Conclave (Hypernaturals 3)

Walk the Talk

Not another body could get into the ballroom without starting a new layer of bodies. Victoria stood up, and the room quieted. I loved that they did that, rather than Victoria needing to bang on something. She did not wait long before she all eyes were on her.

"Good morning. Welcome to what is undoubtedly the main event of this impromptu Conclave. Well, not counting the hot tub parties, of course." She waited for the laughs to die down. She turned to face me on the stage and made a one-handed presenting gesture. "Speaking to us today: our very own Adrian."

I pondered for a microsecond that I, like most everyone in our world, am now single named. Last names are disposable, but most Vampires try to keep continuity by retaining the same first name. Not always, but it is safer to always answer to the same name. Vampires change identities the way humans change socks, so my last name is nothing I will be able to keep.

Jessica and Helen have entire collections of names. So did every person in this room. It is part of how Vampires stayed hidden from discovery by humans. To adapt to the modern world, we have highly placed Vampires in all the agencies that issue identities. All the agencies that search on identities. If there existed a top-secret agency anywhere in the world, many of the women that work in it are Vampires. When my documents are checked no matter what name is on them they will come back as one hundred percent authentic because they are. All of the names are.

Victoria went on "More than a new Vampire, he is for the moment the one and only Siren Liaison. A new post, created by the North American Council, to deal with this new situation. Adrain's role is to keep us..." Victoria paused for effect, made a large circling gesture, her finger pointed at the ground to indicate the entire planet "All of us the world over... informed as to what the Sirens are up to. As such, he reports directly to the Council."

That caused chatter. People looked at each other. A male. Reporting to the Council?

Victoria overrode the buzz "Conveniently for the Council, two members of Adrian's original parole subcommittee, Helen, and Rachel, have stayed in close contact with him. In the early days, this worked, but in the future, he will report directly to me." She laid her fingers tented on her chest, above her heart.

Holy covering fire, Batman!

I looked over at Helen to see if she knew about that, but she was unreadable and I can not scent her with paper stuffed up my nose. I looked over at Rachel and saw nothing there either. Jessica looked surprised by the change, but it is subtle.

More buzz. It seemed a bit angrier. Not just reporting to the NorthAm Council, but directly to its head? I thought perhaps the anger might be about the idea of Victoria using this crisis to consolidate power rather than what I am, gender-wise. I hope so. Victoria has far better resources to face that kind of heat. It is also nice to have company in the distrust boat.

Victoria obviously knew that some would question her motives, so she next directly addressed that. She dropped her voice, both in volume and pitch, to make everyone quiet and lean in. "The Siren situation is serious. It threatens our lives, and it cannot be dealt with lightly. I cannot overstate that. You all have my personal commitment that I will work closely with the heads of each geography's Council. This situation landed in our lap here in North America, but that is circumstance. Our bad luck." Victoria glanced at a few other members of the Council, seated in the front row. They looked back, faces serious. They are not thrilled at the honor of having the Sirens in NorthAm's backyard either.

Victoria looked at the room at large to underscore her next point "All Vampires everywhere in the world need to know what is going on here. The Sirens are back in force and they are no doubt everywhere. Not only here. This is the only place they have so far revealed themselves. As policy is formed through Global consensus, all Vampires everywhere need to know and understand it. We are hampered by our need to stay underground and away from human gaze, but we will ensure that everything we know is brought to everyone everywhere. This is the commitment of the North American Council to everyone. You have my solemn word we will keep no secrets nor make any decisions that affect us all. Only in the gravest emergency would we act without agreement from all the Councils. Only to save our kind. At the same time, I would encourage all Councils to send representatives here. Perhaps a few members of your Enforcement arm. We will not dictate to you all what it takes to make you comfortable. Do whatever each geo needs to get everyone fully plugged in, in real-time, to the situation. Whatever that is, we'll work with all of you on the logistics to make that work. Helen calls this the 'Open Kimono' policy." If you have ever been to a hot tub party with Helen, you know she likes an open Kimono."