Leon stared at the Director, having just finished his report on the past couple of days, waiting for the shadowy figure to respond.

After a moment, the Director simply said, “Well done, Leon. You’ve eliminated a dire threat to this city and the guild, and saved your retainers.”

Leon blinked, unsure how exactly to respond. However, as anger rose from within, he asked, “Is that it?”

“Is there more you want?” the Director asked.

“Weren’t you listening? Those vampires weren’t working alone! And from what I can tell, they were working with the full cooperation of elements within Heaven’s Eye!”

Leon had told the Director of his conclusions, but he hadn’t told him about the source of his suspicions: that the ambassador from the Sacred Golden Empire to the Ilian Empire had told Anna that there were vampires within Heaven’s Eye.

The Director sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I’m aware of that,” he admitted.

Leon finally felt some surprise. “You already know?” he asked, almost in disbelief that the man had just admitted it.

“Yes, I already knew,” the Director replied. “It’s incredibly difficult to keep an organization as large as ours completely free of such threats.”

“That’s hardly an excuse not to try! To just… are you just letting it happen?” Leon protested, almost unable to conceive of running an organization and allowing vampires to infest it.

“I keep a close eye on them,” the Director replied. “They’re useful tools, if used properly.”

“They’re monsters, not tools!”

“Let’s not be naïve, Leon. In the world we live in, with monsters around every corner, Imperial ambitions and prerogatives to contend with, and the Sky Devils constantly looking for weakness regardless of our pedigree, we need every edge we can get. And turning away vampires just because of what they are—”

“They’re not ‘what they are’ because of circumstance! They chose to sacrifice to demons! Drinking the blood of innocents until their bodies mutated into monstrous forms!”

The Director went quiet, his eyes barely more than hints of reflected light in his usual shadows.

“You would not use this power?” he asked. “You are contracted to a demon, yourself, aren’t you?”

“My contracted partner doesn’t demand sacrifices in his name!”

I wouldn’t say no to a few sacrifices made to me, though, depending on what they are… Xaphan murmured from within his soul realm. A nice vat of heated Void Leviathan wine… you can sacrifice that to me any day!

“You’re lucky, then,” the Director continued. “Not all who make those same choices come out as well as you have.”

“There’re always choices when it comes to sacrifice,” Leon countered. “Even if my contracted demon had demanded live human sacrifices—or, honestly, blood sacrifices of any kind—I’d have refused out of hand! There is no middle ground with this, as far as I’m concerned! Blood sacrifices are without merit at all, and they shouldn’t be tolerated!”

The Director sighed again. “Let’s be specific, here, then. What is it that you want, Leon?”

Leon went quiet a moment as he composed himself. “I want many things,” he replied. “I want to see a few certain people dead at my feet. I want to venture to the Nexus and rebuild my Clan. I want these vampires that have been nipping at my heels for years dealt with! Permanently!”

When he was finished with his spiel, Leon stared at the Director, fiery challenge in his eyes. Left unsaid was what he would do if the Director refused him any of his desires. However, for as fiery and confident as his demeanor suggested, Leon was still wracked with some anxiety, knowing that the Director didn’t necessarily have to lift a finger to help him with any of these things.

The Director sighed. “So, you’re telling me to choose between you and any vampires that might exist in this institution?”

Leon schooled his expression into something quietly furious and said, “Yes, I suppose you can boil it all down to that.”

The Director leaned back in his chair, looking as if he were thinking hard on the topic. Leon was almost insulted, for knowing his bloodline and all the benefits that it might carry—especially if he were right and the Director was in possession of his Clan’s old arsenal—he thought this might be an easy decision to make. Though, as he pondered the issue, he thought that it might be just a show put on by the Director to make it seem like he wasn’t that interested in Leon, which only angered Leon even more.

‘Just playing games, aren’t you?’ he contemptuously thought as he stared back at the Director. ‘Trying to get the best deal? Trying to make me give concessions? Make me nervous?’

Leon waited for several long seconds before he just turned around and began walking toward the door.

“Where are you going Leon?” the Director asked, his aura starting to emanate with greater energy. With the security wards obscuring most of the room’s enchantments from his senses, Leon thought he sensed the door lock.

He paused and turned, noting that the Director hadn’t budged an inch. Without acknowledging the door, Leon said, “I’m leaving. You clearly need some time to think. Are you going to stop me?”

The Director leaned forward again and said, “No.”

Leon thought he might be lying, but he felt the Director’s aura recede. He didn’t feel anything change in the door, though.

Xaphan, he breathed into his soul realm. I think I’m being disrespected here, and doesn’t that disrespect you by proxy?

Are you looking to have someone killed, boy? the demon asked, his crackling tone deadly serious.

Maybe. Maybe just standby?

If it’s this one, then I’d be more than willing to set him ablaze… Leon could almost feel the anticipation roiling off of the demon, and the feeling spilling over through their contract was infectious. He found himself almost wishing the Director would make a move against them despite knowing just how bad that would be for them.

Out loud, he asked, “What’s taking so long, then? What are you getting from those vampires that this is even remotely a hard decision?”

“That’s not for you to know,” the Director replied, his tone even and restrained. “You are one of my Hands, knowing only what I choose to tell you.”

“If I decide to stick around, we’re going to have to alter that arrangement,” Leon growled.

“If you stick around,” the Director emphasized.

“And if I stick around, there are going to have to be concession on your part. If I’m going to help you with whatever it is you’re planning, then I’m in on it, too.”

The door suddenly swung open despite the Director remaining motionless. “Have a safe trip north, Leon Raime,” he said a little frostily. “When you return, hopefully we’ll all have cooler heads and can negotiate in good faith. Until then, feel free to enjoy the benefits of your position.”

Leon stared at the Director, quietly wondering if he should say something just to have the last word. His thoughts seemed to be echoed in his demonic partner.

Are you just going to stand there and take that? Leave like a scolded dog?

Not like that, Leon whispered. But he’s not worth it. I think this pissing match has gone on long enough. Best to just leave and see what I can do outside of the Director.

Without a word, Leon smirked at the Director, then turned and left the office, both quietly relieved that he’d gotten out without any violence, and quietly furious that he’d gotten out without any violence.

However, he knew just what he needed to do, now. He needed to find Penelope, for if anyone could put any greater pressure on the Director than even Emilie might, it would be her.

—

“That sounds like a disaster, Leon,” Penelope scolded. “You couldn’t have gone in with a slightly more diplomatic attitude? Maybe it would’ve gotten you what you wanted a little easier. This is exactly the sort of behavior that I was afraid of when you joined Heaven’s Eye!”

Leon bitterly scowled. “When I joined Heaven’s Eye, I was unproven in your eyes. I’ve now been here ten years and have given you no cause to doubt my intentions. But after the past few days involving vampires abducting two of my retainers and your father keeping secrets from me, I’ve quite lost my patience.”

“You’re one of my father’s Hands, is it your place to know all of his plans?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean I have to take his **! He’s harboring vampires, Penelope! And vampires that follow a demon that has been trying to have me killed for years! I think it’s pretty fair to not only be just a little irate, but to also leave if I want. I don’t have to be here, and if he wants to keep his secrets, then so be it, but I also have the right to demand that his plans involve me no longer!”

Penelope sighed and glanced out of her window.

Leon had managed to locate her fairly easily: Talal had already known where she lived—a penthouse apartment that sprawled over the top five floors of one of Occulara’s many massive golden towers—and fortunately, she was home when Leon came calling. Upon his arrival, he was a little gratified that she didn’t just dismiss him out of hand and had brought him further into her home for a private discussion, leaving his companions in her opulent atrium.

Once they arrived, Leon informed her of everything that had happened over the past couple days, from the conflicts with these vampires to the conflict with her father. To say that she was a little overwhelmed and torn was to be quite gentle, Leon could tell, but he pressed on anyway.

“Look,” Leon said, “try and put yourself in my shoes. You told me that he was planning on something, and that it corresponded with an uptick in other concerning happenings in Heaven’s Eye. Including blood magic. And now we find that your father has been harboring vampires! Vampires that are connected, at least tangentially, to those who’ve tried to kill me multiple times already! Are you going to try and tell me to keep my nose out of this? To just accept that your father has my best interests in mind and to continue to treat him with respect? I can’t do that. Maybe I’d get further if I tried to play his game, but it’s not a game I’m good at. I’m a terrible liar, and to look him in the eye knowing all of this without getting angry… I can’t do that. Could you?”

Penelope glanced at him, but then stared back out of the nearby window, her eyes glazed and unfocused. “I suppose not…” she whispered. “He’s my father, so I have to acknowledge that I have a somewhat warped view of him. I’ve never known him to get his hands this dirty…”

She paused, and this time, Leon gave her the time to think.

After a long, worrisome moment, she turned to him and asked, “Leon, why is my father so interested in you?”

Leon stared back at her, wrestling with himself about how to respond. He knew damn well why, but he wasn’t sure what Penelope’s reaction might be. That being said, he could see it in her expression that if he chose not to answer Penelope’s question—his already established terrible ability to lie ruling out the possibility of deception—then she would probably not support him in this endeavor.

Taking a deep breath, Leon answered her question with one of his own. “Do you know what the Thunderbird Clan was?”

Penelope’s eyes went wide, and she leaned away from him a little bit. But after that moment of panicked realization, she mastered herself again and nodded.

“Then you should understand what I mean when I say that your father isn’t really interested in me; he’s interested in my blood. I am the last living descendant of the Thunderbird, and that means that any valuable magical legacies my Clan left behind on this plane could potentially be unlocked with my blood.”

Penelope continued to look in his direction, though it seemed to him that she was more looking through him than at him. She didn’t move a muscle, she just sat there processing this revelation.

After a moment, she asked, “Why… did you tell me that?”

Leon scowled briefly, then with a self-deprecating smile said, “Enough people know that it’s hardly a secret. Not that I have much interest in keeping it secret, anyway. Besides, after that hunt, I think I can trust you… to a degree.”

Penelope abandoned decorum and crossed her legs in her chair, then hunched over in thought, resting her head in her hands and her elbows on her knees.

“Why did you tell me that…?” she repeated. “Now I have to deal with this information, too!”

“Deal with what?” Leon asked. “It makes no difference, does it?”

Penelope went worryingly quiet, and Leon thought he’d just made a grave mistake. By the time Penelope responded, he was already measuring the distance to her window and wondering—not too seriously, but the idea was in his mind—if he was able to smash through it as a means of escape.

“It can make some difference,” Penelope replied when she looked up, pulling Leon out of his thoughts. “But not, I think, any immediate difference. I stand by my assessment of you, this doesn’t really change that, I suppose.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“As for the vampires, I’ll… talk to my father, see if I can get him to see reason. I tentatively agree with you that we’re better off without them in Heaven’s Eye, but my father might have some information that I don’t.”

“That’s… reasonable, I guess. Though the Director doesn’t seem like a man who shares all that often…”

“He’s not, so I’m not going to hold my breath.”

Leon nodded. “I also have Emilie and the blacksmith Sid on my side for this, if that means anything.”

Penelope glanced at him, then gave him a shaky smile. “It’s good to know that I’ll have some support, even if it’s not there with me.”

She then got to her feet, and Leon followed suit.

“No time like the present, I guess.”

Leon grimly smiled. “Thank you, Penelope.”

Penelope just gave him a quick, almost regretful smile. “Don’t thank me just yet, I haven’t actually done anything.”

Leon could only smile, not feeling quite familiar enough with her to do anything else and not wanting to accidentally talk her out of this. So, he let her escort him back to her atrium and his waiting retainers, and he took his leave. She then promised to follow up with him later that night.

Leon just hoped that she’d bring good news.

—

Penelope took a deep breath as she walked into her father’s office. They’d never been particularly ‘close’, and ever since her mother had passed, they’d grown even further apart. It had been more than half a century since she’d last seen the Director outside of his office, and even longer since she’d last seen him in a context that wasn’t related to work.

She could feel the bitterness welling up from within her, and for just a moment, she was tempted to give her father the same ultimatum that Leon had given him: reveal his plans, or lose her.

But the cynical side of her restrained that urge. She’d had a long time to reflect upon their relationship, and objectively, she didn’t think the Director would choose her over the guild. Absolutely nothing in their history suggested that he valued her over his position.

Still, she shared Leon’s concerns, and she quietly relished in the chance to call her father out for something, and the excuse to dig into his affairs without guilt.

“Penelope,” he said as she strode into his room, trying to project more confidence than she felt. She always felt small in his presence, like he was a towering giant and she barely more than an ant. He always had to look down and focus hard to see her, while to her, he was completely out of reach, encompassing the entire horizon.

“Father,” she said, her tone respectful, but devoid of filial warmth.

“Have you come on behalf of Leon Raime?” he asked, cutting right to the chase.

Penelope wasn’t surprised, Leon had hardly been subtle when he made straight for her residence after leaving the Director’s office. She’d even expected that her father already knew that Leon had visited her, and why.

So, without missing a beat, she responded with the same directness that her father was employing. “Yes. I share his concerns. Vampires within Heaven’s Eye present a clear danger to both our image and our operational efficiency. Vampires connected to those employed by the guild—”

“—Allegedly,” the Director corrected.

“Allegedly connected to those employed by the guild,” Penelope conceded with an eyeroll, “have made moves against the subordinates of one of your Hands. This is something that not only deserves investigation, but also punishment of the highest severity. I want to know what your plans are for dealing with this problem.”

“Is it your place to know my plans?” the Director asked.

Penelope paused a moment and summoned all her courage. She didn’t know quite how this was going to go, but she needed to press this issue, not only for Leon but for herself, too.

“As your daughter and as one of your Hands,” she said, “yes, it is my place. You’re clearly unwilling to follow through on the warranted punishment, and I think I should know why.”

The Director stared at her for a long moment, his shadowed face giving nothing away. He didn’t move an inch, though Penelope took that as a good sign. It meant that he was at least pondering something, for if he wanted to flatly refuse her, then he would’ve immediately done so.

He could still do that, of course, but with his pause, he was at least tacitly stating that it required consideration, first.

More than a minute passed in ever-more uncomfortable silence before the Director finally responded. And he began by rising out of his chair. Penelope’s stomach dropped in sudden, instinctive fear at this unexpected response, her body practically interpreting this as a threat.

“Very well,” the Director rumbled. “If you wish to know why this is a difficult decision, I will show you. Come with me, it isn’t far. And everything should hopefully become clear once we reach it.”