Derrek had just stepped out of the bathroom when he saw Discord digging through his minibar.
“I’m not paying for that,” he said, startling Discord and causing him to bump his head on the minibar. He sprung to his feet, one hand full of small liquor bottles, the other full of candy, with a pack of chocolate-covered almonds hanging from his teeth. He dropped the almonds, letting them land on the bed.
“They won’t restock mine.”
“Probably because you won’t pay for it.”
“Probably. You ready for crisis mode?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be. Anything I need to know going in?”
Discord shoved the bottles and candy into his coat and headed toward the door. “Walk and talk—no time to waste.”
“Right,” Derrek said, following him into the hall.
“Mila didn’t jump to blame you,” Discord said as they approached the elevator, “so that’s good. We couldn’t figure out any reason they’d be here, though, aside from them gearing up to launch a full-on assault.”
“I thought Ms. Müller ran a tight ship. How do you think they found out?”
“Dunno. We kinda came up short there on the initial,” Discord said as the elevator dinged, “but we might have to put the why aside and focus on the when.”
They boarded the elevator, and as the doors closed, Derrek asked, “Do you think this has anything to do with me? Can they detect spiritual energy or anything like that?”
Discord leaned against the wall opposite the doors. “Too early to tell for sure, but since they didn’t recognize what you did to that clucking lizard, I don’t think so.”
Derrek felt a twinge of relief as the doors opened, and the two made their way to the conference room. Discord stopped just before they came to the door and turned to face him.
“There’s people in there you haven’t properly met, and I’m gonna go ahead and tell you they’re gonna hate you.”
“Because I’m the Devourer?”
“They don’t know about that—just the reaper thing. They’re just really against outsiders.”
“Regardless, I’m not going to sit on the sidelines. Hate me or love me, I’ve been welcomed here, and I’m not going to let anything destroy this place without a fight.”
Discord smirked, then turned to the door.
“That’s all I needed to hear,” he said before leading Derrek into the conference room.
As they entered, they could practically see the tension in the air. Mila was seated at the head of the table with Emmett on her left, both wearing worried expressions. To her right, however, were two people Derrek had not formally met, a man and a woman. The man was wearing a chef’s coat with his sleeves rolled up, his bearded face and toned arms covered in cut and burn scars. He recognized the woman as the same one whose name he meant to learn but never got around to and whom Discord referred to as “fangless.” As he expected, they were both staring daggers at him.
“Wonderful,” Discord said. “The gang’s all here.”
“And now that you two are here,” Mila replied, “we can decide on a course of action.”
The man spoke up with a gruff Belgian accent. “With all due respect, Frau Müller, why is the Hauch Von Tod present? We’ve dealt with poachers before. We don’t need him involved, and we don’t need his filth.”
Mila glared at him, and snapped back, “You forget yourself, Victor. Herr Snowe is our welcomed guest, and you will treat him with the same respect you show to the rest of our patrons. He encountered the poachers alongside Discord, so like it or not, he is very much involved.”
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
Victor opened his mouth, but the woman to his side put her hand on his forearm and gave him a look that made him stop. She then turned to Mila. “I’m sorry, Frau Müller, but please understand his apprehension. We’ve gotten this far by keeping our noses clean—by your behest, I might add. We let him stay, and only a month after, poachers are practically knocking at our door.”
Discord interjected, “First off, it’s been five weeks, bit over a month. And you sure are one to talk, Sana. Don’t think I forgot about Rome.” He scanned the group, then continued, “Havok wants to help, and I suggest you let him.”
A beat passed before Mila broke the silence. “Well put. Herr Snowe will stay and will be allowed to help, end of discussion,” she said, staring at Victor and Sana. She turned to face the rest of the table as Derrek and Discord took their seats beside Emmett. “Now that pleasantries have been exchanged, we must agree on a plan to deal with the situation at hand.
“We don’t know for certain if the Schadenfreude is their target, but that is a risk we simply cannot take. Effective immediately, we will not be accepting any new guests, and all guests we currently have will be informed they will have to vacate their rooms by tomorrow at noon under the guise of emergency renovations. Their bills will all be comped, so I doubt anyone will mind too terribly much. As soon as the rooms are empty and all guests have left, we will prepare for a siege. Emmett, please take it from here.”
Emmett coughed nervously and stood up from his seat. “Thank you, Frau Müller. They are likely to attack during daylight hours when we are at our weakest, so we will need at least one person constantly manning the cameras. We have a few hundred pounds of plastic explosives in storage, and I’m sure Herr Discord can show us how to make proximity landmines to be placed strategically across the lawn. Following our cover story of maintenance, we will have plastic sheets covering the front entrance as well as the windows of the first two floors. The emergency shutters will be effective at slowing them down if and when they breach the perimeter and will buy us enough time to get to our battle stations.
“We will use the front entrance as a choke point. Herr Dupont,” he said to Victor, “your crew will take point in the lobby armed with pistols and shotguns, using furniture and the steel slabs left over from construction as cover, acting as suppression while Frau Keller”—he shifted his gaze to Sana—“and the bellhops take position on the balconies, fortified with the same steel, picking them off with rifles as they enter. All the while”—he looked to Discord and Derrek—“Herr Discord, we would like for you and Herr Snowe to do whatever you can to either slow them down or take them out as you’re able to do so. We only ask that you try your best to avoid damaging the hotel whenever possible.”
“No promises,” Discord said with his thumbs up and a grin on his face.
Derrek spoke up. “But what’s the plan once this is all said and done? If the poachers do come, there’s no way you’ll be safe here even if we fight them off.”
Everyone looked at Mila as she answered. “The White Hand has several sanctuaries across the globe, and they will serve us well until a more permanent solution can be found. The closest one is in Poland, so that will be our destination.”
“I still think Norway would be a better choice,” Discord said, balancing on the rear legs of his chair.
“The last thing we need right now is to be caught at daybreak,” Mila said. “We can get to Zakopane in four hours, but it would take at least two days to get to Lillehammer. We may try to move there soon, but this is what we’re able to do now.”
“Do we have any idea when they’ll attack?” Sana asked. Everyone looked to Discord.
“If y’all are what they’re here for,” he said, “they ought to be here sometime in the next week. They’re patient, but not very. How’s your food stock?”
“They’re good,” Victor said. “If we ration, it could last us a month.”
“Wait,” Derrek interjected, “if you feed off memories, how do you store that?”
Mila cleared her throat, gaining the table’s attention. “As I’m sure Discord has informed you, us fangs each have a unique ability. Mine, for instance, is the ability to take memories from others and transfer them to material objects. Any fang can use these as a full replacement for blood.”
“It’s handy as hell,” Discord chimed in. “It’s the very basis of these fang’s way of life. Most of the White Hand gets their fill from blood banks or willing human donors, but this way allows for a blood-free life, making them effectively harmless.”
“Too bad the poachers don’t see it that way,” Sana pitched in, causing a hush to fall over the group. Discord broke the silence as he stood from his chair.
“Well, it sounds like everyone knows what they’re doing. C’mon, Havok, let’s go grab a drink.”
“What?” Derrek asked. “There’s work to do. We can’t just go drinking at a time like this!”
“There’s nothing for us to do until the hotel’s clear. Us sticking around would only raise suspicion.”
“But—”
“He’s right, Derrek,” Mila said, standing from her chair alongside everyone else. “We have it covered. It’s business as usual until tomorrow.”
Derrek thought of protesting further, but it was clear there was no way he could help. He decided to go along. “All right. Let us know if there’s anything we can do.”
Mila smiled and silently nodded, then headed for the door, followed closely by her employees, then by Discord and Derrek, who headed for the parking lot.