There was a deep, dark part inside of Eric where his human side still dwelt. The part of him that still desired, the part of him that was weak. It was that part of his psyche that found some strange satisfaction in the fact that Liliya had to twist both their hands about so they could shake. She had denied him the rights of his office and, in Eric's mind, that gave him the upper hand. She had broken courtesy first. Nevertheless, he reined in his less-than-holy self and calmed himself down as he fought to find his center again. "Thank you so much for coming to see me, Madame Kennedy. I realize this may be more than a little orthodox for a person of your office," he said humbly. "I should have visited more promptly."
As they walked into his office, Eric smiled. So she was a nonbeliever. That was fine. Many vampires were the same. Something about dying and ending up still bound to earth was jarring for vampires. "We are all the Lord's children whether we acknowledge Him or not as our Father. He loves us all for we all all His creation, though we may call him different names: Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah...but all one God, who loves everyone," Eric preached, as was befitting his station.
When she refused the blood he offered, he tucked the jar back into the refrigerated liquor cabinet and locked it. "Please, have a seat," he gestured for her to take the chair across from his desk as he sat down himself before responding to her questions. Steepling his fingers, he looked at her seriously. "My purpose here, as defined by the family, is primarily political," he responded. "I represent two agenda, Madame Kennedy, which is that of the Cyri and that of Mother Church. There has been no instance in which my orders would defy what either one requested. I am a Vyri but also a priest and promises I pledged to both houses are equally important. My duty to the Cyri is to ensure that we have the continued support and understanding of the Christian and Catholic citizens of Michigan. My duty to Mother Church is to guide her children down the narrow path. It is not my place to police the city or to keep other vampires in check. I believe that job belongs to another assigned," his features relaxed and he smiled at her at the last part. He was here to deal with the humans. He wasn't here to preach to vampires to make them believe in God. He was making humans love them, not babysitting. That duty was the government's.