Hidden In Plain Sight (MxM)✔

Chapter 23 - The Emperor

Luke wasn't sure how to react. His first instinct was to shout accusations at the man, but then he remembered where he was and how dangerous that would be. Besides, he could be wrong. It was completely possible for people to have similar sounding voices, plus what were the odds that the Emperor's servant was the same assassin? Luke opted to remain silent until he was sure. 

Devlin Cortez had a bony figure with prominent cheekbones and a pointed chin. His glance was casual, neither friendly nor frightening and while Luke examined the fellow, he took notice. The man's eyes immediately zoomed in on the cut on the human's lip and a shadow of a smile graced his face.

Nicholas then stepped between them, shielding Luke from his sight. Cortez didn't react and just turned to lead them to the carriage. It was a luxurious looking black box with gold inlay and red velvet seats . The servant held the door open and Luke hesitated until the Archduke came up and encouraged him to proceed. 

As they waited inside, Luke went over all the information he had gathered on the capitol. The territory was named Pinella, and it was one of the first established territories of the Empire. As for the Emperor, no one really knew his exact age but many believed he was one of the oldest Vampires alive.

Pinella was basically a medieval city which supposedly reflected the dark ages from which the Emperor may have been born. There wasn't much technology permitted here as it had been mandated that such things weren't welcomed.

Outside, many of the locals looked downtrodden and even sickly, with sunken eyes and pale skin. Luke had read that there was a strict tax on blood that the Emperor started enforcing a few decades ago as punishment for an attempted uprising. By raising taxes, he successfully starved out the lower class citizens who were the main influence of the whole thing.

Unfortunately, that just meant that Luke was more likely to run into a blood starved Vampire if he tried wandering around by himself. He was now grateful that Maximilia was allowed to guard him, even if she had to ride separately with the rest of the squadron.

"Make sure to stick close." Nicholas ordered. "I don't like the looks of this."

"Why?"

"Because I never notified anyone that I'd be bringing a companion along." He answered. "Yet that servant didn't seemed surprised."

"You're right, it is fishy." Luke agreed. "Because he knew my last name."

"I was wondering about that. Last time it was Shaw."

"Add that to the pile of lies my Master told..."

From what the human saw, there was no direct connection to the Emperor in Frederick's papers. There was just the trail of 'products' as they were moved. Most of them were sourced in the capitol and all the contacts were listed under alias names. If it weren't for that human woman's account, Luke may have even been foolish enough to believe the Emperor was unaware of the evil deeds going on under his nose.

Then again, the man was pretty evil without the Cartel. So maybe not.

"That's not all." Luke continued. "I think I recognized his voice as the man who threatened me and Frederick."

"The assassin that killed your Master?"

Luke nodded, and the Archduke let out a long, heavy sigh. "Of course he is."

"You're not surprised?"

"Not in the least. I've had enough attempts on my life to familiarize myself with this pattern. Sometimes the assassins are newly appointed staff, sometimes it's old friends. Either way, my enemies seem to find it funny to put them right under my nose." The Vampire rubbed his temple. "I'm regretting bringing you hear."