Alliance II

CHAPTER 6 – I

After the fire that ended his family, Geryman was sent reeling. He maintained his crusade to find Carenf, hoping that she would be able to shed some light on the supernatural occurrences he had been experiencing his whole life (and that were becoming more acute in the past couple of months), all the while instinctively knowing that she was foe, not friend. This obsession resulted in him burning the Bumgiles alive. And now his family had fully turned against him. Then he heard that Urissa had turned Tayli and Mariano against him. They were killers. Urissa must have snapped.

Seeking guidance, he went to Moon Tat, a powerful religious figure in Seattle with whom he had a working relationship as part of one of Augustina’s side businesses.

Moon Tat was so named because he had a birthmark next to his right eye the shape of a crescent moon. Some believed the mark was actually a tattoo he received during his extensive travels in the Orient. Moon cultivated the mystery. He held great sway over a small, yet determined and growing band of followers. It has been said that the difference between a religion and a cult is political power. Due to his financial cooperation with Augustina, Moon had been gaining political power and was establishing his religion.

Moon had asked for a week to get his affairs in order.

When they met again, Moon Tat brought along his renowned strongwoman, Big Laura. Laura was just over 6’3” tall and commanded attention in every room she entered. Plans were hatched: 1) Moon Tat and Big Laura would throw their weight around Seattle and the surrounding enclaves, squashing resistance. 2) Geryman was focused on finding Carenf, his Other; 3) Augustina had the police on his payroll scratching the itches that had developed all over his empire – the Abe Sir affair had unleashed an army of fleas on his haunch. This included his connections in Portland, where Augustina had just received word that Urissa was laying low. Geryman demanded that no harm was to come to his sister. She was to be found, held, brought to him. The rest of the people in Seattle and Portland would not be so lucky.

Ask and you shall receive
Question what to believe
The answer lies before you
Those who lie abhor you