Other victims? What other victims?
“You’ve encountered this before?” I asked sharply. Where?
“Not this exactly,” Nathan said.
A suspicion occurred to me.
“Is this related to the other strange things in the city?”
Nathan and Liam shared a long glance. Liam gave a slight nod.
“Possibly. We’re not sure. The pattern isn’t clear. Different people react in very different ways so it’s hard to tell if the source is one thing or many. This is the first that was compelled to commit suicide.”
My eyes dropped back to the body as I turned his words over in my head. I was willing to bet the source for the odd behavior affecting spooks in the city was the same. Maybe the difference in reactions could be attributed to different species or different levels of powers.
If that was the case, Robert shouldn’t have been affected as heavily as he was. As an applicant for the selection, he should have been among the more powerful in the city.
“How powerful was he in comparison to the other applicant’s?” I asked.
Nathan looked like he was thinking my question over. “I’d say he wasn’t the weakest, but he wasn’t the strongest either.” He looked at Liam for confirmation. “Thomas is probably the strongest by a large margin, followed by Stephen, then Robert and Elinor. Robert held the advantage there as he had considerably more experience in battle. He’s had a lot of practice using his abilities to their maximum potential. He could probably give Stephen a run for his money; he was that good at the finer details of control.”
“Could everything that’s been happening lately be aimed at fixing the applicant selection?” I asked, my question falling into a sudden silence.
I saw grim expressions on the men’s faces. I was taking that as a yes, which meant we had a roomful of suspects inside.
“What are we going to do with the body?” Nathan asked.
“That’s a good question,” an accented voice spoke from the doorway. “What exactly is your plan, enforcer?”
This time I controlled my jump, converting it into a quick turn.
Nathan looked like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar as he met Liam’s eyes in a silent apology.
Eric stepped from behind the short vampire, his eyes landing on the body. He grimaced and mouthed a choice word before his face turned expressionless.
Liam stood and inclined his head in a slight bow to the other man.
“Elder Tse, we are still gathering evidence. Once we have all of the facts, it will be time to decide.”
The elder’s eyes lingered on me as he joined us on the patio. His eyes fell on the body. They reflected a brief moment of sorrow before a mask slid over them, hiding any feeling he might have had at the loss of life.
“If your friend is right and this was an attempt to influence the selection, it will have to be addressed. We have not had a death in a selection for a very long time.”
That surprised me, given the behavior of the vampire applicant’s I’d met. They struck me as the type willing to do anything to gain power even if it meant killing their opponents to ensure victory.
“You witnessed this?” Tse asked, his eyes pinning me in place, the weight of a thousand anvils behind them.
I didn’t like being the focus of all that attention. It made me feel small and helpless, as if my life balanced on the thin precipice that was his good will.
Not knowing what answer would damn me or save me, I chose the truth. “I did.”
“Do you believe he took his own life or that he was compelled to do so?”
I looked at the others, finding no help in their carefully blank faces. Whoever this Tse was, he was dangerous. The rest guarded their expressions and body language, making it impossible to guess which direction led to safety.
“There are easier ways to kill yourself,” I said, thinking my answer over carefully. “Even for a vampire. I can’t imagine this was his will. I’m willing to bet there was a compulsion that forced his hand.”
Tse’s black eyes were intent on mine. It felt like that intensity was trying to burrow into my soul and see what made me tick. It took everything in me to hold his gaze. Weakness, I felt, would only lead to bloodshed.
