by Liz Schulte
****
Quintus left to make some of his own inquiries while I headed back to the hotel. It was time Amos and I had a nice, long chat about the council. There was no way he or Leilah or anyone who saw the bodies believed they were a werewolf attack. Also, the vampires didn’t suddenly get the notion to use me as leverage against Thomas. All of this somehow fit together, and that was where I’d find the real reason they sent me here.
I hadn’t been in my room for more than a few seconds before there was a knock on the door, utterly confirming that my room was being watched.
“I know you are there, Femi,” Amos said from the other side. “We need to talk.”
“My sentiments exactly,” I said brightly, opening the door. Amos stood in the hallway scowling at me. “How was your day? Productive? Mine was.”
He came into my room and I shut the door behind him. “Well, I spent most of it looking for you or being yelled at about how had I lost you. So there was that for starters.”
“Really?” I batted my eyes. “I can’t imagine how the council would know you lost me, unless you told them. Or even why they would be so bent on knowing exactly where I am or what I am doing when I am working for them. In fact, it’s almost like they are impeding my progress, which makes me question—why send me here at all?”
His hands fidgeted as he shifted his feet. “It’s more general concern. They just want to make sure you take their secrets seriously.”
I scrunched my nose. “Well, I did sign the contract.”
Amos gave me a helpless shrug. “We are all servants to a higher power.”
“And who do they serve?” I asked.
He smiled before it quickly fell from his face. “The people of the Abyss, of course.”
“Oh, of course,” I echoed. “Those same people who aren’t allowed to know anything about them. That makes perfect sense.”
Amos struggled not to smile. He wasn’t completely behind the council, that much was clear, which meant he might still be useful. I needed him on my side to help deflect them until I had the information I needed. And this room obviously wasn’t the best place to talk.
“What did you find?” he asked, glancing around the room hopefully, like I would have the werewolf hog-tied on my bed.
“You first,” I said. “Actually, let’s put a hold on this. You know I haven’t eaten almost the whole day. It’s no wonder I’m feeling sluggish. Come have dinner with me. We’ll chat over food.”
His eyes flickered toward one of the ceiling vents. “We could order in?”
“No. I want to go out. Is there a reason we shouldn’t?”
His tongue darted out at the corner of his mouth. “Well…”
“Yes?”
“I’ve heard that the vampires might want to chat with you. It might be best to stay under their radar.”
“Hmph. Interesting. I heard they already knew where I was staying.”
And there was the confirmation that the council already knew about the vampires. “But I’ve never had problems with them in the past. I’m sure it will be fine.” I waved his concerns off. “Let’s go.” I charged toward the door, and he reluctantly fell into step with me.
“They won’t like this,” he said under his breath as we waited for the elevator.
“I don’t care,” I said, smiling up at the security camera.
I picked the smallest, oldest restaurant I could find that definitely did not have security cameras. As soon as we were seated, I leaned forward. “You’re going to tell me exactly what your mission is in all of this. No more lies. No more bullshit. What have I gotten myself into?”
“The council isn’t what it seems,” he said in a hushed tone.
“A bunch of people too powerful for their own good and more interested in feeding their personal bias than the well-being of the people of the Abyss who they claim to represent?” I asked.
He smiled. “Maybe they are exactly as they seem.”
I laughed. “Seriously. Why was I sent here?”
“It’s a test,” he said. I opened my mouth to argue, and he shook his head. “Not the test you think it is.”
I pressed my lips together.
“The test isn’t yours. The vampires—” A sudden smile spread over his lips, and he sat back slightly. “They really do have the best crawfish in town.”
I didn’t look to see who came in, but obviously we weren’t alone. If the vampires weren’t testing me and it had to do with the council, then it either meant that they were testing Paolo or Corbin. “Great. I’ll have that,” I mumbled.
The waitress came over and we both placed our orders.
He gave me a subtle yet meaningful look as she walked away. “However,” he said, “I hear that the crawfish aren’t as good as they used to be. The owner lost one of his suppliers and none of the others have lived up to expectations. So really, the restaurant is slipping and everyone says if the supplier doesn’t come back then the owner will go bankrupt. The situation is quite desperate.”
I nodded slowly. “It’s not easy running a restaurant.” So it was Paolo they were testing. The council must have sensed weakness in him and were worried that the vampires would lose their small sense of government. I could see where that would pose a problem. Without something to hold vampires accountable, anything could happen, and the Abyss wasn’t equipped to govern. That would mean either the council would have to find another race to absorb the vampires or they would have to be contained like the werewolves before them.
It did explain why Paolo was trying so hard to get Corbin back as he had been. He needed Corbin by his side because together they were strong enough to keep the vampires in check, which would matter to the council—but why did it matter to Paolo?
But then why was I here? Why did I need to be down here for that? “The supplier has nothing to do with me,” I said.
If they wanted to make sure Corbin came here then they should have used Selene. He had nothing to do with me. Even Thomas would have been better—oh. It hit me. That was the hook. They did use Thomas, but Corbin was sick of chasing his own tail. He only believed Thomas was here when I showed up, but it still didn’t explain how they knew Thomas would be here. And if they knew he was here then why not just tell Paolo?
“The supplier has nothing to do with any of us. He just needs to change his mind. There are ways to make that happen. To make people long for the ways things used to be in the brighter days of the past. There are things the supplier wants, though, as payment for his loyalty. Things that will hopefully remind him of who he was, but in order to see them, he had to come to the meeting. Perhaps the supplier thinks you could get him those things.”
Corbin may not have come down here for a random sighting, but a sighting in combination with my being here… I’d walked him right into their trap. But what was their plan? Was giving him Thomas enough? There were too many unanswered questions. “Even if that’s true, how do they plan to change his mind?”
“I agree that he can probably never go back to what he was, but he can be made into something new. When the very thing you have always wanted is within your grasp and is taken away, that bitterness and rage will fester and grow. It can change everything about you.”
They were going to take Thomas from him. I felt an instant of relief mixed with concern. “When?”
“I don’t know.”
I had to get back to the house. It was probably already too late. I started to stand up, just as the waitress set our plates on the table. Just the smell alone made my mouth water. It wasn’t fair. “Restroom?”
The waitress pointed to the back of the room.
I nodded, casually walking to the back and through the door. A small window high up would work just fine. I stood on the sink and shoved it open then pushed out the screen before pulling myself through it. I had to get to Corbin before they did.