Page 45 of Blood and Bone
“Time to take over the routes?” one of the councilors asked. “I don’t understand…if these routes already exist as you say, why would it take time?”
“You’re talking about taking over more plants, right?” Blackwood asked.
Ari noticed they were all paying attention now that they’d calmed down a bit.
“No, sir,” Eoghan replied. “I’m talking about time for Bradshaw to make more vampires.”
“Oh,” Blackwood said, sitting back in his chair as he looked between Ari and Eoghan, probably trying to decide something. He exchanged a glance with the other elders and Ari wondered whether they could communicate with each other telepathically. Eoghan had said that he believed the space faeries had been able to communicate with each other that way and he knew from the incident with John Townsend at Union Station, that they talked to each other using telepathy.
All the other councilors looked slightly green around the gills with glowing violet eyes. He wondered whether that only happened to them when they were experiencing some strong emotions or something. He’d seen the glow a few times now and it never ceased to freak him out. He’d probably never get used to it no matter how many times he saw it but it did help him establish who was supernatural and who wasn’t.
Blackwood cleared his throat, turning to face them. “Is that what you think is happening? That this new vampire monarch—Bradshaw—is making new vampires?”
“Yes,” Eoghan said. “It would make sense. From what King John tells us, he’s starving his people, behaving like a dictator who is tightly controlling the food supply. The man who freed Townsend from the coffin where he’d been left to starve, said that he has taken over the distribution of synthetic blood, and doesn’t care that his followers are killing off humans willy-nilly, draining them left and right. Not only is what he’s doing stupid, but reckless. Human authorities are no doubt overwhelmed with missing persons complaints. And a sudden uptick in the number of missing persons in a relatively small area is going to get noticed. If he’s eating them or turning them, it doesn’t matter. They’re no longer living their lives and that will eventually affect the way the authorities behave.”
“What do you mean?” one of the councilors asked.
“Think about it,” Eoghan said. “If people in Flagstaff are found missing in large numbers, the authorities will start following clues. If they lead back to the vampire reservation and they go asking, they’re going to get met with Bradshaw’s men. That’s not going to be good. And when the authorities themselves turn up as missing because a newly-made vampire drains them, things will snowball. If the media gets involved, it’ll be too late. I doubt even the Agency and the I.S.R.’s rapid response are capable of handling something on this type of scale.”
Ari knew better. Eoghan had said that if a large incident of paranormal activity had been uncovered and brought to the attention of a particular populace, the Agency had been known to dose the water supply to erase memories. But these council members didn’t need to know that.
“So, what do you need us to do?” Blackwood asked. “We’re a small reservation. How can we help if this thing is already happening and possibly out of control?”
“So far, it’s not out of control but that doesn’t mean it won’t be soon enough,” Joe said.
Ari watched as Eoghan smiled at the chief. He’d become not only a friend, but an ally in a short period of time. He knew how to handle the council. Regardless of whether it was because Joe didn’t get along with these pompous men, or whether he could see the true danger now that it was laid out in front of him, he was grateful for him. When Eoghan had first explained that many Native American tribes had paranormal citizens, he hadn’t known what to think about it. Ari had always admired the way they were connected to the earth with a mystical quality he couldn’t explain. He’d simply attributed it to a higher intelligence and a greater connection to things we just didn’t know about.
“And in answer to your question, we’d like your help to contact other tribal councils on shifter reservations,” Eoghan said. “The effort to get rid of Bradshaw needs to be shared. Perhaps we can ask other vampire clans and—”
“No!” Blackwood shook his head emphatically. “It’s going to be hard enough to get our people to help if we decide to burden them with this mess. We’ll ask other reservations to help. We have lots of connections with other tribes all over the west. I’m reluctant to ask the tribe to help but I do see the wisdom in doing so if this vampire king is such a threat.” He glanced around the table before looking back at them and crossing his arms over his chest. “Honestly, I’m torn. If we start asking other reservations, how can we be certain they’re not already colluding with this poisonous immortal calling himself a king?”
“But why would they?” another councilor asked, sounding outraged. “Our people don’t collude with vampires!”
“Because they might have been turned,” Blackwood replied. He followed the words by something in his own language and the man slumped, nodding as Blackwood resumed. He turned and directed his comments to Ari and Eoghan. “If you bring in other vampires, then no, we won’t be helping. The poison startedwiththem. The danger and the threat comefromthem. Besides, you don’t know how many of them are friendly with this new vampire king from Flagstaff. If he has allies on other vampire reservations, that would be bad. It’s one of the reasons I’m reluctantly willing to help but not if you bring in other vampire clans.”
“Vampire clans are notoriously self-contained,” Eoghan said. “They’re bitter rivals which is why King John didn’t go to them for help.”
“My partner’s right. Townsend didn’t know who to trust,” Ari said. “He told us that he believed there were spies in Vegas and took the time to run all the way to California, traveling at night on foot because he had to bypass Bradshaw’s spies. When he turned up in L.A., half starved, he didn’t feel safe until Marshal Sapphire arrested him and took him back to the I.S.R.”
Eoghan nodded before pinning Blackwood with an intent look. “We’re up against a strong foe here.” He glanced over at Joe and Alo. “We know the chief and his deputy are grizzlies. Are there other predator shifters on the reservation?”
“Lots of them but most of our people are non-predators,” Blackwood said. “It might be hard to convince a bunch of small animals to try to kill vampires…outsmart them, easily, but actually pose a physical danger to them? No.” He shook his head. “Not unless our foes were overwhelmed by sheer numbers of our people, and I can’t see that happening.”
“Will you reach out to your friends in other shifter clans?” Eoghan asked. He sounded so hopeful, Ari felt for him.
Blackwood glanced around the table, stopping to look at each councilor before moving on to the next. Finally, he turned back. “Yes, we will.”
“I suggest you make Severin and Invictus your first calls,” Alo said. The deputy had been silent until now and everyone turned to them.
“Oh?” Blackwood said. Ari was pretty sure he saw an expression of respect cross the councilor’s features as he began to nod. “Not a bad idea.”
“Who’re Severin and Invictus?” Eoghan asked. “I’ve had dealings with a lot of shifter clans and I’m sure I never met any clan leaders with those names.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t. They’re not from around here and we’ve only had the displeasure of meeting them once,” Joe said.
“Where are they from?” Eoghan asked, looking utterly puzzled. “I’ve been to almost all the reservations in California over the years.”
“They don’t live on a reservation,” Joe said. “They live in caves north of us, near Mount Shasta.”