Gwen POV
I flicked the knife up in the air, catching the intricately detailed handle lazily as it spiralled down. I was still smirking; weakness would get me nowhere.
"Is there any reason you're hunting Myrnin?" I made the question casual, my smile still in place as I arched up an eyebrow.
Bishop stopped his conversation with one of his vampire lieutenants, Anya something, and turned to face me. An amused, but curious look was on his face. That meant nothing. Bishop had a thousand masks and wore them all. I suddenly got the feeling that casual though the question had been, it was a mistake.
"Who claims I'm hunting Myrnin?" His voiced held an air of amusement, which didn't bode well. Amusing things were played with; until they broke. I cursed myself internally, because really, what a fool to have asked such a question. I should have known better.
"I assumed the vampires that came after him in an organised attack were yours. I'm sorry, I didn't have time to recognise them as anything other than beneath me. Were they yours?" I added a smile at the end, tilting my shoulder as if to show how careless I was. He laughed at that, and I felt the tension in the room dissipate. I still held my face in a lazy, catlike smile, one eyebrow still raised.
"Yes, they were. How did you know?" The smile was still upon his face but his words showed how he truly felt. The shape of his lips meant nothing but the words coming out of them were carved from ice, so sharp they could draw blood.
"I was trying to find out Amelie's endgame when they appeared. A small inconvenience." Suddenly all traces of emotion were gone from his facer, fake or otherwise, and I could see the storm building in his eyes. I let the smile slip from my face, attempting to seem more demure, humble.
"You were the one who killed them?" His voice was quieter now, barely a whisper in the small room where we were holding council. A whisper was the most dangerous.
That was foolhardy in the extreme, I should never have let myself ask the question. He was nothing to me, not now, not ever. Ever. I had to make myself remember that, or I'd be dead too. I braced myself internally before I spoke, my palms flat against the table now, as I tried not to let them shake.
"Yes. They attacked me. Fools. They seemed to take me for one too….it was their last mistake, have no fear. However, they did serve one purpose…" I took a deep breathe before continuing. "….they allowed me to gain Myrnin's trust." I had to keep the mask up, and even though my smile was more demure now, it was still the lazy smile of a favourite, pampered pet.
Bishop arched his fingertips before resting his chin atop them, piercing me with his pale blue eyes. My fathers eyes were a deep indigo, almost purple, yet my mothers were the same as Bishops; shards of ice. Which is how mine came to be the bright, vivid blue that they were, although they changed too frequently to really be called one colour.
His smile was still cruel as he watched me, yet I felt as though it was not as dangerous as before. Not to me at least. After a few moments in which I almost let myself go, let the mask slip, he smiled. Truly this time, the smile he reserved for me and me alone.
His favourite pet. His little granddaughter, his killer shadow.
"And what will that do?" His smile was indulgent still, his tone warmer. I smiled as I leaned back in response, comfortable in the familiar position of praise.
"Help us to destroy Amelie."