Thyssa – Based in Venice. Famous for double dealing, don’t sign anything without going over it with Felix. Run by Augustine Gianni but he prolly won’t go to Gathering. Warden is Dante Cipriano. Not a good guy to make an enemy out of.
- The House of Belonoc – Based in Berlin. Very forward thinking, rich. Rumor of experimenting on vamps to improve the species – ask about this! Run by Reindert (Rein sounds like Ryan) Faust. Jenessa thinks charming but a little intimidating. Rob thinks he’s too ambitious. Female Warden – Liesa Brahms. Have to meet her!
- The House of Nira’in – Based in Al Iskandariyah. (Google that later) What you see is what you get. Boss is Hasan Khalid – very honorable. Can trust him.
- The House of Jiao-Long – Based in Hong Kong. Used to be 3 separate houses, Kazai and Punleu recently banded together under Jiao-Long. Too worried about internal power stuff to interact much. Might not even come.
- The House of Rathak – Based in Prague. Prolly won’t come either, separatists.
- The House of Bakareh – Based in Alexandria. They haven’t come in hundreds of years, prolly won’t come either.
Looking back over my notes, I saw they were woefully inadequate, but at least it was a start. Vetis I already knew all about and next to Simon Corley’s name I just wrote ‘pretentious dumbhole’.
“Okay,” I said, taking a sip of cold tea. “The East I pretty much have down, unless there’s more you can tell me about Jennike Vendal. I know she had Tommy wrapped around her finger and she’s got delusions of running the whole U.S., but what about her personally?”
“Jennike’s ambitious alright,” Jenessa nodded. “Her drive and intelligence got her where she is today in a relatively short span of about two hundred years.”
“That’s a short span?” I almost choked on my tea.
“Not everyone can fall out of the coffin and land themselves a plum position like you did,” Rob smirked. “She’s a cold bitch, but smart. You’d do best to avoid her as much as possible.”
“What about her Warden?”
“Hasn’t got one,” Rob shook his head. “Too power hungry I suppose.”
“He’s right,” Jenessa agreed. “You can bet that any deal Jennike brings to the table will benefit her alone, no matter how tempting it seems on the surface.”
“I wonder what she wanted Tommy to do?” I mused aloud.
“How do you mean?”
“When we all went to Vetis, I heard her on a call with Tommy. She wanted him to sign something with Corley, but I never found out what.”
“Felix would know, you’ll have to ask him,” Rob shrugged.
“Right. That’s a perfectly legitimate question.” I just hadn’t wanted to ask him too many things right off the bat. I wanted to look as capable as possible in front of him and the council, even if it was based on half truths at best. “I think that about does it. Oh, but tell me more about Macallister. I’m a little fuzzy on what’s going on with Texas. Are they part of the East? Part of the West?”
“Neither. They’re independent.”
“So, they’re the House of Texas?”
Jenessa shook her head. “No, the other Houses don’t acknowledge Texas in its own right, no matter how strong they think themselves. They have little use for treaties and accords, preferring to remain largely lawless like the old wild west, I imagine,” she smiled. “They don’t have a formal government or House, but Macallister is their representative.”
“And Macallister himself?”
“Delicious man,” she sighed dreamily, and I traded an amused look with Rob.
“Are you going on personal experience?”
“I admit I’ve fallen prey to his rough charms,” she smiled. “It’s been years though, I’m sure he hardly remembers me.”
Which was all well and good, but
- The House of Belonoc – Based in Berlin. Very forward thinking, rich. Rumor of experimenting on vamps to improve the species – ask about this! Run by Reindert (Rein sounds like Ryan) Faust. Jenessa thinks charming but a little intimidating. Rob thinks he’s too ambitious. Female Warden – Liesa Brahms. Have to meet her!
- The House of Nira’in – Based in Al Iskandariyah. (Google that later) What you see is what you get. Boss is Hasan Khalid – very honorable. Can trust him.
- The House of Jiao-Long – Based in Hong Kong. Used to be 3 separate houses, Kazai and Punleu recently banded together under Jiao-Long. Too worried about internal power stuff to interact much. Might not even come.
- The House of Rathak – Based in Prague. Prolly won’t come either, separatists.
- The House of Bakareh – Based in Alexandria. They haven’t come in hundreds of years, prolly won’t come either.
Looking back over my notes, I saw they were woefully inadequate, but at least it was a start. Vetis I already knew all about and next to Simon Corley’s name I just wrote ‘pretentious dumbhole’.
“Okay,” I said, taking a sip of cold tea. “The East I pretty much have down, unless there’s more you can tell me about Jennike Vendal. I know she had Tommy wrapped around her finger and she’s got delusions of running the whole U.S., but what about her personally?”
“Jennike’s ambitious alright,” Jenessa nodded. “Her drive and intelligence got her where she is today in a relatively short span of about two hundred years.”
“That’s a short span?” I almost choked on my tea.
“Not everyone can fall out of the coffin and land themselves a plum position like you did,” Rob smirked. “She’s a cold bitch, but smart. You’d do best to avoid her as much as possible.”
“What about her Warden?”
“Hasn’t got one,” Rob shook his head. “Too power hungry I suppose.”
“He’s right,” Jenessa agreed. “You can bet that any deal Jennike brings to the table will benefit her alone, no matter how tempting it seems on the surface.”
“I wonder what she wanted Tommy to do?” I mused aloud.
“How do you mean?”
“When we all went to Vetis, I heard her on a call with Tommy. She wanted him to sign something with Corley, but I never found out what.”
“Felix would know, you’ll have to ask him,” Rob shrugged.
“Right. That’s a perfectly legitimate question.” I just hadn’t wanted to ask him too many things right off the bat. I wanted to look as capable as possible in front of him and the council, even if it was based on half truths at best. “I think that about does it. Oh, but tell me more about Macallister. I’m a little fuzzy on what’s going on with Texas. Are they part of the East? Part of the West?”
“Neither. They’re independent.”
“So, they’re the House of Texas?”
Jenessa shook her head. “No, the other Houses don’t acknowledge Texas in its own right, no matter how strong they think themselves. They have little use for treaties and accords, preferring to remain largely lawless like the old wild west, I imagine,” she smiled. “They don’t have a formal government or House, but Macallister is their representative.”
“And Macallister himself?”
“Delicious man,” she sighed dreamily, and I traded an amused look with Rob.
“Are you going on personal experience?”
“I admit I’ve fallen prey to his rough charms,” she smiled. “It’s been years though, I’m sure he hardly remembers me.”
Which was all well and good, but
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