Veridian Shores

Chapter 24 - Within These Walls

They emerged to the rear of one of the massive tiered walls of seating and quickly moved to the nearest end, hoping to slip around unnoticed. As luck would have it the two guards closest to that section of the debate had been forced to move from their positions, having the unenviable task of keeping the Elder-Bloods in the front ranks from crossing the chamber to confront opponents on the other side. Ducking around the side of the stand, Capper knifed into a thin gap between Elder-Bloods – one from Wraith and one from Wolf – both oblivious to the newcomers having had their Aspects riled by something.

Then he spotted Brooke, nearly invisible in the chaos of the chamber. She stood tall, mouth closed, arms folded, an expression of faint disgust on her features. While the vampires around her hurled insults and roared their arguments across the gulf, she remained silent, occasionally casting a disdainful glance around her.

Capper frowned. It wasn't like her to stay out of a good screaming match. Unless maybe she was the cause of all this. He'd heard her speak in debating chambers before and one thing she could do better than anyone else was illicit a reaction – an angry one. She might have been an expert duellist, but she could fight with words better than anyone he knew.

SILENCE!

The single word exploded in Capper's head and he hissed in pain, his fangs reflexively sliding to the fore at the sudden firebrand that ignited in his skull. In that same instant every single Elder-Blood reacted the same way. Curses, oaths and snarls of pain rippled through their massed ranks, fangs bristling momentarily among them before receding again. Then all eyes turned the head of the room.

None of the Elders had actually spoken. Somehow they'd just sent that word straight into the heads of every vampire in the room, with immediate results. He glanced at Gliss and found her staring at the Elders, jaw tight, her grip on his arm now like a vice.

Then he caught sight of Druven and a primeval terror gripped him like a giant's hand. Suddenly he was glad of Gliss's grip on him. He placed a hand over hers, holding tightly and waiting with a sense of impending dread for what might be coming next.

With all the foreboding of a corpse rising from its grave, the leader of Baelock's Elders, lord of the manor, stood up from his chair. While not as tall as Jocasta, he still cut an imposing figure, clothed in a thick black robe that bore delicately threaded runes of ancient Vampyr. Gaunt-cheeked and thin-lipped, he seemed to stare into the very heart of every one of them as his gaze swept through the room like a scythe.

Slowly but surely, order reasserted itself. The Elder-Bloods present regained control of their transformations and brought their Aspects to heel. Baelock guards exchanged grateful looks, no longer looking at the prospect of attempting to restrain a chamber-full of vampires much older and more powerful than they. They trickled back to their positions by the chamber's various doorways, hands still straying close to weapons as they watched and waited.

Satisfied that he had regained control, Druven gave a gentle nod to the Baelock senseschal and stepped forward to the edge of the Elders' dais, to a jutting platform that placed him far closer to the debating floor.

"There will be order within these walls while I reside in them," he said without preamble. His voice was deep and thick, almost like syrup. While he spoke calmly there was a definite undertone of threat in his words, daring any to challenge him. Capper doubted there was anyone that suicidal in the whole city, never mind in the assembly chamber.

"We have heard many opinions and accusations in the course of this Synod," Druven continued. "Some of it is substantiated, some of it is not. I will not deny that there have been tensions between us and our erstwhile counterparts of the Clan Glaive. They are unlikely to be entirely resolved in one night." He glanced back over his shoulder at Jocasta, and to Capper's surprise he saw Glaive's leader smiling thinly. Whatever discussions the Elders had undertaken outwith the assembly chamber, they must have been more fruitful than the debate itself.

"You have had your opportunities to speak. While Elder-Blood Illcanthe's intervention may have bordered on gross disrespect, both she and our own representatives have a common goal. To stop the escalation." He inclined his head to Brooke and Capper blinked in amazement. Whatever she'd said had even struck home with the Baelock Elders. "Our own discussions have proceeded along constructive paths. I urge restraint and patience from all of you. It is best if we adjourn for the moment. We will retire to consider the next course of action for the clans."

Capper tried to catch Brooke's eye, but she was deep in conversation with Marshall now as a fresh hubbub rose through the ranks of the Elder-Bloods, this time far more restrained. He shook his head and looked at Gliss as the

"Well, how do you like that?" she said quietly. "Your friend must've said something pretty impressive."

"She wields words the way you or I would use a sword," he chuckled. "She's a born diplomat."

"You know it's all a lie, right?" To accent the point she hugged herself against him, squeezing the bulk of the Keystone. "They did have the Keystone. They've got no intention of making peace with you."

Capper nodded slowly. "Maybe now they'll have to rethink that plan."