He should have looked out of place amid a sea of tuxedos and formal wear, but the brown pinstriped suit that would have seemed gauche on anyone else seemed determined to show off his sense of greater style. The manicured nails and flashy watch accentuated the picture perfectly.
“Sebastian.” He spoke with confidence, but without airs. “This is a closed meeting. I believe your lovely companion would enjoy her dining experience elsewhere.”
“Councilman Renner, I’d like to introduce you to Alice Bowman. She’s a genealogist...with a proposal.”
“Pleased to meet you,” she murmured in response, not bothering to hold out a hand. She wasn’t sure he would have taken it.
Shrewd brown eyes studied her in a head-to-toe sweep. “What would you plan on mapping, Ms. Bowman?”
His directness almost made her forget herself. Alice shook off the disquiet and repeated the words she’d rehearsed with Sebastian not long ago. “Why, the Council, of course.”
“She would offer herself as the Council’s historian, if the Council would agree to it,” Sebastian added.
Councilman Renner pivoted on his heel while bringing the glass to his mouth for a delicate sip. “Hmm...yes. We’ll have to see about that. Why don’t you come in and tell us all about it.”
Her heart pounded.
Chapter Twenty
Bast gritted his teeth, trying to stay focused on the conversation in front of him. No matter how he tried though, all he could do was continue to concentrate on the double-time thump thump knocking against his ribs.
God, was it going to stop? First the illness without explanation, and now this unbreakable pull, tugging at him with a strength that almost made him shove everything else from his thoughts.
Others had talked about the sensation, about the double heartbeat and its significance. It usually meant a link had been formed with another vampire. The link between sire and issue. Somehow, a vampire in the vicinity was physiologically attached to him. His father, perhaps? Maybe now that Bast needed him the most, he was somewhere close by.
The thought churned some deep emotion in Bast, making him feel much younger than his years. Fucking great timing. Maybe it simply meant that all this time with Alice had him thinking about his father too much. No good would come of it.
The double heartbeat meant nothing. He couldn’t allow it to mean anything.
The men fanned out around Bast, Alice and Councilman Renner, allowing the three to stroll through the hallway leading to the dining area without hindrance and allowing him to focus. Bast was happy to move himself just behind Alice’s left, the way Councilman Renner’s ever-present assistant kept to his right.
He needed to keep his attention on her right now. On the people of the Council.
“So I understand,” Alice said, “that the Council is only a few hundred years old.”
“I won’t bother to ask the source of your information,” Renner responded dryly.
“Of course it’s true that I’m not one of you, but I think my skill set could prove useful to your group. Imagine, if you will, having the family lines of the members to draw upon to demonstrate the history of power occupying those seven seats. Don’t you think it would provide a message to those who still question its legitimacy?”
Bast kept his face impassive, although he was seriously impressed with the start of her presentation. He’d only had to plant the half-baked idea in her mind and she’d crafted it until the idea enticed even him.
He took the opportunity to study their surroundings when the conversation took a turn. Something about coats of arms and hiring a painter. Nothing he needed to know about. Renner seemed captivated by what Alice had to say, the man’s tension evaporating as the minutes passed.
Bast wished he could say the same. As hard as he tried to not allow his mind to drift, a knot of muscle formed at the base of his skull, tugging wickedly at his head. The pull being created by something—or someone—near him kept growing stronger, as much as he tried to ignore it. The double thump pounded with greater insistence. He felt compelled to face his feet toward one of the side rooms and just follow. Way to get dead.