Chapter 186

I didn't see Alexis again for two days, which is when we all reconvened at Johan's house. I learned that Ran had taken up with Alexis, trailing him whenever possible in order to make sure his body remained in good condition. He allowed Alexis to pretend to be him and to interact with his humans so that they would not be left wanting when it came to the donation of blood.

Through him I kept tabs on Alexis. I knew that I was chickening out by not facing him after our discussion, but I had to prove to myself that I could be stronger than the demons inside of me.

After our weekly Council gathering, we decided to test our ability to shield our intentions from Malarias before formulating a plan of attack. No need to have him detect our plans before we were ready to act. It worked like a charm. Frank took a great deal of joy playing his part as the one to share gossip with the decrepit Elder. I played my role pretty well by being silent, brooding, and morose-- which was pretty normal. Paul