The minute we entered the dining room, I picked up all kinds of chatter on my earpiece. The President and First Lady went forward to greet the President of France and they talked while Tony sent me toward the door. Stay outside the door and make sure nothing comes in, he commanded. I went to make sure nothing came in the door. Something sure had Tony worried—he was more nervous than a typewriter sitting next to a computer. The dinner went well, I think. The French President, accompanied by the French Ambassador, sat at the President's table and they chatted all evening long. I didn't get to see any of it from my position outside the door. I might have taken a close look at the portrait of Abraham Lincoln over the fireplace if I could have explored a little. Nothing came in while I was on guard and since I was facing outward, I never saw the First Lady get up from her seat to visit the powder room.
Two female Secret Service Agents went with her. There was a powder room through the butler's pantry and if a vampire is mist, they can get in there and hang out for a long time. Nobody will notice them, including the security team doing sweeps. The door to the outside hall past the butler's pantry was locked and guarded but that didn't keep a huge vampire mister who'd come back to corporeality from bursting right through it, carrying the First Lady along like a rag doll. The two female agents had compulsion laid and they were still inside the pantry, blinking stupidly when all hell broke loose inside the dining room. Tony was shouting, both mentally and physically, for me to help. I was running in immediately to find him and a very upset President inside.
Guests were shunted off to the side of the dining room by a handful of agents while others had guns drawn and were running toward the butler's pantry. "Get us out there, Lissa!" Tony shouted, grabbing the President's arm. Was he crazy, asking to take the President with us? I suppose the man didn't want to stay behind so I went to mist, grabbed Tony and the President both and not even bothering with doors, went right through walls until we caught up with the vampire and the First Lady.
Dropping Tony and the President on the floor as gently as I could, I warily watched the vampire, who held the first Lady tightly, shortened claws against her throat. She was scared out of her mind I could tell, but not even a peep came out of her mouth. Two agents rushed forward to protect the President, who was seeing something in the nearly unbelievable realm—a vampire holding his wife hostage.
"I'll trade her, for him," The vampire grinned, fangs showing, and pointed toward the President. Two agents grabbed the President by his arms and dragged him backward.
Don't get any closer to him or he'll place compulsion, I sent to Tony. I'd learned that lesson from a bomber who'd stood in front of Wlodek. The vampire had a square jaw and might have been handsome except for the malevolent sneer on his face. This one held humans in contempt—I could feel the waves of disdain rolling off him. The President was putting out vibes of fear; he truly did love his wife and was terrified she was going to die. As discoveries go, I barely had time to register that I could read strong emotions from humans and from some vampires unless they had them tightly under control. Werewolves? Not so much.
Tony, the President and I, along with various Secret Service agents, stood in the center of Cross Hall. The vampire had the First Lady backed into the entrance hall. What the vampire did next shocked me to my shoes. He sent out mindspeech.
Xenides! He shouted mentally. He didn't bother to direct that mindspeech only to the recipient since it was very likely that nobody else was going to hear it anyway.
Tony, did you get that? I sent in desperation. I'd heard the name Xenides before. Xenides had been Claremont's contact and was more than likely one of Saxom's get.
Get what? Tony had his gun out, as did the other agents, but the situation was much too volatile for them to fire weapons. The First Lady's life hung in the balance.
I know this doesn't mean anything to you, but he's sending out mindspeech for Xenides. I immediately went to mist. Time to deal with the situation before a second vampire showed up. One that was likely bigger, badder and much, much older than this one, who weighed in at a thousand years.
Tuning out Tony's cursing behind me, I floated behind the vampire, who was backing up now and doing a little cursing himself. He'd seen me go to mist. He hadn't been close enough to get my scent before but as far as I knew, no other creature could disappear that way. I was nearly behind him and in a position to remove his head when the second vampire rushed into the room. I thanked whatever or whoever was watching that he wasn't a mister too, otherwise he would have come in that way. It would have been foolish not to. What he did have, however, was mindspeech and he used it now. I cursed my inability to understand any language except English; Xenides was speaking in Greek. At least that's what I thought he was speaking.
It didn't take a genius, though, to discover his intent as Secret Service agents crept closer and closer to him. Only a little more and they'd be in range of his compulsion. He could tell them to shoot themselves or each other or the President. They'd do it, too, without turning a hair. The situation had just reached critical mass. If I killed Xenides, the other vampire would kill the First Lady. If I killed the vamp holding the First Lady, Xenides could get away or worse.
Get everybody away from him! I was doing a little barking of my own and Tony immediately called the agents back from the danger zone. We didn't need them shooting the president. Xenides growled out his displeasure at this turn of events and took a step forward. I suppose the agents knew if they shot him, the First Lady was dead and that's what held them back.
There are times, I know, after reflecting on them later, that you wish you could have forced time to stand still so you could perform two simultaneous acts without time speeding past you, forcing you to choose one over the other. Glen's death had occurred in just such a moment. Now, Xenides was going to escape because I couldn't allow the First Lady to die while her husband watched. I misted behind the first vampire and removed his head with less than a thought. Xenides didn't even realize what happened until I appeared three feet in front of him. The First Lady choked back a sob while the vampire who'd held her dropped in a heap on the floor, his head rolling away and his body turning to ash.
Xenides growled at me, then, and I might have gone after him; after all, my claws were extended and I'm sure my eyes were red and my fangs out as well. He was gone in an instant instead, moving as fast as Merrill could move. Who knows if I'd been able to catch up to him? Tony was shouting my name and that was the only thing that kept me from racing after Xenides.