Chapter 16-419: Fair Treatment of Guests (1/2)
The Manitou Shaman considered the Borea levelly for a long moment, considering the humming magic around... and the Truth that was tearing at him with every word I’d spoken.
“I shall leave that decision to them,” he growled slowly, foisting the responsibility back where it belonged.
My eyes shifted, and the half-dozen Borea werewolves froze their furry white arses in place.
“Very well. Say the word, maggots of the Borea. I will convey them to my friends. They will accept your Blood Feud, and begin the hunting of you and your Curseline down to the last male, female, and child. Every caern, every holding, every place you call sacred; they will come to you and find you, and they will Feed you to the Land, just like that Worm you were feeding innocent souls to that they butchered.
“If the extinction of your kin is what you desire, present your claim one more time. I can guarantee that you will all be slaughtered within the hour, so you had best notify your Pack very quickly that they are all going to die, and why, or it might be somewhat of a surprise when they do.”
Yeah, I had utter confidence in Sama and Briggs. More to the point, I knew where all those places were, and making a Skull that would point at the closest living member of the Curseline wouldn’t be all that hard. The two of them would stay busy taking out the major sites long enough to power that Skull up, and then hunt these arseholes across the world, clearing the Sealed Banes as they did so.
Truthin every word certainly didn’t help their confidence. There was running to your deaths as a warrior, and then having the confidence to give the order that might doom every living member of your Pack, wiping them from the Land.
The stories of the Hunt unleashed on them in Siberia, the warriors who had fallen... and their Queen and the released Worm in addition, all started to come back. Stories, exaggerations, surely, surely...
The Worm that they butchered...
Truth...
“The Seals on our Banes are failing!” The shame of the admission had to be a mighty blow when the eldest of them blurted it out, judging by the way it caught in his throat, and the way the Borea almost folded in on themselves in shame at the cry. It was an admission of weakness, something they never had to do before, and it struck at the heart of their warrior’s pride.
They didn’t really want to challenge Briggs and Sama to a Blood Feud. They wanted a blood price... for them to kill off the Banes the Borea could no longer contain! The two of them had already proven they could kill one, there was no reason to believe they could not kill more...
“Which of the fourteen?” I asked immediately, and they trembled again at the direct sharpness of my tone... and the accuracy of my words, which shocked the other werewolves, too.
The elder who’d spoken could only sigh as I revealed I Knew. “All but Kegligher’s Fang, the Umiskyrot, and Mount Nyugovich,” he admitted.
My face was massively unimpressed. “When you useless twats screw things up, you even ensure that you do it in an epic manner, don’t you? Eleven damn Seals going down, including Borgar’s Pit and the Klavykyon? Just because you have Heavens-damned death wishes, you think everyone else should die with you?!”
I was This Close to pulling the trigger on the bunch of useless things. Instead, I calmed myself down (admittedly with such great effort the ley lines were careening in protest around me), and when I reopened my eyes, none of the werewolves had dared move an inch.
“I’m assuming the Mazed are pressing the Throat and Ursarimak’s Den, as those Seals should be fine, and you fucktards throwing yourselves at the foxes is why you can’t defend them.” I didn’t even expect an answer to that, and their heads lowered in even more shame. “Is Elder Damarovitch still in charge at the Den?”
I even knew names. Their blue eyes got really small. My reputation didn’t do me justice.
“Y-Yes, Lady Traveler...” There was even some respect in it.
“Cleftjaw at the Throat, or did he finally flark off?”
“E-Elder Prachareaver is in charge there now, Lady Traveler...”
“Funny. Kills one bunch of Maze demons and suddenly he’s an Elder? Whatever.” I looked off into the distance. “Legion, you up to anything important?”
-Running supplies to the Professor, My Lady. Problems?- their unique multivoice /answered instantly.
“Fucking werewolves can’t clean up after themselves for shit, and won’t ask for help until it’s too gods-damned late to do it easy.”
-Those Banes they Seal up are like ticking time bombs, My Lady.-
“Yeah, and apparently the Mazed are going after two of them, and the rest are decaying now that they learned their lesson not to sacrifice things to feed the trapped demons, and they discovered they don’t actually have the skills to Seal them, imagine that in a clan of berserker wannabe-rugs. Think you and Shvaughn could handle one?”
-Which one?- they /replied calmly.
“The Throat.”
-Certainly. Shvaughn should be able to clean up any Mazed outside.-
“Jump to her. Be there in a moment to ‘port you there.”
-Yes, My Lady.-
I turned my eyes on the rest of the werewolves, and pointed at the Manitou Shaman. “You. You speak for the Werewolves in the Convention. You’re coming with me, so get in human form and fix your damn clothes.”
He blinked at me, glanced around at the dropping jaws, and suddenly realized this was quite the opportunity for him and his Tribe.
Some of the werewolves looked they were going to complain. I went on, “If any of you wish to protest, please contact your loved ones, tell them you aren’t going to be seeing them again, and then complain to me. I’ll address your protests quickly.”
Their jaws clamped shut, but they relaxed despite themselves as the Wall of black and silver flames vanished abruptly.
“You ten and you five. I know who you are. I can look in on you from across the world. I know your Auras. I am going to inform the Church of the Harse about you. They are going to be watching you.
“If I see any more blood of the innocent on your Auras, I am going to kill you. If the Inquisition digs up proof that you murdered people, they are going to notify me, and I am going to kill you.