“Are you even five and a half feet?”
I clench my teeth.
“Most women are short compared to you,” Richard says.
“Which is my point. If she had Old Family blood in her, she’d be tall or at least taller.”
“She also has human. So that’s where her height comes from.”
“Okay, maybe, but she has no fashion sense. She wears cotton and flannel and . . . and hoodies.”
In rebellion, I draw my hoodie up over my head and slouch down in my seat. The tone in her voice indicates that the only thing that could be worse would be if I wore clothes I took off dead people. I feel like my world is crumbling around me, and Faith is worried about my wardrobe?
Richard laughs, clearly amused. “You can teach her all she needs to know.”
“I don’t know that I have enough to work with. Remember those makeover shows they had on television years and years ago, before the war? Did you ever see one, Dawn? Maybe the Denver archives had an episode.”
“No.”
“The ones doing the makeovers were mostly vampires. We have such extraordinary fashion sense. But you have none. I just don’t see Old Family in you.”
“Really? That’s where you’re taking this? Victor tells you what we discovered and all you can focus on are things that don’t matter?”
“Better than focusing on your death.”
That has me tossing the hoodie back, sitting up, and twisting around. “What are you talking about?”
“Have we forgotten that there is a death warrant out on the Montgomerys?”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Victor says. “It’s the reason that I told you and Richard what we found—so you’d be prepared for what we might face.”
“What? You think they might try to kill me? That death warrant is archaic.”
“Archaic—the very definition of Old Family,” Richard says. “At least this explains Murdoch Valentine’s interest in you. He knew what you are.”
“As well as his interest in my father. Maybe that’s why he requested him. But what did he hope to accomplish?”
“Maybe he just wanted to keep an eye on him,” Richard says.
“Or maybe he had plans to secure your father’s place on the Council,” Faith muses. “You know, use him as a puppet whenever he wanted a vote to go his way.”
“Wait a minute. Can I have a seat on the Vampire Council?”
“No,” Victor says briskly.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s too risky. With the death warrant still active, we have no way of knowing how the Council will react. So for now, we need to keep your heritage a secret.”
“But my name—Montgomery—could cause questions.”
“It’s common enough, no one will make that connection. Our purpose has to stay focused on persuading the Council to mobilize against Sin. Your role is to provide an accounting of everything you’ve seen so we can convince the Council that Sin poses a danger to us all.”
Reaching across, Victor squeezes my knee. “I know it’s hard. I’m sorry we couldn’t give you more time to adjust to what you learned.”
“I know. Our priority has to be Sin. I get that. It’s the reason I didn’t say anything to you sooner. Well, that and I didn’t want to believe it.” I force a small smile. “So, who is this Lilith Ferdinand anyway?”
“She’s head of the Ferdinand family,” Victor says. “The only woman on the Council. I haven’t seen her in years, but she’s strong, smart, always three steps ahead of anyone else. In fact, she’s probably the only one on the Council who understands anything. No offense to Montague Carrollton.”
“None taken,” Richard says. “My grandfather is more interested in wine and human girls than governing.”
“And she has to be strong,” Faith says. “The Ferdinand family is split into two very distinct sides, each one thinking it should rule over the family. I mean, every Old Family has tensions like that, but the Ferdinands are particularly vicious.”
“Why?”
“No one likes to speak about family matters,” Victor says, “especially ancient ones. But from what I’ve gathered, about two thousand years ago, Lord Ferdinand was murdered by his own brother, and that brother took the throne.”
“I thought that was pretty common,” I say.
“It is, but remember how Richard served as my witness when I fought my father?”
“Yes, it was to ensure the fight was fair.”
“There was no such witness in this case. The family was split down the middle between those who thought it had been a fair fight and those who didn’t. That fracture has never healed. Lilith has to watch her back every day.”
It sounds like the one ally I have, the one vampire who might have stood by the side of the Montgomerys, is in constant danger. Why should I not be surprised?
But it seems like everyone’s life is at stake these days. We’re heading into dangerous lands, into the maw of the beast, looking for help. Behind us, a new monster, an ever greater monster stands on the horizon.
As the moon shines its ominous glow on the ever-wasting road, I realize we may not stand a chance against him.
The sky is beginning to lighten when we reach a monstrous Gothic manor outside Chicago. A dozen vampires in black trench coats stand guard. They’re holding machine guns. I guess this far to the east, their only enemy is humans.
“Why are we stopping?” I ask. The car has heavily tinted windows that the sun can’t penetrate.
“It’s a struggle for us to stay awake during the day,” Victor says.
“But I could drive.”
“And if you run into any trouble that requires our help?”
“Yeah, I guess that could be an issue,” I say reluctantly.
Reaching across the console, he wraps his hand around mine. “Right now we have the luxury of being able to spare a few hours.”
I nod. He’s right. What difference will a few more hours make?
As we climb out of the car, the front door of the manor opens and a tall, slender man with slicked-back black hair rushes down the steps. “Oh my God, I can’t believe it! Company. Old Family. Victor Valentine.”
He takes Victor’s hand and pumps it. “I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve had visitors.” He looks at me. “And this is . . . not a vampire.”
“No,” Victor says quickly. “This is Dawn.”
“Your blood diva?”
“Yes.”
I jerk my head around to stare at him. He shakes his head slightly. Apparently in the worrying about the death warrant against the Montgomerys, we didn’t get a chance to discuss how we would play things here.
“Ah, Faith, you are as beautiful as ever.” The Old Family vampire who doesn’t look any older than Victor takes her hand and begins raining kisses over it.
“Oh, Xavier,” she coos. “You flatter me.”
“As much as possible. I’ve not seen a female since my father sent me to watch over his territory. How fortunate you are, Victor, that your father wanted to oversee his own estate. Come, come, inside quickly before the sun catches us.” He wraps Faith’s arm around his and begins to lead her toward the house. Tossing her head back, she laughs and pats his shoulder.
I glance over at Richard. He doesn’t look happy.
“He ignored you,” I say. “That was rude. I thought Old Family was all about etiquette and politeness.”
“They’re also about subtle insults.”
With that caustic statement, Richard marches toward the house. I’m so accustomed to him being carefree and light that I don’t know what to say.
“Xavier Romanelli gave him a cut direct,” Victor says as he escorts me up the steps. “In the 1800s, it was a common way to show someone you disapproved of them.”
“Why would this guy disapprove of Richard?”
“Because he’s competition for Faith.”