Vienne's home looked very different now when seen through the filter of her wider plans, and it was hard to understand how I had not been able to accept it before. The humans here were reasonably happy, either grateful not to be outside in the cruel world, or satisfied co-conspirators in all her deeper plots.

I had originally intended to hide away to help keep the pretense of my death going, but Leif had said there was no point in maintaining the since Vienne intended to enlighten her household humans about what was happening at last. It would be difficult to hide the fact three vampires would die in the sun the next day.

Thus, I found myself taking shifts to watch the downed leeches through the night as if I had never left and simply joined her when she first offered. Any time they moved, we would simply remove the daggers staking them and shove it in from another angle. At first, it seemed dishonourable, but after restaking one of them for the dozenth time it became methodical, just another repetitive survival task.

Still, I think all the guards were relieved when the sun finally broke the horizon. With Vienne onlooking, we moved the unconscious bloodsuckers outside and chained them to thick vertical poles in the training yard. Once there, guards resumed their watch for signs of movement.

Vienne was standing in the centre of the training yard with her parasol at a sharp angle above her head, dressed in glasses, gloves, boots and a sweeping jacket with long sleeves. Her attention seemed solely fixed on her guards as they stood over her downed enemies.

She looked completely unconcerned about the fact the morning sun was beaming down all around her, just out of reach of her skin as she adjusted her small shade.

The spectacle was not unremarked by the humans beyond her inner circle. I caught more than one shocked or horrified gaze resting on me, but most were more transfixed by the sight of three leeches bound in the daylight. As the sun gradually rose in the sky, more and more humans wandered outside to gape at the unusual sight before them.

I would have imagined that she might be upset with this break in her plans, but she seemed anything but as she silently watched with a little half smile on her face.

Finally, she spoke. "Remove the weapons from their bodies. I wish to speak to them before the sun consumes them," she ordered.

Several of the guards hurried to carry out her orders, removing the daggers and leaving the weapons in a dark bloody pile.

Everyone watched the still forms, transfixed, wondering if it was truly possible for them to come back from such punishment.

All three were unconscious, but I could tell they would be reviving soon by their unearthly twitching. The sun was working on them as their exposed skin began to redden and crisp.

I and the other humans kept silent vigil.

It was Katter who regained consciousness first. He said nothing, but stared at the leech with malevolent eyes as if she were the only being in the yard. Maybe for him, she was.

We watched as the two bloodsuckers stared each other down. Katter's eyes were filled with rage and Vienne wore an indulgent smile across her lips.

Then, the bound female began to stir, with a low drawn out moan. Willow's long hair hung down over her face and she opened her eyes and glared through the curtain. Her eyes grew wide with dawning horror at her situation.

"Vienne, what do you think you're doing? How dare you?"

Vienne turned her attention away from Katter.

"That's a silly question, Willow. You should know by now that I dare whatever I want."

"We're councillors!"

She shrugged dramatically. "And so am I. And you three were going to go running back and tattling on me, and I really can't have that."

"It doesn't matter if you kill us, people know we're here and they'll know you did it!" she said, her voice getting louder and shriller with each word.

"Do they? The way that Magnus spoke, it sounds as if the three of you kept your own council in order to extort me," she said in an almost bored drawl.

"Of course we told someone!"

"Really? Because I was truly under the impression that the three of you were so foolish as to think that you could somehow overcome me alone." She chuckled.

"It's not fair! You used humans," Willow accused.

"You can't blame me simply because the rest of you are too foolish to see potential where it lies."

"Vienne!" she said, her voice trailing off into a wail at the end of the word.

"Willow, please, have some dignity. Is this really how you want to be remembered?"

"You're a traitor."

The leech laughed. "Not to my own loyalties."

Willow shrieked again, as she strained at her bonds. Normally I might have feared a leech might be able to escape such chains, but weakened as they were, they seemed as helpless as humans.

Magnus stirred at the sound. He opened his eyes in a start and looked directly in my direction. Recognition passed his features, but I was quickly forgotten as his eyes met the leech. I suppose a human who had killed bloodsuckers paled in comparison to one betraying their own.

"Vienne, release us at once."

She laughed again. "Magnus, I really am going to miss you. Not overly much, but a very tiny bit."

"You'll never get away with this."

"I might. We'll have to see how the dice land. Well, some of us will have to see that. Some of us won't make it that long."

"What are you planning?" he demanded, and then flinched as a spot on his shoulder started to smoulder.

She paused and tilted her head curiously. "Do you think I'm going to tell you all my plans like some ridiculous Bond villain? Go on and on about my brilliant plans until you find a way to escape and destroy or expose me? Hardly. Besides, I feel it would be rather insensitive for me to further flaunt my future privilege when it's becoming increasingly clear that none of you have one. I do imagine your skin is starting to feel a touch uncomfortable by now."

Magnus let loose an almost unintelligible rant of curses, and Vienne watched him with her head still cocked to the side, as if she were only looking at a mild curiosity rather than the death of one of her own kind.

Finally, he stopped ranting, and simply stared with deepest hatred at her.

"I will admit myself surprised. The way the three of you voted and behaved in the council made me underestimate you. I had thought you only cared about your pleasures of the moment, but here you are making the ultimate sacrifice for what you must imagine to be the greater good of vampirekind. It's truly inspiring. Almost enough to bring a tear to my eye." She mimed wiping away a tear.

"But never fear, while your interference in my plans is mildly inconvenient, it won't ultimately change anything, although it was amusing to watch you actually believe that I would ever allow myself to be blackmailed by the likes of you. I'd tell you a relevant legend about a boy named Icarus who flew too close to the sun, but I rather think we might not have time. Oh, and of course, that story might be a tad insensitive considering your...current predicament, I suppose."

She moved closer and crouched down in front of Magnus, tilting her parasol to better shield her. I could not see her face from where I stood, but I could well imagine her expression.

"Sorry, my friend. I'm actually glad that you got suspicious and were arrogant and stupid enough to confront me. I maybe could have ignored the fact that you're needlessly cruel, but you're just so terribly boring. Tell me, were you intentionally trying to make your arguments dull and grating? I can't even count how many times during the quarterlies I've wanted to stake you myself just to shut you up. But, unfortunately for you, this is your last scene and you're not going to get to see the ending, but I promise, whatever happens, it will be good."

Magnus swore at her again. Willow began making pathetic sobbing noises.

"Is that really how you want me to remember you, Magnus?"

Magnus closed his eyes, inhaled slowly, and then said, "Please, Vienne. Let us out of the sun and we'll talk about it. I'm sure we can reach some sort of agreement."

Vienne chuckled. "I very much doubt that."

"We understand each other, don't we?"

Her derisive laugh came quickly. "Oh, Magnus, I understand you, but you've never understood me. We're nothing like each other, except for one small thing."

His exposed skin was beginning to faintly smolder. He was trying and failing to hide his anger and distress. "And what is that, Vienne?"

"We both love that spark in our humans."

"Then let—"

"But that, Magnus, is where the similarity between us ends. You find it to smother it, but I feed it kindling until it's a roaring fire. And I'm going to use that fire to burn the current order down until it has no more substance than a vampire in the sun. Again, apologies. I can be so insensitive at times."

"Vienne!"

"And now you're about to get an exclusive sneak peak at the new disorder of things, Magnus."

Blindingly fast, she reached out and grabbed his head again, cranking it around with a sickening crack.

Willow started shrieking again. Vienne stood up, walked over to her and knelt down in front of her.

"Vienne! Please, don't do this to us."

Vienne looked down upon the other female vampire. "Are you asking for mercy?"

"Yes, please, mercy!"

"How many humans begged you for mercy over the centuries, I wonder? Did you keep a tally?" She cocked her head curiously.

The other female did not even bother to answer, switching to a light and pleading tone. "I—Vienne, as your sister vampire—"

Vienne crouched down in front of her second victim. "My only sister vampire was long ago destroyed. Perhaps you shall meet her, although I rather doubt it." Another crunch sounded throughout the training yard as she snapped the bound female's neck.

She stood up and walked leisurely over to the last of the trio. She knelt down.

"Go to hell," Katter ground out through gritted teeth.

"Now, now, is that any way for the brains of the group to talk?" She chuckled. "I would say this brings me no joy, but I would also be lying. Farewell, Katter."

A final loud crack echoed across the courtyard and she stood up, brushing off her gloves. She turned to the group watching. "Don't let them wake up again. Keep them unconscious until the sun takes them. They might deserve to suffer for all they've done, but this way is wiser. Now, I need to get out of the sun."

She began walking away, but before she got far she turned back. "Leif?"

"Yes, Mistress?"

"Deal with their humans, please."

"Of course."

"Oh, and do remind me later that New Hollywood will need to have a production of Icarus. I'm finding the reference handy lately, and it would be convenient if other people simply knew what I was talking about without a long explanation."

"I'll do that," he said, sounding only slightly exasperated at her frivolous request.

She met my eyes with her own. "Oh, and Jamie?"

"Yes?"

"Sometime after I wake up, I'll have a little task for you."

I nodded, and she walked back to the main building and disappeared from sight, leaving me to wonder what she planned for me now.