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Ethan. And as I m sure you ll appreciate, placing
one of the American Houses into receivership
isn t something the Presidium takes lightly. It
raises uncomfortable memories.
 Uncomfortable? I asked. I probably
shouldn t have spoken, being the least-ranking
vampire in the room, but sometimes curiosity
won out.
Darius nodded.  The American Revolution
was a difficult time for the British and American
Houses, as you might imagine. The GP hadn t yet
been formed that was still decades down the
road and the Conseil Rouge retained power.
Being French, the Conseil supported the
colonies freedom. Being British, we did not.
I nodded my understanding.  And immortality
being what is, some of those colonists are still
alive in the American Houses.
 Indeed.
 An excellent reason, Ethan put in,  to
preclude discussion of receivership.
 The discussion is already under way, Ethan. I
know you don t approve of the Presidium or the
actions we ve taken, but we have rules and
processes for a reason.
So Celina can ignore them? I wondered.
There was a knock at the door, which opened
a little. A man tidily dressed in cuffed trousers,
button-up shirt, and suspenders only his wavy
brown hair askew looked inside.  Sire, your
call with New York Houses is ready. His voice
was equally British and posh; he must have been
part of Darius s retinue.
Darius glanced up and over.  Thank you,
Charlie. I ll just be a moment.
Charlie nodded, then disappeared through the
door again. When he was gone, Darius stood up.
The rest of us did the same.
 We ll chat later, Darius said, then nodded at
me.  Good luck with your continued training.
 Thank you, Sire.
When he was gone, and the door was closed
again behind him, silence reigned. Ethan put his
elbows on his knees and ran his hands through
his hair.
 Receivership, Luc repeated.  When was the
last time that happened?
 Not since the financial meltdown before
World War II, Malik answered.  Many, many
years.
 He s being unreasonable, I said, glancing
around at them.  None of this is Cadogan s fault.
It s Adam Keene s fault. It s the GP s fault
Celina s fault. We re reaping the consequences
of their bad acts, and now he wants to put the GP
in charge of the House?
Ethan sat up straight again.  That s the long
and short of it. A receiver would come into the
House, begin an investigation of House
procedures, and have the authority the
GP-granted authority to approve every decision
that s made in this House, regardless of how big
or small. A receiver would report every decision
back to the GP, including Darius, including
Celina.
Ethan looked up at me, his green eyes icy cold.
 And I have to wonder whether he d be raising
the issue if our Sentinel hadn t just informed him
that Chicago was heading to hell in a
handbasket. So the calm, unruffled, forgiving
Ethan had been an act for Darius.
Unfortunately for him, we d come too far for
me to be intimidated by a snarky phrase or nasty
look. I d gone out and faced danger for him and
the House, and I wasn t about to shrink away
because he didn t like the consequences. I gave
him back the same stare.
The room went silent, until Ethan barked out
an order, his gaze still on me.  Excuse us,
please.
When no one budged, he glanced around the
room.  I wasn t asking for permission.
That was enough to send Luc and Malik
scurrying out the door, both of them offering me
sympathetic looks.
It wasn t until we were alone, the door shut
behind them, that Ethan finally looked away. For
a full minute, he sat quietly, his back rigid.
Finally, he walked back to his desk and settled
himself behind it, putting space and furniture
 between us.
I d known him long enough to call it  typical
Sullivan. It was the kind of action we could
have added to the Ethan Sullivan drinking game,
falling somewhere between his imperious
eyebrow arching and his habit of referring to any
Novitiate in his House by position, rather than by
name.
 Sentinel, he finally said, linking his fingers
on his desk.
I took a step forward, intent on making him
believe how much I regretted what I d
inadvertently told Darius.  Ethan, I am so sorry.
You were on the phone, and it didn t even occur
to me to see if anyone was behind me.
He held up a hand.  You told him where you d
been. I am not sure whether to throttle you now
or simply hand you over to the Presidium and let
them do it.
If I were him, I d throttle me, too. I just
nodded.
When Ethan finally looked at me again, there
was desperation in his eyes.
 A receiver. In my goddamned House. A
House I have watched, guided, parented when
necessary. Do you know what an insult that is?
To have an administrator some organizational
specialist who couldn t guide vampires with a
map and compass replacing me? Telling me
what I ve done right or wrong, how I should  fix
the things I ve broken.
My heart clenched sympathetically. It must
have been hard to hear that not only was the
supreme leader of vamps not happy with your
work, but he was considering sending someone
across the pond to make sure the work was done
correctly. It wouldn t have thrilled me, either.
And the worst part? This was at least partly my
fault. I mean, it seemed unlikely Darius would
have traveled this far if he didn t have concerns
about the House, but that didn t mean I hadn t
pushed him over the receivership edge.
 This House is old, Merit. It is a respectable
House. The appointment of a receiver is a slap in
the face. He looked away, shaking his head
ruefully.  How can I not take that as an insult to
all that I ve done since Peter s death?
That Peter was Peter Cadogan, the House s
namesake and first Master. The man who d held
the reins until his death, when Ethan took over.
 I would take it personally, too.
Ethan barked out a laugh.  It s hardly that I
take it personally, Sentinel. It s that it s a slap
against me and Malik, Luc, Helen the entire
staff. Every Initiate Commended, every Novitiate
who has served. Every sacrifice made. You
essentially told him we don t have things in
hand.
 We don t if what we saw last night is
commonplace. This wasn t half a dozen vampires
and a couple of humans, Ethan. There were
dozens of vamps, dozens of humans. The party
was huge, and it was loud, and it wasn t just
about a little private sip.
 So it wasn t a rave.
 Not the kind of raves we knew about before.
The vamps were on edge, the magic thick. Vamps
were picking fights all over the place.
 Did you and Noah have to defend
yourselves?
I hated lying to Ethan. Hated it. But it wasn t
fair of me to clear my conscience at Jonah s
expense, so I sucked it up and played out the
story.
 Defend ourselves, yes. We weren t involved
in any fighting of consequence, although things
got nasty when we made our exit. I d found a
human who needed help drugged or glamoured;
I m not sure which. She needed out, and there
were a few vamps who weren t happy to see her
go. Noah spilled blood as a distraction, and the
vamps went crazy. The place erupted with
fighting, but we got her out and sent her home.
She was grateful enough embarrassed
enough that I don t think she ll cause us
problems down the road.
I sighed and looked away.  I hate saying that,
Ethan. It mortifies me that I have to think about a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]