"Grazie,"Lucrezia said with a demure smile and then bowed toElizabeth from where she sat.
Not to be outdone, Sebastian interjected, "However, the primary goal, in fact thedirective we'd received from the Dark Lord, was to keep outright pressure on that Neteru team until it literally collapses from exhaustion. Tonight, I believe, we achieved that."
Nuit took up his goblet with a flourish and spoke through a bored sigh. "Is Lilith aware of this?"
"Is Lilith aware of what?" Lilith sashayed forward with Yonnie behind her, straightening his tie.
"That Vlad's army was raised and subsequently decimated inNew York City about an hour ago," Nuit replied coolly over a sip of blood.
Yonnie stopped walking.
"What did you say to me?" Lilith's gaze narrowed.
"Madame Chairwoman, we were following the prime directive from our Dark Lord, which was to keep the pressure on the Neteru team," Sebastian said quickly, defending his position. "Here are the excerpts from the battle," he said, opening his gaze to her as he spoke. "See for yourself . . .Elizabeth 's brilliant maneuvers. We took down the male Neteru, he is injured. The female is beside herself with grief-it resonated in her aura and perfumed the air as she charged us. There was outright panic, civilians injured, and the Guardians even had to worry about a baby and the child's grandmother in their midst."
"I'm curious about the one guarding the child, Sebastian,"Elizabeth said, not giving Lilith a chance to respond. "Go back in your images. She reaches into her back and pulls out silver-tipped arrows as though wearing a quiver . . . and swings, beheading our troops as though owning a long blade . . . even her movements are odd. In the chaos, she can lift herself from one place to another without the deep push off that one would expect."
Yonnie stopped breathing. The negotiation around this would be extremely dicey with a full council now and female councilwomen adept in picking up the slightest sexual vibrations in a male aura.
"She moves like an angel," Lilith murmured, studying the tapes as she rubbed her chin. "This could be problematic." She lifted her gaze to stare at Sebastian and Elizabeth. "Maybe the expense of that resource was worth it to find that out, and most certainly it was worth it to fell Rivera, even if only temporarily. AtMasada , we sacrificed eight demon legions to the cause, so Lu and I are accustomed to extremes to accomplish our goals. Were we not, we would not be in the position we're in today."
Lilith swept to her throne as she flashed through the visual images in her mind again, and nodded. "Yes . . . Lu's toxic hold on Rivera definitely weakened his ability to stop that train-and yet, fool that he is, he tried to save all those worthless, screaming humans anyway."
"But I believe the critical factor we must not overlook this time is-hestill tried. This means his hope is not completely broken, nor is his spirit. That much I know about him." Nuit paused for dramatic effect, and it worked. Lilith leaned forward and he continued to lobby his point.
"Lucrezia has made an excellent suggestion. Now there've been two full frontal assaults from this council, in follow-up to the edict handed down by our Dark Lord. First mine, to drive a child and non-gifted grandmother into the Neteru compound to complicate their lives and to compromise their battle tactics, then the Countess's, with Sebastian's animation support," he added, subtly diminishing Sebastian's role, "perhaps it is time to then employ a hidden agent."
"Ooohhh . . . I like it already, Fallon. Two hits to the face and then quietly stab them in the back after the bell. Continue."
Yonnie calmly walked to his throne and took a seat, listening.
"Poison," Nuit said."My beloved's specialty." He lifted Lucrezia's hand to his mouth, brushed it with a kiss, and then nodded to her. "Please.Share."
"They are human, they must eat," Lucrezia said with a calm shrug. "They must move around to do their music or to even fight us. They are atristoranti, alberghi-hotels-sometimes on airplanes, but Fallon tells me not so much anymore. They must shop for food to feed all those members of their teams. This was how it was done in my time. I do not claim it is effective so much now, but it would help," she said, brandishing a thirteen karat ruby ring that had golden vampire bats lifting it in a high solitaire setting. "My beloved knew my passion," she said with a smile directed toward Fallon as she opened the ring."White arsenic, my favorite." Then she bowed low in a formal court gesture. "I am at your service, Your Highness."
Lilith clapped, delighted. "I approve." Suddenly she turned on Yonnie. "So, tell me, how will you contribute?"
He knew the question of about results was coming, despite his admirable performance in Lilith's bedchamber. It always came back to what-have-you-done-for-me-lately . . . and he knew sooner or later his alliance with Val would be found out. Therefore, the best way to shield her would be to pull a Rivera move out of his throne and hide Val in plain sight, then evade the council's bullshit detection with enough truth woven in the lie.
He smiled and made a tent before his mouth as the male members of council offered him smug smiles in return.
"Remember earlier when you all were busting my stones for eating blueberry pancakes," Yonnie said casually, and then lowered his hands to study his manicure. When no one answered, he looked up. "Did anyone ever consider that I was on a mission, not just busting a grub?"
Nuit's and Sebastian's smiles faded. Yonnie nodded, glancing at the new councilwomen and then directing his attention formally toward Lilith.
"Why would a brand-new, daylight-delivered councilman not take a sip of blood . . . not even a drop, and go for blueberry pancakes?" He brushed off his lapels and then looked around again. "I know we all have our idiosyncrasies, gentlemen. However, let us never lose respect for each other's skills. We all got here because we brought something unique to the table, and as soon as we recognize that and work as a team, the faster we'll be able to carry out the big boss's directive."
"Yolando," Lilith said in a seductive croon, smiling. "Lover . . . what did you do?"
He dropped his voice and stared into her eyes. "I knew that Fallon going after the child would draw angelic outrage," he said in a bass murmur that made the other councilwomen swallow hard. He then nodded to Nuit in respect. "That was smooth, bro."
Nuit nodded in return, but his eyes were wary.
"So Ilaid near where I always meet Rivera. I knew I would be perceived as a demon trying to go after yet another of the Light's Neterus. And she came out of the sky raining silver fire on me." He paused, showed them the edited version of the battle, and then sat back, fading the image to black.
Lucrezia's hand went to her heart."Incredibile!" She looked around. "This was socoraggioso! "
"I see why you love her, Fallon," Yonnie said, issuing Lucrezia an appreciative gaze in a way that would infuriate Nuit. "But that was not the courageous part, baby. You see, a man must have patience." He smiled and then backed off Fallon, whose fangs were lengthening. "Your husband taught me that. In fact, our dear Chairwoman told me to watch and learn from the best on this council during your most elaborate installation. Trust me, I have. I may not tell him, but I do watch his every move, learning."