“The West Coast council will not be pleased with this news,” Rebecca grumbled.
“At least they don’t have to elect a replacement. In that sense you have saved them a great deal of work. We’ve disposed of a traitor for them and found a new Tribunal leader to sit in his place. Why should they be unsatisfied?”
“Clearly you’ve never dealt with the West Coast council.” This reply was spoken so quietly Monica either missed it or chose to ignore it. I knew what Rebecca was talking about, though. My experience with the West Coast vampires had been less than stellar even before I was kidnapped.
Suddenly everyone was speaking at once.
There was a great deal of fuss between the council elders who were debating whether they should call the West Coast council or send someone in person. They would also need Clementine to be formally introduced. They grouped together, chattering like birds, and I was altogether forgotten.
Clementine seemed bewildered to hear her name being used so freely in the same sentence as the phrase Tribunal Leader. I’d been there. It was a shock at first when you discovered you were no longer a mere warden and now had power over all those you’d been beneath.
She and I were now equals.
“What are they talking about?” she asked, her voice shaking with nerves. “I was only trying to protect Reggie from that nutcase. You’d have done the same thing. They aren’t going to chain me in silver are they? Secret?” She was trying her best not to look uneasy, but her words tumbled all over each other as she spoke.
“You killed a Tribunal leader,” I said.
“Should I say sorry?”
“No, you don’t get it. You killed a Tribunal leader in a declared fight.” I took her hand and gave it a squeeze, and realization slowed dawned on her.
“No shit?” Her other hand flew to her mouth as she tried to chase the curse back, but it was already out there.
“Trust me. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.” I tried to imagine how Eilidh, the other female Tribunal leader in Los Angeles, would react to the new arrival. At least their hair color balance wouldn’t be upset. I suspected Clementine had a long climb uphill to be accepted with her new council.
But she wasn’t going anywhere yet.
“I hate to interrupt this gong show, you guys, but you can’t call L.A., and you sure as shit can’t go there. So before you start pulling out your hair trying to figure out the most polite way to break the news to the West Coast, you might want to focus your efforts a little closer to home.”
&n
bsp; “What’s she on about?” an old, gray-haired vampire with the improbable name of Merlin asked.
“When was the last time any of you surfaced? Do you know what’s going on up there?” I was stunned to have to explain this. While vampires rarely concerned themselves with the matters of the human world, this was their city too.
“There were pressing matters to be dealt with here,” Rebecca replied. “We assumed the necromancer issue would sort itself out in due time.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but twenty-two necromancers don’t just get sorted out. And I was in the process of dealing with it when I got dragged down here. Now we had an agreement,” I said to Sig.
“We certainly do. And have you ever known me to go back on a promise?”
No, but I tried to keep the number of favors I asked Sig for to a minimum, so my frame of reference was somewhat limited.
“What’s she talking about?” Merlin asked. He sounded and looked so cartoonishly like a grandfather it was almost endearing.
“The council is at my command. You will all be coming with me when we leave, and you’re going to work alongside the eastern werewolf pack. And not a single one of you will complain. Understand? No one will fight, no one will toss insults around, and you will not issue commands to the wolves. They are not your pets, nor are they your subordinates. When I say you will work alongside them, I mean just that.”
“Out of the question,” Merlin grumbled, shaking his head.
“If you don’t come, then you can go to ground with your high-and-mighty attitude forever. Because if we don’t stop these necro sons of bitches tonight, this city will be leveled. Do you understand? I don’t care how you feel about werewolves. I genuinely couldn’t find two fucks to rub together as far as your opinions go, okay? But you will help. And that’s not a request, Merlin. That’s an order from the Tribunal leader you allowed to take the seat.”
“Ever the bossy little thing, aren’t you?” Juan Carlos said from his seat.
“Well, I can’t command you to do anything. So you can take your opinions and shove them right up your ass for all I care. If the city falls, I hope it falls right on your head.”
A thin smile found its way onto his lips. “Secret McQueen versus twenty-two necromancers and an army of the undead?” He snorted. “If you think I’d miss that, you’re dumber than I ever accused you of being.”
Chapter Twenty-One