Kaitlin’s Tale

by Christine Amsden

Twilight Times Books

Kingsport Tennessee

Kaitlin’s Tale

This is a work of fiction. All concepts, characters and events portrayed in this book are used fictitiously and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 Christine Amsden

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without the permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

Twilight Times Books

P O Box 3340

Kingsport TN 37664

http://twilighttimesbooks.com/

First Edition, May 2016

Cover art by Tamian Wood

Published in the United States of America.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 1

To: Cassie.Scot@gmail.com

From: Kaitlin.Meyer12@gmail.com

Re: Jason is Dead

Jason is dead.

Go ahead. Say “I told you so.” You never do, but just this once could you stoop down to the level of us mere mortals long enough to sneer like a ten-year-old? Put a little hip wiggle into it and wrinkle your nose. Roll your eyes at me like I’m the biggest moron on the planet.

After all you did, in fact, tell me so.

And when you’re finished, I need you to do me the biggest favor I’ve ever asked in my life. In all likelihood, the last favor I’ll ever ask. I need you to take Jay. I need you to keep him safe, because you and Evan are probably the only two people who can. I hope that one day you can find it in your heart to love him like you love your own daughter.

Your Friend,

Kaitlin

Kaitlin closed her eyes as she hit send, praying that Cassie still was her friend. Praying that nothing went wrong over the next two days. And just... praying.

* * *

“It’s time, Kaitlin.”

Kaitlin rocked her one-year-old son back and forth, trying to convince him to go down for a nap, but Jay wasn’t having it. He was teething, and it seemed to hurt him worse when he lay in a horizontal position. He was so tired that Kaitlin swore she’d hold him upright for eight hours if he’d just fall asleep, but he seemed, paradoxically, too tired to sleep.

Jason’s intrusion wasn’t helping. Jay turned his head and reached his arms out for his father – or the vampire who had once been his father – instinctively begging for the love that should have been his by right. But Jason had never taken an interest in his son; he could barely stand to look at him. In fact, if anything had finally convinced Kaitlin that Jason was dead, it was the fact that the real Jason had died for his son. This thing now inhabiting his body didn’t even seem to care.

“Did you hear me?” Jason asked, his voice unusually sharp.

Jay cried harder. Kaitlin shushed him and rocked more furiously, pretending she hadn’t heard. Pretending she could delay the inevitable a few more days. But she’d known this day was coming for a while now. Had sensed it would be soon. It was why she had e-mailed her best friend in the world two days ago, begging for help, prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of her son. But Cassie had not responded, and Sara, the nanny who had agreed to transport Jay, had disappeared.

“Answer me, Kaitlin,” Jason said in a voice that at one time would have compelled obedience. It no longer did, even though Jason continued to feed from her daily, simultaneously injecting her body with a venom that should have kept her in thrall. She wasn’t sure why the thrall had gradually dissipated over the past few months, but her new clarity of mind had bigger problems to work out – like the fact that Jason wanted to make her just like him.

Jason took another step into the nursery, his form now illuminated by the soft glow of the night light. He looked the same as he had in life – tall, broad, muscular and very, very large. He rarely ventured inside these hallowed walls, but Kaitlin had spent more and more time there of late, requiring him to come inside if he wanted her.

“Can’t you make him shut up?” Jason asked.

“I’m trying! Can’t we talk about this later?”

“Can we? You never leave this room.”

And he never came in. Would Kaitlin come in after she turned? Or would she forget Jay’s existence, the way Jason had? Her nightmare was that of Jay screaming for his mother, but she never came. Eventually, he would stop crying. Then after a few days, when no one came to feed him, he would stop doing everything else.

“Please, just let me get Jay down for his nap. Then we can talk.”

“There’s no need to wait.” Another man came to stand just inside the doorway, a man who made Kaitlin’s blood turn to ice whenever she saw him. Xavier looked so deceptively ordinary; it was part of his power. Brown hair, brown eyes, medium build, medium height... But she had seen him rip the throat out of men and face an entire heptade of vampire hunters without breaking a sweat.

He wasn’t superhuman,; he was inhuman. She couldn’t fathom his purpose, but she suspected his goal was to create an entire new race of vampires under his control. At least, that’s what she assumed happened to the dozens of people who came into their lives for varying lengths of time, most of them nearly catatonic from the vampire’s thrall. She was not permitted to speak to them, and when they left, she never saw them again.

Xavier was over two hundred years old, but he didn’t look at Kaitlin as though she were a child. He looked at her as though she were food. Kaitlin had long sensed that he was no longer human, that he was somehow alien. She had sensed it in him before the thrall had worn off, though she hadn’t cared. The realization had taken much longer with Jason. Perhaps that sense of other increased over time.

Even Jay could sense the evil in Xavier. The boy started bucking and twisting, his tiny face turning red. He might have had his supernatural strength bound so he didn’t accidentally hurt someone, but even without it he was a marvel of physical strength. He had crawled at about two weeks old. Now, at a year old, he could run like a ten-year-old. According to stories Jason’s mom had told her, Jason had grown up the same way. Jason the vampire never talked about his childhood.

“Please, leave us alone!” Kaitlin cried, trying with all her might to cling to the wriggling child.

“Sara can take him,” Xavier said.

He stepped to the side and Kaitlin’s heart leaped. Oh thank God! Not that she wanted to give up her son. It was the hardest thing she would ever do in her life, but she had gone over it and over it in her mind. She had no choice. Jason would not take no for an answer any longer. He would turn her into a vampire tonight and when he did, Jay would need protection. Even from her.

The thirty-something woman who had helped Kaitlin with Jay over the past year strode into the room as if she hadn’t just disappeared without a word for two days. Kaitlin didn’t need a nanny; as she’d told both Jason and Xavier a hundred times, she could handle Jay on her own. But Sara had provided some companionship and comfort to her, especially in the months since the thrall had worn off. Sara always had a friendly smile on her face, was infinitely patient with Jay (something Kaitlin definitely wasn’t), and despite their age difference, they had a lot in common. They read the same books, liked the same movies, and both feared the men who haunted this house alongside them.

Kaitlin smiled at Sara despite the churning of butterflies in her stomach. Sara knew what to do. She’d pretend to take Jay for a quick drive to the store, but she wouldn’t stop for diapers. She’d keep going, leaving their two-story house in Virginia and not stopping until she reached Eagle Rock, Missouri.

“Let me try getting him to sleep,” Sara said, striding over.

“It’s no good,” Kaitlin said. “Maybe you could take him for a drive.”

When Sara reached the rocking chair, Kaitlin kissed Jay on the head, surreptitiously saying good-bye. Then she handed Jay to the nanny.

The baby cried harder still, his wails threatening to shake the house down. What was the matter with him? Jay was often quiet for Sara when he refused to settle for Kaitlin.

That’s when Kaitlin recalled the coldness of the woman’s arms as she’d passed Jay into them. The pallor of her skin. The slight yellow tinge to her eyes.

“No!” Kaitlin screamed, trying to get Jay back.

Jason got between the two women, using his superior strength to stop Kaitlin from moving at all. He had her arms pinned to her sides and then, inexorably, he pushed her out the door.

“I’m sorry,” Sara said, her voice flat, maybe even lifeless.

“No!” Kaitlin tried to dig her heels into the thick blue carpeting, knowing it was useless. Knowing Jason and Xavier had the strength to make her do anything. Knowing she was as dead as Jason. Knowing, but not yet accepting. “No! Not now! It can’t happen now!”
Jason picked her up easily with one arm and clamped his other hand over her mouth. She fought. She kicked and strained with all her might, but to an outside observer she probably looked as docile as a kitten.

Xavier followed in their wake as Jason made his way down the elegant, hardwood stairs to the sparsely furnished living room. Xavier was rich. Filthy rich after centuries of whatever he did. But he kept few creature comforts. When it came to houses he preferred quantity to quality – he had safe houses all over the world. In the past year, Kaitlin had lived in four of them.

Jason set Kaitlin down on the beige couch then sat beside her, pinning her there with his size and weight. She had already stopped struggling, however; it did her no good. She would have to think of something else, but what? She had been prepared to die to get her son to safety, but now it seemed that she was the only one who could save him.

With that thought steeling her resolve, Kaitlin calmed down. She might be the biggest moron on the planet for agreeing to run away with a vampire in the first place, but she was smart enough to know that if she had any hope of getting out of this, it was through words and cunning. She had no physical strength to pit against a vampire, one of the strongest creatures on the planet. Also, one of the fastest.

Jason placed a heavy hand on her pajama-clad thigh, squeezing slightly through the silky material. Kaitlin felt nothing but cold dead fingers, but she pushed away her revulsion the way she’d been pushing it away for the past few months. Closing her eyes, she melted against him, emitting a soft sigh of surrender.

“There, that’s better,” Jason said as he continued running his cold hand up and down her thigh. “Xavier, I don’t think you need to be here for this.”

“You’ve never watched anyone turn,” Xavier said smoothly. “And you’ve always been a bit of an idiot where that girl was concerned.”

Jason growled and Kaitlin tensed once again, not sure which of the two vampires she feared more.

“She’s mine.” Jason tightened the possessive hand squeezing her thigh; she struggled to keep from crying out in pain. “That’s what we agreed before you ever turned me.”

“She doesn’t want to turn and she’s immune to thrall.”

Immune? Did he know why? She dared to look at him; Xavier smiled, fangs bared, eyes yellow with bloodlust. He had looked at her just that way so many times she had lost count, but still she shivered.

“I can handle her,” Jason said. “But not with you here. She doesn’t trust you.”

“Have it your way.” Xavier supplied a mock bow to Jason, shot Kaitlin another malicious look, then backed out of the living room by way of the kitchen. Since vampires didn’t eat food, she was sure he meant to go through it to the garage and indeed, a few seconds later, she heard the garage door open.

“Sorry about him,” Jason said. “Now where were we?”

Kaitlin drew in a deep, shaky breath and forced herself to relax as he moved his hand away from her thigh, running it up her hips, around her waist, and then with an almighty tug, he pulled her forward so she sat atop his lap.

“We can’t do this now,” Kaitlin said, keeping her voice gentle and sweet. “I’m weak. You forgot to give me that blood replenishment potion yesterday.”

“I didn’t forget,” Jason said. “It’s time, Kaitlin. Time for you to join me for real, the way you promised you would when you left Eagle Rock last year.”

“I will. Of course I will! But you know how important it was for me to nurse Jay. I want only the best for our son, like you do.” She held her breath, wondering if the lie would continue to hold one last time. She hadn’t actually nursed Jay in at least six months. Apparently, exsanguination wasn’t good for a woman’s milk supply, even with regular blood replenishment potions.

Jason frowned, but she forced herself to remain outwardly calm. He might not have seen through the lie; he often got that look on his face when they discussed the baby. If he’d paid any attention to Jay at all he would have noticed the feeding change months ago.

“How stupid do I look?” Jason asked, finally. Then he shook his head. “Why don’t you want to turn?”

“Don’t be silly.” Kaitlin ran a finger across his smooth, pale jaw, remembering how it had sported a five o’clock shadow the first time she’d seen him. The first time they’d made love. The night they’d unintentionally made Jay – not that she’d change that part now. Only what came later. “Of course I want to live forever. You know me. I live for ‘happily ever after.’”

“I had to drag you down the stairs,” Jason said. “You’ve been distant since the thrall wore off. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

Kaitlin’s mind raced. What were the right words? What would put off the inevitable? She had no idea, so she ended up blurting, “Why did the thrall wear off?”

“Something Xavier did,” Jason said dismissively. “He says it will make you a stronger vampire.”

Will it make me stronger now, when I really need it? Kaitlin wondered, but did not ask.

“Now answer my question” Jason continued. “Why don’t you want to turn? You weren’t in thrall when you first ran away with me.”

“I’m nervous. Weren’t you nervous before you turned? Xavier said it took months to convince you.”

“I was a hunter, brought up within my order to believe vampires are soulless monsters.”

Are you? Kaitlin wanted to ask. Even now, she wasn’t sure “soulless” was the right word. Something lurked behind Jason’s eyes – and even Xavier’s. She just wasn’t sure it was anything she wanted to be a part of.

“Well, I may know better,” Kaitlin began, “but I’m still not sure... I mean...” She cast about wildly for an idea. Something to delay the inevitable. Anything. And finally, she settled on the truth. Or part of it. “You’ve changed. I don’t pretend to understand how. I didn’t know you well before I ran off with you; we only had the one night together. Mostly, I knew you from stories your cousin Cassie told.”

“You know me now,” Jason said, sliding a finger down her slender throat. “You’ve known me for a year. Haven’t I treated you well?”

“Of course you have,” Kaitlin said. “You know I love you.” She leaned forward, letting the top of her button-down silk shirt part slightly, though Jason didn’t seem as taken with cleavage as normal men. His favorite parts of her were the throat, wrists, and inner thighs.

“I haven’t cheated on you,” Jason said. “I haven’t hit you. I haven’t even asked you to get a job. I take care of you.”

“And Jay?” Kaitlin asked, because what he said was sort of true. It wasn’t a high standard, but she’d chosen some real losers in her time who had done all those things – cheated on her, hit her, and sponged off her hard work.

Perhaps if she’d known Jason better in life she could be more certain now that he wasn’t the same man. After all, aside from the bloodsucking thing there wasn’t anything she could specifically put her finger on that was any different from regular imperfect mortals. Some men ignored their children. Some men were up at all hours of the night and slept all day. Some men only seemed to notice her when they needed something from her – blood or sex, it was all the same.

But it all came down to the one thing she knew for sure about Jason: He had loved his son. He had cared so much that he had died to protect the baby from his own father, who had planned to body-hop into Jason, then again into Jay when he was old enough. Jason even turned into a vampire – a being he’d been trained to hate – so he would still be able to guard his son in death. And maybe the vampire Jason would protect Jay if ever put to the test, but Kaitlin wasn’t sure how he would even know the baby was in danger.

The vampire almost didn’t seem wholly connected to this world. He didn’t see it the same way humans saw it. There was something alien in his eyes and cold in his touch – and it wasn’t just the fact that no blood ran through his veins. Maybe the vampire hunters had it wrong, maybe he wasn’t entirely evil (though she wouldn’t say the same about Xavier), but she didn’t trust the vampire sitting beneath her. He wanted to seduce her into turning for reasons she could not possibly fathom, like trying to understand the will of God.

“Who will take care of Jay after I turn?” Kaitlin asked.

“You will.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Sara will. Or we’ll hire someone else. What does it matter?”

Indeed. “Just give me a few days. I told you I need to wean the baby. I can do it quickly. We’ll drop one feeding per day so that will be...” Kaitlin tried to think. How many times per day did a one-year-old nurse? Well, she’d go with the number of bottles she gave him a day and figure it was close enough. Jason wouldn’t know the difference. “... four days.”

Jason snorted. “And in four days you’re going to want to turn?” He gave her a piercing look, and she suddenly knew – just knew – that he didn’t believe her. “I want you to want this, Kaitlin. Xavier says it goes better when they want it.”

“I do want it. Of course I want it.” She placed soft kisses on his cheeks, his forehead, his ear. He lifted his face to give her better access, making her think she had convinced him. Lulling him into a false sense of security.

“Liar!” He shoved her off his lap, not onto the couch, but onto the ground. Kaitlin, not expecting the movement, fell heavily to the hardwood floor and yelped when her bottom connected with the unyielding surface.

“Jason?”

He stood, towering over her, and she scooted backwards on hands and knees, getting tangled in her long blonde hair.

“Xavier intercepted that e-mail you sent to Cassie the other day,” Jason said, stalking her as she scuttled across the floor.

“What?” Oh no. But that did explain Sara. And why Cassie hadn’t replied.

“You were going to give away the baby.”

“Why not?” Kaitlin asked. “You don’t want him! You said it didn’t matter who raised him.”

“This host wants him, and so do I.”

Kaitlin’s eyes widened. This was the first time Jason had ever let slip a hint that he was not the same person he had been before he’d turned.

“You can’t run from this fate,” Jason said.

Kaitlin’s scrambling hands had found the edge of the stone fireplace and she stopped, able to move no further. Jason knelt to loom over her, cupping her face in his hands. From anyone else, it might have been a caress.

“Cassie and Evan can’t protect you or the boy, you know,” Jason said. “Evan’s strong, but he’s never been much use against a vampire. I should know. I saved his life once.”

“You did? Or your host?”

Jason scowled. “There’s no place you can run. No one to protect you. Give up. Give in. Come gracefully.”

He still wanted her to agree to this, Kaitlin realized. He still wanted her willing cooperation. She had no idea why, but she’d take any opening she could get. “Three days. Give me three days.”

“We have your blood,” Jason said.

“So?”

“Didn’t you learn anything about magic from Cassie? I haven’t just eaten from you. I have your blood, and I’m a sorcerer as well as a vampire. I can use it to find you anywhere on this planet, so unless you can get to Mars, you can’t hide from me.”

“Oh.” Kaitlin was shaking now. She wished she’d thought to start a fire in the fireplace behind her, though she doubted the warmth would have penetrated.

“Tomorrow night,” Jason said. “That’s as much time as I’ll give you to prepare.”

A reprieve. She had no idea how, but she had a reprieve. Twenty-four hours wasn’t much, but it was more than she’d had a few minutes ago.

“Tell me you understand,” Jason said. “Tell me you’ll come to me tomorrow. Tell me like you mean it.”

“I understand,” Kaitlin said.

And then she wound her arms around Jason, kissing him for all she was worth. She explored his mouth with teeth and tongue, tracing the outline of his fangs. He bit her lip, stinging her for a moment before the pain-numbing property of the vampire venom set in. After a minute, he drew his head back, traced the column of her neck with his index finger, and sank his teeth in with such force that for a moment she thought he’d snapped her neck.

“Oh!” she cried, trying to make it sound like a moan. It didn’t hurt, but it didn’t feel as good as it once had, especially now that she worried Jason wasn’t planning to wait another night after all. What if he took every last drop? What if he drained her dry? He had never pulled from her so hard or drunk so long.

“Jason!” Kaitlin finally cried. “Please. You said tomorrow.”

He pulled back, fangs and lips stained red with her blood. The venom coagulated the wound so she wouldn’t bleed out, but she felt so lightheaded she wondered if she’d lost too much blood anyway.

Jason ran his thumb across his lips. “Yes, tomorrow night.”

“Blood replenishment potion?”

“No.” Jason rose to his feet, taking several deliberate steps away from her. “I don’t think I want you strong enough to escape.”

“You said there was no escape.”

Jason didn’t answer, he just turned and walked away, leaving Kaitlin on the floor, her head spinning, her breath coming in shallow gasps, her pulse weak and thready. But she wasn’t dead yet, and as long as she wasn’t dead, there remained hope.

Chapter 2

NEW YORK CITY WAS THE LOUDEST place Matthew Blair had ever visited. He didn’t care for cities. They were too crowded. Closed in. Oppressive. But since his telepathic range was only twenty feet or so, he rarely had trouble navigating even sprawling metropolises. He would catch snippets of thought as he passed a person on the street, or from the car in the next lane. It was constant and kept him from finding real peace, but it had never been quite like this.

Matthew had spent his entire life in the Midwest. Actually, he had grown up in a small town, which suited him perfectly, but even when he’d visited Midwestern cities, they just didn’t move like New York. There were people everywhere. Pedestrians crowded the streets like swarms of insects, barging into intersections en masse with no fear that the cars might hit them. It almost seemed as if the drivers were warier of the pedestrians than of the other cars.

In New York, twenty feet felt like twenty yards. It was like attending a party, but one without a convenient restroom he could slip into for a few minutes (as he had done during countless political functions). He could slip inside a store, but they were hardly free of the endless buzzing of mental impressions. They came at him like snippets of partially overheard conversations, making little sense on their own, particularly if he couldn’t attach thought to face.

Hurry...

My feet! Never should have bought...

Damn Frank...

Get the money for...

Two more streets...

Dance...

Too much...

That last thought had been his own, Matthew realized. But it still didn’t stop. If only telepathy worked the way he often saw it portrayed in science fiction movies. Picture a wall, he often heard people say in movies. Build it in your mind, brick by brick. He could do that. He could think about a wall. He’d still hear everyone shouting their private thoughts at him. Or worse, glean an echo of their perceptions, such as sights, sounds, or tastes. There were too many hot dog vendors in New York, and he hated mustard, even as a ghostly impression.

“Are you okay?” asked Evan Blackwood, his ally on this mission. “Maybe we should get another cab.”

They had taken a cab part of the way, but traffic had been so bad they realized they could walk faster. No wonder so many people walked these streets! But the cab ride hadn’t been much better. The driver’s mind had been filled with dark, suicidal thoughts, and far from wanting to help the man (as he usually did when confronted with suicidal thought patterns), Matthew found himself thinking maybe the man should end it. If the cab driver didn’t kill himself, Matthew feared, he might kill someone else instead. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, every few feet a new car and a new set of thoughts pulled up alongside them.

“We’re almost there,” Matthew said. “I’m fine.”

“If you say so.” Evan’s mind was a mystery to Matthew, since the powerful sorcerer knew how to block him. At the moment he found it helpful that at least one mind in his near vicinity was not shouting at him, although he would love to know Evan’s thoughts.

They weren’t friends. They could probably never trust one another enough to be friends, but they were allied against Alexander DuPris, self-appointed leader of the magical world.

Stain on my...

Forgot to...

Stink...

That last thought didn’t come to him so much in words as in sensation, and with a slight wrinkling of his nose Matthew realized that he agreed with the assessment. All of New York stank to him, largely of car exhaust, but in some areas of the city it smelled more or less like a sewer. In this part of the city, it was a bit more. And they were nearly to their destination. At the next corner they hung a right and found themselves on a more residential street, which wasn’t much less crowded than the street they had just left.

“Why would any self-respecting sorcerer want to live here?” Evan asked. “There’s no node for miles, and nothing natural for that matter. It’s nothing but concrete and steel.”

“You’re a naturalist,” Matthew said. So was he, but he didn’t mention that part. Not everyone was. “New York is the heart of commerce in this country; sorcerers looking to use their gifts to get rich might think this is a good place.”

“Okay, but then why does Devon live in this neighborhood?”

Evan had a point. Matthew stared up at the towering apartment buildings lining either side of the street. It was three o’clock in the afternoon, but it felt like evening for all the sun that penetrated to street level. This wasn’t a nice neighborhood. It wasn’t a bad neighborhood either, from what he’d been told, but looking around now he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what a truly bad neighborhood looked like.

Matthew was also starting to detect a new tone to the thoughts of those he passed. It took him a minute to realize what it was, but then it struck him that he and Evan were just about the only two white men on this street – certainly the only two wearing designer clothes – and the people passing them had noticed. Matthew glanced down at his own clothing of choice – slacks, a polo shirt, and loafers. They were what he wore when he didn’t wear a suit; he liked the comfort of slacks and had always found that jeans chafed him. Maybe he should have dug out a pair for this trip, although Evan was getting plenty of dirty thoughts for his designer-label jeans.

The trick to a situation like this, Matthew had learned from long practice, was to hold his head high and look as if he belonged. He didn’t smile or make eye contact – no one in New York would think he belonged were he to do that – he just put one foot in front of the other and exuded a sense of purpose.

It didn’t work. They continued to stare at him and, most especially, at Evan. It suddenly struck Matthew how strange it was that a man who could exude such an aura of danger in their hometown – who was, in fact, a very dangerous man – could look so much like a gawking tourist in a big city. Evan’s eyes darted this way and that, never making eye contact – he rarely did that in Eagle Rock – but taking in the buildings, the people, the sky, the street, the cars, and the sidewalk as if trying to keep an eye on all of it at once. His posture and body language drew attention, and undermined Matthew’s efforts at looking as though they belonged.

Sighing, Matthew worked a simple magical compulsion around the pair of them. He was a minimalist when it came to mind magic, always feeling that the less he did, the less likely anyone would be to notice what was happening. People who did not realize they were being manipulated were not likely to fight against the manipulation. That was how one laid the foundation for the most powerful mental whammies. Sometimes he avoided the use of magic entirely; psychological tricks could work wonders, particularly coupled with his gift of telepathy.

Tricks and telepathy were just not going to work today. So he focused his will on a simple imperative: There is nothing of interest here. With more force, this spell was his version of an invisibility charm, but he didn’t need to go that far. He didn’t care if they saw him; he just didn’t want them to pay attention. And, after a few seconds, they stopped looking. They stopped seeing. Their thoughts reverted to their own troubles and he once again found himself immersed in the constant babble of the thoughts of passersby.

“We’re here,” Evan said, stopping before a building indistinguishable from its neighbors. If Evan had noticed the undercurrent going on around him, he didn’t show it. He didn’t even pause as he walked up a flight of concrete steps to a front door that stood slightly ajar. A row of buzzers would ring the various apartments, but Evan didn’t bother with them, he simply pushed his way into the building and walked swiftly up two flights of stairs, emerging into a short, dingy hallway lined by doors with peeling green paint. They strode to the last of four doors on the right, paused for a heartbeat, then Evan knocked.

Matthew let Evan take the lead. His head was only starting to clear now that there was more space between himself and the nearest human being. Line of sight did not impact his gift, only distance, so he could hear the thoughts of the people inside their apartments to the left, right, up, and down. But by the time they got to Devon’s door he could only “hear” four minds, one of them Devon’s.

Devon’s mind was racing. He kept thinking about making a run for it, going to hide in the woods or something, but he had never lived outside the city. Some of the images going through his mind were confusing – a beautiful mocha-skinned young woman who looked to be in agony, an old white man hurting her, a flash of something and then she was gone, the room she had occupied now empty.

Evan knocked heavily on the door. Devon’s thoughts jumped, for lack of a better word. He saw the old white man outside the door. Seemed to expect him there. Then he remembered a phone call. Matthew’s voice.

Waste of time...

Devon opened the door. He was a thirty-something black man with closely-shaved hair and a thin mustache. He looked between the two of them nervously, then glanced over their shoulders, leaning out of the door to peer both ways down the hall.

“Were you followed?” Devon asked.

“No,” Evan said.

Matthew did not reply. He couldn’t be nearly so sure. He had been too preoccupied by the minds of the city to have paid attention, and now he could almost feel Devon’s fear. He didn’t feel others’ emotions the way a true empath like his mom or brother did (a fact for which he was grateful), but emotions constituted a basic undercurrent to the thoughts he sensed.

“Get in,” Devon said, reaching out as if to grab and pull Evan inside. But the instant his hand approached Evan’s arm, Devon flew backwards, landing hard on the threadbare carpet in his sparsely furnished living room. “Hey!”

“Never touch me,” Evan said.

“No kidding! You Matthew?” Devon asked.

“I’m Matthew Blair.” Matthew stepped inside the apartment, past Evan, who stood slightly aside to allow him to enter first. It wasn’t that Evan was anyone’s flunky, but Evan wasn’t a strong leader. He preferred to go his own way, using power as a shield around himself and his loved ones. Matthew, on the other hand, wanted to rule. To control. He asserted that control now by making it clear who was in charge.

“Yeah, you sound like the guy on the phone,” Devon said as he picked himself up off the floor, wincing.

“You told me you know something about Alexander DuPris that we would find useful.” Matthew focused and fine-tuned his gift of telepathy now. At times he wished he could turn it off, such as while walking down the street, but now it gave him power. He scarcely noticed the three other minds babbling in the background – two now, actually. He concentrated only on Devon, on what the man’s thoughts would tell him that words would not.

“I want something from you first.” Again Devon thought of the mocha-skinned woman and thought, Where is she? “A promise.”

Matthew thought he knew what the man wanted, but he asked anyway. He did not like too many people to know about his gift. “What promise?”

“Find my daughter for me.” He saw the mocha-skinned woman again, but in a different light. She looked younger now. She was a child. He was remembering her as a baby, and a little girl. Then his mind flashed to the old white man. “They drained her magic and sold her – I have no idea where.”

“Who did?” Matthew asked. “Alexander’s men?” Strangely enough, though Matthew wouldn’t put much past his nemesis, he would be surprised to find out Alexander had stooped to this level of hypocrisy. Alexander was outspoken against magic theft and slavery.

“No,” Devon said. Again he thought of the old white man, a slaver. She’d made a bad decision, she’d disobeyed her father, gotten involved with the wrong crowd. But she hadn’t deserved what happened to her. “Look, they’re coming for me. To arrest me.”

“For what?” Matthew was still trying to make sense of the jumble of thoughts inside Devon’s mind, but he lacked the proper context. There were the images, the fear, the concern, but no story to piece it all together.

“For stealing her magic and selling her,” Devon said.

“You sold your own daughter?” Evan asked, tensing.

“No! It’s a frame.” Devon paced back and forth across the worn hardwood floor. Matthew saw the image of the old white man hovering over the young woman – Janelle – again. Then flickering images of Devon looking for someone who knew someone who could help him. Finally, he stumbled upon the Magical Underground in New York City.

“They sent me to a sort of compound in Pennsylvania for help getting her back,” Devon said. Matthew could clearly see the lush green Pennsylvania countryside and the white-walled interior of a windowless underground structure. “They said sure. Were very friendly. Said they’d do it if I’d help their cause. I say sure, anything for her, even if I’d have to leave my job. I like my job, I like teaching. The kids, they respond to me, part of the magic I suppose. Always have. Except my own daughter, of course, cuz she’s resistant to mind magic. Not as resistant as I am, but she’s never had trouble throwing me off.”

Matthew showed no outward sign of alarm at that revelation, but inwardly he knew he would have to be more careful than usual around this man. There would be no going back and modifying memories if what the man claimed was true – and Devon, at least, felt certain of it.

“They say an influential talent like mine – that’s what they called it – would be useful to them. So they ‘inducted’ me, which meant I had to learn a few things, swear some kind of oath they claimed was unbreakable, but I don’t think it was on account of mind magic doesn’t work well on me, and then they strapped me down to take my blood.”

“What?” Matthew and Evan said at the exact same time.

“Yeah, exactly. I didn’t go quiet, but they overpowered me. Told me it didn’t matter, I wouldn’t remember a thing.” And he hadn’t, at least for a day or so. His resistance was strong, though, and a few things hadn’t added up. He’d felt the hole in his memory almost immediately, at which point it had been a matter of time before he’d figured out what was missing.

“It took me a few hours,” was all Devon said, “but I remembered.”

Wow. Matthew hadn’t suspected anything like this. Why would Alexander take blood from this man? Devon didn’t seem to know. The man didn’t even know all the things that blood could be used for. He mostly feared some kind of voodoo magic, thaumaturgy, and that could happen. But it was only the tip of the iceberg. Blood could be used to find a person anywhere, and to control him so completely that few could resist. The fact that Devon could resist even blood-laced mind magic said a lot about him.

“Yeah, I remembered. I left and went back home but I had to run for it. I’m hiding out with one of my students here. Then some friends of mine told me maybe you could help.”

“We’ll get you safely out of the city,” Evan promised. “We can hide you.”

But Matthew didn’t say anything. He detected something akin to resignation in Devon. He had accepted his fate; he wasn’t here to bargain for his own life, only for his daughter’s. Yet Devon’s information was useless without Devon himself.

No... Matthew finally understood some of the rapidly flickering images in Devon’s head. Devon was a wanted man now. Alexander had convinced everyone that he had stolen his own daughter’s magic and sold her. No one would believe Devon now.

Matthew closed his eyes and tried to focus on his own thoughts. He wanted to help Devon, and not just because he could use the man. There was a good reason he had chosen to leave the world of mundane politics in order to challenge Alexander DuPris in the arena of magical politics: Alexander had done much worse than take a man’s blood. Rumors linked him to murders, torture, and brainwashing, among other things.

Matthew himself had first run into Alexander’s evil doings when the man had come to Eagle Rock, Missouri to push his brand of politics on the locals. Around the same time a group of ordinary citizens had been stirred into a frenzy of witch hunting, ultimately killing one woman and attempting to kill others. Matthew and his family had always managed to have a calming effect on the locals, but they had been blocked by a powerful force – Alexander. Again, Matthew had no proof, but he knew it. He was absolutely certain.

“I won’t leave you to Alexander,” Matthew said. “We’ll take you with us.”

It won’t work, Devon thought. Alexander’s men had him convinced they could find him anywhere. And if they had his blood, Matthew realized, they could. They could be here any minute. Devon started thinking of all the places he had been in the past two days. Of running from one place to the next, never stopping for long. I’ve stopped here too long, he thought. But I had to do it for Janelle.

“Let’s go,” Matthew said.

But it was too late. The door slammed open so hard it cracked against the living room wall and bounced off, reverberating angrily. Two men entered wearing NYPD uniforms, guns drawn.

“Damn,” said the younger uniform, a light-skinned black man barely out of school. “He ain’t alone.”

They’d come for the sonofabitch who’d sold his own daughter. Which made them Alexander’s security, not NYPD.

Drop your weapons. Matthew sent the mental command, along with a surge of magic, at the two men, but the move backfired. One of them, apparently resistant to mind magic, tightened his finger around the trigger.

“Shooter!” Matthew called to Evan.

At that point, everything happened at once. Evan flung up an arm. Several gunshots rang out. The two men flew backwards into the hallway, crashing through the wall on the opposite side.

Who’s been hit? Matthew looked from Devon, wondering the same thing, to Evan, who held the two pistols. They seemed okay. The wall – less so. A scream from downstairs told him the shots had been noticed; he’d usually stay behind to erase memories, but today he’d have to leave them to draw their own conclusions.

“Let’s go!” Matthew called.

Evan grabbed Devon’s arm and together they passed the prone police officers, ran down the stairs, and the three of them lost themselves in the crowded New York City streets.

“They’ll find me anywhere,” Devon said. “You might be strong, but they’re stronger. They’ll find me anywhere.”

“Hotel first,” Matthew said to Evan, ignoring Devon completely. “We need to try to block their scrying spells before we travel. Then we’ll head for the airport.” Matthew’s own private plane awaited them, fully fueled and ready to go when they were. He had always loved flying, but now he appreciated its practical uses as well.

Matthew said nothing else as they navigated the city streets back along Central Park, up through Times Square, and down a few more blocks to their hotel. The men with him kept scanning the streets, looking for trouble, but Matthew just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other in an attempt to avoid a splitting headache.

As soon as they reached the hotel room, Evan made space for casting a spell. New York City hotels weren’t exactly big, and to make enough space, Evan used telekinesis to push both double beds against the wall on their sides. They wobbled for a moment after Evan let go, but he muttered something under his breath that made them stay put. Then he got out his satchel and started drawing a casting circle.

“What’s he doing?” Devon whispered to Matthew. “Is that a casting circle? I never used one before.”

Matthew had learned a lot about different approaches to magic over the past year-and-a-half, so he wasn’t surprised by Devon’s ignorance of the casting circle. Urban magic users, in particular, were more likely to focus their magic through a totem than through a circle. But now wasn’t the time to exchange magical recipes.

“Do you have everything you need?” Matthew asked Evan.

“I made sure my supplies were well-stocked before I came,” Evan replied. “I just need-” But he stopped talking abruptly, and his face went blank.

“Evan?” Matthew asked. “Evan, are you okay?”

“Oh no,” Devon said, backing up several paces. “Oh no! They’ve found me.”

Devon’s thoughts were racing again, tumbling over themselves in a mad circular dash. And before Matthew could stop him, Devon had sped from the room, leaving Matthew torn between going after him and staying to find out what was wrong with his ally.

He hesitated only a moment before sinking down in front of Evan. The man might never be his friend, but Matthew needed him more than he needed Devon, and he had never seen anything affect Evan like this. The man was a fortress.

“Evan?” Matthew ran his hand up and down in front of Evan’s face. Nothing. He tapped him on the shoulder, bracing himself to be thrown violently away. Again, nothing.

Matthew stood and crossed to the hotel room door. He looked down the hallway, but Devon had already gone. Maybe Matthew should try to head him off at the lobby. Or maybe... Matthew went back to the window, which overlooked the street two floors below. He saw a police car parked in front, its lights flashing, though it emitted no sounds. It being there didn’t feel right; indeed, the next moment, Matthew saw Devon being pushed into the backseat by the same two men who had attacked them at the apartment.

Matthew spared one last look at Evan before racing for the stairs, but by the time he reached the lobby it was too late. The car had pulled away, leaving him with nothing but the hollow feeling of regret. Could he have done something else?

There was something he could do, he realized. He could find Janelle. He would find her. But first...

Matthew returned to his rented room. Evan was blinking rapidly, staring around in confusion.

“What happened?” Evan asked.

“You blanked,” Matthew said. “You were going to cast the spell on Devon, but you blanked.”

“Devon?” Evan said. “But he wasn’t at the apartment. The whole trip was a waste of time, remember?”

Matthew stared at his ally, whose mind had just been wiped while Matthew stood uselessly by, unable to help. There was only one way someone could have done that, and the knowledge chilled him to the bone.

They had Evan’s blood, too.

Chapter 3

KAITLIN FELT DIZZY, BUT SHE PUSHED the feeling aside as she clambered upstairs on hands and knees. Jay. Have to get to Jay. When she reached the nursery she managed to get to her feet and snatch a still-upset Jay from Sara, who didn’t resist. He had quieted into little hiccuping gasps, but had not yet fallen asleep.

Sara gave Kaitlin an odd look, almost like pity, before she turned silently away. The real Sara had never been short on words before. She had changed; it wasn’t as difficult to see those changes in Sara as it had been in Jason. Why? Because Kaitlin wasn’t in thrall? Because she had known Sara better? Or did it just vary?

Academic questions for another time, she decided. Right now, she needed a plan. She needed to escape.

Jason loomed large in the doorway to the nursery, but he didn’t look at Kaitlin or his son. Instead, he focused his attention on Sara. “You need to eat. Xavier should have taken you with him.”

“I’ll manage,” Sara said.

“Not here you won’t. Come.” He turned and left, clearly expecting Sara to follow. She did so a scant second later without glancing back at mother or child.

Kaitlin waited, listening. The garage door opened. A car engine sounded. Then a car backed out of the garage and the door whirred closed once again.

That was it. She was trapped here ten miles from town with no transportation. Xavier had driven away in his car, Jason in his. Kaitlin wasn’t allowed a car.

But wait, didn’t Sara have one too? Kaitlin clutched Jay to her chest and hurried downstairs as fast as her weakened body would allow, trying to think. She peered out into the nearly black evening, using the porch light as her only source of illumination. There, at the curb, was another car. She couldn’t make out what kind but she didn’t care. All she needed were the keys.

Had Sara taken her purse with her? Kaitlin couldn’t recall seeing one when the woman had come up to the nursery, so she checked the kitchen first. Sara had often left her purse on the kitchen counter in life and apparently that much of her personality remained in her new form. There was a purse on the counter and inside... come on, come on... there! Her hand closed around a set of keys which included a remote locking device for the car. She hit the button to make sure she had the right set and heard the reassuring chirp from outside.

Kaitlin’s heart slammed against her chest, and not entirely out of nerves. Her pulse was erratic, thready she thought she’d heard it called. She really had lost a lot of blood. How was she going to drive away, when Jason and Xavier could simply follow? Where could she hide?

Kaitlin grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator as she considered her options. She thought longingly of her best friend, Cassie, who had not replied to her e-mail. Who had, apparently, not received it at all. There was no phone here, no landline, and Kaitlin had never been allowed a cell phone. All she had was her computer, which had already proven unreliable.

So where could she go? Who could protect her from two powerful vampires?

And then it hit her – hunters could protect her. Well, maybe not any one alone. Xavier had dispatched many hunters over the last year, but the vampire hunters were based out of Pennsylvania, in the same compound where Alexander DuPris led his magical unification effort. She could go there.

Kaitlin didn’t care about politics, magical or otherwise, but she had spent many nights over the past year listening to Xavier and Jason rattle on about DuPris, especially when it came to vampire politics. She could practically hear Xavier’s voice even now.

The man is going to destroy the world. He’s going against the wrong vampires, thinking he can destabilize us by taking out the most powerful of us. And it’s working. The younger vampires are out of control, making new vampires left and right. There are ten times as many vampires as there were when he started this idiotic campaign. But what I can’t believe is how the hunters have fallen for it so completely. They’ve even moved their headquarters in with his.

Kaitlin didn’t care who was right and who was wrong; she only knew she needed protection, and so did her son. She also knew her son would be a powerful hunter one day, and that the hunters couldn’t afford to turn him away, especially not to be raised by the most notorious vampire in the United States.

Leaning heavily against the kitchen counter while she rested her chin atop Jay’s fuzzy head, Kaitlin checked her plan for flaws. There were dozens of them. The second she left this house with Jay, Jason and Xavier would probably know. The vampires could run faster than a car could travel, but not over long distances. If she could get a hundred miles ahead of them, they would have to drive too. But that first hundred miles... and if she stopped or slowed down... What if the police pulled her over for speeding? What if she fell asleep at the wheel, or fainted from blood loss?

She had no answers to any of those questions, only one last question: What other plan do you have?

She didn’t stop to pack. She grabbed Jay’s diaper bag, threw in some spare diapers and the toddler formula she’d been giving him since he’d turned one. She also included some little snacks he could feed himself and, almost as an afterthought, grabbed some Oreos and apple juice for herself. Then she buckled him into his car seat, tossed the diaper bag over her shoulder, picked up the again-screaming Jay in his carrier, and headed for the door.

She didn’t take anything of her own save a purse with a driver’s license and a credit card that might or might not work (if Xavier decided to cancel it). The way she felt, she wasn’t sure if she would have been able to carry anything else out of the house anyway. It was all she could do not to drop her son as she exited the front door and crossed the lawn to the dark sedan waiting at the curb. Opening the back door, she heaved the infant carrier onto the seat and strapped it in. It was too small for Jay, but it was better than nothing. Her other car seat was in Jason’s car.

Jay didn’t stop crying. Kaitlin’s nerves were shot. She took several deep, thirsty lungsful of air before ducking behind the steering wheel, inserting a key, and sending a quick prayer to a God she wasn’t entirely on speaking terms with: Just get Jay through this. I don’t care what happens to me, but let him be okay.

Then she revved up the engine and floored the accelerator.

* * *

Jay fell asleep within fifteen minutes, which should have helped but instead made it harder for Kaitlin to stay awake. She turned on the radio, steadily increasing the volume until her eardrums felt like they would bleed. She searched for annoying, grating music – heavy metal but nothing with a techno beat. She didn’t want anything too hypnotic. She had to stay awake. Pennsylvania was over six hours away and she couldn’t stop for anything. Luckily, the gas tank was full – the only thing that had gone her way tonight. She’d take it.

She looked over her shoulder constantly, expecting to see Jason running up the highway behind her, never mind that she was going ninety miles per hour. That was nothing to a vampire. He could run circles around her at that speed, toy with her, take his time reeling her in. He could make her think she had almost escaped and then pounce.

Actually, that didn’t sound like Jason, not even now that he’d turned, but it did sound like Xavier. The ancient vampire had a cruel, ruthless streak in him.

She’d gone twenty miles. Not enough. Forty miles. Still not enough. She pressed the accelerator down even harder, darting in and out of the light, late night traffic on the interstate. The speedometer reached to over a hundred miles per hour. They could catch her easily. One hundred and twenty... She had never gone this fast before in her life.

Car horns blasted at her from all directions, telling her what she already knew – that she was driving recklessly. And with a baby in the back, no less. A lot of good this escape would do if she wrecked the car and killed Jay. But if they didn’t escape...

Jay started to fuss. Kaitlin slowed down a little bit so she could keep a better eye on the road, but she didn’t stop as she reached into the diaper bag she’d flung into the passenger seat and grabbed one of the prepared bottles. She passed it back to Jay, who took it and started gulping down the fluid greedily. As soon as he’d taken the bottle, she sped up again.

The car horns started their angry chastisement once again. Each one seemed to say you’re a terrible mother. They were right. She was a terrible mother. What kind of mother took her newborn child and ran off with a vampire? Even if he had been the baby’s father before he’d turned? Now look at her. On the run from those same vampires, looking over her shoulder every few seconds, expecting to see them in the rearview mirror.

Eighty miles. Still not enough...

The road in front of her blurred slightly as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She clutched the steering wheel with white knuckles, struggling to see the dashed lines in front of her. A semi roared past, blaring angry insults at her. She turned up the volume on the music to drown it out. To drown everything out.

She was twenty-three years old and this was what she had to show for her life. It felt like she’d been making one bad decision after another, especially where men were concerned. She kept looking for her knight in shining armor, but she only found toads – and they didn’t turn into princes after she kissed them. Maybe that only worked for princesses.

Jay stopped fussing. Kaitlin didn’t dare reach back and take the bottle away, not at these speeds, and she didn’t dare slow down. Jay was over a year old now; he shouldn’t even be using a bottle anymore, said the experts on babies. She should have switched him to a sippy cup and maybe started training him to drink from an open cup. Of course, she should have kept nursing him past six months. She’d failed at that too.

Her best friend, Cassie, would never have failed at any of it. Kaitlin hadn’t seen Cassie since she’d run away with Jason, and there had been scant few e-mails exchanged between them. Enough that she’d thought she could contact her friend about taking Jay, but not enough that she really knew what was going on in Cassie’s life, or vice versa. But Cassie had given birth back in December, so her baby would be almost five months old by now. At five months of age, Kaitlin had been zombie mom, victim of a hypnotic thrall resulting from a vampire taking her blood and leaving behind venom. The whole time period was a bit of a blur, actually.

What was Cassie doing now? Cassie had found her prince, as Kaitlin had always known she would. It was strange, but Kaitlin both loved and resented her best friend at the exact same time. Cassie had never been anything but a true friend to her, but Cassie, for all her complaints about not having magic powers, lived a charmed life in a magical world. Kaitlin thought at first that Cassie had made a mistake when she’d gone for Evan instead of Braden, but even that had worked out.

It wouldn’t have worked out for me, Kaitlin thought bitterly. Sometimes I think I turn the men into frogs.

The steering wheel began to shake and Kaitlin realized she’d just accidentally driven onto the shoulder. She steered back onto the road, breathing heavily, again checking her rearview mirror. She wished she could see Jay to make sure he was okay, but he was facing the back in his infant carrier. She settled for turning off the radio for a moment so she could hear the sound of his breathing. There it was, soft and steady. He’d finally fallen asleep.

Hours more to go to reach Pennsylvania, and then what? Kaitlin didn’t know exactly where Alexander’s compound was. She’d have to stop to make a phone call, but not yet, not until she crossed the state line.

It began to rain. Not a hard driving rain but a soft drizzle so light that it almost wasn’t worth turning the windshield wipers on. She had to find the wipers in the unfamiliar car after a few minutes, though, and then she had to adjust them manually every few minutes.

The drops of rain on the window weren’t helping her focus. She felt dizzy, and the world blurred in front of her.

One hundred twenty miles. They couldn’t get her on foot now... probably. They would have to drive. But they still had the blood. And there were still hundreds of miles to go.

* * *

Kaitlin was barely conscious when she stopped at a gas station just past the Pennsylvania border. It was one in the morning; she’d made good time, but it was a miracle she hadn’t gotten into a wreck. She felt a numb, tingling sensation all over, her stomach ached with nausea, and she could barely see through her blurred vision.

The lateness of the hour and the relative emptiness of the roads was probably her saving grace. She prayed that her destination wasn’t much further. Once she arrived, once she placed Jay into the hands of people who would watch out for him, she could collapse and sleep for a week. She hoped not forever.

Fumbling with the old-fashioned pay phone on the corner, blinking against the cool drizzle, Kaitlin got an operator on the line and made a collect call to the one person she’d wanted to speak to for months. Cassie didn’t answer until the fourth ring, long enough that Kaitlin worried she wouldn’t answer at all. But she didn’t hesitate to accept the charges.

“Kaitlin?” Cassie asked. “My God, I haven’t heard anything from you since you left. I thought you were dead.”

“What are you talking about? I e-mailed you. You e-mailed me.”

There was dead silence on the other end of the line.

“But you wrote back.” Kaitlin felt an icy sensation run down her spine.

“Someone wrote back,” Cassie said slowly. “It wasn’t me. Kaitlin, where are you? Are you okay?”

“No.”

“Come back to Eagle Rock. I’ll help you.”

“No.” She wished she could. “No, it’s not safe there. Jason said he has my blood. He can find me anywhere. And Evan can’t fight vampires.” She paused, hoping that Cassie would deny the charge, but the line stayed silent. “The only safe place for me is with the hunters. I think they’ll take us in because of Jay, but I don’t know where they are.”

“With Alexander.”

“Yes, but where?”

“Kaitlin, Alexander has been doing some shady things. I don’t think–”

“I don’t care about politics!” Kaitlin took a deep breath, the world swam in front of her and she leaned heavily against the wall. “Please, Cassie. I’m a few quarts low on blood right now. I just... I have to get Jay safe. I’m in Pennsylvania now. Where is Alexander?”

“There aren’t GPS coordinates for the place,” Cassie said. “But I can tell you how to get there.” She described a route that would take Kaitlin off the highway and down several rural roads. “There are heavy illusions on the place so no one can find it. Most people passing by will only see a rundown gas station. If you turn into the gas station, you’ll see what looks like a sprawling one-story office building and the entrance to an underground parking garage. The office building is actually the top floor of the underground fortress. The parking garage is actually a parking garage. Once you turn in there, the wards will keep the vampires out.”

“All right,” Kaitlin said, hoping she would be able to remember all that. She hadn’t brought anything like a piece of paper.

“I’ll tell Alexander you’re coming. Call me when you get there.” It wasn’t a request.

“Yes. Of course.” Kaitlin hung up.

She nearly fell twice on the way back to the car. She fumbled it open, slid inside, and spent a minute resting her head against the steering wheel. She could not give up now. Not now. She was so close!

Yet she could feel herself slipping away. She was running on empty – literally. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there with her head pressed against the wheel, but the next thing she knew she was being startled awake by a cry from the backseat.

Kaitlin jumped. She reached around, patted Jay, then turned the key in the ignition. When the dashboard lit up she saw the digital clock, which read 3:34.

She’d fallen asleep! Kaitlin spun her head left and right, expecting Jason to pounce on her. Knowing he would. How could he not? Pushing her foot into the accelerator she peeled rubber out of the twenty-four hour gas station and swerved back onto the highway, coming inches from hitting another car.

The race was on. She felt it. She pushed the accelerator down as far as it would go, only slowing when she had to leave the interstate. She looked in the rearview mirror almost as much as she looked through the front windshield. There was a car behind her. Had she seen it before? Was it following her?
She found the two-lane rural highway but did not slow down. Jay was screaming in the seat behind her now, and from the smell of it he had reason to complain. But she didn’t stop. Diaper rash would heal. But each shrill cry from his little lungs beat against her conscience. Are you going to just leave me sitting in filth?

The second highway marker came into view faster than she expected. She passed it slightly and ended up doing a sort of 270-degree turn to get onto it, nearly taking off the bumper of the car that had been following her.

Not far now. It was only three miles down this road, according to Cassie.

Check the rearview mirror... the car she’d nearly run into was now doing its own version of the 270-degree turn. Her stomach twisted. Bile rose in her throat, stinging as she fought to gulp it down.

Shit. Not now. Not now. Please God, not now!

There was no one else on the road except her and whoever was behind her. She floored it, turned off the radio so she could concentrate, then instantly regretted that decision. Jay’s cries weren’t exactly soothing.

She searched the right-hand side of the road for that abandoned gas station. If it didn’t come soon, this was all over. Trees. Trees. Barn. Fence. A sprawling one-story office building...

Wait, wasn’t that what she was supposed to see after she turned into the abandoned gas station? Maybe she’d misheard. At any rate, if this wasn’t it, she didn’t think she’d make it another half mile. The car behind her kissed her bumper and it was Kaitlin’s turn to scream.

She didn’t slow down. She just veered across the manicured grass lawn to get to the driveway leading to the front door and then, just past it, to the underground garage. The moment she breached the threshold the car behind her fell away. Then, with a squeal of brakes, it rolled to a stop.

Kaitlin hit the brakes too. She couldn’t race into a parking garage going over a hundred miles per hour. And anyway she was here. She was through whatever magic kept the vampires out. She hoped.

Looking behind her one last time, she spotted three figures getting out of the car that had now stopped so that it blocked the entrance to the building. Two were male, one female. All had glowing yellow eyes.

Chapter 4

JASON FELT A SURGE OF TRIUMPH when the car disappeared into the underground garage without crashing. Had he still been human, he might have felt relief. He remembered enough about being Jason to know that’s how Jason would have felt. Jason was dead; he was something else, but not knowing what and not having a better name in mind, he continued to think of himself as Jason.

“They took the bait,” Xavier said. “Now we wait and see if your scheme works.”

His scheme had already worked; he’d gotten Jay away from the monster beside him. If it had taken scaring Kaitlin witless to do so, that was a small price to pay. The thought of spending eternity with the fanciful woman hadn’t appealed to him much since the day he’d turned, but eternity with the flesh of his flesh... now that intrigued him. Not yet. The boy was too young. Drooled a lot. Soiled himself. But in a few years he could have an ally in his flesh child. Maybe then he could rid himself of Xavier once and for all.

But first he had to suffer yet another drive with the evil creature.

“I’m hungry,” said the nanny as soon as they had retreated back inside the car.

“Jason will take you on a hunt as soon as we reach the safehouse. Won’t you, Jason?” Xavier gave him something that would have passed for a smile if the creature could smile.

“Of course,” Jason replied. He didn’t want to. He didn’t think Xavier should have turned the woman. He, who spoke of the irresponsibility of young vampires and the exploding vampire population, had turned a woman to “teach Kaitlin a lesson.” What that lesson could be, Jason had no idea.

He hid his feelings during the trip to the safehouse – this one not an hour away from Alexander’s compound. A gutsy move on Xavier’s part, but so far the guild hadn’t come knocking on that particular door. At least as far as their surveillance could tell. Xavier himself had yet to stay there.

The two-story home had a log-cabin facade and was set against a backdrop of evergreen trees. If it weren’t the middle of June, it would have been the perfect backdrop for a Christmas story. His flesh host had fond memories of helping his mom choose the perfect Christmas tree each year. Even as a young child, he’d been able to help her drag it home and set it up.

Xavier climbed out of the car, leaving it running, a clear sign that he expected Jason to take the nanny out hunting before he so much as unpacked. Fine. He found it easier to think away from Xavier’s influence anyway.

While Jason settled into the driver’s seat, the nanny (Susan? Sally? Sarah?) took the vacant passenger seat. Within minutes they were back on the highway, aiming for the nearest pocket of civilization. It was too close to sunrise to venture further afield, although they would have to be careful about hunting too close to their home, especially with The Hunters Guild so close.

“I’m so hungry,” the nanny said. “Is it always like this?”

“No.” Only in the beginning, when a feeding frenzy drove everything else from their minds. Or so Jason had experienced. Xavier said all vampires went through it, but Xavier lied about too many things. Big things. Little things. He couldn’t seem to help it.

“I killed a man tonight,” she said. “Barely a man. He was out with his grandfather. I wanted to take the grandfather instead, but Xavier beat me to him.”

That sounded like Xavier. Why should we take the dregs of humanity for our sustenance?

“He let the grandfather live.”

That sounded like Xavier too. If his flesh host hadn’t been so determined to kill his father before anyone else, Xavier would have had him drain his cousin Cassie dry. His flesh host liked Cassie. Jason didn’t have a strong opinion about her now, but it seemed... wasteful? Unnecessary? Evil?

Vampires were evil. His flesh host had believed that to his dying day. Jason didn’t know what the word meant anymore.

“Do I have to kill this time?” the nanny asked.

“Are you as frenzied as you were before?”

“No.”

“Then probably not. Just a matter of stopping. Then tell the donor to forget he ever saw you.”

“So why don’t vampires do that more often instead of killing people?”

“I’ve only killed one person. And he needed to die.”

The nanny was silent for a while. Good. Jason’s mind was beginning to clear the further he drove from Xavier’s influence and he didn’t want it cluttered up with questions. Thirty minutes later, with maybe an hour to go before sunrise, he came to the first in a small cluster of homes. From his trip through here an hour or so ago, he recalled a shabby main street, closed for the night save for a single gas station, a mile or so down the road. But he didn’t need to go that far. If he stopped outside of town and ran the rest of the way, no one would see the car swinging back through.

He parked half a mile from the first house and about a mile from the gas station, then urged the nanny to follow at a run. She started out okay, but only a few seconds later he heard a loud thud and saw that she’d run smack into a tree. Her face was a mass of cuts and bruises that would heal in a matter of hours, but the tree – a white pine, he thought – wasn’t nearly so lucky.

It was evidence of their presence here tonight. If they had more time he’d turn back, move on down the road, and find the next settlement. But the sun would rise too soon.

“Clumsy,” Jason snapped as he raced back to her position.

“I’ve never run at super speed before,” she snapped back. “Were you Mr. Grace the first time?”

Jason couldn’t recall the first time. His flesh host had been moving at super speeds longer than he could remember. Still, she was a menace. “If you can’t run, what good are you? I’m not sure why Xavier let you turn.”

She turned her back to him and her shoulders shook. Was she crying? Did vampire cry?

“What?” Jason snapped. He snapped more often now that he was a vampire. It seemed the prospect of eternal life had made him less patient.

“End it then!” She turned around and instead of tears, he saw yellow fire in her eyes. “Go on. End it! I didn’t want to become this... this... what the hell am I?”

Jason had no idea. It was one of the things he hated most about Xavier. The older vampire knew, and wouldn’t say. He didn’t think the hunters had it exactly right – the idea that a demon had possessed his flesh host to reanimate it felt more like superstition than truth – but he wasn’t Jason. It was more like the flesh host had given birth to something else; the longer he lived, the less like the flesh host he became and the more like whatever else now grew inside him.

In two hundred years would he be as inhuman as Xavier?

“Well, what am I?”

“A vampire.”

“Which is what? A term for a collection of pop culture references? What am I?”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you asked Xavier?”

“Xavier lies.”

“About this?”

“About everything.”

She blinked. “I don’t care. End it. While I’m still human enough to care. Or can you tell me my humanity isn’t going to slowly disappear? I’ve watched you with Kaitlin. How much was an act?”

Most of it. She didn’t know – the nanny didn’t know – that he spent an hour every night in the nursery with Jay, rocking his son and talking nonsense to him. Kaitlin thought the boy was sleeping through the night, but it wasn’t true.

But was it him or his flesh host that wanted to spend time with the child? His flesh host had wanted the mother too – or thought he had. It hadn’t taken the new Jason more than a week in her constant presence to tell Xavier he could have her for his experiments if he wanted. The silly twit expected some kind of happily ever after with him, like they were living in a fairy tale. She’d said so, under the influence of the thrall, when she couldn’t lie to him if her life depended on it.

Neither Jason nor his flesh host had ever been a fairy tale hero.

“End it,” the nanny repeated.

“No.” Was he being perverse or had he just decided that he liked this woman’s company more than Kaitlin’s after only a few hours? It didn’t matter. He wanted the same answers she did: What am I? Xavier wouldn’t tell them; perhaps they could uncover the truth on their own.

He held out his hand to her. “Come. I’ll help you through the trees. And when we go into the gas station, I’ll show you how to take only what you need.”

Chapter 5

EVERYTHING WAS FALLING APART. OVER A year-and-a-half of working, planning, strategizing, and building, and he could feel it slipping through his fingers. Matthew wasn’t making a dent in Alexander’s power base and to make matters worse, he had lost rather than gained members in the weeks since he’d returned from New York.

He was seriously questioning his decision to leave mundane politics to threaten Alexander in a far more powerful sphere. If he had stayed the course, he would be gearing up for a run at the U.S. House of Representatives right now. After a few terms there he would try the U.S. Senate, then Governor of Missouri. Eventually, he would have become President of the United States. He could see it all before him now; he could probably reclaim that path, find some way to explain his absence and continue down the same road with only a couple of years delay.

But something held him back. He wasn’t sure what, though his brother Robert had called it stubbornness. Matthew preferred to believe it was honor – if he didn’t challenge Alexander here and now, then who and when? The man needed to be stopped and there simply wasn’t anyone else to do it.

Not that Matthew was a hero or anything. That was Evan’s thing, not his. Evan was the kind of man to want power to bolster his own protections and those of the people he loved. Matthew, on the other hand, wanted power for its own sake. To lead the formation of a bigger, better world. He had wanted to be president. Now he wanted to run the magical world, and he hadn’t yet conceded that Alexander had him beat.

So yeah, maybe he was stubborn, but he had his reasons. He’d had reasons for almost two years, beginning with a young woman from his hometown who’d died at the hands of a mob Alexander had stirred up. It hadn’t been an isolated incident, of course. Matthew had traced other patterns of strange behavior to the man, in addition to murders and disappearances, but there was never proof. There wouldn’t be any where Devon was concerned, either. The latest in a long line of inconveniences would vanish, and no one would even go looking for him because they would all believe the story that he’d sold his own daughter’s magic.

Matthew spent the next few weeks after his return from New York in a holding pattern, watching the people around him carefully for signs that they too had been tampered with, that someone might have a sample of their blood. Anyone was suspect, especially those who had been to visit Alexander in his compound in Pennsylvania.

Evan had been to the compound. Evan, Matthew’s most powerful ally, was compromised. He hadn’t entirely trusted the man before due to some personal issues between them, and the feeling was mutual, but they had always been able to set that aside and work together for a common cause. Now Matthew couldn’t even trust that Evan was acting entirely under his own power.

Evan was distracted these days by the strange disappearance of his sister Madison and his best friend Scott, the leader of the local werewolf pack. Matthew found the matter disturbing as well, but he trusted that Evan was doing everything he could and would ask for help if he needed it. In the meantime, Evan’s preoccupation might keep him from noticing Matthew trying to shift him out of his inner circle.

Matthew’s father noticed. James Blair, Eagle Rock’s mayor and local truth-teller, could not be lied to, which was why Matthew had avoided him for the past few weeks. James had been to Alexander’s compound and might also be compromised, despite his gift and his power.

If Matthew couldn’t trust his own father, who could he trust?

James himself was apparently determined to answer that question late one Monday evening in June. He arrived on Matthew’s doorstep uninvited, and did not go away when Matthew pretended not to be home.

“I know you’re in there! You’d better hurry up and answer the door before the others get here.”

“Others?” Matthew asked, flinging the front door open to stare at a man who was an older version of himself, impeccably dressed in suit and tie. He couldn’t read his father’s mind, of course. He had learned almost everything he knew about mind magic from his father, a master of the art.

“Yes, others,” James Blair said, handing him a vegetable tray and a bag of chips. “I wasn’t sure you’d have refreshments so I brought some. Your mother’s right behind me with drinks.”

“A family powwow?” Matthew asked. He studied his father, trying to use what he knew of reading facial features to understand what might be going through the man’s mind. He wasn’t all that good at reading faces, not even his father’s. A result, no doubt, of having clearer answers shot directly into his head the vast majority of the time.

“No, a White Guard meeting. You haven’t called one in a month and everyone’s wondering why. You’re losing control. Something’s bothering you and you’re letting yourself show weakness.”

Never show weakness. It was the first thing his father had taught him. He recalled the lesson now by keeping his face completely impassive and expressionless.

“In any case,” James continued, “something’s come up that has your mother worried. She’s the one who wanted me to call the meeting, and you know how she can get. She won’t take no for an answer.”

“All right.” Matthew stepped aside and let his father enter the freshly cleaned living room. The cleaning service had come by that afternoon.

James set the food down on a buffet against the wall then sat on the burgundy love seat. He looked at his eldest son in the penetrating way he had that reminded Matthew he could not lie to his father.

“What’s going on?” James asked finally.

“I can’t tell you.”

James looked surprised. He didn’t look that way often. “You really can’t. Or think you can’t. I don’t know which disturbs me more. I’m your father; I’m on your side. I know you have trouble trusting some of the others because they support your cause more than they support you, but it’s the opposite with me.”

It was true. Matthew usually appreciated how his father stood by him, even though James Blair thought uniting the magical world under anyone was a bad idea. James’s plan had initially been to wrest power away from Alexander and then try to put things back the way they were, when local clusters of sorcerers were laws unto themselves, but Matthew had seen pretty quickly that such a thing could never work. He soon came to believe the other members of his inner circle who said that magical unification was a good thing, at least under the right leader. Whether his belief in the need for such a leader had come before or after his desire to become one was irrelevant at this point.

“I would tell you if I could,” Matthew said.

“I’ll accept that for now. You could have said that much, at least.”

“Maybe.” Probably, but Matthew hadn’t been sure enough of where he stood, which was why he hadn’t called an inner council meeting himself. Well, his parents had taken that decision out of his hands, and maybe it was for the best. If Alexander did have spies in the organization, unwitting though they may be, he might know that Matthew had been successfully rattled by his latest trip and the information he had gleaned – along with the broader implications.

James leaned forward, shot a quick glance over his shoulder at the front door, then turned his head back to his son. “You can’t lose your nerve, son. Not against someone like Alexander. Never show weakness.”

“I know.”

“You could always go back to the state legislature,” James said, and Matthew didn’t have to be able to read his father’s mind to know he had ulterior motives in suggesting such a thing. “You did well there.”

“And accept defeat? Wouldn’t that be showing weakness?”

“The difference between giving up and moving on is all in the presentation.”

Matthew was saved the need to answer by the arrival of his mother, Caroline, and his brother, Robert. They each held two 2-liter bottles of soda, which they placed on the buffet with the snacks. Robert then made himself at home inside Matthew’s cabinets, looking for the ice bucket, while Caroline hugged her son and chastised him for being so distant lately.

She hadn’t been to visit Alexander, Matthew thought. Neither had Robert, though Robert had been in contact with the Magical Underground’s troops plenty of times over the last year.

Not for the first time, Matthew wondered if part of the reason that he’d been allowed to see Evan’s memory lapse was to cause him to second-guess everyone and everything in his world. If it were true, it was working beautifully. Matthew felt disgusted with himself. Never show weakness indeed.

A few others arrived over the next fifteen minutes, town founders Clark and Linda Eagle among them. Evan arrived last of all; Matthew was surprised he had come, with his sister still missing. Dark circles under Evan’s eyes suggested that he had not slept lately, and he barely grunted a greeting as he crossed to the last vacant armchair.

“No word on your sister?” Matthew asked.

Evan shook his head. “I’m sorry I’ve been unavailable lately. How are things going?”

“Just fine,” Matthew lied smoothly. “Take all the time you need.”

“I’m going to get Cassie on the phone,” Evan said. “She had to stay home with the baby.”

Matthew nodded by way of pretending he believed Evan. Cassie had been listening in to these meetings via speaker phone long before she’d given birth, and Matthew didn’t have to be a mind reader to know why.

Cassie was the source of the “personal issues” between Matthew and Evan. Matthew had once been engaged to Cassie, but in the end, Evan had proved more determined to win her. Determined enough that he had used some sort of compulsion strong enough to make her forget that Evan had stolen her magic. Evan still seemed to fear she would come to her senses and leave him, if Matthew interfered. Well, he wouldn’t. She’d made her decision, however ill-advised. He certainly wouldn’t risk the White Guard’s already fragile alliance over a minor moral high ground.

“Now that we’re all here,” Matthew said, taking a seat on a barstool he habitually moved into the living room for this purpose (it gave him the advantage of height), “we can begin. Let’s start with old business.”

For the next few minutes they went through the motions just as if this were any ordinary meeting. As if five weeks hadn’t elapsed since the last one, when they usually met every week or two. Clark Eagle mentioned that his recruits were improving, but they hadn’t had any new recruits in over a month and a few of the old ones had left. Robert and James also discussed the drop in recruitment Matthew already knew about.

Evan, of course, said nothing at all. He had been as distracted as Matthew of late, though for different reasons. Cassie, from the other end of the phone, said she had another lead on Sean Wood, a man Alexander had accused of slave trade but who they believed had simply gotten in the man’s way. Evan couldn’t follow it up, though, so they’d sent a new recruit. Matthew didn’t have much hope for the mission’s success. He wasn’t even as certain as he would once have been that Cassie herself was passing them sound information. She’d stayed with Alexander longer than any of them, and none of her leads had borne fruit.

“New business, then,” Matthew said, looking pointedly at his mother.

“Alexander has begun a new attack campaign,” Caroline said. “It was in today’s issue of The Wizarding Word.”

Matthew managed not to wince. The Wizarding Word was a propaganda tool put out by Alexander DuPris. “I assume it’s not more of the same conspiracy nut nonsense.”

Caroline shook her head. “This seems to be in response to your recent rescue of that young woman from the Travises.”

Matthew sat up straighter. Just before he’d gone to New York, he’d sent Evan and a few of their best recruits to get the girl, who had been drained of her magic and sold into marriage with one of the most disgusting sorcerers in the country. The mission had been an immense success and had played well in the magical world for a while – in forums, chat rooms, and through the newsletter Linda helped put out weekly.

“How can they possibly have anything negative to say about that?” Matthew asked.

“They said it was a publicity stunt, meant to make it appear as if you take the issue seriously, but it insinuated that your inner circle is personally involved in magic theft and slave trading.”

“They’re making things up again,” Matthew said, remembering Devon.

“They didn’t actually lie this time,” James broke in. He glanced at his wife for a moment before continuing, “They twisted the truth, but more than one of us is married to a drained woman.”

Matthew scanned the room, looking from face to face to gauge their reactions. The only mind he could read was Linda’s, and her thoughts were focused on Caroline Blair, who was determinedly not meeting anyone’s eyes. She often did that in a room like this. It made her look like what she was on the surface – a woman who had been drained of her magic thirty years ago and sold into marriage.

Is she really as happy as she always says she is? Linda was thinking. How can she be when she had no choice?

Matthew shook away the uncomfortable thought. His mother was happy; he’d know if she wasn’t. His father should never have bought her, but the incident was thirty years in the past. There was a far more recent transgressor in the room; Matthew focused his gaze on Evan, who was staring just as intently back.

What was Evan thinking? Not for the first time Matthew wished he could read the powerful sorcerer’s mind. Not that he would know right now if Evan’s thoughts were his own or a product of blood magic. This was exactly why Matthew hadn’t been ready for a council meeting. He still hadn’t decided what to do about Evan, but from the look on the other man’s face, he would have to decide quickly.

“You didn’t care much about this issue before you decided to go up against Alexander,” Evan said accusingly. He glanced at Caroline before turning back to Matthew. “It’s not like you can say you didn’t know it was going on.”

“Of course I knew it was going on.” Matthew did not look at his mother and he kept his face expressionless. “I just didn’t think I could do anything about it.”

“You were originally against magical unification,” Evan said, leaning forward. His blue eyes flashed with anger. “You only jumped on board when you saw it happening without you.”

That one was a low blow, although if he was honest with himself, it was fair. But it didn’t mean he liked to see injustices being done. All he’d done was change his mind about how best to correct them, and in what way he could be personally involved.

“That’s enough,” Caroline spoke from her quiet corner and all eyes turned to her. “Evan, you have no moral high ground here. Everyone in this room knows you’re married to the woman whose magic you stole.”

Everyone in the room did know that, but no one in the room had said it outright. What game was his mother playing? She was an empath, so surely she wouldn’t want to make Evan angrier.

“I didn’t take it, my father did!” Evan rose to his feet.

“You didn’t give it back,” Matthew said, also rising to his feet. He glanced at his mother, who nodded almost imperceptibly. He didn’t know why, but she thought they needed to have this fight. So be it. He’d been putting it off for months anyway. Part of him actually relished the idea.

“You haven’t given your mother her freedom,” Evan said, jabbing a finger in Caroline’s direction. “And your father is a ‘trusted’ member of this council. Tell me the truth, James, are you even remotely sorry for what you did?”

“No,” James said mildly, not rising to Evan’s bait. “But my sins are not my son’s. As I recall, your own father bought his first wife and won his second in a poker game.”

“Fine. I’ll stick to your sins, Matthew,” Evan said. “You used magical compulsions to try to force my wife to marry you. I’m not clear on how that’s different from what your father did. Is it more noble because you didn’t use money? That instead you reeled her in through family favors and mind mojo?”

“You’ve been wanting to say that for a very long time, haven’t you?” Matthew didn’t have to be an empath to feel the anger heating up this room. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his mom and brother flinch.

“I’ve wanted to say more than that,” Evan snarled.

“Then why are you here, if you think I’m so evil? Why don’t you form your own movement?” Matthew put up a hand to forestall an answer. “Oh, but wait. I know! You wouldn’t dirty your hands with mind magic – except that love spell you put on your wife which for some reason doesn’t count – but you know you can’t topple Alexander without it.”

“I didn’t put a love spell on my wife!”

“Oh really?” Matthew turned to his father. “True or false?”

“False,” James said, still maintaining his outward calm.

“You want to play the true or false game?” Evan asked, glancing between father and son. “Then tell me, Matthew, do you still want Cassie?”

“No,” Matthew said, because he couldn’t say anything else. He couldn’t believe Evan had asked.

“True or false?” Evan asked James.

“False.” James cringed. He couldn’t lie about what his gift told him.

“She’s yours, Evan,” Matthew said. “I won’t get between you.”

“True,” James said without being prompted.

“But you still think it was okay that you tried to force her in the first place.”

Matthew didn’t say anything. Evan would never believe him, but what he had actually done was far more complicated. Yes, he had influenced her. What suitor didn’t? He had also taken advantage of her during a stressful time in her life, although she was responsible for more of her actions at the time than she wanted to admit. But he had never lied to her, not even – no, especially – when he’d told her he loved her. How could he have done? He’d cast a spell to let her read his mind, after all. Her desire to make love to him and her decision to put his ring on her finger had not been, as Evan had later convinced her, a product of any “mind mojo.” Looking back, Matthew believed it had been her own emotional vulnerability and need for revenge, but at the time he hadn’t seen anything but the perfect woman for him. She hadn’t even been too upset when she’d discovered he could read her mind; that truth had ended more than one relationship before it began.

Matthew had taught her to fight mind magic, not that she’d ever thanked him for it. And maybe that hadn’t been his whole purpose, but he had wanted her strong, not weak. He wouldn’t even have minded her turning around and using some of what he taught her right back on him. It had worked for his parents, after all.

He’d never said any of that out loud, and never planned to.

“Nothing to say?” Evan asked when the silence had grown uncomfortable.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Matthew said.

“True,” James threw in.

“Have you ever even asked your mom if she wants out of her marriage?” Evan asked.

“I’m happy,” Caroline said, her gaze fixed on her husband. “I don’t want out.”

“True,” James said, smiling fondly at his wife.

But that hadn’t been the point of Evan’s last question. The point was that Matthew had never asked. In his defense, he had never doubted it, but he had never asked. He should have asked.

“I think we’ve said enough.” Matthew considered trying to put a calming spell on Evan, but decided against it. That would only mask the problem, and this was something that had been coming for a long time. “This meeting is adjourned.”

Evan picked up his phone – Cassie hadn’t said a word the whole time – and stormed out of the house. Clark, Linda, James, and Robert followed him out, a little more slowly. Caroline hung back.

“Go on, dear,” she said to James. “I’ll see you at home.”

James gave her a swift kiss on the cheek before heading outside with his younger son.

“What was that about?” Matthew asked. “You provoked that argument.”

“He doesn’t trust you,” Caroline said.

“That definitely proves you’re an empath,” Matthew said sarcastically.

“Don’t take that tone with me.”

“Sorry.” He rarely apologized, but when he did, it was usually to his mom.

“You need him to trust you, and the only way to do that was to get this all out in the open.”

A month ago she might have had a point, but now Matthew had other problems. She didn’t know about them, and he wondered if they’d both made things worse. No, Evan didn’t trust him. He didn’t trust Evan, either. And now it went beyond Cassie.

“I didn’t realize you still wanted the girl.” Caroline arched an eyebrow at her son.

“I’m not pining after her. I just... she was kind of perfect for me.”

Caroline sighed and shook her head. “No she wasn’t. Wrong temperament. And despite what you always believed from watching your father with me, you would never be happy for long with a woman you coerced into loving you.”

Matthew wasn’t sure about that, but it was probably a moot point. There weren’t many women in the world he couldn’t coerce, at least to some degree. And after all, it had worked for his parents. It wasn’t a typical romantic story; most didn’t find the idea that they had each essentially worked love spells on the other romantic at all, but James and Caroline Blair were proof that love came in all shapes and sizes. And it could grow in the most unusual places.

“Mom, you are happy with him, aren’t you?” Matthew asked.

“Yes.”

“You’d tell me if you weren’t?”

She hesitated. “I don’t know.”

“Mom–”

She held up a finger. “I’d tell you if I needed out and didn’t think I could get out on my own, but that’s not the case. Your father never held me that way, despite what most people think. Yes, he bought me from a man who had stolen my magic, but in his mind he was rescuing me from a far worse fate. He probably did at that. And he would have let me go if I’d ever really wanted out.”

“I should at least have asked.”

“It’s not something children usually think to ask their parents. Not even when they’re twenty-eight. Don’t let Evan score that point on a technicality. He doesn’t know you. In his defense, you haven’t let him know you. He’d probably feel better about you if you found yourself a wife.”

“Right, because I don’t have enough on my plate.”

“The right woman will help clear it off.”

With that, Caroline disappeared through the front door and out into the muggy June evening.

Chapter 6

KAITLIN RETURNED TO CONSCIOUSNESS SLOWLY, ONE sense at a time. Touch came first. She felt a firm mattress beneath her, a soft blanket above her. She was cocooned in warmth and for some time, that became the only important thing in her world. Her mind drifted lazily within that feeling of security. She didn’t have to do anything at all. No one expected anything of her – no work, no food, no blood...

She noticed smells next. There was an underlying scent of disinfectant, reminding her of a hospital. Except something was off... a tang she couldn’t identify or maybe didn’t want to identify. It was too peaceful here within her cocoon of warmth and peace.

She heard the hum of an air conditioner. It was the only sound in the room, except for silence, which became increasingly oppressive as she tried to rebury herself in lethargy.

The world was hard. The world was painful. This warmth was all she needed. All she wanted. She could just stay here forever.

Except...

“Jay!”

Kaitlin sat bolt upright, opening her eyes for the first time as she attempted to take in her surroundings through a new haze of panic. It was a room. A white room with a white bed and an ugly turquoise floor. There was a machine next to the bed with lines on it that went up and down in an erratic reflection of her pounding heart. Near that machine, an IV bag hung from a pole. Kaitlin followed the tubes leading from the bag to her arm, where the needle had been secured with medical tape.

A hospital. She was in a hospital. She didn’t remember coming to a hospital but memories were hazy. She’d run from Jason and Xavier, she knew that much. But Jason could find her anywhere. He’d said so. He had drunk enough of her blood that he would be able to find her anywhere in the universe. Wherever she was, he would know.

That made one of them.

There was a spot of blood on the hospital sheet that caught Kaitlin’s attention for a moment. She wasn’t supposed to leave blood lying around. Cassie had taught her that, and Jason had confirmed it. But if she was in a normal hospital, they had probably taken samples of blood to send to a lab and they wouldn’t think twice about a tiny drop of blood too small for anyone to notice.

The room contained two doors, one of which stood ajar. Through it she could see the rim of a toilet; obviously the bathroom. The other door was closed, the heavy wood panels a stark contrast against the white of the nearby walls.

Kaitlin swung her legs off the side of the bed, stripping away the covers. She wasn’t naked. Thank God for that. She wore an ugly pink spotted hospital gown that tied in the front. Clutching it against her chest, she stood, teetering slightly in her attempt. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she grabbed at the edge of the bed for support.

The exterior door swung open on silent hinges and in walked a man who was way too good looking to be a doctor, even if he wore green scrubs and a white lab coat. He couldn’t have been much older than Kaitlin, mid-twenties at the most, and he had exactly the sort of tall, lean frame that she always went for. Not to mention the I’m too cool for you expression on his face.

“Nice to see you awake,” the man said, offering her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Who are you? Where am I? Where’s Jay?”

“Your son is fine. Now lie back down before you hurt yourself.”

Kaitlin stood her ground, even though she had to clutch at the edge of the bed to do it. “I want to see him.”

“Soon. I’m a healer, by the way. Healer Jackson.”

The healer, whatever that was, crossed the room in two purposeful strides and firmly but gently eased her back down onto the bed. She was too weak to resist for long, and she finally gave in to the fact that this wasn’t the way to help either her son or herself.

Only when he seemed satisfied that she didn’t intend to bolt did he speak again. “The hunters have taken charge of your son for the time being. I know they’ll want to speak with you soon, but first we’re all curious about you. Why did you come here?”

Memories flickered across Kaitlin’s mind, too painful for her to want to grab hold. But there was a car, and a midnight run, and a baby in the backseat who needed her.

“It was the only place I could think to come. Vampires were after me.”

“Vampires had nearly sucked you dry,” Healer Jackson said. “Not to mention that you had too much venom in your system for us to flush it out. If you had died, you would have turned. You’d turn now if you died. We’ve had a hunter guarding your door for the past three days, just in case.”

“Three days?” Kaitlin felt suddenly dizzy again. “Is that how long I’ve been here?”

“Yes. And if you want to stay, you’re going to have to answer some questions. You are Kaitlin Meyer from Eagle Rock, correct?”

“Am I on trial?”

“No, but I can’t have you leaving this room before we get some things straight. We don’t normally let powerless people into the compound, and your magical ability rated an absolute zero.” His sneering face didn’t look remotely handsome now.

“Are you going to throw me out?” Kaitlin asked, renewed terror gripping her heart. Where would she go if they did? And were the vampires waiting for her outside?

“I don’t know,” the healer replied, his sneer fading somewhat. “Your son has a lot of potential. And the hunters are in desperate need right now.”

Desperate need? She didn’t like the sound of that. Maybe coming here hadn’t been such a good idea, though she couldn’t think of anything else at the time. Had she saved her son from vampires now, only to lose him to vampires in a few years, when he became a hunter?

“Don’t worry about your son right now,” he said, his tone not remotely reassuring. “You need to rest and recover. Then we’ll decide what we can do for you and your son. If I leave you here for a few minutes, will you promise not to try to move or otherwise exacerbate your injuries?”

Kaitlin hesitated. Something didn’t feel right. “I guess.”

“All right. Try to relax. It may be a few minutes.”

Healer Jackson left, closing the door behind him. A moment later Kaitlin heard the unmistakable sound of a lock clicking into place. So, that’s the way things were, huh? She wasn’t going to be a guest here so much as an unwelcome intruder, like a gnat. Healer Jackson hadn’t been anything but polite, but he had definitely looked at her like an inferior species.

And what was a healer anyway? She’d forgotten to ask in her concern for her son. He definitely didn’t have an MD, unless he’d done the Doogie Howser thing.

Kaitlin tried to do what the healer had advised and relax, but as the minutes stretched on she found that she couldn’t. The peace of unconsciousness had gone, leaving with it a strong need for action.

White. What was it with hospitals and white? Was it supposed to make her feel like the room was clean or something? She just wished there were something more interesting to look at. The room was small, maybe only three feet longer than the bed and five feet wider. Sharing the space with her, aside from the IV and heart rate monitor, was an oak nightstand with a single drawer. She flicked the switch on the small turquoise lamp atop the nightstand and opened the drawer, expecting to find a Bible or something. Instead, she found a newsletter proclaiming itself The Wizarding Word. Top story: “Girl Drained of Magic by Her Own Father.”

Magic drain wasn’t something that Kaitlin cared much about, although her best friend was obsessed with the issue. Then again, Cassie had personal experience with the subject. Kaitlin had never had magic, so she’d never felt entitled to it. She supposed it would feel pretty crappy to lose something like that, but why was it always girls getting drained? She’d almost asked Cassie that once, a long time ago, but thought it would come across as insensitive. But seriously, didn’t men ever get drained?

Kaitlin was considering whether to read the newsletter, more because she didn’t have anything better to do than because she cared, when she realized how badly she needed to use the bathroom. She had promised Healer Jackson that she would rest, but surely she could make it to a toilet five feet away without help. Not that he’d given her a call button or anything, so her choices were to grow increasingly uncomfortable or fend for herself.

Kaitlin drew in a deep breath, swung her legs over the side of the bed, and managed to get shakily to her feet. She didn’t even get dizzy this time, which she took as a good sign. Smiling to herself, she grabbed the IV bag from its hook on the pole and started walking toward the bathroom. She paused halfway, turned right back around, and stared at the heart rate monitor still beeping away without a care in the world. Then she looked down at her chest, which was blissfully lead-free. There wasn’t even any residual stickiness there.

“How...?” Kaitlin shook her head. She had bigger problems right now.

She managed to use the bathroom without incident and returned to her bed, hanging the IV back on the pole. She threw another curious glance at the monitor, then started to climb into bed.

She froze. What was that, under the bed?

Kaitlin knelt, pulling up the blankets to see what had caught her attention. There on the floor, barely sticking out from under the covers, was an empty vial of the sort people used to take blood samples. She picked it up and rolled it between her fingertips, frowning thoughtfully. But they wouldn’t collect blood here. Surely not?

The vial was labeled. Kaitlin saw her full name there in bold, even strokes. It was empty though. No one had taken her blood. Or had they? This had been under the bed. Maybe someone had missed it and replaced it with another?

What was it that the Scots had told her about blood and blood magic? She racked her brain but couldn’t remember much. It could be used for scrying; she would never forget that painful truth after what Jason had said. But what else had there been? Vagueness, mostly. She’d gotten the idea that maybe voodoo magic was real, that someone could use a sample of blood in conjunction with a doll to inflict pain. But mostly she just remembered: Never leave your blood lying around. Destroy it. Burn it.

Kaitlin climbed into bed, slipping the vial into a small front pocket of her ugly pink hospital gown. She had just picked up the newsletter to begin reading when the main door opened and in walked Healer Jackson, accompanied by three men and a woman who all crowded into the increasingly tiny space.

Kaitlin blinked in surprise. What were so many people doing here for her? It wasn’t as if she were dangerous, especially not to magic users. She’d seen some of the stuff that sorcerers could do and, if anything, she should be afraid of them. She would be too, just as soon as she stopped feeling so tired and worried about her son.

Yet these sorcerers filled the tiny room with their numbers. A middle-aged man wearing a black security uniform trimmed in silver came forward first. He had the air of rank and superiority. A name tag on his shirt proclaimed him to be “Jeffrey Jefferson.” Poor kid. His mother couldn’t have liked him.

A woman, also wearing a black security guard’s uniform, came up behind him. She couldn’t be much older than Kaitlin, but she also had an air of command about her. She looked at Kaitlin with cold, ruthless eyes that dared Kaitlin to step out of line. She would have been pretty if she’d smiled. Maybe. But at the moment Kaitlin had trouble picturing the Hispanic woman doing anything but glower. Her name tag read “Maria Vasquez.”

The other two men weren’t in security – or at least they didn’t wear the black uniform. The older of the two, a wrinkled man with a shock of white hair – wore a business suit. There was a powerful aura about him, though, and in his eyes she saw something like barely-contained excitement.

The last man was the most interesting to Kaitlin. He was a handsome man, too old for her, but still retaining the physique of a much younger man. He looked Asian, maybe Chinese or Japanese? Kaitlin had no way of knowing. Honestly, she’d never seen an Asian person outside of a movie, or maybe once or twice when they’d come through Eagle Rock as tourists. There were probably features that identified his ethnicity, but she didn’t know them. There was also something not quite fully formed about those features. A softening of them, as if one of his parents or grandparents had been Caucasian.

Ancestry aside, he had dark black hair, deep black eyes, a strong chin, and a piercing expression that seemed to look through to a person’s soul. She thought he knew her, even though she didn’t know him. Not even his name.

“I’m Captain Jefferson,” said the older of the two security guards. “This is Sergeant Vasquez. We’re from security.”

“I noticed,” Kaitlin said wryly.

Captain Jefferson went on without acknowledging her interruption. “This is Mr. Quinn, or Hunter One as most people call him. He’s in charge of the Hunters Guild. Beside him is Hideyuki, the guild’s top trainer. He’s in charge of new recruits and has been seeing to the guard on your door since you arrived.”

“Why are you all here?” Kaitlin asked. “Have I done something wrong?”

“No, not at all,” said Hunter One, stepping forward and pushing Vasquez to the side. “We’re very interested in learning more about you. When you arrived, you weren’t in a position to tell stories.”

“I met you at the conclave in Eagle Rock two years ago,” Captain Jefferson said, casting her a suspicious look. “Do you remember?”

“Not really, no.”

“At the time you were pregnant with a magical baby. That’s why we invited you. I believe you were channeling?”

“Nearly blew up a building,” Kaitlin said, recalling the shocking feel of the overwhelming power. “The Scots set me straight.”

Vasquez scowled.

“What?” Kaitlin asked.

“The Scots aren’t exactly friends of the compound,” Captain Jefferson said, his scowl deepening. “Almost no one from Eagle Rock is. You’ll have to excuse us for being cautious, but it is suspicious... you suddenly turning up here. What are you doing here? Why didn’t you go home? You’ve got powerful friends at home.”

Kaitlin forced herself not to retreat from these men, not to let them intimidate her. “They’re not hunters,” she said softly. “And Jason said he’d kill them.”

“So you put the people here at risk,” Captain Jefferson said.

Kaitlin hadn’t thought about it that way. Her eyes went wide and she stared at him. “Did I?”

“You tell me.” Captain Jefferson took a step forward. “Who, exactly, are you running from?”

“Jason. He – he’s Jay’s father. Or was, before he turned into a vampire. And his sire, Xavier.”

Hunter One let out a low whistle. “I’ve been trying to kill Xavier my entire life. What were you doing with him?”

What indeed? “Living a stupid girl’s fantasy.” She looked around, trying to find a friendly face. Someone she could confide in. She didn’t see it. Finally, she cast her gaze upon Hideyuki and started talking. She told them about Jason turning into a vampire. About him asking her to come with him. To turn with him. She told them about slowly surfacing from the thrall over the course of more than a year – she got some openly skeptical looks at that – and of finally realizing that Jason wasn’t Jason anymore.

“Jason is dead,” Kaitlin looked at Hideyuki, silently asking him for confirmation. He didn’t speak but he did give her a terse nod.

“Anyway, when Jason said he had enough of my blood to follow me anywhere I knew I couldn’t go home to Eagle Rock. So here I am. Begging for the protection of the hunters, I suppose.”

The group crowded into the room exchanged glances; there was some kind of silent communication present here that Kaitlin didn’t understand. That’s when it struck her: they were deciding her fate. What if they tossed her back out onto the streets? They could. Nothing would stop them, least of all her. She didn’t even have any magical resources to offer them.

“Ms. Meyer,” Captain Jefferson began. “Do you have any talents at all that would be useful to us? I know you don’t have any magic, but perhaps a gift? Precognition? Empathy? Intuition?”

Kaitlin shook her head mutely.

“She claims she resisted a vampire’s thrall,” Vasquez said. “I’d love to know how she did that.”

...she’s immune to the thrall, Xavier had said. Kaitlin hesitated, but some instinct – or perhaps a look from Hideyuki – kept her mouth shut.

“But her son is amazingly powerful,” Hunter One said. “The boy could be the finest hunter we’ll ever see.”

“In fifteen years, perhaps,” Jefferson said.

“Not so long, in the scheme of things.” Hunter One looked eagerly at Kaitlin, rubbing his hands together, and her stomach did a flip.

She shouldn’t have come here. Yes, Jay would be a natural hunter, but here they’d force him into it. He’d have no choice. He’d be raised to kill vampires and, perhaps, die at the hands of one just like his father.

What an idiot she’d been, starting that long-ago night she’d slept with Jason. Yes, she’d been on the pill, for all the good that had done her. But there had been more to it than that. Cassie had known she would get her heart broken when Jason left. Cassie had said that Jason would leave, and that he was in a high mortality profession. At the time she’d found the idea sexy as hell. Now it just sounded like hell.

“He’s a prodigy,” Hunter One went on. He turned to Kaitlin with a big grin on his wrinkled face. “Hunter gifts normally develop at puberty, but from what you’ve told us, his developed in utero. That’s fascinating. I’ve never heard of another one like him.”

“His father was that way,” Kaitlin said. “Jason.”

“We don’t talk about Jason,” Hunter One said. “He betrayed us.”

Kaitlin scowled. From everything she’d heard, it had been the other way around. She opened her mouth to say so but again a look from Hideyuki stopped her. He met her gaze for a fraction of a second and, very briefly, shook his head no.

Kaitlin closed her mouth.

“But still... remarkable. And you say you have no magic? No gift? Did your parents?”

Kaitlin shook her head. Technically, she had no idea who her father was, but she didn’t want to get into it with these strangers. The last thing she needed was someone digging up old secrets and old memories.

“Fascinating,” Hunter One said again. He was more fascinated than she was. She just wanted to get out of there, only she had nowhere to go. “The guild will take responsibility for them both. We’ll raise Jay and protect Kaitlin.”

“You’ll raise Jay?” Kaitlin demanded.

“He’ll live with you, of course. We’ll get you a nice little room for the two of you.”

“How nice of you. What do you mean, you’ll raise him?”

Hunter One’s face went hard, reminding her more of the faces of the security guards. “He will become a hunter one day, Ms. Meyer. You can count on that.”

“I don’t want him to be a hunter.”

“Then you can leave. There’s the door.” Hunter One gestured to it; Kaitlin only stared.

“Ah, but wait, what’s on the other side of that door? Two vampires you foolishly got tangled up with, waiting to kill you. I think you need us, Ms. Meyer. And we need your son. We can work together on this, but don’t mistake what’s happening here. The Magical Underground is not prepared to take in every stray person who wanders in off the streets. If you want to stay, you have to give us something in return.”

“I can work.” Kaitlin’s mind started spinning. “I can cook. You should try my strawberry pie.”

“Unless you know food magic, that’s not going to be useful,” Captain Jackson said.

“You’re asking me to sacrifice my only son.” Kaitlin shook her head helplessly.

“I’m not asking you to do anything,” Hunter One said. “I’m just telling you what your choices are.”

“My choices suck.”

“Do you need time to think it over?” Hunter One lifted an eyebrow. “You can stay here until you fully recover; we can ask you for your decision then.”

There was no decision, not really, and they all knew it. “I’ll stay.”

Hunter One beamed at her. “Great. We’ll let you and Yuki talk about Jay’s early training. He’ll be your son’s mentor. I’m so glad to have you on board.”

Kaitlin could not honestly say the same, but she shook Mr. Quinn’s wrinkled hand when he offered it to her and watched sulkily as everyone left the room. Everyone but Hideyuki.

“Well?” Kaitlin said to him.

He spoke for the first time. “You’re in deep shit. You know that, right?”

Kaitlin had expected some kind of accent, but he spoke English like a Midwesterner. She was surprised, both by the accent and the words, and she found herself laughing. “Yeah, deep shit is right.”

“Don’t trust the hunters,” Hideyuki said.

“Aren’t you a hunter?”

“Yes.”

“Why? What’s wrong with the hunters?”

But Hideyuki didn’t say. He just turned on his heel and followed his comrades out the door.

Chapter 7

MATTHEW SAT ON HIS BACK PORCH sipping iced tea with the newest member of his inner circle, Scott Lee, local werewolf alpha and powerful intuitive. They had a nice view of Table Rock Lake from here. In the late July haze, Matthew could just make out the private marina where he docked his boat, which he often took out when the weather was nice. He’d spent more time than usual out there of late, just thinking. Sometimes he took his fishing pole, sometimes he didn’t. When he did, he didn’t usually cast it into the water.

Scott Lee was, once again, learning the trick to blocking Matthew’s telepathy. He hadn’t quite mastered it yet – every so often Matthew caught a drift or an undercurrent – but the damn wolf had always been a problem. In the past Matthew had dealt with him through memory spells, but that would no longer work. He needed Scott’s memory intact. He needed Scott. The local werewolf alpha was the most powerful ally he had enlisted so far, not in and of himself but because he came with a veritable army of werewolves.

“I heard you and Evan had a fight while I was gone.” Scott hadn’t been back in town long, and his thoughts mainly registered impatience to return to his newfound mate.

“My mother helped it along. She thought we needed to air our differences.”

“I’m not sure he’ll ever trust you.” Scott paused then added, “Me neither.”

“At least you’re honest.”

“Yes, I am. Tell me the truth, Matthew, exactly how many times have you made me forget that I knew you were a telepath?”

Matthew flashed Scott a mysterious smile, then took a sip of iced tea.

“So why am I supposed to trust you?” Scott asked. “For all I know, you’re inside my head right now.”

“What do your instincts say?”

Scott hesitated. He was a powerful intuitive, which was something Matthew needed more now than ever before. He only hoped he was right about Scott. “No, I don’t think you’re messing with me.”

“I’m not.” But he still needed to be sure. Putting together the tendrils of a spell he had prepared in advance for just this purpose, Matthew set loose a simple and very subtle suggestion into the air. It wasn’t much, just a gentle brush. Look over there.

Scott looked the way Matthew had directed him, just to the left, but then he tensed. “You just did something, didn’t you?”

“Yes.” Matthew smiled. He had hoped, but he hadn’t been sure. If Scott was sensitive enough to realize that he’d been the victim of such a subtle and harmless suggestion, something he might have thought to do himself, then the odds of anyone having control of his mind were low.

“What did you do?”

“I tested you.” Matthew put his hands up in mock surrender. “I know you don’t trust me, but at least trust that I need the inside of your head intact. At the moment, I think your intuition will be just as valuable a tool as your werewolf army.”

Scott snorted. “It’s not my army. I only have the one pack. None of the other alphas will take orders from me, only suggestions.”

“Suggestions and subtlety are my specialty.”

“Why am I here?” Scott asked again, his impatience growing. “I told you I’d join your inner circle, although I have to tell you I’m doing it against Evan’s advice. He’s ready to quit.”

“So why are you joining?”

“Intuition.”

“Interesting. And does your intuition tell you anything about Evan right now?”

Scott narrowed his eyes. “Like what?”

Matthew set down his iced tea. He needed to trust someone and, as strange as it was, given how little he knew of the powerful werewolf seated by his side, he thought Scott might be his best bet. The man was nothing if not loyal. Plus, the only blood anyone had taken from him had burned in a fire. Matthew hoped.

“Is he acting normally, do you think?” Matthew asked.

“Mostly, yes.” Scott frowned.

“Mostly?”

“What are you driving at? I’m not in the mood for games.”

“Then let me tell you a story, and you tell me what your instincts tell you to do about it.” And Matthew related the full story of what had happened with Evan in New York. As he spoke, Scott’s expression grew darker and fiercer, but he did not interrupt.

“They took a sample of my blood at that lab,” Scott said. “I only think it was destroyed in the fire. For all I know they have mine too. Why trust me?”

“Do they have yours? Or did it burn?”

“My gut says it burned.” Scott hesitated then added, “They didn’t ever plan to let me out of that lab, and they thought it was secure. They didn’t have any particular reason to store a sample off-site. I checked the wreckage myself and found what was left of the storage closet and the testing facility. Actually, I think Alexander wanted to be able to disassociate himself with that facility if it ever became public, which is why we don’t have proof he was involved with it. I just don’t think there was a lot of contact between the two groups.”

“That was my reasoning as well,” Matthew said. “Plus, I think your instincts would tell you if anyone was manipulating you. They’ve always told you when I’ve tried.”

“You admit you’ve tried?”

“Once or twice.” It had been far more often than that and they both knew it. Scott, in fact, was thinking a number that was startlingly close to the truth, supporting Matthew’s earlier test. The memory charms had never worked for long – Scott had always known he had been hit with one right away, though it had usually taken him longer to remember what he’d forgotten.

“Evan’s angrier with you than he should be,” Scott said after a while. “Not that I’ve ever been great with emotions. That’s more your family’s thing.”

Matthew nodded. “We know he’s angry; we don’t know if he’s angrier than he should be.”

“Maybe.” Scott set his iced tea down and turned to fully face Matthew. “But let’s face it, your best ally hates you, and he has good reasons for it. Don’t you have any actual friends?”

Matthew looked away, gazing into the sunset. The truth was that he’d spent years making connections in the mundane world, not the magical one. Edward Scot had supported him in both spheres, but then he’d died. His daughter, Cassie, was both his biggest trump card and his biggest problem.

“I see,” Scott said. And he probably did. “You know the White Guard is never going to work while you and the inner circle are divided. If your core group isn’t strong, you don’t have a hope.” How can I trust a mind mage? Scott was wondering. He’s probably not even sorry for any of it.

“I know.” He really did. And he knew the problem. It wasn’t as if he went around advertising that he was a mind mage, but his inner circle knew. He and his father had discussed it, but they didn’t see a way to keep the information secret from those select people, at least. “What would it take to convince you to trust a mind mage?”

“A spell that makes me immune to mind magic?” Scott suggested, not at all joking.

“I don’t know one.” It was the truth, although not the whole truth. Matthew knew plenty of ways to resist mind magic, to detect it and to fight it. But he knew of no spell that could make anyone completely immune to mind magic. Even Devon, whose gift apparently had made him naturally resistant to mind magic, had been susceptible to blood magic – for a while. Fleetingly, Matthew wondered what had become of the man.

Scott grunted and turned away. His mind was suddenly closed tight, and Matthew guessed he wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not. “So do you think Alexander has blood samples from everyone he’s ever come in contact with?”

“If he did, it would explain how perfectly he’s covered up every crime we’ve tried to pin on him. Besides, if he has Evan’s...” Matthew let Scott fill in the rest.

“It seems pretty simple to me then.”

“Does it?”

“You’ve got to get inside the Underground’s headquarters, find the blood, gather evidence of its existence, then destroy it.”

Matthew wanted to believe that Scott was joking. Unfortunately his thoughts were coming through loud and clear right now. He was serious. He wanted Matthew to play spy in a deadly serious game. Matthew wasn’t even a combat sorcerer, and he knew very few spells that would be of use in a confrontation.

“You’re confusing me with Evan,” Matthew said.

“No, I’m not. Do you think brute force is going to get you into an underground fortress with thousands of sorcerers living within it? No one’s that strong. Not Evan. Not me. Not my wolves. Not every single person you’ve recruited to the White Guard. If you’re going to do this, it’s got to be subtle. What did you say your specialty was?”

Matthew didn’t reply.

“Alexander has issued you several invitations to visit his headquarters over the last year, hasn’t he?” Scott asked, knowing the answer.

“Not lately, but yes.”

“Well?”

“I appreciate your opinion.” Matthew drew in a deep breath. “Why don’t you go home to your mate? You’re clearly eager to get back to her.”

Scott stood. “It wouldn’t hurt anyone’s opinion of you if you got married,” Scott said as he slid open the balcony door. “Or at least, it would help Evan. I don’t care.”

Matthew let Scott show himself out while he sat on the back porch, continuing to stare into the sunset. Well, he’d asked. Never ask a question if you’re not ready to hear the answer was another one of his father’s truths. He’d asked Scott because of the man’s intuition, and now he had his answer.

Chapter 8

THE FIRST TIME HIDEYUKI BROUGHT KAITLIN’S son in to see her, Jay hugged her so tightly that he broke two of her ribs. And Kaitlin barely noticed. She was so relieved, so happy, so overcome to see him that she wept. Fat tears spilled onto the fuzz atop Jay’s head that still hadn’t decided if it was going to be blond or brown.

“Sorry about that,” Hideyuki said as he drew Jay safely away. “Maybe it was too soon to unbind his gift.”

Only then did Kaitlin notice the pain. She winced on her next inhale. “Doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter. I just want to know he’ll be okay. Will he?”

Hideyuki didn’t meet her eyes, and she recalled him telling her not to trust the hunters. What had he meant? And would he finish telling her the truth?

But no matter how hard she tried, both on that and subsequent visits, Hideyuki barely spoke. He tended to use single words when he could, single sentences when he couldn’t, and he only spoke when absolutely necessary.

Kaitlin spent a week in that hospital room, in that bed, recovering from severe blood loss and the weakness that the healing itself had created. The broken ribs probably added an extra day or two as well, but no one said so outright. It was a dreary time, with little to do except watch TV and read whatever she could convince the healers to bring her. Mostly, they brought her old issues of The Wizarding Word to “help you acclimate to your new home.”

Only the arrival of Jay, for an hour or so every afternoon, broke the dreariness of the hospital room. As soon as the door opened, Jay would rush in, jump onto her bed, and throw himself into her arms. It only lasted five minutes – not as long as she liked but a bit too long for the squirming child – but for now it was all the joy in her world. This was why she was here, thousands of miles from everyone she knew and loved. For herself, she would probably take the risk and go home, but not for him.

Kaitlin read to Jay while he played with some trucks he’d brought along. Then she sang to him, making him smile, though he didn’t sing along. He didn’t even talk – yet another thing to worry about.

Hideyuki stood outside in the hallway during most of their visiting hour each afternoon, but on the last day the door opened early. Only it wasn’t Hideyuki on the other side. Kaitlin saw a middle-aged woman with chin-length platinum blonde hair and a warm, friendly smile. The woman held out her hand to Kaitlin, who sat on the only chair in the room.

“I’m Aileen Rose, one of the empathic healers on staff here. Do you mind if we chat for a few minutes?”

Kaitlin took the offered hand a little warily, but she nodded. She stood and moved to sit on the rumpled bed, giving Aileen access to the chair.

Jay crossed to his mother and clung to her leg. Kaitlin rubbed his head unconsciously, her attention fixed on this intruder into their time. And what was an empathic healer anyway?

“I didn’t mean to intrude,” Aileen said, still smiling warmly. “But you’re being released tomorrow morning and they wanted me to have a word with you first.”

“I am?” Kaitlin hadn’t heard, although she was starting to get antsy here. Even her broken ribs had mended, thanks to some kind of accelerated healing magic.

“They needed to make sure all the vampire venom had been flushed out of your system before they could let you go,” Aileen told her. “As long as that remained in your system, you could have turned.”
“I know. They told me.” Kaitlin shuddered at the thought.

“I see you understand. That’s good. But what I’m here to talk to you about is your future in the Magical Underground.”

Kaitlin had been wondering about that herself so she sat up straighter and nodded.

“I’m told you have no magic or gifts at all. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” Kaitlin said, feeling suddenly like a cripple. The flash of feeling gave her a brief glimpse into how Cassie must have felt all these years, but she pushed it aside.

“That’s okay. We do have some people in the compound with limited or no magic at their disposal. We can’t get back the magic for everyone who’s been emptied, and sometimes it’s not safe to send them out into the world. But there are always jobs that need doing. I understand you have experience waitressing?”

“Yes,” Kaitlin said hollowly. She did not like the direction this was going.

“Then we’ll put you to work in the kitchen. I think they need someone to work the food cart, delivering meals around the compound.” Aileen stared at Kaitlin for a moment, her smile faltering somewhat. “It’s not exciting work, but it will give you a chance to meet almost everyone here, which is nice. May help you make new friends.”

Kaitlin’s stomach churned at the idea of meeting new friends. She liked her old friends, but she wasn’t likely to see them again anytime soon. She hadn’t been able to get in touch with Cassie since coming here. What must she be thinking?

“You don’t seem happy about that idea,” Aileen said gently. “Can you tell me why?”

“What is an empathic healer?” Kaitlin blurted.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have said. Most of the people around here already know. An empath is someone who can feel another person’s emotions. We often internalize them, especially if they’re strong or persistent. An empathic healer is someone who uses that gift to help people through their troubles.”

“Like a psychologist?” Kaitlin asked.

Aileen pursed her lips. “Not exactly. But I suppose the analogy is as close as you’re likely to get in the mundane world.”

“So you can tell what I’m feeling right now?” Kaitlin asked.

“Anxious. Afraid. Depressed. There’s some self-loathing mixed in there too.”

It could have been a lucky guess, Kaitlin supposed. It wasn’t hard to imagine how someone who had just run away from the two most wanted vampires in the world in order to save a son who had only been in danger because of her stupidity in the first place might feel. But Kaitlin didn’t think it was a lucky guess. She believed Aileen, partly because the woman had no reason to lie and partly because she had seen glimpses of what magic could do. She supposed she was about to experience a lot more of it now that she would be living here for the foreseeable future.

At least until I can figure something else out. I don’t want Jay to become a hunter.

“I can help you work through your feelings,” Aileen said, her voice still gentle. Almost annoyingly so. “It’s one of the things I do here. No one blames you for feeling depressed right now. It’s only natural.”

“Was it only natural to run away with a vampire in the first place?” Kaitlin asked bitterly.

“I don’t know. How were you feeling at the time?”

“Empathy doesn’t work back through time, huh?”

“Not that I’m aware of. But we’re always meeting people with strange new gifts. So you never know. In the meantime, I’ll have to rely on your memories. How were you feeling?”

Kaitlin thought back to the day Jason had made his offer. She’d been sickened, actually. Revolted by the thought. But also... so desperately lonely. She’d felt that way before the baby was born, but afterward it became a weight that wouldn’t stop pressing down on her, no matter how many times Cassie, Madison, her mother, and even Jason’s mother came to call.

“Postpartum depression, perhaps?” Aileen suggested.

Kaitlin’s mouth hung open for a second. She hadn’t thought about it in those terms, but maybe... or maybe she was trying to foist off blame.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to talk about this.” And when she was ready, she didn’t know if she could bring herself to talk to Aileen. There was an air of something almost too sweet about the woman.

“Fair enough.” Aileen stood. “I’ll send word to the kitchen to expect a new employee the day after tomorrow. We’ll give you tomorrow to settle into your new quarters, which have already been arranged. They’re on the fifth floor, just below us.”

“Wait!” Kaitlin cried out suddenly.

“What?”

“Isn’t there anything else I could do here? Anything at all? I’m a good cook.”

“The cooks here employ various forms of food magic.”

“I can learn.” When Kaitlin saw no reaction from Aileen she glanced around the bare walls of the room, searching for something, anything else she might be able to offer.

Her train of thought was momentarily broken by a soft knock on the door, followed by the entrance of Hideyuki to pick up her son. Their hour was up.

“Hello, Yuki,” Aileen said.

“Aileen.” He nodded. “I came for Jay.”

“I was just leaving,” Aileen said, picking up her folder and shuffling some papers inside.

“Maybe I could work in the daycare,” Kaitlin said, still seeking some alternative to the kitchen. “I love kids.” This was stretching the truth a bit. She loved Jay, but she hadn’t spent a lot of time around kids in her life and was wary of the ones that weren’t hers.

Aileen seemed to sense this. “I don’t think so, Kaitlin.”

“I could help decorate this place,” Kaitlin finally said, desperately. She gestured at the bare walls. “It could really use some help.”

The imperturbable Aileen stood there, staring at Kaitlin, with her mouth hanging slightly open. The strange reaction made something clench in the pit of her stomach, bringing with it a strange sense of danger. Wildly, she looked to Hideyuki for support, but he was staring at her as if he had never seen her before.

“What’s wrong with the décor?” Aileen asked. She had regained some control, but her smile was gone.

“Too bright,” Hideyuki supplied. He gave Kaitlin a meaningful look that she didn’t have to be an empath to read. It said, Play along.

“It is pretty gaudy,” Kaitlin agreed.

Aileen knew she was lying. She knew Hideyuki was lying. She pursed her lips and looked at Kaitlin more thoughtfully, but when Kaitlin didn’t back down she simply shrugged and left the room.

“What was that about?” Kaitlin asked after Aileen had gone.

“Be careful,” Hideyuki said in that cryptic way of his. He barely ever spoke, and when he did she didn’t always understand. But Jay seemed to like him. Jay came out from behind Kaitlin’s knee and smiled at the older man with genuine affection. It made Kaitlin feel... jealous.

“The walls are all decorated,” Hideyuki said. “They change the pictures every week, but they’re all decorated.”

Kaitlin frowned, opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again.

“They’re decorated,” Hideyuki repeated. “Make sure you see them that way. And don’t trust anyone.”

* * *

It was official. Kaitlin had come full circle. She had run away with a vampire to escape a life as a waitress only to end up running from the vampire to resume serving food.

And unfortunately, despite Aileen’s prediction, Kaitlin found it very hard to meet people as a trolley girl. She spent little time in the kitchen, where laughs and gossip abounded. Instead, she spent most of her days going from room to room, sorcerer to sorcerer, handing them trays with a smile and a courteous, “Here you are.”

They made her nervous. Each and every person she delivered food to was some kind of superhuman. Someone like Evan, who had always made her nervous, even if she did think Cassie was the luckiest girl in the world to have ended up with him. Or, more likely, someone like Jason who would use her and break her heart.

They didn’t see her, or at least, most of them didn’t. Some of the younger and, Kaitlin assumed, unattached men would give her body a blatant appraisal, but that wasn’t exactly the same thing as seeing her, was it? It was more like seeing whatever it was on the walls that Kaitlin still couldn’t perceive.

She tried not to, but she looked at the walls every day as she wheeled her trolley down the corridors. There simply wasn’t anything there. Nothing! This place was as bare as a newly finished building, without so much as a nail hole where a picture might once have hung. It was like living “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

“Stop staring at the walls,” Hideyuki whispered to her once in passing. Another one of his cryptic warnings. But what was she supposed to do without more information? Hideyuki was the only person she thought she could trust, and he avoided talking to her about anything other than Jay.

Finally, one afternoon as Kaitlin was pulling dishes out of her trolley and getting ready to leave for the day, the other trolley girl walked up to her and put out a long, thin hand.

Kaitlin shook it, awkwardly.

“I’m Janelle,” she said, and Kaitlin felt her eyes widen in recognition. This was the eighteen-year-old girl whose father had stolen her magic, and who, according to the article she’d read, was slowly having it returned. “I see you’ve heard of me.”

“Yes,” Kaitlin said, pulling herself back together. “I’m Kaitlin.”

“Nice to meet you. I was hoping you’d introduce yourself, but you haven’t so here I am.”

“Thank you,” Kaitlin said, meaning it.

Janelle smiled, and that’s when it struck Kaitlin that Janelle was an extremely attractive young woman. She was tall and lean, but curvy in all the right places, and her skin was the color of milk chocolate.

Kaitlin had never had a black friend before. Or was it supposed to be African-American? She almost winced at the thought, hoping that noticing didn’t make her racist or something. It had never really struck her before, but Eagle Rock didn’t have minorities. Or at least, none that weren’t just passing through, or on TV. There were plenty here in the Magical Underground, but Kaitlin hadn’t had much opportunity to speak with them, except for Hideyuki. And she wasn’t sure she could call what he did speaking.

“I haven’t been here much longer than you,” Janelle went on. “They helped me out after my daddy took my magic.”

“I read about that.”

“Yeah, word gets around. Got ‘round about you too. Hear you’re on the run from vamps.”

“That’s me.”

“This place is just one big gossip mill, and you’re working at Gossip Central.”

Kaitlin smiled. Some people used to call The Main Street Cafe “Gossip Central,” and it had been fitting. She wished she were there now; if she had to serve food, it might as well be there.

Kaitlin was about to say something when one of the dishwashers, a large black man she thought she’d heard people calling Drey, came right up to Janelle and smacked her on the butt. Kaitlin expected Janelle to slap him, but instead she giggled.

“What’s up?” Drey asked.

“Meeting the new girl. Kaitlin, this is Drey. Drey, Kaitlin.”

“Hey,” Drey said, barely glancing at her.

“Hi,” Kaitlin said. She wondered what his story was, and what he was doing in the kitchen. Most of the people working up here had little to no magic, and some were drained, but she had trouble thinking of this large, muscular man having been stripped of his magic like that. Besides, she’d never heard of magic draining happening to anyone but women.

Or maybe it just wasn’t talked about.

“Drey here’s an empath,” Janelle said, standing very close to the man in a blatantly flirtatious manner. “He won’t be here long, but the healers and security are fighting over him so he got shunted to the kitchen for a few weeks.”

Another empath. Kaitlin was about to ask how many of them there were in this place when she heard someone passing behind her whisper, quite clearly, “Slut.”

Kaitlin spun around in time to see an older woman with hair just starting to go gray slip into the freezer. But it was Kaitlin who felt the chill. Slut. She hated that word. Hated it. Hated it. Hated it.

You’re a slut just like your mom.

She tried to push the voice aside, but it tore at her soul.

You know you like it.

“Queen Beth,” Janelle said under her breath. “Don’t pay attention to her. She’s a hateful old woman.”

“I... yeah,” Kaitlin managed.

“Hey, do you want to come to The Watering Hole with me tonight to chill out?” Janelle asked.

“The what?”

“The Watering Hole. It’s a club down on three. There’s a songbird performing tonight. Should be good.”

“I have a son.”

“The daycare will watch him,” Drey cut in. “Didn’t they tell you about personal time?”

They had. Kaitlin could leave Jay in daycare for up to five hours a week, either a little at a time or all at once. She just hadn’t used any of it because she didn’t want to leave him alone. Or maybe she was the one who didn’t want to be alone.

“Everyone deserves a night to party every once in a while,” Janelle said.

“You know you can use it,” Drey said, looking at her in a way that reminded her of Aileen. Reminded her that he was an empath. There was something peculiar in that look, something a little unsettling.

But he was right, too. She did need to escape for a night. And whatever Hideyuki said about not trusting people, she could use a friend here.

“All right. What time?”

* * *

The Watering Hole was on the third level underground, one floor below the kitchen. The third floor was the entertainment level, where Kaitlin had spent precious little time aside from the one movie she’d gone to see. She knew that she was welcome to join in any number of activities there, some free, some of which she would have to spend her precious pay on. The movies were free, even the newest releases. They only showed one at a time since they only had the one theater. They also had bowling, miniature golf, basketball, a swimming pool, a fully functioning gym which included several workout classes, an arcade, a game room, and the Watering Hole – a bar that also apparently played live music sometimes.

She heard the band long before she reached the Watering Hole, and had to fight not to grimace. They played a techno beat, which she had never loved. Maybe she would have if she’d been city-bred, but as a rural girl, she’d take country and western any day.

Janelle waited for her just inside the door, wearing clothes so tight they left nothing to the imagination. Worst of all, she could pull of the look beautifully. She had a well-rounded butt and a tiny waist that Kaitlin would have killed for. Kaitlin’s best feature was her long, lean legs, but they went with a long, thin body she considered too skinny.

The bar was packed with men and women from eighteen to eighty, though the age curve clearly peaked around twenty-five. From her trolley duties, Kaitlin dimly recognized many of the people sitting at the bar or at tables, or undulating on the dance floor. There were several hunters clustered around the bar, including Hideyuki. She smiled at him in greeting, but he frowned.

Kaitlin’s smile faltered, then fell completely when she noticed the two hunters with him eying her openly. She recognized one of them, a too-handsome-for-his-own-good blond by the name of Eli. He’d hit on her before, though she’d ignored him. She had no interest in hunters. Actually, she hadn’t felt much interest in anyone at all since her arrival, but she wanted about as much to do with the hunters as the vampires they sought to exterminate.

“This way,” Janelle said, pulling her past the bar where the hunters sat.

Kaitlin followed, tearing her eyes away from Hideyuki and her mind away from translating his frown. She had come here to have fun for the first time in longer than she cared to remember. And she was determined to do just that.

A large contingent from security had pulled together several tables, though fully half of them were out on the dance floor. There were also healers, clerks, janitors, a handful of Alexander’s personal security detail, and a group from magical research, some of whom were clustered around the lighting controls. After a minute one of them pumped his fist in the air and the usual crisscrossing lasers that lit the dance floor sort of emerged from their lamps and twisted like snakes around the dancers.

That’s when Kaitlin started to notice the other details that weren’t at all like the honky-tonk she used to visit back home. Above her, pitchers of beer and glasses of mixed drinks floated lazily towards their recipients while empty glasses made the return trip back to the bar. The two waitresses seemed more like traffic conductors than anything else.

Not everyone undulating on the dance floor was doing so on the ground, either. Some of them were literally dancing on air. Every so often something would flash or bang, and Kaitlin would catch sight of one of the men or women showing off for the rest. She spotted a man dancing through the others instead of around them, making her think at first that he was a ghost. But when he solidified on the far end of the dance floor he tripped and fell, knocking over another man. The two fell gracelessly against a table and a pitcher of beer spilled over the pair of them. The first man stumbled to his feet and apologized, but the second man surged to his feet and struck a powerful blow at the first. The fist went straight through the other man, putting the puncher off-balance enough to fall through him. His fist hit a woman Kaitlin recognized as a healer, who had been enjoying a drink with two of her coworkers. It must have been a powerful blow because she fell backward off her chair and screamed loudly enough to be heard over the music. When she came back up, her nose was broken and bleeding freely. The man by her side touched her face gently and the bleeding stopped, but the blood remained.

“There’s no place to sit,” Kaitlin said.

“What?” Janelle asked. Kaitlin didn’t hear the word so much as read it off her lips.

Kaitlin gestured at the tables. “Full!”

“Oh. Don’t worry.”

Kaitlin found out why an instant later when the three men who had been playing with the lights came by to invite them to join their group. Or at least, Kaitlin sensed, they wanted Janelle to join and they didn’t mind if she did too. Within a minute Janelle had three drinks in front of her and half a dozen dance offers.

Kaitlin wasn’t exactly being ignored, but it was obvious that the men saw something more in Janelle than they saw in her. Probably that she had some magic. Or was younger, prettier, and came with less baggage. Everyone knew Kaitlin had a son. She’d heard that men hesitated to get involved with a single mom, although having lived with a vampire since giving birth, she hadn’t really been able to put that rumor to the test. Maybe that’s what was happening now.

Kaitlin sank into a chair, feeling a bit like a dried-out old maid chaperoning a younger relative, when Eli and his friend edged over from the bar. She hesitated, looking around for some sign – any sign – that someone else might rescue her from these two, but no one did.

“Would you like to dance?” they asked together.

Honestly, no. But she’d come here to have a good time, and she wasn’t ready to be the dried-up old chaperon yet, even if there was no way in hell she’d leave with either of these two. Maybe if she started dancing with them, someone else would notice and take an interest. She danced well, even if she did say so herself.

Smiling, and feeling more confident, Kaitlin rose to her feet and followed the hunters onto the dance floor. She decided the best way to play this was not to single one of them out, so she took both of their hands and rose gracefully to her feet. She was more used to line dancing than this techno sway, but it didn’t exactly look hard. Moments later, the three of them were in the middle of the mass of bodies, swaying in time to the music.

Kaitlin managed to lose herself a bit over the next few minutes, letting her troubles slide away while she lived in the now. She didn’t like the music, she wasn’t enthusiastic about the hunters who had offered to keep her company, and she was unnerved by the four people who chose to dance a few feet above everyone else, but at least she didn’t have to talk or think.

After a few minutes the song came to an end and the lead singer approached the microphone to a chorus of enthusiastic cheers from the room at large. Janelle had managed to work her way to Kaitlin’s side and they stood together as the applause died down enough for the singer to speak.

“I see Ted’s already drunk.” The singer looked at the man who had fallen off the stage and started the earlier fight. A few people laughed appreciatively. “We’ve still got all night, folks. How about something to get your feet moving?”

A united cheer erupted from the crowd and Janelle elbowed Kaitlin in the ribs. “Songbird,” she mouthed.

Kaitlin studied the man at the mic. If he was a songbird, he wasn’t as strong as her friend Madison. Either that, or the fact that she didn’t care for techno music was getting in the way. But when he started singing, “I Gotta Feeling,” she did find her hips swaying.

Kaitlin smiled as Janelle was swept away in a crowd of male admirers, even though it left her more or less alone with Eli and the other hunter, whose name she hadn’t yet managed to figure out over the volume of music.

Eli started to dance in front of her, the other hunter behind. Kaitlin frowned, discomforted by their nearness and by the trapped feeling welling up inside her. But when she looked around, she saw that everyone in the bar – everyone – was up on his or her feet dancing. Since the dance floor wasn’t large enough to hold them all, some were dancing on tables and a few more had taken to the air. Bodies were pressed together so tightly that Kaitlin could barely breathe, and the two hunters surrounding her weren’t making things easier. The man behind her grabbed her ass – he didn’t brush against it, he groped her. She had been around enough men to know the difference. Meanwhile, Eli had his hands on her ribs, his thumbs brushing the underside of her breasts through her shirt and lace bra.

Kaitlin jerked backwards, only to find herself ramming right into the ass groper, who pulled her against him firmly enough that she felt his erection at her back through his jeans.

I’m not ready for this. At one time she might have known how to deal with them, perhaps with a light flirtation to put them off. Or more likely, invite them in. She hadn’t always been the most discriminating girl.

Slut. Did they sense it in her, even if she wasn’t feeling it herself?

She was so done here. Kaitlin tried to slip sideways past the pair, but Eli forestalled her with the strong arm of a hunter. She went the other way, but again he stopped her.

“Let me go!” Kaitlin yelled as loudly as she could, hoping to be heard over the music.

Eli frowned and shook his head; Kaitlin looked for help from the other dancers, but they were too caught up in the music to have noticed anything amiss.

A real panic began to build up inside her. What was happening here? How far would they go, out here in public? Would anyone notice? Would anyone care?

Kaitlin began to twist and writhe, stomping on Eli’s foot and then slapping him hard across the face – or trying to. He stopped her hand mid-swing and frowned even more.

Suddenly Hideyuki was there, pulling the hunters away. Kaitlin was so relieved that she didn’t even stop to think; she just ran off the dance floor and out of The Watering Hole, pausing outside in the empty corridor where the music was no longer pounding in her eardrums.

Hideyuki joined her there a minute later. “Sorry. It was the songbird. But I told you not to trust the hunters.”

“We were just dancing.”

“You stopped dancing.” Hideyuki shook his head. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why?”

“Was anyone else not dancing?”

Kaitlin shook her head, frowning. Then she looked at the blank white walls of the corridor as she had been unable to do since Hideyuki’s earlier warning. What was going on here? Was this something like the wall?

“What do you see?” Hideyuki asked, following her gaze.

“Bright colors,” Kaitlin lied.

“An African Jungle. Now go, and hope no one noticed you leaving the dance floor.”

Chapter 9

JASON AWOKE TO THE SOUND OF a large explosion at the rear of the house. He lay still in his dark basement bedroom, knowing better than to do anything to draw attention to himself after one of Xavier’s experiments had failed. In a few minutes he would leave for a hunt, returning near dawn after Xavier (hopefully) calmed down.

Sara (that was the nanny’s name) screamed. Damn it. She’d gotten past her wanting to die thing, but when Xavier was in one of his moods – and he would be – drawing his attention could prove deadly.

Sure enough, a second later Xavier’s rapid footfalls crashed down the basement stairs. He wasn’t even trying for stealth – he was angry and wanted the world to know it. He’d probably been up half the afternoon, when he should have been sleeping. Jason and Xavier could both survive the daylight, but they still needed sleep. And the night was stronger.

The footfalls flew past Jason’s room straight to Sara’s, and her door banged open so loudly it might have cracked.

“Stupid bitch! Can’t you at least be quiet while I’m working?”

Sara didn’t reply.

“Well? Are you mute now too? What was I thinking when I turned you?”

Jason had to make a decision – defend Sara or stay out of it. But actually, it was no decision at all. These last few weeks with Sara for company had been the most pleasant of his afterlife. He’d taught her to run properly – mostly. She was still useless through thick trees. He’d taught her to hunt without killing. And they shared a hatred for Xavier.

“He didn’t ask if I wanted to turn,” Sara had told Jason once. “Did he ask you?”

“After a fashion.” Jason had chosen this. In retrospect, he probably could have killed his flesh father without going to this extreme, but he hadn’t known that at the time. He did wonder – would always wonder – if Xavier hadn’t manipulated him in some way. Played mind games. He had definitely isolated Jason from his family and friends for months before the choice. Before the turning.

“No answer, huh?” Xavier was saying from the next room. “Well, I know why I turned you – to help Jason and his failing plan to plant Kaitlin inside Alexander’s compound. But come to think of it, I don’t need you for that now.”

Jason was out of bed and in the doorway of the next room in a flash, drawing Xavier’s attention to him instead. “Stop taking your failure out on her. What happened this time, anyway?”

“Lost three subjects,” Xavier snarled. “Two were hunters.”

Jason only picked up on the last word. “Hunters? Should we move?”

“No! I want Kaitlin back. Never should have let my only success go free.”

“She can’t help you. You’ve got her blood. Skin tissue samples. X-Rays. MRI. Cat Scan.”

“And it’s not helping! I can’t reproduce my results. Look what happened tonight!”

“What did happen tonight?” Jason sidled into the room, putting himself as unobtrusively as possible between Xavier and Sara.

“One of the hunters became a telepath. Had to kill him before he became a problem, although I’ve got his body in the freezer. I used a combination of the gene splicing potions and the vampire venom extract...” He trailed off. “That was an interesting result. I wonder...”

“What?” Jason asked, despite himself.

Xavier shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand.”

More likely, Xavier was afraid that telling Jason would make him an even greater threat. And he’d be right. Jason had never exactly had free time to experiment with potions, but he wasn’t half bad at brewing them and he understood many of the underlying principles involved.

“The one who wasn’t a hunter was a vampire,” Xavier continued. “Miserable failure, just like any other time I’ve tried with a vampire.”

That was probably when Xavier had let his temper get the better of him – and caused the explosion. After all, the whole point of these experiments was to make Xavier himself stronger so he could take down Alexander.

“I want Kaitlin back,” Xavier said. “I never should have let you talk me into using her like this to begin with.”

“It was a great idea,” Jason lied. Well, not exactly lied – it had been a great idea to get Jay out from under Xavier’s thumb. And if she happened to be able to use her immunity to mind magic in some useful way while she was there... the compound had to be swimming in illusions.

“I don’t think she has the guts or the curiosity to figure out what Alexander’s up to. And if she does, she’ll probably get caught.”

“So what? No harm done. You were more than half ready to kill her anyway. And if she succeeds, you find out just how effectively immune she is.”

“I need to be alone. To think. Go hunting.” Xavier shot a look past Jason. “Take her with you.”

“Of course.”

* * *

“What would happen if I ran away?” Sara asked that night after feeding from some campers who wouldn’t remember a thing.

“Xavier would hunt you down and use you in an experiment.”

“What if you came with me? Why do you stay with him?”

Jason didn’t answer. The truth was too complicated, and he didn’t know if he had the words. In part, he wanted a chance to kill Xavier, but he doubted that would come for a long, long time. Jason was a young vampire – they were all young these days. The hunters had systematically stamped out almost every vampire older than a century, and most of the ones older than half a century.

It didn’t just make Xavier the most powerful vampire, though. Power wasn’t directly related to age – that just helped. It was more than Xavier seemed to be the only vampire left who knew what the hell a vampire was. Or so he said. Maybe he was lying about that too.

None of which was more important than one simple truth, so he said, “It wouldn’t work. Xavier would hunt both of us down if we ran away.”

“You? You’re so strong.”

Not strong enough. But he could be patient. He had eternity, after all. And a flesh child who would grow in power over a mere fifteen or twenty years.

Too bad Sara couldn’t be the ally he needed. Too weak. Not even a tiny scrap of magic before she’d been turned. And a bit clumsy, truth be told. Plus, her flesh host was a decade older than his.

“Is he going to kill me?” Sara asked.

“Probably not. If you stay out of his way.” He wanted to be king of the vampires; killing all his subjects would make that a challenging goal.

“It seems so strange that I wanted to die just a few weeks ago. Now I’m scared to die. Is that the vampire in me? Or the human?”

Jason shrugged.

“I’m different,” she went on. “I don’t feel things the same way. Like when I was human, I was too shy to tell a man I was attracted to him or to make the first move. I remember that I felt something – mortification is the word I have in my memory – the one time I tried and was rejected. But I don’t know why I felt that way. Isn’t it more important to go for what you want?”

Jason honestly didn’t know what she talking about; he hadn’t felt shy or embarrassed when he’d been human. But he’d heard about it.

“I want you,” Sara added.

“I know.” He’d suspected, at least. But he wasn’t sure if he wanted to complicate their companionship (friendship?) with sex. Or was that the human in him talking?

“Just something to think about.” Sara walked away, letting her ample hips sway in a manner that would ensure he’d have to think about it.

* * *

Xavier was waiting for Jason at the front door when he arrived back at the safehouse, still picturing Sara’s seductive hips.

“There has been an interesting development.”

Jason worked to keep his face impassive as he stared at his sire, wondering what had him looking so... cheerful wasn’t the right word... intrigued, perhaps? Either way, it was such a marked contrast from how he’d looked at sundown that Jason knew he wouldn’t like this development.

“What?” Jason asked. He moved past Matthew and took a seat on the leather couch.

“Matthew Blair just flew into Alexander’s compound.”

Jason could not hide his surprise. Matthew Blair? The head of the White Guard? The man working to unite the magical world against Alexander DuPris? What would he be doing visiting the enemy? Unless...

“Maybe he’s given up and decided to join DuPris,” Jason said.

“The possibility occurred to me.” Xavier slid gracefully into a leather armchair, making it look almost like a throne. “And it may happen whether he wants it to or not. Alexander is my most capable protégé, after all.”

Jason didn’t let himself react to that one; it wasn’t a new story, but he didn’t know if he believed that Alexander DuPris had once sought out Xavier to learn mind magic before turning against him with the full might of the Hunter’s Guild at his back. It could be true. Alexander’s political ambitions might have led him to ally himself with the guild, and Hunter One wouldn’t have accepted an ally in league with vampires. Hunter One’s hatred of vampires had, in fact, gone so far as to run the guild into the ground – but Jason hadn’t truly understood that until he’d turned.

“On the other hand,” Xavier continued, “if Matthew makes it out of there alive and mind-whole, he would make a powerful ally for us.”

“Yes,” Jason said, though his mind screamed no. The only reason Xavier wasn’t already dead at Jason’s hands was that the evil vampire was also a powerful sorcerer – a mind mage. Xavier couldn’t read minds – Jason was pretty sure – but he could influence them. Jason had never even managed to lift a wooden stake near his sire.

“Yes.” Xavier nodded. “This will be far more interesting to watch than Kaitlin.”

Chapter 10

YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE, DON’T you?” Alexander asked Matthew as soon as they sat down for drinks in Alexander’s private study four levels below the earth.

“Why don’t you tell me?” Matthew asked.

He couldn’t read Alexander’s mind, of course, or detect any hint of meaning from his tone, posture, or facial expression. The man exuded trust me in a manner few could match, and Matthew had known some very charismatic people during his time in Jefferson City.

“You’re me, thirty years ago,” Alexander said.

Matthew sipped his ginger ale, deciding it was best not to say a word. He had amulets to help shield his mind and charms to help shield his body. He had a ring that would throw a fireball, although why he would use such a thing was beyond his understanding. He only knew that Clark Eagle had insisted.

“I got started when I was about your age,” Alexander said. “I didn’t know what I could do back then, but I knew someone had to do something. The trouble with American sorcerers has always been their independent streak. They want to be left alone. Which is great until you start ignoring blood magic and slave trading so you can be left alone.”

Matthew yawned and pointedly checked his watch. With anyone else, the gesture would have seemed incredibly rude. With Alexander, however, it was a part of their battle of wills. Matthew could feel the other man exerting his will, trying to influence Matthew, and it wasn’t going to work.

“I know, I know, you’ve heard it before. But ask yourself, what are you for? You’ve been telling everyone what you’re against – me – and you’ve been coming up with some entertaining tales to back you up.”

“Murder and mayhem,” Matthew agreed, lifting his glass in a mock toast. “What are you serving for lunch, anyway?”

“Pork tenderloin medallions with a delicious white wine reduction sauce, a Caesar salad, and fresh rolls.” Alexander paused. “For dessert, we’ll be having ice cream.”

“I like ice cream.” Matthew had said that to Alexander once before, and knew Alexander was paying a mocking tribute to the absurd comment. At the time, it had been all Matthew could do to keep Alexander away from generations of family secrets, some of which could easily have been destructive in the wrong hands.

“I would of course, also love to know your family’s group memory charm. I don’t need it. I’ve got one of my own. Actually, I’ve got six of my own, but each time I learn a new one I get that much closer to understanding the underlying forces at play. Most spellcrafting is simply a mask for what’s really going on.”

“I’d love to know where your other research labs are, but we don’t always get what we want.”

Alexander was too good at the game to respond directly to Matthew’s statement. Even saying he didn’t know what Matthew was talking about would have lent credence to the idea that there had been at least one unethical lab doing experiments on magical creatures. Matthew felt certain there were others.

“But you see,” Alexander said, returning to his original point, “I think you and I are very much alike. It took me a long time to figure it out. It’s not like you’re the only mind mage in the country. I’ve got half a dozen working with me, including one young man who wants to become my apprentice. I’ve given him a different mentor, though, because he’s not the apprentice I want.”

Matthew wanted to ask who he wanted as his apprentice, but he fought down the urge, partly because he knew, but mostly because asking would be playing into Alexander’s hands. So he changed the subject. “Cassie and Evan say hi, by the way.”

“How nice. I’m so glad they managed to work out their differences, aren’t you?”

“Of course,” Matthew lied. He sensed that Alexander knew he was lying, but he felt he had the upper hand here. “Too bad you and Evan couldn’t work out yours. He’s really a good man to have around.”

“And Cassie?” Alexander asked, arching an eyebrow almost mockingly.

“She’s doing well. So’s the baby.”

“Just like me.” Alexander chuckled. “Are you still bitter that she fought you off?”

“I taught her everything she needed to know to fight me off. And to fight you off, for that matter.”

“I doubt she sees it that way.”

“You know what they say about truth.”

“I do indeed. Which is exactly the reason I asked you here to see me today.” Alexander paused when he heard a soft knock on the door. “Come in!”

The door opened and, somewhat to Matthew’s surprise, Kaitlin Meyer walked in. He knew her. Not well of course; they might have lived in the same small town where everyone knew everyone else, but they hadn’t had much reason to associate with one another. She had been most notable to him as a friend of Cassie’s, although he had noticed her once before, years ago when she’d still been in high school.

He recalled that particular late night and her light flirtations with a small smile. She’d been too young for him and she hadn’t really wanted anything except attention, which he had gladly given her. They’d been alone in the diner when a group of drunk, underage witches and sorcerers had come in and started making trouble. Kaitlin had stood her ground, and he had admired her for that even as he’d wiped the incident from her mind as part of a never-ending effort to cover up as much magical mischief as he could.

Her eyes had changed, he noticed when she glanced his way. They weren’t as light or flirtatious, even if the natural sway of her body created a similar illusion. She was a natural beauty, with long legs he couldn’t help noticing even when she’d been in high school and off-limits. But it was the eyes he noticed now, dark and dull, as if some essential spark had gone. He’d seen the same look in the eyes of recently drained women. They spoke of some deep sadness, possibly an echo of what the vampires had done to her. What had they done? And how had she ended up here?

Her eyes changed when she noticed him. Her initial thoughts, as she walked into the room, had all been about her job – special order for Mr. DuPris and guest to be delivered with all due haste. This was going to make her late for all her other deliveries, which would probably mean some grumpy patrons.

She was curious about the special guest. She found him right away, but it took a few seconds for her brain to accept what she was seeing. Matthew Blair. What the hell is he doing here? I thought he hated Mr. DuPris. And vice versa. In her mind she flashed back to the night when Cassie had broken free of his control, and her fury at what he had done – or believed he had done – to her best friend was not in doubt.

Matthew winced, despite himself. He had been a beast that night. He had his reasons, but he doubted Kaitlin would understand. Even his own father hadn’t understood, in the end.

“Do you know Kaitlin?” Alexander asked, apparently oblivious to the mental undercurrents charging the room. “She’s from Eagle Rock, a friend of Cassie’s.”

Kaitlin started. Alexander knows my name?

“We’re old friends,” Matthew lied easily. “Nice to see you again, Kaitlin.”

She didn’t respond out loud. Don’t you try to pull any of that mind mojo on me. I know who you are now. And to think, I was so jealous of Cassie when I found out you were dating. He’s still good looking. Nice big hands too. And you know what they say about big hands...

Matthew had to fight back a smile, both for her loyalty and for her blatant appraisal of his looks. Well, she wasn’t half bad herself, especially now that she’d stopped dyeing her long blonde hair. Why she’d ever chosen to cover hair like that with fake coloring, he might never understand. And those legs...

“Kaitlin isn’t a sorceress,” Alexander said, “but her son has such potential that we welcomed her here. We’ve created circles of membership in the organization. It was Cassie’s idea. Kaitlin is in the outer circle, of course, but there are things she needs to know to raise a magical baby and we’re helping her.”

Until you send my son to war against the vampires and get him killed.

She was afraid, Matthew realized. He was a telepath, not an empath, but it was impossible to fully separate emotion from thought. He couldn’t feel or influence those feelings the way an empath could, but he sensed them as sort of a constant undercurrent. The images lying on top of that fear showed a midnight flight from vampires but she also feared the hunters who protected them from the vampires. Not directly. Not immediately. But she didn’t want her son to die the same way his father had and she didn’t entirely trust the hunters’ motives.

There was something else, too. Something he didn’t understand at all. The walls are all decorated.

He glanced around him, paying attention for the first time to the tropical beach scene adorning the walls. It was a beautiful mural that had obviously taken some artist a lot of time and care to complete, but that wasn’t what struck Matthew about it.

Kaitlin didn’t see it.

Matthew masked his reaction, not allowing a flicker of the surprise he felt to show on his face. But inside, his thoughts were spinning. She could see through illusions?

It suddenly struck Matthew that Kaitlin could become an ally in here if he played it right. He hadn’t brought anyone along because he couldn’t trust that they hadn’t been interfered with; Kaitlin would definitely have a blood sample on file somewhere, but she was also part of this place. She might know things that could help him. At the very least, she was a familiar face in a sea of strangers and he suddenly, inexplicably, found the simple idea that he knew someone here comforting. Of course she hated him, out of loyalty to her friend if for no other reason, but he could smooth that over.

This meeting with Alexander was not going well, and what Matthew had expected to be an in-and-out reconnaissance no longer seemed that easy. He might be here for days. Weeks. He hoped not months, but he couldn’t deny the possibility.

“Do you need anything else?” Kaitlin asked.

“Not right now, thank you.” Alexander flashed her one of his charming smiles.

She slipped out of the room without another word or even a well-formed thought, closing the door behind her. Matthew stared at the place where she had been for a few moments longer, before mentally shaking his head, clearing it to resume his confrontation with Alexander.

“The poor girl,” Alexander said when she’d gone. “We’ve got about two dozen women here without any magic, but most of them are empty. One of the men is usually happy to take her under his protection.”

“I bet,” Matthew said.

“Don’t sound so sarcastic. It’s the best thing we can do for them. It’s almost impossible to get their magic back most of the time. I’ve tried that approach before, and look what happened. It put us at odds.”

“That’s what you think put us at odds?” Matthew laughed mirthlessly. “Come on. You stirred up a mob and got people killed. I was there fighting you, remember?”

“I started with the big cities,” Alexander said, ignoring his question. “Do you know why?”

“No.”

“Because the most powerful sorcerers don’t usually live there. Instead, you get groups of weak sorcerers trying to make the most of their gifts, and occasionally you get one with a bit of power but no idea how to use it. These people were the most interested in hearing what I had to say.”

“Because you promised them knowledge. You promised them power.”

“Exactly. You’ve gone the other way. You’ve started with smaller communities, but you’ve already managed to turn some of the most powerful sorcerers in the country to your point of view.”

“Scared?” Matthew asked.

“No. But it doesn’t make any sense.” Alexander stood and headed for the table, where the two platters had been set. “Come and eat.”

Matthew followed Alexander to the table, setting his drink down before taking a seat. When he removed the domed platter, he saw the promised pork and rolls. A second domed platter contained the salad.

“It doesn’t make sense for you to thwart me,” Alexander said as he took his own seat. “I know you. You’re me thirty years ago.”

“You said that.”

“We both want the same thing. Power.”

“Is that what I want?”

“Isn’t it? At one point you wanted to be President of the United States. What do you want to be now?”

“King of the world.” He paused before adding, “Doesn’t everybody want to rule the world?”

“No, everybody wants to rule his own world. Most don’t care what happens to everyone else as long as they get exactly what they want. But you knew that.”

Matthew ran a crystal over his food. It didn’t grow hot, meaning it was safe to eat, so he took a bite of pork rather than respond to Alexander. “This is good.”

“I’ll pass along your compliments to the chef.”

“But there’s no ice cream,” Matthew said.

“Perhaps I’m saving it for your good behavior.”

“Too bad. I was really looking forward to it.”

Alexander laughed. “Tough as nails. But you know what I’m talking about. You and I want the same things, and for many of the same reasons. I’ve researched your family. The ones who don’t go into politics tend to go into psychology. Why do you suppose that is?”

“We’re all damaged and are trying to figure out how to fix ourselves?”

“Could be. Or it could be that you care.”

“Don’t let anyone know. It might ruin my reputation.”

“No, it wouldn’t. You want power, and there’s no reason you can’t have it. I don’t have any children. My wife, God rest her, was barren, and I’ve never really gotten over her loss.”

“I know, it makes a stirring speech every time you tell the story.”

“Your sympathy is overwhelming.” Alexander took a sip of wine before continuing. “The point is, I don’t have an heir.” He paused, looking meaningfully at Matthew. “I’d like you to be my heir.”

Matthew didn’t let his surprise show, but inside he was reeling. Exactly the reaction Alexander would expect of course, which gave him all the more reason to keep it carefully hidden. His heir? What was the old man thinking? Didn’t he know that Matthew knew things about him? It wasn’t just the experiments he had done on werewolves, or had done in his name. He had killed people. Conveniently, there were never any witnesses, but people who were a serious threat to him had disappeared over the years.

They were not alike. They couldn’t be. Matthew had never killed anyone. He couldn’t honestly say that he never would, but not for the reasons Alexander had. He wouldn’t kill someone to get them out of the way. He wouldn’t do it for power.

Or would he? Had he ever truly been put to the test?

“Are you really so much better than me?” Alexander’s low voice intruded into his thoughts. “Oh, I know what you’re thinking. You’ve influenced constituents for votes, and you’re influencing sorcerers now for support. You play with their memories and their emotions. You’re subtle – you’re good – I wouldn’t ask you to become my protégé if you weren’t. But underneath it all, who are you, and why are you doing it? It’s like I asked you before, what are you for? You can’t just be against me, you have to be for something, and it has to be something more than your own personal power. People won’t follow that. You don’t have the charisma. You can get around that handicap – I could show you – but you don’t have it now.”

“You can only be making this offer because you’re afraid.”

“No, I’m making this offer because I respect what you’ve done. But Matthew, it’s not going to work. You don’t even have the full trust of your inner circle. Scott, Evan, and Cassie hate you. The enemy of your enemy isn’t really a friend, only an ally, and such alliances can only be temporary.”

Matthew knew it was true. It’s what made the offer so compelling. Alexander knew exactly what to say and how to say it; the strongest mind magic wasn’t magic at all, and charms couldn’t protect a person from it. Even Matthew wasn’t immune.

But he and Alexander weren’t alike. There were things Alexander had done for power, lines he had crossed, that Matthew could and would not cross. If Matthew could only prove one of the two dozen separate cases he knew of, he would probably have all the support he needed to dethrone Alexander.

“You care,” Alexander said. “I can see that much in you. I wouldn’t have made the offer otherwise. Even with charisma, you have to believe what you say, or no one else is going to believe it.”

“Believe your own lies, you mean?”

“What have I lied about? I’m making a difference, Matthew. I’ve crippled slave trade, magic theft, and blood magic. I’ve built a place for sorcerers to come for help. I’ve created a pool of knowledge that sorcerers can use to protect themselves.” Alexander paused. “What have you done?”

Chapter 11

MATTHEW LEFT HIS MEETING WITH ALEXANDER feeling as if he didn’t know himself at all.

He’d known this risk. Expected it. Well, almost. He had not expected Alexander’s offer to make him his heir. That had blindsided him, as it had been meant to do. Matthew couldn’t even be certain that Alexander was serious about his offer. He only knew that one some level, on a level he didn’t want to analyze too closely for fear that it would say something horrible about himself, he was tempted.

Who am I really?

Damn, but it shouldn’t be so hard! Matthew was one of the best mind mages in the country; he knew that. He’d known that the first time he’d ever met Alexander DuPris, when the man had walked into his town and fought a silent battle of wills with him that, to all outside observers, had ended in a draw. It had not. Alexander had only spared Matthew his dignity by pretending it had. But Alexander had something... some combination of natural charisma and something else. Maybe it was all the pooled information he talked about. Matthew had to admit that some part of him liked that idea. Right up until the point where he had to share generations of his own family secrets.

What would sorcerers accomplish if they united and shared? A ruling class, perhaps? The most powerful sorcerers in each generation were becoming stronger, not weaker. Matthew had noted it himself through careful study of over five hundred years’ worth of family journals. He could do things today that his long-ago ancestors wouldn’t have dreamed possible. And it wasn’t all due to intermarrying for power. No, some of the greatest leaps in power had come from the children of normal humans.

One of Alexander’s security guards showed Matthew to his quarters after lunch, on one of the lower floors of the compound. The guard didn’t say anything and Matthew didn’t try to engage him in conversation; he simply followed and took the key when it was offered. Then he gave the guard a curt farewell before unlocking the door and stepping inside.

The interior was opulence itself. From the lush carpeting beneath his feet to the wall carvings trimmed in turquoise and gold, he felt as if he had walked into a king’s private quarters. The front room wasn’t a bedroom but a sitting room, complete with seating area and small dining room. There wasn’t one but two bedrooms connecting to the sitting area, one much smaller than the other. It was as if they had expected him to bring a personal valet. He wondered, idly, if one would be provided for him. Then he shoved the thought aside. This place wasn’t here to impress him, it was here to show him what kind of wealth and power Alexander had at his disposal. It was meant to intimidate.

Matthew couldn’t let it do that.

He spent the next hour going over the rooms with a fine-toothed comb, looking for bugs. Scott had shown him how to look for the mundane variety, while he had his own spells to hunt for the magical sort. In the end he uncovered a dozen of each style of spying device, and didn’t doubt that there would be more. In fact, he knew if he left this room, by the time he returned all his hard work would be undone.

Sighing, Matthew removed an ancient tome from his backpack and pressed his thumb against it to prove he had the right to read its contents. It opened for him, going straight to the page he had suspected he would need, to a spell he had only cast once before – in practice, two days ago. It was an exhausting spell, one that would drain considerable reserves from him, but it was the only way he felt sure he could have a place of sanctuary within these walls.

He began by sitting cross-legged atop his bed (king-sized, with rich brocade hangings and more pillows than ten men could use) and began the process. He envisioned a tiny sphere, so tiny that nothing could fit inside it – not even him. The sphere would only allow Matthew access if he came in cleanly, which was why he began the sphere outside himself rather than within.

Slowly, ever so slowly, over the next hour, he increased the size of the sphere from the inside out. After thirty minutes he fit inside, and was relieved to discover that they had set no wards or spyware against him personally. After a full hour the sphere contained his bed. That’s where he stopped, sweating and exhausted. Perhaps tomorrow he could expand the sphere to contain the rest of the room.

He checked his watch, noting that it was past three o’clock. He still wanted to seek out Kaitlin, to determine if she might be of use to him, or at least become a friendly inroad to the inner workings of this place. He didn’t know when her shift ended; she hadn’t been thinking about it at lunchtime, but he would try her after dinner. In the meantime, he needed water, food, and rest – in that order.

* * *

When Matthew awoke near dinnertime, refreshed and ready for whatever challenges might come his way, he took some time to wander the compound. It was an impressive structure, a combination office, barracks, and recreation facility. The people who lived there were capable of staying there most of the time, having nearly all their needs met within its walls. It was a bit creepy, truth be told, but Alexander had the best magical minds in the country working with him. Working together. Building. Creating. Trusting.

What had Matthew done?

He pushed the nagging thought aside as he tested the mettle of the men and women he met in the public corridors. In the mundane world, he could read the minds of almost everyone. Here, in this compound, he found perhaps 10% of the minds were closed to him. That wasn’t bad. He hadn’t been certain, but based on his experience in Eagle Rock he had expected something like 25% to be able to keep him out. Clearly, with or without cooperation, the sheer magical potential here was lower than he was used to back home. That was something.

The people here didn’t like him. They made that abundantly clear with both hostile looks and hostile thoughts. When he went through the serving line to acquire a meal, the lady working the counter tried to give him half portions. He tried a subtle suggestion to change her mind, but ended up needing to rely on a more overt mental command. When he left, she had a dazed, unfocused look in her eyes.

There were all sorts of nudges he could give people to bend them to his will. The simplest, and the most preferred, were suggestions. These whispers of guidance were so subtle they felt as if they had come from the target’s own mind. Indeed, under the right circumstances they might have thought to do it themselves, but they hadn’t. He nudged them, and that’s all it took. They would never be the wiser, nor realize that they had done anything against their own will.

After suggestions came corrections, firmer pushes that wouldn’t go against the target’s basic nature, but which went against their current inclination. That’s what he had done to the serving lady – she had wanted to show her distaste for him, but she had a job to do and he felt no guilt about making her do it.

He tested his skill at random against the people who passed him while he ate in the large dining room. He could have had his dinner delivered to his room – Alexander had told him so – but his mission here was not to hide alone in his room. No, he needed to be around other people. To see into their thoughts. To comb them for memories that would help him, possibly even lost memories.

The Wizarding Word had not been any more hateful of late than usual, but that still left everyone thinking of him as “Mad Matt.” More than one person thought some variant of Oh God, it’s Mad Matt! What’s he doing here?

And Alexander wanted Matthew to join him? He would have to do a major mind wipe of every one of his followers first. Then again, judging from past encounters, this wasn’t beyond the scope of reason.

Someone near to hand began chanting a curse she intended to hurl at him. Matthew was not subtle in his correction this time. He simply slammed home a fierce Stop! When he turned, he saw a young woman with a face as white as a ghost and a dazed, almost drugged expression on her face. Served her right. Go to your room, he ordered. She stood and left without even carrying her tray to the disposal area.

I wonder if my dad sent him here.

The new thought, which skirted the periphery of his range, made Matthew whirl around to study the shifting crowd. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for at first, but in a matter of moments he found it. Or rather, her. Janelle, the beautiful mocha-skinned young woman from Devon’s mind, had just placed her tray in the tray return and was busily chatting up one of the members of the kitchen staff.

Matthew had finished most of his dinner; he could eat more, but he suddenly decided it was time to return his tray. Standing, he took the remnants of his meal and walked towards the tray return where Janelle stood near a large black man, flirting openly. She didn’t notice him at first, and her attention was focused entirely on the handsome young man who wanted much less to do with her than she wanted to do with him. At least, that was the immediate undercurrent. It could be hard to know these things for sure without more data points. But at the moment, he was looking at the clock, wishing it would move already so his shift would end – and not so he could go out with Janelle, as she hoped.

When Matthew set his tray down, Janelle glanced behind her. Like turning a switch, her thoughts shifted from the handsome man to Matthew himself, and to her father, who was a prisoner in this very facility, slowly being drained of his magic an hour at a time.

Matthew marveled at the power of a man to convince a girl that her own father had committed such a terrible crime. He didn’t think he could do it, change such a fundamental truth like that. Then again, he had never used blood magic.

“What are you doing here?” she asked sharply.

“Returning my tray,” Matthew replied.

Did my father send you?

Matthew frowned. Why would she wonder that? Why would she think her father would want her rescued if she also thought him the criminal who had drained her? It was a serious contradiction. Granted, there was cognitive dissonance everywhere he turned in the general population. But this didn’t feel right.

“I meant what are you doing here in this compound?” Janelle asked. “Everyone wants to know. I just have the nerve to ask.”

“Yes, you do.” And maybe more nerve than that. Quickly, Matthew drew together the threads of a truth spell. “And why are you here?”

“Money and power.” Janelle frowned, laughed halfheartedly and added. “Isn’t everyone?” But she left, glancing over her shoulder at him just as she stepped out of telepathic range. He would have loved to continue the conversation, but he couldn’t interrogate her here in public. Another time, though... she could count on it.

Chapter 12

MAGIC IS NOT AN ENDLESSLY RENEWABLE resource, as Matthew was reminded after spending over an hour tinkering with the minds of those around him. He was already worn out from lunch and an afternoon of spellcasting, and he hadn’t exactly taken it easy that evening. He wasn’t burnt out, but it was time to stop using magic for the day. He could use telepathy as much as he liked – it wasn’t magic, it was a gift. Some said gifts were tied to the soul whereas magic was tied to the blood, but Matthew didn’t believe it. He wasn’t sure he believed in souls at all. As for telepathy, it was simply something that was. He couldn’t turn it off and most of the time he didn’t want to. The rest of the time... well, he would take the good with the bad.

He had wanted to visit Kaitlin after dinner to get a feel for where she stood and how she had gone her entire life in Eagle Rock without letting anyone know she had a gift of her own, but he hesitated as he evaluated how tired he felt. He could manage a memory wipe in a pinch, he thought, but that was about it. Of course it was the best tool in his arsenal. It felt a little like reversing time under the right circumstances. A do-over, he’d called it when he’d first learned the spell at the age of thirteen. His grandfather, who had taught him the spell, warned him that it could be addictive, but so could any power.

He wanted a do-over with Kaitlin right now. He wanted to erase from her memory the night when Cassie had broken things off with him and, in a fit of temper, he had used strong compulsion on not only Cassie, but her two housemates – Madison and Kaitlin. That was what Kaitlin had recalled when she’d first seen him, but “smoothing things over” with her wouldn’t be as simple as erasing that memory. For one thing, erasing an old memory was much more difficult than erasing a fresh one. It carried more risk of exposing the target to unintended memory loss. An established memory tended to become cross-referenced in a person’s mind – filed into multiple drawers or across multiple neurons so that it was difficult to purge every instance. And easy to accidentally purge the things it was cross-referenced with.

So, no do-over, but he could take her temperature tonight and come up with a plan for tomorrow. With that thought in mind, he headed to the fifth floor below ground, where the janitors and kitchen staff and other barely-appreciated members of the community had their rooms. Judging by the spaces between doors, he could have fit six of them inside his guest suite. None of these people were immune to his telepathy, which made it easy for him to walk casually down the hall, “listening” to random thoughts until he found the one he sought.

She had her son with her. Matthew noticed that right off, because he heard the thoughts of the one-year-old right alongside his mother. His thoughts weren’t in words, not at this age. They were more basic, less cluttered, and in a way more honest. Matthew stood outside her door for a moment, focused on the boy’s thoughts – car vroom vroom! Mommy car vroom vroom! Mommy – he thought of his mother a lot. She was watching the news, giving both it and the child half her attention.

He never played with cars before coming here, Kaitlin thought. She had no interest in the toys at all, but she made a show of rolling one of the little plastic toys off her knee so that it crashed to the floor, making the appropriate sounds as it fell.

Jay, delighted, clapped his hands and returned the car to his mother, wanting her to do it again. He didn’t ask in words, he didn’t even think it in words, but words were apparently not needed. Kaitlin took the car from him and repeated the exercise, this time adding the screams of the passengers in the car as it fell.

From his position outside, spying on the scene of domesticity, Matthew felt a pang of longing. He wanted a child. He’d wanted one for a few years now, since before he had dated Cassie. He had buried that desire over the past couple of years, focusing on building a political movement and an empire, but it hadn’t gone away. If anything, time had made it stronger. His brother hadn’t married yet, but he had cousins who were in their twenties and thirties, all of them getting married, most of them having kids. Christmas was a bit of a circus, but he had a way with children. They didn’t even need suggestions to come to like him, they just needed their simple, basic desires met. They were all a little different. Some wanted attention. Some wanted hugs. Some wanted toys. His newest cousin had only wanted her mother’s milk the last time he’d seen her, but her brother had wanted someone to remember that he was alive, and that Matthew had been able to do with aplomb.

Jay wanted... well, at the moment he was blissfully content with the car game and his mother’s divided attention. But there was something else, something too ill-formed for the young boy to understand it himself.

The news went to a commercial break. Matthew took a deep breath, straightened his spine, and knocked, twice.

Who on Earth...? Matthew watched, through Kaitlin’s eyes, as she looked at her watch, handed the car back to Jay, then went to answer the door. He experienced a brief moment of double vision before he was able to see through his own eyes again. She had changed out of her crisp green uniform and into a simple gray sweat suit that failed to detract from her beauty. Her long blonde hair was tied into a ponytail and her face was scrubbed free of makeup, leaving behind a natural, healthy glow. Or almost healthy. Matthew noticed something he had missed earlier – the scars of countless bite marks around her neck and throat. He didn’t let his eyes linger there, but instead took in the rest of her body from head to toe. The sweat suit did its best to disguise her beautiful, long legs, but beneath the hem he saw a glimpse of bare foot and neatly groomed but unadorned toenails.

Matthew wasn’t the only one checking the other out. Kaitlin liked the look of him too, and while her face betrayed little of her feelings, her thoughts betrayed everything. She liked his sandy brown hair, his green eyes, his lean frame, his classy clothes, and his... aura of power? Now, that was something he could use. Maybe she wouldn’t be so tough to crack after all.

Then her mind snapped back to what he had done to Cassie and she hardened both her heart and her mind. “What do you want?” she asked.

“It was nice to see a friendly, familiar face,” Matthew said. “I just wanted to talk.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“That’s almost hard to believe,” Matthew said, giving her a smile and a wink.

“Are you –” Kaitlin stopped suddenly, thinking, flirting with me? But in the end what she said was, “joking with me?”

“Yes,” Matthew said, in answer to both questions. He was flirting with her. And why not? She was an attractive woman. He was an attractive man. They were both single, in need of companionship, and there was something between them, simmering beneath the surface. He didn’t know if it had always been there and he had missed it because he so often saw Kaitlin standing beside Cassie, but he felt it now, and it wasn’t just on his side.

“What do you want, really?” Kaitlin asked. “Did Cassie send you here? I know I haven’t called but –”

“Cassie didn’t send me,” Matthew replied. “She doesn’t even know I’m here.”

“Why are you here?” Kaitlin asked again. “Not here at my door” – although I’d love to know that too – “but here with Alexander.”

“Would you like to take a stroll outside?” Matthew asked, not wanting to have the conversation here where he was sure the walls had eyes and ears.

Kaitlin shuddered. “I can’t.” In her mind she saw Jason, fangs extended, ready to bite.

“Not outside the threshold of the compound, just outside. They have a running track and a garden. And a playground, if I’m not mistaken. When was the last time Jay went outside?”

Out? Jay suddenly came up behind his mother and peeked out from between her legs, sizing up the intruder before him.

Matthew suddenly knew exactly how to play this game. He dropped to his haunches so he could get more or less on eye level with the boy. It put him at eye level with those legs he admired so much too, but unlike Jay he wasn’t lucky enough to get to touch them.

“Hi there,” Matthew said. “My name is Matthew James Blair. What’s yours?”

Jay, the boy thought but didn’t say.

“Oh,” Kaitlin said, and her mind started spinning with anxiety. “He doesn’t talk. He doesn’t even make sounds like he was supposed to have done at a few months old. I don’t know why. I mean, I talk to him like they say, and I don’t talk baby talk. Not that he’s using baby talk. He’s not talking at all. And yes, he’s running and jumping like a ten-year-old, so maybe his verbal skills are a little behind and I shouldn’t worry but I’m his mom so isn’t it my right to worry?” She said all of this in between breaths, and then had to fight for air.

Matthew lowered his head so she couldn’t see his smile. There was still a spark of life in her after all. It hadn’t gone, as he had supposed earlier; it had simply transferred to her son. He could respect that. Now, if only he could convince her to start caring about herself again. That might be the trick with her, but he wasn’t done taking her temperature yet. They definitely needed to take that walk.

“I think Jay knows exactly what I’m saying,” Matthew said to both mother and child. “Don’t you?”

Out? Jay thought, his eyes going wide with hope and excitement. He had his mother’s eyes, without the infinite sadness. Was this how she’d looked when she was young? He tried to remember her from before her pregnancy, the few times he’d glimpsed her in town, usually at the diner. Come to think of it, there had always been a sadness there, but he’d never paid close attention to it because she’d always covered it with light flirtation.

“I haven’t taken him outside since we got here,” Kaitlin confessed. “That probably makes me a terrible mother.”

Matthew hesitated, because when she’d said terrible, she’d been thinking terrified, and for a moment he wasn’t sure which she’d actually said. That happened sometimes, moments he had to find a way to cover until he knew how to respond. But even when he identified the dichotomy, he still didn’t know how to respond. This was one of those times when he might try something to see what happened, reserving the right for a do-over (memory wipe) if necessary. But he didn’t have the kind of reserves it took to play that game right now.

“Jay loves you,” Matthew said instead.

“How do you know? Are you an empath?”

“No,” Matthew said honestly. “But it’s obvious.”

Kaitlin reached down to sweep the boy out from between her legs, holding and trying to cuddle the boy she loved. He wanted none of it at the moment, though. He twisted and writhed, trying to get down and out.

“You hurt my friend,” Kaitlin said. “I should slam the door in your face.”

“So why haven’t you?”

She bit her lip, unsure of the answer. Matthew, caught up in her thoughts, couldn’t quite pinpoint it either but maybe it was... loneliness. She had no friends here, and the ones she had once known were lost to her forever.

Matthew knew loneliness too. He had no friends, only allies.

Now where had that self-pitying thought come from? His father would call it a sign of weakness and he’d be right. Matthew didn’t need friends, but he could use Kaitlin right now, just as he had used so many in the past.

“Come on, just a bit of fresh air. You can push Jay on the swings, and if you tell me to go away, I will.”

“I–” shouldn’t do this. God, Kaitlin, don’t you know how to pick ‘em. What would Cassie do? “I just need a few minutes to change,” she said finally.

“All right. I’ll meet you upstairs at the entrance.”

* * *

Matthew swung by the dining room on his way to the front doors, still a little hungry from his interrupted dinner and thinking it would be nice to have some snacks for both mother and child while he was at it. He added some chocolates from his own stash, not entirely trusting the kitchen past bananas and granola bars.

Kaitlin waited for him near the front doors when he arrived, literally radiant with the soft glow of the evening sunlight behind her. For a second he could think of nothing except her, not even the reason he had chosen to seek her out in the first place. She looked like an angel standing there, beautiful and vulnerable.

He suddenly remembered the first time he had ever seen her, in The Main Street Cafe when she’d been sixteen and he’d been twenty-one. He had noticed her right away; she was exactly his type – long, long legs and full of sass. He’d been staring at her for a moment when his grandmother, Grace Blair, powerful local seer, cleared her throat.

“Hm?” he’d asked.

“That’s the woman you’re going to marry one day,” Grace had told him.

For a single moment, an instant almost frozen in time, he’d thought she meant Kaitlin. Then he saw Cassandra Scot seated at the booth Kaitlin was servicing, along with a few other high school kids he couldn’t recall.

“You’ve got my wife all picked out for me?” Matthew had asked. He loved his grandmother, he really did, but he had no illusions about her. She was a fierce advocate for and protector of her family, but her idea of the right path didn’t always mesh with his.

“Not for a few years yet,” Grace said.

“And why would I marry her?” Matthew asked as they found a seat at a nearby booth.

“Because an alliance with the Scots makes all kinds of sense and you know it.”

“So this isn’t a prophecy?” Matthew asked.

“Not... exactly.” Grace rarely hedged where prophecies were concerned, but lately she had been acting less and less certain about long-range predictions. It wasn’t at all difficult to know why; seers couldn’t see past their own death. But Matthew didn’t want to think about it, and no one in the family would talk about it directly, least of all Grace herself.

“What is it exactly?” Matthew asked.

“I’ve seen a number of scenarios that bring you together, and I know she’ll make you happy.”

“I’ll think about it. In a few years.”

But he had thought about that day often over the past seven years. Not about Kaitlin – he had nearly forgotten that part – but about Cassie, and the promise of happiness offered to him by a gifted seer. It had all gone terribly wrong, and he still didn’t understand why.

“Hi,” Kaitlin said when he drew to within earshot. A moment later he was also within telepathic range. She was nervous. Uncertain. Emotions she didn’t show in her flirtatious, slightly lopsided smile.

“Hi, yourself,” Matthew replied. “You should see yourself standing there, with the sunlight all around. You’re an angel.”

Wow. What a line. Takes “beautiful” to a whole new level. Too bad it’s not true. “Thank you. You’re not half bad yourself.” Good. Nice and confident. Put him off-guard, maybe.

Matthew wished he could wipe the uncertainty clean out of her mind, but such deeply ingrained patterns of thought took more time and skill to finesse away. Perhaps tomorrow, but in the meantime he decided to use another whisper of power. He breathed the possibility into her mind that maybe, just maybe, he thinks I’m beautiful.

Matthew paused, expecting a slight echo effect, but nothing happened. Apparently, Kaitlin’s self-doubts were more firmly entrenched than he’d believed.

“Jay’s trying to pull my arm off,” Kaitlin said.

Matthew looked down at the tiny but astonishingly sturdy toddler, whose mind was fixated on the sunlight he could clearly see through the front doors. He wanted out, and he almost looked strong enough to tug his mom out with him. No wonder the vampire hunters had welcomed both him and his mom – magic or no magic, Kaitlin brought something special to this compound.

“Let’s go, then.” Matthew eased himself around Kaitlin so he could open the door for her, giving her a bright smile as she passed.

She faltered for a moment, her thoughts sort of hitching, but her attention quickly turned to keeping up with her son, who had finally succeeded in breaking free of her grip and run out onto the lawns.

“Jay, wait for Mommy!”

Matthew followed a few feet behind, not at all concerned that Jay would run out of sight. The boy knew where mommy was, and he wouldn’t wander far from her orbit. Not now. He was at the age where children felt free to learn and explore, just as long as they knew where their caregivers were. Jay quickly found the running path and, checking to make sure mommy was right behind, tore off down it until he found the playground. Kaitlin, panting, caught up with him a few seconds later, but he had already climbed the ladder to the top of the slide. When he saw her watching, he pushed himself down, laughing with glee.

Jay had felt shut in for a very long time. Matthew suspected that it had begun before he’d come here.

“He’s having fun,” Matthew said, taking a seat on a nearby bench. He set the bag of snacks down beside him. “Sit down. Relax.”

Kaitlin clearly wasn’t sure if she should. She kept hovering over Jay, thinking she should be by his side in case he fell off some of the playground equipment, even if he did have super-strength.

“I have lots of cousins,” Matthew added. “I spent most of my teenage years baby-sitting them.”

“I never baby-sat for anyone,” Kaitlin said. “It was always just mom and me. She had a sister but her family disowned her after she got pregnant.” And we don’t talk about the anonymous sperm donor who was my dad. “I made money at my mom’s diner, technically before I was old enough to work there.”

“You’re doing just fine with Jay,” Matthew said, meaning it.

Kaitlin laughed. It wasn’t a happy sound. “Oh yeah, I ran away with the most wanted vampires in the country a few weeks after he was born. I don’t know why someone hasn’t nominated me for mom of the year!”

“I hear you nearly died getting him away. So there’s a balance.”

“I’m that notorious, am I?” Kaitlin asked.

No, her thoughts were that transparent, but Matthew had gambled that it was a widespread story.

“What are you doing here, anyway?” Kaitlin asked, turning toward him. “Not with me.” Well, maybe a little bit. “But with Alexander. I haven’t been here for very long and even I know you two aren’t friends. I don’t really care about the politics, personally. I’m just looking for a place to be safe. But to tell you the truth, I’m not sure spending time with you is going to make me friends here.”

“Probably not,” Matthew agreed. “If you like, I can pretend that I approached you and you told me to go to hell.”

“I should. I haven’t forgotten what happened the last time I saw you. You know, when you kidnapped my best friend and did something to my head to prevent me from helping.”

“So what’s stopping you?”

“Cassie’s working with you.” Kaitlin frowned, confused. “I don’t know why. I don’t trust you, but I’m listening to you. Of course, you could be messing with my mind right now.”

“I’m not.”

“How do I know?”

“I don’t know.” Matthew considered trying some subtle reassurance, but he was low on power and in any case, he thought maybe honesty would work here. “I don’t know how you know, and I don’t know how I know. I’m not even sure why I came to see you. There was a moment, before I came, when I wondered if Alexander was using some kind of compulsion on me to convince me to approach you.”

“Why would he do that?”

Matthew had been wondering that himself, but as he looked through Kaitlin’s eyes and into her thoughts, he had a possible answer. Alexander seemed to want him here, for whatever reason. And he wanted her. Matthew was unwilling and Kaitlin was frankly frightened. It was a bit of a stretch perhaps, but he had accused Alexander of far worse over the years. And some would say with far less evidence.

Maybe they were right about Mad Matt.

Deciding not to alarm her with his suspicions at the moment, he went with a partial truth. “I may be here for a while. I can’t tell you why yet; it might put you in danger if I did.”

“I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

He knew she meant it, but he shook his head. “This place is swimming in empaths.” And odds were good that another telepath lurked in the shadows somewhere. Telepaths were extremely rare, but Alexander had thousands of sorcerers on his side.

“I know.” She shivered, and in her mind the ghost of an image presented itself for a moment – just a moment – and then was gone before he had a chance to see it fully. “They’ve been after me since I first arrived.”

“They can help. There are several empathic healers in my family. It’s what we do – other than politics.”

“Two things I never would have thought went hand in hand,” Kaitlin mused aloud. But she didn’t have the typical distasteful feeling towards all politicians; she was truly indifferent – largely because she didn’t feel like she had any power to make a difference. He’d have to convince her otherwise. Or at least convince her that she was beautiful.

Kaitlin noticed him staring at her then, but he didn’t look away. He kept his gaze fixed on her, daring her to look away. He didn’t think she would; it wasn’t her style, but her mind was racing with uncertainty.

When was the last time a man flirted with me? When was the last time I flirted? Do I remember how?

Yes, he wanted to tell her. Maintaining eye contact was a winning move every time.

“You still haven’t explained why you’re here with me,” Kaitlin said. Remember what he is. A mind mage. For all you know, he’s making you feel this way.

“Would you believe I just longed to see a familiar face while I was here?” Matthew asked.

I wish. “Not really, no.”

Matthew couldn’t help it. He reached out one long hand, just brushing a silken strand of hair that she had missed when she’d done her earlier hair flip. Her breath caught, and so did his. Her heart was pounding, echoing within his own chest.

Kaitlin licked her lips, her thoughts racing, but not entirely in words. He won’t kiss me, she thought, it’s too soon. And I don’t want him to, do I? Talk about being attracted to a bad boy! Cassie always said I had terrible taste in men, and doesn’t this just prove it? And it’s not just me I have to worry about now, it’s Jay. But oh, her body loved the idea. It’s been so long, and I almost thought that part of me was dead. It isn’t. It so, so isn’t. She practically tingled. Like a teenager with my first crush.

Or was that an echo? Matthew suddenly realized he was having trouble keeping her thoughts separate from his own. He’d felt this way before, but never so soon.

His hand moved from her hair to her upper arm, and he scooted towards her several inches. Her eyes were on his lips; her mind half-hoping, half-disbelieving.

Any minute now, I’m going to wake up, she thought.

Not if he could help it. Matthew leaned forward, his eyes fixed on hers, making his intentions plain. He gave her every opportunity to say no – or even think it. She didn’t. Everything in her said yes.

When his lips brushed hers he felt something ignite inside him. Or her. Softness and warmth all mixed together with the perfect scent of woman. He needed more. Needed to taste. He explored her with his tongue, wondering at the sensation of their breaths mingling as they tasted one another. Strange, he normally didn’t like kissing. Especially with tongues.

No... she didn’t normally like kissing. She wasn’t sure she loved it now, but it wasn’t horrible.

Matthew pulled away, slowly, not wanting to push his luck. She wasn’t the first woman he’d ever kissed who hadn’t really loved the experience. She might never learn to love it, or she might get past it, but either way the trick was to give it time. Or use a spell.

She inhaled deeply, then let out her breath, still feeling disoriented. Matthew smiled and yes, he felt a little cocky.

Nana?

Kaitlin jumped when she felt her son’s hand on her thigh. Had he seen that? What was he thinking?

Nana? Jay thought again, thinking of a banana and looking pointedly at the sack Matthew had brought along with him. He wasn’t sure if there was a banana in it, but it had the right funny shape. Clever boy; Kaitlin really didn’t need to worry about the speech.

Matthew opened the sack and handed the boy a banana, wishing he could tell Kaitlin exactly what Jay had been thinking about. “Here you go.”

Jay grabbed it and stepped back a few paces, digging in like an old pro.

“You’re really good with him,” Kaitlin said. Sexy, great kisser, and good with kids. If only there wasn’t that insidious mind-control thing. Did he... make me kiss him? Maybe even make me like it? I don’t normally like it at all.

Matthew felt suddenly sober. He would have his work cut out for him, gaining her trust. Assuming he could even use her, which was, after all, why he was here. He might need her, especially if it turned out that she could see through illusions. It was easy enough to believe, especially since she didn’t know who her father was. Lots of people had gifts, especially in the Eagle Rock area. The real question was, how to tell her without admitting he could read her mind?

Jay finished his banana, tossed the peel on the ground, and dashed off to the pirate ship. Kaitlin stood, picked up the peel, and disposed of it in a nearby trash bin. When she returned, Matthew decided to take the initiative.

“How well do you know this place?”

“Not well. I haven’t exactly been here much longer than you have. I haven’t even made any friends, unless you count Hideyuki.” She thought of a strong, older, Japanese man who had apparently been good to her and Jay, even if he spoke in riddles.

“Who’s Hideyuki?”

“Hunter trainer. Most of the hunters are creepy, but he’s okay. Anyway, I’m kind of out of my depth here. I’m the lone mortal in a sea of wizards. It’s like I’m Cassie or something.”

Matthew chuckled, and so did Kaitlin. He knew what she meant, even if he had never been there himself.

“I mean yeah, there are some drained women in here, but at least they used to have magic. All the men are after them. Most of them look at me like garbage.”

“Idiots,” Matthew murmured.

“And while we’re on the subject, can I just ask something I’ve been dying to ask forever? Where are the men who’ve been drained? And don’t tell me it never happens.”

Matthew laughed again, sensing a bit of a feminist tirade welling up inside of her. Not that he could blame her. The world remained a sexist place. “A few of the White Guard rescued four twelve-year-old boys who’d been drained six months ago. We even managed to find the creeps who did it and reverse the process. It happens all the time – the strong preying on the weak. The only difference is that the world, being a sexist place, doesn’t have a need for the men once they’ve been stripped dry. They tend to blend into the mortal world like they’d never had magic. Quite a few women do too, but others still get sold as breeding stock. So they’re the ones you hear about most of the time.”

“It’s weird to hear you admit it,” Kaitlin said.

“Admit what?”

“That the world’s a sexist place. Most of the men I’ve dated have been like, ‘You want equal rights? Then take equal responsibility.’ You know, while I work and they stay home doing nothing.”

She was going to a dark place. Matthew wanted to draw her away from it, so he took her hand and inserted another subtle suggestion into her mind. They don’t matter right now.

Kaitlin sighed, her mind switching gears to her son, the one good thing to come out of those days.

“Mr. Blair,” Kaitlin began.

“So formal? After that kiss.”

She actually blushed. It looked adorable on her. “I’m not sure what happened there. I’d love to think it was the beginning of some kind of fairy tale, but I stopped believing in those a long time ago.” She pictured an older man in her mind, someone who looked vaguely familiar. There was some serious shame and guilt tied to that man, but before he could learn why, she pushed the image aside. “Something made you come to see me today. Will you be straight with me and tell me what?”

Matthew hesitated. Telling her the truth would mean falling back on memory spells when this was all over, sooner or later. But she was understandably wary, not just of him but of the entire world right now. She didn’t believe much of what she saw around her anymore, and that included him.

“When you came into Alexander’s apartment today, I noticed that you didn’t see the elaborate mural on the walls.”

Kaitlin sucked in a breath. “How did you notice that? I’ve been so careful. Hideyuki told me not to mention to anyone that I couldn’t and–”

“Slow down.” Matthew stroked a thumb over the back of her hand and subtly suggested that she breathe. There was more about her story he wanted to know, especially the part about Hideyuki, but it could wait. “It doesn’t matter how I know; it’s true, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve got a gift.”

“I never had one before. I don’t know what’s happening now.”

“Not all gifts are noticeable from birth. Some don’t manifest until adolescence. Others just don’t come up. My father always talks about this man he knew who didn’t realize he had a gift until he was sixty. He could breathe underwater, you see, but until the night his ex-wife tried to drown him, he never knew, because who would take a great big breath underwater to find out?”

Kaitlin managed a small smile. “I’m sure illusions are all over Eagle Rock.”

“Yes, but you don’t notice the illusions at all. You don’t detect them. You just... see what’s real. As long as no one ever told you that you should have seen something else, how would you know?”

“Good point.” Kaitlin bit her lip. “But why did Hideyuki tell me not to tell? That’s what I’ve been wondering. He’s got me scared. I’ve wanted to ask, but he keeps shaking his head like someone might be listening in.”

“They might be. I found two dozen listening devices in my suite this afternoon.”

“Wow.” A conspiracy theory or the truth? Were the newsletters right about Mad Matt?

“If this Hideyuki is worried, then I have to assume there’s something you might see that you’re not supposed to see.”

“Are we safe out here?” Kaitlin asked, suddenly looking wildly around.

“I think so. It’s one of the reasons I suggested coming outside. It’s much, much harder to spy on people outdoors.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s so much of it. Where do you start?”

“Is that really true?”

Matthew shrugged. “I don’t know. I never did study the undercurrents of magic the way others have. Maybe I’ll ask Scott Lee sometime; that’s his thing.”

“Then there’s not going to be a better time to tell me what’s up. Or what you need me for. I assume you’re here looking for someone or something?”
“Good deduction.”

“I can play twenty questions all day, or you can tell me what.” An image flickered through her mind then, one Matthew hadn’t expected – an empty vial beneath a hospital bed, perhaps kicked there by accident, probably destined to be filled with blood.

Matthew sucked in his breath.

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?” Kaitlin asked.

“I want to. I just know that even if you’re careful, this is a dangerous world.”

“And I can’t protect myself. All I can do is see through illusion.” Kind of a stupid ability, really, Although, it doesn’t explain why the songbird’s music didn’t affect me the other night.

Matthew stilled. The songbird didn’t affect her? Damn. Songbirds affected him, and he was good. He could minimize their impact, but not throw it off entirely.

And how did he know I could see through illusion anyway? Kaitlin wondered. Her mind was playing tag with itself, running in circles around the truth. She was really too clever by half; he had no doubt she’d get to the truth before long.

Well, it had been a risk. Matthew sighed, preparing a memory wipe to remove a good chunk of this conversation. He’d have to try another approach – less direct. Maybe he should manufacture some kind of situation in which it was obvious she couldn’t see an illusion. It would be tough to pull off, especially subtly, but with a bit of planning he could do it. He had just been too eager to take care of this today.

Can he read minds or something? Kaitlin wondered.

There it was. Matthew drew on the dregs of his magic and set loose the memory spell regretfully, wiping their last few minutes of conversation. He left the kiss intact.

Kaitlin turned to face him fully, her complexion a bit paler than usual. “You can, can’t you?”

“What?” Matthew asked.

Read minds, Kaitlin thought.

No, I erased that, Matthew thought.

If you can, tell me what number I’m thinking of. Go ahead. Tell me. I’m thinking of 5, 123.

Matthew swallowed, a nervous tell he instantly regretted. He formed the memory spell again, panting with the exertion this time, knowing he was passing his limit but knowing too that she couldn’t know this. Again, he cast it.

Kaitlin didn’t speak. She simply stared at him, knowing the truth, feeling the truth, waiting for him to confirm the truth. Five thousand, one hundred twenty-three. Again, the image of a vaguely familiar man slipped into her mind but she pushed it away violently, desperate that he not see it. She began to count by fives to keep her thoughts focused... 5... 10... 15... 20...

He wasn’t making a dent. She didn’t seem to have forgotten the past few seconds, let alone the past few minutes. Maybe he was being too greedy trying to hang onto that kiss. Maybe he should take her all the way back to the moment they’d stopped at this playground. He could always reenact the kiss. He wouldn’t mind. Really.

He tried again, pulling as much magic into himself as he could draw from the Earth around him. The nearby node allowed him shallow access, but he knew this was going to cost him. Sweat beaded his forehead as he held in enough magic to take a year of her life, if he chose. He only needed a few minutes.

He cast the spell.

100... 105... 110... 115...

Matthew slumped with exhaustion. He was sweating profusely now, not just along his forehead but over his entire body. He was thirsty and his vision was blurred so he could scarcely see. He would spend most of the next day making up for tonight’s bungle, but that wasn’t his biggest concern right now.

He’d thrown a river of magic at her and he hadn’t made a dent.

Kaitlin couldn’t just see through illusions. Her mind couldn’t be influenced by mind magic. At all.

210... 220... no that was 10. Damn it, just say it! Say it already! What has he seen? What does he know? She thought of the kiss they’d shared, and of how she had wanted it, and of how he had known. No wonder it had felt like he was controlling her. I can’t handle this.

That made two of them.

“Please,” she whispered, “just tell me the truth.”

Matthew opened his mouth, closed it again, and then finally closed his eyes. “5,123,” he said. Then he grabbed a bottle of water and drained the whole thing, wondering if his life had just changed forever.

Chapter 13

KAITLIN STARED AT THE MAN SEATED next to her on a park bench. A man who could see into her thoughts. Into her soul. Into her deepest, darkest, most painful secrets.

Oh God!

Kaitlin stood and backed away a few steps. How much of her mind could he sift through? How much did he know? Did he know about the things she had never told anyone before, the things she hadn’t even told her best friend?

As he sat there, kissing her, had he been digging through her mind a layer at a time, unearthing her shame? Maybe even using it against her? Was that why she had been drawn into the kiss in the first place, or enjoyed it even a little bit?

She took another step back.

“Kaitlin, wait–”

“Stay away!” Would that do any good? She didn’t know how far she had to be from him to stay safe. Maybe there was no safe, once he’d honed in on her. Maybe he had some kind of hook into her mind now that would always be there, no matter what she did.

Oh God, does he know? She’d never told anyone, not even Cassie, though she’d come close once or twice. But even Cassie would have looked at her differently if she’d known. Even Cassie, with her high-mindedness and understanding, wouldn’t understand this.

In her mind’s eye she saw her stepfather once again, but she pushed the thought aside with everything in her. If he hadn’t seen it yet, she couldn’t let him. She had to think of something else. Anything else.

“Mary had a little lamb!” Kaitlin sang at the top of her not-entirely-in-tune voice.

“Kaitlin, wait, there’s a bigger problem here than you realize.”

“Little lamb! Little lamb!”

Jay came running over from the playground and attached his little arms around her legs, apparently keying in to her distress. She lifted him into her arms, clutching him tightly, but this time he did not jerk away. He clung right back, almost hard enough to crack another rib.

“If you’ll just calm down for a second,” Matthew said, his arms outstretched in supplication. “We need to straighten some things out. There are things you don’t know.”

“Is there anything you don’t know?” Kaitlin asked, then regretted it. Her mind snapped back to her stepfather, and then to her rhyme. Where had she left off? Uncertain, she started over. “Mary had a little lamb!”

Still singing in her trembling, off-key voice, she whirled and ran back to the compound, more than half expecting Matthew to follow. He didn’t, but she didn’t take that as a good sign. She never should have gone anywhere with him. Done anything with him. She hadn’t trusted him, but she had gone with him, and that had been enough. All because she’d been lonely or curious or desperate... the same reasons she had gotten involved with most of her horrible boyfriends.

“Jay,” Kaitlin whispered as she reached the front doors to the compound and went inside. “Your mommy’s messed up.”

He didn’t respond. He never did.

Kaitlin drew in a shaky breath as she marched through the door. The ground floor of the compound looked exactly like what it was supposed to look like – a vacant office building – except for the guards on duty. They all looked at her when she passed, one of them staring more intently than the others as if he, too, could read her mind. Maybe he could. Maybe it was a common gift and the idea that any part of her life was private or secret was a comfortable myth she had clung to until this very night.

She ducked her head and raced for the elevator, thankfully not running into anyone she knew before she was safely ensconced back inside the small room she shared with her son.

“I think it’s time for a bath,” she said, her voice cracking in her attempt to sound cheerful. God, how did other mothers do it? Try to sound playful and upbeat all the time? Hide their feelings from their kids?

Jay pressed an exaggerated kiss to her cheek before stripping down naked. She hadn’t even turned on the water, but he hadn’t developed a sense of modesty yet. Or a sense of shame. She envied him that.

Quickly, Kaitlin poured the water for a bath, grateful that the small quarters at least had a tub instead of a shower. Someone in this place understood the needs of children, at least. As soon as Jay was happily splashing in the warm water, playing with an old rubber ducky that Hideyuki had given him when he’d first arrived, Kaitlin grabbed the cordless phone from the bedside.

She hadn’t used it since she’d arrived. She had not, as she’d promised, called Cassie. She was really a terrible friend, but she’d been so afraid. Even now, with a man threatening the privacy of her own mind, she hesitated over the numbers, wondering what she should say. And wondering who might be listening. She didn’t trust this place.

Almost of their own accord, her fingers began to dance over the familiar numbers. Cassie hadn’t changed her phone number since she’d gotten her first cell phone at the age of ten – six years before Kaitlin had been able to get one of her own. In those early years, if she’d wanted to talk to her friend, she’d had to press the keys instead of asking a computer to make a call, a fact that might have saved her life during that lonely flight from vampires a few weeks ago.

The phone began to ring before Kaitlin found the strength to bring it to her ear. Once.. twice... and then, “Hello?”

“Cassie,” Kaitlin breathed.

“Kaitlin!” Cassie sounded half relieved, half angry. “Why didn’t you call? I was afraid the vampires had captured you again. Did they? Are you a vampire now?”

“I’m at Alexander’s compound.”

“And you just woke up from a coma this morning?” Cassie asked. “Because if that’s not the case, I’m going to be really, really pissed at you.”
Kaitlin actually considered lying, but only for a fraction of a second. “No, I woke from a coma three days after I got here. I’ve just been... ashamed. And scared. And there’s nothing you can do anyway.”

“I never said that.”

“You never didn’t say it. You as much as told me to get here.”

“There was probably your best bet at first, since you were about a thousand miles from here, but Evan and I came up with a plan, which we’d have told you about if you’d have called me back like I asked you to do.”

“You have a plan?” Kaitlin’s heart sped up and she looked longingly at her child splashing in the tub. Could she save him from the same fate that had befallen his father?

“The first thing we need to do is get you to Eagle Rock,” Cassie said. “Once you’re here, you’ll stay with us while we set the rest of it up. Vampires can’t get to you behind a threshold.”

“Okay,” Kaitlin said slowly. “Then what? I assume I don’t have to stay there the rest of my life.”

“Would you rather stay there for the rest of your life?” Cassie asked, and she sounded a little hurt. “Never mind. I don’t think you will. Evan has been putting his head together with Master Wolf and Clark Eagle, who think they might be able to create a threshold around the entire town.”

“That sounds... interesting. But I hear a lot of hypotheticals.”

“Well, it’s never exactly been tried before. They might need to get a few other sorcerers in on it. Scott Lee is intrigued and has spent the last week holed up in his house, although since Madison was there with him, he might not have been working on it the whole time. But even if it takes a while to get this going, you can just stay with us. You’re safe inside the house.”

Kaitlin’s heart sank. They didn’t have an idea. Not really. Jason and Xavier were too smart to let a little thing like a threshold stop them, and all they had to do to get Kaitlin to surrender herself was threaten anyone she loved. Unless the entire town stayed indoors until this was all over, it would never work. And then everyone she loved would have to stay in town, never traveling beyond the city limits.

“It won’t work,” Kaitlin said. “Xavier hasn’t been alive for two hundred years because he’s stupid. He’s cunning and if he has any morals, I don’t know what they are. In a year of living with him the only thing he seemed to care about was Jason, and taking control of the vampire race.”

“He won’t be able to get to you. We won’t let him get to you.”

“He’ll get to you. Or your family. Or my mom. Or anyone who sets foot out of town.”

“A town with over a hundred powerful sorcerers.”

“Who will, of course, want to declare war on the most powerful vampire in existence because of me.” Kaitlin hated that she sounded bitter, but it was the truth. She didn’t doubt that they’d do it for Cassie, but not for her. She didn’t want them to, of course, but they wouldn’t.

Cassie was silent on the other end of the line for a while. “It’s hard to know what to say because this line is probably bugged but Kaitlin, Alexander’s an evil man.”

“He gave me a place to stay. I’m safe here.”

“And happy?”

“Jay’s safe here,” Kaitlin said. At least for the next fifteen years or so.

“Alexander is a powerful mind mage, Kaitlin. He’s got a firm grip on his people. I wouldn’t be so sure you’re safe there.”

“So’s Matthew,” Kaitlin said.

“Huh?”

“Matthew is a powerful mind mage too. You know that better than anyone, after what he did to you. So why did you sign on with him? Why are you in the White Guard?”

“I-I guess because he’s not Alexander. And Evan’s not sure... I mean no, we don’t trust him exactly but... Kaitlin, what’s going on?”

“He’s here.”

“Who’s there?”

“Matthew. He had lunch with Alexander and took me out for a stroll tonight where he told me–” Kaitlin stopped, knowing there were things she couldn’t say on this line. But there were things she desperately wanted to share with her best friend. “He kissed me.”

“What?” Cassie yelled so loudly that a moment later there was an echoing squawk.

“Is that Ana?” Kaitlin asked.

“I-yes.” Cassie started shushing the infant, who became increasingly more fussy. “Darn. I just had her asleep too. Hang on.”

Kaitlin kicked off her shoes while she waited for Cassie to – by the sounds of it – hand her baby off to her husband. Kaitlin rubbed her aching feet, wishing she had the money for comfortable shoes. She’d left the vampires with nothing, and while she received free room and board here, the money she made for personal purchases was depressing.

Finally, Cassie came back to the phone. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah.”

“He kissed you?”

“Yeah.”

“And?” Cassie asked.

“And what? Did I like it? Of course I did. You know from firsthand experience how he can manipulate people.”

“I do. He’s a control freak and a first-class power-hungry jerk.”

“So just the kind of guy I’d go for, right?”

“I didn’t say it.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” Kaitlin sighed. “I don’t know what happened out there. It was confusing, and then I... I ran away.”

“Okay.”

“What would you have done?” Kaitlin asked.

“I don’t know. Kaitlin, come home. I miss you.”

“How would I even get there? The vampires have my blood. I’d have to fly.”

“Hm.”

“You have an idea?”

“Maybe.”

“You do.”

“I said maybe. I have to think it through. It might be a very bad idea.”

“I can’t think of the last time I did something that wasn’t a bad idea.”

“You called me.”

Kaitlin didn’t answer.

“I’ll call you back tomorrow morning.”

“I’m at work by 6:30.”

“Okay, I’ll call you tomorrow afternoon. What’s your number?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll call you back when I’m off work.”

“Will you this time? Please? If you don’t, I might have to send Evan to tear the place down.”

“I promise.” And this time, she meant it.

Chapter 14

IT WASN’T THE END OF THE world. It was not the end of the world. Other people knew that Matthew was a telepath. His family knew. Scott Lee knew, and kept figuring it out no matter how many times Matthew erased his memory. Now that had been bad. Scott was a powerful sorcerer, after all. And Cassie knew, and some other people suspected, though he usually managed to avert those suspicions with a subtle suggestion or three.

Immune to mind magic, though? Matthew had never met anyone completely immune to mind magic. Some took more work than others. His family kept him on his toes for certain, but completely immune?
No, wait! What was he thinking? She couldn’t be immune. He’d used mind magic on her before. Memory charms, in fact. He had wiped her memory, along with the rest of the town, when Cassie had killed a vampire and the sheriff had tried to arrest her for it. But that hadn’t been the only time. He’d wiped her memory once when she’d been in high school and some stupid drunk sorcerers had played a mean prank on her. And he’d ordered her to stop that day when Cassie had broken up with him. She’d hit him – thrown him to the ground with the force of her then-unborn son’s gift, and he’d ordered her to stop. She had.

She wasn’t immune to mind magic. He was just tired. He wiped his brow for the fourth or fifth time – he had long-since lost count – and managed to get to his feet, swaying a little.

Kaitlin had run like she thought he would come after her, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure he could walk to the compound unaided, although somehow he did. As soon as he got to the doors he collapsed, and security had to help him the rest of the way.

“We’ll take you to medical,” one of them said.

“No! To my room.” Matthew struggled to his feet, cursing himself as ten kinds of a fool for letting himself get so weak here. “You know what? I can make it. Just help me to the elevator.”

One of the guards – an empath, judging by the slight echo effect – insisted on seeing him not just to the elevator, but to the door of his suite. At least the young man wasn’t sinister. He thought “Mad Matt” needed psychological help, but unlike many of the others here, he was inclined to offer the help instead of condemnations. Well, that was a pleasant change.

“I can get you a healer,” the young empath said when Matthew opened the door to his suite. “Or an empath.”

“Thank you, but I’ll be fine. I just overextended my magic and need some sleep.”

“If you say so.” The young man nodded and left, heading for the stairs instead of the elevator to go back up nine flights.

Matthew slipped into his suite and locked the door behind him, though he had little doubt that Alexander’s men could enter. He hoped that the circle of protection he’d begun inside the bedroom would hold; he only wished he didn’t have to test it under such harsh conditions. Slowly, painfully, Matthew made it to the bedroom and to the bed. He collapsed atop it, fully clothed, without washing or even removing his shoes. Within moments he was asleep.

* * *

He dreamed of Cassie, remembering her as she’d been the night he had proposed to her. She’d wanted him that night; she could deny it now or try to pretend that he’d coerced her, but it wasn’t true. Oh, he might have taken advantage of her during a weak moment after she’d learned the most shocking news of her life, but he hadn’t even used a subtle suggestion or a single do-over to persuade her to take his ring. For a moment, a pure, joyful moment, he thought that perhaps he had found the woman who could truly love him without needing to be manipulated into doing it (never mind that he’d had to use a few simple little spells in the first place). But it hadn’t worked out that way. Maybe he’d moved too fast, or maybe he hadn’t moved quickly enough. He didn’t know. He only knew that out of a long line of conquests, this one was going to come to him honestly.

He dreamed of kissing her, of her enjoying his touch, moaning and pressing closer against him. He dreamed of running his hands along her body, of the sights, sounds, and smells of her response. And then he looked her in the eyes to tell her he loved her.

Except it wasn’t Cassie. It was Kaitlin.

* * *

Matthew awoke in a sweat, and he couldn’t recall the last time he had felt so miserable and grimy. He had no idea what time it was, here in this underground tomb. He glanced at the clock by his bedside which read 1:32, but he honestly had no idea if it meant a.m. or p.m. He felt chilled, weak, and disoriented. But he couldn’t go back to sleep until he was clean and had something to eat and drink. He staggered into the adjoining bathroom, turning the taps to fill the garden tub while he peeled off his clothes. Going into the small kitchenette, he grabbed a glass and filled it with water – twice – before feeling well enough to check his cell phone to see if it was afternoon or after midnight.

Apparently, he had slept most of the day away. He had also missed three calls from Cassie. He did a double-take when he saw that, but it was no mistake. Cassie had called him. Not Evan, but Cassie.

As curious as Matthew was, he was in no shape to handle the woman he had almost married two years ago. Kaitlin had probably called to complain about him, and now Cassie wanted to tell him off. He only prayed Kaitlin hadn’t mentioned his telepathy over the phone, or Alexander would know. Matthew didn’t doubt that all the phones in this place were bugged. His own cell phone might not even be safe while he was here, but he had cast a few protective spells on it so that as long as he used it from within his warded bedroom, he should be okay. He hoped.

Nothing he could do about it now. He got into the bathtub, closed his eyes, and sought his quiet place. Many sorcerers couldn’t cast a spell without first finding their quiet place. Matthew could bypass the exercise when casting certain mental compulsions he used so often that they almost felt as much a gift as his telepathy. But they weren’t, as he was remembering to his cost in the wake of a serious overextension of his skills. He only hoped he hadn’t done permanent damage. He didn’t think so. When he relaxed into the familiar peace of his quite place – a brilliant, glistening, larger-than-life diamond – he felt the pulse of magic he had always known. It was just raw. He flinched when he brushed against it, and decided to spend the rest of the day in his room.

He felt better when he was clean. He changed the sheets in his room, even though he’d been told that “there were people for that.” His security measures wouldn’t let those people in, however, even if he would. When he finished, he fell asleep for several more hours.

This time when he woke, he was fairly sure it was 6:03 in the evening, not in the morning. He felt better. Not up to facing Alexander yet, but better. Better enough, he decided, that he could return Cassie’s phone call.

“You son of a bitch,” she said as soon as she answered.

“I hope your daughter isn’t there to hear such language,” Matthew said, leaning back against some pillows and closing his eyes.

“She’s seven months old.”
“They understand more than you think.”

“Stop trying to distract me. Kaitlin called last night.”

“I see.” He didn’t entirely. Not for the first time, he wished telepathy worked over the phone. There was a reason he usually liked to deal with people in person, although Cassie herself had been wary enough of him during their courtship that he’d let some of it take place over the phone to ease her mind a bit.

“What are you doing with Alexander, anyway?” Cassie asked.

“Joining up?” Matthew joked. “Everyone here loves me and is clamoring for me to join them.”

“I wonder if you would, if Alexander asked,” Cassie muttered. “I’ve never really been able to tell the difference between you.”

Matthew felt his blood go ice-cold in his veins. To hear it from Alexander was one thing, but from Cassie? Was this the woman he had once loved? And did she really see him that way?

“I can’t talk about what I’m doing here,” Matthew said stiffly. He was using his own personal phone, and speaking from within the security of his ward, but he couldn’t trust Cassie and her compromised blood. He wanted to believe that maybe Alexander was somehow controlling her now, trying to alienate them perhaps, but he didn’t believe that. Their problems ran much deeper.

“Fine, then we’ll just talk about Kaitlin. Leave her alone.”

“That girl doesn’t need protection from me.” If anything, it was the other way around. Matthew was still trying to decide if he should confront her one more time to try to wipe her memory. He couldn’t believe what he had feared last night – that she was completely immune to mind magic. She was just an ordinary girl, after all, and he’d been worn out.

“I mean it,” Cassie said. “How dare you kiss her? She’s messed up right now, vulnerable, and –”

“She knows what she’s doing. Don’t you think I’d know if she didn’t?”

“I don’t know if you’d know or not. I think Kaitlin thinks she knows what she’s doing, but I’ve known her for enough years to see what happens every time she gets hurt.”

“You don’t know her as well as you think you do.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, forget it.” Matthew ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. “I’ll leave her alone. You’re right; approaching her was a mistake.”

“Really? That’s it?”

“Yes, that’s it.” He started to sit up, more than ready to end this conversation.

“Great, because I need you to do me a favor.”

“What?” Matthew asked, his mind still on Kaitlin and how she had thrown off his spells.

“I assume you flew to Pennsylvania?”

“Yes.”

“Then when you leave, will you bring Kaitlin with you?”

“What?” Matthew sat bolt upright. “You just had me promise not to have anything to do with her.”

“No, I asked you to leave her alone. Don’t kiss her again, in other words.”

For some reason in that instant, Matthew was struck by the thought that Kaitlin didn’t really like kissing anyway, but he shook the foolish notion aside. Cassie had nothing to worry about on that score. Kaitlin would never let him touch her.

“I want her home,” Cassie said. “If she drives, Jason and Xavier might be able to catch up with her, but the last I knew, they couldn’t fly.”

“They might wait for us there.”

“I’ve got fourteen volunteers to meet you at the airport and escort you back to my place.”

“And then how will you protect her? Shut her inside for the rest of her life?”

“I already had this conversation with Kaitlin last night.” Cassie sighed. “We’ll find a way, but you can’t tell me she’s happy there.”

No, Matthew could honestly not tell Cassie that her friend was happy here. In fact, Kaitlin was scared. Scared for her son, for his death merely delayed by a few years, and for herself. She was lonely here, and for some reason she didn’t feel good about making friends. Because they all had magic and she didn’t? Because she had lost some essential spark? He didn’t know, but he also couldn’t spend time finding out. It was too great a risk.

“What I’m doing here might put Kaitlin in danger,” Matthew said, giving her a half truth.

“Why are you so reluctant?” Cassie asked, far too perceptive as usual. She had that in common with Kaitlin. “This is a simple favor I’m asking. When you leave, take her with you. Are you afraid of her or something?”

“No.” But even as Matthew said it, he knew it for a lie. She was, in fact, his worst nightmare: A woman he couldn’t control.

Chapter 15

KAITLIN HAD TROUBLE CONCENTRATING AT WORK the next day. She kept looking over her shoulder, more than half expecting to see Matthew there. She kept thinking about things... things she hated about herself. Things she tried not to think about. It was the spotted elephant problem: The more you try not to think about something, the harder it is not to think about.

Everyone noticed. Drey, the empath, looked particularly alarmed every time she came into the kitchen, as if she radiated some kind of plague that might be catching. From what she knew of empaths, that might be true.

Don’t think... don’t think... don’t think...

You’re a slut, just like your mom.

To make matters worse, the one friend Kaitlin had sort of made in this place suddenly grew hostile when she spotted Kaitlin.

“I heard you were with Mad Matt last night,” Janelle said in a tone that suggested Kaitlin had engaged in a public orgy.

“We’re from the same town. He wanted to talk.”

“Alexander took you in,” Janelle said. “He didn’t have to do that. You don’t even belong here.”

Kaitlin felt so much as if she’d received a slap in the face that she had to force herself not to touch her stinging cheek. Not that she hadn’t known the truth of Janelle’s words all along, but hearing them put out there like that, right in the open... Was this going to be the rest of her life?

“I didn’t... I don’t like him,” Kaitlin said. “He hurt a friend of mine.” Who is now, no matter what she says about why, working with the guy. No wonder Kaitlin had been confused at first.

A crowd had begun to form around them, giving Kaitlin the feeling of being penned in. She glanced from person to person, noticing Drey, several of the cooks, the serving staff, and even Queen Beth, who normally had as little to do with Janelle as possible.

“What did he say?” Janelle demanded. “What did he want?”

“I – he – we–” What could she say? If she were truly loyal to these people and this place then she would tell them what she knew, wouldn’t she? Matthew’s telepathy was clearly not an open secret, even if his being a mind mage was generally known. They could use that information, and Kaitlin could make herself more important by giving it to them. Perhaps even important enough to begin to belong, especially if she also mentioned that she could see through illusions. So why was she hesitating?

Hideyuki didn’t think she should tell anyone she could see through illusions. For some reason, he had been warning her against it from the start. What did he know that she didn’t?
Kaitlin straightened her spine and glared at Janelle, deciding that whatever happened, she could not let this woman scare her. “Back off. It’s not a crime to talk to someone. Alexander invited him here, didn’t he? Maybe you should ask him why he did that instead of bothering me. All I did was go for a walk.”

Janelle sneered, but before she had a chance to say anything else, the kitchen supervisor came over to demand to know what was going on. Slowly, the crowd dispersed and Kaitlin got back to work. But her heart continued to jump at every odd sound all afternoon, and when she got off work she did not go to the nursery to pick up her son right away; instead, she headed downstairs to the bottom floor – the tenth floor – home of compound security and the Hunters Guild.

Kaitlin had been down here a couple of times, but the stares she received from the reception counter always unnerved her. She was sure that at least one of the people working the counter was an empath and that he was sizing her up as a possible threat. At the moment, he probably thought she was – anxiety was washing off of her in tidal waves that any idiot could see, empath or not. What had happened to her hard-won composure? Hadn’t she been hiding her true feelings since the tender age of twelve? She’d let it slip these past few weeks at the compound, but after one night with a telepath she felt utterly exposed.

“I need to see Hideyuki,” Kaitlin said to the receptionist she was pretty sure was not an empath.

“Is he expecting you?”

“No.” And she had never gone to see him on her own, but who else could she trust?

“Just a minute.” The receptionist picked up the phone, pressed a series of numbers, then spoke in hushed tones with someone on the other end. When she put down the receiver she looked up and gestured to some hard plastic chairs along one wall of the sparsely furnished room. “He’ll be out in a minute. Have a seat.”

Kaitlin didn’t sit, but luckily she also didn’t have to wait long. Within two minutes Hideyuki was there, appearing through a door that led to both the security offices and Hunters Guild. There were also training facilities and, somewhere beyond that maze, a prison holding some of the most dangerous (and challenging to hold) criminals in the world.

“Let’s take a walk,” Hideyuki said as soon as he saw her. He didn’t even offer a greeting or ask for an explanation, though he did offer an arm.

Kaitlin stared at it, not sure what to do with the gesture. An arm? What did that mean? No one offered her an arm. She put her hand on it gingerly, wondering if Hideyuki’s intentions were not as honorable as she had first supposed. She was, after all, a terrible judge of character. But for the moment, at least, he did nothing except to allow the contact. He didn’t even touch her himself, only continued to hold his arm out for her to take as she would.

His arm was solid muscle. This shouldn’t have surprised her, despite the fact that he was at least forty-five, since she had spent a year with a vampire hunter (turned vampire) and knew that above all else they were blocks of solid muscle. She had actually lost interest in the type, now preferring fit but thin. More like Matthew.

He didn’t ask her questions. He didn’t even say a word as they rode the elevator up to ground level, then out into the bright afternoon sunshine. Kaitlin blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the natural light. She’d definitely been too long inside. Last night she had scarcely noticed. Then again, it had been cloudier and the sun further west in the sky. Now, at three in the afternoon, it was high overhead. The day was hot and humid, and it smelled of newly mowed grass and fresh flowers. Kaitlin drew in a deep lungful of the smell of freedom, then let it out again slowly, knowing it wasn’t so easy.

“I keep thinking I can trust you,” Kaitlin said, her hand tightening slightly on his arm. “Is that true?”

Hideyuki didn’t answer right away. First, he led her from the building, along the walking trail, and then off the beaten path into a small copse of trees. There wasn’t any formal seating there, but a large boulder looked as if it had been used for the purpose many a time. Hideyuki walked her to that bolder, then urged her to sit. When she did, he took a step backward.

“I told you not to trust the hunters,” Hideyuki said finally.

“Including you?”

“Maybe.” He looked around. “I sometimes think the trees have ears. I know the walls do.”

“Matthew didn’t think it would be as easy to spy on us outside,” Kaitlin said, remembering. Of course, she had taken his word for that.

“So others have said. Still...” He shrugged. “I’m sorry about Eli pushing you the other night. I’ve sent him and his friend on a mission. They won’t bother you again.”

“Thanks.” Although honestly, Kaitlin had nearly forgotten them.

“The hunters are interested in you. Your son is powerful; more than one has asked aloud if you could produce another such prodigy.”

Kaitlin frowned. “Wait. Is that what they were after the other night?”

“Yes.”

“That’s ridiculous. I would never–”

“You did, though.”

Kaitlin wanted to reply with indignation, but how could she? He was right. She could protest all she wanted, but she had, in fact, gotten pregnant after a one-night stand with a vampire hunter. Who was to say she wouldn’t do it again? It seemed absurd to her now, but only because she wasn’t exactly the same person she had been. Jay had seen to that, among other things.

“I’ve warned them off, but Hunter One is encouraging it.”

“What about Alexander?” Kaitlin asked.

“He thinks one of us should marry you.”

“Cassie said that was his solution to everything.” Kaitlin smiled, thinking of her friend.

“Not everything, but he’s definitely in favor of what he calls ‘a family core.’”

“I guess the hunters aren’t interested in making an honest woman of me,” Kaitlin said lightly, though actually the thought stung a bit. “Is that why I shouldn’t trust them?”

Hideyuki turned away from her, telling her without words that this wasn’t exactly it, though it was part of it.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “Am I in danger here?”

“Maybe. You’re an enigma. You escaped the most powerful vampire in the world when many hunters have not. People are asking how, when you’re not special in the least.”

Kaitlin’s face went red, but she couldn’t deny the charge.

“You are special, though, aren’t you? You don’t see what’s on the walls.”

“There’s nothing on the walls.”

“So you say. Tell me, how did you break the thrall? You weren’t on the anti-venom potion, so you must have been under their thrall.”

Kaitlin’s mind drifted back to the terrifying night when she’d fled for her life. “I’m immune. Xavier said I was immune.”

“To the venom, or to the thrall?” Hideyuki asked.

Kaitlin had to think for a moment. The venom itself did three things – it coagulated the wound so a vampire’s victim wouldn’t bleed out, it turned its victim into a vampire, and it made them a thrall to the vampire. “Only the thrall,” Kaitlin said in realization. “Is that weird?”

“It’s unusual, but it suggests you have a natural immunity to mind magic.”

Kaitlin shook her head. “I know that’s not true. The thrall worked on me for months, and before that, Matthew did something to me.”

“So what happened?” Hideyuki asked.

“Xavier?” Kaitlin made it a question, but it was the only thing that made sense. “Could he have done something to me?”

“Xavier isn’t just a vampire; he’s a powerful sorcerer. That’s why we’ve had so much trouble with him.”

“But I’m safe here,” Kaitlin said, or maybe pleaded. “Aren’t I?”

He didn’t reply.

“Am I in danger?” she asked. Then, her heart pounding, she added. “Is my son?”

“Your son is almost definitely going to die.” He did not turn to face her, and there was a hollow, aching quality to his voice. “I’ve trained so many hunters in the last decade, then watched them, one by one, go out into the field to die. I trained Jason, did you know?”

“No.” Although if she had thought about it, she could have guessed.

“Our leaders keep telling us we’re winning the war against vampires, that we’re close to exterminating them. They cite our high kill rates. And we do. We’ve killed thousands and thousands of vampires in the past decade. We kill them far more often than they kill us. I’ve trained them that well, at least.”

“Xavier said there are more vampires today than there have ever been before,” Kaitlin found herself saying.

“Xavier said that?” Hideyuki still didn’t turn around. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, although I think he’s one of the most evil creatures on the planet. I met him once, thirty years ago, on my very first assignment.”

“You fought him?”
“I fought with him,” He corrected. “We did a raid on a warehouse where a hundred unchecked vamps were nesting. According to him, they were insane, they didn’t rise well, and they needed to be put down before they exposed the entire vampire world. But that night, as I staked my share of freshly-turned vamps who weren’t experienced enough to beat me, I saw him in combat with someone far older and more experienced, someone I believe was a rival to him. Xavier was injured in that fight and needed to replenish his reserves; I saw him rip the throat out of a man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He said he couldn’t help it, that he had been beyond reason, but I didn’t believe him.”

Silence fell between them. Kaitlin remembered a similar incident, and thought she knew exactly what Hideyuki meant, she didn’t share. She didn’t even want to remember.

“They’re not human anymore,” Hideyuki said in a low voice. “I don’t know what they are. I’ve been fighting them for thirty years, or training others to do the same, and I don’t know what they are. The company line is that they’re human bodies inhabited by demonic souls, but I think that’s just us trying to understand.”

“Jason seemed human at first,” Kaitlin whispered. “He became less human as time went on, almost like the demon inside of him was growing up and putting distance between itself and the human memories it first encountered.”

“That could be it. We may never know.”

“Xavier said the reason the hunters are losing this fight is that they killed off all the elders,” Kaitlin said, hoping Hideyuki would refute the claim. Hoping Hideyuki had a plan to kill the monster at her door.

“Yes, I think so too.”

Kaitlin bowed her head, letting a few loose strands of golden hair fall into her face. She pushed them away angrily; she hadn’t found an ally in Hideyuki after all.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said softly.

“How else can I feel? My freedom depends upon his death, and now you’re saying everyone is better off with him alive – everyone but me.”

Hideyuki hesitated. “I’m not sure that’s what I’m saying. Not exactly. But what the hunters are doing isn’t controlling the vampire population, and they haven’t killed Xavier either.”

“So then why are they doing it?”

“Officially or unofficially?”

“Let’s start with officially.”

“Officially, we’re doing it because all vampires are evil and need to be wiped from the face of the planet. Alexander has rallied a call to arms against them, and recruited more hunters to the cause than ever before. With his help, we’ve become more effective, and he’s given us real hope that this is a war we can win.”

“Unofficially?” Kaitlin asked.

“I think Alexander’s doing it because it’s politically expedient. But Mr. Quinn is doing it because Xavier refused to make him immortal.”

“You mean turn him?” Kaitlin gasped. “I’m not sure it’s really immortality.”

“Neither am I, but our current Hunter One would hardly be the first to spend his life fighting vampires then retire as one of them. It’s almost a tradition, and it has kept us connected to the vampire leadership, which helped us control the population. A connection, I might add, that he used to start terminating the vampire leadership when he took over.”

“Wow. I had no idea. Isn’t there anything you can do?”

“I don’t know. I’m hoping to make Hunter One myself, but that may be many years still, and I’m not the only one in line for the position. In the meantime, your son may grow up and die under my watch because we’re fighting a war we can’t win.”

Kaitlin stared at the large, solid man for a minute. Or at least, she stared at his back. He still wouldn’t show her his face and she suddenly felt a strong urge to go up to him and lay a comforting arm on his back. He jerked slightly at the touch, then relaxed against her.

“Have you ever thought of leaving and forming your own guild?” Kaitlin asked.

He laughed. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Then we’d be fighting each other and the vampires. I’m not sure that’s what we want.”

“And this is? Are you really just going to wait around for an old man to die?”

Hideyuki scowled, finally turning around and dislodging Kaitlin’s hand from his back in the process. “It’s not that easy.”

“It never is.” Kaitlin stepped away, giving him the space he seemed to need, and thought back to her own problems. For a moment she had been caught up in his, but reality had a way of crashing back down hard. And whatever else she had learned, she knew also that her worst fears were real: Staying here was a slow death sentence for her son. But could she return and put everyone she loved at risk?

Chapter 16

MATTHEW FELT WELL ENOUGH THE NEXT morning that he could no longer ignore the many invitations he continued to receive from Alexander, both with him and with his inner circle. Besides, he had a job to do and it was time he got to it. So, pushing his concerns about Kaitlin aside for the moment, he met Alexander in his luxurious office once again to play another round of mental tug-of-war.

“So what do you think of the place?” Alexander asked Matthew when they were both seated with drinks in hand. Alexander had chosen scotch, while Matthew had gone for iced tea.

“Reminds me of a communist plot.”

Alexander laughed, throwing his head back with mirth before lowering his head and taking a sip of his scotch. “We’re not communists, although we do take care of our own. It’s a city underground; that’s how I think of it. A city full of magic.”

“A city full of people who hate me,” Matthew remarked. “Do you really expect them to accept me here if I were to take you up on your interesting offer?”

Alexander leaned forward, his eyes sparkling with the vitality of a man half his age, a stark contrast to his gray hair and the deep grooves in his face. “So you’re considering it?”

“No,” Matthew said, intentionally making it sound uncertain. He wasn’t uncertain. He was not Alexander. But for now, maybe the other man would let his guard down if he thought his ploy was working.

“I tell you what,” Alexander said. “If you show loyalty to me, the people here will accept you.”

“Mad Matt?”

“Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? I came up with it myself.”

“And now you expect me to join hands with you and pretend it never happened?”

“Of course not. I expect you to apologize, then work hard to earn your place.”

Matthew nearly choked on his iced tea. “Apologize?”

“You have accused me of some pretty underhanded things.”

“You’ve done some underhanded things!” Matthew nearly slammed his glass down on the table. “You came into Eagle Rock, into my town, and you riled up a bunch of hateful people to the point that they killed a woman. And tried to kill two more!”

“I love the way you say that – my town – such loyalty. I told you, you’re me, thirty years ago. You really care about them, don’t you? The people you consider yours?”

Matthew nodded, struggling not to growl. “You’re avoiding the question.”

“Was there a question? I thought you were just flinging accusations.”

“Do you deny it? Do you deny what you did in Eagle Rock?”

“What happened there was extremely unfortunate,” Alexander began, but he was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Come in!”

Matthew clenched his jaw in frustration as a woman with slightly graying hair brought in two lunch trays. She looked between the two men with a half-smile that faded when she noticed the tension in the room.

“Come in,” Alexander said in a welcoming voice. “Have you had the chance to meet Mr. Blair?”

Mad Matt? “No, sir.”

“Beth is another member of our efficient kitchen staff,” Alexander said, and Beth beamed. It struck Matthew then that however elitist the layout of the place might seem, Alexander himself knew the names of every man, woman, and child in the place. And probably quite a bit more besides.

Beth quickly placed the two trays between them on Alexander’s desk, glowing from the praise she had received. Alexander’ll put him in his place. Then she quickly backed out of the room, leaving them to their meal.

“Dig in,” Alexander said, removing the lid from his tray. “The lasagna is amazing.”

Matthew worked a spell to test his food for poison, then dug into the thick, meaty lasagna. But he couldn’t say if it was amazing or not, because he could barely taste it.

“We’ve got some world-class chefs here,” Alexander said. “They put the chemistry of cooking together with the magic of it to create some remarkable dishes. This one, I believe, is supposed to help with wealth. Do let me know if it works out.”

Matthew scowled. He didn’t believe in that sort of superstitious nonsense, and he wasn’t going to be distracted. “I haven’t forgotten what we were talking about.”

“Of course not. I just thought we should spend a few minutes enjoying the food, but clearly that won’t work.”

“No.” Matthew only just kept himself from grinding his teeth.

“As I said, very unfortunate. But I’m afraid I’ve seen it before. I usually see it with young mind mages, high on their own power, but in your case I think your entire family is a bit high on their own power, aren’t they? Rumor has it that they’ve taken care of keeping the local population in the dark about magic for decades, largely through memory modifications.” He paused. “Be careful with those, they can be addictive.”

Matthew ignored the entirely unnecessary advice. “Are you suggesting that what happened in Eagle Rock was my fault?”

“I’m not suggesting it, I’m saying it outright. I know this is hard for you to hear, and I hate to be the one to have to tell you–”

“I spent days trying to stop it! We called in cousins to put together stronger and stronger spells. It was you we were fighting.”

Alexander shook his head. “You were abusing your power, damping down their nature, keeping them civilized. Do you really think it’s okay to manipulate how hundreds of people think and feel?”

It hadn’t been like that. Not exactly. He hadn’t kept them under constant control – just a nudge here and there. It wasn’t easy to protect a town, but it was his town to protect. Not Alexander’s. “I kept everyone safe.”

Alexander arched an eyebrow. “Ah, safety. Yes. That’s a common defense. But it didn’t work, because the second your spells stopped working it was like suddenly letting go of the rope in a tug-of-war game. They snapped, going well past the point they would have gone without your interference.”

“And why did my spells stop working?”

“Because it was amoral for you to have cast them in the first place.”

Matthew couldn’t keep the shock from his face. He actually felt his jaw drop. “And who decided it was amoral?”

“A unanimous vote cast by my inner council, who set the laws for us here in this country. You can’t just go around manipulating people with mind magic. That’s why I need to train you.”

“You son of a bitch! You’re sitting there telling me it was my fault when it was you who made them snap. You admitted it! You stopped the spells in the middle of a crisis, and look what happened? A mob formed and people died. Even if you thought I shouldn’t have been keeping them calm with systematic spells, you could have eased them down. You could have talked to me about it.”

“I tried, but you weren’t willing to listen to me during our conversation in the restaurant. You were too busy trying to keep from agreeing with anything I said.”

“You’re insane.”

“Mad Alex doesn’t have the same ring to it, though, does it?”

Matthew scowled. It had been Alexander’s fault. It had been. He’d known it for two years, been working tirelessly to prove it, and now Alexander had said so himself. He had discontinued Matthew’s spells, causing a recoil effect.

“Matthew, it’s hard to accept blame. Even at my age, it’s hard, but it’s one of the first things you need to learn how to do. You could never have reined in those tempers forever; you have to know that. The longer you tried to hold on, the worse the fallout would have been when you let go. I’ve seen it time and again. It’s not pretty.”

Matthew shook his head. That couldn’t be true. He’d had it under control. The family had had it under control. Alexander had been the one to walk in and create the problems. It couldn’t have been Matthew’s fault.

Could it?

“So I see you’re spending time with our newest resident,” Alexander said.

“Huh?” Matthew was in a daze, barely able to follow the topic change.

“Kaitlin. I guess you know her from back home.”

“Yes.”

Alexander sat back and eyed Matthew carefully. “Rumor has it that you two are spending time together.”

“I wouldn’t say that, no. I only spoke to her briefly the night before last.” Although if rumors had them spending time together, she would not be gaining any popularity points here. One more reason to do as Cassie asked and fly the woman home with him.

“Well, if that’s the case then so be it. I just wanted to say be careful with her.”

“Why?”

“She’s fragile. All the empaths say so. We’ve tried to get her to work with one, but she refuses.”

“She’s strong enough to have fled from two powerful vampires and gotten here safely.”

“She’s got backbone,” Alexander said, nodding. “Look, you and I both know that she’s not the kind of girl you’re going to marry. She’s the kind of girl you’re going to have fun with for a while.”

“What makes you think I planned on doing anything at all with her?” Matthew asked, outwardly calm. Yet inside he felt outraged at the idea that Kaitlin wasn’t the sort of girl a man would marry. However inconvenient she was to him right now, she was brave and kind and deserved better than that.

“Maybe I’m misreading things, but it seems like you’re attracted to her.”

“She’s an attractive woman.” More than that; an image of her long legs and golden hair burned through his mind.

Alexander cocked his head to the side and Matthew felt a mental tug he had to brace against. “Have you ever heard of a pheromone detector?”

“Is that a new device you’ve invented?”

“No, it’s a rare gift. I happen to have a man with such a gift living here, and he says you two smell amazing together.”

“I see.” He didn’t really need someone to tell him there was chemistry between himself and Kaitlin. But that was all there was. “Well, chemistry aside, I’m not interested.”

Alexander studied him and Matthew felt that mental tug once again. What was this new game?

“I’m glad to hear it,” Alexander said after a minute. “Well then, speaking of connections, there are a few women I’d like to introduce to you while you’re here.”

“Do any of them smell amazing?” Matthew asked mockingly.

“We’ll see, won’t we?”

Maybe. Maybe not. Matthew didn’t want to be drawn into Alexander’s web any more than he had to. The man couldn’t be trusted, and Matthew was nothing like him.

The death of that woman in Eagle Rock had not been his fault! And even if it was, it still didn’t explain all the other terrible things Alexander had done.

That you say Alexander has done. Where’s the proof?

Chapter 17

MATTHEW HAD A SPLITTING HEADACHE WHEN he left Alexander’s office that afternoon, but he didn’t take time out to rest. He’d already lost a day resting, and he had a sense that the best thing for him to do was to get out of this place as quickly as possible. Alexander was wearing him down, bit by bit. Already he had Matthew questioning his own judgment concerning the man’s motives and methods. And that in just two meetings.

I am not like him. I am not like him. I am not like him. Matthew repeated the words to himself over and over again like a mantra. He would never use blood magic. He would never kill to get his way. Yes, he used mind magic, but that was the most peaceful, the most civilized, and the most expeditious way to get things done.

Most of the time.

And on that note, it was time to confront Kaitlin once again, assuming she’d let him anywhere near her. She was at least as wary of him as he was of her now that she knew he could see into her mind. And she was hardly the first person to react that way. She was just the first person he hadn’t been able to make forget so he could retreat back into his isolated existence, listening but not participating.

Matthew intercepted Kaitlin on her way out of work, thinking it would be best to talk to her without her little boy present. He stood by the elevator when she emerged from the kitchen, watching her approach with her head hanging low, her shoulders slumped, and her eyes on the floor. She didn’t even see him until she was nearly within telepathic range. When she did see him, she jumped backward a step.

“What are you doing here?”

“Thought we should talk.”

“I disagree.” Kaitlin turned and started heading toward the other end of the hallway where the stairs were. Matthew quickly followed.

“Did Cassie tell you she called me?” Matthew asked.

Kaitlin stopped short, allowing Matthew to come within telepathic range. He had to fight from wincing the moment he did. She was, as his psychologist cousins would call it, a mess. It was a good thing he wasn’t an empath or he might be doubled over in agony right now. She was fully caught between fight and flight, not truly believing that either was a choice. Matthew felt a sudden and unexpected pang of something in the region of his chest, but he quickly reached for his slightly frayed control, squashing the feeling before it could root.

“What did she say?” Kaitlin asked.

“She told me to leave you alone.”

“Then why are you following me?” Stay out of my head. Out. Out. Out.

“Because she also asked me to do one more thing. Can we talk outside?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea. Besides, for all you know the trees have ears just like the walls.” She thought of a Japanese man, Hideyuki, who had said the same thing yesterday. And confirmed her worst fears about Jay’s future. Matthew wanted to know more about that conversation, as he thought there might be something there he could use, but her mind flickered back to the present too quickly.

“I’ll take my chances.”

“Maybe I won’t.” She braced herself to resist him, and inside her mind she began humming a nursery rhyme. Matthew had to give her credit – the girl had backbone. But he’d already known that.

“Jack be nimble, Jack be quick,” Matthew said, echoing her thoughts. “But I think we both know he’s about to get burned.”

“I don’t know anything anymore,” Kaitlin said, and again her shoulders slumped. This time she thought of Janelle, her coworker, and the only person who had made overtures of friendship toward her. Apparently spending one evening with him had been enough to put an end to that. Matthew wanted to tell her that she deserved better friends, but now might not be the time.

“Five minutes,” Matthew said. “Please.”

“All right.” She squared her shoulders and walked ahead of him, still going for the stairs but this time going up as opposed to down. Matthew kept his distance, not wanting to scare her away, but he stayed within telepathic range in case she had any more interesting tidbits to share.

Does it even occur to you that my thoughts should be private? she wondered, clearly intending him to overhear. Do you ever think for a second that maybe you shouldn’t use your gift? There are things no one should know about someone else. Things... This time, the image of half a dozen men sifted through her mind, including Jason. She thought of him the longest, imagining him with the yellow eyes of the vampire and sharp fangs plunging into her neck. She heard the ghost of an awful demonic slurping sound before pushing the thought away.

Matthew didn’t respond until they were outside, well away from the compound. It was another hot afternoon in the high eighties, with humidity sending the heat index soaring far higher. It only took a minute for Matthew to need to push the hair from his forehead. Kaitlin didn’t notice the heat.

“I can’t turn it off,” Matthew blurted as they began meandering down a walking path that wound around the golf course.

“What?” Kaitlin asked.

Matthew couldn’t believe he was talking about this, knowing that he couldn’t erase these details from her mind later. Or maybe... maybe the other day had been a fluke. He didn’t really think so, but he had to try just one more time.

Drawing in a deep breath and finding his quiet place (something he never normally did when casting mind control spells), he made one last attempt to wipe Kaitlin’s memory. He tried to erase the very last comment he had made, about not being able to turn off his gift.

Nothing. She continued to gaze at him expectantly.

“I can’t turn it off. I can’t imagine a brick wall or whatever it is you read about in science fiction books. ‘Reading’ is the wrong word entirely; it suggests that you can close your eyes and stop doing it. It’s much more like trying to close your ears to a loud noise.”

Kaitlin’s mouth was hanging open slightly. Why is he telling me this? Does he plan to make me forget later or something?

He wished. He had no idea why he was telling her these things except that he didn’t seem to have any other way to control her. He tried a few suggestions, both subtle and overt, while she stood there gaping. He ordered her to take a step backward, or look up, or take a deep breath, or any number of little things that wouldn’t go against any sort of basic mental program. She might have thought to do any of them anyway.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He could read her mind – a passive action – but that was it. If he wanted to change her mind in any way, he would have to talk fast. It wasn’t something he was used to. Even within his family, they were always trying to slip spells past one another’s defenses. It rarely worked, but they tried. His father often called it “keeping his boys on their toes.”

It worked. Matthew was always on his toes. And never more so than here with Kaitlin, who was looking at him with confusion but no less trepidation than she’d felt before.

Can you listen to everything in my head, or just what I’m thinking now?

“Only what you’re actively thinking.” He maintained his wary stance, waiting for her reaction.

That’s something, at least. If he’s telling the truth. How do I know if I can trust him?

He didn’t know how to answer that one. Normally he would work some kind of subtle suggestion that he was, after all, trustworthy. All his tools were gone right now.

“Cassie wants me to bring you home,” Matthew said, deciding to change the subject.

More fear and doubt. An image of Jason and Xavier trying to break down the walls of Eagle Rock (which didn’t, to Matthew’s knowledge, have a wall around it) to get to her and Jay. They would stop at nothing.

“Why do they want you so badly?” Matthew asked.

Kaitlin stopped and stared at him. Apparently, this had never occurred to her. I don’t know. I should have asked Hideyuki yesterday. He seems to be willing to tell me the truth.

It sounded like Hideyuki might be an excellent ally, but Matthew kept that observation to himself. He would try to hunt down and approach the warrior later.

Maybe they don’t want me. Maybe it’s just Jay. He’s the powerful one. They could turn him into a vampire when he’s older and use him to fight the hunters, or to rebuild their civilization from the ruins the hunters left it in. They might only want me to help them keep Jay in line until then. It’s the only thing that makes sense, really.

The only thing that made sense? Matthew frowned. Couldn’t Kaitlin think of any other reason that someone – anyone – would want her? She hadn’t thought exactly that, but the undercurrent was there as loud as the thoughts themselves.

He couldn’t help himself. He lifted a hand and gently, ever so gently, touched Kaitlin’s cheek. It felt like silk – slightly damp silk as it was humid outside – but luscious. There was a jolt at the instant of contact that echoed through Kaitlin’s mind and she sucked in her breath, knowing he knew she was attracted to him. Will he use it against me? I’m not – I can’t – he can read my mind. He’d know... everything. I couldn’t fake anything with him.

Matthew drew his hand back as if it had been burned. What was she so afraid of him seeing? What could he possibly learn about her that would be the end of her world? He almost wished he could dig around in her mind to find out, but maybe that would be going too far.

“I’m sorry,” he said, though he rarely apologized and wasn’t entirely sure what he was apologizing for except that he’d meant to offer her comfort and instead inflicted more pain. How did normal people do this?

“It’s okay. I don’t know if I can go back to Eagle Rock. I think I should, but I also think people will get hurt there.”

“You don’t think people might get hurt here?” Matthew asked.

I don’t care as much. Wow, that sounded callous. I hope he didn’t catch it.

“I can’t promise you anything,” Matthew began. “I want to make that clear up front.”

“Okay...”

“But the White Guard is based in Eagle Rock, and I think we’d be as good a shield against Xavier as Alexander’s Underground is.”

“Can you kill him?” Kaitlin asked. Not that the hunters here have promised to kill Xavier; Hideyuki even thought it was a bad idea.

“No one can promise you that; they’ve been trying for too long. But we’ve got people. Not two thousand, but several hundred, and most of them are far more powerful than the average. Alexander recruits anyone with a spark; we’re pickier.”

“Why do you want me to come back with you so badly? What did Cassie say to you?”

“She said...” Matthew broke off, trying to figure out how to explain. “The thing is, Cassie and Evan and I have more of an alliance than a friendship.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Kaitlin said sarcastically, remembering the day he’d hurt her friend.

Matthew scowled. “Why isn’t anyone angry with Evan for what he did to her?” He held up a hand. “No, wait, don’t answer.”

But Kaitlin had answered, at least in her mind. There was a startled hitch and then, very clearly, They love each other. And she forgave him.

“He took her magic and she forgave him?”

“He offered to give it back.”

Matthew opened his mouth, then closed it. That couldn’t be true. And it was beside the point. “Forget it. Will you be ready to go when I am?”

“How long will it be?”

“I can’t say, but I’m hoping soon. If I were you, I’d get packed and be ready to go at a moment’s notice.” With that he spun on his heel and walked away, not entirely sure what had annoyed him so much. But he felt another pang in the region of his heart, and this time it had nothing to do with Kaitlin. If he didn’t know any better he might call it... loneliness.

* * *

Matthew wasn’t sure where he was going next until he reentered the compound and saw the security guards eying him suspiciously. They should be suspicious. Before this was all over he planned to find a cache of blood, document it, and destroy it. Plus, he planned to bust an innocent man out of prison, one whose daughter had hurt Kaitlin.

Matthew headed down two floors to the kitchen to wait for Janelle to get off work. Her shift was offset from Kaitlin’s by an hour, so she would be getting off any minute now. And there she was, calling something over her shoulder to someone in the kitchen, then laughing at the response.

She was a study in contrasts to Kaitlin, who had been pale, defeated, and lonely as she’d left work. Janelle was buoyant, full of light and life, and her eyes sparkled with merriment – or was it mirth?

She was a pretty little thing, with dark, flawless skin, her hair woven into countless tiny braids that fell halfway down her back, a lean frame and a well-rounded butt above legs almost as lovely as Kaitlin’s. Almost. Kaitlin would always look lovelier to him because she had been brave and Janelle had torn her down.

Janelle was still smiling when she saw Matthew. She seemed to want to maintain the outward impression that he had not ruffled her, but her steps slowed and Matthew could tell he had her on edge. Good. Fear and nerves were things he could work with, especially when they were directed against him. He could slip in between the cracks and bend her to his will, no matter how resistant she was against mind magic.

“What do you want?” Janelle asked just as she came into his telepathic range. What the hell’s Mad Matt doing here? Can’t believe Alexander let him in.

“I want to talk to you.”

“What about?” If he thinks he can make me betray Alexander, he really is mad.

“About Kaitlin,” Matthew said. “You’ve been giving her a hard time.”
“So? She’s a little traitor. Everyone knows it. Alexander took her in, protected her, gave her a roof over her head, and she doesn’t even have any magic. And how does she repay him? She goes off with you, probably plotting something.”

“Do you really think,” Matthew said mildly, playing off of her loyalty to the man, “that Alexander can be fooled so easily?”

“I... no.” Yes, he can. I’m fooling him.

Now that was interesting, but Janelle didn’t think anything else about it. Well, there were ways to draw it out of her. And he would before this was all over.

“Well then, how could I be fooling him? As for Kaitlin, I practically forced her to walk off with me. She thought you were her friend.”

“You did?” Janelle frowned, seeming torn. I did want to try Blessing on her, maybe I should tell people to back off.

Matthew kept his face impassive, but it was a near thing. Blessing was the name of a new drug in the magical world rumored to boost people’s magical abilities. It even seemed to work, although as Scott Lee had once pointed out, that might be a placebo effect. People were often able to do bigger and better things merely because they thought they could – in both the magical and nonmagical worlds. But it had nasty side effects, was incredibly addictive, and could even be deadly.

And she’d wanted to try it on Kaitlin?

This girl was going down; Matthew didn’t care what he had promised her father, although he had already been having doubts about “rescuing her.” The bigger question now was how to convince her father that she didn’t need rescuing after he rescued him. A worry for another time.

How could a man be so caring, and his child be so... not? It wasn’t the first time Matthew had wondered, and in both directions.

“Come on outside with me. It’s a nice day and I don’t like being cooped up inside. We’ll talk there.”

Janelle hesitated, but finally shrugged. I can handle him. I handled Todd, didn’t I? He couldn’t even wipe my mind with a sample of blood.

A challenge. Either that or Todd was inept. It was amazing how often the most “powerful” mind mages failed at their craft because they used sledgehammers where a simple push would do. For example, why use magic to get Janelle outside with him when she was so easily agreeable? He would have, if he’d had to, but he hadn’t needed to. Overuse of magic was the mind mage’s bane.

As soon as they emerged into the humid, but not quite as hot, afternoon, Matthew led Janelle down the familiar walking path to a small copse of trees he had noticed earlier. There was a large rock where she could sit, and a bit of privacy for what he would have to do.

Janelle grew wary as they approached the trees. Why’s he taking me to Lover’s Cove?

Definitely not for the reasons it had been given that name, although Matthew would bet that it didn’t truly become Lover’s Cove until after dark.

“Have a seat,” Matthew said, gesturing to the rock.

“I’ll stand, thanks.”

He shrugged. She would sit, eventually. It would become too much for her, and that’s when he would know he’d won.

“You wanted to talk about Kaitlin?” Janelle asked.

“I wanted to talk about your father. You know, the man you’re draining.”

“He stole my magic; I’m getting it back.” Her mind flashed back to the worst time in her life – when she’d been drained. Day after day, hour after hour, endless agony almost beyond bearing. The pain had gone beyond the physical, beyond the emotional, and into the spiritual. She’d lost a part of herself that she would never get back, no matter how much magic she took from others.

For a split second, Matthew wondered if he’d somehow gotten it all wrong, if Devon had fooled him. It didn’t seem possible, since the images in Devon’s mind had been clear as day, but his daughter had definitely lost her magic.

Then the second passed and he saw in her mind – not her father – but the old white man from her father’s memory. Todd – she gave name to the face – the head of Alexander’s security forces and one of his most trusted advisors. Todd had taken her magic.

Matthew had met Todd his first day at the compound. He didn’t look like an old white man. But Matthew couldn’t see through illusion.

“What happened after your father stole your magic?” Matthew asked, preparing to probe.

She said something, but he didn’t pay attention to her words –- all lies. He only listened to the thoughts in her mind. There had been pain. Betrayal. Agony. She’d trusted Todd. He’d been supplying her with Blessing and she’d been selling to her friends. She’d made him a tidy profit in the last six months, but he’d suddenly turned on her. Her father had told her she’d been running with the wrong crowd, but she hadn’t listened. She hated that he’d been right almost as much as she hated him for walking back into her life at the age of sixteen, pretending like he cared.

There are always two sides to any story, Matthew reminded himself. But he wasn’t here for family counseling.

As Janelle spoke, ranting about her father taking advantage of her, Matthew buried a powerful truth spell between her pain and anger. The spell wouldn’t make her speak the truth – something she was much more likely to notice happening (and therefore fight) – but it would ensure she thought the truth. Matthew had learned from long experience that people lied to themselves all the time, but he needed facts, not self-delusions.

She sat, completely unaware of having done so, as soon as his spell was cast.

What followed was, to Matthew at least, two overlapping conversations. His words created the illusion that they were discussing her decision to join Alexander’s movement and her belief in his cause. Through his questions and his subtle suggestions, he created the impression that he was considering joining, and that if she responded correctly she might be a part of undoing the threat of Mad Matt and his White Guard.

But in her mind was an entirely different conversation. She was, Matthew soon came to realize, fiercely loyal to Alexander despite the fact that she was a party to both magic theft and drug dealing, two things Alexander was adamantly outspoken against. What he doesn’t know won’t kill him, seemed to be her attitude about that. Meanwhile, she would work from the inside to take down Todd, a man who was only in the organization to further his own selfish ends. She would replace him one day, reclaiming her magic when she did, and then she wouldn’t need Blessing anymore. She could be truly loyal to Alexander then.

A mind is not a linear thing to parse. Stream of consciousness follows patterns that only make sense to the thinker, although sometimes Matthew caught glimpses of the crazy hops from subject to subject. But he got her story. He drew it out of her one piece at a time, then put it back together like a jigsaw puzzle.

She’d lived with her mother for most of her life. Her father had only popped in and out at random, and when it was convenient for him. He seemed to try harder when she was ten and he claimed to have gotten his act together – he became a teacher, at any rate – but by then she hadn’t wanted to have anything to do with him. And she really hadn’t wanted to have anything to do with him at sixteen, when her mother died and she went to live with him.

Her mother wasn’t much of a witch, and Janelle refused to learn magic from her father, so in high school she sought out others with strange abilities. She found them, too. Many only had gifts or small, barely-trained magics, but she felt she had more in common with them than with her father. And when Todd approached her about taking Blessing, she’d jumped at the opportunity to improve her own power. One day she wanted to be more powerful than her father.

Then Todd turned on her. She’d been a stupid kid then – only two months ago, but it was amazing how quickly people grew up sometimes. Her father had rescued her, but when he’d gone seeking justice, he had made a mistake. He’d come to the compound and spoken to the head of security – the very man who had drained her in the first place. Todd had been very interested in Devon for one reason in particular – to Devon, Todd looked like an old white man. He maintained an illusion of youth that both Devon and Janelle had managed to see through. So he’d wiped Devon’s memory and set him loose. Only, the memory charm hadn’t taken. Devon began to remember, and that’s when Todd made up the story about Devon being the one to steal his own daughter’s memory.

That’s when Devon had run. Todd had gone to Janelle to work on her memory as well, needing to keep the truth from Alexander. And it had worked... for a few days. When the memory spell faded, Janelle went to Todd with a proposition: He would help her get her magic “back” from her father and she’d keep her mouth shut about him. She convinced Todd that her ability to throw off mind magic made her invaluable, and he’d bought it.

Or maybe Janelle had. Matthew wasn’t sure, from her memories, who was using whom, but he wouldn’t trust either one of them. They were both dealing drugs right here under Alexander’s nose, and Janelle was interested in trying Blessing on someone with no magic at all to see what it would do.

She made him sick.

But he’d gotten what he’d come for. He knew what had happened to her, what had happened to her father, and where he could find Devon – and she wasn’t any the wiser.

It was on days like this that Matthew loved being a mind mage. This was what power should feel like. Victory. Sweet, sweet triumph.

* * *

Nothing was settled, of course. Matthew still had a lot to do, and precious little time to do it. He felt like he was in a race against the clock, but he didn’t know what time it was or when his time would be up. He only knew that Alexander had gotten to him in the past and could get to him again. He needed to find that blood. He needed to get Devon out. He needed to get Kaitlin out. Janelle could fall on her own sword for all he cared – and he had no doubt that she would. But the others were his responsibility, like the town of Eagle Rock that Alexander had attacked, however he tried to spin it.

It took no convincing at all for him to get Hideyuki to meet him at the playground shortly after dark. No children played there now; the swings only moved with the breeze. The place was nice, like every part of the compound, well-tended and extravagantly built. It was a child’s fantasy land, and it made Matthew think of the toddler who had raced from place to place just the other night while his mother looked on.

“Thanks for meeting me,” Matthew said politely when Hideyuki joined him on the same bench he’d shared with Kaitlin.

“I was curious,” Hideyuki said. “Everyone is talking about you.” And I want to know if what they’re saying is true. “You didn’t do Kaitlin any favors when you spent time with her the other day, you know. And word is already out that you two met again.”

“I thought she could help me.”

You mean you thought you could use her, Hideyuki thought, his gaze becoming more remote.

“And I thought I could help her,” Matthew added. “Her friends want her home. I happen to have an airplane.”

“She should go home.” Images of several hunters flashed through his mind’s eye, almost too quickly for Matthew to catch, but the gist of it was: They want to use her too.

“If it helps,” Matthew said. “I don’t think she can help me after all.”

“Really?” Hideyuki twisted to face Matthew. “That seems short-sighted of you.”

“Why would you say that?” Matthew tried to sense the answer from the hunter’s thoughts, but there was no need. He spoke his mind.

“She’s a special girl. More special than she realizes, perhaps. Her son got his magic from somewhere, and I don’t think it was just his father.”

“She does have a gift,” Matthew said, “but you know that. You warned her against using it.”

“Many people are short-sighted,” Hideyuki said.

Meaning? Matthew asked the question directly into Hideyuki’s mind.

Because she is not powerful in a more traditional way, Hideyuki thought, they will only see her as a threat, more trouble than use. She can neither be used nor controlled.

“Why do you care so much about her?” Matthew asked. For a moment he felt something like jealousy.

“Her son.” Hideyuki looked inside himself for a moment, thinking that he had never had a son himself, and that he was afraid to do so in a world like this, where hunters were so easily killed. “He’s the son I never had.”

And Matthew knew it for truth. Hideyuki loved Jay as if he were his own.

How do you feel about Kaitlin? Matthew wanted to ask, and this time the jealous feeling didn’t evaporate in an instant.

“Hunter One wants me to marry her,” Hideyuki said.

Matthew reeled at the idea.

Hideyuki must have seen something in Matthew’s reaction, because he added, “I don’t want to marry her.” But he was giving the thought more serious consideration than he otherwise would have because of his feelings for the boy. As for Kaitlin, he saw her more as a daughter, though not as fiercely as he thought of Jay as a son. Still, it was disturbing for Hideyuki to think of marrying her.

That made two of them.

“Kaitlin can’t be controlled by magic,” Matthew said. “Not at all. Not even a little bit. Did you know?”

I guessed, he thought. Xavier did something to her. Why, though?

Aloud Hideyuki said, “I’ve never heard of anyone being completely immune, although mind magic is hardly my field. I only know she sees through the illusions, and there are many things in this compound that are not as they appear.” You could use that.

Maybe. Maybe not. He would really love to know what Xavier did to her. But for now, he needed Hideyuki’s help. “I understand that you’re unhappy with the way the hunters are being run.”

“It is counterproductive.” Hideyuki’s eyes were shuttered again, and his mind went still.

“Would you like a chance to form your own guild?”

Kaitlin said the same thing, but I had not thought of it then. Now... “I don’t know. Kaitlin made me think about it, but I don’t want to fight other hunters. Vampires are still the enemy. That has not changed.”

“But you used to work with them?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think Alexander will let you go back to working with them, even if you take over the guild?”

“No.” Short. Simple. Honest.

“I need help,” Matthew said. “There are two things I need to do here, one of which is personal, one of which effects every man, woman, and child in the magical world.”

Hideyuki didn’t say a word, but he was listening.

“There is a man named Devon who was wrongfully accused of stealing his own daughter’s magic.”

“How do you know it’s wrong?”

“I know it from his own daughter,” Matthew said, glossing over how he’d gotten the information.

“You are mighty indeed,” Hideyuki said, which was exactly the response Matthew had been hoping for.

“In addition, I need to find the place where Alexander stores the blood he has stolen from countless sorcerers.”

Hideyuki’s thoughts shattered. It was a bit like watching a damn break. One second he was maintaining a semblance of inner peace, and the next he was boiling over with rage, though he wasn’t sure if he should be angry with Matthew for lying or Alexander, if it was true. Mad Matt, they call him.

“How do you know?” Hideyuki asked through gritted teeth. But for some reason he was inclined to believe.

“Ask Kaitlin. She saw evidence when she was in the medical ward. I’ve seen evidence too.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“That depends upon how badly you care about your hunters. You will have proof by the time this is over, but regardless, you will have your own guild under the umbrella of the White Guard. I’ll get you anything you need.”

“Including negotiating with the very vampire who now hunts Kaitlin?”

Matthew didn’t even hesitate. “Yes, including that.”

Hideyuki stood. “I will give you my answer in the morning.”

Matthew considered nudging him into giving an answer now, but he reasoned that he would rather have the man’s free cooperation. Time enough to change his mind, if necessary, in the morning.

Chapter 18

KAITLIN HAD NEARLY CRAWLED INTO BED when someone knocked on her door. Glancing quickly over at the toddler bed adjacent to her own bed, where Jay lay in peaceful slumber, she strode cautiously to the door. She thought of Matthew, the only other person to knock unexpectedly on her door since she’d come here, and she quickly tried to put her thoughts in order.

“Who is it?” Kaitlin said through the door, trying to keep her voice quiet so that Jay wouldn’t rouse.

“Hideyuki.”

Shocked, Kaitlin opened the door, staring at the strange man who had somehow worked his way into her circle of trust – maybe simply because there was no one else here who she could feel that way about. He looked just as solid as ever, but there was a wariness in his eyes. Kaitlin opened the door and let him slip inside, putting a finger to her lips to indicate that Jay was sleeping.

Hideyuki nodded and gestured to a small bedside lamp, the only source of illumination in the room. She frowned, sat down on the bed, and watched as Hideyuki withdrew a small notebook from somewhere behind him – his back pocket perhaps? He handed it to her.

Biting her lip, Kaitlin flipped it open to the first page:

People may be listening. I’m going to propose to you. Don’t worry. It’s just an act.

Kaitlin glanced up at Hideyuki, shocked despite herself.

“Kaitlin, you’re a beautiful woman.” He gestured for her to flip to the next page, which she did.

Do you trust Matthew Blair?

“No,” Kaitlin replied.

“Yes you are,” Hideyuki said. “You’re the only one who can’t seem to see it.”

Kaitlin opened and closed her mouth, realizing that he’d covered her response. But there seemed to be something more to his words than a cover-up. He held her gaze and spoke with purpose. With truth.

“Why?” Kaitlin asked, completely forgetting the notebook for a moment. She wanted to ask why anyone would believe he would propose to her, but if he was going to such great lengths to cover up whatever he did want to say, she had to be smart about this.

“You’re smart, and you care deeply about your son, who I happen to love too. I think you and I would be good together.” Again, Hideyuki gestured for her to flip the page.

Will you go home with him?

“I don’t know.” It seemed like an appropriate answer to both questions, so she left it at that.

She turned the page without being prompted this time.

You are in danger.

“I am?” Kaitlin looked up at Hideyuki, then turned the page.

If anyone finds out that you are immune to mind magic, you will likely be killed.

“Immune to what?” Kaitlin clapped a hand over her mouth, looking around at the walls warily. God, was someone really listening? And could she live like this?

“Is there someone else?” Hideyuki asked. “Matthew?”

“No.”

Hideyuki leaned in so close to Kaitlin that his lips brushed her ears. He whispered, “I think he’s scared of you.”

“Scared of me?” Kaitlin mouthed.

“Yes.”

That seemed too incredible for Kaitlin to deal with, so she tried to deal with the other. Except it couldn’t be true. She couldn’t be immune to mind magic. She knew of times when Matthew had controlled her. It had to be a mistake. But she couldn’t deny that she could see through illusions. And there was the songbird... But her friend Madison had influenced her with her voice. Kaitlin wished Madison were here now, and would sing to her. Then she would know if something had changed.

“Why did he go to you?” Kaitlin asked, her voice so low he would have to read her lips.

Hideyuki gestured to the notepad.

He wants me to go too.

“Will you?” Kaitlin mouthed.

“Only if you do.”

Kaitlin stared at her son, still sleeping peacefully, unaware of the turmoil going on around him. Oh, to be that young and innocent. Had she ever been? Maybe, once upon a time. She could only just recall times when she and her mother had played together and she had felt something like pure, unfettered joy. Only now Kaitlin knew how worried her mother had always been about finances and about raising Kaitlin alone. She’d flitted from man to man, trying to find a father for Kaitlin, but instead she’d found a nightmare. Kaitlin had grown up too quickly.

But right now, Kaitlin thought, she wanted her mother more than anything.

Kaitlin nodded.

“Will you at least think about my proposal?” Hideyuki asked. “You don’t have to answer right away.”

“Of course,” she replied.

Hideyuki nodded once and showed himself out.

* * *

Kaitlin expected to hear something from Matthew or Hideyuki later that day, or maybe even the next day, but three days passed without a word. She spotted Matthew once or twice as she made her rounds, usually accompanying some important member of Alexander’s inner circle, but they didn’t stop to chat during those moments and Matthew did his best to pretend that he didn’t know her. If he was trying to convince anyone that the two of them weren’t involved, it wasn’t working. The level of hostility in the kitchen did not decrease, and for the first time since she’d arrived, Kaitlin was grateful for a job that took her out of the kitchen most of the time while she traversed the hallways delivering food.

The third day also happened to be Kaitlin’s day off, so she called Matthew’s room early that morning and asked him to meet her and Jay at the playground at his earliest convenience. They agreed to meet in the front lobby at nine in the morning and head out from there.

Kaitlin arrived first, and when she spotted Matthew stepping off the elevator she spent a moment studying him. He looked just as cool and confident as ever – clean-cut, sophisticated, and utterly in charge of his surroundings. If he was having trouble with his plan it didn’t show on his face or in his stance. He looked like the kind of person who could rule the world.

A world where I have no place. Kaitlin shook away that line of thought before Matthew could listen in on it. The last thing she needed to add to her long list of failed relationships was a telepath who could ferret out all her secrets. If she thought her heart had been broken before, it would be nothing to the pain of having a man know her true self and then reject her for it.

Matthew smiled when he saw her. Jay hugged her leg more tightly, still wary of this strange man.

“It’s okay,” Kaitlin said to her son. “He’s a friend.”

Matthew held something in his hand, and as they approached Kaitlin saw that it was a banana – her son’s favorite food in the whole world. He’d choose bananas over chocolate cake, although he hadn’t had many opportunities to eat cake in his short life. When Jay saw the offering, he immediately let go of Kaitlin’s leg and made a run for it, but Matthew held it just out of reach.

“Ask nicely,” Matthew said. “You should say please.”

Kaitlin was about to say that Jay didn’t say anything at all when her son, quite clearly, made a ‘p’ sound. It wasn’t a word, but Kaitlin’s eyes widened in shock and Matthew beamed at the child as if he’d just recited Shakespeare from memory.

“Very good,” Matthew said, and handed Jay the treat.

“How did you-?” Kaitlin stopped short, wondering if she really wanted to know. Two security guards watched them from the door, so she decided her questions could keep. With that in mind she strode out the door, leading the other two in the direction of the playground.

Jay ran ahead as soon as the playground came into sight, tossing his banana peel on the ground. With a sigh, Kaitlin picked it up and threw it into the trashcan at the playground. There were two other children there, accompanied by two other mothers, both of whom were sitting on the best bench – the one under the shade of a maple tree.

The two women spotted Kaitlin and sneered at her. Pretending she hadn’t noticed, Kaitlin started to walk around to the other side of the playground, but Matthew didn’t follow. She looked back, caught him staring at the two women for a moment, and the next thing she knew they were calling for their children to come with them.

“Awwww!” complained both children at once, but in remarkably short order the children followed behind their respective parents, leaving the playground empty and private for a talk.

Kaitlin sat on the recently vacated bench. Matthew stood beside her, probably trying to intimidate her.

“You did that, didn’t you?” she asked.

“What?”

“Made them leave.”

“They wanted to anyway, once they saw you here. I just gave them a nudge.”

Kaitlin closed her eyes. “How can anyone trust you, knowing what you are and what you can do at any moment? How do I know you’re not manipulating me right now?”

“I can’t. If I could, you wouldn’t remember certain things about me.”

Kaitlin wasn’t entirely convinced of that, but she shrugged and changed the subject. It wasn’t really the point. Her business with Matthew involved catching a plane ride home, hopefully sooner rather than later. The fact that no one trusted him was his problem, one he clearly didn’t care about.

“What makes you think no one trusts me?” Matthew asked.

“Cassie as good as said so. And it’s not like I’m an expert or anything, but it doesn’t seem like you’re going to be able to make a go of the White Guard thing if the people helping you aren’t really your friends. Force of personality will only take you so far.” But oh, did he have force of personality in spades.

“What did you want to talk about?” Matthew asked. If he had been anyone else, he would probably have sounded irritable. As it was, he simply made an abrupt segue.

“It’s been three days. I thought there would be some planning.”

“There has been. Yuki and I have been working on it every night.”

“Without me?”

“The more people who know, the less secure the plan is. And no offense, but there’s not much you can do to help. I promised Cassie to get you out of here, but that was it.”

Kaitlin’s face went a little pink as she looked out at her son, swinging so high she thought he might circle the bar. Useless Kaitlin, that was her. Well, she should have expected it. She’d just thought that maybe, since she did apparently have this ability to see through illusions, there might be something she could do.

“Look, Kaitlin,” Matthew began, and now he did sit next to her on the bench, keeping a safe distance between them. “I don’t know if you understand how dangerous this is. I don’t want you involved if I can help it.”

“Of course I know how dangerous it is! Why do you think I’m leaving, to face two vampires determined to kill me and turn me into one of them? And then God only knows what happens to Jay.”

“Alexander is a mind mage himself. Several of his top-level advisors are, including his chief of security. Now me, personally, I would put my biggest muscle as the head of security, not a mind mage. Or I might even have a mind mage as a lead investigator working with the head of security. But the top tiers of the security department all have at least some ability to withstand or control mind magic. It has me seriously wondering how much investigation they do, and how much covering up. You are a liability, not because you’re useless, but because you’re exactly what they fear.”

Kaitlin fell silent for a long moment, thinking about what Matthew had said. “Are you afraid of me too? Am I a liability to you?”

“What? No.” And now the unflappable facade did crack for a moment. There was something almost like fear in his eyes. “No, but even I might be in over my head here. Alexander is trying to recruit me. He wants me to be his successor.”

“That sounds like an easy way to gain power,” Kaitlin said. “So why not do it?”

“I’m not a blood mage or a killer.”

“And you’re sure Alexander is?”

“He’s at the center of it all. He might not know everything that goes on around here, though I suspect some of it is plausible deniability, but he’s got the blood.”

“You don’t know where it is,” Kaitlin said suddenly. “That’s why you haven’t moved.”

Matthew nodded, not meeting her gaze.

“But isn’t it obvious?”

He stared at her. “It is?”

“It’s got to be in Alexander’s own quarters. It’s the only thing that makes sense. He wouldn’t want it someplace where anyone else would have access to it, or even be able to stumble upon it accidentally. And he doesn’t invite people into his private rooms unless they’re inner circle or else... well.” Kaitlin had delivered breakfast there once or twice, a quick in and out.

“Not a threat?” Matthew supplied. “Yes, I thought of his rooms as the most likely place, but I can’t be sure. I was considering faking an injury, or making myself vulnerable so they’ll take my blood and Yuki can follow.”

Kaitlin shook her head. “There are so many things that could go wrong with that plan, I don’t know where to begin. Let’s start with how likely it is that they’ll just transport the blood out in the open so Hideyuki can be sure he’s following the right person. And then they’ll have your blood. You say Alexander wants you to be his successor; what’s to say he won’t use your blood to influence you?”

“I think he wants me to do it of my own free will.”

“Really? Completely of your own free will? He hasn’t tried anything?”

Matthew fell silent.

“There’s an escape tunnel in his quarters,” Kaitlin said, suddenly remembering. “Behind the fireplace, cloaked in illusion, but I saw it when I delivered breakfast. I figured it was pretty natural that he’d have one, so I didn’t think much of it, but can you imagine him having a way out that was very far from his greatest weapon? He’d take the blood with him – or if not all of it, then the most valuable supplies.”
Matthew stared at her. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“It’s in his quarters,” Kaitlin said firmly.

Matthew went silent for another moment or two, and this time when he spoke it seemed to be with some difficulty. “I’ll need your help. When I go to his room, you’ll be able to see through any illusions to find the blood. And then... maybe the escape tunnel would be the best way out.”

“What about Jay?” Kaitlin glanced at her son, who had nearly stopped his swing. As she watched, he jumped, making her heart squeeze for a moment before he landed like an old pro and took off running.

“We’ll have to bring him with us. Once we go into that room, we won’t come out again.”

Kaitlin’s heart froze. She had never counted on taking her baby into the thick of things. “I-I don’t know.”

“You can’t have second thoughts on me now.”

“I can. I can have third and fourth thoughts too.”

“Yes,” Matthew agreed. “Yes, you can. But please, Kaitlin. This is important. We’ll do everything we can to keep Jay safe. Yuki will be there, and I think he’d protect that boy with his life. Not that I think it will be necessary. Even if the worst happens and we’re all captured, they won’t hurt the boy.”

She wasn’t sure. She looked out at the playground, where Jay was now building a mountain of gravel. She wasn’t sure of anything anymore, and she wanted to be sure. But there had never been any certainty on this path anyway, had there? Maybe... maybe she could just tell Alexander she wanted to leave and that the only way for her to go would be by plane. He’d say yes, wouldn’t he? She wasn’t a prisoner.

“I think he’d try to convince you to stay,” Matthew said quietly. “I think he’d do it through subtle mind magic, and then through more powerful mind magic, and then finally realize exactly what you are.” Matthew paused for a moment before adding, “A liability.”

“Oh.”

“Please,” Matthew said. Just the one word. His eyes were on her face, studying her with an intensity that made her want to turn away or sink into them, she wasn’t sure.

“Okay.”

Chapter 19

MATTHEW DECIDED NOT TO WAIT ANOTHER day. Kaitlin had been a bit too perceptive when she’d asked about Alexander trying to manipulate him with mind magic – he’d been fighting battles every day, and he felt as if he were losing ground. An alarming part of him wanted to just give in. Wasn’t he after power, in the end? Wasn’t this a peaceful way to get it? Whatever Alexander had done in the past to get where he was, Matthew didn’t have to carry on that legacy. He could steer the entire movement into a bright new future.

Only when he returned to the solace and comfort of his own private rooms did he manage to settle back into himself and the important truth – he was not Alexander. Whatever he had done, whatever mind control he had used in the past, he hadn’t crossed the line. There was a line, and he knew where it was. Didn’t he?

Hideyuki was utterly triumphant when Matthew told him about the conversation he’d had with Kaitlin that morning. “I told you not to underestimate her.”

“I know she’s brave and clever.” He had known for a long time, he just hadn’t spent much time thinking about it. And now all he could think about was how much he wanted her, and how futile that desire was. No woman had ever wanted him without at least a little nudge.

“You should trust her,” Hideyuki said. “You should trust someone.”

“Did you two get together on this?” Matthew asked.

“If she says the same thing, it only means great minds think alike.”

“She didn’t say I should trust her, only... someone.”

“Maybe you need to start by trusting yourself then. You don’t have to be in control all the time.”

“Yes I do.” He said it automatically, without thinking, but it was the simple truth. He didn’t know how not to be in control, and he didn’t trust it.

Once they had finished their planning, Matthew retreated to the hangar where his airplane was being housed for the duration. He made sure it was fueled and did his pre-flight checks, all under the guise of taking a few members of Alexander’s inner circle for a ride. It was hard to concentrate on the safety of the Cessna and not on the beautiful face that kept haunting his subconscious. He remembered how her lips had felt that first day, when he’d kissed her, before he’d realized what she was. She’d done that of her own free will. She’d enjoyed it of her own free will.

When Matthew completed the mechanical checks, he did a series of magical checks. He had infused his airplane with a number of wards to prevent tampering and, if worse came to worst, he had a special trick to help keep the occupants safe if the plane went down. He had never tested that one – hopefully he would never need to.

Once those checks were complete, he had nothing left to do but wait. The first step in the operation would begin just before dinnertime, so Matthew grabbed a snack. Then he grabbed some extra snacks, just in case, storing them in the plane. He would have to leave quite a bit of his luggage behind; they all would. It couldn’t look like they were planning an escape. During his pre-flight checks, he managed to get his own backpack with his spellbooks on board. Hideyuki said he didn’t need material possessions. Kaitlin would have to bring what she could carry.

At 4:59 p.m., Matthew and Hideyuki exited the staircase at the lowest level and emerged into the lobby of the security department. The two receptionists – one young, blonde, pretty, and empathic, the other young, baby-faced, overeager, and wishing he had a chance with the woman next to him – stared at the pair when they entered. The empath studied the two men carefully, and Matthew could almost feel her frustration with being unable to detect his emotions. Practice, he wanted to tell her. Years and years of practice with my mom and brother. Hideyuki had no such practice, but he maintained such a calm presence – both inside and out – that Matthew hoped no one would suspect anything amiss from him. Indeed, they had no trouble when Hideyuki signed them in, saying that he was there to escort Matthew to a meeting with Mr. Quinn – Hunter One – and show him around the guild’s offices.

With that first minor hurdle jumped, the two made their way through a door just to the left of the reception desk, which led to the security department, the Hunters Guild, and at the back, the prison.

The door opened into a long corridor that stretched the length of the compound from end to end, except for the ten feet taken up by the lobby. It was a busy central thoroughfare, with other hallways intersecting it at regular intervals. Some led to offices, others to interrogation rooms, and still others to training facilities.

Hideyuki nodded as they passed the third corridor to the right. Matthew didn’t need the slight jerk of his head to tell him that the interrogation rooms were down that way, but they had agreed upon that signal and Matthew was glad that Hideyuki, at least, didn’t suspect he was a telepath.

Devon would be in one of those interrogation rooms now, completing his hour of forced magical draining with his daughter. They had no idea how many more sessions remained, nor how low on magic Devon was, but it hadn’t been something Matthew could take into account. He couldn’t rush this. Maybe sometime in the future they could reverse the process. At any rate, Matthew’s job was to get him out of here safe and alive and with memory intact to add credibility to his own testimony about the blood.

They passed the interrogation rooms and kept walking, ostensibly towards the hunters’ offices. This was Matthew’s moment. This was the spell that would make or break their success here today.

He closed his eyes, found his quiet place, and spent a moment or two staring at the beautiful diamond and all its reflected glory. Then he started seeking outward.

There, ahead of him, were a handful of minds, but not the ones he sought. He pushed further, seeking others. There were more minds – at least four dozen of them, all making their way to the prisoner’s mess for dinner. A few guards were scattered among them, but Matthew couldn’t tell who was who and it didn’t matter. He held onto the minds for a few moments, focused the energy of the spell, and released.

The resulting roar from the prison made Matthew jump, even though he had been expecting it. It was just as well that he had jumped though, because it added to the illusion that he had no idea what was going on. Up and down the corridor heads were peeking around corners, trying to figure out what was happening.

The roar grew louder. Someone shouted, “Riot!” and the alarm began to blare. Matthew and Hideyuki flattened themselves against the wall as a dozen security guards, including many of the senior officers, ran towards the disturbance.

Slowly, Matthew and Hideyuki began edging back the way they had come, getting out of the way whenever someone else ran past. They continued until they had almost reached the interrogation rooms, where they saw Devon and the security guard who had been assigned to usher him back to prison. The guard’s mind was in turmoil. He wasn’t sure what to do – he couldn’t take the prisoner into that, but he was nervous about staying here alone with him. His partner had run off the moment the rioting had begun.

Matthew nudged Hideyuki. This was his moment.

“You go,” Hideyuki said to the guard. “I’ll take care of him.”
The guard’s mind flickered with confusion, but only for a moment. A gentle nudge had him answering in the affirmative, and then he was off down the hall to help quash the riot.

Devon’s mind was exhausted and full of pain, both physical and emotional. Matthew was glad he wasn’t an empath at that moment, as he only got the edge of those emotions instead of the full force. Devon scarcely recognized Matthew, had no idea who Hideyuki was, and didn’t care.

“Let’s go,” Hideyuki said, urging Devon along beside him. Devon did not resist.

They retreated the way they had come and for a minute, Matthew was sure that their plan had worked flawlessly. It was almost too good to believe, but the only thing between them and the stairs was the lobby, and the young receptionists were no threat or barrier. Matthew prepared to signal Kaitlin to start heading for Alexander’s quarters (he had woven a simple communication spell into a crystal), when they burst into the lobby and stopped short.

The two receptionists weren’t the only two people in the lobby. The head of security was there as well. Todd. Matthew had met him, along with most of Alexander’s inner council, in the past few days, although he knew Todd most vividly from Janelle’s memories. He didn’t look like the old white man she remembered. To Matthew, he looked middle-aged, with full, rich brown hair, a strong chin, a hawk like nose and piercing eyes.

“I was wondering when you’d make your move,” he said.

A spell crashed into Matthew’s mental shields, which seemed to vibrate but held firmly against whatever trick Todd had used. Hideyuki and Devon were not so lucky. They both fell to the floor, clutching their heads, screaming in agony.

Pain. A vicious trick.

Matthew returned fire, calling to mind a sleep spell that contained as much force as the pain spell, with a lot more humanity. The two receptionists instantly fell under its onslaught, but Todd merely smiled.

“I thought you would make your move long before now,” Todd said conversationally, though there was nothing conversational about it. This was Matthew’s kind of fight – mind to mind. Will against will. While Todd tried to distract Matthew with words, he poked and prodded Matthew’s mental shields, looking for a weakness he could exploit.

“Why’s that?” Matthew asked.

“I was the one who cast that spell against your friend Evan. I knew you were there, and that you would come here.”

“Are you saying Alexander didn’t know?” Matthew didn’t let his surprise become a weak point.

“He knew what I needed him to know, but he didn’t know you were there or he wouldn’t have let me cast the spell. He honestly wants you to be his successor.” Todd sounded incredulous. “As if the rest of us would stand aside and take that.”

Matthew thrust a memory charm in Todd’s direction, trying to use his incredulity as a way in, but Todd easily parried the spell that would have made him forget the last month of his life.

“Maybe he thinks I’m more ambitious,” Matthew taunted. “After all, none of the rest of you have stood up to him.”

“Why would I want to? He’s got all the problems of leadership while I get all the benefits of power.”

“By dealing drugs and stealing magic?”

“Among other things.”

Matthew felt a throbbing pain in his right temple. He’d let his anger become a crack and Todd had followed it in, but Matthew rallied, pushing the spell away. The man was strong, there was no doubt about it. He had no particular finesse, but in a fight like this it wasn’t necessary.

Neither of them were trying for long-term influence, only for the win. Matthew had no doubt that should Todd win, he would turn Matthew’s brain into mush and leave him a vegetable for the rest of his life. He tried not to let the idea get to him, but he couldn’t help but shudder.

Matthew had never stolen anyone’s magic. He had all of his honestly, which gave him a disadvantage in this fight. Already, he could feel his mental shield weakening against the pure force of Todd’s onslaught. Meanwhile, Matthew had barely made a dent in Todd’s defenses.

If he didn’t think of a way to outsmart him, Todd would win. He could only hold the other man off for so long. If only Hideyuki weren’t writhing on the ground in pain – a dagger to a sorcerer’s heart was just as deadly as it was when thrust in anyone else’s. But Hideyuki was incapacitated, leaving Matthew to stand alone.

Trust.

The thought came unbidden to the back of Matthew’s mind. Then he realized that it hadn’t come from him at all – it had come from Hideyuki. He was thinking it through the pain, almost like a prayer. Trust.

“I don’t plan to take Alexander up on his offer,” Matthew said, trying to buy time as he formulated his plan. “Why don’t you just let me go? I’ll get Devon off your hands, and Alexander never has to know about your role in it.”

“Interesting offer, but I think I’m okay. Besides, I have a feeling that you intend to hurt Alexander, and despite how it seems, I am loyal to him.”

Trust. And then Matthew got it. The only way out of this fight was to let go of his own control over the situation – which he was hanging onto by a thread – and trust someone else to handle it. It was something he had never done before, and something he wasn’t sure he could do.

But he had no choice. He felt a stabbing pain in his left temple, and he nearly ended up on the floor in agony just like Hideyuki and Devon.

Taking a deep breath, Matthew shifted his defenses. Instead of keeping Todd out of his own mind, he undid the spell tearing at his ally. The moment he did so, three things happened so quickly that Matthew couldn’t tell which happened first: Hideyuki stood, Matthew fell to the ground in agony, and Todd took a step backwards in confusion. Then, in a move as fast as thought, Hideyuki hit Todd on the back of the neck, knocking their nemesis out the old fashioned way.

The pain stopped. Matthew stood shakily to his feet and tried to find the words to thank Hideyuki.

“Let’s go,” Hideyuki said.

Matthew hesitated, wondering if he should kill Todd, something he knew Todd wouldn’t have hesitated to do to him. He had no idea how long Todd would remain unconscious, and he still had a lot of work to do, making the man a threat while he still breathed.

Alexander would have done it in a heartbeat.

“Matthew?” Hideyuki asked.

“I’m coming.” He turned his back on Todd, hesitated, then cast a sleep spell on the helpless man. It might not last much longer than unconsciousness, but it would cause confusion for whoever tried to reverse it.

“Let’s go,” Matthew said.

Chapter 20

KAITLIN SAT IN HER EERILY EMPTY quarters, clutching a pale rose crystal to her chest, even though Matthew had told her that she wouldn’t have to hold it to get the signal. She just kept staring around the place that had been her refuge of sorts for the past few weeks. There wasn’t much to it – a twin bed for her, an adjacent toddler bed for Jay, a wardrobe, a small table with two chairs, a nightstand, and a tiny flat-panel TV hanging on the wall. She had packed everything she could into a backpack that hung from her back and the diaper bag clutched at her side, and now she waited for the signal while Jay watched a cartoon. She hated to put him in front of the TV, but she honestly didn’t think she could play with him right now without her hands shaking. Besides, his favorite toys were packed.

Kaitlin checked her watch: 5: 35. Matthew had said it would take him fifteen minutes to get out or something had gone wrong. Clearly, something had gone terribly wrong. So what now?

Suddenly, the crystal in her hand began vibrating. It grew warm and when she drew her hands away, she saw that it shone as brightly as the sun. That was it – the signal. Shoving the crystal into her pocket, she turned off the TV and grabbed Jay, who protested loudly at having his television program interrupted.

“Sh, sweetheart. Not now. This is important. We need to go.”

He twisted and writhed, trying to reach the TV or the remote control, and as always he was too strong for Kaitlin. He fell out of her grasp and started banging his fists on the ground.

Oh God, what now?

“Jay, please. Sh. Sh. That’s a good boy. We have to go bye-bye. We have to go outside.”

Jay quieted slightly, and Kaitlin tried to remember what she’d said that might have appealed to him. “Outside? You want to go outside?”

He stopped crying and slowly – too slowly – stood.

“That’s right, Jay, we’re going outside. We just have to run downstairs to get Hideyuki first. He’s coming with us. You like him, right?” She opened her arms to him and Jay flew into them, letting her pick him up. Hitching the backpack more securely on her shoulders and grabbing the diaper bag in her free hand, she tore out of the windowless underground room without so much as a backward glance.

Down four flights of stairs, they arrived at the ninth level and burst out into the corridor to see Matthew, Hideyuki, and a tired-looking black man who had to be Devon standing outside the doors to Alexander’s quarters. He wasn’t the only one who lived here – his inner circle also had rooms on nine, as well as a few other very important people. Matthew’s own guest suite was on this level, which might have made his presence there unexceptional were it not for the fact that he stood in front of Alexander’s room, scrutinizing the door as if trying to figure out how to blow it down. Kaitlin couldn’t use magic; she couldn’t see it, but she imagined a thrum of it around him, humming loudly enough to attract every sorcerer in the place.

She wasn’t up to speed on this part of the plan. She had to trust Matthew, to hope that he knew some way past the most powerful wards in the compound to get inside these quarters without the permission of its owner.

Hideyuki didn’t seem to be part of this phase of the operation either. He stood against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway next to the man she assumed was Devon, who slumped to the ground even as she watched. Then Jay twisted out of her arms and ran for his hero, who caught the small boy up in a strong embrace. When Jay had hugged Kaitlin that tightly, her ribs had cracked, but she found herself envying Hideyuki even so. Then she focused her attention on Matthew.

Beads of sweat trickled from his forehead as the full force of his concentration fixed on something about that door. The sweat couldn’t be good. She’d been around sorcerers long enough to suspect that it indicated some kind of overreach or drain, but how could that be when he had barely gotten started? What had happened to make them twenty minutes late? And what did it say for their chances of getting out of here?
Kaitlin wanted to ask Hideyuki, but she feared posing any questions or even making noise. Someone had to know they were here. Matthew’s distraction – she didn’t know the plan but there had to be a distraction – couldn’t be this good.

“What took you so long?” Hideyuki whispered when Kaitlin stood next to him.

“Jay resisted,” she whispered back. “How long have you been here?”

“Ten minutes. Matthew got distracted and forgot about the signal.”

“Oh.” So at least some of that worrying had been for nothing. What had happened? She wanted to ask but now wasn’t the time. “Is it supposed to take this long?”

“I have no idea. Breaking into places isn’t what I do.”

“Is it what he does?” Kaitlin jerked her head toward Matthew.

Hideyuki didn’t respond, but Kaitlin had an idea that she knew the answer. Matthew might need someone with more muscle. Or a locksmith. She almost laughed, thinking how ironic it would be if he was spending all that time fighting magical wards when all he really needed was a bobby pin. Too bad she didn’t use any in her hair. No modern woman she knew did, unless she was fixing her hair into a fancy updo for a party or something.

It wasn’t funny, not really, but it relieved some of the tension. She started to look at the situation more carefully, studying the players, the door, the hallway, and even the doors to the stairs and the elevator.

“What happens if someone comes down here?” Kaitlin asked.

“Problem,” Hideyuki replied.

“Couldn’t you just smash open the door?” Kaitlin asked.

“Not through those wards. I’ve never seen anything stronger.”

Five more minutes passed, and now sweat ran freely down Matthew’s face, but as far as Kaitlin could see nothing had changed. By her count they had been down here for fifteen minutes – ten minutes before she’d arrived and five minutes after. Someone was bound to come down here, if only coincidentally to return to his rooms at the end of a long day. This couldn’t continue.

Kaitlin studied the door. It was a solid piece of gold-trimmed wood, beautifully carved but otherwise just a door. If there was magic on it, she couldn’t see it. That didn’t mean it wasn’t there, but still... she thought of the story of a woman who called into tech support for help with her computer, only to find out that she didn’t have it plugged in. Maybe the analogy wasn’t perfect, but Alexander was a mind mage. Maybe he only made people think there were insanely powerful wards on his door.
Kaitlin pushed herself off of the wall, took three long steps across the hall, put herself in front of Matthew, and touched the doorknob. Nothing happened. She twisted. It gave easily, and a second later she had pushed it open.

She looked back at Matthew in triumph, but he was staring at her in horror.

“What did I do?” she asked.

A moment later she had the answer without the need for Matthew’s reply. A siren went off, the sound seeming to come from the walls themselves. It was deafeningly loud, forcing her to put her hands over her ears to escape the pain.

“What do we do now?” Kaitlin asked, not sure if anyone could hear her.

Matthew didn’t answer in words. He simply ran across the threshold, grabbing Kaitlin’s arm and pulling her behind him. Jay and Hideyuki came in later, the pair of them supporting a lopsided Devon. Then Hideyuki kicked the door closed.

The noise didn’t stop.

Seconds. They had seconds. If they were lucky. Kaitlin spun, searching the room. She quickly found the illusion masking the secret escape tunnel and, after pointing it out to Hideyuki, set him to work figuring out how to open it.

Mathew shouted something, but Kaitlin couldn’t understand what. She stared at him, trying to read his lips as he repeated whatever he had said. She still couldn’t catch it, but she could guess. “Where’s the blood?”

* * *

Matthew stared around the opulent suite, focusing his telepathy on Kaitlin’s pain-filled mind, which echoed his own. He had his hands over his ears to block out the wailing sound of the sirens, but he kept looking around, trying to draw a contrast between what his own eyes saw and what Kaitlin’s eyes saw. He could almost see through her eyes, but only to the extent that she paid attention. She needed to pay more attention. He saw the illusion covering the escape tunnel but ignored it; Hideyuki could work on that while they searched for the blood.

Kaitlin shut her eyes for a moment, opened them again, and set her mind to her task. She gazed around the living room, not seeing anything out of place except for the escape tunnel – unless you counted the white walls where Matthew saw snow-capped mountains. There were no secret doors, no hidden safe.

Seconds, she thought. We might have seconds to find this.

Matthew wasn’t sure they had that long, but there was no sense borrowing trouble before it came. He followed her down a short hallway leading to four rooms – a bathroom, a private study, and two bedrooms. Kaitlin began in the private study, thinking that made the most sense. Unless he’d hidden his blood under his bed or something so it was there when he slept.

Now wasn’t that a morbid thought? But she might be right. First, though, she went into the private office and looked around.

Matthew’s heart sank. This room was a maze of illusions. He could hardly separate what he saw from what Kaitlin saw. There were so many differences that it looked like one of those children’s logic games – find twenty differences between picture A and picture B. Some were obvious, like the walls again, but others took time to pick out. The real desk had an extra drawer. Matthew opened it, finding paperwork inside that he had no time to peruse. There was a wall safe –

The alarm suddenly stopped.

Tentatively, Matthew and Kaitlin both lowered their hands from their ears. They still heard a ringing sound, but they could just make out the sound of Alexander’s voice from the front room.

Kaitlin, thinking of her son, fled back into the living room. Matthew followed more slowly, but he knew there was no use hiding in the office. They had been caught. The only way out of this situation now was a one-on-one battle of wills against Alexander. A battle he had lost before, had been slowly losing over the course of the past few days, and would surely lose now. After all, he was wrung out. The battle with Todd and the effort against the warded door had him so exhausted that his first thought was surrender.

At least half of the battle with the warded door had been fruitless, too. Matthew never would have gotten through had it not been for Kaitlin, even if she had set off the alarm. There had been mental blocks on the door that went above and beyond normal wards. Blocks that said, You can’t do this. And he couldn’t. But Kaitlin could.

To Matthew’s surprise, Alexander waited in the living room alone. Devon lay unconscious on the ground – asleep or knocked out, it was hard to tell. Hideyuki stood in a corner, clutching Jay. Kaitlin had gone to stand beside them, trying to get her son out of the hunter’s arms.

Matthew ignored them. He had eyes only for Alexander.

“Oh, Matthew,” Alexander said with the air of a disappointed father. “What is this?”

“What does it look like?” Matthew countered, trying to think fast. He had precious little power left in him; if he won, it would have to be with subtlety.

“It looks like you came into my compound to rescue a convicted magic thief from prison.”

“Wrongfully convicted,” Matthew threw back.

Alexander’s eyes narrowed. “What would make you say that?”

“I was there in New York.”

Alexander was quiet for a moment.

“You didn’t know that, did you? Your head of security told you it was just Evan who had gone to fetch Devon, but I was there alongside him. I saw him suddenly blank out and forget everything. I knew what it had to mean.”

“You don’t know anything,” Alexander said, and in a rare unguarded moment it sounded almost as if he were trying to convince himself. “You still don’t understand. It’s like I’ve been trying to tell you – you’re me, thirty years ago. You still think the world can be seen in black and white.”

“So shade it in for me,” Matthew challenged. “You convicted an innocent man in order to protect your secret, because you knew he knew, and you knew he would come to me.”

“I didn’t know anything; Todd took care of it.”

But Matthew didn’t believe it. There were a lot of things Alexander didn’t know, but the man wasn’t stupid. And he wouldn’t have allowed Todd access to the blood store in the first place without a good reason. No, Alexander knew some of what was going on, even if he didn’t know all of it.

Alexander turned away from Matthew, and the deliberate insult didn’t go unnoticed by anyone, except perhaps Jay and the unconscious Devon. He turned to Hideyuki and spent a moment looking the warrior up and down.

“I’m surprised at you. I thought you wanted to be Hunter One someday.”

“I want the men I train to be alive when that day comes,” Hideyuki said evenly. “I’ve told you before that Mr. Quinn’s strategy isn’t working.”

“Yes, you want me to make friends with the vampires. I don’t think so.” Then Alexander looked at Kaitlin. “And you? What is your stake in all this?”

“I just want to go home,” she whispered.

“You’re not a prisoner.”

Kaitlin didn’t respond, and no one else spoke for a long while.

“The real question here is, how did you get into my rooms? Someone among you has a serious resistance to mind magic.”

“It couldn’t possibly have been me,” Matthew said sardonically.

“No. You were coming along nicely, but you’re still susceptible. I imagine it will take us a few more years of training to toughen that resistance of yours. I’m still willing to work with you, if you are.”

“What?” Matthew reeled backward, running into the arm of a burgundy sofa.

“Yes, I’ve been trying to decide, but I still think you’re the one I want. It is – regrettable – that you worked against me today, but you also showed a great deal of backbone. More than you’ve ever showed before, and certainly more than my groveling, whining pack of advisors kissing my toes all the time. No, I think you would be good for me. Good for the Underground.”

Matthew couldn’t believe it. Judging from their thoughts, neither could Hideyuki or Kaitlin, but the latter was nervous. She thought Matthew might fall under Alexander’s spell.

He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. If he did, Kaitlin would be in danger.

“You have a problem with me, Matthew? Tell me what it is so we can put it behind us.”

“Blood mage,” Matthew spat out. “I know you’re a blood mage.”
“Blood magic isn’t all evil, no more than any other type of magic,” Alexander said.

“You’re using it to influence people, to make them forget, to cover things up.”

Alexander laughed. “Oh please, my young mind mage, do tell me how unethical it is to influence people. To make them forget. To cover things up.”

Matthew had nothing to say to that. He had, in fact, done all of those things in the past, just without the blood.

“You think you’ve drawn a line,” Alexander went on. “You think you’re on one side of it and I’m on the other, but I don’t think you know where that line is anymore, if you ever knew. What have you done for power, Matthew. Tell me. What have you done?”

And it wasn’t just a question, it was a command. Matthew opened his mouth, willed himself not to speak, but found himself answering anyway. “I’ve cheated on every test I’ve ever taken in my life, reading the mind of my fellow students or teachers for the answers. That’s how I graduated three years early. In college I began to do more. I began courting influence, making connections. If someone didn’t like me, I read their thoughts, found their weaknesses, and exploited them. Some I turned to my side. The ones I could not influence I made a laughingstock of. I seduced the girl who graduated at the top of my law school class. She was married, and I made sure her husband found out. I won my first election to the Missouri House of Representatives by destroying my opponent’s reputation. He liked pornography, but he was very discreet about it. I read it from his mind and got a recording of him admitting it.”

“You can stop,” Alexander said. “I’m sure we could be here for hours, listening to these stories.”

Not quite, Matthew wanted to say. He always tried to use positive influence before resorting to exploitation. He had been a seducer far more often that he’d been a destroyer. He’d been half in love with the law school valedictorian; they’d dated in their first year, before she’d gotten married, but when he’d told her the truth about himself and his telepathy, she had run. He’d erased her memory, but she had spent the next three years hating him and doing everything in her power to destroy him. Maybe part of it had been subconscious, he didn’t know, he only knew that he’d had to stop her.

Excuses.

Behind him, Kaitlin’s mind was reeling with shock. Hideyuki didn’t seem surprised by Matthew’s revelations, but somehow Kaitlin had come to see him as... a hero? He glanced at her. Now how in the world had that happened? And if that was the case, then why was she so afraid of him?

Cassie was right, Kaitlin thought. I’m crazy.

“Everyone, have a seat,” Alexander said, gesturing around him to the sofas and chairs. “We might be here for a while.”

Again, it was a command. Matthew found his feet moving before Alexander finished saying the words, along with Hideyuki. Devon lay on the floor, unconscious. But Kaitlin hesitated.

“Now that is unexpected,” Alexander said, staring at her with far more interest than before. “You tested negative for magic, but you seem to have a remarkable gift.”

“Me? No, I don’t.”

“Come here,” Alexander said, again in his commanding voice.

Kaitlin shook her head.

“Remarkable. I wonder how resistant you are.” Alexander flexed his fingers for a moment, stared at her, and Matthew knew he was putting together the magic for an extremely powerful spell. Matthew closed his eyes, not wanting to know. Not wanting to see.

“Nothing,” Alexander said, not bothering to hide the astonishment in his voice. “My dear, does mind magic affect you at all?”

Kaitlin ‘s heart was racing, and she was thinking, What do I do? What do I do?

“No wonder you were afraid,” Alexander said. “I have to admit, I’m not sure what to do with someone like you. Your loyalties are clearly not with me.”

Are you fighting him at all? Kaitlin wanted to know.

Matthew gathered his own strength, what little there was of it, and threw a shield around himself. It worked, a little bit. He could think more clearly.

I’m not Alexander, no matter what he says, Matthew thought.

“Since you’re obviously an unbiased third party,” Alexander said. “Tell me, Kaitlin, what would you say is the main difference between me and Matthew?”

Kaitlin stared between them, uncertain. And for some reason that uncertainty nearly undid Matthew.

“I’m not you, thirty years ago or any other time,” Matthew said. “You’ve killed. You’ve stolen magic.”

“I have never stolen magic!” Alexander protested. “My wife–”

“Yes, yes, we know. Your wife was drained. You protected her but were unable to get her justice. Now you say you’re trying to get justice for others, but you’ve also allowed it to happen.”

Show him, Kaitlin thought. Can you show him your thoughts? Make him see the truth?

Matthew stared at her. He could. He could do that, but... he would be making himself extremely vulnerable.

No one thinks of himself as evil. Show him the truth. Hurt him with the truth.

And, taking a deep breath, Matthew did just that. He didn’t put more shields up. He let them down. One by one, piece by piece, he let his shields down so that he could broadcast his thoughts – his very essence – into Alexander’s mind. He showed the other man everything. He showed him Janelle and her drug dealing. He broadcast his fight with Todd. He showed Alexander that he wasn’t as in control as he thought he was.

Alexander staggered backwards, and in that instant Matthew thrust his will into the other man’s mind, using the moment of weakness to press his advantage. He found a soft spot in the other man’s mind, grabbed it, and held on with all his might.

“Where is the blood?” Matthew commanded.

“Escape tunnel,” Alexander said, panting.

Alexander struggled against Matthew’s hold both mentally and physically, and it was all Matthew could to do hold on. He kept feeling his power slipping, being shunted aside by the far more powerful mind mage.

“Show me,” Matthew commanded while he still could.

“Only I can open it,” Alexander said.

“Then do it!”

Alexander stood, walked zombie-like to the fireplace, and pressed his palm against a flat bit of wall that Kaitlin saw as a panel. The next instant the entire fireplace swung forward, into the room, revealing a passageway that led into darkness.

Alexander staggered again, and Matthew almost lost his lock. In that instant of uncertainty Alexander tried to slam his palm against the panel again, to close the secret passageway, but Matthew just managed to hold on.

“Lead us to the blood,” Matthew ordered. He lifted a hand to his face to wipe away the sweat. “Hideyuki, carry Devon.”

Matthew didn’t need to look to make sure they were following him; he could hear the chatter from three active, frightened minds. Even Jay was nervous, and he didn’t understand why they weren’t outside. They were supposed to be outside.

Soon, Matthew thought. Then he followed Alexander down a series of twisting tunnels, past several forks in the road, and to a metal door that once again required a palm to open.

“I won’t do it!” Alexander cried, and Matthew knew he was just about to lose this battle.

But Matthew didn’t need Alexander anymore. He only needed the man’s palm. With that in mind he cast one last spell along the tether he had tied to Alexander’s mind – a sleep spell.

It almost didn’t work. Alexander slapped at the spell, but not hard enough. He was too busy trying to thrust Matthew from his mind.

For a second Alexander stood there, his eyes wide and staring at Matthew, looking for all the world as if he’d been betrayed. Then he fell to the ground, unconscious.

“Hideyuki, can you lift him and press his palm to the panel?” Matthew asked.

The hunter nodded and wordlessly did so. There was a collective gasp as the door slid open and they saw row upon row, shelf upon shelf, of vials of blood. Matthew stepped inside, studying the neatly labeled vials in alphabetical order. There, near the beginning, was Evan Blackwood, right next to Cassandra Blackwood, his wife. Matthew saw vials for his father, James Blair, for Kaitlin, for Hideyuki, for Devon, for Janelle, and for countless others. It seemed like everyone in the compound and everyone Alexander had been able to subdue for any length of time had blood stored here. Very few were immune to mind magic, especially backed by blood – Devon was unique in that, and Kaitlin more unique still. Once he had the blood, Alexander could make almost anyone forget that he had ever drawn it.

“How do we destroy it?” Kaitlin whispered.

“First, we photograph it.” Matthew took his cell phone from his pocket and began snapping still photos. Then he switched to video mode and slowly panned the entire room, trying to make sure to catch every vial. Every name.

When he finished, Matthew drew the fireball ring from his finger, the one Clark Eagle had insisted he bring along. He hadn’t understood the need at the time, but now he was grateful for it. All he had to do was set the spell on a delay, put it in the center of the room, close the door, and let it all burn.

“Out!” Matthew said, and everyone scattered.

Matthew began to set the ring down, but something caught his attention – Evan Blackwood’s blood. With it, he could see into the other man’s mind. He could learn what made his strongest ally tick. With that, perhaps, he could turn a reluctant ally into a passionate one.

He hesitated for only a moment before grabbing the vial and slipping it into his pocket. Then he set the ring on the ground and set the spell with a delay of ten seconds. Counting backward from ten, he ran out the door, slammed the metal shut, and heard the click of the lock.

Three.. two... one...

The explosion shook the ground beneath them, but they didn’t wait for the ground to stop moving before running for freedom.

Chapter 21

THE TUNNEL CAME OUT NEAR THE hangar. Kaitlin thought it was a tremendous coincidence, or an amazing stroke of luck, but when they had all piled into the four-seater Cessna (Jay in her lap), Matthew said he’d guessed that the exit to the tunnel would be near the hangar. Alexander would want a quick getaway, after all.

The engines roared to life. Kaitlin closed her eyes and hugged her son tightly against her chest, wishing there was an extra seat for him, but also glad she had him to hold. She had never been in a plane before and she would have loved to revel in the experience, but all she could think was, Get away, must get away.

The plane taxied out of the hangar at such a snail’s pace that Kaitlin could almost hear the angry mob bearing down on them. But then, finally, they reached the runway and began accelerating.

Faster. Faster.

The plane almost seemed to answer her mental command, its forward motion pushing her against the leather seat until finally, she felt the moment it came off the ground. It was an odd feeling, not exactly what she had expected flying to feel like, but at the same time it was exhilarating. She dared to open her eyes and look at the rapidly shrinking countryside below. There was almost nothing around Alexander’s compound for miles; the closest building was an old gas station. She couldn’t find it through the trees, but she did see a sea of black-clad security officers emerge from the compound as Matthew angled the plane southward for their journey home.

We made it. We’re safe. Kaitlin exhaled a breath she hadn’t even been aware of holding. “How long will it take to get home?”

“A while. We’ll have to stop halfway to refuel.” Matthew had his eyes fixed on the dials in front of him.

“Is something wrong?” Kaitlin asked.

“No.”

“Is there a chance they sabotaged the plane?”

“I have wards protecting it.”

“The same kind of wards you broke through when you got into Alexander’s room?” Kaitlin asked.

Matthew didn’t reply, but Kaitlin suddenly found herself praying, something she rarely did. But there didn’t seem to be anything else left for her to do.

In one of the chairs behind them, Devon roused and blearily asked where they were. Kaitlin left Hideyuki to explain. She just stared out the front window at the miniature landscape below. What a long, long way if they suddenly fell out of the sky.

We’d never survive it, Kaitlin thought.

That’s when the motor suddenly stopped.

Everyone inside the airplane froze and as one drew in a breath. Even Jay tensed and clung to Kaitlin with a little too much strength.

“What happened?” Kaitlin asked in barely more than a whisper.

“They tampered with the plane.” Matthew worked the controls frantically, not sparing her a glance.

“Are we going to crash?”

The nose of the plane began to dip downward. Kaitlin closed her eyes, then opened them, unable not to look. They had lost a lot of altitude, but the nose was more or less level again, Beside her, Matthew was fighting to keep the plane aloft.

She closed her eyes again, but opened them when Devon screamed. The nose was down again, and they were spiraling toward the ground.

“Do something!” she screamed, stupidly. Those were going to be her last words, she realized, unless she came up with something better to say. Closing her eyes, this time telling herself it would be for good, she clutched her son close and whispered in his ears, “I love you.”

Then everything went black.

Chapter 22

MATTHEW CLOSED HIS EYES AT THE moment of impact. The small plane seemed to bounce off the tops of the pines before sliding to a halt suspended between the branches of at least two trees.

The impact was strong enough that he blacked out, but only for a moment. When he came to he was satisfied to note that his first field-test of the wards on his small plane had worked – more or less. Kaitlin and Devon were unconscious, but Hideyuki was already working on freeing the other man from the backseat while Jay was shaking his mom, mentally asking her to wake up.

Matthew quickly checked Kaitlin’s pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when he found it strong and steady. She’d been hurt, but she was alive. And that, after all, had been the point of the spells – to cushion a crash landing and make it survivable.

“She’ll be okay,” Matthew whispered to Jay. “Let me get her out.”

Jay didn’t want to listen, so Matthew formed a subtle suggestion to convince the boy to go to Hideyuki, who already had Devon out of his seat and was climbing out of the plane. The tiny spell required more effort than usual, and when Matthew took a moment to check his quiet place, he saw that his magical reserves were way, way down after his confrontations with Todd and Alexander. He was on the verge of suffering magical drain like he’d done a few days ago, but he had no time to sleep for a day to recoup his strength. Not now. Alexander would be looking for them and so, he thought almost as an afterthought, would two powerful vampires.

They needed to get out of here. Matthew checked his cell phone, but found that it was dead. Now that was strange. It had been fully charged before they’d taken off. He’d made sure of it. It was almost as if some kind of EMP bomb went off. But there was nothing he could do about that now. Shoving the phone into his emergency backpack (which he could not leave behind since it contained two powerful books on magic that he would not let get into the wrong hands), he lifted Kaitlin into his arms and scooted backwards out of the plane, across the pilot’s seat.

“Watch your step!” Hideyuki called from somewhere below. “Hand her down.”

Matthew looked over his shoulder and saw a good five-foot drop. The plane was indeed nestled in the branches of several trees. The miracle was that none of the branches had penetrated the hull. Shifting carefully so that Kaitlin’s limp body slid across his lap, Matthew handed her off into Hideyuki’s waiting arms. He felt a moment of jealousy that he hadn’t been able to climb off the plane with her, the way Hideyuki had been able to do with Devon, but he squashed the errant thought. The woman was unconscious, for goodness sakes! But she had proved herself so capable back there. He couldn’t think of anyone else he would rather have had by his side while confronting Alexander, and he knew he would have lost if not for her steady mind and common sense ideas.

“Where to now?” Hideyuki asked once they were on the ground.

“They’re going to hunt us,” Matthew said. “I don’t know how long it’s been, but we need to put distance between ourselves and this plane, and we need to cover our tracks.”

“Jason has her blood.” Hideyuki nodded at Kaitlin. “The vampires will find us easily.”

Matthew stared at Kaitlin, unconscious at his feet, then he looked at Jay, who sat by her side. “Does Jason have Jay’s blood?”

Hideyuki shrugged. “I can’t pretend to understand the ways of vampires, but I don’t believe he ever bit the child. It is a rare and particularly twisted vampire who feeds on babies.”

“We’ll have to separate them then,” Matthew said decisively. Kaitlin would be angry with him when she woke, but splitting up would make them harder to track. And the vampires would be less likely to kill Kaitlin if they thought she could lead them to Jay. He explained his thoughts to Hideyuki, who nodded.

“Good plan. I’ll take Devon too, since you can’t carry them both. Do you know how to cover your tracks?”

“I know a way to cover my tracks,” Matthew said, though the idea of casting another spell made him break out into a cold sweat.

“I know a way too,” Hideyuki said. “Mine literally covers the tracks.”

“Mine is mental compulsion,” Matthew said. “But at least we each have a way. Try to get to a populated area and a phone, then call the White Guard to come get you.” Matthew paused long enough to give Hideyuki as many phone numbers as he could remember – Evan’s, Scott’s, Cassie’s, Charles’s, and his father’s – then they went their separate ways.

Matthew slung Kaitlin over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, thinking at first that she didn’t weigh all that much. “Not much” is relative, though, and she seemed to grow heavier and heavier with each step Matthew took. He tried not to think about that as he forced himself to move, placing one foot in front of the other. He thought about the curve of her ass, right there in his face, clad in tight jeans. He allowed himself a moment to run his hands over it – checking to make sure she was secure, he told himself, but he didn’t really believe the lie. She smelled good. Not like a flower or a spice or any other popular scent, but like her. Just her.

Apparently, some guy who could detect pheromones thought they smelled great together. The idea almost made him laugh. Well, no kidding! He’d known that from the first moment he’d laid eyes on her at the compound. Some part of him had sensed it back in Eagle Rock, but despite what many romantics wanted to believe, there was more to love and even lust than chemistry. There was availability, opportunity, and – especially for a telepath –- mental compatibility.

They were both available. Opportunity wasn’t that hard to manufacture. And as for mental compatibility, Matthew would never forget how Kaitlin handled herself during their escape. If only he could force her to see herself the way he saw her, she’d be perfect.

...despite what you always believed from watching your father with me, you would never be happy for long with a woman you coerced into loving you.

His mother’s words floated unbidden into his memory, nearly making him lose his footing. He regained it, but not his wits. All he could think was that at the time, he hadn’t believed there was such a woman, and now... well, was it possible for someone to love him without being manipulated into it?

Probably not. Kaitlin might find him attractive, but she didn’t like or trust him. He shoved the thoughts from his mind and went back to focusing on his footfalls as he marched across the hilly Pennsylvania countryside.

Once Matthew had walked half a mile, he closed his eyes, deepened his breathing, and reached for his quiet place. The diamond was there, duller than usual, but he scraped together what magic he could find and began to cast the spell that would hide their trail. By the time he finished he was breathing so hard his lungs ached, but he didn’t drop his precious cargo. Instead, he made a right-angle turn to the path he had been taking and headed into the setting sun.

One foot. Another. He had no idea how far he had walked. A mile? Two? The sun was beginning to form a pink glow in the horizon, but he had seen no signs of civilization, not even a paved road.

He knew some spells that might help, but he was already too low on magic. Food, water, and rest could reenergize depleted magical reserves to a point, but there was also a point of no return. All sorcerers were warned of this point when they were young – burnout. It was the monster under the bed, the one they all feared. It also, Matthew supposed, put some kind of limit on what even the most powerful sorcerer could do, but as a particularly powerful sorcerer himself he had rarely brushed up against that limit.

Just there – to the right – in the dim glow of the setting sun, Matthew saw a barn of some kind. When he drew closer, he noticed that it was actually a working stable, and that there were two horses inside. A farmhouse lay just beyond it, the lights inside suggesting that someone was home. Maybe they could help. Maybe they had a phone.

With a feeling of hope welling up in his chest for the first time in hours, Matthew trudged forward. Kaitlin’s dead weight felt a little lighter now that he had a destination in mind. Finally, he came up to the back steps and let Kaitlin sag to the ground at his feet before he knocked on the door.

An old woman in a white flowered apron opened the door, leaving the screen shut. She looked at him suspiciously, not noticing Kaitlin on the ground. “Yes?”

“I was in an accident. My friend and I could use some help. Can we use your phone?”

The woman started, then looked down at Kaitlin, unconscious at his feet. “Oh my! Come on in. Was it a car accident? I can send my husband into town to talk to the sheriff, but our phone’s been out since six o’clock. Not sure what happened. Power went out for a while too, but the phone’s still out so we don’t know what’s going on.”

Matthew stopped, stared at the woman, and felt the blood rush into his ears. His phone being dead was not an accident or coincidence. Neither was the fact that phone service was out here. Whatever Alexander had done to his plane, he had made sure that the survivors of the crash would not be able to call for help. Not anywhere within miles, at least.

And suddenly, Matthew knew they couldn’t go into this woman’s house and accept her hospitality. For one thing, they would be putting her in danger. For another, Alexander would be sure to look there.

Taking a deep breath and reaching still deeper for his fleeting magic, Matthew cast a memory charm on the woman, erasing the last few minutes. No strangers had come to her door for help. She had never seen the two of them. When she returned to her activities inside, Matthew once again slung Kaitlin over his shoulder and headed for the only place he could think of – the stables.

How he got Kaitlin up the ladder and into the hayloft he might never know. But once she was settled, Matthew collapsed in a heap beside her, unable to move. Barely able to breathe. He was utterly drained and utterly helpless. He didn’t even know if Kaitlin would know what to do to help him, when she woke.

He’d need help. It wasn’t something he liked to admit, but he had to face reality. He had never pushed his magic so far, right to the edge of burnout.

Or had he crossed the line?

With that petrifying thought, he slid sideways into unconsciousness.

Chapter 23

JASON CROUCHED BEHIND THE STABLES, LISTENING for signs of life from the loft. He heard it – barely – two sets of heartbeats. Two breathing humans. They were weak; they’d suffered in the crash, even if they had survived it.

If he took them now, Xavier would win. He’d dissect Kaitlin and lure Matthew into allying with him. How would Jason kill the monster then?

At least Jay was gone – taken in another direction by Jason’s old teacher, Hideyuki. Xavier was trying to follow them, but he wouldn’t get far. Not far at all.

Jason briefly considered killing Matthew and Kaitlin in their sleep, but he dismissed the idea almost as soon as it occurred to him. Xavier would know, and he would know why – that Jason wanted to kill him. No, Jason had to bring these two to Xavier alive.

What he didn’t have to do was bring them to him immediately, while they were injured, possibly suffering concussions, and maybe even magic drain. No, Jason didn’t have to “find” them so quickly. Xavier would assume, in fact, that a powerful mind mage like Matthew would keep Jason off his trail for some time.

How long, though? Long enough for Matthew to heal? Long enough for Jason to come up with a plan of his own? Because he had an idea, one that wouldn’t be easy after he had gone to so much trouble to make Kaitlin afraid of him, but an idea nonetheless.

Chapter 24

KAITLIN WASN’T DEAD. SHE COULDN’T BE dead, because she hurt too much for heaven but not enough for hell. Plus, she was covered in straw. She didn’t think there would be straw in heaven or hell. Unless horses went to heaven.

Kaitlin lay on her stomach in a graceless sprawl, with her nose pressed against the hay. Actually, some of it was stuck in her nose. She wiped at it furiously, then carefully got to her hands and knees, squinting through the darkness to try to figure out where she was.

“Jay?” Kaitlin called. She recalled the crash then, and her voice became shrill as she cried again, “Jay!”

“He’s not here,” came a slightly slurred voice from somewhere to her right. She couldn’t see the source of the voice, though she recognized it as Matthew’s. “He’s fine. With Yuki.”

“Where’s Hideyuki?” Kaitlin asked. She could feel her voice rising a little hysterically.

“Split up.” It seemed to cost Matthew a great deal of effort to talk, but Kaitlin didn’t care. Not when her baby was missing.

“Split up? What are you talking about?”

“Plane crash. Hunted. Split up. If vampires find you, won’t... won’t find ...”

“Jay,” Kaitlin whispered. Oh God, it was her worst nightmare. They were out in the world God-only-knew where, being hunted, probably by Alexander’s men as well as the vampires. And she didn’t even know where her child was!

“Yuki loves him,” Matthew murmured.

Kaitlin closed her eyes, trying to still her racing heart. Damn him for doing this to her! And damn him even more for being right. Jason had her blood, but he might not have Jay’s. He might not find her son if he was with someone else. And Hideyuki had a strange relationship with Jay. She thought – or hoped – he would protect her child with his life.

“Damn it!” Kaitlin closed her eyes and threw herself to the ground. She imagined the real possibility that she would die here, alone, in the dark, without even getting to say goodbye to her son. It didn’t matter that not long ago she had been willing to give him up for his own good. It just didn’t matter.

“Where are we?” Kaitlin finally managed to ask.

“Loft. Hiding.”

“Are you okay?” Kaitlin asked, suddenly realizing that while she had been in hysterics, she hadn’t noticed the pain and exhaustion in Matthew’s voice. What had happened? Where was the plane? And how had they gotten here?

“No.” He hesitated. “I don’t know.”

The stark honesty startled her. Attempting to set aside her own fears for the moment, she crawled toward Matthew’s voice and set her hand on the first bit of him she could reach – an outstretched arm.

It burned.

“Matthew?” Kaitlin asked. She followed his arm up to his shoulder, then to his face, which was on fire. She’d heard of “burning with fever” before but she had never felt it until now. How he remained conscious was beyond her.

“What happened to you?”

“Drained.”

Kaitlin stiffened before realizing that he didn’t mean literally drained, like Janelle had been drained of her magic, but dried up for the moment. At least, she hoped it was for the moment. A sorcerer could go too far and burn out, or so she’d been told.

Can you still hear my thoughts? she thought.

“Yes.”

A few hours ago that would have appalled her, but now she felt relief at knowing that the one man standing between her and danger retained at least some of his power. She felt a twinge of guilt at her selfish reasoning, but shoved it away. For now, she had surviving to do.

Was there anything she could do to help him? She couldn’t see him in the darkness, but she continued to press her hands against his skin, eliciting moans that sounded like half pain, half pleasure.

“Do you have a cell phone?” Kaitlin asked.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I... plane... walked...”

“Don’t try to talk. It’s not that important.” But it struck Kaitlin that the only way they could be here, in a loft, instead of by the wreckage of a plane waiting to be found by one of their enemies, was because Matthew had carried her. She hadn’t walked.

He’d saved her life. And from the looks of it, he had done it at great personal risk. No one had ever done that for her before. No one had even come close.

Kaitlin knelt beside him, her hand nearly frozen to his forehead, her pulse racing. What was she supposed to do now?

Water. He needed water. Whatever else was wrong with him, he was burning with fever and she needed to get it down. Staggering to her feet – and nearly falling back down – Kaitlin tried to figure out where they were and where they might find some water. It didn’t take long for her to put it together: They were in a hayloft. Below, she heard the whinny of horses, as if they could smell the sickness and fear above.

If there were horses, there had to be water. They had to have troughs full of water. Kaitlin found the ladder leading to the stable floor, then began searching for water and a bucket.

“No light,” Matthew mumbled.

Kaitlin barely heard him, and she half wished she hadn’t, but she understood too well. They were on the run and had to stay in hiding, whatever else was going on. Which made the process of finding water and a bucket a hundred times harder. She found a wall and followed it with her hands like a blind woman, suddenly feeling extremely blessed that she had a working sense of sight. She’d always taken it for granted before.

She found stalls, and at one point the nose of a horse poking its head over the stall door. It nipped at her, and she only just got her hand away in time. Then, on the far wall hanging from a peg, she found a bucket. With that firmly in hand she continued working her way around until she realized that the best place to find water would be in a stall with one of the horses.

She had lived in a small town in the countryside for her entire life, but she had never been near a horse. The one she’d brushed up against had tried to bite her, and she didn’t relish the thought of getting too close to the powerful hooves on the giant animals. But most stories painted the creatures as gentle, right? Well, some of them. And some were wild. How would she know the difference here, alone, in the dark?

Steeling her courage, she reached over the side of a stall that seemed devoid of horse muzzles. When she continued to find no resistance she fumbled open the stall door and felt around inside for the water trough. It was there, next to the sleeping horse that neighed when she brushed against its flank. It scooted away in the opposite direction, thankfully neither biting nor stomping, and Kaitlin filled the bucket with water.

Ascending the ladder with the bucket full of water wasn’t easy, but she managed it with a strength of will she hadn’t been aware of possessing. When she returned to Matthew’s side she fed him the water from the bucket one cupped handful at a time, trying not to think about what was probably swimming in it.

He drank thirstily, like a man who had been wandering in the desert for weeks. The first few handfuls of water disappeared so quickly she feared she had let the water splash through her fingers – and she had, to some extent. Trying to maneuver water blindly into a man’s mouth wasn’t easy for either one of them. At one point he sucked her finger into his mouth, the sensation startling but not at all unpleasant. Kaitlin let it remain there for a few seconds as a warm tingle flooded through her body, finally removing the appendage when she remembered that he was sick – and that he would know exactly how the contact was affecting her.

When Matthew could drink no more, Kaitlin splashed water onto his face, anything to bring the fever down. In books and movies, they submerged someone with a high fever in water, but there was no way she could carry Matthew down that ladder to the trough. She considered dumping the bucket of water over the top of him, but before she could he spoke.

“Take off my shirt. Use it.”

“Okay.” Kaitlin did as he suggested, clumsily turning him this way and that with minimal help from Matthew, until she had the shirt off. “Aren’t you supposed to be delirious or unconscious?”

“Not the flu,” Matthew said.

“I see.” She didn’t, but she would have to take his word for it. Dumping the shirt into the bucket, she squeezed off the excess liquid and pressed it against his forehead, then his cheeks and his chest, until it became warm. She repeated the process over and over again through the endless hours of the night, until the dawn asserted itself through tiny holes in the wall and Matthew fell into a deep sleep from which Kaitlin wasn’t sure he would awaken. His fever was down, but would he be the same when he woke?

For the first time, Kaitlin thought back to the confrontation she’d witnessed between Alexander and Matthew. Matthew had admitted to doing some terrible things, and she knew he had done others. He had hurt Cassie, and he had never answered for that. Was he even sorry? Would it help if he were?

Not that Kaitlin was a saint herself. She’d laughingly told Cassie one time that she’d let her friend pick her next boyfriend, but she’d known it would never work. Cassie would pick someone too nice. Kaitlin didn’t do nice. It wasn’t even something she understood. She wasn’t a nice girl, she wasn’t a good girl, and she hadn’t been since she’d lost her virginity at the tender age of twelve. And that wasn’t the worst she’d done. Not by a long shot.

If she spent too much time with Matthew, he would learn the truth. Sooner or later, she wouldn’t be able to keep it from her thoughts. She imagined how he would look at her then, the revulsion she’d see on his face, and she nearly cried. Would he be sorry he’d rescued her then?

Chapter 25

MATTHEW SLEPT POORLY THAT NIGHT, KNOWING that every time he jerked awake, imagining he was hearing the imminent approach of Alexander’s men or perhaps two powerful vampires, he was making things worse. He needed rest. He needed food. He needed water. The water Kaitlin had found for him tasted awful, and he wished he didn’t know where it had come from. Sometimes, telepathy was a curse.

He must have dozed off before sunrise, because the next thing he knew sunlight was slanting in through slits in the wood panels. He sat bolt upright, his heart hammering wildly, trying to find or even sense Kaitlin. She wasn’t there, not within telepathic range and not, as far as he could tell, anywhere else either. Had the vampires come during the night while he’d lain weak and helpless? Had they taken her from right under his nose without him even knowing?

He forced calm upon himself through a sheer effort of will. He took deep breaths, found his quiet place, and spent long minutes studying the large diamond he found there. His first thought was that it had gone out – all the sparkle gone – but then he saw a faint luster, a hint of magic.

He hadn’t burnt out. But he had come much, much too close. He had no idea how long it would take him to regain his full strength – or if he would regain his full strength.

Angrily, Matthew pushed that last thought aside. He had exhausted himself, but there was no reason to believe he had pushed himself so far that he would suffer permanent consequences.

Except, perhaps, for the fever. He’d never burned with fever like that, and he’d heard that a fever usually accompanied burnout.

No, there was magic! Right there. He could sense it. He drew it into himself, what little there was at the moment, let it run through him and comfort him. He didn’t do anything with it – only a fool would do something with magic in this state – but he reassured himself that it existed and that it would soon spark back into its usual firestorm.

“Matthew?” came a soft whisper from the other end of the loft.

He snapped his eyes open and felt a second moment of relief when he saw Kaitlin’s head, framed by wild, lustrous blonde hair in beautiful disarray. She was there. The vampires hadn’t gotten her. He hadn’t failed her.

Yet.

“I’m okay,” Matthew said. That was debatable, but he didn’t want to worry her. Let her think there were wards around this barn keeping them safe. Let her believe he had been able to accomplish that much.

“I brought breakfast.” Kaitlin climbed the rest of the way up the ladder, carrying a plastic grocery bag.

“You went shopping?”

She came within telepathic range then, and he sensed her shame even before she told him the truth. “I ‘borrowed’ a few things from the house nearby. They left the back door unlocked... I just went in. I tried the phone first, but it was dead.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we’re going to get a signal out anytime soon.”

“Then I grabbed a loaf of bread, jar of peanut butter, and some apples. I thought you’d be hungry. Cassie says magical exhaustion makes you hungry.”

“Ravenous.” Matthew’s stomach gave an indelicate growl at the thought of the simple food. He didn’t normally like peanut butter, but today he could eat the whole jar.

“Oh damn, I forgot to take a knife.”

Kaitlin considered going back, but Matthew forestalled her.

“We’ll make do. Don’t take risks you don’t have to right now.”

“How do you feel?” Kaitlin asked. And inside her mind, she wondered the same thing he had been wondering – if he had lost his magic completely.

“I’m fine,” Matthew told her, firmly.

“Are you sure? That fever was bad.”

“I’m sure.” He hesitated, unused to telling people the whole, unvarnished truth, especially when he had no means of making them forget it later on. But they were in this together, one way or the other. She had to know what they were up against. “I can’t use magic right now. I’m too low. That means there’s nothing protecting this place: no wards, no suggestions to turn and go the other way. I can’t even hide our trail like I did yesterday.”

“I see.” And she did. Her mind grasped the situation all-too easily. She thought of her son, and wondered if she would ever see him again. Yeah, that was about the long and short of it. “We should move, shouldn’t we?”

“I don’t know.” Matthew considered the situation, or tried to. His head hurt too much. “Give me one of those apples.”

Kaitlin tossed him an apple, which Matthew caught deftly, along with the undercurrent: Best not to touch him, if I can.

She still wanted him, and not because he’d made a subtle suggestion or even because he’d dug something out of her mind he could use to tempt her. In fact, until a few hours ago he had done everything in his power to push away the woman who was completely immune to his charms.

No, completely immune to his magical charms. Amazingly, she wasn’t immune to him personally.

Matthew took a bite of his apple and chewed as he watched Kaitlin smear creamy peanut butter on white bread with her index finger. Danger surrounded them; they could be captured or die at any moment. Stay or go, he had no idea, but here, now, he wanted to eat the peanut butter off her finger rather than the bread.

She finished the first sandwich, managing to tear the bread only a little bit, then licked her finger as, with the other hand, she passed him the sandwich.

He didn’t take it.

Kaitlin was suddenly aware of Matthew staring at her, and especially at the finger in her mouth. In that moment, it seemed, she became the mind reader, aware of what he wanted to do with that finger. He knows what I’ve been thinking. She recalled the night before, when she’d slowly given him water from her hands and he’d taken her finger into his mouth. Do it again, she thought. Please. I want you to do it again.

Slowly, Matthew scooted closer to Kaitlin, seated cross-legged on the floor. He mirrored her pose, letting his knees brush against hers as he pulled her finger from her mouth. It still contained the residue of peanut butter, but he didn’t care. That wasn’t the part that made her sweet.

Kaitlin shuddered, visibly. I shouldn’t want this. I shouldn’t. But please don’t stop. Please please please...

Matthew’s own body seemed to be echoing her pleas, but he continued to move slowly, giving her every chance to change her mind. She didn’t. She doubted her sanity once, but she wanted him to take her into his mouth. And maybe not just her finger.

Matthew closed his eyes as he drew the peanut butter-flavored index finger between his lips and sucked, hard, trapping it against the roof of his mouth.

I’m melting, Kaitlin thought. Or dreaming. Don’t wake me up.

The last thing Matthew wanted to do was wake her up, but he had no choice. His stomach chose that most embarrassing of moments to give a loud, angry growl, reminding him that he was less than healthy at the moment.

Reluctantly, Matthew drew Kaitlin’s finger away from his mouth. He placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand before taking the sandwich from fingers that were close to dropping it in the straw.

I knew it was just a dream, Kaitlin thought. But she got busy making another sandwich, recognizing that he had other needs right now.

“So should we make a run for it?” Kaitlin asked in a patently transparent attempt to change the subject. “I mean, we know they’re out there looking. Jason has my blood. If we stay put we’re sitting ducks and –”

She stopped short when they heard the sound of the stable door opening. Fear shot through her – through them both. This was it. The only question now was: Alexander or Jason?
“Hey sweet girls,” crooned an old man. Matthew was momentarily confused until the voice continued. “Did Mary sneak you some apples last night while I wasn’t looking?”

Two horses neighed in response.

“Nice to see you too,” the old man continued. “Let me get you some oats and then I’ll let you run out in the pasture. ‘Fraid I can’t ride you today; my back’s still a mess. But Joan from down the road said she’d try to stop by this afternoon to give you a workout. You remember Joan? Sweet girl visiting her grandparents for the summer? She’s still a little horse shy, so go easy on her.”

The old man continued in that vein, his running monologue filling the silence between their pounding heartbeats. Neither Kaitlin nor Matthew said a word for what seemed like an hour, but was probably less than half that. Then, finally, the old man let the horses out into the pasture and left to take care of other chores.

“I thought it was Jason,” Kaitlin breathed when it was over.

“I thought it was Alexander,” Matthew replied.

“Why haven’t they found us yet?”

Matthew considered the question. They had crashed yesterday evening, and been on the run or hiding through the night. It had been at least fourteen, maybe fifteen hours. Matthew had hidden their tracks at first, but still...

“He doesn’t know I’m drained,” Matthew realized. “He’s probably got his men looking for mental tricks and wards.”

“So not being able to use magic might be a blessing in disguise?”

“I wouldn’t call it that.” Never. “God, I don’t know how you do it.”

“Do what?”

“Live like this all the time – without magic.”

Kaitlin shrugged. “Never had it. And unlike Cassie, I never thought I should.”

“I feel like I’ve lost an arm or... or...”

“Your eyes?” Kaitlin suggested, thinking of how it had felt to stumble around in the dark the night before.

“Yes.”

“Well then, we should definitely rest here today. Let you get your strength back. How long do you think it will take?”

“I don’t know,” Matthew said honestly. “I just don’t know.” He thought for a moment. “Yeah, we’ll stay here today. We’ll take it in turns to nap, get as much rest as possible. We’ll move tonight, under the cover of darkness.”

“Okay.” Kaitlin felt as unsure as he did of that plan, but hearing his confidence made her feel better. Matthew was glad he could make her feel that way; now, if only someone could do the same for him.

“Okay,” Matthew echoed. “How about another sandwich?”

They stared at one another, each remembering the experience of making the first.

Bad idea, Kaitlin. Bad idea. Because you might die, but you might live, and then he’ll know the truth about you and you can’t take it back.

Matthew almost asked her what truth she meant. He suddenly, desperately wanted to know what secrets she hid – all the secrets she hid. If he was at his full strength... no, it would never work with Kaitlin. He would never know her innermost secrets, not unless she somehow trusted him enough to tell him.

Trust. Now there was a concept. No one outside his family trusted him, not even his inner circle of the White Guard. And, apparently, that was why he was struggling.

Kaitlin started making another peanut butter sandwich, her mind focused on the most relevant question: Will we get out of this alive?

“We’ll be okay,” Matthew found himself lying smoothly. If only he could back up the statement with a bit of trust me.

“You don’t have to lie to me.”

“More like I can’t lie to you. It’s like talking to my father.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Fine, I have no idea if we’re going to be okay. We might die anytime now. Is that better?”

“No. Let’s talk about something else. Anything else. Let’s pretend like we’re just normal people for a little while.”

“Okay.” Matthew tried to find an ulterior motive inside her, but she genuinely seemed to want to get her mind off of her fear – and her lust. At least he wasn’t the only one suffering from that particular ailment. A part of him even thought, why not? If we might die, why not live for a while? But she’d withdrawn for the moment.

“So what do you like to do when you’re not infiltrating enemy strongholds in search of blood?” Kaitlin asked.

“I’ve never done that before. Running the White Guard has been a full-time job for a while, though. Bringing people together is hard; I can almost understand why Alexander resorted to blood magic.” Matthew could feel the vial of Evan’s blood he had stolen burning a hole in his pocket. He quickly brushed the thought aside.

“You’re not the same as him.”

“Hm?”

“I heard what he said to you, but I don’t think it’s true.”

“Are you sure? Ever since we met a few days ago, you’ve been thinking about what I did to your best friend. You don’t like me. You don’t trust me.”

“No, but how can I? You’ve never given me any reason to.”

“No, I haven’t. I didn’t even manage to get you safely away from Alexander and the hunters.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Kaitlin’s mind flashed to Cassie. “Cassie doesn’t trust you, and she’s in your inner circle. I hope they don’t all feel the same way, or you’re in big trouble.”

Matthew looked away, wondering how she had managed to hit so close to the truth. She wasn’t a stupid girl, of course, but she also hadn’t been around lately. Was it that painfully obvious?

He looked back at her; she returned his stare, not flinching, mentally demanding answers he didn’t know if he could give. Who are you really? What do you want? Do you care about anyone but yourself?

“I think I need some more sleep,” he said. It was true, but also a cop-out. He had never felt so useless in his life. She was right there, but he couldn’t do anything to alter her perception of him.

“If you’re going to get huffy over my every stray thought, this is going to be a long, long day.”

Matthew quirked an eyebrow at her. “Huffy?”

“Yes, huffy. God, I don’t know the first thing about you and instead of telling me you try to roll over and go to sleep.”

“I need sleep.”

“You need a kick in the head! Do you have any real friends?”

He gaped at her. “Of course I do.”

“Really? I mean people who are friends because they want to be, and not because you manipulated them in any way?”

Matthew stammered. “I... my... I’m very close to my family.”

“I don’t think that counts.”

“Well, what about you?” Matthew fired back. “You’re hiding something pretty big. Does anyone know the truth? Even Cassie?”

“Do you know? Have you seen...?”

“No. You’ve kept it well hidden. But I know something’s there, and if you were anyone else I’d have it from you by now.”

Kaitlin reeled. Cassie warned me. I never listen.

“I’m going to sleep.” Matthew intentionally put space between them – twenty feet – so he couldn’t hear her thoughts any longer. Then he found a cleanish place in the straw and lay down on his stomach.

He didn’t fall asleep.

“I was in love with her, you know.”

“Who?” Kaitlin asked, her voice coming from across the loft, unaccompanied by the usual mix of background thoughts.

“Cassie.”

“Oh.”

“My grandmother was a seer.”

“I heard.”

“She told me Cassie would make me happy.”

“Did she tell you if you would make her happy?”

Matthew thought about it. “I-I don’t remember. I guess I thought it was all the same thing at the time. But she told me that years and years ago, long before Cassie would have been ready – or technically legal. She was sixteen, I think. And all through law school, while I flirted with and dated other girls, I had this ideal picture in my mind of what life was supposed to be like. They never measured up.”

“Did you let them? Or did you wipe their memories the second they got nervous that you could read their minds?”

Matthew ignored Kaitlin’s perceptiveness. “Anyway, when my grandmother told me it was time, I went after Cassie like she was already mine. But I didn’t... despite what Cassie thinks, I didn’t force her.”

“Really? That’s not what it looked like that last night.”

Matthew sighed, wondering why he was telling her all this. Confessions of a dying man, perhaps? But no, he didn’t think that was it. She’d asked if he had any real friends and the answer was no. He didn’t.

“At first the only mind magic I used on her was memory charms.” Matthew stared at the ceiling, keeping his eyes off of Kaitlin and on the distant past. “I approached her at a family picnic that I crashed. I got her alone in the woods and we started talking. Except it wasn’t that simple. I kept using memory wipes like do-overs. No, that didn’t work. Try again. Maybe she’ll go for this approach. She slapped me three times. All in all, I’m amazed that she didn’t notice how much time had passed once she returned to the picnic.”

“What finally worked?” Kaitlin asked.

“Hm?”

“The tenth or twentieth time or whatever. What finally worked?”

Matthew chuckled. “The truth.”

“I see.”

“You probably do. Better than I did, anyway. But do-overs were all I ever used until we got engaged. If she really, truly hadn’t wanted to marry me, I didn’t force her to say yes.”

“But you took advantage of her during a vulnerable moment in her life.”

“I didn’t say I was a saint.”

“What about after?” Kaitlin asked.

“That’s when it all went wrong. I think I pushed her too hard, too fast. My grandmother thought so, anyway. I was nervous about losing her. No, that’s not exactly the right word. I... I used a spell with her that I’d never used before. Haven’t used since for that matter. I let her read my mind.”

Kaitlin sucked in a breath. “Really? She never told me that.”

“I’m not surprised. I don’t tell many people I can do it.”

“Why’d you tell me?”

Matthew had no answer, so he ignored the question. “I cast the spell and let her see into my mind. I didn’t tell her that I loved her, I showed her. I let her see it for herself in a way that couldn’t be denied. Or so I thought. She tried to deny it, tried to say I manipulated her. God, I was a fool to think she’d overlook what I am in favor of who I am.”

“She was in love with Evan,” Kaitlin said softly.

Matthew laughed, this time without mirth. “Now there’s someone you should be questioning. He cast spells on her. Admitted it, even.”

“She loves him,” Kaitlin insisted. “She’s loved him all her life, I think. I don’t know how your grandmother thought you’d get past that.”

“He stole her magic!” But Matthew remembered what Kaitlin had said about that a few days ago. He’d heard but hadn’t listened then. “Did he really offer to give it back?”

“Yes.” Kaitlin paused before adding, “Are you still in love with her?”

“What?”

“Because it kind of sounds like you are.”

“I-” Evan had asked a similar question a few weeks ago, and at the time he had been lying to say no. But something had changed in the past few days. He didn’t know what, but telling this story wasn’t as painful as he thought it would be. It felt more like purging something dark from his soul. “I don’t know. I was for a long time. I got desperate after she agreed to marry me and started to pull away almost immediately.”

“And then you started using direct compulsion on her?”

“Yes.” Matthew tried to sound defiant, but it didn’t work. And in the end he repeated the word, more like a plea for forgiveness. “Yes.”

“Did you ever tell her any of that?”

“No!”

“The truth worked once.”

Matthew shook his head. “It would make me weak. Evan and Cassie are my most powerful supporters.”

“But they don’t really support you at all.”

Once again Matthew felt the vial of blood burning a hole in his pocket. He only just stopped himself from reaching for it; Kaitlin didn’t need to see. He doubted she would approve.

“Your grandmother wasn’t always right, was she?” Kaitlin asked.

“There are many paths and she... she had a way of working towards making her favorites come to pass.” He closed his eyes and remembered the day she had first told him about Cassie. “You know, it’s strange. But the day she gave me that prediction we were walking into your mom’s diner. You were working, and Cassie was there with some other friends from school. And when my grandmother pointed, telling me ‘There’s the woman you will marry,’ I thought, for just a few seconds, that she meant you.”

Chapter 26

KAITLIN BACKED AWAY, HER HEART HAMMERING, trying to figure out why Matthew had said what he had. Surely he couldn’t mean... sure, in her wildest fantasies maybe, but she’d had too much experience with men to believe in fairy tales. At least, not for herself. She read romance novels all the time, and she knew who she was – at best, she was the girlfriend or sidekick. At worst, she was the woman who “knew the score,” the one the man tossed aside when he finally found his one, pure, true love.

Matthew had risen to hands and knees, scooting closer and staring at her with pity in his eyes. God, he’d heard all that. He knew how insecure she was. And was that sympathy in his eyes?

“What is it?” Matthew asked softly. “You’re a better person than you think you are. What has you feeling this way?”

She shook her head, but for the first time in her life she wasn’t sure she meant it. She wanted to trust someone. She’d always wanted to trust someone, but when it came to opening her mouth to talk, the words would never come.

“I don’t need the words,” Matthew reminded her. “I just need you to let go and show me.”

She stared at him for a long moment as the truth of his words dawned on her. All she had to do was think it and he would know. If she could let go, if she could trust him an inch, he could take it from there. Ironic, that this was exactly what she had feared since she’d discovered the nature of his gift but now it suddenly seemed like exactly what she needed.

She closed her eyes, but she didn’t let go. At least, not right away. It had been such a long time and she’d held the secret so close that until now, she’d even been able to hold off a mind reader. But she knew that if she shared herself with him now, it wouldn’t be because he took anything from her. It would be because she gave it to him.

Oh, how much she wanted to trust in this, in him! She had wanted to believe in heroes since she’d been twelve, which was why she let her heart get broken over and over and over again.

She felt a hand touch her arm and she opened her eyes to see Matthew gazing at her, his nearness and his touch lending physical support. He didn’t push her, didn’t speak, but he ran his hand along her arm and showed her without words that he was there, solid and real. And he’d trusted her first. That hadn’t been easy for him.

Again, she closed her eyes, this time connecting to Matthew through the feel of his hand on her bare arm. She held onto that feeling, that anchor into the present, as she let her mind slip backwards into a time she tried so hard to forget that there were moments she almost convinced herself it wasn’t real. Almost. Then she heard his voice in her mind, telling her she’d never be good enough. Telling her that no one would ever love her except for him.

No, those weren’t the words he’d used. What he’d said was: You’re a slut, just like your mom.

Tears already prickled the back of her eyes; she started to force them away, to force the memories away...

“Let it out,” Matthew whispered. “You’ve let it fester, haven’t you?”

She didn’t know. She only knew it hurt too badly. There was a painful pressure inside her chest and she found herself gasping for breath.

He was right. She was a slut. That’s why she’d had a one-night stand and gotten pregnant. That’s why she had run off with a vampire. That’s why...

“Sh,” Matthew whispered, and his hand continued to move up and down her arm. “What did he do?”

I was twelve years old, Kaitlin thought. It was the day of the sixth grade Valentine’s Day Party and she had a new grown up secret to share with her friends. That morning, she’d woken to discover that she was a woman. None of her friends had started their periods so soon, which made her feel special. Grown up. Mature.

That’s how she still felt when she arrived home to find her stepfather waiting for her in the living room.

She saw her stepfather in her mind’s eye as he had looked that day – sleek and sophisticated. He always kept his face clean-shaven, his blond hair neatly trimmed.

Kaitlin hated blond hair now, even on herself, but she hadn’t had time to re-dye her hair lately. Was this why? She hadn’t thought about it. Hadn’t let herself. It was such a tiny detail, but she dwelt upon it for a minute or two, knowing it was safer than what happened next.

She more than half expected Matthew to urge her to let it out again, but he didn’t push.

You’re such a pretty little thing. Natural blondes are so rare.

He’d said it before, many times in the six months since he’d married her mother. It made her feel good; she’d received too few compliments in her life. Her only family was her mom, and she worked so hard...

But this time when he said it, he was looking at her oddly. She wasn’t sure she liked it; it was almost like he could tell she was bleeding. She hadn’t told him, but she had told her mom. Maybe he’d overheard.

All grown up now, aren’t you?

Yes, I am. She was proud of it, so why not say it? She pushed past him, into her bedroom, head held high.

He followed.

What happened next... she wasn’t sure. She couldn’t remember how it had happened. One second she was slinging her backpack onto her bed, the next he was behind her, his hands reaching up under her shirt.

You like it when I touch you, don’t you?

He wasn’t supposed to touch her like that. Fear paralyzed her as he continued to touch the parts her swimsuit covered and told her what a good girl she was.

She didn’t fight him. She thought she might have protested a bit at first, but she’d let him do those things to her. All of it. She’d hated it and it hurt and there was blood everywhere. And afterwards, when he’d called her a slut, she’d known it was true.

...just like your mom.

“Kaitlin.” She felt her hand slipping into someone else’s. Someone strong and warm. Someone who was not trying to touch her breasts or her... other parts.

“Kaitlin,” Matthew repeated.

She tried to withdraw from the memories, but it seemed that now she had opened the floodgate, she couldn’t close it again. She remembered... so many times over the next few months she couldn’t separate one time from the next. Sometimes she said no. A few times she’d even fought him. Once, she threatened to tell her mom.

What makes you think she doesn’t know?

Kaitlin hadn’t wanted to believe it, but then again, he was still there. Still living with them. And there were days it felt to her like she had a big letter “A” on her chest like in the book they were making her read at school.

She knows. And if you tell anyone else they’ll take you away and you’ll never see your mom again.

“Kaitlin, please come back to me.”

She should have told; she knew that now. He’d lied. Her mom had not known.

“When did your mom find out?” Matthew asked.

Kaitlin started to recall the day, but flinched backward, knowing that this was the worst secret of all.

“Tell me,” Matthew said gently.

Her mother had walked in on them. She’d come home from the diner early – Kaitlin had never found out why. Kaitlin had never asked, never wanted to know more about that horrible day than she already knew. The humiliation was bad enough. The knowledge of how it could destroy their family was bad enough.

“What did she do?” Matthew asked.

“I don’t know,” Kaitlin whispered. And it was true. She wasn’t entirely sure what her mother had done. She only knew that her mother had screamed loudly enough to wake the dead. Her stepfather had jumped away like he could somehow pretend it all away, and in that instant Kaitlin knew he’d lied about her mother knowing.

Then everyone was shouting. Her mother ran off, her stepfather followed, and they were arguing. She followed, just to the end of the hall, with a sheet wrapped around her trembling body.

Her body trembled now with the memory.

Then she heard her stepfather scream – a scream of pain. Kaitlin had started to rush forward but her mother stopped her. Get back in your room and stay there!

“What did she do?”

Kaitlin shook her head. She hadn’t seen. She didn’t know for sure, and she’d never asked so she couldn’t get her mom in trouble. She only knew she’d never seen her stepfather again – and neither had anyone else.

“You think he’s dead?” Matthew asked.

Kaitlin nodded. That had been the most frightening night of her life, and she’d spent all of it in her room hiding under the covers. She wished she could do that now, but there was no bed and no covers here.

Her mom had killed a man, she was almost sure of it, and it had been entirely her fault.

“It was not your fault.” Matthew’s voice wasn’t gentle now.

“I let him do those things to me, and then I let my mom–”

“It was not your fault! If he wasn’t dead, I’d kill him myself. If we get out of this alive, I’ll make sure he’s dead and if he’s not...”

Kaitlin’s heart was pounding wildly, and she suddenly wasn’t sure she wanted Matthew’s arms around her. Instantly, Matthew drew himself away, putting the distance between them that she’d thought she wanted. She wasn’t so sure she wanted that distance now; she missed his heat and she was amazed that he hadn’t pushed her.

“I have never felt so useless!” Matthew said. “If you weren’t immune to mind magic, I could fix this. I could make you forget or help you heal or somehow convince you that you’re a good person!”

Kaitlin reeled. Now it was her turn to scoot back a few inches. Her eyes flew up to his face and she saw something in his eyes that made her truly afraid of him for the first time.

“I’ve done it before,” Matthew went on. “When you’re a telepath, it’s hard to miss that people out there are hurting. Sometimes it’s not even their fault, like with you, but I can’t–”

“You want to fix me?”

“I want to help you.”

Kaitlin gaped at him. Okay, so yes, she was broken. She could admit that, but to have someone root around inside her mind against her will and change her...

“No, that’s not how it is,” Matthew said. “There was a... a girl who was suicidal and I convinced her to see a therapist. And there was this girl in high school whose uncle was... a little like your stepfather... and I just cleaned the memories away.”

“Is that what you want to do with me? Clean the memories away and make me see a therapist?”

“I can’t erase old memories, but yes, you do need to talk to someone who can help.”

“I talked to you, and you want to fix me.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Yes, you did.”

Matthew opened and closed his mouth a few times, but he finally nodded. “Yes, maybe I did. But you have no idea how hard it is to see you hurting, to know you judge yourself for it, and to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it wasn’t your fault. None of it.”

“He didn’t rape me,” Kaitlin said. “I let him–”

“You were a child!”

Kaitlin looked away as tears began to fill her eyes. She could scarcely see. Her thoughts were scattered on the wind, leaving her feeling hollow and exposed, like someone had carved out all her internal organs and put them on display.

“I can’t do this right now. I’ve got to...” Kaitlin didn’t know what she had to do, but she climbed the ladder down from the loft and stumbled out of the barn, just needing some distance. Needing to be alone. There were people out there hunting her, but at the moment they didn’t matter as much as the demons inside her, tearing her apart.

She broke into a run, not stopping until she reached the shade of the forest. There she stopped, using the trunk of a tree for support, literally hugging it. And she cried.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” asked a nightmarishly familiar voice from behind her.

Jason.

Chapter 27

KAITLIN FROZE, HER SHOULDERS TENSED, HER tears stopping as if someone had shut off a faucet.

He leaned against a nearby tree, looking for all the world as if he were just an old friend stopping by for a chat. He wasn’t. Oh, how he wasn’t. Kaitlin forced herself to look him in the eyes, but she didn’t breathe a sigh of relief when she saw they weren’t yellow.

She was caught. She tried to say something, but her heart was in her throat and she couldn’t form words. After everything, this was how it would end.

At least Jay was safe. She hoped. Prayed.

“You don’t look happy to see me. Strange, since the last time I saw you, you agreed to join me in eternity.”

“I-I-”

“It’s okay. I knew you were lying.”

He had? That didn’t make sense. If he’d known, why hadn’t he ended it?

“We let you get away, you know,” Jason said. “Did you really think you could escape us otherwise?”

Kaitlin shook her head, but not in negation. She was simply... overwhelmed. She couldn’t think. She could barely breathe.

“Breathe,” Jason said. “Come on, I seem to recall it being important for mortals.”

Had that been a joke? It couldn’t be. He hadn’t joked the entire time she’d been with him.

She wanted to ask what he was doing there but the words wouldn’t form. After a few moments of trying, she let herself slide down the trunk of the tree to sit at its base.

“Am I going to die now?” she finally asked. She wasn’t trembling. She felt simply numb.

“Not right now.”

“Planning to torture me first?”

“That’s what Xavier wants me to do. He’s furious that Jay’s not with you and thinks torturing you will help us find him.”

She felt a small moment of triumph that Jay had gotten away, followed instantly by the realization that she would never see him again.

“I don’t know where he is,” she said hollowly.

“Obviously. Which is why I’m not torturing you, despite Xavier’s orders.”

“Oh.” Kaitlin tried to clear her mind. It wasn’t easy. “Have you known where I was the whole time?”

“Yes. I’ve been watching you sit in that barn for a night, steal food, flirt with the mortal.” Jason began to circle her, not touching her but keeping her in his sights. Letting her know there was no escape.

“Why did you leave me there?” Kaitlin asked.

“Now, there’s an interesting question.” He continued to circled, but didn’t look at her. He seemed busy with his own thoughts and she left him to them. “I didn’t think it would actually work.”

“What would work?”

“Driving you off to Alexander’s compound. I convinced Xavier to let you go, that your immunity to mind magic would help you see Alexander’s secrets. Maybe even help take him down.”

Her mouth fell open slightly. “I was a mole?”

“That’s what Xavier thought. I just wanted to get Jay away from him.”

Kaitlin’s mind flashed back to that frantic night, to the horrible moment when she’d fallen asleep. She shouldn’t have been able to get away, but she hadn’t let herself think about the how. Only the what.

“Why am I immune to mind magic?” Kaitlin asked. “Did you do something to me?”

“Me? No. Xavier. He’s been studying mind magic for longer than either of us has been alive.”

“Why me?” Kaitlin asked. “I thought...” She trailed off, not sure how to say what she’d wanted. What she’d stupidly dreamed.

“You thought we’d be a happy family?” Jason’s words were a taunt that scraped open old wounds. “I wanted Jay. You just came with him. But Xavier was curious how a mundane like you managed to have such a powerful baby, even if I was the father. He took blood samples, found what he thought was latent magical DNA. He spent months figuring out how to activate it.”

Kaitlin shuddered at the idea of being a vampire’s medical experiment, even if she had survived. Stronger, apparently.

“You don’t know who your father is, do you?” Jason pushed.

“I don’t care!” She really didn’t. And she didn’t want to talk about it. “What about the other people? I thought Xavier was making a vampire army but he wasn’t, was he?”

“He was trying to reproduce your abilities in others. He’d love to be immune to mind magic.”

“What happened to them?” Kaitlin begged to know.

He shook his head; if he’d been human she’d have thought he meant, You don’t want to know.

“As you emerged from the thrall,” Jason continued, and if she hadn’t known better, she would have said sadness lurked in his eyes, “you pulled away from me.”

“Why do you care? Didn’t I just come with Jay?”

“My human host was sentimental. It thought we could be a family.”

“You’re a monster,” Kaitlin whispered. “Inhuman. It got worse as time went on.”

Jason shook his head, and again she thought she detected something like sadness.

“I don’t understand you. What do you want?”

“So many things.” Jason stopped circling and simply stared at her, unnerving her with his eyes. “I want Jay.”

“You can’t have him,” Kaitlin said fiercely. “But why would you want him? You never looked at him when we were living together.”

“I was up with him every night at three in the morning while you slept.”

Kaitlin blinked in surprise. He had? Then she recalled that Jay had been getting up at three in the morning every night since she’d started living at the compound, when she thought he had been sleeping through the night. Was it possible that Jason was telling the truth?

“I still don’t understand,” Kaitlin said. “You changed. You...”

“Yes, I did,” Jason said. “But not as much as I made you believe. I scared you away to make sure you went to the hunters.” He paused. “I did an excellent job.”

Kaitlin tried to recall the last few months she’d spent with Jason, but it was all a blur of images and feelings. The one thing that was beginning to dawn on her was that this Jason, the one standing before her now, wasn’t acting like he had the last time she’d seen him. Or at least, not exactly. She wouldn’t say he was acting like a human either.

“What are you?” she asked.

“I don’t know. When I first turned, I was a newborn babe with the memories of a grown man. Now... I’m not sure what I’m growing into.”

There was something almost human in his voice, but Kaitlin refused to believe he was vulnerable in any way.

“Have you asked Xavier?”

“Yes.” Jason’s eyes darkened. “Which brings me to the other thing I want: Xavier dead.”

Kaitlin’s eyes widened in shock. She had definitely not seen that one coming. She was torn between why and how, but finally settled on the latter. “An entire heptade of hunters couldn’t kill him.”

“No, they couldn’t. But maybe I can.”

Kaitlin shook her head. She didn’t believe it. And from the sounds of it, his delusions would get her killed.

“I need your help,” Jason continued.

“My help? Why would I help you? You want my son!”

“My son, too.”

“Your host’s son. Jason is dead.” Kaitlin stared at him, challenging him to deny it. But he didn’t.

“Yes, I think so.”

“He would have told me never to trust you.”

“I would tell you the same. But you’ve got three choices here: Me, Xavier, or Alexander. Which is it going to be?”

Kaitlin closed her eyes, but she couldn’t deny the truth of Jason’s words. “If I help you, will you leave Jay alone?”

He hesitated. “I won’t hurt him. But I’d like to see him. Maybe every other weekend.”

Kaitlin shook her head. This was non-negotiable. “I want you out of my life. Our lives.”

“Do you think you have a choice here?”

“I think...” She paused, taking a moment to process everything she’d just learned. The things that had turned her world upside down. “You were willing to let the hunters raise Jay to keep him away from Xavier,” she said with dawning realization. “You didn’t think I would leave, or get Alexander’s secrets. You wanted Jay away from Xavier.”

Jason stilled, not speaking.

“If you want help with Xavier now, stay away from us.”

“I’m your only chance of staying alive,” Jason said softly, but with unmistakable menace.

“You saw the e-mail I sent to Cassie. I’m willing to die to keep him away from you.”

Jason’s eyes grew slightly yellow. Luckily, Kaitlin was already on the ground so her shaking wasn’t as apparent as it otherwise would have been.

“Fine.” Jason turned away for a moment, and when he looked back the yellow had gone. “I’ll leave him alone until he becomes a hunter. And you know he will. It’s in his soul.”

Kaitlin flinched, but she knew he spoke the truth. At least he wouldn’t be after her child. She’d have years to protect and prepare him.

“Why do you want Xavier dead?” Kaitlin asked before she sealed the deal. She had to know why, or she couldn’t trust him.

“He’s an evil monster.”

“Yes, but so are you.”

Jason looked away. “Probably.”

Again, she thought she almost saw a vulnerability in him, but she dismissed the idea almost immediately. “What do you want me to do?”

Jason looked back at her, suddenly all business. “Xavier’s going to try to convince Matthew to form an alliance. He knows about Hideyuki. He knows about the blood. He knows Matthew is in the best position he’s ever been in to take real power in the magical world. He’ll offer an alliance, and I want Matthew to pretend to consider it.”

Kaitlin shuddered. “He might really consider it.”

“He’d be a fool not to. Xavier could be a real asset. But I want you to convince Matthew he’d be better off forming the alliance with me, after Xavier is gone.”

“Would he be better off with you?”

“I don’t have control over the other vampires the way Xavier does.”

“He’s not an easy man to lie to,” Kaitlin said. “And even if he goes along with it, how does it help?”

“Xavier is a mind mage. If I ever hope to defeat him, I need one of my own.”

Kaitlin stared at Jason for a long moment, watching and wondering. Her entire world had been flipped upside down in the past few minutes; everything she thought she knew was wrong. Or was it? What was Jason? And how far could she trust him?

“Xavier will never give up,” Jason said.. “If he doesn’t die, you will, or you’ll be enslaved to him.”

“I don’t know how to trust you.”

“You don’t have to trust me,” Jason said. “You have no other choice.”

Chapter 28

JASON WATCHED KAITLIN RUN BACK TO Matthew like a frightened rabbit. The woman couldn’t run to save her life, not that proper form would save her if he intended to follow tonight.

She hated him. Of course she did; he’d spent half a year making sure of it. A few minutes of conversation and a confession that some part of him still wanted his flesh child wasn’t going to change that. But if she thought he would simply back away until the flesh child reached maturity, she truly was naive.

What would she do? He settled in to listen from a post outside the stables, but Matthew’s telepathy kept too much of the conversation quiet.

Shortly after sundown, Sara came to crouch beside him. Damn. Her presence meant Xavier knew where he was and by extension, would know where they were.

“Xavier lost the others,” Sara said, sounding as pleased as he felt. “But he’s expecting a report on those two.”

“Phones are all dead,” Jason said. “Couldn’t report in.”

“Uh huh. Is that really the story you’re going to use on Xavier?”

Jason stared at the stables, listening keenly. “You know, I think they might be lovers.”

Sara pulled back. “Why do you care?”

He glanced at her and almost laughed – almost. It wasn’t something he’d done much since he’d turned and thought maybe vampires couldn’t do. “Are you jealous?”

“No,” she lied, turning stiffly away.

“Yes you are.” He tugged on her ponytail until she turned to face him.

“Fine, maybe a little. But she didn’t love you. She was afraid of you. She told me so.”

“I know. I didn’t love her either.”

“Oh.” Sara’s face went blank. “So what are you doing?”

Jason shook his head. “I won’t get you involved. If my plan fails – and it probably will – you won’t have anything to do with it.”

“If your plan, whatever it is, fails, you’ll die?” She made it a question.

Jason nodded, then shrugged. “Probably.”

“That’s easy then. I’m helping.”

“No.”

“Are you trying to get them on your side?” She nodded at the stables.

“More or less.”

She listened for a moment, probably hearing the same thing he was. But unlike him, she smiled. “Give them tonight.”

“Why?”

“Trust me. It’ll help.” She paused. “You’re not jealous, are you?”

“No.” Then he thought about it, actually thought about it. “No. I think he’s strangely good for her.”

“Then give them tonight. Or at least a few more hours.”

Xavier would be so thrilled when Jason brought him Matthew and Kaitlin that he probably wouldn’t think to be upset at first. And Jason’s plan – an idea more than a plan – would succeed or fail within a few hours.

He looked at Sara, at the girl-next-door looks that had never been to his taste in his mortal form, but that called to him now. And suddenly he knew exactly how he wanted to spend the next few hours, especially if they would be his last.

“I want you too,” he said.

Chapter 29

IT WAS ALL MATTHEW COULD DO not to chase after Kaitlin when she fled from him, hurt and confused. He wished he knew if he’d helped her draw out pain that had been eating her alive or if he’d made things worse.

She had to come back. They only had each other now. Between them, they had her resistance to mind magic (which he wasn’t always sure was a good thing), his telepathy, and his gradually reflickering magic. Maybe tomorrow he’d be able to use it. Or the day after. Better to wait for the day after, to be on the safe side.

He got to his feet and paced the length of the loft. There were no windows up here, and the heat was becoming stifling. He wished he could find them another place to hide, but feared they might end up walking in circles.

Alexander hadn’t found them. That was a good thing. The vampires hadn’t found them either, although Matthew found that more unbelievable than encouraging. They had Kaitlin’s blood. He couldn’t shield her. With her blood and a halfway decent scrying spell, they could find her in two seconds. So why hadn’t they come for her?
They were up to something. But what?

With nothing better to do, Matthew sat on a bale of hay and thought. He thought mostly about Kaitlin, and how her presence in his life had grown in such a short time. He thought about their escape, and how brave she had been. But mostly, he thought about her immunity to mind magic, which he had been forcing himself not to dwell upon because it made him feel impotent.

He’d used mind magic on her before. He knew of at least three specific cases, right off the top of his head, twice one-on-one with her and once when he’d put a spell on the entire town. She had succumbed as beautifully as any normal mortal would. What had changed?
The vampires.

She had been under their control, their thrall, for the better part of a year. Then she’d run away. How had she even been able to wake from that thrall in the first place?

He was still mulling over impossible-to-answer questions when he heard the soft sound of footfalls below and then the gentle scrape of the ladder as someone climbed. He held his breath, but he sensed it was Kaitlin before she came into telepathic range. And when she did...

“What happened?” Matthew demanded.

Images flickered past, rapid-fire: A tree. Clutching it for support. Jason. Circling her. Mocking her. Scaring her. Threatening her. Jason wanted their son. Jason had lied to her. Scared her. Still scared her.

“Slow down,” Matthew urged. “Take some deep breaths. I can’t separate it all.”

“Me neither,” Kaitlin admitted. “He was there. In the woods. He knows exactly where we are.”

Matthew flinched, but he wasn’t truly surprised. He had already determined that the vampires knew and were up to something. “What does he want?”

“Your help.”

Haltingly, Kaitlin told and showed Matthew everything that had happened to her after she’d left him only half an hour ago, making him wish he had gone after her – though there would have been nothing he could do. She might have come away from the encounter better off for being on her own, but that was a hard thing for him to admit.

Harder still would be admitting to her that he wasn’t sure he could fight Xavier’s mind magic at the moment. If the vampires would kindly consent to wait for two days, he had a chance, but as it was he had no idea how he would survive the encounter in one piece.

“What are you thinking?” Kaitlin asked. “It’s not fair that you get to know everything going on inside my mind and I know nothing that’s happening in yours.”

“Not fair at all,” Matthew agreed. Then something occurred to him. “Did Jason say when he’d be back?”

“No.” I should have asked.

“Don’t start blaming yourself. He might not have said. I bet they want to keep us guessing. Unnerve us.”

“It’s working.” Kaitlin hugged herself, rubbing her upper arms.

“Will you...” Matthew paused. He had already demanded so much of her today. How could he demand anything else? The woman looked ready to shatter before his eyes.

“What?” Kaitlin asked.

“Never mind.”

“I can handle it. I told you, it’s not fair that I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

“I agreed with that.” Matthew smiled, briefly. “All right, Kaitlin. I’d like to know about your time with the vampires. All of it. Nothing held back.”

She shuddered, but she wasn’t surprised. I was afraid of that. And she was willing to tell him; she just wanted his arms around her.

He hesitated before he moved closer to her, making sure he wasn’t misinterpreting desires that she hadn’t formed into words, not even mental words. She shuddered again, and he knew that her greatest need right now was to feel close to someone. Like she was a part of the human race. He didn’t deserve to be the person who comforted her now, after the way he’d hurt her earlier, but he was there.

Slowly, giving her time to change her mind, he sat beside her on the bale of hay she’d chosen. She relaxed into him, resting her head against his shoulder, feeling the peace of his presence.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Matthew reminded her. “Just show me.”

She took a deep breath, let her mind begin to drift, and found her starting point: The prospect of single motherhood hadn’t been easy for her, especially since she’d sworn she wouldn’t end up like her mother – pregnant and alone at barely twenty. She used to ask her mom about her father, but after a while she decided it didn’t matter who he was; his only significance in her life was his absence.

So there she was, twenty-one years old, repeating the cycle. She’d used protection. She’d spent the first trimester railing at the fates about that, when she wasn’t about to blow herself up from the strange new energy growing within her alongside the baby.

Cassie’s family had taken her in. They’d been kind to her. But she hadn’t belonged there, not really. And Jason never even returned her calls. He’d been fighting for his life, and the life of their unborn son, at the time, but she hadn’t known that. Honestly, she didn’t even know him. One-night stands weren’t her typical style; she’d been angry at her boyfriend for cheating and she’d taken a leap, thinking again of a fairy tale. Or more specifically, a romance novel she’d recently read that had begun with a one-night stand.

Jason stepped momentarily back into her life the day Jay was born. He’d held his son. Rocked him. Whispered soothing things to him. Been a father. If only he hadn’t died less than two weeks later. If only she hadn’t fooled herself into believing that some part of him still lived.

He’d let himself become a vampire. His father had learned the power of switching souls, which worked better when using the body of one’s direct descendant. Jason was the only child he’d ever had, and he couldn’t take Jay until he was much older. Jason became a vampire so his father couldn’t take his body, and by extension his son’s. He hadn’t wanted to die, but he hadn’t wanted to risk losing the fight against his father either. He’d won, in the end, as a vampire. But it was too late for him.

Kaitlin hadn’t gotten it when he’d asked her to come away with him. All she’d gotten was that finally, someone wanted her. She’d wished for another fairy tale, this time just like the vampire romance novels she liked to read. She, Jason, and Jay could all be a family.

Her only stipulation was that she didn’t want to turn right away. It wasn’t her idea, it was Cassie’s, but there had been some kind of strange look in her best friend’s eyes when Cassie had begged her to wait, to put it off, to tell them anything to delay becoming a vampire herself. Kaitlin hadn’t understood it, but she’d held onto it, and it had saved her life.

That’s not how it had been at first, though. No, at first she had felt like she was in the middle of a wonderful dream. She could scarcely remember any details, only the feeling of perfect contentment as she’d followed Jason and Xavier around the country from safe house to safe house. For the first time in her life, she hadn’t had to clean. She hadn’t had to work. Her only responsibility had been Jay. She’d read. She’d cooked (for pleasure). She’d struggled with nursing, but at the time she hadn’t cared all that much. It had only been later that she’d connected her struggles with the fact that Jason regularly drank her blood.

The fog of pleasure hadn’t lifted all at once. It had drifted away over the course of months. The first thing she remembered intruding into her perfect new life was the final recognition that she couldn’t nurse anymore. Maybe it had been a hormonal thing, but she’d cried the last time she tried to nurse her son. She cried for days.

The next thing was Xavier. The centuries old vampire wasn’t like Jason, and probably hadn’t been even in those early days. He was intense. Hostile. Alien. When she looked at him, she often saw death in his eyes. Then had come the day when he’d torn out the throat of a teenage girl without so much as a hint of regret.

After that... a bit of this, a bit of that. Recognizing that Jason was dead had come last of all, possibly because she had wanted the fairy tale so badly. Or maybe it was because new vampires were a little more like their former selves as they adjusted to their new lives. She had no idea, she only knew that she had become clear headed enough to see the people in her lives for who and what they truly were.

Then she’d begged Cassie to take her baby from her. And when that hadn’t worked, she’d run.

She let all the memories wash over her – all the images, all the feelings, and all the things she hated herself for now. She didn’t hold back a thing and in a way, it felt liberating to know that for once, someone would understand it completely.

Matthew understood. He understood that if he wasn’t careful, he would be one more in a long line of men who had hurt her. One more fairy tale gone awry. And he suddenly, desperately, wanted that fairy tale – not just for her but for him. Only, he couldn’t make her love him. He couldn’t even heal her mind.

“What are you thinking?” Kaitlin asked.

Matthew tried to remember the last time anyone had asked him that. Now here was Kaitlin, asking for the third time. And she deserved to know, only he had no idea how to tell her.

“I want you,” he said finally, “but I don’t want to hurt you.”

Kaitlin lifted her head from his shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes. I’m a big girl, she thought. But she also thought about Jay and how she had no business chasing after impossible dreams anymore.

Matthew turned his body to face her fully and took both her hands in his, squeezing tightly. He had never wanted anything more in his life – nor been so afraid of messing it up. “You’re the most amazing, strongest woman I know.”

No. Kaitlin forced herself not to look over her shoulder.

“Exactly. You don’t know how amazing you are.”

“And you can’t fix me,” Kaitlin said bitterly. “Well, what about you? Maybe you’re the one who needs fixing.”

“Maybe.” Matthew couldn’t deny it, not after so many people had pointed out to him that he had no friends, only allies. “But if we give in to what we both want now, you’re going to get hurt.”

“Unless we die.” The vampires could be here any minute.

“Kaitlin.” Matthew brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear before returning his hand to hers. “It’s not time to live like you’re dying. I’m going to find a way to get us out of this. Both of us.”

“And Jay?”

“And Jay.”

Can you, though? Kaitlin wondered. Do you have enough magic in you right now?

Matthew winced, but he also considered the question carefully. He took a deep breath, found his quiet place, and analyzed his strength. Nothing had changed, though. He was slowly recuperating from a massive overload and he needed time. If he gave himself that time, he would be okay. If he used his magic in any way...

Maybe he should make a deal with Xavier. Jason wanted him to do battle with the man, but how would that work?

“I can tell what you’re thinking this time,” Kaitlin said. “I’m scared, Matthew.”

“Me too.”

“I want you to make love to me. Please.”

Matthew’s hands clenched hers more tightly in response. He didn’t think he had ever wanted another woman more – or been so afraid of hurting her. Kaitlin wasn’t used to men taking care of her. Even in her thoughts, now, there was something not quite right in the way she wanted him, something...

It was for him. That’s what it was. She wanted to do it for him, not for herself. Or at least, not exactly for herself. She didn’t seem to understand, which made it difficult for Matthew to interpret, but he decided to sit there for a few minutes, rubbing the backs of her hands with his thumbs, just listening.

There was a flicker of interest. She liked what he was doing to her, but she felt restless. Expectant. She didn’t really like kissing; he had learned that from kissing her – an activity he wouldn’t mind repeating one day to see if he could change her mind. But what did she think of the rest of foreplay?

She’d liked it when he’d sucked her finger into his mouth. She liked him rubbing the backs of her palms but she also wanted to get on with it. There was a definite tone of impatience.

“Relax,” Matthew said gently. “Do you like what I’m doing to you?”

“You know the answer.” Kaitlin’s cheeks pinkened slightly, but she did not look away.

“Yes, but I don’t know what you usually like. I could try it all, a piece at a time, and that might be fun, but I’m curious.”

Kaitlin’s mind went blank for a second, then she thought about penetration, about feeling a man climax inside of her, and then of falling asleep in a man’s arms.

She’s had inept lovers, Matthew thought. He wondered if she’d ever climaxed, but suspected he knew the answer.

“Maybe this was a bad idea.” Kaitlin wrenched her hands away and walked to the other side of the loft, just outside of his telepathic range. But he wasn’t going to let her get away with that, not now, not after the intimacy they’d just shared. He strode across the loft to stand beside her. He didn’t touch her, but he let her feel his presence.

“I don’t know what I want,” she said with a slight hitch in her voice. “I don’t know what I like.” I just want to be loved.

Matthew’s heart squeezed as he finally understood. Kaitlin had never taken anything from men. Never taken anything from sex. Never even enjoyed it. She had only ever given. And it had all probably started over a decade ago, with a bastard who sure as hell better be dead.

“Please go away,” Kaitlin said, and this time her voice cracked. “You know all my secrets now. All of them. I’m broken. I don’t even like sex, I just want – I don’t even know.”

Matthew hesitated. She wanted him to go, but she needed him to stay. He usually knew exactly what to do when faced with this dichotomy, but Kaitlin had him questioning things he had believed his entire life.

You want to fix me?

Yes, he did want to fix her. Did that make him such a bad person? Was that so wrong?

She deserved peace and happiness.

“Please,” Kaitlin repeated, except this time she wasn’t sure if she was begging him to go or to stay.

Matthew decided for her. He took her hand in his and gently stepped around her until he was looking her straight in the eyes. Maybe he couldn’t fix her, but he could help her fix herself. He even had a cheat, something no other normal mortal had.

Chapter 30

KAITLIN’S LIP WAS QUIVERING. SHE HADN’T even known a lip could quiver. But there it was, a symptom of overwhelming emotions. The weight of them would surely crush her at any moment. There was fear – for her life, for her child, and for herself. There was the sense of feeling utterly naked, even though she was fully clothed. She’d been stripped bare of all pretenses. There was nothing left. Oh, Matthew might not know her favorite color – light purple – but he knew her soul in a way no one else had.

Here came the rejection. The judgment. She could feel it pressing in on her, gripping her heart like a vise. She didn’t deserve a fairy tale, especially not with someone like Matthew – handsome, powerful, ruthless, and definitely possessed of a dark side, but he had saved her life.

Matthew’s arms came around her, crushing her almost as tightly as the weight of those emotions. No, more tightly, He held her so tightly she feared her ribs would crack, but she didn’t want him to let go. If anything, she wanted him to squeeze harder. Physical pain would be easier to take than the emotional pain trying to eat her alive.

The tears began to flow, soaking into his shirt, which had only just dried. She needed to pull herself away before she made a mess of the only change of clothes he had.

“I don’t care,” Matthew whispered. “Let it out. Let it all out.”

“I can’t. I’m going to split in two.”

“I know. God I wish I could help, at least take the edge off. But all I can do is hold you. Just hold you and swear to you that you’re a strong, amazing woman. If I have to say it a thousand times to make you believe it, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Kaitlin started gasping for breath. She couldn’t speak. The vise-like grip on her heart closed even tighter.

“Deep breaths,” Matthew said. “Deep breaths. You need to cry, but don’t make yourself sick.”

Why are you humoring me? Kaitlin thought. You know the truth.

“That’s right. I know the truth. Me. The objective third party. You’re too close to it to see the truth.”

I had sex with my stepfather, then I let my mom think he’d forced me. She killed him.

“You were a child,” Matthew said in a harsh whisper. “A child!”

“I was twelve.”

“A child!”

He pushed her away from himself and looked her straight in the eyes. “He hurt you. He took and took and never gave anything back except humiliation and pain. You were the victim, Kaitlin. You were a child. Now, it’s up to you to decide if you want to keep being the victim.”

Kaitlin stopped crying and stared. Just stared. She knew this was a man who could lie with a straight face, but his face wasn’t straight now. It was full of rage – at her?

“No, I’m not mad at you. At him. At Jason. At Xavier. At everyone who’s taken things from you and given nothing back.”

She swallowed past a huge lump in her throat. He believed it. He really believed what he had said. What had it been? That she needed to stop feeling sorry for herself?

“No, Kaitlin. Not that. You have the right to feel sorry for yourself, at least for a while. To understand that you were a victim. But only you can decide to stop being one now.”

“I’m so confused,” Kaitlin said.

“I know. That’s because you’ve lived with this alone for too long. You’re not going to get over it today.”

“Today might be all I have.”

Matthew wanted to argue; she could see it in his eyes, but he didn’t give her false promises this time. Instead, he nodded once.

“Then will you make love to me?” Kaitlin asked. Please don’t say no, she pleaded with him mentally. I don’t think I can take the rejection right now.

Matthew didn’t say another word. He leaned forward and brushed a gentle kiss across her closed lips – more a caress than a kiss. It was soft and gentle and it didn’t feel like he was trying to shove his tongue down her throat. She liked it, but she guessed he already knew that.

He guided her across the loft to the bed of hay on the other side. She started to remove her shirt but he stopped her by laying a hand over hers until she released the fabric. Then, slowly and gently, he lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed another gentle kiss across her knuckles.

An image popped into her head, a line from an old movie starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere – I really like this whole seduction routine you have going here, but I’m a sure thing.

Matthew slipped one of her fingers into his mouth, as if in defiance of her earlier thought. And he sucked – hard. Kaitlin closed her eyes and felt an unwitting moan escape her mouth as a tingle of energy traveled from that finger straight to her core. She had no idea why she liked it so much, but she couldn’t deny the rush of sensation.

“You think too much,” Matthew said. “Relax. Enjoy. Don’t analyze. Just let yourself be.”

“I don’t know how,” Kaitlin said, once again feeling inadequate.

“That’s the most honest thing you’ve said.” Matthew smiled. “All right then, let me see if I can make you relax.”

With that, Matthew stripped off his own shirt. Kaitlin could only stare as he stood upright, half naked before her, while she remained fully clothed. He was beautiful to look at. Perfect. Not too muscular, but she’d had enough of that with Jason and didn’t need it again. He was lean and fit and well-sculpted and just... perfect.

She stepped forward and pressed a hand against his chest, feeling the smooth skin over hard muscle. His breath hitched, and she continued the motion, stroking gently, until he grabbed her hands and pulled them away.

“This is for you.”

“What-?” But she didn’t get a chance to finish asking what he meant, and he didn’t tell her. Instead, he pulled off her shirt and jeans, then laid all their clothing atop the hay like a blanket before laying her down atop them, lowering his own body alongside hers.

“Your pants are still on,” Kaitlin said.

“I know.”

“But-”

“Hush. Please, Kaitlin. Just trust me. If I do anything you don’t like you can tell me – or just think it. But trust me.”

Slowly, she nodded, wondering if she’d ever really trusted anyone before. But here she was now, with a man who could read her every thought and desire, who knew where and when and how to touch her, and she was still trying to mess it up.

Relax, she told herself. And with that, she focused on her breathing.

“Good,” Matthew said, running a finger through her hair then down along her shoulder and to her hand, where he squeezed gently. When she tried to lift her hand to touch him, however; he stopped her once again. “This is for you. Just for you.”

Kaitlin felt dazed and uncertain, but he meant it. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to explore her body. He wanted to find out what she liked and bring her pleasure.

She’d be a fool not to fall in love with this man.

He brushed his fingers over her nipples, which were ultra-sensitive to his touch. He paused there, playing with her, letting her ride the rising swell of need and pleasure and emotions. And the moment it became too much – the moment she needed him to stop – he ran his hands down her stomach, along her thighs, then back up to the most private, most sensitive part of her.

Please, she thought. But she had no idea what she wanted. He seemed to know. He knew even before she did. He lowered his mouth to one of her still-sensitive nipples at the exact moment that his thumb pressed against her most sensitive spot. She cried out and started twisting, not sure what to do with so much stimulation. It was nearly as intense as her earlier emotions, and it felt like it might split her in two. Too much... too much...

“Don’t fight it,” Matthew whispered. “Relax. Breathe.”

She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing again, wanting desperately to make him happy. Anything to make him happy.

“You’re making me happy right now,” Matthew murmured. “There’s nothing you can do wrong. Nothing. You’re a gift to me.”

“Oh!” Kaitlin gasped. Tears started streaming down her cheeks, but she wasn’t crying. Matthew returned his attention to her body, to increasing the pressure of his touches. It went on and on, relentlessly. She couldn’t take anymore. She was going to explode.

“Breathe,” he reminded her. “You’re beautiful. You’re so beautiful. I love you like this.”

And with that, something exploded inside her body, something amazing, unexpected, and heretofore unknown. It pulsed in waves, echoing back and forth like a stone dropped into a small pool.

And as she cried, as she gasped for breath, she knew that something had changed inside her. Something that would never be the same again.

Chapter 31

MATTHEW SLID BESIDE KAITLIN ON THE crude bed of straw and clothes and cradled her in his arms. He smiled, feeling absurdly pleased with himself.

Never. Never ever felt... not even by myself. Never could...

“It’s okay,” Matthew whispered. “You’re okay.”

“You’re not,” she said through her sobs. “You’re still... you never...”

“I told you, this was for you.”

“But–”

“Are you on the pill?”

“No.”

“I didn’t pack any condoms. I’m not going to risk getting you pregnant when you’re not ready.” Although when you are ready... He shoved the thought aside. “And even if I was willing to risk it, I wouldn’t. Too many people have taken from you without giving anything back. This is for you.”

“But...” I’m so confused. I want him so badly.

“Later.” Matthew kissed her softly on the forehead, making it a promise. “When it’s right.”

When will that be? Kaitlin wondered.

“When you start to believe that you’re amazing and strong.”

Oh.

“I need to sleep,” Matthew said. “Let’s just lie here for a while.”

“Of course.”

Matthew smiled and closed his eyes. Within moments he had drifted off, feeling like a man who could do just about anything.

But when he woke a few hours later, he was not in the loft. And Kaitlin no longer slept by his side.

Matthew sat bolt upright, his eyes scanning the area as his mind searched for others within twenty feet. Nothing. No, wait, there was something, except it wasn’t quite... right. It felt cold, and the thoughts weren’t coming through clearly. Or no, wait, the emotions weren’t translating right.

Matthew shook his head and tried to focus. He was in a bed. In a bedroom. His backpack lay on a desk a few feet away; his shoes sat on the floor nearby.

He closed his eyes and reached for his quiet place. What he found there wasn’t encouraging. He was doing better than before, but not by much. Certainly not enough.

“Damn it!” Matthew rose to his feet, thinking to check his backpack for his spell books. Maybe they would contain some words of wisdom for him

The door opened so quickly that Matthew nearly fell backwards onto the bed. One second that strange, cold mind he’d sensed had been at the outside edges of his range, the next it was right there in the doorway, leering at him.

“Xavier,” Matthew breathed.

“You recognize me.” He smiled, but Matthew couldn’t tell if the smile was genuine or not. He was thinking... Good. According to plan.

“Where’s Kaitlin?” Matthew asked.

“Safe.”

“I want to see her.”

“Soon. You and I have a deal to strike first.” Xavier nodded to his backpack. “I made sure all your belongings arrived safely. I haven’t touched any of it.”

That was true, but not because Xavier thought it was the right thing to do. Rather, he was hoping to elicit trust from the foolish mortal.

Matthew blinked. Xavier was trying to do something to him, something unlike any mind magic he had ever run across. It wasn’t subtle; it was illusory. That was it. Xavier was spinning an illusion of trust around himself.

“I need Kaitlin,” Matthew said. He wanted to know what she saw when she looked at Xavier, but that wasn’t the only reason he wanted her by his side.

“I understand that Hideyuki is going to work for you,” Xavier said, ignoring Matthew’s earlier statement. Unimportant. “He seems to understand that what the hunters have been doing for the past decade has been suicidal.”

“Yes,” Mathew said.

“At one time, hunters and ancient vampires worked together to keep the pests under control.” Too many. Destroy our race.

“So I’ve heard.”

“Have you ever met a vampire before?”

“No,” Matthew said.

Xavier smiled. “Then you were probably raised on tales of how evil we are and know nothing different.”

“I’m ready to reserve judgment,” Matthew said cautiously, and somewhat truthfully. Hideyuki had already convinced him of the need for that.

“I understand you recently made a pact with the werewolves,” Xavier said, suddenly switching tacks.

“We’re still working out the details. There are lots of packs strewn across the country. But yes, we’ve gotten things started.”

“What will your followers think of that?”

“They’ll think more of it than of me allying myself with a vampire. A werewolf is human except at the full moon. The same can’t be said for you.”

“True. I am not human. But I’m not evil, either. I don’t kill indiscriminatingly.”

“Indiscriminate killing isn’t the only way to define evil.”

“Of course not.” Xavier smiled, showing fangs. Matthew drew back, unconsciously, and Xavier’s smile widened. “But I have killed. I’ve personally killed almost a hundred hunters in the past ten years. Yet they keep sending them after me.”

“True.” Matthew shivered, wishing he had a cross or holy water or anything that might protect him from this creature. “What do you want?”

“An alliance. I believe it will be good for both of us. Your new hunters won’t come after us, and I won’t go after them. I’ll send vampires to help you when I can, and you will agree to recognize the vampire king.”

“Who is the vampire king?” Matthew asked, already knowing the answer. But he didn’t want Xavier to even guess that he had a glimpse into his mind.

“Me.”

“If I openly ally myself with vampires, the White Guard will die.”

“Don’t do it openly, then. At least not yet. I’ll want someone in your inner circle of course.”

“Of course.”

“She’ll help you work towards convincing the magical population that vampires can be trusted.”

“Can you be trusted?”

“More or less,” Xavier lied. He wanted... he wanted... Matthew couldn’t quite glimpse what it was Xavier really wanted. Or maybe he simply didn’t understand it.

“So do we have a deal?” Xavier asked.

“Where’s Kaitlin?”

“You are single-minded, aren’t you?”

“And you seem resistant to letting me see her.” Matthew frowned and felt a sudden sharp pain burst across his forehead. He had just rammed headlong into a powerful spell, one he hadn’t even known was there until he butted against the roots clinging to his mind.

“You’re a strong one,” Xavier said.

Normally, yes, but now it was all Matthew could do not to gasp. Don’t show weakness. Not here. It will be fatal. “Where’s Kaitlin?” he demanded.

“She is not part of the deal.”

Matthew felt a stab of pain crash through his skull and only just managed not to double over and bury his head in his hands.

It’s a good deal. It helps you long term and it gets you out of here alive. Power. It’s all about power. You could have everything you ever wanted.

“And Kaitlin?” Matthew managed to whisper.

“She’s a threat to you, immune to your power. Immune to mine, for that matter.” She’ll destroy you. Don’t trust her.

Matthew knew he’d thought of her that way at first. It had seemed like the obvious conclusion, but things had changed. Hadn’t they? Were these his thoughts or Xavier’s? If they were his, they had such a cold, alien quality to them that he wondered if he was human himself.

You’re me, thirty years ago, Alexander had said more than once. But would Alexander make this deal? Would Alexander let an innocent woman get hurt in the process?

Yes and yes, Matthew decided, especially if he was so weak that fighting might cost him his magic.

He was dangerously close to burning out. His exertions over the past days had been bad enough, but this even more powerful foe would be the death of his magic unless he said yes.

The death of his magic would be the death of him. He couldn’t imagine a world without magic in it. A world like these past few days when he’d been weak, helpless, and utterly at the mercy of his enemies. A world in which he couldn’t protect Kaitlin.

“Come downstairs with me,” Xavier said suddenly. “I’ll get you something to drink and we can discuss this properly. Don’t worry – I have wine.”

Matthew imagined a liquor cabinet stocked with bottles of blood but quickly pushed the thought away. Now wasn’t the time to consider the sort of monster Xavier was. Now was the time to figure a way out of this mess without losing either Kaitlin or the essence of himself. Slowly, his head still throbbing with the effort of resisting Xavier’s will, he followed the ancient vampire along a hallway, down a flight of stairs, and into a den with a fully stocked liquor cabinet. Xavier poured Matthew a glass of wine, but did not pour one for himself.

Matthew did not drink.

“I can offer you more than you’re imagining right now,” Xavier said when they’d both chosen seats in matching leather armchairs. “I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that I have a hidden talent, one that no living man knows about.”

“Mind magic,” Matthew said.

“Alexander has far more mind mages than you do, even though you’ve recruited most of your extended family to join you. Alexander himself is one of the most powerful mind mages I’ve known, and I’ve been alive for more than two hundred years. But I’m stronger. How do you think I’m able to cripple so many hunters?”
“Are you suggesting that you’ll use your mind magic to help me gain followers?”

“Of course. And to keep this little alliance between the two of us a secret until the time is right. It wouldn’t do to announce it too early and lose support. No, you need to take down Alexander’s movement first. Finding the blood was a good start.”

“Kaitlin helped me find it,” Matthew said.

“Kaitlin turned out to be a more powerful weapon than I would have guessed,” Xavier said. “I underestimated her.”

“And what do you plan to do with her now?”

“Persistent, aren’t you?” Xavier asked, but his thoughts were erratic. Why her? Why not anyone else? Why not me?

“You don’t know what you did to change her,” Matthew said, remembering what Kaitlin had shown him of her conversation with Jason. “You have no idea.”

Xavier scowled. Not true, he thought. It was probably the DNA splicing potion. Just need to dissect her... Probably shouldn’t have thought that.

Matthew stared at Xavier as it dawned on him that the vampire knew he could read his mind – knew it and permitted it, perhaps as part of his ploy to convince Matthew to trust him.

“I won’t dissect her,” Xavier said smoothly, but his mind was now closed. “I need her. I need to reproduce the experiment in others, in the hunters who Alexander has twisted with the use of blood magic. Do you think your people are the only ones he’s hurt?” Now Xavier did let a bit of emotion show – his vampires. “We can work together. The future of mankind rests on your shoulders.”

“I think you need me more than I need you.”

Xavier scowled, a sound almost like a hiss, and again Matthew felt pain knife through his skull.

“Don’t be a fool,” Xavier hissed. “I’ve been alive for centuries and will live for millennia. If you refuse me, there will be others. There will always be others. You’re convenient, and you’re the best man for the job at this moment, but make no mistake. I am willing to wait another ten or twenty years for your successor if I must. I do not need you. I want you. That is all. If you value your life, you will agree.”

And Matthew knew it was true. All of it. Everything Xavier said – that he could help Matthew, that together they could overthrow Alexander and get the vampire population under control. Jason had made a counter-offer, but he himself had acknowledged that he wouldn’t be as good an ally.

Out of the corner of his eye, Matthew spotted Jason enter the den. Xavier glanced that way too, but immediately dismissed the younger vampire. Just Jason.

Jason nodded at Matthew, an unspoken reminder that Matthew had a choice here: Accept Xavier, or fight him. Fighting him might mean his life, but it would definitely mean his magic.

Not fighting him would almost definitely cost him Kaitlin.

Closing his eyes, Matthew made his choice. He found his quiet place, stared at the diamond still glowing at fractional strength, and mined it for every ounce of power he possessed. He drew it within himself – all of it – and he flung it at Xavier in one last, desperate move.

“Wh-?” Xavier managed to say before he froze.

Matthew’s eyes blinked open, even as he fought to maintain the hold on his spell, but he might not have bothered. What happened next took place so quickly that the gift of sight couldn’t help him perceive it. One second Jason was across the room, and the next second he was hovering over his sire. There was a stake protruding from Xavier’s heart.

Matthew dropped the spell, knowing it was too late for him. He was powerless, at the mercy of a vampire and his dubious word.

“Thank you,” Jason said simply. “Kaitlin’s in the car outside, waiting for you.” With that, Jason zoomed out of sight.

Chapter 32

FOUR WEEKS LATER...

Kaitlin sat on the floor in Cassie’s enormous living room, watching her son play with Cassie’s eight-month-old daughter, Anastasia. The latter was just now pulling herself into a standing position, something Jay had done by the time he was two months old, but Anastasia was already clearly saying “Mama,” something Kaitlin yearned to hear from her eighteen-month-old. It made her heart ache a bit every time the little girl spoke.

They had been having weekly playdates since Kaitlin’s return, but so far Kaitlin had only agreed on the condition that Cassie not ask any questions. Cassie respected the request, though she clearly didn’t understand and Kaitlin doubted she could ever explain. She still didn’t entirely understand what had possessed her to unburden to Matthew all those weeks ago. Maybe it had simply been that she’d expected to die and he was convenient. Maybe it had been that she hadn’t had to talk – that had helped a great deal.

In her childish fantasies she supposed it was the man himself who had broken through her defenses, drawing forth the real her in a way no other man could or would again. That was the fairy tale. That was how it worked in the romance novels she devoured by the bushel – here, suddenly, was a man who changed everything. Changed her.

But back in the real world nothing had changed. She’d driven an unconscious Matthew back to Eagle Rock, dropped him on his parents’ doorstep, gone to Cassie where she found Hideyuki, Devon, and most of all Jay, and then become herself again.

Well, almost. She hadn’t taken her old job at the diner back, and didn’t plan to. She wasn’t sure what she would do instead, but she thought she might even go to college. She and Cassie had spent most of their playdates talking about that possibility, and Kaitlin was almost ready to accept Cassie’s offer of an interest-free loan to pay for tuition. Cassie would have given her the money, Kaitlin knew, but pride wouldn’t have let her accept. This was the next best thing.

But Kaitlin still hadn’t registered and she knew what was holding her back – Matthew. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since returning and even though she’d known better than to set any hopes on him, part of her had fallen in love. It wouldn’t be the first time, but it was turning out to be the most painful rejection of her life. She had shared her true self with Matthew, given him more than she had given anyone, and accepted more in return. And okay, they had spent less than twenty-four hours together, but those had been some of the most intense twenty-four hours of her life. If that’s all it was ever going to be, couldn’t he at least tell her so in person?

Closure. That’s what she needed. And not just with Matthew. He had reopened old wounds that she knew would need time to heal properly. Years, maybe. She had the numbers of several counselors in the area but hadn’t been able to make herself call yet. First she had to talk to her mom – a conversation she had been putting off because she wanted one last assurance from Matthew that her mother would be safe.

She cringed. Thoughts of Matthew had only grown stronger as time passed, not weaker. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he had put some kind of spell on her. Two old boyfriends had flirted with her in the intervening time, but she hadn’t even felt the faintest flicker of interest, nor had she flirted back.

“What’s that look about?” Cassie asked.

Kaitlin cringed again. How could she possibly talk to Cassie about Matthew, when he had hurt Cassie so much? Would she lose her best friend if she was honest about her feelings?

“Kaitlin?” Cassie said again, more tentatively. “I know you don’t want to talk about what happened–”

“Nope.”

“All right.” Cassie sighed and leaned against the sofa.

“How are things in the White Guard?” Kaitlin asked. She’d shied away from the subject because it came too close to talking about Matthew, but after four weeks she at least wanted to hear that he was so busy he couldn’t possibly have called her.

“I’m not sure,” Cassie said.

“What do you mean? Didn’t Matthew put out the video he took of the blood?”

“Yes, and it’s getting a lot of reaction. Some are saying it’s faked of course, but a lot of people are scared.”

“You?” Kaitlin asked.

“He had my blood. He had Evan’s. He could have done anything to us...” Cassie trailed off. “It makes me doubt so many things.”

“I guess mind magic is like that.” Kaitlin hesitated, but decided that of all the things that had happened to her, this was something she could confide in her friend. “I’m immune to it, you know.”

“To what?” Cassie asked, still looking at something faraway only she could see.

“Mind magic. It can’t touch me. I see through illusions, I can’t be influenced, I can’t be coerced.”

Cassie’s eyes focused on Kaitlin and she shook her head. “I know you’ve been influenced by it before. Matthew...”

“Xavier did something to me, while I was with him and Jason.”

Cassie stared at her friend for a long time, so long that Kaitlin shifted uncomfortably and turned back to look at the two babies playing on the rug in front of the fireplace. Jay was trying to stack blocks while Anastasia half watched, half chewed on a teething ring.

“Are you sure?” Cassie asked finally. “This isn’t something Matthew told you to make you susceptible to him?”

“Wow, you really don’t trust him, do you?” Kaitlin clamped her mouth shut before she said something she would really regret. This was exactly why she hadn’t brought it up before.

“It’s just... incredible.”

Kaitlin shrugged. “Alexander’s compound is full of illusions. They use them to decorate the walls, even.”

“I know. It was common knowledge, because plenty of people took pictures and the background would look different in the photo. But it was harmless.”

“Not all the illusions were.” Kaitlin shook her head. “Anyway...I’m glad Alexander’s group is falling apart.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t?”

“No, I said people are scared. But Matthew hasn’t exactly stood up to be the new rallying point like everyone expected.”

“What’s he doing?” Kaitlin asked.

“Hiding, as far as I can tell.” Cassie scowled. “He’s been living with his father since he got back. I didn’t trust him before, and I really don’t trust him now. His brother is suggesting that he be named the new leader of the White Guard, but–”

Kaitlin jumped to her feet. “Can you watch Jay for a while?”

“What?” Cassie asked, staring blankly at her friend.

“I need to do something. Can you watch Jay for me?”

“Yes, of course. But where are you going?”

“I’ll explain when I get back.” With that, Kaitlin practically flew from the mansion.

* * *

Mayor James Blair, Matthew’s father, opened the door when Kaitlin rang the bell. Her heart was already in her throat, wondering what would come of this intrusion into Matthew’s world. Utter rejection? That’s what she expected, especially since he had made no efforts to contact her in the past month, but something wasn’t adding up. He should have taken charge of the White Guard. He should have stood victorious and rallied the magical world around him. Instead he had become a hermit in his parents’ home.

“Yes?” James asked, staring down at her like the magical giant he was. She suddenly found herself remembering that however immune she was to mind magic, she had no other powers. James did.

“I need to see Matthew.”

“He’s not seeing anyone.”

“I don’t care.” Kaitlin looked the giant right in the eyes. “I’m going to see him, one way or another.”

James continued trying to stare her down, but Kaitlin didn’t even flinch. After a minute or so, she heard a high, tinkling laugh and then saw an elegant woman come to stand behind the giant in the doorway.

“Come in,” Caroline Blair said. Kaitlin would have recognized Matthew’s mother even if she hadn’t seen the woman before – her son’s face resembled his mother’s a great deal.

“Thank you,” Kaitlin said, stepping past James, who actually looked confused.

“What just happened?” James asked.

“I think this child has come to help Matthew heal.”

“Heal?” Kaitlin asked. A strange numbness stole over her as she recalled the day she’d driven Matthew back to Eagle Rock. He’d slept the entire way, but she’d assumed he was still recovering from magical exhaustion. Had it been something more? I should have come sooner but I was too caught up in self-pity to realize he needed me.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Caroline said as if she could read her mind. Maybe she could – or at least her emotions. “I don’t think Matthew would have let you help him when he first returned. Today... maybe. We’ll see.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Kaitlin asked.

“That’s for him to say,” James said firmly. “If he’s trusting enough to tell you.”

“I would never reveal his secrets!” Kaitlin exclaimed.

James’s nostrils flared. “True. But it’s still not my secret to tell.”

Kaitlin turned to Caroline, who seemed to be the more open of the pair. “Please, has he said anything about me?”

“No, but he thinks of you often.” She turned and started down a short hallway. “This way.”

* * *

Matthew stared around his room, searching for his pajamas but not expecting to find them. In truth, he’d known his mom would tear through this room like a whirlwind while he took his first shower in... well, he tried not to think about that. But he hadn’t expected her to remove all the pajamas, even the clean ones. Well, fine. He’d pull on slacks and a shirt, but that didn’t mean he would leave the house.

He was just finishing running a brush through his hair when he heard the doorbell ring. Knowing his father would turn whoever it was away, he didn’t think much of it until a minute or so later when he felt her.

His mom was right there with her, no doubt, but he had never been able to read his mom’s mind and nothing had changed now that he was a shadow of his former self. Kaitlin, on the other hand, was an open book. She radiated fear, concern, and self-repudiation.

I should have come sooner. I was so sure he was rejecting me. Did he think I was rejecting him?

Matthew stared around the room like a caged animal. He didn’t want her in here. Okay, so his mom had finally forced him into clean clothes, but the place still had the feel of a sickroom – which it was. So, taking the initiative, he emerged from his bedroom and intercepted Kaitlin before she could get halfway down the hall.

“Matthew!” Her heart was pounding madly, and she was at a loss for what to say. Her open sympathy and concern were almost more than he could stand, but it was her self-recrimination that nearly brought him to his knees. Why did she feel responsible for him at all?

“Let’s go out on the deck,” Matthew said. He took Kaitlin’s hand to guide her through the living room before he remembered how it felt to touch this woman. The jolt of sensation was as strong as it had been the first time, and nearly as surprising.

“Can I get you two something to drink?” Caroline asked.

“No,” Matthew said.

“Just holler if you change your mind,” she said, and he could hear the smile in her words. Interfering woman. Had she somehow known?

Matthew led Kaitlin out onto the deck. It was a muggy mid-afternoon in August, with a humidity of about 100 percent. Even fresh from the shower, he felt like he needed to take another one the second he walked outside. He led Kaitlin to a table overlooking the lake and, after she took a seat, opened the umbrella to shade them both.

“You seem healthy,” Kaitlin said. Did I misunderstand? Maybe he was rejecting me. But then, why hasn’t he taken control of the White Guard?

Matthew glanced inside to see if his parents were eavesdropping, but they seemed to have given him his space. With a sigh, he turned back to Kaitlin and tried to figure out what to tell the beautiful, golden-haired angel who had haunted his dreams since he’d returned. He hadn’t wanted to tell anyone of his shame, but when he imagined telling someone, it was always her.

“Matthew?” Kaitlin asked, reaching out a hand to cover his. He allowed the contact for a moment, then withdrew his hand and ran it through his still-damp hair.

“I’m burnt out,” he said, forming the words that had become his waking nightmare. “I pushed myself too hard, pushed my magic too hard.”

“And it’s all gone?” Kaitlin gasped.

“Almost.” Matthew closed his eyes and found, within his quiet place, something like an echo of his former power. He could use it to form subtle suggestions or minor memory wipes, but true power was lost to him. For a few days he had held out hope that it might return gradually, but after weeks had passed he knew that he now possessed as much magic as he ever would.

“Matthew, I’m so sorry.” She tried to imagine what it must be like for him, but magic had never been part of her soul. He must feel like Cassie, except worse, because she never had any magic to begin with, even if she thought she should.

“Yes, I think that’s a good way of looking at it.” Matthew gazed out over the lake as a lump formed in his throat. He couldn’t lose it in front of Kaitlin. Not that she’d want to have anything to do with him now; he couldn’t protect her. He couldn’t lead a movement. He couldn’t do anything.

“You haven’t told anyone, have you?” she asked.

“Only my parents and brother. I’m trying to groom Robert to take over the White Guard, but he’s resisting and he says they are too.”

“They don’t trust it because they don’t understand it.” They don’t trust you, either. They certainly won’t trust your hand-off.

Matthew winced.

“Sorry,” Kaitlin said. “It’s hard watching what I think. I just... you can’t give up now! Not when you’re so close!”

“Give up?” Matthew stared at her. “Didn’t you hear what I said? I’m powerless. I’m finished!”

Kaitlin stared at him for a long moment, her mind blank with... surprise? “But you’re... Do you really think people were following you because of your power?”

“Yes.”

“They were afraid of you because of your power. They followed you because you stood up to lead.”

“And because I was a mind mage. Never forget that.”

“You’ve got a family full of mind mages if you need one. Your father tried to pull something over on me at the front door, and I’d bet he’s as good as you. And your brother, but he doesn’t want to lead, does he?”

“I’m talking him into it.”

“No one had to talk you into anything.”

“I’m leading a magical unification movement!” Matthew pushed his chair back and got to his feet. “I can’t do it without magic!”

Kaitlin shook her head. “No, you can’t do it without trust. The magic’s optional.”

“Yeah, well, at the moment I don’t have either.”

“I trust you.” I love you, too.

Matthew closed his eyes, hearing the echo of those words reverberate through his mind. She loved him? How could she? How could she love a shell of a man?

But she did. He went quiet for a long minute, watching himself through her eyes, hearing himself through her ears, and perceiving himself through her mind. He was... a natural born leader. He was strong and confident and even though he was hurt right now, he would bounce back. She knew he would. He was a better man than he thought he was, and he wasn’t Alexander, no matter what that foul man had said. No, Alexander would never have sacrificed himself or his magic for anything – and that truth would set them apart.

“I don’t think others will see it that way,” Matthew whispered. “I think they’ll see me as a shell.”

“Is that how you see your mom and Cassie?” Kaitlin asked.

“No, but I’ve underestimated them before.”

“And they showed you what they were made of. You’ll do the same.” And then I’ll lose you because you’ll realize you’re too good for me.

Never, Matthew thought. He might not understand what Kaitlin loved about him, but he would not be the fool who let her go. Somehow, someway, however he managed to get through this, he would do it with her by his side.

“I need some time to think,” Matthew said.

Kaitlin nodded and stood. “All right. You’ve got until tomorrow night.”

“What?”

“Tomorrow night, when you call an emergency meeting of your inner circle to tell them the whole truth.”

Matthew’s heart sank. Tomorrow would probably be the end of his ambitions, but Kaitlin was right. He couldn’t hide forever. He wanted to share her hope that trust was more important than power, but he wasn’t sure he believed it, nor was he sure he could gain anyone’s trust. He only knew one thing: “You’ll be there, by my side.”

“Of course.”

* * *

Kaitlin was still processing her meeting with Matthew when she returned to Cassie’s house. Jay and Anastasia were both asleep in a corner of the living room, so the women quietly retreated to the den. Evan and Scott were there, apparently having a heated discussion because they suddenly stopped when the women entered.

Kaitlin looked at the two men, one her best friend’s husband, the other engaged to her good friend Madison. These were powerful people, men of action, yet neither of them had sacrificed the way Matthew had. Ultimately, Evan still had all the magic that should have been Cassie’s, and even though Kaitlin was sure Cassie had given it up willingly, out of love, she also understood why Matthew found the situation hypocritical.

“What’s going on?” Cassie asked.

“There’s a White Guard meeting tomorrow,” Evan replied. “Scott and I just got called in. Matthew’s finally coming out of hiding.”

“What were you fighting about?” Cassie asked.

The two men looked away from each other. Finally, Evan answered, “I’m ready to call it quits. Scott thinks I should give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“You should,” Kaitlin said without thinking. All eyes moved to her, something she should have anticipated, but she knew she’d said the right thing. It suddenly struck her that if Matthew were to succeed tomorrow night, he needed support now. And she could give it to him. She hoped.

“What do you know?” Evan asked.

“A lot more than you do,” Kaitlin snapped.

“There’s no need to get angry,” Evan said.

“Isn’t there? You’ve been working with him for two years but have never trusted him.”

“I can’t imagine why that would be,” Evan said sarcastically, glancing at his wife.

“Yeah, he crossed a line. You’ve either got to forgive him for that or stop stringing him along.”

“Do I?” Evan rose to his full 6 foot 2 inch height and looked down at Kaitlin in a way he had never done before.

“He’s not the only one who’s crossed a line,” Kaitlin said defiantly, looking between Evan and Cassie. “You did some underhanded things when you courted her, but she forgave you. Why? Because she loved you, and she wanted to move on.”

“She’s right,” Scott said. “If you don’t, this whole movement fails and Alexander wins by default.”

“I think he’s messed with her mind,” Evan said.

“He hasn’t,” Kaitlin said.

“How can you be so sure?”

“She said she’s immune to mind magic,” Cassie came to stand right behind Kaitlin, wordlessly showing her support.

Scott’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then he nodded almost imperceptibly. “That explains a lot.”

“You believe her?” Evan asked. “Maybe he just convinced her it’s true so she won’t try to fight him.”

“It’s pretty easy to confirm it,” Scott said. “I’m an illusionist, remember?”

The next instant Cassie and Evan had both jumped back from something Kaitlin couldn’t see. Their reaction was momentary, but real.

“What was that?” Kaitlin asked.

“For a second it looked like Scott was transforming into a werewolf,” Evan said, his arms raised in a fighting stance. “Don’t do that again, okay?”

“I think you’re missing the point. She didn’t see it.”

Everyone’s eyes were on Kaitlin now.

“Matthew tried to influence me, but he couldn’t,” Kaitlin said.

“How does this make him any different from Alexander?” Evan asked, slowly lowering his arms.

“I’m glad he couldn’t, but the point is that he tried.”

“No, the point is that Matthew sacrificed everything for you and you still don’t even know it!”

They all stared at one another for a long moment before Scott broke the silence. “Then tell us.”

Chapter 33

CASSIE WENT FOR A RUN AFTER her talk with Kaitlin, needing to stretch her legs and think. Too bad it wasn’t raining. Rain made everything clearer – or wetter, which made clear less important. She recalled running in the rain the last time her world had been turned upside down, the day she’d learned what had happened to the magic that should have been hers. She’d almost gotten kidnapped by blood mages, had the worst fight of her life with Evan (who had been a jerk that night), and nearly slept with Matthew.

Okay, no rain. At least the sun was setting. Darkness could suit her mood too.

Had she been wrong about Matthew, or had he changed? Or both? She believed Kaitlin; her friend might not have the best taste in men but she wasn’t stupid. It was more that she didn’t think she was good enough for a good man. Maybe one day Kaitlin would tell her why that was, but in the meantime Cassie could tell that something had changed in her best friend. She’d come back stronger. More confident. And as for Matthew, she’d taken him under her protection. Kaitlin had only ever done that for friends, never for boyfriends or lovers. Which made Matthew something new.

Cassie nearly screamed when she felt a presence zoom up to her side so quickly that it stirred up the very wind around her. She skidded to a halt, turning to see Jason standing casually against a nearby tree. Jason – not the man but the vampire. Her heart pounding in her chest, she wondered what he wanted. What he would do. The last time she’d seen him he had saved her life – or at least spared it.

“Hello, Cassie,” Jason said. It was still his voice.

“What are you doing here?”

“Making plans with Hideyuki to bring the hunters into a new organization under the umbrella of the White Guard. Or at least, that was the plan. Before your leader checked out.”

Checked out. Burned out, according to Kaitlin. Cassie didn’t say so aloud, though. She wasn’t sure how far she could trust this creature.

“I’m not going to bite you,” Jason said. He smiled. “Although you do smell good.”

Cassie shuddered. “Is there any part of Jason left?”

“I don’t know.” It sounded like blunt honesty, which surprised her. “Maybe some. There’s a part of me that wants to see Jay again. Spend time with him, even before he grows up.”

“Kaitlin said you promised to stay away.”

“I did. But maybe I can change her mind. After all, I’ll be working with Matthew. I’ll be... around.”

Cassie wasn’t sure if he’d be working with Matthew or not. So far, Matthew hadn’t come out of hiding, not even when people started questioning the evidence he’d presented of Alexander’s blood magic.

Burned out. Cassie shuddered again. She’d never had magic, never knew what it was like. Not having it had always felt like a huge loss because of the people around her. But what if she’d had it and then lost it? That would be worse. Much, much worse. It was why she hadn’t let Evan return her magic, in the end. She no longer felt like she needed it; she had learned there was more to life – more to her – than magic.

Would Matthew? Would he learn that he, too, had skills above and beyond magic? Skills like leadership, political savvy, and even compassion.

“What’s wrong with Matthew?” Jason asked. “Hideyuki won’t say. But he hasn’t left his parents’ house.”

“That’s for him to say. But I think... maybe he’ll be better soon.”

Jason frowned. “He’s hurt, isn’t he? I figured he got a concussion in the plane crash; those can take months to heal from.”

“That’s true.” Cassie hadn’t considered it, honestly. She didn’t know a thing about concussions, but maybe Jason was right. And maybe, in a few months, Matthew would even get part of his magic back. But either way, he needed to start living now, and he needed to learn that magic wasn’t the only skill worth having.

And if anyone could help him learn that lesson, it was Cassie.

Chapter 34

WHEN MATTHEW ENTERED HIS LIVING ROOM for the White Guard meeting, he wasn’t sure what to expect. That was unusual, since he normally took control of the meetings and guided them to suit his purposes, but he would be less able to do that from now on. Assuming there was anything left of his fledgling organization after tonight.

Everyone was already there, drinks and snacks in hand, when he emerged from a back room. There were his parents, of course, and his brother Robert, who might become the default leader after tonight. There was Clark and Linda Eagle, the old couple seated together and holding hands as if they were still twenty years old. There was Scott Lee and with him his fiancée, Madison, who had never come to a meeting before and looked out of place. Then there was Evan, his gaze somehow less hostile than usual, his wife seated beside him instead of joining via speaker phone or Skype.

But even seeing Cassie there didn’t divert him from seeking out his one source of power and confidence in this room – Kaitlin, standing at the back of the room, too far away for him to read her thoughts.

The thoughts he could pick up on were mostly concerned with blood magic and defeating Alexander. That wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was that no one wondered about his lengthy absence.

“Thanks for coming, everyone,” Matthew began.

“It was about time you called another meeting,” Clark said, squeezing his wife’s hand. “Blood magic, huh? You put the word out, then shut up about it. You’ve riled people then stepped aside.”

“I know, and I’m sorry,” Matthew said. “I’ve been trying to convince Robert to take over, and I’m sure you’ll all agree after you hear–”

“Why would we want Robert?” Cassie asked. “He’s not the one who sacrificed himself, putting his life and magic on the line, to get the truth out.”

Matthew froze. She knew. In fact, looking around, he could see that everyone knew. He lifted his eyes to meet Kaitlin’s gaze. She met him, stare for stare, not apologizing or backing down. In fact, she stepped forward, into telepathic range. Yes, I told them. Everything. And they don’t just still want you, they truly want you.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for a month, bro,” Robert said. “I’m not the guiding force here, you are.”

“I burnt out,” Matthew said.

“I suggest that we try to keep that information within the inner circle,” Caroline said. “It’s important that we know, but it might help overall confidence in our organization if it’s not common knowledge.”

“I agree,” Linda Eagle said.

“Me too,” Evan said. He looked Matthew straight in the eyes. “We need you. No one else here can do what you do. If all you need is magic, I think we can support you.”

Matthew studied Evan for a moment, still wishing he knew what was in the other man’s mind. He still had a sample of his blood, nestled away in his lab where no one knew it existed. He hadn’t thought of it much since he’d lost his magic, and doubted it was important any longer. Now, suddenly, he felt ashamed that he had it at all; he made a quick promise to destroy it the first chance he got. A promise he reaffirmed with Evan’s next words.

“I think it’s time to forget the past,” Evan said. “We’ve got a future to build together. Alexander’s losing control, partly because people are afraid and partly, I suspect, because his blood supply is gone and he can’t enforce calm. So what’s next?”

Matthew had ideas. Lots of ideas. He had shared them with Robert, thinking his younger brother would take them and run with them, but instead he shared them himself. The others asked questions, made suggestions, and would be an integral part of implementation, but they looked to him as a leader.

They talked for five hours, the longest meeting on record, and then they agreed to reconvene the next morning. They had a lot of work ahead, and there was no time for delay.

Matthew said good night to everyone near midnight, still feeling a little dazed. His mother was the last to leave. She kissed him on the cheek and whispered, “Don’t let that one go,” before slipping into the night.

That’s when Matthew realized Kaitlin was still there. She wrung her hands nervously, but she stayed put. Matthew closed the door, his heart swelling at the sight of her there, in his home, of her own free will.

She loved him. He knew it for a fact. And he would never be able to doubt it. His mother had been right: he did need a woman he couldn’t coerce.

“I see you moved back into your own home,” Kaitlin said nervously.

“Mom kicked me out after you left yesterday. You were busy.”

Her face went red but she still looked him in the eyes defiantly. I had to tell them the truth.

“I’m not mad,” Matthew said. “Surprised by how well it went, but not mad. Never mad.”

“Oh.”

He stepped closer, feeling her pounding heart echo his own. “You just got one thing wrong.”

“What’s that?” Kaitlin asked.

“In the end, I didn’t sacrifice my magic for the cause.”

“You didn’t?”

He shook his head. “I think I would have recovered from the exhaustion of the escape. It was my confrontation with Xavier that tipped me over the edge. Honestly, I could have used him, but he was going to kill you, and I just couldn’t let that happen.”

Kaitlin’s eyes looked like twin saucers as she stared at him in utter disbelief. “Why?” I’m not worth that.

“I don’t regret it,” Matthew said.

“Yes, you do. You didn’t come out of your parents’ house for a month!”

“I was depressed. I still am. This is going to take some time and I’m not perfect, but not for one single second have I thought that I should have made the other choice.”

“Oh.”

Kaitlin’s eyes started welling with tears. Matthew drew her into his arms and crushed her against his body, needing the feel of her against him.

“I love you,” Matthew said.

“You do?”

“Yes, I do. And I know you love me too, flaws and all.”

“I’m a mess,” Kaitlin said. “I really am. Oh I want this to be perfect and romantic but...” I’m not ready for forever yet.

“It is perfect and romantic.” Matthew drew her away and brushed a tear from her face. “I don’t plan to let you go, Kaitlin. If you’re not ready for a ring yet, then we’ll wait until you are. But I’m going to be there by your side.”

“Me too.”

Matthew leaned down and brushed a kiss against her lips. “Where’s Jay?” he asked.

“With Hideyuki. He mentioned that he’d be willing to keep him all night if I needed him to.” She looked up at him. “Will I need him to?”

“Definitely.” Matthew took her hand and guided her down the hallway to the master bedroom where he planned to spend the entire night thanking God for bringing her into his life. He had never expected someone like Kaitlin to be a part of his future, but now that he truly knew her, he never planned to let her go.

THE END

About the author

Christine Amsden has been writing science fiction and fantasy for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that affects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.

Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children, Drake and Celeste.

http://www.christineamsden.com/

Cassie Scot Mystery series

Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective Book 1

Secrets and Lies Book 2

Mind Games Book 3

Stolen Dreams Book 4

Other novels by Christine

Kaitin’s Tale

Madison’s Song

The Immortality Virus (SF suspense)

Touch of Fate (paranormal suspense)