"I do not belong to you." "Truth," snapped Wulfe, suddenly coming to his feet.
"That is fair truth--you felt it yourself." Across from us, high in the bleachers, a vampire stood up.
He had soft features, wide-spaced eyes, and an upturned nose that should have made him look something other than vampire.
Like Wulfe and Estelle's human, he strode down the seats.
But there was no bounce to his step or hesitation.
His path might as well have been straight and paved for all it impeded him.
He landed on the floor and walked to Wulfe.
He wore a tuxedo and a pair of dark-metal gauntlets.
Hinged metal on the top and chain link below.
He flexed his fingers and blood dripped from the gloves to the floor.
No one made any move to clean it up.
He turned, and in a light, breathy voice, he said, "Accepted.
He is no man of yours, Marsilia." I had no idea who he was, but Stefan did.
He froze where he sat, all of his being focused on the vampire in the bloody gauntlets.
Stefan's face was blank, as if the whole world had tilted from its axis.
Marsilia smiled.
"Tell me.
Did Bernard approach you to betray me?" "Yes," Stefan said, without expression.
"Did Estelle do the same?" He took a deep breath, blinked a couple of times, and relaxed in the chair.
"Bernard seemed to have the seethe's best interest at heart," he said.
"Truth," Wulfe said.
"But Estelle, when she asked me to join her against you, Estelle just wanted power." "Truth." Estelle shrieked and tried to get to her feet, but she couldn't move away from Wulfe.
"And what did you tell them?" she asked.
"I told them I wouldn't make a move against you." Stefan sounded utterly weary, but somehow his words carried over the noise Estelle was making.
"Truth," declared Wulfe.
Marsilia looked at the gauntlet-wearing vampire, who sighed and bent to Estelle.
He petted her hair a couple of times until she quieted.
We all heard the crack when her neck broke.
He took his time separating her head from her body.
I looked away and swallowed hard.