I WAS AN emotional basketcase. A part of me wanted to go downstairs and be with my sister, and another part of me wanted to stay as far away from her as possible. Looking at her now would be too painful, would only emphasize the void in my soul. I couldn’t feel her emotions anymore. Granted, her feelings would have been quiet anyway, since she was…resting…but this was different. They were gone. Stripped away. I felt raw inside, like I’d had a bandage removed and my skin stung. It went deeper than my skin, though. The ache went to the bone.
I wasn’t the only one negatively affected by the sight of my sister. Arianna was borderline psychotic as she endlessly paced up and down the cobblestone driveway. The entire time she moved, she muttered, “She’s dead. My best friend is dead. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe this…” I wanted to tell her Nika wasn’t really dead, but I was too shell-shocked to speak. Like it or not, things would be different now.
Just as I was wondering if I should somehow get Arianna home—Dad’s car was still abandoned along the highway, his keys still in my pocket—a trio of vampires walked out the front door. Looking over, I stared at Gabriel, Jacen, and Starla with impassive eyes. Arianna didn’t even notice them. Gabriel tilted his head as he examined my girlfriend. “I could give her a sedative, if you like?”
Not really wanting anything from him, I shook my head. “She’ll be fine. I just need to get her home.”
Gabriel nodded at me, then turned to Starla and Jacen; both mixed vampires were worn and bloody, like they’d gone a round or two with an MMA fighter. Or a dozen of them. “Go get the cars, please. We’ll head back to L.A. at once. We’ll collect our things later.”
They both nodded, then plodded off toward the garage. Gabriel watched them leave, sadness in his eyes, then his expression returned to neutrality as he looked at me again. “If you’d like, Julian, we could take her home before we leave.”
A sharp voice behind him cracked the stillness in the night air. “No. I need to take her. Her family will need adjusting. It’s a miracle her parents haven’t come to collect her yet.” Halina strode from the open front door to stand by Gabriel.
He quirked a smile. “Since you were preoccupied, and the girl wanted to stay, I had an acquaintance of mine in a neighboring city pay her parents a visit. I can assure you, they haven’t been missing her.”
I flashed a glance at Arianna, hoping she didn’t understand what that meant. I didn’t think she’d be okay with her parents receiving visitors from strange vampires. Hell, I wasn’t entirely sure I was okay with it. I trusted Gabriel, though. In this, at least. He wouldn’t send anyone dangerous to her house.
Halina agreed with my assessment. Her face remained cool, but her tone slightly warmed. “Oh, well, thank you. The last thing we needed tonight was frazzled parents at our door.” After a moment, she raised an eyebrow at him and said, “You stayed and fought with my family, protected them, even after I ordered you to leave. Why?”
Gabriel looked over at me and smiled. It was a genuine smile, full of warmth. It was a little odd to see on him, since he was generally very guarded with his emotions. Turning back to Halina, he told her in a soft voice, “They are as much a family to me as my own. I would give my last breath to keep them from harm, my love.”
Halina looked touched, then she frowned. “Not all of them.”
Gabriel’s smile evaporated. Furrowing his brows, his lips mimicked Halina’s scowl. “With regards to Hunter, I am truly sorry I let jealousy cloud my judgment. That was most unlike me. I can’t even remember the last time I felt that way.” He looked over her shoulder, lost in thought for a second. When he refocused on her, his gaze was resolute. “It was wrong of me to attempt to break your connection with Hunter. You have my sincerest apologies. I am highly disappointed in my actions, and even though I do not deserve such a kindness, I pray that when I am gone, you will remember our good times together, and not how we ended. I would wish for your thoughts of me to not all be unkind, although, I would certainly understand if they were.” He flashed a glance at the tattered home behind him. “I’ll leave your family in peace now. Goodbye, my love.”
He turned to leave, but Halina snatched his elbow. “Wait.” When he looked over at her, she rolled her eyes. “You may stay. We need help cleaning up anyway.” She shrugged.
As Starla’s shiny BMW and Gabriel’s sleek sedan stopped right beside my pacing girlfriend, Gabriel gave my grandmother a cautious glance. “You have forgiven me?”
Halina narrowed her eyes. “Not yet.” She sniffed. “But I will…in time.” With a sigh, she ran a hand down his arm and grabbed his fingers. “You have nothing to be jealous of with Hunter. He is my child, you are my lover.”
“Are?” he asked, climbing a step to be equal with her again. “As in, I am still your lover?”
Halina nodded as she grabbed his other hand. “For the time being.” She gave him a crooked smile. “Just make sure you don’t piss me off again.”
His eyes lowered to her lips, and, sensing an intimate moment that I didn’t want to see, I turned away. After a few soft lip smacks, I heard Gabriel mutter, “Duly noted, my love. Duly noted.”
Starla was waiting in her car for Gabriel. She looked hopeful and happy as she stared at Gabriel and my grandmother making out through the window. For all her complaining, she liked being a part of our nest. Cracking open her door, she stood up. “Father? Are we really staying? Can we go home?”
Halina groaned, and Gabriel chuckled. Looking back at Starla, he nodded. “Yes, you and Jacen are free to go home now. We’ll be staying in Utah after all, it seems. Please leave the sedan, Jacen. Halina and I will be returning the girl momentarily.”
Jacen nodded and stepped out of the car, leaving it running. With a wide smile, he politely told Halina, “Thank you,” then rushed over to Starla’s car. Pulling her into his arms, he spun her in a circle; both were laughing, relieved by Halina’s decision.
When they drove off a few seconds later, spinning the sports car’s tires in their exuberance, Arianna broke out of her pacing-induced trance and looked up at me. “I want to go home, Julian.”
My brief humor at seeing Starla and Jacen’s joy vanished as I was reminded of my own situation. I sighed as I walked down the steps to join Arianna, and fervently hoped that she could handle everything that had just been thrown at her recently. I swished my hand toward the running car. “Come on, we’ll take you home.”
Halina and Gabriel took the front seats while I walked Arianna to the back. Pausing in the open car door, I told the house, “I’m taking Arianna home.” One of the vampires inside would hear me and inform my grief-stricken parents that I was leaving. Not that they wouldn’t know by the bond. They’d know the second Halina and I left the property, and as long as I was with her, they wouldn’t worry. Too much.
Alanna appeared at the door and waved goodbye. She wiped a tear from her cheek; her hand was shaking. This night had put everyone through the wringer. Reaching into my pocket, I tossed her Dad’s car keys, so he could fetch it later, then I slid into the seat beside Arianna. She was silent on the ride home. Silent and contemplative. It worried me. I tried holding her hand, kissing her fingers, but she ignored my affections. My heartbeat was fast with dread by the time we reached the city.
I endlessly searched my girlfriend’s face while Gabriel drove us to her house. Her brows were knotted as she stared straight in front of her, and her green-flecked eyes shimmered with moisture. She had bags under her eyes and her cheeks seemed hollow, like stress, lack of food, and lack of sleep had sucked in her features. She’d had to deal with so much in such a short span of time. Was she okay? Or still on the verge of a collapse?
An ache ran through my injured leg, and I idly rubbed it. Arianna’s eyes flashed to the movement. Her expression changed, and she suddenly looked very afraid. I could almost see her replaying the terrifying ordeal in her mind. Her heart raced, and her breath picked up. Abandoning my leg, I reached out for her face. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re okay. It’s over.”
“It will never be over,” she muttered, panic rising in her voice.
I rubbed my hand over her cheek. “Yes, it will,” I soothed, hoping that was true.
Her honey-brown locks flicked around my hand as she violently shook her head. “No. There will always be something, someone trying to kill you. I’ll always be in danger with you. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. Nika died. Oh God, Nika died…”
Sensing she was about to seriously lose it, I pulled her in for a hug. In the rearview mirror, I caught eyes with my grandmother. She had an eyebrow raised as she appraised my girlfriend. I had to be very careful here. One wrong step and I could lose everything. “The man chasing us is dead. We’re safe. We won’t be hunted anymore.” I had no idea if those words were true, but it was all I could think to say.
Arianna was stiff in my arms, resisting my comfort. “I thought it was over when Nika’s boyfriend was killed, when my mom’s car was shot at. I thought that would be as bad as it got…” She pulled back, and her face was ghostly white. “They tried to burn us alive. They shot at us. They destroyed the ranch trying to get to us. They killed Nika…they killed my best friend.”
Terror rose in her voice, and I ran my hand through her hair to try to sooth her. “They won’t hurt us anymore. You’re safe.”
She pushed my hand away. I could sense the fear oozing from her, and I knew her reaction was based from exhaustion and terror, and not from her true feelings, but in her turmoil, she said the absolute worst thing she could have possibly said. “I can’t be with you. You’re dangerous. And I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die…”
My vision swam as her words sunk in. I clutched for her hands, but she pushed me away. “You don’t mean that. You’re just tired, scared.”
“Yes, scared of being chased, scared of being hunted. They wanted to kill me just because I was with you.” She pointed at the bullet wound in my leg. “They shot you!”
“Arianna,” I pleaded, “I love you. Please don’t do this.”
I tried to hug her, and she immediately started slapping me away; she’d completely gone over whatever slim edge of sanity she’d been keeping. “I don’t want this! I don’t want to die! I want to go home! Take me home!”
We were just about to her home anyway. I stopped trying to soothe her, and she huddled into a ball, murmuring, “I’m sixteen, I don’t want to die.”
Sighing, I glanced in the rearview mirror again. Halina’s face was impassive as she watched Arianna, then her gaze shifted to me. I saw steel in her eyes, and I knew what it meant. She was firming her resolve to do something difficult. The car stopped in Arianna’s driveway a few seconds later, and Arianna bolted. I wanted to run after her, but Halina cracked open her door. I grabbed her shoulder over the seat. “Please, don’t. She’ll be fine; just give her time to adjust.”
Halina looked back at me, firmness on her face. “She’s not strong enough, Julian. She’s not the one for you.”
I glanced Arianna’s way. She was pounding on the front door, yelling for her parents. If they weren’t worried before, they would be now. “Then make her strong enough. Make her calm down, make her be okay with what happened.” I looked back at Halina; I could feel the tears dripping down my cheeks, but I was too worried to brush them away. “Please, I love her.”
Halina’s face softened for a second, but then her mask returned. “I’m sorry, Julian, but I won’t alter her to suit you. If she can’t handle our life, then she must be cut free. It’s our way.”
She began to move, and I panicked and followed her out the car door. Standing in front of her, I grabbed her shoulders. “Don’t take it all. Take the girlfriend part away, but let her remember me. Please, at least do that for me.”
Halina sighed as she looked down at me. From behind me, I could hear Arianna’s parents opening the door, asking her what was wrong. Arianna started sobbing, and telling them…everything. Halina clenched her jaw as she listened to all our secrets being exposed. “I’m sorry, Julian. If I let her remember you, she’ll remember her feelings for you. We’ll be right back where we are now.” She brought her chilly hand to my cheek. “And I have no desire to hurt you like this twice. It is best to completely sever the tie. Then you’ll begin to heal.”
She looked behind her at Gabriel. He blurred to my side a second later. Arianna’s disbelieving parents saw the supernatural movement and started panicking along with their daughter. I heard the front door slam as they all darted inside. Even though I knew she needed to fix this, I fought against my grandmother when she tried to move around me. But then Gabriel’s steel fingers locked around my arms, freeing Halina, and I knew I was powerless to stop this.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” I wasn’t sure who I was shouting to—my soon-to-be ex-girlfriend, or my grandmother.
I watched in horror as Halina casually strode to the door, pushed it inward as if it were made of cardboard, and disappeared into the depths of the home. There was shouting, pleading, then absolute silence. I knew it was over, and I sank to my knees. Gabriel let me fall. There was nothing to be done now. He patted my shoulder in sympathy. “It is for the best, Julian. You’ll find another.”
Dejected, I stared at the ground. “I don’t want another,” I muttered. “I want her. She was in shock…her best friend was just killed. She should have been given time to mourn, to grieve…to adjust. This wasn’t fair.”
He removed his hand. “Many things in life are not fair.”
I knew that, but knowing it didn’t make anything any easier.
I stayed on the ground until Halina returned; I was still on my knees when she stood before me. I remained there, looking at the clumps of grass around my legs. I couldn’t look at her yet. Not without anger. She lowered herself into a squat and waited. When I still didn’t move, her hand forcibly raised my chin. Reluctantly, I looked up at her. As gently as she could, she told me, “I know you don’t understand, but I did this for you, for all of us. We cannot afford to let those who cannot handle our lives keep their knowledge. And she will be safer this way, for she was right, our lives are dangerous. There is no denying that.”
Lifting my chin, I spat back, “She was in shock. She would have been fine if you’d given her time. But you didn’t, and now you’ll never get the grandchildren you want. Nika can’t create them, and I’ll never love another woman. You just destroyed the line.”
She gave me a patient smile. “Never say never, child.”
I sprang to my feet. “I’m going home. I have school tomorrow, and I want to be alone.”
Halina seamlessly stood up. “Yes, school. There are other adjustments I will need to make before morning. It does us no good if Arianna no longer remembers you being together, but everyone around her does.” I stared at Halina in defiance, and she gave me a soft smile. “I already have the information, I got it from Arianna before I wiped her, so your stubbornness won’t stop anything.”
I stormed back to the car and slammed my door shut. Gabriel joined me, but Halina stayed outside. To Gabriel, she said, “I’ll do this faster on my own. Take him back to the ranch.”
I glared at her through the window. “I said I want to go home.”
She gave me a smile that was clearly forced. “I am not leaving you in an empty house all night.”
Narrowing my eyes, I muttered, “I’m sixteen, not six.” When she didn’t appear swayed by my argument, I exhaled in a huff. “Fine, then take me to Starla and Jacen’s.” In a softer voice, I whispered, “I can’t be around Nika right now. I just…can’t.” It hurt too much.
Halina titled her head as she examined me, then she slowly nodded. “I’ll let your parents know where you…”
Her voice trailed off as she turned to stare in the direction of our house. “What is it?” I tentatively asked her. I really couldn’t handle any more tonight. I just needed a bed. And maybe a wall to punch.
Brows furrowed, she replied, “Hunter. He left the ranch, and is heading toward your neighborhood.”
As I tuned in to the mental blip that belonged to Hunter—a blip I generally ignored—I discovered she was right. That surprised me, and then I was surprised that anything could still surprise me. “He left Nika? Why?” And even more odd, now that I was paying attention, I could sense that my father was moving too. What was going on now?
Still staring off in Hunter’s direction, Halina murmured, “I don’t know.” She looked up at the dark, twilight sky, then her eyes returned to Gabriel. “I have time. I’m going to find out what Hunter is doing. Take the boy to Starla’s.”
She said Starla’s name with a slight sneer, and Gabriel smiled at hearing it. “With pleasure.” Lifting his eyebrows, he added, “Be careful, love.”
She nodded at him. “You, as well.”
Halina blurred away, and Gabriel started driving. I stared at Arianna’s house until I couldn’t see it anymore. She was gone. I could knock on her door right now and she wouldn’t recognize me. It would be like the first day of school all over again. She’d had a class with both Nika and me back then. Arianna and Nika had hit it off instantly, and Arianna had just always been around after that. She’d always been flirty with me, and a part of me had known she’d liked me, but it had taken me far too long to realize just how much I liked her too.
I laid my head against the window in despair. I’d wasted so much time obsessing over Raquel. And now, oddly, Raquel was all I had. But she wasn’t what I wanted, she wasn’t who I loved. I wanted Arianna. But maybe all wasn’t lost. Halina might have wiped Arianna’s mind clean, but she wouldn’t have touched her natural instincts—that wasn’t Halina’s style. She wouldn’t change Arianna, make it so she was never attracted to me, and if Arianna had been interested in me from day one, then I was sure she could be interested in me again.
Sitting up in my seat, I mulled over my options. I could admit defeat, let Arianna go, and move on with my life. Or…I could get her back. I could start over and win her back. Halina wouldn’t like it, she might even attempt to wipe her again, but then, I’d just start over again. A slow smile spread over my face as I stared out the window. I’d start over as many times as I needed. I wouldn’t stop, and I wouldn’t give up. I couldn’t. I loved her.
I WANTED TO stay with Nika. I wanted it more than anything I’d ever wanted before. The bond was strengthening in me, molding itself around my very being. I could almost feel the ethereal tendrils of it wrapping around me, like steel links of chainmail encasing me in armor. It made the thought of leaving her difficult to bear, but I had something to do, and I needed to attend to it before the sun came up. My guests wouldn’t wait forever.
Knocking on my bedroom door, I intruded on Teren and Emma’s sanctuary with their daughter. “Teren,” I whispered. “I need to meet my father’s men. Would you…want to come with me?”
Teren and Emma both lifted their gazes from Nika to stare at me. Emma, eyes bloodshot from tears, look startled. Teren looked grim, but determined. Emma looked at Teren, fear in her eyes. “The hunters who attacked the ranch? You’re going to meet with them? How do you know where they are?”
Teren nodded my way. “He compelled his father to make them retreat. They’re regrouping at Hunter’s old home, near our house.” He looked back at me, a small smile on his lips. “We can get rid of them all, in one fell swoop.”
Emma grabbed his hand. “No, it’s too dangerous.”
Stepping into the dimly lit room, I shook my head at her. “They’ll be expecting my father, not me. They won’t be prepared for what I have to tell them.” I stressed that last part, to remind her that my words were law. When it came to humans, at least.
She still seemed skeptical. Running a hand down Teren’s back, she muttered, “Do you have to go? You’ve already been shot once today…and your mother still needs to remove the bullet.”
Teren grimaced. Alanna had already been down here a couple of times to operate on him once she’d found out about his heroics, but he’d sent her away each time. He’d claimed he wasn’t ready to leave Nika, but I think he was just avoiding the unpleasantness. I didn’t blame him.
“I need to see that this is taken care of, Emma,” he told her. “For our children’s sake.”
Emma’s eyes returned to Nika, still as a statue on my bed. Imogen had brought down fresh clothes from Nika’s room here, and had helped Emma clean her up and change her. Aside from not breathing or having a heartbeat, Nika looked like she was sleeping.
Emma nodded. Teren kissed her forehead, then stretched across to kiss Nika’s. He rose, and Emma squeezed his hand. “Be careful, and come back to me,” she said.
“Always,” he smiled.
Teren and I left the room together. Ben met us in the hallway. “You two look like you’re on a mission.” His pale eyes locked onto Teren’s. “I want in.”
Teren crooked a grin. “We’re leaving on foot, so I’ll have to carry you…and I know how much you love that.”
Ben made a face, then shook his head. “I still want to go.” His eyes drifted to the closed door that Nika was resting behind. “I need to do something,” he added. The concern in his voice for this family made me like him already.
Teren and I exchanged glances. Knowing Ben was human, I frowned. “If I compel them as a group, he’ll be compelled with them.”
Teren was about to speak, but Ben beat him to it. “Actually, I’m part-vampire. You can’t compel me.” He seemed very proud of that fact. Jerking his thumb at Teren, he added, “Asswipe here already tried.”
Teren rolled his eyes. “Let it go already.”
Not knowing what they were talking about, I simply shrugged and started heading back upstairs. We ran into Ben’s wife in the hallway. She looked even more distraught than Emma. Wearily hugging her husband, she murmured, “I finally got Olivia to sleep. She doesn’t understand anything that happened. She’s asking a lot of questions, and I don’t know what to tell her.”
Ben hugged her, running a hand up and down her back. “I know. We’ll think of something together.”
His wife pulled back, giving him a small smile. Then she seemed to notice that Teren and I were impatient to leave. Looking at the three of us, she pursed her lips. “What’s going on? Are you going somewhere?”
Ben sighed, clearly not wanting to have this conversation right now. I didn’t either. The longer we waited, the fewer hunters there might be. I wasn’t sure how long they would wait around for Dad to show up. “Trace, this is my job. My true job. If there is a problem with vampires, humans, or hunters, I’m the one who helps take care of it. To keep everyone safe.”
Her crystalline eyes grew wide. “Is this what you do back home? Is this why you’re always scraped and bruised?”
Ben nodded. “This is what I’ve been doing. This is what I’ve been keeping from you. I didn’t want you to worry. And…it wasn’t my secret to tell.”
She shook her head, and a small leaf fell from its resting place in her pale hair. “It’s so dangerous…do you have to do this?”
He looked around the house with a pained expression. “It generally isn’t this dangerous.” He locked eyes with her. “And yes, I have to do this. If I’m honest with you about what’s going on, will you be okay with this?”
She hesitated, and I thought for sure she wasn’t going to answer. I reached forward to grab Ben’s elbow and tell him we had to go now, but Teren halted my movement. He gave me a Just give them a minute expression, and I bit back my impatience.
Finally, Ben’s wife nodded. “If you can be honest with me, then I can try and accept this.”
Ben smiled, then kissed her nose. “Good, because I really love you.” Squatting down, he looked her in the eye. “This won’t take long, and I’ve got two vampire bodyguards. They’ll keep me perfectly safe, so you have nothing to worry about, okay?”
I scoffed at the term bodyguard, and Teren elbowed me in the ribs. Ben’s wife didn’t notice the exchange; her eyes were all on her husband. She slowly nodded again, and I took the opportunity to drag Ben away by the elbow. “We’ll keep him safe, but we do need to leave now.”
Her brows furrowed, but she let us leave without complaint. When we got outside, Teren scooped Ben into his arms. Ben groaned, and Teren’s lips broke into a wide smile. “Sorry, Ben. You may have a bit of vampire in you, but you can’t do this.” Ben laughed as he rolled his eyes.
It lightened my heart to see a bit of humor in my nestmates, especially considering Nika’s tragedy. I grabbed hold of that feeling, soaking it in, then glanced back at the house. “I’ll be right back, Nika,” I whispered, then I took off.
Being at my old home was surreal. So much had changed for me in such a short amount of time. I’d lost my sister, been run out of L.A., tried to rebuild my life here. Even tried focusing on something other than hunting. I’d tried to build a relationship with an amazing girl who I really cared about. Then it had all fallen down around me. But I’d risen from the ashes stronger, and Nika would, too.
Lights were on in the rental, but by the For Rent sign in the yard, it was clear the house was still vacant. The owner had boxed up Dad’s and my stuff when he’d figured out we weren’t returning. He’d had to wait a certain amount of time before putting it back on the market, though, and luckily, no one new had rented it yet. That could change at a moment’s notice, so I’d have to find the landlord and “convince” him to re-rent the house to me, so I could put the rest of my plan into place.
There was movement near the curtains, eyes watching the front door. We stopped well away from the house, and Teren put Ben down. Ben arranged his clothes and muttered, “Thanks for the ride.”
Teren smirked at him, then turned to me. “How do you want to do this?”
I was about to answer him when I felt something. Holding my tongue, I looked behind me. Halina blurred to a stop and I inhaled a deep, cleansing breath at her presence. With an inquisitive brow, she regarded our odd trio. “And what are you boys up to?”
I gave her a sly smile. “We’re going to wipe a dozen or so hunters. Care to join us?”
Her fangs crashed down as she grinned. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
I put a hand on her arm. “I’m not killing them.” She immediately frowned. Hastily, I added, “I have a plan, and I need you to trust me and follow my lead. I’m about to change everything for us, for our species.” I gave her an encouraging smile as I let go of her arm.
Her expression betrayed her mixed feelings. She wanted to believe me, but I hadn’t always been the most reliable person. Things were different now, though. I was committed to our nest, our family. Seeing the conviction in my eyes, she nodded. “As you wish.”
Looking at the group, I laid out my plan. “They all need to be in one area, with no protection from compulsion. They’ll be expecting my father, not me, so I think we’ll be fine…at first.”
A few minutes later, the plan was in place. Halina headed to the back of the house, while I took the front. Ben was going in a rear bedroom window, while Teren was watching the outside, making sure no one tried to make a run for it. Between the four of us, we should be able to get everyone corralled and subdued.
I started the ball rolling by blurring through the front door. It was locked, but I burst through it with no problems. My extravagant entrance caught everyone’s attention in the living room, and a half-dozen weapons were instantly raised in my direction. I squatted, lest someone shoot before I could speak. “No one move! No one make a sound!”
Since the group hadn’t been expecting a vampire to show up in their midst, none of them had been protected from me. Like statues, they all halted their movements. Men and women, young and old, stared at me with guns, crossbows, and stakes at the ready. But for my command, I’d be dead already. There were noises at the other end of the house, where those who were far enough away from my voice had been able to escape its effects. They were quickly shepherded down the hall by Ben and quieted by Halina as she came in through the kitchen. Teren walked through the front door a moment later, dragging a couple of groggy hunters with him. Once they came to enough, I ordered them to silence, then made them wait with the others. To make sure we had everyone together, I strolled through the home with Halina. We found a stowaway hiding in my old closet. He was plugging his ears, but that wasn’t enough protection against me. I ordered him to join the others. Once I was satisfied that we had all of them, I went back into the living room.
Halina had them all unarmed and sitting on the ground in lines. There were ten of them. I wasn’t sure how many men my dad had convinced to attack the ranch, but if these were the survivors, it must have been a hefty amount. We were exceedingly lucky to have come out of that battle unscathed. A pang went through me as Nika’s comatose body went through my mind. Well, mostly unscathed.
“Answer my questions,” I intoned, staring down the group. “Is this all of you?”
As one, they replied, “Yes.”
I nodded. Good. Tracking down stragglers wasn’t something I had time for tonight. “You probably think I’m going to kill you. Probably think I’m going to order your hearts to stop and watch you all instantly die.” Muscles tensed and eyes widened as my words stirred innate fears within them. I recognized several people in the group, men and women I’d fought beside. Some of them had saved my life on occasion. Some of them I had saved. Shaking my head, I told them, “You can relax. I’m not going to do that. I’m not even going to erase your memories.”
The fear shifted to confusion. Halina looked over at me, concern clear in her eyes. I hadn’t told her this part of my plan, just asked her to trust me. I gave her a reassuring smile as I turned back to the group. “I’m going to open your eyes, like mine were opened. I’m going to enlist your help…in protecting innocent vampires from persecution. Vampires like my girlfriend, and her family.”
Halina smiled at me. The captive audience went from confusion to anger. I could feel it radiating in the air, filling it with tension. They’d kill me for that comment alone if they could. None of them believed vampires were innocent creatures who needed protecting. They all believed what I’d believed, that the demon blood obliterated the human host—destroyed the soul. But that wasn’t the case. It amplified the senses, heightened the awareness, and created a craving for blood, but the person was still the person they were before. I was still me. I wasn’t evil. And neither were my nestmates.
Peace came over me as I thought of who I was before, and who I was now. They weren’t as different as I’d once believed. “What I have come to understand through my conversion is that vampires aren’t inherently evil. We’re people, as good or as bad as any other people.” I pointed at each person in turn. “There are certain challenges we have to overcome, but they aren’t insurmountable.”
Tilting my head, I contemplated the hunger within myself. I hadn’t eaten tonight, and I was still not drinking as often as a newborn vampire should, but nothing within me wanted to attack these people. I would wait until I got home to feed. And maybe tonight, because the last few days had been exhausting and I felt like trying something new, I would drink straight from the cow. But that didn’t make me any more or less barbaric than a man who killed an animal for its meat.
With a rueful shake of my head, I told the group, “We should be helping those we can, and punishing those who deserve it, both human and vampire.” Firming my resolve, I began changing the belief system of the vampire hunters in front of me. “I want you to listen to my words, and believe with all of your heart what I tell you. From now on, all vampires will be treated as humans are treated—innocent until proven guilty. If there is a heinous crime that a vampire has committed, then that vampire will be punished accordingly, but no more innocent blood will be shed. No more killing a vampire simply because he’s a vampire. No more using unknowing humans as bait. No more torching a harmless man’s home. A hunter’s methods should never be crueler than the creature they are hunting.”
I went on to explain more specifics of how vampires were to be treated. Halina interjected with her own ideas about what was and what was not acceptable. The two of us had a lively debate about the justified murder of killers and rapists. Halina, on occasion, liked to dole out her own form of justice. But what we needed for our two species to coexist peacefully was laws. So, in the end, we decided it was too much of a gray area to be allowed to remain unchecked. Permitting vampires to kill some humans and not others was opening a door that could lead to greater problems; same could be said of hunters too. Vengeance seeking would be discouraged on both sides. It was decided that any vengeance deaths—vampire or hunter—would be discussed by a panel of vampires and hunters alike, and they would determine whether the attack was justified. Both sides would be held accountable for their actions.
By the end of the night, the newly compelled humans were released from their constraints. They began actively engaging in the conversation, and I didn’t have to compel them to get their compliance anymore. They fervently believed in what we were trying to do, in the justice we were trying to achieve. The final compulsion I gave them was for all of them to contact everyone they knew, and have them meet me here, so I could compel them too. If every new recruit brought in someone else, I could trance nearly every hunter on the planet given enough time. It was a daunting job, but it was one I felt I had to do.
Teren had actually given me the idea. When he’d suggested that I save my father, I’d begun to wonder how I could have kept one such as him in my life. The loss of his skillset in the world bothered me—there was still a place for hunters, after all, but not for hunters who blindly killed any vampire they encountered. The circle of violence had to stop somewhere.
I wasn’t naïve enough to think that fixing the problem would be as easy as compelling the opposing side, but it was a place to start. The vampire side would have to be persuaded in a subtler manner to get them to cooperate with the new rules. And since purebloods could compel, they could undo everything I was trying to put in place with a few words. But I had to believe that most of them would want to live in peace with hunters. Not all, though. Like humans, some vampires enjoyed killing. And those ones wouldn’t want to be brought to justice for their crimes. Other vampires might try and protect those brethren, even if they didn’t hold the same beliefs as the murdering vampires. But the differences would be settled over time, and I firmly believed that having the hunters work with us was far better than having them continue to work against us.
An hour or so before dawn, the group of us finally left my old home. I was anxious to return to Nika. So were Ben and Teren. Halina had some errands to run first, something about fixing Julian’s classmates. I left her to it, to rush home to my girl. Hopefully, when I woke tomorrow night, she’d be nearly done with her conversion. And hopefully she’d be okay with what had happened to her.