Mr. Tom fully entered the room and took a seat by the door, not getting comfortable. He usually left me alone when I was in this room.
“He’s a bit down in the mouth,” Mr. Tom said, resting his hands on his knees. “He committed a grave error yesterday and jeopardized your life, not to mention we still don’t have any information about those hikers that he dined on before. It doesn’t matter that you’ve forgiven him—he’s gone against his duty to the house, which is to protect you. He thinks it is time for you to retire him.”
That kind of punishment felt much too heavy for an honest mistake. “Where would he even go?”
“Oh, they don’t go anywhere. Unless you’re talking about the ash from their burned bodies? That’s hard to collect, so usually the magical community just lets it float at will…”
“Do you mean retire like…kill him?”
“Kill him is always a bit confusing when it comes to vampires, isn’t it? He’s basically already dead, so you can’t really kill him again. You just retire him from being a vampire. Make him stop existing, like should have happened the first time he died.”
I rolled my eyes. “You knew what I meant, and no, we are not going to retire Edgar because he wrongly chose a food source. You guys have been idle in this place for years. The change is hard for all of us. That mage had been lingering in town for…days, at least. Probably much longer. Austin never noticed him. I saw him and didn’t know what he was—Edgar did me a favor by bringing him onto Ivy House property, where we have defenses. If that guy had grabbed me outside of Ivy House…” I shivered, that little sticking point a big reason for my downer mood. I might still have been able to best him, but I didn’t want to hang my future on a “might.”
“Have you spoken to Austin Steele?” Mr. Tom asked, standing again.
After returning to the house yesterday, Austin had waited with me in polar bear form. I hadn’t wanted to be alone, and he’d sensed it—or maybe he hadn’t wanted me to be alone either. The others had come back a while later with the news that they’d buried the mage’s body, reburied the skeletons, and roused Edgar. The dolls had apparently seen themselves home, which I didn’t relish thinking about. Once everything was sorted out, Austin had lumbered back out of the house, and I hadn’t heard from him since. I said as much.
“He probably blames himself, as well. That mage was in his territory all this time without him knowing.”
“That mage knew just enough to purposely stay away from him.”
“That won’t matter to Austin Steele. He holds himself to unrealistic expectations. It won’t be easy for him to get over the fact that the mage got the better of him.”
I turned my head, back to looking out the window. “This is ridiculous. I can’t stay on this property forever—I will have to leave sometime. With a price on my head, I’m going to need a team around me to guard my back. Everyone blaming themselves and licking their wounds is not helpful. It’s not going to make things safer going forward.”
“Agreed, miss.”
“What do you think about bringing some of the gargoyles onto the team?”
He sat down again, as awkwardly as before, and said, “Honestly, I don’t think they have proven themselves yet. None of them have meshed with the established team. Right now, there are two teams, rather than just one.”
“Damarion’s team, and yours and Niamh’s team.”
He hesitated. “Basically, yes. The summoned gargoyle team, and the house team. Despite being the same species as the others, I am not viewed as part of the gargoyle group.”
“But Damarion said that they didn’t even know each other before they came here.”
“I wager that is how the summons works. They collect along the way, finding each other, moving together, and establishing the pecking order before they arrive. Once they arrive, they are ready to assimilate.”
“Except they haven’t assimilated.”
“They have, just not with the house team. They have assimilated with one another, and with you.”
Frustrated, I pushed to standing. “That’s not going to work for me. Does Damarion need to be brought into the Council…seating thing in order for all of you to work together? Are the groups only separate because he’s not connected with the magic? Those gargoyles will follow me, sure, but my default setting isn’t as commander. When I need something, I take charge, but otherwise I don’t think of it. It’ll take time for me to grow into that role. In the meantime, I need someone to handle the day-to-day…”
A memory jogged for position. Austin speaking to me.
I have experience in leading. Obviously you don’t need my help with Niamh and the others, but if new people show up, you can count on me. I will put them in their place until you’re ready to step up and take over. You know my past—you know I won’t try to usurp power. Eventually, hopefully, I wouldn’t be able to.