"Uh, okay." I held my head still while he tied the blindfold over my eyes then checked the edges to be sure I couldn't see out.
"Your hands may remain free as long as you do not touch the blindfold."
The car eased forward, and we were on our way. Great. My first time in Paris, and I wouldn't get to see a thing. Not even the Eiffel Tower.
It seemed we turned a lot, surely more than was actually necessary for the half-hour drive. Maybe they were trying to confuse me. I could have told them not to bother. I frequently got lost even with a map and a compass.
Then the car stopped.
Dad exited first then held on to my forearm to guide me from the car and beyond. I had a fleeting sense of a breeze ruffling the tiny hairs on my arms. Then a heavy-sounding door groaned open. We walked forward, and the breeze died away, replaced by chilly, moldy-smelling air.
We walked for what seemed like a long time, although it might have been only a couple minutes. The path had a wet-sounding hard floor and too many turns to count much less remember. We also went through a series of clanking metal doors others opened and closed for us. I sensed the guards we passed, the loss of sight making my emotional radar ramp into overdrive. Most of the guards projected boredom or mild curiosity. But none of them ever said anything. They must be using that vampire ESP stuff.
Dad stopped suddenly. Holding his mouth close to my ear, he breathed out in a rapid whisper, "I must warn you. In the beginning, the bloodlust is most often triggered by strong emotions. When you truly give yourself to the vampire side, only then will you find complete control over your needs. It takes fledgling vampires months to learn how to let go of their emotions in order to regain control. Some never do. But you must learn how to do this. Today. The council will have a surprise waiting for you to test your control. I am sorry, I did not know before we got on the plane, and then I could not safely warn you. So whatever you do, stay calm."
A surprise? What kind of surprise would make me want to just surrender to the vamp within? And wasn't that backward anyways? Wasn't it the vampire genes inside me that were causing the bloodlust? How could giving in to that side actually help me regain control over the bloodlust?
It didn't make any sense. And a tiny part of me had to wonder if this was some kind of trick to force me to finish the change into becoming a full vampire.
But if I couldn't trust my dad, I would have no one on my side here. I had to trust him.
With a frown, I nodded.
We started walking again in silence for a few more minutes, then paused one last time. Dad must have had to wait for permission to continue. With every second that passed, my nervousness cranked up another notch.
Finally, a loud, metallic groan signaled the opening of yet another door. We walked forward three steps, the sound of our footsteps becoming muffled on something soft and dry. Dad tugged on my forearm to stop me. I couldn't hear anyone nearby, not even breathing or heartbeats to signal we were with others now. But I could feel their emotions projected across my skin. They were nervous, angry, a little worried, but mostly afraid.
Afraid...of me?
The door clanged shut behind us, and Dad removed the blindfold.
Stay calm, I reminded myself, working to keep my breathing even.
I slowly opened my eyes, squinting a bit at the bright light in the room.
The council seemed to like the color red. The cement-block walls were bathed in it, and nine council members sat at a long, half-round table draped in a crimson-and-gold cloth.
"Honorable council, may I present my biological daughter, Savannah Colbert."
The members stared at me with faces like stone. But their emotions betrayed them, intensifying until I nearly gasped from their overwhelming flood of fear and curiosity.
"You have tested her, Michael?" the vampire in the center asked. His skin was as smooth and white as marble. His eyes, so light they appeared solid white except for their ebony pupils, never left me.
"I have."
Silence filled the room while they apparently read his mind for his report. I focused on not fidgeting.
"May I respectfully request that the council consider further discussing these deliberations out loud?" Dad said. "This would allow Savannah to follow the proceedings and elaborate on her abilities in her own words."
Yep, just as I'd guessed. They had been talking about me behind my back...right in front of me. The exact opposite of what the Brat Twins did to me in history class. Talk about annoying.
Another long pause, then the center councilman nodded. "We agree. Savannah, were you ever magically trained?"
"No. Even when it would have been helpful, my grandmother and mother refused. They promised everyone that they wouldn't." Thank goodness for it, too.
"Michael, you were not aware before that she has the bloodlust?" the council leader said.
"No, Caravass. I became aware of it when you did."
A ripple of alarm projected from the council.
"However, my memories today should have shown that Savannah was tested and is in firm control over it," Dad added.
"With regular human blood," Caravass corrected. "The watchers' report showed that she has no such control with regard to Clann blood. This is cause for great alarm. She cannot be allowed to violate our peace treaty with the Clann nor expose us to the world at large. If she cannot be controlled, she is a danger to our entire society."
"No, I'm not." I couldn't believe I'd had the nerve to speak up. No doubt any one of them could snap my neck before I even saw them leave their seats.
Caravass stared into my eyes. "How can you be sure of this?"
"Because I've been alone with a Clann descendant a lot over the last six months. I've had plenty opportunity to..." Feed? Drink from him? What was the right term? "...to bite him. But I haven't."
"Admirable control," Caravass said. "And yet you lost a little of that control when you actually saw and smelled his blood recently, did you not?"
I gulped. Just talking about it made the memory of that taste flood my mouth. "Yes. But that was my first time to ever feel the bloodlust. Now that I know what it feels like, I know I can control my reaction to it. And it's not like I actually bit him or anything."
"We desire proof. If you really believe you have complete control now, you will voluntarily agree to our test." Caravass waved a hand, and a guard at the right wall pressed a button. A smooth section of the wall slid away into a recessed pocket, revealing a window into what looked like a police interrogation room.