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“I want to introduce you to my new assistant. This is Tobias. Toby, meet Delilah and Camille D’Artigo, Morio, and Shade. ” He gave the other man a sly smile, and it was returned in kind. Right then, I knew. Carter had a boyfriend. Nothing about our prior interactions had told us anything about Carter’s love life, and we’d never asked.
We murmured hello, and Carter glanced at Toby. “We need some privacy. If you wouldn’t mind?”
“What would you like me to do?” Tobias started to stand. Carter reached out and stroked his hand. Toby ducked his head.
“If you could go organize the new photographs we got in, I’d appreciate it. ” Carter watched as the lithe man excused himself and headed into the back room. After Toby was out of the room, he looked back at us and blushed. Seeing a demigod blush delighted me, for some reason. It meant that, as powerful as Carter was, he still had a spark of humanity to him, even though he’d never been anything remotely resembling human.
“When did Toby start working with you?” I was determined to needle him just a little about it. After all, that was what friends did. And Carter was our friend.
He glanced up at me, and a little smirk crossed his face. “About two months ago. He was working for a client of mine. We…the attraction was immediate. So he came to work for me. It won’t last. He’s one of the djinn, and they don’t make good long-term lovers. But it will be fun for the duration. And I needed the company. And the help. ”
“Can you trust a djinn?” Camille frowned. I knew that look. It said she didn’t trust Toby any more than she trusted a skunk in heat.
“No, but that is why he is not allowed access to private information, and why he doesn’t have a key to my place. Do not trouble yourself, young witch, I will not compromise the integrity of my operations with a veil of sex haze. But it has been a long time since I’ve found someone to my liking, and I plan to enjoy myself in the meantime. And before you ask, I don’t ask what equipment my lovers have, merely if they want to play. ”
That was the only time I’d ever seen Carter look lecherous in the least, but the look on his face told me that his mild manner and genteel ways masked a deeply passionate nature, and I found myself catching my breath, a little afraid. Good thing his tastes didn’t run to our direction. Demons like Vanzir and Rozurial were easier to identify with than someone who was the son of a Titan.
“Whatever the case. We need to tell you what’s been going on and see if you have any suggestions. ” We laid out everything that had happened. Carter’s mood turned from flirtatious to somber.
“Does Wilbur have information on me in that book of his?”
I nodded. I’d flipped through it before hiding it at home when we headed out to interview Wilbur. “Yes. He knows who you are, he knows your background, and he knows about the Society. I have no clue how long it took Wilbur to amass this information, or where he got all of it, but he seems to know too many secrets about too many people. ”
“Then we will need to take him under our wing. If he resists, we’ll have to take further action. In the meanwhile, I will search for information on the man with the spirit seal. If he’s connected with the Koyanni, it should not be difficult for me to ferret out his background. I’ll call you as soon as I learn anything. In the meantime, walk softly and keep your eyes open. ”
As we headed for the door, Carter stopped us. “One last thing. You must go to the Elfin Queen and tell her of the danger. She has to be prepared, should the unthinkable happen. ”
And on that note, we headed home for a quick nap and dinner before the Supe Community meeting. There was so much on my mind that I felt a million miles away.
Chapter 14
Vampires Anonymous was rocking by the time we took a nap, ate dinner, and drove to the hall, in what had once been the home of Sassy Branson, socialite vampire who had been on our side until her predator nature overtook her.
She’d bequeathed her mansion to the group, and now it was used as both halfway house to help vamps new to the life and the headquarters for the Pacific Northwest Regency of the North American Branch of the Vampire Nation. That was the long title for Frederick Corvax’s position. But everybody just called him the Regent, according to Menolly.
The mansion was surrounded by an electric fence and patrolled by hired guards during the day, by vampire guards at night. It had taken on the appearance of a fortress, but considering the fear vampires struck among the general populace, that wasn’t surprising. They were slowly assimilating into the public’s mindset, but while the Weres hadn’t had such a hard time being accepted, or the Fae, the vampires were the last bastion of discrimination.
Tonight, the guards were on full alert. I recognized several vampires from Wade’s VA group—including Brett, a comic book fiend who had taken on the superhero alter ego of Vamp-Bat once he was turned. But most looked hardened and experienced. Roman must have moved a new group of soldiers into the area when he officially took over for his mother.
Menolly had gone on ahead, as both Roman’s official consort and a founding member of the Supe Community. Even though Roman wouldn’t be there, she was expected to put in an appearance.
Smoky had come, along with Trillian, Vanzir, and Rozurial. Shade and Morio stayed home to watch over Hanna and Maggie. I saw a shimmer in the trees and a group of Fae walked through a portal—reps from the Triple Threat, no doubt. This was shaping up to be one of the biggest meetings we’d ever had.
As we pulled through the gates, I steeled myself. Facing the community wasn’t going to be easy, considering the pull Exo Reed had exuded. The backlash could tear the Supe Community apart, if our enemies had generated enough fear.
We entered the foyer. In the intervening time since Sassy had died the final death and Wade had taken over, the mansion had gone from genteel home to spacious but official offices. The personal touches were gone, while the elegance remained.
“Hello, the Mistress is waiting in the meeting room. ” Erin Marshal, Menolly’s sired adult child, bounced over, a spring in her step I hadn’t seen since before she was turned. Erin had been through a lot, but now she was the official secretary for the VA, and she was doing an excellent job. Wade was helping her make all the adjustments she needed to know for her new life and she was learning far faster than she had with Sassy. She lived here, on site.
“Hi, Erin. Good to see you. ” Camille raised her hand, shyly smiling. She and Erin had been good friends before Erin was turned. Now, they seldom got a chance to talk. Erin still needed to learn how to react around the living without supervision, and Camille never knew what to say.
Erin gave her a fangy smile and waved, before clutching her clipboard to her chest and taking off again.
We filed into what had been the parlor. Now a meeting room, it—and the smaller office next to it—had been opened up to form one large hall. Devoid of the heavy furniture Sassy had loved, it had plenty of space for a large group to congregate.
Camille and I moved to the front of the room along with Morio, while the others took seats in the first row. Menolly was waiting for us, talking to a European-looking man who wore a very expensive suit. Frederick Corvax. He gave me the chills, almost more so than Roman. Frederick had that same suave European feel that Roman did, but he hadn’t had time to assimilate to American culture. Roman had some semblance of familiarity, even though he was a vampire. Frederick was cold and aloof.
As we took our seats up front, I glanced over the sea of faces. They were somber, some tearful. Five deaths in the Supe Community had a far-reaching effect. Everybody had been touched in one way or another. From losing family and friends to the fear of being the next random target, the worry was apparent on every face in the room.
After a few minutes, Menolly and I stood up and approached the microphone. We could probably be heard without it, but considering there were well over one hundred people packed into the room, we decided to go for it.
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“Welcome to the February meeting of the Supe Community Council. ” I took a long breath, then plunged in. We’d do this by the book; that way it would assuage panic. I started with reading the minutes from the past meeting, then moved on to thanking Frederick—and Roman, by default—for the use of the meeting hall.
After a moment, I looked out over the sea of faces. How to dive in? How do you warn a group of people that they may all be targets because of the grudge of some madmen?
“We have a problem. By now, I’m sure all of you have heard about the explosion that happened at the Supe Community Hall. Here are the bare bones of the case. ” I laid out the facts of what had happened, leaving out the demonic overtones. I also made sure to include Andy Gambit’s poking around the ruins the next morning. “We don’t want you to bother Gambit, but we have to do something to counter him. We have to discuss this as a community. Before we address that, we have a bigger problem. But first, any questions?”
As I looked around, one of the Blue Road Tribe werebears raised his hand. I pointed to him. “Jonas?”
“Was the explosion a hate crime?” He stood, a big bear of a man, burly and looking like a linebacker in a three-piece suit. With curly black hair and a tidy goatee, he looked like he could rip my head off without blinking.
I shook my head. “Your question brings me to the bigger issue I mentioned. This was not a hate crime in the sense you’re thinking. This wasn’t the Church of the Earthborn Brethren or the Freedom’s Angels who did this. Remember when the werewolves were killed a few months ago? We are facing the same problem again. Koyanni have moved into the area. ”
Before even the thought of a backlash could occur, I quashed the seeds. “This is not the fault of the upstanding coyote shifters who live here—Marion’s family and the others. She lost her sister to them. No, we know the Koyanni moved in and they are aiming for her as much as they are for us. They’ve brought sorcerers with them. The explosion was caused, as far as we can tell, by a fire charm. And before the explosion, they struck at Wilbur Folkes, a friend and neighbor of ours. We found him this morning—still alive, but severely injured. They’ve also terrorized the Davinaka Mall and killed two people there. ”
Jonas nodded. “What can we do? Who will they strike next?”
I glanced at Menolly. She nodded for me to answer.
“We don’t know,” I said, turning back to answer him. “The fact is that we have no idea who they’re going to target next. We’re following up leads to find them as quickly as we can. But until then, we have to band together. Check with your friends and neighbors. Make certain you don’t go out alone—go in a pack. ”
“How is that going to stop them from blowing up someplace else? It just means more people might get hurt at once. ” Another man stood. I placed him from the Olympic Wolf Pack but didn’t remember his name.
I wanted to reassure him. I wanted to offer some sort of guarantee, but the facts were that we couldn’t assure anyone of anything. “It’s not. But it may prevent these same sorcerers from dragging off lycanthropes again to make Wolf Briar, which they were doing before. ”
A hush descended over the meeting, and then—after a moment—a lithe young woman stood. She was from the Puget Sound Harbor Seal Pod.
“This is the first time we’ve heard about the Wolf Briar. Why wasn’t this knowledge handed out to the community earlier—like when it happened?”
As I struggled to reassure people that we hadn’t deliberately tried to deceive them, a movement caught my eye and the next thing I knew, Frederick was standing beside me.
He motioned for me to move away. “People, calm yourselves. The vampires will stand with you. Even though we have a long history of distrust with our Were brethren, the fact remains we are all part of the Supe Community, and the Court of the Crimson Veil pledges its support in this matter. ”
As the hush in the room died down, a tall, thin woman approached the front. I recognized her as one of Aeval’s right-hand women.
“I am Natassia, from the Court of Shadow and Darkness. I am authorized to pledge the support of the Court of the Three Queens. The Fae stand beside the Weres and the Vampires. ” She politely inclined her head and stepped next to Frederick.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned back to the room. “We may not have the information we really need right now, but we have allies. The more of us on the lookout, the better. ”
Menolly set up a couple large photographs—or the next best thing. We’d managed to come up with composites that were nearly as accurate as actual photos.
“These two are…sorcerers. They go by the names Van and Jaycee. They’ll be hanging out with a rough group—may look like bikers, but don’t underestimate them. They’re strong and they’re deadly. We’re going to pass out smaller photos for you to take with you. Show them to friends and family. Keep your eyes open and call us day or night if you see them. Do not take them on yourselves; these suckers can and will kill you. ”
After we’d passed out the flyers, there wasn’t much more we could do. I fielded a few questions about sorcery, passing the more technical ones off to Camille. Menolly reiterated the info that sorcerer’s fire could seriously harm vampires, too.
As I was trying to think of some way to wind up the meeting on a positive note, the meeting hall door opened and three FBHs walked through. Two women and a man. They paused.
I turned to them. “May we help you?”
“I hope so…This is the Supe Community Council meeting, isn’t it?” The taller woman stepped forward. She was wearing a leather trench coat over a nice pair of gray trousers and a white turtleneck.