Chapter 49

Most people know about the massacre in Rwanda. There were roughly 800,000 deaths, mostly Tutsi though some moderate Hutu’s, taking place during a 100-day crisis in 1994. Many to this day do not understand why the U.N. and other world powers stood idly by whilst it happened. Most do not know what really happened and why the Council of the Wise had to act to keep ordinary people, including many aid agencies, out of the war zone. Military intervention was simply not possible because Earth militaries usually do not have to deal with mind-controlling Sidhe nor heavily armed Nephilim militias and their attendant Mages. The cover up alone caused major issues for the various nations of this Earth and although the allies of the Sidhe and Nephilim on this genocide eventually had the blame laid at their feet, the consequences still reverberate to this day.

We still aren’t too sure just how the Nephilim managed to get influence in Rwanda, certainly the Council investigation, ably assisted by Mage Julia’s Seer group, showed no signs of any infiltration before things went to hell in a handcart. The first warning we had was the use of balefire, the Sidhe equivalent of hellfire, save only that it burnt more like napalm or white phosphorous. It was used alongside an air to air missile strike on the President of Rwanda, bringing down his plane and killing all on board and was the forerunner of a series of shields and wards of both Sidhe and Nephilim make protecting a series of off-world portals. This allowed in a regiment of 3,000 Nephilim Caddiysh, along with their support Malakha to defend the Sidhe portal, and an equal number of hunting Sidhe who started urging the dominant Hutu population to develop their basest desires. Not that they had to try particularly hard as anyone with a bit of knowledge of history of that part of the world could tell you.

Naturally this had set off the African Seer group and several strike teams ported into the area from the Bureau of Occult Studies only to be caught up in a nightmare as the Sidhe and Nephilim immediately began hunting them down, rather than vice versa. Nor were matters helped by Hutu extremists, driven by the mental miasma, beginning a purge against their political opponents or anyone they saw as a threat. Naturally the Sidhe and Nephilim used wards to prevent discovery and assisted in several massacres unbeknownst to the Hutu extremists. The Sidhe did it for food and sport, the Nephilim simply for sport. By the third day the massacres had started in earnest and Mage Amehlo had made a call to the Council for desperately needed help as her people on the ground were being hunted down and she did not have the numbers to intervene, other than to pull them back to try and protect a few safe zones.

It was Simon who talked to the countries who, via the U.N., were moved to intervene, telling them that the risk to their own troops was too great and to get their people out if possible as the Mages would have to go in first to drive out the invaders before a proper armed response could be started. This naturally did not go down too well and led to later accusations being levelled at the first world nations for not intervening at all when they knew genocide was happening. But that’s politics for you.

Whilst the diplomatic wrangling in the mundane world was going on, Morgana called a council of war of all the Bureaus and also invited along Mage Julia and Mage Rowenna as their input would be necessary.

“First priority, shut down the damned portals they are using,” Morgana stated. “Second, create a safe zone that the mundane forces can use to stabilise the area.”

“Third, wipe these scum off the face of the Earth,” added Arch.

“Agreed, Arch, but first things first,” Morgana replied to the rhetorical statement.

“We need a plan,” I said.

“Yes, John. The portals are located in the province of Byumba. They’re screening it from the Seers, but we believe it to be located here,” she said, pointing it out on our mental maps to be near the town of Kinihira.

“So how do we get there?” asked Arch. “It’s not like we have an army at our beck and call.”

“Nor like we can wait for the Western powers to assemble one either,” added Róisín.

“We’re going in with the Rwandan Patriotic Front forces from the North, giving them mental protection whilst dealing with the Sidhe and Nephilim as well as the Hutu maniacs.”

“Great, African armies don’t exactly have the best reputations in the world for discipline, Mage Morgana,” Arch interjected.

“I know, but if we allow them time to lodge and dig in it will only get worse.”

“What about using some of our allies as scouts?” I asked.

“Allies, John?”

“Clan Juwes and the Zielona Gora Lycana as scouts and guerrilla forces.”

“Interesting thought. I rather suspect their thought frequencies will keep them off the Nephilim mental radar at least.”

“We can sell it to the Zielona Gora Lycana as an opportunity to hunt humans with impunity. It might ease some pressure on Alpha Jacob in keeping his young ones in line,” I chuckled grimly.

“Certainly a thought, Mage Morgana,” Julia agreed.

“It is. Well done, John. Could you, with Mage Ludmilla, speak to Jacob? Arch, could you and Róisín speak to Țepeș Richard?” Morgana requested.

“Yes, Mage Morgana,” we all formally replied.

“Rowenna, we’re going to need extra medical Mages, I suspect casualties may be high,” Morgana requested.

“My people are ready, including some we’ve trained in Loegria,” she replied. “I can also ask Archon Joras to loan us some of his Special Forces. The advanced weaponry they use will come as a very rude shock to the Nephilim.”

“Ask,” Morgana replied after a minutes thought. “I’m pretty sure we can keep them unaware as to where they are.”

“We can and Joras would love to give them a little experience outside Loegria proper,” Rowenna acknowledged.

“There’s also Vaniralla Freya and her dróttina,” I queried. “I believe she believes she owes us weregeld for what happened to me?” I posited.

“Not at this time, John. But at some future stage I believe it might be useful to have the aid of the Æsir,” Morgana replied.

“Such as when we take the fight to our enemies,” Arch added.

“Indeed, Arch! We’ve delayed too long; we could have set up training via the mundane governments special forces, some form of rapid reaction group to hit the Sidhe especially hard on Tír na nÓg as well as assist the Seelie Court regain the initiative rather than the hit and run stuff they’re doing.”

“Bloody Hermes, long may he remain in a coma.”

Morgana simply shrugged. Mage Hermes’ deterioration had come as a terrible shock to the Council and his current condition could only be described as dire. Whatever Merlin and Rasputin had done to him defied any attempts by Rowenna’s people to remove the warded probes embedded in his brain. He was currently being kept in an induced coma with the occasional visit by myself to restore his health as the current magical mess he was in precluded normal healing. The temporary head of the Interrogation Office was now Mage Cixi and she’d gone through it with brutal efficiency to bring it under her and the Council’s heel. A whole nest of inefficient, backbiting and lazy Mages had been dismissed including Mage Saanvi for corruption, as it had been she, not Mage Gudrun who had forged Simon’s seal in her supposed zeal for Hermes faction, although there were no other signs of treachery. Cixi had taken Mage Gudrun under her wing and was in the process of rehabilitating her and using her rage at what had been done to her to bring efficiency and trust back to that Office. Mage Indira had been sentenced to ten years imprisonment in Kurukshetra in the Null section where she’d have to live as a normal human (a process most dreaded by a lot of Mages) this included doing her own cooking and cleaning and to her credit she accepted her punishment with good grace, believing, I think, that it could have been a hell of a lot worse. She had only once attempted to contact me during the sentencing phase. I’d politely declined contact, explaining that my presence might (as Morgana had warned) have led to an even stiffer sentence as I was (still) in no mood to forgive or forget.

I portalled into the Warsaw office and was greeted warmly by Mage Ludmilla, the office head there, despite the chaos going on around her as various groups of Mages were in the process of preparing to port into Africa in support of the operation there.

“I got Mage Roxanne’s message and will assist you to contact Alpha Jacob. Though we’ll have to go to the area as I’ve no real way to contact him otherwise,” she said after I formally greeted her.

“I expected as much. He gave the impression that he wants to keep away from human contact as much as possible.”

“Yes, though to his credit, we’ve had no incidents at all from his pack and they’ve kept the area clear of Nephilim incursions quite well.”

“By your leave then,” I acknowledged as she teleported us back to the former dach of Johann Konrad Dippel.

Once there we simply sent out a telepathic request and waited, knowing that sooner or later someone would come and get us if Jacob himself was busy. It took an hour but eventually a young looking man and a woman stepped through the brush to confront us.

“Your business here?” the male asked in harsh tones.

“To speak to Alpha Jacob,” I simply said.

“What makes you think he will want to speak to you?” the male asked arrogantly.

“What makes you think he won’t?” I asked mildly.

“He has little time for stupid humans. He leaves me to deal with them, one way or another,” the male pronounced.

“I rather doubt that.”

“Are you accusing me of lying?” he sputtered.

“In that Alpha Jacob would allow an arrogant young fool any degree of his power or authority, yes.”

“Indeed, I would not,” came the voice of Jacob as he stepped through the brush to face us.

“Alpha Jacob,” both Ludmilla and I greeted him with a formal bow as we would any senior Mage.

“Good to see you, Mage Ludmilla, and you too, journeyman Mage John,” he greeted us with a friendly grin.

“You too, Jacob. It’s been a while,” I replied with a grin of my own.

“It has, John. But excuse me a moment, I have a discipline problem to resolve,” he said as he turned a gimlet eye to the young male who had challenged us.

“I merely sought to keep you from being bothered by unnecessary human issues,” the male gobbled out, almost fawning over Jacob.

“Adok, I have told you many times that you have no power, nor are you to have any dealings with humans in this hunting ground. These are Mages and could kill you with a glance and probably are the only reason you are alive in my presence. Had they been human, I would kill you where you stood for even approaching them. If you wish you can challenge me to be Alpha, until then do not presume on my power,” Jacob said seemingly mildly.

“I warned you, Adok,” said the female speaking for the first time.

“Shut up, bitch,” he muttered.

With incredible speed the female crouched and swung her leg sweeping the unfortunate Adok over and down onto his back utterly supine and probably winded too, judging from how heavily he hit the ground.

“If you cannot even defend yourself against Marja, our youngest, I’m wondering if you should be part of the pack, Adok,” Jacob said sternly. “Now go and stay out of my way ... and Adok, if there are any more incidents involving you, and that includes an incident with Marja, we will be having more than words. Your life is in the balance. Now find wisdom.”