The Dark Edge Chronicles - Clan War

Chapter 3: Ventru Unleashed

Lash let the wind of passage whip in through the open cabin door to snarl around his armored body, his thoughts a million kilometers away even as he stared off into the darkness. Not so much about the coming battle; he had seen plenty of action during his time as Qos Viran. One more fight, even against such odds, was nothing.

No, his thoughts were occupied with some of the questions he now had about Lord Liam Magnar. Questions he didn't want to have. For good reason: the Irish vampire was not only Lash's commanding officer but was his friend and mentor as well, guiding the much younger vampire through the pitfalls and dangers of being Qos Viran. Dangers that, ironically enough, came as frequently from the very council they swore to serve as they did from actual enemies.

As often as humans in power jockey for position and additional power, so did their vampiric cousins, if not more so. Backstabbing and slander were everyday tools for hardened politicos that were just as liable to have you assassinated for accidentally making them lose face in front of their peers as they were to target each other. By virtue of him surviving for two decades on the council as Ventru's seat, much could be said of Korliss's ability to negotiate those dangerous waters. So his death was more than a little surprising, even in the face of vendetta. Korliss shouldn't have been caught unawares like that. Unless somebody he knew had drawn him out.

Which, of course, only brought Lash back to Magnar. Not only had Magnar kept himself above council politics and squabbles, he physically avoided contact with the council itself unless directly summoned to stand in front of it. It was an arm's length arrangement that served both well enough and kept Magnar out of harm's way for the most part. Which, along with the fact that House Magnar had for centuries been a valuable friend and ally to Clan Ventru, had lent credence to the thought that the venerable Irish Lord wouldn't be involved in promoting the vendetta.

Yet here was anecdotal evidence that Lady Korliss was shielded from her husband and children's fate the night Lord Korliss was slaughtered. Who else would do that but a member of the family? Or, at least, somebody with close ties to the family? And since he hadn't heard from Magnar since the Hand's abortive attack at the airport, he had to assume the Lord Commander was somehow involved.

Then a forearm against his side pulled the big vampire out of his thoughts.

"Look sharp," Ingrid directed into his earpiece, his sister crouched just behind him. "We're coming up on the compound now!"

Nodding, Lash looked down and towards the cluster of buildings that, from the angle of their approach, were backlit by the lights of Brussels, throwing them into even deeper shadow. Shadow that was being broken up by tracer fire and the occasional flare of a heavy artillery piece.

Pulling out a pair of binoculars, the veteran warrior scanned back along the path made by that tracer fire and quickly found its source: a full company of soldiers accompanied by at least four tanks and a mobile mortar, advancing from the southwest. A quick scan along the compound's perimeter found the other enemy units that had them surrounded, each accompanied with heavy armor. While it was difficult to make out any insignia or flag on the aggressors, it was an easy step to assume they were either Hand operatives, or nestari belonging to Houses loyal to the council member that had launched the vendetta. And they seemed to be advancing with little to no resistance.

"Is your mistress confident that Lady Van Tallert is actually here?" Lash asked, pulling the binoculars away from his face to look over his shoulder at his sister. "Her nestari don't seem to be fighting back. Which they wouldn't do if ..."

"She's not there," Ingrid finished for him, a thoughtful frown on her face. "I see what you're saying. But Emma wouldn't have sent you here if she didn't have concrete evidence that van Tallert was actually on site. Or put her M'tada at risk to do so, especially with the Hand knocking on her own door. She's not that kind of lilith."