Sam, don’t. I’ll handle this.
Not this time. I’ve got it.
“Vlad was in your room,” Chaaya, one of the Asian Counselors said. “Perhaps three is what you enjoy.”
I sighed and glanced at Clive. “I knew that was going to bite us in the butt. Oh, well. If Mr. Angry Pants over here wants to blame me for his own stupid assistant shooting himself, then whatever. So, what do we do? Arm wrestle? Poker? Foot race? No word puzzles, though, okay? I’m surprisingly bad at those.”
Sam…
It has to be done. I’ll be fine.
He’s very strong and an excellent fighter, Clive told me.
Are you saying I’m not? I’ll kick his ass.
If you die, I’ll be quite put out.
Twenty-Four
Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!
“Perhaps we should move to the sparring room,” Sebastian said, “and we can settle this.” He glanced down the hall at all the vampires and Renfields watching. “That seems the best way to put this incident to rest.”
As much as I don’t like it, Clive told me, he’s right. We need to deal with this before we leave or it will follow us. He took my hand and we moved down the hall.
A lot of angry vamp eyes were directed at me. It’s fine, I responded. I mean, what’s the point of being trapped in a haunted asylum with a herd of vampires if you don’t get into a melee and start tearing off heads?
My thoughts exactly and I don’t believe herd is the proper collective noun for my kind.
A pride? That seems pretty fitting. A flamboyance of vampires? I suggested.
We mostly wear black, Clive said mind-to-mind. We’re not terribly flamboyant.
How about a flock? You guys turn into bats, right?
I believe the collective for bats is a colony, he told me, which doesn’t sound terribly intimidating.
Well, I’m sticking with my old favorite, a gaggle of vampires.
Fair enough. He kissed my hand. Did that settle your nerves?
Mostly. How large do you think the group is that wants us dead? I wondered.
I think we’re about to find out, he said.
Do they hate me because I’m a werewolf or do they actually think I seduced and killed that putz?
My question as well. I was led to believe I’d be meeting with a few members to discuss what being a Counselor entailed and if it was a good fit for me. I was encouraged to bring you and now I’m wondering if it has all been a setup to get rid of both of us in a way that my friends—Cadmael for one—wouldn’t take issue with.
And Sebastian’s part of the setup? I asked.
It’s seeming more and more likely, yes.
I really do think Vlad’s on our side, I told him. Cadmael might hate me, but he cares about you. If those fighters are still here, Noab, Wei, Amir, and Salvador seemed to like you too. If it becomes an all-out war, they might fight on our side.
Darling, no one is going to risk their own lives. They may secretly root for Thomas, but they won’t lift a finger to help him. We’re selfish creatures, clinging to our undeath.
We filed into the sparring room, where even more onlookers were waiting. I supposed we were tonight’s entertainment.
