[[ You piece of shit, ]] one of them started. [[ You think that you’ve won? The Swords of Cleansing will be reborn and we will kill you and that disgusting abomination sitting next to you! ]] he added, looking directly at Eliza.
[[ You would lead the vampires, the greatest of all races, down the road of racial dilution. You . . . ]]
[[ What I meant was, did you have anything USEFUL to say? ]] Evlidone interrupted. He strode down the stairs to where the captives were caged. The containment area was about ten feet wide by twenty feet in length, and stretched from the floor to the ceiling. [[ Valar, please open this wall and let me inside. ]]
Valar looked stunned. The entire room had gone dead quiet.
[[ Sir, what are you . . . ]] Captain Aruthis started.
[[ Chancellor Valar, I ORDER you to let me inside, effective . . . ]] Evlidone stopped. His daughter had appeared at his side.
[[ Dad, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I’m not letting you risk your life! You’re too important! ]]
[[ Eliza, I know what I’m doing. Please . . . just believe in me. ]]
Eliza stopped. [[ If I even THINK you don’t have control, I’m coming in after you. ]]
[[ Agreed. ]] He looked up. [[ Valar? ]]
Valar stared at him, then a smile crossed his lips. A door appeared in one side of the cage, and Security Director Evlidone Msabdteelfinclor stepped into the lions’ den. Almost immediately, the confused assassins attacked.
As the general guests came back into the room and Eliza’s team (and her mother) looked on, an ass-whooping was taking place. But it was the assassins on the receiving end. Eliza had forgotten how adept of a sorcerer her father was, but he was putting on quite a display. One of the assassins was actually embedded about a foot into the ceiling, while another was attempting to extinguish the flames that had been ignited in his clothing. The third attacker had just had his fourth and fifth spells absorbed and negated respectively, then made a blind attempt to bum-rush Evlidone.
Eliza snarled. [[ Valar! ]] she shouted. Another door in the cage opened and she sprung forward. She moved with such speed that the on-looking crowd gasped in surprise. Her father apparently had been planning on casting something against the man, but stopped after his daughter buried her shoulder into the assassin’s midsection in a full-tilt charge. The man doubled-over as he flew back into the far wall, blood leaking from his mouth as he fell to the ground.
[[ That was HARDLY ladylike, ]] Evlidone said. [[ If you ruin that dress, your mother will NEVER let you hear the end of it. ]]
Eliza checked the dress and, except for a bit of dirt on the front, it was fine. She brushed herself off.
Evlidone looked at the smoldering but still breathing attacker. The man realized that his comrades had been permanently removed from the field of battle, and he started to whimper. Evlidone shook his head. [[ The Swords of Cleansing are finished. I hereby place you under arrest for treason against the Prime Minister and the nation of Devlia, assault, illegal use of combat magic within the Palace Grounds, . . . ]]
Eliza went back up to her seat while the remaining attacker was taken into custody, all the while being charged with a myriad of additional crimes.
With his daughter distracted, Evlidone turned and kicked the prisoner in the crotch, then leaned over and whispered in the would-be-assassin’s ear, [[ And that ‘disgusting abomination’ is my daughter, you son of a bitch, ]] he growled. He stood up and saw Valar nodding his approval. The two exchanged a smile. No one fucked with Evlidone’s family.
————– ——————————-
Back at her parent’s residence . . .
————– ——————————-
“I don’t get it,” Wyrm said as soon as they crossed the threshold. “Why put his ass on the line like that?”
Eliza grinned. Her parents would probably be tied up at the palace for a while, so she alerted the house staff to take a break. Then she turned to her friends.
“He was never in any danger,” she said. “They used all their big mojo in their opening gambit. They were no match for him in a straight-up fight. I keep thinking of him as ‘old,’ but he’s still young for a sorcerer of his power. This wasn’t about catching a couple of rebels. It was about making a statement.”
“He made an impression,” Dennis said, pulling up a seat and pulling his wife into his lap. “He left an impression in the ceiling, the floor . . .”
“That’s NOT what I meant,” Eliza replied.
Thug raised his head. {{ The main Swords of Cleansing force had been destroyed, leaving only fringe groups . . . isolated pockets of resistance. But those pockets could gain numbers and return to prominence if they felt they could still win, }} the troll thought.
Eliza nodded. Her friend was much more observant than many people gave him credit for. “This was a very public and very thorough beating. With no single leader to unite them, they NEEDED this attack to work. But if was a dismal failure.”
“It’s going to be hard or impossible for them to convince any new recruits that they can win after such a decisive failure,” Terillia said. “This is . . . the straw that broke the camel’s spine.”
Vicky grinned. Her lover was cute when she mis-translated.
“My father knew that a single public display could save us against years of guerilla warfare,” Eliza finished.
“Well, I think I know where you got your ‘sneakiness’ from,” Allyson said.
“Maybe,” Eliza replied. She looked over at Veronica. “You know, I never DID get to dance with you,” she said, pulling the beautiful blonde woman into her arms. “Wyrm, could you hit the music?”
Wyrm turned to his laptop and brought up a playlist. The first song was slow, which was perfect for Eliza. The members of Hybrid Security watched as their boss and her girlfriend giggled like young girls as the floated across the floor with uncanny grace.
“And she can dance too,” Allyson chuckled. She got to her feet and pulled her husband with her. Vicky and Terillia joined them on the dance floor, and Kalinicia gently took Wyrm by the hand. After the established couples had finished the first dance, they paired off with others, bringing Snake, Boomer and Bear onto the floor as well. Thug and Tiny rolled their eyes, then wandered off to find something to stare at. Trolls didn’t “do” dancing.
“That was a pretty good feast,” Wyrm said, sitting down after several dances. Kalinicia sat with him. “Do all these ‘Festival of Stars’ end with a fight?”
“No,” Eliza replied. “Usually, it ends with an exchange of secrets. It’s sort of like a ‘whispering,’ but instead of sharing something no one knows with the departed, you share a wish with a friend or loved one. It’s sort of like our version of a New Year’s Eve kiss on Earth.”
“I think that’s a fine idea,” Allyson said.
Bear turned to Snake and Boomer. “Dudes, I so love you guys!” The three of them shared a laugh and then wandered off to find some alcohol.
Allyson whispered into her husband’s ear. “I want to have a family,” she said. Dennis looked shocked, so she continued. “I don’t want to quit yet and it doesn’t have to be right away, but . . . ”
Dennis lifted his wife off her feet and held her close. “I love you,” he told her.
“Not much of a secret,” she said, “but it’ll do.” She took him by the hand and led him back to their bedroom.
Vicky and Terillia had removed themselves to a corner of the room. “I think I see you as more than a friend,” Vicky said. “I think I kind of love you,” she said.
Terillia blushed dark blue and her heart raced. “I feel the same way. I hope that doesn’t mean you are not interested in bringing in additional women, though. I was contacted by two friends from my homeland before we left for the Festival. They wish to visit us on Earth so that you might impart your sexual wisdom upon them.”
Vicky grinned. “Are they hot? I mean . . . attractive?”
“Absolutely!” Terillia said. “I thought you might enjoy them, but I wish to remain with you for a great deal of time.”
Vicky kissed Terillia long and slow. “You are perfect for me.” She grabbed her young lover’s hand and led her towards the stairs that led up one of the towers.
Kalinicia was looking incredibly nervous. “Wyrm . . . I . . .”
“It’s okay,” he interrupted. “If you need to be mad at me or . . .”
“No,” she replied. “I do not blame anyone for what happened to my grandfather. He seems to have trusted you all, and I have come to understand why. What I wanted to say was . . . Wyrm, I have never known intimacy with a man. I . . . I was wondering if you might be with me today. If I am to experience your world, I wish to start by experiencing your touch.”
Wyrm took a deep breath. “Are you sure?”
Kalinicia looked at him and lowered her silky-soft lips to his. After a few moments, she ended the kiss. “I am very sure.” She took him by the arm and the two walked towards Wyrm’s room.
“Well, alone at last,” Eliza said. She was a bit nervous herself.
“Lover, I’m glad you and your father are talking again. I’m glad you let me be a part of this,” Veronica added, looking around at the splendor that was Evlidone’s house. “I don’t know if Christmas at my parents will be able to live up to this,” she added with a smile, “but it might.”
“Veronica . . .”
“Yes?”
“Will you marry me?”
Veronica’s eyes shot open and her lips trembled. Suddenly, there didn’t seem to be enough oxygen in the room. “Muh . . . marry you?”
“There is no chance I want to spend the rest of my life with anyone but you,” Eliza said. “You are my equal, my love and my lover. And since we are neither human nor vampire, we can make up our own culture . . . our own rules, and . . .”