Revelations (Belle Morte Book 2)

Chapter Five

Renie

Dexter and a small group of his security personnel arrived within minutes. His eyes narrowed when Ysanne told him to remove Isabeau, but he made no objections. He was only the hired help after all, and it wasn't his place to question Ysanne's decisions. But he clearly wasn't happy as his people escorted Isabeau from the room.

I kept expecting Ysanne to defend Isabeau, to insist that she was innocent, but she didn't. Then I wondered why I expected it at all. After what she had done to Edmond, she could hardly change her tune for Isabeau's sake. Despite the possible relationship that existed between them.

And then she surprised me.

"I think you're making a mistake," she said in a quiet voice, not looking at anyone in particular.

Jemima glanced at Isabeau's empty chair. "In what respect?"

As if it wasn't perfectly obvious.

"Isabeau didn't do this."

"Then who did?" Charles asked.

"I don't know."

"Then you don't know that she didn't do it."

"Vampires from every House in the UK and Ireland were involved in the attack on Belle Morte. That means suspicion should be cast on every House, not just my own."

"The attack was obviously timed with the release of the rabid," Henry pointed out. "Whoever let it out was already inside Belle Morte, which backs up the theory that it was one of your vampires."

He didn't say Isabeau's name, which I was grateful for. I may have had my own doubts about her, but I didn't want everyone leaping to conclusions. I'd already witnessed the brand of justice that vampires favoured and I didn't want Isabeau to suffer that unless she really was guilty.

And if she was guilty, I wanted her to suffer as much as was physically possible.

"Perhaps, but the evidence against Isabeau is hardly concrete. If she is not responsible, one must wonder what the real perpetrator wanted." Ysanne stared around the table, her eyes boring into each member of the Council. "And what they plan to do next. Someone who goes to these lengths does not give up simply because their schemes have been thwarted."

Ysanne's words chilled me. If Isabeau wasn't behind this, the real criminal was still at large, possibly still lurking somewhere within these walls. The old rumour of secret passageways crawled back into my brain, and I looked uneasily at the wood-panelled walls around us.

"It seems to me that we still have a great deal to discuss regarding this situation," Ysanne said. "Now that the rabid is no longer here, I have had the west wing prepared for visitors. I would be honoured if the Council members stayed here while we continue this investigation."

"You are too kind." Charles didn't sound entirely sincere, but Ysanne chose to ignore it.

She rose to her feet, smoothing down her crisp, white blouse. "Then let us adjourn. I'm sure you are all hungry, and my donors are ready and willing to feed you. We can reconvene after we have eaten."

I realised I didn't even know how many donors were left alive after the attack. Had the dead donors been replaced yet, or was Ysanne covering up all evidence of the attack? That seemed more likely. All of this was about maintaining the balance between vampires and humans, and admitting that a bunch of vampires had butchered defenceless donors – most of who were barely out of their teens – would seriously shake that balance.

Ysanne had managed to cover up the truth about June's death, and I was willing to bet she had managed to cover up what had happened here, too. But she couldn't keep something like this quiet for long. There was no way she would allow any photographers or TV crews inside when people were dead and the House was still reeling from an attack, but Vladdicts and other vampire fans worldwide would start asking questions when the stream of information from their favourite House went quiet. The vampires were too much in the public eye for the world not to notice something was wrong.