Page 2 of Dance of the Phoenix (Cloak of the Vampire #3)
1. Remain as a League and appoint a member as a new Lord
2. Initiate a Hecatomb Auction and dissolve the League
3. Become Leagueless
“ In the event that League X loses more rounds, but its Lord wins the final battle, League X will be considered the winner, and the Lord can then Auction off the Hecatomb participants, both Gifted and Common, who remain alive, in the next regular newcomer Auction. ”
In his cursive writing, Ragnor added below: “ In the rare case that both Lords lose their lives, the responsibility for the two Leagues’ members is passed over to the Global Vampiric Association for ruling, regardless of which League won more rounds. ”
I read the paper twice before I raised my gaze to meet Ragnor’s. My head was bursting with questions. “This seems far too complicated,” I said, reeling. “Who came up with this shit?”
Ragnor gave me a humorless smile. “The Hecatomb has been our method of war for centuries. It started when two Leagues in Europe needed to settle a score and were afraid of taking it out in the open air, in case they were exposed. They created the Hecatomb for that reason, and many other Leagues adopted this method from all over the world, until it became the official, legal way of settling a dispute of massive proportions.”
Thinking it through, I hesitantly asked, “I thought the Vampire Society had a legal division.”
Something softened in Ragnor’s gaze for a quick moment before his face hardened again.
“There is a court, but when it comes to one Lord against another Lord, the court dictates a Hecatomb—as long as appeal by the plaintiff makes legal sense.” He paused, grimacing.
“In this case, Atalon has been piling up serious grievances he twisted into plausible legal allegations against me for over two hundred years. Me taking you and Isora away was the final piece of evidence he needed to file for a Hecatomb.”
“Wait,” I said, trying to follow. “ Final piece of evidence? What else does he hold against you?” But just as the words left my mouth, realization dawned. “The whole story with the Gifted fraud exchange.”
The Gifted fraud exchange referred to an instance in the far past when Ragnor had duped Atalon.
Atalon, being the arrogant prick that he was, wanted to give the Imprint to a certain human who both Ragnor and Atalon thought had the chance to become Gifted upon receiving it.
He did that under Ragnor’s nose, which then made Ragnor concoct a plan with said human, now a vampire, to get her into his League.
So the vampire managed to trick Atalon into thinking she was a Common, and Ragnor offered an exchange: a Gifted member of his League in exchange for the allegedly Common vampire.
Atalon agreed, and only after the deal was done did he find out that the Common vampire was, in fact, Gifted.
Despite the fact he’d gotten a Gifted vampire out of this deal either way, he couldn’t forgive Ragnor for this, and it became one of the many contentious points between the two.
Ragnor nodded with a grave expression. “On paper, that case is not dissimilar to yours. In the legal eye, I have defrauded him when it comes to taking away his League members.” He gave me an angry look I knew wasn’t directed at me.
“That, among other things, is what he presented to file for the Hecatomb.”
I’d known Atalon was an asshole, and I knew he was preparing to go head-to-head with Ragnor. But the fact that Ragnor had to deal with this utter bullshit made me hate him even more than before.
Pursing my lips, I asked, “What’s the Global Vampiric Association?”
Ragnor sighed. “Let’s just say that they’re like the high court. They don’t get involved with regular League affairs unless something extraordinary happens.”
He said it so calmly that if I hadn’t been watching him like a hawk, I would’ve missed it. His face drew tight at his own words. If I thought he was capable of it, I would’ve said Ragnor was in a state of panic.
Heart ramming against my rib cage, I opened my mouth to speak when he interjected. “In any case, let’s discuss the Hecatomb.”
He pointed down to the paper before me, and I clamped my mouth shut and let him speak.
“The Hecatomb is an official event. It’s a chance for other Leagues to come as spectators and see what the participating Leagues are made of.
One of the Leagues is also chosen to moderate the Hecatomb.
A Hecatomb doesn’t happen very often, so when it does, it turns into a whole-ass festival. ”
Hearing the disgust in his voice, I couldn’t help but reel back. “Meaning everyone is treating it like some sort of a show rather than a fight to the death,” I surmised. “It really is like the gladiators.”
Ragnor didn’t speak for a few long moments. He only stared at me with a torn expression that squeezed my chest so tight, it was hard to breathe. “What is it?” I asked, throat clogged as anxiety spread through me.
“There’s one more thing,” he said, his face contorting in fury. “The Lord who initiates the Hecatomb needs to give the main reason for the Hecatomb—one he can pick out of all his allegations—and in accordance with that reason, the League that moderates the Hecatomb can put in a demand.”
A foreboding feeling spread through my veins. “Who is the moderator?” I asked, my heartbeat quickening as if my body knew what was coming before my mind did. “What did they demand?”
He sucked in a deep breath, eyes glowing neon blue, before he spit it out. “The moderator chosen is Lord Manuel Renaldi. And he asked to see you, Aileen, fight.”