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spawn—I mean
Daemos—informant. He's convinced it was part of a despicable plot
to severely weaken the Templars. Now he absolutely and universally
despises them. Your people, Anae Kassallandra, were led into the
same trap."
    "But why would anyone go to such
lengths?" Kassallandra asked.
    "The Templars and Daemos are two of the
most powerful and rigid clans of Overworld society. Daemos are the
most politically evolved, and the Templars are the backbone of
order. If those two factions were at war, then the others would be
easy pickings."
    Kassallandra's eyes softened with what
seemed like appreciation. "You know a great deal for one of few
years, Templaras Borathen."
    Elyssa wrinkled her nose. "I just paid
attention in history class." She tossed another pebble into the
lake. "I was supposed to be taking the Cho'kai any day now. All I
wanted to do was please my parents. Make them proud. I studied
texts on the battles my father fought over the centuries and
determined if I would've done anything differently or kept his
course."
    "Centuries?" I asked. "How old is your
dad?"
    "Old. But that's a story for
another time. The one thing I discovered about my father is, though
he's a brilliant tactician, he absolutely despises dishonorable
people. He never forgives betrayal or desertion. Even worse, he
couldn't care less why someone would commit such an act. All he sees is black and
white."
    "Blinded by self-righteousness?" I
asked.
    She nodded. "Unfortunately,
yeah."
    Kassallandra's eyes flared. "My house
believed House Slade and the Templars were in league, though we
never found proof."
    "Even though the Slades lost people
too?" I asked.
    "As I said, we had no proof any of
their people were killed. Only their belated assurances and
accusations."
    "So your survivor never saw any Slades
actually die."
    She shook her head. "The Slades
contacted us later demanding retribution for their dead. Our people
simply assumed it was part of a ploy so we would only blame the
Templars for the betrayal. Truth be told, only the threat of open
war between both House Slade and the Templars stayed our immediate
retaliation."
    "While House Slade thought the Templars
were in league with the Assads." Elyssa said.
    I snapped my fingers. "And the Templars
blamed all spawn. Holy crap, what a number someone did on them. No
wonder your dad's been warring with spawn all this
time."
    Light dawned in Elyssa's eyes as if a
thought suddenly occurred to her. "Justin, your father's marriage
would have healed that rift."
    Her statement opened another can of
worms in my thought processes. "Not that I'm unhappy about my dad
hooking up with my mom, but what if someone intervened? Convinced
him to run away and shirk his duty to Kassallandra?"
    The redhead's eyes widened.
"This deception grows deeper and more devious with every
connection." She paused, eyes narrowed. " If this is true. The Templars have
been relentless in their dealings with us, especially against the
minor houses, which lack the manpower to fight back. Several
smaller houses banded together so they could overwhelm the common
enemy."
    Elyssa nodded. "In eastern Europe. I
heard about it. But the sides are too evenly matched here in the
States. My father knew a direct onslaught against the major houses
would not only draw the attention of the noms to the Overworld, but
the casualties would be astronomical."
    "And so he resorts to sanctions and
apprehending anyone he deems suspicious." The redhead's forehead
pinched. "Sooner or later the dam will burst and noms and supers
alike will be drawn into a war no one will win."
    "So who benefits the most from pitting
Daemos and Templars against each other?" I asked. "Vampires like
Maximus?"
    Elyssa had an answer already on her
tongue. "The vampires are opportunists. Maximus and his rogues are
a side effect. But I can think of one person who clearly benefits
from the chaos. Vadaemos. Both sides wanted him out of the picture,
which means he benefits if the Templars and