Secrets

[AzuraGallu]

Azura raised his brows at Anshel, but nodded in quiet compliance. "Sounds...entertaining," the King said with a smirk, about seventy percent of it aimed at Melora. He just wanted to bug the crap out of her. Finding someone to poke fun at took his mind off of the matters at hand. While a bit mean, it served its purpose, and she seemed to be taking it well.
To show his thanks for her tour, however, in a rare show of gratitude from a Gallu, he gave her a curt bow. It was quick and met with no words, but it got the point across. If she was learned at all in the ways of his clan, that is.
"I'm a little immature, so forgive me. When I hear private it get all excited," he said with a chuckle.

[MeloraBelikov]

Melora met his bow with a satisfied smile, surprised that he could go from being an arrogant fuck to a gentleman so quickly. It was like he was two people, the person he was supposed to be as a King, and the person he probably wished he could be all of the time.

Turning her attention to Anshel, she nodded, though not terribly excited to be anywhere near his room. His private quarters should probably stay just that, private. She couldn't help but think of all the rumours going around about all the things he had been up to in there...and it sent a shiver up her back. While Melora was no stranger to sex, she wasn't particularly promiscuous, nor was she very open about the subject. And while there wasn't any confirmation on said rumours, Melora wouldn't have been surprised if they were true.

[Doctor]

Anshel smiled effusively. Perhaps he'd found a friend who would admire his interior decorating abilities. The party departed back towards the live-in wing and entered the elevator beside the guest suites. He turned to them after the doors shut.

"Just try to stay still and don't be alarmed."

He stroked a line of empty panel under the emergency stop button and pressed it in. Sliding open, it revealed an gridded glass pane.

"Initiating security protocol." The computer generated voice announced. "If you have requested entry to this floor by mistake, you have five seconds to press the emergency services button. Failure to comply will result in annihilation."

"I like my privacy," he called to those behind him.

"Security abort failed. Please verify your identity."

The grid lit up a brilliant green. Anshel pressed his hand to it.

"Security check one passed."

He bent over to the panel's level and gave it a firm kiss.

"Security check two passed. Identity verified. Welcome back, Anshel."

The elevator moved down and further down, finally opening with the customary ding.

While this secret lair was nowhere near as fine as his one in Morocco, he was very proud of what he accomplished with the space. The wallpaper was slate gray and covered with a silver flourish pattern. A set of ancient looking armor hung from the wall, as did a number of Middle Eastern decorations and theater masks from what had to be a good chunk of the world. There was even a poster of a pop-star or two. One corner was taken up by a hookah lounge made up of heavy cushions and ottomans, while another was nothing but a wall of black-wood wardrobes and brass-handled trunks. And smack dab in the middle, facing the elevator's opening and staring the party in the face, was a massive four poster bed. A silky crimson duvet sat under a dramatic plum and gold canopy that dominated the room at first glance. It made the statement: "This is what you're here for. Let's not be coy." One could call it a sex lair, but he would never. Although there was no denying some of the rumors about him were one-hundred percent true.

He stepped out of the elevator and walked across the cherry-wood floors to end standing on a tiger skin rug and motioned his guests to follow.

"Make yourself at home. You might want to have a seat."

[AzuraGallu]

Azura almost squealed in delight after getting over the initial shock of the elevator security system. He'd have to ask Anshel about that later. One couldn't go too far in securing one's property. That mechanism would be great for the castle, though they had a few more...archaic ways of booby trapping unsuspecting intruders.
The walls, the furnishings, everything in Anshel's room reminded him of home. His home, not the castle. Though the suit of armor would certainly belong there. He had no taste for that though.
The bed was the first thing that affixed his attention, but he soon found his eyes wandering to the rugs, the pillows, every facet of middle eastern decor he could find, he loved. His mother had often used such things when she decorated their home outside the castle, a place that had long since been sold out of the family.
If he were honest with himself, he would have said this room made him incredibly home sick.
"Reminds me of home..." he trailed off, getting distracted again by all of the curiously sized and shaped boxes. He wandered around the room for a few more moments, delighting in what he saw before setting himself, with much kingly grace, to the pillows on the floor.

[MeloraBelikov]

Melora shared the same sentiment that Azura had. Her dad would have undoubtedly loved this place, he had always been a collector of oddities from around the world. When they lived together in Russia, he had an entire room much like this one devoted to his collection. In the room she had her own cabinet. Her father would bring things back for her and show her. "You're too young for this now," He would say, "But I'll keep it safe for you to have when you get older." And he would place it inside the cabinet for safe keeping. Those items were never really safe.

She plopped down on a pillow as well, looking around the room and taking in the details.

[Doctor]

Anshel planted himself on a burgundy ottoman, relaxing in the security of his little fortress. The security system, while possibly overkill, gave him peace of mind. And it was damned cool according to the friends and lovers he entertained there. The hookah lounge was one of the few places he could speak freely without worrying about being overheard.

"I guess I should start off by affirming the obvious. Your orders, Melora, were bullshit. Which I'm assuming you figured out the moment you were told they involved making nice with a vampire." He held his eyes steady on her face. "Hunter Princess - it's cute. But be rest assured you have zero political clout. Your past, this little vendetta you have against the world makes you an excellent hunter. I dare say one of the best this clan has seen in its century." He would admit that truth. "But that motivation also makes you complete shit at diplomacy. And we gave up trying to work that quirk out of you two years ago. You weren't sent to be a representative of the clan; you were sent as a bodyguard."

[AzuraGallu]

Azura blinked in surprise, words leaving him. A bodyguard, for him? it didn't make sense. Why would the Banglaire give a rats ass about the Prince of the Gallu vampires? Unless somehow his father was far deeper entrenched in this political game than he'd originally surmised.
Fuck.
That meant that he had to get the skinny on everything his father had been up to. If he was left in the dark over something small, he could inadvertently ruin the careful structure of his clan. Not only that, but the relationships between some of the clans were shaky at best, and he was the first to admit the Gallu were pretty much on everyone's shit list.
Finding the clarity of mind to speak again, he asked a stupid question, but one that needed to be asked none the less.
"Bodyguard me? Why?"

[MeloraBelikov]

Melora shrugged, annoyed at being held in the dark over politics, but not one to deny the truth. She knew she wasn't sent to make nice, though she had tried to at the very least. "I kind of figured that on the day my mission had me following him up the steps of an abandoned building to go kill happy on a bunch of men. I take it politicians don't regularly do such." Her hand came to her forehead, rubbing her fingers against it in order to focus on the conversation at hand. "Azura asks a valid question. He was able to take out every person we encountered with no trouble, including that murderous bitch Nery," a touch of anger laced itself with her accent on that last bit. Nery had been the contact the court set her up with, and the backstabbing cunt only served to possibly compromise everything. "So what could I have been guarding him from?"

[Doctor]

And that was the catch.

"I have no fucking clue. Whatever it was your Father couldn't protect himself from." He looked at Azura, apology in his eyes for not being able to do his job better and give the vampire some insight into his loss.

"All I have is that letter from King Sargon and shared speculation. And, as far as I know, that's all anyone has. So you see our dilemma? With nothing to serve as proof, we couldn't throw any accusations around. Your father and Bartholomew agreed it would be better to investigate this covertly. A whisper of suspicion in the wrong ear could lead to full out war. Genocide. An upheaval and the political infrastructure of all the clans refaced. That's why we were kept in the dark."

Anshel shook his head, at loss as to how to continue. The pieces were there, but nothing to show him how to put them together. He needed more information. Information probably only a vampire could provide.

He engaged Azura's eyes again and made an inquiry.

"What do you know about psychic abilities?"

[AzuraGallu]

Azura's gaze remained steady, despite the loss he suffered just hours earlier. He couldn't afford to grieve. Someday, maybe when his son was King, he'd regret not being able to mourn his father properly. It had to have some freaky psychological effect.
That being said, he knew next to nothing about psychic capabilities save that the Blackravens were renowned for them and that a few of his own clan had an aptitude for it. If one counted speaking with the dead a psychic ability, he guessed he fit into that category as well.
"I don't know much, except for what's been said in stories and the like. But if my own skill is to be considered as such, then I'd start out by saying it's not a constant power. There have to be certain conditions for it. Concentration, coordination, almost like one would train their body for fighting. It all has to be in top condition in order to be effective. So I suppose we'd be looking for those who are extremely intelligent, observant and curious. A sharp mind is a dangerous one, or so my father said."
He looked around the room, feeling out for any specters lurking nearby. They'd passed one in the hall, but he didn't care to converse with him. He was Gallu, and a nasty one at that. He wagered that before he could even summon him he'd try to attack him with his ghastly little fingers. That was the trouble with ghosts. You never knew their motivations, feelings, or mood. It was like trying to have a presidential debate with a fucking mime.
"Thinking on it, however...and I'm just throwing this out there. My father was always adamantly against aligning with the Blackravens, though they sought an alliance with us on several occasions. He would say odd things about them. Call them crazier than the Moroi. Perhaps they're an unstable lot, and no one's bothered to speak up about until now. They might have been planning this for years."
He sighed, looking at his hand folded in his lap.
"And I'm at a complete disadvantage because I know nothing about them. I have no experience in dealing with them."

[MeloraBelikov]

"I do." Melora piped up, having a bit more information the aid the two with. "I've been assigned to a few of them. They're often troublesome assignments," she ran her fingers through her hair, reflecting on the last Blackraven she had dealt with, "Because your father was right Azura, they are insane. The Blackraven have a general disrespect for anything that doesn't fit well with their goals at the time, particularly the laws they're required to follow. A Blackraven will do anything to complete their goals short of killing another Blackraven."

Melora stood and paced, thinking about her next statement. She didn't know if she wanted to reveal this much information to the group. "My mother worked on a psychic attack force for the Banglaire. She was an inventor and a brilliant one at that. But she ended that project before she died. That journal from the box I showed you, Azura, contains case studied of the affects of psychic warfare. The last case study she did resulted in the death of a student in the program from unknown causes. A perfectly healthy young person. So she ended it and instead focused on inventing gadgets that run on a toned down version of psychic power, like the one I had showed you. She never gave any of those to the Banglaire, opting to keep them stored in various places around the Belikov manor. I never did find all of her paperwork or knickknacks." She now turned to Anshel, unaware of whether he had known her mother or not or was familiar with her projects. "That is all of the information I have. I never thought the Blackravens would be able to develop their psychic abilities to be able to fight with them. Though, I suppose it was bound to happen despite the project being completed in secret by the Banglaire. Someone else was bound to have the same idea."

[Doctor]

Anshel's stomach dropped at Melora's confession. Mrs. Belikov had extended her research. Weapons actually existed and they were not in the safe keeping of the Banglaire Vault. He took two deep breaths and fought the urge to bare his teeth, speaking now with them gritted down.

"We abandoned Project Aksakov almost twenty years ago; telekinesis, shared consciousness, they were all too dangerous and leading to someplace we as a clan did not want to cross into. I was under the impression all schematics were unfinished and in their infancy. But you're telling me that there is working tech just lying around your home?!"

Anshel rose and began pacing the room, at a loss for words from this development and its hundreds of implications. Well... not a complete loss. What he did yell echoed against the lovely walls.

"FUCK!"

[AzuraGallu]

"Yes, why don't we? It'd certianly take our minds off this cluster fuck." Azura said breathlessly, falling back on the pillows with his arms behind his head. "Unfortunately we'd all have hangovers, and have to deal with this shit in the morning."
He looked over at Melora, understanding Anshels' anger, but not necessarily understanding why it was directed at her. She was a child when her parents died. What was she to know of such weaponry? Perhaps the Banglaire should have done a more thorough clean up job.
"We could return to your home, Melora, and see what we can find."
It was the only thing he could suggest at this point short of just fucking around, which he'd already suggested. So yes, it was all he could say, all they could do. Hopefully once they got their briefing, they'd be more prepared to face this catastrophe.

[MeloraBelikov]

Melora was immediately taken aback by Anshel's anger, but more so taken aback by the thought of returning home. Immediately her entire body wanted to shake, but she held herself from doing so, straining to speak. Apart from taking her mother's body from the home, she hadn't let anyone touch it. She hadn't been back since. Blood would still stain the walls, her childhood things would still be strewn about from when the murderers went looking for her. Her fathers collection would still be broken, all over the floor. Melora was the only person with access to the house, and she had paid to keep it untouched. Now, they were asking her to take them into that house and into her childhood, which had long since been covered with thick layers of dust.

"I...I suppose I could take you there, if it were required of me." She glanced at Anshel, waiting for him to order her to do so as she knew he would. Melora fought back tears thinking of returning, recomposing herself every couple of minutes in order to be able to have this conversation. They wouldn't be able to enter the home without her there, but this would no doubt be a crucial part of their investigation. As a hunter, she would have to do what was required of her. Melora practically prayed that Anshel would give her those orders, otherwise she had no chance of ever returning on her own.

[Doctor]

Anshel almost took Azura up on the offer, angry-sex always leaving him considerably less stressed. He wasn't necessarily angry at Melora, but some of this could possibly have been avoided if she'd revealed this information to her clan earlier. But then, she had no way of knowing her discretion could lead to this. He was angry at the Belikovs for developing tech in secret, but they, too, may have been just as discreet and have kept their work well guarded. Perhaps he was most angry at himself for not being able to somehow prevent this all. For now feeling helpless.

Anshel curled his toes and stretched his hands, the stress and adrenaline now without direction.

"Yes. Investigation of the Belikov home will be required, Melora." He looked at her now and was astonished to find her looking distressed. It was jarring, having known her as an adult. Since about fourteen she had never looked so unsure. He saw her as a child and as a killing-machine. To see her vulnerable was sobering.

"Take the time you need to prepare." He said it firmly, but the anger drained out of his voice. She may be a bane of his existence, but he was responsible for his kind.

"We can't leave until we've seen the council. With our High Judge absent it is even more crucial that the council communicate thoroughly. There is little we can do, Azura, but fuck around until tomorrow evening when a hearing can take place."