Julian gazed at the sea of faces before him. All of them were vampires, many of them looked a little uncertain about what he’d just laid out to them. There were more vamps here than there had been at the meeting in Arizona. Word had gotten out about what they were trying to do, and it had been confirmed that safe passage was guaranteed for all. Julian had a feeling they wouldn’t have any vamps splitting off from here at the end, like they had in Arizona. Those who were going to continue to kill wouldn’t come, even with safe passage. They wouldn’t want anyone to know who they were.

The number of vampires in the world was once believed to be as high as fifty thousand, but many of those never made it to Elder status. They’d either been killed by Hunters or other vampires before they could make it to their first month as a vamp, never mind surviving five hundred years as one. Like many of the Hunters, a lot of vampires had also been destroyed during The Slaughter the now dead Elders had unleashed in an attempt to eradicate the Hunter line.

Many vamps were extremely selective about who they turned. If their existence ever got out to the general population, the chaos that would follow may be the end of them all. It was best if most humans continued to believe they were only a myth. Due to all of those factors, there was no way to know the true number of vamps remaining in the world. The number might be ten thousand on the high side, but Julian believed it to be closer to five thousand.

Hostility radiated from some of the vamps in the crowd as they glowered at him. Julian knew he’d never been overly liked before he stood shoulder to shoulder with Hunters and Guardians. The fact he could be a dick to almost everyone he encountered was an understatement. Over the years, he’d also killed many of his own kind. There would still be those vampires who would gladly see him dead even as they accepted his protection.

Quinn remained silent by his side, but her eyes were narrowed on the crowd as they shuffled and spoke with each other in muffled whispers.

“What if we decide to try to take out the rest of the Hunters and Guardians instead of working with them?” one vamp asked from the back. “From what I understand, there are far less of them left than us.”

“If you try to make a move on one of them, every one of the vampires with us will be given free rein to destroy you,” Julian replied. “Besides, they’re not your enemies. The vampires who kill for the thrill of it don’t give a shit about you and are only looking for the pleasure of the hunt. Vampires are far more challenging and fun for them to hunt and kill than humans are, believe me, I know. We will help keep you protected from those vamps as well as what remains of The Commission and the Hunters and Guardians they control.”

More murmurs went through the crowd. In the end, their bickering and hostility were for nothing, because just as he’d expected, none of them walked away.

“I’m sure Vern, Hadie, and Prue have informed all of you what will happen if you agree to stay,” he said. “You will allow me and Chris to touch you, and there is no way you’re going to get past either one of us if you’re lying.”

Most of the crowd nodded. Julian braced himself for what was to come from them. The vast number of images he’d taken in from Herb’s things last night still tumbled through his mind, but he could withstand this new influx. He had no other choice. Quinn stayed by his side as each of the vampires came forward to extend their hands to him and then Chris.

When they were done, Chris looked as if a small breeze would blow him over as he swayed unsteadily on his feet. Julian remained composed with a blank expression on his face. No matter how much he craved crawling into bed with Quinn right now, he could never allow them to see the smallest weakness in him. They had all passed through him and Chris, but some of them would pounce on that weakness in a heartbeat.

Quinn took hold of his hand. She strengthened him as she slipped some of her life into him in gentle waves that helped him to suppress the numerous images fluttering through his mind. Many of the things he’d seen tonight he would eventually forget, as they’d been beyond tedious, but some of them would haunt him forever.

That woman standing at the front of the crowd, Carla, had been brutalized when she’d been turned into a vampire. Carla’s bloodlust upon turning had driven her into a killing frenzy that took three days to sate. Afterward, she’d somehow managed to keep herself restrained from killing again, but she fought every day against the impulse to walk into the sun and never look back.

The only reason she hadn’t killed herself yet was because her human child still lived. At thirty, her son believed his mother had abandoned him as a child, but she still watched over him and kept him protected. When he was gone, she would watch over her grandchildren too.

Julian had already asked her, and some of the others, about joining the regulators. Perhaps the work would give Carla more of a purpose in her life. The rest of the newest regulators, he’d chosen because of their strength and abilities as well as what he’d seen from them and Chris’s approval.

“Now,” he said to the crowd, “you’re all free to leave here, to continue on and live as you did before coming here. We may never have to see each other again. However, you should all know that when we leave here tonight, we will be going to take out the rest of The Commission.”

All around the sea of faces, jaws dropped, and a few took a couple of steps away from him.

“You can’t be serious!” someone shouted.

“I can and I am,” he replied.

Before they could start to panic, he informed them of what happened in New Mexico and what they’d discovered at Herb’s cabin. He let them know they had succeeded in taking out a member of The Commission and a Hunter working with him. Their eyes all swung to Chris when he told them the Hunter had fired the killing blow against Herb.

“A Hunter killed one of his creators?” a vampire asked in disbelief.

Chris glared at the vampire as he responded, “Our parents created us.”

“The Commission must be stopped,” Julian said. “They have a secured place in Pennsylvania where most of them have been hiding.”

Herb had made the fatal mistake of returning to his home for the few possessions he cherished, instead of heading straight to The Commission’s hideout, but Julian still would have found him if he’d gone back into hiding. The way to their hideaway had been revealed to him through one of Herb’s pens. It would be difficult and time-consuming to find the place, but he would do it.

“We may be able to take out the rest of The Commission if they’re all gathered there, and there is a good possibility they are,” Julian continued. “The rodents don’t like to separate. If you don’t wish to come with us, you can leave now without any repercussions, but this is the closest we’ve been to them in years, and we have a chance to end them now.”

At least half the vampires slid away into the darkness. The rest remained standing where they were, staring at him.

“What do we have to do?” Carla inquired.

Julian grinned at her. “We have to be prepared to kill.”

Around him, the vampires all looked at each other before many of them broke into broad grins and eagerly nodded their agreement.