The Grande Dame cleared her throat, demanding our attention. “What we must determine now is who the conspirators are so that we can round them up and put them someplace where they can’t hurt you again. I’m sure you understand where I mean.”
Atramentous. She had just sentenced these vampires, admittedly bad ones, to life in prison.
I wanted to vomit.
“The vampires in residence didn’t match the name on the deed,” she continued. “It’s not unheard of. Some clans use the names of human relations to prevent the mortal authorities from looking too closely at property records. What can you tell us about your captors?”
“Not much,” I admitted. “Volkov was there. I saw him a few times that I remember, but the maid hinted he was there more often. He was brought in to use his lure when I fought back or…” my fingers curled into my palms, “…when I had panic attacks.”
Boaz clamped his hand on my shoulder in quiet support, and I relaxed enough to rediscover my voice.
“The maid, Lena, was the only person who spoke to me.” I shied away from the remembered echo of her death screams. “She was kind to me, in her way, but she followed orders to the letter. There were guards, but I didn’t catch their names, and they all dressed the same. I had no idea they belonged to different clans. They worked as a unit and seemed familiar with each other.”
“What about your accommodations?” She leaned forward. “Where did they keep you?”
“I woke in a little girl’s room. It was all pink, and there were dolls and children’s books on the shelves.” I fingered my collar, remembering the frilly pajamas that matched the decor. “I’m not sure how long I was there or how many times Volkov put me under before I woke the last time.”
There was more. Snippets of conversations itched at my brain, things I ought to remember, but scratching my head only tangled my helmet hair.
“What happened then?” she prompted me.
“I tried the door and the window. They were both locked. It reminded me of…” Years of confinement. Latches on all the doors. Bars on all the windows. Endless, hopeless days grinding my will to dust. “I couldn’t breathe. I’m not sure if I fainted before Volkov got to me that time. I can’t remember. I was in a different suite when I woke. This one had French doors leading out onto a patio in a small, walled-in garden. They left the doors open day and night to keep me calm.”
One of her perfect eyebrows arched. “They weren’t concerned about escape?”
“They drugged me,” I said flatly.
Ignoring my tone, she pressed onward. “How do you know?”
“You don’t forget the feeling.” Her expectant look forced the symptoms out of me. “Weakness, poor balance, confusion, drowsiness, memory loss.” The polite veneer I’d worked so hard to hide behind crumbled a bit. “I assume you drew blood to run a tox screen the night I was recovered.” She didn’t contradict me. They would have wanted to be certain I hadn’t been hexed or otherwise damaged. “It was the same drug they use in the prisons, wasn’t it?”
The absence of withdrawal symptoms told me they had flushed my system after they examined me.
“We suspected the vampires had contacts within Atramentous,” Boaz answered for her. “The only people who knew you resuscitated the human were in that prison yard when it happened. The inmates’ communications are screened, and they’re often too sedated to comprehend what’s written to them, let alone return the message. That leaves the guards.”
“Sentinels work the prisons.” I connected the dots. “That means there are necromancers involved too.”
“Only a necromancer would understand that your progeny rose…different,” the Grande Dame agreed. “Someone realized the value of the information and sold it to the highest bidder. The Elite has hunted down each of the guards on duty that night and interrogated them. Two have failed to report to work since your release, but we hope to have them in custody by the end of the week.”
Too much time had passed for it to make any difference. The information would be in circulation now.
“Now,” she said, leaning forward, “explain to us how you escaped.”
Slowly, tugging the details from crannies in my warped memory, I outlined my plan, starting with the bunny I’d spotted in the pink room, touching on Dr. Heath’s cryptic insistence I tour the front gardens, and ending with the night I got the news the master was to return and made my move.
“It’s a pity you couldn’t have waited one more night.” Her lips pursed. “We could have ended all this.”
“Lena was preparing me for my presentation to the master, and to the clan.” The sting in my palm told me I’d drawn blood, and I didn’t care a whit. “Another maid found an engagement ring in Volkov’s room and gossiped with Lena about how he planned to solidify our union once the master returned. Forgive me for not waiting around until I was blood sworn to Volkov before attempting an escape neither he nor his clan would have allowed once we married.”
“Ah. I had wondered,” she murmured. “This master vampire offered your hand to the Volkov clan to get them to defect the Undead Coalition.”
“They defected?” I croaked. “The entire clan?”
Leaving the Coalition meant walking away from the Society’s protection and going rogue. History was a favorite subject of mine, and I was witnessing it now. No clan with such ancient bloodlines, and the wealth to support their continuance, had ever made such a drastic choice.
Who was this master that he commanded such absolute loyalty?
“This leaves us with the problem of how best to protect you.” The recording ended with an audible click. The rest must be off the record, not a comforting thought. “The Society was sympathetic to your plight, this time, but I can only tap communal resources so many times before our members start demanding answers I can’t give them without exposing you. They’ll start whispering I’m abusing my power or using my position for personal gain.”
Those few sentences tied my hands. The only thing more dangerous than Clarice Lawson as Grande Dame was Clarice Lawson fighting and clawing to stay atop her pedestal. I had no doubt if she went down, she would take me tumbling with her.
“The flip side of the coin is I can’t use Lawson resources without drawing as much, if not more, attention to you. The Society will expect me, as your closest living relative, to help you get back on your feet. This recent attack ought to extend that window, but soon there will come a time when others notice my efforts to protect you and wonder if that sudden interest after years of estrangement isn’t linked to the highly unusual nature of your pardon.”
All the buildup, the slathering on of guilt, the vague threats, led to one conclusion. “I assume you have a solution in mind.”
“Of course, dear girl.” She pressed a button on her desk, and the door to her right swung open. The somber man who entered positioned himself at her right shoulder. “You understand that, given your current circumstances, I must insist on a few precautions to protect my investment.”
This was Volkov all over again. The Grande Dame was backing me into a corner, and this time I might not be able to fight my way out.
“Linus will continue your necromantic education until such time he deems you proficient. Lessons will begin tomorrow evening.” Pride shone in her eyes when she glanced at the newcomer, the most genuine expression she’d worn tonight. “Do keep me informed of her progress, darling.”
Linus examined the room’s crown molding with a critical eye, his body language screaming he would rather be anywhere other than here. “Yes, Mother.”
Boaz clenched his fingers where they rested on my shoulders in response to the tension thrumming in the air.
The years had honed Linus Andreas Lawson III into a blade, and it was becoming clear that his mother wielded her heir, the Lawson scion, with expert precision.