“Her name?”
“Adeline Greenfield. She came highly recommended.”
It wasn’t a name I was familiar with, but Ilianna might know her. Either way, she was worth talking to, if only to uncover the extent of the spell.
“The fact you’re the second councilor to be attacked suggests this might have something to do with the council itself. Has there been a decision or action taken recently that was met with opposition?”
She waved a dismissive hand. “Council decisions are always controversial. There’s rarely one hundred percent agreement in the vampire community at large, let alone on either of the councils.”
That’s because the vampire community as a whole is—
I stopped the thought cold when her gaze narrowed again. The sooner I got to Stane’s and had those damn nanowires fitted, the better. “So there’s no one decision that sticks out as worse than the rest?”
“Not to my knowledge, no.”
“Then why do you think you and Boulanger have been targeted this way?”
She shrugged—a movement that emphasized the thinness of her shoulders. “The two of us are council elders—there are three in all—and therefore have the controlling votes, but I cannot think of anything we’ve overruled recently that would merit any sort of retribution.”
“Meaning there’s been stuff in the past that might?”
“It is possible. We are not angels.”
I snorted softly. That surely had to be the understatement of the year. “I don’t suppose you could write a list of people who might hold a grudge against the two of you? It would give us something to work with.”
“Such a list would only be useful if Boulanger were able to write one. He cannot.”
It was interesting that she continued to avoid referring to Pierre in past tense. “Maybe not, but I’ve asked Hunter to see what she can come up with.”
“Oh, I can just imagine how well she took that.” She chuckled softly. “Still, it will be interesting to see if we come up with the same names.”
If they did, then those vampires had to be next in line for questioning. And if I was going to be the one doing the questioning, then Azriel was going to be watching my back. Not that he was doing such a good job of it right at this moment.
“On the contrary,” he said softly, suddenly appearing beside me. His gaze met mine, oddly full of censure. “I am aware of everything that is going on in this place. Do not doubt that, even if you doubt me in general.”
I frowned. “Did you discover anything?”
“Yes.” He glanced at Alston. “The thing that attacked you is a Maniae.”
“And that is?”
“The Maniae are the spirits of madness and death. They are related to the Erinyes, the deities of vengeance.”
Holy cow, I thought, blinking. We weren’t just dealing with ordinary, everyday bad guys here, but old Greek gods!
Could the day get any fucking worse?
Chapter Three
“YES, IT COULD,” AZRIEL MURMURED, AMUSEMENT crinkling the corners of his eyes,
“because they cannot be killed.”
“Oh, fabulous.” I raked a hand through my hair. Hunter was not going to be pleased.
“Could someone please explain what the hell a Maniae is?” Alston said irritably.
He glanced at her, expression noncommittal. “As I said, the Maniae are spirits—daemones—of madness or death. They, like the Erinyes, can be summoned by those seeking vengeance for crimes against the natural order.”