House Rules (Chicagoland Vampires #7)(31)
Author: Chloe Neill

"Score one for supernatural relations," I said.

There was a knock at the door, which opened. Helen stepped inside. "The vampires are assembled."

"Thank you, Helen. We’ll be with you in a moment."

Helen nodded and exited again, closing the door behind her.

By the time I looked back at Ethan, he was well into Master vampire mode: his expression blank, his shoulders back, his chin authoritatively set. He adjusted the cuffs of his shirt before glancing at me.

"I think you’ll enjoy this particular performance, Sentinel," he said.

I wasn’t sure exactly what he had in mind, but I wasn’t about to doubt him.

And, of course, I took a moment before heading inside to share the evening’s most important news in a quick text to Mallory: ETHAN EATS TOAST WITH A FORK.

It took a moment before she responded. DARTH SULLIVAN = PRETENTIOUS HOTTIE, she responded.

I really didn’t have a reason to disagree with that. But I loved that we were talking again.

* * *

The House’s ballroom was on the second floor, right beside the House library. It was a beautiful space, with wood floors, high ceilings, and majestic chandeliers that cast golden light around the room, although the nervous magic felt electric enough to illuminate the space on its own.

Michael Donovan stood with Lacey in the back of the room. They chatted together quietly and familiarly, probably having known each other during Lacey’s time at Cadogan House. They both glanced at me as I followed Ethan inside. Michael’s glance was pleasant; Lacey’s was suspicious.

I smiled pleasantly back at both of them – I was a grown-up, after all – as Ethan made his way to the raised dais at the front of the room. Hands in his pockets, he waited until the vampires quieted.

"Good evening," he said. "Thank God it’s been quiet here tonight."

The crowd offered a good-natured chuckle. We all knew when to laugh at the boss’s jokes. But the tone changed quickly.

"I’m going to dispense with the pleasantries," he said, "and get to the point. Tomorrow, in a ceremony here at midnight, we will exit the GP. The ceremony is not long, but I expect Darius will have no shortage of wisdom to pass along. When the ceremony is complete, our House will no longer be affiliated with the Greenwich Presidium. Nor will we be members of the North American Vampire Registry."

Ethan reached up and touched the gold medal around his neck. "Tomorrow," he said, "we will return our medals to the GP."

There was a cacophony of noise, of fearful shouts and angered outbursts. No one wanted to give up their medals, including myself. The golden disks were our dog tags, our identification, our badges of honor. They marked us as vampires, as Cadogan vampires, as Novitiates of a proud and noble House. They also marked us as members of the NAVR, which was precisely Ethan’s point.

"Novitiates!" Ethan yelled out, and the crowd quieted. "We have no choice; nor would I give us any. It is the right and honorable thing to return the badge of the GP’s authority over us. But I will be the first." He reached up and unclasped the medal from his neck. He held it in his fist for a moment before dropping it into a box on the dais beside him.

"If we are to do it," he said, "let us do it in solidarity."

Luc was next, then Malik. Then Kelley and Juliet and Helen. One by one, every vampire assembled in the ballroom walked to the podium, pulled the medal from his or her neck, and dropped it into the box at Ethan’s feet.

I did the same, sharing a glance with him before I returned to my spot. He nodded, and I slipped back into the crowd.

"We also anticipate the GP will use its contracts with the House to contend it is the rightful owner of some of our assets. Part of that anticipated claim we must honorably accept; another part we will dispute. Regardless, to address our alleged debt, tomorrow we will give a substantial sum to the GP."

He paused while the vampires whispered nervously.

"This House has existed for centuries, and it will continue to do so. But we must tighten our belts. We will live, for the time being, more as humans, and less as vampires with decades upon decades of compound interest. Our assets will be consolidated. Some antiques will be sold. My vehicle, which was admittedly ostentatious, will be returned to the dealership."

There were masculine moans of disappointment from the crowd.

Ethan smiled with understanding and raised a hand to quiet the crowd. "This exercise will prove two things to us. First, that the GP is exactly what we believed it to be: selfish, motivated by fear, and unconcerned about the needs of individual vampires. Second, that we are strong. That we appreciate fine things, but we do not need them to survive. For we are Cadogan vampires."

There were appreciative hoots in the crowd.

"We are, of course, on our way to becoming Rogue vampires, at least of a sort. You may know two of our Rogue brothers and sisters were recently killed. Oliver and Eve were, by all accounts, lovely and caring individuals. Let us take a moment of silence in their memory. And let us hope that we soon can lead the murderer to justice."

The room went silent, even the magic calming as we offered our thoughts to Oliver and Eve.

"There is one more matter to attend to," Ethan said. "Our arguments with respect to the disputed contract provisions may not be strong. But we believe there is one act that will help simplify and solidify our position."

The lights suddenly went out, causing a moment of panic among the vampires, at least until they realized a golden glow emanated from the front of the room.

I moved quietly through the crowd to get a better look.

"Malik," Ethan said. "Come forward, please."

Malik stepped onto the dais holding a small white taper candle. The room was utterly silent but for the soft pops of the flickering flame as we all waited to find out what the hell was going on.

Ethan looked at him. "You’re sure?"

"I am."

"You have the paperwork?"

"I do," Malik said, placing the candle on a holder in the dais. He took a folded piece of paper from his lapel pocket, then held a stick of red wax over his candle’s flame. Droplets of wax began to bead as the wax melted.

Candlelight casting shadows across his face, Malik looked across at Ethan. "Upon this night, I set my seal upon this page and I relinquish the House to you, my Liege, its only and rightful Master."

We roared into applause and joyous shouts.

Ethan was taking his place again as Master of Cadogan House.

Malik moved the stick of red wax, and it dripped – thick and scarlet and fragrant – onto the paper in his hand. He put down the stick and pulled a handled brass seal from his pocket, pressing it into the wax and making official the act we’d been anticipating for so long.