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I looped my arm through Nerissa’s and dragged her into the main meeting room, Camille and the others following.
The hall had originally been Sassy’s parlor and office and a drawing room. Wade had opened up the three rooms into one gigantic meeting space and now we had a lovely, elegant hall big enough to hold more than a hundred people. Which came in handy for the Supe Community Meetings, now that the Supe Community Center had been burned to the ground. They were in the process of rebuilding, but it would be several more months before it would be ready to open to the public again, and the SVN had opened its doors to help.
The room was filling up. Ever since Wade had opened up the Seattle Vampire Nexus and Roman had backed the group, vampires had flocked to the place. Vampires Anonymous had gone from being a small, insular group to having a countywide membership, and now groups were hiving off in other cities like Bellingham, and even as far as Portland, Oregon.
Roman had set Wade in charge of teaching a select group of leaders on how to approach their members. While he couldn’t go out and turn a bunch of shrinks in order to have the knowledge base needed, a few doctors were willing to work with the vampires and train those geared toward the healing arts. We’d managed to form a connection with the medical community that was still tenuous, but growing. And they were willing to work with us to secure vampire rights.
Blood Wyne, Roman’s mother and queen of the Vampire Nation—also known as the Crimson Veil—had sanctioned the Seattle Vampire Nexus and Vampires Anonymous as worthwhile organizations, and I had a feeling eventually she would order all new vampires to attend the meetings.
I still wasn’t sure what she was up to. I’d never had the chance to meet the woman and wasn’t sure I wanted to. Any mother who would turn her own children into vampires in order to keep her “dynasty” intact wasn’t in the running for Mother of the Year. At least not in my book.
I glanced around the room. The hall was set up just the way it had been the first day I’d walked into a VA meeting. I hadn’t wanted to go but Camille had tricked me into it, and I ended up glad I went.
The chairs were set out so that vampires’ living family members were encouraged to sit on the side nearest the door. In case of emergency, it gave the breathers a fighting chance to get away. A table filled with cookies and coffee and soda offered the guests refreshment, and another table held bottled blood for members. Drinking from a living host during the meetings was strictly prohibited.>“That’s common in seizures. Short-term memory loss. I’d say go home, rest, and go to your doctor tomorrow and tell her you had a convulsion. We’ll look around and see if we can find out anything that might be affecting your group. And Lindsey…” Iris paused.
“Yes?”
“It’s not a good idea for you to do magic right now. You just need more time off to rest after giving birth.” The look on Iris’s face told me plainly that she was lying. Whatever might be going on, it plainly wasn’t in Lindsey’s best interest to be playing around with the astral realm, or with anything that might drain her energy any further.
Lindsey nodded, looking lost and bewildered. Shade helped her up and escorted her out. As the door closed behind them, Camille and I stared at each other.
“Am I going to be the one to say it, or are you?” She slumped back in her chair and looked over at Vanzir.
He shifted, darting glances between the two of us. “No way, I didn’t do anything. And from what she described, no dream-chaser demon would act like that. Just too much doesn’t track.”
I snorted. “We aren’t saying you’re at fault, so chill. But it’s obvious something’s gotten into her dreams and also seems to have some control over her in the waking state. You can’t call that convulsion a coincidence, not when she was about to spill the contents of her dream. We’re just wondering if you’ve got any experience with other creatures roaming the Dream-Time.”
Vanzir grumbled but seemed appeased. “I can do some research. Off the top of my head, though, it could be…oh, a number of freaks. Nothing I’m willing to bet on at this moment.”
I glanced at the clock. Fuck. It was time to leave for the VA meeting. “I’ve got to go. Camille, Nerissa, I need you guys with me.” I wanted one of the guys with me but, considering Smoky’s temper, decided to play the better part of wisdom. “Morio, want to join us? Considering the crap we faced last night, the rest of you better stay home.”
Iris returned to washing up. The guys began to grumble about being left home and I finally relented. “All right—one more of you can come along. Roz, you. Smoky—we need you here in case there’s any more trouble. Trillian, too.” That would leave the two biggest egos at home.
As we gathered our things and headed for the car, I realized I had a splitting headache. Stress. You’d think, being a vampire, I’d be immune to maladies such as that, but stress affected everyone, even the undead, though it hit us in other ways than the living. We wouldn’t die from a heart attack if the stress got bad enough, but we could get a mite testy.
As the others shivered in the mist and rising fog that rolled across the lawn, I pulled Nerissa to one side. “I know you’re cold, but I have to tell you something quick, before we get in the car. I don’t want to tell the others—it might stir up an argument.”
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Nerissa lifted my chin, leaning down to kiss my nose.
“I met Roman on the Dream-Time. Um…he has a request. And it’s just that—a request, not a demand.” I hurried to say, not wanting her to think it was an order.
She squinted and pursed her lips. “I think I know what this is going to be. The same thing he suggested a few weeks ago, right?” Roman had been teasing us when both he and Nerissa were at the bar with me a couple of weeks back, flirting with both of us.
I kicked a rock across the drive. “Yeah, it’s what you think. He suggested a threesome. He won’t join in unless we ask.”
“You really trust him to not get so excited that he leaps into bed with us and bites the fuck out of my neck?”
“Don’t. Please don’t.” The memory of my fangs slipping into Roz’s neck was still all too painful. I was going to have to tell her soon, as much as I feared doing so. Would she understand? Would she leave me?
“What do you want?” Nerissa stood back, her neck cocked to the right. “Do you want me to do it for you? To help you cement your position? I will, but quite frankly, I’m not that attracted to Roman.”
I looked up at her, my heart melting. She meant what she said. She’d crawl into bed with Roman and me if it meant a boost for my position in the vampire community. And that made me love her all the more.
“I don’t want you fucking anybody you don’t want to—not even to help me. But you need to tell Roman yourself, so he’ll believe you. He promised he’d back off if you said no.” I paused, glancing over at the cars. Camille, Morio, and Roz were taking her Lexus. Nerissa and I would take my Jag. They were waiting for me to head out, to take the lead. I steeled myself and turned back to my love.
“I have more to tell you, and this doesn’t concern Roman, but let’s get a move on. We need to be at the VA in half an hour.”
She nodded, uncrossing her arms, and followed me to the car. As we slid in and fastened our seat belts, Nerissa smiled a tired smile. “I love you, you know. Thank you, for not pushing the issue about Roman. I’ll have to think about it.”
