“I like monsters.” She smiled, nodded once, and then gestured to the front screen of the security room. “I will connect you with my mistress.”
We walked with the tattooed woman and her two drone-wolves to the large screen, and she ran her gloved fingers over the controls. A few moments later a woman with long dark brunette hair appeared on the screen. She was beautiful, with high rounded cheekbones, a button nose, full lips, and slightly tan skin. Like Layalina, her eyes were a glowing red, and tattoos of wolves came up around her neck.
“He is here,” Layalina said flatly as she gestured to me.
“Hello, King of Vaish,” the woman said as she bowed her head slightly. “I am Riecka, Uffe’s slightly younger sister.”
“Ahhh,” I said. “I now understand why I am here with Layalina,”
“Oh?” the woman asked as she raised her eyebrows and smiled at me.
“I’m guessing you don’t like your brother,” I said.
“You are quite intelligent,” she replied. “I think we will get along very well.”
“So you want me to kill him,” I stated.
“That is why you are here, is it not?” she asked.
“Of course,” I replied.
“We will help you as much as we can.”
“What do you get out of it?” I asked.
“Me?” she asked as she raised a hand to her chest. The skin was covered with more wolf tattoos, and her nails were painted a deep red. “I am hoping that you and Layalina will think of me fondly once this is all over, and I will have a better place. The combined clans will have a period of disorganization as they all fall under your rule, and you will need regents to deal with your vast empire.”
“What does Layalina have to do with anything?” Aasne asked as she nodded at the tattooed woman that stood next to us.
“Do you wish to tell them?” Riecka asked the other woman.
“Yes,” Layalina said as she turned to me. “I am Uffe’s eldest. Once you kill him, I will be your queen and you will have my empire.”
“Well, shit,” Juliette said after we had all stared at the red-eyed cyborg for a few moments. “I’m gonna be dead last in line again. I should have started this off as a princess.”
“That is what you want, isn’t it Vaish King?” Layalina asked me with a raised eyebrow. “You want to unite the clans? You think you are an avatar of Odin? You have been killing the kings and then taking their daughters as yours. I will be yours once you kill my father.”
“Hmmm,” I said as I glanced at Eve, I wanted her to confirm that the woman with the two drone-wolves was being truthful, but my wife just shook her head slightly. Something about the cybernetics in their brains messed with Eve’s ability to read their minds, so I really had no way of knowing if they were being honest.
“You wonder if we will betray you,” Riecka said on the screen. “The fact of the matter is that our people respond to the alpha wolf, and for the past ten generations, that has been a man. I would love to kill my brother, for he is one hell of a bastard, but the throne would just pass over Layalina and fall to her slightly younger brother Uffetar; who is a psychopath and will lead our people into war against the Vaish immediately.
“It is true,” Layalina said with a sad shrug. “My brother is worse.”
“So you are just going to help us get in and murder your father?” Zea asked.
“Your question hints at an opinion that this was easy for us,” Riecka said with a slight smile. “My private spy network only recently told me the news of Idonan and Waymund. My brother does not even know of your existence. He heard a rumor that Tanal Vaish was dead, but he also thinks that the Prime Valkyrie was killed when he captured her ship.”
“He has Dance to the Dirge?” I asked.
“Yes,” Layalina said. “We also have four of the crew members as prisoners.”
“I want them and the ship,” I said.
“We want Uffe dead,” Riecka said with a shrug. “Then you will have Layalina and everything that was once Jotnar.”
“Alright,” I said as I considered my next choice of words. I wanted to free Madalena’s long lost crew immediately, but I also suspected that was what Riecka wanted me to ask for.
I needed to get a better feel for what I was getting myself and my wives into.
“So you agree to let us help you?” Riecka asked.
“What is the plan?” I asked.
“Uffe is in his lower suite with his wives,” Layalina said to the woman on screen.
“Perfect,” Riecka purred. “He often has lavish parties with his wives and concubines. They will take exotic substances, drink, and fuck for most of the night. He will have guards there, but they often participate in the orgy, so they might be occupied as well.
“How many wives does he have?” I asked.
“Twenty-two,” Riecka answered.
“How about concubines?” Juliette asked.
“Another ten, give or take four,” Layalina answered.
“Damn, why so many?” the redhead cop asked.
“He sometimes kills them while he is fucking them,” Layalina said with a shrug, and I saw Juliette’s face pale.
“He doesn’t often kill his wives, though,” Riecka commented. “They are submitted to him, so it causes him discomfort when they die, that is why he is no longer marrying. Instead, he has the stream of concubines.”
“He sounds like a real piece of shit,” Zea growled.
“Yes, and best buried six feet under,” Riecka said.
“How many guards does he normally havvvve?” I asked, and my tongue dragged a bit over my teeth. I was starting to slur my words already, but I didn’t feel the beast in my soul trying to take control yet. It had only been five or so minutes, and I figured I had another twenty-five before I needed to switch back.
“Six or eight guards,” the woman on the screen said.
“Do you have a map of his suites on this screen?” I asked as I pointed to the front of the room.
“Yes,” Riecka said as she pressed a few buttons on her terminal. A few seconds later a blueprint popped up in the screen over her face, and we all leaned forward to get a good look at it.
“Here is the elevator coming down to the foyer,” Layalina said as she pointed at the bottom part of the map. “The foyer is somewhat small, but the door opens up into his underground throne room. This isn’t his main meeting area, but sometimes he receives people down here. Past the throne room are the east and west wing. East has six bedrooms with connecting bathrooms. West has the pool, gymnasium, spa, and the farthest room here is where he has his nightly orgies. At the far point of the map here is the kitchen and dining area. He never goes in here, and they have another elevator that goes up to the main level of the castle so they can get supplies if they need it.”
“That seems like it could be the best way in,” Kasta said.
“No,” Layalina said as she shook her head. “There will be servants there. They will raise an alarm. The main entrance will actually be better since everyone will be in the orgy room. You will be able to walk through the foyer and throne room without being noticed.”
“How many warriors will you give us?” I asked.
“Warriors?” Riecka asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes,” I replied. “You said you would help.”
“We are helping now,” Riecka said. “We are giving you the information of where to find him.”
“Ohhh jeeze,” Zea sighed through her helmet. “This just got really stinky.”
“We cannot give you any warriors,” Riecka said. “It is too dangerous for us.”
“It seems pretty dangerous for us to face potentially fifty opponents in an underground bunker,” Aasne huffed.
“I can understand your concerns,” Riecka said, “but this is the way it has to be. Neither I nor Layalina can be connected with this coup in case you fail.”
“Getting stinkier in here,” Kasta sighed.
“Really, really, really stinky,” Juliette said. “Like a bunch of bullshit.”
“I will come with them,” Layalina said.