Chapter 357 Soul Ache
"Fuck!" Ezra cursed under his breath as he made his way to his car, Hannah following beside him.
He turned to look at her as they walked. He could tell she was shaken by the experience. This was probably the closest she had been to death.
"Are you alright?" He asked her.
She was startled, hesitating before answering his question. "Y- Yes."
"Shit." He sighed. "This is the best possible outcome, all things considered."
They got into the car and he immediately started it, pulling out of the parking spot. The flow of guests leaving had lessened but there was still a line of cars. He joined it, watching as the human guards directed the flow of traffic. The vampire guards were inside the estate, keeping watch.
"What…" Hannah trailed off before steeling herself and asking. "What was that?"
Ezra glanced at her before focusing back on the slowly moving traffic.
"That's the Dominion Aura of a sixth ringed vampire." He said. "Most cities have a maximum of two sixth ringed vampires at once but for the Ark to send three, how many powerhouses must be there?"
Hannah shivered and Ezra knew it wasn't because of the cold.
"What happens now?" She asked.
"I find the cache, check what happened and then, plot our next steps. Gen is in hiding. All we need to do is convince Michelangelo that Gen was acting in the best interest of the Vampire Society."
"So, the Attendant is on our side?"
"God, no." Ezra laughed. "He's on the side of the law and from what I can infer, he's the type to uphold it like a lover."
They finally got to the gate and passed through the checkpoint. As he turned through the roundabout, he winced in pain as his soul twinged.
"Shit." He cursed. The pain in his soul was getting worse and time was running out. Whatever was causing this was beginning to break his soul. This time, the pain didn't fade away, remaining inside him as a constant ache.
He glanced up and his eyes landed on it. The statue of the money king. It felt as if the warrior was staring straight at him. He stared back for half a second before focusing back on the road.
The drive back to the garage where they sometimes kept their cars was accompanied by classic music including a few hits from the old girl group, A X E.
He remembered the women that had helped Countess Yuri. Their deaths had been recorded as an accident and they'd been posthumously granted a spot in the hall of fame.
After parking the car, they found their usual spot and teleported back home. Olivia and Red were in the living room waiting for them. The moment she saw their expression, Red cursed.
"What happened?" Olivia asked.
Ezra explained what had happened at the ball, pacing as he did. When he was done, there was silence in the room.
"So, Connell set us up?" Red said before glancing at Hannah. "Not you."
"She definitely knew the Attendant was coming." Ezra said, not stopping his pacing. "Thankfully, Gen got away."
"Maybe she knew Gen would get away and didn't tell us in order not to ruin her chances or change this particular future."
Ezra stopped his pacing. "I don't buy it." He said. "Gen killed Lana a minute before the Attendant arrived. I'm sure we could have found a way to stop Gen from committing that murder and convince the Attendant of whatever story we wanted to put forth."
"I think Gen has a plan she's working on. She wants something to happen and Connell does too." He turned to look at Hannah. "Whatever she's planning, I'm sure it's related to the event she said would make me destroy Faewall."
The women nodded thoughtfully.
"How do we do this?" Olivia asked. "We decided to trust Connell. We can't risk knowing things that will derail what we're trying to achieve."
Ezra thought about it. "For now, we have to keep trusting her. But just because we trust her doesn't mean we turn away from the outcome we want."
"When things have calmed down a little, I'll go with Olivia to the cache and see what this is all about. We'll finally know why Gen is so invested in this and why she's fighting for a coven she was barely a part of."
"I'll hold down the fort at HQ and see what I can gather about this Attendant. We must know who we're dealing with here."
"Good." Ezra nodded. "Hannah, you can take your place at the desk at HQ. That's the safest place for you right now. That and here."
"Okay." Hannah nodded.
"What's the plan in relation to the Attendant?" Red asked.
"From what I can tell, James and Anya will want to keep this quiet. Which means they're definitely implicated in this as they have no reason to be quiet other than this."
"This is an opportunity for us to write our own narrative. Depending on what I find at the cache, we'll know how to spin this. But we'll have to do it steadily. Gen has already been branded a Veilbreaker by killing her targets in such a public method."
"We need to spin the narrative in a way that would exonerate her when the dust settles. Red." He turned to her. "While digging up info on Michelangelo, check for any precedents of Veilbreakers getting away with crimes. We'll need it."
"Got it." She nodded.
"Good." Ezra clapped his hand. "Let's rest. We have busy days ahead of us."
The group dispersed and Ezra headed to his room. He sat at the chair beside his bed, retrieving a bottle of blood wine and a glass cup. He poured himself a cup and sipped, taking a moment to appreciate the taste.
Then, his mind wandered back to the incident outside James' estate. He rubbed his chest as if he could massage away the soul ache he was feeling.
Why had he felt something from the statue of the money king? Was his affliction connected to the statue?
The more time went on, the more mysteries kept popping up. He had to find a solution or everything he'd done at Faewall would be in vain.
Time waited for no man.