads at once." She straightened back out and shut the book with a crisp sonorous snap. "I can get to the bottom of this, but it may take me some time, and require me to return to my study in the North."
"How convenient for you."
"Hardly, I'd prefer to stay here in Tenebreimen. Have you ever been to the lands north of the mountains?"
"N—"
"Absolutely dreadful place, couldn't recommend it less. Though Dauwen should be moving according to plan, I don't know how things will proceed here with this unknown princess, and Shiloam will grow less stable as we get closer to war."
"…The other Families decided to incorporate Her Highness's proposal to split the Vanas's wetworkers amongst them all to sniff you out," he admitted. "It will only become harder for you to move freely within Tenebreimen, even within Idra territory. Especially now that they know what to look for."
"Hmhmhmm, you underestimate my capacity for subterfuge. But you see? I won't be able to do as much as I would like now that people know my name. The flow is starting to lead down a current I haven't already mapped. Yet another reason to return to my study and recalibrate. Ah, but I'll remain in contact, no worries on that front, 'kay~?"
"Wait."
Before she could whisk herself away again, Cedric used the mana he'd compressed and wove it into a command instead, forcing her to freeze up in an awkward pose. Letting her get away without actually answering his question would have been an obvious mistake.
He needed collateral, some guarantee that she wouldn't just abandon him or attempt to screw him over with all the information on Vampire society and the Idra she'd gained.
Cedric reached into his coat and pulled a small, flat gemstone from within. At least, it was cut in the same style as one, and had the same weight as a normal gemstone; but instead of translucent or sparkling, it devoured all light. Within its center a small, complex silver sigil hovered amidst the nothingness, like multiple glyphs overlaid on top of each other. It was frigid to the touch, so cold it stung his palm as he held his hand out to her.
"Take this with you. It's a family familiar. I doubt I need to explain this to a mage of your caliber, but I can borrow its eyes, speak to you directly, and—"
"Spy on whatever I'm doing in my home, yes."
She took the gemstone and raised a single eyebrow at it, before rubbing her thumb across it with a small sigh. As the sigil on it began to glow brighter, she tossed it lightly into the air where it "dissolved" into a cloud of black fuzz, and lightly fell back onto her palm like a ball of soot, or pitch-black lint.
"Surely that won't be an issue, given that we're partners."
"Of course not." She raised her hat and let the little "Spirekeeper" crawl up her shoulder and nestle beneath it. "I'm simply hurt that you trust me so little, even after all I've done for you."
"Twenty nine hundred years of life makes a man cautious. Her Highness's revelation has me concerned. Surely that is enough to warrant a slightly closer eye on things."
Tatyana smiled wryly. "Then all I ask is you wait until I've cleaned the place up once I return to begin skulking about. Wouldn't want you to see my negligee lying atop my sofa."
"I could not care less about a filthy Human's study," answered Cedric with mirthless honesty.
His fury had subsided, snuffed out as though the lingering chill on his palm had sucked it all up. In its place, cautious worry clung to his chest like a wad of tar. Despite the little landmine he'd handed off to the Witch, that feeling only grew stronger when he saw her vanish with a flourish of her cloak.
Though he lacked any absolute means of divining truth from lies, he was a good enough judge of character to reach the position of Speaker for the Idra. Not even the Exaltare could get away with deceiving him, much less some Human, even if she was a hero in some form.
But the fact she hadn't been lying about her lack of knowledge with regards to the Princess was almost more troubling than if she'd been concealing their connection. He couldn't just write her off and kill her, for one. Leaving one of her caliber alive was obviously more dangerous, but also equally beneficial in such an uncertain situation.
Cedric turned back around and reached into his coat once more, thumbing his phone and clicking his tongue in frustration. Tethos wasn't going to pick up anyways, and there was nothing that could distract him from his thoughts online. Recent news was all about the sudden dissolution of the Vanas, the Princess's heroic rescue of Kranes County, and the ongoing diplomatic mess with the Geolle.
None of which he was interested in, and none of which was worth wasting his time on.
Plus, there were still other things he could do to prepare. For once, a fire had been lit beneath him, and Cedric hurriedly marched down the hall of his home, preparing for the Aphtangloa's next move in his own way.