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“We need to talk,” Cara said quickly. She kept talking, trying to get everything out there before anyone could do anything reckless. It was the plan they made on the way here.
Right now, Nick had no idea why they thought it was a good idea.
Cara rushed through the explanation - Samuel taking Quinn and Julia, controlling Jackson, trying to blackmail Cara, wanting Nick dead.
“He’s broken the peace treaty, right?” she said, finally finishing her speech.
Nick was full of tension, and he had to force himself to keep his hand off the dagger sheathed in the back of his belt. His t-shirt fell over it to keep it hidden. They all agreed that it was a bad idea to bring weapons into the house - the witches would doubtless see it as a threat.
The hidden dagger did nothing to calm him down. Every single witch was staring at him.
Cara finished speaking, and a brief silence fell over the room. It was finally broken by a small woman walking forward.
The crowd parted for her. She was the smallest person in the room, but the others reacted to her with respect, and there was something in the way she walked that hinted at the fact that she was powerful. More than powerful.
Cara nodded her head in a slight bow. “Elder.”
The woman observed her for a moment without speaking. Her eyes skimmed past Henry, and then she took a second look.
“Witch hunter,” she said. Her voice was soft, but it carried across the silent room.
Whispers broke out across the room, but the elder raised her tiny hand, and the coven went silent.
“Thank you for your work,” she told Henry, and he gave her a small nod.
Finally, she turned her focus to Nick.
“The void.”
“My friends call me Nick,” he said, trying a weak smile as he attempted to lighten the mood.
The elder didn’t return the expression. He realised he didn’t knowwhichelder this was, so he didn’t know her name, and he hoped it wouldn’t come up. He didn’t want to ruin this whole thing by insulting her.
“Cara,” her father said, stepping forward. “You shouldn’t have brought him here. It’s not-”
The elder looked at him, and Eric stopped speaking. Another gesture, and he stepped back, but his expression was thunderous.
The woman kept looking at Nick, meeting his gaze without saying anything, and he felt like he should do the same. She wasn’t even blinking, he realised. Was he in a staring contest with this tiny old woman?
“Elder, can I speak?” Cara asked.
The woman didn’t take her eyes from Nick. “You may.”
“Thank you. Now that you know what Samuel has done, I hope you’ll consider helping us. My friends are innocent, they’re humans who don’t even know what vampires are. They have nothing to do with this.”
The elder tilted her head, but didn’t look away from Nick. “I am sure they do now.”
Cara hesitated. “What?”
“The girls. Doubtless, by now, they will know what vampires are. Those who are kidnapped often notice their captors.”
Nick frowned. He wasn’t sure if it was sarcasm or condescension, but either way, he didn’t like it. The elder noticed his expression, and something passed through her eyes. She didn’t comment on it, but she finally looked away, and Nick let himself blink.
“This is a grey area,” she told Cara.
“It couldn’t be more black and white,” Cara said.
“There’s no proof the vampires have killed anyone,” the elder said. “I am sorry about your friends, I truly am, but by the laws of the treaty, they may feed on humans, provided that they allow them to live and wipe their memories of everything supernatural.”
