"Frankie?" Gavin lifted an eyebrow at me.

"It's a nickname, honey," I patted Gavin's cheek.

"I like the nickname." Frank busied himself around the stove. "Besides, Lissa can call me anything she likes, because I love her." Franklin didn't look at me when he made his announcement.

"I love you, too, Frankie," I said. Gavin looked as if he'd like to hear the same words aimed in his direction. I didn't offer them. He kissed my hand again and sighed.

* * *

Sunday, March seventh was a better day. My fingers and toes were a millimeter longer, I think. Gavin still had to help me in the shower, but I managed to dress myself and he and Merrill got me out to one of the cars. Gavin carried me to the garage, settling me in the back seat of the Range Rover and buckling my seat belt. My little finger stubs were a bit on the clumsy side. I was also the proud owner of a new iPhone; Franklin had picked it up after he went to the airport to collect Greg. I'd gotten a kiss from Greg when I made it downstairs, along with a promise for the lecture when there was time. Franklin had winked at me as Gavin hauled me out the door.

The road we took eventually looked familiar; I realized we were heading toward the holding cells where I'd been imprisoned when Gavin first brought me into the country. The scents were also familiar when Gavin lifted me out of my seat and carried me in. Wlodek, Charles and Radomir were standing in an office of sorts not far inside the door. I'd never been inside the office; I'd been escorted straight down the hall and tossed inside a cell instead. Those weren't good memories. Gavin must have read my thoughts—he gave me a little squeeze while he held me. My feet were encased in socks since none of my shoes fit at the moment and my white cotton socks stuck out against the dark denim of my jeans.

Charles was bursting to say something but held it back, I could tell. Wlodek's face looked a little gray to be honest, but he didn't say much either. Radomir stood behind him and never said a word. The schmuck was wearing the cufflinks I'd given him for Christmas, though. Just see if I ever sent these guys another thing. Ever.

"The Prisoner is being brought," Wlodek said and motioned for Gavin to set me down in a chair off to the side. "Lissa, please remain silent while the prisoner is here. We will ask questions, which he will attempt to refuse to answer," Wlodek instructed. I nodded. No way was I talking to him if I could help it.

I almost disobeyed Wlodek when the prisoner was brought in. One of the two vampires who escorted him was Sebastian. My hiss barely stayed behind my teeth when he arrived, one of the prisoner's arms gripped tightly in his huge hands. Stephan was on the prisoner's other side. The vampire prisoner had the taint on him, all right; I knew that right away. He stared at me, once he'd managed to do a little sniffing of his own.

"A little Queen," he grinned at me maliciously. Stephan cuffed him.

"Now, Claremont," Wlodek began, "please tell me why you are not registered with the Council and why drained bodies seem to turn up everywhere around you?"

"No," Claremont grinned nastily at Wlodek. I'd already determined that he was slightly older than the Head of the Council.

Wlodek turned to Merrill and nodded slightly.

"You will tell me, though, won't you?" Merrill commanded. Claremont's eyes went blank. Yeah, Merrill has the mojo, all right, where compulsion is concerned.

"My sire said it was not necessary for me to be registered," Claremont replied haughtily.

"And what was his name?" Merrill continued his questioning.

"He called himself Meletius," Claremont replied.

"Did he teach you not to kill humans?"

"He taught me to kill them without detection," Claremont said. Ugh. This guy was a piece of work.

"Do you have any siblings?"

"I do not know of any, but my master left me after two years."

"How old are you?" Merrill asked. Now I was going to get a true gauge on my age detecting skills, I hoped.

"Two thousand, eight hundred ninety-two," Claremont mumbled.

Jeez, the guy was nearly twenty-nine hundred years old and was Saxom's child. How old had Saxom been? Wlodek came close to this one's age but he wasn't that old. How could they not have known that Saxom was bad? This one smelled evil to me, just like the others. Tainted. Corrupt. And according to the information Tony had, Saxom had been on the Council. For how long? Since the beginning, maybe, and these guys never suspected? Jeez.

Merrill grilled Claremont at length as Wlodek supplied questions. Charles dutifully recorded all of Claremont's replies with Radomir, Sebastian and Stephan as witnesses. Sebastian never glanced at Gavin or me. Just as well. If he and I were ever in a room alone, one of us might die. Sebastian and Stephan eventually took the prisoner away and Wlodek leveled his gaze on me.

"He's the same as the others," I replied before the question was ever spoken.

"You are sure?" Wlodek gave me a searching look.

"Absolutely," I said. "I'll never get that scent out of my nose." My words made Charles stop tapping on his laptop for a second. He continued after a sharp "Charles," from Wlodek.

"Bring her to the Council meeting tomorrow evening," Wlodek instructed. "Charles will get this additional information to the others tonight." Charles nodded at Wlodek's command and tapped out a few last words on his computer before closing it.

Fucking great—Wlodek wanted me at the Council meeting. I was going to be paraded in front of the other ass**les who'd had me beaten. That made me feel special. "Lissa, you will remain with Gavin and Merrill off to the side during the Council meeting and you will not speak unless the Council requests it, do you hear?" Wlodek laid compulsion. I nodded. The compulsion didn't work but my fear certainly did.

* * *

"She didn't even say hello," Charles grumbled after Gavin carried Lissa from the room, closely followed by Merrill.

"Young Charles," Wlodek laid a hand on Charles's shoulder, "our little girl has much to forgive first. It is my hope she will come around, given time. She will not be as angry with you as the rest of us, I think." Wlodek glanced at Radomir; the message had been meant for him as well. He nodded slightly. They prepared to leave, waiting for only a moment while Charles slid his laptop inside its case. Charles had to get the information to the remainder of the Council so judgment could be passed on Claremont the following evening. Wlodek sighed, lifted his jacket from a chair and slipped it on.

* * *

There was a question that Merrill and Wlodek hadn't asked and the answer made many other questions pop into my head, depending on what the answer was. I stewed about it on the way home until I couldn't hold it any longer. "Merrill?" I asked. He was driving and I didn't want to distract him that much.




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