Episode Eighteen – Leader Of The Pack

I wish I could say I had a peaceful sleep, but I didn’t.

     It turns out Patience not only talked nonstop for most of our time in the room, but she was also a bed hog. It’s amazing how someone so small could take up so much space.

     Most of the time was spent agreeing with whatever she was rambling about, and the rest was removing her heavy limbs from my body.

     It’s not that I wasn’t interested in what Patience had to say; I was more curious about the mysterious other guest and Sterling’s reaction to her name.

     Raven Kemble.

     Fear was visible in his eyes, no matter how brief or how much he tried to hide it.

     Something I’d never seen from him.

     There was only one logical reason for his reaction: Raven Kemble was involved with The Collective, and I was determined to find out how.

     My internal clock woke me up around five thirty, and I carefully slipped out from under Patience’s surprisingly heavy body, which she had draped over me, before putting on my clothes.

     I was sure that if I was right and Raven Kemble was really part of The Collective, she already knew everything about me.

     It was only fair that we level the playing ground.

     Only I needed to be careful; Gandara commanded respect, and I was more than willing to give it.

     She had saved me more than once, and I was grateful to her.

     I considered waking, Patience, but decided against it.

     One, she was new to the reverse in time, staying up all night and sleeping all day, and it was surprisingly difficult to adjust to.

     And two, as much as I had grown to love her, the constant chatter during our time together had left me on edge.

     Halfway down the stairs, I realized I was not the first one awake.

     I could just make her out from where I stood.

     Raven Kemble was sitting by the fire, Twitch voicing his concerns as he preened his feathers on his perch, a low grumble emanating from the back of his throat, muffled in black plumage.

     She had an air about her, as if she were used to getting her way and having power, and she was beautiful.

     “Candy Holt,” she said without looking up from the small book in her hands. “I was starting to wonder if you would show yourself at all.”

     She turned the page, and its crisp sound pierced the air.

     I smiled as I descended the last step.

     “It seems you have me at a disadvantage,” I said, reclining in the chair across from her.

     She leaned forward, hand extended, “Raven Kemple, from The Collective.”

     I held her hand in mine without showing any emotion.

     “Tired of waiting for Sterling to deliver me, I take it?”     

     “Something like that,” she said, setting the small book down on the table beside her. “Sterling tends to let his personal feelings interfere with business. And this is business.”

     “Of course, just like what I did over a hundred years ago was business. The same kind of business I’m being prosecuted for now,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “The same kind of business that removed Alard Plamondon from his seat of power and put him in his grave.

     Venom kissed the last words. It was intentional, and she knew it.

     Twitch pulled his beak out from under his ebony wing and screamed.

     The sound was unnaturally loud, so I closed my eyes against it.

     Gandara Temple suddenly appeared as she always did, in a swirl of sage-scented smoke and the sound of snow rustling along the warm floorboards. She warmed her hands by the fire.

     “Ladies,” she said. “Twitch, thought you might need a reminder of the house rules before things get out of hand.”

     “Not at all,” Raven said. “Candy and I were just getting to know each other.”

     I nodded.

     Raven leaned back in her chair with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Her black hair fell in gentle waves around her full, soft face, but I knew there was more to her.

     Much more.

     “You are well acquainted with Sterling, then?” I asked.

     Gandara moved from the fireplace to the table and poured two glasses from a garnet-colored crystal decanter.

     “Ladies,” she said, handing one to each of us.

     We took them and thanked her before continuing the conversation.

     The blood in the glass was vibrant and fresh, free of drugs, alcohol, or disease.

     My eyes dilated.

     “Enough to see he wasn’t the right person for the job, but Merrick can be difficult on the best of days.”

     “Merrick?” I asked. “And who is he to you?”

     Raven smiled, lips streaked with fresh blood.

     “Lover—King, and I—his Queen,” she said.

     “Seems odd,” I said, downing the last of my drink. “For your King to approve of your coming here alone.”

     “What makes you think I’m alone?” Raven asked. “More importantly, what makes you think I need his approval?”

     “Gandara said there was just one other guest, not two,” I said. “And I’ve heard that he’s an ancient—one of the good old boys. Hardly someone who’d let a woman make any kind of business decision.”

     Raven smiled.

     “My king knows better than to try and stop me from doing what I want; besides, he knows I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.” Her eyes lingered on me. “And you.”

     I considered goading her, poking the bear, but looked back at Gandara, where she stood, cooing at Twitch, all the while watching us carefully.

     Gandara had always treated me fairly. I respected her and her rules. More importantly, she was formidable in her own right, and I wasn’t willing to test her patience.

     “You do me a great honor by coming here to… take care of me. I have a young friend—innocent, recently changed, and just beginning to wet her feet. I trust you will keep her out of this?”

     “Of course,” Raven said as she finished her drink and placed it on the small table beside her, the firelight flickering over her brown skin and making it glow. “I like nothing more than a growing flock.”

     I wanted to believe her, needed to.

     For the first time since begging Sterling to change Patience, to save her, I regretted the act.

     I had been more than selfish.

     A vampire’s death wasn’t easy, clean, or for the faint of heart. 

     My mind flashed back to Damian. The night I helped to take his life, like Judith beheading Holofernes. I wasn’t alone.

     I became aware of movement.

     Sterling was suddenly at the top of the stairs, with Kendrick right behind him. Their faces shifted from exhaustion to concern.

     Both appeared to have had just as rough a night as I did.

     Kendrick pushed past Sterling as they descended the stairs and quickly moved to stand beside me.

     “Are you okay?” his hand rested protectively on my shoulder.

     “Of course,” I said. “I was just getting to know Gandara’s other guest, Raven Kemble, from The Collective. She has come to assist Sterling with his duties. Raven, let me introduce you to my old friend, Kendrick Stone.”

     Kendrick nodded his greeting.

     Raven stared at him so intensely, her gaze lingering over his body, that I nearly laughed.

     Kendrick always did attract trouble.