The Beast Within

by S. C. Stephens

  Teren and Emma both lifted their gazes from Nika to stare at me. Emma, eyes bloodshot from tears, look startled. Teren looked grim, but determined. Emma looked at Teren, fear in her eyes. “The hunters who attacked the ranch? You’re going to meet with them? How do you know where they are?”

  Teren nodded my way. “He compelled his father to make them retreat. They’re regrouping at Hunter’s old home, near our house.” He looked back at me, a small smile on his lips. “We can get rid of them all, in one fell swoop.”

  Emma grabbed his hand. “No, it’s too dangerous.”

  Stepping into the dimly lit room, I shook my head at her. “They’ll be expecting my father, not me. They won’t be prepared for what I have to tell them.” I stressed that last part, to remind her that my words were law. When it came to humans, at least.

  She still seemed skeptical. Running a hand down Teren’s back, she muttered, “Do you have to go? You’ve already been shot once today…and your mother still needs to remove the bullet.”

  Teren grimaced. Alanna had already been down here a couple of times to operate on him once she’d found out about his heroics, but he’d sent her away each time. He’d claimed he wasn’t ready to leave Nika, but I think he was just avoiding the unpleasantness. I didn’t blame him.

  “I need to see that this is taken care of, Emma,” he told her. “For our children’s sake.”

  Emma’s eyes returned to Nika, still as a statue on my bed. Imogen had brought down fresh clothes from Nika’s room here, and had helped Emma clean her up and change her. Aside from not breathing or having a heartbeat, Nika looked like she was sleeping.

  Emma nodded. Teren kissed her forehead, then stretched across to kiss Nika’s. He rose, and Emma squeezed his hand. “Be careful, and come back to me,” she said.

  “Always,” he smiled.

  Teren and I left the room together. Ben met us in the hallway. “You two look like you’re on a mission.” His pale eyes locked onto Teren’s. “I want in.”

  Teren crooked a grin. “We’re leaving on foot, so I’ll have to carry you…and I know how much you love that.”

  Ben made a face, then shook his head. “I still want to go.” His eyes drifted to the closed door that Nika was resting behind. “I need to do something,” he added. The concern in his voice for this family made me like him already.

  Teren and I exchanged glances. Knowing Ben was human, I frowned. “If I compel them as a group, he’ll be compelled with them.”

  Teren was about to speak, but Ben beat him to it. “Actually, I’m part-vampire. You can’t compel me.” He seemed very proud of that fact. Jerking his thumb at Teren, he added, “Asswipe here already tried.”

  Teren rolled his eyes. “Let it go already.”

  Not knowing what they were talking about, I simply shrugged and started heading back upstairs. We ran into Ben’s wife in the hallway. She looked even more distraught than Emma. Wearily hugging her husband, she murmured, “I finally got Olivia to sleep. She doesn’t understand anything that happened. She’s asking a lot of questions, and I don’t know what to tell her.”

  Ben hugged her, running a hand up and down her back. “I know. We’ll think of something together.”

  His wife pulled back, giving him a small smile. Then she seemed to notice that Teren and I were impatient to leave. Looking at the three of us, she pursed her lips. “What’s going on? Are you going somewhere?”

  Ben sighed, clearly not wanting to have this conversation right now. I didn’t either. The longer we waited, the fewer hunters there might be. I wasn’t sure how long they would wait around for Dad to show up. “Trace, this is my job. My true job. If there is a problem with vampires, humans, or hunters, I’m the one who helps take care of it. To keep everyone safe.”

  Her crystalline eyes grew wide. “Is this what you do back home? Is this why you’re always scraped and bruised?”

  Ben nodded. “This is what I’ve been doing. This is what I’ve been keeping from you. I didn’t want you to worry. And…it wasn’t my secret to tell.”

  She shook her head, and a small leaf fell from its resting place in her pale hair. “It’s so dangerous…do you have to do this?”

  He looked around the house with a pained expression. “It generally isn’t this dangerous.” He locked eyes with her. “And yes, I have to do this. If I’m honest with you about what’s going on, will you be okay with this?”

  She hesitated, and I thought for sure she wasn’t going to answer. I reached forward to grab Ben’s elbow and tell him we had to go now, but Teren halted my movement. He gave me a Just give them a minute expression, and I bit back my impatience.

  Finally, Ben’s wife nodded. “If you can be honest with me, then I can try and accept this.”

  Ben smiled, then kissed her nose. “Good, because I really love you.” Squatting down, he looked her in the eye. “This won’t take long, and I’ve got two vampire bodyguards. They’ll keep me perfectly safe, so you have nothing to worry about, okay?”

  I scoffed at the term bodyguard, and Teren elbowed me in the ribs. Ben’s wife didn’t notice the exchange; her eyes were all on her husband. She slowly nodded again, and I took the opportunity to drag Ben away by the elbow. “We’ll keep him safe, but we do need to leave now.”

  Her brows furrowed, but she let us leave without complaint. When we got outside, Teren scooped Ben into his arms. Ben groaned, and Teren’s lips broke into a wide smile. “Sorry, Ben. You may have a bit of vampire in you, but you can’t do this.” Ben laughed as he rolled his eyes.

  It lightened my heart to see a bit of humor in my nestmates, especially considering Nika’s tragedy. I grabbed hold of that feeling, soaking it in, then glanced back at the house. “I’ll be right back, Nika,” I whispered, then I took off.

  Being at my old home was surreal. So much had changed for me in such a short amount of time. I’d lost my sister, been run out of L.A., tried to rebuild my life here. Even tried focusing on something other than hunting. I’d tried to build a relationship with an amazing girl who I really cared about. Then it had all fallen down around me. But I’d risen from the ashes stronger, and Nika would, too.

  Lights were on in the rental, but by the For Rent sign in the yard, it was clear the house was still vacant. The owner had boxed up Dad’s and my stuff when he’d figured out we weren’t returning. He’d had to wait a certain amount of time before putting it back on the market, though, and luckily, no one new had rented it yet. That could change at a moment’s notice, so I’d have to find the landlord and “convince” him to re-rent the house to me, so I could put the rest of my plan into place.

  There was movement near the curtains, eyes watching the front door. We stopped well away from the house, and Teren put Ben down. Ben arranged his clothes and muttered, “Thanks for the ride.”

  Teren smirked at him, then turned to me. “How do you want to do this?”

  I was about to answer him when I felt something. Holding my tongue, I looked behind me. Halina blurred to a stop and I inhaled a deep, cleansing breath at her presence. With an inquisitive brow, she regarded our odd trio. “And what are you boys up to?”

  I gave her a sly smile. “We’re going to wipe a dozen or so hunters. Care to join us?”

  Her fangs crashed down as she grinned. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

  I put a hand on her arm. “I’m not killing them.” She immediately frowned. Hastily, I added, “I have a plan, and I need you to trust me and follow my lead. I’m about to change everything for us, for our species.” I gave her an encouraging smile as I let go of her arm.

  Her expression betrayed her mixed feelings. She wanted to believe me, but I hadn’t always been the most reliable person. Things were different now, though. I was committed to our nest, our family. Seeing the conviction in my eyes, she nodded. “As you wish.”

  Looking at the group, I laid out my plan. “They all need to be in one area, with no protection from compulsion. They’ll be expecting my father, not
me, so I think we’ll be fine…at first.”

  A few minutes later, the plan was in place. Halina headed to the back of the house, while I took the front. Ben was going in a rear bedroom window, while Teren was watching the outside, making sure no one tried to make a run for it. Between the four of us, we should be able to get everyone corralled and subdued.

  I started the ball rolling by blurring through the front door. It was locked, but I burst through it with no problems. My extravagant entrance caught everyone’s attention in the living room, and a half-dozen weapons were instantly raised in my direction. I squatted, lest someone shoot before I could speak. “No one move! No one make a sound!”

  Since the group hadn’t been expecting a vampire to show up in their midst, none of them had been protected from me. Like statues, they all halted their movements. Men and women, young and old, stared at me with guns, crossbows, and stakes at the ready. But for my command, I’d be dead already. There were noises at the other end of the house, where those who were far enough away from my voice had been able to escape its effects. They were quickly shepherded down the hall by Ben and quieted by Halina as she came in through the kitchen. Teren walked through the front door a moment later, dragging a couple of groggy hunters with him. Once they came to enough, I ordered them to silence, then made them wait with the others. To make sure we had everyone together, I strolled through the home with Halina. We found a stowaway hiding in my old closet. He was plugging his ears, but that wasn’t enough protection against me. I ordered him to join the others. Once I was satisfied that we had all of them, I went back into the living room.

  Halina had them all unarmed and sitting on the ground in lines. There were ten of them. I wasn’t sure how many men my dad had convinced to attack the ranch, but if these were the survivors, it must have been a hefty amount. We were exceedingly lucky to have come out of that battle unscathed. A pang went through me as Nika’s comatose body went through my mind. Well, mostly unscathed.

  “Answer my questions,” I intoned, staring down the group. “Is this all of you?”

  As one, they replied, “Yes.”

  I nodded. Good. Tracking down stragglers wasn’t something I had time for tonight. “You probably think I’m going to kill you. Probably think I’m going to order your hearts to stop and watch you all instantly die.” Muscles tensed and eyes widened as my words stirred innate fears within them. I recognized several people in the group, men and women I’d fought beside. Some of them had saved my life on occasion. Some of them I had saved. Shaking my head, I told them, “You can relax. I’m not going to do that. I’m not even going to erase your memories.”

  The fear shifted to confusion. Halina looked over at me, concern clear in her eyes. I hadn’t told her this part of my plan, just asked her to trust me. I gave her a reassuring smile as I turned back to the group. “I’m going to open your eyes, like mine were opened. I’m going to enlist your help…in protecting innocent vampires from persecution. Vampires like my girlfriend, and her family.”

  Halina smiled at me. The captive audience went from confusion to anger. I could feel it radiating in the air, filling it with tension. They’d kill me for that comment alone if they could. None of them believed vampires were innocent creatures who needed protecting. They all believed what I’d believed, that the demon blood obliterated the human host—destroyed the soul. But that wasn’t the case. It amplified the senses, heightened the awareness, and created a craving for blood, but the person was still the person they were before. I was still me. I wasn’t evil. And neither were my nestmates.

  Peace came over me as I thought of who I was before, and who I was now. They weren’t as different as I’d once believed. “What I have come to understand through my conversion is that vampires aren’t inherently evil. We’re people, as good or as bad as any other people.” I pointed at each person in turn. “There are certain challenges we have to overcome, but they aren’t insurmountable.”

  Tilting my head, I contemplated the hunger within myself. I hadn’t eaten tonight, and I was still not drinking as often as a newborn vampire should, but nothing within me wanted to attack these people. I would wait until I got home to feed. And maybe tonight, because the last few days had been exhausting and I felt like trying something new, I would drink straight from the cow. But that didn’t make me any more or less barbaric than a man who killed an animal for its meat.

  With a rueful shake of my head, I told the group, “We should be helping those we can, and punishing those who deserve it, both human and vampire.” Firming my resolve, I began changing the belief system of the vampire hunters in front of me. “I want you to listen to my words, and believe with all of your heart what I tell you. From now on, all vampires will be treated as humans are treated—innocent until proven guilty. If there is a heinous crime that a vampire has committed, then that vampire will be punished accordingly, but no more innocent blood will be shed. No more killing a vampire simply because he’s a vampire. No more using unknowing humans as bait. No more torching a harmless man’s home. A hunter’s methods should never be crueler than the creature they are hunting.”

  I went on to explain more specifics of how vampires were to be treated. Halina interjected with her own ideas about what was and what was not acceptable. The two of us had a lively debate about the justified murder of killers and rapists. Halina, on occasion, liked to dole out her own form of justice. But what we needed for our two species to coexist peacefully was laws. So, in the end, we decided it was too much of a gray area to be allowed to remain unchecked. Permitting vampires to kill some humans and not others was opening a door that could lead to greater problems; same could be said of hunters too. Vengeance seeking would be discouraged on both sides. It was decided that any vengeance deaths—vampire or hunter—would be discussed by a panel of vampires and hunters alike, and they would determine whether the attack was justified. Both sides would be held accountable for their actions.

  By the end of the night, the newly compelled humans were released from their constraints. They began actively engaging in the conversation, and I didn’t have to compel them to get their compliance anymore. They fervently believed in what we were trying to do, in the justice we were trying to achieve. The final compulsion I gave them was for all of them to contact everyone they knew, and have them meet me here, so I could compel them too. If every new recruit brought in someone else, I could trance nearly every hunter on the planet given enough time. It was a daunting job, but it was one I felt I had to do.

  Teren had actually given me the idea. When he’d suggested that I save my father, I’d begun to wonder how I could have kept one such as him in my life. The loss of his skillset in the world bothered me—there was still a place for hunters, after all, but not for hunters who blindly killed any vampire they encountered. The circle of violence had to stop somewhere.

  I wasn’t naïve enough to think that fixing the problem would be as easy as compelling the opposing side, but it was a place to start. The vampire side would have to be persuaded in a subtler manner to get them to cooperate with the new rules. And since purebloods could compel, they could undo everything I was trying to put in place with a few words. But I had to believe that most of them would want to live in peace with hunters. Not all, though. Like humans, some vampires enjoyed killing. And those ones wouldn’t want to be brought to justice for their crimes. Other vampires might try and protect those brethren, even if they didn’t hold the same beliefs as the murdering vampires. But the differences would be settled over time, and I firmly believed that having the hunters work with us was far better than having them continue to work against us.

  An hour or so before dawn, the group of us finally left my old home. I was anxious to return to Nika. So were Ben and Teren. Halina had some errands to run first, something about fixing Julian’s classmates. I left her to it, to rush home to my girl. Hopefully, when I woke tomorrow night, she’d be nearly done with her conversion. And hopefully she’d be okay with what had happen
ed to her.

  GOING TO SCHOOL the next morning was hard for me, and not just because Arianna no longer remembered me. I was going to school without Nika, and unlike other times when she was too sick or injured to go to school, she wouldn’t be joining me again. Ever. She couldn’t, now that sunlight was toxic to her.

  But it wasn’t really that fact that was making me glum as I drove toward the high school in the station wagon I shared with my sister. It was the separation from her emotions that filled me with loneliness. I’d never felt so vacant inside. Was this how everyone else felt? With only their own emotions to keep them company? I supposed I was better off this way in the long run, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss Nika’s moods. The flash of delight when she had her morning cup of blood. Her annoyance when I wouldn’t let her drive. Her resigned amusement when I gushed over my girlfriend…my ex-girlfriend. Her joy for life. All of that was hidden from me now. I hoped that after her conversion, she still felt the same way about things. Especially about her life. I didn’t want her to be sad, now that she was dead.

  I pulled into a spot in the parking lot and shut off the car. Automatically, I looked over to Nika’s side of the car, but only my backpack was keeping the seat warm. I really didn’t want to be here. Guilt had kept me up all night. I should have gone back to the ranch to be with my family, but I’d chickened out and stayed away. Starla had told me she didn’t blame me when she’d made up a guest room for me. Jacen had told me that Nika wouldn’t know the difference. But I knew the difference. I’d run away from her. I wouldn’t run tonight, though. I would be there to see her through her conversion, even if my parents forbade me.

  They’d called late in the night, when it was clear I wasn’t coming back. Dad had told me that was smart of me, that I should stay away from the ranch until Nika had eaten her first meal as a pureblood vampire. In fact, he was sending all the humans to our house today, just to be on the safe side. Nika would be starving when she woke up—so starving she might lash out and attack a loved one. Our family didn’t take chances with conversions, and everybody with a pulse would be kept away. They couldn’t keep me away, though. I wasn’t leaving my sister again.