

The Black God

#2, Damian Eternal Series

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By Lizzy Ford

LizzyFord.com

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Cover design by Eden Crane Design

www.EdenCraneDesign.com

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### Smashwords EDITION

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copyright ©2015 by Lizzy Ford

LizzyFord.com

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Cover design copyright © 2015 by Eden Crane Design

www.EdenCraneDesign.com

Cover photo copyright © 2015 by Miriam Gonzales

www.miriamggonzalez.com

### cover model: alan Rojas

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All rights reserved.

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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

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This story is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events; to real people, living or dead; or to real locales are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and their resemblance, if any, to real-life counterparts is entirely coincidental

## Prologue

Four years after "Xander's Chance"

The twenty-four-year-old Black God, Jonny Rodriguez, towered over the purple-eyed, supernatural Other sprawled at his feet. Charged energy rolled off him into the plains of South Dakota, and the cool spring night did nothing to soothe the fiery power in his blood.

"Last one," said the man beside him. The Grey God, Darian, waited for Jonny to give the signal. Only a couple of people alive could kill one of the creatures at his feet, though Jonny's godlike powers could definitely stop one in its tracks long enough for his temporary ally to crush it.

There was a time when Jonny would have reacted to the Grey God's pronouncement with triumph if not joy. But the grueling war with the Others – the enemies of humans, immortals and gods alike – had all but decimated his army of vampires. Of the ten thousand vamps serving him when he ascended to his position five years before, less than fifteen hundred remained. His all out war had cost him almost everything. He'd watched the creatures he was charged with defending die around him on a daily basis, and it numbed the part of him capable of feeling.

His objective to destroy those who hurt or killed what was his to protect replaced every other concern. Nothing else existed outside of ensuring the enemies of his vamps were wiped off the planet. Nothing else mattered except demolishing his own personal resentment and anger, and what was left of his humanity, for the greater good of the vamps he now led.

On the eve of his victory, he was... cold. Empty. He gazed down into the glassy eyes of the Other trapped beneath his power and couldn't help thinking about tomorrow when there was no enemy for him to hunt and slaughter. His mind had shifted to the thought of the future the moment he realized the war with the Others was already won.

As he stared at the Other, he realized he'd already moved on. The last death, the last enemy, meant little to him anymore, except possibly to serve as a warning of what might happen to his own vamps if he didn't act quickly to deal with the White God, Damian, when this was over.

His stomach grumbled. With little sleep or food for months, he was accustomed to running on empty. The last Other did hold some meaning – it would become his first real meal in too long.

Jonny reached down and gripped the neck of the five foot tall creature. He hauled it to its feet, salivating at the rapid thrum of its heartbeat beneath his fingers. His fangs grew in anticipation. The Other squirmed, and Darian stood to the side, waiting.

"This is gonna hurt," Jonny told the creature.

"You... cannot... kill me."

"Wrong answer, asshole." Arrogant until the end, he thought. "I can definitely enjoy making you suffer before he kills you." He tilted his head towards Darian. Not about to give the creature a chance to respond, Jonny tore into its throat.

In truth, Others tasted like shit. But he was too hungry to care. He didn't listen to the gurgled scream of the creature or stop when it ceased writhing. Warm, metallic blood poured down his throat. He drank and drank until his stomach began to feel full and then threw the body to Darian to finish off.

Jonny tossed back his head to see the cloudy sky and closed his eyes, allowing himself the split second of victory before the reality of his critical situation returned. Darian snapped the neck of the Other and dropped it.

"Never thought I'd see the day," the Grey God said. "You did good, kid."

"I'm not a kid," Jonny replied, opening his eyes. "I'm the fucking Black God."

"Yeah." Darian winked. The golden-eyed Grey God was generally a loose cannon, whose side of crazy Jonny assumed resulted from ten thousand years of having his mind erased and living in slavery. Of all the Guardians and allies of the White God, Darian was the one Jonny tolerated best. "You wanna rein that shit in so we can all have a nice little chat?"

The politics were starting already. Jonny looked around them. His magic was dark and laced with red lightning bolts. It spread for a mile in each direction, across the grassy plains, and destroyed every living thing it touched. Not even vamps survived an encounter with the magic. When he loosened his control, he had the ability to wipe out a city. The location for the final confrontation with the Others had been chosen carefully for that reason. His temporary allies offered their assistance in exchange for no humans being hurt.

Ringed around his dark power was a buffer of white, Damian's magic, to prevent Jonny's power from spreading too far outside of the area. His vamps were beyond the white ring, waiting for the magic of both gods to subside.

The Grey God was capable of moving through the power fields of both White and Black Gods – but he was the only one.

Jonny released his breath and shook out his tense frame. His power responded to thoughts rather than commands, and the darkness around them dissipated.

"Just, you know, play nice," Darian told him, upbeat and unconcerned.

Jonny wiped the blood from his mouth onto his sleeve. The Grey God was rarely fazed by anything, even the three week marathon of hunting the final Others that left Jonny wanting to tumble into his bed for a two day hibernation.

The White God materialized seconds after Jonny's power withdrew from the area. He was accompanied by the three Original beings who acted as mediators during negotiations and disputes, and the vamp Jonny trusted most.

"Jonny." Damian greeted him. The White God appeared pensive rather than happy about the Others being gone. Jonny knew why before the words left his mouth. "I know you'll want a truce to recover, but I'm not inclined to agree this time. Not without strict terms."

"I wiped out your enemies. I think some leeway is due," Jonny replied.

"Even so... I think it's time the training wheels come off. I've overlooked a great deal to give you some space to grow. I've got -"

"Before you dictate how I should do my job," Jonny interrupted, holding up his hands. "I'm one step ahead of you."

The Original Vamp, Original Human and Original Immortal watched, off to the side, their presences all but forgotten by Jonny and Damian. The Grey God was cleaning his nails with the sharp tip of a knife, listening and quiet.

"I'm creating a catch-and-release protocol," Jonny began. "You leave my vamps alone. In turn, we no longer kill humans but continue to use them as a food source."

Damian crossed his arms.

"That's not possible," said the Original Human, her pale features tight and luminous eyes on Jonny. "Your people are animals. You can't teach an animal to respect its food."

"We're not animals," replied the Original Vamp. Seven feet of solid muscle and pure menace, Xander was one of Jonny's on-again, off-again mentors. "Jonny and I spoke at length about this. It's plausible."

"The kid can't do much harm anyway at this point," the Original Immortal agreed. Tattooed and dark skinned, Jules was one of the White God's adopted brothers. "Most of his vamps are dead."

Jonny tensed at the reminder of his failure to protect his people.

"You want me to trust you can manage your vamps well enough to ensure they don't kill?" Damian asked.

"Yes," Jonny replied. "If one of mine kills a human, I'll discipline the vamp."

Damian snorted. "Discipline."

"That's vamp lingo for kill," Xander said, amused.

"It's a good idea," the Grey God chimed in. "But I've met some of your vamps. They ain't gonna like it."

"Then they will be disciplined," Jonny replied firmly.

"I'm trying to figure out if you're capable of doing this or trying to trick me," Damian mused. "I'm not opposed. But, Jonny, your adjustment period has been a great deal of trial and error, with the emphasis on error."

Anger stirred within Jonny. He understood the concern after his first year or two of disastrous attempts at leading the vamps, but he also knew Damian hadn't been close enough to see his transformation. "I can handle my vamps," he said with great control. Every bone in his body wanted him to tell the people before him to fuck off and walk away to do what he planned to anyway. It was one thing to rule over the vamps, quite another to swallow the idea he was still viewed as incapable of handling his duty by outsiders whose opinions didn't matter to him. Unfortunately, they also had power, and he was forced to be diplomatic rather than explain to them in no uncertain terms that his domain and his vamps were his to rule.

His second in command, Charles, shifted, and Jonny took the subtle hint to offer a carrot he didn't really want to.

"If you don't believe me, then I'll agree to a trial period," he added. "Six months."

"So you do want a truce," said Damian.

"Not a truce, a trial," Jonny replied. "My goal is to change the relationship vamps have with humans. Make it more sustainable and give vamps a chance not to spend their lives hunted down and treated like animals." He gave the Original Human a pointed look.

"Never really took you for the idealistic type," Damian replied. He glanced at Xander.

Jonny had the sense the two were talking in their heads to one another. It irked him how he was treated like someone who didn't have a clue when he had spent five years in his position, four of which were at war with the Others. He knew his domain inside and out after the daily updates about finances, resources, loss of life, and compromised locations.

More importantly, he had learned how to use his power, how to crush the human side of him that was viewed as weakness by the predators he led. Vamps were accustomed to violence. It was the only language they really understood. While that might one day change, for now, he had to speak to them and discipline them in a way they respected.

In the end, it was about the survival of his people, and Jonny was sworn to do whatever it took to ensure that happened, no matter how high the personal cost to him.

"Six months," Damian said. "If we catch any of your vamps fucking with Guardians or humans beyond what we deem acceptable as part of the catch-and-release program, they're killed on the spot."

Jonny almost sighed in relief. He was looking forward to some rest and recovery time. "Fine," he agreed.

"This is a mistake," said the Original Human, her frown deep.

"Vote," the Grey God suggested. "All in favor of letting Jonny run his own shit... hands up."

The Grey God, Xander and the Original Immortal voted with Jonny. The White God and Original Human voted against.

"You get your chance, Jonny. Good luck," Damian said. The White God turned and strode away, trailed by the Originals and the Grey God.

Jonny didn't sigh until they had disappeared. He wiped his face, exhausted, and observed the movement of his vamps in the plains around them. The numbers appeared even smaller than usual, and he shook his head, hating that he'd lost so many.

"Ikir," said Charles, Jonny's second-in-command. He referred to him using the immortal word denoting a king or god, an ancient tradition left over from the time when the immortal realm existed.

Jonny met his gaze.

"We're alone?"

Jonny nodded.

"We have a problem."

"Don't we always?" Jonny replied wryly.

"This is a new problem," Charles said.

"Can it wait for us to go back to the lodge?"

"We can't go back to the lodge. That's part of the problem."

Jonny's brow furrowed. He waited for his tense second to speak. Charles, normally blunt, was hesitant.

"There are some vamps who disagree with... things," Charles started. "Some who have taken matters into their own hands. It started with the catch-and-release proposal you emailed everyone about last week."

"I'm sure it started before that," Jonny said. "I know there's an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with me being in charge. It's not just Damian who doesn't like it."

"Change is always difficult, more so to an organization that's been around for over ten thousand years."

"Then what's the newest problem?"

"We lost some vamps to what I'll call a mutiny."

Jonny almost laughed. How did any of his vamps have the energy to form a mutiny when they'd been obsessively pursuing the Others for so long? "All right. So we have a few volunteers to be disciplined publicly. We'll make them examples," he said.

"Hmmm. Yeah that's not going to work, ikir. We lost almost half of our vamps."

Jonny's humor faded. "Did you say half?"

Charles nodded.

Coño! The foul curse word he'd learned from his Cuban grandfather had been used more the past few months than any other single word he knew.

The news of his rebellion was nowhere near expected and yet, after the strain of the past few years, Jonny didn't feel its impact. He was too numbed, too fatigued, to react how he suspected he should. "Just when I thought things were going to ease up for a bit... I guess our night isn't over yet, is it, Charles?"

"No, ikir. I think our night is just beginning."

I'm not telling Damian about this one, Jonny vowed to himself. With any luck, his six months of relative peace from the direction of the White God would give him the room he needed to fix his latest mess. Was that all leadership really was? Dealing with one emergency after another?

If nothing else, his pursuit of the Others had taught him a thing or two about patience. "Pick a backup location. Somewhere warm," he ordered. "I'm from Miami. I'm sick of this cool weather shit."

"We'll need a new location. The vamps who went rogue are from the old guard. They know our current backlist of locations," Charles said. "They also probably know you hate cold weather. I'd advise avoiding Miami for now."

Jonny rested his hands on his hips. Being a god with incredible power was rarely as appealing as it sounded. "Fine," he said finally. "Surprise me. Just don't send us to the fucking Tundra."

## Chapter One

Several months later

Jonny sucked in deep breaths as he observed the results of the mini-massacre on the rooftop of a tall hotel overlooking the San Diego Bay. Moonlight glinted off waves caused by a cargo ship ambling past, some forty stories below, and wisps of fog strayed from the ocean into the bright yet quiet city.

"Forty three," reported the red-eyed vamp beside him.

"All vamps?"

"All new vamps."

That's what I thought. Jonny did the calculations before dropping from the ventilation box on which he stood onto the roof. His hands were coated in the blood of vamps he'd killed this night, and the metallic flavor was in his mouth. He licked away the droplets from his fangs and spit them out.

Unlike humans, vamps tasted horrible. He'd long since come to the conclusion it was probably an evolutionary survival thing, so no vamp would resort to eating another. They had no problem eating everything else that breathed.

"We're not moving fast enough. They're vamping twice as fast as we are," he said finally, aware his second in command was waiting. "We need better and more intel, Charles."

"I'm working on it." Charles followed his gaze. "There's always the last resort for information."

"I'm not going to them," Jonny returned. "They can't know about this after the mess with the Others."

"We don't have to tell them how bad it is. We just have to ask them for information tracking a few rogue vamps."

Jonny clenched his jaw tight enough for the muscles of his cheek to pulse. In the years since he'd become the Black God, he'd struggled to control the legions of vamps accustomed to a different master, an older one, one they feared. They hadn't respected the terrified teen boy that took the former god's place. However, the vamp army was largely united under the common threat of the Others, the primary supernatural threat to the vamps.

On the eve of his final triumph, the rogue element of his vamp army - led by Valon, a member of the old guard who hated the new Black God - broke off and formed their own independent group.

The newer generation of vamps stuck with Jonny, rendering the division along generational lines as well as philosophical ones. He was struggling to recruit and train the younger vamps when much of the support infrastructure he needed had not yet been rebuilt. In the meantime, the vamp veterans were running circles around them.

His rebellion had turned into a civil war.

"No," he said at last. "That'll invite too many questions. You're the best Tracker there is. We're catching up."

"I'm the only Tracker there is."

It wasn't funny at such a time, but Jonny fought a smile anyway. Charles' dry wit was often inappropriately timed and almost always appreciated.

Charles pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. He read the report texted to him.

"What is it?" Jonny asked. One of the few vamps he trusted completely, he didn't bother trying to access Charles' thoughts, a trick he'd picked up while learning how to harness his newfound power.

"Vigilante got one of our teams."

Jonny rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for some stupid Natural running around beating up vamps. He'll cross the wrong vamp soon enough." He started walking through the bodies to ensure every one of his enemies was dead. Valon was too smart to send anyone with real value against him. The recruits would have no idea where their leader was hiding.

"He usually targets the rogue elements and not us. Too bad he never kills any of them or he might be worth directing towards the rogues," Charles mused, following.

"The idiot will be dead in a week or less."

"Yeah. You want me to do the usual here?" He motioned to the dead bodies around them.

Jonny glanced around, unconcerned about leaving the bodies of traitors. The smell of newly turned vamps, however, made him pause. His new recruits, as well as those being led by the rogue leader Valon, were mixed among the dead. "You know what? We're leaving them this time. But remove their fangs first."

Charles raised an eyebrow.

"Fangs to show the rogues and our own recruits how serious I am about betrayal. Bodies for the White God to clean up for once, since I'm doing him a favor killing half my people."

"Smart as always." The vamp chuckled. "We've got human witnesses. What do you want done with them?"

Jonny didn't even bother looking towards the five hotel employees herded into a corner by three of his loyal vamps. "Dinner," he said. "Catch and release protocol."

"Want one saved for you?"

"Female, red hair."

"Always delicious." Charles said, entertained. A true predator, he never cared about the appearance of whoever he drained, but Jonny had taken a liking to redheads for dinner. "I'll take her back to your place. We had a good night."

It was hard for Jonny to be optimistic when his failure as a leader had lead directly to this night. Inexperience and war, combined with the changes he'd implemented in a culture and organization whose traditions spanned tens of thousands of years before he was born, resulted in constant crisis. Reform came at a steep price, one he was beginning to suspect would cost him over seventy percent of the vamps remaining before this mess was over.

"Did our team report in with the talisman?" he asked.

"Not yet." Charles checked his phone.

"If they're late, send in as many as you can spare to rescue them. We can't let the rogue vamps get it." With the Others out of play, he'd stumbled upon one of their secrets while tracking and eliminating the last of them. The Others were able to locate vamps and Guardians at will, which was one of the reasons they were such a threat. No one was able to hide.

Once he figured out how to use it, the otherworldly device would make the difference between him defeating the rogue elements and Valon's vamps winning this war. His only challenge was preventing word from leaking to the Guardians about his civil war before he could stop it.

"Understood," said Charles. "You headed back?"

Jonny shook his head. "I need to ask someone something."

"Ah. Good luck."

Jonny didn't reply. Charles could help him with tactics and strategy, but so could anyone else who had been around long enough. His ongoing struggle was with understanding the power of a god charged with being the devil. His off and on guidance came in the form of the Original Vamp, the first natural born vamp, who was as dangerous as he was helpful. Jonny was tired of not knowing how to fix his own issues without asking for help from someone likely to cash in the favors one day. On nights like these, he didn't feel like he had much of a choice.

He Traveled to a nearby beach and knelt to wash his hands in the cold waters running onto shore. Releasing a breath, he rolled his shoulders and head, unable to shake the wired frustration he'd been dealing with for the past four months. As much as he loved the ocean, it wasn't helping calm his nerves this night.

Being a god wasn't easy. Being the Black God... well, he'd had to unlearn a lifetime of reality in order to embrace his duty. His job was to ensure the survival of a race of predators who fed off humans, and he'd long since reached the conclusion he couldn't do it alone. He didn't have the numbers or the infrastructure he needed.

The vamp way of life for the past ten thousand years wasn't sustainable. He'd already won one war and wasn't anywhere near capable of facing another so soon. He wasn't willing to continue the long-standing war with the White God when the casualties were already too high – and disproportionately vamp.

To preserve his people, he needed peace. And peace meant difficult compromise.

"What is it?" the low growl came from the mentor he hadn't been certain he wanted to see.

Jonny straightened and faced Xander, the biggest vamp and man he'd ever seen in his life. With long, dark hair and glowing red eyes, Xander was about as welcoming as Jonny's dinner would be when his intentions became clear. Having been warned off multiple times from approaching the secluded house where Xander and his family lived, Jonny had begun going to a beach nearby, close enough for Xander's protective wards to warn him but not so close as to make the psychopathic vamp hostile.

"I have a small problem," Jonny began, not about to admit the full truth to the creature who bartered information to White and Black Gods, depending on whose side he felt like being on.

"I haven't heard those words in a while."

Jonny bit back his initial response. Xander was a vamp, yes, but he wasn't his vamp and he was well connected. "Yeah. Believe it or not I figured out some stuff."

"I believe it." Xander's muscular arms were across his chest. He approached and paused at the edge of where the water reached the sand. "I always knew you had potential. How bad?"

"Pretty bad," Jonny allowed.

"Does it have anything to do with the vamps you're whacking?"

"Yeah."

Xander glanced at him. "Not just cleaning house or disciplining vamps, are we?"

"It's partially it," Jonny replied.

"Damian believes you to be crushing any dissension in the ranks. But I have a feeling there's something else going on."

"It's none of your business, or his, Xander, how I do my job," Jonny said firmly.

"Fine. What am I doing here?"

"Was my predecessor able to track vamps?"

"You have trackers for that."

Sorta. Two of his three Trackers, except for Charles, had absconded with the rogues. "I know. But even they sometimes run into difficulties. They can only track within certain distances and under specific conditions."

Xander was quiet briefly before responding. "He could, yes. The White God's powers are known quantities, passed down from father to son. But each Black God is going to have a slightly different set of abilities than his predecessor based on what you inherited from the Naturals before you."

"Can those gifts be delayed in appearing? Like my mind abilities suddenly appearing during year three?"

"They can. Some can lay dormant for centuries or millennia before emerging."

Jonny's heart sank. He didn't have days to wait for a new ability to emerge let alone centuries.

"Borrow Trackers from Damian," Xander suggested.

"Yeah, because partnering with the White God is in my best interest."

"If you won't go to the only person who can help you, then do what he does. Identify Naturals and vamp them before he can get to them. It's the way it used to be done."

"Hmm." Jonny considered what it'd take to start a program like Damian's capable of identifying and tracking Naturals. He didn't have the manpower or time to stand up such a tasking. "Or I could just steal access to his program."

"Could," Xander agreed, amused as always by the tug-of-war between the gods. "You'd face some stiff resistance from those guarding it."

Jonny's mind was already working through this dilemma. He reviewed what he'd learned of the White God's organization the past few years. Attacking any of Damian's large bases of operation was out of the question when he was hunting vamps day and night. But the recruiting points and three to five man stations located in cities across the country were more vulnerable, and each of them had someone capable of accessing the database where Damian's recruiting records were kept.

"Okay," he said. "I like this idea." Satisfied yet not surprised his mentor had once again pointed him in the right direction, Jonny faced the large vamp. "How's the fam?"

"None of your business, as usual," Xander replied.

Jonny expected the response yet couldn't help being disappointed by it. He'd walked away from Xander's now stepdaughter, Ashley, four years before. Xander made Jonny swear to never look back if he ever wanted help, and Jonny had obeyed.

Sometimes, he let his mind wander to who he had been, to a simpler life where he slept more than three hours a day and wasn't constantly at battle. Sometimes, he experienced a flicker of regret when he thought about how he had ended things with Ashley. Not that she'd want anything to do with him. He'd nearly gotten her and her family killed and in the years since he'd seen her, he'd killed too many people for him to count. A sweet girl with a fragile disposition, she was better off without him, and yet, he still thought of his first love on occasion.

"Focus on your vamps," Xander advised. "We both know how it ends if you come within a mile of my place or my family."

Jonny was quiet. He wasn't in a position to take on Xander. No one was. Not even the White and Grey Gods combined were a match for the Original Vamp. "Yeah. Thanks. Until next time."

He left Xander on the beach. Traveling to his quiet, isolated headquarters on the Oregon coast, he knew something was wrong the moment he materialized in the open foyer area of the main lodge.

Charles was standing over a bloodied vamp, his fist raised as if to strike the downed creature again. The two of them – and everyone else present in the foyer – froze. Jonny assessed the situation briefly. The vamp on the ground reeked of human blood and lots of it.

"Problem?" he asked in the terse quiet.

Bristling, Charles nonetheless lowered his hand and stepped away for Jonny to handle the vamp. Hands-on discipline was one way Jonny kept his people in line.

"Stefan killed one of the hotel employees," Charles explained.

Jonny knelt beside the vamp, who averted his gaze. The vamp was one of those turned since Jonny had come on board as the leader and tightened up their recruiting requirements to ensure only those who could follow his orders were vamped. The failure of a newer vamp despite the recruiting protocols was a personal disappointment for him. "Is that true?" he asked.

"Yes, ikir," came the response. "But I –"

"– lost control. Didn't mean to but couldn't stop," Jonny guessed. "Correct?"

The vamp nodded.

"It's the same thing everyone says. Do you know what it means?"

Another nod. The vamp was staring hard at the floor.

"It means you're too weak to be a vamp if you can't follow my orders. You can have as much blood as you want as long as you don't kill," Jonny said quietly. "Our people have a real chance of living in peace. No more war. No more hiding. No more being hunted like animals. But we have to prove we aren't animals for that to happen. The future of our entire race depends upon you following the rules I create so we aren't dragged into another war."

"Zero tolerance," whispered the vamp.

"Zero tolerance."

"He's a newbie Tracker," Charles voiced softly.

"He's of no use to me if he can't fucking follow orders," Jonny replied firmly. "One vamp will not jeopardize the future for the rest of us. Every vamp gets one kill – the one that turns him into a vamp. No more."

Charles said nothing. Jonny was cursing inside. He needed every Tracker he could get. All the vamp had to do was refrain from taking a life. If he was still hungry after he ate, he could find a new blood supply. There was no limit to the amount of humans they could drink from in a night – as long as the people were left alive.

"But you kill," the vamp whispered.

"I do," Jonny said. "Because mercy in my position is considered weakness. I learned that four months ago, when Valon took half my surviving vamps with him. I show mercy in only one way now. You know what that is?"

Another nod.

"What's your decision?"

The vamp shifted to sit. Jonny smelled his fear. He had long since hardened himself to the necessity of killing, even if it was a vamp with a skill he desperately needed. But he didn't like it. He didn't care to kill humans, and he hated killing his own loyal vamps. The harsh discipline needed to rein in his predators had been the hardest skill for him to learn.

"You," the vamp said finally.

The vamps who broke the rules with capitol punishments were given the choice of how to die. Quickly, by his hand, or slowly by starving to death. Most chose quickly, though a few initially had tried to wait out death or perhaps, wait for him to change his mind, by starving.

"Your service was appreciated," Jonny said and stretched out to rest a hand on the back of the vamp's neck. He drew a knife with the other and rested it against the vamp's neck. "Rest in peace, Stefan." The words were not unkind though he kept his regret to himself.

An audience had formed. He preferred to kill in public, a reinforcement of his rules. Those surrounding him were silent. The vamp before him was starting to panic and closed his eyes.

Jonny slid the knife into the vamp's neck to pierce his artery and withdrew it. The vamp slumped, blood racing down his neck and into his lungs. He began to cough and then choke before collapsing onto the ground.

The death wasn't as fast as Jonny could make it with his magic, but each vamp he disciplined had to become an example for the rest. Jonny waited for the red glow of the vamp's eyes to extinguish before standing.

"Send his body and that of whomever he killed to Damian," he told Charles. "We need to talk after."

Charles nodded and motioned for two nearby vamps to grab the dead body.

Jonny glanced down and away.

He needed a Tracker, and he needed every vamp left for the looming civil war. But at the end of the day, they had to follow his rules. The future of his people was more important than the life of any single one of them.

Even if taking the life of one of his own for a mistake Jonny understood too well made him feel ill. He retreated to his bedroom, his dark mood further dampened by how his night had ended.

## Chapter Two

Ashley landed on the ground with a grunt and immediately rolled, sensing the knife of her opponent plunging towards her head. With the agility and instincts of a Natural gifted to fight, she moved deftly and silently, even when she was getting her ass kicked by the second largest vamp she'd ever seen.

If she hadn't been trained by the largest and fiercest vamp in existence, she'd be worried.

She leapt to her feet and blocked then unleashed a series of kicks and punches, one of which pierced the vamp's defenses. He gasped and doubled over, leaving her ample target area to pound into until he finally fell unconscious on the ground.

Chest heaving, she lowered her guard and reached up to straighten the mask she wore to hide her identity. It was perfectly quiet for a moment, and she used her Natural gift to explore the area around her without looking.

The four vamps were down. Not dead, though, which meant she had to hurry. She spun and crossed to the two women and one teenage boy tied together in one corner of the warehouse she'd been monitoring. It was a popular spot for the vamps, but this was the first time she had seen them bring any innocent humans with them. She hadn't intended to fight them this night; she'd never fought more than two at a time. But the innocents caught in the grips of monsters changed everything.

"You okay?" she asked and knelt beside the woman nearest to her. She cut her free and moved on.

"Y... yeah," came the uncertain response.

"What the hell just happened?" the teen boy asked.

Ashley's hands paused. She'd planned for the day she decided to face the vamps but she hadn't thought about what to tell the people who witnessed either her otherworldly fighting or the monsters with fangs.

"I don't know," she said and then kicked herself mentally. "But you're safe. You all need to leave."

Two of them got to their feet and looked around. She helped the third up.

They were moving too slowly for her comfort. With a glance at the four unconscious vamps, Ashley raced to the exit and opened the door in the hopes of hurrying them along.

They went, but not before one of the vamps started to get up.

Ashley snatched the wooden doorstop and flung it, her aim as true as her instincts. "Stay down," she hissed. The doorstop smacked into the back of the vamp's head. He dropped.

"What?" one of the rescued people asked.

"Nothing. Go to the nearest cop and have them take you home." She pushed the last out of the warehouse and closed the door, locking it. When the three left her range of sensing, she strode to the vamps and considered them.

After a moment, she knelt and began searching each one for a phone. Only one carried a cell. She pulled it out of his jacket and pocketed it. Her brother was a computer nut who loved to show off. He'd helped her track more than one vamp, and she'd need his help again once the vamps knew not to return to this warehouse again.

Satisfied with her night, she rose and trotted out the back door and into an alley running between warehouses near the wharf where she'd stashed her things. Yanking off the mask, she stuffed it into her backpack and pulled on a hoodie. She slid the backpack onto her back and paused at the edge of the alley. The evening crowd strolled along the bay front San Diego area, and she joined them seamlessly.

Certain she looked like any other college student out for a walk, she glanced down at her stinging hand. She'd suffered a cut and bruises but nothing else from the fight. Her skills were becoming more instinctive, less consciously controlled, and no one – aside from Xander – was able to keep up with her. Her wounds healed five times faster than that of a human. It wasn't instant, but by morning, the scratch would be a scar. It was one of the side benefits of her Natural warrior talent. She was hard to take out and almost impossible to keep down.

She scrolled through the phone she'd stolen, frowning when she saw it contained only two contact numbers. Like all the others. The Black God ran a tight ship for being a relative newbie. None of his vamps had contact information for more than one level up and down, and she'd yet to fight anyone high enough ranking to have his number.

"Damn you, Jonny." It wasn't the first time she'd uttered the words in frustration, and it wouldn't be the last. "I have a score to settle."

She glanced at her brother Brandon as he approached. He held an iPad in his hand. "Your vitals are good. How'd it go?"

"Do you have to start a conversation like that?" she grumbled.

"Like what?"

"About my vitals. I already know I have issues."

"Whatever. It's a legit concern."

"I won. Can we focus on that?" Ashley tugged her t-shirt away from her chest to peer down at the nodes attached to her chest that fed her brother information electronically. "And I didn't lose any of the node thingies this time."

"Good. Those are expensive."

She frowned. "Oh, dammit. I lost my necklace."

"The one Mom gave you?"

She stopped, debating whether it was smart to return to the warehouse. "Yeah."

By now, the vamps had either regained consciousness and left or called for backup. She'd lost the element of surprise.

"We'll come back tomorrow," Brandon said.

"Hmm. I guess." She turned away.

"This is good. One solid week without an episode." He lowered the iPad. Two years older than her, he, too, was a Natural, one capable of mind control and also under the tutelage of Xander, the vamp who married their cousin Jessi several years before.

Ashley ignored him. As strong and fast as she was, her skill often came at a price, one she didn't want to be reminded of after her successful night battling vamps and rescuing people.

But she did dwell on the necklace. It was simple and inexpensive, a gold letter A on a thin chain. It had been one of the last gifts her mother gave her before the car accident that killed both her parents and placed her and Brandon under the care of their cousin, Jessi, who had adopted them.

"Dammit. I wish I hadn't lost it."

"Daylight. After classes we'll go find it," Brandon promised her. "Was I right? Four vamps, three humans?"

"Yep. Right again," she replied.

He smiled, pleased. "My Natural gift is getting stronger."

"And freakier," she added. "Being around Xander is bad enough. You having mind manipulation skills isn't quite right."

"Yeah, it kinda sucks sometimes," he said with a frown. "Especially on the dating front."

"At least you have dates!"

"If you weren't obsessed with vamps, you would, too. But I'm glad you prefer vamps to guys. I don't know what Xander or I would do if you ever brought home a serious date."

She'd imagined every scenario possible if that were to happen, and the results were always the same: her date got eaten by the resident vamp living with her cousin or had his mind erased by Brandon. Not that she was interested in guys really anyway. Not since Jonny. She hadn't been able to consider dating after how he'd twisted her up inside and nearly destroyed her life.

Turnabout is fair play, she told herself content to know she'd beaten up a few of his vamps. The cool ocean breeze rolled off the bay and swept past her, cooling her down after her exercise. She breathed it in deeply and started to relax.

"Got another phone," she said and dug it out of her pocket to pass it off to Brandon.

"Awesome." He accepted it. "Not a burner. Even better. Might be able to get some real information off this one."

"Just tell me where to go to beat up vamps," she replied.

"I'm going with you soon," he said.

"You can't fight like I can."

"I can crush minds."

"You think you can crush minds," she reminded him. "You've never tried it."

"I already bought a mask."

She smiled and then giggled. "Because that's what makes a superhero successful!"

"I seem to remember a certain sister claiming that to be the case."

Ashley laughed. "Okay. True. It does make you feel like an Avenger."

"You can be Black Widow and I'll be..." he paused, considering.

"The Hulk?"

He eyed her. "No. Thor."

"Omigod. You are so not Thor! At least I'm small and quick like Black Widow."

"And I'm what? Big and green and angry like Hulk?"

"I was thinking smart like Bruce Banner!" She laughed. Brandon was tall and lean with dark hair and the same gray-blue eyes she had.

"Whatever. I'm Thor," he said firmly. He looked down at his hand, where he'd written part of his daily to do list, along with the bus stop times. "C'mon. We're going to miss the bus." He took off at a trot towards the nearest bus stop.

Ashley followed, anxious to get back to the apartment they shared near the University. Fighting made her ravenous. Xander and Jessi had refused to let them live off campus unless they were together. Brandon had the ability to shield them from discovery by immortals and vamps with his mind skills, a feat deemed necessary given the involvement of Xander in their lives. His gift worked best in close quarters.

They boarded the bus and traveled back to the apartment building, where a huge steak and solid night of sleep awaited her.

The mewling of a cat greeted them as they entered the apartment.

"Hey, Cat," she called cheerfully and leaned down to scoop up the animal whose eyes glowed red like a vamp's. "Oh, Brandon, we can't forget to get more, uh, kitty food from Xander."

"Yeah." Brandon's tone was distracted as he plopped down on his favorite spot on the couch and opened his laptop.

"We're not going to ask your daddy where he gets your food, are we?" she purred to the cat and took it into the kitchen. Ashley set it down and withdrew its food from the fridge. The vamp-cat's blood was disguised as a bottle of wine, and she poured the thick maroon liquid into the cat's bowl.

Four years ago, before Xander entered their lives, she never would've seen herself here, pouring blood into a dish for a vampire kitty. Their lives had changed dramatically. Even so, she couldn't think of a better life to have. Her brother was her best friend, and their cousin Jessi was finally happy after years of sacrificing so much to raise them after the death of their parents.

"Eww. Don't drip," she told Cat as flecks of blood landed on the kitchen tile.

Although, at times, she wondered what life would have been like if she and Brandon hadn't had their realities smashed and replaced by a world she never imagined possible.

She padded down the hallway to her room and closed the door. Ashley tossed the weapons in her cargo pants onto the bed and turned to face the mirror on the back of her door.

Someone was behind her.

She whipped around, heart in her throat, only to find no one present. She lowered her guard. Her senses said no one was there, and she turned around again.

The form was back, a small slender man with green eyes standing behind her.

She turned again, only to find him gone.

"I'm going crazy," she muttered.

"No, you're not," came the soft response.

Ashley turned to the mirror and saw him again. He was smiling, and the air around him seemed to blur and shift. She reached for her weapon, refusing to take her eyes off him.

"I'm a friend," the green-eyed stranger said. "I'm the Original Watcher."

"I have no idea what that means," she snapped. "What're you doing in my room?"

"I came to deliver a message."

She frowned, glaring at him.

"When the time is right, you will remember me and what I'm about to tell you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

Who the hell am I talking to? Ashley blinked and gazed at herself in the mirror. She stood in the middle of her room, babbling to herself aloud. Her knife was in her hand, and her frame tense, as if she'd been ready to fight someone.

But there was no one present.

"Weird," she said and searched her room quickly to ensure her instincts weren't trying to warn her of something she couldn't directly see. She set down her knife and shivered. Something wasn't quite right. She felt as if she were missing something.

"Hey, you cooking tonight?" Brandon called from the hallway.

Ashley shook off her unease and racked it up to the night of fighting vamps. "Yeah. Coming!" With one last look around, she left her bedroom for the kitchen.

## Chapter Three

"I forwarded the reports on the most isolated Guardians' station we could find."

Jonny glanced up from his phone, where he'd been skimming through said report. His base in southern Oregon perched on the ocean and was surrounded by trees. He sat on the veranda off the top floor in the cool fall sun. "Reading it."

Even Damian's most un-secured location was still a nightmare. No station, however remote, was truly ever defenseless. Some were located in crowded neighborhoods, some in more isolated areas, but all had the ability to raise the alarm and alert the White God within seconds if attacked. The target Charles had found was located in a tiny city in southern Idaho.

"We confirmed the trunk runs to this one," Charles added, referring to the White God's secret internet network linking all the stations.

"Four Guardians, two shifts. The house is never empty and located in a neighborhood," Jonny said and lowered his phone. His gaze went to the ocean. "Also warded, I imagine."

"Yeah." The older, more experienced vamp was studying him. "I see one way in. What do you see?"

Charles had been instrumental in Jonny's learning of guerrilla strategy and war tactics as well as strategic planning. He often took on the role of teacher, and Jonny debated a moment, assessing the situation as he had been taught. "No direct attack. No sneaking in with one Guardian always on duty and the wards up," he surmised. "We need a distraction to draw them out and a reason for the wards to be tripped that'll cover our activities."

Charles was waiting.

"We set the house next door on fire, maybe under the guise of a party."

"That will work," Charles confirmed. "With the addition it should probably be a fire a few houses down that spreads in their direction. Otherwise, the wards might trip before the place has to be evacuated."

Jonny nodded. "It's Friday. Let's do it. Three vamps and you enough?"

"It is."

"I'll send Hector and the other team out to hunt the rogues." Jonny rose and started back into the house.

"One small issue."

"What?"

"The talisman. It was taken from the four attacked at the warehouse last night."

"Rogues?"

"Vigilante."

Jonny faced him, surprised. "Some stupid Natural stole it? How could anyone know what it was?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think this is something Damian is behind?"

Charles hesitated, pensive. "No. The Guardians kill without hesitation when a human is in danger, and the vamps had three humans with them for dinner. This vigilante didn't kill."

"Damian has rogues, too." If the situation weren't so dangerous, Jonny might have been amused. "So some crazy Natural has been going around beating up my vamps and now stole something from me." He shook his head. "I don't have time for stupid shit like this, Charles! How does some pinche idiota get a hold of something like this?" Of Cuban heritage, he often resorted to cursing in his native Spanish when he was upset.

"It's unclear what his intentions are. I don't see a lot of thought in his pattern of attacks. This is the second attack on our guys after six straight in a row on the rogues. His movement is restricted to the downtown San Diego area, within a window between sunset and midnight, and only Thursday through Sundays. We can set a trap for him pretty easily and get the talisman back."

"With what people?" Jonny demanded, irritated. "I'm down half already, and those remaining are tasked four times over. Our new recruits keep getting hijacked by the rogues because we don't have the manpower to guard them. I feel like we've lost and just don't know it yet."

"We haven't lost," Charles said quietly. "You're the Black God. In the end, you are destined to win. The rogues are prolonging their own sentences by opposing you. This is a stage of growth, one that's painful but one we'll get through and be all the better for when it's over."

Charles' calm helped Jonny restore his. He had gotten good at handling the constant stress of his job, though every once in a while, he lost his cool. "Yeah. I guess." Jonny sighed. "You handle the Guardian mission, and we'll send Hector and Tasha out as planned. I'm free. I'll head to downtown San Diego tonight and see if my gifts give me any more insight into what's going on. Maybe I can trap the vigilante and vamp him since he seems to be able to handle any vamp he finds."

"He's definitely gifted to fight."

"It'd be useful against Valon's vamps, and I need that talisman." Jonny strode into the house and to his bedroom to change. His dinner from the nights before – the redhead – was kept occupied in her own room until nightfall. She was brainwashed by his magic, incapable of knowing her danger or even what he really was. She thought they'd been lovers for years and he went to work during the day.

In a week, when she was completely drained, she'd be removed from his home by one of his vamps and either returned to her hometown or thrown into the ocean. He didn't ask where the bodies of his evening meals went; he just wanted them gone. There was a part of him that still wasn't fully settled with waking up next to a dead body come daylight, even if he had no problem bedding and biting them at night.

He'd wanted to be the first to sign up for his catch-and-release program. Charles, however, convinced him he needed the show of power that came with being the only one in the organization allowed to kill.

He dressed in clothing more suitable for a college student than a god and tucked his phone into the back pocket of black jeans.

Charles awaited him obediently outside his room. Jonny glanced at him as he emerged into the hallway and headed towards the stairs to the ground floor. He had grown accustomed to being waited on hand and foot by the loyal vamps. It no longer surprised him to find someone in the hallway at all times of the day and night, ready to jump if he told them to.

"I have three. Toby, Elijah and Liam," Charles reported. "They're assembling now. Any instructions on what to do if the Guardians return before the mission is complete?"

"Kill the Guardians, avoid killing humans. And make sure no one ever figures out what we're really doing there. Make it look like some random vamp attack."

Charles nodded. "Damian will likely come calling."

"I can handle him. I want reports before and after."

"Of course."

Jonny checked his watch. It was close to five. "Go."

"Leonard and Stu will be in the ops center in case you need anything."

Jonny nodded before summoning his magic and Traveling to Seaport Village in San Diego. The street sellers lining the boardwalk were starting to pack up as the shadows lengthened. The evening crowd began to clog the boardwalk. He strolled down the wide sidewalks, observing those around him with absent interest before turning his gaze to the bay. His heightened senses would pick up a Natural, Guardian or vamp a mile before he saw them. He was reading none of them around, just normal humans strolling along with loved ones, completely unaware of who he was. Of what he was.

He still found it strange how he could mix and mingle with people and no one suspected how different he was. The world of the Black God had started off surreal. Now, it was the everyday life of a human he could no longer imagine. With immortality all but promised to him, he stopped seeking friendships or family outside the circle of vamps. It hurt too much to lose someone, and pain became a distraction he didn't need. Explaining to an outsider who he was and what he did wasn't even an option.

But every once in a while, he experienced an ache of loneliness, the yearning to be normal, to form relationships with others who weren't monsters, to pursue college instead of figuring out how to rein in mutinous vamps.

He paused at the railing and gazed at the ocean, trying to block the human remorse in his heart and refocus on his duty. Because that's all he had become when he killed the last Black God to take his place. He had become a creature bound by duty whose personal interests were no longer important. There was no place for emotions or doubt or mercy, not when such human weaknesses stood in the way of defeating his enemies and were interpreted as cowardice to the vamps he led. The civil war was a greater threat than the White God, and one he felt personally responsible for after how long it'd taken him to accept his duty.

Jonny began walking again, irritated by the sea of humanity he had once been a part of. He arrived to the warehouse just as dusk overtook the sky. He could see as well in the dark as he could in the day, though he saw in gray scale rather than color. It was another unique gift for the creature charged with leading nocturnal predators.

He entered the warehouse where the vamps had been bringing their dinners. The faint scent of vamp and human blood reached him, along with the scurrying of some small animal. He walked around the area where the scent of blood lingered without finding any sign the talisman he sought had been accidentally knocked out of a vamp's hand and forgotten.

I've had no fucking luck the past five years.

The vamps and their food and attacker had all left through the same door and taken the same path away from the warehouse. He followed the footsteps and opened the door to step into the narrow alley, scanning the area for the talisman. He almost hoped a clumsy vamp had dropped it, even if such an oversight was punishable for sheer stupidity.

The tool was nowhere in sight. Jonny searched the area visually. He turned towards the boardwalk and began walking. In the dying light of the sun, he caught a glint of something tiny and metal.

He bent to pull the necklace from the crevice where it had fallen.

Jonny lifted the necklace with an A charm, and his heart skipped a beat. It's not possible. He had seen it four years before around the neck of the girl he thought of sometimes.

It was Ashley's. Or at least, she had one like it. A Natural, she was a ward of Xander's – completely untouchable. Jonny racked his brain to recall what he knew of her Natural gift before realizing he had no idea what she and her brother were capable of. In the time they spent together, he'd never had the chance or motivation to test her to find out. She was able to Travel, but such an ability was normally secondary to a Natural.

She could be anything. Natural gifts were hereditary, and he knew nothing about her parents, although Xander had once told him their grandfather was a Watcher. Jonny hadn't had the need to understand what abilities a Watcher had, but it was likely the reason Ashley's guardian, Jessi, was invisible to even gods.

It seemed at first too large of a coincidence for him to find her necklace at a site where his vamps had been attacked by a Natural. Xander and Jessi lived close to San Diego. It wasn't out of the question Ashley was nearby.

But a fighter? He remembered Ashley as a sweet, innocent seventeen-year-old with a penchant for beading who hadn't known how to punch let alone defeat seasoned vamps. She had been beautiful and delicate. Nothing about her was tough enough to survive the brutal training necessary to become a warrior.

Jonny stared at the necklace, willing it to reveal its owner and disappointed when it didn't.

It could be anyone's even if it seemed too coincidental to have stumbled upon it at this time and place. And if it were Ashley's, he had a huge problem named Xander standing between him and the woman who might have the talisman hidden in the bulky case of a cell phone.

He took out his phone to text Charles. After your op, we need to track that phone. He pushed send. A vamp from a different era, Charles wasn't yet comfortable with modern technology. Jonny had found the Black God's enterprise to be woefully short of advancement in that area, and he'd been slowly bringing in tech savvy vamps and new equipment to enable them to work smarter.

After the rebellion, he'd GPS tagged every cell phone issued to a vamp, though the computer that was supposed to be monitoring them had been crushed in the rebellion. He'd been waiting for it to be rebuilt.

"Coño! I'm tired of living in the nineties," he muttered and rose. He gazed at the charm on the necklace for another long minute then placed it in his pocket.

If Ashley were involved, his life was about to get even more complicated. He returned to the boardwalk, debating whether to approach Xander or wait until he had confirmation either way.

Or... there was a third option.

His phone vibrated and he checked it to find the text from Charles.

Computer online. Starting op. Radio silence.

Jonny smiled, pleased for the first time in too long at having a quick result to at least one of his issues. He clicked the link Charles had sent and watched his phone install a new app. It popped open to reveal a map of the country dotted with the locations of all his vamps. One in San Diego was red.

"About time," he said. He zoomed into the red dot. His location popped up as a black dot. "So close." He frowned. A small part of him had hoped the phone was outside of San Diego.

He began walking towards the area indicated. Normally, he'd Travel there, but if Ashley was involved, he wasn't about to stumble into one of Xander's wards by accident.

Senses alert, he walked to the train station and rode through the city for nearly forty minutes before reaching the University district. On a Friday night, the dorms, local bars and hangouts, and surrounding apartment buildings were lit up and loud. Music thumped from several different locations, and the streets were crowded.

He walked among the college students, straining to sense any Natural or ward before he reached it. A couple of redheads caught his attention, and he watched them duck into a bar. His stomach growled but he chose to continue, needing to locate the talisman.

Reaching the apartment building where the red dot originated, Jonny waited for a group of students to file out of the door and slipped in before they could close it.

He had yet to trip any wards, but he didn't feel the presence of any Naturals, either. Puzzled and wary, he followed the tracker chip to the fifth floor and down a wing overlooking a back street rather than the busy strip in front of the building.

No wards. No Naturals. It was possible the vigilante had gone out for the night and left the phone in his apartment without knowing its value. Charles seemed to think this guy didn't have a clue what he was doing, aside from beating up vamps he crossed.

Jonny sensed no one inside, either. He glanced both ways down the hall before Traveling inside.

The apartment was small and brightly lit. Music played quietly, along with a television, and popcorn popped in the microwave. The cell phone he had tracked was plugged into a laptop with a lit screen on a coffee table in front of the television. He frowned, uncertain why he couldn't sense anyone when everything indicated someone was here.

He crossed to the breakfast bar area, which was littered with mail, chargers for electronics and a digital picture frame.

Shit. He studied one of the pictures taken several years before. In it Ashley and her brother were grinning, their arms wrapped around the blond Jessi, who beamed.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Jonny turned. He had only sensed Brandon's presence a split second before the college student spoke. It dawned on him why. Their cousin Jessi had the ability to move in stealth mode, completely undetectable until she was within about a meter of someone else. Brandon had to have inherited the gift as well.

But if Brandon's gift was stealth mode, that left Ashley as the fighter and Jonny... disbelieving.

"You can't be here!" Brandon was tense, his glare on Jonny.

"You stole something of mine. I want it back, and I'll be on my way." Jonny raised his hands.

Brandon was staring at him. "How did you find me?"

"The phone."

Brandon glanced towards it then swore, crossing to yank it free of the computer.

"I just want it back," Jonny repeated.

"You came here for a phone?"

"Yep."

"No other reason?"

Jonny understood the pointed look without Brandon saying anything about his sister directly. His irritation stirred. "Xander and Damian know you're beating up my vamps?"

Brandon went rigid.

"I didn't think so," Jonny said and shook his head. "Don't be stupid, Brandon. Stop targeting my vamps."

"Stop hurting innocent people and we might."

We. Double shit. It was getting harder to deny the obvious. "It's what I do. No need for you to get involved."

Brandon threw the phone at him.

Jonny caught it. "You get off with a warning this time because of who you're related to," he said. "I'll take matters into my own hands next time."

"Get out, Jonny."

Jonny reached into his pocket and pulled Ashley's necklace free. "Tell your sister not to come near my vamps again." He set the necklace on the breakfast bar.

Without another word, Jonny Traveled out of the apartment to the sidewalk outside. He was tenser than usual. He pocketed the phone, relieved to have it back, and glanced up at the building. He hoped his personal warning would scare the siblings straight. If they were anyone else...

He shook his head. He'd eat one and feed the other to his vamps. Guardians weren't off limits like humans. As for Naturals... he'd never had a reason to consider what to do with them since most were either under the protection of Guardians to start off with or he had no way to identify them with his destroyed infrastructure. It seemed like an oversight not to have a policy for interacting with Naturals.

At least he had some leverage if they hadn't told either the White God or their protector what they were doing. If they failed to obey him, he could alert Xander first and then act.

Jonny shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking, waiting until he was out of sight of anyone else before Traveling back to his home.

So Ashley was a Natural warrior, and her brother was on stealth mode. As soon as he'd realized whose apartment he was in, he'd experienced a thrill and hoped to see Ashley, not her brother. The disappointment and relief flickering through him were baffling. How was he eager to see a girl he hadn't set eyes on in over four years? One he'd last seen before the war with the Others, and who he'd walked away from after she realized he betrayed her?

There was no place for emotion or the past in his world.

I'm exhausted. That's it, he told himself. Nocturnal or not, he still needed more sleep. It didn't look like his life was about to get any easier soon, though, and he had the talisman he needed. He banished the thought of Ashley from his mind without being able to completely suppress the interest his discovery created.

## Chapter Four

Ashley danced long and hard to the throbbing techno in one of the local clubs. She always felt best when she was working out, fighting or doing something else physical like dancing for hours to the quick beat. Sweat dampened the back of her neck from the activity and crowded club, and she grinned at her latest partner. Guys and girls rotated in and out as her dance partners. None were ever able to keep up with her for long, and she closed her eyes, not caring who was present when she opened them.

She let the music sweep her away instead and worked out the anxiety that often came with fighting vamps. There were moments every time when she truly feared for her life and others when she didn't think anything in the world could touch her. She'd been fighting vamps for a few months and was growing more confident in her skills. But sometimes, like when she tried something new such as facing down four vamps, she became a little intimidated, a little uncertain about her training and preparation.

At the four hour mark, she finally left the dance floor and sidled up to the busy bar. She was a regular at the club, and the bartender brought her a glass of ice water. She squeezed through the crowded space to grab it.

"Thanks," she panted with a smile and shifted away.

"Buy you a drink?" someone asked from behind her.

"No, thanks." She didn't bother turning. Facing vamps was becoming second nature. Dealing with guys? She still didn't understand what held her back, aside from memories of how she'd almost lost her family by trusting the wrong guy. She trusted her ability to fight more than her judgment.

"You come here every Friday and every Friday I ask you if you want a drink."

Her brow furrowed. Unless he was a vamp, he wasn't worth remembering. She turned to face the speaker. The blond haired guy with dark eyes gave a toothy smile filled with perfectly white, square teeth that glowed in his tan face. He was built like a quarterback and handsome.

Realizing she was staring, she blinked. "I don't drink," she said and lifted her water. "Just this."

"Thank god! She finally speaks to me," he said with a wider smile.

"You really ask me every Friday?"

"The fact you haven't notice doesn't bode well for me."

She started to smile. "Sorry. I just come to dance."

"You must be used to guys asking you out."

"No," she snorted. "Why would you think that?" She sipped her water.

It was his turn to appear confused. "That's different. But okay. Since you're giving me the time of day... I'm Shane."

"Ashley."

"You, uh, wanna dance?"

"Nah. I'm done dancing for tonight."

"Okay. No drinks, no dancing. How about a walk?"

She hesitated.

"Public place so you know I'm not a creeper," he added.

If she could handle a vamp, she could handle him if he tried anything. It wasn't the potential for a physical confrontation she feared but the knowledge she knew nothing about the boy before her, like if he were secretly a god who would put her family in danger.

Four years later, and Jonny is still in my head. She hated the reminder. This ends now.

"Yes," she decided. "Let's go for a walk."

He stretched back to reach the bar and placed his drink on the counter then held out his hand for hers. She returned it to him.

Ashley led him out of the teeming bar and into the street, where the ocean breeze began cooling her at once. "What year are you?" she asked and looked up at the stranger beside her.

"Masters program. You?"

"Senior." Again, she added silently. School wasn't her favorite thing. "Finally picked a major," she said with a sigh. "I don't think I can do a Masters. Undergrad is hard enough."

"Just depends on what you want to do in life." His gaze was on their path. "You wanna see the new fountain?"

"What new fountain?"

"They put in a new naval memorial at the end of the strip."

"I'm out of it," she murmured. Brandon was right. She'd been completely obsessed with vamps the past few months, so much so, she'd barely noticed anything else like the new memorial or Brandon's new electronics until she stumbled over them. "Sure. Let's go see it."

Shane pointed in the direction of the memorial and they crossed the street. He was funny and easy to talk to, and she found herself enjoying the walk more than she expected. They neared the edge of the busy section and continued onward. Her senses were alert to their surroundings.

The crowds had petered out by the time they reached the area where the new memorial was supposed to be. Ashley looked around without spotting it, though her instincts were picking up on something else. People in the shadows followed them. The only people who wanted anything to do with her were vamps out for revenge, assuming they'd finally found her somehow. The predators were known to stalk humans, but with Brandon to shield her, she hadn't thought they could find her.

Had she done something to tip them off? She'd been chased by several and always led them the opposite direction of where she lived. She had the urge to check all her clothing for GPS markers, the kind Xander used to use on her and Brandon when they first left the house.

"Maybe we should turn back," she said, slowing her step. She hadn't thought to bring weapons to the club. It was less than a block away from the apartment she shared with Brandon.

"We're almost there," Shane promised. "It's around the corner." He pointed to a nearby building.

She hesitated, not wanting him to become a casualty if vamps jumped her, but didn't stop. In truth, she was having a good time talking to someone else for the first time in a while. If nothing else, she could tell him to run while she held off the vamps.

So she continued walking, a little less relaxed. Shane appeared oblivious and continued talking cheerfully. She allowed her senses to track the movements of those behind them and went through a couple of mental exercises to help shift her mood to fighting.

They went around the corner, and her step slowed once more.

ore shadowy figures lining the quiet street ahead of them but the memorial was noticeably absent.

"I don't see it," she said with more irritation than she meant to show.

"I get lost sometimes," Shane admitted. "Maybe it's the next corner."

"Look, Shane, I think we need to go back," she said, trying to keep her voice upbeat and friendly. "We can find it online."

"This area looks familiar. I'm pretty sure it's right up there," he said and continued walking.

Her internal alarms were blaring. Ashley stopped, able to track the movements of no less than fifteen stalkers. She'd never faced more than four vamps. While she was confident she could face at least six, she doubted she could fifteen.

"Shane," she called, gaze going to the guy several meters ahead of her. "We need to go back."

Movement across the street caught her attention, and she shifted her weight so it was more balanced, preparing for a confrontation.

"Now, Shane."

"I don't think so." Something in his voice made her face his direction. His smile was gone, his eyes hard.

Here I was worried about him... He'd led her into some kind of trap. "What're you doing, Shane?" she asked. "You don't know what these things are."

"I do. They're going to turn me into one of them in exchange for helping them trap you."

I definitely have a type. Her initial instinct was right. Her choice of guys was fatally flawed. Ashley glared at him. The vamps were closing in. Several emerged from the shadows, armed to the teeth with weapons, their red eyes glowing.

Jonny must've gotten tired of her picking on his vamps. How he found her, though, she had no idea. She was protected by Brandon's Natural ability or so she thought. What had she done wrong? Left her student identification at a fight? Failed to notice one of the vamps tagging her with a GPS locator? Or did Jonny's power as the Black God grant him the ability to bypass Brandon's gift?

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She and Brandon had a code developed when they were still kids and molded by Xander's paranoid influence in their lives. She unlocked the phone and rested her thumb on the app he had created for emergencies. Shoving the phone back in her pocket, she prepared herself to fight.

"All right. Step up," she told the vamps, her heart pounding hard despite the bravado of her words. "I've already beaten a ton of you. Let's see what you've got."

Ten of them closed in on her. She had the urge to run, nowhere near confident enough to face so many. Her one solace: if they wanted her dead, they'd have shot her by now. She didn't know what Jonny was doing, but Xander would always find her. How he'd react when he discovered what she'd been doing was less encouraging. She'd rather face her fate when she got to it than die before that moment.

"Let's get this started," she said and drew a deep breath.

## Chapter Five

"I need good news. Tasha. Stu." Jonny watched over the shoulder of the hacker named Stuart at his workstation in the operations center in the basement of his Oregon headquarters. The vamp's shoulders were hunched, a sign of his discomfort at having the Black God and his charged energy so close, and his fingers flew over the keyboard.

"I might have some," replied the female vamp, his third in command.

Easing back, Jonny went to Tasha's adjacent workstation. "The talisman is working?" he asked. The slender, stone like tool they'd recovered from the phone Brandon had sat on top of her laptop.

"Sort of," replied the blonde vamp.

"What does that mean?"

"It's working. But it's not."

"We need a dataset to focus it," Stuart supplied. "It can't just find anyone. It has to have a point of reference. Some sort of historical data or individual signature for it to track."

"It's a simple form of artificial intelligence. Or I guess, magic," Tasha added. "But in order to learn, it has to have a starting point."

Jonny listened. It wasn't the greatest news ever, but it was better than nothing.

"Did it work?" Charles asked from behind him. The vamp smelled of fire and blood from his long night and day in Idaho and had returned to Jonny's side immediately upon returning, as usual. The Traveler with him winked out of existence, leaving a singed Charles.

"I'm not sure yet," Jonny replied.

"We followed his instructions exactly."

Jonny nodded, waiting patiently to see if their gamble paid off. Stuart had instructed Charles how to access the trunk and now was testing their ability to link into the White God's system.

"We're in," the hacker reported. "Testing out our ability to access the Guardian records system." Before he completed the sentence, the screen filled with an alphabetical index of Guardians.

Jonny watched the names with interest, wishing he had the ability to exploit the information rather than use it defensively. Perhaps, once he'd fixed his rogue vamp problem, he could. For now, he needed the names of every Tracker he could get. "Find the ones not yet pulled into the organization," he told Stu. "We need to quietly grab the people least likely to be noticed."

Charles moved away from them while Jonny watched his hacker work. Jonny half-listened as his second spoke on the phone.

"There are about a fifty spread out all over the world," the hacker reported. "Their ages range from five years to seventy."

"Narrow it down to ages eighteen to forty or so," Jonny instructed. "Healthy enough to survive being vamped."

"Fourteen."

"Send me and Charles the list."

"Got it. There's a chance they'll notice we're in the database, depending on their security measures," the hacker said. "You want me to mirror the database?"

"Yeah. And anyone we identify, can you take them out of the database or mark them as dead or similar?"

Stuart was quiet for a moment. "Anything I alter is a potential red flag," he said. "Let me play around with it and see if there's something I can do to alter files without leaving a trail."

"Good." Jonny leaned back.

"If you ever... uh... want to vamp another hacker, it'd be useful," Stuart added.

"I've got a recruitment requirement out for one," Jonny reported. "We're having problems keeping recruits right now. Tasha's working on it."

"Yep. I have two identified," Tasha added. "We're approaching them soon."

"Yeah. I know." The hacker sounded disappointed. "Someone with network security skills would be good."

"Noted," said Tasha.

"Ikir," Charles said quietly.

"Yeah."

Charles indicated the hallway outside the ops center. "Minor problem." He held out the phone to Jonny.

Jonny accepted it quizzically and placed it to his ear. "What is it?"

"What do you mean, what is it?" came the infuriated voice of Brandon. "You know why I'm calling."

Jonny glanced at Charles, who shrugged. "No idea how he got my number," Charles said quietly.

Jonny motioned him away and waited until certain no one was within hearing distance. The last thing he needed was someone else thinking he'd gone soft by sparing the vigilantes.

"I'm afraid I don't," he replied coolly. "What do you want?"

"I want my sister back!"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Sorry." Jonny started to lower the phone, determined to hang up on him, when Brandon's next words stopped him.

"Vamps grabbed her last night."

Jonny debated hanging up. No other missions were authorized last night in California, aside from his own trip to visit Brandon. His people were too tapped out to sneak away and disobey him, which left one possibility. "Go on," he said.

"You just couldn't leave her alone! She didn't kill any of your vamps. She just wanted to help people and practice her skills. What did you do with her? Kill her? Vamp her?" Brandon was panicking. "How the hell –"

"Brandon, listen. I –"

"No, you listen! I'm going to –"

"Stop!" Jonny's sharp tone silenced the young man close to his age on the other side of the call. "I don't have her. I wouldn't risk Xander's anger."

"It's quite a coincidence you showed up in the middle of our apartment and then she disappears."

It is, he agreed silently. But chances were, she'd crossed Valon's rogue vamps one time too many and they tracked her down to stop her from interfering again. "There's a lot going on you don't know about. If you want to find her, go get Xan –"

"I know where she is." Brandon was calming. "Xander will kill us if he finds out."

"And I won't?"

"No offense, but I'm more afraid of him than you."

Jonny rolled his eyes.

"Swear you don't have her."

"I don't. None of my guys do, either."

"It was your guys that grabbed her!"

"Look, Brandon, I've got a tiny rogue element in my organization I'm looking to crush," Jonny said with tried patience. "My guess is Ashley crossed the wrong damn vamp last night, and this is the result. It's stupid as shit to be out doing what she's doing. If she got in over her head, it's not my fucking problem."

There was a long moment of silence. He could almost see Brandon thinking.

"Where is she? I can prove they aren't mine," Jonny added.

"Monterey wharf."

Jonny took a quick picture of the location of his mid-California vamps and texted it to the number Brandon was calling from. "Those are mine," he said. As he said the words, he studied the photo. He had no one between San Francisco and Los Angeles – but there was an old ops center used long before his reign in the Monterey area. The rogue vamps would know about it. Were they stupid enough to make it their headquarters or simply using it to stash Ashley?

"You can manipulate that shit," Brandon said finally.

"Good bye, Brandon." Jonny hung up and handed the cell back to Charles. "Send a scout to the old warehouses my predecessor used to use in the Monterey area. I have a feeling some of our rogues are there. Tell them to watch only. I want to know who's there and how many. And..." He debated. "... I don't understand exactly what Stu and Tasha need for the talisman to work. Send Tasha with the recon team to determine if there's something there she can use."

Charles nodded. "May I ask what that was about?"

"No," Jonny snapped.

Charles didn't push and moved back to the ops center to issue orders for a scout to do some reconnaissance. Jonny remained in the hallway, thoughts on Ashley once more. It truly was the stupidest thing ever for her to start taking out vamps without the White God's knowledge or support. What possessed her to take such risks? She had to know if he didn't put a stop to what she was doing, someone else – probably Xander – would.

His phone vibrated and he glanced down. Brandon had texted him an address in Monterey and nothing else. Jonny shoved the phone into his pocket.

He owed the siblings nothing. Any involvement with them was tantamount to challenging Xander, and Jonny wasn't in any position to do something so crazy.

Hours later, he was still telling himself this when he strolled onto the Monterey wharf packed with tourists and the evening dinner crowd. The air smelled of clam chowder and the ocean. The occasional bark of a harbor seal broke up the chatter of humanity.

He sensed the gathered vamps long before reaching the wharf and treaded carefully. Whatever they were doing here, they hadn't thought to put up wards around the area. They wouldn't sense him until he was in their midst.

Jonny paused in front of a boarded up restaurant, one of the largest buildings on the wharf. He counted... seventeen vamp signatures inside. It was a larger number than he was accustomed to finding gathered in one spot though nowhere near the several hundred that had defected. Still, they weren't recruits either, which meant one of them was going to know where the others were.

He followed a sign pointing to a spot from which to view the bay and stopped behind the building. No one else was present. The tour boats were docked and dark, and a pallet filled with harbor seals swayed from the movement of waves and animals. He was able to sense Ashley, too. She read as a Natural, and he began to suspect Brandon was able to do more than move in stealth mode. He had covered Ashley's signature the night before. Without him present, Ashley was exposed.

Jonny hung back by the railing, gaze on the two-story restaurant. The upper level had been an open air club, and some table and chairs remained. Instinct told him to step aside and allow Charles to handle the vamps. However, something else urged him to act on his own. He wanted to think it was a sense of duty and not emotion, but he wasn't certain. Having learned to be patient and cautious under pressure, he had the urge to be reckless for once, to barge into the vamp hideout and wipe everyone out before releasing Ashley back to her brother.

Jonny debated another second then strode towards a door hidden under a stairwell beneath the upper deck of the abandoned building. He eased it open and slid inside, senses alert. The interior was dark and dusty.

He walked silently in the direction of the grouped vamps, veering off course only to confront the solitary guard they'd left near the back entrance of the building. It took a thought and a touch for him to paralyze then kill the creature. He had learned many ways to kill over the years with Charles' help. His power, when concentrated and channeled in a single direction, managed to short out someone from the inside out. He was able to sever the spinal cord or boil someone's blood just as easily without being more than a foot or two from someone. He could also hold them mesmerized, incapable of movement or independent thought, and physically beat them to death or stab them or whatever else he wanted to do. His favorite method, though, was to tear out their throats. Messy, simple and always sent a message that even vamps understood.

Tonight, he chose instant death where he'd usually want the messiest death possible to leave as a warning to others.

He lowered the dead vamp to the ground. He could wipe out the wharf and everyone on it, too, but he had learned a thing or two about how discretion kept him off Damian's radar. Right now, he needed every moment of quiet he could get.

The plethora of skills available to a god were still emerging, and channeling all his focus took effort. He paused before the door leading to where the other vamps were gathered. They had infrared sight in the dark, unlike his full on ability to see everything in gray scale around him. His eyes went to the sources of electricity he could sense within the walls.

Jonny crossed to a point where the subtle thrum was loudest and rested his hand against the wall. He pushed his magic towards the wiring of the building. A surge of power electrified the air around him before the circuits fried and shorted out.

Grumbling and cursing originated from the room full of vamps. He stepped away, wanting to draw out as many as he could before outright unleashing his magic and attacking.

Two left the room. Invisible to the creatures he was charged with controlling, he waited until the door closed behind them before lifting both hands to cripple them. Seconds later, both crumbled, dead, to the ground.

Three down, fourteen to go. If they were somewhere more isolated, he wouldn't have a problem rolling out his power and letting it crush the traitors. Jonny approached the door to the restaurant floor and opened it. Ashley was against the far wall.

The vamps didn't notice his entrance. He approached the one nearest and killed him with a touch then moved to the second closest. He had made it through five before one of those falling smashed into something glass as he collapsed.

The others fell silent. Jonny held his breath and wove through them, towards Ashley, while the vamps searched the area nearest the door for signs of an intruder.

She was hooded and tied, and his stomach rumbled when he smelled human blood on her. He rested a hand on her arm, assessing her body. She was bruised and cut in a few places, but there was no major damage to her. He couldn't be entirely certain without biting her, which gave him more access to someone's body, but he assessed she'd be able to fight. He was counting on it. What was better, as a Natural warrior, she shouldn't need light to fight either. She'd be driven by instinct rather than sight.

Jonny said nothing as he quickly untied her. He doubted she'd bother thanking him. He pulled the hood off her next then pressed a knife into the palm of one of her hands. She was breathing steadily and seemed alert. He didn't have time to evaluate her completely. The vamps were headed his way.

"You need to leave. Fast," he whispered. He then stood, moving away.

There was a pause before he heard her stand behind him. His attention returned forward.

A flashlight blinded him briefly. Jonny's arm shot up to block the sudden light. More than one gasp of surprise came from the startled vamps.

"How..." one vamp started and then stopped.

"One chance," Jonny said. "You all have one chance to beg for mercy."

No one moved, least of all Ashley. He didn't need to see her to know she was probably more shocked than anyone.

"Kill him," one of the vamps said.

"Wrong answer," Jonny growled in a low voice. His magic worked best when he was patient and calculating. It was going to be difficult to remain calm when he was about to be attacked by half a dozen vamps.

The first two attacked from his left. Before he had the chance to react, Ashley was there. She moved too quickly for even him to track, and he found himself watching a heartbeat too long. He missed blocking the first punch from the vamp that launched at him next. The creature's fist smashed into his cheek, and Jonny was driven back a step. He lashed out without thinking. Black fire smashed into his attacker and sent the vamp crashing through the pane of glass of the front window. Jonny witnessed the shocked expressions of the evening crowd briefly before his attention returned to the hostile vamps.

Ashley knocked out her two and confronted a third.

Jonny killed one dead before it had the chance to strike then snapped the neck of the second. He smashed into the third with both fists and power, and the vamp dropped dead.

Ashley was done and breathing hard.

Cries for help came from outside the restaurant, and he saw the unmistakable blue uniform of police.

First things first. He couldn't leave any vamps alive.

"You have something against killing?" he demanded and bent down to touch one of the vamps she'd knocked unconscious.

"Yeah. I don't do it!" Ashley snapped back.

Jonny shook his head and went to the second. He felt her eyes on him. There was a time when he hadn't wanted to kill and another when he'd killed – and felt guilty.

Both those times had passed. He didn't feel remorse when it came to death, not anymore and no matter how hard she was glaring at him.

Finishing off the last of the vamps, Jonny rose and snatched Ashley's arm.

She yanked away, but he grabbed her again, this time allowing his magic to leak into her. She was too fast to stop, but he could slow her down, and he did just that, forcing her muscles to relax the way he often did the women he drained for dinner so they wouldn't fight back either.

He Traveled with her out of the restaurant and to the beach nearby.

She wrenched free the moment their shoes touched the sand. "Get the hell away from me!" she hissed.

Jonny was about to read her the riot act for taking on vamps when she whirled and glared up at him.

He'd always loved her blue-gray eyes that bordered on silver at night. Her cheeks were flushed, her willowy form balanced and crouched as if she were considering attacking a god. Until this moment, he had remembered her only as the delicate, almost too thin seventeen-year-old who tried to kill herself.

She'd grown into a woman in the past four years. Her body was shapely, her hips flared and breasts large enough to fill his hand. Training to fight rendered her toned, and she'd lost what remained of the baby fat in her face to reveal high cheekbones with natural hollows beneath them and a softly shaped chin.

Ashley was stunning in a way few women were, from the contrast of her dark hair and pale complexion to the shapely musculature of her thighs and calves outlined by her snug leggings.

What shocked him more? The unfamiliar fire in her eyes or the fact she wasn't the vulnerable girl he left?

"You have a lot of nerve!" She spoke before he could recover from his surprise.

"For rescuing you?" he retorted.

"For getting near me!"

"Because you'll run and hide behind Xander."

"I won't run and hide," she snapped. "I've been waiting for this day for years." She stepped back and shifted the knife he had given her from her left to her right hand.

He studied her, realization dawning. "You're going to fight me?"

She nodded.

"I thought you were crazy taking on vamps but this is insanity," he said, unable to help his amusement. "You can't kill me, Ash."

"You destroyed my life and almost killed my cousin. I want to repay you for that."

He crossed his arms, not expecting Ashley to be furious at him four years later. "I'm not a normal vamp. I won't play fair, either."

"Figures."

"All right then. Come on." He dropped his arms. "I'll let you hit me once before I show you why no one messes with a god."

She eyed him.

He beckoned her towards him.

She struck in a blur of movement he couldn't track, even with his godly senses. But then something happened. She froze in place for a split second, and he snatched her. Jonny whirled her and wrapped one arm around her, hauling her against him while his other hand went to her neck. She was animated once more, jerking and ...

... convulsing. Her breathing was ragged and uneven, her movement out of control.

Jonny reacted instinctively. He gripped her jaw and forced it to the right, exposing her neck, and sank his fangs into her. Her emotions flooded him, as he expected them to whenever he bit someone. He had learned to ignore the intimate assault in an effort to stem his hunger. Normally, he used the physical invasion of his teeth puncturing his victim to ease the suffering of the life he was about to take. This time, he used his level of access to assess what was wrong with Ashley.

Epilepsy. Her body whispered the secret to him among her tumultuous emotions.

From the untainted honey flavor of her human blood, she wasn't on meds to stop the seizures from happening. He used his power to relax her muscles and soothed the short out in her nervous system. Her body was telling him more, and he listened, interested. He had never fed from a Natural before. The sensations running through him were different, stronger, his connection to her more intense than any he'd experienced. Vaguely, he recalled hearing Xander say Jessi's grandfather, and therefore Ashley's, had been a Watcher. Was this why her flavor was more intoxicating than anything he'd ever tasted?

He saw her Natural skill – fighting – and also the reason she was able to continue training hard as a warrior when she was epileptic. Her body regenerated quickly and repaired any damage the seizures caused within a day or two. She healed with speed second only to his. His healing was instant, but her skill was closer to his ability than that of a human.

Beneath his magic, the uncontrolled seizing of her womanly frame turned into trembling. She was scared both of him and the loss of control of her body. This much he was able to feel, along with the other hot emotions flowing through her. Fury. Frustration.

Jonny drank enough from her to sate his curiosity and hunger for the woman he hadn't seen in four years then pulled his fangs free and held her securely, one hand remaining on her neck in case she tried anything stupid. She was limp in his arms, and it didn't take him piercing her neck to know she was panicking.

"Just breathe," he said quietly. The cool ocean breeze swept by both of them. His sense were alert, his ability to spot potential danger before it reached them in full effect. He listened to Ashley's breathing stabilize and sensed her testing her balance.

"What did you... do?" she whispered finally. "I'll kill myself before becoming a vamp!"

"I didn't vamp you," he replied. "I stopped the seizure."

"How?"

"Manipulating someone's body is one of my talents. Keeps my meals from fighting back."

Her breath hitched. Ashley tried to pull away. Still weak from her seizure, she was easy to subdue, and Jonny nuzzled her neck once more.

"Don't!" she gasped and gripped his arm with both hands.

"You gonna stop fucking with my vamps?" he replied.

Ashley said nothing.

"I take it that's a no," he said, not surprised. "I'm going to start considering every confrontation you have with them a personal invitation to pay you a visit."

"Xander –"

"Xander doesn't know what you're doing. If you want to tell him, I'm happy to tell him who rescued you tonight." Jonny kept his tone even, his voice calm and firm. He wasn't about to let her know just how much he didn't want to have that conversation with Xander.

"Let me go," she said quietly.

"Do you understand me, Ashley?"

She squirmed.

"Wrong answer." Jonny bit her again, this time harder, letting her feel what it was like to have three inch incisors slicing into her neck.

Ashley gasped and clawed at his arm. He dwelt on her flavor. As usual, he mentally deciphered the complex taste unique to each person he'd drunk from. Ashley was sweet, heady, a mouth full of nectar mixed with the saucy tang of an unknown spice. It was addicting and ensnared every one of his senses. She was complicated and delicious bouquet, a combination arousing more than his hunger, especially when coupled with her shapely body squirming against his.

He drank long enough to prove his point she wasn't going to escape if he didn't want her to then lifted his head. His tongue flickered over the puncture wounds to heal them.

"Do you understand?" he whispered again.

"Yes," she managed.

Jonny released her. Ashley hurried away and faced him, paler than usual after her seizure. She didn't try to retrieve the knife she'd dropped when her episode hit and instead, glared up at him. He met her gaze, uncertain why the ocean breeze felt so much colder when her warmth was gone from him.

"You killed your vamps to save me. Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"They weren't mine," he replied.

She lifted an eyebrow.

"I have a mild problem with mutiny right now," he said with a shrug. "Nothing I can't handle." For the most part.

She frowned. "You've changed, Jonny."

"So have you. I never knew you had epilepsy or an interest in fighting."

"You never cared to learn anything about me at all," she replied. "I was a means to an end to you."

"Yeah. You were," he said. Whether or not it was true no longer mattered. Ashley needed to be scared straight. There couldn't be anything left over from their short relationship four years ago. He wasn't about to draw the ire of Xander or the White God for messing with her, and he couldn't afford to open the door he'd closed on his hope not to be alone the rest of his life. His duty to the vamps was more important than his personal feelings.

Emotion flickered in her gaze. Hurt? Anger? He hadn't thought it possible she'd still be feeling the pain of how he'd left her. Neither was he completely surprised. He still thought of her, too, even when he knew it wasn't right.

He had let her go years before because their paths were too different. If she were hanging onto something from the past, he needed to cut that string now before she got herself in worse trouble.

"Means to an end," he repeated.

But he knew it wasn't true. He had no place in his life for anyone or anything from his past.

## Chapter Six

Ashley struggled with her indecipherable emotions. She had always imagined what she'd say or feel when she saw him again, and it was nothing like what she went through now. She touched the spot on her neck where he'd bitten her, unwilling to look away from the man she'd envisioned killing when they met again.

Jonny was very different from the uncertain, emotional boy she'd dated four years before. He was quietly confident, and the oldness in his eyes led her to believe he'd been serious about killing people for blood. He had been a knobby, lean twenty year old when they last met and had filled out since then. His caramel skin and shaggy dark hair gave him the dark-and-brooding look but the assurance in his tone and steady gaze dispelled any hope she'd had some part of the boy she once cared about remained.

He had stopped her seizures and killed vamps to rescue her, ensuring those she fought never got up again. Why did this surprise her? Why did she wish he'd never done those things, never brought her to the beach and held her? Never crossed her path despite her plan for revenge?

He was everything she'd hoped he would be – everything she wanted to hate – and yet she was devastated by it. His claim never to have cared warning infuriated her, made her want to spend the next week tracking every vamp in San Diego.

Except her body was always weak after one of her epileptic attacks. She was drained, unsettled, and in desperate need of rest where she was normally strong enough to take on even a god.

Jonny was watching her, and she couldn't help imagining he wanted to make her his dinner.

"Where are we?" she asked to break the thick tension between them.

"Monterey." Even his voice had changed. It was soft and low, befitting the night. "You need to go home."

"I can't Travel anymore," she shot back. "It triggers my seizures."

"You had epilepsy when we met?"

She didn't want to reveal something so personal. "No," she said shortly. "When my Natural skill took hold there were complications." It had taken Xander and a team of Guardians to get her through the first year. The trauma of her experience with Jonny and the Original Other had triggered her and Brandon's gifts years before they were supposed to emerge. Brandon's mind talent revealed itself easily, but hers had nearly killed her.

And Jonny didn't deserve to know anything about it.

Jonny's cool, level gaze was on her. "I can take us to San Diego." He held out his hand.

Her jaw went slack. "How do you know where I live?"

"I visit Xander on occasion."

Duh. Xander had told her as much. Relieved Jonny didn't know exactly where she lived, she shook her head. "I can make it home myself."

"You don't have a phone or a ride."

"I'd rather hitchhike than go with you." Ashley spun away. She wasn't going to get her revenge this night, not when she needed to recover from her seizure. Angry with herself, she was nonetheless relieved to be walking away from the Black God with little more than scars from his bite and the fire burning in her blood from a source other than anger. She had thought anything but anger purged from her system. How did she see Jonny for the first time in four years and feel her knees go weak?

"I'll let Brandon know where you are."

She froze, hating to hear her brother's name on Jonny's tongue. "How do you know how to contact him?" She faced him once more. As far as she knew, Brandon's Natural gift kept him masked from everyone, even Xander.

"When you went missing, he called me."

"He wouldn't."

"I paid him a visit earlier. He assumed I had you," Jonny explained.

"Paid him a visit? If you hurt him..."

"I didn't. Just a friendly warning."

She touched her neck self-consciously.

"Not the same kind. I went back to claim the phone you'd stolen," Jonny said, amused. "I'd be interested in knowing how he got my number."

"He's a hacker. He can do shit like that."

"Hmm. Useful gift."

"Don't you dare!" she approached him, stopping toe-to-toe to glare up at the Black God. "You don't go near him, Jonny. I'm the one messing with your vamps."

"Then I suggest you keep in mind I know where you both live," Jonny replied softly.

"Nothing on this planet will stop me from finding you if you laid a hand on him! Even you can't match me fighting."

"No, but I'll catch you when you have another seizure."

Her face flamed hot. "I don't have them often."

"Weekly, according to your body."

She stepped back. She knew from her cousin Jessi a vamp as powerful as Jonny or Xander was able to access someone's mind and body when biting. That she and Jonny had such an intimate exchange when she wanted him dead sent her emotions tumbling again.

"Why aren't you on meds?" he prodded.

"None of your damn business."

"You're right. It's not. But if you're serious about taking me on, you better be able to stay on your feet next time."

"You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"Ditto, Ash."

Had she ever hated him more than she did now? "Good luck with your mutiny." This time when she walked away, she didn't stop. She strode to the edge of where the parking lot started before sneaking a look over her shoulder.

Jonny was gone.

She paused and released the breath she was holding. Ashley leaned against the railing separating the sidewalk from the parking area, barely able to stay on her feet despite her anger. She was shaking. She still didn't understand how he'd stopped her attack before the worst part came, and she feared he'd only ensured her next one was that much worse.

But why had he bothered either way? Why not just leave her writhing and seizing on the beach? Was his fear of Xander that great?

She drew a breath. No part of her trusted Jonny's claim that he'd call Brandon. It was a long way to San Diego, chilly, and she was alone. She gazed around. What she wanted was a nap, sweatshirt and some decent food.

The sirens of multiple police cars and an ambulance approaching the wharf drew her attention back to the vamp issue she'd just escaped. How on earth did anyone explain to normal humans what those red-eyed creatures were? She wasn't about to stick around to find out.

Ashley stood, mesmerized by the lights of the police cars, uncertain what exactly to do next. Her grip on the railing felt like all that was keeping her on her feet, and the ocean chill was beginning to sink into her skin.

"You sure you don't want a ride?" Jonny's voice came from behind her.

She tensed and pushed away from the metal railing, not about to appear weak in front of him. No part of her wanted another favor from him. Yet no part of her looked forward to trying to find her way home without her family flipping out about her absence either.

"Fine," she replied. "In exchange for me not telling Xander your people kidnapped me in the first place."

"I told you. They aren't mine."

"They're vamps. Of course they're yours," she said and turned, meeting his dark gaze again. "You're the Black God. They answer to you."

"Things are never that easy, are they?" he challenged.

"No," she replied, considering all that had come between them four years before. "They aren't. Especially when it involves the supernatural."

"Or people meddling where they shouldn't."

"Or betraying someone who trusts you."

He studied her. "Four years is along time to hold a grudge."

"Betrayal's a bitch. There's no time limit on grudges, Jonny. In a million years, I'll still hate you for what you did."

He seemed to want to say something but changed his mind. "We'll see. At least hate me from your own apartment instead of out here on a beach."

This time when he held out his hand, she grudgingly accepted it.

A tiny thrill jolted her, racing through her, as their skin met. She didn't want to be reminded of how they'd once held hands years ago, when they were different people, or how Jonny had changed from an unsure boy into a self-assured man. His large hand was like his body: warm and strong.

He seemed lost in the moment as well, his face an inscrutable mask and his emotions shuttered behind dark eyes.

"Well," she said, a little breathlessly under his intent look. "Take us back."

He shifted feet and lifted his gaze, as if catching himself staring at her.

The world around them melted into a kaleidoscopic swirl of colors and shapes before reforming into different shapes and colors. Ashley's stomach dropped and for a moment, she feared she'd seize up from Traveling with someone else. Waiting to see what her body did, she blinked away the momentary sense of disorientation and righted her senses.

They were near the University in an alley close to her apartment building. She'd been hoping he was bluffing about knowing where she lived.

"You aren't going to have one," Jonny told her. "You can let go now."

Warmth reached her cheeks as she realized how hard she was squeezing his hand. Ashley released Jonny and started away.

"Remember, Ash. Fuck with my vamps, I fuck with you," he warned her as she stepped away.

Furious her plan for vengeance was ruined by her own body's weakness, she flipped him off without turning and strode out of the alley.

The next afternoon, Ashley slammed over and over into the punching bag in the boxing gym down the street from where she lived. It was quiet on a Sunday with only the hardcore fighters in the ring or working various bags.

Exhausted from her night as well as the episode, she nonetheless pounded into the bag, unable to shake her anger and embarrassment at how poorly she'd done the day before. Not only had she been captured vamps, but Jonny – the man she despised most in the world – had rescued her. She'd then failed to seek her revenge because of her weak body.

She deserved the bloodied knuckles beneath her hand wraps and the bruises forming from her merciless attack on the bag. She deserved to hurt or maybe... the physical pain alleviated the humiliation of her night.

She drove herself until she became too dizzy to stand and wrapped her arms around the bag, chest heaving. Ashley let the bag support her weight for a long moment, always leery of any warning signs another seizure was eminent.

"You got some moves," one of the regulars said from the bag nearest her.

Ashley opened her eyes and pushed away. "Thanks."

"Where did learn to fight like that?"

"Um, stepdad mostly," she said with some awkwardness.

"He a champ?"

She snorted and offered the familiar fighter a smile. "Not really. It's a hobby I guess." She retrieved her towel from the ground and started away. "See you tomorrow."

He lifted a gloved hand.

Ashley left the boxing gym and stepped into the warm fall evening softened by a cool ocean breeze. She tossed her towel over her shoulder and began walking slowly, more because she was a little unsteady than because she had nowhere to be. She had at least one assignment due the upcoming week and needed some good sleep after her weekend. But it was hard when she wanted nothing more than to scream every five seconds. Her enemy hadn't just saved her life but managed to remind her she had never meant anything to him to start off with.

Revenge wasn't quite as satisfying when the other person didn't care. Ashley wasn't certain what to do about this fact, or the knowledge she'd spent four years waiting for the moment she could see the regret in his eyes. Jonny would never feel it. Her vengeance would never be complete. She would never be whole again or reclaim the trust in the world she'd lost when he'd betrayed her.

And Jonny would go on being the Black God, oblivious to what she felt. In all her plotting, she'd never truly considered he was indifferent to her and always had been. Vengeance seemed futile in this light.

"This is killing me," she murmured and wiped sweat from her forehead. She walked home and into her apartment, where Brandon sat on the couch as usual.

"What took you so long?" he asked, glancing up from the laptop.

"Just needed more time to punch stuff," she replied.

"At least you were at the gym and not in some warehouse."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She paused on her way to her bedroom and planted her hands on her hips.

"I told you beating up vamps wouldn't turn out well."

"I'm not quitting, just because Jonny knows where we live!"

"Seriously?" Her brother sat back from his computer. "He let us go as a favor to Xander. There won't be a next time if we keep taking out his vamps."

"We have to keep doing it. I have to." Her throat was tight. Fatigued from her weekend, her emotions were closer to snapping than usual.

"Why does this mean so much to you?" Brandon asked, puzzled. "Why can't you become a UFC fighter or something?"

She sighed. "Because I want to make a difference. And Jonny..." She drifted off, thoughts on the previous night.

"Jonny what?" Brandon's features turned concerned. "Did he hurt you?"

"Hello, Brandon. I can take him. Only Xander is a better fighter than me."

"But you saw him."

"Yeah." She paused again and then shook her head. "I hate him."

"But he didn't hurt you."

Aside from the vampire bites? She touched her neck absently. She hadn't told Brandon the entire truth about what happened or about her episode. "No. Just my pride," she said.

"Maybe you aren't cut out for revenge."

She glared at him.

"Just sayin'."

"He almost got us all killed!"

"That shit happened years ago. Maybe you should just let it go."

Her mouth dropped open. Her brother was serious. "You know what happened Brandon! How can you say such a thing?"

"I don't know everything that happened," he said pointedly. "Like what went on between you two after you ditched your family and ran away with a vampire."

Ashley could think of nothing to say that wouldn't make matters worse. She'd wanted to believe the worst about Jonny and after he dumped her, she'd told Brandon only the bad stuff. She hadn't mentioned how sweet Jonny was when they were one-on-one, when he wasn't plotting to lure their cousin into a trap or working with the Others to try and destroy the world. She should hate Jonny more than she did, but when she recalled how he'd protected her, held her, spoken to her...

Everything became jumbled.

"What I know is bad enough for him to be unredeemable in my eyes," Brandon added. "But if you want to piss him off, aren't you better off doing it under the protection of the Guardians? I mean, they fight vamps for a living. You'd fit right in."

Ashley continued to her room without answering. They spent the summers at the Texas ranch where the headquarters of the White God – and the Guardians' – was located. Her training had started there, and they were both aware they had a place with the Guardians if they wanted it.

But... she didn't want it. Not yet. They fought vamps as part of their job. She did it out of revenge. Ashley dropped onto her bed with a sigh. She wanted to finish college, get revenge and then...

She really didn't know.

Ashley struggled to sit, tired. She went to the bathroom to clean up her bloodied fists and take a quick shower. She and Brandon alternated cooking dinner, and a cheeseburger was sitting out for her on the counter when she left her room. Wolfing it down, she plopped onto the couch beside him and glanced at his computer screen.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"Hacking shit."

"What shit?"

"Someone hired me."

"To hack stuff? Is that legal?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?" she prodded.

"Yeah."

She rolled her eyes. When he was in the zone, he wasn't going to say much more. She stared blankly at the television for several minutes, unable to keep her thoughts from returning to Jonny, to how handsome she'd forgotten he was and how different – colder – he'd seemed.

How he'd helped her and claimed to have a mutiny on his hands.

I never really knew him either, she thought, troubled.

"You can change it," Brandon said.

Ashley blinked away her thoughts and took the remote from him. She wasn't in the mood for television or her project or anything else. She wanted to return to the gym and beat herself senseless until she stopped thinking about Jonny.

## Chapter Seven

"How's he doing?" Jonny asked, looking over the shoulder of the tense hacker vamp.

"Good," came Stuart's preoccupied response. "I figured out he's been using the cell phones they find to locate other local vamp activity for the vigilante."

"I didn't think it was possible with throwaways."

"If everyone were using throwaways, it wouldn't be. But only the foot soldiers use disposables. Per your orders, everyone programs their boss's number into the contacts as soon as they get the phones. He's using that data to track our vamps."

Jonny growled under his breath. "Smart," he admitted reluctantly.

"Can we vamp him? He can help me with the Guardian roster challenge," Tasha asked.

"No. Not an option," Jonny replied. "Can we do the same thing with the rogue vamps?"

"If we had a phone, yeah," answered Stuart.

"The talisman is starting to learn to link the locations of our vamps but it's not as quick as I'd like it to be," Tasha said. "A phone might be enough to give us the location of the rogues."

"Someone who can write algorithms better than I can would help," Stu said hopefully. "If you could vamp someone like that..."

"We're working on it." Tasha shot him a look. "But this is a good development so far."

I love good news. It was rare when Jonny heard it. "Charles."

His loyal second stepped forward from his position watching near the door.

"Send someone back to the restaurant and warehouse in Monterey. See if there's a phone someone missed we can exploit," Jonny ordered. "We can track them this way while we continue to recruit the Natural Trackers we want to vamp."

"You think it smart to trust a vigilante?" Charles asked, frowning at the display of their vamp locations on Stu's computer screen.

"No," Jonny replied. "But I can't touch them."

Charles glanced at him. The vamp had enough experience with Jonny to guess who the only people on the planet were considered off limits, and Jonny didn't volunteer any information.

"If you see the vigilante attacking our vamps, I want to know immediately," Jonny added, thoughts on Ashley.

"You think they'd be that stupid knowing you can find them?"

"Yeah. I do." He'd scared her but he didn't think one warning was going to be enough to discourage her, especially when she knew his hands were generally tied because of Xander. "I need to know the second someone spots her."

"Her," Charles repeated.

Jonny gave him a warning look. Charles took the hint and didn't pursue, instead issuing Jonny's orders to his underlings.

Jonny left the command center for his room. He'd been unable to forget the way Ashley tasted or how she felt in his arms. Or the fire in her eyes that was more of a turn on than he expected. He normally preferred his dinner not to fight him, but with her, he relished the challenge. If he were vulnerable to her skills, he'd be more concerned. She moved like no one he'd ever seen. Any injuries she managed to inflict upon him would heal instantly, but he almost anticipated watching her marking him up the next time she attacked his vamps.

Because there would be a next time. He imagined she'd take a couple days to recover, perhaps with pressure from Brandon, who Jonny was determined to keep beneath his thumb. He'd paid another visit to her sibling and offered a trade off: Brandon helped him find rogue vamps in exchange for Jonny not fucking with either of them.

But Ashley had been too angry, too emotional to back down, and Jonny didn't think the deal was going to last very long.

"Jonny," Charles trotted after him. "We have another problem."

The words were becoming his mantra. "Lay it on me," he replied without turning.

"The rogue vamps are growing bolder. They massacred everyone at a church mass today, perhaps in revenge for you taking out their Monterey crew."

Jonny listened and trotted up the stairs to the second floor, mind working quickly. "Damian's going to get involved," he said at last.

"Unless we go to him first."

"I don't want his help!"

"We may not have a choice. If they keep drawing attention to themselves, Damian's coming after you. And we don't have the vamps we need for a war right now."

Jonny clamped his jaw closed. Charles was right. "What would you have me do? Set up another meeting with Damian, the Grey God, Originals and Xander?" He absolutely loathed the idea of publically admitting he couldn't handle his domain.

"No meeting. Just show up at Damian's. He'll respect your privacy if you ask him to."

"How do you know?"

"Because I spent enough time with his people to know."

Jonny paused mid-hallway and faced Charles. "I forget that sometimes." Charles had been traded to Damian to help the White God hunt Others as well as part of the hostage exchange the two made for Damian to release a Guardian to help train Jonny.

"The last thing you want is them coming after you," Charles advised.

Jonny considered. He hated the idea the more he thought about it. Damian would never admit he couldn't handle his own people, and the White and Grey Gods looked down on him already because he was relatively new compared to the ten-thousand-year-old immortals. They treated him like he was a kid. He had spent enough time working with them to fight Others to know what to expect and now, he wanted them out of his life and domain.

"No Damian," he said. "I'll ask Xander to run interference."

Charles said nothing. Jonny often suspected his advisor didn't approve of his choice of occasional mentor, but Charles wasn't about to speak out against the Original Vamp either.

"I'll go warn him now." Jonny Traveled to the beach where he met Xander. The ocean soothed some of his angst, and he waited in the quiet night for the huge vamp to appear.

"What?" Xander demanded.

This sucks. Jonny hated to admit weakness, especially when he knew how far he'd come the past few years. He wasn't the same scared teen who killed a god and assumed his place. He was the master of a broken domain without the knowledge of how to fix it.

"My vamp problem is bigger than I let on," he allowed.

"Figured." Xander drew abreast of him, his red eyes glowing in the night.

"Half my vamps have gone rogue in protest of me being the Black God. They've started acting out, and it won't take long for Damian to get involved."

Xander listened. Jonny looked at him briefly. If Xander had any idea what he was doing with Brandon and Ash, he'd have confronted him rather than waited for Jonny to summon him. This secret was safe, at least for now.

"I need some space and time to hunt them down," he finished.

"Hmm. How are you handling the traitors?"

"The way you taught me. No mercy," Jonny said. "I'd rather have half as many who are loyal than risk the others betraying me again."

"Betrayal's a bitch."

Jonny glanced at him. Uneasiness slid through him for reasons he couldn't really identify, aside from the fact he'd heard those words from Ashley the day before. He wanted to think he hadn't betrayed her, that he'd put space between them when he realized she was more than a means to an end. He'd done it out of concern for her best interest as well as his. At the end of the day, she was a good girl, and he was the leader of creatures that preyed on humans.

"I knew you had potential." Xander smiled. "In that case, I'll talk to Damian. No guarantees. He won't take the loss of human life lightly."

"Have him give me a month."

"You think you can clean up the mess by then?"

"I have a plan," Jonny replied. "If I can't handle it, I'll go to Damian."

He wasn't about to admit it had been four months and he was struggling to track the rogue vamps. But with Brandon's help and their new talisman, in addition to the Trackers they planned to vamp, he had a shot at succeeding.

"I owe you. Again," Jonny said unhappily.

"We've got an eternity to settle up."

Jonny didn't want to think about how many favors he'd owe over a lifetime of being an immortal. He promised himself not to come to Xander again. He had already lost track of what he owed Xander. The vamp was dangerous, even if he did seem to want Jonny to succeed.

And if Xander ever found out about Jonny's interactions with Brandon and Ashley, he could imagine the vamp cutting him off completely if not siding with Damian and helping the White God destroy Jonny's vamps. His situation was always precarious. The politics he'd learned to play as the Black God, the balance he struck between needing human blood to live and killing only when necessary in order to stay under the radar. He didn't sweat lying to Xander, but he knew better than to turn a completely blind eye to the danger the large vamp posed if Jonny wasn't careful and focused on the bigger picture.

Jonny started to leave before recalling the question he asked every time they met. He had to give the appearance nothing had changed.

"How's the fam?" he asked.

"None of your business," replied Xander.

Satisfied the vamp had no idea, Jonny nodded and Traveled back to his room.

The ginger-haired girl from the rooftop Friday night awaited him in bed.

"Hey," she said and sat up with a smile. "How was work?"

Jonny sat to take off his shoes. Most days, he appreciated the sense of normality his spellbound dinners provided. Today, however, he couldn't help thinking it'd be nice for once to be able to talk to someone honestly about how concerned he was about his empire.

"Great," he replied. "Lots of busy work from the boss."

"You should tell him you need real work."

Jonny snorted. "Yeah. Not sure he'll listen. How was your day?" He forced himself to ask, already knowing the answer. He'd brainwashed her upon leaving this morning so she'd think she spent the day at her mother's when she'd actually been stuck in one of the rooms down the hallway.

"Great. I went to my mom's and..."

Jonny ignored her response. It wouldn't be her he confided in. It took him a week to drain one of his victims. He wanted no real connection to any of them, for they all met the same fate. The temporary companionship was pleasant. He loved falling asleep with a woman in his arms and loved the no-strings-attached relationships even more. He had the best of both worlds: dinner, sex and a new woman every week.

It wasn't possible for his life to be normal, no matter how he missed the sense of companionship that came with having real friends or a girlfriend.

He was the Black God. He was never supposed to be anything more than the leader of the vampires. He'd accepted that, though it didn't mean he couldn't find some solace in the warm body of his victims before ending their lives.

## Chapter Eight

"How do you kill a god?" Ashley asked several days later at the weekly family dinner.

Everyone around the dinner table froze.

She glanced up from the home cooked meal made by none other than a vampire that didn't eat real food. Xander had stumbled into celebrity stardom and was still king of the networks with his cooking show and the ongoing television series about a vampire trying to fit into the human world. He had met Ashley's cousin Jessi when she was sent by Jonny to be his personal assistant – and to steal a necklace of great power Xander possessed. Their perfect love story was one that made Ashley swoon and her heart flutter every time she thought about it until she recalled her own foolish involvement and Jonny betraying everyone she loved.

Jessi was staring at her hard, though Xander appeared unfazed, as usual. The large vamp was sawing through raw steak, his backup food source to human blood.

"How do you kill a dog?" echoed the raven-haired three-year-old son of Xander and Jessi seated beside Brandon. The child had begun repeating everything his elders said several months before. Ashley was always amused, especially when an occasional fuck he'd learned from Xander slipped out and threw the house into chaos.

"Why do you ask?" Jessi was the first to speak, her maternal defensiveness always on high alert.

"Just curious." Ashley shrugged.

"Brandon," Jessi snapped.

"Why are you looking at me?" Brandon replied. "I didn't ask!"

The baby in the next room began crying. Jessi rose immediately. "This isn't over!" she called over her shoulder.

When she was gone, Xander sat back.

"This isn't over," repeated Alex.

Ashley returned her gaze to her food. It was impossible to lie to Xander. She shouldn't have said a word, but the question wasn't one she could ask anyone else.

"You don't," Xander replied in his naturally gravelly voice.

"Can you do it?" Ashley asked.

"Can you –"

"Alex." Xander touched the boy's arm. He fell silent with a smile.

"Jessi told you not to use mind control on your son," Ashley reminded him, entertained.

"If she wants him to survive to adulthood, she'll make allowances."

Brandon laughed and Ashley giggled.

"What was that?" Jessi called from the living room of the spacious La Jolla mansion overlooking the ocean.

"Nothing, kiri," Xander replied and leaned forward and pinned Ashley with a look. "If you want to survive to your next birthday, don't say another word about it."

Brandon bit back a laugh, while Ashley covered her mouth. The most powerful immortal in the universe was leery of attracting the ire of his short, blonde wife. Their interactions had always been a source of laughter for Ashley, and she used the distraction to try to suppress any thoughts of Jonny the way Xander had taught her when dealing with a mind manipulator.

"No one can kill Jonny but a godslayer," Xander continued.

"I meant in general. Not just him," she said. "Like, how does someone kill Darian or –"

"I can read minds, Ash. You know how I feel about lying and deception."

Her shoulders sagged. "I know," she mumbled. "I just... thought you'd be mad."

Xander eyed her.

"For the record, I just do what Ash says," Brandon said, sensing the vamp's dissatisfaction.

"Shut up!" She slapped his arm.

"Let me guess. You thought no one knew you were running around beating up vamps," Xander went on. "But Jonny figured it out."

Ashley sneaked a look at him. He didn't appear angry, but it was really hard to tell with Xander. "How did you know about the vamps?"

"The local Guardian station called me. They've been tracking the movements of a certain vigilante, one they hope to bring into the organization," Xander replied. "One they can't track because said vigilante appears to be a mind manipulator as well as a Natural warrior, which is virtually impossible." He eyed Brandon. "Unless it's a fighter and mind manipulator working together."

Brandon mumbled something under his breath.

Ashley cleared her throat. "Okay, so yeah. We've been tracking vamps and beating them up. And yeah, Jonny found out."

"I couldn't care at all about the vamps. I do care about how he found you," Xander said. "And what his intentions are."

She started to reach for the fang scars on her neck then stopped, knowing this was an interrogation, even if it occurred over the weekly family dinner.

"He told me we need to back off," Brandon replied.

"Me, too," Ashley seconded.

The uncomfortable quiet was broken up by Alex banging his spoon on the table. Ashley toyed with her food. Brandon was staring at his water glass.

"Brandon, take Alex to his room," Xander said finally.

Brandon bolted up, and Ashley glared at him for abandoning her.

When they were gone, Xander rose and motioned for her to follow him. He led her outside to the private beach that stretched a quarter mile in each direction. The sun was close to setting, the ocean breeze cool.

Ashley crossed her arms, sensing she was in trouble, and walked alongside him.

"I know your motivation for learning to fight," Xander started. "I know it's because of what happened. You're not stupid enough to challenge Jonny, are you?"

She sighed in exasperation. "It's not stupid to beat up his vamps and help humans!"

"It is if your goal is to get to Jonny. What's your plan, Ash?"

"Xander... I..." she stopped, uncertain what to say that wouldn't get her in more trouble.

"I can keep him in check when you're not in his business. When you cross that line, I've got a problem, Ash. You know how precarious the balance is. You've watched me manage it for the past four years."

"Yeah," she agreed softy and kicked at a shell in the sand before her.

"It doesn't seem like it, but there are boundaries. Some I shouldn't cross but will and some I simply can't."

"What do you mean can't? You're the most powerful person in the world," she said, gazing up at him.

"And you are a strong woman who deserves the right to make her own life choices," he pointed out. "You know what I could do to you? Fuck with your mind to the point you never have your own thoughts again? Make you forget who you are? Assign you a different personality?"

She nodded. Despite knowing what he was, she had never feared him. He loved Jessi – and her and Brandon – in his own way.

"That's a line I can't cross out of respect for you. With that comes the responsibility of not interfering in your life decisions. If you choose to go after Jonny, I'll make sure you survive, but I'll also make sure you learn for yourself how foolish such a move is. I won't stop you from fucking up your life, Ash. I'll help you fix things when Jonny fucks you up. Just keep in mind any danger you draw to you is also drawn to Brandon."

She listened, understanding she had the freedom to do as she planned – at a cost. Xander wasn't going to bat for her if Jonny followed through on his promise. She recalled Jonny's strength and ability to slow her down if he touched her. Brandon didn't have the luxury of being able to fight like she did, though he could at least become invisible to any and all immortals at will. The defensive mechanism was his only protection from Jonny and the Guardians.

"I won't let anything happen to Brandon," she whispered. "Jonny's too afraid of you to do anything bad to me."

"My influence has limits, believe it or not. He knows his actions have consequences. I don't know that you've figured that out yet," Xander said.

"I'm not stupid. I know that."

"Do you?"

There was no right answer. It was common sense her actions had consequences yet she suspected he was talking about something more than she understood. Jonny had changed in the past few years. Their short interaction was enough for her to realize this. She didn't know what made a person change so quickly, but she suspected it was a result of the consequences Xander referred to.

"How did you know?" she asked with a sigh. "I didn't feel you in my head."

"Bite marks."

She touched her neck self-consciously. She had barely been able to see the marks in daylight and covered them with makeup before going for Thursday night dinner with the family.

"There are only two vamps who can catch you. Me and him, and I didn't do it," Xander added with some amusement. "He scare you?"

"Yeah," she admitted. "I didn't expect him to."

"But you're not satisfied."

"No."

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Ashley didn't expect Xander to react so calmly to the news and was grateful for it.

"Get your fix of bad boys now. I'm considering shipping you off to Damian's Texas ranch for a few years when this is over," Xander added.

She hid a smile, hearing his moody territoriality. He was part of the reason she and Jonny hadn't gone to the Guardians already. Xander didn't want his family used as pawns by anyone. He ran interference with Damian for that purpose. The result: she and Brandon had a pretty normal college experience instead of being absorbed into the Guardian network.

If he were contemplating going back on his position, it was out of his concern.

"I didn't think you'd be like this about it," she said.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Ashley. There are some actions that can't be undone. I'd rather you never know what that means, but you're pushing in this direction."

She peered up at him once more. Xander had the ability to see pieces of the future within a very narrow lane. "You think something bad will happen?"

"I know it. When you fuck with a god, you don't walk away without scars."

"Do you have scars?"

"From multiple gods," he said with a rare smile. "But I can handle the pain."

She swallowed hard. It was the bluntest he'd ever been with her. While it dampened her eagerness to take on Jonny, it didn't kill the urge completely.

It made her think she wasn't fully aware of what Jonny had become. She still saw the young man she'd known in her mind's eye when she thought of him.

"He won't kill or vamp you," Xander added. "He knows I'd find a way to destroy him if he does. Fucking with him isn't going to be a gentle lesson."

Recalling how hard he'd bitten her the second time, she began to think it was well worth the effort not to get caught again, to focus on attacking his vamps without facing him in person.

Though it made for dissatisfying vengeance.

"I'll be careful," she murmured.

"Be smart. You'll last longer."

He didn't sound optimistic about her chances to face Jonny. Ashley's heart pounded hard, and she assessed all Xander had told her. It was hard for her to imagine what he meant about lines that shouldn't be crossed. As long as she didn't do anything that she didn't feel was right, she wasn't going to have a problem with regret or scars.

"C'mon. Let's check in on Jessi and the boys," Xander said, turning.

They started walking back towards the boxy white mansion perched at the edge of the beach. Deep in thought, Ashley didn't dare reopen the discussion. She had too much to think about. The troubling idea she was endangering Brandon was foremost in her thoughts.

Jonny had found him despite his ability to hide. What were the chances the Black God could do it again?

She didn't break out of her solemn silence until they reached their apartment later that evening. Brandon was in a cheerful mood. She usually was, too, after the weekly dinners with Jessi and Xander.

Tossing her purse on the couch, Ashley paused to watch Brandon. He moved with habitual purpose, depositing his keys here, tossing his jacket there, flipping on his laptop before disappearing down the hallway to change into sweatpants and t-shirt. When he reappeared, she waited for him to take up his place on the couch before the computer.

"Maybe we should stop trying to fight vamps," she started.

"What?"

"I mean, what if Jonny warning us is something we should take seriously?"

He sat back and gazed at her quizzically. "He didn't scare you off, did he?"

"No."

"Did Xander?"

"Not really," she replied vaguely. "But you can't fight and I can't be everywhere."

"Hel-lo. Of the two of us, I can disappear," he reminded her. "You're the more vulnerable one."

"What would you do if they trapped you?"

"What would you do if you were about to have an episode and were being chased by vamps?"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't have them that often!"

"It only takes once for Jonny to catch you," Brandon said and turned to face his laptop screen. "I think we should keep on fighting them."

"Even with Jonny's warning and knowing where we live?"

"I told Jessi we wanted to move. She said Xander pays the bills so to do whatever," Brandon replied. "We can find a new place this weekend."

Ashley blew out a breath. Her brother wasn't cooperating with her plan to help save his life. He had a point about her purely physical gift, but so did she about his purely mental ability.

"Fine," she said finally.

"You're not chickening out are you?"

"No. Just worried about messing up your life if I get in trouble."

"I'm good," Brandon said, eyes on the screen. "And I've got some targets for you."

She glanced at him. "You do? How? I thought Jonny took the phone."

"I figured out something," he replied vaguely. "Look." He pointed to a small map with red and blue beacons. "Vamps are blue. There are a few active pockets in San Diego."

She observed the targets. Some were moving, others still. "What's red?"

"Jonny's vamps." Brandon enlarged the subset of San Diego with the blue vamps. "I figure we can go after the rogue vamps instead of his. We both win."

"We both win," she repeated. "Why do you want him to win?"

"I want him not to corner you again. This way you can fight vamps and Jonny won't get pissed."

She studied the map. "How do you know whose vamps are whose?"

"I'm a hacker."

"That doesn't explain it. Brandon, are you..." She drifted off. Her brother wasn't working with Jonny, was he? How would Jonny have had time to set up something like that? Why wouldn't Brandon have told her? It wasn't like him to keep secrets from her. "Never mind. I don't care whose vamps they are. I'll go get ready."

"I'll send you some locations to hit."

She nodded and retreated to her room. Ashley changed quickly and armed herself with her batons and knives. She tucked the mask into her bra and slung on her backpack before returning to the living room. Brandon had texted her several downtown locations, and she stopped behind the couch to calculate how to reach them before tucking the phone away.

"Got it. I'll text when I'm there," she said and strode out of the apartment.

Busy with his laptop, Brandon grunted in response.

Twenty minutes later, Ashley hopped off the bus and walked along a quiet sidewalk running near the baseball park. Most storefronts were dark for the night, and she paused in front of the building whose address Brandon had sent her. The locale was boarded up, so she continued past the front and down a side alley running beside it. The door on the ground level on this side was also boarded up.

Stepping back, she scoured the side of the building for a window to give her access. Most were boarded, but one – four stories up – was not. She tugged out her mask and stashed her backpack. She checked her phone before tucking it away.

Five vamps, Brandon had texted. Monitoring your vitals. Bring back cells.

She smiled and tucked the phone into her backpack. Brandon's ability to sense minds was getting stronger and stronger. A year before, he hadn't been able to sense who was in the adjacent apartment let alone across town.

She assessed her way up the side of the building. Tonight was a night of pure athletic ability, no questions asked. Rested after her four days off, energized after a good dinner, she was ready to test her luck against five vamps.

With a deep breath, she used speed and strength to scale the side of the wall, vaulting from the nearby dumpster to reach the lowest window, then twisting, pulling, leaping and contorting to reach the sturdier boards on the neighboring window. Ashley played the deadly game, maneuvering in midair, scaling the building with the agility and fearlessness of a spider on the ceiling.

When she reached the window that wasn't boarded up, she paused in her movement to rest briefly, uncertain what awaited her. She launched upwards with her legs and pulled with her arms, landing lightly on her toes on the windowsill.

The window slid open. The room beyond was dark, and she drew a baton before dropping silently to the floor. Her instincts took over. A chair here, a box there...she moved with disciplined quiet through the storage room to the door located on the opposite side of the window. Placing her ear against it, she listened for the sound of the predators she expected to find without hearing anyone.

Buildings were harder to navigate quickly than the open bay of a warehouse. With her senses engaged, she explored the floor she was on before determining there was no one on it. She moved to the upper floors and explored each before finally shifting to the floor beneath the first.

Movement was on this floor. The vamps were divided, two on this floor and possibly three on the floor below. Disappointed she wouldn't get to test herself against all five at once, Ashley crept up on the two vamps nearest her.

One didn't have time to react. She cracked the baton onto the back of his head. He dropped silently. The second whirled but was soon unconscious as well. She knelt to search them and collected their two phones, tucking them into a pocket at the small of her back.

Exhilarated by her quick wins, she went to the floor below. One vamp was present, and she knocked him out and stole his phone, too, before confronting the other two on the ground floor.

When she was done, Ashley returned to the window she'd used to enter the building and worked her way down the wall fast. She dropped beside her backpack and stripped off the mask before depositing the three cells she'd collected into it.

Done. She texted Brandon. Where next?

He sent her a screenshot of his map and the blue and red dots nearest her. She slung on her backpack and left the alley, studying it.

The next nearest vamps designated as blue were a block away.

Jonny's nearest vamps were four blocks away.

She stared at the dots pensively for a moment, running Xander's warning through her mind several times over. Five days after her first confrontation with Jonny, she was still angry and embarrassed by her performance. The low hanging fruit was the blue vamps, but some part of her wanted to prove to Jonny she wasn't as weak as she'd seemed when she all but collapsed in his arms.

Her mind made up, she walked past the next blue dot and continued four blocks farther into the downtown area, away from the stadium, and towards the part of town that became a seedy residential area. The location of Jonny's vamps wasn't a warehouse or place of business but a single story house in need of repair with iron bars on its windows. It looked much like the others around it, and she scanned the area visually before striking off down the block towards the location.

Her phone vibrated. Where are you going? Read Brandon's message.

Her brother was tracking her. She responded quickly before replacing the phone in her pocket. The cell vibrated once more and she ignored it.

The house was dark, aside from the kitchen. Ashley hid her backpack and pulled on her mask before approaching. She peered in the window to spot three, perhaps four, vamps. One was in the kitchen, the others moving between it and a room down the hallway.

I'm not afraid of you, Jonny, she told him silently.

Waiting for the vamp in the kitchen to turn away, she slid in through the back door and raised both batons, smashing them over his head before he saw her. She hauled his body back into the kitchen so none of the others were able to spot him then moved down the hallway. Her heart raced, and her tense form was on edge. She did a self-check for any signs of a looming episode and was satisfied she had none.

Three voices came from one of the rooms. She paused outside it to listen, using her senses to case the rest of the house. There was at least one more in the next room down. Ashley counted to three and then vaulted into the nearest room.

Surprise rendered the vamps too shocked to move, and she had taken one down before the other two rose from their seats at a card table to attack her. One lunged, and she danced away, smacking him in the throat with a baton before facing the other. The vamp from the room next door appeared in the doorway. He was on the phone, and Ashley slung a baton at him to knock it free. The last thing she needed was him alerting someone.

Within sixty seconds, she stood breathing hard in the midst of the four downed vamps. This experience, beating up Jonny's vamps, was far more satisfying than she could recall any other vamp confrontation being.

She crouched to rifle through the clothing of the vamps and then stepped into the hallway to swipe the phone she'd knocked free. Of the three phones, all were burners. She frowned, disappointed. Brandon could only get a little bit of useful information off them, though he had cracked some code if he knew where all the vamps in the city were.

She checked out the two remaining rooms in the house to ensure no humans were cowering in the corners. The rooms were dark, and she paused briefly in each to let her sense read what was present.

No more vamps. No trapped humans.

Ashley exited the second into the hallway and froze.

"I warned you." Jonny's voice was soft. He stood at the end of the hallway near the kitchen, dressed all in black. He seemed to take up the space of the hallway with his broad shoulders and lean form. He was unarmed, his intent gaze on her.

Xander's words of warning swept through her mind. She began to seriously consider bolting out one of the windows of the unoccupied bedrooms rather than face him. In the dark, with the penetrating dark eyes starting to glow red, Jonny was positively menacing. It didn't explain the thrill racing through her, but she did understand the reason behind her fear.

Jonny was dangerous. She'd ignored – or perhaps overlooked? – the charged energy radiating off him at the beach. She sensed the subtle flow of raw power better on their second meeting.

Reassured her two deepest fears – dying or being vamped – weren't going to happen, she felt some of the effect of his foreboding appearance lessen. She was faster than he was, so long as he didn't touch her, and Xander wasn't going to let her worst fears happen.

"I was just leaving," she replied. "My work is done." She moved into the nearest bedroom with calmness she didn't feel then bolted towards the window.

Jonny reappeared between her and the window, and she slammed to a stop so fast, she fell backwards. Ashley rolled and vaulted onto her feet, expecting him to attack.

He didn't. He simply blocked her path.

Retreating into the hallway, she drew her knife and kept it hidden behind her thigh. She whirled and tried the other room.

This time, she was expecting him to block her path. He appeared. Rather than stop, she acted. Adrenaline surged within her along with the rage she'd experienced for four years. She smashed the knife into him, piercing his ribcage and plunging it into his heart. Warm blood splashed her face and ran over her hand and down her arm.

Ashley gasped at her own actions, a ripple of unease tearing through her. She'd never killed anyone and yet, she'd just plunged a knife through someone's heart with no second thought.

She released the hilt, her eyes flying up to Jonny's face.

"I'm not gonna lie. It does hurt," he said with a grimace. He raised a hand and calmly gripped the hilt of her knife. "But you're gonna have to do better than that." He pulled it free.

Xander wasn't joking about not being able to kill him. She had suspected all along her guardian was lying about the alleged godslayer it took to kill Jonny in order to dissuade her. The sound of her knife hitting the tile floor startled her out of her disbelief.

"My turn," Jonny said.

She twisted away from his first attempt to grab her, whirled and ducked as he Traveled directly behind her. The next minute happened in a blur of instinct and shadows. She evaded, danced and maneuvered away from him.

And then he caught her. Or rather, her whirling ponytail. Ashley's head was yanked back. Before she had a chance to twist out of his grip, his hand was on her throat and then, his teeth sinking into her.

She stifled a cry. He wasn't numbing the pain like he had the first time. The tiny knives that were his teeth hurt worse than paper cuts against the delicate skin of her neck. The moment his skin touched hers, she was unable to react. Her muscles relaxed despite her survival instinct screaming for them to move. Jonny released her hair and wrapped the arm around her back, pulling her into his body the way he had on the beach except this time, she was able to feel every inch of his hard frame against hers without the distraction of the seizure. His warmth and scent invaded her space and senses, made the fire in her blood light for a reason other than danger.

Fear began to edge out her anger. She pushed against him, unable to budge his grip on her when her body was responding to his power rather than hers. The bleeding had stopped from his chest. He was healed as quickly as Xander claimed he would.

"Stop!" she whispered finally, starting to panic at the idea Jonny wasn't afraid to draw Xander's anger.

Jonny sucked her blood a moment longer before withdrawing from her neck. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you liked being my dinner, Ashley." His voice was husky and low. He nuzzled the tender skin.

She shivered.

"I warned you," he repeated. "What made you come here?"

The question struck her as odd despite her fear. "Vamps," she replied.

Jonny nipped her and she flinched. "Nothing else?"

"Aside from wanting to kill you? No."

"Don't let this happen again, Ashley."

She was beginning to think Xander was right. Fucking with Jonny was going to end with her a bloodless husk.

"Do you understand?" he asked without lifting his head.

"At least I'm on my own two feet this time," she said, hating the feeling he had the upper hand.

"Wrong answer." He bit her again, this time even harder, and she arched against him, pain flooding her.

"Stop!" she gasped and slammed her fists into his chest with what strength she could muster. "Please, Jonny!"

He lifted his head, one hand remaining on her neck. "Tell me you understand for real this time."

"Fine!" she spat out the words. She wasn't able to kill him, couldn't fight him at all once he touched her, and he didn't care enough about the past for her revenge to mean anything at all. Why she was torturing herself, she didn't know, except she was just so angry with him still. Near tears with the urge to scream out of frustration, Ashley struggled to be free of him. "Let me go."

He obeyed, and she scampered out of arm's reach, senses rattled and emotions raw. The wounds at her neck were healed, but the memory of the hot pain slid through her. If any part of him were the boy she remembered, he'd never purposely hurt her like he just did.

"They'll be out for another ten minutes if you need to rest," he advised.

"Rest?" she repeated. "Because you think I'm weak!"

"Because I drew a lot of blood. You should be woozy."

"I'm not." She whirled and strode down the hallway towards the kitchen. She felt little different, aside from the emotional wreckage each interaction with him caused. She had beaten his vamps and yet lost once again. Combined with her fear and begging him not to hurt her, she was more infuriated than ever. "How did you know I was here?" she asked warily. "The vamp tipped you off, didn't he?"

Jonny nodded.

"I won't make that mistake again," she growled.

"I've given you your final warning, Ash."

"You know what, Jonny?" she demanded and turned when she reached the kitchen.

"I think I can guess," he replied, his face shadowed by the dark hallway. Mild amusement was in his tone.

"Yeah. Fuck you." Ashley stormed out of the house and onto the sidewalk. She swiped up her gear and tore off the mask. She was agitated for more reasons than she could identify. For a split second, when he held her against him, she'd almost been... aroused.

And that was worse than pleading for him to stop hurting her.

## Chapter Nine

Jonny watched her go. He licked the last of her blood off his lips. There was no falter to her stride, no lessening of her focus or tension or any other indication she was affected by the blood loss.

Which left him... intrigued. He'd taken a lot from her, about three days worth if she were human. It was the first time in years he'd felt full. He was disciplined in managing his bloodlust, both for the sake of wanting to remain under the radar and the fact he hadn't yet been able to shake his respect for human life. He had grown less concerned about it for sure, yet he was still gentle with those whose lives he sacrificed to his hunger.

Furious after she stabbed him in the heart, he had wanted to teach her a lesson only to find he was the one learning something. He hadn't thought her anger ran so deep and intense as to truly want him dead. The girl he'd known was gone.

What was left was a little harder for him to categorize. A woman more spirited and interesting than the fragile girl he remembered.

She was obsessed and also far more capable of withstanding his hunger than the humans he normally drank from. Her body had healed as he sucked, but he hadn't thought her capable of replenishing the blood he was taking fast enough to be visibly unaffected.

I won't make that mistake again, she had said. It wasn't an idle threat. He witnessed the determination in her gaze.

"Wrong answer," he said aloud though he began to smile for the first time in weeks. He was starting to think there was a different approach he could take with Ashley. She wasn't about to stop, and he needed his source of food.

His phone buzzed. Eyes on her form trotting down the street, he answered the cell.

"Jonny."

"Ikir, you need to come back now. We found something you need to see," Charles said grimly.

Jonny hung up and Traveled without question. If Charles were alarmed, something was truly wrong. He materialized in the command center, expecting to see Valon and his vamps had raided his home base despite moving it after the rogues broke off.

Charles stood beside the hacker. The other vamps were at their stations, monitoring the Guardians and vamps under their respective regional assignments. On the surface, nothing was wrong.

"What is it?" Jonny asked, approaching Charles.

Charles motioned to the hacker, whose hands were shaking.

"We, uh, found something," Stuart said nervously. "I was analyzing the Guardian database, trying to identify and sort the different designations they use. They have a record of Guardians who were vamped. It was encrypted, and it took me some time to break."

"Get to it." Charles nudged him.

"Valon was marked by the Guardians long ago when he turned eighteen and his powers began to emerge."

"And?" Jonny prodded.

"Valon is a godslayer," Charles spoke quietly.

Jonny's world froze for a moment. "That's how he was able to convince half the vamps to leave with him."

"I think so."

The hacker appeared braced for a beating. Jonny knew the rep of his predecessor through Charles. The former Black God, Czerno, had been mentally unstable, likely to kill anyone who brought him bad news. Jonny had no intention of shooting the messenger, but the tension building inside him was of a kind he hadn't experienced recently.

"No one hears about this," he said and touched the hacker on the shoulder. "You understand?"

Stuart jumped and then nodded vigorously.

Jonny met Charles' gaze and strode into the hallway. Charles followed the unspoken order, and the two of them walked onto the porch on the main level beneath his veranda overlooking the ocean.

For a long moment, Jonny stood and stared out into the dark night. Godslayers were rarely born more often than every ten thousand years or more, according to what he'd learned from the Guardians. He had accepted his immortality only to discover there really was a direct threat not just to him but to all he'd built. The first couple years of his reign had been plagued by doubt and the ferocious wish that he could change what had happened that led him to become the Black God.

Slowly, things had changed. He'd stopped viewing himself and his position with horror and regret and began seeing how he was going to make his reign different. Better. More sustainable, without the constant wars fought with the White God.

His mind racing, he reviewed everything he'd done and came to a conclusion that left him a little surprised. He wasn't about to give up his position, as ill suited as he once considered himself to be for the job. In fact, the idea of losing the empire he'd begun to rebuild infuriated him.

"Valon is too similar to your predecessor," Charles said finally. "Under you and the catch-and-release agreement with Damian, the vamps won't have to spend their lives in hiding. We have as much freedom as predators can ever expect."

"I have no intention of surrendering my position, if that's what you're thinking," Jonny replied. "My goal has always been to help the vamp life become a legit subculture that doesn't have to challenge the White God's obligation to protect humanity. I remember wanting to be normal when I was vamped. Maybe it's too late for some of the old guard, but for the next generation, my generation, I want this life to be better. I want all of us to have a shot at a shadow of normalcy."

"I don't remember what it was like to be human," Charles replied. "I was vamped a thousand years ago. But I agree with you. We are a people like any other. We're not animals and shouldn't spend our lives feeling like we are. I believe in what you're doing. We deserve a chance to live a life of our choosing. Those who aren't strong enough to control their appetites, those with weak minds, will always pick the path that's easiest for them to follow."

"Outright slaughter in exchange for war with the White God no matter what the costs to the vamps are," Jonny murmured. "Tell me everything you know about Valon, Charles." He faced his loyal second and leaned back against the railing of the porch, arms crossed. A cool breeze tickled the back of his neck while Ashley's taste lingered in his mouth.

"He's old. Respected. He is part of the old guard, middle management under your predecessor who rose in importance during the chaos of the first year or two you were in charge. I imagine he didn't have the internal support to challenge the previous Black God."

Jonny's jaw tightened at the frustrating reminder of how poorly handled his learning curve had been. He'd been a stupid kid when he assumed command and since then, had gradually transformed into a deserving leader.

"He's shrewd. Strong," Charles added.

"So he waited until my alliance with Damian to kill the Others was over to act," Jonny said.

"Or he waited for the Others to weaken your support base," Charles said with a shrug.

"Then he absconds with half my vamps after revealing what he is and is working on provoking the White God so I'm faced with a two front war."

"The war with the Others to weaken your position, Valon to take it."

It was a smart plan. But at the end of the day, there was only one way for Valon to claim the mantle of the Black God. A one-on-one battle fought between two contenders for the position. It was the honorable way to determine who deserved to be the Black God. "Can he fight?" Jonny asked in a level tone.

"Yes. He can," Charles replied. "But so can you. Between the two of you, you're smarter by far. Valon lacks vision and strategy."

"It won't matter if he's stronger and faster."

"Strategy will always beat strength."

Jonny wasn't feeling anywhere near as confident. His predecessor had been much stronger than he was. Jonny hadn't been thinking about the future or anything else when he killed him. He'd been thinking about saving the life of his sister, who had been in the Black God's grip. There was no strategy or even thought behind his victory, nothing but the desperate emotion of a teen who loved his family.

His mind slipped to Bianca, his sister, who had become the mate of one of the adopted brothers of Damian. He saw her on occasion though not often, mainly because of the opposite sides of the fence they sat on. Whenever he started to doubt himself, he thought about the day he'd almost lost her, and the doubt vanished.

He was destined to become the Black God. He was meant to be there, not Valon. Why the universe chose a boy over a vamp, he'd never understand, but he no longer asked himself why anymore and focused instead on how to fulfill his vision for the vamps' future.

Charles was watching him, waiting for him to speak. Jonny straightened and dropped his arms, not about to feel backed into a corner when he'd worked too hard – and changed too much – to become who he was.

"I'll be traveling armed from now on," he said with a small smile. "And we'll be resuming my sparring lessons."

"Of course, ikir."

Jonny started past him, needing some alone time.

"Anything else?" Charles asked.

"Give me some time to think, Charles. You may be right about approaching Damian sooner rather than later."

Charles said nothing else, and Jonny retreated to his bedroom. He wasn't interested in the ginger this night, in sex, and he was full after feeding off Ashley. After gently suggesting his dinner sleep in a different room because he was ill, he closed the door behind the bedazzled woman.

Jonny went to his dresser and opened the top drawer, where he kept some weapons at Charles' insistence. He withdrew the long knife he'd used to kill his predecessor, Czerno, and studied it. Hefting it made the threat of Valon seem too real.

Tucking it into his waistband, he went onto his veranda.

He wasn't tired either and sat in the open, observing the clear sky and gleaming reflection of stars off the distant waves. Vamps were nocturnal, though he did his best to keep hours that left him mentally clear for any interactions with Guardians or humans.

Jonny sat in silence, unable to pinpoint exactly what his thoughts were about the Valon issue. He didn't feel anything he thought he should, and the lack of fear or anger or regret left him frustrated and confused. Despite his occasional loneliness, the memories of Bianca's near death, the idea he'd be working on his Masters degree if he were normal, he had unconditionally accepted what he was and his position as the leader of the blood-sucking monsters he didn't know existed before becoming their leader.

This acceptance, above all, surprised him more than discovering another godslayer was gunning for the job he wasn't about to give up. It dispelled any concern he had about his lot in life and left him proud of how much he'd grown over the years. Rather than worry about Valon, he experienced a renewed sense of confidence and purpose.

The future of and entire people – his people – depended upon his successful achievement of his vision.

Valon thought him weak and undeserving of the Black God mantle, and Jonny was going to show Guardian and vamp alike just how powerful the right person in the Black God's shoes could be.

Charles texted rather than knocking, and Jonny pulled out his cell.

We picked two Natural Trackers. Orders?

Jonny smiled, pleased by the news. Vamp them. One can kill the ginger. Grab a junkie for the other. Make them kill tonight. He responded. In order to turn into a vamp, someone had to be bitten, drained near death, fed blood by an existing vamp and then take a life the same way. The process was normally drawn out in two phases so the middle management of vamps could screen out recruits who wouldn't fit into the vamp mold as well as discreetly uncover junkies and others who wouldn't be missed – or cause red flags to go up with the Guardians – when they went missing.

Suitable or not, the Trackers were too valuable to wait. Between them and Brandon, Jonny would soon have the hammer he needed to smash the traitors.

Charles second text was too long to be simple acknowledgment. Jonny leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he read it.

Your vigilante hit another safe house. Left you a message, too. He had attached a picture of a mask like the one Ashley had been wearing when he confronted her.

Jonny found himself more intrigued by her defiance than he warranted natural for the situation. If she were a vamp, she'd be punished severely for disobedience. But he had no real sway over her, and she seemed to know it.

What she was doing was dangerous, not only to his operations, but to her own existence. He hadn't quite figured out how to handle her. He had to balance Xander's potential interference with teaching Ashley a lesson in a way she backed off. A direct challenge was apparently not the right approach and neither was purposely letting her feel the pain of his bite. If anything, those attempts at lessons had only galvanized her.

His mouth watered as he thought about her taste, the feel of her body pressed to his. In another world, one without Xander, he'd snatch her and keep her as the ultimate source of food. She wouldn't be compliant and submissive like the women whose minds he warped to accept his need to feed from them. Ashley was lively, independent, strong. She'd be an incredible sparring partner in bed and out with the added benefit of her ability to regenerate blood fast.

And... she'd be a good friend. She had been at one point, anyway, and easy to talk to with a huge heart.

Unfortunately, he lived in a world with Xander, which meant his approach was going to have to be different. Jonny shot a text to Charles and then sat back in his chair, eyes on the sky again.

There had to be a way to discourage Ashley if biting her wasn't going to work. He just had to figure out what that was before she got herself into the kind of trouble she couldn't get out of. Or worse, the kind of trouble that started a war with Xander.

## Chapter Ten

"Why are all the dots blue today?" Ashley asked with a frown as she peered over Brandon's shoulder.

"Because you're too stubborn to listen to me."

"A vamp is a vamp."

"Not when some of them are Jonny's and he knows where we live."

Ashley shook her head. Jonny hadn't come after her a second time last night. Was he giving up on warning her off or too busy doing real work to bother? Either way, she viewed her second takedown of his vamps the previous night as a personal victory.

"Isn't it your night to dance?" Brandon asked in irritation as she stood over him.

"I was going to go beat up vamps instead."

"Go dance. You've been driving me crazy all week. I'll plot out a few spots for you to hit when you're done."

Ashley debated silently. She did love dancing on Friday nights, mainly as a stress release. And this week, she felt like she needed it more than usual with the Jonny issue and her frustration understanding what to do if she couldn't exact her revenge as planned.

"Okay," she said. "Maybe it'll help me think straight."

"God I hope so."

She slapped him on the back of the head and marched to her room. Changing quickly into leggings, a hip-length tunic and comfy sneakers, she then tucked her cell phone into her sock and left Brandon with his computer.

She was waved into the club by a bouncer who knew her on sight. Ashley started to relax the moment she walked onto the packed dance floor. She joined the crowd, unconcerned with dancing alone when everyone else had a partner, and closed her eyes. The techno beat swept her emotions aside so she could focus purely on the physical act of dancing her heart out.

She danced for a couple of hours, until the hair at the back of her neck was damp and the muscles of her body were warm. Partners rotated in and out with her, as usual, and she opened her eyes to smile at someone occasionally before squeezing them closed to focus on the music. Every once in a while, someone brushed by her or bumped her, and she moved away automatically, unconcerned by the crowded space.

At least until the touch of a stranger sent a warm electrical charge through her that reminded her too much of every time she'd been grabbed and bitten by Jonny.

Rousing herself from the near trance, Ashley opened her eyes. No vamp stood before her, no one but a few college girls giggling and dancing together. She started to turn.

"This is what you do when you're not out tracking my vamps?"

Ashley stepped back and away quickly, bumping someone else without caring, and gazed up at Jonny. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Dressed in dark clothing, he fit in with the crowd of college kids and young adults. "I owe you one."

Ashley hated more than how her attention was always riveted to him whenever she saw him. Handsome and youthful, his gaze gave him an edge she wasn't able to define, and his quiet confidence and strength were out of place among the carefree college students partying after a long week of class. He was close enough for her to notice his body heat and his light scent.

"You can't bite me here," she snapped, recovering from her surprise. "How did you find me?"

He shrugged. "Not really any of your business."

"So you're stalking me."

"Not exactly."

It had to be some power of his that let him find her. Nothing else made sense. Agitated with his presence and disruption to her dancing, she spun away and went to the bar. She didn't want to look over her shoulder to see if he followed. She didn't want him in her safe place, where she came to relax.

The bartender slid her a glass of water deftly, and she plucked it up, tense despite her inability to sense Jonny among the masses.

"I've been trying to figure out what might discourage you from attacking my vamps," Jonny said from behind her.

She faced him, unable to retreat when her back was pressed to the bar counter. Jonny crowded her, one of his hands on the counter beside her, his heated presence rattling her senses.

"And you've given up," she guessed. She couldn't help the glance at his heart or the memory of what it felt like for his blood to soak her skin and sleeve. It wasn't a good feeling. It made her skin crawl and she'd almost panicked when she thought she killed him.

"No. You're a free meal," he replied.

He won't bite me in public, she chanted to herself. No matter how close he got to her. The people behind him jostled by, and Jonny's athletic frame pressed lightly to hers.

"Want to know my solution?" he asked.

"I don't care, Jonny. Nothing you say or do is going to –"

He kissed her.

Ashley's whole world felt like it stopped before her internal alarms began screaming. Jonny's lips were soft and warm, his scent winding through her senses as she stood too shocked to move. Fire spread through her, racing along her nerve endings and pooling in her lower belly. Her skin grew sensitive. Her heart slammed into her chest.

But it wasn't his move that left her reeling. It was the desire, the urge to open to him rather than run, the need to feel more. To taste, to experience him in a way she never had anyone else. She experienced the same unnerving reaction to him when they dated four years before, the strange sense they belonged together or at least, were supposed to. Her lips parted in instinctive invitation, and Jonny's velvety tongue slid between them.

His own taste was dark, exotic, a combination of sweetness and musk, his full lips easing her into the kiss with unexpected gentleness.

Ashley began to kiss him back, not wanting to be outdone, even in an arena where she had practically no experience. She had only ever kissed him, and it was so long ago, she didn't recognize his flavor or remember what kissing him had been like. If it were this incredible, how had she forgotten?

Immersed in the sensations causing chaos inside her, she didn't notice their surroundings until the thump of techno stopped suddenly.

Ashley pulled away from Jonny and looked around. He'd Traveled to a beach. She was breathless, rattled, thoroughly confused and uncertain whether she should slap him or laugh.

Jonny gazed down at her, the intensity of his focus too much for her to handle with her emotions. She eased back while seeking something to say.

"Why... why did you do that?" she managed at last.

"I wanted to see if it'd work." He closed the distance between them.

Ashley stepped back quickly enough to stumble, and Jonny caught her arm to steady her. She felt almost drunk on whatever was in her system. Lust? Shock? Anger? She didn't quite know what to call the fire burning inside her.

"I'd say it did," Jonny said, sounding too smug for her liking.

"You call that a kiss?" she retorted before she could stop herself.

"It was a start. Could've been better."

Her eyebrows shot up, and she stared at him. Was he being an ass to her on purpose or was this who he was now? Because his warnings and passive aggressive challenges were starting to wear on her.

This time, it was Ashley who went toe-to-toe with him. Without knowing much about kissing, she at least wasn't going to let him fuck with her about this when he was already trying to curtail her vamp hunting. She reached up and took his cheeks and pulled his head to hers.

She planted a kiss on his lips. Jonny wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close once more, the hardness of his body sending spirals of need through hers. This time, his kiss wasn't gentle. It was aggressive, demanding, and sent her emotions and thoughts tumbling. The ocean breeze tickled her sensitive skin, and every inch of her was too aware that thin layers of clothing were all that stood between them.

Just as suddenly as it started, he broke it off and whirled her. She had no chance to recover her breath or senses before his magic drifted into her, preventing her muscles from stiffening. Her eyes flew open, and she knew what was coming before it happened. Jonny bear hugged her with both his arms, the thick length of his arousal against her bottom.

With her heightened senses, his bite hurt far more this time than before.

Ashley cried out as his fangs sank into her neck, wriggling to be free and then going limp when his magic forced her body into submission. Involuntary tears of pain sprang to her eyes, and the sensation of warm desire was replaced by hot, streaking pain.

She gasped.

He didn't release her or withdraw for even longer this time, instead focused on drinking her blood without caring how much pain he caused.

Fear trickled through her. What if he was done playing games with her? What if he didn't care about pissing off Xander anymore? And the pain... it was like fire piercing her neck.

"You're hurting me!" she cried.

Jonny broke off the penetrating kiss slowly.

Pain throbbed through her, and she stood immobilized against him. "I hate you," she whispered.

"Good," he responded in a roughened voice. "What's it gonna take for you to back the fuck off, Ash?"

Nothing under the sky will make me back off. She swallowed hard, not about to utter the words aloud. His breathing was unsteady, his arousal clear. He wanted her to back off but he also wanted her. Was this why he hadn't resorted to more permanent measures? Was there some part of him that did care, even a little?

She shushed the line of thought. It didn't seem possible when he hurt her like this. Physical attraction wasn't the same thing as caring for someone, a lesson she had learned from him before.

"You want me to make you my blood slave?" he demanded. "Because that's the next step."

"Xander won't let you."

"He won't let me vamp or kill you. He said nothing about teaching you firsthand not to fuck with me. He believes in letting people make their own choices and mistakes and right now, I am your mistake."

The truth of his words left her speechless.

"This isn't a game, Ash," Jonny continued. "You're putting you and Brandon in the line of fire."

The mention of her brother made his words hit home. "Let me go."

"Not until I know for sure you understand."

"Fine," she bit off the words. "I won't hunt your vamps anymore."

"You won't hunt any vamps."

"Why do you care if I'm attacking the vamps who betrayed you?" she snapped and strained to move away.

"Because you don't understand who you're fucking with. You'll get yourself and Brandon hurt."

"Oh, so you're concerned about me now?" she snarled. This time when she tried to move away, she succeeded. Ashley put several feet between them.

"I know why you're doing this," he replied. "I know I hurt you four years ago and you think you're punishing me by lashing out at my vamps. But the only person who's going to get hurt is you."

"You have no idea, Jonny."

"Let me guess. Doing this makes you feel better for a day or two. And then it wears off and you're left lost once more and stuck with all that anger about not being able to change what happened or go back to the world you thought you knew."

She eyed him, wondering if he had been reading her thoughts.

"I get it, Ash, I do. You're not the only one whose life changed a few years ago."

She remained quiet.

"Look, if you want me to apologize, I will," he added. "If that will stop you from this insanity, then I'll tell you how sorry I am for putting your family in danger."

"I don't want an apology," she said.

"Then what do you want from me? You know you can't kill me."

She debated what to say. Jonny was making an effort tonight, and she sensed it was because he didn't know how else to handle her continued defiance. "I want to know if it was real. If you ever really did care or if you were just using me."

"You're serious." He frowned. "This isn't about me hurting you. This is about... what? Me lying to you?"

"Betrayal is more accurate. And you did hurt me." She folded her arms across her chest, not dressed for an evening at the beach.

He studied her, thoughtful and intense, as if he were puzzling through something. "You don't hate me, do you?" he asked softly at last.

"Oh, I do," she said. "I didn't four years ago but I definitely do now."

He nodded, though she suspected he wasn't buying it. "You started out as a tool for me to use to get what I wanted from Jessi. Along the way, I started to like you for you instead of as someone I could use. But it wasn't enough. It wasn't love, if that's what you're wondering. It was probably more like... pity. I knew you had Xander to protect you, so I wasn't worried about you recovering from a schoolgirl crush."

His honesty smashed her. She'd felt more for him than he did for her. Until this moment, she was never able believe it. The way he spoke to her now was like a million paper cuts all over her heart. Pity? Schoolgirl crush?

"I cared about you, Ash, but not the way you wanted me to," he added. "What you're doing is too dangerous. I'm the Black God, Ash. My duty comes first and I won't let you make yourself a target over something that shouldn't have meant this much to you to begin with."

Her throat was too tight to respond. Of everything she'd ever expected to hear from him, this wasn't it. His admittance that he had cared about her – but not enough – was so much more devastating than she imagined anything he could say would be.

"Leave the vamps alone or I'll have to do something we'll both regret," he continued firmly.

She drew a shaky breath. It had been a while since she had the urge to cry like she did now. If he had said he loved her, if he'd had claimed he hadn't cared at all, she'd find this more bearable. But to say he'd cared and it wasn't enough – she wasn't enough... She had to leave before she broke down and sobbed.

"Okay. Thank you." She turned away and began walking, hugging herself. Had it hurt this much when he crushed her originally?

"Ash..." Rare warmth was in his voice.

"I understand, Jonny. I'm done," she said without stopping. It's over. For real this time. She had gotten the answer to the question tormenting her and yet felt defeated by it.

Numbed by her emotion, she ended up walking home instead of taking the bus. She arrived shortly after midnight to find Brandon in his seat on the couch. He was playing video games this time and glanced up when she closed the door.

"I have a schedule for your hunting," he said.

"I'm not going." Her words were lost in an explosion of some kind in his game.

"What?"

"I said, I'm not going!" She leaned over the back of the couch and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you, Brandon. Like really love you not fake love you. You know that, right?"

"Can't return fire," he complained and wriggled his arm free so he could maneuver the mouse.

"I love you anyway. Even when you're wearing too much cologne." Her nose wrinkled.

"I'm not wearing too much!"

Whatever. She needed a hug after her night and held him until he complained too much for her to stand.

Ashley went to her room and gazed around. Her room was as bright and cheerful as ever, a funky combination of purples and oranges. Her surroundings weren't the problem; the hole inside her was. She had lost her purpose too suddenly for her to understand what was supposed to happen next.

Jonny's claim was fresh in her mind along with the pain that didn't come from his bite. The part of her that resented him had melted into sorrow, leaving her uncertain what else there was in the world if not revenge and vamps.

She nudged the project due the week before that sat untouched on her desk. Her grades were mediocre at best again so far this year. She had time to change that. Her obsession had been with training rather than studying, but her latest confrontation with Jonny left her... deflated.

Ashley sat down at her desk and drew a deep breath. She still had the urge to cry, and the sting of Jonny's bite hadn't faded. She touched the light scars at her neck and winced. He'd been trying to hurt her, to drive her off.

He didn't want her around. What he felt for her four years ago wasn't enough for him to risk being with her and now, nothing remained on his end at all.

Had anything ever hurt this much?

"No more vamps, Ash," she whispered. Exhausted and upset from her night, she flipped off her lights and climbed into bed to cry herself to sleep.

She slept deeply and awoke long past her normal wakeup time. After her night, she didn't feel like starting her day at the boxing gym and instead, wrapped a blanket around herself and shuffled into the kitchen.

Brandon's workstation and laptop were both off and the apartment quiet. He often slept in until noon on a Saturday. Ashley made her usual breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast and sat in front of the television. She scrolled through her phone to find messages from Jessi and Brandon both. Brandon's was nothing more than an alert from one of his apps. Whenever he left the apartment, his phone texted her, and vice versa.

She leaned over the arm of the couch to peer down the hallway leading to their bedrooms. His door was opened. She'd been too sleepy to notice when she went to the kitchen.

"He's up early for once and I slept in," she murmured. She finished breakfast before taking a quick shower and getting dressed.

And then sitting back down on the couch and realizing she didn't have any clue what to do if she didn't spend the day in the gym or plotting Jonny's downfall. She made a list of potential activities, starting with focusing more on her schoolwork and committing to the major she'd halfheartedly chosen. A new hobby, helping Jessi with her kids, fixing up the apartment.

Nothing on her list appealed to her. It all seemed so... normal. Boring. Unfulfilling. If she went to the Guardians, at least she'd have tons of training and an assignment somewhere in the field to occupy her.

Her thoughts drifted to Jonny, and she set her pen down. Instead of anger, she felt sorrow without really understanding why. The pleasure of their kiss was marred by the pain of his bite, and she began to wish he'd done one or the other but not both. It would've been easier to walk away if he told her he loved her once and not anymore or if he said he'd never loved her at all.

To say he cared but not enough to be with her... it was torture in every way.

"Boys are stupid," she murmured. She pulled out her phone to text Brandon and see what he was up to. With any luck, he'd bring her some donuts. She rarely indulged but it felt like a day to eat a dozen.

Something vibrated behind her, and she twisted. Brandon's phone was tucked between the couch and its back.

"Omigod," she said and dug it out. Her text popped up on the screen. "Brandon, you idiot."

Her phone vibrated next with another text from Brandon alerting her to the fact he'd left the apartment. Confused, she unlocked hers to look at the string of numbers that popped up. They were the same as the first text from him, a set of coordinates she could click on and a map would open to show her where it was.

"How are you texting me when I have your phone?" she asked herself. She touched the coordinates, and the customized app on her phone opened. It required a ten-digit passcode she never remembered and had pasted into her notepad on the phone. Brandon had a lot of security measures for everything. Ashley typed in the passcode and waited.

Brandon's phone unlocked automatically and a note popped up on his screen.

Just in case, try here first. Bring weapons. An address was pasted below the cryptic text. She recognized the generic phrasing of their mutual security code. When she hit the emergency app on her phone, it sent the same message to him and her location.

Her breath caught, and she leaned forward, staring at the phones.

Brandon hadn't left the apartment for donuts. He'd been taken by force and managed to trip the emergency app at some point before he was gone. She'd heard nothing last night and rose. Ashley searched the area for signs of a struggle and checked the doors and windows to see if someone had broken in. The door was locked from the inside, as were all the windows.

Brandon had been taken by someone who could Travel.

She googled the address he'd left and then the coordinates automatically generated by his watch and sent to her phone.

The results made her curse. The address was for southern Oregon, the coordinates for a city in Montana. Instinct told her to go where his coordinates indicated he was. He had to have been wearing his watch when he was taken, or she wouldn't have the location.

As if whoever had him had figured out the watch was giving his location, another text flashed onto the screen. The coordinates were blank.

Ashley nibbled on her lower lip, needing to do something. His note said to try the Oregon address first.

Ashley changed into her fighting clothing and stood in the living room once more, trying not to panic as she debated how to get to either of the locations where Brandon was possibly located.

Leave the vamps alone or I'll have to do something we'll both regret.

Had Jonny not been convinced she'd listen this time because she hadn't the first several times? No one else knew where she and Brandon lived. No one else could track him. Her gut twisted. She had lost her desire to fight last night, but renewed anger left her feeling charged, ready for a confrontation even if it was the man who smashed her heart.

Except she had no idea where he was or how to reach him. If she Traveled, she risked arriving in a group of vamps and being disabled by a seizure before she could act.

After a moment of hesitation, she texted Xander.

I need a ride somewhere.

His network of Guardians with the ability to Travel eclipsed hers. He responded quickly.

Problem?

Ashley groaned and typed a fast response. I PROMISE to tell you when it's over. Pretty please?

Within seconds, someone tapped at the apartment door. Ashley stashed two more knives and answered the door.

"I hear you need a chauffer," said the tall, gorgeous brunette outside her door. A fellow warrior, Jenn had been instrumental in Ashley's summer training. She was the mate of the Grey God, Darian, and wore his necklace around her neck.

"Yes!" Ashley said and hugged her mentor. "I need to go here." She released Jenn and held up Brandon's phone with the Oregon address.

Jenn's eyes widened. "You know what's there?"

"No, but I will soon."

"Give me a minute." Jenn moved down the hallway and whipped out her cell phone.

Ashley watched her, not understanding the concern. The Guardian warrior made a quick call and returned appearing less than pleased.

"For the record, I'll do it, but I'm going to Darian the second I leave you," Jenn said firmly. "Xander says to take you."

"What's there?" Ashley asked.

"That happens to be the location of Jonny's headquarters."

Ashley's smile faded. What was her brother doing with Jonny that he sent her the Black God's headquarters location as the default emergency point?

"Wanna tell me what this is about?" Jenn asked.

"No. I already promised Xander I'd tell him everything when this is over. He wants me to learn life lessons, so I am."

"Yeah, and he's about the only one who can help you survive these lessons." Jenn held out her hand.

Ashley took it, uneasy gaze on Jen's features. The world swirled and blurred around her, materializing a fraction of a second later. Ashley hated relying on someone else's Travel skill but preferred to hit the ground fighting.

Jenn had taken her to a forest somewhere. The scents of pine trees and ocean were heavy in the air, along with a morning breeze.

"Where is it?" Ashley asked and glanced towards her feet. Jonny had once hidden her underground, because the Others and Guardians couldn't sense anyone hiding underground.

"Straight through there." Jenn pointed. "I'm giving you a ten minute head start before I call Jonny to remind him not to do anything stupid."

Ashley nodded. She'd been able to face up to five vamps at once, but an entire headquarters teeming with them? She'd probably need some backup or at least, someone to help her survive long enough to get to Jonny and demand to know what he'd done to her brother.

The thought of Brandon in danger banished any fear or doubt. She drew a breath. "Thanks," she told Jenn and then strode in the direction the Guardian had indicated.

Ashley drew two batons as she walked through the forest. The top of an A-frame roof soon peeked through the branches of pine trees, and she emerged from the forest into an open area leading up to a quiet, rustic hunting lodge.

While large, it wasn't exactly what she expecting after seeing Damian's sprawling headquarters in Texas.

She gripped her weapons harder and started forward, unafraid when it came to protecting her family. It was smaller with few signs of activity.

The first vamps on guard to challenge her appeared from the woods nearby. Ashley took them down quickly before striding up to the lodge and pausing before the front door.

Knocking didn't seem quite right, although barging in didn't seem smart either.

Then again, she was there to see Jonny, not hide from the vamps.

Her mind made up, Ashley twisted the doorknob before gripping her baton and nudging the door open with her hip. The open space of the foyer and what was once a reception area for the lodge was filled with more vamps than she'd ever seen at once. They were moving between places, some talking to one other, others on cell phones.

The sight was somewhat surreal, a combination of normalcy and supernatural freakiness.

"What the fuck..." One of them noticed her, and the entire space fell silent.

Ashley eased in the door and kicked the door closed behind with her heel. "I have no quarrel with you. I'm here to see Jonny," she told them and shifted her balance.

Someone laughed. She heard the unmistakable sound of knives and guns being drawn and lowered herself into a fighting stance. Over thirty vamps were present. She wasn't about to go down without a fight.

## Chapter Eleven

"Ikir."

Jonny couldn't place the odd note in Charles' voice, partially because he wasn't fully awake. Troubled by his exchange with Ashley, he'd ended up pulling an all-nighter and wanted at least four hours of sleep before facing whatever insanity a new day brought him.

"What?" he grumbled.

"You need to see something." Charles was in his room. It wasn't a good sign.

Jonny rolled out of bed and pulled on sweatpants. He wiped his face and approached Charles, about to ask what was wrong when he felt the presence of a Natural.

"Who's here?" he demanded.

"If I'm not mistaking, your vigilante." Charles held up his cell to display streaming security footage from the foyer.

Jonny looked twice and then took the phone. "What the fuck is she doing here?"

"She said she's looking for you."

He growled low in his throat. Ashley appeared to be holding her own so far with the dozens of vamps. By her expression the night before, he'd been convinced Ashley wasn't going to do anything stupid anymore and here she was the very next morning, at his headquarters no less. He had gotten good at lying. Did she pick up some tell he didn't intend for her to when he claimed never to have cared that much for his first love?

"I warned her to stay away." Jonny tossed the phone back and strode out of his bedroom without bothering to put on shoes. He tugged on a t-shirt as he walked, furious Ashley meant to challenge him so directly, in front of vamps who had already seen him lose half his men. He'd been toying with solutions as to how to fix the problem of Ashley when he confronted her last night.

He'd left under the impression she was no longer a threat.

I'm the fool, he thought darkly.

He strode from his wing of the lodge into the main house and to the railing of the second floor overlooking the spacious foyer.

Ashley was fighting fast and hard. But her speed wasn't going to defeat two dozen vamps; it'd take stamina and her killing those that were down so they didn't get back up to face her again.

"Stop!" he commanded.

The frenzied movement below slowed and then stopped. Jonny waited until Ashley had lowered her weapons as well under his glare before moving to the stairs. He descended with control and discipline he wanted to toss out the window in order to face Ashley.

"What the fuck is this?" he demanded.

His vamps moved out of his path and cleared the way to Ashley. The fury was back in her eyes, and he resisted the urge to either touch her or unleash his power.

"This." She reached into the pocket at the small of her back and wrenched free a phone, throwing it at him.

Jonny caught it, bristling with agitated energy, and glanced at the screen.

"My brother disappears and you're going to pretend you didn't do it when your location is on his phone?" she snapped. She was breathing hard, her emotions as fiercely displayed as her fighting talent.

Jonny didn't know what was going on. Brandon had checked in with the locations of Valon's vamps and Jonny had gone to bed. "Charles," he said over his shoulder.

His second motioned to the vamps nearest Ashley.

Ashley glared at him and lowered herself into a fighting stance. Realizing no vamp was going to get near her when she was this pissed and ready, he moved towards her. He Traveled twice, one to throw her off and the second time to shift close enough to lay a hand on her.

She tried to whirl, but his magic kept her in place. He knocked her out with his power and caught her as she fell, not about to take any chances she hurt herself or one of his vamps.

"Take her to a cell," he ordered, handing her off to the two vamps. He returned to the stairs. He joined Charles and spoke quietly enough for only his most trusted vamp to hear. "Charles, you know why nothing can happen to her. Go with them."

Charles grimaced and nodded.

Jonny returned to his room, too angry to face Ashley and sensing she wasn't going to cooperate until she, too, had a chance to cool down. He sat on his bed and flicked open Brandon's phone. It was unlocked, and the strange message and address were locked in place on his screen.

As he sat, his anger slid into interest, and he considered who would know where to find Brandon and why he'd been taken. Someone who could Travel, and he knew where all his vamps with such a skill were last night. The Guardians weren't going to kidnap their own. That left Valon, the rogue vamp leader.

Why would Valon want Brandon or Ash? Did the rogue vamp suspect Jonny had been in contact with them? Was he trying to draw Xander's attention – or Jonny's?

He ran a hand through his hair and studied the wall. He was far from calmed down, but if Brandon were in trouble, and a vamp were involved, he was going to get the unwanted visit from Xander, if not Damian. At least, he told himself this was why he wanted to talk to Ashley. His interest extended beyond the situation to the woman who had brazenly attacked his headquarters.

Jonny left his room and went to the cells located in what had been the horse stables. The building had been retrofitted with steel and concrete. One of the guards opened the door for him as he approached, and he crossed to where Charles waited outside one of the cells.

Ashley was awake and pacing inside the cell. Jonny shook his head, not at all happy to see her at his headquarters, and opened the door.

She faced him.

Jonny entered. "I don't have Brandon," he started. Charles closed the door behind him.

The small space seemed even smaller with his charged energy and her agitation. Jonny's thoughts went to the kiss last night which was followed by the hardest he'd ever bitten anyone. He had felt himself sinking in to her, losing his sense of control, when she kissed him passionately. The bite was an attempt to give her a reason to stay away, since his hands always ended up on her when they were together. He didn't want to be drawn to her, and he wanted her to choose to stay away.

"Why else would he have your address in his phone?" she retorted.

"He didn't tell you?" Jonny sat on the chair in the corner. "He was working for me."

She stared at him. "What?"

"He's helping me track the rogue vamps. We needed a second skilled hacker, and he was more than willing when I promised to leave you alone in exchange for his help."

"You blackmailed my brother." She was reaching for one of the weapons the guards had removed when she was unconscious.

"I needed his assistance."

"And now he's gone." She began to pace again. Her irritation wasn't the only thing he sensed. Without his fangs in her neck, he couldn't read more from her body, but there was a tremor in her hand.

"Charles," Jonny glanced towards the open window in the door. "Have Stuart check the link he has to Brandon's computer. Maybe he got hacked and Valon found him that way."

"Yes, ikir."

Jonny waited until Charles was gone. "You need to calm down, Ashley."

"Calm down? My brother is missing, and you want me to calm down?" she all but shouted the words.

"You're about to have a seizure."

She froze in place. Without another word, she sat woodenly on the metal cot in the cell.

"I don't have him. I'll find out if Valon does and then I've got a choice to make," Jonny said in as level of a tone as he could manage. "You challenged me on my territory in front of my vamps. You know what happens to a vamp who does this?"

She was eyeing him.

"Let's just say mercy is viewed as weakness," he continued. "I can't let you go."

"But Brandon is –"

"I told you. This isn't a game. You don't get to throw down the gauntlet with a god and then call off the fight, Ashley," he said with more heat than he intended. He watched her expression, suspecting this was only the second time in their history together where she'd actually heard him. The first was the night before. "You fucked up coming here and now you can't go after your brother even if you want to."

Emotion flickered through her gaze. As if realizing how serious he was, her anger vanished. "Look, Jonny, he's my family. I'd do anything, even challenge you, if I thought you had him."

"Which you did and which I don't." Anger entered his voice. "I was willing to hide your identity as the vigilante. But I can't cover this up."

Her hands both shook, and her pupils were dilating.

"I'll have to decide what to do with you," he said, standing. "Chances are, you won't leave this place."

"Jonny, you can't keep me here!" She leapt to her feet. "I can save him!"

"You should've thought of the consequences before walking into my headquarters." He opened the door.

Her voice trembled. "If you keep me here and something happens to Brandon, I will do whatever it takes to find a way to kill you."

He left.

"Fuck you, Jonny!" she shouted as the door closed.

Jonny released his breath and lingered, furious at the position she'd put him in and even more agitated by the sexual tension between them. He could think of one solution, one she'd hate him for if she didn't already.

The sound of her hitting the floor hard caused him to grind his teeth. He wasn't going to get pulled in by emotion again. It was too dangerous and there was too much at risk. If he walked away now, she'd definitely get the hint he didn't care, especially after he did his best to discourage her the night before.

She slammed into something mid-seizure, and he flinched physically to know she was suffering.

Except I do care. "Fuck," he murmured, unable to leave her in the state she was in.

Jonny opened the door to Ashley's cell. She was convulsing on the ground, eyes closed and face blanched. He knelt beside her and rested one hand on the exposed skin of her neck. His eyes went to the pulsing vein beneath her sensitive skin, and hunger filled him despite drinking his fill from her the night before.

His power stopped her seizure. She lay still, breathing raggedly and balled up on her side.

"I don't want... your help," she whispered weakly. "Unless it's for... Brandon."

"Quiet, Ash. You aren't fooling anyone."

An expression of torment crossed her features. She swiped his hand away. "Get away from me."

"You brought this on yourself," he reminded her. "I'm the one trying to find a solution that lets you live."

Her eyes opened. She peered up at him, gaze foggy. His power was working its way through her system, soothing her despite her rejection.

"Traveling fucks you up," he added. "That's why you have episodes more frequently when you Travel."

"I didn't... someone..." she clamped her mouth closed.

Someone else had dropped her off. He knew it wasn't Xander. It had to be another Guardian, and they were supposed to know his property was off limits.

"Your body can't handle it." He touched her again to assess her. "You can't be in direct contact with someone who Travels or you risk this happening."

"I hate you... Jonny."

He was almost disappointed his talk last night appeared to have worked. He almost believed her this time, unlike yesterday. "I became the Black God when I killed my predecessor to save my sister's life," he said quietly, thoughts on the idle threat he'd made before about turning her into his personal food source. It was starting to look like a viable option. He had to do something about her challenging him in front of his own vamps. "What would you do to save Brandon?"

"Anything," she replied without hesitation.

"Are you sure?"

Ashley nodded.

"You may not like what I have in mind."

Unease was in her eyes. She forced herself into a seated position and leaned against the wall for support. She was weak, trembling, pale. She resembled the girl he remembered from four years ago rather than the strong warrior she had become. "Are you going to blackmail me, too?" she ventured when he said nothing else.

"I'm considering it."

"I can't hack. All I can do is fight."

Jonny touched the light scarring on the side of her neck. "You can do more than that, Ashley."

She recoiled.

"You've got all the time in the world to think about it," he said and rose once more. "We'll discuss it later." This time when he left, he didn't pause or turn back. What he planned wasn't going to win him any favor with Xander or Damian. Chances were, it was going to end up a huge mistake since he already struggled not to feel anything when she was around.

Her unique regeneration gift was something he could use. His vamps would applaud turning Xander's adopted daughter into a blood slave and Jonny would lose no face with them.

And he'd have an excuse to keep Ashley alive. There was no debate about the morality of his plan. It was wrong in every way. His anger faded as he realized Ashley had unknowingly given him the excuse he didn't know he needed to pursue a relationship, even a complicated one, with someone he could actually relate to and cared about.

But doing so, even if she forced his hand, was dangerous. He didn't want to feel ever again, and she had placed herself in danger whose consequences were going to fall on him.

He went to the command center, where Charles and Stu sat side by side in front of the hacker's computer.

"They tracked him through his computer," Tasha reported before Jonny could ask. She was leaning against Stu's chair, gaze on the screen. "Locational data, headquarters information, and any other data we sent him has been potentially compromised."

Jonny frowned. "They know where we are."

"They know where all of us are," replied Stuart.

Dread settled into his stomach. "Issue orders for everyone to move now," Jonny directed Charles. "Double our guard and warn everyone we're preparing for confrontation. Set up wards around the property."

"Wards won't trip if they're vamps," Charles replied.

Jonny hadn't had the chance to ask Ashley how she got to Oregon. She'd had help from someone who could Travel. "Set them up anyway. I want to know if anyone or anything else is headed our way. Issue evac protocol. We'll be out of here by tomorrow morning."

"Got it. You want the girl moved or a note sent to Damian to pick her up?"

"Moved." Charles glanced up at Jonny's firm tone. "I've got a plan with how to deal with her once and for all. No more vigilante, no more stupid as shit attacks on our headquarters."

Charles smiled. "What about Brandon?"

"We've got a bigger concern right now," Jonny replied. "They're going to know not to hurt him. Every vamp and Guardian out there knows not to mess with Xander." It wasn't an answer Ashley would accept, but Jonny had to think of his vamps first. "Stuart, check their phones." He handed Ashley and Brandon's cells to Stuart. "See if there's any clue as to where Brandon is. Tasha, we need an inventory and raid party assignments by tonight."

"You ready for this?" Charles asked.

"Absolutely," Jonny answered. "It's time to set things straight. Rogue vamps are to be killed on sight."

"No mercy."

"None." Jonny's mind went to Ashley and Brandon. He didn't need them distracting him at a time like this, when Valon had everything he needed to make his move.

Then again, Ashley fought like no Guardian or vamp Jonny had ever met. She might have a dual use for him in the near term, assuming she'd yield to his plans without fighting him again.

## Chapter Twelve

Jonny was serious.

It was the first thought that emerged from the sluggish depths of her mind. Her eyelids were lead, her body wooden. She managed to pry her eyes open and stared at the wooden beams of a ceiling she didn't recognize.

It came back to her slowly. Brandon disappearing. Her confrontation with the vamps in Oregon. Jonny's determined look when he said he couldn't just let her go.

Ashley groaned and rolled onto her side, cursing herself repeatedly. Morning light filtered in through thin curtains over wide windows. The room wasn't in Jonny's prison. It was small and comfortable with a half-bathroom behind a partially opened door in the corner. She wore her clothing still, down to her boots, and was draped in a thick quilt. She heard no movement outside the closed door to her room and sensed no one nearby.

If she had had more energy, Ashley wouldn't have dropped off into deep slumber. She had rested her head in the crook of her arm for a moment, torn between needing some serious sleep and desperation to find a way out of Jonny's prison when she toppled into sleep.

Rested, if hungry, she pushed herself into a sitting position and flung off the covers. Her body was a little stiff though not as bad as she usually felt the day after a seizure. Normally, she felt like she'd run a marathon and smashed into every tree along the homestretch.

Ashley made it halfway to the door before something tight around her ankle prevented her right leg from moving. She looked down, surprised.

"Oh, real nice, Jonny," she muttered. Her ankle was chained to the bed. She retreated to the post she was connected to, surprised to see someone had made the effort to cement the bed into blocks too large for her to budge.

She tested her distance and was able to make it into the bathroom but not close the door. Her wallet and phone were gone, along with her weapons. She had nothing to occupy her in the tiny room and crossed to the window. Her view was of the forest except... She frowned.

It wasn't the same pine forest she'd gone to sleep in. This was a forest of deciduous trees with flat leaves and white trunks. Jonny could have moved her anywhere in the world. Where was she?

Irritated, Ashley returned to the bed and sat. She didn't have time to fiddle with her restraints. The door opened, and she sprang to her feet, ready to defend herself with hand to hand combat.

The vamp that entered was one she recognized from the lodge. Jonny had seemed to favor this one. Tall and broad shouldered with red eyes and dark hair, the vamp bore a McDonald's bag in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

"Breakfast." He growled as he set the food down on the bedside table, as if disgusted by her very human choice of food.

"Where are we?" she asked.

He ignored her and knelt to unlock the cuff from around the leg of the bed.

Ashley watched and waited for the lock to click free, tensing to make an attempt at a getaway. The moment she started to lean forward, the vamp raised a Taser, and she sat back.

He couldn't match her in battle, but Tasering her would knock her out of commission.

"Dammit," she muttered and snatched the bag of McDonald's instead. She pulled out a breakfast sandwich and unwrapped it.

"You are only alive because of Xander," the vamp said and stood. "We train now."

"Train?" She asked through a mouth full of food.

"Jonny thinks you can help us fight the rogue vamps."

"Why the hell would I help him?"

"Because they have your brother." The vamp tugged on her chain. "We'll see who wins this bet."

She dwelt on his words long enough for him to tug again. Ashley shoved the rest of her breakfast into her mouth and trailed him into the hallway. They appeared to be in a dorm of some sort. Private rooms similar to hers lined the hallway. The décor was dark and woodsy, the dorm quiet.

When she could talk again, she drew closer. "Those other vamps... why do they have my brother?"

"Maybe because Jonny was using him to track them. Maybe because they want to send Xander a message." The vamp shrugged. "Doesn't fucking matter. They'll be destroyed anyway."

Agreed there. They walked out onto a low porch, and she saw where everyone else was. Vamps were sparring all along a lakeside bank beneath the tall, slender trees. Golden leaves had begun to fall and pile at the base of the trees. It was cooler here than San Diego.

"Where are we?" she asked again.

"Outer Banks."

"Virginia?" She glanced behind her to see the quiet retreat, a series of single story buildings joined by wooden walkways and surrounding a central community center with a double A-frame roof. "Okay. So is my brother close?"

"We don't know where he is."

Her focus returned to the vamp. "Why aren't you trying to find out?"

"I don't give a shit about your brother," the vamp snapped. "I care about putting an end to Valon."

"If my brother is important, he's probably located somewhere near this Valon guy, isn't he?" she retorted.

He paused near a group of vamps sparring with knives. "You know what your problem is?"

"No clue."

"You don't kill."

"I don't see that as a problem," she grumbled. "I can kill. I just don't."

"When we send you out to face Valon's vamps, you won't have any of us to clean up after you."

Charles. She vaguely recalled hearing the vamp's name. "What're we doing here?" she asked instead. "We already know I can beat you before you raise your knife."

"You can," he agreed, "until someone outsmarts you and you can no longer use your speed to your advantage."

"It hasn't happened yet."

He tossed her two rubber knives. She snorted. Charles set down the Taser and took up a position opposite her, about four feet away.

"Come on, Natural," he said with as much distaste as he treated her breakfast.

"You don't want a weapon?"

"You won't get close."

Piece of cake. Ashley balanced herself on the balls of her feet, positioned her weapons and then launched at him.

Her right leg was yanked out from under her, and she smashed to the ground before she was able to reach him. Startled, she lifted her head and the leg whose chain Charles held.

"Again," he said and motioned her to her feet.

Ashley considered her hobbled leg briefly as she rose, mind racing with other scenarios whereby it wouldn't be in her way.

She tried again, and once more, he knocked her onto her back without touching her.

"Dammit," she muttered. This time, she got up faster. "Is this realistic? I mean what are the chances any of them gets close enough to chain up one leg."

"You're missing the point," the vamp snapped. "You need to think on your feet and not just rely on your gift."

She frowned. She'd never run into a challenge that required her to change what she did.

The third time she charged him, he yanked harder and sent her sprawling onto her stomach. Anger stirred, and Ashley rose, this time pausing to evaluate how to close the short distance between them. She had speed, agility and athletic ability on her side, and the vamp had one hand in his pocket and didn't look at all concerned about routing her.

Think on your feet. She did when scaling a building with no noticeable toe and hand holds, when pure athletic ability required something more than strength to ensure she succeeded. Her gaze from the vamp to those crowding around to watch to the chain separating her from Charles.

After a long pause, she tried again.

This time, instead of diving for him, she dropped her knives, kicked up her right leg and snatched the chain. She yanked to pull him off guard...

... and ended up on her belly.

"Shit!" Ashley bounced up. "Again!"

Charles didn't even flinch. He pulled out his phone and began texting with one hand.

The next time, she tried grabbing the chain and wrapping it around her hand only to cry out in pain when he yanked hard enough to sprain it.

Ashley struggled for an hour to reach him before bending over, hands on her knees, to catch her breath. "What... am I doing... wrong?" she panted. "Are you going to tell me or just let me keep beating myself against the ground?"

Charles replaced his phone, unfazed while she breathed hard. "Use the chain."

"I've been trying."

"Not the way you've been doing it."

She rolled her eyes and straightened.

"You have athleticism on your side. Pull the chain tight. Use it and me as leverage. There's more than one way to close the distance between us. You don't need to be on your feet."

She frowned, calculating what he was saying with what she thought she could do.

"I saw the surveillance footage of you scaling a wall with nothing more than your speed and strength," Charles added.

"You've been watching me?" She eyed him.

"It always pays to know what you're up against. Now, try again."

Not on my feet. She was a fantastic tumbler and light enough she didn't need much space to generate speed.

Doubting this plan would work either, she dropped the knives and pulled the chain taught. "Okay. Here I go," she murmured to herself.

She vaulted onto her hands and flipped over backwards, touching the ground for a split second before flipping again, this time with the chain in her hands. She landed almost on top of Charles and lashed out with the chain.

He Tasered her.

Ashley gasped and dropped as hot electricity paralyzed her temporarily. The pain slid away, and she lay on the ground.

"Good," Charles said. "Let's try the next level."

Dazed by the shock, she didn't fight him when he blindfolded her and hauled her to her feet. She wobbled and caught her balance, shaking out her arms and legs to rid herself of the shocks.

"You can fight in the dark?" Charles asked.

"Yeah," she replied and keyed in her senses.

"Show me."

"Why are we doing this?" she demanded. "You know I can fight."

"I know you can fight one way. If you're going to help us against Valon, you need to adapt to how a vamp fights."

"I don't want to fight Valon. I want to get my brother back!"

"You can sit back here on your ass and hope we feel like rescuing him, or you can join the raiding teams and look for him yourself," Charles answered. "Jonny asked me to assess you. If I don't like how you fight or act, I can tell him to put you on ice."

Anxious to help her brother, fearful of what exactly Jonny had planned for her, Ashley didn't object again and lowered herself into a fighting stance.

"First round will be easy," Charles said.

He didn't attack her. This much she sensed. He kept a hold of her chain, though, to limit her movement while three other vamps attacked. Ashley managed to fight them off despite her restriction.

The second round, however, was a disaster. Charles intermittently yanked her off her feet mid-fight, and she ended up bruised and battered by the time the round was over.

He let he catch her breath without taking off the mask. "Do you see the point I'm trying to make, Natural?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "I'm not flexible enough."

"You aren't adaptable enough."

She rolled her eyes behind the blindfold. "Whatever. I know I can fight if I have the chance."

"And if you don't?"

Ashley growled, not liking where he was going with his lessons. "Fine. What's next?"

"Round three."

If ever she suspected she'd meet her match, it wouldn't have been with a vamp who didn't lift one finger to fight her. Round three was crushing, a combination of sheer number of attackers, Charles knocking her off her feet, and the occasional Taser.

By the end, she stayed down for the first time in her life, too exhausted and rattled by bolts of hot electricity to move. Ashley pushed off the blindfold to stare at the swaying trees above, struggling to catch her breath.

Charles crouched beside her. She didn't bother trying to attack him this time.

"Jonny is the opposite of you. He's cautious and fights smart. He doesn't have great skill or talent, and he'll kick your ass every time."

"Is this supposed to be a pep talk?" she retorted.

"It's a warning. Xander taught you to use your instincts. You need to add to that some thought and strategy if you want to survive the vamps Valon has under him. They're ruthless and have nothing to lose."

Ashley pushed herself into a sit. "What're you going to tell Jonny?"

"That you need training wheels."

"Omigod!"

"If you fuck up the first time, you won't be going back out."

"So I can go."

"For now."

Ashley almost sighed in relief. Nothing sounded worse than being left behind when she had a chance to help her brother.

"Part two," Charles said and stood. "You need to learn to fight with our vamps."

She lifted her eyebrows. "Now?"

"Tired?"

She nodded.

"You ever watch the Dog Whisperer?"

She shook her head.

"The host always says the best time to train a dog is when he's tired."

"I'm not a dog!" Ashley said, startled.

"Might as well be, Natural." Charles motioned her up.

Offended, she bit back another response, not wanting to end up Tasered for pissing off Charles and climbed to her feet. "I don't care if your vamps get killed out there," she said.

"You should. They'll be guarding your back."

The three vamps on the other side of their practice area glanced at one another.

"Yeah, they don't share your teamwork ethic," she said sarcastically.

"Jonny gave orders. If anyone fails to do his part, he gets disciplined," Charles was gazing at the three. "You don't have to like it. You just have to obey."

The hesitation in their features vanished fast.

"What does disciplined mean?" she asked quizzically.

"It means he kills them."

She glanced towards the vamps once more and swallowed the question at the tip of her tongue. It was one thing to know Jonny was a vamp, another to know he killed. Not at all certain how to grapple with what he had become, she turned her focus to the vamps.

"Pair up. Spar one another. The pair still on their feet at the end of this wins," Charles instructed.

"Come on, Natural," one of the vamps called to her gruffly.

Ashley went, troubled and tired.

By the end of her day with the vamps, she was ravenous and exhausted. Charles led her by the chain back to her bedroom and locked her in. On the nightstand beside the bed was another bag of fast food. She tore into it and wolfed everything down before taking a quick shower. A gym bag of clothing sat on the bottom of the bed. It was hers, and she sifted through it for her favorite leggings and t-shirt to change into after bathing.

Unable to recall the last time she'd been so worn down from a day of training, she braided her hair and sat down with a sigh. As with before, there was a knock at her door the moment she went still.

Charles opened it. "You're being summoned," he said curtly.

She didn't have to ask who was ordering her around, but she was more leery than before after learning how much Jonny's vamps feared disappointing him. She tugged on her shoes and watched in irritation as Charles picked up her chain again to lead her through the dorm where no one but her was staying.

He escorted her into a neighboring building, this one with larger rooms and more vamps. He led her to a small suite and opened the door for her.

Jonny had a mini-apartment with a living room area and kitchen. He also had a porch, and the open door caught her attention. She didn't know how far away the nearest Guardians or a cell phone was, but if she had half a shot to run, she'd be able to escape.

As if understanding her look, Charles chained her to the round bar table in the tiny dining room. She remained on her feet. He left, and she waited.

Jonny's claim she had something to trade for his blackmail scheme made her touch the bite scars at her neck. A day with Charles and the vamps was challenging and interesting.

Being the Black God's food source?

She'd rather be Tasered a hundred times over than experience the helplessness when he incapacitated her and the piercing fire of his fangs.

"Charles said you did well." Jonny's soft voice came from the direction of the porch.

Unable to sense him, she wasn't certain if he'd been there since she walked in or not. "Hmmm. That's not exactly what he told me."

"He's a critical teacher." Jonny stepped into the room. "If he can teach me to fight, he can mold anyone."

Ashley didn't feel up for small talk, not when she knew what was coming. Her heart was pounding faster than when she fought the vamps earlier and she was self-conscious of how Jonny was gazing at her – steadily, intently. Like the predator he was. She'd never really understood this about him before now. "How often do you kill your vamps?" she asked.

"Only when they disobey. I have a couple of capitol offenses," he replied, unfazed by the question.

How did I ever think this was the same guy? She studied him. Quiet power radiated off him. He approached, and she found herself backing away for the first time since they'd met.

"What are they?" she asked in the tense quiet, too aware of the warmth blooming in her cheeks.

"My catch-and-release protocol. They can drink blood but never kill a human."

"Hmm. What about me?"

"I had to make up a special rule for you."

She started to smile and stopped herself. "You're going to let me try to find Brandon."

"I'm going to let you fight with my vamps against the rogues," he replied.

"And you'll find Brandon."

"He's not my first priority," Jonny said, gazing down at her steadily. "But, yes, I will have a team work on finding him in exchange for you keeping your end of the bargain."

"Fair enough." Not about to show weakness despite her weariness, she drew a deep breath. "Let's get this over with." Ashley tugged her braid over the side of her neck and turned her back to him. She waited, hating the suspense and apprehension roiling within her.

"You understand your position, Ash?" His body heat grew nearer.

Her heart raced. "You can't let me go, so now I have to fight for you and feed you. As long as you find Brandon, I don't care what you do to me, Jonny."

"You understand this arrangement doesn't end when we find Brandon? That I can't just pardon you when I'd kill any of my vamps for anything similar?"

She didn't answer for a long moment. She had purposely not been thinking about what happened when they found Brandon. She wanted him safe. What happened to her was of less concern. Although, she began to reconsider whether a normal life was so bad.

"I think so," she mumbled at last. "I think it means I'm stuck with you."

"Yeah. It does."

She swallowed hard.

Rather than take her throat, Jonny lifted her wrist. "All my vamps bear this as a reminder and warning." He touched his palm to hers lightly. A flash of fire went through her hand, and she jerked it back to see the fading glow of a brand on her palm. The symbol was simple, a half moon with a fang. "It's permanent, until I release you from your service."

"You mean when you decide to kill off someone."

"Something like that. Are we on the same page?" he lifted her hand again to display the blackened outline of his mark.

"Yeah," she replied unhappily. With Brandon in danger, she had no choice but to accept whatever it was Jonny wanted to do to her.

He gripped her throat with one hand next. She gasped, not expecting the touch quite yet. His lean strength was at her back. She waited to feel the sense of losing control, of him forcing her muscles to obey his commands.

Being helpless was the worst part, maybe even worse than the pain of his bite.

"If you promise not to fight me, I won't do it this time."

She didn't feel him in her head and chalked it up to his godlike powers. She was accustomed to not always being alone mentally after so many years with Xander and Brandon. Still, she didn't like knowing Jonny was able to access her thoughts. "You can read minds?"

"Not all the time. Usually I have to be in physical contact," he replied.

I'm doing this for Brandon. Her fear was growing, along with the strange warmth that always invaded her body when he touched her. "I won't fight you," she said and tilted her head to expose her neck.

Ashley squeezed her eyes closed and braced herself for the pain. When his fangs sank into her neck, she felt...

Nothing. Not even a pinch. The tension within her started to release, and she realized he wasn't trying to hurt her this time. The fire in her system wasn't from pain, and the sensation of his warm lips against her neck reminded her of how it'd felt to kiss him the other day. She was quiet and still, unable to fathom spending her life doing this every night yet also unwilling to risk Brandon's life by opposing Jonny's plan. For now, she was trapped with him.

He withdrew several minutes later and stepped away, releasing her. Ashley touched the scars on her neck. The intimate exchange was rendered even more awkward by the fact she sensed only she found it intimate. Jonny did this every night; she doubted he was able to tell the difference between one woman and another.

"So." She cleared her throat and turned. "About tomorrow. Charles said he'd talk to you?"

"He did." Jonny leaned against the kitchen counter, dark eyes on her.

"And..." She prompted.

"You can go."

Ashley rejoiced internally and nodded. They gazed at one another too long, and she shifted her weight between her feet. Had anything ever been so weird?

"Is it always like this?" she asked.

"Is what always like this?"

"The, uh, blood thing. It's really awkward."

"No," he gave a half smile. "It's never like this. I'm usually fucking my dinner at the same time."

She stared at him.

"I usually brainwash them," he admitted. "They don't need to suffer on my account."

"They just need to die," she snapped.

"I am what I am."

I never knew you at all. "How many women have you been through?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Seven hundred and fourteen."

She started to laugh and then stopped.

Jonny was serious.

"Why so many?" she managed to ask.

"I tend to drink more than the others. I generally kill one to two a week."

"So you can kill humans but they can't."

"Right," he said. "It's a necessity in my position, at least until I crush the rebellion and have the full respect of those who remain."

"That doesn't make it right."

"Right and wrong are a sliding scale where I sit. But I do remember all of their names and do my best to ensure they're never in pain. It helps me hang onto what's left of my humanity."

Ashley didn't know what to say. Jonny was calm and accepting of what he was and what he did. He didn't make excuses for his actions and clearly felt the impact of taking a human life in a way she doubted his vamps did.

The insight into him had the opposite effect she expected.

She cleared her throat once more and looked away. The past lingered between them, the sorrow she experienced when she realized she'd lost the person she cared about. This Jonny was nothing like him. Her Jonny had been sensitive and kind albeit misguided. He hadn't wanted to kill and didn't know how to use a woman let alone kill one. Whatever he claimed he felt, he had been good to her in the private moments they shared four years before.

Her Jonny was gone, and it disturbed her to guess what kind of torture he had been through to become the man he was now.

Had she changed this much? Because she felt as lost as ever, more so when she considered she'd potentially spend the rest of her life not understanding the Black God she was stuck with.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," she said.

"For..."

"I don't even know," she said. Disappointment settled the stirring of her blood. "Charles spent the day having other vamps kick my ass, so if we're good, I'm going to need some sleep before tomorrow."

"I'll take you and your chain back." He glanced at the metal links piled at her feet.

Before she could object, he crossed to her and rested a hand on her arm. They Traveled back to her room, a space that seemed far too cramped for the two of them. Ashley moved away from him instantly. She didn't want his touch to send her spinning into confusion or worse, cause her to have another seizure.

"I patched you for now," Jonny said. "My sister is a healer. You should..."

She looked up at him, startled he mentioned his family.

"Never mind. Night, Ash," he said.

Within a blink, he was gone again.

She released her breath. She'd rather spend all day and night fighting with the vamps Charles sent to challenge her than the five minutes she'd just spent with Jonny.

It was going to be a long eternity, if she were permanently stuck with him.

Save Brandon first. Then I get the hell out of here, she promised herself.

Yet as sound as the plan seemed, she couldn't help wondering if there was a part of the boy she'd once known that she might be able to save.

## Chapter Thirteen

After a much less grueling day of tactics training, Ashley joined Charles and a handful of other vamps going out on a raid to a warehouse where it was suspected Valon was staying. She itched to hurry ahead, to infiltrate on her own and take out any vamps present.

But Charles was strict: if she fucked up, she wasn't going out with them again, and this was enough encouragement to keep her dutifully at his side.

"Stop fidgeting," he growled.

"I can't. This is taking too long," she shot back. Night hid the approach of a scout darting from the direction of the warehouse.

"No Valon," he reported breathlessly and dropped behind the antiquated piece of rusting machinery they hid behind. The equipment from the former factory had been dragged out behind the warehouse and left to the elements. "Wards around the south side and activity inside and outside the wards."

"What kind of location is this?" Charles asked.

"Looks like a safehouse or supply depot. Humans chained in one room, bunks in another, tons of storage boxes."

Ashley bristled.

Charles glanced at her. "Don't you start," he warned.

She gritted her teeth without responding. Every bone in her body wanted her to free the humans.

"They wouldn't have wards if there wasn't something important here," Charles said, returning his attention to the scout. "Wards are dead giveaways vamps are present. A normal safehouse wouldn't use them." He considered for a moment. "How many are here?"

"I saw about three dozen."

"Good size. Too many for a safehouse." Charles motioned the dozen vamps behind them forward within hearing distance. "We have orders to kill everyone but Valon. Break up into teams and enter like we practiced earlier. Keep it quick and clean."

The vamps moved away immediately to obey.

"What about me?" Ashley asked anxiously.

"I thought we'd use you as bait." Charles rose and hurried towards the next closest piece of factory equipment.

She scrambled after him. "I can do that," she said. "What do you want me to do?"

"Trip the wards. Head around to the south side and distract them."

She launched up.

Charles grabbed her arm. "I'm not done yet, Natural," he snarled.

She rolled her eyes and crouched beside him again.

"Hector is going with you. Trip the wards, stay where you are until you draw attention and then you fight – outside the warehouse."

"But there might be more –"

"Outside the warehouse," he repeated.

"Fine. Anything else?"

"Go."

She bolted and was trailed closely by the vamp named Hector. Not fully trusting them to tell her if Brandon was present, she nonetheless obeyed the first part of Charles' plan.

Ashley slowed her walk as she approached the south side of the warehouse. "Hey, Hector. How do I know when –"

Shouts came from the sentry nearest her and were followed by a spotlight. Hector ducked down behind a piece of rusting equipment, and Ashley stepped into the light, shielding her eyes.

She sensed the movement of three vamps headed her direction, and heard even more running towards the door nearest her.

"Hey, guys," she said cheerfully as the vamps neared. "Just dropping by to check in on things."

The door behind them slammed open as more vamps flooded the area. Ashley gauged their distance and reached for one of her knives. How long was she supposed to wait before attacking?

The moment one of them came too close, she decided to act. Ashley lowered her center of balance and charged the oncoming vamps. She fought with deft speed unhindered by Charles and his Taser and chain. Battling vamps felt easy after his brutal lessons, and she tore through her opponents, vaguely aware of Hector killing the ones she downed.

In only ten minutes, she'd taken out all seven of those who came to confront them and paused at the door, breathless and energized. Ashley peered into the darkness, unable to see the way the predators could.

Hector was talking into a walkie-talkie. She debated disobeying Charles completely to search the warehouse but feared being grounded from future missions if she did. After some internal warring, she returned to Hector.

He dropped the walkie-talkie into his cargo pocket and strode past her. "C'mon." He disappeared into the depths of the warehouse.

Ashley followed without a word. It was easier to follow Hector as he navigated in the darkness than find her own way, and she walked close enough to bump him when he slowed, senses trained on the darkness. The open bay made up half the warehouse and was empty as far as she could tell. Movement and light came from the doors on the north side of the building.

"Hey, Hector. Why is there a ward and nothing here?"

"That's what we have to find out."

She trailed him. He changed directions before reaching the tall door leading to the other half of the segmented warehouse and went instead to a stairwell tucked along one side.

Underground. The trick she'd learned from watching Jonny hide her from the Others. Eager to discover what the vamps were hiding – and praying it was Brandon – Ashley crowded Hector, who gave her an annoyed look more than once as they descended beneath the concrete flooring.

The bunker beneath the warehouse was tiny compared to the open floor of the bay. The sound of quick footfalls made them duck into a nearby room. Ashley counted ten vamps race past them towards the stairs before the hallway was quiet.

"I think there's more than three dozen here," she observed.

"Charles says at least double."

"What are they guarding?"

Hector didn't answer but opened the door and stepped into the hallway. They hurried in the direction the vamps had come from, past several more darkened rooms, and into what appeared to be nothing more than a barracks area.

"That's it?" she asked, disappointed.

"This is good," Hector said simultaneously.

Ashley rolled her eyes and gave the room a once over visually. "I see nothing here." And no Brandon.

"Valon had a good size unit guarding this place. If –"

Rustling came from behind them, and they both whirled. Before the hiding vamp was able to flee, Ashley had tackled him to the ground. The sharp, hot electricity of a Taser ripped through her, and she was flung off.

Gasping, she waited for her seizing to subside while Hector smashed the vamp to the floor.

"What is it with vamps and... Tasers?" she grumbled and rolled onto her belly. "You didn't kill this one?" She climbed to her feet with effort and shook off the shock.

Hector hauled the bloodied vamp up and shoved him onto a chair. "We need to know what or who was here." He radioed Charles briefly to report in. "Search the area, Natural."

Ashley sheathed her knives and began wandering through the cots, tables and chairs. "What am I looking for?"

"Anything interesting." Hector said and then smacked the unconscious vamp.

Ashley glanced over her shoulder, uncertain she wanted to see a vamp interrogation. If Jonny's men were as ruthless as he was, it wasn't going to end pleasantly.

She walked without real purpose. There were no bags or belongings anywhere that might identify who was around. A familiar scent reached her heightened senses, and she paused. She stood between two cots, one of which was pressed up against the wall. Both had unfolded blankets as if the occupants had left quickly.

Kneeling between them, she waited for the scent to tickle her nose once more and then stretched for the blanket on the cot against the wall. She sniffed it and almost sighed. "Brandon," she murmured, recognizing his favorite cologne. For once, she was glad he sprayed too much. She shook out the blanket to see if he'd left something there to help her find him.

A pool of blood had soaked through and hardened a section of the blanket. Her heart skipped a beat, and she stared at it. What had they done to Brandon? After a quick search, she returned to Hector, who had managed to rouse the vamp.

"Brandon was here," Ashley said. "What happened to him? Why was he bleeding?"

"Wait your turn, Natural," Hector growled and pushed her aside.

"No!" She pushed him back and shook the blanket in front of the rogue vamp. "What happened? Did someone bite him?"

The vamp glared at her.

Furious at the thought they'd been using her brother as food, Ashley dropped the blanket and whipped out her knife. She stabbed the vamp in the thigh.

He jerked and hissed in pain.

"Where is my brother?" she demanded and withdrew the knife.

He didn't answer, and she stabbed him again.

"Your brother is not the mission," Hector shoved her aside once more. He lifted a Taser. "Charles won't ask why I had to use it."

Ashley yanked her knife out of the vamp's leg and fumed silently off to the side. She soon began to pity the captured vamp. Hector Tasered, beat and twisted his arms into pretzels. She flinched as she watched, willing the stupid vamp to just answer the questions about what was down in the basement.

"Kitchen!" gasped the vamp finally.

She perked up, and Hector eased back. "What's in the kitchen?" he demanded.

"Go... see..."

"I'll go." Ashley volunteered. "You can keep doing... this."

Hector nodded, and she left quickly, relieved to be away. She had no love for vamps, but she didn't like to see anyone suffering either. Ashley scoured the bunker and found the kitchen accessible through an entertainment room with a television and couch. She crossed through to the space the vamp indicated and looked around.

The counters were empty. She searched the cupboards. They, too, contained nothing. Suspecting he had tricked them, she started to leave when she heard the sounds of shouting and foot traffic. Several vamps raced by the entrance to the entertainment room. They weren't Charles' vamps, though, and she began to suspect Charles had gotten in over his head upstairs. She waited for them to continue down the hallway and started forward but stopped and turned suddenly.

She hadn't thought to check the fridge.

Ashley retreated to the corner where the refrigerator was and opened the door. Two boxes – one a shoebox, the other the size of a large ring box – sat on the top shelf. She reached in and grabbed both quickly to set on the counter. Not at all certain what vamps kept in the fridge, she lifted the top off the shoebox first.

"Oh... yuck." They'd severed someone's hand and placed it in the center with a folded dishtowel beneath. She replaced the lid with a grimace and opened the ring box.

The eyeball staring back at her was the exact same hue as hers.

Ashley didn't move, didn't breathe for a long minute. She pushed the lid off the shoebox once more and this time, reached in to grab the hand inside. It could've been anyone's hand, and she was trying to convince herself of this when she flipped it over and saw the faded blue ink where Brandon made his to do list on a daily basis.

Until this moment, Brandon's danger hadn't felt real. It had seemed simple to her. She'd help Jonny as a means to help Brandon. No one would hurt either of them, because of Xander.

Jonny and Xander both had warned her it wasn't a game, and she brushed them off, along with Xander's claim about there being consequences to every choice. Those consequences, the danger, the idea one or both of them may not survive this, that Brandon might die before she reached him or perhaps she wasn't able to handle everything without help... these realities hadn't felt real before she discovered the evidence that she was in over her head.

How stupid am I? Jonny was right. Xander was right.

Brandon was in the kind of danger she wasn't able to protect him from. And maybe no one else could, either.

With calmness she didn't feel, Ashley replaced the lids of both boxes and slid them into her backpack with trembling hands. It hadn't yet clicked she held her brother's hand or that his eye had been staring lifelessly up at her.

"Hey!" the shout of a vamp from the entrance of the entertainment room jarred her out of her thoughts and back into her danger.

Because she was in danger. Just like Brandon. This wasn't another night beating up vamps for some stupid hope of revenge against someone she didn't even know anymore.

This was a civil war, one she and Jonny were caught in the middle of.

Something clicked inside her. This wasn't a game. There was a chance one of the people she loved most in the world wasn't going to survive this. Brandon was being sawed into pieces for reasons she couldn't begin to guess.

This time when Ashley drew her knives, she could think of only one thing: making anyone who had a hand in hurting her brother pay for it.

The sound of Hector scuffling with vamps distracted her briefly before she launched at the two moving through the entertainment room towards her. Ashley drew a breath. Her hands shook from emotion she wasn't able to feel at the moment but which she knew would be as powerful as one of her seizures when it hit.

Her attack on the vamps passed as if she were in a dream. Disengaged yet acutely aware of everything, she didn't try to refrain from killing as she usually did. She let her instincts control her weapons and closed her eyes to the spray of blood. Its warmth soaked her, before she had even made it out of the entertainment room.

When the two vamps had stopped moving, she assessed her situation swiftly.

No regret or fear or anything that might discourage her emerged. She was glad the vamps were dead and proud to have been the one to end them. For all she knew, they had hurt her brother.

And no one who hurt Brandon was going to make it through this.

Ashley strode into the hallway towards the barracks area where she heard someone getting his ass beaten. She didn't need to look to know it was Hector on the ground. As soon as she set foot in the barracks, she was a flurry of lethal activity. Hacking, stabbing, slashing. She was too quick for her first few vamps to have the chance to attack her. One managed to scrape her arm but paid for it instantly with his life.

Within seconds, everyone but her and Hector was dead.

"'Bout time," he complained and got to his feet. "I got nothing else out of him. What did you find?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she said in a strained voice. "What orders did Charles give next?"

"He got cut off. They were fighting last I heard up on the –"

She whirled and sprinted through the hallways of the underground bunker. Ashley took the stairs two at a time and dashed into the open bay. The dark side remained silent. Her emotions close to breaking, she raced to the doors dividing the warehouse in two and pulled one open. Stepping into the north bay, it took all of two seconds for her to figure out Charles and his remaining four men had been captured by around thirty vamps.

She needed to dance, to keep active, to block the fear and guilt about to break over her and prevent her from doing anything but crying for her brother. Ashley did the only thing she knew to do. With an infuriated battle cry, she launched at the vamps approaching her. She began to fight. This time, she didn't care about holding back her weapons or moves to spare the lives of those around her. This time, she fought to kill.

## Chapter Fourteen

Jonny checked his phone the second Charles reported in. The vamp was late, but Charles was only late when there was an issue. Expecting the usual long report, Jonny frowned when he read the four words Charles had sent instead.

You better come now.

Jonny scanned reports coming into the makeshift command center to ensure his other teams weren't in trouble in before Traveling to the location he'd given Charles. By and large, their first night dedicated to raids was successful. Two of the five places they hit had been hideouts for the rogues. A third was a backup safehouse that appeared unused and the other two already abandoned. Jonny would happily take three out of five and call it a victory.

The vamp he materialized near jumped and then stepped aside. Ten rogue vamps lay dead on the ground in front of the entrance of the warehouse with two of his vamps posted as guards.

"North bay," the vamp beside him said. "Charles is expecting you. Cut through the warehouse, ikir."

Jonny strode forward into the darkened side of the warehouse, aware of his vamps stationed periodically along the way. When he entered the lighted half, he slowed. Charles had two vamps with him, but it was the carnage that caught his attention.

Jonny was at first surprised then pleased to see three dozen dead rogues before him, until he saw who sat in the middle of them, her head bowed and frame shaking. The sight of Ashley alone and trembling made something twist inside of him. He canned the emotion. He had too much to lose as it was without letting his feelings cloud his judgment.

"What happened?" he asked without lifting his eyes from her.

"I don't know," was the quiet reply. "Your little Natural just went crazy and started killing everyone. We helped, of course."

"Ashley doesn't kill."

"She did tonight."

Something's wrong.

"We've searched everywhere and found nothing here. No reason for there to be wards or so many of them located in one place. I suspect Valon was here but slipped away before we arrived," Charles continued.

"Get everyone back to Virginia. Pick up dinner along the way," Jonny ordered.

"You got her? My Taser's missing."

Jonny snorted. "Yeah. I'm good." He waited for Charles to move away before he ventured into the killing field. Jonny picked his way through the dead, attention on Ashley. She was soaked with vamp blood; even her hair dripped with it. Any doubt he had about her killing was gone by the time he reached her. Her knives were at her side, and her arms wrapped around a shoebox. Concern fluttered through him, no matter how hard he wanted not to feel anything.

"Ash," he said quietly. Unafraid of her, he nonetheless knew when a wounded animal required a softer approach than he would usually consider. He crouched close enough to see her features, not about to touch her if she was close to exploding. "Ashley. Are you ready to leave?"

She shifted and lifted her head. Her eyes were haunted and her features tight. "He was here."

"Who?"

She wordlessly handed him the shoebox she'd been clutching. Jonny smelled the blood before he opened it and saw the severed hand. He nudged the top off the ring box next and observed the body parts before him, unaffected by the gruesome sight or knowledge they were pieces of her brother. He had hardened himself to violence and what his people were capable of.

"Do you think they can sew it back on?" she whispered.

"No, Ash, I don't."

She nodded as if expecting the answer. "We have to find him, Jonny."

"We will." In that moment, he was surprised to realize how serious he was. Brandon had been a side mission to him. One life wasn't going to outweigh the future of his vamps. Witnessing Ashley's tortured look, however, left him feeling cold inside.

"We better go." Gathering her knives, she pushed herself to her feet with effort.

Jonny rose as well. "You okay?"

"Does it matter?"

It shouldn't. "You're in shock, Ash."

"I'm just tired."

Jonny didn't argue. He had seen shell shocked vamps before, usually when they were new to the organization. Hell, he had spent his first two years in a state of shock and disbelief. Such phases normally didn't end well without intervention. Of everything he had on his plate, walking Ashley through this wasn't a task he had planned for.

"C'mon. Let's get back," he said and held out his hand.

Her gaze lingered on it. She put her weapons away and accepted his offer. Jonny Traveled back to the Virginia hideout and materialized outside of her room. She released him and pushed her door open.

"No chain tonight?" she asked acidly.

"Get cleaned up. I'll wait."

She didn't acknowledge him and slammed the door.

Jonny glanced down at the boxes he carried. He had a feeling tossing them wasn't something Ashley was ready for. Keeping them wasn't particularly appealing but neither did he blink at the thought of keeping severed body parts in his fridge. The smell was irritating, the scent of human blood detectable to his sensitive nostrils no matter where he stood in his suite.

He Traveled to the kitchen in his suite and left the boxes in the fridge before returning to Ashley's room.

Charles was present smelling of sweat and vamp blood. "New Taser," he said and lifted the device.

Jonny wanted to smile but didn't. His second's methods had definitely made an impact on Ashley. Charles was shrewd like that, another reason Jonny trusted him. "I got it tonight," he said. "She's not coping well."

"The other raids were successful?"

"Very," Jonny replied. "No sign of Valon, but with the massacre at the warehouse, we took out over a hundred of his vamps tonight."

"He won't take that well."

"I'm counting on him finding me at some point," Jonny said confidently. "I'm pulling Ashley off the raids."

Charles studied him. "May I speak my opinion freely, ikir?"

Jonny gave a single nod of his head.

"If she fights like she did tonight, she's more effective than an entire raid party."

Jonny crossed his arms.

"I will always defer to your decision, ikir," Charles added. "She's undisciplined and barely understands how to work on a team. She is, in every way, a potential liability."

"You just said you want her to go back out."

"You should know the risk before you decide. She did what would take ten of my vamps to do and in a quarter of the time. She killed most of the vamps you saw and all of the ones you didn't see in the bunker," Charles continued. "I want her because she's the best fighter we have, possibly the best fighter the Guardians have, too. But I know putting her out there also attracts more danger. Using her is high risk."

"We're used to high risk situations."

"I don't mean high risk to us, ikir."

It dawned on Jonny that his second was uncharacteristically dancing around a topic rather than outright addressing it. "If you think I am influenced by Xander or anyone else to spare her, I am not," he said, perturbed. "I've done what was fair."

"You've done what was best for everyone involved, as always," Charles agreed. "The men understand after tonight why you spared her. She saved their lives and mine. They don't question you or your actions. Neither do I. That said, you are entitled to protect your best asset when you feel the situation warrants it. You're entitled to be a little selfish sometimes."

"There's no room for my selfishness," Jonny snapped.

Charles didn't so much as blink. "Be that as it may, you should know the risk to her before you send her out again."

"I'll consider your advice as always, Charles, and I'll act in such a way as benefits my people."

Charles bowed his head.

"Go eat and rest," Jonny said.

Charles went without another word.

Jonny watched him. His second had never ventured out of his lane to advise him, and Jonny didn't quite know what to think of it. He owed Ashley nothing more than he promised, and his responsibility was always first and foremost to his vamps.

Yet it sounded like Charles was telling him no one would fault him if his interest in Ashley became... personal. Whatever she'd done this night had been incredible if she managed to change the stance of a hardened vamp like Charles on a mere Natural.

I don't do personal involvement, Jonny chanted, not for the first time. His concern for Ashley had to extend only to her usefulness to him. He resolved himself to this once more or at least, he thought he had, when she opened the door to her room.

Ashley was pale. Her dark hair was wet and braided. A line of white pain lined her striking, luminous blue-gray eyes that always managed to pierce his best intentions and remind him how he'd once felt for her. He sensed the impending seizure and realized Charles was right. A night like this was high risk to Ashley in more than one way.

She didn't ask for help but in that moment, she didn't need to. He reached for her instinctively and placed his palm along the warm skin of her neck, the only real exposed area where he could be skin-to-skin with her. It took little effort for him to stem the pain and seizure both.

Ashley's eyes closed, and she shuddered as both abated. Jonny pulled her gently against him. She didn't resist. The moment her arms circled him, he wished she'd had. Her body was whispering its secrets even without biting her. She was fatigued, lost, scared, furious.

He rested his chin on her head, listening to secrets he suspected she'd never want him to know.

"You're grounded tomorrow," he said quietly.

"No. I have to find Brandon." She craned her neck back to meet his gaze.

"You seizing up mid fight isn't going to help anyone."

"I'll be fine."

"Like you are now?" he challenged. "You're a liability in this condition."

The look of pure devastation crossing her features left him amused rather than concerned. Ashley had never been good at covering her emotions. He had learned to put distance between his feelings and himself in order to become a leader often faced with decisions that would crush someone who stopped to feel. Her innocent candor struck him as oddly endearing, a reminder of yet another way they had grown a part. She had the luxury of emotions. He was almost relieved she hadn't lost what he had given up.

"The answer is no," he said firmly. "I'll patch you up so you don't have an episode, then you'll take a day off to rest. If you're in better shape after, you'll join them again. If not, you're grounded as long as it takes."

"I really hate you right now." Her words were spoken without heat. Rather than strain to be free of him, she averted her gaze and rested her cheek against his chest.

Her level of fatigue wasn't about to discourage him from his dinner, either. If anything, he knew draining her some would knock her out faster. "You ready for this?" he asked and nudged her head aside.

"Why not." Her pulse quickened beneath the fingers resting on her neck. She stiffened automatically, as if waiting for him to bite her as he had several times before – hard enough to hurt her.

But Jonny was gentle this night as last. He nuzzled her neck and breathed in her scent, aware of her hand tightening and twisting the material of his t-shirt. She hated the moment before he bit her. He relished it, the feel of her warmth, the simple intoxication of her smell, the hitch in her breathing that told him she was more affected by his touch than she let on.

His teeth slid into her neck, and he held her against him. She relaxed in his arms when no pain came with the bite. She was a mess emotionally and physically. The flow of her emotions hit him harder this time, and her body was crying out for rest she insisted she didn't need. Jonny assessed whether or not she was going to have a breakdown after her discovery at the warehouse or her sudden killing spree that followed. From what he could see in her mind, she had no regrets about the vamps – but she'd break if Brandon died.

It bothered him to see the truth. He purposely hadn't looked into the mind of anyone he fed from in years, and he recalled why. To see the emotions of another so intimately was to absorb them, and he didn't want that, even with Ashley.

He drank his fill and released a thrum of power into her as he finished.

Ashley's body responded instantly. She sagged in his arms, unconscious. Before he withdrew, he directed her mind not to awaken for a full twenty four hours or more, when she was rested and ready.

Jonny tucked her into bed before Traveling to his room, where Charles waited. His second immediately held out the phone Jonny left there.

"You might want to check this first," he advised.

Jonny accepted it. He expected bad news at every front anymore. There hadn't been good news in... well, forever.

D & D want to meet. Now. Our beach, Xander had typed.

"Fuck me," Jonny muttered. "The last thing I need right now is those assholes in my business."

"Valon's vamps wiped out another forty humans today. We can expect him to retaliate tomorrow for the warehouse."

"I know, Charles. I get it. I need to go to Damian. It's my duty to deal with him," Jonny said unhappily. "I hate them judging me. I hate admitting something's outside my control to people who already expect me to fail. I wanted the mess with the Others to be the last time I had to work with them."

"Ikir, the expectations of another have no influence over us unless we let them."

"I know." Jonny rubbed his face. His glance went towards the fridge. "I gotta deliver some bad news anyway."

"I'll let you know if we have any emergencies." Charles said.

Jonny Traveled to the beach where he routinely met Xander, expecting his audience to be waiting. Blond haired Damian and his older brother Darian had identical golden eyes, but that was where their similarities ended. Confident, alpha, blond-haired Damian was thick and muscular whereas brunet Darian's frame was whip like and his temperament erratic at best.

Xander stood a short distance from the two brothers, arms folded across his chest.

Jonny stilled his emotions and approached. Charles was right. He had long since considered these men his equals – even if they weren't on the same page yet.

"Gentlemen," he greeted them. "How can I help you?"

Darian started to smile. Of the two brothers, he was Jonny's preferred. The Grey God was in a position of balance, though his loyalty lay strictly with Damian. He had spent ten thousand years as a slave to the previous Black God and yet, he was much closer to neutral on the topic of vamps living in harmony with humans than the White God.

Damian, however, wasn't happy. His gold gaze held intelligence and a shrewdness Jonny knew to expect after their interactions.

"Been cleaning up your messes," Damian started, not one to beat around the bush. "Xander's encouraged me to hear you out when I want nothing more than to send in my Guardians and wipe out your fucking vamps. Want to tell me what the fuck is going on?"

Jonny knew instinctively Damian would probably never admit it if they found his hackers in the database, but he doubted this was how Damian would lead off if so.

"I have a rogue problem," he started smoothly. "A few of my vamps don't agree with my leadership direction and decided to act out."

"Few," Darian snorted. "It takes more than a few for the massacre we saw today."

"Forty people, Jonny. Life for a life," Damian reminded him.

"If you go to this location, you'll find over forty dead vamps," Jonny said and texted Damian the location of the raid from earlier. "I'm cleaning house."

The Gods were silent, one suspicious, the other curious. Xander remained off to the side, watching.

"How many?" Darian spoke first.

Jonny's jaw clenched. They'd probably figure it out quickly if he lied about the number. "We'll just say seventy less than yesterday," he replied shortly. "We had a good day house cleaning."

"Seventy?" Damian's eyebrows shot up. "This isn't a rogue problem, Jonny."

"All because of your catch-and-release program?" Darian asked.

"The old guard wasn't happy with change," Jonny replied.

"How many more are out there?" Damian demanded. "How many more deaths should I expect from your house cleaning?"

Jonny was quiet for a moment, hating to admit the truth to them. Damian was giving him the I-knew-he-couldn't-handle-it look while Darian appeared ready to laugh off the stupid kid in charge of the vamps.

He reminded himself the insecurity he experienced around them was leftover from who he had been when he assumed the title of the Black God, not who he had become.

"It'll get worse before it gets better," he replied finally.

"Worse. That's unacceptable," Damian said. "One human life lost is too much."

"All I can promise is I'm working on crushing the rebellion and yes, there's going to be a lot of collateral damage," Jonny said. "But when it's done, it's done. Tomorrow is not going to be a good day for human loss. I'm expecting retaliation for the vamps I killed today."

Damian paced away. Jonny sensed he was about to say something he didn't want to and glanced from him to Darian.

"I heard you have a new badass vamp," Darian spoke quietly. "You vamped a Natural warrior?"

"No," Jonny said. He felt Xander's look and didn't dare acknowledge it.

"Two of the Trackers we had plans for disappeared this week. You know anything about that?" Damian asked.

"Yeah. I vamped them," Jonny replied. "I need to fix my rogue problem, and it's easier if I can find them."

"Or you could come to me."

"Or I could handle my domain and people myself."

"You call this handling?" Damian approached him, charged energy radiating off him. "Because I know the body count on the human side."

"And I know it on the vamp side!" Jonny said, refusing to back down. "I lost close to nine thousand vamps before we killed off the Others and another seven hundred went rogue. I'm slaughtering every one of the traitors as I find them. But it takes time and you need to understand I'm not in a position to do more than I already am. You couldn't do it any faster or you'd have wiped us out by now."

"Oh, trust me. I can do something you won't ever recover from!"

Darian sighed. "Stop it. Both of you." He planted a hand on the shoulder of each and pushed them apart. "D, you've been saying Jonny needs to step up for years now. And Jonny, you should've come to us to help you."

Fuck that. Jonny seethed inside. Outsiders had no idea how much he'd grown and changed or what it took to enforce the catch-and-release program with predators who didn't want to think twice about what happened to their meals.

"I'm more interested in the warrior you allegedly didn't vamp," Xander purred.

"He took out twenty five vamps at once, I heard," Darian said.

No part of Jonny wanted to bring Ashley into this, but neither was he ready to lose Xander's support. If Damian and Darian disagreed on how to handle this, Xander was always the tiebreaker.

"Not a he. A she," Jonny said quietly. "Ashley is helping me."

"Helping you?" Damian repeated. "You fucked with the head of Xander's stepdaughter?"

"I didn't fuck with her head. She made me a deal. She's obligated to fulfill her end of the bargain, just like I'm obligated to fulfill mine," Jonny snapped.

"What bargain?" Xander asked.

A terse silence fell over them before Jonny decided to go with a version of the truth. "My rules can't be broken by anyone, Natural or vamp or Guardian." He shot Damian a look. "It's the only way I can enforce the catch-and-release program, with absolute obedience. Ashley broke one of my rules. She showed up at my headquarters and started attacking my vamps. Any uprising, any trespassing by non-vamp, is punishable by death. The only mercy I give is to kill quickly."

Xander was listening intently.

"She. Fucked. Up," Jonny enunciated slowly. "And I couldn't appear weak in front of the remaining vamps. So we made a deal. I don't kill her in exchange for her doing exactly what I tell her to."

"Which is..." Damian prodded.

"None of your fucking business."

"It's mine," Xander said.

"No, it's not. My fucking business is my fucking business," Jonny said. "You all don't have to like it."

More uncomfortable silence. He fought with them regularly, particularly Damian, but it was rare when he refused to lend them insight into what he was doing. His protective instinct rose with Ashley, though, and with the idea of Damian wanting to slaughter the loyal vamps he had under his control.

"Why did she attack your headquarters?" Darian asked.

Coño! He had to ask. "Because," Jonny drew a deep breath, "her brother went missing and she thought I had him. He was captured by the leader of the rogue vamps, probably because he was helping me track them."

"You were using a Natural to track them?" Damian stared at him. "A Natural not under my protection, with no Guardians to help him if something happened?"

"He wasn't under your protection because he's under Xander's," Jonny shot back. "I will find him." This was directed at Xander.

"You gonna stand by and let the Black God get your step kids killed?" Damian asked the quiet vamp.

Xander was studying Jonny. Jonny felt the pressure of Xander trying to enter his head. He didn't block him like he could, knowing he needed Xander's support. Whatever Xander sought didn't take long for him to find.

"I warned Ashley," Xander whispered. "Choices have consequences. Jonny's learned that lesson. What I don't understand: Ash doesn't kill. What changed?"

Jonny hesitated before explaining. Damian was frowning deeply when Jonny finished.

"She's coming to me when this is over," the White God said. "She doesn't belong anywhere near you."

"I'm not okay with that," Xander replied.

Jonny listened to the two of them talking about Ashley's fate, uncertain why it infuriated him. Was it because they discounted him completely from the equation? Or did they simply think Ashley wasn't capable of making her own decisions?

"No," he said loudly, cutting off their conversation.

"No what?" Damian asked.

"Ashley's not going anywhere. She made a deal with me. She stays with me."

"If you vamp –"

"I have no intentions of vamping her," Jonny said impatiently. "She saved the lives of several of my men. They're no threat to her."

"I'm not worried about their threat to her," Damian replied.

Jonny didn't want Damian's soft response to hit him like it did. The White God was gazing at him in a combination of understanding and knowing, as if he somehow empathized with the turmoil Jonny was going through when he considered how he was going to keep Ashley alive and safe. Damian had never faced a challenge like those Jonny dealt with on a regular basis. By his very nature, and the nature of a vamp, Ashley was never going to be truly safe with him. From him. Drinking from her appealed to the predator in him, and he wasn't comfortable guaranteeing anyone he could curtail his inner monster as well as those of his vamps.

But neither was he willing to give her up.

I lost her once. I'm not ready for that again. "She made a choice. She deals with what she's done."

Silence. Xander shifted finally. "She made a deal with you. Brandon did not. If he's not back within the week, mostly intact, I'll visit you first, Jonny."

"Understood," Jonny replied.

"Nothing here leaves me with the feeling you have a clue what you're going to do about your vamp uprising," Damian said.

"I'm dealing with it. I can't prevent the loss of life but I can assure you if any of my vamps kills a human, I'll send you both bodies," Jonny said. "And you are welcome to hunt and kill the vamps working with Valon."

"Give me the location of yours so I know who not to kill," Damian said.

"Fuck no."

Darian chuckled.

"My vamps bear my mark." Jonny raised his hand to display the brand. "My vamps are adhering to the catch-and-release agreement."

"So we can kill the other vamps." Darian appeared pleased.

"I want you to consider sending Ashley and Brandon both to me when this is over," Damian said. "They need to be safe, like your sister."

"Ashley doesn't need your protection or mine. She's capable of handling herself and of making her own decisions." Jonny replied icily. "I'll consider it a personal offense if anyone interferes with her life." He heard the words only after they were out. Normally, he thought through what he was going to say but with Ashley...

He didn't regret it despite the emotion in his voice.

"So... we can have Brandon," Darian said, trying not to smile.

"No," Xander replied. "Brandon makes his own choices as well."

"I don't like any of this. Too many people are getting hurt," Damian said, gazing at Jonny. "If you're serious, if you're hunting your own vamps, you won't mind me sending an observer."

"I don't send people to make sure you do your job!" Jonny retorted.

"I haven't been in power for five years."

"The answer is no."

They studied one another.

"Vote?" Darian asked.

"No," Jonny said again. "There's nothing to vote on. I'm doing my job. If you don't like it, fuck you."

"I vote with Jonny," Darian said, smiling.

Jonny rolled his eyes. He didn't want to admit he was waiting for Damian's reaction, but he was. He wanted them to take him seriously, even if Charles was right about them having no true influence over him unless he ceded to their opinions. Damian had been as much of a mentor as any of them, one who had worked with him in situations where he didn't think another immortal would have. Some small part of him still wanted Damian's approval, even if he never openly acknowledged it.

"One week," Damian said finally. "One fucking week. In the meantime, you and I are gonna talk about Brandon, Xander."

"Call us if we can help you wipe out bad vamps," Darian added. "I'm more than happy to oblige."

"I'll consider it," Jonny replied. "In the meantime, back off."

"We will." Damian was frowning. "Do your job, Jonny. I won't interfere."

That took five fucking years. Jonny almost shouted in triumph.

Xander was impossible to read and Darian appeared to be the only person satisfied with anything that had been discussed.

Holy fuck. I won this round, Jonny realized. Normally he left with his tail between his legs. For once, he'd drawn boundaries with the two gods and Original Vamp and they were respecting the lines – even if not entirely willingly.

"I'll be in contact," he said quietly. Before anyone could say anything to trump his victory, Jonny turned and Traveled back to his hideout.

And then, in the safety of his suite, he released the breath he'd been holding and rubbed his face. He had expected worse from Damian and an interrogation at least from Xander.

"Ikir." Charles voice was muffled by the door.

Jonny spent a few seconds breathing to calm himself after the tense confrontation. When he felt ready, he opened the door. "We need to plan tomorrow's targets," he said and joined Charles in the hallway.

"How'd it go?"

"Relatively good. We have a week before Damian is going to get involved, and I promised Xander we'd find Brandon. Alive."

"For all we know he's already in pieces."

"Yeah. I know. We do our best."

Charles looked away but not before Jonny saw the flicker of amusement in his eyes.

"What?" he asked, surly despite the attempt to regain his composure.

"What of the Natural?"

"She stays with us. But she goes nowhere until I say so."

"Can she train?"

"Yeah."

The smug expression remained on Charles' face.

"What?" Jonny demanded once more.

"I was thinking you could spar with her next time."

Jonny could think of no way such a lesson was going to end well. Ashley was angry enough with him most of the time, and he wasn't about to go easy on her. He also didn't relish getting his ass handed to him a couple of times before he was able to outmaneuver her.

"It'll be a good morale booster," Charles added. "The vamps respect her and you."

"Fine. She won't be up for a full day, though." He didn't look forward to the fight, though the more he thought about it, the less he began to dread it. There was nothing about Ashley he didn't like with the exception she was reckless both with her emotions and about her physical danger. It meant, of the two of them, he was the only likely to stay in control, and he sensed he was starting to lose that battle a little more each time they touched.

## Chapter Fifteen

Two days later, Ashley fought with ferocity born of fury and frustration. Charles had her blindfolded, chained and occasionally Tasered as usual, and she found herself grateful for the impediments that prevented her from lopping off the heads of every vamp around her. She felt good, healed, refreshed – and it pissed her off knowing her brother was suffering somewhere else when she could've spent the past couple of days rescuing him instead of sleeping.

Charles dropped her with a Taser for the fourth time and this time, she stayed on her back and panted.

"You have energy but no sense today," Charles told her.

Ashley lifted her hands to her face and pushed off the blindfold. Several vamps had stopped to watch the lesson. "Just send me out on a raid by myself," she snapped.

"It's not my call to make."

"What?" She pushed herself to sit. "You know what I can do."

"I know you're also likely to cause a great deal of collateral damage."

She rolled her eyes. He was right. She was fighting with emotion this day, oblivious to how many times she'd been knocked on her ass. The two hour opening session was enough to take the edge off, and she sighed.

"You ready to use a little control this time?" Charles asked.

"Yeeeeeees!"

"Then you can show ikir you're ready to go out on a raid." He lifted his chin to indicate something behind her.

Ashley twisted. Jonny was present, arms across his chest and dressed as if he, too, were present to spar. Her emotions surged once more at the sight of him. She didn't entirely understand why not all of what she experienced was anger. He deserved to receive the full force of her fury and vengeance.

Instead, she found herself admiring the shape of his tall, muscular frame, his wide shoulders and chest, flat abs and long, lean thighs, and hated herself more for being attracted to the person who hurt her more than once.

Charles tossed her the key to her chain. Ashley unlocked it.

"Ikir, you're up," Charles said. "No rules."

"So he can use his Travel ability?" Ashley asked and rose.

"And you can use your speed. It's a fair fight."

There's no such thing with Jonny. Ashley tossed the key and blindfold back to Charles and turned to Jonny. Whenever they faced off, her heart began to race and warmth bloomed inside her. "If I win, I'll go on a raid."

"Whether you win or not, I'll decide later," Jonny replied, stoic. He shook his arms out, his athletic form clad in black workout pants and a loose t-shirt. His intent gaze was on her as usual, his frame poised.

No part of her was willing to admit he was probably right about her body giving out on her if she hadn't rested. Her urgency to find Brandon was too strong for her to care, and she had wanted to kill Jonny alongside the rogue vamps when she awoke and realized how much time had passed.

"Begin," Charles said. He stepped back to give them more room.

I wish I had real knives, Ashley thought darkly. She drew a breath and lowered herself into a fighting stance. "Bring it, ikir," she ordered.

"Trust me. I will, Natural," Jonny replied. The corner of his lips curved up briefly.

Ashley anticipated his first move. He vanished and reappeared behind her. She smashed an elbow into his cheek and then kicked. Both blows landed perfectly, and Jonny cursed before vanishing once more.

She closed her eyes so she could focus her senses on the faint charge of power preceding his appearance. When he materialized, he was close enough to knock her off balance as she twisted out of his reach.

Their lethal dance continued with each of them landing blows and neither getting much of an edge on the other. Ashley hated knowing he was able to win easily. He could move fast enough to touch her, and a single touch was all it took for him to cripple her from the inside out with his power. But he didn't this time. He seemed genuinely interested in facing her on her terms as much as possible.

Charles monitored from the sidelines, yelling instructions to both as they sparred.

"Think first, Natural!"

"Hit harder, ikir!"

Gradually, she became aware of two things. The first, Jonny was what Charles claimed – brilliant at maneuvering her where he had neither the speed nor agility to match her skill. And second, she was holding her own against someone capable of Traveling. His advantage was his power, which meant she was able to face anyone on the planet but a god and win. She had never fully believed anyone capable of defeating her without being faster and better than she was, and she began to understand a little better how Jonny's mind worked.

Sparring – and battle in general – were incredibly accurate gauges of a person's inner fortitude as well as physical strength. Jonny was resourceful and shrewd in his use of the terrain, her body, even her speed against her. He fought her directly when he needed to and Traveled to reset the battlefield to his advantage.

Through it all, he was in complete control of himself and his emotions. Ashley quickly realized how methodical he was, how calculating each move became once he set it in motion. Even when she landed blows, she had to wonder if he was giving up hits in one instance so he could outmaneuver her in another. Her athleticism was a good defense but not the best offense against someone manipulating her into position.

It was through Jonny's technique that she began to understand what Charles was telling her to do: to fight with a strategy for winning rather than fighting simply to fight. Jonny treated this as a chess match while she normally just tried to Hulk smash her opponent.

"Sixty seconds!" Charles belted out.

Ashley hit harder, moved faster, danced swiftly. Sweat dampened her clothing and hair. She smelled Jonny's sweat and masculine scent as well, and it only made her more fevered.

"Thirty seconds!"

Jonny switched tactics suddenly. She landed four solid blows in a row – more than any other single instance – before he disappeared.

This time, he didn't reappear immediately. Ashley remained in place, breathing hard, senses alert, and eyes closed to await the charge of his return.

"Fifteen!"

She waited.

"Ten! Nine. Eight."

The tingle of electricity came from her right. She whirled to confront him only to feel the tingle behind her instead. Using her momentum to double her speed, she spun completely around to block his blow. And then she sensed it – the setup he'd worked to create. A tree was on one side of her, limiting her movement, and Jonny the other.

"Five. Four..."

Jonny Traveled closer and shoved her into the tree, one arm braced against her back while the other was wrapped in her braid and pulling her head back.

"One."

Ashley panted, locked in place and fully aware someone half as fast as she was had just beaten her.

Jonny's hot breath was on her neck. She tensed, her eyes flying open to stare at the trunk and blue sky above. She waited for him to bite her.

Jonny lifted his head instead without releasing her.

"Speed versus strategy," Charles said, approval in his voice as he approached. "Do you still doubt me, ikir?"

"I never doubt you, Charles. But this was sparring. When Valon comes for me, it won't be a game."

"Did you go into this fight considering it a game?"

Ashley listened. Jonny was breathing hard, his lean form pressed to hers.

"I didn't think so, no," Jonny replied. "There wasn't as much at risk though."

"Speak for yourself!" Ashley bit off.

Jonny released her hair and stepped far enough away for her to ease back from the tree. "This was real to you?" he asked.

"Every time is real to me," she replied.

"And that is what you can learn from her, ikir. The Natural fights for her brother every second she's on her feet," Charles said. "She lacks discipline and strategy, which you do not. But you lack –"

"– heart," Ashley finished for him. "You're a cold, robotic bastard who's forgotten how to feel."

"I was going to say you lack sufficient motivation," Charles said with a grimace. "Nothing quite so human."

"You mean a purpose beyond strategy," Jonny said, hands going to his hips.

"If you're not fighting for something then why bother?" Ashley replied before Charles could. She looked around to see most of the vamps in camp had formed a ring around them to watch their god battle the Natural.

"There's no place for emotion in what I do," Jonny said.

"You have feelings whether or not you want to. And suppressing them is stupid and will backfire on you."

He considered her before looking to Charles. "I don't want to go down that path."

"Ikir, you will have to choose one of the path you detest in order to win. Either the White God assists, your develop sufficient motivation beyond strategy." Charles moved closer, as if concerned the other vamps might hear him. "Valon is faster, stronger and smart but not as smart as you. This won't be a game to him, ikir. This won't be completely about the implementation of strategy."

A flicker of something – unease? – went across Jonny's normally impassive features. Ashley watched the two of them for a moment, sensing the battle with Valon was of more importance than either was letting on. She didn't know why when Jonny couldn't be killed.

"I'll work on it," Jonny said finally. "Right now, I'm starving." His focus slid to her.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Do I get to go out tonight?" she prodded.

"I haven't decided yet."

She almost erupted at him but ground her teeth to keep from saying something that might prevent her from ever going out to search for Brandon again. His indecision left her scared he meant to keep her at the camp while the others fought rogues.

"We could use the help, ikir," Charles' words were almost too quiet to hear. "Especially after last night."

She gazed at him quizzically. Charles was harder to read than Jonny, who had tensed either at the reminder or the soft-spoken support of her going on raids.

"Ash, let's talk," Jonny said and stepped away.

The crowd around them dissipated as they left the sparring area. Ashley trailed him, her insides twisting and her nerves on end as she considered what she'd do if he refused to let her leave.

Jonny returned to his suite without speaking. She was close to screaming when she closed the door behind her. Brandon wasn't much of a talker, but he was better than Jonny about not leaving her hanging. He sat on the barstool of the pub-style dining table tucked near a corner and leaned down to untie his shoes.

She paced and watched his methodical movements, wanting to hurry him so he'd give her a straight answer. Finally, she approached him.

"You're killing me, Jonny!" she uttered. "Are you going to let me search for Brandon or not?"

Jonny sat back, at eye level with her from his seated position. "We had a bad night last night," he started. "Charles estimates we lost about eighty and we're still searching for another ten. Valon hit us hard."

"I can help."

"If you're well enough."

"Even if I'm not... Jonny, I can fight better than a squad of your vamps. Charles knows it, too."

He reached out to cup her neck in one large hand. He pulled her closer to him until she stood between his parted thighs. Uncertain what to do with her hands, she rested them on his lean thighs and quickly grew too aware of his body heat reaching her through the thin material. A shiver of heat and tickle of energy went through her at his nearness and the heady scent of him after their sparring session. She held his gaze and willed her weakness to lie low for now. Her breathing quickened, and her stomach fluttered beneath the intensity of his look.

"Healing runs in my family, Ash. I can't do it well to others, but I can feel it if you're not ready for another night like the one you had."

Her heart fell. "You can patch the seizure before it drops me."

"Not if you're in battle and I can't feel it coming."

"Jonny," she wetted her lips, terrified he meant to keep her from her brother. "Brandon needs me. Your vamps need me. If I start to feel it coming on, I'll stop fighting and leave."

"You think I believe that?" Amusement was in his gaze. "I couldn't scare you off with sucking your blood. You won't stop with Brandon in danger."

True. She didn't know what else to say.

"I said I'll consider it, and I will. I know Charles could use the help," he added. "I'll check your body closer to the raid time."

"I will do anything, Jonny," she whispered. She searched his face. "Anything in the world."

"That's dangerous, Ashley," he said just as quietly. "I'm not the person you knew. I won't walk away."

"I know that." She swallowed hard, eyes going to his lips. "I can help you with what Charles was trying to tell you."

Jonny lifted an inquisitive eyebrow. "Meaning..."

"The part of you that's afraid to feel. I can help you remember," she said.

"You think I'm afraid of something?" He appeared genuinely surprised.

"Maybe not afraid. Maybe... unwilling. You forget, Jonny. I knew you before you were... this. You have a heart, and it's a very good one. You've just forgotten how to use it."

"That person had to change to become who I am now," he said firmly.

"Not all of you had to. You care about me."

"You're a means to an end."

"I'm a tool you won't send onto the battlefield when you think I can't handle it. Some part of you cares. I've always known it, no matter what bullshit you tell me."

"I'm protecting my best asset. It's what a good leader does."

"You sound stubborn like me now!" She started to laugh.

"Emotions will not win this battle with Valon," he replied. "Strategy and planning will."

"That's not true," she said. "If you don't fight with your heart, you lose. This isn't a game. This is your life we're talking about. Or maybe, it is a game, because your life can't be taken from you like mine can me. Maybe that's what's missing."

"That's not entirely accurate," he replied. His eyes were beginning to glow red, like they had when he kissed her. "Valon is a godslayer. He's the only person on the planet who can kill me."

"You're not afraid?"

"Of course not. I can't let emotion cloud my judgment."

She studied him. He was so different from the teen boy she recalled. The danger of being with him and his brooding nature had been a thrill to her when she was seventeen, yet it was the quiet moments like this one that captured her heart.

"Sometimes emotion helps you fight when you feel like you can't," she murmured. "Sometimes you have to let anger and pain and hope out."

"For what purpose? So I become sloppy enough to be killed?"

"No." She rolled her eyes at him. "You view emotion as a weakness. It can make you stronger, too."

"I can't afford to feel, Ash. Not for anyone or any cause."

Her instincts sparked. She'd always thought he cared for her at some point, more so than he admitted to. If she broke that barrier, if she reminded him what they once had, would it be enough for him to understand what she and Charles needed him to know? Ashley debated internally and then decided to do what she did sometimes when she sparred: dive in and see how her enemy reacted.

She kissed Jonny, resting against his frame.

This kiss was light and quick. When she leaned away, she saw his gaze riveted to her. The tension between them grew thicker quickly, and they observed one another for a long moment.

"You can't sway my decision on whether or not to send you out," he warned her softly. "And if you open this door, I'm not going to be the one to close it. I'm not good enough to walk away."

"I want you to remember what it's like not to be so alone," she whispered. "If I have to walk through this door, I will."

"You know I'll only ever hurt you, Ash."

Her heart flipped over in her breast. "Yeah. I know."

"Is it worth it?"

"You mean, are you worth it?" she retorted. "Yeah. You are. You always have been."

"You're a fool, Ash. You leap before you look every time. You have no idea how deep I'll take you."

Her breath caught. Ashley hesitated, knowing instinctively he wasn't talking about a single kiss. She wanted to tell herself she'd sleep with him for even the smallest chance to save Brandon. But it was the voice whispering quietly in her thoughts that made her pause, the one telling her she'd sleep with Jonny no matter what or who was at stake. Not for his benefit or Brandon's or anyone else's but because, from the first moment they met again, she'd been forced to acknowledge that the feelings that once held her captive had never really died.

"I'm ready to jump," she whispered.

Jonny captured her lips with his and slid his arm around her. She rested against him, marveling at his flavor and the heated strength of his body against hers. Her arms went around his neck while his other hand gripped her bottom and pulled her hard against his hips. Her belly lit on fire and raced throughout her until she was fevered, aching, hungry for him. Jonny's hands slid up her shirt, and she jerked when she felt the heat of his broad palms against her bare skin.

"Last chance," he whispered, pulling away from the kiss.

"No, it's your last chance," she shot back.

Jonny chuckled. "I missed you."

Ashley pushed back to see his face clearly. "You mean it."

"Yeah," he said with an uncomfortable smile.

"Seven hundred and fourteen women and you missed me," she said and arched an eyebrow at him. "There's only been one for me."

"Someone I need to kill?"

"No, idiot. Just you."

Jonny's smiled faded. "But we never ..."

"Shut up and kiss me," she ordered, face flushing.

Jonny obeyed and skated his palms up her torso to lift her shirt over her head. He tossed it and she gripped his shirt with trembling hands.

"Just..." She pulled back. "Just so we're both uh... clear..."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "I remember what we did and didn't do. I know what that means."

She was too embarrassed to say the words.

"I won't hurt you, Ash." He rested his hand on her cheek. "Not physically. Don't give me anything but your body. You understand?"

She nodded awkwardly. Fear floated through her at the reminder that she'd never gotten over him the first time around, and they'd never gone farther than kissing. Jonny was going to crush her but in that moment, she didn't care.

Jonny kissed her deeply and folded her into his arms. He stood and lifted her onto his hips, moving slowly towards the bed.

No regrets, she told herself.

## Chapter Sixteen

They made love for hours and then Jonny held Ashley as she dozed for an hour or two, until shortly after sundown. Their day had been nothing but feats of athleticism, first in the sparring ring and then in his bed. She was everything he expected – and everything he didn't know he had missed. He hadn't slept with a woman who wasn't under his spell in years, and Ashley's independence and lack of inhibition in bed were an even greater turn on than the way she said his name.

Rejuvenated by her blood, recharged by the post-sex rest, Jonny found himself returning to a thought he wasn't certain he wanted to entertain.

He had never really stopped caring for Ashley.

But emotions didn't have a place with him now, no matter what Charles thought about him needing a motivation to fight. He already had a reason – his vamps. He understood his purpose and duty and how the fate of a race of creatures rested on his shoulders and his decisions.

What he didn't understand was how he felt about Ashley or what to do about it. Emotion had no place in his brutal world, no matter what he told himself about her promising to stay in exchange for her life and her skills. She would always be in danger, always surrounded by predators.

She shifted in his arms, and he instinctively pulled her closer, not wanting to lose the feel of her skin on his.

Then again, if anyone could survive his world, it was Ashley, who had managed to earn the respect of vamps in days where he had struggled for years.

"What happened yesterday?" she asked sleepily. "Why did you lose so many?"

He was quiet for a moment, disturbed whenever he considered what had gone wrong. "One of my sites was ambushed," he replied and rested fingertips against the strong pulse in her neck. He had the urge to sink his teeth into her whenever they were together, whether or not he was really hungry. The primal side of him, the vamp he tried to keep under control, yearned to claim her.

"I want to go tonight," she said and twisted onto her back.

He saw her face in the darkness of the room. Jonny shifted to accommodate her movement and wrapped his arms around her once more. Ashley snuggled against his chest and sighed in contentment.

"Please?" she added hopefully.

He smiled. "Can you handle it? Honestly?"

She was quiet.

"I'll know if you can't," he teased and nuzzled her neck.

She moved to expose the delicate skin to him. "Does this help encourage you?"

"No," he said and nipped her. "I'll always do what I think is best for my vamps. What's best for you."

"That's kind of arrogant."

"It's who I am now, Ash. Get used to it. You're under my sphere of influence, which means I have the final vote."

She gave an exasperated sigh. "You're worse than Xander!" She touched his face with cool fingers. "I feel fine. I don't feel weak, and I don't feel like I'll have an episode any time soon."

He assessed her body. She retained some exhaustion, but her ability to regenerate quickly was serving her well. "You can go," he said. "And you return right back here. To me."

Her breath caught. "I really am stuck with you, aren't I?" She displayed the palm with his brand on it.

"That was our agreement." He felt her tremor of uncertainty. He had long since identified the thought of escape in her mind. She was there for Brandon and when this mess with Valon was over, Jonny suspected Ashley was headed straight for Xander.

But... it was a good thing. It would save him the trouble of figuring out his own emotions.

"C'mon. Charles will want you ready to leave soon." With some reluctance, Jonny disentangled himself from her warm body and climbed out of bed.

Ashley trailed. He listened to the sound of her getting dressed and lifted his hands to his face, breathing in her scent. The combination of blood and sex was beyond intoxicating, and lust lit him on fire from the inside out.

"Thank you."

He didn't expect to hear the words and turned to face her. "For what?"

"For being gentle." Unaware he could see her troubled expression in the dark, he studied her.

"That bothers you?"

"Sometimes I wish you weren't. Sometimes I wish it always hurt." She was touching her neck.

So you can leave when this is over. Jonny kept the words to himself. He couldn't risk getting too close to her, not again. And in truth, turning the other cheek when she made her attempt to escape seemed a safer long term option than keeping her around. Emotions made him vulnerable, and he couldn't afford to be weak.

"Means to an end, Ash," he said as much for his benefit as hers. He had done a great deal in the name of his greater purpose, but he sensed Ashley didn't have that same ability. She loved too fast and fiercely, and her heart guided everything she did. He envied her ability to feel without consequence. He had always thought her pretty, but in the afterglow of their lovemaking, and the knowledge of how she was everything he had lost, Jonny found her more beautiful than he had ever thought possible.

"I know," she said. Resolution crossed her features. "Let's go find my brother."

Jonny had the urge to touch her again but crushed it. They'd need distance to prevent this from becoming something more than he wanted. "You get one warning this time," he said firmly. "Any sign of a seizure and you stand down. If you disobey me, you don't go out again."

The no-way-in-hell look she gave him made him smile to himself. "Sure," she said.

"You know I can see in the dark, don't you?"

"Fuck you, Jonny!" she snapped.

"Happy to, Ash."

The troubled expression returned before she spun away. Jonny crossed to the door and strode into the hallway, too satisfied with his down time with Ashley. The sense this was going to end in disaster made the pit of his stomach feel heavy. He'd had companionship most nights since he became the Black God, but he'd never had something like this. He'd never connected to anyone else the way he did with Ashley, probably because she knew what he was and chose to be with him. There was no need to alter her mind, no need to hide from her.

She knew. Even if she still resented him, she still understood. And this was something he hadn't thought would affect him. He didn't have to be alone anymore, if he chose it. If he chose her.

Conflicted and wary of the emotions starting to spill through the dam around his feelings, Jonny led her out of the dorms and into the night. The vamps were gathering in their assigned teams beyond the next building, and Jonny's step slowed as he approached the edge of his private time with Ashley. He was torn between saying farewell, just in case the worst-case scenario happened, and not acknowledging her again to maintain the distance he felt was needed.

She stopped when he did, and he faced her. Her features glowed from sex, her lips roughened by kisses and her expression more open than he'd seen it. Rather than ease the tension between them, the day together had only made it more charged, more compelling, and he actively fought the need to be closer.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You didn't change your mind. If you did, Jonny, I swear –" Her features flushed with anger.

"No," he said, amused. He racked his brain for the right thing to say. "Take care of Charles. Make sure he returns."

"I will." She studied him. "Can I tell him you said that? Because I'd really love to rub it in when he's not holding a Taser."

Jonny laughed, startled by her vehemence and then by the sound escaping his lips. How long had it been since he laughed? How completely inappropriate was it for the Black God to find humor anywhere? He'd forgotten how funny she was and it struck him he hadn't laughed this freely in years.

"No," he answered. "Just make it happen."

"I will."

It was all he could think to say. Jonny began walking again and hardened himself once more as he turned the corner to the open area where his troops were gathered. Charles and the team leaders were dispatching vamps already to predetermined places Brandon had found during his search. The night air was abuzz with activity and anticipation, and he joined Charles.

"Which location did you choose?" Jonny asked.

Charles handed him the iPad with the locations of all the teams flashing in separate boxes. With the more advanced knowledge of strategy, Charles was given free reign to choose where the teams went. Jonny studied the color-coded areas. Charles was always yellow.

"Small location," he murmured. "So you have a lead."

"Instinct. We've barely missed him twice. He's smart enough to evolve his tactics, to use a couple spots as decoys and then hide elsewhere."

"Speaking of tactics, we need to move camp," Jonny said. "My instincts are telling me we can't stay in one place too long."

"Agreed. I have a backup list no one else has seen." Charles maneuvered the screen to his email and sent the file to Jonny. "Just have Stu send out the message before dawn about who goes where."

Jonny nodded and observed the screen as it returned to the five raid parties. Something else was bothering him, but he wasn't quite able to pinpoint what. It was more than concern for his vamps after the disastrous raids the night before, more than his uncertainty about Ashley. "I can't shake the feeling something isn't right," he said for Charles' ears only. "If you run into anything unusual, if anyone does, contact me immediately. I can stop another ambush before it kills our people."

"At a steep cost," Charles reminded him. "You risk losing Valon and Brandon."

"But if I save a hundred of my people, I'll do it."

Charles nodded. "The Natural cleared to go?"

"She is. Make sure she doesn't try anything," he said, aware of how quickly Ashley was likely to change her mind about their deal if she sensed Brandon in danger.

"I've got a backup Taser," Charles replied.

"Good." Jonny lowered the screen. "I'll monitor from here."

Charles nodded and left his side for the small team awaiting him. Ashley was already with the vamps wearing yellow wristbands. The one, Hector, she'd partnered with on her previous raid seemed to be less uncomfortable about talking to her while the rest of them stood aside.

They respected her, which was enough for Jonny. But they also harbored few good feelings for any Natural.

Charles joined them and briefed his team before one of the Traveler returned from his current mission to drop off another team.

Jonny watched them vanish and returned to the makeshift headquarters, where a team of four vamps and Stu monitored the missions from multiple computers. He stood back to watch, arms across his chest and tightness in his frame. He was about to begin pacing when one of his wards tripped. He tensed, the hair on the back of his neck rising.

He traveled to the edge of his wards, a good mile from the central camp.

The Grey God awaited him.

"What is it?" Jonny asked, bristling.

"Chill, Jonny." The Grey God was relaxed. "I'm not here to interfere."

"Damian send you to observe?"

"No. Just wanted to warn you about something."

Jonny waited, not convinced the White God's brother hadn't come for some ulterior purpose.

"The Others tech you're using. I can sense it," Darian started. "It's a locational talisman?"

Jonny said nothing.

"Anyway, it works both ways. You can find anyone, but anyone can also find you," Darian explained. "More specifically, any Tracker who can sense Others is going to sense it like I did."

"There are very few who were able to sense Others."

"Most of them were part of the old guard from both sides."

Jonny considered this. Valon had older Trackers with him. It was possible one or more sensed the Others talisman. If so, had they purposely not attacked him or were they still figuring it out?

"And... my personal opinion, not exactly shared by Damian," Darian continued, "is that you can use it to draw Valon to you. Damian doesn't think you can take out Valon and prefers you in charge, even if you don't always see eye to eye. But if you want to end this fast, use the talisman."

"Let him know in no uncertain terms where I am and challenge him directly," Jonny said.

"Exactly."

"You agree with Damian?" Jonny spoke with resentment.

"Not really." Darian flashed a smile. "Five years ago, three years, even six months ago, I'd agree. But you told him to fuck off for the first time this week and you were right about everything. He's not ready to see it yet but he'll come around."

Jonny studied him, not expecting any of the White God's allies to show him any sign of respect.

"He wants Brandon," Darian added. "Xander won't let him have Jessi or Brandon, and we've never seen Natural powers like either. If you can deliver Brandon, and wrangle Xander's consent in the process, he won't fight you about Ashley like he plans to."

"You know this for a fact?"

"It's a gut feeling."

"Why are you trying to help me?"

"I'm not entirely. I have my reasons for wanting to see Brandon officially accepted into the Guardian network as well. Part of that revolves around me not trusting Xander. He holds most of the cards pretty much all the time, and I'm always interested in evening out the balance of power."

"This is politics."

"It is."

Jonny considered. Negotiating with either God was always a double-edged sword, and it was a rare day when he didn't end up cut to pieces by it. "Brandon should be free to make his own choice, same as Ashley," he said finally. "I'm not going to promise you anything."

"You don't have to. I'm advising you the way I do Damian. It's sort of what I'm supposed to do. And you've already spoken for Ashley. From what I understand, she's yours."

"For now," he allowed.

"Wouldn't you like a way to balance Xander?"

Jonny's thoughts went to all the favors he'd one day owe Xander. The Original Vamp was no threat today, but Darian was right. The politics of the gods and the Originals shifted often, and they didn't always agree on the bigger picture.

"You keep Ashley. We keep Brandon," the Grey God said.

On the surface, it was smart for each side to have a pawn, a means to hold Xander in check. But the idea made Jonny unusually anxious. If he kept Ashley too long, he risked becoming vulnerable. He didn't buy Charles' and her insistence he needed an emotional cause in addition to his primary purpose as the Black God. As he thought, he became aware of something else.

"This is the first time any of you have dealt with me like I'm not the noob you consider me," he said icily. "Is this a game, Darian?"

"As far as I'm concerned, you aren't a noob. You're the Black God. You and I have been in power for about the same amount of time. Like I said – Damian isn't ready to see that yet."

"I'll consider what you're saying. I do tend to agree with Xander that everyone has the right to decide his or her own fate," Jonny said. "For me to hand over Brandon would rob him of his choices. Ashley already made her decision."

"And someone can never choose differently," Darian said wryly.

Jonny stiffened. The idea he'd lose her sat as well as the danger of her staying. He wasn't certain what he wanted to happen, and he wasn't in a mindset to decide quite yet.

"No offense meant." Darian raised his hands. "Just think about what I said."

"I will." Jonny drew a breath. "And I appreciate your warning. Now get the fuck out of here."

Darian winked and Traveled immediately.

Jonny remained for a moment, considering what he'd learned about the talisman. Its integration with the software Stu designed and Brandon's locational probability algorithm was working well – with a potentially lethal side effect. Rather than feel relieved to understand an unknown threat, Jonny was more interested as to why Valon hadn't yet exploited his location.

He Traveled to the command center and motioned to Tasha.

"Evac this location and the others immediately," he ordered. "I'll email a list of backup locations. Assign everyone to one randomly."

"Yes, ikir," she said and hurried away.

"Stu," he said sharply enough for the hacker to jump in his seat. "I need the laptop where the talisman is stored."

Stu bent over and lifted one of the four laptops sitting at his feet. Without a real command center, he was forced to swap them in and out on the table before him as needed. He handed it to Jonny.

The faint tingle of magic reached him, and Jonny Traveled without telling anyone why. Rather than go to one of the new locations, he went to a place Valon knew well: the large wooden mansion in the middle of the forest where he had first gone as the Black God.

The place had been torched, and the house perched on the ledge of a canyon in the Rocky Mountains was nothing more than cinders. It was cool this high up in the mountains, and the trees swayed gently in a quiet breeze.

Jonny stood alone in the stillness, the laptop clutched under one arm. He had spent almost three years in this place, sometimes hiding, sometimes struggling, sometimes learning lessons that left him weeping and resentful of his lot in life.

It felt strange to return and remember those first horrific months when he'd learned both to lead and to kill. This place was a reminder of who he had been, one that affected him more than he wanted it to.

It was symbolic of his past life and how he'd burned down everything – even the house – when he reached the point of no return and emerged from the transformation into the man he was today.

His former headquarters was the perfect place for a confrontation with Valon. Out with the old guard and old ways for good, and in with everything Jonny represented.

Jonny crossed to where the porch of the old house used to stand and knelt, lifting a piece of its charred remains. He had tried to crush his heart the way he had his past without luck. Unlike the former headquarters, his heart still burned with embers of humanity.

He set down the laptop before him. If Valon were watching, he'd understand this for what it was: an invitation. A dare. A promise that Jonny was going to finish the job. Once Jonny had worn down Valon's resistance movement, once he had Brandon back and his own vamps safe, he'd face Valon at the place where he felt most powerful: where his transition had once begun.

"How's that for motivation, Charles?" Jonny whispered into the night.

## Chapter Seventeen

"Ashley."

It was the second time she'd heard someone say her name and seen no one. She did a full three-sixty and then went still, senses on high alert. The safehouse was in the lower level of a two story building in a historic district in a tiny town in Rhode Island. Quaint brick buildings lined a two lane, cobblestone street. The downtown area was quiet and void of traffic and people this late of night.

She heard Charles and the other vamps searching the rest of the building and started forward again. Only five vamps had been present and very quickly dispatched. The first time she heard her name, she'd been on the second floor, looking for anyone hiding, and had followed the direction of the sound. She walked cautiously in the direction of the voice, weapons drawn. Her senses picked up no one, but she wasn't one to hear things, either.

She cleared two more rooms and reached the end of a hallway before she heard it for a third time.

"Ashley."

A muted whisper before, it sounded a lot like Brandon this time.

"Brandon?" she called softly. Her adrenaline soared, and she tensed, ready to kill anyone within ten feet of her brother.

No answer.

She backtracked to the middle of the hallway and held her breath.

"Ashley. Are you there?"

Brandon's voice came from one of the rooms she'd already searched. Ashley returned and looked around. It was an office with nowhere to hide, not even a closet or file cabinet.

"Please tell me you're there."

She cocked her head to the side and approached the desk. The quiet purr of the computer beneath the desk was audible, though the screen connected to it was dark. She clicked it on.

Her heart seized in her chest.

Brandon sagged in his seat before the monitor on the other side. A bandage was wrapped around half his head, and his remaining eye was focused listlessly on the keyboard before him. He was pale, sickly, weak.

"Brandon," she whispered, stricken by the sight of her brother.

"Thank god," he said. "I thought he'd kill you."

"Where are you?" she demanded. "Why are they hurting you?"

"I can't talk now."

"Brandon..." The shadow on the wall behind him shifted despite his lack of movement, and she realized her brother hadn't hacked their systems to contact her; they'd put him up to this. She squeezed her fists hard enough for the nails to bite into her palms.

"Valon says if you surrender, he'll let us both go when he's done with Jonny," Brandon said.

"After chopping you into pieces? There's no fucking way he's serious!" she exclaimed.

"He says... he won't hurt me again if you do what he says and then turn yourself over to him."

Her throat tightened. No part of her believed Valon was serious about sparing anyone. But the sight of her brother in this condition destroyed any rationale.

"He says... in the desk is something that will let you disable Jonny."

Her heart skipped a beat. She had been purposely not thinking about Jonny, about how tender of a lover he was and how poorly she'd convinced herself she stopped caring for him when he betrayed her long ago. When she stilled long enough for her mind to roam, she felt his warm, strong palms skimming her body once more, experienced the pure ecstasy of him sliding into her and kissing her with passion she hadn't thought him capable of. He had claimed her with gentleness and persistence, touched her with reverence and whispered her name in a low, husky voice that dripped with desire and affection. That she could experience him every night she bore his brand, become the sole focus of his entire world, rendered her breathless. She'd wanted him and yet been scared as well, and he'd shown her a level of ecstasy she'd never imagined possible.

To betray him as he once had her sent her emotions smashing to the ground. Revenge didn't feel as good as she thought it should.

The constriction of her chest was only getting worse. She didn't need Brandon to tell her what happened if Jonny became disabled after Jonny's explanation that Valon was a godslayer. With trembling hands, she opened the top drawer of the desk and spotted the single item in its depths. A knife hewn out of one single piece of pale material was smooth and cool beneath her fingertips. She hefted it, the dread inside her growing as she thought about what Valon wanted her to do. It was made of material she didn't immediately recognize, with the lightness of wood and the solidness of stone. Was it ivory? Bone?

"Why us?" she whispered. "Why didn't he take some other Naturals to torture?"

"Because of our skills and because he wants to use us to keep... Xander in check. He found you at the club. He found me... by tracing the cell phone, same as Jonny." Brandon's good eye closed and he sagged more. "Hurry... Ashley. Disable Jonny... and go to the location... on knife."

She glanced down. In the glow of the screen, she was able to make out numbers written on the blade, coordinates like those Brandon used in his emergency app.

"Memorize and erase... the numbers," Brandon directed her. "He says now."

She repeated the numbers several times then wiped the blade clean.

The monitor on Brandon's end flickered off.

"No, no, no! Come back, Brand!" she whispered frantically and touched the screen. Her brother was in bad shape – but alive.

"Natural!" Charles called from down the hallway.

Ashley's gaze flew up towards the door. She swiped away tears she hadn't felt form and shoved the knife into a pocket. Flipping off the monitor, she stood hastily before Charles had reached the doorway.

"All clear." Her voice was choked.

He peered into the room. "Are you well?"

"Very." She cleared her throat. "Just worried about my brother."

The explanation seemed to satisfy him. His attention went to the darkness of the hallway.

"I checked everything," she told him.

"All right. C'mon."

Ashley steadied herself the best she could and left the office. Her hands trembled, and she had the urge to run or fight or dance or just stand and scream. Brandon needed help, but his mission...

It was crazy for her to feel torn when her brother needed her to act! Why did stabbing Jonny with the knife seem like the worst option she had when Brandon's life depended upon it?

Valon won't free either of us, whispered her instincts. If anything, Jonny was in a position to help her. He was aggressively hunting down the rogues and likely to find Brandon. To risk Brandon's life because she failed to act, however, wasn't an option, even if Jonny found Brandon before sunrise.

"Natural!"

She blinked and realized Charles had been talking to her while they stood in the hallway. "I'm sorry, what?"

He eyed her. "I said, I'm disappointed we didn't find more."

"Yeah."

He shook his head and motioned for her to follow him. She did so woodenly, her emotions all over the place as she considered the choice she had to make. A world without Jonny or one without Brandon? It shouldn't have been hard, and she berated herself over and over for the confusion she experienced when the answer was supposed to be clear.

Brandon. Her choice had to be Brandon. Always Brandon.

Yet it made her start to panic to know Jonny was going to die at the hands of Valon if she followed through with it.

She barely registered the light touch of a Traveler and the world shifting around her. They materialized somewhere other than the location where they'd left from, and she forced her thoughts to the world outside her head as she oriented herself.

They were on the ocean, somewhere warm and humid. Palm trees were framed against the night sky and a dock facing the ocean before her. The mansion behind her was large and white, its property sprawling for more than ten acres and edged by tall walls of concrete.

"My hunch was wrong," she heard Charles say.

Ashley didn't dare turn around to confirm he spoke to Jonny. Xander had taught her some thought suppression techniques to use when faced with a mind reader, and she was in no emotional state to control her thoughts. Neither did she have any clue where to go since they were somewhere new.

"I'm going for a quick walk," she called over her shoulder and then struck out towards the private beach without waiting for anyone to respond.

Ashley didn't start to relax until a solid five minutes passed. She stood on the white sand and stared at the ocean, unable to shake the vision of her brother or the choice Valon had given her.

Stop, Ash, stop! Jonny was dangerous for many reasons, and one of them was his ability to strip away her defenses to see what she was thinking if she didn't get hold of herself. He'd been somewhat reserved on that front, compared to what he could have done, but if he grew suspicious, if she gave him a reason to push inside her head...

She clenched her head between her hands. "Stop thinking," she told herself. "Stop feeling!" Emotion had always been her downfall when it came to thought suppression, and the fresh pain of seeing her brother suffer wasn't allowing her the control over her mind she desperately needed.

For the second time, the world felt too real. Too likely to hurt them, and she didn't know how to pretend it wasn't the case so she could rein in her own mind.

"You found nothing."

Oh, god. Not yet. Dropping her hands, Ashley squeezed her eyes closed and willed her thoughts quiet. Her breathing was off. Someone as perceptive as Jonny was going to notice she wasn't quite right.

But she prayed he didn't.

"No," she answered.

"And nothing happened." By the calm note in his voice, he was already suspicious.

"Nothing," she lied. "It's so fucking frustrating. I know he's hurt. I know he's scared. I don't know how to do anything." She reached for the strange knife in her pocket, itching to get the worst part over with, and withdrew it.

She also wasn't able to stomach stabbing Jonny and knowing he wasn't likely to recover this time. She warred with herself internally, furious and worried, unable to justify why she shouldn't hurt Jonny and unable to convince herself it was the right thing to do, either.

In the end, she was too twisted up inside to act before he touched her. Jonny approached from behind and wrapped an arm around her. The crippling combination of knowing she'd always loved him too much and needing him again sent her insides flaming with desire and anticipation. As a teenager, she'd lusted for him. But this... this was something more than hormones. The yearning was deeper, primal, a need she didn't ever think would be met no matter how many nights they spent together.

He maneuvered her to face him, and she felt herself turning her head to expose her neck without a second thought. She gripped the knife and held it against her thigh, paralyzed by emotion and the need to feel Jonny's skin against hers. His eyes glowed almost fully red and his arousal pressed to her lower belly. His fangs were out, his grip around her strong.

"I hate you right now," she said breathlessly.

"I'm not surprised."

He kissed her, and she melted against him, overwhelmed by his scent and the furnace at the base of her belly that left her crippled. His mouth left hers to trail hot kisses and fiery nips down the side of her jaw to her neck. Ashley sighed, lost to him, at least, until she felt his free hand tighten around the wrist holding the knife.

She jerked then, senses returning. Panic lit inside her at the thought of losing her brother because she'd let herself fall under Jonny's spell.

"What was your plan?" he whispered, refusing to release her.

"Jonny..."

"Wrong answer."

Ashley's breathing grew erratic, and she strained for a moment.

"Answer my question." Jonny's controlled, hard tone was worse than him screaming at her.

"I don't know," she managed finally. "I don't know."

He held her in place. "Let go."

Ashley refused for a long moment. If he wanted to use his power to force her, he could. "Jonny, they're going to kill him."

"I won't let that happen. Now, let go."

She obeyed. He slid the knife from her hand and tossed it.

His mouth found hers, and he kissed her harder than he had before, his lips branding her in a way that sent a surge of hot need through her. Any other thought burnt to ashes in the face of his passion, and she clung to him, channeling her tortured emotion into desire.

Jonny Traveled to a large bedroom on the second floor. Ashley's hands slid under his shirt, and she pushed it over his head and flung it away before her shaking fingers went to the button of his jeans.

With urgency, they tore each other's clothing off and collapsed into bed, a mad frenzy of lust and emotion burning them up from the inside out. Any restraint she'd held the first night with him melted, and Ashley lost herself in her senses, in the feel of his hot skin against hers, in their hard breathing.

Hours later, when they both were spent, she collapsed on top of him, panting. Jonny was little better off, his breathing ragged and both of their bodies covered by a sheen of sweat. Jonny's arms circled her loosely, and he kissed her temple before shifting them onto their sides. She closed her eyes as his teeth sank painlessly into her neck and tucked her face into his shoulder.

He didn't feed long, and she was still, listening to his heartbeat. Too worn out to tense in the quiet that followed, she nonetheless began to feel scared again as she came down from the afterglow of sex.

"Tell me everything," he whispered.

Ashley didn't feel him in her mind, but she wasn't capable of stopping him from entering, either. She complied – until she reached the point about the coordinates. That tidbit she did her best to suppress. When she finished, Jonny was quiet. She held her breath, praying she'd managed to hide what she wanted to. She wasn't going to be able to hurt Jonny now that he knew, but she could still surrender to Valon and hope for the best.

She breathed in Jonny's masculine scent. She was too comfortable with him. It was too natural for her body to mold to his hard form. "I like this," she said sadly. "And I hate you for it."

"Ash, I know things are weird between us. But... if you ask for my help..." He trailed off.

She heard it again, the note in his voice that sometimes appeared when he wasn't trying to be an unfeeling robot. She shifted her head back to see his face in the dim light of the bedroom. The glow of his eyes was muted. "No," she said before she could stop herself. "I don't want to ask you for anything. I don't want anything to be between us. Good, bad, other." Even as she spoke, she tucked her face into the nape of his neck so she could breathe in the scent that sent a thrill through her.

"You just fucked me like it's our last day alive. That's not something someone like you can walk away from."

I know. Troubled by her confusion, she traced the line of his jaw with her fingertips. "I want to kill Valon."

"No," Jonny said firmly. "This is between him and me."

"It's not that easy. He has Brandon. He has my brother."

"And I will get him back."

"You?" She pushed onto her elbows. "Why, Jonny? Why would you do anything for us?"

"It's my duty." He touched her face lightly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

She rolled her eyes. "And I'm a means to your end."

"Yes."

She was beginning to think, though, that his interest was more than his duty. His lovemaking was too intense, too passionate, for her to be only a tool to him. Even now his hand was straying down her body, tracing circles on the skin of her back. If their history had taught her anything, it was that she never truly knew what he felt. She'd never known the real him, not four years ago, not today.

"I feel like a fool," she said. "I should've stabbed you. I should've just done it and freed Brandon."

"Because Valon would keep his word."

"What if he did?"

"Ashley, don't be naïve. It's a trap. He's waiting to vamp Brandon until the last minute, when he has you. Then he'll vamp you both. A fighter like you and a vamp undetectable to Guardians?" Jonny shook his head. "He'd win the double lottery. I'm jealous just thinking about it."

"You know better than to cross Xander."

"Valon wants my position. Chances are, he's got a plan to deal with Xander. Every step he's taken has been calculated and planned. You and Brandon give him a leg up over me. He can wipe out my vamps with the two of you helping him then come for me."

She didn't want Jonny to make sense. "Would you save Brandon if it meant you lost say, fifty vamps doing it?"

His silence crushed her.

Tears stung her eyes. "I'm going after him. I don't give a fuck what you do to me, Jonny."

"No, Ash, you won't. There's a strategy to this struggle with Valon. He's not going to let Brandon die, but you showing up is going to make him vamp your brother."

"You don't know that."

"It's what I'd do if I were him," Jonny said.

"But you haven't, and you have me. You knew where we were. You could've vamped both of us at any time."

"Stop, Ash. You –"

"No, you stop, Jonny! I can't believe a word you say. You only care about your vamps. You'll let Brandon rot and –"

"Do you still love me?"

Her breath caught. How the fuck did he know? She froze, afraid to think or move or feel in case he was in her mind.

"Then trust me," he added. "I will not let Brandon die."

"Unless saving him clashes with your organizational goals," she snapped.

"I will not let him die."

She wanted to believe him but feared doing so, feared entrusting her brother's life in the hands of someone who had nearly destroyed her family once before. The fate of her brother belonged in the hands of no one but her. "Yes," she said hoarsely. "I've always loved you, Jonny, but I've never trusted you. The more I learn about you, the less likely I will ever trust you."

He kissed her lightly and rested his forehead against hers. "You should trust me, not love me," he whispered. "I will save your brother, and I will crush your heart."

Pain slid through her. "Again."

"Yeah. Again."

"Fuck you, Jonny." Her voice trembled. Emotionally devastated and physically exhausted, Ashley rolled out of his grip and to the edge of the bed. "I want to sleep. Alone."

He was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "There's an empty bedroom across the hallway. You need some sleep before going out tonight."

A tingle of electricity shot through her as his fingers grazed her back. She froze briefly, suspecting he was knocking her out again so she couldn't run off and do something stupid like she fully planned to do.

Cursing him under her breath, Ashley rose and pulled on enough clothing not to be embarrassed if someone spotted her crossing the hall. Without another word to him, she left.

Only when the door was locked and she was curled up in her bed alone did she let emotion overwhelm her. Tortured by his scent on her skin and the yearning for him burning her raw from the inside out, she began to cry and covered her head with a pillow to block the early morning light.

She was already hurting, and Jonny hadn't even tried to destroy her heart yet.

## Chapter Eighteen

Ashley didn't awaken until someone pounded at the door. She jerked, surprised by how little she was able to fight Jonny's sleeping spells. It was evening, and dusk rendered the lighting of her bedroom barely enough to see.

I really, really hate you, Jonny. She rubbed her face, furious he'd knocked her out when she had shit to do. "Come in," she called in a gravelly voice and pushed herself up.

Charles opened the door. "You coming with us or sleeping like a lazy fucking Natural?" he asked with his usual abruptness.

"Like you'd be successful without me!" she retorted somewhat moodily.

"Come on then." He tossed her gym bag full of clothes into her room then left her door open and disappeared into the bright hallway.

Despite the day of sleep, she felt miserable. Her eyes were puffy, her body lethargic. Ashley refreshed herself the best she could in the bathroom and changed, groggy and unhappy. She hadn't planned on sleeping so much or going out on another raid, though she began to suspect a raid was the only chance she'd have of escaping. Jonny likely had wards like Xander's that weren't going to let her ride come get her when she needed it if she tried to leave from the headquarters.

She chanted the coordinates in her head over and over to keep them fresh and left her bedroom for the hallway. She followed the sounds of movement, radios and weaponry being issued out to the open foyer of the mansion, where Charles the vamp named Tasha were double checking the equipment of the raid parties.

Ashley needed a cell phone in order to figure out where the coordinates Valon provided her led to and to find a ride. She watched the vamps milling and walking in and out of the busy space, waiting for someone to leave his or her cell unguarded for the split second it'd take for her to grab it. The vamps were too disciplined to set down their sole means of communicating with their commanders, but several carried theirs where she could reach them, in baggy cargo pockets or tossed in the outside pockets of backpacks.

Narrowing down her target, she maneuvered through the vamps and bumped the vamp she planned on robbing. Muttering an apology, she snatched the phone visible in his unbuttoned cargo pocket and slid it deftly into hers.

"Natural!" Charles called.

"Coming!" she said and rolled her eyes. She approached the table where he stood with several vamps. "I hope there are more to take out than last night."

"We're doubling up with Tasha's team to take out a warehouse," Charles reported. "Hector, with the Natural."

The large vamp moved into place beside her.

"You know this is for your benefit not mine, right?" she asked, looking up into his red eyes.

"He's aware." Charles shoved her weapons at her. "Remember. Follow the rules."

"I hate rules," she mumbled and accepted the weapons she was forced to surrender the moment they returned.

Charles ignored her. Ashley tucked the knives and batons in their places then waited for Hector to finish with his small arsenal. Unlike the others, she wasn't allowed to carry grenades or guns or anything that might give her more of a leg up. And Hector carried a Taser in case she went off the grid.

Ashley joined the others outside in their teams, waiting for their team's turn to be Traveled to the raid sites for the night. Usually, Jonny was present to watch over his troops leaving but tonight, the Black God was nowhere in sight.

She was grateful for his absence, too angry and confused to want anything to do him. How did she trust someone who admitted he'd betray her? How did she believe he was going to help Brandon when he cared more about his vamps?

It felt like forever before it was her turn to be Traveled. Charles had given the two teams instructions she hadn't heard. She'd follow Hector's lead and then sneak away when she had the chance so she could find out where Valon wanted her to go.

Finally, they were at the site, and she stood quietly to observe the location. The abandoned factory building was isolated from the rest of the rundown neighborhood by a slatted fence topped with barbed wire. No lights were on, but it wasn't going to be possible to tell how active the place was until they set foot inside. It was absolutely huge, and she guessed the factory had been used to build cars or some other large product by its sheer size. The main building extended the length of a football field with several satellite buildings half its size flanking it.

"Front door," Hector said and nudged her.

She blinked, still not yet able to focus outside of her thoughts completely, and saw Tasha's team starting down the side of the building. Charles was headed down the other side, while she and Hector were left alone to tackle the front door.

"Am I bait again?" she complained.

"Vamps like bait."

She rolled her eyes and withdrew her weapons before striding towards a metal door halfway off its hinges. Hector hefted it open for her, and she stepped inside, pausing to let her senses and eyes adjust.

Her instincts were buzzing rather than tingling, and she frowned. "Hector, something's off here." The hair on her arms was on end, her skin crawling with heightened awareness of something she couldn't quite pinpoint.

"I feel it," Hector voiced quietly.

"It's not people. Vamps. Whatever. Is this what a ward feels like?" she asked, puzzled. She'd never felt Jonny's or Xander's, simply known they were present.

"No." Hector sounded as puzzled as she felt. "I don't know what this is."

"Well, let's go be bait and find out." Ashley started into the bay area. Her senses read the area as clear of obstacles, though it was hard to know for certain with the bizarre energy field around them.

"Wait." Hector rested a hand on her arm. "I don't think we should go any further."

"Charles needs his distraction. I can't do that from outside," she pointed out and shook him off. "You're not scared, are you?"

He said nothing.

Ashley glanced over her shoulder and then turned completely around when his glowing red eyes weren't there.

Hector was gone. Not moved or retreated to outside the warehouse. Completely vanished.

She went still and held her breath, searching the darkness with her senses for any sign of him or the danger that had caused him to disappear. Nothing was present but the strange energy field agitating her instincts.

Ashley faced the direction she planned to walk and stepped forward silently, ready to attack the moment something came within striking distance. She progressed twenty steps before pausing once more and looking around.

The darkness held nothing she could get a real read on – but something was there. "Where are you?" she whispered.

The strange stillness shifted around her.

"You can sense me?" came a soft voice close enough to make her jump.

She whirled. "Yep. Come a little closer."

"What fun would there be in that?"

She understood vamps often had Natural talents like she did. Was that what this was? A really freaky Natural skill? Perhaps a masking gift of some sort? The idea there was someone present – and it wasn't any more of a monster than a vamp already was – made the darkness a little less scary.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," she sang. "I can take you."

Something smashed into her. Ashley's reflexes kept her on her feet – and managed to help her score a hit with one blade.

"I could've killed you," came the voice.

"Yeah. Ditto. What kind of shitty plan is this?" she taunted. "Keep me busy so the other vamps have a chance to escape before I can take them all out?"

"Not quite." The creature knocked into her. This time, she sensed him right before he hit and arched away, lashing out with a kick. The strange energy dispersed all around her, confusing her, blocked everything about his approach except for a tiny, tiny spark of red.

"Almost... have you," she murmured and honed her warrior senses to any movement within arm's reach. She kept an eye out for the spark.

"Do you?"

Before she could move, something draped around her neck and yanked her off her feet.

Ashley gasped and grabbed at the noose around her neck, gripping it before the force of the sudden ascent could snap her spine. The dim glow of a vamp's eyes was several feet away, suspended like she was. She guessed it was Hector.

She swung her legs and used all her strength to haul her body upwards, against gravity. Ashley wrapped one leg around the rope holding her and used it to support her weight. She sucked in deep breaths, the rope burning the soft skin of her throat. Shifting until she was stable, she took a moment to catch her breath and assess her options. She dropped one of the batons and listened for how long it took to hit the ground.

The faint clatter drew a grimace. She was at least twenty feet up. Dropping down was a guaranteed broken leg or arm.

Stretching back for one of the hidden knives, she yanked it free and slid it between her neck and the rope. She managed to cut herself as well as the rope as she sawed through it. The noose fell away from her neck, and she grabbed the frayed end with one hand.

"Still coming for me, Natural?" called a voice from the floor.

"I'm a little tied up right now but I'll be right down," she retorted. Ashley hauled herself up. "Y'all did all this for little ole me?"

"An ambush is only successful if the most dangerous opponent is taken out first."

Ambush. She paused, uncertain why her thoughts went to Charles. She didn't like vamps, and especially not the one who Tasered her regularly. But...

I kinda do like Charles. And he was Jonny's second, which meant the Black God trusted him. That bothered her as much as the thought of Charles being slaughtered by the same rogue vamps that had her brother.

"I appreciate the sentiment," she replied. "Don't count me out yet." She began to climb the rope and within several minutes managed to reach a beam at the top of the factory. "See? Cakewalk."

The vamp below her was easier to sense from above. He had generated some sort of field, one that addled her warrior senses and made it almost impossible to track where he really was. But from above, he was completely exposed at the center of his field.

Ashley finished pulling her body onto the beam and launched to her feet, comfortable thirty five feet above ground on a narrow beam. She had the balance and agility to move quickly and did so, hurrying to the rope holding Hector.

"Hey, Hector. You alive?" she called, unable to help her concern for the vamp who had become her partner.

He didn't answer verbally, but his squirming made the rope jerk. Ashley considered the best way to get him down or up and finally decided anything she wanted to do was going to take too long, especially with the vamp freak waiting for them below and the ambush she didn't know if they'd be able to prevent.

She returned to her rope and sawed it free from the top before returning to Hector's. She tied one end of her rope around the beam tightly and then the other end two feet down from her. Double and triple knotting everything, she tested it before sawing through his rope.

Hector dropped about ten feet closer to the ground with the extension of her rope. Ashley shimmied down to the large vamp. He was alive and clutching the noose around his neck. Ashley sawed through the rope supporting both of them.

They dropped the remaining ten feet to the ground. Ashley hit hard on one ankle and rolled to reduce the impact. She withdrew one knife as she hopped back to her feet and tested the ankle. It was sore already, a sign she'd be slower than she preferred for a bit.

Hector began coughing and gasping. Ashley drew near him, waiting for the vamp they faced to try something while Hector was down and she was recovering.

"Hey, Hector. Get up!" she ordered him. "We gotta warn Charles."

"You... should've left... me," he replied and crawled to his knees.

"Yeah, probably," she agreed. "C'mon!"

She saw the red spark of the attacking vamp a split second before he smashed into her. This time, it wasn't a glancing blow. He hit her full on and drove her onto her back. Ashley wriggled and lashed out with one elbow, smashing him in the nose.

"Hector! Go warn Charles!" she shouted and then flipped her hips to shove the vamp off her.

Hector stumbled away, back towards the door through which they'd entered.

Her attacker didn't give her time to get up but tackled her again. Ashley ducked and tagged him good with a knife. She bound to her feet. "That all you got, you idiot?" she shouted.

Suddenly, the overhead lights of the factory flipped on, blinding her. Her instincts alerted her before the sunspots cleared enough for her to see.

More than sixty vamps surrounded her. She faced one, the vamp with the ability to hide himself, while the others hung back around the edges of the factory, waiting for the order to attack.

"You're good," said the vamp facing her. He was large, muscular and bristling. Unlike the others, his eyes were pure black rather than red. "I see you refused my offer."

"Offer?" she echoed.

"To spare your brother if you took care of Jonny."

Ashley straightened, surprised. "You're Valon?"

"I am."

Panic fluttered to life inside her. She didn't know what to say and had always been a horrible liar.

Valon drew closer without drawing his weapons. He was studying her. The gleam of intelligence in his eyes confirmed what Jonny had said about him. "That's it? You'd rather let your brother die?" he asked. "Did you misunderstand something about my message, Natural? Or are you stupid?"

"No," she said finally. "Is he here?"

"He'll be dead before you are."

Fear seized her before she recalled what Jonny had said. "You won't. You can use his mind stealth ability against your enemies."

"Smart girl." Valon folded his arms across his chest. "His gift is unique. But you... you're a nuisance. I can find another warrior, one with less fight."

"Won't break my heart not to be vamped," she replied.

Valon drew even closer. Confident she could fight him now that at least one of her senses had a firm hold on him, Ashley didn't raise her weapons but met his gaze head on, waiting to see what it was he wanted.

"How do you fight for Jonny? I know Xander. I know he wouldn't agree to this."

"I'm here for my brother," she replied. "Give him back, and Xander won't have a reason to hunt you down and rip your skin off."

Valon's scrutiny was making her uncomfortable. It wasn't the look of a vamp about to attack but an opponent assessing his enemy. She wished she'd thought to ask more about him, whether he could read minds or anything else. She hadn't expected him to be able to befuddle her senses to the extent he did.

"I smell him on you," he said pensively. He appeared less pleased by this than the mention of Xander. "You aren't just his food, are you?"

Ashley's anger surged. The answer was too complicated for her to understand herself let alone explain to someone else. "None of your fucking business," she replied.

"I didn't expect this," Valon said. "I didn't expect Jonny to be so cold as to send in someone he was fucking to take me out. He's more vamplike than I gave him credit for."

"Yeah, you're both dicks."

"I had planned on detaining you then letting you go to curry favor with Xander for my ascension to the role of Black God. But this... this is even better," Valon said. "I'd rather fuck up Jonny's world by destroying the woman he's fucking."

Ashley shuddered inside at the expression on his face. It wasn't threatening. He was happy. And she had a feeling that was the worst news possible.

"That might work if he gave a shit."

"Then you are a fucking fool and so is he for sending you within my grasp." Valon stepped away. "Time to see what a real Black God does to Naturals that cross him." He motioned the vamps around them forward.

Ashley lowered herself into a fighting stance, unafraid despite the overwhelming numbers. "Jonny will crush you, Valon," she said. "And you better hope you kill me tonight."

"It would be my pleasure." He flashed a smile. "Kill her."

Adrenaline jolted within her, and she glanced towards the door through which Hector had gone. With any luck, he'd be able to bring Charles and the rest of them soon. They weren't going to win this battle, but they might all escape.

She thought so until the second noose draped around her neck and yanked tight enough for her to be forced onto her tiptoes. Ashley stretched up to cut the rope only for two vamps to charge her.

"Come on... now!" she managed, hacking at them while trying to remain on her toes. "This is hardly fair."

"The Black God doesn't play fair," Valon said, standing back to watch.

You have more in common with Jonny than you know, she thought.

A vamp got a blow in. A second slashed her side. Ashley strained to defend herself when doing so meant she couldn't breathe. Charles and Hector didn't appear, and the blows of weapons and fists became an onslaught she wasn't able to stop. Desperation crept into her, along with pain. Her thoughts went to Brandon first and then Jonny, and she hated herself for admitting she hadn't been able to decide because she wasn't able to stop loving either of them.

Not that it mattered. It was about to become too late for her anyway.

## Chapter Nineteen

Jonny knew something was very wrong even before the call came from Charles. His gut was heavy and twisting, the sense of foreboding distracting him from monitoring the progress of his teams.

Charles' text was shorter than last time.

Come now.

Jonny checked their location with Stu before Traveling to the abandoned factory in southern Oklahoma. He smelled blood – and lots of it – the moment he materialized. Charles stood off to one side, hand on his bloodied forehead. Tasha was on her knees beside him, holding her stomach.

Jonny scanned the bodies of the dead vamps, his heart quickening. He counted several dead rogues – and almost a dozen of his own. His losses were going to become crippling soon. "What happened?" he asked, senses alert for any additional attackers.

"Ambush," Charles reported. "He had all his vamps here waiting for us. And then they let us go."

"What do you mean?" Jonny frowned.

"They wanted to send you a message."

"What message? That this is war?" he looked around. "Where's Ashley?"

Charles said nothing, his jaw tight.

"Charles," Jonny growled, anger flaring. "Where is she?"

"Inside," was the soft response. "We did everything we could to reach her."

Jonny's chest tightened until he could barely suck in a breath. His emotions churned, and dread dropped into his belly. "Get everyone back who made it," he ordered and strode forward, into the factory.

Ashley hung by her neck from a noose tied to the ceiling. She was unconscious and bloodied almost beyond recognition. The scent of her blood made him crave her, and he hurried to her. She'd managed to take out close to ten vamps, whose bodies lay at her feet.

"Ash," he whispered and wrapped an arm around her. He lifted her to ease the tension on the rope then used his magic to cut her free. "Ashley!"

She didn't stir. Her pulse was faint, rapid, fading. Jonny rested her onto the ground, listening to her body and ignoring the compulsion to taste her with steely determination.

"Is she alive?" Charles asked from several feet away.

"Barely and not for long," Jonny replied, at a momentary loss as to what to do. Her gorgeous eyes were closed, her face cut and her dark hair dripping with her blood. Rope burn rendered the skin around her neck raw and he wasn't able to count the amount of injuries from which she bled.

She healed fast but there was no coming back from this.

"Our healer can't help Naturals," Charles said.

"I know." Jonny touched her forehead to assess the damage.

Ashley didn't have fifteen minutes. Fear tore through him, the kind of emotion he hadn't experienced since he took his position as the Black God, since the night he almost lost his sister. He hadn't wanted to care about her, hadn't considered what it meant for him if something happened to her. The thought of losing her paralyzed him, left him uncertain what he felt but sure he was already in too deep.

To save her, he'd have to do what he didn't want to – go to Damian and ask for help.

"I know someone who can help her," he said and scooped her up. "Get everyone back to Miami."

"Ikir, do you need –"

"No. Just go!" Jonny Traveled before he confirmed Charles would obey.

He went to the one place he never hoped to go to talk to the one person he hated to negotiate with. His heart pounded hard and fast in his chest as he materialized in front of the gates to Damian's headquarters in Texas. Immediately, every ward was tripped and every alarm blaring. Guardians lined up along the walls with weapons he knew weren't going to make much of a difference if he truly wanted in.

He waited instead, tense and all too aware of Ashley dying in his arms. "Stay with me, Ash," he whispered, his pulse flying.

"What the fuck, Jonny?" Darian was the first to appear outside the walls to confront him.

"Send out my sister," Jonny told him.

Darian's gaze went to Ashley.

The strongest Healer ever known, his sister Bianca lived on the compound with her mate, the adopted brother of Damian. She had once turned Charles from a vamp into a human. If she could do that, she could save Ashley.

"You better have a good fucking reason to be here," Damian said, materializing a moment later.

"I do," Jonny said. "Bianca. Now."

Damian studied him briefly before tossing his head towards the compound in a silent order to his brother. The Grey God disappeared.

"I don't do favors for you," Damian said.

"It's not for me. You want leverage against Xander? This is it!" Jonny snapped. "If she dies, it's on you, Damian."

"I'm not the one who got her into this mess."

"She made a decision."

"I don't give a shit. You want our help? You turn her over after she's healed. You clearly can't protect her like we can when you've got all this shit going on."

Jonny clenched his jaw hard enough that it popped. If Ashley weren't about to die in his arms, he'd consider refusing. He didn't think Damian would let her die if Jonny left her at the feet of the Guardians and Traveled home.

But he couldn't just... leave her. No part of Jonny wanted to let her go right now, not until he knew for sure she was going to live through this. Damian was right, though. Until this mess was over, Ashley was safer with the White God than she'd ever be with him.

And for the first time in several years, he felt raw and vulnerable. He hated not being able to harness his power or control his vamps enough to protect someone he cared about. He hated not being enough for what he had to do. Emotions he fought to block began to trickle free, fueled by his vamp hunger and the weight of Ashley's warm body in his arms.

"Jonny?" Bianca's soft voice sounded sleepy. "What happened?" Darian brought her and her husband, Dusty. They materialized behind Damian, who was still glaring at Jonny.

"Hey, B," Jonny greeted her. He glanced at Dusty, the steely-eyed former leader of Damian's assassins he had personally charged with Bianca's safety under the threat of death if Dusty let anyone get within an inch of her.

"Bianca only," Damian directed the three behind him.

Jonny had long since gotten use to the wariness of the White God and his brothers. He'd never do anything to hurt his sister, but the others assumed the worse about him.

He lowered Ashley to the ground gently and crouched beside her. Bianca knelt on the other side and reached across to give him a quick hug. With long, curly black hair, caramel skin like his and large, brown eyes, she was naturally beautiful and the sweetest person he'd ever known. Her Natural healing skill had put them both on the radar of the Guardians and vamps after he fell in with the wrong crowd. Dusty had found her first, and the two fell in love shortly after meeting.

"I've missed you," she whispered with a quick smile before her attention turned to Ashley. She wore a sweatshirt over boxer shirts and looked as if she'd just been woken up.

"You, too," he replied. "Can you heal her?"

Bianca placed her hands on Ashley, one over her heart and one on her forehead. She closed her eyes. The air around her began to glow blue, the color of her healing magic. It was soothing and gentle, and Jonny felt some of his worry start to dissipate under her influence.

"Yeah," Bianca said finally. "But it's going to take some time, Jonny. I need to get her inside."

Jonny hesitated, not wanting to give up Ashley, especially not to the White God.

"I wouldn't ask if it weren't absolutely necessary," Bianca said and touched his hand. "Trust me, Jonny. Okay?"

He studied his sister and nodded finally. "Take care of her, B."

"Anything for my little brother."

Every once in a while, it was nice to remember how close they'd been since the death of their father several years before. The ache of loneliness was always stronger when he saw his sister and recalled all the reasons why they didn't see each other more frequently.

Jonny rose and stepped back, knowing the Guardians were leery of him being anywhere near one of their own.

Bianca motioned to her blond haired, blue-eyed husband, who moved forward to lift Ashley.

Jonny watched for another long moment before turning away.

Ashley was safe. Despite Valon's attempt to kill her, she was going to pull through.

As he Traveled back to Miami, rare fury filled Jonny. He wasn't immediately certain what angered him more: the fact he'd put her in danger or the idea Valon had fucked her up on purpose. He'd dangled her from the ceiling like a piece of meat and left her intact rather than handing her over for his vamps to drain. Calling off the ambush was another clue that Valon was sending a message.

Jonny had exposed a vulnerability he hadn't wanted to acknowledge, and Valon pounced.

"Ikir," Charles said the moment Jonny materialized.

Jonny drew a breath to keep from exploding at his battered second. Charles had been patched up by their vamp Healer and was limping but still on his feet.

"What is it?" Jonny asked with rare impatience.

Charles held out a familiar talisman, and Jonny picked it up. "This is how they know where to ambush us," he said, surprised. "They had one, too."

"Not anymore," Charles said. "I grabbed that from one of their Trackers."

"Let's hope they don't have another one," Jonny said, considering it. "How many did we lose tonight?"

"Ten from my location. None from the other teams. Over a hundred of his vamps were there waiting for us."

Jonny handed back the talisman. "Then we have four more teams ready to go out again. Send out a Tracker. Any hit he gets, dispatch a team. Keep up the pressure as long as we can maintain it. I'm done with this shit. The second anyone spots Valon, I want to be notified." He started away, needing an outlet for his anger.

"Ikir," Charles called. "How is the Natural?"

"She'll survive, but she's not coming back here."

"Very well, ikir."

"Send me the first location the Tracker finds," he added. "I'm going to start dealing with these assholes myself."

Charles didn't respond. Jonny knew his second didn't agree, but this time, he was quiet, sensing Jonny's anger.

Jonny resisted the urge to return to the Guardians' compound in Texas and stand over his sister while she worked on Ashley. Instead, he paced on the beach, his mind on Valon and the confrontation he knew was coming. Their cat and mouse game was costing him too much. It was time to take the fight directly to Valon and end it once and for all.

His toe hit something more solid than sand, and he knelt. The strange knife Valon had given Ashley was half buried in white sand. He picked it up. Without the knowledge of thousands of years of history to guide him, he had no way of figuring out what the weapon was, or why it was allegedly capable of disabling him. Faint, cool magic tickled his fingertips. It didn't feel strong enough to take on a god, but neither had the locational talisman the Others used.

He tucked it into his pocket, not about to let something so simple be the reason Valon defeated him.

"Time for our one-on-one, cabron," he whispered to the night.

## Chapter Twenty

"Am I a prisoner?" Ashley asked, arms crossed as she stood in the kitchen doorway of the White God's sprawling ranch house located on the compound containing his headquarters. She was weak and tired but healed. She recalled nothing about what happened from the time she began getting her ass kicked until she woke up in a quiet guest bedroom in a place she didn't want to be the next day.

"Can you cook?" asked the athletic blond man at the stove.

She snorted. "No." Dusty was at the top of the food chain, someone she'd met because of Xander's importance but never spent time with.

"Then I guess not," was his cool, surly response. "No one else in this fucking house can make a decent paella. Gotta do it myself."

Ashley gazed at him quizzically.

"You hungry?" he asked.

She nodded and sat at the breakfast bar. "You're Jonny's sister's husband, right?"

"I am. I'm also Damian's ops officer. I recruit, train and manage the Guardians in the Western Hemisphere." Dusty scooped out paella and poured it into a bowl with rice. He set it on the counter in front of her before returning to the stove.

Ashley said nothing, suspecting she knew why he was the one talking to her this morning. She stirred the paella to help it cool.

"I hear you've developed your skill pretty well," he added when she was quiet.

"Yeah."

"You interested in joining up?"

"Not really."

"Let me rephrase. How hard will you fight being conscripted?" he asked and sat down two seats from her at the breakfast bar.

She gave him a sidelong glance, suspecting the lean man knew more about her than he was letting on. "Pretty hard," she admitted. "I like being a college student and doing my own thing."

"That shit's not an option."

"Why not?"

"Because you fucked with Jonny. Whether or not you wanted to pick a side, you're stuck choosing now."

She took a bite of food. "This is good," she said after swallowing. "I hate Jonny and he..." She drifted off. He didn't hate her but neither was he really interested beyond the physical relief she provided.

"He saved your life. Brought you here to Bianca."

"I'm sure he had a reason," she said.

"It's the first time he's ever asked us for anything."

Ashley's heartbeat quickened. She didn't have the energy for the emotions starting to boil. "Oh, god," she said and dropped the spoon. "Brandon!"

"We're helping on that front," Dusty said.

"You know where he is?"

"No but we're going to work with Jonny to find him." He met her gaze. "Like I said. He's never willingly asked us for anything before. There's something more going on than you being mauled by vamps if he's willing to approach us for help, I think."

"What is it with you people and interrogating me over the dinner table?" she retorted without heat. "Xander always does this."

Dusty gave a faint smile and returned to eating. "So that's a yes."

"I was with Jonny to find Brandon, and Valon, the ring leader of a the rogue vamps, decided to kick my ass because I was killing too many of his vamps. That's it."

"Good."

She waited for him to say more. Dusty was silent. Xander had tried this on her, too, peaked her interest then dropped something, knowing she'd ask.

"Fine. Why is that good?" she asked.

"Because you don't belong with him."

Her heart skipped a beat. "That's not for anyone but me to decide."

"Funny. He said the same thing when Damian came knocking at his door last week."

"He's right. For once." She tapped her spoon against the side of the bowl. If it were true she had to pick sides, she wasn't going to do it now, before she knew Brandon's fate. The coordinates she'd memorized flashed through her thoughts, and she debated whether or not there was any use in going to them now that Valon had almost succeeded in killing her and knew she wasn't going to hurt Jonny.

"If you want to find your brother, I'll give you a team to do it," Dusty said. "Unlimited support and funds."

She stared at him. "Just like that. You'll give me whatever I want?"

"Yep. I have a feeling Jonny needs help but isn't going to ask for it."

"What's the catch?"

"After you find him, you work for me."

Ashley thought only for a moment. It was a similar offer to what Jonny had given her without the blood sucking or sleeping around. She was beginning to think Xander was right to be suspicious of the Guardians. But to have her own team, to be in control of how and where she searched for her brother, was too much to pass up. Brandon was suffering as it was, and she didn't want to know what Valon did to him after she pissed him off at the factory.

When it came to Brandon, there was never a choice.

"I have conditions," she said reluctantly.

"What?"

"You don't object to me working with Jonny to find Brandon. He has a way of tracking the vamps and Valon. Second, Brandon gets to make his own choice about whether or not to join up. Third, no questions asked. I get to go wherever I want with my team," she said.

"Deal."

Ashley blinked, expecting him to negotiate. Were they that determined to gain her support? Or was this their way of outflanking Xander, which seemed to be a goal of White and Black Gods?

"Okay," she said. Secretly, she wondered how she was going to see Jonny again and not want to wrap herself in his arms. The thought of him made her lower belly warm and her pulse race. "Okay."

"When do you want to start?"

"Today," she said instantly.

"You up for it?"

"Does it matter?"

"You're the boss."

Ashley almost smiled. They were giving her the means to pursue Brandon without strings attached for now. It was too easy which meant, something horrible was probably in store with her. She pushed aside the sense of doom, urgent to locate her brother. Whatever happened tomorrow, she'd deal with it when it came.

"I have to find Jonny first," she murmured. "He's going to know where to hunt the rogue vamps."

"I've got your team picked out."

Uneasiness went through her. There was nothing to fear from the Guardians in a physical sense, but she also wasn't quite willing to trust them fully. Their intentions were likely to be something other than they claimed them to be. Xander had warned her and Brandon many times against trusting anyone fully, especially when it came to something that affected their close knit family.

"Okay," she said once more. "I need some clothes and stuff."

"Taken care of. They're in your dresser."

She waited for him to notice how her hands trembled or the dark circles under her eyes and change his mind. Ashley finished eating quickly and retreated to the guestroom where she'd woken up. She looked around and imagined herself living there, on the compound.

For reasons she didn't yet want to face, the idea was depressing. A key component was missing, even if she knew a relationship with Jonny wasn't possible. He wanted nothing to do with her if he'd turned her over to the Guardians.

At the very least, he was going to help her find her brother. This much was non-negotiable.

Then why did she feel torn once again, more interested in seeing Jonny again than leading her own team of Guardians?

She picked up the cell phone waiting for her on a nightstand and typed in the coordinates to see where Valon had wanted her to go. The result was a patch of green in the middle of the pacific northwest, far from any neighboring town or city with no direct roads she could see. Had she not memorized them correctly? Or was this where he intended to trap her?

She sat down, more tired than she wanted to let on. She wasn't about to let Brandon suffer a second longer than necessary, no matter which devil she had to make a deal with. Ashley changed quickly before picking up the phone to send a text. Jonny had kept her and Brandon's phones. She suspected he'd get her message if she sent it to both phones.

I'm going after Brandon. She tapped the send button and tucked the phone away. "I hate you, Jonny," she murmured, conflicted once again. "Why do you threaten to crush my heart and then go out and save my life?"

## Chapter Twenty One

She can't handle fighting vamps!!!

Jonny reread the message from his sister. He didn't know what Bianca was talking about, but he was relieved to know if Ashley was causing someone issues, she was at least alive. The White God wasn't likely to let her out of his sight now that he had her on his compound even if Ashley's last text seemed to imply she was going vamp hunting.

For once, Jonny breathed deeply after ceding one small battle to the White God. He hadn't yet been able to suppress the fear he experienced holding her near lifeless body in his arms despite the long day spent planning with Charles and Tasha. Ashley in danger wasn't something he could handle when he was looking at a confrontation with Valon.

"Ikir!" The cry came from down the hallway. "Come quickly!"

Jonny rose from his position kneeling for some light meditation. His stomach was empty and twisting, his normal sense of calm not quite coating his anxiousness about confronting Valon. Too much was at risk for him not to be worried, for him not to wish he had a little more time to strategize.

He pulled on his boots and left his room, dressed to fight rather than to monitor his teams this night.

"Yeah," he said as he joined the pacing vamp at the top of the stairs. "What is it?"

"The White God sent his fucking Guardians," came the hiss.

Jonny frowned, not believing Damian was stupid enough to drop a team of Guardians into his headquarters, no matter how tense things often got between them. Jonny trotted down the stairs and out of the mansion onto the front lawn, where the majority of his vamps were gathered in a circle.

"Make way!" someone called out as he approached.

The creatures before him parted, and Jonny strode through the vamps. His step slowed when he saw the five Guardians, hands on the hilts and butts of their weapons, with Ashley standing cross-armed in front of them.

He hadn't considered she meant to fight tonight after almost dying. His heart did somersaults at the sight of her alive, and profound relief loosened the vise that had been around his chest since he first touched Ashley's limp body at the factory. Jonny didn't miss a beat, aware of the attention of all his vamps and the Guardians on him. He stopped two feet in front of Ashley. The fire in her eyes was back, her chin raised in defiance and her stance one of challenge. But he was also able to sense her condition.

Bianca was right. What was the White God thinking to send her out so soon?

"What is this?" he demanded.

"I told you. I'm going to find my brother," she responded. "The Guardians gave me a team to help, but only you know where to go. So we're here to work with you to find him."

Jonny raised an eyebrow at her careful words. "You brought Damian's people onto my headquarters without permission."

"We're. Here. To. Help. That's it."

Jonny considered her long enough for a familiar flush of arousal to reach her cheeks and her pupils to dilate. He stepped closer until only she was able to hear him.

"What kind of deal did you have to make for Damian to hand over a team of Guardians?" he asked.

"I told you I'd do whatever it took," she replied.

"You're in no shape to fight, Ash," he whispered. "I don't need to touch you to know."

"It doesn't matter, Jonny. I will find Brandon. These guys will help you. They have no qualms about killing vamps."

He folded his arms across his chest.

"The other vamps," she clarified. "Dusty gave me full control, and I told them the vamps with this mark are off limits." She held up her hand.

"Whatever negotiation you made with any of them is non binding if it's about me," he warned her.

"It wasn't. It's about me."

Jonny almost spoke the words he knew were very wrong for this situation. Instead, he spun on his heel and walked away. "Let's talk. Now." Those vamps nearest him jumped at his sharp tone. "Tell your team to stand down or they'll be slaughtered where they stand." Without waiting to confirm she complied, he strode back into the house and paused in the foyer. "Charles, do you know any of the Guardians she brought?"

"I recognize two. This is one of their special ops teams," Charles said from his position at the table covered with weapons and radios waiting to be issued out for the night's raid. "Very highly trained, very disciplined."

"So they'll obey her."

"Yeah."

"And she'll obey you."

Charles didn't respond.

"There can be only one ops leader for this mission, Charles. She'll do what you say, or she and the team are out."

"Yes, ikir," he replied.

"I manage my own team," Ashley said from the entrance.

"You give them orders and Charles gives you yours," Jonny replied. "Or have you forgotten..." He lifted his hand to display the mark all his vamps wore.

She rolled her eyes. He found himself looking at her too long, a thrill running through him to realize she wasn't just alive but close to being herself again. He knew how powerful of a healer Bianca was. Seeing the evidence, however, made him truly appreciate his sister's gift for the first time.

"Charles," Jonny said and lifted his chin towards the door. "Tell the Guardians what they need to know not to be killed by our vamps tonight."

Ashley shifted inside the doorway, and Charles left them alone.

"Come with me," Jonny ordered her.

"Um, no."

"If you want me to stop the seizure you're going to have soon, you'll listen to me."

She cursed him and every vamp under the sun – but she followed.

Jonny took the steps two at a time and continued down the hallway to his bedroom. He stopped to await her and closed the door behind her once she'd entered.

"What?" she demanded, facing him.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he returned with more heat than he intended. "You're more likely to get yourself and those idiots killed than help Brandon!"

"They can handle themselves and so can I."

"Oh, really?" He almost laughed. "You can handle yourself?" Jonny snatched her wrist and held out her hand. "Can't keep it still, can you?"

She pulled at it. He held it in place. Her hands quaked. She was too weak to fend of the looming episode let alone spend an entire night fighting vamps.

"What choice do I have?" she asked. "Would you have let your sister die because you didn't think you could face Czerno?"

"Never," he replied. "But you have people willing to help you and are too stubborn to listen to them!"

"I'm still the best fighter you or they have, even if I'm a millisecond slower than before," she retorted.

"You are," he agreed. "You are also my biggest liability."

"Then patch me!" She took a step closer and pulled her braid over one shoulder. Her nearness, coupled with the challenge in her gorgeous gaze, sent a flare of desire through him.

"Why the fuck should I?"

"Because I'm going out there whether I collapse mid fight or not! If there's any part of you that ever cared for me, you won't let that happen."

Jonny glared down at her. He'd never been so turned on and angry as he was in that moment. Ashley's breathing quickened, and he grew too aware of how little space was between them.

"What did you have to promise them for them to help you?" he asked again.

"It's none of your business."

"You want my help? You tell me." Jonny slid a hand along the side of her neck. Her pulse was fast and growing faster, and desire raced through him at the intimate placement of his palm against the delicate skin of her neck. She didn't flinch or move away, didn't look away or back down. His Ashley had never shied away from him, and he hadn't appreciated how much he enjoyed her challenges until he'd nearly lost her.

Ashley hesitated and licked her lips. "They want me to join them. I told them I would after Brandon was safe."

Wrong answer. Jonny spoke the word silently. This was what he intended when he dropped Ashley off the night before with his sister. He'd fully expected never to see Ash again, but the price of the White God's permission to heal her was worth it.

One look at her upturned face, at the fire in her eyes, and he didn't think it was possible for him to let her go willingly.

"No," he spoke quietly. "I'm not okay with that."

"It's not your choice to make," she shot back. "Means to an end, remember?"

Jonny reacted rather than speaking. He kissed her hard, testing the waters that were far too muddy for him to decipher his own emotions. Ashley's arms went around his neck instantly, and she leaned into him, her mouth opening to give him access to its depths. She melted into his passion, meeting his need with her own.

With a growl of primal need, he pulled her against him and kissed her, deep and long, wanting to do so much more than he had time for this night. He hadn't been able to shake the fear he experienced when he saw her body hanging in the factory. He wasn't going to be able to let her go when this was over, and he didn't want to face the idea she could end up dead.

When he'd rendered her breathless, he kissed a path down the side of her face to her neck and sank his teeth into her. She gasped and clung to him, her body trembling from more than exhaustion.

Jonny savored her taste. After last night, he was all too aware that there was no guarantee of tomorrow for either of them until Valon was stopped. If his plan failed, if he wasn't able to protect Ashley, if Valon's vamps got a leg up...

He listened to her ragged breathing and did his best to experience every tiny drop, every inch of her body, every sensation he could as he fed from her. She was too weak for him to drink his fill, and he used his magic to patch up the attack waiting to take her down and withdrew much sooner than he wanted. Ashley remained against him, her cheek against his chest. Jonny rested his chin on top of her head.

He was surprised to feel just how deep the instinct to keep her close, to protect her, ran.

"I hate you, Jonny," she whispered.

He held her, uncertain if or when they'd have another chance to be together after his plan tonight. "You belong with me, Ash. Not the fucking Guardians."

"Oh, so you want me to stay this time?" she returned.

He hesitated.

She was quiet, waiting for him to speak. When he didn't, she did. "It doesn't matter. I may not have a choice when this is over."

"You always have a choice."

"You sound like Xander."

He didn't respond. Xander had taught him this, and he was surprised every time he realized how true it really was.

"I won't survive this if Brandon dies." Ashley's voice was hushed and tight.

"He won't," Jonny replied. "I promise you, Ash. I won't let him die."

"I want to believe you but you're... you."

Jonny had spent years building a wall around his emotions but he felt it again the moment the words left her mouth. Pain. The kind that never really healed. The remembrance of everything he'd lost when he chose to save his sister's life six years before.

He lifted her chin and met her gaze. "Yeah. That's why I'll win," he said. "That's why you're better off with the Guardians and why I've done everything I can to convince you not to love me. Do you really understand what I am, Ashley? What I'm capable of?"

She studied him, troubled. "I don't think it matters, Jonny. I don't think it ever did."

"It should."

"No." She lifted her chin out of his grasp. "It shouldn't because I don't care. You're right. Common sense says I belong with the Guardians. Common sense says loving you is what fucked up my life to start with. Common sense says Brandon is probably already dead after my confrontation with Valon." Her voice broke. She cleared her throat. "I say fuck common sense, Jonny. I don't care how wrong it is or how stupid you think I am. I am going to do whatever it takes to save you both from Valon because to me, there is no other choice. So don't you dare try to tell me there is!" Tears sparkled in her eyes. "That's what you do when you love someone. You fight for them."

Ashley ripped away from him and slammed the door open.

It was almost impossible for him to isolate and repress his feelings when it came to her. What started as a trickle of emotion upon their first meeting was turning into a torrent he struggled not to let influence his actions and decisions. The team of Guardians was going to be a boon, but he was reconsidering the plan he'd created for tonight. His goal had been to get the confrontation over with Valon. Ashley was right – even at half capacity, she was still a force to be reckoned with.

But he was purposely walking into a trap knowing he was going to lose a great number of vamps to reach his end goal. It was a difficult decision to make for the purpose of defeating his enemy once and for all. He couldn't risk her though, even if he were able to justify losing his vamps.

"Ikir." Charles said from the doorway. "It's time for the briefing."

Jonny drew a breath. No matter how he felt or what he feared, he wasn't willing to stop the plan he'd put into steamroller motion after returning from the White God's compound the night before. Either he succeeded, and he dealt with what he felt for Ashley after the fact, or he failed, and it didn't matter. Telling her how he felt when he wasn't able to guarantee her they had a chance at tomorrow was wrong in every way.

Resolved, Jonny trailed Charles out of the mansion to the steps overlooking the dock and beach. The leaders of each team, including Ashley, were gathered for the briefing about the plan he'd kept under wrap all day. He purposely didn't look at her.

"You have one goal," he started. "Keep Valon's vamps distracted. No matter how many losses we take. I want to clear a path for me to challenge him directly. He's smart, shrewd and will do what he can to make this a very unfair fight. We will take major hits. We will lose a lot of vamps. But if we're not all in tonight, we face a war of attrition and the destruction of the truce we have with the Guardians." Jonny paused and nodded to Charles. His second handed out the individual team's objectives to each leader. "Read those instructions. Destroy them. Do not stray from your mission or location, no matter what you see or hear happening elsewhere."

He felt Ashley's gaze on him. She was frowning and this time, it had nothing to do with their muddy relationship.

Jonny gave the team leaders time to read their objectives and then asked, "Any questions?"

No one spoke, though Ashley's hand shot up. Jonny doubted it was because of her assignment; she'd been given an objective as tough as any other team.

"Yeah, Natural," Jonny said brusquely.

"Hector and I faced Valon at the factory. I think I figured out how to get past his weird voodoo disappearing act."

"Everyone else, join your teams. Stay here, Natural," Jonny directed.

Ashley approached him.

Jonny waited, not about to let any emotion show in front of his vamps.

"Two things," she started. "The first is you can see him from above, even if you can't see him when he's at your level. So, if you've got the option of an aerial view or... I'm not sure. A tree or something, use it. Second, you'll see this tiny spark of red where he is before he hits you."

"Good pointers," he allowed. "You get one warning, Ash. If any member of your team goes off the reservation, they all die."

"They won't, Jonny," she said. She turned away and started towards her team.

"Ash," he called.

She faced him once more.

Jonny reached into his cargo pocket and withdrew a knife. He tossed it to her.

"I have a few already," she said, puzzled.

"This one is special," he replied. "This one killed Czerno."

Her eyes lifted to his, and he saw her surprise.

"It's for luck," he said awkwardly. "Return it to me when this is over."

She accepted it, her features glowing once again.

"We know Brandon's there. We'll get him out," he added.

"Thanks." Her expression softened. "Try not to get killed."

Jonny watched her walk away, fighting the urge to say more. It wasn't the right time for him to show weakness of any sort, and emotions were weakness when he needed his head clear. Knowing she was going out unprepared to face Valon's vamps, he didn't think he'd be able to concentrate on his own objective for the night.

He motioned Charles over to him.

"Everyone ready?" he asked.

"Yes, ikir," Charles replied.

Jonny handed him a Taser. "When you get there, lure her away from her team and drop her. Your team's objective is now to find Brandon and get him and those fucking Guardians out of our business. Once they have Brandon and Ashley both, they leave or they die."

Charles met his gaze, surprised.

"You were right, Charles. I can't live with sending her out knowing we're going to get fucked up," he said. "She needs to make it out of this alive."

Charles accepted the Taser. "I understand, ikir."

"Do you think me weak for putting the lives of two Naturals above ours?" Jonny's gaze followed Ashley's movement through the vamps to her team.

"Never, ikir. But I think you underestimate her."

"I really don't care right now. As long as she survives."

"You're stronger than Valon. You have nothing to fear."

"There's always something to fear when you care too much about someone else," Jonny replied, troubled. "Remember – keep all the teams on their assigned locations and missions. When they're done, they come straight back here. Someone needs to survive this."

"Will not you share your location even with me?"

"No," Jonny said firmly. "This is my battle. I'll face it alone."

"May I speak openly?"

Jonny glanced at Charles. "Go."

"You need to survive this, ikir," his second said. "Your vision for the vamps, the ability for us to live alongside humans in peace, is worth fighting for."

"It is, I know."

"Valon will take everything from you if he lives. He'll slaughter all your loyal vamps and he'll go after the Natural, because he knows you care for her."

"I get it, Charles. I can't fail. I don't plan on it," Jonny said with some impatience.

Charles was studying him. Jonny sensed there was more his second wasn't saying.

"What?" Jonny snapped.

"Good luck, ikir," Charles said.

"You, too. Let's go." Jonny stood back and watched his teams deploy for the night's objectives. He waited until certain everyone was gone before he Traveled to the point where he expected Valon to meet him.

He materialized in the dark forest near the burnt down lodge. The forest around him was quiet, but he sensed what lingered in the shadows.

Valon brought friends. Lots of them.

Jonny gathered his power, ready to flatten the forest for a mile in each direction, when the odd sense of... something reached him. He cocked his head to the side, sifting through his senses and magic both to pinpoint the source of energy teasing the back of his neck and surrounding him in a haze of tingling.

Valon. Ashley's warning returned to him. He started to unleash his magic when he experienced a flash of fiery pain. Jonny looked down at his forearm and saw an arrow with a head similar to the one Ashley had intended to use on him. This one was smaller, and it seemed to absorb the power he directed at it. He yanked it free of his arm in annoyance and tossed it, knowing he'd heal instantly.

Except he didn't. He glanced down twice at the wound. It didn't heal. At all.

"Now I know it works," Valon's voice came from somewhere off to his side within the energy cloud. "Are you ready to die, Jonny?"

"I'm ready to kill, Valon."

Valon's energy cloud disappeared, and he solidified before Jonny. The Black God prepared to let loose his power, to crush his challenger once and for all.

"Hurt me and you don't get your little Natural back," Valon said quickly.

"Like I give a fuck about one Natural."

"I know you do the girl. You want to know my plans for her? How I plan to fuck and drain her?"

Fury warmed Jonny's blood at the vision of how Valon had left Ashley at the factory and the knowledge of how much worse Valon was capable of. The predator before him was baiting him, and he clenched his jaw. "This is between us, Valon."

"You think I'm stupid enough to face you without a plan? To let you wipe me to without even trying to beat you?" Valon laughed. "Some of that naïve boy remains, doesn't it?"

"You're stalling," Jonny said. "What the fuck –"

Pain pierced his back. A flurry of arrows rained from the forest. Several slammed into him before his defenses went up, and the rest deflected off him. He felt without seeing they were made of the same material as the first, material that attracted his power like magnets and prevented him from unleashing it. Pain ripped through him, and he dropped to one knee, unable to reach the arrows to stem the bleeding or eject them from his body. They were immune to his magic.

"The Others knew a thing or two about keeping a god in check," Valon said. "I can't stop your power, but I can distract it."

"This is not going to end well for you, Valon." Jonny tested his power, startled by how effective the arrowheads were.

"Now it's almost a fair fight," Valon said and drew two knives. "You ready?"

Jonny straightened. Blood streamed down his back and legs. His thoughts went to Ashley then his vamps. Charles was right. If Valon won, Jonny's death would be the first of many. Even without humanity in the equation, everyone he loved would be slaughtered.

Valon was bigger, stronger and faster, but Jonny knew how to fight such an opponent. He'd tested himself against Ashley, who could run circles around him with her speed and skill.

"I'm not the boy you think you know," he answered. "I won't let some asshole with no vision run my domain. It takes more than strength to be a god."

"We'll find out, won't we?"

Jonny found himself wishing he could reach the arrows to yank them out of his back. He had access to some of his power but not all. A game of trial and error with Valon was likely to end in death.

He began to suspect Charles was right. When it boiled down to it, duty was a strong enough reason to fight. But knowing what happened if he failed – the fate Ashley, Charles and his loyal vamps faced – lit a fire inside him he hadn't thought existed.

Losing was not an option.

## Chapter Twenty Two

Charles or Jonny had to have had an inkling she was going to search for Brandon the moment she hit the ground. Ashley didn't have a chance to orient herself let alone determine whether her brother was nearby. The Traveler on her team dropped them into the middle of a nest of vamps hiding out in an abandoned cabin in the forest.

Fortunately the creatures were caught unaware. She'd hacked down three of them before the others had scrambled to grab their weapons. The Guardians with her fought with unity and discipline, and she broke away from them, her speed putting her ahead of everyone.

Reaching a pocket of quiet, Ashley drew a deep breath and gazed around her. She was using the knife Jonny gave her, less because she needed it and more because she felt honored he had given it to her.

Jonny cared on some level, even if he hadn't said such aloud. It didn't confuse her like she thought it would. If anything, knowing – finally – she wasn't the only one affected by their relationship settled some of her doubt and fear.

The sound of fighting died out behind her, and she turned to see the last of the vamps surrounded by the Guardians.

"Alive, as requested," one of them told her.

She went to the injured creature and bent down beside it. "My brother," she said. "I want to know where he is."

The dazed vamp stared at her without speaking.

She drew the knife Jonny had given her and lifted it. "We can do this the hard way or the harder way," she said. "Tell me what I want to know, and we'll give you Jonny's form of mercy."

The vamp shifted uneasily.

"Natural." Charles brusque address came at the wrong time.

"Not now, Charles," she said and leaned around the vamp to see him.

The Guardians were bristling, but they didn't attack, instead parting for the Black God's second in command to approach.

"I have a lead on your brother," Charles said. "I lost a vamp. Leave your lackeys and come with me."

She stood without hesitation. "You have a Traveler?"

"You shouldn't leave without us," one of the Guardians warned. "Naturals won't last long with vamps."

"Don't you start with me," she said and shot the speaker an annoyed look. "I've been fighting with these guys for a week now. I definitely don't need you defending me."

"Dusty said –"

"To do what I tell you," she snapped. "So. Do what I tell you!"

The Guardian backed down but not before he glanced at another of this teammates. She had the sense their orders weren't exactly what Dusty said they were, but she wasn't about to let Guardian or vamp get in her way.

"Come on, Charles," she said and strode away. "Let's find my brother."

The Guardians didn't follow. Charles led her into the forest, to the vamp she assumed would take her where her brother was, and paused. Seconds later, they materialized somewhere else in the dark forest. Somewhere quiet, with no sign of a hideout or safehouse or anything.

Ashley didn't notice the look Charles gave the vamp beside him or the Traveler stepping away from them. She tuned her senses into the forest, waiting for the slightest sound or smell of her brother, anxious to see him again.

"Where is he, Charles? Do we have to go –"

Hot electricity tore through her, and she dropped to the ground, convulsing and panting. Ashley cursed him silently, bewildered by what he was doing, and lay still when the jolts of electricity ceased flowing.

Unable to move, she was helpless as he tied her arms and legs. "What... are you doing?" she managed at last.

"Jonny's orders," Charles said.

"What?"

"We do know where your brother is likely to be. Jonny wants us to get him then turn you both over to the Guardians. Then, you're supposed to get the fuck away from us."

A flicker of hurt was quickly replaced by anger. Ashley strained at her bonds.

Charles motioned the vamp with him back.

"This is so stupid, Charles!" she told him. "You need me fighting!"

He crouched beside her and gripped her shoulder, pushing her onto her side. With a glance at the vamp Traveler, he shifted closer. "I know. I am loyal to my god. But I do not agree with this decision, not because I care for a stupid Natural, but because I know he needs you."

She listened, surprised.

"I have been ordered to rescue your brother and deliver him to the Guardians, and I'm going to do so. I need to know something before you that'll determine whether or not I tell you where your weapons are."

"What?"

"Jonny shared his location with no one. No vamp can track him. Do you know where he is?"

Ashley rolled the question around in her head. She started to respond that she didn't, until she considered the location Valon had given her where he wanted to meet when she was done doing his dirty work. "I might. It's a long shot," she said. "Untie me and we can find out."

"No. If you get loose, it won't be because I let you," Charles rose. "But if you do find the weapons we hid in the bushes over there, and you happen to set yourself free, you need to find Jonny. You have my word Brandon will be safe."

"You just Tasered me, Charles. Why should I believe you?" she returned.

"Because if you don't, there's a chance we're all going to be dead by morning."

She looked up at his glowing eyes. Jonny had gone to face Valon alone, and Charles was worried. She didn't quite know what to think of the loyal vamp disobeying his master, but if he were willing to guarantee Brandon's life, she was the last person to object.

And... her heart was already racing at the idea Jonny was in danger.

"Fine," she said softly.

"Much luck." Charles stretched for the Traveler, who touched him.

Before she could ask how they expected her to get to Jonny, the two winked out of existence.

Ashley cursed. She rolled towards the bushes he had indicated and closed her eyes. Branches and leaves scratched her exposed arms and face, and she groped around in the darkness for a weapon.

The rough leather of the sheath belonging to the knife that killed Czerno brushed her fingertips, and she wriggled closer.

"You are a good luck knife." She tugged it free and shifted into a kneeling position. Working the knife from its sheath, she managed to saw through the plastic zip ties Charles had used on her and yanked her arms free.

Urgency coursed through her, along with adrenaline. Ashley cut her ankles free, snatched the remaining weapons and stood.

The location she'd identified was somewhere around her, but to get there, she'd have to Travel. She'd risk having a seizure. She tested her body. She was sore already from fighting, tired and hungry. She needed time to heal. Jonny had patched her up to prevent another episode, but would it last if she forced the issue by Traveling?

What if I could save his life?

Ashley closed her eyes and drew a breath, rattled by the memory of what happened the last time she Traveled. It had been during the horrible year when she transitioned into her power, and she'd ended up confined to bed for two days.

"Jonny patched me," she whispered. She visualized the place on the map where Valon had wanted her to go and willed herself to be there.

The disorienting sense of the world tilting and melting then rematerializing made her breath catch in her throat. She opened her eyes cautiously, braced for an episode. Her insides were shaky but nothing like what she experienced pre-seizure. She grudgingly admitted how grateful she was for Jonny's ability, even if their interactions rarely ended on a good note.

The area around her had once been a front lawn, judging by the pile of rubble left over from the burnt down house nearby. Her senses picked up too much that left her gripping her knives: the scent of blood in the air, the odd tingling of her senses she recognized from her first confrontation with Valon.

It was quiet and calm but not quite right.

"Jonny?" she whispered.

Break the weapons to break their power. A strange sense washed over her, and she wobbled, expecting a seizure. Instead, the words repeated in her mind, and she suddenly envisioned a man with green eyes, a stranger she didn't remember meeting.

Ashley shook her head to clear it and began walking. Her instincts tugged her in one direction, to the side of the massive structure where a garage had once stood.

The still form of Jonny made her whole body go rigid. She stared, unable to tell if he were alive or dead, and too shocked to see the god unmoving. He was surrounded by a field of red lightning and black shadows. She ventured into it without hesitation, only for the first red lightning that touched her to shock her like Charles and his Taser.

"Son of a bitch!" she shouted and leapt away.

She eyed the loose power of Jonny. It clung to the bushes and charred remains of the garage, and it stood between her and the Black God. The sense they weren't alone was growing. She didn't have time to evaluate their surroundings to determine how close Valon was or just how many of his vamps lay waiting in the forest. Her thoughts flew to Brandon, and she prayed Charles was telling the truth about saving her brother.

"This is gonna hurt." Ashley scouted a path as free of his magic as possible and dashed to Jonny. Hot fire shot through her as she leapt and sprinted, and she muttered curses with each new shock.

She dropped to her knees in a space free of fog and lightning. The ground around him was squishy and soaked with blood, and arrows stuck out of his back. "Jonny!" She felt for his pulse. It was weak, shallow, his breathing almost too quiet to hear. He was wounded in more places than she could count. "Why aren't you healing?"

Break the weapons to break their power.

Ashley shivered, uncertain how or why some strange voice was in her head. Her focus shifted to the arrows. She straddled Jonny's hips and braced one foot against his back to pull the arrows free. Five grueling minutes later, all six were tossed to the side.

"Break the weapons..." She eyed the arrowheads. They were made of the same material the knife Valon left for her had been. It didn't seem possible they had any sort of effect on him when they were removed.

She rolled him onto his back then leapt away as shadows and lightning sent fire spiraling through her.

"Dammit!" He wasn't healing, and his pulse was even slower. Panic stirred at the sight of his paling features. Ashley yanked a knife free and smashed the arrowheads. They broke with the ease of brittle slate, and she made sure they were in too many pieces to be used as weapons again before putting the knife away.

Jonny still wasn't moving.

A trickle of a memory, a thought, moved through her head. Suddenly, she recalled standing in her bedroom, facing a creature that looked very much like an Other, except his eyes were green.

"I'm a friend," the green-eyed stranger said. "I'm the Original Watcher."

"I have no idea what that means," she snapped. "What're you doing in my room?"

"I came to deliver a message."

She frowned, glaring at him.

"When the time is right, you will remember me and what I'm about to tell you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"You'll understand at a later time."

Ashley gripped her knife more tightly.

"The Others could not kill the gods, but they had a means to control or weaken them. Weapons made of the bones of Oracles. The blood of an Oracle once enslaved the Grey God, Darian. The bones of ancient Oracles can do the same to the Black God – render them vulnerable enough for a godslayer to kill him," said the creature. "These bones, kept in hiding by Others, have been found by the enemies of the Black God."

"Um, why in the hell do I care what happens to Jonny?" she retorted.

"There has not been balance since the Schism. The current Black God is the lesser of two evils, the only chance there is for peace and balance in any scenario we Watchers can see."

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Because you must break the weapons to break their power. All of them. They're linked."

Ashley blinked out of the memory she hadn't recalled that was now vividly playing through her thoughts. "Break all the weapons," she murmured and looked around. She saw no more near the Black God but caught the glint of something a short distance away, closer to the front of the burnt down lodge. "Hang in there, Jonny!" She touched his face, worry filling her with charged energy, and then ran.

Five more of the bone-tipped arrows were scattered in the yard. Ashley crushed them under her heel and started back to check on Jonny when she felt it. The weird energy cloud of Valon's, the one that left her senses confused.

Not now, she willed him. Valon was strong enough to pose an issue when she wasn't fully on her feet.

A familiar, tiny flash of red light flickered in the corner of her eye. She reacted instinctively, arcing and dancing away from his charge and the weapons he held.

He missed her, and she faced him. "That shit won't work on me anymore."

"Maybe not. But something tells me you're in no shape to fight." His pleased smile was cunning. "I didn't leave much of you left in the factory."

"Yeah, thanks for that." Her gaze settled on the bone knife he held in one hand. "You got anymore of those fancy knives?"

"I already gave you one and you fucked up. I think I'll keep the last one for myself."

I need that knife. Ashley blew out a breath. The patch Jonny put on her epilepsy seemed to be holding. Valon was bleeding in at least one spot, which made her think Jonny hadn't gone down without doing some damage. "Okay. Let's do this," she said.

Valon waited for her to attack, as if suspecting she was too weak. Ashley began praying once more she was able to Travel without collapsing. She'd have the energy for one chance to surprise him – and then she was screwed.

She willed herself to disappear. Before he could register what she was doing, she materialized behind him and plunged both knives into his wrist and forearm to force his hand release the bone knife.

Valon roared in pain. He dropped the knife and backhanded her hard enough to send her sprawling onto her back. Ashley scrambled to her feet and charged him, breaking off right before she made contact to snatch the knife and roll away.

She rose and crushed the knife beneath her heel. It snapped into three pieces. Valon smashed into her before she had a chance to be relieved. Ashley twisted out of his grip and slammed to the ground. He grabbed one leg and yanked her back towards him.

"Let's see what it is Jonny finds so interesting about you." Valon's eyes glowed. "I hear Watcher blood runs in your family and tastes like honey."

"Let's not!" she snarled and slammed her other foot into his neck. She clawed her way out of his reach and hopped to her feet once more. She was lightheaded, and the faint tremor deep inside her was a warning she'd pushed her luck with the Traveling.

Valon lay coughing on the ground. Ashley kicked him hard in the gullet and then smashed her knee into the back of his head.

He went limp, not quite unconscious and not quite awake either.

She dropped beside him, dizziness and the internal quaking growing stronger. "No, no, no!" she ordered herself. Jonny's patch was slipping, and she was on the verge of collapsing into a useless, convulsing heap beside a vamp that wanted her dead. And when he was done with her, he'd finish off Jonny. Her hands shook too hard to grip weapons, and her vision was blurring.

She shook her head and staggered towards Jonny before dropping to the ground beside him. "Jonny!" she called urgently and shook him. "Jonny! I need you to wake up!"

The Black God moaned.

She slapped him, and his eyes flew open.

"I need to know where the other knife is. The one... the one you tossed on the beach." Her words were slurring.

He struggled to sit up and collapsed onto his back. "Ash? What're you doing here?"

"Not now. Where is it?" Please don't say the beach!

Jonny shifted one hand towards his cargo pocket. He fumbled with the button before opening it. Two knives, including the bone one, dropped onto the ground.

"Okay. You need to... to destroy this... one." Ashley tried twice to grip the bone knife with clumsy hands.

Jonny reached for it. Rather than bend or break it, he sent a charge of red power through it. The bone knife shattered and crumbled into dust. He gasped, some life returning to his features.

"What the fuck just happened?" he asked.

Ashley checked the wounds in his arm. Her pants were soaked with his blood, and he still wasn't healing despite the bone weapons being gone.

"Where is he?" he whispered.

"He's here." Thus far, Valon hadn't recovered, but he would soon. "You're not healing."

"Too weak. I can heal or use what's left of my power and hope it's enough to keep him at bay."

She glanced towards the forest, her internal alarms warning her of danger she couldn't see. Valon had hundreds of vamps surrounding them. Jonny was recovering from the magic of the bone weapons but wasn't strong enough to hold off an army of vamps. "Can you fight?"

"Maybe."

"You need some uh, food," she said awkwardly. "Will that help you?"

"Don't even think about it, Ash. You're too weak. You shouldn't even be here."

"Whatever. Charles told me you wanted to send me away. You're a dick, Jonny." She lifted the knife to her throat and touched its razor sharp edge to her skin.

His head flew up, his eyes blazing red. With strength she didn't think he had, he snatched her by the neck and hauled her close.

"Whoa! Careful," she said, flinching as more of his lightning tore through her. "Just..." Anything she wanted to say died on her lips. The man holding her wasn't Jonny but his inner predator, a creature ruled by instinct rather than logic. He was dying and ravenous.

"Ash." Even his voice was inhuman. "You need to leave. Now."

Her frame was tense, her instinct for survival screaming for her to run. She reined in her panic. "I'm not going to let you die here, Jonny. You need to feed," she said. "These woods are teeming with vamps waiting to kill both of us. "And... I'm about to become completely useless to you anyway. I have an episode about to hit me."

"I can't... control..." He squeezed his eyes closed, and his grip on her loosened. "Go. Now." Jonny sagged.

"No," she said firmly. "I won't leave you like this, Jonny. I won't let you lie here and die. We need you to fight Valon, and to do that, you need to feed. If you won't do it for you, do it for me. Look." She held out her violently trembling hands. "If you don't stop this episode, it might kill me. Trust me – this one is going to be bad."

He said nothing. His body shuddered under his labored breathing, and he shook from weakness. He was a wounded animal fighting the urge to eat.

She touched the drops of blood on her neck. Her heart beating against her breast, she touched the drops of blood to his lips and prayed he didn't kill her.

"No!" He pushed her away, or tried to. He was too weak. "I might kill you, Ash."

"You're the only one who can make sure Valon never hurts Brandon or my family again!" She shoved his hands down and touched his lips again.

Jonny shuddered. He caught her wrist in a tight grip, and she sensed he was fighting an internal battle. He didn't want to hurt her, but she wasn't about to give him a choice. He needed blood to heal, and he needed to heal to face Valon.

"Please, Jonny," she said more quietly. "I'm telling you to risk it to save those I love. I need your help, too." She started to sag, unable to fend off the looming episode any longer.

Jonny touched her again, this time more gently. He sat up and drew her against him, his eyes brilliant in the night, his focus on her. "This is why I didn't want you near me. I'm a monster."

"I know," she said. "But it's kind of a turn on," she joked weakly.

"You trust me?" He bent his head and nuzzled her neck, breathing in her scent with a tremble.

"It doesn't matter."

The pause before he bit her was always one of pure misery for her. This time it was worse. This time she suspected he wasn't going to be able to control himself.

"I'm sorry for hurting you," he whispered. He touched her neck with one hand and wrapped the other arm around her. His scent and heat melted her fear. She rested her temple on his shoulder.

"It's okay," she murmured.

"You still hate me?"

She gazed at his profile framed against the stars. He was gripping her more tightly, and his feral expression did little to assure her she'd live through this. "Yeah."

"Liar," he said. "But you should. I told you I'd destroy you."

"And I told you I didn't care what you are or what happened to me. I still don't."

"I don't want to lose you again."

"You never really did lose me," she pointed out. This is killing me. If she were going to die, she wanted to die quickly. "I can't take this anymore. Just do it, Jonny." She released her breath. "Drain me. Defeat Valon. Protect everyone else." She was sliding into the seizure, and her body began to convulse.

The wild expression on his features terrified her. She squeezed her eyes closed. Lightning stung her, but she didn't feel anything beyond Jonny's warm breath on her neck. His teeth sank into her without even a touch of pain. He stopped her seizure instantly.

For the first time, she felt him sucking the life out of her. She soon experienced a sense of dizziness, followed by general weakness spreading throughout her. Tears pricked her eyes and spilled down her cheeks to leave hot trails of moisture, and she fought the primal urge to survive. She gripped Jonny's t-shirt hard and stilled her resistance, surrendering to him even knowing he was going to kill her. Aside from the occasional lightning, it was a generally painless process. Darkness closed in around her thoughts, and her body began to relax of its own accord.

Jonny lifted his head, his eyes blazing with need and his form rippling with power.

"Finish," she whispered.

"No." The word was quiet, fierce. "I am not an animal." He rested his cheek against hers.

"You are. It's totally sexy." She smiled.

"Can you walk?"

No. But for his sake, she nodded. "Just give me a minute."

"So you are a monster like the rest of us."

Vaguely, she recognized Valon's voice.

"Stay here, Ash." Jonny settled her gently on the ground. She heard them talking tersely without being able to make out their words. She was floating in her mind, too weak to move, aware of the cool breeze but not much else. Her tremors and quaking had ceased from Jonny's patch, but she didn't think it was going to be enough to keep her from sinking into the darkness at the edges of her mind.

Ashley started to drift away, when the shock of a lightning bolt brought her back to her consciousness. She wasn't able to move away from it but neither did it leave her in peace. Every time she began to pass out, it returned to prod her back to her body.

She struggled to either slide into the void or wake herself up fully without success. She was stuck in between. Visions of Jonny and Brandon raced through her head and the anger she often experienced with her life faded into sorrow. Was this what death felt like? Sleep she never awoke from? Or was she more fatigued than she could ever recall being in her life?

The sounds of scuffling near her came in and out of her mind, and she began to fade away once more, this time unaffected by the zap of Jonny's lightning.

Someone wrenched her off the ground, and her eyes flew open. Ashley stared into the dark sky above and managed to regain her balance but not fight off the vamp that had her. Her body was wooden and heavy.

So I'm not dead yet. The relief fluttering through her didn't last long once she realized she was too weak to fight.

Valon was bleeding and furious, his tight grip around her neck enough to send spirals of pain through her. Ash tested herself and was beyond disappointed with her body's sluggish response.

Valon ceased speaking words she couldn't quite make out and shook her hard enough to jar her to her toes and the rest of the way into the world once more. She reached into her pocket to grab the knife Jonny had given her and gathered what strength she had to shove him away when brilliant, burning pain ripped through her.

His fangs tore into her neck, shredding her skin and muscle tissue.

She screamed and stabbed the knife into him blindly. Ashley slammed her knee upward into his groin and then managed to drive an elbow into his temple.

"You stupid bitch!" Valon threw her to the ground, and she hit hard. Her vision blurred, and the darkness started to close in around her. She was starting to bleed out after Valon's puncturing of her jugular and made an effort to press her hand to her neck. Someone knelt beside her. Ashley didn't even try to make out who. She wasn't able to escape, and it didn't matter what someone did to her.

"Stay down," Jonny's whisper was accompanied by his touch at her bloodied neck. His power seared the wound closed, and she flinched. "No matter what. Stay down, Ash." His attention was riveted to his enemy, and charged energy made her flinch. He rose and stepped between her and Valon.

Don't leave me. She wanted to cry, to scream out of frustration from her paralyzed body.

## Chapter Twenty Three

Any thought Jonny had of being fair, of fighting Valon honorably one-on-one, vanished the moment the vamp laid a hand on Ashley. Already weak, unable to defend herself, Jonny had watched Valon hurt her – and felt his emotion blast through the careful guard he kept it under. He was reminded of the night when Czerno had almost killed his sister. The pain and fear he'd kept hidden away for the sake of learning to rule his domain exploded inside him.

He hadn't been in complete control when he drained her, but he'd managed to yank back the animal side of him when he realized how close she was to death. His successful determination to only take what he needed left him a little surprised given his hunger and state. He was stronger than he thought, capable of subduing the animal inside him for the sake of someone he loved. He needed that strength now.

He stepped between her and the rogue vamp leader.

Jonny loosened his grip on his magic. Valon had caught him off guard when they initially met, but he wasn't going to be fooled again. A flurry of arrows and bullets rained from the forest. He stayed near Ashley, his power shielding them both, and gathered up his strength. Taxed from the strange weapons Valon had used, unable to reach full strength when Ashley was injured, Jonny doubted he'd have more than one chance to level the rebellion.

Red lightning built and pulsed in a protective sphere around him. The air grew charged and thick enough for even him to struggle to breathe. He was intimately aware of Ashley starting to fade again. His lightning wasn't going to prod her away from the edge for much longer.

"You kill me this way, you kill your pet," Valon snarled. "You don't have the balls, kid."

"I'm not a kid," Jonny said coolly. "I'm the Black fucking God. And you have no claim to my domain or title. If you're smart, you'll run."

Valon sneered. Ashley had punctured his stomach with the knife that killed Czerno. Valon's face was covered in her blood.

Jonny bent and picked up Ashley, cradling her against him.

Her eyes fluttered open but she was otherwise completely limp in his arms.

"My power will kill anything living in its path," he whispered against her temple. "I need you to trust me, Ashley. Can you?"

"Sure." Her somewhat delirious response was accompanied by a vacant look.

"It might hurt."

Some awareness returned to her eyes. She touched his face with a trembling hand. "I never hated you, Jonny."

He allowed a tight smile to escape. "I know. I never stopped loving you, Ash."

"I knew it!" Her eyes closed. "Hurry."

Jonny studied her features a moment more, fear flying through him at the one chance he had to destroy the rebellion. He lowered his head to her neck and sank his fangs into her once more. This time, he did drink like the animal he sometimes wanted to be. He drained her as fast as he could, drinking hungrily yet also aware of her heartbeat slowing. The moment it stopped, he did as well and lowered her to the ground.

He had only a few minutes before her death became permanent.

Jonny stood over her lifeless body and pushed his power outward. It started at a crawl then began to roll over everything around him, enveloping and killing everything that lived, from tree to vamp to forest creatures.

But it left Ashley's body alone.

Jonny knelt and lifted her. Immune to the destructive power, he nonetheless ducked his head as red lightning sizzled around them and arced away. Even fighting the Others, he'd never unleashed this much power at once.

"It's almost over, Ash," he said. "Hang in there." He could do nothing for her, not even Travel, until this mess was over.

Minutes passed quickly, and still his power rolled outward. Terror and anger tore through him as he held her lifeless body, fueling his power. Lightning ripped through the air, demolishing the forest and everyone in it and smashed into the sky overhead. Jonny held Ashley, too aware of the time it was taking for this magic to wipe out every last one of the mutinous vamps.

He shoved all his energy and emotion into the world around him, unable to expel the images of Ashley crumbling in Valon's arms from his mind. He'd fought loving her for too long and always lost. Now that he risked losing her forever, he began to see the truth. His weakness wasn't love but fear. The fear of losing her. The fear of not being able to control himself or his vamps. The fear of accepting all of what he was. Ashley knew and found a way to love him. He had feared being viewed as too human by his vamps and too vamp-like by the Gods.

But mostly, he had feared failure too much to ask for help when he needed it until Ashley's life was at stake.

He experienced the same sense of emptiness as he did the night he killed the last Other. Valon didn't matter. He never had. He was a speed bump, a distraction, a lesson Jonny was finally going to learn. Of all the enemies and threats in the world, not one of them was more important than his Ashley and his vamps. Not one of them rated a moment of his time or attention, and not one of them deserved an ounce of mercy or fairness.

He'd failed to act decisively for fear of Damian's involvement and judgment, and Ashley was suffering because of it. If he couldn't protect those he loved, what good was he as a god? What good was all his power if he feared using it?

His fear, and his ego, had nearly crippled him, and he wasn't going to let that kind of weakness happen again.

Jonny felt the last piece of the puzzle click in to place. His fear faded away, taking with it the remnants of the inner turmoil present since he'd taken his place as the Black God. He had chosen to hide rather than face his enemy, and he was never going down that path again.

He was the Black God. If he had it his way, he was going to remain so for all of eternity.

The blast of red flame and lightning flattened everything around him in a flash of radiance accompanied by a roar. Jonny shielded his eyes to the brightness.

Finally, the world around him fell silent and still, and he lowered his arm. Nothing stood for as far as he could see. The world was smoking and black with flares of red lightning.

Dizziness stemming from fatigue washed over him, and he hugged Ashley to him. She alone was untouched by his power, protected by him, from him, but only because he'd had to render her dead.

"Ashley," he whispered and touched her gently. He had no read on her whatsoever. She was, according to even his godly senses, dead.

Jonny scooped her up. He didn't hesitate to go where he knew he had to this time. He was never going to hesitate again when it came to Ashley or his responsibilities. He was never going to let his fear get in his way again.

He Traveled to the Guardians headquarters in Texas and stood before the gates once more.

An hour after throwing the Guardians' compound into chaos, Jonny paced in front of the White God's massive ranch house under the careful watch of Guardians he ignored. His gaze strayed more than once to the corral of farm animals he suspected his sister had rescued.

He was starving, and he wasn't above draining animals since humans and Guardians were out of the question. His wounds had stopped bleeding, but he was conserving his remaining energy. He wouldn't have the power to heal until he'd eaten. His phone buzzed with constant texts from Charles, and he checked the latest updates.

Survivors: four hundred and nine. Valon's vamps wiped out. Brandon delivered to Xander.

Jonny paused in his pacing. He'd lost over nine thousand vamps in his first five years. The enormity of the loss hit him hard. He stood, gazing into the dark sky, the weight of an entire race of people on his shoulders, and the knowledge he felt whole enough to carry it only when Ashley was at his side.

"We need to talk," Xander's low growl came from behind him. The Guardians around them shifted at the arrival of the Original Vamp and at least one called someone.

Jonny drew a breath. He'd been expecting this confrontation with Xander for quite some time. He turned and squared his shoulders, not about to let Xander see how weak he was. "No, we don't," he said firmly. "You have no right to tell me I can't see Ash or she can't see me. Yes, she ended up dragged into something horrific and yes, much of what happened to her and Brandon could've been prevented, had I thought it wise to come to you. But I didn't, because we're fucking adults capable of making our own decisions in life. You taught me this, Xander, and I'm not about to back off this time, out of fear of what you'll do since I'm in love with Ashley and have been for four years! You, cabron, will not scare me off again!"

Amusement crossed Xander's features. "What I planned on telling you is I'll respect her choice. I couldn't give a shit about what you want, Jonny. But if she wants to be with you, then I'm okay with it. Jessi isn't," he added. "But I'll talk to her."

It took Jonny a moment to digest what Xander said. "You're seriously okay with this?"

"You just said it doesn't matter if I am or not."

"It doesn't. But... you are her family."

"And apparently, so are you."

As usual, Jonny sensed there was always more to Xander's motivations than what he revealed publicly. Some relief unfurled inside him to know he wasn't about to make an enemy of the most powerful immortal around by pursuing Ashley.

"Although it probably doesn't need to be said," Xander continued, "if you fuck up, Jonny, if she comes home crying or if she ever ends up here being brought back to life again, you will deal with Jessi first and then me."

Jonny snorted, expecting the warning. "I understand. Nothing like this will ever happen again. I swear it."

"That's a relief." The White God's voice materialized before he did. "You're forgetting she made Dusty a deal."

"She made me one first," Jonny retorted.

"I could definitely use someone with her skill set," Damian said.

"Or you could let her make up her own mind, when her life and that of her brother aren't in danger," Xander interjected.

Jonny and Damian gazed at one another. Jonny wasn't about to bend; he already knew where Ashley was going to end up. His discussion with Darian, however, made him think Damian was going to need an incentive not to press the issue.

Damian, he said into the White God's head. Take Brandon. You get your bargaining chip. I get my mate.

Damian studied him and then glanced at the Original Vamp. Mate?

Jonny's cheeks felt warm. Isn't that what you immortals call them? Mates?

Yeah. Didn't know the Black God was capable of having one. Damian started to smile. Help me convince Xander of it, and I'll tell Dusty to back down.

The idea Jonny had a bargaining chip, one that wasn't going to make Xander happy, almost made him smile. Not only that but for once, he wasn't the one being teamed up on by everyone else. He was involved in the politics instead of watching everyone else argue and waiting for them to smack him around.

"There's always Brandon," he said aloud. "He's going to need some serious rehab time with my sister. She can't regrow his eye or hand."

"He can heal at home," Xander replied.

"Not as well as he can here," the White God pointed out. "Bianca's skill set is definitely unique. She'll be able to help him adjust."

Xander shifted, his eyes narrowing. Jonny felt him prod his mind and neatly blocked it. The White God's wards around the compound weakened the power of anyone who entered, making it easier to fend off Xander's attempt to penetrate his thoughts.

"It doesn't have to be permanent, Xander," Jonny continued. "Give him some time to heal with Bianca. Then let him decide what he wants to do. I'm sure Damian will agree to help a Natural heal."

And then conscript him before he has a chance to refuse, Damian added into Jonny's mind.

Jonny coughed to cover his laugh. He didn't expect the humor from the man who had viewed him as either a child who needed schooling or an enemy who was lost – but never as an equal he joked around with.

The silence that followed was long, and Jonny willed his features unreadable by the Original Vamp who was always too sharp for people to hide much of anything from him.

"I know how powerful Bianca is. In theory, I don't object, but I do have one condition," Xander said finally. "Jessi has to agree or I will never, ever hear the end of it."

"I understand what it means to be terrified of the tiny woman you live with," Damian said wisely. "It's only fair Jessi makes the final call."

"Give me a few hours to talk to her."

"Darian," Damian called over his shoulder. "I know you're lurking. Give X a ride home."

The Grey God emerged from the shadows of the house and winked at Jonny as he approached. He strode to Xander and touched his arm, and they both disappeared.

"Now, back to our business." Damian said, focus on Jonny.

Holding up his hand to stop Damian from continuing, Jonny tilted his head, sensing... something. The tingle of an Other nearby had a similar feel. He'd gotten good at knowing where they'd appear before they did so. Unable to Track them from the distance like Charles could, he was able to sense when they were within about ten meters of him.

He followed the tingling tug towards the corral and paused, waiting. A second before the creature materialized, his hand flew out, and he snatched its neck.

The otherworldly creature gasped. Unlike the Others, this small man had green eyes. Jonny had heard them called Watchers, the enemies of the Others, but had never met one.

"Good catch," Damian said in a growl, approaching. "What the fuck do you want?"

The Watcher squirmed in Jonny's grip. He sensed it gathering its power to Travel again and blocked it, adept at countering the creatures once they appeared after the four years he spent hunting and killing Others.

He did loosen his grip on the creature's neck and bared his teeth to show his lengthening fangs. "Speak quickly," he growled. "I have no patience with your kind. I can't kill you, but I'll make you wish I could."

"Ikir, I mean no harm. Will you tell him so?" The Watcher was looking at Damian.

"You can ask him to not rip your throat out," Damian suggested. "But the Black God will do what he wants with you once he has you. We both know I have no love for your kind and am more inclined to watch him do it than vouch for you."

The Watcher's gaze went to Jonny. "It is an honor, ikir," he said and ducked his head the best he could. "I have come to say farewell. This is all."

"Farewell?" Jonny eyed him.

"Things are as they should be, at least for a very long time," came the quick response. "I wished to tell you so, ikir." He addressed this at the White God.

Jonny resisted the animalistic urge to crush the creature that looked too much like his enemies.

"You're done fucking with us since we've killed your enemies," Damian said, unimpressed.

"Yes, and since the Black God has accepted his path."

Jonny listened. He knew little of the Others and Watchers, aside from the basics. They were remnants from an ancient culture of immortals. The Watchers were said to aid the White God on occasion, while the Others were after power. They often simply stood back and watched the White and Black Gods fight, capable of seeing into the future and sometimes interfering depending on how they wanted the balance of power among immortals to go.

His own experience with Others left him soured on the Watchers as well, for they had the power to stop the Others and had left the job to him.

"You won't return," Jonny said, the menace and threat in his voice clear. "Ever."

"I will not, ikir." The Watcher said. "If you do not object, I wanted to thank your mate for her help."

"You've spoken to her before?" Anger flared to life inside him at the thought of the Watcher anywhere near Ashley.

"Yes, ikir. I told her how to break the bone weapons to help you. You see, I'm not your enemy. I'm –"

"I don't give a fuck what you are," Jonny snapped. "If you go near her, I will spend my eternity making you suffer." His hands squeezed the creature's neck reflexively.

"Easy," Damian said, resting a hand on his forearm. "I hate these things as much as you do. But he poses no threat. And sometimes, letting someone go who might help you down the road is the smartest thing you can do."

Jonny didn't move, but he reined in the side of him that wanted to feel warm Watcher's blood sliding down his throat.

"Especially since Ashley's grandfather is a Watcher. Having a blood tie to someone with this power is smart."

"I remember Xander saying that," Jonny said. "It's why Jessi, Brandon and Ash are stronger than normal Naturals."

"Yes, ikir," the Watcher choked out.

"Alliances are important to have in your position," Damian advised.

Jonny loosened his grip and then dropped his hand completely. He had learned as much from Xander and his own experience battling Others and then Valon.

"Thank you, ikir." The Watcher sounded too cheerful. Jonny had the urge to strangle him again.

"Get the fuck out of here," he ordered. "And stay away from all of us."

The Watcher nodded his head and winked out of existence in a spark of green.

Jonny rolled his shoulders back and faced Damian.

The White God was smiling. "You did good."

"I did what I had to," Jonny replied.

"And you're certain you can take a Natural into your organization and keep her safe?"

"Absolutely."

"For being my mortal enemy, you aren't so bad." Damian said with a snort. "You gotta keep the catch and release protocol in place or I'll be at your door."

"I understand," Jonny replied. "I want you and the Originals out of my business. Permanently."

"That can be arranged. Get the fuck out of my database."

Jonny hid a smile. "Fine." Stuart had mirrored it. He wasn't going to stop seeking out Naturals with gifts to vamp and help rebuild his organization, but Damian didn't need to know that. He'd learned many lessons the first few years in charge of the vamps. Among them, he wasn't going to be caught off guard by anything or anyone ever again. His people deserved to have lines of defense against the rest of the world.

"You moving your people back overseas anytime soon?" Damian asked. "Jules is bored over in the Eastern Hemisphere."

"When I have people to move, yeah," Jonny replied.

"All right. Don't be a stranger." Damian held out his hand.

Jonny shook it.

"I'll give Ashley a phone and let her know she can call you or me, depending on where she wants to go," Damian said. "You headed home to Miami?"

"Yeah."

"I'll warn Dusty. In the words of the most worthy Black God I've ever known, get the fuck out of here."

Jonny offered a tight smile. He didn't want to leave Ashley, but he also knew he was, for the first time, on even footing with Damian. He wouldn't want the White God showing up at his headquarters, and he felt pressured to reciprocate.

Jonny debated how to respond and finally decided there was nothing he really needed to say to Damian. He Traveled back to his headquarters in Miami and materialized on the private beach. Exhausted yet wired with concern for Ashley, he took a moment to gaze at the serene ocean before acknowledging the vamps awaiting him.

Charles stood bloodied and sweating beside Tasha.

"You disobeyed me, Charles," Jonny started. "You sent Ashley after me."

"Yes, ikir. I freely admit to not following your orders, and I would do it again, if I had the chance." Charles knelt, eyes on the ground. "I request a merciful death."

Jonny studied him. Tasha's gaze was downcast as well, and she was tense.

"Tasha, liquidate a quarter of our properties worldwide. We're going to make some changes around here, starting with taking better care of our people," Jonny said. "Go."

She left quickly after sneaking a glance at Charles.

Jonny crouched in front of Charles. "What you did was pretty stupid, I'll admit. You put Ashley in danger. But... you also knew something I wasn't ready to admit to myself." He paused, unable to recall the last time he thanked his second for being the diehard loyal, wise vamp he was. "I need someone like you to continue to guide me and prevent me from falling into the trap I did with Valon. I need someone who can remind me I have options and I don't have to do this alone and who knows a thing or two about what makes a good leader great."

Charles was still.

"I'm not going to kill you, Charles," he said softly. "I need you by my side."

"I am deeply grateful, ikir."

"Just don't make a habit out of disobeying me."

"Never, ikir. I did what I thought was right to protect you."

"And you were right, as always. Ashley saved my life."

Charles appeared to be trying not to smile. Jonny suspected his humble second was secretly telling him I-told-you-so. "Will she be returning?"

"Yes," Jonny answered. No part of him thought Ash was going to walk away, not after everything they'd been through. "I'm pretty sure she's going to want a rematch with you in the sparring ring."

"It would be my pleasure, ikir."

Jonny stood. His thoughts strayed to Ashley once more. If he didn't keep busy, he was likely to end up at Damian's once more, and he doubted the White God was going to be so accommodating the next time he appeared. "We've got some clean up to do, don't we?"

"Yes, ikir."

"Let's get started."

## Chapter Twenty Four

Ashley sat beside her cousin Jessi in the guest room adjacent to hers at the White God's. Brandon slept peacefully on the bed in front of them, his wounds healed by Jonny's sister.

"You're sure you're not upset?" Ashley asked for the tenth time since they'd sat down together. She studied her cousin's face.

Jessi was worried. That much was clear from the lines around her lips, but her nod was firm. "I want you both to be happy," she said and hugged Ashley once more. "Xander and I fought about it for two days, but... he's right. I really, really hate that. If you tell him I said so, I'll never make you fudge again."

Ashley giggled, amused by the secrets her two most favorite people in the world kept from one another. "Okay. I won't." Her hands trembled. She was exhausted despite the forty eight hours she spent sleeping. "I know you never liked Jonny."

"I absolutely despise him!" Jessi exclaimed.

"He's not that bad."

"It might take me some time before I can tolerate him at our weekly family dinner." Jessi pulled away, frowning. "You'll still come Thursday night, won't you?"

"Always," Ashley promised. "Just promise to give him a shot."

"Hmm."

"If not for him, you wouldn't have met Xander."

"Yeah. Our lives are so much better for having Xander in them." Jessi's features softened. "I keep thinking I can protect you and Brandon from the world forever. It kills me to know you all got hurt." Her gaze went to the still form of Ashley's brother.

"He's strong and smart. He'll be okay," Ashley said. "We'll make sure of it." She squeezed Jessi's hand. "Will you call me when he wakes?"

"Of course." Jessi planted a kiss on her forehead. "Just promise you'll be careful. It's bad enough having one vampire in the family. I'm not sure what to do about two."

Ashley laughed. "I love you, Jessi."

"I love you, too, Ash."

Cat jumped up onto Ashley's lap. She patted the vamp cat with a smile. "Just in time. You'll get to go live with the rest of the vamps! Aren't you happy?"

The cat purred. Ashley scooped it into her arms and left Jessi and Brandon. She made her way out of the house and walked across the compound to the main gate, which was open.

Her pace quickened, and her heart began to race when she saw the dark form of Jonny waiting outside the fence under the wary gazes of the Guardians. His hands were in his pockets, his dark hair mussed by the west Texas wind, and his black eyes on her. As she stepped off the compound, his eyes began to glow red once more. While contained, raw power made the air around him shimmer.

By the intensity of his look, he was assessing her as she neared. His unnerving way of reading her condition left her a little more uncertain than she'd been with him. The distance between them seemed to be both too far and too close, and she stopped several feet away.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"Good enough," she replied.

The quiet between them was awkward.

He cleared his throat. "I'm happy you called."

"Well, I kind of needed a ride," she said, starting to smile. "I feel like I need a vacation."

"To where?"

"Some place warm. By the ocean. With a private beach."

Jonny's eyes gleamed. "I know just the place."

"I might need my own room," she mused mischievously.

"Fuck no."

Her body flushed with warmth from the inside out and she almost laughed at the giddiness soaring through her. Unable to take the distance between them anymore, Ashley set down Cat and flung her arms around Jonny.

He hugged her to him hard and sighed into her hair. "Are you ready to come home?"

"You're, like, four years late to the party."

"I'll make it up to you. I promise," he whispered.

"You're sure this time?" she asked and leaned her head back to see his face.

Jonny cupped the side of her face. "Are you sure you want the Black God in your life?"

"This may come as a surprise, but I don't actually hate you."

He laughed, a pleasantly warm sound from a man who rarely smiled. "I kinda figured that out," he teased. "I'm sure, Ashley." He grew more serious. "I've spent too long trying not to love you. I want to spend the rest of our lives showing you how much I care about you."

Speechless at the sentiment, Ashley felt tears sting her eyes.

He rested his forehead against hers, and she breathed his scent in deeply. "Thank you," he murmured.

"For what?" she asked.

"For being strong enough to love me despite what I am. For reminding me what it means to fight for something and someone."

She melted against him with a sigh. "I love you, too, Jonny. Freaky Black God powers, fangs and all." She winked. "Like I said. The vampire thing is kind of a turn on."

Nuzzling her head aside, he nipped at her neck before sinking his fangs into her. He sipped rather than drank before withdrawing from her neck. "Just had to make sure you're up for what I have in mind," he murmured.

"Which is..."

He grinned wickedly. "Why don't we go find out?"

Ashley laughed, unable to recall when she'd last been this happy.

## Epilogue

The White God and his mate, the Oracle Sofia, watched the young lovers embrace outside the walls of the compound.

"I told you so," Sofi whispered.

Damian wrapped his arms around the tiny frame of his mate. "I know, kiri," he said softly. "You're always right. Except when I'm righter, which I was about Jonny not being able to resist a strong yet vulnerable woman who won't put up with his bullshit."

She laughed. "This makes me happy. I don't know if I should feel that way about the Black God or not." She twisted to look up at him. "You've been enemies for so long."

Damian smiled down at his mate and pulled her against him. She pressed her cheek to his chest, her arms going around him. "I think it's okay. They're a good pair," Damian said. "I think she can keep him from doing anything stupid, and he'll protect her from herself. I think this is the beginning of a very different world than anything we're used to."

"Yeah. It is," Sofi replied. "We'll see an era of peace for quite some time. The Watchers will honor their promise and Jonny has the additional motivation he needs to keep his vamps in line."

"Can I call it or can I call it?" he boasted. "And I don't even have your Sight."

"I don't know how you do it. You've always had so much faith in the good in everyone."

"Not always. Not until I learned even I was salvageable."

"You were never lost."

"I was," Damian replied. "Until you."

Sofi gazed up at him, smiling, her clear blue eyes circled by molten silver. When she used her gift, the silver swirled around her eyes, transfixing anyone who looked at her. "I would've found you. Eventually."

"On the contrary, kiri, I would've found you," he assured her. "You're my world."

"And you're mine."

They gazed at one another for a long, tender moment.

"Papa!" Five-year-old Aidan, their son, raced towards them from the direction of the house. He had Damian's blond hair and golden eyes – and his mother's molten silver circling his irises. "I won!"

Damian released his mate and knelt to greet his son with a bear hug. "What did you win?" he asked. Aidan was large for his age but still far smaller than Damian, who towered half a head at least over the tallest person in every crowd.

"We're going to play vamps-and-guardians later, and I won!"

Sofi laughed. "Aidan, sweetheart, you're not supposed to tell people what you See of the future. Remember?"

Aidan sighed.

"Gods help me," Damian said and pulled away to look at Aidan's grinning features.

"Come on, Papa!" Aidan shouted and started away. "It's time to play."

"Go on, Aidan," Sofi told him with a smile. "We'll be right there."

They watched him race back towards the ranch house, pass the Guardians milling around the gym, and join Dusty and Bianca's dark-haired, twin toddlers. Aidan took the hand of each girl and began tugging them towards the building renovated into a play area for the ever expanding brood of children housed at the compound.

"Two Oracles," Damian said. "I guess there's a first time for everything. Peace with the Black God, a future White God with Sight." He shook his head and rose. "I have no idea how I'm going to stay sane."

"You'll figure it out." Sofi rested against him, and he hugged her once more. "You always do."

In truth, he was kind of looking forward to a life of peace with his family after so many thousands of years of managing a world filled with turmoil and pain. What had started several years before as an attempt to keep his former enemy from obtaining an Oracle had changed the course of everything.

Damian swept Sofi up into his arms. She smelled of vanilla and baby powder today, an earthy-innocent combination that made his blood burn hotter. "Aidan needs a brother," he said, holding his mate's gaze. Her features flushed, and this time, when her eyes swirled, it was out of desire.

"The next one's a girl," she murmured.

"Just when I thought things were getting better..." Damian winked.

She laughed.

"Boy, girl. As long as you're in my arms, and our family's together, I really don't care." He walked with her back towards the ranch house and disappeared inside, the love of his life in his arms.

The War of Gods Series

Damian's oracle

Damian's Assassin

Damian's Immortal

The Grey God

The Damian Eternal Series

Xander's Chance

The Black God

## "Omega" – sneak peek!

Continue reading for an exclusive peek at "Omega" (releasing October 2015)

In a modern world ruled by territorial Greek gods, the human race has been oppressed, exploited and now, nearly destroyed by the constant infighting of gods.

However, a human girl with the power of a goddess is coming of age. Alessandra is the Oracle of Delphi – the last prophesized – and bears the mark of the double omega. Soon after she turns eighteen, Alessandra is told her destiny: to step between the warring gods and the human race and save her world from certain ruin.

For the gods, her appearance marks the beginning of the end – their end. They and the Triumvirate – leaders of the human elite – who serve them will stop at nothing to preserve their power.

Alessandra emerges from the forest where she spent her life hidden from gods and men and immediately plummets into a race against time, gods, and herself to discover who and what she is in a world where everyone she meets has a hidden agenda, and those pulling the strings remain in the shadows.

Before she can determine exactly what kind of savior her world needs, she must first master her power by completing three trials devised by the Triumvirate to enslave her.

One lone girl stands between warring gods and the people she's destined to protect, but it's the battle to understand who she is that she must win first.

Click here to add it to your Goodreads TBR!

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## Chapter One: Alessandra

No man or woman born, coward or brave, can shun his destiny.

– Homer

For once, Tyche, could you grant me a little luck?

I slowed before reaching my favorite meadow in the forest, my heart racing and chest heaving. A grin stretched my cheeks, and I stopped to listen for the boy I'd challenged to a race. I heard... voices. Male and at least two females.

"I guess not," I muttered aloud.

The damn nymphs had him. My giddy excitement faded. I was the one who managed to lure a teen boy from the nearby campground into our forest and, as usual, the nymphs stole him. I couldn't compete with the beautiful women. There were thirty of them my age, all unusually perfect, feminine and graceful. Even my guardian said they weren't normal, and we'd coined the term nymphs to describe the other girls at the isolated orphanage where I lived under the thumb of strict priests. The other girls were all my age, too, each of them destined for positions befitting their beauty, according to the priests.

It was disgusting. I couldn't stand them.

Then there was me. I was an athlete, uncomfortable in anything but tennis shoes and yoga pants, terrible in school and bearing a scar from childhood across one cheek. No matter how much makeup I plastered over it or how far forward I brushed my dark locks, I wasn't able to hide it. I was always late to class, always the last to understand whatever torture the priests were teaching us, always trying to catch the first light of Aurora in the reflecting pool or scaling a hill to watch the last rays of Hersperides.

The nymphs laughed at me. I hated them for it and me for not being able to fit in no matter what I did. I couldn't change the fact I was shorter, smaller and otherwise imperfect compared to them.

"Lose another one, Lyssa?"

"Yeah." I heard my guardian's approach and looked up into his scarred, ugly face. A mountain of a man with bright red hair, Herakles had never once understood why I was so disappointed to lose every guy I looked at to the nymphs.

"If a man can't outrun you – "

"– I can't bring him home with me. House rules. I know." It was a stupid rule. Surely there had to be one man somewhere who shared my deer-like agility.

My guardian chuckled.

"He was so handsome!" I whined with a sigh, recalling the gorgeous brown eyes and smile of the teenage boy I'd met today. When he had looked at me, my insides turned fluttery and warm. "He almost outran me, too."

"Only because you slowed down."

I rolled my eyes and spun away, headed towards the compound in the middle of a forest where we all lived. "So what? Everyone here has kissed a boy and I can't even look at one without the stupid nymphs taking him away. They just bat their eyes and the boys fall all over them." I made a show of shaking my hips and blinking rapidly in mockery.

"I've never kissed a boy."

"You know what I mean!" Herakles was a jerk sometimes. His rules were designed to prevent me from ever having a boyfriend. There were moments when I didn't think I'd care; my interests lay in martial arts and sports. If not for the nymphs conspiring to steal any boys I lured away from the campground and always taunting me about everything, I wouldn't look twice at a boy. But I shared one sole trait with the nymphs: competitiveness. I wanted so badly to best them at something and earn enough respect not to be bullied every day for the rest of my life.

"You could try studying harder," Herakles suggested.

"Right. Like that's going to get me a boyfriend."

"There is more to life than boys and whatever else it is your head is full of," Herakles reminded me. "You don't need a man anyway. You can take care of yourself. I've trained you to survive anything."

"I know I don't need one. I want one so the nymphs stop laughing at me. Just for a day, then I'd let him go like you free the rabbits I catch."

"You noticed."

I arched my eyebrow at him. "I figured it out after I caught the same one every day for a week when I was, like, sixteen. You know the nymphs don't have to hunt rabbits, don't you? They don't have to run every day or build their own campfires and shelters on the weekends. They get to go to town, Herakles, and see movies!" I sighed, tortured by my miserable existence. "Can I be normal? Just for one weekend?"

"Normal people aren't prepared for their world to change or to face the trials awaiting them."

"The zombies apocalypse isn't coming. The priests say the world has never known a time of greater peace and prosperity and the gods are happier than ever."

"An apocalypse is not required to announce itself," he stated.

I bit my tongue. I knew better than to argue with Herakles. He was of a singular mind and convinced the world was going to end any day. Nothing I'd ever said over the past twelve years had dented his obsession with self-reliance and survival. I learned to hunt game bigger than me, forage for berries, survive in extreme weather conditions and other skills the nymphs – and even my teachers – often ridiculed. Sometimes he blindfolded me or hobbled one leg or arm so I had to survive for a weekend alone in the forest with simulated physical impediments. He first dropped me off in part of the forest alone with no compass when I was nine. I bawled for a day until he came to get me. Instead of taking me back, we stayed in the forest, and he taught me to navigate by the stars.

No one understood why he made me do these things, least of all me. I obeyed him because, above all else, I loved my Herakles, as weird as he was. While we were accepted here, we didn't fit in at the school filled with nymphs and priests. We had to stick together, two dented peas in a misshapen pod.

"The man you want will be able to outrun, outhunt and outsmart you. When you meet him, you can marry him. Until then, no man will do," Herakles said.

"I don't want to marry anyone," I said. "I just want to kiss him."

"Then you can kiss the man who catches you."

His conditions for me seeing someone were impossibilities. Herakles alone was the only man who could keep up with me. It was his way of saying I'd never have a boyfriend as long as I lived under his roof.

I glanced up at the green canopy overhead. The blue sky resembled puzzle pieces from this angle, and not a cloud was in sight on this warm spring day. What torture did he have in store for me on such a beautiful Friday? I had to climb a rope or navigate whatever obstacle course he built before I was allowed to go to bed at night. Weekends were worse. I was exiled to the forest for more survival training until Sunday night.

He was conditioning and preparing me for something. I had no idea what, and I suspected he was just a little off. A former Olympian, Herakles was the toughest, most honorable person I had ever known. He swept the annual Olympics for three years in a row before he stumbled upon me, rescued me from the house fire that killed my parents and brought us here. He didn't respect anything but physical prowess. He could barely read, and he had an almost allergic reaction to discussing anything regarding emotions.

But he was my hero in every sense of the word.

To this day, I was unable to recall what exactly happened the night I turned six except it involved Herakles catching me when I fell from the sky. Why or how I was flying, I didn't know. I still occasionally dreamt of falling – but no fire. My life changed that night. Herakles was unwilling to talk about it even after I turned eighteen and was considered an adult by everyone but him.

Herakles tugged the sleeve I'd tucked under my bra strap back down over the strange birthmark on my bicep that looked eerily like a double omega. The omega was the final letter in the Greek alphabet, or, according to Herakles, a sign of Armageddon. "Keep this hidden," he reminded me.

"I know." I pulled both sleeves down so I didn't look stupid with only one up.

Picking my way through the forest back towards the compound where we lived, I considered the topic I'd been meaning to broach to him but hadn't quite figured out the best way yet.

"We haven't talked about graduation," I started. "It's in three weeks."

"The world might end tomorrow. You should not think too far beyond today."

"Omigods, Herakles! I'm eighteen, and I'm graduating in three weeks! I want to go home!" Too late I realized I'd told him what I had hope to discuss in a calmer manner. I didn't look back at him but focused on the path at my feet.

"You know there is nothing for you there."

"So you've told me every time I asked. But I have to go somewhere," I pointed out. "College. Waitress at a fast food joint. Holy Zeus, I'd become an initiate at a temple."

"No temple would have you."

It wasn't the first time I'd heard that, either. The priests didn't consider me disciplined or selfless or motivated enough to refer me for a position in the elite initiate corps. Half of the nymphs were headed to temples of the Greek gods while others were being sent to the households of influential politicians and nobles around the world. I could speak English, Greek and French like they did – a requirement to become an initiate – but my grades were sorry and my temperament deemed too unsuitable to be placed in a position where diplomacy and manipulation was required.

"You have more freedom here than the average person living beneath the thumb of the Supreme Magistrate will ever know," he said. "Why do you wish to leave?"

"Because that's what kids who graduate high school do. They get a life. Join the real world."

"Where did you learn this? Television?" He was genuinely confused. He rarely spoke of his childhood, but I'd assessed over the years that his own upbringing had been very different. "I must talk to the priests about censoring the programs they let you girls watch."

"They already monitor everything we watch. I guess I just want to know... where do we go next? Because we are leaving, right?" I asked, sensing I was doomed to work at a fast food joint the rest of my life, if he let me leave at all.

"We are. But I'm not yet certain where."

"You've only had twelve years to figure it out," I shot back with some exasperation. "I want to see the world, Herakles, or at least somewhere beyond this forest."

"Until I know for sure –"

"– stay inside the boundaries." I wasn't allowed to travel beyond the red cord lining the perimeter of the priests' quiet property. Since arriving when I was six, I had never left. The nymphs went to town every weekend to shop or watch movies or eat food and whatever else they did that Herakles didn't approve of. It had to be more fun than navigating the forest in the rain with nothing more than a poncho and a knife while Herakles timed how long it took me to get home to make sure I wasn't slacking before the inevitable end of the world.

We reached the edge of the greens where the compound proper started. Daydreaming about what was to come when I finally graduated, I missed Herakles stiffening.

"This isn't good," he said.

Blinking out of my thoughts, I stopped to see him staring at the long driveway leading from the road to the massive manor house that acted as our home and school. The priests had erected two small temples, one for a Titan god named Lelantos and another for the Olympic goddess Artemis, behind the school, beside the stables.

There was an extra car parked in front of the school, a black sedan with darkened windows. "We've had a lot of visitors lately," I said, unconcerned. "I imagine the employers of the nymphs are coming to interview them."

"It's not an employer."

The car wasn't there to take me away to the real world, and I doubted it was the first zombie from the apocalypse we were preparing for. Therefore, the vehicle's appearance meant nothing to me. "Okay. I'm going to my room."

Herakles paid me no heed and jogged towards the car.

I circled the house to the back entrance where the stairwell leading directly to our rooms was located. I took the stairs two at a time and strode down the landing of the girls' wing towards my room.

"Lyssa!" someone called as I passed.

"What?" I paused and stepped back, peering into the room of one of the nymphs, a willowy blonde named Leandra. She was finishing her makeup and wore a sparkly party dress.

"Wanna go to town with us tonight?" Leandra asked innocently.

"I hate my life," I muttered.

She laughed.

But I didn't leave. Playing on her television were news clips of the footage I'd missed two weeks ago when I spent my eighteenth birthday in the middle of the forest, shivering and buried beneath leaves in the final cold snap of spring, during one of Herakles weekend tests. The priests censored everything that reached us from the outside world, including the news. They removed what they didn't want us to see before letting us watch what was left.

"Hey, is that..." I asked and walked into her room.

"Yeah." A wistful note was in Leandra's voice.

It took a lot to make the perfect, beautiful nymphs envy someone else. For once, I understood where she was coming from.

"The Silent Queen," I said in awe, gazing at the television. The Queen of Greece, known as the Silent Queen because she hadn't been seen or heard from until this month, was plastered everywhere on the news. A girl my age, she was stunning with white-blonde hair, pale blue eyes and a jawline sharp enough to cut ice. "Wow."

"She's just a symbol of the unity of gods and mankind. No real power." But even Leandra sounded enthralled by the woman on the television. "She can't speak. She gave her first address in sign language."

"Wow," I murmured again. In a sparkling diamond tiara and radiant silk dress, the teen looked more godlike than human. She was flanked by the Supreme Magistrate – the powerful political representative of humanity – and the hooded and masked Supreme Priest – the gods' advocate on Earth. The three most powerful figures in the world were known as the Sacred Triumvirate, and each had his or her own private security force, according to the priests, which was how they balanced their power.

I couldn't look away from the Silent Queen. The priests had drilled the history and importance of the hereditary Bloodline into us since we arrived. The Silent Queen's ancestors were touched by the gods, and it was said only she could appeal directly to them in a way that defied even the priesthood. Throughout history, once Greece fell as a global power, the most powerful nation on the planet was given the sacred duty of protecting the Bloodline and housing the royal leader, which was how she ended up here in the United States. "She's amazing."

"I'm sure she's been Photshopped for television," Leandra said somewhat defensively.

I rolled my eyes. The nymphs knew they were special. There was something strange about thirty orphaned women of extreme beauty and charm, all born within three months of me, all under the strict protection of an orphanage run by priests who didn't hold weekly worship ceremonies but taught us instead the Old Ways, as they called them. They were positioning the nymphs in places of eventual power, where they could then share the Old Ways with others.

If our world was strange, we had no idea. As far as we knew, this place and its customs were normal.

"I've been assigned to her court," Leandra said.

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

It made sense. Leandra was a hair prettier than the others and quite a bit smarter, according to the priests. I was suddenly crushed that I might end up taking food orders from hung over college students the rest of my life while the others went off to positions I could only dream of.

"Where are you going?" she asked, green eyes finding me. "To live with the Mountainman on some isolated peak?"

"He's not a Mountainman," I said, bristling. "He's the greatest Olympic athlete in history."

"A disgraced one who ditched his wealthy benefactor to live in a forest with us. He's absolutely mad, and he's turned you wild and ruined any chance you had at a decent future."

My anger bubbled. I knew better than to cause a fight. I had stopped that nonsense when I was fifteen, but there were moments when I wanted to sock the pretty, perfect women around me.

My biggest issue with Leandra wasn't that she was mean. It was that she was often right, and her words about Herakles stung. There was something wrong with him, and I sometimes thought maybe that meant there was something wrong with me, too. It was why I didn't turn out like Leandra and the others and why I was definitely not going to the Silent Queen's court.

I squinted to see the ticker at the bottom of the news. Civil unrest grows. Supreme Magistrate places five more states under martial rule over SISA's objections. That made about forty states under martial rule by my count. The priests refused to tell us about the civil unrest when we asked, but sometimes, like today, tiny pieces of information slipped through their censoring and made it to us. I was dying to know what the world outside our boring forest was like.

"When I get to court, I'll find you a job chopping wood or something," Leandra said with a wide grin.

I stormed off to my room, followed by the sound of her laughter. I loved Herakles like the father I couldn't remember, but there were days I was really embarrassed to be me. I hated that feeling. I had trouble making friends, more so because Herakles often had some bizarre requirement for me to hang out with someone. Boys had to be able to outrun me, and girls had to solve a riddle. No one ever succeeded at his challenges, except for the perfect little nymphs who hung out with me only to laugh at me.

Basically, I was always alone, and he seemed determined to keep it that way. I felt even more isolated knowing the nymphs all had plans of where they were going after graduation and I didn't.

I went to my room and closed the door, sitting on my bed. I had barely pushed off my shoes before there was a tap at the door. "Come in," I said and tossed myself onto my back.

"Lyssa, I have to leave for the weekend."

Startled, I immediately sat back up. "Where? Why?" I demanded of Herakles, who had never left me for half a day let alone a weekend. "Is something wrong?"

"No." His features were scarred beyond recognition, his smile lopsided and frightening. Everyone else winced when he looked their direction, but I loved every knotted scar and burnt piece of flesh on his face. He was my protector, my friend, the only father figure I knew. He had always been beautiful to me. "You are to travel to the eastern boundary and back this weekend. Here's your surprise pack. Open it when you get there." He tossed the satchel onto the bed beside me.

"Ugh." I eyed it warily. He no doubt had planned another weekend of torture. I'd probably have a hat and spoon and nothing more to survive two days in the forest alone. While technically I should have had only three more weeks of this madness remaining, I had a feeing his plans were always going to trump mine. "You're sure there's nothing wrong? You've never left me before."

"I'm going to scout somewhere where we might settle after you graduate," he told me.

I looked up, thrilled. "I won't be trapped here for the rest of my life!"

"No, you but you might one day wish you had been." He frowned. Every once in a while, my guardian had a mood I didn't understand. Naturally open, upbeat and focused, his features were now grave and unreadable.

I studied him, wishing I could read his thoughts or make him smile again. "Something is wrong," I assessed.

"Not wrong. It's always complicated to move from one place to another." He shook his head. "Anyway, you have a treasure hunt to complete this weekend. Your tasks are in the bag. You will not wish to wait until morning. I put up several traps and obstacles."

I muttered curses I'd learned from him under my breath. As long as we had been together, I never really knew what to expect on these adventures. "I'll see you Sunday night," I said reluctantly.

"Heed the boundaries and rules."

"I know." I pulled on my shoes obediently and a camouflage windbreaker. When I stood, he smiled at me again.

"Good girl. Don't get lost out there."

It wasn't possible and we both knew it. I'd been over every inch of that forest multiple times. "Have fun in town."

He turned and left.

I grabbed the bag and left my room for the forest once more.

No boys. No future. No town.

There were days when I wanted out of my life so bad, I wanted to scream.

## Chapter Two

Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.

– Demosthenes

Nothing bad had ever happened in five minutes, right?

Just as the sun sank below the horizon, I reached the red cord marking the boundaries of the priests' forest refuge. This end of the woods stopped before a natural lake surrounded by hills. I perched on a tree stump inside the boundaries, gazing at the serene lake with a combination of longing and frustration.

A hundred meters. I ran twenty times that distance five times a week. It would take me under five minutes to run to the lake, strip off my shoes and socks to dip my toes in the water and run back.

I chafed every once in a while at the restrictions Herakles put me under. I cared for him too much to want to disappoint him. But tonight, knowing he was gone, and I'd be leaving here soon, too, I just wanted to throw aside everything and be in control of my life for five minutes to see what it was like. With Leandra's laughter still in my thoughts, and my frustration with this place at a pitch, I was tired of being excluded and ridiculed for being different.

No one would see me if I just stepped past the boundaries for a split second. Herakles had left, and the nymphs were in town by now, so they couldn't report me.

I approached the red rope and nudged my toes up against it then looked around. I half expected there to be a siren or electrical shock or something after the constant reminders from Herakles and the priests never to leave the woods.

Nothing happened.

I stepped on the red cord.

Still nothing.

I stepped over the physical boundary of my world, and a thrill went through me. Not only was there no alarm but I didn't feel guilty or bad for doing it, emotions that might derail me from continuing. I stayed where I was, my heels butting up against the cord, and lifted my gaze to the lake.

The possibilities were endless. My whole life started right here and now.

I laughed at my overdramatic thoughts, realizing nothing was about to change except I might upset Herakles. That alone made me hesitate. I loved my crazy mountainman guardian, and it bothered me to think I was going to make him mad by doing this.

Assuming he finds out. The stubbornly independent side of me he spent hours trying to exhaust with physical activity knew there was only one way he could find out, and I wasn't about to tell him. At least, not for three weeks. Maybe after graduation, when we were on our way to the Burger God I was going to spend my life working at, I'd tell him of the one time in twelve years when I defied him to dip my toes in the lake.

Crouching like it was a race, I breathed in deeply then bolted. There was no real reason to run. I was completely alone, and I laughed as I sprinted, tickled beyond anything to be completely free, if only for mere minutes.

Sprinting to the lake, I kept to my internal promise of not spending more than a few minutes off the property and threw myself to the ground. Wrenching off my shoes and socks, I scooted to the edge of the lake and dangled my legs over the rock on which I sat.

The moment my feet dipped beneath the cool surface, my world seemed to slow to a stop. I leaned over, marveling at the sensations. It shouldn't have been, but this was somehow different than a pool. This felt... alive.

"Holy Poseidon," I murmured.

The sensation of being united with something living moved through my system, a wave that ran from my toes to the tip of my head, in rhythm with the water, then outward, rippling the grass around the lake. I shivered. Fascinated, I peered into the dark depths of the lake. My feet caused small waves that were pushed back by the natural tides of the lake. Deep within the depths, I caught a glimmer of something odd.

I squinted in the fading light. They weren't fish or rocks or anything. The lake was too deep to see its bottom, but I swore I saw ribbons of soft colors twisting like smoke through the waters. Their movements were too precise to be dictated by the tides. I blinked – and they were gone.

Realizing my five minutes were up, I lifted my feet and dried them on my pants legs then replaced my shoes and socks. I didn't feel nearly as urgent about returning to the forest where I'd spent most of my life and ambled back. It was strange, but I could almost feel the tide of the lake still moving through me, rocking from toes to head and back again before rustling the grass around me. It was gentle, soothing and peaceful. I was an extension of the water, and it felt natural, nice.

I had nothing to compare the experience to and couldn't help wondering if I'd spent my entire life cut off from such small pleasures. It made me despise the nymphs even more, since they probably spent every weekend feeling whatever this was out in the real world.

Stepping over the red rope, the internal rocking stopped, and I realized it hadn't only been the lake I felt. The breeze that stirred the surface of the lake stopped at the barrier, too, and its gentle touch on my skin fell away.

I missed them almost as soon as I left them. Facing the lake once more, I smiled. If nothing else, I now knew one of the secrets of the world outside my boundaries, and it was beautiful.

Beyond happy with my secret adventure, I moved five meters from the cord to an area big enough for a fire and built a little campsite. My assigned kit contained a canteen of water and the ingredients for s'mores. Herakles' thoughtfulness only added to my happiness. I went through my tasks of finding shelter, starting a fire and stretching out on the ground to watch the stars with a smile plastered on my face. After my treats, I let the fire die out and retreated to a small shelter I'd created from a poncho and tree branches. I had brought a sleeping bag and crawled into it.

My mind was on the lake, on my future and how incredible it was going to be to leave the compound once and for all and join the rest of the world. I slid into deep, contented sleep.

Something awoke me shortly before dawn. I opened my eyes, senses trained on the world outside my makeshift tent. Animals used their instincts and intuition better than humans, and Herakles had emphasized being more like the locals when camping out. So I listened in silence and stillness.

An animal was rustling quietly, but it wasn't close, and it wasn't in the forest, which meant it was large if I could hear it this far off. The sounds came from the direction of the lake. I crept out of my sleeping bag and covered the distance quickly between me and the boundary. Reaching the stump where I often perched to gaze at the lake, I squatted on top of it and stared.

It was an animal, but nothing like I'd seen before. Monster was probably a better description. The creature had a wingspan of ten meters and was the size of a linebacker with the long, lean musculature and grace of a feline. It stood on two legs and had two arms that looked pretty human. The sound I heard was of its long tail tapping the brush lining the bank of the lake. Its skin was an unnatural shade of stone grey. One of its ears stuck out at an odd angle and its eyes glowed like blue jewels in the night. It had fangs, talons, and a barbed tail, and its eyes were positioned facing forward, all of which were characteristics of a predator of some sort and not something I cared to confront.

It stood where I had sat earlier, peering at the lake, at the surrounding area, at the sky. It crouched beside the lake, tail tapping against the dirt.

It was horrifying – and magnificent. I couldn't have imagined a more incredible combination of man and beast. The raw power it exuded in each tiny, controlled movement exceeded anything a human or traditional predator possessed.

This is a dream. It had to be. No such creature existed, unless it was some sort of undiscovered animal or leftover dinosaur. And if that were the case, I didn't think this would be the first time I'd seen it. I spent too many days and nights in the forest for it to belong here. Where it had originated, and why it chose here to stop, I couldn't begin to guess.

There was intelligence in its movement and visual exploration of the environment. The man-beast hybrid wasn't something I was able to explain away. I pinched my arm to ensure I was awake. The light sting wasn't much of a reassurance when faced with a monster from a nightmare.

It stood and unfurled its wings. They were charcoal in color, lined with black fur, beautiful and wide, shaped neither like a bat's nor a bird's but something in between. With ease that left me astonished, one flap of the mighty wings propelled the creature into the sky effortlessly. Within seconds, it had disappeared into the clouds above.

For once, I was grateful for the red cords marking the boundaries of the property. The priests claimed they would protect us from unwanted attention. The creature hadn't glanced once in my direction, which made me think the ropes were working. Or maybe I was blessed by Tyche for once.

I stood on the tree stump, trying to get another glimpse of the beast in the clouds without success.

My gaze returned to the lake. What other surprises awaited me in the outside world? Was this creature the reason why the priests insisted I never cross the boundaries and if so, had I risked being eaten or killed when I left the forest earlier for the lake?

I shuddered, this time out of dread. If the priests knew, the creature would be on the list of animals to avoid they kept posted in the main schoolhouse as a warning of what wildlife not to engage.

No one, except maybe Herakles, was going to believe me if I told them about the creature. Easing back from the edge of the property, I returned to my shelter but wasn't able to sleep again, not with the knowledge something like that was hovering in the clouds above the forest. I silently thanked Herakles for his survival training and insistence I carry a knife with me wherever I went. I clutched it in my hand and remained still until dawn swept across the sky. Only then did I start to relax again and packed up my tent.

Bad things didn't happen during daylight, I told myself. I clung to the childish notion and decided to disobey Herakles for a second time.

I was going back to the school today without completing my assigned treasure hunt. There was no way I was spending another night in the forest while some creature big enough to eat me was on the loose. Bears were one thing, but this... this was something even I knew better than to mess with.

It was a four hour trek back to the center of the property. I hiked through the forest, always sensitive to the fact there were creatures that lived here. While I'd catch and eat them if I had to, I also wasn't going to disturb their daily lives by leaving messes or destroying their homes. Herakles was strict about appreciating and respecting the domain of Artemis and Dionysis and all their children.

My mind kept returning to the creature. I wasn't able to flush the image of the terrifying creature standing beside the lake from my thoughts. It didn't seem to be a part of nature, yet it had to be. Everything was, except for the gods and goddesses, who were still part of nature, just a different nature from ours.

Lost in thought, I didn't notice the drone of an airplane until it roared overhead. I looked up, unaccustomed to hearing them quite so low, but not alarmed to see the plane. A municipal airport was nearby. It was how the priests brought in guest speakers and other visitors from outside the area.

Unconcerned, I continued on my hike, unable to prevent the occasional look over my shoulder. I'd hear the creature if it was following me, but similarly to my hope that bad things didn't happen during the day, I wasn't fully convinced.

The tip of the roof of the manor house was soon visible through the trees. Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet quaked. I caught myself against a tree and was about to curse under my breath when an explosion ripped through the air. Fire belched into the sky from the direction of the compound. I stared at it and the black smoke chasing it before bolting towards home.

My heart filled my ears, and I mentally went through one of the checklists Herakles forced me to recite during exercises. I was assessing what the sound was and how many priests were present during the weekend when I reached the edge of the greens and stopped.

The mansion was in flames. The small plane had smashed straight into it before exploding. Smoke billowed off the building into the sky while two priests in brown robes stood, stunned, in the greens. I hesitated only a moment before racing to them.

"Father Cristopolos!" I cried.

Both faced me. "Thank the gods," Father Cristopolos breathed. The eldest of the priests, he was around fifty, bald and beefy.

"Are you hurt? Herakles and I have a stash of medical –"

"Come with me." Rather than race towards the fire and those who might need help, Father Cristopolos snatched my arm and hurried towards the forest, back from the direction I just came.

"But – " I twisted, worried about those who might be trapped in the wreckage or fire.

"You are not to leave the forest!"

"Father, I can –"

"You are not to leave the forest!" This time he squeezed my arm tightly enough that my attention went from what was happening behind us to his face. His features were blanched, his eyes bulging and jaw clenched so hard, the muscles of his cheeks ticked.

We reached the forest, and he pushed me behind the tree line. Whipping off the red cord belt he wore, he tossed it at the edge of the greens.

"Do not cross the boundary," he ordered.

"What? But –"

"Alessandra!" He snatched both my arms and shook me until I met his gaze. "Do not step past the boundary or all we have done here for the past twelve years is destroyed."

I had no idea what he was talking about, but his face and unusual intensity scared me. The normally calm priest was freaking out. "Okay," I said, concerned. "Do you want to know where our medical stash is?"

"We have our own." Without another word, he whirled and hurried back to join the other priest, who had moved to help a third stumble out of the collapsing building.

I watched helplessly, hating to be excluded like usual. The red belt near my feet was expanding and stretching the way the boundaries did whenever the priests adjusted them. There was some sort of magic in the cords, and the red rope snaked quickly away to outline the perimeter of the greens. I didn't understand the importance of a barrier that didn't actually prevent people from coming and going and paced, aching to help.

It wasn't the apocalypse, but I was trained for emergency response and dressing wounds caused by pretty much anything.

Instead, I was sidelined again by the priests, left out when I should have been helping.

All of the nymphs and most of the staff were in town for the day. The five priests who stayed back were soon all accounted for with only one injured. I watched them huddle and speak, guessing they needed to figure out how to house thirty nymphs now that a plane had gone done in the middle of the compound. The building imploded completely into piles of rubble while everything that could burn continued to do so.

I stressed about wanting to help until the fire department came and put out the blaze. One priest was taken away in an ambulance while the others were checked out by paramedics and released.

I stayed in the forest, saddened to see my home of twelve years destroyed while also hoping this was the impetus to enter the real world and go to a hotel for the rest of the weekend.

I nibbled on food I'd taken for my camping trip. The firemen left the smoldering ruins of our home around one, and I stared glumly at the scene before me. I began to think the priests had forgotten about me when Father Cristopolos pointed in my direction.

Perking up, I stood as my favorite priest, Father Ellis, headed towards me.

"Is Father Thiebauld okay?" I asked immediately.

"His arm was broken and he had some burns," Father Ellis replied. "But he will be fine. The EMTs said he'd be released tonight."

"And the rest of you?"

"We are well, Lyssa," he assured me.

"Why wouldn't Father Cristopolos let me help?" I demanded. "I know how to handle this situation." Well, I thought I did at least. Herakles always said I was too eager to want to try my hand at disaster, that there were things I would never understand until I went through them.

Father Ellis smiled. "I know," he said kindly.

Mollified, I drew a deep breath. "No survivors from the plane?"

"There was no one to survive. The plane crash was meant to break the boundaries. Hence the new one." He pointed to the red cord near my feet.

I arched an eyebrow at him. "Someone did this on purpose?"

"Lyssa, I need to ask you something, and I need you to tell me the truth," he said quietly.

"I always do."

"Did you leave the boundaries at any point recently? Or ever?"

My flushing face answered his question.

"I need to know when and where," he said.

"Does it matter right now? I mean, shouldn't we figure out where we're going to put all the nymphs? I doubt they can survive in the forest," I pointed out.

"We have it all figured out. The girls will stay in town. You will remain in the forest for now."

I frowned, dismayed. "That's not fair!"

"Now, where did you step outside the boundaries?" Father Ellis was always good at deflating my anger and tantrums. It was hard to oppose him when he was quiet, gentle and genuinely the nicest priest on staff.

"By the lake," I sighed and pointed in the general direction.

"When?"

"Sundown last night."

He appeared thoughtful, gaze on the charred ruins of our home.

"It was only for, like, ten minutes," I added quickly. "I wanted to dip my toes in the water."

"Did you?"

I nodded.

"How was it?" he asked almost absently.

"Amazing. So much better than the pool."

"Did anything happen at the lake?"

My mouth dropped open. It wasn't possible for him to know about the creature, yet he was asking the question like he did. At my silence, he met my gaze with another of his calm smiles.

"Whatever you did, it's okay, Lyssa. I just need to know," he said.

"I didn't do anything!" I replied. "I dipped my feet then went back to the forest. Then..." I drifted off and shifted feet, not sure how to tell him about the creature without sounding crazy. "Well... I saw something at the lake early this morning."

He waited, brows furrowing.

"It was a creature of some sort. Wings, tail, standing on two feet." I cleared my throat.

"This... creature. Did you speak to it?"

"Oh, no. I stayed in the forest. It was kind of freaky."

By his expression, this wasn't the news he was expecting, though he wasn't surprised either. "Grotesque."

"It wasn't gross. I'd probably say terrifying."

"No, Lyssa," he said with another patient smile. "It's called a grotesque. It's like a gargoyle only different."

"A gargoyle," I repeated. "It was ugly enough. Never heard of gargoyles flying around, though."

"The grotesque has been rumored to exist in the service of the Triumvirate. Glimpses are seen every once in a while but have never been confirmed."

"Um, okay." The old man's lost it. Then again, I was the one who witnessed said creature.

An awkward silence fell between us. My gaze drifted once more to the school.

"So what's the plan?" I asked. "Have classes in a tent or something?"

"The plan is to move the girls out to their assignments immediately instead of waiting for graduation and for you to go to a similar site."

"But I'm supposed to graduate and move on, too. Why do I need to go to another stupid school?"

"Father Cristopolos will tell you." He glanced at me. For the first time since arriving, I sensed he was hiding something. I had always found the monks and their dedication to the Old Ways mysterious, but I never felt like their secrets pertained to me. Whatever he wasn't saying about me, however, snagged my attention.

The remaining three priests approached. I bowed my head to each of them as was appropriate. They exchanged looks I wasn't able to decipher but which made me uneasy.

Father Cristopolos addressed me. "Alessandra, why don't you take us to your and Herakles' favorite spot in the forest. I think it's a meadow?"

I nodded. My pulse was starting to race at the calm request. I'd wanted the attention of the priests my whole life and watched them dote over the nymphs instead. Now that the four of them were focused on me, I suddenly wanted them to leave me alone. "This way," I said quietly and spun on my heel, leading them deeper into the forest. "Was Herakles in the house or something?" I asked uneasily, unable to identify why they wanted to go to my favorite place.

No one answered. They simply followed me.

I swallowed hard, edgy and scared that something had happened to Herakles. For all my complaining about the forest adventures and him not letting me near boys, I loved him. He was the only father I really remembered, and I wasn't going to handle it well if something happened to him.

Maybe they know that. Maybe that was why four priests were following me, in case I went crazy and they had to tie me up or something. My sense of dread grew as we approached the meadow where Herakles and I trained. My step slowed out of fear of the bad news they'd give me once we reached it.

Setting foot in the meadow, I faced them with my arms crossed. "Is Herakles okay?" I asked and braced myself for bad news.

"He is well," Father Cristopolos replied.

I sighed. "Omigods. Then why all this?" I demanded and waved at their grave visages.

"We need to talk to you about your future," Father Ellis replied.

"Now? After our home was just destroyed?"

"Our home was destroyed because you left the boundaries," another of the priests, Father Renoir, replied coolly. He was probably my least favorite staff member.

"Renny," Father Ellis said gently. "This is a delicate situation."

"What're you talking about?" I asked. "So I left the boundaries for ten minutes. Am I being expelled for it? The nymphs go to town every weekend!"

"My dear," Father Ellis approached. "This all exists because of you. The school. The orphanage and property."

I waited, not understanding.

"Once every great while, a very special woman comes along," Father Cristopolos started. "Someone with great power that rivals the gods'."

"Yeah. The Oracle of Delphi who becomes the bridge between humans and gods," I recited from class. "They found the new one. Again." There had been five new Oracles found the past year alone, though they all turned out to be frauds.

"Focus, Alessandra," Father Cristopolos said with tried patience. "You are about to learn how different the world is from the sanctuary we created here, from the education we've given you. We brought you here to protect you from gods and men, to teach you how to survive in a world that wishes you crippled so they can use you. We wanted you to be the strong woman you are so you can bring back the Old Ways and save our people from wrath of the gods."

"You aren't making sense," I said with a glance at Father Ellis. There was a reason he was usually the priest dealing with me, and it was because I didn't really care for the flowery diplomacy of the others.

"The Oracle is captured and held in a state of tortured suspension, Lyssa," Father Ellis said. "Every second of her life is filled with pain and suffering. She is kept immobilized physically and her powers harnessed for use by gods and politicians, to keep the bridge between the world of the gods and our Earth open, to use her power to suppress the people. The process is one of excruciating pain. But without her, the gods cannot draw off their sources of power and interfere with human affairs."

I listened, able to follow Father Ellis' explanation better than Father Cristopolos'.

"Twelve years ago, her successor was accidentally found during a raid and brought to us. We have protected her since then, sheltered her and most importantly, shielded her from discovery. These cords," he motioned to the rope he wore at his waist, "are infused with the power of invisibility granted to us by our patron Lelantos, the Titan of everything unseen, whose goal has been to protect the next Oracle. Our patron goddess, Artemis, granted us this forest to hide you in. When you are enclosed by the cords, you cannot be seen by men or gods, only by Lelantos."

"When you stepped outside the boundaries, everyone was able to see you again. The attack on our school was the first step. They cannot see you while you are here, so they destroyed the school to break Lelantos' magic and will send in a ground force next to find you," Father Cristopolos added.

They gazed at me.

I stared back.

"For the love of the gods... you're the Oracle, Lyssa," Father Renoir snapped. "You revealed our location, and now, there is probably nowhere for us to hide where we won't be hunted down and slaughtered like you hunt rabbits."

I don't slaughter rabbits. The irrational thought gave way to astonishment. I laughed. "No, no! You all have always told me I'm the least special orphan here, that I was graced by Tyche to be around the nymphs, who really are special!" I said with a shake of my head. "This is a well thought out practical joke, though." My gaze fell to Father Ellis.

He wasn't smiling. In fact, he appeared dead serious.

I choked on another laugh. There was no way – no way – their claim was real. "I don't have godly powers! I don't even get an allowance."

"The cords shield you from the world and the world from you," Father Ellis replied. "It prevents your power from awakening. Why else do you think we permitted Herakles to train you as he did? To survive at the hands of humans and gods, you need to be able to adapt to any circumstance if you are to fulfill your destiny."

None of this made sense to me. Something really weird was going on, and only I seemed to realize it. My chest was being squeezed by an invisible hand. I couldn't wrap my head around how any of this was possible – but they truly believed it, no matter how insane it sounded. "I'll play this weird game. My destiny. What is it?"

"To break the bridge and send the gods back where they belong. To return humanity to the Old Ways, to freedom," Father Renoir said quietly. "You need only outlive the current Oracle. We hoped to hide you until that day when she passed, after which, you could live a normal life once the gods were gone. It is the deal we struck with Lelantos, the reason he wanted you hidden, and the promise we made to Artemis, whose heart has been weighed down with the treatment of each Oracle. When she discovered you were only a child, she offered us her help. We must in turn deliver on our promise."

I wanted to laugh, but something about the severity of their features stopped me. Everyone knew Artemis had a soft spot for little girls in trouble and about the brittle nature of the relationship between the Olympic gods and Titans after the war that saw the Titans exiled to another dimension. The Titans swore vengeance. The idea I was in any way involved in the doings of gods, when I'd barely been allowed to participate in sports on campus, was absolutely crazy. "You guys can't be serious!"

"We are, Alessandra. And now that they know where you are, they'll be hunting you."

"They... who?"

"Everyone." Father Ellis said with a shrug. "The Supreme Magistrate will hire, coerce or order all of those beneath him to locate you, and the Supreme Priest will enlist SISA to do the same. You are worth more material wealth than anything that exists today. The gods will reward whoever finds you with... I can't imagine. A priest knows nothing of wealth except the reward is beyond the most ambitious dream of anyone alive."

"You're starting to scare me," I said. "If this is a joke, it needs to end now." I searched the face of each. "If this is not a joke, then..." It was the craziest thing I'd ever heard. I had spent my life being treated like a burden by the priests and ugly little stepsister by the nymphs only to find out this? That I was the reason we were all in the forest? That everyone on the planet was searching for me?

That the Supreme Magistrate, the most powerful man in the world, and the person the priests despised most, knew who I was?

"We will have to go to the alternate plan," Father Renoir said. "We need to reach the existing Oracle."

Father Cristopolos responded, but my thoughts were in splinters after the bombshell they dropped on me. I struggled to swallow it all and do what Herakles trained me: focus on what had to be done next.

"Anyone have a cell phone?" I asked. "I need to talk to Herakles."

They fell silent and exchanged another look. "That won't be possible," Father Cristopolos replied.

"Because..." I prodded.

"Because your disobedience not only cost us the school, but tipped off someone who knew to look for him," Father Renoir replied. "He was captured."

"No. He's too strong." Even as I said the words, I had the urge to run, to find him and demand he refute the story the priests were telling me.

"You're right, honey. He's probably distracting them to give us time to evacuate you," Father Ellis said.

"Then we have to go get him!"

"Think about this, Alessandra. Assume everything we're telling you is the truth, if you can't believe it outright. People will give anything, do anything, to find you. The best thing you can do to help Herakles is to not be where he thinks you are. He loses his value to his captors at that point."

"And they'll free him?" I asked.

"Possibly."

It wasn't a ringing reassurance. If action movies were remotely based on reality, Herakles was probably in danger of being killed if he wasn't useful to his captors. I was starting to worry this all was real. "All this just because I stepped outside the boundaries." It seemed too crazy to be true.

"It was inevitable," Father Ellis replied. "It was foolish of us to think we could cage you forever. What's important is we find a safe place for you now."

"And rescue Herakles," I pressed.

"Herakles is the strongest man in the world. Chances are he will buy us time and won't need our help to escape," Father Cristopolos said.

For once, he made sense. I didn't see Herakles staying anywhere involuntarily. "Can I ask where he went at least?"

"Washington DC," Father Ellis answered.

I was born and lived just out side of DC until I turned six. If everyone in the world was looking for me, I doubted I could walk into the nation's capitol and find Herakles unnoticed. Not that I was buying this nonsense...

Except that I kind of was. I was scared enough to believe what they said without understanding exactly what it meant to be someone of importance. To be hunted.

To be an Oracle, the most cherished and highly regarded human in existence. It made little sense after my humble upbringing here.

"Where do I go?" I asked quietly, unable to dispel the urge to find Herakles, no matter what the priests said.

"We have a backup plan. We're waiting for someone who will take you elsewhere."

"Who?"

Fathers Cristopolos and Ellis looked at one another briefly in silent communication I didn't particularly care for. "You needn't worry," Father Ellis said. "I'll be going with you. In the meantime, I need you to keep this on no matter what." He stepped forward and took my arm, wrapping a piece of red cord around my wrist.

I felt no different but assumed it was like the boundaries of my home, capable of blocking me and the world from one another.

"Do you have any belongings you need to collect?" Father Cristopolos asked.

I shook my head. I owned nothing of value.

"Very well. Remain here with Father Ellis."

The four of them turned and left. I watched them. This didn't feel any more real than watching the strange grotesque-creature at the lake. It had to be a dream. A joke. An epic mistake.

"Things are about to change," Father Ellis said. "It's only right I give you this." He held out a small pouch. "Herakles left it with me for safekeeping in case something happened. I think this qualifies. It belongs to you."

I accepted the small velvet pouch and opened it. Something glimmered inside. I dumped it into my hand and stared at it. A teal gem set in a plain chain with a bronze finish nestled into my palm. It was huge, clear and so bright, it almost seemed to glow. Its multifaceted surface reflected sunlight and caused faint rainbows to appear in the air around it.

"This is... wow," I breathed. "It's mine?" Even as I asked the question, I knew the answer. It felt like it belonged to me. The strange sense wasn't something I'd ever experienced before.

"Yes. It was all you brought with you when you arrived. You don't remember how you came to have such an incredible piece of jewelry?"

I shook my head. "I don't remember anything from before the day we arrived here," I murmured. I closed my hand around the gem and considered replacing it in the pouch. It didn't seem natural or right for me not to wear what was mine. I tugged it over my head and tucked it into my t-shirt. The gem settled against my chest.

"It's special, whatever it is," he said.

I know. Uncertain how it was possible for me to understand a gem I'd only now laid eyes on, I stepped away, too wired to be still.

Father Ellis sat down and closed his eyes to meditate.

"How can you pray at a time like this?" I asked in agitation.

"What better time is there to pray than when you're in trouble?"

To each his own. I rolled my eyes.

## Chapter Three

There is nothing permanent except change.

– Heraclitus

How fast could reality, a world, life in general, transform into something I never knew existed?

I was waiting for Father Ellis to laugh and tell me he was joking about everything. But as the next two hours passed in silence, he didn't change his story. He was quiet and calm, choosing to meditate in the peaceful meadow. I initially paced then sat and stared at the sky, lost.

Everything they'd said began to sink in. When I realized this was real or at least, the priests believed it to be real, I also knew I had to do something. I stood. The monk was seated cross legged in meditation, his eyes closed.

"I'm going to get my emergency pack," I told him. I waited for him to tell me not to bother, because they were messing with me.

He opened his eyes. "Is it far?"

"Half hour."

"I'll wait here."

My insides were shaking when I turned away and started into the forest. Yesterday, I was desperate to leave the forest. Today, I was scared of the same thing. It was stupid of me to be so worked up! I didn't buy the idea of me having power, but I did know we couldn't stay here when the place we all lived was destroyed.

And there's Herakles. He was the strongest man alive and had been for fifteen years. But I worried about him. If there was something else going on here, like maybe the priests were lying to me for some reason or hiding something worse, then I wanted him with me. I trusted him. I loved him.

I couldn't leave him trapped in someone's basement or prison or wherever he was. Even refusing to believe that I was the Oracle, I found myself looking closely at the red cord around my wrist and wondering if it really did what the priests said it did – hid me from the world.

I moved through the forest to the place where we kept emergency packs and stopped at the base of the large, old tree in whose trunk we'd stuffed supplies. Pulling on the pack, I tightened the straps and rifled through the other supplies to make sure I wouldn't need them.

The crack of a branch made me tense, and I straightened, listening.

Someone was there. Not the priests, who didn't know how to walk with discipline, but someone who was trying to navigate the forest without being discovered. The occasional brush of cloth on wood, the careful placement of slow footsteps...

Pulling free my knife, I faced the direction of whoever was following me. "I can hear you," I called.

There was a pause, as if the forest was waiting, too. Finally someone spoke.

"I seem to have gotten lost," the man said. He eased out from behind a thick tree trunk.

The stranger was dressed in the type of clothing indicating he wasn't a lost camper but someone who wanted to blend in with his environment. He carried several hunting knives and was built like he knew how to use them. His exposed forearms were scarred where there was no tattoo sleeve. A tattoo wound around his neck and disappeared into the clothing covering his chest. He was too handsome to be a priest by far, but it was the gleam in his eyes – the spark of a predatory awareness Herakles had taught me to be wary of – that disturbed me. He had the look of a soldier, aside from his medium length hair.

"Where are you trying to go?" I asked and eased away from the stash of supplies.

"You with the orphanage?"

"Where are you trying to go?" I repeated.

He snorted. "My employers are located somewhere in this forest. A priest named Cristopolos." His gaze went to our surroundings, and one of the tattoos on his neck stood out. The mark of Hermes – a winged foot – was surrounded by other ornate ink work. Herakles had taught me about the different guilds of the underground society of criminals. I filtered through what he'd forced me to learn to identify the marking.

"You're a mercenary," I said, surprised.

"Not a mercenary. A gladiator," the stranger corrected. "But I do merc work on the side during the off season."

I didn't think someone could bear the tattoo of a mercenary and not be one. Mixed martial artists belonging to the Gladiator Guild were street fighters paid handsomely for beating the daylights out of another of their kind. The line between the legal and illegal markets of being paid to fight was blurry, and I didn't fully understand it except that this man wore a tattoo that designated him to be something other than what he claimed he was.

"So you fight and kill people for money," I said, recalling what the priests told us about one of the occupations they favored least. They looked upon gladiators with disdain and mercenaries with outright horror.

"Not exactly the godly values they teach you, I know."

"I think it's cool. I can fight, too."

"Sure, kid." He flashed an insincere smile. "Which way is it?"

I bit back my response, irritated he didn't believe me. And to call me kid when I was eighteen, an adult by most standards... though today, I felt like I was being treated like a ten year old again. The mercenary was younger than Herakles' age of thirty five, younger than the priests and the age of all my favorite Hollywood actors.

"Whatever," I muttered. "What kind of gladiator gets lost in a tiny forest like this?"

"One hired to fight not to track," he returned.

I was tempted to mislead him to teach him a lesson. A look at him, though, and I recalled what Herakles once said about not deliberately pissing off someone who could pound me into the ground. Priests were one thing. They adhered to strict rules about non-violence. But a gladiator or mercenary was another.

Turning away, I put my knife away and started towards the meadow. "I'll race you there."

"You want to race me?" He fell into step behind me, amused. He was over six feet tall and muscular in a way the teen boys at the campground neighboring the property weren't.

"Why not?" I snapped. "You think I can't run?"

"I think I don't want to explain to the priests what happened to the little girl in the forest who fell and impaled herself on a tree trunk because she tried to race me," he replied with arrogance that made me want to ditch him in the swampy part of the forest where I'd accidentally discovered quicksand one summer.

Really? This man couldn't know I had been raised by the strongest Olympian in the world. Satisfaction sank into me. I loved the opportunity to prove someone wrong, probably because I rarely had the chance.

"See if you can keep up," I challenged and then bolted.

For the first fifty meters, he almost did. I pushed myself harder. I had the advantage of knowing the forest and led him through a route that included a few downed trees.

Larger and heavier than me, the gladiator soon fell behind as he struggled to navigate spaces more suitable to someone my size than his. I reached the meadow triumphant and slowed to a trot as I broke free of the forest and headed back to the priest.

Reaching him, I turned to wait for the gladiator. He appeared a full two minutes later.

"I found the mercenary you hired," I told Father Ellis. "What made you all want to hire someone like that anyway? Don't you hate them?"

Father Ellis climbed to his feet, facing the gladiator striding across the field towards us. "We needed discretion and loyalty. Money buys both," Father Ellis said. "Though we paid for a gladiator of some honor, not a mercenary."

"Yeah, well, he has the tattoo of a merc." I observed the approaching gladiator. He was grinning, as if pleased by the exercise, his sharp gaze on the priest beside me. "Herakles said you should never pay someone like that. Besides, I can take care of myself."

"Not against what comes." Ignoring my look, Father Ellis stepped away to greet the gladiator. "I am Father Ellis. You must be Niko."

"I am." The gladiator shook his hand.

"You're late. We expected you hours ago."

"The airport is locked down. I had to find a creative route here," came the easy response.

I kind of liked that Niko wasn't fazed by the priest's chiding. Niko wasn't really what I expected of a mercenary. I had the vision of a gold-obsessed pirate in my head for some reason, and the clean-shaven, practically attired Niko was nothing like that. The edge of wary arrogance definitely fit the image I'd created.

"You've met your charge, I see," Father Ellis said.

"What? This little girl?" Niko motioned to me. He looked me over critically.

I crossed my arms, irked that even the guy they were paying to take Herakles' place was judging me. Before I could say anything, Father Ellis rested his hand on my forearm.

"Lyssa is humanity's most precious member." Father Ellis had stiffened.

"Coming from a priest who doesn't believe in violence, that doesn't mean much." Niko flashed a quick smile, though his cold eyes were never still. "At least she's tough and can run. I had expected someone more... delicate."

What was worse? Being called a kid who couldn't run or fight or being considered unladylike? Niko wasn't winning any points with me. I wasn't a nymph, but I had outraced him.

"Can you really fight?" Niko asked me.

"I can," I proclaimed. "I can climb, camp, hunt, run, fight... I can do everything."

"She had a very motivated guardian," Father Ellis said with some disapproval. "Neglected her studies. But, she can run."

What was wrong with these people? Judging me for being prepared for the situation they knew was coming? "Whatever. Let's go." I shifted my pack.

"Go where?" Niko asked, gaze once more on Father Ellis.

"To wherever you're taking us," I replied.

"My contract was for stationary service in a place with three squares and a real bed."

I pointed towards the school. "That place was blown up."

"We have a situation," Father Ellis said simultaneously.

Niko planted his hands on his hips.

Seeing the priest squirm under his glare made me very happy after my day. "Are you going to tell him about the ground forces coming?" I prompted innocently.

"Quiet, Lyssa." Father Ellis turned towards the school and began walking. "Come with me. Both of you."

I went, mainly because I had nowhere else to go and a little because I wanted to see Niko and Father Cristopolos in an argument.

"I'm not going anywhere until the contract is defined," Niko stated.

"If you wish to be paid, you will come with me," Father Ellis replied.

I looked over my shoulder as I walked, waiting to see what the mercenary would end up doing. He was watching us unhappily. Finally, he started forward, tense and bristling, eyeing the forest with wariness I didn't share. His long strides closed the distance to Father Ellis and me, and he stepped onto the deer path we walked on.

"Can you really hunt?" he asked me.

"I can."

"Good. At least you'll be useful if your priests try to pull one over on me."

I glanced at him, not liking the sound of that.

"I will take you whether they pay me or not. There's an underground market for someone like you."

"Niko, do not scare her," Father Ellis said. "You will be paid above and beyond what we promised."

"What do you mean, someone like me?" I asked in confusion. "If I am what they think I am, there's only one of someone like me... of me... of whatever you think I am."

"You're an initiate, aren't you?" Niko asked.

"Do I look like an initiate?" I retorted.

"Lyssa, hush!" Father Ellis shot me a look. "Let us deal with him." He stepped from the forest onto the greens. "Father Cristopolos!" he cried. The head priest and Father Renoir stood with a pile of items that had been salvaged from the building.

I started to follow, but all four turned to yell, "Stay in the forest!"

"Oh, my gods!" I groaned and jerked back to make sure I remained where they told me.

Niko appeared amused then hardened as he stepped past the red rope onto the greens. He paused several steps away and turned to face me.

"Who or what do they think you are?" he asked, leveling dark eyes on me.

I fell speechless. There was obviously something going on between him and the priests. It kind of felt like everyone was lying to everyone else. Niko claimed to be a gladiator but was really a mercenary, and the priests told him I was an initiate.

"Hmmm." Niko studied me. He seemed to find answers where I didn't mean to give them. "I'm guessing you're worth much more than they offered. Better hope they're willing to pay to keep me from kidnapping and selling you."

I almost laughed but realized he was serious.

He winked and walked away.

I began to regret not sending him off in some random direction when we met. The fact he was doing this for the money that made me feel a little dirty. Or tainted. Or at least, capable of understanding why the priests looked down upon shady men like him.

Watching them speak, I waited for someone to yell or give some sign it wasn't going well. The distant sound of thunder reached me. There were no clouds in the sky, aside from puffs of smoke left over from the school burning.

Weird. Thunder and no clouds. The earth trembled. I waited for it to pass like it might in an earthquake, but it didn't. The tremor remained constant while the thunder loudened.

With the four of them busy talking, I dropped my pack and scaled a tree quickly. I reached the top and poked my head up above the canopy, expecting to see what I normally did: kilometers of woods followed by a break where the road was and more forestry on the other side of the break.

Trees were being knocked to the ground and flattened by machines I wasn't able to see from this vantage point. It had started near the road and was moving towards us, downing whole swaths of trees for a kilometer stretch.

What could do this to a dense forest of mature trees? Was it the work of the ground forces the priests spoke of? I was embarrassed to admit I had no idea whose ground forces they were referring to or even what ground forces were really. Did the military intend to run over the forest to grab me? Or was it the SISA, the international secret police force tasked with internal security of the human race by the gods?

Was it even legal for someone to mow down an entire forest?

I shimmied down the tree and replaced my pack. The four priests were huddled together a short distance from Niko, whose gaze was on the forest in the direction of the thunder. He alone seemed aware of something being wrong.

Catching my gaze, he lifted his chin back towards the direction we had come and mouthed two words. Run. Now.

Fear lit in my blood, followed by concern for the priests. I stood frozen for a moment, debating what Herakles would have me do.

Survive. And if I was what the priests said I was, I was probably putting them in danger by being with them.

I took one step back then another. Not at all certain I was about to do the right thing, I turned and began to make my way quickly through the forest, to the east. The crashing of trees soon became more audible, and I did as Niko said and sprinted.

I ran until I no longer heard the sounds of something crunching and grinding the trees of my forest beneath it and slowed only when the peaceful sounds of nature were present around me. Without stopping, I snacked on a protein bar and continued walking for another hour and a half, covering the distance between the school and the lake in record time.

And then I stopped at the boundary, as I had been trained.

Gazing at it, I couldn't help the guilt that floated through me. I was afraid to leave the forest this time, because I knew what happened if I did. A part of me remained in denial about all that had happened in so short a time, that it was connected to the simple act of me going one step too far.

I sat on my tree stump, staring at the lake. It was midafternoon, and I hadn't forgotten the creature I saw either. No, I wasn't going to cause more trouble.

My determination lasted until I heard the birds begin to vacate the forest around me. The sound of machines wasn't present, but the animals were fleeing something. I had no idea where to go once I left the forest and remained where I was, on the verge of panicking yet knowing that was the worst thing to do in a crisis.

I miss Herakles. He would know what to do and where to go.

Twenty minutes later, the unmistakable sound of someone running through the forest reached me. I rose and hurried to a hiding spot close by, anxious to see who followed.

"Lyssa!" Niko's quiet cry reached me before he did. "Or... Alice. Whatever your name is. We need to go. Now."

I peeked at him through the brush. He reached the tree stump, his gaze sweeping expertly around the area. He was sweating – and bloody. One hand was caked in it while there was blood on his shirt, too.

"C'mon, you little shit!"

With some hesitation, I stood. "Are you hurt?"

He whirled to face me. "No."

"Is someone else hurt?" I asked.

"You could say that." He strode over the cord towards the lake, oblivious to the importance of the red boundary marking the edge of my world.

I walked until my toes reached the rope, torn about leaving. "Shouldn't we wait for Father Ellis?"

Niko didn't stop. "No."

"He can't move as fast as us."

"What is your name?"

"Alessandra."

He spun to face me, backpedaling as he spoke. "They're gone, Alessandra. They took a different route out of here."

My jaw dropped open. "They left me?"

"These people pursuing you – pursuing us – aren't the kind of people I'm used to dealing with. This is SISA. They have the gods' blessings to kill fast and without mercy. Running was the smartest thing for them to do." He wiped his bloodied hand on his pants. "You can come with me now, and we'll make it out of here by the skin of our teeth, or you can stay right there and wait for SISA to get you."

Gone. In all my preparations for the apocalypse, or perhaps this incident, I understood being alone to be a part of the scenario but wasn't quite able to wrap my head around it any more than I could the fact I was allegedly important. How could I go from being constantly surrounding by forty people to... alone?

Why didn't they take me with them? This hurt more than anything.

"Fine. Good luck." He turned away.

"Wait!" I cried and started forward.

Realizing what I had done, I twisted to look at the red cord boundary I had spent most of my life avoiding. I was leaving it, the safety of the forest, my past, my home... basically everything behind me.

It was scary and exhilarating all at once.

Niko wasn't waiting.

Unable to stop and contemplate the world behind me, I charged ahead and ran to his side. My eyes went to the sky automatically, and I sought whatever creature had tracked me last night. Reminded of the rope around my wrist, I wished I'd thought to ask more questions about its power, about what I supposedly was, about what in the name of Holy Olympus was going on.

And... how could the priests just leave me with a mercenary they didn't trust? How was I so important – yet not worthy of a farewell?

The idea they were watching over me out of obligation and had never wanted anything to do with me stung hard. I kind of considered them to be my extended family, however dysfunctional that was. I never suspected they didn't feel the same.

"Where are we going?" I asked Niko to take my mind off the pain.

"You tell me. Where did your priests want you to go?"

I was quiet.

Niko glanced at me. "They didn't tell you, either, huh? Great. Well, you're not coming home with me. I don't even think I can go home if you're important enough for teams of SISA special forces to smash through the forest."

"I don't know where to go, Niko."

"Just... pick a place. It won't matter so long as it's away from here."

"Washington DC."

"Worst place to be when the government is after you. Although..." He drifted off, gaze going to the west, as if he could see DC from here. "It might also be the best place to be. SISA won't expect us to go there."

I didn't care what reasoning he found in it. I was going to find Herakles, the only man in the universe who wouldn't abandon me at the first sign of trouble like the priests did. The cracking of tree trunks sounded behind us, followed by the faint tremble of the earth.

"Won't matter if we don't get out of here. I hope you can run as far as you can fast. We need to move." Niko took off running towards another thatch of forest lining the opposite side of the lake.

I followed, unable to shake the sense of guilt, unease and fear churning in my belly. The destruction of our home was all my fault. Maybe that was the real reason why the priests abandoned me – because I destroyed everything they loved.

***

"Omega" releases in October 2015!

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Omega: Beginnings

Prequel mini-series – are all FREE wherever you buy ebooks!

Alessandra

Mismatch

Phoibe

Lantos

Theodosia (June)

Niko (June)

Cleon (July)

Herakles (August)

Omega Series

Omega (2015)

Theta (2016)

Alpha (2017)

Also by Lizzy Ford...

Non-Series – 2014 & 2015

Black Moon Draw (about a reader sucked into her book)

Highlander Enchanted (2015)

History Interrupted – Time Travel Romantic Adventures

West

East

North (2016)

South (2017)

Omega Beginnings Miniseries

Alessandra

Mismatch

Phoibe (2015)

Lantos (2015)

Theodocia (2015)

Niko (2015)

Cleon (2015)

Herakles (2015)

Starwalkers Serials (with Julia Crane) – new adult science fiction serial

Severed

Trapped

Exiled

Revealed

Escaped

Heart of Fire – sexy dragon shifter

Charred Heart

Charred Tears

Charred Hope

Incubatti – Buffy meets 50 Shades

Zoey Rogue

Zoey Avenger

Rhyn Trilogy – new adult paranormal with demons

Katie's Hellion

Katie's Hope

Rhyn's Redemption

Rhyn Eternal – Death finds love

Gabriel's Hope

Deidre's Death

Darkyn's Mate

The Underworld

Twisted Fate (2015)

War of Gods – paranormal with gods, guardians and exceptional humans

Damian's Oracle

Damian's Assassin

Damian's Immortal

The Grey God

Damian Eternal

Xander's Chance

The Black God

Hidden Evil – paranormal with angels and four horsemen

Hear No

See No (2015)

Speak No (2016)

Unnamed Series

Unnatural (2015)

Unmade (2016)

Omega

Omega (2015)

Theta (2016)

Alpha (2017)

Anshan Saga – new adult science fiction romance

Kiera's Moon

Kiera's Home (novelette)

Kiera's Sun (2015)

Santa's Ninja Elves (short stories)

Natasha & Hunter

Non-series titles – 2011 - 2013

Star Kissed

A Demon's Desire

The Warlord's Secret

Maddy's Oasis

Rebel Heart

Witchling – young adult paranormal

Dark Summer

Autumn Storm

Winter Fire

Spring Rain

Broken Beauty Novellas – new adult dramatic fiction

Broken Beauty

Broken World

Voodoo Nights - young adult paranormal

Cursed

Chosen (2015)

Writing as SE Reign, erotica writer

101 Nights

Claimed

Tainted

Crushed

Volume One Box Set (Serials 1-3)

Tempted

Captured

Twisted

Volume Two Box Set

Cornered

