Blade to the Keep

by Dane, Lauren

  “He knows his job.” Susan linked her arm with Rowan’s and drew her into the large room where a video feed would soon link them with Paris. “You’re coming over for dinner this evening.” It wasn’t a request. She hadn’t been able to really debrief with Susan after the events of three months before when Rowan had uncovered and dispatched a Vampire serial killer. Bonus that he was also a tweaker and they’d learned the Vampires had figured a way to get past the blood barrier that had until recently kept them from being able to get high through humans’ blood.

  Or about Clive, which was a poorly kept secret that wasn’t really a secret by that point.

  “Yes, of course. Just us, right?”

  Susan paused, turning to take Rowan in carefully. “What makes you ask that? Is there a problem?”

  “Valerie sent an escort to bring me here this morning.”

  Susan’s left brow rose slowly, imperiously. “Did she? How...conscientious of her.”

  Well, that made Rowan feel better. Susan, despite her expensive wardrobe and perfect hair, could cut a bitch when necessary. Rowan might have been schooled at the knee of The First in all sorts of bad-assery, but Susan had taught Rowan her fair share.

  Rowan rolled her eyes, and Susan patted her arm. “We have so much to catch up on before you leave for Germany.”

  There was a fairly large spread, and Rowan not only got herself some tea, but several sandwiches and sweet things, as well, before she settled at the large table near Susan. Having something to do with her hands would keep her annoyance level down.

  Partners began to show up and settle. Most greeted Rowan happily. She did have friends there. But some, those in Valerie’s camp, viewed Rowan with distrust. Which, well, was sort of like caffeine for her. For some reason it filled her with energy when people didn’t like her.

  Valerie sailed into the room, and Rowan gave her a cheery smile and wave. Susan tried not to smile as she busily looked over her notes.

  “Rowan.” Valerie settled in across the table. “I trust you made it here all right.”

  Rowan looked down at herself, sitting right in front of Valerie. “It’s a comfort to me that you’re so concerned about my memory. I’ve been here so many times over the years, but thanks so much for your concern.”

  She cheerfully ate her sandwiches and waited as the Paris Motherhouse connected.

  Several minutes passed as the minutiae of Hunter politics droned all around her. She didn’t care about any of the day-to-day stuff. It might be bloodier out on the street instead of behind a desk, but Rowan preferred the violence to spending any amount of time thinking about how much of this or that to order, what exact language was in what contract, or other boring crap she didn’t care about. At least violence was tangible in her world.

  Finally, the chatter died down and Rowan heard her name. She sat straighter and looked over at the screen.

  Celesse Blanc, Rowan’s very first trainer, spoke from Paris. “As everyone knows, the meeting of the Joint Tribunal will be held at the Vampire Nation’s Keep in four days. This will be Rowan’s first time as liaison, so I thought she could first get us up to speed on the situation with the blood barrier and we could speak about our expectations for the meeting.”

  That last bit was some sort of pat on the head to all the people who thought she’d set things on fire or eat with her fingers. Like she didn’t know Vampires better than anyone in Hunter Corp.

  “The main thrust of this Joint Tribunal will be amending the Treaty. The sub-committees have been meeting to work on language for that. You’ve all received it. There’ll be a certain amount of dancing around before we can get to the point, but if we stay on task, things will be fine.”

  “This is your first Joint Tribunal. How do you know that?” Valerie’s patronizing smile made Rowan want to punch her in the throat. Instead, she smiled right back.

  “I was raised by Vampires, I know how they work. They like pomp and circumstance. They like cocktails and tiny, pretty appetizers, and they like the big game that this is to them.” Vampires liked to play with their food. It got boring being nearly immortal, so they loved that dance of negotiation. Debate, that intense back-and-forth between opposing parties, held a high position in the Vampire Nation. Teeth and nails, yes, but all the most powerful in the Nation used their brains too.

  “I think you can trust us to know how to play the game. Some of us have been doing this longer than you have.”

  “Is that so?” A muscle in the back of Rowan’s eye jumped. “I’m sure you think being here for what—two years—gives you some sort of unique perspective. And you know, it’s awesome to live in your world, but over here in reality, we’re talking about an amendment to a treaty that will protect billions of human beings. So, let the adults get their work done.”

  On the screen, Celesse’s mouth flattened, and Rowan didn’t know if it was a frown she smothered, or a smile.

  “You might have to accept that those of us here in the office might know a few things about how society events work.” Valerie looked Rowan up and down, distaste clear on her features.

  “I’m a little too busy saving everyone’s ass to work on my social climbing bitch skills, so maybe you can write up a memo for everyone to read.”

  Susan made a sound and quickly disguised it by clearing her throat. “The topic is the amendment to the Treaty. I think we can agree Rowan is in the best position to get this passed as she understands the Vampires better than anyone else.” She sent a look Valerie’s way.

  Valerie smirked in Susan’s direction, and Rowan wished she had some popcorn to eat while she watched what she hoped would be an awesome smackdown by Susan. Then Valerie doubled down on the smirk and started talking. “Well, Susan, the question is, what if we don’t want the Amendment to be passed? Why assume it’s for the best? We’re going forward as if we all agree continuing to try to contain a threat like the Vampires is the best option. Eradication has not been entertained as a viable solution in far too long.”

  Rowan sighed. “Which is, I suppose, what you might think of as an academic discussion. Those of us out there in the field know the situation quite clearly, and we speak with a unified voice. War would be a devastating outcome. Countless humans would die. Some would join the Vampires, yes. The truth of the revelation would fracture human society, especially the whys of it. They’re stronger than you can imagine, and we’d lose people, too. We did this before. The cost, thought humanity—most of them anyway—figured it out. We don’t have the luxury of that sort of isolation and superstition now.”

  “Collateral damage is bound to happen. But in the end, humanity would thank us. As for those humans who betray their race by taking the side of the Vampires, that’s the price they have to pay.”

  Rowan didn’t bother to hide her lip curl. “Who are you to decide humans who make their own choices to work with Vampires deserve to die? As for humanity being thankful? That’s a pretty bold assumption. Would they greet us in the streets as liberators and take our chocolate bars?”

  Valerie’s face went blank at the reference to past wars—and past failures. Not really a surprise. People who were ignorant of history were usually the ones pushing an agenda they didn’t fully understand.

  “Collateral damage is a nice word for killing innocent people. We don’t have to. We’re not Vampire Hunters in the sense that we travel around in our custom vans and stake them in their coffins. Stop watching late-night television. We exist to enforce the Treaty and keep them in line. That’s our job.”

  “Maybe our job needs to change. Humans are dying right now. That’s why we’re having to amend the Treaty to begin with.”

  This time Rowan didn’t hold her lip curl back. “Yes, I know, as I’m the one out in the field dealing with it. But since you’re the one tossing out terms like collateral damage, I’m sure you can understand the differe
nce between four or five deaths and millions.”

  “But it’s four or five here and two there, and what about the deaths we don’t know about? If we do this now, we save lives in the long run.” Clearly someone had been coaching her because Rowan didn’t believe she was smart enough for this stuff on her own.

  “Really? And you’re going to get out there and get up close and personal with a Vampire? Close enough to kill one? Have you ever even fought one?”

  “That’s what you’re for.”

  Susan’s posture went rigid and her face darkened with the sort of fury Valerie was too dumb to understand the threat of.

  “What we’re for? Are we to be collateral damage too, then?”

  Valerie gave a casual wave. “Not you. You’re not in the field anymore. Naturally the Hunters who are in the field would be the best choice to do this. We can also bring on private soldiers. The other supernaturals might wish to join us as well.”

  Celesse made a sound that Rowan knew all too well. Partners around the table shifted. Not all of them uncomfortably. Some of those faces were not entirely horrified by the stuff coming from Valerie’s mouth.

  Celesse made a cutting motion with her hand. “We’re not hiring mercenaries and we’re not going to war. The cost is too high, and those of us who have regular contact with Vampires understand that for the most part they are not the monsters this serial killer was. The overwhelming majority are not law breakers. They go about their lives without misusing humans. It’s folly to imagine risking the peace that came at such a high cost to address an issue far more easily dealt with via diplomacy. And it’s far easier for those who’d never be asked to draw blood, or shed it, to toss out the sort of ignorant nonsense about the cost of war than those Hunters who are far too intimate with that violence and threat.” All of this was delivered with such deadly calm, the hair on Rowan’s arms rose.

  Celesse paused to sip some water and turned her gaze back to the camera. “In any case, as a group, Hunter Corp. has made the decision to pursue an amendment to the Treaty and it’s a waste of valuable time to go over the same ground again.”

  Rowan actually felt it was a good thing to spank Valerie so publicly. This bullshit about going to war bugged the shit out of her. She was a cranky bitch, but the casual way the opponents to the Treaty brought up war made her skin crawl. They never seemed to remember or even consider the actual costs in terms of lives and the overall stability of human culture and civilization.

  “Rowan, if you please. Give us an overview of your expectations.”

  “So, to cover relevant issues, we’ll meet that first day and then aim for a vote the second.”

  “It’s a three-day meeting, why not wait for the third day? We might get more out of them.” Valerie continued to speak as if Rowan were a small child.

  “We’re not buying a car. The quicker we can push this vote, the better.”

  “I can’t see the point. If we’re hauling ourselves all the way to Germany for this meeting and they’re the ones who are on the ropes, why wouldn’t we be getting as much as we can? It seems to me that your relationship with them has affected your thinking.”

  Rowan’s laugh was full of jagged glass and menace. The sound of it pleased her nearly as much as the way Valerie paled and drew back slightly.

  “That you can’t see the point is why this is my job and not yours.” And then she went on to outline the chronology of the Joint Tribunal.

  It was important, this amendment. She knew there were those within Hunter Corp. who wanted war. The stakes were high and Rowan would not fail. Too many lives were at stake to let ignorance win out.

  She had the tools to do this right. She just needed to keep herself focused on the end goal and not allow herself to get sidetracked.

  Which was easier said than done, of course. Everyone had an agenda. All those people with some measure of influence had to be dealt with, all while the process kept moving forward.

  Politics sucked.

  Chapter Two

  Rowan leaned back and sipped her tea. After that interminable meeting, it was a relief to be there in Susan and Rex’s town house.

  Susan sighed. “I have underlined my belief that your being made Liaison is crucial in our relations under the Treaty.”

  They’d been discussing the events of the last months, from when the first body had been discovered in the desert right through to her apprehension and execution of the Vampire serial killer responsible.

  “Politics, Susan. They’re getting in my way. I’m heading to Germany tomorrow, and I’ve got to play games over where we sit and all that nonsense. Who I tell what first. It’s a waste of my energy when I’ll need it to keep everyone on track.”

  Susan snorted and waved a hand. “Darling, your job is incredibly political. Moreover, Vampires are more political than Hunters ever could be. You’ve been weaned on politics and hierarchy and are perfect for this position because of that. As annoying as it might be, you can’t pretend that away. I’m still concerned that you’re only taking along David. You need a retinue.”

  Rowan groaned. “I don’t need a retinue. Hell, Valerie and Celesse will be there in their own, right along with however many valets they bring to butter their bread and wipe their asses.”

  Rex, Susan’s husband, burst out laughing. “I’ve missed you so, my delicate flower.”

  She laughed. “You know what I mean. Anyway, I tried to explain to them that the more people they bring, the weaker they’ll look. But you heard Valerie. She thinks she knows more about Vampires than I do. So what can I do?”

  “When you told her you had grown up in their midst and you understood them better than a social climbing bitch? That seemed a nice touch.”

  “I was sorry I had to be out on a phone call when that happened.” Rex winked at Rowan.

  “She’s totally a social climbing bitch. But no one does social climbing like a Vampire. She’s outclassed, and she’s so self-centered she won’t even see it.”

  “Will she be in your way? Be honest.”

  Rowan put her teacup down on the low table and thought before she shook her head. “No. What Valerie doesn’t understand, because she can’t listen, is that she doesn’t matter to this process. She can hate me all she wants and pout because her little minion lost the job. Her weakness, not only in this case, but in her job in general, is that she cannot see that her ambitions won’t be realized with the Vampires.”

  Part of Rowan’s biggest issue with Hunter Corp. was who rose to the top. Leadership and power positions were often filled by people who understood how to fuck each other over to get ahead. But that was a human strategy, and it didn’t work on Vampires. Vampires loved power and hierarchy, but how they gathered it was not something Hunters like Valerie understood at all.

  In her opinion, only Hunters who’d done field work should be allowed to deal directly with Vampires.

  So yes, while Vampires responded to power, what got overlooked by many in Hunter Corp. was what sorts of power they respected. To Vampires, how big an office was, or what shoes you wore, was a passing fancy. That wasn’t the power they cared about.

  But who took what call and how fast? Where one sat at a table. Who got invited not to a cocktail party—which most humans used for what Vampires would see as cosmetic reasons—but to a meeting, that was what they cared about.

  Rowan turned her attention back to Susan. “Celesse will be fine. She’s been dealing with the Vampires a long time. She can be a pain in my ass, but she’s not stupid. She’ll be a support when I need it, and I won’t have to worry about her every time my back is turned.”

  “But that’s a concern you have with Valerie? This is the first time she’s attended a Joint Tribunal held at the Keep. If you think so, I can use my pull to get her removed from the trip.”

  Rex gave his wife a look. �
�Stop that. I know you want to protect Rowan. But in case you can’t see it, she’s quite capable of handling this herself. And she should. Valerie isn’t very bright, despite whoever is pulling her strings. On the other hand, our Rowan is smart and vicious. She’ll be just fine. Showing the Vampire Nation that she’s capable of handling her own business will only make her stronger, and heaven knows there are a few Hunters who need that lesson too.”

  Rowan loved them both so much she sort of stumbled across it sometimes, like an unexpected gift. That knowledge warmed her, filled her with happiness.

  “Thank you both for that. She’s a problem for me and will continue to be until I underline who’s the superior between she and I.” Valerie had no idea who she was dealing with, and until Rowan showed her up close and personal, Valerie would continue to nurse this idea that she could outwit Rowan or take her power away.

  “Clearly someone’s feeding her a party line about the Treaty, but she’s not clever enough to understand it very well. Which makes her a pain but not an effective challenge to my work. Theo will see that, and he’ll amuse himself by entangling Valerie in so much superfluous activity and endless, pointless meetings she won’t have the time to be in my way. She has no power there. None of the Vampires will listen to her or take her seriously because Theo doesn’t.”

  Rowan would have been lying if she denied how amused she was just imagining Valerie’s face when she figured out she didn’t matter at all. Theo was firmly in charge. He wanted Rowan there, and that was how it would be.

  Rowan had proven herself with him and, through him, to all his staff. All the Vampires around him had watched her never, ever break under his idea of discipline. There was nothing Valerie could ever do to diminish Rowan’s power with those Vampires in the Keep.

  “I will send her home if she steps one toe over the line. And don’t worry, I don’t consider her being herself as being over that line. If being a bloated twat was a problem, half the people who’ll be at the Keep would be sent home. But if she’s a risk to my job, I will send her back. It’s my job, and despite her silly screeching otherwise, I am fit to do it and I will make sure it’s done right.”