The Council Ch. 04

He followed his brother into the huge glass and steel building which served a dual purpose. It was a highly prosperous architectural firm run by their people but it was also the headquarters of the ruling body of vampires, the five member Council of Elders who were charged with ensuring their people obeyed the few rules that they actually had in place.

He turned to the left and entered the door marked private after scanning his iris into the electronic reader beside it. Alexei had already disappeared inside. Only one person could enter at a time, to ensure that all individuals had to scan their irises before entering the sanctity of the vampires in the large basement complex beneath the building. Security was paramount. It had to be because of The Council. There was no higher body than them and they had to be protected at all costs.

The hierarchy of Vampires was split into three groups, Ancients, Elders and Younglings. There were precious few Ancients left due to the fact that it took great skill to survive over two thousand years of life as vampire. There had been five of them but now there were only four left with the death of Graves last year. That number would increase to six soon, when Alexei and Andrei reached the exalted two thousand year mark in the next half century.

The Council was drawn from Elders for the simple reason that there wasn't enough Ancients to form a ruling body, that and the fact that the Ancients didn't want to be bothered with needless politics. They felt they had earned their right to live their lives in peace without being bogged down with trying to keep their kind in check.

Traditionally, Andrei shouldn't have been considered for The Council because his status would change within his two century tenure on it but he had managed to argue that there was no legal reason not to elevate him. That he turned Ancient while on the ruling body was not prohibited in any way. There was nothing written in their laws that said an Ancient couldn't elevate to The Council. They just didn't want to be on it.

Nothing stopped Andrei achieving the goals he set for himself. He had wanted on The Council and he had gotten what he wanted.

The brothers made their way downstairs and towards the large double doors at the end of a large, wide corridor, The Council chambers. The doors opened automatically and they walked into the enormous room which covered almost one half of the whole basement area of the building.

The room was covered in white marble, the stones on the floor having flecks of black and grey in them to take a little of the glare away. To the left and right of the large audience chamber there were rows of dark wood benches which curved in a slight semi circle so everyone seated would be able to have an unobstructed view of the main dais, which had a large oak table with five high backed chairs behind it.

The room was already three quarters full as most of the local vampires were in attendance along with others who had travelled specifically for the ceremony. Andrei ran his eyes slowly over the gathering, his lips tightening slightly.

There was a noticeable gap closest to the left hand side of the dais, the area that was reserved for the Ancients. He would have thought at least Demetri would have shown up for the ceremony. He was his closest friend, the person he trusted most after Alexei. That none of the Ancients had bothered to come was like a slap in the face for the new Council. Despite the hierarchy in place, all vampires looked to the Ancients in awe, held them in such high esteem.

Which was why Andrei had been so shocked last year when Caleb Cullen had turned on him and threatened to bring down the Council if he didn't ensure the Hanlon pack was protected from any fallout from the war with Graves. Andrei had known that the very fact that Caleb was the oldest of all of them would be enough for him to have a chance at doing just what he threatened that night.

"Thought Demetri would have shown up," Alexei drawled at his side drawing an irritated frown from him.

"Maybe if he didn't think with his dick the way some other people seem to be doing, then he'd remember who he was and what his obligations were to his own people," Andrei bit back acidly striding away from his brother's mocking laughter and heading towards the dais and the assembled Elders standing behind the chairs.

Alexei smiled and moved over to the left hand side of the dais and sat down in the area reserved for the Ancients. He received a large number of pointed looks from the other Elders gathered on that side of the room, but he ignored them. If his brother was upset that these ten seats were empty then he would fill at least one of them. If anyone didn't like it they could piss off. This was Andrei's moment and he had already upset him with his mating with Cedar. He didn't want him upset any further.

Andrei reached the other four members of the Council Elect, his composure once more in place. It didn't serve to show any hint of emotion around these four. The power struggle within The Council was a delicate balancing act. At the moment the power only rested with Andrei because he had Stephan and Cristoph on side.

"Shall we get started?" Andrei drawled smoothly moving to take the very centre seat at the dais. It deftly told the gathered vampires just who to be wary of. Whoever sat in the middle seat had the power at that moment, the vampires on his left and right being the next most powerful members on The Council.

Andrei ran his eyes quickly over the room as he was flanked by Stephan and Cristoph. Protocol played a large part in vampire customs, seating arrangements being one of the most commonly used to rank power. Which was why there was a specific area set aside for the Ancients which no one was allowed to breach. The fact that Alexei was sitting right in the middle of that area with an unrepentant expression on his face was enough to make Andrei wish he could get up and go over and kick his ass for him.

He smothered down the smile that threatened to cross his face. He knew why his twin had done so and he appreciated his reasoning even though he knew he was going to jump on him with both feet the moment the meeting started. To not do so would reflect negatively on his power, a fact Alexei was very aware of.

His brother was trying to atone for the foolish act he had committed. He was leaving himself open to censure to enhance Andrei's power on The Council. Everyone knew how close they were. If Andrei dressed his twin down before their people then his standing would be elevated higher than it currently was.

The room began to settle down as the time neared for the official ceremony to start. Andrei's gaze took in the Elders who were seated the closest to the dais and then slid further up the room to the Younglings who were seated closest to the door. The closer to the dais you sat the more respect you were given by others. This was the world of the vampire people, rigid and unbending, lost in centuries of tradition that was guarded zealously.

The clock chimed midday and a hush fell over the room as all eyes turned to the dais.

The double doors suddenly opened, sounding loud in the hush of the room. Almost as one, all eyes quickly swivelled to see who the late arrivals were. Whoever it was should have remained outside because the clock had already chimed signalling the meeting had already begun. To not do so was a sign of huge disrespect.

A tall, regal vampire strode into the room casually, long golden brown hair flowing passed his shoulders, his golden brown eyes twinkling slightly as his lips quirked in a little smile of apology.

"Sorry we're late," he announced breezily, his gaze fixating on Andrei's intently as he strode further into the room. "Flights from Europe were a pain. The humans are having another of their labour disputes."

"Caleb," Andrei breathed, fighting to control the sudden rage inside him. The Ancient had done this deliberately, he was sure of it. He was reminding him in no uncertain terms that he was watching him carefully, that he would continue to do so and be ready to act if Andrei did something he didn't like.

Andrei tacked a smile on his face, despite his fury. "The Council is honoured to postpone the start of the Ceremony to allow an Ancient such as yourself to attend," he remarked quietly, managing to layer the correct amount of respect in his tone to appease the gathered vampires who were staring at the Ancient with something akin to awe on their faces. Well, the Younglings were at least because most of them had never seen an Ancient, let alone the oldest of their kind.

Caleb Cullen had changed so much in the last few years. He had once shunned the public eye, removed himself completely from vampire politics, had been content to live his life minding his own business. Then he had met a little human woman who had crashed into his life and turned it completely upside down.

Suddenly he was drawn into matters that hadn't involved him, becoming affiliated with the Hanlon wolf pack and instrumental in the death of one of his fellow Ancient's Richard Graves. He had appeared to retreat back to his former existence after that but now he was back, and despite the congenial expression on his face, Andrei knew that trouble was coming his way in the shape of Caleb Cullen. This was just his opening gambit.

"The Council is far too gracious in light of the appalling lack of respect being accorded to them by our tardiness," Caleb responded smoothly, inclining his head to the dais in further apology. "We thank you for your generosity and will endeavour to keep this little disruption to the bare minimum."

His reference to 'we' and 'our' had Andrei sitting a little straighter, his eyes narrowing as Caleb looked behind him. "Come," he said softly and Andrei stiffened further as Rhianna Armand appeared at the Ancient's side with a wide smile on her face as she looked up at him. Surely he wasn't going to...?

Caleb took Rhianna's hand in his and walked purposely towards where Alexei was still seated, taking his Youngling with him. There was a hushed murmur around the room as the vampires watched this blatant flouting of their traditions. Even if a couple were mated, protocol still stood in the Council chambers. Rhianna Armand's place was with the other Younglings being barely two years Sired to the life of a vampire.

"Please forgive our tardiness, Council," Demetri Bozic said as he stepped into the room, his wife Mara at his side. He treated Andrei to a wide smile as he brushed a stray strand of inky black hair back from his shoulders and then turned his gaze to the tall brunette at his side. He gave her a small smile and brushed her lips lightly with his before he too pulled his Youngling further into the room and down to the Ancient seating area.

Behind him came Nors Eriksson who had to be one of the largest of their kind. His long deep auburn hair was tied back at the nape of his neck, a black Armani business suit gracing his huge frame. He had obviously just come from his work to be dressed so formally which was not the norm for even the most important Council meetings.

"My apologies," he said in a deep rumbling voice, bowing slightly before he followed the other Ancients to sit down.

Lastly came Freya Eriksson, Nors' sister and someone who hadn't been seen in the Council chambers in centuries. She was tall, stunningly beautiful with long thick brown hair which was shot through with alternating blonde and red streaks. There was a wildness about her that drew many an eye. She was notorious for her untamed behaviour though many had never laid eyes on her before. She said nothing, merely inclined her head and completed the quadruplet of Ancients who sat beside Alexei.

Andrei was about ready to choke on his rage, as were the other members of the Council. The silence in the room was so thick it was almost a tangible thing as eyes shifted from the Ancients to The Council and then back again.

On one hand that Ancients were showing complete disrespect for The Council. They had arrived late, allowed Younglings to sit out with their station in their hierarchy. They hadn't even told Alexei to move to his proper place, allowing him to remain.

But on the other hand all four Ancients were in attendance, an unprecedented event which actually validated the vampire Council as no other Council had ever been before.

Andrei swallowed down his rage and managed to keep his face completely expressionless. He had worked tirelessly to get into the position of power he was now in. There was no way he was going to allow that power to be taken from him. He didn't know what game the Ancients were playing with him but he was going to find out.

The Council chamber doors closed once more.

"Let us begin," Andrei said firmly, signalling the true start to the ceremony.

To be continued...

Once more my thanks to WorldHistoryBuff for giving up her valuable time to edit for me. Also the Guild for all their support and encouragement.