I grimaced at the idea of being used again as a tool of destruction. The very idea made me sick to my stomach. Therefore, the vampires were just going to have to play ball with me. Which meant I would have to face that silly council after all. “All right,” I said slowly, looking at the card. The name Mattias had been written next to a name I recognized, followed by the word “Vienna”; Kristjana was evidently being held in Iceland, while the other two had a notation that they were being detained in Oslo.

“I doubt I can do anything for these three people,” I said, pointing to Kristjana and the two flunkies Frederic had brought in. “I don’t know the people in charge of them. But I do know the one keeping Mattias. I will agree to rescue him in exchange for my freedom.”

Janice frowned and looked as if she were going to object, but Rick leaned in and whispered something. She answered, and they spent almost a minute in conversation before Janice finally turned back. “We will concede the rescue of the two Norwegian members, since you had no direct contact with them, but you are responsible for Kristjana being held. Therefore, we will be satisfied if you will bring back to us the sacristan and the priestess.”

“Priestess?” I was momentarily taken aback by the idea of Kristjana being some sort of a holy woman. Devout people did not scream like banshees while flinging themselves on others with the intent of gouging out flesh with their bare hands.

“It is the title given to the person in charge of each chapter,” Rick explained. “It’s more an honorific than anything.”

“Ah.” I thought for a moment, but didn’t think I could get them to budge on that point. “All right, we have a deal. You can go back and tell your director that. Er . . . for the record, the director is Frederic, isn’t it? For that matter, has another Zenith been chosen?”

“Yes, the director is Monsieur Robert,” Janice answered, picking up her purse. “No Zenith has been named yet. The director and governors are meeting in Los Angeles to discuss candidates.”