Chapter 358 - The Moonshadow Trading Company Short Stories: 7 - The Desolate Lands (I) (2/2)
”Bring Layton with you,” Iah replied.
”I'll be there shortly,” said Rassa,
He'd been down at the docks discussing the expansion and movements of the Moonshadow Fleet with Talo. They had two dozen sh.i.p.s, but interest in the South had spiked exponentially despite the attempts by the Holy Order to intervene. Really, Iah wasn't sure what they were thinking trying to go up against Elsbeth.
***
Layton sat backwards on the chair as he watched Rassa pace back and forth in Iah's office. Iah had given them both the letter, which they'd proceeded to read. There had been so few women Layton had slept with over the years, but only one of them wasn't a whore and would be friends with someone of high standing like Nolan Reinhart. Layton had taken to learning the politics of Eldovia along with Sel so that they knew how to better protect Rassa. The Moonshadow Company was becoming more and more deeply engrained into everyday life. The Reinhart family was one of the most powerful families in Eldovia, with their businesses centred in Varkevia and Toulle.
Layton had spent several minutes recalling the little black-haired maiden he'd had the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e of devouring. And it had been a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e. All pure innocence until he'd gotten her between his sheets. So responsive too. If he was being honest, few had compared over the years. He was sure he'd seen her earlier that day by the docks. He never forgot a scent, and hers was like sweet tea and cakes. He'd never had much of an opportunity to be a sweet tooth, but he couldn't deny that her scent was delectable.
”Layton!” snapped Iah.
Layton sighed and turned to look at Iah expectantly.
”You weren't listening to a word I just said, were you?”
”I can guess,” Layton replied, ”You want me to find her again, then bring her to Rassa so he can replace her memories so she doesn't question-”
”No,” said Rassa.
Layton's gaze snapped to Rassa, ”You want me to replace her memories? There are few things I'm terrible at, but that is one of them. Unless you want me to make her go mad, I don't see that being a liable option”.
Rassa shook his head, ”No, we're not going to touch her memories, except perhaps to replace what was there if she elects for it”.
Layton and Iah both frowned, ”What?”
Rassa paused and leaned against the arm of one of the couches, ”You said the writing style is different, so we can only assume that it was Layton's lady friend that wrote the letter this time, not Nolan. But her words do not indicate any kind of threat. She is only seeking answers”.
”So, you suggest we give them to her? Just like that?” asked Iah, ”She's from a noble family”.
”Yes, but the fact that she's using Nolan to contact us indicates that she either has no significant connections that her family can use, or that she is estranged from them,” said Rassa.
”My money is on estranged,” Layton stated.
Iah turned to look at him, eyes narrowed, ”Why?”
Layton smirked, ”She's a little kitten. Adorable on the outside, feisty on the inside”.
Iah looked half-way between surprised and disgusted, ”I don't know whether to be shocked that you can use the word 'adorable', or disgusted that you clearly only know that by sleeping with her”.
Layton shrugged, ”Well, it's one of the easiest ways to know someone's true colours, if you know what you're doing of course”.
Layton's piercing look at Iah made her roll her eyes before she turned to Rassa, ”And you're sure that telling her is the proper course of action?”
”I told you three years ago that it was only a matter of time before we were no longer able to hide in the shadows,” said Rassa, ”We've already proven through the size of our following within the company that humans can come to an understanding with us, it's time we prove it with those not under a blood contract, don't you think?”
Iah sighed, then turned back to Layton, ”And you really think Layton is the right person for the job?”
”No,” said Rassa, ”He's an impulsive asshole”.
Layton smirked like it was a compliment.
”But he's also the only one of us with a connection to that girl and who can restore her memories if she so d.e.s.i.r.es it, so yes, he'll be the one doing the job,” Rassa finished.
Layton's smirk died, ”I don't even know how to restore memories”.
”Same way you take them, but in reverse,” said Rassa, ”Rather than blanketing it with black, you're pulling the veil back to reveal what you hid”.
Layton sighed, ”Fine, I'll do it tonight”.
”No, we'll set up a meeting during the day,” said Rassa, ”And you'll stay here until such a time as she makes a decision regarding this. Also, bring Ebony here, she can handle her debt to the Reinhart boy”.
Layton frowned, ”I'm your guard, you can't-”
”I can,” Rassa replied, ”I'd leave Sel if he'd screwed up, but he hasn't yet, so I'm stuck with him for the foreseeable future”.
Layton huffed and turned away.
”You're going somewhere?” asked Iah.
”I'm going North,” said Rassa, ”I'll probably be a few months”.
Iah's eyes widened, ”A few months?”
”You'll be fine, Iah, you always are,” said Rassa.
”I…can I come?” asked Iah.
Rassa raised an eyebrow, ”You want to?”
Iah shrugged, ”I've been stuck here for my whole life, Rassa, never leaving for longer than a few weeks. I want out. You can take it as me invoking my wish that I earned some time ago”.
Rassa sighed, he could not argue with that, ”Fine, Ebony can take care of the Ruin while you're away, unless you have another replacement?”
”I do, it's likely that Ebony will have to return to Moonshadow before we return,” said Iah, ”I'll make the arrangements”.
”Don't look so perky,” Layton huffed. Unlike Iah, he was never left behind. This was a first for him.
”I'll look perky and be proud about it, you go handle your mistake,” Iah bit back.
***
Rassa sighed as he looked out across the ocean to the west. Not for the first time, he wished that he could get something along the lines of drunk. Still, alcohol did nothing for Vampires, and drinking it through blood only made the blood taste less pure.
The stars high above the beach where he sat were ever watchful. The Lady Trumpeters and the Monkey Drummers showing the gateway to the West.
”I remember when I used to enjoy your stories of the outside world,” Rassa spoke softly, ”About the thousand shades of red in the leaves, and the chilling in the air when summer was done”.
His eyes turned to watch the dark horizon line, ”You always did your best to make sure I wasn't dying on the inside as well as the out”.
He was wistful as he traced his finger through the sand beside him, ”I tell myself always that I will never regret what I have done. That I will only live in the present and look to the future. But in truth there is one regret I have. Something that cannot be resolved by anyone but you”.
He turned back to the horizon, ”Another Birthday alone this year…but when you come back, I hope you can tell me stories about the West. About the people, the land, your adventures there. I will listen to every word, and that will be gift enough for all the time we have missed, my brother”.
Rassa stood and dusted the sand from his coat, ”I hope you are well and happy, Aegin, for this year, and every year to come”.