He paused as if for dramatic effect while the vampires looked nervously around, the pepper of tense magic rising in the room. They shuffled nervously, waiting for Frank's verdict.
"There is too much doubt in this House. Doubt about its position within the umbrel a of the Greenwich Presidium.
Doubt about its loyalties. You have taken oaths to your House. Unfortunately, those oaths have been sublimated by the Masters of this House. Therefore, tonight, you'l each of you take a new oath. You'l recal that you exist through our generosity, and you wil swear fealty to the Greenwich Presidium."
The room went silent, the magic peaking with an electric spark that felt strong enough to il uminate the room.
"He cannot be serious," Lindsey whispered, expression aghast as she stared at the podium.
"I think it only appropriate that the captain of our guards, she who is tasked with protecting the House from al enemies, dead or alive, take the first oath."
The wave of turning heads divided, splitting to create a gap that put Keley directly in Frank's line of sight. He beckoned her forward with a hand.
"Keley, captain of this House, come forward and swear your fealty."
She looked at me with doubt in her eyes, clearly unsure what to do. I sympathized. If she refused to go forward, she'd undoubtedly catch hel . Sure, Malik and Ethan were in the building, but they were two floors away, and she was surrounded by vampires who'd be honor bound to obey whatever dictate Frank laid out.
On the other hand - swear an oath to the GP? Was this guy crazy?
There was no good option, no right choice, I thought, except to create as little new drama as possible. So I reached out and squeezed her hand, and gave her the gav She took a moment to compose herself, then walked slowly forward through the gap of vampires. Some looked at her with obvious sympathy; some looked like they expected more from their captain than kowtowing to the dictates of a GP figurehead.
She reached the dais at the front of the room, which was Frank's signal to wax poetic again.
"Keley, captain of this House," he said again. "Swear your oath to the Greenwich Presidium."
"I have sworn oaths to Cadogan House," she said, her voice ringing clearly through the bal room. "I am already bound."
I felt a surge of relief from the crowd, but the pulse of magic from the front of the room was much less friendly.
"Then rebuke your oaths to Cadogan House."
"I wil not rebuke my oaths," Keley said. "I did not make them lightly, and I wil not rebuke them so you can make a better report to the GP."
A vein in his neck pulsed with fury. "You wil swear your loyalty to the GP," he gritted out, "or you wil regret it from here 'til eternity."
The doors burst open. "Like hel she wil ."
Al heads turned back to the doorway. Malik stood there, fury in his eyes, his arm around Ethan's waist as he helped him into the room. A complete hush fel over the crowd, just before the room erupted in noise and sound and joyful tears. Vampires rushed toward the door, and Malik gave them a moment to welcome their fal en hero.
I took the opportunity to look back at Frank and savor the shocked expression on his face. That expression, after the grief he'd put this House through, almost made it worthwhile.
And then Malik cal ed the vampires to order again.
"Quiet," he said, and the room silenced immediately. "For your information, Mr. Cabot, the vampires of this House take oaths to the House and its vampires, not the GP."
Frank composed himself and offered him a dubious look.
"And by whose authority do you chal enge mine?"
Malik gave back a look that was just as imperious. "By the authority instil ed in Cadogan House and its Master by the Greenwich Presidium."
Frank looked from Malik to Ethan. "A Masterdom that appears to be in some state of disarray."
Ethan cleared his throat. "Malik Washington is Master of this House. He was duly Invested by the GP upon my death, such as it was. He wil remain in that position until I am Invested again."
In other words, Malik was Master of the House, and Ethan wouldn't chal enge his position.
The crowd rustled with anticipation.
"The vampires in this House," Malik said, "including the captain of its guards, have proven their worth time and time again. Tonight, we saw their wil ingness to head immediately into battle, the danger to them notwithstanding, to protect this House. They are brave and honorable. And in response, you accuse them of disloyalty and demand new oaths? I seriously doubt the GP would condone such behaviors. You are hereby ordered to leave this House, Mr.Cabot."
"You have no power to order me out."
Malik arched a very Ethan-like eyebrow at Frank.
eyebrowranly dI have power to remove any forces that are disruptive to this House, and Ethan is in agreement with me. No one would argue that you fal wel within that category. You have ten minutes to remove your belongings."
"I wil report you to the GP."
"I'm sure you wil ," Malik said. "You may report that our House is wel in order, that it is home to brave and true vampires. Oh - and you can also advise them that Merit has been reappointed Sentinel."
He smiled a bit evil y, and I had to bite back my own wide grin.
"Take that back to the GP, Mr. Cabot. And should the urge arise, feel free to tel them to f**k off."
With Frank expunged from the House, the rest of the vampires surrounded Ethan with joyous celebration. As if energized by their affection, he managed to stand on his own again.
When the vampires quieted, Malik put a hand on his shoulder. "This House is yours, by blood and by bone, and you are welcome in its wal s at any hour."
Ethan had once said something similar to me, assuring me that I was a member of his House "by blood and by bone." Maybe it was one of the phrases vampires used, part of the col ective vocabulary, the communal memory, of a people bound together by the need for assimilation.
"When the time is right," Malik said, "I wil hand the torch back to you. In the meantime, the city wil undoubtedly have questions. I've no doubt the mayor wil be pounding on the door soon enough."
"Quite possibly," Ethan said, and then took my hand and grinned at Malik. "But if you don't mind, I plan to use the last bit of the evening to ful advantage."
I felt my cheeks warm, but I was in good company; even Luc blushed at that one.
With Malik's assurance that Ethan's apartments were his to use, we returned to his room, hand in hand.
We'd barely closed the door before his mouth was on mine, hungry and insistent. Passion flared and spiraled around us with the magnitude of ancient magicks.