| |
The next morning, a little sore and aching, Katana found herself being taken to Norfolk in Tobias’s helicopter.
Altair had remained at the farm estate under firm reassurance from Tobias that once everything with the Council had been dealt with, they would return there for a brief reprieve. The farmhands who tended to the other livestock on site would tend to Altair alongside their normal duties.
As the hours ticked by, nausea and nerves tumbled together in Katana’s stomach as endless possibilities raced through her mind.
The plan was for Katana to go home and confront her father, give him the opportunity to correct his wrong-doings, and if he didn’t accept, then Katana would approach the Council.
Confronting her father had never been an issue for Katana before. Saying what she thought and asking questions was just a part of who she was, but this time was different. This time would only result in catastrophic consequences one way or another.
For the time being, the eleven phoenix hybrids were running around, wreaking havoc and flooding the Kempe business system with new cases hourly.
Whilst Tobias had the power to ‘end’ them all, Katana still needed to see if her father possessed any redeeming qualities.
Katana had already stated that she wanted, and needed, Tobias by her side. Her father could certainly keep her prisoner inside the house, but he definitely couldn’t keep a Councillor’s son hostage without further consequence.
The slow realisation of how correctly arranged marriages could work was starting to dawn on Katana but she kept her musings to herself.
Just before lunchtime, Tobias’s helicopter landed back at his family home in their large twenty-acre field. A herd of alpacas stood under a copse of trees in the distance, watching with intrigue as the black aircraft settled on the neatly trimmed grass outside the large mansion.
“You’ve got alpacas?” Katana asked, squinting her eyes in their direction.
“Yes,” Tobias replied, smiling. “Why do you sound so surprised?”
Katana giggled. “I don’t know. I guess I expected big scary dogs or a golf course or something, not a herd of cute furries.”
A haughty laugh left Tobias as he walked them towards the waiting black Mercedes on his gravel driveway. “Is that really the kind of image I portray?”
“Pretentious? Totally.”
Chuckling to himself, Tobias opened the passenger door for Katana. When she settled in the black leather seat, he closed the door before getting in the driver’s side. “I guess you’re going to say you were expecting a chauffeur driven limo, too?”
Katana’s cheeks flushed pink. “Well, you know what they say—like father, like son.”
“Definitely not applicable here.”
The pair fell into silence as Tobias started the car and headed down his long, winding driveway.
As the landscaped grounds slipped by, with trees dotted in random places, Katana allowed her mind to wander with fantasies of her and Altair ambling around the extensive grounds on a hot summer’s day, just relaxing and enjoying each other’s company instead of chasing werewolves and pools of blood.
Maybe, just maybe, the hunter life could be bypassed for a life of chilled out peace and relaxation.
The thought of the arranged marriage still made her feel uneasy, but she reminded herself that she’d agreed to the price and she had to honour the payment.
Her and Tobias seemed to get along well but how would this be in five years, ten years time? Would they be nothing more than hostile business partners like her parents?
She pushed the thoughts away, not wanting to think on the inevitable just yet.
***
HALF AN HOUR LATER, Katana’s own family estate came into view. Tucked deep into the English countryside on the edges of Sherwood forest, it was the perfect place for any up and coming hunter to train with little outside disturbance.
Her family home wasn’t as large as Tobias’s but was still a good size to house the husband and wife and their seven children; each with their own bedroom. The large grounds were more than adequate to serve as training grounds for basic fitness, learning to ride, and of course live battle with real werewolves.
A supernatural electric fence bordered the perimeter of the Kempe grounds. The witches from the Amethyst Coven had created a spell that was uniquely keyed in to the werewolf supernatural cells.
If any werewolf attempted to cross the boundaries, they would be zapped with a force equivalent to 10,000 volts. It would render them unconscious for hours, ensure outside civilian safety, and teach the brutes a lesson too.
Katana hadn’t quite decided yet how to approach the subject with her father. After last night’s phone call with Erica, she had a few choice words for her mother too. The thought of having to deal with six angry brothers hadn’t even crossed her mind yet.
As Tobias pulled up outside the brick red house, Malaceia opened the front door, his face fixed in a look of thunder. When he noticed Tobias and Katana getting out of the brand-new Mercedes, he literally rocked back on his heels.
“Fancy seeing you two together,” he said, his dark eyes lighting up with joy. “I was just on my way out, but I can tend to that later. Come on in.” He held the door open and motioned them both inside. When Katana passed him, he frowned and said, “No Jacques?”
Katana fixed him a cool glare and said, “No. We need to talk.”
Malaceia’s smile started to fall. He looked at Tobias, as if hoping for some sort of clue as to what was going on. When all he received back was a blank stare, he pointed towards his office. “My office, then?”
Tobias placed a hand on Katana’s lower back and directed her towards her father’s office. Katana was obviously more than aware of where her dad’s office was, but the small gesture carried a heavy passive aggressive meaning that the two of them were joint in their venture here today.
When Malaceia noticed it, he pursed his lips and swallowed the lump in his throat.
As the two walked into his large office, he closed the door behind him as he followed them. They both sat down in the coffee coloured seats in front of his desk, leaving Malaceia with little doubt that today’s visit was formal.
“So, is this good news that you’re both together?” Malaceia asked, sitting behind his desk and clasping his hands together in front of him.
Katana squared her shoulders and shot her father a glare that could have curdled milk. “Cut the crap, Dad. I know everything.”
Malaceia gave a nervous laugh and darted his eyes back and forth between his daughter and Tobias. “What do you mean ‘you know everything’?”
“I know about the hybrids and the sick little experiments you’ve been doing. I know that Jacques is actually a shifter trapped in his animal body, not a wolf that was suddenly given the power of speech. I also know that you sent Ashley after me to test out a stupid theory on how to kill the phoenix hybrids which would have ultimately cost me my life. I know about the virus you’re trying to spread, too.”
Malaceia licked his lips and laughed. “My dear Katana. You do have a vivid imagination. Where on earth have you gotten—”
“Mr Kempe,” Tobias said, leaning forwards in his chair. “With all due respect, we both know the extent of your underhand activities that you’ve been using The Red Riding Hoods as a cover for. What you should be doing right now is thanking your daughter for coming to me instead of going straight to my father and the Council. I think we both know that you wouldn’t be given an opportunity to right your wrongs if my father was involved.”
Malaceia fell silent. He dropped his eye contact and stared at his hands for a few seconds. “Is that what this is?” He looked up and stared at Tobias. “An opportunity to right my wrongs?”
“It is. This is your chance to press the kill switch on those microchips, kill all the mash-ups you created down there in that lab, and it’ll never go any further. No one else needs to know.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then Katana and I will walk out of here, go straight to the Council, and present them with our evidence.”
Malaceia leaned back in his chair and chuckled. “And what evidence would that be exactly?”
“Perhaps the remnants of subject number H7A2, known as Stefan Lear. The camera footage from my helicopter shows the subject attacking myself, my men, and Katana before being blown up by my doing. The microchip, of course, is registered to you, Mr Kempe.”
“That proves nothing. Those microchips could have been stolen from my lab.”
“Was that reported to the Council?”
Malaceia narrowed his eyes and shot forwards. “Don’t play games with me, boy. It will not end well for you.”
Tobias stood up and stepped to the edge of Malaceia’s desk. He placed both of his palms down on the edge of it and leaned into Malaceia’s face. “Oh, believe me, this is no game, Malaceia. You have your choice—end it now and keep your business or we’ll end you.”
“And you’re really going to do that to my daughter, are you? End her family?”
Katana stood up, rage firing up inside her. “You ended our family, Dad, no one else. I’ve agreed to marry Tobias, so my family is now his. I’ll no longer have to carry your name and be utterly ashamed of where I came from. You’re despicable.”
Malaceia looked at his daughter and faltered for the briefest of moments. “Don’t you understand this was all to secure a future for you and your brothers? Why don’t you see that?”
“Oh I do, Dad, I do get the twisted logic of it. What you’re failing to see is that when everyone is dead or infected with the virus, then what? Who’s left to pay us the money if everyone we come across is a potential enemy?”
“Well, it’s not quite like that. There are specifics that the virus will only key in to. We’ve ensured that the people who matter will remain people.”
Katana snorted. “Have you even heard yourself? What the hell is wrong with you? How can you sleep at night knowing you’ve killed thousands of people?”
“Survival of the fittest, Katana,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s as simple as that.”
“Is that your answer?”
Malaceia merely stared at her, impassive, blank.
“Fine,” she said, grabbing a hold of Tobias’s hand and turning to leave. “Survive this.”