I decided then and there that when Jerry got back I was going to let this little rift go. No more questions. Rafe had tried to make trouble and I knew why. I wasn’t going to let
him break Jerry and me apart. We’d been through too much to have that happen now.
So when the night of the council meeting rolled around, I was feeling pretty optimistic. I should have known that was a bad sign. Whenever things are going well for me, that’s when it all goes to shit. But if I could get Aggie out of my apartment and on her own somehow, I’d be a happy camper.
“Glory, I’m counting on you.” Aggie was beside herself with nerves. It had all started when she was trying to decide what to wear to this showdown. Of course she couldn’t fit into anything of mine, still too loose. Her happy dance over that made me want to pick her up and toss her out my third-story window. But the few pieces I’d brought up from the shop in a size eight were too tight. Hmm. How’s that diet book working for you, Aggie?
We’d finally trucked down to the store and she’d tried on clothes until she settled on a pair of black pants in a ten and a black tunic.
“I look like I’m going to a funeral,” she declared. “But that’s okay. It will be Ian’s if I play this right.” She turned around for me to inspect her. “Are you sure you can’t see that bulge at my waistline?”
“No, the tunic is your friend. Now let’s go. You don’t want to be late.” The hearing was set for midnight.
“Aggie really is lodging a complaint against Ian?” Lily had been an interested spectator. “I wonder if he’ll be represented by counsel.”
“What? A lawyer?” Aggie had learned a few things from
Judge Judy
. She grabbed my arm. “I should have one. Do we know any? Who can we call, Glory?”
I could think of only one vampire who would be qualified. I’d hoped to keep him and his wife out of it, but Lily was right. Aggie needed someone to speak for her. She tended to get emotional, more so since she’d gone up another size.
“I’m calling Richard.” And of course he’d tell Flo. They
didn’t keep secrets from each other. Not like Jerry and I did. I ignored the catty voice inside my head and punched in the number. “Richard, you ever been a lawyer?”
“Among other things. Why? You’re not in jail, are you, Gloriana?” I heard a sudden burst of rapid Italian in the background.
“No, I’m fine. Tell Flo to relax. I’ve got Aggie here and we’re scheduled to go in front of the council in about an hour. She’s lodged a complaint against Ian.” I glanced around. “Can you meet us at Damian’s? I’ll explain it all there.”
“That is freaking awesome. Richard Mainwaring is legendary.” Lily slapped Aggie on the back. “You go, girl. What’s the case? Sexual harassment? These guys can’t get away with it.”
Several customers crowded around. Lily hadn’t exactly whispered.
“I’ve been to night court about that. Had a boss once who kept feeling me up.” A woman who’d been on her way to the dressing room with a pair of leather pants leaned in. “Asshole. Just because I wear short skirts doesn’t mean I’m issuing an invitation, you know?”
“You tell it, sister.” A woman nodded and looked down at her own mini. “I ain’t going to dress frumpy just because a man don’t got no control.”
There were murmurings of agreement. Aggie looked around. “Sister? Are we? Like a sisterhood?”
“That’s right, honey. Girls got to stick together.” A woman held up a book on feminism. It was decades old and collectible. “I still don’t get equal pay. Do way more work while my boss sits on his can. Of course then he gets all the credit.”
“I hear ya. Just got passed over for promotion. Again. You want to guess who got the job? That good-old-boy system is still going strong.” The angry murmurs were getting louder.
I glanced at my watch. “Fifty percent off anything green for the next half hour only!” I shouted to break up the
crowd. The discount got the women diving for the racks and shelves. Shouts of “Green blouse. That’s mine.” and “Here’s a scarf. Isn’t that green? Close enough.” meant I might lose some money but at least we could move on out.
“We’ve got to go, Aggie.” I pulled her toward the door when I saw she was heading for a green and white robe that I’d have to give her. She sure couldn’t pay for it.
“You know I think I’d like to be a lawyer.” Lily followed us to the door. “It would be megacool to preside over a court, decide who’s right or wrong.”
“Like Judge Judy.” Aggie smiled. “Yeah, that’s a great job. Lawyer first, then you move up to the bench.”
“If you’re interested in the law.” I tried not to roll my eyes. This was the girl who had embraced a life of crime only days ago. “Tell your dad. I’m sure he’d be happy to send you to school. There’s a great one, several of them in fact, here in town.” I smiled, imagining her safely in night classes hitting the books.
“Maybe you’d end up on that council here. The first woman. You said they were all men, didn’t you, Glory?” Aggie snatched a green bracelet off the display near the register before another woman could add it to her pile. “There. This adds some color. I don’t want to be dowdy.” She ripped off the tag, dropped it on the floor and clipped it onto her wrist.
I gritted my teeth then picked up that tag. I was keeping a running total of Aggie’s debt. If a miracle happened and she actually squeezed some money out of Ian, I was getting paid first.
“We’ve got to take off. Looks like you’re going to have a busy night here, Lily. Me and my big mouth. You make sure that green is green, nothing bluish green or yellow.” I hustled Aggie toward the door.
“Got it, Glory.” Lily actually looked happy for a change. “Good luck, Aggie. Come by and tell me afterward how it went. I want all the gory details.”
“Yeah. Maybe we can celebrate.” Aggie sighed. “I hope so. I realize I’m in the minority. Everybody else there will
have…” She leaned in and whispered, “…fangs. Is this Richard really any good?”
“He’s the best, just wait and see.” I dragged her outside to where I’d pulled my car out front earlier. We needed to hurry. Knowing Richard, he would be able to argue Aggie’s case well, but first we had to fill him in. I listened to Aggie complain about the seat belt wrinkling her tunic as we set off. Just like Flo. Who I bet would be there too.
Luckily Damian’s place wasn’t far, just a few blocks away, on a hilltop with a killer view of the state capitol building. He lived in a castle. Yep. In Austin. Trust Damian to find the only castle in the city. He was one of the few vampires I knew who didn’t mind being noticed. Mortals who wondered about the man who only came out at night and gave lavish parties usually finishing with a bat flight always ended up with amnesia if they saw anything they shouldn’t.
We pulled into the circular drive already crowded with cars. The house was lit up from top to bottom and there was almost a party atmosphere. I was surprised Damian didn’t have a servant at the door offering the blood with a champagne kick. Instead, we were ushered into his library, a large room I’d been in before. Richard was waiting for us.
“There you are. We don’t have much time. The council is set up in an upstairs room. Apparently Damian always holds his meetings there. We have a little while to confer before they’re scheduled to begin.” He gestured and we sat on the sofa while Richard sat across from us. “Aggie, what’s this about?”
She told him the whole story. Of course she left out an important detail.
“Aggie, you have to tell Richard everything. Especially why Ian is so mad at you.”
“I don’t want to. Can’t I plead the fifth amendment? I shouldn’t have to incriminate myself.” She kept tugging at her tunic like she didn’t think it was covering her new lumps and bumps. I could relate. My own dress felt snug.
Richard stood, his hands behind his back as he paced in
front of her, just like he might in a courtroom. “First, Aglaophonos—”
“Call me Aggie. My real name is such a mouthful. Now that I’m mortal, I want to be called just Aggie. I need to pick a last name too. Still thinking about that.”
“All right, Aggie. Here’s the bottom line. You don’t have any rights here. This isn’t an American court of law. This is the vampire council. You can’t plead the Fifth. Second, if Ian knows this information you’re withholding and it helps his case, he’s going to tell it anyway. Best if it came from you.”
“Well, hell.” She nibbled on her thumbnail, a bad habit she’d started recently. “This doesn’t seem fair, just vamps deciding things. Where’s the jury of my peers?”
Richard shook his head. “Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t you ask for this hearing?”
Aggie sighed. “Yes. I thought…Never mind. Here’s what happened. I used my song to make him love me.” She stared down at her lap. She went on, telling of a temper fit by Ian, her fear when he found out the truth. Big dramatic story. She wiped tears. I should have loaned her my waterproof mascara.
Then she segued into the blood slave thing, big emphasis on the forced feeding and no cheekbones. Finally she ended with a flourish. “And he said, ‘At least you have blood I like. I’ll keep you until I get tired of you. Then I’ll just drain you dry!’” She bent her head and covered her face with both hands.
“Very affecting. Tell it just like that.” Richard nodded to me. “The tears are a nice touch.”
“Richard! Come on. You’re supposed to be on her side.” I patted her back, sure that last line was pure fabrication. Ian was more likely to toss her out on the streets to starve when he tired of her.
Aggie looked up. “You don’t believe me?”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s probably your version of what happened. The problem is no one up there is going to like a Siren, Aggie. And the fact that you tricked Ian isn’t going
to play well.” He frowned. “Glory, what happened when you got involved?”
“I saw Ian before and after he was under her spell. As soon as Aggie was made mortal it became obvious the spell had worn off. He got interested in her blood. Just like we all do when a mortal is around. He’d lost that loving feeling.” I gestured at Aggie. “I agree that what she did was despicable.” I ignored the noise she made when I said that. “But then he held her prisoner. She had to sneak out of his place, past his guards, and hitchhike to town.”
Ian nodded. “I can use that. Then I assume he came after her.”
“Yes, practically knocked Glory’s door down. Was going to drag me back whether I wanted to go or not.” Aggie had the indignant act down pat. “Coercion!” She held up a finger.
“Why didn’t he take you back? He’s certainly powerful enough to overcome a mere mortal.”
Aggie smiled. “Ian’s afraid of Glory. She has mad skills.” She patted my knee. “Like I used to have.” Oh here came the waterworks again. “She gave me sanctuary. Such a wonderful friend.” She threw her arms around me, soaking my good black dress with her tears.
“Dry up, Aggie.” I peeled her off of me. “You chose to leave the Sirens and give up those powers. But she’s right. Ian figured she owed him some donor time for deceiving him.” I dug a handful of tissues out of my purse and thrust them at Aggie. She blew her nose and wiped her cheeks.
“Arrogant bastard. It’s like I was an entitlement!” Finger up again. Where was she getting these words?
“Aggie, did he take your blood every night? Leave you weak? Force you to do other things? Sex, for example?” Richard had a tablet computer like Ian’s and made notes.
“I wasn’t weak because he practically force-fed me. Mesmerized me when I tried to go on a hunger strike. More coercion.” She gestured down her body. “Made me fat against
my will. It was all about my blood for him. The minute he found out I’d tricked him into loving me, he-he wouldn’t touch me again. Like that.”
“No rape then.” Richard just kept writing. Obviously this kind of intimate detail didn’t bother him.
“No. I wish…” She looked up. “Instead he’d look into my eyes, use that damned mind control and I’d be helpless, just sit there while he drank my blood. He’d use my wrist. I could have been a stranger.” She wiped her eyes. I was going to have to steer her to the bathroom with a makeup bag before the hearing. She looked a mess.
“So what are you after here?” Richard set the tablet aside.
“I want him to suffer. He held me prisoner. He should pay for that. For my pain and suffering. I need money, Richard. He’s rich. Have you seen where he lives? The cars in his garage? He can afford to throw a few million my way and never miss it.” Aggie jumped up and grabbed Richard’s arm. “He said many times that he’d turn me vampire. Then he didn’t. That’s breach of promise.”
I knew she’d gotten that straight from
Judge Judy
.
“The council won’t go for that. They have a rule—”
“Damn their rule!” She took a deep breath. “I heard him say that many times. He laughed at the council and their rules. Use that against him. He was really going to do it. Turn me. But then he got mad and refused. I never would have left the Sirens if I’d known I’d be stuck as a mortal.” She batted her eyes at Richard. The effect wasn’t what she hoped since her black mascara decorated her cheeks in splotches. “Can you imagine? I lost everything because he’d promised me my immortality back. Now I’m dying every day.”
“You made the choice.” Richard removed her hand from his sleeve. “I’m just telling you what you’ll hear from the council. Now, Aggie, when we get up there, follow my lead. Try not to let Ian goad you. It will only make the council turn against you. Honestly? You don’t have a very good case.” He looked at me like “what have you gotten me into?”
“Aggie, here, take my makeup bag and hit the bathroom. There’s one by the front door. You look terrible.”
“Gee, thanks, Glory.” She made a face but took the bag and walked off.
“I’m sorry, Richard. She set this up. I’ve had her living with me and I was desperate to get her out of there. Maybe with some income.”
“I don’t know, Gloriana. It’ll be difficult. The one thing we’ve got going for us is that nobody here likes Ian either. Are you willing to testify?”
“Sure. If you think it will help.”
He glanced out the window. “I’m not sure anything will. Just stand by. Here comes Florence. You knew she wouldn’t miss this, didn’t you?”
“Will they let her watch the proceedings?” Flo waved and I saw her walk around to where I knew there were glass doors into the house.