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  “Twenty-four.”

  “Twenty-four,” Alexander repeats. “They cast a spell to make each of them strong enough to kill all vampires, elders included. Reaper was the name vampires gave for them because when they met a reaper, they surely met their end.”

  “But Sebastian said that hunters were eradicated, so that doesn’t hold true,” I say.

  He sighs. “One on one, sure, the vampires would fall, but the elders came together to kill each and every one of the reapers. Hunters were strong and resourceful, but even they didn’t stand a chance against an elder army.”

  “But they missed one?”

  Sebastian cuts into his steak and forks a bite. He chews and swallows. “Apparently.” But he doesn’t sound convinced and with good reason because here I sit.

  “Well, I’m thoroughly confused. If I was made to kill vampires, why would you want to keep me alive?”

  Alexander narrows his eyes at me. “You can thank my brother for that one. We’re safer with you dead, decapitated, and buried.”

  I gulp loudly as I meet Sebastian’s eyes. He holds them for longer than it’s comfortable. The same vulnerability I saw in his eyes when he saw my blood results is back. How I’d like to know what he’s thinking. Alexander clearly thinks they should kill me, and I’m alive because Sebastian doesn’t. I need to know why. When I pose the question, neither wants to be the one to answer. “This is what I’m here for, right? You might as well tell me. You’ll have to eventually.” I wait with a raised eyebrow, willing him to get to his point before I die of old age.

  “We want you to kill a vampire.”

  I scrunch my face up, confused.

  “You can’t kill one yourself? Is that a vampire rule or something?”

  “If it was a made vampire, I would have done it already,” Sebastian says. “Emily, we need you to kill an elder. And unfortunately, no made vampire is strong enough to kill one. Not even us.”

  They want me to kill an elder vampire, one they aren’t strong enough to kill themselves? Are they crazy? “I don’t care what the blood test says. There is no way I could kill an elder when I can’t even fight one of you.”

  “Well, that remains to be seen,” Sebastian says.

  “Or not.” Alexander forks another piece of steak. “All you have to do is get him to drink your blood. It’s hardly a test of strength or endurance. Even one as unimpressive as you could manage that.”

  It takes all the energy I have not to flash him a middle finger as I frown at his model-like face. He’d probably bite it off. But that isn’t what stops me. In this moment, I finally feel a shifting of power. If they want to kill an elder bad enough to use me—a reaper—to do it, they must want this elder dead very, very badly. It doesn’t matter to me why. All that matters is what they’re willing to give up in exchange for my help.

  “And what do I get in return?” I sound a hair braver than I feel.

  While Alexander rolls his eyes, Sebastian speaks up, “What do you want?”

  But I think they already know. “I kill this elder, then I want my sister and me to go free. And you never look for me again.”

  Sebastian’s lips twitch at the corners.

  “Consider it done,” Alexander says.

  “But on one condition,” Sebastian adds.

  I eye him suspiciously, and surprisingly, so does his brother.

  “You and I will kill him together. You’re going to need all the help you can get if anything goes wrong. Your sister will be released only after he is killed. She doesn’t strike me as the kind of girl to go quietly while you remain here.”

  I should give him an emphatic hell, no. They can’t keep my sister here for God knows how long while we track and kill a vampire, but I can’t deny he has a point. Staying here will keep her safe, and I also can’t deny that they know more about me and about vampires than I do. As much as I hate to admit it, their knowledge will give me an edge. I could demand we all work together, my sister included, but I already know she’s not like me. Plus, they’re my only hope of ever finding out who I really am and maybe, with their help, I can finally find my blood family.

  When I offer a small nod, Sebastian and Alexander share a look of surprise.

  “I want your word.” Whatever that’s worth. “And make sure she’s treated well and isn’t kept chained in a dungeon somewhere.”

  “Done,” Sebastian says without hesitation.

  “And I want to see her. Now.”

  “As you wish. And when you see her, how about telling her to be nice? A vampire’s patience is only so thick.”

  5

  I barely ate my dinner. I picked at a roll and sipped a little wine, but other than that, my plate sat untouched. Now, my stomach growls as I stand face to face with Sebastian in the foyer. He regards me with such intensity it’s hard to look back at him. Does he look at everyone this way? Or is this just the effect of his pale blue vampire eyes? He holds a black blindfold in his hands.

  “I thought we were going to trust one another?” I keep my tone soft and pleasant.

  He holds it up and covers my eyes, his fingers brushing against my temples. I shy away, my shoulders rounding. Though he pauses a moment, he returns to his task without apology. He ties the knot at the back of my head tightly enough to stop it from slipping and loose enough not to give me a headache. I doubt he’s skilled in treating others gently, so I appreciate the effort.

  “Since your goal in life is supposed to involve killing vampires like myself, I have to take certain precautions. I’m taking you to see your sister, but I need to be sure you can’t just wander around and find her on your own. I need her to keep you honest.”

  “Really? We’re going to see her?” I can’t hide my excitement. Wait until she finds out that I’m a reaper! And a witch! I’ve always dreamed about jumping into books and living through the characters and now I find out my real life might be just as fantastical!

  He releases his hand from the knot at the back of my head, and his palms slide down the sides of my hair, his thumbs lightly moving along my cheeks. It feels intimate and makes me uncomfortable. Behind the cloth blindfold, I can’t read his expression, and it makes me feel even more vulnerable. I hunch my shoulders and step back. I don’t like the dark, and I hate it more when a vampire is in front of me, and I can’t see what he’s doing.

  He chuckles lightly.

  “Please take it off. I’ve given you my word. I swear I’ll keep it. What better way for us to prove our trust to each other? You want a test? Let me prove I can be trusted.”

  Something creaks behind me, and I spin around, my heart rate racing, my breathing accelerating.

  “You’re afraid?” he says quietly.

  “Yes.” I don’t care if he knows it. Always the dark—it’s my greatest weakness, and I don’t like it, not even if it’s simulated.

  He heaves a sigh, and the floorboards creak in front of me as I feel him close the distance between us. I uncurl my fingers and put my hands up, feeling for him until my fingertips reach the hard lines of his chest. His cotton T-shirt is baby soft under my fingers. “What are you doing?” I startle as he takes a step closer and feel his arms on either side of my neck.

  His breath ruffles the fine hairs around my face. “Relax,” he says softly. His arms brush over my hair as his hands find their way back to the knot. The blindfold falls down from my eyes to collect around my neck.

  As I reach up to grip the black cloth, he backs away from me. When we’re a few feet apart, he turns and continues to the oversized wooden front door. He unlocks and leaves it open after he walks through it, leaving me to watch him, dumbfounded.

  What just happened? He had a plan, and he seemed committed for a total of maybe five seconds. Did he decide against it because of my trust argument or because I was frightened? He doesn’t strike me as a guy who bends easily. I have no idea how to respond to him. He surprised me—in a good way. I can’t say men do that to me very often. People are often exactly what the
y seem. And yet, with Sebastian, I don’t think I’ve scratched the surface.

  “Change your mind?” he calls to me from the outside.

  I hurry to follow him. Outside, I finally get a view of the mansion, and I stare up at it in amazement at stone walls, a tin roof, and a single circular column on the end like a castle. It’s three stories tall.

  “Wow.” I stumble on the stairs because I can’t look away.

  “It’s a bitch to heat.”

  “Aren’t you…cold blooded?”

  “Like a snake,” he says with a hiss. He smirks at me as he opens the passenger door of an expensive black SUV. “But we have to keep the servants warm.” He winks at me as I climb inside. By the time I have my belt buckled, he has dashed to the other side of the car, climbed in, and started the car.

  No matter how many times I see vampires move with purpose, their graceful speed is no less impressive. We pull away, heading down the long driveway flanked with overhanging trees filled with pink and white buds. I watch him from the corner of my eye, the darkness lit only by the red, blue, and white lights of the dash. He refuses to look my way, and we drive in silence for another ten minutes, down a narrow road—no buildings or stores, nothing but trees.

  “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” I say. If he catches the reference, he doesn’t comment. He leans over my body and brushes his hand against my knee. I startle. The hairs on my entire body stand on end, and tingles consume me. He presses a button on the glove compartment and removes a phone—my phone. He hands it to me. I stare at it, shocked yet again.

  “We’re on Birch Island.”

  “Birch Island?” I say with a gasp. We’re hours from home. “Why would you bring me here? I mean, besides the obvious.” They live here. “Why couldn’t you just tell me what you wanted at my house?”

  “After you rattled my head with a frying pain, I assumed it was no longer an option. I had planned on telling you the truth and asking you to come willingly. All of this could have been avoided.”

  I call bullshit. He trusts me about as much as I trust him, and there is no way he would have spilled his guts to me before finding out what I am and what I could do. “When a vampire shows up in your home after you watched one kill an innocent girl before another one vomited blood in your general direction, a girl has to keep her guard up. Don’t you think?”

  “I suppose you have a point.” He points to the phone. “Once you see her, you may call her whenever you like.”

  I hold the phone tighter in my hands and clasp it to my chest. “Thank you, Sebastian.”

  He clears his throat and shrugs.

  “This man you want me to kill, you said he’s Alexander’s master. Is he yours too?”

  “No.”

  When he doesn’t elaborate, I feel the need to continue. I need to know why. If his motives are strong enough, it will help me determine just how committed he is to this and to keeping his word. Sure, he seems agreeable now—but what about after the vampire is dead? If I’m able to kill an elder, why wouldn’t he assume I could and would kill him and his brother?

  “What does it mean to have a master?”

  He considers before answering. “Because it takes vampire blood to make one, made vampires will always have their master’s blood inside of them. It gives them an almost…mental connection to their children. It also means they are able to influence their actions. It takes an enormous amount of strength to go against one’s master’s wishes. You feel a desire to please them and obey them, whether or not what they want is good for you.”

  “That’s why you want him dead? So Alexander can have his free will back?”

  He nods solemnly.

  “If this elder isn’t your master, do you want me to kill yours too?”

  “No.”

  “Why? Don’t you want to be free?”

  He glances at me briefly but doesn’t answer. I don’t push it. I don’t need to push for another vampire to kill. One will be hard enough.

  “Is there no way to break your…connection to a master? I mean, other than killing them?”

  “No. It’s forever. Some masters don’t force their will on others, but that isn’t the case with the one we’re asking you to kill.”

  “Is freeing your brother the only reason you want this vampire dead?”

  He turns down a dirt road, and the car rocks back and forth as we pass over both subtle and deep potholes. I reach up and hold onto the handle above the door to steady myself.

  “My reasons are my own.”

  His tone is firm and unyielding, and I instinctively know no amount of questioning will get him to answer. Though I want more, I let it go—for now.

  “Does your master make you do things you don’t want to do?”

  He frowns at me. His eyes are almost shimmery in the semi-darkness. “You ask a lot of questions.”

  “The more answers I have, the easier it will be for me to do my job.”

  He scoffs at me and lets out a low chuckle. “Agreed. But only if you ask the right questions.”

  “What are the right questions?”

  He sighs in frustration though the curl of his lips suggests another emotion entirely.

  We approach a wide metal structure with a door. It angles at the back as if it descends into the ground. Behind it lies a dense forest of tall evergreens. He pulls to a stop in front of the door and gets out. I unbuckle my seatbelt but sit another moment, suspiciously eyeing the door. Then I take a breath and follow him. In the distance, loons call, and there is the quiet rush and trickle of a nearby stream. I can almost smell the fresh water as it clings to the moist air.

  The door is chained closed with a rusty padlock bigger than my fist. He unlocks it and lets the chain hang while he opens it up. A small light by the door automatically flickers on, and a narrow corridor fans out in front of us though it bleeds into darkness as the tunnel continues. I bite my lip.

  “There are more lights inside. They’re on sensors.”

  I shrug my shoulders, not willing to admit to my fear, though I’m not fooling anyone, least of all, him. He stakes a step over the lip below the door, and I do, too. Once inside, he latches the door and padlocks it shut. A shiver overcomes me. I don’t like this place, and I don’t like being locked in here with a vampire, but if this leads me to my sister, I’ll follow him to the center of the Earth.

  “What is this place?” I glance at the cobwebs on the ceiling.

  “It was a mine at one point. It’s been converted into a sort of…bomb shelter.”

  “Even vampires can’t survive a nuclear holocaust?”

  He grins. “I’m not sure. Never been through one.”

  After a half mile of walking with nothing around us but concrete, we reach another door, and this one opens with a lever. I wait for him to open it, but instead, he rests a hand on my shoulder, and I glare up at him.

  “When we get inside, don’t go spilling your guts to your sister. The vampire inside will hear everything. Although he’s in Alexander’s bloodline, we need to limit what he knows. The fewer people who know about you, the better, understood?”

  I give him a stiff nod. “Trusting fewer vampires isn’t going to be a problem for me.”

  His hand is still on my shoulder. I shrug it off.

  He opens the door, and I step over the lip at the bottom to go inside. The inside of the bunker is much better than I’d imagined. It’s set up like a cabin or a small house with a kitchenette, a sofa and a chair, and a television and bed. No coffin. There are three doors, one on each wall, two regular wooden ones and another one made of solid metal with a small, circular peephole. The second I spy that door, I know Kara is behind it, and I can’t get to her fast enough. I sprint across the open space, but a few feet before I reach it, a man walks out of the door to the right of the room. He races over to me, moving so fast he’s a blur, and I don’t see his clear image until he stands in front of me to block my path. I slam into him, unable to stop quickly or weave arou
nd him. As I bounce back and fall on my ass, Sebastian materializes in front of me and grips the man by the throat before hurling him through the air to smash into the concrete wall on the other side of the room. Air whooshes from his lungs as he falls to the floor. He shakes off the collision and backflips to his feet before crouching. He scowls at me as a bleeding wound on the side of his head seals while I watch with my mouth agape.

  “That’s enough, Michael. She’s a friend.”

  “She’s the spitting image of the she-devil.”

  I glance at Sebastian.

  “He means your sister.”

  I frown at both of them. She-devil? My sister?

  Sebastian tries hard to hide his amusement as he says to the other vampire, “This one is nice.”

  “I find that very hard to believe, mate.”

  I brush the dust off my pants and push myself up from the floor. After heaving a deep breath and rubbing my sore ass, I hold out my hand to the vampire. “I’m Emily.”

  He stares at my hand as he straightens and saunters over to us. When he’s within reach, he still refuses my hand. “She your blood?” He nods to the metal door. “That nasty piece of work in there?”

  “That’s not very nice. She’s really sweet.”

  “That’s shite. She’s the devil incarnate.”

  “May I see her?” I need to be sure it’s really her. Whoever this vampire is describing doesn’t sound a bit like my sister.

  Sebastian nods to his friend. The guy tosses him the keys. “I’m going out for a bite. I’ll be back in a few. Try not to get yourself killed,” Michael says.

  “I’ll try my best.” Sebastian fights a grin.

  He leaves through the circular door while I rush to my sister. “Hurry!” I demand, and Sebastian is at my side, unlocking the door in record time. But he holds his hand on the door and captures my attention before swinging it open. “Give her some warning. She’ll likely spring at you the second the door is open. She tried to gouge Michael’s eyes out with a nail earlier. If I didn’t see the test results from your blood work, I would have put money on her being the hunter, not you.”