IT WAS LATE afternoon when I woke up. I vaguely remembered the drive home; Teren and Emma talked, while Halina and I rested in the back seat. Rory, Cleo, Ben, and the captive had followed behind us in Cleo’s car. Halina hadn’t been thrilled that Rory and Cleo were coming to the ranch with us. She trusted them as much as she could trust compelled ex-hunters, but she didn’t like the thought of them knowing the main location of our nest. As I’d reminded her though, they already knew it. They were a part of the horde of hunters who’d attacked the ranch at my father’s request a couple months ago.
But they wouldn’t hurt us anymore. It was no longer in their programming. And besides, we’d needed them to keep an eye on our attacker last night. Halina and I just weren’t a match for him then. Other than being a little sore, I felt fine now though. I could take him out by myself if necessary. I was sure of it.
Looking around the room, I could see that it wasn’t my bedroom. I immediately recognized it as Halina’s. Nearly every piece of art, from the pair of curving metal sconces, to the numerous richly detailed paintings, were odes to the sun. Since Halina couldn’t stand in its glory anymore, she surrounded herself in various interpretations of it.
A heavy, down-filled comforter rested over my chest. Beneath me, an electric blanket fitted over the mattress radiated heat; I could feel each thin coil against my back as it twisted and turned inside the fabric. The warmth it generated was contained by the thick blankets on top of me, and my entire body felt warm for a change. It was undeniably pleasant, and I made a mental note to get a heater like this for my bed.
Turning my head, I saw that my raven-haired creator was sharing the space and the heat with me. Both of us were fully clothed under the covers, and from my hazy recollection of last night, I knew we’d remained that way all morning long. The thought of being undressed with her was unnerving for me to think about. I just didn’t see Halina in any sort of sexual way. She was like a sister to me, or maybe a mother. I loved her, but she was family, and my heart firmly belonged to Nika. I would never do anything to betray her.
Thinking of Nika brought an ache of loneliness to the surface. She was so far away from me. Too far. But as it was still daylight outside, there was nothing I could do about our separation, except endure it. Like I did every day until the sun sank below the earth, I’d push that pain down and try to think about something else. Usually that was a challenge, but not today. No, today I had plenty to think about.
Halina was still asleep when I sat up and rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. Inhaling silver had done a number on my system. I could recall using that same tactic while fighting vampires, but I’d never fully comprehended just how much it hurt. I might have used it more often if I’d known. But it was messy, cumbersome, and didn’t completely stop vampires, just slowed them down, so I hadn’t relied on it too much back then. Now I kind of felt like the entire substance should be banned. My throat felt like it had fifteen-thousand tiny paper cuts along it. I wasn’t looking forward to swallowing. Or talking.
When I pulled back the covers to get up, I let out some of the heat. Halina grabbed the blanket and pulled it tighter around her shoulders. “The sun is still up, child. Why are you?” she mumbled, her voice gravely.
“I’m not tired.” Cringing, I swallowed. Yep, talking sucked just as much as I’d feared it would. I couldn’t stop now though. I had too much I needed to do today. Looking toward the door, I told her as much. “And there are things I want to do.” Like talk to Gabriel, and see what he found out about the man I couldn’t compel.
Like she could read my thoughts, Halina twisted to face me. “You leave that man alone. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
Frowning, I looked down at her concerned, motherly face. “My dad taught me how to hunt vampires before he taught me how to drive a car. I went on my first solo mission when I was eighteen. I think I can handle a human being, especially now, since I’m not one of them anymore.”
She sat up, her worried expression not lessoning. “Your father also got you killed.”
I bristled at the memory, but made myself relax. I was fine with my fate. I’d made peace with my history. “You keep calling me a child, but I’m not. I’m healthy now, and strong…thanks to you. You’ve done your job, so you need to let me go. Trust me a little.”
I gave her an encouraging smile. She smirked at seeing it. “Trust me, says the boy who not too long ago, conspired with my boyfriend to run away from me.”
Even though humor showed on her face, pain at my recent betrayal flashed through her eyes. The residual guilt from hurting her was one of the reasons why I still let her baby me. It was why I hadn’t fought too hard against her last night when she’d insisted that I stay with her because her rooms were closer, safer, and warmer. Besides the warmer part, none of what she’d said was really true, but she’d protested that she wanted me near her for my benefit. I knew the truth of it though. She’d almost lost me to that hunter, and she was scared. Like a child frightened from a storm, she’d needed me near her last night for her benefit. Just like she needed me away from that man now…so she wouldn’t worry, so she wouldn’t be scared.
Sliding out of bed, I reiterated, “Agree with it or not, I’m an adult, and I’m capable of making my own decisions, no how matter how foolish they may seem. I’m not going to get hurt, and I don’t wish for my own death anymore, so you have nothing to worry about.” I pointed at the door I was about to be heading through. “That man shouldn’t have been able to do what he did. I have questions, and I need them answered as quickly as possible, so yes, I’m going to go talk to him. You can come with me if you want, or you can stay here and rest, but one way or another, I’m leaving.”
Halina rolled her eyes at me. “I really hate it when kids start thinking for themselves.” She blurred to her feet an instant later. “Fine. Let’s go talk to the creaton.”
I smiled, grateful that she wasn’t trying to stop me anymore. “The hunter? Or Gabriel?” I asked. Gabriel and Halina’s relationship was still a bit rocky since he’d given me the drug that had temporarily broken our bond and allowed me to escape from her. Halina had accepted him back after he’d valiantly defended the family, but it wasn’t exactly flowers and sunshine at the moment.
Her lips compressed into a thin line. “Both,” she murmured.
I wanted to laugh, but I knew it wouldn’t feel good with my raw throat, so I contained it. Walking over to her dresser, Halina quickly combed the sleeping snarls out of her hair. I couldn’t help but shake my head at her outfit.
Halina typically dressed like she was heading out to a club. I’d been trying to get her to tone it down a bit. Maybe try wearing pants for a change, instead of thigh-baring, micro-mini dresses. Her compromise to my suggestion was a pair of skintight, bright-red leather pants. All I could say about them was that it was a good thing she no longer needed to breathe. They seemed uncomfortable to me, but she swore they were as cozy as flannel pajamas. I wasn’t about to wear leather pants, so I’d have to take her word on that.
“I still can’t believe you slept in those all morning.”
She glanced at my jeans. “I can almost guarantee that I was more comfortable than you. And anyway, these were your suggestion, and a mighty fine one at that.” She examined herself in the mirror, twisting so she could inspect her ass. “These were practically made for me.”
I smiled, but didn’t argue. Growing up with my sister had taught me that trying to convince a woman not to wear something she really wanted to wear was futile at best, hazardous at most. Evangeline had once pierced me with an eyebrow pencil when I told her that her favorite jacket made her look like she was wearing a dead squirrel on her shoulders. She hadn’t even apologized for drawing blood. Man, I missed her.
Halina pointed at me as she set down her brush. “I’m going to change and freshen up. You, stay put.” As an afterthought, she added, “Please.” Somehow, she made that word sound like a command, same as the others.
I was eager to go, but willing to compromise. “Be quick about it?”
With an amused grin, she blurred away. She was back before I could count to twenty. Wearing a new shirt, but the same pants, and looking as fresh-faced as if she’d taken a shower, she mockingly asked, “Quick enough?” Shaking my head, I turned toward the door. My sire was such a smart ass.
We headed down the hallway in silence, resting our aching throats. A nice, steaming cup of blood sounded fabulous right now, but I wanted to try and get some answers first if I could. The man who’d attacked us was being held in a room right next to my bedroom, which might have also been one of the reasons why Halina hadn’t wanted me to sleep there last night. A chain lock had been installed on the outside of his door. Those were typically used on the insides of doors, but it was the best the family could do on such short notice. One of my tasks today was to fortify the captive’s cell. At least until he could be properly dealt with. In the meantime, he was being guarded twenty-four-seven. Cleo was standing outside the door now. Rory was presumably somewhere nearby, resting so the pair could alternate shifts. I wondered if they’d let anyone else guard the man, or if he’d somehow become their sole responsibility.
Cleo snapped to attention when she saw me. “How are you?” she asked.
Massaging my throat, I nodded. “Better, thank you.” I pointed toward the door. “How is he?”
She puckered her full lips in displeasure. “I haven’t gone in there, but I’m sure he’s fine.”
The fact that she hadn’t tried to interrogate him surprised me. “You haven’t been in there to check on him since we put him in there? Really?”
Cleo looked across the hall, to the doors that lead to Gabriel’s laboratory. “He forbade it. He seems to think the man won’t survive an encounter with me.” Her sour expression softened into a knowing smile, like she thought the same thing.
My gaze followed hers. “Is Gabriel in there? I’d like to speak with him.”
Cleo nodded. “He hasn’t left since we brought the hunter in.”
I nodded at her answer, and then twisted toward Gabriel’s lab. Questioning the hunter might give me answers, eventually, but questioning Gabriel would most definitely get me some sort of an answer. He had to know something about the man by now.
Halina let out a long sigh, but followed me toward the lab. She and Gabriel were still working out their differences. Well, she was working hers out. Gabriel didn’t have any issues with Halina; he treated her like a queen.
The edge of my lip curled up as I held my hand on the door handle. “You know, it was just as much my fault for what happened as it was Gabriel’s, and you seem to have completely forgiven me.”
Halina’s annoyed expression turned derisive. “You were out of your mind with hunger.” Her finger traced a line down the heavy wood in front of us. “Not a centuries old vampire who knew better. Your decision was foolish. His was…cruel. And it is easier for me to forgive stupidity than cruelty.”
I reflected on that for a second before telling her, “But you did take him back, so if the two of you are going to work, you’ll eventually need to let it go.”
She let out an amused snort. “Since when did you become so interested in my love life?”
Twisting the handle on the knob, I laughed back, “I just don’t want to see my parents get divorced, is all.”
Gabriel looked up as the pair of us entered the room. He smiled at hearing Halina laughing. She didn’t often do that around him anymore. In fact, she stopped the minute she noticed him watching her. Gabriel took it all in stride, inclining his head with a polite, “My love.” His jade-green eyes shifted to me. “Hunter. To what do I owe the honor of your visit? Our esteemed guest in the next room perhaps?”
I shut the door behind us. Most of the rooms down here were soundproof, so the volume in the room didn’t change much, but closing the door did block out the faint beating of Cleo’s heart. That was probably a good thing too, since the thumping reminded me how hungry I was. Halina began examining some of Gabriel’s nearby experiments. She watched a glass beaker bubbling with some sort of reddish-pink liquid inside, like it was the most fascinating object in the world. But I could tell it was all for show. She wanted Gabriel to know, without a doubt, that she was angry with him.
Ignoring her immature pouting, I strode over to where Gabriel was holding a vial of deep red blood in the air. “Please tell me you know how he was able to block being tranced.”
Gabriel’s eyes flicked to Halina before settling on me. Like most of the mixed vampires I’d encountered, Gabriel looked young. He could probably even pass for my age. His youthful face void of emotion, he said, “I believe I do know, although, I do not yet understand.”
I frowned at his answer. There wasn’t much Gabriel didn’t understand. “What do you mean? How did he do it?”
Gabriel shrugged. “He did nothing. What is inside him saved him.”
More intrigued than irritated now, Halina stepped up to Gabriel’s work table. “He is a vampire then?”
Gabriel frowned. “Yes…and no.”
He held the blood out to me. I grabbed it, but didn’t see anything overly remarkable with the vial, other than the overwhelming urge I had to drink it, of course. While I stared at the thing in confusion, Gabriel told me, “He has vampire blood inside him, and that is what is protecting him from compulsion. Upon first glance, I believed he had a long-distant mixed vampire relative, like Ben, but upon closer examination, I saw that my initial assumption was incorrect. He is similar to Ben, but different, and it is that difference that I find interesting. And disconcerting.”
“Disconcerting how?” I slowly asked, not liking Gabriel saying something as ominous as that word.
He tilted his golden head of blonde hair as he answered me. “Things I do not properly understand are disconcerting to me. I like to know what I’m dealing with.” His eyes shifted over to Halina, and for a split second, I felt like he was talking about her, and not about the mysterious man next door.
Halina narrowed her eyes. I was pretty sure she’d picked up on that too. “How is he different? And does it really matter?” She tossed her hands out to her sides. “Either way, he’s a mixed vampire. He’ll be thrilled with that.” A wry smile touched her lips.
Gabriel gave her a soft smile, but directed his answer to me. “Ben has a minute amount of vampire blood cells running in harmony with his human blood cells. He was born this way, so his body accepts the foreignness as his own. This man though, his blood is…attached…to the human blood cells, almost forced together…unnaturally.” He shrugged, clearly unhappy with his lack of knowledge. “But like I said, I don’t know what I’m dealing with yet, other than he somehow has our blood in his system and it is providing him protection.”
Setting the blood on the table, I wondered just what to do with that information. “Born with it or not, the blood is part of his system now, so it’s not going to wear off.” I locked eyes with Halina. “And that means we have a compulsion proof vampire hunter to deal with.”
Halina shook her head, her long, dark hair slid over her shoulders, catching and refracting the harsh lab lights. “Wasn’t too long ago that having a dangerous vampire hunter in your midst was a problem easily solved.”
Looking over her shoulder, I glanced at the exit. “Yeah, well, times change. I’m going to go speak to him. See what he’ll tell us.”
Halina crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say nothing. He’s a hunter being held captive in a vampire nest. He won’t tell us anything of use.”
Dropping my fangs, I gave her a one-sided smile. “We’ll see.”
I made to leave and Halina moved like she was going to follow me. Gabriel stopped her with a question she didn’t want to hear. “Halina, will you stay a while?”
I watched a sulk form on her face that a five-year-old would have been proud of. “Why?”
Gabriel stepped toward her, not in the least insulted by her expression. “I have missed you, and I would like to talk to you.”
“We’re talking now,” she muttered.
Placing a hand on her arm, he calmly told her, “I wish to speak to you alone.”
Her face still as stone, she airily told him, “Well, you know what they say about wishing, don’t you?” I wanted to roll my eyes. She even sounded like a five-year-old.
Grabbing her shoulders, I pulled her forward, and then pushed her toward Gabriel. This was getting ridiculous. She needed to stop being so damn stubborn and start talking to her boyfriend. My suddenness surprised her, and Halina crashed into Gabriel with a squeak. Then she turned and hissed at me. I found the reaction ridiculously funny, a far cry from when I was human. “Knock it off and talk to him,” I informed her, then stalked off before she could threaten to whittle a hole through my heart with a dull butter knife or something.
I hurried into the hallway, closing the door behind me. Before it sealed shut, I heard Halina mutter, “Men.”
Cleo’s normal ears didn’t catch that, otherwise I was sure she’d be smiling too. Her dark eyes watched me as I walked across the hall toward her. Pointing at the door, I said, “I want to talk to him. Open the door.”
She frowned, but she twisted around and unchained the door. She trusted me to do the right thing, make the right decision. Plus, she was probably going to come inside with me, and make absolutely certain nothing happened to me. As with most of the women in my life now, she was a bit overprotective.
The man was sitting on the bed when I entered. The bed was pristinely made. Aside from the section he was sitting on, there wasn’t a rumple anywhere. He either hadn’t slept at all, or he’d made the bed to military perfection. I was guessing the former. Other than look up at me, he didn’t move when I entered the room.
Cleo tried to follow me, but I held my hand up to stop her. “Wait outside, please.”
Her eyes narrowed as they shifted to the man on the bed. I knew what she was saying without her even having to say it. Smiling, despite the irritation crawling up my spine, I said, “He’s been cleaned of his weapons and there is nothing in the room he can hurt me with.” That was fairly true. There was a chair but it was a cushiony recliner, a dresser, but it was too heavy to break apart into stake-like pieces, and all of the decorations were round in nature. No sharp edges anywhere. I affectionately called this room the Dr. Suess room. Cleo still didn’t seem convinced, so I added, “And, I know you haven’t had a real chance to see it yet, but I’m pretty strong. I think I can take him if he tries anything.”
I smirked at her, hoping she’d get the message and leave me in peace with the man. Her expression wasn’t pleased about it, but she eventually closed the door. The man broke the silence before I could. “She’s human. Why didn’t you just compel her to leave?”
Not sure if he’d buy my answer, I told him, “I’d rather not compel anyone, if I don’t have to.”
He snorted. Definitely didn’t believe me. “A vampire who doesn’t love controlling those around him? Yeah, that’s new.”
I ignored his taunt as best I could. What else did he have on his side right now but hateful words? I couldn’t fault him for that. “What’s your name?”
He raised his eyebrows in question. “You asking or compelling? Because you know that crap doesn’t work on me.”
I raised my palms in an expression of peace. “Just asking. I’d like to call you something other than ‘hunter’ which happens to be my name.”
The man regarded me for a minute, and then said, “Name’s Jake.”
I thought of extending my hand to him to formalize the introductions, then thought better of it. Jake didn’t appear to want much to do with me, and probably didn’t want to touch me. Having been in his shoes at one point in my life, I understood. Jake was on the small side for a man, not much bigger than Nika. It gave him the illusion of being harmless, but I knew otherwise, and even though my posture was relaxed as I crossed over to the recliner, I was on full alert. My ears absorbed the rapid beating of his heart, my eyes pinpointed the beads of sweat near his temple, the way his dark eyes flicked from me to the door. I could practically smell the emotion bubbling to the surface within him. He was very nervous to be alone with me.
With a mellow, unintimidating voice, I began my futile attempt at finding out some information. “Jake, I’m curious about something.”
His response was instant, his thin smile mocking. “Everyone is curious about something.”
I almost laughed. He reminded me a little of my father. And Halina. Jake probably wouldn’t like the comparison to my pureblood creator or the comparison to my biological creator. “True. Well, what I’m curious about is you.”
His small smile not budging, he replied, “You’ll be disappointed then. There’s not much to tell about me.”
I did laugh then. “From all I’ve seen so far, I doubt that’s true.” Like every hunter I’d ever met, I was sure Jake had quite the interesting story to tell.
While I was seemingly distracted, I saw Jake’s eyes dart to the door, like he was debating making a run for it. “I’m faster than you, you won’t make it.” His eyes returned to mine and his smile faded. With a shrug, I added, “And Cleo out there…well, I have no desire to hurt you, but not everyone here feels the same. I’d just sit tight for now, if I were you.”
Even though I was giving him sage advice, he looked like he wanted to finish the job he’d started earlier. “Hunter. Hunter Evans, right?” Surprise washed through me that he knew me. Or knew of me. I slowly nodded and so did he. “I knew your father, ages ago. He’d be horrified to see what you’ve become.”
Pain erupted in my chest like he’d finally staked me. My father’s face floated through my mind, the disappointment in his eyes, the condemnation. Closing my eyes to banish the vision, I whispered, “He’s the one who made me this way.” Not wanting to give Jake too long to make a move on me, I quickly reopened my eyes and said, “And yes…he was horrified.”
Jake made a face like he was about to spit on the ground. “I suppose you killed him then? Did you drain him of his blood? Did you feed on him?”
I found that remark really offensive for some reason. Probably because I now found blood drinking to be such an intimate act, one I only wanted to share with Nika. The thought of biting anyone else was disturbing. “Yes, I took care of him…but…I didn’t drink a drop of his blood. Nor will I ever drink from a human.” I made my voice sound as firm as possible, so he would understand I was being completely serious.
It didn’t matter though. “Sure,” he scoffed, clearly disbelieving me.
It made my gut twist that he doubted me, but that was to be expected. Prior to my conversion, I would have doubted anything a vampire said too. “Believe me or don’t, it doesn’t change the truth of the matter.”
“If you say so, demon.”
His disgusted face grew almost comical, and I smiled. Was that what I had looked like? “You sound just like I used to.”
His expression eased at seeing my humor. I doubted very much he wanted to amuse me. “Back when you were on the right side.”
I sighed. This was exactly why talking to someone with a set-in-stone prejudice was impossible. “There doesn’t have to be a side. That’s exactly the sort of mentality I’m trying to change.”
He made a noise that was somewhere between a harrumph and a cough. “Right. By forcing people to see things your way. Sounds real ethical.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.
“War doesn’t always follow ethics.” Involuntarily, my voice hardened. He didn’t understand what it was like being unfairly hunted. He was only seeing one side of the coin. There was too much at stake, too many innocents who could be hurt, if I didn’t do the things that needed to be done. I was letting the hunters live. That was a lot more than others of my kind would do.
Jake leaned over his knees, regarding me. “No, it doesn’t, which makes me wonder…since you can’t warp me into your twisted little army, and you say you’ve no desire to kill me or drink from me…what are you going to do with me?”
Yes, that was the dilemma now. He’d tried to kill me and two other vampires. There had to be some sort of punishment for that. But what? In his eyes, he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Not knowing the answer, I told him, “I honestly don’t know what will happen to you. That will be up to the panel to decide. For now, my only intention is to speak with you a moment.”
A sneer twisted his lips. “Well then, mission accomplished, you’ve spoken with me. Congratulations.”
Ignoring his comment, I asked the question I really wanted an answer to. “Do you know why I wasn’t able to affect your mind?” The man contorted his face, like he was digging a piece of food out of his teeth with his tongue. He’d already said once that he wasn’t going to tell us anything. Guess he was sticking to that. I hoped to shock him into a response with my next question though. “Did you know you’re part vampire?”
He stopped picking at whatever he was trying to get loose and gave me a blank stare. His eyes were wider, but I had no idea if he’d known that or not. I seemed to recall him being surprised by the fact that Julian had been immune to silver. That would suggest he didn’t know about mixed vampires, so he probably didn’t know what he was. Either that or he was faking it, because a vampire hunter with vampire DNA in him wouldn’t go over too well in some circles.
As Jake straightened his stance, I leaned forward. “There are vampires in the world as alive as I used to be. They live, they die, and they occasionally give birth to other living vampires. Their children have fewer and fewer of the vampiric side effects and benefits. In fact, I know a man who appears to be a completely normal human being, except he can’t be compelled. That was how we knew he wasn’t entirely human. He’s a mixed vampire…same as you.” Silence met my statement. “A tiny fragment of your blood is demonic, as you put it. That’s how you avoided my compulsion. That’s how you’re protected.”
“Lucky me,” he growled. Jake clamped his mouth shut tight, and I still couldn’t tell what he knew. His heartbeat was faster than a man’s at rest, but calmer than when I’d first come in here.
Taking a shot in the dark, I asked, “You were already aware of your heritage then? You knew?”
“Does it matter?” His eyes narrowed to a glare.
Gritting my teeth, I bit back the comment I really wanted to make. Instead, I told him, “Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I’d like to know what you know.” This runaround conversation was frustrating. It’d be so much easier to just compel the truth out of him.
“And I’d like freedom. Guess we’ll see who gets what they want first.” Jake smiled at me, a cold, cruel smile that made me want to hiss at him like Halina had hissed at Gabriel. Yep. Definitely easier to compel him.