Veridian Shores

Chapter 18 - Those Who Will Play

When he walked into the room Capper could feel every bone in his body shaking with nervousness, as though someone had rung his whole body like a bell. It had been a very long time since he ventured into the personal chambers of Glaive's most powerful Elder. Managing to talk Tithe into giving him a private audience had been difficult enough, but now he faced the prospect of talking Jocasta into something utterly unprecedented.

Too late to back out now though. And with Gliss having now put herself squarely on the map after their run in with the Hearth vampires, this was the best time to try.

The Elder's chambers were enormous, easily three times the size of his own lodgings in the estate. Dark wooden walls loomed in on him, slightly arched and creating the impression that the whole room might cave in and swallow him. Three separate fires burned on the left, right and far walls, but he knew Jocasta had no need of extra heat. The crackle of the flames and the lurid orange light filled the room, accentuating the massive figure seated behind a broad, black-wooded desk. The whole place seemed to shimmer with a faint haze, as though he stood in the presence of some half-spectre.

Placing down the quill he held in one large, dark hand, Jocasta looked up, his iron gaze boring through the air and straight into Capper's skull. The tremendous force of the Elder's Aspect hit him like a physical thing and it took all the willpower he had not to take a backward step. They stood there for a moment until, satisfied the young Elder-Blood had passed the test, Jocasta nodded to Tithe who stood at the door.

The seneschal bowed and stepped backwards, pulling the heavy, reinforced door closed behind him. After the heavy clunk of locking hinges faded Capper straightened up, doing his best to look respectful.

"Thank you for seeing me," he said.

"It is no trouble. In truth, I could do with a distraction from..." Jocasta made a dismissive gesture to the maps and papers that littered his desk. "All this."

"I can imagine."

"The Elders are divided," he continued, his low bass voice reverberating in Capper's ribcage. "Just as divided as the Elder-Bloods. And Baelock...I received an envoy with a message assuring us that they had no intention of antagonising us, and that Arcil's incursion was an accident."

"An accident?!"

"I know, I know." Jocasta held up a hand to cut off his indignant diatribe. "All it means is that we know they're not ready to have a war. Arcil's actions may not have been sanctioned by his Elders, but it didn't seem...tactful to ask that question of an envoy."

"I guess not."

"But enough of politics." The Elder gestured to one of the ornate high-backed chairs. "Sit."

Capper stepped forward and lowered himself into the seat, sinking uncomfortably into the plush cushions. At first he didn't really know how to broach the subject of Gliss or the Synod. In the end, he opted for something else entirely.

"Was the offering satisfactory?" he asked.

Jocasta's smile opened, giving Capper a glimpse of his long fangs, slightly hooked with age. "Most satisfactory," he confirmed. "Whatever shortcomings some believe you have, you certainly know how to handle a hunt."

"Well, I can't take all the credit." His mind returned to that moment, watching Gliss making an example of their unfortunate Hearth prisoner. No meetings, assemblies or debates had been needed for her to make that decision. She saw a situation and dealt with it instantly – a trait he couldn't help but admire.

Even after their encounter Gliss had been instrumental in the dangerous extracting of three prime young men and women from the unwitting masses of Veridian Shores to be brought back to the Elders for their ritual feeding. Carved from a district dripping in wealth and recklessness, they came from the prime hunting grounds that Glaive possessed in the city. The rank-and-file of the clan never fed on its denizens, and if another clan member was caught there they would be slain without hesitation.