Pandora's Box: Book 3 of the Crystal Raven Series

Night fell hard on the fortress in its rocky cliff somewhere in the Crimean. Delph stood on the battlements, looking west. In another thirty minutes, the High Council would meet, and shortly after that, he expected a summons to appear before them. His ancestry was a triple handicap here – first, he was a half-breed; second, he came from the youngest clans, and lastly, he was only starting his second century. But he realized something that none of these older vampyres did, knowing that whoever led the High Council mattered little if Crystal Raven’s plans came to fruition.

He looked out over the dismal landscape. He could never tell anyone that his knowledge only came to him in fevered dreams, dreams he knew instinctively were not his own. Blood fever of a victim he had left alive. Almost nothing grew in the countryside, a few patches of scrub grass, and even these faded into the shadows and darkness – nothing to bring him any insight. Did the scroll his new advisor had told him about even exist? It echoed those dreams so perfectly, it was terrifying. Yes, he had seen a fragment of it with his own eyes. Funny, he could not remember this man from his father’s court. Then again, Delph had to admit he had spent as little time in court as possible. Until the fall of Upyr, his life had been nothing but hunting humans and seeking cheap thrills. It was more than possible he would not recognize a minor officiary, there had been so many in those days.

Delph felt his breast pocket for the fragment of the scroll. Without the rest, he could not know how dangerous this weapon was, but what was he had was chilling enough. How much of this lore did the Brotherhood archives hold, and how much of it did the bitch and her brood know? There was only one way to find out. They had to get someone close to Crystal.

He and Angelique had discussed it in detail earlier that day. They had both heard the rumours that one of Kagawa’s Hand had switched allegiances, and if it were true, it represented a major loss of face for the Japanese vampyre. For tactical reasons, they felt it best to force the elder vampyre to admit it himself. But would the shame of the dishonour still his tongue? If they succeeded in getting the admission from him, they could force him to attempt to contact the Black Lotus and if the opportunity presented itself slip in one of their own agents into the contact team. Neither had figured out how. Someone like the Black Lotus would not be easy to sneak up on, and if they failed, they could all find her blade at their throats.

He knew who to include. The one surviving member of his father’s pet mind-benders. Few vampyres could hide anything from him, and Kagawa would not know enough to send a void. It might be the edge they needed in the days to come when victory would follow a long series of disasters.

The tipstaff arrived with the expected order to appear before the High Council. With a nod, he turned to follow the other back inside the building. At night the air grew chilly, and while vampyres seldom felt the cold, tonight he felt the chill in his bones. An Armageddon device? Given that his father and others had brought her own species to the brink of extinction, and knowing that if he were the last vampyre in the world, he would do the same thing, Delph did not doubt that if it existed Crystal Raven would use it. That old mortal, Jean-Claude, had it right. He had once overheard a conversation between his father and the mortal, the human urging the elder vampyre to let go of his mad dreams and keep the status quo. Vengeance only bred vengeance, and this time it could only mean the end of one species – vampyre or succubus.

Whatever Delph chose to do now would not be out of vengeance, but survival.

Inside the council chamber, a wall of tension greeted Delph. The need to hear him speak had definitely ruffled some feathers, and judging by their body language, he could tell who had objected the most. Good. He wanted them off balance. The elder clan leaders had never taken the younger clans seriously, barely tolerated their presence here, let alone that of a half breed. And the Egyptian needed to keep them from taking any interest in his news because any recognition of Lord Vlad’s heir only weakened his own claim to leadership of the council. He was as much a fool as his own father had been – nothing but ambition and ego. Two flaws Delph was working hard to purge from his own personality.

“Well, boy,” the Egyptian drawled. “Some of us here think you have something we need to hear.”

Delph threw the scrap of parchment onto the table. “This was retrieved from the Brotherhood archives at the expense of nine of my best agents.”

“The so-called Spritus Raptor,” the Egyptian scoffed.

“Look closely,” Delph pronounced. “That crucifix was known to be in the possession of Jean-Claude, and now the succubus has it.”

“Come now,” Kagawa scolded. “Certainly, you are not trying to scare us with fairy tales.”

“The demon lord Shax was destroyed with a Wiccan Apotropaic. It is a crystal much like that described in this parchment.” Delph sneered. He had no respect for any of those sitting here and was not afraid to show it. “Ignore it at your own risk.”

This Angelique did not know but schooled her features to hide her shock. She and the young lordling would have to talk when this was all over.

“There are thirteen archives,” she cut in. “The Brotherhood has a well-known habit for duplication. It means there are potentially twelve other copies out there.”

The room fell quiet for a couple of minutes. Finally, the Egyptian spoke.

“None of which proves they know anything about it. What would the lordling have us do?”

Delph fixed him with a withering stare. “Make some effort to find out what if anything they know, given we now know they have at least two components of this weapon.”

Four, he thought but left that knowledge unspoken.

“And how do you suggest we do that?” The Egyptian asked snidely.

“Obviously, we need to get someone close to the succubus and her pets,” Delph replied coldly. He left no doubt about what he thought about the Egyptian’s mental capacities.

“Some say one of Kagawa’s Hand has changed her colours,” the Voodoo Queen needled.

This was turning out to be even more delicious than she had anticipated, Angelique thought. She watched his inscrutable face, laughing to herself at the quick eye blink that marked his discomfort. That was his tell.

“I have heard that the Black Lotus may still be alive and in their custody,” Kagawa replied. “A rescue attempt was not thought necessary.”

“Oh, she’s still alive,” Delph smirked. “She follows the succubus around like a lap dog.”

“Perhaps efforts might be made to make contact with her,” Kagawa conceded.

“And perhaps it might be wiser if someone representing this council went along,” Angelique suggested. “Perhaps someone local. New York is a rather hostile territory these days. Do you have anyone who could act as host, Lord Delph?”

“I believe I might,” Delph replied, bowing his head slightly.

No one made any objections when he took his father’s old chair at the council chamber. It was not a complete coup, but by degrees, he was winning them over.

“I would like to hear more about this killing of the Pope,” the Chinese delegate interjected, his request representing a major crack in the solidarity of the Eastern Bloc.

“I know many here thought my father’s war with the Brotherhood was a personal vendetta,” Delph explained. “But my father had a dream of a free Vampyre nation and the Brotherhood was the biggest threat to that dream.”

“My father was perhaps an overly cautious man,” he continued. “One of his projects had an aim to both distance the Church from the Brotherhood and replace the Pope with one of our own.”

“Impossible.”

“I assure you,” Delph replied urbanely, “my man is on the shortlist to become Pope.”

“Why?” The dark-skinned vampyre from India asked. “I understand wishing to distance the Brotherhood from the Church, but why bother controlling the Pope?”

“Political clout,” Delph replied. “When and if our true goal was discovered, the Pope, our Pope, would come out in favour of the new nation. I pushed it forward for different reasons. As Pope, my man could use the Vatican to have the Brotherhood placed on the list of terrorist organizations. Let the humans do our hunting for us.”

“Ingenious,” the Chinese delegate complicated grudgingly.

“Our other project will go forth soon,” Delph explained. “As a trial run, we will be running a number of our candidates in elections across one of the Western states in America.”

“That is the weakness of democracies,” the Chinese delegate nodded. “How many candidates are you running?”

“Two hundred and fifty, everything from sheriff to Governor,” Delph replied. “The state may only represent three electoral votes on the national level, but as I said, it is a test run.”

“And this weapon,” Angelique offered. “If it is built, none of this will matter.”

“Speaking of weapons,” Delph replied. “It is time we upgrade our own. With humans, there is no need for us to use claws and fangs to kill.”

“The sword is our traditional weapon. We kill with skill. What would you suggest?” the Egyptian asked dangerously. “Should we behave like animals?”

“Automatic rifles, grenade launchers, shoulder-launched missiles,” Delph replied. “I suggest we send one hundred of our best warrior to train. Several renegade human groups could be persuaded to teach us in exchange for money. Several more would arm us.”

“What use would these weapons be?” Kagawa questioned. His people had supported the traditionalist Takamori Saigo to prevent the erosion of the Samurai class.

“Below ground swords make sense,” Delph explained. “Above-ground battles – I’ve seen these explosives turn a demon horde into mincemeat. Even one of ours is vulnerable while waiting for arms or legs to grow back. Better we kill the humans at a distance when the time comes.”

“This is a lot for us to digest,” one of the Caribbeans commented.

“And we still have much to discuss,” Delph assured him.

Later, in Angelique’s quarters, Delph swirled the ruby liquid in his chalice thoughtfully. He took a sip of his wine-laced blood and studied his host over the lip of his glass.

“You did well in there tonight,” she spoke to break the silence. “So why so quiet?”

“I am thinking,” Delph replied. “My father was cautious, but he was also cold and pragmatic. All his projects, all the best of our people were scattered throughout North America. It makes me realize all those people in Upyr were bait or camouflage.”

“Including yourself,” she replied wryly.

“Touché madam,” he tilted his chalice towards her in salute. “You know I have a sister – a pureblood.”

“No,” Angelique sat up, startled. “I thought Lord Vlad only had the one wife?”

“Oh, he did,” Delph admitted. “My sister is a bastard. He hid her and her mother in one of his secret facilities. In a society that relies on slaves, it is difficult to keep secrets, but he kept this one. How many lives do you imagine that cost?”

“I have often observed that,” Angelique admitted ruefully, “sometimes a ruler must do what is necessary.

She could not take a lover without half the Roman conclave knowing about it before they were sweating up the sheets.

“Our secret bases have no lower castes in them,” Delph explained. “Even the bodies have to be burnt because there are no Eaters of the Dead to deal with our waste.”

“Shrewd.”

“Yes, Vlad could be that,” Delph gave a deprecating laugh. “Although he was blinded by more than his ambition. His need for secrecy became an obsession bordering on paranoia. It paralyzed him.”

“Then you must take pains to avoid his mistakes,” Angelique replied sympathetically.

“Yes,” Delph sighed, reaching for more wine. “I only wish I was half the vampyre he was and twice the warrior. I’m afraid we are going to need great men like him if we are to survive.”

“Honestly, it can’t be as bad as we painted in the council?” Angelique scoffed.

“Worse,” Delph replied. “Beyond anything words can describe. I have faced this hussy twice. Whatever those demons had hoped to gain that night in Upyr, they only managed to make her unbelievably strong. I had hoped to have her and Shax destroy each other, and I was only partially successful.”

“It’s that old nursery rhyme your father was always obsessing about,” Angelique offered, still not convinced.

“More than a nursery rhyme,” Delph replied. “A Rede. One of the few of Nostradamus predictions that were never written in his books. A three-sided war in which only a fourth is the victor. Someone or something is manipulating events behind the scene, and the Brotherhood now has four of the five pieces for the Spritus Raptor. One more and they will make their move to destroy us all.”