Page 49 of Failed State

“Yes.”

I fall back against the couch, my expression dumbstruck. The difference between what Sebastian knows and what the supernatural world knows is vast. “But… Why wouldn’t theelders tattle on them? Why not out the bad actors and redeem your kind? Why let it go on?”

“Because the billionaire assholes—including my father—entombed them before they could.”

“What?!”

Huck’s incredulity shocks everyone. Since I have no idea what that means beyond simple extrapolation, I wait for someone to explain. The demon shivers a bit, wiggling in his seat before he turns to look at me. “Some supe species’ elders are so fucking old that you can’t reallykillthem. Djinns, bloodsuckers, some demon types, demi-gods, Fae.. lotta those kinds of folk. They’re basically immortal once they hit certain ages and the only way to ‘defeat’ them is to pull a Poe on ‘em.”

“Like… Amontillado?” I squeak. “Wall them up somewherealiveand let them suffer forever?”

“On the nose, sweet pea. It’s the worst non-death I can imagine and I’ve seen alotof torture in Hell. Entombing someone also means you have to make sure no dumbfuck stumbles on the site and opens it like in that Egyptian movie. What was that the twins stole, Thad?”

“The Mummy,” the bear says. “Damn fine flick even if the humans don’t know their asses from their elbows.”

I remember watching that when the speckled bear twins in Thad’s sleuth got a hold of it—everyone in it was beautiful.

“Best movie for realizing you’re bi in the entire human catalog,” Sebastian chuckles as he lands in one spot and leans on the wall again. “But you’re right; it’s drivel mostly.”

None of this is helpful and I need them to get back on track. The way Rory is looking at the others in interest is making me oddly flushed. “Okay, fine. Your father is part of the actual evil villain vamps, but most of them… are not?”

“Not willingly,” he replies softly. “Coven leaders and sires have a great deal of power over vampires in their groups,especially childer. Whether by birth or by bite, your sire—and by extension all the way to the first one still living—can force you to do damn near anything they want. Our power structure is very… primal. Since the camps, covens are now geographically based and new residentsmustswear allegiance to the leader when they’re transferred in. If they don’t, they won’t live long.”

“So fucked up,” Rory mutters.

“Are you saying the magic folk don’t force their kind to do rituals for similar reasons, Stormbringer?”

The question is valid and the blond mage sighs. “Yeah, they do. But it doesn’t give them like… mind powers over the newbies. Your people enslave each other as much as the humans do.”

“Demons also?—”

“Leave us out of this!”

“Fuck, guys, this isn’t helping?—”

Pushing to my feet, I take a deep breath then shout, “Shut. Up!”

Everyone stops, looking at me with wide eyes. I wait for them all to put away whatever damn fangs or claws they were sprouting, then I put my hands on my hips as I glare at them. “We will lose if we keep doing this. That’s what they want, right? They’ve got powerful dudes with a useless girl in a mixed group that will be a golden cow for their audiences to watch fall apart and get sacrificed in the first round. Theywantus to fail even when we shouldn’t based on power and skills.”

The guys frown, looking at one another for a moment before finally Huck braves the silence. “Syd’s right. There’s a lot of same species teams in this camp and they purposefully brought y’all and many others to fill in the gaps. Those motherfuckers are stackin’ the decks on this thing and they’re hopin’ like hell to have fireworks within the mixed teams so they get ratings. That’s why there’s all this media shit being set up for us.”

Thank fuck someone gets it.

“Sebastian, if what you’re saying is true, why hasn’t the Council intervened?”

His laugh is dry as he gives me a pitying look. “Sydney, the Councils outside of the FSHA haven’t been allowed to speak with those inside the borders for four years. They don’tknowhow bad it is here and the ones here? Either the leaders have gone to ground to avoid capture or they’ve been sent to lockdown sections of camps like Stormbringer so their kind can’t revolt. Those too powerful to put amongst others are kept in a secret prison somewhere in the southern states.”

“A secret prison? Is that where the elders are entombed?” Thad asks, looking shocked. “Like… all of them?”

“Maybe,” the vampire shrugs. “I only know as much as either my father has admitted to me directly or what I’ve picked up in meetings—whether by eavesdropping or being in attendance. I’m fairly certain the vampires in charge have contacts amongst other supernaturals. They’re making too much money and living too comfortably to care what happens to the ‘rabble’ at this point. Accepting the humans’ ridiculous restrictions doesn’t make a lot of difference when you’re perfectly comfortable in your mansions, fat and happy, now does it?”

My entire world view has just flipped upside down and I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to process this—damn that fucking vampire back to Hell.

NOT A SLUMBER PARTY

RORY

Our feisty centerdeflated after the vampire’s tale. She took her untouched food and retired to her room alone, much to the dismay of the bear and the demon. After she left, the dragon and the demon threatened Sebastian, then we all parted ways. The uneasy vibe in the room from our realization is hanging around necks like an anchor dragging us to the bottom of Dante’s oceans. Surmising that the most ancient leaders of any or all the various supe species in this country are being held in an unknown prison in an unknown location pretty much destroys the hope that someone will save us someday.

---