Mad Hatter's Unbirthday Party

Exerpt of the conspiracy reveled:

The noise of the large crowd could be heard before he even entered the outer doors. He nodded to one of the servants who took his coat. He accepted a mug of beer from Chris as he entered the main room. It really was a large lodge room with fires roaring in the fireplaces on opposite ends of the big room.

“I see our last member has arrived,” Derek noted with a forced smile. “I’ve recalled you all here because we are at the endgame.” He looked out over the whole of the clan and his House. The last three years had been nothing short of a whirlwind of chaos, fighting, and holding on for dear life.

“Over the last few days, we’ve put together everything that was assembled before us and can see the full picture we face. But when we leave here tonight it will be for our assignments for the battle coming in two days.” Derek motioned to Peter. “Peter will explain the conspiracy.”

Peter moved to the front and took in the moment. “This place is a confluence of magic. There is a powerful reservoir of magic deep beneath the house. And at the same time, not far from here was the prison for an angel with a Mantle of Knowledge.

“The family came here in 1762 after we played a part in the French and Indian War. This was right when the Spanish were exploring California. We held Spanish nobility and it was easy to get the land grants for this area. We’ve been on this land for 250 years.

“The shaman of the tribes in this region knew we were coming and welcomed us to help guard that which needed guarding. We did our job. But even though we kept a low profile, our name was known. And what was under our lands was suspected from all the ley lines that intersected here.

“We know that Alan Deaton was an agent of Nemesis. And we know that the Black Court was the primary instrument used against us when Kate Argent acted with Deaton’s help. But what we also learned was that the Black Court had allies in both the White and Jade Courts.

“None of this would have been possible if not for the Red Court declaring war on the White Council of Wizards and a full assault launched on the White Council at Palermo in Sicily. The Wardens were overwhelmed, heavily wounded, and retreated to a hospital in the Congo to recover. There a war crime was committed. A sarin gas attack killed thousands of innocent people and 143 Wardens.

“It was immediately after that when the attack on Beacon Hills happened. The Black Court, aided by the Red Court in that attack, cast the spells that kept the Fae away from aiding us here.” Peter paused and looked around. “We knew that for the most part, except we have proof of the Black Court’s complicity. But we also learned that the Jade Court helped.”

That garnered gasps around the room. Peter locked eyes with Jake, he then continued. “The Jade felt that the Hales had too much influence on this side of the Pacific. Too many political connections over the centuries. They helped the White Court locate Cameron and they were the ones that found Cora and helped Deucalion bring her back here.”

Cora moved from the wall. “What does that gain them?”

Peter pointed to Jake. “Master Grey?”

“The Jades have very specific plans that were caught on audio when you lot rescued Cameron from the White Court in San Francisco and evaded their trap. They were leveraging a Wolf-White Court battle to gain more influence here and possibly destroy one group or the other. It didn’t matter. They gave the information to government agencies on how to capture the Sidhe.

“The Jade Court has territorial plans all across the Pacific Rim. They were openly hostile to Hale Adaptive being sold to Google. We averted a war between them and the Neon Court last November. I’ve had dealings with the Jades many times. They are completely transactional. They and the Whites have a plan to carve up the spoils of whatever is left if the world falls. It doesn’t matter to them as long as they can pull the strings.”