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Daemos are too busy
fighting each other to care about him."
    "It's simple then," I said.
"Find Vadaemos, force him to 'fess up, and everything is peachy
keen in the world again." Not to mention Elyssa's father might give
me a medal and ask
me to marry his daughter. The simple thought of being accepted by
him filled me with hope and terror.
    "Would anyone else benefit from this
deception?" Kassallandra said, crossing her arms. Doubt still
lingered on her face, but she looked almost convinced.
    Elyssa shrugged. "It's possible. Maybe
Vadaemos had help."
    "At this point, I'm willing to believe
just about anything." I sighed. "With all the creepy golems, rogue
vampires, hellhounds, and crazy relatives after me, I wouldn't be
surprised if this isn't all a universal conspiracy to make my life
miserable." Vadaemos seemed like some historical figure from the
distant past who had no connection with my present. And we were
related. I wondered if Dad knew him. It made me feel gross. Like I
was related to a war criminal.
    Elyssa drew in a sharp
breath.
    "What is it?" I asked.
    "I just realized something."
    "Elvis and aliens are behind
everything, right?"
    She snorted. "No. At least, I hope not.
Your dad didn't marry just any old human woman. He married Alice
Conroy, the daughter of the most powerful Arcane
family."
    "House Assad was ready to go to war
with the Arcanes over the insult," Kassallandra said. "A marriage
between Daemos and human is abominable enough, but to do it in such
a way as to defy a contractual marriage between houses further
incensed both sides."
    "Your people blamed all Arcanes for the
choice two people made?" I scratched my head. "That doesn't
compute."
    "Daemos don't think the way we do,"
Elyssa said. "To them, any faction not of their kind is regarded as
a single unit, with a ruling council and high families with great
power. The Conroys might be viewed as the equivalent of a royal
family for the Arcanes."
    I whistled. "Man. That's old
school."
    "Our ancient beliefs and
morality are not subject to whim," Kassallandra said in a cold
voice. "I am much younger than most of my relatives and understand
foreign societies better than those who have adhered to the same
customs for centuries. This is why I did not order my hounds to
tear you apart when you spoke directly to me or when you insist on
calling my kind spawn ."
    "How sweet," I said. "I'm glad you're
such a rebel."
    Her eyes flared for an instant.
"Suffice it to say, House Assad viewed the rebellion of Daevadius
Slade as an insult from his house and the acceptance of Alice
Conroy as interference by the Arcanes. We felt certain the Slades
decided to widen their alliance and, using the Templars and the
Arcanes as cudgels, planned to destroy us."
    "But the Conroys hate my dad, and the
Slades sure as hell didn't want him marrying a human. I'm sure
someone explained that to your people."
    Kassallandra's raised eyebrow and tight
lips told me what she thought of that. "If the Slades and Conroys
did not do everything in their power to stop it, they did
nothing."
    I booted a rock near my foot and
grunted. "Sounds like Vadaemos's plan is working even better than
he thought. If Maximus and his clowns succeed in creating their
vampire army, it might just be the end of the world. "
    "You might be more right than you
know," Elyssa said. "Vampires attacked an Arcane school in Dallas.
Killed dozens of kids and teachers. The Red Syndicate, of course,
denied all knowledge."
    "Probably because it was Maximus," I
said. "What better way to keep the Reds off his back than if he
makes it look like the Syndicate is declaring war on the
Arcanes?"
    A disturbed look passed across
Kassallandra's face. "I almost wish I didn't know this," she said,
her radiant confidence dimming in the light of these
revelations.
    "It's spiraling out of control," Elyssa
said. "My god, when I put all these separate incidents together…"
She put a hand to her lips, as though afraid to continue her line
of