Blood and Kisses(28)

Good.

Heath turned to the assemblage. “Don’t listen to him. He’s using vampire trickery to influence you.”

Gideon smiled, teeth white in his handsome face, a leopard toying with his prey. “Come now, Gordon. Witches aren’t susceptible to suggestion, you know that.”

Thalia cleared her throat. She was touched by Gideon’s defense, but it was time to stand up for herself. Grief had weakened her, made her vulnerable, but she was more than capable of solving her own problems. “Heath, I would appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.”

Heath blew out a long gust of air and rocked back on his heels. He waved, as if dismissing her before she’d even begun. “As you wish.”

Gideon’s hand fell away as she moved forward to take the floor. She could still feel the imprint of it on her skin, a reminder that she wasn’t alone, at least for now.

Thalia took a deep breath and prayed her voice wouldn’t break. She gathered every shred of composure she possessed around her like a suit of armor. “I don’t understand this sudden call for a new Champion. Nothing’s changed. I have always been up to every task set before me. There is no reason to suppose that that won’t continue.”

Heath opened his mouth to interject. She held out a firm hand to deter him. He subsided into silence with an audible huff.

“We have omens, we have prophecies, we have speculation, but the only concrete thing we have is one rogue vampire killing our friends and family.” Her gaze swept the crowd. These were people she’d known all her life. Karla Gibson, unabashedly gray hair held back by a garish green headband, met her eyes, giving her the thumbs up. She had a daughter who was a petty. A few others nodded in support, but still more looked away. “Jay.” She zeroed in on a tall, twenty-some mage, with curly dark hair and a ruddy complexion. “When you were cursed, who did you come to?”

“You,” he muttered, looking as if he’d like to be somewhere else. Understandable when she considered the aforementioned curse, cast by a witch he’d dumped, had involved boils on a very private part of his body.

“And did I solve your problem?”

He nodded reluctantly. “Yes.”

A petite Japanese-American witch crossed her arms, drawing Thalia’s attention. “What about you, Hiroko? Who banished the evil spirit that came with that vase your grandmother sent you?”

Heath stepped forward, the vein in his head pulsing. “No one is denying you can manage the average day-to-day duties of the Champion, but it’s been whispered that you’re forced to conserve your magic on a daily basis in order to have enough to meet the demands of your position. That you are so drained after doing magic, you can barely walk.”

The room tilted. Thalia thought her legs would fold. She fought the rolling sensation in her stomach. And she’d believed she’d covered her disability. She forced herself to speak lightly. “The whispers are true, but exaggerated. I don’t use my magic frivolously, but I have more than enough to get the job done. Gideon and I have already fought the rogue once. He is very ancient, very powerful, but we will stop him.”

She paused to collect her thoughts, and an unnatural lull settled over the group. Mina spoke into it. “My visions are rock solid. I believe this ‘rogue’ as you call him, is much more than just an ordinary vampire gone feral. I believe he is part and parcel of the danger we’ve been expecting.”

Thalia spoke with a conviction she wasn’t sure she felt. “That may be true. But if it is, it changes nothing. I’ve got this.”

Mina walked around the long table and laid a fragile, café au laite hand on Thalia’s arm. “I’m sorry, dear, but we have to be sure.”

Gideon boiled with anger. He didn’t bother to ask himself why he was so incensed. The demon within stirred. He dug his fingers into his palms, driving him back, but was only partially successful.

They had no right to do this to Thalia. He could feel her pain at this betrayal. Her frustration at being undermined by people she’d trusted her whole life. He yearned to intercede, but she had to do this. This was her fight. The woman who was brave enough to accost a strange vampire on a darkened street, strong enough to set aside her grief in order to find her cousin’s killer, and tough enough to drag Gideon back from the edge of madness, could surely handle this. He swallowed his rage, banking the burning coals of fury beneath the ashes of reason. She didn’t need his protection, however much he wanted to give it.

Thalia’s face was white, her full lips a thin line. “What are you going to do?”

“What I propose, dear, is a vote.”



Thalia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This was unprecedented. Her face felt numb. “What kind of vote?” She forced the words through insensate lips.

“Heath has expressed the desire to take over as Champion. The council has decided to let the community vote. You will be a candidate, as will Heath and anyone else who wishes to step forward.”

The force of Mina’s personality could no longer hold the crowd in check. The assembly disgorged a roar of frenzied discussion. Witches and mages shouted and jumped to their feet. One young witch dumped the contents of her punch glass on the head of the mage sitting next to her, whether intentionally or by accident Thalia couldn’t tell. It stained his white hair and beard pink.

Another crack of thunder caromed off the walls. “Calm down.”

Mina’s magically augmented words filled the room, rivaling the thunder in its volume. Thalia struggled against the urge to put her hands over her ears.

The roar diminished to a low buzz. “Is there anyone else who would like to nominate themselves or another as a candidate?”

Heads swiveled back and forth as each person looked to see if another would step forward.

Karla stood up. “I don’t want to nominate anyone. I just want to say that I am perfectly satisfied with the Champion we have. If there’s going to be a vote, I think it should be about whether we vote at all.”

There were some approving nods and murmurs. The tension in Thalia’s chest eased momentarily.

Mina sighed. “Very well. All in favor of holding a vote, raise your hand.”

Karla crossed her arms over her skinny chest, as did a few others, but the majority raised their arms.

Thalia’s ribs seemed to compress, preventing her lungs from expanding. If that many people wanted a vote, surely they would be voting against her.

Mina didn’t bother to count. “It seems there will be a vote. I’ll ask one more time. Are there any other candidates?” No one spoke. A few people shifted in their seats as if undecided, but eventually subsided, apparently unwilling in the end to take on such an onerous job.

“Fine. We’ll proceed. It would be better if this were a private vote, but in the interest of speed, I’ll ask again for a show of hands. Everyone who wishes Thalia to remain our Champion, raise your hand.”

Thalia held her breath as her gaze swept the crowd. Less than a third raised their hands. Her stomach lurched. She swallowed hard against the sick feeling rising in her throat. The Kents had been Champions for more than ten generations. It seemed like a bad dream. What had she done to deserve this?

“Everyone who wishes Heath to be our new Champion?” A forest of hands raised. “Those abstaining?” Two or three hands lifted. “It’s settled. Heath is our new Champion.”

It was over.

The room seemed to darken, and Thalia had the odd sensation that she’d ceased to exist. She felt as isolated and out of her element as a dolphin in a tank. How had this happened? What did she do now?

The short term was clear. No way would she allow Lily’s killer to escape, but after that, what then? She stepped back, and Gideon put a hand on her slender back. His touch anchored her and everything came back into focus. She straightened. She wasn’t going to let them do this to her.

“Wait! Heath,” she said loudly for everyone to hear. “I challenge you to a contest.” She turned to Mina. “If I can defeat Heath in the ritual of power, would that satisfy the council?”

“We’ve already voted.” Heath looked belligerent. His face was set, his hands fisted, his thick brows low and straight over narrowed eyes.

“So we can vote again.” Thalia lifted her chin and stared him down. He couldn’t have everything his way.

Mina glanced between them, her dark eyes assessing. She nodded once as if making up her mind and turned to address the crowd who were speaking excitedly amongst themselves, clearly taken aback by this sudden turn of events. “Raise your hands, if it is acceptable for the winner of the ritual of power to be our new,” she bowed her head to Heath, “or old,” she bowed her head to Thalia, “Champion.”

Every hand shot up. It was unanimous. Thalia had bought herself a bit more time. She wasn’t dead yet.



The ancient’s ultra-sensitive ears detected the rhythmic pat-a-pat-a-pan of rain hammering the roof of the Tomb. Gods, he loved that name! He’d thought it hackneyed before, but now it seemed perfect. Gideon couldn’t have known how apropos it would be. He smirked and resisted the impulse to laugh out loud. Nothing could dampen his ebullient mood.