Page 12 of Because the Night

“Ignorantia juris non excusat. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.” Archie slams the table with the flat of his hand, making the thick wood groan. “I’ll do it myself if you lack the conviction. And I’ll do it slowly. It’ll be a fitting punishment for him killing my guard.”

“You’re about to vote on these things?” asks Lucas, ignoring the other man’s tantrum. “How were the board members chosen?”

“Some of the rules will perhaps be eased. And isn’t it obvious?” Javier shrugs. “We’re the strongest and our families the largest.”

Lucas nods. “Who owns The Hills?”

“I do,” says Archie. “Central L.A. is mine. You’ve rested on my lands for decades.”

“The runes must have really bothered you.” Lucas slips his hands into his pants pockets. “Not being able to step foot on my property.”

“I’ll break them one day, Lucas. That, I promise. And when I do, I’m coming for your head.”

“Not in the next few days without our approval, you’re not,” says Javier. “I am sorry, Lucas, but we cannot let your newborn live. We’ve gone almost thirty years with no exceptions. We can’t afford to look weak now.”

And again, Lucas says nothing. The fucker.

“Wait.” I rush forward. “You can’t just kill me. Again.”

Lucas grabs my arm and holds me back. “Quiet, Skye. Why divvy up the city, Rose?”

“To enable us to enforce the rules. It was either divide the city and give the strongest families the job of patrolling the territory or form some sort of central army. The first option was the fastest to implement and seemed the best idea at the time.”

Behind us, the broken door opens and the big dude enters. The one who had been standing guard. He tries to shut the door behind him, the broken handle stopping him. Music from the bar floats through, and oh man. I swear the monster’s footsteps shake the room, he’s so damn huge. And he’s coming straight for me. There’s no emotion displayed on his face. It’s impossible to know if he cares about turning me to ash or not.

“Say goodbye to your sire,” says Archie, with his trademark evil grin.

“Fuck you,” I say.

“Language.” Lucas sighs. “It would seem this is unfortunately inevitable.”

“It’s nothing personal,” agrees Javier “You can see we have no choice. The rules have kept peace in the city for decades now.”

“What happens if they’re set aside?”

“They won’t be. Not all at once. That would be chaos. But an easing of some of them will allow the vampires in the area to return to being largely self- or family-governed.”

“Interesting,” says the jerk who turned me.

“Lucas,” I hiss. “Do something!”

Like the utter bastard he is, he simply pats me on the hand. All I can do is stare in disbelief. He is absolutely going to just stand there and let me die. I don’t believe this shit.

Then, in a blur, he flies at the large vampire and separates his head from his neck.

It’s as if Lucas’s hands turned into claws or something. Or they’re just that damn strong. I have no idea why he’s more powerful. But thank goodness he is. Blood sprays everywhere,and the body falls with a thump before it turns to ash. The air around us fills with gray dust.

Rose just sighs.

Archie screeches and rises from his seat, but Lucas isn’t finished. He leaps across the table and attacks him, too. Both of their bodies blur as they fight, Archie’s hands beating at Lucas’s chest.

Then Lucas decapitates him, as well. It’s a lot messier than his heart extraction. Acid burns the back of my throat, but I swallow it down. Neither Rose nor Javier seems impressed with this turn of events. Neither of them moves to intervene, however. I back up until my spine hits the wall, my eyes as wide as the moon. Vampire politics are something else.

Kneeling on the long wooden table, Lucas pulls out his handkerchief for the second time tonight and wipes off his hands. Though with the amount of ash covering him, it’s a wasted effort.

Rose slumps back in her seat. “Archie shouldn’t have threatened you. That was foolish.”

“Most people feel better after a nap,” says Javier. “But you seem to have woken up in an even fouler mood than before.”

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