“Del, are Leo and Grégoire up to speed on Satan’s Three? That they may be in town?”

“Yes,” she said simply. “They have not presented themselves to Leo, according to the Vampira Carta; therefore they are interlopers in his hunting territory,” she said formally, as if handing down a sentence against a lawbreaker. “You have carte blanche in any dealings with them.”

“Good. As part of Protocol Aardvark, I want Katie here on-site until Leo is fully recuperated. Once everyone is on-site, all travel is to be curtailed, and any travel that the vamps insist upon is to be by armored vehicle with standard three-vehicle precautions, a definite itinerary, and no deviation. And if you can distract them from travel, all the better.” We all knew that distract meant blood or sex. It didn’t have to be said. “Bethany is with Grégoire. I want blood-meals—the strongest blood we have in the city—for Leo and Grégoire until they’re fully healed and a hundred and ten percent. And whatever they need to be made totally well. If that means dragging the clan blood-masters to help, then that’s want I want to happen. I want this city’s vamps at full power in two days, without giving up the protection of Protocol Aardvark. I also need a private audience with Grégoire. ASAP. You have an hour before dawn to see that my orders—the orders of the Enforcer,” I corrected, “are carried out. Take whoever you need to get the people in place. Then get back in here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Wrassler said, standing and motioning to three others at the table.

As they left the room, I went on. “The next person who wants to bet on me in a fight gets to fight me him- or herself. Personally.” I looked around the room. “In case you didn’t get it, a foreign creature got in to va—Mithran HQ and bit Leo. It messed with our minds and our memories. We have a parley with European Mithrans to plan for. The electrical system isn’t working properly. The elevator’s screwy. And we have someone in town targeting me, who I think is a rogue EuroVamp named Peregrinus.” That made them sit up and take notice. I could have added, And there’s something scary on the bottom basement level. But I didn’t say that, not until I asked some questions of the powers that be. There was a time for everything, and the thing in the basement wasn’t for now. “Peregrinus is Grégoire’s brother and we don’t have much data on him yet. I’ll be talking to Grégoire and others in HQ and will update those who need to know as I obtain info.

“For the record, I screwed up when I hurt Grégoire. Not because it was wrong to do my best, not because I should have let him win to be nice, but because timing is everything and this is not the time. We have a lot of crap going down, and while I don’t give a rat’s fuzzy behind what you bet on in downtimes, this is not that time.”

Del said softly, “Betting is expected among the Europeans.”

“Fine. When we get everything and everyone back into top shape, when the Europeans arrive on American soil, I’ll rescind my orders. Until then, I want you all to turn that excitement and energy to figuring out why we’re having brownouts and why the elevator is wonky. And if you have enough energy left after that, I want you feeding the Mithrans. Got it?”

Heads nodded. To my side, Wrassler reentered and gave me a thumbs-up. “Grégoire will see you at any point before dawn this morning.”

I nodded back, a tiny inclination of my head that would have done Eli proud. “Wrassler, update me on the European parley. What’s new?”

“Our ambassadorial team has been negotiating under the direction of Grégoire and Adelaide Mooney.” He paused, as if just realizing what it might mean to have Grégoire out of commission for even a day. And my own guilt, which I had done a good job of hiding, shot deeply into my core. I’d screwed up when I hurt Grégoire. Pride goeth before a fall and all that. Crap.

Wrassler said, “The agreements to this point are: Three European Mithrans will arrive, on a date yet to be determined, with twelve human blood-servants, three of them primos, and two aligned Onorios, for a total of seventeen guests. All will be housed here, in the council house. By then, Leo will be back in his clan home, which will be ready for a certificate of occupancy in about ten weeks.” He looked at me and I did that little head tilt again.

He continued. “Grégoire asked me to tell Jane that he came into possession of certain historical papers pertaining to the witches and Mithrans in the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas, and the history of animosity between them.” Which sounded like a direct quote from Grégoire. “He and Leo have agreed that Jane needs previously proscribed information to understand what she’s dealing with in regard to issues with the witches’ magical artifacts.” Wrassler glanced down the table and pointed from one of Derek’s men, to the corner where a metal box sat on the floor, and to me. “Grégoire wanted to give you the documents himself.” Wrassler’s lips twitched as he restrained a smile. “However, since he’s indisposed, he asked me to present them.”

One of Derek’s men from Team Tequila, who went by the moniker Jolly Green Giant, stood and carried the metal box to me. With a heavy thud, he set it on the table in front of me, and I opened the lid. It was full of documents, some so old they were crumbling. I lifted one out only to see it was written in some kind of fancy old script, in a language I couldn’t read. “Thanks. This means a lot.” I pulled on the manners pounded into me by the housemothers in the children’s home and said to Wrassler, “I’ll, uh, convey my thanks to Grégoire for his generosity. And I’ll take good care of the documents.”

I sat down and Eli placed the box in an empty chair, then took the seat next to me. His timing suggested that he sat only after I did. That when I stood, he stood. That he was my, what? My right arm? Whatever the psychology of it, it worked. There was something different in the room tonight, and it had to do with what I was. Who I was. It gave me strength and authority I hadn’t known or used before. It terrified me.

But I could run screaming into the day later. I dropped my shoulders, lifted my head, and sat easy in my chair as if I had it all under control. Liar me. “I want any and all info about the EuroVamps known as Peregrinus, Batildis, and a human known as the Devil. Anyone?”

CHAPTER 12