“You have the parley papers between the EuroVamps and Dominique and Cym and what I hope will soon be a dead rogue werewolf pack. The Bighorn Pack is hunting for any werewolf remnants still in the city. Alex will concentrate on Bancym, Clan Des Citrons, and Dominique. When he finds their lair, I’ll take it out. That leaves only the EuroVamps. Easy peasy.”
Leo smiled slightly and set down the remainder of his scotch as if it had lost flavor. “We will fight. Within two nights. It will be, as you Americans say, winner take all.”
“Which will make you the emperor of Europe.” Istudied him. “For all that you’re a selfish narcissist with tendencies to see everyone on earth as tools to be used or discarded, you’ll rule well.”
Leo laughed, but it was a vamp laugh, all pathos and no human humor. “You honor me. Honor I do not deserve in the human understanding of the term, for I harmed you, my Jane, my Enforcer. My Dark Queen.”
For once I decided not to object to the titles or the possessives. He knew how I felt about them all. I sipped. After a moment Leo sipped again too. Eli watched us like a hawk, eyes piercing and steady. “You guys decided where the fights are gonna be?” I asked. “You’ve left me out of that decision-making process.”
“Such decisions are... above your pay grade.”
Well, wasn’t that just ducky. “I need to get the venue’s security in place.”
“I have not kept you in the dark without cause. I have used you for the purposes I need.”
He swirled his drink again, watching the scotch legs drain down the glass. “As of two hours past, the decision has been made to situate the Sangre Duello on one or another Chitimacha tribal island not far from Port Eads,” Leo said. “There are three tribal islands with houses that have been shared with Clan Pellissier since the early 1800s, and the tribe has allowed us to maintain the homes and the grounds for a reasonable fee.”
I thought about that, sipped the last of my beer, and said, “As tribal lands, the islands fall under non-U.S. lands use? So you can dock there and so can Titus.”
“Correct. It can be argued that, technically, the U.S. government has no jurisdiction there.”
“They might dispute that,” I said. “In court.”
“They might,” he agreed. “However, as we will not be announcing the exact locale, the Duello will be long over by the time the government decides how to apply the law to us, the Chitimacha, and Titus, put the proper paperwork together, and go to a judge for legal writs to charge us or to stop us.”
“Or they could just blow you out of the water as soon as you all arrive. Drop a bomb on the island or napalm itand be done with the biggest, baddest vamps on the planet.” Leo didn’t reply to that one, still turning his crystal glass. “You’re planning that by the time they figure out where the fights are taking place, Titus’s head will have rolled. But the military has satellite capability and radar and missiles.” Leo still said nothing. “You got a map of the places with GPS?”
Leo pulled up a topo map of the toe of Louisiana on his computer and turned it to me. Three places were fuzzed out, the way U.S. military installations are fuzzed out on satellite maps. I frowned at him and Leo said, “Some time ago, I arranged to have them... pixelated?” His tone questioned the term. “Money has its privileges.”
“Île des Eaux,” I said, reading the name of one. “Island of the Waters.” Leo looked impressed that I could translate the French, butîleandeauxwere pretty easy. “Spitfire Island and Contempt Isle. So when do we go?”
“A few housekeeping and landscaping blood-servants were dispatched a week past—just in case an island proved acceptable to Titus—to each of the three islands, along with a well-paid construction crew, to determine the houses’ suitability and state of disrepair. Security went down with the construction crew to evaluate those concerns. As soon as the final venue is decided upon, you will, of course, go down and oversee preparations for security.
“The crews involved with the immediate evaluation and cleanup don’t know they are there to begin initial preparation for a possible Mithran occupation. They have had no contact with the outside world since they arrived at the islands. Each house is primitive by modern-day standards: no cellular, no Internet. We may not have hot and cold running water or indoor toilets. Minimal electricity, all solar. We will have a small staff, most of them camping. Those of us who have been challenged will either stay on-site in light-safe rooms or be flown in by helicopter. On-site bunkroom space will be provided for Clan Yellowrock and a security team and blood-servants. Other bunkrooms may be available as needed, though the occupants may need to switch off, as you say.”
“I’m not concerned about the sleeping arrangements. I’m concerned about the security. Why was I not involved with this?”
“Your Alex has been an active participant, looking over all three sites. He has a preference, and I am doing all I can in negotiations to accommodate him and the security needs.”
And Alex hadn’t told me.
Leo let a tiny human smile cross his features. “When a leader has trained his capable and loyal people well, my Jane, it is then time to let them go and perform the tasks one has assigned to them. I needed your skills and protection here at Council Chambers, not on an island many miles away.”
I scowled at Leo, but he had a point. Alex was growing up and doing his job without being asked.
Leo went on. “Titus and his people will anchor offshore and arrive after dusk each evening via motorized dory to the repaired docks. They will depart before dawn in the same small boats.”
I put my paws on the floor and stood. “You got any other news you want to share?” Leo stretched back and removed a sheet of paper from his printer, folded it once, and leaned to me, holding it out. I narrowed my eyes at him and took the sheet. I opened the fold and glanced down. It was a list of opponents and fights. My name figured prominently. “This is gonna suck.”
“I hope so, my Jane,” Leo said, the twinkle back in his eyes. “I do hope so.”
“Not what I meant.”
The partial smile slid away. “No. Not what you meant. These next few days will be difficult. But you asked me if there was other information you needed to know. Yes. There is.”
“And?”
“As you requested when you brought him here, I met privately with the man Ayatas FireWind. He requested to be present at the Sangre Duello. I refused. He grows persistent.”
