by Lisa Olsen
“You know what I mean. Whoever it was could’ve struck with something far more lethal than tincture of hyacinth, or could’ve killed Bakareh while he slept instead of subverting his staff. And whatever the plan is, he doesn’t seem to be moving against you directly. It could be that they were just looking for a way to strike at Bakareh since this is the first time he’s been out of his stronghold in years.”
“That’s true,” I considered aloud, not having thought of it that way before. “Either way, they chose to strike in my lands, which makes it my problem. That means we’d all better be on the alert for anything out of the ordinary.”
“Already one step ahead of you,” Carter grinned. “I’ve asked Lee about leasing some of his grunts for daytime protection, since Bakareh’s staff was approached before dark.”
“Ugh, not more security again. Didn’t we agree that I’m not the target this time?”
“We don’t know that for sure,” Carter shrugged. “And until we catch the bugger, it makes sense to protect our flank when we’re exposed.”
“I agree,” Bishop nodded. “Better safe than sorry. I’ll have a briefing tonight and pass the word to the Order that we’ve got a prankster in our midst that likes to play rough. I’m sure everyone’s on edge after the bloody display on New Year’s. If we ask the right questions, maybe we’ll turn something up.”
Carter clapped his hands together. “Okay, sounds like a plan, man. But we’d better get going. I’m sure the council ain’t getting any easier while they wait.”
“Right,” I nodded, searching for my shoes and slipping them on before I took a hasty sip of my cocoa, which had grown tepid. “So, I’ll see you later tonight?” I paused before Bishop, trying to sound more hopeful than needy.
“Count on it,” he agreed, his hands settling on my hips as he pulled me close. “Be safe out there.”
“You too,” I smiled, my hands sliding up his arms as he kissed me slowly and deliberately, refusing to be rushed by Carter’s impatience or the council. I was inclined to agree with him, giving myself up to the kiss, but eventually we had to part. “Love you,” I whispered, ducking out before Carter decided to drag me out by my hair.
“Is this what it’s going to be like from now on?” Carter asked once we were alone in the car.
“What?”
“All hearts and flowers and mushiness?”
I smiled at the distaste in his voice. “I think I’ve earned a fair amount of mushiness, don’t you?”
He let out a long sigh. “I guess you have. If he does anything to break your heart, I get to break his face though, right?”
“Oh yeah, that’s a given,” I nodded, hiding my smile behind my hand at the way he brightened by the thought.
“Then I guess it’s okay if he moves in with us.”
“Why does everyone keep assuming he’s going to move into our house?”
“Gunnar said…”
“Ah right, I should’ve known. Well, you can rest easy for the moment. We haven’t discussed it at all. But I’m glad to hear I have your permission if it comes to that.”
“I didn’t mean it like that, An,” he muttered.
“How did you mean it then?”
“I just want you to be happy. Even if that includes Dumbo.”
“He’s going to pop you one if you keep calling him that,” I laughed. “But you know what would make me truly happy?”
“What’s that, sunshine?”
“Fix the hole you made in my floor.”
“Nag, nag, nag…” he shook his head in disgust. “I told you, I’m building an escape tunnel.”
“And I keep telling you, the safest place for me is in the spelled house. I give you three months, okay? If you’re not done by then the deal’s off and I’m having it filled in.”
“Fine, then stop creating international incidents so I can focus on getting it done, would ya?”
I let out a long breath. “I didn’t mean to.” I’d always considered myself a fairly even keeled sort of person, but I wasn’t a pushover either. How deep had my temper landed me this time?
Fairly deep, as far as the council was concerned. As I approached them in the dining room, I felt kind of like I was up against a disciplinary tribunal from their expressions. Cordelia and Durand could usually be counted on to have my back, but even they looked somber at the occasion.
It was Anders who addressed me first, disapproval coming off of him in waves as he spoke. “I’m sure you know why we called for this meeting,” he began. “The rumors of your blunder with Bakareh are spreading like wildfire.”
“I don’t think there’s much we can do about gossip, and I think blunder’s probably a strong word. It’s true I wasn’t as diplomatic with him as I could’ve been, but it’s not like he was particularly professional either. I say we chalk it up to an unfortunate visit and move on.”
“An unfortunate visit?” Holt blurted out, his expression incredulous. “One might call the fiasco with the tainted blood an unfortunate visit – and one of the most embarrassingly botched gatherings of all time, by the way. Society will be snickering about our incompetence for the next century. But your treatment of Bakareh was uncalled for. You must apologize at once.”
“Okay, first of all – I wouldn’t say it was uncalled for, Bakareh was definitely on the road to a fat lip with the way he acted. And second, that stuff with the blood was straight up sabotage, and there’s no way I could’ve anticipated it.” That caused a round of murmurings. “We’re still investigating it, but the human who administered the poison has unfortunately turned up dead, so we don’t have anyone to point a finger to yet.”
“A human poisoned our blood?” Cordelia gasped, visibly shaken. “How could this have happened? Do we need to inform the Order of this?”
An argument broke out as to whether or not our secret was in danger of exposure to the humans, and if we should involve the Order or not. It took me a few seconds to get their attention again, and I had to finally do it by slamming my hand against the table.
“Guys! The Order is already involved in the investigation, but so far it doesn’t look like it’s an attack on us by any human faction, or their spy wouldn’t have turned up dead. The toxin used wasn’t very lethal, even by human standards, so I don’t think we’re looking at a move by humans against vamps. It’s just the way our bad guy got to us.”
“Setting that aside,” Holt continued, waving that away. “There’s still the matter of your shameful treatment of Bakareh.”
“With all due respect, Mr. Holt, I believe I treated him the way he deserved to be treated. I can hardly offer respect to a guy who shows me and my House none.”
“Bakareh is easily the oldest turned vampire on the planet. The usual conventions don’t apply to him. You should have treated him with deference. Now our only hope is if you send him a personal apology, and hope that he accepts it.”
“I won’t apologize for not allowing him to bully me,” I insisted, standing my ground. “You picked me to be the Elder of the West because you thought I’d be strong and wouldn’t let the other Houses push us around. Well, this is me being strong.”
“Here, here,” Durand spoke up, rapping his knuckles on the table in support. “I, for one, am glad she demonstrated that the West will not be treated as a second class House.”
Anders’ palm came up in disagreement. “There is a difference between being strong and being obstinate. It’s not wise to antagonize one of his strength and power.”
“He’s a spoiled brat, and we all know it,” Cordelia chimed in, but she looked distressed more than anything else. “But that’s not the question of the day. The question is, how can we repair the damage between our Houses?”
“What could he do to us, really?” I asked, wondering what all the fuss was about over a little argument. “Bakareh lives a half a world away. Even if he declared war on us tonight, how would it affect us?”
Powell spoke for the first time, his words slow and careful
. “Any time two Houses have a parting of ways, it affects us all. Different factions pick sides, it could very quickly escalate into a global war. And nobody wants a global war.”
“So why didn’t you flip out when I cut all ties to Vetis?” Felix had practically been turning cartwheels when I snubbed both Corley and then Aubrey after him. Where was Felix, I wondered?
“Because Aubrey is a new leader and relatively green,” Cordelia explained. “He doesn’t have strong ties to any of the other Houses, and there are plenty who’d be interested in seeing him fail. Bakareh is old and well respected.”
“He might be old, but I think we all know he’s not well respected,” I snorted. “The guy’s a joke. I stand by my decision to boot him out on his pampered butt.”
“And what the Houses will see is you flaunting your disregard for tradition,” Holt scowled, but I caught onto his idea with enthusiasm.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m not kissing his behind for the sake of tradition. If there’s anything you can say about my rule, it’s that I will challenge the conventions I find stupid.”
“That isn’t going to win any popularity contests,” Anders sighed.
“Well, what are we doing here? Trying to win a popularity contest, or trying to make this nation stronger?”
“Too often they go hand in hand,” Cordelia mused aloud, winding an auburn curl around and around her finger and then letting it go again.
Durand stood, giving me a confident smile before he addressed the others. “I applaud Anja on her stance against mistreatment by the old ones.”
“You would,” Holt sneered.
“Would you relax?” Durand grinned. “Like she said, what’s the worst Bakareh can do? Yes, he’s worshipped like a god in his country, but we’re in the modern world. His time is dying out, and if he can’t adjust, that’s too bad for him. Yes, he’s older and stronger than any one of us, but not if we stand together.”
“And let’s not forget, we are under the protection of Jakob,” Powell added.
There was a general assent at that point, but Holt held fast to his opinion. “I still think the right thing to do is to send an apology.”
“You don’t have to mean it, but it would be the diplomatic thing to do,” Cordelia allowed, pitching it as more of a suggestion.
“I’ll think about it,” I replied, meeting them half way. “With any luck, Bakareh will hole up in his throne room, and none of us will hear from him for another thousand years.”
Felix met me out in the hallway before I could make a break for it. “I can’t believe you pulled that off, boss!” he gushed, shaking my hand with enthusiasm. “I was sure they were gonna ask you to step down.”
Had it been as bad as that? “How do you know they didn’t?”
“I heard the whole thing from the security office.”
“Ugh, I have to get Carter to drop the audio surveillance. I keep forgetting it’s all being recorded.” Great googly moogly, did that mean he had a recording of what Bishop and I had been up to the night of the party? That sounded like a question I might not want the answer to.
“Nah, it’s a great tool, we’ve already picked up a ton of useful stuff so far.”
I didn’t want to know what he meant. “Listen, why don’t you pick up something touristy from San Francisco, or better yet, get something from the Disney store and I’ll send it on to Bakareh with a handwritten note.” Maybe not an apology for the way I’d talked to him, but I could say I was sorry his trip hadn’t gone as planned. It was better than nothing.
“Great idea, boss, but, ah… I ain’t so sure I’m the right guy for the job. Without Bridget I’m kind of useless at shopping.”
That brought me up short. “What do you mean without Bridget?”
“Oh, didn’t you know? She up and left. Said she was homesick for her old neighborhood and her old life. She even missed working at the hospital.”
“She actually told you she wanted to pick up her old job again?” That didn’t sound like the Bridget I knew, but then again, I hadn’t spoken to her in months.
“Yeah, seems kinda nutso to me to give up the lap of luxury, but what could I say? I don’t want to stand in the way of her happiness.”
He seemed so lackadaisical about it all. “And it didn’t bother you at all to break up?” I’d thought he had genuine feelings for Bridget.
“Things were, ah…” Felix swallowed, adjusting his tie uncomfortably. “Look, I know she’s your friend and all, but things weren’t good between us for a while. We just didn’t seem simpatico no more.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know that.”
“It’s fine. I ain’t ever been the guy lookin’ for true love, ya know?” he grinned. “Bridge too, she knew the score. Neither one of us is all that broken hearted over it.”
“Well, I’m glad there are no bad feelings between you.” Whether Bridget felt the same way remained to be seen. I knew from personal experience that she kept a lot bottled up inside her, and I wondered what had made her decide to break things off with Felix for good. Not enough to give her a call and ask her out for coffee though, those days were over for us too.
“About the shopping,” Felix started to say, and I shook myself out of my thoughts.
“Oh, right. I’ll have Maggie pick something up, she’ll know what to do, as usual.”
So Bridget was around in San Francisco again. Cool beans. At least it was unlikely I’d run into her any time soon if she was intent on picking up the threads of her old life. I’d come a long way since our third floor walk-up, and I didn’t have any intention of walking back down memory lane any time soon.
Chapter Twenty-Five
On the advice of the council, I sent a peace offering to Bakareh. An exquisite snow globe with Peter Pan’s pirate ship inside, since he seemed to embrace the boy who refused to grow up on his visit to Disneyland. I sent along a note, expressing how sorry I was that his visit had ended on such a sour note, and that I hoped he’d found his return trip enjoyable. A week later I received a large package with my note ripped into pieces, the slow globe smashed to bits. So much for repairing diplomatic channels.
I settled into a new routine over the next couple of weeks, one that left me far more absorbed in work than I would’ve liked. I’d been hoping things would settle down after the new year, but that wasn’t the case at all. It seemed like every vamp in the territory had some kind of petition for my eyes only, and with the influx of new vampires to the north, there was more business to deal with, in general. What I really needed was to appoint a Magistrate for the northern part of the lands. We’d never had a need for one before, but it was obvious that the new population was thriving.
Unfortunately, on the nights that I freed up my schedule, Bishop’s duties kept him out in the field. Carter didn’t mind that at all, monopolizing my time with his new scheme to put a fireman’s pole from the demolished office in my basement to his growing tunnel below. I accused him of living out his Bruce Wayne fantasies at the expense of my basement, and he’d given me a bashful shrug. How could I argue with that?
I was glad to have some time to help with the wedding plans for both Maggie and Hanna, who’d become fast friends, bonding over bridal magazines. It was easier than I’d thought it would be merging those two worlds together. Carter and Mason got along famously, like two frat boys in search of their next prank, and it wasn’t unusual to find Hanna at the house having dinner with Maggie, Tucker, and Lee when I woke for the night.
I didn’t mention Gunnar’s slip up in telling me about Maggie and Tucker’s search for a new house, and she didn’t bring it up either. For all I knew they’d changed their minds; Maggie seemed to be enjoying the bonding time with my sister and me, and Tucker stuck by Lee’s side whenever he could. I certainly preferred having them around all the time, it made the house feel more like a home.
As much as I enjoyed the hours we spent together, I missed spending more time with Bishop though. It felt like
there was always something pulling us apart. We kept talking about taking time off, eager to repeat those first few days of bliss, but something always seemed to come up. I have to say though, what short time we did share together was full of passion.
In fact, I think it made it hotter that we couldn’t find more than an hour or two together at a time. Absence did make the heart grow fonder, and the rest of me as well. When Bishop came to see me at the office, we shut the blinds and gave in to a little midnight delight more often than not, and that wasn’t a bad way to date – for a while – but I wanted more.
I started to think more about moving in together. That way, we’d at least see each other at the start and end of every night. It was crazy, but I hadn’t even gotten around to inviting him into my house yet. We were either meeting somewhere already out, or at his place because there was more privacy. But I couldn’t expect Carter and the rest of the family to ever warm to him as long as we kept ourselves apart. Maybe it was time for the next step?
There was a lot on my calendar for the night, but I asked Gunnar to take a detour on the way to the office. Jakob’s building had pretty much become the permanent HQ for the Order in his absence, and I hoped I’d find Bishop in his office, instead of out on the streets. I probably could’ve called first, but I was afraid I’d chicken out if he asked why I wanted to talk to him.
The front desk let me right in, being the Elder had its perks, and nobody stopped me on the way up to Bishop’s office. I found him sitting at his desk, bent over a large, leather bound ledger, a pucker of concentration marring his brow as his pen moved across the paper.
“They do have these newfangled things called computers, you know.”
Bishop looked up, his startle quickly morphing into a smile. “Hey, this is a nice surprise. What brings you here? Not another practical joke by our poisoner, I hope.”
“No, nothing like that. We’re at a complete standstill with that investigation, though I think Carter isn’t quite ready to let it go yet. He keeps insisting that somebody had to have seen something. I don’t think he’ll be happy until he’s interrogated every person in a five block radius from where her body was found.”