Persephone Alcmedi 00 - Wicked Circle

continued.”
    “It was your bitch who did this to him.” Goliath’s features hardened. The corner of his mouth crooked up and the mask of a criminal contemplating wickedness was complete. “So your token gesture means shit to me.”
    “Goliath!” Menessos’s voice wafted from deep in the chamber. “Bring him to me.”
    The Beholders emerged from the back room, leaving with the stretcher. One of them said, “Risqué asked that you give her a few minutes before bringing the guest in.” Goliath allowed the Beholders out, then he gestured Mero and the two women begrudgingly toward the seating area in the front room.
    Mero ordered Ailo and Talto to sit at the leather in-the-round couches, and the three of them waited until the Offerling had tended her master’s legs. Carrying the remains of his torn pants, she left. Goliath, Seven, and Mark remained with him.
    Through the door the Offerling had failed to close, Mero heard Menessos saying, “You need to go, to keep the others calm. Assure them I am fine, that all will be well.”
    “But—” Seven began.
    “Do as I ask. Do it now.”
    She and Mark departed, the former casting a worried glance at Mero on her way out. Mark called out, “I’m on door duty, Goliath.”
    When the outer door shut, Mero stood, anticipating that he would now be allowed to see Menessos. As he neared the entry, Goliath asked, “When did she mark you? How?”
    Mero stepped into view. Menessos was on the bed, covered by a sheet, but he was sitting up and in the process of unbuttoning his shirt. “Perhaps it is best if he not answer,” Mero said.
    Goliath spun and gave him a scathing scowl.
    “The less you know, the better it will be for you.”
    “You don’t scare me.” Goliath’s voice was low, like a warning.
    Menessos pulled his arms from the suit shirt casually, but the note of his voice was urgent as he said, “Goliath, the Advisor and I must speak privately.”
    The Alter Imperator’s struggle with this request was obvious, but Goliath bowed slightly and said, “As you wish, my master.”
    “Entertain the ladies for me,” Mero said as he passed.
    Goliath did not answer, but shut the door behind him.
    “His loyalty to you is impressive.” Mero appraised the room’s size, the stones of the wall broken only by a thick, rough-hewn mahogany mantel that encircled the room at chest level. Trinkets were set upon it here and there. Furniture was sparse, and a large mahogany poster-bed swathed in black silk dominated the area.
    “Indeed.” Menessos tossed the shirt to the floor. “It has been too long.”
    “I wish the circumstances were better.”
    “I wish you had left the shabbubitum in their stones.” He groaned and rolled each shoulder as if to loosen stiff muscles. Under the sheet that covered him, his legs stretched, testing. “Their inquiry hurts like hell.”
    “Sorry about Liyliy’s boots.”
    “Easy for you to say.”
    Mero spread his arms slightly. “I figured interrupting her at that point might be dangerous. My concern might have been misconstrued.”
    Menessos conceded both points with a tip of his head. “All things considered, I am glad you remembered our old game. Bring the chair.” He gestured toward the far corner.
    Relieved and assured that Menessos was not changed for the long years since they had last spoken, he reached for the chair, then froze and assessed its nearby mate. “Are these—?”
    Menessos nodded. “The castle in Caernarvonshire.”
    “I heard they had sold everything a few years back.” Mero gaped at the high-backed William and Mary seats.
    “I had them reupholstered. Come.”
    “Amazing.” He carefully lifted the antique, carried it to the bedside and sat. That Menessos cared to hold on to trinkets from the past was another sign that encouraged Mero. “I hope whatever you have in mind is worth the damage you just took.”
    Menessos affected a calm demeanor. “I relinquish my status.”
    “A new Quarterlord will be appointed.”
    “Goliath will have my haven.”
    “He is too young—!”
    “I’m not saying he will be Quarterlord, but he will have my people. This will become the Cleveland haven and Goliath will become the haven master. Whoever the Excelsior appoints as Quarterlord can move their haven to Chicago. My old building remains empty.”
    Mero shook his head and sat forward. “You know what will happen. Goliath will be challenged by older vamps who long for such status.”
    “He can take