Dead in the Family

glazed at that point. “Look it up on the Internet,” Eric said impatiently. “Our clan—the states that met in Rhodes compose this one—is Amun, a god from the Egyptian system, and our symbol is a feather, because Amun wore a feathered headdress. Do you remember that we all wore little feather pins there?”
    Ah. No. I shook my head.
    “Well, it was a busy summit,” Eric conceded.
    What with the bombs, and the explosions, and all.
    “To our west is Zeus, from the Roman system, and a thunderbolt is their symbol, of course.”
    Sure. I nodded in profound agreement. Eric may have sensed that I was not exactly on board, by then. He gave me a stern look. “Sookie, this is important. As my wife, you must know this.”
    I wasn’t even going to get into that tonight. “Okay, go ahead,” I said.
    “The fourth clan, the West Coast division, is called Narayana, from early Hinduism, and its symbol is an eye, because Narayana created the sun and moon from his eyes.”
    I thought of things I’d like to ask, like “Who the hell sat around and picked the stupid names?” But when I ran my questions through my inner censor, each one sounded snarkier than the last. I said, “But there were some vampires at the summit in Rhodes—the Amun Clan summit—that should be in Zeus, right?”
    “Yes, good! There are visitors at the summits, if they have some vested interest in a topic under discussion. Or if they are engaged in a lawsuit against someone in that division. Or if they’re going to marry someone in the division whose time it is to have a summit.” His eyes crinkled at the corners with his smile of approval. Narayana created the sun from his eyes, I thought. I smiled back.
    “I understand,” I said. “So, how come Felipe conquered Louisiana, since we’re Amun and he’s . . . Ah, is Nevada in Narayana or Zeus?”
    “Narayana. He took Louisiana because he wasn’t as frightened of Sophie-Anne as everyone else. He planned, and executed quickly and with precision after the governing . . . board . . . of Narayana Clan approved his plan.”
    “He had to present a plan before he moved on us?”
    “That’s the way it’s done. The kings and queens of Narayana wouldn’t want their territory weakened if Felipe failed and Sophie-Anne managed to take Nevada. So he had to outline his plan.”
    “They didn’t think we might want to say something about that plan?”
    “Not their concern. If we’re weak enough to be taken, then we are fair game. Sophie-Anne was a good leader, and much respected. With her incapacitation, Felipe judged we were weak enough to attack. Stan’s lieutenant in Texas has struggled these past few months since Stan was injured in Rhodes, and it’s been hard for him to hold on to Texas.”
    “How would they know how hurt Sophie-Anne was? How hurt Stan is?”
    “Spies. We all spy on each other.” Eric shrugged. (Big deal. Spies.)
    “What if one of the rulers in Narayana had owed some favor to Sophie-Anne and decided to tip her off to the takeover?”
    “I’m sure some of them considered it. But with Sophie-Anne so severely wounded, I suppose they decided that the odds lay with Felipe.”
    This was appalling. “How do you trust anyone?”
    “I don’t. There are two exceptions. You, and Pam.”
    “Oh,” I said. I tried to imagine feeling like that. “That’s awful, Eric.”
    I thought he’d shrug that off. But instead, he regarded me soberly. “Yes. It’s not good.”
    “Do you know who the spies in Area Five are?”
    “Felicia, of course. She is weak, and it’s not much of a secret that she must be in the pay of someone; probably Stan in Texas, or Freyda in Oklahoma.”
    “I don’t know Freyda.” I’d met Stan. “Is Texas in Zeus or Amun?”
    Eric beamed at me. I was his star pupil. “Zeus,” he said. “But Stan had to be at the summit because he was proposing to go in with Mississippi on a resort development.”
    “He sure paid for that,” I said. “If they have spies, we have spies, too, right?”
    “Of course.”
    “Who? I’m not missing anyone?”
    “You met Rasul in New Orleans, I believe.”
    I nodded. Rasul had been of Middle Eastern stock, and he’d had quite a sense of humor. “He survived the takeover.”
    “Yes, because he agreed to become a spy for Victor, and therefore for Felipe. They sent him to Michigan.”
    “Michigan?”
    “There is a very large Arab enclave there, and Rasul fits in well. He tells them he fled the takeover.” Eric