Embracing the Shadows

by Gavin Green

  Viggo turned to Le Meur with an expectant stare. "Truth," she said quietly while cautiously easing into her chair. "Welcome, Veleti," she said, regaining her confidence. "We are all indeed honored that you have come to introduce yourself at this Gathering. If you would like -"

  "I did not come here for presentations and pleasantries," Viggo growled. "I came here for a reckoning." He let his black eyes roam over the nervous, silent crowd for a second and then pointed a finger at a middle-aged hemo with iron gray hair and a sharp suit. "You, Nathan Powell. Setting aside the unethical treatment of your lowly Realm Management employees - for now - I will address a greater infraction under your control. Namely, the illegal dumping of your commercial waste. It stops now. If I hear of another occurrence, I will force you to build a hovel out of your company's trash and live in it."

  Powell just stood there slack-jawed. Viggo moved his finger and aimed it at Jack Fletcher, who had the balls to glare back. "Your attempts, both failed and successful, to sabotage machinery at numerous industrial plants have been noted, Mr. Fletcher. While I applaud your fervor, it will not continue without reciprocation. Should you halt any company operations again, you will find your cherished parks infested with plant-damaging insects. If that does not deter you, the situation will become personal."

  I could see that Fletcher was about to lose his cool. His hands were balled into fists, and he shook with the effort of restraining himself. A second later, he spun and stormed out of the mansion.

  Viggo wasn't done yet, not by a longshot. He faced Jade Clayton with a cold stare; Cordell moved slightly in front of her as protection. My commander said that her continuance to use her radio show to incite protests of area foundries irritated him. If she kept it up, another rat infestation would occur to once again collapse her pipes, chew through her power lines, and use her shower as a litter box. I recalled him once sending a horde of rats off to fuck with someone. His threat told me who and why.

  Next on Viggo's list was a tough-looking Outsider named Lexian Grimm. I had no idea what kind of business Grimm ran, but Viggo told him that dumping body parts into the storm drain at the back of his property was prohibited from then on.

  Surprisingly, Viggo then turned to Roach. In a less threatening tone, he said, "First, my deception as simply another Deviant named Stone was done for a measure of privacy; no slight was meant toward you. Secondly . . . While I do not condone or condemn your business, the distribution of your product needs to be curbed. It is being filtered into grade schools, orphanages and the like. I am not enforcing my own morality on you. However, the unchecked sales will create a stigma in and of this city - a stigma that will have a chain-effect. I will not allow that."

  Edward Galloway had kept his head down since Viggo arrived, but he couldn't ignore his god standing in front of him. He fearfully lifted his head, looked into the eyes of the abyss, and quickly dropped his head again. "You are a fool that has been used, Edward," Viggo stated. "But a willing fool, weren't you? You wanted retribution for elder Ragna's actions against you, for the humiliation you suffered at the hands of her minion. That minion - Mr. Beck - is actually mine. You did not have the clever mind to get the justice you felt was deserved, so you turned to one of your faction to assist you, is that not so?"

  "Yes, lord Veleti," Galloway whimpered. Aside from the tricky and cruel shit he did, I wanted to break his nose just for being such a pussy.

  Viggo stepped back. "Mr. Galloway, you will accompany me when I leave this evening. If you flee, your desperate escape will be short-lived. I will hunt you. I will find you. I will put you in the black mouth of madness, a hungry place that will swallow your screams and your sanity."

  Galloway slumped to the floor again, sobbing tears of blood. Tomasino left him there that time.

  Finally, Viggo settled his inky gaze on Le Meur. She must've gotten worked up while he made his threats and basically assumed authority over what she saw as her show. Her scowl and sneer took away from her unearthly beauty, but only a little. "Are you quite through passing judgment, sir?"

  "You should feel honored, Miss Le Meur - I have saved you for last. Now mind your tone with me."

  I thought she was pissed before. I was wrong. "Spew your final threats and leave," Le Meur hissed. "As Doyenne, I say that you are no longer welcome here. I will forgive that you infested my entire building with rats, but you will take your damnable minion and go! And Edward will be leaving with me, not you!"

  "You always were rash, Emmeline," Viggo replied calmly as he moved to stand in front of her. "You have sat too comfortably in the seat of power."

  "I won my seat decades ago, Viggo," Le Meur retorted, leaning forward. "I have earned the right, and I am due to reap its rewards. Your own scion would say the same."

  "I agree," he said with a nod. "You earned your position by your own merits. But," he pointed a finger at her, "you keep that seat only because I allow it."

  "Allow it!" Le Meur barked. "Allow it? You are not the one to allow, vermin king. Perhaps your legend is overrated, Veleti, just as you underestimate me. I have the power to rule!" My commander, overrated? Impulsively, I began to step forward. Skala's hand on my shoulder stopped me.

  Viggo shook his head like he was dealing with a moron. It only infuriated Le Meur more. "Your power, such as it is, only afforded you the seat," he said, "but obviously not the wisdom to rule well in it."

  "Wiser by far than the weak-minded Deviant whom I deposed!"

  "Your predecessor - Mr. Dixon - was a disturbed fool. While you are not that, neither are you cut from the cloth of leadership. Since the beginning of your reign, I have watched you act with selfish impunity and, at times, cruelty. For years, members of every faction have gone missing. You have done nothing about it except to surround yourself with servants and security. You say you have power, but you use it only to serve your own petty desires. As a Doyenne, you . . . Hmm." Viggo turned to me. "How would you describe her leadership, Leo?"

  "She sucks."

  He turned back to her. "Well, there you have it." Viggo was provoking her, pushing all the right buttons. He was attacking her vanity and challenging her rule. I was glad to help.

  By then, Le Meur was paler than usual - almost Neva white - and her amber eyes glowed with fury. "Ah, I see now!" she yelled. "You want my seat! You think your intimidating tricks and your insults will drive me from it? You are a greater fool than Dixon!" Le Meur was near hysterical. I guess taking a verbal beating in front of everyone pushed her ego over the edge. She had lost control, just like Viggo wanted her to. "You don't know the extent of my power! If I hadn't declared this mansion as Civil Ground, you would be groveling at my feet, you grotesque, rat-drinking leech!"

  Viggo smiled - the kind of smile that chills a room. Or, in my case, a spine. "Groveling, is it? By all means, Emmeline, subjugate me with the full magnitude of your paltry Gifts." It had come to a breaking point. I felt it. I bet everyone in the room felt it.

  Le Meur sprung to her feet, nearly in the same rage that Ragna was in a couple hours before. "By my authority," she bellowed, "I declare that this location is no longer Civil Ground! Now I will make you my slave, Veleti!"

  Viggo's smile widened.

  POWER

  A silent wave of power washed through the large room. It broke over me, forcing me down to one knee. There was nothing in my world but Lady Le Meur. For a moment that felt like forever, her radiance and overwhelming control consumed me. It was a familiar feeling. Somewhere deep inside, I despised it.

  That moment ended when a pair of unnaturally strong hands roughly lifted me up with ease and shook me. Through a haze of Le Meur's power, I looked at the cracked plaster face and gleaming shark eyes of Aldo Skala. He was in my face, way inside my bubble. With another violent shake, he growled, "You have the blood of the Veleti in you! Show some resolve!" Then he head-butted me. I'm sure it was soft for him, but to me it felt like getting my skull pounded by a rock. "Beck! Be worthy of your lord!"

  The comb
ination of Skala's words and the growing lump on my forehead broke Le Meur's powerful spell. I blinked a couple times and nodded to Skala that I had my wits. When he moved out of the way, I saw everyone else bowing their heads or down on a knee. Le Meur stood tall with her arms leisurely spread and a wild look in her golden eyes. Viggo stood before her with his head down. With him facing away from me, I couldn't see his expression. I was about to go to him when he lifted his head and spoke.

  "As I said, Emmeline, you are rash."

  Le Meur's face contorted with pure rage. Her scream pierced the room. She lunged at my commander, but he was ready for it. Hell, he was waiting on it. Viggo casually backhanded her; the deceptively light blow was enough to slam Le Meur back into her chair with blood drooling out of her slack mouth.

  He stepped forward, looming over her. "In losing your impotent temper, you have forgotten the tenet of lineage. The mental Gifts of Enchantment and Control have no effect on those of purer blood than the wielder. Or perhaps you did not forget, and arrogantly believed that your proficiency in said Gifts would overcome an irrefutable truth. My blood is purer than yours, Doyenne - much purer by far." I guess that explained why Skala wasn't affected, either. "You have not seen a true Eidolon's power. Therefore, I will give you a sample . . ."

  Viggo stepped back and turned to one side, holding up an open hand. When he clenched it into a fist, the crackling flames in the fireplace snuffed into smoke and ashes. The room deepened in gloom from the sudden loss of firelight. I hadn't seen that trick before, but I knew it wasn't his best one.

  In one fluid motion Viggo reached out, palmed Edward Galloway's skull, and dragged him in close. Shadows stretched away from the walls, wrapping around Viggo as he began to twist with Edward in his grip. At the same time, the unnatural gloom was drawn to them. The shadows quickly condensed and darkened around the two until they became a swirling blur of blackness. With a pop that was felt rather than heard, the eerie hole of inky nothingness collapsed in on itself like a silent implosion. Viggo and Edward were gone, swallowed by the void. It began and ended in less than three seconds.

  Nearly everyone stood in place and glanced around nervously, unsure of what they just saw. Hesitantly, Tomasino stepped over to Le Meur and handed her his handkerchief. After wiping her lips and chin, she turned her head to Aldo Skala and shouted, "What is this? Where is Edward Galloway?" Skala only stared back at her. Le Meur looked away from him and stood up. "Mr. Dupree," she demanded with a bitter tone, "I want you to go search the mansion and the grounds."

  "You don't understand, do you?" Skala asked. "Or do you simply refuse to acknowledge the power you've been shown? Either way, Mr. Galloway will not be found. Perhaps you should to sit back down, Doyenne; this isn't over yet."

  BARTER

  "Indeed it is not," Viggo said as he walked from the hallway toward the center of the room again. A number of hemos flinched with surprise. "I now speak to all of you who have just learned of me. Listen well, for I will state my warnings only once." He stopped a couple paces in front of Le Meur and turned to face everyone, his form only slightly blurred with pulsing shadow. "There is property across this city that I have declared as mine; if you trespass, I will know of it and will return the favor. I also control or have affiliation with many humans in key positions; if you tamper with them, I will tamper with you."

  "Excuse me, sir," Enric Tomasino spoke up, "but how are we to know which places and people you have laid claim to?"

  Viggo looked at him. "Initially, you will not know, so I suggest you tread lightly. I will say, however, that after this evening, I will consider this home as under my protection and one of my domains." He then turned to one side to address Le Meur. "That means you will no longer use your Gifts on the late Mr. Everett's son, Steven, who currently sits below us in the basement storage room awaiting your next order." I wondered what happened to that guy; Gwen said he cut contact with everyone soon after he came back to town.

  Le Meur averted his gaze, looking away with her lips pressed tight. "Yes, of course," she finally said. Forced into obedience, most likely feeling humiliated, I figured that after we left she was going to lash out at some poor undeserving bastard. As long as it was a hemo, I didn't care.

  Turning back to the crowd, Viggo continued. "As most of you have minions, you obviously have an affinity for them to one degree or another. The same can be said of mine. Just as you would take offense to their ill-treatment, I do as well. Take Mr. Beck here as an example. He has been the target of abuse, manipulation and attempted murder on multiple occasions. No more. Any further malicious meddling with him or any of my other minions will incur the full weight of my wrath."

  "And what of Mr. Beck currently being wanted by the mortal authorities?" Skala asked knowingly.

  "Ah, that." Viggo faced Le Meur again. "I must commend you, Doyenne. Well played. Your handling of Mr. Galloway, whom I know to be the real culprit, took finesse."

  ". . . Thank you," she replied hesitantly.

  "I wonder whether he came to you with his concerns of Ragna and Mr. Beck, or if you saw opportunity in his plight and approached him." Viggo shrugged, adding, "I will find out soon enough."

  "Where is Mr. Galloway?" Le Meur calmly asked.

  "Safely hidden away for now. He is in the good company of Mr. Riva, Mr. Dean and others of your fine faction." Her eyes widened at that admission, but she kept her mouth shut. "I could simply demand that you have my minion removed as a police suspect, but I consider myself fair and honorable. Therefore, I wish to barter with you."

  "To what end?" I liked how her voice had that cautious, suspicious tone to it. She was in a corner.

  "Let us begin with the matter of the modified video from the warehouse." Skin stepped forward and handed Viggo a CD case with a disc in it. He held it up and said, "This is a copy of the original. It has been altered by Mr. O'Shaughnessy only to point out certain features that differentiate Mr. Beck from the true culprit, Mr. Galloway. Have it entered into the case file."

  "And in return?"

  "I give you the chance - no, the opportunity - to retain your position and make yourself worthy of the noble title. The alternative . . . Well, while I presume that you miss your absent Adepts, I am sure you would not wish to join them."

  "This is your version of barter?" Le Meur asked incredulously. "There's not much choice to be made."

  "The other trades I have in mind are not so severe. For example, I ask that your police officials remove Mr. Beck as a suspect from the Everett murder case, whether they find credence with the new evidence or not. In recompense, I will return Mr. Riva to you. Further, I request that you use your influence to publicize Mr. Beck's innocence in every form of media. Once you have done so, I will also release the fledgling Sebastian Horn to your care."

  I was a little embarrassed to be the focal point in a room full of hemos, but I was also humbled that Viggo was going out of his way for me like that. I wasn't his only motive, but I was grateful nonetheless.

  Le Meur stewed with a scowl. "Why does your method of barter seem so much like extortion?" she asked. I wasn't sure if the question was supposed to be rhetorical or not.

  "This is no ultimatum, Lady Le Meur," he said, taking a step toward her. "You have a choice, or you can refuse the offers of trade altogether. However, it would be in your best interest to accept the terms." The demoralized Doyenne hesitated. I wanted to feel sorry for the arrogant bitch, but . . . nope, nothing. "Dwell on it," Viggo suggested. "Speak with your emissaries if you choose. I will expect an answer within twenty four hours." He ended their exchange by turning away from her one last time.

  Skala spoke up. "Sire, if I may intrude?" He waited for Viggo to turn and nod. "Deviants aside, I tire from this poor company. If you have no further need of me this evening, I will take my leave." Yep, another slap in the face to nearly every hemo in the room. For a second, I thought Skala wasn't so bad after all.

  "Of course, Aldo, and thank you." Viggo then said to me, "I must s
peak to Mr. Merritt for a moment, and then we will depart as well."

  Standing pretty much by myself in the great room, I saw that some of the hemos were cautiously exiting while others kept their place, unsure of what to do while Viggo was still present. Jade Clayton and Cordell were in the latter group, standing against a wall with uneasy expressions. I glanced over my right shoulder to make sure Le Meur was done being a pain in the ass; she was talking in whispers to Vincent Zapada, the Outsider emissary. Better him than me.

  I walked up to Cordell, not sure what to say. He didn't look pleased to see me. Before I could even get out a hello, he quietly said, "Your master is the devil's own, Leo. You should go away."

  That caught me off-guard. "Whoa, Cord, what the hell did -" He and Jade turned and walked away, arm in arm. She'd turned him against me, or dismissed me because I served Viggo. On one hand, I thought, 'fuck 'em'. On the other hand, though, I didn't want to lose a friend; I didn't have many to begin with.

  "Leo," Viggo called to me, "we are leaving now." I walked over and stood next to him, relaxing myself for another void-walk. He gave me a strange stare, and then said, "I meant in the normal fashion. We will leave as we arrived."

  "Oh, uh, yes sir." Great, my first impression on the remaining hemos, and I looked like an idiot.

  INTERACTION

  There was bound to be a lull after the big scene at the Everett mansion, and I welcomed it. I'd also call that night Viggo's coming out event, but that gives off the wrong impression. 'Night of the Veleti' has a nice ring to it - let's go with that.

  All in all, the spoiled Gathering had positive results. Viggo let everyone know he was in town, and they'd better watch their hemo asses. Everything he claimed or controlled - me included - was off-limits under penalty of Veleti retaliation. The Doyenne had been put in her place by both warning and bitch-slap. Declan McKenna was on the run or in hiding. Notices were given to specific hemos that they better knock their individual shit off. The only down side was Cordell, but there's no way to unmake a hemo.