Page 29 of The Tribes of Magic
Kato’s jaw tightened. “So you’ve fed on humans before?”
Wyxl winced. “No! Not on Gaians! The Summit was just so long and I was so thirsty,” he whined. “I had to have a sip. I was going stir-crazy in there.”
Kato loomed over him like a shadow of vengeance. “What do you do when you’re done? Toss the bodies in a dumpster?”
Wyxl stiffened. “I’ve never killed anyone!”
“Perhaps we should drag you before the Court and allow them to determine that.”
“Please don’t tellher.” Wyxl gazed up at Kato with pleading eyes. “She’s warned me about drinking from humans. Last time she caught me, she said it was my very last chance.”
“Who isshe?”
“My mother, of course. Queen Seriana,” Wyxl replied, frowning in confusion. “I thought she sent you to bring me to her.”
“Queen Seriana is dead,” Kato told him. “Prince Fenris is dead.”
“What?” Wyxl gasped. “How? Who?!” He jumped to his feet, his fists lifted. His eyes darted around the room like he was looking for a fight.
I frowned at him. “We thought it was you. That’s why we came looking for you.”
“You thought I killed my own mother? And my own brother?” His eyes bulged.
“It’s a well-known fact your relationship with them is complicated,” said Kato.
“We’re vampires! Our relationships are always complicated! But I would never kill them!” Wyxl jerked his head in vehement denial. “What kind of villain do you think I am?”
“The same kind that drags unwilling people into closets to snack on them?” I suggested.
“Those areentirelydifferent things!”
“Really?” I countered. “Because they don’t look that different to me.”
“Feeding on humans…” Wyxl licked his lips. “Well, they’re only human, right? They’re not like us. They don’t have magic. And they’re only marginally sentient.”
I scowled at him.
The vampire completely misread my disgust. “Yes, I know. Humans are incredibly stupid. It would be no great loss if…” Wyxl’s eyes glazed over for a moment, then he shook himself free of whatever insane thoughts were dancing around inside his head. “But, whatever the case, I haveneverharmed another vampire. And I never will! Especially not my own family.”
Kato watched him. The silence stretched on.
Until, finally, he turned to me and declared. “He’s telling the truth. He didn’t kill Seriana and Fenris. He left the ballroom before it happened.”
“How do you know?”
“I read his mind,” Kato said casually.
“You would never…could never…” Wyxl spluttered in protest. “The best magic instructors in all the Many Realms have been training my mental defenses since I was a child!”
Kato shrugged. “Maybe you should ask for a refund.”
Wyxl’s mouth dropped in outrage.
I opened up a telepathic window to Kato and said,Did you really read his mind?
Yes. But it was not as easy as I said. His defenses are strong. But he’s so drunk on blood that he isn’t employing them effectively. If he were sober, I doubt I could have read his mind.
So, you lied,I said, checking my smile.
