Venomous Gaze - Chapter 3 - Family matters (V.2) (Patreon)

So, I'd love to claim that I had a family emergency, or was in an accident or something yesterday, and that's why there weren't any chapters, but the truth is I started playing a new game 'Shroom and Gloom' and I got so obsessed with it that I didn't stop playing until nearly one o'clock in the morning.

Oops.

I'm planning on putting out two chapters over the weekend to make up for it.

A note on this chapter: I think a fair amount of the next few chapters are going to get rewriten, probably everything between here and the greenhouse.

That being said... I'm FAR more pleased with this version. It shows how absolutely disfunctional the family is, and starts to show a little bit more of Kathrine and Dahlia's personalities. I'm aiming to make Kathrine the tactical thinker, while Dahlia has more technical mind (at least when it comes to alchemy) and a more straight forward personality.

I hope you guys enjoy!

At first glance, the manor’s grand foyer had been designed to show off the Salvenum’s wealth to visiting nobles. Nearly everything was carved out of flawless black and white marble; it was lit by the most sophisticated magical lanterns on the market, and the walls were covered in massive black and crimson draperies. 

The centerpiece of the room was the massive twin staircases which curved inward near the top, framing the extravagant second-floor balcony. 

Most people couldn’t keep their eyes off it, which was kind of the point. 

There were so many eye-catching artworks, delicate inlays, and elaborate reliefs around the room that most people wouldn’t notice the dozen or so alcoves hidden behind curtains and deep in the shadowy recesses of the room. 

While the foyer was primarily used to welcome guests, it also served as the first line of defense for the mansion. The Salvenum weren’t exactly well liked, so there were two full squads of elite Brethern enforcers stationed here at all times, hidden in plain sight.

I don’t know how many visitors had accidentally drawn my aunt’s ire and gone missing during their visit, but there were quite a few. By all accounts, the other great houses should have been knocking down our doors, looking for their missing relatives, yet my aunt had somehow managed to keep everything quiet. 

I still didn’t know how she managed it, considering most of those people had been invited, and there had to be a paper trail and witnesses on their side. 

“What do you think we should head? The parlor?” Kathrine asked quietly as we made our way across the massive hall.

“I was thinking the upper lounge. Both secret entrances are fairly close to the front of the room, so if someone wants to drop in and say hello, we won’t be surprised,” I replied.

“Fair. I don’t think Pierre, Monique, or Marielle are the type to try something like that. If they want to start something, they’ll come to us directly,” Kathrine said.

“And what about your brother?” I muttered.

“Well, even though he’s petty and spiteful, he’s not exactly the most skilled of our relatives,” Kathrine grumbled. 

“Or the smartest,” I replied. “We just finished busting up his drug ring in Brighthome, there’s no way he’s going to sit still.”

We turned simultaneously and started strolling towards one of the grand staircases at the side of the room. 

Even though we kept both our tone and pace very casual, we both kept covertly scanning the room, watching for anyone acting suspiciously. While the servants were all loyal to the family, there were no rules about showing favoritism or taking bribes from different members. I just hoped we’d get a chance to settle in before our relatives started to show up to ‘greet’ us.

“That was his own fault,” Kathrine snarled. “He knows the rules; you don’t involve the family’s legitimate businesses in illegal ventures. Our relationship with the other great houses is tenuous as it is, and while our apocatharies and herbalists are considered essential for the wellbeing of the country, you know the other great houses wouldn’t hesitate to shut us down if they thought they were fronts for illegal drug dens.”

“I know, which is why we burned out his operation before the Grey Bloods, or anyone else, could investigate,” I replied. “Honestly, I’m surprised to hear he’s still up, walking around. I thought the elders would have broken his legs when they found out what he did.”

“He must have a backer, one of the branch families,” Kathrine said. “My mother may be a tyrant, but she’s not stupid. She understands that we must maintain our relations with the rest of the council. I can see one of our Aunts or Uncles trying to use the situation to put pressure on her so they can wrest control of some the family’s operations while she’s distracted.”

“The idiot probably still hasn’t realized that he’s being set up as the fall guy,” I grunted. “He probably doesn’t even know who actually backed him and tricked him into making such a monumentally stupid decision.”

“Probably not. The current branch heads didn’t survive the various power struggles over the years by being stupid,” Kathrine replied. “I’m sure once the current emergency is over and my mother has time to investigate, Dimitri will get what’s coming to him.”

“While that’ll make our lives easier later, we still need to figure out how to deal with him now,” I said. “I would have killed him back in Brighthome, if I’d been allowed, but the charter clearly states that family members must undergo tribunal before someone in the bloodline can kill them.”

“You know that without that rule, our family would be a whole lot smaller. Most of the branch families would have killed each other off,” Kathrine said.

“Honestly, I think we’d be better off,” I muttered.

“That entiredly depends on who came out on top, you know that,” Katrine replied. “At least the branch families kind of keep each other in check this way. If we allowed things to dissolve into a free for all we could end up with someone who’s worse than my mother in charge.”

“No one’s worse than your mother,” I grumbled. “That’s why she’s the head of the family.”

Kathrine stepped up to a heavy hardwood door a couple feet away from the top of the stairs and paused, one hand on the door handle, before turning towards me. “That’s true. But this way she has people to keep her in check, and she can’t just wipe out the branch families willy-nilly,” she said. “And besides, just because we can’t kill him doesn’t mean we can’t deal with him in other ways. Do you have your poisons and serums with you? Your mask?”

“Of course,” I replied, patting the satchel at my side. “Always.”

“Good. Dimitri was always a terrible student when it came to herbology, and alchemy, maybe it’s time we taught him a lesson,” Kathrine said, pulling the door open.

“In the middle of the manor?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’d have no problem doing something like that in the streets, but I doubt the family will turn a blind eye to something like that in the middle of the house.”

“Dimiti’s good as dead. If someone complains I’ll take responsibility,” she said as she led the way into the room.

I couldn’t help but smile as I stepped into the lounge, despite the topic of our conversation; It was one of my favorite rooms in the manor. The walls were filled, floor to ceiling, with thousands of books, and there were several easy chairs, sofas and loungers dotted around the room. Most familys would have called a room this size the library, but the Salvenum estate contained several other rooms filled with academic journals and research notes, which most considered to be more worthy of the title ‘library’, so this became known as the lounge. 

The best part was there was only one door, limited secret passage access, and most of the family tended to avoid the room. It had been a sanctuary for me when I was young, and was still learning to defend myself.

“Do you have any non-lethal aerosolized poisons on you? Preferably something that dissipates quickly, and doesn’t leave much of a residue,” Kathrine asked as she wound through the furniture, heading towards the back of the room.

“I’ve got Lacertatoxin. It causes extreme pain, paralysis, and hallucinations for several hours,” I explained.

Kathrine paused, and glanced back towards me. “I’ve heard of Lacertatoxin,” she said. “I thought the family alchemists had given up weaponizing it, because it didn’t play well with most compounds.”

“They did,” I replied with a small smile. “However, I decided to try and use Lacertatoxin in my serum research a couple of months ago, and at that time I discovered a couple of new ways to use it. You won’t find the formulas anywhere except in my personal journals.”

“Well, it sounds like the perfect thing to use if Dimitri, or any of the others, show up. Something that’ll make them think twice before coming after us again,” Kathrine said, sinking into an overstuffed armchair along the back wall. “Come and sit down so we can make our plans before we start getting uninvited guests.”

I felt my smile grow just a little bit wider. “Gladly.”