Revelations (Belle Morte Book 2)

Chapter Four

Renie

The Council was gathered in the dining hall, around one end of the long trestle table we used for meals. It was strange to be in this room and not be eating, not to see the friendly, smiling faces of the other donors sitting around me.

The only faces that looked back now were stony and hard-eyed, unfamiliar but for the glimpses of them that I'd caught on various fansites.

I'd already met Jemima, but I was too nervous to smile at her. Her long hair was gathered in a huge bun at the back of her head, making her look younger and even more fragile. She was like a child sitting among the adults, but I'd seen her fight alongside Ysanne, and I knew just how strong she really was.

Charles Abbott, the Lord of the House Lamia, was a sturdy, square man with a head of thick curls, and a nose that listed ever so slightly to the side, making me think it had been broken when he was still human. The edges of his mouth turned down when he saw me.

Henry Baldwin, the Lord of the House Midnight, was a small man, handsome in a quiet, unassuming sort of way. His eyes were bright green, like two laser points, and they felt like they were burning a hole in my face.

Slightly further up the table sat Caoimhe Ó Duinnín, the Lady of Fiaigh, the only Irish vampire House. I wasn't wild about seeing her here if only because she and Edmond had once been a couple, and while I wasn't normally a jealous person, Caoimhe's tumbling blonde curls and cornflower blue eyes made her look like an angel. I was pretty enough to turn heads occasionally, but I felt totally inadequate compared to the Irish vampire.

Ludovic and Isabeau also sat at the table, and I assumed it was because they were among the oldest vampires, two of the original inhabitants of Belle Morte. Or maybe Ysanne actually needed the support of her friends today. It was strange to think of Ysanne needing help with anything.

Rising to his feet, Charles indicated a chair with his hand. It was further down the table from the vampires, and almost definitely an indication of my inferior status, but I took it without objection. I was here to prove that I wasn't a threat to anyone, and picking fights over little things like that wouldn't help my cause.

Ysanne joined the other vampires at the head of the table. If she was at all worried about what was going on, she didn't show it: her head was held as high as ever.

"So," Charles said, taking his own seat. He had a cultured English accent, similar to Gideon's. I wondered if they knew each other. "We are here to discuss a number of issues, the first of which is the illegal creation of a new vampire."

I suddenly felt the weight of all those pairs of eyes, and I shrank back in my seat, a mouse being eyed up by a bunch of hungry cats. Then I remembered I was one of them now, and I didn't have to cower. I straightened up, trying to mimic Ysanne's proud posture.

"How did this happen?" Henry asked. His accent held more of a Cockney twang than Charles's, and somehow it startled me. I had grown used to the lilting cadences of the French vampires and the cultured vowels of the English vampires. Henry sounded more real than most of them.

Ysanne didn't say anything, and I realised that Henry's question was directed at me.

I swallowed hard, unsure how much I was supposed to say. If Ysanne wanted me to keep quiet about anything, surely she would have mentioned it in her office. I had to assume I was just supposed to be honest.

"I was injured. My sis – the rabid fatally wounded me, and I was bleeding to death. I begged Edmond to save me, and he chose to do that rather than let my life go to waste."

Okay, so I'd fudged the truth a little there – I'd never begged Edmond to turn me. He had offered and I had agreed. But the Council didn't need to know that. If I could divert any blame, however small, from Edmond I would do it. I also kept quiet about the matter of June stabbing me. I wasn't sure why I didn't tell them, but it might have been because I didn't know these people. I didn't know if I could trust them or not, and the full extent of June's situation felt like something that we shouldn't freely advertise.