Sanctuary (Forsaken Realms Trilogy) by Lillian Sage Page B

world-wide powerhouse that it was today...The Elder Council.
     
    And the scattered remnants of the Forsaken were all but swept away.
     
    But tonight was not the time to sulk.  Her family needed food and the Council was in town which meant all their retainers and support staff would be out looking for entertainment.
     
    And hunting Forsaken was a national sport to Council members...
     
    She pulled her mind out of the gutter and began to focus on the task at hand.
     
     
    ---
     
     
    As the hours ticked by, Natalia became more and more desperate.  She'd come across a few skinny cats, and a few rats...but nothing that would sustain her entire family.
     
    She needed human blood but dared not venture too close to the heart of the city. Time was running out though, so she began to edge closer to the warehouse district. 
     
    It was less likely she'd run into a Council member in such a low rent neighborhood, but she didn't want to take any chances.
     
    She was confident in her ability to defend herself. In fact, she was one of the more skilled fighters alive today. But against a group of five or more she knew her chances would be slim.  Best to keep a low profile and hope that her luck would stay with her.
     
    The sun would be up soon, but she knew of a warehouse nearby with direct access to the sewers where she could make her way back to her family.
     
    Out of the corner of her eye she caught what might have been movement. She began to move towards it, but the scent was all wrong. It wasn't remotely human, nor was it any of the animals one would expect to find in the warehouse district.
     
    Natalia shivered slightly as realization struck.
     
    "Time to go." she thought to herself as she ducked into the warehouse that would lead back to the sewer and the relative safety of her family. 
     
    She'd have to try again the next night. 
     
    In the skies above the warehouse, the first rays of dawn broke majestically across the skyline and moments later a limousine pulled up...
     

CHAPTER THREE
     

The most powerful members of the Council began to file out of the massive conference room atop Medai corporate headquarters, followed by the rest of the Council as befitted their rank. 
     
    Moments later Alexander sat alone at the head of the massive black marble conference table, slowly strumming his fingers across the surface; lost in thought.
     
    A side door slid open and in walked Gabriel, Alexander's long standing assistant and the closest thing he had to a friend...if anyone in his position could afford to have friends.
     
    "That went smoothly." noted Gabriel.
     
    "Too smoothly" shot back Alexander, "With things they way they are in the world right now, the Council should have been much more vocal. What do our eyes and ears within the Clans say?"
     
    "Much as always" clipped Gabriel "the Elders grumble but nothing serious. Business is down, and no one's particularly happy. Why, what's on your mind?"
     
    "I'm not sure yet." murmured Alexander almost to himself.
     
    "Does this have something to do with where you've been the last few nights? It's not like you to go wandering alone." quipped Gabriel "Why won't you tell me what you've been up to?"
     
    Alexander returned a stare that would have turned Gabriel's blood to ice, if he still had any.
     
    "Fine, fine, I won't ask again..." demurred Gabriel "What do you want me to do about the Elders, should I increase surveillance?"
     
    "Do nothing...yet." commanded Alexander as he stood up from the massive conference table and began to walk back to his office. 
     
    As he walked along the polished corridors, his mind wandered back over the Council meeting that had just taken place.  The Elders were too compliant, too agreeable throughout the meeting.  It could only mean that some plot was underway.
     
    That didn't bother Alexander, the Elders lived to plot and scheme. What bothered him was the fact that he'd been unable to uncover a hint or whiff of the plot so