Laws of the Blood 4: Deceptions: Deceptions by Susan Sizemore Read Free Book Online Page A

have this sort of get-together often?”
    She was saved from making any immediate answer when the last companion that had been invited came into the private room and slammed the door behind her. “This had better be good, maggots,” Cassandra from the Bethesda nest announced. She took a seat, snatched a warm roll out of a linen-shrouded basket, and finished it off in a shower of crumbs before adding, “My lover won’t forget the insult from your mistress.” She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth, then turned and slapped Gerry, who’d dared resume the seat beside her. “You can stand, maggot boy.”
    Sara sighed and gestured Gerry to take the chair next to Gavivi.
    “How did a sow like you get to be a companion?” Gavivi asked.
    One moment Cassandra was pouring herself a glass of water, the next, the crystal pitcher shattered on the wall behind Gavivi’s head. Shards of glass and ice flew around the room, a sideboard and the green floral wallpaper were splattered with water.
    Note to self, Sara thought. Cassandra is close to popping fangs. Olympias would want to know that a new baby vampire was about to enter the underneath world. Some made the transition smoothly, others got a little more—tense. It looked like Cassandra was going to be one of the difficult ones. Too bad the Hunt necessary for the rebirth would have to be put off a few weeks. By the time the woman couldn’t take the pressure anymore, making the arrangements would not be Olympias’s problem—meaning it would not be Sara’s problem—other than making sure the Bethesda nest settled in an area where an Enforcer was available to oversee the transition process.
    Which brought her to the crux of this meeting. There was a dense silence following Cassandra’s outburst, andeveryone was carefully not looking at each other. Sara said, “The Enforcer of the City wishes me to convey a decision about each of your nests to each of your nest leaders.”
    Cassandra banged a fist down on the table, rattling dishes and silverware. “We don’t run errands for slaves.”
    “We aren’t being asked to,” Roger Bentencourt spoke up reasonably.
    “Try to listen to what the woman says,” Gavivi added.
    “You’re being told to convey the message,” Gerry spoke up. “We realize that the method is circuitous and rather old-fashioned, but we are—as the saying goes—only following orders.”
    Sara wondered what demon of insecurity had let her talk herself into bringing Gerry along to this meeting. Strength in numbers didn’t mean anything when she and Gerry were equally lower forms of life to the vampires’ companions. Facing these people was tough, but so what? She was Olympias’s representative. These people didn’t have to like her, and she shouldn’t want the support of a friend and equal when facing the companions. Especially not when Gerry wasn’t in a mood to back Olympias up. The subversion in his words wasn’t that overt, but tone, body language, and the psychic energy he projected spoke volumes to this very gifted trio about his frustration with the world as it was. As Olympias’s representatives they needed to be careful not to do or say anything that could possibly undermine her authority. A word, a hint, a look—Gerry needed to remember that the strigoi were predators.
    Sara felt the intense scrutiny from the three companions like bruising pressure on her skin. The newcomer, Bentencourt, was the one whose interest seemed to reach deepest through her inadequate shielding. Sara turned her full attention on him. The sympathy she saw in his eyes was nothing like pity for the poor state of her feeble psychic talent. His look conveyed understanding that she was doing her best to perform a difficult job. She couldn’thelp but give him a small, ironic smile and shrug, which got an encouraging nod in reply.
    Before she could continue with the explanation the companions waited for, a trio of servers entered the room. Meals were placed