Supreme Magus novel Chapter 465

"I’m Duchess Sylla Ekna. I’ll represent the interests of the Dawn Court and of its host, Awakened Verhen, during the parlay. Lieutenant Colonel Kaelan is the emissary from the Night Court, while Lich Inxialot is a neutral spectator on behalf of the Council."

The Banshee gave a graceful curtsy to the Lich first and to Kaelan later.

The vampire was aware of how volatile a Lich’s behavior was, yet Sylla’s breach of etiquette still angered him. So when the Lich kept staring into space without returning the greeting, Kaelan did the same.

It had been one of the ugliest nights in the last few centuries of his existence, and it kept getting worse by the hour.

His newest Vassal had managed to anger the only Awakened one for miles, someone even the Night Court was unaware of his existence. Kaelan had been forced to protect his investment and albeit his brief clash with Lith ended in a draw, he had suffered a humiliation nonetheless.

The news of Kaelan’s inability to discipline his own dog had spread like wildfire in the Night Court, making him a laughingstock. No one cared about Lith being an Awakened, nor a guest of the Dawn Court.

The only thing that mattered to his peers was that Kaelan had left the gala while Lith remained. Any result but victory was seen as weakness by his Court. Later, some of his most prized connections with the black market had been slain after turning into monsters.

Being embarrassed in public and losing a good chunk of his influence inside Othre had made Kaelan’s rank of Lieutenant Colonel inside the Court shaky at best. When he heard about the young Awakened seeking audience, he had volunteered to regain some of the lost face.

The presence of the Lich threw a monkey wrench in his plans. The mortal was in a hurry, so Kaelan’s tactic was supposed to exploit such weakness to force him into accepting an unfavorable deal.

Squeezing mystical treasures from the Dawn Court would have made him regain his honor and forced the mortal to take part in the Courts’ power plays, giving Kaelan the opportunity to achieve his revenge. Two birds with one stone.

Unluckily, Liches were fickle creatures and one of the few even more impatient than mortals. Stalling for time was likely to earn Kaelan a quick but excruciating eternal sleep.

’All is not lost. I just need to exploit the Lich’s nature and that mad thing will do the dirty job for me.’ The vampire thought.

"What do you want, human?" Direct approach was another breach of etiquette, but it earned him a nod of approval from Inxialot.

"I need to know who is behind the meat puppets that kidnapped Professor Manohar and where I can find him." Even without Solus, Lith’s survival instinct was screaming at him to leave the room in a rush.

The Lich was the most powerful creature he had ever seen and to make things worse, he was an Awakened one.

’If he uses Invigoration on me, he might discover my second life force. I can’t afford to arouse his curiosity, or I risk spending the rest of my life as a guinea pig.’ Liches were the only greater undead Lith knew a great deal about thanks to Kalla.

He knew that there was nothing they wouldn’t do to further their quest for knowledge. Breaking all the laws of the Courts and the Kingdom at once would be a small price to pay to get their hands on an anomaly like Lith was.

"You are asking a lot. How much is worth to you the life of one of the greatest mages..." Inxialot’s head turned on the Night Court’s representatives. His gaze made Count Xolver fall to his knees, unable to breathe.