Page 2 of The Bloody Ruin Asylum & Taproom (Sam Quinn #7)

He squeezed my hip. “Yes and no. They eventually created the role of Counselor, but that wasn’t how they started.

Darling, who in their right mind would make Vlad the Impaler a Counselor?

Or Cadmael, for that matter? Vlad was chosen by the Guild because he has a reputation for killing huge swaths of people.

Reveling in it, really. And that was when he was human.

Cadmael is a renowned warrior with unparalleled mental skills.

So, yes, early members were a kind of hit squad.

The Guild was created for the protection of our kind.

The first order of protection is silencing those who, through word or action, would expose us. ”

I put my fork down and turned in my seat. “You’ll be a hit man?”

He tipped his head side to side. “If necessary, yes. Thankfully, most of the problematic ones have already been disposed of. Masters are usually good at controlling their own people. The Guild comes in when a Master can’t or won’t kill the rogue or if the rogue is living far outside the nocturne system. ”

“Ergo the need for a nocturne system.” I leaned back to look at him. “I’m totally paying attention, but just so you know, I’ll be ordering all my meals from this restaurant from now on.”

Some of the tension in his shoulders relaxed. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

The plane bumped, but I grabbed my glass and steadied the tray.

“So, in addition to counseling Masters on problems they’re having, you’ll need to go out and hunt down rogue vampires whose reckless behavior is threatening the exposure of vamps to the human world?

I mean, where was a Counselor when Garyn and her planeloads of vamps were invading San Francisco? ”

“I believe I’ve mentioned that Eli was worthless.

Russell informed Cadmael after that first night when Garyn captured all but yours and Audrey’s minds.

He explained the situation and our plan to deal with her.

Cadmael waited, because Counselors don’t just rush in to fix everyone’s problems. He did end up coming, but it was after Alcatraz, so his help wasn’t needed. ”

“Convenient,” I grumbled.

“Be that as it may,” he said, “how do you feel about my taking on this role?”

I stared at my empty plate and felt my stomach twist. “I worry about you being hurt.” I sat back again and grabbed his hand. “You can take me with you when you have to fulfill your sheriff duties. I can be your deputy.”

“And a more beautiful deputy I couldn’t find, but—”

I pressed my finger against his lips. “None of that. I have a unique set of skills, as you know. When Garyn brought planes filled with vamps, most didn’t get a chance to leave the plane because of me, so I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that but.”

He kissed my finger and said around it, “But then you’d have to leave Fergus again.”

My shoulders slumped. Damn, that was true. “Still,” I said, sitting up straight. “I’d do it for you.”

“Thank you, love. Now eat your dessert.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” I said, scooping up a spoonful. “I don’t get why all of that is super secret.”

He rested his hand on my thigh. “The Guild makes the laws for all vampires and then enforces them. In its early days, Guild members were hunted down and tortured horribly. Vampires don’t appreciate being told what to do.

It took a show of overwhelming brutal force to silence the biggest problems and get everyone else to fall in line.

The Guild has been around long enough that most just accept it as what’s always been—if they’re even old enough to know about it.

The Guild is shrouded in secrecy so those bent on rebellion can be put down before they can identify and locate Guild members. ”

I thought about that a moment. “Uh. Everyone knows you live in San Francisco. You were the Master of the City for two hundred years.”

“True, but our home is heavily warded. As you recall, neither Garyn, nor any of her people, could make it past our protections. My larger concern is your safety, as everyone also knows I would do anything for you.”

“Sucker,” I crooned, leaning in for a kiss.

“Mmm, vanilla. I wouldn’t consider the position if I didn’t know for a fact that you can defend yourself.”

“Damn straight.”

“The Guild headquarters are top secret. I had no idea where it was before I received the invitation,” he said. “The other candidates had to meet in New York and were then flown blind to Budapest. I take it as a vote of confidence that Sebastian gave me the city name.”

“Wait. The other candidates know where the Guild is now. When this is all decided, one will get the job and three will be bitter, right? What if one of them gets pissy and decides to spread the word?”

“Well, they’d be killed, of course, but my guess is someone in the Guild—probably Cadmael, who has those superior mental abilities—will erase the location from our memories.”

I gave him a sour look.

“Yes, I know what you think him, but he’s the other North American Counselor, so it makes sense for him to be present and voice his opinions. Regardless of how you two feel about each other, it would be good for you to get to know him better.”

“He started it.” The crème br?lée was almost gone, which added to my disgruntlement.

I knew Cadmael was an extremely powerful vampire, an old Mayan warrior, but he disapproved of me.

He was one of Clive’s close friends who’d come to keep on eye on the nocturne while Clive and I went to New Orleans to deal with Lafitte.

Cadmael had taken an instant dislike to me, insinuating that Clive was only interested in me because I was an oddity or because of my Quinn heritage.

Long story short: he’s an asshole, but a ridiculously powerful one.

In his mind, I’m a dog and beneath Clive’s notice.

There was also the fact that I’m pretty sure he shuffled around in my head and saw what happened to me eight years ago.

“Be that as it may, I’d appreciate it if you made an effort.”

I shrugged one shoulder, scraping the last of the goodness out of the corners of the ramekin.

I didn’t want to think about Cadmael anymore. He gave me a stomachache. “Will Vlad be there? How cool would it be to meet Dracula?”

“I’ve met him, so I’ll say not terribly. You’ll be happy to hear, though, that The Impaler is there. He doesn’t usually attend this sort of thing, so there’s some question as to why now.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.”

I picked up the tray and brought it back to the galley kitchen, hoping to hide the strange fear that had been growing in me the last week.

I wanted Clive to get this job. He’d been at loose ends since he’d given up control of San Francisco—for me.

Mustn’t forget the guilt surrounding that.

This Counselor gig would be a vampy promotion and allow him to be in the thick of it again. Plus, I knew he’d be wonderful at it.

What I couldn’t get past was the invitation for me.

Since when did vampires invite me to anything?

Clive and I had done a lot of damage in the vampire world.

Did Garyn and her people attack us? Yes, but we’d still killed—with the local nocturne’s help—over a hundred vampires, many of them Masters.

Garyn herself was over a thousand years old and tied to very powerful vampires all over the world.

Vampires held on to grudges like a dragon does his treasure.

That invitation had been keeping me awake at night. What were we walking into? Was this a legitimate opportunity for Clive or were we getting pulled away from our extraordinarily formidable friends so we could be ambushed?