"And lose the respect of my court?"

Ari gave him a long look while she thought about it. What would she have done? She dropped her gaze. "OK, I get it, but what are you going to do about them?"

"Nothing, for now. They may be rebelling against me, but they haven't killed anyone. A chance remains to negotiate." His fingers gently began to rub the tense muscles at the back of her neck.

Ari tilted her head just enough to see his face. "Do you really believe that?"

"Let us say, I am hopeful. If I keep killing vampires who oppose me, how am I any different than Sebastian was?"

Chapter Sixteen.

Early the next morning while Andreas and the rest of the vampires slept, Russell, Lilith and Ari left the compound and met Zoe for coffee. No one in the small coffee shop paid much attention to the group, and after a while, Ari shook off the feeling of being watched that followed her everywhere she went inside the compound.

She'd asked her friends to join her, because...well, because she needed their help. She needed more information than Andreas had given her, and she wanted some non-vampire opinions. There had to be a way to head off the b.l.o.o.d.y confrontations that seemed inevitable. She wanted a solution that might not occur to the vamps, who usually thought in terms of blood and death.

She gave her companions the abbreviated version of what Andreas had told her. Nothing about the personal stuff, of course. With the killers now dead, Zoe said she would find a diplomatic way to close her case on the human deaths. The Magic Council was used to secrets, and they were free to read between the lines.

"So what about the other challenges for the vampire crown?" Zoe asked. "Will Andreas have to defeat them all? If all four challenge him, will they work together or alone?"

"We don't know," Ari admitted. "Andreas still hopes to negotiate a treaty, but I'm not counting on it."

"I thought challenges were a nice word for a.s.sa.s.sination attempts." Zoe paused with the coffee cup halfway to her mouth. "No warning. No negotiations. Sneak attacks."

"That's how Sebastian acted when he went after Prince Daron, hiding behind his would-be a.s.sa.s.sins," Ari agreed. "But apparently it doesn't always work that way."

"They sent a messenger to deliver the news this time," Russell said. "Gabe said it was an old-world courtesy thing."

"What?" Ari gaped at him. "They already issued the formal challenges?" She fumed with temper. The arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! And Andreas hadn't told her.

"They sent someone to tell Andreas they were going to kill him?" Zoe sounded incredulous.

"Not in those exact words, but something like that. I saw it happen. A werefox came into the audience room, bowed, and read from a piece of paper. Something about being required to defend his crown against each of them at an appointed time and place. Then he handed Andreas a paper that had been signed by the seven rebels and left." Russell's mouth quirked. "I guess we can forget about three of them. But Gabe told me the wording is ambiguous enough that they might attack together or one after another, until they wear him down. There don't seem to be any rules to follow."

"Then why can't we prevent this? No rules for them, no rules for us," Ari declared. "And just to be sure they don't do something sneaky, we'll see that he's never alone."

"Yeah, that should help. But I'm more worried about an attack while the vampires are asleep. Sebastian tried that, and these are his people." Russell gave her a sheepish look. "I know I'm paranoid, but can we trust any of the lycanthropes in this compound? Sebastian recruited them all. I wanted to kick them out, but Andreas refused. Every one of them knows where the vampires sleep."

"How many are there?" Zoe asked.

"Maybe four dozen, possibly a few more."

"That seems excessive. What do they all do?"

"Beats me," Russell said. "I think Sebastian used them for all his dirty work-a.s.sa.s.sinations, intimidation, bringing in blood donors. Now they're not really doing anything. It leaves them too much time to cause trouble, if you ask me."

"Didn't we kill most of Molyneux's wolves?" Ari asked.

"Sure did. In fact, I haven't found anyone that admits being part of that clan, but they're all wolves, and they at least knew one another. I think we have to think of them as potential enemies."

On that sober reminder, they began to plan strategies for handling outside attacks or uprisings from inside the compound. Mostly it involved juggling schedules so a healthy representation of their own people was on duty at any given time and identifying critical places that could be defended to keep any rebellion from spreading. The brainstorming was like old times to Ari, similar to when she'd worked with Lilith and Russell to fortify Daron's compound against attack. Only this time, they had more enemies, fewer friends, and a large population whose loyalty was unknown.

Finally, Russell stood up. "I have to get back. I don't like being gone so long, and we've come up with some changes I can make. I'd like to get started on redeploying our people."

Since security during the daylight hours was his responsibility, Russell had been antsy for the last half hour. His urgency was catching, and they wound up the conversation. a.s.suring Zoe they'd keep in touch and that Andreas would reschedule a meeting with the Magic Council, Ari, Lilith, and Russell returned to the compound.

As soon as they entered the door, the young Riverdale wolf on duty handed Ari a white envelope. "Just delivered," he said. "I thought it might be important."

Ari turned the envelope over. Plain four-by-six. No return address. No recipient either. Hmm. "Did they say it was for me? Who delivered it?"

"A male fox. He refused to give his name. Said it didn't matter but to give this to someone from the inner court. I figure that's you."

Ari started down the hallway, turning the sealed envelope over in her hands. She shook it, held it up to the light. No scent, no tingle of magic. OK, Andreas could shoot her later for reading his mail. She ripped the end open, and a small card fell out. When she picked it up, Russell and Lilith peered over her shoulder.

"What's it say?" Lilith was impatient.

"Give me a second."

It looked like an invitation, but was instead a beautifully penned note stating Ezekial, Jamal, Edward, and Bartholomew would be calling on the court at ten o'clock that evening.

"Are these the four challengers?" She looked up to see Russell nod. "What's with the fancy card?" She shoved it at Russell. "What's it mean? Are they coming to fight tonight or is this a vampire social call?"

"I don't know," Russell said, as he read it through again. "They're all older vamps. Remember what Gabe said about the old ways. Maybe this is how things have been done for centuries. Andreas will know. We'll have to wait until he's up."

"It doesn't look like good news to me," Ari said. "How can they just come waltzing in here? Can't we refuse?"

"Good luck with convincing Andreas. You already said he hopes to negotiate. Maybe that's why they're coming. We don't want to interfere with anything that could strengthen Andreas's position."

"Or maybe it's an attack," Lilith growled. "I'm with Ari. Let's not let them in."

It was a good thought, but Russell was one hundred percent correct. Andreas would be a hard sell. Probably impossible. He'd want to give diplomacy a chance. Besides, if the four master vampires were intent on fighting, denying them entrance would simply delay the inevitable, and they might resort to a sneak attack. Not a good alternative.

They had to be prepared for a showdown that evening.

With that in mind, they implemented all the security measures discussed that morning, and Ari left the compound to make several calls to the States: Prince Daron's security team, the Club, the Magic Council back home, Steffan. And Ryan, of course. He'd been waiting since yesterday afternoon for an update.

Since this would be the hardest call, Ari avoided it until last. She should have called Ryan last night, but she'd forgotten. Not something she was going to admit. She rubbed the tension in the back of her neck as she punched in his number. He was bound to be grumpy.

As expected, Ryan's voice was terse, and Ari promised herself she'd keep it short. Whether she answered or avoided his long list of questions, both of them would be frustrated. Ryan liked answers in black and white. She didn't have many.

"What took you so d.a.m.ned long?" he demanded. Caller ID eliminated all that unnecessary conversation, like "h.e.l.lo."

"Well, let me see. I had to get my nails done. And then there was the shoe shopping," she said, shaking the ponytail that had confined her hair that morning. "Haven't you had your coffee?"

"Hours ago. I've been waiting for you to call. Is everything all right? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It was Andreas who was missing. But by the time I got here he'd returned, so the alarm was for nothing. That was last night. Tonight...is not looking so good." She went on to give him the details, and by the time they hung up, she was glad she'd called. Ryan not only got over his snit quickly, but he offered to facilitate plans on that end, which was a big help. She needed as much time as she could get to collect her thoughts for the coming discussion with Andreas. He wouldn't be happy with some of the things she'd already done.

By three o'clock Andreas was awake. By 3:05, Ari and Andreas were engaged in a heated argument in his chambers. She had waited impatiently outside his door until she sensed the power surge as he woke, then pounded on his door. She'd planned to ease into the conversation, but his first words were: "Now what?" And she blurted it out.

The vampires' announcement card, the planning, the preparations for war.

Luckily the walls were thick and the majority of their angry words remained between the two of them. The tension of the last days exploded. Ari was still stinging from his failure to confide in her, and Andreas said he was tired of hearing about it. They might have continued like that indefinitely, but when Ari burst into frustrated tears, Andreas threw up his hands.

Ari was appalled at her behavior and at his reaction. She hadn't meant to gain an advantage by doing something so girlie. In fact, she hated it, but sometimes winning in a good cause was all that was important. Wasn't that what she told herself every time she stepped over the line?

It wasn't that Andreas gave in and agreed to everything. He refused to bar the entrance of the rebel vampires. That idea was an immediate non-starter. He was determined to establish a treaty if he could and reminded her of his determination to be different than Sebastian. Ari had expected to lose that argument and gave in quickly. What caused all the drama was a hitch Ari hadn't expected. In fact, she was so confident he'd approve that she had started out by telling him she wanted to bring in reinforcements. His opposition had been a total surprise. She'd thought it was a no brainer to surround themselves with forces they could trust-and told him so. In particular, she wanted as many as she could get of the weretigers from Riverdale and a large number of Steffan's wolves.

"How can you make that kind of demand on Steffan? He has his own trouble right now." Andreas had given up any pretense of calm. A lock of hair had fallen over his forehead, and he smoldered with annoyance. He paced the room as he argued. "The final vote is yet to be taken, and the kidnappers have not been apprehended. What if he is attacked again? How can you justify asking him to send any of his people?'

"Steffan and I talked about it. We both think the danger is over. Besides he has other affiliated packs he can rely on and the entire Magic Council."

"Forgive me, if I do not think it is so simple. I am not willing to take the risk, and I do not understand why you think it is acceptable."

He also argued that bringing the pack to Toronto might escalate the situation. Ari had thought about that, but she couldn't see how it could get much worse. They needed help, and they needed numbers.

"I'm not willing to do nothing. The challengers outnumber us, and we have friends eager to even the odds."

That's when Andreas said the fatal words: "I forbid it."

"Forbid it. You forbid it!" The blood rushed to her face. Her hands balled into fists. She might have punched him if she didn't have a trump card to play. "That's too d.a.m.n bad! It's already done."

Andreas whirled to confront her, his eyes sparking with anger.

Ari glared back, both fists on her hips. Her defiant stance was somewhat marred by swiping a tissue at the occasional angry tear that dripped from her chin. She'd held off telling him she'd already arranged for help, hoping he'd come around to her point of view. Gilbert and a mix of twenty wolves and tigers had left Riverdale that morning and should arrive within the next two hours.

Andreas turned on his heel, his voice cold. "You can stop sniveling, Arianna. You have left me little choice in the matter."

"I'm not sniveling," she snapped. "I'm blowing my nose." And she did, angrily, noisily.

He finally turned and looked her over with a critical eye. "Your nose is red. Your eyes are swollen and puffy. And you have that mulish look on your face." He c.o.c.ked his head and sighed. "Why is it you still look appealing to me?" When she didn't answer, he walked toward her. "I cannot agree with you on this, but I understand your actions. Let us be done with this, Arianna. Fighting never solves anything for us. Your wolves and tigers will be welcomed. I only hope their presence does not cause unnecessary complications."

His final remark made her want to argue the point, but she swiped at her cheek again and got in a last comment of her own. "You're too willing to take risks."

"Am I? Some things are worth the risk. Like this." He kissed the tip of her nose, wiped away the last tear with his knuckle, and covered her lips with his. Ari leaned into the kiss, not only willing but eager to end the disagreement. Andreas had that kind of charm; not a vampire thing, a man thing. When they broke the kiss, she rested against his chest several moments, just drinking in the feel and smell of him. This wouldn't be their last disagreement, or the last on this subject. If he kept taking risks, she'd keep finding ways to protect him.

Now that they had come to a reluctant understanding on security arrangements, Ari had a thousand questions about protocol for the evening. She and the staff needed some idea of what was likely to happen, so the next step was a meeting with select individuals-Oliver, Russell, Lilith, Gabriel, Marta and of course Percy hung around-to talk about the possibilities.

At five o'clock, they met in the conference room attached to the audience chambers.

"Why are the rebels coming?" Ari asked as soon as everyone was seated. "Are there rules about this?"

Marta snorted. "There are always rules. It doesn't mean anyone will follow them."

"That's not very helpful."

"Sorry, I thought you wanted the truth." Marta leaned back and eyed Ari. "We play it by ear. I don't think we'll know their intention until they get here."

"The card meant nothing except they were coming? OK, so, guess." Ari absently flipped a strand of hair behind her ear. "Are they coming to fight?"

"Isn't that a given?" Lilith frowned, unconsciously resting one hand on the gun at her belt.

"It is certainly one possibility. I am sorry to be so vague." Andreas looked at Ari and the werelions. "You want answers, but anything we say is pure guesswork."

"At this point, I'll take anything I can get. Give us some idea of what could happen."

The vampires looked at one another and shrugged. "Almost anything," Gabriel admitted. "Maybe it's easier to say what won't happen. They won't bring weapons. They might have lycanthropes with them that are armed, but I think we can justifiably deny their entrance."

"They aren't coming to surrender or beg for mercy. They would lose too much respect," Marta added. "They'll only negotiate if they don't see another way to win."

"And if it comes to a fight?" Ari asked.

"They won't do anything to trigger a group response because they'd be seriously outnumbered," Gabriel offered.

"Unless they try to storm the place," Russell warned. "Come at us with bigger forces."

Marta gave him a disparaging look. "They would never make it past security. I know these vampires, and I think they will challenge you one at a time. That will keep the rest of us out of the fight, including Arianna."

Ari's gaze flew to Andreas's face. "Can you take them?"

He smiled without humor. "One, yes. Two, maybe. If they continued to challenge one after another, my magic would be sufficiently depleted to make the third and fourth combats difficult."

"If by difficult, you mean impossible," she said, giving him her best cop look, "then we have to find a way to avoid that."

"I could make a counter proposal to the consecutive challenges. We would then negotiate the rules until both sides were agreed," Andreas said. "But we are getting ahead of ourselves. They may be coming in a mood to talk. Either to find a way to reconcile our differences or arrange a future time and manner of resolution."

"There is precedent for other means of resolving this," Marta said. "It doesn't have to be a fight. Courts have been won and lost by a throw of the dice."

"Really?" Ari turned back to Andreas. "Would you do that?"

He gave a brief laugh. "I prefer better odds. I believe Marta's point is there are endless possibilities. We can speculate and plan, but we will only know their proposal when it happens."

Ari sat back and crossed her arms. They were left with the impossible task of preparing for anything and everything. How could they do that?

Gilbert and the band of lycanthropes from Riverdale reached the compound by six o'clock. They had flown to the Canadian border, come across by twos and threes in werecreature form-the tigers requiring the greatest degree of stealth since they weren't native-and made their way to Toronto via rented vans. Ryan, true to his word, had used his police connections to get them on several standby flights and had the rental vans waiting at a park on the Canadian side of the border.

Lilith and Russell met the reinforcements at the compound's back entrance and smuggled the entire group into the cellars. To minimize potential tension and conflict with existing compound staff, the new arrivals had been hidden until they were needed or the meeting with the rebels was over. Ari had easily agreed to this as one of Andreas's conditions because she liked having a secret weapon. She didn't trust anyone who hadn't come with them from the States. Even Gabriel. He'd yelled at her and tried to stir up trouble with Andreas. Petty maybe, but it paid to be careful.

By eight o'clock Andreas dismissed his court staff to prepare for the coming visit. This was a dress-up affair, which for vamps meant lots of black and red; silk, fur, or leather; piercings, jewelry, and decorative chains.

As soon as everyone else was out of sight, Lilith and Ari brought Gilbert, the wolves, and the weretigers out of the bas.e.m.e.nt and hid them strategically throughout the compound. It came in handy that the complex was such a warren of small rooms. It allowed Ari to station them behind closed doors but still near the audience chambers-close enough to respond quickly to a crisis.