People were going to die.
I knew this because I was the one who was going to do the killing.
They had touched something sacred to me…my family. For that, I would make them suffer. I would unleash my wrath and show them why I was feared.
“We need to go,” Byako said, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Do we have any idea where Benjiro might be holding Ken?”
I headed to the main gate of the Cloisters with Byako in tow. Aria was coordinating the recovery from the attack, giving instructions and directing her sisters. She joined us a moment later.
“This was a disaster,” Aria said, surveying the damage. “The main attack was a complete feint, a well-orchestrated deflection.”
I nodded.
“Benjiro is a master tactician,” I answered, letting the anger within run free. “I underestimated him.”
“We both did,” Aria said, the anger in her voice matching mine. “That won’t happen again.”
“I’m going to need that anchored tether to be portable,” I said. “Can you do that?”
“Yes, give me a day.”
“I only have two left,” I said. “This can’t be delayed.”
“I need to create something special,” Aria said. “Tela has special skills in addition to planewalking.”
“Special skills?”
“She is adept at illusions,” Aria answered. “She can’t hold them for long, but they are very convincing.”
“Illusions?” Byako asked. “Like she can turn into a chair?”
“She can take on the characteristics of another person,” Aria answered. “She can’t emulate inanimate objects, only people.”
“That will make apprehending her difficult.”
“No shit…sorry,” Byako said before catching herself. “So, she can look like anyone?”
“I can create something you can carry—something that will help,” Aria said, her voice dark. “Tela will pay for this, and she will return the grimoire.”
“If she lives long enough.”
“What do you mean?” Aria asked. “Are you…?”
I shook my head.
“Benjiro no longer has a need for her ability,” I said. “She served her purpose; obtaining the grimoire. Her usefulness has run its course. He will discard her.”
“Discard her?” Aria asked. “You mean…?”
“Tela was a means to an end for Benjiro,” I said. “Now that he has the grimoire, he doesn’t need her.”
“He will try to eliminate her and fail,” Aria said. “Tela is not without her defenses.”
“I can assure you Benjiro has planned for that contingency. I need to find Ken.”
Byako adjusted the three masks of the Faceless in her hand. The Nightwalkers were down to twelve. I had a feeling they would all be gone before this was over. It was a thought that simultaneously filled me with sadness and rage.
“Two days to the new moon,” Aria said. “Will that be enough time?”
“It will have to be,” I said, heading to the exit. All around us, injured Wordweavers were being tended to by their sisters. I noticed the multiple piles of dust, signifying dead vampires. “Kadir has taken serious losses tonight.”
“Will this stop him?” Aria asked, looking around at the aftereffects of the skirmish. “Many of his people fell tonight.”
“He will feel vulnerable, but will be undeterred,” I said. “This will only solidify his convictions. He will attempt to accelerate his timetable.”
“How will you face him?” Aria asked, “if you can’t convince him to change this course of action?”
“I say we open up a massive can of whoop…” Byako started.
“I will offer Kadir a truce,” I said, formulating a plan. “A resolution to this madness.”
“Are you insane?” Byako said, turning to look at me. “He’ll kill you.”
“He’ll try,” I said. “I’m counting on it. Right now, it’s the only way to find Ken in time.”
“Michiko, I’m sorry,” Aria said. “I should have anticipated this attack. I never thought Tela would…”
“It appears her hatred for you and the Wordweavers has clouded her better judgement,” I said. “You may want to consider how you deal with your exiles.”
“It is something to ponder,” Aria said with a slight nod. “What does the vampire faction do with traitors?”
“Exactly what I did tonight,” I said, stopping at the main gate. “We help them restore their honor.”
“How?” Aria asked. “By terminating them?”
“By removing their potential to bring about destruction and ruin to the vampire faction within the Dark Council,” I said. “By reintroducing them to the concept of impermanence.”
“That sounds very much like termination. You consider that better than exile?”
“That is our way,” I said. “Wordweavers are not vampires. I don’t expect you to understand our methods.”
“Your methods sound uncompromising and devoid of compassion,” Aria said. “We believe in offering redemption and mercy.”
“By casting them out?” Byako asked with a slight edge. “Cutting them off from their only family?”
“The alternative is extreme and final,” Aria said, turning to Byako. “Killing exiles is not the solution.”
Byako looked away. Her lack of response louder than any words she may have uttered.
“Perhaps, to Wordweavers,” I answered after a moment. “For some”—I glanced quickly at Byako—“exile is a fate worse than death.”
“Wordweavers have found that the mercy of exile overrides the harshness of being removed from the order,” Aria answered, her voice low. “In the past, exiles were stripped of abilities—erased, before being cast out.”
“That would be mercy,” I said. Judging from her expression, Aria was surprised. “Let the exiles live out normal lives, without the ability to exact revenge. Someone in the Wordweaver past had the right idea.”
“That’s not our way, now. Erasure shows no mercy or compassion. The exile lives with an enormous loss.”
“Yet retains full use of their abilities?” I asked. “That is short-sighted and foolish. I’ve found that mercy and compassion have a way of being repaid with treachery.”
“Not everyone who becomes an exile betrays the Wordweavers,” Aria answered. “Many leave of their own volition. This life isn’t for everyone. They can choose to live outside of our walls.”
“Wordweavers have a choice,” I said. “My kind do not.”
“And your kind believes betrayal should be met with death?”
“Like you said,” I answered, keeping my anger in check, “mercy and compassion is afforded to those who deserve it. Traitors deserve neither.”
“So, it’s belong or die?” Aria asked.
“We are already dead,” I said. “The clan is life.”
“That’s a hard way to live.”
“To betray your clan is to turn your back on your family,” I said. “For us…for me…there is no coming back from that. Benjiro knows the outcome of our confrontation.”
“One of you will die,” Aria said. “Is there no other outcome?”
“His betrayal allows for only one outcome.”
“You’re going to kill someone you consider family?”
“No,” I said, my voice low and menacing. “I’m going to kill someone who betrayed my family. There’s a difference.”
“Only to you.”
“That’s all that matters. That I know the difference,” I said, exiting the main building. “Inform me when the tether is ready.”
Aria nodded and watched us leave the Cloisters.
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