Chapter 482: Piotr's Leash
I didn't kill any of them. Pretty sure. But not one of my four attackers were able to get up when my vampire was done with them.
The little skirmish only increased my annoyance, ramping up as I stalked away from their groaning complaints and stomped my way to the throne room. It had been converted into a banquet hall the night before and, from the look of the well-laden tables, this was to be another prolonged evening of dining and dissembling.
Not if I had anything to say about it.
Piotr hovered near Batsheva, standing behind her chair, glaring at me as I stormed my way into the hall and up to the Queen who was responsible for my safety.
"This piece of garbage," I jabbed a finger at him, "and his little friends attacked me on my way here." Piotr didn't react, though Batsheva's smile pulled into a false frown while Pannera watched with interest. Sebastian half-rose from his chair, but his Queen waved him back.
Careful, he sent.
I was done with careful. "What are you going to do about it?"
Batsheva tapped her fingertips on the tabletop. "You seem to have survived the encounter," she said.
"They didn't give a reason for their attack." One of the damned rules of theirs. They'd used them against me enough since I got here. Now it was my turn to throw it in her face.
Piotr's eyes narrowed before he looked away. Forgot he was supposed to accuse me of something, did he? Or maybe he didn't think I'd been paying attention.
Arrogant ass.
"Of course, such an outrage must be addressed." Batsheva turned to Piotr. "Did you attack Sydlynn?"
"I did not," he said.
Okay, technically he didn't. Damned sophistry. I ground my teeth together and fought my demon's temper, coming through quite nicely even if her power wasn't. "You come near me again," I snarled, "and I'll make sure you suffer for a very long time."
I'm sure it wasn't in Batsheva's plan, if she really had one, to let Piotr slip his leash, but that was what happened when a crazy woman tried to control a clan of the emotionally unstable undead. Piotr lunged for me, teeth bared, my vampire lashing out, the pulse of her magic knocking him back to fall into Batsheva's lap.
Silence. The entire room fell deathly quiet. Until Pannera laughed.
Loud and cheery, a belly laugh of joyful proportions. And her clan laughed with her.
Not all of them. Sebastian looked like he wanted to yell at me while Sunny just sat, tense and alert, Uncle Frank unhappy beside her.
I didn't mean to humiliate my Queen in public. But she had it coming.
I have no idea who threw the first utensil, only that it ended up embedded in one of the lesser vampire's cheeks. On Pannera's side. Clearly, the Moromond clan didn't take kindly to being laughed at. More quiet, even Pannera, though I felt the rumble rising beneath the silence, barely having enough time to whisper "oh noes" to myself before the place went ballistic.
Pannera was already on her feet, her power sizzling through the air in an attempt to minimize the damage, but her vampires were in too deep of a frenzy. Sebastian had been right, one match was all this powder keg needed to explode.
And I'd struck the spark.
I ducked out of the way as two vampires, now in full undead mode, clawed and bit at one another, flashing in and out as they clung and fought. Two more rolled past me, thrashing on the floor, inhuman howling piercing my eardrums until I had to press my hands over them to save myself from a rupture. Sebastian flickered out of shadow at my side, one hand on my arm, but I pulled free as Batsheva shoved Piotr out of her lap and stood slowly, a huge grin on her face.
Pannera was alone, it looked like, the sole Queen trying to put out the fire. And as much as I felt a little guilty for causing the mess, part of me hoped they'd destroy each other so I could just go home.
One last crash of magic sent all of the fighters to their knees, including Sebastian and my uncle, though somehow Sunny retained her feet, Piotr's throat squeezed tight in one hand.
Pannera's magic retreated back into her as the stunned gathering began to slowly, sullenly, retreat to their seats, masks of civility gone, but forced to behave. For the moment. When she fixed me with her vicious fury, I almost let my vampire out to show her what real power was.
"You see what you've caused?" Pannera gestured around her. "The strife and conflict? Our clans have lived in peace," snort, yeah right, "for centuries until you stole the source of our magic."
Oh, she did not just go there. "You want the essence, Pannera?" I held my arms wide. "Come and get it. But until you stop accusing me of something that's none of your damned business and never was, you can either give it a go or shut the hell up."
Batsheva's loud, slow clapping prevented Pannera's answer. "My vampire is correct." Stress on the "my". Gross. "It's clear you've orchestrated this entire event by refusing to leave my castle. You wish for our clans to fight, is that it, Pannera? To take the essence for yourself?"
This was getting way out of hand. Rumblings from both sides started up again and I knew, barring a miracle, if the vampires started fighting again, they wouldn't stop until there was a winner.
And I had no illusions whoever won would then turn on me, facade no longer necessary.
I had to act.
"Batsheva." I turned to face her, drawing the power of the essence out, letting everyone see it again, reminding them what I carried as clearly as possible.
Syd. Sunny's voice reached me, panic in her mind. What are you doing?
You know what I'm doing. I shut her off as I did my best to look all regal and stuff.
Syd! Sunny reached me through the block. Wait, not yet!
No more waiting. Not while Batsheva stared at me with her icy eyes and her smirk of a smile, Celeste scowling beside her.
Showtime.
"I challenge you for leadership of the Moromond Clan," I said.
Oh, Syd, Sunny said, now afraid. Very afraid.
Of what? I could win. I just needed the nasty ex-witch to hurry up and accept.
"No," Batsheva said. "I don't think so."
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