Vinny had definitely paled, and her normally seductive lips were little more than thin slashes, but the abject terror I'd glimpsed earlier was gone. She met my gaze squarely and there was now a hint of steel in the brown of her eyes.
She might still be scared shitless, but she wasn't about to let on to her fledglings or us.
And for that, I had to admire her.
I stopped several feet in front of her, with Quinn standing just behind me, his breath stirring the little hairs on my neck.
"I told you once before never to mess with the Directorate, Vinny. Now you know the consequences."
She glared balefully at me for several seconds, then pointed with her chin at the man behind me. "He's not Directorate. "
"He's an advisor, so that makes him one of us." I hesitated, then added, "One fledgling dead is better than the whole nest. And trust me, that is currently an option if the Melbourne council is informed of your recent activities."
"I have no idea what you mean."
She was lying. I could taste it, even if I couldn't see it in her expression. And while there was little to be seen in her face, the toga clad teenagers behind her rustled nervously. Pale fingers reached out and began to caress Vinny's arms and shoulders, and a gentle hum of energy tinged the air.
I wondered if they were reassuring themselves or Vinny, but didn't really care enough to ask. Not when there were more important questions.
"I'm talking about your association with the man calling himself Carlos Martez."
"I have no idea who—"
"Vinny, he was seen both entering and leaving your building last night, and we all know no one can get in here without your permission."
"He was merely here paying his respects. There is nothing sinister in that, guardian."
She changed tact as swiftly as a tiger snake, and was probably just as deadly. Or would have been, if Quinn wasn't standing behind me.
"Except for the fact that Martez has just tried to kill a Directorate employee."
"He wouldn't do that. You're mistaken."
"I was there, Vinny. I saw him."
Amusement flared briefly in her eyes. "If you were there, you should have stopped him."
"It's hard to stop someone when they can escape through mirrors."
"If you've come to me for information about how to destroy such a person, I'm afraid you're out of luck. I have no idea."
Quinn didn't move, but his power whipped out again. This time, it was the barb of telepathy. Somewhere behind us a door slammed, the sound echoing across the silence.
"Do tell your people not to try and sneak up behind us," Quinn said mildly. "I'd hate to kill any more of your concubines."
Vinny's fingers clenched. With a visible effort, she flexed them again. "I've already said I can't help, so I don't understand why you are still here."
"Vinny dearest, we haven't even started." I stepped forward, grabbed the front of her gown, and yanked her out of her chair and away from the caressing, calming influence of the teenagers. She yelped and briefly struggled, her pale arms flying. I ducked the blows and shook her a little more. "Carlos Martez died over five years ago. Tell me who has assumed his identity."
"I don't—"
I shook her again, hard enough to rattle her teeth. "One of your fledglings was a witness, so you knew Martez was dead. Who did you deal that information to?"
"I can't," she said, fury mixing with fear in her eyes. "He'll kill me."
"And the Directorate will kill you if you don't," I commented. "So chose which side of the bed you want to lie on, Vinny, because these games of yours are getting a little tiresome."
Something flickered through her eyes. The snake was twisting yet again. "He is my creator. I had no choice in doing what he said."
Is that true? I asked, without turning to look at Quinn. Without my full attention, the serpent I held just might strike, even with Quinn at my back.
To a degree, yes. The power of the creator over the fledgling lessens with time, but Vinny is not old enough to be totally free of his influence.
"Give me a name, Vinny."
She hesitated, then said, "Ammon Nasser."
The man the council had all but destroyed. He obviously had to be similar in looks to Martez to be able to maintain the fraud for so long. "And why did he come here?"
"Because this is my territory. It is considered polite to state one's aims when entering the territory of another."
Also true, up to a point, Quinn said. Vampires tend to tolerate other vamps within their hunting grounds if they are not causing problems.
I knew you guys were territorial, but I didn't think it actually meant having defined territories.
Why do you think there is such a wide spread of vampires? Unlike werewolves, we can not easily live in each other's shadow.
Which had to make life in a nest interesting. Obviously, though, emo vamps had no such problems. To Vinny, I said, "Would you even have a say in him setting up another nest given you're one of his creations?" Surprise flitted through her eyes, and I smiled grimly. "Yes, we know all about it. The council is not so staid and set in their ways that they wouldn't feed the Directorate information when someone is killing them off."
Yeah, they totally wouldn't, Quinn said, his amusement running through my mind—a river of warmth that made me want to smile.
"I did warn him of that danger," Vinny said, her sincerity almost believable. Almost. "I tried to talk him out of his plans, but to no avail."
"Then why did he wait six months to begin his revenge?"
She snorted softly. "Why do you think? If he'd begun straight away, the culprit would have been obvious. He is many things, but a fool isn't one of them."
"So what was he doing in the six months since the council wiped out his nest?"
She shrugged, pulling against my grip. "I didn't ask and didn't care to ask. He keeps out of my way—mostly, anyway—and I keep out of his."
"But you know where he's currently residing?"
"No. As I said, Nasser isn't a fool." Her brief smile was amused. "Apparently, he doesn't trust me."
Obviously, Nasser was well aware that he'd raised a snake. "Is he a mirror wraith as well as well as an emo vamp ?"
She smiled. It set my nerves on edge. "Yes, he is. I'm surprised you discovered it, because not even the council would have known that."
"Why not?" I asked, more out of curiosity than any real need to know.
"Because he came into this country illegally, and therefore would not be listed on the council's books."
Wouldn't have mattered if he was, Quinn commented. The council wouldn't have shared the information with you.
The council are rather large pains in the butt. To Vinny, I said, "So why did Nasser come here last night?"
"Because he supplements his feeding by feeding off of us."
I raised my eyebrows. "And you let him?"
"I have no choice." She almost spat the words. "He is an old and hungry soul who cannot be satisfied with feeding off a woman or two. He needs the energy supplied by a nest."
Maybe that's why Vinny's nest has grown substantially in the last few months, Quinn commented. She's been supporting her creator's needs as well as her own.
She's using him as an excuse. She wants her own empire, and would be growing as fast as she could anyway. To Vinny, I added, "So he has fed apart from the nest?"