These vampire couriers just aren’t that reliable. My allies are aware of their habits and their routes, and although they may be able to move swiftly and silently by night, they’re not at their best during the day. That’s how I was able to get hold of the following missive, which suggests that political manoeuvering is afoot amid the inner workings of the Shadow Council.
Salutations Vespillo,
I won’t insult your intelligence by pretending that I’m not aware of your recent activities. You held my post before I did, and thus you are know that I have both the means and the responsibility to look after potential threats to the Shadow Council. Your decision to absent yourself from its meetings and solicit allies among known malcontents and reactionaries certainly qualifies. However, you are far from the only problem I have to deal with, and it is on that topic that I need something from you.
Remember the mysterious E. and his band of misguided revolutionaries? I understand that they posed several problems for you before you stepped down. Well, they’ve increased their activities lately, and I’ve been spending far too much time trying to keep a lid on their efforts to expose the activities of their kind to the rest of the world. However, it seems that E. himself, under the name of Emmett, is now separated from the rest of his coterie. The time has come to cut the head off this particular snake.
With Emmett on the run, we need a hunter to track him down, and who better to turn to in that regard than Orion? I have your records to hand, which reveal his success rate in culling the enemies of the Shadow Council, and used them to make contact with him through an anonymous go-between, as he seems to prefer. I’m sure you know where this is going: the Shadow Council has authorised me to meet his demands in terms of price (which have increased since the last time), but Orion himself has stipulated that you must sign off on the contract before he’ll accept it.
I assume this is some kind of private deal you made with Orion before you left the Council in order to make sure that you didn’t find yourself the hunted. Frankly, I’d have done the same in your situation. However, in this case the quarry I plan to set Orion on is one whom we both want to see removed from the game. Whatever differences lie between us over methods, they are not so important as the common goal that unites us: preserving the dominance of our kind over the human herd. Emmett is currently the foremost threat to that, and we now have a chance to end that threat.
If that fails to persuade you, I can remind you that with Emmett gone, his protection of your treacherous protege Varro will fade. In return for your help on this, I can offer you first shot at Varro himself when he re-emerges, to do with as you will.
Whatever stands between us, you retain my respect. I know that the welfare of our kind remains your primary concern. If we can cooperate on this, perhaps there is hope for some settlement in the future.
Adan
So the Shadow Council is not remaining inactive in the face of Emmett’s provocations, and they’re willing to patch up their grudges to get rid of him. But who is this mysterious Orion, and do his hunting skills match up to the mythical figure he’s named for? If so, Emmett could soon be a lot of trouble. And is it a coincidence that Adan’s “anonymous go-between” was at work at the same time as the young vampire Susanna was sent to New York, where Emmett had lately been, on a strange errand? Does that mean that Adan is Susanna’s mysterious benefactor? I have the feeling that we’re on the edge of learning a lot more about how the Shadow Council does its dirty work if we could just connect these dots.
post image courtesy of Kerstin Frank