Page 22 of How to Entice a Fiend

“Ender, why are you here?” Finn calmly asks.

“You mean I’m not invited?” he asks as he grabs Harris and flings him out of his chair so he has a place to sit. “I can’t fathom you would still choose to listen to that man. Why isheeven in here?”

And with that, he simply sits down.

Everyone is on edge. Ender has to know that against this many of us, he likely wouldn’t win… but how many would he kill before they stopped him? Or is he confident he could win?

“Y-You think we should l-listen to you?” Harris stammers as he awkwardly stands behind some others, which makes it look like he’s using them as a shield.

Ender smirks at the terrified man. “What do you mean? The council was my home well before it was home for most of you, was it not, Callum?”

Callum is silent as the words slowly register. Ender was once part of the council? Why has no one mentioned this to me?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Callum says, sounding genuine.

“Of course you don’t. It’s not like we spoke much. You were always a bit too… cocky to speak to me, weren’t you? Following everything your brother did.”

Callum looks confused now. “I’m sorry, I…” And then he pales. His hackles had been raised but now he looks like he’s seen a ghost. “Out,” he snaps.

Ender smiles at him. “What’s wrong, Callum?”

“Get out! Get out!” He’s acting frantic now. “Get him out of here! Why are you guys doing nothing?”

“Callum, what’s wrong?” Leona asks.

Callum is beyond panicked now. He can’t seem to decide whether he wants to fight Ender or flee from him. The moment his muscles tense up, I can tell he’s choosing to fight. He rushes for him, but the speed with which Ender moves to meet him makes me freeze. I knew he was stronger than us, but… I feel like I’m a human observing the strength of a vampire as I sit here and watch him lift Callum off his feet, hand around his throat.

“Sit your fucking ass down,” Ender snarls as he throws Callum back at his seat. Callum crashes into it, slamming to the ground and taking the chair with him.

Ender looks like he’s on the edge. He looks close to losing it.

“How about we listen to what Ender has to say?” I suggest. “Can’t hurt anything.”

“You want to listen to what the fuckingvampire killerhas to say?” Leona asks. “The man who has slaughtered many of our kind? He eats them like a monster. He killed my brother.”

“He was delicious and very much deserved it,” Ender says, but I can tell he’s calming down. “You sure forgot to mention his little pastime, did you not?”

“We should kill him where he stands,” she snarls.

“I have no idea who this man is,” Ha-joon says. “I understand that the council tried placing the blame on him, but the VRC explained that he didn’t do it. Why would we kill him?”

“He’s killed countless vampires,” a man accuses.

Callum is silently sitting in his seat. He looks like the lightest noise could send him into the afterlife. What the hell does Ender have on him?

Ha-joon looks to Marcus. “You seem to be a voice of reason; can you tell us whether he should sit in or not?”

“Whether he should be killed is the question we should be asking ourselves,” Leona snaps.

Marcus is silent. I don’t know what history Ender has with him, but I do know he tried to kill Finn at some point and nearly killed Marcus’s brother, so it’s not looking too good for him. Alexei looks like he’d be interested in the killing him part, but Claude reaches over and squeezes Alexei’s hand, calming him almost instantly.

“I think…” Marcus begins as Ender’s eyes stay absolutely fixated on him. It’s like there’s some unspoken truce happening between them… at least momentarily. And I can’t help but feel like it’s only because of Finn. “I think we should listen to what Ender has to say. Such primitive actions such as killing someone without a trial should no longer be permitted when it’s clear that we don’t have the whole story unless someone is willing to share it.”

Ender sits back down. “If the council isn’t abolished, then I insist on a spot on it,” he says.

Leona laughs. “What fucking nonsense is this?”

“Weneeda council! And you’re not going to be in it!” Harris insists.

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