The Last of the Red Hot Vampires - By Katie MacAlister Page 0,99
behind me.
"And you say that she is responsible for the death of the virtue Hope?" Suria asked.
"In a manner of speaking, yes." I slid a glance toward Theo. His face was expressionless, but his warm presence gave me much comfort.
Go ahead, sweetling.
You speak with much more of a Court flair than I do. Maybe you should be the one to explain.
No. The honor goes to you. You figured it out - you should be the one to explain.
"You will explain your actions, child," Irina said in her soft voice. The undertone of steel was enough to warn me that she wasn't going to be supportive if I didn't offer up enough proof.
"What do you mean, in a manner of speaking?" Disin asked, her words lashing the air with whiplike accuracy. "Did she kill Hope or not?"
"No."
The buzz grew in volume.
I raised my voice to be heard over it. "She did not kill Hope for the simple fact that she is Hope."
Chapter 22
She is Hope. The last of my words echoed eerily from the back of the ballroom.
I licked my lips, nervous now that I had to lay the facts - such as they were - out before everyone.
You are doing fine, Portia.
Disin frowned at Carol, who stood as frozen as a statue. "You claim this mortal is a virtue? Do you think us so ignorant that we can't tell the difference between a member of the Court and an innocent mortal?"
"I don't quite understand how she can appear to be someone else, nor do I know about the mortal business, although I thought someone told me that you had to be a member of the Court to be immortal, and it follows that if she isn't a virtue anymore, she would no longer be a member, and thus lose her immortal status."
The three mare gaped at me.
"I could be wrong on that, though," I said, squirming slightly under their combined looks of disbelief. "I'm not very current with all the intricacies of Court life."
"You are correct, as it happens," a man's voice said behind me. We turned en masse to see Terrin at the door, a rumpled Milo beside him. He bowed to the mare, shoving Milo forward. "Your graces, please forgive me for this disruption, but I found this man sneaking into the Court, and felt it might have some bearing on a recent conversation I had with Theo North."
"You are welcome here, scholar," Irina said, bowing her head graciously. "Bring forward the one who was banned and readmitted into our grace."
"Your grace," Milo said, stammering slightly as he stopped in front of the mare. He shot his wife a look out of the corner of his eye as he bowed to them. "There has been a gross injustice done to my wife. She is, as you can see, mortal, and not in the least bit like the late virtue Hope as Portia claims."
I nibbled on my lower lip. Carol's appearance was my one weak point. I was too unfamiliar with the denizens of the Court of Divine Blood to know if it was possible for someone to change their appearance.
"But you are a vessel," Theo said slowly. I took his hand, drawing strength from the contact.
"It is true," Milo said, squaring his shoulders as he looked out at the people gathered. "I have the honor of holding the position of vessel. Even a nephilim, however, must be aware that it is not within my powers to change a mortal's appearance."
"This is so," Disin said, turning to me. "You say that the mortal Carol Lee is really the virtue Hope, but you offer no proof for such a supposition. How do you answer this discrepancy?"
A smug look replaced the one of hatred in Carol's eyes. I knew I was right about her, I knew without a shred of doubt that she was Hope, but how did she do it? How did she morph into someone else?
"I...uh...that is..." I bit my lip again.
There has to be some way he can change her appearance. Is there a magic spell or something that would fool everyone?
A glamour? It is possible to confuse another mortal with a glamour, but not members of the Court, and certainly not the mare.
"Can you explain it, Portia Harding?"
"Er..."
There has to be some way, something we've missed, someone who has the power to change her in a way that would fool even the mare.