[7]
Three hours till take off and I was as ready as I was going to be. I had the potions Reggie had made for me, I had my eskrimas and for extra protection, two silver rings on the first and little finger on my left hand. They had little crosses etched into them and they helped me channel my will into a defensive barrier. The only thing I was missing however was back up. I used my old rotary phone to dial the Warden's hotline. (It's not really called that, but that's essentially what it is). It rang for a full minute before someone finally picked up.
"Sol solis ortus?" said a stern feminine (I guessed) voice on the other end of the phone, static creeping its way along the line. Seeing as this was a conversation on the phone between two magic users, we were lucky and we could even use the phone at all.
"Luna cado." I said, praying that my memory had recalled the correct pass phrase. "This is Warden Crane, I have an urgent message for Senior Council Member McCoy."
"I'm sorry Warden Crane but Wizard McCoy is unavailable." the uncompromising voice responded. "If you want to leave a message, I will pass it on to him when he is available."
"No," I shot back quickly. The pitch of the static danced up and down the line as my frustration flared up. I took a deep breath to reign in my emotions and the reception became more bearable. "No, this is too sensitive to have it written down and I don't have time to wait for him. Get Captain Luccio instead."
Not only was Luccio in charge of the Wardens, but she was the next best thing to a Senior Council Member and she would be able to send in the re-enforcements that I needed.
"I'm afraid that is also not possible Warden Crane. Captain Luccio is currently being detained."
"What the hell?" I spat back, once again failing to keep my feelings bottled up. "On who's order and what charges?"
The voice returned a frustrated sigh. "By the order for Senior Council Member Cristos for inciting the threat of war during peace negotiations between the Council and the Vampires of the Red Court."
I spat out a curse. McCoy had said things were bad, but I didn't realise the level of chaos that had befallen the Council was this severe Thinking quickly, I scanned through a list of names in my head of those who could send aid. It didn't take long as a sickening realisation hit me. I no longer knew who I could trust. I swallowed down a tumult of emotions. The fear of thinking yourself alone and the anger of denied help when you needed it most. There was a crackle on the line as I heard another voice join the conversation.
"Warden Crane, is that you?" said a male voice spoken with enraged urgency.
"Warden Glacier." I responded, biting down hard on a flash of irritation.
"Crane you are ordered to cease any operation you are currently working and to return to Edinburgh immediately."
"Sorry sir but I can't do that. I have valuable intel that a band of Red Court Vampires have in their possession an item that could win them the war. I formally request that re-enforcements be sent to my position immediately."
"Your request is denied Warden Crane. Now return to Edinburgh, do I make myself clear?"
"But if we don't act now this could be disastrous for the Council. You need to send me those re-enforce…"
"Enough!" Marcus growled, cutting me off mid-sentence. "I am your commanding officer and you will follow orders. You will obey me!"
With no warning, the thunder storm of anger that had been building in my chest erupted.
"Go fuck yourself Marcus!" I snarled and slammed the phone back down. I would be lying if I said that a part of me didn't really enjoy that. Sadly the feeling of conquest was sort lived as I remembered the situation.
I was alone.
I would have no backup, no support from the White Council. It was me against an unknown number of Vampires with a charm, whose abilities were also unknown. I stood in the middle of my flat as all of it sank in. Fear and anger bubbled in my chest in equal measure, fighting for supremacy against a number of other emotions. Each one as real, each one as present.
I shook my head trying to kick start myself into gear. There was nothing I could do to get help from the Council now so there was no point in dwelling on it. I still had time to stop Larson and I still had Lou. I asked her to stall him, delay his flights. I took a couple of deep breaths, picked up the phone receiver and began dialling Louise's mobile. After thirty seconds of ringing, Louise's voice spoke up explaining that she couldn't answer the call and to leave a message. I hung up, waited a couple of minutes and tried again. It rang through to the answer message once more. This time I left a message telling her that I was heading out. I put the phone down, gathered my equipment and headed out the door. I made sure to pack Reggie's potions. They were going to come in handy, that was for sure. I left my flat and felt a sensation of uneasiness. Louise was probably busy. I mean I did ask her to bend the rules to help me so that would explain why she couldn't take my call. But even trying to rationalise it like that, something still ate away at me. I still had that feeling of uncertainty.
"Get your head in the game Gabe!" I growled at myself. This wasn't going to help me. It was just wasting time that I didn't have. Steeling my resolve, I set off to stop the enemy.