Conclave (Hypernaturals 3)

You Can Never Go Wrong Feeding Vampires...

We sat at the dinner table, in its full family configuration.

Normally I would have cooked, but I am not feeling that energetic. I ran out and brought in some Barbecue from a little local place we like. Organic beef, grass-fed. Good sauce. Good sausage. Beans that lived someplace between Mexican refried and Texas BBQ. Lots of Garlic. No sugar. The side salads are not merely lettuce chopped up, like a lot of places. You can never go wrong feeding Vampires a ton of beef. I suppose in a place like India that would be a bunch of Lamb or something.

I had no idea how much to get, so I got ten pounds of brisket and sausage. For this many, if they were human it would have been about four pounds. Vampires need lots of red meat. When I had first turned, I went from being nearly a vegetarian to plowing beef at every opportunity. I may not need human blood, but cows did not feel safe around me anymore. The same went for these women, probably more so. Excepting Morgan. Morgan mostly stayed with the side dishes, tasting the brisket and sausage, but not heaping it on her plate like the others.

Helen is healing, so despite being the smallest person at the table, she ate the most food. More than two pounds of meat hidden somewhere in her small frame. It had been a wonder to watch it vanish.

At the end of the meal, there was not any meat left at all. Only side dishes. I thought to myself 'Twelve pounds next time'. Assuming I have to feed this many Vampires at once ever again.

I like having all these people here. They are decent people, even if three of them kill other Vampires plus inconvenient humans from time to time for a living.

I wish Lori and Danny were here. I have not seen them in a while, and I miss their human-centric viewpoint. I am starting to feel like I need it to be grounded.

Chatter was light. Humor frequent. Under it all is an alert tension. William is not caught, and the three members of the Crew are not going to let any of us be snuck up on. They are not only listening to the conversation, but they are also listening to the house noises. Filtering out our cats and wind and the like to be sure that Helen as not attacked again, or Rachel attacked for the first time.

The general thinking of the Crew members seems to be that William picked Helen for his target because she is Council. When you are on or associated with the Council, then everything is about that I guess.

Morgan did not correct their assumptions, because Morgan.

I am glad they are on the wrong path because it means they are not looking at the real target, but they are still doing the right thing by guarding the house that the target is in. William would go after Jessica next, not Rachel. Since Rachel is here with us, we are protected. I felt fairly safe.

Not completely safe.

OK. Not even close to safe.

Given a chance, I am moderately sure that the three of the Cleaning Crew are more than equal to William, with his fear toxin neutralized by nose filters. I am not worried about the quantity of raw muscle power. I am concerned about it from the point of view of experience. William is still free to move about. Plan. Lay traps. There is no way that is good for us.

As we ate, Helen received a message. She read it silently as she ate. When she was done she said to Morgan "This is from some people I know in Iceland. They have been using some of the information you dug up and looking around. Nothing we didn't already know. A man matching Williams description seen around various port locations, mostly seedy ones. Most people thought he lived nearby, like "Maybe on a boat or something" one person said. No one seems to know more about him than he was likable if a bit odd."

Helen pursed her lips a bit. "A new bit of information. One woman said she and others drank beer with him on occasion. He called himself 'Eric'. They would be tucked away in the dark corner of a bar and talking about the local human catch. She has not seen him recently."