Page 62 of Brimstone Bound
Lady Sullivan didn’t quite have a throne like Lukas’s, but she was seated on a grand chair on a raised dais. Various werewolves lolled around the room in front of her, some in full wolf form. I reminded myself that I wanted to be here and that I wasn’t afraid. Not much, anyway. Even though I was in the wolves’ lair, it was still daylight and that went a long way towards keeping my terrors at bay.
‘Leave us,’ Lady Sullivan said, barely raising her voice above a whisper. Every single warm body in the place rose up and left silently, until there was only Lukas, Robert and me. ‘I do apologise for Robert’s behaviour just now,’ Lady Sullivan continued. ‘His demands were made without my knowledge.’
Lukas rolled his eyes. ‘As if.’
‘I beg your pardon, Lord Horvath?’
‘If you genuinely expect us to believe that he was acting on his own cognisance, then your opinion of us is even lower than I thought.’
‘I can assure you that I hold a very high opinion of all vampires.’ Her eyes narrowed slightly. ‘I am not seeking any sort of argument with you, and I fully accept your recriminations.’
I realised suddenly that she was nervous. Regardless of what machinations she’d tried to employ to put me at a disadvantage, she genuinely didn’t want to antagonise Lukas.
I filed away that information and spoke up. ‘Let’s move on,’ I said. ‘I have serious questions that I need you to answer, Lady Sullivan.’
‘You are not a vampire, Emma Bellamy,’ she responded, making a deliberate point of using my real name. ‘You are merely a human.’
‘Lady Sullivan,’ Lukas began. ‘This is completely—’
I held up a hand. Her test wasn’t over, but that was fine by me. As long as I got the answers I needed, I didn’t care.
Robert stepped forward. ‘Lord Horvath is on par with Lady Sullivan,’ he said. ‘As such, he is exempt from the usual guest formalities. Ms Bellamy, whether you have met with Lady Sullivan before or not, you are now in her home. We ask that you show her the courtesy required and bow.’
It would have been a whole lot easier if I’d done as he requested and given my best impression of a low bow, but I knew that wasn’t what he really wanted. It wasn’t what Lady Sullivan really wanted, either. Maybe I was better at understanding supes than I’d given myself credit for.
‘I’m honoured to be here and very grateful for your time,’ I said. ‘However, as a member of Supernatural Squad – whether my role is temporary or not – I am not obliged to bow to you, Lady Sullivan.’
‘Bow, Emma,’ Robert ordered.
I didn’t move an inch.
Lady Sullivan’s gaze slid momentarily to Lukas. If she was surprised that I’d not complied with the order, she didn’t show it. Lukas didn’t react; he merely watched me with expressionless black eyes.
‘Emma Bellamy,’ she said. ‘Bow.’
This time I felt her power. A faint buzz zapped along my spine and itched at the base of my skull. I wanted to do as she’d commanded; the authority she’d exerted by using my real name made me desperate to obey. I resisted it and remained upright – but only just.
Lady Sullivan’s expression flickered. ‘I see.’
I swallowed. ‘I trust you now have the answer you were looking for.’
‘Not even close.’ She leaned forward and examined me intently. ‘Lord Horvath, is this why she was chosen? Is this why DSI Barnes sent her to Supe Squad?’
Lukas folded his arms. ‘I have no reason to believe that any member of the Metropolitan Police Force is aware that Emma Bellamy has any special power or authority,’ he said stiffly.
I hated being spoken about when I was standing right there. I pointed at him. ‘What he said.’ I tapped my foot, my impatience growing. ‘Now, can we get to the reason why I’m here?’
Lady Sullivan waved at me dismissively. ‘Carry on.’
Finally. ‘Last night, I informed you about the murder of DC Tony Brown. You know that we suspect a werewolf is the perpetrator, and that his death was made to appear an accident gone wrong or a suicide. So why,’ my voice hardened, ‘did you not tell both us and the other werewolves present that one of your own died yesterday morning, too? And that her death was also apparently suicide?’
Although I searched every inch of her face, I saw no reaction on Lady Sullivan’s part. ‘I take it that you’re referring to Becca,’ she said smoothly. ‘I fail to see any connection, remote or otherwise, between her death and DC Brown’s.’
‘Do your werewolves often commit suicide?’ I asked.
Her mouth tightened. ‘No,’ she snapped, ‘they do not. But Becca was under considerable pressure after the disappearance of her sister. You saw for yourself how close to the edge she was. She attacked another wolf without provocation! She was no pup – Becca was a delta. She might not have been born a werewolf, but she chose to become one. She passed all of our threshold tests and was deemed strong enough and intelligent enough to be one of ours. As such, she was held to higher standards than street brawling. Unfortunately, despite her other qualities, her state of mind was obviously fragile.’
Lukas scratched his chin. ‘If that were so,’ he said, ‘then why didn’t you have someone watch over her? Why didn’t you find her the help she so desperately needed?’
