Covet (Clann)

The Clann leader’s in-laws were just taken out by one or more vamps in direct violation of the treaty. We’ve got to find out what’s really going on before the Clann makes up its own mind and starts calling for another war.”
    War? We hadn’t had a battle with the vamps in decades.
    I searched his face, gauging the hard glint in his eyes and the grim set of his mouth. He was serious.
    “You don’t think it was just some random vamp who accidentally lost control?”
    Dad shook his head. “I wish I could believe that. But you know how big New York is. What are the odds that a vamp would lose control in a city of that size and only go after your mother’s family? Plus, it was too clean a hit. They were attacked at home with no witnesses and no sign of a break in.”
    He scrubbed both hands over his face, his palms rasping over his beard. “Your mother’s convinced it’s a message, that they’re all but openly declaring war on us.”
    “What do you think?”
    “I think it was planned ahead of time. Beyond that, I don’t know. We’ve got to find out if this was a rogue attack or a council-sanctioned hit. And we’ve got to do it fast before mass hysteria breaks out within the Clann.”
    He stared ahead at the kitchen without seeming to see anything. “I spent my whole life, and my father half of his, working with the council to create that peace treaty. There’s no way I’m going to make any rash decisions to destroy all that hard work without knowing exactly what’s going on and seeing if we can stop this train from going off a cliff.”
    “Can you talk to the council?”
    “I’m going to try to reach out to them. But with your mom around, it’s not going to be easy. She doesn’t want to hear anything short of an immediate declaration of war on all vamps.”
    I blew out a long breath, running a hand through my hair. This was getting crazy fast. “You’ve got to calm her down, Dad. And everyone else, too.”
    “I know. Our cell phone provider’s gonna love us this month.” One corner of his mouth hitched in a halfhearted attempt at a smile. “In the meantime, I need to know you and your sister will be protected. So do you think you could help your old man out and put up with a babysitter just for a few days till I get back?”
    “Yeah, okay.” If it made him feel better so he could focus on his job in New York, I guessed I could put up with a babysitter. I just wished he’d change his mind and let me come with him to help him get some answers.
    Emily returned downstairs, joining us at the island, her face pale and splotchy beneath its usual tan. “Mom said to call the airlines. She’s already packing.”
    Dad nodded. “I’d better grab the Clann address book while I’m at it.” He headed down the hallway off the kitchen toward his study.
    “Don’t forget your phone’s charger cord, too,” Emily called out.
    “Right. Thanks, Em!” he yelled back.
    In the kitchen’s silence, Emily and I stared at each other without having to say a thing. She couldn’t believe this was happening any more than I could.
    Emily sighed. “I’d better go check on Mom, make sure she’s packing clothes instead of weapons or something.”
    She trudged back up the stairs, not bothering to keep her footsteps light and graceful like she usually did.
    Unsure what to do, I headed upstairs to my room, opting to lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling. Like everyone else in the house, I left my door open. As a result, my parents’ unguarded thoughts drifted throughout the house like radios left on in other rooms They must have been pretty upset to let their mental guards down so completely, even at home. Usually they tried to protect Emily and me more.
    I couldn’t hear Emily’s thoughts, though. Apparently she’d learned how to keep her mental guard up no matter what. Probably because she didn’t want our parents to ever learn just what their perfect princess really had been up to over the years.
    I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d found a way to keep her mental guard up even during her sleep.
    Between our parents, Mom’s thoughts were the most unguarded and definitely the loudest, her mind a painful mix of wondering how soon she and Dad could get to New York, how she might track down the killer, memories of growing up with Aunt Cynthia.
    And surprisingly, memories of an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere that Mom seemed scared to death to enter.
    Later Mom came into my room like a small