Evelyn XV"I thought we were going to patrol," Norima groaned. "I want to go see the city! I've never been to Pluto before!""I want to go eat sushi!" Hawkendale declared. "I want to see a sushi train! I've heard this city has sushi trains!"These two thought with their stomachs. Not that I could blame them. They were raised in a lab and I knew from personal experience that lab food wasn't very good.Still, I didn't want to stay here and listen to this. I had a message to analyze. My brother's murder had declared war. That was more pressing than parenting these two children.I was even starting to miss Johana. She had a mouth on her, but at least she could prioritize her work.These two didn't need to be Sword Hunters. They needed to be put in special classes to reintroduce them to society. They weren't complete lost causes, but they needed a push here and there."If you pass my test, we'll go on patrol tomorrow," I said to placate them. God knows I'd have to beat them to make them li
Interlude: The Guinea PigWhen HE woke up, his head was pounding. There was a ringing in his ears so loud that it drowned out everything else. HE felt sick like he was about ready to throw up. His whole body was aching and the only thing HE wanted to do right then was go back to sleep.What the hell had happened to him? HE had been in Kingsland for a business trip, that much he remembered. HE had spent a few weeks attending boring meeting after boring meeting, only the pub offering some relief. Last night was his last night in the province. He was supposed to fly to Victoria and then onto Jupiter.That was the plan. So why the hell did HE feel so bad? HE should still be on the plane, and unless HE had a few hard ones he couldn't remember, HE shouldn't be feeling so bad. HE always hated sleeping on planes, so maybe that was it?The ringing in his ears started to quiet, and HE could hear voices around him. HE tried to sit up, but HE couldn't move his upper body. He had sensations in his
Alaric XVIPound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.My head was aching like you wouldn't believe it. It felt like how I imagined a hangover would feel, multiplied by cancer. I was half convinced that someone was inside my head, hacking on the inside with a fucking pickax.Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound. Pound.
Alaric XVII "... Right. So how did we come to the conclusion that this was a titan? And they did the Jedi mind trick? Doesn't that seem a little far-fetched?" Were they just making a guess? Even if it was true that a titan did have the power to manipulate someone's mind, how would they know? "Was one of you mind-controlled?" That could explain it. "No. This gift isn't powerful enough to affect old minds. All of us have lived longer than a century." "Okay, I still don't see how you could have known." "Are you laboring under the delusion that we do not have titans of our own? Your court employs every strain, except for the lycans." I guess I hadn't considered that. I knew we had celestials around the compound, but I never gave much thought about having titans around. "One of our titans has a unique gift to feel the gifts of her kind. She was the one who informed us what we're looking for." "I see. That's smart." "Your court is vast, Alaric. The Tyrell Conglomerate is only one
Interlude: Henri Part 1Day before PartyWhen he clicked his linker, a message from Bianca appeared. After everything that happened at the last party they went to, he wasn't in the mood to speak with any of his friends.If it wasn't bad enough Sword came and crashed the party, and his parents found out. Henri's parents weren't supposed to find out. His mom screamed at him for half an hour straight about going to a party in the woods. On top of that, he lied to them about where he was going and now they didn't trust him anymore.Now when he wanted to go out, he needed to run it by his parents. Then they drove him there and made sure he was telling the truth. Well, that was how it was supposed to be, but he hadn't been allowed out of the house for anything but school.Now Bianca wanted him to go to another party? He was never going to be let out of the house and she expected him to go to THAT district? Bianca was crazy.There was a knock on his door. He quickly closed his linker and thr
Interlude: Henri Part 2His dad smiled. His old man didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to his bloody shirt or the bleeding wound on his neck. "Henri, it's rude to ignore our guest.""Guest? What, dad?"His father gestured to the girl standing beside him. "This is... One of your friends, right?" he spoke unnaturally slowly.Henri looked at her for a second, long enough to realize he didn't know her before he looked back at his dad. "I have no idea who she is, dad. What happened?""Nothing... Happened... Henri. Your friend is here to speak with you."Of course, he was speaking slowly. He was losing blood. He wasn't in his right head."We have to get you to the hospital, dad. I'll call an ambulance.""An ambulance? Henri, I don't need an ambulance. I need you to talk with your friend.""Dad, I have no idea who she is!""Of course you do, Henri. She's your... Friend."The girl giggled. "That will be all, sir. Go and take care of your neck.""Right... Right." His father walked away
Interlude: Henri Part 3"Who... Who are you?""I go by many names, but right now I'm going by Alice. I have a game to play and that's the name I've chosen.""Game? Chosen? What are you talking about?"The girl shrugged. "The truth is, you don't need to know, Henri. The only thing you need to know is that I need you.""You need me?" Henri asked, trying to take deep breaths."Yes. I need you for my game. You're going to be an important pawn in my game, Henri."Strixes were monsters that haunted the streets. Why was one here? What did she want with him?"You have a friend name Alaric, don't you?""What about Alaric?""He's the reason I'm here, boy. It's not his fault, but all the same, I need you to spy on him. I've arranged for you to go to that party of yours for a reason.""Bianca's party? My parents-""Have already agreed. I'm dominating your father and I'll make him forget, but I've planted the idea in his mind. As well as your mother, but enough about them. Forgive me, I'll have to
Alaric XVIII"What would he do if he found out what we did.""He'd kill both of us," Bianca said without hesitation. "Then he'd go find my older sister and drag her back. It's a good thing he isn't home.""He's not?""No. He's in Victoria for work. He's dealing with another pack. We're trying to set up trade relationships. Probably.""Probably," I agreed. I didn't know lycans I had seen Roger Lock before and that man was huge. I'm surprised he wasn't the alpha of her pack.Bianca wrung the leaves out of her head and tied it back into a long ponytail. "I'm going to need to take a shower when I get home. If my dad comes back and smells me like this, he's going to freak out. I'm sorry he'll just your name out of me before he puts me out of my misery.""I guess it's a good thing I have knight friends.""Oh no. He'll wait until your alone."We looked at each other... And then we started to laugh. "Okay. Seriously though, my dad cannot find out about this. He threatened to put my last boyfr