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"Chicago is at a crossroads," she said. "We are the first city with a visible vampire population. And we were the first to announce our existence. Why take the risk? Because as long as we stayed quiet, we were destined to remain in shadow, to be subservient to the human world. It was time for us to step forward. It is time for us to flourish. We can't erase history" - she paused, gazed at him solemnly - "but we can make it."
Celina began to move again, circling his body until she stood on his other side.. The sound of her voice was muffled, but I caught enough.
"There are few vampires who are capable of the kind of leadership we need right now. Vampires who are disciplined. Intelligent. Cunning. Navarre fits that mold, Ethan. I fit that mold." Her voice became insistent. "Do you understand how powerful we could be under my leadership? If I unified vampires? If I unified the Houses?"
"The Presidium would never allow that," Ethan said.
"The Presidium is antiquated."
"You're a member of the Presidium, Celina." Ethan's voice was perfectly flat, perfectly modulated to hide the fury that I knew lay beneath it. Say what you wanted about his strategizing, his penchant for manipulation, the man had control. Icy control.
Celina waved off the criticism. "The GP doesn't understand our modern problems. They won't let us expand, Commend more Initiates. We're shrinking relative to the other sup populations, and they're getting braver. The nymphs are fighting. The shifters are preparing to meet in our city" - she punctuated the last three words with a finger pointed toward the ground - "and the fairies demand more and more each year to protect us from humans. And the angels" - she shook her head ruefully - "the bonds are breaking there, the demons loosed."
She looked up at him, chin raised defiantly. "No. I will not allow vampires to become less than what we are. Only the strongest will survive the coming conflict, Ethan. Being strongest means unification - vampires coming together, working together, under the guidance of a vampire with vision."
She completed her circle so that she faced him again, maybe five feet between them. Her eyes gleamed in the darkness, like a cat's caught in the light, shifting shades and colors, green and yellow. "I am that vampire, Ethan." She waved a negligent hand. "Of course, in every war there are casualties. The deaths of those humans were a messy necessity."
He spoke the words as I thought them, voice flat. "You killed them."
She held up a slender finger. "Let's be precise, Ethan. I had them killed. I wouldn't waste my time on the actual doing of it. Of course, that does pose certain . . . quality- control problems." She snickered, evidently pleased at her joke. "I found a Rogue. I convinced him, through no little work on my part, to do the dirty work. I had to change horses after Merit's attack." She shrugged. "I do hate sloppy work. Nevertheless, you got a Merit out of the deal. A Merit vampire, Commended into your House."
"Leave her out of this."
She chuckled without amusement. "Interesting answer. And unfortunate that we don't have time to explore your affection for your pet Sentinel."
Without warning, Celina reached behind her and whipped the pins from her hair. Or, rather, what I'd thought were pins, but were actually twin stiletto blades that gleamed in the moonlight. Her hair, released from its moorings, spilled in an inky wave down her back.
She took a step forward, angling her body so that, had Ethan not been standing between us, I'd have faced her directly.
I stepped forward, prepared to defend him, but heard a WAIT echo through my head.
Not yet, he told me. Let her finishing confessing it.
He knew I was there, then. Knew I was ready. So I obeyed the order, katana handle in one hand, already slipped from its guard, halfway loosed from its scabbard, the aspen stake in the other.
"Sloppiness or not, my plan worked," she said. "Humans are now suspicious of Cadogan vampires - they think you killed Jennifer Porter. And humans are suspicious of Grey vampires, who they think killed Patricia Long. You're wicked, Ethan. All of you. All except Navarre . . ." She paused and smiled, and the effect was as lovely as it was maniacal. "If I'm the only one that humans trust, I can consolidate my influence in both worlds - human and vampire. The Houses will need me as their ambassador, and I will offer my guidance. Under my leadership we will become what we were meant to be."
"I can't allow you to do that."
"It's amusing that you believe the decision is in your hands," she said, waggling the stilettos in the air. "You'll be another sacrifice, of course, and an expensive one - a lovely one - but the cause is worth it. How many of us were staked, Ethan? You were alive during the Clearings. You know."
But he wouldn't be drawn into a discussion of history. "If you wanted to bring down Cadogan and Grey, why the notes? Why implicate Beck and his people?"
"The notes were only intended for vampire eyes. As for why - you've surprised me again. Solidarity, Ethan. It's all of us together or nothing. Rogues offer us nothing. They're warm bodies, I'll admit. They increase our numbers. But as friends, they're useless. No alliances - they're morally opposed. They certainly don't play well with others." She flicked a hand negligently in the air, and the blades glinted. "They needed cleaning out."
Ethan was silent for a long moment, his eyes on the ground, before he raised them again. "So you convinced Amber to help you, had her steal the Cadogan medal, and had someone plant them?"
Celina nodded.
"And the jersey from Grey House? How did you obtain it?"
She smiled wolfishly. "Your redhead made another friend. Another conquest."
Ethan's expression went cold. I sympathized. This was not the time to learn that your Consort had betrayed you, your House, and another.
"How could you do this?"
She sighed dramatically. "I was afraid you'd see it that way, stake out some kind of sympathetic moral high ground. Humans are never innocent, darling. A human broke my heart once. He thought nothing of it. They're cold, callous, stupid things. And now we're forced to deal with them. We should have taken a stand centuries ago, should have banded together to fight them. It's not an option now, of course. Their numbers are too great. But we begin slowly. We make friends. We build, as you're always preaching, alliances. And while we're lulling them to sleep with our pretty faces and pretty words, we infiltrate. We plan. We get them accustomed to us, and when the time comes, we strike."
