by Sarra Cannon
I tried to get a look at his wrist to see if the circle had been carved into his skin, but he wore long sleeves, and it was impossible to tell.
I held my breath as I walked the last few steps to take my place at the foot of the steps leading up to the platform that held the five thrones. The ten brothers who had stood by my side to save Franki and prevent Solomon’s release filed into a straight line at my side. Together, we faced the Council, and as soon as we were all in place, we fell to our knees in unison, dutiful members of the Brotherhood.
We lowered our heads in supplication and waited.
My jaw tensed.
Dammit, Silas. What happened to you? Why didn’t you come to me?
The questions raced through my mind, but the only answer I could come up with for his absence was not an answer I wanted to face.
The silence stretched out beyond my level of comfort as the tension inside me continued to build. I wanted them to just get on with it. I wanted to hear what they planned to do, and I wanted some kind of explanation for why someone who should have been kneeling at my side was sitting on that throne.
Finally, Gideon stood, and his voice echoed throughout the chamber. “The betrayers may stand,” he said, his voice laced with disdain.
I sucked in a breath and rose to my feet. My eyes flickered to Silas, but he was no longer watching me. His hand gripped the black stone, but other than that, he showed no signs of nervousness or worry.
In fact, he looked entirely too comfortable on that throne.
I swallowed back my judgment, determined to give my old friend the benefit of the doubt. Because he of all people knew that if he crossed me, I would destroy him, if it was the last thing I ever did.
I just wanted to know if he was here as our savior or our executioner.
Gideon stood tall, his eyes sweeping across the row of those he called betrayers.
His upper lip curled into a snarl that twitched as he prepared his next words.
“My brothers, I address you tonight in the name of the Council,” he began. “You have been summoned here today to answer for the death of one of our own. Our founder. The pillar of our Brotherhood. Rend, it is said that you were the instigator of this conflict. What say you?”
I glanced over at Silas, but he didn’t move or indicate any type of warning or clue as to what was really going on here.
“I deny this accusation,” I said simply.
Gideon’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected that answer from me.
“You deny that you organized the attack on the Devil in his own castle?” he asked.
There was a murmur of voices behind me, but I didn’t dare look around. I kept my head held high.
“No. It is true that I organized the attack, and I stand here ready to take full responsibility for killing the Devil and calling on my brothers for their help,” I said. “What I deny is that I instigated the conflict.”
Gideon cleared his throat and glanced over at Abagore.
“Explain yourself,” he said.
“The Devil came to my club. He murdered a dear friend and employee of mine, and he blew up the Chicago entrance,” I said. “He directly attacked me first, beginning the conflict and giving me the right to retaliate.”
On his throne, Abagore shook his head violently, obviously not liking my take on the whole situation. He leaned forward and waved his finger at me.
“From what is said, the Devil did not attack you. He may have taken the life of a witch, but as you well know, no witch is protected by the Brotherhood. Quite the opposite,” he said. Behind me, several vampires snickered. Anger pulsed through me at the sound.
“The only reason the Devil did not attack me personally was because he couldn’t get inside the club,” I said. “But his intentions were clear. He attacked first, and I was simply protecting myself against him.”
Gideon snarled. “Protecting yourself?” he asked. “Or the disgusting witch you’ve claimed as your mate?”
The bitterness and hatred in his voice was more of what I’d expected to hear tonight. It was no secret that the Brotherhood of Darkness detested witches. They saw these humans as food. As fuel for their power.
Falling in love or trying to protect any witch was considered a betrayal in itself, though there were no official rules against it.
But there were also no rules against attacking a fellow vampire’s mate.
And the Brotherhood of Darkness took the rules of the Enchiridion very seriously.
“That witch is Solomon’s own daughter,” I said. “I do not believe that he would want to see her harmed.”
“The facts remain that the Devil never physically attacked you,” Abagore said. “And yet, to save the life of a human witch, you gathered your brothers together to raid the Devil’s home, where you proceeded to murder not only him, but also more than a hundred lesser vampires who were still in the process of committing their lives to the Brotherhood.”
“For these crimes, you have all been summoned here to stand before the Council,” Gideon said.
I sucked in a breath and steadied my expression, though my heart thundered in my chest. This was the moment we’d all feared. The judgment.
“The Council has met together on many occasions to discuss your fate,” he said. He glanced at Silas briefly, a simmering rage just beneath the surface of his expression. “We were ready to hand down our judgment when a complication was presented to us.”
My head snapped toward Silas, who nodded slightly toward me.
“Silas, Son of Solomon, appeared at one of our Council meetings with a very interesting discovery,” Gideon said. He lingered on the word interesting, as if what he’d really wanted to say was that Silas’s discovery, whatever it was, was quite disappointing to the entire Council. “According to the Enchiridion of Darkness, a judgment of this magnitude must be agreed upon by no less than four of the five members of our Council.”
He cleared his throat and then swallowed hard, as if he was having trouble speaking these words.
At that moment, I knew the truth. The Council had decided to condemn the eleven of us to death. But if I understood what Gideon was trying to say, they could not hand down that decision with only three members sitting on that Council.
Excitement grew in my core, and I could hardly hold still as I waited for Gideon to continue.
“As you can see, this means we have come to an impasse of which this illustrious Council has never before faced in all our years of existence,” he said. He motioned to the thrones at his side. “With Solomon still locked inside that stone with no ability to speak for himself and the Devil now deceased, we appear to be one member short of being able to enforce our decision.”
I looked over, exchanging a glance with Ryken, who stood at my side. Could this be happening? Would they simply let us go?
“As the rightful heir to his father’s place on the Council, Silas has…” Gideon cleared his throat and tensed his shoulders. “...agreed to stand in as a temporary replacement.”
My mouth fell open slightly, my heart nearly beating out of my chest.
Silas was the deciding vote? There was no way he could condemn us to death, could he? The way he clutched his father’s stone made me nervous. How much influence had his father been able to exert upon him over the past few months? Hell, it had been more than half a year since we killed the Devil and Silas disappeared. More than enough time for his father’s spirit to warp his soul.
But condemning us would mean condemning himself. He’d been right there by my side when the Devil fell.
Would his seat on the Council give him immunity from the decision?
Or would he vote to save us all?
Gideon stretched the announcement out as long as he could, and I wanted to walk up the steps and put my hands around his neck. I wanted to shake him and tell him to spit it out. If we were free to go, I wanted to get the hell out of here.
“Unfortunately, when put to a final vote, there were three votes in on
e direction.” He glanced at Silas again, sneering. “But a fourth vote in a completely different direction.”
A wave of whispers crossed the length of the Grand Hall.
“So, it seems we have the inability to hand down our judgment at the moment,” Gideon said. “Not until we fill the Devil’s seat.”
My heart nearly dropped into my stomach. Of course, it couldn’t be as easy as letting us go. They had one last chance to get the judgment they desired. If they filled the Devil’s seat with someone who would vote against us, we were through.
But Silas had not betrayed us. He had given us a chance. One last hope.
“Without an heir of his own, the Devil’s seat remains empty,” Abagore said. “This is why we have called the entire Brotherhood to the castle tonight. A decision needs to be made, and the Devil’s seat needs to be filled.”
Never, in all my years in the Brotherhood, had a seat been opened. Since Solomon was not technically dead, his seat had remained open for more than two decades. But now that Silas had agreed to step in as a temporary spokesperson for his father, his seat had been filled for the moment.
But what about the Devil’s throne? How would the successor be chosen?
“In the event of no heir being present, the Enchiridion says that each remaining member of the Council may nominate a worthy vampire to fill the seat,” he said. “If the current members of the Council all nominate the same vampire, that vampire will ascend to the throne immediately. If there is more than one nominee, however, the entire Brotherhood will vote to anoint a new Council member.”
I swallowed a mouth full of sand, my nerves on edge. I had no doubt the three ancient vampires sitting on those thrones would all nominate the same vampire, but what about Silas? He would not choose their candidate, but who would he nominate instead?
I wanted the chance to save my life and the lives of the vampires standing with me now, but I did not want to rule on the Council of the Brotherhood of Darkness.
“Each Council member will stand and speak the name of the vampire they choose as their candidate for the Devil’s seat,” Abagore said. “If your name is called, you must appear at the base of the platform until each of us has spoken.”
He nodded to Gideon.
“I, Gideon, the fifth member of the Council, nominate Dagon,” he said.
Another ripple of reaction crossed the room. Dagon. Damn.
That demon was no friend of mine, which was no surprise. He was a demon who had joined the Brotherhood only months before me. He was a true warrior, but he was a beast of a demon. Large, muscled, dangerous.
He had the power of a thousand lesser vampires. He was also clever and cruel.
Dagon walked to the front of the room, but as he passed by me, he narrowed his eyes and smirked. He’d obviously known he was going to be nominated, because he had a certain swagger of confidence to his walk.
And judging by the way he looked at me, he had the same suspicions about who Silas would choose as his opponent.
It was no surprise that both Abagore and Raum also named Dagon as their nominee.
When it was Silas’s turn to speak, he stood with confidence.
“I, Silas, Son of Solomon, the first member of the Council, nominate the vampire Rend to fill the Devil’s seat,” he said.
A loud chatter erupted in the room of vampires. Abagore slammed his scepter hard against the obsidian floor.
“Silence,” he shouted.
The room slowly calmed down, but it was obvious there were mixed feelings about Silas’s choice.
I stepped forward and dropped to one knee beside Dagon.
My life was now in the hands of the entire Brotherhood of Darkness. I would leave this room a member of their Council, now, or I would never leave it alive.
Exchanging Bets
Franki
I took a second shot of Dragon’s Breath out of my black boot and downed it before I climbed into one of the silver cages that peppered the dance floor at Venom.
I closed the door behind me and sealed it shut with my own magic, letting the heat of the potion flow through me.
I took a deep breath and focused on the music pumping through the room. The energy of the club was different tonight. Not as somber or worried as it had been when it was just the staff here.
Instead, it was buzzing with the news of the summoning. Word had spread quickly throughout the supernatural community, and everyone had shown up here to see if there was news.
Excitement mixed with nervousness. Like a crowd at a big fight, everyone exchanging bets on who would win.
And who would lose.
I closed my eyes and let my body move to the music. I fell into it, releasing all my inhibitions and pouring all my fear and anxiety into my movements, as if I were possessed by a demon.
And there was a demon inside of me, even if I hadn’t yet fully embraced it. I was a hybrid. Half-crow-witch, half-demon. I was darkness in so many ways, and even though I’d been fighting against the darker sides of myself for months since I’d discovered who I truly was, tonight there was no fighting it.
I surrendered myself to it all, unable to hold back any longer.
I danced it out, letting my worries go as I embraced the fear flowing through me.
Inside, I felt so out of control. So scared. I let the music flow through me like a prayer. Like a curse.
Soon, sweat beaded on my skin and drenched the back of my neck. I lost myself in the moment and the power of the potion.
It felt good to let it all go for those precious hours as I waited for any news of Rend’s fate.
But when a hand gripped the side of the cage, it wasn’t Connery or Azure who had come to talk to me.
It was Katy.
“What are you doing?” she asked. “You don’t dance here, do you? Is this why you haven't wanted me to come by the club lately?”
My eyes opened wide, and I stared down at her, my skin slick with sweat, and my body pulsing with the heat of the double shots of Dragon’s Breath flowing through my veins.
It took me a moment to realize why my best friend—a normal human—was standing here on a night like tonight.
Shit. I invited her.
“Crap. I totally forgot I told you stop by tonight,” I said, catching my breath.
She rolled her eyes. “Of course you did,” she said. “Because obviously I don’t even matter to you anymore. We’ve been friends for how long? I’ve stood by you through everything with your mom and all that other bullshit, but you discover this other side of yourself and I’m what to you now? Trash you think you can just toss to the side?”
I wiped sweat from my face and shook my head. “I really don’t need this right now,” I said. “Not tonight.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Is there a more convenient time to talk?” she asked, putting her hand on her hip. “Because you’ve bailed on every other plan we’ve made together over the past two months. I had to wait outside for over an hour before I could get in tonight, just to spend time with you, even though you promised to let them know I was coming. But, hey, if you want me to just turn around and go, I’ll gladly leave. Just don’t expect me to be waiting for you next time you come calling.”
She turned to go, and I opened the door of the cage and ran after her.
She had never spoken to me this way before. What the hell was going on?
“Katy, wait,” I shouted over the loud music.
She didn’t even slow down. Instead, she practically ran toward the door. I chased her down, grabbing her arm and flipping her around to face me.
“What is your freaking problem?” I asked. “Never, in all the time we’ve been friends, have you ever treated me like this. Yes, okay, I forgot you were coming tonight. I’m sorry, but we’ve kind of got a lot of shit going on right now.”
“Oh, right, so much going on that you’re half-naked dancing in a cage, like you don’t have a care in the world,” she said. She narrowed her eyes at me. “If you don’t want to be
a part of my life, anymore, you should have just told me. I’m done.”
She turned again, running for the door, but something on the back of her neck caught my eye.
Confused, I stared dumbly after her, trying to figure out exactly what I had seen.
Some kind of tattoo, maybe?
But Katy was terrified of needles. There was no way she had gotten a tattoo. Especially not without me there to hold her hand.
Something was wrong.
Katy threw a glance over her shoulder before she disappeared through the door that led out to the Chicago alley.
I started to follow her, but I stopped just shy of the door. Azure’s words from the staff meeting earlier echoed in my head.
She’d said if we saw anything unusual, no matter how insignificant it might seem, we needed to be on our guard. With Rend gone, the entire club was vulnerable, and we needed to be wary of anything strange.
And my best friend in the whole world had never spoken to me like that before.
Yes, she was disappointed I hadn’t been spending as much time with her lately, but it wasn’t like her to storm in here and immediately start yelling at me.
Then there was that tattoo on her neck. I’d been too far away to tell exactly what it was, but I was sure there was something there.
What was going on?
She wants me to follow her.
The thought popped into my head, and my breath caught in my throat. A few months ago, when this whole thing started, the Devil had sent someone here to the club to talk to me, and he had done exactly the same thing.
He’d said horrible things to me, trying to get me to follow him to a darker, less secure place so that he could attack me.
Back then, I’d been dumb enough to fall for it, but I wasn’t about to fall for that shit again.
I turned in a circle, searching for Connery. He pushed through the crowded dance floor, his eyes already on me. He must have noticed I’d left the dancing cage.
“What’s happening?” he asked. His yellow eyes widened as he approached.
Marco was close on his heels, and I turned to him.
“You know my friend Katy, right?”