"And that would mean a beating for you as well, cara."
"Then they could do both of us at once. Two for the price of one, don't you think?" I walked away from him. "Fucking Council," I grumbled.
"You have not had many good experiences with them," Gavin nodded. "Perhaps if you give them some time, they will win you over."
"That'll be the day," I snapped. "I don't even know their names—except for Flavio and Oluwa. I know those two. That's it."
"Then introduce yourself at the Annual Meeting this year," Gavin came to stand next to me, trying to coax me back into his arms. "They cannot refuse the introduction."
"Maybe I shouldn't know their names," I moved away from him again. "Do you like any of them?"
"I like a few, I think. The others I tolerate."
"That dark-haired female is a problem, Gavin. Trust me on that. Someday, Wlodek may have her standing in front of him." Gavin lifted an eyebrow at my statement, but didn't say anything. I didn't expect anything else—I was used to nobody listening to me. I sighed. "It sucks being a new vampire," I said, picking up my shampoo and soap and carrying them into the bathroom.
"Cara, the first five years are mandatory," Gavin came in to stand behind me. "While your first years seem to be more troubled than others, you have many important vampires watching you. You are extraordinary, Lissa. A Queen. Wlodek is holding off informing the full Council because of Xenides—you understand why he must continue to think your weakness is compulsion. When the Council and the race as a whole are informed there is a Queen again, that will be cause for celebration."
"Celebration my ass," I muttered. I didn't want a celebration. I just wanted to make decisions for myself.
"Don't you want others to recognize you for what you are?" Gavin sounded puzzled.
"Sheesh. No," I replied, tossing a hand helplessly. Honestly, whenever Kifirin started talking of rebuilding Le-Ath Veronis, I got chills, and not in a good way.
"Lissy?" Tony's voice sounded through the upper floor guesthouse. I guess he didn't want to surprise us in case we were in a compromising position.
"Tony, what do you want?" I headed toward the bedroom door. René was right behind Tony; Dalroy, Rhett, Winkler and newly appointed Director Bill Jennings were right behind René in our small sitting area.
"Lissa, Director Jennings has unfortunate news," René said. Gavin stepped up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders.
"What is it?" I was suddenly terrified. Tony looked gray. Bill's face had lost most of its color.
"This was sent to the OSBI," Bill held out a photograph. OSBI—Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. My fingers shook as I took the photograph from Bill's hand. Gavin's arm around my waist was what kept me standing; the photograph was of Don's brother, David. He'd been killed; multiple stab wounds covered his torso and he'd been dumped on top of Don's grave, his neck bent at an unnatural angle as it rested against Don's headstone.
"Oh, dear God," I muttered, my hand covering my mouth. "Where's Sara?"
"We don't know," Bill said. "We received a typewritten note with this photograph. It says come to me or there will be more of the same."
"Lissa, the authorities don't have any leads. There weren't any fingerprints on the photograph or the note. Not even the envelope or the stamps." Tony had already discussed this with Bill, I could tell.
"Where was it mailed?" I was doing my best to keep from crying. David's body had been tossed carelessly onto Don's grave, his stab wounds likely from a vampire's claws. "How long has he been dead?" The photograph shook as I handed it back to Bill.
"He was killed somewhere nearby and thrown on the grave. We couldn't find shoe prints or other evidence," Bill said softly. "This happened two nights ago."
"Don's grave is at least twenty feet from the nearest road that runs through that cemetery," I wiped my cheeks. "Those f**king vampires threw him from the road so they wouldn't leave prints behind."
"We think that too; the coroner is certain that all broken bones were postmortem."
"Raona," Roff walked in the room. He'd been wandering outside; I smelled freshly mown grass and flowers about him. Roff had been exploring Winkler's four acres surrounding the house. He came straight to me now, wiping stubborn tears from my face.
"We're keeping this away from the media for now," Bill went on. "Of course, it was all done at night and nobody saw anything."
"Do you have surveillance cameras around the cemetery now?" Tony asked.
"Yes, but as you know, they probably won't go back there."
"Then how the hell am I supposed to come to them if I don’t know where they are?" I was getting angry, now. If I had any idea where Xenides was, he would be a very dead vampire as soon as I could make him so.
"Lissa, you will get that thought out of your head immediately," Gavin growled. "You will not be going to any of them. We will track them down and take care of this."
"Then why did you bring me?" I considered misting away from him.
"Because you're good at this, Lissy," Tony said. "You make intuitive leaps sometimes. Look what you did about those child killers in England."
"Uh-huh." I attempted to wiggle out of Gavin's arms.
"Raona, come with me," Roff took my arm and Gavin let me go. Roff led me to the bedroom and shut the door behind us.
"Don't join up with them," I pulled away from Roff.
"I know you are upset and they are not allowing you your full potential," Roff said. "A Queen protects her people. I think they are too afraid of losing you."
"Honey, I think I love you," I said, giving him a hug.
* * *
Bill motioned the others out the door and pulled them down the steps leading away from the guesthouse. "Mr. Hancock asked me not to give additional information to Lissa," Bill said, once they were inside Winkler's mansion. Winkler led them quietly into the kitchen, glad that Kellee was asleep. Trajan was now living with him, and he'd kept James and Leon on as bodyguards.
"We didn't give you the full contents of the note," Bill said, once they'd settled around the huge island. "They want Lissa to come to them in Kansas City. They've given a date and time; otherwise, they'll go after her cousins who live in the state. We have our doubts as to whether Sara Workman is still alive since they're threatening the cousins, now." Bill was thrown into a difficult situation immediately—there hadn't been an opportunity for him to ease into the job. His forehead was creased with worry; Rahim Alif could very well be with Xenides. In his experience, where one of them was in the past, the other hadn't been far away.