The Terrible Twelve

Chapter 20: The Dragon and The Phoenix

Ian dragged his fingers across his face. This was a problem. This was a gigantic problem. The information that Rivka had learned from listening in to the council member Jane Lindy was detrimental at best. At the worst, Jane Lindy could be getting her hands on a very powerful spell that couldn't end well.

"What are you going to do?" Ian looked up to see Rivka still standing in his office.

"I don't know. I need some time to think about it."

Rivka's face fell, "Right. I'll leave you to it then." She exited in a hurry and Ian groaned. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings but he couldn't just sit there and have her stare at him. He needed to think and work things out and talk with Viridian. He had come to learn that she had a very interesting way of thinking about things and that could come in handy with this problem. He wanted all sides of this to be looked at and evaluated and he needed her help for that. He would apologize to her later but right now he needed Viridian.

He knocked on her door and stared at the intricately carved dragons while he waited for her to answer. When she did she pulled him into a hug. He held her close, breathing in her scent and wrapping his arm around her head to pull her close.

"Hello stranger."

"Hey sweetie." Ian placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Did you find out something about my abilities?" Viridian looked excited and Ian hated to burst her bubble.

"No I'm sorry sweetie. I was in the process of it but something else came up that's a little bit more important. I will get to it I promise you."

"I understand, there's no need to apologize. What's going on?"

Ian looked down the hallway for a second before saying, "Can I come in?" he didn't want to keep secrets from his coven but he also needed to figure out somewhat of a plan before discussing to with them. He was sure that Ivan had already told Nadia anyway and it wasn't going to be long before Callum told Oliver. Things didn't stay secrets for long.

"Yea, sorry. Come in." Viridian stepped aside and closed the door behind him.

Ian leaned against her dresser and crossed his arms across his chest as she climbed into her coffin and crossed her legs. She settled with her hair splayed out across her shoulders and her hands clasped in her lap. She looked so freaking adorable, Ian almost lost his train of thought. "Now who needs to get a bed?" Ian quipped.

"Oh I know! I've been looking for one online." She winked and smiled at him.

Ian laughed, "Of course you have." His smile dropped as he thought about what he had to talk to her about. "Rivka, Callum, and Ivan came back from the Summit with some interesting news."

"What was the news?" Viridian could tell that it was not only important but also serious because there was no trace of a smile on Ian's face, which she had never seen before.

Ian thought before he spoke. He was going to need to give her some back-story before he told her the problem. "In the vampire world there are a group of ten vampires that are called the council. It's comprised of five men and five women who are supposed to be wise and what not. They decided major rules for vampires and keep track of how many of us are in one area and how many are in the world. The council is the highest form of government we have although they do very little in terms of punishment or controlling us."