Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 6-10 - Laurell K. Hamilton [44]
Richard introduced me to about fifteen others, first names only.
I said hi and leaned against the wall by the door. The couch was full, and so was the floor. Besides, I liked being out of reach of any shapeshifter I didn’t know. Just a precaution.
“Actually, I’ve met Christine before,” I said.
“Yes,” Christine said, “the night you killed Alfred.”
I shrugged. “Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you kill Raina last night when you had the chance?” she said.
Before I could answer, Richard interrupted. “If we kill Raina,” he said, “Marcus will hunt us all down.”
“I don’t think he’s up to the job,” Sylvie said.
Richard shook his head. “No, I still won’t give up on Marcus.”
No one said anything, but the looks on their faces were enough. They agreed with me. Richard was going to get himself killed and hang his followers out to dry.
Louie came out of the kitchen carrying two mugs of coffee. He smiled at me. Louie was Richard’s best friend, and he’d gone on a lot of hiking dates with us. He was five foot six, with eyes darker than my own, true black, not just darkest brown. His baby-fine black hair had been cut recently. He’d worn it long for all the time I’d known him, not a fashion statement like Richard; he just never got around to getting it cut. Now it was short enough that his ears showed, and he looked older, more like a professor with a doctorate in biology. He was a wererat, and one of Rafael’s lieutenants. He handed me one of the mugs.
“These meetings have been so much more pleasant since Richard bought that coffeemaker. Thanks to you.”
I took a big breath of coffee, and felt better instantly. Coffee might not be a cure-all, but it was close. “I’m not sure everyone is happy to see me.”
“They’re scared. It makes them a little hostile.”
Stephen came out of the guest room dressed in clothes that fit too well to be Richard’s. A blue dress shirt, tucked into faded blue jeans. The only man in the room that was close to Richard’s size was Jason. Jason never minded sharing his clothes.
“Why does everyone look so grim?” I asked.
Louie leaned against the wall, sipping coffee. “Jean-Claude withdrew his support of Marcus and threw in with Richard. I can’t believe neither of them mentioned that.”
“They said something about having formed a bargain, but they didn’t explain.” I thought about what he’d just told me. “Marcus must be pissed.”
The smile faded from his face. “That is an understatement.” He looked at me. “You don’t understand, do you?”
“Understand what?” I asked.
“Without Jean-Claude’s backing, Marcus doesn’t stand a chance of forcing the rest of the shapeshifters under his control. His dreams of empire building are finished.”
“If he doesn’t stand a chance, why is everyone so worried?”
Louie gave a sad smile. “What Marcus can’t control, he has a tendency to kill.”
“You mean he’d start a war?”
“Yes.”
“Not just with Richard and the pack, you mean, but an all-out war with all the other shapeshifters in town?”
Louie nodded. “Except the wereleopards. Gabriel is their leader and he sides with Raina.”
I thought about it for a second or two. “Sweet Jesus, it would be a bloodbath.”
“And there’d be no way of containing it, Anita. Some of it would spill over onto the normal world. There are still three states in this country that will pay hundreds of dollars in bounty for a dead shapeshifter, no questions asked. A war like this could make the practice look practical.”
“Do you two have something better to do?” Christine asked. I was beginning not to like her. It was she that knocked on the door and interrupted Richard and me. Frankly, for that I was sort of grateful.