to ally with us, but we’ll need the vampire council’s help,” I said.
“You mean the same council that branded you a fugitive?” Denise asked, before muttering, “Good luck,” under her breath.
Denise was right. At best, I had an “arrest on sight” edict against me. More likely, it was “kill on sight.” But if I had any chance at convincing the council to overturn thousands of years of settled law, I couldn’t do it by text or Zoom meeting.
“My father said that Morana and Ruaumoko’s reign ended ‘before the Great Flood.’ Magic was flourishing among vampires then, so our ancestors had to have used it when they fought them.”
Mencheres rubbed his chin. “You think enough magically powerful vampires can make up for the loss of ghoul allies, if they refuse to join us?”
“I think it’s worth a shot,” I said in a steady voice. “I still want to reach out to the ghoul queen, though. Perhaps Marie will agree that three power-hungry gods with conqueror complexes running loose here is a problem that needs to be dealt with. But it’s only been a few years since the last ghoul uprising against vampires, so . . .”
“Tensions are still high,” Cat said, her lip curling. “Yeah, I know. Sorry.”
“That’s not your fault, Kitten,” Bones said at once.
“It isn’t,” I agreed. “I was there during the prior ghoul uprising in the fifteenth century, remember? Warmongers look for any excuse to flare tensions.”
I should remember that when guilt struck me over Phanes, Morana, and Ruaumoko. I wasn’t making them do anything they didn’t want to do. But oh, I still felt responsible.
“I’ll call Marie and set up a meeting,” Cat said.
“I could speak to Marie,” Ashael offered.
Cat waved him off. “A demon presenting this might make Marie less receptive toward helping. No offense,” she added when Ashael opened his mouth to speak. “Marie’s very prickly. But, she and I left on semi-good terms, so I have that in my favor.”
It sounded like Ashael stifled a laugh, but then he simply said, “As you prefer.”
“Get Fabian involved, too, Kitten,” Bones said. “Might be that some of his people could be persuaded to join us, too.”
“Yes, we should rally the ghosts, too,” Cat said, sounding much more hopeful. “Some of them have incredible power.”
Some did, indeed. “I’ll summon my friend Leah,” I said. “She can assist with any plans for recruiting ghostly help.”
Ashael rose. “Then I’ll see if there’s any chatter among demons about these gods. Maybe one of my kind has seen them.”
The word “seen” gave me an idea. “Can’t you find out where they are with one of your blood-spying spells?”
That garnered several interested looks, but Ashael was already shaking his head.
“That doesn’t work on gods, demigods, lesser deities, celestial creations, or anything else that didn’t once begin as a human. If it did, I would’ve found our father right away, and we wouldn’t have wasted all that time trying to summon him.”
Of course. I wasn’t thinking clearly. Maybe I was more tired than I realized.
“I also would have found you, as soon as I heard rumors of a Halfling with silver eyes who ripped people’s blood out,” Ashael said in a softer tone. “But that ability doesn’t work on you either, sister, because you were never human. Not fully.”
I was about to reply to that when a mechanical ping drew my attention back to the laptop. BREAKING NEWS, a new banner read. DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE ROCKS NEW ZEALAND’S SOUTH ISLAND.
“Oh, shit,” I whispered, grabbing the laptop.
“What?” several voices asked at once.
“New earthquake,” I said, clicking the link.
Cat, Denise, and Bones pulled out their mobiles. Spade turned on the TV. Ian moved closer, reading over my shoulder.
Early estimates ranked the earthquake at a catastrophic 8.4 on the Richter scale. It also appeared to involve all four major fault lines in the Marlborough Fault system. Many buildings had collapsed, and rescue groups were rushing to the scene . . .
“You think this is them?” Denise asked in a hushed voice.
New Zealand hadn’t been hit with an earthquake like this in over a century. Ruaumoko’s origins were in New Zealand. If this wasn’t him, it was a hell of a coincidence.
“Those poor people,” I whispered. Trapped under buildings because Phanes had duped me into helping his lethal friends escape. How much blood was on my hands?
I stood. “Ashael, take me to the epicenter. I can help with rescue efforts.”
“No,” Ian said, holding out a hand to ward off Ashael. “Others can do that.”
“A vampire can do what