Edgar Nocturne is, once again, making something in his kitchen, so I currently have a view of his backside and not much else. And Malachai Eldric, who seemed—loosely speaking—to be the most reasonable of the three of them the last time I met them; well, he’s hungover as hell. Quite a feat as a vampire. I didn’t even know wecouldget drunk enough to still be feeling it the next day.
Theseare the cavalry I’ve turned to after our fellow vampires set monsters loose in the city.
These three. The most powerful vampires in Arcanum.
They must have a collective age of over a millennium and yet they seem no more equipped to deal with the situation than a handful of schoolchildren.
“You wanted proof of what they had planned. Was last night sufficient evidence for you?” I try to keep my tone respectful, but I’m fairly certain I’m failing on that front.
It’s barely a courtesy. I find my respect for the three of them slipping—and it wasn’t all that great after our last meeting.
“Could you speak at a lower volume, please?” Malachai says in barely more than a whisper, cradling his temples.
“Hair of the dog that bit you, old man,” Victor replies, tinkling a spoon against his teacup obnoxiously and seeming to relish how Malachai flinches.
“I have their location,” I tell them. “Where they’ve holed themselves up.”
“Ah,” Victor says, fiddling with his cuffs and avoiding looking at me.
“Well,” Edgar adds, sipping his tea with a noisy slurp.
“It’s a mansion in Arcanum Heights,” I tell them.
“Arcanum Heights?”
“Oh. Oh no. That’s not good at all.” Victor tugs at his shirt collar. “I’m not sure you should have told us that.”
“We, uh, we have a meeting with three members of the Archarcan council in an hour,” Malachai adds. “Perhaps it’s something we can raise during the meeting.”
Wow, three of the Archarcan council. They really are taking the entire situation seriously.
“And what are you going to tell them?” I ask. “How are you planning to deal with the Ba—the rogue vampires?”
“We’re taking the entire situation very seriously,” Victor says, pulling down his sunglasses to reveal tired, bloodshot eyes.
Pretty sure that’s evidence both he and Malachai tied one on last night. I wonder if that was before or after the chaos of the Solstice Ball. Which begs the question—
“Were the three of you in attendance at the Ball? Did you witness the events yourselves?”
“We may have made an appearance,” Victor says.
“Unfortunately, I could not attend,” Edgar adds.
Of course, he doesn’t leave the house. I wonder if Malachai was caught by Simpson’s powers too, or if they headed off to raid the bar before it got to that part of the evening.
“Simpson or one of his entourage were able to compel hundreds of people to freeze in their own bodies. If they can do that. What else might they be able to do?”
Edgar stutters a response, then gives up.
“Over fifty bodies were found by the docks. Fifty people drained and killed to give them enough power to make last night happen. What do you think their next move will be if they step things up a notch?”
“I’m sure it won't come to that.”
“Perhaps we ought to set up a meeting,” Victor says.
“I thought you were meeting the Archarcans after this?”
He shifts awkwardly and I cotton on pretty quickly to what he meant.
