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This late, the paranoia of the populace had everyone hiding inside. That was both a good and a bad thing. It meant fewer chances for anyone to stumble upon what they'd been doing, but it also made them stand out a little more. The whole walk back to Cain's car, Dahlia felt the hair standing up on her skin as she tried to check for any hint of something going wrong.
And this was all because of those stupid ghosts. Those idiots were more worried about proving how tough they were than being safe, and it was going to end up biting them all in the ass. Inquisitors, cops, and even the change in the community's everyday habits could make it impossible to live here. The problem was that they didn't care. They were more worried about proving they were right than working for a comfortable life they could sustain for decades.
That pissed Dahlia off more than anything else. The death of Roarke's date was a tragedy. The attack on Roarke was unforgivable, yet he lived. The attack from within their community, however, was no different than an attack on their way of life. As far as Dahlia cared, that made everyone who'd aligned themselves with the ghosts just as dangerous as the Inquisition.
When they made it back to the apartment complex, Cain sent a text message, making it clear he needed everyone in the courtyard of the complex - now. With Roarke at her side, Dahlia headed that way. Cain went to follow up on his threat, banging on every apartment door and calling every eidolon who didn't respond to him.
It didn't take long. Within minutes, people started showing up in the courtyard. Yes, Dahlia knew they weren't the only tenants in the complex, but she'd already figured out how to deal with that. No longer would they have to meet in someone's apartment to keep these talks from being overheard. At the park, she'd learned just how powerful some of those Words she memorized could be, and she wasn't scared to use them.
Naturally, everyone was grumbling about why they'd been called out here, wondering what the point was. Dahlia ignored it right up until she saw Cain dragging Vivian up the breezeway. A quick headcount gave her thirteen eidolon, including herself. Since Nikki was with Thane, that meant they were all here.
"Tonight," Dahlia started, raising her voice so that everyone could hear her, "the lines have been drawn." And then she spoke the Word to enclose them in the same kind of bubble Thane had used at the park.
Someone gasped, proving they could also feel the wave of power that came with the Word. Cain's head snapped up, his eyes landing right on her, but he said nothing. Dahlia decided she was going to take that as approval.
"Speak up now, and I will go easy on you," she said, marching into the middle of the group. "Explain yourself, and I'll give you time to pack."
There was nothing but silence, and most of the eidolon looked at each other in complete confusion. Dahlia's eyes scanned the handful she didn't trust. Isabella's head was whipping around like she was lost. Zion's eyes jumped over to Vivian. Laci seemed to be fighting a smirk, Hudson leaned as he tried to see Laci, and Karsen lifted his chin in defiance. Unfortunately, that didn't tell Dahlia which ones were guilty, so she was going to have to do this the hard way.
"Confused? Well, me too, because for three thousand years, I have assumed that the biggest threat to our existence was the Inquisition. Tonight, a group of eidolon is making me wonder if I was wrong." She turned, looking at all of them. "We agreed to stop killing and let the murder rate go back down. We voted, and the majority won. So can someonepleaseexplain to me why Roarke was attacked while feeding?"
"What?" Grace gasped, horror filling her voice.
"The fuck?" Joshua grumbled.
More added their voices to the shock and surprise, each one blending together, and she let them murmur for a moment before raising her hand.
"Now, I don't know why anyone would want to be a part of a community and then attack that very same community. I can't imagine whywe'dtolerate that! But here's what I don't understand. Did you attack Roarke because you hoped it would hurt me? Were you trying to prove that feeding through sex is just as dangerous as murder? Were you hoping to sabotage the one place we've finally found where we can come together to create something bigger than ourselves? Or do you honestly think you can chase us off that easily?" Then she turned to look at the two ghosts and the phantom who was almost the same thing. "Well?"
"Oh, because we disagree with you, you try to make us look like the bad guys?" Vivian snapped.
It was Roarke who answered. "Tell me, ghost, who else uses the ability to travel without form? What type of eidolon exists as a transparent shimmer, yet can still hold and move things?" He pointed at Karsen. "You?" Then Laci. "You?" And then to Vivian. "Or is it you? And which one of you fuckers put a cross into my back?!"
Dahlia pulled the cross in question from her back pocket and held it up. Quite a few of the eidolon turned away from it. Some even stepped back. Still others tensed but held their ground, making it clear they'd been practicing - and getting used to the symbol.
"Touch it," Dahlia snarled, walking towards them. "Show me the burns. Prove to me that you couldn't have done it."
"Fuck off," Karsen said. "This is nothing but a witch hunt."
"Ya think?" Dahlia snapped. "Of course it is! That's why we have to be careful, because the Inquisition didn't go away. They got fucking smart. They learned to work in the shadows! They are still hunting us - all of us - and your stupidity is going to lead them right here. How long do you think it will take for that human to be missed? How curious are the cops going to be about people getting picked up at bars and disappearing? How many cameras do you think recorded Roarke between that club and that park, hm?"
"And how is that my problem?" Laci asked.
Dahlia pushed herself closer to reality, feeling her body stretch to match her anger, and she shoved the cross right at the woman's face. With a yelp, Laci winced away, shielding herself with both hands. Almost immediately, her exposed skin began to turn pink, then red, so Dahlia pulled the cross away.
"It wasn't you, but you're willing to go down with them? Or were you the one that killed Matteo? That was his name, you know." Then she thrust the cross at Vivian, who leaned back, but tried hard not to make it look like a retreat.
"Fuck you," Vivian snapped, but her skin wasn't burning.
Dahlia just smiled. "Not hurting, hm?" And she turned the cross on Karsen. "What about you?"
The fool snatched it from her hand. "You're the one who told us to practice. Now you're pissed that we did? Maybe you should be the one leaving? And take that inquisitor with you, because we won't stand for him or his Words." He gestured around them. "This? You think it's supposed to scare us? Well, guess what, bitch? We're all just as immortal."
"Is that how you justify what you did to Roarke? It would just be a body death, so no big deal, right? Just a few years in the abyss until someone called him back out. No problem foryou, right? Doesn't hurt you at all." And she snatched the cross back from him. "Or do you want to explain why the cross Nikki gave you was found in that park?"
"Oh, just in the park?" Vivian sneered.
But Dahlia was done. She was pissed, and the simple fact that none of these three seemed to feel any remorse was only making her more livid. That anger was fueling her power. Power that Thane always kept full. Power that made her stronger than any of these foolish little children could comprehend.
