The Cat Burglar - 8. Species High Court

A few hours before Lord Caspian’s soldiers were supposed to pick us up, I had to live through a strange this-is-what-you-want-to-wear-to-church-on-a-Sunday-morning moment. Konstantin came into my room, took one look at me, and instantly wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Doc was right.”

“Huh?”

“No one informed you about the dress code?”

I frowned. “Dress code?” I looked at my best pair of jeans and pulled the seam of the clean t-shirt I wore. “What’s wrong with this? It isn’t as if we’ve been granted an audience with a king or something.”

Konstantin was already rummaging around my wardrobe. “You have nothing adequate to wear!”

I snorted. He reminded me of my mother rifling through my father’s wardrobe full of sensible, expedition-approved clothes when she had an award ceremony coming up.

Then Konstantin glared at me over his shoulder. “Caspian is the oldest and most powerful vampire in this area, maybe even on the entire continent. Being summoned by him means formal clothes. It’s a sign of respect for him and his status. Tonight, you will be seeing attires from many different time periods and countries. Jeans won’t be among them.”

I got up from the couch. “I don’t own anything like that. I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy.”

“Not today.” He closed the door with a huff. “We have to find you a suit and a decent shirt.”

“Maybe I can borrow something from legate prissy prick when we’re there.”

Caspian once again sent several black SUVs with dark-tinted windows. It was good it was in the middle of the night, and the neighbors slept behind tall walls, or they might have suspected us of having connections to the mob.

I sat wedged between Rylan and Konstantin in ill-fitting borrowed clothes, and felt as if I was forced to visit some twice-removed cousin’s wedding reception. Rylan looked equally unimpressed and pulled his tie. “Where are we going?” He tried to peer out the window.

I shrugged. “Dunno anything, besides that we’re having an audience with the boss man.”

“Where does a vampire lord live?”

“I. Don’t. Know.”

Konstantin groaned and answered Ry’s question. “Caspian’s clan owns the Silver Spire.”

“Wow, an entire high-rise downtown. Expensive.” Then Ry furrowed his eyebrows. “I’ve never seen it shuttered. Where do they stay during the day?”

“The windows are coated against the effects of light; thus, they appear silvery.”

“Nifty.”

Before he could ask another question, the driver turned into a discreet entrance of the underground parking lot of the building.

The elevator doors were guarded by two vampire soldiers, one in the usual black suit, and her partner in black fatigues and a tight t-shirt. Both were wearing swords mounted on their backs.

I turned to Konstantin. “I guess this isn’t an entrance usually frequented by humans.”

Both guards immediately relaxed when they saw the car as we drew closer. We still weren’t allowed to just step into the elevator. One of them accompanied Konstantin, Rylan, and me to the third floor, the other stayed with Nathan, Doc, and the rest. The elevator opened to some kind of foyer. In old times one would have called it a wandelhalle. It wasn’t only a space to get from the elevator to the other rooms. It was clearly meant to host social gatherings. The floor was polished cream marble with dark inlets. The vaulted, frescoed ceiling was supported by gleaming black marble columns. We stepped aside and waited for the others. Many different people milled about, talking excitedly to each other; some were holding glasses in their hands.

To Konstantin’s amusement, Rylan immediately lifted his nose and sniffed loudly until I elbowed him. “Would you quit it already?”

“Not all of them are vampires. Some are of silver, some Fae, and others I can’t place.” He looked around with wide eyes.

Grinning, Konstantin nodded. “He’s correct.”

I was baffled. The entire function looked more like a reception. Somehow, I had expected something more solemn and formal. Konstantin had been right though; I had never seen so many different attires. Everyone was clearly waiting for something or someone. We stayed close by the elevator until the rest of the clan was present. Some had noticed our arrival and tried watching us secretly; others stared at us openly. Doc stepped protectively beside Nathan. Rylan, Maria, and Martin were between me, Emil, and Amir. Van had passed over the sedated Warren to the soldiers downstairs before she joined us.

“What are they waiting for?” I looked at Konstantin.

A man turned around. “We’re waiting for Lord Caspian.”

Rylan tilted his head to me so he could whisper in my ear. “What do we call him now? Master Caspian or Lord Caspian?”

Konstantin answered. “Our former leader, Matthias, insisted on lord. Nowadays someone in Caspian’s position is called a city master, therefore, Master Caspian.”

“Or just Caspian.” We turned around and there stood a man of medium height, in the most colorful clothes I had ever seen on a vampire. His jodhpuri suit coat was made from dark yellow or maybe gold colored velvet, matching his short curly hair. I even spotted an emerald-green waistcoat with a discreet paisley pattern. His dark green slim pants were almost boring in comparison with the rest of his outfit. The most unusual thing though, was the color of his eyes, or should I say the colors? Every time our gazes met, it seemed as if it had changed.

The city master smiled at my sire, joyfully putting a hand on his shoulder. “Konstantin. It has been a long time.” Then he examined our group. “I already know Emil and Doc. Would you introduce me to the rest of the clan?”

“Of course, forgive me for my negligence.” Konstantin pulled me over. “This is Kavan, my childe.”

Caspian raised a golden eyebrow. “Your One Childe.”

Konstantin confirmed, smiling proudly. “My One Childe.” He pointed to Ry and Nate. “These are his natural brothers. Nathan is Doc’s childe, and Rylan is also Kavan’s childe.”

“You have to explain this to me when we have more time. Gideon showed me Marla’s report, but I haven’t had time to read it yet.”

Hearing the pompous ass’ name, I immediately wrinkled my nose. Of course, Caspian noticed it and looked at me curiously. Briefly, I thought he’d comment on it, but then Konstantin introduced the rest of the clan to him. Max, Anja, Ava, and Ira.

“This is Martin and Maria. They are Emil’s, and he plans to turn them as soon as everything has calmed down. And these are our remaining soldiers, Amir and Van. We handed Elvira’s blood slaves, Ava and Ira, over to your soldiers, as well as Warren. He is Elvira’s erm...pet and a little difficult to handle.”

The city master raised his eyebrow briefly, then he smiled at us. “Welcome to my home.”

Konstantin suddenly narrowed his eyes, looking at something over my shoulder. “Is that Tiryrth?”

Caspian turned around until his gaze fell on a tall man with waist-long black hair. ”Yes, the king of the dragons and his new mate Radulf were so kind as to accept my invitation.”

“His new mate?”

“It’s recent; he is the former alpha of the River Bend pack.”

“He’s a wolf?” Doc looked as if he wanted to go over and introduce himself and ask for more details. Konstantin quickly brushed over his sleeve, and fortunately Doc understood and stayed put.

“I invited representatives of every species that are currently in the area as this issue concerns us all.”

Konstantin frowned. “It does?” After watching Caspian’s guests a little closer, he seemed to have an epiphany. “You called the assembly of the Species High Court!”

“I did.” With these words, Caspian walked into the center of the room and waited until everyone had noticed him, and the talking stopped.

“Many of you were justly concerned about the possible aftermath a territorial fight within two of my clans might cause. The humans are becoming cautious; the police are more alert. After conducting a thorough investigation, I realized the issue is more serious than we first thought and called for a general meeting and the assembly of the Court of the Species.”

Audible whispering swept through the audience.

A guard passed Caspian a sheet of paper. “I will now announce the names of the thirteen judges who have been drawn from those present and eligible. Ravaniel, representing the Eĥo.”

From between the columns stepped a slim man in a white flowing suit, carrying a raven on his fist. “I shall do my duty as promised.” He followed a second guard through a double door at the far end.

“Tiryrth, representing the dragons.” The man Konstantin had earlier called the dragon king, briefly laid his palm on his mate’s neck before he turned around and proclaimed, “I shall do my duty as promised.”

“Oriole, representing the Fae currently dwelling on this plane.”

The man sauntered through the crowd, seemingly having all the time in the world until he reached his guard, who was to lead him to the other judges. “I shall do my duty as promised.”

“Dimitri, for the wolves of silver.” The man I had already met at The Tavern didn’t even bother with the whole phrase. “It’s my duty.” Before he vanished behind the double door.

“Antoni, for the foxes of silver.”

And so it went on until Caspian had called out thirteen names of individuals, each representing a different species. I saw my first elf that evening. Hanali Moonbow was a tall slender woman, wearing a black sheath dress and matching ballerinas, her red hair done in a modern pixie cut.

Nathan’s jaw almost hit the floor when Dufralin Ironwind stomped after her guard in heavy boots, wearing a leather jerkin over what looked like UA leggings, a linen shirt as well as a leather gorget decorated with two metal buckles. It hid some of her grey hair, barely tamed by several messy plaits. “Is she an actual dw-dwarf?” he stuttered.

“She is actually the matriarch of the Ironwind clan. She’s visiting the city to negotiate an important contract. We’re lucky to have her here today as a judge.”

Gideon-the-pompous-ass had somehow sneaked up on us. Of course, he was dressed to the nines again. His usual jewelry glistened in the overhead lights. The mid-thigh long brocade jacket shimmered silver with actual ruffles peeking out from the seams of its sleeves. What almost shocked me were the black leather pants and gleaming knee-high boots. Before I could stop myself, “Kinky” slipped out.

His haughty expression was instantly replaced by a scowl. Konstantin’s was equally impressive. I had obviously screwed up. What’s new?

“How could we have never noticed them?” Nathan suddenly whispered to me.

Gideon hissed at him. “Who’s we?”

“The-the humans.” Nathan quickly corrected himself with an audible tremor in his voice after Gideon’s harsh question.

“You are not a human anymore, childe! Better get accustomed to it.”

Doc and I glared at the man, who was totally unimpressed by our fury and continued his rant. “The normal human is ignorant and self-important; they only see what they want.” He growled. “They construe vague scientific explanations around, let’s say, a long tail on a skeleton they excavated and declare these unusual findings as an atavism, a rare natural occurrence. If some renowned scientists explained this as an involuntary evolutionary regression to you, you would believe him, right? You wouldn’t even consider the possibility the skeleton belongs to a person from another species. Pure fantasy, right? Paranormal, unscientific nonsense.”

Nathan nodded, flustered, trying to hide behind Doc.

Gideon scoffed, shaking his head. “Exactly like vampires, right? And look at you.”

I had enough and stepped right into his personal space, legate or not. “Leave my brother alone. His entire world is changing right now, and you’re not helping, prissy pants.”

Doc touched my arm, and my anger calmed down, then he turned to Gideon. “Although I wouldn’t have expressed it as Kavan has—I think you need to step away from my childe. Now.”

After a long moment, Gideon nodded and melted back into the crowd.

“I can’t stand that guy!” I glared at his retreating form.

Ry hadn’t noticed our little spat with Gideon because he was busy goggling at two animal-like species: the Kathomi and the Perditaj. The first are feline humanoids who are taller than most humans, and have spotted fur and long tails. Their species was represented by Cloud over the Glade and obviously the species Gideon had been talking about.

“His name sounds so cool, almost poetic.” Ry was in awe.

The other species, the Perditaj, are bird-like creatures. They usually cover their body with multiple cloaks of dark colors, a large cowl hides their heads, and all one can see from their face is a beak. Quill was a typical representative of his species; he had a hawk’s beak. His claws clicked on the marble floor when he hurried after his assigned guard through the double doors.

I was still staring at the spot where Gideon had vanished and wouldn’t have noticed Konstantin tensing up beside me if he hadn’t stood so close to me. Following his line of sight, I saw Katherine Delacour. They barely acknowledged each other, just a tilt of their heads, probably because she was with her clan. The Delacours glared at us as if they wished to incinerate us by the sheer power of their laser gazes.

I had to distract my sire or he’d go over and cause an incident. “What’s happening behind those double doors anyway?”

Of course, PAG (pompous ass guy) popped out from wherever and had to open his damned mouth. “The trial, of course.”

“The trial happens behind closed doors? It’s not public?”

“Of course not! They might discuss matters that are not suitable for the ears of the general public. The Species High Court only assembles for serious indictments, not for petty offenses as most of the human courts busy themselves with. Those minor offenses are handled by our clan leaders. Do you know anything about our world?”

Konstantin growled. “I assume the great Gideon already knew everything about all the species and our legal system in the first years of his second life? Impressive. I always knew you were an overachiever.”

Gideon glared at my sire. “You know nothing about my first years.”

Just when I thought they would fight it out, Caspian climbed a small dais and raised his voice. “Bring in the defendants.” There was movement in another part of the room, and Mother and Henri Delacour were led into the room, their hands and feet shackled. When they reached a metal construction I hadn’t noticed before, their guards attached the chains to its bars.

Caspian looked around the hall. “Assembly of the Species! Elvira Night, the former leader of the Night clan, has to appear in front of the judges of the Species High Court because she willingly risked the exposure of our world for no other reason than greed or other base motives.

“On the false assumption I might redistribute and resize clan territories after I took over from Lord Matthew—”

“After you murdered Matthew!” Mother spat.

Unimpressed by her heckling, Caspian continued, “Elvira Night tried to enlarge her clan through intimidation and bribery. If that didn’t work, she didn’t even shrink back from murder to expand her sphere of influence and put the Night clan into a better position. She continuously stole away members from other clans, because she once again falsely assumed the size of the redistributed territory would be dependent on the number of her clan members and their power.”

Mother pulled violently at her shackles, baring her teeth at Caspian. “Prove only one of your false accusations! Liar! Murderer!”

Once again, he ignored her. “Vampires are a violent species. Clan disputes are common and can be overlooked up to a certain point, but Elvira Night ignored the cardinal rule: avoid any attention.

“She didn’t listen to my explicit warnings but started an open war with the Delacour clan, thereby endangering our world. Today she will assume responsibility for her deeds and will be judged and sentenced by the Species High Court. The sentence will be immediately executed.”

Mother didn’t stop ranting and raving until, at the behest of Caspian, a witch finally silenced her with a charm.

Then Caspian turned to the second defendant. “Henri Delacour, as the leader of the second largest clan, you were a respected voice among us until you decided to use Elvira Night’s greed and craving for importance to further your secret agenda.”

Delacour snorted. “What secret agenda? It pains me greatly to say this, but it seems that Elvira was right. You’re nothing but a delusional and murderous imposter.” Several gasps could be heard until Caspian’s glare silenced the audience. His eyes briefly turning black was the only indication of his fury. Then he fixed his gaze on Henri.

“The first indication that something was wrong was your refusal to acknowledge the rare gift the fates bestowed on your childe, Katherine. Finding her bloodsong in legate Konstantin Navarro of the Night clan should have been a reason to rejoice for you and your clan. Instead of being happy for them, you tried to use their fortune in favor of your plans. When Konstantin visited Katherine, your soldiers captured him, without her knowledge, I might say. You confined and starved him in the hope he would slip into blood rage after you released him near the public beach, where he would slaughter young partying humans, an easy way to discredit a rival clan and get rid of a powerful member and their legate at the same time.

“But one question remained, why bother? The Night Clan was relatively insignificant in terms of power and never a danger to you and yours.

“A search of your compound, as well as the questioning of your clan, revealed your real plan.”

Until then, Henri had pretended to be bored and not listening to Caspian’s accusations. “You searched my house?” Henri’s fingers curled around the metal bars with elongated claws. “What gave you the right?” He roared around his dropped fangs.

As before with Mother, Caspian simply ignored Henri’s rage. “We found evidence you deliberately aggravated Elvira Night by enticing away her blood donors and stealing blood shipments. You deliberately violated territory borders. We found an entire schedule that was drawn up of where, and who, of your people had to cross the border and feed from the humans in her area. You needled her for months, riled her up until she forgot reason, and blind with rage attacked your far more powerful clan.

“You used her as a tool to further your agenda. After assessing documents, computers, and the testimonies from some of your clan members, your plan became obvious: You want to force our world into the open.”

Until then, the audience had been more or less raptly listening to Caspian’s statements, but after the revelation of Delacour’s plan, there seemed to be no stopping their outrage until Caspian gave a hand sign, and guards from several species swarmed the room. Their presence calmed the crowds down, at least on the surface.

Caspian raised his voice. “I promise we will investigate this thoroughly until there’s nothing left. Therefore, I invite representatives of the species to support us and help us. To provide the utmost transparency. Until then, we trust the High Court to handle this.”

Then Caspian lifted his right hand, and guards led the defendants away.

The audience reacted to Caspian’s revelations in every conceivable way. Some were simply stunned, others discussed loudly what this meant for their world, our world, and the word ‘war’ was mentioned many times.

Most of us stood close around Konstantin. Doc explained something to Nathan. Rylan leaned into me whispering, ”They’re somehow angry at us.” Van and Amir immediately faced some hostile-looking people, adopting a protective stand. All the while, Max and Anja called the accusations ridiculous. I was about to ask my sire what we’d do next, when he bent forward, yelling loudly. He grabbed his left arm with his right hand. Blood ran down his hand, dripping on the floor where it formed a growing pool around his feet.