De'Vas Chronicles Book 4: Chapter 18

Eva moved about the castle mostly just to make her presence known. The Warchief was currently training, and Blake was visiting the graves of his children on the northern side of the forest. That left her as the acting force of the Warchief’s power within the castle, well, except for his two women, Selena and Haylee. Though they seldom used their positions of power and usually kept to themselves, or tried to be helpful to those within the castle.

As she neared the kitchen, Eva smelled freshly grilled meat and her mouth began to water. She turned and decided to patrol the dining room for a bit. As she entered, she spotted both of the Warchief’s women among several others waiting for the food to be brought out. Selena held a book in her hands with a painting of an odd woman on the front, while Haylee held one of the strange slates the Warchief called a cellphone.

She could see the eyes of the other orcs watching her, seeing where she would sit. Many of them thought she had climbed too fast with her backing of Ash as their Warchief and were waiting for any sign of weakness to strike and replace her as his herald. Not wanting any of them to start forming plans, she took a seat at the table beside Haylee and Selena.

“No, no, no!” Haylee said as she quickly tapped the cellphone.

She dropped it on the table and let out a groan, rubbing her face.

“Battery died again?” Selena asked, not looking from her book.

Haylee dropped her hands from her face and pinched two of her fingers together until they almost touched.

“I was this close to killing the last boss!” Haylee said. “I’ll have to ask Ash to charge it for me when he gets back.”

Selena nodded, still focused on her book. Eva stared at it. The artwork of the woman on the cover was impressive, almost life-like. Then she noticed the woman’s ears.

“She’s a human,” Eva said aloud, still staring at the cover of the book.

Haylee chuckled.

“She is. That’s Ash’s mother, Vivian Grayson, the Empress of Business,” Haylee said, grinning.

Eva’s eyes widened. She knew Ash was a noble. There had been plenty of hints from how he mentioned his lifestyle and uses of expensive potions, but the son of an Empress!

Then Eva read the title of the book, “Take Heads, Not Prisoners,” and her blood chilled. She was grateful that the Empress’ son was more merciful than she was.

Selena closed the book and set it down on the table.

“Haylee, she’s going to get the wrong idea,” Selena said before looking at Eva. “The ‘Empress’ is merely a moniker. Vivian Grayson is just a skilled businesswoman.”

Haylee shrugged.

“I don’t know. I think her power and wealth would be comparable to an Empress on Va— here,” Haylee said as she slipped the cellphone back into the pockets of her strange clothing. “But you would know better than I. I’ve only heard about her second hand, didn’t you speak with her?”

Selena’s lips thinned for a moment, and she tapped her fingers on the book.

“Mrs. Grayson can be a bit intimidating,” Selena said.

Haylee arched an eyebrow at her, as if not believing her.

Selena sighed.

“Okay. She’s very intimidating, and little escapes her notice. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to believe she could rise far here, even without the use of magic,” Selena conceded.

Haylee gave a victorious smirk, then she looked toward the kitchen.

“I hope the cooks finish soon, the meat smells so good,” Haylee said, then frowned.

Selena noticed and narrowed her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Haylee’s lips curled up into a snarl.

“The horny elf from Riverbend is here,” she growled.

Eva quickly looked over to where Haylee was glaring. Her heart raced. Someone had slipped past her guards and into the castle. Warchiefs had cut the heads off guards and heralds for mistakes like that.

An elf wearing a hood was leaning against the wall near the entrance. She seemed calm, at least until she saw them watching her. Eva noticed her eyes were two different colors as the elf stepped from the wall and made her way to the doorway.

“Hey! Get back here!” Haylee yelled as she stood and began pursuing the elf.

Eva stood herself, following right behind the otterkin.

They passed through the doorway, Haylee running as the elf turned a corner at the end of the hallway in a brisk walk. Eva wondered how she got down there so fast.

“How did she get past the guards?” Selena asked as she came up beside Eva.

Eva shook her head.

“She shouldn’t have. We have guards watching all entrances, even if she can use some kind of magic to hide herself, we have beastkin guards who should have picked up her scent,” Eva responded.

The elf managed to appear at the end of the next hallway, and Haylee let out a growl of frustration before she yelled again for the mysterious woman to stop. Eva smiled, though. The woman was heading for a dead end, and soon she would have answers on how she slipped past her guards.

“What the hells?” Haylee exclaimed as she turned the corner.

Eva joined her a second later, her jaw dropping as she stared at the empty corridor.

“I don’t like this,” Selena said, coming to a stop beside them.

Eva felt a knot in her gut and shook her head. The elf was gone, and only one thing could cause that. The horrible event that had started five years ago, people disappearing in thin air, to never be seen again.

“The Vanishing got her,” Eva said, shaking her head.

She turned back to inform Haylee and Selena that she would check with the guards and try to figure out how the elf had slipped past them. She froze as she saw Haylee and Selena sharing a grim look at each other. Haylee broke her gaze from Selena to look at her.

“If you see that elf again, inform either us or Ash as soon as possible!” Haylee said, her face a mask of worry.

Eva nodded, but frowned. There was no coming back from the Vanishing. Surely they knew that.

Miller

Miller stood behind Mrs. Grayson as she dined in the small room they had set up in the Flatiron for this meeting. Across from her, Councilman Firebeard was trying to take a bite from a slice of bread without getting spinach dip in his beard. At the same time, Miller was doing his best to avoid making eye contact with the Councilman’s bodyguard.

He focused on one of the polished spoons sitting on the white tablecloth. The reflection of the hobgoblin woman who served as the Councilman’s bodyguard reflected in it, her eyes locked on him.

“This is probably the best meal I’ve had since coming to Earth!” Councilman Firebeard raved.

Vivian carefully cut a small bite from her steak.

“The food is provided by Mei’s Den, which is both mine and Rory’s favorite place to eat within the District. Mei has also done a wonderful job on the aesthetic of her restaurant, but I had it delivered today, given the nature of our discussion,” Mrs. Grayson said.

Councilman Firebeard froze, and a little of the spinach dip landed in his beard.

“This discussion isn’t about your stay in De’Vas, is it?” Councilman Firebeard asked, his expression turning grim.

Mrs. Grayson shook her head.

“No, I’m sure the Council is still causing a ruckus about me being here, but there’s little they can do on the matter without incurring either Cleo’s or Rory’s wrath, perhaps even both.”

Miller watched as Councilman Firebeard paled at the thought of the old man and the banshee queen teaming up. Miller couldn’t help but let a small smile slip on his face at the thought, only to regret it as the hobgoblin woman’s face turned into a full grin and she winked at him.

“What this meeting is about is a certain dragon and his associates,” Mrs. Grayson said, as she handed the dwarf a tablet.

Councilman Firebeard frowned as he took it and began reading. His jaw dropped open as he did, and he stared at the tablet for a while.

“The recent rifts have been both a disaster and a boon. While there have been casualties and property damage, the monsters and new arrivals have led to an influx of reagents,” Mrs. Grayson stated. “Which Victor and his associates have been set on gathering, even if it means stealing them from other Council members.”

Councilman Firebeard gritted his teeth.

“This is a damning accusation. Why the hells would Victor and his friends do this?” he asked, still looking at the tablet. “They gathered plenty of their own reagents during the wave of new rifts.”

Mrs. Grayson chewed her last bite of steak, letting the dwarf read through more of the information on the tablet.

“Power. They want enough to push back against the human governments and undo the District system that has formed. If you continue reading, you will find a section about their dealings with WillCo. Though those dealings have since soured,” Mrs. Grayson stated. “Not surprising since WillCo could write a book on backstabbing.”

Miller noticed Mrs. Grayson’s slight frown at the mention of WillCo. He knew she had been concerned about how quiet the arms company had been lately. He suggested it was just them lying low with all the bad press from their labs and experiments coming to light.

When he looked back at the Councilman, he saw the dwarf’s face had turned almost as red as his beard, and he had set the tablet down on the table.

“What do you want by showing this to me? I will not betray De’Vas, no matter what the humans offer me,” Councilman Firebeard sneered.

Mrs. Grayson shook her head.

“I don’t represent the human governments, and I won’t lift a finger to help them,” Mrs. Grayson said. “They ensured that when they stripped my son of even the right to call himself human. No, the future of District 114 is my concern. My son has made a home here, established himself, and fallen in love with some wonderful girls. When I have grandchildren, I know not one of them will be human. This District and De’Vas are my future, the future of the Grayson family, and I will do whatever I can to protect that future.”

Councilman Firebeard turned and looked at his hobgoblin bodyguard. The green woman no longer cast flirtatious glances at Miller. Instead, she looked concerned and locked eyes with the dwarf.

“This is my daughter,” Councilman Firebeard said as he turned back to Mrs. Grayson. “I would travel through any hell for her sake. Your words resonate with me as a fellow parent, so I’ll hear what you propose.”

Mrs. Grayson nodded.

“All I ask, for now, is for you to back Cleo on the Council and be wary of Victor and those in his circle. District 114 is also looking for reagents, but unlike Victor, we won’t replace your workers with changelings and steal from you. Instead, Grayson Industries will compensate you and your District generously,” Mrs. Grayson answered. “Though by backing Cleo on the Council, you may be seen as already picking a side.”

The Councilman nodded.

“Given what you’ve shown me, I can either be a tool for Victor, or cast my lot with Blackthorn,” Councilman Firebeard shook his head. “And I’m no tool.”

The dwarf returned to reading the tablet, his face a grim mask.

“I’m sorry to ask, but do you have anything stronger than this wine?” he asked. “I’m an old dwarf and I can feel it in my bones, hells, I can even hear it. The drums of war are beating in the distance.”

Mrs. Grayson lifted her purse and pulled out a bottle of amber liquid, setting it on the table before retrieving two glasses from the purse as well.

She poured both glasses before handing one to Councilman Firebeard.

“Welcome to Blackthorn’s Alliance,” Mrs. Grayson said, lifting her glass of whiskey in a toast.

Councilman Firebeard lifted his own, a grim look still on his face.

“May we have each other’s backs in what is to come, and may it be the best for De’Vas,” he said before slinging back the glass of whiskey.