Chad and I spent the remaining hours walking home. The pre-dawn streets were eerily silent, broken glass crunching under our boots with every painful step. We could have used our quickness to get home, but I figured, why burn up any energy we have when witches might be waiting at our door? We would then have nothing in the tank to fight or heal ourselves. That would be a right mess. I saw no point in taking that risk just to save some time.
If the army is needed, Jade has the number to call. Her team has eyes on the place, and if anything serious comes up, I have Kara to make any big decisions. Once we finally made it home, it was time to get to sleep. The sun would be up shortly. The girls met us at the entrance, their faces a mixture of stark alarm and raw fear at the sight of our tattered clothes and blood-stained skin. I told everyone that I am calling a family meeting after the sun goes down, and I will cover everything that happened at that time. For now, everyone is safe. Drones and the day shift of Team Jade have eyes open. We can plan our next steps in the morning. I just want a bag of blood and to get some sleep to heal.
In the morning, it was not only Kara that had beat me to the rising of bodies; everyone was waiting outside the door of my room to find out when the meeting would be. I told them all, "Let me open my eyes right now. I will eat, then we can all meet in the usual spot in one hour."
Chad had my breakfast waiting for me. Doing my best to put my thoughts in order before the meeting, I went over events in my head. I remembered that we still had a witch under our own roof. I had not given the order to have her taken home. Good thing too; she may yet serve more of a purpose than I had first intended.
Once the meeting started and everyone was in their spot, I began, starting just after the last meeting and covering the events that were important to the threat we now face.
I begin, "Thank you everyone for manning the lines as things go on around you, not running around like you work for TMZ looking for the newest, hottest story. Thank you to Kara, Jade, and Chad for putting out fires when I was gone. This family could not operate without you three. Every single one of you has a seat at this table because you are a vital cog in the machine that makes this family function. You would not be here if I thought there was a better individual that could fill your role better. I want to thank you for your patience."
Everyone looked at me as if I had to mess with them a little before I got to the dirt. Who knows, maybe I did want to, a little. It was like having a laser pointer around a cat.
I go on, "Most of you know that we have a friendly understanding with the Glams. It looks as if the witches blew up Genders last night, thinking that all the vampires in town must be there. It was our good fortune that they are as loud and eye-provoking as they are; that may have saved the lives of everyone in here. Our house guest is still here. She will not be leaving as soon as I had hoped. Knowing what the witches now can do, it would be a liability to let her go at the moment."
I hesitate slightly with the reveal of the third issue I wanted to tell them. "I went to see the Dark Elves and may have unintentionally pushed the elves and witches together. I am not certain of this. We will have to see how this plays out in the end."
As I start to sit down, I remember to add, "Also, some of you met Seraphina. She was here a few nights back. The witches have killed her. It seems that the old lady that has it in for us was also the mother of Sera. She killed her own daughter in an attempt to hit us. I realize that from her side we could have looked like the aggressors, but where we encountered them at the cemetery, they were the ones who attacked us first without even hearing us out."
I sit down to show that had been the weight of the information I had to offer. Finishing with, "With the attack on Chad and me, the loft at the docks is not safe at the moment. There is a good chance they are now aware that it is there. I will be mounting a plan to get that necklace from that old woman. That seems to be the bulk of her power. Once we are able to get that from her, we should be able to go back to business as usual. That is all I have for now. If anyone else has anything to add…"
Kara stands up and says, "Yes, I have something, if that is alright?" I give her a nod as she looks at me.
She offers, "After finding a couple of clues, I was able to pinpoint the origins of that necklace, revealing the terrifying source of its power and the full scope of our enemy's abilities. It is called the Totem of Maha Sohona, named for a demon that some people in Sri Lanka worshiped long ago. It means Great Graveyard Demon. It also explains where the name Lady Sohona comes from. This information confirms what Nevaeh had given us; it does seem that the information we got out of her was correct."
Kara continues, detailing the danger: "What I could find on this necklace is that it appears she gets her power from the dead, and fallen warriors especially. If one of us were to go up against her, fight and die, our power would go to her. She would get stronger with every single one of us she kills. Make sure you are all focused like a laser when you are on the floor. Familiars, make sure you call in extra help for daylight hours." Kara sits down.
I look at Kara as if to tell her she is my secret weapon. I then turn to the table and say, "If anyone else has any issue...?" I cut myself off and say, "Johnny, I wanted to let you know that I have green-lit your conversion. The first new moon after this issue with the witches is complete, you will become one of us, and you will be able to choose your replacement after the change is complete."
Everyone congratulates Johnny, and he gets a smile of relief across his face. "If that is all?"
We all clear out of the room and I follow Kara to the library to see if she has any details that she had left out of the meeting.
What she was able to translate says that the totem is able to make any person alive a seasoned warrior. It also has the ability to raise the dead without ceremony; it only requires intent of will as long as you hold the totem. The owner of the totem also has the ability to levitate for short periods and can create an energy field around someone. How big the field is remains unknown. Any hangover or residual effects are still unknown.
Kara still has a few pages to translate. Maybe that will give us something we will be able to use against her.
I tell Kara as I leave, "Chad, Jade, and I will be taking some dark lords to Elmcrest."
She puts her hand on my shoulder and looks as if I am leaving her forever. "You are leaving me behind?"
I try to explain, "My dear, everything in me wants to take you everywhere I go. In the event that something happens to me, I need you to take up the mantle. Someone will need to keep this family moving forward, without me."
She gets steely-eyed again and says, "I am telling you this not to show you I care, this is just a fact! If you die, I will spend every hour I have pulling you back to this realm just so I can kill you myself! You will not leave me alone in this realm after turning me into you! You cannot get me hooked and then just, pull it away like that!" She breaks her armor and falls into my arms in tears.
I say to her, "I will do everything in my power to make sure everyone else I love dies around me first. If we are running away, I will trip Jade and Chad so I can get away safe to see you. Does that help a little?"
She starts laughing through her tears, punching me in the shoulder with the meat of her fist. "Shut up, I am being serious." She is trying not to laugh. I give beautiful Kara a kiss and leave to find Chad.
I find Chad in the garage assessing the damage to the car that had been towed home. We still have three other cars and a hearse. He is attempting to find something salvageable to use before it is scrapped for good.
I let him know that I intend to make an assault on Elmcrest tonight. "The sooner, the better. The longer we give them idle, the more of a chance they will have against us." He nods and heads to his room to change.
I find Jade by the bar and I tell her the plan as well.
She says, "You sure this is the best move, daddy? You do not think it would be better to just keep the soldiers at the ready and try to fortify this place?"
I let her know, "We will be doing that. I am hoping to catch them slipping; maybe we can get that totem and they will have no idea until morning. If anything, perhaps we can get some recon information we can use against them."
"You and Chad are going to have to do the recon. I plan to dig out any extra information I can from our 'houseguest' on the way. Once we get there, I will need to refuel. In this scenario I get nothing, or get something, and I am too drained to move, I will need you and at least two or three of your team with me."
She runs her hand across my chest as she spins back to the bar and says, "Anything you say, daddy."
The female known as Nevaeh, who has been our 'houseguest' for a while now, is asleep in our guest room. As soon as Chad gets the car ready and the soldiers in line, I wake her up and take her to the Escalade that is waiting outside for us. I push her into the Escalade, her body slack and heavy with forced rest. Nevaeh's body stiffens against the leather seats as she is jostled into place. She is surrounded by the intensely focused, predatory beauty of my people. They are silent, their expressions sharp and heavy with the strategic business of the night.
She asks, "What is going on? Where are you taking me?"
I tell her, "This is your lucky day, witch. You are going home!"