“Let’s try this again,” I said, giving her what I hoped was a friendly smile. “I’m Leila, as you already seem to know. This is my sister, Gretchen; the very tall vampire is Maximus; the very short one is Marty; and the very offended one is Ian. Now, who are you, and how do you know so much about us?”

Leotie eyed me shrewdly. “You and your sister can come in and I will answer your questions, but the rest of them must leave.”

“No,” Marty and Maximus said in unison before I could get a word out. Gretchen stomped forward, glaring at me when I grabbed her arm to snatch her back.

“If this old woman has answers, then we’re hearing her out. They can stay out here and guard the perimeter or something.”

“No,” Maximus said. “Vlad sent me to protect you. I cannot do that if I can’t even see you.”

Gretchen waved at Leotie. “She’s only one old vampire! Leila’s taken on much more than that and walked away, so I’d be the only one in danger. Since I’m no one’s priority, just stay outside and let us get this over with.”

“Your safety is my priority,” I said at once. “And I’m not risking you without more information.” To Leotie, I said, “You’re masking your aura. That’s why we couldn’t feel you when we first got here. Drop your shields, or we get what we came here for the unpleasant way.”

The old woman looked at me with the strangest expression. Was that approval? I didn’t know why she’d like being threatened. Then I forgot that as she freed her aura.

Power enveloped me like an inescapable avalanche. Endless, sharp tinges had me looking at my arms as if expecting to see thousands of tiny needles sticking out of them. That power continued to swell until birds abandoned their perches in trees and coyotes howled as if startled awake.

That wasn’t the only thing that startled me. A shimmer appeared over the old woman, then fast as a blink, it dropped and someone completely different stood before us. Blue-black hair hung in lustrous swaths around a face that was strikingly beautiful—and young. Gone were the wrinkles and missing teeth. Creamy, sepia skin set off red lips and a mouth full of pearly whites. Her body filled out into strong, curvy dimensions that had Ian moving toward her with his most charming smile. Only her gaze remained the same, and she stared at me in open challenge.

“No more shields or deceptive appearances. I have met your terms, Leila. Will you now honor mine?”

Leotie’s powerful aura marked her as either a Master vampire or one several centuries old. Either way, she’d make a formidable opponent. She also must be versed in magic to have glamoured her appearance into the old woman mirage she’d first shown us, so who knew how much more magic she was capable of? Maybe enough to make my electrical whip useless against her?

Yet if I refused to meet her terms, I’d get nothing out of her. I saw that in her steely black gaze as surely as I saw the danger. If it was only me, I’d already be inside her house, but I had Gretchen to worry about. Part of me wanted to shove her at Maximus and tell him to run. But if I did that, I wouldn’t only be ruining my chances at finding out what Leotie knew. These were Gretchen’s answers, too. If I ruined that without even giving Gretchen the choice, I’d be driving another wedge between me and my sister, and I already had plenty of those as it was.

I took in a slow breath to steady myself. “Gretchen,” I said in a very calm tone, “this woman is very dangerous. If we send the guys away and go inside with her, I can’t guarantee your safety. Do you still want to do this?”

“Yes.” Gretchen’s answer was immediate.

I looked back at Leotie. “Then we accept your invitation.”

“Kid,” Marty began.

“We came for answers and she has some,” I interrupted. “Not knowing could be even more dangerous.” Then I flashed a quick, feral smile at Leotie that I must have learned from Vlad. “Don’t worry. If she pulls anything, you’ll know it because you’ll hear her screaming from what I’ll do to her.”

She smiled back, and again, it seemed to contain a layer of approval I didn’t understand. “Agreed,” she said silkily.

“Wait.”

I stiffened at Maximus’s unyielding tone and turned around. “Look, you can tell Vlad that I made you—”

“I’m not talking to you,” Maximus said. Then he went over to Gretchen, who gave him an irritated look.

“Don’t bother. I’m not staying out here with you.”

“You’re not,” Maximus agreed, smiling thinly. “But you’re also not going inside until you do this.”

I had forgotten how fast Maximus was. Granted, I had only seen him fight a couple of times, and during those times, I’d been preoccupied with keeping myself alive. Now I could only marvel at how he’d whipped out his knife, cut himself on the arm, and pressed Gretchen’s mouth to the wound, all before I could get out a shocked “What the hell?”

It sounded like Gretchen was trying to say something, too, but her words were muffled by the brawny arm clamped across her mouth. I yanked at it, and it didn’t move. All Maximus did was shove me back with his other hand.

“What was that?” Gretchen sputtered when he finally let her go. Then she touched her red-smeared mouth. “Did you just make me drink your blood?”

“Yes,” Maximus said, meeting my gaze over Gretchen’s head. “Now she can go inside with you.”