Trent shook his head in disbelief. “Okay, that was something I hadn’t expected. Vivian, where are you staying?”

It sounded like things were wrapping up, and there’d been no decisions, just ideas that weren’t going to work. “What about Landon?” I asked.

“I’m staying downtown at the Cincinnatian,” Vivian said, tucking her notes away in a tiny purse that had to be bigger on the inside than the out. “Give me until noon.” She hesitated as she stood. “Ah, make that three. They might not be up yet. I’ll have a better idea of what the coven will do.”

But I already knew they’d back Landon, and I slumped.

“Good.” Trent leaned his chair back on two legs with his hands clasped behind his head, looking pleased with what we’d learned. “I’ve found a few pieces of support in the dewar. Perhaps we can pool our resources if you find enough dissent.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Vivian gave me a nod. “See you when it’s done, Rachel. Try not to destroy Cincinnati like you did San Francisco.”

“That was Ku’Sox!” I said as she nodded to Jenks and Ivy, both of whom looked as happy as I felt—that is, not at all.

“David, you want a ride somewhere?” Vivian asked, and David pulled himself out of his thoughts with a grunt and reached for his phone.

“Sure. Thanks.”

Trent’s chair came back down onto all fours. “Actually, David, I’d like to talk to you about something.”

David perked up, hiding a sly smile that had Vivian putting a hand on her hip. “What are you planning?” she accused.

“Ah, just the local distribution of the packs to minimize disruption to services,” Trent lied, and Ivy sent Jenks to get a croissant. We might be here awhile. “The same thing the packs did the last time the vampires panicked.”

“Yeah, okay,” the smart woman said, and then seeing that no one was going to say anything more while she was standing there, she stomped out to the rental car she’d driven them all here in. “I don’t want to know, anyway, do I!” she called back over her shoulder before the door shut.

Excited, I sat up. All the busybodies were gone, leaving those who had the guts to actually do something. “What are we going to do?”

Trent smiled at my enthusiasm, then sobered at Ivy’s calm, deadly anticipation and David’s expectation. Outside, Vivian raced the car’s engine and left. “Vivian will try, but the coven is going to side with Landon to banish the undead souls and drain the ever-after for the energy to reinstate the lines,” Trent said.

“It’s unethical,” Ivy said bitterly, and I thought of the demons, facing their own maybe demise. It hurt that no one seemed to care.