Rueben was the one to speak in the room, "Apologies for breaking in your peaceful noon, Duke Leonard. We hope we aren"t interrupting anything."
"Don"t worry, head council Rueben. If we were busy I would have completed it before greeting you here," answered Leonard with a straight face but Lionel his superior cleared his throat and Lord Nicholas couldn"t stop the smile that had been pulled from the corner of his lips.
"Hmm," Rueben nodded his head, a smile on his own lips like Nicholas. Young vampires were always full of life not that theirs was any less. Leonard was famous for his bold words that most of them had come to get used to it. Vivian couldn"t stop the blush that came on her cheeks which was splashed to warmth, "I see that you have turned your wife finally. It is always good to complete the process. The sooner the better," and though his words were polite along with the rest of them, there was something daunting that wafted in the air from them. As if they were not just looking at her but scanning her to see if the transition had gone right.
"Welcome to the vampire life, Vivi," Nicholas welcomed her but she could sense the doubt in his eyes. Though his eyes weren"t as bearing as the other elder men, she knew what he might be thinking. She and Leo had already tried to change herself before which had resulted in her falling sick and going back to being a human. Worried Leo had never tried it again as her body had evidently rejected the venom for the transition to take place.
"Thank you, Lord Nicholas," she bowed her head.
"If you need any help I can always a.s.sist, Lady Carmichael," stated the head council to her surprise as he had been nice enough to offer his knowledge on what a half-blooded vampire could go through. By what she had heard, the head councilman was a half-blooded vampire who had been turned.
"I will be sure to take your advice if I ever may need it," she bowed her head again.
As if having to speak, Creed opened his mouth, one of his eyes which was open and not under eyes patch looking at her with a smile bringing the wrinkles on the side of his eyes, "It is good to have a vampire amongst us. Human life would never have suited you as you"re married to a pureblooded vampire. Lives like that are tragic," he commented. In the beginning, Vivian hadn"t noticed it before because of the smile the man held every time he spoke. It was a gentle smile which was very similar to Lord Nicholas but something felt off as he smiled like a saint. Nicholas might have done some unlawful things in his past but something told her this man wasn"t right.
Lancelot also the switcher who had taken up the body hadn"t given them enough details. There was something hidden which he hadn"t shared.
"Leonard," Lionel who was his direct superior spoke to him, "This is about the switcher. He has killed another man of ours this morning," Vivian couldn"t believe it.
Leonard narrowed his eyes, "Who is it?"
This time it was Nicholas who answered, "It is Maximillian Gibbs."
Maximillian? Vivian"s eyes turned to look at Leo. His face was void of any expression. Maximillian was a dear friend of Leo"s. After Julliard and Nicholas, it was the blue-eyed pureblooded vampire whom Leo was close to in friends.
Nicholas continued to speak, "They found him dead in the morning near the cell. His heart along with the core was pulled out. We asked his Vermous about his current case as to what he was doing in the cell. He had gone to speak to the prisoner."
"Did you inquire with the prisoner?" Leo"s voice was as calm as the sea. No anger or pain in them which worried Vivian.
"Nothing. The man is a human who was caught for thieving and smuggling the goods from the black market with the potion a black witch made," replied Nicholas.
Reuben cleared his throat before he spoke, "Leonard, the case has been in your and Lionel"s capable hands and knowing how close you were with Mr Gibbs. We thought it would be wise to have the discussion here than in the council where some words might escape and reach the ears of the switcher."
The food was prepared as usual with excellent taste but the men barely touched the food and neither did Vivian as she had lost her appet.i.te after the news they had received. Leo as if noticing Vivian"s food intake poured a gla.s.s of blood and placed it on her side without a word. She took the gla.s.s without any resistance and drank it like one would drink water sip by sip.
The men discussed on the switcher where Vivian hadn"t known before that Mr Creed was aware about the existence of the switcher. Maybe Rueben trusted him enough to involve him in the matter.
Once the elder men left the mansion, Lord Nicholas who had stayed behind with Vivian as Leonard had gone to pick the parchments he had received from his subordinates from his study room.
"Who do you think killed him?" asked Vivian in a hushed whisper.
"I can hardly point anyone right now. I left the ghouls around the building but they never got to notice what happened to Gibbs. You don"t think it is the switcher," it wasn"t a question but a statement to her.
She shook her head, "Why would the switcher kill another man when he already has a body?"
"True. It would make no sense, what is your take in it?"
"Mine?"
"Yes, what do you think happened," Nicholas" eyes stared into hers, waiting for her to come up with her own theory.
"It isn"t a switcher but a councilman who killed him. There"s someone who is pulling the strings," she said to see Leo appear behind her.
"So it appears," murmured Lord Nicholas, his eyes holding less light than when the councilmen were present.
"I am coming with you," declared Vivian when the housekeeper helped Leo with his coat at the door, "I want to see him too," she said unsure if Leo was going to let her come along with him as she could see the hint of doubt that had come to create in his mind. She could see it in his eyes. He was worried about her. The council wasn"t a safe place which both knew and if someone caught a hint of her transition as they weren"t sure if it was permanent, he wanted to keep her where she could be safe, "Mr. Gibbs was a wonderful man and I would like to see what happened to him."
"I doubt you or I will be allowed to go near him right now. He died this morning which and we were notified late about it," Leo answered to her request, "The case would be under another team which would mean we cannot see him right now."
"I might not be able to get to see him but I can see what happened around," her eyes were hopeful.
"Jan get her coat. The one with the fur," Leo ordered the housekeeper while his eyes were on his wife.
When they reached the council, the place had been cleaned where the body didn"t lay outside as the councilmen had told them. On her way with Leo and Nicholas, Vivian could hardly find any drop of blood on the ground. The crime scene had been cleaned spotless as if nothing had ever happened.
"They cleaned it," Leo muttered under his breath.
"Vivian. Your hunch might be right," said Nicholas who stood on the other side of Leo, "Someone got it cleaned but I also think someone has their own hunch on your abilities."
Leo"s eyes narrowed at this possible information. It could be true. There was no saying who was keeping an eye on them, "We need to find Lancelot, he should know what is up. I will go speak to Lionel, and Vivian you can go with Nicholas to the department."
"I am on babysitting duties?" Nicholas joked.
Reaching the department room, Vivian met with Hueren and Dutan to hear the news from them on Mr. Gibbs.
"We couldn"t send come speak because Lionel placed a ton of his work on us. We have been working on his tasks and other responsibilities. Dutan also went to supervise in the court council," Hueren filled them in. Both the men stared at her eyes only for a spare second, noticing the change that had taken place since they last saw her.
Nicholas who had been looking around the room said, "It won"t be a surprise as the matter right now has turned very dire. Councilmen have never been killed this way and this is bringing doubt and questions in the mind of the others as to what is going on. The elder councilmen think that it is the switcher"s work which includes Lionel. But Vivian and you know it isn"t. What are you going to do about it?" he asked the trio.
"Where is Lancelot?" asked Vivian turning to the two seniors of hers.
"We need to go find him, Lady Vivian. It has been a few hours since we last saw him actually," answered Duran to be questioned by Nicholas,
"And might I ask how long were those few hours?"
Dutan gave it some thought, to say, "I believe it was before they found the body of Mr. Gibbs."
"He"s gone missing," Vivian"s lips set itself into a thin line. This wasn"t G.o.d, she thought to herself, not good at all, "What do we do?" she turned to ask Nicholas as he was older and wiser than the rest in the room.
"Why not start with your ability, Vivi. Go to the man"s room. There must be a clue of what happened," Nicholas saw a shadow appear behind the cupboard which none of them noticed, "I have a meeting to attend with the rest of the councilmen, "I hope you find what you"re looking for," he gave them a small nod before stepping out of the door which closed itself back again.
"Where is the Duke, my lady?" asked Dutan.
"He"s gone to see Lionel," she replied. Leo had gone to see Lionel but she knew that he would try to have a glimpse of Maximillian. On their way here, Leo had asked about his friend and the detailed state he was found it. She hadn"t found the opportunity to spend and know the man but with the little amount of time she had known from Leo, though he came to be strange and odd, he was a good friend.
She went to the desk, facing the wall as she tried to think about what they could do. Like Leo said before, the case had been given to another team and whoever had it had wiped everything she could possibly try her hands on. It made her think if it was possible for someone to know about her ability to touch. If they did know, there was no saying when she would be turned to an experimental mouse in the lab.
"Might you know where Lionel is?" she asked them.
"Probably the council meeting, the same one which Lord Nicholas has gone to attend," answered Heuren who heard some sound from outside and looked out of the window, "They are placing the guards now. The matter has turned dire as the Lord said."
Leo wouldn"t be back for an hour or more like the rest of them. Deciding to search for the switcher, Vivian said, "It might take some time before the council meeting is adjourned. There are going to occupied along with the others. We need to find Lancelot and see where he is."
Dutan nodded his head, "I will go find him in his floor and see if I can find anything in there," Hueren who had stepped away from the window said,
"Is there somewhere you would want to accompany you to?"
"I would like to take a round around the council buildings," the man nodded his head.