Biting Cold (Chicagoland Vampires 6)

"They found you," he corrected, "and that's what counts."

"Morgan was the key. If we hadn't been able to communicate..." I trailed off as tears threatened to breach my lashes again.

Ethan nodded. "He caled after you were home to ensure you were okay."

"He did good. Comforting, but with just enough push to make sure I stayed awake."

We'd been concerned Morgan had been too immature to handle his position as House Master. Maybe he could grow into it. Maybe he already was growing into it.

"I need to thank him," I said. It was the right thing to do and might help clear the air between us.

"You may do so in one hundred years when I let you leave the House again."

"Ha."

"I'm only slightly joking, Merit. I have a nearly irresistible urge to lock you away and keep you out of trouble."

"Locking me away wouldn't keep me safe or out of trouble.

And if you locked me away, I couldn't keep you safe." Of course, there were some things from which I couldn't protect him. "How did your interview with Darius go?"

He shook his head. "Let me navigate the political streams. I am the captain of this ship, after al."

"Wow. You usualy go for naughty. Tonight it's nautical. It's bad, isn't it?"

"It's not good."

"What happened? Is he going to remove our accreditation?"

Ethan stood up and walked to the window and didn't say a thing. My chest tightened uncomfortably.

"You aren't going to tel me?"

"I'm not avoiding the conversation because I don't trust you," he said, glancing back at me, that line of worry between his eyes.

"But because there's nothing to tel. The shofet ruled; you know that. Darius wil decide what he decides. He hasn't verbalized that decision, and until he does so, we have to wait."

With that enigmatic statement, he went silent on the issue. I decided he'd been through enough tonight and didn't press him further.

"What about the falout from the press conference? I can't imagine the new mayor is thriled someone who looks like the former mayor, except with bat wings, tried to take out four of her cops."

"She wasn't thriled," Ethan agreed. "But she also didn't try to blame it on vampires. Of course, that's pretty easy, since you were there with a sword trying to defend the cops. The human-interest reporters loved that."

"Ironic," I said.

"There has, however, been a bit of a change in the status quo." Ethan reached over and grabbed a folded newspaper from the nightstand and handed it to me.

The top half of the front page was devoted to a photograph of Dominic, his black wings spreading ominously across the newsprint. Beneath the photo was the headline: WINGED MAYOR ATTEMPTS COP HIT; CITY HOME TO OTHER SUPS.

It hadn't actualy been the mayor, of course, but I could forgive them the error. The city didn't know two Tates were on the loose, and they were hard to tel apart, anyway.

"Read the first paragraph," Ethan said.

I read aloud: " 'Chicago reels today after Mayor Seth Tate, bearing a pair of batlike wings, attacked the so-caled South Side Four outside the police precinct where they were released.

In response, three new species of supernaturals - so-caled nymphs, sirens, and trols - were outed in a press release sent to news outlets across Chicago. Mayor Diane Kowalcyzk says she was shocked to learn Mr. Tate was 'one of the monsters.' A source close to the mayor's office says Kowalcyzk is aware the city harbors dozens of supernatural species but kept that information from the public.' "

I glanced up at Ethan, nervous about his reaction. But he was smiling.

"Someone just outed more supernaturals to the mayor and everyone else." I pointed to the paper. "You're okay with this? How are you not freaking out?"

"Because your grandfather was the source."

I could only blink. "What? Why in God's name would he do that?"

"Because they told him to. It makes strategic sense. One, it makes Kowalcyzk look as incompetent as she realy is. That's a fun bonus. Two, we're fighting a losing battle. The information has spiled out, a bit at a time, since Celina announced our existence, and not usualy on our terms."

He was right about that. Celina outed vampires, and Gabriel had to out the shifters after his brother launched a ful-out attack on Cadogan House.

"You said he had permission?" That was as big a surprise as any. There were al sorts of supernatural creatures the general public didn't know about, and I hadn't heard any of them express any strong desire to mingle with humans.

"In light of Tate's - Dominic's - behavior, your grandfather thought it best to revisit the issue with the city's supernatural communities. Chicagoans have already seen two supernatural reveals. You add yet another reveal - Dominic's wings - and the public starts to believe there's more out there than they've seen, assuming they don't believe that already. If they were going to be outed, they wanted to do it on their terms.

"And frankly," he added, "I think your grandfather stressed the fact that vampires have been taking the supernatural heat in this town for a while now, and it was time to share the burden.

He says it helped considerably that you've been meeting the groups and conducting yourself honorably. Attempting to solve problems that weren't yours in order to keep the peace for everyone."

I blushed at the praise. It meant a lot that they'd said those things to my grandfather. He'd al but raised me, and I was glad to have done good by him.

"This could change a lot of things in Chicago," I said.

"It could."

He had a little smile on his face, and I figured out the reason for that fast enough. "And with that much change, Darius would be hard-pressed to dump one of his Chicago Houses."

"That is an unintended side effect."

It might not, of course, have any bearing on what the GP ultimately did. After al, they tended to ignore the cold, hard realities of what went on in Chicago. But it would certainly make them think twice before disbanding us.

"How's the public reacting?" I asked.

"The usual mix. Some are celebrating; some are afraid. Some are convinced we are the harbingers of the apocalypse."

"Dominic's wings can't be much help with that." They looked exactly like something you'd have seen at the end of the world as the four horsemen rode down upon you...

"I don't imagine they did. On the upside, with so many other options, the protestors have completely abandoned us."

"No kidding?" That I had to see. I climbed out of bed and joined Ethan at the window. I could see only a corner of the front yard, but no signs bobbed above the Cadogan House gate.