The Mantis Variant - Book One - 20. Chapter 20 - Madame Hart & the Principal Messiah, Part One

Behind the massive desk in the leadership chamber, the heads of the hunters were stirred up in a rage. The one woman among them was standing with her palms on the desk again, leering over it at her kneeling subordinate.

"What do you mean that Talin's entire team is dead?!" she fumed.

"Affirmative, milady," replied the scout with his head bowed.

"How?!"

"They were cut to pieces, literally pieces. There were body parts everywhere, heads, arms," and the man's voice faded.

She glared down at him. "By a single Shift? One Shift managed to accomplish all that carnage?"

"Unclear, milady," the scout continued, "but they all seemed to be attacked by similar weapons, which we could not identify."

The woman looked towards her fellow leadership seated to both sides of her at the table. "I think it's time," she said, and she paused. "No objections? It's settled. I shall take the title of Madame Hart and reach out to our connection at the Messiah temple."

The woman who was now Madame Hart crossed her arms over her chest. "Too long have we worked from the background," she declared, "acted behind the scenes, but we have been in discussions about grander events," she paused, "events that will change the world. The time has come, and our combined powers shall be such that none will be able to stand against us. We are going," and her voice took on a wrathful tone, "to war."

Without another word, Madame Hart stormed around the desk and through the center of the hall. She exited the warehouse, and it was only a short distance across the industrial district before Teshon City's high tower came into view.

The massive steel doors at the base of the Messiah temple were closed, but Madame Hart was not going to enter through anywhere except the front. The minor welcome entrance around the side was for the common people. She banged on the metal.

A small window opened and the tower's porter looked at her through it without a word.

"I am Madame Hart, Master Mystic of Teshon City. I am here to speak with the Principal Messiah."

"What the fuck do you want?" the man snapped.

Madame Hart stood proud before the doors. "The Demifae are going public," she replied.

"More public than an entire neighborhood?" he scoffed. "More public than apothecaries on every corner? By the by," he added, "where's your shop? Oh," he continued, without letting her reply, "that's right, you lot don't even live in the Spritehood with the rest of your Demifae kind. Why is that?" he questioned with a sneer.

"I'll speak no more with you," Madame Hart declared. "Open these doors," she commanded.

The man slammed the little window, and for a moment nothing happened. Then the huge metal doors begin to shift. The porter was opening them from the inside, and even though Madame Hart understood the capabilities of Messiahs, she was still amazed to see the scrawny little man moving them with ease. He stepped back, and she touched the metal. She leaned into it to see if it would budge. It did not and the man snickered at her. He did not say another word.

"Greetings and welcome," came the voice of a woman.

Madame Hart looked to a flight of stairs. First appeared a pair of bare feet, then legs in dark trousers, then a torso and the rest of the woman came into view. She was dressed all in fine black leather. The pants were fitted over her muscular legs, and the jacket she wore was snug about her midsection. The zipper was only pulled about halfway up, and the woman's cleavage was exposed. She descended towards Madame Hart and continued speaking.

"I am Wrostecorite, Principal Messiah, and I welcome you to the Messiah Tower. Please, introduce yourself and tell me why you have come to my home today."

"I am Madame Hart, Master Mystic of Teshon City," she repeated. "We Demifae will no longer tolerate the Shift presence in our city, and we are escalating our vigilance."

"Please," the Principal Messiah said, "join me for tea," and she led Madame Hart into a private chamber. "I thought the leader of the Demifae was the High Chemist," she commented, as the two women took a seat at a table. "Master Mystic is a new term to me. Do you speak for all Demifae?" She turned to an attendant. "We'll take two."

Madame Hart replied, "I speak for the most zealous."

"Ah, zealotry is a quality in which I quite believe," the Principal Messiah declared, and her face curled into a wicked smile.

Their teas arrived and each of them took a sip.

Madame Hart furrowed her brow. "What is this?" she asked. "It just tastes like hot water."

"It is," the Principal Messiah replied, "hot water with a single other ingredient." She elucidated in a growl, "One drop of spinal fluid from a living Shift."✪