"Holy Christ. A double whammy," Bryan murmured. His drink was delivered and he thanked the waiter absently. "Charles, how long has it been since?"
"Over seven hundred years," Charles muttered. Of course, we all heard the near-whisper perfectly. Now I knew what they were discussing; this wasn't the first time I'd heard rumblings over the first female turned in seven hundred years. That meant, of course, that all those other female vampires—all fifteen or so of them—had to be over seven hundred years old. No wonder Merrill treated me like a child at forty-eight.
"So, assistant to the producer, huh?" I said to break the silence.
"Yes. Bryan sometimes knows the night news ahead of everyone else," Charles sounded cryptic. "He makes sure it gets to the proper place."
"Ah." If a vampire might be involved in a crime, I figured the calls might come to Charles first and he passed them along. Not bad. "So, what's the latest on the kidnapping in Wales," I asked. "Have you heard anything?"
"Terrible," Bryan said, shaking his head. "They found all three children in a flooded ditch with their throats cut."
"Oh, dear God," I said. Those parents had to be devastated. "Did they find the one who did it?"
"Not yet. There's very little to go on." Bryan sipped his wine. He was around five-eight or so with muddy blond hair that was styled well. It looked as if someone had reached a hand in and tousled it a little. He had a thin face but wasn't bad looking for all that, with warm brown eyes and a nice smile when he did smile.
"So, how long have you been working at your job?" I asked.
"Six years. I'll have to give it up soon and trade off with someone else," he replied.
"So, there's more than one of you doing this?"
"Of course," he nodded, toying with his wine glass. "I'll trade with someone in Paris or Edinburgh. Maybe Dublin, even."
"Well, that's enlightening," I said. "Do you like it or would you rather be doing something else?"
"It's all right," he shrugged. I understood his response—he received precious little thanks for what he did. Charles most likely didn't receive much praise either, but I knew that Wlodek wouldn't keep him if he weren't exceptional in his job.
"I don't think they'd keep you in a position like this if you weren't very good at it," I told Bryan. "So that means you must be outstanding."
"He is," Charles agreed. "I get things from Bryan before I get them from anyone else."
"A compliment? I must be dead or dreaming," Bryan sighed.
"You are compensated, just as the others are," Charles huffed.
"But a good word never goes amiss," I added. Bryan was nodding at my assessment.
"So, what are you two doing in London?" Bryan asked as we settled in to talk.
I liked Bryan and we traded phone numbers and email addresses before we parted. We'd ordered three glasses of wine each but the last ones were only partially finished when Charles told me it was time to go.
"It was a true pleasure," Bryan kissed my hand as we said our goodbyes. He was slightly younger than Charles, I could tell.
"So, it doesn't hurt to have vampires in the media since they're often on the scene shortly after the authorities are," I said, once we were inside Charles's car.
"Yes, and they can tell quite a bit of the time if a vampire or werewolf was involved. That information comes to me and I pass it on. Wlodek, Russell and Flavio decide if someone needs to be sent out and who that someone needs to be since the talents and expertise of the Enforcers and the Assassins must to be taken into account."
I wondered what Sebastian's talents were, but didn't ask. I guess if you needed a thug sent, he was your vampire. It still bothered me greatly about the baby and I wanted to ask Charles what the vampire policy was on that, but held back. The baby was dead. I knew that and nothing could bring it back now.
"Merrill asked me to take you one last place before we went home," Charles shifted gears as he drove through London.
"Where's that?" I asked curiously, watching Charles drive. He truly enjoyed driving and it was likely Wlodek didn't let him out often to do it.
"It'll be a surprise," Charles allowed a smile to curve his lips. He was handsome and even more so when he had a bit of a devilish grin on his face. I was quite surprised when we parked on the street not far from St. Paul's Cathedral.
"Merrill made arrangements for someone to meet us here," Charles said, opening my door for me.
"You mean we don't actually fry if we go inside a church?"
"Nope. Come on," he pulled me along behind him. "Holy water doesn't work either," he snickered. "Although it might piss a vampire off if somebody threw it at him." Someone did indeed allow us inside, and I stared at the beautiful, vaulted interior, remembering a time in my distant past when I'd gotten up very early one morning and watched on television as a prince married a princess inside those walls. We thanked the clergyman before we left and Charles passed over what looked to be a very generous donation as we walked out the door.
* * *
"Radomir, try the number again." Wlodek was pacing inside his library. It was more spacious than his study and he'd chosen it to accommodate Merrill, Radomir and Flavio as they questioned Sebastian. Only Sebastian failed to appear as instructed. Wlodek, Flavio and Merrill had shared a bottle of wine among the stacks while they waited. Radomir pulled out his cell and tapped numbers quickly. It rang many times before going to voice mail. Wlodek cursed while Radomir left yet another message. Sebastian had agreed to be there four hours earlier. He'd never arrived, pointedly ignoring a command from the Head of the Council. Wlodek even sent Rolfe out to search for the missing Assassin earlier, but found nothing. Three of Wlodek's spies were also ordered to watch the three known residences that Sebastian registered with the Council. Sebastian hadn't visited any of them.
Radomir closed his phone and glanced at Wlodek. "It is not your fault, child," Wlodek jerked his head angrily. Merrill watched Wlodek silently. Any one of a number of things might have occurred, but his suspicions were now being raised and he didn't have a good feeling about any of it.
* * *
"Lissa, come," Merrill held out a hand to me the moment Charles and I came through the door. Rolfe nodded slightly to me when I walked in so I gave him a smile. Merrill stood just inside the door, waiting for me when we arrived. He held a hand on my shoulder while we walked out to his Range Rover, put me inside it and then climbed in himself. Merrill asked about my night out but was distracted, I could tell. Something had happened; I just didn't know what it was. I told him I'd had a good time, thanked him for the visit to St. Paul's and left it at that.