Free Blood Born by Linda Howard

He looked around, taking the time to notice every detail. The office had been straightened, the broken items removed and replaced. Lines in the thick pile of the rug revealed a recent vacuuming.
    Vacuumed?
Of course—remove Hector’s dust, and there was no real proof that he was dead.
    Luca crouched and touched one finger to the rug. The faint remnants of Hector seemed to shout at him, the impression was so strong. He looked over his shoulder, met the eyes of the one Council member he knew had a sense that was related to his, though not as strong. He was well aware that she could be the traitor, but so could any of the other seven. “Darnell,” he said quietly. “Tell me what you feel.”
    She came to him, sank bonelessly to a crouch beside him. As he had done, she reached out one finger, dragged it through the pile of the rug. Lifting her finger,she stared at the gray dust coating it. Her large dark eyes were somber.
    For a long moment she was silent, then she said, “Hector.”
    Behind them Theodore asked heavily, “You have no doubt?”
    “No,” she said. “None. Hector is dead. Here, on this rug.”
    “It’s been vacuumed,” Luca said, pointing to the track marks on the pile.
    “So the rest of him is in a vacuum-cleaner bag somewhere?” Alma asked, not quite eliminating the snicker from her voice.
    Luca slowly turned his head and pinned her with his pale gaze. The humor vanished from her face and she moved as if to step back before she remembered that she was a Council member and stopped herself. Anger and resentment flashed hot in her eyes.
    Silence fell in the room. There was nothing else he could do here at the moment, and plans he needed to put into motion. Rising to his full height, Luca caught Theodore’s eye. “You know how to reach me,” he said. “Let me know what the Council decides.”
    Theodore gave a small, brusque nod of his head.
    Luca strode from the room, down the hall to the elevator. The doors opened as soon as he punched the button.
    “Luca … wait!”
    It was Marie, striding toward him with a confidence that her small stature could neither diminish nor disguise. Her expression was a mixture of determination and exasperation. “I’ll see you out,” she said, for the benefit of any listening ears, and stepped into the elevator with him. No sooner had the doors closed than she muttered, “Morons.”
    “Anyone in particular?” he asked.
    She looked up at him, her gaze narrowed and sharp. “Don’t pretend you don’t think the same thing.”
    Though they were both blood born, had known each other for hundreds of years, Marie had never been a confidante and Luca couldn’t see making her one now. He shrugged and didn’t answer.
    “What are you going to do?”
    He lied without hesitation. “Depends on the Council.” He’d do what he wanted to do regardless of how the Council voted, if they ever got around to voting. He could almost see it now: First they’d have to elect a new member to replace Hector, then they’d have to elect a new Head of Council, then they’d have to discuss and debate the issue.
    “The Council would be more decisive if you were on it.”
    He shook his head. “You don’t give up, do you? Not just ‘no,’ but ‘no way in hell.’” Not that she didn’t have a point, considering what he’d just been thinking, but he didn’t want to be a part of their decision-making.
    The elevator stopped and the doors opened to a soft
ping
. They left the car, and Marie put a hand on his arm as he started toward the front door. “Luca … think about it. Don’t automatically say no. I had to be persuaded to accept a Council position, too. Once you’re on it, it’s different from what you expected. And together, you and I could shape the Council the way we wanted. What you did with your Voice …”
    “That was the upper limit of my power in Voice,” he said wryly, again lying without compunction. “And all the other Council members, including yourself,