Page 206 of Vampire so Virtuous

Nico led him to a set of steps that descended beneath the house. The walls became stone, with a few dim lights illuminating the way, perhaps for the benefit of thralls. At the bottom, a large set of double doors waited.

“After you,” Nico said, his lip curling in a sneer.

Antoine didn’t bother looking at him, simply opening the doors and walking in.

At first, the room appeared mostly empty, taking up a large portion of the house’s lower level. The low ceiling and stone walls made it feel more like a crypt than a meeting room. At one end, five chairs were arranged on a raised platform, and several of them were occupied by Curia members—Leonard in the center, flanked by Roberto and Raphael. Jorge sat with them, and Belle took the last seat, looking rather bored.

Behind him, Nico entered, pulling the door closed.

Antoine walked to the center of the room, stopping far enough back to easily see the Curia. He looked at Leonard, deliberately ignoring the other members.

“Good evening, my lord.”

“Let’s get on with it,” Roberto growled, his corpulent bulk threatening to spill over the sides of his chair.

“I assume you know why you’re here?” Leonard asked.

“No, my lord,” Antoine replied smoothly. “I must admit, you have my curiosity piqued.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Belle’s lips twitched in amusement. Roberto huffed, leaned back in his chair, and glared.

“This is hardly the time to play games, Antoine,” Leonard said. “Patience wears thin as it is.”

“No games intended, my lord. One assumes it has something to do with the events earlier this night. However, the reason for the summons escapes me. As far as I am aware, I have done nothing to warrant such a gathering.”

“Did you kill Matteo?” Roberto growled.

“I did. He attacked my territory.”

“And Minh?”

“Yes,” Antoine said firmly. “I felt it was fully justified after he attacked Gabriel and me with spawns.”

Leonard leaned back in his chair. Raphael and Jorge stiffened, and even Belle twitched in her seat.

“A spawn?” Roberto said. “You expect us to believe that a spawn of Minh’s was justification for breaking into his club and killing him?”

“Not ‘spawn,’ my lord,” Antoine replied. “Spawns. Minh had an army of them. They attacked Gabriel’s tower and—”

“Bullshit.” Roberto stared at him, eyes narrowed in contempt. “You’re suggesting that Minh persuaded ‘an army’ of spawns to his cause?”

“Not quite, my lord,” Antoine replied, his tone even. “First, I’m not suggesting anything, I’m merely stating the facts. Second, the spawns in question were near-feral, and were controlled by Minh.” He paused. “Given he was of your bloodline, I would think that shouldn’t come as a surprise.”

“How dare you!” Roberto leaned forward, his red eyes flashing with rage. “You presume to suggest—”

“I’m sure Antoine was not implying you have ever created an army of spawns,” Leonard interrupted, his mouth quirking in amusement. “But I must agree with Roberto on this point, Antoine—you cannot simply implyCuria members have broken the Code.”

Antoine carefully avoided looking at Belle, but from his periphery, he saw that she wasn’t even watching him. To all appearances, she was disinterested, bored by the conversation.

“My apologies, my lords,” Antoine said, not making any attempt to sound apologetic. “Nevertheless, the facts, as I have presented them, remain true.”

Raphael cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair. “I am still unclear as to why we bother with this charade. So what if that upstart is dead? The goal was to consolidate, was it not?”

“It would seem the upstart in question was Roberto’s spawn,” Jorge added, amusement creeping into his voice.

Raphael waved a dismissive hand. “Make another.”

Leonard cocked his head, ready to speak, but just then, the door behind Antoine opened. Leonard paused as Antoine turned, unsurprised to see Gabe enter. Tobias, another of Minh’s allies, was with him and took up position against the wall beside Nico. Gabe walked forward to stand near Antoine, though leaving a diplomatic distance between them.