Sarah and Nikolas locked glares, and he took a step toward her.
Nissa stepped between Nikolas and Sarah.
Kristin vaulted across the room and fell at Nikolas’s feet.
Nikolas’s attention snapped away from Sarah as he pulled Kristin up, looking at her quizzically. Sarah could see recognition in his eyes.
“Christine,” he recalled aloud.
The girl did not argue the name, but instead nodded, leaning against him. Nikolas tensed for a moment, and then put a comforting arm around her, looking over her to where Robert was standing.
“You’re the brother?” Robert nodded. “I sent Christine home. What happened to her?”
Robert opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. “I thought . . .”
“She told us what happened up until you sent her off,” Sarah said. “Then she broke down, hysterical. Nissa said Kaleo did this.”Since when did Nikolas turn into a cuddly sweetheart?Sarah wondered cynically, seeing the tenderness with which Nikolas held Kristin.
Nikolas’s eyes narrowed. “It would be like him.” He looked around the room, taking in the lack of color, perhaps seeing even more in it than Sarah had. “This isn’t his, though . . . Kaleo likes color, especially red.”
Kristin shivered, and put her head down on Nikolas’s chest, crying.
“She can’t stand color anymore,” Robert explained, watching his sister in Nikolas’s gentle embrace. “She screams at anything red.”
Nikolas nodded, and then returned his attention to Kristin, lifting her face.
“What happened after I sent you away, Christine?”
She shook her head violently. “No, no—”
“Christine, look at me!” Nikolas ordered. He put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to meet his gaze. Sarah heard the echo of his voice in her own mind, and she could tell that Nikolas was forcing his words into Kristin’s mind as he spoke aloud.“You’re . . . safe, Christine. No one is going to hurt you. Calm down.”
Kristin relaxed a bit as his mind reached into hers, speaking his words directly to her thoughts.
“Now tell me what happened.”
“No, I—” She broke off, finally looking away from his black eyes. “You sent me away, and he took me outside . . . he said you didn’t care what happened to me . . .”
“Go on.”
“And he . . . he bit me, but it wasn’t like when you bit me, it hurt . . .” She moaned. “I tried to push him away but it just hurt more . . .”
She collapsed back into sobs and he put his arms around her, comforting. He ran his fingers through her hair, and Sarah saw him hesitate when he noticed the dye.
“Go on, Christine. He isn’t here; it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“I think I blacked out, and when I woke up I was in a hospital, and people were asking me questions, about you. That’s all they cared about. The police thought you had hurt me, and I told them no, you tried to send me home, but no one would believe me. And they had an IV in me, and the blood was so red . . .”
She was babbling now, but Nikolas simply held her, looking over her shoulder as if he couldn’t stand to see the mess she had become.
“Christine,” he said, looking her in the eye. “It’s over now—”
“No!”She screamed it. “They keep telling me it’s over . . . that there’s nothing to be afraid of, that . . . but it isn’t . . . it isn’t . . .”
Now she did collapse, and Nikolas caught her easily. He whispered into her ear and she moaned in unconsciousness. Suddenly his eyes narrowed as he found something in her mind he didn’t like.
“I’ll kill him, Christine,” he said softly, speaking to the unconscious girl. “I wasn’t strong enough to protect Father, but for this, Kaleo is dead.” Looking up, he spoke to Robert. “I’m taking her with me.”
“Like hell you are!”Robert started to lunge at Nikolas, but Nikolas pulled his knife from his pocket and snapped it open, tilting it toward Robert.
“You don’t understand, boy. Kaleo has been feeding on her—not just once, but ever since he found her,” Nikolas snapped. “And he has blood bonded her to himself, which means he has complete control over her mind. I’m taking her someplace safe until I can stop him. Then, if she wants to return, I’ll bring her back.”
“Like I would believe you.”
“I never lie,” Nikolas answered, and Robert glared at him. “Normally, the humans invited to our circuit are loners—they don’t have anyone to miss them, or anyone to miss. Christine should never have been invited in the first place. Once I am satisfied she is safe, I will let her come home. I would not take her away from her brother.”
Robert was unconvinced. “Let go of my sister.”
“I was asked to help her—do you really want me to leave her here until Kaleo drives her completely insane?” Robert took a step back, but his glare didn’t soften. Nikolas sighed. “Did she ever once say I hurt her?”
“You knifed her!” Robert shouted.
“I marked her. That should have protected her from Kaleo. But I told him I didn’t care what happened to her, so long as she got home. Did she ever say I hurt her?”
“What are you trying to prove?” Robert demanded.
“I do not torture my prey the way Kaleo does.” Sarah smirked, and Nikolas commented, “As I recall, Sarah, you were trying to kill me. You’re a Daughter of Vida, and you broke into my home. I would hardly consider you prey.”
“You don’t torture your prey,” Sarah challenged. “You just kill them.”
Nikolas shrugged, acknowledging the truth. “Yes, I kill. I have no reason to deny that fact.” Turning to Robert, he said, “But I will not kill Christine.” He whispered something else, and Sarah thought she might have heard him say“Again.”
“Just for the record, what happens once you’re satisfied she’s safe?” Sarah asked.
Nikolas looked up and then tossed something in her direction. She caught it instinctively, and Nikolas disappeared, taking Kristin with him.
CHAPTER 25
SARAH CAUGHT NISSA’S ARM before the other girl could disappear, and herded her into another room.
“What is he up to?” she demanded instantly.
Nissa looked startled. “What?”
“Nikolas is a self-admitted killer. Suddenly he’s all heart.”
Nissa shook her head slowly. “Nikolas is . . . Nikolas,” she answered vaguely. “His marks make him more blatant among vampire hunters, but he isn’t even as bad as most of my kind.” She sighed. “You see him only as a killer, the same way he sees you only as a threat to himself and Christopher. Nikolas has rules of his own, and he would never torment an innocent girl like Christine.
“Nikolas sees you as his enemy because you threatened someone he cares about.” Nissa sighed, grasping for the words. “But Christine is someone he has chosen to defend. Nikolas is a harsh enemy, but much of that is because he is a fierce protector.”
Sarah shook her head, not understanding. “So he chooses to protect Christine . . . but at the next bash, or probably even tonight when he hunts, he will kill some other girl who might as well be her.”
Nissa looked heavenward as if for assistance, which was not forthcoming. “You know my brothers used to hunt together. They had—and Nikolas still has—scores of admirers, all of whom were completely safe. They were more than willing to donate blood, and beyond them, people would come to my brothers who wanted to die. I will never understand how my brothers’ minds work, but they aren’t . . . evil. They could never be that.”
Robert entered the room and Sarah jumped at the sudden intrusion.
He turned to Nissa. “Is my sister going to be safe with this guy?” he demanded.
Nissa nodded. “With Nikolas is probably the safest place she could ever be.”
Robert nodded sharply. Then he groaned, and leaned back against the wall. “What the hell am I going to tell my parents?” He turned back to Nissa. “Never mind. I don’t care about my parents. Thank y
ou. Tell Nikolas that too. I just want my sister to get better.”
Nissa smiled faintly. “I’ll tell him, the next time I see him.”
She disappeared, and Sarah finally relaxed. Remembering the note she was still holding, she quickly skimmed over the words.
Cold as winter, strong as stone;
She faced the darkness all alone.
A silver goddess; a reflection.
A mirage; a recollection.
No return; no turning back.
The past is gone, the future, black.
Serpents gather in their nest,
And she stands above the rest.
Shadows hunt; she hunts the shadow.
The moon is risen; she stands below.
She views her world through the eyes of others.
Black and white; there are no colors,
As she looks down upon a shattered youth.
A shattered mirror shows a shattered truth.
The poem reminded her of the notes Christopher sent to her.
On the back of the paper was a drawing of Nikolas, standing back to back with Christopher . . . or a reflection of himself. At the bottom of the paper were three words, written in black ink:Midnight; my house.
“I don’t think so,” she whispered.
Robert looked over at her shoulder and read the message. “You going?”
“I already gave him a free shot at me. I’m not really suicidal,” she answered absently.
“Huh?”
“He said he would help your sister,” Sarah snapped. “That doesn’t mean he’s suddenly a good guy. He isn’t particularly fond of me, and if I go there, he will try to kill me.”
“He didn’t act like he wanted to kill you,” Robert pointed out. “And what’s this poetry about—”
“Robert, give it up!”
“I think you’re misunderstanding something—”
“Robert, I’m a vampire hunter. Nikolas is a vampire. He has a million and one reasons to kill me and not one to let me live. Don’t let poetry and a moment of kindness on his part fool you. Nikolas has only one way of dealing with things, and that’s by killing. You heard it when he was talking about Kaleo.”
“The guy who did that to my sister deserves to die,” Robert growled. “I’d kill him too.”
“I’ll deal with Kaleo later. The only one on my hit list right now is Nikolas.”
“No,” Robert said.
“What?”
“No,” he repeated. “If you kill Nikolas, what’s going to happen to Christine?” he demanded. “Kaleo will keep hurting her, and—”
“Doesn’t anyone remember that Nikolas is a killer?” she hissed.
Sarah cut off his answer and left abruptly. Robert didn’t understand, and she didn’t know how to explain to him. Instead she went home and collapsed onto her bed, still holding Nikolas’s invitation.
CHAPTER 26
SARAH RETURNEDto wakefulness gasping, struggling to fill lungs with air thick as charcoal ashes, and struggling to clear vision fogged with . . . she didn’t know. She could see, but the sight seemed imperfect and she could not tell why.
“Sarah Tigress Vida, stand up.”
Her mother’s voice, formal and cold, instantly cleared Sarah’s mind despite the disorientation she could not seem to shake. She felt off-balance as she found her feet, trying to keep herself from shaking. She sought uselessly to smooth her wrinkled jeans.
Adianna stood behind Dominique, her face pained as she sought Sarah’s gaze. Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but Dominique cut her off before she could say a word.
“I want no excuses,” Dominique stated flatly. “I am not a fool, and I have known what has been going on since the start of these events.” At these words, Adianna’s gaze fell. “You were warned, and you had more than one chance to halt this . . . disgusting infatuation. Now this.” Dominique threw to the ground Nikolas’s poem-invitation.
“Mother—”
Dominique held up a hand to halt her daughter’s words. “I might have turned a blind eye upon your association with the vampires at your school, since you would have in time come to your senses, but this . . . lying about this killer, protecting him,” Dominique spat, “this I can not forgive.”
Succinctly and in order, Sarah’s crimes were listed. Befriending her prey. Lying to her kin. Endangering her kind by revealing them to the vampires when she told Christopher the truth. Bargaining with Nikolas, and giving up her Vida knife. Telling the human Robert who she was without Dominique’s permission. The list went on and on, including transgressions so minor they would have been overlooked any other time, and through it all Sarah had no choice but to try to stand without swaying.
Sarah reached for her power to steady her nerves, but found herself grasping at air. She could feel the magic still humming deep in her blood, but Dominique had bound it—that explained the disorientation she had felt when she had first awakened, and that was why every sense seemed dulled. Without her magic available, she was little more than human.
“You have until tomorrow night to prepare yourself,” Dominique announced at last.
To prepare herself for the trial, Sarah knew. By then Dominique would have gathered the leaders of the other lines, and Sarah doubted she would be acquitted. Every word Dominique had spoken had been true.
When Dominique turned and left the room, Sarah sank back onto the bed, dazed. Again she tried to reach for her power; she could sense it so clearly, but could not use it. What would it feel like to have it stripped away completely?
It was only eight o’clock at night. So early, but it might as well have been the end of the world.
“Sarah . . .” Adianna’s voice was soft as she closed the door and sat beside her sister. “I’m sorry. I thought you had the sense to break it off with them, and I thought you would be better off if Dominique knew right away rather than finding out sometime later . . .” Adianna shook her head. “I never should have let it get this far.”
Sarah’s eyes widened as Adianna quietly ordered, “Get out of here. As it is, your magic will come back in a few days, and you still have your knife. But if you’re here tomorrow night, Dominique will disown you and take it all away.”
“I’m not going to hide from her.”
Adianna shook her head violently. “This isn’t about your pride anymore, Sarah. This is about your life—”
“And when Dominique asks where I’ve gone? Will you lie for me?” Sarah demanded. “I won’t have you killed for me.”
“I won’t be,” Adianna answered calmly. “Besides Dominique herself, no one will fault me for defending my sister.” When she saw Sarah’s hesitation, she added, “It’s your only choice, Sarah.”
“To hide for the rest of my life from every one of my kind doesn’t seem like a very good choice.”
Adianna swallowed thickly. “Better than being dead.” Her gaze still locked on Sarah’s, she stood up and turned away. “I’m going to bed, Sarah. I’m going to lock my door and turn on loud music, and if I don’t hear a car leaving, that’s not my fault.” She shrugged. “Good night.”
After Adianna closed the door, Sarah sat for a moment more.
To hide forever was not a very good option. Neither was being disowned—and she had no hope that she would be found innocent of the crimes Dominique had listed.
Her gaze fell on the invitation Dominique had thrown to the ground, and her decision was made. There was only one way out.
She spent about an hour orientating herself, getting used to using her body without the sixth sense her magic usually provided, and she was confident she could do what she needed to.
She needed to kill Nikolas.
Sarah wrote a note to Adianna and Dominique, stating her intent. Dominique had accused her of endangering her kin and protecting Nikolas—which, in her attempt to protect Nissa and Christopher, she had done. The only possible way out of this mess was to confront Nikolas.
In truth, Nikolas wasn’t the worst of his kind�
�he didn’t torture his prey, and he didn’t kill nearly so wantonly as his strength would allow. He hunted, as all vampires hunted, to kill the bloodlust. His marks were the only element that made his kills more obvious than kills by others of his kind. Had Christopher not separated from his brother before Dominique had started organizing the chaotic mess her predecessors had allowed the Vida records to become, his marks and name would have been just as infamous as his brother’s.
This was not the time to ponder Christopher’s guilt or Nikolas’s innocence. This was the reason hunters knew better than to mix with their prey. It created shades of gray, where there had once been just black and white.
She didn’t know what she would do when Nissa and Christopher hunted her down. She refused to kill them. But she also refused to run; hiding until she died, old and lonely, seemed worse by far than dying the quick death every hunter knew marked the end.
She didn’t bother to hide her knives when she left, but instead put on a black tank top and black shorts; over everything she threw her leather jacket, so the weapons wouldn’t be quite so obvious while she was still in the human world.
After taking the keys to her Jaguar from the dresser, she went outside and started the car.
The clock read 11:59 as she pulled into the driveway at Nikolas’s house.
CHAPTER 27
NIKOLAS TOOK HER COAT as she entered. The house was empty except for the two of them.
Three of us,she realized, as Nikolas led her into the living room, where Christopher was pacing.
“Are you losing your resolve, Sarah?” Nikolas asked, and Christopher halted in his pacing. “You’ve been near enough to kill me for a whole two minutes, and you haven’t even drawn a knife.”
“Is Christine okay?” Sarah asked, not acknowledging Nikolas’s question.
Nikolas sighed. “Christine is fine. Even Kaleo is still alive. In fact, I haven’t had a chance to kill anyone noteworthy in the ten hours since I last spoke with you. Does that settle your curiosity?”
Sarah ignored the taunt. “Christopher, what are you doing here?”
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