Chapter 13: Dining with Demons

A meeting of the last remaining Empire is nothing to miss. In past times each house would have an emperor or empress. Of those, the strongest would receive the "High" title. Once the title was taken by force, and each new High Emperor would start a new Empire, a new time, a dominion over all demon-kin. With so few houses surviving after the Great War it was decided that war between the houses was not to be accepted for mere power struggles. When a High Emperor or High Empress had lost the power to rule the elders of each house would gather and elect a new High Emperor or High Empress. The High Empress of all demon-kin is from Aashiar blood. She has reigned a hundred and eighty years with few outright challenges. The Aashiar House was one of the first houses. They trace their roots back very closely to The First. Of the three great houses remaining none claim to be the first, Aashiar is considered the oldest. Since the Great War many houses have sprung up. The purists insist these are not true houses, just errant from one of the other three. The first houses started that way; each vampire should be able to trace his roots to The First.

From the outside, the building serving as the House of Aashia looked rather nondescript. Like so many other buildings in The Hole, the twenty story apartment complex was a standard grey with black windows. The walls were weather worn and showed numerous cracks. The building had few discerning characteristics just like so many others. It lay directly in the middle of The Hole. The brimming cesspool within the boundaries of Los Angeles housed many demon-kin, all of them fell under the House of Aashia's dominion.

The Aashiar House is well known for its magic. As a rule all vampires have the ability to mold life; to make the flow of life's energy change. Training, potential, and raw power are all very important for a demon to possess for them to perform feats. The House of Aashia contains some of the best teachers in focusing power. They have spent centuries learning how to bend The Consensus. With their ability to bend the rules, all demons are forced into following. The Aashiar House has had a firm hold on the other houses.

For the High Empress to call court is a rare occurrence; it does not happen often. Court is held every day, but for an official gathering of the houses is not something to miss. All demon kin invited would come. Many that weren't invited would come as well. No place was guaranteed to those not on the guest list however.

The Aashiar House, as with every house, held court every day. The emperor or empress of the house would listen to grievances, stories, news, and would make his or her decrees. The emperor or empress would also feed the gathered guests as a customary sign of wealth. It was considered proper for the rulers to provide for their subjects. Every day, for the first four hours of the night, the High Empress would stay in her throne room, and receive anyone who had news, or anything public that needed to be said. She too fed the members of her court. A feast was often set out with both nutritional food and blood containing the sweet nectar of life.

The arrival of two Hunters in The Hole is something worth noticing. A general unease settles over those able to feel it. Two Hunters sent to the same place is like a police force sending out two S.W.A.T. teams, it's done but usually excessive. Two Hunters in The Hole means something very important is about to take place.

Drake and Chimera, two legends, hunted together. They were on a mission to meet with the High Empress. The two had met at the Hunter outpost on the north side of The Hole, and from there they traveled together. The two rode over to the House of Aashia in a limousine which would wait for them to finish and take them home. The two Hunters looked like matching opposites – white and black.

Chimera, once known as Raven, is well known among the Hunters. He arrived at the school blind and yet had graduated the academy with some of the highest marks ever. He was five feet tall and his slender build couldn't be whiter. He was an albino, his white skin glassy, and his white hair, worn short, was almost silver. His red eyes were sightless. Chimera never missed a shot however. He had one of the strongest abilities of sixth sense of any of the Hunters. This evening he wore a white suit with a red shirt. His tie was white with red droplets of blood matching his shirt in vibrancy. To finish off his outfit, he had a pair of red sunglasses, the lenses exactly the same color as his shirt. He moved with lethal grace as he exited the limousine, the holsters under his jacket not even noticeable.

Drake was black to Chimera's white. He was dressed in a pair of black pants with a dark blue dress shirt. He wore a full length overcoat in the same shade of black. Naturally he too had his guns holstered under his jacket. Both of the Hunters wore their named medallion[s] proudly around their necks. It was a sign of their title and an honor for them both.

For a Hunter to come into any demon's home unarmed would be considered an insult to the demon. However, the Hunters came as emissaries of the Hunters and therefore had to look appropriate when meeting the High Empress of all demon-kin. The Hunters and the High Empress had an understanding. They were not the bitter enemies that would be expected. It was the High Empress's duty to make certain that all of her subjects obeyed her laws. She had used the Hunters many times to kill off undesirables. The Hunters were a very useful tool in her mind. To the Hunters, she was a good source of information. The purpose of the Hunters wasn't to eliminate all of the demons. Their job was to protect humanity from finding out the truth, and protect them from those that would enslave them. The High Empress had often used the Hunters to help her punish those that broke the laws.

The two Hunters were welcomed to Aashiar House as promised. The whores wandering outside the courtyard were clearly not just eye candy. The pimp too seemed to be more than he appeared. Two very large Russians stood at the front door. From the outside, the apartment building looked like nothing more than an old housing unit turned into an underground night club. These clubs were not unknown in The Hole, though it was clear to the Hunters it was not a club. Drake watched the building in amazement. He was used to seeing the lines of energy covering every building, and usually he could see these lines connected to people. This place was almost blinding. It was completely covered by lines of energy.

Drake and Chimera were ushered inside by a seven foot physical monster. The main doors opened into a long hall. Five steps inside, another demon stepped up to take the place of the bouncer. This one was tall, thin and pale, the signs of a pure vampire. The new demon looked on the guard with a glance of disgust. The guard clearly wasn't vampire. It was some other form of demon set to stand guard. Good enough to guard the door, but not clean enough to wander the halls of the High Empress.

"If you would follow me." he started down the hall without looking back. Not an overt affront to anyone, he was simply letting the Hunters know he was not pleased they were visiting. The Hunters were well prepared for this form of covert insult. They expected it and weren't even fazed.

The Hunters followed along silently. They knew that the house had extended its courtesy to them, but there was no reason to encourage a fight for the sake of a contrived insult. The first steps down the hall, the Hunters realized this building was completely different from the place they entered. This building was not an apartment converted into a manor for the House of Aashia. The original building had been completely gutted to the point that nothing seemed to be remaining.

The Aashiar were known for their abilities, this building was merely a showing of their strength.

As if wearing the skin of another building, the complex had been completely rewoven with magic. It was reworked to suit the desires of its new occupants. It seemed that more than just the building had been affected, the amount of space that had been reworked was larger than the volume of the original complex. Aashiar House had bent space in their home. They cheated to get more room.

The Hunters were led through a series of rooms with high ceilings. Fascinating murals with moving images haunted all of the heights. The walls were all white marble. There were many tapestries showing moving scenes that looped whenever they were viewed.

After heading mostly in the same direction, they stood in a grand entryway. The room was immense, but simple. The ceiling bore a mural depicting a man and woman in the throes of passion. The man had long, full, black wings. Their guide motioned them to stand the middle of the room, facing the grand, wooden doors. The Hunters took a moment each to look around. They would memorize everything that transpired for their report later. Each door was twenty feet tall, looming over the guards standing at each side. The only thing marring the perfect wood was a five foot carving of the Aashiar symbol. From the details it was clear no tool had ever touched that carving.

The only other things in the room aside from the mural were two full tapestries, each the size of the doors. One showed the Man from the mural. He wore a simple black tunic and pants. The shirt had no arms and a ring of red signaled the end of each side. At his side he wore a simple blade with no fancy work. It was the sword of a fighter. On his chest he had a simple silver medallion hanging from his neck. The medallion showed with great detail a clear depiction of a simple symbol. The character was very familiar to the Hunters but if either of them could remember what it was they didn't say anything. The man's wings outstretched and his head upturned to blissfully enjoy the sun.

The other image was a woman, the same from the mural. She wore a simple black dress. Her long, red hair cascaded over her shoulder and down her front, ending just above her waist. The air shimmered with life energy around her. Stitched behind her, was the symbol of Aaisha, the same mark she bore on a medallion on her chest. The woman depicted here was Aaisha.

The guide stepped over to the right side and slipped behind the image of Aaisha ... The twenty foot tapestry didn't even move in recognition of his passing. No more than thirty seconds passed when a knock resounded on the door from the other side. The two guards facing Drake and Chimera stepped up to the side as the doors swung open.

If it weren't so formal an occasion, the enormous doors opening to reveal Chimera, who was a fourth their size, and Drake who was only a little taller would have been a very humorous image. The fact that these two Hunters were entering a room full of their prey, and that almost every demon inside would be craving their lives put a damper on the humor of it all.

"Hunters Drake and Chimera," the Master Herald called.

Taking the cue, the two Hunters stepped forward with matching strides. They kept pace with practiced ease. Though seeming to only watch the throne, both skillfully took stock of both sides of the room. Doors on all sides, expensive tapestries behind which any number of things might hide, a balcony with mostly hidden occupants, guests on both sides of the room, every detail was accounted for and logged by the trained. The room was more impressive than the main doors leading into it. Undoubtedly forty feet tall by a hundred and fifty feet long, the ceiling was done up in a mural rivaling the Sistine Chapel. The image depicted a man with wings lifting up a woman; she bore the symbol of Aashia on her chest. The mural moved as if filled with life as it recounted the creation of the House of Aashia. The winged man was shown with reverence and respect.

One of the tapestries drew Drake's attention momentarily. The tapestry showed a great war with thousands of demons attempting to gain footing on a mountain top. Standing on it were the same woman and the winged man. The woman threw lightening and fire as they appeared in her hands. The man bore a sword which he used expertly in close combat. When he was not fighting a demon close, he would sweep the blade across an area and every demon in its path would be knocked to its knees. A demon flew down to strike the woman when she wasn't watching. The demon almost reached her when the man turned. With a casual flick of his wrist the demon exploded into ashes. The war paused as no one watched it.

Drake noticed as he glanced around that no one seemed to be watching any of the images. Many even seemed to be going out of their way not to look at the ceiling. The Hunters stopped when they were thirty feet away. They bowed and remained bent, waiting for recognition.

"You are welcome Hunters. Be at ease," the High Empress sounded unconcerned by the arrival of her guests. "Thank you for accepting my invitation."

"We are honored High Empress," both Hunters vocalized together with practiced ease.

"I offer you a gift, Hunters," the High Empress as customary, presented those that might be deemed her enemies with a gift of gratitude, a sign to all that they were guests. Two vampires from the ruling house came forward and dragged forward a struggling body. "This is Rikar, known by his choice as Ripper. He has betrayed our laws and is to be put down. His more recent actions include the conversion, without discrimination, of no less than thirty humans in the last year. He has been found guilty of bloodthirst without caution, and is a known associate of Kaan. You might know him from his tendency toward cutting out the eyes of his victims before killing them. He feeds off the heightened fear and the pain. I know he is on your list. I gift his life to you."

"We thank you for your gracious gift, High Empress. I would not willingly kill in your house," Chimera spoke up first. It was wise not to act in a way that might give the court reason to become violent, their assured survival counted on them following all of the rules. "I do not reject your gift, I accept it gladly. I ask, however, that his blood be spilt by another."

"That is very noble of you," she motioned and the vampire was dragged in front of her. "I take his life for you myself." She stood and walked over to the kneeling vampire. One of the two servants grabbed his head and pulled it roughly backwards. No mercy was shown to him as the High Empress made one swipe at his neck, her nails growing out into claws to slice him open. Trailing behind her claws, four red lines flared for a moment in the air. The lines slowly faded as reality came back together. The usual healing the Hunters had learned to expect did not happen. The vampire's body stayed motionless for a full minute, the head rolled backwards, barely connected to its neck.

The High Empress allowed the time it took for everyone gathered to get the full impression of her actions before moving on. "His life was for you, Hunters. The gift has been accepted," aside "take this corpse away and burn it. I don't want it fouling up my room." The two servants dragged the body off again. They seemed to recoil from the touch of the body this time as if it felt wrong. The Hunters noticed as the body was dragged off that no blood had spilt to the ground.

"If you two would join me, we have a special dinner prepared tonight." The High Empresses turned to address everyone else gathered, "I now close court for tonight, all of you are welcome to stay and enjoy the food offered in the next room. Tomorrow we shall meet again ... Good evening to you all," the High Empress stood up, and all present bowed, they all filed out of the room through doors, opened by servants, on the right side. The gathered demons attacked the food filled tables with gusto.

The High Empress had disappeared unnoticed into a door behind her throne. The Hunters stood where they were for a moment. They watched the throng of demons feeding, for the first time uncertain what to do. A vampire who moved with years of experience approached the Hunters, "I am to lead you to your dinner. The High Empress did not wish to hide your presence here, but she wanted to talk to you privately. She didn't feel it would be prudent to leave you unattended. If you will follow me," the last being a statement, not a question.

The three went out through a side door, not one leading into the dining room. They traveled up several flights of stairs and around a few corridors. Drake got the impression they were taking the long way around. They passed very few demons, mostly servants. After five minutes, the guide stopped at a much smaller door than the last one the Hunters had wound up at. "The High Empress is inside," the vampire said, he reached out and knocked on the door, "High Empress, the Hunters are here."

From inside a muffled voice called out for them to enter. The guide motioned for them to open the door and go inside. He stepped back and waited for the Hunters to go first. Drake glanced at Chimera and reached out his hand, he grasped the handle and pulled open the door.

Since his waking dream earlier in the day, Drake had been seeing everything with heightened senses. In the past when he had called up the lines of power he would see the ties as opaque threads, now he couldn't turn the sight off. Worse ... the lines were brighter. He could see it all much clearer. He could see and feel threads layering everything. The threads around the House were very strained. They were weakened and were flickering in and out.

When Drake walked into the room he noticed immediately that there were no threads. The room was completely clear of any traces of them, as if they didn't exist. "Are you alright Drake," Chimera whispered in his ear, "you seem uneasy."

"I am fine."

"Hunters," the High Empress called, "you are welcome."

"Once again, High One, we thank you for the welcome. You honor us with your generosity," Chimera spoke first. He could smell food and felt a table and chairs set up in the middle of the room. His ability to see without his eyes was frightening and without a doubt came from a majestic source.

The Hunters took seats at the small table in the center of the room. It was the size a family might eat dinner at. The High Empress was herself seated at the same table. She had changed her clothes and no longer wore her crown. She seemed more like any other vampire they had dealt with. Only the aura of power she unintentionally emitted gave cause for anyone to question her. A very fabulous meal sat on the table, cleverly disguised as simple fare. The High Empress herself had a simple glass of a red liquid in her hand. On the table beside her sat a large glass pitcher with the same blood. To Drake's enhanced vision, the blood was filled with energy.

"Please help yourself to food. It is for you." The vampire seemed to be waiting for something and in the silence the Hunters began to reach for the food. Drake had been with Chimera long enough to know that he would need no help arranging anything. The best thing to do concerning Chimera's blindness was to ignore it.

The High Empress stood quickly and stepped over to a very old book. She opened it and slid back to the table. Holding it open it she read out loud, "There is a plague among my kind. It leads us to cower. It drains our power, and weakens our young. It is growing, and one day it will kill us." She put the book down and looked back at the Hunters, "That was from the writings of the third Aashia. Her words are as relevant now as they were then. For some reason whenever our race is threatened it is up to Aashia to stand and fight." She let out a sigh, and as if it were a cue, the door was opened. A six foot three African, dressed flamboyantly in orange and yellow with a shaved head entered the room. He had a symbol of a four leaf clover scarred on his forehead which quickly changed to the mark of Aashia in the presence of the High Empress. "Ahh ... Sinbad, welcome home."

"Thank you, my Empress."

The two of them spoke as if no one were in the room. "I have come to report," Sinbad spoke. "I have found him." Something unspoken passed between the two, a hidden meaning betrayed by simple words. "Hunters, this is Sinbad, one of my closest advisors. I believe you know him as Senex. He has recently been in San Diego where he has been tracking an anomaly. It seems the time has come to shed some light into the darkness of your memories." Aashia turned back to the Hunters as she spoke, her voice speeding up as if she had a lot to explain and not nearly enough time as it would take.

"I don't have enough time to spend on your ignorance. You know what I am, a vampire, a demon. You are mostly human. What you see, however, is a very skewed view. Humans have a special ability ... not that you understand or realize it. A strong willed creature like you has a very strong belief system. This belief system has turned into something physical to use on us supernatural creatures, as you'd call us. We call this force the Consensus. Every doubt, belief, emotion, thought you have are part of this net. Have either of you ever tried to fly? Of course you have. But you didn't go anywhere. Why? The answer is you didn't believe you could. The consensus acts on you as much as it acts on us. Our spirits are no longer your world. No, we are not in a battle between heaven and hell over your souls. Many of us are originally from here. Most of us vampires were once human. Our sire was not from Earth. The First was a traveler who decided to make his home here.

"The basic story you need to be concerned with is that as you humans spread out and increased in numbers your consensus became stronger. Though we vampires are mostly from here, we are linked to another world through our blood. We can gather power from that world to perform acts here. The stronger the demon, the more power he can draw to himself. The consensus prevents us from getting through however. It made the holes between the worlds smaller, and only the strongest vampires were able to get access to their blood-right. This weakening of the blood was very important to the increase in the power of humanity.

"For us to live we must have life energy. I know that sounds a little redundant but it is not as it sounds. You humans eat to gain calories which you burn to keep your bodies heated and get energy for movement. We get little from eating foods. We drain the life from other things to keep ourselves alive. When we wish to do something beyond our physical limitations, we can use life energy. We consume the energy and shape it to our will. Once we could stretch out and gather energy from our home world to use with little effort. The consensus now prevents us from reaching out.

"The real reason I called you to me is not this piece of news however. With your consensus preventing of us from using our power, many demons have been searching for a way to act without barriers. The consensus prevents us from doing anything you humans agree can't be done. The way it does so is by limiting our ability to reach outside this world to get power. House Kaan has been focusing on the gathering of life force. If the consensus prevents us from gathering our power from outside forces, we can act using the energy from within the world.