Venomous Gaze - Chapter 7 - A Family Affair  (Patreon)

“Announcing Lady Dahlia,” the footman declared as he pushed open the gilded double doors of the dining room. I frowned slightly at the unexpected introduction, but fixed my expression before stepping through the doors. I was immediately glad that I did.

On the far side of the room, sitting at a table that ran parallel to the door, was Kathrine, her youngest brother, and, of course, my aunt Helena, sitting in the place of honour. She was wearing an elegant silk dress that matched both her hair and her eyes, and she was leaning back, almost lounging in her oversized chair like a lazy cat, lording over the rest of the family. Of course, no one here believed that she was that laid-back; we all knew what she was really like. She was a big cat, an apex predator, and this was her hunting ground.

I’d expected to see her tonight; she’d summoned me back to the estate after all. What I didn’t expect was to find almost my entire extended family to be present as well. My other two aunts and four of my uncles were here, along with the majority of my cousins. 

The dining room was set up with two sets of dining tables, aligned with the end of my aunt’s table, and running parallel to the walls. Everyone was seated around the outside of the tables, arranged by family group based on their ranking in the family hierarchy. Officially, the center of the room was left clear so everyone could see the head and converse with each other. Unofficially, if you were called up into the center of the room, it meant you were about to learn how the room got its nickname: The execution chamber.

As my eyes flicked around the room, catching a combination of cool, curious, cautious, and outright hostile looks, I briefly locked eyes with Kathrine, who gave me a subtle shrug. Apparently, she was as clueless about the situation as I was.

“Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” I announced, bowing low.

“Enough,” Aunt Helena declared lazily, flicking her hand in my direction. “Take your place so we can begin.”

I nodded and quickly made my way to the end of the nearest table, where I dropped into the final empty chair. 

As soon as I did, the doors at the side of the room burst open, and the servants started wheeling in carts packed with serving trays, covered in heavy silver cloches. They quickly made their way around the room, placing a tray in front of everyone, then removing the cloche to reveal a scrumptious-looking fish dish. Once they were done, the servants placed the cloches back on the serving carts and disappeared through the same doors they had entered, leaving only family members in the room.

“Everyone may begin,” Aunt Helena declared. “I have something important to discuss with you all, so we might as well do it on a full stomach.”

The announcement received a mixed reception. Both my aunts and uncles and I almost immediately started digging into our meals, while most of my cousins hesitated, waiting to see if anyone dropped dead before sampling their own meals. 

I just rolled my eyes. While they were right to remain cautious of someone wanting to poison them, no one was stupid enough to try that here. The would-be assassin would earn Aunt Helena’s ire, and that wasn’t worth it, no matter how powerful you were. 

And if Aunt Helena wanted to kill you, she wouldn’t use poison; she’d use one of the ‘ornamental’ weapons mounted on the wall behind her. She always preferred to handle things with her own hands.

I quietly picked at my meal, eavesdropping on the scattered discussions happening around the table. Most of my Aunts and Uncles either oversaw business in a region of the duchy, or worked directly with one of the other four great families, so I tried to pick up whatever I could about the current situation. 

I’d barely managed to get through half of the whitefish before aunt Helena pushed her plate away, gently wiped her face with a napkin, then leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, and her chin on her interlaced fingers.

“Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering why I summoned you all here,” she said, interrupting the scattered whispers around the room. As soon as she spoke up everyone instantly turned to look at her, forgetting what they were doing. “Two days ago, on the morning of the twelfth, someone attacked the ducal council during a meeting.” 

One of my younger cousins almost performed a spit-take, attracting disapproving glances from around the table. I felt bad for the kid; I was sure everyone else was just as surprised as he was; everyone else just hid it better.

“From what I’ve been told, a clockwork animal managed to slip through all the defences, ran into the council chambers and exploded. Both the Morewin and Tarnin representatives died immediately, while my brother Andreas, along with the representatives from Vigni and Castille, were poisoned by the toxic gas that was released in the explosion. They’re all still in critical condition,” Aunt Helena explained. 

Uncle Georgios jumped to his feet. “Why did you wait this long to tell us? You could have informed us through magic message, or radio, instead of summoning us here!” he shouted. 

“Our family may have several inventors and mages among its ranks; we’re seriously lacking compared to the other families. I could not risk using an unsecure method to tell you all, and have this news get out. It would be bedlam if the citizens found that not only was the council attacked, but the attack was partially successful,” Aunt Helena replied coolly. “I teleported to the council building myself, to see the damage and discuss how to handle the situation with the heads of Tarnin and Vigni.”

“And?” Aunt Euginia prompted.

“And we’ve decided to sign an agreement declaring an official ceasefire in the capital, and start a joint investigation into the incident. Lord Vigni promised to do his best to get the other houses to participate as well,” Aunt Helena explained.

“Why bring us all back here then?” Uncle Georgios grunted. 

“It’s partially because I’m concerned the perpetrators may end up targeting our operations, and I want to go over our security plans with everyone, but it’s partially because it’s faster to send our representatives to the capital through the gate here on the estate, rather than having them travel by train or airship,” Aunt Helena replied. 

“Do you honestly think we can trust the other houses? House Vigni’s craftsmen are well known for creating the most advanced clockwork devices in the country. Since the weapon was carried in by an automaton, it’s highly likely they’re involved,” Uncle Elias exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table.

“That logic is why you’re in charge of security, instead of planning, brother,” Aunt Helena snarled. “Did you not hear me say there was a poison charge? If we don’t cooperate with the other houses, they’ll be just as suspicious of us as you were of Vigni. No, we need to head off this problem as soon as possible.”

“So what’s the plan?” Aunt Euginia asked quietly. 

“I’m sending Kathrine and Dahlia,” Aunt Helena replied, causing my eyes to go wide and prompting the largest reaction yet. 

Many of my aunts, uncles and cousins jumped to their feet and started arguing all at once, but Aunt Helena wasn’t having any of it. She brought her fist down on the table so hard that it splintered and sagged. Apparently she’d taken a serum before coming in.

“This is not up for discussion. Sending my own daughter shows the other houses that we’re taking this situation seriously, and you all know that Ivy was, by far, the best alchemist in the family, and her daughter may be necessary to analyze and produce antidotes for any other poisons they encounter. Although I was able to slow the toxin that Andreas and the others were exposed to, I wasn’t able to completely nullify it, so we need Dahlia to deal with it,” Aunt Helena snarled. “Understand?”

The room broke out into a chorus of ‘yes aunt’, ‘yes sister’, and ‘yes my lord’, as everyone awkwardly settled into their seats again. Many of my relatives glanced my way, but no one dared speak up again.

Aunt Helena ran her gaze across the room, like a predator looking for something to kill, before finally turning to Kathrine. “You’re to gather whatever supplies and support you need right after dinner, and proceed through the gate TONIGHT. When you arrive find your cousin Antonio, he’s been running the local investigation. Find who’s responsible and deal with them, understand?” 

“Yes mother,” Kathrine replied smoothly.

“Good,” Aunt Helena grunted. “In that case you two are dismissed. The rest of us still need to discuss what countermeasures we need to put in place.” 

Kathrine bowed, and I just slipped away while everyone watching my aunt. It wasn’t until I stepped out into the hall that I finally let my perfect posture drop, and I allowed my self to slump forward. “It’s going to be a long day.”