Tears of the Fallen Ch. 09

"They can fucking try," Andrei ground out. Fury blazed from his eyes as he rose and stalked around the dais. "Pietro is currently recovering in my home on pack lands. His skin is scarred, his regenerative abilities so compromised, they need additional time to strengthen. Even when saved from this powerful toxin, we are still vulnerable for a time afterwards. Any of our enemies could take us out easily."

"There has already been a further attempt on the Vârcolac," Mara added in a quiet voice. "A European vampire slipped through our defences and shot one of them with a bullet laced with the toxin. That's how we know it can be used in a projectile. The Vârcolac appear to be immune to the poison, as are the Weres."

Stephan rose slowly, glaring at Andrei and Demetri in front of him. "Let me get this straight. There has been an attack on one of our own, and an attack on the pack and this is the first we are hearing about it? This poison is directly targeted to vampire D.N.A and you have kept this from us until now?" His voice was cold and deadly, his body rigid with fury. The other Council members had a similar posture, though it was clear they were leaving it up to their elected chairperson to voice their thoughts.

Demetri sighed loudly, his eyes narrowing in displeasure. "All this has happened in the last week, Stephan. We were not deliberately keeping the Council in the dark. Caleb intended to brief the Council after we got Pietro safely home; however, we hadn't anticipated the attack on Liam and having to deal with the fallout from that. This is the first opportunity we've had to brief the Council. If you recall correctly, it's taken us all day just to get this emergency meeting set up, because the rest of you had more important things to do than attend. If we could have briefed you earlier, we would have."

"Squabbling over timing doesn't help us," Mara interjected, seeing the signs of her husband's impending explosion and knowing it wouldn't help matters if he did lost his temper. "The point is the Council now knows of the threat and we need to come up with a strategy on how to combat it."

"Take them all out," William growled.

"How do we do that? Are you thinking of going over there to do it personally, William? You must be forgetting you're a vampire and this toxin will kill you." Corinne's tone dripped derision and he turned to glare at her.

"And you may be forgetting who you're speaking to," he countered in an icy tone.

"Hardly, but sometimes you react first and think later. If the poison is deadly to us, then it's ridiculous to even consider sending vampires over to Europe, least of all one or more of the Council. If the Weres are immune, then perhaps consideration should be given to sending them over to deal with the problem." Corrine wasn't as biased against the wolves as some of the other Council members.

"Seriously?" Alexei drawled the word out in a deceptively mild tone. "You think the wolves are going to descend on Europe en mass to take care of our problem because we ask them nicely?" He stood up, frowning at the rest of the seated vampires. "Most of you have been trying to wiggle out of our alliance with the wolves for decades, but now, when we're under threat, you want to use them as cannon fodder against the European vamps? Our venom is still toxic to any Were not mated to a vampire. They'd be massacred."

"Fine, Alexei's point is noted," Stephan sighed, holding up a hand to ward off any further discussion to do with the wolves. It would only end up in an argument they didn't have time to get into. "I presume you have some kind of solution in mind?" His question was directed at Demetri.

"Send the hybrids," Cristoph suggested which immediately drew another hiss from Alexei and a slow smile from Andrei.

Mara stifled a groan, as did Demetri. The shit was about to hit the fan as it always did when Andrei smiled one of his smiles.

"Your solution is to send one of my children into danger, Cristoph? One of Alexei's girls? How do you think that suggestion is going to work out?" Andrei's voice was so cold, his tone belying the smile still gracing his lips.

"No, that wasn't what I meant, Andrei. I was merely pointing out that a hybrid would be the better choice..." Cristoph trailed off and gave an audible gulp as the more volatile Romanov twin continued to stare him down.

"What about Rayne and Gard?" There was a long hush in the room as Emily spoke for the first time. All eyes swivelled to look at her and she blinked in surprise, before stiffening her back and wiping her expression clear.

When there had been doubts raised after the children were born, Rayne had decided it was time to let the Council know that she was the first Vârcolac. The Council had expressed concerns about the hybrids and had wanted them to be taken into vampire custody. For the first time, there had been a landslide vote against the pack-aligned Council members, pushing the Council to invoke the constitutional guidelines the Vampire Nation was governed by. If Caleb had vetoed it, there would have been a chance of civil war again and if he had agreed to it, the packs would have gone to war.

The plausible solution at the time was for Rayne to disclose her Vârcolac heritage to the Council. Gard also chose to reveal his presence, and to offer up the tiniest hint of his background. Until then, the most the Council knew about him was that he was another Ancient, albeit a very old one. The knowledge that Rayne was Vârcolac and was a well-balanced individual made it all the more difficult to find issue with the hybrids. The fact that there was a mature adult who could offer assistance to the little ones was another benefit. After that, it had become easier to turn the Council back from the path it had been headed down.

Now, they were once more focused on Gard and Rayne, but this time as a tool, which would directly benefit the vampires. When no one spoke up immediately following Emily's suggestion, Stephan raised an eyebrow in Demetri's direction. "Would they be willing to go to Europe?"

Andrei snorted and walked back to his chair, sharing a glance with his brother who also retook his seat. "So, now you're asking instead of telling us what you want."

"Clearly Cristoph's choice of wording wasn't ideal, Andrei, but the Council is fully aware that none of the children will be permitted to go to Europe," Mara interjected in a reasonable tone. "Gard and Rayne are another matter though. I'm sure if we approach them with our concerns they will consider being our eyes and ears over there. They have Kothari's safety, along with everyone else's to think about."

"So, you will ask them, and update us on their decision?" Stephan pressed, trying not to show his relief that some of the tension was easing in the room.

Mara nodded her assent as Claude leaned forward and directed his gaze towards Demetri. "What of the assassin?"

"Neutralised," the Ancient responded brusquely, making it plain he had nothing further to say on the topic. "The Weres are working on trying to determine an antidote to the poison, but so far we are unsure of all the components used in it."

"We're really leaving it up to the wolves to find an antidote?" Lenore queried, with an incredulous note in her voice. "What's to say they will do their utmost to succeed? They are not of our kind."

"How many scientists do we have?" Alexei countered. "Perhaps we should give samples to the human scientists and let them work on it?"

"Don't be absurd, Alexei, you know that isn't what I meant." Venom dripped from Lenore's voice as she glared at the Ancient at the end of the table. "If the hybrids are immune, then what incentive is there for them to find the cure? Their loved ones are safe."

"You forget that Annie is Rafe's sister and Caleb his brother," Mara sighed, feeling exhausted. Keeping her wits sharp around the other Council members took a lot of energy. The current session had just about wiped out her reserves with the constant bickering.

Demetri crossed behind the dais to place his hands on her shoulders, rubbing her shoulder blades to ease a little of the tension. He didn't give a fuck what the other Council members thought of his actions; his Mara needed some of his strength and her needs were his priority. "The wolves hold many pureblood vampires as their friends and family and that is why they are working around the clock to try to find the antidote," he growled.

"Yes, if only we all shared that same loyalty," Mara muttered under her breath, aware that everyone could hear her.

"Okay, I think we have discussed the other points enough," Stephan sighed, rising to his feet. "To sum it up: Rayne and Gard will be asked to travel to Europe and report back their findings; the wolves will continue working on an antidote to the poison and update us when they are successful. I guess the main question left is do we tell our people of this present danger?"

No one answered; each vampire looked from one to another, trying to gauge his or her thoughts on Stephan's summation.

"A vote sounds good." Demetri finally broke the silence. "I vote no. Most of them won't believe it and probably hare off to Europe and get themselves killed. Even if they don't, the more people who know, the higher the likelihood it would end up alerting whomever is responsible with what we have learned thus far. That, in itself, could end up escalating whatever timetable they have established. From the intelligence we have gathered, it would seem only one assassin has managed to cross over and attempt to infiltrate our territory. No point in making them react prematurely. We have more time this way."

Stephan laughed and it was the first humorous sound of the evening. It appeared to startle a couple of the other Council members. "Your logic is sound, Demetri, but your vote is moot. You're not a member of the Council."

He turned to survey the others, and took note that they had digested the Ancient's words. "Do we need a formal vote? What Demetri says makes sense. If there is anyone who wishes to alert our people now, please speak." He didn't expect any dissent to the Ancient's logic and received none.

"I declare this meeting adjourned then. Mara, how soon will we know if Rayne and Gard are in agreement to our request?"

"I'll email everyone later tonight. The sooner we get someone over there the better. We intend to stop off to update the pack on our way home."

The Council members began to file out of the chambers slowly. Stephan held back to ask after Alexei and Andrei's families. There was nothing unusual about his action, as he had been their friend for centuries.

When the others had finally gone, Demetri scowled at him. "Did you have to give me such a hard time?"

Stephan's smile was innocent. "Of course, it would have appeared remiss of me not to."

"Not to mention the enjoyment you took out of making him squirm!" Andrei laughed, this time his smile actually reaching his eyes.

"There is that," his friend laughed back, his eyes twinkling. Stephan's expression deepened as he motioned Emily to his side. "You performed excellently, Emily. Your timing was impeccable. Thank you."

The Youngling blushed and bowed her head to hide her pleased smile. "Thank you, Stephan."

"Do you think they bought it?" Mara asked. She had taken on more of a major role in the evening's events, and that made it difficult for her to take stock of the other Council members' positions.

"They bought it," Alexei answered. "I spent most of the meeting watching their reactions. They truly think it was their decision to send Gard and Rayne to Europe. I would bet a small fortune that not one of them realised they were being herded in that direction, especially not after Andrei's little display."

His twin snorted. "I didn't do anything. If I could have pounded on Cristoph's face a little, then maybe you could have said I did something."

"The objective was to get them around to our way of thinking not alienate them, Andrei," Demetri admonished, his tone dry. "And anyway, just a little of that creepy smile of yours is enough to make most people run a mile. You don't need to bash skulls to get your point across."

"The next idiot who thinks he or she can send my children into a warzone is going to get their skulls caved in and I don't care who they are," his friend muttered, clearly unhappy with that part of the meeting.

Demetri sighed and bit his lip, pulling Mara close to his side. "Our work here is done, so let's get the hell out of here for tonight. I need to let Caleb know how it went and we need to get things in motion for the trip to Europe. Thank you, Stephan, Emily, for your help tonight."

"Your goals served our goals," Stephan replied, nodding to the Ancient. "But let Caleb know that may not always be the case and never to think he has our vote guaranteed. As long as it serves the best interests of our people, we will consider all requests for assistance. We retain the freedom to say no at any time."

"Acknowledged." Demetri turned from them, leading Mara from the room, the twins following with Stephan and Emily bringing up the rear. With this first phase completed, now they had to go set in motion the next part of their plan...to find out who was responsible for the attack on Pietro and the Vârcolac and how best to neutralise them.

*****

"You hid them here?" Rhianna shot her brother a surprised glance as he pulled the car to a stop about a mile from the back boundary of her home with Caleb.

"Where else would I hide them? They had to be somewhere close for when you needed them."

"There's nothing here though, Gard. This area is just trees, and more trees, for miles on end."

Gard chuckled, his eyes glowing lavender in the darkness as he helped Rhianna out of the car. "You always had a habit of never seeing what was right in front of your nose, sister of mine. I took the chance that things wouldn't be that much different this time around. Reach out with your senses."

Shooting him another pointed glance, Rhianna did as he asked, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes before sampling their surroundings. She found it almost immediately, the faintest hint of a spell off to the right. Turning in that direction, she walked towards two large oak trees close to a modest rock formation that couldn't have been more than eight feet in height.

She stopped, her cessation of movement so abrupt Gard had to rest his hands on her shoulders to prevent himself barrelling into her back. "How can those trees be so close to that rock face?" Either their roots should whither from the lack of soil to spread out in, or the rock should crumble if there is enough soil for the roots to burrow beneath."

Gard muttered something under his breath and she felt the air stir as he incanted a counter spell. The oaks slowly faded away and in the rock face the outline of a doorway appeared. The magic that had been used was so subtle; she would never have noticed it without being made aware it was there. Her brother rarely used his gifts, but when he did, he had the most delicate of touches.

"When? How?" Quizzical lavender eyes met his and he grinned at her, pure male smugness lighting up his face at having outwitted her.

"You and Caleb kept globetrotting when you were first together. You left me to my own devices for five years before you let my presence be known. I worked on it every time you went away, until I was satisfied it was safe enough for the chests to be transported."

Rhianna's answering smile was full of affection, as well as pride. "Sneaky, sneaky male," she teased walking up to the rock and lightly tracing the right side of the crack. She stopped halfway down, feeling a stirring of air and pressed against it with her own magic, shaping an invisible key to turn in the invisible lock. There was a rumble of sound as the door slid sideways, melting into the rock.

"Nice work," she praised, as the door revealed a deceptively large cave set into the rock. "You and your caves. I'm starting to think you have some strange fetish for them."

"Don't knock what you haven't tried," he countered, nudging her gently inside with a hand on her lower back. "You forget, I had to live through countless centuries when caves were the main choice of protection from the elements. "

Rhianna's mouth dropped open as she entered further, stunned surprise crossing her face as she took in the bookcases filled with the books she had seen in her dream. Somehow, Gard had managed to construct a freestanding room within the cave, and had recreated a portion of the old library. There were overstuffed chairs, a couple of reading tables, and multi-coloured rugs on the floor. There was even another of his intricate fire pits in the centre of the room, the flames crackling heat without any sign of smoke.

"Oh my god, how did you manage all this? Why haven't the books decayed in these conditions?"

"Did you forget the preservation spells Anakatrine placed on each book?" Her brother's tone was sombre, as if reliving that memory. He walked over to one of the bookcases, touching a few books almost reverently. "Maybe if she hadn't used so much of her magic to protect them...things may have been different."

Rhianna felt her heart tug at the sorrow that laced his words and crossed to his side. His arm automatically surrounded her petite frame as she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I don't know how much of the dream sequences you were able to see last night, but from what I witnessed there was never an alternative, Gard. Things played out as they were meant to and there was nothing you could have done to prevent it."

"I saw it all. I saw Anakatrine and Callain's last moments. It was even more horrific than what I imagined it to be when I fled with the child." He whispered the words, closing his eyes as if he could shut out the memories. "Knowing what I know now, having Rayne in my life...reliving those moments took on a completely different meaning."

He opened his eyes, staring down at her for a moment before he disentangled her arms and moved to sit in one of the chairs. Gard leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. "I was angry with Ana for such a long time. I could never understand why she made me leave; how she could take everything I was and turn it into nothing. I was the Guardian. I had lived my whole life protecting her and it had all been for nothing. Millennia, Annie; I was still so angry with her, even as I came to seek you out at her moment of rebirth."

He rubbed his face in his hands, taking a deep breath as he admitted to emotions he'd hidden for so long. "All that time I blamed her, then I came to find out she had done it all for me. Her intentions were always to save me, and to save Rayne, so that one day we would find each other and I would know the deep love that she shared with Callain."

Rhianna wept silent tears as she listened. She could now understand why he had appeared so haggard looking when she'd knocked on his bedroom door. He needed to speak, needed to unburden himself of the guilt she could hear in his voice. This wasn't something Annie could help with, so she searched inside her mind for the soul her brother cried out to. "Help him."

It was the vampire Queen who knelt in front of him, who framed her Guardian's face with her hands as she raised his head to meet her gaze. "You have nothing to be regretful for, my beloved brother. Had I told you of my plans, you would have given everything up—your Sarayne, your happiness, your life—and I couldn't allow that. I needed you here in this time and place. Perhaps you will consider that selfish of me, but I had to save someone. You know Callain would never have left me. You were the only one who remained and when I looked to the future and saw your mate was the child doomed to perish with her parents, I had to prevent that from happening."