House Of Madness

Chapter 28 Now You Know

After a cup of birth control tea and handing over the ruby earrings to Nik; the ones Alice had stolen from the flamingo woman she was ready for the day.
Nik hadn't thanked her for getting the earrings.
He had stuck out his hand as a silent demand and when Alice dropped them into his hand he had said nothing.
He hadn't explained why the earrings where needed and Alice hadn't asked.
Instead, she came to the conclusion that Nik was a greedy man who wanted them for no rhyme or reason.
She would later find that she was wrong, very wrong.

Alice glanced at the earrings in Nik's hand and said with a clear voice, "I hate you."
Nik just stared at her with a blank face, "good."

That day Terrett and Nivens had stopped by along with Kit.
"What do you want Niki?"
That brought Alice back, 'Niki' had been what she had called him in her dream last night.
The nickname she had given him, not Kit.
"As you know I am in dire need for new guards."
"I have already told you there is no way in hell I'm going to be one of your guards.
Surely, you wouldn't want me because if a bullet was coming at you I would let it hit you.
Even if I could help you I would chose not to."
Alice had expected Nik to lash out at Kit, after all she had outright admitted that she would willingly let Nik die.
Instead the king smiled, "I wasn't going to offer you a position as one of my guards, again. Instead I was going to offer you a position on the royal council."
Kit snorted, "are you kidding me! You woke me up early, summoned me like a dog to the palace to make a mockery of me!" Kit wasn't laughing now, she was pissed.
"It's after ten, and I'm not kidding."
Kit squinted her eyes, "I'm animal fae. I'm not allowed to be on any council."
"Zade", Nik called.
Zade came out in a guard uniform, a gleam in his eye and a stack of papers in one hand.
Nik took the paperwork from Zade and passed it to Kit, "well than, it's a good thing that law was changed this morning.
That all breeds of fae could hold a seat on the council."
"A good thing indeed", Nivens said with a smile."
Nik actually smiled back at him, "Nivens and Terrett I would be honoured and the luckiest king alive if you would take a seat on the royal council."
"If I can find time in my schedule", Terrett said while picking at a nail.
His, 'schedule' was composed of being a mentally ill criminal. It was a full time job.
"Of course", Nik said with a understanding smile.
"What about you Nivens?"
"I would be delighted and honoured but I would still like to work at the pawn shop."
"That is no problem at all", Nik said happily having just gained three new members for the council.
Having track down and murdered the sixteen members that hadn't showed their faces at the emergency council meeting.
Along with having that terrible law changed Nik had been very busy morning.
He had been so productive because he needed distraction from going to the House Of Madness and outright murdering his baby brother.
Technically to have a council of twenty seven which was the usual amount Nik needed thirteen more members.
Having removed Ari from the council, Nik couldn't think of one more person he trusted but he needed to reach that number or else the council could vote to pick their peers and Nik couldn't have that.
With no other choice, Nik had given Zade, Grave, Ember, Chessler, Finn, Morris and Victor seats on the council.
That still left five seats because Alice obviously had one.
Nik decided that he would just fill the seats with some of the dead prisoners that he had killed.
The same prisoners that were very mentally ill, the very ones that had escaped the House Of Madness.
Victor was dead, so was Morris, the six prisoners he picked and most likely Finn.
It was highly illegal to put dead people on the council but Nik really didn't need the council threatening his power.
Putting a human on the council was also bad and very illegal but Nik had changed that law this morning as well.
Laws could be changed by the king but not all.
The council could overthrow him if they had enough votes against him.
Hence why it was extremely important to pick people for the council that were loyal and people he could easily control.
Ember wasn't a great choice either, she would probably convince everyone to make crack and heroine free and use the royal budget to pay for it.
Chessler was a snake, a rat that Nik didn't trust.
But the more people Nik lied about, saying they were alive the more likely he would be to get caught.
And Nik knew if he didn't put Chessler on the council he would expose him for putting dead people on the council.
Which meant Chessler the fat caterpillar gargoyle fae man got a seat on the council.
The last law Nik had changed was that royal guards could not be on the council.
In doing so he had been able to gain Zade and Grave.
Once Terrett, Nivens and Kit had left, everyone alive had been informed of this development.
The reactions had been predictable; Grave had been pissed, Chessler had been full of glee, Alice was shocked but secretly excited, Ember gone to the palace, she had snuck through the all the security and had screamed at Nik that she wasn't going to be on the 'fucking council!'
Nik smiled and said that, 'her country needed her.'
In the end, Ember had lit four rooms on fire with her magic before Nik had agreed if she attended the meetings he would supply her with as much heroin and cocaine as she wanted.
Ember had left with a smile on her face.
It was sad to Alice how different Ember was, since her hotel, since her establishment was blown up by the deceased queen Hestia.
The damage was done, Ember had nothing. Her life work was destroyed along with her sanity.