“Part of the discussion the council had this morning was precisely that, trying to decide what to do with you, Ruby,” Max said, looking down his nose at the woman. “Unfortunately, it’s far too soon, and we have far too many questions to come to any decision right now. We did realize, however, if all of this hadn’t happened, we could very well have ended up in straits much more dire, and I guarantee you we will take that into account.”

Ruby glanced at Bennett, who looked as confused as she was. “I don’t understand,” Ruby said, turning back to Max.

“All of us, including me, have always laughed off Napoleon’s threats about having an army, but because of your plan, shall we say, we now know he does have an army, and it’s deadly. If more time had passed, he could very well have grown it much larger and ended up harming so many more innocents than he already has.”

Bennett leaned forward in her chair. “Why do I think you’re not just talking about the mass murder of his own servants and guardians?”

Max’s mouth sank at the corners, and the rest of his face followed suit. “Because I’m not, Bennett. I’m talking about the two homes his beasts invaded before the sun came up today.”

“What?”

Max rubbed the back of his neck. “My contact at the local constabulary called me around seven this morning. It seems there were two home invasions last night within a two-mile radius of Napoleon’s stupid castle. A family of four and a widowed lawyer all met their end. They’d been exsanguinated and…uh…mutilated, which is why he reached out to me. It had starving vampire attack written all over it.”

“Jesus Christ,” Bennett said in a breath. “I didn’t know there were any other homes that close. Damn it.”

“They’re private and tucked back into the woods like Napoleon’s, and it didn’t only happen here, I’m afraid. About an hour ago, Hector, Yannick, and Aldrich called to say there were similar instances around Napoleon’s homes in Liège, Marseille, and Bristol, and Concepcion called as well. Her people reached out to her this morning, informing her that a small village on the outskirts of Lisbon was also attacked. Seven people were killed, and Napoleon’s hacienda is but a stone’s throw away.”

“That bastard,” Bennett said, shaking her head. “That no-good fucking bastard.”