Jacek lay in bed deep into the night unable to sleep after his dreamy rendezvous. He jumped with surprise as his phone on the nightstand lit up and started buzzing.
He grabbed his phone and answered it, “Hey Dad. It’s late. What’s up.”
“An emergency meeting is being held in the conference room. Be there in five minutes.” Jarek then hung up without awaiting a response.
Jacek put his phone down and softly said, “An emergency meeting at 3am the night of my wedding? This had better be good.”
He got out of bed and put on a pair of gym shorts and a tank top before heading to the conference room within the villa.
He entered into a dimly lit room with the overhead lights off but table side lamps on, and he took his seat. He looked around seeing leaders from around the world, all present to attend the wedding. Jarek, Karasu, Lady Starfallen, President Hammond, and…
Suddenly the door flung open as an irate Erika entered the conference room. She wore a silk white robe with a floral pattern, and her face was contorted with pure anger.
“This had better be good!! It is the morning of my wedding!!” Erika walked up to the round table and noticed Jacek, “This meeting should be masters only! How dare you invite my groom on the day of my wedding for me to see! This is terrible luck! You are all my guests in my empire, and you all dare to offend me… on my wedding day!!!”
Erika gave a loud ‘Hrmph’ and sat down at the table eyeing everyone with dagger-like gazes. Her gaze landed on Jacek last, and she frowned and shook her head at him with disapproval.
Jacek raised his hands to his chest as to indicate ‘It wasn’t my idea’.
Jarek raised his voice to quell the commotion, “Forgive me, Master Sage.” He looked to her, and she scowled at him too even. Nonetheless, he continued, “It is not my intent to offend you, and I apologize for this intrusion of tradition on your wedding day; however, I have received news that will require all of our deliberation in regard to whether this wedding can take place or not.”
Erika pushed her tongue into her cheek before lashing out, “Nothing will stop this wedding.”
Jarek ignored her sharp tone and continued, “I have received news from the Holy Light Empire that Michael has been found dead within his own vault along with Eric Vand of the Vand Family.”
President Hammond’s body experienced a visceral jump as the news hit him. He even began to tremble.
The entire table was stunned and shocked by the news; however, Hammond’s overstated reaction was noticed by everyone present.
Jarek nodded to him, “President Hammond, sir. Is there something you wish to share with us?”
Hammond gulped and leaned forward with his elbows on the table, “I was warned this would happen.”
Lady Starfallen furrowed her brow, “Warned that Michael would die? By whom? Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
Hammond had a look of bewilderment as he responded, “Oh I think you’ll understand why once I tell you.”
The table went silent allowing for Hammond to continue, “Before I left, John Vand came to visit me at the White House. He is an old friend, but what he had to say was… unusual. He warned me.”
Karasu frowned along with the others as they waited for Hammond to tell his story.
“He warned me that Xenia Victoria BloodStar is still alive.” Hammond threw his hands up, “What could I tell him other than I’ve seen her dead body in the Heraklinos Empire.”
Jarek immediately reached for his phone and called the Eternal Guardsmen directly. A guardsmen answered, and Jarek wasted no time, “Status of Xenia’s body? Now!”
The guardsmen responded promptly, “I have visual confirmation her body is present with no vital signs from the monitors.”
Jarek responded, “Thank you. Now broadcast the security footage to my phone.”
Jarek’s phone lit up with live footage, and he transmitted it to the large TV in the room for everyone to see Xenia’s body in a tank of preservatives.
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Jarek turned to Hammond, “She looks dead to me.”
The others were relieved to see the live footage; however, Hammond was not, “Normally, I would say case closed. But this is Xenia BloodStar we are talking about.”
Lady Starfallen chimed in again, “What else did Vand tell you?”
“He told me to kowtow to Xenia when she came. That she had become even more powerful than before. That she would conquer the world.” Hammond shook his head, “Of course, I asked him for proof to which he could not provide any. I told him there could be no way I could take the nation in a direction opposite of my campaign to win office. That’s when he said if I couldn’t follow his advice on a national level, to follow it on a personal level… to not attend the wedding.”
Everyone at the table stared at Hammond, and he continued, “I told him again that with no proof, I am not interested in his musings. But it’s his last comment that has me rattled. He said… he said he couldn’t provide proof but that if I heard news of St. Michael’s death, that would be proof enough.”
Hammond gulped again, “And here we are. Michael is dead.”
Jarek pointed to the TV, “Xenia is dead too.” He stood up and began to pace, “Now consider this before we lose our collective minds. It is true that a Miss Sareena Night had been terrorizing the Holy Light Empire; however, before Michael’s death, he had assured me that she had been taken care of. This is likely not the act of a low-level ki user such as her. No. At the scene of Michael’s death, he had apparently opened a forbidden chest within the vault. The contents of which are empty, but there is evidence that an extremely powerful ki blast erupted from it likely killing Michael and Eric instantly.”
Lady Starfallen look confused as she asked, “I thought that chest was exceptionally difficult to open? How could Michael have opened it if even you could not at one point in history?”
Jarek shook his head, “He and his family knew information I did not. Perhaps it wasn’t brute strength that was required to open it.”
Karasu followed up by saying, “We have live evidence of a dead Xenia. We have a likely scenario of Michael’s accidental death. Why are we here?”
Erika finally agreed with someone, “Well said Karasu. Why are we here?! This is ridiculous!”
Jarek was unphased, “We are here because a master of the world has died, and we need to be sure this was an accident and not a murder.” He pointed to Hammond, “Apparently, we need to speak with John Vand before we reach any final conclusions.”
Erika stood pushing her chair back as she put her hands on the table and leaned forward, “This is tragic, yes. A terrible and tragic accident. Our investigation of Michael’s death can run parallel to the wedding, but it will not stop my wedding. This is my wedding. This is my empire. You are all free to leave if you are feeling unsafe though I would dare Xenia to show herself with all of us present. But most importantly, she is still dead, and I will not have her specter torture me in her afterlife as she did during her actual life. Is this clear?”
She eyed the room, and Jarek turned to Jacek, “Do you agree, Jacek? This is your wedding too.”
Jacek was frozen with indecision as he thought, “Do I tell them about my dream? Would they even believe me? They would surely brush it off as a total dream. It may even have been Constance, anyways. Telling them would only enrage Erika further… if she knew I had a wet dream about Xenia on the eve of our wedding…”
Jacek cleared his throat, “I see no reason to stop our wedding. Months of planning and preparations have gone into this. People are traveling from across the globe. Delaying our investigation into Michael’s death by a single day will not cause harm, and as Erika says, any malintent would be foolish at such an event with all of us present.”
Erika looked at Jacek and smiled for the first time, “Thank you, Jacek.” She then wiped the smile from her face and looked around the table, “Anything bad that happens at my wedding can be attributed to the bad luck of me seeing my groom on the day of my wedding! Not Xenia fucking BloodStar!”
Erika scowled as she turned and stomped out of the room slamming the door behind her.
The remainder of the table sat in silence until Jacek said, “I will have her bridal party smooth things over with her in the morning. This is a very special day for her, and she wants it to be perfect. She will acknowledge Michael’s death as a tragedy as soon as our wedding is over. As crass as it sounds, she does not want to be upstaged.”
Jarek nodded, “We understand son. It’s okay.” He took his seat again, and said, “So the wedding is on. But first Gregory, then Peter, and now Michael… who will assume rule over the Holy Light Empire now?”
Hammond chuckled, “Dare I say democracy?”
Karasu laughed, “The Holy Light Empire citizens respect power. Why not Nero?”
Lady Starfallen smiled, “Nero is a suspect at the moment, is he not?”
Karasu quickly responded, “Then allow King Ramses and Queen Zara to annex the Holy Light Empire. They would love to keep Nero in check, I am sure.”
Jarek shook his head with a smile, “Ramses and Zara have enough on their plate keeping their own empire in order as it is. They couldn’t even make it here tonight due to ‘unusual activity’ on Khan Island, but they assure me they will be present tomorrow.”
The room was met with silence until Jarek continued, “I would throw John Vand’s name into the mix, but he is apparently privy to all of this. Though it sounds like maybe he is experiencing some kind of mental break.”
Hammond nodded in agreement, “My gut tells me he lost a lot of money in the war, and he is mentally unwell.”
Jarek clapped his hands, “You all heard Erika. This can all wait until after the wedding. Let’s get some rest and enjoy ourselves tomorrow before picking this back up.”
Everyone smiled and nodded in agreement as they stood from the table.
As everyone dispersed, Jarek stopped Jacek, “I am sorry, son.”
Jacek shook his head, “Don’t worry about it, dad. It was the right thing to do. Erika will soon forget all about it once she sees how beautiful and perfect her wedding is tomorrow.”
Jarek smiled, “Come on. Let’s get some sleep. Her beautiful and perfect wedding hinges on your good rest.”