Blood Double (God Wars #1)(24)
At least the five comesuli had shown up and taken their seats, although a few vampires glared at their presence. I knew who all those vampires were, however, and made sure the comesuli were carefully guarded as they exited the palace. I also learned the extent of the palace comesuli defection when I went back to the Queen's suite—it hadn't been cleaned, the bed was unmade and no laundry had been taken away. It didn't matter—I'd already seen in Gavin's face the kind of poison he was capable of spreading.
I was making the bed when Gavin and Teeg showed up—again. I hadn't eaten since a blood break during the Council meeting, felt I wasn't welcome in the kitchen and was waiting until most of the kitchen workers were gone before going to scrounge for a meal when my two least-favorite people appeared.
"Go with Teeg, he needs your assistance again," Gavin growled. I couldn't refuse Gavin's order, therefore I had to change clothes, freshen up and go with Teeg San Gerxon. It didn't matter that I was tired and hungry; I was hauled to a private meeting room where Teeg had gathered the contingent from Theele. They'd come to escort Ferdik's body back to his home planet, and the population of Theele wasn't happy with Campiaa at the moment.
Ferdik's election had been a popularity contest, it seemed, and Ferdik, spouting platitudes and anything else the majority of Theele's population wanted to hear, had won easily. Then, with Nall and his faction secretly in charge, Ferdik had proceeded to fleece the population. Only the population hadn't realized it yet.
Are any of these in league with Nall? Teeg growled mentally as we walked into the room. I read all eight of them. Two had ties with Nall. One of them knew where he was.
"This one knows where Nall is," I pointed to one of the two who'd sat together on the end. Thankfully, Astralan and Stellan were there to hold back the other six as Teeg questioned Nall's conspirators. The ordeal turned into an ugly mess and by the time my night was over—yes, I'd stayed up the entire night while the two were questioned by Teeg and the others in their party—I was exhausted. The two culprits had arranged to have Ferdik killed, hoping to pin the murder on Teeg since he hadn't had the good sense to die earlier in the explosion. It just hadn't turned out the way they planned.
*
Journalists and news crews from both Alliances were descending on Campiaa and Theele like seagulls on a stranded minnow when word got out. In a matter of hours, arrests were happening across Theele—it seemed that Nall and his cronies were handing out tax breaks like popcorn to those they liked, in exchange for some of those savings to be passed in their direction. Ferdik had been a bumbling fool of a politician and a front for those with more nefarious objectives.
"Are you all right? I know you haven't had any sleep," Stellan slid onto the chair next to mine. I'd been passing information to Teeg all night, through mindspeech, telling him who could be trusted and who couldn't, and whether they were speaking the truth.
"I haven't had anything to eat, either," I yawned. I would be worthless at the Council meeting I had scheduled on Le-Ath Veronis.
"Come on, I'll find breakfast for you." He did. I watched him as we ate at a small coffee shop inside the San Gerxon Casino. The scent of eggs and coffee surrounded us as Stellan ate with a purpose and spoke very little. He was just as tired as I was and paid no mind to the lock of dark hair that fell carelessly over an eyebrow. I couldn't stop myself from thinking about how handsome he was and how rumpled I probably looked right then.
"Will you be all right—can you get some rest when I take you home?" he finally asked.
"I have a Council meeting." Dropping my fork with a sigh, I stared through the coffee shop window. Gamblers walked past, and I knew some of them had been up all night, too. The difference between us was that they had the option of finding a bed anytime they wanted. I didn't have that luxury.
"I'll tell Teeg you need sleep."
"It won't do a bit of good. Gavin Montegue will be waiting, and you don't show weakness in his camp."
"Are you ready, then?" Stellan set his napkin aside. I nodded mutely, when all I truly wanted to do was find a flat, comfortable place so I could lie down and sleep.
*
Flavio ordered coffee so I could stay awake—if he hadn't been the one to order it, the kitchen staff would likely have poisoned it. As it was, the comesula who gave me a cup was angry that I was getting anything.
"What do you mean, you want ninety-eight percent of the taxes to be spent in Casino City?" I snapped, angrier than I should have been over the matter. "The cities—including the comesula cities—pay in thirty percent. That money should go back to their cities. Casino City already gets the largest share—fifty-six percent of all taxes collected on Le-Ath Veronis. Sun City gets twenty-five percent, with the rest going toward the other cities. I don't care that you want another million-credit sign that advertises all the casinos, yours included."
"Really? They get fifty-six percent?" Another vampire—a member from one of the smaller vampire cities in question, rose from his seat to ask.
"Yes. Look at the budget. It's on page seven hundred eighty-three," I snarled.
"The document was so overwhelming, I never reached that page," he said, flipping through pages on his comp-vid.
"I believe that's what these vultures have been hoping for—that you'll be so hopelessly lost in the first few pages that you won't realize you're getting screwed." Well, my words could have been chosen better, because the insults were noted and a firestorm of debate ensued. Gavin, who was so angry he could have chewed trees into toothpicks, was shouting mentally at me, Flavio was attempting to prevent a fight between vampire casino owners and Council members from other cities, and the whole thing turned into a heated fiasco. Rigo and Aryn intervened, announcing that all further items on the agenda would be tabled. I escaped the Council Chamber while Gavin hissed venom in my ear all the way to the Queen's suite.