 
TEMPT

Ava Delaney #3

By Claire Farrell

Edited by Lynn O'Dell

There's a monster running around Dublin, and it's up to Ava to catch it. The pressure's on, and she's becoming as cynical as Peter. But when a demon marks her friend, and a possible threat from England spells war, Ava's left with a huge choice to make. The lives of one or many.

With a little help, Ava has the chance to win all of her battles... if the darkness doesn't take her over first.

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © Claire Farrell 2011

Claire_farrell@live.ie

Book cover image provided by Konradbak @ Dreamstime.com

Licence Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

# Chapter One

Blood dripped down her chin so slowly it felt as though time itself had come to a standstill. She stared at me, face contorting, managing to appear even uglier than the last time I had seen her. Her lips drew back, revealing her stained teeth. Fangs really. Oversized, misshapen mutations of teeth.

Hearing the growl deep in her throat, I took the warning and matched her crouch. I tried to concentrate, knowing she had already drunk her fill and would be even stronger than the times she had slaughtered entire Guardian Circles with ease.

Becca let the drained body in her grip slump to the ground. She slunk toward me, deceptively slow and awkward. I'd chased her before, knew how fast and agile she could be.

She lowered her head and gave me what might have been a grin. Time to play.

"You're coming with me, Becca," I said, readying myself. "The Council can help you." Not that I believed it.

She made a sound that could have been either a laugh or a derisive snort. Turned into a monster by the vampires, Becca was further away from human than they were. A mutation that had become a nuisance to every species of being in the country, Becca was wanted under lock and key. I wondered if she had any idea that death would be the better option. For the hundredth time in the last few weeks, I reminded myself why capturing her was the better choice, although it still didn't make much sense to me.

A jerky movement from Becca caught my full attention. Knowing she had blocked herself in by feeding in the small closed-in space behind a large building, I took a confident step toward her. She had moved too far into the city, made it too easy for me to zone in on her.

I kept a tight hold on the dagger hidden in my sleeve, ready for her to pounce. Waited for her to make a move.

She dashed to her right and managed to scale an eight-foot wall using her bare hands and feet as I watched open-mouthed. She somersaulted over the barbed wire topping the wall and disappeared into the lot behind the neighbouring warehouse.

"Shit!" I had no hope of climbing the flat wall and actually managing to keep the skin attached to my hands, so I headed for a drainpipe further along the building instead. If I got up high enough, and close enough, I might have a chance at getting over the wall. If I didn't fall and break my legs...

I rubbed some heat into my numb fingers, then jumped, gripping with my knees as I tried to haul myself up the pipe.

"You had her, Ava. Why didn't you go for it?"

I refused to look down and kept inching my way up the pipe. A vampire could have jumped it; an angel might have flown. I hadn't inherited any of the good stuff.

"Not now, Peter," I hissed through my teeth.

I sensed him gesturing in annoyance behind me, but I was too busy hanging on for dear life to care.

"I'm going around the other way. I'll try to cut her off with the car. Be careful."

His footsteps grew faint as I came level to the upper windows with a grunt. Glancing below as my body swayed of its own accord, I seriously considered climbing back down. There would be nothing to grab onto once I let go of the drainpipe. Lots of the older buildings in the city still had bars attached to the windows, but the business estate was too modern for fire safety hazards.

Taking a deep breath, I swung my leg out and edged myself onto a windowsill, unwilling to look down again. Heights had never been my strong point, but hunting Becca meant I had to take chances.

Counting like crazy in my head, I inched my way across the ledge and swung my leg again, almost missing the next window. I pressed my forehead against the section of brick between two windows and clung to the wall, my feet barely stable on each ledge. Sweat rolled down my back as I fought to keep my balance, my hands feeling impossibly slippery all of a sudden.

I steadied myself at last and moved along to the last window without any trouble, but the racing of my heart never slowed. The gap to the security wall that Becca had jumped over was further than the spaces between the windows, plus it was a little lower than the ledges, and I knew a mere step across wouldn't cut it. Even if it did, I still had to contend with the spiked barb wire on top of the wall.

Unable to believe what I was about to do, I bent my knees and swallowed hard. Multiplying rapidly aloud as if praying, I jumped hard and fast, pushing my body, willing myself to make it without tumbling to the ground.

Both of my feet landed on the tiny barb-free surface of the wall, but all of my weight moved onto my toes, and I swayed dramatically. One foot slipped off the edge, and I scrambled, grabbing the barbed wire to balance myself. The pain didn't kick in until I was sure I wouldn't fall. Then, the intense stinging came, almost as bad as a vampire bite. I had no time to nurse the ribboned skin because Becca was likely long gone.

Unless she happened to get distracted by a human or two.

I stepped over the barbed wire carefully but still managed to get my trousers caught. Pulling a patch clean away, I jumped from the wall, landed badly, and tumbled to avoid the worst of it. For a few seconds, I sat on the ground, trousers ripped, hands bleeding, and wondered what the hell I was doing.

Shaking my head, I took my time linking to my other sense and viewed the world another way, on a different level. Becca should have been long gone, but I saw her mangled essence nearby, gaining ground on some pulsing lifelines. She wasn't the nothingness that made a vampire stand out on that plane of sight, but she wasn't anything close to a human, either.

I got to my feet and broke into a jog, a little unsteady, but sure of where I was heading. I pushed myself through the empty lot, passed the lifeless body of a security guard, and finally found Becca crouched atop the empty security hut. She stared upward at an open window in an adjoining apartment building.

Hunting. Her only weakness. She couldn't pass a source of human blood without stopping.

I ran noisily, so she must have heard me, but she didn't react. I made it to the hut just as she leapt upward, and threw myself at her. Catching hold of her ankle, I sent us both crashing to the ground. Quickly recovering, Becca lashed out with a fist, connecting with my jaw. I had flashbacks of the first time I met Peter and blinked on cue to see her come at me with an open mouth.

I rolled over, balancing my palms on the ground to kick out at her chest, sending her flying. We both got to our feet at the same time and danced around each other. I waited for her to make a move, but she didn't. She just kept her eyes on me, wary even in the intensity of her glare.

I had never seen a vampire with eyes so red. Pure scarlet orbs signalled the deaths of many innocent people, as well as a few not so innocent beings. In mere weeks, she had racked up a number most vampires would envy. If any of the vampires stopped toeing the line and followed Becca's lead instead, anarchy would ensue. Reason Number 537 why I was on her trail.

Remembering my purpose, I rushed toward her, trying to work up some outrage at the damage her misplaced loyalty and vanity had caused, but she was more than ready and wrestled me into the centre of the road, her fangs snapping. Her jaws were strong and backed with an unusual density, and I couldn't afford to let her clamp down on me.

Still, I could tell she held back. Perhaps an old memory from life made her cautious, but she didn't come at me with the ferocious fervour the Guardian Circles had reported. They were the supernatural equivalent of a police force, yet they hadn't figured out a way to deal with Becca. For all the mistakes I had made, I knew I should be dead already. I also knew she could tear me apart without warning. I had no idea what it was she feared about me, and even less of a notion as to why I hadn't managed to take advantage of her hesitation yet.

Gripping the dagger, I pulled away from her, darting in and out, puzzling her. When she stopped batting out at me, I slashed across her face with the dagger. The wounds weren't deep enough to be fatal because the Council wanted her alive, but deep enough to hurt. Deep enough to enrage her, I realised too late.

She put her head down and barrelled her way at me, connecting with my stomach so brutally, she forced a wheezy oof sound from me. She lifted me over her shoulder, ignored my frantic blows on her head and back, and kept running until she slammed me into a wall. Harsh pain drove through my back and chest. Winded, I made sure her mouth stayed well away and flashed my own fangs for good measure, startling her enough to create some space between us.

We both eased off but, not for the first time, the thought occurred to me that the Council didn't need her alive. That I might not have a choice. If it came down to my life or hers, I'd pick mine every time. I shifted the dagger free, letting the glowing blue blade gleam in the moonlight. It was a beautifully dainty weapon, but every vampire seemed to instinctively know to avoid it. When Becca saw it, she didn't seem bothered. In fact, she looked more worried about my fangs.

Taking a chance, I flexed my wrist and threw the dagger. It spun in the air and struck her in the shoulder. She howled with pain but, as I suspected, it didn't kill her instantly. Real vampires were consumed by the blade, their dark poison burned away by the dagger's light. The blade wasn't a serious threat to Becca. It hurt her, but she didn't die. Something we had in common.

But a cross might do her some damage. One had burned her before the change. I asked Peter about it one night, but he hadn't been able to explain why a symbol of faith had evoked such a severe reaction.

Deciding to test the theory, I edged closer to her, unwilling to let her keep the dagger she was about to pull out of her shoulder. I grabbed the weapon first, whipping it out in one swift movement, and backed away as thick, black blood oozed from the wound, bubbling nastily. Becca screeched and rushed me, but I held up the cross that hung around my neck and pushed it against her fingers before she could grab me. She cried out again, and I heard the sizzle as the metal burned into her skin.

She limply held out her hand but carried on with the attack. Her fangs were still fine enough to bite me, but for a split second, I lost my concentration and wondered if my grandmother saw me as something like Becca.

The kick came before I realised she had moved. I was on my back within half a second, and she leapt on me, teeth flashing.

The cross came to my aid again, but Becca handled the pain, suddenly intent on the pulsing in my neck. I hit her forehead with the blunt handle of the dagger, then rolled, elbowing her in my attempt to get away. She grabbed my leg and sank her teeth in, puncturing my skin through my jeans.

Instantly, my scrambling stopped. I felt my life ebbing away, as if I were watching my own death from somewhere above. Excruciating pain seared through me; I couldn't move to defend myself. My entire body began to shut down with paralysis, but I still felt the pure torture of Becca's teeth connecting with my skin. I wanted to curl up and wait for the pain to go away, but I couldn't move, and the agony didn't fade at all.

Far off, I heard the squealing of tyres and vaguely remembered we were in the middle of a road. Great, the car might finish me off quicker.

A dark green car ran right over Becca, barely missing my ankle. She let go of me with a shriek as the wheels pulled her along with the vehicle. I could only close my eyes and savour the relief of the pain drifting away. With Becca's fangs came agony, once she let go, the throbbing dissipated quickly.

"Are you okay?" I scented Peter's aftershave and almost wished a car really had run over me.

"Where?" I rolled and tried to stand, but I was too shaky. Feeling slowly came back to the rest of my body. I preferred the numbness.

"She's gone. Ran off. What the hell, Ava?"

I raised a palm. "Not now. Help me up. Her poison screwed with my whole body."

Peter took my hand, reached for the other, and pulled me to my feet, ignoring my moans of pain. His fingers trembled as I met his eyes. His face was rigid with livid fury, and I knew he was scared. Peter always acted angry the second he felt afraid. One thing we had in common.

"Get in the car," was all he said.

I limped over to the car, not bothering to argue about giving up before sunrise. I was in bad shape, not the worst I'd ever been, but definitely not in a condition suitable to capture Becca. Or to win an argument with Peter Brannigan.

I stared at the empty streets as he drove me home, hating the way Becca had made my hometown a no-go area. Concealing a groan, I tried to look bored as Peter pulled into a checkpoint.

A young Garda approached the car, shining his torch in at both of us. "There's a curfew," he reminded us.

"I was just driving her home," Peter said. "I took a bad shortcut. You know how it is."

"Actually, I don't," the Garda said, his lips tightening. He leaned over, resting his arm on the roof of the car as he peered inside. "Licence?"

I snapped my head around and stared at him. After the night I had just had, I wasn't in the mood to go easy on anyone. Narrowing my eyes, I sent a persuasive thought his way. I felt as though I were floating, and the Garda blinked a couple of times before muttering under his breath and heading back to the checkpoint to wave us on.

I sensed Peter shaking and knew it was only a matter of time before he exploded. As soon as we pulled away from the checkpoint, he smacked his hand on the steering wheel in annoyance.

"What the hell was that?"

"I'm tired. I want to go to bed."

"There was no need to do that to him, no need at all."

"He was shining his stupid torch in my face. The idiot's going to get himself killed if he keeps that up. I was doing him a favour."

"He's just doing his job, Ava."

"Don't even get me started."

He heaved a weary sigh. "Since when do you do that to people? And it's not just that. I'm talking about the whole screw-up with Becca tonight, too."

I shrugged. "She's pretty strong."

"No. Not that, Ava. I'm talking about your head. The stupid mistakes you're making. This isn't you. Are you trying to get yourself killed?" His voice was low and scary, but I was past caring.

"Of course not. You try and fight her, see how far you get."

"Don't be a smartarse, Delaney. You know what I'm talking about. You've been like this for weeks now. Ever since the trial, and we're all sick of it."

I threw my hands in the air. "Oh, well, as long as you all are happy bitching about me, you—"

"Stop that. You're worrying the people who care about you, and you know it. You've closed yourself up since the trial. You won't talk. You won't deal with whatever's bothering you. All you do is track Becca. Then, when you come across her, your mind isn't even there."

I scowled, mostly because he was right. I could see the worry in his eyes, and that just made everything worse.

"Look, I know you're going through something right now, but you need to focus. You can't let her get that close to you again. Not when your mind is elsewhere. There's something more important going on here, Ava. You have to deal with this first."

I stared out the window. I didn't have an answer.

He tried a different tact. "If you don't catch her soon, the Council could turn nasty. You have to be useful."

"What, like you?" I stared at him, watching his jaw twitch as he tried to control his temper.

"Exactly like me." His voice softened. "And I'm sorry about that."

A shiver ran through me. I preferred his anger. "I'll get her next time."

"Will you? Or will she get you? Will you even fight back next time?"

"I said I'd get her." Every frustrating word of his made absolute sense, but it wouldn't sink in properly. I was becoming a spectator of my own life, I felt so detached from everything. Attaching myself led to pain, to fear, to confusion. My own messed-up emotions combined with the unwieldy consequences of uncontrolled empathy left me absolutely terrified to feel.

"Talk to me, Ava," he said, a note of urgency in his voice.

"Nothing to talk about." I folded my arms and concentrated on trying to make out the graffiti sprawled on the blocks of flats we passed. Too many boarded-up windows. Left to rot. Like so many things.

"Don't do that. Don't shut everyone out. Let us help you get through this." He touched my arm, but I brushed him off and sank against the door. This covered a multitude of things, finding out my life had been a lie, that my grandmother had allowed me to think I was protecting a secret—one that wasn't even real—with my life, that my mother had been something very special, someone I could never live up to. Nobody could help me through this.

"Fine," he snapped. "But you're not wriggling your way out of training this time."

I whirled around to gape at him. "I can't train. There's no one able to train me, you know that."

The Council had made it their mission to train me in accepted methods of fighting. That required a partner to spar against. Finding anyone willing to fight me, even sparring, had been surprisingly hard. Scaring anyone who tried to take on the job into giving up had been surprisingly amusing. Eddie had warned me to be docile, but in some ways, the idea I might be unpredictable kept me as safe as Peter. I was slowly earning myself a reputation, whether I liked it or not. People thought I could do something. What that was exactly, I didn't have a clue.

"Stop making excuses. You're training with me until we can figure out other arrangements. End of discussion." He wouldn't look at me, and I saw him taking on that stubborn streak of his, the one that made my life awkward whenever it showed itself. Spending so much time with him lately had been enlightening.

"I can't train with you. You're human. I'll bite." I flashed my fangs, but he ignored me. Getting a rise out of him was harder than it used to be. He was a lot less freaked out by my lack of humanity since we found out my mother had been an angel, of sorts.

"Did you at least learn anything new?"

I tried to think. Even my mistakes sometimes helped. "Her bite did something to me. Sort of paralysed me while she was biting. The pain was worse than a vampire bite but didn't last as long." I rubbed the still-tender scar on my hand.

"At least that's something." He didn't sound impressed.

"And you were right. The cross still hurts her. Won't kill her but could come in handy."

"I'll pass it on." I glanced at him. Exactly how tied in with the Council was he? He had been our go-between most of the time, and I couldn't tell if the Council wanted to keep their distance, or if Peter kept me away from them himself. I wasn't sure if he was my babysitter or their spy. Either way, I wasn't exactly comfortable with the setup. Still, working with him had proved far better than working with the Guardians the Council had tried to lumber me with in the first few nights.

"Something else," I said, remembering. "Don't spread this around, but the dagger doesn't work on her."

He almost swerved, and I steadied the steering wheel, rolling my eyes at his overly-dramatic reaction.

"What do you mean, it doesn't work on her?" He had been counting on the dagger keeping me out of trouble. I could see it in his eyes. He thought I was screwed without it. Maybe I was.

"It hurts her, but not like the vampires. It doesn't burn her; she's not afraid of it. Keep it to yourself."

"You know I will, Ava. But we need to figure this out."

I didn't bother answering, and he tutted his disapproval. I closed my eyes and let the movement of the car buoy me into a relaxed state until we got to my place.

Peter pulled in right outside my building. I stepped out of the car, but he followed and made me face him. I couldn't look him in the eye anymore. We'd had too many intense moments together for me to be totally comfortable with him. His ordinary hazel eyes seemed capable of reading my soul. I wasn't sure he'd see anything good.

He laid a hand on my shoulder. "You can't push us all away. Not when you're like this. Even Carl can sneak up on you. We're worried about you. You're making too many mistakes, and if you don't want to talk to us, we can't make you. But training might help you focus. Help you forget about everything."

I stared at the scar on his chin, wondering for the millionth time what had caused it. Peter's solid presence comforted me, but I couldn't forget how Esther had warned me about him. I could never truly trust him because, in some ways, I was his enemy. Peter made sure I knew he would sacrifice me if it meant getting to the demon who had taken his son and murdered his family. I understood his bitterness, especially now that I had more than my fair share of things to be bitter about.

I had so much I wanted to say, but my weaknesses were my own to shield. I couldn't find the words, so I simply nodded and turned my back on him. He didn't follow, and I was glad.

Although it was dark, no vampires lurked outside my home. The Council had put an end to that drama. I wasn't exactly grateful because, like the vampires, they could turn on me at any time. As soon as I stopped being useful. And I hadn't been particularly useful so far. Becca had been murdering people for close to a month. The papers screamed, "Serial killer," the Gardaí remained baffled, and the members of the Guardian Circles who came across Becca ended up dead, mostly.

I was the one Becca feared, the one who had the least trouble finding her trail. I was the only one who had fought her more than once.

I had no idea why I kept surviving, why I kept finding her, why I was able to do what trained Guardians couldn't. Even the vampires hadn't been able to track her down. I shouldn't have been surprised when the Council called me in to help.

Hunting Becca gave me a purpose, but all of the things I had learned about myself still tormented me. The presence that followed me around had disappeared weeks prior, and I spent too much time alone in my own head. I'd let my business fall apart, but I didn't urgently need the money because the Council's payment had been more than enough to cover my rent for a few months. A whispering voice kept calling me a sell-out.

Opening the door to my flat, I caught a noxious whiff of my slutty next-door neighbour's perfume and hurried inside before I inhaled too much of it. I cleaned my wounds quickly, wincing at the sting of Eddie's special ointment. It worked fast, so I wouldn't need to wear a bandage for more than a couple of days. Swallowing two of his disgusting, but effective, green homemade painkillers, I felt better within minutes.

Changing into a pair of fleece pyjamas and disposing of yet another pair of ruined jeans, I cursed the ridiculous chill of Irish spring. My flat had to be in the coldest, darkest pocket of the city.

Husky noises filtered through the thin walls of the flat. I knew my neighbour was having one of those nights, so I sat by the window and used my other sense to search the nearby world. Touching the supernatural domain with an ability I couldn't explain bordered on addictive. I reached out further every time. I had no idea if the things I could do came from a vampire or an angel. Or if they were my own special brand of strange.

I didn't know who I was anymore.

Miles away, I found Becca alongside a rapidly fading human. I couldn't bring myself to care.

Chapter Two

I experienced a fit of nerves on the way to Folsom's place to pick up the money he owed Daimhín. Her day assistant, Yvonne, had sent me a particularly snippy text at the last minute about the pick-up. Though I knew Peter and Yvonne's story, and even felt sorry for them both, I didn't think I could ever quite trust the woman. Something about her rang my alarm bells. Lots of things about Peter should have done the same but never seemed to make it.

I hadn't come face to face with Daimhín since the trial and didn't know if she still held a grudge. It wasn't my fault that she was exposed and betrayed in a matter of hours. If anything, I should have held a grudge against her, the way she had connived with her vampire progeny, Gideon, to set me up. The fact that he had betrayed her, too, just seemed like sweet, sweet justice.

I didn't think Daimhín would hurt me, not while the Council's light shone on me, but once the Becca situation was sorted, I was pretty sure I became fair game again. I didn't know why Daimhín didn't publicly get rid of me. Maybe it was the dodgy Nephilim thing. Maybe she knew all along what I was, and there was some rule about her disposing of me. Maybe she had other plans for me. Whatever it was, she obviously thought it better to have me working for her than against her.

Folsom's place was shrouded in darkness, except for a tiny flickering light in the cottage next to the garage. Rapping hard on the front door, I waited for some grumpy goblin attitude.

Folsom inched the door open after a few minutes, seemingly surprised to see me.

"You," he said, his breath coming out in a gasp. "Thought you were dead by now."

"Still breathing." I laid my hands on my hips. "Money?"

"Aye, aye, that bitch would send you along again. After last time, I thought for sure I was done with her." He sighed loudly as he struggled to open a locked desk drawer in the dark hallway. His gnarled fingers shook as he finally managed to turn the key. He pulled out a bag and handed it to me, staring right in my face. "Don't worry, 'tis all there."

His prolonged stare freaked me out. "What?"

"Ah, 'tis just you're not what we expected, after all. I take it you're the one taking care of the new beast then?"

His accent was suddenly stronger, more defined. I wondered at that.

"The new beast?" Was there an old beast? "Suppose I am. Have to find her first, though." I played dumb, not revealing that I'd missed my chance at taking care of Becca more than once.

"Not 'round here," he said, his tone abrupt.

I narrowed my eyes. "What's that about? What are you hiding?"

"Nowt, don't start getting on at me now. Go on, I know you've to get back to that bitch. Run along before she thinks I didn't pay up."

I couldn't shake the feeling in my gut that I needed to do something, look around or figure out something, but he was right, I had to deliver the payment. I turned around at the gate and looked back at Folsom, who still stood in his doorway, watching me.

"I'll be back, Folsom. Remember that."

He nodded and closed the door. Hesitating, I gave a quick glance with my other sense and saw... nothing. Folsom's place was a big black ball of nothing. No energy, no life, nothing. Very few people knew about my other sense, so someone having a way of hiding themselves from it interested me.

A bit of dread ate at me because the darkness had a familiar feel to it, one I couldn't place, but I left more intrigued than worried. I was pretty sure Folsom held secrets in his garage—I highly doubted he could actually hold a wrench with those crooked, rheumatoid fingers—but I doubted any of them pertained to Becca. Folsom was probably on edge because he reckoned I worked for the Council.

I hurried to Daimhín's place, eager to get the job over and done. Rose, the loyal human pet, let me in, but she stared at me with pure hatred in her eyes. I didn't get why the vampires attracted so many insanely devoted humans. Rose wasn't enthralled. She served Daimhín by choice. I would never understand it.

She led the way into Daimhín's living room, and I found myself surrounded by vampires. They stared at me, some in awe, others with more anger than anything else. The hairs on my arms stood at the sensation their emotions invoked. The vampires began whispering, and I whipped my head around to make sure none had slipped up behind me.

To my left, Zion nodded at me, his wild hair drawing my attention. If any of the coven were ever sent to attack me, I guessed he would be Daimhín's assassin of choice.

Daimhín stood by the mantelpiece, so still she resembled a statue.

"Ms. Delaney." She cocked her head and gave a little hiss that silenced the entire room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jules creep toward me.

"Jules!" Daimhín's voice was harsh enough to send the warped vampire hurtling backward, where he hid behind the legs of a little girl. Or what had once been a little girl. Eloise stroked Jules's hair and eyed me carefully. I wondered what her pink-tinged eyes saw in me.

I'd learned she was the Seer, the one who first saw me coming. I looked back on her words in a different light since then. I would have treasured a long conversation with her, but she was rarely alone. Someone had once paid a lot of money for a child psychic they could turn into a vampire, so letting her tell the future for free probably wasn't one of Daimhín's favourite things to do.

"I apologise. The children can never behave," Daimhín said, referring to the fact that Jules was merely a century old and one of the last vampires to be turned. He wasn't quite the same quality as the rest of the coven.

I took a deep breath and strode straight over to Daimhín, surprised by the gasps of alarm from some of the vampires I passed. As if I could ever be a match against her. I handed her the bag of money, but she didn't bother counting it. She, in turn, handed me a crisp white envelope.

"Payment... for your services."

"Oh. Thanks." Her change of heart surprised me. I hadn't thought that even the Council's warning would force her to pay me. I turned to leave, but Daimhín stopped me.

"I would like to reassure you, Ms. Delaney. You are not in danger from any of my coven. We respect your attempts at capturing the... creature my child created. I'm only thankful that Eloise persuaded me you were meant to survive. If I had known..." She shook her head. "If you need any assistance, it's here for you. I'm sure my coven will be a better match than that human." She spat out the last word as if it tasted bad in her mouth.

"Well, your coven hasn't managed to catch her yet, so I think that human will do fine."

If Daimhín had been human, her face would probably have turned purple with rage. As it was, her eyes narrowed, and her glare sent shivers running up my spine. Her burgundy eyes were filmy, I realised, probably due to her age. Streaks of blue tried to shine through the murky red, something I had noticed with very few vampires. I couldn't tear my eyes away from Daimhín's, then surprisingly, she pulled back, inclining her head in agreement.

"Vampires created this problem, yet we're unable to solve it. The creature is loyal to no one and pauses for nothing. It's strong, fast, and wild with thirst. The only positive note is that this creature is alone, a solitary accident."

"The only one so far," I reminded her. In Ireland, there had been two other candidates. One had been captured on the very same night Becca had mutated. The other hadn't been seen since. Besides that, batches of formula had probably been sent to other covens around the world. They still hadn't been accounted for, and I dreaded the possible consequences. Becca was enough monster for me.

"We haven't come across any others, and Europe is on watch. It will be near impossible for that formula to change hands. I've been in touch with other elder vampires around the world. We're all of the opinion that this was a foolish mistake by an over-eager power hunter. Nothing more. The situation's contained."

I didn't respond, but as I left the coven's home, I couldn't help thinking that her words meant she wasn't taking the possible threat seriously. There could be an army of creatures—beasts—just like Becca. If the vampires themselves didn't investigate the effects of the formula, then we had no chance of preparing ourselves for the repercussions. The vampires were too busy trying to exchange blame and wash their hands of Becca. The elder vampires were simply too arrogant to believe that other vampires might be willing to use creatures like Becca in an effort to usurp the controlling covens. Elder vampires like Daimhín dictated how much blood each coven was allocated; rogue vampires wanting that control back didn't surprise me.

The only reason Gideon hadn't been imprisoned or staked was because the Council needed his help with capturing Becca and providing information on the formula. The Council members weren't exactly forthcoming with new information, and that bothered me a great deal. I didn't even know if the captured candidate was dead or alive. Or the subject of experiments.

Flashes of memories came to mind—a supernatural being in the Council's underground cells, willing to die a horrible death rather than face the Council. My instincts hummed, and I felt a spark of life I hadn't in a while, not since I'd found out my true heritage. Impure nephal. Tainted offspring of an angelic being. The rare earthbound seraphim like my mother could bear warriors whom angels would command on Earth. The tainted could be used as a weapon by light or dark, which was exactly what the ancient vampires didn't want. And exactly what others wanted desperately.

Like others, my mother had been targeted and bitten during her pregnancy. After her death, my grandmother had somehow managed to raise me without drawing attention from the vampires who would have killed or kidnapped me. I had become an unpredictable being universally perceived to be a threat because I hadn't yet matured, therefore, I could still pick a side. Whatever that really meant.

All I had focused on were the lies I'd been told and the mistakes I'd unwittingly made. The task of hunting down Becca had been pushed on me before I could deal with the consequences of my trial. I still hadn't sorted through my feelings.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I almost missed Carl leaving my building. I was still at the other end of the street and assumed he'd come to visit me, so I rang his mobile and watched as he took it out of his pocket then ignored the call.

"What the hell?" I had no idea what that was about. It was definitely Carl. He had been my minion for a time, had healed me with his blood, and even tried to help during my trial. I knew the man by heart.

He had been inside my building. Of that, I was certain. As I let myself into my flat, I inhaled deeply and was sure his scent lingered in the air. If he had come to see me, why wouldn't he answer the phone?

I rang Peter. I wasn't sure why. Something bugged me. Then again, a lot of things were unsettling me of late, and I hadn't been giving anything my full attention. I had a sick feeling that life had been passing me by while I was busy feeling sorry for myself. That had to change.

"Is Carl with you?" I asked when he answered, just to see what he would say.

"No, I think he said he was going to see his parents tonight. Why?"

I hesitated and decided not to make anything of it. Peter seemed to think I had serious ownership issues with Carl, but my overblown concern was part of the remnants of our previous bond. Still, I didn't want another lecture about boundaries. "Nothing, doesn't matter. Do you know a goblin called Folsom? Owns a garage."

"I'm not sure. All of those goblins look the same to me."

I rolled my eyes. "Nice, Peter. I better go."

"Wait! Do you want a training session tomorrow?"

I thought about it. Maybe I could scare him off. "Okay, fine. Where?"

He laughed. "My place, of course. Come over whenever you're ready. Daytime because we're back out after Becca tomorrow night. It's our turn again, now they're short on Guardian Circles."

"Whatever," I said, trying not to yawn. "See you then. Oh, by the way. Daimhín paid me tonight." I laughed at his stutters and ended the call, feeling more alive than I had in a while.

# Chapter Three

The following morning, I decided to call Carl when I knew he would be at work in Eddie's bookshop. It still rankled that he worked so close to Eddie, but Peter kept telling me to let Carl make his own mistakes. I was trying, as hard as it might be to watch. For the first time, it dawned on me that Peter might feel the same way when he watched me make mistakes.

"Hey, Ava." Carl sounded chirpy on the phone, and I faltered, wondering if maybe I was mistaken and Peter had been right after all.

"I was just calling to see how you're doing. Any news?"

"Me? Nah, nothing. Working hard, living clean. All that good stuff. But listen, I've been reading up on the whole Nephilim thing. Maybe you should come over one morning and have a look."

"Yeah, maybe." My heart sank. I had been hoping he'd forget about it, but Carl sucked up knowledge like a sponge. Obviously, he was going out of his way to learn as much about my world as he could.

Once he learned I had a name, he had gone into overdrive reading about it. It made me uncomfortable, for no real reason. I had always wanted to know more about myself, and had been given the opportunity, but suddenly my heart wasn't in it anymore. Having to learn about myself in a book felt weird.

Carl and I chatted for a few more minutes until he had to serve a customer, and I had to get ready for my first training session with Peter. The Council had stopped trying to find me trainers or sparring partners. Apparently, the Nephilim-ish titles came with serious respect, and although the Council had tried to contain it, word spread fast. It didn't have much impact on Peter, but I knew all I had to do was act more than a little vampire-like for him to run scared, too.

I knew the Council wanted me trained and fighting-fit, but I preferred my way. No rules, no plan, just keeping on and avoiding death for as long as possible. Actual plans made me panic and jump at whatever my instincts decided felt right. I had lasted long enough to realise I couldn't force the way my brain worked.

All morning, my stomach turned at the thought of being in such close contact with Peter, and I found myself washing down my widest kitchen counter in fourteen swipes. Any more and I had to start over. It took five goes to perfect the ritual, but the safe numbers calmed me enough so I could leave for Peter's house.

Clutching the cross hanging from my neck, I decided I would be the one to make Peter think twice about the training session, but when he opened his front door in his training gear, my mouth watered instantaneously.

"You made it!" He sounded surprised, and I supposed I couldn't blame him. I hadn't been quite there for a while. Phoning everything in, more like. I wasn't sure what was piquing my interest all of a sudden. It was as though I had an aerial that tingled whenever something was going on, and I felt like something was going on all around me.

Eddie had warned that my natural ability to soak up emotional energy might affect my moods, and that paranoid spike might simply boil down to nervousness from Becca-related fear. Whatever it was, my instincts were chomping at the bit to find out more.

"I have a basement." Peter rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Built special. Don't worry. It's not creepy."

I raised my eyebrows but followed him underground. I had never been in a basement apart from the one where Maximus had slept. The one where Maximus had died. Basements had never been common in Ireland, and I wondered what kind of builder concentrated on creating them.

Peter's basement was a little creepy, but still miles better than the last one I'd visited. It was well-lit and had gym mats on the floor, plus some equipment.

I gazed at the mish-mash, bemused. "Why?" I asked, gesturing around the room.

Peter shrugged, his cheeks pink. "Seemed like a good idea at the time. I was angry, kept breaking things in the gym, had to deal with trainers telling me to take it easy. Figured it would be easier to take the real deal back here where I could work in peace. It's my way of relaxing, I suppose."

"And there I was thinking your way of relaxing was killing something. All right then, let's get on with it. See how long this takes."

He made a face and began warming up. I sat on a mat and watched him, enjoying his flexing muscles more than I would ever admit. He took off his t-shirt to wrap something around his waist, letting me get a better view of his tattoos and scars. I'd known about the tattoos on his wrists and biceps, but he had what looked like pentacle-type symbols on his shoulder blades and four deep scars etched across his back like something had tried to claw out his spine.

He turned to grab some tape, and I spotted a scorpion on his hip, flames on his rib cage, and some text over his heart. I tried not to stare too hard. Something about Peter had always appealed to me, and my hormones had been out of whack, so I was suddenly overwhelmed with the sense that I might be the one bowing out of the training session first.

Peter threw his shirt back on and caught me staring at him. "Aren't you going to get ready?" he asked, sounding surprised.

Looking down at myself, I could only shrug. I hadn't even bothered to take off my coat. "I am ready. This is what I wear when I'm outside, so makes sense to train in it, right?"

He shook his head and muttered under his breath. "Whatever you say, Ava. All right, first of all, we'll do some basic one-on-one, see if we can pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses." He moved closer to me, gesturing wildly. My eyes kept tracing the movement of the cross on each of his wrists as if they were hypnotising me. "I've been watching you, so I think I can see where you might need help, but we'll figure it out on the mats."

I opened my mouth to make a smartarse remark about him watching me, but all I made was a heavy gasping sound as Peter rammed his shoulder into my chest, winding me.

I lay on the ground and choked for a few minutes. "What. The Hell," I hissed when I could breathe again.

Peter grinned and plonked himself down next to me. "You take your eye off the ball. That's your biggest problem. Then you look surprised when someone else takes the lead. You're too easily distracted, and your biggest physical weakness is when they grapple you, so don't let it get that far. You need to attack first. That's where your strength lies. Becca's intimidated by you, for whatever reason. Use that against her. Don't wait for her to get brave. Don't let her see you hesitate. Don't let her think ahead. When you're impulsive, you make mistakes."

"Says you. I've heard all about your impulsive actions. Gotten quite a reputation for yourself."

He looked smug at the mention of his reputation. I lay on the ground longer than necessary because I didn't want to wrestle with him, not if it meant feeling the heat of his skin on mine. I shook those thoughts out of my mind and tried to concentrate. I hated when he was right, and I was definitely easily distracted by him, so I counted his heartbeats in a bid to calm myself down.

Peter talked and talked about what moves to make, how to defend myself, a million and one things that I could remember perfectly as long as nobody was hitting me. He made me take off my jacket and warm up. Peter was in shape. I might be strong, but I wasn't as fit as I would like. So when he forced me onto his cross-trainer, I felt as if I might die any second. I had the awful feeling that he was trying to pack as much as possible into one session in case I never returned. If I had to keep moving, I might not have the energy to leave at all.

"All right, come on. Onto the mats. Let's see if you remember anything I said."

Sweat rolled down my back as I eyed Peter's tattoos. The ones on display anyway.

"What do they—" My words were cut off by Peter tackling me to the ground. I tried to remember everything he'd told me, but I was too conscious of his body against mine. Too aware of his pulse against my skin. Distracted, I forgot to count, and he pinned me easily.

He jumped up and circled me with more than a hint of swagger in his step. "Come on, you're not even trying! I'm just a human. What if a vampire did that to you?"

I stood, annoyed with myself, and tried to shake it off. His heart pumped with adrenalin. I could hear it as though my head lay against his chest. I concentrated on counting his heartbeat to distract myself from the testosterone in the air. It didn't work very well.

"Let's go, Ava. I'm a vampire, ready to kill you. I won't leave you alone until everyone you know is dead. What are you going to do?"

He ran at me again, but I was ready. I tripped him, shoved his shoulder to knock him sideways, and planted him on the ground, sitting on top of him to pin him.

"That's more like it," he said, his hazel eyes holding my stare. The heat of his skin melted into mine, and a trail of goose bumps raised on my skin. I eased off my grip as my throat dried, and that oh-so-familiar ache returned. He grabbed my arms and threw me under him, pinning me down and holding my arms above my head with a self-satisfied grin on his face.

"You didn't hold your concentration. Again! What's the problem?"

I gave what could only be described as the shriek of an over-excited teenage girl. "I'm not used to the heat, all right? I don't touch people. It makes me nervous, so get off!" I used all of my strength to push him off me and got to my feet, tapping my fingers against my wrist rapidly.

"I'm sorry, but you have to get past this. Hey, you're doing it again," he said, referring to my habit of mouthing the numbers I multiplied in my head.

"I know!" I wanted to pull out my hair. Anything to feel in control again.

He held up his hands, taking a step back. "Relax. Look, we'll work on other stuff, okay? No more pinning, I promise."

I nodded, feeling more stupid than ever. Peter tried his best to teach me how to protect myself in an actual fight, but I was so stiff and awkward and panicky about my reactions to him that it didn't work very well.

"Ava, what's the problem? This should be fun for you."

"I'm sorry," I blurted. "I've been thirsty lately. I'm afraid I'll get too close to you." I didn't add what else might be a problem. Him thinking I wanted to drink his blood was way better than him knowing I fancied the arse off him, but my stupid hormones couldn't handle it.

His face paled, but he held himself together pretty well. "I know you. You won't hurt me. If you feel... funny, just yell 'stop,' and I'll back off. Deal?"

I nodded, knowing exactly what it took for him to act so cool about it. I was a huge reminder of the things he hated, yet he was willing to get over it, or at least try. I was back to wanting to tuck myself under his arm where it was nice and safe. He looked wary, but he came at me as though I hadn't spoken of my thirst. I relaxed and managed to avoid being put in a headlock or flung to the ground.

"Much better," he said, panting, then grappled me again. The sparring helped. With my pent-up aggression and my confidence in my abilities. I didn't scream once. Peter didn't hold back, and slowly, everything I was feeling melted away with each strike I landed. I felt lighter and lighter as time went on, a huge contrast to the moping I'd been doing at home.

Sweating and claiming he ached, Peter eventually called a halt to the training session, but I was majorly pumped. Once Peter let me at his punching bag, it was as if I had thumped my stress away, yet somehow soaked up new energy at the same time.

"I feel amazing," I said, giddy at how good it felt to move around so much. And perhaps Eddie was right. Maybe getting used to being around humans helped because the thirst wasn't bothering me anymore. Pity I couldn't say the same about my ridiculously inconvenient attraction to Peter.

"Glad one of us does." Peter stretched his arm carefully. "Where are you getting all of your energy? The harder you worked, the more hyped you became."

"I don't know. I just feel good. Better than good, actually. Maybe I needed the exercise." I grinned, mostly relieved I hadn't made a complete fool of myself from being so close to him.

He raised his eyebrows, probably bemused by the change in my demeanour. He was different, too, seeming more comfortable. Fighting together had brought us closer in some ways. Being distant with someone who had saved your life a couple of times was hard.

"Think I can handle a vampire?"

"You know how to handle a vampire. You just need to get your head straight. You have natural instinct on your side, but you also have self-control."

I raised my eyebrows. Self-control hadn't yet showed up on my list of skills.

"Seriously," he insisted. "You hold back a little, even when you're attacked for real. You don't lose it. Vampires completely lose the plot."

"Is that a good thing?" I wasn't convinced.

"Of course it is. It means you're thinking. And it means you always have a little extra juice up your sleeve when you need it. Hey." He lifted my chin. "You're going to be okay." I held his gaze for a little too long. He backed off, just as I knew he would. Comfortable as we were, some things would always be a step too far. For either of us. For a million reasons.

"I should probably go."

He nodded. "Maybe we'll make this a regular thing for a while. Until we can find someone more suitable. I'm not sure I can take this much of a beating every week."

I tried not to laugh. I'd definitely gotten my own back at him in the end. "Whatever you say. I'll see you tonight?"

"Yep." He turned his back to me. "Esther's tagging along."

I bit my lip, realising that wasn't the full story. "I don't need a babysitter."

"That's not what this is, Ava. She wants to see how you do it. That's all." He turned back around, his eyes more earnest. "She wants to know how to track Becca."

"I can hardly teach her that," I snapped.

He held out his hands. "I know. They all just want to feel like they can do something."

"Since when did you start caring about how the Guardians feel?"

"We're all on the same side. At least for now. If she can learn from you, then—"

"I'll see you later." I knew he didn't understand my anger, but that was because he was all about the next step. I couldn't move forward when I had so much on my mind. Aside from feeling convinced one of the Guardians had something to do with the toxic shadows that tried to cling to people's souls, everyone wanted to know my secrets. I was the one person they thought could reveal everything, but I had no answers.

# Chapter Four

I lowered my chin until the bottom half of my face was protected by my collar. The drizzling rain slowly dampened my hair, more irritating than anything else. The moon was full, and the night didn't seem as dark as usual, despite the clouds.

I waited outside my building for Peter and Esther, unable to stay indoors for a minute longer. The workout with Peter had driven something, unleashed something, made me uneasy somehow.

I recognised the growl of Peter's car but didn't move until it came to a complete stop in front of me. It bugged me to see Esther in the front seat. I hated that backseat. It reminded me of how Peter used to make me sit there because he didn't trust me not to bite him.

Esther turned around to talk to me as soon as Peter started the car. "I haven't seen you in ages. I've called, but... I guess I keep missing you." Her chirpy voice faltered as if she finally clued in to the expression on my face.

"Ignore her," Peter said. "She's been in a bad mood since I've known her."

Esther grinned, her face lighting up. "She's not so bad." Her face was heavily made up, her hair styled as always. I would never equate a bear to her curvy frame. She didn't look like a fighter, and part of me was curious to see how we would match up in a fight.

"Aiden told me to tell you he was asking for you," she tried again.

I seriously doubted that, but I nodded and tried to smile. I liked Esther, I really did, but she was so confident in herself, despite her past, that I couldn't help feeling inadequate around her. She knew exactly who and what she was, and she wasn't afraid of it. Enter me, and the difference was astounding. Even in appearance, I was the lesser, and my admittedly boyish frame didn't exactly hold up well against her more feminine build. It all might have been fine except I had an awful feeling that the Council had sent her to hunt with me, or rather, to check up on me.

"What happened to your hands?" she asked, eyeing the bandages.

I slipped them into my pockets and slumped down in the seat. "Long story."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Esther fished something out of her stylish handbag. "Here's a list of the manned checkpoints in Dublin tonight."

That might have come in handy every other night, I wanted to scream.

Peter pulled down the glove compartment and took out something shiny. "Here, wear this," he told Esther, and held it out while keeping his eyes on the road.

"Thanks." She carefully took from his hands what turned out to be a necklace with a chunky cross. The way she looked at him disturbed me, as if I had any claim on another soul.

"You a jeweller on the side now?" I muttered.

Esther threw me a bemused glance, but Peter just ignored me.

"Is this going to do something?" she asked him.

"Crosses definitely hurt her. And it won't hurt you to have a little extra protection."

Her laugh was confident, cocky even. "You know I turn into a bear, right?"

His shoulders tensed. "Don't fool yourself, Esther. She's quick. Quicker than any vampire I've ever seen. You might not get the chance to shift."

"Okay, okay. I get it. Safety first." Her mocking tone convinced me she wasn't taking it seriously. I'd quickly learned that Guardians were kind of up themselves, thinking they were the untouchable elite. Shifters were pretty proud, too, so it wasn't surprising that Esther underestimated the situation. The fact her protective big brother was both her alpha and her boss probably didn't help her awareness of danger.

I had expected a little humility from the Council's soldiers when their ranks had been decimated by Becca, but Peter had warned me it only made the others more competitive. Maybe it was good Esther had joined us. She might see it wasn't a game.

We drove for a few minutes in silence before Peter gave Esther a pointed look. "Try not to let Becca get close enough to bite you, or you're screwed. She's after blood, any blood. She's not picky. She drinks from as many people as she can, night after night. It's all she wants. There's no talking, no persuading, no hesitating. She's all about the blood, all of the time."

"So, she's stocking up?"

He pulled over and turned in his seat. "Stocking up?"

"You know, for hibernation. Or another mutation." She touched the cross Peter had given her with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Wait. What now?" I interrupted.

Esther looked back at me. "Blood's her only food source, and it's coming up on summer. Hibernation time for the nightwalkers."

I glanced at Peter for confirmation.

He shrugged. "Back in the day, vampires buried themselves in the dirt during the summer months, after overdosing on blood for weeks. Maybe some vampires still hibernate, but most just go abroad during the summer months. The rest stay put and deal with the shorter night hours, especially because they would have to officially apply to the Council to up their quota pre-hibernation."

"How did I not know this? Wait, you said mutation as well."

Esther nodded. "She's already mutated once. Maybe she's due for another. Some kinds of shifters need to drink blood before they change, but they're the type who stay in their animal forms for a couple of days at a time. Not quite the same."

Something in her voice triggered my suspicion. "You know something I don't, Esther?"

Her face remained blank as she shook her head. I didn't believe her, and I definitely didn't trust the Council. Thoughts of what had happened to the leftover formula and the human candidate who had been arrested still bugged me.

Peter cleared his throat. "We're close to the last place she was spotted. Ava can work her magic and figure out where to go from there. And Esther, don't get in Ava's way."

Esther looked as surprised as I felt, but she nodded. I half-expected her to ask about working magic, but she kept quiet. The focus on her face was a far cry from the giddy girly persona she gave off most of the time. Maybe I had underestimated her, too.

We all got out of the car and stood in a circle, their eyes directly on me. The air was taut with tension and filled with the nauseating scent of anticipation. Trying to ignore them, I focused on seeing that other plane. My skin tingled... but nothing happened.

Esther hovering there made me more nervous than usual. Tracking Becca while people watched always felt awkward. They seemed to expect fireworks and flying unicorns, not me staring into space.

I tried again.

Nothing.

"What's taking so long?" Esther blurted.

I glared at her. "Just wait in the car."

Peter led a reluctant Esther back to the car. I sighed heavily as soon as I heard the car doors close. Their expectations crippled me, and Esther's excitement was stifling. How was I supposed to relax when everyone else's emotions ramped up my own? Eddie had mentioned finding another empath to help me control it, but being out of control was almost preferable to asking him for a favour.

I took a minute to calm down. I seemed to need to do that more often lately. Pretty much everything about me was frayed, unravelling. That made me think about the 'not yet matured' bull. A conversation with Carl about the things he had learned with his research might have been overdue. I had already wasted too much time in the dark.

Sniffing the air, I tried to make out Becca's scent on the wind. For weeks, I had regularly woken with that scent under my nose, so obsessed with it had I been. Tracking her was hard because she literally vanished during the day. We were left with me chasing her scent at night and hoping she would come into the scope of my senses in order to see her essence. Not exactly convenient.

Before long, I resigned myself to the fact I wasn't going to find a fresh trail. Obviously, Becca had already moved on to another spot.

The problem with Becca's movements was the unpredictability. She didn't appear to have a plan, her path was random, and she was so easily distracted that even being chased by me didn't stop her from looking for a new hunting ground. What Esther had said about hibernating—and mutating—had been interesting, but it only served to put even more pressure on me to catch Becca.

Since she had turned into... whatever she became at my trial, she had pretty much left a path of dead bodies in her wake. We might have been able to find her sooner if she left witnesses—or even someone alive long enough to call for help—but she tended to kill in clusters, and it was rare for anyone to walk away.

Deciding I wasn't close enough to find her by scent only, I moved back to my other skill, seeing things on a different plane of existence, except I was going to put my back into it. I'd been pushing my abilities further and further, wearing myself out, but it seemed to get easier the more I tried.

At first, I had only been able to reach one other level. It felt like a web surrounding me, preventing me from moving further. As time went on, the web started to break, and I pushed through to another plane. I could see further, differently than before. The energies of humans and monsters alike were so vivid there, I could almost reach out and touch them. Yet another item on the list of things I badly needed to find out more about.

I stared at the ground and concentrated. My skin tingled, and it felt as if my head were lifting off my body. Soon, a whole other world opened. Esther and Peter's energies pulsed nearby, their heart rates higher than normal. Slowly at first, more and more red pulsing human energies began popping up on my radar, then the empty spaces that meant soulless vampires.

I had started to see other things without trying, energies that I couldn't name. But some types of energy seemed naturally easier to spot, such as human and vampire... and the beautiful glow that marked an angel.

The range of my vision expanded slightly. The borders pushed outward, but it still wasn't enough. Gasping for breath, I pushed harder, feeling as though I were leaving my body.

My ears popped, and everything changed.

I stopped feeling the rain, or the wind, or hearing any noise. Neither warmth nor cold touched my skin, just a disturbingly empty vacuum that closed in on my body. In the distance, I saw shadows moving, but the street where I stood had turned to a murky shadowlike consistency, too.

I moved my leg, feeling as though I were pushing myself through deep water. Not unpleasant exactly, but not a natural kind of feeling for me—too heavy and slow, as if I were weighted down by an unseen force.

I glanced at the car. It blew in and out of a shimmery existence, and although I knew Peter and Esther were in there, I could no longer hear their heartbeats.

I tried to make a sound. Something tacky pressed against my tongue, and no noise came out. Fascinated, I started to try again but was distracted by a movement ahead. I glanced in that direction, and suddenly I was there, on a different street. The movement was gone, and I was nowhere near the car anymore.

Behind was charcoal shadow, but as I stared ahead, I grew accustomed to the different light and realised that everything was coloured a muted burgundy and violet.

Sensing something to my left, I tried to spin around, wavering as a bout of dizziness struck. Again, I was somewhere else. Someone, or something, was nearby, but I had no idea how to find them without jerking my body another mile away.

My head ached. The air was too heavy. Or maybe it was the lack of air. I realised I wasn't breathing, and that shocked me into action. Steadying myself, I tried to move slowly the next time I saw movement. A figure. Of sorts. Looking down at myself, I realised I didn't exactly look like a person anymore, either. Ethereal, I had transformed into a wispy entity on a plane where I didn't belong.

The figure moved on, and I tried to follow its path with my eyes. I practised that for a while, looking around without being sucked across town.

I saw more figures as I explored, and realised I was seeing things I didn't usually notice. One was different to everything else—not empty, but not living, either. Becca's presence was so bizarrely unnatural that it wasn't hard to spot her.

I could zone in on her from far away, whether I wanted to or not. Her presence was a mass of red and black squirming energy that looked as if, given the chance, it might explode in all directions. I badly wanted to see what my own energy looked like to others.

I recognised the surrounding buildings. I stood outside of the city, but still in a highly populated area. The curfew was a blessing. It cleared out a lot of places that would have otherwise been teeming with people. Places I could drive Becca to, if the opportunity arose.

Satisfied I had Becca's location, I tried to step back... and got stuck. Letting go of the other planes had always been easy, but I was held tight. I struggled with it, felt the atmosphere grow tighter against me. Breathing was impossible, and I was pretty sure I needed to breathe no matter what plane I visited.

Panic overrode every other sensation. I was trapped, couldn't move, couldn't help myself. The more I struggled, the tighter the filmy air held me. The hooded figure was in my face before I realised it had moved. I tried to speak, to ask for help. It lay what felt like a surprisingly firm hand on my forehead and pushed.

I fell backward, slowly, still unable move my hands. Suddenly, the world flooded with colour and air again, and I was on my feet right in front of the car.

"Whoa," I whispered, staring at my palms. Trippy. Two drops of blood fell from my nose, an unusually crimson stain marring the white bandage on my hand. Feeling as though I could see everything more clearly, I remembered I knew Becca's exact location.

Making a firm decision to ignore the weirdness, I jumped into the car, hoping Esther and Peter hadn't seen me do anything whacky while I searched for Becca. They looked pretty bored, so I figured I hadn't moved at all.

"Drive, I'll give directions on the way."

Peter wasn't surprised, having been given the same order numerous times before, but Esther stared at me, her eyes sparkling with intrigue.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"How do you shift into a bear?" I replied.

A slight frown creased her forehead. "Maybe you are in a bad mood, after all."

Peter drove as fast as the limit allowed, and I finally scoped Becca on my normal radar. She kept moving, not stopping to feed. I gave Peter changes in directions over and over again.

After an hour of driving in what amounted to mini-circles, it dawned on me what might be happening. "I think she knows I'm coming."

"How on Earth can she know that?" Esther asked.

I shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe the same way I know where she is. Maybe she has a really good sense of smell. Maybe somebody warned her tonight is my shift. I'm not the psychic."

"Neither am I, Ava. What's with you?"

I might have snapped back, but I caught the worry in her voice.

"She doesn't want to talk," Peter said, silencing us. I just wasn't sure exactly who he was protecting with the statement.

After another half-hour of erratic driving, my impatience got the better of me. "I'm going on foot. I'll try and herd her toward the racetrack. It's still empty."

Peter grunted in reply, but Esther caught my hand before I got out of the car. "Be careful."

I squeezed her fingers and nodded. Peter managed to step out of the car before I did.

"What?" I asked, itching to run.

"I didn't want to say it in the car, but there's something on your forehead." His usual frown deepened as he stared at me. He reached a half-second before me, batting my hand out of the way as he brushed my skin. A little cloud of dust flew away from me, and I jerked back, wiping frantically. Staring at my hand, I saw a weird residue on my fingertips. A deep mauve-coloured texture that had an almost sand-like quality stained my fingers.

"Is it gone?" I felt a little frantic for some reason, as if I had to get every single particle away from my skin as quickly as possible. He frowned and used his clean hand to rub roughly at my skin.

He shook his head, still staring at me in wonder. "It's a bruise. A handprint. That wasn't there when I picked you up." He took another step toward me, and I broke into a run in the opposite direction, playing with numbers to distract me from the overwhelming panic.

Whatever had sent me from that other plane had physically marked me, yet Peter and Esther had acted as though nothing untoward happened, as though I hadn't moved at all. I mouthed numbers in multiples of seven—skipping fifty-six just in case—freaked out by my lack of understanding of the things I dabbled in.

I had grown up using numbers as a way to deal with stress, then with my thirst for human blood, and I was back to using numbers so I wouldn't think about unpleasant things. A point for regression.

I stretched my legs and ran faster, pushing my body past the limits of comfort, mostly due to my leg still aching from Becca's bite. It had healed well, though it was still stiff. I wasn't fit, but my body could do things it shouldn't have been able to do. Once I let go of human fear, I was fast. Really fast. If I fought for my life, I was strong. And if I believed in myself, I was smarter than I acted. Once I stopped caring like a human, the world opened up to me.

As I ran, I made a decision. I wanted to live without fear or regret. I wanted to know myself and more about my abilities.

But I had to beat Becca first. The doubting voice in my head was loud. How could I beat Becca? Last time, she almost killed me. She'd killed better fighters. How could I survive without killing her first?

I kept my eye on Becca using my other sight, but she kept moving. At least if she was running then she wasn't murdering anyone. But how did she know to run? I had acted as though it didn't matter in the car, but it bothered me. Maybe she found herself connected to me as much as I felt connected to her.

Knowing she could somehow sense me helped me drive her toward the racetrack, but so much running had me wheezing, and the ache in my leg increased until a bit of a limp kicked in. By the time I began to close in on her, I was exhausted and running on the fumes of a final adrenalin rush.

I texted Peter to let him know she was close to him. The racetrack was practically abandoned with the country on alert. The entire island had been burdened with curfews, daily warnings, and extended police patrols. With lots of open space and a decent lack of humans running around, the racetrack was the perfect place for a battle, and hopefully, a capture.

Watching Becca's energy move was strange. Sometimes she ran in random directions, and at others, she zoned onto a path like a bullet. Those times were when she spotted a human, like when she caught Peter's scent at the racetrack.

My stomach dropped when I sensed her on the hunt, and I sped up as much as I could. By the time I caught up, the bonnet of Peter's car was all but crushed, and he was swinging a gigantic sword over his head like a madman. His rage was overpowering, flooding me with the same emotion. Score for the empathy.

But Becca wasn't looking at him anymore. Her eyes were on the bear towering over her, the bear in Peter's way. As I closed in on them, Esther swiped a paw and snarled ferociously, but Becca remained unflinching. Peter hesitated, unwilling to risk either hurting Esther or murdering Becca. Either way, the Council would be pissed.

Wrapping one arm around the bear's throat in one speedy motion, Becca swung herself over Esther's shoulder, clung to her back with her knees, and was about to attempt a neck break when I unclipped the silver chain belt around my waist and threw it around her neck. I yanked it back, falling to the ground and managing to take Becca down with me. Esther clawed at Becca, who was too busy twisting and grabbing at me to notice.

"Back off!" I shouted at both Esther and Peter, who came running to help. I couldn't catch a crazy, mutated vampire and worry about other people getting hurt at the same time.

Peter listened. Esther didn't.

Becca let out a howl of rage and reached for Esther, breaking the chain. I kicked Becca aside to give me enough space to jump in front of Esther. I punched Becca in the face, throwing all of my strength and Peter's anger behind it, then screamed at Esther again. She swiped at me with a rumbling growl, so I punched her, too, knocking her back. I ran after Becca, who had fled. Swearing, I caught up to her and kicked the back of her knee to trip her. She fell, and I toppled over her.

We rolled together, my head smacking the ground. I flashed my fangs, and she sort of bounced over me before getting up to run again. I was too sore and exhausted to keep going, so I lay there and watched the stars, my fingers brushing against moist blades of grass, until Peter and Esther caught up to me.

"What the hell were you doing?" Esther shouted, back in human form. She wore Peter's shirt, displaying most of her bare legs. "I almost had her!"

"You had nothing," I huffed back.

Peter grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet. Doubling over, I wheezed out my next couple of breaths and ignored Esther's griping long enough to sense out Becca's location. She was still running, and I would never catch her.

"What's this about?" I straightened myself, gesturing to her bare legs.

"I didn't have time to undress, so my clothes tore when I shifted." She shoved me in the chest with both hands, her nostrils flaring with anger. "You hit me!"

"My God, you're an idiot," I said. "One thing I tell you to do. One thing." I waved my hands, unable to continue.

"I could have taken her," she insisted.

I made a noise because that was all I could manage.

"Are we going after her?" Peter interrupted. I grabbed his arm to look at his watch. I would never catch up to her before sunrise. I had been running most of the night already, and my leg was killing me. I shook my head.

"Are you kidding me?" Esther was really doing my head in.

"Look, by the time I get remotely close to catching up with her, the sun will be up. Game over." I leaned over again, struggling to slow my racing heart.

"Perfect. We get her during the day. Go track her!"

I carefully debated punching her again. "I can't. Peter, take her home."

I turned to leave, but she grabbed my arm.

"What do you mean, you can't?"

"I'm not a performing seal, Esther. I can't find her during the day. She goes off my radar. Dies. Or whatever. I can't keep up with her long enough to figure it out for sure. If we find her during the day, it'll be a total fluke."

"But—"

I sighed heavily. "Peter, please. Take her home."

"What about you?" he asked.

"I can't sit in a car with you two tonight. Goodbye."

As I walked away, I heard him say something about bringing her back to his place. I was just glad to be out of punching distance. I liked Esther, but I obviously couldn't work with her. I trudged through the grass, a cold breeze blowing across my hands.

"So, you didn't ditch me, then," I muttered, and felt a cool ghostly arm around my shoulders the rest of the way home.

# Chapter Five

Going over the sheer disaster of the night before was so depressing, I actually felt excited when I received a text from Yvonne. It could only mean a job, and that would take my mind off the epic failure into which my life had devolved. When I rang her, she briskly told me to collect a payment from Eddie and deliver it to Daimhín that night. My heart sank at the idea of being around Eddie, but it had to be done.

I decided to get over there early, do some shopping, then drop in on Daimhín as soon as it got dark. A rare sunny day, I embraced the sunlight, knowing it was protection. We'd been through a bad winter, and April wouldn't be a scorcher, but a cloudless sky opened up as soon as I left my street, and for some reason, it felt like a blessing.

Walking to Eddie's bookshop, I mulled over the events of the previous night. If anyone had been watching, it might have looked as though I didn't want to capture Becca at all. That wasn't true, but I didn't think I was right for the job after all. I needed help to take her down, and I didn't work well with others.

Esther hadn't helped. She kept pushing me and taking over. Then again, she probably thought the exact same thing about me. Except I was pushing everyone away, and I wasn't even sure why. Everything I had been feeling, or rather everything I had been ignoring, kept coming to the surface in ways I couldn't control. If I didn't hurry up and deal with Becca, people would keep dying. Everything was depending on me doing things right, and that made my throat dry up with a raw, aching thirst.

I stood outside Eddie's shop for a few minutes, gulping air in an attempt to calm myself. The sounds of distant heartbeats buzzed in the air, tormenting me. Closing my eyes, I twisted the numbers of my birth date until I boiled them down to one safe number. Five. That worked.

Pushing open the door, I held my breath as a distinctly citrus scent filled my nostrils. "What are you doing here?" I blurted.

"Kinda work here," Carl said, grinning. "What are you doing here?"

"Job. Debt collecting. Making even more friends. Is he here?"

"He's upstairs having lunch. Should be back down in a few. Sticking around?"

I let out a heavy sigh, knowing I should leave from the way my mouth kept watering. Whatever the hell was in Carl's blood tantalised my senses, and for the first time in a while, I had no choice but to grip the silver cross around my neck and hope the thirst would duck its head again.

Still, I needed to figure out why Carl was lying, and the only way to do that was by asking questions. It wasn't stalking. Just some friendly queries. Peter probably wouldn't approve, but he wasn't around to stop me.

"I'll wait," I said when Carl appeared confused by my silence.

"Great! I want to show you something."

Before I could stop him, he jumped over the counter and dove into the bookshelves, picking up a mini stack and carrying them back over to me.

"What's all this?" I asked, fidgeting nervously.

He dropped the books on the counter and flicked through one of them. He shoved it at me, urging me to take a look while he went through the rest of the musty-smelling books.

One word caught my eye. Nephilim. The picture beside it made me gasp aloud. Angels, men, demons, and gigantic warriors with flaming swords covered the page.

"I know," Carl said, looking over at me. "You're a little small. Then again, you're a mongrel."

I made a face, but it didn't stop his laughter. "What's this?"

"You. Or rather, what you were meant to be. In theory. The angels told them what to do, and they took out the demons and kept the gates of hell closed to protect humans."

"Why?" I muttered.

"The angels couldn't bring the battle to Earth, but demons could, by possessing humans. They wanted out of Hell, I suppose. It's really fascinating, makes you wonder how much of history is..." He faltered, searching my face. "Is everything okay?" He scratched his chest absentmindedly.

My mind raced. Big shoes to fill. Huge. "Um, yeah." I waved my hands as if batting away the images. "What's with you? Fleas?"

"Silence, dwarfed giant. Seriously, you have to read this stuff. The Nephilim were born to be warriors. You were practically made to protect people. How cool is that?"

"Except I'm not one of them, remember? Besides, could they actually do anything... useful?" I felt shy all of a sudden that a human who hadn't known vampires or angels existed a couple of months ago could tell me about my heritage.

"Apart from saving the world? The books all disagree, I'm afraid. Still interesting reading, though." He slowly nudged one book across the counter as if I couldn't see him.

I ducked under his arm, grabbed the book, and rushed behind the counter to read it. He stood there helplessly, still scratching, his face flooded with colour. I flicked through the pages, my heart racing.

It was all bad. The book called Nephilim the dark ones, the ones who bridged the gap between Heaven and Hell. In so not a good way. The ones who could end it all. Children of night, of darkness, of Lucifer. The words blurred together in front of my eyes, and my lungs felt as though the air had been sucked right from them. I threw the book away from me as if it burned my fingers.

"It's just one book," he said softly.

"But it's right," I whispered, horrified by the tears in my eyes. "I don't even try to do the right thing anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

"I can feel it," I said, blurting out the secret things that kept me so low. "There's something dark in me. And it's getting stronger. I don't care about anything because when I do, it hurts. Everything's worse when I feel like a human. The thirst, the counting, everything. The only time I rein it in for good is when I act like one of them. When I feel like one of them. I'm stronger when I'm like them. I can't even explain half the things I do. I don't know what's happening to me." His arm was around me before a tear dropped. I let everything out. All of the things I had been thinking just spewed out of my mouth. I was only sure of one thing, that Carl wouldn't judge me for it.

"They said you had a choice," Carl reminded me. "That you could choose. You're never going to choose... the wrong thing."

"I don't even know what's right and wrong anymore. I'm working for this stupid Council who can't even protect children, and I'm certain some of them are the kind of thing I should really be hunting. And I'm working for a vampire queen, for feck's sake. I can't even stop Becca from murdering people, and all I'm trying to do is bring her in for what's going to be more inhumane testing. I forced my will on a policeman the other night. I don't know what I'm doing."

"You're not bad, Ava."

I snorted through my tears and wiped my eyes. "You would never tell me if I was bad."

"I wouldn't lie to you." Our eyes locked, and I remembered he already had. He looked so sure, so steady and honest, that I almost doubted myself. Almost. In the end, he was just another in a long line of liars.

"Yeah, well, what else is in those books, then?" I asked, moving away from him.

He scratched his chest. "There's a couple here,"—he opened two next to each other—"that talk about walking between worlds and dimensions."

"Dimensions?" I grabbed one of the books to take a closer look. "Astral projection? What's that?"

"It's something like when your soul leaves your body to move around elsewhere. This book, though, this is the interesting one. It doesn't mention astral projection, but it talks about the ability to pass between dimensions. I don't understand it really. At first, I thought it was on about portals into another world or something. But the more I read, the less sure I am."

He stared at me, and I gulped at the serious expression on his face. "Ava. It... it talks about being able to pass through the gates of Hell, too, about opening gates."

Before I could react, a door slammed behind us.

"Ava, I thought I heard your voice. Carl, you can head on now. Thanks for your help." Eddie approached me, a wide, but probably fake, smile on his face. "How have you been?"

My shoulders automatically hunched. "I'm here for Daimhín."

He didn't look surprised, but he made a clucking sound. "Oh, dear. I have no cash right now. How about you come here tonight to pick it up? After dark, when the shop is closed."

I hesitated. I knew better than to trust Eddie when he was being agreeable. Finally, I shrugged, not having much of an option. "Fine. I'll be back later. Carl, what are you doing right now?"

Carl's heart rate spiked, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood. "I promised my parents I'd go see them. You?"

"I have some shopping to do," I said, chewing on the inside of my mouth.

"So you're not going home?"

"No," I said slowly.

Carl scrambled to get his things. "Well, I'll see you all soon." He blew out of the shop like a whirlwind. I stood frowning for a couple of seconds.

"You should hurry," Eddie said in a matter-of-fact voice. "That shopping sounded important."

I ignored him, wondering if he knew something, but not wanting to speak to him about anything other than business. I still hadn't forgiven him for lying to me, even though he had warned me I didn't know things I should. But I did hurry. I didn't go shopping. I trailed Carl. All the way to my building. That's when it dawned on me. That thing I hadn't been seeing. Carl was sneaking around with my next-door neighbour.

***

I impatiently rapped on Eddie's door, stamping my feet to get a little feeling back into my numb toes. As usual, the clear day had been followed by a bitterly cold evening.

Eddie opened the door halfway, pulled me in, and slammed it behind me.

"Little edgy, aren't we?" I began, then slowly turned around to face possibly the oldest vampire I had ever seen. His eyes were covered in the same filmy substance that diluted Daimhín's scarlet orbs, but the redness of his were flecked with dark brown, almost black streaks. His long dark hair was tied back loosely, letting strands fall over his eyes.

I glanced back at Eddie, who tried to look reassuring. It didn't work. Every cell in my body wanted to get away from the ancient vampire. I wanted to pull out my dagger against him. My fingers trembled in my pockets, and my instincts went haywire.

"This is Reuben, the vampire consultant to the Council," Eddie said hurriedly, as if he could read my thoughts. I tried to calm myself, seeing why Eddie had introduced him before I flipped out completely.

The vampire nodded politely, and I realised I recognised him from the trial. Exhaling loudly, I kept my eyes on Reuben while speaking to Eddie. "I have to get back to Daimhín tonight."

Reuben turned and walked straight up the stairs without a word.

"What's going on?" I whispered. "Are you in trouble or something?"

"No, no. Reuben wants to speak to you, that's all."

"To me? What for?"

"Ava, he's very old, and he knows more than most. Be polite to this one. Do you understand? He's not a resident, but he has quite a bit of sway as a consultant. Watch yourself tonight."

Feeling like a scolded child, I threw my hands in the air and followed Eddie upstairs. Everything involving Eddie had to turn into something else, and I was absolutely certain he had planned the meeting.

Reuben was already sitting at the table when I walked into Eddie's kitchen. I sat across from him, eyeing him warily. His lips twitched a little, as though I amused him. To me, a vampire's smile was way worse than his frown.

"Any news on the beast?" he said slowly, each word a dusty croaking sound that sent my nervous system into convulsive twitching.

"Not really." I glanced at Eddie, who kept his back to us.

"It needs to be dealt with soon," Reuben said.

"I know," I snapped. He narrowed his eyes, and I again felt that cold sensation on my skin. Just like the time the black sheep of Daimhín's coven, Jules, had tried to control me. With Jules, it felt like raindrops. With Reuben, it felt like ice-cold waves of water dashing against my skin. Shivering, I gulped hard until the feeling seeped away, but I was left rattled by the feeling he would be able to control me if he really tried.

"I'm doing the best I can," I insisted.

"What's the problem?" he asked.

"She knows I'm coming. She keeps running, and I can't keep up."

"Well, no wonder. Look at you. You're puny. Are you even using up your quota?"

Eddie made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort. I sent daggered glares at his back.

"I don't drink blood," I said. "What's your quota like?"

The vampire relaxed in his seat, his lips curving upward. That wasn't reassuring. I waited for his decrepit skin to tear apart at the action. "I get to drain a virgin once a month." He licked his fangs slowly, as if he could still taste blood on them.

I leaned back in my chair. I really hadn't expected that answer.

He cocked his head to the side. "I made my deals in another time. My involvement with the Council has saved me from renegotiation."

I wanted to vomit. I was helping those people?

"Why the distaste?" he asked, a hidden warning in his voice. "Once upon a time, you could be guaranteed that the young were innocent and clean. Pure of blood. Now I have to look a lot harder. Slightly more tedious, but worth it."

"Can't you just use donated blood?" I blurted. "A... volunteer?"

His eyes widened with surprise. "Oh, I do. But nothing is worth that sweet ecstasy at the moment the heart stops. Near the end, the heart is so very desperate to survive, so willing to put up a fight. That gloriously final, traumatic pump makes the search worth it. Trust me, once you taste it, you don't go back, little dark thing." He gave a little moan that made me think he wasn't as controlled as people seemed to think.

I leaned forward, my head thundering with anger. "I'm not dark."

"So you say. I see differently. You may not be consuming your natural diet, but you are using other... gifts. I can smell it on you."

My cheeks burned with shame. I kept thinking I was so much better than them, but there was more to darkness than murder and blood.

He sniffed the air like a hound, his fangs much more noticeable. "I can smell so much more. What a waste." He stared into my eyes, and I felt a hand grip my soul. I touched his darkness, and it left a distinctly sour taste in my mouth.

I shook myself, and pushed my chair away from the table, desperate to get away from the vampire. Everything about him disturbed me.

Eddie laid his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "Reuben. To the point, please."

Reuben looked away for a few minutes. When he finally looked at me again, the danger was gone from his eyes. "Yes, the point. We need speed on this situation. You need to take down the beast before something worse comes. There are mutterings of interference from others, and the Council can't afford to have this used as an excuse. Drink the blood. Consume it with the kind of pleasure you were born to have. It's the only way you'll stop her. Trust me, you're not strong enough without it."

"I don't believe you," I lied. Shrugging off Eddie's hand, I stalked out of the room before I made a huge mistake. I had to stop pissing off the wrong people every time they terrified me.

Downstairs, I sat behind the counter with my head between my knees, breathing deeply. Counting couldn't help the ache in my chest. Too much pressure. Too many harsh truths revealed.

"Here." Eddie handed me an envelope full of cash. "Calm down, Ava." He pressed his palm against my forehead. I felt him summon power, but I couldn't gather myself enough to stop him. A warm feeling soothed the ache, and the wheezing soon stopped.

"You should hand this over to Daimhín," he said, his eyes full of pity. I hated that I couldn't hate him when he looked at me like that.

The drop-off was pleasantly uneventful, and I spent the rest of the night running the streets looking for Becca. The chase lasted until sunrise. Nobody died.

# Chapter Six

For two weeks straight, I hunted, even when it wasn't my shift. I chased Becca, followed her around, kept her kills to the bare minimum. I worked alone because being around others seemed to hold me back. I avoided Peter's calls, knowing he would only give me bad news from the Council. I didn't want to believe I was working with the kinds of creatures who would allow people to be sacrificed to keep an incredibly creepy old vampire satisfied.

I kept getting the urge to call Carl, but every time I broke down and dialled, he either didn't answer or ended the call as quickly as possible. A sense of foreboding kept drawing over me as I realised I hadn't spoken to him properly in a fortnight. The self-pitying haze had shifted a little, letting me see clearly. He had been so eager to talk to me, then suddenly switched to avoiding me. It made no sense, unless he suspected I knew about his little secret.

Still, it wasn't like Carl to be secretive. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. He might have made some stupid decisions, but he tended to be pretty open about them, even when he knew he would be hassled.

I tried calling him again, but it went straight to voicemail. Deciding to bite the bullet, I rang Peter instead.

"Have you seen Carl?" I asked.

He hesitated. "Not exactly. He sleeps during the day a lot nowadays."

"Is he with you now? Wait, sleeps during the day? Doesn't he work for Eddie anymore?"

"I thought so. He's at his parents today, I think." I heard some things fall. "Yep, he left a note. Is something wrong?"

I let out a loud sigh, thinking of Carl's lies. Peter would only say it was none of my business. Maybe he was right. "I don't know. Probably not. Never mind. I'll see you."

"Wait! You coming over today for a training session?"

I bit the inside of my cheek. Not a chance. "I'm a bit busy today. I'll call you when I'm free."

I hung up before he could say anything else. Flipping through the phonebook, I found Carl's parents' number. I had no real reason to call them, except to prove my own point to myself. I rang, had a particularly awkward call, and discovered Carl's parents hadn't seen him in a month.

I mulled it over. Carl was lying to everyone. It worried me because he still had blank moments. They were rare, but there were times when he looked like he had while I accidentally mind-warped him. The pain of the broken bond had been bad enough, but the lingering effects scared me into thinking that maybe little pieces of his mind would never be the same again.

Mentally exhausted, I took a break from the hunt that night, but I was still thinking about Carl the following day when a sharp rap on my door made me flinch. At least I had money if it was the landlord. Still, I never lost that shivery feeling whenever he knocked.

I regretted opening the door as soon as I saw Peter.

"Still busy?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at my unbrushed hair.

"Yes." I stood aside to let him enter. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing much. Just a supernatural serial killer running the streets. Oh, and I keep having to waste time watching you have catfights with Guardians, then put up with you ignoring me for weeks."

I rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't call that a catfight. And like I said, I've been busy."

"You punched Esther! And you know the Council is on my back about helping you."

"She swiped me first with her stupidly big bear claw. Besides, I couldn't care less what the Council or their Guardians think."

He grinned suddenly, knocking me off guard. "You won't be happy until everyone turns on you."

"It's not that, and you know it. Look at those people. I told you Coyle had to have had something to do with that shifter who committed suicide in Gabe's bar. I'm positive those shadows are down to him, and he's a Guardian, so who knows how far that goes? Oh, and I met creepy Reuben, the virgin-blood-drinking vampire diva. Things have gotten a lot stranger than I bargained for."

"Speaking of strange, what was with the hand-shaped bruise on your forehead?"

I touched my head self-consciously. I had been wearing my hair over the creepy mark for weeks. It had taken that long to go away. "It's... hard to explain."

"Try me. I have time."

"Well, I don't really want to talk about it. Besides, I'm exceptionally busy worrying about Carl today, thank you very much." I didn't have a clue how to start explaining the bruise, even less of an idea since Carl had filled my head with notions of astral projection and opening Hell.

Peter relaxed on a chair, uninvited. "What now?"

I sat across from him, my voice rising in excitement. "He's a filthy little liar, that's what now."

"Carl? Yeah, right," he scoffed.

"Seriously. You told me he was going to see his parents, but I had already followed him here. Then when I called his parents, I found out he hasn't seen them in ages. Oh, don't look at me like that. I was just curious. Why is he lying?"

Peter sat up straight. "That's odd, but haven't we talked about boundaries? Maybe he's seeing his fiancée again and doesn't want you breathing down his neck, keeping him straight. I know it's not your fault, but you're really going to have to find a way to deal with this leftover possessiveness of your food."

"Oh, ha bloody ha. It's not like that." I got up to find a hairbrush. "I've seen him here. Like, in this building. I think he's coming here to see my neighbour. I don't understand why he's acting so weird, avoiding everyone. He hasn't been... all there since the bond was broken. We need to look out for him."

"And that involves stalking him?"

"Oh, shut up. Just trust me when I say there's something off about him right now."

"Is that coming from your spidey senses? A miniature vampire Seer, perhaps? Or maybe you can read thoughts now."

I threw a cushion at him, which he caught effortlessly. "I can't wait to say I told you so, Peter. I love how you give me so many opportunities. What are you doing here anyway? Aside from bothering me, that is."

He grinned. "Training."

I groaned. "Not today."

"I know you. 'Not today' means 'Not ever, so go away and leave me alone.' Not going to happen. We need to build up your stamina so you can keep up with Becca."

"The only way I can keep up with her is if I drink blood. Apparently, Reuben knows best. That's still not on my list of things to do."

He made a face, but his heart rate remained relaxed. Unlike mine. He glanced around the room, frowning. "Why are you still living here?"

"Ooh, subject change. Um, because it's my home." I moved into the kitchenette because Peter always made me uncomfortable on my own territory.

"It's a shithole. You should get a nicer place."

"I happen to like it here. This place was the first thing I ever did for myself. It's been my home for a long time, and if you don't like it, you're free to leave at any time."

A grin spread across his face as he followed me, leaning on a counter, far too close for my liking. "The things that get you to open up."

My entire body tensed. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Then come hit something. I promise it feels better than talking."

It was my turn to grin. Peter had strange methods when it came to dealing with my moods, but they sometimes worked. "How could I turn down an offer like that? Fine, I'll train. Happy now?"

The smile fell off his face, and his forehead creased into a frown again. "It's not me. Gabe keeps pushing. He's constantly on me about you. You know what he's like."

I folded my arms. "Yeah, a total arsehole. I can't stand him."

He inched closer. "Really? Because you go all gooey-eyed around him."

"That's just me seeing past his mask. Nice as it is, it's just what he wants us to see. Can't trust something that doesn't show their true face, right?"

Peter stared at me until I fidgeted uncomfortably and made an excuse of having to get ready in order to leave the room. I might have put up a fuss, but I wasn't all that opposed to going out. Although I liked my home, I had noticed I seemed to reenergise whenever I left it. Maybe fresh air agreed with me. I refused to believe it had anything to do with Peter.

"All right, let's go," I said as soon as I was ready. "But you're confronting Carl with me."

He rolled his eyes and didn't commit. Exactly what I expected, but it felt nice to make demands every now and then.

We left my flat and had started down the stairs when an overpowering floral scent hovered in the air. My slutty next-door neighbour made her way up the stairs as we descended.

"Do not say a word," Peter hissed, probably guessing she was the one Carl had been seeing. I chewed the inside of my mouth in a bid to keep quiet. I wasn't sure why I didn't like the woman, but something about her always set me on edge.

Although the stairway had plenty of space for all three of us to walk, she managed to brush against both of us as she passed. Looking over my shoulder, I saw her glance back at us with an unmistakably smug grin.

Unsettled, I followed Peter to the car. "Car's looking better," I remarked.

"She's well able for a vampire-monster tantrum," he scoffed.

For some reason, the air filled with tension as soon as Peter pulled away from the curb. Although we had been relatively comfortable around each other beforehand, his heartbeat began to race, and that sent off alarm bells.

"It's getting really hot in here," he gasped, winding down his window.

I did the same, noticing a bead of sweat trailing down his temple. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just... warm today."

I shrugged and stared out of the car window. I watched people walk by, all wearing heavy coats and scarves. "Warm" was probably not the best adjective for the day's weather.

By the time we got to Peter's place, he was fidgeting like crazy and scratching his arm. It sparked a reminder of Carl for some reason. I brushed against Peter's hand as we headed into his home and was shocked by the heat of his skin.

"Are you sure you're not sick? You're burning up." I pressed the back of my hand to his cheek.

"I don't feel sick. Just a bit warm." He very carefully took my hand away from his face. "You go on downstairs and get warmed up. I'll be down in a few minutes."

I pretended to work out a bit, but I found it hard to make an effort without Peter barking at me. When he came down, his hair was wet and his eyes feverish.

I gestured to his long sleeves. "I thought you were hot."

"Cold now. Let's get on with this. Today, I figured we'd practice some moves, and do some cardio. You should try to build up some stamina with daily runs. You seem to recover quickly, so you should be able for a hunt in the evenings if you run in the mornings or afternoons."

"Don't people get rest days?" I mumbled.

"Yeah, humans do. You don't. Not until Public Enemy Number One is tied up."

He gestured toward the mats and did some stretching.

"Think capturing her is really the best idea?" I asked.

"Nope. But it's not up to us." He flexed his muscles to psyche me out. It usually only served to distract me, but that might have been what he was going for.

"I don't like the idea of them testing on her."

He rushed at me and lifted me over his shoulder before slamming me on the mat. "I thought you hated Becca. And pay attention."

"I am!" I jumped to my feet and tried to keep moving. "Yeah, I might hate her, but I think she's suffered enough. I mean, look at her. If we were hunting to kill, this would all be done by now. Maybe. The whole 'taking her in' bit has never really sat well with me."

He threw a punch, but I blocked and kneed him. He surprised me by wrapping his arms tightly around me, although I could see the pain in his expression. I shimmied upward, squirming out of his grip and over his shoulder, but he caught hold of my leg and knocked us both to the ground.

"Stop doing that!" I kicked out at him, but he only laughed.

"Make me," he said, and the look in his eyes made me shiver.

"Can't. I pity your puny human strength too much. It wouldn't feel fair."

He snorted and let me stand. I was determined to stay standing, or force him down. He tried to grapple me, but I avoided his grasp.

"You're right," he said. "It would be over with Becca, but we agreed to a capture unless her death is absolutely necessary."

"Well, maybe we force the necessary," I said, ducking out of his way.

"They could be watching," he warned.

"I hate everyone." I waited for him to strike again. That time, I ducked under his arm and stood on the back of his knee to reach around his neck. He tripped and fell on his face, much to my glee. I kneeled on his back, but he elbowed me off and managed to pin me.

"Christ, I hate this position," I said.

"I don't know. I kind of like it." His laugh was too husky, his heartbeat too fast. I should have known something was up.

"Get up now," I said, catching his scent and realising how close he was to me.

He pulled me up after him, forcing me against his chest. His scent, the pulsing of his arteries, I couldn't help myself. My fangs shot out before I could think. I threw my hands to my mouth, apologising profusely.

"Forget about it," he said, very un-Peter-like.

Pushing him further away, I managed to retract my fangs, then attacked Peter, hoping hitting him would dissipate some of my embarrassment. He bent his knees and lifted me up before I could react to his shift.

"Ugh, why can't I stop you from doing that?"

He let me slide down, but tightened his grip. "Because you don't want me to stop."

The heat in his eyes was my undoing, and I realised too late he had led me backward.

Then, we were against the wall, and his mouth was on mine, and my head was shouting stop, but my body was running straight for him. His cinnamon scent was all over me, his pulse drummed against me, and my body ached for him in every way.

The lately absent cold presence blew all over us suddenly, so forcefully, we flew apart.

"What was that?" he gasped, running his hands through his now exceptionally tousled hair.

"My ghostly friend." I tried to calm the beating of my own heart, tried to forget the heat of his body pressed against mine. I had almost lost control without even considering the cons of the situation. That wasn't me. "Think they were trying to tell us something."

"Yeah," he said, looking thoroughly confused. "Not that I didn't enjoy that, but what the hell just happened?"

My chest heaved. "I have no idea."

"It was like I could see what I was doing, but I had absolutely no control over myself," he said, half to himself.

Embarrassingly enough, I did have control. I had just chosen to kiss him back. "Uh, yeah, me, too. Weird." I tried to laugh. "It's probably just the hunting and everyone freaking out over Becca. It has everyone acting crazy. Maybe we should take a break from this, though. I'm a little thirsty." My voice went high enough for him to see the danger.

"You should eat, right?" His voice was too calm, too nonchalant, considering what I had just told him.

We went upstairs to his kitchen, where I sat at the table while he made me a sandwich.

"We need a better plan," I said as I watched him move and tried in vain to forget about how his lips had felt, how his pulse had ticked against me in a way I had almost forgotten existed. We might have flirted occasionally, but that flash of heat had come out of nowhere.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing's working with Becca. We need to figure out something completely different, or we'll be chasing her for the next five years."

He stopped and took a deep breath. "The only way we'll ever catch her is if we purposely sacrifice someone. I can't see us getting close enough to her otherwise."

"I could be bait."

He turned around. "You can't be bait, Ava."

I made a face. "Why not?"

He took a step toward me. "She won't go for you. I could be bait, though. She's into human blood."

"No way."

"Careful, people might think you care."

I stared at him, startled by his proximity. I stood and inched backward because his eyes were feverish-looking again, his heartbeat was absolutely tantalising, and I didn't know how to stop myself.

He closed in, his arms encircling me so his palms reached the counter behind me, all the while holding my gaze. I couldn't break away, no matter how hard I tried. His face dipped toward my neck, and as I felt his warm breath on my skin, I knew I was done for.

Brushing his cheek against me as he raised his face to greet my eyes, he lifted me onto the countertop incredibly slowly, and I couldn't do a thing to stop him. Not that I wanted to. I held my breath as his fingers found their way past the nape of my neck, winding through my hair.

The look in his eyes unsettled me, and I raised my hand to his wrist to pull him away, but he surprised me by stealing one heart-stoppingly soft, lingering kiss, and I forgot about everything except how absolutely right it felt. His heartbeat seemed to slow, and I wasn't sure who grabbed who, but all of a sudden we were in the middle of a passionate kiss—again—and I had forgotten all about being careful. The heat of his lips against mine, the way he ran his hand up my spine... thoughts of anything else flew out of my mind.

The front door slammed, and Carl's voice carried through the room. "You home?"

I pushed Peter away and jumped down, heat burning my cheeks. He just looked confused.

Carl opened the kitchen door and faltered when he saw me. "Oh. Hey." He plastered a smile on his face and went to the fridge.

"Hi," I said, distancing myself further from Peter. "What have you been up to today?"

"Nothing much," he said over his shoulder, rubbing at his chest. "Visited the parents, like you're always telling me to do."

My hands closed into fists, and Peter cleared his throat, but when I glanced at him, he was scratching his arm. Carl stopped moving, as if he sensed the danger, and I tried to focus on the biggest problem at hand.

"How about the truth this time?" I hadn't planned on being so aggressive, but the day with Peter had rattled me.

"Are we really back to this again?" Carl headed straight for the door.

I grabbed his shirt in anger, and to my surprise, it easily ripped. I really was out of control, impulse-wise. Forgetting the argument, I gaped at his chest.

"What the hell is that? Peter, look at this." I stared at the mark in confusion. "Is that a hickey?"

"I'm allergic to her lipstick. That's all," he said, trying to cover up, but Peter wouldn't let him. The mark looked like a love bite except it was raw-red and raised, a little like ringworm. My skin tingled at the sight of it.

"He's been scratching this," I said. "Peter, you've been scratching your arm today."

Peter lifted his own arm and pulled up his sleeve, his eyes wide with disbelief. "I saw this when I was in the shower." He showed me his forearm. It bore a similar mark, albeit smaller and a lot less infected-looking.

I touched it with one finger and jerked away as a stinging sensation shot up my arm.

"This is freaky. Definitely something supernatural." I sighed heavily. "I have to go to Eddie for help again, don't I?"

# Chapter Seven

The car ride to Eddie's bookshop was awkward. Carl wouldn't talk to either of us, Peter was freaking out and scratching at his arm at every opportunity, and I was completely baffled. I secretly checked my own body for marks but found nothing. I should have seen that something was wrong. Both Peter and Carl had been acting strange. I had just conveniently enjoyed Peter's flavour of strange.

"Could you please stop grunting, Carl?" I asked in frustration. "We'll ask Eddie to take a look, just in case. Stop being such a baby."

"I haven't turned up for work in a while, okay? He isn't going to want to see me."

"What have you been up to?" Peter said.

"I met someone."

I gave Carl a scathing look. "Apparently. Did you really have to go for my neighbour?"

"There's nothing wrong with Alannah. And it's my business. You're not supposed to interfere." Something was off about Carl's tone of voice. It didn't sound like him talking. The more I thought about it, the tighter the fear clung.

I kept a firm hold of his arm as we entered Eddie's shop. I almost walked back out when I saw Gabe standing there in the middle of a conversation with Eddie. Both men looked serious, and I knew it couldn't be good news.

"Probably a good thing you're here," Gabe said. "Last night's team came across Becca. It didn't go well."

"Anyone I know?" Peter asked.

"It was Esther's Circle," Eddie said.

"Esther's dead?" I cried, guilt overwhelming me.

"No, but she's badly injured," Gabe said. "Two of her Circle sacrificed themselves so the others could get Esther away."

"Can I see her?" I asked.

"I'll take you with me," Gabe said. "We need to talk."

I whispered to Peter. "You can deal with the other thing, right?"

"Of course. You be careful," he warned, staring at Gabe with suspicion in his eyes.

"My car's around the corner," Gabe said once we got outside. He laid his hand on my lower back to guide me.

"You mean we're not flying, angel?"

"I'm looking forward to the day you mature, Ava Delaney," he replied.

It felt creepy being alone with him. I couldn't forget about the time at the trial when he'd stared into my eyes and roamed through my mind and soul, filling me with light. He was beautiful, even though his human appearance was an illusion. Peter was right. I did stare at Gabe pretty often. I couldn't let myself forget how cruel he was, how uncaring. I hadn't figured out why an angel was a part of Ireland's Council, but he didn't seem to particularly enjoy it.

"She's at a clinic belonging to the Council," he said, starting the car. "You probably won't be able to see her for long, but she should be able to let you know where Becca was last seen."

"That's not why I wanted to see her," I said.

"It should be," he replied, his voice hard and cold. "Becca needs to be brought in. It's gone on for too long now."

"Capturing her is obviously too risky. Killing her won't be easy, but it's a better solution."

He grunted noncommittally.

"Has the investigation in Spain dredged up anything yet?" I asked, wondering if he had a different story from Daimhín.

"It hasn't even started," he said. "I don't think we'll see justice there, but the vampires know the world is watching now. They should behave for a while, at least. What about you? Any sudden urges to wipe out the entire human race?"

I snorted. "Humans? No. Vampires and angels on the other hand..."

"I had forgotten how delightful you are," he mocked. "I must admit, I've been expecting a visit from you."

"Why? You're not exactly fun to be around," I blurted.

He burst out laughing. "Right you are. I meant I expected you to ask a million and one questions about yourself, your mother, everything you learned at the trial."

"I figure I'll hear anything I need to know," I said, moving as far away from him as possible. "I don't trust you to give me the right answers."

He glanced at me, looking solemn. "I will answer your questions."

I shrugged. I had too many questions. Nobody could answer them all, and I wasn't convinced I even wanted the answers, not after reading some of the books in Eddie's shop.

"Have the vampires accepted you yet?" he asked, the change in subject surprising me.

"That's not something that will ever happen. But Daimhín decided to pay me for the last job I did. She even said she's glad she hasn't killed me yet. Big emphasis on yet."

"That's acceptance. In a way. I have a couple more jobs lined up for you, after Becca has been dealt with. If Daimhín hassles you about that, set her on me."

I felt a little confused at the gentle tone of his voice. Maybe he wasn't as heartless as I thought. Although I might have been mistaking the gratitude I felt at being distracted from what had happened back at Peter's home. "Um, thanks."

Gabe pulled onto a quiet street that didn't look as though it could house anything supernatural. When he turned to me, my stomach did a tense little flip.

"Someday, I'll need you to pick a side. If I know you'll be behind me, I'll treat you well. I'll make sure you're looked after. Do you understand me?"

I stared at the blankness in his eyes, wondering what exactly he was hiding. Everyone kept talking about picking sides and paying back favours at some point in the future. What on Earth were they all preparing for?

"I'll bear that in mind." I quickly got out of the car. No way was I committing to things I didn't understand. Again.

Gabe led me into a small building that gave me the impression of a hospital, but a hidden one, like a safe house or something. A receptionist with platinum-blond hair and weird purple-toned skin grinned madly at Gabe and led the way to Esther's room, despite Gabe telling her three times that he knew where it was.

Two large men guarded the room, but Gabe bade them to move. "She has a few minutes," he told them.

The room was empty except for Esther, who lay on a bed with ugly green sheets. Her eyes snapped open, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw me.

"I'm so sorry," I said, hurrying over to the bed.

"It's my fault." Her bottom lip quivered a little. "I really messed up. I thought I could do better than you and Peter. I thought we would be chasing her, but she turned around and chased us instead. Illeana's gone. She was... she was my friend."

She sounded almost delirious, so fast were her words. The siren, Illeana, had been useful for tracking down information in the past. I felt a twinge of regret that a friendly face was gone forever.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, glad she hadn't held the night we hunted together against me. "What happened?"

"I'm fine. They're just taking this too seriously. At the time, though, it freaking hurt. She got her claws into me, bit me. She nearly drained the life out of me. I was in animal form, yet I literally couldn't move. It was terrifying, to have no control. She spat out my blood, Ava. I mean, it's not like she did it for food. That I could understand. But she wanted us all dead. I lost my silver when I shifted, so I was a free dinner. I couldn't talk until a couple of hours ago. They thought I was a goner."

"Where did she get you?"

She opened the buttons of her pyjamas with shaky fingers and showed me a couple of deep wounds on her chest. "They won't cover them because they keep applying some sort of cream every fifteen minutes. I think they're afraid the poison will still take hold." She laughed weakly. "That's all I need."

I self-consciously rubbed my own leg. I hadn't even thought of Becca's poison having an effect on me.

As Esther began to tell me where Becca had been the night before, the door burst open, and Aiden stormed in. I straightened at the fierce look in his eyes when he spotted me, slowly moving away from the bed as his eyes seemed to turn catlike.

"You!" He pointed at me, livid with rage. He came right at me and shoved me against the wall. I didn't object because I knew how worried he was for his sister. Besides, nobody seemed to think of me as someone with actual feelings and pain receptors. Or a girl, for that matter.

"Aiden, stop," Esther said, but he ignored her.

"If you had just done your job in the first place, this wouldn't have happened!"

He pushed me again, but a huge wave of nausea drew over me, and I doubled over in an effort not to puke.

"I'm talking to you! This is your fault!" Aiden shouted as Coyle entered the room. Straightening, I avoided Coyle's eyes and tried to act as if he had no effect on me.

"Maybe so, Aiden, but if you push me again, I'm going to punch you right in the face," I hissed, more annoyed since the dark, angry energy filled the room, probably thanks to Coyle.

Aiden looked surprised and took a step back. Esther whispered something to him, but I was too busy swallowing down the bile in my throat to listen.

"Why haven't you taken care of this yet?" Aiden asked, still vibrating with anger.

"If it was that easy, it would be done by now." I held myself up as tall as possible in front of the gigantic alpha. I wouldn't have bet on winning a fight, but I wouldn't cower in front of him, either. Plus, I was pretty certain he hated that in a person.

"Calm down, boss." Coyle laid his hand on Aiden's shoulder. I glared at the Guardian for a couple of seconds and immediately regretted it. How could nobody else see the rotting decay behind the man's smile?

"I'll see you later, Esther," I said, gritting my teeth. "I have stuff to do."

Aiden and Coyle followed me out of the room, and Gabe got in my way so I couldn't leave.

"You done here?" he asked me, never taking his eyes off the men.

"Yeah, I can make my own way back," I said, needing to get away from everyone.

"Not feeling sick, are you, darling?" Coyle's pleased expression sent goosebumps rushing to the surface of my skin.

"How about you keep out of my way?" I tried to calm my heaving stomach.

"So grumpy," Coyle said, and the laughter was obvious in his voice. My fangs shot out of their own accord, but I didn't care. Aiden held out his hands, immediately exerting his will. No way was I succumbing. I felt it, though, the otherworldly dominance that made him so powerful amongst his own kind. On any other day, I would have backed down under it. Coyle's sickening energy weirdly gave me the strength to stand tall.

"Am I missing something here?" Aiden asked, stepping in front of Coyle.

A legitimate growl came from my throat, surprising me more than anyone. I pointed at Coyle, wishing a long sharp spike would shoot out of my finger and stab him in the eye. "Ask him," I said, and my voice didn't sound like me. "What's the use of being a shifter when you have no sense of what's around you?"

I glared at Gabe before I left because if I knew that Coyle was suspect, he had to know, too. Saying his powers didn't work on Earth was a cop-out, it had to be.

Outside, I inhaled deeply before setting off in a run. I had a lot to do.

# Chapter Eight

I decided Carl was fine under Eddie's supervision and texted Peter to let him know I wouldn't be back. I couldn't concentrate long enough to deal with what might be going on with Carl. Aiden's anger had pissed me off, but deep down, I knew he was right. It was all on me. People kept dying because I wasn't doing my job. I had to take care of Becca, once and for all.

Once the Coyle-induced sick feelings disappeared, my anger took over and released a rush of adrenalin. Without breaking a sweat, I ran home and prepared. As soon as the vampires awoke, I would hunt.

I took as little as possible with me—my dagger, a silver chain, a silver belt I wore that was better suited to chaining up an animal. Seeing Coyle again had reinforced what I was up against. Evil. The only way to win was to fight fire with fire. I had to face my fears and turn to the one thing I had sworn not to touch. Blood. Reuben had been right about it being the thing to give me an edge on Becca. I had to grow up and stop letting my phobias get people hurt.

The bagged stuff wasn't as good as a fresh source, and I had to admit that Reuben's words had tormented me. I already knew fresh blood tasted good, so how amazing was blood taken from the source at the point of death? The cooled bag in my fridge had arrived, courtesy of the Council, weeks ago. I hadn't had the heart to waste it by throwing it away—or so I told myself—so I had kept it. Just in case.

Working up the courage, I drank as quickly as possible, ignoring the slightly medicinal aftertaste. The blood was cold and thick and pretty unpleasant, but I felt the boost almost immediately. My nerves settled, my senses seemed to clear a little, and I felt stronger. If my stamina kept up, then all would be okay.

Buzzing with excess energy, I skipped around my flat, gearing myself up. Near sunset, I headed to the last place Becca had been seen and tried to follow the faded traces of her scent before the vampires awoke. Like Becca, the trail seemed to just die in the daylight. I couldn't figure it out.

Darkness finally came, and I took full advantage of my other senses. I needed to use them more often, to hone them, to figure out how to push my limits even further. I had no idea if more was possible, but I hadn't hit a wall yet. It all seemed too easy for me, if I ignored the nosebleeds and the part where I'd managed to get myself stuck in another plane of existence.

I thought about my earlier losses of control, with Peter, Carl, and then Coyle. I needed to get used to reining myself in, needed to embrace the things I could do, instead of running away from them. To really push myself, I had to open up. That thought scared me more than anything else, partly because I was afraid of what I might find.

I scanned the city as far as I could without passing into that sticky level again. I kept running and searching, determined to work at it until I found Becca. She seemed to wake slightly later than the vampires. I wondered if someone hid her in the daylight, but she kept her distance from the vampires, while I was watching, at least.

She was further out than usual, closer to the countryside. If she pushed too far outside Dublin city, I would lose her for good. I couldn't see that far, no matter how useful my extra senses were. I needed to herd her back into the city, despite it meaning more possible targets. Tonight had to be her last night of killing in my home city. The rules weren't protecting the people. Maybe it was time I broke them.

I broke into a sprint, surprising a loved-up couple in a doorway, and concentrated on Becca's energy in my other sight. I honed in on her. I could almost smell her, and I didn't falter for a step. I was fully prepared to take care of business, once and for all.

Every inch of my body itched to reach her, to finish it. It was as though something deep inside pushed me straight for her, desperate to reach her. People who had helped me were dead or injured. Who would be next if I didn't fix the mess?

Spring was upon us, and that meant fewer hours for Becca to hurt people, but fewer hours for me to track her down, too. That was if she didn't hibernate, mutate, or travel north for the summer. In every sense of the term, I was running out of time.

Becca tried to move across farmland to get away from me, but not even the stench of manure could cover her scent, or distract me from searching for her energy with my other sight. I wondered if she really could sense me coming for her.

I hoped she did.

I hoped she was scared.

When I finally spotted her, I wanted her to fight. For a split second, I wanted that confrontation. But she kept running, and I sped up, the blood filling me with the same thing that kept Becca going.

When I began to gain on her, she doubled back and tried to get past me again. She looked even more horrific than a couple of nights before. Even if I didn't catch her, I couldn't see how her body would continue to function. She had lesions on her neck and arms. I grinned, hoping they were from bear claws.

"It's time, Becca," I called. "No more running."

She gurgled a few sounds and tried to hit me, but I ducked and lunged at her. A flicker of indecision crossed her face, long enough for me to pound my fist in her mouth, knocking her down. She scurried away on the ground, then leapt to her feet and ran again. At least she ran back toward the city. It would be easier to get transportation when I caught her.

For the first time, I was able to chase her without feeling winded. She ran for miles without stopping, even through sprawling housing estates, without her getting distracted by the many beating hearts. It was the first time I had ever seen her focus for so long, and I wondered what her thought processes were like, if there was any humanity left in her at all.

I caught up with her a couple of times, but they just resulted in our tumbling around for a few seconds before she managed to slip out of my grasp again. I didn't care. I wasn't tired, and I fully intended on following her until daylight. She couldn't run forever. Not in the sun.

Closer to the city centre, a heady yeasty smell filled my nostrils as Becca made a dash toward the Guinness factory. I could never have climbed the flat-surfaced gate without having to use my less than stellar climbing skills on the adjacent walls and buildings, so I sped past the neighbouring church, wishing I could drag Becca in there where there was bound to be at least one gigantic cross.

I reached Becca as she leapt, grabbing her hair and slamming her down on her back. She pulled out of my grasp with an inhuman shriek, alarming a gang of teenage boys out past the curfew. Their shouts distracted me, forcing me to let her run in the opposite direction so they wouldn't see what would surely be a bloody fight.

She raced away, running on the tram tracks and down a long hill toward the train station. Still determined, I followed, slowly gaining ground. She ran along the River Liffey, making weird howling noises all the way, and as I caught up to her, she made as if to jump straight into the murky waters.

Thankful for the curfew that caused the streets to be uncommonly deserted, I slammed her into the bridge, then pulled back when I saw a homeless man watching us. His eyes widened with surprise as he focused on Becca's mangled features. She knocked me down as she sped away.

"Alright there, love?" the man asked, peering after Becca.

I waved at him and hurried after her. I wasn't about to lose her. I kept on her tail, albeit from a distance, passing straight through the city centre. From southside to northside, we ran together, and as she ran an almost straight path, I had to wonder if she knew where she was going.

Finally realising we were heading toward the beach where she had accepted a shipment of the formula, I tried to close the distance. She might have been leading me to more vampires, or straight into the sea, but I wasn't planning on stopping. I couldn't let her hurt anyone else I knew. I'd been moping around for long enough. It was time for me to snap out of it.

My breathing still easy, I pushed harder than before, and Becca kept glancing behind her, looking panicked. She had to know what I was doing, that I was changed. It was the first night I had kept up with her for so long. Baring my fangs, I couldn't stop grinning at how she reacted. It made me feel powerful, as if nobody could stop me. That was the problem with blood. It gave me a sense of invincibility that took a long time to wear off.

By the time we got onto the sand, I had a serious amount of bloodlust. My heart pumped loudly, and I felt more alive than ever. I was ready for her.

Until she jumped into the water.

She dove under the waves and didn't rise back up again. I dropped my jacket and boots on the sand to swim after her, but I had to turn back. I wasn't a strong swimmer, and unlike a vampire, I had to breathe. Never mind the fact the water was absolutely freezing. I swore loudly and sat on the shore, wringing wet, just in case she came back. Then, I realised dawn was about to break. She couldn't come back.

"Where the hell are you?" I muttered. The sea puked something small onto the sand, something that caught my attention. Scooping it up with some water and sand, I gazed at Becca's fang, feeling horrified and fascinated in equal parts. The tooth was at least four times the size of my own fangs, of which I had only two. Becca had a whole mouthful. The fang looked ancient, pocked with decay.

I rang Gabe to tell him what had happened as I watched streams of pink and purple cross the sky.

"Stay put until someone gets there." He hung up before I could say another word.

I still sat there, shivering, preparing myself for more conversations I simply didn't want to have. I had learned a long time ago how to fake it, how to get by, or how to be so abrasive that even the chattiest of people stopped trying. Didn't mean I had to like it. Didn't mean it ever felt natural or comfortable. And Gabe was definitely on the list of people I didn't enjoy being around.

"You're wet," he said when he finally turned up.

I gave him a look that silenced him. "She hasn't reappeared. I don't know if she kept going or just moved down the shoreline. Or even if she's still under there. This is all I have of her." I handed him the fang and shrugged, feeling painfully inadequate.

He examined it carefully. "How can this be?" he asked, turning it over in his hand. "I have people coming. They'll search underwater for her, just in case. If I had to guess, I would say she's gone. We'll figure out where when the body count starts racking up again."

I nodded, then flinched when he threw his coat around my shoulders.

"Good job," he said, still staring out to sea.

"I lost her," I said, my teeth chattering.

"She didn't feed last night. Not even one person died. You might have driven her out of the country. How did you keep up with her this time?" He sounded innocent enough, but I knew what he was getting at.

"I went against my religion. So you're saying she's someone else's problem now?"

His lips twitched. "If she isn't here, then she isn't my problem."

"What about the tests you wanted to run?"

He waved his hand. "Not my idea. I didn't think it was necessary. Here are my people now. Need a lift?"

"Nah."

He acted as though he didn't hear me. He moved to meet the Guardians who had turned up, some wearing wetsuits. I couldn't help taking another look for Becca, but I left the sand before any of the Guardians went underwater. The pull of the hunt was over, leaving me shaky with the after-effects of adrenalin. More than a little anti-climatic.

I left Gabe's coat on his car and began the long trudge home. At least my boots were dry, but my jacket had gotten wet from lying on the sand. My clothes felt as though they weighed a ton, and I was in the middle of an enormous yawn when Gabe's car pulled up next to me.

"Get in," he said.

"I'm wet. And sandy."

"Just get in."

I obeyed, mostly because my adrenalin had peaked and exhaustion had taken its place.

"Your house?" he asked.

"Yeah. I need sleep. I'll take care of... everything else later."

"How are you feeling?"

I looked at him like he was crazy. "Tired. It's been a long day and night."

"Of course." After a few minutes, he continued, "Eddie tells me he hasn't seen much of you lately. How's your grandmother?"

I gritted my teeth. "I've no idea."

"Family is important. To people like you, I mean. The people around you keep you on the right path. Have you learned any more about the circumstances of your birth?"

He just kept on pushing with the reminders of everything that bugged me about my life.

"No," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Any new skills?"

I sighed loudly and twisted in my seat to look at him. "This your idea of small talk? You don't have to make bullshit conversation with me. I'm quite capable of sitting comfortably in silence."

To my surprise, he pulled over and turned off the engine. He didn't say a word, which was unsettling.

"Do you... do you want me to get out or something?" I hated how confused I sounded, but the angel/man baffled me. I could read most people by their eyes, but he had no emotions at all in his blank orbs.

"I thought you were capable of sitting comfortably in silence." He grinned, and I couldn't resist smiling back.

I cocked my head to the side. "Wait. Are you the angel equivalent of my creepy uncle or something?"

He rolled his eyes and turned the key, then seemed to change his mind. He stared at me for a few seconds as if debating something internally. "Are you loyal to the Council, Ava?"

"No."

He shook his head, smiling again as he started the car. "Next time a Council member asks you that question, say yes."

"I'll try to remember that. So, what now?"

"You sleep, remember?" He checked the mirrors.

"I meant with Becca."

"Keep an eye out for her. Other than that, it's a waiting game."

"Gabe..." I bit my lip to stop its trembling. "Can you see her? The way I do? Is it... an angel thing or a vampire thing... or something else?"

"What else could it be?" He sounded bored. "You see her energy, rather than a physical body, yes?"

"That's pretty much it."

"That's an angel thing. You're bypassing the normal planes of existence. I wonder what you would see in Hell." He brightened at that thought.

"I hope you're joking." My stomach tightened at yet another mention of a place I refused to believe existed. "But you can see her the same way?"

"Probably not exactly the same, but close. Your range seems to be a lot better than mine right now. And clearer." He sounded frustrated, and I wondered what kind of power he had lost out on by being on Earth.

"Can you see what's wrong with Coyle?" I asked.

Gabe's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Do I see what's wrong? Do you?"

"He makes me sick. I can't look at him. If he touches me, I want to run away screaming. There's something dark in him."

"You're from the light. You naturally react to those that are unlike you," he said, but it sounded as though he was trying to brush me off.

"It's more than that. It's not like with the vampires or anything else I've come across. It's vile, and it's like the thing that was in the shifter who stabbed Esther that time. The one who killed himself in your bar."

"You think something was in that shifter?"

"No need to sound so condescending," I said, but I couldn't stop myself from carrying on with the story. "I saw something, or felt it, I don't know. But it was in Peter, too, afterward. He was acting weird, and I saw it. Like black shadows trying to get into his soul."

"Really. Peter has a soul full of black shadows." His mocking tone pissed me off.

"No. I burned them away. But thank you. Now I remember why I can't bloody well stand you."

He looked entirely unconcerned, and I didn't say another word until he pulled up outside my home. I barely thanked him and hurried inside before he could annoy me further. I could hardly stay awake long enough to shower and ended up falling asleep with wet hair. My last thought was of Gabe's annoyingly smug face, and that he hadn't given me back my souvenir fang.

# Chapter Nine

I awoke to half a dozen missed calls from Peter. At first, I figured they were about Becca, but then I remembered the marks on both him and Carl. The urgency of that situation had paled in comparison to the real danger provided by Becca, and I figured Eddie had sorted it all out with the men.

When I called Peter back, he picked up on the first ring.

"Hey," I said. "Is everything—"

"You need to meet me at Eddie's."

"Um, okay. I'll be over in a while."

"As soon as possible, Ava. It's important."

"Fine," I said, barely concealing my impatient sigh. "I'll be right there."

Grumbling to myself, I left as soon as I had finished breakfast. I wasn't entirely up to seeing Eddie again, but I obviously couldn't avoid him forever, and Peter had sounded freaked out on the phone.

Peter was already at Eddie's bookshop when I got there. Eddie greeted me warily, and I tried to find it in myself to be polite and pleasant. It wasn't easy.

"Where's Carl?" I asked.

"That's part of the problem," Eddie said.

"What do you mean?"

"He's gone," Peter said, looking as if he had earned a few extra grey hairs during the night. "He snuck out of the house while I slept. I've no idea where he is."

"Why do I get the feeling this is the calm before the storm?" I asked, looking at the two stern faces in front of me. "What else is wrong?"

"Eddie knows what the marks are," Peter said. "Mine's nearly gone, but Carl's had gotten worse last night. I wouldn't let him leave, and the mark kept burning him. It was bizarre. Then when I woke up this morning, he was gone."

"Right. So? Don't keep me in suspense."

"It looks as though a succubus has gotten her claws into Carl," Eddie said. "It's not too recent, either. Time's running out for him."

I stared at Eddie for a few minutes before glancing at Peter in disbelief. "A succubus? A... demon?"

"A sex demon," Peter clarified. As if I needed to know that part.

"So what does this mean, then?"

"You might want to sit down," Peter said, looking a little sheepish.

"Take a look at this." Eddie pointed at an open book on the counter. A horrific-looking demon appeared to be sucking the life out of a glazed-eyed human. "A succubus feeds on energy, specifically sexual energy, but other kinds will do. Sometimes they taste, but to survive, they really need the occasional... overdose." He gave me a pointed look. "You remember what Reuben said about virgins? Most species have their own version of that. The succubi mark a human, which makes him theirs, meaning no other succubus can touch that human. They're connected to them, see through them, and call them back whenever they need a feeding. They slowly drain them, eventually sucking all life out of them."

I had an inappropriate urge to laugh. "And you think this is happening to Carl? I think we might have noticed that." I pointed at the picture of the demon.

Eddie tutted with frustration. "Ava, this is serious. A lot of beings hide their true face. You know this. Carl's more susceptible to this kind of thing since you messed with his mind. Yes, we know. It was an accident. That's all well and good, but you opened his mind, and now he's more vulnerable to all sorts of things. The succubus makes the human become obsessed with them, forcing them to keep running back to her. Until the human dies, that is."

"What about Peter?" I glanced at his arm, but he wasn't scratching it anymore, and he seemed calmer.

"He's protected. She took a small dose, that's all. Carl has been taken over by her almost completely now."

"Fine. I'll just kill her, then. Just another freaking day's work."

"That's the thing, Ava," Peter said. "We don't know who the succubus is, for one. And for another, she's probably well within her rights."

"We know who she is, Peter. Wait, what? What rights? How can they just go around... oh, crap. Don't tell me. They have quotas, too." I rubbed my temples when I saw Peter nod. How on earth did those demonic creatures have more rights than humans?

I paced for a few minutes while I let the news sink in. Carl was screwed. Again. "Carl's been in my building lately," I said, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. "Not to see me. To see her. I've seen him with her before this, before the trial. Yesterday, she brushed against Peter and me. It was only afterward that Peter started to itch."

"Your neighbour?" Peter looked aghast.

I thought I knew why.

"I've been living next to a demon, and I didn't notice." Neither man said a word, and I guessed I had just voiced what they both had been thinking.

"If it's been that long... Carl doesn't have much time left." Eddie's voice softened and held a note of closure that I didn't like. It wasn't over yet.

"Okay. I can't kill her?" I asked.

Eddie shook his head, his face solemn.

"So, what are my options?"

I hated the look in his eyes, the one that clearly said I didn't have any options.

"Ava, I know you care about Carl, but this time you might have to let him go. If the succubus wants him, there isn't much you can do about it," Eddie said. "I like Carl. He's been balancing the books here. If I could persuade the succubus to release him, I would."

"Balancing the books? That's the only reason you can think of to make him worth saving? Because of bookkeeping?" I couldn't keep the tremor out of my voice. They didn't value life enough. They never had.

"You've risked everything for him before. When comes the point where you say enough is enough, Ava?"

"He's my responsibility." I bit my cheek. What I really wanted to do was throw something at Eddie.

"No. He's your friend. There's a big difference, and he's an adult. He could have walked away as soon as you let him go. He stuck around, and the consequences are his to live with."

I glared back. "This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for me. I have to fix it."

He sighed wearily. "You don't go around saving rabbits from foxes, Ava. Nature's way, so it is. There's a chain, and humans happen to be below quite a few things. Predators need to survive, too. Humans kill animals for food. It's the same with demons and humans."

"And what about Peter? He was marked, too! Would you just ditch him as well?" I shouted.

"Peter isn't a victim. He won't ever be. His mark had no effect on him. But maybe you should be more worried about the reason the two people closest to you were marked."

"Why, then? Why are the humans I know being targeted all of the time?" His voicing of my deepest fears rattled me.

"Because of you," Peter said. I gaped at him, horrified, even though he had stated exactly what I had been thinking.

"Stop looking at me like that. You made yourself known for being... soft when it comes to humans. They know you have a heart, know what affects you."

"And Carl's been in a position to hear things you wouldn't want anyone else to know," Eddie added.

"What... what do you mean?" I found it difficult to breathe all of a sudden.

"I told you, she can see through him. We don't know how long she's been able to spy, but that had to have something to do with her choice. I've been wondering how word about you spread so fast after the trial, even when Fionnuala ordered everyone to keep it quiet. This might be the answer."

I chewed on my knuckle to keep myself from freaking out completely. Yet again, while I had been worrying about one thing, something completely different had been going on. "Fine. I'll find out," I snapped.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked.

"To find out what the hell is going on."

Peter followed me outside. "Why are you so upset?"

"Are you mad? Carl's gotten a death sentence, and we can't even help him." I didn't mention the vulnerability I had shown to Carl, the things he had found out about me. The things the sex demon probably knew, too.

Peter bowed his head. "Ava. This is Carl. He's always going to get into some kind of trouble. Bit like you really. We'll figure something out in the end. We always do."

"I have some time until Becca shows up again. I'm going to see if there's anything I can do." I turned to leave, furious with myself for being so absolutely blind.

Peter pulled at my arm to stop me.

"What?"

He searched my face before answering. "Need my help?"

"I'll be fine. I'm going to talk to Esther. See if she can tell me anything. But Peter... I told Gabe something."

"What do you mean?"

"Last night, after Becca disappeared, he gave me a lift home, and I told him about the shadows."

Peter narrowed his eyes. "And what did he say?"

"Acted like he didn't believe me. I regret saying anything now. It's been bugging me because he didn't act surprised. He sounded like I was a little kid making up stories or something, but it was like a story he had already heard. Think I'm making too much of it?"

His frown deepened. "I don't know. Be careful around him. I don't trust him."

"He's weird. Like, not a real person. He's like a robot in a human mask or something. I can't explain it really."

"He still needs you. When he doesn't anymore, then worry."

I tried to smile. "That's very reassuring, thanks. If this succubus, what's her name, Alannah? If she's been spying, then she knows about the shadows, about what I can do. Think she has anything to do with Coyle?"

"It's possible. Doesn't mean much until we find out more, though."

I nodded, trying to digest everything. "I had better go. If you see Carl... kidnap him for me, okay?"

His eyes twinkled with amusement. "Not a problem."

I turned to leave, but he called me back again. "Listen. I'm sorry about before. Back at my place, I mean. Blame the succubus."

My cheeks flushed. "Um, it's not... never mind. See you."

I felt his eyes watching me as I broke into a run. I was so full of thoughts of Carl, Peter, and succubi that I made it to the clinic quicker than I expected. I hoped Esther was still there, because I didn't fancy knocking on Aiden's door to find her.

Luckily, the receptionist with purple-toned skin remembered me. She walked me to Esther's room, let me know she was alone, and congratulated me on a job well done with Becca. Good news spread fast. Funny how everyone but me seemed to think it was a result.

Esther looked extremely bored, but brightened when I walked in.

"Hey, I heard about last night," she said before I made it to her bedside. "Great news! It's such a relief to know she isn't out there." She gave a little shudder, but the grin on her face belied her fear.

"She could show up again tonight," I said, confused. "I didn't kill her or anything."

"She ran away, though. She isn't willing to face you, and who cares why? It means she's gone. People are celebrating today. I mean, nobody died last night. Any night she doesn't feed is amazing. It's great news, Ava."

I realised how much people had been living under the cloud of Becca's blood-draining spree. Before, it hadn't quite hit home. If only I had drank the blood sooner. If only I had been more determined earlier.

"I'm not just here on a social call," I said. "I have a problem."

She perked up immediately, as if anything was better than the boredom of sitting in that room. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Are you getting out of here soon?"

"They don't want to chance it yet. So come on, tell me what's going on."

I hesitated. "The thing is... it's Carl. Again. He's been acting pretty strange lately. Yesterday, I saw a mark on his chest. Peter had a smaller version of it. Like a hickey, but all raised and infected-looking."

Her jaw dropped. "Oh, no. I'm so sorry, Ava."

"Hold on, it's not that bad, surely." But her expression made me doubt.

"You're talking about the mark of a succubus, right?" she asked.

I nodded. "Peter's has gone, but Carl's got worse, and now he's gone missing. Eddie's the one who told us about the succubus. He's pretty sure she has Carl for good now."

"That sucks," she whispered.

"We figured out she lives in my building, and that she's been messing with Carl since before the trial. So I thought I'd come to you. See what I can do."

She looked sorry for me. That filled me with more dread than anything else.

"There's not a whole lot you can do. Unless she's exceeded her quota. And if she had, it would be on record. The succubi rarely get into trouble. They keep it low key, so it's strange she's starting trouble with you."

"This really has something to do with me?"

She bit her lip. "Why else would she go for people you know? It's pretty rude, actually."

"I didn't have a clue about her, Esther."

"I wondered why you had no problem living next to her. Have you spoken to her? Maybe she'd do you a favour."

I rubbed my eyes with my knuckles. "I never thought about the people who actually lived in the building," I muttered, thinking about the talismans scattered around it. "Besides, I doubt asking her would help. We aren't friends."

"It's still worth having a chat with her. Perhaps she'll trade."

"For another human?" I couldn't believe Esther's suggestion.

"Not necessarily. Money, work, protection, lots of things have value."

I stared up at the ceiling, feeling even sicker than before. "I think she hates me, Esther. Can't I just threaten her or something?"

"Oh, no. Don't even think about that! She might not get into trouble very often, but those succubi are the moaniest bitches I've ever come across. I do not want to deal with the lodged complaints afterward. Threatening her won't work. She's a stickler for her quota. She makes sure she gets every bit of what's hers. Sucking up to her is literally your only option right now."

"I'm not good at sucking up. What about Peter? Is he in any danger?"

"Nah, not if the mark faded. A temporary mark is usually to get other people going, a little extra something when she's reached her draining quota."

I was sure my face turned purple with embarrassment. "What would happen if she let Carl go?"

Esther shook her head. "She'll choose someone else, and Carl may never be the same again. She's sucking the goodness out of him, his hopes and dreams, as well as the sexual energy. She'll drain him of everything that makes him Carl, and if this has been going on for a while, his time is running out. I'm really sorry, Ava. This might be a 'say goodbye' mission rather than a rescue mission."

"No way." I jumped to my feet, feeling my panic rise. "I'd rather kill her than let her kill Carl."

"You'll be arrested, and Carl will die anyway. And this time, there won't be a trial. Even if you make it that far. Those succubi are all connected. They all know you by sight because she does. If you kill her, they'll all come after you. That's how it is. Keep out of it if you want to live, Ava. I'm telling you this as a friend."

"And what about Carl?"

"Like I said. Talk to her, try and persuade her, make a deal with her. That's how this world works. You've obviously seen how allegiances are built and repaid. You've been working for Daimhín long enough now. Be sensible about this. I know you're hot-headed, but all of this acting without thinking can only lead to trouble. Trust me this one time. You can only plead for him."

"I hate this world sometimes."

She shrugged. Losses didn't seem to affect her the way they did me. "You should probably get out of here. Aiden's coming to visit me at some stage. He's not your biggest fan at the moment. He'll get over it, though, especially if Becca's gone for good."

If.

# Chapter Ten

I had never been so reluctant to go home. Since I knew Alannah was a succubus, a lot of other things had slipped into place. That overpowering perfume was her natural scent. The strange energy I had often seen in my own building was her. Carl was with her, and I couldn't do much about it. In saving him from a vampire, I had managed to throw him in the path of a sex demon. Life was truly bizarre.

I gave Peter a quick phone call to update him on what Esther had told me and how I was going to plead our case. I didn't tell him what Esther had said about Carl never being the same, even if the succubus let him go. Which she probably wouldn't. Alannah and I had never gotten along, and I wondered if she had always known about me.

It annoyed me that people like Aiden acted as if I were the problem when I had never hurt anyone who didn't hurt me first. Maybe I shouldn't have told a Council Consultant/Head Guardian/Shifter Alpha that he didn't know what he was doing.

Still fuming, I remembered the time I had come across Carl and Alannah outside my flat. She might as well have taken a piss to mark her territory. All along, I had been fighting a battle I didn't even know existed. If anything good came out of the situation, it was my new determination to learn everything I could about myself and the other beings around me. I would never again make such a big mistake as allowing a demon to take my friend right under my nose.

Swallowing my anger and fear, or at least trying to, I took heavy steps up the stairwell of my building, knowing full well that I would never feel comfortable there again.

The scent of the succubus filled my nostrils immediately. And Carl was there. Having something to focus on helped me see it clearly. Until then, I had hoped we were mistaken. But I was forced to acknowledge the truth.

I knocked and waited for the murmurs and giggles to stop. When she finally opened the door, Alannah's honey-coloured hair was mussed and her cheeks pink with exertion and heat. I barely controlled the urge to vomit.

A satisfied smile lit up her face when she saw me. Any thought that it might have nothing to do with me was violently murdered with that smile. I stared at her for a couple of seconds, trying to see behind the human mask, but I couldn't push past it. All I wanted to do was tear her apart. When had I gotten so damn angry?

"Well, hello there, neighbour," she drawled.

"Is he here?" I almost fooled myself with the calm in my voice.

"Who would that be?" But she was unsettled. Perhaps she had expected me to go for her throat.

"That would be Carl. Is he here?"

"Oh. Of course he is." She arched an over-plucked brow, waiting for me to react.

I heaved a sigh. "Look. I don't want to do this in the hallway. Can I come in for a few minutes?"

"Of course you can," she squealed in a faux-girlish voice.

I followed her inside. Her apartment was larger than mine, but danker somehow. Stuffy, suffocating. The air was inexplicably heavy. Carl lay on a chair, his eyes half-closed, a smile on his face. He hummed to himself, looking absolutely stoned.

"See? He's so happy with me." She sat next to him and patted his face, but she leaned on him with her elbows digging into his ribs as if he were part of the furniture.

"What do you want?" I asked.

She blinked a couple of times.

"For him," I clarified. "What do you want for him?"

Her mouth opened and closed again. She clearly hadn't been expecting an offer of a trade. "I don't want anything for him. I want him."

"Why him? And why mark Peter, too? What the hell is it exactly that you're looking for here?"

She cocked her head to the side but didn't reply. I decided I wasn't leaving until I got answers, so I waited.

Finally, she shrugged. "You know, lots of beings have quotas. Limits. Things that were pressed upon us after years of freedom. Most of them are starving. You can never truly live when you're constantly thinking about your next meal." She frowned as if choosing her next words carefully. "My kind don't murder freely. But to live, we have to take a human life in its entirety. The last drops are the sweetest, the most satisfying, the hardest to resist. Once the mark takes hold, it can't be undone. That other one, the one with a price on his head, I marked him to distract you for a day or two. You really are quite pathetic, by the way. Even with my help, you couldn't get your bit."

I totally ignored the last part. "Why? Why do you care about me?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're just so delicious. And you never die, no matter how many times I take from you."

"You... take from me? I thought you were a sex demon," I said, my skin crawling.

"I am. That's the most intense emotion, the one that we live on. But other emotions are like nuggets, snacks. Maybe extras is the right word. There's no quota, as long as the person survives it."

"So the whole time I've been living here, you've been feeding off my energy?" Then I remembered something. "McGreavy. Did you do that to him? Make him the way he is?"

"He was such a big strong man when we first met. So full of everything. Instead of marking him, I took my time because I like to settle down, and I hate living with my sisters. He was a good source for a while."

"So why is he still alive?"

"Because before I finished with him, you came along. You carry all of these emotions around with you. It's such a feeding ground. I haven't hungered in years. You gave so much, then you made some friends, and things were even better. You know, you're such a little worrier, and all of that pent-up sexual tension... you're really a dream come true."

Her words sickened me. All those years, I'd been constantly drained by a demon and never even realised. No wonder the street we lived on was one of the darkest in the city. The area was slowly dying, and everyone was suffering at the whims of this greedy succubus. "If I'm so bloody satisfying, why are you even bothering with your quota?"

Her nostrils flared. "It's my quota. I get to take it. No point letting it go to waste."

"Okay, but I've lived here for what, almost seven years? Why Carl? Why now?"

"It isn't just now. I had you all to myself for so long, and then you had to get stupid and let everyone know you're here. The world is watching you now, and people aren't happy about that. That in itself might have been workable, but then you stopped feeling."

"That's not possible," I mumbled.

"It must be if it's been happening. I've been tasting Carl for ages. He's so easy to take from, thanks to you. And when you shut down like the little ice queen you are, I had to do something about it. So I upped my game and gave you something to worry about. I didn't realise it would be this satisfying, but you're giving me something to live on for years to come. Even now, it's a constant stream of emotion. I can't tell you how much of a kick I've gotten from draining the stuck-up judgemental bitch from next door." She laughed, almost hysterically, and planted a kiss on Carl's cheek.

"If I've done so much for you, then maybe you want to pay me back," I said, still unsure of how to play this, how much was truth and how much was just her trying to bug me even further.

"Not really. Even now, you're feeding me. He'll die. You'll cry for your human toy. As for me? I'll win a jackpot, and you'll be so distracted, you'll keep out of everyone's way. But if you behave, I won't touch anyone else you know."

"I'll move. You won't get to feed on me."

She shrugged. "Doesn't matter. It's too late for him. Besides, there are other empaths out there. They might not be as hardy as you, but you're not the only one of your kind either. The best part is that you can't even do anything to me. I win."

I shook with anger. "If he dies, you better start running. I don't give up on my friends. I don't give up on a chase. I will never let you enjoy your life."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't give up? So you caught the beast, then?"

"Don't act like you know something about it. I've offered you anything you want for Carl, but you're too greedy and stupid to see it. Well, guess what? You just spited yourself. And if I find out you managed to use this to help Becca, I mean, the beast, get away from me, then I really can do something to you."

"Oh, get out, you annoying little pest. And close the door after you. I'm too full to get up."

Her laughter followed me out the door. I couldn't look at Carl lying there, and I couldn't believe I was leaving him behind. But Esther was right, I kept acting without thinking. I had to do things right.

I unlocked my door and looked around my little flat. It didn't feel like home anymore. I had never been protected. For years, I had thought I was cocooned in safety, when really my home contained a secret trap hole filled with an energy-sucking demon.

I sat down and tried to think clearly. I had nothing really. A few contacts, maybe a few favours I could call in. I mostly owed favours. I needed a stronger position in the supernatural world. I needed to be untouchable.

I rang Peter to update him. "Carl's not looking good. And she's been draining me for years. I don't even know how to react to that."

"Maybe it's better to let her put Carl out of his misery. You know he might not recover. As for her, you need to move out. As soon as possible. She could be taking more than just energy from you. She's demonic, so she could have another reason for doing it. Why would she hate you so much if she didn't already know about you?"

I cleared my throat, embarrassed. "I think it's kind of a personal girly thing, to be honest. I think she literally doesn't like me as a person. Anything else is just gravy."

"You should ask Gabe about her draining you. If there isn't a rule against that, then maybe there should be. It doesn't feel right, especially when you're working for the Council. It's like she's taking from them, too."

When we ended the call, I tried to think things through, but instead, for the first time in weeks, I thought about my grandmother. Maybe I was missing out by not listening to her story. If I was going to do everything in my power to protect myself, then I had to know the whole story, as much as it killed me to admit it. I had to reach out and ask for help. From Gabe, Eddie, my grandmother, the shifters, and even the vampires. Feeling more like myself than I had in a long time, I went for a walk and made some phone calls. I couldn't get through to Gabe, but I left a message. I tried to set up an appointment to see Daimhín, but Yvonne told me she'd call me back. I should have gone straight to my grandmother, but I couldn't face her yet, so I went to Eddie instead.

He might be a million times more evil than my grandmother, but I cared more about what she did, so I figured it was easier to have it out with him. I had to be on my guard whenever I confronted him. Knowing him, he would throw the power of a dozen trapped souls at me, but he might see the succubus problem on a different slant after some time to think about it.

He didn't seem surprised to see me. He probably already knew I was on my way. He sent me in to the backroom to make the coffee, while he closed up the shop. I knew it was a big deal. He rarely locked up his business.

We finally sat down together, but it was hard for me to know where to begin. I had so much I wanted to know, so much I didn't want to know.

"I don't want this to turn into some kind of battle," I said. "I just want to have a conversation."

"Of course. We're on the same side, Ava."

I cocked my head. He'd used the kindly father voice again, the one that lulled me into a false sense of security without fail. "Are we? Because you keep growing into this Big Bad no matter how I look at it."

He shrugged. "Bad only depends on your point of view. Did you find Carl?"

"He's with Alannah. She's been feeding on me for years, apparently. She marked Carl to ramp up my juice. So yes, this is yet again all my fault on another level."

"You need to stop internalising all of this guilt. 'Tisn't always about the blame, petal. Things happen, sometimes no matter what you do." He stared off into the distance, a sudden wave of sadness dulling his blue eyes. I knew nothing of his past, but I had a feeling there were some huge stories there.

"I'll stick a pin in the guilt," I said. "How could it affect me, the whole energy draining... weirdness?"

"Depends. It might mean you're a lot stronger than we thought. It could mean you're practically immortal if you've survived for this long. Or none of the above."

"I've almost died a couple of times," I reminded him.

"Yet you pulled through in the end. The boys seem to think that you can't get hurt, you recover so quickly."

"I can get hurt." I held the cup tight, trying to remember what it felt like before I had moved into the flat, if I had been faster, stronger, better in some way.

"I know. Haven't I helped make you better?" He smiled. "The thing of it is, the succubus drained you constantly. She's probably made your other, ah, problems much worse over the years."

"Isn't it wrong for a demon who feeds on mortals to use a... non-human to feed on? Shouldn't there be some kind of law against it?"

"It's unpleasant." He nodded. "Foolish, too. As a particular species, you're not really protected, though. Strength in numbers, and well, you're the only one of your kind who isn't hidden. People will shake their heads at the succubus, but they won't make a move on her for it."

"But Daimhín named me as one of hers. That gives me some kind of comeback, right?"

He smiled. "You're finally getting how we work, Ava. You'll have to take it up with Daimhín, but yes, you could use your connection with her coven to your advantage. Whether she helps you or not is another thing."

"I've been cleaning up the vampire mess that's been plaguing the city. They kinda owe me."

"I hope they see it that way, and at the next conference with the Council, I'll make sure I bring up this issue. It's about time they dealt with the implications of you going public." He leaned forward. "What about Becca? Is there truth in the rumours I've been hearing? The beast is gone?"

"Gone for now," I said, hoping she would never reappear. "I'll be ready for her when she comes back."

"Let's hope she doesn't. In the meantime, you need to find a new place to live."

"I don't know where to start," I said, still reluctant to commit to giving up my home. "How could I not know, Eddie? How could I not feel it, see it, know something was wrong?"

He stared at me for a couple of seconds, and I realised he was wondering the same thing. "Maybe it's because you aren't used to the things you can do. You've had nobody to teach you. You're only working with your instincts. You can't be expected to know everything."

"It seems like a pretty big thing to miss. I don't... I don't have a clue what I'm doing half the time. If there are others like me, surely they could help me figure it out."

"I'm sure there are others," he said. "But you're the only one out in the open here. I don't know how much help they would be. Two mongrels from the same litter might look and act like two different breeds."

"Wow. Thanks for that analogy, Eddie."

He waved his hands. "My point is that they all have different skills. It's never that simple."

"Never is. But I'm ready to learn as much as I can, and I need you to tell me everything you know about me. If someone had just been honest with me from the beginning, most of my problems wouldn't exist. I can't stay blind forever."

The cold presence blew on my neck, and I could have sworn Eddie stared right at it.

"I don't know how helpful I'll be," he said, half to himself.

The breeze picked up, swinging my ponytail. I watched Eddie's face pale.

"Any help would be great," I said quietly, as if nothing untoward was happening.

"I... Maeve! Is leor sin! Stop!" He held up his hands, but they shook violently. The presence stopped instantly.

"Who's Maeve?"

He stuttered for a couple of seconds. "What? I... no, nothing. What were we...? Help. Yes. Others would be better at explaining, but I'll try. It's time for me to try."

I gazed at him, wondering what kind of secrets he hid. Maeve. Was that the name of the cold presence? Like many things, I would just have to deal with it later.

"You want to know about yourself? What I know?"

I was ignorant about so many things, and with someone finally willing to speak, I felt ill, as though every emotion pushed upward at once, struggling to break free. I gave a little whimpering gasp, but he didn't seem to notice.

"I wasn't there for your birth. Or your childhood. But I knew you existed. I see and hear plenty, and I knew one of you would one day come to me. I just had to be patient. When Nancy came, I knew there was something about her. Something in her eyes. She had seen things no human should. I could tell. I made her talk to me, and she told me everything. Every detail. The kind of things she would never have told another living being."

I watched him age ten years in front of me and again I feared the answers. What could she have told him to make him look so miserable?

"When Peter brought you here that day, I tried not to get my hopes up. You were a mess, really." He laughed. "Mistakes a child would make. Accidental binding is practically unheard of. If I hadn't been around as long, I could never have helped you. I knew the outcome. Maybe I got a few details wrong, but I knew Daimhín would need you alive in the end."

I opened my mouth with a question.

"Don't ask. You need to understand. There's a presence about you. Whether it's your power, or the protection of another, it warns everyone off. Most beings won't even realise it's there, but I can feel it plainly and see it for what it is. It's intimidating, and that's what got to Becca, even in her mutated state. That's what I need on my side, Ava. That's partly why I could never harm you. I'm of the old stock. I find it hard to resist the temptation to put you in your place. You're so young, yet I find myself wanting to lead you. It's a strange sensation, having children you want to nurture, but at the same time feel the need to control."

The cold presence went absolutely crazy, and my hair whipped all over the place.

"Now, now," he muttered, and I wasn't entirely sure who he addressed. "The thing with you is that you could be the face of something. You'll never be the smartest or the prettiest, the strongest or the most charismatic, but you stand for something. There are plenty of beings who despise the Council. They would follow someone like you into a war, if you let them."

"Eddie, I'm sorry, but I've no idea what we're talking about. What's going on?"

He waved his hand. "Tangents. Nothing's happening yet. You want to know why I didn't tell you about yourself beforehand, yes?"

I nodded slowly, feeling more lost than when we had begun. Everything he threw at me was muddled and confusing. My head began to thud with a heavy ache.

"I didn't think you were ready. And time isn't to me what it is to the impatient. It takes years for a plan of mine to come to fruition. Decades to even formulate a plan. It didn't seem like something that should happen yet. And your ignorance protects you somewhat. Or at least it did at the trial. If they had read you and saw that you knew exactly what you are... well, it wouldn't have looked good, and the outcome might have been a lot different."

"If I had known, I would have done things differently," I insisted.

"Would you? I don't think so. It was all worded very dramatically at the trial, I grant you that. But really, your existence is simple. It's a very good thing to some of us."

"It's just another way to make me the odd one out," I said. "It's being lied to that I can't stand. I risked all of our lives over a lie."

"Ava, can't you see? You believing that lie kept you safer. If Maximus had truly known what he had on his hands... I dread to think what might have occurred. Some things are pre-ordained, and that particular game was played in the only way it could have been. Your grandmother protected you from yourself, whether it was her idea or not."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not here to tell you Nancy's story. That's to come from her lips only. That woman at the trial, Helena, has she been found?"

"Nope. Vanished off the face of the planet. Why?" I had tried to find her after the trial, but just like before, she had disappeared.

"I think she would have been a helpful ally. Let's hope she hasn't changed sides. Her knowledge is powerful."

"What are you?" I blurted.

He paused as a smile grew on his lips. "I'm just a man. I was born, matured, did my duty, and was given a great responsibility. Then, things changed, and here I am."

"Are you ever going to talk in a straight line?" I slammed my hands on the table just to feel in control of something.

"I only do that when I feel like the person is listening," he said in his nice voice, the lilting one. "I tell the truth. I was born an ordinary human, and one day, I'll die."

"I thought you were immortal," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Everything comes to an end," he replied calmly. "Even this conversation."

"Wait!" I said. "Tell me things. About angels and demons. About seraphim and Nephilim. About me."

"Again, there are better people to ask. But I can tell you that the angels are soldiers, but not on Earth. Never on Earth. A good thing or Earth would have been destroyed long ago. Even the fallen are soldiers, and they must live in the darkness—Hell—because the light shames them, or so the tales say. The Nephilim were the only ones who could bridge both sides, and take the war elsewhere. They were useful and precious because they could stand in the dark and in the light without suffering."

"What about the... impure?"

"Your kind is unusual in that they can pick light or dark to live in. They fit in everywhere and nowhere. The impure nephal can visit all without harm, but they can be influenced from birth to be either dark or light. It's a battle to take the impure, which is why it's so strange that you managed to go unnoticed for so long. You could easily have been dragged to Hell as a child. I still haven't figured out that bit," he admitted. "In the past, the surviving impure have been unpredictable, more trouble than they're worth, so apprehension is to be expected."

"What does that mean?"

"It means quite a few beings believe you are a ticking time bomb, one that needs to be destroyed before it explodes and takes out most of the world."

"What do you believe?"

He leaned back in his chair. "I think everything is happening the way it's supposed to. I've been around a while, petal. It takes a lot more than one wee girl to end the world."

"How long have you been around exactly?" I asked, ready to take advantage of his talkative mood.

"A while."

"Decades? Centuries? Please tell me it wasn't B.C. Oh, my God, how old are you?"

His laughter filled the room. "I can't remember exactly. I stopped keeping track a long time ago. I told you. I'm from another time."

"But you said you're human."

He shook his head. "I said I was born human. I was given a gift for being a good boy."

I glared at him. "You can't tell me you were born millennia ago and not give me details. What are you?"

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, as though weighing up the pros and cons of sharing his story. Although there were more important things going on, I had been desperate to know what he could do since the day I met him, partly to understand what I was dealing with.

"I grew up in a time when Ireland was a pagan country. We worshipped the gods, and they favoured us. I wasn't a soldier. I was a sensitive little soul for the age we were in. My father was ashamed. His oldest son was a coward. He wanted to send me away, so my mother, being the sort of woman who could turn any shame into pride, decided it was my path to devote myself to the gods. I trained to be a druid. Of course, we made sacrifices to our gods, and to me then, it was worse than fighting in wars. My older sister made me think of the people as things. Less than animals. As skin and blood and bones. It was the only way to get through the violence."

The corner of his mouth lifted, and he remained silent for a couple of minutes, apparently lost in his memories. "I became a great Druid, well-respected. Then a menace came. Vampires. They preyed on my family's village, took my family and friends from me. The gods granted me vengeance, and I drove the vampires away. After that, life changed. People no longer devoted themselves to the whims of the gods. The gods decided to sleep until another time, devotion and faith being their lifelines. Ogham gave me a special gift. I became the Keeper of Knowledge, the Guardian of the Gods. I held their power, their memories, their immortality. I held it all for the day they would one day return."

He shook his head. "As time went by, the respect was lost. Christianity invaded, sent our ways into the annals of history. The vampires returned, and we were all forced to coexist in one way or another in the end."

"When will the gods return?" I whispered, fascinated.

"When?" It was as though he woke up from a dream. His face creased into a frown, and his voice went cold. "Never. No, not ever."

# Chapter Eleven

I ran to my grandmother's home. Walking somehow seemed inappropriate. I had to know what she knew, the things that made her so sure I was bad, the reasons she lied to me. If, historically, the impure were capable of destruction and pain, then I needed to know why and how—never mind how to not go down that road myself.

When she opened the door, she stood stock still with her mouth hanging open. She quickly gathered herself together and bade me to come inside. The first step into her home sent thrills of melancholy through me, a sensation I could barely stand.

"I need to hear it," I said when we sat down together in the living room that was still heavily decorated with religious ornaments. I avoided the lone picture taking pride of place above the mantel place. The crown of thorns image had always disturbed me.

"Of course," she said, nodding. "I'm... glad you came. I thought you might not..."

"I need information. I need to hear about my mother, the lies, why you treated me the way you did. I need it all. Bad things keep happening when people keep secrets. I need it to stop."

Tears fell from her eyes, shining droplets that ran down her chin and were left to air dry. Anger surged through my body whenever I looked her in the eyes, but as she talked, I had to keep on checking her expression to make sure she was telling the truth. Her heartbeat was already all over the place, which meant listening to it wouldn't give me an accurate reading of how true her words were. I'd been learning a lot about lies lately.

"I should start at the beginning," she said, nodding again. "Yes, it's easier that way. Please don't get angry with me. I can't take it anymore."

I didn't say a word, but I noticed how much frailer she had become since the trial. Seeing me seemed to add a decade to her life. I steeled myself against the pity that kept trying to poke through my armour.

"I loved my son. He was perfectly normal. He had a good heart, and he was my only child. So it probably won't surprise you to learn that I hated your mother, Sarah, on sight. They moved away because I couldn't find it in myself to be nice to her. I know you think I'm an awful person, but there was always something in her I detested. I just knew there was something... wrong about her."

My fingernails dug into my palm in an effort to keep in the torrent of abuse I wanted to hurl at her.

"She was very beautiful, so people loved her, and I was convinced she was going to cheat on David. That and she turned up with nothing, I mean, obvious gold-digger. Except I was wrong. So very, very wrong. I knew she was pregnant, but I fully intended on having nothing to do with her child. Then, she turned up in the middle of the night, covered in blood, and told me David was dead, and the baby was coming."

She wrapped her arms around herself and rocked to and fro. "You can't understand the shock of that, of your child dying horrifically when you weren't there to take care of him. It was so much to take in. Sarah told me she had walked halfway across the country, and she was bleeding heavily. There was a gaping hole in her neck, and the skin around it had turned black. I still don't know how she managed to get to me." She shivered, and I couldn't help mimicking her.

"I said I was going to ring an ambulance, and she went hysterical, started screaming about vampires and demons and a dead baby. She smashed the phone against the wall to stop me. I had no idea what was wrong with her, but then she did something. She showed me her true face, and I fell to my knees.

"I prayed every Sunday, but I never truly had faith, Ava. It's not something that comes easy. People put on a show, but true belief, true faith, that takes a lot. But I believed Sarah. I couldn't deny her that night. She was having contractions, and her neck just wouldn't stop bleeding no matter what I did, but she kept breathing. She said her baby just needed to be born, and then she could sleep. The blood was black by then, thick, I had never seen anything like it."

I gasped. "Then what?"

"Then... then he appeared. The angel. Oh, he was beautiful and terrifying, and I would have agreed to anything right then. She cried when she saw him, begged him to help you. He took her hands and told her everything would be okay, that he had come for her and her alone. He said you had a role to play, that he would protect you until the right time. She... she asked me to raise you, to love you, and make sure you knew she loved you." She shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"When you were born, she held you for a couple of seconds. She smiled as though death wasn't coming. She kissed you, stared at you, and then she just faded away. Her skin lit up like the sun, and suddenly, the light flew into you. The angel looked shocked. He refused to touch you, so I had to pick you up, and you were burning. It was like you stole her light. You didn't. That's just what it looked like."

She grew very still on her chair. "And then he spoke to me, warned me, really. He told me Sarah was wrong, that you would be impure—tainted—and that a lot of demons wanted you, that they could influence you. He made me promise to hide you, to keep you safe, and to make you afraid. He said your path was clear, and I had to make sure you stayed on it or terrible things would happen." She gripped the arms of the chair, her knuckles turning white. "He made me promise not to tell you about your power, but to instil a sense of fear and subordination in you. He swore that was the only way to ensure you wouldn't end the world. I was so afraid. So very, very afraid, Ava." She gazed at me with red-rimmed eyes, silently pleading.

"And then what?" I asked as harshly as possible.

"See? That's it. That's what went wrong. You were stubborn deep down, never born to be that submissive. It took more pain than necessary to quieten you. There were times when I was terrified of you. Once, after I tried to... teach you, you curled up on the ground in a ball, and the light appeared again. It surrounded you so that I couldn't get near you.

"Afterward, he came to see me sometimes, usually in the dead of night while I prayed for help. His words never changed. And I never stopped listening to him. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I could make you pure again, but nothing worked. I didn't understand it, and I didn't do one thing right by you in the end."

I let her words sink in. My first instinct was to feel sorry for her. Going from thinking the other world wasn't real to being saddled with a killer-baby. Or whatever. But I couldn't see myself doing the same thing. No matter what some celestial being told me.

"Did he tell you to bring me to nutjobs for a beating? Did he tell you to freeze, burn, or starve the evil out of me? I just... I just can't find a way to understand any of this."

"Don't you see it? That was the point of it all, I think. He wanted you to hate evil."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. You're just saying that to make yourself feel better."

She leaned forward, her hands reaching toward me. "I changed. Don't you remember? When that man... when the last thing happened, I did try. Helena and Wesley both helped me see I was wrong, that he was wrong. He kept coming to see me, and I didn't obey him, so he punished me, too. In your teens, I finally understood that maybe he was wrong, and I tried to be better."

"Until I rang you after I bit Wesley. Until I really needed you. The way you spoke to me, it was like the good years never happened. You killed it all in one sentence. Even when I called you about Carl, your first assumption was that I'd killed someone."

"Please, Ava. I need you to forgive me. I am sorry! I made mistakes, but I raised you. I protected you, I broke the law for you. And when you really did need me, I was there. When the vampires wanted you, I was there. At the trial, I was there. I'll always be there in the end. I'm the only one who really cares what happens to you. Your only family. I'm the only one who doesn't need you for something."

"Except forgiveness," I whispered. "I get that you took things to extremes because of the vampires and angels and all of that crazy stuff. But strip that away, and we're left with a bitter old woman who didn't want her precious son taken away. Did you see her when you looked at me? Because I know I don't look a thing like you or my father."

I paced, my fists clenched, memories flooding my mind. "You never even kept a photo of her for me. You could have given me something huge to hold on to if you had just told me about her. The real her, not just her death. All you did was give me a memory of a dying woman, when she was so much more than that. That's what you should be the most ashamed of. That's what should keep you awake at night."

I made it to the door before turning around. "I've wasted so much time on you. I really wanted you to love me. I really wanted you to see me, not the thing you thought I could be. I could have used a family instead of having to turn to strangers for comfort. I was going to run away with Wesley. Did you know that? But I didn't want to leave you on your own. How pitifully stupid of me."

I walked out the front door with one weight lifted and another weighing heavier than ever. I'd finally had my say, but the reminders of the love I'd lost cut deep. The truth had come far too late to make much of a difference to our relationship. Closing her door was like closing a door on my past. She might be family, but she had a deep-bred distaste for me, and somehow hearing how much she had hated my mother solidified all of the hurt I felt toward Nancy.

A normal person would have loved a child, not abused them. I couldn't accept that her behaviour was explainable or completely understandable. But for the first time in my life, I felt a connection to the mother I had never known. The one who had walked for miles in labour, slowly bleeding to death. The one who had begged for someone to protect me. That idea sparked a warmth in my chest that had never been there before, filling some of the emptiness I carried.

The only time I'd felt that kind of warmth had been with Wesley, until I'd ruined it. I still savoured the taste of pure happiness, and with Nancy's revelations, I had another to keep alongside it.

I had no idea who the angel was, or why he had felt the need to keep reminding my grandmother to basically dominate me like a dodgy animal trainer, but if I ever got the chance to face him, I would have plenty to say.

I wandered the city for a couple of hours, not wanting to go home and feed a succubus with my pain. I had no place of my own, nowhere that I really fit in, but the more I learned about myself, the more comfortable I was in my own skin. The important thing wasn't what they said about me, it was the choices I made. Foolish or not, I cared about people other than myself, and I did my best with the little experience I had. I'd tried to close myself off, but it never worked. I wasn't meant to grow up hating. That realisation was powerful.

I didn't feel particularly inclined to kill anyone, except maybe a certain succubus, and my thirst was pretty much controllable for the most part. Until that certain succubus ramped up the feelings between Peter and me. Empathy didn't come in handy on those occasions. But I hadn't hurt him. I hadn't even bitten him. I could control myself, even when I wasn't so sure.

I found myself heading towards Peter's home. I had no one else I wanted to turn to, and he was always the first person I wanted, no matter what the circumstance. In some ways, he was exceptionally unreliable and cold, but I felt as though he would back me up if I needed him, and that made me feel safe around him. I couldn't remember the last time he had looked disgusted at the mention of my more vampiric side.

He wasn't home, so I sat on his doorstep and watched his neighbours go about their business. So normal and ordinary. Children playing like there were no bad guys. Parents feeling safe enough to let their little ones out on their own, despite murders and a kidnapping happening right in their neighbour's home. If they knew, they no longer cared. People got over the past so easily, why couldn't I?

Peter pulled up and didn't notice me until he was a couple of feet away. He stopped and stared at me for a couple of seconds. I gave a little shrug, and he nodded. He opened the weirdly-secure front door and hauled me to my feet.

"In, before I lose my antisocial recluse reputation," he said.

I laughed, but by the time I sat down in his living room, tears rolled down my cheeks. He didn't say a word, just handed me a tissue and sat next to me. He stayed quiet, and I just sat there crushing tissues in my fists.

"Okay, I'm done being a girl," I said after a while.

"Nothing wrong with girls. Need a coffee or something?"

"If you're having one."

He patted my shoulder and left me alone. I often wondered how he could live in that house. Knowing he had lost everyone who meant anything to him within those very walls was strange to me. I always felt as if there were ghosts in the room, watching my every move.

Peter seemed to do okay, despite suffering through the kind of heartbreak I couldn't even imagine. I wanted to talk to him, to spill everything out, to beg him to tell me how to deal. But his past had affected him, too. That was obvious in everything he did. Even the supernatural beings of the world were wary of him, for those very same reasons.

When he came back with coffee, he sat next to me again and hesitated, as if he wasn't sure what to do.

"Is it time yet?" he asked at last.

"For what?" I whispered, confused by his expression.

"Carl kept telling me you need to stop holding everything in. He reckons you need to talk about stuff, to get your head together. I said you just needed to punch something. I'm guessing I was wrong."

I smiled. "Not wrong, but the same things don't work forever, right? Never mind me. I'm being a wimp today. I've been trying to find out more about myself, and it's a bit... overwhelming sometimes. I've spent so long thinking I was something, and then I find out there's a whole other mess in there, and I don't know where to start really."

"I can listen. I'm pretty good at it." For an instant, the soft Peter came through, the one who cared about living or dying, the one he was before the real world came knocking.

"I just don't know where to go from here. Everything I've ever believed has been thrown upside down. Between vampires and angels and succubi and humans, I don't know whether I'm coming or going."

"What happened today?"

"I went to see Eddie, my grandmother, and that succubus. That's why I came here. I didn't want to give Alannah a filling dessert on top of what she's taking from Carl."

Peter shook his head. "If there was anything we could do..."

"There has to be something. She's been feeding off everything I've felt for years. And I had no idea. My grandmother's been lying to me my whole life. And I had no idea. Eddie's had plans for me since before he met me. And I had no freaking idea. Everything's messed up, and I don't know what to do about it."

"Deal with one thing at a time. That's all anyone can do. What happened when you talked to Nancy? Anything good?"

"Nope. She's like a stranger to me. Her excuse for everything is 'An angel made me do it.'" I burst out laughing. "I mean, come on!"

"An angel? Think that's true?"

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I don't even care what the angels want with me. The thing that got me the most was how she talked about my mother. She hated her, and she definitely didn't want to be burdened with me. She kept saying she tried to change, she tried to do better, but who needs to try to treat a child like a human being?"

"What happened to you?" he asked. "When you were a kid. What did she do to you? You both insinuate things, but neither of you get into the details."

"What didn't she do? She said the angel told her to make me afraid, to make me submit, so I wouldn't screw up the world or something. She definitely made me afraid. I wasn't allowed play with other kids, she only sent me to school when somebody called in the social workers, and she made it her mission to take the impurity out of me."

"How?"

His voice was so quiet and soothing that I barely realised I was answering questions.

"Sometimes, she didn't feed me. Other times, she used ice baths or hot wax to try to expel the demon. I don't know. She was convinced there was an actual creature inside me or something. She invited every lunatic to our home, especially the violent ones."

"She told them about you?"

I laughed. "Yeah, right. She told them I was evil, or sick, or needed to be exorcised. That kind of thing. Some people were harmless. It was all pretty words and dramatics. Others were... bad people. I begged her to help me, to make them stop, but she washed her hands of me and let them do their worst. If I'm honest, I've blocked out most of it. Sometimes I get flashes of memories."

His hand covered mine, and the words flooded out of my mouth.

"That first time we met Becca at that vampire bar freaked me out because it was close to one of the places my grandmother took me as a kid. I remember screaming at her to please take me home. I swore I would be good, but she drove off and left me with him."

"Who?"

"A psychopath. The kind that pretends to be a holy man. I forget what religion he pretended to work on behalf of, but he didn't like little girls. He left scars. In all sorts of places. Then, he cut off my hair and sent me home. When she saw me, she knew. She knew he wasn't holy. But she didn't say a word. She never sent me to him again, but what he did worked. I didn't speak for a year, and she pretended we went travelling so the school wouldn't get suspicious." I leaned back, surprised by the memories, by the details that jumped out of me. I touched my back, remembering other things. Things I never wanted to say out loud.

"How could I want her to love me, Peter? Why would I want her to? She let bad people do bad things to me. She couldn't bear to touch me. In school, the other kids, and even the teachers, avoided me as much as possible. What is it about me that's so obviously wrong?"

He shook his head, but I couldn't look in his eyes.

"That woman at the trial. Helena. My grandmother went to her when I still hadn't talked. It's all a bit fuzzy. I remember she did things to me, too, nothing painful, but she was angry. Outraged, actually. She and my grandmother had a huge fight. I remember feeling sad because it meant she wouldn't come back."

"Is that when she left?"

"No. No, she came back, and Nancy told her things about me. True things. And Helena tried to bring us together. It started getting better, then Helena vanished, and I cried for her. Nancy was furious. She was convinced Helena was going to betray us. I wasn't allowed to talk about her again, but I always remembered her. Life was never as bad again. We started to get along a little. She would sometimes go back to her old ways, but it was never as constant. Then, Wesley moved to the neighbourhood."

I smiled, remembering the first time I had seen him. He'd caught me staring, and I felt sure I had made the biggest fool of myself. But he sought me out after that. All of the girls in my class had crushes on him, but it was as though the strangeness in me that repelled others only attracted him.

"Being close to him made me happy. He made a point of being lovely to Nancy, too. He brought me places, made me feel normal, like I fit in somewhere. She obviously saw the change in me because she began to treat me like a person. For the first time ever, I felt happy. I mean, it really was the first time I'd felt it. Then, I screwed it all up and had to leave." I chanced a look at Peter. He was staring at the wall, his shoulders tense.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Me?" He sounded shocked. "I should be asking you that."

"I'm okay now." I realised it was true as I spoke the words. "I'm starting to figure out how to look after myself, I think. I just have to learn how to let go of the past, I suppose. I'll get there."

"You've a lot to let go of."

"Look who's talking."

"Everyone has something." He leaned over and wrapped his arms around me. "You'll get through it. I promise."

Our eyes locked, and my heartbeat sped up, but he got up and moved away.

"About the succubus," he said abruptly. "If we took Carl, what would happen?"

"He'd probably do his best to get back to her. It's like an addiction, I think. He could die," I said.

"Or it might wear off. Going cold turkey, that sort of thing. It might be worth a try."

"It's something to consider. But she would probably come and get him. Or force him to hurt himself getting back to her. I thought you wanted me to give up on him," I added.

"It's not that. It's just... you always act like you have to do things. You don't. You can walk away any time." Something in his eyes made me think he wasn't talking about Carl at all.

"Carl's one of the few people I haven't freaked out. It's not that I have to save him. I want to. I'm trying to set up an appointment with Daimhín to ask her for help. I know, I know, don't look at me like that. I'm having some trouble, so I thought you might be able to put a word in with Yvonne for me. Please?"

He backed away at her name. "I'll try. Whatever good that does. Do you really think Daimhín will give a crap?"

"Probably not. But she might despise succubi and want to get one over on them." I smiled. "It's worth a try. You know what? Maybe I should go back home. Give the demon something to chew on so she doesn't overdose on Carl."

"Sometimes I think you're crazy," he said, but the corners of his mouth lifted.

"Ever wonder where we'd be if life was normal?"

"Probably as bored as Carl was. I'm not so sure I want normal anymore."

"And I'm the crazy one. I should go. Thanks for... everything."

# Chapter Twelve

"I take it you've heard the news," Daimhín said, taking in my appearance with the slightest look of disdain. Compared to her, I was permanently unkempt.

"What news?"

"Nobody told you? I thought that's why you wanted to see me. It hasn't made the human news yet, but a ferry went missing. It was found drifting, completely empty. They're referring to it as the Irish Mary Celeste."

I frowned, wondering at the significance.

She made a little frustrated noise. "The beast. It had to be her."

"No bodies?"

"Maybe dumped overboard," she said. "She hasn't been back, so there's a good chance she's crossed the water for good."

"She'll be back," I said. "If she survived, then we haven't heard the last of her. And if she fed on an entire ferry full of people, she's more than healthy."

"No matter. It's not our problem anymore. I'm glad you're here. I wanted to talk to you about your employment with me."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something, too," I said, leaning back in my seat, grateful that only a handful of her coven had joined us. I caught the eye of Eloise and got distracted until Daimhín cleared her throat.

"Sorry," I said. "I have a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

I rubbed my cheek, suddenly embarrassed. I felt as if I'd been caught out somehow. "A succubus. Turns out there's one in my building. She marked my friend, and she's been draining me for years. There's a good chance she's effectively been using my friend to spy on me. I've been told there's not much I can do about it. But you took responsibility for me before. Can you help me?"

Her laugh was like a cackle. "I hate those things. Trust you to live in the same building as one. I hope you're not particularly fond of this friend. Succubi don't let go easily."

"Carl. The one I... the one who started everything really. There has to be something I can do. They can't just feed on anyone they like, can they?"

"They usually only feed on humans, which doesn't explain how she's been draining you. It's strange that she's chosen your human—"

"He's not actually mine."

"—because they tend to travel wider than that. Unless you offended her, which... you did, of course. I forget you have the manners of a chimp. I'll send someone to ask politely. Other than that, I have no recourse. I will, however, make a point of mentioning it to the Council. I don't like the idea that she's taking something of mine, especially considering the situation with the beast. No wonder you didn't catch her. As a society, we all needed the beast to be dealt with as soon as possible. If this demon interfered with that, the Council won't be happy." I kept quiet, perfectly happy for her to go with that train of thought.

She stared off into the distance, drumming her fingers on her knee. "Yes, that's what I'll do. She's taking some of your power. I need that. Selfish of her really. You do understand that your human will die, even if she lets him go?"

"No, he can't. He'll be fine. There has to be a way for him to be fine."

"She won't let him go willingly," a voice said from the corner. We both turned to look at Eloise.

"Did you see that?" Daimhín asked harshly.

Eloise shrugged. "Perhaps it was a dream, perhaps a memory. The succubi don't give up what's theirs. Unless it doesn't belong to them." She gazed at me as if waiting for me to understand. I didn't.

"Perhaps you'll get lucky," Daimhín said. "Now, Ms. Delaney, I've decided to keep you on permanently, publicly. Brogan is surprisingly quick to hand over what's mine when you're the one collecting. I don't know why I bother making deals with him. He's never understood the concept of repaying debts." I could have sworn a crooked smile twisted her lips. "And the angel might be fairer when one of his own is around. Your trial was a disaster for my reputation, but if you're seen to be loyal to me, then it could speed up the recovery."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. Actually being able to laugh in front of her was a shock. "That was pretty much all your fault."

"Now, now. It was that traitor, Gideon. I was too trusting of him. It won't happen again. But you. You came out of it shining. It's a critical time. Some are wary, others are interested. Either way, I could use you. With your face associated with my coven, some will be more easily persuaded. Of course, if I'm seen to treat you fairly, the Council might favour me. Yes. There are lots of ways you can help me."

"Why would I want to?"

"Money. Security. Support. Information, maybe."

My ears pricked up at that.

"I've lived a long time. I've learned a lot of things. I know exactly why my day assistant works for me. I'm careful around her. She hears what I want her to hear. Remember that when she tells tales. But I'm willing to exchange some things with you for your allegiance. I don't desire her blood, so she can't give me anything unique. You, on the other hand—"

"Why not?" I blurted.

"Excuse me?"

"Why don't you desire her blood? What is it about some people that makes them..." I shrugged, unable to think of an appropriate word that didn't make me sound like a hungry lion.

Her eyes bulged a little. "You might be the most ignorant creature to pass my threshold." She sighed. "It boils down to a number of things. Personal preference, health, diet, genetics. Something in her bloodline is different, inedible. Some humans are bred to be victims. Just like in the old days."

She gave a sudden smile, lost in thought. I cleared my throat to grab her attention again.

"Yes. You. You have my coven's support, even if they hate you, and I can easily pass on tidbits of information if you please me. I know you have a ridiculous soft spot for those humans. Trust me, my information is worth it. You'll receive a wage, and you'll work regularly for me. Not on a daily basis, don't worry. But enough for you to keep your schedule open for me."

Although her tone was mocking, the lure of information was great. Maybe too good to be true.

"I still don't see why you haven't given any of this information to Yvonne already. If you have any, that is."

She smiled. "You're learning. She's human. She's not a pet of mine. She's efficient, and she keeps me aware of Brannigan enough that I don't have to worry about him. But now I have you."

"Peter? Why would he worry you?"

"He's protected. If the Council ever wanted to get rid of us, I know they would use him. He's connected to you now. He wouldn't risk you to get to us."

"You don't know him very well, then. Peter won't let anything get in his way."

"You sound bitter," she said with a knowing smile.

"Fine." I stood to leave. "You help me, and I'll help you. I can live with that. For now."

"Good. I'll arrange a visit to the succubus."

"Does this mean you don't want me dead?" I asked.

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Oh, I definitely want you dead. I just don't want to be the one to risk it."

***

Daimhín's parting words replayed in my head. Risk what? Whenever I used my dagger on a vampire, they burned until all that remained was dust on the wind. What if something happened when I died? Something that might injure my killer perhaps. I had a good idea that Eloise would know. If only I could get some time alone with her.

That led me to her enigmatic message. I felt as though I might be missing something regarding Carl and the succubus. Could I have prior claim to him because I had once controlled his mind? But no, the bond was broken, and that meant it couldn't have any more influence on him. There had to be something. All I could do for sure was rely on Daimhín and hope her messenger could persuade the succubus to be sensible and let Carl go.

I was so tempted to burst into her flat and just take Carl away, but common sense prevailed. Or at least a supernatural version of common sense. As I walked home, I watched the world with my other abilities, half-hoping to see Becca so I could take my bad mood out on her.

Everything was normal, at least for my world. Red pulsing energies signalled humans all around me. Empty pockets were the stamps left by vampires. Various other energies appeared in a vague sort of way, but it was as though my senses were more attuned to the things that made up my DNA.

I cut through a park to get home, squeezing through bent bars to make my way past a child's playground. The wind picked up, although the night wasn't as cold as usual, and it took me a few minutes to realise it wasn't the wind at all.

"Hello, stranger," I said before heeding the warning of the presence with me. In my other sight, I saw something strange running toward me and whirled around to face it. It looked like a human. It had a heartbeat. But its energy was screwed up, and I slowly realised why. Shadows. Clinging to the man's soul. Or what was once a man.

He raced at me, fists closed. He was big, burly, and outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds. Not to mention he was more than a foot taller.

I blew out a sigh, realising my latest non-fighting streak was about to come to an end. A couple of days felt like some kind of record. I planted my feet firmly on the ground and hoped I would remember all of Peter's advice. I didn't want to hurt a human, but I needed a couple of minutes to burn those shadows away, and they were embedded so deeply in the man's soul that I wasn't even sure it would help.

The man rushed at me but stumbled when I jumped to the side and pushed him, his weight helping me. His face was distorted, almost unrecognisable as a person. His eyes swam with a misty substance that made me feel sick to my stomach. Not even close to the reaction Coyle gave me, but the man was infected with darkness, more than Peter or the fox-shifter had been. He festered with it.

He ran at me again, swinging his heavy fists. One connected with the side of my head as I tried to block him and grab his face. All I needed was a few minutes of contact with his skin, and I could burn the shadows from his body. I was confident that was all it would take, but the dizziness from the blow he landed convinced me I would have to knock him unconscious to even have a chance at cleansing him.

We grappled, and I cursed the stupid succubus for draining me of any precious energy. I didn't want to hurt the man, feeling sure he was innocent. He had probably been sent by Coyle to distract me at best, and kill me if he could.

Grunting heavily when another punch landed, I decided to use my speed against the man. I dodged around him, hoping he would use up some energy following me, but the shadow seemed to push his body further than humanly possible. I was outmatched... by a human.

I tried to pace myself, tried to think, tried to remember everything I should do, but being attacked by a human unnerved me. I let down my guard for an instant and received a swift punch in the mouth for my trouble. Without thinking, I struck back twice in quick succession. The man's bald head automatically rocked back, but he kept coming, arms swinging.

I dropped to the ground abruptly and used my feet to knock him back. He fell over, and I leapt on top of him and squeezed his throat. Using his bulk, he rolled us both over. I barely managed to escape from under his dead weight.

I was quicker to my feet, and by the time he had gotten to his, I was prepared to jump on his back. Grasping his shoulders, I swung myself up before digging my fingers into his Adam's apple until I managed to grip him with my arm.

He pushed and pulled, and in the end, threw himself onto the ground, me underneath him. I pressed on his neck, listening carefully for his heartbeat to slow. Right before I let go, unwilling to risk his death, he slumped unconscious, and his weight almost cracked my ribs.

Not knowing how much time I had, I carefully pushed him off. Rubbing my hands together, I prayed it would work like last time. Using my other sense, I saw the black shadows weaving around his essence, suffocating his humanity. I lay his head on my lap to keep from grinding his skin into glass or stones, then pressed my palms against his forehead as hard as I could.

The shadows were persistent. They held tight, entwined with his very being. Sweat rolled down my back, and pain racked my entire body, but I couldn't let go. I couldn't let him run around with such evil inside him. I couldn't let him attack anyone I knew.

Slowly, the shadows loosened a little. I kept pulling at them with that unknown power inside me. Every time I felt like I had a grip, they fought to cling even tighter. Finally, one of the shadows seeped away from him and into me. I imagined I heard screams, even though it wasn't possible.

I choked down waves of nausea, but refused to break contact with his skin. Desperation bubbled up inside me. I had to get rid of the shadows. It was as though that was what I was born to do. The fear gripped me as tight as the shadows had to the man lying before me. Too late, I felt his heartbeat slowing dangerously.

"No, no!" I cried out. "Stay with me! Stay with me!"

The last of the shadows left him. My hands flailed as if independent from my body. I burned and stared at the flowing black swirls beneath my skin in disbelief, feeling torment and pain dance around inside me. The light came, highlighting my veins and searing through the corrosive substance that invaded my being with the shadow. I wanted to scream, to run, to hide. But I couldn't.

By the time the pain faded and my gasping breaths slowed down, he was gone. I cradled him for a few minutes, almost surprised by how heartbroken I felt at my part in his death. He had been used by something evil to do something evil. When I destroyed the darkness, I destroyed him, too. And I was still no closer to knowing exactly what the shadows were or what they could do.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, hearing my words fly away on the wind. I closed his eyes then fished my phone out of my pocket to call for an ambulance. I knelt by him, holding his hand, unable to control the shuddering of my body. I didn't want to leave him alone like that.

Not like that.

When I heard the wailing sirens of an ambulance in the distance, I lay his head gently on the ground and ran in the opposite direction.

I couldn't cry. I couldn't think. Killing vampires—who technically were already dead—unnerved me. The death of a human felt much more real. Savage. When I got far enough away, I hid behind a bush to vomit. I dry heaved over and over again, every time I thought of his fading heartbeat, of his glazed-over eyes. If Coyle had sent him, was that what he wanted?

# Chapter Thirteen

I spent the next day in bed, mourning the deaths of human men and reading Eddie's ridiculously scary books in an attempt to save another man in my life from a succubus.

No matter what I did, the man's face kept coming back to me. Did he have a family? Friends? People who would miss him? I watched the news on the hour, but saw nothing about a body in the park. Plenty on the Mary Celeste ferry. An empty, drifting boat was something to talk about. Not a nameless man who had died in a park for no good reason.

At least I knew those shadows were gone, same with the ones that had infected Peter. So, how many were there? On a whim, I spied on the succubus with my other sight. No shadows, but her energy was almost as ominous since I knew what she was.

I listened for Carl, comforted by his pulsing presence. If only I could help him. It all might have been worth something.

In the early hours of the morning, a phone call awoke me.

"We have a problem," was all Daimhín said. Immediately, I thought succubus and rushed to get ready to meet her.

I was wrong.

In Daimhín's living room sat a group of vampires I had never seen before.

"Is this it?" a dark-haired male asked in a thick, Liverpudlian accent.

Daimhín sighed, shaking her head at me. "Yes, Victor. This is it. Ms. Delaney, our friends here have a dilemma. It seems our recent beast problem has made its way to Liverpool. The British Vampire Association is insisting we deal with it. These three vampires are their representatives, sent here to resolve the situation."

"Liverpool? There's been nothing in the news about mass murder over there." I eyed the trio with suspicion.

Victor glared at me. "That's because we don't air our dirty laundry in public."

The brunette female next to him nodded. "No point in causing hysteria. We'll deal with this quietly and then forget all about it. It doesn't have to be a big deal."

"If it's not a big deal, then why haven't you dealt with it already?" I knew my question was a mistake the second the words popped out of my mouth.

Victor full-on growled, while the woman looked embarrassed. The third, a bored-looking man with white hair, stared somewhere over my head as though I didn't exist.

"We've tried," the woman said snappishly. "It doesn't discriminate. It's been draining vampires, too. Nasty business. Nobody wants to risk it. You people caused the problem. You can fix it."

"Actually, vampires in Spain created the formula. So technically, they caused the problem," I said, biting my lip when Daimhín hissed at me.

"We need to go to the Council now," the older-looking vampire said. "Cass has already arranged a meeting to see who else they're offering to send."

The female, Cass apparently, nodded. "We accept your offering," she said to Daimhín.

Offering? Great.

"Are you sure this is it?" Victor persisted.

"Positive," Daimhín replied. "Ava will travel with me. Winston, you may use one of my vehicles, along with your colleagues, of course. My own bodyguard, Zion, is already waiting to drive you."

The white-haired vampire nodded his thanks. The trio trooped out, followed by docile humans that I hadn't even noticed when I entered the room.

Daimhín waited a few minutes before gesturing for the vampires and me to follow her outside. A stretch limo waited with the engine running. Another pulled away as we stepped outside.

"Are you kidding me?" I whispered to Daimhín once I was sure the British trio wouldn't hear me. "You're sending me to Liverpool?"

She inclined her head. "If need be. Don't worry. The Council will probably send them packing. They won't be dictated to by foreign vampires. But we can't be the ones to say no."

"Exactly how powerful are these vampires?"

Daimhín frowned. "Winston's the overseer of the British Vampire Association. All of the vampires in Britain are part of the BVA, whether they like it or not. Winston spent many centuries consolidating his power when others were still wreaking havoc like barbarians. Victor is still a muck savage who happened to be lucky enough to have a powerful creator. He hasn't left Winston's side since his rebirth."

"What about the woman?"

"Cass is a liaison of sorts, his voice to the ruling powers. She's managing their bid to bargain their way onto their version of the Council. She's a sneaky one. Be careful what you say in front of her."

"But what do they want?" I couldn't figure out why they would come all the way to Ireland to kick up a fuss.

"Winston's essentially created an army of vampires. He's just waiting for his chance to unleash them on the weakest opponent. He's likely interested in spreading his domain across the water, and we happen to be the easiest mark."

"Why does he have to come with us?" I asked, referring to Jules who kept drooling a little too close to me.

"Because he can't be trusted on his own," Eloise piped up.

Other vampires accompanied us, too, mostly bodyguards. I began to feel claustrophobic.

"Has anyone been to see the succubus yet?" I asked.

"Yes. She refuses. Rudely, too." Daimhín sucked her top teeth, and I could see it pissed her off to be refused by a demon.

"So, what should I do?"

"Own him," Eloise said in a sing-song voice.

"Don't advise," Daimhín snapped at her, but it got me thinking. Could that be the answer? To take him out of the ownership of a succubus, I just had to own him again? Perhaps the original bond had some kind of precedence. Or another supernatural term I had yet to learn.

"Thanks, Eloise." I tried not to wince when she gave me a fanged smile in return.

We seemed to be moving in the wrong direction, but I figured we were heading to neutral territory. Perhaps other entities weren't supposed to enter the Council's domain or some such nonsense. I didn't care. I just wanted the trip over and done with so I could get back to dealing with Carl.

I was soon bored and agitated. The lack of heartbeats and breathing was positively irritating, an unusual side effect of being stuck in a car with a group of vampires.

"Have you ever heard of something infecting people, like gripping onto their souls, and making them do bad things?" I asked, trying to sound matter-of-fact.

"De-mons," Eloise sang.

"Haven't I told you?" Daimhín chided before slapping Jules's hand away from mine. I rolled my eyes and inched away from the dysfunctional vampire family.

I tried to ask more questions about demons, but Daimhín refused to let Eloise answer.

"What about someone using a soul, like trapping it to them?" I attempted to sound like a curious neophyte searching for the strangest occurrences possible.

Daimhín tutted. "That's just one step away from necromancy."

I settled back into my seat and watched Eloise sing lullabies to Jules. Every time I saw him, he acted even stranger than the previous time. Eloise treated him like a doll or a puppy, and I wondered how much of her was as childlike as the day she was turned.

We stopped shortly before I lost my mind. The meeting place was in a closed restaurant. A sleepy-looking shifter was opening the doors when we arrived. We all gathered inside and waited for the Council to appear, the British vampires frequently checking the time in disgust.

By the time the Council traipsed in, the vampires were muttering complaints and throwing dirty glances at each other. I was shocked to see how frail Koda looked in comparison to how he had at the trial. The transparency thing tended to make him look ancient, but the opaque lapses showed tired eyes and a serious amount of wrinkling. Fionnuala and Erossi appeared as haughty as ever, and Gabe just looked pissed.

"What's this about?" Gabe snapped.

"This is about you driving your mistakes onto our territory," Victor shouted, surprising everyone.

"I'm sure you can deal with it," Gabe said sullenly.

"No. We demand you send troops to take care of this," the vampire continued.

"Troops?" Erossi laughed without humour. "We don't need troops. Look what we have." He mockingly pointed at me. I knew there was a reason I couldn't stand him.

Victor flexed his fingers as if in agitation, but when he spoke, his voice was calm. "This mutation needs to be captured and tested. The strain is warped. She drinks blood of her kind... that couldn't have been the plan. The Spanish deny knowledge. She's the only real link we have. As discussed with Daimhín, if we can study her, we can figure out what exactly they've been doing. We're in a much better position for this."

"We can do the testing, once we retrieve the beast," Gabe said

Winston smiled, and it was probably one of the most terrifying things I had ever seen. "Oh, no. If she's on our soil, we decide what happens to her. As you sent her to us, you can help us capture her. But we're keeping her."

I had a bad, bad feeling about that.

"We don't have Guardians to spare," Fionnuala said. "Too many were taken out in the hunt for the mutation. It's too much to ask."

"This has to stop," Winston warned. "If you don't deal with this, we'll take it further. Do you feel like a war in these times? You have until tomorrow night. We'll be leaving then."

"You dare threaten us?" Erossi scoffed.

"There are many more of us. And the higher Councils will take our side. War will come your way, you arrogant fool. Some of us are more than willing to take the fight to you. Remember that. This is not a choice."

"We'll send the girl," Koda said. "She can handle the creature."

"Alone? When our warriors couldn't?" Cass sounded as if her head might pop off her shoulders with shock.

"She knows its movements. She has experience," Koda said tiredly.

"Are you quite mad?" Gabe managed to sound even more irritated than I felt.

Koda rose to his feet. "No more of this. We send the girl. That's all. If you think she can't handle it, assign her some help yourself."

"We can discuss it tonight and give you our final demand tomorrow," Cass said, but there was hatred in her eyes.

I looked directly at Gabe. "I don't want to go to Liverpool." He shook his head slightly, but I really couldn't leave. "I have things to deal with here, things that are urgent. A succubus is killing my friend, I have to—"

"Our final demand will be delivered tomorrow," Winston insisted. He acted as if I hadn't spoken at all.

"Fine," Gabe snapped. "I'm sure Daimhín will accommodate you past dawn. We'll meet again."

The vampires all left, but Gabe grabbed my arm and held me there.

"I'll take you home," he said under his breath. "Are they gone?" he asked a nearby Guardian.

The Guardian headed outside, leaving the room full of tense supernaturals. I shifted uncomfortably, and Gabe's grip on my arm tightened.

"They've left," the Guardian said from the doorway.

"Good. Koda, what are you thinking?"

The Dryad shrugged. "I'm tired, Gabe. We can't afford a fight. Let the girl deal with it. They can't bring a war if we comply."

"We can protect our land," Erossi said, the veins in his neck straining against his skin.

"Now is not the time," Fionnuala said, siding with Koda. "It will happen, but not now. Not over this. We can't afford to lose any more Guardians to this. The girl is no loss to us."

"Great, thanks," I muttered.

Gabe said goodbye to the others and dragged me to his car. He turned the key so violently, I was sure it would break. The wheels squealed as he pulled away and sped dangerously along twisting country lanes to get back into the city.

"Don't ever speak up like that again. Not in front of others and certainly not if you're going to act like you have a choice."

"You can't make me go," I said.

"I don't have time for this, Ava. Do you want to fight in a war? Do you want everyone you know to die, everything you know to be destroyed? Because that will happen. This is an excuse. They're already fishing for a battle for some reason. Problem is, Becca has given a reason for every other supernatural over there to back them up on this. None of us have a choice. We have to be seen to take action."

"But the succubus—"

"I don't care about the damn succubus. I don't care about your human friend, either. All I care about right now is avoiding a war. You're leaving tomorrow. Get your head in gear and deal with Becca once and for all. They want her alive for a reason, but they can deal with the mess that will surely follow. We're here to protect this territory. If you want to survive, you'll have to make hard choices, just like we have by letting Becca go to them. Could you really live with yourself if you could have prevented a war? Do you really think the humans here are equipped for anything close to a war?"

My stomach turned because I understood. One life or many lives. I didn't even know for sure how to help Carl. All I knew was that time was of the essence. He didn't have days left. I had less than twenty-four hours to come up with a solution, and I wasn't even close to a solid, workable idea.

# Chapter Fourteen

My fingers shook uncontrollably. "All I need to know is if it could work." I looked up at the two men standing before me, unwilling to accept the doubt in their eyes.

"I don't know if an experienced vampire could do such a thing, never mind you. It could go wrong. Badly wrong," Eddie said.

"It's going to go wrong for Carl if I don't try something. Daimhín called me herself before dawn. A private jet will be ready at midnight. If I'm not there, everyone's screwed. It's not even that. I should go. They need the Guardians here, what's left of them. They're still recruiting replacements. They won't have a decent system in place for a while. If I can deal with this, it might give them time if something else does happen."

"Maybe anarchy's the best thing that could happen to this country," Eddie said. "Starting fresh could work."

"Is he serious?" I asked.

Peter shrugged. "Carl doesn't have time for us arguing about anything besides him. He's going to die. Is there any way she can stop it?"

Eddie tapped his fingertips against his chin. "She has prior claim. If she tried, and managed to make Carl hers again, it might negate the mark."

"Well, good. I'll try it."

"Think about this, Ava. Think how hard it was last time. For both of you. This will be much worse. He's still recovering from that. Now, he's weakened further by this succubus, and you'll be taking his mind again. There's only so many times you can twist someone's mind before they lose it completely." Eddie's face reddened. "When you break the bond, it'll hurt more than before because it will have solidified. He could die when you dissolve your ownership. And that's if you even manage to do it. You've never done it on purpose. You can't control it, and you needed a vampire to dissolve the bond last time. It's very risky. If he dies while bonded to you, you will suffer. That won't help your chances against Becca."

I blushed. "Actually, I sort of did practice with it before. Kind of."

"On me?" Peter blurted, horror clearly on his face.

"What? No! Jesus, are we really back to that?" I was deeply offended by his automatic response.

"Sorry, old habits. But even you have to admit how off you've been lately." He cleared his throat. "Who, then? The copper at the checkpoint that night?"

I shuffled my feet. "Him, too."

"Ava!"

"Okay, don't judge me. I was desperate. My landlord kept coming around for money. I asked him for more time, and he said okay. Then, he changed his mind and came back. I just used my influence a teeny, tiny bit, and got him to go away. It didn't last, and it wasn't a full bond or anything, but it was definitely some of the same thing I used on Carl. I understand it now, and I think I can use it."

Eddie nodded as though my explanation was satisfactory, but Peter had a disappointed look on his face that killed me.

"Why are you so hard on me?" I demanded, unable to keep my thoughts to myself anymore.

"I thought you were better than me." His words hit hard, but I had to push it out of my mind. For Carl.

"If I... own Carl again, can you protect him while I'm gone? Here, where the succubus can't get to him? I won't break the bond until I know he's gotten his strength back up a bit. Don't say it. I already know the longer he's bonded, the worse it will be, but it could be the only thing that saves him. Daimhín's tried, Gabe's not interested, and nobody else sees a way out for Carl. Because he's just a human, and that freaking sucks."

Eddie leaned his hand on my shoulder, and I felt something cool penetrate my skin. It calmed me down, but I shrugged him off, hating when he used magic uninvited.

"I'll take care of him," Eddie said. "I can give him something that'll help him sleep. It'll be the only way he won't go looking for you. I'll keep him safe, but I can't guarantee your actions won't kill him. If you die while you're bonded, he will, too. Remember that, Ava Delaney."

"Do me a favour," I said to Peter.

"What?"

"Stay with Eddie while I'm gone. Don't go near that succubus. Or Coyle."

Peter paused. "Something you're not saying?"

I glanced from one man to the other, wondering how much I could trust Eddie. I got up and paced around the room, trying to figure out what to say. "Yeah. Yeah, there is. I killed a man. A human."

"What? When? What are you talking about?" Peter stuttered over his words. Eddie sat down and waited, but something crossed his eyes, enough surprise for me to be sure he had no clue what had happened.

"It was the shadows," I said, seeing the man's face again. "Eddie, what do you know about demon possession?"

"A fair amount. It's been a while. Is this something I should be brushing up on?"

I glanced at him and saw that, for a change, he was extremely worried.

"I'm not sure. Peter, can you explain to Eddie about the shadows? I need to get moving. Just be careful. I think Coyle sent that man after me. The shadows had totally taken him over. When I got rid of them, he died. I think maybe your tattoo protected you that day, at least a little. This man had no chance. I didn't mean to kill him. I had no choice. I had to get rid of the shadows."

I couldn't look to see his reaction. I left the shop, but instead of going to the succubus, I headed straight for the clinic again. I had already made a phone call earlier that day and found out Esther was about to be released. Coyle and Aiden were supposed to accompany her home—Guardian policy.

"Ava! I'm finally breaking out. Were you coming to see me?" Esther stood in the hallway, looking perfectly made up.

I brushed past her and faced Coyle, barely containing my rage—for me, for my friends, for the man who had needlessly died.

"See, this is what I can't work out," I said, heaving a little as I stared into his eyes. I felt a million creatures grabbing at me, trying to coax away my soul. "Is it me you're trying to kill, or just the innocent people who keep dying?"

He blinked a couple of times, his eyes stormy at the confrontation. "I've no idea what you're talking about, impure one. Shouldn't you be getting ready for a flight out of my way?"

"What's going on here?" Aiden tried to get between us, but I held out my arm.

"So, you're a coward as well," I said. "You can't even be upfront about yourself? You keep sending the shadows, you keep sending the possessions. I'll keep getting rid of them. It isn't a problem."

"Shadows? What shadows?" Coyle smirked, his head cocked to the side. I had the sinking feeling the conversation was going exactly how he wanted.

"Ava, are you feeling okay?" Esther asked.

Aiden scowled at her. "See? She's unstable. I knew I shouldn't have listened to you."

"Are you two blind?" I asked, baffled. "Can't you smell it? Can't you see the shadows at all?"

"Ava, there's nothing there," Aiden insisted.

"Seriously, if this is what passes for a Guardian," I muttered. My eyes rose to meet Coyle's again. "They may be blind, but I'm not. And as long as I can see... oh, my God. That's it, isn't it? I can see! That's why you're trying to get rid of me!"

"I've no idea what the wretch wants with me," Coyle said to Aiden, ignoring me. But his eye twitched. Ever so slightly. And it gave me reassurance. Even when Esther looked at me pityingly. Even when Aiden warned me not to make accusations or threats without substantial proof.

"It's not my fault you're lacking the ability to see exactly what's in front of you," I shouted in frustration. "Send one more shadow to me, and I'll come for you. The shadows don't come back to you, in case you haven't noticed yet. It'll be a lot worse for you."

I stormed off, but Aiden followed me.

"Wait, Ava. You need to calm down. I know you're worried about your human, but you can't—"

"We don't own humans! We don't get to screw around with their lives like they're playthings. A man died the other night because your so-called Guardian sent a demon after me to shut me up. If this is what your precious Council is protecting, then I want no part of it. I'll deal with Becca. Don't worry. But after that, you can all sod off!"

I felt a million times better when I left, rattled and shaken, but better for having said my piece. Too many lives were being treated as pawns, and I wanted everyone to know where I stood. I wasn't meant to be a part of that kind of organisation. For an instant, I considered whether Eddie's ideas on anarchy could work, but again, human lives would be the main sacrifice, and that wasn't worth it.

By the time I made it to my apartment building, it was getting late. I gave Peter a quick call to ask him to bring his car. If all went well with Carl, I would need help taking him to Eddie's place. The bond would push his body beyond its limits, and that might be a step too far for Carl's weakened state. I wanted to take as few chances as possible.

I hoped I wasn't making a mistake, but I couldn't leave the country without trying something, and it was a good distraction for whatever might happen to me next. I had managed to piss off Guardians, shifters, vampires, various demonic creatures, and even the Council. I wasn't in a good bargaining position unless I pulled something out of the bag. And that just might be Becca. I had to tread carefully, but I was clueing into the game, and survival meant more than just living.

The terror I felt as I walked up the stairwell was almost crippling, but it was past time for me to let go of fear. I'd faced Coyle, and he was made of my worst nightmares. The strength was there. I could live with the occasional lapses, the times when I thirsted and messed with numbers to ease my state of mind. But blaming everyone else for the things that had happened to me was tiring. The more I let that instinct slip away, the happier I felt.

The cold presence appeared —Maeve, I reminded myself—as if she knew I needed strength. It occurred to me that I had gotten into the habit of relying on the spirit for silent advice, but once her visits lapsed, I had discovered how to trust my own instincts. When I listened to my gut feelings, things tended to work out, and I had a gut feeling I was about to do the only thing possible for Carl, aside from murdering all of the succubi on the planet.

I knocked on my neighbour's door. When Alannah opened it, I pushed past her and headed straight for Carl. The stench of death was in the air, and I almost lost it, until I saw his chest rise and fall. He was alive, barely.

I knelt beside him, ignoring the foul-mouthed succubus behind me. Alannah pulled at my shoulders and hair, screaming insults, but I opened Carl's eyes and managed to make eye contact with him. I whispered to him, and it seemed as though he knew me, but I couldn't tell for sure.

"Get away from him!" Alannah screamed, the order tinged with desperation.

I held Carl's hazy gaze. "He's mine," I said firmly, and a spark of something appeared. Maybe recognition, maybe magic, but whatever it was, I pushed at it with everything inside me. "You're mine," I repeated under my breath, willing him to understand, willing him to agree.

He croaked out a sound, then in a movement so fast it frightened me, he gripped my wrist.

"What are you doing?" Alannah's whisper was full of horror and awe.

"Taking back what's mine. I had prior claim. Our bond's too strong. He's still mine, and you can't have him. You can't take what isn't yours. You should already know that." I touched the mark on Carl's chest, easing the darkness away, soothing the raised skin. He jerked his head, showing me his neck, and relief swept over me. The first part was done.

I stood and faced the succubus, who still looked baffled.

"This is what happens when you go after what's mine," I said, but I was speaking to all the succubi, knowing they would hear it, knowing they could affect my reputation. "Everyone I know is off-limits. I understand your quota, but it doesn't include those close to me. None of you will feed off me again. It offends me and the people who claim me. You've interfered with the beast, made sure I couldn't take her down. I don't like to kill. I really don't. But I do what has to be done. And I'm not alone. If I find out you've had a hand in the demon possession, I will be back."

She shivered at the words "demon possession," but she didn't look surprised, and I wondered how common the knowledge was among actual demons. It might mean something huge was going on, or it might mean nothing at all. But I was pretty sure I could find out.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a minion to heal, a beast to kill, and some house hunting to do." I helped Carl up, carrying some of his weight on my shoulder. The walk from the building was slow—and noisy, what with the shrieking succubus—but I couldn't stop grinning until I made it to the car.

"He okay?" Peter asked, helping Carl into the backseat.

"Not really. But sadly for him, he probably won't die from having sex."

Peter raised his eyebrows but didn't respond. I was still buzzing from freaking out the succubus.

"It's getting late," he said as we got into the car.

"I know. I'll make sure Carl is settled then head off."

"Ava, I—"

"Don't. Don't say anything. I'll fly out, sort shit out, then come home in a day or so and sort shit out here. I'm sure an even bigger problem will show up for me to sort out by then."

"Always does." He laughed, apparently enjoying the excitement.

Carl was still breathing when we made it to Eddie's place. Peter carried him up to the spare room, even though Carl kept struggling to get to me. It said worrying things about his condition when he couldn't break free, even under the will of a vampiric thrall.

"He's in worse shape than I expected," Eddie said, leading us back downstairs.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked. "If I'm responsible for him, can I keep him alive somehow?"

"That might be beyond your skills," Eddie said. "The bonding went well?"

"Yep. The succubus had a hissy fit, but I warned her off. Hopefully, they'll listen."

"They?" Peter asked.

"All of the succubi. They're all linked... it's a thing. Can you keep Carl alive until I get back?"

Eddie shook his head. "A couple of days at the most. You'll have to be quick. His body can last this way. It's his mind I'm worried about. I'll strengthen him as much as possible, but his chances for survival are poor. He may never be the same again if he lives. Are you sure you want that?"

"That's not up to us. I need to get moving. I can't miss the plane. I've already gotten quite a few angry voicemails from Gabe. Don't want him getting his angel buddies after me."

Eddie rolled his eyes, but Peter pulled me into a quick hug. I inhaled deeply, committing his cinnamon scent to memory. "See you later," he said, letting me go.

"Before you leave," Eddie said. "I'd like to perform a quick ceremony with the dagger, to give you a little more fire-power."

"Nah, I'll be okay. Not so sure the dagger will get much use this time out."

"It could help," he insisted.

"Yeah, but I don't particularly like where your magic comes from," I said, remembering the blood sacrifices and soul power.

"It comes from the gods," he spat, unusually offended.

"Right. Exactly which god would that be?"

"There are many sleeping gods. You know what I am. Do not talk down to me." His voice never raised, but the tone turned dark, and all of the doors and windows in the building slammed violently.

"Always with the drama," I scoffed to hide my fear. I hated when he pulled out his magical tricks. "Did the gods give you your souls, too?"

His eyes narrowed, but I shrugged it off. I didn't have time for confrontations with Eddie Brogan, Keeper of Knowledge—whatever the hell that meant.

"Just... act normal while I'm gone, okay?" I said.

"Maybe you should let him help," Peter said. His eyes pleaded, and I couldn't say no again.

"If it's not too creepy," I said.

Eddie made a tutting sound and swiftly prepared for a ritual. I couldn't help shuddering when he produced the cracked black bowl again. The room appeared to dim. Eddie lit some candles, while Peter and I huddled close together.

Eddie pulled on a pair of gloves. "Give me the dagger, Ava."

I reluctantly handed it over, disturbed by how reverently he looked at the thing.

"Blood. Love. Sacrifice. Accept our offerings, and protect our souls. Connected and ready to serve. Fill us with power, and watch over us."

His eyes gleaming in the candlelight, Eddie raised the dagger and sliced his palm, letting his strangely repulsive blood drip into the bowl. He held his hand out to Peter, who backed off noticeably. Eddie clucked his tongue until Peter let out a weary sigh and held out his hand, wincing as the dagger pierced his skin.

Last again, I shivered at the blankness in Eddie's eyes as I held out my hand. The dagger was quick and sharp, and I tried not to yelp at the sensation.

Like before, Eddie's posture changed and guttural words flung from his mouth in a strange voice. He pressed the dagger against his lips. Peter gasped as blisters immediately appeared, but it was as though Eddie inhabited his own little world.

He stirred the bowl of blood with the dagger and gave an empty smile as the weapon flared with blue light, sparking the fluid.

He held the bowl out to me, urging me to drink. Although still apprehensive, I drank the blood in one mouthful, swallowing hard as the hot liquid tantalised my tongue. I had no idea what the dagger did to change the blood, but it became something else. Pure energy. Life.

Still stunned by the warmth flooding through my body, I barely noticed Eddie's palm against my forehead.

"Let the spirit exist in our sister. The Keeper of Light and Warrior of Flame are still needed here. Keep her safe until the day comes."

Peter made a strangled sound, and I followed his eyes down to my bare arms. My skin was full of light again, and I felt something close to me, something magnificent. I wouldn't be alone when I faced Becca. Hopefully, I wouldn't need blood.

# Chapter Fifteen

I made it to the airport with ten minutes to spare. Finding the vampires was another story. After going the wrong way three times, I finally spotted one of the bodyguards waving at me.

"Didn't think you were going to show," he said gruffly.

"Didn't think I had a choice."

He nodded and gestured for me to follow. "Our terminal is this way. We'll need to run. Further out than the human runways, but better than having to mix with humans we can't snack on. Most countries have their own airports dedicated to higher beings like us, but Ireland has always been backwards. You're a little late, but the jet and staff are all still being checked. We don't need to participate in any of that ridiculous human security nonsense, though. As if they could force us, anyway."

I made a noncommittal noise, controlling the urge to slap the chatty vampire silly, and tried to keep up with his long-legged stride. He led me through a door clearly marked "Staff Only," and we raced to the terminal. Any airport staff we passed avoided our eyes, as if they knew what we could do.

Winston and his sidekicks all waited together for their bodyguards to finish checking the private jet. They didn't say a word to me, and that bothered me because I couldn't get a feel for what they were thinking. I was about to get on a plane with a group of strange vampires. It could go badly. Their human companions were nowhere to be seen, solidifying that possibility.

I had never been on a plane before, never mind a private jet, so I was a little excited in spite of myself when I boarded. The cabin was pretty spacious, all things considered. The leather seats looked comfortable enough, and the windows were blacked out.

"Welcome aboard," a perky blond hostess with wounds on her neck said. The jet seemed to be catered solely for vampire passengers, including the meals. She happily offered me her wrist when I took my seat.

Startled by the movement, I stared dumbly at her for a couple of seconds. "Uh, no thanks."

She shrugged and moved on. Cass took her offer, sinking her fangs into the woman's skin. The woman didn't even cry out. She just smiled lazily. The scent of her blood flooded the cabin, and my mouth instantly watered.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, even more when Victor sat across from me. He glared at me, and I spat out the first thing that popped into my head.

"Why are we flying at night if the windows are blacked out?"

"Can never be too safe," he said, then looked as though he felt sick at responding to a question coming from me. The BVA had serious ego problems. "When we arrive, you'll be taken to your escorts. They'll provide a place to stay and show you the main locations the beast has visited, as well as provide some further leads. Capture the beast. That's all you have to do. You'll be provided for as long as you stay there. Take as long as this needs. But don't kill it, or we will consider it a slight on our hospitability."

"I can't stay. I'm in and out. Two days tops. I have to get back."

"To put your pet out of its suffering? Bloody Irish cretins." He made a disgusted noise and took his seat with the others, grabbing the air hostess from Cass's arms in the process. She hissed at him, baring her bloody fangs, but he ignored her, and she leapt to her feet. That side of her was a lot more relatable to Becca. Winston pushed her back into her seat without even glancing toward the incident. Cass flopped in her chair and licked blood from her fingers with savage movements.

"Even dogs can be taught how to share," I muttered. Winston narrowed his eyes at me, and I took it as a warning. Victor flung the hostess to the floor, where she sat looking dazed for a few minutes. A second hostess, a petite brunette, appeared and stepped over her colleague as if she didn't exist.

The blond crawled to the back of the plane and disappeared from my sight. I couldn't help feeling a little rattled.

The plane took off shortly after. I clung to the arms of the chair as I felt the atmosphere change and my stomach flip upward. I didn't particularly like heights, but the feeling that my head might explode sent me into a panic. Indulging in some rapid mental arithmetic, I breathed heavily, causing the vampires to turn in their seats to look at me. I didn't care, I just wanted off the thing.

I stayed crouched low in my seat until the plane landed. It felt as though I'd been trembling in my chair for two days.

"I'm getting the ferry home," I muttered as I stepped off the plane, my legs still shaking. The BVA trio stood apart from me as the waiting car was checked over—paranoid vampires—and I remained on edge because every time I glanced at Victor, he was staring at my throat.

I was so disoriented that I didn't notice much of the car ride, aside from the seemingly endless turns through city streets. The vampires sat together in the back, wordless throughout the journey, while I sat in the front, next to the human driver. His neck had so many bites that I was afraid he might keel over and crash the car.

The limo finally pulled into an empty car park. I stayed in my seat, waiting for something to happen.

Cass leaned forward. "Take your bag and wait here for your escort. We won't be dealing with you any longer. Once you capture the beast, you can return home."

She sat back and stared out of the window as though I were no longer in the car. I gazed at the vampires in disbelief, but when the driver cleared his throat, I shrugged and got out. I had a little bit of money, a passport, and my dagger. I was sorted, no matter what.

I heaved my bag away from the car and watched as the only people I knew in the country drove away and left me alone. Straddling a low wall, I rummaged in my bag for a bar of chocolate and waited. At least it wasn't raining. I was about to give up and find a way home when I sensed something behind me. Yet nothing was there. Or at least, nothing visible.

I switched to my other sight. A weird greenish energy came toward me, nothing malevolent about it. It almost seemed human but didn't quite fit. Understandable, considering the invisibility.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"You see me, then?" a surprised voice said in what could only be described as a thick scouser accent.

"Sort of," I said. "Show yourself properly."

A haze crossed my eyes. I blinked, and to my surprise, two slight figures appeared, holding hands.

"That's weird," I said.

A male and female stood before me. He had black hair and dark eyes that might have been green, but it was hard to tell. Her snow-white hair was plaited to her waist. Her eyes were the palest colour I had ever seen. They were both pretty light-skinned, with identically sloped noses, heart-shaped faces, and clefts in their chins.

"Related?" I asked.

"Twins." He released his sister's hand, and I tried to see them on that other plane again. The weird energy had separated into two relatively normal ones.

I frowned in confusion. "You're my escorts?"

He nodded. "I'm Lorcan. This is Lucia. She doesn't talk. Except to me."

They both looked quite young, and obviously not human, but they definitely weren't vampires.

"I'm Ava. I don't have much time, so let's get on with this, yeah?"

Lorcan looked surprised by my words. "Not much time? Have you ever met the beast?"

"Her name's Becca. And yeah, we've crossed paths a couple of times. Many dead?"

He nodded. "Loads. It's kept under wraps, but Lucia's heard a fair bit 'bout it. Come on. I'll show you where you're staying, and then pinpoint a few places of interest on a map."

"A map. Right. Fantastic." That was my help. A walking navigator.

He gave me a funny look, put his arm around his sister's shoulders, and led us out of the car park. I tried to take note of where we were going, but was soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of crowds and strange streets. Although it was late, the city still buzzed, and we were soon surrounded by drunken people. I felt my own mood buoyed by the atmosphere. Lorcan never let go of Lucia, and neither twin made a sound.

We turned down a dark street and were instantly shrouded in eerie silence. It reminded me of that other plane, as though we had stepped into another world. I could no longer hear the shouts and laughter that had filled my ears only seconds before.

"When you said 'except to you,' you meant some kind of telepathy?" I asked, mostly to make a noise.

"Something like that. We're over there." He pointed at what looked like an abandoned building.

"You live there?"

"Yeah. It's where you're staying as well."

"Oh." I was definitely curious about those two.

We walked up the stone steps to the door of an old Georgian-style home. As soon as I saw the number on the door, my blood ran cold, and I stopped short.

"What's the matter?" Lorcan asked.

"I... it's... you live at number 6?"

He stared at me as if I were insane. "Are you okay? You look a little ill."

"I don't... I don't like that number." The last time I had pushed past my number six fear, Becca had taken a chunk out of Peter, and I had almost drained her dry in return. Sixes were never good.

Lucia jerked at Lorcan's arm, then turned the six upside down. I saw then that it was an unhinged number nine, but as soon as she let go, it fell back down, swinging to and fro, taunting me with its evil connotations. I stepped back with a little shriek.

Lorcan covered his laughter well. "Maybe we should get inside, then, eh?"

Gulping hard, I inched by the evil six. We huddled into the dark hallway together, and I struggled to catch my breath. "I have to... I'll be right back."

Cursing myself, yet incapable of stopping, I went outside and yanked the number off the door. I knew I was acting like a crazy person, but all of the drama had finally gotten to me. Shuddering and muttering to myself, I held the number upright at arm's length with two fingers, but still felt as though it were a six, mocking me. I ran down the steps and threw it into an old-fashioned-looking bin, before spending at least five minutes shuddering and wiping my hands on my jacket.

I turned back to the house and saw the shocked pale faces of the twins peering out of the window at me. Ava Delaney, mistress of first impressions.

Heaving an embarrassed sigh, I headed back up the steps and glanced to my right for no reason at all. The road we'd entered from was covered in a weird cloudy substance, and if I squinted, I could see all of those crowds of people outside. We were in Liverpool, but not really, and I was pretty certain the vampires couldn't protect an area like that. Lucia and Lorcan had a lot more to them than I first thought.

Back in their house, both twins kept a straight face when I gave them a sheepish shrug. They lived in a couple of rooms, not much bigger than my own flat. The building was falling apart, but they had made a cosy corner for themselves. Lorcan hurried around lighting candles until a comfortable glow filled the room.

"Are you squatting here or something?" I asked, baffled by the lack of electricity.

"No." Lorcan sat on a mattress on the floor. "The vampires own it."

"And they let you live here?" I kept trying to make sense of the relationship.

"They own us, too. If you need blood, we don't taste very nice, I'm afraid. There are plenty of people nearby, but it would be great if you could use your will to keep them calm before you bite them. I know some of you get off on the fear, but things are crazy enough over here right now."

"Hold on. Back up. I'm not a vampire, so forget all that. But what do you mean, they own you?"

"Aren't you in a hurry?" He grinned up at me.

The conversation moved on to a discussion of the areas where Becca had hunted. She moved around Merseyside, but seemed to return to Liverpool's city centre even when she left the county. We had a huge territory to cover, but Lorcan reassured me that we would find Becca easily the following night.

"How do you know?"

"Someone will tell us," he said simply.

"Like who?"

"It doesn't matter who. We'll hear where she is. It's too late to go after her tonight. You should probably get some rest. You'll have to sleep on the floor, but I put a curtain up to give you a bit of privacy. Tomorrow, you can explore the city a little."

I called home.

"There's not much change," Eddie told me. "I've given him something to keep him going through the night. Hopefully, you won't be long over there."

"I'll try and check back in tomorrow from a payphone. I need to preserve the phone battery, no lecky in the palace I'm staying in."

"Picking up the slang already?"

"Have to fit in. How's Peter?"

Eddie laughed. "Like a caged animal. It's lucky you're not here. Speaking of which, I'm working on finding an empath to speak to you. One might help you from being a walking emotional wonderland."

"Oh." I was flustered by the odd turn in conversation. "I suppose that would be good."

"Last thing. Nancy showed up today. Said it was important."

"Life or death?"

He hesitated. "More like love or hate."

"Then it can wait." I hung up feeling dissatisfied.

I thought I would never sleep on the thin mattress, but I only stressed about home, Becca, and the strange twins for a few minutes before conking out. My dreams were troubled. I kept seeing Lucia, but instead of being deathly silent, she kept screaming at me to listen to her.

My time in Liverpool was definitely working up to be a strange one.

# Chapter Sixteen

The next morning, I didn't get up until I heard the twins moving around. After I washed and dressed, I spotted them sitting on the floor, facing each other, palms together. Things were getting too freaky for my liking. I wasn't sure if I should say something or not, so I just moved around a little noisier than normal.

Lucia faced me suddenly, staring at me with her disturbingly pale cloudy-green eyes. I stepped back, startled by her unwavering gaze.

"She killed seven last night," Lorcan said, his voice sad.

"Becca? All in the one place?"

"No. Scattered. The usual."

"Weird. Not how it worked before. Low numbers, too, compared to the biggies she was pulling back home."

Lorcan shrugged. "Maybe she isn't as hungry anymore."

"That still worries me." I kept thinking back to Esther's idea of another mutation. It was a possibility. Anything was possible when it came to Becca. Yet everyone was determined to take her home and tame her. It sounded less like the right idea every single day.

Lorcan had already turned back to Lucia, their palms still pressed together. Lucia's eyes rapidly flicked from left to right, making me feel slightly dizzy. I cleared my throat, but they acted as though I weren't there. Lorcan squinted, his heartbeat racing. Lucia's fingers dug into his hands, and her nails broke the skin.

"Excuse me?" I said, anything to make them stop acting so freaky.

Lucia dropped her brother's hands. He blinked a couple of times, rubbing his palms together. When he looked up at me, he acted as though nothing had happened. "Are you hungry? We can get you something to eat."

"How about I take you two to breakfast?" I said, determined to get some actual information out of them. "My treat."

They looked at each other for a couple of seconds. Lorcan frowned, but they finally agreed. Or at least, Lorcan agreed. Lucia just kept staring at me. She was kind of creepy.

They took me to an ATM at my request—I hadn't had a chance to exchange my euro into sterling—then we headed to a small café near the docks. It was one of the few relatively empty places to eat in, but it looked clean, and that was all I cared about. I was starving, partly from stress.

I ordered huge breakfasts for all of us, thinking it would give us a while together, but the twins seemed hungrier than I was as they wolfed down their food.

"So do you two work or anything?" I asked, unsure of how to start a conversation with them.

"We're working right now," Lorcan said, but he smiled.

"Do they pay you?"

Lorcan shook his head, still digging into his food.

"They didn't pay me at first, either," I said. "The scabby little... anyway, they have to now. The Council kind of made them agree to it."

"You're lucky, then." But his eyes had lit up.

"How about you tell me what's going on?" I said, realising I had to be frank with the twins because they weren't going to volunteer much information.

"The beast is here, and you have to catch it."

"I meant with you two and the vampires. It's weird. I don't like it, so explain please."

He shrugged. "Nothing to explain. We're part fae, and the fae don't like mixing the blood. It's forbidden. I don't know how long we were with our mother, but we ended up on the market at a young age."

"Market?"

"Potentially useful children get sold. It's in the blood. The vampires bought us in case we could do something special. We can't really. Well, Lucia can. She knows things, hears things. That's how we track the beast. She sees random images, important ones, and hears things sometimes. She tells me. So that's why I'm useful. The vampires keep us because they don't want anyone else to have us. And we come in handy every now and then."

"That's so screwed up, I don't even know where to begin. It's slavery!"

"Life is what it is. You just have to make do with what you have," he said, seeming not at all upset.

"Why don't you run away?" I persisted. "Just leave, and be free. You're living in a hovel, when the vampires have private jets and shit. That's ridiculous."

"They would find us. It's not that they want us. They just don't want anyone else to have us."

"I can relate to that one. But isn't there anyone who can help you?"

"We don't have friends out there. The fae won't acknowledge us, and nobody else cares. The vampires take care of us. In their own way. Before them, we were stuck in a place that was much, much worse."

"There has to be a way to leave. You could come to Ireland with me when I go home. I could hide you or something. Anything's better than this. Even their pets are treated better."

"Lucia knew you would think that, but there's nothing you can do. You're one person. You can't change the world."

"I don't even get what that means," I said, grumpy. "You're kind of like me. Mixed, I mean. Except you work better together. Otherwise, it's like half a gift or something, right?"

A flicker of amusement almost reached those sad eyes that resembled green-black marbles. "Something like that."

"Is there a Council here? Guardians? Isn't there anyone to protect you?"

"Do they protect the Irish?" He gave me a knowing look.

"No," I whispered. "Not really."

"We have a Committee here. And Enforcers. There are seven species on the Committee at any given time, and the seats are voted on once in a decade. Whoever has the most power, be that money or loyalty, gains a place. For a decade, those species who don't have a seat connive to ensure they make it next time. The Committee tends to make decisions in a biased way. It's hard to break into it, but the vampires have been trying for the last three decades. If they make it, they'll ally with whoever they feel will help them. What they're doing now, dealing with the beast, that'll help them. They're desperate to trap it."

"Why? To figure out how it's done? To make more like her?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. They've sent vampires to observe the beast, see what she can do, and bigger numbers would definitely help them out. Although, if you don't manage it, they'll be able to lead a war against the Irish, and that would help their reputations. Either way, it's win-win."

"For them." I stared at Lucia. "Does she know anything useful? Like which win-win is less detrimental to everyone else?"

He smiled easily, but his eyes still carried pain. "It's never that simple."

We spent a good chunk of the morning discussing politics and how they affected the little people, like us. The twins were pawns as much as I was, but at least I had a little freedom. Granted, I had been forced into leaving my home on Council business, but for the most part, I did what I liked. I couldn't imagine what it was like for them.

When I called home to check on Carl, Peter didn't sound enthusiastic.

"Eddie's had to medicate Carl more than expected, and he's trying to break free a little. He hasn't eaten much yet. Not sure how to make him."

I got Peter to put the phone next to Carl's ear. I ordered him to eat and to stay put, and I hoped for the best. It might not work over the phone, but Peter told me my voice had calmed Carl a little.

"So, how's it going over there? Vampires treating you okay?"

"They're not treating me at all. They basically dropped me off in an empty car park and washed their hands of me. Two of their slaves—I mean that literally, they actually bought them—are hosting me in a derelict building. It's odd here, Peter. I think the BVA want Becca so they can find out more about the formula, for their own gain."

"There's a slave market in Britain?" He sounded surprised, which I thought a little naïve.

"And Ireland. Kids who are mixed breeds, or show signs of a power, get snapped up. What the hell is the Council for if they can't stop crap like that?"

I waited as the line fell silent. When Peter finally answered, his voice was tight and strained. "Sometimes I wonder the same thing."

After the phone call, I felt empty and alone. I missed home, and it was weird making decisions without having to listen to Peter trying to talk me out of them. Lorcan was nice enough once he got chatting, but the twins were eerie in a very distinct way that I didn't think they even realised.

In the afternoon, we visited parts of Merseyside. Following the trail of death surprised me because it seemed as though Becca darted in and out of places to leave a scattering of randomly placed bodies behind her. Back home, she had fed on anyone she saw. In England, she seemed to be oddly selective.

"Have you seen her?" I asked Lorcan.

"The beast?" He sounded shocked. "I'm alive, aren't I?"

Before dark, we gathered in the twins' home. I wondered what they did for entertainment without books or a television. The building they lived in was so sparse and lonely, it made me uncomfortable to think that their only company was each other. Did they sit together in silence every evening?

"I'm off to the chippie," Lorcan said. "I'd like a last meal before we invite the beast to snack on us."

"You're not going to die." I rolled my eyes, but I only half believed it.

"Are you mad? Of course we're going to die. It's the beast. Lucia and I can't battle that monster. And you're just one little thing. If they wanted us to capture her, they'd have at least provided us with some help. We're dead. The vampires probably want their building back."

He left me with that chilling assessment. And Lucia, who was probably just as chilling.

She stared at me with those almost-white eyes, and I felt as if I had to speak or I would drown in the silence.

"Think we're going to find her tonight, Lucia?" I asked, not expecting an answer.

She ran to me and clasped her hands on my cheeks.

"What are you...?"

I gasped and shut up as a sea of images popped into my head—one after another, too fast for me to cling onto any particular one. One stayed long enough for me to see a woman who looked vaguely familiar, then it passed, only to be replaced by a dozen more. Lucia faded before me, and it was as if I stepped right into one of the images.

A housing estate, late at night. Deathly dark and still, streetlamps flickering. Becca, her face bloodied, her fangs bared.

I saw myself, my expression determined, my stance ready for an attack. When she ran, I ran, too, my dagger gleaming blue in a sudden stream of moonlight. Instead of attacking me, Becca leapt over me, leaving me scrambling to stop. I looked back in horror as she moved for Lorcan. I raced after her, but she gripped him and tore out his throat before I could reach her. I watched myself grab her—Lorcan's blood spurting over me—and slice her throat. The blood and gurgling stayed with me long after the vision faded.

"Holy fuck." I spat, feeling as if there was blood in my mouth. Lucia had let go of me, and I wiped my face. My hand came away bloody. A little blood dripped from Lucia's eyes, too. "Holy fuck."

I cleaned myself off at the sink, breathing deep, unable to stop shaking. It had been as if I were there. I had felt everything. I'd been sure of the cool night air, the scent of blood, the life leaving Lorcan's body.

"Can I stop it?" I asked when I joined Lucia again. She stared at me then sat on a mattress, her shoulders drooping in a picture of pure despair.

Waiting for Lorcan to return, I decided I wouldn't tell him what had happened. I didn't know how Lucia had shared her vision with me. I could only hope it wasn't set in stone. I might not have known the twins well, but I didn't want to watch one of them die. Peter had said catching Becca might ultimately require bait, but I couldn't do that to anyone.

Hours later, I realised one of the images I had seen had been of Lucia as a child. In the arms of a much younger, very terrified Helena.

# Chapter Seventeen

"You could just leave me with the map," I said. "No real reason for you two to be out here."

"It's our responsibility to accompany you," Lorcan said, pulling Lucia along.

I walked fast, trying to figure out a way to get rid of them. Through Lorcan, Lucia had revealed the name of an urban council estate where Becca was supposedly about to hunt. I had no way of knowing if Lucia was lying about the estate, or sending her own brother to his death. Either way, I had to be on my toes.

I still hadn't shaken the painful sensation of Lucia's vision. I had absorbed her misery completely. All I could do was hope I managed to keep her brother alive. After all, the vampires wouldn't need half a gift.

We wound through a number of identical-looking streets until I suspected we were completely lost. Everything looked the same.

"We're almost there," Lorcan said, excitement making his voice high. The twins looked only a little younger than my age, but Lorcan sometimes acted like a teenager. His excitement was infectious because my own body felt ready to take off.

The twins weirded me out, but I didn't want Lorcan to die, particularly if his death occurred from my mistake. Lucia would be forever alone in the world if anything happened to him. She couldn't function without him. The odd time he left her alone, she retreated into her silent shell, apart from when she sent me disturbing visions. I saw how useful someone like Lucia could be. Unfortunately, the vampires did, too, and yet still didn't value her.

Lucia kept her silent eyes on me, and the sensation of her stare was like ice chips down my back, as though she silently screamed at me not to let her down.

I just didn't know what she wanted me to do.

A sudden scream, swiftly silenced into a quiet whimper, came from about a street away. I quickly delved into the other planes and figured out Becca's exact location. Lucia's directions had been right on target.

"She's close by. Both of you leave, right now. Just run."

I set off into a sprint, hoping that leaving the twins behind would circumvent the vision. I didn't dare look back at Lucia to see if I was doing the right thing. I couldn't afford to doubt myself.

My feet pounding the pavement, I tried to block the images of a murdered Lorcan and focus on Becca instead. It didn't matter that I was in a strange place. All I had to do was get the better of Becca, chain her up, and drag her arse back to the vampires. I probably should have drunk some blood first, but I figured being away from the succubus would automatically give me a boost.

In some ways, that was a fair assumption. The further away I made it from the succubus, the better I felt, more energetic, less weighed down by a heavy heart. Carl's condition pricked at my conscience, but I could tell he was still alive. The thread between us was stretched very thinly, but I could still sense him out there. I dreaded cutting that thread because I knew it would hurt me as well as him.

I scented the blood before I saw the body—an elderly lady in her hallway, the front door wide open from when Becca burst in. An old woman, maybe somebody's grandmother. Suppressing a twinge of guilt, I backed away, hearing footsteps behind me.

Lorcan. "I can help," he insisted.

"No! Go home! Protect your sister, you idiot!"

"She's fine. I..." His gaze flickered toward to the house again. "Oh."

With dread in the pit of my stomach, I gripped the dagger, slowly turning to face Becca as she stepped over the old woman's body to approach us. This was it. This was the moment. A couple of streetlights flickered. Lorcan gasped as Becca bared her bloody fangs. Steadying myself, I held my breath as Becca lowered her head and ran at me like a bull.

Exactly like the vision, I sprinted for her, except I leapt in the air a split second before she did, aiming my dagger's curved tip at her gut. Our bodies collided, the blade pierced her skin as I twisted it, and her fangs managed to gash my arm, but the pain was fleeting.

Fumbling, I grabbed her hair as we crashed to the ground, but she ripped herself out of my grasp, leaving me with a clump of straw-like hair in my hand. She made a strange howling sound, then got on all fours and leapt away.

"What. The hell." I was too surprised to even follow her, especially when she pretty much crawled over a wall to get away, leaving a trail of too-dark blood in her wake. I had to follow her path to find a patch of grass to clean the dagger. Pulling the remaining hair from my fingers, I turned back to Lorcan. He was paler than usual, and his heartbeat had rocketed.

"It really is a beast," he whispered.

"Looks that way. We better get back to your sister."

"Can't you track it from here?"

I hesitated. "Yeah, but your sister's alone. She needs to see you're okay."

He stared at me as I passed but followed in silence until we got back to Lucia. She sat alone on a bench, rocking herself with jerky motions. I sat next to her.

"She's gone. Any chance of a heads up?"

Her head shot up, and when she saw her brother, she ran to him and gripped his hand, acting as though nothing were wrong. He didn't even notice how concerned she had been, and I wondered how much she really told him, and how much she blocked off to protect him. Seeing her visions had been a horribly trippy experience, but it had definitely helped.

The three of us were shaken for different reasons—Lorcan for catching his first glimpse of the beast, Lucia for seeing her brother's death narrowly avoided, and me for a whole host of reasons. Lucia could help me save people, legitimately help me avoid bloodshed. But I couldn't even take her with me. Then, there was Becca, like an animal on all fours, worse than anything I had ever seen in a horror film.

"What will they do when I capture her?" I asked Lorcan, but really, I was talking to Lucia. "I mean, really. You saw her. There's no taming her. So what exactly are we talking here?"

Lorcan opened his mouth to speak, but Lucia's fingers tightened on his, and he looked at her with surprise in his eyes. When he finally spoke, his voice was an urgent whisper.

"We think they'll use her to get ahead. They'll run tests on her first, maybe try to replicate her in a more controlled way, then set her loose on their enemies and let her kill as many as possible. They have the money to invest in her. But there are too many outcomes, none of them good."

"So she needs to die. That's the only way?"

He hesitated, but Lucia nodded fervently. I fidgeted with the cross around my neck while I thought. It didn't feel wrong to me. It felt as though I would be putting her out of her misery and protecting humans at the same time.

"Then, that's what I'll do."

He stepped toward me. "They'll kill you. They'll use this as an excuse to spark something bigger. They'll call it a betrayal."

"Kill me. Probably. Unless they don't find out what really happened."

His eyes widened. "You want us to lie to them?"

"It's the only way. I kill her, but you tell them she crossed the water again. I go home and persuade the Council to claim she gets killed over there the following night. It's the only thing I can think of."

"You don't understand! They won't allow disobedience. They won't kill us. They'll torture us. We can't defy them. They own us!" I expected him to carry on, but he snapped his head around to stare at his sister. They both gazed at each other for a few minutes, and by the way he clenched his jaw, it didn't look like they were in agreement.

I waited for them to decide, hoping they could be brave, even though it might cost them much.

"She says... she says we can help you if you help us."

"How?"

"She says you have to find the Phoenix, that we were never supposed to be here. She thinks the Phoenix can help us, can protect us. The Phoenix hides the slaves and the wanted. If we do this thing for you, then you're indebted to us. We might be part-fae, but we can still hold onto a favour. If you don't help us, you'll suffer. That's how a deal with fae works. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"

"Yes, but... do you mean the Féinics?"

He glanced at Lucia again and nodded. "That sounds better. Right, that's it."

"Wait. Is the Féinics a person? I heard the term before, referring to rebels or something."

"I don't know. It has no face. There isn't a clear image. Lucia's seen bits and pieces over the years, though. All I know is, we're supposed to go to Ireland to be protected. Or we'll die as slaves."

We shook hands on it, and a thrill of energy shot up my arm. Seeing my expression, Lorcan laughed. "Told you."

"Does Lucia see anything else? Is tonight a good night? Because I really need to get home."

"It hides. It fed, so it can afford to. Tomorrow, if we're on time. How will you... kill it?"

We strolled out of the estate, and the atmosphere between us was better than it had been since we first met. Hearing their story made me desperate to help them, and I wasn't sure if it had to do with the fae deal, or just my own fight for the underdog. The twins were undeniably weird, but they were a weapon of sorts, and they had been rejected by their own kind, too. My inconvenient protective instinct reared its head again.

Lucia kept looking at me as though she wanted to tell me something, but she didn't touch me, and I wasn't sure if that was because she didn't want Lorcan to know I saw her visions. Maybe she wanted him to believe she needed him. Either way, I wasn't going to interfere.

"I'm not sure," I said. "My dagger is like weaponry kryptonite to vampires, but you saw what it did to Becca. It made her bleed, but didn't stop her from moving."

"I have a sword," Lorcan blurted, then flushed, sending little pink dots onto the apples of his cheeks, marring his porcelain-white complexion.

"They let you have a weapon?" I asked.

"No. I mean, I don't know. Years ago, we found it in our hallway, like someone came in the night and left it there. It looked old and a bit rusty, but when I touched it, writing lit up on the blade, and I felt... different."

"I think that means it's yours, like it only works properly for you," I said slowly, recalling how I felt when I touched my own dagger. "Maybe the fae didn't completely desert you."

He shrugged. "Who knows what it means. I'm not so sure that I care to find out. We're going to be walking for a long time. I hope your feet are up for it." He looked at my boots doubtfully. They did look a little heavy and bulky, but they were the most comfortable things I owned. Plus, they gave my kicks a little extra oomph.

"You're just changing the subject," I said with a smile.

"Not at all." But there was a ghost of a grin on his lips.

"So, this deal, then. Does it work like that with all fae?" I was curious, but also needed to make sure I didn't unwittingly engage myself in deals with mischievous fae like Finn, the bartender in Gabe's bar.

"From what I've heard, it's similar. Of course, pure fae are stronger. Much stronger."

"What can fae do? I've met a couple, but I haven't actually seen any in action."

Lorcan shrugged. "There are different kinds. Most fae are long-lived, and they all have some kind of natural magic, but it differs after that. They're the main faction in Europe, the ones the vampires are most afraid of because they command the werewolves."

"Werewolves? You mean the shifters?" I screwed up my face in confusion. Esther hadn't mentioned being under the thumb of the fae.

"No, no." He shook his head, and his face lit up. Whether he admitted to caring or not, he was definitely interested in all things fae. "The shifters change into animals, yes. But the werewolves are different. They shift, but they're infected with a madness. Years ago, the fae managed to... domesticate them somewhat and use them as protection against the vampires."

"They don't still do that, do they?"

"There are rumours. Either way, the vampires are more likely to align with the fae because they fear the wolves. People say the werewolves are hidden by the fae, ready for the day the vampires step out of line."

I recalled Becca going on all fours. "Think an army of beasts would be a good match for the werewolves?"

He stared at me, his face paling. "Let's hope we never find out."

"How do you know all of this stuff? If you haven't grown up with the fae?"

His dark eyes seemed to twinkle. "I ask a lot of questions, make a lot of deals. We learned a bit about other species while we were on the market. There were a lot of children there."

"Did they hurt you?" I bit my lip, regretting the question.

"Not really. They needed us healthy, just in case. There were women there—some had grown up in the market—and they looked after us. Only the children who lose their value are allowed to be harmed."

"Where is this market? Who runs it?"

He shook his head wearily. "It was a long time ago. All I remember is that it was underground. Always dark. We didn't see anyone but the women who took care of us. I can't even remember being handed to the vampires. I can't remember getting to the market, or leaving. There're empty spots in my head." He rubbed his forehead, looking stressed. "But we were there longer than most, I remember that."

"How long ago was it?"

"At least three decades. I think they may have taken our memories from us."

My mouth dropped open. "No way are you that old!"

He laughed. "I did tell you the fae age well. We won't live as long as them, but we'll do a lot better than a human. As long as you keep your end of the deal before the vampires get tired of us." I sensed the fear in his voice and wondered what life was really like for them. If maybe they already knew how it ended for them with the vampires.

"I would have helped you anyway," I said.

He gave me a long, hard look before speaking again. "We know. But the deal makes us allies. None of us can back out, no matter how scared we are."

He gave me a meaningful look, and my heart seemed to soften and melt away. They made the deal to trap themselves into performing, not me. A lump in my throat stopped me from talking, and I looked away from the twins. No matter what happened, there were still people willing to put themselves out there to help others. Part of me felt as though helping the twins would give me my humanity back, maybe clear away the darkness I felt hovering over me all of the time. I wouldn't let them down if I could help it.

I was about to thank them when a shout startled all three of us. I glanced around to see a group of drunken men following us. I shrugged and carried on, well used to it, but then I looked over at Lucia. Her eyes were wide with fright, and I got the feeling that we weren't going to walk home without trouble.

"Lorcan," I said under my breath. "Start walking ahead of me with Lucia. If you see a taxi, flag it down. Don't turn back. Don't look around. Just get yourselves home."

"But—"

"Don't argue. Move. Take care of your sister." I glared at him, and he inched away from me, keeping a tight hold on Lucia. I slowed and nodded at Lucia when she looked back at me. She was so child-like, it was a shame that she had to see awful images in her head. If that was how it worked.

As I expected, the men kept following, shouting the entire time. I widened the distance between myself and the twins, hoping to distract the men from them. I could sense their moods. Dark and lustful. I knew they would target the petite, delicate Lucia before me. The shouts rose, and one of the men ran ahead of me.

With two quick strides, I had caught his arm and twisted it behind his back, my foot on the back of his already weakening calf.

"Go home," I hissed at him, feeling my own darkness rage inside me. I checked for the shadows, but there were none. It was just pure human horror. Some of the humans we tried to protect were worse than the things we protected them from. The men were a group of idiots with bad intentions wandering the streets until they found a way to have their idea of fun. They could think again.

The other men guffawed at their friend's predicament, and it gave the twins time to turn a corner and make it out of sight. Breathing a sigh of relief, I let go of the man, who howled dramatically and rolled on the ground as if I had hurt him. I had been very careful with him, despite my anger.

I walked away slowly, hoping they would see sense and go home, but the group were a special brand of idiot. The shouts picked up in volume. I saw a number of curtains twitch in the homes I passed, but all doors stayed closed, and nobody interfered when they saw one woman accosted by five men.

"You people suck," I muttered, hearing footsteps right behind me. I swung around as one of the men lunged. No longer lusty, they wanted a fight. Somehow, they seemed to know I could take it. I launched my fist in the man's face before he could get a hold on me. The shock in his eyes when I broke his nose was pretty satisfying.

He fell on his backside. The man I had already put my hands on limped over as the rest of the group surrounded me.

"She's a paddy and all," he hissed. "A fucking paddy bitch, she is."

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously?" My heart rate shot up, and I felt my control slipping. I didn't want to hurt humans, but that gang was asking for it. And by the way the neighbourhood didn't interfere, I got the impression I wasn't the first person they had attacked. Maybe I could give them a fright, or get rid of my own aggression.

"Don't think she knows who you are, son," one of the men said. He was the quietest, the one who walked behind the others, the one I had known to watch from the first second I laid eyes on them. "She will after tonight, though."

They laughed, but their laughter was more excited than amused. They were vultures, preying on the weak, but they had picked the wrong person.

I stayed still as they circled, but I watched that one man, the leader, the one who didn't need to scream or shout to be heard or feared. He was the one without a conscience. I could see it in his energy. It was easy to see him as a monster. Sometimes it was hard to forget that humans had hurt me as much as anything else in my life. The man eyeing me reminded me of the worst kind of human I'd met. Made thinking clearly that much more difficult to achieve.

"You keep looking at me, girly," he said. "Something to say?"

"Yeah. Have a go," I replied, my sweetest smile plastered on my face.

He glanced at the others, a smirk on his lips. He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair. The others jeered in a quietened sort of way. They felt something in the air, whether they knew it or not. Something big was about to happen.

The man walked over to me and threw a lazy punch that caught me in the jaw.

I showed my bloody grin. "Oh... I mean, ouch."

His features flashed with anger, and I knew he was on his way to losing control. But I didn't have time for a fight, I tried to remind myself. Making sure they were all watching, I opened my mouth and let my fangs show.

"The fuck!" The leader zoomed backward in fright, disgust obvious on his face. Some of the others backed away with him. One or two peered at me with interest, too drunk to understand.

The leader got himself together. "Fucking emo watching too many vampire flicks," he said, making them all laugh. His hands still shook. He might have thought my fangs weren't real, or that I had filed my teeth, but he was still shaken. Yet he didn't go away, whether he thought I was helpless or not. He was a bully. An ego who thought he could push around the world. I was getting pretty sick of that kind of attitude.

So I decided to scare them all. Growling, I leapt at one and kicked him in the stomach. A beautifully joyful sensation enveloped my body at his horrified gasp. I spun around and elbowed another in the stomach, leaving him winded. One struck me, catching me slightly on the shoulder. Hissing like a cat, I threw myself at him, and two of the men jumped after me, trying to get hold of me. Their anger and aggression only increased my own. I wriggled and punched, but one refused to let go, somehow managing to heave his weight on top of me. I had let myself get pinned again. But I wasn't afraid.

I was too busy setting the darkness free.

He was heavy, and I couldn't seem to balance myself enough to push him off of me. I made a scary vampire face, and he loosened his grip. I leapt to my feet, enraged. Maybe I was absorbing their anger and aggression, maybe the darkness inside me had come to the fore, or maybe I had finally reached my breaking point. Whatever it was, I was at the point of no return. I convinced myself I was facing a monster. A monster I needed to destroy.

I punched his face, and he stumbled. Advancing on him, I struck again, and he landed on his backside. I kicked him, enjoyed the grunt of pain. I leaned over and forced him to look at me. My fingers digging into his chin, I smiled at him, and he urinated right there on the ground. Licking my fangs, I smelled his fear, tasted his hate, and was readying myself to really hurt him, when I heard footsteps behind me. I whirled around, ready to attack, but at the last second backed off when I scented her.

Lucia. Without fear, despite what had to be a wildly angry look on my face, she touched me. And I saw.

Me. Covered in blood, surrounded by the broken bodies of the men. My eyes as scarlet as Becca's. The image faded, leaving me shaking my head in horror and confusion. That wasn't me. I wasn't that monster. But my fangs were out, and I had been fully prepared to teach the men a lesson. Lucia's touch had been the light in the red rage, a calming presence when I had already gone out of my head with anger.

I looked back at the men before retracting my fangs. "Go home." I used the force of my will in the hope that I could somehow make them all obey. "Stay away from each other, and learn some manners." I barked out the last bit.

They didn't follow us, and I didn't look around in case I was tempted to run back. Lorcan stood in the middle of the road, looking baffled, but I just kept walking, still clinging to Lucia's hand for dear life.

I couldn't speak. I was too close to the other side. I felt as though opening my mouth would release something evil, something I hid, something that kept trying to find a way out.

# Chapter Eighteen

"We got you some coffee."

Lorcan left a steaming foam cup on the floor a few feet away from me as if coaxing out an animal. Perhaps he was.

They had been gone all morning, and I figured it was because they feared me. I couldn't exactly blame them. Once again, I didn't understand my own actions. Yet their eyes revealed no fear at all.

"Thanks." I reached for the coffee, and as I did, Lucia bent down and squeezed my hand. I waited for the images, but none came. I gazed up at her quizzically, but she let go and moved back over to Lorcan's side. Sighing, I picked up the coffee and tried to look a little less like a psycho killer.

"We were wondering what you needed for tonight. You said your dagger doesn't work well enough on Becca. What else could you use?"

I took a sip of coffee, letting it scald my tongue, a petty punishment. "I'm not sure. Silver and crosses hurt her. I'll just have to be imaginative. It'll be easier than catching her. You two need to stay home tonight."

Lorcan glanced at Lucia. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I won't hurt anyone," I said in a low voice.

"Are you upset with us?"

I gaped at him in surprise. "No, of course not. I'm upset with me."

"We're sorry about last night. Those men... I mean, we aren't all like that over here." He shifted uncomfortably.

"I know that. Arseholes live everywhere. Years ago, back home, I tried to stop an idiot beating up his girlfriend. Both of them turned on me. Takes all kinds." I shrugged. "But last night. That was my fault. I managed to push the whole situation out of control, and I was fully ready to hurt those men. I wanted to teach them a lesson."

"I don't understand. The vampires called you the Irish Council's assassin. Is it not your job to cause pain?"

He said it so simply, but tears filled my eyes at his words.

"I'm sorry," he said, horrified. "I didn't mean—"

"I had never killed anything until a few months ago, really, when the vampires decided to make my life hell. And now the Council. It's like I'm marked, like I can never be clean again." I shook my head. Letting the words spill out was a strange sort of relief. "Up until a week ago, I had only killed a couple of vampires who really deserved it. Then, there was a human. He was possessed by a demon or something. I took care of the demon, but the man died. I didn't mean it. This isn't the life I wanted."

"You really are like us," he said, but I looked straight at Lucia. For the very first time, I saw her smile, and I knew I would remember it forever. Her face lit up into something beautifully ethereal. She was full of light, full of something pure and good.

"I'm glad I met you," I told her. "And thank you."

Her smile died away, and she grabbed my phone, urging me to take it. The urgency in her eyes made my stomach drop. Carl. I turned on the phone and called home with a heavy heart.

"He's not going to make it." Peter's voice was gruff, but I could tell he was unhappy.

"What's happening?"

"He's sick, feverish. Eddie said it's a reaction to being away from you for this long. He needs contact."

"I can't leave yet."

"Ava, I know. I'm just telling you to be ready for the worst when you come back."

Tears filled my eyes, and I hurried outside with the phone. I'd already let the twins see way too much of the real Ava.

"Can't Eddie do something?" I let the tears fall. Carl didn't deserve to die.

"He's trying, but he wants you to know that there isn't much hope left. Maybe a day, two tops. Last night, Carl freaked out, tried to leave. His body isn't strong enough, but he kept fighting me. He ended up hurting himself. Eddie had to sedate him in the end."

"Oh, my God." I hiccupped a sob. "That was my fault. I'm so sorry."

"How? What happened?"

I bit my lip, wishing I could hide the previous night forever, but I couldn't, so I relayed the story to Peter as quickly as possible.

"Ah. So he sensed trouble, even with you over there. The bond must be really strong." Peter sounded almost relieved.

"I wasn't in trouble, Peter. Those men were."

"Don't start guilt-tripping yourself, Ava. Snap out of it."

I stuttered something incomprehensible.

"I mean it. They had it coming, if you did hurt them. Besides, it's the empathy thing, right? You keep taking in what everyone else is feeling. Those scumbags just screwed with your emotions a bit. Like the succubus did with us."

I wasn't so sure that was what had happened in either case. I quickly ended the embarrassingly weepy phone call, then sat on the steps of the house, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do next, and trying to ignore how homesick I felt. Carl needed me. The Council needed me. Everyone seemed to need me for something. And I wasn't getting anything done. There had to be a way to fix all of my problems.

I moped about for a while before the twins joined me, sitting on either side of me. Being around them was nice, once I got past the creepy factor. They were calm beings, not full of the rage I was, even though their lives had been a lot worse. They made me feel ungrateful, more ready to change myself instead of everyone else.

"I need to get home. Tonight has to be the night," I said.

"A lover needs you?" Lorcan asked.

"More like a brother," I corrected. Carl was family, and I had to be there if he died. I had to be there to try and help him carry on for longer. I had to be there, full stop.

"You know Lucia's reckonings aren't always accurate. Things can easily change."

"Then, I'll have to track her myself. Either way, I'm going home tonight. I'm going to check out ferries and flights. I need to prepare myself, and you need to figure out exactly what you're going to tell the vampires. You could say she escaped in the docks, and Lucia had a vision she left the country, so I jumped on a ferry to track her over the water. If they don't believe you, act like I had you under my thrall. They'll come after me, not you. I still need some help from home, but no matter what, I'm leaving tonight."

I gazed at the shrouded exit, contemplating everything. "Did you do that?"

Lorcan followed my line of sight. "Oh, that. Yes. Sort of. It was already there, we just boosted it a little. Keeps us out of sight, out of mind."

"Think the vampires watch us when we track Becca?"

"Yes. I'm sure of it." He nudged me. "But you're safe in this little part of the world."

I rubbed my nose, wishing I could hide in that part forever. "Any chance of you two doing something similar tonight?"

The twins exchanged looks. "We were counting on it."

"You two are pretty special. I'm not surprised the vampires want you on their side."

"We've been smart enough not to show anyone exactly what we can do," he said, and a shiver of anticipation ran down my spine at the passion behind his words.

Later, I made the phone call I had been putting off. Gabe was the only one I could turn to. I had to take the chance, despite the risk.

"You really are crazy," he said after I told him my plan. "They could start a war over this."

"Not if you back me up. Look, they're going to start problems if they have Becca. And that's another thing. When they realise they can't use her, they're going to turn to the vampires who started this formula crap in the first place. They want in. That much is obvious."

He took in a breath. "You're so much more trouble than you're worth."

"Yeah, well, after this I'm done with you people. No need to worry about what I'm worth anymore."

"Don't be so melodramatic," he scoffed.

"I mean it. I'm going to do the things you lot can't be arsed with."

"Such as?" he asked coolly.

"Um, maybe tackle the slave markets, the missing children, and, oh yeah, the demonic possession that your own Guardians are probably taking part in." I couldn't help getting annoyed. Gabe never failed to rattle me in some way.

"The Council deals with a lot of things you will never even know about," he said. "When you return, come to the bar. I have something to discuss with you, and that's the only place I know where we won't be overheard by the wrong ears."

"Fine. You gonna back me up or not? There are people here taking a risk for me. I don't want them doing that for nothing."

He hesitated then groaned. "Fine. When you return, I'll orchestrate a 'killing' and let the British Committee know we took care of Becca on our own soil."

***

"She wasn't here tonight." I sniffed the night air. Nothing. Becca's plans had changed since Lucia had seen them. The twins had insisted on joining me, and I had to let them in case I was seen alone on the night they were supposed to be my witnesses. We had gone back to the housing estate from the previous night so I could track Becca's old scent, but the trail went dead right outside it.

I tried not to think about Carl, but his face kept popping into my mind. I had taken him on a dangerous path, and it might be too late for him to find his way back. I had to feel guilt for that. All night, I had been counting. Heartbeats, footsteps, passing cars. I kept breaking down numbers until I had primes. A never-ending litany in my head. I had become certain of one thing. The less I cared, the less I needed to count. My choices were either to have a heart of ice or be crippled with a nervous disorder. Fun.

"When we find her, what do you want us to do?"

"Hide. Run. Your pick. Just don't forget to hide us when the time comes. Hey, Lucia, any thoughts on the outcome yet?"

She shook her head, frowning with the concentrated effort she was putting into listening to whatever sent her the clues.

We wandered for hours, looking for something, anything. We didn't even know if Becca was still in the country. She could have been anywhere. But she had only fed once the previous night, and that, coupled with her injury, made me pretty sure she wasn't strong enough to go far without a decent feed.

It wasn't until a police car sped past, sirens wailing, that Lucia saw something.

"She's been feeding," Lorcan told me. "It isn't close, but if we hurry, we might find a trail you can follow."

The twins were as fast, if not faster, than I was. It felt good to push myself alongside them. They made me feel like less of a freak, and I had the feeling I would miss them once I went home. I knew I let myself get attached too easily, but I couldn't help it.

An hour later, I finally caught Becca's scent. Relief flooded through me, but it wasn't over yet. I still had to catch up to her. I still had to finish her. I still had to kill again. And then, I had to make it home and hope it wasn't too late for Carl. Our link was weakening quicker than I expected, and I knew I only had one chance left.

We closed in on Becca in a quiet part of the country. Quaint stone cottages dotted the area, and the place seemed too quiet for a supernatural battle. I caught sight of her before she noticed me. She watched a lone man shuffle with his terrier in the distance, and I could see her sizing him up, perhaps wondering if he were worth attacking. I voted no on the basis of the ankle-biter alone.

"Keep out of the way, and do your thing when you can," I whispered to the twins, pushing them into a nearby garden. "I'll see you when it's over."

I broke into a run, refusing to take my eyes off Becca again. I couldn't let her go. My heart drumming in my chest, I caught her attention before she made it to her next victim. Recognition flashed across her face, but she was unrecognisable as the woman who had once creeped me out. Her hair was falling out in clumps, judging by the bare patches on her skull, her skin was decaying, actually rotting. Her lips were split open from her fangs, as though she wasn't careful with her bites. No matter how repulsive she looked, I still felt a slight pang of pity for her. She hadn't asked to be what she was. Not that.

"This is it," I called out to her. "I'm going to make the thirst go away, Becca. I'm going to put you out of your misery."

She uttered a harsh cry and fled, but I was ready to chase her. She sprinted for fifteen minutes, and I thought my heart might burst out of my chest. Not from the exertion, but the apprehension of what might go wrong. So many people depended on me, and I had never pulled through for anyone. I had no Peter, no Carl, no Eddie to help. Just me and Becca, the way it should always have been.

Becca went on all fours again and leapt over a railing into a graveyard. I couldn't see her by the time I made it inside, but her scent pervaded the night air, and I knew she was still around.

I felt magic in the air. The peculiar sensation sparked some memories, like the magic at the trial and, curiously, Folsom's place. When I looked behind me, the edges of the graveyard were shrouded by mist. I mentally thanked the twins for their help.

Many of the tombstones were cracked and discoloured. The cemetery was huge, and therefore easy to hide in. I reached out and tried to see Becca's energy. Spotted her. Running away again. I still didn't know why she kept running from me, and I was beginning to regret not taking the possibly fae sword from Lorcan.

Jumping over headstones somehow felt wrong—disrespectful of the dead—but it was easier to catch up to Becca by moving directly over the old graves.

She surprised me by attacking me first. She leapt from a huge granite memorial, knocking me to the ground. We struggled briefly, both trying to get in a few good digs. I sensed she knew it would be our final fight, that it would decide everything. She seemed as determined as I was to end it for good.

She clawed the back of my neck, slicing my skin easily. It stung, but I was too wound up to really think about it. She tried to bite me, but my cross fell along the chain and surprised her. It couldn't kill her, but the pain seemed to put her off balance.

I pushed myself to my feet and kicked her as hard as I could in the face. She flew backward against a tombstone that broke in two from the force of her body. Her density seemed to have changed drastically since she had become... whatever the hell she was.

The impact didn't even faze her. She came at me harder than ever, fangs dripping with blood-tainted saliva, her next strike knocking loose one of my back teeth. I spat out blood as I backed away in a hurry, narrowly avoiding her claws. A fierce warrior, she never stopped moving or swinging. And I had no real idea how to kill her.

She jumped like an animal, and I dropped to the ground to avoid her teeth. If she managed to bite me, I was screwed. Back on my feet, I grabbed her shirt and whirled her around, flinging her into a huge headstone. Her back cracked against it, and she crumpled to the ground. I grabbed her by the hair and whacked her head against the marble, cracking open her skull.

Despite her head splitting open, and a spongy substance leaking out, she kept moving. She grabbed my ankle, pulling me to the ground. I kicked at her with my other foot, but she was like steel. She bit hard on my ankle, and immediately, pain scorched my body. The paralysis happened slowly, from my ankle upward, just like before. The same mistake twice. I refused to stop struggling, but my legs grew weaker and weaker by the second.

"Ava!"

Lorcan had some kind of pole in his hands. He rolled it over to me. Silver. At least on the outside. One end was pointed and covered in dirt. Utilising my last bit of strength, I stabbed Becca through the top of her head. With a disturbing snap of bone, her body shuddered and jerked for a few minutes. Then, she stopped moving. Just like that. Her fangs still penetrated my skin, and her paralysing poison still flooded my body. I couldn't move. But she was dead, really dead.

I lay flat on the ground, staring at the sky. It was over.

Lorcan rushed over to me, eyes full of worry. "Are you okay?"

I tried to point at my leg, but my arm no longer moved. Drowsiness overtook me, and nothing seemed to matter anymore. My eyes closed, and I slept.

***

I must have only been unconscious for a couple of minutes because the twins still stood above me, silently arguing over what to do next. The feeling came back to my body. I hurt. Everywhere.

Becca's body lay a few yards away. The twins had moved me. Her head hung at a funny angle from her body; I had almost decapitated her.

"Gross," I mumbled, startling the twins.

"You okay?" Lorcan looked embarrassed. "I didn't realise she was still hurting you. Lucia took her fangs out of your leg. Some of them were embedded in your skin."

"Ew." I didn't have the energy for long sentences. I looked at the thing I had used to kill Becca, thinking it looked suspiciously like a giant, skinny candle.

"It's part of a massive family memorial at the other end of the graveyard," Lorcan said. "I should probably clean it and put it back. Just in case."

I flexed my limbs, feeling a lot better. "I think I can get up now. Should I bury her here?"

Lorcan looked around. "Isn't it a bit too... sacred for her?"

"She was human once. Maybe this is the perfect place for her."

He shrugged. "I better go find your bag. I dropped it along the way."

"I thought I told you to hide or run away or something," I called after him. He grinned back at me.

"Thanks, Lucia," I said. "She almost took me down with her."

Lucia plonked herself down next to me and just stared. Her gaze wasn't as creepy as I had once thought.

When Lorcan returned, we dug a hole. I pushed past the pain as the urgency of Carl's situation nagged at me. But when the sun rose, it took Becca with it. She didn't burn, but her skin seemed to slowly erode until she was nothing but dust. The rotting stench disappeared with her.

I threw down the shovel in frustration. "That was a waste of time. I need to leave. Will you two be okay?"

Lorcan nodded. "Of course. As long as your side does their part."

"I think he will. He doesn't like being told what to do, either."

"We'll head to the docks and make sure we're seen leaving. There's always someone watching."

"Good. Thanks. And don't worry, I'll keep my end of our deal. I promise."

"We know. We'll be waiting."

On a whim, I hugged them both and caught a glimpse of myself holding the hand of a small boy. I gave Lucia a quizzical look, but she didn't explain.

Going home felt strange. I was so happy to see Peter and Carl again, but I dreaded what I would find, and all of the things I had to do overwhelmed me. I took a ferry and spent most of the journey feeling seasick. Seeing land made my heart cry as though there were something there for me. I hoped there still was.

# Chapter Nineteen

"Thanks for picking me up."

"No bother." But the stress on Peter's face was obvious.

"Has the succubus given you any hassle?"

"Nah. She came around once, and Eddie sent her packing. Turns out the rest of the succubi are embarrassed by the whole deal with you and her. Esther told us they've all been warned away from you for now. Everything go as planned?"

I laughed. "Not at all. Becca's going to die over here tonight by the hands of a hero Guardian."

"Pity you won't get the credit for it. You could use the fear bonus."

Trust Peter. He gave me a sideways glance, and I knew something bad was coming.

"What is it?"

His sigh was heavy. "Be prepared, Ava. He's slipping away. We're probably too late."

"We're not," I said firmly, pushing the thought out of my head.

I started to cry when I saw the grim look on Eddie's face. He looked so apologetic, so mournful, that I was convinced it was over. I imagined death in the air, as if I were carrying it around and infecting people with it.

But Carl was still alive. Barely.

I rushed over to him and took his hand. A little tremor went through his wasted body. He'd lost a couple of stone while I'd been gone. He had aged, his eyes dulled, and even though I sat next to him, he could barely move.

"How could this happen?" I whispered.

"It's all been too much, too soon," Eddie said. "Nobody is built to go through everything he has. His mind, his body, it's taken everything out of him. There's no way you can break the bond yet, and we have no way of knowing if you being here is enough for him."

"There has to be something! Have you given him medicine, magic, everything you can think of?"

"Ava. You know I have. I've tried it all. Nothing's strong enough."

"But... I don't want him to die." Only my sniff was louder than my sob. I couldn't rein it back. With trembling fingers, I stroked Carl's hair, noting the streaks of silver running through it. "I did this to him. I'm sorry, Carl."

I caught his eye, those blank empty eyes, and he smiled. He slowly turned his wrist to me, as if to say, "Drink." I couldn't take it.

I ran out of the room, needing to get away from what I had done. I sat in the backroom until Peter joined me.

"It's not your fault," he said. "But if you fall apart, then you're no use to him, and that will be your fault."

I glared at him, feeling the need to punch him in his stupid face, but my shoulders drooped instead. I looked away because I didn't have the energy anymore. Carl had been the first step for me to actually live, instead of just exist. He was dying, and it was mostly my fault, no matter what anyone said. I felt more for him than I had when my own grandmother had been in danger, and it dawned on me that family, true family, was something different than the blood running through my veins.

I took Peter's point, though, and I stitched my messy emotions back together, somehow putting a pin in everything I was feeling. I returned to sit with Carl, holding his hand while he slept, and concentrated hard on helping him. I tried to do things with the abilities I had, hoping they would somehow open up something special. I had healed wounds in the past. Perhaps I could do other things if I really tried.

But nothing happened. Minutes turned to hours, and Carl's breathing stayed shallow. My fear and despair increased, but there had to be an answer. I kept thinking of our last bond, how it had ended, how he had offered me his blood when I needed it. Our bond was stronger this time. I had to be the one who could help him.

"What if he drinks my blood?" I asked Eddie when the sun began to set. I felt as though there were power at that time of day because it was when the dead lived again.

"There's no reason to think that would help him."

"But he's bonded to me. That has to count for something. And I've healed cuts before. There's something in my blood that does it. I'm sure of it."

"Not always," Peter reminded me. "Only when you drank blood."

"I'll drink it, then!" I shouted, startling them both. "I can't just sit here and wait for him to die. He's our friend. We have to try everything."

Eddie looked defeated, as though he couldn't take another second of being around us. But he nodded. "I'll get you some, and we'll try a few things. We'll try and put some life into him."

Eddie left us, and Peter tried to argue with me, but I ignored him and concentrated on Carl. I felt as if looking at him was keeping him alive for another minute, and every second was precious.

"Ava, you need to accept what might happen," Peter began.

"I don't want to hear it."

"He chose to live dangerously. He chose to hang around with us instead of going home. He's an adult, and his decisions caught up to him."

I slapped Peter hard across the face, leaving a red mark. He didn't flinch. He didn't shout. He didn't retaliate. All he did was shake his head and leave the room. I sat with Carl and waited. I willed him to get better, hoping my strength would somehow leech into him, but nothing happened.

The numbers in my head passed my lips rapidly as the minutes wore on. Eddie was taking too long. Peter stormed into the room, rolling up his sleeves. I half-expected him to punch me, but he shoved his tattooed wrist in front of my face. I stared up at him in confusion.

"Bite. Go on."

"Are you... on something?"

He rolled his eyes and dropped his arm to his side. "Carl's my friend, too. You don't even know what he's done for me. I don't want to sit around and do nothing when he needs us. If you think it might help, then take some blood."

"Eddie's getting me some," I reminded him.

"But it's not as good as fresh. We all know that. Just do it before I change my mind. I need to know I tried everything, too."

I gaped at Peter, more touched by his offer than I could have ever imagined or even expressed. "Are you sure?"

He put his hands on my shoulders, and a sense of calm fell over me. "Ava. I'm sure."

I rose, laid my palms on his cheeks, and kissed him right on the lips. He held on to me for a moment before pushing me back with a sad smile. He held out his wrist again. My mouth watered at his cinnamon scent, but I hesitated because I was absolutely terrified. Peter's arm didn't shake. He was like a rock, but my fingers trembled on his pulse.

I glanced up at him, but he had his eyes closed and was humming to himself. I gripped my cross for support, and bit. Peter gasped, and I almost pulled away, but then I tasted his blood, and I couldn't stop. He shifted slightly, and I gathered myself a little, counting for distraction, to keep me human, to know when to stop.

Life flooded into me. The taste wasn't the best part, even if blood made the regular food I ate taste like ash. It was the pure raw energy coming from his veins. I felt more powerful than I had in years. Between being away from the succubus, dealing with Becca, making new allies, and taking some of Peter's blood, I was high with power. But I wasn't close to losing control, and I didn't need to count to stay human. I cared, and for a change, it didn't weaken me.

I pulled away and licked his wound gently, relieved when I saw it heal. Eddie came in with the bags, and he didn't look surprised. I suspected he had taken his time for a reason.

Peter flopped into a chair, his eyes still closed, and I guessed we would have to deal with the consequences another time. I turned to Carl, his skin greying, and bit my own wrist, my stomach turning at the unnatural action.

I pulled his bottom lip down gently and let my blood drip into his mouth. "Drink," I said, and he obeyed because he had no choice. He didn't grimace, or try to drink more. As the liquid passed his lips, I focused on my inner light and tried to will it into him. I imagined I was giving him my essence, that our bond was becoming something different, more powerful.

Eddie laid his palm on Carl's forehead and muttered in an ancient guttural language. The words sounded rough and beautiful all at once. I felt the air shift and realised Eddie was using energy from the souls. I didn't care. Not then.

"Sleep," I told Carl after a while. I closed my own wound and gazed at Eddie, hoping he would tell me something good.

"We tried," he said. "Now we wait."

Peter left the room without saying a word. I hoped we hadn't ruined our friendship, but life and death called for hard decisions and sacrifices. I would never forget Peter's sacrifice, and I doubted he would either. That was the problem.

I fell asleep sitting next to Carl and awoke with a crick in my neck. Carl had a little colour in his cheeks, and I took that as a good sign.

I stayed with him as much as possible because he seemed healthier when I was there, as though I gave him vitality in some small way. I was sure it had to do with him ingesting the blood of the one who owned him. I would deal with what he thought about drinking blood another time. Hopefully.

"I think he's getting better," I told Eddie when he checked in on us. "He's definitely looking better."

"Perhaps."

"Eddie. Is there any way my blood could change him?"

"I don't think so. We can't know, but I really wouldn't imagine so."

"Good."

"The Council announced the death of Becca today. It's all done. Aiden got the credit for it."

"So he's in on it," I said, unsure if I liked that particular turn of events.

"He's a consultant. They trust him."

"I don't. He can't even see what's in front of him." I couldn't wipe the frown from my face.

"You can't judge him for not having the same abilities as you," Eddie said, annoyingly sensibly.

"It's all over," I muttered, feeling as though it was all only beginning.

"Ava," he said softly, in that way of his that signalled bad news. "If the bond continues for much longer, he'll lose himself completely."

"He won't survive the break." I gritted my teeth. "He's not strong enough yet."

"I know. I've been thinking about this. Your blood has helped, but it's come too late. He needs a boost of something to tide him over."

"Like one of your spells?" I asked, suddenly hopeful.

"I doubt any of mine could help him without hurting him later on. But I've heard that true angels can perform blessings. Rarely, but they fill the vessel with spirit, a miraculous recovery."

"True angel? You mean like Gabe? Would it help?" I tried to stop my internal spring of hope from overflowing.

"It might give Carl the strength to survive the end of the bond. He isn't healing properly like this. I can't see him fully recovering until his mind is free."

"Did I do the wrong thing?" I gazed up at Eddie, seeking an answer, guidance, anything. Eddie wasn't a good man in my books, but he knew things, and I needed his knowledge.

"You had to try." His tone was gentle but not exactly encouraging. "The blessing might be worth trying, too. Do you think you could persuade Gabe?"

"Me? No! He hates me. Why would he help?"

"Perhaps you can make a trade."

"I don't have anything." I stared at Carl. Deep down, I knew I would try anything. Anything at all. Or I would always live with the guilt.

"I can stay with him," Eddie said.

"I'll go to the club then. Gabe wanted to see me."

I waited to say goodbye to Carl in private. I didn't believe for a second that Gabe would ever help us.

# Chapter Twenty

The club buzzed with energy, and I realised everyone was celebrating the end of Becca. I pushed my way through the crowds and found a seat at the bar. A couple of people were on duty behind the bar, but I waited until Finn spied me.

"Little Miss Red," he said, smirking. I stared at the moving dragon tattoo with a great deal of fascination. "Why so down?" he asked. "Haven't you noticed it's party time?"

"Is he here?" I looked up at Finn, and the twins popped into my head.

"He is. He'll be on the floor shortly if you want to wait."

I nodded, not knowing what else to do.

"Can I get you anything while you're here? Something potent and sparkling, perhaps?" He laughed loudly at the reference to my passing out the last time I had taken a fae drink, but I couldn't smile.

"Do you know any half-fae?" I asked.

The smile dropped from his face. "There are no half-fae. There's no such thing."

"Sure there is, I saw—"

"There are fae. There are non-fae. There is no in-between," he said coldly, and I saw a whole other side to him. "I'll get Gabe to hurry up."

I sat mulling over his response for a few minutes until I smelled something wonderful, and someone tipped my arm.

"Follow me." Gabe led the way to the darkest corner of the club, shooing a group of people out of the seats. He sat facing me.

"I'm glad you came," he said. "Becca's gone. Everyone's happy. Or at least satisfied. Except for the British vampires, which is exactly how I like them. Now, about that other thing—"

"I need you to perform a blessing. A miracle," I interrupted. "Like now."

His forehead creased, and he sat back in his seat, searching my face.

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's not that simple. And it isn't something you should ask for. It isn't something anyone should ask for."

"What kind of fecking angel are you, anyway?" I stood to leave, but he pulled me back into my seat.

"I told you I can't interfere with the succubus," he said steadily.

"I'm not asking you to do anything with any succubus. He's mine. He's sick. He needs a blessing. He needs anything that might help him. I dealt with Becca, I'm owed something in return."

Gabe's eyes seemed to soften a little, but it could have been my imagination. "He's just a human. Not even an important one."

"He's my human. He's my friend."

"Ownership isn't friendship."

I made a weird, exasperated noise. "I don't want to own him. I just want him to live."

"Why do you care about him? What has he ever done apart from cause you trouble? He's just a human, Ava. They breed constantly. Another will come along."

I slapped my hands on the table in frustration. "Why can't you understand this? He's a friend. More than a friend. He's family. I care about family. You can't replace family, and he won't survive me breaking the bond right now. I need him to be stronger so I can let him go."

"You've replaced your grandmother with Eddie. What's the difference?"

I sputtered my indignation. "I haven't replaced her! And especially not with him. Look, even if you don't understand what it means to have a heart, at least help me out. I'll owe you for it. I'll do anything. We're desperate."

"I don't interfere with humans like that. I very, very rarely perform any kind of a blessing."

I drummed my fingers on the table, trying to figure him out. "What was my mother like?" I asked, knowing the change of subject, and the question, would surprise him.

"That's not fair, Ava. Not very angelic of you either." But he smiled.

"I'm serious. My grandmother hated her, very rarely spoke of her. What was she like?"

"Loving. She was made to feel. When she was chosen to stay on Earth, it made her very happy. She envied humans, cared for them in a way most of us can't."

"Would she have helped me?"

"I don't know. Probably. Somehow she managed to love the man who fathered you, and he was human. In that way, you're a constant reminder of her, of how little I understood her. So I won't help. Not for a human. A blessing is valuable. It costs me severely. I can't give them away to a sub-species."

"Very judgemental for some kind of holy being," I said with a snort. "What will it cost for you to give Carl a blessing?"

"A lot," he said firmly.

"Like what?"

He thought for a few minutes. "I need you to stop interfering with Coyle."

"Are you kidding me?"

"I mean it," he said, suddenly insistent. "Don't get in the way."

"So you know about them? The shadows?"

"I know some things, but I need to know more. I won't find out what I need to know if you warn every suspect that you're suspicious of them. Leave the thinking to the brains, little one."

I made a face. "I'm keeping away from the Council. I can't hack this crap."

"Then Carl won't get his blessing. I need these things from you, your loyalty and trust so that I can deal with this situation in my own way. And, as you're so obsessed with it, I want you to deal with the child markets. A... prisoner went missing from our cells. I imagine she was taken to be sold. Dig into that and keep yourself busy for a while." He tapped his chin, looking thoughtful. "Yes, do that. I could use the credit should anything good come of it."

"Anything else?" I asked, feeling a little tremor of excitement for my next job. I had a feeling he was talking about Leah. The way she acted before she disappeared from the cell next to me before my trial made me think she was in on her own escape.

"Two more things. I need information on the rebels, if they even exist. I've heard they plan an uprising. They want to get rid of the Council and inspire anarchy. I need to know what plans exist, and if there's anything to worry about."

"Um, okay." I hoped my cheeks didn't flush too much. It seemed as though my goals and Gabe's were the same, but for very different reasons. The word 'anarchy' sparked my interest in a whole new way. "And the last thing?"

He leaned forward, a new spark in his eyes. His excitement infected me until he spoke two words.

"Eddie Brogan."

***

I waited nervously for Gabe to arrive, tapping on Carl's hand as I counted in my head. Eddie had commented on the heavy price I must have paid to wrangle a miracle out of Gabe. I firmly reminded him it had been his idea in the first place and secretly wondered what outcome he had expected.

Peter paced and fidgeted incessantly. He still hadn't spoken to me about the blood, and there was no way on the planet I would bring it up first. I tried to ignore how close I felt to him since I had drunk his blood. What drew me closer only served to push him away.

I hadn't been able to stop thinking about Gabe's requests. His suspicion of Eddie was overwhelming. He wanted me to spy on the man whose house I was in, the man who had helped me and my friends multiple times. The man who had lied to me. The man I couldn't trust. The man I kept turning to, depending on. I still didn't know what to tell Peter, if anything, and my nerves were shot at the idea of spying.

I tried to distract myself with Carl. He looked a little better, and he could sit up if I ordered him to, but he was still gravely ill. I just hoped the blessing, whatever the hell it was, worked—and fast.

Peter took my hand away from Carl's, surprising me. "You're going to put a dent in his hand doing that," he chided before dropping my arm as if it stung him. He turned his back and returned to the all-important job of pacing the room.

The tense atmosphere only tightened further when Gabe arrived. All four of us stood around Carl, distrust thick in the air.

We watched Gabe inspect Carl. He placed his hand on Carl's forehead and closed his eyes. His eyeballs moved under his lids as if he searched for something. When he opened them, he looked surprised.

"What did you do to him?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" That frightened me. Had I made him worse?

"There's something... never mind. I can help him. The effect won't last long, but long enough for you to break your bond and allow him to heal naturally. It'll hurt him. True pain that he won't survive without help."

"We know," I said, disliking the reminder. As if I could forget. As if I wasn't already dreading it.

"Fine. Stay back, and you should probably keep your eyes closed."

I couldn't close mine. I had to see what happened. Gabe knelt by Carl, his hands on Carl's bare arm. He whispered, and his skin lit up. At first, it was a barely noticeable glow, but the light grew brighter until my eyes burned from it. I became used to the glare and could see Gabe clearly. Similar to the shadows clutching to a soul, except silvery white, they danced around him, streaming lights that dove in and out of Carl's body. Not at all malevolent, the scene was breathtaking.

Gabe noticed me staring. He beckoned me over and told me to hold Carl's other arm. With his free hand, he entwined his fingers with mine, and white-hot heat spread up my arm. He kept whispering, and slowly, the light passed into me, too. My skin lit up, just like Gabe's. It felt perfect, like one single harmonious moment in my life, never to be had again. A kind of serenity flooded my mind, and I gazed at Gabe in awe.

"Give it to him," Gabe told me. "Yours will be more potent for him now." I wasn't sure what he meant, but I tried. Just as when I had fed Carl my blood, I sensed something leaving me, as if I gave him a part of me. When the light flowed into Carl, his skin looked a little brighter, and his eyes opened. I caught a glimpse of a particular look, a have I died and gone to heaven sort of look, then he closed his eyes again, and a smile creased his lips.

By the time the light faded, my eyes were wet, because it was obvious the blessing had worked, and I felt clean, purer. Carl looked so much healthier, it was amazing.

"Give him a day, then try to release him," Gabe said, rubbing his temples and looking absolutely drained. I felt a little shaky, too.

I gazed at Gabe in wonder, for the first time feeling something positive toward him. Then, he ruined it. "Don't forget you have work to do," he whispered.

"You can open your eyes now," he told Eddie and Peter before he left, saying he needed rest. He looked so pleased with himself at their thanks, but he hadn't done it out of goodness. I knew he had done it for personal gain. He wasn't any better than most of the beings in our world, even if he liked to think so.

Carl awoke later that evening, and he seemed almost back to the way he had been the first time I had made him mine. He no longer had to lie in bed, and he got straight back into that annoying habit of offering himself to me. Peter stuck around and helped with Carl, but we still didn't discuss the blood drinking. In fact, we didn't talk at all. Perhaps that was for the best.

# Chapter Twenty-One

In preparation for the bond breaking, Eddie left us to buy some "special" items that would help Carl deal with the pain. Carl fell asleep, and Peter watched the shop, so I was soon restless. A draft—or maybe a helpful spirit—opened the bedroom door, and I felt drawn to the landing. Or perhaps I just tried to convince myself it was an invitation.

I moved down the hall and jumped when Eddie's bedroom door burst open. A breeze blew around my neck, and I could have sworn I felt a little push on my back. Hesitantly, because Eddie would probably strike me down if he caught me, I crept into his room, surprised by the small size. The spare bedroom was much bigger.

The room was sparse, some basic bedroom furniture and a desk. Above the desk hung an enormous old-fashioned painting of a woman, the only decoration. I leaned on the desk to get a closer look and jumped back in fright. The surface of the desk quivered beneath my touch. I had the strangest compulsion to open a drawer. I didn't know why, but I couldn't leave the room without looking.

My hands passed over all three drawers, but the one in the middle sent a tingle through my fingers. Something important was in there. I could sense it. I pulled it open to reveal an ancient book. From the outside, it didn't appear possible for a book of that size to fit in the narrow drawer, and I guessed some sort of magic had a hand in that.

The book was living. I didn't know why I thought that, but it wasn't an inanimate object. I sensed too much living energy spiralling out of it. Even touching it sparked something deep inside me. I tentatively slid my fingertips over the cover. Bound in something akin to leather, the edges of the pages were dark brown.

I opened the book, half-expecting it to disintegrate at my touch, but the pages were perfect. More magic, it had to be. That suffocating feeling I so often felt in Eddie's shop emanated from the book. I didn't understand the words on the pages, but it felt like great power. Unwieldy power. The kind I didn't want anyone to have. Least of all, Eddie.

I was desperate to take the book away and hide it. Hearing the bell of the shop tinkle, I realised Eddie could have returned, so with one last lingering look, I shut the drawer and ran back to the spare room.

When Eddie came into the room, I could have sworn he knew I had done something. The way he looked at me, so piercingly, I prayed I wouldn't blush. I hadn't planned on telling Gabe anything about Eddie, but between the intensely magical book, the trapped souls, and Eddie's talk of sleeping gods, I was convinced I needed to keep an eye on him.

It took Eddie a while to prepare what basically turned out to be magical painkillers. I thought he was going to pull out something amazing. Carl would need more than pain relief.

We had to wait for Carl to come out of his current stupor. When he did, he got up out of the bed and glared at Eddie. I had forgotten how much Eddie's home had disturbed Carl the first time we stayed there. I felt sure the magical book had a little to do with it. I couldn't get the sensation of touching the book out of my head.

"I think that means he's up for this," Peter said wryly.

"Try it now, Ava," Eddie said, keeping a wary eye on Carl.

I bade Carl to sit next to me, and I tried to remember what it had been like the first time. The vampire Arthur had broken the bond then, but the feeling it provoked in me was very particular, and I had a sense I needed to grab onto that. In more ways than one, I had to let Carl go.

"Carl," I said softly. "I release you."

Nothing happened.

"You have to mean it," Eddie said unhelpfully.

"I'm aware of that." I stared at Carl. "Of course I mean it."

"He could lose his mind if you don't do it soon."

The pressure built inside me all over again. "I know, Eddie. Carl, I release you."

Still nothing happened, and I began to panic. I was the one who would kill him in the end. "I don't want you!" I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. I felt it then, like a rip deep inside me. I let go of Carl, and he fell back, but I was too busy keeling over in pain to check on him. I lay on the floor, groaning, while Peter and Eddie took care of Carl.

The pain relief worked quickly, and he soon slept again. I wasn't as lucky.

"You okay?" Peter nudged me carefully with his foot.

"Get away from me." I rolled over, feeling as though I wanted to rip something apart. The pain wasn't like a normal physical one. My blood hurt. All of my blood cells burned as one. With a little screech, I dug my nails into the floor and scratched hard.

Eddie touched my skin and tutted. "Fever," he muttered. "Be careful, Peter."

Peter lifted me over his shoulder and threw me on the bed next to Carl. I kicked out at him, and he laughed. "Here comes the wild animal," he teased, but my brain raged. I could literally see a red mist in front of my eyes.

"Oh, Jesus." Peter stepped back in alarm. "You're bleeding."

"She'll be fine," Eddie said. "She'll heal."

"Something broke," I hissed. "Inside me."

Eddie smiled. "I'll bet it feels that way. I need you to get a grip now, Ava. Carl will need all the help he can get when he wakes up. There's still a chance he won't be himself."

"You better not have done something to him," I said, practically snarling. Eddie ignored me and wiped my eyes clean.

"What now?" Peter asked.

"Now, we wait."

***

Carl finally stirred in the early hours of the morning. I had been staring at the moonlit sky for hours, struggling to keep hold of my humanity. Whatever had happened when the bond broke scared me. I had been too close to losing control. I was angry, angrier than I had ever been, and with the anger came something else, a darkness that didn't sit well. The darkness had been a constant in my life for far too long. I was ready to shed it for good.

A muffled sound from Carl's throat alerted me. His heartbeat raced. It thundered in his chest as though it would drown out all other sounds. My mouth watered, and I thought I might throw up from the shame of it.

His eyes flung open and caught my gaze. They widened further, and he glanced around the room, anxiety stinking the air.

"You okay?"

He stared at me as though I were the stuff of nightmares. "Who the hell are you?"

Oh, holy shit.

I screamed for Eddie, terrifying poor Carl in the process. When both Eddie and Peter ran in, Carl huddled in the bed like a scared child.

"Hey man, you okay?" Peter asked. His face fell when Carl stared back at him blankly.

Describing who we were to Carl proved to unsettle him further, and a deadly fear gripped my heart. What if his mind was gone for good? When Carl slept, Eddie explained that the shock of the bond-breaking had traumatised Carl, forcing him to blank out everything that had happened.

"It's a survival mechanism," he reassured us. "As long as we keep him safe and comfortable, he'll remember things slowly enough for him to deal with."

"Is he going to be okay?" My voice was barely above a whimper, and Peter moved closer to me.

"Only time will tell," Eddie said, before going back to bed.

I turned to Peter, but I couldn't form the words. He didn't speak, either, only wrapped his arms around me and let me lean on him completely.

***

Over the next few days, Carl's memories returned slowly but surely. He seemed okay, but a constant sadness dulled his eyes. I kept thinking that maybe his spirit had been the thing that had really broken, that maybe I had killed everything that made him himself.

The moment he remembered me was one of the worst times. His entire body shook violently until I left the room. He wasn't prepared to see me again until the following day.

"It's hard to process," he told me. "There are so many images that pop into my head when I see you. I don't know what's real and what's a nightmare."

I bit my lip. His nightmares about me were reality.

After a week, he was less shaky and nervous, but still different. I felt his anxiety all of the time. It never let up, not even when he slept. I wanted to help him... I just didn't know how.

Peter stayed with Carl, who seemed happier around him. He was noticeably more comfortable around Peter than anyone else, and I realised how strong a friendship they had developed. I couldn't help feeling a little left out.

One day, Carl cried in front of me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, terrified for some reason.

"I was so stupid, Ava. What the hell am I doing with my life? I keep nearly dying, nearly losing my mind. I keep getting wrapped up in all of this shit that has nothing to do with me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't. Don't even say that to me. You warned me, and I didn't listen. When I was with her... I couldn't think of anything else. It was like an obsession, an addiction. Being around her was slowly killing me. I mean, I could feel it happen, but it felt like something I had to do. It felt like it was worth it." He shook his head. "And then you came, and I was trapped again, in the back of my head. I kept trying to break through, but I was in darkness most of the time. I couldn't move, couldn't speak. I felt like I was suffocating. The darkness kept closing in on me, the space was getting smaller and smaller. I could sense that I was losing myself, that I wouldn't ever make it out."

He held onto my hands without even realising it, pinching my skin he gripped so hard. "Then, you set me free again, and I felt like I was on fire. I've never been in so much agony. It was awful. I wanted to die. Then, the darkness came again, and it swallowed me up. I couldn't break free. I kept trying. I couldn't give up, and slowly flashes of light came through. It was like I dug holes in the wall, and eventually, I broke through completely."

"And now?"

He stared at me, his lips trembling. "Now, I want to go home, Ava. I just want to go home. They won't take me back, not after everything I've done. Maria won't even take my calls now. I've screwed it all up, and look where it got me. You know how I feel about you and Peter, but right now, I wish I'd never laid eyes on either of you."

I would have done anything to take that hollow look out of his eyes, the bitterness from his voice. But he turned his back on me and asked me to leave, saying he needed some time alone.

I took the opportunity to go home for a change of clothes. When I returned, Peter was on the shop floor, waiting for me. My heart sank when I saw his face. He moved closer to me and hesitated.

"What's wrong?" I tapped my wrist in agitation.

He held on to my fingers to stop me. "Carl doesn't want to see you." He said it in such a low voice, I hoped I had misheard him. I shook my head, not knowing what to say. I'd done everything I could for Carl, and now he didn't want to see me again.

"I tried to help him. Even when I nagged him to death, I just wanted to protect him. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Even I winced at how pitiful my words sounded.

"I know. Trust me, I know. I had to watch you leave the country and deal with Becca alone when all I wanted to do was go over there and sort the problem out for you. But I had to let you go."

I frowned. "I came back, though."

He squeezed my fingers. "Don't look at me like that. Please don't look so sad."

I attempted a smile. It didn't quite work. I blamed it on the bond.

"He just needs a break from all of this. You're the biggest reminder of the worst things. He'll get over it."

"I don't think he will. But it's for the best, right? At least he'll be safe away from me."

He didn't answer. I tried to stretch my fingers, but he held them too firmly.

"You can let go now," I whispered.

He did. We faced each other awkwardly. With the immediate danger over, I felt a little embarrassed by how much I depended on Peter, and we still hadn't dealt with the blood-drinking.

"About before," I said.

"We've forgotten about it, Ava. We're not talking about it. Ever."

The coldness in his voice disturbed me, but I knew how much it had cost him to help Carl. I knew how much it was still costing him, even though there wasn't a scar, and I had made sure not to ruin his tattoo.

"I'll go then," I said, feeling at a loss.

"Keep your phone on loud. There's a house up for rent that I think would be perfect for you. It needs a little work, but I could help you."

I narrowed my eyes. "What are the neighbours like?"

He laughed loudly, sounding a little relieved. "You'll have to wait and see."

I left the shop, feeling a mixture of emotions. Becca was gone, and the succubus had been dealt with, but I still had a lot of things to do. I had a lot of things to make up for.

# Epilogue

I rapped quickly on the door, seeing no bell. The sound seemed to reverberate in the air, so quiet was the neighbourhood. The place looked like heaven compared to the hell of my flat, and I couldn't believe Carl had been so willing to throw it all away.

The young woman who answered was tall, pretty, with dark hair and eyes. She pulled open the door breathlessly, as if she had been waiting for someone. Her face fell when she saw me, a stranger.

"Can I help you?" Her tone wasn't particularly friendly, but I put that down to stress.

"Maria?"

"Yes," she said warily, looking at me through narrowed eyes.

"I'm a friend of Carl's." I watched fire spark in her stare and knew I had to tread carefully. "I need to talk to you about him. He's... ill."

"Ill? What's wrong with him? Where is he?" Her anger turned to panic, and I knew she cared deeply for him. I only hoped it wasn't too late for them.

"He's staying with a friend. He wants to come home. He's been... afraid. He had a bit of a breakdown, you see. He didn't want you to see him like that, but I thought you should know that he's been away from you through no fault of his own."

I was almost certain I wasn't lying. I had convinced myself that the succubus had gotten to Carl long before he truly succumbed.

"What are you talking about, a breakdown? At his age? What on earth does he have to break down about? I should be the one breaking down here!" Her voice rose into a shrill cry.

I wanted to run. "Look, all I can tell you is he's pretty much mortified by his carrying on. He ended up with a bit of an addiction, and he's been trying to shake that before he saw you again. He hasn't been doing well. He even lost his memory."

Her mouth gaped open. "Why isn't he in hospital?"

"He was looked after by a... professional. Now, he's recovering. I'm really sorry we couldn't contact you sooner."

"Why didn't you?" she barked. "Why didn't anyone come to me or his family?"

"Oh. Well, I told you. He lost his memory for a bit. It was hard to get anything out of him there for a while. But like I said, he's getting better now. Maybe you could call him? Maybe let him come see you when he's up to it?"

Her stony expression softened. "He's not up to visiting? Is he okay?"

She believed me so easily. She latched on to any reason to forgive him. "He's still quite weak," I said softly. "It's nothing to worry about. He just needs to build up his strength." I played to what I figured was her personality type. "He probably needs someone to take care of him."

"And that isn't you?" Ah. I felt her jealousy in spurts, mixed between gratitude at my telling her about him.

I tried to laugh. "Definitely not me. He's like family, but I'm not the one to take care of him. Don't worry."

We shared a moment then. Two women worried about the same man. Two women with very different places in his life. I was almost certain that once Maria claimed him, Carl would leave my world forever. I couldn't blame him, and I couldn't forget the fear and pain in his voice when he had finally opened up to me. He might not want me around, but I could hardly blame him. I had played an active role in everything that had gone wrong in his life. The least I could do was help him get back to the people who truly cared for him. The people who would never lead him into danger or suffering. It had taken more near-death experiences than I could count, but finally, Carl was seeing the light. It took more than enthusiasm to survive in the other world, the underground one. Only time would tell how much of himself he had lost in the darkness.

***

As soon as the taxi pulled into the sunny cul-de-sac, I knew I wanted to live there. A direct contrast to my flat, my destination was located in a bright, well-kept area of the city. It didn't look like part of the city at all, and there was a feeling in the air of safety and protection. I guessed the landlady wasn't human. Not that I minded.

A row of sweet little cottages lined the pathway on either side of the street, and I admired them all as I passed. The cottage I was looking for was at the very end. When I saw the number, I laughed out loud. Fourteen. Perfect.

It was a little dirty. It definitely needed a few repairs, as well as an industrial-strength lawnmower, but something about the place drew me. It attracted the sun.

I stood in the front garden while I took in the surroundings. A bit of paint and a lot of cleaning, and the cottage would be perfect. The walls were redbrick, and the paint on the door was peeling, but I felt excited about the house becoming my home.

"Is this my lost soul?" an elderly voice behind me croaked.

I whirled around, surprised that such an old woman could sneak up on me. She was tiny and haggard-looking, her back noticeably hunched. Despite her age, her dark brown eyes were clear and gave her a mischievous air.

"I'm Ava. I'm here to view the cottage."

"That you are. I'm Mrs. Yaga, the landlady. Do you want to take a look inside?" she asked, squinting in the sunlight.

She opened the cottage to let me look around, but she waited outside. The home consisted of two tiny bedrooms, a miniature bathroom, a duck-egg-blue kitchen, a sunny space for a living room, and a sprawling back garden, again with the need for a lawnmower. A thick layer of dust and dirt covered the entire house, but I couldn't wait to get stuck in.

"I'll take it," I said as soon as I went back outside to Mrs. Yaga.

She gave me a crooked smile with more gaps than teeth. "Don't you want to know how much it is first?"

I glanced at the house. It was home. Nothing else mattered.

Two days later, I got on my knees and started scrubbing. Every inch of the house uncovered something about myself, cleared away something bad. All of the guilt and anger and self-pity, I washed it all away, convinced my new home was a fresh start.

I revealed a spotless cottage, and a new me, a me that was more than ready for a start over. It felt as though I had shed a skin. Everything was so much lighter.

Mrs. Yaga definitely wasn't human, and I had a strong suspicion that she and the cottage had something to do with the change in me, but I felt only gratitude. All of my neighbours were a mixture of species and races, and there was something peaceful about the whole area. Security of the entire cul-de-sac seemed tight, and I felt no need to secure my own house.

I had a hard time packing. Leaving the flat terrified me. Change unnerved me. But I had been making some big decisions, and I took great pleasure in packing the blood bags into a cardboard box and dumping them off at Gabe's bar.

"Tell him never to send me this crap again," I told a bemused Finn.

With Peter's help, I moved all of my things to the cottage—without a backward glance—as soon as the place was clean. I barely unpacked because I wanted to paint it first. Peter came through on that count, too.

"You're going to have to stop being so dependable," I teased as we gave the living room a second coating.

He flicked paint at me in answer. "What are you going to do next?"

"The kitchen, I think," I said as I admired my handiwork.

"I meant in life, idiot." More flicked paint.

"I'm going to dump the whole tin over your head," I warned.

"I'll shake myself off in your precious kitchen. Really, what are your plans?"

He looked so serious, I tried to think about everything I'd been conveniently putting to one side. I had a lot to consider, and my stress level automatically began to rise, but I hadn't counted once since I'd found the cottage. I kept that to myself.

"Gabe's got some work for me. I made some friends in Liverpool that I'd like to help."

He faced me. "You're going back?"

"If I have to. I kind of made a fae deal."

He groaned. "Trust you."

"It wasn't like that," I protested. "I want to help them."

"Well, next time I'm coming with you. Drove me mad last time."

I held his stare, wondering what he meant. "That deal kind of fits in with a deal I made with Gabe. I'm going to find an empath to help me with that mess. And I'm going to figure out a way I can be strong without drinking blood."

He raised his eyebrows.

"I mean it," I said vehemently. "I'm never drinking blood again, Peter. Never."

He didn't say anything for a few minutes, and I wondered if I had freaked him out. Then, he turned to me with a thoughtful look on his face. "You're already strong. You're going to be fine. No matter what happens."

"Well. Thanks."

He shrugged.

"For everything."

His frown didn't scare me. Much. "We're not talking about that."

"Coward."

He stepped up to me, too close. My stomach somersaulted.

"Who's a coward?"

"You are," I whispered.

He took my hands, his paint stained thumbs swirling my skin in circular motions. "No succubi marks on me this time," he said with a half-smile, but his gaze turned serious.

"There were never any marks on me," I reminded.

He grinned, slipping his arms around my waist to pull me closer.

"Besides, she didn't make me do anything I didn't already want to," he said softly. I lifted my face to his, feeling completely at ease for a change. His lips pressed lightly against mine, and the doorbell rang.

He grinned against my lips, and I pushed him away.

"The universe is seriously fucking with me right now," he muttered as I hurried to answer the door, the butterflies in my stomach feeling as though they were on speed.

Esther and Carl stood on my doorstop. My mouth dropped open in shock. Carl grinned, holding up his hands.

"Don't start," Carl said. "I'm more than capable of walking."

I bit my lip. "I wasn't going to say a word," I lied.

"You're early," Peter growled from behind me.

Esther kissed my cheek, then linked arms with Peter, asking him to show her around.

Carl shrugged at me. "Not a bit obvious, eh?"

"Not half. How are you?"

"I'm doing okay. Getting spoiled all round. Mostly thanks to you." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry about before. I needed a bit of time to deal with everything that happened. I didn't handle it very well."

"Don't be an idiot." I hugged him tightly, feeling the residue of the bond affect me with his embrace. "I wouldn't have blamed you if you never spoke to me again."

"I couldn't do that. Who'd get you into trouble?"

I grinned, leading him inside.

"Besides," he continued, "you're like my bossy little sister. You're cranky ninety percent of the time, but I'd miss your constant nagging."

I punched his arm.

"See? We really came over to help out with the painting," he said. "Have a little housewarming together. It's the first time there isn't an emergency going on."

"Don't jinx it," I warned him.

After a lot of catching up, and very little painting, the four of us sat in the overgrown back garden to catch the last of the sun.

"You really need to sort this forest out," Carl said, almost looking like his old self. His face had more lines, his hair had streaks of grey and white that managed to look pretty cool, and his eyes had a sadness in them, but he was still Carl.

"I'll get around to it. What's new with you?"

"I should be back at work soon."

"Oh? With Maria's father?"

He grinned, and he definitely looked like the old Carl. "Not exactly."

"Oh, no way. Eddie again?"

"I need a job. Maria's dad pretty much hates me now. I can't sit at home doing nothing. Don't worry. It isn't for the same reasons as before. I've learned my lesson. And look." He opened his shirt and revealed a massively intricate Celtic tattoo. "Blessed ink," he said proudly. "Like Peter's, only better."

"I heard that, you big lunk."

I listened to the banter between my friends and felt totally at ease for the first time in a very long time. I had finally found a place I could settle down in and friends who didn't judge me, no matter how many stupid mistakes I made. Even Esther hadn't turned her back on me, despite her brother's urging.

A cool breeze blew my hair, and I smiled at the sensation. Maeve hadn't left me for good either. I tilted my head to the sun and closed my eyes, savouring the moment because it felt like a perfect one. Life was never what I expected it to be, but I had made it this far, and it was looking good. I still had humanity, I had friends, I even had work to do that I believed in. Even better, I had discovered that family wasn't always what you were given, but what you made it.

I had spent so long pining for a family of my own, and I had finally found it in a weird way. I'd wasted time looking for acceptance. There were people in my life who gave it freely, unconditionally.

I had a family after all, just a very different kind.

###

Thank you for reading this book. If you enjoyed Ava's adventures, look out for Taken (Ava Delaney #4) due for release in August 2012.

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The series so far:

Thirst

Taunt

Tempt
