Useless as a mage, Silvia Copse finds herself so upset that she goes and gets black out drunk at the bar. So drunk that she can't tell up from down, she picks up a man with red eyes, white hair, and skin of ice.
What does a useless mage do when the...
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They organized a meeting at the eastern complex not more than a week later to discuss the implications of what had happened. Before she arrived, her father had given her the gist if what he knew. An organization known as Angelus has sent assassins to all of the mage complexes at once to execute the mages. It was a coordinated attack, and they lost several mage generals, but more survived the attacks and executed their attackers.
Without Ares, she would have lost her father too, and she would make a point to hug him next time she saw him. He would probably hate it, but she had so much gratitude for the Arcs that she could hardly contain it. Idus had shown up immediately on sight of trouble, and he had called Ares to help when he was in over his head. Neither of them had thought of walking away even though the fate of the mage house was of no consequence to them.
It only mattered to her, and she as sure Ares had known that.
Despite everything the Arcs had done for them, they weren't present at this meeting, and it made Silvia uneasy. At least most of them weren't. In the corner of the meeting room, Remus Shade was sitting with Meredith Aurion, and Damien was not far from him, leaning against the wall. Neil wasn't with him, and it didn't make her feel good. Why would the man be here without his house head? It was evening, so there was no reason for Neil to not be here.
They were assembled to go over a plan to strike back at Angelus, and after they'd lost so many mage generals, they were a bit short on men to carry out their attack. That was why the Shades were being represented here.
"Why should we trust the Shades in this matter?" Forest asked, voicing her concerns. "How do we know you weren't involved?
The Aurions had organized the meetings with the eastern and western generals. Involving the Shades seemed strange, considering the mages didn't know which vampire houses were trying to take them out. The Shades' territory was cut off and on the other side of the Arcs, so the Copses had no interaction with them.
"I am invested in Angelus' eradication," Remus said with a darkening expression. "They attempted to kill my father and me once last year, and I intend to pay them back in full."
"Angelus is a relic of the Arc past, and I too would like to see them gone," Damien said, explaining his presence. "Vincent led them with a few other Vampire houses that I never met, and upon his death they closed communication. It was a mage from among their ranks that he used to try and kill the Shades when he attacked in the incident last year.
"I don't know how far their clutches go into the remaining Arcs, so Remus and I have discussed perhaps an infiltration mission with the mages. If you can infiltrate and make sure we are going to be getting them all, the Shades will commit men to wipe them out, and I will also help."
"You're offering to do our work for us, but only if we sniff out your target?" Forest snapped.
"You won't be able to completely get rid of them with a mage attack," Remus responded with a far too even tone. "Vampires are too fast, and some will flee. But the Shades are hardline against them, so I have no one to infiltrate with. It would be best if you had a mage that would seem natural. Someone who is upset with the mage order, and is also skilled enough to play along with the façade of adoring vampires. Angelus is a radical sect and they feed off of humans worshipping them. It's not that we wouldn't do the dangerous work if we could, we just don't have the angle necessary."
