on the
other end of the line, since she was the one person on the Council that would
probably have a good reason to make sure the rest of them knew not to attack,
in a timely fashion. That out of the way, she waved to Lenore.
“We were set up.” She tried to
sound like it was a joke, if not a very good one, and got a concerned
expression for her trouble.
Well, a laugh would be out of
place.
“With Bohdan Constantine?” It was
painfully obvious that Lenore was getting ready to try and fight her way out of
the office, even as Eve nodded.
Her small pale hand had curled
into a fist, and her eyes started to tinge streaks of blood red.
So Eve shrugged.
“Yeah. Fram I think. He had to
know, well, way more than the rest of us did. How much of it he caused I don’t
know. I mean, you get the part where we’re supposed to be fighting now,
that’s clear. So to you it seems like you purposefully let me walk into a
situation where Nikki would be confronted with a man she loved, that I, or at
least Bey, was supposed to execute. Only, what were the real odds of things
lining up like that, without it being a set up? I keep going over it, and it’s
not really possible. There’s more, too. Like Marissa not simply setting up an
animal blood service over there when they asked. There’s no real reason for it.
Especially not to think that I wouldn’t share the formula so that they could
get things done. Something, or someone, had to steer her to think that way.
How, I don’t know, since I’m pretty darned nifty, which is a thing that
should be clear to her by now. But at each turn we were guided to take certain
actions. For all I know, I’m still walking right into it all. I don’t
think so though.” She waited, letting the other woman think for a bit.
Lenore actually gasped, in
surprise.
“I… Think I can see it. Why
though? It has to be about more than what you and I do.”
“Does it? We aren’t
important, directly, but if we fought, you’d probably kill me. Or, who knows,
maybe I get smart, or lucky and do you first… Then Zack would kill me for it.
If you took me out, then what are the odds that no one else might not come to
see why it happened, and accidently kill you? Keeley or Darla, for instance? Maybe
even Zack, though I kind of doubt that one. Or… Hell, maybe even Fram ?
He and I have a thing set up, and that could be used as an excuse, if he wanted
to goad the others. Not that it would have to be that, but it could happen.” She shrugged. “So, when Nikki gets here, apologize, and mean it. So that I don’t have to decide that you both need to be spanked. That
probably won’t end well, for any of us. That means we need to take the high
road, right?”
It felt like she was probably
wrong in a thousand places, but the other Vampire just raised an eyebrow.
“ Well . I gather we should
then. Is she here now?”
“Outside. Screaming at the sun,
when I left her.” Except that she was actually at the front of the shop, by the
sound of it.
Lenore didn’t make either of them
wait, going out to the front of the brightly colored shop, and giving her
sister a small hug, and an apology that sounded nearly real. It wasn’t. Eve
might not have had siblings that she could use as a personal example, but she
really doubted that two hundred plus years of bad blood was going to be washed
away with a couple of forced handshakes. It wouldn’t have worked for her, she
didn’t think, and compared to a lot of Vampires Eve knew she was practically
sweetness and light.
Nikki took the gesture for what
it was worth, and managed to do it graciously enough that no one started
throwing punches. That was, hopefully, good enough. Then the pierced lady
stretched, like she was tired and smiled over at Eve.
“Well, I think I’ll be off then?
Maybe catch a nap?”
Snorting loudly, Eve grinned.
“Don’t you freaking dare .
Go catch a shower and get back here. For that matter, where are the others?
Dave…” She looked at
other end of the line, since she was the one person on the Council that would
probably have a good reason to make sure the rest of them knew not to attack,
in a timely fashion. That out of the way, she waved to Lenore.
“We were set up.” She tried to
sound like it was a joke, if not a very good one, and got a concerned
expression for her trouble.
Well, a laugh would be out of
place.
“With Bohdan Constantine?” It was
painfully obvious that Lenore was getting ready to try and fight her way out of
the office, even as Eve nodded.
Her small pale hand had curled
into a fist, and her eyes started to tinge streaks of blood red.
So Eve shrugged.
“Yeah. Fram I think. He had to
know, well, way more than the rest of us did. How much of it he caused I don’t
know. I mean, you get the part where we’re supposed to be fighting now,
that’s clear. So to you it seems like you purposefully let me walk into a
situation where Nikki would be confronted with a man she loved, that I, or at
least Bey, was supposed to execute. Only, what were the real odds of things
lining up like that, without it being a set up? I keep going over it, and it’s
not really possible. There’s more, too. Like Marissa not simply setting up an
animal blood service over there when they asked. There’s no real reason for it.
Especially not to think that I wouldn’t share the formula so that they could
get things done. Something, or someone, had to steer her to think that way.
How, I don’t know, since I’m pretty darned nifty, which is a thing that
should be clear to her by now. But at each turn we were guided to take certain
actions. For all I know, I’m still walking right into it all. I don’t
think so though.” She waited, letting the other woman think for a bit.
Lenore actually gasped, in
surprise.
“I… Think I can see it. Why
though? It has to be about more than what you and I do.”
“Does it? We aren’t
important, directly, but if we fought, you’d probably kill me. Or, who knows,
maybe I get smart, or lucky and do you first… Then Zack would kill me for it.
If you took me out, then what are the odds that no one else might not come to
see why it happened, and accidently kill you? Keeley or Darla, for instance? Maybe
even Zack, though I kind of doubt that one. Or… Hell, maybe even Fram ?
He and I have a thing set up, and that could be used as an excuse, if he wanted
to goad the others. Not that it would have to be that, but it could happen.” She shrugged. “So, when Nikki gets here, apologize, and mean it. So that I don’t have to decide that you both need to be spanked. That
probably won’t end well, for any of us. That means we need to take the high
road, right?”
It felt like she was probably
wrong in a thousand places, but the other Vampire just raised an eyebrow.
“ Well . I gather we should
then. Is she here now?”
“Outside. Screaming at the sun,
when I left her.” Except that she was actually at the front of the shop, by the
sound of it.
Lenore didn’t make either of them
wait, going out to the front of the brightly colored shop, and giving her
sister a small hug, and an apology that sounded nearly real. It wasn’t. Eve
might not have had siblings that she could use as a personal example, but she
really doubted that two hundred plus years of bad blood was going to be washed
away with a couple of forced handshakes. It wouldn’t have worked for her, she
didn’t think, and compared to a lot of Vampires Eve knew she was practically
sweetness and light.
Nikki took the gesture for what
it was worth, and managed to do it graciously enough that no one started
throwing punches. That was, hopefully, good enough. Then the pierced lady
stretched, like she was tired and smiled over at Eve.
“Well, I think I’ll be off then?
Maybe catch a nap?”
Snorting loudly, Eve grinned.
“Don’t you freaking dare .
Go catch a shower and get back here. For that matter, where are the others?
Dave…” She looked at
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