“Be calm, human,” Damek commanded. “If I wanted you dead, I’d have done it earlier.” He pointedly stared at Craig. “Time is running out. Even I cannot hold back the dawn.”
“I’m not so sure of that,” Craig countered, drawing a small smile from his friend who simply shrugged.
“Okay, Evan, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to erase some of your memories and give you some new ones. And I hope to hell we never cross paths again. Don’t waste your life on anger and vengeance. I don’t think your sister would have wanted that.”
Damek nodded and Craig felt the older vampire inside his mind, watching what Craig was about to do. He knew Damek would keep him from making a mistake and that gave him confidence.
It was just like hacking a computer. It required skill, a light hand—or in this case mind—and the ability to adapt and adjust to fluctuating situations when the need arose.
Craig struck without warning, sliding much more quickly into Evan’s mind. He picked through Evan’s memories, slowly at first, but then with speed and growing confidence.
He felt Damek monitoring him and adjusted what he was doing whenever Damek gave him a suggestion. It felt strange, yet somehow normal, to hear Damek in his head while he was smack dab in the memories of a human.
Good thing he was used to multitasking.
Craig removed some but not all of Evan’s memories. He left enough so the man wouldn’t think he was losing his mind. That would be an injustice to Evan and he wanted to avoid making that kind of mistake. The mind was such a delicate thing, so easily damaged.
Craig also implanted some new thoughts, especially ones about distrusting vampire hunters, who in many ways were as bad as or worse than the creatures they hunted. He planted questions about vampires and the thought that not all of them were bad. Only some of them. Much like humans.
When he was done, he carefully withdrew from Evan’s mind, praying he hadn’t made any mistakes. He glanced at Damek, who simply nodded at him. That set Craig’s mind at ease. If he’d left something undone, Damek would have alerted him. Confident now, he looked back at Evan. “Now you will collect your things, go to your car and go home.”
Damek stirred. “Have you had contact with other hunters or just Leroy?”
“Just Leroy,” Evan answered, his voice shaking. “Who are you?” he asked.
“No one you need to worry about,” Craig answered. He waited until Evan had all his gear and was by the door. Then he seamlessly slid into Evan’s consciousness one final time. This time he wasn’t trying to manipulate a memory but plant a suggestion. It was a different process and it took him a minute to adjust and find the proper area of the brain. It was shocking to him how easily he was able to do this.
“You will not remember tonight once you drive away from here,” Craig told Evan. “All you’ll know is that you want to get home.”
“Home.” Evan echoed the word and left the dingy motel room. Craig watched from the doorway as Evan tossed his belongings into is truck, started the vehicle and drove off.
Craig hoped Evan made it home all right and put his sister’s death behind him. He’d done what he could to ensure Evan would stay away from the vampire hunters, but only time would tell.
Damek pointed to the other bed. “Now we deal with Leroy.”
Dread built in the pit of Craig’s stomach. He knew this man was very different from Evan. He could sense it without even entering the man’s mind and viewing his memories. There was a darkness surrounding Leroy, a sickness that seemed to cling to him.
Craig didn’t want to be in Leroy’s memories any more than he had to. He had a feeling it wouldn’t be a pleasant place to be. It would probably be more like being stuck in a horror movie, one that he had a very upfront and close view of.
Dawn was nearing and there was no time to waste. Craig tried to push into Leroy’s mind but something stopped him.
“Many vampire hunters build up a barrier around their minds to keep vampires out,” Damek informed him. “Think of it as a firewall you have to get around just like you have to do when you’re doing your computer hacking. Find the weakness.”
Craig examined the barrier from all angles. He tried one approach and then another. Stymied, he turned to Damek for assistance. “What am I missing?”
Damek took over and nudged Craig’s attention to a tiny break in the edge of Leroy’s mind barrier. “There is always a weakness. Sometimes it’s no more than a pinprick, but if you find it, you can exploit it.”
Craig was both horrified and fascinated. He probed at the area and felt it give a little, like a water balloon. All he had to do was figure out how to pop it. He didn’t think brute force would do the trick, plus that wasn’t his way. Instead, he pulled a stray memory from Leroy’s brain and inserted himself in the middle. Then he surrounded that image with the feeling that everything was okay, that Craig was safe and Leroy knew that. Then he went back to that tiny weakness and gently nudged it.
Craig felt Leroy’s consciousness assess the memory and decide it was okay. That was the opening Craig needed and he slid right past the barrier and into Leroy’s mind. He hovered there, keeping his presence cloaked as he looked around.
Craig felt Damek’s presence watching over him, but he ignored his friend. He had to concentrate on what he was doing. Leroy’s memories made Craig sick to his stomach. This man had killed not only vampires, but minions and innocents who’d had contact with them.
He pulled out, gasping for air, wishing he could scrub what he’d seen from his brain, but the images were as engrained there as they had been in Leroy’s brain. If he’d had anything in his stomach, Craig would have lost it.
“Easy, my friend.” Damek rested his hand on Craig’s shoulder. “There are many men like this in the world. He has killed many and will go unpunished if you do not bring him to justice.”
“But if we elect ourselves judge and jury, how are we any different?” That’s what worried Craig the most—the great responsibility that came with having such enormous power and abilities.
“There is a very big difference.” Damek paused, gathering his thoughts. “The man lying on the bed is a vampire hunter. He kills without thought. He sleeps peacefully each night, feeling righteous and just, never doubting he did the right thing by killing vampire, minion and human. You, on the other hand, will think about Vladimir Drake’s death often. Even though the vampire had to be destroyed.” Damek’s eyes were sad and filled with ancient memories. “And Leroy’s death will still haunt your dreams hundreds of years from now even though you’ll know you had no other choice but to destroy him. That is the difference.”
“You still see them all, don’t you?” Craig asked. “The faces of all the men you’ve been forced to kill.”
“And the ones of those I wasn’t forced to kill but did so before I gained control over my vampire nature.” Damek walked away from the bed and paused by the window. “Unlike you though, I am able to live with those deaths.”
Damek pulled back the curtain and peered out at the waning night. “Your mind is even stronger than mine was after two hundred years. You will be an extremely powerful vampire, Craig. There is no doubt about that. The combination of your intellect and your deeply rooted sense of curiosity will lead you to try to discover your limits. I think you may find you don’t have any. All you will have are your morals to guide you.”
Damek turned back to face him. “It is up to you to decide how you will use that power. Will you protect innocents and live with the consequences of your actions or will you simply walk away and leave the weak to deal with the monsters alone?”
Craig knew which choice Damek had made all those years ago. And he was right. A man like Leroy was a killer. Worse, he enjoyed the rush of power killing gave him. He was as bad as Vladimir Drake. No, worse. Leroy didn’t need blood to survive. He simply enjoyed watching people and vampires die, liked the feeling that he was God, deciding between life and death and always choosing death.
Knowledge flooded Craig’s thoughts and he knew it was Damek sending him the information he needed to do what he had to do. He seized on the area that controlled Leroy’s heart and gently squeezed. Leroy fell back on the bed, clutching his chest. It only took two minutes for him to stop breathing.
With a cry of pain, Craig wrenched himself free from Leroy as he gasped his last breath. Tears slowly trickled down Craig’s cheeks. He’d killed a man on purpose. He swiped at the evidence of his weakness.
Damek’s arm came around his shoulders, offering him support. “Not weakness, my friend.” Craig realized he’d left himself wide open. He’d gotten so used to having Damek in his mind during this process he hadn’t realized the vampire was still there. He thought about slamming the barriers down, but it was too late. Damek already knew how he felt.
“It is a sign of your humanity. Your compassion. Pray you never lose it.” Damek gave his shoulder a squeeze and then left him to do a quick search of the hunter’s possessions.
“Check this for numbers.” Damek tossed Leroy’s phone to him.
Craig automatically caught the device, knowing Damek was giving him something to do in order to take his mind off the horror of what he’d just had to do. He appreciated Damek’s effort, but nothing would ever remove this memory, and he hoped nothing ever would. He regretted it had been necessary to kill Leroy, but he wasn’t sorry he’d done it. It meant he didn’t have to worry about the vampire hunter coming after Evie, Damek or Sonia. It meant his friends and family were safe. And that was everything to Craig, certainly worth whatever nightmares he might have in the future.
He checked Leroy’s phone. There were only two numbers programmed in. He memorized them and then removed them from the contact list. All the while he worked, he made sure he didn’t look at Leroy’s body. Maybe it was weak of him, but he’d had enough death for one night.
“Come. Dawn is near.” Damek ushered him to the door.
He took a deep breath of fresh air, needing it to help clean away the stench of death from his body and soul. “How come it’s easy for me to use my mind to control and kill others? What I didn’t instinctually know, I easily picked up from your memories and experiences.” Craig’s analytical side wanted to know as much as he could about the process so he could test himself and learn as much as he could. With understanding, he would gain greater control over himself and his newfound abilities.
They stood in the shadows outside the motel. Two vampires. One young and one ancient. Both friends.
“Who knows why one vampire has certain skills and another doesn’t. All vampires acquire the ability to control minds to a degree. I have built my skills over time. You, my friend, are like a surgeon. Your precision and control is unlike any I have ever seen, unheard of in one so young. Maybe it is because of your work with computers. The skill set is similar. Whatever the reason, it will be interesting to see how it develops over the years.” Damek glanced at the skyline. “Dawn is coming.”
“Eight minutes and twenty seconds,” Craig supplied.
Damek laughed. “Then we must be off.” Damek sped through the night and Craig followed. He’d shut off all his thoughts about Evie while dealing with the vampire hunters, but now they returned with a vengeance. Where was she? He could feel her out there, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint where she was. He wished she was with him.
He focused on Evie. Only her. Suddenly, he knew exactly where to find her.
Craig slowed and stopped. Damek returned a few seconds later. “What is it?”
“Evie.” Craig said nothing more.
Damek shielded his eyes from the lightening sky. “Go. But we need to talk more later. There is much you need to know and you’ll need to feed. I take it you know where she is?”
“Her old apartment.” There was no doubt in Craig’s mind.
Damek nodded. “I will have one of my people deliver a package later. It will be outside her apartment door when you wake. The blood will be packed in ice so it will be fine. Not exactly fresh, but it will give you the sustenance you need. But you will need to return to my home as soon as possible. Both of you still have much to learn, and you need time to make certain you have control over the bloodlust.”
“Thank you.” He reached out to Damek and pulled him into a hug. They’d been friends before but the connection went even deeper now. They were both vampires, brothers by blood, if not familial ties. Damek had saved not only his life, but the life of the woman he loved, not to mention his family and the Haven pack. He owed Damek everything.
“You owe me nothing.” Damek’s voice was hard and uncompromising even as he hugged Craig back.
“I need to get you out of my head.”
Damek immediately withdrew and Craig’s barriers automatically slammed into place. They’d been through a lot together in the past, but tonight had deepened the bond. They’d fought and killed together, and Craig knew this was only the beginning. The years ranged before him, unending. But he knew Damek would be there beside him whenever he needed him. No matter how many years went by, there would always been a special connection between them.
“Thank you for being my friend.”
Damek nodded. “It is my pleasure.” He stepped back and clapped Craig on the shoulder. “Now go to your woman. But hurry. I don’t want you to end up fried to a crisp on the sidewalk.”
Craig pulled away and laughed. “Will that happen?”
“Who knows?” Damek shrugged. “All vampires are different.” Then he was gone, leaving Craig alone.
But not for long. Craig raced against the coming dawn, following Evie’s essence as easily as following a marked trail. He would always know where to find her.
He shoved through the door of her building and all but flew up the stairs. He paused at her door and had to concentrate on the locks. It was slightly harder than the one at the motel had been, but he still managed easily.
Craig stepped inside the tiny apartment. It looked as though a cyclone had blown through. Her things were scattered everywhere, some of them broken beyond repair. The window was devoid of covering and the early dawn light would soon be shining through the uncovered pane of glass.
But there was no sign of Evie.
Dawn was starting to break and a heavy lethargy pulled at him. He stumbled toward the only other room in the apartment, the only other place she could be. It made sense to sleep in the only room without a window, even if it was the bathroom.
He shoved open the bathroom door and Evie sat up in the tub. There were tearstains on her cheeks and the sight of them made his chest ache with sorrow. He shoved the door closed and practically fell on top of her in the tub as the dawn sleep overtook him. “Told you I wouldn’t let you go,” he muttered.
Evie knew the sun had risen, could feel it in her bones. Beside her, Craig was passed out cold, his body unable to resist the death-like sleep that the sun brought to most vampires.
How had he found her?
It didn’t matter. All that mattered was he’d come for her. His last words gave her hope. He was half out of the tub, his upper body bent at an awkward angle over the edge. Not a comfortable position, not that he knew. He was passed out cold.
She pulled him all the way into the tub with her. He was too tall for her to be able to straighten out his legs, so she settled him as best as she could, using a couple of rolled up towels for an extra pillow. There was no way to make him really comfortable. He’d definitely have a crick in his neck when he woke.
She almost laughed. They were vampires. Neither of them would have a crick in their necks, or if they did, it wouldn’t be for long. Her injuries from the fight earlier tonight
were already healed, and Craig had looked fit and hearty before he’d dropped into a deep sleep exactly at dawn. He’d washed and changed his shirt and there was no blood, dried or fresh, on him anywhere.
She couldn’t believe he was here. That he’d really come for her.
The barriers around her heart crumbled into dust.
Craig had never let her down. Not once.
She loved him. That meant she had to take the chance that they could build something that could last. Any other option was unthinkable. She’d panicked and run from him. She’d have to apologize to him and his friends for that.
She settled next to Craig and pulled his arms around her. Sighing, she closed her eyes. Before she could settle into sleep, her phone rang. She glanced at Craig but he didn’t stir. It rang again so she plucked the device out of her pocket and answered. The call display told her it was an unknown number. “Hello.”
“I did not think you would be asleep.” Damek’s voice startled her. “Craig made it to you.”
It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact, as though the vampire had no doubt Craig was with her. “Yes, but he’s asleep.”
“Ah, his mind is strong, but his physical body succumbs to the rise and fall of the sun.”
“Yours doesn’t,” she pointed out.
“And neither does yours. I sensed that about you.” Damek paused and then continued, “Over time, you may be able to be outside on dull days, early in the morning and late in the evening.”
“Really?” Wow, that was something to look forward to.
“I do not need to tell you to take care of him, do I?”
The threat was there, but for the first time, it made Evie smile instead of turning her insides to ice. “No, you don’t need to tell me that.”
“He will need you when he wakes.”
It wasn’t so much what Damek said as his tone. “What happened?” Had something else occurred after she’d run off.
“That is for Craig to share or not. It is his choice.” He continued on, his voice brisk. “I have someone delivering blood to your apartment later today. If you hear someone outside your door, that is probably who it is. Still, take no chances. Craig is in your care.”
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