Covet (Clann)

“Yes, that’s true, their bodies were drained. But they could have just as easily been bled out somewhere else then dumped where they’d be found fast. Think about it. Anybody under the sun could be behind it. If we start jumping to conclusions, we could be playing right into their hands. That’s why for now I’m asking everyone to stay calm, lay low, wear a ward and let me and the vamp council do the investigating. I guarantee you, we will find out who’s behind these murders, and they will be made to pay for it.” Another pause. “Yes, I said the vamp council. No, I already told you, these are not council-sanctioned attacks.” One last pause. “You be safe, too, and be sure to stay in regular contact with other descendants, at least once a day or so. Okay? Yep, you, too.”
    He hung up, ran a hand over his receding silver hair, then sighed loudly. “And that’s the life of the Clann leader in a nutshell. Putting out brush fires one call at a time.”
    “We should get a website or something so we can release one mass statement to all the descendants at the same time.”
    Dad grinned. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. We could use a little more organization around here.”
    The tension in my shoulders eased. Maybe he wasn’t planning on punishing me after all.
    I looked at his desk, which appeared to have been barfed on by a paper monster, and laughed. “Yeah, because obviously being organized is a major focus in this house.”
    He chuckled.
    “But seriously, Dad, how do you do it? How do you say the same things over and over without going nuts?”
    “That’s the life of any leader worth a dime. You’ve got to have patience.”
    “Even with the prejudiced idiots?”
    “Even them. We’re only the Clann leader till death or revolt.”
    “I heard you warning them to wear their wards. Which is what I kind of needed to talk to you about.”
    “Mmm-hmm. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it, too.”
    Uh-oh. Here it came. “I’m sorry I refused to wear the ward.”
    Silence. His eyebrows shot up, and he leaned back in his chair and clasped his thick fingers over his gut. “But?”
    “But I couldn’t do it. Not with a half vamp with no immunity to the wards on campus. She can’t help what she is any more than I can. Why should she pay for something that’s going on halfway across the country?”
    Dad’s mouth turned down. He rubbed his chin through his beard. “You know, your momma’s really sore about it. She made that ward herself.”
    “Yeah, I know she was mad. But it just wasn’t right. And it’s not like I don’t have other ways to protect myself.”
    He nodded slowly. “That’s what I told your mom when she was sobbing about her poor, unprotected little boy and nearly making herself sick over it.”
    I tried not to roll my eyes at the less-than-subtle guilt trip attempt.
    He sighed. “She’s mad, but she’ll get over it. Did anything else happen while we were gone?”
    I rocked back in the chair. He sounded like he was asking for a report or something. “Um, not really. Well, there was a small problem with Dylan showing up at school wearing two wards. But I had a talk with him about it.”
    “Oh yeah? What kind of talk?” He grinned, leaning forward in his chair.
    “I, uh, might have flash burned one of his wards.” Seeing his eyes widen, I added, “But I ripped it off his wrist first. And I made sure no one else was around to see.”
    “So I should be expecting a whining call from his father any second now?”
    “Maybe.” In fact, I was surprised Mr. Williams hadn’t already called. “He might not have told his dad about it, though. It happened while Dylan and I had a little face-off about Dylan wrecking Savannah’s truck a couple of weeks ago, and then his working with the Faulkner twins today to try and wreck her new car.”
    Dad grumbled a swear word. “Okay, I’ll handle it.”
    I hesitated. “If Mr. Williams does call you, you might want to ask him about how he’s using power to punish Dylan. He’s forcing his son to try and come up with ways to make me break the rules so you’ll do something dumb. They want to make you look weak and biased toward protecting your family instead of upholding Clann law so they can push for new leadership. And when Dylan’s less than successful at ticking me or Sav off…”
    Dad’s eyes flared then narrowed to dangerous slits. “You’re kidding. He’s using power on his own son for punishment?”
    I