A/N: Okay, only a few more chapters until the end. This one is kind of
short, sorry, but I think the next one is going to be kind of long. Thank
you all for your reviews!
Disclaimer: don't own, don't sue
~~~
Chapter 9: Alliance
"Let me get this straight," Xavier said. They were still in Xavier's office, and it was only a few hours until dawn. Selene was sitting in a chair, legs thrown gracefully over one arm of the chair, fiddling with her gun. Kestral leaned against the wall near the window, arms crossed over her chest and one leg bracing her against the wall. Xavier had stood from his desk chair and was now pacing restlessly around the room.
"You want me to send an emissary of vampires to Farkas Kikötõ, and offer our help in getting back Lucian, in exchange for their help getting back a baby. And you don't want me to tell them whose baby it is."
"Yep, that's about it," Selene said, looking up from her gun.
"That's got to be the most desperate plan I've ever heard. What makes you think the lycans won't shoot us on sight, let alone agree?"
"Easy. Mention my name."
"I thought you didn't want us to tell them whose the baby was."
"I don't, but you're a creative person, Xavier. I'm sure you can find some way to work my name into the conversation. Or you could take Erika."
"What's Erika got to do with this?"
"You'll be dealing with Michael. He knows her, sort of, and more importantly, he knows she knows me. I don't know how he feels about me now, but I know he used to...have strong feelings for me. If she mentions me, then he'll be intrigued, and he'll at least listen to you. Not even lycans can resist a good intrigue."
Xavier sat back down in his chair, rubbing his temples. His headache had worsened considerably. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of Tylenol. But when he opened it, he found that the bottle was empty. "Damn," he muttered, throwing the bottle against the wall, half-hoping it would break. "Call Erika. If you can convince her to do it, then we'll give it a try. But she's going alone. And if she dies, it's your fault."
Selene grinned and grabbed the phone off Xavier's desk, since her cell phone battery was dead. Hurriedly, she dialed Erika's number.
"Hello?" came Erika's voice. She sounded as though she was still in the dungeon with Lucian.
"Erika. We need you to come to the renegade mansion. And bring some clothes, you'll be here for a while."
"What do I tell Marcus, if he asks?"
"Tell him you're going out to look for me. Aren't you two in a fight anyway?"
"Well, yes..."
"Then it won't matter." She hung up, and told Xavier and Kestral, "She's on her way."
"I can't believe I'm letting you do this," Xavier groaned.
"Oh, come on Xavier. It's a good plan," Kestral said.
Xavier muttered something to himself that sounded suspiciously like, "crazy females I have to deal with."
"What was that Xavier?"
"Nothing."
~~~
"You want me to what!"
Selene explained the plan again. "Send someone with a gun with me, and you got a deal," Erika said.
"I'll go," Kestral said immediately. She liked Erika, but she didn't quite trust her. She suspected that the blond vampire had gotten emotionally involved with Marcus, and that was a bad thing. She wanted to make sure that everything went as it was supposed to. And besides, this Michael person was supposed to be cute.
"Tomorrow night then," Selene said.
~~~
Michael sat at his desk reading a history of the lycans. So far he'd found no mention of Lucian or Sonja and it was beginning to annoy him.
A knock on the door interrupted his progress through the thick book.
"Michael, there's two vampires here to see you," Raze said, sticking his head through the door. Michael could see he had his Uzi in one hand.
"Vampires?" Michael asked, confused.
"They say they're friends of Selene." Michael almost fell out of his chair in surprise.
"Selene?"
"That's what they said." The tone of Raze's voice told Michael that the large black lycan would much rather he didn't let them in, but he knew what his commander would say.
"Show them in."
Almost bouncing in his chair from anticipation, Michael waited for Raze to return. The seconds dragged on. He got up and straightened a painting on the wall, which didn't need straightening. He sat down in his chair again and twiddled his thumbs for a few seconds before standing to pace the room.
After what seemed to Michael like hours later, but was really only a few minutes, Raze returned with two vampires. One Michael recognized as the levitating blonde he'd seen the night Selene had brought him back to Ordoghaz. The other was a tall, red-haired woman with piercing green eyes. She had an air of command about her that she wore like a cloak. Michael swallowed nervously, wondering what the two wanted.
"So who are you?" he asked, sitting quietly in his desk chair, the perfect picture of a calm, collected lycan leader, when inside he had so much energy, he was afraid he would start bouncing off the walls at any moment.
"My name is Erika," the blonde one said. "And this is Kestral. We're here to negotiate an alliance between the lycans and renegades." Michael started at the word "renegades." Could that mean there was more than one group of vampires?
"Renegades?" he asked.
"You know about Sonja," the red-haired woman, Kestral, said, a light Scottish accent coloring her words. It wasn't really a question.
Michael nodded.
"When she died, a lot of us left Ordoghaz, swearing vengeance against the Elders."
"Oh."
"One of us, a spy in Ordoghaz, recently had a baby. Marcus suspected her of being a renegade, why we don't yet know, but he took her child and hid her somewhere. We would like to attack Ordoghaz and retrieve the baby and overthrow Marcus, but our numbers are not quite sufficient for such. We would like to arrange an alliance with the lycans."
"I see," Michael said slowly. "If it were only my help you were asking, I would say yes immediately, but you are asking for the help, and possibly the lives, of all the lycans. They would never forgive me if I agreed to such an alliance without us getting something out of it. What can you promise us?"
"Lucian."
For the second time in the space of ten minutes, Michael almost fell out of his chair.
"Lucian is dead," he replied carefully.
"I've seen him," Erika said. "I accidentally walked into one of the Ordoghaz dungeons and I saw him. I talked to him. He's alive. I'm sure of it."
"If we help you release Lucian, then you will help us get the child?"
"Yes," Michael said. Then he remembered that the two claimed to be friends of Selene's.
"Tomorrow night," he added quickly, as the two stood up to leave. "I would like to invite all the renegades to Farkas Kikötõ for a party. We can make the alliance and its terms official then."
Kestral nodded, and the two swept out the door with the air of two queens leaving their banquet hall.
~~~~~~~
A/N: Hope you liked it! Please Review!!!
Disclaimer: don't own, don't sue
~~~
Chapter 9: Alliance
"Let me get this straight," Xavier said. They were still in Xavier's office, and it was only a few hours until dawn. Selene was sitting in a chair, legs thrown gracefully over one arm of the chair, fiddling with her gun. Kestral leaned against the wall near the window, arms crossed over her chest and one leg bracing her against the wall. Xavier had stood from his desk chair and was now pacing restlessly around the room.
"You want me to send an emissary of vampires to Farkas Kikötõ, and offer our help in getting back Lucian, in exchange for their help getting back a baby. And you don't want me to tell them whose baby it is."
"Yep, that's about it," Selene said, looking up from her gun.
"That's got to be the most desperate plan I've ever heard. What makes you think the lycans won't shoot us on sight, let alone agree?"
"Easy. Mention my name."
"I thought you didn't want us to tell them whose the baby was."
"I don't, but you're a creative person, Xavier. I'm sure you can find some way to work my name into the conversation. Or you could take Erika."
"What's Erika got to do with this?"
"You'll be dealing with Michael. He knows her, sort of, and more importantly, he knows she knows me. I don't know how he feels about me now, but I know he used to...have strong feelings for me. If she mentions me, then he'll be intrigued, and he'll at least listen to you. Not even lycans can resist a good intrigue."
Xavier sat back down in his chair, rubbing his temples. His headache had worsened considerably. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of Tylenol. But when he opened it, he found that the bottle was empty. "Damn," he muttered, throwing the bottle against the wall, half-hoping it would break. "Call Erika. If you can convince her to do it, then we'll give it a try. But she's going alone. And if she dies, it's your fault."
Selene grinned and grabbed the phone off Xavier's desk, since her cell phone battery was dead. Hurriedly, she dialed Erika's number.
"Hello?" came Erika's voice. She sounded as though she was still in the dungeon with Lucian.
"Erika. We need you to come to the renegade mansion. And bring some clothes, you'll be here for a while."
"What do I tell Marcus, if he asks?"
"Tell him you're going out to look for me. Aren't you two in a fight anyway?"
"Well, yes..."
"Then it won't matter." She hung up, and told Xavier and Kestral, "She's on her way."
"I can't believe I'm letting you do this," Xavier groaned.
"Oh, come on Xavier. It's a good plan," Kestral said.
Xavier muttered something to himself that sounded suspiciously like, "crazy females I have to deal with."
"What was that Xavier?"
"Nothing."
~~~
"You want me to what!"
Selene explained the plan again. "Send someone with a gun with me, and you got a deal," Erika said.
"I'll go," Kestral said immediately. She liked Erika, but she didn't quite trust her. She suspected that the blond vampire had gotten emotionally involved with Marcus, and that was a bad thing. She wanted to make sure that everything went as it was supposed to. And besides, this Michael person was supposed to be cute.
"Tomorrow night then," Selene said.
~~~
Michael sat at his desk reading a history of the lycans. So far he'd found no mention of Lucian or Sonja and it was beginning to annoy him.
A knock on the door interrupted his progress through the thick book.
"Michael, there's two vampires here to see you," Raze said, sticking his head through the door. Michael could see he had his Uzi in one hand.
"Vampires?" Michael asked, confused.
"They say they're friends of Selene." Michael almost fell out of his chair in surprise.
"Selene?"
"That's what they said." The tone of Raze's voice told Michael that the large black lycan would much rather he didn't let them in, but he knew what his commander would say.
"Show them in."
Almost bouncing in his chair from anticipation, Michael waited for Raze to return. The seconds dragged on. He got up and straightened a painting on the wall, which didn't need straightening. He sat down in his chair again and twiddled his thumbs for a few seconds before standing to pace the room.
After what seemed to Michael like hours later, but was really only a few minutes, Raze returned with two vampires. One Michael recognized as the levitating blonde he'd seen the night Selene had brought him back to Ordoghaz. The other was a tall, red-haired woman with piercing green eyes. She had an air of command about her that she wore like a cloak. Michael swallowed nervously, wondering what the two wanted.
"So who are you?" he asked, sitting quietly in his desk chair, the perfect picture of a calm, collected lycan leader, when inside he had so much energy, he was afraid he would start bouncing off the walls at any moment.
"My name is Erika," the blonde one said. "And this is Kestral. We're here to negotiate an alliance between the lycans and renegades." Michael started at the word "renegades." Could that mean there was more than one group of vampires?
"Renegades?" he asked.
"You know about Sonja," the red-haired woman, Kestral, said, a light Scottish accent coloring her words. It wasn't really a question.
Michael nodded.
"When she died, a lot of us left Ordoghaz, swearing vengeance against the Elders."
"Oh."
"One of us, a spy in Ordoghaz, recently had a baby. Marcus suspected her of being a renegade, why we don't yet know, but he took her child and hid her somewhere. We would like to attack Ordoghaz and retrieve the baby and overthrow Marcus, but our numbers are not quite sufficient for such. We would like to arrange an alliance with the lycans."
"I see," Michael said slowly. "If it were only my help you were asking, I would say yes immediately, but you are asking for the help, and possibly the lives, of all the lycans. They would never forgive me if I agreed to such an alliance without us getting something out of it. What can you promise us?"
"Lucian."
For the second time in the space of ten minutes, Michael almost fell out of his chair.
"Lucian is dead," he replied carefully.
"I've seen him," Erika said. "I accidentally walked into one of the Ordoghaz dungeons and I saw him. I talked to him. He's alive. I'm sure of it."
"If we help you release Lucian, then you will help us get the child?"
"Yes," Michael said. Then he remembered that the two claimed to be friends of Selene's.
"Tomorrow night," he added quickly, as the two stood up to leave. "I would like to invite all the renegades to Farkas Kikötõ for a party. We can make the alliance and its terms official then."
Kestral nodded, and the two swept out the door with the air of two queens leaving their banquet hall.
~~~~~~~
A/N: Hope you liked it! Please Review!!!