Chapter 18: Family

Much to Vina’s displeasure, their journey mandated an overnight stay in Valanire. Choosing solitude over company, Vina spent the night under the open sky, deflecting Caja's probing questions and dubious glances. The silence and isolation served as a fertile ground for introspection, mulling over Seassa’s revelations about her position in the Halos family and Hakim’s habitual withholding of crucial information. As she stared up at the dome, blanketed in glowing sigils, a wave of curiosity washed over her, posing even more questions about The Halos Family and this enigmatic location. By morning, she found herself compelled to satiate her curiosity.

"Give me a hand with this," Vina proposed to Caja, as they waited in Valanire’s refuge for Vina's blood reserves to replenish enough to activate the portal ring. With a resolute air, she knelt down, conjured a blade of blood, and began determinedly chipping away at the mortar securing the stone floor.

“Vasalta lor Dbemle … Vina, what are you doing?” Caja asked, her voice carrying a note of disbelief.

“Getting answers.” Vina answered cryptically. She paused her work and glanced at Caja. “What does that one mean?”

Though initially hesitant, Caja eventually knelt beside her, working on a different corner of the same stone. “Uhm… vasalta… It’s like ‘the land that Dbemle owns.”

“How did you learn english?” Vina asked. “Is there a school or something?”

Caja glanced up at her in surprise. “Ing… glish? You’re speaking Trinian. I’m speaking Avathari. Trina’s system is just interpreting for us based on our desire to communicate with each other. It does fail when there isn’t a comparable word between our languages or if one of us just stops wanting to communicate with the other.”

Vina stopped as well and stared at her. “No… I’m speaking english…” her voice lost its strength as she remembered her discussion with Znza. The Kaliter was clearly not speaking any language she would have a hope of learning.

A smile slowly spread across Caja's face upon seeing Vina's hesitance. “Here. When I said that phrase earlier, I was really saying it to myself. I’ll say it again with a desire for you to understand.” She paused. “Dbemle’s sovereignty.”

Vina raised her eyebrows at witnessing Caja’s lips not syncing with her words. Experimentally, she inwardly wanted to not be understood as she said. “Can you understand me?”

Caja gave her a wry smile. “Yeah, that’s complete nonsense to me. But it sounds nice.”

Vina laughed and Caja nudged her again as they returned back to working the stone free.

Caja was the first to break the silence. “How… how do you know Zel'alor is bringing my people to this world?”

Vina felt the stone shift, and her heart skipped a beat in anticipation. “My sister can read people’s significant life events. She saw the moment Zel'alor succeeded in bringing one of you here. It was… proud, I guess.” Their combined efforts soon dislodged the stone they were working on, revealing a faint, bluish glow beneath.

“A rune?” Caja questioned, surprised.

"It's a...number, I believe," Vina mused, a frown forming on her lips. "We need to remove the next stone carefully." She pointed out another segment of the floor. “I want to see what’s under there.” Over the next few hours, they meticulously uncovered an intricate network of interlinked runic phrases, embedded beneath many more stones.

As Cara moved the latest stone out of the way, the sleeve on her shirt lifted up just enough that Vina spotted a bracelet firmly latched above her wrist, with three stones firmly attached to the gold. Memories flashed through her mind of the stigandorians that she killed when she first appeared outside of Randar. Caja’s bracelet was exactly like theirs. After a moment of doubt, curiosity got the best of her. “Hey… your bracelet… I’ve seen other stigandorians with them on… What does it do?” Vina asked haltingly, unsure how to broach the topic amid her swirling emotions.

“Not much,” Caja answered quickly, covering her arm, but after a moment she slid her sleeve up and showed it more clearly to Vina. “Actually that’s not entirely true. When I arrived on Palitern it was attached to me. We all get one by default it seems.”

Vina considered her words for a moment then returned her focus back to the runes they just uncovered. “That seems strange. I saw another one up close. It had a lot of strange symbols I’ve never seen before. It was also decorated with stones. Aspects, I think?”

“It’s a complicated situation, Vina.” Caja said after a moment’s pause. “The symbols you saw are from my world.”

Sensing Caja’s unease, Vina was tempted to drop the topic altogether, but she was filled with curiosity right now even as she examined the runes before her. “What about the stones? Are they copies of Trina’s aspects?”

Caja rotated the bracelet around her wrist reluctantly, but nodded. “Aspect of Health.” she started as she touched the first stone. “Aspect of Flame, and…” her voice trailed off as she took a deep breath. “Aspect of Journey. Most of my people think the bracelet connects us to either Zel'alor or Trina since our bracelets seem designed to work with aspects.”

Distracted by her runic inspection, Vina asked the first question she could think of to keep Caja talking. “What do you think?”

“I can’t remove the bracelet. Those who have damaged theirs immediately died in gruesome ways.” Caja hesitated again. “Zel'alor reportedly refuses to discuss them. I’m leaning toward the more suspicious side.” She gestured with a long gray finger, “How much of this can you decipher?" she queried, clearly uncomfortable with the topic.

“I’m like a toddler learning to walk.” Vina replied. She pointed at the first stone they had lifted. "That was just an identifier. The runic pattern here is using it to somehow draw power from the main divinity reservoir over there.” She pointed back toward the center of the city. “This is an extension off the main hub; it is number twelve. I’m thinking it expands the barrier. The handwriting matches what I saw in Randar; it must be Trina's work because it doesn’t resemble either Faer's or my mother's."

Caja flashed her a smile. "I think you underestimate yourself. So, the barriers are powered by runes?" she mused. "That's not common knowledge, Vina. Most people attribute it to some sort of divine benevolence from Trina."

Vina stared in the direction of the castle, lost in thought. "Trina's goodwill might still be the source. I have no clue how she's powering the reservoir, nor how she managed to alter their capabilities after I returned the aspect of sanctuary to her. There's a pattern here, a repetitive runic word and function with a slight variation I can't decipher. Its root word is something like balance or stability." Vina indicated the phrase that seemed to flare under her scrutiny. "I'm just beginning to grasp how these refuges operate. I'd love to uncover more, but we should really get going."

“Do we put the stones back?” Caja asked, looking around at the mess they had made.

“Nope.” Vina responded tersely, stepping up to the portal ring. “I have a lot of reading to do that The Halos Family Library.”

She was pleasantly surprised to receive a notification upon activation of the portal ring to Halos.

Skill Level Up: Blood Runes has reached level 20. Blood runes can be drawn 95% faster and take 95% less blood to activate or maintain. You have gained a skill point and a focus. You have gained 300 experience points by leveling a skill.

~~~~~

You are afflicted by Peace. This is a place of peace. You are afflicted by Retribution. Injury to others is an injury to yourself.

Despite the prompts, Vina felt anything but peace within herself. She angrily ascended the stairs to the Halos Family home with an optimistic Caja and a very reluctant Eilin trailing her. Their contradictory vibrances spoke volumes to her. The knowledge of unspoken grievances that she had managed to unearth since her arrival did battle in her mind. While she had spent nearly the entire day in the Halos Family Library, she had learned everything that The Halos Family had kept hidden from her. Instead of taking her rage out on Eilin now, she tried to distract herself by reviewing her skill options and learning what a focus meant.

Select your Blood Runes skill focus: Option 1: Deep Cuts: Your Blood Runes can store 2% more blood per skill level Option 2: Lasting Words: Your Blood Runes remain charged 2% longer per skill level

“Oh, it adds an extra benefit to the skill,” she thought once she read it. For her this was an easy choice. She selected the first skill focus and checked her options for the skill point.

Where would you like to use your Blood Runes skill point? Option 1: Blood Rune Carving Tool Focus

Option 2: System Error

> System Error

>

> System Error

>

> Message Repeats x23

>

> Option Unhandled

Vina stared at the window in disbelief. Her disbelief soon turned to anger. “Why does this keep happening to me?" she growled. She felt Eilin’s reluctance turn slightly more toward fear, but Vina didn’t even care; She was far beyond angry with the archivist. Vina selected the only option that didn’t appear to be an error and saw another window appear similar to when she had selected her painting medium specialization skill point. After scrolling through a long and empty list, she finally stopped at the only option she had seen. “My fingernails?” she thought. She pressed her thumb nail against her index fingernail. She could already feel the strength that existed from her Blood Stained Hands class ability.

“I can already craft runes through my blood rune specialization. I don’t need to make more runes with my nails,” she thought to herself. She continued to scroll through the list, but she soon reached the bottom and found there wasn’t another option for her. She shook her head and sighed. She selected Nails and waited for the window to close, but it didn’t. It hung in her vision. She mentally selected the option twice more and finally the window closed. She gasped as pain immediately spread to all of her fingers at once.

Looking down at her red fingernails in distress, Vina saw little runes being written into her nail beds. The runes, however, were quickly unreadable as blood spread beneath her nails. She squeezed her hands into fists to fight against the pain. She took a deep breath and held it to prevent herself from making any further noise. After a moment it stopped. She released her fists and looked down once more. The runes that had been carved there were unreadable, however. Still obscured by the pooled blood that now threatened to drip from her fingers. In an attempt to understand what had happened to her, Vina opened her skill.

Skill: Blood Runes - Level: 20

Description: Blood runes can be drawn 90% faster and take 90% less blood to activate or maintain. Blood runes can store 40% more blood. Skills Point Allocation: Level 5: You can now control the amount of blood you feed into blood runes Level 10: Active Skill: Blood Call. You may call your own blood back into your body. Level 20: Blood Rune Carving Tool Focus x3: Perseverant - All materials are three times easier to carve Precise - Rune phrases are three times easier to create Artistic - Your Blood Runes are three times more beautiful Patient - Carving slowly allows for three times better rune durability Versatile - Earn three times as much skill experience toward blood runes.

“Tool focus times three?” she muttered. As she read the description, she wasn’t really sure how she felt about the skill point now. “The system messed up again, but for my benefit,” she whispered. The experience earned benefit was nothing to scoff at, and Vina felt rather excited to try it out. She wouldn’t have the opportunity now though. She had arrived at the Halos Family Home.

The same family home she now knew to be her own legal home. She walked right past the guards who didn’t even question her. Now that Vina had read exactly what her rights were as a Halos Family member, she understood why. She had as much claim to this building as Hakim did. The women following her were her guests and would be allowed in as well, otherwise they would be required to have approval to be on the family grounds.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Following the family’s home etiquette she had just learned, Vina did not storm into Hakim’s living area, but submitted a request to meet with him as well as his brother with a clerk who would no doubt forward it to his steward. She was tempted to ignore the family rules, but if she was hoping to get what she wanted, she needed to play by them for now. It did not take long for Hakim to rush out to receive her.

Vina could feel the relief and shame resonating in his vibrance as he spoke, “Vina! I'm so relieved to see you safe! After Riza told us what happened…”

Vina raised a hand and waited for him to pause, “Lord Hakim Halos, I’m invoking my right of house assembly per article two of the seventy-first mutual peace treaty of the year fourteen eight twenty-one.”

Hakim’s eyebrows narrowed, and he looked from Eilin back to Vina again, “You want to bring together the entire family? I hardly think we have a reason for such a formality. Besides, that will take some time.”

Another man stepped into the reception room behind Hakim, and Vina couldn’t help but grin when she saw him. He looked very much like Hakim. “I don’t think it will take any time at all. I already submitted the proper summons to get your brother here. It is nice to finally meet you, Lord Haldo Halos.”

The man nodded to her, but he had a frown on his face. “You must know you cannot call an assembly of the family without reason, young lady,” he said, gruffly.

“You may address me as Lady Esca or Asharaina. I have a reason which you will hear once we are sequestered. Family interests are not allowed to be discussed in public areas, or should I continue quoting law for your reference?” Vina asked. She saw the hesitance on Hakim’s face, but Haldo gestured to the hallway behind him and they all soon found a room large enough to seat them comfortably.

Vina opened her mouth to begin, but Haldo interrupted her, “Lady Esca, I know of Eilin, but I do not recognize the other person who graces our home. May I ask who she is and what matters concern her?”

“Her name is Caja, one of my Dedicated. She is a damaged party in a conflict between our families that I hope to resolve,” Vina said in a formal tone.

“Our families?” Hakim asked coyly.

Vina looked at him, her eyes like daggers. “Yes. The Halos Family and The Esca Family. Under The Family Specifications and Definitions Revision 7 dated fourteen seven oh two, an Asharaina’s Dedicated are considered extended members of her family. I am allowed to bring those dedicated to my family to assemblies so that they may seek relief from any injustice done to them by any members of any other family.”

Haldo turned to Hakim with an incredulous look on his face, “You told me she did not yet have any Dedicated.”

“Caja must be the first,” Hakim answered simply. “It was bound to happen eventually.”

Haldo turned to Caja, “Can you verify her claim?”

Without a word, Caja turned her body to the side and lifted her shirt while covering her chest. Vina had not anticipated this, and she looked as well at what Caja was trying to show. She saw a blood red mark, almost like a tattoo, had appeared on her left side along her ribcage. To Vina they looked exactly like the blood rune letters that sounded like V and E.

“Blood Runes,” Hakim said, his tone betraying a mixture of curiosity and disappointment.

“Very well Caja, we recognize your dedication to Lady Esca. Eilin, however, is not a member of either of our families. Since there is no formally published agenda for this meeting and thus no requirement for notes, the archivist is not required. I would like to dismiss her,” Haldo said.

“Ahem,” Eilin cleared her throat, “Lord Haldo, I’d like to just let you know that uh… Lady Esca… requested me to join, not to help her, but to help you and Lord Hakim.” When Haldo gave her a disbelieving look she continued. “Vina has a unique ability of some kind. She won’t tell me what it is, but her memory seems to be exemplary. She spent quite a bit of time earlier today examining much of the public history and laws of our lands. She felt you might want a quick reference on hand to verify any claims she makes today.” There was a pause and then Eilin spoke quickly, “Uhm, to be clear, I don’t know what this is about. I didn’t help her beyond providing the approved materials she requested. She’s studied for most of the day.” Her mouth snapped shut with an audible click of her teeth.

Vina finally understood Eilin’s past hesitance and deference in the presence of Hakim. Her position was one made by appointment by the family. Hakim and Haldo had selected her at some point in time and with Vina in the Family now, they still controlled a two-thirds majority vote. Nonetheless, the assembly protocol required Vina to provide her fellow family members with a resource of information for emergent situations like this. Eilin was not in a position that she could turn down Vina’s request for her attendance, nor was she in a position to upset the other two family members. “Are you satisfied, Lord Haldo or would you like to continue with your dismissal?” Vina asked.

“She may remain,” Haldo said coldly.

“Very well. Caja is seeking relief from the imprisonment of her partner, Ulesi. She and I would like Ulesi released immediately per the…” Vina didn’t manage to finish before Haldo interrupted.

“We don’t need the law quoted to us every time, Vina. Ulesi is alive and being retained for questioning after a security breach due to impersonating staff that works closely with The Halos Family,” Haldo said.

“Lord Halos, it seems you might need the law quoted to you if you feel that explanation is sufficient. At this point in time The Halos Family has arrested the partner of one of my Dedicated for the crime of wanting to view my artwork. Lord Hakim, did you not make a formal request of your guard for Eilin to be retrieved from the Amphitheater where my art was being displayed and brought to The Halos Family Home?” Vina asked.

Hakim stared back at her and answered carefully, “I did make that request.”

“Ulesi, who was impersonating Eilin at the time, did not seek to enter The Halos Family Home of his…” Vina stopped speaking when Caja cleared her throat. Vina looked over at Caja in confusion.

Caja looked at her in equal confusion, “Their. We have three sexes. I thought you knew this.”

“Wow… really? Okay.” Vina said, blinking her eyes in an attempt to control her surprise, “...of their own free will. They had merely tried to see my art and suddenly found themselves trapped in a deception they did not intend.”

Hakim raised a hand, “Wait. Caja, you’re stigandorian too? If you are comfortable, please drop the disguise.”

As Caja’s form changed before them, Haldo resumed talking, “Ulesi’s crimes are more than just deception against the Halos family. They may have only been caught trying to view a masterpiece, but they were involved in a conspiracy to capture a family member. They are an accomplice to an organization that killed our guards during your abduction.”

“Some of those are crimes against my family specifically, not The Halos Family. Ulesi broke into the amphitheater while it was hosting my work. It is true that Ulesi and Caja worked with Seassa to plan my capture, but neither of them caused physical harm to our people. Furthermore, Caja is willing to compensate our family and our people for her role in my capture. I am well within my rights to dismiss their crimes against my family.”

“Your family didn’t exist until this afternoon,” Haldo countered. “Leading up to that point, only The Halos Family existed.”

“You need to read our laws better, Lord Haldo.” Vina said, holding a hand out in front of herself. “The moment Trina named my masterpiece was the moment my family was created. The rest is paperwork.” Vina turned to the librarian, “Eilin, tell them the laws.”

Eilin cleared her throat, “Uhm… yes The Lady Esca is technically correct in this situation. Our laws state that Trina’s actions are the authority on when a new family is created. This is to prevent other families from interfering with the process. The moment Trina named the work of art is the moment her family was created.”

Vina continued talking, “Lords Haldo and Hakim, I am not asking you to give up on getting the information you want from Ulesi to prevent an attack like this in the future. Caja is willing to provide you all of the knowledge and information she has on Seassa, her operation in The City of Halos, The Supreme also known as Zel'alor, The Adventurer’s guild, and the state of affairs in the City of Lampasa in exchange for her and her life partner’s freedom.”

Hakim looked over at Haldo, “You wanted an update on the capital city of The Watch.”

Haldo nodded slowly as if considering, “I am amenable to releasing Ulesi on the stipulation that I get three days of interviews with Caja sealed with a promise of honesty.”

Vina looked at Caja, and she nodded with a smile before saying, “I agree, but the interview will be done in the presence of people I trust to keep me safe.”

“That is agreeable. We are not evil creatures, Caja. We just don’t like being hurt and lied to,” Haldo said, and Vina twitched in her seat. The irony was almost too much for her to contain herself.

She regained her composure a moment later and requested for Caja’s dismissal. After a unanimous vote, Caja left, and Vina addressed the second item on her list.

“From the moment I created my masterpiece, you have all been negligent in your duties to bring me into The Family according to the proper procedures,” Vina started in an icy tone, her anger bubbling within her. “Lord Hakim outright lied to me.” She looked at him and spoke with her red eyes open wide as her hand went to her necklace, “You did not give me gifts for nearly killing me with your art stunt. Everything you gave me in reparation was actually an obligation given to new family members and an asharaina. I have not forgotten that your family still owes my family one favor of my choosing.”

Hakim tried to say something, but Vina spoke over him, “Lord Haldo, your existence was kept from me entirely and thus so was my safety. You made a choice to not help me create my own staff to handle my security as you did for yourself and your brother.”

Vina turned to Eilin, “You failed to deliver the proper legal documents for registering my family, reception of my funding, and ownership of my property. All of those things prevented me from governing appropriately. You have also failed to deliver the security reports for my review. Trust me, Eilin, I have filled out all of the required documents and submitted them myself.”

Vina squeezed the furniture with her other hand, trying to control what she felt, “All of you conspired to make me dependent on you.” Vina flexed her grip on the chair to try to control her anger, but she suddenly recognized she was less angry than she thought she should be.

“Even after I was dependent on you, you all still failed to protect me, and I was abducted!” she raised her voice while also trying to raise her emotions. But a dissonance began to form within her as her memories reminded her of how angry she was, but her heart felt calm. “What’s wrong with me?” she thought. Her mind raced through the events with The Shaper, and she was forced to once again relive those moments in detail. However, nothing made sense as to why her emotions would go from angry to calm so quickly. All she had ever felt with The Shaper was numbness.

Her mind raced through the events of her life in vivid detail until she was once again crouching on a window sill looking down on her sister and Adir on the streets of Halos. Vina snapped back to the room with Hakim, Haldo, and Eilin in it. She stood up abruptly, “Hakim, that night I raced after my sister through the city. You stopped me from taking Ann from Adir!” Vina declared. Her voice was struggling to remain calm even as her mind tried to process her realization.

“I helped you maintain your peace,” Hakim said. His voice was also calm, but his vibrance betrayed his wariness.

Vina looked at the afflictions on her screen once again.

You are afflicted by Peace. This is a place of peace. You are afflicted by Retribution. Injury to others is an injury to yourself.

“You’re using The Aspect of Peace on me!” Vina accused. “I was Shaped once before. I won’t let anyone do that to me again. Stop using your aspect on me!” Vina’s voice was firm.

“Lady Esca, everyone must have these afflictions on them to ensure peace within the city,” Haldo said calmly.

Vina gritted her teeth, “This is not peace. It’s... it's emotional enslavement! Hakim, stop it, immediately!” She suddenly felt a rush of emotion as if it was released by a dam, but the affliction did not leave her vision. “All of it,” she growled.

“Vina, I can’t. This is how we stopped a civil war…” Hakim started.

“You’re about to start a fight with me!” Vina interrupted.

Without warning, Vina activated her blood cloak and a ruby claw on each hand. She vaguely heard Eilin shriek, but she didn’t care. She formed the claws into a blood globe that hovered in her hand. Pulling at most of the blood stored in her necklace, she forced it into a ball, compressing it as much as she dared. By then Haldo and Hakim had gotten out of their seats in alarm.

“I destroyed one of The Shaper’s arms with this. He had over two thousand health. What do you think it will do to all four of us?” She pushed the crystalized globe out gently into the distance between them.

Haldo raised a hand, but Hakim grabbed his shoulder firmly, “Stop! She’s the only connection we have to Trina. If you kill her, we lose everything.” He looked to Vina, “Please Vina, you don’t have to threaten us. We can find a way to make this work if you’ll allow…”

Vina's grip on reality wavered as she unwillingly delved into the memories of her interactions with Hakim. Every instance of solace he offered now seemed tainted, echoes of manipulation resonating in her mind. As Hakim's words flowed, aiming to pacify her, Vina dissected their shared past. Now she couldn’t help but wonder… “How many times were my emotions shaped by him?” a thought whispered in her mind.

"Vina?" Haldo's voice, sharper and more present, sliced through her reflections. His gaze flicked between her and Hakim, seeking understanding. "Is this a common occurrence for her?"

“Increasingly so, yes,” Hakim said. “We need to de-escalate.”

Haldo’s eyes went to the floating red orb between them, “Not until she puts that thing away. You said she didn’t have an aspect.”

Vina's eyes fixated on the red orb, a manifestation of her resolve, vibrating ominously between them. "You must both understand," she began, her voice steadier than she felt, "I am not Norimor, but I find myself in the same position as her. The Aspect of Retribution killed her when she killed you, Hakim. It will do the same to me should I go through with this. Yet, it was the Aspect of Peace that undid both of your deaths."

She felt as much as saw Hakim’s face grow pale as she continued. “Hakim, our lives are no doubt safe, but what about your brother? What about Eilin? Do you believe the aspect of peace will revive them when I kill us all?”

Haldo glared at her, “All I have to do is call for the guards!”

Vina laughed and glared back at Haldo, “You can’t bluster your way through this. I have learned all of our laws. The guards will not get involved in family conflicts. Yet another protection to prevent a civil war. Right, Eilin?”

Eilin jumped at the mentioning of her name. She nodded slowly as her eyes remained locked on the red stone still hovering in the air.

“I’ll show you how serious I am,” Vina whispered. “I promise you all, under penalty of death, that I will detonate this blood crystal in the next thirty seconds, if the aspect of peace and the aspect of retribution afflictions are not removed from me.”

A counter suddenly appeared in her vision without any further details. It slowly began to count down. Eilin made a move for the door, but Vina summoned and threw a blade of blood at the door handle. It stuck just below the lever, making it impossible to turn. “You are not dismissed, Eilin!” Vina shouted as she shook her head wildly.

“She’s crazy…” Haldo said and Hakim grip on his shoulder tightened in an effort to shut him up.

The next moment Vina saw one notification appear.

You are no longer afflicted by Peace

Vina felt her emotions come back in full and for a moment she struggled to control her anger. Gritting her teeth, she nodded her thanks to Hakim. She turned her head and the blood crystal toward Haldo. “Your turn,” she whispered in an attempt to not feed her anger. She eyed the timer, prepared to follow through with her promise. “At this point, I don’t even care if you don’t listen to me. When Hakim and I are revived, we’ll appoint a new head archivist to the library and continue Trina’s revival without you. I’ll start by returning your aspect to Trina,” she said with a voice shaking with emotion.

Haldo looked at Hakim, “What chajirin have you brought into our family?” he asked.

You are no longer afflicted by Retribution

Hakim’s previously tense grip on Haldo’s shoulder turned to a friendly hand once again and he clapped him on the back, “You can bring it up with Trina once we’ve saved her. Until then, get out of the way or jump on for the ride, brother.”

Vina sighed in relief when the timer disappeared from her vision. Haldo turned on her with a vicious tone, “Don’t think for a minute you could have killed any of us! That single crystal would not have been sufficient.”

Vina nodded slowly as she responded in a hushed tone, “I know. That’s why there’s three more behind you.”

Haldo and Hakim turned in surprise and watched the orbs as Vina called all four of them back to herself. The crystals were heavily condensed and Blood Call took some time for it to break down into a liquid again. The orbs followed her as she slowly walked toward the room’s exit.

Using blood call on the knife still embedded in the door, she opened it and looked over her shoulder, “One last thing, I’ll be spending the next few days recruiting people I can trust. We will be expecting cooperation from both of you during this process. Please get your shit and your people out of my third of the house. This ends house assembly number seven hundred twenty-eight. I trust Eilin kept good records.” She closed the door behind herself, gently.