“He’s possibly the same man,” I couldn’t confirm because his hood was up as it had been on the beach, “we saw outside King Hall with Elly Belford.” I pointed. “Same robe.”
“We believe he’s the leader,” Elder Camden stated, all the Elders and Kings around the table leaning forward to get a better look.
And everyone went quiet, listening to him blather on about how we had lied to the Commoners, creating Beasts to destroy them — yada yada, it was all the same — but what interested me was his voice. Closing my eyes, I listened as he ranted and raved, his tone getting louder and more forceful, and a second later, I cocked my head.
My whole body jolted. “Pause it.” My eyes slammed open to Elder Harcourt. “Rewind it, and magnify the sound, please.”
He stopped the film, eyes on me. “What did you hear?”
“I’m not positive.” I shook my head, not wanting to say if I was wrong. “Just rewind it, please.” I glanced at King Kincaid, Elder Merrick, and Elder Talus — the King Shifter, and the Elder Shifters I knew — while Elder Harcourt did as I asked him. I said, “Listen close. Tell me what you hear.”
Slowly, they nodded.
The video on the golden cube started again, and I closed my eyes, listening to the magnified sound. Once more, my head cocked as the leader got to his particularly loud rant. I heard it for a second time and threw up a hand. “Elder Harcourt, stop.” The sound turned off, the video pausing again, as my eyes flew open to the Elders I had spoken with. “Did you hear it?”
As one, all three of them shook their heads.
“Shit,” I muttered, pushing up from my seat and staring at the image. I felt incredibly stupid that three more powerful men hadn’t heard it, but I knew I had. “I think…” I stalled, clearing my throat, jaw clenching as everyone stared at me expectantly. “Okay, I think I know two things about the man in question.” I stared at the image and not the intimidating Elders and Kings around me. “One, I believe the man is Philip Masterson.”
I saw everyone become still around the table, and I quickly explained for those who weren’t in the know. “He’s a Congressman in the United States. I know him personally, since he tried to rape me a few months ago. I recognize his voice.” My gaze went to King Kincaid’s wide eyes. “It’s him. I know it is. And it also explains the timing of his disappearance.”
“Goddamn mother-fucker,” King Nelson muttered, eyes solid on the screen. A pause. “Elder Farrar, you followed him. Did you see any signs that it could be him?”
Antonio’s gaze was glowing a bit as he stared at the screen. “I saw nothing out of the ordinary at the time, but Lil’s right. It’s his voice, now that she mentioned it.” Golden eyes swung to me, his grin feral. “I believe you have something else to say.”
I snapped my attention away from his scary-as-hell face, and just blurted it out there, “I heard him growl.” I fluttered a hand at the screen when everyone gazed at me blankly. “As in, a wolf’s growl.”
Pretty much the entire room stared at me, hard.
“Let me get this straight,” Elder Talus murmured quietly. “For those of us who are a bit slow.” He pointed at the screen. “You and Elder Farrar have actually been around this man, Philip Masterson—”
I cut him off. “Ezra, Pearl, and Jack have also met him.”
His eyebrows only rose. “Alright, so you five have physically met him, and none of you thought he wasn’t a Commoner?”
“No, sir,” I murmured quietly. I blinked. “But he could have been masking.”
He snorted. “No one masks so well that you can’t feel their power at all.”
I snorted this time. “Wanna bet?” In response to his startled expression at my insubordination, I held up a finger, stating slowly, “Give me a second.”
I let my head fall, closing my eyes. It was harder with the Queen power flowing through my Core, but it was still doable. Sometimes, I practiced late at night when I couldn’t sleep. My Vampire magic was a natural habit to mask, but I rolled my head around on my shoulders, took a deep breath, and reined all of my magic in, stuffing it down deep inside me, not letting any out, before slamming a metaphysical door inside my chest. Another roll of my shoulders, and I peered up at him.
Waggling my fingers at him, I stated, “Go ahead. Test me. Tell me if you feel a thing.”
I felt a rush of power hit me from all angles, not only him doing as requested. Bracing my feet, I bit my lip because so much was hitting me at once, but I stayed standing and got a first-class view of seeing everyone’s eyes go wide, except for King Kincaid, who already knew I could do this, and Antonio, who had taught me the basic idea behind it before leaving directly after my first Awakening. If they pressed hard enough, they would feel my Shifter power, unlike my Vampire magic since it was spelled to be hidden, but they would have to be searching damn hard to feel even the tiniest sliver of my Shifter magic.