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The eagle shifter perched on the edge of his seat. “Thank you. I have verified your informant’s intel, High Commander. Cerberus is indeed Dolph, a fellow Temple of Justice member. This news is shattering, sending shock waves across Scath. Supporters of his cause are, however, invigorated. Opposers are disheartened, afraid. I wish I could say I suspected him.” He glanced toward others at his table who shook their heads. “I did not. He is in the wind, probably hiding at an Arisen Dawn garrison.”
General Lipton spoke out. “You have us at a disadvantage, High Justice. I take it he’s an important man.”
Aras, elbows resting on the table, fingers threaded together, fixed his large golden, sharp-sighted eyes on the humans. “He is a powerful mage, probably more so than we realized. He’s quiet, somber, unadorned but brilliant and decisive. He was a strong conservative voice in the Temple, never compromising on a point of law, never displaying mercy in his judgments. Beneath, he is arrogant, willful, inflexible. A breed purist. When he was young, his skills trainer was a much-respected witch named Karla. Cadmon, perhaps someone can interview her about Dolph’s early years.”
“Galena is my best investigator,” offered Kole. “She pulls stuff out of people they don’t even realize they know.”
“Family?” asked Matty at General Lipton’s right.
Aras shook his head. “None known. His mother Echidna is dead as well as his father. No mate. No living relations. He maintains a Spartan existence in a modest home, an ascetic lifestyle. Those with a passing acquaintance say his only joy is to create spells. His specialty.”
Several of the human representatives nodded.
The justice continued. “If Dolph is indeed the Cerberus of the prophecy, legend says he springs from the Cambion, the most powerful mage of all time, and from Niviane of the Blood Coven.”
The French military representative asked, “What prophecy?”
“The prophecy in a text, The Path,” said Kole. “Scholars have studied it for centuries. The first stanza predicts the creation of the three realms by the Blood Coven. Done. The second foretells of Hades’s hound, his gathering of the hidden descendants of the original coven, his building an army, and his enslavement of humans when the portals fall. Your typical end of the world shit. Though scholars have debated the last stanza, it remains unclear.”
With no more questions about Dolph, Cadmon moved to another topic. “Commander Jarek’s Firebrands travel to cities and rural areas where they contact Aeternals to assess their loyalties. Those who seek protection are brought to safe houses or sanctuaries. If they offer to help in the fight, they are being trained. Commander, any comments?”
Like his djinn breed, Jarek was covered in battle glyphs. Though only the ones on his neck and hands showed, they depicted his savage kills. He brushed back his dark hair which fell in war braids along his temples, his skin the color of desert sand. Few knew this frightening warrior had once been a slave. “Arisen Dawn is murdering those who refuse to join them. We’ve found houses where entire families have been slaughtered, their severed heads on spikes. Males, females, children. Hell, sometimes pets.”
Talk ceased. Water glasses clinked onto the table. Papers lay quiet and folders closed as everyone in the room reacted to the brutality of the attacks.
“Kole, tell us about the search for the insurgents’ garrisons,” said Cadmon.
“Intel points to the wilding realm, Darque. But their base is warded by a fucking spell. We’ve enlisted Alarik’s best people. No luck yet. The territory is huge. We’re running a grid search.”
The chatter halted when the door to the conference room banged open.
Chapter Three
When the door flew open, Indigo spilled into the room, her unlaced combat boots thudding on the tile. She lifted her long skirt as she raced for the seat beside her brother Alarik, rolling an enormous suitcase behind her. “Greetings, fellow traitors.” A huge grin curling her lips, she spied Rein. “Boyo.”
“Auntie.”
“Glad to see you started without me,” she said.
Alarik whispered, “Why the luggage? Where are you going?”
She twirled a long strand of dark hair around her finger. “About that. I’m moving out of your ministry. Thanks for the temp shelter. But I can no longer stand your bloodsucking lover. Other vampires may adore your female’s Gucci wardrobe and Louboutin ankle breakers, but her royal bitchiness makes me gag. Not in a good way.”
Alarik’s mouth dropped open. “We’ll talk later.”
“Eye roll, please. Continue, High Commander Ylve. Don’t mind me.”
Cadmon nodded. “Nace has been coordinating security at the massive number of portals Scathwide.”
The North Shelters commander was a hunky jaguar shifter whose large oval eyes glowed like polished amber in sunlight. Against her better judgment, though, Indigo dreamed of another shifter, a cheeky raven.
Nace pushed back from the table, crossing his massive arms over his chest. “We’re doing better thanks to civilians who have volunteered for duty. We post them at the gateways our Firebrands cannot cover. If they call with anything suspicious, we hightail it to the site. We’ve rounded up small groups of Arisen Dawn soldiers. Here’s the catch. The prisoners we’ve caught can’t lead Kole’s warriors to the garrison. They get to it through the portals, but they don’t know how. Anyway, no big action at them since the Sacramento situation. My guess is, Cerberus is building forces and training.”
Cadmon tugged on the lapels of his uniform. “What about the Blood Coven search? Alarik, you’re running with that.”
“As we speak, the dedicated human trackers of Custodes Templii fly around Earth keeping tabs on the people in their own bloodlines, warning them to stay safe, reporting to us if they are missing. The group formed after the Karmic Schism to watch the offspring of the original mages who created the realms. Since their leader Miller Nash disappeared, Braelyn’s new contact is…” Alarik shuffled through papers. “…someone named Harry. He keeps her updated. Alliance agents are assisting the trackers in watching their targets. We’ve already thwarted numerous kidnappings, but descendants are missing. We presume Cerberus has them.”
Indigo raised her hand, but her irritatingly proper brother clasped onto it. “Not yet, dear.” He continued. “From our new tests as well as Custodes Templii records, we have identified the bloodlines of the descendants living among us.”
